46 research outputs found
Optimising the use of bio-loggers for movement ecology research
1.The paradigmâchanging opportunities of bioâlogging sensors for ecological research, especially movement ecology, are vast, but the crucial questions of how best to match the most appropriate sensors and sensor combinations to specific biological questions, and how to analyse complex bioâlogging data, are mostly ignored.
2.Here, we fill this gap by reviewing how to optimise the use of bioâlogging techniques to answer questions in movement ecology and synthesise this into an Integrated Bioâlogging Framework (IBF).
3.We highlight that multiâsensor approaches are a new frontier in bioâlogging, whilst identifying current limitations and avenues for future development in sensor technology.
4.We focus on the importance of efficient data exploration, and more advanced multiâdimensional visualisation methods, combined with appropriate archiving and sharing approaches, to tackle the big data issues presented by bioâlogging. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities in matching the peculiarities of specific sensor data to the statistical models used, highlighting at the same time the large advances which will be required in the latter to properly analyse bioâlogging data.
5.Taking advantage of the bioâlogging revolution will require a large improvement in the theoretical and mathematical foundations of movement ecology, to include the rich set of highâfrequency multivariate data, which greatly expand the fundamentally limited and coarse data that could be collected using locationâonly technology such as GPS. Equally important will be the establishment of multiâdisciplinary collaborations to catalyse the opportunities offered by current and future bioâlogging technology. If this is achieved, clear potential exists for developing a vastly improved mechanistic understanding of animal movements and their roles in ecological processes, and for building realistic predictive models
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
Background
Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres.
Methods
This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and lowâmiddle-income countries.
Results
In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of âsingle-useâ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for lowâmiddle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia.
Conclusion
This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both highâ and lowâmiddleâincome countries
Narrowing the critical region within 11q24-qter for hypoplastic left heart and identification of a candidate gene, JAM3, expressed during cardiogenesis
Hypoplastic left heart is a severe human congenital heart defect characterized by left ventricular hypoplasiawith aortic and mitral valve atresia. A genetic etiology is indicated by an association of the hypoplastic left heart phenotype with terminal 11q deletions that span approximately 20 Mb (distal to FRA11B in 11q23). Here we define the breakpoints in four patients with heart defects in association with distal 11q monosomy and refine the critical region to an approximately 9-Mb region distal to D11S1351. Within this critical region we have identified JAM3, a member of the junction adhesion molecule family, as a strong candidate gene for the cardiac phenotype on the basis that it is expressed during human cardiogenesis in the structures principally affected in hypoplastic left heart