Journal articles on the topic 'Mate Selection Index (MSI)'
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1
Hayes, B., R. K. Shepherd, and S. Newman. "Look ahead mate selection schemes for multi-breed beef populations." Animal Science 74, no. 1 (February 2002): 13–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1357729800052206.
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AbstractLook ahead mate selection (LAMS) schemes have been proposed to improve longer-term genetic merit when both selection and crossbreeding are important. We investigate the performance of a LAMS scheme which includes both predicted progeny merit and predicted grandprogeny merit in a mate selection index (MSI). Simulation of a multi-breed beef population, with additive breeding values, direct and maternal breed effects and direct and maternal heterosis was used to compare response from the LAMS scheme to mate selection on progeny merit only (PROG), selection on estimated breeding value (EBV) followed by random mating (RAND) and a structured crossbreeding scheme (CROSS). An additional strategy, LAMS + CO, was similar to LAMS but included a negative weighting on the coancestry of selected animals in the MSI to reduce inbreeding. LAMS gave up to 3% greater response in generation eight than PROG, 4·5% greater response than RAND, and 15% greater response than CROSS. Results from LAMS + CO were very similar to LAMS but inbreeding was 11% less from LAMS + CO at generation eight. The advantage of LAMS and LAMS + CO over PROG in later generations was hypothesized to be the result of positive assortative mating and greater use of maternal effects. Evidence to support the hypothesis of assortative mating was a positive significant correlation of EBVs of mates (sires and dams) in LAMS and LAMS + CO but not in PROG. Strategies PROG, LAMS and LAMS + CO all created closed populations of animals with optimum composite breed proportions.
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Hartini, Sri, Udisubakti Ciptomulyono, Maria Anityasari, and Sriyanto. "Manufacturing sustainability assessment using a lean manufacturing tool." International Journal of Lean Six Sigma 11, no. 5 (February 21, 2020): 957–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijlss-12-2017-0150.
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Purpose Manufacturers and engineers need a practical and operational way to understand sustainable manufacturing and to apply it to their shop floors. The single index enables manufacturing industries to make decisions considering the continuous improvement to increase sustainability performance. The purpose of this paper is to develop a manufacturing sustainability index (MSI) based on lean and sustainability concepts using sustainable-value stream mapping. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of this research is linked to Delphi- analytical hierarchy process (AHP) qualitative assessment with sustainable-value stream mapping quantitative analysis for determining MSI. The Delphi method is used with relevant indicator selection, sustainable-value stream mapping is used to score the relevant indicator with efficiency approach and the AHP method is used to determine the indicator weight. To evaluate the applicability of this framework for assessing sustainability in the manufacturing process, a case study in Indonesian Wooden Furniture was developed. Findings The findings of this research is the framework for evaluating and assessing the sustainability performance of the manufacturing process. Although evaluation of the framework is limited to the furniture industry, there is a methodology potential to reproduce for the other sectors. Research limitations/implications Theoretically, this study has provided a single index to measure performance of the manufacturing sustainability comprehensively at factory level. However, the implementation of the developed model is too limited. More application in different sectors and different industrial sizes is needed. Originality/value The value of this research lies in the novelty of the single index in measuring manufacturing sustainability and the relevant indicators for the furniture industry in Indonesia. The selection of the indicators has involved practitioners in the furniture industry and encompassed economic, environmental and social dimensions. The visualization of indicators through sustainable-value stream mapping is proven to be more practical and helpful for industrialists.
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Burns, D. R., R. Scarth, and P. B. E. McVetty. "Temperature and genotypic effects on the expression of pol cytoplasmic male sterility in summer rape." Canadian Journal of Plant Science 71, no. 3 (July 1, 1991): 655–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/cjps91-097.
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The effect of high temperature treatment on the expression of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) was studied using inbred lines of four summer rape (Brassica napus L.) cultivars. The nuclear genotypes of inbred lines from each of the cultivars Karat, Lergo, Marnoo and Regent were evaluated for their ability to maintain pollen sterility in the pol cytoplasm. Seven days' exposure to day/night temperatures of 30/24 °C in a controlled environment led to increased pollen production in all of the F1 populations (F1's) in the study. Maximum reversion to male fertility occurred 6–13 d after removal from the high temperature treatment. There was a significant linear relationship between daily mean temperatures in the field and mean male sterility index (MSI). In Lergo, Marnoo and Regent F1's, the effect of high temperatures on male sterility expression in terms of days to maximum pollen production in the field was accurately predicted by the values obtained in the controlled environment study. For the Karat F1's, the maximum response in the field occurred later than in the controlled environment. Variation in the stability of male sterility was evident in the F1's, indicating the presence of different maintainer genes among the inbred lines of each cultivar. The absence of environment-by-line interactions in the F1's of three cultivars indicated a high degree of stability for this trait. Selection for maintenance of high levels of male sterility may therefore be possible. Key words: Brassica napus, male fertility reversion
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Kaye, Kenneth. "Mate Selection and Family Business Success." Family Business Review 12, no. 2 (June 1999): 107–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.1999.00107.x.
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An index of a family's success is the caliber of talent it manages to attract and retain through marriage. This fundamental fact in sociology, anthropology, and history has received little attention in the family business field. Parents in Western societies have two windows of opportunity to enhance long-term family success through marriage: first, before their children reach puberty, and later, after they choose spouses for themselves.
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Mohammadi, Reza. "The use of a combination scoring index to improve durum productivity under drought stress." Experimental Agriculture 56, no. 2 (July 24, 2019): 161–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0014479719000231.
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AbstractBreeding for drought tolerance using novel genetic resources possessing relevant agronomic and adaptive traits is a key to enhance productivity and food security in wheat growing areas. Herein, the main objectives were (i) to use a combination scoring index (multiple scoring index, (MSI)) for selection of durum wheat genotypes under different drought stress intensities (SIs) (ii) to examine repeatability of the scoring index through bootstrap re-sample method, and (iii) to study the relationship of MSI with some drought-adaptive traits. Sixteen durum wheat genotypes were grown under rainfed and irrigated conditions during three cropping seasons (2012–2015), resulting in different drought SIs, that is, mild (SI < 0.3), moderate (0.3 < SI < 0.6), and severe (SI > 0.6). The average grain yields among test environments varied between 708 and 3631 kg ha−1. The validation of the methodology of scoring index was confirmed by the correlation coefficients between score indices and their original values across different drought SIs. According to MSI, the genotypes G16, G1, and G3 had the best combination of high productivity and high resilience to mild, moderate, and severe drought stress conditions, respectively. These results indicated that the ranking of genotypes varied among different drought SIs, which support the high potential of durum wheat for adaptation to different drought stress conditions. Based on the bootstrap samples, non-repeatable correlations were observed between the estimates of MSI from different levels of stress. The significant correlation between MSI with grain yield and 1000-kernel weight (TKW) under severe drought condition provides evidence that MSI ultimately be considered as a tool for effective selection of drought-tolerant genotypes. The MSI selected genotypes based on high productivity and resilience, to each level of drought SI, and favorable adaptive traits useful for breeding.
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Luo, Xukun, Jihao Yin, Xiaoyan Luo, and Xiuping Jia. "A Novel Adversarial Based Hyperspectral and Multispectral Image Fusion." Remote Sensing 11, no. 5 (February 28, 2019): 492. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs11050492.
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In order to reconstruct a high spatial and high spectral resolution image (H2SI), one of the most common methods is to fuse a hyperspectral image (HSI) with a corresponding multispectral image (MSI). To effectively obtain both the spectral correlation of bands in HSI and the spatial correlation of pixels in MSI, this paper proposes an adversarial selection fusion (ASF) method for the HSI–MSI fusion problem. Firstly, the unmixing based fusion (UF) method is adopted to dig out the spatial correlation in MSI. Then, to acquire the spectral correlation in HSI, a band reconstruction-based fusion (BRF) method is proposed, regarding H2SI as the product of the optimized band image dictionary and reconstruction coefficients. Finally, spectral spatial quality (SSQ) index is designed to guide the adversarial selection process of UF and BRF. Experimental results on four real-world images demonstrate that the proposed strategy achieves smaller errors and better reconstruction results than other comparison methods.
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Chen, Jiu Sheng, and Chen Liu. "Evaluation Model of Aircraft Maintenance Mode Based on Improved AHP." Advanced Materials Research 605-607 (December 2012): 308–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.605-607.308.
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By analyzing Maintenance Significant Item (MSI) standard procedures of Maintenance Steering Group-3(MSG-3), building optimal evaluation index of maintenance mode selection, an improved hierarchy model based on MSG-3 is established for evaluation of maintenance mode. Scale selection and layer weight confirmation is improved to solve the sort of index weight in evaluation. It makes maintenance mode selection more reasonable. The hierarchy model is implemented on .NET platform. The simulation result proves the validity of the method.
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Farshadfar, E., R. Mohammadi, M. Aghaee, and J. Sutka. "Identification of QTLs involved in physiological and agronomic indicators of drought tolerance in rye using a multiple selection index." Acta Agronomica Hungarica 51, no. 4 (December 1, 2003): 419–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1556/aagr.51.2003.4.7.
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Water deficiency is a major constraint in wheat production and the most important contributor to yield reduction in the semiarid regions of the world. species related to wheat are valuable genetic sources for different traits including resistance/tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. To locate the genes controlling the physiological and agronomic criteria of drought tolerance, disomic addition lines of secale cereale cv. Imperial (donor) into the genetic background of Triticum aestivum cv. Chinese Spring (recipient) were tested under field, greenhouse and laboratory conditions. Disomic addition lines exhibited significant differences for relative water content (RWC), relative water loss (RWL), water use efficiency (WUE) and stomatal resistance (SR), indicating the presence of genetic variation and the possibility of selection for improving drought tolerance. Three physiological variables, RWL, WUE and SR, with high correlation with the stress tolerance index (STI) and germination stress index (GSI), contributed 69.7% to the variability of yield under stress (Ys) in the regression equation. Based on the physiological multiple selection index (MSI) most of the QTLs controlling physiological indices of drought tolerance were located on chromosomes 3R, 5R and 7R. The contribution of addition line 7R to the MSI was 47%. The evaluation of disomic addition lines for STI and GSI revealed that most of the QTLs involved in these quantitative criteria of drought tolerance are located on 3R and 7R. Cluster analysis and three dimensional plots of Ys, yield potential (Yp) and MSI indicated that 3R and 7R are the most important chromosomes carrying useful genes for improving drought tolerance.
