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Sherratt K, Gruson H, Grah R, Johnson H, Niehus R, Prasse B, Sandmann F, Deuschel J, Wolffram D, Abbott S, Ullrich A, Gibson G, Ray EL, Reich NG, Sheldon D, Wang Y, Wattanachit N, Wang L, Trnka J, Obozinski G, Sun T, Thanou D, Pottier L, Krymova E, Meinke JH, Barbarossa MV, Leithäuser N, Mohring J, Schneider J, Włazło J, Fuhrmann J, Lange B, Rodiah I, Baccam P, Gurung H, Stage S, Suchoski B, Budzinski J, Walraven R, Villanueva I, Tucek V, Smid M, Zajíček M, Pérez Álvarez C, Reina B, Bosse NI, Meakin SR, Castro L, Fairchild G, Michaud I, Osthus D, Alaimo Di Loro P, Maruotti A, Eclerová V, Kraus A, Kraus D, Pribylova L, Dimitris B, Li ML, Saksham S, Dehning J, Mohr S, Priesemann V, Redlarski G, Bejar B, Ardenghi G, Parolini N, Ziarelli G, Bock W, Heyder S, Hotz T, Singh DE, Guzman-Merino M, Aznarte JL, Moriña D, Alonso S, Álvarez E, López D, Prats C, Burgard JP, Rodloff A, Zimmermann T, Kuhlmann A, Zibert J, Pennoni F, Divino F, Català M, Lovison G, Giudici P, Tarantino B, Bartolucci F, Jona Lasinio G, Mingione M, Farcomeni A, Srivastava A, Montero-Manso P, Adiga A, Hurt B, Lewis B, Marathe M, Porebski P, Venkatramanan S, Bartczuk RP, Dreger F, Gambin A, Gogolewski K, Gruziel-Słomka M, Krupa B, Moszyński A, Niedzielewski K, Nowosielski J, Radwan M, Rakowski F, Semeniuk M, Szczurek E, Zieliński J, Kisielewski J, Pabjan B, Kirsten H, Kheifetz Y, Scholz M, Biecek P, Bodych M, Filinski M, Idzikowski R, Krueger T, Ozanski T, Bracher J, Funk S. Predictive performance of multi-model ensemble forecasts of COVID-19 across European nations. eLife 2023; 12:81916. [PMID: 37083521 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Short-term forecasts of infectious disease contribute to situational awareness and capacity planning. Based on best practice in other fields and recent insights in infectious disease epidemiology, one can maximise forecasts' predictive performance by combining independent models into an ensemble. Here we report the performance of ensemble predictions of COVID-19 cases and deaths across Europe from March 2021 to March 2022. Methods: We created the European COVID-19 Forecast Hub, an online open-access platform where modellers upload weekly forecasts for 32 countries with results publicly visualised and evaluated. We created a weekly ensemble forecast from the equally-weighted average across individual models' predictive quantiles. We measured forecast accuracy using a baseline and relative Weighted Interval Score (rWIS). We retrospectively explored ensemble methods, including weighting by past performance. Results: We collected weekly forecasts from 48 models, of which we evaluated 29 models alongside the ensemble model. The ensemble had a consistently strong performance across countries over time, performing better on rWIS than 91% of forecasts for deaths (N=763 predictions from 20 models), and 83% forecasts for cases (N=886 predictions from 23 models). Performance remained stable over a 4-week horizon for death forecasts but declined with longer horizons for cases. Among ensemble methods, the most influential choice came from using a median average instead of the mean, regardless of weighting component models. Conclusions: Our results support combining independent models into an ensemble forecast to improve epidemiological predictions, and suggest that median averages yield better performance than methods based on means. We highlight that forecast consumers should place more weight on incident death forecasts than case forecasts at horizons greater than two weeks. Funding: European Commission, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, FEDER; Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya; Netzwerk Universitätsmedizin; Health Protection Research Unit; Wellcome Trust; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland; Federal Ministry of Education and Research; Los Alamos National Laboratory; German Free State of Saxony; NCBiR; FISR 2020 Covid-19 I Fase; Spanish Ministry of Health / REACT-UE (FEDER); National Institutes of General Medical Sciences; Ministerio de Sanidad/ISCIII; PERISCOPE European H2020; PERISCOPE European H2021; InPresa; National Institutes of Health, NSF, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Google, University of Virginia, Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine Sherratt
- Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hugo Gruson
- Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rok Grah
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Helen Johnson
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rene Niehus
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Bastian Prasse
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Frank Sandmann
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - Sam Abbott
- Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Graham Gibson
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, United States
| | - Evan L Ray
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, United States
| | | | - Daniel Sheldon
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, United States
| | - Yijin Wang
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, United States
| | | | - Lijing Wang
- Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, United States
| | - Jan Trnka
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Tao Sun
