Benthic habitat mapping and classification from acoustic and ROV data processing - Pontine Islands case study

openAccurate and comprehensive mapping of marine environments is crucial for understanding ecological dynamics, biodiversity distribution and facilitating effective conservation strategies (Hughes et al., 2021). This study presents a comprehensive approach to benthic habitat mapping and classification, leveraging the integration of acoustic data and ROV observations. It contributes to data acquisition at a specific area, located at the Pontine Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Adds to the ongoing worldwide mapping efforts, with the goal of obtaining detailed information on the substrate types and benthic habitats. It focuses also on the identification of possible rhodolith beds, present in the area, through the characterization of the seafloor and by analyzing ground truthing samples. Detailed morphological information, high-quality terrain attributes, data on substrate types and habitat extensions were obtained. A high-resolution substrate map was derived, showing the extension of 5 different substrate types, classified by CoDeMap scheme, with a predictive accuracy of 59.58%. During the analysis, 398 organisms were found and successfully identified, from 37 distinct taxa, while dense aggregations of rhodoliths, were present in 67.95% of the samples. Validated benthic habitat maps were constructed with estimated locations and extensions of rhodolith beds, adding to the available datasets, helping to build more reliable, large-scale species distribution and habitat maps as well. Knowing the locations of these vulnerable habitats and determining their current state is important, both for monitoring and preserving the marine ecosystems. Enhancing the precision and reliability of new findings can contribute greatly to national conservation and effective management strategies.Accurate and comprehensive mapping of marine environments is crucial for understanding ecological dynamics, biodiversity distribution and facilitating effective conservation strategies (Hughes et al., 2021). This study presents a comprehensive approach to benthic habitat mapping and classification, leveraging the integration of acoustic data and ROV observations. It contributes to data acquisition at a specific area, located at the Pontine Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Adds to the ongoing worldwide mapping efforts, with the goal of obtaining detailed information on the substrate types and benthic habitats. It focuses also on the identification of possible rhodolith beds, present in the area, through the characterization of the seafloor and by analyzing ground truthing samples. Detailed morphological information, high-quality terrain attributes, data on substrate types and habitat extensions were obtained. A high-resolution substrate map was derived, showing the extension of 5 different substrate types, classified by CoDeMap scheme, with a predictive accuracy of 59.58%. During the analysis, 398 organisms were found and successfully identified, from 37 distinct taxa, while dense aggregations of rhodoliths, were present in 67.95% of the samples. Validated benthic habitat maps were constructed with estimated locations and extensions of rhodolith beds, adding to the available datasets, helping to build more reliable, large-scale species distribution and habitat maps as well. Knowing the locations of these vulnerable habitats and determining their current state is important, both for monitoring and preserving the marine ecosystems. Enhancing the precision and reliability of new findings can contribute greatly to national conservation and effective management strategies

A Czech version of the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS):standardization and psychometric properties

BACKGROUND: The Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) is a transdiagnostic measure that assesses severity and impairment associated with anxiety disorders. However, its psychometric properties were primarily examined in English-speaking or western countries. Therefore, this study aims to examine its psychometric parameters in the Czech Republic. METHODS: A large representative sample (n = 1738), a clinical sample (n = 57) and a retest sample (n = 20) were used. In addition to the OASIS, conventional measures of anxiety, depression, personality traits, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and other scales were also administered. Moreover, we examined the latent structure, reliability, validity, and the cut-off score for the Reliable Change Index (RCI) and the Clinically Significant Change Index (CSI). RESULTS: Higher anxiety was found in females, religious non-church members, and students. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the adequate fit of the unidimensional solution: x2(4) = 3.20; p < 0.525; CFI = 1.000; TLI = 1.000;RMSEA = 0, SRMR = 0. The measurement equivalence examination indicated that the OASIS measures anxiety invariantly between males and females. The validity of the OASIS was supported by positive associations with neuroticism, depression, perceived stress, guilt, shame, and the established anxiety measures. The internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.96, McDonald’s omega = 0.96). The test-retest reliability was acceptable (r = 0.66). The cut-off for the CSI is 6 and the RCI is 5.32. CONCLUSIONS: The OASIS represents a reliable and valid instrument for assessing anxiety in adults. Due to its shortness, excellent psychometric properties, and percentile norms, it is especially useful for short and accurate screening of anxiety and mapping therapeutic changes in clinical practice. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-022-04365-5

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

On safety and dependability of automotiye engineering regarding applicable tools and legislation

In today's automotive industry, companies are organized into simultaneous engineering teams to develop their new products. The new way of doing business enables some companies to develop their new products quicker and cheaper with higher quality and reliability. In the past few years there has been the tendency to increase the safety of vehicles by introducing intelligent assistance systems that help the driver to cope with critical driving situations. These functions are characterized by the active control of the driving dynamics by distributed assistance systems, which therefore need a reliable communication network. The faults in the electronic components, which control these functions, are safety-critical. However, the assistance functions deliver only an add-on service in accordance with a fail-safe strategy for the electronic components. If there is any doubt about the correct behaviour of the assistance system, it will be switched off. For by-wire systems, without a mechanical back-up, a new dimension of safety requirements for automotive electronics is reached. After a fault the system has to be fail-tolerant until a safe state is reached. realizing that road vehicles, mostly commercial vehicles taking part over proportionally in accidents, become more and more complex indicates that suitable and adaptable analysis methods are crucial to be applied with appropriate certification body