Large-scale Spread Research Articles

Limitation of Human Rights and Freedoms amid New Global Challenges (Lessons from the Pandemic)

Globalization has had far-reaching effects on all key spheres of public life, leading to mixed outcomes, both positive and negative. One of the recent global trends is the fast and large-scale spread of viral infections, which has profoundly reshaped the economic landscapes, political environments, and government systems of most states. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, governments worldwide were forced to impose unprecedented restrictions that interfered with fundamental human rights, such as the freedom of movement and speech, to curb the virus spread. It sparked rigorous debate among the academic community and practicing lawyers. This article overviews the measures taken by Russia and other states in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The obtained results highlight the need to legally establish new conceptual frameworks related to disease control, as well as to develop clear legal guidelines on optional and mandatory steps that public authorities should take in order to ensure the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population. Therefore, it was concluded that certain legal provisions must be specified to define the grounds and extent to which the rights and freedoms of citizens can be limited in case of viral epidemics.

Impact of plate-deflected flame on thermal runaway propagation of lithium-ion battery

Ceiling jet fire is a common phenomena in thermal runaway (TR) accidents of electric vehicle and energy storage power station scenarios based on lithium-ion battery, which is a potential risk of inducing large-scale fire spread in battery modules, but it is not been known clearly. This work investigates the influence of ceiling jet fire on TR propagation of lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) battery module by arranging a ceiling-like obstacle directly above the tested module. A series of overheat-induced TR propagation tests under different height (H) of ceiling-like obstacle are conducted to gain better understanding of the heat transfer mechanism. The heat transfer and average heating power of ceiling jet fire to adjacent cells are determined for the first time. Results indicate the TR propagation speed of the module accelerates with the decrease of H, and the TR propagation speed inside the cell is not affected by ceiling jet fire. More importantly, the heat transferred from cell experiencing TR to adjacent cells through ceiling jet fire (Qfl) decreases from 11087.33 J to 7872.02 J, and the ratio of Qfl to the total heat released in TR (ΔEtot) declines from 4.02 % to 2.85 % as H increases from 5 to 15 cm. Finally, the change process of contact thermal resistance between adjacent cells and its relationship with heating power are revealed during TR propagation. This work provides a basic understanding of the influence mechanism of ceiling jet fire on TR propagation, which possess important guidance for the safety protection of lithium-ion battery system.

A Precise Pulmonary Airway Tree Segmentation Method Using Quasi-Spherical Region Constraint and Tracheal Wall Gap Sealing.

Accurate segmentation of the pulmonary airway tree is crucial for diagnosing lung diseases. To tackle the issues of low segmentation accuracy and frequent leaks in existing methods, this paper proposes a precise segmentation method using quasi-spherical region-constrained wavefront propagation with tracheal wall gap sealing. Based on the characteristic that the surface formed by seed points approximates the airway cross-section, the width of the unsegmented airway is calculated, determining the initial quasi-spherical constraint region. Using the wavefront propagation method, seed points are continuously propagated and segmented along the tracheal wall within the quasi-spherical constraint region, thus overcoming the need to determine complex segmentation directions. To seal tracheal wall gaps, a morphological closing operation is utilized to extract the characteristics of small holes and locate low-brightness tracheal wall gaps. By filling the CT values at these gaps, the method seals the tracheal wall gaps. Extensive experiments on the EXACT09 dataset demonstrate that our algorithm ranks third in segmentation completeness. Moreover, its performance in preventing airway leaks is significantly better than the top-two algorithms, effectively preventing large-scale leak-induced spread.

