Research infrastructure Dotaz Zobrazit nápovědu
As in other areas of experimental science, operation of electrophysiological laboratory, design and performance of electrophysiological experiments, collection, storage and sharing of experimental data and metadata, analysis and interpretation of these data, and publication of results are time consuming activities. If these activities are well organized and supported by a suitable infrastructure, work efficiency of researchers increases significantly. This article deals with the main concepts, design, and development of software and hardware infrastructure for research in electrophysiology. The described infrastructure has been primarily developed for the needs of neuroinformatics laboratory at the University of West Bohemia, the Czech Republic. However, from the beginning it has been also designed and developed to be open and applicable in laboratories that do similar research. After introducing the laboratory and the whole architectural concept the individual parts of the infrastructure are described. The central element of the software infrastructure is a web-based portal that enables community researchers to store, share, download and search data and metadata from electrophysiological experiments. The data model, domain ontology and usage of semantic web languages and technologies are described. Current data publication policy used in the portal is briefly introduced. The registration of the portal within Neuroscience Information Framework is described. Then the methods used for processing of electrophysiological signals are presented. The specific modifications of these methods introduced by laboratory researches are summarized; the methods are organized into a laboratory workflow. Other parts of the software infrastructure include mobile and offline solutions for data/metadata storing and a hardware stimulator communicating with an EEG amplifier and recording software.
- Klíčová slova
- electrophysiology, event related potentials, infrastructure, neuroinformatics, portal, signal processing methods, stimulator, workflow,
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
We introduce the national research biobanking infrastructure, BBMRI_CZ. The infrastructure has been founded by the Ministry of Education and became a partner of the European biobanking infrastructure BBMRI.eu. It is designed as a network of individual biobanks where each biobank stores samples obtained from associated healthcare providers. The biobanks comprise long term storage (various types of tissues classified by diagnosis, serum at surgery, genomic DNA and RNA) and short term storage (longitudinally sampled patient sera). We discuss the operation workflow of the infrastructure that needs to be the distributed system: transfer of the samples to the biobank needs to be accompanied by extraction of data from the hospital information systems and this data must be stored in a central index serving mainly for sample lookup. Since BBMRI_CZ is designed solely for research purposes, the data is anonymised prior to their integration into the central BBMRI_CZ index. The index is then available for registered researchers to seek for samples of interest and to request the samples from biobank managers. The paper provides an overview of the structure of data stored in the index. We also discuss monitoring system for the biobanks, incorporated to ensure quality of the stored samples.
- MeSH
- banky biologického materiálu organizace a řízení MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nádory * MeSH
- translační biomedicínský výzkum * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
Distributed environmental research infrastructures are important to support assessments of the effects of global change on landscapes, ecosystems and society. These infrastructures need to provide continuity to address long-term change, yet be flexible enough to respond to rapid societal and technological developments that modify research priorities. We used a horizon scanning exercise to identify and prioritize emerging research questions for the future development of ecosystem and socio-ecological research infrastructures in Europe. Twenty research questions covered topics related to (i) ecosystem structures and processes, (ii) the impacts of anthropogenic drivers on ecosystems, (iii) ecosystem services and socio-ecological systems and (iv), methods and research infrastructures. Several key priorities for the development of research infrastructures emerged. Addressing complex environmental issues requires the adoption of a whole-system approach, achieved through integration of biotic, abiotic and socio-economic measurements. Interoperability among different research infrastructures needs to be improved by developing standard measurements, harmonizing methods, and establishing capacities and tools for data integration, processing, storage and analysis. Future research infrastructures should support a range of methodological approaches including observation, experiments and modelling. They should also have flexibility to respond to new requirements, for example by adjusting the spatio-temporal design of measurements. When new methods are introduced, compatibility with important long-term data series must be ensured. Finally, indicators, tools, and transdisciplinary approaches to identify, quantify and value ecosystem services across spatial scales and domains need to be advanced.
