bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Viable Intrauterine Pregnancy and Coexisting Molar Pregnancy in a Bicornuate Uterus: A Rare Presentation
Authors: Krishnamoorthy Kavitha , Gerkowicz Sabrina , Verma Usha
Published: June 2016

A complete hydatidiform mole with a viable coexisting fetus (CMCF) is a rare occurrence. Similarly, Mullerian anomalies such as a bicornuate uterus are uncommon variants of normal anatomy. We report a case of a 40-year-old female with a known bicornuate uterus presenting at 13 weeks gestation with vaginal bleeding. Ultrasound findings showed a healthy viable pregnancy in the right horn with complete molar pregnancy in the left horn. After extensive counseling, the patient desired conservative management, however, was unable to continue due to profuse vaginal bleeding. The patient underwent suction dilation and curettage under general anesthesia and evacuation of the uterine horns. Postoperatively, the patient was followed until serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) level dropped to <5 mU. This is the first case of a CMCF reported in a bicornuate uterus, diagnosed with the use of ultrasound imaging.
Toward a Learning Health-care System – Knowledge Delivery at the Point of Care Empowered by Big Data and NLP
Authors: Kaggal Vinod C. , Elayavilli Ravikumar Komandur , Mehrabi Saeed , Pankratz Joshua J. , Sohn Sunghwan , Wang Yanshan , Li Dingcheng , Rastegar Majid Mojarad , Murphy Sean P. , Ross Jason L. , Chaudhry Rajeev , Buntrock James D. , Liu Hongfang
Published: June 2016

The concept of optimizing health care by understanding and generating knowledge from previous evidence, ie, the Learning Health-care System (LHS), has gained momentum and now has national prominence. Meanwhile, the rapid adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) enables the data collection required to form the basis for facilitating LHS. A prerequisite for using EHR data within the LHS is an infrastructure that enables access to EHR data longitudinally for health-care analytics and real time for knowledge delivery. Additionally, significant clinical information is embedded in the free text, making natural language processing (NLP) an essential component in implementing an LHS. Herein, we share our institutional implementation of a big data-empowered clinical NLP infrastructure, which not only enables health-care analytics but also has real-time NLP processing capability. The infrastructure has been utilized for multiple institutional projects including the MayoExpertAdvisor, an individualized care recommendation solution for clinical care. We compared the advantages of big data over two other environments. Big data infrastructure significantly outperformed other infrastructure in terms of computing speed, demonstrating its value in making the LHS a possibility in the near future.
Targeting MAPK Signaling in Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Authors: Kyosseva Svetlana V.
Published: June 2016

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of irreversible blindness affecting elderly people in the world. AMD is a complex multifactorial disease associated with demographic, genetics, and environmental risk factors. It is well established that oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis play critical roles in the pathogenesis of AMD. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways are activated by diverse extracellular stimuli, including growth factors, mitogens, hormones, cytokines, and different cellular stressors such as oxidative stress. They regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, and apoptosis. This review addresses the novel findings from human and animal studies on the relationship of MAPK signaling with AMD. The use of specific MAPK inhibitors may represent a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of this debilitating eye disease.
Workarounds and Test Results Follow-up in Electronic Health Record-Based Primary Care
Authors: Menon Shailaja , Murphy Daniel , Singh Hardeep , Meyer Ashley N. , Sittig Dean
Published: June 2016

Electronic health records (EHRs) have potential to facilitate reliable communication and follow-up of test results. However, limitations in EHR functionality remain, leading practitioners to use workarounds while managing test results. Workarounds can lead to patient safety concerns and signify indications as to how to build better EHR systems that meet provider needs.

To understand why primary care practitioners (PCPs) use workarounds to manage test results by analyzing data from a previously conducted national cross-sectional survey on test result management.

We conducted a secondary data analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from a national survey of PCPs practicing in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and explored the use of workarounds in test results management. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to examine the association between key sociotechnical factors that could affect test results follow-up (e.g., both technology-related and those unrelated to technology, such as organizational support for patient notification) and workaround use. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of free text survey data to examine reasons for use of workarounds.

Of 2554 survey respondents, 1104 (43%) reported using workarounds related to test results management. Of these 1028 (93%) described the type of workaround they were using; 719 (70%) reported paper-based methods, while 230 (22%) used a combination of paper- and computer-based workarounds. Primary care practitioners who self-reported limited administrative support to help them notify patients of test results or described an instance where they personally (or a colleague) missed results, were more likely to use workarounds (p=0.02 and p=0.001, respectively). Qualitative analysis identified three main reasons for workaround use: 1) as a memory aid, 2) for improved efficiency and 3) for facilitating internal and external care coordination.

