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Heterogeneity in host populations and communities can have large effects on the transmission and control of a pathogen. In extreme cases, a few individuals give rise to the majority of secondary infections, which have been termed super spreading events. Here, we show that transmission of West Nile virus (WNV) is dominated by extreme heterogeneity in the host community, resulting in highly inflated reproductive ratios. A single relatively uncommon avian species, American robin (Turdus migratorius), appeared to be responsible for the majority of WNV-infectious mosquitoes and acted as the species equivalent of a super spreader for this multi-host pathogen. Crows were also highly preferred by mosquitoes at some sites, while house sparrows were significantly avoided. Nonetheless, due to their relative rarity, corvids (crows and jays) were relatively unimportant in WNV amplification. These results challenge current beliefs about the role of certain avian species in WNV amplification and demonstrate the importance of determining contact rates between vectors and host species to understand pathogen transmission dynamics.

Elliptical ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling (EUVAM) is widely used as an efficient processing method for hard-to-machining materials such as titanium alloy, superalloy, and hard-brittle materials. To uncover the mechanism of the intermittent cutting characteristics in EUVAM, the tool-workpiece contact rate model is developed by combining with the kinematic relationship between the tool edge and the workpiece in the process. According to the analysis of the contact rate model, the phenomenon that the contact rate increases rapidly with the time-varying tooth position angle in one-dimensional ultrasonic vibration assisted milling can be improved in EUVAM. In addition, considering the variation of window function and undeformed cutting thickness, a force model is established. And the experiment of EUVAM is performed to verify the model of ultrasonic milling force, and the influence of process parameters (amplitude, cutting speed, feed rate and cutting depth) on ultrasonic milling force is also analyzed.

High-rate contact stabilization (HiCS) processes for efficiently recovering organic matter from municipal wastewater are gaining attention as a means of producing renewable energy. In this study, a pilot-scale continuous HiCS process was applied to the effluent from a primary clarifier at a municipal wastewater treatment plant—a setting rarely reported in the literature, despite its importance for future full-scale implementation. The results confirmed that the continuous HiCS process recovers more organic matter than the conventional activated sludge (CAS) process while reducing organic matter oxidation. Biomethane potential testing further demonstrated that sludge recovered from the HiCS process generated methane at higher yields and faster rates compared to sludge from the CAS process. Moreover, the energy recovered per unit of removed organic matter in the HiCS process under practical operating conditions was higher than that achieved with the CAS process.

Social contacts can facilitate the spread of both survival-related information and infectious diseases, but little is known about how these processes combine to shape host and parasite evolution. Here, we use a theoretical model that captures both infection and information transmission processes to investigate how host sociality (contact effort) and parasite virulence (disease-associated mortality rate) (co)evolve. We show that selection for sociality (and in turn, virulence) depends on both the intrinsic costs and benefits of social information and infection as well as their relative prevalence in the population. Specifically, greater sociality and lower virulence evolve when the risk of infection is either low or high and social information is neither very common nor too rare. Lower sociality and higher virulence evolve when the prevalence patterns are reversed. When infection and social information are both at moderate levels in the population, the direction of selection depends on the relative costs and benefits of being infected or informed. We also show that sociality varies inversely with virulence, and that parasites may be unable to prevent runaway selection for higher contact efforts. Together, these findings provide new insights for our understanding of group living and how apparently opposing ecological processes can influence the evolution of sociality and virulence in a range of ways.

Background Day-to-day variability in social contacts can shape transmission dynamics yet is rarely quantified. We aimed to quantify intraindividual variability (IIV) in non-household contacts during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany and to assess its associations with sociodemographic characteristics, vaccination, and policy stringency. Methods We analyzed longitudinal contact survey data with 33 waves between April 2020 and December 2021, including 7,845 participants and 59,462 observations. Pearson residuals from a mixed-effects negative binomial model were used to derive the within-person standard deviation (riSD) for participants with at least two observations, as a proxy of IIV. Gamma regression models with log link were fitted to estimate mean ratios (MR). Results Children and adolescents aged 0–17 years showed higher riSD than other age groups (MR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.09–1.16). Participants living in households with three or more members had higher riSD than those living alone (1.05, 95% CI 1.02–1.07). Retired individuals, homemakers, the unemployed, and students exhibited lower riSD than employed participants. Regarding COVID-19 vaccination, compared with the pre-vaccination window (− 100 to 0 days), riSD was higher in the post-vaccination window (1 to 100 days after the first COVID-19 vaccination dose) (1.13, 95% CI 1.06–1.20). Weaker policy stringency was strongly associated with higher riSD (1.36, 95% CI 1.32–1.39). Conclusions IIV in non-household contacts was shaped by age, household composition, employment status, vaccination status, and policy context. Analyses relying solely on average contact numbers may misrepresent transmission risk when contact behavior is highly variable. Incorporating IIV alongside mean contact levels may improve infectious disease models and inform public health policies.

