Mandarin-Speaking Amusics' Online Recognition of Tone and Intonation.

PURPOSE: Congenital amusia is a neurogenetic disorder of musical pitch processing. Its linguistic consequences have been examined separately for speech intonations and lexical tones. However, in a tonal language such as Chinese, the processing of intonations and lexical tones interacts with each other during online speech perception. Whether and how the musical pitch disorder might affect linguistic pitch processing during online speech perception remains unknown. METHOD: We investigated this question with intonation (question vs. statement) and lexical tone (rising Tone 2 vs. falling Tone 4) identification tasks using the same set of sentences, comparing behavioral and event-related potential measurements between Mandarin-speaking amusics and matched controls. We specifically focused on the amusics without behavioral lexical tone deficits (the majority, i.e., pure amusics). RESULTS: Results showed that, despite relative to normal performance when tested in word lexical tone test, pure amusics demonstrated inferior recognition than controls during sentence tone and intonation identification. Compared to controls, pure amusics had larger N400 amplitudes in question stimuli during tone task and smaller P600 amplitudes in intonation task. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that musical pitch disorder affects both tone and intonation processing during sentence processing even for pure amusics, whose lexical tone processing was intact when tested with words.

Comparative analyses of eight complete plastid genomes of two hemiparasitic Cassytha vines in the family Lauraceae.

Cassytha is the sole genus of hemiparasitic vines (ca. 20 spp.) belonging to the Cassytheae tribe of the Lauraceae family. It is extensively distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, we determined the complete plastid genome sequences of C. filiformis and C. larsenii, which do not possess the typical quadripartite structure. The length of C. filiformis plastomes ranged from 114,215 to 114,618 bp, whereas that of C. larsenii plastomes ranged from 114,900 to 114,988 bp. Comparative genomic analysis revealed 1,013 mutation sites, four large intragenomic deletions, and five highly variable regions in the eight plastome sequences. Phylogenetic analyses based on 61 complete plastomes of Laurales species, 19 ITS sequences, and trnK barcodes from 91 individuals of Cassytha spp. confirmed a non-basal group comprising individuals of C. filiformis, C. larsenii, and C. pubescens in the family Lauraceae and proposed a sister relationship between C. filiformis and C. larsenii. Further morphological comparisons indicated that the presence or absence of hairs on the haustoria and the shape or size of fruits were useful traits for differentiating C. filiformis and C. larsenii.

Possibility of mpox viral transmission and control from high-risk to the general population: a modeling study.

BACKGROUND: Mpox is an emerging infectious disease that is now a global hazard. The strategies for preventing and controlling mpox should be further investigated in terms of transmission characteristics, infection risk among different populations, and ideal therapeutic approaches. METHODS: A multi-group dynamic model was used to quantify the transmissibility of mpox. We further analyzed the transmission risk from men who have sex with men (MSM) to non-MSM and evaluated the effects of three intervention measures, including community-based prevention, early detection, and vaccination. RESULTS: The median value of effective reproduction number (Reff) and probability of contact via a single contact (q) among MSM worldwide is 3.11 (interquartile range [IQR]: 2.82-5.57) and 2.15% (IQR: 1.95-3.84%). We found that the cumulative incidence rate of non-MSM is much lower than that of MSM (< 1/2048) when the possibility of infection (including the percentage of high-risk behaviors of contact degree [C] and q) was lowered to less than 1 in 100,000. When comparing the three intervention measures, if we want to control the cumulative incidence rate to 5.96 × 10-8 we need to increase the vaccine coverage to 81% or reduce the transmission rate factor (Cq) to 70% or shorten the transmission period to 74%. CONCLUSIONS: Mpox has high transmissibility in MSM, which required minimize the risk of infection and exposure to high-risk populations. Community prevention and control is the top priority of interventions to contain the spread of mpox.

Contact pattern, current immune barrier, and pathogen virulence determines the optimal strategy of further vaccination.

