Search results for: common maps

Authors: H. Amellal, Y. Noui, A. Djouab, S. Benamara

Abstract:

Mech-Degla, Degla-Beida, and Frezza are the date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) common varieties with a more or less good availability and feeble trade value. Some morphologic and physicochemical factors were determined. Results show that the whole date weight is significantly different (P= 95%) concerning Mech-Degla and Degla-Beida which are more commercialised than Frezza whereas the pulp/kernel ratio for this last is highest (above 7) since it represents almost the double of that found for the two other varieties. The water content for all fruits is below 15g/100g (wet basis) what confers a dried consistence for common date. Some other morphologic and chemical proprieties of the whole pulps and their two constitutive parts (brown or pigmented and white) are also investigated. The predominance of phenolics in Mech-Degla (4.01g/100g, w.b) and Frezza (4.96 g/100g, w.b) pulps brown part is the main result revealed in this study.

Keywords: common dates, phenolics, sugars, tissues

Procedia PDF Downloads 382

Authors: Azimollah Aleshzadeh, Enver Vural Yavuz

Abstract:

The main goal of this study is to produce landslide susceptibility maps using different data-driven bivariate statistical approaches; namely, entropy weight method (EWM), evidence belief function (EBF), and information content model (ICM), at Uzundere county, Erzurum province, in the north-eastern part of Turkey. Past landslide occurrences were identified and mapped from an interpretation of high-resolution satellite images, and earlier reports as well as by carrying out field surveys. In total, 42 landslide incidence polygons were mapped using ArcGIS 10.4.1 software and randomly split into a construction dataset 70 % (30 landslide incidences) for building the EWM, EBF, and ICM models and the remaining 30 % (12 landslides incidences) were used for verification purposes. Twelve layers of landslide-predisposing parameters were prepared, including total surface radiation, maximum relief, soil groups, standard curvature, distance to stream/river sites, distance to the road network, surface roughness, land use pattern, engineering geological rock group, topographical elevation, the orientation of slope, and terrain slope gradient. The relationships between the landslide-predisposing parameters and the landslide inventory map were determined using different statistical models (EWM, EBF, and ICM). The model results were validated with landslide incidences, which were not used during the model construction. In addition, receiver operating characteristic curves were applied, and the area under the curve (AUC) was determined for the different susceptibility maps using the success (construction data) and prediction (verification data) rate curves. The results revealed that the AUC for success rates are 0.7055, 0.7221, and 0.7368, while the prediction rates are 0.6811, 0.6997, and 0.7105 for EWM, EBF, and ICM models, respectively. Consequently, landslide susceptibility maps were classified into five susceptibility classes, including very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. Additionally, the portion of construction and verification landslides incidences in high and very high landslide susceptibility classes in each map was determined. The results showed that the EWM, EBF, and ICM models produced satisfactory accuracy. The obtained landslide susceptibility maps may be useful for future natural hazard mitigation studies and planning purposes for environmental protection.

Keywords: entropy weight method, evidence belief function, information content model, landslide susceptibility mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 104

Authors: G. Tamilpavai, C. Vishnuppriya

Abstract:

Bioinformatics is an active research area which combines biological matter as well as computer science research. The longest common subsequence (LCSS) is one of the major challenges in various bioinformatics applications. The computation of the LCSS plays a vital role in biomedicine and also it is an essential task in DNA sequence analysis in genetics. It includes wide range of disease diagnosing steps. The objective of this proposed system is to find the longest common subsequence which presents in a normal and various disease affected human DNA sequence using Self Organizing Map (SOM) and LCSS. The human DNA sequence is collected from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. Initially, the human DNA sequence is separated as k-mer using k-mer separation rule. Mean and median values are calculated from each separated k-mer. These calculated values are fed as input to the Self Organizing Map for the purpose of clustering. Then obtained clusters are given to the Longest Common Sub Sequence (LCSS) algorithm for finding common subsequence which presents in every clusters. It returns nx(n-1)/2 subsequence for each cluster where n is number of k-mer in a specific cluster. Experimental outcomes of this proposed system produce the possible number of longest common subsequence of normal and disease affected DNA data. Thus the proposed system will be a good initiative aid for finding disease causing sequence. Finally, performance analysis is carried out for different DNA sequences. The obtained values show that the retrieval of LCSS is done in a shorter time than the existing system.

Keywords: clustering, k-mers, longest common subsequence, SOM

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Julian Y. Raheema, Michael R. Hess, Raymond C. Provost, Mark Bilinski

Abstract:

