bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conhecimento e perspectiva de enfermeiros na rede de atenção materna e infantil do Paraná
Authors: Rocha Rhaysa Raphaela de Moraes , França Andrea Ferreira Ouchi , Zilly Adriana , Caldeira Sebastião , Machineski Gicelle Galvan , Silva Rosane Meire Munhak da
Published: April 2018

O objetivo deste estudo foi refletir sobre o conhecimento e as perspectivas de enfermeiros na Rede Mãe Paranaense. Realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa, por meio de entrevistas com sete enfermeiros de uma regional de saúde do estado Paraná, Brasil, com base na Fenomenologia Social de Alfred Schütz no primeiro semestre de 2015.  Nesse sentido, foi possível identificar três categorias concretas do vivido: Conhecimento sobre a Rede Mãe Paranaense; Assistência na Rede; e Expectativas sobre a Rede. Compreende-se que os enfermeiros possuem conhecimento sobre a Rede, foram capacitados, porém apresentam dificuldades na estratificação do risco intermediário. Realizam o acompanhamento da criança pela puericultura, mas desconhecem os serviços de referência para a criança de risco; reconhecem a importância da captação precoce de gestantes e crianças para reduzir a morbimortalidade. Aponta-se que, embora os enfermeiros demonstrem conhecimento sobre a Rede, as fragilidades identificadas podem dificultar sua atuação na atenção à saúde materna e infantil.
Magnetic Nano-Сomposites and their Industrial Applications
Authors: Sharma Swati , Verma Ambika , Kumar Ashok , Kamyab Hesam
Published: April 2018

Magnetic nanocomposites are multi-component, nanosized magnetic materials, to generate the response to an external stimulus (i.e., outer inert or alternative magnetic field). The novel nanocomposites is a combination of excess of various materials such as liquid crystals, silica, gels, renewable polymers, carbon along with different magnetic particles. They have immense applications in the field of medical diagnosis and therapy, catalysis and separation. These nanocarriers are mainly classified into nanotubes, nanosheets, spherical nanoparticles, nanofibres, highly porous nanocomposites. The porous nanostructures provides a better surface for the entrapment or covalent binding of enzymes, proteins, biomolecules and drugs but the major challenge is to design and synthesize a desired structure with suitable surface properties and biocompatibility. Extensive attempts have been made to manipulate the mesoporous materials and its combination with other structure in order to synthesize a matrix with appropriate pore size, large surface area to volume ratio. “Bottom-up” and “Bottom-down” chemical-based synthesis methods have been widely employed to prepare magnetic nanoparticles. Magnetic nanocomposites are synthesized from magnetic nanoparticles and biopolymers by using sol-gel technique, chemical precipitation methods and NanogenTM, a microwave plasma method. In this chapter, we described the advances and developments in the formation/synthesis of magnetic nanocomposites. This chapter will review the characteristics, properties and applications of the magnetic nanocomposites.
Role of Nanocomposites in Agriculture
Authors: Gupta Himika
Published: April 2018

Nanotechnology has gained interest due to their wide applications. Nanocomposites are used in energy storage, water treatment, disease diagnosis, drug delivery system, food processing, health monitoring, pest detection and control, agricultural productivity and enhancement. In the present era, bulk use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides results loss in soil diversity and developed resistance against pathogens and pests. In the present chapter, we reviewed the role of nanocomposites in agriculture to reduce the burden of fertilizers and pesticides.
DNA barcoding reveals the Palaearctic species Histeromerus mystacinus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rhyssalinae) in eastern North America
Authors: Quicke Donald L. J. , Hebert Paul D. N. , Butcher Buntika A.
Published: April 2018

DNA barcode analysis of specimens belonging to the genus Histeromerus Wesmael, 1838 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) reveals the presence of two species in North America. One is identified as H. canadensis Ashmead, 1891, which is widely recorded in North America, while the other is H. mystacinus Wesmael, 1838, a species formerly known only from the western Palaearctic.
Identification of a Transcriptionally Forward α Gene and Two υ Genes within the Pigeon (Columba livia) IgH Gene Locus
Authors: Huang Tian , Wang Xifeng , Si Run , Chi Hao , Han Binyue , Han Haitang , Cao Gengsheng , Zhao Yaofeng
Published: April 2018

Compared with mammals, the bird Ig genetic system relies on gene conversion to create an Ab repertoire, with inversion of the IgA-encoding gene and very few cases of Ig subclass diversification. Although gene conversion has been studied intensively, class-switch recombination, a mechanism by which the IgH C region is exchanged, has rarely been investigated in birds. In this study, based on the published genome of pigeon (Columba livia) and high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of immune-related tissues, we identified a transcriptionally forward α gene and found that the pigeon IgH gene locus is arranged as μ-α-υ1-υ2. In this article, we show that both DNA deletion and inversion may result from IgA and IgY class switching, and similar junction patterns were observed for both types of class-switch recombination. We also identified two subclasses of υ genes in pigeon, which share low sequence identity. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that divergence of the two pigeon υ genes occurred during the early stage of bird evolution. The data obtained in this study provide new insight into class-switch recombination and Ig gene evolution in birds.
Lack of School Requirements and Clinician Recommendations for Human Papillomavirus Vaccination
Authors: Niccolai Linda M. , North Anna L. , Footman Alison , Hansen Caitlin E.
Published: April 2018

Background

A strong recommendation from a clinician is one of the best predictors of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescents, yet many clinicians do not provide effective recommendations. The objective of this study was to understand how the lack of school entry requirements for HPV vaccination influences clinicians’ recommendations.