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Dorina Thanou
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | - Neele Leithäuser
- Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Jan Mohring
- Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Johanna Schneider
- Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Jaroslaw Włazło
- Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | | | - Berit Lange
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Isti Rodiah
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Inmaculada Villanueva
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vit Tucek
- Institute of Computer Science, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Smid
- Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Milan Zajíček
- Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Nikos I Bosse
- Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sophie R Meakin
- Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren Castro
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States
| | | | - Isaac Michaud
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States
| | - Dave Osthus
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Soni Saksham
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States
| | - Jonas Dehning
- Max-Planck-Institut fur Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Mohr
- Max-Planck-Institut fur Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Viola Priesemann
- MPRG Priesemann, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Wolfgang Bock
- Technical University of Kaiserlautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Hotz
- Technische Universitat Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany
| | | | | | - Jose L Aznarte
- Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Sergio Alonso
- Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Enric Álvarez
- Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel López
- Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Clara Prats
- Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Benjamin Hurt
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, United States
| | - Bryan Lewis
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Marcin Bodych
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Maciej Filinski
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | - Tyll Krueger
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Ozanski
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | - Sebastian Funk
- Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
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Beatrice P, Saviano G, Reguzzoni M, Divino F, Fantasma F, Chiatante D, Montagnoli A. Light spectra of biophilic LED-sourced system modify essential oils composition and plant morphology of Mentha piperita L. and Ocimum basilicum L. Front Plant Sci 2023; 14:1093883. [PMID: 36743499 PMCID: PMC9893021 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1093883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Investigating morphological and molecular mechanisms that plants adopt in response to artificial biophilic lighting is crucial for implementing biophilic approaches in indoor environments. Also, studying the essential oils (EOs) composition in aromatic plants can help unveil the light influence on plant metabolism and open new investigative routes devoted to producing valuable molecules for human health and commercial applications. We assessed the growth performance and the EOs composition of Mentha x piperita and Ocimum basilicum grown under an innovative artificial biophilic lighting system (CoeLux®), that enables the simulation of natural sunlight with a realistic sun perception, and compared it to high-pressure sodium lamps (control) We found that plants grown under the CoeLux® light type experienced a general suppression of both above and belowground biomass, a high leaf area, and a lower leaf thickness, which might be related to the shade avoidance syndrome. The secondary metabolites composition in the plants' essential oils was scarcely affected by both light intensity and spectral composition of the CoeLux® light type, as similarities above 80% were observed with respect to the control light treatments and within both plant species. The major differences were detected with respect to the EOs extracted from plants grown under natural sunlight (52% similarity in M. piperita and 75% in O. basilicum). Overall, it can be speculated that the growth of these two aromatic plants under the CoeLux® lighting systems is a feasible strategy to improve biophilic approaches in closed environments that include both plants and artificial sunlight. Among the two plant species analyzed, O. basilicum showed an overall better performance in terms of both morphological traits and essential oil composition. To increase biomass production and enhance the EOs quality (e.g., higher menthol concentrations), further studies should focus on technical solutions to raise the light intensity irradiating plants during their growth under the CoeLux® lighting systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Beatrice
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Gabriella Saviano
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Marcella Reguzzoni
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Fabio Divino
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Francesca Fantasma
