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Heating induced by radio frequency (RF) energy may appear in tissues near implants located in a human subject undergoing magnetic resonance imaging examination. Lead shielding was proposed to reduce such heating below dangerous levels. In this article, we employed 3-D electromagnetic (EM) and thermal co-simulations to quantify the effectiveness of metallic shielding in the presence of two large sets of nonuniform incident fields at 128 MHz. Specifically, we used a lead EM model (LEM) and computed the RF responses, i.e., the net dissipated power and net temperature increase, above background, at the electrodes. We considered a set of single electrode leads with both straight and helical wires, comparing regular unshielded configurations to different implementations of a metallic shield. The lead length, the relative permittivity of the insulator material, and the lead electrode geometry were all independently varied. For leads with helical wires we observed that: 1) the metallic shield significantly modified the LEM; 2) in most cases, the RF responses substantially increased if metallic shielding was applied; and 3) the net temperature increase in close proximity to the shield can be substantially higher than the net temperature increase in close proximity to the lead electrode. Leads with helical and straight wires exhibited significantly different behavior. Using the results obtained from generic straight wire leads to predict the results for leads with helical wires can be significantly misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gorganrood watershed (GW) is experiencing considerable environmental change in the form of natural hazards and erosion, as well as deforestation, cultivation and development activities. As a result of this, different types of Land Cover/Land Use (LCLU) change are taking place on an intensive level in the area. This research study investigates the LCLU conditions upstream of this watershed for the years 1972, 1986, 2000 and 2014, using Landsat MSS, TM, ETM+ and OLI/TIRS images. LCLU maps for 1972, 1986, and 2000 were produced using pixel-based classification methods. For the 2014 LCLU map, Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) in combination with the data-mining capabilities of Gini and J48 machine-learning algorithms were used. The accuracy of the maps was assessed using overall accuracy, quantity disagreement and allocation disagreement indexes. The overall accuracy ranged from 89% to 95%, quantity disagreement from 2.1% to 6.6%, and allocation disagreement from 2.1% for 2014 to 2.7% for 2000. The results of this study indicate that a significant amount of change has occurred in the region, and that this has as a consequence affected ecosystem services and human activity. This knowledge of the LCLU status in the area will help managers and decision makers to develop plans and programs aimed at effectively managing the watershed into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radio frequency (RF)-induced heating is a major concern when patients with medical devices are placed inside a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. In this article, numerical studies are applied to investigate the potentials of using insulated materials to reduce the RF heating for external fixation devices. It is found that by changing the dielectric constant of the insulation material, the RF-induced heating at the tips of devices can be altered. This study indicates a potential technique of developing external fixation device with low MRI RF heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this research is to, first, monitor urban sprawl in the metropolis of Tehran and, second, to assess the CA–Markov model in the simulation of land-use change. Land-use changes generally occur in developing countries through new building construction. The rapid pace of this development has brought forward a number of research activities involving new applications for modelling this phenomenon. In this research, urban sprawl is examined in the urban fringe of Tehran and, subsequently, the CA–Markov model is implemented in order to evaluate the model. The CA–Markov model is a spatially explicit model for land-change modelling, which has not been implemented very frequently to track urban expansion. This model, however, which is an integrated module of both cellular automata and Markov Chain models, predicts forthcoming changes over time, based on the past use of land in the research area. Urban expansion between 1986 and 2006 was simulated through employing the model in the metropolis of Tehran in order to calibrate and customise the model through a training phase. Consequently, the optimal rules to achieve the most accurate results were retrieved and input to simulate future land-use situations, i.e. 2016 and 2026. The achieved results represent a big conversion of green areas and open lands to built-up areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to develop anatomically correct whole body human models of an adult male (34 years old), an adult female (26 years old) and two children (an 11-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy) for the optimized evaluation of electromagnetic exposure. These four models are referred to as the Virtual Family. They are based on high resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images of healthy volunteers. More than 80 different tissue types were distinguished during the segmentation. To improve the accuracy and the effectiveness of the segmentation, a novel semi-automated tool was used to analyze and segment the data. All tissues and organs were reconstructed as three-dimensional (3D) unstructured triangulated surface objects, yielding high precision images of individual features of the body. This greatly enhances the meshing flexibility and the accuracy with respect to thin tissue layers and small organs in comparison with the traditional voxel-based representation of anatomical models. Conformal computational techniques were also applied. The techniques and tools developed in this study can be used to more effectively develop future models and further improve the accuracy of the models for various applications. For research purposes, the four models are provided for free to the scientific community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The specific absorption rates (SAR) determined computationally in the specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM) and anatomically correct models of the human head when exposed to a mobile phone model are compared as part of a study organized by IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 34, Sub-Committee 2, and Working Group 2, and carried out by an international task force comprising 14 government, academic, and industrial research institutions. The detailed study protocol defined the computational head and mobile phone models. The participants used different finite-difference time-domain software and independently positioned the mobile phone and head models in accordance with the protocol. The results show that when the pinna SAR is calculated separately from the head SAR, SAM produced a higher SAR in the head than the anatomically correct head models. Also the larger (adult) head produced a statistically significant higher peak SAR for both the 1- and 10-g averages than did the smaller (child) head for all conditions of frequency and position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a novel simulator to perform electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) tests for active implantable medical devices (AIMDs) with electromagnetic fields emitted by security systems. The security system simulator was developed in response to over 100 incident reports over 17 years related to the interference of AIMD's with security systems and the lack of a standardized test method. The simulator was evaluated regarding field homogeneity, signal distortion, and maximum magnetic field strength levels. Small three-axis probes and a three-axis scanning system were designed to determine the spatial and temporal characteristics of the fields emitted by 12 different types of walk through metal detectors (WTMDs). Tests were performed on four implanted pacemakers with a saline phantom and correlated to a newly developed test method performed "in air" (without the phantom). Comparison of the simulator thresholds with tests per- formed in real WTMDs showed that the simulator is able to mimic the pacemaker interference. The interference thresholds found in the simulator indicate that pulsed magnetic fields are more likely to cause interference in pacemakers than sinusoidal fields. The security system simulator will help biomedical engineers, manufacturers of medical devices, and manufacturers of security systems to identify incompatible combinations of WTMDs and AIMDs early in the development stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reviewed articles using computational RF dosimetry to compare the Specific Anthropomorphic Mannequin (SAM) to anatomically correct models of the human head. Published conclusions based on such comparisons have varied widely. We looked for reasons that might cause apparently similar comparisons to produce dissimilar results. We also looked at the information needed to adequately compare the results of computational RF dosimetry studies. We concluded studies were not comparable because of differences in definitions, models, and methodology. Therefore we propose a protocol, developed by an IEEE standards group, as an initial step in alleviating this problem. The protocol calls for a benchmark validation study comparing the SAM phantom to two anatomically correct models of the human head. It also establishes common definitions and reporting requirements that will increase the comparability of all computational RF dosimetry studies of the human head. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose was to investigate mobile phone interference with implantable deep brain stimulators by means of 10 different 900 Mega Hertz (MHz) and 10 different 1800 MHz GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) mobile phones. Methods: All tests were performed in vitro using a phantom especially developed for testing with deep brain stimulators. The phantom was filled with liquid phantom materials simulating brain and muscle tissue. All examinations were carried out inside an anechoic chamber on two implants of the same type of deep brain stimulator: ITREL-III from Medtronic Inc., USA. Results: Despite a maximum transmitted peak power of mobile phones of 1 Watt (W) at 1800 MHz and 2 W at 900 MHz respectively, no influence on the ITREL-III was found. Neither the shape of the pulse form changed nor did single pulses fail. Tests with increased transmitted power using CW signals and broadband dipoles have shown that inhibition of the ITREL-III occurs at frequency dependent power levels which are below the emissions of GSM mobile phones. The ITREL-III is essentially more sensitive at 1800 MHz than at 900 MHz. Particularly the frequency range around 1500 MHz shows a very low interference threshold. Conclusion: These investigations do not indicate a direct risk for ITREL-III patients using the tested GSM phones. Based on the interference levels found with CW signals, which are below the mobile phone emissions, we recommend similar precautions as for patients with cardiac pacemakers: 1. The phone should be used at the ear at the opposite side of the implant and 2. The patient should avoid carrying the phone close to the implant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to manufacturers of both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, and implantable neurological pulse generators (IPGs), MRI is contraindicated for patients with IPGs. A major argument for this restriction is the risk to induce heat in the leads due to the electromagnetic field, which could be dangerous for the surrounding brain parenchyma. The temperature change on the surface of the case of an ITREL-III (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN) and the lead tip during MRI was determined. An anatomical realistic and a cubic phantom, filled with phantom material mimicking human tissue, and a typical lead configuration were used to imitate a patient who carries an IPG for deep brain stimulation. The measurements were performed in a 1.5 T and a 3.0 T MRI. 2.1°C temperature increases at the lead tip uncovered the lead tip as the most critical part concerning heating problems in IPGs. Temperature increases in other locations were low compared to the one at the lead tip. The measured temperature increase of 2.1°C can not be considered as harmful to the patient. Comparison with the results of other studies revealed the avoidance of loops as a practical method to reduce heating during MRI procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vines and olives are two important and widespread traditional agricultural crops that are also connected to the Judeo–Christian–Muslim tradition. The goal of the research was to demonstrate the importance of using cartographical sources to obtain a more accurate and complete view of the past. To this end, the aims were: (1) to reconstruct the former agricultural land-use in three periods, 1873–1874, 1917, and 1943–1945; (2) to analyze the different spatial physical factors that could explain the spatial distribution of traditional agricultural landscapes; (3) to identify the changes which took place between the three reconstructed timestamps. The research employed different cartographic sources and the implemented analyses were conducted using GIS tools and methods. The results show that, in the past, the distribution of vines and olive groves greatly depended on several physical geographic factors (climate, slopes, direction). Nonetheless, human factors such as political instability, cultural and religious beliefs contributed as well. Moreover, this research showed how GIS has advanced historical geography research. Lastly, the research demonstrated that obtaining the most complete view of the past can be achieved by a combination of sources together with the use of GIS tools and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no consensus on the importance of satellite images in the process of memorizing a route from a map image, especially if the route is displayed on the Internet using dynamic (animated) cartographic visualization. In modern dynamic maps built with JavaScript APIs, background layers can be easily altered by map users. The animation attracts people's attention better than static images, but it causes some perceptual problems. This study examined the influence of the number of turns on the effectiveness (correctness) and efficiency of memorizing the animated route on different cartographic backgrounds. The routes of three difficulty levels, based on satellite and road background, were compared. The results show that the satellite background was not a significant factor influencing the efficiency and effectiveness of route memorizing. Recordings of the eye movement confirmed this. The study reveals that there were intergroup differences in participants' visual behavior. Participants who described their spatial abilities as "very good" performed better (in terms of effectiveness and efficiency) in route memorizing tasks. For future research, there is a need to study route variability and its impact on participants' performance. Moreover, future studies should involve differences in route visualization (e.g., without and with ephemeral or permanent trail). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing long-term data about the evolution of railway networks in Europe may help us understand how European Union (EU) member states behave in the long-term, and how they can comply with present EU recommendations. This paper proposes a methodology for collecting data about railway stations, at the maximal extent of the French railway network, a century ago.The expected outcome is a geocoded dataset of French railway stations (gares), which: (a) links gares to each other, (b) links gares with French communes, the basic administrative level for statistical information. Present stations are well documented in public data, but thousands of past stations are sparsely recorded, not geocoded, and often ignored, except in volunteer geographic information (VGI), either collaboratively through Wikipedia or individually. VGI is very valuable in keeping track of that heritage, and remote sensing, including aerial photography is often the last chance to obtain precise locations. The approach is a series of steps: (1) meta-analysis of the public datasets, (2) three-steps fusion: measure-decision-combination, between public datasets, (3) computer-assisted geocoding for 'gares' where fusion fails, (4) integration of additional gares gathered from VGI, (5) automated quality control, indicating where quality is questionable. These five families of methods, form a comprehensive computer-assisted reconstruction process (CARP), which constitutes the core of this paper. The outcome is a reliable dataset—in geojson format under open license—encompassing (by January 2021) more than 10,700 items linked to about 7500 of the 35,500 communes of France: that is 60% more than recorded before. This work demonstrates: (a) it is