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Mahapatra, Dr Nancy Namrata, and Dr Tarachand Kadtuji Kamble. "Myocardial Performance Index In Prediabetes In Medical Staff." International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical invention 6, no. 07 (July 9, 2019): 4513–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.18535/ijmsci/v6i7.01.
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Background: To study myocardial performance index in prediabetes in medical staff. To correlate MPI with cardiovascular risk factors.
Methods: After subject selection, informed consent was taken from the cases and controls. Detailed history was taken and physical examination was done which included weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-hip ratio (WHR) and blood pressure measurement. After physical examination, biochemistry measurements including fasting blood sugar (FBS), post-meal blood sugar (PMBS), serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) were done. Myocardial performance index (MPI) was calculated by 2D-ECHO.
Results: BMI, male WHR, serum cholesterol, TG, LDL and MPI was significantly higher in cases (prediabetics) as compared to controls while serum HDL was lower in cases as compared to controls, which was non-significant. Out of 50 prediabetics, 32 (64%) had abnormal MPI with p=0.0001. There was no correlation of MPI with cardiovascular risk factors like BMI, WHR and fasting lipid profile.
Conclusion: BMI, male WHR, serum cholesterol, TG, LDL and MPI was significantly higher in cases as compared to controls. However, there was no significant correlation between MPI and other cardiovascular risk factors.
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Groen, A. F., T. H. E. Meuwissen, A. R. Vollema, and E. W. Brascamp. "A comparison of alternative index procedures for multiple generation selection on non-linear profit." Animal Science 59, no. 1 (August 1994): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0003356100007443.
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AbstractAlternative index procedures for selection on non-linear profit are quadratic indices, desired gains indices, group or mate selection indices, or direct optimization of responses over multiple generations. In this study a multiple generation time horizon was considered and several linear, quadratic and desired gains indices were compared. Genetic and economic responses over multiple generations were calculated considering a quadratic profit function combining protein yield and days open.Directly optimizing reponse over multiple generations was found to yield slightly higher economic responses (+ < l.5%) than stepwise (each generation) adjustment of a linear index. A constant linear index using base population averages and a quadratic index were found to be less efficient. The quadratic index was less efficient than the linear index when considering multiple generations. Desired gains indices allowed stabilization of base population average for days open, however, forcing considerable economic losses. Relative efficiencies of methods depended on the degree of non-linearity of the profit function.
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Kwan, Timothy H., Marlene Zuk, Mark A. Chappell, and Torgeir S. Johnsen. "Mate Choice and Aerobic Capacity in Red Junglefowl." Behaviour 134, no. 7-8 (1997): 511–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853997x00502.
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AbstractIn 'good genes' models of sexual selection, females choose mates whose genes confer increased survival value to offspring. One possible index of male quality is aerobic capacity (the metabolic basis of sustainable exercise), which is likely to be important for fitness. If it is both heritable and ecologically valuable, high aerobic capacity would be a direct signal of male genetic quality. If aerobic capacity is phenotypically plastic but dependent on health, it may provide an indirect index of male quality in other heritable traits (e.g. pathogen resistance). We examined the relationship between courtship behaviour, aerobic capacity (measured as maximum rates of oxygen consumption), and mating success in red junglefowl (Gallus gallus). We also tested the effects of intestinal parasites (the nematode Ascaridia galli) and plasma testosterone levels on aerobic capacity and behaviour. We found no relationship between testosterone and behaviour, mating success, or aerobic capacity. A. galli infection changed the relationship between mass and aerobic capacity; infected males had lower aerobic capacity than uninfected males, but only for small males. Discriminant function analysis suggested that aerobic capacity and display behaviour, together with male ornaments (comb size and colour), were the most important factors determining the mating success of males. However, aerobic capacity and display rate were not strongly correlated, and the manner by which females can discriminate among males with differing aerobic capacity is unclear.
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Khan, Sami U., Jalal U. Din, Abdul Qayyum, Noor E. Jan, and Matthew A. Jenks. "Heat tolerance indicators in Pakistani wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes." Acta Botanica Croatica 74, no. 1 (March 1, 2015): 109–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/botcro-2015-0002.
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Abstract The effect of high temperature stress on six wheat cultivars exposed to 35-40 °C for 3 h each day for five consecutive days was examined. High temperature significantly affected total proline, soluble protein content, membrane stability index (MSI), yield, and various yield components, and had a direct effect on growth and other physiological attributes of wheat at anthesis and the milky seed stages. The wheat cultivar AS- 2002 achieved better osmotic adjustment by accumulating more leaf proline. Higher MSI was also observed in AS-2002, as well as Inqalab-91. The anthesis growth stage was found to be more sensitive to heat stress than seed development at the milky stage. Overall heat stress reduced yield 75% at anthesis and 40% at the milky stage. AS-2002 performed better on the basis of yield and yield components. Seed weight per spike was highest in AS- 2002, and lowest in SH-2002. The cumulative response of AS-2002 was better on the basis of physiological and yield attributes. In addition to yield, plant breeders should also include proline and MSI as selection parameter in the breeding program for development of heat tolerant wheat cultivars. Most of the evaluated wheat cultivars/lines were developed for cultivation in the rainfed areas of Pakistan.
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Chrysafis, Irene, Georgios Korakis, Apostolos P. Kyriazopoulos, and Giorgos Mallinis. "Retrieval of Leaf Area Index Using Sentinel-2 Imagery in a Mixed Mediterranean Forest Area." ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 9, no. 11 (October 24, 2020): 622. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9110622.
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Leaf area index (LAI) is a crucial biophysical indicator for assessing and monitoring the structure and functions of forest ecosystems. Improvements in remote sensing instrumental characteristics and the availability of more efficient statistical algorithms, elevate the potential for more accurate models of vegetation biophysical properties including LAI. The aim of this study was to assess the spectral information of Sentinel-2 MSI satellite imagery for the retrieval of LAI over a mixed forest ecosystem located in northwest Greece. Forty-eight field plots were visited for the collection of ground LAI measurements using an ACCUPAR LP-80: PAR & LAI Ceptometer. Spectral bands and spectral indices were used for LAI model development using the Gaussian processes regression (GPR) algorithm. A variable selection procedure was applied to improve the model’s prediction accuracy, and variable importance was investigated for identifying the most informative variables. The model resulting from spectral indices’ variables selection produced the most precise predictions of LAI with a coefficient of determination of 0.854. Shortwave infrared bands and the normalized canopy index (NCI) were identified as the most important features for LAI prediction.
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BEZBORODOV, YU G., N. N. KHOZHANOV, and ZH S. AUGANBAYEVA. "ASSESSMENT OF THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE RECLAMATION AGRO LANDSCAPES OF ZHAMBYL REGION." Prirodoobustrojstvo, no. 4 (2020): 22–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.26897/1997-6011-2020-4-22-27.
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The article deals with the issues of climate productivity assessment, selection and justification of integral criteria that allow conducting an environmental assessment of landscape productivity. The ecological situation of the Zhambyl region’s natural system is characterized, and the state of natural objects is assessed on energy and ecological indicators. According to the radiation index of the altitude (Rn), there were made calculations of the radiation index of dryness (Ŕ) and its comparison with the calculated data according to the formula of M.I. Budyko was carried out. Changing of the calculated value of the dryness index makes it possible to mark a foothill and mountain zone. The proposed method of environmental assessment of agricultural landscape productivity and the results of integrated zoning of geographical zones of the Zhambyl region make it possible to clarify the total energy and production resources of natural systems which will make it possible to take complex measures to restore, preserve and increase the potential productivity of agricultural landscapes, and can be applied when rationing the maximum permissible level of use of natural resources and arranging productive forces of the agro-industrial complex.
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Sachdeva, Supriya, Chellapilla Bharadwaj, Basavanagouda Siddanagouda Patil, Madan Pal, Manish Roorkiwal, and Rajeev K. Varshney. "Agronomic Performance of Chickpea Affected by Drought Stress at Different Growth Stages." Agronomy 12, no. 5 (April 21, 2022): 995. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12050995.
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Susceptibility to drought stress has restrained chickpea productivity at a global level, and the development of drought-tolerant varieties is essential to maintain its productivity. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate genetic divergence in selected genotypes of chickpea and their morpho-physiological responses under irrigated and stressed conditions to identify the traits that account for the better performance of these genotypes under stressed conditions, as well as genotypes with improved drought tolerance. The genotypes were evaluated for two years under irrigated and drought stressed conditions, and significant variation was found amongst the genotypes for different morpho-physiological and yield traits. The maximum reduction was observed for plant yield (33.23%) under stressed conditions. Principle component analysis (PCA)-based biplots and correlation studies established its strong positive correlation with relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), chlorophyll index (CI), secondary branches (SB) and yield traits and negative correlations with drought susceptibility index (DSI), days to maturity (DM) and 100 seed weight (100 SW) under drought stress, suggesting their use in selecting drought-tolerant germplasm. Ten genotypes with high values of RWC, MSI, CI, SB, yield traits and lower DSI were identified as drought-tolerant and might serve as ideal donors in the forthcoming breeding of elite chickpea cultivars. The seed-filling stage began earlier in these genotypes, with significantly reduced days to maturity under stressed conditions. Our results indicate selection for earliness offers a promising strategy for the development of drought-tolerant chickpea cultivars.
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Koenig, Walter D. "Levels of Female Choice in the White-Tailed Skimmer Plathemis Lydia (Odonata: Libellulidae)." Behaviour 119, no. 3-4 (1991): 193–224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853991x00445.