Design and Methods

Semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 32 clinicians were conducted in 2015 in Connecticut USA. Data were analysed using an iterative thematic approach in 2016-2017.

Results

Many clinicians described presenting HPV vaccination as optional or non-urgent because it is not required for school entry. This was noted to be different from how other required vaccines were discussed. Even strong recommendations were often qualified by statements about the lack of requirements. Furthermore, lack of requirements was often raised initially by clinicians and not by parents. Many clinicians agreed that requirements would simplify the recommendation, but that parents may not agree with requirements. Personal opinions about school entry requirements were mixed.

Conclusions

The current lack of school entry requirements for HPV vaccination is an important influence on clinicians’ recommendations that are often framed as optional or non-urgent. Efforts are needed to strengthen the quality of clinicians’ recommendations in a way that remains strong and focused on disease prevention yet uncoupled from the lack of requirements that may encourage delays. Additionally, greater support for requirements among clinicians may be needed to successfully enact requirements in the future.
Comparison of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography then laparoscopic cholecystectomy and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration in patients with common bile duct stones
Authors: Badr Hazem A. M. , Elsharkawy Ashraf A.
Published: April 2018

Background

Choledocholithiasis is concomitant with gallstones in ∼3–10% of patients. In the pre-endoscopic and prelaparoscopic era, the standard treatment for patients suffering from gallstones accompanied with common bile duct stones (CBDS) was open cholecystectomy and common bile duct (CBD) exploration. With the advent of laparoscopic and endoscopic techniques, several alternative treatments, such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), preoperative or postoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE), have been developed to treat cholelithiasis. The management of stones in the CBD in the laparoscopic era is controversial. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy, safety, and surgical outcomes of the LCBDE and ERCP with sphincterotomy, in patients with CBDS.

Patients and methods

The study was performed on 60 patients suffering from CBDS who were admitted and treated in our department in Al-Zahra Hospital and Al-Ameen Hospital, KSA between January 2014 and January 2016. The patients were divided into two groups according to the method of treatment. Group A included 20 patients who were treated by LCBDE whereas group B included 40 patients were treated by ERCP with sphincterotomy.

Results

This study was carried out on 60 patients with CBD stones. The patients were divided into two groups according to the method of treatment. Group A included 20 patients who were treated by LCBDE, whereas group B included 40 patients who were treated by ERCP with sphincterotomy.

Conclusion

The optimal management of patients with CBDS should depend on the condition of the patients, and the expertise of the operators. LCBDE is a feasible, safe, and effective procedure that carries low morbidity and mortality and will decrease the need for unnecessary ERCP in the future for suspected or proved choledocholithiasis.
Estrategia y Relaciones Públicas: un estudio bibliométrico comparativo
Authors: Compte-Pujol Marc , Matilla Kathy , Hernández Salvador
Published: April 2018

Este artículo presenta un estudio bibliométrico de las revistas de relaciones públicas catalogadas en las bases de datos Social Sciences Citation Index–Communication–Journal List y de las de estrategia del Social Sciences Citation Index–Management–Journal List, ambas propiedades de Thomson Reuters hasta octubre de 2016. Mediante análisis de contenidos se identifican los artículos que tratan la estrategia en las revistas especializadas en relaciones públicas y al revés: las especializadas en estrategia que contemplan las relaciones públicas en sus contenidos. Las variables de análisis fueron los periodos temporales en que se habían publicado mayor número de artículos; cuestiones de género sobre los autores de los artículos analizados; número prevalente de autores por artículo; y los títulos de los artículos. Los resultados revelan que la estrategia aparece ampliamente tratada en las revistas de relaciones públicas, mientras que las relaciones públicas tienen presencia casi nula en las revistas de gestiónespecializadas en estrategia.
Критерий различения хвостов распределений типа Вейбулла
Authors: Rodionov Igor Vladimirovich
Published: April 2018

Предложен критерий различения простой гипотезы и левосторонней альтернативы о хвостах распределений типа Вейбулла, а также доказана его состоятельность. Критерий построен с использованием только $k$ максимальных порядковых статистик выборки.
Proposition d’un outil d’évaluation du service publique de gestion des déchets solides municipaux en Afrique
Authors: Sotamenou Joël
Published: April 2018

In many African cities, like other cities around the world, municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is contracted to private sector entities by delegation under a Public Private Partnership (3P) framework. At the heart of the 3P, is a contract whose renewal will be done after a multi-criteria assessment. The aim of this paper is to propose an assessment tool to evaluate a public MSWM service based on a set of criteria (objectives to be achieved) and indicators (action variables) that seem essential for an efficient and sustainable MSWM service in the African context.

