bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regards croisés sur l'évolution de la relation thérapeutique au cours d'une psychothérapie psychodynamique brève
Authors: de Roten Yves , Michel Luc
Published: May 2013

Le cas de Julia est extrait d’une recherche sur le développement de l’alliance thérapeutique au cours d’une psychothérapie psychodynamique brève, mesurée après chaque séance par le patient et le thérapeute. Le profil d’évolution de l’alliance chez Julia présente plusieurs épisodes décrits dans la littérature comme des épisodes de ruptures-résolutions. L’article expose la comparaison de cette mesure quantitative de l’alliance tout au long du processus thérapeutique avec une évaluation quantitative et qualitative par le thérapeute du processus relationnel transféro-contre-transférentiel. Les résultats révèlent plusieurs types de covariations dans les évaluations de Julia et celles de son thérapeute, qui jettent un éclairage nouveau sur des questions importantes comme le lien entre alliance et transfert ou le lien entre perceptions de la relation du patient et du thérapeute. L’intérêt de ce type d’étude de cas pour la recherche et la clinique est discuté. Nous recommandons tout particulièrement l’utilisation routinière d’une mesure d’alliance thérapeutique dans la pratique courante.
La mise en chiffres de soi
Authors: Pharabod Anne-Sylvie , Nikolski Véra , Granjon Fabien
Published: May 2013

Marginales et intimes, les pratiques de quantifications personnelles - mesures de poids, d’exercices physiques, de temps de sommeil, etc. - sont aujourd’hui promues par le développement d’outils, allant de discrets capteurs aux sites de partage de données personnelles en ligne. L’enquête qualitative auprès de personnes effectuant régulièrement de telles quantifications, avec ou sans outils sophistiqués, met en évidence trois manières principales de faire chiffre de soi : la surveillance d’un paramètre à risque, la routinisation d’une pratique jugée souhaitable et la performance à atteindre un objectif défini. Interrogeant l’efficacité de telles notations à guider en retour l’action, l’analyse montre notamment que la réflexivité chiffrée, plutôt qu’une prise de recul pour mieux se connaître, focalise l’attention sur un aspect partiel de soi et inscrit l’individu dans une série orientée, une trajectoire. Elle discute enfin la place des valeurs de référence (records, moyennes, seuils...) dans ces pratiques personnelles, une place qui apparaît d’autant plus importante avec l’usage d’outils standardisés et le partage des données en ligne.
« Le tout est toujours plus petit que ses parties »
Authors: Latour Bruno , Jensen Pablo , Venturini Tommaso , Grauwin Sebastian , Boullier Dominique
Published: May 2013

Cet article vise à démonter que la disponibilité récente de données numériques permet de revisiter la théorie sociale de Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904) qui se passe totalement de notions telles que l’individu ou la société. Notre analyse repose sur l’idée que, tant qu’il était impossible, difficile ou simplement fastidieux d’amasser et de consulter des quantités d’informations liées à des sujets précis, il était logique de traiter les données relatives aux liens sociaux en définissant deux niveaux : un pour l’élément individuel, l’autre pour l’agrégat collectif. Mais dès que l’on suit les individus par le biais de leurs relations (ce que l’on fait généralement dans le cas des profils) il serait plus avantageux de naviguer à travers les fichiers de données sans distinguer le niveau de l’élément individuel de celui de la structure collective. On peut alors accorder une certaine crédibilité à l’étrange notion de « monades » de Tarde. Nous affirmons que c’est justement ce mode de navigation, rendu possible par l’accès aux bases de données numériques, qui permet de modifier la théorie sociologique. Au sens strict du terme, nous ne devrions plus parler de phénomènes collectifs par opposition à des phénomènes individuels, mais seulement d’autant de façons différentes de collecter des phénomènes.
La naissance du duc de Bordeaux, ou la Restauration s'attendrit
Authors: Counter Andrew J.
Published: May 2013

L’article propose une lecture synoptique des odes commémoratives parues dans la presse monarchiste à l’occasion de la naissance et du baptême du duc de Bordeaux, en novembre 1820 et mai 1821. Il met au jour les tropes exploités par les auteurs monarchistes, les concepts politiques (avenir, espérance) qu’ils développent et les goûts littéraires qu’ils cherchent à flatter pour faire mieux accueillir leur message. Le sentimentalisme des odes, emprunté à la littérature du mal du siècle et qui s’attache tant à l’enfant qu’à sa jeune mère veuve, se révèle comme une tentative de conquête politique par la tendresse, tentative qui vise en particulier les classes moyennes dont l’idéologie domestique trouve son écho dans les scènes d’intimité familiale fantasmées dans les odes de circonstance. Mélange de tendresse et d’espoir, le discours des odes de circonstance laisse entrevoir une facette peu explorée de la Restauration.
L'hygiène publique, fille des Lumières
Authors: Jorland Gérard
Published: May 2013

