A lagrangian approach to weakly coupled Hamilton-Jacobi systems

We study a class of weakly coupled Hamilton–Jacobi systems with a specific aim to perform a qualitative analysis in the spirit of weak KAM theory. Our main achievement is the definition of a family of related action functionals containing the Lagrangians obtained by duality from the Hamiltonians of the system. We use them to characterize, by means of a suitable estimate, all the subsolutions of the system, and to explicitly represent some subsolutions enjoying an additional maximality property. A crucial step for our analysis is to put the problem in a suitable random frame. Only some basic knowledge of measure theory is required, and the presentation is accessible to readers without background in probability

Algorithm and program for earthquake prediction based on the geological, geophysical, geomorphological and seismic data

By applying an improved  method of the Earth's crust classification, we develop an algorithm and build an earthquake prediction program using a combination of geological, geophysical, geomorphological and seismic data.This program includes a system of multiple windows with different functions, which can divide fault zones into the different segments by the maximum magnitude values Mmax. Using the constructed program, we carried out an earthquake prediction test for the Northwest Vietnam by a combination of geological, geophysical, geomorphological and seismic data. According to the received results, zoning maps of maximum earthquake prediction for the researched region has been established. The results show that the   areas, capable of generating earthquakes with Mmax = 6.5 - 6.8  are primarily concentrated along some major fault zones such as Lai Chau-Dien Bien, Son La, Song Ma, Song Da, Tuan Giao or near the intersection of these fault zones. The received results show a good accordance with the actual seismotectonic characteristics of the researched region.References Bui Van Duan, Nguyen Cong Thang, Nguyen Van Vuong, Pham Dinh Nguyen, 2013. The magnitude of the largest possible earthquake in the Muong La - Bac Yen fault zone. Journal of Sciences of the Earth 35, 53-49.Cao Dinh Trieu, 1999. Probable approach for long-term earthquake prediction in Vietnam based on the regulation of epicentral distribution. Journal of Geology, Series A (251), 14-21, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Cao Dinh Trieu, Nguyen Huu Tuyen, Thai Anh Tuan, 2006. The correlation between the structure of the Earth’s crust and seismic activities in the Northwest region of Vietnam”. Journal of Sciences of the Earth, 28, 155-164, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Cao Dinh Trieu, Ngo Thi Lu, Cao Xuan Bach et al., 2007. Prediction of maximum earthquake occurrence in Vietnam on the basis of crustal characteristics”. Proceedings of the 5th Vietnam’s Scientific Conference on Geophysics, 159-171, Science and Technics Publishing House, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Dang Thanh Hai, Nguyen Duc Vinh, Cao Dinh Trieu, 2002. Long-term earthquake prediction in Lai Chau-Dien Bien region on the basis of time - magnitude model. Journal of Science and Technology, 40(4), 45-53, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Dang Thanh Hai, 2003. Study on deep structures of the Earth’s crust and seismotectonic zoning in Northern Vietnam. Physics Ph.D. Thesis, 170p, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Grishin A.P., 2001. The statistical model for predicting the occurrence time and magnitude of the earthquake”. Journal of Volcanology and Seismology (4), 60-65, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. (in Russian).Grishin A.P., N.V. Kondoskaya, L.E. Levin, L.N. Solodinov, A.L. Petrov, O.M. Petrov, 2001. “Experiment of statistical prediction in Kaspi region (occurrence time, epicenter coordinate and magnitude value of the earthquake). Geophysics in the 21th century, The 3rd Collection of Reading Materials on Geophysics, Scientific World, 149-156.Gubin I.E., 1950. The method of seismotectonic zoning. The projects of The Geophysical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 13.Gumbel E.J., 1958. Statistics of Extremes”. Columbia Univ. Press.Gutenberg B. and G.F. Richter, 1954. Seismicity of the Earth and associated phenomena. Princeton Univ. Press.Ngo Thi Lu, Tran Viet Phuong, 2012. About the approach to building algorithms and processes to predict earthquakes by statistical model. Journal of Sciences of the Earth, 34(4), 535-541.Ngo Thi Lu, Tran Viet Phuong, 2013. Building a new algorithm of the program for separation of forshock and aftershock groups from earthquake catalog to ensure the independence of the events. Journal of Marine Science and Technology. 