Collecting volunteered geographic information from the Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS):experiences from the CAMALIOT project

Raw observations(carrier-phase and code observations)from the Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)can now be accessed from Android mobile phones(Version 7.0 onwards).This paves the way for GNSS data to be utilized for low-cost precise positioning or in ionospheric or tropospheric applications.This paper presents results from data collection campaigns using the CAMALIOT mobile app.In the frst campaign,116.3 billion measurements from 11,828 mobile devices were collected from all continents.Although participation decreased during the second campaign,data are still being collected globally.In this contribution,we demonstrate the potential of volunteered geographic information(VGl)from mobile phones to fill data gaps in geodetic station networks that collect GNSS data,e.g.in Brazil,but also how the data can provide a denser set of observations than current networks in countries across Europe.We also show that mobile phones capable of dual-frequency reception,which is an emerging technology that can provide a richer source of GNSS data,are contributing in a substantial way.Finally,we present the results from a survey of participants to indicate that participation is diverse in terms of backgrounds and geography,where the dominant motivation for participation is to contribute to scientific research.

Repurposing a deep learning network to filter and classify volunteered photographs for land cover and land use characterization

This paper extends recent research into the usefulness of volunteered photos for land cover extraction,and investigates whether this usefulness can be automatically assessed by an easily accessible,off-the-shelf neural network pre-trained on a variety of scene characteristics.Geotagged photographs are sometimes presented to volunteers as part of a game which requires them to extract relevant facts about land use.The challenge is to select the most relevant photographs in order to most efficiently extract the useful information while maintaining the engagement and interests of volunteers.By repurposing an existing network which had been trained on an extensive library of potentially relevant features,we can quickly carry out initial assessments of the general value of this approach,pick out especially salient features,and identify focus areas for future neural network training and development.We compare two approaches to extract land cover information from the network:a simple post hoc weighting approach accessible to non-technical audiences and a more complex decision tree approach that involves training on domain-specific features of interest.Both approaches had reasonable success in characterizing human influence within a scene when identifying the land use types(as classified by Urban Atlas)present within a buffer around the photograph’s location.This work identifies important limitations and opportunities for using volunteered photographs as follows:(1)the false precision of a photograph’s location is less useful for identifying on-the-spot land cover than the information it can give on neighbouring combinations of land cover;(2)groundacquired photographs,interpreted by a neural network,can supplement plan view imagery by identifying features which will never be discernible from above;(3)when dealing with contexts where there are very few exemplars of particular classes,an independent a posteriori weighting of existing scene attributes and categories can buffer against over-specificity.

Monitoring the built-up environment of Shanghai on the street-block level using SAR and volunteered geographic information

In this geo-statistical analysis of change detection,we illustrate the evolution of the built-up environment in Shanghai at the street-block level.Based on two TerraSAR-X image stacks with 36 and 15 images,covering the city centre of Shanghai for the time period from 2008 to 2015,a set of coherence images was created using a small baseline approach.The road network from Open Street Map,a volunteered geographic information product,serves as the input dataset to create street-blocks.A street-block is surrounded by roads and resembles a ground parcel,a real estate property–a cadastral unit.The coherence information is aggregated to these street-blocks for each observation and the variation is analysed over time.An analysis of spatial autocorrelation reveals clusters of similar behaviours.The result is a detailed map of Shanghai highlighting areas of change.We argue that the aggregation and grouping of synthetic aperture radar coherence image information to real-world entities(street-blocks)is comprehensible and relevant to the urban planning process.Therefore,this research is a contribution to the community of urban planners,designers,and government agencies who want to monitor the development of the urban landscape.

Volunteered remote sensing data generation with air passengers as sensors

Remote sensing satellites are playing very important roles in diverse earth observation fields.However,long revisit period,high cost and dense cloud cover have been the main limitations of satellite remote sensing for a long time.This paper introduces the novel volunteered passenger aircraft remote sensing(VPARS)concept,which can partly overcome these problems.By obtaining aerial imaging data from passengers using a portable smartphone on a passenger aircraft,it has various advantages including low cost,high revisit,dense coverage,and partial anti-cloud,which can well complement conventional remote sensing data.This paper examines the concept of VPARS and give general data processing framework of VPARS.Several cases were given to validate this processing approach.Two preliminary applications on land cover classification and economic activity monitoring validate the applicability of the VPARS data.Furthermore,we examine the issues about data maintenance,potential applications,limitations and challenges.We conclude the VPARS can benefit both scientific and industrial communities who rely on remote sensing data.