L’hygiène publique est de tous les temps et de toutes les cultures, il n’est pas de peuple, aussi frustes soient ses conditions d’existence, qui n’organise son environnement, veille à son alimentation, ne protège les corps des malédictions et n’en police les excrétions, enfin ne réglemente ses activités et ne se soucie de ses âmes. Mais avec les Lumières, l’hygiène publique a cessé d’être une police des mœurs pour rassembler tout un complexe de disciplines, de la médecine à l’architecture, du génie civil à l’économie politique, dans une politique de santé qui a pour objet l’allongement de la vie humaine.
AUTOMATED VOLUMETRY OF POSTOPERATIVE SKULL DEFECT ON BRAIN CT
Authors: Huang Ke-Chun , Liao Chun-Chih , Xiao Furen , Liu Charles Chih-Ho , Chiang I-Jen , Wong Jau-Min
Published: May 2013

The volume of the skull defect should be one of the most important quantitative measures for decompressive craniectomy. However, there has been no study focusing on automated estimation of the volume from postoperative computed tomography (CT). This study develops and validates three methods that can automatically locate, recover and measure the missing skull region based on symmetry without preoperative images. The low resolution estimate (LRE) method involves downsizing CT images, finding the axis of symmetry for each slice, and estimating the location and size of the missing skull regions. The intact mid-sagittal plane (iMSP) can be defined either by dimension-by-dimension (DBD) method as a global symmetry plane or by Liu's method as a regression from each slices. The skull defect volume can then be calculated by skull volume difference (SVD) with respect to each iMSP. During a 48-month period between July 2006 and June 2010 at a regional hospital in northern Taiwan, we collected 30 sets of nonvolumetric CT images after craniectomies. Three board-certified neurosurgeons perform computer-assisted volumetric analysis of skull defect volume VManas the gold standard for evaluating the performance of our algorithm. We compare the error of the three volumetry methods. The error of VLREis smaller than that of VLiu(p < 0.0001) and VDBD(p = 0.034). The error of VDBDis significant smaller than that of VLiu(p = 0.001). The correlation coefficients between VManand VLRE, VLiu, VDBDare 0.98, 0.88 and 0.95, respectively. In conclusion, these methods can help to define the skull defect volume in postoperative images and provide information of the immediate volume gain after decompressive craniectomies. The iMSP of the postoperative skull can be reliably identified using the DBD method.
OPTIMIZATION OF A NONLINEAR ELECTRICAL–THERMAL MODEL OF THE SKIN
Authors: Molaei S. Rasoul , Jafari Reza , Jafari Sajad , Abdolmohammadi Hamid Reza
Published: May 2013

This paper presents modified equations for a nonlinear electrical–thermal model of the skin, and optimizes the parameters of the model by a genetic algorithm. In publications, an electrical–thermal model for the skin has been presented. Although, the model is sophisticated and includes the most of physical phenomena occurring in the skin; however, mathematical equations used in this model for the capacitance and dissipated power are incompletely stated so that they sometimes cause instability in solving the equations. In this paper, the equations given previously for the capacitance current and the dissipated power are first modified. We have considered different inward and outward current in the model, since there are different ions which make this two currents in the skin. Then, a special kind of genetic algorithm is applied to estimate the parameters of the model. The used algorithm is a powerful optimization tool against high-dimensional problems and can overcome the curse of dimensionality. In each iteration, it divides variable sets into two groups: a small set still variable and a large set frozen on their best values. Finally, modeling results are compared with experimental results. The comparison shows there is a good agreement between the modeling and experimental results especially in the steady state regime.
Piezoresponse Force Microscopy Study of Ferroelectric BaTiO3 Thin Film Directly Deposited on Si(001) by Magnetron Sputtering
Authors: Lu Hong Liang , Song Shuang Qi , Gu Xiao Feng , He Shu Li , Chen Chong Lin , Song Gang Bing , Cai Zhong Hou , Guo Hai Ming , Gao Hong Jun , Sun Li
Published: May 2013

Direct integration of ferroelectrics with semiconductors is critical to lower the cost and simplify the production procedures for data storage/processing components and miniature sensor/actuator development. By optimizing magnetron sputtering parameters, highly <001> preferential growth of BaTiO3 thin films with reproducible ferroelectric responses have been achieved on Si (001) substrates. The thin film ferroelectric characteristics were systematically studied by piezoresponse force microscopy, and a piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 24pm/V has been measured. It is found that the scanning tip sidewall angle and cantilever tilt affect the contour and size of polarized area.
Waterproof and Dustproof of Wild Silk: A Theoretical Explanation
Authors: Chen Rou Xi , He Ji Huan , Kong Hai Yan
Published: May 2013

Nanopore on a surface (e.g. the epidermis of a leaf) can absorb nanoparticles, and nanoparticles on a surface play a contrary role. Comparison of wild silk with Bombyx mori silk reveals that the former has obvious nanoparticle-like crystals, which can repel water or dust, resulting in waterproof and dustproof of wild silk.
Highly Selective Adsorption of Plants' Leaves on Nanoparticles
Authors: Kong Hai Yan , He Ji Huan , Chen Rou Xi , Wang Liang
Published: May 2013