possible to reconstruct transport data from the past, at a national scale; (b) the value of remote sensing and of VGI is considerable in completing public sources from an historical perspective; (c) data quality can be monitored all along the process and (d) the geocoded outcome is ready for a large variety of further studies with statistical data (demography, density, space coverage, CO2 simulation, environmental policies, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we present a novel approach to understand the quality of public transit system in resource constrained regions using user-generated contents. With growing urban population, it is getting difficult to manage travel demand in an effective way. This problem is more prevalent in developing cities due to lack of budget and proper surveillance system. Due to resource constraints, developing cities have limited infrastructure to monitor transport services. To improve the quality and patronage of public transit system, authorities often use manual travel surveys. But manual surveys often suffer from quality issues. For example, respondents may not provide all the detailed travel information in a manual travel survey. The survey may have sampling bias. Due to close-ended design (specific questions in the questionnaire), lots of relevant information may not be captured in a manual survey process. To address these issues, we investigated if user-generated contents, for example, Twitter data, can be used to understand service quality in Greater Mumbai in India, which can complement existing manual survey process. To do this, we assumed that, if a tweet is relevant to public transport system and contains negative sentiment, then that tweet expresses user's dissatisfaction towards the public transport service. Since most of the tweets do not have any explicit geolocation, we also presented a model that does not only extract users' dissatisfaction towards public transit system but also retrieves the spatial context of dissatisfaction and the potential causes that affect the service quality. It is observed that a Random Forest-based model outperforms other machine learning models, while yielding 0.97 precision and 0.88 F1-score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issues of urban sprawl are current in both global research as well as the sphere of activities by public authorities in developed and developing countries. Urban sprawl is a phenomenon that goes beyond the administrative boundaries of cities, which forces monitoring of the phenomenon on a wide territorial scale, i.e., regional and national. However, assessing the level of urban sprawl on such a scale still remains a research challenge in many countries. Poland is such an example, where there is a deficit in assessing the level of the phenomenon, its spatial specificity, as well as comparisons between other national urban areas. The presented research uses the urban morphology method to assess urban sprawl in Poland. The method assumes the use of square grids and building locations for the quantification of sprawl. Based on the 14 urban areas that aggregate 296 communes, it was pointed out that the level of urban sprawl in Poland is moderate. The results indicate that there is not a significant sprawl or compact structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cartographic products have been produced for thousands of years, cartography as a science has only been established in the early 20th century. Great works of cartography include, for instance, the conic map projections by Ptolemy, the Tabula Rogeriana by Idrisi, the Waldseemüller map, and the Mercator map. Numerous cartographers, predominantly mathematicians, have shaped the theory of map projections throughout the centuries. With the advent of geographic information systems (GIS) in the 1960s and the rapid developments of digital technologies, cartography found itself in the middle of an identity crisis. For some time, it was not clear whether cartography would become obsolete and be replaced by GIS mapping technologies or whether GIS is a novel manifestation of cartography. During this period various misconceptions about the role of maps and mapping as well as uncertainty about the future developments of mapping in general added to this confusion. This contribution elaborates the major characteristics of cartography versus other disciplines, in particular geography and GIS, and takes a look at possible future directions and developments with regard to the theory of cartography as well as novel and future display technologies. Personal observations of the author during his professional life since the early 1980s illustrate these developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio frequency (RF) shimming is a widely used method to improve the MRI quality by adjusting the magnitude and phase of the transmit elements in the RF coil and eliminating the field inhomogeneity in 3T MRI system. This process alters the field distribution inside the MRI borehole and changes both the level and location of the absorbed RF energy in patients. It is necessary to assess the impact of RF shimming on the risk of RF-induced heating for patients especially those who have implantable longitude medical electrodes in place during the MRI procedure. This paper investigates the impacts of RF shimming on the RF-induced heating of a generic pacemaker electrode using a transfer function method. Two different shimming schemes were studied. The first excitation scheme was designed to obtain a homogeneous ${B_{1 + }}$ field in the image region-chest region. The second condition maximized the temperature rise around the generic pacemaker electrode with different implant trajectories. All the results were normalized to 2 W/kg average whole-body specific absorption rate (SAR) and a Q-matrices method was used to improve the SAR calculation efficiency. The average temperature rise at the electrode tip under quadrature excitation was 3.7 °C while under optimized excitation was 2.3 °C. The worst-case temperature rise for a selected trajectory was found to be 33.17 °C, which was almost 6 times of the temperature rise under quadrature excitation. Therefore, the RF-shimming condition can significantly change the RF-induced heating of electrodes. To ensure patient safety under MRI, RF-shimming condition should be considered and thoroughly integrated into the RF heating assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study on strategies of searching for the worst case configuration of a multi-configuration implantable system under magnetic resonance imaging, which induces the highest radio frequency energy exposure among all possible configurations. The strategies are usually based on parameter search to avoid brutal study of a huge number of possible configurations. Comparison studies of four different searching strategies, i.e., single sequential search, sequential search with the second worst case validations, hotspots-based sequential search, and multi-iteration sequential search, are evaluated. It is found that the initial configuration and sequence of parameter search can significantly affect the searched worst case configuration. For the multi-configuration system considered in this investigation, the simple sequential search strategy leads to a high probability of search failure, which means that the worst case configuration may be easily missed. Single sequential search with the second worst case validations and multi-iteration sequential search can significantly reduce the probability of search failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Topological relations are one of the most important aspects in GIS modeling. The topological relations between crisp spatial objects have been well identified. However, the topological relations between fuzzy spatial objects need more investigation. This paper deals with building a special fuzzy topological space for fuzzy sets. Based on it, a formal definition of simple fuzzy region is given. A 4×4-intersection and furthermore a 5×5-intersection approach are proposed for the formalism of topological relations. Finally 152 topological relations between two simple fuzzy regions are identified based on the 4×4-intersection approach in R 2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents a novel technique for efficient evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-induced electric fields or induced voltages in the vicinity of implanted metallic leads. The technique is based on the reciprocity theorem in conjunction with the Huygens Principle. This approach allows one to decouple the micro-scale metallic lead simulation/measurement from the macro-level phantom human