The world is rapidly moving towards advancing and utilizing artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics. The ground-breaking Boston Dynamics quadruped robot, SPOT, was designed for industrial and commercial tasks requiring limited autonomous navigation. Out of the box, SPOT has route memorization and playback – it can repeat a path that it has been manually piloted through, but it cannot autonomously navigate an area that has not been previously explored. The presented SPOT payload package is built on ROS framework to support autonomous navigation and mapping of an unexplored environment. The package is fully integrated with SPOT to take advantage of motor controls and collision avoidance that comes natively with the robot. The payload runs all computations onboard, takes advantage of visual odometry SLAM and uses an Intel RealSense depth camera and Velodyne LiDAR sensor to generate 2D and 3D maps while in autonomous navigation mode. These maps are fused into the navigation stack to generate a costmap to enable the robot to safely navigate the environment without causing damage to the surroundings or the robot. The operator defines the operational zone and start location and then sends the explore command to have SPOT explore, generate 2D and 3D maps of the environment and return to the start location to await the operator's next command. The benefit of the presented package is that it is much lighter weight and less expensive than previous approaches and, importantly, operates in GPS-denied scenarios, which is ideal for indoor mapping. There are numerous applications that are hazardous to humans for SPOT enhanced with the autonomy payload, including disaster response, nuclear inspection, mine inspection, and so on. Other less extreme uses cases include autonomous 3D and 2D scanning of facilities for inspection, engineering and construction purposes.

Keywords: autonomous, SLAM, quadruped, mapping, exploring, ROS, robotics, navigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 50

Authors: Julio Macedo

Abstract:

Several methodologies are now available to conceive the improvements of a process so that it becomes competitive as for example total quality, process reengineering, six sigma, define measure analysis improvement control method. These improvements are of different nature and can be external to the process represented by an optimization model or a discrete simulation model. In addition, the process stakeholders are several and have different desired performances for the process. Hence, the methodologies above do not have a tool to aid in the conception of the required improvements. In order to fill this void we suggest the use of intelligent reference models. A reference model is a set of qualitative differential equations and an objective function that minimizes the gap between the current and the desired performance indexes of the process. The reference models are intelligent so when they receive the current state of the problematic process and the desired performance indexes they generate the required improvements for the problematic process. The reference models are fuzzy cognitive maps added with an objective function and trained using the improvements implemented by the high performance firms. Experiments done in a set of students show the reference models allow them to conceive more improvements than students that do not use these models.

Keywords: continuous improvement, fuzzy cognitive maps, process competitiveness, qualitative simulation, system dynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Cassandra Hansen, Paul Doherty, Chris Ferner, German Whitley, Holly Torpey

Abstract:

Wildfire is a natural and inevitable occurrence, yet changing climatic conditions have increased the severity, frequency, and risk to human populations in the wildland/urban interface (WUI) of the Western United States. Rapid dissemination of accurate wildfire information is critical to both the Incident Management Team (IMT) and the affected community. With the advent of increasingly sophisticated information systems, GIS can now be used as a web platform for sharing geographic information in new and innovative ways, such as virtual story map applications. Crowdsourced information can be extraordinarily useful when coupled with authoritative information. Information abounds in the form of social media, emergency alerts, radio, and news outlets, yet many of these resources lack a spatial component when first distributed. In this study, we describe how twenty-eight volunteer GIS professionals across nine Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACC) sourced, curated, and distributed Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) from authoritative social media accounts focused on disseminating information about wildfires and public safety. The combination of fire progression maps with VGI incident information helps answer three critical questions about an incident, such as: where the first started. How and why the fire behaved in an extreme manner and how we can learn from the fire incident's story to respond and prepare for future fires in this area. By adding a spatial component to that shared information, this team has been able to visualize shared information about wildfire starts in an interactive map that answers three critical questions in a more intuitive way. Additionally, long-term social and technical impacts on communities are examined in relation to situational awareness of the disaster through map layers and agency links, the number of views in a particular region of a disaster, community involvement and sharing of this critical resource. Combined with a GIS platform and disaster VGI applications, this workflow and information become invaluable to communities within the WUI and bring spatial awareness for disaster preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery. This study highlights progression maps as the ultimate storytelling mechanism through incident case studies and demonstrates the impact of VGI and sophisticated applied cartographic methodology make this an indispensable resource for authoritative information sharing.

Keywords: storytelling, wildfire progression maps, volunteered geographic information, spatial and temporal

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Alexander Hudson, Shaogang Gong

Abstract:

Structure determination is key to understanding protein function at a molecular level. Whilst significant advances have been made in predicting structure and function from amino acid sequence, researchers must still rely on expensive, time-consuming analytical methods to visualise detailed protein conformation. In this study, we demonstrate that it is possible to make accurate (≥80%) predictions of protein class and architecture from structures determined at low (>3A) resolution, using a deep convolutional neural network trained on high-resolution (≤3A) structures represented as 2D matrices. Thus, we provide proof of concept for high-speed, low-cost protein structure classification at low resolution, and a basis for extension to prediction of function. We investigate the impact of the input representation on classification performance, showing that side-chain information may not be necessary for fine-grained structure predictions. Finally, we confirm that high resolution, low-resolution and NMR-determined structures inhabit a common feature space, and thus provide a theoretical foundation for boosting with single-image super-resolution.