Adsorption of fine particles in air by a leaf is studied experimentally. It is found that each leaf can absorb only a kind of particles with almost same size, and it also exhibits high selectivity over other particles. The SEM study reveals that the size of nanopore on the epidermis is a main factor of the highly selective adsorption; the smaller nanopores can absorb larger nanoparticles in air. The morphology of a lotus leaf, which is waterproof and dustproof, has, on the other hand, many short nanofibrils instead of nanopores. It is concluded that the nanoscale geometrical structure of a surface affects its attraction/repulsion property. The experiment also shows that one square millimeter surface with nanopores in diameter of 18 nm can absorb 2 million nanoparticles of about 200 nm in diameter from air in 24 hours. A better understanding of the adsorption/repulsion mechanism could help the further design of bio-mimetic waterproof/dustproof artificial materials and artificial porous materials/fabrics/nonwovens for adsorption of nanoparticles in air.
SWAP-70 Restricts Spontaneous Maturation of Dendritic Cells
Authors: Ocaña-Morgner Carlos , Götz Anne , Wahren Christine , Jessberger Rolf
Published: May 2013

Spontaneous maturation observed in dendritic cell (DC) cultures has been linked to their capacity to induce immune responses. Despite several recent studies, the mechanisms and signals triggering spontaneous maturation of DCs are largely unknown. We found that the absence of SWAP-70 causes spontaneous maturation of spleen- and bone marrow–derived DCs and, in vivo, of spleen-resident CD11c+CD11b+CD8α− DCs. Activation markers, cross-presentation of exogenous Ags, and activation of CD8+ T cells are much increased in Swap-70−/− DCs. Spontaneous maturation of Swap-70−/− DCs depends on cell–cell contact and does not involve β-catenin signaling. SWAP-70 is known to regulate integrin activity. Signaling through the integrin CD11b (αM) subunit increases spontaneous maturation of wild-type (wt), but not of Swap-70−/− DCs. Signaling through the CD18 (β2) subunit decreases spontaneous maturation of wt and Swap-70−/− DCs. Constitutive activation of RhoA in Swap-70−/− DCs was determined as a key mechanism causing the increased spontaneous maturation. Inhibition of RhoA early, but not late, in the activation process reduces spontaneous maturation in Swap-70−/− DCs to wt levels. Inhibition of RhoA activation during CD11b integrin activation had a significant effect only in Swap-70−/− but not in wt DCs. Together, our data suggest that integrin-mediated spontaneous maturation of wt DCs does not depend on active RhoA, whereas the increase in spontaneous maturation of Swap-70−/− DCs is supported by integrin CD11b and by hyperactive RhoA. Thus, SWAP-70 deficiency reveals two pathways that contribute to spontaneous maturation of DCs.
Mast Cell–deficient KitW-sh “Sash” Mutant Mice Display Aberrant Myelopoiesis Leading to the Accumulation of Splenocytes That Act as Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells
Authors: Michel Anastasija , Schüler Andrea , Friedrich Pamela , Döner Fatma , Bopp Tobias , Radsak Markus , Hoffmann Markus , Relle Manfred , Distler Ute , Kuharev Jörg , Tenzer Stefan , Feyerabend Thorsten B. , Rodewald Hans-Reimer , Schild Hansjörg , Schmitt Edgar , Becker Marc , Stassen Michael
Published: May 2013

Mast cell-deficient KitW-sh “sash” mice are widely used to investigate mast cell functions. However, mutations of c-Kit also affect additional cells of hematopoietic and nonimmune origin. In this study, we demonstrate that KitW-sh causes aberrant extramedullary myelopoiesis characterized by the expansion of immature lineage-negative cells, common myeloid progenitors, and granulocyte/macrophage progenitors in the spleen. A consistent feature shared by these cell types is the reduced expression of c-Kit. Populations expressing intermediate and high levels of Ly6G, a component of the myeloid differentiation Ag Gr-1, are also highly expanded in the spleen of sash mice. These cells are able to suppress T cell responses in vitro and phenotypically and functionally resemble myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). MDSC typically accumulate in tumor-bearing hosts and are able to dampen immune responses. Consequently, transfer of MDSC from naive sash mice into line 1 alveolar cell carcinoma tumor-bearing wild-type littermates leads to enhanced tumor progression. However, although it can also be observed in sash mice, accelerated growth of transplanted line 1 alveolar cell carcinoma tumors is a mast cell–independent phenomenon. Thus, the KitW-sh mutation broadly affects key steps in myelopoiesis that may have an impact on mast cell research.
Different GATA Factors Dictate CCR3 Transcription in Allergic Inflammatory Cells in a Cell Type–Specific Manner
Authors: Kong Su-Kang , Kim Byung Soo , Uhm Tae Gi , Lee Wonyong , Lee Gap Ryol , Park Choon-Sik , Lee Chul-Hoon , Chung Il Yup
Published: May 2013

