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An active ensemble classifier for detecting animal sequences from global camera trap data
Full text link1. Camera traps can generate huge amounts of images, and thus reliable methods for their automated processing are in high demand: in particular to find those images or image sequences that actually include animals. Automatically filtering out images that are empty or contain humans can be challenging, as images can be taken in different landscapes, habitats and light. Weather and seasonal conditions can vary greatly. Most of the images can be empty, because cameras using passive infrared sensors (PIR) trigger easily due to moving vegetation or rapidly varying shadows and sunny spots. Animals in images are often hiding behind vegetation, and camera traps will see them from previously unseen angles. Therefore, conventional animal image detection methods based on deep learning need huge training sets to achieve good accuracy.
2. We present a novel background removal approach based on movement masked images computed using sequences of images. Our deep vision classifier uses these movement images for classification instead of the original images. Additionally, we apply a deep active learning (active learning for deep models) for collecting training samples to reduce the number of annotations required from the user.
3. Our method performed well in singling out image sequences that actually include animals, thus filtering out the majority of images that were empty or contained humans. Most importantly, the method performed well also for backgrounds and animal species not seen in the training data. Active learning brought good separation between classes already with small training sets, without the need for laborious large-scale pre-annotation.
4. We present a reliable and efficient method for filtering out empty image sequences and sequences containing humans. This greatly facilitates camera trapping research by enabling researchers to restrict the task of animal classification to only those image sequences that actually contain animals
Production of Protease Inhibitor With Penicillium sp. — Optimization of the Medium for Growth in Pellet Form and Cytotoxicity Testing
Full text linkPenicillium sp. (IBWF 040-09) produces a protease inhibitor that can potentially be used against the main protease of human African trypanosomiasis. Since the target substance is formed intracellularly (under nutrient limitation), the fungal pellet is preferred compared to the free mycelia in bioreactor cultivation. The optimization of the production of protease inhibitor became the main focus of this study. The effects of the concentrations of spores, calcium chloride, and Pluronic F68 were investigated with regard to fungal growth, pellet morphology, and the production of protease inhibitor. The combination of adjusting the spore concentration and adding Pluronic F68 and calcium chloride increased the probability of achieving the desired morphology. This ensured better reproducibility of the production of the target substance by Penicillium sp. (IBWF 040-09) with the bioreactor system used. In addition, the protease inhibitor was tested in a resazurin assay and showed no noticeable cytotoxic effects on peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from whole blood cells
Ecological Awareness and the Power of Law in Realizing the Rights of Nature
Full text linkThe current global scenario is marked by conflicts, inequalities, and geopolitical tensions, which have created a growing sense of global insecurity, combined with the stagnation of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the worsening of the climate emergency. This situation presents outcomes completely opposed to the promise of a better future, with greater prosperity and peace, which technological and scientific advances were supposed to bring to both people and the planet. These outcomes also demonstrate that we are wasting the opportunity to use technology, science, and global interconnectedness to achieve the aforementioned improvements (United Nations, 2024, Dec 22nd).
The global community needs to find real solutions capable of changing the course we are setting for the future of the planet and humanity.
In this regard, during the Summit of the Future, held in September 2024, world leaders made a series of commitments to sustainable development, financing for development, peace, international security, science, technology, innovation and digital cooperation, youth, future generations, and the transformation of global governance, establishing the “Pact for the Future” and its annexes: the “Global Digital Compact” and the “Declaration on Future Generations”, which aim to create international mechanisms to respond to current and future challenges and opportunities, striving for more security, justice, sustainability, and prosperity (United Nations, 2024, Sep).
In face to this scenario, environmental protection has become one of the greatest challenges for the global community. To address this, we need to mobilize all the means and resources available across various fields of knowledge. Among the tools available for environmental protection, ecological awareness and the transformative power of legal systems stand out, as well as the influences these instruments can have on each other in a mutual and continuous manner
Integration of Conventional and Virtual Reality Approaches in Augmented Reality for Theory-Based Psychoeducational Intervention Design for Chronic Low Back Pain: Scoping Review
Full text linkBackground: Psychoeducation positively influences the psychological components of chronic low back pain (CLBP) in conventional treatments. The digitalization of health care has led to the discussion of virtual reality (VR) interventions. However, CLBP treatments in VR have some limitations due to full immersion. In comparison, augmented reality (AR) supplements the real world with virtual elements involving one’s own body sensory perception and can combine conventional and VR approaches.