De nombreuses municipalités africaines, comme d’autres villes du monde, délèguent la gestion des déchets solides municipaux (DSM) à des entreprises du secteur privé dans le cadre d’un Partenariat Public Privé (3P). Au cœur des 3P, se trouve un contrat dont le renouvellement ne peut se faire qu’après une évaluation multicritère. Cet article propose un outil d’évaluation du service public de gestion des DSM qui repose sur un ensemble de critères (objectifs à atteindre) et d’indicateurs (variables d’action) qui nous semblent indispensables à la mise en place d’un service efficace et pérenne de gestion des DSM dans le contexte africain.
Éditorial n°76 Déchets Sciences et Techniques
Authors: Gourdon Rémy
Published: April 2018

Ce numéro 76 de "Déchets Sciences et Techniques" est particulier. Il s’agit en effet du premier numéro, à l’exception du numéro spécial sur le congrès E3D 2016 tenu à Lomé au Togo, dont les articles sont issus d’auteurs appartenant exclusivement à des équipes de recherche du Sud, en l’occurrence africaines. Cette situation n’est pas habituelle pour la revue qui a, bien au contraire, la volonté de cultiver la mixité d’origine des articles publiés. Mais force est de constater que la tendance n’est pas nouvelle, et que les contributions des équipes de recherche du « Nord » sont minoritaires dans les récents numéros de la revue.
Mercury fluxes, budgets and pools in forest ecosystems of China: A critical review
Authors: Zhou Jun , Du Buyun , Wang Zhangwei , Shang Lihai , Zhou Jing
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Mercury (Hg) accumulation and retention in forest ecosystems play a key role in global biogeochemical cycling of Hg. Especially in China, forests are suffering highly elevated Hg loads. Numerous studies have been conducted to characterize the fluxes and pools of Hg in the terrestrial forests in China during the past decade, which provide insights into spatial distributions and estimate the Hg mass balance in forests through observations at widely diverse subtropical and temperate locations. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of the research status of forest Hg in China to characterize the Hg budgets and pools. Averaged total Hg (THg) inputs at remote forests and rural & suburban forests in China are about 2 to 4-fold and 2.5 to 5-fold higher than the observed values in Europe and North America, respectively. The highly elevated THg inputs are mainly derived from the elevated atmospheric Hg concentrations. Additionally, production of litterfall biomass is showed to be an important influential factor raising the high Hg inputs at subtropical forests. Compared to the input, THg outputs from the forest ecosystems are relative small, which results in large amount of Hg resided in the forest soils. The annual THg retentions range from 26.1 to 60.4 µg m−2 at subtropical forests and from 12.4 to 26.2 µg m−2 at temperate forests of China, which are about 3.8- to 7.9-fold and 1.2 to 2.8-fold higher compared to those in North America. Given the large areal coverage, THg retention in forest is appropriately 69 t yr−1 in China and is much high than that in global scale estimated by models. The much higher THg retention has elevated the THg pools in Chinese subtropical forests, which poses a serious threat for large Hg pulses remitted back to the atmosphere and additional ecological risks in the forest. The current study has implication for the role of China forests in the global Hg biogeochemical cycle and the optimization of atmospheric Hg transport and deposition models.
Decadal variation of extreme drought and flood in North China revealed by documentary-based seasonal precipitation reconstruction for the past 300 years
Authors: Zheng Jingyun , Yu Yingzhuo , Zhang Xuezhen , Hao Zhixin
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Using the 17-sites seasonal precipitation reconstructions from an unique historical archive, Yu-Xue-Fen-Cun, the decadal variations of extreme droughts and floods (i.e., the event with occurrence probability of less than 10 % from 1951 to 2000) in North China were investigated, by considering both the probabilities of droughts/floods occurrence in each site and spatial coverage (i.e., percentage of sites). Then, the possible linkages of extreme droughts and floods with ENSO (i.e., El Niño and La Niña) episodes and large volcanic eruptions were discussed. The results show that there were 29 extreme droughts and 28 extreme floods in North China from 1736 to 2000. Extreme droughts occurred more frequently (2 or more events) during the 1770s–1780s, 1870s, 1900s–1920s, 1940s and 1980s–1990s, among which the most frequent (3 events) occurred in the 1900s and the 1920s. While more frequent extreme floods occurred in the 1770s, 1790s, 1820s, 1880s, 1910s and 1950s–1960s, among which the most frequent (4 events) occurred in the 1790s and 1880s. For the total of extreme droughts and floods, they are more frequent in the 1770s, 1790s, 1870s–1880s, 1900s–1920s and 1960s, and the highest frequency (5 events) occurred in the 1790s. A higher probability of the extreme drought was found when El Niño occurred in the current year or the previous year. However, no significant connections were found not only between the occurrences of extreme floods and ENSO episodes, but also between the occurrences of extreme droughts/floods and large volcanic eruptions.
Reconstructing lateral migration rates in meandering systems; a novel Bayesian approach combining OSL dating and historical maps
Authors: Quik Cindy , Wallinga Jakob
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Identifying lateral migration rates of meandering rivers is relevant both for fluvial geomorphology and to support river management. Lateral migration rates for contemporary meandering systems are often reconstructed based on sequential remote sensing images or historical maps, however the time frame for which these sources are available is limited and hence likely to represent fluvial systems subjected to human influence. Here, we propose to use scroll bar sequences as an archive to look further back in time using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sand-sized quartz grains. We develop a modelling procedure for the joint Bayesian analysis of (OSL) dating results and historical map data. The procedure is applied to two meanders from the Overijsselse Vecht, a medium-sized sand-bed river in The Netherlands. We obtained 9 samples for OSL dating from scroll bars, and combined OSL dating results with historical map data for the period 1720–1901 AD. The procedure we propose here incorporates strengths of both data types for reconstructing fluvial morphodynamics over longer timeframes. Using an iterative modelling approach, we translate spatial uncertainty of historical maps into temporal uncertainty of channel position required for Bayesian deposition modelling. Our results indicate that meander formation in the Overijsselse Vecht system started around 1400 AD, and lateral migration rates were on average 2.6 and 0.9 m/y for the two investigated bends, until river channelization around 1900 AD.
Multi-site calibration and validation of SWAT with satellite-based evapotranspiration in a data sparse catchment in southwestern Nigeria
Authors: Odusanya Abolanle E. , Mehdi Bano , Schürz Christoph , Oke Adebayo O. , Awokola Olufiropo S. , Awomeso Julius A. , Adejuwon Joseph O. , Schulz Karsten
Published: April 2018

