Role of children in the Bulgarian COVID-19 epidemic:A mathematical model study

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic affects all aspects of our lives,including children.With the advancement of the pandemic,children under five years old are at increased risk of hospitalization relative to other age groups.This makes it paramount that we develop tools to address the two critical aspects of preserving children's health–new treatment protocols and new predictive models.For those purposes,we need to understand better the effects of COVID-19 on children,and we need to be able to predict the number of affected children as a proportion of the number of infected children.This is why our research focuses on clinical and epidemiological pictures of children with heart damage post-COVID,as a part of the general picture of post-COVID among this age group.AIM To demonstrate the role of children in the COVID-19 spread in Bulgaria and to test the hypothesis that there are no secondary transmissions in schools and from children to adults.METHODS Our modeling and data show with high probability that in Bulgaria,with our current measures,vaccination strategy and contact structure,the pandemic is driven by the children and their contacts in school.RESULTS This makes it paramount that we develop tools to address the two critical aspects of preserving children's health–new treatment protocols and new predictive models.For those purposes,we need to understand better the effects of COVID-19 on children,and we need to be able to predict the number of affected children as a proportion of the number of infected children.This is why our research focuses on clinical and epidemiological pictures of children with heart damage post-COVID,as a part of the general picture of post-Covid among this age group.CONCLUSION Our modeling rejects that hypothesis,and the epidemiological data supports that.We used epidemiological data to support the validity of our modeling.The first summer wave in 2020 from the listed here school proms endorse the idea of transmissions from students to teachers.

Islet transplantation-immunological challenges and current perspectives

Pancreatic islet transplantation is a minimally invasive procedure aiming to reverse the effects of insulin deficiency in patients with type 1 diabetes(T1D)by transplanting pancreatic beta cells.Overall,pancreatic islet transplantation has improved to a great extent,and cellular replacement will likely become the mainstay treatment.We review pancreatic islet transplantation as a treatment for T1D and the immunological challenges faced.Published data demonstrated that the time for islet cell transfusion varied between 2 and 10 h.Approximately 54%of the patients gained insulin independence at the end of the first year,while only 20%remained insulin-free at the end of the second year.Eventually,most transplanted patients return to using some form of exogenous insulin within a few years after the transplantation,which imposed the need to improve immunological factors before transplantation.We also discuss the immunosuppressive regimens,apoptotic donor lymphocytes,anti-TIM-1 antibodies,mixed chimerism-based tolerance induction,induction of antigen-specific tolerance utilizing ethylene carbodiimide-fixed splenocytes,pretransplant infusions of donor apoptotic cells,B cell depletion,preconditioning of isolated islets,inducing local immunotolerance,cell encapsulation and immunoisolation,using of biomaterials,immunomodulatory cells,etc.

Long-term effectiveness,outcomes and complications of bariatric surgery

Dietary imbalance and overeating can lead to an increasingly widespread disease-obesity.Aesthetic considerations aside,obesity is defined as an excess of adipose tissue that can lead to serious health problems and can predispose to a number of pathological changes and clinical diseases,including diabetes;hypertension;atherosclerosis;coronary artery disease and stroke;obstructive sleep apnea;depression;weight-related arthropathies and endometrial and breast cancer.A body weight 20%above ideal for age,gender and height is a severe health risk.Bariatric surgery is a set of surgical methods to treat morbid obesity when other treatments such as diet,increased physical activity,behavioral changes and drugs have failed.The two most common procedures currently used are sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass.This procedure has gained popularity recently and is generally considered safe and effective.Although current data show that perioperative mortality is low and better control of comorbidities and short-term complications is achieved,more randomized trials are needed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of bariatric procedures.This review aims to synthesize and summarize the growing evidence on the long-term effectiveness,outcomes and complications of bariatric surgery.

Applications of time series analysis in epidemiology: Literature review and our experience during COVID-19 pandemic

Time series analysis is a valuable tool in epidemiology that complements the classical epidemiological models in two different ways:Prediction and forecast.Prediction is related to explaining past and current data based on various internal and external influences that may or may not have a causative role.Forecasting is an exploration of the possible future values based on the predictive ability of the model and hypothesized future values of the external and/or internal influences.The time series analysis approach has the advantage of being easier to use(in the cases of more straightforward and linear models such as Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average).Still,it is limited in forecasting time,unlike the classical models such as Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed.Its applicability in forecasting comes from its better accuracy for short-term prediction.In its basic form,it does not assume much theoretical knowledge of the mechanisms of spreading and mutating pathogens or the reaction of people and regulatory structures(governments,companies,etc.).Instead,it estimates from the data directly.Its predictive ability allows testing hypotheses for different factors that positively or negatively contribute to the pandemic spread;be it school closures,emerging variants,etc.It can be used in mortality or hospital risk estimation from new cases,seroprevalence studies,assessing properties of emerging variants,and estimating excess mortality and its relationship with a pandemic.

