Super-spreading Events and Contribution to Transmission of MERS, SARS, and COVID-19

There is no clear definition for the term ‘super-spreader’ or ‘super-spreading event’. The World Health Organization refers to a super-spreader as a patient (or an event) that may transmit infection to a larger number of individuals than is usual by one individual (or event). In the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) situation, a super-spreading event was defined as the transmission of SARS to at ≥8 contacts, and other authors defined this as individuals infecting an unusually large number of secondary cases [ 1 , 2 ]. A super-spreading event could merely be defined as an event in which one patient infects far more people than an average patient does, which is estimated by the basic reproduction number (R0)

A phenomenological exploration of men’s experience of happiness

This paper presents findings from a phenomenological study on men’s experience of happiness and its accompanying feelings

The VARying Effect of Foreign Shocks in Central and Eastern Europe

This paper investigates the impact of international shocks – interest rate, commodity price and industrial production shocks – on key macroeconomic variables in ten Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries by using near-VAR models and monthly data from the early 1990s to 2009. In contrast to previous work, the empirical analysis takes explicit account of the possibility of (multiple) structural breaks in the underlying time series. We establish strong evidence of structural breaks, particularly along the years 2007 and 2008, suggesting the very relevant impact of the recent global crisis on CEE economies. Moreover, our results suggest that the way how countries react to world commodity price shocks is related to the underlying economic structure and the credibility of the monetary policy. We also find that some countries like Slovakia and Slovenia – already euro area members – react stronger to foreign industrial production shocks than other countries and that the responses to such shocks are strongly correlated for selected CEE countries. Nevertheless, our results also shed light on substantial differences in responses to foreign interest rate shocks that originate from the US or the euro area.monetary policy; foreign shocks; multiple structural breaks; near-VAR model; CEE economies.

DNA Damage Responses Regulate Macrophage Function During Innate Immune Responses

Activated macrophages produce genotoxins such as reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates that are critical for the eradication of pathogens. Here we show that one of these agents, nitric oxide (NO), damages macrophage genomic DNA, resulting in the activation of DNA damage responses (DDR). The DDR is primarily initiated through DNA double-strand break (DSB) intermediates and depends on the PI3-like kinases ATM and DNA-PKcs. In response to Listeria monocytogenes infection, ATM and DNA-PKcs regulate a tissue-specific genetic program that includes the expression of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and cell surface receptors, several of which are critical for cell migration during immune responses to bacterial infection. These kinases also regulate inflammasome activation and production of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18. Due to the near-complete block in IL-18 production by DNA-PKcs- deficient macrophages, these cells are unable to optimally stimulate NK cells to produce IFN-γ, which is important for controlling early L. monocytogenes infection. These findings establish DNA damage, and the initiation of DDR by this damage, as important signaling intermediates in the innate immune responses mediated by macrophages