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AbstractMale Plathemis lydia defend mating territories along the perimeter of ponds. Females come to ponds for brief periods of time every few days to oviposit. During these visits, females actively discriminate among males, rejecting up to 48.9 % of mating attempts. Males varied significantly in the proportion of attempts successfully leading to copulation. However, males that obtained more matings also experienced more rejections. Extensive analyses based on absolute male size, relative male size, and male size relative to female size yielded only marginally significant evidence of female mate preference based on body mass, wing length, wing loading index, or age; to the extent that any of these characters appeared to influence mating success, they similarly influenced refusal rates. The overall weakness of female mate choice is further suggested by the frequency of females ovipositing without prior matings and by the low frequency with which females remate with the same males. On a population basis, females strongly prefer to oviposit in the middle of the day and at particular parts of the study pond. Thus, females exhibit strong choice at several levels. However, despite the high incidence of active female rejection and high variance in male mating success, mate choice is apparently of minor importance in this population. Female discrimination of males, combined with variance in male mating success, are necessary but not sufficient for the action of sexual selection via mate choice. These findings support the prediction that male-male competition is of primary importance in resource control mating systems in which males are able to control female access to most or all favored oviposition sites. However, it is not clear why females generally fail to discriminate among males, given that they have the opportunity to do so. In general, females appear to have low motivation to mate with males, presumably because multiple mating does not significantly increase their fertility or fecundity. Selection for rapid mating may be significant, both because of predation on females during mating and oviposition and because of the risks for males of losing their territories during mating bouts. This time constraint may be the most important factor limiting female discrimination among males on the basis of consistent characteristics.
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MARK, QUENTIN J. "GLOBAL VARIANCE IN FEMALE POPULATION HEIGHT: THE INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION, INCOME, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, LIFE EXPECTANCY, MORTALITY AND GENDER INEQUALITY IN 96 NATIONS." Journal of Biosocial Science 46, no. 1 (April 2, 2013): 107–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021932013000175.
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SummaryHuman height is a heritable trait that is known to be influenced by environmental factors and general standard of living. Individual and population stature is correlated with health, education and economic achievement. Strong sexual selection pressures for stature have been observed in multiple diverse populations, however; there is significant global variance in gender equality and prohibitions on female mate selection. This paper explores the contribution of general standard of living and gender inequality to the variance in global female population heights. Female population heights of 96 nations were culled from previously published sources and public access databases. Factor analysis with United Nations international data on education rates, life expectancy, incomes, maternal and childhood mortality rates, ratios of gender participation in education and politics, the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Gender Inequality Index (GII) was run. Results indicate that population heights vary more closely with gender inequality than with population health, income or education.
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Kasarda R Mészáros, G., O. Kadlečík, E. Hazuchová, V. Šidlová, and I. Pavlík. "Influence of mating systems and selection intensity on the extent of inbreeding and genetic gain in the Slovak Pinzgau cattle." Czech Journal of Animal Science 59, No. 5 (May 19, 2014): 219–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.17221/7402-cjas.
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The aim of the present paper was to simulate the scenarios for a maximum avoidance of inbreeding (MAI) mating strategy, and compare it with a random mating alternative, with the main focus on inbreeding and development of the genetic gain. The parameters of the simulation were based on the structure of the Slovak Pinzgau active population of 2868 animals (930 purebred cows). The selection under a total merit index (TMI) was simulated, covering the milk, survival, and live weight breeding value estimation results. The heritability of TMI (h<sup>2</sup> = 0.09) was estimated using a REML single trait animal model. Alternatives assumed a closed population structure, fixed number of mating per parent, and equal use of sires in insemination. Animals in generation 0 were set as founders without pedigree information. In separate simulation runs, the number of sires of sires was set at 2, 4, 5 or 10 mated with 40 dams of sires in all cases. The sex ratio of the offspring was assumed to be 50/50 male/female. Twenty consecutive generations were simulated for both random and maximum avoidance of inbreeding mating, which resulted in a total of 8 scenarios. Significant positive differences in genetic gain were observed in the MAI mating system with 2 (0.74**), 4 (0.24**), 5 (0.13**) or 10 (0.09**) sires in comparison to random mating design. When using MAI, significantly lower inbreeding was observed with 2 (5.44**), 4 (3.18**), 5 (2.43**) or 10 (1.16**) sires. Simulation results showed that the use of a maximum avoidance of inbreeding mating strategy would lead to significantly decreased rates of inbreeding while maintaining suitable levels of genetic gain in the
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Park, Paul, Khoi D. Than, Praveen V. Mummaneni, Pierce D. Nunley, Robert K. Eastlack, Juan S. Uribe, Michael Y. Wang, et al. "Factors affecting approach selection for minimally invasive versus open surgery in the treatment of adult spinal deformity: analysis of a prospective, nonrandomized multicenter study." Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine 33, no. 5 (November 2020): 601–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.3171/2020.4.spine20169.
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OBJECTIVESurgical decision-making and planning is a key factor in optimizing outcomes in adult spinal deformity (ASD). Minimally invasive spinal (MIS) strategies for ASD have been increasingly used as an option to decrease postoperative morbidity. This study analyzes factors involved in the selection of either a traditional open approach or a minimally invasive approach to treat ASD in a prospective, nonrandomized multicenter trial. All centers had at least 5 years of experience in minimally invasive techniques for ASD.METHODSThe study enrolled 268 patients, of whom 120 underwent open surgery and 148 underwent MIS surgery. Inclusion criteria included age ≥ 18 years, and at least one of the following criteria: coronal curve (CC) ≥ 20°, sagittal vertical axis (SVA) > 5 cm, pelvic tilt (PT) > 25°, or thoracic kyphosis (TK) > 60°. Surgical approach selection was made at the discretion of the operating surgeon. Preoperative significant differences were included in a multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine odds ratios (ORs) for approach selection.RESULTSSignificant preoperative differences (p < 0.05) between open and MIS groups were noted for age (61.9 vs 66.7 years), numerical rating scale (NRS) back pain score (7.8 vs 7), CC (36° vs 26.1°), PT (26.4° vs 23°), T1 pelvic angle (TPA; 25.8° vs 21.7°), and pelvic incidence–lumbar lordosis (PI-LL; 19.6° vs 14.9°). No significant differences in BMI (29 vs 28.5 kg/m2), NRS leg pain score (5.2 vs 5.7), Oswestry Disability Index (48.4 vs 47.2), Scoliosis Research Society 22-item questionnaire score (2.7 vs 2.8), PI (58.3° vs 57.1°), LL (38.9° vs 42.3°), or SVA (73.8 mm vs 60.3 mm) were found. Multivariate analysis found that age (OR 1.05, p = 0.002), VAS back pain score (OR 1.21, p = 0.016), CC (OR 1.03, p < 0.001), decompression (OR 4.35, p < 0.001), and TPA (OR 1.09, p = 0.023) were significant factors in approach selection.CONCLUSIONSIncreasing age was the primary driver for selecting MIS surgery. Conversely, increasingly severe deformities and the need for open decompression were the main factors influencing the selection of traditional open surgery. As experience with MIS surgery continues to accumulate, future longitudinal evaluation will reveal if more experience, use of specialized treatment algorithms, refinement of techniques, and technology will expand surgeon adoption of MIS techniques for adult spinal deformity.
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Williams, Justin P., Ryan P. Hanavan, Barrett N. Rock, Subhash C. Minocha, and Ernst Linder. "Influence of hemlock woolly adelgid infestation on the physiological and reflectance characteristics of eastern hemlock." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 46, no. 3 (March 2016): 410–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2015-0328.
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The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) (Adelges tsugae Annand) is an invasive insect in the eastern United States. Since its initial detection in Richmond, Virginia, in 1951, HWA has spread to half of the eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) natural range. Detection of early infestation symptoms via remote sensing requires the knowledge of the changes in reflectance resulting from physiological changes in the host as inflicted by the insect and the selection of equipment with the appropriate sensor characteristics. Laboratory-based reflectance measurements of infested and non-infested hemlock foliage collected from four sites in southern New Hampshire and Maine occurred biweekly over 6 months in 2012 and weekly over 5 weeks in 2013. Vegetation indices (red edge inflection point (REIP), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), moisture stress index (MSI), and near infrared (NIR) 3/1 ratio) were associated with concurrent chlorophyll and moisture content data. Infested first-year foliage contained greater concentrations of chlorophyll and moisture, resulting in reduced visible spectral reflectance, greater REIP and NDVI values, and lower MSI and NIR 3/1 values than non-infested foliage. Furthermore, fluorescence measurements indicated greater photosystem function during the early stages of infestation, suggesting a possible compensatory response by hemlock to infestation. Significant differences in reflectance between infested and non-infested foliage were observed in late June and July in the weeks immediately following HWA settlement on new growth. Implementing these observations during remote sensing mission planning may increase the likelihood of detecting early HWA infestation symptoms at landscape scales.
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Verardi, Cecília Khusala, Erivaldo José Scaloppi Junior, Guilherme Augusto Peres Silva, Lígia Regina Lima Gouvêa, and Paulo de Souza Gonçalves. "Genetic parameters and estimated genetic gains in young rubber tree progenies." Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 48, no. 4 (April 2013): 411–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0100-204x2013000400009.
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The objective of this work was to assess the genetic parameters and to estimate genetic gains in young rubber tree progenies. The experiments were carried out during three years, in a randomized block design, with six replicates and ten plants per plot, in three representative Hevea crop regions of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Twenty-two progenies were evaluated, from three to five years old, for rubber yield and annual girth growth. Genetic gain was estimated with the multi-effect index (MEI). Selection by progenies means provided greater estimated genetic gain than selection based on individuals, since heritability values of progeny means were greater than the ones of individual heritability, for both evaluated variables, in all the assessment years. The selection of the three best progenies for rubber yield provided a selection gain of 1.28 g per plant. The genetic gains estimated with MEI using data from early assessments (from 3 to 5-year-old) were generally high for annual girth growth and rubber yield. The high genetic gains for annual girth growth in the first year of assessment indicate that progenies can be selected at the beginning of the breeding program. Population effective size was consistent with the three progenies selected, showing that they were not related and that the population genetic variability is ensured. Early selection with the genetic gains estimated by MEI can be made on rubber tree progenies.
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Chetverikov, Sergiy, Svitlana Zavoloka, Viacheslav Onyshchenko, Mykhailo Chetverikov, and Valeriia Chetverikova-Ovchynnyk. "MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING WITH DIFFUSE WEIGHTED IMAGING AND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY WITH INTRAVENOUS CONTRAST IN STAGING OF DISSEMINATED OVARIAN, STOMACH, COLORECTAL CANCER." EUREKA: Health Sciences 6 (November 30, 2019): 59–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.21303/2504-5679.2019.001071.