The chemokine receptor CCR3 is expressed in prominent allergic inflammatory cells, including eosinophils, mast cells, and Th2 cells. We previously identified a functional GATA element within exon 1 of the CCR3 gene that is responsible for GATA-1–mediated CCR3 transcription. Because allergic inflammatory cells exhibit distinct expression patterns of different GATA factors, we investigated whether different GATA factors dictate CCR3 transcription in a cell type–specific manner. GATA-2 was expressed in EoL-1 eosinophilic cells, GATA-1 and GATA-2 were expressed in HMC-1 mast cells, and GATA-3 was preferentially expressed in Jurkat cells. Unlike a wild-type CCR3 reporter, reporters lacking the functional GATA element were not active in any of the three cell types, implying the involvement of different GATA factors in CCR3 transcription. RNA interference assays showed that small interfering RNAs specific for different GATA factors reduced CCR3 reporter activity in a cell type–specific fashion. Consistent with these findings, chromatin immunoprecipitation and EMSA analyses demonstrated cell type–specific binding of GATA factors to the functional GATA site. More importantly, specific inhibition of the CCR3 reporter activity by different GATA small interfering RNAs was well preserved in respective cell types differentiated from cord blood; in particular, GATA-3 was entirely responsible for reporter activity in Th2 cells and replaced the role predominantly played by GATA-1 and GATA-2. These results highlight a mechanistic role of GATA factors in which cell type–specific expression is the primary determinant of transcription of the CCR3 gene in major allergic inflammatory cells.
Hierarchy of CD4 T Cell Epitopes of the ANRS Lipo5 Synthetic Vaccine Relies on the Frequencies of Pre-Existing Peptide-Specific T Cells in Healthy Donors
Authors: Castelli Florence Anne , Szely Natacha , Olivain Alexis , Casartelli Nicoletta , Grygar Caroline , Schneider Aurélie , Besse Aurore , Levy Yves , Schwartz Olivier , Maillère Bernard
Published: May 2013

The Agence National de Recherche sur le SIDA et les hepatitis Lipo5 vaccine is composed by five long fragments of HIV proteins and was recently shown to induce in seronegative volunteers a CD4 T cell response largely dominated by the G2 fragment. To understand this response profile, we submitted the five HIV fragments to HLA-DR–binding assays and evaluated the frequency of naive Lipo5-specific CD4 T lymphocytes in the blood of 22 healthy individuals. We enumerated the Lipo5-specific T cell lines induced in vitro by weekly rounds of specific stimulation. Four peptides and hence not only G2 exhibited a broad specificity for HLA-DR molecules. In contrast, most of the T cell lines specific for Lipo5 reacted with G2, revealing a G2-specific T cell repertoire superior to 2 cells per million, whereas it is close to 0.4 for the other peptides. We also found good cross-reactivity of all the peptides with clade B and C variants and that G2 and P1 are able to recruit T cells that recognize HIV-infected cells. We therefore mainly observed very good concordance between the frequency to individual Lipo5 peptides among vaccinees in a large-scale vaccine trial and the distribution of peptide specificity of the in vitro induced T cell lines. These findings underline the role of the size of the epitope-specific naive repertoire in shaping the CD4 T cell response after vaccination and highlight the value of evaluating the naive repertoire to predict vaccine immunogenicity.
Gender medicine: an up-date
Authors: Politi Cecilia , Ciarambino Tiziana , Franconi Flavia , De Feudis Lucrezia , Mayer Maria Carolina , Martignoni Alessandra , Giovi Ilaria , Tonani Michela , La Carrubba Salvatore , Moretti Anna Maria , Martino Carmen , Scanelli Giovanni
Published: May 2013

Women get sick more, use more health services, take more drugs, and have a higher frequency of serious adverse reactions. Despite this, the drugs we use are little studied in women: both clinical studies and pre-clinical experiments are carried out predominantly in males and the young. Before 1990, no more than 26-30% of women were usually enrolled in a trial, so we lacked the statistical power of showing the efficacy and safety of the drugs being studied in the whole population. The gender blindness (transposition of the male studies in female populations) resulted in a lack of awareness of the differences between males and females, and this prevented both genders from receiving the best possible care. This gender bias also, to a lower degree, hurts men: depression, migraines, osteoporosis have not been studied properly in males. Although the process is slow, the scientific community has begun to pay more attention to direct and indirect influences that gender exercise on biological mechanisms, and this includes both internal and external cultural and environmental factors. Therefore, the differences between the old, the young, children, and pregnant women (considered the third gender group) will become increasingly more important as care becomes more personalized. The first course of gender medicine was established only in 2002 at Columbia University, New York, USA. The World Health Organization has incorporated gender medicine into the Equity Act. This implies that the treatment given must be the most appropriate and best suited the individual patient’s gender. The Committee on Women’s Health of the Ministry of Health in Italy was established in 2007. Institutions now pay great attention to the importance of this clinical perspective and are sensitive to the need for change. This review focuses on specific open questions regarding gender: pharmacology, clinical trial recruitment, cardiovascular prevention, stroke, osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, and discusses presentations made to the 1st course of gender medicine organized as part of the 18th National Congress of the Federation of Associations of Hospital Doctors on Internal Medicine (FADOI), 2012.
Teachers’ reasoning in a repeated sampling context
Authors: Wessels Helena , Nieuwoudt Hercules
Published: May 2013

