scholarly journals Assessment of the performance of nonfouling polymer hydrogels utilizing citizen scientists

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261817
Author(s):  
Niko Hansen ◽  
Adriana Bryant ◽  
Roslyn McCormack ◽  
Hannah Johnson ◽  
Travis Lindsay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Space Vehicles ◽  
Trimethylammonium Chloride ◽  
Flight Crew ◽  
Polymer Hydrogels ◽  
Repeat Exposure ◽  
Bacteria Adhesion ◽  
Bacteria Resistance

To facilitate longer duration space travel, flight crew sickness and disease transmission amongst the crew must be eliminated. High contact surfaces within space vehicles provide an opportunity for bacterial adhesion, which can lead to biofilm formation or disease transmission. This study evaluates the performance of several nonfouling polymers using citizen science, to identify the best performing chemistry for future applications as bacteria resistant coatings. The specific polymer chemistries tested were zwitterionic sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA), and polyampholytes composed of [2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride and 2-carboxyethyl acrylate (TMA/CAA), or TMA and 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate (TMA/SA). Each polymer chemistry is known to exhibit bacteria resistance, and this study provides a direct side-by-side comparison between the chemistries using a citizen science approach. Nearly 100 citizen scientists returned results comparing the performance of these polymers over repeat exposure to bacteria and 30 total days of growth. The results demonstrate that TMA/CAA polyampholyte hydrogels show the best long-term resistance to bacteria adhesion.

Periodic monitoring of vampire bats and rabies: a new framework for animal restoration projects in the Neotropics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Gonçalves ◽  
Daniel G. Streicker ◽  
Mauro Galetti
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Risk Area ◽  
Food Web Structure ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
High Risk Area ◽  
Restoration Project ◽  
Vampire Bats

Nowadays, restoration project might lead to increased public engagement and enthusiasm for biodiversity and is receiving increased media attention in major newspapers, TED talks and the scientific literature. However, empirical research on restoration project is rare, fragmented, and geographically biased and long-term studies that monitor indirect and unexpected effects are needed to support future management decisions especially in the Neotropical area. Changes in animal population dynamics and community composition following species (re)introduction may have unanticipated consequences for a variety of downstream ecosystem processes, including food web structure, predator-prey systems and infectious disease transmission. Recently, an unprecedented study in Brazil showed changes in vampire bat feeding following a rewilding project and further transformed the land-bridge island into a high-risk area for rabies transmission. Due the lessons learned from ongoing project, we present a novel approach on how to anticipate, monitor, and mitigate the vampire bats and rabies in rewilding projects. We pinpoint a series of precautions and the need for long-term monitoring of vampire bats and rabies responses to rewilding projects and highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary teams of scientist and managers focusing on prevention educational program of rabies risk transmitted by bats. In addition, monitoring the relative abundance of vampire bats, considering reproductive control by sterilization and oral vaccines that autonomously transfer among bats would reduce the probability, size and duration of rabies outbreaks. The rewilding assessment framework presented here responds to calls to better integrate the science and practice of rewilding and also could be used for long-term studying of bat-transmitted pathogen in the Neotropical area as the region is considered a geographic hotspots of “missing bat zoonoses”.

scholarly journals Transference of Citizen Science Program Impacts: A Theory Grounded in Public Participation in Scientific Research

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 339
Author(s):  
Louise I. Lynch-O’Brien ◽  
Wayne A. Babchuk ◽  
Jenny M. Dauer ◽  
Tiffany Heng-Moss ◽  
Doug Golick
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Informal Science Education ◽  
Constructivist Grounded Theory ◽  
Science Program ◽  
Program Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Added Benefit

Citizen science is known for increasing the geographic, spatial, and temporal scale from which scientists can gather data. It is championed for its potential to provide experiential learning opportunities to the public. Documentation of educational outcomes and benefits for citizen scientists continues to grow. This study proposes an added benefit of these collaborations: the transference of program impacts to individuals outside of the program. The experiences of fifteen citizen scientists in entomology citizen science programs were analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory methodology. We propose the substantive-level theory of transference to describe the social process by which the educational and attitudinal impacts intended by program leaders for the program participants are filtered by citizen scientists and transferred to others. This process involves individual and external phases, each with associated actions. Transference occurred in participants who had maintained a long-term interest in nature, joined a citizen science program, shared science knowledge and experiences, acquired an expert role to others, and influenced change in others. Transference has implications for how citizen scientists are perceived by professional communities, understanding of the broader impacts and contributions of citizen science to wicked problems, program evaluation, and the design of these programs as informal science education opportunities.

scholarly journals Reducing Morbidity and Mortality Rates from COVID-19, Influenza and Pneumococcal Illness in Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities by Vaccination and Comprehensive Infection Control Interventions

Geriatrics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Roger E. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Tract Infections

