Real-life research projects improve student engagement and provide reliable data for academics.

Student engagement can have a positive influence on student success. Many methods exist for fostering engagement but tend to be generic and require tailoring to specific contexts, subjects, and students. In the case of undergraduate science students, practical classes are a popular tool for increasing engagement. However, despite strong potential for improvement via links with "real life" research projects (RLRPs), few academic staff incorporate research participation with teaching activities. This is potentially due to poor time availability and low opinions of students' ability to collect reliable data. This study aims to examine whether involvement with RLRPs can generate reliable scientific data and also act as a motivational tool for engaging tertiary science students. A preexisting core activity for first-year biology and marine biology students was modified to include a short RLRP component. Student-based data collection and a questionnaire about experiences were used to examine the reliability of student-collected data and student perceptions of RLRPs. Results indicated that error rate in student-collected data was minimal. Irrespective of participating in a "normal" practical class or a class with a RLRP component, students collected equally accurate data. However, when the topic aligned specifically with their degree subject, student accuracy was higher. All students surveyed reported high motivation with the idea of RLRP participation, placing high importance on this from an educational and employability perspective. Yet, students were not confident about participating in RLRPs until they had engaged with one, suggesting that introducing such projects into taught sessions early-on may encourage students to seek further opportunities in the future. In conclusion, incorporating RLRPs into the curriculum of undergraduate science courses has considerable potential benefits for both students and academic staff.

Shipping in the north-east Atlantic: Identifying spatial and temporal patterns of change.

Maritime traffic is increasing globally, with a four-fold increase in commercial vessel movements between 1992 and 2012. Vessels contribute to noise and air pollution, provide pathways for non-native species, and collide with marine wildlife. While knowledge of shipping trends and potential environmental impacts exists at both local and global levels, key information on vessel density for regional-scale management is lacking. This study presents the first in-depth spatio-temporal analysis of shipping in the north-east Atlantic region, over three years in a five-year period. Densities increased by 34%, including in 73% of Marine Protected Areas. Western Scotland and the Bay of Biscay experienced the largest increases in vessel density, predominantly from small and slow vessels. Given well-documented impacts that shipping can have on the marine environment, it is crucial that this situation continues to be monitored - particularly in areas designated to protect vulnerable species and ecosystems which may already be under pressure.

Increasing numbers of harbour seals and grey seals in the Solent.

Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) both occur within the UK, but display regional contrasting population trends. While grey seals are typically increasing in number, harbour seals have shown varying trends in recent decades following repeated pandemics. There is a need for monitoring of regional and local populations to understand overall trends. This study utilized a 20-year dataset of seal counts from two neighboring harbours in the Solent region of south England. Generalized additive models showed a significant increase in the numbers of harbour (mean 5.3-30.5) and grey (mean 0-12.0) seals utilizing Chichester Harbour. Conversely, in Langstone Harbour there has been a slight decrease in the number of harbour seals (mean 5.3-4.0). Accompanying photographic data from 2016 to 18 supports the increase in seal numbers within Chichester Harbour, with a total of 68 harbour and 8 grey seals identified. These data also show evidence of site fidelity of harbour seals in this area, with almost a quarter of animals resighted within the past three years. Overall, this long-term study indicates an increasing number of both harbour and grey seals within the Solent. However, more research is required to identify the drivers of this trend.

Impact of the recreational use of virtual reality on physical and mental wellbeing during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes to most aspects of our lives. As a result of the quarantine enforced by governments and authorities worldwide, people had to suddenly adapt their daily routines, including work, study, diet, leisure and fitness activities to the new circumstances. A growing body of research indicates that the engagement with virtual reality (VR) activities can have a positive impact on users' mental and physical wellbeing. This study aims to evaluate the impact of VR activities on users under lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. An online survey was carried out to investigate the recreational use of VR during the lockdown period and to gather users' opinions on its impact on their physical and mental health. Non-parametric tests were used to evaluate the statistical significance of the responses provided by the 646 participants. The results of the survey show that VR use has significantly increased during the lockdown period for most participants, who expressed overwhelmingly positive opinions on the impact of VR activities on their mental and physical wellbeing. Strikingly, self-reported intensity of physical activity was considerably more strenuous in VR users than in console users. Given the current uncertainty as to the duration and course of the pandemic, as well as the possibility of intermittent lockdown in the upcoming years, the outcomes of this study could have a significant impact towards the development and deployment of VR-based strategies aimed at helping the population cope with prolonged social distancing, with particular regards to vulnerable individuals.

