Collection Of Biological Data Research Articles

Advancing Sea Turtle Monitoring at Nesting and Near Shore Habitats with UAVs, Data Loggers, and State of the Art Technologies

In the face of environmental change, high-quality and fine-scale information is essential in order to monitor the highly dynamic environments on land and sea. While traditional approaches to data collection face a number of practical limitations, advanced technologies could supplement and further improve our efforts. Taking sea turtles as a modeling organism, we present a novel methodological framework for monitoring species by means of advanced technologies, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles coupled with image and temperature sensors. Diverse monitoring protocols were refined through pilot studies conducted in both terrestrial and nearshore sea turtle habitats. Our approach focuses on the collection of information for critical biological parameters concerning species reproduction and habitat use, following the complex life cycle of the species. Apart from biological information, our framework encompasses also the collection of information on crucial environmental factors that might be changing due to current and future human-derived pressures, such as beach erosion and temperature profile, as well as highly important human activities such as recreational use within nesting beaches that could undermine habitat quality for the species. This holistic and standardized approach to monitoring using advanced technologies could foster our capacity for conservation, resolving difficulties previously addressed and improving the collection of biological and environmental data in the frame of an adaptive management scheme.

The risk prediction of intergenerational transmission of overweight and obesity between mothers and infants during pregnancy.

Overweight and obesity in mothers before pregnancy lead to overweight and obesity in their offspring, which is the main form of intergenerational transmission of overweight and obesity in early life. Many factors, especially non-genetic factors, may influence intergenerational transmission, but little prediction research has been conducted. Therefore, we analyzed the status of intergenerational transmission in maternal and infant overweight and obesity. Second, we explored the factors during the pregnancy that might affect the the intergenerational transmission; According to the two application scenarios of pregnancy screen and self-management, risk prediction models for pregnant women were carried out. Based on a prospective birth cohort, a total of 908 mothers and offspring were followed up during early life. Follow-up visits were performed at the first trimester, second trimester, third trimester, delivery, 42 days after delivery, and 6 months and 12 months of age. The investigation methods included questionnaire survey, physical examination, biological sample collection and clinical data collection. In terms of risk prediction, univariate analysis was used to screen candidate predictors. Second, multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to determine the final selected predictors. Third, the corresponding histogram models were drawn, and then the 10-fold cross-validation methods were used for internal verification. Regarding intergenerational transmission of overweight and obesity between mothers and infants during pregnancy, the risk prediction model for pregnancy screen was constructed. The model established: h(t|X) = h0(t)exp.(- 0.95 × (Bachelor Degree or above) + 0.75 × (Fasting blood glucose in the second trimester) + 0.89 × (Blood pressure in the third trimester) + 0.80 × (Cholesterol in third trimester) + 0.55 × (Abdominal circumference in third trimester))., with good discrimination (AUC = 0.82) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow2 = 4.17). The risk prediction model for self-management was constructed. The model established: h(t|X) = h0(t)exp. (0.98 × (Sedentary >18METs) + 0.88 × (Sleep index≥8) + 0.81 × (Unhealthy eating patterns Q3/Q4) + 0.90 × (Unhealthy eating patterns Q4/Q4) + 0.85 × (Depression)), with good discrimination (AUC = 0.75) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow2 = 3.81). The risk predictions of intergenerational transmission of overweight and obesity between mothers and infants were performed for two populations and two application scenarios (pregnancy screening and home self-management). Further research needs to focus on infants and long-term risk prediction models.

