[Digital public health: data protection and data security]. / Datenschutz und Datensicherheit in Digital Public Health.

Digital public health applications are becoming increasingly popular; for example, about 45% of smartphone users have health or fitness apps on their devices. Most of these applications transfer the user's personal data to the provider of the health app. Application providers must comply with the relevant data protection statutes.In this article we provide a survey of important data protection requirements and the necessary technical measures for data security that the provider of a health app must observe. This includes - amongst other things - mechanisms for consent, determination of and compliance with the legitimate purposes of the processing, and the granting of so-called "rights of the data subject" (e.g. right of access). Furthermore, the provider of the health application must follow best practice recommendations from the area of data security. Therefore, the provider must ensure that, for example, unauthorized access, manipulation, loss, and destruction of personal data are prevented by appropriate technical and organizational measures. State-of-the-art procedures such as encryption, rights management, securing integrity, pseudonymization, and logging are some examples of technical and organizational measures. When implementing these measures, it must be taken into account that the processing of health data generally entails high risk for the rights and freedoms of the data subjects and that unauthorized access to and/or manipulation of data, for example, can lead to the publication of a stigmatizing diagnosis or incorrect medication.

Origin of Drosophila mushroom body neuroblasts and generation of divergent embryonic lineages.

Key to understanding the mechanisms that underlie the specification of divergent cell types in the brain is knowledge about the neurectodermal origin and lineages of their stem cells. Here, we focus on the origin and embryonic development of the four neuroblasts (NBs) per hemisphere in Drosophila that give rise to the mushroom bodies (MBs), which are central brain structures essential for olfactory learning and memory. We show that these MBNBs originate from a single field of proneural gene expression within a specific mitotic domain of procephalic neuroectoderm, and that Notch signaling is not needed for their formation. Subsequently, each MBNB occupies a distinct position in the developing MB cortex and expresses a specific combination of transcription factors by which they are individually identifiable in the brain NB map. During embryonic development each MBNB generates an individual cell lineage comprising different numbers of neurons, including intrinsic γ-neurons and various types of non-intrinsic neurons that do not contribute to the MB neuropil. This contrasts with the postembryonic phase of MBNB development during which they have been shown to produce identical populations of intrinsic neurons. We show that different neuron types are produced in a lineage-specific temporal order and that neuron numbers are regulated by differential mitotic activity of the MBNBs. Finally, we demonstrate that γ-neuron axonal outgrowth and spatiotemporal innervation of the MB lobes follows a lineage-specific mode. The MBNBs are the first stem cells of the Drosophila CNS for which the origin and complete cell lineages have been determined.

Host and pathogen ecology drive the seasonal dynamics of a fungal disease, white-nose syndrome.

Seasonal patterns in pathogen transmission can influence the impact of disease on populations and the speed of spatial spread. Increases in host contact rates or births drive seasonal epidemics in some systems, but other factors may occasionally override these influences. White-nose syndrome, caused by the emerging fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is spreading across North America and threatens several bat species with extinction. We examined patterns and drivers of seasonal transmission of P. destructans by measuring infection prevalence and pathogen loads in six bat species at 30 sites across the eastern United States. Bats became transiently infected in autumn, and transmission spiked in early winter when bats began hibernating. Nearly all bats in six species became infected by late winter when infection intensity peaked. In summer, despite high contact rates and a birth pulse, most bats cleared infections and prevalence dropped to zero. These data suggest the dominant driver of seasonal transmission dynamics was a change in host physiology, specifically hibernation. Our study is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to describe the seasonality of transmission in this emerging wildlife disease. The timing of infection and fungal growth resulted in maximal population impacts, but only moderate rates of spatial spread.

Population genetic structure of a common host predicts the spread of white-nose syndrome, an emerging infectious disease in bats.