Workarounds to manage EHR-based test results are common, and their use results from unmet provider information management needs. Future EHRs and the respective work systems around them need to evolve to meet these needs.
Detection of atmospheric gaseous amines and amides by a high resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer with protonated ethanol reagent ions
Authors: Yao Lei , Wang Ming-Yi , Wang Xin-Ke , Liu Yi-Jun , Chen Hang-Fei , Zheng Jun , Nie Wei , Ding Ai-Jun , Geng Fu-Hai , Wang Dong-Fang , Chen Jian-Min , Worsnop Douglas R. , Wang Lin
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Amines and amides are important atmospheric organic-nitrogen compounds but high time resolution, highly sensitive, and simultaneous ambient measurements of these species are rather sparse. Here, we present the development of a high resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-CIMS) method utilizing protonated ethanol as reagent ions to simultaneously detect atmospheric gaseous amines (C1 to C6) and amides (C1 to C6). This method possesses sensitivities of 5.6–19.4 Hz pptv−1 for amines and 3.8–38.0 Hz pptv−1 for amides under total reagent ion signals of ~ 0.32 MHz, and detection limits of 0.10–0.50 pptv for amines and 0.29–1.95 pptv for amides at 3σ of the background signal for a 1-min integration time, respectively. Controlled characterization in the laboratory indicates that relative humidity has significant influences on detection of amines and amides, whereas the presence of organics has no obvious effects. Ambient measurements of amines and amides utilizing this method were conducted from 25 July 2015 to 25 August 2015 in urban Shanghai, China. While the concentrations of amines ranged from a few pptv to hundreds of pptv, concentrations of amides varied from tens of pptv to a few ppbv. Among the C1- to C6-amines, the C2-amines were the dominant species with concentrations up to 130 pptv. For amides, the C3-amides (up to 8.7 ppb) were the most abundant species. The diurnal profiles of amines and amides suggest that in addition to the secondary formation of amides in the atmosphere, industrial emissions could be important sources of amides in urban Shanghai. During the campaign, photo-oxidation of amines and amides might be a main loss pathway for them in day time, and wet deposition was also an important sink.
Dust deposition and ambient PM10 concentration in central Asia: Spatial and temporal variability
Authors: Zhang Xiao-Xiao , Sharratt Brenton , Chen Xi , Wang Zi-Fa , Liu Lian-You , Guo Yu-Hong , Li Jie , Chen Huan-Sheng , Yang Wen-Yi
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Aeolian dust transport and deposition are important geophysical processes which influence global bio-geochemical cycles. Currently, reliable deposition data are scarce in central Asia. Located in the eastern part of central Asia, Xinjiang Province of northwestern China has long played a strategic role in cultural and economic trade between Asia and Europe. In this paper, we investigated the spatial distribution and temporal variation in dust deposition and ambient PM10 (particulate matter ≤ 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter) concentration from 2000 to 2013 in Xinjiang Province. This variation was assessed using environmental monitoring records from 14 stations in the province. Over the 14 years, annual average dust deposition across stations in the province ranged from 255.7 to 421.4 t km−2. Annual dust deposition was greater in southern Xinjiang (663.6 t km−2) than northern (147.8 t km−2) and eastern Xinjiang (194.9 t km−2). Annual average PM10 concentration across stations in the province varied from 100 to 156 µg m−3 and was 70, 115 and 239 µg m−3 in northern, eastern and southern Xinjiang, respectively. The highest annual dust deposition (1394.1 t km−2) and ambient PM10 concentration (582 µg m−3) were observed in Hotan which is located in southern Xinjiang and at the southern boundary of the Taklamakan Desert. Dust deposition was more intense during the spring and summer than other seasons. PM10 was the main air pollutant that significantly influenced regional air quality. Annual average ambient PM10 concentration increased logarithmically with dust deposition (R2 ≥ 0.88). The arid climate likely influenced the high dust deposition and PM10 concentration in the region. While the annual average dust storm frequency remained unchanged from 2000 to 2013, there was a positive relationship between dust storm days and dust deposition and PM10 concentration across stations. This study suggests that sand storms are a major factor affecting the temporal variability and spatial distribution of dust deposition in central Asia.
A NOVEL INDEX FOR ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOL TYPES CATEGORIZATION WITH SPECTRAL OPTICAL DEPTHS FROM SATELLITE RETRIEVAL
Authors: Lin Tang-Huang , Liu Gin-Rong , Liu Chian-Yi
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In general, the type of atmospheric aerosols can be efficiently identified with the characteristics of optical properties, such as Ångström exponent (AE) and single scattering albedo (SSA). However, the retrieval of SSA is not frequently available to global area which may cause the difficulty in the identification of aerosol type. Since aerosol optical depth (AOD) can be easily requested, a novel index in terms of AOD, Normalized Gradient Aerosol Index (NGAI), is proposed to get over the constraint on SSA providing. With the NGAI derived from MODIS AOD products, the type of atmospheric aerosols can be clearly categorized between mineral dusts, biomass burning and anthropogenic pollutants. The results of aerosol type categorization show the well agreement with the ground-based observations (AERONET) in AE and SSA properties, implying that the proposed index equips highly practical for the application of aerosols type categorization by means of remote sensing. In addition, the fraction of AOD compositions can be potentially determined according to the value of index after compared with the products of CALIPSO Aerosol Subtype.
UNDERSTANDING THE BEHAVIOUR OF CONTAMINATION SPREAD IN NAGARJUNA SAGAR RESERVOIR USING TEMPORAL LANDSAT DATA
Authors: Tarun Teja K. , Rajan K. S.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. LANDSAT images are used to identify organic contaminants in water bodies, but, there is no enough evidence in present literature that LANDSAT is also good in identifying a mixture of organic and mineral contaminants such as agricultural waste. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of LANDSAT imagery to identify organic and mineral contamination (OMC) and to identify spread extent variations of pollution over the season/year in the Nagarjuna Sagar (NS) reservoir using only satellite images. A new band combination is proposed in order to detect OMC, because existing formulae based on band ratio proved to be inadequate in detecting the contamination in NS. Difference in reflectance values of Red and Green channel of an image helps clearly distinguish clear water from OMC water. This procedure was applied over LANDSAT data of the calendar years 2008, 2014 and 2015 to understand the contamination spread pattern through the reservoir. Results show that contamination is following a similar pattern over these calendar years. In January contamination starts at inlets and by May contamination spreads to almost 90% of the reservoir when the total area of water spread is also reduced by half. Contamination spread is low during the monsoonal period of June to September due to heavy inflow and heavy outflow of waters from NS reservoir. Post monsoon NS is contaminated again because of heavy inflow of runoffs from neighboring land use and limited water outflow. This contamination spread pattern matches the agricultural seasons and fertilizer application pattern in this region, indicating that agricultural use of fertilizers could be one of the primary causes of contamination for this waterbody.
SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF SURFACE WATER EXTENT FROM THREE DECADES OF SEASONALLY CONTINUOUS LANDSAT TIME SERIES AT SUBCONTINENTAL SCALE
Authors: Tulbure M. G. , Broich M. , Stehman Stephen V.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Surface water is a critical resource in semi-arid areas. The Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) of Australia, one of the largest semi-arid basins in the world is aiming to set a worldwide example of how to balance multiple interests (i.e. environment, agriculture and urban use), but has suffered significant water shrinkages during the Millennium Drought (1999-2009), followed by extensive flooding. Baseline information and systematic quantification of surface water (SW) extent and flooding dynamics in space and time are needed for managing SW resources across the basin but are currently lacking. To synoptically quantify changes in SW extent and flooding dynamics over MDB, we used seasonally continuous Landsat TM and ETM+ data (1986 – 2011) and generic machine learning algorithms. We further mapped flooded forest at a riparian forest site that experienced severe tree dieback due to changes in flooding regime. We used a stratified sampling design to assess the accuracy of the SW product across time. Accuracy assessment yielded an overall classification accuracy of 99.94%, with producer’s and user’s accuracy of SW of 85.4% and 97.3%, respectively. Overall accuracy was the same for Landsat 5 and 7 data but user’s and producer’s accuracy of water were higher for Landsat 7 than 5 data and stable over time. Our validated results document a rapid loss in SW bodies. The number, size, and total area of SW showed high seasonal variability with highest numbers in winter and lowest numbers in summer. SW extent per season per year showed high interannual and seasonal variability, with low seasonal variability during the Millennium Drought. Examples of current uses of the new dataset will be presented and include (1) assessing ecosystem response to flooding with implications for environmental water releases, one of the largest investment in environment in Australia; (2) quantifying drivers of SW dynamics (e.g. climate, human activity); (3) quantifying changes in SW dynamics and connectivity for water dependent organisms; (4) assessing the impact of flooding on riparian vegetation health. The approach developed here is globally applicable, relevant to areas with competing water demands (e.g. Okavango River delta, Mekong River Basin). Future work should incorporate Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 data for continued quantification of SW dynamics.
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING BY COMBINING SPECTRAL UNMIXING AND CLUSTER ANALYSIS FOR HYPERSPECTRAL DATA
Authors: Ishidoshiro N. , Yamaguchi Y. , Noda S. , Asano Y. , Kondo T. , Kawakami Y. , Mitsuishi M. , Nakamura H.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Spectral unmixing of hyperspectral data often fails to select some minerals and rocks having flat spectra but no diagnostic absorption features as endmembers, even if they are actually important endmembers. To avoid this problem, we propose a novel approach that combined two methods: spectral unmixing and full-pixel classification. First, all pixels were divided into two categories, hydrothermally altered areas and unaltered rocks based on the absorption depth of 2.0 to 2.5 μm. For the hydrothermally altered areas, endmembers were extracted by the Improved Causal Random Pixel Purity Index (ICRPPI) method, which was improved from the existing Pixel Purity Index (PPI) and Causal Random Pixel Purity Index (CRPPI) methods. Endmember abundance in each pixel was calculated by linear spectral unmixing. In a separate operation, k-means clustering was applied to the unaltered rock areas. Finally, the results of these two methods were combined to generate a single distribution map of rocks and minerals. This approach was applied to the airborne hyperspectral HyMap data of Cuprite, Nevada, U.S.A. We confirmed that our mapping result was consistent with the existing geological map as well as our field survey result.
COMPARISON OF DIGITAL SURFACE MODELS FOR SNOW DEPTH MAPPING WITH UAV AND AERIAL CAMERAS
Authors: Boesch R. , Bühler Y. , Marty M. , Ginzler C.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Photogrammetric workflows for aerial images have improved over the last years in a typically black-box fashion. Most parameters for building dense point cloud are either excessive or not explained and often the progress between software releases is poorly documented. On the other hand, development of better camera sensors and positional accuracy of image acquisition is significant by comparing product specifications. This study shows, that hardware evolutions over the last years have a much stronger impact on height measurements than photogrammetric software releases. Snow height measurements with airborne sensors like the ADS100 and UAV-based DSLR cameras can achieve accuracies close to GSD * 2 in comparison with ground-based GNSS reference measurements. Using a custom notch filter on the UAV camera sensor during image acquisition does not yield better height accuracies. UAV based digital surface models are very robust. Different workflow parameter variations for ADS100 and UAV camera workflows seem to have only random effects.
FULLY AUTOMATED GIS-BASED INDIVIDUAL TREE CROWN DELINEATION BASED ON CURVATURE VALUES FROM A LIDAR DERIVED CANOPY HEIGHT MODEL IN A CONIFEROUS PLANTATION
Authors: Argamosa R. J. L. , Paringit E. C. , Quinton K. R. , Tandoc F. A. M. , Faelga R. A. G. , Ibañez C. A. G. , Posilero M. A. V. , Zaragosa G. P.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The generation of high resolution canopy height model (CHM) from LiDAR makes it possible to delineate individual tree crown by means of a fully-automated method using the CHM’s curvature through its slope. The local maxima are obtained by taking the maximum raster value in a 3 m x 3 m cell. These values are assumed as tree tops and therefore considered as individual trees. Based on the assumptions, thiessen polygons were generated to serve as buffers for the canopy extent. The negative profile curvature is then measured from the slope of the CHM. The results show that the aggregated points from a negative profile curvature raster provide the most realistic crown shape. The absence of field data regarding tree crown dimensions require accurate visual assessment after the appended delineated tree crown polygon was superimposed to the hill shaded CHM.
RESPONSE OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION IN AUSTRALIA"S LARGEST RIVER BASIN TO INTER AND INTRA-ANNUAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND FLOODING AS QUANTIFIED WITH LANDSAT AND MODIS
