Duration of transients in outbreaks: when can infectiousness be estimated?

We investigate sub-leading orders of the classic SEIR-model using contact matrices from modeling of the Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19 in Denmark. The goal of this is to illustrate when the growth rate, and by extension the infection transmission potential (basic or initial reproduction number), can be estimated in a new outbreak, e.g.

Memory effects in disease modelling through kernel estimates with oscillatory time history.

We design a linear chain trick algorithm for dynamical systems for which we have oscillatory time histories in the distributed time delay. We make use of this algorithmic framework to analyse memory effects in disease evolution in a population. The modelling is based on a susceptible-infected-recovered SIR-model and on a susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered SEIR-model through a kernel that dampens the activity based on the recent history of infectious individuals.

Many morphs: Parsing gesture signals from the noise.

Parsing signals from noise is a general problem for signallers and recipients, and for researchers studying communicative systems. Substantial efforts have been invested in comparing how other species encode information and meaning, and how signalling is structured. However, research depends on identifying and discriminating signals that represent meaningful units of analysis.

On self-similar patterns in coupled parabolic systems as non-equilibrium steady states.

We consider reaction-diffusion systems and other related dissipative systems on unbounded domains with the aim of showing that self-similarity, besides the well-known exact self-similar solutions, can also occur asymptotically in two different forms. For this, we study systems on the unbounded real line that have the property that their restriction to a finite domain has a Lyapunov function (and a gradient structure). In this situation, the system may reach local equilibrium on a rather fast time scale, but on unbounded domains with an infinite amount of mass or energy, it leads to a persistent mass or energy flow for all times; hence, in general, no true equilibrium is reached globally.

Fine Properties of Geodesics and Geodesic -Convexity for the Hellinger-Kantorovich Distance.

We study the fine regularity properties of optimal potentials for the dual formulation of the Hellinger-Kantorovich problem (), providing sufficient conditions for the solvability of the primal Monge formulation. We also establish new regularity properties for the solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation arising in the dual dynamic formulation of , which are sufficiently strong to construct a characteristic transport-growth flow driving the geodesic interpolation between two arbitrary positive measures. These results are applied to study relevant geometric properties of geodesics and to derive the convex behaviour of their Lebesgue density along the transport flow.

Affine transformations accelerate the training of physics-informed neural networks of a one-dimensional consolidation problem.

Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) leverage data and knowledge about a problem. They provide a nonnumerical pathway to solving partial differential equations by expressing the field solution as an artificial neural network. This approach has been applied successfully to various types of differential equations.

Impact of dominance rank specification in dyadic interaction models.

Dominance rank is a vital descriptor of social dynamics in animal societies and regularly used in studies to explain observed interaction patterns. However, researchers can choose between different indices and standardizations, and can specify dyadic rank relations differently when studying interaction distributions. These researcher degrees of freedom potentially introduce biases into studies and reduce replicability.

Estimating true prevalence through questionnaire data.

We present a general analytical method for obtaining unbiased prevalence estimates based on data from regional or national testing programs, where individual participation in the testing program is voluntary but where additional questionnaire data is collected regarding the individual-level reason/motivation for being tested. The approach is based on re-writing the conditional probabilities for being tested, being infected, and having symptoms, so that a series of equations can be defined that relate estimable quantities (from test data and questionnaire data) to the result of interest (an unbiased estimate of prevalence). The final estimates appear to be robust based on prima-facie examination of the temporal dynamics estimated, as well as agreement with an independent estimate of prevalence.

Medical studies in times of a pandemic - concepts of digital teaching for Orthopaedics and Trauma at german universities.

Background: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, on-site classroom teaching became limited at most German medical universities. This caused a sudden demand for digital teaching concepts. How the transfer from classroom to digital teaching or digitally assisted teaching was conducted was decided by each university and/or department individually.

Percutaneous Pulmonary Artery Cannulation to Treat Acute Secondary Right Heart Failure While on Veno-venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Right heart failure (RHF) is a common, yet difficult to manage, complication of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) that is associated with increased mortality. Reports of the use of percutaneous mechanical circulatory support devices for concurrent right heart and respiratory failure are limited. This series describes the percutaneous cannulation of the pulmonary artery for conversion from veno-venous to veno-pulmonary artery return ECMO in 21 patients who developed secondary RHF.

Chimpanzee play sequences are structured hierarchically as games.

Social play is ubiquitous in the development of many animal species and involves players adapting actions flexibly to their own previous actions and partner responses. Play differs from other behavioural contexts for which fine-scale analyses of action sequences are available, such as tool use and communication, in that its form is not defined by its function, making it potentially more unpredictable. In humans, play is often organised in games, where players know context-appropriate actions but string them together unpredictably.