Landscape complexity influences patterns of animal dispersal, which in turn may affect both gene flow and the spread of pathogens. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an introduced fungal disease that has spread rapidly throughout eastern North America, causing massive mortality in bat populations. We tested for a relationship between the population genetic structure of the most common host, the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus), and the geographic spread of WNS to date by evaluating logistic regression models of WNS risk among hibernating colonies in eastern North America. We hypothesized that risk of WNS to susceptible host colonies should increase with both geographic proximity and genetic similarity, reflecting historical connectivity, to infected colonies. Consistent with this hypothesis, inclusion of genetic distance between infected and susceptible colonies significantly improved models of disease spread, capturing heterogeneity in the spatial expansion of WNS despite low levels of genetic differentiation among eastern populations. Expanding our genetic analysis to the continental range of little brown myotis reveals strongly contrasting patterns of population structure between eastern and western North America. Genetic structure increases markedly moving westward into the northern Great Plains, beyond the current distribution of WNS. In western North America, genetic differentiation of geographically proximate populations often exceeds levels observed across the entire eastern region, suggesting infrequent and/or locally restricted dispersal, and thus relatively limited opportunities for pathogen introduction in western North America. Taken together, our analyses suggest a possibly slower future rate of spread of the WNS pathogen, at least as mediated by little brown myotis.

Species undersampling in tropical bat surveys: effects on emerging biodiversity patterns.

Undersampling is commonplace in biodiversity surveys of species-rich tropical assemblages in which rare taxa abound, with possible repercussions for our ability to implement surveys and monitoring programmes in a cost-effective way. We investigated the consequences of information loss due to species undersampling (missing subsets of species from the full species pool) in tropical bat surveys for the emerging patterns of species richness (SR) and compositional variation across sites. For 27 bat assemblage data sets from across the tropics, we used correlations between original data sets and subsets with different numbers of species deleted either at random, or according to their rarity in the assemblage, to assess to what extent patterns in SR and composition in data subsets are congruent with those in the initial data set. We then examined to what degree high sample representativeness (r ≥ 0·8) was influenced by biogeographic region, sampling method, sampling effort or structural assemblage characteristics. For SR, correlations between random subsets and original data sets were strong (r ≥ 0·8) with moderate (ca. 20%) species loss. Bias associated with information loss was greater for species composition; on average ca. 90% of species in random subsets had to be retained to adequately capture among-site variation. For nonrandom subsets, removing only the rarest species (on average c. 10% of the full data set) yielded strong correlations (r > 0·95) for both SR and composition. Eliminating greater proportions of rare species resulted in weaker correlations and large variation in the magnitude of observed correlations among data sets. Species subsets that comprised ca. 85% of the original set can be considered reliable surrogates, capable of adequately revealing patterns of SR and temporal or spatial turnover in many tropical bat assemblages. Our analyses thus demonstrate the potential as well as limitations for reducing survey effort and streamlining sampling protocols, and consequently for increasing the cost-effectiveness in tropical bat surveys or monitoring programmes. The dependence of the performance of species subsets on structural assemblage characteristics (total assemblage abundance, proportion of rare species), however, underscores the importance of adaptive monitoring schemes and of establishing surrogate performance on a site by site basis based on pilot surveys.

Mercury in bats from the northeastern United States.

This study examines mercury exposure in bats across the northeast U.S. from 2005 to 2009. We collected 1,481 fur and 681 blood samples from 8 states and analyzed them for total Hg. A subset (n = 20) are also analyzed for methylmercury (MeHg). Ten species of bats from the northeast U.S. are represented in this study of which two are protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA 1973) and two other species are pending review. There are four objectives in this paper: (1) to examine correlates to differences in fur-Hg levels among all of the sampling sites, including age, sex, species, and presence of a Hg point source; (2) define the relationship between blood and fur-Hg levels and the factors that influence that relationship including age, sex, species, reproductive status, and energetic condition; (3) determine the relationships between total Hg and MeHg in five common eastern bat species; and (4) assess the distribution of Hg across bat populations in the northeast. We found total blood and fur mercury was eight times higher in bats captured near point sources compared to nonpoint sources. Blood-Hg and fur-Hg were well correlated with females on average accumulating two times more Hg in fur than males. On average fur MeHg accounted for 86 % (range 71-95 %) of the total Hg in bat fur. Considering that females had high Hg concentrations, beyond that of established levels of concern, suggests there could be negative implications for bat populations from high Hg exposure since Hg is readily transferred to pups via breast milk. Bats provide an integral part of the ecosystem and their protection is considered to be of high priority. More research is needed to determine if Hg is a stressor that is negatively impacting bat populations.