From the concept of threat to the common sense of societal threat: a qualitative inquiry of societal threats’ features / Del concepto de amenaza al significado lego de la amenaza social: un estudio cualitativo de las características de la amenaza social

The word ‘threat’ currently proliferates in the public sphere, which contributes to the large-scale information spread of societal threats of our time. However, the difference of common sense that laypeople attribute to the concepts of ‘threat’, ‘risk’ and ‘danger’ remains unclear. Therefore, this research aims to fill the social psychological knowledge gap and investigate laypeople’s common sense of ‘societal threat’. Participants ( N = 186) were asked to complete the word association task, and their narratives (N = 1,146) were analysed using two complementary research methods: the automatized methods of multidimensional analysis and the classic method of qualitative content analysis. The concept of ‘societal threat’ has been associated most frequently with specific large-scale societal issues that are tainted by uncertainty, and a range of primarily negative feelings and emotions. Additionally, the conceptually and semantically close concepts of ‘risk’ and ‘danger’ have not been associated, on the lexical basis, with the concept of ‘societal threat’. The implications for an improved systemic understanding of actual societal threats’ features and related social psychological applications are discussed.

Evaluating the Knowledge of and Behavior Toward COVID-19 and the Possibility of Isolating at a City Level: Survey Study.

Mass testing campaigns were proposed in France during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to detect and isolate asymptomatic individuals infected by SARS-CoV-2. During mass testing in Saint-Étienne (February 2021), we performed a survey of the general population. We evaluated, on the scale of a city's population, the literacy level about SARS-CoV-2 transmission, barrier gesture respect, and isolation acceptability or possibility in case of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We used the validated CovQuest-CC questionnaire. Data were analyzed and correlated with volunteer characteristics and their SARS-CoV-2 screening results using multivariate analysis. In total, 4707 participants completed the CovQuest-CC questionnaire. Multivariate analysis revealed that female sex was a determinant of a higher score of knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 transmission (adjusted β coefficient=0.14, 95% CI 0.04-0.23; corrected P=.02). Older ages of 50-59 years (adjusted β coefficient=0.25, 95% CI 0.19-0.31; corrected P<.001) and ≥60 years (adjusted β coefficient=0.25, 95% CI 0.15-0.34; corrected P<.001) were determinants of a higher score on barrier gesture respect compared to ages 20-49 years considered as reference. Female sex was also a determinant of a higher score on barrier gesture respect (adjusted β coefficient=0.10, 95% CI 0.02-4.63; corrected P<.001). The knowledge score was correlated with the score on barrier gesture respect measures (adjusted β coefficient=0.03, 95% CI 0.001-0.004; corrected P=.001). Older ages of 50-59 years (adjusted β coefficient=0.21, 95% CI 0.13-0.29; corrected P<.001) and ≥60 years (adjusted β coefficient=0.25, 95% CI 0.1-0.38; corrected P<.001) were determinants of a higher score on isolation acceptability or possibility compared to the age of 20-49 years considered as reference. Finally, the knowledge score regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission was significantly associated with a lower risk of RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) positivity (adjusted odds ratio 0.80,95% CI 0.69-0.94; correctedP<.03), implying that a 1-point increase in the knowledge score lowers the risk of positivity by 20% on average. This study identified factors associated with health literacy regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection in asymptomatic individuals in a large French city's population. We can confirm that in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the determinants of better health literacy are not the same as those in other contexts. It seems critical to obtain a more detailed understanding of the determinants of individual citizens' behavior, as part of a strategy to combat the large-scale spread of the virus. The harsh experience of this pandemic should teach us how to nurture research to structure customized interventions to encourage the adoption of ad hoc behaviors to engage citizens in adapting behaviors more favorable to their health.