Authors: Broich M. , Tulbure M. G.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Australia is a continent subject to high rainfall variability, which has major influences on runoff and vegetation dynamics. However, the resulting spatial-temporal pattern of flooding and its influence on riparian vegetation has not been quantified in a spatially explicit way. Here we focused on the floodplains of the entire Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), an area that covers over 1M km2, as a case study. The MDB is the country’s primary agricultural area with scarce water resources subject to competing demands and impacted by climate change and more recently by the Millennium Drought (1999–2009). Riparian vegetation in the MDB floodplain suffered extensive decline providing a dramatic degradation of riparian vegetation. We quantified the spatial-temporal impact of rainfall, temperature and flooding patters on vegetation dynamics at the subcontinental to local scales and across inter to intra-annual time scales based on three decades of Landsat (25k images), Bureau of Meteorology data and one decade of MODIS data. Vegetation response varied in space and time and with vegetation types, densities and location relative to areas frequently flooded. Vegetation degradation trends were observed over riparian forests and woodlands in areas where flooding regimes have changed to less frequent and smaller inundation extents. Conversely, herbaceous vegetation phenology followed primarily a ‘boom’ and ‘bust’ cycle, related to inter-annual rainfall variability. Spatial patters of vegetation degradation changed along the N-S rainfall gradient but flooding regimes and vegetation degradation patterns also varied at finer scale, highlighting the importance of a spatially explicit, internally consistent analysis and setting the stage for investigating further cross-scale relationships. Results are of interest for land and water management decisions. The approach developed here can be applied to other areas globally such as the Nile river basin and Okavango River delta in Africa or the Mekong River Basin in Southeast Asia.
ACCURACY ASSESSMENT OF CROWN DELINEATION METHODS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL TREES USING LIDAR DATA
Authors: Chang K. T , Lin C. , Lin Y. C. , Liu J. K.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Forest canopy density and height are used as variables in a number of environmental applications, including the estimation of biomass, forest extent and condition, and biodiversity. The airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is very useful to estimate forest canopy parameters according to the generated canopy height models (CHMs). The purpose of this work is to introduce an algorithm to delineate crown parameters, e.g. tree height and crown radii based on the generated rasterized CHMs. And accuracy assessment for the extraction of volumetric parameters of a single tree is also performed via manual measurement using corresponding aerial photo pairs. A LiDAR dataset of a golf course acquired by Leica ALS70-HP is used in this study. Two algorithms, i.e. a traditional one with the subtraction of a digital elevation model (DEM) from a digital surface model (DSM), and a pit-free approach are conducted to generate the CHMs firstly. Then two algorithms, a multilevel morphological active-contour (MMAC) and a variable window filter (VWF), are implemented and used in this study for individual tree delineation. Finally, experimental results of two automatic estimation methods for individual trees can be evaluated with manually measured stand-level parameters, i.e. tree height and crown diameter. The resulting CHM generated by a simple subtraction is full of empty pixels (called "pits") that will give vital impact on subsequent analysis for individual tree delineation. The experimental results indicated that if more individual trees can be extracted, tree crown shape will became more completely in the CHM data after the pit-free process.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REMOTE SENSING DATA USED IN THE PROPOSED UNFCCC REDD+ FOREST REFERENCE EMISSION LEVELS (FRELS)
Authors: Johnson B. A. , Scheyvens H. , Samejima H. , Onoda M.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Developing countries must submit forest reference emission levels (FRELs) to the UNFCCC to receive incentives for REDD+ activities (e.g. reducing emissions from deforestation/forest degradation, sustainable management of forests, forest carbon stock conservation/enhancement). These FRELs are generated based on historical CO2 emissions in the land use, land use change, and forestry sector, and are derived using remote sensing (RS) data and in-situ forest carbon measurements. Since the quality of the historical emissions estimates is affected by the quality and quantity of the RS data used, in this study we calculated five metrics (i-v below) to assess the quality and quantity of the data that has been used thus far. Countries could focus on improving on one or more of these metrics for the submission of future FRELs. Some of our main findings were: (i) the median percentage of each country mapped was 100%, (ii) the median historical timeframe for which RS data was used was 11.5 years, (iii) the median interval of forest map updates was 4.5 years, (iv) the median spatial resolution of the RS data was 30m, and (v) the median number of REDD+ activities that RS data was used for operational monitoring of was 1 (typically deforestation). Many new sources of RS data have become available in recent years, so complementary or alternative RS data sets for generating future FRELs can potentially be identified based on our findings; e.g. alternative RS data sets could be considered if they have similar or higher quality/quantity than the currently-used data sets.
ESTIMATING CARBON STOCK CHANGES OF MANGROVE FORESTS USING SATELLITE IMAGERY AND AIRBORNE LiDAR DATA IN THE SOUTH SUMATRA STATE, INDONESIA
Authors: Maeda Y. , Fukushima A. , Imai Y. , Tanahashi Y. , Nakama E. , Ohta S. , Kawazoe K. , Akune N.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The purposes of this study were 1) to estimate the biomass in the mangrove forests using satellite imagery and airborne LiDAR data, and 2) to estimate the amount of carbon stock changes using biomass estimated. The study area is located in the coastal area of the South Sumatra state, Indonesia. This area is approximately 66,500 ha with mostly flat land features. In this study, the following procedures were carried out: (1) Classification of types of tree species using Satellite imagery in the study area, (2) Development of correlation equations between spatial volume based on LiDAR data and biomass stock based on field survey for each types of tree species, and estimation of total biomass stock and carbon stock using the equation, and (3) Estimation of carbon stock change using Chronological Satellite Imageries. The result showed the biomass and the amount of carbon stock changes can be estimated with high accuracy, by combining the spatial volume based on airborne LiDAR data with the tree species classification based on satellite imagery. Quantitative biomass monitoring is in demand for projects related to REDD+ in developing countries, and this study showed that combining airborne LiDAR data with satellite imagery is one of the effective methods of monitoring for REDD+ projects.
USE OF A MULTISPECTRAL UAV PHOTOGRAMMETRY FOR DETECTION AND TRACKING OF FOREST DISTURBANCE DYNAMICS
Authors: Minařík R. , Langhammer J.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. This study presents a new methodological approach for assessment of spatial and qualitative aspects of forest disturbance based on the use of multispectral imaging camera with the UAV photogrammetry. We have used the miniaturized multispectral sensor Tetracam Micro Multiple Camera Array (μ-MCA) Snap 6 with the multirotor imaging platform to get multispectral imagery with high spatial resolution. The study area is located in the Sumava Mountains, Central Europe, heavily affected by windstorms, followed by extensive and repeated bark beetle (Ips typographus [L.]) outbreaks in the past 20 years. After two decades, there is apparent continuous spread of forest disturbance as well as rapid regeneration of forest vegetation, related with changes in species and their diversity. For testing of suggested methodology, we have launched imaging campaign in experimental site under various stages of forest disturbance and regeneration. The imagery of high spatial and spectral resolution enabled to analyse the inner structure and dynamics of the processes. The most informative bands for tree stress detection caused by bark beetle infestation are band 2 (650nm) and band 3 (700nm), followed by band 4 (800 nm) from the, red-edge and NIR part of the spectrum. We have identified only three indices, which seems to be able to correctly detect different forest disturbance categories in the complex conditions of mixture of categories. These are Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Simple 800/650 Ratio Pigment specific simple ratio B1 and Red-edge Index.
