Improved Methods For Monitoring Research Articles

Developments in Transfusion Medicine: Pulmonary Transfusion Reactions and Novel Blood Cell Labeling Techniques.

Staying updated on advancements in transfusion medicine is crucial, especially in critical care and perioperative setting, where timely and accurate transfusions can be lifesaving therapeutic interventions. This narrative review explores the landscape of transfusion-related adverse events, focusing on pulmonary transfusion reactions such as transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) and transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI). TACO and TRALI are the leading causes of transfusion-related morbidity and mortality; however, specific treatments are lacking. Understanding the current incidence, diagnostic criteria, pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention strategies can equip clinicians to help reduce the incidence of these life-threatening complications. The review discusses emerging pathogenic mechanisms, including the possible role of inflammation in TACO and the mechanisms of reverse TRALI and therapeutic targets for TACO and TRALI, emphasizing the need for further research to uncover preventive and treatment modalities. Despite advancements, significant gaps remain in our understanding of what occurs during transfusions, highlighting the necessity for improved monitoring methods. To address this, the review also presents novel blood cell labeling techniques in transfusion medicine used for improving monitoring, quality assessment, and as a consequence, potentially reducing transfusion-related complications. This article aims to provide an update for anesthesiologists, critical care specialists, and transfusion medicine professionals regarding recent advancements and developments in the field of transfusion medicine.

Organizational and technological features of geodetic observations of earth surface deformations

The article examines a complex of organizational, technological and economic measures to ensure observations of deformations of the earth's surface. The authors provide an overview of issues of improving the safety of buildings located in seismically active and landslide zones of the Russian Federation, and offer recommendations for improving monitoring methods. The need for careful consideration of the geodynamic factor during the construction and operation of not only especially critical unique objects, but also mass housing construction projects is substantiated. To study geodynamic processes occurring in the territories of populated areas or in the territories of large industrial enterprises and engineering structures, it is proposed to create specialized observation systems - geodynamic polygons. The authors propose an organizational and technological scheme for observations at the geodynamic site. Research methods for making organizational and technological decisions are discussed. Effective organization of work will allow us to study abnormal vertical and horizontal movements and prevent possible damage to infrastructure. The authors of the article also discuss and justify recommendations for performing and processing geodetic observations of deformations of the earth's surface.

Sexual dimorphism, diagnosis and damage caused by Duponchelia fovealis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

The European pepper moth, Duponchelia fovealis Zeller (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is an invasive and polyphagous species that has spread to several countries around the world. Currently there is little information in Mexico on this species. This paper describes and illustrates the characteristics of adults and pupae of both sexes, the male genitalia, and the damage caused by larvae in strawberry plantations. Adults possess several distinctive features that make them recognizable from other pest Lepidoptera, such as the transverse distal line on the forewings, which forms a finger-like figure. The abdomen of females is wide, contrary to males which is thin, tubular and elongated beyond the wings. The sexual differences in pupae are observed in the genital slits located in the 9th abdominal segment. The male slit presents a lobe on each side, while the female lacks these structures. The larvae feed on the roots, stems and fruits of strawberry plants, also allowing the entry of opportunistic pathogens. This information is useful to initiate research that requires live sexed insects, to support species identification and improve monitoring methods.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Mapping Cover and Counting Trees from Aerial Images of a Mangrove Forest Using Artificial Intelligence