The COVID-19 pandemic identifies the problems of preventing respiratory illnesses in seniors, especially frail multimorbidity seniors in nursing homes and Long-Term Care Facilities (LCTFs). Medline and Embase were searched for nursing homes, long-term care facilities, respiratory tract infections, disease transmission, infection control, mortality, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. For seniors, there is strong evidence to vaccinate against influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and pneumococcal disease, and evidence is awaited for effectiveness against COVID-19 variants and when to revaccinate. There is strong evidence to promptly introduce comprehensive infection control interventions in LCFTs: no admissions from inpatient wards with COVID-19 patients; quarantine and monitor new admissions in single-patient rooms; screen residents, staff and visitors daily for temperature and symptoms; and staff work in only one home. Depending on the vaccination situation and the current risk situation, visiting restrictions and meals in the residents’ own rooms may be necessary, and reduce crowding with individual patient rooms. Regional LTCF administrators should closely monitor and provide staff and PPE resources. The CDC COVID-19 tool measures 33 infection control indicators. Hand washing, social distancing, PPE (gowns, gloves, masks, eye protection), enhanced cleaning of rooms and high-touch surfaces need comprehensive implementation while awaiting more studies at low risk of bias. Individual ventilation with HEPA filters for all patient and common rooms and hallways is needed.

A long-term evaluation of biopsy darts and DNA to estimate cougar density: An agency-citizen science collaboration

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Beausoleil ◽  
Joseph D. Clark ◽  
Benjamin T. Maletzke
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Term Evaluation ◽  
Science Collaboration

Using long-term citizen science data to understand distribution and habitat use of an irruptive species

2021 ◽  
pp. 101377
Author(s):  
Anant Deshwal ◽  
Pooja Panwar ◽  
Joseph C. Neal ◽  
Matthew A. Young
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Science Data

scholarly journals Satellite Imaging and Long-Term Mosquito Surveillance Implicate the Influence of Rapid Urbanization on Culex Vector Populations

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Eleanor N. Field ◽  
Ryan E. Tokarz ◽  
Ryan C. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Mosquito Vector ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Mosquito Surveillance

The ecology and environmental conditions of a habitat have profound influences on mosquito population abundance. As a result, mosquito species vary in their associations with particular habitat types, yet long-term studies showing how mosquito populations shift in a changing ecological landscape are lacking. To better understand how land use changes influence mosquito populations, we examined mosquito surveillance data over a thirty-four-year period for two contrasting sites in central Iowa. One site displayed increasing levels of urbanization over time and a dramatic decline in Culex pipiens group (an informal grouping of Culex restuans, Culex pipiens, and Culex salinarius, referred to as CPG), the primary vectors of West Nile virus in central Iowa. Similar effects were also shown for other mosquito vector populations, yet the abundance of Aedes vexans remained constant during the study period. This is in contrast to a second site, which reflected an established urban landscape. At this location, there were no significant changes in land use and CPG populations remained constant. Climate data (temperature, total precipitation) were compiled for each location to see if these changes could account for altered population dynamics, but neither significantly influence CPG abundance at the respective site locations. Taken together, our data suggest that increased landscape development can have negative impacts on Culex vector populations, and we argue that long-term surveillance paired with satellite imagery analysis are useful methods for measuring the impacts of rapid human development on mosquito vector communities. As a result, we believe that land use changes can have important implications for mosquito management practices, population modeling, and disease transmission dynamics.

scholarly journals Telemedicine: A Paradigm Shift in Healthcare in the wake of COVID-19 in India

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ria Saha ◽  
Vinoth Gnana Chellaiyan
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Regulatory Guidelines ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
The Government ◽  
Institutional Challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the delivery of essential healthcare services in India. The massive disruption of the routine healthcare services had been circumvented to a certain extent with the application of telemedicine. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India has issued regulatory guidelines and approved Registered Medical Practitioners (RMP) to adopt the usage of teleconsultation service which can be real-time or asynchronous to minimise the risk of disease transmission. The commentary provides an in-depth review of the regulatory guidelines implemented by the Government of India and discusses the inherent structural and fundamental challenges associated with its wide scale adoption, accessibility, and utilisation. Though the Government of India had issued national guidelines to promote safe and effective usage of telemedicine practice, there remains certain primary structural, technical and institutional challenges regarding expansion of uninterrupted services to periurban and rural peripheral health facilities and its nationwide sustainability. The article demands the attention of the policymakers and relevant stakeholders to identify the inherent bottlenecks intrinsic to the guidelines and amend the regulatory framework accordingly to ensure its long-term sustainability.

scholarly journals UNDERSTANDING ASSAM’S SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES

2021 ◽  
pp. 90-96
Author(s):  
Pratyush Paras Sarma ◽  
Sagarmoy Phukan
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Performance Index ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Government