Keywords: transfer learning, protein distance maps, protein structure classification, neural networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 104

Authors: Stamatia Nasiakou, Dimitrios Chouvardas, Michael Vrahnakis, Vassiliki Kleftoyanni

Abstract:

Recent research in the mountainous and semi-mountainous rural landscapes of Greece shows that they have been significantly changed over the last 80 years. These changes have the form of structural modification of land cover/use patterns, with the main characteristic being the extensive expansion of dense forests and shrubs at the expense of grasslands and extensive agricultural areas. The aim of this research was to study the 60-year changes (1960-2019) of land cover/ use units in the rural landscape of Mouzaki (Karditsa Prefecture, central Greece). Relevant cartographic material such as forest land use maps, digital maps (Corine Land Cover -2018), 1960 aerial photos from Hellenic Military Geographical Service, and satellite imagery (Google Earth Pro 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019) was collected and processed in order to study landscape evolution. ArcGIS v 10.2.2 software was used to process the cartographic material and to produce several sets of data. Main product of the analysis was a digitized photo-mosaic of the 1960 aerial photographs, a digitized photo-mosaic of recent satellite images (2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019), and diagrams and maps of temporal transformation of the rural landscape (1960 – 2019). Maps and diagrams were produced by applying photointerpretation techniques and a suitable land cover/ use classification system on the two photo-mosaics. Demographic and socioeconomic inventory data was also collected mainly from diachronic census reports of the Hellenic Statistical Authority and local sources. Data analysis of the temporal transformation of land cover/ use units showed that they are mainly located in the central and south-eastern part of the study area, which mainly includes the mountainous part of the landscape. The most significant change is the expansion of the dense forests that currently dominate the southern and eastern part of the landscape. In conclusion, the produced diagrams and maps of the land cover/ use evolution suggest that woody vegetation in the rural landscape of Mouzaki has significantly increased over the past 60 years at the expense of the open areas, especially grasslands and agricultural areas. Demographic changes, land abandonment and the transformation of traditional farming practices (e.g. agroforestry) were recognized as the main cause of the landscape change. This study is part of a broader research project entitled “Perspective of Agroforestry in Thessaly region: A research on social, environmental and economic aspects to enhance farmer participation”. The project is funded by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) and the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI).

Keywords: Agroforestry, Forest expansion, Land cover/ use changes, Mountainous and semi-mountainous areas

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Pebri Nurhayati, Rozanah Ahlam Fadiyah

Abstract:

In the development of the city often use rural areas that can not be separated from the change in land use that lead to the degradation of urban green space in the city fringe. In the long run, the degradation of green open space this can impact on the decline of ecological, psychological and public health. Therefore, this research aims to (1) determine the relationship between the parameters of the degradation rate of urban development with green space, (2) develop a spatial model of the impact of urban development on the degradation of green open space with remote sensing techniques and Geographical Information Systems in an integrated manner. This research is a descriptive research with data collection techniques of observation and secondary data . In the data analysis, to interpret the direction of urban development and degradation of green open space is required in 2005-2010 ASTER image with NDVI. Of interpretation will generate two maps, namely maps and map development built land degradation green open space. Secondary data related to the rate of population growth, the level of accessibility, and the main activities of each city map is processed into a population growth rate, the level of accessibility maps, and map the main activities of the town. Each map is used as a parameter to map the degradation of green space and analyzed by non-parametric statistical analysis using Crosstab thus obtained value of C (coefficient contingency). C values were then compared with the Cmaximum to determine the relationship. From this research will be obtained in the form of modeling spatial map of the City Development Impact Degradation Green Space in Urban Fringe eastern city of Yogyakarta 2005-2010. In addition, this research also generate statistical analysis of the test results of each parameter to the degradation of green open space in the Urban Fringe eastern city of Yogyakarta 2005-2010.

Keywords: spatial analysis, urban development, degradation of green space, urban fringe

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Muhammad Usman Ghani

Abstract:

Religious tolerance is essential for the establishment of peace in the world. In the system created by Almighty Allah where a lot of diversity is found, still, this world holds unity itself. In today's world, human beings have been divided into clashes of civilizations or divided on the basis of religions or lingual differences. A religious scholar of Indo- Pak subcontinent describes four ethics, on the basis of which all religions of the world can unite. He says in his philosophy of religion that, there is a number of elements common in all religions but four are very common and they are: cleanliness, nobel deeds, relation to Almighty (existence of Almighty) and justice. He says that this universe also holds its integrity in itself. All humans are different in their attributes but to be a human being is common in them. Similarly, all species of the universe are different in their nature, but to be the creature of God is commonly shared by all of them.

Keywords: inter-religious relation, peace and harmony, unity, four common ethics/virtues

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Victor E. Lopez, L. Dale Thomas

Abstract:

As engineered systems become more complex, the difficulty associated with predicting, developing, and operating engineered systems also increases, resulting in increased costs, failure rates, and unexpected consequences. Successfully managing the complexity of the system should reduce these negative consequences. The study of complexity in the context of engineering development has suffered due to the ambiguity of the nature of complexity, what makes a system complex and how complexity translates to real world engineering attributes and consequences. This paper argues that the use of an ontology of engineering design complexity would i) improve the clarity of the research being performed by allowing researchers to use a common conceptualization of complexity, with more precise terminology, and ii) elucidate the connections between certain types of complexity and their consequences for system development. The ontology comprises concepts of complexity found in the literature and the different relations that exists between them. The ontology maps different complexity concepts such as structural complexity, creation complexity, and information entropy, and then relates the to system aspects such as interfaces, development effort, and modularity. The ontology is represented using the Web Ontology Language (OWL). This paper presents the current status of the ontology of engineering design complexity, the main challenges encountered, and the future plans for the ontology.

