Surveillance Region Research Articles

Geographic-Region Monitoring by Drones in Adversarial Environments

We consider surveillance of a geographic region by a collaborative system of drones. The drones assist each other in identifying and managing activities of interest on the ground. We also consider an adversary who can create both genuine and fake activities on the ground. The objective of the adversary is to use fake activities to maximize the response time to genuine activities. We present two collaboration algorithms and analyze their response times, as well as the adversary’s efforts in terms of the number of fake activities required to achieve a certain response time.

Prevalence of goitre and iodine deficiency among school children (6-12 years) in rural areas of North Karnataka, India: A cross-sectional survey, 2016-19.

Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) have remained an unresolved public health problem in India. In this survey, we have estimated the prevalence of IDD among 6-12 years of school children in rural areas of north Karnataka, India and estimated the prevalence of low iodine content (<15 ppm) in salt at the household level and urine iodine excretion in this population. In this cross-sectional survey, we recruited 16,827 children between 6 and 12 years of age through multistage sampling from six districts. Goitre was examined clinically for all children. Household-level salt iodine estimation and urinary iodine estimation were carried out among a subset of the participants. Overall prevalence of goitre was 17.1% (95% CI: 16.5, 17.7). Out of this, 76.7% (n = 2116) had Grade-1 goitre, and 23.7% (n = 656) had Grade-2 goitre. The prevalence of goitre was higher among females (17.9%, vs. male 16.4%, P < 0.05). The prevalence of low iodine content (<15 ppm) in salt was 48.5% (95%CI: 46.7, 50.3). The overall median iodine excretion in urine was 85 μg/L (IQR: 60-150 μg/L). In total, 37.2% (n = 601) had mild iodine deficiency, 5.2% (n = 84) had moderate deficiency, and 10.1% (n = 163) had severe deficiency. All parameters showed high inter- and intradistrict variations. North Karnataka has a high goitre prevalence. Low use of iodized salt can be a major reason for the high prevalence of the condition. Ensuring the availability of iodized salt in this region and periodic surveillance to measure the impact of the programme should be the priority in this region.

Using spatiotemporal stacks for precise vehicle tracking from roadside 3D LiDAR data

This paper develops a non-model based vehicle tracking methodology for extracting road user trajectories as they pass through the field of view of a 3D LiDAR sensor mounted on the side of the road. To minimize the errors, our work breaks from conventional practice and postpones target segmentation until after collecting LiDAR returns over many scans. Specifically, our method excludes all non-vehicle returns in each scan and retains the ungrouped vehicle returns. These vehicle returns are stored over time in a spatiotemporal stack (ST stack) and we develop a vehicle motion estimation framework to cluster the returns from the ST stack into distinct vehicles and extract their trajectories. This processing includes removing the impacts of the target's changing orientation relative to the LiDAR sensor while separately taking care to preserve the crisp transition to/from a stop that would normally be washed out by conventional data smoothing or filtering. This proof of concept study develops the methodology using a single LiDAR sensor, thus, limiting the surveillance region to the effective range of the given sensor. It should be clear from the presentation that, provided sufficient georeferencing, the surveillance region can be extended indefinitely by deploying multiple LiDAR sensors with overlapping fields of view.

Metagenomic surveillance uncovers diverse and novel viral taxa in febrile patients from Nigeria

Effective infectious disease surveillance in high-risk regions is critical for clinical care and pandemic preemption; however, few clinical diagnostics are available for the wide range of potential human pathogens. Here, we conduct unbiased metagenomic sequencing of 593 samples from febrile Nigerian patients collected in three settings: i) population-level surveillance of individuals presenting with symptoms consistent with Lassa Fever (LF); ii) real-time investigations of outbreaks with suspected infectious etiologies; and iii) undiagnosed clinically challenging cases. We identify 13 distinct viruses, including the second and third documented cases of human blood-associated dicistrovirus, and a highly divergent, unclassified dicistrovirus that we name human blood-associated dicistrovirus 2. We show that pegivirus C is a common co-infection in individuals with LF and is associated with lower Lassa viral loads and favorable outcomes. We help uncover the causes of three outbreaks as yellow fever virus, monkeypox virus, and a noninfectious cause, the latter ultimately determined to be pesticide poisoning. We demonstrate that a local, Nigerian-driven metagenomics response to complex public health scenarios generates accurate, real-time differential diagnoses, yielding insights that inform policy.