Background: The current outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 has caused a serious disease burden worldwide. Vaccines are an important factor to sustain the epidemic. Although with a relatively high-vaccination worldwide, the decay of vaccine efficacy and the arising of new variants lead us to the challenge of maintaining a sufficient immune barrier to protect the population. Method: A case-contact tracking data in Hunan, China, is used to estimate the contact pattern of cases for scenarios including school, workspace, etc, rather than ordinary susceptible population. Based on the estimated vaccine coverage and efficacy, a multi-group vaccinated-exposed-presymptomatic-symptomatic-asymptomatic-removed model (VEFIAR) with 8 age groups, with each partitioned into 4 vaccination status groups is developed. The optimal dose-wise vaccinating strategy is optimized based on the currently estimated immunity barrier of coverage and efficacy, using the greedy algorithm that minimizes the cumulative cases, population size of hospitalization and fatality respectively in a certain future interval. Parameters of Delta and Omicron variants are used respectively in the optimization. Results: The estimated contact matrices of cases showed a concentration on middle ages, and has compatible magnitudes compared to estimations from contact surveys in other studies. The VEFIAR model is numerically stable. The optimal controled vaccination strategy requires immediate vaccination on the un-vaccinated high-contact population of age 30-39 to reduce the cumulative cases, and is stable with different basic reproduction numbers ( R 0 ). As for minimizing hospitalization and fatality, the optimized strategy requires vaccination on the un-vaccinated of both aged 30-39 of high contact frequency and the vulnerable older. Conclusion: The objective of reducing transmission requires vaccination in age groups of the highest contact frequency, with more priority for un-vaccinated than un-fully or fully vaccinated. The objective of reducing total hospitalization and fatality requires not only to reduce transmission but also to protect the vulnerable older. The priority changes by vaccination progress. For any region, if the local contact pattern is available, then with the vaccination coverage, efficacy, and disease characteristics of relative risks in heterogeneous populations, the optimal dose-wise vaccinating process will be obtained and gives hints for decision-making.

A follow up study of cycle threshold values of SARS-CoV-2 in Hunan Province, China.

Since the epidemic of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), many governments have used reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect the virus. However, there are fewer measures of CT values information based on RT-PCR results, and the relationship between CT values and factors from consecutive tests is not clear enough. So in this study, we analyzed the connection between CT values and the factors based on cohort data from Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Hunan Province. Previous studies have showed that the mean age of the cases was 33.34 years (±18.72 years), with a female predominance (55.03%, n = 71), and the greatest proportion of clinical symptoms were of the common type (60.47%, n = 78). There were statistical differences between the N and ORF1ab genes in the CT values for the cases. Based on the analysis of the association between CT values and the factors, the lowest CT values were obtained for the unvaccinated, older and clinically symptomatic group at 3-10 days, the maximum peak of viral load occurred. Therefore, it is recommended to use patient information to focus on older, clinically symptomatic, unvaccinated patients and to intervene promptly upon admission.

Transmissibility of tuberculosis among students and non-students: an occupational-specific mathematical modelling.

BACKGROUND: Recently, despite the steady decline in the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic globally, school TB outbreaks have been frequently reported in China. This study aimed to quantify the transmissibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) among students and non-students using a mathematical model to determine characteristics of TB transmission. METHODS: We constructed a dataset of reported TB cases from four regions (Jilin Province, Xiamen City, Chuxiong Prefecture, and Wuhan City) in China from 2005 to 2019. We classified the population and the reported cases under student and non-student groups, and developed two mathematical models [nonseasonal model (Model A) and seasonal model (Model B)] based on the natural history and transmission features of TB. The effective reproduction number (Reff) of TB between groups were calculated using the collected data. RESULTS: During the study period, data on 456,423 TB cases were collected from four regions: students accounted for 6.1% of cases. The goodness-of-fit analysis showed that Model A had a better fitting effect (P < 0.001). The average Reff of TB estimated from Model A was 1.68 [interquartile range (IQR): 1.20-1.96] in Chuxiong Prefecture, 1.67 (IQR: 1.40-1.93) in Xiamen City, 1.75 (IQR: 1.37-2.02) in Jilin Province, and 1.79 (IQR: 1.56-2.02) in Wuhan City. The average Reff of TB in the non-student population was 23.30 times (1.65/0.07) higher than that in the student population. CONCLUSIONS: The transmissibility of MTB remains high in the non-student population of the areas studied, which is still dominant in the spread of TB. TB transmissibility from the non-student-to-student-population had a strong influence on students. Specific interventions, such as TB screening, should be applied rigorously to control and to prevent TB transmission among students.