simulations within the MRI scanners. Consequently, the estimation of MRI-induced heating on an implanted lead, and the induced voltage on the pacemaker device can be greatly simplified. In addition, this method clearly explains the induced lead heating mechanism during MRI procedures. Several numerical examples, as well as measurement results are given to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents a cascaded heterogeneous equivalent network for the evaluation of radiofrequency (RF) induced safety hazards on electrically long active implantable medical devices (AIMDs) exposed to magnetic resonance imaging systems. AIMDs in a highly heterogeneous human body are represented by cascaded transmission line models consisting of segments with different values of effective wavenumbers and characteristic impedances. Two terminations, implantable pulse generator (IPG), and lead-tip are modeled as lumped elements. Methods to extract values for lead-tip impedance, IPG impedance, wavenumber, and characteristic impedance of the AIMDs are proposed and validated through numerical simulations and experimental investigations. Based on these values, one can build up a unique AIMD model along each implanted trajectory inside human body models. The developed models can be used to accurately evaluate the RF-induced voltage and heating for each implantation scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This research analyses the suburban expansion in the metropolitan area of Tehran, Iran. A hybrid model consisting of logistic regression model, Markov chain (MC), and cellular automata (CA) was designed to improve the performance of the standard logistic regression model. Environmental and socio-economic variables dealing with urban sprawl were operationalised to create a probability surface of spatiotemporal states of built-up land use for the years 2006, 2016, and 2026. For validation, the model was evaluated by means of relative operating characteristic values for different sets of variables. The approach was calibrated for 2006 by cross comparing of actual and simulated land use maps. The achieved outcomes represent a match of 89% between simulated and actual maps of 2006, which was satisfactory to approve the calibration process. Thereafter, the calibrated hybrid approach was implemented for forthcoming years. Finally, future land use maps for 2016 and 2026 were predicted by means of this hybrid approach. The simulated maps illustrate a new wave of suburban development in the vicinity of Tehran at the western border of the metropolis during the next decades. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radio frequency (RF) field induced heating on external fixation devices can be very high in the vicinity of device screws. Such induced RF heating is related to device constructs, device placements, as well as the device insertion depth into human subjects. In this study, computational modeling is performed to determine factors associated with such induced heating. Methods: Numerical modeling, based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, is used to evaluate the temperature rises near external device screw tips inside the ASTM phantom for both 1.5-T and 3-T MRI systems. The modeling approach consists of 1) the development of RF coils for 1.5-T and 3-T, 2) the electromagnetic simulations of energy deposition near the screw tips of external fixation devices, and 3) the thermal simulations of temperature rises near the tips of these devices. Results: It is found that changing insertion depth and screw spacing could largely affect the heating of these devices. In 1.5-T MRI system, smaller insertion depth and larger pin spacing will lead to higher temperature rise. However, for 3-T MRI system, the relation is not very clear when insertion depth is larger than 5 cm or when pin spacing became larger than 20 cm. The effect of connection bar material on device heating is also studied and the heating mechanism of the device is analysed. Conclusions: Numerical simulation is used to study RF heating for external fixation devices in both 1.5-T and 3-T MRI coils. Typically, shallower insertion depth and larger pin spacing with conductive bar lead to higher RF heating. The heating mechanism is explained using induced current along the device and power decay inside ASTM phantom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, Shanghai city, the biggest city in China, was selected as the case for quantifying the impact of land-use/land cover (LULC) change on patterns of surface urban heat island (UHI). Time series of LULC maps of Shanghai were produced from Landsat TM/ETM+ images between 1997 and 2008, during which this city experienced unprecedented urban growth. The results show that dramatic changes in LULC have occurred, with loss of cropland, forest and shrub to urban use. The built-up land increased by 219.50%. In contrast, bare land, cropland, fallow land, forest and shrub decreased by 79.38%, 50.50%, 43.35%, and 20.90%, respectively. Consequently, these drastically altered the land surface characteristics and spatiotemporal patterns of UHI. According to temporal analysis on seasonal and inter-annual variations of intensity of the UHI (UHII), both the mean UHII between the city center (UHIIC-R) and UHII between the peri-urban and surrounding rural areas (UHIIP-R) reached maximum during summer period, followed by UHIIC-R and UHIIP-R during spring period. UHIIC-R and UHIIP-R were both relatively weak during winter period. In contrast, UHIIC-R and UHIIP-R were both slight during autumn period. Spatially, there were significant LSTs gradients from the city center to surrounding rural areas. Furthermore, the overall relationships between surface UHI pattern and pixel-based biophysical features as well as population density and road density were quantitatively explored. Thus, based on temporal–spatial analysis of land use dynamics, patterns of LST, and socioeconomic driving forces, our findings highlight the urgent demands for planers and decision-makers to deliberately take urban expansion, UHI effects, and their impact on local climate change into account in future planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Typically, electrodes for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) are used for chronic stimulation. However, there are conditions where this therapy has to be discontinued. In such cases using the DBS electrodes as a tool for thermo-lesioning (coagulation) could be used for an alternative treatment. The aim of this study was to determine if it is possible to generate coagula with a predictable geometry and to define their dimensions as a function of power and time in an in vitro model (egg white at room temperature). Furthermore, we tested if repetitive (cumulative) coagulation has an impact on the overall form and size of the clot. Findings: Coagulation-growth was achieved as a function of power and duration of coagulation; reproducible well-formed thermocoagulations could be achieved. When using two adjacent electrodes a power range between 1.25 Watt and 2.00 Watt resulted in homogenous ovoid coagula. After two minutes of coagulation the clots reached a maximum in size and further growth could not be achieved. It was also possible to increase the size of a preformed clot by repetitive coagulation either by increasing the power level or the duration of the coagulation process. Conclusions: We could show that it is possible to obtain predictable coagula in-vitro when using DBS electrodes for thermocoagulation even though they have not been developed for that specific purpose. However, until invivo safety and efficacy of DBS electrodes for ablation purposes is properly assessed, only approved electrodes should be used for brain ablation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews recent standardization activities and scientific studies related to the assessment of human exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF). The differences of human exposure standards and assessment of consumer products and medical applications are summarized. First, we reviewed human body modeling and tissue dielectric properties. Then, we explain the rationale of current exposure standards from the viewpoint of EMF and the standardization process for product compliance based on these exposure standards. The assessment of wireless power transfer, as an example of emerging wireless devices, and environmental EMFs in our daily lives are reviewed. Safety in magnetic resonance systems, where the EMF exposure is much larger than from typical consumer devices, is also reviewed. Finally, we summarize future research directions and research needs for EMF safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To