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The quantification of urban impervious area has important implications for the design and management of urban water and environmental infrastructure systems. This study proposes a deep learning model to classify 15‐cm aerial imagery of urban landscapes, coupled with a vector‐oriented post‐classification processing algorithm for automatically retrieving canopy‐covered impervious surfaces. In a case study in Corpus Christi, TX, deep learning classification covered an area of approximately 312 km2 (or 14.86 billion 0.15‐m pixels), and the post‐classification effort led to the retrieval of over 4 km2 (or 0.18 billion pixels) of additional impervious area. The results also suggest the underestimation of urban impervious area by existing methods that cannot consider the canopy‐covered impervious surfaces. By improving the identification and quantification of various impervious surfaces at the city scale, this study could directly benefit a variety of environmental and infrastructure management practices and enhance the reliability and accuracy of processed‐based models for urban hydrology and water infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study focused on the validation of the Three-Factor Reflective Functioning Questionnaire for Youth(RFQY) within a sample of Chinese adolescents. Patients and Methods: All the items of the RFQY were translated into Chinese language through the process of translation and back translation. A total of 532 adolescents aged between 12– 20 years completed the Chinese version of RFQY, McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD), Basic Empathy Scale (BES), and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results: Twenty items meeting psychometric standards were retained in the Chinese version of the RFQY. The indices for confirmatory factor analysis, including χ 2/df (2.354), SRMR (0.053), GFI (0.930), CFI (0.921), TLI (0.910), and RMSEA (0.050), all conformed to the requirements of psychometrics. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the three factors, "uncertainty/confusion", "interest/curiosity", and "excessive certainty", were 0.820, 0.673, and 0.839, respectively, with test-retest reliability scores of 0.751, 0.643, and 0.764. A significant positive correlation was found between uncertainty/confusion and symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD), particularly in adolescents with high BPD traits. Excessive certainty was positively correlated with unstable interpersonal relationships, while the interest/curiosity factor shows no significant correlation with BPD symptoms. The uncertainty/confusion factor demonstrates a complex relationship with empathy, correlating positively with affective empathy but negatively with cognitive empathy. The uncertainty/confusion factor shows a significant positive correlation with alexithymia, while the factor of excessive certainty demonstrates the opposite effect. Additionally, a significant negative correlation exists between the interest/curiosity factor and the externally oriented thinking. Conclusion: This study validates the Chinese version of the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire for Youth (RFQY), demonstrating its reliability and validity in assessing reflective functioning among Chinese adolescents. This enhances the understanding of reflective functioning and its role in adolescent mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nanoparticles (NPs) have been considered to improve phosphorus (P) availability and activation of soil P in agroecosystems. However, the effects of NPs addition on soil P fractions, microbial characteristics, and plant growth are not well-understood. This study aims to investigate the influences of titanium dioxide (TiO2NPs) and iron oxide (Fe3O4NPs) addition on soil P fractions, microbial characteristics, and plant growth of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). Materials and methods: Pot experiment was conducted in 2020 and 2021 years. The exposure of TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs (1000 mg kg−1 dry soil) to oilseed rape cultivated was investigated in two contracting calcareous soils (i.e., vegetable field (VF) and cotton field (CF)) for 86 days. Soil pH, Olsen-P, available-Ti/Fe, and Fe-oxides were determined. Different P fractions (CaCl2-P, Citrate-P, Enzyme-P, and HCl-P) were tested by biologically based P fractionation method (BBP). Soil microbial biomass phosphorous (MBP) and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) were analyzed. The numbers of bacteria and fungi count were measured by flow cytometry method. Plant biomass and total P uptake were examined in the TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs treatments. Results and discussion: Compared with the CK treatment, soil pH was decreased by 12.0–18.0% in the TiO2NPs- and Fe3O4NPs-added treatments in both the VF and CF soils. In contrast, soil Olsen-P was increased by 12.0–19.0%, respectively, implying that TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs addition improved soil P availability. The addition of TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs significantly affected different soil P fractions. For example, the TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs treatments increased CaCl2-P and Citrate-P while decreased Enzyme-P content, indicating that a great portion of soil Enzyme-P was transformed into CaCl2-P and Citrate-P in the TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs-treated soils. However, TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs addition had no significant influences on HCl-P. Soil microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP), ALP activity, and available-Ti/Fe contents were almost unaffected by TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs addition. In addition, the addition of TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs had no influence on the numbers of soil bacteria and fungi and plant biomass and total P uptake of oilseed rape. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the addition of TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs in calcareous soils improved soil P availability, and promoted insoluble P transformed to labile-P (CaCl2-P and Citrate-P). However, TiO2NPs/Fe3O4NPs addition at dose of 1000 mg kg−1 dry soil had no toxic effect on oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). The proper application dosage should be further explored to activate soil P and promote crop growth. Our results provide theoretical basis for the effects of nanoparticles addition on soil P activation, microbial characteristics, and plant growth of Brassica napus L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the optimal decision making of an insurer towards a new insurable business, whose risk is independent of the existing risk faced by the insurer. We assume that the insurer, with the objective of maximizing the expected utility of its final wealth, together with the solvency constraint and the availability of reinsurance as a risk transfer mechanism, is deciding if it is viable to underwrite a new insurance business risk. If this new business is underwritten, it is shown that a stop-loss reinsurance contract is optimal when the solvency risk is quantified by the conditional value at risk. If the regulatory regime changes to the value at risk, the optimal reinsurance form becomes more complicated; it can be either stop-loss or two-layer under the assumption that the new risk has a strictly decreasing probability density function. Numerical examples are provided to illuminate the insurer's decision making and the optimal form of the reinsurance strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: A comprehensive standardized evaluation tool was needed to assess community awareness and preparedness when the pandemic hit the United States. This study aimed to develop and validate a new Coronavirus Awareness and Preparedness Scale (CAPS) through psychometric testing. Methods: This study unfolded in two phases. Phase 1 (conducted in March and April 2020) focused on the development of the scale. Phase 2 (conducted in June and July 2020) measured the reliability and validity of the scale. Psychometric testing, including exploratory factor analysis and reliability testing, was performed with a convenience sample of 1237 faculty, staff, and students at a southern university in the United States. Results: The final CAPS model consists of four factors with 26 items: threat (seven items), confidence (11 items), individual precautions (three items), and public precautions (five items). The scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.75). Strong and statistically significant item correlations were observed within the subscales through item analysis. Conclusion: The CAPS is a reliable and valid comprehensive evaluation instrument designed to gauge community awareness and preparedness during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Its adaptability makes it suitable for measuring readiness and preparedness concerning any novel airborne disease or future airborne pandemic within a community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The comprehensive and efficient characterization of components in traditional Chinese medicine is crucial for elucidating its active constituents and uncovering its mechanism. Identifying the compounds of the Bushen Huoxue Prescription (BHP) is difficult because of its complex composition and the large difference in concentration among its compounds. In this study, a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with reversed‐phase LC (HILIC × RPLC) offline 2D‐LC tandem high‐resolution mass spectrometry method was established to analyze the total compounds of the BHP. Database screening and molecular networking were performed to identify the compounds. In contrast to conventional 1D chromatography, 2D chromatography increased peak capacity, enriched trace ingredients, and prevented the masking of high‐abundance compounds. A total of 165 compounds were identified, and 14 potential compounds needed to be further identified. This study provided an effective method for comprehensively analyzing the complex system of traditional Chinese medicine compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Body fat composition is believed to be associated with the progression, medical response, and prognosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Hence, we conducted this study to explore if fat metrics were associated with the disease activity of severe IBD and the response to intravenous corticosteroids (IVCS). Methods: We included 69 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 72 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) who had previously received IVCS during hospitalization. We quantified individual fat distribution using abdominal computed tomography slices. The correlations between fat parameters and disease activity were available with Spearman correlation analysis. The prediction model was developed using independent risk factors derived from multivariable logistic regression analysis. Model discrimination was evaluated leveraging the receiver operating characteristic curve. 