Abstract. The main objective of this study was to calibrate and validate the eco-hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with satellite based actual evapotranspiration (AET) data (Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM_v3.0a) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Global Evaporation (MOD16) for the Ogun River Basin (20 292 km2) located in southwestern Nigeria. The novelty of the study is the use of freely available satellite derived AET data for calibration/validation of each of the SWAT delineated subbasins, thereby obtaining a better performing model at the local scale as well as at the whole watershed level. The Sequential Uncertainty Fitting technique (SUFI-2) in the SWAT-Calibration and Uncertainty Program was used for the sensitivity analysis, model calibration, validation, and uncertainty analysis. Three different structures of the SWAT model were used in which each model structure was a set-up of SWAT with a different potential evapotranspiration (PET) equation. The two global AET products (GLEAM_v3.0a and MOD16) were subsequently used to calibrate the SWAT simulated AET outputs from each model structure resulting in six calibration/validation procedures at a monthly time scale. The model performance for the three SWAT model structures was evaluated for each of the 53 subbasins through the six calibrations/validations, which enabled the best model structure with the highest performing AET product to be chosen. A verification of the simulated AET variable was carried out by: (i) comparing the simulated AET of the calibrated model to GLEAM_v3.0b AET, this is a product that has a different forcing data to version of GLEAM used for the calibration, and (ii) assessing the long-term average annual and average monthly water balances at the outlet of the watershed. Overall, the SWAT model structure composed of Hargreaves PET equation and calibrated using the GLEAM_v3.0a data performed well for the simulation of AET and provided a good level of confidence for using the SWAT model as a decision support tool. The 95% uncertainty of the SWAT simulated variable bracketed most of the satellite based AET data in each subbasin. The SWAT model also proved efficient in capturing the seasonal variability of the water balance components at the outlet of the watershed. This study demonstrated the potential to use remotely sensed evapotranspiration data for hydrological model calibration and validation in a sparsely gauged large river basin with reasonable accuracy.
Using paleoclimate reconstructions to analyse hydrological epochs associated with Pacific Decadal Variability
Authors: Zhang Lanying , Kuczera George , Kiem Anthony S. , Willgoose Garry
Published: April 2018