Morphological characterization of the entire interneuron population reveals principles of neuromere organization in the ventral nerve cord of Drosophila.

Decisive contributions to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of the nervous system have been made by studies performed at the level of single, identified cells in the fruit fly Drosophila. While all the motor neurons and glial cells in thoracic and abdominal segments of the Drosophila embryo have been individually identified, few of the interneurons, which comprise the vast majority of cells in the CNS, have been characterized at this level. We have applied a single cell labeling technique to carry out a detailed morphological characterization of the entire population of interneurons in abdominal segments A1-A7. Based on the definition of a set of spatial parameters specifying axonal projection patterns and cell body positions, we have identified 270 individual cell types as the complete hemisegmental set of interneurons and placed these in an interactive database. As well as facilitating analyses of developmental processes, this comprehensive set of data sheds light on the principles underlying the formation and organization of an entire segmental unit of the CNS.

Sociality, density-dependence and microclimates determine the persistence of populations suffering from a novel fungal disease, white-nose syndrome.

Disease has caused striking declines in wildlife and threatens numerous species with extinction. Theory suggests that the ecology and density-dependence of transmission dynamics can determine the probability of disease-caused extinction, but few empirical studies have simultaneously examined multiple factors influencing disease impact. We show, in hibernating bats infected with Geomyces destructans, that impacts of disease on solitary species were lower in smaller populations, whereas in socially gregarious species declines were equally severe in populations spanning four orders of magnitude. However, as these gregarious species declined, we observed decreases in social group size that reduced the likelihood of extinction. In addition, disease impacts in these species increased with humidity and temperature such that the coldest and driest roosts provided initial refuge from disease. These results expand our theoretical framework and provide an empirical basis for determining which host species are likely to be driven extinct while management action is still possible.

Social organization and genetic structure: insights from codistributed bat populations.

The impact of ecology and social organization on genetic structure at landscape spatial scales, where gene dynamics shape evolution as well as determine susceptibility to habitat fragmentation, is poorly understood. Attempts to assess these effects must take into account the potentially confounding effects of history. We used microsatellites to compare genetic structure in seven bat species with contrasting patterns of roosting ecology and social organization, all of which are codistributed in an ancient forest habitat that has been exceptionally buffered from radical habitat shifts. Over one thousand individuals were captured at foraging sites and genotyped at polymorphic microsatellite loci. Analyses of spatially explicit genotype data revealed interspecies differences in the extent of movement and gene flow and genetic structure across continuous intact forest. Highest positive genetic structure was observed in tree-roosting taxa that roost either alone or in small groups. By comparison, a complete absence of genetic autocorrelation was noted in the cave-roosting colonial species across the study area. Our results thus reveal measurable interspecies differences in the natural limits of gene flow in an unmodified habitat, which we attribute to contrasting roosting ecology and social organization. The consequences of ecology and behaviour for gene flow have important implications for conservation. In particular, tree-roosting species characterized by lower vagility and thus gene flow will be disproportionally impacted by landscape-scale forest clearance and habitat fragmentation, which are prevalent in the study region. Our method also highlights the usefulness of rapid sampling of foraging bats for assaying genetic structure, particularly where roosting sites are not always known.

Molecular phylogeny of hipposiderid bats from Southeast Asia and evidence of cryptic diversity.

Old World leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideridae) are among the most widespread and ecologically diverse groups of insectivorous bats in the Old World tropics. However, phylogenetic relationships in Hipposideridae are poorly resolved at both the generic and species levels, and deep genetic divergence within several Southeast Asian species suggests that current taxonomy underestimates hipposiderid diversity in this region. We used mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data to conduct the first extensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of Southeast Asian hipposiderid bats. Inclusion of multiple samples per taxon allowed testing for evidence of evolutionarily distinct lineages within taxa currently defined as single species. In contrast to earlier phylogenies based on morphometrics, molecular data support monophyly of Hipposideros, but are ambiguous regarding the monophyly of Hipposideridae. With a few exceptions, molecular data also support currently recognized species groups classified by qualitative morphological characters. Widespread paraphyly and polyphyly within many currently recognized species of Hipposideros indicates that evolutionary diversity in the genus is underrepresented by current nomenclature. Comparison of available morphological and echolocation data suggest that both geographic isolation and ecological selection have contributed to the diversification of Southeast Asian hipposiderid bats.