URBAN LAND COVER/USE CHANGE DETECTION USING HIGH RESOLUTION SPOT 5 AND SPOT 6 IMAGES AND URBAN ATLAS NOMENCLATURE
Authors: Akay S. S. , Sertel E.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Urban land cover/use changes like urbanization and urban sprawl have been impacting the urban ecosystems significantly therefore determination of urban land cover/use changes is an important task to understand trends and status of urban ecosystems, to support urban planning and to aid decision-making for urban-based projects. High resolution satellite images could be used to accurately, periodically and quickly map urban land cover/use and their changes by time. This paper aims to determine urban land cover/use changes in Gaziantep city centre between 2010 and 2105 using object based images analysis and high resolution SPOT 5 and SPOT 6 images. 2.5 m SPOT 5 image obtained in 5th of June 2010 and 1.5 m SPOT 6 image obtained in 7th of July 2015 were used in this research to precisely determine land changes in five-year period. In addition to satellite images, various ancillary data namely Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Difference Water Index (NDWI) maps, cadastral maps, OpenStreetMaps, road maps and Land Cover maps, were integrated into the classification process to produce high accuracy urban land cover/use maps for these two years. Both images were geometrically corrected to fulfil the 1/10,000 scale geometric accuracy. Decision tree based object oriented classification was applied to identify twenty different urban land cover/use classes defined in European Urban Atlas project. Not only satellite images and satellite image-derived indices but also different thematic maps were integrated into decision tree analysis to create rule sets for accurate mapping of each class. Rule sets of each satellite image for the object based classification involves spectral, spatial and geometric parameter to automatically produce urban map of the city centre region. Total area of each class per related year and their changes in five-year period were determined and change trend in terms of class transformation were presented. Classification accuracy assessment was conducted by creating a confusion matrix to illustrate the thematic accuracy of each class.
GEOTECHNOLOGIES FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF SPECIALTY COFFEE ENVIRONMENTS OF MANTIQUEIRA DE MINAS IN BRAZIL
Authors: Alves H. M. R. , Vieira T. G. C. , Volpato M. M. L. , Lacerda M.P. C. , Borém F. M.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Land-use/land-cover change (LUCC) is a major cause of environmental transformation. Distant drivers, often associated with emerging markets for specific products, are now being considered one of the main factors of LUCC and are gaining attention in land change science. Consumers show an increasing interest in local and quality food, certified for its origin and its environmental production standards. A kind of agricultural product certification, Geographic Indication, identifies a product as originating from a specific region where a given quality, reputation or characteristic is attributed to its geographical origin. Sustainable land use is potentially an indirect effect of Geographic Indication, as it requires better land management in order to preserve the natural resources associated with the unique characteristics of the certified product. Located in the southern region of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil is the region of Mantiqueira de Minas, considered one of the most important regions for the production of specialty coffees in Brazil. In 2011, the region’s tradition and reputation were recognized with a Geographic Indication, the second given for coffee regions in the country. To explore the full potential of this area for producing coffees with higher quality and meet the growing demand of this new international market, which aggregates value at specialty coffees, it became fundamental to understand the coffee environments of the region, the “terroirs” where these coffees are obtained. Geotechnology can give a significant contribution in filling this gap. This work is part of a research project that made a detailed characterization of the region’s coffee agroecosystems. Geotechnologies were employed to map the areas occupied by coffee plantations by using RapidEye satellite images and SPRING and ArcGIS software. All the segments of the environment were characterized and mapped in detail and the relations with coffee quality were evaluated. The results showed that coffee occupies approximately 8% of the region’s total area and is mostly distributed in the hilly areas with higher elevations. They also proved that specialty coffees are more likely to be obtained in altitudes above 1100 m, also being correlated to genotype and to the post-harvest methods employed. These results provide information that allows a better understanding of the factors involved in the expression of coffee quality. They also provide the scientific basis required for obtaining a new Geographic Indication for the Mantiqueira de Minas region, this time a Denomination of Origin (DO), which will certainly aggregate value to the specialty coffees produced in this unique region.
COMPARISON OF UNCALIBRATED RGBVI WITH SPECTROMETER-BASED NDVI DERIVED FROM UAV SENSING SYSTEMS ON FIELD SCALE
Authors: Bareth G. , Bolten A. , Gnyp M. L. , Reusch S. , Jasper J.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The development of UAV-based sensing systems for agronomic applications serves the improvement of crop management. The latter is in the focus of precision agriculture which intends to optimize yield, fertilizer input, and crop protection. Besides, in some cropping systems vehicle-based sensing devices are less suitable because fields cannot be entered from certain growing stages onwards. This is true for rice, maize, sorghum, and many more crops. Consequently, UAV-based sensing approaches fill a niche of very high resolution data acquisition on the field scale in space and time. While mounting RGB digital compact cameras to low-weight UAVs (< 5 kg) is well established, the miniaturization of sensors in the last years also enables hyperspectral data acquisition from those platforms. From both, RGB and hyperspectral data, vegetation indices (VIs) are computed to estimate crop growth parameters. In this contribution, we compare two different sensing approaches from a low-weight UAV platform (< 5 kg) for monitoring a nitrogen field experiment of winter wheat and a corresponding farmers’ field in Western Germany. (i) A standard digital compact camera was flown to acquire RGB images which are used to compute the RGBVI and (ii) NDVI is computed from a newly modified version of the Yara N-Sensor. The latter is a well-established tractor-based hyperspectral sensor for crop management and is available on the market since a decade. It was modified for this study to fit the requirements of UAV-based data acquisition. Consequently, we focus on three objectives in this contribution: (1) to evaluate the potential of the uncalibrated RGBVI for monitoring nitrogen status in winter wheat, (2) investigate the UAV-based performance of the modified Yara N-Sensor, and (3) compare the results of the two different UAV-based sensing approaches for winter wheat.
URBAN VEGETATION MAPPING BASED ON THE HJ-1 NDVI RECONSTRCTION
Authors: Li Feng , Han Liu , Liujun Zhu , Yinyou Huang , Song Guo
Published: June 2016