Abstract B145: Clinical features of progression and outcomes with subsequent therapies in patients treated with RET-inhibitors

Abstract Background: RET fusions can be found in 1-2% of patients (pts) with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC). While targeted treatment with RET inhibitors (RETi) has significantly improved prognosis, resistance eventually develops. Current knowledge regarding the pattern of disease progression and the optimal therapeutic sequence for patients treated with RETi is limited. Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicentric collection of clinical and biological data on pts with RET-rearranged (RET+) aNSCLC treated with first-generation RETi. Patients with a progression-free survival (PFS) period of less than 8 months on RETi were classified as poor responders. We investigated the clinical patterns of disease progression (PD) and outcomes with subsequent therapies, evaluated by the overall response rate (ORR by investigator assessment) and PFS. PFS2 was calculated from RETi start to PD after subsequent line. Results: 173 pts from 32 centres were identified. Median age was 65, 61% were female,  41% were smokers, 81% had an ECOG performance status <2, 95% had adenocarcinoma, 18% had brain metastasis, 76% had RETi in first or second line. The administered RETi were selpercatinib in 55%, pralsertinib in 42%, other first generation RETi in 3% of pts. After a median follow up of 30.4 months (mo) (95%CI 26-32.1), 84 pts (48.6%) had PD after RETi, with a median PFS (mPFS) of 15.6 mo (95%CI 12.2-23.3) and an ORR of 72.2%. Radiological PD patterns included multisite PD in 46 (71%), oligoPD in 15 (23%), mixed response in 4 (6%). 7/15(47%) received local treatment while continuing RETi. Subsequent treatment line after RETi was administered in 37 pts (21%). Considering chemotherapy-based treatments, ORR and mPFS were 46% and 5.52 mo (4.07-11.3) overall, 57% and 4.53 mo (95%CI 1.4-NA) in 9 pts with chemo-immunotherapy, 27% and 5.88 mo (95%CI 2.1-NA) in 11 pts with platinum-doublet, 83% and 10.4 mo (8.28-NR) in 6 pts with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy (p=0.77 vs chemotherapy alone). Targeted therapy was administered in 8 patients: 6 received RETi after RETi (first generation) with 33% ORR and 3.83 mo (1.77-NR) mPFS, one patient had crizotinib plus RETi to target MET amplification found at resistance, with a PFS of 5.95 mo, one had alectinib alone, targeting SQSTM1-ALK fusion found at resistance, with PD after 1.58 mo. Cabozantinib was chosen for one pt, with a PFS of 5.52 mo and obtaining PR; one pt was treated with single-agent immunotherapy, with rapid PD after 1 month; one pt had an investigational antibody-drug conjugate, experiencing SD and a 4 mo PFS. PFS to subsequent treatment was not different between long and poor responders to RETi (13 and 15 pts,5.88 vs 4.53 m, respectively, p=0.75); PFS2 was longer in good responders to RETi (25 vs 16 mo,p=0.012). Conclusions: Disease progression to RETi most frequently involved multiple sites. Chemotherapy plus bevacizumab seemed to perform better than chemotherapy alone or chemo-immunotherapy. The benefit of tailored treatment basing on the molecular profile at PD needs to be further explored. Citation Format: Arianna Marinello, Wael Salem Zrafi, Giacomo Massa, Fabrizio Tabbò, Fabrizio Citarella, Filippo Gustavo Dall'Olio, Lindsay Colin, Emilio Bria, Giulio Metro, Josè Nicolas Minatta, Antonio Calles, Isabelle Monnet, Marco Tagliamento, Hortense Gaultier De Saint Basile, Nicolas Girard, Arianna Pagliaro, Diego Luigi Cortinovis, Judith Raimbourg, Carol Zanchetta, Giannis Mountzios, Frank Aboubakar Nana, Safae Terrisse, Alessandro Russo, Patricia Iranzo, Clarisse Audigier-Valette, Philippe Rochigneux, Vincent Fallet, Michael Duruisseaux, Sophie Cousin, Florian Guisier, Laura Mezquita, Jordi Remon, Anas Gazzah, David Planchard, Benjamin Besse, Mihaela Aldea. Clinical features of progression and outcomes with subsequent therapies in patients treated with RET-inhibitors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC Virtual International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2023 Oct 11-15; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2023;22(12 Suppl):Abstract nr B145.