Search task oriented path planning method of airborne radar network

Reasonable planning the trajectory of the airborne radar network can decrease its repeated surveillance region, and improve the search efficiency. To complete a wider range of reconnaissance searches within a certain time, a search task oriented path optimization method of airborne radar network is proposed. Firstly, the single-platform search range by combing the radar equation is characterized, and the multi-radar area coverage function based on the rasterization idea is calculated. A trajectory optimization model with the goal of maximizing the search coverage function is constructed, by combining with the motion constraints of each node and adopting an intelligent method. Simulation results show that the present method can obtain higher search coverage within specified time.

Epidemiological and spatiotemporal analysis of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in Eastern China, 2011–2021

BackgroundSevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease, which is caused by severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) with high fatality. Recently, the incidence of SFTS increased obviously in Jiangsu Province. However, the systematic and complete analysis of spatiotemporal patterns and clusters coupled with epidemiological characteristics of SFTS have not been reported so far.MethodsData on SFTS cases were collected during 2011–2021. The changing epidemiological characteristics of SFTS were analyzed by adopting descriptive statistical methods. GeoDa 1.18 was applied for spatial autocorrelation analysis, and SaTScan 10.0 was used to identify spatio-temporal clustering of cases. The results were visualized in ArcMap.ResultsThe annual incidence of SFTS increased in Jiangsu Province from 2011 to 2021. Most cases (72.4%) occurred during May and August with the obvious peak months. Elderly farmers accounted for most cases, among which both males and females were susceptible. The spatial autocorrelation and spatio-temporal clustering analysis indicated that the distribution of SFTS was not random but clustered in space and time. The most likely cluster was observed in the western region of Jiangsu Province and covered one county (Xuyi county) (Relative risk = 8.18, Log likelihood ratio = 122.645, P < 0.001) located in southwestern Jiangsu Province from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021. The Secondary cluster also covered one county (Lishui county) (Relative risk = 7.70, Log likelihood ratio = 94.938, P < 0.001) from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021.ConclusionsThe annual number of SFTS cases showed an increasing tendency in Jiangsu Province from 2011 to 2021. Our study elucidated regions with SFTS clusters by means of ArcGIS in combination with spatial analysis. The results demonstrated solid evidences for the orientation of limited sanitary resources, surveillance in high-risk regions and early warning of epidemic seasons in future prevention and control of SFTS in Jiangsu Province.

Development and application of crude sap-based recombinase polymerase amplification assay for the detection and occurrence of grapevine geminivirus A in Indian grapevine cultivars.

Geminiviruses are known to infect several fields and horticultural crops around the globe. Grapevine geminivirus A (GGVA) was reported in the United States in 2017, and since then, it has been reported in several countries. The complete genome recovered through high-throughput sequencing (HTS)-based virome analysis in Indian grapevine cultivars had all of the six open reading frames (ORFs) and a conserved nonanucleotide sequence 5'-TAATATTAC-3' similar to all other geminiviruses. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), an isothermal amplification technique, was developed for the detection of GGVA in grapevine samples employing crude sap lysed in 0.5 M NaOH solution and compared with purified DNA/cDNA as a template. One of the key advantages of this assay is that it does not require any purification or isolation of the viral DNA and can be performed in a wide range of temperatures (18°C-46°C) and periods (10-40 min), which makes it a rapid and cost-effective method for the detection of GGVA in grapevine. The developed assay has a sensitivity up to 0.1 fg μl-1 using crude plant sap as a template and detected GGVA in several grapevine cultivars of a major grapevine-growing area. Because of its simplicity and rapidity, it can be replicated for other DNA viruses infecting grapevine and will be a very useful technique for certification and surveillance in different grapevine-growing regions of the country.