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The aim of the research. Development and implementation of new methods for pre-operative staging of advanced ovarian, gastric and colorectal cancer to improve patient selection for cytoreductive surgery and increase its radicality. Materials and methods. Data from 120 patients with advanced ovarian cancer, 28 with advanced gastric cancer and 119 with advanced colorectal cancer were analyzed. Preoperative detection of the incidence of peritoneal carcinoma and the possibility of surgery in radical or cytoreductive volume performed by CT with intravenous contrast (72 patients with ovarian cancer, 17 patients with gastric cancer, and 69 patients with colorectal cancer), and MR T1 and T2, contrast-enhanced T1, and diffuse-weighted sequences (48 patients with ovarian cancer, 11 patients with gastric cancer, and 50 patients with colorectal cancer). Subsequently, preoperative and intraoperative assessment of the prevalence of the tumour process with peritoneal carcinoma index (PCI) by Sugarbaker was performed. Results. A statistically significant increase in the informativeness of the preoperative assessment of the incidence of tumour process in peritoneum and the presence of distant metastases using DWI / MRI compared with CT with intravenous contrast was determined. Patients from all groups were categorized according to the completeness index of cytoreduction achieved by preoperative staging and patient selection using DWI / MRI and CT. The use of DWI / MRI allowed to significantly reduce the number of suboptimal and non-optimal cytoreductive interventions. Conclusions. DWI / MRI has made it possible to significantly improve the preoperative incidence of advanced ovarian, gastric, and colorectal cancer compared to CT, predict the radicality of future surgery, and detect inoperable cases.
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D'Ans, Pierre, Céline Bondoux, Christophe Degrandcourt, Mohamed Bakrim, Jean Dille, Luc Segers, and Marc Degrez. "Thermal Fatigue of Anticorrosive Coatings and Multilayer Coatings: A Performance Index Approach." Materials Science Forum 595-598 (September 2008): 941–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.595-598.941.
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A strategy is proposed to cope with combined thermal fatigue and hot corrosion resistance affecting industrial coatings. It allows comparing different materials, coatings and geometries with respect to thermal cracking and then properly selecting protective coatings. It uses a thermo-mechanical model combining the heat transfer conditions, thermal and mechanical properties of the materials and the system geometry. The model is applied to two cases: (i) borided steel, with experimental support; (ii) multilayer coating made of a thermal barrier layer, aimed at reducing thermal gradients in the system, and a corrosion layer.
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Li, Xingrong, Chenghai Yang, Wenjiang Huang, Jia Tang, Yanqin Tian, and Qing Zhang. "Identification of Cotton Root Rot by Multifeature Selection from Sentinel-2 Images Using Random Forest." Remote Sensing 12, no. 21 (October 25, 2020): 3504. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs12213504.
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Cotton root rot is a destructive cotton disease and significantly affects cotton quality and yield, and accurate identification of its distribution within fields is critical for cotton growers to control the disease effectively. In this study, Sentinel-2 images were used to explore the feasibility of creating classification maps and prescription maps for site-specific fungicide application. Eight cotton fields with different levels of root rot were selected and random forest (RF) was used to identify the optimal spectral indices and texture features of the Sentinel-2 images. Five optimal spectral indices (plant senescence reflectance index (PSRI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI1), moisture stressed index (MSI), and renormalized difference vegetation index (RDVI)) and seven optimal texture features (Contrast 1, Dissimilarity 1, Entory 2, Mean 1, Variance 1, Homogeneity 1, and Second moment 2) were identified. Three binary logistic regression (BLR) models, including a spectral model, a texture model, and a spectral-texture model, were constructed for cotton root rot classification and prescription map creation. The results were compared with classification maps and prescription maps based on airborne imagery. Accuracy assessment showed that the accuracies of the classification maps for the spectral, texture, and spectral-texture models were 92.95%, 84.81%, and 91.87%, respectively, and the accuracies of the prescription maps for the three respective models were 90.83%, 87.14%, and 91.40%. These results confirmed that it was feasible to identify cotton root rot and create prescription maps using different features of Sentinel-2 imagery. The addition of texture features had little effect on the overall accuracy, but it could improve the ability to identify root rot areas. The producer’s accuracy (PA) for infested cotton in the classification maps for the texture model and the spectral-texture model was 2.82% and 1.07% higher, respectively, than that of the spectral model, and the PA for treatment zones in the prescription maps for the two respective models was 8.6% and 8.22% higher than that of the spectral model. Results based on the eight cotton fields showed that the spectral model was appropriate for the cotton fields with relatively severe infestation and the spectral-texture model was more appropriate for the cotton fields with low or moderate infestation.
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Kabil, Ahmad M. "Evaluating Ethical Responsibility in Inverse Decision Support." Advances in Decision Sciences 2012 (September 28, 2012): 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/873710.
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Decision makers have considerable autonomy on how they make decisions and what type of support they receive. This situation places the DSS analyst in a different relationship with the client than his colleagues who support regular MIS applications. This paper addresses an ethical dilemma in “Inverse Decision Support,” when the analyst supports a decision maker who requires justification for a preconceived selection that does not correspond to the best option that resulted from the professional resolution of the problem. An extended application of the AHP model is proposed for evaluating the ethical responsibility in selecting a suboptimal alternative. The extended application is consistent with the Inverse Decision Theory that is used extensively in medical decision making. A survey of decision analysts is used to assess their perspective of using the proposed extended application. The results show that 80% of the respondents felt that the proposed extended application is useful in business practices. 14% of them expanded the usability of the extended application to academic teaching of the ethics theory. The extended application is considered more usable in a country with a higher Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (TICPI) than in a country with a lower one.
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Pitkänen, Johanna, Juha Koikkalainen, Tuomas Nieminen, Ivan Marinkovic, Sami Curtze, Gerli Sibolt, Hanna Jokinen, et al. "Evaluating severity of white matter lesions from computed tomography images with convolutional neural network." Neuroradiology 62, no. 10 (April 13, 2020): 1257–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00234-020-02410-2.
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Abstract Purpose Severity of white matter lesion (WML) is typically evaluated on magnetic resonance images (MRI), yet the more accessible, faster, and less expensive method is computed tomography (CT). Our objective was to study whether WML can be automatically segmented from CT images using a convolutional neural network (CNN). The second aim was to compare CT segmentation with MRI segmentation. Methods The brain images from the Helsinki University Hospital clinical image archive were systematically screened to make CT-MRI image pairs. Selection criteria for the study were that both CT and MRI images were acquired within 6 weeks. In total, 147 image pairs were included. We used CNN to segment WML from CT images. Training and testing of CNN for CT was performed using 10-fold cross-validation, and the segmentation results were compared with the corresponding segmentations from MRI. Results A Pearson correlation of 0.94 was obtained between the automatic WML volumes of MRI and CT segmentations. The average Dice similarity index validating the overlap between CT and FLAIR segmentations was 0.68 for the Fazekas 3 group. Conclusion CNN-based segmentation of CT images may provide a means to evaluate the severity of WML and establish a link between CT WML patterns and the current standard MRI-based visual rating scale.
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Aberkane, Hafid, Bouchra Belkadi, Zakaria Kehel, Abdelkarim Filali-Maltouf, Izzat S. A. Tahir, Sara Meheesi, and Ahmed Amri. "Assessment of Drought and Heat Tolerance of Durum Wheat Lines Derived from Interspecific Crosses Using Physiological Parameters and Stress Indices." Agronomy 11, no. 4 (April 6, 2021): 695. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040695.
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Drought and high temperature are the major abiotic stresses for wheat production. The present study investigated the effect of drought and chronic heat stress on physiological parameters of durum wheat lines derived from interspecific crosses and their association with yield. Seventy-seven durum wheat lines were evaluated during two seasons (2016–2017 and 2017–2018) for drought tolerance at Tessaout (Morocco) using irrigated and rainfed treatments and for heat tolerance at Wad Medani (Sudan). Five drought screening indices (alone or combined) and physiological parameters were used to assess drought and heat tolerance. Among the physiological parameters used, canopy temperature (CT) had moderate heritability and was significantly affected by both severe and moderate drought stresses. CT at early heading showed a stronger correlation with grain yield (GY) and total biomass (BY) under heat stress. The use of maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) for drought/heat screening was limited by the low genetic variation despite its significant correlation with yield under drought (r2 = 0.22) and heat (r2 = 0.4). The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) at vegetative stage was highly correlated with GY and BY and it showed high genotypic variation that can allow for efficient selection. The grain filling rate (GFR) was found to be highly correlated with GY and BY under heat stress. The modified stress tolerance index (MsSTI) had the highest association with GY under drought (R2 = 0.82) while the mean productivity (MP) was adapted to both optimal conditions (R2 = 0.77) and drought stress (R2 = 0.73). The computation of a mean score index (MSI) improved the selection efficiency under drought (R2 = 0.92). The results showed good potential for lines derived from wide crosses to increase variability for heat and drought adaptive physiological traits.
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Brede, Benjamin, Jochem Verrelst, Jean-Philippe Gastellu-Etchegorry, Jan G. P. W. Clevers, Leo Goudzwaard, Jan den Ouden, Jan Verbesselt, and Martin Herold. "Assessment of Workflow Feature Selection on Forest LAI Prediction with Sentinel-2A MSI, Landsat 7 ETM+ and Landsat 8 OLI." Remote Sensing 12, no. 6 (March 12, 2020): 915. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs12060915.
