Search results for: normalize differences vegetation index

Authors: Ran Goldblatt, Nicholas Jones, Jennifer Mannix, Brad Bottoms

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Accurate, complete, and up-to-date geospatial information is the foundation of successful disaster management. When the 2010 Haiti Earthquake struck, accurate and timely information on the distribution of critical infrastructure was essential for the disaster response community for effective search and rescue operations. Existing geospatial datasets such as Google Maps did not have comprehensive coverage of these features. In the days following the earthquake, many organizations released high-resolution satellite imagery, catalyzing a worldwide effort to map Haiti and support the recovery operations. Of these organizations, OpenStreetMap (OSM), a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world, used the imagery to support volunteers to digitize roads, buildings, and other features, creating the most detailed map of Haiti in existence in just a few weeks. However, large portions of the island are still not fully covered by OSM. There is an increasing need for a tool to automatically identify which areas in Haiti, as well as in other countries vulnerable to disasters, that are not fully mapped. The objective of this project is to leverage different types of remote sensing measurements, together with machine learning approaches, in order to identify geographical areas where OSM coverage of building footprints is incomplete. Several remote sensing measures and derived products were assessed as potential predictors of OSM building footprints coverage, including: intensity of light emitted at night (based on VIIRS measurements), spectral indices derived from Sentinel-2 satellite (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), urban index (UI)), surface texture (based on Sentinel-1 SAR measurements)), elevation and slope. Additional remote sensing derived products, such as Hansen Global Forest Change, DLR`s Global Urban Footprint (GUF), and World Settlement Footprint (WSF), were also evaluated as predictors, as well as OSM street and road network (including junctions). Using a supervised classification with a random forest classifier resulted in the prediction of 89% of the variation of OSM building footprint area in a given cell. These predictions allowed for the identification of cells that are predicted to be covered but are actually not mapped yet. With these results, this methodology could be adapted to any location to assist with preparing for future disastrous events and assure that essential geospatial information is available to support the response and recovery efforts during and following major disasters.

Keywords: disaster management, Haiti, machine learning, OpenStreetMap, remote sensing

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Authors: Ballout Amor, Yasmina Bouchahm, Lacheheb Dhia Eddine Zakaria

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Several studies all around the world were conducted on the phenomenon of the urban heat island, and referring to the results obtained, one of the most important factors that influence this phenomenon is the mineralization of the cities which means the reducing of evaporative urban surfaces, replacing vegetation and wetlands with concrete and asphalt. The use of vegetation and water can change the urban environment and improve comfort, thus reduce the heat island. The trees act as a mask to the sun, wind, and sound, and also as a source of humidity which reduces air temperature and surrounding surfaces. Water also acts as a buffer to noise; it is also a source of moisture and regulates temperature not to mention the psychological effect on humans. Our main objective in this paper is to determine the impact of vegetation, ponds and fountains on the urban micro climate in general and on the thermal comfort of people along the Independence square in the Algerian city of Sétif, which is a semi-arid climate, in particularly. In order to reach this objective, a comparative study between different scenarios has been done; the use of the Envi-met program enabled us to model the urban environment of the Independence Square and to study the possibility of improving the conditions of comfort by adding an amount of vegetation and water ponds. After studying the results obtained (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, PMV and PPD indicators), the efficiency of the additions we've made on the square was confirmed and this is what helped us to confirm our assumptions regarding the terms of comfort in the studied site, and in the end we are trying to develop recommendations and solutions which may contribute to improve the conditions for greater comfort in the Independence square.

Keywords: comfort in outer space, urban environment, scenarisation, vegetation, water ponds, public square, simulation

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Authors: A. Bouzekri, H. Benmassaud

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Aurès region is one of the arid and semi-arid areas that have suffered climate crises and overexploitation of natural resources they have led to significant land degradation. The use of remote sensing data allowed us to analyze the land and its spatiotemporal changes in the Aurès between 1987 and 2013, for this work, we adopted a method of analysis based on the exploitation of the images satellite Landsat TM 1987 and Landsat OLI 2013, from the supervised classification likelihood coupled with field surveys of the mission of May and September of 2013. Using ENVI EX software by the superposition of the ground cover maps from 1987 and 2013, one can extract a spatial map change of different land cover units. The results show that between 1987 and 2013 vegetation has suffered negative changes are the significant degradation of forests and steppe rangelands, and sandy soils and bare land recorded a considerable increase. The spatial change map land cover units between 1987 and 2013 allows us to understand the extensive or regressive orientation of vegetation and soil, this map shows that dense forests give his place to clear forests and steppe vegetation develops from a degraded forest vegetation and bare, sandy soils earn big steppe surfaces that explain its remarkable extension. The analysis of remote sensing data highlights the profound changes in our environment over time and quantitative monitoring of the risk of desertification.