3A(13), 79-85.Ngo Thi Lu (Project manager), 2011. Assessment of the seismic potential in Vietnam based on a combination of geological, geophysical and seismic data”. The international scientific cooperation between Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and Russian Academy of Sciences under the state-level protocol (2008-2010), Final Report, 163p, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Ngo Thi Lu (Project manager), 2013. Establishment of experimental program for short-term earthquake prediction based on the statistical model combined with tectonophysics in Vietnam and adjacent regions. The independent project of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Code VAST.DL.09/11-12, 125p, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Nguyen Hong Phuong, 1991. Probabilistic assessment of earthquake hazard in Vietnam based on seismotectonic regionalization. Tecronophysics, 198, 81-93.Nguyen Hong Phuong, 1997. Evaluation of the maximum earthquake for seismic source zones in Vietnam by a combination of probability methods. The scientific works on geology and marine geophysics (3), 48-65, Science and Technics Publishing House, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Nguyen Hong Phuong, 2001. Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment Along the Southeastern Coast of Vietnam, Natural Hazards 24, 53-74.Nguyen Hong Phuong, Pham The Truyen, 2014. Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment for the South Central Vietnam. Vietnam Journal of Earth Sciences 36, 451-461.Nguyen Dinh Xuyen (Project manager), Nguyen Ngoc Thuy et al., 1996. Database of earthquake mitigation measures in Vietnam. The final report of state-level independent project, Code KT-DL 92-07, 3 volumes, Institute of Geophysics, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Nguyen Dinh Xuyen, 2002. Earthquake and earthquake hazard level. Internal document, Institute of Geophysics, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Nguyen Dinh Xuyen, Pham Dinh Nguyen, Pham Quang Hung, Nguyen Anh Duong, 2003. Experiment of long-term earthquake prediction based on the mechanism of foreshock activities. Journal of Sciences of the Earth, 25(3), 193-200, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Phan Trong Trinh, Ngo Van Liem, Nguyen Van Huong, Hoang Quang Vinh, Bui Van Thom, Bui Thi Thao, Mai Thanh Tan, Nguyen Hoang, 2012. Late Quaternary tectonics and seismotectonics along the Red River fault zone, North Vietnam. Earth-Science Reviews 114(3), 224-235.Phan Trong Trinh , Hoang Quang Vinh, Nguyen Van Huong, Ngo Van Liem, 2013. Active fault segmentation and seismic hazard in Hoa-Binh reservoir, Vietnam. Cent. Eur. J. Geosci. 5(2), 223-235.Pham Van Thuc and Kijko, A., 1985. Estimation of maximum magnitude and seismic hazard in Southeast Asia and Vietnam. Acta Geophys. Pol., XXX111 (4), 377-387.Pham Van Thuc, 2007. Seismology and earthquake in Vietnam. The monographs on natural resources and environment in Vietnam, Publishing House for Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 378p (in Vietnamese).Reisner G.I., L.I. Ioganson, M.G. Reisner, Iu.E. Baranov, 1993. Characteristic classification of the Earth’s crust and the modern geological process. Publishing House of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 210p (in Russian).Reisner G.I., L.I. Ioganson, 1996. The Extraregional Seismotectonic Method for the Assessment of Seismic Potential. Natural Hazards 14, 3-10 (Kluwer Academic Publishers, printed in the Netherlands).Tran Thi My Thanh, 2002. Assessment of seismic hazard in Vietnam and adjacent regions. Physics Ph.D. Thesis, 161 pages, Hanoi (in Vietnamese).Vu Thi Hoan, Ngo Thi Lu, M.V. Rodkin, Tran Viet Phuong, 2014. Application of the generalized extreme value distribution to study the seismicity of the Southeast Asian. Journal of Geology. Series A, 341-345. Hanoi. 