The concepts of variability and uncertainty are regarded as cornerstones in statistics. Proportional reasoning plays an important connecting role in reasoning about variability and therefore teachers need to develop students’ statistical reasoning skills about variability, including intuitions for the outcomes of repeated sampling situations. Many teachers however lack the necessary knowledge and skills themselves and need to be exposed to hands-on activities to develop their reasoning skills about variability in a sampling environment. The research reported in this article aimed to determine and develop teachers’ understanding of variability in a repeated sampling context. The research forms part of a larger project that profiled Grade 8–12 teachers’ statistical content and pedagogical content knowledge. As part of this larger research project 14 high school teachers from eight culturally diverse urban schools attended a series of professional development workshops in statistics and completed a number of tasks to determine and develop their understanding of variability in a repeated sampling context. The Candy Bowl Task was used to probe teachers’ notions of variability in such a context. Teachers’ reasoning mainly revealed different types of thinking based on absolute frequencies, relative frequencies and on expectations of proportion and spread. Only one response showed distributional reasoning involving reasoning about centres as well as the variation around the centres. The conclusion was that a greater emphasis on variability and repeated sampling is necessary in statistics education in South African schools. To this end teachers should be supported to develop their own and learners’ statistical reasoning skills in order to help prepare them adequately for citizenship in a knowledge-driven society.
Pituitary Surgery and Anesthetic Management: An Update
Authors: Saini Vikas , Malhotra Surender K , Sharma Kiran
Published: May 2013

Out of all the brain tumors, 10% are pituitary tumors. Surgical interventions in this field have advanced and so have techniques of anesthesia and intensive care. Presenting features of the patients with pituitary tumors are often due to excessive or decreased secretion of hormones. Most commonly performed procedure is transsphenoidal pituitary surgery which requires skillful anesthetic technique as a number of associated comorbidities may exist. For a positive surgical result, a team consisting of endocrine surgeon, endocrinologist, neurosurgeon and anesthesiologist is a must. An emphasis is required on preoperative evaluation of airway, endocrinal and neurological status. The understanding of pathophysiology, perioperative anesthetic management, awareness of likely complications and postoperative care, results in successful outcome.

How to cite this article

Malhotra SK, Sharma K, Saini V. Pituitary Surgery and Anesthetic Management: An Update. World J Endoc Surg 2013;5(1):1-5.
Thyroid Surgery and Anticoagulation: Survey of Practice of Endocrine Surgeons in Australia
Authors: Verma Kunal Pradip , Miller Julie Ann
Published: May 2013

Few studies specifically address management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis and bridging anticoagulation therapy in patients undergoing thyroid surgery. A survey about perioperative management of thromboprophylaxis was sent to Australian Endocrine Surgeons. Responses were tabulated and graphed; a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Survey responses showed a large broad spectrum of practice regarding thromboprophylaxis, bridging therapy and cessation of anticoagulant medication. While anticoagulant prophylaxis in thyroid surgery appears to be relatively safe, there is a theoretical risk of catastrophic bleeding complications; according to this survey of Australian Endocrine Surgeons, thromboembolic events are uncommon complications of thyroid surgery.

How to cite this article

Verma KP, Gorelik A, Miller JA. Thyroid Surgery and Anticoagulation: Survey of Practice of Endocrine Surgeons in Australia. World J Endoc Surg 2013;5(1):6-11.
Carotid Artery Encasement by Thyroid Carcinoma
Authors: Paul MJ , Abraham Deepak T
Published: May 2013