Addressing measurement error in lobster growth modelling

Mark and recapture tagging data is key for determining growth in species that are hard or impossible to age. Obtaining this data can be an expensive process, consequently there is an increasing reliance on measurements from non-scientists including commercial and recreational fishers and industry volunteers. A challenge with relying on data collection from these groups is that they are likely to have higher measurement errors. We demonstrate that this measurement error can introduce substantial bias. To account for this we developed a Bayesian model that is robust to a broad range of measurement uncertainty, which enables stochasticity in model outputs to be attributed to more appropriate causes, such as environmental drivers for further investigation. The model was tested through application to Southern Rock Lobster (SRL), Jasus edwardsii data. This was applied in two distinct areas in Tasmania, with different biological characteristics and data collection regimes. Application to this case study demonstrates that high measurement error can be problematic for commonly used methods, however our developed approach allows unbiased growth estimation from such datasets.

CN84 Development of a unit for collection of biological samples and clinical data from cancer patients coordinated by nursing: The translational oncology research project (INTRON)

CN84 Development of a unit for collection of biological samples and clinical data from cancer patients coordinated by nursing: The translational oncology research project (INTRON)

Agrarian Conflict Cultivation Rights PT. Pagilaran With Farmers In Batang District

This study aims to identify the causes of conflict between PT. Pagilaran and the community in Batang Regency over land owned by PT. Pagilaran comes from the concession with revealing theories that support the causes of conflict and studies how the dispute is resolved. This research is normative juridical research with a descriptive-analytical approach. The research results obtained: First, the cause of the emergence of Cultivation Right disputes is the claims from farmers that they once controlled part of the Cultivation Right land, the absence of compensation at the time of land acquisition, and the negative view of the community towards PT. Pagilaran and some parties facilitate claims efforts, as well as repressive actions from the company through security forces. Second, efforts to resolve the dispute are carried out both through channels outside the court, through efforts to seek support from policy-making institutions, and through re-data collection of biological data on PT. Pagilaran looked for opportunities to strengthen the position of farmers who once controlled the land and settlement through the courts in the form of legal action for the perpetrators of marking, plotting, and damage to land and plants in the Cultivation Rights area but did not resolve the core issues of the dispute. This study suggests that rural conflict resolution requires a holistic approach by paying attention to regulatory, human rights, contractual, and environmental aspects of resolving conflicts.

Design and Protocol for Beijing Hospital Takayasu Arteritis (BeTA) Biobank

Although hundreds of studies have been conducted, our understanding of the pathogenesis, indications for surgical intervention, and disease markers of Takayasu arteritis (TAK) are still limited. Collection of biological specimens, clinical data and imaging data will facilitate translational research and clinical studies. In this study, we aim to introduce the design and protocol for the Beijing Hospital Takayasu Arteritis (BeTA) Biobank. Based in the Department of Vascular Surgery of Beijing Hospital and Beijing Hospital Clinical Biological Sample Management Center, the BeTA Biobank is composed of clinical data and sample data from patients with TAK requiring surgical treatment. All clinical data of participants are collected, including demographic characteristics, laboratory tests, imaging results, operation information, perioperative complications, follow-up data, etc. Both blood samples including plasma, serum and cells, and vascular tissues or perivascular adipose tissue are collected and stored. These samples will promote the establishment of a multiomic database for TAK and help to identify disease markers and to explore potential targets for specific future drugs for TAK.

Lay health worker research personnel for home-based data collection in clinical and translational research: Qualitative and quantitative findings from two trials in hard-to-reach populations.