Comparison of two dengue NS1 rapid tests for sensitivity, specificity and relationship to viraemia and antibody responses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dengue is a major public health problem in tropical and subtropical countries. Rapid and easy diagnosis of dengue can assist patient triage and care-management. The detection of DENV NS1 on rapid lateral flow tests offers a fast route to a presumptive dengue diagnosis but careful evaluations are urgently needed as more and more people use them.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The sensitivity and specificity of the Bio-Rad NS1 Ag Strip and SD Dengue Duo (NS1/IgM/IgG) lateral flow rapid tests were evaluated in a panel of plasma samples from 245 Vietnamese patients with RT-PCR confirmed dengue and 47 with other febrile illnesses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The NS1 rapid tests had similar diagnostic sensitivities (respectively 61.6% and 62.4%) in confirmed dengue cases but were 100% specific. When IgM/IgG results from the SD Dengue Duo were included in the test interpretation, the sensitivity improved significantly from 62.4% with NS1 alone to 75.5% when NS1 and/or IgM was positive and 83.7% when NS1 and/or IgM and/or IgG was positive. Both NS1 assays were significantly more sensitive for primary than secondary dengue. NS1 positivity was associated with the underlying viraemia as NS1-positive samples had a significantly higher viraemia than NS1-negative samples.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data suggest that the NS1 test component of these assays are highly specific and have similar levels of sensitivity. The IgM parameter in the SD Duo test improved overall test sensitivity without compromising specificity. The SD Dengue Duo lateral flow rapid test deserves further prospective evaluation in dengue endemic settings.</p

Kinetics of Plasma Viremia and Soluble Nonstructural Protein 1 Concentrations in Dengue: Differential Effects According to Serotype and Immune Status

We describe the magnitude and kinetics of plasma viremia and nonstructural protein 1 (sNS1) levels in sequential samples from 167 children with acute dengue, enrolled early in a community study in Vietnam. All children recovered fully, and only 5 required hospitalization. Among those with dengue virus type 1 (DENV-1), plasma viremia was significantly greater in primary (49) than secondary (44) infections and took longer to resolve. In primary DENV-2 and 3 infections, viremia was significantly lower than among primary DENV-1 infections. Concentrations of sNS1 were significantly higher for DENV-1 than for DENV-2 after adjusting for viremia, with marked differences in the kinetic profiles between primary and secondary infections. Secondary infection and higher viremia were independent predictors of more severe thrombocytopenia, and higher viremia was associated with a small increase in hemoconcentration. Our findings identify clear serotype and immune-status related effects on the dynamics of dengue viremia and sNS1 responses, together with associations with important clinical parameters

Diagnostic Accuracy of NS1 ELISA and Lateral Flow Rapid Tests for Dengue Sensitivity, Specificity and Relationship to Viraemia and Antibody Responses

Dengue is a viral infection of humans that is transmitted by mosquitoes. Dengue is a very important public health problem in many developing countries. Recently, new tests to help diagnose patients with dengue have been developed. Evaluating these tests to see how well they perform in different countries and in different health care settings is an important process that helps to guide health care policy on whether these assays are likely to be useful in making a diagnosis, and if so, when best to use them. Our hospital-based results, using two different types of NS1 tests for diagnosing dengue, indicates that these tests are most sensitive when used during the first 3 days of illness and are most likely to be positive if the patient has primary dengue. Our results also show that a positive NS1 test result is a reflection of the amount of virus in the blood, so that patients with high amounts of virus in the blood are more likely to be NS1 positive. Collectively, the results indicate these NS1 tests deserve inclusion in the diagnostic approach to dengue

Clinical and Virological Features of Dengue in Vietnamese Infants

Dengue is a major public health problem in tropical and subtropical countries, including Vietnam. Dengue cases occur in children and young adults; however, severe dengue also occurs in infants less than 1 year of age. Prompt recognition of dengue is important for appropriate case management, particularly in infants in whom febrile illness from other causes is common. We describe the clinical picture, virological and immunological characteristics of infants with dengue admitted to three hospitals in southern Vietnam, compared with infants admitted with fever not due to dengue. We show that infants with dengue are difficult to distinguish from those with other febrile illnesses based on signs and symptoms at presentation, and so laboratory tests to confirm dengue virus infection may be useful for diagnosis and management. Conventional diagnostic methods for dengue have low sensitivity early in infection, and we show that an alternative antigen-detection assay that has demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity in older age groups also performs well in infants. This study will help to inform the diagnosis and management of dengue in infants

