EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in 2023.

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) is one of the world's leading sources of public biomolecular data. Based at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton, UK, EMBL-EBI is one of six sites of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Europe's only intergovernmental life sciences organisation. This overview summarises the latest developments in the services provided by EMBL-EBI data resources to scientific communities globally. These developments aim to ensure EMBL-EBI resources meet the current and future needs of these scientific communities, accelerating the impact of open biological data for all.

Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) echolocation click rates to support cue counting passive acoustic density estimation.

Estimating animal abundance is fundamental for effective management and conservation. It is increasingly done by combining passive acoustics with knowledge about rates at which animals produce cues (cue rates). Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are elusive marine mammals for which passive acoustic density estimation might be plausible, but for which cue rates are lacking. Clicking rates in narwhals were investigated using a dataset from sound and movement tag records collected in August 2013-2016 and 2019 in East Greenland. Clicking rates were quantified for ∼1200 one-second-long systematic random samples from 8 different whales. Generalized additive models were used to model (1) the probability of being in a clicking state versus depth and (2) the clicking rate while in a clicking state, versus time and depth. The probability of being in a clicking state increased with depth, reaching ∼1.0 at ∼500 m, while the number of clicks per second (while in a clicking state) increased with depth. The mean cue production rate, weighted by tag duration, was 1.28 clicks per second (se = 0.13, CV = 0.10). This first cue rate for narwhals may be used for cue counting density estimation, but care should be taken if applying it to other geographical areas or seasons, given sample size, geographical, and temporal limitations.

Telemedicine to Timor-Leste: implementing an international cardiac telehealth service during population dislocation, floods and COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The East Timor Hearts Fund has provided cardiac services in Timor-Leste since 2010, conducting three clinics yearly. AIM: To develop collaborative telehealth services between Australia and Timor-Leste in the context of international border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Scoping discussions identified major challenges (structural, patient related and medical system related). At two pilot clinics, patient history, investigation and management were collated. Clinic metrics were compared with an index face-to-face clinic in February 2019. Post-clinic discussions identified areas of success and shortfall in the conduct of the telehealth clinics. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients were reviewed at the online telehealth clinics held onsite at Timorese medical facilities. Compared with an index 2019 clinic, there were markedly lower numbers of new referrals (2 vs 190 patients; 8.7% vs 59.4%). Patients seen at the online clinic were predominantly female (17/23; 73.9%) and Dili based (18/23; 78.3%), with a mean age of 25.9 ± 7.2 years. The majority (12/23; 52.2%) had isolated rheumatic mitral valve disease. Investigations including electrocardiography, pathology, echocardiography and 6-min walk tests were conducted in select patients. Medication advice was provided for 10 (43.5%) patients. Eleven (47.8%) patients were deemed to require urgent intervention. Post-clinic discussions indicated general satisfaction with telehealth clinics, although frustration at the current inability to provide interventional services was highlighted. CONCLUSION: Our pilot telehealth clinics indicate that capacity-building telemedicine can be rapidly implemented in an emergency setting internationally. Clinic design benefits from careful identification and resolution of challenges to optimise flow. Cardiac patients in Timor-Leste have a significant burden of disease amenable to intervention.

Differentiation and Maturation of Muscle and Fat Cells in Cultivated Seafood: Lessons from Developmental Biology.

Cultivated meat, also known as cultured or cell-based meat, is meat produced directly from cultured animal cells rather than from a whole animal. Cultivated meat and seafood have been proposed as a means of mitigating the substantial harms associated with current production methods, including damage to the environment, antibiotic resistance, food security challenges, poor animal welfare, and-in the case of seafood-overfishing and ecological damage associated with fishing and aquaculture. Because biomedical tissue engineering research, from which cultivated meat draws a great deal of inspiration, has thus far been conducted almost exclusively in mammals, cultivated seafood suffers from a lack of established protocols for producing complex tissues in vitro. At the same time, fish such as the zebrafish Danio rerio have been widely used as model organisms in developmental biology. Therefore, many of the mechanisms and signaling pathways involved in the formation of muscle, fat, and other relevant tissue are relatively well understood for this species. The same processes are understood to a lesser degree in aquatic invertebrates. This review discusses the differentiation and maturation of meat-relevant cell types in aquatic species and makes recommendations for future research aimed at recapitulating these processes to produce cultivated fish and shellfish.

3D Bioprinting of Novel κ-Carrageenan Bioinks: An Algae-Derived Polysaccharide.