Mangrove forests provide valuable ecosystem services to coastal communities across tropical and subtropical regions. Current anthropogenic stressors threaten these ecosystems and urge researchers to create improved monitoring methods for better environmental management. Recent efforts that have focused on automatically quantifying the above-ground biomass using image analysis have found some success on high resolution imagery of mangrove forests that have sparse vegetation. In this study, we focus on stands of mangrove forests with dense vegetation consisting of the endemic Pelliciera rhizophorae and the more widespread Rhizophora mangle mangrove species located in the remote Utría National Park in the Colombian Pacific coast. Our developed workflow used consumer-grade Unoccupied Aerial System (UAS) imagery of the mangrove forests, from which large orthophoto mosaics and digital surface models are built. We apply convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for instance segmentation to accurately delineate (33% instance average precision) individual tree canopies for the Pelliciera rhizophorae species. We also apply CNNs for semantic segmentation to accurately identify (97% precision and 87% recall) the area coverage of the Rhizophora mangle mangrove tree species as well as the area coverage of surrounding mud and water land-cover classes. We provide a novel algorithm for merging predicted instance segmentation tiles of trees to recover tree shapes and sizes in overlapping border regions of tiles. Using the automatically segmented ground areas we interpolate their height from the digital surface model to generate a digital elevation model, significantly reducing the effort for ground pixel selection. Finally, we calculate a canopy height model from the digital surface and elevation models and combine it with the inventory of Pelliciera rhizophorae trees to derive the height of each individual mangrove tree. The resulting inventory of a mangrove forest, with individual P. rhizophorae tree height information, as well as crown shape and size descriptions, enables the use of allometric equations to calculate important monitoring metrics, such as above-ground biomass and carbon stocks.

Insights on the particle-attached riverine archaeal community shifts linked to seasons and to multipollution during a Mediterranean extreme storm event.

Even if Archaea deliver important ecosystem services and are major players in global biogeochemical cycles, they remain poorly understood in freshwater ecosystems. To our knowledge, no studies specifically address the direct impact of xenobiotics on the riverine archaeome. Using environmental DNA metabarcoding of the 16S ribosomal gene, we previously demonstrated bacterial communities significant shifts linked to pollutant mixtures during an extreme flood in a typical Mediterranean coastal watercourse. Here, using the same methodology, we sought to determine whether archaeal community shifts coincided with the delivery of environmental stressors during the same flood. Further, we wanted to determine how archaea taxa compared at different seasons. In contrast to the bacteriome, the archaeome showed a specific community in summer compared to winter and autumn. We also identified a significant relationship between in situ archaeome shifts and changes in physicochemical parameters along the flood, but a less marked link to those parameters correlated to river hydrodynamics than bacteria. New urban-specific archaeal taxa significantly related to multiple stressors were identified. Through statistical modeling of both domains, our results demonstrate that Archaea, seldom considered as bioindicators of water quality, have the potential to improve monitoring methods of watersheds.

Study on Administrative Regulations Governing the Disciplinary Authority of Teachers

The disciplinary authority of teachers, as a form of power, often leads to instances of abuse. Such situations have adverse effects on the physical and psychological well-being of students, especially at various educational stages, including kindergarten and compulsory education. While Chinese civil and criminal laws provide some regulation in this regard, there still exists a grey area that is difficult to address. Administrative law, due to its inherent characteristics, is suitable for regulating this grey area. However, in the current regulatory landscape, there are significant issues concerning rules, supervision, remedies, and penalties. There is a need to further refine the rules governing disciplinary management, improve monitoring methods and mechanisms, enhance the avenues for redress for students subjected to discipline, clarify the methods and severity of penalties, in order to ensure that the relevant regulations and regulatory systems effectively safeguard students’ right to education.

Vocal individuality measures reveal spatial and temporal variation in roding behaviour in Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola)

Use of species‐specific field methods may be required for taxa that are inherently difficult to survey, for example species with cryptic camouflage or secretive behaviour. However, these methods often require more manual effort and therefore cost. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is now an established tool to reduce manual effort to monitor species, and analysis of spectrograms provides the means to discriminate individuals by call characteristics. At night, male Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola make distinct, audible ‘roding’ displays above the tree canopy to advertise to females. Studying this behaviour at an individual level while using PAM presents opportunities to improve monitoring methods of this cryptic, Red‐Listed species. This study evaluates the potential use of vocal individuality measurements in distinguishing Woodcock individuals and interpreting spatial and temporal patterns in their roding displays across woodland sites. Woodcock roding calls were recorded from woodland fragments across two regions comprising 20 sites. A random forest classifier was applied to reduce the time needed to find and manually verify calls. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering algorithms were used on call measurements, describing duration and frequency differences in calls. When clusters formed, they were used to qualitatively assess supposed individual spatial and temporal variation in roding behaviour. The variance of dimensionally reduced measurements was used to interpret local Woodcock abundance and changes over time. Supposed individuals used many sites within a region, and many sites were used by multiple birds. However, sites showed clusters of calls from supposed individuals in different proportions. It was difficult to discriminate individuals using PCA with more than six birds because the degree of call overlap increased. Though the call measurement variance is associated with number of call events, it may provide a suitable method for representing population size without call count bias.