Keywords: remote sensing, spatiotemporal, land use, Aurès

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Authors: Salehah Tahkin, Norlaila Mustafa, Dayang Anita Abdul Aziz

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Knowledge of medical ethics is important to all practitioners so the best care can be delivered to all patients through safe practice. Surgeons are not exceptions to this. Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of medical ethics among paediatric surgeons and trainees in Malaysia has not been evaluated before. This study aims to determine the level of KAP regarding medical ethics among these groups. This was a cross-sectional study involving three groups of samples, i.e., paediatric surgeons (PS), paediatric surgical trainees (PST), and medical officers with a special interest in paediatric surgery (MO). A validated KAP questionnaire was used. Standard formulas were used to calculate objective indexes for measuring KAP, which were then compared for statistical significance across different sample groups; p less than 0.05 is taken as significant. The index is rated into 5 classes using a score of 0 to 10, i.e., poor (1-2.99), fair (3-4.99), good (5-6.99), very good (7-8.99), and excellent (9-10). There were 117 samples, i.e., PS n=45 (38.5%), PST n=25 (21.3%), and MO n=47 (40.2%). For knowledge, all three groups display a good index score (mean score of 5.44). For attitude, PS and MO also display an index score of good (mean score of 5.81), while the PST index score was fair (4.82). For practice, our study shows a highest score of 7.14 (very good) among PST. However, these differences were not statistically significant (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Training in paediatric surgery must continue to emphasize professionalism and medical ethics education to deliver the best health care services.

Keywords: KAP, medical ethics, paediatric, surgeons, trainees

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Authors: Sarah Okende

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It is universally recognized that the forests of the Congo Basin remain a common good and a complex ecosystem, and insufficiently known. Historically and throughout the world, forests have been valued for the multiple products and benefits they provide. In addition to their major role in the conservation of global biodiversity and in the fight against climate change, these forests also have an essential role in the regional and global ecology. This is particularly the case of the Luki Biosphere Reserve, a highly diversified evergreen Guinean-Congolese rainforest. Despite the efforts of sustainable management of the said reserve, the understanding of the place occupied by the soil under the influence of the latter does not seem to be an interesting subject for the general public or even scientists. The Luki biosphere reserve is located in the west of the DRC, more precisely in the south-east of Mayombe Congolais, in the province of Bas-Congo. The vegetation of the Luki Biosphere Reserve is very heterogeneous and diversified. It ranges from grassy formations to semi-evergreen dense humid forests, passing through edaphic formations on hydromorphic soils (aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation; messicole and segetal vegetation; gascaricole vegetation; young secondary forests with Musanga cercropioides, Xylopia aethiopica, Corynanthe paniculata; mature secondary forests with Terminalia superba and Hymenostegia floribunda; primary forest with Prioria balsamifera; climax forests with Gilbertiodendron dewevrei, and Gilletiodendron kisantuense). Field observations and reading of previous and up-to-date work carried out in the Luki biosphere reserve are the methodological approaches for this study, the aim of which is to show the impact of soil types in determining the varieties of vegetation. The results obtained prove that the four different types of soil present (purplish red soils, developing on amphibolites; red soils, developed on gneisses; yellow soils occurring on gneisses and quartzites; and alluvial soils, developed on recent alluvium) have a major influence apart from other environmental factors on the determination of different facies of the vegetation of the Luki Biosphere Reserve. In conclusion, the Luki Biosphere Reserve is characterized by a wide variety of biotopes determined by the nature of the soil, the relief, the microclimates, the action of man, or the hydrography. Overall management (soil, biodiversity) in the Luki Biosphere Reserve is important for maintaining the ecological balance.

Keywords: soil, biodiversity, forest, Luki, rainforest

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Authors: Samson Davoyan, Ashot Davoyan, Ani Khachatryan

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The indexes (Global Competitiveness Index, Economic Freedom Index, Human Development Index, etc.) developed by different international and non-government organizations in time and space express the quantitative and qualitative features of different fields of various reforms implemented in different countries. The main objective of our research is to develop new methodology that we will use to create integral index based on many indexes and that will include many areas of reforms. To achieve our aim we have used econometric methods (regression model for panel data method). The basis of our methodology is the development of the new integral index based on quantitative assessment of the change of two main parameters: the score of the countries by different indexes and the change of the ranks of countries for following two periods of time. As a result of the usage of methods for analyzes we have defined the indexes that are used to create the new integral index and the scales for each of them. Analyzing quantitatively and qualitatively analysis through the integral index for more than 100 countries for 2009-2014, we have defined comparative efficiency that helps to conclude in which directions countries have implemented reforms more effectively compared to others and in which direction reforms have implemented less efficiently.

Keywords: development, rank, reforms, comparative, index, economic, corruption, social, program

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Authors: Mehmet Yildiz, Mehmet Kale

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The primary aim of the present study was to identify the bilateral balance asymmetries when comparing the dominant (DL) vs. the non-dominant leg (NDL) in the collegian soccer players. The secondary aim was to compare the inter-limb asymmetry index (ASI) when differentiating by kicking preference (right-dominant vs. left-dominant). 34 right-dominant leg (RightDL) (age:21.12±1.85, height:174.50±5.18, weight:69.42±6.86) and 23 left-dominant leg (LeftDL), (age:21.70±2.03, height:176.2±6.27, weight:68.73±5.96) collegian football players were tested for bilateral static and dynamic balance. Balance ability was assessed by measuring centre of pressure deviation on a single leg. Single leg static and dynamic balance scores and inter-limb asymmetry index (ASI) were determined. Student t tests were used for the comparison of dominant and nondominant leg balance scores and RightDL and LeftDL football players’ inter-limb asymmetry index of the balance scores. The results showed that there were significant differences in the dynamic balance scores in favour of the nondominant leg, (DL:738±211 vs. NDL:606±226, p < 0.01). Also, it has been seen that LeftDL players have significantly higher inter-limb asymmetry index when compared with rightDL players for both static (rightDL:-7.07±94.91 vs. leftDL:-183.19±354.05, p < 0.01) and dynamic (rightDL: 1.73±49.65 vs. leftDL:27.08±23.34, p < 0.05) balance scores. In conclusion, bilateral dynamic balance asymmetries may be affected using single leg predominantly in the mobilization workouts. Because of having higher inter-limb asymmetry index, left-dominant leg players may be screened and trained to minimize balance asymmetry.