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The European Space Agency (ESA)’s Sentinel-2A (S2A) mission is providing time series that allow the characterisation of dynamic vegetation, especially when combined with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/United States Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat 7 (L7) and Landsat 8 (L8) missions. Hybrid retrieval workflows combining non-parametric Machine Learning Regression Algorithms (MLRAs) and vegetation Radiative Transfer Models (RTMs) were proposed as fast and accurate methods to infer biophysical parameters such as Leaf Area Index (LAI) from these data streams. However, the exact design of optimal retrieval workflows is rarely discussed. In this study, the impact of five retrieval workflow features on LAI prediction performance of MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI), Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) observations was analysed over a Dutch beech forest site for a one-year period. The retrieval workflow features were the (1) addition of prior knowledge of leaf chemistry (two alternatives), (2) the choice of RTM (two alternatives), (3) the addition of Gaussian noise to RTM produced training data (four and five alternatives), (4) possibility of using Sun Zenith Angle (SZA) as an additional MLRA training feature (two alternatives), and (5) the choice of MLRA (six alternatives). The features were varied in a full grid resulting in 960 inversion models in order to find the overall impact on performance as well as possible interactions among the features. A combination of a Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) time series with litter-trap derived LAI served as independent validation. The addition of absolute noise had the most significant impact on prediction performance. It improved the median prediction Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) by 1.08 m2 m−2 when 5% noise was added compared to inversions with 0% absolute noise. The choice of the MLRA was second most important in terms of median prediction performance, which differed by 0.52 m2 m−2 between the best and worst model. The best inversion model achieved an RMSE of 0.91 m2 m−2 and explained 84.9% of the variance of the reference time series. The results underline the need to explicitly describe the used noise model in future studies. Similar studies should be conducted in other study areas, both forest and crop systems, in order to test the noise model as an integral part of hybrid retrieval workflows.
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Swami, Viren, Carolina Caprario, Martin J. Tovée, and Adrian Furnham. "Female physical attractiveness in Britain and Japan: a cross‐cultural study." European Journal of Personality 20, no. 1 (January 2006): 69–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/per.568.
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Two purported cues to female physical attractiveness are body mass index (BMI) and body shape as measured by the waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR). This study examined the relative contribution of both cues in two culturally distinct populations. Eighty‐two male participants from Britain and Japan were asked to rate a set of images of real women with known BMI and WHR. Results showed that BMI is the primary determinant of female physical attractiveness, whereas WHR failed to emerge as a significant predictor. Results also showed that there were significant differences in preferences for physical attractiveness, with Japanese participants preferring images of women with significantly lower BMIs than Britons. Finally, results showed that the Japanese are more reliant on body shape than Britons when judging physical attractiveness. The findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary psychological explanations of mate selection, and sociocultural theories which emphasise the learning of preferences in social and cultural contexts. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Hagen, John, and Eric B. Taylor. "Resource partitioning as a factor limiting gene flow in hybridizing populations of Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)." Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 58, no. 10 (October 1, 2001): 2037–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f01-141.
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Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) hybridize in areas of secondary contact in northwestern North America but maintain their genetic integrity in spite of gene flow. We examined juvenile stream ecology and adult reproductive ecology of these species in sympatry to test for specializations to alternative niches that may act as a basis for natural selection against hybrids. Juvenile Dolly Varden occupied deeper, faster water and foraged more during daytime in the drift, whereas bull trout used shallower, slower water and made more nighttime foraging attempts towards the substrate. The species showed extensive diet overlap (Schoener's index = 0.70.9), and we found evidence for density compensation between species among sites. Our results suggest no obvious basis for selection against hybrids at the juvenile stream-rearing life-history stage. Bull trout, however, are adfluvial, whereas Dolly Varden are permanent stream residents. Bull trout are also much larger at maturity (5080 cm vs. 1215 cm) and build redds in faster, deeper water using larger substrate sizes. Consequently, hybrid genotypes may be selected against in these alternative life-history niches or during reproduction owing to their intermediate size at maturity and size-dependent spawning habitat use and mate choice.
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Sarkar, Mriganka Shekhar, Ramesh Krishnamurthy, Jeyaraj A. Johnson, Subharanjan Sen, and Goutam Kumar Saha. "Assessment of fine-scale resource selection and spatially explicit habitat suitability modelling for a re-introduced tiger (Panthera tigris) population in central India." PeerJ 5 (November 3, 2017): e3920. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3920.
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Background Large carnivores influence ecosystem functions at various scales. Thus, their local extinction is not only a species-specific conservation concern, but also reflects on the overall habitat quality and ecosystem value. Species-habitat relationships at fine scale reflect the individuals’ ability to procure resources and negotiate intraspecific competition. Such fine scale habitat choices are more pronounced in large carnivores such as tiger (Panthera tigris), which exhibits competitive exclusion in habitat and mate selection strategies. Although landscape level policies and conservation strategies are increasingly promoted for tiger conservation, specific management interventions require knowledge of the habitat correlates at fine scale. Methods We studied nine radio-collared individuals of a successfully reintroduced tiger population in Panna Tiger Reserve, central India, focussing on the species-habitat relationship at fine scales. With 16 eco-geographical variables, we performed Manly’s selection ratio and K-select analyses to define population-level and individual-level variation in resource selection, respectively. We analysed the data obtained during the exploratory period of six tigers and during the settled period of eight tigers separately, and compared the consequent results. We further used the settled period characteristics to model and map habitat suitability based on the Mahalanobis D2 method and the Boyce index. Results There was a clear difference in habitat selection by tigers between the exploratory and the settled period. During the exploratory period, tigers selected dense canopy and bamboo forests, but also spent time near villages and relocated village sites. However, settled tigers predominantly selected bamboo forests in complex terrain, riverine forests and teak-mixed forest, and totally avoided human settlements and agriculture areas. There were individual variations in habitat selection between exploratory and settled periods. Based on threshold limits of habitat selection by the Boyce Index, we established that 83% of core and 47% of buffer areas are now suitable habitats for tiger in this reserve. Discussion Tiger management often focuses on large-scale measures, but this study for the first time highlights the behaviour and fine-scale individual-specific habitat selection strategies. Such knowledge is vital for management of critical tiger habitats and specifically for the success of reintroduction programs. Our spatially explicit habitat suitability map provides a baseline for conservation planning and optimizing carrying capacity of the tiger population in this reserve.
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Valdivieso-Ros, Carmen, Francisco Alonso-Sarria, and Francisco Gomariz-Castillo. "Effect of the Synergetic Use of Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, LiDAR and Derived Data in Land Cover Classification of a Semiarid Mediterranean Area Using Machine Learning Algorithms." Remote Sensing 15, no. 2 (January 5, 2023): 312. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs15020312.
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Land cover classification in semiarid areas is a difficult task that has been tackled using different strategies, such as the use of normalized indices, texture metrics, and the combination of images from different dates or different sensors. In this paper we present the results of an experiment using three sensors (Sentinel-1 SAR, Sentinel-2 MSI and LiDAR), four dates and different normalized indices and texture metrics to classify a semiarid area. Three machine learning algorithms were used: Random Forest, Support Vector Machines and Multilayer Perceptron; Maximum Likelihood was used as a baseline classifier. The synergetic use of all these sources resulted in a significant increase in accuracy, Random Forest being the model reaching the highest accuracy. However, the large amount of features (126) advises the use of feature selection to reduce this figure. After using Variance Inflation Factor and Random Forest feature importance, the amount of features was reduced to 62. The final overall accuracy obtained was 0.91 ± 0.005 (α = 0.05) and kappa index 0.898 ± 0.006 (α = 0.05). Most of the observed confusions are easily explicable and do not represent a significant difference in agronomic terms.
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Mathew, Alex, Joby John, and Asha Sasikumar. "Validity of mannheim peritonitis index in predicting outcome of patients with perforative peritonitis in a tertiary care centre Kerala, India." International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences 7, no. 11 (October 24, 2019): 4140. http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20194981.
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Background: Perforation peritonitis is one of the most commonly encountered surgical emergencies in our country. The prognosis of secondary peritonitis remains poor despite development in diagnosis and management. Early identification of patients with severe peritonitis may help in selecting patients for aggressive surgical approach.Methods: The study was conducted in 128 cases of perforation peritonitis admitted and treated in the department of surgery in a tertiary care centre. Initial diagnosis was made on the basis of detailed history, clinical examination and presence of pneumoperitoneum on erect abdominal X-ray. Patients were first assessed using a predesigned Performa, then MPI score was calculated for each patient and the patients were followed-up till death or discharge from the hospital.Results: The ROC curve analysis shows area under the curve was 0.986 with a standard error of 0.008, 95% CI (0.971 to 1.001), p<0.0001. In our study authors found that for the MPI score of 26, sensitivity was 91.3% and specificity was 92.4%, with a positive likelihood ratio of 12.01 and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.09. Age of the patient, presence of organ failure, associated malignancy, generalised type of peritonitis and the original MPI Score has got a significant association with the final outcome (i.e. p value <0.05).Conclusions: MPI is an excellent prognostic index for peritonitis with high accuracy in individual prognosis that is cheap, cost effective, easily measurable and reproducible. The study accentuates that early diagnosis, appropriate resuscitation and prompt surgical intervention still remain the keystones in the management of perforation peritonitis.
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Bukanova, Aigul, Fazilat Kayrliyeva, Saule Bukanova, Nagima Karabassova, and Lydia Sakipova. "Forecasting the quality of mineral oils during oil refining according to the fuel and oil flow chart at Atyrau Refinery." E3S Web of Conferences 288 (2021): 01028. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202128801028.
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The article discusses the problem of rational oil refining at Atyrau Refinery. Based on a detailed study of the properties of low-sulfur oils of Kazakhstan, in order to assess the potential for the selection of petroleum oils, effective refining methods with modern technologies are shown. A graph is given that allows us to assess the raw mate-rial potential of the Republic of Kazakhstan for lube fractions of oil. The potential reserve of the considered deposits can fully meet the needs of the Republic in oils. The physical and chemical properties of crude oil sup-plied to Atyrau refinery, with a view to their use as raw materi-als for the oil refining and production. The results of experiments on hydrocracking of the plant’s vacuum gasoil are also presented, indicating that this refining option allows you to obtain not only light distillates (gasoline and diesel fuel), but also excellent base oils. This can significantly advance the oil refining in the enterprise as a whole. On the basis of experimental studies, the correlation dependence of the viscosity index on the hydrocarbon-type composition of oils was revealed, which allows predicting the quality of the resulting product.
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van der Werff, Harald, Janneke Ettema, Akhil Sampatirao, and Robert Hewson. "How Weather Affects over Time the Repeatability of Spectral Indices Used for Geological Remote Sensing." Remote Sensing 14, no. 24 (December 13, 2022): 6303. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs14246303.