Study on the interaction between different pathogens of Hand, foot and mouth disease in five regions of China.

Objectives: This study aims to explore the interaction of different pathogens in Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) by using a mathematical epidemiological model and the reported data in five regions of China. Methods: A cross-regional dataset of reported HFMD cases was built from four provinces (Fujian Province, Jiangsu province, Hunan Province, and Jilin Province) and one municipality (Chongqing Municipality) in China. The subtypes of the pathogens of HFMD, including Coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16), enteroviruses A71 (EV-A71), and other enteroviruses (Others), were included in the data. A mathematical model was developed to fit the data. The effective reproduction number (R eff ) was calculated to quantify the transmissibility of the pathogens. Results: In total, 3,336,482 HFMD cases were collected in the five regions. In Fujian Province, the R eff between CV-A16 and EV-A71&CV-A16, and between CV-A16 and CV-A16&Others showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). In Jiangsu Province, there was a significant difference in R eff (P < 0.05) between the CV-A16 and Total. In Hunan Province, the R eff between CV-A16 and EV-A71&CV-A16, between CV-A16 and Total were significant (P < 0.05). In Chongqing Municipality, we found significant differences of the R eff (P < 0.05) between CV-A16 and CV-A16&Others, and between Others and CV-A16&Others. In Jilin Province, significant differences of the R eff (P < 0.05) were found between EV-A71 and Total, and between Others and Total. Conclusion: The major pathogens of HFMD have changed annually, and the incidence of HFMD caused by others and CV-A16 has surpassed that of EV-A71 in recent years. Cross-regional differences were observed in the interactions between the pathogens.

Comparison of epidemiological characteristics and transmissibility of different strains of COVID-19 based on the incidence data of all local outbreaks in China as of March 1, 2022.

Background: The epidemiological characteristics and transmissibility of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) may undergo changes due to the mutation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains. The purpose of this study is to compare the differences in the outbreaks of the different strains with regards to aspects such as epidemiological characteristics, transmissibility, and difficulties in prevention and control. Methods: COVID-19 data from outbreaks of pre-Delta strains, the Delta variant and Omicron variant, were obtained from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Case data were collected from China's direct-reporting system, and the data concerning outbreaks were collected by on-site epidemiological investigators and collated by the authors of this paper. Indicators such as the effective reproduction number (R eff), time-dependent reproduction number (R t), rate of decrease in transmissibility (RDT), and duration from the illness onset date to the diagnosed date (D ID )/reported date (D IR ) were used to compare differences in transmissibility between pre-Delta strains, Delta variants and Omicron variants. Non-parametric tests (namely the Kruskal-Wallis H and Mean-Whitney U tests) were used to compare differences in epidemiological characteristics and transmissibility between outbreaks of different strains. P < 0.05 indicated that the difference was statistically significant. Results: Mainland China has maintained a "dynamic zero-out strategy" since the first case was reported, and clusters of outbreaks have occurred intermittently. The strains causing outbreaks in mainland China have gone through three stages: the outbreak of pre-Delta strains, the outbreak of the Delta variant, and outbreaks involving the superposition of Delta and Omicron variant strains. Each outbreak of pre-Delta strains went through two stages: a rising stage and a falling stage, Each outbreak of the Delta variant and Omicron variant went through three stages: a rising stage, a platform stage and a falling stage. The maximum R eff value of Omicron variant outbreaks was highest (median: 6.7; ranged from 5.3 to 8.0) and the differences were statistically significant. The RDT value of outbreaks involving pre-Delta strains was smallest (median: 91.4%; [IQR]: 87.30-94.27%), and the differences were statistically significant. The D ID and D IR for all strains was mostly in a range of 0-2 days, with more than 75%. The range of duration for outbreaks of pre-Delta strains was the largest (median: 20 days, ranging from 1 to 61 days), and the differences were statistically significant. Conclusion: With the evolution of the virus, the transmissibility of the variants has increased. The transmissibility of the Omicron variant is higher than that of both the pre-Delta strains and the Delta variant, and is more difficult to suppress. These findings provide us with get a more clear and precise picture of the transmissibility of the different variants in the real world, in accordance with the findings of previous studies. R eff is more suitable than R t for assessing the transmissibility of the disease during an epidemic outbreak.