Abstract. HJ-1A/B NDVI (HJ NDVI) time-series data possess relatively high spatio-temporal resolution which is significant for the research on urban areas. However, its application is hindered by noise resulting from the restrictions of imaging quality and limits of the satellite platform. The NDVI noise reduction is necessary. Some noise-reduction techniques including the asymmetric Gaussian filter (AG), the double logistic filter (DL), the Savitzky-Golay (S-G) filter and the harmonic analysis (Hants) of NDVI time-series have been used to carry out the NDVI time series reconstruction, and based on the comparison results of different filter, S-G filter is the optimal in the application on urban areas. Finally,urban vegetation mapping is carried out based on the new HJ NDVI.
REMOTELY-SENSED URBAN WET-LANDSCAPES: AN INDICATOR OF COUPLED EFFECTS OF HUMAN IMPACT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Authors: Ji Wei
Published: June 2016

Abstract. This study proposes the concept of urban wet-landscapes (loosely-defined wetlands) as against dry-landscapes (mainly impervious surfaces). The study is to examine whether the dynamics of urban wet-landscapes is a sensitive indicator of the coupled effects of the two major driving forces of urban landscape change – human built-up impact and climate (precipitation) variation. Using a series of satellite images, the study was conducted in the Kansas City metropolitan area of the United States. A rule-based classification algorithm was developed to identify fine-scale, hidden wetlands that could not be appropriately detected based on their spectral differentiability by a traditional image classification. The spatial analyses of wetland changes were implemented at the scales of metropolitan, watershed, and sub-watershed as well as based on the size of surface water bodies in order to reveal urban wetland change trends in relation to the driving forces. The study identified that wet-landscape dynamics varied in trend and magnitude from the metropolitan, watersheds, to sub-watersheds. The study also found that increased precipitation in the region in the past decades swelled larger wetlands in particular while smaller wetlands decreased mainly due to human development activities. These findings suggest that wet-landscapes, as against the dry-landscapes, can be a more effective indicator of the coupled effects of human impact and climate change.
Atmospheric and ionospheric coupling phenomena related to large earthquakes
Authors: Parrot M. , Tramutoli V. , Liu Tiger J. Y. , Pulinets S. , Ouzounov D. , Genzano N. , Lisi M. , Hattori K. , Namgaladze A.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. This paper explores multi-instrument space-borne observations in order to validate physical concepts of Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) in relation to major seismic events. In this study we apply already validated observation to identify atmospheric and ionospheric precursors associated with some of recent most destructive earthquakes: M8.6 of March 25, 2005 and M8.5 September 15, 2007 in Sumatra, and M7.9 May 12, 2008 in Wenchuan, China. New investigations are also presented concerning these three earthquakes and for the M7.3 March 2008 in the Xinjiang-Xizang border region, China (the Yutian earthquake). It concerns the ionospheric density, the Global Ionospheric Maps (GIM) of the Total Electron Content (TEC), the Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) anomalies, and the Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) data. It is shown that all these anomalies are identified as short-term precursors, which can be explained by the LAIC concept proposed by Pulinets and Ouzounov (2011).
Las potencias subregionales en el sistema internacional de posguerra fría: ¿nuevos actores en la política internacional?
Authors: Morales Ruvalcaba Daniel , Rocha Valencia Alberto , Durán González Tania
Published: June 2016