Rapid detection of multiple phytoplasmas with an All-In-One Dual (AIOD) CRISPR assay

Phytoplasma can infect thousands of plants and caused huge economic losses around the world. The large-scale spread and serious lethality of phytoplasma prompt the urgent need for sensitive, accurate, visual and rapid detection of these pathogens. Current molecular assays used for detecting phytoplasma are expensive and time consuming. Here, we established a novel All-In-One Dual (AIOD) CRISPR detection platform based on CRISPR/LbCas12a technology for the diagnosis of phytoplasmas. The protocol is simple, requiring one vessel, rapid and sensitive, and the output is visual. Phytoplasmas can be detected after 15 min from leaf harvest with this platform. In the optimized reaction, the concentration of ssDNA-FQ, LbCas12a, crRNA1 and crRNA2 were 1000 nM, 1.6 μM, 0.8 μM and 0.8 μM, respectively. Our AIOD-CRISPR detection system reach the sensitive threshold of 3.37 E+2 copies of phytoplasma DNA per reaction. Field tests indicated the AIOD-CRISPR detection system possessed high specificity and reached the 100% accuracy when compared with PCR detection. In conclusion, the AIOD-CRISPR detection platform is more convenient and efficient than traditional phytoplasma detection methods and possesses great potential in field detection application.

CURRENT STATE AND PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTERING THE IDEOLOGY OF EXTREMISM IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Extremism is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon of a destructive nature that exists in almost all states. The natural nature of extremism is associated with the public reaction to processes affecting society. The complete eradication of extremism seems impossible, and therefore, at present, the most urgent thing is to prevent the large-scale spread of extremist behavior in society, which can create threats to the stable functioning of the state. The purpose of the presented research is to study current issues of countering the spread of the ideology of extremism in the Russian Federation, since it is the presence of an appropriate ideology that determines the dynamic development of this illegal phenomenon. The authors come to the conclusion that currently the ideology of extremism is being transformed under the conditions of a number of factors related to the foreign and domestic policies of the state. As the main directions of countering the spread of this ideology, not only preventive and preventive activities of a direct anti-extremist orientation are highlighted, but also the improvement of the ideological views of the population as a whole is of paramount importance. Attention is focused on the need to develop intolerance among the Russian population towards violent methods of conflict resolution and to demonstrate successful forms of self-realization of people within the legal framework.

Cosmological baryon spread and impact on matter clustering in CAMELS

ABSTRACT We quantify the cosmological spread of baryons relative to their initial neighbouring dark matter distribution using thousands of state-of-the-art simulations from the Cosmology and Astrophysics with MachinE Learning Simulations (CAMELS) project. We show that dark matter particles spread relative to their initial neighbouring distribution owing to chaotic gravitational dynamics on spatial scales comparable to their host dark matter halo. In contrast, gas in hydrodynamic simulations spreads much further from the initial neighbouring dark matter owing to feedback from supernovae (SNe) and active galactic nuclei (AGN). We show that large-scale baryon spread is very sensitive to model implementation details, with the fiducial simba model spreading ∼40 per cent of baryons &amp;gt;1 Mpc away compared to ∼10 per cent for the IllustrisTNG and astrid models. Increasing the efficiency of AGN-driven outflows greatly increases baryon spread while increasing the strength of SNe-driven winds can decrease spreading due to non-linear coupling of stellar and AGN feedback. We compare total matter power spectra between hydrodynamic and paired N-body simulations and demonstrate that the baryonic spread metric broadly captures the global impact of feedback on matter clustering over variations of cosmological and astrophysical parameters, initial conditions, and (to a lesser extent) galaxy formation models. Using symbolic regression, we find a function that reproduces the suppression of power by feedback as a function of wave number (k) and baryonic spread up to $k \sim 10\, h$ Mpc−1 in SIMBA while highlighting the challenge of developing models robust to variations in galaxy formation physics implementation.