A Generic and Scalable Approach to Maximize Coverage in Diverse Indoor and Outdoor Multicamera Surveillance Scenarios

Efficient deployment of cameras optimizes the costs and benefits in a multicamera surveillance network. Most camera placement algorithms are developed for surveillance regions with predefined camera locations, where optimal orientation for every given camera location is determined to maximize coverage. The existing approaches to optimizing the number of cameras, locations, and orientations focus on specific scenarios and are neither generic nor scalable across diverse surveillance scenarios. This article proposes a generic and scalable reward penalty score (RPS) algorithm for optimal camera placement in diverse indoor and outdoor scenarios to efficiently attain a specified coverage requirement. The camera placement decision is driven by maximizing total coverage over the surveillance region with a minimum number of cameras at optimal locations and orientations. Based on the RPS algorithm, we extend the existing Greedy grid voting (GGV) algorithm that was limited to optimizing camera orientations for predefined locations. The extended GGV (EGGV) algorithm is broader in scope and optimizes the number of cameras, their locations, and orientations. Overall, the RPS algorithm produces superior coverage results over indoor and outdoor scenarios compared to the existing camera placement algorithms on map images of diverse surveillance scenarios ranging from small to large.

Advocating for Coccidioidomycosis to Be a Reportable Disease Nationwide in the United States and Encouraging Disease Surveillance across North and South America.

Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) has been a known health threat in the United States (US) since the 1930s, though not all states are currently required to report disease cases. Texas, one of the non-reporting states, is an example of where both historical and contemporary scientific evidence define the region as endemic, but we don't know disease incidence in the state. Mandating coccidioidomycosis as a reportable disease across more US states would increase disease awareness, improve clinical outcomes, and help antifungal drug and vaccine development. It would also increase our understanding of where the disease is endemic and the relationships between environmental conditions and disease cases. This is true for other nations in North and South America that are also likely endemic for coccidioidomycosis, especially Mexico. This commentary advocates for US state and territory epidemiologists to define coccidioidomycosis as a reportable disease and encourages disease surveillance in other endemic regions across North and South America in order to protect human health and reduce disease burden.

ST-Net: Scattering Topology Network for Aircraft Classification in High-Resolution SAR Images

Aircraft classification in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images plays a considerable role in global region management and surveillance. Recently, deep learning has been applied to solve the classification problem and made significant progress. Due to the imaging variability at different angles and component scattering discreteness in SAR images, previous works have had difficulty in achieving desirable classification results. To address these issues, we study the positional and semantic relationship between the scattering points and propose an innovative scattering topology network (ST-Net) in this article. First, considering the diversity of imaging results caused by different target attitude angles, we extract and transform the scattering cluster centers to update the information of various categories. It can guide the model to strengthen the discriminative features and mitigate the impact of imaging variability on classification performance. Second, a novel scattering topology module (STM) is introduced to model the spatial relationships and semantic information interaction of discrete scattering points. In this process, the topology relations and scattering characteristics are enhanced for further accurate classification. Third, context attention excitation (CAE) is designed to capture significant global and semantic information, which is conducive to suppressing background interference and reducing category confusion. In conclusion, the ST-Net is presented with the SAR imaging mechanism and the topology geometric representation of aircraft. We construct the SAR aircraft category dataset (SAR-ACD) and conduct extensive experiments on it to show the effectiveness of ST-Net, which illustrates that our method achieves superior classification performance.

