scholarly journals The challenges we've overcome and the new opportunities for using environmental DNA in biomonitoring aquatic resources

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristy Deiner
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Restoration ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Aquatic Resources ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Cost

Since the first kick-off meeting of the DNAqua-Net until now, the interest and use of environmental DNA in scientific studies, management and even the start of companies has exponentially grown. It is often said that this is how we will monitor biodiversity in the future. Together, with over 400 members from 39 countries making up the COST Action, we have honed our DNA detection methods, determined the many trade-offs, identified and filled gaps in our knowledge, and made steps towards standardization. In my seminar, I will highlight some of the major challenges we’ve overcome and propose the opportunities and research directions I see for the future of using eDNA in biodiversity monitoring. We are poised at the start of the UN’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and there is no better time to cease DNA-based monitoring technology for making the best informed decisions for the future of life on our planet.

scholarly journals Comparing conservation monitoring approaches: traditional and environmental DNA tools for a critically endangered mammal

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chanjuan Qu ◽  
Kathryn A Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Conventional Pcr ◽  
Aquatic Mammal ◽  
Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Sampling Protocols ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
The Cost

While conservation management has made tremendous strides in the last few decades, the decision of knowing where and how to invest (often) small surveying budgets for biodiversity data collection remains a central hurdle for impactful conservation decision making. New analytical tools, such as environmental DNA (eDNA), are now facilitating broader biodiversity monitoring to take place at unprecedented scales, in part due to its time-efficient, and presumably cost-efficient, premise. eDNA approaches vary from conventional PCR (detecting presence/absence of species), metabarcoding (community structure), to qPCR (relative DNA abundance), and knowing when to employ these techniques over traditional sampling protocols could enable conservation practitioners to make informed trade-offs between cost, accuracy, and speed of data collection. Using 12 species-specific primers designed for conventional PCR use in eDNA analysis of the Yangtze Finless Porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis), a critically endangered aquatic mammal within the Yangtze River, we validated and optimized these same primers for use in real-time Quantitative PCR (qPCR). We tested the repeatability and sensitivity of primer each to detect YFP eDNA and subsequently compared the cost of traditional visual sampling to both conventional PCR and qPCR eDNA tools. Our results suggest qPCR to be substantially more sensitive than conventional PCR eDNA analysis, although the later remains the least-expensive sampling option. Still, due to a lack of sensitivity causing an increased probability of false negatives, conventional PCR may not be the most robust sampling method for this taxa and should only be employed as a supplementary tool or when large populations are expected to be present. Alternatively, utilizing qPCR for eDNA protocols is still less-expensive than visual surveying and represents a highly repeatable and sensitive method for this behaviorally elusive species. Presenting a cost assessment of eDNA to traditional surveying practices has scarcely been discussed, while contrasting deliverables to the cost of different eDNA methods has, to date, been ignored. Yet given budgetary constraints, particularly for developing countries where low-governance and high endemism are present, we encourage managers to carefully consider the trade-offs among data accuracy, cost, coverage and speed for biodiversity collections.

Summary and Conclusions

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan W. Brown ◽  
David J. Carney ◽  
Edwin J. Morris ◽  
Dennis B. Smith ◽  
Paul F. Zarrella
Keyword(s):  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
End User ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Look Ahead ◽  
The Future ◽  
Problems And Solutions ◽  
Integration Problem ◽  
The Many

This book has taken the reader on a long journey through terrain that is at times difficult to negotiate. There are aspects of the integration problem that are open to interpretation, a source of heated debate, or perhaps undergoing great change in terms of people’s perceptions of the problems and solutions. We hope that the reader now has a better understanding of the range of issues that must be addressed and the viewpoints that are possible when the phrase “integrated CASE environment” is used. In this final chapter, we look back at the major points discussed earlier, and look ahead toward the future. Section 13.2 reviews the major themes that have been presented in this book. Section 13.3 highlights a number of avenues of work that provide hope for the future in this field. Section 13.4 concludes with a few final thoughts and observations. The three overall themes that have been used to provide a structure to the book are the following: • Understanding of CASE environment integration is enhanced by considering three levels at which integration occurs — end-user services, mechanism, and process levels. • CASE environment architectures are evolving toward a hybrid approach that combines elements of framework-centered and CASE tool-centered approaches. • The construction of an integrated CASE environment can usefully be viewed as a design activity in which design decisions are made based on a number of trade-offs that must be made. For the purposes of recapitulation, these themes are brought together and summarized briefly below. One of this book’s main conceptual tools for improving understanding of the many issues connected with CASE environment integration is a three-level model that distinguishes end-user services, mechanism, and process aspects of a CASE environment. By way of a summary of this model and its utility, we consider two tools that are integrated within a CASE environment. At the conceptual level, integration of the two CASE tools implies that the overlap, or coordination, between the functionality offered by those tools is well understood. For example, if one tool is a requirements capture tool and the other is a design and analysis tool, then the relationships between the functionality offered by those tools can be analyzed and discussed.

scholarly journals Comparing conservation monitoring approaches: traditional and environmental DNA tools for a critically endangered mammal

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chanjuan Qu ◽  
Kathryn A Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Conventional Pcr ◽  
Aquatic Mammal ◽  
Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Sampling Protocols ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
The Cost

While conservation management has made tremendous strides in the last few decades, the decision of knowing where and how to invest (often) small surveying budgets for biodiversity data collection remains a central hurdle for impactful conservation decision making. New analytical tools, such as environmental DNA (eDNA), are now facilitating broader biodiversity monitoring to take place at unprecedented scales, in part due to its time-efficient, and presumably cost-efficient, premise. eDNA approaches vary from conventional PCR (detecting presence/absence of species), metabarcoding (community structure), to qPCR (relative DNA abundance), and knowing when to employ these techniques over traditional sampling protocols could enable conservation practitioners to make informed trade-offs between cost, accuracy, and speed of data collection. Using 12 species-specific primers designed for conventional PCR use in eDNA analysis of the Yangtze Finless Porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis), a critically endangered aquatic mammal within the Yangtze River, we validated and optimized these same primers for use in real-time Quantitative PCR (qPCR). We tested the repeatability and sensitivity of primer each to detect YFP eDNA and subsequently compared the cost of traditional visual sampling to both conventional PCR and qPCR eDNA tools. Our results suggest qPCR to be substantially more sensitive than conventional PCR eDNA analysis, although the later remains the least-expensive sampling option. Still, due to a lack of sensitivity causing an increased probability of false negatives, conventional PCR may not be the most robust sampling method for this taxa and should only be employed as a supplementary tool or when large populations are expected to be present. Alternatively, utilizing qPCR for eDNA protocols is still less-expensive than visual surveying and represents a highly repeatable and sensitive method for this behaviorally elusive species. Presenting a cost assessment of eDNA to traditional surveying practices has scarcely been discussed, while contrasting deliverables to the cost of different eDNA methods has, to date, been ignored. Yet given budgetary constraints, particularly for developing countries where low-governance and high endemism are present, we encourage managers to carefully consider the trade-offs among data accuracy, cost, coverage and speed for biodiversity collections.

Our Bodies in the Trolley’s Path, or Why Self-driving Cars Must *Not* Be Programmed to Kill

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nassim JafariNaimi
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Car Accidents ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Ethical Inquiry ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Many ◽  
Self Driving Cars

The discourse around self-driving cars has been dominated by an emphasis on their potential to reduce the number of accidents. At the same time, proponents acknowledge that self-driving cars would inevitably be involved in fatal accidents where moral algorithms would decide the fate of those involved. This is a necessary trade-off, proponents suggest, in order to reap the benefits of this new technology. In this article, I engage this argument, demonstrating how an undue optimism and enthusiasm about this technology is obscuring our ability to see what is at stake and explaining how moving beyond the dominant utilitarian framings around this technology opens up a space for both ethical inquiry and innovative design. I suggest that a genuine caring concern for the many lives lost in car accidents now and in the future—a concern that transcends false binary trade-offs and that recognizes the systemic biases and power structures that make certain groups more vulnerable than others—could serve as a starting point to rethink mobility, as it connects to the design of our cities, the well-being of our communities, and the future of our planet.

scholarly journals The future of biodiversity monitoring and conservation utilizing environmental DNA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristy Deiner ◽  
Hiroki Yamanaka ◽  
Louis Bernatchez
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
The Future

The future role of the psychiatrist in Europe – a UEMS perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
M. Hermans
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Future Role ◽  
Personal Opinion ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Many

SummaryThe author presents his personal opinion inviting to discussion on the possible future role of psychiatrists. His view is based upon the many contacts with psychiatrists all over Europe, academicians and everyday professionals, as well as the familiarity with the literature. The list of papers referred to is based upon (1) the general interest concerning the subject when representing ideas also worded elsewhere, (2) the accessibility to psychiatrists and mental health professionals in Germany, (3) being costless downloadable for non-subscribers and (4) for some geographic aspects (e.g. Belgium, Spain, Sweden) and the latest scientific issues, addressing some authors directly.