How to cite this article

Mayilvaganan S, Ramakant P, Abraham DT, Paul MJ. Carotid Artery Encasement by Thyroid Carcinoma. World J Endoc Surg 2013;5(1):31-32.
A pervasive and persistent Asian dust event over North America during spring 2010: lidar and sunphotometer observations
Authors: Cottle P. , Strawbridge K. , McKendry I. , O'Neill N. , Saha A.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. Among the many well-documented cases of springtime trans-Pacific transport of crustal dust from Asia to North America (significant events include those of 1998, 2001, and 2005), the events of March and April 2010 were extraordinary both in the extent of the dust distribution and in the unique meteorological conditions that caused the dust layers in the free troposphere to linger and be detectable across Canada and the northern United States for over a month. This study focuses on extending previous research by combining data from CORALNet (Canadian Operational Research Aerosol Lidar Network) lidars in Vancouver, BC, and Egbert, ON, with AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) sunphotometer retrievals and model results from HYSPLIT (HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) and NAAPS (Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System) to monitor the arrival and distribution of dust layers across North America. This is the first documented instance of lidar detection of Asian dust from the Egbert CORALNet installation, where layers identified as dust using depolarization ratios corresponded with retrievals of coarse-mode optical depth at the co-located AEROCAN/AERONET site. In Vancouver dust layer depolarization ratios varied from 0.27 for dust above 6 km to less than 0.10 for the first 1.5–2 km above the surface. Similar layers of elevated dust exhibited much lower volume depolarization ratios for all altitudes in Egbert, ON, where maximum depolarization ratios stayed below 0.15 for all layers from 2–8 km with no clear variation with altitude, or over time. The relative lack of variation is an indication that as the layers of dust were transported across North America the rates of change in their optical properties slowed. HYSPLIT back trajectories performed throughout the free troposphere above these sites showed a majority of air parcels originating from central Asia on the days in question. Using these techniques, it was shown that elevated layers of aerosol reaching the west coast of North America as early as 17 March also included dust from the same central Asian sources, extending the known duration of the 2010 event by almost a full month.
Aerosol composition, sources and processes during wintertime in Beijing, China
Authors: Sun Y. L. , Wang Z. F. , Fu P. Q. , Yang T. , Jiang Q. , Dong H. B. , Li J. , Jia J. J.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. Air pollution is a major environmental concern during all seasons in the megacity of Beijing, China. Here we present the results from a winter study that was conducted from 21 November 2011 to 20 January 2012 with an Aerodyne Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and various collocated instruments. The non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) species vary dramatically with clean periods and pollution episodes alternating frequently. Compared to summer, wintertime submicron aerosols show much enhanced organics and chloride, which on average account for 52% and 5%, respectively, of the total NR-PM1 mass. All NR-PM1 species show quite different diurnal behaviors between summer and winter. For example, the wintertime nitrate presents a gradual increase during daytime and correlates well with secondary organic aerosol (OA), indicating a dominant role of photochemical production over gas–particle partitioning. Positive matrix factorization was performed on ACSM OA mass spectra, and identified three primary OA (POA) factors, i.e., hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), cooking OA (COA), and coal combustion OA (CCOA), and one secondary factor, i.e., oxygenated OA (OOA). The POA dominates OA during wintertime, contributing 69%, with the other 31% being SOA. Further, all POA components show pronounced diurnal cycles with the highest concentrations occurring at nighttime. CCOA is the largest primary source during the heating season, on average accounting for 33% of OA and 17% of NR-PM1. CCOA also plays a significant role in chemically resolved particulate matter (PM) pollution as its mass contribution increases linearly as a function of NR-PM1 mass loadings. The SOA, however, presents a reverse trend, which might indicate the limited SOA formation during high PM pollution episodes in winter. The effects of meteorology on PM pollution and aerosol processing were also explored. In particular, the sulfate mass is largely enhanced during periods with high humidity because of fog processing of high concentration of precursor SO2. In addition, the increased traffic-related HOA emission at low temperature is also highlighted.
The Unified North American Soil Map and its implication on the soil organic carbon stock in North America
Authors: Liu S. , Wei Y. , Post W. M. , Cook R. B. , Schaefer K. , Thornton M. M.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. The Unified North American Soil Map (UNASM) was developed to provide more accurate regional soil information for terrestrial biosphere modeling. The UNASM combines information from state-of-the-art US STATSGO2 and Soil Landscape of Canada (SLCs) databases. The area not covered by these datasets is filled by using the Harmonized World Soil Database version 1.21 (HWSD1.21). The UNASM contains maximum soil depth derived from the data source as well as seven soil attributes (including sand, silt, and clay content, gravel content, organic carbon content, pH, and bulk density) for the topsoil layer (0–30 cm) and the subsoil layer (30–100 cm), respectively, of the spatial resolution of 0.25 degrees in latitude and longitude. There are pronounced differences in the spatial distributions of soil properties and soil organic carbon between UNASM and HWSD, but the UNASM overall provides more detailed and higher-quality information particularly in Alaska and central Canada. To provide more accurate and up-to-date estimate of soil organic carbon stock in North America, we incorporated Northern Circumpolar Soil Carbon Database (NCSCD) into the UNASM. The estimate of total soil organic carbon mass in the upper 100 cm soil profile based on the improved UNASM is 365.96 Pg, of which 23.1% is under trees, 14.1% is in shrubland, and 4.6% is in grassland and cropland. This UNASM data will provide a resource for use in terrestrial ecosystem modeling both for input of soil characteristics and for benchmarking model output.
On the consistency in variations of chlorophyll a concentration in the South China Sea as revealed by three remote sensing datasets