- Klíčová slova
- Interoperability, Priorities, Research infrastructure, Research strategies, Whole system approach,
- MeSH
- ekologie * MeSH
- ekosystém * MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Evropa MeSH
The quality of the environment as well as public health is convincingly coupled with the functioning of a power subsector. The power subsector plays a pivotal role in the sense that it emerges as the key cross-sectional element for the society's functioning (production, services, healthcare, education and others). A modern society consists of infrastructure systems that are primarily dependent on continuous electricity supplies. Each and every element of the electric power infrastructure is unique, and thus, its malfunction can disrupt the functioning of an important part of the electric power infrastructure. In conjunction with ensuring the functioning of electric power infrastructure, our attention must be drawn to the resilience issue. As far as the resilience of electric power infrastructure is concerned, it can resist weather-related events ensuring there are no disruptions in continuous electricity supplies. First, in the introductory part, the article presents the legal framework in the Slovak Republic. Second, it describes the current state of the electric power infrastructure of Slovakia. Third, it handles the state of the level of security risk assessment. Later on, in the literature review, besides turning to the issue of resilience assessment, the authors focused on the area of resilience of power engineering. Furthermore, the article scrutinizes resilience assessment in Slovakia, and it briefly examines approaches towards natural threats. In addition, the article demonstrates several approaches towards flood resilience. Having used different methods, the primary concern is to devise a framework for resilience assessment. Therefore, the included case study examines aspects of the proposed framework for resilience assessment. In conclusion, our aim was, in most respects, to outline an innovative methodological framework for increasing the resilience of electricity infrastructure.
- Klíčová slova
- electricity infrastructure, flood risk, new framework, resilience assessment,
- MeSH
- elektřina * MeSH
- průřezové studie MeSH
- záplavy * MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Slovenská republika MeSH
Biobanks are structured repositories of human tissue samples connected with specific information. They became an integral part of personalized medicine in the new millennium. At the European research area biobanks are isolated not well coordinated and connected to the network. European commission supports European infrastructure BBMRI-ERIC (Biobanks and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium), consortium of 54 members with more than 225 associated organizations, largely biobanks from over 30 countries. The aim is to support biomedical research using stored samples. Czech Republic is a member of the consortium as a national node BBMRI_CZ, consisting of five partners.
- Klíčová slova
- BBMRI-ERIC, BBMRI_CZ., biobanks, research infrastructures,
- MeSH
- banky biologického materiálu organizace a řízení MeSH
- biomedicínský výzkum organizace a řízení MeSH
- databáze faktografické MeSH
- individualizovaná medicína metody MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- šíření informací metody MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
The predominant research publishing system is not equitable by design, nor optimised to advance research to create knowledge and ultimately to benefit society. Open Research Central (ORC) was created to foster the re-imagination of the research dissemination system to facilitate trust, transparency and equitable participation. In five years of operation, before dissolving, the non-profit organisation produced outputs and learnings valuable to the development of a responsible research dissemination system. We are sharing our experience in the hope that it will provide others who share the same vision and goals with useful materials to build on. We think that there remains a need for global, cross-stakeholder exploration to build collective understanding of research validation and dissemination and to pilot solutions. However, as this article will explore, enabling and supporting the development of such a collective voice and consequent action is a challenging endeavour in the current landscape and funding environment.