The Interventional Capacity of Community Health Volunteers for Screening and Linkages of Non-Communicable Diseases in Nyeri County, Kenya

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 63% of mortalities. Approximately 80% of these NCD-related deaths occur in LMICs. A quasi-experimental study utilizing a non-equivalent pre-and post-test was conducted from May 2022 to March 2023 with 370 study participants. Multistage cluster and random sampling were used to select ten community units, and therefore, 150 CHVs were chosen for the control unit, and 150 were used to form the interventional group. Data was collected from the KOBO app. Six (6) homogenous FGDs comprised ten members, and 10 KII were conducted across study sites. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 28.0, and qualitative data was audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed via N-Vivo 12. The study shows that 59.3% of respondents have minimal information, and 92.7% (n = 139) have no clear understanding of NCDs, with a pre-intervention capacity of 48.8%. Independent sample t-test showed a significant difference in capacity from a pre-intervention average of 48.75 (SD ± 5.7)%, which increased to 68.28 (SD ± 7.6)%, p < 0.001. A well-designed community interventional model plays a pivotal role in grassroots healthcare delivery but requires optimization for NCD management.

Completeness of citizen science biodiversity data from a volunteered geographic information perspective

Observations of living organisms by citizen scientists that are reported to online portals are a valuable source of information.They are also a special kind of volunteered geographic information(VGI).VGI data have issues of completeness,which arise from biases caused by the opportunistic nature of the data collection process.We examined the completeness of bird species represented in citizen science observation data from eBird and iNaturalist in US National Parks(NPs).We used approaches for completeness estimation which were developed for data from OpenStreetMap,a crowdsourced map of the world.First,we used an extrinsic approach,comparing species lists from citizen science data with National Park Service lists.Second,we examined two intrinsic approaches using total observation numbers in NPs and the development of the number of new species being added to the data-set over time.Results from the extrinsic approach provided appropriate completeness estimations to evaluate the intrinsic approaches.We found that total observation numbers are a good estimator of species completeness of citizen science data from US NPs.There is also a close relationship between species completeness and the ratio of new species added to observation data vs.observation numbers in a given year.

Nursing student volunteers and their level of involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic:a systematic review

Objective:Many strategic efforts were made to address nurses'shortage in controlling Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),including recruiting student health volunteers.This review aimed to explore the contribution and involvement of nursing student volunteers during COVID-19.Methods:A systematic review was registered in PROSPERO International CRD42021283069.Electronic databases for ar ticle search included:SCOPUS,EBSCO MEDLINE,Pub Med,Pro Quest,Springer,Sage Pub,and hand searching.The critical appraisal study quality using The Joanna Briggs Institutes.Data extraction and synthesis used Population,Intervention,Comparison,Outcome,and Design(PICO and D)framework with thematic analysis.Results:Twelve studies were enrolled from 2545 retrieved,with 4 synthesized themes:(1)determinant of the involvement of nursing student volunteers during COVID-19,which includes 3 subthemes:motivations,perception,and barriers,(2)expectations and actual condition of nursing students as volunteers,(3)the need for nursing student volunteers,and(4)the impact and level of student volunteers'contribution.All student volunteers contribute to providing direct or indirect services to patients.Conclusions:This review provides an overview of nursing student volunteers'needs useful in developing competency frameworks and the role of culturally sensitive volunteers in education and training.In the future,student volunteers could choose the appropriate volunteer program and location according to their competence.

Volunteering and Depression among Older Adults: An Empirical Analysis Based on CLASS 2018

Introduction:Older adults are prone to high levels of depression due to their deteriorating physical functions and shrinking social networks after retirement.Volunteering as an important social activity is essential for alleviating depression by building social network.This paper aims to examine the effect of volunteering on depression among older adults by using China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey(CLASS 2018)data.Methods:This study uses descriptive analysis and chi-square tests to show differences in demographic factors of older adults’volun-teerism participation,followed by bivariate correlation analysis to examine the correlation between the vital vari-ables.Afterward,stratified linear regression analysis is used to research the significant level and impact between volunteering and degree of expertise,frequency,and variety of participation.Results:8,459 older adults are included in study.The research reveals that older adults who are younger,live in urban areas,are married,or have a higher degree of education tend to have fewer depressive symptoms.Meanwhile,participation in volun-teering(OR=0.90,95%CI:0.8,1.1,p<0.001),as well as that demands specialized skills(OR=0.51,95%CI:0.30,0.2,p<0.001),more frequency of participation(OR=1.85,95%CI:1.53,2.18,p<0.001),and a wider variety of activities(OR=0.21,95%CI:0.12,0.29,p<0.001),all have a positive influence on depression levels.Discussion/Conclusion:Older adults who participate in voluntary services have lower depression symptoms and should be encouraged to use their professional skills and increase participation frequency and variety in this process.This article suggests that governments should help older adults participate in voluntary services by time bank which will further strengthen social ties,rebuild social networks and alleviate depression symptoms of older adults.