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Donato Chiatante
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Antonio Montagnoli
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
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Jona Lasinio G, Divino F, Lovison G, Mingione M, Alaimo Di Loro P, Farcomeni A, Maruotti A. Two years of COVID-19 pandemic: The Italian experience of Statgroup-19. Environmetrics 2022; 33:e2768. [PMID: 36712697 PMCID: PMC9874523 DOI: 10.1002/env.2768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The amount and poor quality of available data and the need of appropriate modeling of the main epidemic indicators require specific skills. In this context, the statistician plays a key role in the process that leads to policy decisions, starting with monitoring changes and evaluating risks. The "what" and the "why" of these changes represent fundamental research questions to provide timely and effective tools to manage the evolution of the epidemic. Answers to such questions need appropriate statistical models and visualization tools. Here, we give an overview of the role played by Statgroup-19, an independent Italian research group born in March 2020. The group includes seven statisticians from different Italian universities, each with different backgrounds but with a shared interest in data analysis, statistical modeling, and biostatistics. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic the group has interacted with authorities and journalists to support policy decisions and inform the general public about the evolution of the epidemic. This collaboration led to several scientific papers and an accrued visibility across various media, all made possible by the continuous interaction across the group members that shared their unique expertise.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fabio Divino
- Department of Bio‐SciencesUniversity of MoliseItaly
| | - Gianfranco Lovison
- Department of EconomicsManagement and Statistics, University of PalermoPalermoItaly
| | - Marco Mingione
- Department of Political SciencesUniversity of Roma TreRomeItaly
| | | | - Alessio Farcomeni
- Department of Economics and FinanceUniversity of Rome “Tor Vergata”RomeItaly
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4
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Aquilano C, Baccari L, Caprari C, Divino F, Fantasma F, Saviano G, Ranalli G. Effects of EOs vs. Antibiotics on E. coli Strains Isolated from Drinking Waters of Grazing Animals in the Upper Molise Region, Italy. Molecules 2022; 27:8177. [PMID: 36500269 PMCID: PMC9741016 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27238177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The health and safety of grazing animals was the subject of microbiological monitoring on natural source of drinking waters in the upper Molise region, Italy. Surface water samples, on spring-summer season, were collected and submitted to analyses using sterile membrane filtration, cultural medium, and incubation. The level of environmental microbial contamination (Total viable microbial count, yeasts and fungi) and faecal presence (Total and faecal coliforms, E. coli, and Salmonellae spp.) were carried out. By the selective microbiological screening, twenty-three E. coli strains from drinking waters were isolated and submitted to further studies to evaluate antibiotic resistance by antibiograms vs. three animal and two diffuse human antibiotics. Furthermore, after a fine chemical characterization by GC and GC-MS, three Essential Oils (EOs) of aromatic plants (Timus vulgaris, Melaleuca alternifolia, Cinnamomun verum) aromatograms were performed and results statistically compared. The effects of EOs vs. antibiotics on E. coli strains isolated from drinking waters showed a total absence of microbial resistance. In our experimental conditions, even if some suggestions will be further adopted for better managements of grazing animals, because the health and safety represent a guarantee for both animals and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Giancarlo Ranalli
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise, C. da Fonte Lappone snc, 86090 Pesche, IS, Italy
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5
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Mingione M, Alaimo Di Loro P, Farcomeni A, Divino F, Lovison G, Maruotti A, Lasinio GJ. Spatio-temporal modelling of COVID-19 incident cases using Richards' curve: An application to the Italian regions. Spat Stat 2022; 49:100544. [PMID: 36407655 PMCID: PMC9643104 DOI: 10.1016/j.spasta.2021.100544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We introduce an extended generalised logistic growth model for discrete outcomes, in which spatial and temporal dependence are dealt with the specification of a network structure within an Auto-Regressive approach. A major challenge concerns the specification of the network structure, crucial to consistently estimate the canonical parameters of the generalised logistic curve, e.g. peak time and height. We compared a network based on geographic proximity and one built on historical data of transport exchanges between regions. Parameters are estimated under the Bayesian framework, using Stan probabilistic programming language. The proposed approach is motivated by the analysis of both the first and the second wave of COVID-19 in Italy, i.e. from February 2020 to July 2020 and from July 2020 to December 2020, respectively. We analyse data at the regional level and, interestingly enough, prove that substantial spatial and temporal dependence occurred in both waves, although strong restrictive measures were implemented during the first wave. Accurate predictions are obtained, improving those of the model where independence across regions is assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Mingione