Tracking an Underwater Target in a Large Surveillance Region With Sensor Location Uncertainty

Tracking an Underwater Target in a Large Surveillance Region With Sensor Location Uncertainty

Beam Scheduling for Early Warning With Distributed MIMO Radars

Distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radars achieve long-range detection by steering and focusing the narrow beams of all transmit and receive antennas on a single point. This paper proposes a beam scheduling scheme based on the joint optimization of three components: arrangement of focal points, beam dwell time allocation of each focal point, and scanning order of focal points. The purpose is to enable distributed MIMO radars to provide early warning of incursions entering a broad surveillance region. To this end, a mathematical model is first developed to evaluate radar detection capability in a cell under test (CUT) over a scheduling period. By integrating all the CUTs within the region, the detection time required to reach a specified performance in terms of cumulative detection probability is then derived. On this basis, a beam scheduling strategy is devised, considering the maximum speed and minimum average radar cross-section constraints of targets to be detected. The main mechanism of the strategy is to minimize the detection time without sacrificing performance. To address the optimization problem of beam scheduling, we propose a two-stage method using a detection capability threshold as an extra optimization variable. In our method, the first stage is used to obtain optimal schemes for different given thresholds, and in the next stage, the optimal threshold is determined from these schemes. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is effective.

UAV Trajectory Optimization for Joint Relay Communication and Image Surveillance

This work examines the use of image surveillance UAVs for relay communication between ground users and a remote base station (BS). UAVs take aerial images of the surveillance region and forward them to the BS while serving the uplink transmission demands of ground users. We first consider the single-UAV scenario and jointly determine the UAV’s trajectory, task assignment, user association, and rate allocation by maximizing the sum-log-throughput of the users subject to constraints on the surveillance coverage, image transmission requirements, and relay capacity. The resulting mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem is solved by an inexact block coordinate descent (BCD) algorithm where we inherit ideas from the exact penalty method for mathematical programming with equilibrium constraints to relax the integer constraints and the successive convex approximation approach to address the non-convexity of the trajectory optimization problem. Then, we extend the proposed framework to the case with multiple UAVs that are dispatched to cover a wide surveillance region. The UAVs may complete both relay and surveillance tasks more efficiently through cooperation and proper task allocation for UAVs. A similar BCD algorithm is adopted to solve the problem. Numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme over several baseline methods.

Spatiotemporal analysis of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in Shandong Province, China, 2014–2018

BackgroundDue to recent emergence, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is becoming one of the major public health problems in Shandong Province, China. The numbers of reported SFTS cases in general and the area with reported SFTS cases are both continuously increasing in recent years. However, spatiotemporal patterns and clusters of SFTS in Shandong Province have not been investigated yet.MethodsThe surveillance data of SFTS in Shandong Province, China, during 2014–2018 were extracted from China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention (CISDCP). Geoda software was used to explore spatial autocorrelation analysis, and Satscan software was used to identify spatio-temporal clustering of cases. The results were presented in ArcMap.ResultsThe annual average incidence was 0.567/100,000 in Shandong Province during 2014–2018. Results showed that the distribution of SFTS was not random but clustered in space and time. A most likely cluster including 15 counties was observed in the northeastern region of Shandong Province from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 (Relative risk = 5.13, Log likelihood ratio = 361.266, P < 0.001).ConclusionsThe number of SFTS cases in Shandong Province increased overall. Geographic information system analysis coupled with spatial analysis illustrated regions with SFTS clusters. Our results provide a sound evidence base for future prevention and control programs of SFTS such as allocation of the health resources, surveillance in high-risk regions, health education, improvement of diagnosis and so on.