Management of Forest Pests and Diseases

The occurrence patterns of forest insect pests and diseases have been altered by global events such as climate change. Recent developments in improved monitoring methods and tools for data analyses provide new opportunities to understand the causes and consequences of such changes. Using a variety of management tools, forest pest management programs can mitigate the influence of global changes on forest health. The goal of this Special Issue is to improve our understanding of the root causes of changes that have induced global changes. Fifteen papers are included in this Special Issue, covering several issues in forest pest management. One paper reviews the causes of Korean oak wilt, and another paper discusses fourteen invasive tree pests in Russia. The remaining thirteen papers cover issues related to the monitoring and management of forest pests. These studies provide a better understanding of the causes of change in the patterns of forest pests under the influence of global changes. These reviews also contribute to the development of forest-pest-management strategies to mitigate such impacts on forests due to global changes.

Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Factors Influencing the Median Urine Iodine Concentration of 8-10-year-old Children in Xinjiang, China 25 Years after Implementation of the Salt Iodization Policy.

The iodine status of children has improved and stabilized since China implemented salt iodization measures 25years ago, but routine monitoring of iodine cannot reflect regional factors that influence the iodine level in children. Therefore, we conducted a regional spatial-temporal analysis of children's median urinary iodine concentration (MUIC) and searched for possible factors that might affect children's iodine levels by mining monitoring data. We analyzed data from Xinjiang collected as part of the "Iodine Deficiency Disease National Monitoring Program" from 2017 to 2020. The study population consisted of 76,268 children who participated in the study. We used global autocorrelation analysis to determine whether the MUIC of children was spatially clustered, local autocorrelation analysis to identify specific clustering areas, local cold and hot spot analysis to verify the reliability of the local autocorrelation results, and a spatial lag model to identify factors affecting the children's MUIC. The MUIC values were 217.70, 227.00, 230.67, and 230.67µg/L in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. Global autocorrelation analysis showed that the MUIC of all children in the study was significantly related to region (Z scores all > 1.96, P values all < 0.05) from 2017 to 2020. Partial auto-correlation analysis showed that counties with clusters of high values were mostly concentrated in the southwestern region of Xinjiang, whereas counties with clusters of low values were located in the northern part of Xinjiang. Partial cold spot and hot spot analysis showed the same trend, and there are more overlapping districts and counties in 4years. Three-dimensional trend analysis indicated that children from the western part of Xinjiang had high levels of urinary iodine. According to spatial lag model, urine iodine concentration level is positively correlated with thyroid volume, average salary, and urbanization rate classification. The MUIC of 8-10-year-old children in Xinjiang was spatially clustered and related to geographic region. Our results show that spatial analysis of survey data combined with geographic technology and public health data can accurately identify areas with abnormal iodine concentrations in children. Additionally, understanding the factors that influence iodine levels in the human population is conducive to improving monitoring methods.

From design to analysis: A roadmap for predicting distributions of rare species.

Rare species are challenging to study, in part because rarity can take many forms. Jeliazkov et al. guide us through the multiple decisions to be made-from sampling designs to field methods and analytical, integrated models. Improved monitoring methods are needed to improve our understanding of rare species importance for ecosystem structure and functions. This is a commentary on Jeliazkov et al., 2022, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16114.