En trabajos anteriores, hemos avanzado en la identificación y diferenciación de tres categorías de potencias: potencias mundiales, potencias medias y potencias regionales. Pero, más allá de las potencias mundiales y las potencias medias que se encuentran en el centro del sistema-mundial, y las potencias regionales que se ubican en la semiperiferia, ¿es posible hablar de potencias que se encuentren en la periferia? Como se trata de Estados periféricos, ¿pueden ser calificados como “potencias”? ¿En qué radicaría su relevancia y envergadura? Dichas “potencias” ¿pueden ser agrupadas en una nueva categoría? De ser así ¿qué características compartirían? El objetivo de este documento es proponer una nueva  categoría de potencias en el sistema internacional: las potencias subregionales.
Remembering Doreen
Authors: Rose Gillian
Published: June 2016

Remembering Doreen
La geografía de las fronteras: El método
Authors: Ancel Jacques
Published: June 2016

El texto es una primicia que el autor desarrollará posteriormente y se ilustra de estudios de caso y terminología original. Comienza con un breve aporte conceptual sobre la diferencia de planteamiento entre las escuelas geográficas alemana y francesa, y prosigue con una reflexión sobre la relatividad histórica y geográfica de la frontera. Después, en su mayor extensión, nos aporta una taxonomía u ordenación de Estados: los Estados amorfos, en tres supuestos, el de los ―pueblos salvajes‖, sin fronteras, del África negra; los pueblos semicivilizados del noroeste africano, y el caso particular de los nómadas civilizados europeos, los ―terranovas‖. Los Estados encuadrados, fijándose en las fronteras en proceso de extensión o formación, en especial el caso de Yugoslavia, además de referencias a las fronteras estables de Albania y Países Bajos.
¿Cambio o continuidad velada?
Authors: Malainin Chibih Umelfadli
Published: June 2016

