Multiple Observers Research Articles

Acoustic detection of gunshots to improve measurement and mapping of hunting activity

AbstractHunting can influence the abundance and distribution of animals and act as a source of conflict among recreational user groups. Thus, land managers benefit from tools that can generate information about when and where hunting occurs. We used passive acoustic monitoring to examine spatiotemporal patterns of hunting‐related gunshots at 91 locations in a protected area in Alberta, Canada. We compared 2 methods for detecting gunshots from recordings: a recognizer that used complex pattern recognition and an energy detector that detected loud sounds regardless of their acoustic features. The recognizer primarily detected faint sounds, and multiple observers showed low levels of agreement (37%) with respect to whether sounds were gunshots or not, suggesting it produced ambiguous data. The recognizer also missed many loud, clear gunshots for unknown reasons. The energy detector, in contrast, detected loud sounds upon which observers showed near‐unanimous agreement (99%) on their identity. Gunshots missed by the energy detector could be because they were too quiet (i.e., too far away to be detected). Thus, despite detecting fewer gunshots overall, the energy detector produced higher quality data that were easier to interpret. We analyzed 249 gunshots detected with the energy detector, and found that hunting was concentrated near vehicle access points and peaked on Saturdays, and that hunters largely abided by local regulations prohibiting Sunday hunting. We compared energy detector results with remote cameras, which revealed similar spatiotemporal patterns of hunting effort. Passive acoustic monitoring has the potential to allow hunting activity to be mapped and monitored with unprecedented resolution.

Designing a surveillance program for early detection of alien plants and insects in Norway

Naturalized species of alien plants and animals comprise < 3% of biodiversity recorded in Norway but have had major impacts on natural ecosystems through displacement of native species. Encroachment of alien species has been especially problematic for coastal sites close to transport facilities and urban areas with high density housing. The goal of our field project was to design and test a surveillance program for early detection of alien species of vascular plants and terrestrial insects at the first phase of establishment in natural areas. In our 3-year project (2018–2020), we sampled 60 study plots in three counties in the Oslofjord region of southern Norway. Study plots (6.25 ha) were selected by two criteria: manual selection based on expert opinion (27 plots) or by random selection based on weights from a hotspot analysis of occurrence of alien species (33 plots). Vascular plants were surveyed by two experienced botanists who found a total of 239 alien species of vascular plants in 95 rounds of surveys. Insects and other invertebrates were captured with a single Malaise trap per site, with 3–4 rounds of repeated sampling. We used DNA-metabarcoding to identify invertebrates based on DNA extractions from crushed insects or from the preservative media. Over 3500 invertebrate taxa were detected in 255 rounds of sampling. We recorded 20 alien species of known risk, and 115 species that were new to Norway, including several ‘doorknocker’ species identified by previous risk assessments. We modeled the probabilities of occupancy (ψ) and detection (p) with occupancy models with repeated visits by multiple observers (vascular plants) or multiple rounds of sampling (insects). The two probabilities covaried with risk category for alien organisms and both were low for species categorized as no known or low risk (range = 0.052–0.326) but were higher for species categorized as severe risk (range = 0.318–0.651). Selecting sites at random or manually did not improve the probability of finding novel alien species, but occupancy had a weak positive relationship with housing density for some categories of alien plants and insects. We used our empirical estimates to test alternative sampling designs that would minimize the combined variance of occupancy and detection (A-optimality criterion). Sampling designs with 8–10 visits per site were best for surveillance of new alien species if the probabilities of occupancy and detection were both low, and provided low conditional probabilities of site occupancy (hat{psi }_{condl} ≤ 0.032) and a high probabilities of cumulative detection (hat{p}* ≥ 0.943). Our field results demonstrate that early detection is feasible as a key component of a national surveillance program based on early detection and rapid response.