Spacing distribution in the two-dimensional Coulomb gas: Surmise and symmetry classes of non-Hermitian random matrices at noninteger β.

A random matrix representation is proposed for the two-dimensional (2D) Coulomb gas at inverse temperature β. For 2×2 matrices with Gaussian distribution we analytically compute the nearest-neighbor spacing distribution of complex eigenvalues in radial distance. Because it does not provide such a good approximation as the Wigner surmise in 1D, we introduce an effective β_{eff}(β) in our analytic formula that describes the spacing obtained numerically from the 2D Coulomb gas well for small values of β.

Implementation of a digital health module for undergraduate medical students: A comparative study on knowledge and attitudes.

Background: Digital competencies are more and more required in everyday work, and training future healthcare professionals in digital health is highly important.

Objective: Aim of this study was to assess medical students' gain of knowledge by participation in a teaching module "Digital Health", and to evaluate their attitudes towards digital health and its role in medical education.

Methods: Students of the module were asked to complete a questionnaire and a multiple-choice-test before and after completing the classes.

Modeling of Chemical Reaction Systems with Detailed Balance Using Gradient Structures.

We consider various modeling levels for spatially homogeneous chemical reaction systems, namely the chemical master equation, the chemical Langevin dynamics, and the reaction-rate equation. Throughout we restrict our study to the case where the microscopic system satisfies the detailed-balance condition. The latter allows us to enrich the systems with a gradient structure, i.

Territorial behaviour of buzzards versus random matrix spacing distributions.

A deeper understanding of the processes underlying the distribution of animals in space is crucial for both basic and applied ecology. The Common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a highly aggressive, territorial bird of prey that interacts strongly with its intra- and interspecific competitors. We propose and use random matrix theory to quantify the strength and range of repulsion as a function of the buzzard population density, thus providing a novel approach to model density dependence.

Long-term repeatability in social behaviour suggests stable social phenotypes in wild chimpanzees.

Consistent individual differences in social phenotypes have been observed in many animal species. Changes in demographics, dominance hierarchies or ecological factors, such as food availability or disease prevalence, are expected to influence decision-making processes regarding social interactions. Therefore, it should be expected that individuals show flexibility rather than stability in social behaviour over time to maximize the fitness benefits of social living.

Universal distributions from non-Hermitian perturbation of zero modes.

Hermitian operators with exact zero modes subject to non-Hermitian perturbations are considered. Specific focus is on the distribution of the former zero eigenvalues of the Hermitian operators. The broadening of these zero modes is found to follow an elliptic Gaussian random matrix ensemble of fixed size, where the symmetry class of the perturbation determines the behavior of the modes.

Predictability and variability of association patterns in sooty mangabeys.

Abstract: In many group-living animal species, interactions take place in changing social environments, increasing the information processing necessary to optimize social decision-making. Communities with different levels of spatial and temporal cohesion should differ in the predictability of association patterns. While the focus in this context has been on primate species with high fission-fusion dynamics, little is known about the variability of association patterns in species with large groups and high temporal cohesion, where group size and the environment create unstable subgroups.

Universal Signature from Integrability to Chaos in Dissipative Open Quantum Systems.

We study the transition between integrable and chaotic behavior in dissipative open quantum systems, exemplified by a boundary driven quantum spin chain. The repulsion between the complex eigenvalues of the corresponding Liouville operator in radial distance s is used as a universal measure. The corresponding level spacing distribution is well fitted by that of a static two-dimensional Coulomb gas with harmonic potential at inverse temperature β∈[0,2].

Snake alarm calls as a public good in sooty mangabeys.

Transmitting information about the location of a predator in social animal species can be seen as an investment in a public good, where information is the resource and group members benefit from reduced fatalities of kin and cooperation partners in their community. As few empirical tests of this idea exist in natural settings, we conducted a field experiment using snake models in wild sooty mangabeys, . We tested sooty mangabey alarm-calling patterns when exposed to viper models, investigating whether individuals called to signal fitness, to warn specific group members, or when information about the threat is not public, as would be predicted by public goods games.

Loxapine for Treatment of Patients With Refractory, Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic Pain: A Prematurely Terminated Pilot Study Showing Efficacy But Limited Tolerability.

Neuropathic pain is a debilitating and commonly treatment-refractory condition requiring novel therapeutic options. Accumulating preclinical studies indicate that the potassium channel Slack (K1.1) contributes to the processing of neuropathic pain, and that Slack activators, when injected into mice, ameliorate pain-related hypersensitivity.