Abstract. The duration of dry or wet hydrological epochs (run lengths) associated with positive or negative Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) or Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) phases, termed Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV), is an essential statistical property for understanding, assessing and managing hydroclimatic risk. Numerous IPO and PDO paleoclimate reconstructions provide a valuable opportunity to study the statistical signatures of PDV, including run lengths. However, disparities exist between these reconstructions making it problematic to determine which reconstruction(s) to use to investigate pre-instrumental PDV and run length. Variability and persistence on centennial scales are also present in some millennium long reconstructions, making consistent run length extraction difficult. Thus, a robust method to extract meaningful and consistent run lengths from multiple reconstructions is required. In this study, a dynamic threshold framework to account for centennial trends in PDV reconstructions is proposed. The dynamic threshold framework is shown to extract meaningful run length information from multiple reconstructions. Two hydrologically important aspects of the statistical signatures associated with the PDV are explored: (i) whether persistence (i.e. run lengths) during positive epochs is different to persistence during negative epochs and (ii) whether the reconstructed run lengths are stationary during the past millennium. Results suggest that there is no significant difference between run lengths in positive and negative phases of PDV and that it is more likely than not that the PDV run length has been non-stationary in the past millennium. This raises concerns about whether variability seen in the instrumental record (the last ~ 100 years), or even in the shorter 300–400 year paleoclimate reconstructions, is representative of the full range of variability.
FASTER TREES: STRATEGIES FOR ACCELERATED TRAINING AND PREDICTION OF RANDOM FORESTS FOR CLASSIFICATION OF POLSAR IMAGES
Authors: Hänsch Ronny , Hellwich Olaf
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Random Forests have continuously proven to be one of the most accurate, robust, as well as efficient methods for the supervised classification of images in general and polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data in particular. While the majority of previous work focus on improving classification accuracy, we aim for accelerating the training of the classifier as well as its usage during prediction while maintaining its accuracy. Unlike other approaches we mainly consider algorithmic changes to stay as much as possible independent of platform and programming language. The final model achieves an approximately 60 times faster training and a 500 times faster prediction, while the accuracy is only marginally decreased by roughly 1 %.
VEGETATION COVERAGE AND IMPERVIOUS SURFACE AREA ESTIMATED BASED ON THE ESTARFM MODEL AND REMOTE SENSING MONITORING
Authors: Hu Rongming , Wang Shu , Guo Jiao , Guo Liankun
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Impervious surface area and vegetation coverage are important biophysical indicators of urban surface features which can be derived from medium-resolution images. However, remote sensing data obtained by a single sensor are easily affected by many factors such as weather conditions, and the spatial and temporal resolution can not meet the needs for soil erosion estimation. Therefore, the integrated multi-source remote sensing data are needed to carry out high spatio-temporal resolution vegetation coverage estimation. Two spatial and temporal vegetation coverage data and impervious data were obtained from MODIS and Landsat 8 remote sensing images. Based on the Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (ESTARFM), the vegetation coverage data of two scales were fused and the data of vegetation coverage fusion (ESTARFM FVC) and impervious layer with high spatiotemporal resolution (30 m, 8 day) were obtained. On this basis, the spatial variability of the seepage-free surface and the vegetation cover landscape in the study area was measured by means of statistics and spatial autocorrelation analysis. The results showed that: 1) ESTARFM FVC and impermeable surface have higher accuracy and can characterize the characteristics of the biophysical components covered by the earth's surface; 2) The average impervious surface proportion and the spatial configuration of each area are different, which are affected by natural conditions and urbanization. In the urban area of Xi'an, which has typical characteristics of spontaneous urbanization, landscapes are fragmented and have less spatial dependence.
GENERATING IMPACT MAPS FROM AUTOMATICALLY DETECTED BOMB CRATERS IN AERIAL WARTIME IMAGES USING MARKED POINT PROCESSES
Authors: Kruse Christian , Rottensteiner Franz , Hoberg Thorsten , Ziems Marcel , Rebke Julia , Heipke Christian
Published: April 2018