- University of Rome "La Sapienza", Dpt. of Statistical Sciences, Rome, Italy
- Institute of Applied Computing "M. Picone" (IAC - CNR), Italy
| | | | - Alessio Farcomeni
- University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Dpt. of Economics and Finance, Italy
| | - Fabio Divino
- University of Molise, Dpt. of Bio-Sciences, Italy
| | - Gianfranco Lovison
- University of Palermo, Dpt. of Economics, Management and Statistics, Italy
- Swiss TPH, Dpt. of Epidemiology and Public Health, Switzerland
| | - Antonello Maruotti
- Libera Università Maria Ss Assunta, Dpt. GEPLI, Italy
- University of Bergen, Dpt. of Mathematics, Norway
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Divino F, Alaimo Di Loro P, Farcomeni A, Jona-Lasinio G, Lovison G, Ciccozzi M, Mingione M, Maruotti A. Decreased severity of the Omicron variant of concern: further evidence from Italy. Int J Infect Dis 2022; 119:21-23. [PMID: 35331936 PMCID: PMC8935975 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2022.03.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Divino
- Department of Biosciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
| | | | - Alessio Farcomeni
- Department of Economics and Finance, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
| | | | - Gianfranco Lovison
- Department of Economics, Management and Statistics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss TPH Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Department of Medicine, Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Mingione
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Antonello Maruotti
- Department GEPLI, Libera Università Maria Ss Assunta, Rome, Italy; Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
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Maruotti A, Giovanetti M, Divino F, Broccolo F, Angeletti S, Ciccozzi M. Prisoners of variants, or free to act as prisoners of swabs? The case of Italy. J Med Virol 2022; 94:2334-2335. [PMID: 35040149 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
To the editor, " To all evils there are two remedies: time and silence [1]." This citation from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, written in 1844, in collaboration with Auguste Maquet, appears to be timely nowadays. This showed how novels can often be able to teach us how to lead some wars. The fight against the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), that overwhelmed the planet for about two years, required and still requires silence to think and time to act, to find the right strategies for the beginning of the "new normal". This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marta Giovanetti
- Laboratório de Flavivírus, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Department of Science and Technology for Humans and the Environment, University of Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.,Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Fabio Divino
- Laboratory of Biostatistics and Computational Epidemiology, Department of Biosciences, University of Molise, Italy
| | - Francesco Broccolo
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy.,Laboratory Cerba Healthcare, 20137, Milano, Italy
| | - Silvia Angeletti
- Unit of Clinical Laboratory Science, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Medical Statistic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, University of Biomedical Campus, Rome, Italy
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Divino F, Ciccozzi M, Farcomeni A, Jona‐Lasinio G, Lovison G, Maruotti A. Unreliable predictions about COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations make people worry: The case of Italy. J Med Virol 2022; 94:26-28. [PMID: 34496053 PMCID: PMC8662300 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Divino
- Laboratory of Biostatistics and Computational Epidemiology, Department of BiosciencesUniversity of MoliseCampobassoItaly
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Medical Statistics and Epidemiology UnitUniversità Campus Bio‐Medico di RomaRomeItaly
| | - Alessio Farcomeni
- Department of Economics and FinanceUniversity of Rome “Tor Vergata”RomeItaly
| | | | - Gianfranco Lovison
- Department of Economics, Management, and StatisticsUniversity of PalermoPalermoItaly
| | - Antonello Maruotti
- Department GEPLILibera Università Maria Ss AssuntaRomeItaly
- Department of MathematicsUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
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Divino F, Maruotti A, Farcomeni A, Jona-Lasinio G, Lovison G, Ciccozzi M. On the severity of COVID-19 infections in 2021 in Italy. J Med Virol 2021; 94:1281-1283. [PMID: 34914112 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Divino
- Laboratory of Biostatistics and Computational Epidemiology, Department of Biosciences, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Antonello Maruotti