Endemic Dengue Associated with the Co-Circulation of Multiple Viral Lineages and Localized Density-Dependent Transmission

Dengue is one of the most important infectious diseases of humans and has spread throughout much of the tropical and subtropical world. Despite this widespread dispersal, the determinants of dengue transmission in endemic populations are not well understood, although essential for virus control. To address this issue we performed a phylogeographic analysis of 751 complete genome sequences of dengue 1 virus (DENV-1) sampled from both rural (Dong Thap) and urban (Ho Chi Minh City) populations in southern Viet Nam during the period 2003–2008. We show that DENV-1 in Viet Nam exhibits strong spatial clustering, with likely importation from Cambodia on multiple occasions. Notably, multiple lineages of DENV-1 co-circulated in Ho Chi Minh City. That these lineages emerged at approximately the same time and dispersed over similar spatial regions suggests that they are of broadly equivalent fitness. We also observed an important relationship between the density of the human host population and the dispersion rate of dengue, such that DENV-1 tends to move from urban to rural populations, and that densely populated regions within Ho Chi Minh City act as major transmission foci. Despite these fluid dynamics, the dispersion rates of DENV-1 are relatively low, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City where the virus moves less than an average of 20 km/year. These low rates suggest a major role for mosquito-mediated dispersal, such that DENV-1 does not need to move great distances to infect a new host when there are abundant susceptibles, and imply that control measures should be directed toward the most densely populated urban environments

Emergence of the Asian 1 Genotype of Dengue Virus Serotype 2 in Viet Nam: In Vivo Fitness Advantage and Lineage Replacement in South-East Asia

A better description of the extent and structure of genetic diversity in dengue virus (DENV) in endemic settings is central to its eventual control. To this end we determined the complete coding region sequence of 187 DENV-2 genomes and 68 E genes from viruses sampled from Vietnamese patients between 1995 and 2009. Strikingly, an episode of genotype replacement was observed, with Asian 1 lineage viruses entirely displacing the previously dominant Asian/American lineage viruses. This genotype replacement event also seems to have occurred within DENV-2 in Thailand and Cambodia, suggestive of a major difference in viral fitness. To determine the cause of this major evolutionary event we compared both the infectivity of the Asian 1 and Asian/American genotypes in mosquitoes and their viraemia levels in humans. Although there was little difference in infectivity in mosquitoes, we observed significantly higher plasma viraemia levels in paediatric patients infected with Asian 1 lineage viruses relative to Asian/American viruses, a phenotype that is predicted to result in a higher probability of human-to-mosquito transmission. These results provide a mechanistic basis to a marked change in the genetic structure of DENV-2 and more broadly underscore that an understanding of DENV evolutionary dynamics can inform the development of vaccines and anti-viral drugs

Primary Care Influenza-like Illness Surveillance in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2013-2015

BACKGROUND: Year-round transmission of influenza has been detected in Vietnam through both national surveillance and other epidemiological studies. Understanding the demographic and clinical features of influenza-like-illness (ILI) presenting to primary care in urban Vietnam is vital to understand these transmission dynamics. METHODS: A prospective, observational study of patients with ILI in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam was conducted between August 2013 and November 2015 in a mix of public and private primary care settings. Molecular testing for Influenza A & B and 12 other respiratory viruses was performed. RESULTS: 1152 ILI patients were recruited. 322 and 136 subjects tested positive for influenza A and B, respectively. 193 subjects tested positive for another respiratory virus; most commonly rhinovirus and parainfluenza virus 3. Influenza was detected in 81% of the 116 study weeks. Three peaks of influenza activity were detected; an H3N2 peak April-June 2014, an influenza B peak July-December 2014, and a mixed H3N2 and H1N1 peak March-September 2015. Subjects recruited from private clinics were more likely to have higher income, and to have reported previous influenza vaccination. Antibiotic use was common (50.3%) despite limited evidence of bacterial infection. CONCLUSION: Influenza in southern Vietnam has complex transmission dynamics including periods of intense influenza activity of alternating types and subtypes. Broadening surveillance from hospital to the community in tropical settings is feasible and a valuable for improving our understanding of the global spread and evolution of the virus. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved