Quality control and bias adjustment of crowdsourced wind speed observations

Wind observations collected at citizen weather stations (CWSs) could be an invaluable resource in climate and meteorology studies, yet these observations are underutilised because scientists do not have confidence in their quality. These wind speed observations have systematic biases, likely caused by improper instrumentation and station sitings. Such systematic biases introduce spatial inconsistencies that prevent comparison of these stations spatially and limit the possible usage of the data. In this paper, we address these issues by improving and developing new methods for identifying suspect observations and adjusting systematic biases. Our complete quality control and bias adjustment procedure consists of four steps: (a) performing within-station quality control tests to check the plausible range and the temporal consistency of observations, (b) adjusting the systematic bias using empirical quantile mapping, (c) implementing between-station quality control to compare observations from neighbouring stations to identify spatially inconsistent observations, and (d) providing estimates of the true wind when CWSs falsely report zero wind speeds, as a complement to the bias adjustment. We apply these methods to CWSs from the Weather Observation Website (WOW) in the Netherlands, comparing the crowdsourced data with official data, and statistically assessing the improvements in data quality after each step. The results demonstrate that the crowdsourced wind speed data are more comparable with official data after quality control checks and bias adjustment steps. Our quality assessment methods therefore give confidence in CWSs, converting their observations into a usable data product and an invaluable resource for applications in need of additional wind observations

Detecting early signs of depressive and manic episodes in patients with bipolar disorder using the signature-based model

Recurrent major mood episodes and subsyndromal mood instability cause substantial disability in patients with bipolar disorder. Early identification of mood episodes enabling timely mood stabilisation is an important clinical goal. Recent technological advances allow the prospective reporting of mood in real time enabling more accurate, efficient data capture. The complex nature of these data streams in combination with challenge of deriving meaning from missing data mean pose a significant analytic challenge. The signature method is derived from stochastic analysis and has the ability to capture important properties of complex ordered time series data. To explore whether the onset of episodes of mania and depression can be identified using self-reported mood data.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 10 figure

Deriving information from missing data: implications for mood prediction

The availability of mobile technologies has enabled the efficient collection prospective longitudinal, ecologically valid self-reported mood data from psychiatric patients. These data streams have potential for improving the efficiency and accuracy of psychiatric diagnosis as well predicting future mood states enabling earlier intervention. However, missing responses are common in such datasets and there is little consensus as to how this should be dealt with in practice. A signature-based method was used to capture different elements of self-reported mood alongside missing data to both classify diagnostic group and predict future mood in patients with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and healthy controls. The missing-response-incorporated signature-based method achieves roughly 66\% correct diagnosis, with f1 scores for three different clinic groups 59\% (bipolar disorder), 75\% (healthy control) and 61\% (borderline personality disorder) respectively. This was significantly more efficient than the naive model which excluded missing data. Accuracies of predicting subsequent mood states and scores were also improved by inclusion of missing responses. The signature method provided an effective approach to the analysis of prospectively collected mood data where missing data was common and should be considered as an approach in other similar datasets

Parasites of the invasive tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus: evidence for co-introduction

Reduced parasite species diversity and infection intensity on invasive populations can facilitate establishment and spread of invasive species. We investigated the parasite diversity of invasive populations of tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus from published literature and necropsies conducted on 72 fish captured in the Ross River, north Queensland, Australia. The parasite diversity of invasive O. mossambicus from 13 countries was compared to published reports on endemic populations in African river systems and tributaries to determine parasite species that had likely been co-introduced. In total, four parasite species were shared between native and invasive tilapia. We propose that these parasites (three monogeneans, Cichlidogyrus tilapiae Paperna, 1960, Cichlidogyrus sclerosus Paperna and Thurston, 1969, Cichlidogyrus halli (Price and Kirk, 1967) and one trichodinid Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977) have likely been co-introduced with invasive Oreochromis mossambicus populations. Invasive Australian O. mossambicus had substantially reduced parasite diversity (five species) compared to cumulative parasite species diversity documented from the native region (23 species). Australian O. mossambicus were infected by two co-introduced parasites and three additional parasite species that have not been recorded previously on this species in Africa indicating possible parasite "spillback" from Australian natives or alternatively, acquisition from other introduced fauna. The substantially reduced parasite diversity on invasive Australian O. mossambicus could contribute to the ability of this species to become a serious fish pest

Systematic review and meta-analysis: risks of anxiety disorders in offspring of parents with mood disorders

Objective: To examine the risk of anxiety disorders in offspring of parents with mood disorders. Method: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched 4 electronic databases (Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science [core collection]) to identify cross-sectional and cohort studies that examined the association between parental mood disorders (including bipolar disorder and unipolar depression) and risk of anxiety disorders in offspring. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) of overall and specific anxiety disorders were synthesized using a random effects model. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were performed to identify moderation factors. Results: A total of 35 studies were included in the final analysis. Our results showed higher risks of all types of anxiety disorders in the offspring of parents with mood disorders (any anxiety disorder, RR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.47-2.26), except for agoraphobia (RR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.56-2.08), and with an especially elevated risk of panic disorder (RR = 3.07, 95% CI = 2.19-4.32). Subgroup analysis demonstrated no significant difference between the risks of anxiety disorders across the offspring of parents with bipolar disorder as opposed to unipolar depression. The absence of anxiety disorders in control parents, younger offspring age, and specific parent/offspring sex were associated with higher RRs for some anxiety disorders in offspring of parents with mood disorders. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a robust relationship between parental mood disorders and offspring anxiety disorders, and highlight the potential value of prevention and early intervention for anxiety disorders in this context. Diversity & Inclusion Statement: We worked to ensure race, ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our reference list

Ragged places and smooth surfaces: Audio walks as practices of making and doing the city

This article engages with how our auditory engagement with a particular soundscape helps frame and construct the places we move in and influences the ways we relate to our surroundings, to others and to ourselves. Its empirical focus is a series of urban audio walks that were made and carried out within a public engagement project designed to actively involve the participants and walkers in a relationship with(in) the place, community, history and culture. The article explores how this project worked with and challenged the form of the traditional, tourist-orientated audio walk, which tend to represent the city as a smooth, historicized space ready to be consumed. The walks produced in this project were more improvisational; they were vehicles for expressing the ragged, common sense topographies or place in the world of the participants. This tension draws to the surface questions of critical citizenship, as we trace how the participants ‘mapped their world’ within the pre-existing and often overwhelming cartographies of their world and how this, in turn, allowed us to think more about the ways in which they position themselves and are positioned within dominant discourses as a particular type of citizen and urban dweller

Movement Matters: Results of an Introductory Dance Project at the Village of Humber Heights - Report Series # 16

Recent surveys suggest that, although they seem to understand its value and importance (Ory et al., 2003), less than a quarter of all older adults get the recommended amount of exercise (Statistics Canada, 2005). It is possible that the majority of exercise programs currently available are traditional and gym-based, offering limited ways of encouraging active engagement that may not be appealing to many older adults. In recent years, the benefits of dance programs that incorporate flexibility and balance training have been explored. The current pilot project examined the potential for dance training to be considered an innovative health promotion strategy, one that encourages healthy aging and helps to maintain functional autonomy. Older adults from the Village of Humber Heights participated in 12 weeks of ballet and contemporary dance training. Pre- and post-dance training physical (flexibility, agility, muscular endurance and balance) measures were gathered. In addition, participants were invited to write in a journal for the duration of the dance training; this allowed the researchers to identify potential internal and external barriers to inclusion in physical activity (e.g., self limiting beliefs, stereotypes and/or lack of opportunity)

The role of serotonin in personality interference:tryptophan depletion impairs the identification of neuroticism in the face

Serotonergic mechanisms mediate the expression of personality traits (such as impulsivity, aggression and anxiety) that are linked to vulnerability to psychological illnesses, and modulate the identification of emotional expressions in the face as well as learning about broader classes of appetitive and aversive signals. Faces with neutral expressions signal a variety of socially relevant information, such that inferences about the big five personality traits, including Neuroticism, Extraversion and Agreeableness, can be accurately made on the basis of emotionally neutral facial photographs. Given the close link between Neuroticism and psychological distress, we investigated the effects of diminished central serotonin activity (achieved by tryptophan depletion) upon the accuracy of 52 healthy (non-clinical) adults' discriminations of personality from facial characteristics. All participants were able to discriminate reliably four of the big five traits. However, the tryptophan-depleted participants were specifically less accurate in discriminating Neuroticism than the matched non-depleted participants. These data suggest that central serotonin activity modulates the identification of not only negative facial emotional expression but also a broader class of signals about personality characteristics linked to psychological distress