MONKEY POX: A DETAILED STUDY

A zoonotic orthopoxvirus called human monkey pox has symptoms that resemble smallpox. It is challenging to clinically distinguish the condition from varicella and smallpox. The identification and surveillance of diseases rely heavily on laboratory diagnostics, and novel tests are required for a quicker and more accurate diagnosis. The bulk of human infections occur in Central Africa, where surveillance in underdeveloped rural regions can be challenging but is possible with the help of technologies that are evidence-based and materials that teach public health professionals about key concepts. Now that smallpox immunization is not a common practice, epidemiological studies are required. For the treatment and averting monkey pox, new medications and vaccines provide hope. They need more study before they can be used in an endemic environment, though. To better understand and prevent human infections, there is a need for additional research into the biology, ecology, and epidemiology of the virus in endemic areas. The research shows smallpox symptoms and signs are similar to those of human monkey pox. The virus that causes monkey pox can alter the genetic makeup of the virus, ecological changes, and host behaviour, raising concerns that it may evolve into a more dangerous illness in humans. Humans can contract the virus by being bitten by an infected animal, coming into contact with its blood, body fluids, or fur, or by petting infected animals. Meat that has been inadequately processed from a sick animal may be contagious. Humans can catch the virus by touching an infected person's skin blisters or scabs, coming into contact with cough droplets, or by using bedding, clothing, or towels that have been worn by someone who has a rash. Moreover, experts believe sexual contact can also spread the infection.

Phylodynamics of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Circulating in Indonesian Poultry.

After its first detection in 1996, the highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5Nx) virus has spread extensively worldwide. HPAIv A(H5N1) was first detected in Indonesia in 2003 and has been endemic in poultry in this country ever since. However, Indonesia has limited information related to the phylodynamics of HPAIv A(H5N1) in poultry. The present study aimed to increase the understanding of the evolution and temporal dynamics of HPAIv H5N1 in Indonesian poultry between 2003 and 2016. To this end, HPAIv A(H5N1) hemagglutinin sequences of viruses collected from 2003 to 2016 were analyzed using Bayesian evolutionary analysis sampling trees. Results indicated that the common ancestor of Indonesian poultry HPAIv H5N1 arose approximately five years after the common ancestor worldwide of HPAI A(H5Nx). In addition, this study indicated that only two introductions of HPAIv A(H5N1) occurred, after which these viruses continued to evolve due to extensive spread among poultry. Furthermore, this study revealed the divergence of H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1c from H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1b. Both clades 2.3.2.1c and 2.3.2.1b share a common ancestor, clade 1, suggesting that clade 2.3.2.1 originated and diverged from China and other Asian countries. Since there was limited sequence and surveillance data for the HPAIv A(H5N1) from wild birds in Indonesia, the exact role of wild birds in the spread of HPAIv in Indonesia is currently unknown. The evolutionary dynamics of the Indonesian HPAIv A(H5N1) highlight the importance of continuing and improved genomic surveillance and adequate control measures in the different regions of both the poultry and wild birds. Spatial genomic surveillance is useful to take adequate control measures. Therefore, it will help to prevent the future evolution of HPAI A(H5N1) and pandemic threats.

Rapid Spread in Japan of Unusual G9P[8] Human Rotavirus Strains Possessing NSP4 Genes of E2 Genotype.

The emergence of unusual G9P[8]-E2 human rotaviruses in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan, in 2018 has been reported. During rotavirus strain surveillance in different regions of Japan (Mie, Okayama, and Chiba prefectures), G9P[8]-E2 strains were detected in children with diarrhea from all three prefectures. Here, we characterized the whole genome of seven representative G9P[8]-E2 strains. In the full-genome-based analysis, the seven study strains exhibited a unique genotype configuration with the NSP4 gene of genogroup 2 in a genogroup 1 genomic backbone: G9-P[8]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A1-N1-T1-E2-H1. This genotype constellation was shared by the Tokyo G9P[8]-E2 strains. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all 11 genes, except NSP4, of the seven study strains appeared to have originated from co-circulating Wa-like G9P[8]-E1 strains. In contrast, NSP4 appeared to have originated from the co-circulating DS-1-like G2P[4]-E2 strains. Thus, G9P[8]-E2 strains appear to be derived through reassortment between G9P[8]-E1 and G2P[4]-E2 strains in Japan. Notably, the seven study G9P[8]-E2 strains and Tokyo G9P[8]-E2 strains were revealed to have 11-segment genomes almost indistinguishable from one another in their sequences (99.3-100%), indicating all these G9P[8]-E2 strains had a common origin. To our knowledge, this is the first description of the rapid spread of G9P[8]-E2 strains across a country.