Keywords: bilateral balance, asymmetries, dominant leg, leg preference

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Authors: Febrina Natalia, Noriyuki Tanaka, Mitsuru Osaki

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Sustainability Index for REDD-plus implementation was constructed to evaluate the sustainability of different communities in 5 villages (Taruna Jaya, Tumbang Nusa, Marang, Terantang, and Seragam Jaya) in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia based on the main objectives of REDD-plus project (reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation, increasing carbon stock, preserving biodiversity and sustaining forest management). This index was separately composed of 3 different components; (1) ecology, (2) economy, and (3) society. The index of sustainability was determined into four categories; 3,3-4,0 (excellent), 2,5-3,2 (good), 1,8-2,4 (fair), and 1,0-1,7 (poor). Overall, this technique aims to assist all stakeholders and local government in particular in providing information of villages’ sustainability index before implementing REDD-plus project that the assistance and benefits given to villages will be beneficial, effective and efficient.

Keywords: central kalimantan, Indonesia, REDD-plus, sustainability index

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Authors: Alice Brites, Gerd Sparovek, Jean Paul Metzger, Ricardo Rodrigues

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The segregation between science and policy in decision making process hinders nature conservation efforts worldwide. Scientists have been criticized for not producing information that leads to effective solutions for environmental problems. In an attempt to bridge this gap between science and practice, we conducted a project aimed at supporting the implementation of the Brazilian Native Vegetation Protection Law (NVPL) implementation in São Paulo State (SP), Brazil. To do so, we conducted multiple open meetings with the stakeholders involved in this discussion. Throughout this process, we raised stakeholders' demands for scientific information and brought feedbacks about our findings. However, our main scientific advice was not taken into account during the NVPL implementation in SP. The NVPL has a mechanism that exempts landholders who converted native vegetation without offending the legislation in place at the time of the conversion from restoration requirements. We found out that there were no accurate spatialized data for native vegetation cover before the 1960s. Thus, the initial benchmark for the mechanism application should be the 1965 Brazilian Forest Act. Even so, SP kept the 1934 Brazilian Forest Act as the initial legal benchmark for the law application. This decision implies the use of a probabilistic native vegetation map that has uncertainty and subjectivity as its intrinsic characteristics, thus its use can lead to legal queries, corruption, and an unfair benefit application. But why this decision was made even after the scientific advice was vastly divulgated? We raised some possible reasons to explain it. First, the decision was made during a government transition, showing that circumstantial political events can overshadow scientific arguments. Second, the debate about the NVPL in SP was not pacified and powerful stakeholders could benefit from the confusion created by this decision. Finally, the native vegetation protection mechanism is a complex issue, with many technical aspects that can be hard to understand for a non-specialized courtroom, such as the one that made the final decision at SP. This example shows that science and decision-makers still have a long way ahead to improve their way to interact and that science needs to find its way to be heard above the political buzz.

Keywords: Brazil, forest act, science-based dialogue, science-policy interface

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Authors: Şehri Çınar, Aydın Akın

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This study was conducted Razakı grape variety (Vitis vinifera L.) and its vine which was aged 19 was grown on 5 BB rootstock in a vegetation period of 2014 in Afyon province in Turkey. In this research, it was investigated whether the applications of Control (C), 1/3 Cluster Tip Reduction (1/3 CTR), Shoot Tip Reduction (STR), 1/3 CTR + STR, Boric Acid (BA), 1/3 CTR + BA, STR + BA, 1/3 CTR + STR + BA on yield and yield components of Razakı grape variety. The results were obtained as the highest fresh grape yield (7.74 kg/vine) with C application, as the highest cluster weight (244.62 g) with STR application, as the highest 100 berry weight (504.08 g) with C application, as the highest maturity index (36.89) with BA application, as the highest must yield (695.00 ml) with BA and (695.00 ml) with 1/3 CTR + STR + BA applications, as the highest intensity of L* color (46.93) with STR and (46.10) with 1/3 CTR + STR + BA applications, as the highest intensity of a* color (-5.37) with 1/3 CTR + STR and (-5.01) with STR, as the highest intensity of b* color (12.59) with STR application. The shoot tip reduction to increase cluster weight and boric acid application to increase maturity index of Razakı grape variety can be recommended.