1000 bootstrap resamples internally validated the model's prediction performance. Results: Notable differences in age, nutritional status, serum cytomegalovirus replication, stool condition, and extraintestinal involvement between UC and CD patients were observed. UC subjects who responded to IVCS had higher subcutaneous adipose tissue index (SATI), visceral adipose tissue index (VATI), and mesorectal adipose tissue index (MATI) than non-responders. IVCS-responding CD individuals had lower VATI and mesenteric fat index (MFI) than non-responders. CD patients with a prolonged disease duration had a decreased SATI and an elevated MFI. VATI and MATI were reduced as UC clinically progressed, while more prominent clinical activity in CD correlated with increased VATI, MATI, and MFI. A high SATI indicated that patients with UC were more prone to be IVCS responders. For patients with CD, levels of VATI and MFI were negatively associated with effective IVCS treatment. The established models showed a discriminative accuracy of 0.834 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.740–0.928] in the UC cohort and 0.871 (95% CI 0.793–0.949) in the CD cohort. Repeated samples supported the reliability of the developed models (AUCUC = 0.836, 95% CI 0.735–0.919; AUCCD = 0.876, 95% CI 0.785–0.946). Conclusion: Human fat indexes represent novel imaging biomarkers for identifying IBD patients who respond to IVCS, thus building accelerated therapy regimens and avoiding the adverse effects of ineffective IVCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano zinc oxide-decorated graphene (G-ZnO) was blended with polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) to improve its tensile, thermal, crystalline, and barrier properties. The properties of neat PPS and PPS/G-ZnO nanocomposites were characterized and compared using various tests, including tensile tests, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, evaluation of Escherichia coli inhibition, and barrier performance. The results demonstrated that G-ZnO played a crucial role in heterogeneous nucleation and reinforcement. When the concentration of G-ZnO was 0.3%, the tensile strength, elongation at break, thermostability, crystallinity, and water vapor permeability coefficients (WVPC) approached their maximum values, and the microscopic morphology changed from the original brittle fracture to a relatively tough fracture. In addition, when G-ZnO was added to PPS at a ratio of 0.3%, the tensile strength, elongation at break, and WVPC of PPS were increased by 129%, 150%, and 283%, respectively, compared to pure PPS. G-ZnO endowed the nanocomposites with antibacterial properties. The improvement in barrier performance can be attributed to three reasons: (1) the presence of G-ZnO extended the penetration path of molecules; (2) the coordination and hydrogen bonds between PPS polymer matrix and G-ZnO nanofiller narrowed the H2O transmission path; and (3) due to its more hydrophobic surface, water molecules were less likely to enter the interior of PPS/G-ZnO nanocomposites. This study provides valuable insights for developing high-performance PPS-based nanocomposites for various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In traditional Confucianist culture in China, marriage and offspring are highly valued, placing sexual minority adults under tremendous pressure to marry an opposite sex partner. This study explored how Confucianism and stigma were associated with the intention to pursue a heterosexual marriage among Chinese sexual minority individuals as well as the moderating mechanisms of gender and age. Cross-sectional data were collected from 747 participants via online social networks from March to June 2020. Items assessed Confucianism values (communalism, filial piety, traditional gender roles); stigma (rejection sensitivity, social discrimination); and heterosexual marital intention (HMI). A total of 1.7% (n = 12) participants had ever been married, 11.6% (n = 87) planned to marry a different-sex partner, 60.4% (n = 451) had no intention to pursue a heterosexual marriage, and 26.4% (n = 197) had no specific marital plan. Bisexual participants scored significantly higher than homosexual individuals in HMI. Sexual minority adults with high levels of Confucianism and stigma were more likely to intend to marry. Importantly, both individual stigma (rejection sensitivity) and interpersonal stigma (social discrimination) partially mediated the relationship between Confucianism and HMI. Confucianism had a stronger impact on HMI for men than women, and age moderated the influence of Confucianism (including communalism and filial piety) on HMI, with a stronger impact for younger than older generations. This study contributes to a better understanding of how Confucianism and stigma may be connected to the intention to pursue a heterosexual marriage, suggesting culture-modified theories of stigma and sexual minority stress are needed to explain the experiences of sexual minority people in contemporary China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates the conventional wisdom that urban residents have reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic by fleeing city centres for the suburbs. A conventional panel model of US ZIP code-level data provides mixed evidence in support of a shifting housing preference for more space or neighbourhoods farther from the urban core. Regressions accounting for spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity show strong support of an urban flight within metro areas, but this local phenomenon is uneven across broad regions of the United States. The finding of geographical disparity underscores both the local as well as the regional nature of housing market conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Few studies have critically appraised Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) in immigrants. The purpose of the article is to determine if PSS is adequately developed and properly used with U.S. immigrants. Methods: Searching via PubMed and PsycINFO databases resulted in 10 research papers published between 2009 and 2019 that met the selection criteria and were integrated for this review. Results: Most of the studies do not have adequate theoretical models and do not have proper consideration of socio-cultural factors. Five studies used the PSS translated into different languages but only one study validated the translated version. Six studies reported the reliability of the PSS. The PSS-14 