Comparison of Different Models to Simulate Forest Fire Spread: A Case Study

With the development of computer technology, forest fire spread simulation using computers has gradually developed. According to the existing research on forest fire spread, the models established in various countries have typical regional characteristics. A fire spread model established in a specific region is only suitable for the local area, and there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to whether or not the established model is suitable for fire spread simulation for the same fuel in other regions. Although many fire spread models have been established, the fuel characteristics applicable to each model, such as the fuel loading, fuel moisture content, combustibility, etc., are not similar. It is necessary to evaluate the applicability of different fuel characteristics to different fire spread models. We combined ground investigation, historical data collection, model improvements, and statistical analysis to establish a multi-model forest fire spread simulation method (FIRER) that shows the burning time, perimeter, burning area, overlap area, and spread rate of fire sites. This method is a large-scale, high-resolution fire growth model based on fire spread in eight directions on a regular 30 m grid. This method could use any one of four different physical models (McArthur, Rothermel, FBP, and Wang Zhengfei (China)) for fire behavior. This method has an option to represent fire breaks from roads, rivers, and fire suppression. We can evaluate which model is more suitable in a specific area. This method was tested on a single historical lightning fire in the Daxing’an Mountains. Different scenarios were tested and compared: using each of the four fire behavior models, with fire breaks on or off, and with a single or suspected double fire ignition location of the historical fire. The results show that the Rothermel model is the best model in the simulation of the Hanma lightning fire; the overlap area is 5694.4 hm2. Meanwhile, the real fire area in FIRER is 5800.9 hm2; both the Kappa and Sørensen values exceed 0.8, providing high accuracy in fire spread simulations. FIRER performs well in the automatic identification of fire break zones and multiple ignited points. Compared with FARSITE, FIRER performs well in predicting accuracy. Compared with BehavePlus, FIRER also has advantages in simulating large-scale fire spread. However, the complex data preparation stage of FIRER means that FIRER still has great room for improvement. This research provides a practical basis for the comparison of the practicability and applicability of various fire spread models and provides more effective practical tools and a scientific basis for decision-making and the management of fighting forest fires.

Искусственный интеллект против ученого в вопросе о сохранении баланса между правом на информацию и необходимостью защиты персональных данных от незаконного использования

This article reflects the results of a scientific experiment caused by a discussion about the possibility of replacing scientists with neural networks. The development of digital technologies today raises many controversial issues in science and legal practice. One of the most popular is the question of how to ensure human protection in the context of the transformation of inviolable rights and freedoms: information, privacy and inviolability. The large-scale spread of new technologies poses many questions to the regulator, one of which is the question of finding a balance between the right to information and the need to ensure the protection of personal data in a dynamic and constantly evolving Internet environment. Such a choice is faced by the legislator due to the fact that the spread of innovations involves constant work with personal data, accelerating their exchange, storage and protection. The introduction of digital technologies is beneficial for the development of public services, interaction and control, which ultimately leads to increased efficiency and accelerated information exchange for citizens and legal entities. Taking into account the progressive development of artificial intelligence technologies, it was quite interesting to conduct an experiment comparing the answers to the question of maintaining a balance between the right to information and the need to protect personal data given by scientists and artificial intelligence, in particular, the YandexGPT2 neural network. The responses of the neural network are analyzed for compliance with the main criteria of scientific work: reliability, objectivity and novelty, and are evaluated in comparison with the response of the authors of the scientific article.

Genetic and Evolutionary Analysis of Porcine Deltacoronavirus in Guangxi Province, Southern China, from 2020 to 2023.

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) has shown large-scale global spread since its discovery in Hong Kong in 2012. In this study, a total of 4897 diarrheal fecal samples were collected from the Guangxi province of China from 2020 to 2023 and tested using RT-qPCR. In total, 362 (362/4897, 7.39%) of samples were positive for PDCoV. The S, M, and N gene sequences were obtained from 34 positive samples after amplification and sequencing. These PDCoV gene sequences, together with other PDCoV S gene reference sequences from China and other countries, were analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Chinese PDCoV strains have diverged in recent years. Bayesian analysis revealed that the new China 1.3 lineage began to diverge in 2012. Comparing the amino acids of the China 1.3 lineage with those of other lineages, the China 1.3 lineage showed variations of mutations, deletions, and insertions, and some variations demonstrated the same as or similar to those of the China 1.2 lineage. In addition, recombination analysis revealed interlineage recombination in CHGX-MT505459-2019 and CHGX-MT505449-2017 strains from Guangxi province. In summary, the results provide new information on the prevalence and evolution of PDCoV in Guangxi province in southern China, which will facilitate better comprehension and prevention of PDCoV.