Keywords: razakı, 1/3 cluster tip reduction, shoot tip reduction, boric acid, yield and yield components

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Authors: Jui-Chen Huang

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The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of telecare on preventing and delaying the quality of disability care in elderly people with portable comfort Bluetooth brainwave devices with remote healthcare functions. Through the teaching videos and remotely teaching the elderly, which had ever learned the care courses of the prevent and delay disability, these elderly did muscle strength training. Then this paper explores the effect of training with the data by SPSS 18.0 statistical software. The data is collected with pre-test, post-test and analyze data from the measure of the Bluetooth brain wave equipment including the pressure index, relaxation index, attention and fatigue index of the elderly. In this study, 30 elderly people who had taken preventive and delayed disability care courses were studied to explore the effect of their care quality improvement. The results showed that the pressure index, relaxation index, attention, and fatigue index of the elderly had statistically significant differences in two months. It can be seen that elderly people who have been treated to prevent and delay disability care courses can significantly improve their care quality if they continue to receive intensive training to prevent and delay disability through remote mode. This telecare is applied to the elderly program that has been used to prevent and delay disability care courses. It is worth continuing to promote, and it is recommended that follow-up studies be conducted in a longer-term manner to explore long-term benefits. It can solve the current insufficiency of long-term care resources, but the demand is urgent.

Keywords: telecare, bluetooth brainwave equipment, prevention and delay of disability, the elderly, care quality

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Authors: Y. B. Sharma, K. B. Biswas

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This research project examines a 5000 cal yr BP sediment core record to reveal the consequences of human impact and climate variability on the tropical dry forests of the Mahi river basin, western India. To date there has been little research to assess the impact of climate variability and human impact on the vegetation dynamics of this region. There has also been little work to link changes in vegetation cover to documented changes in the basin hydrology over the past 100 years – although it is assumed that the two are closely linked. The key objective of this research project therefore is to understand the driving mechanisms responsible for the abrupt changes in the Mahi river basin as detailed in historical documentation and its impact on water resource management. The Mahi river basin is located in western India (22° 11’-24° 35’ N 72° 46’-74° 52’ E). Mahi river arises in the Malwa Plateau, Madhya Pradesh near Moripara and flows through the uplands and alluvial plain of Rajasthan and Gujarat provinces before draining into the Gulf of Cambay. Palaeoecological procedures (sedimentology, geochemical analysis, C&N isotopes and fossil pollen evidences) have been applied on sedimentary sequences collected from lakes in the Mahi basin. These techniques then facilitate to reconstruct the soil erosion, nutrient cycling, vegetation changes and climatic variability over the last 5000 years. Historical documentation detailing changes in demography, climate and landscape use over the past 100 years in this region will also be collated to compare with the most recent palaeoecological records. The results of the research work provide a detailed record of vegetation change, soil erosion, changes in aridity, and rainfall patterns in the region over the past 5000 years. This research therefore aims to determine the drivers of change and natural variability in the basin. Such information is essential for its current and future management including restoration.

Keywords: human impact, climate variability, vegetation cover, hydrology, water resource management, Mahi river basin, sedimentology, geochemistry, fossil pollen, nutrient cycling, vegetation changes, palaeoecology, aridity, rainfall, drivers of change

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Authors: Mustafa Metin Donma

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Metabolic syndrome (MetS) components are noteworthy among children with obesity and morbid obesity because they point out the cases with MetS, which have the great tendency to severe health problems such as cardiovascular diseases both in childhood and adulthood. In clinical practice, considerable efforts are being observed to bring into the open the striking differences between morbid obese cases and those with MetS findings. The most privileged aspect is concerning cardiometabolic features. The aim of this study was to derive an index which behaves different in children with and without MetS from the cardiac point of view. For the purpose, aspartate transaminase (AST), a cardiac enzyme still being used independently to predict cardiac-related problems, was used. One hundred and twenty four children were recruited from the outpatient clinic of Department of Pediatrics in Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine. Forty-three children with normal body mass index, forty-one and forty morbid obese (MO) children with MetS and without the characteristic features of MetS, respectively, were included in the study. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip C (HC), head C (HdC), neck C (NC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were measured and recorded. Body mass index and anthropometric ratios were calculated. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin (INS), triglycerides (TRG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) analyses were performed. The values for AST, alanin transaminase (ALT) and AST/ALT were obtained. Advanced Donma cardiac index (ADCI) values were calculated. The formula for the index was [(TRG/HDL-C) * (INS/FBG)] * [(WC+HC)/Height] * [(HdC+NC)/Height]. Statistical evaluations including correlation analysis were done by a statistical package program. The statistical significance degree was accepted as p<0.05. The index, ADCI, was developed from both anthropometric and biochemical parameters. All anthropometric measurements except weight were included in the equation. Besides all biochemical parameters concerning MetS components were also added. This index was tested in each of three groups. Its performance was compared with the performance of cardiometabolic index (CMI). It was also checked whether it was compatible with AST activity. The performance of ADCI was better than that of CMI. Instead of double increase, the increase of three times was observed in children with MetS compared to MO children. The index was correlated with AST in MO group and with AST/ALT in MetS group. In conclusion, this index was superior in discovering cardiac problems in MO and in diagnosing MetS in MetS groups. It was also arbiter to point out cardiovascular and MetS aspects among the groups.