The role of lay health workers in data collection for clinical and translational research studies is not well described. We explored lay health workers as data collectors in clinical and translational research studies. We also present several methods for examining their work, i.e., qualitative interviews, fidelity checklists, and rates of unusable/missing data. We conducted 2 randomized, controlled trials that employed lay health research personnel (LHR) who were employed by community-based organizations. In one study, n = 3 Latina LHRs worked with n = 107 Latino diabetic participants. In another study, n = 6 LHR worked with n = 188 Cambodian American refugees with depression. We investigated proficiency in biological, behavioral, and psychosocial home-based data collection conducted by LHR. We also conducted in-depth interviews with lay LHR to explore their experience in this research role. Finally, we described the training, supervision, and collaboration for LHR to be successful in their research role. Independent observers reported a very high degree of fidelity to technical data collection protocols (>95%) and low rates of missing/unusable data (1.5%-11%). Qualitative results show that trust, training, communication, and supervision are key and that LHR report feeling empowered by their role. LHR training included various content areas over several weeks with special attention to LHR and participant safety. Training and supervision from both the academic researchers and the staff at the community-based organizations were necessary and had to be well-coordinated. Carefully selected, trained, and supervised LHRs can collect sophisticated data for community-based clinical and translational research.

Bioinformatics as a modern tool in forensic science for data understanding & investigation in research

Modern-day biology is witnessing a data explosion with a vast amount of information generated from ongoing genome and sequencing projects. The abundance of data from genome sequences, functional genomics and another high throughput (HTP) technique with the potential of computing has led to rising of a new discipline namely ‘bioinformatics’. Bioinformatics is a young but fast-growing field for biological data collection, organization, interpretation, and modeling. Tools and techniques for bioinformatics are derived from multidisciplinary combinations of varied disciplines from natural and physical sciences. Previously various disciplines were carved out as and when sufficient specialization was achieved. However, now bioinformatics is borne out of an alliance between existing disciplines from life and non-life. Bioinformatics encompasses new foundations for the collection, organization, and mining of gene/ protein sequences, three-dimensional structures, and biochemical functions, for modeling biological processes of functioning cells. DNA sequencing performed on an industrial scale has produced a vast amount of data to analyze. Although the Human Genome Project is officially over, improvements in DNA sequencing continue to be made. The field of forensic science is increasingly based on biomolecular data and many European countries are establishing forensic databases to store DNA profiles of crime scenes of known offenders and apply DNA testing.

Pregnancy loss is related to body mass index and prediabetes in early adulthood: Findings from Add Health.

Pregnancy loss, including miscarriage and stillbirth, affects 15-20% of pregnancies in the United States (US) annually. Accumulating evidence suggests that pregnancy loss is associated with a greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden later in life. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of pregnancy loss on CVD risk factors in early adulthood (age <35 years). The aim of this study was to examine associations between pregnancy loss and CVD risk factors (body mass index, blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, diabetes status) in early adulthood. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using the public-use dataset for Wave IV (2007-2009) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Our sample consisted of women, ages 24-32 years, with a previous pregnancy who completed biological data collection (n = 2,968). Pregnancy loss was assessed as any history of miscarriage or stillbirth; and quantified as none, one, or recurrent (≥2) pregnancy loss. Associations between pregnancy loss and each CVD risk factor were tested using linear and logistic regression adjusting for sociodemographic factors, parity, health behaviors during pregnancy, and depression. We tested for interactions with race/ethnicity. A total of 670 women reported a pregnancy loss, of which 28% reported recurrent pregnancy loss. A prior pregnancy loss was related to a 3.79 (kg/mm2) higher BMI in non-Hispanic Black women, but not white women. Women with recurrent pregnancy loss were more likely to have prediabetes (AOR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.10-3.37, p<0.05) than women with all live births. Findings suggest that pregnancy loss may be associated with a more adverse CVD risk profile in early adulthood, particularly for women who experience recurrent pregnancy loss. This highlights the need for CVD risk assessment in young women with a prior pregnancy loss. Further research is necessary to identify underlying risk factors of pregnancy loss that may predispose women to CVD.