Pandemic control-do's and don'ts from a control theory perspective

Managing a pandemic is a difficult task.Pandemics are part of the dynamics of nonlinear systems with multiple different interactive features that co-adapt to each other(such as humans,animals,and pathogens).The target of controlling such a nonlinear system is best achieved using the control system theory developed in engineering and applied in systems biology.But is this theory and its principles actually used in controlling the current coronavirus disease-19 pandemic?We review the evidence for applying principles in different aspects of pandemic control related to different goals such as disease eradication,disease containment,and short-or long-term economic loss minimization.Successful policies implement multiple measures in concordance with control theory to achieve a robust response.In contrast,unsuccessful policies have numerous failures in different measures or focus only on a single measure(only testing,vaccines,etc.).Successful approaches rely on predictions instead of reactions to compensate for the costs of time delay,on knowledge-based analysis instead of trial-and-error,to control complex nonlinear systems,and on risk assessment instead of waiting for more evidence.Iran is an example of the effects of delayed response due to waiting for evidence to arrive instead of a proper risk analytical approach.New Zealand,Australia,and China are examples of appropriate application of basic control theoretic principles and focusing on long-term adaptive strategies,updating measures with the evolution of the pandemic.

Cultural unitred in the Old Testament

The paper describes and analyzes the full presence of red in the Old Testament-in Hebrew and translations.The approach is interdisciplinary,which includes:the treatment of color as a cultural unit,according to the idea of Umberto Eco;lexical and contextual semantics;examining Basic Color Terms(BCT-adjective,noun,verb),Prototype Terms(PT blood and fire),Rival Terms of Prototypes(RT),e.g.ruby;Ters for Basic Features of the Prototypes(TBFP burn);translation as a criterion and semiotic value;semiotic osmosis(semio-osmosis)as a process that aims equivalence between Hebrew PT and TBFP;semio-osmosis and accommodation;cultural and linguistic context;the interplay of old information(topic/theme)-new information(focus/rheme);rhizome of Hebrew root Aleph-Dalet-Mem deriving untranslatable set of words;well-structured and always translatable terms for PTs.Some links between the Old and New Testaments based on red color are explicit.

Cultural unitwhite prototypeterms

The article focuses on the Hebrew prototypes terms(PTs)of white in the Old Testament-light,milk,and snow.The aim is to explore the worldview of Hebrew to reveal the original messages of the Bible.The translation is an essential tool that shows which translation elements(the word and its root derivatives)are symmetrical,asymmetric,and dissymmetric to Hebrew due to the different worldviews of languages.The method is interdisciplinary and includes several theories and approaches.Original is Almalech's methodology for tracking all verbal options to signify color:Basic color term(BCT),prototype term(PT),rival terms to prototype(RT),and terms for the basic feature of the prototype(TBFP).Semiotic osmosis is also an original element of Almalech's methodology and has a place in the study of colors in the Bible.The phenomenon is observed when Hebrew PT is translated with the BCT,Hebrew TBFP is translated with BCT in the Indo-European language,e.g.,darkness is translated with black,fresh is translated with green.In the case of light,semiotic osmosis is when a quality of light is perceived as synonymous with light,e.g.,brilliance is synonymous with light in Hebrew,English,Bulgarian,and other languages.The importance of light in religious systems,regional culture,and natural features are taken into account.Almalech's semiotic approach to color,ie.,treating them as a sign communication system,involves the insisting that a distinction must be made between verbal and visual color because of their different potential to have primary and secondary(figurative and cultural)meanings.The substance of the language sign(sound is a mechanical wave)is physically different from the visual sign(electromagnetic wave).Almalech considered prototypes to be the cognitive interface between verbal and visual colors.Therefore,semiotically understood,color is a cultural unit that contains verbal and visual colors,complemented by social,religious,and folkloric use of primary and secondary color meanings.

