Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large-scale random features for kernel regression

Kernel methods constitute a family of powerful machine learning algorithms, which have found wide use in remote sensing and geosciences. However, kernel methods are still not widely adopted because of the high computational cost when dealing with large scale problems, such as the inversion of radiative transfer models. This paper introduces the method of random kitchen sinks (RKS) for fast statistical retrieval of bio-geo-physical parameters. The RKS method allows to approximate a kernel matrix with a set of random bases sampled from the Fourier domain. We extend their use to other bases, such as wavelets, stumps, and Walsh expansions. We show that kernel regression is now possible for datasets with millions of examples and high dimensionality. Examples on atmospheric parameter retrieval from infrared sounders and biophysical parameter retrieval by inverting PROSAIL radiative transfer models with simulated Sentinel-2 data show the effectiveness of the technique.
Multitemporal polarimetric SAR images for urban areas

In the context of rapid global urbanization, urban environments represent one of the most dynamic regions on earth. Even in developed countries the yearly conversion of natural or agricultural space into residential, industrial or transport areas frequently exceeds 100 ha. The current increase in population has resulted in widespread spatial changes, particularly rapid development of built-up areas, in the city and its environs. Due to these rapid changes, up-to-date spatial information is requisite for the effective management and mitigation of the effects of built-up dynamics. Various studies have shown the potential of high resolution optical satellite data for the detection and classification of urban area. Nevertheless optical satellite imagery is characterized by a high dependency in weather conditions and daytime. Thus, particularly in case of regional and national surveys within a short period of time, disaster management, or when data have to be acquired at specific dates, radar systems are more valuable. Thus, the new generation of civil space borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)-Systems with short revisit can serve as a valuable instrument. Furthermore, there is today a growing access to available data, with revisit times shorter and shorter, improved available resolutions, and a diversification of polarimetric modes. Thus, promising approaches towards the classification of urban area include the analysis of multipolarized image analysis.
Correction of ionospheric and tropospheric path delay for L-band interferograms

The differential atmospheric path delay is a major error source in L-band interferograms. Refractivity index variations with respect to the nominal value, in the troposphere and in the ionosphere, delay the propagation of radio waves changing the slant range distance. This additional delay is superimposed to topography and ground deformation signals, hindering the measure of geophysical processes. Therefore, it needs to be corrected. In this work we present the correction results for two test cases. We mitigate the impact of height-dependent tropospheric effects (stratified delay) with a method based on the direct integration using numerical weather prediction data. We compensate the ionospheric delay using the split-spectrum method, which is based on the dispersive nature of the ionosphere and estimates the delay from the SAR data itself. Errors are reduced from almost one meter to a centimeter level.
A new approach for the validation of coarse-resolution satellite soil moisture products

Soil moisture plays a crucial role in the terrestrial water cycle. It can be estimated by manual measurements for a small watershed, while this is very time-consuming when applied in the large scale. The remote sensing technology provides a new approach to monitor the soil moisture in a large scale. However, it should be evaluated before being used. In the study, the L-band Microwave Emission of the Biosphere model (L-MEB) model was used to retrieve the soil moisture based on the airborne brightness temperature in the Heihe River Basin, then the retrieved soil moisture was aggregated to 25km based on the area weighting factor method. The aggregated soil moisture was used to validate the two AMSR2 data: the JAXA soil moisture products and the LPRM soil moisture products. The results shows the JAXA SM products has an underestimation compared with the pixel-averaged SM, and the LPRM SM products is higher than the pixel-averaged SM.
Emergency obstetric performance with emphasis on operative delivery outcome: Does it reflect the quality of care?