Keywords: aspartate transaminase, cardiac, children, index, obesity

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Authors: Bhawesh Kumar, A. P. Krishna

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There are continuous changes upon earth’s surface by a variety of natural and anthropogenic agents cut, carry away and depositing of minerals from land. Running water has higher capacity of erosion than other geomorphologic agents. This research work has been carried out on Ganga River, whose channel is continuously changing under the influence of geomorphic agents and human activities in the surrounding regions. The main focus is to study morphological characteristics and sand dynamics of Ganga River with particular emphasis on bank lines and width changes using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The advance remote sensing data and topographical data were interpreted for obtaining 52 years of changes. For this, remote sensing data of different years (LANDSAT TM 1975, 1988, 1993, ETM 2005 and ETM 2012) and toposheet of SOI for the year 1960 were used as base maps for this study. Sinuosity ratio, braiding index and migratory activity index were also established. It was found to be 1.16 in 1975 and in 1988, 1993, 2005 and 2005 it was 1.09, 1.11, 1.1, 1.09 respectively. The analysis also shows that the minimum value found in 1960 was in reach 1 and maximum value is 4.8806 in 2012 found in reach 4 which suggests creation of number of islands in reach 4 for the year 2012. Migratory activity index (MAI), which is a standardized function of both length and time, was computed for the 8 representative reaches. MAI shows that maximum migration was in 1975-1988 in reach 6 and 7 and minimum migration was in 1993-2005. From the channel change analysis, it was found that the shifting of bank line was cyclic and the river Ganges showed a trend of southward maximum values. The advanced remote sensing data and topographical data helped in obtaining 52 years changes in the river due to various natural and manmade activities like flood, water velocity and excavation, removal of vegetation cover and fertile soil excavation for the various purposes of surrounding regions.

Keywords: braided index, migratory activity index (MAI), Ganga river, river morphology

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Authors: Ilknur Tuncer, Nihayet Bizsel

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The studies in bacterial diversity and antimicrobial resistance in coastal areas are important to understand the variability in the community structures and metabolic activities. In the present study, antimicrobial susceptibility and phylogenetic analysis of bacteria isolated from stations with different depths and influenced by terrestrial and marine fluxes in eastern Aegean Sea were illustrated. 51% of the isolates were found as resistant and 14% showed high MAR index indicating the high-risk sources of contamination in the environment. The resistance and the intermediate levels and high MAR index of the study area were 38–60%, 11–38% and 0–40%, respectively. According to 16S rRNA gene analysis, it was found that the isolates belonged to two phyla Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria with the genera Bacillus, Halomonas, Oceanobacillus, Photobacterium, Pseudoalteromonas, Psychrobacter, and Vibrio. 47% of Bacillus strains which were dominant among all isolates were resistant. In addition to phylogenetically diverse bacteria, the variability in resistance, intermediate and high MAR index levels of the study area indicated the effect of geographical differences.

Keywords: bacterial diversity, multiple antibiotic resistance, 16S rRNA genes, Aegean Sea

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Authors: Leila Ramezani, Mohammad Saeid Mossadegh

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Different uses of land by humans alter the physico chemical characteristics of the soil and affect the soil microhabitat. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of tillage in three different human land uses on microarthropods biodiversity in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran. Three microhabitats including a permanent grassland with old Date-Palms around and no till system, and two wheat fields, one with conservative agricultural practices and low till system and the other with conventional agricultural practices (deep tillage), were compared for the biodiversity of the two main groups of soil microarthropods (Oribatida and Collembola). Soil samples were collected from the top to a depth of 15 cm bimonthly during a period of two years. Significant differences in the biodiversity index of microarthropods were observed between the different tillage systems (F = 36.748, P =0.000). Indeed, analysis of species diversity showed that the diversity index at the conservative field with low till (2.58 ± 0.01) was higher (p < 0.05) than the conventional tilled field (2.45 ± 0.08) and the diversity of natural grassland was the highest (2.79 ± 0.19, p < 0.05). Indeed, the index of biodiversity and population abundance differed significantly in different seasons (p < 0.00).

Keywords: biodiversity, Collembola, microarthropods, Oribatida

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Authors: Ferruh Taspinar, Gulce K. Seyyar, Gamze Kurt, Eda O. Okur, Emrah Afsar, Ismail Saracoglu, Betul Taspinar

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Alterations of physical activity can effect body composition (especially body fat ratio); however body mass index may not sufficient to indicate these minimal differences. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between body composition and physical activity in university students. In this study, 132 university students (mean age; 21.21±1.51) were included. Tanita BC-418 and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were used to evaluate participants. The correlation between the parameters was analysed via Spearman correlation analysis. Significance level in statistical analyses was accepted is 0.05. The results showed that there was no correlation between body mass index and physical activity (p>0.05). There was a positive correlation between body muscle ratio and physical activity, whereas a negative correlation between body fat ratio and physical activity (p<0.05). This study showed that body fat and muscle ratio affects the level of physical activity in healthy university students. Therefore, we thought that physical activity might reduce effects of the diseases caused by disturbed body composition. Further studies are required to support this idea.

Keywords: body composition, body mass index, physical activity, university student