Authors: Shang S. L. , Dong Q. , Hu C. M. , Lin G. , Li Y. H. , Shang S. P.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. Chlorophyll a (Chl) concentrations derived from satellite measurements have been used in oceanographic research, for example to interpret eco-responses to environmental changes on global and regional scales. However, it is unclear how existing Chl products compare with each other in terms of accuracy and consistency in revealing temporal and spatial patterns, especially in the optically complex marginal seas. In this study, we examined three MODIS Chl data products that have been made available to the community by the US NASA using community-accepted algorithms and default parameterization. These included the products derived from the OC3M, GSM and GIOP algorithms. We compared their temporal variations and spatial distributions in the South China Sea. We found that the three products appeared to capture general features such as unique winter peak at the Southeast Asian Time-series Study station (SEATS, 18° N, 116° E), strong upwelling induced bloom off the Vietnam and the Pearl River plume associated bloom in summer, their absolute magnitude, however, may be questionable. Further error statistics using field measured Chl as the truth demonstrated that the three MODIS Chl products may contain high degree of uncertainties in the study region. Root mean square error (RMSE) of the products from OC3M and GSM (on a log scale) was about 0.4 and average percentage error (ε) was ~150% (Chl between 0.03–7.67 mg m–3, n = 63). In contrast, the GIOP with default parameterization led to higher errors (ϵ = 349%). This study thus advocates more careful interpretation of Chl spatio-temporal variations when using standard Chl products, and also points to the need of local tuning of algorithm parameterization for the study region.
Towards the response of water balance to sugarcane expansion in the Rio Grande Basin, Brazil
Authors: Pereira F. F. , Tursunov M. , Uvo C. B.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. This study explores the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of expansion of the sugarcane plantation on the water balance of the Rio Grande Basin, Brazil, as estimated by changes in evapotranspiration, soil moisture content and surface runoff calculated by a hydrological model. Twenty years of simulation are made using three different land use scenarios that include the basin area planted with sugarcane in 1993, 2000 and 2007 as estimated from satellite images. Complementary, it is used a scenario for sugarcane plantation defined by the Brazilian Institute for Agricultural Research (EMPRAPA) as all areas suitable for sugarcane cultivation within the Rio Grande Basin. In addition, parameters for sugarcane fields were specifically defined via calibration and validation of the hydrological model for all growth phases based on the annual cycle of sugarcane phenology in the Rio Grande Basin. According to results from the land use classification of satellite images, the expansion of sugarcane fields mostly replaced pasture lands. Modelling results for short-, medium- and long-term clarify that impacts of this expansion depended not only on the amount of areas planted with sugarcane, but also the type of land use replaced, location of the expansion within the basin and regional soil properties. Largest impacts on the water balance are observed if areas located close to headwaters with low soil water capacity are planted with sugarcane. In case all areas suitable for sugarcane plantation, as defined by EMBRAPA will actually be planted, simulations showed that the annual accumulated values of evapotranspiration increase up to 180% while surface runoff is reduced to 20% of the values calculated using a land use scenario from 1993.
DETERMINATION OF GLACIER SURFACE AREA USING SPACEBORNE SAR IMAGERY
Authors: Fang L. , Maksymiuk O. , Schmitt M. , Stilla U.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. Glaciers are very important climate indicators. Although visible remote sensing techniques can be used to extract glacier variations effectively and accurately, the necessary data are depending on good weather conditions. In this paper, a method for determination of glacier surface area using multi-temporal and multi-angle high resolution TerraSAR-X data sets is presented. We reduce the "data holes" in the SAR scenes affected by radar shadowing and specular backscattering of smooth ice surfaces by combining the two complementary different imaging geometries (from ascending and descending satellite tracks). Then, a set of suitable features is derived from the intensity image, the texture information generated based on the gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), glacier velocity estimated by speckle tracking, and the interferometric coherence map. Furthermore, the features are selected by 10-foldcross- validation based on the feature relevance importance on classification accuracy using a Random Forests (RF) classifier. With these most relevant features, the glacier surface is discriminated from the background by RF classification in order to calculate the corresponding surface area.
USING SATELLITE IMAGES FOR WIRELESS NETWORK PLANING IN BAKU CITY
Authors: Gojamanov M. , Ismayilov J.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. It is a well known fact that the Information-Telecommunication and Space research technologies are the fields getting much more benefits from the achievements of the scientific and technical progress. In many cases, these areas supporting each other have improved the conditions for their further development. For instance, the intensive development in the field of the mobile communication has caused the rapid progress of the Space research technologies and vice versa.Today it is impossible to solve one of the most important tasks of the mobile communication as Radio Frecance planning without the 2D and 3D digital maps. The compiling of such maps is much more efficient by means of the space images. Because the quality of the space images has been improved and developed, especially at the both spectral and spatial resolution points. It has been possible to to use 8 Band images with the spatial resolution of 50 sm. At present, in relation to the function 3G of mobile communications one of the main issues facing mobile operator companies is a high-precision 3D digital maps. It should be noted that the number of mobile phone users in the Republic of Azerbaijan went forward other Community of Independent States Countries. Of course, using of aerial images for 3D mapping would be optimal. However, depending on a number of technical and administrative problems aerial photography cannot be used. Therefore, the experience of many countries shows that it will be more effective to use the space images with the higher resolution for these issues. Concerning the fact that the mobile communication within the city of Baku has included 3G function there were ordered stereo images wih the spatial resolution of 50 cm for the 150 sq.km territory occupying the central part of the city in order to compile 3D digital maps. The images collected from the WorldView-2 satellite are 4-Band Bundle(Pan+MS1) stereo images. Such kind of imagery enable to automatically classificate some required clutter classes.Meanwhile, there were created 12 GPS points in the territory and there have been held some appropriate observations in these points for the geodesic reference of the space images in the territory. Moreover, it would like to mention that there have been constructed 37 permanently acting GPS stations in the territory of Azerbaijan at present. It significantly facilitates the process of the geodesic reference of the space images in order to accomplish such kind of mentioned projects. The processing of the collected space images was accomplished by means of Erdas LPS 10 program. In the first stage there was created the main component of the 3D maps- Digital Elevevation Model. In this model the following clutter classes are presented: Open; Open areas in urban; Airport, Sea, Inland water; Forest; Parks in urban; Semi Open Area; Open Wet Area; Urban/Urban Mean; Dense urban, Villages, Industrial/Commercial, Residential/Suburban; Dense residential/Suburban; Block of BUILDINGS; Dense Urban High; Buildings, Urban Mixed, Mixed dense urban