Background: In Ethiopia, in the previous studies, the rates of perinatal and maternal mortality were reported as one of the highest in the world. Objective: The purpose of the study was to analyze the rates of variables-specific perinatal deaths, maternal and perinatal case fatality rates and to determine common indications of operative deliveries with their out come indicators. Method: A retrospective one-year medical record review of major emergency obstetric performance was conducted in Tikur Anbessa specialized hospital. Result: During the study period, 3897 women with pregnancy related problems were admitted and managed as an emergency cases: 92% with gestational age of 28 weeks & above, 5.8% abortion, 2.0% ectopic pregnancy and 0.2% gestational trophoblastic disease. The 3583 women gave birth to 3672 babies, of which, 337 were perinatal deaths, making the gross perinatal and early neonatal mortality rates 91.8 and 26.1/1000 births each, respectively. The three leading causes of perinatal mortality were malpresentation (13.1%), uterine rupture (12.5%) and obstructed labor (11.9%), with obstructed labor and eclampsia the highest case-fatality rates (86.9-100% and 72.7%, respectively). The maternal mortality ratio was 1107.5/100,000 live births and the top three-implicated causes were postabortal complications (28.9%), eclampsia (21.1%) and ruptured uterus (15.8%). Operative (abdominal or vaginal) deliveries were performed for 43.1% babies. Fetal distress was the commonest indication for operative deliveries (32.5%) as well as the commonest cause of low Apgar scores at the 1st minute (61.4%). Conclusion: Three-fourths of the total perinatal deaths were stillbirths, 94.2% referred. About half (48.9%) of the total causes of perinatal deaths were mechanical factors, predominantly obstructed labor that could have been totally averted if the system of basic obstetric care was properly established. Preventable obstetric complications such as abortion, eclampsia and uterine rupture are still the foremost causes of maternal deaths. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2004;18(2):96-106]
An overview of group sequential methods in longitudinal clinical trials

During the last decade, several papers have been published on group sequential methods in general and on sequential longitudinal clinical trials in particular. This paper gives an overview of the proposed methods, emphasizing longitudinal clinical trials. Furthermore, it tries to answer some practical questions that may arise during the conduct of interim analyses in longitudinal trials. Simulations have been carried out to obtain insight in these practical considerations.
O perfil da violência contra crianças e adolescentes, segundo registros de Conselhos Tutelares: vítimas, agressores e manifestações de violência

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of violence against children and adolescents through the records of Child Protection Councils, associating this violence with the age of the victims and their links with the aggressor. METHOD: Data were collected from the records and the prevalence rates were calculated through the Prevalence Ratio (PR), together with the associations among variables, with a critical level of 5%. RESULTS: Out of 1,293 records of violence, 1,011 (78.1%), originated in the home. The most frequent types of violence were: neglect (727), failure to provide basic care (304) and abandonment (259); physical violence (455), beatings (392) between 2 and 13 years old; psychological violence (374) through threats (219); sexual violence (68) through abuse (58), mainly among adolescents. Denunciations were mainly (398) anonymous (30.8%); the aggressors through neglect were the parents; through physical violence, the stepmother and "other aggressors"; through sexual violence, the stepfather and "other relatives / aggressors"; psychological violence was prevalent among all aggressor categories. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate the need to extend the Anti-Violence Hot-line facilities, training Council Members in terms of keeping proper records, and implementing policies designed to prevent violence against children and adolescents.
Atmospheric influences analysis in passive microwave remote sensing

Passive microwave remote sensing has all-weather work capabilities, but atmospheric media have different influences on satellite microwave brightness temperature under different atmospheric conditions and environments. In order to clarify atmospheric influences on Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), atmospheric radiation were simulated based on AMSR-E configuration under clear sky and cloudy conditions, by using radiative transfer model and atmospheric conditions data. Results showed that atmospheric water vapor was the major factor for atmospheric radiation under clear sky condition. Atmospheric transmittances were almost above 0.98 at AMSR-E's low frequencies (<;18.7GHz) and the microwave brightness temperature changes caused by atmosphere can be ignored in clear sky condition. Atmospheric transmittances at 36.5GHz and 89GHz were 0.896 and 0.756 respectively. The effects of atmospheric water vapor needed to be corrected when using microwave high-frequency channels to inverse land surface parameters in clear sky condition. But under cloud covered conditions, cloud liquid water was the key factor to cause atmospheric radiation. When sky was covered by typical stratus cloud, atmospheric transmittances at 10.7GHz, 18.7GHz and 36.5GHz were 0.942, 0.828 and 0.605 respectively. Comparing with the clear sky condition, the down-welling atmospheric radiation caused by cloud liquid water increased up to 75.365K at 36.5GHz. It showed that the atmospheric correction under clouds covered condition was the primary work to improve the accuracy of land surface parameters inversion of passive microwave remote sensing. The results also provided the basis for microwave atmospheric correction algorithm development. Finally, the atmospheric sounding data was utilized to calculate the atmospheric transmittance of Hailaer Region, Inner Mongolia province, China, in July 2013. The results indicated that atmospheric transmittances were close to 1 at C-band and X-band. 89GHz was greatly influenced by water vapor and its atmospheric transmittance was not more than 0.7. Atmospheric transmittances in Hailaer Region had a relatively stable value at low frequencies(<;18.7GHz) in summer, but had about 0.1 fluctuations with the local water vapor changes at high frequencies.
Texture-based forest cover classification using random forests and ensemble margin