Assam was the first state in India to have undertaken the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a long-term guiding strategy for development. At the end of five years, before the state election, evaluating the work on SDGs in Assam is essential to follow up on the commitment of the government. But before we start evaluating the SDGs it is important to understand the development road Assam has taken over the last 100-150 years and why we must make a new turn. This study has tried to understand certain loopholes which have hampered the progress of SDGs in Assam along with how much Assam has been able to address its sustainability issues and how we can progress. We have reviewed the performance of the state based upon the official performance index released by NITI Aayog, Government of India. Our review of the index reflects that Assam has performed relatively poorer than the other states of the country. However, the ethnic culture of the region was deeply rooted in nature which the state can now adopt and harness to achieve its SDGs. KEYWORDS: Sustainable Development Goals; Assam Election; Indigenous Knowledge; Citizen Science; Polycentric Governance

scholarly journals Long-term impact of a ten-year intervention program on human and canine Trypanosoma cruzi infection in the Argentine Chaco

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. e0009389
Author(s):  
Marta Victoria Cardinal ◽  
Gustavo Fabián Enriquez ◽  
Natalia Paula Macchiaverna ◽  
Hernán Darío Argibay ◽  
María del Pilar Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Cruzi ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Triatoma Infestans ◽  
Incident Case ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Long Term Impact

Background Interruption of domestic vector-borne transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi is still an unmet goal in several American countries. In 2007 we launched a long-term intervention program aimed to suppress house infestation with the main domestic vector in southern South America (Triatoma infestans) and domestic transmission in Pampa del Indio, a resource-constrained, hyperendemic municipality with 1446 rural houses inhabited by Creole and indigenous people, in the Argentine Chaco ecoregion. Here, we assessed whether the 10-year insecticide-based program combined with community mobilization blocked vector-borne domestic transmission of T. cruzi to humans and dogs. Methods We carried out two municipality-wide, cross-sectional serosurveys of humans and dogs (considered sentinel animals) during 2016–2017 to compare with baseline data. We used a risk-stratified random sampling design to select 273 study houses; 410 people from 180 households and 492 dogs from 151 houses were examined for antibodies to T. cruzi using at least two serological methods. Results The seroprevalence of T. cruzi in children aged <16 years was 2.5% in 2017 (i.e., 4- to 11-fold lower than before interventions). The mean annual force of child infection (λ) sharply decreased from 2.18 to 0.34 per 100 person-years in 2017. One of 102 children born after interventions was seropositive for T. cruzi; he had lifetime residence in an apparently uninfested house, no outside travel history, and his mother was T. cruzi-seropositive. No incident case was detected among 114 seronegative people of all ages re-examined serologically. Dog seroprevalence was 3.05%. Among native dogs, λ in 2016 (1.21 per 100 dog-years) was 5 times lower than at program onset. Six native adult dogs born after interventions and with stable lifetime residence were T. cruzi-seropositive: three had exposure to T. infestans at their houses and one was an incident case. Conclusions These results support the interruption of vector-borne transmission of T. cruzi to humans in rural Pampa del Indio. Congenital transmission was the most likely source of the only seropositive child born after interventions. Residual transmission to dogs was likely related to transient infestations and other transmission routes. Sustained vector control supplemented with human chemotherapy can lead to a substantial reduction of Chagas disease transmission in the Argentine Chaco.

scholarly journals Applying Citizen Science for Sustainable Development: Rainfall Monitoring in Western Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Paul ◽  
Katarzyna Cieslik ◽  
Neeraj Sah ◽  
Puja Shakya ◽  
Binod Prasad Parajuli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Context ◽  
Science Clubs

We introduce a case-study agnostic framework for the application of citizen science in a sustainable development context. This framework is tested against an activity in two secondary schools in western Nepal. While the purpose of this activity is to generate locally relevant knowledge on the physical processes behind natural hazards, we concentrate here on its implementation, i.e., to obtain a better understanding of the dynamic of the activity and to learn how it should be implemented. We determined the social capital of secondary schools as a gateway to the local community: they provide a unique setting to bring different stakeholders together. We find that co-designing a teaching programme is an effective means of both complementing local curricula and ensuring continued buy-in of local stakeholders (i.e., teachers). Student engagement depends on the local relevance of teaching materials, with more holistic or global concepts, such as climate change of lesser importance. Our activity focused on rainfall, including student-led data collection. These rainfall data provide a very good fit to co-located rain gauge data, with an average difference on weekly readings of 11.8%, reducing to 8.3% when averaged over all student readings. The autonomous development of student-organized science clubs suggested that our original framework underestimated students' capacity to apply knowledge elsewhere creatively. These clubs may be used to obtain participant feedback to improve and tailor future activities. Quantitative assessment of long-term sustainability remains challenging, due in part to high levels of student turnover. We suggest that integrating scientists wherever possible within a school or local community has a direct and positive result on participant retention.

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