- Department GEPLI, Libera Università Maria Ss Assunta, Rome, Italy.,Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Alessio Farcomeni
- Department of Economics and Finance, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
| | | | - Gianfranco Lovison
- Department of Economics, Management, and Statistics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Department of Medicine, Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Borsetti A, Scarpa F, Maruotti A, Divino F, Ceccarelli G, Giovanetti M, Ciccozzi M. The unresolved question on COVID-19 virus origin: The three cards game? J Med Virol 2021; 94:1257-1260. [PMID: 34897750 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The ongoing discussion about the real origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) feeds acrimonious debates. Where did SARS-CoV-2 come from? Was SARS-CoV-2 transmitted in the wild from an animal to a person before exploding in Wuhan or was it an engineered virus that escaped from research or a laboratory in Wuhan? Right now, we still don't know enough whether SARS-CoV-2 is human-made or not, and lab-leak theories remain essentially speculative. Many recent studies have pointed out several plausible scenarios. Anyhow, currently, even if suspicions by some about the possibility of lab-leak hypothesis still remain, the consensus view is that the pandemic probably started from a natural source and, to determine the real origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, further research is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Borsetti
- National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Scarpa
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Antonello Maruotti
- Department GEPLI, Libera Università Maria SS Assunta, Rome, Italy.,Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Fabio Divino
- Department of Biosciences, Laboratory of Biostatistics and Computational Epidemiology, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Ceccarelli
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Marta Giovanetti
- Flavivirus Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Laboratório de Genética Celular e Molecular, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Medical Statistics and Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
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Ciccozzi M, Maruotti A, Ceccarelli G, Divino F, Guarino M, Angeletti S. While we are discussing… the SARS-CoV-2 virus laughs. J Med Virol 2021; 93:6475-6476. [PMID: 34374995 PMCID: PMC8426851 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Ciccozzi
- Department of Medicine, Unit of Medical Statistics and Moelcular Epidemiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonello Maruotti
- Department GEPLI, Libera Università Maria SS Assunta, Rome, Italy.,Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Giancarlo Ceccarelli
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Department of Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Divino
- Laboratory of Biostatistics and Computational Epidemiology, Department of Biosciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
| | - Michele Guarino
- Department of Medicine, Unit of Gastroenterology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Angeletti
- Department of Medicine, Unit of Clinical Laboratory Science, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Alaimo Di Loro P, Divino F, Farcomeni A, Jona Lasinio G, Lovison G, Maruotti A, Mingione M. Nowcasting COVID-19 incidence indicators during the Italian first outbreak. Stat Med 2021; 40:3843-3864. [PMID: 33955571 PMCID: PMC8242495 DOI: 10.1002/sim.9004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
A novel parametric regression model is proposed to fit incidence data typically collected during epidemics. The proposal is motivated by real-time monitoring and short-term forecasting of the main epidemiological indicators within the first outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy. Accurate short-term predictions, including the potential effect of exogenous or external variables are provided. This ensures to accurately predict important characteristics of the epidemic (e.g., peak time and height), allowing for a better allocation of health resources over time. Parameter estimation is carried out in a maximum likelihood framework. All computational details required to reproduce the approach and replicate the results are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fabio Divino
- Department of Bio‐SciencesUniversity of MoliseCampobassoItaly
| | - Alessio Farcomeni
- Department of Economics and FinanceUniversity of Rome “Tor Vergata”RomeItaly
| | | | - Gianfranco Lovison
- Department of Economics, Management and StatisticsUniversity of PalermoPalermoItaly
- Department of Epidemiology and Public HealthSwiss TPH BaselBaselSwitzerland
| | - Antonello Maruotti
- Department of GEPLILibera Universitá Maria Ss AssuntaRomeItaly
- Department of MathematicsUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
| | - Marco Mingione
- Department of Statistical SciencesUniversity of Rome “La Sapienza”RomeItaly
- IAC ‐ CNRInstitute of Applied Computing “M. Picone”RomeItaly
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13