This work investigates the discriminative power of wavelet decomposition based texture features in forest cover classification. Our texture features are used as inputs in a random forests classifier. The performances of this tree-based ensemble classifier are assessed by classification accuracy as well as classification confidence provided by an unsupervised version of ensemble margin. The effectiveness of the proposed texture based multiple classifier system is demonstrated in performing mapping of very high resolution forest imagery. Traditional grey level co-occurrence matrix derived texture features are also evaluated through our ensemble classification framework for comparison.
MEASUREMENT OF CARDIAC OUTPUT IN ANÆSTHETIZED ANIMALS BY A THERMO‐DILUTION METHOD

A method for the determination in anaesthetized dogs of the right and left cardiac outputs has been described; it depends upon accurate and fast recording of the blood temperature changes which occur in the right ventricle and aorta when cold Ringer solution or blood is injected into the inferior vena cava. The curves defining the blood temperature changes are time-concentration curves, from which the blood flow at the sites of the recording thermocouples can be estimated with an accuracy which is roughly the accuracy of the Fick method. Various errors to which the technique may be subject are considered; attempts have been made to compute their effects quantitatively. The method is here described as the “thermo-dilution” method.
The impact of profitability of hospital admissions on mortality.

BACKGROUND Fiscal constraints faced by Medicare are leading to policies designed to reduce expenditures. Evidence of the effect of reduced reimbursement on the mortality of Medicare patients discharged from all major hospital service lines is limited. METHODS We modeled risk-adjusted 30-day mortality of patients discharged from 21 hospital service lines as a function of service line profitability, service line time trends, and hospital service line and year-fixed effects. We simulated the effect of alternative revenue-neutral reimbursement policies on mortality. Our sample included all Medicare discharges from PPS-eligible hospitals (1997, 2001, and 2005). RESULTS The results reveal a statistically significant inverse relationship between changes in profitability and mortality. A $0.19 average reduction in profit per $1.00 of costs led to a 0.010-0.020 percentage-point increase in mortality rates (p < .001). Mortality in newly unprofitable service lines is significantly more sensitive to reduced payment generosity than in service lines that remain profitable. Policy simulations that target service line inequities in payment generosity result in lower mortality rates, roughly 700-13,000 fewer deaths nationally. CONCLUSIONS The policy simulations raise questions about the trade-offs implicit in universal reductions in reimbursement. The effect of reduced payment generosity on mortality could be mitigated by targeting highly profitable services only for lower reimbursement.
Resource use trajectories for aged medicare beneficiaries with complex coronary conditions.

OBJECTIVE To use coronary revascularization choice to illustrate the application of a method simulating a treatment's effect on subsequent resource use. DATA SOURCES Medicare inpatient and outpatient claims from 2002 to 2008 for patients receiving multivessel revascularization for symptomatic coronary disease in 2003-2004. STUDY DESIGN This retrospective cohort study of 102,877 beneficiaries assessed survival, days in institutional settings, and Medicare payments for up to 6 years following receipt of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS A three-part estimator designed to provide robust estimates of a treatment's effect in the setting of mortality and censored follow-up was used. The estimator decomposes the treatment effect into effects attributable to survival differences versus treatment-related intensity of resource use. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS After adjustment, on average CABG recipients survived 23 days longer, spent an 11 additional days in institutional settings, and had cumulative Medicare payments that were $12,834 higher than PCI recipients. The majority of the differences in institutional days and payments were due to intensity rather than survival effects. CONCLUSIONS In this example, the survival benefit from CABG was modest and the resource implications were substantial, although further adjustments for treatment selection are needed.
Income eligibility thresholds, premium contributions, and children's coverage outcomes: a study of CHIP expansions.