characterize and quantify the induced radiofrequency (RF) electric (E)-fields and B1+rms fields in patients undergoing magnetic resonance (MR) examinations; to provide guidance on aspects of RF heating risks for patients with and without implants; and to discuss some strengths and limitations of safety assessments in current ISO, IEC, and ASTM standards to determine the RF heating risks for patients with and without implants. Methods. Induced E-fields and B1+rms fields during 1.5 T and 3 T MR examinations were numerically estimated for high-resolution patient models of the Virtual Population exposed to ten two-port birdcage RF coils from head to feet imaging landmarks over the full polarization space, as well as in surrogate ASTM phantoms. Results. Worst-case B1+rms exposure greater than 3.5 μT (1.5 T) and 2 μT (3 T) must be considered for all MR examinations at the Normal Operating Mode limit. Representative induced E-field and specific absorption rate distributions under different clinical scenarios allow quick estimation of clinical factors of high and reduced exposure. B1 shimming can cause +6 dB enhancements to E-fields along implant trajectories. The distribution and magnitude of induced E-fields in the ASTM phantom differ from clinical exposures and are not always conservative for typical implant locations. Conclusions. Field distributions in patient models are condensed, visualized for quick estimation of risks, and compared to those induced in the ASTM phantom. Induced E-fields in patient models can significantly exceed those in the surrogate ASTM phantom in some cases. In the recent 19ε2 revision of the ASTM F2182 standard, the major shortcomings of previous versions have been addressed by requiring that the relationship between ASTM test conditions and in vivo tangential E-fields be established, e.g. numerically. With this requirement, the principal methods defined in the ASTM standard for passive implants are reconciled with those of the ISO 10974 standard for active implantable medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore the relationship between cellular phone data and housing prices in Budapest, Hungary. We determine mobility indicators from one months of Call Detail Records (CDR) data, while the property price data are used to characterize the socioeconomic status at the Capital of Hungary. First, we validated the proposed methodology by comparing the Home and Work locations estimation and the commuting patterns derived from the cellular network dataset with reports of the national mini census. We investigated the statistical relationships between mobile phone indicators, such as Radius of Gyration, the distance between Home and Work locations or the Entropy of visited cells, and measures of economic status based on housing prices. Our findings show that the mobility correlates significantly with the socioeconomic status. We performed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on combined vectors of mobility indicators in order to characterize the dependence of mobility habits on socioeconomic status. The results of the PCA investigation showed remarkable correlation of housing prices and mobility customs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trajectory compression is an efficient way of removing noise and preserving key features in location-based applications. This paper focuses on the dynamic compression of trajectory in memory, where the compression accuracy of trajectory changes dynamically with the different application scenarios. Existing methods can achieve this by adjusting the compression parameters. However, the relationship between the parameters and compression accuracy of most of these algorithms is considerably complex and varies with different trajectories, which makes it difficult to provide reasonable accuracy. We propose a novel trajectory compression algorithm that is based on the finite element method, in which the trajectory is taken as an elastomer to compress as a whole by elasticity theory, and trajectory compression can be thought of as deformation under stress. The compression accuracy can be determined by the stress size that is applied to the elastomer. When compared with the existing methods, the experimental results show that our method can provide more stable, data-independent compression accuracy under the given stress parameters, and with reasonable performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mapping and understanding the differences in land cover and land use over time is an essential component of decision-making in sectors such as resource management, urban planning, and forest fire management, as well as in tracking of the impacts of climate change. Existing methods sometimes pose a barrier to the effective monitoring of changes in land cover and land use, since a threshold parameter is often needed and determined based on trial and error. This study aimed to develop an automatic and operational method for change detection on a large scale from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Super pixels were the basic unit of analysis instead of traditional individual pixels. T2 tests based on the feature vectors of temporal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and land surface temperature were used for change detection. The developed method was applied to data over a predominantly vegetated area in northern Ontario, Canada spanning 120,000 sq. km from 2001–2016. The accuracies ranged between 78% and 88% for the NDVI-based test, from 74% to 86% for the LST-based test, and from 70% to 86% for the joint method compared with manual interpretation. Our proposed method for detecting land cover change provides a functional and viable alternative to existing methods of land cover change detection as it is reliable, repeatable, and free from uncertainty in establishing a threshold for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public's attitudes, emotions, and opinions reflect the state of society to a certain extent. Understanding the state and trends of public sentiment and effectively guiding the direction of sentiment are essential for maintaining social stability during disasters. Social media data have become the most effective resource for studying public sentiment. The TextBlob tool is used to calculate the sentiment value of tweets, and this research analyzed the public's sentiment state during Typhoon Haiyan, used the biterm topic model (BTM) to classify topics, explored the changing process of public discussion topics at different stages during the disaster, and analyzed the differences in people's discussion content under different sentiments. We also analyzed the spatial pattern of sentiment and quantitatively explored the influencing factors of the sentiment spatial differences. The results showed that the overall public sentiment during Typhoon Haiyan tended to be positive, that compared with positive tweets, negative tweets contained more serious disaster information and more urgent demand information, and that the number of tweets, population, and the proportion of the young and middle-aged populations were the dominant factors in the sentiment spatial differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a method for determining and evaluating the threat to railway infrastructure from falling trees. The main objective was to identify the degree of threat according to three parameters: the height of tree stands, species composition, and vegetation health. Identification of the threat to individual railway sections would allow the creation of measures that could increase operational safety. Evaluation should be carried out at regular intervals to assess vegetation health during certain seasons. We, therefore, recommend the use of satellite images to provide a data source and regular data updates. The potential benefit is a reduction in railway infrastructure damage and an increase in traffic flow, especially during periods of exceptional weather conditions involving high wind, ice or heavy snow. The new method presented in the paper, based on data for railway infrastructure, law and other data sources in the Czech Republic, determines a Vegetation Threat Index for Railways (VTIR). We selected the Liberec Region as an example case study because of its large spread of wooded areas around railway lines and high incidence of railway traffic accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, spatial multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been applied to different types of spatial problems, such as solar power site suitability. MCDA can be used to support the process of identifying suitable regions for solar energy