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Maruotti A, Ciccozzi M, Divino F. On the misuse of the reproduction number in the COVID-19 surveillance system in Italy. J Med Virol 2021; 93:2569-2570. [PMID: 33590895 PMCID: PMC8014213 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonello Maruotti
- Department GEPLILibera Università Maria SS AssuntaRomeItaly
- Department of MathematicsUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Unit of Clinical Pathology and MicrobiologyUniversity Campus Bio‐Medico of RomeRomeItaly
| | - Fabio Divino
- Laboratory of Biostatistics and Computational Epidemiology, Department of BiosciencesUniversity of MoliseCampobassoItaly
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Farcomeni A, Maruotti A, Divino F, Jona-Lasinio G, Lovison G. An ensemble approach to short-term forecast of COVID-19 intensive care occupancy in Italian regions. Biom J 2020; 63:503-513. [PMID: 33251604 PMCID: PMC7753356 DOI: 10.1002/bimj.202000189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The availability of intensive care beds during the COVID‐19 epidemic is crucial to guarantee the best possible treatment to severely affected patients. In this work we show a simple strategy for short‐term prediction of COVID‐19 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, that has proved very effective during the Italian outbreak in February to May 2020. Our approach is based on an optimal ensemble of two simple methods: a generalized linear mixed regression model, which pools information over different areas, and an area‐specific nonstationary integer autoregressive methodology. Optimal weights are estimated using a leave‐last‐out rationale. The approach has been set up and validated during the first epidemic wave in Italy. A report of its performance for predicting ICU occupancy at regional level is included.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Farcomeni
- Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata", Roma, Italy
| | - Antonello Maruotti
- Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Economia, Politica e Lingue Moderne, Libera Università Maria Ss Assunta, Roma, Italy.,Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Fabio Divino
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze e Territorio, Università del Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | | | - Gianfranco Lovison
- Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Aziendali e Statistiche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.,Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss TPH, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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Monaco P, Divino F, Naclerio G, Bucci A. Microbial community analysis with a specific statistical approach after a record breaking snowfall in Southern Italy. ANN MICROBIOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1186/s13213-020-01604-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
Snow and ice ecosystems present unexpectedly high microbial abundance and diversity. Although arctic and alpine snow environments have been intensively investigated from a microbiological point of view, few studies have been conducted in the Apennines. Accordingly, the main purpose of this research was to analyze the microbial communities of the snow collected in two different locations of Capracotta municipality (Southern Italy) after a snowfall record occurred on March 2015 (256 cm of snow in less than 24 h).
Methods
Bacterial communities were analyzed by the Next-Generation Sequencing techniques. Furthermore, a specific statistical approach for taxonomic hierarchy data was introduced, both for the assessment of diversity within microbial communities and the comparison between different microbiotas. In general, diversity and similarity indices are more informative when computed at the lowest level of the taxonomic hierarchy, the species level. This is not the case with microbial data, for which the species level is not necessarily the most informative. Indeed, the possibility to detect a large number of unclassified records at every level of the hierarchy (even at the top) is very realistic due to both the partial knowledge about the cultivable fraction of microbial communities and limitations to taxonomic assignment connected to the quality and completeness of the 16S rRNA gene reference databases. Thus, a global approach considering information from the whole taxonomic hierarchy was adopted in order to obtain a more consistent assessment of the biodiversity.
Result
The main phyla retrieved in the investigated snow samples were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. Interestingly, DNA from bacteria adapted to thrive at low temperatures, but also from microorganisms normally associated with other habitats, whose presence in the snow could be justified by wind-transport, was found. Biomolecular investigations and statistical data analysis showed relevant differences in terms of biodiversity, composition, and distribution of bacterial species between the studied snow samples.
Conclusion
The relevance of this research lies in the expansion of knowledge about microorganisms associated with cold environments in contexts poorly investigated such as the Italian Apennines, and in the development of a global statistical approach for the assessment of biological diversity and similarity of microbial communities as an additional tool to be usefully combined with the barcoding methods.