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

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Pediatric overweight and obesity need attention because they may cause morbid obesity, which may develop metabolic syndrome (MetS). Criteria used for the definition of adult MetS cannot be applied for pediatric MetS. Dynamic physiological changes that occur during childhood and adolescence require the evaluation of each parameter based upon age intervals. The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of blood pressure (BP) values within diverse pediatric age intervals and the possible use and clinical utility of a recently introduced Diagnostic Obesity Notation Model Assessment Tension (DONMA tense) Index derived from systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) [SBP+DBP/200]. Such a formula may enable a more integrative picture for the assessment of pediatric obesity and MetS due to the use of both SBP and DBP. 554 children, whose ages were between 6-16 years participated in the study; the study population was divided into two groups based upon their ages. The first group comprises 280 cases aged 6-10 years (72-120 months), while those aged 10-16 years (121-192 months) constituted the second group. The values of SBP, DBP and the formula (SBP+DBP/200) covering both were evaluated. Each group was divided into seven subgroups with varying degrees of obesity and MetS criteria. Two clinical definitions of MetS have been described. These groups were MetS3 (children with three major components), and MetS2 (children with two major components). The other groups were morbid obese (MO), obese (OB), overweight (OW), normal (N) and underweight (UW). The children were included into the groups according to the age- and sex-based body mass index (BMI) percentile values tabulated by WHO. Data were evaluated by SPSS version 16 with p < 0.05 as the statistical significance degree. Tension index was evaluated in the groups above and below 10 years of age. This index differed significantly between N and MetS as well as OW and MetS groups (p = 0.001) above 120 months. However, below 120 months, significant differences existed between MetS3 and MetS2 (p = 0.003) as well as MetS3 and MO (p = 0.001). In comparison with the SBP and DBP values, tension index values have enabled more clear-cut separation between the groups. It has been detected that the tension index was capable of discriminating MetS3 from MetS2 in the group, which was composed of children aged 6-10 years. This was not possible in the older group of children. This index was more informative for the first group. This study also confirmed that 130 mm Hg and 85 mm Hg cut-off points for SBP and DBP, respectively, are too high for serving as MetS criteria in children because the mean value for tension index was calculated as 1.00 among MetS children. This finding has shown that much lower cut-off points must be set for SBP and DBP for the diagnosis of pediatric MetS, especially for children under-10 years of age. This index may be recommended to discriminate MO, MetS2 and MetS3 among the 6-10 years of age group, whose MetS diagnosis is problematic.

Keywords: blood pressure, children, index, metabolic syndrome, obesity

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Authors: Stefanie J. Huber, Tobias Schmidt

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Cross-country differences in homeownership rates are large and very persistent over time, ranging between 35% in Switzerland to 80% in Spain. In this project, we test the hypothesis that these cross-country differences are driven by cultural tastes. To isolate the effect of culture from the effects of institutions and economic factors, we investigate the homeownership attitudes of second-generation immigrants in the United States. We find robust evidence that cross-country differences in cultural preferences are an important explanatory factor for the observed persistent differences in homeownership rates across countries.

Keywords: housing markets, homeownership rates, country heterogeneity, preferences, cultural transmission, migration

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Authors: A. Belay, B. Kebede

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The concentration- and temperature-dependent refractive indices of solutions extracted from defective and non-defective coffee beans have been investigated using a He–Ne laser. The refractive index has a linear relationship with the presumed concentration of the coffee solutions in the range of 0.5–3%. Higher and lower values of refractive index were obtained for immature and non-defective coffee beans, respectively. The Refractive index of bean extracts can be successfully used to separate defective from non-defective beans.

Keywords: coffee extract, refractive index, temperature dependence

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Authors: Nayera E. Hassan, Salah Mostafa, Hamed Elkhayat, Kalled Hassan Sewidan, Sahar A. El-Masry, Manal Mouhamed Ali, Mones M. Abu Shady

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Pubertal growth is influenced by many factors including environmental and nutritional factors. Objective: To assess impact of nutritional status on pubertal staging, ovarian and uterine volumes among school girls. Method: Study was cross sectional and carried out on 1000 healthy school girls, aged 8-18 years selected randomly. They were categorized according to their ages into three groups: 8-12 years, 13-15 years and 16-18 years ±6 months, then according to their body mass index percentile to normal weight: (≥15-<85.), overweight (≥85-<95) and obese (≥95). All girls were subjected for physical, anthropometric (weight, height, body mass index), nutritional markers WAZ (weight/age Z score), HAZ (height/age Z score) and BMI-Z (body mass index Z score), pubertal assessment (Tanner stage) and pelvic transabdominal sonography (uterine and ovarian volumes). Results: Highly significant differences in ovarian and uterine volumes and nutritional markers (WAZ, HAZ and BMI-Z score) were detected among different grades of puberty in the two age groups (8-12 years, 13-15 years) coming in advance of obese girls (with increase of BMI); except HAZ in the second age group. Girls aged 16-18 years reached to final volume for the uterus and ovary with insignificant differences. Pubertal stage, ovarian and uterine sizes were highly significantly correlated with nutritional markers. Mean ages of onset: of puberty, menarche and complete puberty were, 11.65 + 1.84, 14.79 + 1.75 and 15.02 + 1.68 years respectively. Conclusion: Nutritional status has a crucial role in determining pubertal stage, ovarian and uterine volumes among Egyptian girls during the pubertal process.

Keywords: pubertal stage, nutritional markers, girls, ovarian and uterine volumes

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Authors: Zama Mahmood

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The increasing demand of food management, monitoring of the crop growth and forecasting its yield well before harvest is very important. These days, yield assessment together with monitoring of crop development and its growth are being identified with the help of satellite and remote sensing images. Studies using remote sensing data along with field survey validation reported high correlation between vegetation indices and yield. With the development of remote sensing technique, the detection of crop and its mechanism using remote sensing data on regional or global scales have become popular topics in remote sensing applications. Punjab, specially the southern Punjab region is extremely favourable for wheat production. But measuring the exact amount of wheat production is a tedious job for the farmers and workers using traditional ground based measurements. However, remote sensing can provide the most real time information. In this study, using the Normalized Differentiate Vegetation Index (NDVI) indicator developed from Landsat satellite images, the yield of wheat has been estimated during the season of 2013-2014 for the agricultural area around Bahawalpur. The average yield of the wheat was found 35 kg/acre by analysing field survey data. The field survey data is in fair agreement with the NDVI values extracted from Landsat images. A correlation between wheat production (ton) and number of wheat pixels has also been calculated which is in proportional pattern with each other. Also a strong correlation between the NDVI and wheat area was found (R2=0.71) which represents the effectiveness of the remote sensing tools for crop monitoring and production estimation.