Keywords: design complexity, ontology, design effort, complexity ontology

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Danutė Jablonskytė-Raščė, Audronė MankevičIenė, Laura Masilionytė

Abstract:

During the period 2009–2015, in Joniškėlis Experimental Station of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, the effect of ecologic fertilizers Ekoplant, bio-activators Biokal 01 and Terra Sorb Foliar and their combinations on the formation of the productivity elements, grain yield and quality of winter wheat, spelt (Triticum spelta L.), and common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was analysed in ecological agro-system. The soil under FAO classification – Endocalcari-Endo-hypogleyic-Cambisol. In a clay loam soil, ecological fertilizer produced from sunflower hull ash and this fertilizer in combination with plant extracts and bio-humus exerted an influence on the grain yield of spelt and common wheat and their mixture (increased the grain yield by 10.0%, compared with the unfertilized crops). Spelt grain yield was by on average 16.9% lower than that of common wheat and by 11.7% lower than that of the mixture, but the role of spelt in organic production systems is important because with no mineral fertilization it produced grains with a higher (by 4%) gluten content and exhibited a greater ability to suppress weeds (by on average 61.9% lower weed weight) compared with the grain yield and weed suppressive ability of common wheat and mixture. Spelt cultivation in a mixture with common wheat significantly improved quality indicators of the mixture (its grain contained by 2.0% higher protein content and by 4.0% higher gluten content than common wheat grain), reduced disease incidence (by 2-8%), and weed infestation level (by 34-81%).

Keywords: common and spelt-wheat, ecological fertilizers, bio-activators, productivity elements, yield, quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Lin Chang

Abstract:

Birmingham, England was a town in the late-eighteenth century and became the nation’s second largest city in the late nineteenth century. The city expanded rapidly in terms of its population and size. Three generations of artists from a local family, the Lines, made a large number of drawings and paintings depicting the growth and changes of their city. At first sight, the meaning of the pictures seems straight-forward: providing records of what were torn down and newly-built. However, except for being read as maps, the pictures reveal a struggle in vision as to whether unsightly manufactories and their smoking chimneys should be visualized and how far the borders of the town should have been positioned and understood as they continued to grow and encroached upon its immediate countryside. This art-historic paper examines some topographic views by the Lines family and explores how they, through unusual depiction of rural and urban scenery, manage to give form to the borderlands between the country and the city. This paper argues that while the idea of the country and the city seems to be common sense, the two realms actually pose difficulty for visual representation as to where exactly their borders are and the idea itself has dichotomized the way people consider landscape imageries to be.

Keywords: Birmingham, suburb, urban fringes, landscape

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Ching Louis Liu, Edmund Kazmierczak, Tim Miller

Abstract:

Safety analysis for multi-agent systems is complicated by the, potentially nonlinear, interactions between agents. This paper proposes a method for analyzing the safety of multi-agent systems by explicitly focusing on interactions and the accident data of systems that are similar in structure and function to the system being analyzed. The method creates a Bayesian network using the accident data from similar systems. A feature of our method is that the events in accident data are labeled with HAZOP guide words. Our method uses an Ontology to abstract away from the details of a multi-agent implementation. Using the ontology, our methods then constructs an “Interaction Map,” a graphical representation of the patterns of interactions between agents and other artifacts. Interaction maps combined with statistical data from accidents and the HAZOP classifications of events can be converted into a Bayesian Network. Bayesian networks allow designers to explore “what it” scenarios and make design trade-offs that maintain safety. We show how to use the Bayesian networks, and the interaction maps to improve multi-agent system designs.

Keywords: multi-agent system, safety analysis, safety model, integration map

Procedia PDF Downloads 392

Authors: Robert Jacobsen

Abstract:

Flood inundation maps (FIMs) are an essential tool in communicating flood threat scenarios to the public as well as in floodplain governance. With an increasing demand for online raster FIMs, the FIM State-of-the-Practice (SOP) is rapidly advancing to meet the dual requirements for high-resolution and high-accuracy—or High-Definition. Importantly, today’s technology also enables the resolution of problems of local—neighborhood-scale—bias errors that often occur in FIMs, even with the use of SOP two-dimensional flood modeling. To facilitate the development of HD-FIMs, a new GIS method--Raster Adjustment with Scenario Profiles, RASPTM—is described for adjusting kernel raster FIMs to match refined scenario profiles. With RASPTM, flood professionals can prepare HD-FIMs for a wide range of scenarios with available kernel rasters, including kernel rasters prepared from vector FIMs. The paper provides detailed procedures for RASPTM, along with an example of applying RASPTM to prepare an HD-FIM for the August 2016 Flood in Louisiana using both an SOP kernel raster and a kernel raster derived from an older vector-based flood insurance rate map. The accuracy of the HD-FIMs achieved with the application of RASPTM to the two kernel rasters is evaluated.