Probabilistic Interpretation of Observer Effect on Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Abstract Background: In quantum mechanics, the observer effect categorically states that observing a phenomenon changes it. This research explores a probabilistic interpretation of entrepreneurial opportunity and explains the observer effect reflecting on Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment. This approach addresses opportunity as a “possibility” concept reinterpreting it from multiple observers’ perspectives and the cruciality of action to cause wave function collapse to an emergent reality. This paper intends to resolve the epistemological paradox and ‘opportunity’ war by re-contextualising opportunity as an artefact and positing it as a probability wave with a range of possibilities until alert entrepreneurs act on it. Method: This conceptual development relies on literature review as a research methodology, using reasoning by analogy for the progress of theory and metaphors for theorisation. Results: This conceptual narrative strengthens the epistemological foundation focused on possibility and probability (illustrated through wave function) to sharpen the definition of opportunity and action theory. The observer effect in opportunity is underexplored in entrepreneurial scholarship. This study features how the observer effect influences the evolving state of opportunity. Opportunity is affected by other observers and the entrepreneur’s imagination, social construction and effort. Each involved agent relates and interacts to give rise to possibilities in opportunities. The interrelations and interdependence are complex, giving rise to superposition with a mixed state with many possibilities. Conclusions: The contribution of this research is manifold from a theoretical and practical level. It presents a quantum-like model where an ‘un-acted’ opportunity is in superposition (multiple possibilities emerging simultaneously until it is enacted), expanding on Ramoglou and Tsang’s (2016) view on propensity. The interactional effects – interfering and entangling between agents observing the same opportunity generate possibilities. The potentiality and the many-possibilities states in the opportunity artefact hold great promise in entrepreneurial research.

Demonstration of Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen Steering with Multiple Observers via Sequential Measurements

Quantum correlation is a fundamental property that distinguishes quantum systems from classical ones, and is also a fragile resource under projective measurements. Recently, it has been shown that a subsystem in entangled pairs can share nonlocalities with multiple observers in sequence. Here we present a new steering scenario where both subsystems are accessible by multiple observers. Simulation results show that the two qubits in a singlet state can be simultaneously steered separately by two sequential observers.

Testing inter-observer error under a collaborative research framework for studying lithic shape variability

Evaluating error that arises through the aggregation of data recorded by multiple observers is a key consideration in many metric and geometric morphometric analyses of stone tool shape. One of the most common approaches involves the convergence of observers for repeat trails on the same set of artefacts: however, this is logistically and financially challenging when collaborating internationally and/or at a large scale. We present and evaluate a unique alternative for testing inter-observer error, involving the development of 3D printed copies of a lithic reference collection for distribution among observers. With the aim of reducing error, clear protocols were developed for photographing and measuring the replicas, and inter-observer variability was assessed on the replicas in comparison with a corresponding data set recorded by a single observer. Our results demonstrate that, when the photography procedure is standardized and dimensions are clearly defined, the resulting metric and geometric morphometric data are minimally affected by inter-observer error, supporting this method as an effective solution for assessing error under collaborative research frameworks. Collaboration is becoming increasingly important within archaeological and anthropological sciences in order to increase the accessibility of samples, encourage dual-project development between foreign and local researchers and reduce the carbon footprint of collection-based research. This study offers a promising validation of a collaborative research design whereby researchers remotely work together to produce comparable data capturing lithic shape variability.

Decentralised Data Quality Control in Ground Truth Production for Autonomic Decisions

Autonomic decision-making based on rules and metrics is inevitably on the rise in distributed software systems. Often, the metrics are acquired from system observations such as static checks and runtime traces. To avoid bias propagation and hence reduce wrong decisions in increasingly autonomous systems due to poor observation data quality, multiple independent observers can exchange their findings and produce a majority-accepted, complete and outlier-cleaned ground truth in the form of consensus-supported metrics. In this work, we motivate the growing importance of metrics for informed and autonomic decisions in clouds and other distributed systems, present reasons for diverging observations, and describe a federated approach to produce ground truth with data-centric consensus voting for more reliable decision making processes. We validate the system design with experiments in the area of cloud software artefact observations and highlight benefits for reproducible distributed system behaviour.

