No abstract

The quality of biodiversity data publicly accessible via aggregators such as GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility), the ALA (Atlas of Living Australia), iDigBio (Integrated Digitized Biocollections), and OBIS (Ocean Biogeographic Information System) is often questioned, especially by the research community. The Data Quality Interest Group, established by Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) and GBIF, has been engaged in four main activities: developing a framework for the assessment and management of data quality using a fitness for use approach; defining a core set of standardised tests and associated assertions based on Darwin Core terms; gathering and classifying user stories to form contextual-themed use cases, such as species distribution modelling, agrobiodiversity, and invasive species; and developing a standardised format for building and managing controlled vocabularies of values. Using the developed framework, data quality profiles have been built from use cases to represent user needs. Quality assertions can then be used to filter data suitable for a purpose. The assertions can also be used to provide feedback to data providers and custodians to assist in improving data quality at the source. A case study, using two different implementations of tests and assertions based around the Darwin Core "Event Date" terms, were also tested against GBIF data, to demonstrate that the tests are implementation agnostic, can be run on large aggregated datasets, and can make biodiversity data more fit for typical research uses.

Although mentioned in the UK pandemic plan, essential service providers were not among the priority groups. They may be important targets of future influenza pandemic vaccination campaigns. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among 380 employees from West Midlands police headquarters and 15 operational command units in the West Midlands Area during December 2009–February 2010 to identify factors affecting intention to accept the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) vaccine. One hundred and ninety nine (52.4%) employees completed the questionnaire. 39.7% were willing to accept the vaccine. The most common reasons for intention to accept were worry about catching Swine Flu (n = 42, 53.2%) and about infecting others (n = 40, 50.6%). The most common reason for declination was worry about side effects (n = 45, 57.0%). The most important factor predicting vaccine uptake was previous receipt of seasonal vaccine (OR 7.9 (95% CI 3.4, 18.5)). Employees aged <40 years, males, current smokers, and those who perceived a greater threat and severity of swine flu were also more likely to agree to the vaccine. The findings of this study could be used to improve future pandemic immunization strategies. Targeted education programs should be used to address misconceptions; the single most important factor which might lead to a large improvement in uptake is to allay concern about side effects.

The next generation of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)-like dual-satellite geodesy missions proposals will rely on inter-spacecraft laser interferometry as the primary instrument to recover geodesy signals. Laser frequency stability is one of the main limits of this measurement and is important at two distinct timescales: short timescales over 10-1000 seconds to measure the local gravity below the satellites, and at the month to year timescales, where the subsequent gravity measurements are compared to indicate loss or gain of mass (or water and ice) over that period. This paper demonstrates a simple phase modulation scheme to directly measure laser frequency change over long timescales by comparing an on-board Ultra-Stable Oscillator (USO) clocked frequency reference to the Free Spectral Range (FSR) of the on-board optical cavity. By recording the fractional frequency variations the scale correction factor may be computed for a laser locked to a known longitudinal mode of the optical cavity. The experimental results demonstrate a fractional absolute laser frequency stability at the 10 ppb level (10−8) at time scales greater than 10 000 seconds, likely sufficient for next generation mission requirements.

As space debris in lower Earth orbits are accumulating, techniques to lower the risk of space debris collisions must be developed. Within the context of the Space Environment Research Centre (SERC), the Australian National University (ANU) is developing an adaptive optics system for tracking and pushing space debris. The strategy is to pre-condition a laser launched from a 1.8 m telescope operated by Electro Optics Systems (EOS) on Mount Stromlo, Canberra and direct it at an object to perturb its orbit. Current progress towards implementing this experiment, which will ensure automated operation between the telescope and the adaptive optics system, will be presented.