Keywords: hydrology, mapping, high-definition, inundation

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Ang Ling Weay, Mona Masood

Abstract:

This paper discusses the potential benefits of an interactive multimedia information representation in enhancing students’ critical thinking aligned with history reasoning in learning history between Secondary School students in Malaysia. Two modes of multimedia information representation implemented which are chronological and thematic information representation. A qualitative study of an unstructured interview was conducted among two history teachers, one history education lecturer, two i-think expert and program trainers and five form 4 secondary school students. The interview was to elicit their opinions on the implementation of thinking maps and interactive multimedia information representation in history learning. The key elements of interactive multimedia (e.g. multiple media, user control, interactivity, and use of timelines and concept maps) were then considered to improve the learning process. Findings of the preliminary investigation reveal that the interactive multimedia information representations have the potential benefits to be implemented as instructional resource in enhancing students’ higher order thinking skills (HOTs). This paper concludes by giving suggestions for future work.

Keywords: multimedia information representation, critical thinking, history reasoning, chronological and thematic information representation

Procedia PDF Downloads 318

Authors: Antonio Breda d’Azevedo

Abstract:

Regularity has often been present in the form of regular polyhedra or tessellations; classical examples are the nine regular polyhedra consisting of the five Platonic solids (regular convex polyhedra) and the four Kleper-Poinsot polyhedra. These polytopes can be seen as regular maps. Maps are cellular embeddings of graphs (with possibly multiple edges, loops or dangling edges) on compact connected (closed) surfaces with or without boundary. The n-dimensional abstract polytopes, particularly the regular ones, have gained popularity over recent years. The main focus of research has been their symmetries and regularity. Planification of polyhedra helps its spatial construction, yet it destroys its symmetries. To our knowledge there is no “planification” for n-dimensional polytopes. However we show that it is possible to make a “surfacification” of the n-dimensional polytope, that is, it is possible to construct a restrictedly-marked map representation of the abstract polytope on some surface that describes its combinatorial structures as well as all of its symmetries. We also show that there are infinitely many ways to do this; yet there is one that is more natural that describes reflections on the sides ((n−1)-faces) of n-simplices with reflections on the sides of n-polygons. We illustrate this construction with the 4-tetrahedron (a regular 4-polytope with automorphism group of size 120) and the 4-cube (a regular 4-polytope with automorphism group of size 384).

Keywords: abstract polytope, automorphism group, N-simplicies, symmetry

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Hosein Alimadadi, Fatemeh Farahmand, Ali Jafarian, Nasir Fakhar, Mohammad Hassan Sohouli, Neda Raeesi

Abstract:

Backgroundsː Regarding the important role of liver transplantation as the only treatment in many cases of end-stage liver disease in children, the aim of this study is to investigate the complications of liver transplantation and their management in children referred to the Children's Medical Center. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study on pediatric patients who have undergone liver transplants in the years 2016 to 2021. The indication for liver transplantation in this population was confirmed by a pediatric gastroenterologist, and a liver transplant was performed by a transplant surgeon. Finally, information about the patient before and after the transplantation was collected and recorded. Results: A total of 53 patients participated in this study, including 25 (47.2%) boys and 28 (52.8%) girls. The most common causes of liver transplantation were cholestatic and metabolic diseases. The most common early complication of liver transplantation in children was acute cellular rejection (ACR) and anastomotic biliary stricture. The most common late complication in these patients was an infection which was observed in 56.6% of patients. Among the drug side effects, neurotoxicity (convulsions) was seen more in patients, and 15.1% of the transplanted patients died. Conclusion: In this study, the most common early complication of liver transplantation in children was ACR and biliary stricture, and the most common late complication was infection. Neurotoxicity (convulsions) was the most common side effect of drugs.

Keywords: liver transplantation, complication, infection, survival rate

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Tali Neta

Abstract:

Humans’ impact on the environment has been incredibly brutal, with enormous plastic- and other pollutants (e.g., cigarette buds, paper cups, tires) worldwide. On land, litter costs taxpayers a fortune. Most of the litter pollution comes from the land, yet it is one of the greatest hazards to marine environments. Due to spatial and temporal limitations, previous litter data covered very small areas. Currently, smartphones can be used to obtain information on various pollutants (through citizen science), and they can greatly assist in acknowledging and mitigating the environmental impact of litter. Litter app data, such as the Litterati, are available for study through a global map only; these data are not available for download, and it is not clear whether irrelevant hashtags have been eliminated. Instagram and Twitter open-source geospatial data are available for download; however, these are considered inaccurate, computationally challenging, and impossible to quantify. Therefore, the resulting data are of poor quality. Other downloadable geospatial data (e.g., Marine Debris Tracker8 and Clean Swell10) are focused on marine- rather than terrestrial litter. Therefore, accurate terrestrial geospatial documentation of litter distribution is needed to improve environmental awareness. The current research employed citizen science to examine litter distribution in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, using the OpenLitterMap (OLM) app. The OLM app is an application used to track litter worldwide, and it can mark litter locations through photo georeferencing, which can be presented through GIS-designed maps. The OLM app provides open-source data that can be downloaded. It also offers information on various litter types and “hot-spots” areas where litter accumulates. In this study, Lethbridge College students collected litter data with the OLM app. The students produced GIS Story Maps (interactive web GIS illustrations) and presented these to school children to improve awareness of litter's impact on environmental health. Preliminary results indicate that towards the Lethbridge Coulees’ (valleys) East edges, the amount of litter significantly increased due to shrubs’ presence, that acted as litter catches. As wind generally travels from west to east in Lethbridge, litter in West-Lethbridge often finds its way down in the east part of the coulees. The students’ documented various litter types, while the majority (75%) included plastic and paper food packaging. The students also found metal wires, broken glass, plastic bottles, golf balls, and tires. Presentations of the Story Maps to school children had a significant impact, as the children voluntarily collected litter during school recess, and they were looking into solutions to reduce litter. Further litter distribution documentation through Citizen Science is needed to improve public awareness. Additionally, future research will be focused on Drone imagery of highly concentrated litter areas. Finally, a time series analysis of litter distribution will help us determine whether public education through Citizen Science and Story Maps can assist in reducing litter and reaching a cleaner and healthier environment.