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Geologic remote sensing studies often targets surface cover that is supposed to be invariant or only changing on a geological timescale. In terms of surface material characteristics, this holds for rocks and minerals, but only to a lesser degree for soils (including alluvium, colluvium, regolith or weathered outcrop) and not for vegetation cover, for example. A view unobstructed by clouds, vegetation or fire scars is essential for a persistent observation of surface mineralogy. Sensors with a continuous multi-temporal operation (e.g., Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel-2 MSI) can provide the data volume needed to come to an optimal seasonal acquisition and the application of data fusion approaches to create an unobstructed view. However, the acquisition environment always changes over time, driven by seasonal changes, illumination changes and the weather. Consequently, the creation of an unobstructed view does not necessarily lead to a repeatable measurement. In this paper, we evaluate the influence of weather and resulting soil moisture conditions over a 3-year period, with alternating dry and wet periods, on the variance of several “geological” spectral indices in a semi-arid area. Sentinel-2 MSI data are chosen to calculate band ratios for green vegetation, ferric and ferrous iron oxide mineralogy and hydroxyl bearing alteration (clay) mineralogy. The data were used “as provided”, meaning that the performance of the atmospheric correction and geometric accuracy is not changed. The results are shown as time-series for selected areas that include solid rock, beach sand, bare soil and natural vegetation surfaces. Results show that spectral index values vary not only between dry and wet periods, but also within dry periods longer than 45 days, as a result of changing soil moisture conditions long after a last rain event has passed. In terms of repeatability of measurements, an overall low soil-moisture level is more important for long-term stability of spectral index values than the occurrence of minor rain events. In terms of creating an unobstructed view, we found that thresholds for NDVI should not be higher than 0.1 when masking vegetation in geological remote sensing, which is lower than what usually is indicated in literature. In conclusion, multi-temporal data are not only important to study dynamic Earth processes, but also to improve mapping of surfaces that are seemingly invariant. As this work is based on a few selected pixels, the obtained results should be considered only indicative and not as a numerical truth. We conclude that multi-temporal data can be used to create an unobstructed view, but also to select the data that give the most repeatability of measurements. Images selection should not be based on a certain number of days without rain in the days preceding data acquisition but aim for the lowest soil moisture conditions. Consequently, weather data should be incorporated to come to an optimal selection of remote sensing imagery, and also when analyzing multi-temporal data.
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Barber, P. A., D. G. Darby, P. M. Desmond, Q. Yang, R. P. Gerraty, D. Jolley, G. A. Donnan, B. M. Tress, and S. M. Davis. "Prediction of stroke outcome with echoplanar perfusion- and diffusion-weighted MRI." Neurology 51, no. 2 (August 1998): 418–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/wnl.51.2.418.
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Objectives: We examined the utility of echoplanar magnetic resonance perfusion imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in predicting stroke evolution and outcome in 18 patients with acute hemispheric infarction.Methods: Patients were studied within 24 hours (mean, 12.2 hours), subacutely(mean, 4.7 days), and at outcome (mean, 84 days). Comparisons were made between infarction volumes as measured on perfusion imaging (PI) and isotropic DWI maps, clinical assessment scales (Canadian Neurological Scale, Barthel Index, and Rankin Scale), and final infarct volume (T2-weighted MRI).Results: Acute PI lesion volumes correlated with acute neurologic state, clinical outcome, and final infarct volume. Acute DWI lesions correlated less robustly with acute neurologic state, but correlated well with clinical outcome and final infarct volume. Three of six possible patterns of abnormalities were seen: PI lesion larger than DWI lesion (65%), PI lesion smaller than DWI lesion (12%), and DWI lesion but no PI lesion (23%). A pattern of a PI lesion larger than the DWI lesion predicted DWI expansion into surrounding hypoperfused tissue (p < 0.05). In the other two patterns, DWI lesions did not enlarge, suggesting that no significant increase in ischemic lesion size occurs in the absence of a larger perfusion deficit.Conclusions: Combined early PI and DWI can define different acute infarct patterns, which may allow the selection of rational therapeutic strategies based on the presence or absence of potentially salvageable ischemic tissue.
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Fussell, Nicola J., and Brian T. Stollery. "Between-Sex Differences in Romantic Jealousy: Substance or Spin? A Qualitative Analysis." Evolutionary Psychology 10, no. 1 (January 1, 2012): 147470491201000. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000114.
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An influential evolutionary account of romantic jealousy proposes that natural selection shaped a specific sexually-dimorphic psychological mechanism in response to relationship threat. However, this account has faced considerable theoretical and methodological criticism and it remains unclear whether putative sex differences in romantic jealousy actually exist and, if they do, whether they are consistent with its predictions. Given the multidimensional nature of romantic jealousy, the current study employed a qualitative design to examine these issues. We report the results of sixteen semi-structured interviews that were conducted with heterosexual men and women with the purpose of exploring the emotions, cognitions and behaviors that formed their subjective, lived experience in response to relationship threat. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed four super-ordinate themes (“threat appraisal”, “emotional episodes”, “sex-specific threat” and “forgive and forget”) and unequivocal sex differences in romantic jealousy consistent with the evolutionary account. Self-esteem, particularly when conceptualized as an index of mate value, emerged as an important proximal mediator for both sexes. However, specific outcomes were dependent upon domains central to the individual's self concept that were primarily sex-specific. The findings are integrated within the context of existing self-esteem and evolutionary theory and future directions for romantic jealousy research are suggested.
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Pinheiro, Helena S. K., Theresa P. R. Barbosa, Mauro A. H. Antunes, Daniel Costa de Carvalho, Alexis R. Nummer, Waldir de Carvalho Junior, Cesar da Silva Chagas, Elpídio I. Fernandes-Filho, and Marcos Gervasio Pereira. "Assessment of Phytoecological Variability by Red-Edge Spectral Indices and Soil-Landscape Relationships." Remote Sensing 11, no. 20 (October 22, 2019): 2448. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs11202448.
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There is a relation of vegetation physiognomies with soil and geological conditions that can be represented spatially with the support of remote sensing data. The goal of this research was to map vegetation physiognomies in a mountainous area by using Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) data and morphometrical covariates through data mining techniques. The research was based on red-edge (RE) bands, and indices, to classify phytophysiognomies at two taxonomic levels. The input data was pixel sampled based on field sample sites. Data mining procedures comprised covariate selection and supervised classification through the Random Forest model. Results showed the potential of bands 3, 5, and 6 to map phytophysiognomies for both seasons, as well as Green Chlorophyll (CLg) and SAVI indices. NDVI indices were important, particularly those calculated with bands 6, 7, 8, and 8A, which were placed at the RE position. The model performance showed reasonable success to Kappa index 0.72 and 0.56 for the first and fifth taxonomic level, respectively. The model presented confusion between Broadleaved dwarf-forest, Parkland Savanna, and Bushy grassland. Savanna formations occurred variably in the area while Bushy grasslands strictly occur in certain landscape positions. Broadleaved forests presented the best performance (first taxonomic level), and among its variation (fifth level) the model could precisely capture the pattern for those on deep soils from gneiss parent material. The approach was thus useful to capture intrinsic soil-plant relationships and its relation with remote sensing data, showing potential to map phytophysiognomies in two distinct taxonomic levels in poorly accessible areas.
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Chen, M., and S. M. Dai. "AB0007 VALUE OF ULTRASOUND IN ASSESSMENT OF ACTIVE SACROILIITIS IN PATIENTS WITH AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS." Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 79, Suppl 1 (June 2020): 1307.3–1307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-eular.3990.
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Background:The inflammatory of the sacroiliac joints (SIJs) called sacroiliitis, is a characteristic of axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA). The detection of sacroiliitis is meaningful to prevent irreversible changes. The tool of assessment of sacroiliitis including radiographs, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Ultrasound (US) has also been used in the evaluation of sacroiliitis in recent years.Objectives:We aimed to evaluate the value of US in the assessment of active sacroiliitis in axSpA patients.Methods:Fifty-one patients fulfilling Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) 2009 criteria for the classification of axSpA were recruited1. All the patients underwent MRI and US evaluation of bilateral SIJs. MRI was performed using the sequences of T1WI, T2WI and fat suppression T2WI (FS-T2WI). MRI sacroiliitis was defined according to ASAS criteria of active sacroiliitis2. The Spondyloarthritis research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) scoring was used to evaluate the inflammatory lesions in SIJs3. US were performed by an ultrasonographer with 10 years of experience in musculoskeletal ultrasound, and resistive index (RI) value was recorded. The US sacroiliitis was defined as the presence of more flow signals at SIJ with an RI ≤ 0.75. The HLA-B27, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were also evaluated. Consistency rate, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV)for the diagnosis of sacroiliitis by US were calculated, using MRI as the gold standard.Results:Of the 51 patients, 24 were female and 27 were male. The HLA-B27 positive rate was 90.2% (46/51). The consistency rate of US and MRI sacroiliitis was 55.88 (57/102). The sensitivity and specificity of US for the diagnosis of sacroiliitis were 55.93 (33/59) and 55.81 (24/43) respectively. The PPV and NPV were 63.46 (33/52) and 48 (24/50) respectively. There was no significant difference in ESR and hsCRP between the US positive sacroiliitis and the others (P= 0.7477 and 0.2268, respectively). The SPARCC scores have no significant difference between the US positive sacroiliitis and the others (P= 0.2206). The RI was not significantly associated with the MRI SPARCC score (P=0.4236).Conclusion:US may be an optional method for preliminary screening sacroiliitis. But its reliability as a diagnostic method needs further verification.References:[1]Rudwaleit M, et al. The development of Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society classification criteria for axial spondyloarthritis (part II): validation and final selection. Ann Rheum Dis. 2009; 68(6):777-83[2]Rudwaleit M, et al. Defining active sacroiliitis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for classification of axial spondyloarthritis: a consensual approach by the ASAS/OMERACT MRI group. Ann Rheum Dis 2009;68(10):1520–7[3]Maksymowych WP, et al. Spondyloarthritis research Consortium of Canada magnetic resonance imaging index for assessment of sacroiliac joint inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis. Arthritis Rheum.2005;53(5):703-9.Acknowledgments:This project was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (81900795)Disclosure of Interests:None declared
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Asih, Fajar Tri, Endang Triyanto, and Lita Heni Kusumawardani. "Literature Review: Patient Services Family-Based Hypertension." Media Keperawatan Indonesia 6, no. 1 (February 13, 2023): 46. http://dx.doi.org/10.26714/mki.6.1.2023.46-53.
