Response modes and coordination in a traffic context, an experimental comparison of Chinese and German participants

This paper reports results of laboratory experiments about traffic behavior of participants with different cultural backgrounds. We conducted the minority game as an elementary traffic scenario in which human participants of a German and Chinese subject pool had to choose over 100 periods between a road A and a road B. In each period, the road which was chosen by the minority of players won, these participants got a payoff. The payoff in the majority group was 0. An important observation is that the number of road changes of a participant is negatively correlated with her cumulative payoff. The Chinese participants reacted differently to the payoffs of preceding periods than the German participants

Preventing Pandemics via International Development: A Systems Approach

Tiffany Bogich and colleagues find that breakdown or absence of public health infrastructure is most often the driver in pandemic outbreaks, whose prevention requires mainstream development funding rather than emergency funding

Wild animal and zoonotic disease risk management and regulation in China : examining gaps and One Health opportunities in scope, mandates, and monitoring systems

Emerging diseases of zoonotic origin such as COVID-19 are a continuing public health threat in China that lead to a significant socioeconomic burden. This study reviewed the current laws and regulations, government reports and policy documents, and existing literature on zoonotic disease preparedness and prevention across the forestry, agriculture, and public health authorities in China, to articulate the current landscape of potential risks, existing mandates, and gaps. A total of 55 known zoonotic diseases (59 pathogens) are routinely monitored under a multi-sectoral system among humans and domestic and wild animals in China. These diseases have been detected in wild mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish or other aquatic animals, the majority of which are transmitted between humans and animals via direct or indirect contact and vectors. However, this current monitoring system covers a limited scope of disease threats and animal host species, warranting expanded review for sources of disease and pathogen with zoonotic potential. In addition, the governance of wild animal protection and utilization and limited knowledge about wild animal trade value chains present challenges for zoonotic disease risk assessment and monitoring, and affect the completeness of mandates and enforcement. A coordinated and collaborative mechanism among different departments is required for the effective monitoring and management of disease emergence and transmission risks in the animal value chains. Moreover, pathogen surveillance among wild animal hosts and human populations outside of the routine monitoring system will fill the data gaps and improve our understanding of future emerging zoonotic threats to achieve disease prevention. The findings and recommendations will advance One Health collaboration across government and non-government stakeholders to optimize monitoring and surveillance, risk management, and emergency responses to known and novel zoonotic threats, and support COVID-19 recovery efforts

Oligo- and Polymetastatic Progression in Lung Metastasis(es) Patients Is Associated with Specific MicroRNAs

Rationale: Strategies to stage and treat cancer rely on a presumption of either localized or widespread metastatic disease. An intermediate state of metastasis termed oligometastasis(es) characterized by limited progression has been proposed. Oligometastases are amenable to treatment by surgical resection or radiotherapy.Methods: We analyzed microRNA expression patterns from lung metastasis samples of patients with ≤5 initial metastases resected with curative intent.Results: Patients were stratified into subgroups based on their rate of metastatic progression. We prioritized microRNAs between patients with the highest and lowest rates of recurrence. We designated these as high rate of progression (HRP) and low rate of progression (LRP); the latter group included patients with no recurrences. The prioritized microRNAs distinguished HRP from LRP and were associated with rate of metastatic progression and survival in an independent validation dataset.Conclusion: Oligo- and poly- metastasis are distinct entities at the clinical and molecular level.</p

A Geochemical Record of Late- Holocene Hurricane Events From the Florida Everglades