Modeling Cross-Regional Transmission and Assessing the Effectiveness of Restricting Inter-Regional Population Movements in Controlling COVID-19 - Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, China, 2021.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to construct an assessment method for cross-regional transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to provide recommendations for optimizing measures such as interregional population movements. Methods: Taking Xi'an City as the example subject of this study's analysis, a Cross-Regional-Gravitational-Dynamic model was constructed to simulate the epidemic in each district of Xi'an under three scenarios of controlled population movement (Scenario 1: no intensive intervention; Scenario 2: blocking Yanta District on December 18 and blocking the whole region on December 23; and Scenario 3: blocking the whole region on December 23). This study then evaluated the effects of such simulated population control measures. Results: The cumulative number of cases for the three scenarios was 8,901,425, 178, and 474, respectively, and the duration of the epidemic was 175, 18, and 22 days, respectively. The real world prevention and control measures in Xi'an reduced the cumulative number of cases for its outbreak by 99.98% in comparison to the simulated response in Scenario 1; in contrast, the simulated prevention and control strategies set in Scenarios 2 (91.26%) and 3 (76.73%) reduced cases even further than the real world measures used in Xi'an. Discussion: The constructed model can effectively simulate an outbreak across regions. Timely implementation of two-way containment and control measures in areas where spillover is likely to occur is key to stopping cross-regional transmission.

Epidemiological characteristics of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome and its relationship with meteorological factors in Liaoning Province, China.

BACKGROUND: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), one kind of tick-borne acute infectious disease, is caused by a novel bunyavirus. The relationship between meteorological factors and infectious diseases is a hot topic of current research. Liaoning Province has reported a high incidence of SFTS in recent years. However, the epidemiological characteristics of SFTS and its relationship with meteorological factors in the province remain largely unexplored. METHODS: Data on reported SFTS cases were collected from 2011 to 2019. Epidemiological characteristics of SFTS were analyzed. Spearman's correlation test and generalized linear models (GLM) were used to identify the relationship between meteorological factors and the number of SFTS cases. RESULTS: From 2011 to 2019, the incidence showed an overall upward trend in Liaoning Province, with the highest incidence in 2019 (0.35/100,000). The incidence was slightly higher in males (55.9%, 438/783), and there were more SFTS patients in the 60-69 age group (31.29%, 245/783). Dalian City and Dandong City had the largest number of cases of SFTS (87.99%, 689/783). The median duration from the date of illness onset to the date of diagnosis was 8 days [interquartile range (IQR): 4-13 days]. Spearman correlation analysis and GLM showed that the number of SFTS cases was positively correlated with monthly average rainfall (rs = 0.750, P < 0.001; ß = 0.285, P < 0.001), monthly average relative humidity (rs = 0.683, P < 0.001; ß = 0.096, P < 0.001), monthly average temperature (rs = 0.822, P < 0.001; ß = 0.154, P < 0.001), and monthly average ground temperature (rs = 0.810, P < 0.001; ß = 0.134, P < 0.001), while negatively correlated with monthly average air pressure (rs = -0.728, P < 0.001; ß = -0.145, P < 0.001), and monthly average wind speed (rs = -0.272, P < 0.05; ß = -1.048, P < 0.001). By comparing both correlation coefficients and regression coefficients between the number of SFTS cases (dependent variable) and meteorological factors (independent variables), no significant differences were observed when considering immediate cases and cases with lags of 1 to 5 weeks for dependent variables. Based on the forward and backward stepwise GLM regression, the monthly average air pressure, monthly average temperature, monthly average wind speed, and time sequence were selected as relevant influences on the number of SFTS cases. CONCLUSION: The annual incidence of SFTS increased year on year in Liaoning Province. Incidence of SFTS was affected by several meteorological factors, including monthly average air pressure, monthly average temperature, and monthly average wind speed.