Predictive and Prognostic Molecular Biomarkers in Familial Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Pilot Monocentric Study

Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in the western world and the median age at diagnosis is 70 years. Family history of hemopathies and, more consistently, of CLL is a risk factor to develop the disease. The prevalence of blood diseases, and more specifically of CLL, in relatives of patients with CLL has been estimated at 13% and 7%, respectively. Familial CLL is defined as the presence of at least one first degree relative with CLL. Previous studies hypothesize the phenomenon of anticipation, which is the earlier onset and more aggressive course of a disease in the second generation of relatives, in familial CLL. Aims: The primary end point is to determine the prevalence of familial CLL in our court of patients with CLL and to confirm the phenomenon of anticipation. The secondary endpoints involve the comparison of the prevalence of clinical features and molecular biomarkers between familial and sporadic CLL; the comparison of the impact of clinical features and molecular biomarkers on patients’ clinical course in terms of time to treatment (TTT), time to next treatment (TTNT), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between familial and sporadic CLL; the evaluation of response to treatment (ORR) in familial CLL compared to sporadic cases. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective monocentric study which consists of clinical and biological data collection from all patients with familial CLL. We enrolled 500 patients, which included 46 familial CLL and 454 sporadic CLL cases, diagnosed between January 1987 and April 2022. Patients’ characteristics were described by frequency tables for qualitative variables and position indicators for quantitative variables. The associations with clinical-biological parameters were analyzed using Chi-square or Fisher's exact test for the variables qualitative and Wilcoxon or Kruskal-Wallis test for quantitative variables. Survival was estimated with the Kaplan Meier method and compared by the log rank test. Results: The prevalence of familial CLL and familiarity for any other hemopathy in our population was 9.4% and 20% respectively. The median age at diagnosis was 65 years old in sporadic and 59 years old in familial CLL (p=0.018). Focusing on patients with familial CLL, our data confirmed the phenomenon of anticipation. In the first generation of patients with familial CLL (including father, mother, and older siblings), the median age at diagnosis was 69 years old (range 50-90), while in the second generation (including children and younger siblings) the median age at diagnosis was 57 years old (range 31-83). The mean difference between the two populations was of 12.6 years (17.5 years lower limit and 7.7 years upper limit), with a 95% confidence interval (p=0.00003). Concerning the IgHV mutational status, sporadic CLL showed mutated IgHV in 65% of the cases and unmutated IgHV in 35%, while familial CLL showed mutated IgHV in 35% of the cases and unmutated IgHV in 65% (p<0.001). No statistically significant difference was instead found for FISH nor for molecular biomarkers, including TP53, NOTHC1, BIRC3 and SF3B1 (Table 1). In our cohort, the time to treatment, time to next treatment and progression free survival for familial CLL appear to be shorter than for the control group, but those results are not statistically significant at the log rank test. Moreover, the overall response rate was significantly lower in patients with familial CLL: this data has never been reported by any study and it further confirms the rather aggressive course of the disease (Table 1). Familial CLL did not show any significant difference in overall survival compared to sporadic CLL. Conclusions: We confirmed the phenomenon of anticipation in our population. Moreover, we found higher rate of unmutated IgHV in familial CLL compared to sporadic controls, which would underlie a more aggressive course of the disease in this subset of patients. To define the molecular characteristics of familial CLL and to improve the significance of the survival analysis, we need to study a larger population of patients. Our monocentric experience is meant to be a pilot study which will be extended to other centers in Italy and opens the way to a better understanding of CLL clustering in families. Figure 1View largeDownload PPTFigure 1View largeDownload PPT Close modal

Saildrones and Snotbots in the Blue Anthropocene: Sensing technologies, multispecies intimacies, and scientific storying

Drones or unpersonned vehicles are mobile sensing technologies that collapse space and enhance proximity between scientists and marine species. As such, they improve the collection of biological data – images, migration maps, and fluid samples, for example. But while the drone’s benefits to oceanography are apparent, it is less clear what marine species receive for their unintentional participation in data collection. Building on ethnography, piloting experiments, interviews, and scrutiny of public blogs and scientific texts, this article documents two cases of drone oceanography, interrogates the multispecies intimacies they forge and considers what scientists return to marine animals in exchange for their biological data. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration directs ocean-surface Saildrones to follow northern fur seals in the Bering Sea, and Ocean Alliance, a not-for-profit research organization, collects microbes from cetaceans by flying aerial drones, or Snotbots, through their exhale. With the aim of generating more equitable reciprocities in waters that are surveyed by drones and increasingly challenging to live within, this article offers storying, or the building of existential narratives that support conservation through public engagement, as a way of forging multispecies reciprocities in the Blue Anthropocene – an era marked by existential urgencies, technological materialities, and elemental constraints.