A Call for the Development of a Sustainable Pest Management Program for the Economically Important Pest Flies of Livestock: a Beef Cattle Perspective

AbstractFilth fly pests have a substantial impact on livestock production; annual losses from filth flies were estimated at over US$1.5 billion in 1981. Knowing filth fly management and animal production have changed significantly over the past 40 yr, our objective is to lay the foundation for the development of a transdisciplinary integrated pest management (IPM) approach that considers the economics of controlling flies in animal production, with most of the examples provided towards beef cattle production systems. By performing an in-depth literature review, it is our goal to highlight losses and expenditures associated with the damages caused by these flies, discuss current management strategies for the system, and propose industry needs in terms of research gaps and producer education to enhance sustainable livestock production. Immediate industry needs include: (1) developing dynamic economic thresholds incorporating animal welfare, economics, impacts of chemical use, and climate-related responses; (2) improving monitoring methods to improve surveillance efforts for flies as a system and how all types collectively shape the system; and (3) updating economic loss assessments to account for losses due to animal defensive behaviors, reduced feed efficiency, and unplanned expenditures. While we focus on the beef cattle system in the United States, this paper is meant to provide an argument for research in worldwide livestock production (e.g., dairy, poultry, swine, and small ruminant).

Satellite sensors as an emerging technique for monitoring macro- and microplastics in aquatic ecosystems

Plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems has been identified as a growing global water pollution threat that is negatively impacting water quality and, as a result, affecting the health of humans, aquatic animals, and wildlife. Therefore, it presents a global environmental catastrophe that requires immediate attention. Plastics in water (in their different forms, macro-, meso-, micro-, and nanoplastics) are contaminants of emerging concerns that have since evolved to be a global environmental threat. Despite increasing levels of pollution in aquatic ecosystems, there are insufficient monitoring data to evaluate the extent of the catastrophe. Traditional methods of monitoring plastics in water are constrained by high sampling costs, intensive labor, and limited temporal and spatial coverage, which results in limited monitoring data. Thus, insufficient monitoring data limit our understanding of the true quantities and persistence of plastic particles in aquatic ecosystems, as well as the extent to which they impact the aquatic environment. There is increasing availability of free big geospatial data (amounting to petabytes/day) from satellite sensors for potentially monitoring plastics. This provides a possible solution to these challenges by minimizing the fieldwork required and therefore reducing the costs and sampling time. The study purpose of this review is to analyze advances in emerging technology such as the use of satellite sensors to monitor the occurrence of macro- and microplastics in freshwater, ultimately aimed at creating new operational monitoring solutions. This review: (1) examines the literature to identify trends, accomplishments, and limitations of using satellite data to monitor plastics in water; (2) identifies and compares traditional, and machine and deep learning satellite image classification methods for monitoring plastics in water; and (3) identifies research gaps and summarizes future perspectives and recommendations to improve monitoring methods.

Adaptive monitoring in support of adaptive management in rangelands

• Monitoring supports iterative learning about the effectiveness of management actions, information that can help managers plan future actions, facilitate decision-making, and improve outcomes. • Adaptive monitoring is the evolution of a monitoring program in response to new management questions; new or changing environmental or socioeconomic conditions, improved monitoring methods, models, and tools; and experience implementing the monitoring program. • Adaptive monitoring is connected to research and management through the exchange of data; analytical, methodological, and technological developments; information; and understanding. • We review recent advances in adaptive monitoring and discuss new opportunities for both the research and management communities to improve monitoring in the years ahead.

Experimental study of the damage evolution and radon exhalation characteristics of quasi-uranium ore under constant amplitude cyclic loading and unloading

Cyclic loading damage in uranium mining is often accompanied by changes in radon exhalation characteristics. Understanding the relationship between rock damage and radon exhalation of uranium ore is therefore important for predicting rock instability and improving monitoring methods to ensure the safety of uranium mines and other underground projects. In this study, we performed constant amplitude cyclic loading and unloading tests on quasi-uranium ore to measure the degree of damage and used the closed chamber method to measure the accumulated radon concentration. The results show a range of damage values between 0.089 and 0.315. The sample with the highest damage value also showed the highest radon exhalation rate of 0.0411 ± 0.00384 Bq m− 2 s− 1. We use the dissipated energy as a damage variable and find a positive correlation between damage and radon exhalation rate. The damage value was fitted with radon exhalation rates, yielding correlation coefficients of 0.97, and shows an inverted S-shaped trend. The results provide a basis for monitoring rock stability using radon exhalation in future uranium mining operations.