Objective: The aim of this study was to review the state of research on the treatment of CLBP through psychoeducation, including immersive technologies, and to formulate suggestions for psychoeducation in AR for CLBP.
Methods: A scoping review following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines was performed in August 2024 by using Livivo ZB MED, PubMed, Web of Science, American Psychological Association PsycINFO (PsycArticle), and PsyArXiv Preprints databases. A qualitative content analysis of the included studies was conducted based on 4 deductively extracted categories.
Results: We included 12 studies published between 2019 and 2024 referring to conventional and VR-based psychoeducation for CLBP treatment, but no study referred to AR. In these studies, educational programs were combined with physiotherapy, encompassing content on pain biology, psychological education, coping strategies, and relaxation techniques. The key outcomes were pain intensity, kinesiophobia, pain catastrophizing, degree of disability, quality of life, well-being, self-efficacy, depression, attrition rate, and user experience. Passive, active, and gamified strategies were used to promote intrinsic motivation from a psychological point of view. Regarding user experience from a software development perspective, user friendliness, operational support, and application challenges were recommended.
Conclusions: For the development of a framework for an AR-based psychoeducational intervention for CLBP, the combination of theories of acceptance and use of technologies with insights from health psychological behavior change theories appears to be of great importance. An example of a theory-based design of a psychoeducation intervention in AR for CLBP is proposed and discussed
The Te Awa Tupua Act: How Nature’s Legal Standing Strengthens Indigenous and Human Rights
Full text linkThis chapter illustrates the interconnections between indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights, and environmental protection, highlighting their potential to reinforce each other within the context of the RoN. Through the case study of the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017, the discussion examines the implementation of RoN in Aotearoa, New Zealand, its alignment with Māori legal and spiritual traditions, and the broader implications for the country’s environmental policy, justice frameworks, and decolonization efforts
Going to the Court doesn’t ensure that the environment will be protected
Full text linkConclusion: In short, individuals play an essential role in monitoring the way in which State regulations are put into practice in relation to the protection of nature and, although civil society has proposed the recognition of RoNs, it cannot lose sight of the fact that the ideal and most effective mechanism to achieve this is through ex ante and ex post protection by the States and their respective Public Administration, for which a greater development of Administrative Law and the rate of compliance of its entities is required, which is directly related to the political will of the authorities, against which action can be taken. Finally, opting for the judicial route as the only mechanism for the protection of nature is insufficient; however, if this is used in conjunction with the demand to the Public Administration indicated in the previous point, better results can be obtained. For this, instead of creating new judicial processes or subjects of rights, it is recommended to use legal figures that already have a doctrinal and legal development that allow achieving the same objectives as quickly as possible in time, such as the jurisdictional protection of diffuse interests
Legal Instruments to Protect the Environment outside of Rights of Nature
Full text linkThe debate on whether nature should have its own rights has been carried out for decades, ever since the concept was introduced by Stone (1972). The intention has remained the same: protect natural entities within our anthropocentric world by using our own weapons. Although preserving the environment has become an even more urgent matter with the progressing loss in biodiversity, at the same time, legal instruments for its protection have evolved as well. This raises the question of the necessity of Rights of Nature. Were all those legal tools enforced in an effective and timely manner, would our environment be sufficiently protected from human interferences?
The current legal system, especially in European countries, is based on an anthropocentric view of the world. This grants natural entities protection only in their relation and worth to humans. Acknowledging nature’s inherent value might be a new innovative idea within western societies. However, it is a concept that has been practiced by indigenous peoples for a long time. Their ecocentric worldview has been eradicated from international and national law by colonialists (Guzmán, 2019). By introducing Rights of Nature in Europe, this ecocentric approach would be included in a legal system that is still based in a society in which anthropocentric views are deeply rooted. Despite the growing awareness of human effects on nature and the necessity to protect the planet as well as prevent further climate change, granting natural entities intrinsic rights would require a paradigm shift not only in European law systems but also in western societies (Peppoloni, 2024).