Multidisturbance Suppressed Model Predictive Direct Speed Control With Low Pulsation for PMSM Drives

Model predictive direct speed control (MPDSC), with a simple structure and without parameter tuning required, can use only one controller to constrain the speed and current of the motor at the same time. First, a direct voltage vector selection-based three-vector model predictive speed control, simplifying the optimization process, is proposed in this article, which reduces the pulsation of current and speed without increasing the computational burden compared with MPDSC. At the same time, because of the reasonable distribution of voltage vectors in the proposed three-vector method, the quality of the control and modulation has been significantly improved. Second, a multidisturbance Luenberger observer is designed to observe mechanical and electrical disturbances and to make further compensation, which reduced the influence of model mismatch, load torque, and unmodeled dynamics simultaneously and avoided the use of multiple observers, with fewer parameters and easier tuning. The experiment is presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method on the 7.5-kW experiment platform.

Using Subobservers to Synthesize Opacity-Enforcing Supervisors

In discrete-event system control, the worst-case time complexity for computing a system's observer is exponential in the number of that system's states. This results in practical difficulties since some problems require calculating multiple observers for a changing system, e.g., synthesizing an opacity-enforcing supervisor. Although calculating these observers in an iterative manner allows us to synthesize an opacity-enforcing supervisor and although methods have been proposed to reduce the computational demands, room exists for a practical and intuitive solution. Here we extend the subautomaton relationship to the notion of a subobserver and demonstrate its use in reducing the computations required for iterated observer calculations. We then demonstrate the subobserver relationship's power by simplifying state-of-the-art synthesis approaches for opacity-enforcing supervisors under realistic assumptions.

Honey bees are not attracted to multiple new ant bait matrices containing sugar.

Multiple new ant treatment products containing high volumes of sugar have recently been developed specifically for use in ant management programs. The presence of sugar in these products could potentially attract bees, and any such attractancy would likely be fatal given that these products typically contain general insecticides. To determine the risk of such products to bees I present four studies assessing bee attractancy to multiple matrices that are used to make these products. The trials were conducted across multiple years, seasons, and locations, containing various concentrations of sugar in multiple forms, using various experimental setups with many different bee hives, and multiple observers. Not a single bee was attracted to any matrix, nor were bees observed inspecting any matrix, and no bees fed on any matrix, irrespective of whether the matrices were placed close to hives and directly under bee flight paths, or out in areas where bees were feeding. This is in stark contrast to large numbers of bees that were feeding on flowers within the immediate vicinity of all of the matrices in the first two experiments, or flying over the arrays in experiments 3 and 4 travelling to and from other food sources. I present five suggestions for the discrepancy between the trials presented here and the general perception that bees are attracted to sugar. These matrices appear to be acceptable as a basis to make treatment products for broadscale use within ant management programs. However, it should be recognized that bees, and other non-target species, are indeed capable of feeding on these matrices. Therefore vigilance should still be maintained to identify special circumstances where bees may be killed when constituents are added to these matrices that do attract bees, or usage methods can adversely affect bees.

Inter-observer variance and agreement of wildlife information extracted from camera trap images

Camera traps are a popular tool in terrestrial wildlife research due to their low costs, easy operability, and usefulness for studying a wide array of species and research questions. The vast numbers of images they generate often require multiple human data extractors, yet accuracy and inter-observer variance are rarely considered. We compared results from 10 observers who processed the same set of multi-species camera trap images (n = 11,560) from seven sites. We quantified inter-observer agreement and variance for (1) the number of mammals identified, (2) the number of images saved, (3) species identification accuracy and the types of mistakes made, and (4) counts of herbivore groups and individuals. We analysed the influence of observer experience, species distinctiveness and camera location. Observers varied significantly regarding image processing rates, the number of mammals found and images saved, and species misidentifications. Only one observer detected all 22 mammals (range: 18–22, n = 10). Experienced observers processed images up to 4.5 times faster and made less mistakes regarding species detection and identification. Missed species were mostly small mammals (56.5%) while misidentifications were most common among species with low phenotypic distinctiveness. Herbivore counts had high to very high variances with mainly moderate agreement across observers. Observers differed in how they processed images and what they recorded. Our results raise important questions about the reliability of data extracted by multiple observers. Inter-observer bias, observer-related variables, species distinctiveness and camera location are important considerations if camera trapping results are to be used for population estimates or biodiversity assessments.