An Improved Shear Stress Monitoring Method in Numerical Direct Shear Tests by Particle Flow Code

Abstract During a direct shear test in particle flow code (PFC; Itasca Consulting Group, Minneapolis, MN) simulation, the initial force is often neglected by the existing methods of monitoring shear stress, which results in a difference between the monitoring data and simulation result. An improved monitoring method, which involves monitoring the resultant force on the left and right walls (specimen boundary) as the shear force, is proposed to monitor the shear stress in this study. The effectiveness of the proposed method is first investigated by comparing the monitoring results with the peak shear strength of sawtooth triangular joints with base angles of 0°, 15°, and 30° and joints with Barton’s standard joint roughness profiles (joint roughness coefficient (JRC) = 5.8, 10.8, and 14.5) as predicted by well-known classical shear models under different normal stress conditions. Additionally, the capabilities of the proposed monitoring method were tested by comparing it with the peak shear strength obtained from laboratory direct shear tests on a real rock joint (JRC = 1.0) under different normal stress levels. Good agreement was found between the results of the numerical models that used the proposed monitoring method and well-known classical shear models as well as laboratory direct shear tests. The proposed method has a highly accurate capacity for determining the shear stress in numerical direct shear tests by PFC. This method has advantages for assessing joints with low roughness coefficients under low normal stress conditions. The results reveal that the proposed method reasonably reflects the shear characteristics of rock joints in numerical direct shear tests. The proposed method also contributes to the calibration of microparameters for a smooth joint model to more accurately represent the rock joint.

Adapting a Traditional Hunting Technique to Improve Capture Rates for the Endangered Yellow-Footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus) during Ecological Surveys in Amazonia

The lack of cost-effective methods to detect game species in tropical forests hinders reliable assessments of their population status and the planning of effective actions for their sustainable use. Tortoises are among the most hunted species in Amazonia, but present low detectability in the wild when using current scientific methods. Traditional hunters in the region use specialized methods to capture tortoises, and such knowledge could provide useful insights for improving monitoring methods and, thus, scientific research on this species. Here, we compare the capture rates and cost-effectiveness of two methods to capture the endangered yellow-footed tortoise ( Chelonoidis denticulatus) in Amazonia: the conventional active search and an adaptation of pitfall traps using attractive baits employed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to hunt tortoises. We sampled 40 sites in upland forests and whitewater flooded forests during the dry and wet seasons in central Amazonia and captured 37 yellow-footed tortoises. The highest capture rate (0.29 tortoises/hour) was obtained using traps in upland forests, fourfold higher than by active search. Traps also presented greater cost-effectiveness than the active search (US$63 vs US$256 per captured tortoise). Our capture rate with traps was 67 times greater than those obtained using line transects in western and northern Amazonia. The success exhibited by this widespread hunting technique is a result of centuries of hunters' traditional knowledge in the Amazon. The unveiling of a cost-effective method for capturing tortoises shows the importance of exchanging traditional and scientific knowledge; efficient capturing methods favor the inclusion of the species in long-term monitoring programs and foster in situ studies that help develop strategies for its conservation.