Keywords: citizen science, litter pollution, Open Litter Map, GIS Story Map

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Lina Wu, Jia Liu, Ye Li

Abstract:

The goal of this project is to investigate constant properties (called the Liouville-type Problem) for a p-stable map as a local or global minimum of a p-energy functional where the domain is a Euclidean space and the target space is a closed half-ellipsoid. The First and Second Variation Formulas for a p-energy functional has been applied in the Calculus Variation Method as computation techniques. Stokes’ Theorem, Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality, Hardy-Sobolev type Inequalities, and the Bochner Formula as estimation techniques have been used to estimate the lower bound and the upper bound of the derived p-Harmonic Stability Inequality. One challenging point in this project is to construct a family of variation maps such that the images of variation maps must be guaranteed in a closed half-ellipsoid. The other challenging point is to find a contradiction between the lower bound and the upper bound in an analysis of p-Harmonic Stability Inequality when a p-energy minimizing map is not constant. Therefore, the possibility of a non-constant p-energy minimizing map has been ruled out and the constant property for a p-energy minimizing map has been obtained. Our research finding is to explore the constant property for a p-stable map from a Euclidean space into a closed half-ellipsoid in a certain range of p. The certain range of p is determined by the dimension values of a Euclidean space (the domain) and an ellipsoid (the target space). The certain range of p is also bounded by the curvature values on an ellipsoid (that is, the ratio of the longest axis to the shortest axis). Regarding Liouville-type results for a p-stable map, our research finding on an ellipsoid is a generalization of mathematicians’ results on a sphere. Our result is also an extension of mathematicians’ Liouville-type results from a special ellipsoid with only one parameter to any ellipsoid with (n+1) parameters in the general setting.

Keywords: Bochner formula, Calculus Stokes' Theorem, Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality, first and second variation formulas, Liouville-type problem, p-harmonic map

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Ishrath, Tapas Kumar Chatterjee

Abstract:

The present study aims developing interpretation and evaluation to integrate various data types for management of existing water resources for sustainable use. Proper study should be followed based on the geomorphology of the area. Thematic maps such as lithology, base map, land use/land cover, geomorphology, drainage and lineaments maps are prepared to study the area by using area toposheet, IRS P6 and LISIII Satellite imagery. These thematic layers are finally integrated by using Arc GIS, Arc View, and software to prepare a ground water potential zones map of the study area. In this study, an integrated approach involving remote sensing and GIS techniques has successfully been used in identifying groundwater potential zones in the study area to classify them as good, moderate and poor. It has been observed that Pediplain shallow (PPS) has good recharge, Pediplain moderate (PPM) has moderately good recharge, Pediment Inselberg complex (PIC) has poor recharge and Inselberg (I) has no recharge. The study has concluded that remote sensing and GIS techniques are very efficient and useful for identifying ground water potential zones.

Keywords: satellite remote sensing, GIS, ground water potential zones, Miyapur

Procedia PDF Downloads 418

Authors: Fetah Eren, Ismail Sahin, Ismail Celik, Ahmet Oguz Akturk

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to discover secondary school students’ perceptions related to information technologies and the connections between concepts in their cognitive structures. A word association test consisting of six concepts related to information technologies is used to collect data from 244 secondary school students. Concept maps that present students’ cognitive structures are drawn with the help of frequency data. Data are analyzed and interpreted according to the connections obtained as a result of the concept maps. It is determined students associate most with these concepts—computer, Internet, and communication of the given concepts, and associate least with these concepts—computer-assisted education and information technologies. These results show the concepts, Internet, communication, and computer, are an important part of students’ cognitive structures. In addition, students mostly answer computer, phone, game, Internet and Facebook as the key concepts. These answers show students regard information technologies as a means for entertainment and free time activity, not as a means for education.