Validity Issues and Strategies to Improve Validity of Task Engagement Analysis for Instructional Analysis

본 연구의 목적은 수업 분석 도구의 하나인 과업집중도분석에서 제기되는 타당도 이슈를 제시하고, 이를 해결하기 위한 구체적인 전략을 탐색하는 것이다. 이를 위해, 연구자가 다년간 수업컨설팅 경험을 통해 수집한 과업집중도분석 결과, 수업동영상, 그리고 연구자의 성찰 일지 등과 같은 자료를 활용하였다. 수집된 자료는 포괄적 분석 절차에 따라 분석하였다. 본 연구를 통해 도출한 과업집중도분석의 타당도 문제는 학습자 행위에 대한 판단의 모호성, 단일 관찰자 분석으로 인한 신뢰도 문제, 평면적 관찰로 인한 분석의 한계, 그리고 분석 결과에 대한 원인의 근거 부족으로 드러났다. 이러한 타당도 문제를 해결하기 위해 다음과 같은 네 가지의 타당도 확보 방안을 제시하였다. 구체적으로 수업동영상 촬영을 병행한 행위의 명료화, 다중 관찰자를 통한 신뢰도 확보, 다른 수업 분석 도구를 활용한 입체적 분석, 면담 및 설문을 통한 풍부한 정보 도출을 타당도 확보 전략으로 제시하였다. 본 연구를 통해 다음과 같은 결론을 제시하였다. 첫째, 과업집중도분석 도구를 활용하여 수업 분석을 수행하는 관찰자의 역량 강화에 기여할 수 있다. 둘째, 수업컨설턴트 혹은 관찰자는 본 연구에서 제시한 타당도 확보 방안을 고려하여 타당도 높은 수업 분석 결과를 도출할 수 있다. 셋째, 교수자의 실질적인 수업 개선에 기여함으로써 교수자의 수업 전문성 신장에 이바지할 수 있다.The purpose of this study is to present the validity issues raised in task engagement analysis, a class analysis tool, and to explore ways to solve these problems. For this purpose, data such as task engagement analysis results, class videos, and the researcher's reflective journal were collected. These data were collected based on the researcher's many years of experience in instructional consultation. The collected data were analyzed according to an analysis of the degree of concentration on the task. The validity problems of the task engagement analysis derived through this study were revealed as ambiguity in judgment about learner behavior, reliability problems due to single observer analysis, limitations in analysis due to flat observation, and lack of evidence for the causes of results. To solve these problems, the following four methods of securing validity are suggested: First, clarification of the action in parallel with class video recording. Second, securing reliability through multiple observers. Third, three-dimensional analysis using other instructional analysis tools. Fourth, the collection of rich data through interviews and surveys. The following conclusions were drawn. First, use of the task engagement analysis tool can contribute to strengthening the competency of observers who perform class analysis. Second, an instructional analyst or observer can derive highly valid instructional analysis results by considering the method for securing validity suggested in this study. Third, contributing to the practical improvement of the instructor's class can contribute to the improvement of the instructor's class expertise.

Repeatability of radiographic assessments for feline hip dysplasia suggest consensus scores in radiology are more uncertain than commonly assumed

Variation in the diagnostic interpretation of radiographs is a well-recognised problem in human and veterinary medicine. One common solution is to create a ‘consensus’ score based on a majority or unanimous decision from multiple observers. While consensus approaches are generally assumed to improve diagnostic repeatability, the extent to which consensus scores are themselves repeatable has rarely been examined. Here we use repeated assessments by three radiologists of 196 hip radiographs from 98 cats within a health-screening programme to examine intra-observer, inter-observer, majority-consensus and unanimous-consensus repeatability scores for feline hip dysplasia. In line with other studies, intra-observer and inter-observer repeatability was moderate (63–71%), and related to the reference assessment and time taken to reach a decision. Consensus scores did show reduced variation between assessments compared to individuals, but consensus repeatability was far from perfect. Only 75% of majority consensus scores were in agreement between assessments, and based on Bayesian multinomial modelling we estimate that unanimous consensus scores can have repeatabilities as low as 83%. These results clearly show that consensus scores in radiology can have large uncertainties, and that future studies in both human and veterinary medicine need to include consensus-uncertainty estimates if we are to properly interpret radiological diagnoses and the extent to which consensus scores improve diagnostic accuracy.