projects. To the best of our knowledge, no study has addressed the problem of site evaluation for solar photovoltaic PV systems in the Riyadh region. Therefore, a spatial MCDA framework is proposed to perform a geospatial analysis of solar energy in the Riyadh region, which includes data collection, spatial analysis, a spatial decision support system and visualization. The methodology that was used to solve the site suitability problem is described. It involved the combination of a Geographical Information System (GIS) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (GIS-AHP). The results show that the most suitable sites are in the north and northwest of the Riyadh region, with an area that represents 16,748 Km2 with an 80% suitability degree. In addition, it was proven that Afif is the largest suitable city. It has high solar radiation, at an average of 2.631687 MWh/m2/year, and low temperatures, at an average of 26.3 °C, as well as having flat areas with a slope under 5°. The results were validated using a sensitivity analysis model and also compared with those for ground-based stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evapotranspiration is the major component of the water cycle, so a correct estimate of this variable is fundamental. The purpose of the present research is to assess the monthly scale accuracy of six meteorological data-based models in the prediction of evapotranspiration (ET) losses by comparing the modelled fluxes with the observed ones from eight sites equipped with eddy covariance stations which differ in terms of vegetation and climate type. Three potential ET methods (Penman-Monteith, Priestley-Taylor, and Blaney-Criddle models) and three actual ET models (the Advection-Aridity, the Granger and Gray, and the Antecedent Precipitation Index method) have been proposed. The findings show that the models performances differ from site to site and they depend on the vegetation and climate characteristics. Indeed, they show a wide range of error values ranging from 0.18 to 2.78. It has been not possible to identify a single model able to outperform the others in each biome, but in general, the Advection-Aridity approach seems to be the most accurate, especially when the model calibration in not carried out. It returns very low error values close to 0.38. When the calibration procedure is performed, the most accurate model is the Granger and Gray approach with minimum error of 0.13 but, at the same time, it is the most impacted by this process, and therefore, in a context of data scarcity, it results the less recommended for ET prediction. The performances of the investigated ET approaches have been furthermore tested in case of lack of measured data of soil heat fluxes and net radiation considering using empirical relationships based on meteorological data to derive these variables. Results show that, the use of empirical formulas to derive ET estimates increases the errors up to 200% with the consequent loss of model accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small object detection in very-high-resolution (VHR) optical remote sensing images is a fundamental but challenaging problem due to the latent complexities. To tackle this problem, the MdrlEcf model is proposed by modifying deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and extracting the efficient convolution feature. Firstly, an efficient attention network is constructed by introducing the local attention into the convolutional neural network. Combining the shallow low-level features with rich detail descriptions and high-level features with more semantic meanings effectively, efficient convolution features can be obtained. By this, the attention network can effectively enhance the ability to extract small target features and suppressing useless features. Secondly, the efficient feature map is sent to the region proposal network constructed by modified DRL. Using the modified reward function, this model can accumulate more rewards to conduct the search process, and potentially generate effective subsequent proposals and classification scores. It also can increase the effectiveness of object locations and classifications for small targets. Quantitative and qualitative experiments are conducted to verify the detection performance of different models. The results show that the proposed MdrlEcf can effectively and accurately locate and identify related small objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, crime is a serious problem that affects the operation and viability of firms. Offenses such as vandalism, robbery, and theft raise the operating costs of firms and imposes on them indirect costs. The literature on spatial analysis of crime is vast; however, relatively little research has addressed business crime, especially in developing countries' cities. Spatial and temporal analysis of crime concentration represents a basic input for the design and implementation of appropriate prevention and control strategies. This article explores the spatial concentration and stability of thefts committed against commercial establishments in the city of Mexicali, Mexico, from 2009 to 2011 using the Gini coefficient, Lorenz curve, and decile maps. Results revealed that thefts were highly concentrated in a small percentage of urban basic geostatistical areas. Moreover, a portion of these areas were classified as having the highest deciles of thefts (hot spots) and remained in this group throughout the period. In both cases, the relationship between crime and place was close to the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessibility analyses are an essential step in the evaluation and planning of urban infrastructures such as transport or pipeline networks. However, these studies generally produce sharply defined lines (called isovarones) or areas (called isovarone areas) that represent the same or similar accessibility. Uncertainties in the input data are usually not taken into account. The aim of this contribution is, therefore, to set up a structured framework that describes the integration of uncertainty information for accessibility analyses. This framework takes uncertainties in the input data, in the processing step, in the target variables, and in the final visualization into account. Particular attention is paid, on the one hand, to the impact of the uncertainties in the target values, as these are key factors for reasoning and decision making. On the other hand, the visualization component is emphasized by applying a dichotomous classification of uncertainty visualization methods. This framework leads to a large set of possible combinations of uncertainty categories. Five selected examples that have been generated with a new software tool and that cover important combinations are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic put a heavy burden on member states in the European Union. To govern the pandemic, having access to reliable geo-information is key for monitoring the spatial distribution of the outbreak over time. This study aims to analyze the role of spatio-temporal information in governing the pandemic in the European Union and its member states. The European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) system and selected national dashboards from member states were assessed to analyze which spatio-temporal information was used, how the information was visualized and whether this changed over the course of the pandemic. Initially, member states focused on their own jurisdiction by creating national dashboards to monitor the pandemic. Information between member states was not aligned. Producing reliable data and timeliness reporting was problematic, just like selecting indictors to monitor the spatial distribution and intensity of the outbreak. Over the course of the pandemic, with more knowledge about the virus and its characteristics, interventions of member states to govern the outbreak were better aligned at the European level. However, further integration and alignment of public health data, statistical data and spatio-temporal data could provide even better information for governments and actors involved in managing the outbreak, both at national and supra-national level. The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) initiative and the NUTS system provide a framework to guide future integration and extension of existing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structurally describing the portrayal-related information by using a standalone Digital Cartographic Model on top of a Digital Landscape Model has been proved applicable and beneficial for 2D mapping but has not yet been applied to 3D cadastre. This study, therefore, evaluates the