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A healthy family or not using several indicators or markers, in the framework of implementing the Healthy Indonesia Program it has been agreed that there are 12 indicators for family health status markers. With very low coverage, families with family members suffering from hypertension and not being treated regularly are certainly a problem for other family members and the patient himself. The flow of searching for articles uses the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method which begins with collecting articles according to keywords from the various databases used. After that, a check is made for duplicate titles, and the same title is eliminated from the article search process. The search is continued by eliminating articles that have irrelevant titles to the topics to be reviewed. The results of the selection of selected articles were 7 articles. This condition becomes a reference for local governments at both the district and provincial levels to provide appropriate interventions as a solution to these health problems. The goal of achieving this health status is to become a benchmark for the central government to see the success of the health programs that have been implemented so far. public health services as the spearhead of PISPK implementation are required to be able to run the PISPK program thoroughly and cover all areas in the working area of the public health services. Community health center activities through home visits did not end with data collection but continued when carrying out interventions for residents who have health problems. PISPK's further intervention is very important to do in improving the Healthy Family Index. Research results should be disseminated at the Community Health Center to improve public health nursing services.
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Blackman, Jonathan, Hamish Morrison, Sam Harding, Katherine Lloyd, and Elizabeth Coulthard. "Protocol for a scoping review of measurement of sleep in mild cognitive impairment and early dementia." AMRC Open Research 3 (April 14, 2021): 13. http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/amrcopenres.12981.1.
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Background: Sleep abnormalities are increasingly recognised to emerge early in dementia, at or before the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) phase. Abnormal sleep accelerates cognitive decline and may directly contribute to pathophysiology. Its accurate measurement is therefore crucial, firstly to characterise sleep abnormalities in early disease potentially facilitating earlier identification of those at risk of dementia and secondly to test sleep intervention efficacy. However, it is our a priori hypothesis that sleep outcomes are reported heterogeneously inhibiting side-by-side comparison of study findings. As a translational step towards informing choice and decisions on optimal measures, this scoping review will describe measurement tools utilised and sleep parameters currently reported in early dementia and MCI. Methods: This scoping review follows the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis for Scoping Reviews. The search strategy consists of an electronic search of the CINAHL Plus, Embase, Medline, Psychinfo and British Nursing Index databases and date limited to articles published from 2000. Search results will be merged using reference management software and duplicates removed. 10% of returned titles and abstracts will be checked by each reviewing member to ensure continuity of decision making. Full-texts will be reviewed by at least two reviewers with discrepancies resolved by whole team consensus. A PRISMA flow diagram will document the selection process. Extracted data will be analysed and reported narratively. Discussion: This scoping review will identify which sleep parameters are reported and the means by which they are measured in people with MCI or early dementia. We intend to explore differences in reporting practice within group subsets, e.g. by dementia and study subtype. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required due to absence of human participants. Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at relevant academic conferences. The search strategy will be made available publicly for transparency.
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Saddiq, Muhammad Sohail, Xiukang Wang, Shahid Iqbal, Muhammad Bilal Hafeez, Shahbaz Khan, Ali Raza, Javaid Iqbal, et al. "Effect of Water Stress on Grain Yield and Physiological Characters of Quinoa Genotypes." Agronomy 11, no. 10 (September 27, 2021): 1934. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11101934.
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Climate change scenarios predict that an extended period of drought is a real threat to food security, emphasizing the need for new crops that tolerate these conditions. Quinoa is the best option because it has the potential to grow under water deficit conditions. There is considerable variation in drought tolerance in quinoa genotypes, and the selection of drought-tolerant quinoa germplasms is of great interest. The main goal of this work is to evaluate the crop yield and characterize the physiology of 20 quinoa genotypes grown under water deficit in a wirehouse. The experiment was a complete randomized design (CRD) factorial with three replications. Seedling growth, i.e., fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW), root length (RL), shoot length (SL), relative growth rate of root length (RGR-RL), shoot length (RGR-SL), and physiological performance, i.e., chlorophyll content (a and b), carotenoid, leaf phenolic content, leaf proline content, membrane stability index (MSI), and leaf K+ accumulation were evaluated in a hydroponic culture under different water-deficit levels developed by PEG 6000 doses (w/v) of 0% (control), 0.3%, and 0.6%. Yield attributes were evaluated in a pot at three different soil moisture levels, as determined by soil gravimetric water holding capacity (WHC) of 100 (control), 50% WHC (50 % drought stress) and 25% WHC (75% stress). In both experiments, under the water stress condition, the growth (hydroponic study) and yield traits (pot study) were significantly reduced compared to control treatments. On the drought tolerance index (DTI) based on seed yield, genotype 16 followed by 10, 1, 4, 5, 7, and 12 could be considered drought-tolerant genotypes that produced maximum grain yield and improved physiological characteristics under severe water stress conditions in hydroponic culture. In both studies, genotypes 3, 8, 13, and 20 performed poorly and were considered drought-sensitive genotypes with the lowest DTI values under water-stressed conditions. All the studied agronomic traits (grain yield, root and shoot length, shoot fresh and dry weights) and physiological traits (leaf phenolic, proline content, carotenoid, K+ accumulation, membrane stability index, and relative water content) were firmly inter-correlated and strongly correlated with DTI. They can be regarded as screening criteria, employing a large set of quinoa genotypes in a breeding program.
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Chugh, Yashika, Gaurav Jyani, Mayur Trivedi, Sandra Albert, Sitanshu Sekhar Kar, Binod Patro, Swati Raman, et al. "Protocol for estimating the willingness-to-pay-based value for a quality-adjusted life year to aid health technology assessment in India: a cross-sectional study." BMJ Open 13, no. 2 (February 2023): e065591. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065591.
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IntroductionTo ensure that the evidence generated by health technology assessment (HTA) is translated to policy, it is important to generate a threshold value against which the outcomes of HTA studies can be compared. In this context, the present study delineates the methods that will be deployed to estimate such a value for India.Methods and analysisThe proposed study will deploy a multistage sampling approach considering economic and health status for selection of states, followed by selection of districts based on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and identification of primary sampling units (PSUs) using the 30-cluster approach. Further, households within PSU will be identified using systematic random sampling and block randomisation based on gender will be done to select respondent from the household. A total of 5410 respondents will be interviewed for the study. The interview schedule will comprise of three sections including background questionnaire to elicit socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, followed by assessment of health gains, and willingness to pay (WTP). To assess the health gains and corresponding WTP, the respondent will be presented with hypothetical health states. Using time trade off method, the respondent will indicate the amount of time he/she is willing to give up at the end of life to avoid morbidities in the hypothetical health condition. Further, respondents will be interviewed about their WTP for treatment of respective hypothetical conditions using contingent valuation technique. These estimates of health gains and corresponding WTP will then be combined to ascertain the value of WTP per quality-adjusted life year.Ethics and disseminationThe ethical approval has been obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. The study outcomes will be made available for general use and interpretation of HTA studies commissioned by India’s central HTA Agency.
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Ahmed, Kamran, and Rakib Khan. "Disclosure practices and governance quality: evidence from micro finance institutions." Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change 12, no. 3 (September 5, 2016): 325–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jaoc-02-2015-0014.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of governance structure and composition and other institution-specific attributes in disclosure practices of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in an emerging market contest. Bangladesh is a country which is considered to be a pioneer in providing micro-finance to the underprivileged people to improve their entrepreneurial capacity. Design/methodology/approach The paper utilises a survey of three groups of users to elicit their opinions and the recommendation of the donor and regulatory agencies to construct a disclosure index. Further ordinary least squares regressions, both parametric and non-parametric, are used to analyse the association between disclosure levels and governance mechanisms and other MFI characteristics. Findings Using a large sample of 564 MFI firm-year reports in Bangladesh, the results show that the overall disclosure levels were around 70 per cent in 2010 and have not improved since 2004. The results also show that the frequency of board meetings, qualifications of MFIs’ board members and MFI size are positively associated with MFIs disclosures. However, board size, board independence, audit firm and other control variables have no such effect on disclosure. This implies that MFIs should focus in board effectiveness rather than its composition. Research limitations/implications Using a general purpose financial reporting framework, the paper examines how effective boards can improve financial reporting standards of MFIs for better monitoring by international donor agencies, regulatory bodies and depositors. Originality/value This is the first substantive study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that uses data based on a questionnaire survey and the annual financial statements of a large sample of MFIs from Bangladesh that has been at the forefront of microfinance in emerging countries. Prior studies only used Web-based information, namely, Mix-Market, which ranks country on the basis of its disclosure criteria supplied voluntarily by MFIs, and thus suffer from selection bias. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop an empirical model to explain the role of governance quality in disclosure practices of MFIs.
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Janušaitė, Rasa, Laurynas Jukna, Darius Jarmalavičius, Donatas Pupienis, and Gintautas Žilinskas. "A Novel GIS-Based Approach for Automated Detection of Nearshore Sandbar Morphological Characteristics in Optical Satellite Imagery." Remote Sensing 13, no. 11 (June 7, 2021): 2233. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13112233.
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Satellite remote sensing is a valuable tool for coastal management, enabling the possibility to repeatedly observe nearshore sandbars. However, a lack of methodological approaches for sandbar detection prevents the wider use of satellite data in sandbar studies. In this paper, a novel fully automated approach to extract nearshore sandbars in high–medium-resolution satellite imagery using a GIS-based algorithm is proposed. The method is composed of a multi-step workflow providing a wide range of data with morphological nearshore characteristics, which include nearshore local relief, extracted sandbars, their crests and shoreline. The proposed processing chain involves a combination of spectral indices, ISODATA unsupervised classification, multi-scale Relative Bathymetric Position Index (RBPI), criteria-based selection operations, spatial statistics and filtering. The algorithm has been tested with 145 dates of PlanetScope and RapidEye imagery using a case study of the complex multiple sandbar system on the Curonian Spit coast, Baltic Sea. The comparison of results against 4 years of in situ bathymetric surveys shows a strong agreement between measured and derived sandbar crest positions (R2 = 0.999 and 0.997) with an average RMSE of 5.8 and 7 m for PlanetScope and RapidEye sensors, respectively. The accuracy of the proposed approach implies its feasibility to study inter-annual and seasonal sandbar behaviour and short-term changes related to high-impact events. Algorithm-provided outputs enable the possibility to evaluate a range of sandbar characteristics such as distance from shoreline, length, width, count or shape at a relevant spatiotemporal scale. The design of the method determines its compatibility with most sandbar morphologies and suitability to other sandy nearshores. Tests of the described technique with Sentinel-2 MSI and Landsat-8 OLI data show that it can be applied to publicly available medium resolution satellite imagery of other sensors.
