Complex Reporting of the COVID-19 Epidemic in the Czech Republic: Use of an Interactive Web-Based App in Practice.

BACKGROUND: The beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic dates back to December 31, 2019, when the first cases were reported in the People's Republic of China. In the Czech Republic, the first three cases of infection with the novel coronavirus were confirmed on March 1, 2020. The joint effort of state authorities and researchers gave rise to a unique team, which combines methodical knowledge of real-world processes with the know-how needed for effective processing, analysis, and online visualization of data. OBJECTIVE: Due to an urgent need for a tool that presents important reports based on valid data sources, a team of government experts and researchers focused on the design and development of a web app intended to provide a regularly updated overview of COVID-19 epidemiology in the Czech Republic to the general population. METHODS: The cross-industry standard process for data mining model was chosen for the complex solution of analytical processing and visualization of data that provides validated information on the COVID-19 epidemic across the Czech Republic. Great emphasis was put on the understanding and a correct implementation of all six steps (business understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modelling, evaluation, and deployment) needed in the process, including the infrastructure of a nationwide information system; the methodological setting of communication channels between all involved stakeholders; and data collection, processing, analysis, validation, and visualization. RESULTS: The web-based overview of the current spread of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic has been developed as an online platform providing a set of outputs in the form of tables, graphs, and maps intended for the general public. On March 12, 2020, the first version of the web portal, containing fourteen overviews divided into five topical sections, was released. The web portal's primary objective is to publish a well-arranged visualization and clear explanation of basic information consisting of the overall numbers of performed tests, confirmed cases of COVID-19, COVID-19-related deaths, the daily and cumulative overviews of people with a positive COVID-19 case, performed tests, location and country of infection of people with a positive COVID-19 case, hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19, and distribution of personal protective equipment. CONCLUSIONS: The online interactive overview of the current spread of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic was launched on March 11, 2020, and has immediately become the primary communication channel employed by the health care sector to present the current situation regarding the COVID-19 epidemic. This complex reporting of the COVID-19 epidemic in the Czech Republic also shows an effective way to interconnect knowledge held by various specialists, such as regional and national methodology experts (who report positive cases of the disease on a daily basis), with knowledge held by developers of central registries, analysts, developers of web apps, and leaders in the health care sector.

Similarity Detection Between Virtual Patients and Medical Curriculum Using R.

This paper presents the domain of information sciences, applied informatics and biomedical engineering, proposing to develop methods for an automated detection of similarities between two particular virtual learning environments - virtual patients at Akutne.cz and the OPTIMED curriculum management system - in order to provide support to clinically oriented stages of medical and healthcare studies. For this purpose, the authors used large amounts of text-based data collected by the system for mapping medical curricula and through the system for virtual patient authoring and delivery. The proposed text-mining algorithm for an automated detection of links between content entities of these systems has been successfully implemented by the means of a web-based toolbox.

Soil burdens of persistent organic pollutants: their levels, fate, and risks. Part iv. Quantification of volatilization fluxes of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls from contaminated soil surfaces.

A volatilization chamber, designed for direct measurements of the soil-air exchange of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was applied for determination of the volatilization fluxes of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). The volatilization fluxes were determined for 13 model compounds at 3-5 concentration levels, for two soil organic carbon contents, and two wind velocities. The flux values were strongly correlated with physicochemical properties of the compounds. The higher fluxes were measured for soils with lower organic carbon contents, for higher contamination, and higher wind velocities. Experimentally derived values were compared to those predicted by the fugacity model. In general, the fugacity model underestimated the volatilization fluxes, especially for the compounds with higher molecular weights, and soils with higher organic carbon contents. It has been demonstrated that variability of the wind velocities as an important parameter for quantification of the soil-air exchange should be better considered in current models. Presented results draw the attention to often overlooked secondary sources of the atmospheric pollution and point out that their impact can be much greater than indicated by the fugacity models.

An assessment of air-soil exchange of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides across central and southern Europe.

Estimating the net flux direction of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides is importantfor understanding the role of soil as a sink or source of these chemicals to the atmosphere. In this study, the soil-air equilibrium status was investigated forvarious soil categories in Central and Southern Europe using an extensive database of coupled soil and time-integrated air samples. Samples were collected from 47 sites over a period of 5 months to assess both site-specific as well as seasonal variations in fugacity fractions, calculated as a potential measure of soil-air exchange. Sampling sites were carefully selected to represent a variety of background, rural, urban, and industrial areas. Special attention was given to sites in the former Yugoslavia, a country affected by recent conflicts, where soils were found to be highly contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Industrial soils from the Czech Republic, heavily polluted as a result of previous pesticide production, were also included in the survey. Soil was found to be a sink for highly chlorinated PCBs and for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT); for dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), the status was closer to equilibrium, with a tendency for net deposition during winter and net volatilization during summer. For lower-molecular-weight PCB congeners, as well as for alpha-HCH, soil tends to be a source of pollution to the air, especially, but not exclusively, during summer. Fugacity fractions were found to decrease during the colder seasons, especially for the more volatile compounds, although in both the war-damaged areas and the heavily contaminated industrial sites, seasonal variability was very low, with fugacity fractions close to 1, indicating strong net soil-to-air transfer for all seasons. The original assumption that residents of the Western Balkans are still exposed to higher levels of PCBs due to the recent wars was confirmed. In general, the soil-air transfer of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides was found to be site-specific and dependent on the physicochemical properties of the contaminant in question, the soil properties, the historical contamination record and a site's vicinity to sources, and the local meteorological conditions.

Experimental studies of environmental processes: A practical course in environmental chemistry.

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: To predict the fate of persistent organic pollutants in the environment, several aspects have to be considered carefully: their basic physical and chemical properties, distribution, transport within and among compartments, biotic and abiotic transformation processes, as well as effects on living organisms including humans. Laboratory simulation of the processes that control the chemical behavior of organic compounds in the environment is often desirable for deeper understanding, as well as for determination of basic characteristics required for successful environmental modeling. However, laboratory exercises targeted on the simulations of environmental processes are very rare. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Practical training was designed as a supplement to the course of Environmental Chemistry. The whole course consists of seven experiments in a logical sequence-partition coefficient (n-octanol-water), Henry's Law Constant, soil sorption, volatilization from soil, bioaccumulation, photochemical degradation and microbial degradation. The objective is to gain knowledge of the principal physical processes, by which chemicals move, concentrate and dissipate, as well as of the principal routes of biotic and abiotic degradation. RESULTS: New practical course reflecting current topics and approaches of environmental chemistry was introduced to M.S. students at Masaryk University in 2004. Detailed description of the course including experimental techniques is provided in this article. DISCUSSION: Lab course employs basic techniques for the study of environmental processes to strengthen links between the theory taught in the lectures of Environmental Chemistry, laboratory simulations, and processes in the real word. CONCLUSIONS: A significant effort towards developing this laboratory exercise was devoted with the goal of providing a context for teaching both fundamental theories and environmental techniques, strengthening the link between the theory and processes in the real world, providing a scientific background for understanding the environmental problems, challenging the students with the experience of simulating the physical, chemical, and biological processes that control contaminant fate and transport in the environment, showing the students importance of the interdisciplinary approach and giving the students a taste of the excitement and challenge of the research in real conditions. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: The laboratory course was taught with a great success, and it became a part of recommended study plans for M.S. students in Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology. Suggested experiments proved to be suitable for simulation of biotic and abiotic transformations, bioaccumulation, as well as distribution and transport processes in a student laboratory with good reproducibility and accuracy. The response of the students was very positive.