Cutaneous water loss and lipids of the stratum corneum in two syntopic species of bats.

The lipid matrix of the stratum corneum (SC), the outer layer of the epidermis of mammals and birds, constitutes the barrier to diffusion of water vapor through the skin. The lipids of the SC are structured in the intercellular spaces of the mammalian epidermis in ordered layers, called lamellae, which have been postulated to prevent water loss. Lipids in the mammalian SC are mainly cholesterol, free fatty acids and ceramides, the latter forming the structural support for the lamellae. However, knowledge on how the lipid composition of the SC alters cutaneous water loss (CWL) in mammals is rudimentary, and is largely derived from studies on laboratory animals and humans. We measured CWL of individuals of two species of syntopic bats, Tadarida brasiliensis and Myotis velifer. In the first study of its kind on wild mammals, we correlated CWL with the lipid composition of the SC, measured using thin layer chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry. Surface-specific CWL was 20.6% higher in M. velifer than in T. brasiliensis, although differences were not significant. Compared with individuals of M. velifer, individuals of T. brasiliensis had more classes, and a higher proportion, of polar ceramides in the SC, a feature associated with lower CWL. Individuals of T. brasiliensis also had a class of non-polar ceramides that presumably spans the lamellae and gives more cohesiveness to the lipid matrix of the SC. We conclude that qualitative and quantitative modifications of the lipid composition of the SC contribute to regulate CWL of these two species of bats.

Possible cross-species transmission of circoviruses and cycloviruses among farm animals.

Circoviruses consist of highly prevalent and genetically diverse porcine and avian pathogens. The genomes of cycloviruses, a proposed new genus in the family Circoviridae, were recently identified in human and chimpanzee faeces. Here, six cyclovirus and four circovirus genomes from the tissues of chickens, goats, cows, and a bat were amplified and sequenced using rolling-circle amplification and inverse PCR. A goat cyclovirus was nearly identical to a cyclovirus from a cow. USA beef contained circoviruses with >99% similarity to porcine circovirus 2b. Circoviruses in chicken were related to those of pigeons. The close genetic similarity of a subset of cycloviruses and circoviruses replicating in distinct animal species may reflect recent cross-species transmissions. Further studies will be required to determine the impact of these highly prevalent infections on the health of farm animals.

Bat guano virome: predominance of dietary viruses from insects and plants plus novel mammalian viruses.

Bats are hosts to a variety of viruses capable of zoonotic transmissions. Because of increased contact between bats, humans, and other animal species, the possibility exists for further cross-species transmissions and ensuing disease outbreaks. We describe here full and partial viral genomes identified using metagenomics in the guano of bats from California and Texas. A total of 34% and 58% of 390,000 sequence reads from bat guano in California and Texas, respectively, were related to eukaryotic viruses, and the largest proportion of those infect insects, reflecting the diet of these insectivorous bats, including members of the viral families Dicistroviridae, Iflaviridae, Tetraviridae, and Nodaviridae and the subfamily Densovirinae. The second largest proportion of virus-related sequences infects plants and fungi, likely reflecting the diet of ingested insects, including members of the viral families Luteoviridae, Secoviridae, Tymoviridae, and Partitiviridae and the genus Sobemovirus. Bat guano viruses related to those infecting mammals comprised the third largest group, including members of the viral families Parvoviridae, Circoviridae, Picornaviridae, Adenoviridae, Poxviridae, Astroviridae, and Coronaviridae. No close relative of known human viral pathogens was identified in these bat populations. Phylogenetic analysis was used to clarify the relationship to known viral taxa of novel sequences detected in bat guano samples, showing that some guano viral sequences fall outside existing taxonomic groups. This initial characterization of the bat guano virome, the first metagenomic analysis of viruses in wild mammals using second-generation sequencing, therefore showed the presence of previously unidentified viral species, genera, and possibly families. Viral metagenomics is a useful tool for genetically characterizing viruses present in animals with the known capability of direct or indirect viral zoonosis to humans.