Effect of Hyperthyroidism Treatments on Heart Rate Variability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The reversibility of HRV abnormalities in hyperthyroidism remains contradictory. The design of this study involves conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of antithyroid treatments on HRV in hyperthyroidism. PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched until 4 April 2022. Multiple reviewers selected articles reporting HRV parameters in treated and untreated hyperthyroidism. Independent data extraction by multiple observers was stratified by degree of hyperthyroidism for each HRV parameter: RR intervals, SDNN (standard deviation of RR intervals), RMSSD (square root of the mean difference of successive RR intervals), pNN50 (percentage of RR intervals with >50 ms of variation), total power (TP), LFnu (low-frequency normalized unit) and HFnu (high-frequency), VLF (very low-frequency), and LF/HF ratio. We included 11 studies for a total of 471 treated hyperthyroid patients, 495 untreated hyperthyroid patients, and 781 healthy controls. After treatment, there was an increase in RR, SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, TP, HFnu, and VLF and a decrease in LFnu and LF/HF ratio (p < 0.01). Overt hyperthyroidism showed similar results, in contrast to subclinical hyperthyroidism. Compared with controls, some HRV parameter abnormalities persist in treated hyperthyroid patients (p < 0.05) with lower SDNN, LFnu, and higher HFnu, without significant difference in other parameters. We showed a partial reversibility of HRV abnormalities following treatment of overt hyperthyroidism. The improvement in HRV may translate the clinical cardiovascular benefits of treatments in hyperthyroidism and may help to follow the evolution of the cardiovascular morbidity.

Coordinated Disturbance Observer-Based Flight Control of Fixed-Wing UAV

In this brief, a novel coordinated disturbance observer (CDO) is proposed to tackle the disturbance which affects the stable flight of a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The above CDO is composed of multiple disturbance observers which have a basic form and depend on the designed coordinated variables. Due to the above special structure of the CDO, for one thing, the requirement of positive definiteness of the observer gain posed on a single disturbance observer is removed in the CDO. For another, the performance of the CDO can be enhanced by weighting multiple small disturbance observer gains. Via the Lyapunov function method, not only the decay rate and stable region of disturbance estimation error (DEE) of the CDO for the fixed-wing UAV are analyzed, but also the stability criteria of DEE and tracking error are given. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed CDO is verified through the simulation of flight control of a fixed-wing UAV.

Observer Variability as a Determinant of Measurement Error of Ultrasonographic Measurements of the Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter: A Systematic Review

BackgroundUltrasonographic measurements of the diameter of the sheath of the optic nerve can be used to assess intracranial pressure indirectly. These measurements come with measurement error. ObjectiveOur aim was to estimate observer's measurement error as a determinant of ultrasonographic measurement variability of the optic nerve sheath diameter. MethodsA systematic search of the literature was conducted in Embase, Medline, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Trials, and the first 200 articles of Google Scholar up to April 19, 2021. Inclusion criteria were the following: healthy adults, B-mode ultrasonography, and measurements 3 mm behind the retina. Studies were excluded if standard error of measurement could not be calculated. Nine studies featuring 389 participants (median 40; range 15–100) and 22 observers (median 2; range 1–4) were included. Standard error of measurement and minimal detectable differences were calculated to quantify observer variability. Quality and risk of bias were assessed with the Guidelines for Reporting Reliability and Agreement Studies. ResultsThe standard error of measurement of the intra- and interobserver variability had a range of 0.10–0.41 mm and 0.14–0.42 mm, respectively. Minimal detectable difference of a single observer was 0.28–1.1 mm. Minimal detectable difference of multiple observers (range 2–4) was 0.40–1.1 mm. Quality assessment showed room for methodological improvement of included studies. ConclusionsThe standard errors of measurement and minimal detectable differences of ultrasonographic measurements of the optic nerve sheath diameter found in this review with healthy participants indicate caution should be urged when interpreting results acquired with this measurement method in clinical context.