A label-free H1N1 influenza virus immunosensor based on an N-LIG/Au laser induced graphene microelectrode.

A label-free immunosensor based on an N-doped laser direct graphene (N-LIG)/Au electrode was proposed for H1N1 influenza virus detection. By utilizing the instantaneous high temperature of laser irradiation, N atoms are generated by the decomposition of melamine dripped onto the surface of an LIG electrode to obtain N-LIG with higher conductivity. The doping of N atoms provides a large number of active sites for LIG microelectrodes. Combined with the electrodeposition of Au NPs, and covalently crosslinking antibodies, a simple, highly sensitive and stable immunosensing interface is constructed. The proposed H1N1 influenza virus immunosensor has a detection range of 0.01 fg mL-1 to 10 ng mL-1 with a detection limit as low as 0.004 fg mL-1. The constructed sensor has ultra-high sensitivity and good selectivity and can be used for complex biological sample analysis, with potential application prospects in preventing the large-scale spread of influenza. Taking advantage of N-LIG electrode's properties will provide opportunities for developing portable electrochemical biosensors for health and environmental applications.

JN.1: enhanced immune evasion ability propels it to become the predominant strain in China, unlikely to trigger pandemic similar to late 2022.

Due to the widespread presence of susceptible populations, the pandemic caused by BA.5 subbranches swiftly disseminated China, impacting the majority of individuals within a span of 1 to 2 months. Subsequently, XBB and its subbranches became the dominant variants in China. We tracked the immune landscape in the population after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in late 2022 in China. Our findings suggested that low levels of neutralizing antibodies against BA.5 subbranches before the pandemic might have contributed to the national outbreak at the end of 2022. The widespread breakthrough infections subsequently increased immunity to BA.5, XBB.1.5/1.9.1, and JN.1, inhibiting a new wave of large-scale infections caused by XBB subbranches in China. Additionally, JN.1 demonstrated enhanced immune evasion capabilities; however, Chinese residents had comparable levels of neutralizing antibodies against JN.1 as those observed for XBB.1.5 among confirmed cases at the end of 2022. We anticipate that JN.1 will replace XBB subbranches as the predominant epidemic variant in subsequent transmissions within China. However, it is unlikely to cause a large-scale spread comparable to that witnessed at the end of 2022, with transmission patterns potentially resembling those observed for XBB post-pandemic.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ НАВЫКОВ РАБОЧЕЙ СИЛЫ ДЛЯ РАЗВИТИЯ УСТОЙЧИВОЙ ЭНЕРГЕТИКИ

The article is devoted to the problems of formation of technical skills of the workforce necessary for the development and large-scale spread of sustainable energy. The article discusses the current problems of the labor market in the sustainable energy sector, as well as innovative approaches to adult education. The paper proposes a model of a target program for professional development of employees in the sustainable energy sector. The proposed model is based on the use of various methods of blended learning in the context of employees acquiring practical skills necessary to work in the sustainable energy sector. The developed target program can be an important source of extra-budgetary financing for domestic educational organizations in the corporate training segment. At the same time, educational organizations will be able to form their own knowledge base in the field of sustainable energy

COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on health expenditure

Objective: The large-scale spread of &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; has led to a burden on the national healthcare financial system. This study assessed the medical cost of &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; hospitalizations and its effect on national health expenditures in Korea and investigated the factors that affected the cost of hospitalization for &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; patients.Methods: A total of 23,812 &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; patients were reported as of September 30, 2020. 18,854 cases of &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; hospitalization were claimed by The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service with a total of 14,283 inpatients.Results: From January to September 2020, the total cost of treatment for hospitalized &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; patients in Korea was 79,277,000 USD. The mean cost per case was 4,284 USD (IQR, 649-5,257). Medical costs were high in the elderly, those with severe symptoms, medical aid beneficiaries, and those who died during treatment. The mean length of hospital stay of &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; patients was 17.3 days (IQR 9-23) and was high in women, the elderly, medical aid beneficiaries, and patients in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk provinces. The differences in medical costs between sex, age, insurance, region, treatment result, and length of stay groups according to severity were significant for all variables. Moreover, the mean costs per case and per day were higher in medical aid beneficiaries than those subscribed to health insurance (P&lt;.05).Conclusion: In Korea, the medical cost for treatment of &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; patients was low compared to that of other countries, as well as the treatment cost for the H1N1 influenza in Korea. Factors affecting the medical cost of &lt;i&gt;COVID-19&lt;/i&gt; treatment included age, severity, type of insurance, and treatment results. Additional follow-up studies that also include the cost of screening and quarantine in the analysis of medical costs are necessary.

Iranian Nurses’ Behavioral Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Background: The large-scale spread of COVID-19 affected communities with many deaths worldwide causing significant concerns. Due to being on the front line of fighting against this disease, a great number of healthcare providers lost their lives. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the changes in nurses’ behavior and practice while taking care of COVID-19 patients. Methods: The present study was conducted using a qualitative conventional content analysis approach in 2020-2021. The participants were 14 nurses taking care of COVID-19 patients in the infectious diseases wards of a teaching hospital affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences. The data were collected through interviews with the nurses, and data collection continued until data saturation. The collected data were analyzed based on the steps proposed by Graneheim and Lundman. After recording and transcribing the interviews, the participants’ statements were categorized into semantic units. Data analysis was performed using MAXQDA-10 software. Results: The majority of nurses reported significant behavioral changes that were categorized into five main themes including intensification of protective measures and increase in concentration, emergence of mental and psychological symptoms, increase in the sense of responsibility towards the family, recourse to prayer and religious rituals, and increased empathy with patients. Conclusion: According to the research findings providing material and spiritual incentives as well as support to personnel to increase their motivation and work productivity should be taken into consideration by officials during epidemics. Moreover, actions such as providing free psychological counseling are suggested to calm the personnel.

Gray mold and anthracnose disease detection on strawberry leaves using hyperspectral imaging

BackgroundGray mold and anthracnose are the main factors affecting strawberry quality and yield. Accurate and rapid early disease identification is of great significance to achieve precise targeted spraying to avoid large-scale spread of diseases and improve strawberry yield and quality. However, the characteristics between early disease infected and healthy leaves are very similar, making the early identification of strawberry gray mold and anthracnose still a challenge.ResultsBased on hyperspectral imaging technology, this study explored the potential of combining spectral fingerprint features and vegetation indices (VIs) for early detection (24-h infected) of strawberry leaves diseases. The competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) algorithm and ReliefF algorithm were used for the extraction of spectral fingerprint features and VIs, respectively. Three machine learning models, Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF), were developed for the early identification of strawberry gray mold and anthracnose, using spectral fingerprint, VIs and their combined features as inputs respectively. The results showed that the combination of spectral fingerprint features and VIs had better recognition accuracy compared with individual features as inputs, and the accuracies of the three classifiers (BPNN, SVM and RF) were 97.78%, 94.44%, and 93.33%, respectively, which indicate that the fusion features approach proposed in this study can effectively improve the early detection performance of strawberry leaves diseases.ConclusionsThis study provided an accurate, rapid, and nondestructive recognition of strawberry gray mold and anthracnose disease in early stage.