LINE-BASED REGISTRATION OF DSM AND HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGES
Authors: Avbelj J. , Iwaszczuk D. , Müller R. , Reinartz P. , Stilla U.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. Data fusion techniques require a good registration of all the used datasets. In remote sensing, images are usually geo-referenced using the GPS and IMU data. However, if more precise registration is required, image processing techniques can be employed. We propose a method for multi-modal image coregistration between hyperspectral images (HSI) and digital surface models (DSM). The method is divided in three parts: object and line detection of the same object in HSI and DSM, line matching and determination of transformation parameters. Homogeneous coordinates are used to implement matching and adjustment of transformation parameters. The common object in HSI and DSM are building boundaries. They have apparent change in height and material, that can be detected in DSM and HSI, respectively. Thus, before the matching and transformation parameter computation, building outlines are detected and adjusted in HSI and DSM. We test the method on a HSI and two DSM, using extracted building outbounds and for comparison also extracted lines with a line detector. The results show that estimated building boundaries provide more line assignments, than using line detector.
MODEL-TO-IMAGE REGISTRATION AND AUTOMATIC TEXTURE MAPPING USING A VIDEO SEQUENCE TAKEN BY A MINI UAV
Authors: Iwaszczuk D. , Helmholz P. , Belton D. , Stilla U.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. 3D city models are used in many fields. Photorealistic building textures find applications such as façade reconstruction, thermal building inspections and heat leakage detection using thermal infrared (TIR) images, quantitative evaluation or study of the materials lying on the object’s surface using multispectral images. Often texturing cannot be done using the same data which was used for 3D reconstruction or textures have to be updated. In such cases co-registration between 3D building models and images has to be carried out. In this paper we present a method for model-to-image matching and texture extraction with best texture selection procedure. We present results for two data sets, first for TIR image sequences taken from a helicopter and second for VIS images taken from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
THE TRANSFORMATION FROM GREEN TO CONCRETE CITIES; A REMOTE SENSING PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Karanja F. N. , Matara S.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. Cities especially in developing countries have been experiencing dramatic transformation as a result of rapid urbanization. For instance, the rate of urbanization in Kenya since independence in 1963 is estimated at 5%. The urban population has risen from 8% at independence to the current figure of 34% (2012). With this trend it is projected that about 50% of the population will be urbanized by the year 2030. The consequence of this is that, cities that were originally regarded as green are gradually being transformed into concrete. This transformation involves largely direct changes in land-use, where areas originally covered by vegetation are now built up. Urban authorities are under increased pressure to cope with the complex dynamics of the demands of the growing population. This paper explores the contribution of Remote Sensing in transformation analysis by proposing a three dimensional approach that endeavours to address the questions regarding to why, what and how. The "why" refers to the drivers of transformation, "what" the consequences thereof whereas "how" focuses on the options the authorities can explore in dealing with the challenges brought about by these changes. Temporal GeoEye images from Google Earth for five epochs namely 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2012 have been used to show the transformation trend from green to concrete. Upper Hill Area in Nairobi in Kenya has been used to demonstrate this concept and the results obtained have revealed a consistent increase in areas under concrete. Indeed the rate of increase in table 2 shows that there has been additional area under concrete between 2002 and 2004 of 0.39, 2004 and 2007 of 1.15, 2007 and 2008 of 0.74 and, 2008 and 2012 of 1.56.
APPLICABILITY ANALYSIS OF ULTRA-LIGHT UAV FOR FLOODING SITE SURVEY IN SOUTH KOREA
Authors: Lee I. , Kang J. , Seo G.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. Recently, UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is used in a variety of fields such as the military service, fire prevention, traffic supervision, mapping, and etc. The increased demand for UAVs is typically attributed to the low manufacturing and operational costs, flexibility of the platforms to accommodate the consumer’s particular needs and the elimination of the risk to pilots’ lives in difficult missions. But, in South Korea, UAV might be first introduced to military service, and is still in its infancy, just being available for construction site monitoring, landscape photographing, spraying agricultural chemicals, broadcasting fields. This study presents the background and the aim of flood mapping, and presents the possibility analysis of how to use UAV effectively for flooding area. And author tries to overlap UAV image with the flooding area trace surveyed by ground surveys. As a result, it is expected that UAV photogrammetry will contributes to investigating the flooded area by providing images, which is describing the flooded area in near real-time and also making a decision like paying compensation.
REGISTRATION OF OPTICAL DATA WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION SAR DATA: A NEW IMAGE REGISTRATION SOLUTION
Authors: Bahr T. , Jin X.
Published: May 2013

Abstract. Accurate image-to-image registration is critical for many image processing workflows, including georeferencing, change detection, data fusion, image mosaicking, DEM extraction and 3D modeling. Users need a solution to generate tie points accurately and geometrically align the images automatically. To solve these requirements we developed the Hybrid Powered Auto-Registration Engine (HyPARE). HyPARE combines all available spatial reference information with a number of image registration approaches to improve the accuracy, performance, and automation of tie point generation and image registration. We demonstrate this approach by the registration of a Pléiades-1a image with a TerraSAR-X SpotLight image of Hannover, Germany. Registering images with different modalities is a known challenging problem; e.g. manual tie point collection is prone to error. The registration engine allows to generate tie points automatically, using an optimized mutual information-based matching method. It produces more accurate results than traditional correlation-based measures. In this example the resulting tie points are well distributed across the overlapping areas, even as the images have significant local feature differences.