ABSTRACT
Phenology is a key aspect of plant success. Recent research has demonstrated that herbarium specimens can provide important information on plant phenology. Massive digitization efforts have the potential to greatly expand herbarium-based phenological research, but also pose a serious challenge regarding efficient data collection. Here, we introduce CrowdCurio, a crowdsourcing tool for the collection of phenological data from herbarium specimens. We test its utility by having workers collect phenological data (number of flower buds, open flowers and fruits) from specimens of two common New England (USA) species: Chelidonium majus and Vaccinium angustifolium. We assess the reliability of using nonexpert workers (i.e. Amazon Mechanical Turk) against expert workers. We also use these data to estimate the phenological sensitivity to temperature for both species across multiple phenophases. We found no difference in the data quality of nonexperts and experts. Nonexperts, however, were a more efficient way of collecting more data at lower cost. We also found that phenological sensitivity varied across both species and phenophases. Our study demonstrates the utility of CrowdCurio as a crowdsourcing tool for the collection of phenological data from herbarium specimens. Furthermore, our results highlight the insight gained from collecting large amounts of phenological data to estimate multiple phenophases.
Subject(s)
Climate Change , Crowdsourcing , Software , Flowers/growth & developmentABSTRACT
A sífilis congênita é uma doença infectocontagiosa, de notificação compulsória, estando associada a óbitos fetais, perinatais, baixo peso ao nascer e outras sequelas. O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a incidência de sífilis congênita no Brasil segundo região geográfica e ano, no período de 2007 a 2016. Tratou-se de um estudo epidemiológico com finalidade exploratória, do tipo ecológico e de séries temporais. Foram obtidos os casos anuais de sífilis congênita notificados ao SINAN (Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação, Ministério da Saúde) e o número de nascidos-vivos segundo o Sistema de Informações de Nascidos Vivos (SINASC, Ministério da Saúde) entre 2007 e 2016 segundo região geográfica: Norte, Nordeste, Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Sul. Por se tratar de um estudo que utiliza fontes secundárias de dados, a subnotificação de nascimentos e diagnósticos é sua principal limitação metodológica. Foram calculadas taxas de incidência, apresentadas em tabelas e gráficos. A incidência da sífilis congênita no Brasil no período de 2007 a 2016 foi de 3,97 por 1.000 nascidos vivos, aumentando significativamente no último quinquênio (p<0,05), comportamento também verificado por região geográfica. O aumento da sífilis congênita é preocupante, podendo ser decorrente de má-qualidade de pré-natal, do modelo inadequado do tratamento das gestantes e respectivos parceiros e da redução da subnotificação do problema. Como medidas adequadas para minorar o impacto desse problema de saúde pública, recomenda-se o aumento da cobertura e da qualidade da assistência pré-natal, com o diagnóstico precoce e tratamento da sífilis na gestante e seus parceiros sexuais, além do acompanhamento dos recém-nascidos.
Congenital syphilis is an infectious and contagious disease, which is compulsory to report, and is associated with fetal and perinatal deaths, low birth weight and other sequelae. The objective of the study was to analyze the incidence of congenital syphilis in Brazil according to geographic region and year, in the period from 2007 to 2016. This was an epidemiological, an ecological and a time trend study with an exploratory purpose. The annual cases of congenital syphilis reported to SINAN (National System of Notifiable Diseases, Ministry of Health) and the number of live births were obtained according to the Live Birth Information System (SINASC, Ministry of Health) between 2007 and 2016 according to geographic region: North, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and South. As this is a study that uses secondary data sources, underreporting births and diagnoses is its main methodological limitation. Incidence rates were calculated and presented in tables and graphs. The incidence of congenital syphilis in Brazil in the period from 2007 to 2016 was 3.97 per 1,000 live births, increasing significantly in the last five years (p <0.05), a tendency also verified by geographic region. The increase in congenital syphilis is worrisome, and may be due to poor quality prenatal care, the inadequate model of treatment for pregnant women and their partners, and the reduction of underreporting the problem. As appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of this public health problem, it is recommended that the coverage and quality of prenatal care increase, with early diagnosis and treatment of syphilis in pregnant women and their sexual partners, in addition to the monitoring of newborns.