Brief Report on Hand-Hygiene Monitoring Systems: A Pilot Study of a Computer-Assisted Image Analysis Technique.

Various methodologies have been utilized in hand- hygiene (HH) research to measure the quality and compliance rates of hand washing. Some notable examples are direct observation, self-report, image quantification of fluorescence, microbial sampling, automated systems, and electronically assisted devices. While direct observation is considered the gold standard of HH monitoring systems, its methodological limitations (e.g., high staffing demands, participant reactivity, and undersampling) have yet to be overcome. As a result, there is renewed interest in developing technologies or methods of assessment that are cost-effective, accurate, and not intrusive. This article provides a brief review of HH monitoring systems while presenting a less resource-intensive methodology utilizing image analysis of fluorescence to assess hand washing. Results indicate that the proposed HH protocol could be used to replace human visual analysis of fluorescence, as well as provide a less resource-intensive option to assess HH under controlled conditions. Future implications and the need for additional research, such as cross-validating the results in a real-world clinical setting, are discussed.

Wild mockingbirds distinguish among familiar humans.

Although individuals of some species appear able to distinguish among individuals of a second species, an alternative explanation is that individuals of the first species may simply be distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar individuals of the second species. In that case, they would not be learning unique characteristics of any given heterospecific, as commonly assumed. Here we show that female Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) can quickly learn to distinguish among different familiar humans, flushing sooner from their nest when approached by people who pose increasingly greater threats. These results demonstrate that a common small songbird has surprising cognitive abilities, which likely facilitated its widespread success in human-dominated habitats. More generally, urban wildlife may be more perceptive of differences among humans than previously imagined.

Behavioral Research with Planaria.

This article serves as a brief primer on planaria for behavior scientists. In the 1950s and 1960s, McConnell's planarian laboratory posited that conditioned behavior could transfer after regeneration, and through cannibalization of trained planaria. These studies, the responses, and replications have been collectively referred to as the "planarian controversy." Successful behavioral assays still require refinement with this organism, but they could add valuable insight into our conceptualization of memory and learning. We discuss how the planarian's distinctive biology enables an examination of biobehavioral interaction models, and what behavior scientists must consider if they are to advance behavioral research with this organism. Suggestions for academics interested in building planaria learning laboratories are offered.

Temporal regulation of planarian eye regeneration.

While tissue regeneration is typically studied using standard injury models, in nature injuries vary greatly in the amount and location of tissues lost. Planarians have the unique ability to regenerate from many different injuries (including from tiny fragments with no brain), allowing us to study the effects of different injuries on regeneration timelines. We followed the timing of regeneration for one organ, the eye, after multiple injury types that involved tissue loss (single- and double-eye ablation, and decapitation) in Schmidtea mediterranea. Our data reveal that the timing of regeneration remained constant despite changing injury parameters. Optic tissue regrowth, nerve re-innervation, and functional recovery were similar between injury types (even when the animal was simultaneously regrowing its brain). Changes in metabolic rate (i.e., starving vs. fed regenerates) also had no effect on regeneration timelines. In addition, our data suggest there may exist a role for optic nerve degeneration following eye ablation. Our results suggest that the temporal regulation of planarian eye regeneration is tightly controlled and resistant to variations in injury type.