Abstract. The aftermath of wartime attacks is often felt long after the war ended, as numerous unexploded bombs may still exist in the ground. Typically, such areas are documented in so-called impact maps which are based on the detection of bomb craters. This paper proposes a method for the automatic detection of bomb craters in aerial wartime images that were taken during the Second World War. The object model for the bomb craters is represented by ellipses. A probabilistic approach based on marked point processes determines the most likely configuration of objects within the scene. Adding and removing new objects to and from the current configuration, respectively, changing their positions and modifying the ellipse parameters randomly creates new object configurations. Each configuration is evaluated using an energy function. High gradient magnitudes along the border of the ellipse are favored and overlapping ellipses are penalized. Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling in combination with simulated annealing provides the global energy optimum, which describes the conformance with a predefined model. For generating the impact map a probability map is defined which is created from the automatic detections via kernel density estimation. By setting a threshold, areas around the detections are classified as contaminated or uncontaminated sites, respectively. Our results show the general potential of the method for the automatic detection of bomb craters and its automated generation of an impact map in a heterogeneous image stock.
REAL-TIME AND SEAMLESS MONITORING OF GROUND-LEVEL PM2.5 USING
SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING
Authors: Li Tongwen , Zhang Chengyue , Shen Huanfeng , Yuan Qiangqiang , Zhang Liangpei
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Satellite remote sensing has been reported to be a promising approach for the monitoring of atmospheric PM2.5. However, the satellite-based monitoring of ground-level PM2.5 is still challenging. First, the previously used polar-orbiting satellite observations, which can be usually acquired only once per day, are hard to monitor PM2.5 in real time. Second, many data gaps exist in satellitederived PM2.5 due to the cloud contamination. In this paper, the hourly geostationary satellite (i.e., Harawari-8) observations were adopted for the real-time monitoring of PM2.5 in a deep learning architecture. On this basis, the satellite-derived PM2.5 in conjunction with ground PM2.5 measurements are incorporated into a spatio-temporal fusion model to fill the data gaps. Using Wuhan Urban Agglomeration as an example, we have successfully derived the real-time and seamless PM2.5 distributions. The results demonstrate that Harawari-8 satellite-based deep learning model achieves a satisfactory performance (out-of-sample cross-validation R2 = 0.80, RMSE = 17.49 μg/m3) for the estimation of PM2.5. The missing data in satellite-derive PM2.5 are accurately recovered, with R2 between recoveries and ground measurements of 0.75. Overall, this study has inherently provided an effective strategy for the realtime and seamless monitoring of ground-level PM2.5.
CLOUD DETECTION BY FUSING MULTI-SCALE CONVOLUTIONAL FEATURES
Authors: Li Zhiwei , Shen Huanfeng , Wei Yancong , Cheng Qing , Yuan Qiangqiang
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Clouds detection is an important pre-processing step for accurate application of optical satellite imagery. Recent studies indicate that deep learning achieves best performance in image segmentation tasks. Aiming at boosting the accuracy of cloud detection for multispectral imagery, especially for those that contain only visible and near infrared bands, in this paper, we proposed a deep learning based cloud detection method termed MSCN (multi-scale cloud net), which segments cloud by fusing multi-scale convolutional features. MSCN was trained on a global cloud cover validation collection, and was tested in more than ten types of optical images with different resolution. Experiment results show that MSCN has obvious advantages over the traditional multi-feature combined cloud detection method in accuracy, especially when in snow and other areas covered by bright non-cloud objects. Besides, MSCN produced more detailed cloud masks than the compared deep cloud detection convolution network. The effectiveness of MSCN make it promising for practical application in multiple kinds of optical imagery.
AUTOMATED RECOGNITION OF VEGETATION AND WATER BODIES ON THE TERRITORY OF MEGACITIES IN SATELLITE IMAGES OF VISIBLE AND IR BANDS
Authors: Mozgovoy Dmitry k. , Hnatushenko Volodymyr V. , Vasyliev Volodymyr V.
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Vegetation and water bodies are a fundamental element of urban ecosystems, and water mapping is critical for urban and landscape planning and management. A methodology of automated recognition of vegetation and water bodies on the territory of megacities in satellite images of sub-meter spatial resolution of the visible and IR bands is proposed. By processing multispectral images from the satellite SuperView-1A, vector layers of recognized plant and water objects were obtained. Analysis of the results of image processing showed a sufficiently high accuracy of the delineation of the boundaries of recognized objects and a good separation of classes. The developed methodology provides a significant increase of the efficiency and reliability of updating maps of large cities while reducing financial costs. Due to the high degree of automation, the proposed methodology can be implemented in the form of a geo-information web service functioning in the interests of a wide range of public services and commercial institutions.
SPATIOTEMPORAL CHANGE DETECTION IN FOREST COVER DYNAMICS ALONG LANDSLIDE SUSCEPTIBLE REGION OF KARAKORAM HIGHWAY, PAKISTAN
Authors: Rashid Barira , Iqbal Javed
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Forest Cover dynamics and its understanding is essential for a country’s social, environmental, and political engagements. This research provides a methodical approach for the assessment of forest cover along Karakoram Highway. It has great ecological and economic significance because it’s a part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Landsat 4, 5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM and Landsat 8 OLI imagery for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2016 respectively were subjected to supervised classification in ArcMap 10.5 to identify forest change. The study area was categorized into five major land use land cover classes i.e., Forest, vegetation, urban, open land and snow cover. Results from post classification forest cover change maps illustrated notable decrease of almost 26 % forest cover over the time period of 26 years. The accuracy assessment revealed the kappa coefficients 083, 0.78, 0.77 and 0.85, respectively. Major reason for this change is an observed replacement of native forest cover with urban areas (12.5 %) and vegetation (18.6 %) However, there is no significant change in the reserved forests along the study area that contributes only 2.97 % of the total forest cover. The extensive forest degradation and risk prone topography of the region has increased the environmental risk of landslides. Hence, effective policies and forest management is needed to protect not only the environmental and aesthetic benefits of the forest cover but also to manage the disaster risks. Apart from the forest assessment, this research gives an insight of land cover dynamics, along with causes and consequences, thereby showing the forest degradation hotspots.
COSEISMIC DISPLACEMENT ANALYSIS OF THE 12 NOVEMBER 2017 MW 7.3 SARPOL-E ZAHAB (IRAN) EARTHQUAKE FROM SAR INTERFEROMETRY, BURST OVERLAP INTERFEROMETRY AND OFFSET TRACKING
Authors: Vajedian Sanaz , Motagh Mahdi
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Interferometric wide-swath mode of Sentinel-1, which is implemented by Terrain Observation by Progressive Scan (TOPS) technique, is the main mode of SAR data acquisition in this mission. It aims at global monitoring of large areas with enhanced revisit frequency of 6 days at the expense of reduced azimuth resolution, compared to classical ScanSAR mode. TOPS technique is equipped by steering the beam from backward to forward along the heading direction for each burst, in addition to the steering along the range direction, which is the only sweeping direction in standard ScanSAR mode. This leads to difficulty in measuring along-track displacement by applying the conventional method of multi-aperture interferometry (MAI), which exploits a double difference interferometry to estimate azimuth offset. There is a possibility to solve this issue by a technique called “Burst Overlap Interferometry” which focuses on the region of burst overlap. Taking advantage of large squint angle diversity of ~1° in burst overlapped area leads to improve the accuracy of ground motion measurement especially in along-track direction. We investigate the advantage of SAR Interferometry (InSAR), burst overlap interferometry and offset tracking to investigate coseismic deformation and coseismic-induced landslide related to 12 November 2017 Mw 7.3 Sarpol-e Zahab earthquake in Iran.
A HIGH PRECISION DEM EXTRACTION METHOD BASED ON INSAR DATA
Authors: Wang Xinshuang , Liu Lingling , Shi Xiaoliang , Huang Xitao , Geng Wei
Published: April 2018