Since rapid action is vital for preserving our environment, it is questionable whether enough time remains for such a fundamental transition. Using and enhancing existing tools within the current system might be more effective. Therefore, the following article will show legal instruments already in place. As they are partly still lacking in their execution, room for improvement will be demonstrated, which would finally enable them to together provide sufficient protection for European nature. Namely, these tools include the Precautionary Principle, Human Rights, Nature Conservation laws and the possibility of litigation on behalf of the environment. These assessments will be made from a European point of view. It should be noted that analysing legal tools within other parts of the world rooted in different cultures might lead to divergent results
Legal Fetishism in Times of Polycrisis
Full text linkConclusion: Law is, and will ever be, a human (a societal) construct. As such, its instruments will always, tably, require human mediation. Given the seemly unstoppable acceleration of the ecological crisis, it is plausible that innovative proposals start to challenge the human-nature dualism enshrined in Law. Nevertheless, in doing so, some proposals risk fetishizing concepts, being merely performative without demonstrating real capacity to challenge the dualistic structure of the legal order. In fact, rights are a markedly humanistic juridical figure; therefore, transplanting them to non-human subjects generates a series of dogmatic problems, while reproducing the same individualistic worldview. The RoN are congenitally divisive and reductionist, forcing an unnatural enclosure of ecological systems in contained units and putting them in competition with other (human) rights. This is precisely what should be avoided if we take the present predicament seriously.
The focus of an authentically transformative legal theory should not be to extend the legal realm to colonize nature. On the contrary, the focus should be on integrating ecological dynamics into the legal order. Instead of giving rights to nature, we should be attributing humans stringent obligations towards nature. If the goal is to affect human behavior, which is the source of the immense devastation unraveling, then the reasonable way forward is to act on human behavior. It is the Law that must “ecologize”, not the other way around
The Case of Run Run and the Emergence of a Nature Centered Legal Framework
Full text linkIncreasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events are already affecting the European continent, posing serious threats to both the well-being of its citizens and its economies. Droughts are becoming more common and more intense, leading to reduced agricultural yields and higher rates of tree mortality (Buras et al., 2020). Coupled with rising temperatures, these conditions have resulted in an increase in wildfires, particularly in countries such as Greece and Portugal (European Forest Fire Information System, 2024). These fires not only devastate forests and biodiversity, but they also endanger public health and safety (European Climate and Health Observatory, 2024). Wildfires generally also release vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, which exacerbates climate change and creates a dangerous feedback loop (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2016).
While droughts and heatwaves are pressing issues, the opposite problem – excessive water – has be come a significant challenge as well, as flooding is the most frequent type of extreme weather event in Europe (CRED, 2021), with events like the 2021 floods in Germany and Belgium causing approximately 43 billion USD in damages. (Yale Climate Connections, 2022).
The impact of these events could increasingly threaten Europe’s economic interests by destabilizing key industries, such as agriculture, tourism or health care, and damaging billions worth of properties and infrastructure as climate change progresses. (Ciscar et al., 2011) A study indicated that Germany alone might face economic costs of up to 920 billion Euros by 2050 because of climate change. (GWS et al., 2022). But more importantly, these events endanger basic survival, as they can undermine food and water security and create public health crises. As Europe struggles to adapt, the increasing costs and risks highlight the urgent need for more comprehensive and innovative legal protection for the environment.
An innovative legal approach to better protect nature could be the concept of Rights of Nature (RoN). By granting natural entities “legal personhood” and therefore enabling them to have standing in court, it may become easier and more effective to protect the environment and climate from competing – often economic – interests.
The following chapters will delve into the idea of awarding legal rights to natural entities within the European context, drawing inspiration from the story of “Run Run,” a fox in Peru that was granted subjective rights
Economic Challenges and the Rights of Nature: A Conflict Between Sustainable Growth and Environmental Conservation
Full text linkFollowing arguments about feasibility of implementing and application of the Rights of Nature, this article is based on the exposition of elements of an economic nature in opposition to the (confirming) proclaimed position, adding a new point of view in relation to the different perspectives.
Therefore, the perspectives proposed here will be divided into three argumentative nuclei: the inability to maintain the actual environmental programs as a competitive economy, custom of all these projects to the members of the European Union and the energy crisis, linked to the failure to agree on new plans for energy supplies across