Feasibility of Hepatitis C Elimination in China: From Epidemiology, Natural History, and Intervention Perspectives.

Hepatitis C imposes a heavy burden on many countries, including China, where the number of reported cases and the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) increased yearly from 2005 to 2012, with a stable trend after 2012. The geographical distribution of HCV infections varies widely in China, with the northwest and southwest regions and the Henan Province showing a high disease burden. Elderly, men, sexually active people, drug users, migrants, blood transfusion recipients, and renal dialysis patients have become the target populations for hepatitis C prevention and control. It is important to improve the diagnosis rate in high-risk groups and asymptomatic people. Identifying secondary HCV infections, especially in HCV patients co-infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a priority of hepatitis C prevention and control. Enhancing universal access to direct antiviral agents (DAAs) treatment regimens is an effective way to improve the cure rate of HCV infection. For China to contribute to the WHO 2030 global HCV elimination plan, strategic surveillance, management, and treatment program for HCV are needed.

Computing R 0 of dynamic models by a definition-based method.

Objectives: Computing the basic reproduction number (R 0) in deterministic dynamical models is a hot topic and is frequently demanded by researchers in public health. The next-generation methods (NGM) are widely used for such computation, however, the results of NGM are usually not to be the true R 0 but only a threshold quantity with little interpretation. In this paper, a definition-based method (DBM) is proposed to solve such a problem. Methods: Start with the definition of R 0, consider different states that one infected individual may develop into, and take expectations. A comparison with NGM has proceeded. Numerical verification is performed using parameters fitted by data of COVID-19 in Hunan Province. Results: DBM and NGM give identical expressions for single-host models with single-group and interactive R ij of single-host models with multi-groups, while difference arises for models partitioned into subgroups. Numerical verification showed the consistencies and differences between DBM and NGM, which supports the conclusion that R 0 derived by DBM with true epidemiological interpretations are better. Conclusions: DBM is more suitable for single-host models, especially for models partitioned into subgroups. However, for multi-host dynamic models where the true R 0 is failed to define, we may turn to the NGM for the threshold R 0.

Feasibility of Booster Vaccination in High-Risk Populations for Controlling Coronavirus Variants - China, 2021.

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination booster shots are completely necessary for controlling breakthrough infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China. The study aims to estimate effectiveness of booster vaccines for high-risk populations (HRPs). METHODS: A vaccinated Susceptible-Exposed-Symptomatic-Asymptomatic-Recovered/Removed (SEIAR) model was developed to simulate scenarios of effective reproduction number (R eff ) from 4 to 6. Total number of infectious and asymptomatic cases were used to evaluated vaccination effectiveness. RESULTS: Our model showed that we could not prevent outbreaks when covering 80% of HRPs with booster unless R eff =4.0 or the booster vaccine had efficacy against infectivity and susceptibility of more than 90%. The results were consistent when the outcome index was confirmed cases or asymptomatic cases. CONCLUSIONS: An ideal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) booster vaccination strategy for HRPs would be expected to reach the initial goal to control the transmission of the Delta variant in China. Accordingly, the recommendation for the COVID-19 booster vaccine should be implemented in HRPs who are already vaccinated and could prevent transmission to other groups.

Enhanced anti-influenza agents conjugated with anti-inflammatory activity.

Influenza therapy with a single targeted compound is often limited in efficacy due to the rapidly developed drug resistance. Moreover, the uncontrolled virus-induced cytokines could cause the high mortality of human infected by H5N1 avian influenza virus. In this study, we explored the novel dual-targeted bifunctional anti-influenza drugs formed by conjugation with anti-inflammatory agents. In particular, the caffeic acid (CA)-bearing zanamivir (ZA) conjugates ZA-7-CA (1) and ZA-7-CA-amide (7) showed simultaneous inhibition of influenza virus neuraminidase and suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These ZA conjugates provided remarkable protection of cells and mice against influenza infections. Intranasal administration of low dosage (<1.2 µmol/kg/day) of ZA conjugates exhibited much greater effect than the combination therapy with ZA and the anti-inflammatory agents in protection of the lethally infected mice by H1N1 or H5N1 influenza viruses.