Cultural unit blue in the Old Testament

The paper describes and analyzes the full presence of blue in the Old Testament-in Hebrew and translations.The interdisciplinary approach in-cludes the treatment of color as a cultural unit according to of Eco's idea,lexical and contextual semantics,distinguishing visual and verbal color languages.The interface between verbal and visual color language is the prototype.Prototypes are universal natural visual objects-sky,sea,fire,blood,the sun at noon,all plants,light,milk,snow,darkness,and coal and have evolved into cultural units(Eco 1996[1985])in all cultures and languages.Basic Color Terms(BCT-blue),Prototype Terms(PT-sky and sea),Rivals Terms of prototypes(RT-sapphire,blue skins),Terms for Basic Features of the Prototypes(TBFP-breadth,infinite,boundless)are examined.Translation is a criterion for semiotic value,cultural and linguistic context.Norm of Test of Free Word-Associations is a source of non-color(secondary)meanings of verbal colors.Test results allow us to flesh out the hidden links‘prototype color-most typical feature of the proto-type-secondary meanings of color'in text and visual culture.The secondary cultural meanings of BCTs and RTs are specified in color compounds.The color blue tehelet is used in most cases in synergy(not in opposition)with the other three colors in a tetrad:purple argaman-scarlet tolaat shani-linen shesh.Analysis on the synergic relations is performed.The same applies to duads blue-linen,blue-purple,blue skins-scarlet,blue skins-red skins.Color compounds are elements of the Priestly Code,therefore a hypothesis on compounds at se-miotic axes is developed.The PT sky is involved in religious heritage.Themes as Hebrew substitute shamaim for the Tetragrammaton,the Hierarchy of heavens complete the areas of cultural unit blue in the Old Testament.

Cultural Unit Green in the Old Testament

The paper describes and analyzes the full presence of green in the Old Testament—in Hebrew and translations. The approach is interdisciplinary, which includes: the treatment of colour as a cultural unit, according to the idea of Umberto Eco; lexical and contextual semantics; examining Basic Colour Terms(BCT—adjective, noun, verb), Prototype Terms(PT—all plants), Rivals Terms of Prototypes(RT), e.g raven, shadow, ebony, etc.; Terms for the Basic Features of the Prototypes(TBFP—fresh, humid, juicy, lush, damp, humid, moist, wet, flowering, blossoming); translation as a criterion and semiotic value; semio-osmosis as a process that aims equivalence of translations, regardless of the different world views of Hebrew and other languages; semio-osmosis and accommodation; cultural and linguistic context; the interplay of old information(topic/theme)—new information(focus/rheme); context meanings and symbolism of grass; translation of PT and TBFP, e.g. fresh tree; grass & herbs; grass & freshness, vegetables, leafy as green; and biblical specialization of PT and TBFP, e.g. fresh tree(Hebrew).

Facebook Engagement and Its Relation to Visuals, With a Focus on Brand Culture

Facebook has changed the way customers interact with brands and their expectations toward corporate communication. Creating brand stories has always been one of the most powerful marketing tools, but in digital media the story is fragmented; it is distributed through different media platforms(social media, corporate websites, blogs, etc.) and comes in different forms—images, video, text. As the news feed is constantly changing and overloaded with information, customers tend to pay more attention to messages which are relevant, easy to understand with clear visual representation, and which are valuable enough to be shared. That is why images are an essential part of online corporate communication, and communication experts use semiotic approaches to analyse the visual language of their brand and to create a digital brand mythology.

Exploring Saussure’s Analogy between Linguistic and Monetary Signs

Beginning with a few of Saussure’s ideas from Course of General Linguistics;the author tracks the development of money as signs fulfilling their pecuniary function.The principle of the arbitrariness of linguistic signs,postulated in Course,is the leading concept under which all forms of money are grouped for study.In its evolution from the primitive consumable forms such as salt,leather and grain to the last abstract forms of accountable digital writing,the money sign is increasing its level of arbitrariness between signifier and signified value and thus becomes “better for thinking” (Levy-Strauss) and communicating.The second part of the paper considers the main contributions to the field of semiotics pertaining to money and economic value,and thus highlights the originality of the model,in which the arbitrariness of monetary signs and the scarcity of money tokens in circulation form the model’s foundation.The author’s analysis,applying the dyadic sign,reveals the relationship between the value or meaning of a monetary sign and the temporal dimension of our experience.The article concludes with some hypotheses about the homology between the primordial finitude of human temporality (Heidegger) and the principle of scarcity/finitude of money in circulation as a condition of their value.