applicability of digital cartographic model and the corresponding visualization pipeline for 3D cadastre in the context of Chinese urban cadastre. This research starts by identifying the requirements and design features of 3D cadastre mapping through a literature review and interviews with users and cartographers. Addressing the limitations of the existing general-purpose models, this paper proposes an ad hoc 3D cadastre digital cartographic model. The main developments of the proposed model are the inclusion of 3D content modeling, the support of the compound 3D symbols, and the introduction of the semantic transformation. The proposed model is then embedded into three parts of the cadastre visualization pipeline: the symbolic rule design, graphic content creation, and scene dissemination. The empirical result of qualitative proof-of-concept user tests supports that the proposed visualization pipeline is applicable and yields promising visualization results. The digital cartographic model-based visualization pipeline is a novel 3D cadastre mapping paradigm that facilitates designing, producing, sharing, and administrating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood occurrence is increasing due to the expansion of urbanization and extreme weather like hurricanes; hence, research on methods of inundation monitoring and mapping has increased to reduce the severe impacts of flood disasters. This research studies and compares two methods for inundation depth estimation using UAV images and topographic data. The methods consist of three main stages: (1) extracting flooded areas and create 2D inundation polygons using deep learning; (2) reconstructing 3D water surface using the polygons and topographic data; and (3) deriving a water depth map using the 3D reconstructed water surface and a pre-flood DEM. The two methods are different at reconstructing the 3D water surface (stage 2). The first method uses structure from motion (SfM) for creating a point cloud of the area from overlapping UAV images, and the water polygons resulted from stage 1 is applied for water point cloud classification. While the second method reconstructs the water surface by intersecting the water polygons and a pre-flood DEM created using the pre-flood LiDAR data. We evaluate the proposed methods for inundation depth mapping over the Town of Princeville during a flooding event during Hurricane Matthew. The methods are compared and validated using the USGS gauge water level data acquired during the flood event. The RMSEs for water depth using the SfM method and integrated method based on deep learning and DEM were 0.34m and 0.26m, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In central and eastern European countries that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007, there are strong connections between transport development and sustainable regional development. The needs for transport development in post-socialist countries are so high that it is difficult to finance them, and most governments have to choose between immediate and less urgent needs. The aim of this study was to determine the role played by sustainable transport growth in the improvement of regional cohesion and sustainable regional development with a use of geographical information systems' capabilities. The specific goals of the study were to: (i) determine the impact of EU subsidies on the regional transport development; (ii) identify threats to regional cohesion resulting from under-capitalised regions, (iii) examine geographical information systems' capabilities in periodical regional transport development monitoring. The analyses include evaluation of the regions' involvement in sustainable transport development as well as the presentation of direct and indirect results, such as road system improvement, with the use of GIS capabilities. It is particularly important to develop a system for monitoring the level of EU fund allocation with the use of GIS tools and the capabilities of geographic information systems. Such in-depth analysis would be useful for regional governments and decision-makers in creating and updating long term transport policies as well as monitoring long term regional development strategies. Both sustainable transport development and EU fund allocation can be monitored within the use of GIS tools, and such analyses should supplement the INSPIRE Geoportal scope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reported lightning accidents that are available in the DesInventar database—which consist of 549 deaths, 498 injured people, 39 destroyed houses, and 741 damaged houses—were analyzed in terms of their geographical and temporal variation. The average lightning flash densities were calculated using zonal statistics using the geographic information system (GIS), referring to the respective raster maps generated based on Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) data from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) Satellite. Hence, the variations of the lightning accidents—monthly and climate season-wise—in response to the lightning flash density were also reported. The calculated average lightning flash density in Sri Lanka is 8.26 flashes km−2 year−1, and the maximum average lightning flash density of 31.33 flashes km−2 year−1 is observed in April in a calendar year. April seems to be more vulnerable to lightning accidents, as the maximum number of deaths (150 deaths) and injuries (147 injuries) were recorded in this month. Most of the high-risk lightning accident regions that were identified in Sri Lanka are well known for agricultural activities, and those activities will eventually create the platform for lightning victims. In Sri Lanka, in a year, 12 people were killed and 11 people were injured, based on the reported accidents from 1974 to 2019. Conversely, a substantial increase in the number of deaths, injuries, and incidents of property damage has been observed in the last two decades (2000–2019). On average, for the period from 2000 to 2019, 18 people were killed and 16 people were injured per year. Furthermore, considering the population of the country, 0.56 people per million per year were killed, and 0.51 people per million per year were injured due to lightning accidents based on the reported accidents from 1974 to 2019. Moreover, for the 2000–2019 period, these estimated values are significantly higher; 0.86 people per million per year were killed, and 0.77 people per million per year were injured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Himalayan region and hilly areas face severe challenges due to landslide occurrences during the rainy seasons in India, and the study area, i.e., the Rudraprayag district, is no exception. However, the landslide related database and research are still inadequate in these landslide-prone areas. The main purpose of this study is: (1) to prepare the multi-temporal landslide inventory map using geospatial platforms in the data-scarce environment; (2) to evaluate the landslide susceptibility map using weights of evidence (WoE) method in the Geographical Information System (GIS) environment at the district level; and (3) to provide a comprehensive understanding of recent developments, gaps, and future directions related to landslide inventory, susceptibility mapping, and risk assessment in the Indian context. Firstly, 293 landslides polygon were manually digitized using the BHUVAN (Indian earth observation visualization) and Google Earth® from 2011 to 2013. Secondly, a total of 14 landslide causative factors viz. geology, geomorphology, soil type, soil depth, slope angle, slope aspect, relative relief, distance to faults, distance to thrusts, distance to lineaments, distance to streams, distance to roads, land use/cover, and altitude zones were selected based on the previous study. Then, the WoE method was applied to assign the weights for each class of causative factors to obtain a landslide susceptibility map. Afterward, the final landslide susceptibility map was divided into five susceptibility classes (very high, high, medium, low, and very low classes). Later, the validation of the landslide susceptibility map was checked against randomly selected landslides using IDRISI SELVA 17.0 software. Our study results show that medium to very high landslide susceptibilities had occurred in the non-forest areas, mainly scrubland, pastureland, and barren land. The results show that medium to very high landslide susceptibilities areas are in the upper catchment areas of the Mandakini river and adjacent to the National Highways (107 and 07). The results also show that landslide susceptibility is high in high relative relief areas and shallow soil, near thrusts