and PSS-10 may be appropriately used in immigrants to measure psychological stress. Conclusions: Some issues, such as the PSS's reliability and validity, need to be addressed in future use in immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the spatial dimension of socioeconomic and demographic factors behind COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. With a focus on a county with considerable sociodemographic diversity in the state of Texas, USA, we apply regression models to census-tract-level data of the unvaccinated population. In addition to disparities in accessing the vaccination service, particularly for residents in rural areas, empirical results confirm under-vaccination among lower socioeconomic neighborhoods and communities with signs of distrust in government. The spatial model regressions further underscore the impact that vaccine hesitancy among residents in one community spread to its nearby communities. This observed spatial spillover effect is attributable to the geographic interactions of similar socioeconomic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a well-designed hydrophilic tetracycline-imprinted polymer with high selectivity was synthesized with a three-dimensional carbon nanocomposite of graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotube (CNT) by a green synthesis method of freeze-drying. The synthesized materials with super selectivity, which could distinguish high similar structural analogues of tetracycline (TC) and oxytetracycline (OTC), and the maximum adsorption capacity for TC (MW 444.44, 19.31 mg g−1) was 3-fold greater than its structural analogue of OTC (MW 460.43, 6.48 mg g−1). The synthesized materials were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). The adsorption mechanism and adsorption performance of the synthesized materials were detailed studied via the adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics, competitive adsorption, and selective adsorption experiments. A method was established by using the synthesized materials as the adsorbent for solid-phase extraction (SPE) of TCs residues in food samples and then detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Under the optimum conditions, the detection limit of this method (MDL) was 0.127 μg kg−1. The extraction efficiency of this method was performed in three real samples (milk, chicken, and fish) that spiked with tetracycline of three levels (5, 10, 20 μg kg−1). The results showed good recoveries ranging from 85.58 ± 0.19 to 116.87 ± 8.92% (S/N = 3), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Diethylstilbestrol (DES) residues are harmful to human health because of their potential carcinogenic properties. Therefore, it is important to develop a fast and efficient pretreatment method to prevent their harmful effects on human health and the environment. RESULTS: In this paper, two types of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) of DES were prepared by bulk polymerization and the sol–gel method, respectively. The synthetic materials were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Adsorption capacities of the bulk and sol–gel MMIPs were investigated. A rapid detection method was developed using the two types of MMIPs as sorbents, coupled to high‐performance liquid chromatography, for the determination of DES residues in milk samples. Under optimized conditions, the limit of detection (S/N = 3) of both methods for DES was 2.0 μg L−1; and the linear response range to DES was 0.1–500 mg L−1. The milk samples were analyzed according to this method with good recoveries of 88.3–97.6 and 90.5–103.5% for the two types of MMIPs, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The method described had high sensitivity and high selectivity, and could prove to be a new method for the rapid determination of DES residues in milk samples. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the research field of anxiety, previous studies generally focus on emotional responses following threat. A recent model of anxiety proposes that altered anticipation prior to uncertain threat is related with the development of anxiety. Behavioral findings have built the relationship between anxiety and distinct anticipatory processes including attention, estimation of threat, and emotional responses. However, few studies have characterized the brain organization underlying anticipation of uncertain threat and its role in anxiety. In the present study, we used an emotional anticipation paradigm with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the aforementioned topics by employing brain activation and general psychophysiological interactions (gPPI) analysis. In the activation analysis, we found that high trait anxious individuals showed significantly increased activation in the thalamus, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), as well as decreased activation in the precuneus, during anticipation of uncertain threat compared to the certain condition. In the gPPI analysis, the key regions including the amygdala, dmPFC, and precuneus showed altered connections with distributed brain areas including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), inferior parietal sulcus (IPS), insula, para‐hippocampus gyrus (PHA), thalamus, and MTG involved in anticipation of uncertain threat in anxious individuals. Taken together, our findings indicate that during the anticipation of uncertain threat, anxious individuals showed altered activations and functional connectivity in widely distributed brain areas, which may be critical for abnormal perception, estimation, and emotion reactions during the anticipation of uncertain threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion recognition based on neural signals is a promising technique for the detection of patients’ emotions for enhancing healthcare. However, emotion-related neural signals, such as from functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), can be affected by various psychophysiological and environmental factors. There is a paucity of literature regarding data instability and classification instability in fNIRS-based emotion recognition systems, phenomenon which may lead to user dissatisfaction and abandonment. We collected data in an fNIRS-based 2-class emotion recognition test-retest experiment (3 week interval) with visual stimuli emotion induction to examine data instability and its impact on classification accuracy. We found a 22.2% average deterioration of emotion classification accuracy between the two sessions, suggesting that classification instability is a serious problem. We found that the changes in the distributions of the selected neural signal features, as evaluated by Kullback–Leibler (KL) divergence, were a likely cause of the accuracy decline. We analyzed the data instability and our results showed that instability of spatial activation patterns and instability of the hemodynamic response in the most activated region are correlated with accuracy decline. Finally, we propose a method for mitigating classification instability in fNIRS-based emotion recognition based on feature selection for stable features, the first such method to our knowledge. This new feature selection criterion considers not only the separability of features (evaluated by Fisher Score) but also their stability over time (evaluated by KL divergence between feature distributions at different time points). Testing showed that this method led to an approximately 5% improvement in cross-session generalization accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have been used as a robust tool for agricultural and environmental applications in recent years. Remote sensing systems based on UAS typically acquire massive hyper-spatial images in its short turnaround. This paper takes advantage of graphics processing unit (GPU) massive parallel computation in order to process the huge data timely and efficiently. More specifically, this paper presents an index array approach for lens distortion correction and geo-referencing. They are the two essential components in UAS hyper-spatial image processing. The index array approach is also capable of parallelizing image file I/O and the orthoimage generation. In addition, this paper presents the dual tiled similarity algorithm for the image co-registration. The index array approach and the dual tiled similarity algorithm were evaluated using two UAS remote sensing datasets of South Padre island shorelines. The results show that this index array approach was able to speed up at least 10 times the lens distortion correction and the geo-referencing relative to the central processing unit (CPU) computation. This dual tiled algorithm could provide 12 times speedup compared with the CPU similarity computation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Categorizing geographic features from text is a process of assigning a collection of text documents that describe geographic features to predefined categories. This paper presents a new approach to categorize geographic features from text that begins at the level of the individual document. Using latent semantic analysis, similar geographic features are grouped into predefined categories through capturing the semantic context of text. By incorporating ontologies into latent semantic analysis, the domain knowledge can be incorporated into the categorizing process. The proposed approach can allocate each geographic feature into more than one category and is able to identify a set of key concepts to represent each category. The results from an experimental evaluation using the proposed approach showed promise in categorizing geographic features from text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acrylonitrile-methyl itaconate (AN-MIA) copolymers were successfully prepared by free-radical solution copolymerization, and then were spun into precursors of carbon fibers by one-step wet-spun method in this study. Effect of methyl itaconate(MIA), itaconic acid (IA) and methyl acrylate (MA) on the characteristics of the copolymers and precursors were studied in contrast. The monomer reactivity ratios for AN/MIA system were determined by Kelen-Tudos (K-T) method with r=0.65, r=1.80. The viscosity test shows that using MIA as a co-monomer is an effective way to decrease the viscosity of PAN solution. During the spinning and stretching processes, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) copolymer with MIA as co-monomer can reach the higher total draw-ratio of 12.0 folds, while PAN copolymer with IA as co-monomer can reach only 8.5 folds. The fineness and elongation at-break of the PAN precursors with MIA as co-monomer improve, but the tenacity decreases. DSC test shows MIA is less effective in improving the thermal property than IA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2010 Health Needs Assessment for 15 counties of the Coastal Bend in the state of Texas indicates limited access to health care services and health insurance coverage is a main potential barrier to health care for some segments of the Coastal Bend population. The purpose of this paper is to obtain geographical sight of the health insurance coverage. The hypothesis is that the health insurance coverage by racial and ethnic groups would vary spatially. Data came from the local hospital systems and included 145,669 patient visits from 1 September 2007 through 31 August 2009. A series of maps were produced showing financial class categories for both Hispanics and Whites adults by combining the cross-tabulations of patient data and estimated population both at the zip code level. The maps show that the health insurance coverage disparities vary spatially within zip codes in the Coastal Bend. Moreover, Hispanic and White adult patients do not follow the same pattern of spatial distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this