Secondary task engagement, risk-taking, and safety-related equipment use in Gerrnan bicycle and e-scooter riders - an observation

lt has been shown that engagement in secondary tasks may contribute to cyclists crash risk [1 ], meditated by cycling errors or risky behaviors. For influences on secondary task: engagement, it is generally found that phone use is negatively correlated with age. In most studies, males are more found engaged in phone tasks than females. lt was also found that users of a bicycle-sharing program more often to wear headphones and engage in more unsafe behavior. The use of safety gear (e.g., wearing a helmet, using reflectors) is often negatively correlated with distracted cycling. Also, cyclists engaged in a secondary task exhibit other risky behaviors more often [2]. The present study's first aim was to get (an updated) estimate of the observable frequency of different secondary tasks, use of additional safety equipment, and rule violations while riding bicycles and e-scooters in Germany. The second aim was to examine possible differences in secondary task: engagement, use of additional safety equipment, and rule violations between different types of users of the cycling infrastructure, i.e., riders of conventional bikes, e-bikes, scooters, and e-scooters. A third aim was to explore whether riders' secondary task engagement is related to active safety precautions (e.g., wearing a helmet), traffic rule violations, and at-fault conflicts and if there are rider profiles regarding safety-related behaviors. As the study is explorative, no hypotheses were formulated. [From: Introduction

Informing research priorities for immature sea turtles through expert elicitation

Although sea turtles have received substantial focus worldwide, research on the immature life stages is still relatively limited. The latter is of particular importance, given that a large proportion of sea turtle populations comprises immature individuals. We set out to identify knowledge gaps and identify the main barriers hindering research in this field. We analyzed the perceptions of sea turtle experts through an online survey which gathered their opinions on the current state of affairs on immature sea turtle research, including species and regions in need of further study, priority research questions, and barriers that have interfered with the advancement of research. Our gap analysis indicates that studies on immature leatherback Dermochelys coriacea and hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata turtles are lacking, as are studies on all species based in the Indian, South Pacific, and South Atlantic Oceans. Experts also perceived that studies in population ecology, namely on survivorship and demography, and habitat use/behavior, are needed to advance the state of knowledge on immature sea turtles. Our survey findings indicate the need for more inter-disciplinary research, collaborative efforts (eg data-sharing, joint field activities), and improved communication among researchers, funding bodies, stakeholders, and decision-makers

Global Conservation Priorities for Marine Turtles

Where conservation resources are limited and conservation targets are diverse, robust yet flexible priority-setting frameworks are vital. Priority-setting is especially important for geographically widespread species with distinct populations subject to multiple threats that operate on different spatial and temporal scales. Marine turtles are widely distributed and exhibit intra-specific variations in population sizes and trends, as well as reproduction and morphology. However, current global extinction risk assessment frameworks do not assess conservation status of spatially and biologically distinct marine turtle Regional Management Units (RMUs), and thus do not capture variations in population trends, impacts of threats, or necessary conservation actions across individual populations. To address this issue, we developed a new assessment framework that allowed us to evaluate, compare and organize marine turtle RMUs according to status and threats criteria. Because conservation priorities can vary widely (i.e. from avoiding imminent extinction to maintaining long-term monitoring efforts) we developed a “conservation priorities portfolio” system using categories of paired risk and threats scores for all RMUs (n = 58). We performed these assessments and rankings globally, by species, by ocean basin, and by recognized geopolitical bodies to identify patterns in risk, threats, and data gaps at different scales. This process resulted in characterization of risk and threats to all marine turtle RMUs, including identification of the world's 11 most endangered marine turtle RMUs based on highest risk and threats scores. This system also highlighted important gaps in available information that is crucial for accurate conservation assessments. Overall, this priority-setting framework can provide guidance for research and conservation priorities at multiple relevant scales, and should serve as a model for conservation status assessments and priority-setting for widespread, long-lived taxa

Regional Management Units for Marine Turtles: A Novel Framework for Prioritizing Conservation and Research across Multiple Scales