Expanding Older Adults’ Care Choices Utilizing the Proceeds of Reciprocated Volunteerism: Capitalizing on Ghana’s Digitalization Artillery

Ghana has been a collectivistic society. However, due to social change, this value is fast being replaced by individualistic tendencies with implications for age-oriented care provision and receipt. This paper investigates the participation in the socially productive strategy of using ageing-oriented volunteerism to leverage the receipt of care in later life utilizing a quantitative dataset. The results show that volunteering may be undertaken with old age in sight. This needs to take place under circumstances of good communication skills among others. The accumulated time needs to be recorded in a time bank and redeemed with a time bank card in later life. Two-dimensional leveraging points pertain in this context: first, leveraging volunteerism for short or long-term care in the nearest future;second, technological innovation’s facilitation of the same. Volunteerism in this context has the attribute of low levels of depression, with implications for quality of life. These are discussed in the light of the social care pillar of ageing social policy. The paper argues that adopting volunteerism with reciprocation as the ultimate goal constitutes a kickback model for care receipt in later life. It served as a choice of care in later life which is a shock absorber to inadequate formal support infrastructure and individualistic social tendencies in Ghana. It is reminiscent of resistance to the shrinkage of older persons’ social integration in their social world.

Quality assessment of volunteered geographic information for outdoor activities:an analysis of OpenStreetMap data for names of peaks in Japan

Geographical studies of outdoor activities have increased in recent years with the rise in popularity of these activities worldwide,including in Japan.Volunteered geographic information(VGI)is a key tool for organizing outdoor activities as it offers a means to determine the locational information and names of places.To evaluate the quality of VGI,geospatial data generated by land survey agencies and other VGI are often utilized as reference data.However,since these reference data may not be available,other methods are necessary to assure the quality of VGI.In this study,we examined five trust indicators based on the inherent characteristics of VGI through an empirical case study.We used mountain names extracted from OpenStreetMap in Japan as data because there were almost no other VGI in the vicinity.As a result,we isolated three trust indicators,namely versions,users,and tag corrections,to examine the thematic accuracy of VGI because these were the only statistically significant indicators.However,we found that the prediction rate of thematic accuracy was very low.To improve thematic accuracy,this study recommends using the most accurate versions,applying correctly given tags,and considering the motivations and characteristics of the VGI contributors.

Therapeutic Approach for Hair Growth and Regeneration Using Bioactive Formulation Containing Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Derived Conditioned Medium

Background and Aims: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common form of hair loss in both men and women. Despite its high prevalence and associated patient morbidity, the approved therapeutic options are limited to finasteride and minoxidil. The present study is aimed at assessing the efficacy of hair serum formulation, Trichosera®containing Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells conditioned media as an active ingredient, for hair fall control and hair regrowth in healthy Indian human volunteers. Methods: The product was made using a 20% concentration of 10X Conditioned Media along with excipients. The final product was tested for physicochemical parameters, biomarkers, total protein content and microbial limits as per our in-house specifications. Results: The primary irritation patch test showed that the product is non-irritant and dermatologically safe. A clinical study on 40 subjects was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the bioactive formulation in hair fall control and hair regrowth in healthy volunteers. Phototrichogram measurement showed hair density and hair growth rate increased significantly by 11.54% and 18.66% at week 24. Hair tensile strength also increased significantly by 41.10% at 12 weeks follow-up. Hair pull test, to see a reduction in pulled hair and comb’s test to show a decrease in hair fall significantly improved from week 4 onwards. There were no significant adverse events in response to the product application. Conclusion: It is concluded that the hair serum product is completely safe on direct application to the scalp and showed significant improvement in the hair growth rate, hair density, scalp condition and reduction in hair fall. .

