Physiology and ecology combine to determine host andvector importance for Ross River virus

Identifying the key vector and host species that drive the transmission of zoonotic pathogens is notoriously difficult but critical for disease control. We present a nested approach for quantifying the importance of host and vectors that integrates species' physiological competence with their ecological traits. We apply this framework to a medically important arbovirus, Ross River virus (RRV), in Brisbane, Australia. We find that vertebrate hosts with high physiological competence are not the most important for community transmission; interactions between hosts and vectors largely underpin the importance of host species. For vectors, physiological competence is highly important. Our results identify primary and secondary vectors of RRV and suggest two potential transmission cycles in Brisbane: an enzootic cycle involving birds and an urban cycle involving humans. The framework accounts for uncertainty from each fitted statistical model in estimates of species' contributions to transmission and has has direct application to other zoonotic pathogens.

Design peculiarities aspects of electrifi ed vehicles with a combined power unit based on fuel cells

Introduction (problem statement and relevance). The problem of environmental pollution has been especially acute in recent decades. Vehicle manufacturers are putting a lot of effort and money into developing alternative energy sources. One of these sources is the fuel cell.The purpose of the study was a general analysis of the parameters of power units of passenger and freight vehicles that used fuel cells.Methodology and research methods. Based on a virtual experiment a regression analysis to calculate the fuel cell required power was carried out depending on the load and conditions of vehicle movements.Scientifi c novelty and results. Simulation modeling of various lithium-ion traction batteries as part of a combined power unit of a vehicle has been carried out. Simulation modeling was carried out in order to determine the energy balance of a combined power unit in the urban cycle, taking into account the variation in the parameters of the cycle load and energy consumption for the auxiliary systems of the electrobus.The practical signifi cance of the analysis performed and the dependencies obtained lies in the fact that they can be used when selecting the power of fuel cells in the design of a large class passenger vehicle.

MODELAREA ÎN MATLAB/SIMULINK A FUNCȚIONĂRII UNUI VEHICUL ELECTRIC ÎN DIFERITE CICLURI DE ACȚIONARE

Through this paper, we want to improve the methods of dynamic design of electric vehicles, by creating simulation models in Simulink. The models are represented by simulation schemes that consist of blocks of mathematical operators, interconnected based on mathematical calculation formulas. The initial input sizes, specified in Table 1, can be easily modified, giving the possibility to obtain several models for different design ideas. The results of the simulations are materialized in graphical diagrams and provide virtual time data on vehicle speed, acceleration, engine torque, wheel power, energy consumed, and distance traveled. In the first simulation scheme, the input variable shows a motor torque generator with values between 0-132 Nm. In the second simulation scheme, the input variable is speed, according to the ECE-15 urban cycle scenario.

Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl, Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe

Urban growth is a largely debated issue in social science. Specific forms of metropolitan expansion—including sprawl—involve multiple and fascinating research dimensions, making mixed (quali-quantitative) analysis of this phenomenon particularly complex and challenging at the same time. Urban sprawl has attracting the attention of multidisciplinary studies defining nature, dynamics, and consequences that dispersed low-density settlements are having on biophysical and socioeconomic contexts worldwide. The present commentary provides a brief overview on nature and implications of the latent relationship between sprawl, demographic dynamics, and background socio-environmental contexts with special focus on Europe. Empirical evidence supports the idea that spatial planning should cope more effectively with the increasing environmental and socioeconomic exposure of European regions to sprawl and demographic transitions, being progressively far away from a traditional urban cycle with sequential waves of urbanization, suburbanization, counter-urbanization, and re-urbanization. Growing socio-ecological vulnerability of metropolitan regions was evaluated based on a literature review demonstrating how a better comprehension of the intimate linkage between long-term demographic dynamics and urban cycles is necessary to inform fine-tuned policies controlling sprawl and promoting a sustainable management of peri-urban land.

Physiology and ecology together regulate host and vector importance for Ross River virus and other vector-borne diseases

Identifying the key vector and host species driving transmission is notoriously difficult for vector-borne zoonoses, but critical for disease control. Here, we present a general approach for quantifying the role hosts and vectors play in transmission that integrates species’ physiological competence with their ecological traits. We apply this model to the medically important arbovirus Ross River virus (RRV), in Brisbane, Australia. We found that vertebrate species with high physiological competence weren’t the most important for community transmission. Instead, we estimated that humans (previously overlooked as epidemiologically important hosts) potentially play an important role in RRV transmission, in part, because highly competent vectors readily feed on them and are highly abundant. By contrast, vectors with high physiological competence were also important for community transmission. Finally, we uncovered two potential transmission cycles: an enzootic cycle involving birds and an urban cycle involving humans. This modelling approach has direct application to other zoonotic arboviruses.