A 5.25- m sediment core SRM- 1 and 45 surface samples from mangrove forests at the Shark River Estuary in the Everglades National Park, Florida, were examined by using X- ray fluorescence and carbon isotopic analyses to study the history of intense hurricane landfall during the Late- Holocene. Significance testing of the surface samples in relation to storm deposits from Hurricane Wilma suggests that elemental concentration of Sr and Cl and the ratio of Cl/Br are the most sensitive indicators for major hurricane events in our study area. The geochemical data sets of core SRM- 1 identified five active periods of intense hurricane activities during the last 3,500 years at ~3,400- 3,000, ~2,200- 1,500, ~1,000- 800, ~600- 300, and ~150 calibrated years before present to present. This is the longest paleohurricane record to date from South Florida. Our results are consistent with the view that intense hurricane activities in South Florida were modulated by Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) movements, El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activities, and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) strength. This study contributes to the methodological advancement in paleotempestological studies by demonstrating that geochemical signals, particularly signals of saltwater intrusions, can be preserved in the sediment profiles on millennial time- scale and measured by X- ray fluorescence techniques, thereby enabling more storm records to be produced from otherwise suboptimal sand- limited coastal systems such as the Florida Everglades. More work needs to be done to explore the use of geochemical and stable isotopic analyses in detecting storm signals from sand- limited coastal environments.Plain Language SummaryThis study uses geochemical analyses to detect intense hurricanes that made landfall near the southwest coast of the Florida Everglades from sediment profiles. The geochemical data sets identified five active periods of intense hurricane activities during the last 3,500 years at ~3,400- 3,000, ~2,200- 1,500, ~1,000- 800, ~600- 300, and ~150 years ago. Results from this study agree with previous studies that intense hurricane activities in the western Atlantic Basin were controlled by the position of ITCZ, ENSO activities, and NAO strength.Key PointsThis study demonstrates the use of XRF analysis in detecting major hurricane events in sand- limited coastal systemsFive active hurricane periods were identified at ~3,400- 3,000, ~2,200- 1,500, ~1,000- 800, ~600- 300, and ~150 cal yr BP to presentThis study suggests that intense hurricane activities in the western Atlantic Basin were modulated by ITCZ, ENSO, and NAO activitiesPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156482/2/wrcr24787_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156482/1/wrcr24787.pd

Global-change effects on early-stage decomposition processes in tidal wetlands – implications from a global survey using standardized litter

Tidal wetlands, such as tidal marshes and mangroves, are hotspots for carbon sequestration. The preservation of organic matter (OM) is a critical process by which tidal wetlands exert influence over the global carbon cycle and at the same time gain elevation to keep pace with sea-level rise (SLR). The present study assessed the effects of temperature and relative sea level on the decomposition rate and stabilization of OM in tidal wetlands worldwide, utilizing commercially available standardized litter. While effects on decomposition rate per se were minor, we show strong negative effects of temperature and relative sea level on stabilization, as based on the fraction of labile, rapidly hydrolyzable OM that becomes stabilized during deployment. Across study sites, OM stabilization was 29 % lower in low, more frequently flooded vs. high, less frequently flooded zones. Stabilization declined by ∼ 75 % over the studied temperature gradient from 10.9 to 28.5 ∘C. Additionally, data from the Plum Island long-term ecological research site in Massachusetts, USA, show a pronounced reduction in OM stabilization by > 70 % in response to simulated coastal eutrophication, confirming the potentially high sensitivity of OM stabilization to global change. We therefore provide evidence that rising temperature, accelerated SLR, and coastal eutrophication may decrease the future capacity of tidal wetlands to sequester carbon by affecting the initial transformations of recent OM inputs to soil OM

Author correction : a global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

Correction to: Scientific Data https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0344-7, published online 08 January 202

Author correction : a global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

Correction to: Scientific Data https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0344-7, published online 08 January 202

Simulating complex social behaviour with the genetic action tree kernel

The concept of genetic action trees combines action trees with genetic algorithms. In this paper, we create a multi-agent simulation on the base of this concept and provide the interested reader with a software package to apply genetic action trees in a multi-agent simulation to simulate complex social behaviour. An example model is introduced to conduct a feasibility study with the described method. We find that our library can be used to simulate the behaviour of agents in a complex setting and observe a convergence to a global optimum in spite of the absence of stable states