Abstract. In the 13th Five-Year Plan for Geoinformatics Business, it is proposed that the new InSAR technology should be applied to surveying and mapping production, which will become the innovation driving force of geoinformatics industry. This paper will study closely around the new outline of surveying and mapping and then achieve the TerraSAR/TanDEM data of Bin County in Shaanxi Province in X band. The studying steps are as follows; Firstly, the baseline is estimated from the orbital data; Secondly, the interferometric pairs of SAR image are accurately registered; Thirdly, the interferogram is generated; Fourth, the interferometric correlation information is estimated and the flat-earth phase is removed. In order to solve the phase noise and the discontinuity phase existing in the interferometric image of phase, a GAMMA adaptive filtering method is adopted. Aiming at the "hole" problem of missing data in low coherent area, the interpolation method of low coherent area mask is used to assist the phase unwrapping. Then, the accuracy of the interferometric baseline is estimated from the ground control points. Finally, 1 : 50000 DEM is generated, and the existing DEM data is used to verify the accuracy through statistical analysis. The research results show that the improved InSAR data processing method in this paper can obtain the high-precision DEM of the study area, exactly the same with the topography of reference DEM. The R2 can reach to 0.9648, showing a strong positive correlation.
COMPARISON OF SINGLE AND MULTI-SCALE METHOD FOR LEAF AND WOOD POINTS CLASSIFICATION FROM TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING DATA
Authors: Wei Hongqiang , Zhou Guiyun , Zhou Junjie
Published: April 2018

Abstract. The classification of leaf and wood points is an essential preprocessing step for extracting inventory measurements and canopy characterization of trees from the terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data. The geometry-based approach is one of the widely used classification method. In the geometry-based method, it is common practice to extract salient features at one single scale before the features are used for classification. It remains unclear how different scale(s) used affect the classification accuracy and efficiency. To assess the scale effect on the classification accuracy and efficiency, we extracted the single-scale and multi-scale salient features from the point clouds of two oak trees of different sizes and conducted the classification on leaf and wood. Our experimental results show that the balanced accuracy of the multi-scale method is higher than the average balanced accuracy of the single-scale method by about 10 % for both trees. The average speed-up ratio of single scale classifiers over multi-scale classifier for each tree is higher than 30.
ADAPTIVE 4D PSI-BASED CHANGE DETECTION
Authors: Yang Chia-Hsiang , Soergel Uwe
Published: April 2018

Abstract. In a previous work, we proposed a PSI-based 4D change detection to detect disappearing and emerging PS points (3D) along with their occurrence dates (1D). Such change points are usually caused by anthropic events, e.g., building constructions in cities. This method first divides an entire SAR image stack into several subsets by a set of break dates. The PS points, which are selected based on their temporal coherences before or after a break date, are regarded as change candidates. Change points are then extracted from these candidates according to their change indices, which are modelled from their temporal coherences of divided image subsets. Finally, we check the evolution of the change indices for each change point to detect the break date that this change occurred. The experiment validated both feasibility and applicability of our method. However, two questions still remain. First, selection of temporal coherence threshold associates with a trade-off between quality and quantity of PS points. This selection is also crucial for the amount of change points in a more complex way. Second, heuristic selection of change index thresholds brings vulnerability and causes loss of change points. In this study, we adapt our approach to identify change points based on statistical characteristics of change indices rather than thresholding. The experiment validates this adaptive approach and shows increase of change points compared with the old version. In addition, we also explore and discuss optimal selection of temporal coherence threshold.
RESEARCH AND APPLICATION OF REMOTE SENSING MONITORING METHOD FOR DESERTIFICATION LAND UNDER TIME AND SPACE CONSTRAINTS
Authors: Zhang Nannnan , Wang Rongbao , Zhang Feng
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Serious land desertification and sandified threaten the urban ecological security and the sustainable economic and social development. In recent years, a large number of mobile sand dunes in Horqin sandy land flow into the northwest of Liaoning Province under the monsoon, make local agriculture suffer serious harm. According to the characteristics of desertification land in northwestern Liaoning, based on the First National Geographical Survey data, the Second National Land Survey data and the 1984–2014 Landsat satellite long time sequence data and other multi-source data, we constructed a remote sensing monitoring index system of desertification land in Northwest Liaoning. Through the analysis of space-time-spectral characteristics of desertification land, a method for multi-spectral remote sensing image recognition of desertification land under time-space constraints is proposed. This method was used to identify and extract the distribution and classification of desertification land of Chaoyang City (a typical citie of desertification in northwestern Liaoning) in 2008 and 2014, and monitored the changes and transfers of desertification land from 2008 to 2014. Sandification information was added to the analysis of traditional landscape changes, improved the analysis model of desertification land landscape index, and the characteristics and laws of landscape dynamics and landscape pattern change of desertification land from 2008 to 2014 were analyzed and revealed.
LINKING THE LOCAL CLIMATE ZONES AND LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE TO INVESTIGATE THE SURFACE URBAN HEAT ISLAND, A CASE STUDY OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, U.S.
Authors: Zhao Chunhong
Published: April 2018