Sampling errors and variability in video transects for assessment of reef fish assemblage structure and diversity.

Video monitoring is a rapidly evolving tool in aquatic ecological research because of its non-destructive ability to assess fish assemblages. Nevertheless, methodological considerations of video monitoring techniques are often overlooked, especially in more complex sampling designs, causing inefficient data collection, processing, and interpretation. In this study, we discuss how video transect sampling designs could be assessed and how the inter-observer variability, design errors and sampling variability should be quantified and accounted for. The study took place in the coastal areas of the Galapagos archipelago and consisted of a hierarchical repeated-observations sampling design with multiple observers. Although observer bias was negligible for the assessment of fish assemblage structure, diversity and counts of individual species, sampling variability caused by simple counting/detection errors, observer effects and instantaneous fish displacement was often important. Especially for the counts of individual species, sampling variability most often exceeded the variability of the transects and sites. An extensive part of the variability in the fish assemblage structure was explained by the different transects (13%), suggesting that a sufficiently high number of transects is required to account for the within-location variability. Longer transect lengths allowed a better representation of the fish assemblages as sampling variability decreased by 33% if transect length was increased from 10 to 50 meters. However, to increase precision, including more repeats was typically more efficient than using longer transect lengths. The results confirm the suitability of the technique to study reef fish assemblages, but also highlight the importance of a sound methodological assessment since different biological responses and sampling designs are associated with different levels of sampling variability, precision and ecological relevance. Therefore, besides the direct usefulness of the results, the procedures to establish them may be just as valuable for researchers aiming to optimize their own sampling technique and design.

Development and implementation of a formative instructional coaching program using the Teaching Practices Inventory within a health professions program

BackgroundA growing body of literature describes teaching practices that are positively associated with student achievement. Observing, characterizing, and providing feedback on these teaching practices is a necessary, yet significant challenge to improving teaching quality. This study describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an instructional coaching program created to provide formative feedback to instructors based on their use of evidence-based teaching practices.MethodsThe program was designed for formative purposes utilizing an instrument adapted from the Teaching Practices Inventory. All faculty were invited to participate in the program on a voluntary basis when the program launched in Fall 2019. Program coaches included any School personnel who completed required training. Two rounds of instrument development were conducted with multiple observers and assessed using Krippendorff’s Alpha. The program was evaluated using an anonymous post-session survey.ResultsInterrater reliability of the form improved over two rounds of piloting and no differences were found in scoring between trainees and education professionals. Seventeen observations were completed by nine coaches. Instructors indicated that feedback was practical, timely, specific, and collegial, suggesting that including student perspectives (e.g., focus groups, student course evaluations) in the coaching program might be helpful.ConclusionsCreating programs that emphasize and foster the use of evidence-based teaching are critical for health professions education. Additional research is needed to further develop coaching programs that ensure teaching practices in the health professions are optimizing student learning.

Density from pellet groups: Comparing methods for estimating dung persistence time