A tale of two genomes: contrasting patterns of phylogeographic structure in a widely distributed bat.

One of the most widely distributed bats in the New World, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) exhibits well-documented geographic variation in morphology and life history traits, suggesting the potential for significant phylogeographic structure as well as adaptive differentiation among populations. In a pattern broadly consistent with morphologically defined subspecies, we found deeply divergent mitochondrial lineages restricted to different geographic regions. In contrast, sequence data from two nuclear loci suggest a general lack of regional genetic structure except for peripheral populations in the Caribbean and Mexico/South America. Coalescent analyses suggest that the striking difference in population structure between genomes cannot be attributed solely to different rates of lineage sorting, but is likely due to male-mediated gene flow homogenizing nuclear genetic diversity across most of the continental range. Despite this ongoing gene flow, selection has apparently been effective in producing and maintaining adaptive differentiation among populations, while strong female site fidelity, maintained over the course of millions of years, has produced remarkably deep divergence among geographically isolated matrilines. Our results highlight the importance of evaluating multiple genetic markers for a more complete understanding of population structure and history.

Selective multiple magnesiations of the thieno[3,2-b]thiophene scaffold.

A full functionalization of all four positions of the thieno[3,2-b]thiophene scaffold was achieved. Starting from 2,5-dichlorothieno[3,2-b]thiophene, magnesiation of the 3- and 6-position using tmpMgCl⋅LiCl furnishes, after trapping with various electrophiles, 3,6-difunctionalized dichlorothieno[3,2-b]thiophenes. Subsequent dechlorination and regioselective metalation or regioselective magnesium insertion into the CCl bond provides fully functionalized thieno[3,2-b]thiophenes. Furthermore, new condensed heterocycles and small oligomers of these compounds with potential applications in material chemistry have been prepared.

Risk factors associated with mortality from white-nose syndrome among hibernating bat colonies.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease responsible for unprecedented mortality in hibernating bats. First observed in a New York cave in 2006, mortality associated with WNS rapidly appeared in hibernacula across the northeastern United States. We used yearly presence-absence data on WNS-related mortality among hibernating bat colonies in the Northeast to determine factors influencing its spread. We evaluated hazard models to test hypotheses about the association between the timing of mortality and colony-level covariates, such as distance from the first WNS-affected site, colony size, species diversity, species composition and type of hibernaculum (cave or mine). Distance to origin and colony size had the greatest effects on WNS hazard over the range of observations; the type of hibernaculum and species composition had weaker effects. The distance effect showed a temporal decrease in magnitude, consistent with the pattern of an expanding epizootic. Large, cave-dwelling bat colonies with high proportions of Myotis lucifugus or other species that seek humid microclimates tended to experience early mortality. Our results suggest that the timing of mortality from WNS is largely dependent on colony location, and large colonies tend to be first in an area to experience high mortality associated with WNS.

Variation in physiological stress between bridge- and cave-roosting Brazilian free-tailed bats.

Since the late 1980s, Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) have increasingly used bridges as roosts in the southern United States. We examined differences in blood cortisol levels, body condition, and parasite load, as measures of physiological stress in bats roosting in bridges and bats roosting in caves. We collected data during three periods, coinciding with female phases of reproduction. For all measures, bats were captured during the nightly emergence from the roost and immediately sampled. Cortisol levels were significantly higher during pregnancy and lactation and in individuals with lower body-condition scores (length of forearm to mass ratio) and significantly higher in bats roosting in caves than in those roosting in bridges. Thus, we concluded that individuals of this species that roost in bridges are not chronically stressed and seem to be unaffected by human activities present at bridges. This is a rare documented instance where a human-dominated environment does not appear to be adversely affecting the physiological health of a free-ranging animal.