Abstract. The Local Climate Zones (LCZs) concept was initiated in 2012 to improve the documentation of Urban Heat Island (UHI) observations. Despite the indispensable role and initial aim of LCZs concept in metadata reporting for atmospheric UHI research, its role in surface UHI investigation also needs to be emphasized. This study incorporated LCZs concept to study surface UHI effect for San Antonio, Texas. LCZ map was developed by a GIS-based LCZs classification scheme with the aid of airborne Lidar dataset and other freely available GIS data. Then, the summer LST was calculated based Landsat imagery, which was used to analyse the relations between LST and LCZs and the statistical significance of the differences of LST among the typical LCZs, in order to test if LCZs are able to efficiently facilitate SUHI investigation. The linkage of LCZs and land surface temperature (LST) indicated that the LCZs mapping can be used to compare and investigate the SUHI. Most of the pairs of LCZs illustrated significant differences in average LSTs with considerable significance. The intra-urban temperature comparison among different urban classes contributes to investigate the influence of heterogeneous urban morphology on local climate formation.
ANALYSIS OF MINING-INDUCED SUBSIDENCE PREDICTION BY EXPONENT KNOTHE MODEL COMBINED WITH INSAR AND LEVELING
Authors: Chen Lei , Zhang Liguo , Tang Yixian , Zhang Hong
Published: April 2018

Abstract. The principle of exponent Knothe model was introduced in detail and the variation process of mining subsidence with time was analysed based on the formulas of subsidence, subsidence velocity and subsidence acceleration in the paper. Five scenes of radar images and six levelling measurements were collected to extract ground deformation characteristics in one coal mining area in this study. Then the unknown parameters of exponent Knothe model were estimated by combined levelling data with deformation information along the line of sight obtained by InSAR technique. By compared the fitting and prediction results obtained by InSAR and levelling with that obtained only by levelling, it was shown that the accuracy of fitting and prediction combined with InSAR and levelling was obviously better than the other that. Therefore, the InSAR measurements can significantly improve the fitting and prediction accuracy of exponent Knothe model.
SPATIO TEMPORAL CHANGE OF SELECTED GLACIERS ALONG KARAKORAM HIGHWAY FROM 1994–2017 USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES
Authors: Anwar Yasmeen , Iqbal Javed
Published: April 2018

Abstract. With the acceleration of global warming glaciers are receding rapidly. Monitoring of glaciers are important because they caused outburst of floods the past. This research delivers a systematic approach for the assessment of glaciers i.e. Batura, Passu, Ghulkin and Gulmit cover along the Karakoram Highway. Main reason to select these glaciers was their closeness to Karakoram Highway which plays an important role in China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC). This study incorporates the techniques of Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing (GIS & RS). For this study, Landsat 4,5,7,8 images were taken for the years of 1994, 2002, 2009, 2013 and 2017. Using the said images supervised classification was done in ArcMap 10.3 version to identify the changes in glaciers. The area was categorized into six major classes’ i.e. Fresh snow, Glaciers, Debris, Vegetation, Water bodies and Open land. Classified results showed a decrease in the area of Glaciers, almost 3.5% from 1994 to 2017. GLIMS data about boundary of glaciers of 1999 and 2007 was compared with the classified results which show decrease in terminus of glaciers. Batura glacier has been receded almost 0.6 km from 1999 to 2017, whereas Passu glaciers receded 0.3 km, whereas Gulmit and Ghulkin glaciers are more stable than Passu and Batura with the difference of −0.05 and +0.57 km respectively. At the end results from classified maps were compared with the climatic data. Wherein temperature is rapidly increasing resulting in melting of glaciers and can cause shrinkage of fresh water as well as destruction to Karakoram highway in case of outburst floods.
AN EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHM FOR FAST INTENSITY BASED IMAGE MATCHING BETWEEN OPTICAL AND SAR SATELLITE IMAGERY
Authors: Fischer Peter , Schuegraf Philipp , Merkle Nina , Storch Tobias
Published: April 2018

Abstract. This paper presents a hybrid evolutionary algorithm for fast intensity based matching between satellite imagery from SAR and very high-resolution (VHR) optical sensor systems. The precise and accurate co-registration of image time series and images of different sensors is a key task in multi-sensor image processing scenarios. The necessary preprocessing step of image matching and tie-point detection is divided into a search problem and a similarity measurement. Within this paper we evaluate the use of an evolutionary search strategy for establishing the spatial correspondence between satellite imagery of optical and radar sensors. The aim of the proposed algorithm is to decrease the computational costs during the search process by formulating the search as an optimization problem. Based upon the canonical evolutionary algorithm, the proposed algorithm is adapted for SAR/optical imagery intensity based matching. Extensions are drawn using techniques like hybridization (e.g. local search) and others to lower the number of objective function calls and refine the result. The algorithm significantely decreases the computational costs whilst finding the optimal solution in a reliable way.