In response to escalating concerns about the indoor transmission of respiratory diseases, this study introduces a sophisticated software tool engineered to accurately determine contact rates among individuals in enclosed spaces—essential for public health surveillance and disease transmission mitigation. The tool applies YOLOv8, a cutting-edge deep learning model that enables precise individual detection and real-time tracking from video streams. An innovative feature of this system is its dynamic circular buffer zones, coupled with an advanced 2D projective transformation to accurately overlay video data coordinates onto a digital layout of the physical environment. By analyzing the overlap of these buffer zones and incorporating detailed heatmap visualizations, the software provides an in-depth quantification of contact instances and spatial contact patterns, marking an advancement over traditional contact tracing and contact counting methods. These enhancements not only improve the accuracy and speed of data analysis but also furnish public health officials with a comprehensive framework to develop more effective non-pharmaceutical infection control strategies. This research signifies a crucial evolution in epidemiological tools, transitioning from manual, simulation, and survey-based tracking methods to automated, real time, and precision-driven technologies that integrate advanced visual analytics to better understand and manage disease transmission in indoor settings.

1. Associating with conspecifics afflicted with infectious diseases increases the risk of becoming infected, but engaging in avoidance behaviour incurs the cost of lost social benefits. Across systems, infected individuals vary in the transmission risk they pose, so natural selection should favour risk-sensitive avoidance behaviour that optimally balances the costs and benefits of sociality. 2. Here, we use the guppy Poecilia reticulata-Gyrodactylus turnbulli host-parasite system to test the prediction that individuals avoid infected conspecifics in proportion to the transmission risk they pose. 3. In dichotomous choice tests, uninfected fish avoided both the chemical and visual cues, presented separately, of infected conspecifics only in the later stages of infection. 4. A transmission experiment indicated that this avoidance behaviour accurately tracked transmission risk (quantified as both the speed at which transmission occurs and the number of parasites transmitting) through the course of infection. 5. Together, these findings reveal that uninfected hosts can use redundant cues across sensory systems to inform dynamic risk-sensitive avoidance behaviour. This correlation between the transmission risk posed by infected individuals and the avoidance response they elicit has implications for the evolutionary ecology of infectious disease, and its explicit inclusion may improve the ability of epidemic models to predict disease spread.

This paper assesses trends in three survey outcome rates within four prominent crossnationalcomparative surveys conducted in European countries in the 21st century: theEuropean Quality of Life Survey, the European Social Survey, the European ValuesStudy, and the International Social Survey Programme. These projects are recognisedfor their high-quality sampling and fieldwork procedures, extensive track records, andcommitment to rigorous methodological standards. The analysis is based on 753national surveys conducted on probability samples of the general population in 36European countries from 1999 to 2018. We investigated whether two essential surveycharacteristics, namely sampling frames and data collection modes, moderated thedecrease of survey outcome rates over time. To analyse these relationships, thesurvey year was included as the explanatory variable, and we applied multi-level linearregressions with surveys nested within countries. Additionally, the project name wasincorporated as a fixed factor, and the sampling frame and mode of data collectionwere control variables for the effect of time. Our study provides valuable insights intothe challenges of conducting high-quality Pan-European cross-national comparativesurveys over nearly two decades. We observed a consistent decline in survey outcomerates, irrespective of country or project. Neither the sampling frame nor the datacollection mode moderated this decline. Hence, even though personal register samplesand Face-to-Face interviews are often regarded as enhancements to overall surveyquality, their application does not effectively counter the factors causing a decline insurvey outcome rates.

A progressive shift from energy-intensive wastewater treatment plants toward sustainable water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) has gained traction over the years. The A-stage coupled with the B-stage shortcut biological nitrogen removal is enticing, owing to its efficacy in terms of land and energy conservation. This paper is a critical review of the A-stage process that provides a mechanistic understanding of its performance in terms of removal mechanisms, and the influence of its operational parameters. In accordance, future research directions are suggested to deepen the current understanding of the process, develop alternative technologies, and build more efficient WRRFs. Several factors such as HRT, SRT, DO concentration, OLR, chemical oxygen demand (COD) mass load, reactor VSS, feeding regime (i.e., feast/famine), and feast-to-famine retention time ratio independently affect the A-stage process. These factors alternate the substrate acquisition-based mechanisms from being transitional/preparatory mechanisms and typically overlooked in the conventional activated sludge process to critical removal mechanisms in the A-stage process. Although the influence of SRT on the A-stage process has been widely studied, this study demonstrated that SRT should be determined according to the influent COD fractionation and mass load. Moreover, it was inferred that a high DO concentration allows for high bioflocculation and storage under controlled SRT and HRT. Further research is needed to better understand the influence of HRT and feast-to-famine retention time ratio. Furthermore, there are discrepancies regarding the actual selection pressures that induce the substrate acquisition-based mechanisms which require further investigation and resolution.

This study presents a deterministic model to investigate rabies transmission dynamics, incorporating environmental effects and control strategies using optimal control theory. Qualitative and quantitative analyses reveal that the disease‐free equilibrium is stable when the effective reproduction number and unstable when . Mesh and contour plots illustrate an inverse relationship between and control strategies, including dog vaccination, health promotion, and postexposure treatment. Increased intervention reduces transmission, while higher contact rates among dogs raise . Numerical simulations with optimal control confirm the effectiveness of integrated strategies. Vaccination and treatment are identified as key interventions for achieving rabies elimination within 5 years.