OBJECTIVE To understand the effects of Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) income eligibility thresholds and premium contribution requirements on health insurance coverage outcomes among children. DATA SOURCES 2002-2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplements of the Current Population Survey linked to data from multiple secondary data sources. STUDY DESIGN We use a selection correction model to simultaneously estimate program eligibility and coverage outcomes conditional upon eligibility. We simulate the effects of three premium schedules representing a range of generosity levels and the effects of income eligibility thresholds ranging from 200 to 400 percent of the federal poverty line. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Premium contribution requirements decrease enrollment in public coverage and increase enrollment in private coverage, with larger effects for greater contribution levels. Our simulation results suggest minimal changes in coverage outcomes from eligibility expansions to higher income families under premium schedules that require more than a modest contribution (medium or high schedules). CONCLUSIONS Our simulation results are useful counterpoints to previous research that has estimated the average effect of program expansions as they were implemented without disentangling the effects of premiums or other program features. The sensitivity to premiums observed suggests that although contribution requirements may be effective in reducing crowd-out, they also have the potential, depending on the level of contribution required, to nullify the effects of CHIP expansions entirely. The persistence of uninsurance among children under the range of simulated scenarios points to the importance of Affordable Care Act provisions designed to make the process of obtaining coverage transparent and navigable.
Do clinical standards for diabetes care address excess risk for hypoglycemia in vulnerable patients? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether diabetes clinical standards consider increased hypoglycemia risk in vulnerable patients. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, the National Guidelines Clearinghouse, the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse, and supplemental sources. STUDY DESIGN Systematic review of clinical standards (guidelines, quality metrics, or pay-for-performance programs) for glycemic control in adult diabetes patients. The primary outcome was discussion of increased risk for hypoglycemia in vulnerable populations. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS Manuscripts identified were abstracted by two independent reviewers using prespecified inclusion/exclusion criteria and a standardized abstraction form. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We screened 1,166 titles, and reviewed 220 manuscripts in full text. Forty-four guidelines, 17 quality metrics, and 8 pay-for-performance programs were included. Five (11 percent) guidelines and no quality metrics or pay-for-performance programs met the primary outcome. CONCLUSIONS Clinical standards do not substantively incorporate evidence about increased risk for hypoglycemia in vulnerable populations.
Fully automatic detection, feature extraction and classification of obstacles to air navigation

Correct identification of obstacles at the periphery of airports is an important issue to ensure safe takeoff, flight, and landing to aircrafts. This work is carried on as part of the obstacle risk assessment and risk mitigation operations in the aviation security framework. This paper presents a novel fully automatic remote sensing methodology for the detection, shape and signature extraction and classification of obstacles to air navigation from very high resolution (VHR) multispectral (MS) satellite stereo couples images, here defined feature extraction (FE). In order to reduce the costs, the proposed technique is applied only on detailed areas where orographic/topographic changes potentially associated with variations in the obstacles to air navigation in wide areas have been previously detected through a low-cost pre-screening change detection (CD) methodology applied to cheaper high resolution (HR) satellite imagery. The combination of CD and FE strategies offers a low-cost and fast solution to the problem of updating airport obstacle chart.
Incentivizing primary care providers to innovate: building medical homes in the post-Katrina New Orleans safety net.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate safety-net clinics' responses to a novel community-wide Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) financial incentive program in post-Katrina New Orleans. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING Between June 2008 and June 2010, we studied 50 primary care clinics in New Orleans receiving federal funds to expand services and improve care delivery. STUDY DESIGN Multiwave, longitudinal, observational study of a local safety-net primary care system. DATA COLLECTION Clinic-level data from a semiannual survey of clinic leaders (89.3 percent response rate), augmented by administrative records. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Overall, 62 percent of the clinics responded to financial incentives by achieving PCMH recognition from the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA). Higher patient volume, higher baseline PCMH scores, and type of ownership were significant predictors of achieving NCQA recognition. The steepest increase in adoption of PCMH processes occurred among clinics achieving the highest, Level 3, NCQA recognition. Following NCQA recognition, 88.9 percent stabilized or increased their use of PCMH processes, although several specific PCMH processes had very low rates of adoption overall. CONCLUSIONS Findings demonstrate that widespread PCMH implementation is possible in a safety-net environment when external financial incentives are aligned with the goal of practice innovation.
Nonlinear pricing in drug benefits and medication use: the case of statin compliance in Medicare Part D.

OBJECTIVE To examine how enrollees' statin compliance responds to expected prices in Medicare Part D, which features a nonlinear price schedule due to a coverage gap. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING Prescription Drug Event data for a 5 percent random sample of Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan enrollees in 2008 who did not receive a low-income subsidy. STUDY DESIGN We analyze statin compliance prior to the coverage gap, where the "effective price" is higher than the actual copayment for drugs because consumers anticipate that more spending will make them more likely to reach the gap. We construct each enrollee's effective price as her expected price at the end of the year, which is the weighted average between pre-gap and in-gap copayments with the weight being the predicted probability of hitting the gap. Compliance is defined as at least 80 percent of days covered. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Part D enrollees' pre-gap statin compliance decreases by 3.7-4.7 percentage points for a $10 increase in the effective price. CONCLUSION The presence of a coverage gap decreases statin compliance prior to the gap, suggesting that incorporating expected future prices is important to assess the full impact of cost sharing on drug compliance under nonlinear price schedules.