Effects of vessel traffic and underwater noise on the movement, behaviour and vocalisations of bottlenose dolphins in an urbanised estuary.

ABSTARCT: The potential disturbance of dolphins from tourism boats has been widely discussed in the literature, in terms of both physical vessel presence and associated underwater noise. However, less attention has been paid to the potential impact of non-tourism vessels, despite these being much more widespread and occurring in greater numbers throughout coastal dolphin habitats. The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus) community using the Fremantle Inner Harbour, Western Australia, is exposed to high levels of vessel traffic. To investigate whether behavioural responses could be occurring, a non-invasive combination of visual and acoustic monitoring was conducted using a theodolite and an autonomous acoustic logger. Dolphins significantly increased their average movement speeds in high vessel densities, but only for some activity states. Behavioural budgets also changed in the presence of vessels, with animals spending greater time travelling and less time resting or socialising. Finally, multiple whistle characteristics varied with rising levels of broadband noise, and other contextual variables. Despite being acoustically specialised for higher frequencies, dolphins had the strongest acoustic variation during low-frequency noise. This study highlights the complexity of disturbance responses in this species, confirming the need for consideration of both surface and acoustic behaviour alongside appropriate contextual data.

Underwater recordings of the whistles of bottlenose dolphins in Fremantle Inner Harbour, Western Australia.

Dolphins use frequency-modulated whistles for a variety of social functions. Whistles vary in their characteristics according to context, such as activity state, group size, group composition, geographic location, and ambient noise levels. Therefore, comparison of whistle characteristics can be used to address numerous research questions regarding dolphin populations and behaviour. However, logistical and economic constraints on dolphin research have resulted in data collection biases, inconsistent analytical approaches, and knowledge gaps. This Data Descriptor presents an acoustic dataset of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) whistles recorded in the Fremantle Inner Harbour, Western Australia. Data were collected using an autonomous recorder and analysed using a range of acoustic measurements. Acoustic data review identified 336 whistles, which were subsequently measured for six key characteristics using Raven Pro software. Of these, 164 'high-quality' whistles were manually measured to provide an additional five acoustic characteristics. Digital files of individual whistles and corresponding measurements make this dataset available to researchers to address future questions regarding variations within and between dolphin communities.

Exploring intra- and inter-reader variability in uni-dimensional, bi-dimensional, and volumetric measurements of solid tumors on CT scans reconstructed at different slice intervals.

OBJECTIVE: Understanding magnitudes of variability when measuring tumor size may be valuable in improving detection of tumor change and thus evaluating tumor response to therapy in clinical trials and care. Our study explored intra- and inter-reader variability of tumor uni-dimensional (1D), bi-dimensional (2D), and volumetric (VOL) measurements using manual and computer-aided methods (CAM) on CT scans reconstructed at different slice intervals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Raw CT data from 30 patients enrolled in oncology clinical trials was reconstructed at 5, 2.5, and 1.25 mm slice intervals. 118 lesions in the lungs, liver, and lymph nodes were analyzed. For each lesion, two independent radiologists manually and, separately, using computer software, measured the maximum diameter (1D), maximum perpendicular diameter, and volume (CAM only). One of them blindly repeated the measurements. Intra- and inter-reader variability for the manual method and CAM were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models and Bland-Altman method. RESULTS: For the three slice intervals, the maximum coefficients of variation for manual intra-/inter-reader variability were 6.9%/9.0% (1D) and 12.3%/18.0% (2D), and for CAM were 5.4%/9.3% (1D), 11.3%/18.8% (2D) and 9.3%/18.0% (VOL). Maximal 95% reference ranges for the percentage difference in intra-reader measurements for manual 1D and 2D, and CAM VOL were (-15.5%, 25.8%), (-27.1%, 51.6%), and (-22.3%, 33.6%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Variability in measuring the diameter and volume of solid tumors, manually and by CAM, is affected by CT slice interval. The 2.5mm slice interval provides the least measurement variability. Among the three techniques, 2D has the greatest measurement variability compared to 1D and 3D.