Keywords: word association test, cognitive structure, information technology, secondary school

Procedia PDF Downloads 382

Authors: S. S. Patil, Sachidanand Kini

Abstract:

Classification of land use patterns is compelling in complexity and variability of remote sensing imageries data. An imperative research in remote sensing application exploited to mine some of the significant spatially variable factors as land cover and land use from satellite images for remote arid areas in Karnataka State, India. The diverse classification techniques, unsupervised and supervised consisting of maximum likelihood, Mahalanobis distance, and minimum distance are applied in Bellary District in Karnataka State, India for the classification of the raw satellite images. The accuracy evaluations of results are compared visually with the standard maps with ground-truths. We initiated with the maximum likelihood technique that gave the finest results and both minimum distance and Mahalanobis distance methods over valued agriculture land areas. In meanness of mislaid few irrelevant features due to the low resolution of the satellite images, high-quality accord between parameters extracted automatically from the developed maps and field observations was found.

Keywords: Mahalanobis distance, minimum distance, supervised, unsupervised, user classification accuracy, producer's classification accuracy, maximum likelihood, kappa coefficient

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: A. M. Prasad

Abstract:

Knowledge of variations of nerves of gluteal region is important for clinicians administering intramuscular injections, for orthopedic surgeons dealing with the hip surgeries, possibly for physiotherapists managing the painful conditions and paralysis of this region. Herein, we report multiple variations of the nerves of gluteal region. In the current case, the sciatic nerve was absent. The common peroneal and tibial nerves arose from sacral plexus and reached the gluteal region through greater sciatic foramen above and below piriformis respectively. The common peroneal nerve gave a muscular branch to the gluteus maximus. The inferior gluteal nerve and posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh arose from a common trunk. The common trunk was formed by three roots. Upper and middle roots arose from sacral plexus and entered gluteal region through greater sciatic foramen respectively above and below piriformis. The lower root arose from the pudendal nerve and joined the common trunk. These variations were seen in the right gluteal region of an adult male cadaver aged approximately 70 years. Innervation of gluteus maximus by common peroneal nerve and presence of a common trunk of inferior gluteal nerve and posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh make this case unique. The variant nerves may be subjected to iatrogenic injuries during surgical approach to the hip. They may also get compressed if there is a hypertrophy of the piriformis syndrome. Hence, the knowledge of these variations is of importance to clinicians, orthopedic surgeons and possibly for physiotherapists.

Keywords: gluteal region, multiple variations, nerve injury, sciatic nerve

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Ben Clapperton, Daniel Stahl, Kimberley Goldsmith, Trudie Chalder

Abstract:

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a condition characterised by chronic disabling fatigue and other symptoms that currently can't be explained by any underlying medical condition. Although clinical trials support the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), the success rate for individual patients is modest. Patients vary in their response and little is known which factors predict or moderate treatment outcomes. The aim of the project is to develop a prediction model from baseline characteristics of patients, such as demographics, clinical and psychological variables, which may predict likely treatment outcome and provide guidance for clinical decision making and help clinicians to recommend the best treatment. The project is aimed at identifying subgroups of patients with similar baseline characteristics that are predictive of treatment effects using modern cluster analyses and data mining machine learning algorithms. The characteristics of these groups will then be used to inform the types of individuals who benefit from a specific treatment. In addition, results will provide a better understanding of for whom the treatment works. The suitability of different clustering methods to identify subgroups and their response to different treatments of CFS patients is compared.

Keywords: chronic fatigue syndrome, latent class analysis, prediction modelling, self-organizing maps

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: O. Rachinel, C. Recchia, M. Bourel, B. Recchia

Abstract:

Dry microfine steam (DMS) technology, developed by Laurastar, was shown to effectively eliminate a range of pathogens such as Sars-CoV-2, E. coli, S. aureus and C. Albicans. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of DMS technology on allergens. Therefore, the application of the DMS technology was tested on two common allergens (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and cat allergen Fel d 1), on different inert surfaces (e.g., cotton), during 2 to 3 seconds. Quantification of the remaining allergens was performed and the reduction rates reached 100% in 3 seconds for D. pteronyssinus and 97,74% in 2 seconds for cat allergens. In conclusion, DMS showed high efficacy in the elimination of common allergens and could be seen as a natural solution to improve domestic hygiene and reduce allergies.

Keywords: steam, allergens, dust mites, pollens

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Jun Liu

Abstract:

This paper introduces a new bipartite key agreement (2PKA) protocol which provides unconditionally security and lightweight. The unconditional security is stemmed from the known impossibility of distinguishing a particular solution from all possible solutions of an underdetermined system of equations. The indistinguishability prevents an adversary from inferring to the common secret-key even with the access to an unlimited amount of computing capability. This new 2PKA protocol is also lightweight because that the calculation of a common secret-key only makes use of simple modular arithmetic. This information-theoretic 2PKA scheme provides the desired features of Key Confirmation (KC), Session Key (SK) security, Know-Key (KK) security, protection of individual privacy, and uniformly distributed value of a common key under prime modulus.