DNA-based detection of the fungal pathogen Geomyces destructans in soils from bat hibernacula.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease causing unprecedented morbidity and mortality among bats in eastern North America. The disease is characterized by cutaneous infection of hibernating bats by the psychrophilic fungus Geomyces destructans. Detection of G. destructans in environments occupied by bats will be critical for WNS surveillance, management and characterization of the fungal lifecycle. We initiated an rRNA gene region-based molecular survey to characterize the distribution of G. destructans in soil samples collected from bat hibernacula in the eastern United States with an existing PCR test. Although this test did not specifically detect G. destructans in soil samples based on a presence/absence metric, it did favor amplification of DNA from putative Geomyces species. Cloning and sequencing of PCR products amplified from 24 soil samples revealed 74 unique sequence variants representing 12 clades. Clones with exact sequence matches to G. destructans were identified in three of 19 soil samples from hibernacula in states where WNS is known to occur. Geomyces destructans was not identified in an additional five samples collected outside the region where WNS has been documented. This study highlights the diversity of putative Geomyces spp. in soil from bat hibernacula and indicates that further research is needed to better define the taxonomy of this genus and to develop enhanced diagnostic tests for rapid and specific detection of G. destructans in environmental samples.

Operating systems for wireless sensor networks: a survey.

This paper presents a survey on the current state-of-the-art in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Operating Systems (OSs). In recent years, WSNs have received tremendous attention in the research community, with applications in battlefields, industrial process monitoring, home automation, and environmental monitoring, to name but a few. A WSN is a highly dynamic network because nodes die due to severe environmental conditions and battery power depletion. Furthermore, a WSN is composed of miniaturized motes equipped with scarce resources e.g., limited memory and computational abilities. WSNs invariably operate in an unattended mode and in many scenarios it is impossible to replace sensor motes after deployment, therefore a fundamental objective is to optimize the sensor motes' life time. These characteristics of WSNs impose additional challenges on OS design for WSN, and consequently, OS design for WSN deviates from traditional OS design. The purpose of this survey is to highlight major concerns pertaining to OS design in WSNs and to point out strengths and weaknesses of contemporary OSs for WSNs, keeping in mind the requirements of emerging WSN applications. The state-of-the-art in operating systems for WSNs has been examined in terms of the OS Architecture, Programming Model, Scheduling, Memory Management and Protection, Communication Protocols, Resource Sharing, Support for Real-Time Applications, and additional features. These features are surveyed for both real-time and non-real-time WSN operating systems.

Influence of climate and reproductive timing on demography of little brown myotis Myotis lucifugus.

1. Estimating variation in demographic rates, such as survival and fecundity, is important for testing life-history theory and identifying conservation and management goals. 2. We used 16 years (1993-2008) of mark-recapture data to estimate age-specific survival and breeding probabilities of the little brown myotis Myotis lucifugus LeConte in southern New Hampshire, USA. Using Kendall & Nichols' (1995) full-likelihood approach of the robust design to account for temporary emigration, we tested whether survival and breeding propensity is influenced by regional weather patterns and timing of reproduction. 3. Our results demonstrate that adult female survival of M. lucifugus ranged from 0.63 (95% CL = 0.56, 0.68) to 0.90 (95% CL = 0.77, 0.94), and was highest in wet years with high cumulative summer precipitation. First-year survival [range: 0.23 (95% CL = 0.14, 0.35) to 0.46 (95% CL = 0.34, 0.57)] was considerably lower than adult survival and depended on pup date of birth, such that young born earlier in the summer (c. late May) had a significantly higher probability of surviving their first year than young born later in the summer (c. mid-July). Similarly, the probability of young females returning to the maternity colony to breed in the summer following their birth year was higher for individuals born earlier in the summer [range: 0.23 (95% CL = 0.08, 0.50) to 0.53 (95% CL = 0.30, 0.75)]. 4. The positive influence of early parturition on 1st-year survival and breeding propensity demonstrates significant fitness benefits to reproductive timing in this temperate insectivorous bat. 5. Climatic factors can have important consequences for population dynamics of temperate bats, which may be negatively affected by summer drying patterns associated with global climate change. 6. Understanding long-term demographic trends will be important in the face of a novel disease phenomenon (White-Nose Syndrome) that is associated with massive mortalities in hibernating bat species, including M. lucifugus, in the northeastern United States.