Novel green materials not sourced from animals and with low environmental impact are becoming increasingly appealing for biomedical and cellular agriculture applications. Marine biomaterials are a rich source of structurally diverse compounds with various biological activities. Kappa-carrageenan (κ-c) is a potential candidate for tissue engineering applications due to its gelation properties, mechanical strength, and similar structural composition of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), possessing several advantages when compared to other algae-based materials typically used in bioprinting such as alginate. For those reasons, this material was selected as the main polysaccharide component of the bioinks developed herein. In this work, pristine κ-carrageenan bioinks were successfully formulated for the first time and used to fabricate 3D scaffolds by bioprinting. Ink formulation and printing parameters were optimized, allowing for the manufacturing of complex 3D structures. Mechanical compression tests and dry weight determination revealed young's modulus between 24.26 and 99.90 kPa and water contents above 97%. Biocompatibility assays, using a mouse fibroblast cell line, showed high cell viability and attachment. The bioprinted cells were spread throughout the scaffolds with cells exhibiting a typical fibroblast-like morphology similar to controls. The 3D bio-/printed structures remained stable under cell culture conditions for up to 11 days, preserving high cell viability values. Overall, we established a strategy to manufacture 3D bio-/printed scaffolds through the formulation of novel bioinks with potential applications in tissue engineering and cellular agriculture.

Bilateral assessment of body core temperature through axillar, tympanic and inner canthi thermometers in a young population.

There are several sites in which the human body core temperature can be estimated and used to identify febrile states in a threat of pandemic situations at high-populational-traffic places (e.g. airports, ports, universities, schools, public buildings). In these locations, a fast method is required for temperature screening of masses. The most common methods are axillar and tympanic thermometers. However, in addition, measurement of the inner canthi (IC) of the eye with infrared thermal (IRT) imaging has been suggested as a fast mass measurement screening tool. OBJECTIVE: It is the aim of this research to identify the bilateral difference of the available body temperature screening methods with potential use for large-scale fever screening and to verify if such a difference is acceptable. APPROACH: A total of 206 young participants (104 females and 102 males) were recruited, having their temperatures taken with the different methods bilaterally under neutral environmental conditions. The obtained results were statistically processed. MAIN RESULTS: Results established absent reference data for site and method in west European populations. The bilateral differences were minor using the IC of the eye monitored with infrared imaging, which was also proved with the Bland-Altmann limits of agreement. SIGNIFICANCE: Based on the findings of this research, despite all methods being able to estimate body core temperature, it is suggested to use IRT images of the IC of the eye, due to its fast, reliable and reproducible procedure for mass screening. Further research is required to understand the higher bilateral variability in using the traditional thermometer axilla and tympanic membrane assessments, since these are the methods currently used within a clinical setup. The same procedure must be applied to fever cases to establish a decision threshold per method.

Violência no trabalho: um estudo com enfermeiros/as em hospitais portugueses / Work violence: a study with nurses in portuguese hospitals / Violencia en el trabajo: un estudio con enfermeros/as en hospitales portugueses

O presente estudo teve como principais objetivos caraterizar a violência ocorrida sobre enfermeiros(as) hospitalares portugueses por parte de utentes e contribuir para a adaptação de uma escala sobre violência no trabalho em contexto português. Os dados foram recolhidos através de um inquérito online. Participaram no estudo 191 enfermeiros(as), 91.6% dos quais mulheres. Os resultados indicaram que a violência psicológica, em comparação com a vicariante e física, foi a mais frequente. Por exemplo, 56% dos profissionais referiram sentirem-se observados fixamente enquanto estavam a trabalhar quatro ou mais vezes durante o último ano, ao passo que 2.1% referiu ter sido ameaçado com uma arma com a mesma frequência e período de referência. Observou-se ainda que determinados serviços (e.g., urgências) estavam mais associados à ocorrência de violência, nomeadamente física, e que a violência estava associada a uma saúde psicológica mais pobre. O estudo inclui ainda a referência a possibilidades de intervenção neste domínio.

The main goal of the present study was to characterize the violence against nurses by patients in Portuguese hospitals, and to contribute to the adaptation of a scale for violence at work in the Portuguese context. Data were collected through a survey available online. A total of 191 nurses (91.6% were women) participated in the study. The results indicated that psychological violence, as compared with vicarious and physical violence, was the most frequent. For example, 56% of professionals reported feeling observed fixedly while working, four or more times during the past year, while 2.1% claimed to have been threatened with a gun with the same frequency and reference period. It was also observed that certain departments (e.g., emergency) were more associated with violent occurrences, in particular physical violence, and that violence was associated with poorer psychological health. The study also includes reference to intervention possibilities in this field.

El presente estudio tuvo como principales objetivos caracterizar la violencia a los(as) enfermeros(as) por parte de usuarios de hospitales portugueses, y contribuir a la adaptación de una escala sobre violencia laboral en el contexto portugués. Los datos se recopilaron a través de una encuesta online. Participaron en el estudio 191 enfermeros, 91.6% son mujeres. Los resultados indicaron que la violencia psicológica, en comparación con la vicariante y física, fue la más frecuente. Por ejemplo, el 56% de los profesionales indicaron sentirse observados fijamente mientras estaban trabajando cuatro o más veces durante el último año, mientras que 2.1% afirmó haber sido amenazado con un arma con la misma frecuencia y período de tiempo. Se observó además que determinados servicios (e. g., urgencias) estaban más asociados a la ocurrencia de violencia, en particular la física, y que esta violencia estaba asociada a una salud psicológica más pobre. Este estudio tiene referencias a posibles intervenciones en este campo.