Search

As an unprecedented stream of decametric hyperspectral observations becomes available from recent and upcoming spaceborne missions, effective algorithms are required to retrieve vegetation biophysical and biochemical variables such as leaf area index (LAI) and canopy chlorophyll content (CCC). In the context of missions such as the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP), Precursore Iperspettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA), Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment (CHIME), and Surface Biology Geology (SBG), several retrieval algorithms have been developed based upon the turbid medium Scattering by Arbitrarily Inclined Leaves (SAIL) radiative transfer model. Whilst well suited to cereal crops, SAIL is known to perform comparatively poorly over more heterogeneous canopies (including forests and row-structured crops). In this paper, we investigate the application of hybrid radiative transfer models, including a modified version of SAIL (rowSAIL) and the Invertible Forest Reflectance Model (INFORM), to such canopies. Unlike SAIL, which assumes a horizontally homogeneous canopy, such models partition the canopy into geometric objects, which are themselves treated as turbid media. By enabling crown transmittance, foliage clumping, and shadowing to be represented, they provide a more realistic representation of heterogeneous vegetation. Using airborne hyperspectral data to simulate EnMAP observations over vineyard and deciduous broadleaf forest sites, we demonstrate that SAIL-based algorithms provide moderate retrieval accuracy for LAI (RMSD = 0.92–2.15, NRMSD = 40–67%, bias = −0.64–0.96) and CCC (RMSD = 0.27–1.27 g m−2, NRMSD = 64–84%, bias = −0.17–0.89 g m−2). The use of hybrid radiative transfer models (rowSAIL and INFORM) reduces bias in LAI (RMSD = 0.88–1.64, NRMSD = 27–64%, bias = −0.78–−0.13) and CCC (RMSD = 0.30–0.87 g m−2, NRMSD = 52–73%, bias = 0.03–0.42 g m−2) retrievals. Based on our results, at the canopy level, we recommend that hybrid radiative transfer models such as rowSAIL and INFORM are further adopted for hyperspectral biophysical and biochemical variable retrieval over heterogeneous vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Istanbul Law Review / İstanbul Hukuk Mecmuası is the property of Istanbul Law Review / Istanbul Hukuk Mecmuasi 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.)

As an unprecedented stream of decametric hyperspectral observations becomes available from recent and upcoming spaceborne missions, effective algorithms are required to retrieve vegetation biophysical and biochemical variables such as leaf area index (LAI) and canopy chlorophyll content (CCC). In the context of missions such as the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP), Precursore Iperspettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA), Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment (CHIME), and Surface Biology Geology (SBG), several retrieval algorithms have been developed based upon the turbid medium Scattering by Arbitrarily Inclined Leaves (SAIL) radiative transfer model. Whilst well suited to cereal crops, SAIL is known to perform comparatively poorly over more heterogeneous canopies (including forests and row-structured crops). In this paper, we investigate the application of hybrid radiative transfer models, including a modified version of SAIL (rowSAIL) and the Invertible Forest Reflectance Model (INFORM), to such canopies. Unlike SAIL, which assumes a horizontally homogeneous canopy, such models partition the canopy into geometric objects, which are themselves treated as turbid media. By enabling crown transmittance, foliage clumping, and shadowing to be represented, they provide a more realistic representation of heterogeneous vegetation. Using airborne hyperspectral data to simulate EnMAP observations over vineyard and deciduous broadleaf forest sites, we demonstrate that SAIL-based algorithms provide moderate retrieval accuracy for LAI (RMSD = 0.92–2.15, NRMSD = 40–67%, bias = −0.64–0.96) and CCC (RMSD = 0.27–1.27 g m−2, NRMSD = 64–84%, bias = −0.17–0.89 g m−2). The use of hybrid radiative transfer models (rowSAIL and INFORM) reduces bias in LAI (RMSD = 0.88–1.64, NRMSD = 27–64%, bias = −0.78–−0.13) and CCC (RMSD = 0.30–0.87 g m−2, NRMSD = 52–73%, bias = 0.03–0.42 g m−2) retrievals. Based on our results, at the canopy level, we recommend that hybrid radiative transfer models such as rowSAIL and INFORM are further adopted for hyperspectral biophysical and biochemical variable retrieval over heterogeneous vegetation.