Assessing the effect of CT slice interval on unidimensional, bidimensional and volumetric measurements of solid tumours.

OBJECTIVES: To study the magnitude of differences in tumour unidimensional (1D), bidimensional (2D) and volumetric (VOL) measurements determined from computed tomography (CT) images reconstructed at 5, 2.5 and 1.25 mm slice intervals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 118 lesions in lung, liver and lymph nodes were selected from 30 patients enrolled in early phase clinical trials. Each CT scan was reconstructed at 5, 2.5 and 1.25 mm slice intervals during the image acquisition. Lesions were semi-automatically segmented on each interval image series and supervised by a radiologist. 1D, 2D and VOL were computed based on the final segmentation results. Average measurement differences across different slice intervals were obtained using linear mixed-effects analysis of variance models. RESULTS: Lesion diameters ranged from 6.1 to 80.1 mm (median 18.4 mm). The largest difference was seen between 1.25 and 5 mm (mean difference of 7.6% for 1D [P < 0.0001], 13.1% for 2D [P < 0.0001], -5.7% for VOL [P = 0.0001]). Mean differences between 1.25 and 2.5 mm were all within ±3.5% (within ±6% confidence interval). For VOL, there was a larger average difference between measurements on different slice intervals for the smaller lesions (<10 mm) compared with the larger lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Different slice intervals may give different 1D, 2D and VOL measurements. In clinical practice, it would be prudent to use the same slice interval for consecutive measurements.

Advanced solid tumors treated with cediranib: comparison of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging and CT as markers of vascular activity.

PURPOSE: To assess baseline reproducibility and compare performance of dynamic contrast material-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging versus DCE computed tomographic (CT) measures of early vascular response in the same patients treated with cediranib (30 or 45 mg daily). MATERIALS AND METHODS: After institutional review board approval, written informed consent was obtained from 29 patients with advanced solid tumors who had lesions 3 cm or larger and in whom simultaneous imaging of an adjacent artery was possible. Two baseline DCE MR acquisitions and two baseline DCE CT acquisitions 7 days or fewer apart (within 14 days of starting treatment) and two posttreatment acquisitions with each modality at day 7 and 28 (±3 days) were obtained. Nonmodeled and modeled parameters were derived (measured arterial input function [AIF] for CT, population-based AIF for MR imaging; temporal sampling rate of 0.5 second for CT, 3-6 seconds for MR imaging). Baseline variability was assessed by using intra- and intersubject analysis of variance and Bland-Altman analysis; a paired t test assessed change from baseline to after treatment. RESULTS: The most reproducible parameters were DCE MR imaging enhancement fraction (baseline intrapatient coefficient of variation [CV]=8.6%), volume transfer constant (CV=13.9%), and integrated area under the contrast agent uptake curve at 60 seconds (CV=15.5%) and DCE CT positive enhancement integral (CV=16.0%). Blood plasma volume was highly variable and the only parameter with CV greater than 30%. Average reductions (percentage change) from baseline were consistently observed for all DCE MR imaging and DCE CT parameters at day 7 and 28 for both starting-dose groups (45 and 30 mg), except for DCE CT mean transit time. Percentage change from baseline for parameters reflecting blood flow and permeability were comparable, and reductions from baseline at day 7 were maintained at day 28. CONCLUSION: DCE MR imaging and DCE CT can depict vascular response to antiangiogenic agents with response evident at day 7. Improved reproducibility with MR imaging favors its use in trials with small patient numbers.