Fatigue is independently associated with disease activity assessed using the Physician Global Assessment but not the SLEDAI in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

ObjectivesTo analyse whether reported fatigue, one of the most challenging manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), may bias the assessment of disease activity in SLE according to the Physician Global...

Dose-response relationship of in vivo ambulatory load and mechanosensitive cartilage biomarkers-The role of age, tissue health and inflammation: A study protocol.

ObjectiveTo describe a study protocol for investigating the in vivo dose-response relationship between ambulatory load magnitude and mechanosensitive blood markers of articular cartilage, the influence of age, cartilage tissue health and presence of inflammation on this relationship, and its ability to predict changes in articular cartilage quality and morphology within 2 years.DesignProspective experimental multimodal (clinical, biomechanical, biological) data collection under walking stress and three different load conditions varied in a randomized crossover design.Experimental protocolAt baseline, equal numbers of healthy and anterior cruciate ligament injured participants aged 20–30 or 40–60 years will be assessed clinically and complete questionnaires regarding their knee health. Biomechanical parameters (joint kinetics, joint kinematics, and surface electromyography) will be recorded while performing different tasks including overground and treadmill walking, single leg balance and hopping tasks. Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of both of knees will be obtained. On separate stress test days, participants will perform a 30-minute walking stress with either reduced (80% body weight (BW)), normal (100%BW) or increased (120%BW) load. Serum blood samples will be taken immediately before, immediately after, 30, 120 and 210 minutes after the walking stress. Concentration of articular cartilage blood biomarkers will be assessed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays. At 24-month follow-up, participants will be again assessed clinically, undergo an MRI, complete questionnaires, and have a blood sample taken.ConclusionThe study design provides a standardized set up that allows to better understand the influence of ambulatory load on articular cartilage biomarkers and thereby extend current knowledge on in vivo cartilage metabolism and mechanosensitivity. Further, this study will help to elucidate the prognostic value of the load-induced cartilage biomarker response for early articular cartilage degeneration.Trial registrationThe protocol was approved by the regional ethics committee and has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04128566).

Tunabio: biological traits of tropical tuna and bycatch species caught by purse seine fisheries in the Western Indian and Eastern Central Atlantic Oceans.

Along with the development of the tropical tuna purse-seine fishery from the 1960s in the Atlantic Ocean and from the 1980s in the Indian Ocean, many projects and studies have been conducted to improve knowledge about the biology, migrations and dynamics of the stocks of target and non-target (i.e. bycatch) species taken in these fisheries. Since the 2000s, the European Union (EU) has been supporting Member States in the collection of biological data on species caught by their purse seine and pole and line fisheries, thus making it possible to have a long-term series of data. Biological data have never been saved by the different tuna commissions, unlike the catches by species and sizes by areas and periods. However, these data are essential to monitor the status of the fisheries and fuel the assessment models used by the tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (tRFMOs) for the sustainable management and conservation of the fish stocks under their mandate. We combined historical (1974-1999) and current (2003-2020) datasets on the biology of tropical tunas and bycatch fish caught by large-scale purse seiners in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean (EAO) and Western Indian Ocean (WIO). The resulting Tunabio database is presented in the present data paper and contains all available morphometric and biological data collected on more than 80,000 fish individuals.