To acquire, to preserve, and to inform. These seem to me to be the driving passions of the collector. My collecting of Burns editions, editions about Burns, Burns artefacts and Burns traditions emerged naturally from my love of my own locality and community. Burns's work has been, and to some degree still is, part of the east Ulster community in which I have lived all of my 50 years. There is a joy in finding, a satisfaction in acquisition, but we never truly own anything. My article will outline some of Ulster's wider cultural context, but will focus upon a selection of items and stories I have found or which have been passed down to me. Burns is indeed Scotland's National Bard, but the Ulster-Scots community are his kinfolk too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psychological operations (PSYOPS) doctrines of many NATO member states, including Romania, do not allow the use of influence activities on internal audiences. While this is an ethical provision, difficulties arise when formulating an adequate counter-propaganda strategy, as domestic groups that are susceptible to influence are targeted by an effective propaganda conducted by the adversary. The 2014 edition of the NATO doctrine on PSYOPS (psychological operations) was ambiguous with regard to this limitation, while the Romanian doctrine from 2016 kept it, in accordance with the older NATO doctrine from 2007. With this limitation PSYOPS risk being ineffective in countering propaganda, their role being restricted to analysing the effects of the propaganda on the audiences and making recommendations to counter it. Without using influence activities, the recommendations would be, based on the scenario, addressing the public or not (choosing “silence”) with information activities through the responsible structures. Going further, inform and influence activities (IIA) intertwine, which leads to the need for more clarity in the doctrines that regulate their employment. The propaganda of the Russian Federation in Donbas, that victimised the separatists leading to their support for the invasion of Ukraine is a relevant example for situations when PSYOPS should be allowed to target internal audiences. The present paper does not go into detail on the case of Ukraine but problematises on the above-mentioned ethical limitation that has the advantage of giving the adversary advantages on multiple levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae limits the range of active antimicrobial agents, thus worsening clinical outcomes. The objective of this study was to identify the trends in antimicrobial resistance for Enterobacteriaceae in Russia using the databases for the International Network for Optimal Resistance Monitoring (INFORM) and Antimicrobial Testing Leadership and Surveillance (ATLAS) studies between 2012 and 2018. Methods: This subanalysis was performed for 3811 non-duplicate clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae to evaluate the in vitro activity of the main classes of antibiotics against relevant clinical isolates from hospitalized patients with complicated infections of different anatomical locations. Results: The lowest susceptibility was observed for colistin (0%), ampicillin (16.4%), and ampicillin/sulbactam (31.1%), whereas the best susceptibility was observed for all combinations containing avibactam (>96%). Among individual antimicrobials, doripenem (3.2%), tigecycline (1.6%), and meropenem (5.9%) exhibited the lowest resistance. Important trends included the decreasing resistance of Enterobacteriaceae to glycylcyclines and the increasing resistance to aminoglycosides and carbapenems. K. pneumoniae strains were most aggressive in terms of the percentage of strains having multidrug resistance (8.3–18.3%, depending on location) and the percentage of ESBL-positive strains (44.8–86.8%). Conclusions: The current patterns and trends of antimicrobial resistance in different bacterial species should be taken into consideration for timely updating of clinical guidelines and local treatment protocols to ensure effective antimicrobial therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In literature, the point of view used by authors is a technique that plays an important role. When we read any piece, we wonder who is telling the story or controlling the events in the story. A story or novel can be written using a first-person, second-person, or third-person point of view. Writers have several options when deciding from which perspective to tell a story and choose the POV, keeping in mind its impact on the readers and to what extent it will be credible. They use different styles to tell their stories and also decide the role of the narrator. Choosing the narrator is essential because the readers see the events presented by him. This paper seeks to analyze the narrative technique used by Alexander Godin (1909-1970) in his short story 'My Dead Brother Comes to America' (1934). Godin writes the story using the first-person narrative point of view. The story is told from the point of view of a thirteen-year-old boy, who is the protagonist. Through his narration, the readers get to know the events and get an insight into the minds of the characters presented in the story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To further progress the validation of global leaf area index (LAI) products, temporally continuous reference data are a key requirement, as periodic field campaigns fail to adequately characterize temporal dynamics. Progress in cost-effective automated measurement techniques has been made in recent years, but appropriate upscaling methodologies are less mature. Recently, the use of multitemporal transfer functions has been proposed as a potential solution. Using data collected during an independent field campaign, we evaluated the performance of both vegetation index-based multitemporal transfer functions and a radiative transfer model (RTM)-based upscaling approach. Whether assessed using cross validation or data from the independent field campaign, the RTM-based approach provided the best performance (r2 ≥ 0.88, RMSE ≤ 0.41, NRMSE

Digital pathology can efficiently assess immunohistochemistry (IHC) data on tissue microarrays (TMAs). Yet, it remains important to evaluate the comparability of the data acquired by different software applications and validate it against pathologist manual interpretation. In this study, we compared the IHC quantification of 5 clinical breast cancer biomarkers—estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and cytokeratin 5/6 (CK5/6)—across 3 software applications (Definiens Tissue Studio, inForm, and QuPath) and benchmarked the results to pathologist manual scores.IHC expression for each marker was evaluated across 4 TMAs consisting of 935 breast tumor tissue cores from 367 women within the Nurses’ Health Studies; each women contributing three 0.6-mm cores. The correlation and agreement between manual and software-derived results were primarily assessed using Spearman’s ρ, percentage agreement, and area under the curve (AUC).At the TMA core-level, the correlations between manual and software-derived scores were the highest for HER2 (ρ ranging from 0.75 to 0.79), followed by ER (0.69–0.71), PR (0.67–0.72), CK5/6 (0.43–0.47), and EGFR (0.38–0.45). At the case-level, there were good correlations between manual and software-derived scores for all 5 markers (ρ ranging from 0.43 to 0.82), where QuPath had the highest correlations. Software-derived scores were highly comparable to each other (ρ ranging from 0.80 to 0.99). The average percentage agreements between manual and software-derived scores were excellent for ER (90.8%–94.5%) and PR (78.2%–85.2%), moderate for HER2 (65.4%–77.0%), highly variable for EGFR (48.2%–82.8%), and poor for CK5/6 (22.4%–45.0%). All AUCs across markers and software applications were ≥0.83.The 3 software applications were highly comparable to each other and to manual scores in quantifying these 5 markers. QuPath consistently produced the best performance, indicating this open-source software is an excellent alternative for future use.