Keywords: bipartite key agreement, information-theoretic cryptography, perfect security, lightweight

Procedia PDF Downloads 27

Authors: Fikadu Kifle Hailegeorgis

Abstract:

Common bean is one of the most important sources of protein in Ethiopia and other developing countries. However, the Mexican bean weevil, Zabrotes subfasciatus (Boheman), is a major factor in the storage of common beans that causes losses. Studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of botanical powders of Jatropha curcas (L.), Neem/Azadrachta indica, and Parthenium hysterophorus (L) on local common bean varieties against Z subfasciatus at Melkassa Agriculture Research Center. Twenty local common bean varieties were evaluated twice against Z. Subfasciatus in a completely randomized design in three replications at the rate of 0.2g/250g of seed for each experiment. Malathion and untreated were used as standard checks. The result indicated that RAZ White and Round Yellow showed high resistance variety in experiments while Batu and Black showed high susceptible variety in experiments. Jatropha seed powder was the most effective against Z. subfasciatus. Parthenium seed powders and neem leaf powders also indicate promising results. Common beans treated with botanicals significantly (p<0.05) had a higher germination percentage than that of the untreated seed. In general, the results obtained indicated that using bean varieties (RAZ white and Round yellow) and botanicals (Jatropha) seed powder gave the best control of Z. subfasciatus.

Keywords: botanicals, malathion, resistant varieties, Z. subfasciatus

Procedia PDF Downloads 30

Authors: Yasemin Ilkay

Abstract:

Urban spatial pattern interacts with the minds and bodies of citizens and influences their perception and attitudes, which leads to a two-folded map of the same space: physical and Psychogeographic maps. Psychogeography is a field of inquiry (rooted in literature and fiction) investigating how the environment affects the feelings and behaviors of individuals. This term was posed by Situationist International Movement in the 1950s by Guy Debord; in the course of time, the artistic framework evolved into a political issue, especially with the term Dérive, which indicates ‘deviation’ and ‘resistance’ to the existing spatial reality. The term Dérive appeared on the track of Flânéur after one hundred years; and turned out to be a political tool to transform everyday urban life. The three main concepts of psychogeography [walking, dérive, and palimpsest] construct the epistemological framework for a psychogeographic spatial analysis. Mental representations investigating this framework would provide a designer to capture the invisible layers of the gap between ‘how a space is conceived’ and ‘how the same space is perceived and experienced.’ This gap is a neglected but critical issue to discuss in the planning discipline, and psychogeography provides methodological inputs to cover the interrelation among top-down designs of urban patterning and bottom-up reproductions of ‘the soul’ of urban space at the intersection of geography and psychology. City centers and university campuses exemplify opposite poles of spatial organization and walking practice, which may result in differentiated spatial appropriation forms. There is a traditional city center in Van, located at the core of the city with a dense population and several activities, but not connected to Van Lake, which is the largest lake in the country. On the other hand, the university campus is located at the periphery, and although it has a promenade along the lake’s coast and a regional hospital, it presents a limited walking experience with ambiguous forms of spatial appropriation. The city center draws a vivid urban everyday life; however, the campus presents a relatively natural life far away from the center. This paper aims to reveal the differentiated psychogeographic maps of spatial appropriation at the city center vs. the university campus, which is located at the periphery of the city and along the coast of the largest lake in Turkey. The main question of the paper is, “how do the psychogeographic maps of spatial appropriation differentiate at the city center and university campus in Van within the walking experience with reference to the two-folded map assumption.” The experiential maps of a core group of 15 planning students will be created with the techniques of mental mapping, photographing, and narratives through attentive walks conducted together on selected routes; in addition to these attentive walks, 30 more in-depth interviews will be conducted by the core group. The narrative of psychogeographic mapping of spatial appropriation at the two spatial poles would display the conflicting soul of the city with reference to sub-behavioural regions of walking, differentiated forms of derive and layers of palimpsest.

Keywords: attentive walk, body, cognitive geography, derive, experiential maps, psychogeography, Van, Turkey

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Givi Gavardashvili, Eduard Kukhalashvili, Tamriko Supatashvili, Giorgi Natroshvili, Konstantine Bziava, Irma Qufarashvili

Abstract:

In the article to research water levels in the Zhinvali water reservoirs by field and theoretical research and using GPS and GIS technologies has been established dynamic of water reservoirs changes in the suitable coordinates and has been made water reservoir maps and is lined in the 3D format. By using of GPS coordinates and digital maps has been established water horizons of Zhinvali water reservoir in the absolute marks and has been calculated water levels volume. To forecast the filling of the Zhinvali water reservoir by solid sediment in 2018 conducted field experimental researches in the catchment basin of river Tetri (White) Aragvi. It has been established main hydrological and hydraulic parameters of the active erosion-debris flow tributaries of river Tetri Aragvi. It has been calculated erosion coefficient considering the degradation of the slope. By calculation is determined, that in the river Tetri Aragvi catchment basin the value of 1% maximum discharge changes Q1% = 70,0 – 550,0 m3/sec, and erosion coefficient - E = 0,73 - 1,62, with suitable fifth class of erosion and intensity 50-100 tone/hectare in the year.

Keywords: Zhinvali soil dam, water reservoirs, water levels, erosion, debris flow

Procedia PDF Downloads 162