恶性肿瘤患者皮质醇的动态变化

目的测定24 h内血液中皮质醇含量,确定正常人和肿瘤患者的日周期节律性。方法采用放射免疫法测定30名健康志愿者和57名恶性肿瘤患者每日8:00,14:00,20:00及次日2:00血液中皮质醇(CORT)浓度。结果采用多因素方差分析及G reenhouse-G e isser法校正的单因素方差分析(P<0.01),表明组内各时间节点CORT浓度不完全相同,且CORT浓度存在时间依赖性。组间效应的方差分析结果(P<0.05),表明分组因素有意义,肿瘤组与对照组CORT浓度不完全相同。应用非参数统计方法(M ann-W h itney U,秩和检验)进行组间各时间节点的两两比较,结果显示两组间在8:00,14:00的CORT浓度存在明显差别。结论肿瘤组与对照组CORT浓度均随时间呈梯度和明暗交替变化,且肿瘤组的CORT浓度昼夜节律明显高于对照组。

HCV infection and distribution character in volunteer blood donors from North of China

HCV is prevailed in the world as well as in China.Blood transfusion is one of the most common transmission pathways of this pathogen.Although data of HCVinfection character were reported during the past years,抗-HCV reactive profile of

English Training for College Student Volunteers at Sports Events

This paper studies English training for student volunteers at large scale sports events with a comprehensive investigation of the undergraduate student volunteers from Capital University of Physical Education who have taken part in large scale sports events.By examining the current volunteer training situation,the author finds that there is a sever lack of professional and systematical English training for student volunteers at large scale sports events.The study shows focusing on sports events knowledge and requirements of the volunteers’specific job is crucial to the service level of the volunteers.The study concludes that the problem can be solved by developing new course books,innovating new flexible training methods,and offering more comprehensive training content.The recommended training methods include intensive group training,computer aided teaching,task training and on-the-spot training to make them fit their work soon.

疫情期间非定点医院急诊管理的实践与思考

基于危机管理4R理论进行文献检索,结合医院的实际情况梳理管理难点,制定疫情期间非定点救治综合医院的急诊管理策略和流程。从急诊管理的组织架构、空间划分、诊疗流程、人员管理、院感防控、志愿服务等环节完善优化急诊管理流程,并在具体应用过程中不断调整。2022年3月28日-6月1日上海本轮疫情期间,复旦大学附属中山医院多次单日急诊接诊量超1000人,抢救室留观患者170余人,接诊救护车100余辆。2022年1-4月救护车接诊总量位列上海市第一。疫情期间中山医院在遵守上级部门不同阶段疫情防控相关要求的同时,优化急诊管理策略和流程,很好地保障和满足了急诊患者的就医需求。

Changes of resting cerebral activities in subacute ischemic stroke patients

This study aimed to detect the difference in resting cerebral activities between ischemic stroke pa- tients and healthy participants, define the abnormal site, and provide new evidence for pathological mechanisms, clinical diagnosis, prognosis prediction and efficacy evaluation of ischemic stroke. At present, the majority of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies focus on the motor dysfunc- tion and the acute stage of ischemic stroke. This study recruited 15 right-handed ischemic stroke patients at subacute stage （15 days to 11.5 weeks） and 15 age-matched healthy participants. A rest- ing-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan was performed on each subject to detect cerebral activity. Regional homogeneity analysis was used to investigate the difference in cerebral activities between ischemic stroke patients and healthy participants. The results showed that the ischemic stroke patients had lower regional homogeneity in anterior cingulate and left cerebrum and higher regional homogeneity in cerebellum, left precuneus and left frontal lobe, compared with healthy participants. The experimental findings demonstrate that the areas in which regional homogeneity was different between ischemic stroke patients and healthy participants are in the cerebellum, left precuneus, left triangle inferior frontal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus and anterior cingulate. These locations, related to the motor, sensory and emotion areas, are likely po- tential targets for the neural regeneration of subacute ischemic stroke patients.

Epidemiologic characteristics of Helicobacter pylori infection in southeast Hungary

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic studies have revealed a decrease in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection in Western Europe.AIM To obtain data regarding the prevalence of H.pylori in Csongrád and Békés Counties in Hungary,evaluate the differences in its prevalence between urban and rural areas,and establish factors associated with positive seroprevalence.METHODS One-thousand and one healthy blood donors[male/female:501/500,mean age:40(19–65)years]were enrolled in this study.Subjects were tested for H.pylori IgG antibody positivity via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Subgroup analysis by age,gender,smoking habits,alcohol consumption,and urban vs nonurban residence was also performed.RESULTS The overall seropositivity of H.pylori was 32%.It was higher in males(34.93%vs 29.2%,P=0.0521)and in rural areas(36.2%vs 27.94%,P=0.0051).Agricultural/industrial workers were more likely to be positive for infection than office workers(38.35%vs 30.11%,P=0.0095)and rural subjects in Békés County than those in Csongrád County(43.36%vs 33.33%,P=0.0015).CONCLUSION Although the prevalence of H.pylori infection decreased in recent decades in Southeast Hungary,it remains high in middle-aged rural populations.Generally accepted risk factors for H.pylori positivity appeared to be valid for the studied population.