Keywords: landsat, NDVI, remote sensing, satellite images, yield

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Authors: Abdul Jalil M. Khalaf, Esraa M. Kadhim

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The Hosoya polynomial of a graph G is a graphical invariant polynomial that its first derivative at x= 1 is equal to the Wiener index and second derivative at x=1 is equal to the Hyper-Wiener index. In this paper we study the Hosoya polynomial of zero-divisor graphs.

Keywords: Hosoya polynomial, wiener index, Hyper-Wiener index, zero-divisor graphs

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Authors: Carla Idely Palencia-Aguilar

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Mining in Colombia represents around 2% of the GDP (USD 8 billion in 2018), with main productions represented by coal, nickel, gold, silver, emeralds, iron, limestone, gypsum, among others. Sand and Gravel had been decreasing its participation of the GDP with a reduction of 33.2 million m3 in 2015, to 27.4 in 2016, 22.7 in 2017 and 15.8 in 2018, with a consumption of approximately 3 tons/inhabitant. However, with the new government policies it is expected to increase in the following years. Mining causes temporary environmental impacts, once restoration and rehabilitation takes place, social, environmental and economic benefits are higher than the initial state. A way to demonstrate how the mining interventions had contributed to improve the characteristics of the region after sand and gravel mining, the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) from MODIS and ASTER were employed. The histograms show not only increments of vegetation in the area (8 times higher), but also topographies similar to the ones before the intervention, according to the application for sustainable development selected: either agriculture, forestry, cattle raising, artificial wetlands or do nothing. The decision was based upon a Multicriteria analysis for optimal land use, with three main variables: geostatistics, evapotranspiration and groundwater characteristics. The use of remote sensing, meteorological stations, piezometers, sunphotometers, geoelectric analysis among others; provide the information required for the multicriteria decision. For cattle raising and agricultural applications (where various crops were implemented), conservation of products were tested by means of nanotechnology. The results showed a duration of 2 years with no chemicals added for preservation and concentration of vitamins of the tested products.

Keywords: ASTER, Geostatistics, MODIS, Multicriteria

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Authors: Engin Eroğlu, Oktay Yıldız, Necmi Aksoy, Akif Keten, Mehmet Kıvanç Ak, Şeref Keskin, Elif Atmaca, Sertaç Kaya

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Nowadays, green spaces in urban areas are under threat and decreasing their percentages in the urban areas because of increasing population, urbanization, migration, and some cultural changes in quality. An important element of the natural landscape water and water-related natural ecosystems are exposed to corruption due to these pressures. A landscape has owned many different types of elements or units, a more dominant structure than other landscapes as good or bad perceptible extent different direction and variable reveals a unique structure and character of the landscape. Whereas landscapes deal with two main groups as urban and rural according to their location on the world, especially intersection areas of urban and rural named semi-urban or semi-rural present variety landscape features. The main components of the landscape are defined as patch-matrix-corridor. The corridors include quite various vegetation types such as riparian, wetland and the others. In urban areas, natural water corridors are an important elements of the diversity of the riparian vegetation cover. In particular, water corridors attract attention with a natural diversity and lack of fragmentation, degradation and artificial results. Thanks to these features, without a doubt, water corridors are the important component of all cities in the world. These corridors not only divide the city into two separate sides, but also assured the ecological connectivity between the two sides of the city. The main objective of this study is to determine the vegetation and habitat features of urban stream corridor according to environmental interactions. Within this context, this study will be realized that 'Asar Suyu' is an important component of the city of Düzce. Moreover, the riparian zone touched contiguous area borders of the city and overlaid the urban development limits of the city, determining of characteristics of the corridor will be carried out as floristic and habitat analysis. Consequently, vegetation structure and habitat features which play an important role between riparian zone vegetation covers and environmental interaction will be determined. This study includes first results of The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK-116O596; 'Determining of Landscape Character of Urban Water Corridors as Visual and Ecological; A Case Study of Asar Suyu in Duzce').

Keywords: corridor, Duzce, landscape ecology, riparian vegetation

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Authors: Radek Novotný, Martina Maněnová

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This article presents a summary of reviews on gender differences in perception of information and communication technology (ICT) by pupils in primary education. The article outlines the meaning of ICT in primary education then summarizes different studies of the use of ICT in primary education from the point of view of gender. The article also presents the specific differences of gender in the knowledge of modalities of use of specialized digital tools and the perception and value assigned to ICT, accordingly the article provides insight into the background of gender differences in performance in relation to ICT to determinate the complex meaning of pupils attitudes to the ICT.