- Klíčová slova
- Open research, cross-stakeholder, funding., research dissemination, research validation, scholarly infrastructure,
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Forests account for nearly 90 % of the world's terrestrial biomass in the form of carbon and they support 80 % of the global biodiversity. To understand the underlying forest dynamics, we need a long-term but also relatively high-frequency, networked monitoring system, as traditionally used in meteorology or hydrology. While there are numerous existing forest monitoring sites, particularly in temperate regions, the resulting data streams are rarely connected and do not provide information promptly, which hampers real-time assessments of forest responses to extreme climate events. The technology to build a better global forest monitoring network now exists. This white paper addresses the key structural components needed to achieve a novel meta-network. We propose to complement - rather than replace or unify - the existing heterogeneous infrastructure with standardized, quality-assured linking methods and interacting data processing centers to create an integrated forest monitoring network. These automated (research topic-dependent) linking methods in atmosphere, biosphere, and pedosphere play a key role in scaling site-specific results and processing them in a timely manner. To ensure broad participation from existing monitoring sites and to establish new sites, these linking methods must be as informative, reliable, affordable, and maintainable as possible, and should be supplemented by near real-time remote sensing data. The proposed novel meta-network will enable the detection of emergent patterns that would not be visible from isolated analyses of individual sites. In addition, the near real-time availability of data will facilitate predictions of current forest conditions (nowcasts), which are urgently needed for research and decision making in the face of rapid climate change. We call for international and interdisciplinary efforts in this direction.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the European biobanking infrastructure is in a unique position to preserve valuable biological material complemented with detailed data for future research purposes. Biobanks can be either integrated into healthcare, where preservation of the biological material is a fork in clinical routine diagnostics and medical treatment processes or they can also host prospective cohorts or material related to clinical trials. The paper discussed objectives of BBMRI-ERIC, the European research infrastructure established to facilitate access to quality-defined biological materials and data for research purposes, with respect to the COVID-19 crisis: (a) to collect information on available European as well as non-European COVID-19-relevant biobanking resources in BBMRI-ERIC Directory and to facilitate access to these via BBMRI-ERIC Negotiator platform; (b) to help harmonizing guidelines on how data and biological material is to be collected to maximize utility for future research, including large-scale data processing in artificial intelligence, by participating in activities such as COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative; (c) to minimize risks for all involved parties dealing with (potentially) infectious material by developing recommendations and guidelines; (d) to provide a European-wide platform of exchange in relation to ethical, legal, and societal issues (ELSI) specific to the collection of biological material and data during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- MeSH
- antivirové látky terapeutické užití MeSH
- banky biologického materiálu zásobování a distribuce MeSH
- Betacoronavirus účinky léků genetika patogenita MeSH
- biomedicínský výzkum organizace a řízení MeSH
- COVID-19 MeSH
- datové soubory jako téma MeSH
- klinické zkoušky jako téma MeSH
- koronavirové infekce diagnóza farmakoterapie epidemiologie genetika MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mezinárodní spolupráce zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- pandemie * MeSH
- SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
- šíření informací etika metody MeSH
- směrnice pro lékařskou praxi jako téma MeSH
- umělá inteligence MeSH
- veřejné zdravotnictví ekonomika MeSH
- virová pneumonie diagnóza farmakoterapie epidemiologie genetika MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Evropa epidemiologie MeSH
- Názvy látek
- antivirové látky MeSH
Contemporary pathophysiology is essentially based upon three principal pillars of support: First the experimental method (formulated by Cl. Bernard); second experimental design (proposed by R. A. Fisher); and finally, present-day information resources, which are easily accessible in sophisticated databases, following the so-called information explosion. These three underlying principles, sensitively interrelated, should be employed appropriately when engaging in pathophysiological research or education. Three points of support invariably offer stable equilibrium, as does a tripod, and it would be an error a priori to attempt to support research work exclusively on high-tech methodology, or overreliance on statistical software, or pseudo-abundance of citations from journals enjoying a high impact factor, whilst lacking significant balancing support from either of the other two legs of the tripod--or indeed other sources altogether. If pathophysiology in Czechoslovakia is to achieve international esteem and acknowledgement, then our undergraduate and postgraduate biomedical courses must be soundly based on this tripartite infrastructure, as a starting point for our intellectual methodology in pathophysiology. (This speech was presented at June 20th, 1989 at the opening session of the Tenth Czechoslovak Congress of Pathophysiology held in Prague June 20th-23rd 1989. The text still valid, ten years after its oral presentation, is now published in this form at the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Congress.
- MeSH
- fyziologie * výchova MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- studium lékařství MeSH
- výzkum MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- projevy MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
Target 19, set by the Convention on Biological Diversity, seeks to improve the knowledge, science base, and technologies relating to biodiversity. We will fail to achieve this target unless prolific biases in the field of conservation science are addressed. We reveal that comparatively less research is undertaken in the world's most biodiverse countries, the science conducted in these countries is often not led by researchers based in-country, and these scientists are also underrepresented in important international fora. Mitigating these biases requires wide-ranging solutions: reforming open access publishing policies, enhancing science communication strategies, changing author attribution practices, improving representation in international processes, and strengthening infrastructure and human capacity for research in countries where it is most needed.