and faults, and on southeast, south, and west-facing steep slopes. The WoE method achieved a prediction accuracy of 85.7%, indicating good accuracy of the model. Thus, this landslide susceptibility map could help the local governments in landslide hazard mitigation, land use planning, and landscape protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modifiable areal unit problem is of great importance in geographic science. The use of a specific zoning impacts the social and economic imbalances that can be generated in the deployment of services, facilities, and infrastructure. In this article, GIS is used together with simulation and optimization tools to analyse the effects of bus frequency changes in the levels of service and horizontal equity derived from different types of territorial zoning. The city of Palma (Balearic Islands, Spain) was chosen as a case study for the method, for which different geographical areas are used: neighbourhoods, census sections, cadastral blocks, and a 400 × 400 m mesh. The results show significant variations of the optimal frequencies obtained, depending on the type of zoning used. In general, smaller zonings show much higher sensitivity for the detection of imbalances between the population and bus service level. Likewise, orthogonal zonings also prove useful for identifying service and population concentration over other zonings. The use of large spatial units could lead to the misdiagnosis of needs and the implementation of actions that do not actually improve the level of service or the equity of the transport service. It is recommended to consider combining zonings of different sizes simultaneously, in order to accurately highlight imbalances and to argue for transport service improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When generalizing a group of objects, displacement is an essential operation to resolve the conflicts arising between them due to enlargement of their symbol sizes and reduction of available map space. Although there are many displacement methods, most of them are rather complicated. Therefore, more practical methods are still needed. In this article, a new building displacement approach is proposed. For this purpose, buildings are grouped and zones are created for them in the blocks via Voronoi tessellation and buffering. Linear patterns are then detected through buffer analyses and the respective zones are narrowed to be able to preserve these patterns. After all the buildings are displaced inside their zones, grid points are generated and then weighted through kernel density estimation and buffer analyses to find suitable locations. Accordingly, the buildings are displaced toward the computed locations iteratively. The proposed approach directly enforces minimum distance and positional accuracy constraints while several indirect mechanisms are used for preserving spatial patterns and relationships. For the quality evaluation of the displacement, the angle, length and shape comparison measures are introduced, computed based on the (Delaunay) triangles or the azimuth comparison measure of the connection lines, generated for the buildings. The quality evaluation criteria are yielded according to the visual assessment of the displacement quality and the quantitative analysis of the measures. The findings demonstrate that the proposed approach is quite effective and practical for zonal building displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new framework to classify floor plan elements and represent them in a vector format. Unlike existing approaches using image-based learning frameworks as the first step to segment the image pixels, we first convert the input floor plan image into vector data and utilize a graph neural network. Our framework consists of three steps. (1) image pre-processing and vectorization of the floor plan image; (2) region adjacency graph conversion; and (3) the graph neural network on converted floor plan graphs. Our approach is able to capture different types of indoor elements including basic elements, such as walls, doors, and symbols, as well as spatial elements, such as rooms and corridors. In addition, the proposed method can also detect element shapes. Experimental results show that our framework can classify indoor elements with an F1 score of 95%, with scale and rotation invariance. Furthermore, we propose a new graph neural network model that takes the distance between nodes into account, which is a valuable feature of spatial network data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their multiple sources and structures, big spatial data require adapted tools to be efficiently collected, summarized and analyzed. For this purpose, data are archived in data warehouses and explored by spatial online analytical processing (SOLAP) through dynamic maps, charts and tables. Data are thus converted in data cubes characterized by a multidimensional structure on which exploration is based. However, multiple sources often lead to several data cubes defined by heterogeneous dimensions. In particular, dimensions definition can change depending on analyzed scale, territory and time. In order to consider these three issues specific to geographic analysis, this research proposes an original data cube metamodel defined in unified modeling language (UML). Based on concepts like common dimension levels and metadimensions, the metamodel can instantiate constellations of heterogeneous data cubes allowing SOLAP to perform multiscale, multi-territory and time analysis. Afterwards, the metamodel is implemented in a relational data warehouse and validated by an operational tool designed for a social economy case study. This tool, called "Racines", gathers and compares multidimensional data about social economy business in Belgium and France through interactive cross-border maps, charts and reports. Thanks to the metamodel, users remain independent from IT specialists regarding data exploration and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of long-term rainfall trends provides a wealth of information on effective crop planning and water resource management, and a better understanding of climate variability over time. This study reveals the spatial variability of rainfall trends in Sri Lanka from 1989 to 2019 as an indication of climate change. The exclusivity of the study is the use of rainfall data that provide spatial variability instead of the traditional location-based approach. Henceforth, daily rainfall data available at Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation corrected with stations (CHIRPS) data were used for this study. The geographic information system (GIS) is used to perform spatial data analysis on both vector and raster data. Sen's slope estimator and the Mann–Kendall (M–K) test are used to investigate the trends in annual and seasonal rainfall throughout all districts and climatic zones of Sri Lanka. The most important thing reflected in this study is that there has been a significant increase in annual rainfall from 1989 to 2019 in all climatic zones (wet, dry, intermediate, and Semi-arid) of Sri Lanka. The maximum increase is recorded in the wet zone and the minimum increase is in the semi-arid zone. There could be an increased risk of floods in the southern and western provinces in the future, whereas areas in the eastern and southeastern districts may face severe droughts during the northeastern monsoon. It is advisable to introduce effective drought and flood management and preparedness measures to reduce the respective hazard risk levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction and operation of air transport systems (ATS) needs huge investment, so its performance is of wide concern. The influences of social and economic factors in different regions must be considered when evaluating ATS performance. In this paper, a model combining data envelopment analysis, stochastic frontier analysis, and bootstrap technique is adopted to evaluate the 'real' performance of the air transport system in China. The evaluation results show the ATS performance in different regions. Social and economic factors are proved to pose influences on provincial ATS efficiency. Scale efficiency is the main factor that restricts the efficiency of China's ATS. Technological change has determined the trend of ATS total factor productivity. The research results may implicate that improvements can be gained by modifying airspace limitations and regulatory conditions that impose significant constraints on ATS. The importance of ATS technological development strategy and the legitimacy of air transport modernization policy are also supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]