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Bucci A, Allocca V, Naclerio G, Capobianco G, Divino F, Fiorillo F, Celico F. Winter survival of microbial contaminants in soil: an in situ verification. J Environ Sci (China) 2015; 27:131-138. [PMID: 25597671 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2014.07.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Revised: 06/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/07/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the research was to evaluate, at site scale, the influence of freezing and freeze/thaw cycles on the survival of faecal coliforms and faecal enterococci in soil, in a climate change perspective. Before the winter period and during grazing, viable cells of faecal coliforms and faecal enterococci were detected only in the first 10 cm below ground, while, after the winter period and before the new seasonal grazing, a lower number of viable cells of both faecal indicators was detected only in some of the investigated soil profiles, and within the first 5 cm. Taking into consideration the results of specific investigations, we hypothesise that the non-uniform spatial distribution of grass roots within the studied soil can play an important role in influencing this phenomenon, while several abiotic factors do not play any significant role. Taking into account the local trend in the increase of air temperature, a different distribution of microbial pollution over time is expected in spring waters, in future climate scenarios. The progressive increase in air temperature will cause a progressive decrease in freeze/thaw cycles at higher altitudes, minimising cold shocks on microbial cells, and causing spring water pollution also during winter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Bucci
- University of Molise, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Pesche (IS) 86090, Italy.
| | - Vincenzo Allocca
- University "Federico II", Department of Earth Sciences, Napoli 80134, Italy
| | - Gino Naclerio
- University of Molise, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Pesche (IS) 86090, Italy
| | - Giovanni Capobianco
- University of Molise, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Pesche (IS) 86090, Italy
| | - Fabio Divino
- University of Molise, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Pesche (IS) 86090, Italy
| | - Francesco Fiorillo
- University of Sannio, Department of Geological and Environmental Studies, Benevento 82100, Italy
| | - Fulvio Celico
- University of Parma, Department of Physics and Earth Sciences "Macedonio Melloni", Parma 43124, Italy
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Tonini F, Divino F, Lasinio GJ, Hochmair HH, Scheffrahn RH. Predicting the geographical distribution of two invasive termite species from occurrence data. Environ Entomol 2014; 43:1135-1144. [PMID: 25198370 DOI: 10.1603/en13312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the potential habitat of species under both current and future climate change scenarios is crucial for monitoring invasive species and understanding a species' response to different environmental conditions. Frequently, the only data available on a species is the location of its occurrence (presence-only data). Using occurrence records only, two models were used to predict the geographical distribution of two destructive invasive termite species, Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. The first model uses a Bayesian linear logistic regression approach adjusted for presence-only data while the second one is the widely used maximum entropy approach (Maxent). Results show that the predicted distributions of both C. gestroi and C. formosanus are strongly linked to urban development. The impact of future scenarios such as climate warming and population growth on the biotic distribution of both termite species was also assessed. Future climate warming seems to affect their projected probability of presence to a lesser extent than population growth. The Bayesian logistic approach outperformed Maxent consistently in all models according to evaluation criteria such as model sensitivity and ecological realism. The importance of further studies for an explicit treatment of residual spatial autocorrelation and a more comprehensive comparison between both statistical approaches is suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Tonini
- University of Florida, IFAS-Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, 3205 College Avenue, Davie, FL 33314, USA
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19
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Abstract
The analysis of small area disease incidence has now developed to a degree where many methods have been proposed. However, there are few studies of the relative merits of the methods available. While many Bayesian models have been examined with respect to prior sensitivity, it is clear that wider comparisons of methods are largely missing from the literature. In this paper we present some preliminary results concerning the goodness-of-fit of a variety of disease mapping methods to simulated data for disease incidence derived from a range of models. These simulated models cover simple risk gradients to more complex true risk structures, including spatial correlation. The main general results presented here show that the gamma-Poisson exchangeable model and the Besag, York and Mollie (BYM) model are most robust across a range of diverse models. Mixture models are less robust. Non-parametric smoothing methods perform badly in general. Linear Bayes methods display behaviour similar to that of the gamma-Poisson methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- A B Lawson
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, King's College, University of Aberdeen, UK
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