Multiscale mass conservative domain decomposition preconditioners for elliptic problems on irregular grids

Multiscale methods can in many cases be viewed as special types of domain decomposition preconditioners. The localisation approximations introduced within the multiscale framework are dependent upon both the heterogeneity of the reservoir and the structure of the computational grid. While previous works on multiscale control volume methods have focused on heterogeneous elliptic problems on regular Cartesian grids, we have tested the multiscale control volume formulations on two-dimensional elliptic problems involving heterogeneous media and irregular grid structures. Our study shows that the tangential flow approximation commonly used within multiscale methods is not suited for problems involving rough grids. We present a more robust mass conservative domain decomposition preconditioner for simulating flow in heterogeneous porous media on general grids

Large waterborne Campylobacter Outbreak: Use of multiple approaches to investigate contamination of the drinking water supply system, Norway, June 2019

On 6 June 2019, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health was notified of more than 50 cases of gastroenteritis in Askøy. A reservoir in a water supply system was suspected as the source of the outbreak because of the acute onset and geographical distribution of cases. We investigated the outbreak to confirm the source, extent of the outbreak and effect of control measures. A case was defined as a person in a household served by Water Supply System A (WSS-A) who had gastroenteritis for more than 24 h between 1 and 19 June 2019. We conducted pilot interviews, a telephone survey and an SMS-based cohort study of residents served by WSS-A. System information of WSS-A was collected. Whole genome sequencing on human and environmental isolates was performed. Among 6,108 individuals, 1,573 fulfilled the case definition. Residents served by the reservoir had a 4.6× higher risk of illness than others. Campylobacter jejuni isolated from cases (n = 24) and water samples (n = 4) had identical core genome MLST profiles. Contamination through cracks in the reservoir most probably occurred during heavy rainfall. Water supply systems are susceptible to contamination, particularly to certain weather conditions. This highlights the importance of water safety planning and risk-based surveillance to mitigate risks

Back-casting sociality in extinct species: new perspectives using mass death assemblages and sex ratios.

Despite 150 years of interest in the ecology of dinosaurs, mammoths, proto-hominids and other extinct vertebrates, a general framework to recreate patterns of sociality has been elusive. Based on our recent discovery of a contemporary heterospecific mass death assemblage in the Gobi Desert (Mongolia), we fit predictions about gender-specific associations and group living in extant ungulates to extinct ones. We relied on comparative data on sex-ratio variation and body-size dimorphism, basing analyses on 38 additional mass mortality sites from Asia, Africa, Europe and North America that span 50 million years. Both extant and extinct species died in aggregations with biased adult sex ratios, but the skew (from 1:1) was greater for extinct dimorphic taxa, suggesting that sociality in these extinct species can be predicted from spatial and demographic traits of extant ones. However, extinct rhinos, horses and zebras were inconsistent with predictions about adult sex ratios, which underscores the inherent difficulty in backcasting historic patterns to some monomorphic taxa. These findings shed light not only on the sociality of extinct species but provide a sound, although limited, footing for interpretation of modern death assemblages within the context of the emerging science of taphonomy and palaeobehaviour