AbstractEffective wildlife management often relies on estimates of animal density, and cue counting is a viable estimation strategy. A key component of density estimation from dung, a form of cue counting, is estimation of the persistence time, , of dung piles. However, differences between observers on what constitutes a dung pile may alter subsequent density estimates. Additionally, many researchers studying white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have substituted for the number of days between the date in which 98% of deciduous trees shed leaves in autumn and field sampling. To address these 2 concerns, we compared 3 methods for estimating of white‐tailed deer pellet groups: (1) a common modelling approach based on observations from a single observer (single‐observer method), (2) a method that accommodates interobserver variation on the status of dung during field surveys (interobserver method), and (3) the days elapsed since 98% of deciduous trees shed autumn leaves (leaf‐off method). We then applied these 3 estimates to distance‐sampling data on pellet groups from white‐tailed deer that we collected along transects during 3 sampling seasons from 2019–2021 in west‐central Indiana. We estimated habitat‐ and year‐specific deer densities. Persistence probability of pellet groups varied across habitats and years, positively with age and number of pellets, and negatively with precipitation and temperature. In several instances, we found strong or marginal differences between densities estimated using the leaf‐off method and the other 2 methods. The densities using the interobserver and single‐observer methods were similar, with the latter being larger by an average of 8.0% (SE = 1.71). The latter also yielded coefficients of variation (CV) that averaged 16.6% (SE = 4.8) larger, attributable to interobserver discrepancies in scoring dung persistence. Density estimates from the leaf‐off method were 32.6% (SE = 15.3) and 37.8% (SE = 13.0) less than the density estimates from the interobserver and single‐observer methods, respectively. We encourage future researchers estimating density using multiple observers and dung sampling techniques to incorporate interobserver variation. We advocate that biologists relying on dung‐based estimation of density for white‐tailed deer abandon the conventional leaf‐off method and adopt other modelling approaches.

Following the track: accuracy and reproducibility of predation assessment on artificial caterpillars

AbstractExperimental studies of biotic interactions in real field conditions are essential to understand the structure and functioning of ecological networks. The use of artificial caterpillars to mimic actual prey availability is generally seen as a standard approach to compare the activity and diversity of predators along environmental gradients. Yet, even with standardized material and procedures, biases may still affect data from multiple observers with different expertise. We used pictures of artificial caterpillars with or without various predation marks, in an online survey that was targeted for the participants of the project, to evaluate the reliability of predation marks identification made by non‐scientists and by scientists with and without experience in predation mark identification. Pictures of artificial caterpillars displayed typical marks left by birds, mammals, and arthropods, as well as non‐predation marks (‘false positive’). In total 357 respondents scanned 7140 pictures of artificial caterpillars. Scientists were more confident and accurate in their observations than non‐scientists, but the differences in correct identifications among scientists and non‐scientists were low. Scientists with experience were also more accurate than scientists without experience, whereas there were no differences in self‐confidence among scientists with and without experience. Accuracy in predation mark identification did not differ among types of predators, but respondents were more keen to identify marks left by birds or mammals than marks left by arthropods. Our results have practical implications for the design of multi‐observer projects relying on artificial caterpillars as a proxy to assess predation intensity, in particular in the context of citizen science.

Performance evaluation of the smartphone-based AI cough monitoring app - Hyfe Cough Tracker against solicited respiratory sounds

Background: Emerging technologies to remotely monitor patients’ cough show promise for various clinical applications. Currently available cough detection systems all represent a trade-off between convenience and performance. The accuracy of such technologies is highly contingent on the clinical settings in which they are intended to be used. Moreover, establishing gold standards to measure this accuracy is challenging. Objectives: We present the first performance evaluation study of the Hyfe Cough Tracker app, a passive cough monitoring smartphone application. We evaluate performance for cough detection using continuous audio recordings and cough counting by trained individuals as the gold standard. We propose standard procedures to use multi-observer cough sound annotation from continuous audio recordings as the gold standard for evaluating automated cough detection devices. Methods: This study was embedded in a larger digital acoustic surveillance study (clinicaltrial.gov NCT04762693). Forty-nine participants were included and instructed to produce a diverse series of solicited sounds in 10-minute sessions. Simultaneously, continuous audio recording was performed using a MP3 recorder and two smartphones running Hyfe Cough Tracker app monitored and identified cough events. All continuous audio recordings were independently labeled by three medically-trained researchers. Results: Hyfe Cough Tracker app showed sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 98% with a very high correlation between the cough rate measured by Hyfe and that of human annotators (Pearson correlation of 0.968). A standardized approach to establish an acoustic gold standard for identifying cough sounds with multiple observers is presented. Conclusion: This is the first performance evaluation of a new smartphone-based cough monitoring system. Hyfe Cough Tracker can detect, record and count coughs from solicited cough-like explosive sounds in controlled acoustic environments with very high accuracy. Additional steps are required to validate the system in clinical and community settings.