Keywords: ICT in primary education, attitudes to ICT, gender differences, gender and ICT

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Authors: Yuan-Lin Chen

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This paper presents an approaching forward collision probability index (AFCPI) for alerting and assisting driver in keeping safety distance to avoid the forward collision accident in highway driving. The time to collision (TTC) and time headway (TH) are used to evaluate the TTC forward collision probability index (TFCPI) and the TH forward collision probability index (HFCPI), respectively. The Mamdani fuzzy inference algorithm is presented combining TFCPI and HFCPI to calculate the approaching collision probability index of the vehicle. The AFCPI is easier to understand for the driver who did not even have any professional knowledge in vehicle professional field. At the same time, the driver’s behavior is taken into account for suiting each driver. For the approaching index, the value 0 is indicating the 0% probability of forward collision, and the values 0.5 and 1 are indicating the 50% and 100% probabilities of forward collision, respectively. The AFCPI is useful and easy-to-understand for alerting driver to avoid the forward collision accidents when driving in highway.

Keywords: approaching index, forward collision probability, time to collision, time headway

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Authors: Ti-An Tsai, Chun-Chih Wang, Hung-Wen Wang, I-Ling Chang, Lien-Wen Chen

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In this study, we demonstrate a high-resolution refractive index sensor based on a magnetic photonic crystal (MPC) composed of a triangular lattice array of air holes embedded in Si matrix. A microcavity is created by changing the radius of an air hole in the middle of the photonic crystal. The cavity filled with gyrotropic materials can serve as a refractive index sensor. The shift of the resonant frequency of the sensor is obtained numerically using finite difference time domain method under different ambient conditions having refractive index from n = 1.0 to n = 1.1. The numerical results show that a tiny change in refractive index of Δn = 0.0001 is distinguishable. In addition, the spectral response of the MPC sensor is studied while an external magnetic field is present. The results show that the MPC sensor exhibits a dramatic improvement in resolution.

Keywords: magnetic photonic crystal, refractive index sensor, sensitivity, high-resolution

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Authors: Shirin jalili, Hadi Shirzad, Mahasti Modarresi, Samaneh Nabavi, Somayeh Khanjani

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Identifying the source tissue of biological material found at crime scenes can be very informative in a number of cases. Despite their usefulness, current visual, catalytic, enzymatic, and immunologic tests for presumptive and confirmatory tissue identification are applicable only to a subset of samples, might suffer limitations such as low specificity, lack of sensitivity, and are substantially impacted by environmental insults. In addition their results are operator-dependent. Recently the possibility of discriminating body fluids using mRNA expression differences in tissues has been described but lack of long term stability of that Molecule and the need to normalize samples for each individual are limiting factors. The use of DNA should solve these issues because of its long term stability and specificity to each body fluid. Cells in the human body have a unique epigenome, which includes differences in DNA methylation in the promoter of genes. DNA methylation, which occurs at the 5′-position of the cytosine in CpG dinucleotides, has great potential for forensic identification of body fluids, because tissue-specific patterns of DNA methylation have been demonstrated, and DNA is less prone to degradation than proteins or RNA. Previous studies have reported several body fluid-specific DNA methylation markers.The presence or absence of a methyl group on the 5’ carbon of the cytosine pyridine ring in CpG dinucleotide regions called ‘CpG islands’ dictates whether the gene is expressed or silenced in the particular body fluid. Were described methylation patterns at tissue specific differentially methylated regions (tDMRs) to be stable and specific, making them excellent markers for tissue identification. The results demonstrate that methylation-based tissue identification is more than a proof-of-concept. The methodology holds promise as another viable forensic DNA analysis tool for characterization of biological materials.

Keywords: DNA methylation, forensic science, epigenome, tDMRs

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Authors: Monique Du Plessis, Anina Coetzee, Colleen L. Seymour, Claire N. Spottiswoode

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Artificial nectar feeders are used to attract nectarivorous birds to gardens and are increasing in popularity. The costs and benefits of these feeders remain controversial, however. Nectar feeders may have positive effects by attracting nectarivorous birds towards suburbia, facilitating their urban adaptation, and supplementing bird diets when floral resources are scarce. However, this may come at the cost of luring them away from the plants they pollinate in neighboring indigenous vegetation. This study investigated the effect of nectar feeders on an African pollinator-plant mutualism. Given that birds are important pollinators to many fynbos plant species, this study was conducted in gardens and natural vegetation along the urban edge of the Cape Peninsula. Feeding experiments were carried out to compare relative bird abundance and local distribution patterns for nectarivorous birds (i.e., sunbirds and sugarbirds) between feeder and control treatments. Resultant changes in their visitation rates to Erica flowers in the natural vegetation were tested by inspection of their anther ring status. Nectar feeders attracted higher densities of nectarivores to gardens relative to natural vegetation and decreased their densities in the neighboring fynbos, even when floral abundance in the neighboring vegetation was high. The consequent changes to their distribution patterns and foraging behavior decreased their visitation to at least Erica plukenetii flowers (but not to Erica abietina). This study provides evidence that nectar feeders may have positive effects for birds themselves by reducing their urban sensitivity but also highlights the unintended negative effects feeders may have on the surrounding fynbos ecosystem. Given that nectar feeders appear to compete with the flowers of Erica plukenetii, and perhaps those of other Erica species, artificial feeding may inadvertently threaten bird-plant pollination networks.

Keywords: avian nectarivores, bird feeders, bird pollination, indirect effects in human-wildlife interactions, sugar water feeders, supplementary feeding

Procedia PDF Downloads 155