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Despite the increased access to scientific publications and data as a result of open science initiatives, access to scientific tools remains limited. Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) can be a powerful tool for research in disciplines such as agriculture and environmental sciences, but their use in research is currently dominated by proprietary, closed source tools. The objective of this work was to collect, curate, organize and test a set of open source tools for aerial data capture for research purposes. The Open Science Drone Toolkit was built through a collaborative and iterative process by more than 100 people in five countries, and comprises an open-hardware autonomous drone and off-the-shelf hardware, open-source software, and guides and protocols that enable the user to perform all the necessary tasks to obtain aerial data. Data obtained with this toolkit over a wheat field was compared to data from satellite imagery and a commercial hand-held sensor, finding a high correlation for both instruments. Our results demonstrate the possibility of capturing research-grade aerial data using affordable, accessible, and customizable open source software and hardware, and using open workflows., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Pereyra Irujo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objective: To evaluate whether telomere length (TL), mitochondrial-DNA (mt-DNA) or epigenetic age estimators based on DNA methylation (DNAm) pattern could be considered reliable predictors of in-vitro-fertilization (IVF) success in terms of live birth rate., Design: Prospective cohort study., Setting: Infertility Unit of the Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico., Patients: 181 women aged 37-39 years who underwent IVF at a single-centre between January 2017 and December 2018., Interventions: On the day of recruitment, blood samples were collected, and genomic DNA was isolated from white blood cells. TL, mt-DNA and DNAm assessment was performed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Biological age (DNAm age) was computed as the algorithm based on methylation pattern of five genes. Epigenetic age acceleration was estimated from the residuals of the linear model of epigenetic age regressed on chronological age. Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements (LINE)-1 methylation pattern was used as a surrogate for global DNA methylation., Main Outcome Measures: This study investigated whether peripheral TL, mt-DNA and DNAm could predict live birth in IVF cycles., Results: TL, mt-DNA and LINE-1 methylation were not associated with IVF success. Conversely, DNAm age resulted significantly lower in women who had a live birth compared to women who did not (36.1 ± 4.2 and 37.3 ± 3.3 years, respectively, p = 0.04). For DNAm age, odds ratio (OR) for live birth per year of age was 0.90 (95%CI: 0.82-0.99, p = 0.036) after adjusting for FSH and antral follicle count (AFC) and 0.90 (95%CI: 0.82-0.99, p = 0.028) after adjusting also for number of oocytes retrieved. A significant association also emerged for epigenetic age acceleration after adjustments (OR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.83-1.00, p = 0.048)., Conclusion: DNAm age is associated with IVF success but the magnitude of this association is insufficient to claim a clinical use. However, our findings are promising and warrant further investigation. Assessment of biological age using different epigenetic clocks or focusing on different tissues may reveal new predictors of IVF success., Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Dr. Somigliana reports grants from Ferring, grants and personal fees from Merck-Serono, grants and personal fees from Theramex, personal fees from Gedeon-Richter, outside the submitted work. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials, as detailed online in your guide for authors. All the other authors have no competing interests in relation to this study.

Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) is a major natural cause of morbidity and mortality in cetaceans worldwide and results in epidemic and endemic fatalities. The pathogenesis of CeMV has not been fully elucidated, and questions remain regarding tissue tropism and the mechanisms of immunosuppression. We compared the histopathologic and viral immunohistochemical features in molecularly confirmed CeMV-infected Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) from the Southwestern Atlantic (Brazil) and striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Northeast-Central Atlantic (Canary Islands, Spain) and the Western Mediterranean Sea (Italy). Major emphasis was placed on the central nervous system (CNS), including neuroanatomical distribution of lesions, and the lymphoid system and lung were also examined. Eleven Guiana dolphins, 13 striped dolphins, and 3 bottlenose dolphins were selected by defined criteria. CeMV infections showed a remarkable neurotropism in striped dolphins and bottlenose dolphins, while this was a rare feature in CeMV-infected Guiana dolphins. Neuroanatomical distribution of lesions in dolphins stranded in the Canary Islands revealed a consistent involvement of the cerebrum, thalamus, and cerebellum, followed by caudal brainstem and spinal cord. In most cases, Guiana dolphins had more severe lung lesions. The lymphoid system was involved in all three species, with consistent lymphoid depletion. Multinucleate giant cells/syncytia and characteristic viral inclusion bodies were variably observed in these organs. Overall, there was widespread lymphohistiocytic, epithelial, and neuronal/neuroglial viral antigen immunolabeling with some individual, host species, and CeMV strain differences. Preexisting and opportunistic infections were common, particularly endoparasitism, followed by bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. These results contribute to understanding CeMV infections in susceptible cetacean hosts in relation to factors such as CeMV strains and geographic locations, thereby establishing the basis for future neuro- and immunopathological comparative investigations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer mainly caused by asbestos exposure and refractory to current therapies. Specific diagnostic markers for early MPM diagnosis are needed. Changes in miRNA expression have been implicated in several diseases and cancers, including MPM. We examined if a specific miRNA signature in plasmatic extracellular vesicles (EV) may help to discriminate between malignant pleural mesothelioma patients (MPM) and subjects with Past Asbestos Exposure (PAE)., Methodology/principal Findings: We investigated 23 MPM patients and 19 cancer-free subjects with past asbestos exposure (PAE). We screened 754 miRNAs in plasmatic EVs by OpenArray and found 55 differential miRNAs using logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and smoking. Among the top-20 differential miRNAs chosen for validation by Real time PCR, 16 were confirmed. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the most discriminating miRNA combination was given by miR-103a-3p + miR-30e-3p, which generated an AUC of 0.942 (95% CI 0.87-1.00), with a sensitivity of 95.5% and a specificity of 80.0%. Using multivariate Cox regression analysis including gender, age, BMI and smoking we found a Hazard Ratio for miR-103a-3p above the median of 0.37 (95%CI 0.13-1.13) and of 0.51 (95%CI 0.17-1.52) for miR-30e-3p., Conclusions: This study suggests EV-associated miR-103a-3p and miR-30e-3p are able to discriminate MPM from PAE subjects. Larger and prospective studies are needed to confirm these two-miRNA signature alone or in combination with other biomarkers as diagnostic tools for MPM.