Modulatory effect of International standard Scalp Acupuncture on brain activation in the elderly as revealed by resting-state fMRI

The specific mechanisms by which acupuncture affects the central nervous system are unclear. In the International Standard Scalp Acupuncture system, acupuncture needles are applied at the middle line of the vertex, anterior parietal-temporal oblique line, and the posterior parietal-temporal oblique line. We conducted a single-arm prospective clinical trial in which seven healthy elderly volunteers (three men and four women;50–70 years old) received International Standard Scalp Acupuncture at MS5 (the mid-sagittal line between Baihui (DU20) and Qianding (DU21)), the left MS6 (line joining Sishencong (EX-HN1) and Xuanli (GB6)), and the left MS7 (line joining DU20 and Qubin (GB7)). After acupuncture, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated changes in the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity in various areas, showing remarkable enhancement of regional homogeneity in the bilateral anterior cingulate, left medial frontal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus. Functional connectivity based on a seed region at the right middle frontal gyrus (42, 51, 9) decreased at the bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus. Our data preliminarily indicates that the international standard scalp acupuncture in healthy elderly participants specifcally enhances the correlation between the brain regions involved in cognition and implementation of the brain network regulation system and the surrounding adjacent brain regions. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the China-Japan Union Hospital at Jilin University, China, on July 18, 2016 (approval No. 2016ks043).

Effect of Acupuncture Signal after Brachial Plexus Blockade on Cerebral Blood Perfusion and Brain Cell Function

Objective: Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to observe the influence of the up-transmitting of acupuncture signal into the brain in health volunteers whose nerve trunk was blocked by anesthetics. Methods: Thirty-one healthy volunteers were divided into two groups, the control group of 20 cases, and the brachial plexus blockade (BPB) group of 11 cases, with supraclavicular BPB route adopted. With the control group 2 acupoints were randomly selected (Hegu and Quchi of both sides), while with the BPB group Hegu and Quchi of anesthetic arm side were selected. Siemens ECAM/ ICON SPECT system was used to conduct brain imaging using double imaging assay before acupuncture and 99mTc-ECD imaging agent during acupuncture for cerebral perfusion. The data were quantitatively analyzed by blood functional changing rate (BFCR%) mathematics model. Results: Before acupuncture, the control and BPB groups showed insignificant change by SPECT, but after electro-acupuncture (EA), the control group displayed improved motor and sensory cortex excitability in basal nuclei, contra-lateral thal-amus, parietal and frontal lobe; while BPB group was characterized with reduction of the blood perfusion and cell function of contra-lateral thalamus of anesthetized arm. The difference between the two groups was significant (P<0.01) . Conclusion: (1) After BPB, the up-transmitting of the acupuncture signal via upper limb into the brain, and its strength was impaired or blocked; (2) After BPB, the effect of acupuncture on cerebral perfusion and brain cell function of contra-lateral thalamus was impaired or blocked.

Volunteers as caregivers for elderly with chronic diseases:An assessment of demand and cause of demand

Objective:We sought to examine the demand of volunteers on long-term care of elderly patients with chronic diseases.Further,we evaluated patients'reasons to want long-term care volunteers as well as socioeconomic factors affecting these needs.Methods:Questionnaires were distributed to 516 elderly with chronic diseases from nursing homes,hospitals,and elderly living with relatives.Patient questions dealt with basic socioeconomic questions,their reasons to want care volunteers,and the nature of chronic disease,and their motivation to volunteer and which sorts of activities they perform while volunteering.Results:73.4%of the elderly patients with chronic diseases desired to have volunteers for long-term care.The most desired services were care visits,transportation,and leisure/recreation activities.The number of chronic diseases they had,their marital status,education level,and social support system were all statistically important.Conclusion:The data presented here suggest that the government should actively advocate for volunteer service for elderly with chronic diseases.Additional support is needed in terms of financial support,incentive measures,professional training for volunteers,and supervision of volunteers.Such developments are needed to improve volunteer service standards.