Emergence mechanisms of group consensus in social networks

Reaching consensus within larger social network groups has emerged as a pivotal concern in the digital age of connectivity.This article redefines group consensus as the emergence of collective intelligence resulting from self-organizing actions and interactions of individuals within a social network group.In our exploration of extant research on group consensus,we illuminate two frequently underestimated,yet noteworthy facets:Dynamism and emergence.In contrast to the conventional perspective of consensus as a mere outcome,we perceive it as an ongoing,dynamic process.This process encompasses self-organized communication and interaction among group members,collectively guiding the group towards cognitive convergence and viewpoint integration.Consequently,it is imperative to redirect our focus from the outcomes of group interactions to an examination of the relationships and processes underpinning consensus formation,thus elucidating the mechanisms responsible for the generation of group consensus.The amalgamation of cognitive contexts and accurate simplification of real-world scenarios for simulation and experimental analysis offers a pragmatic operational approach.This study contributes novel theoretical underpinnings and quantitative insights for establishing and sustaining group consensus within the realm of engineering management practices.Concurrently,it holds substantial importance for advancing the broader research landscape pertaining to social consensus.

Comparative evaluation of the diagnosis, reporting and investigation of malaria cases in China, 2005–2014: transition from control to elimination for the national malaria programme

Background:The elimination of malaria requires high-quality surveillance data to enable rapid detection and response to individual cases.Evaluation of the performance of a national malaria surveillance system could identify shortcomings which,if addressed,will improve the surveillance program for malaria elimination.Methods:Case-level data for the period 2005–2014 were extracted from the China National Notifiable Infectious Disease Reporting Information System and Malaria Enhanced Surveillance Information System.The occurrence of cases,accuracy and timeliness of case diagnosis,reporting and investigation,were assessed and compared between the malaria control stage(2005–2010)and elimination stage(2011–2014)in China's Mainland.Results:A total of 210730 malaria cases were reported in China's Mainland in 2005–2014.The average annual incidence declined dramatically from 2.5 per 100000 people at the control stage to 0.2 per 100000 at the elimination stage,but the proportion of migrant cases increased from 9.8%to 41.0%.Since the initiation of the National Malaria Elimination Programme in 2010,the overall proportion of cases diagnosed by laboratory testing consistently improved,with the highest of 99.0%in 2014.However,this proportion was significantly lower in non-endemic provinces(79.0%)than that in endemic provinces(91.4%)during 2011–2014.The median interval from illness onset to diagnosis was 3 days at the elimination stage,with one day earlier than that at the control stage.Since 2011,more than 99%cases were reported within 1 day after being diagnosed,while the proportion of cases that were reported within one day after diagnosis was lowest in Tibet(37.5%).The predominant source of cases reporting shifted from town-level hospitals at the control stage(67.9%cases)to city-level hospitals and public health institutes at the eliminate stage(69.4%cases).The proportion of investigation within 3 days after case reporting has improved,from 74.6%in 2010 to 98.5%in 2014.Conclusions:The individual case-based malaria surveillance system in China operated well during the malaria elimination stage.This ensured that malaria cases could be diagnosed,reported and timely investigated at local level.However,domestic migrants and overseas populations,as well as cases in the historically malarial non-endemic areas and hard-to-reach area are new challenges in the surveillance for malaria elimination.

Multiplex network reconstruction for the coupled spatial diffusion of infodemic and pandemic of COVID-19

The pandemic of COVID-19 witnessed a massive infodemic with the public being bombarded with vast quantities of information.The spreading of neutral and highly accurate reports can guide the public to self-protect and reduce the pandemic.Mis-and dis-information would intrigue panic and high exposure risk to epidemic.Although the infodemic has attracted attentions from the academia,it is still not known to what degree and in which direction the information flows contribute to the COVID-19 pandemic.To fill the gap,we apply network reconstruction techniques to rebuild the hidden multiplex network of information and COVID-19 spreading by which we aim at quantifying the interaction between the propagation of information and the spatial outbreak of COVID-19,and delineate between the positive and negative impact of information on the pandemic.By differentiating the types of media that participated in the information process,we find that in the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic,infodemic does play a critical role to amplify the risk of virus outbreak in China and the risk is even larger for those highly developed regions.Compared to the old-fashion media,the new mobile platforms impose a greater risk to reinforce the positive feedback between infodemic and COVID-19 pandemic.

Erratum to:Comparative evaluation of the diagnosis,reporting and investigation of malaria cases in China,2005-2014:transition from control to elimination for the national malaria programme

Erratum After publication of this article[1]it was noticed that the wrong figure was used for Fig.3.Please see the correct Fig.3 below.