Impacts of COVID-19 on at-sea data collection and regulatory activities and fisheries catches off Namibia

This study was undertaken to: (i) comprehend the observers’ perceptions of COVID-19 and identify its impacts on the observation of harvesting, handling, and processing of marine resources, and biological data collection during commercial fishing, (ii) assess the risk of contracting COVID-19 onboard the fishing vessels, (iii) compare fishery catches for the pre-COVID-19 (2018 and 2019) and COVID-19 (2020 and 2021) years, and (iv) suggest possible ways to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the activities of at sea-observations and data collection. Thus, 45 Namibian fisheries observers were interviewed by telephone to capture their perceptions of COVID-19 on the sea-observations and biological data collection. Messrooms were the riskiest places (45.7%) onboard the fishing vessel where observers perceived likely to contract COVID-19. For at-sea observations, 57.1% of the respondents felt that COVID-19 has negatively impacted observations as fisheries observers were risk-averse, especially in the processing factories. Half of the participants purported a negative impact on the collection of biological data, as on some vessels fisheries observers were not permitted to sample the fish supposedly for fear of cross-contamination. Analysis of fisheries observation data and fisheries catch data showed a significant difference in the total number of fishing trips made between 2018 and 2021 (X2=145.34, df = 3, p < 0.05), with a notable reduction in 2020 fishing trips. Similarly, the number of observed fishing trips between 2018 and 2021 differed significantly (X2=136.80, df = 3, p < 0.05). Fishing catches were lowest in 2020, possibly reflecting severe impacts of COVID-19 in that year. Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on at-sea observation and data collection can inform decision makers to improve management of marine resources during COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from this study can also serve as a lesson for nations that use observer data for stock assessment.

People-Powered Research and Experiential Learning: Unravelling Hidden Biodiversity

Globally, thousands of institutions house nearly three billion scientific collections offering unparallelled resources that contribute to both science and society. For herbaria alone - facilities housing dried plant collections - there are over 3,000 herbaria worldwide with an estimated 350 million specimens that have been collected over the past four centuries. Digitisation has greatly enhanced the use of herbarium data in scientific research, impacting diverse research areas, including biodiversity informatics, global climate change, analyses using next-generation sequencing technologies and many others. Despite the entrance of herbaria into a new era with enhanced scientific, educational and societal relevance, museum specimens remain underused. Natural history museums can enhance learning and engagement in science, particularly for school-age and undergraduate students. Here, we outline a novel approach of a natural history museum using touchscreen technology that formed part of an interactive kiosk in a temporary museum exhibit on biological specimens. We provide some preliminary analysis investigating the efficacy of the tool, based on the Zooniverse platform, in an exhibit environment to engage patrons in the collection of biological data. We conclude there is great potential in using crowd‐sourced science, coupled with online technology to unlock data and information from digital images of natural history specimens themselves. Sixty percent of the records generated by community scientists (citizen scientists) were of high enough quality to be utilised by researchers. All age groups produced valid, high quality data that could be used by researchers, including children (10 and under), teens and adults. Significantly, the paper outlines the implementation of experiential learning through an undergraduate mathematics course that focuses on projects with actual data to gain a deep, practical knowledge of the subject, including observations, the collection of data, analysis and problem solving. We here promote an intergenerational model including children, high school students, undergraduate students, early career scientists and senior scientists, combining experiential learning, museum patrons, researchers and data derived from natural history collections. Natural history museums with their dual remit of education and collections-based research can play a significant role in the field of community engagement and people-powered research. There also remains much to investigate on the use of interactive displays to help learners interpret and appreciate authentic research. We conclude with a brief insight into the next phase of our ongoing people-powered research activities developed and designed by high school students using the Zooniverse platform.

Formerly considered rare, the ant species Cryptoponeochracea (Mayr, 1855) can be commonly detected using citizen-science tools.