Control Algorithm Selection Technique for Vehicle Robotic Transmission in the Urban Cycle

Environmental pollution is one of the most crucial problems in modern world. The toughening of emission standards for toxic fumes, which appear due to the combustion of fossil fuels in internal combustion engines, forces manufacturers to reduce fuel consumption, for example, via more rational use of the internal combustion engine capabilities. This paper is devoted to developing a control algorithm selection technique for economy class passenger car robotic transmission in the conditions of an urban cycle, using Lada Vesta SW Cross as a research subject. At the beginning of the paper, vehicle movement imitational mathematical model implementation, which was developed using LMS Imagine. Lab Amesim program complex. is shown. Also the main assumptions and parameters of engines, cooling systems, transmissions and chassis are given. Then imitational mathematical model verification results, which were processed by comparing movement computer simulation results with the vehicle passport data, are shown. Imitational mathematical model demonstrates the car behavior adequately and very precisely, which means it can be used for vehicle fuel efficiency research. In the main part of the paper, vehicle movement research is conducted in case of three different versions of the internal combustion engine (which has 1,4-, 1,6- and 1,8-liters volume) used in an urban cycle INRETS urbanfluide2. It is clearly shown that the lowest consumption is achieved by reducing the acceleration and braking dynamics via “early” gear shifting, and the crankshaft rotation speed at the corresponding moment of the shift has to be selected for each gear separately. Based on the research results, a switching algorithm and its selection technique, which takes the throttle valve opening degree and the type of the internal combustion engine external speed characteristic into consideration, are presented. In conclusion, this paper presents the results of vehicle movement imitational mathematical modeling in the urban cycle with a modified robotic transmission control algorithm. It is clear that this algorithm can reduce fuel consumption in the urban cycle by 12-20%, depending on the engine volume.

The Mayaro virus and its potential epidemiological consequences in Colombia: an exploratory biomathematics analysis

Background Mayaro virus (Togaviridae) is an endemic arbovirus of the Americas with epidemiological similarities with the agents of other more prominent diseases such as dengue (Flaviviridae), Zika (Flaviviridae), and chikungunya (Togaviridae). It is naturally transmitted in a sylvatic/rural cycle by Haemagogus spp., but, potentially, it could be incorporated and transmitted in an urban cycle by Aedes aegypti, a vector widely disseminated in the Americas. Methods The Mayaro arbovirus dynamics was simulated mathematically in the colombian population in the eight biogeographical provinces, bearing in mind the vector’s population movement between provinces through passive transport via truck cargo. The parameters involved in the virus epidemiological dynamics, as well as the vital rates of Ae. aegypti in each of the biogeographical provinces were obtained from the literature. These data were included in a meta-population model in differential equations, represented by a model structured by age for the dynamic population of Ae. aegypti combined with an epidemiological SEI/SEIR-type model. In addition, the model was incorporated with a term of migration to represent the connectivity between the biogeographical provinces. Results The vital rates and the development cycle of Ae. aegypti varied between provinces, having greater biological potential between 23 °C and 28 °C in provinces of Imerí, biogeographical Chocó, and Magdalena, with respect to the North-Andean Moorland (9.33–21.38 °C). Magdalena and Maracaibo had the highest flow of land cargo. The results of the simulations indicate that Magdalena, Imerí, and biogeographical Chocó would be the most affected regarding the number of cases of people infected by Mayaro virus over time. Conclusions The temperature in each of the provinces influences the local population dynamics of Ae. aegypti and passive migration via transport of land cargo plays an important role on how the Mayaro virus would be disseminated in the human population. Once this arbovirus begins an urban cycle, the most-affected departments would be Antioquia, Santander, Norte de Santander, Cesar (Provinces of Magdalena), and Valle del Cauca, and Chocó (biogeographical province of Chocó), which is why vector control programmes must aim their efforts at these departments and include some type of vector control to the transport of land cargo to avoid a future Mayaro epidemic.