article is to understand the effect of multi-temporal multi-angle data on vegetation community type mapping in desert regions. Based on data from the multi-angle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR), a set of 46 multi-temporal classification experiments were carried out in the Jornada Experimental Range in New Mexico, USA. Besides multi-angle observations, bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model parameters were also used as input data for the classifications. The experiments used two widely accepted BRDF models, the Rahman–Pinty–Verstraete (RPV) model and the Ross-thin Li-sparse reciprocal (RTnLS) model. The experiments show that multi-temporal multi-angle classifications can yield a more accurate mapping than multi-temporal nadir classifications, and multi-temporal BRDF model parameters combined with a single nadir image can provide an accuracy roughly the same as all multi-temporal multi-angle observations for the vegetation mapping. These findings opened not only a path of reducing data dimensionality for multi-temporal multi-angle classifications, but also a way of merging products of both MISR and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) to improve semi-arid vegetation mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we show that multiangle remote sensing is useful for increasing the accuracy of vegetation community type mapping in desert regions. Using images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), we compared roles played by Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) model parameters with those played by topographic parameters in improving vegetation community type classifications for the Jornada Experimental Range and the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, USA. The BRDF models used were the Rahman-Pinty-Verstraete (RPV) model and the RossThin-LiSparseReciprocal (RTnLS) model. MISR nadir multispectral reflectance was considered as baseline because nadir observation is the most basic remote sensing observation. The BRDF model parameters and the topographic parameters were considered as additional data. The BRDF model parameters were obtained by inversion of the RPV model and the RTnLS model against the MISR multiangle reflectance data. The results of 32 classification experiments show that the BRDF model parameters are useful for vegetation mapping; they can be used to raise classification accuracies by providing information that is not available in the spectral-nadir domain, or from ancillary topographic parameters. This study suggests that the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and MISR BRDF model parameter data products have great potential to be used as additional information for vegetation mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Traditional Chinese Drug Research & Clinical Pharmacology is the property of Traditional Chinese Drug Research & Clinical Pharmacology Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Seagrass meadows play important roles as habitats for many marine organisms, traps for sediment, and buffers against wave actions. The objective of this paper is to map seagrass meadows in the Redfish Bay, Texas from WorldView-2 imagery. Seagrass meadows grow in shallow and clear water areas in the Redfish Bay. The WorldView-2 satellite can acquire multispectral imagery from the bay bottom with 2 m spatial resolution 8 multispectral bands and 0.46 m panchromatic imagery. The top of atmosphere radiance was transformed to the bottom reflectance through the atmospheric correction and the water column correction. The object based image analysis was used to identify seagrass meadows distributions in the Redfish Bay. This investigation demonstrated that seagrass can be identified with 94% accuracy, although seagrass species cannot be satisfactorily recognized. The results implied that the WorldView-2 satellite imagery is a suitable data source for seagrass distribution mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a different proof of the well known recurrence formula for the Riemann zeta function at positive even integers, the integral representations of the Riemann zeta function at positive integers and at fractional points by means of a probabilistic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document is a contents list for the Journal of Materials Chemistry B, which focuses on materials for biology and medicine. The issue includes reviews on sterilization techniques and the application potential of phage lyase and lyase immobilization in fighting drug-resistant bacteria, as well as applications and prospects of microneedles in tumor drug delivery. It also features papers on nanocarrier-based gene delivery for immune cell engineering, synthesis of calcium phosphates for biomedical applications, and various other topics related to materials chemistry in biology and medicine. The journal is published by The Royal Society of Chemistry, a leading chemistry community. [Extracted from the article]

This is a study of decision problems under two-dimensional risk. We use an existing index of absolute correlation aversion to conveniently classify bivariate preferences, with respect to attitudes toward this risk. This classification seems to be more important than whether decision makers are correlation-averse or correlation-seeking for the study of insurance demand when a loss has a multidimensional impact. On this note, we also re-examine Mossin's theorem under bivariate preferences, where full insurance is preferred with a fair premium, while less than full coverage is preferred with a proportional premium loading. Furthermore, based on the comparative statics of this two-dimensional insurance model for changes in correlation aversion, we derive testable implications about the classification of bivariate utility functions. For the particular case when the two-dimensional risk can