Every Olive Tree in the Garden of Gethsemane

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Babcox
Keyword(s):  
Olive Tree ◽  
Photographic Images ◽  
The Future ◽  
Olive Trees ◽  
The Many ◽  
Radical Transformation

Every Olive Tree in the Garden of Gethsemane is a suite of photographic images of each of the twenty-three olive trees in the garden. Situated at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemane is known to many as the site where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before his crucifixion. The oldest trees in the garden date to 1092 and are recognized as some of the oldest olive trees in existence. The older trees are a living and symbolic connection to the distant past, while younger trees serve as a link to the future. The gnarled trunks seem written with the many conflicts that have been waged in an effort to control this most-contested city; a city constantly on the threshold of radical transformation.

scholarly journals Three-Dimensional Thematic Map Imaging of the Yacht Port on the Example of the Polish National Sailing Centre Marina in Gdańsk

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 7016
Author(s):  
Pawel S. Dabrowski ◽  
Cezary Specht ◽  
Mariusz Specht ◽  
Artur Makar
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Data ◽  
Convex Surface ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Thematic Maps ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Many

The theory of cartographic projections is a tool which can present the convex surface of the Earth on the plane. Of the many types of maps, thematic maps perform an important function due to the wide possibilities of adapting their content to current needs. The limitation of classic maps is their two-dimensional nature. In the era of rapidly growing methods of mass acquisition of spatial data, the use of flat images is often not enough to reveal the level of complexity of certain objects. In this case, it is necessary to use visualization in three-dimensional space. The motivation to conduct the study was the use of cartographic projections methods, spatial transformations, and the possibilities offered by thematic maps to create thematic three-dimensional map imaging (T3DMI). The authors presented a practical verification of the adopted methodology to create a T3DMI visualization of the marina of the National Sailing Centre of the Gdańsk University of Physical Education and Sport (Poland). The profiled characteristics of the object were used to emphasize the key elements of its function. The results confirmed the increase in the interpretative capabilities of the T3DMI method, relative to classic two-dimensional maps. Additionally, the study suggested future research directions of the presented solution.

scholarly journals A framework for reducing the overhead of the quantum oracle for use with Grover’s algorithm with applications to cryptanalysis of SIKE

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-156
Author(s):  
Jean-François Biasse ◽  
Benjamin Pring
Keyword(s):  
Search Algorithm ◽  
Circuit Complexity ◽  
Quantum Circuit ◽  
Grover’S Algorithm ◽  
Search Problems ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Single Target ◽  
Grover's Algorithm ◽  
Quantum Oracle ◽  
The Cost

AbstractIn this paper we provide a framework for applying classical search and preprocessing to quantum oracles for use with Grover’s quantum search algorithm in order to lower the quantum circuit-complexity of Grover’s algorithm for single-target search problems. This has the effect (for certain problems) of reducing a portion of the polynomial overhead contributed by the implementation cost of quantum oracles and can be used to provide either strict improvements or advantageous trade-offs in circuit-complexity. Our results indicate that it is possible for quantum oracles for certain single-target preimage search problems to reduce the quantum circuit-size from $O\left(2^{n/2}\cdot mC\right)$ (where C originates from the cost of implementing the quantum oracle) to $O(2^{n/2} \cdot m\sqrt{C})$ without the use of quantum ram, whilst also slightly reducing the number of required qubits.This framework captures a previous optimisation of Grover’s algorithm using preprocessing [21] applied to cryptanalysis, providing new asymptotic analysis. We additionally provide insights and asymptotic improvements on recent cryptanalysis [16] of SIKE [14] via Grover’s algorithm, demonstrating that the speedup applies to this attack and impacting upon quantum security estimates [16] incorporated into the SIKE specification [14].

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