Development of a novel molecular tool to study molecular ecology of Ornithomya (Hippoboscidae) avian louse flies

Louse flies (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites of birds and mammals. These widely distributed parasitic flies may have a significant impact on wild and farm animals by feeding on their blood and transmitting bloodborne pathogens. However, despite their ecological importance, louse flies are clearly underrepresented in host-parasite research and implementation of genetic approaches in this group is generally hampered by lacking molecular tools. In addition, louse flies that parasitize long-distance migrants can travel long distances with their avian hosts, facilitating the large-scale spread of pathogens across landscapes and geographic regions. Given the wide diversity of louse flies that parasitize a variety of avian hosts, their direct negative impact on host survival, and their high potential to transmit bloodborne pathogens even along avian migration routes, it is surprising that our knowledge of louse fly ecology is rather modest and incomplete. Here, we aimed to develop a novel molecular tool for polyxenous avian louse flies from the genus Ornithomya, which are among the most common and widely distributed representatives of Hippoboscidae family, to improve research of their genetic population structure and molecular ecology.Using the Illumina Mi-seq sequencing, we conducted a genome-wide scan in Ornithomya avicularia to identify putative microsatellite markers. A panel of 26 markers was selected to develop amplification protocols and assess polymorphism in the Central European population of O. avicularia, as well as to test for cross-amplification in a congeneric species (O. chloropus).A genome-scan in O. avicularia identified over 12 thousand putative microsatellite markers. Among 26 markers selected for a population-wide screening; one did not amplify successfully and three were monomorphic. 22 markers were polymorphic with at least two alleles detected. Two markers showed presence of null alleles. A cross-amplification of microsatellite markers in O. chloropus revealed allelic polymorphism at 14 loci, with the mean allelic richness of 3.78 alleles per locus (range: 2–8).Our genome-wide scan in O. avicularia provides a novel and powerful tool for molecular research in Ornithomya louse flies. Our panel of polymorphic microsatellite loci should allow genotyping of louse flies from geographically distinct populations and from a wide spectrum of avian hosts, enhancing population genetic and phylogeographic research in Ornithomya.

Effects of psoriasis and psoralen exposure on the somatic mutation landscape of the skin

Somatic mutations are hypothesized to play a role in many non-neoplastic diseases. We performed whole-exome sequencing of 1,182 microbiopsies dissected from lesional and nonlesional epidermis from 111 patients with psoriasis to search for evidence that somatic mutations in keratinocytes may influence the disease process. Lesional skin remained highly polyclonal, showing no evidence of large-scale spread of clones carrying potentially pathogenic mutations. The mutation rate of keratinocytes was similarly only modestly affected by the disease. We found evidence of positive selection in previously reported driver genes NOTCH1, NOTCH2, TP53, FAT1 and PPM1D and also identified mutations in four genes (GXYLT1, CHEK2, ZFP36L2 and EEF1A1) that we hypothesize are selected for in squamous epithelium irrespective of disease status. Finally, we describe a mutational signature of psoralens—a class of chemicals previously found in some sunscreens and which are used as part of PUVA (psoralens and ultraviolet-A) photochemotherapy treatment for psoriasis.

Melt-flowing of expanded polystyrene in large-scale discrete flame spread

Large-scale experiments were performed to investigate the influence of the melting flow of thermoplastic materials on discrete downward flame spread in façade fires. Expanded polystyrene, one of the flammable insulation materials broadly used in buildings, was selected as the study object. The fuel coverage (f = hfuel/(hfuel + hb)) was adjusted via barrier heights (hb = 30, 50, 70, and 90 cm) to explore its impact on flame propagation and heat release rate. The discrete flame spread process with burning flows was clarified into five stages, and the critical fuel coverage for preventing flame spread was found to be 0.40–0.46. The heat release rate of the entire burning process was measured, revealing that fuel coverage significantly impacted the HRR curve shape and peak value by influencing the formation time of pool fires above and below the barrier. Additionally, the properties of burning flows were characterised by area and HRR. A proportional relationship was established between the pool fire height and spill fire area. This research provides a novel observation of melting flows developed from burning thermoplastic material and uncovers the influence of melting flows on flame propagation in façade fires.