be interpreted as risk on income and health, we identify the form of separable utility functions depending on health status and income that is consistent with household disability insurance decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the application of the fully convolutional network (FCN) algorithm to the field of meteorology, specifically for the short-term nowcasting of severe convective weather events such as hail, convective wind gust (CG), thunderstorms, and short-term heavy rain (STHR) in Gansu. The training data come from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and real-time ground observations. The performance of the proposed FCN model, based on 2017 to 2021 training datasets, demonstrated a high prediction accuracy, with an overall error rate of 16.6%. Furthermore, the model exhibited an error rate of 18.6% across both severe and non-severe weather conditions when tested against the 2022 dataset. Operational deployment in 2023 yielded an average critical success index (CSI) of 24.3%, a probability of detection (POD) of 62.6%, and a false alarm ratio (FAR) of 71.2% for these convective events. It is noteworthy that the predicting performance for STHR was particularly effective with the highest POD and CSI, as well as the lowest FAR. CG and hail predictions had comparable CSI and FAR scores, although the POD for CG surpassed that for hail. The FCN model's optimal performances in terms of hail prediction occurred at the 4th, 8th, and 10th forecast hours, while for CG, the 6th hour was most accurate, and for STHR, the 2nd and 4th hours were most effective. These findings underscore the FCN model's ideal suitability for short-term forecasting of severe convective weather, presenting extensive prospects for the automation of meteorological operations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The cyp19a1 gene codes aromatase that converts androgen to estrogen, which plays a central role in early female differentiation and ovarian development in teleosts. For the blotched snakehead (Channa maculata), an important aquaculture fish that is susceptible to hormone-induced sex reversal, two aromatase genes were characterized in the present study, cyp19a1a and cyp19a1b. We analyzed gene expression and the epigenetic state of cyp19a1a and cyp19a1b in different adult tissues: the gonad and brain from normal XX females (XX-F), normal XY males (XY-M), sex-reversal females (XY-F) induced by estrogen, and YY super-males (YY-M), and gonads at different development stages. Cyp19a1a exhibited strong female-biased expression patterns in the ovary, and cyp19a1b dominantly expressed in the brain with no sex bias. Cyp19a1a's expression pattern in the XY-F ovary was similar to that in the XX-F ovary, with a relatively high expression level, which was far higher than that in XY-M and YY-M testis. Meanwhile, CpG methylation levels of cyp19a1a promoter were lower in XX-F and XY-F ovaries compared with XY-M and YY-M testis. A significantly negative correlation between the CpG methylation levels and cyp19a1a expression was elucidated in XX-F, XY-M, XY-F, and YY-M gonads. Furthermore, the strong female-biased cyp19a1a expression was closely related to ovarian differentiation and maturation, and the overall methylation levels of cyp19a1a promoter were inversely correlated with cyp19a1a expression. There were no detectable sexually dimorphic differences in cyp19a1b expression and CpG methylation levels of cyp19a1b promoter in the brain and gonad between sexes in C. maculata, thus the function of cyp19a1b in C. maculata needs further research. Our research illustrates that cyp19a1a is closely related to estrogen production, ovary differentiation/maintenance, and sex reversal, and epigenetic modification plays a crucial part in maintaining the sexual dimorphic expression of cyp19a1a, ovarian differentiation and oogenesis in C. maculata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Journal of Natural Disasters is the property of Gai Kan Bian Wei Hui and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Riptortus pedestris (Fabricius) is a polyphagous hemipteran crop pest that mainly feeds on the leguminous plants, resulting in shriveled and dimpled seeds. With recent several outbreaks in the Huang-Huai-Hai region of China, as well as in South Korea and Japan, this species has caused enormous economic losses to soybean crops. In the present study, we found that R. pedestris feeding results in local lesions at the infestation sites. To identify the key effectors that induce plant damage during feeding, the salivary glands of R. pedestris were dissected for transcriptome sequencing, and 200 putative secreted proteins were transiently expressed in N. benthamiana. Among them, three intracellular effectors (RP191, RP246, and RP302) and one apoplastic effector (RP309) were identified as necrosis-inducing proteins (NIPs), which also triggered the reactive oxidative burst. Yeast signal sequence trap and qRT-PCR analysis suggested that these proteins might be secreted into plant tissue during R. pedestris infestation. Pathogenicity assays revealed that RP191, 246, and 302 promote Phytophthora capsici infection or induce Spodoptera litura feeding by inhibiting plant immunity. RP302 is localized to the cytoplasm and nuclei, while RP191 and 246 are endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident proteins. RP309 stimulates the expression of PTI marker genes, and its induced cell death depends on co-receptors NbBAK1 and NbSOBIR1, indicating that it is a HAMP. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that four NIPs are recently evolved effectors and only conserved in the Pentatomidae. In this study, saliva-secreted proteins were used as the starting point to preliminarily analyze the harm mechanism of R. pedestris, which might provide a new idea and theoretical basis for this species control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]