Training needs and recommendations for Citizen Science participants, facilitators and designers

In this report, we aimed to systematise and elaborate on the ideas discussed during the COST Action WG2 workshop “Systematic review on training requirements and recommendations for Citizen Science” that took place in Riga on 12-13th November 2018. Building on the input from the workshop participants’ broad range of different perspectives and expertise in citizen science and education, we compiled a list of training needs for project participants, project facilitators and project designers in citizen science and categorised them into core, operational and engagement needs. Based on our experience we discussed challenges that may need to be considered when designing training in citizen science. We then addressed the needs by formulating recommendations and pointing out available resources that have been proven to be useful in our own citizen science research and practice. While we acknowledge that these training needs and training recommendations may not be complete, we believe that our approach from needs to recommendations can act as a helpful working model when designing training and the list of resources provides a starting point to delve deeper into the topic and good training examples to build on. We invite the community to provide further insights into training needs and recommendations and to contribute further resources to the listThis is an open access publication. The attached file is the published version of the article

Identification of Gene Modules Associated with Drought Response in Rice by Network-Based Analysis

Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie plant responses to drought stress is challenging due to the complex interplay of numerous different genes. Here, we used network-based gene clustering to uncover the relationships between drought-responsive genes from large microarray datasets. We identified 2,607 rice genes that showed significant changes in gene expression under drought stress; 1,392 genes were highly intercorrelated to form 15 gene modules. These drought-responsive gene modules are biologically plausible, with enrichments for genes in common functional categories, stress response changes, tissue-specific expression and transcription factor binding sites. We observed that a gene module (referred to as module 4) consisting of 134 genes was significantly associated with drought response in both drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive rice varieties. This module is enriched for genes involved in controlling the response of the plant to water and embryonic development, including a heat shock transcription factor as the key regulator in the expression of ABRE-containing genes. These results suggest that module 4 is highly conserved in the ABA-mediated drought response pathway in different rice varieties. Moreover, our study showed that many hub genes clustered in rice chromosomes had significant associations with QTLs for drought stress tolerance. The relationship between hub gene clusters and drought tolerance QTLs may provide a key to understand the genetic basis of drought tolerance in rice

Computational solutions for omics data

High-throughput experimental technologies are generating increasingly massive and complex genomic data sets. The sheer enormity and heterogeneity of these data threaten to make the arising problems computationally infeasible. Fortunately, powerful algorithmic techniques lead to software that can answer important biomedical questions in practice. In this Review, we sample the algorithmic landscape, focusing on state-of-the-art techniques, the understanding of which will aid the bench biologist in analysing omics data. We spotlight specific examples that have facilitated and enriched analyses of sequence, transcriptomic and network data sets.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant GM081871

Socioeconomic correlates of antibody levels to enteric pathogens among Israeli adolescents

We examined the association between socioeconomic status and the level of serum antibodies to selected faeco-orally transmitted pathogens among Israeli adolescents. Random samples of eighty volunteers aged 12–15 years from high (HSL), medium (MSL) and low (LSL) standard of living towns were included in the study. Serum samples were examined by radioimmunoassay for HAV and by in-house-developed ELISA systems for IgA and IgG antibody levels against Shigella sonnei, S. flexneri, E. coli O157:H7 lipopolysacchride and Cryptosporidium parvum antigens. Seropositivity to HAV was highest (98·8%) in the LSL towns and lowest (25%) in the HSL towns, showing a statistically significant linear trend. Antibody levels to the other enteropathogens had gender variation, with higher titres in females. Significantly lower titres in the HSL towns were found for: IgA anti-S. sonnei in females (P<0·001); IgG anti-S. sonnei in females (P=0·024) and males (P=0·033); IgG anti-S. flexneri in females (P=0·016). Inverse linear association with socioeconomic status was found for IgA anti-C. parvum in females (P<0·001); IgA anti-E. coli O157:H7 in females (P<0·001) and males (P=0·024). A statistically significant association between HAV seropositivity and higher titres of IgA anti-S. sonnei and E. coli O157:H7 was shown. In conclusion, exposure to enteropathogens transmitted via the faecal–oral route in communities of lower socioeconomic status is reflected in a higher prevalence of lifelong lasting antibodies to HAV, and higher levels of antibodies to bacterial and protozoan enteropathogens. Among females, the levels of specific serum antibodies are higher and more strongly associated with low socioeconomic status