Cooperative relay pursuit with input saturation constraint and external disturbances

AbstractThis paper studies a class of tracking consensus problem called the cooperative relay pursuit where a group of agents cooperatively pursuit and capture an evading agent that enters the surveillance region. A subgroup of agents closest to the evader is commanded to pursuit the evader and thus called pursuers, while others called surveillance agents stay at their origin places. A relay mechanism is introduced to respect the pursuit efficiency, energy constraints and other factors. As the evader moves, some pursuers that do not remain the closest vicinity of the evader leave the pursuing group, while some surveillance agents that become more closer to the evader join into the pursuing. Due to the relay mechanism, the dynamics of pursuers are naturally an impulsive system and thus is nonsmooth. This paper aims to propose a distributed controller to achieve cooperative relay pursuit even when agents are subjected to both input saturation constraint and external disturbances. A modified algebraic Riccati equation and low‐gain technique are proposed to achieve the tracking consensus with an performance. A simulation example is provided to validate the theoretical results.

Regional importation and asymmetric within-country spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in the Netherlands.

Variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 have caused resurging waves of infections worldwide. In the Netherlands, the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta VOCs circulated widely between September 2020 and August 2021. We sought to elucidate how various control measures, including targeted flight restrictions, had impacted the introduction and spread of these VOCs in the Netherlands. We performed phylogenetic analyses on 39,844 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected under the Dutch national surveillance program. We found that all four VOCs were introduced before targeted flight restrictions were imposed on countries where the VOCs first emerged. Importantly, foreign introductions, predominantly from other European countries, continued during these restrictions. After their respective introductions into the Netherlands, the Alpha and Delta VOCs largely circulated within more populous regions of the country with international connections before asymmetric bidirectional transmissions occurred with the rest of the country and the VOC became the dominant circulating lineage. Our findings show that flight restrictions had limited effectiveness in deterring VOC introductions due to the strength of regional land travel importation risks. As countries consider scaling down SARS-CoV-2 surveillance efforts in the post-crisis phase of the pandemic, our results highlight that robust surveillance in regions of early spread is important for providing timely information for variant detection and outbreak control. None.

Monkeypox: The Re-emerging Terror.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic Orthopoxvirus called human Monkeypox. It has symptoms that resemble or are pretty similar to smallpox. Monkeypox virus belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus, which also includes cowpox, vaccinia, and variola viruses. The World Health Organization confirmed in 1970 that the primary virus is the Orthopoxvirus infecting humans after smallpox elimination. Clinically distinguishing the condition from varicella and smallpox is challenging for a clinician. Although the mortality rate of this disease is low, new tests are being tried and studied, which are required for a more accurate and quick diagnosis because the lab diagnosis is the key to the detection of illness and its monitoring. The illness or the virus is endemic to parts of western and central Africa. Surveillance in underdeveloped rural regions is challenging but manageable with evidence-based techniques and training materials for public health professionals. However, as in the present scenario, the disease is having a worldwide outbreak in various countries, and recently India detected its first case on 15 July 2022 in New Delhi. The widespread disease is due to trading exotic pets and international travel. Since smallpox vaccinations are not administered to people regularly, epidemiological studies are required. New medications and vaccines provide hope for treating and preventing Monkeypox; however, further study is required before they can be used effectively. Also, there is a requirement for advanced scientific studies in the etiology, epidemiology, and biological structure of the virus in the endemic zones to know and halt the spread of infection to humans.