Internet plus -based Micro-monitoring Platform Teaching Monitoring Method

Traditional teaching quality monitoring is a relatively static inspection process, while teaching activities are a continuous and dynamic process. Therefore, exploring an effective, continuous and dynamic process teaching quality monitoring method, improving the effectiveness of teaching quality monitoring, and promoting the continuous improvement of teaching quality(TQ) is an important issue facing teaching management departments. The purpose of this article is to study the teaching monitoring method of micro-learning platform based on Internet +. In terms of methods, it is proposed to reform the teaching evaluation system, improve the efficiency of TQ monitoring, and ensure the effectiveness of TQ and staff training. Four improvement measures are proposed, including the three-level department lecture system and teaching supervision system, the implementation of teaching supervision system, and the establishment of a TQ information feedback system to improve the effectiveness of teaching monitoring. The data are found, and it is found that the improved monitoring method proposed in this paper is more effective than the original teaching method of micro-learning platform. Based on student feedback, I hope to promote the monitoring method proposed in this article.

Faster and safer: Research priorities in water and health.

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals initiated in 2016 reiterated the need for safe water and healthy lives across the globe. The tenth anniversary meeting of the International Water and Health Seminar in 2018 brought together experts, students, and practitioners, setting the stage for development of an inclusive and evidence-based research agenda on water and health. Data collection relied on a nominal group technique gathering perceived research priorities as well as underlying drivers and adaptation needs. Under a common driver of public health protection, primary research priorities included the socioeconomy of water, risk assessment and management, and improved monitoring methods and intelligence. Adaptations stemming from these drivers included translating existing knowledge to providing safe and timely services to support the diversity of human water needs. Our findings present a comprehensive agenda of topics at the forefront of water and health research. This information can frame and inform collective efforts of water and health researchers over the coming decades, contributing to improved water services, public health, and socioeconomic outcomes.

Online monitoring of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) by a novel membrane-based spectrophotometric method

The presence of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) in water bodies has been related to several adverse impacts in various water treatment processes. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of publications relating to TEP. Unfortunately, this increased interest in TEP measurement has not been accompanied by significant improvement in the analysis method or TEP monitoring. Currently, the most common method to analyze and quantify TEP only allows offline, and often offsite measurement, causing delays and slow response times. This paper introduces an improved method for TEP monitoring using a membrane-based spectrophotometric technique to quantify TEP in various water bodies. The proposed TEP monitor involves a crossflow filtration unit, reagent injection and a spectrophotometer system. The TEP retained on the membrane surface is stained by Alcian blue and the amount deposited is quantified directly using an optic fibre reflectance probe coupled with a spectrophotometer. The novel method shows a linear relationship with various concentrations of Xanthan gum (a model representing TEP). When tested with various water samples, the proposed method was found to correlate well with the conventional method. Several advantages of this novel method are shorter analysis time, increased accuracy, and the potential to be further developed into an online system.

Intra and inter annual variation in a seagrass meadow on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica: 2009-2015

Seagrass beds are an important ecosystem on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. At Cahuita National Park (CNP) a seagrass bed at Perezoso has been monitored continually since 1999 within the CARICOMP program. Thalassia testudinum is the dominant seagrass species, in some cases mixed with Syringodium filiforme. The results from the 2009 to 2015 monitoring period are presented here, and contrasted with data before 2009. Total (above and below ground tissue) mean biomass of T. testudinum was higher (1 255.4 ± 146.0 gm-2) than biomass before 2009, with an increasing tendency. However, productivity (1.5±0.59 gm-2d-1) and turnover rate (4.3 ± 1.22 %d-1) were lower than previous monitoring periods. In this period, mean leaf area diminished considerably (4.9 ± 2.30 m2), but leaf area index (LAI) increased (1.9 ± 0.80 m2leafm-2) in comparison to prior monitoring. Productivity, density, turnover rate, LAI and biomass showed intra-annual variations; while mean biomass of T. testudinum did not vary significantly among years. No correlations were found between water salinity, temperature and clarity with seagrass measurements. However, most seagrass parameters were strongly correlated with precipitation. These results highlight the effect of external environmental agents acting on the ecosystem. CNP presents a long-term stable seagrass meadow. However, there are indirect signals, such as high biomass and above-ground biomass proportion, along with low productivity and LAI, which point to a nutrient increment in Perezoso’s seagrass bed. To continue protecting this seagrass bed, it is necessary to improve monitoring methods, and seagrass beds should be included in national conservation policies and monitoring programs.