"METAGENOTE: a simplified web platform for metadata annotation of genomic samples and streamlined submission to NCBI's sequence read archive".

BACKGROUND: The improvements in genomics methods coupled with readily accessible high-throughput sequencing have contributed to our understanding of microbial species, metagenomes, infectious diseases and more. To maximize the impact of these genomics studies, it is important that data from biological samples will become publicly available with standardized metadata. The availability of data at public archives provides the hope that greater insights could be obtained through integration with multi-omics data, reproducibility of published studies, or meta-analyses of large diverse datasets. These datasets should include a description of the host, organism, environmental source of the specimen, spatial-temporal information and other relevant metadata, but unfortunately these attributes are often missing and when present, they show inconsistencies in the use of metadata standards and ontologies. RESULTS: METAGENOTE ( https://metagenote.niaid.nih.gov ) is a web portal that greatly facilitates the annotation of samples from genomic studies and streamlines the submission process of sequencing files and metadata to the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) (Leinonen R, et al, Nucleic Acids Res, 39:D19-21, 2011) for public access. This platform offers a wide selection of packages for different types of biological and experimental studies with a special emphasis on the standardization of metadata reporting. These packages follow the guidelines from the MIxS standards developed by the Genomics Standard Consortium (GSC) and adopted by the three partners of the International Nucleotides Sequencing Database Collaboration (INSDC) (Cochrane G, et al, Nucleic Acids Res, 44:D48-50, 2016) - National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ). METAGENOTE then compiles, validates and manages the submission through an easy-to-use web interface minimizing submission errors and eliminating the need for submitting sequencing files via a separate file transfer mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: METAGENOTE is a public resource that focuses on simplifying the annotation and submission process of data with its corresponding metadata. Users of METAGENOTE will benefit from the easy to use annotation interface but most importantly will be encouraged to publish metadata following standards and ontologies that make the public data available for reuse.

Development and Implementation of a Surveillance Network System for Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Caribbean (ARICABA).

Dengue fever, including dengue hemorrhagic fever, has become a re-emerging public health threat in the Caribbean in the absence of a comprehensive regional surveillance system. In this deficiency, a project entitled ARICABA, strives to implement a pilot surveillance system across three islands: Martinique, St. Lucia, and Dominica. The aim of this project is to establish a network for epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases, utilizing information and communication technology. This paper describes the system design and development strategies of a "network of networks" surveillance system for infectious diseases in the Caribbean. Also described are benefits, challenges, and limitations of this approach across the three island nations identified through direct observation, open-ended interviews, and email communications with an on-site IT consultant, key informants, and the project director. Identified core systems design of the ARICABA data warehouse include a disease monitoring system and a syndromic surveillance system. Three components comprise the development strategy: the data warehouse server, the geographical information system, and forecasting algorithms; these are recognized technical priorities of the surveillance system. A main benefit of the ARICABA surveillance system is improving responsiveness and representativeness of existing health systems through automated data collection, process, and transmission of information from various sources. Challenges include overcoming technology gaps between countries; real-time data collection points; multiple language support; and "component-oriented" development approaches.