Background: Resolving threats to widely distributed marine megafauna requires definition of the geographic distributions of both the threats as well as the population unit(s) of interest. In turn, because individual threats can operate on varying spatial scales, their impacts can affect different segments of a population of the same species. Therefore, integration of multiple tools and techniques - including site-based monitoring, genetic analyses, mark-recapture studies and telemetry - can facilitate robust definitions of population segments at multiple biological and spatial scales to address different management and research challenges. Methodology/Principal Findings: To address these issues for marine turtles, we collated all available studies on marine turtle biogeography, including nesting sites, population abundances and trends, population genetics, and satellite telemetry. We georeferenced this information to generate separate layers for nesting sites, genetic stocks, and core distributions of population segments of all marine turtle species. We then spatially integrated this information from fine-to coarse-spatial scales to develop nested envelope models, or Regional Management Units (RMUs), for marine turtles globally. Conclusions/Significance: The RMU framework is a solution to the challenge of how to organize marine turtles into units of protection above the level of nesting populations, but below the level of species, within regional entities that might be on independent evolutionary trajectories. Among many potential applications, RMUs provide a framework for identifying data gaps, assessing high diversity areas for multiple species and genetic stocks, and evaluating conservation status of marine turtles. Furthermore, RMUs allow for identification of geographic barriers to gene flow, and can provide valuable guidance to marine spatial planning initiatives that integrate spatial distributions of protected species and human activities. In addition, the RMU framework - including maps and supporting metadata - will be an iterative, user-driven tool made publicly available in an online application for comments, improvements, download and analysis

Secondary task engagement, risk-taking, and safety-related equipment use in Gerrnan bicycle and e-scooter riders - an observation

lt has been shown that engagement in secondary tasks may contribute to cyclists crash risk [1 ], meditated by cycling errors or risky behaviors. For influences on secondary task: engagement, it is generally found that phone use is negatively correlated with age. In most studies, males are more found engaged in phone tasks than females. lt was also found that users of a bicycle-sharing program more often to wear headphones and engage in more unsafe behavior. The use of safety gear (e.g., wearing a helmet, using reflectors) is often negatively correlated with distracted cycling. Also, cyclists engaged in a secondary task exhibit other risky behaviors more often [2]. The present study's first aim was to get (an updated) estimate of the observable frequency of different secondary tasks, use of additional safety equipment, and rule violations while riding bicycles and e-scooters in Germany. The second aim was to examine possible differences in secondary task: engagement, use of additional safety equipment, and rule violations between different types of users of the cycling infrastructure, i.e., riders of conventional bikes, e-bikes, scooters, and e-scooters. A third aim was to explore whether riders' secondary task engagement is related to active safety precautions (e.g., wearing a helmet), traffic rule violations, and at-fault conflicts and if there are rider profiles regarding safety-related behaviors. As the study is explorative, no hypotheses were formulated. [From: Introduction

Secondary task engagement, risk-taking, and safety-related equipment use in Gerrnan bicycle and e-scooter riders - an observation

lt has been shown that engagement in secondary tasks may contribute to cyclists crash risk [1 ], meditated by cycling errors or risky behaviors. For influences on secondary task: engagement, it is generally found that phone use is negatively correlated with age. In most studies, males are more found engaged in phone tasks than females. lt was also found that users of a bicycle-sharing program more often to wear headphones and engage in more unsafe behavior. The use of safety gear (e.g., wearing a helmet, using reflectors) is often negatively correlated with distracted cycling. Also, cyclists engaged in a secondary task exhibit other risky behaviors more often [2]. The present study's first aim was to get (an updated) estimate of the observable frequency of different secondary tasks, use of additional safety equipment, and rule violations while riding bicycles and e-scooters in Germany. The second aim was to examine possible differences in secondary task: engagement, use of additional safety equipment, and rule violations between different types of users of the cycling infrastructure, i.e., riders of conventional bikes, e-bikes, scooters, and e-scooters. A third aim was to explore whether riders' secondary task engagement is related to active safety precautions (e.g., wearing a helmet), traffic rule violations, and at-fault conflicts and if there are rider profiles regarding safety-related behaviors. As the study is explorative, no hypotheses were formulated. [From: Introduction

Intraoperative transfusion practices in Europe

Transfusion of allogeneic blood influences outcome after surgery. Despite widespread availability of transfusion guidelines, transfusion practices might vary among physicians, departments, hospitals and countries. Our aim was to determine the amount of packed red blood cells (pRBC) and blood products transfused intraoperatively, and to describe factors determining transfusion throughout Europe. We did a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 5803 patients in 126 European centres that received at least one pRBC unit intraoperatively, during a continuous three month period in 2013. The overall intraoperative transfusion rate was 1.8%; 59% of transfusions were at least partially initiated as a result of a physiological transfusion trigger- mostly because of hypotension (55.4%) and/or tachycardia (30.7%). Haemoglobin (Hb)- based transfusion trigger alone initiated only 8.5% of transfusions. The Hb concentration [mean (sd)] just before transfusion was 8.1 (1.7) g dl and increased to 9.8 (1.8) g dl after transfusion. The mean number of intraoperatively transfused pRBC units was 2.5 (2.7) units (median 2). Although European Society of Anaesthesiology transfusion guidelines are moderately implemented in Europe with respect to Hb threshold for transfusion (7-9 g dl), there is still an urgent need for further educational efforts that focus on the number of pRBC units to be transfused at this threshold