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Wang, Ruifeng, Fengling Shi, and Dawei Xu. "The Extraction Method of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Mapping Using Different Remote Sensing Data Sources Based on Vegetation Growth Properties." Land 11, no. 11 (November 7, 2022): 1996. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land11111996.
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Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most widely planted forages due to its useful characteristics. Although alfalfa spatial distribution is an important source of basic data, manual surveys incur high survey costs, require large workloads and confront difficulties in collecting data over large areas; remote sensing compensates for these shortcomings. In this study, the time−series variation characteristics of different vegetation types were analyzed, and the extraction method of alfalfa mapping was established according to different spatial− and temporal−resolution remote sensing data. The results provided the following conclusions: (1) when using the wave peak and valley number of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) curves, in the study area, the number of wave peaks needed to be greater than 2 and the number of wave valleys needed to be greater than 1; (2) 91.6% of alfalfa sampling points were extracted by moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data using the wave peak and valley method, and 5.0% of oats sampling points were extracted as alfalfa, while no other vegetation types met these conditions; (3) 85.3% of alfalfa sampling points were identified from Sentinel−2 multispectral instrument (MSI) data using the wave peak and valley method; 6.0% of grassland vegetation and 8.7% of oats satisfied the conditions, while other vegetation types did not satisfy this rule; and (4) the temporal phase selection was very important for alfalfa extraction using single−time phase remote sensing images; alfalfa was easily separated from other vegetation at the pre−wintering stage and was more difficult to separate from oats at the spring regreening stage due to the variability in the alfalfa overwintering rate; the overall classification accuracy was 92.9% with the supervised classification method using support vector machine (SVM) at the pre−wintering stage. These findings provide a promising approach to alfalfa mapping using different remote sensing data.
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Yang, Ziheng, Lihua Wang, Weiwei Sun, Weixin Xu, Bo Tian, Yunxuan Zhou, Gang Yang, and Chao Chen. "A New Adaptive Remote Sensing Extraction Algorithm for Complex Muddy Coast Waterline." Remote Sensing 14, no. 4 (February 11, 2022): 861. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs14040861.
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Coastline is an important geographical element of the boundary between ocean and land. Due to the impact of the ocean-land interactions at multiple temporal-spatial scales and the intensified human activities, the waterline of muddy coast is undergoing long-term and continuous dynamic changes. Using traditional remote sensing-based waterline extraction methods, it is difficult to achieve ideal results for muddy coast waterlines, which are faced with problems such as limited algorithm stability, weak algorithm migration, and discontinuous coastlines extraction results. In response to the above challenges, three different types of muddy coasts, Yancheng, Jiuduansha and Xiangshan were selected as the study areas. Based on the Sentinel-2 MSI images, we proposed an adaptive remote sensing extraction algorithm framework for the complex muddy coast waterline, named AEMCW (Adaptive Extraction for Muddy Coast Waterline), including main procedures of high-pass filtering, histogram statistics and adaptive threshold determination, which has the capability to obtain continuous and high-precision muddy coastal waterline. NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index), MNDWI (Modified Normalized Difference Water Index) and ED (Edge Detection) methods were selected to compare the extraction effect of AEMCW method. The length and spatial accuracy of these four methods were evaluated with the same criteria. The accuracy evaluation presented that the length errors of ED method in all three study areas were minimum, but the waterline results were offset more to the land side, due to spectral similarity, turbid water and tidal flats having similar values of NDWI and MNDWI. Therefore, the length and spatial accuracies of NDWI and MNDWI methods were lower than AEMCW method. The length errors of the AEMCW algorithm in Yancheng, Jiuduansha, and Xiangshan were 14.4%, 18.0%, and 7.7%, respectively. The producer accuracies were 94.3%, 109.6%, and 94.2%, respectively. The user accuracies were 82.4%, 92.9%, and 87.5%, respectively. These results indicated that the proposed AEMCW algorithm can effectively restrain the influence of spectral noise from various land cover types and ensure the continuity of waterline extraction results. The adaptive threshold determination equation reduced the influence of human factors on threshold selection. The further application on ZY-1 02D hyperspectral images in the Yancheng area verified the proposed algorithm is transferable and has good stability.
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Chen, Xiaodan, Lin Lin, Jie Wu, Guang Yang, Tianjin Zhong, Xiaoqiang Du, Zhiyong Chen, et al. "Histogram analysis in predicting the grade and histological subtype of meningiomas based on diffusion kurtosis imaging." Acta Radiologica 61, no. 9 (January 27, 2020): 1228–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0284185119898656.
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Background Presurgical grading is particularly important for selecting the best therapeutic strategy for meningioma patients. Purpose To investigate the value of histogram analysis of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) maps in the differentiation of grades and histological subtypes of meningiomas. Material and Methods A total of 172 patients with histopathologically proven meningiomas underwent preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and were classified into low-grade and high-grade groups. Mean kurtosis (MK), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) histograms were generated based on solid components of the whole tumor. The following parameters of each histogram were obtained: 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles, mean, median, maximum, minimum, and kurtosis, skewness, and variance. Comparisons of different grades and subtypes were made by Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, ROC curves analysis, and multiple logistic regression. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate correlations between histogram parameters and the Ki-67 labeling index. Results Significantly higher maximum, skewness, and variance of MD, mean, median, maximum, variance, 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of MK were found in high-grade than low-grade meningiomas (all P < 0.05). DKI histogram parameters differentiated 7/10 pairs of subtype pairs. The 90th percentile of MK yielded the highest AUC of 0.870 and was the only independent indicator for grading meningiomas. Various DKI histogram parameters were correlated with the Ki-67 labeling index ( P < 0.05). Conclusion The histogram analysis of DKI is useful for differentiating meningioma grades and subtypes. The 90th percentile of MK may serve as an optimal parameter for predicting the grade of meningiomas.
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Zhang, Guangzong, Mengquan Wu, Juan Wei, Yufang He, Lifeng Niu, Hanyu Li, and Guochang Xu. "Adaptive Threshold Model in Google Earth Engine: A Case Study of Ulva prolifera Extraction in the South Yellow Sea, China." Remote Sensing 13, no. 16 (August 15, 2021): 3240. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13163240.
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An outbreak of Ulva prolifera poses a massive threat to coastal ecology in the Southern Yellow Sea, China (SYS). It is a necessity to extract its area and monitor its development accurately. At present, Ulva prolifera monitoring by remote sensing imagery is mostly based on a fixed threshold or artificial visual interpretation for threshold selection, which has large errors. In this paper, an adaptive threshold model based on Google Earth Engine (GEE) is proposed and applied to extract U. prolifera in the SYS. The model first applies the Floating Algae Index (FAI) or Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) algorithm on the preprocessed remote sensing images and then uses the Canny Edge Filter and Otsu threshold segmentation algorithm to extract the threshold automatically. The model is applied to Landsat8/OLI and Sentinel-2/MSI images, and the confusion matrix and cross-sensor comparison are used to evaluate the accuracy and applicability of the model. The verification results show that the model extraction of U. prolifera based on the FAI algorithm has higher accuracy (R2 = 0.99, RMSE = 5.64) and better robustness. However, when the average cloud cover is more than 70% in the image (based on the statistical results of multi-year cloud cover information), the model based on the NDVI algorithm has better applicability and can extract the algae distributed at the edge of the cloud. When the model uses the FAI algorithm, it is named FAI-COM (model based on FAI, the Canny Edge Filter, and Otsu thresholding). And when the model uses the NDVI algorithm, it is named NDVI-COM (model based on NDVI, the Canny Edge Filter, and Otsu thresholding). Therefore, the final extraction results are generated by supplementing NDVI-COM results on the basis of FAI-COM extraction results in this paper. The F1-score of U. prolifera extracted results is above 0.85. The spatiotemporal distribution of U. prolifera in the South Yellow Sea from 2016 to 2020 is obtained through the model calculation. Overall, the coverage area of U. prolifera shows a decreasing trend over the five years. It is found that the delay in recovery time of Porphyra yezoensis culture facilities in the Northern Jiangsu Shoal and the manual salvage and cleaning-up of U. prolifera in May are among the reasons for the smaller interannual scale of algae in 2017 and 2018.
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Yang, Yixiang. "Parallel processing in data analysis of the JUNO experiment." Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2438, no. 1 (February 1, 2023): 012057. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2438/1/012057.
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Abstract The JUNO experiment is being built mainly to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy by detecting neutrinos generated in the Yangjiang and Taishan nuclear plants in southern China. The detector will record 5.6 TB raw data every day for offline analysis, but each day it can only collect about 60 neutrino events scattered among huge background events. Selection of extremely sparse neutrino events brings a big challenge to offline data analysis. A typical neutrino physics event normally spans across a number of consecutive readout events, flagged by a fast positron signal followed by a slow neutron signal within a varying-size time window. To facilitate this analysis, a two-step data processing scheme has been proposed. In the first step (called data preparation), the event index data is produced and skimmed, which only contains information of minimum physics quantities of events as well as their addresses in the original reconstructed data file. In the second step (called time correlation analysis), event index data is further selected with stricter criteria. And then, for each selected event, the time correlation analysis is performed by reading all associated events within a pre-defined time window from the original data file according to the selected event’s address and timestamp. This contribution will start to introduce the design of the above data processing scheme and then focus on the multi-threaded implementation of time correlation analysis based on the Intel Threading Building Block (TBB) in the SNiPER framework. Afterwards, this contribution will describe the implementation of distributed analysis using MPI in which the time correlation analysis task is divided into sub-tasks running on multiple computing nodes. At last, this contribution will present the detailed performance measurements made on a multiple-node test bed. By using both skimming and indexing techniques, the total amount of data finally used for neutrino signal time correlation analysis is significantly reduced, and the processing time could be reduced by two orders of magnitude.