Citizen science is a valuable tool for monitoring different species, especially in cases concerning truly rare and difficult-to-detect species where time-consuming field studies are limited and long-term research projects are uncertain. To better understand the distribution of the rarely collected Cryptoponeochracea (Mayr, 1855) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Hungary, we obtained the occurrence data with photos uploaded by non-professionals to the page of the largest Hungarian Facebook group dealing with ants and a citizen-science website dealing with biological data collection. In this article, we expand the known distribution of C.ochracea to include 46 new records from Hungary and one from Serbia. With two historical records, this previously undersampled species has now been found 48 times in Hungary. Our results prove that social media platforms and other websites for citizen science projects offer new and useful opportunities for researchers to involve non-professionals in scientific work and, thus, obtain large amounts of valuable data, even for understudied arthropod species.

Secure data collection and transmission for IoMT architecture integrated with federated learning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to secure health data collection and transmission (SHDCT). In this system, a native network consists of portable smart devices that interact with multiple gateways. It entails IoMT devices and wearables connecting to exchange sensitive data with a sensor node which performs the aggeration process and then communicates the data using a Fog server. If the aggregator sensor loses the connection from the Fog server, it will be unable to submit data directly to the Fog server. The node transmits encrypted information with a neighboring sensor and sends it to the Fog server integrated with federated learning, which encrypts data to the existing data. The fog server performs the operations on the measured data, and the values are stored in the local storage area and later it is updated to the cloud server. Design/methodology/approach SHDCT uses an Internet-of-things (IoT)-based monitoring network, making it possible for smart devices to connect and interact with each other. The main purpose of the monitoring network has been in the collection of biological data and additional information from mobile devices to the patients. The monitoring network is composed of three different types of smart devices that is at the heart of the IoT. Findings It has been addressed in this work how to design an architecture for safe data aggregation in heterogeneous IoT-federated learning-enabled wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which makes use of basic encoding and data aggregation methods to achieve this. The authors suggest that the small gateway node (SGN) captures all of the sensed data from the SD and uses a simple, lightweight encoding scheme and cryptographic techniques to convey the data to the gateway node (GWN). The GWN gets all of the medical data from SGN and ensures that the data is accurate and up to date. If the data obtained is trustworthy, then the medical data should be aggregated and sent to the Fog server for further processing. The Java programming language simulates and analyzes the proposed SHDCT model for deployment and message initiation. When comparing the SHDCT scheme to the SPPDA and electrohydrodynamic atomisation (EHDA) schemes, the results show that the SHDCT method performs significantly better. When compared with the SPPDA and EHDA schemes, the suggested SHDCT plan necessitates a lower communication cost. In comparison to EHDA and SPPDA, SHDCT achieves 4.72% and 13.59% less, respectively. When compared to other transmission techniques, SHDCT has a higher transmission ratio. When compared with EHDA and SPPDA, SHDCT achieves 8.47% and 24.41% higher transmission ratios, respectively. When compared with other ways it uses less electricity. When compared with EHDA and SPPDA, SHDCT achieves 5.85% and 18.86% greater residual energy, respectively. Originality/value In the health care sector, a series of interconnected medical devices collect data using IoT networks in the health care domain. Preventive, predictive, personalized and participatory care is becoming increasingly popular in the health care sector. Safe data collection and transfer to a centralized server is a challenging scenario. This study presents a mechanism for SHDCT. The mechanism consists of Smart healthcare IoT devices working on federated learning that link up with one another to exchange health data. Health data is sensitive and needs to be exchanged securely and efficiently. In the mechanism, the sensing devices send data to a SGN. This SGN uses a lightweight encoding scheme and performs cryptography techniques to communicate the data with the GWN. The GWN gets all the health data from the SGN and makes it possible to confirm that the data is validated. If the received data is reliable, then aggregate the medical data and transmit it to the Fog server for further process. The performance parameters are compared with the other systems in terms of communication costs, transmission ratio and energy use.

The Effect of Adolescent Pregnancy on Child Mortality in 46 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

IntroductionAdolescent pregnancy is a known health risk to mother and child. Statements and reports of health outcomes typically group mothers under 20 years old together. Few studies examined this risk...