Yamandú Acosta, Alejandro Casas, Oscar Mañán, Alicia Rodríguez y Virginia Rossi (coords.) (2014) Sujetos Colectivos, Estado y Capitalismo en Uruguay y América Latina. Perspectivas Críticas. Montevideo: Ediciones Trilce, 312 pp. ISBN: 978-9974-32-640-8.
Cumplimiento gubernamental y estilos de gobernar. Análisis de los gobiernos de los municipios semi-urbanos de Michoacán, México
Authors: Herrera Torres Hugo Amador , Colín Martínez René
Published: June 2016

Con la construcción y operación de indicadores se calcularon dos índices, uno para determinar el nivel de cumplimiento de los procesos elementales que tienen que realizar los gobiernos de los municipios semiurbanos de Michoacán, y otro para fi jar su estilo de gobernar. El índice de cumplimiento gubernamental muestra que estas municipalidades atienden parcialmente la mayoría de sus labores básicas. Su ejercicio prácticamente se da por inercia. El otro índice muestra que siguen trabajando con la visión tradicional de gobernar. Se trata de un estilo donde el protagonismo del alcalde es alto con nulas prácticas estables de participación social. Correlacionando ambos índices, se puede plantear -hasta cierto punto- que el bajo cumplimiento se debe al estilo de gobernar. Los índices además explican que la posición estratégica de semi-urbanidad no es aprovechada por el gobierno para promover otros estilos de gobernar en busca de mejorar su cumplimiento. Diversos grupos ciudadanos -en estos municipios- han formado gobiernos alternativos que sustituyen al gobierno formal, en otros se han constituido gobiernos paralelos.
¿A quién le importa Europa? La UE en las elecciones generales españolas de 2011
Authors: Ares Castro-Conde Cristina
Published: June 2016

Este artículo versa sobre el papel de la Unión Europea (UE) en las elecciones generales en España. Emplea los siguientes materiales: la base de datos del Manifesto Project, los programas de los partidos que obtuvieron representación en los comicios de 2011, así como, también para 2011, la transcripción del único debate televisado y las cuentas en la red social twitter de los candidatos a la Presidencia del Gobierno del Partido Popular y del Partido Socialista. La metodología empleada es el análisis de contenido. Los datos confirman las expectativas derivadas de la teoría de la importancia (saliency theory). Los partidos españoles han desenfatizado los asuntos de la UE, incluso en 2011, cuando medidas impulsadas por el gobierno anterior, incluida una reforma constitucional, fruto de decisiones adoptadas a escala europea, motivaron la convocatoria anticipada de elecciones. La evolución del énfasis y posición sobre la UE de los partidos españoles contrasta con los cambios observados en estas variables en otros Estados miembros como Francia o Italia. Los hallazgos de esta investigación tienen implicaciones desde el punto de vista de la legitimidad democrática de la UE en España.
Transformaciones contemporáneas de la relación entre política, cultura y religión en Europa occidental. Un apunte para el caso español
Authors: Pérez-Agote Alfonso
Published: June 2016

Según Tilly dos leyes definen el proceso de transformación de las sociedades europeas occidentales desde la Paz de Westfalia hasta fi nales del siglo XX: la de la progresiva homogeneidad interna de cada una y la de la progresiva heterogeneidad entre todas ellas. La homogeneización cultural interna primero ocurre en relación a los grupos étnicos coexistentes dentro del territorio del Estado. La fase siguiente de homogeneización tendría lugar en relación con las poblaciones inmigradas tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial; proceso que siguió diversos modelos según los países, pero que la crisis de los años setenta, la del petróleo, mostró su general falta de éxito. Durante este último cuarto del siglo XX, estas sociedades se ven así atravesadas por dos lógicas globales, progresivas y contradictorias: la de homogeneización cultural a escala planetaria (ya no de cada sociedad) y la de re-creación cultural llevada a cabo por la población de origen inmigrante, que, responden al fracaso integrador con la búsqueda de fuentes de estima personal y social en su universo cultural-religioso. Este trabajo trata de poner en claro todos estos procesos desde las teorías de la diferenciación social y de la representación política. Esta última se hace necesaria porque los citados procesos ocurren en un momento en el que estas sociedades están atravesando por una crisis radical de la estructura de relación –de comunicación– entre la sociedad civil y la esfera política democrática. Se traza así un esbozo de las complejas relaciones entre sociedad civil, cultura, religión y política en estas sociedades europeas occidentales.
Comparisons of Line Transect and Point Count Survey Methods by Estimating Density of Grey Squirrel Sciurus Carolinensis
Authors: Rahim Mariwan
Published: June 2016

The methods have used to study animal population must be defined clearly at the beginning of the project. We compared line transect and point count survey methods to estimating the density of grey squirrel at University of East Anglia campus (UEA), Norwich-United Kingdom. Across the entire UEA campus we surveyed 0.43698 ha of the 146 ha of the campus area. A total of 21 squirrels were observed during survey between 21st-26th in December 2013. Nine individuals were observed during line transect and twelve individuals were observed during point counts. The average number of species detected was differing between the two methods. Density estimates of grey squirrel from the two methods were different. Densities of grey squirrel as estimated by point count surveys were higher than those by line transect count surveys. Our results indicate that it is important to account for different survey methods when comparing the two methods to estimate the grey squirrel.