Copyright of Journal of Anbar University for Law & Political Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) 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.)

Background: The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae limits the range of active antimicrobial agents, thus worsening clinical outcomes. The objective of this study was to identify the trends in antimicrobial resistance for Enterobacteriaceae in Russia using the databases for the International Network for Optimal Resistance Monitoring (INFORM) and Antimicrobial Testing Leadership and Surveillance (ATLAS) studies between 2012 and 2018. Methods: This subanalysis was performed for 3811 non-duplicate clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae to evaluate the in vitro activity of the main classes of antibiotics against relevant clinical isolates from hospitalized patients with complicated infections of different anatomical locations. Results: The lowest susceptibility was observed for colistin (0%), ampicillin (16.4%), and ampicillin/sulbactam (31.1%), whereas the best susceptibility was observed for all combinations containing avibactam (>96%). Among individual antimicrobials, doripenem (3.2%), tigecycline (1.6%), and meropenem (5.9%) exhibited the lowest resistance. Important trends included the decreasing resistance of Enterobacteriaceae to glycylcyclines and the increasing resistance to aminoglycosides and carbapenems. K. pneumoniae strains were most aggressive in terms of the percentage of strains having multidrug resistance (8.3–18.3%, depending on location) and the percentage of ESBL-positive strains (44.8–86.8%). Conclusions: The current patterns and trends of antimicrobial resistance in different bacterial species should be taken into consideration for timely updating of clinical guidelines and local treatment protocols to ensure effective antimicrobial therapy.

Social Media (SM) is increasingly used by strength and conditioning coaches; however, there is little evidence about the how, what and why's coaches use SM. To remedy this gap in the literature a qualitative study on the role of SM and how it influences the behaviours and actions of strength and conditioning coaches was conducted. The aims of this investigation were to examine the influences and behaviours of SM on strength and conditioning coaches. 107 strength and conditioning coaches responded to the survey with three omitted by the exclusion criteria. 97% of participants use SM, with Instagram (39.4%), Twitter (33.7%) the most popular platforms. Responses indicated that 91% believe the usage of SM is increasing in strength and conditioning coaches. 99% of participants understand the information shared on SM can be misleading, although 73% believe larger numbers of followers can influence the perception of quality of postings. Most coaches use SM to connect with other coaches (82%), to share or receive information (87%), and connect with athletes (45%), many also believe coaches use to criticise (43%) or debate (32%). 81% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that SM can influence job or internship eligibility. If SM is used correctly it can be beneficial to the strength and conditioning coach. Coaches should act respectfully, (without criticising or denigrating others) and engage in collaboration, sharing of knowledge, and connection. It is important to remember the global reach of SM and always act professionally. These insights are intended to identify greater understanding around coaches' behaviours and influences of SM and establish practical applications for individual's SM usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physician's commitment to inform the patient is a legal way to consider his will and enlighten his case, which aims to gain consent to take his medication, especially being aware of everything about their illness and its possible developments, as well as unexpected risks resulting from therapeutic intervention and other therapeutic choices and equivalents, if applicable. The obligation of the doctor to inform his patient has become a legal process to repair accidents or medical faults, which makes it possible to re-establish a certain balance in the legal relationship between the parties to the medical contract, and a legal mode as an duty resulting from the remediation of the shortcomings of the safety duty as a duty of care in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different countries around the globe have different levels of vulnerability to risks because of several factors, e.g. degree of development, governance, infrastructure, among others. The probability of occurrence of certain risks as drought and unfavorable tax policies have a direct impact on the development of the agribusiness in a given country. Hence, the aim of this study is to combine a set of risk management indices in a global scale with agribusiness performance indicators, focusing on the 96 most relevant countries regarding the agribusiness GDP (Gross domestic product). We selected 27 indicators for risk management collected from the InfoRM database and seven for agribusiness performance from the FAOSTAT database. All data used in this research are public available. The data were scaled, and then analyzed through multivariate techniques, specifically using principal component analysis (displayed in biplots) and unsupervised K-means clustering in R software. The results suggest that monitoring the indicators of risk management (InfoRM) and the establishment of strategies to shrink them may have a positive effect on the agribusiness performance of a given country. For the agribusiness improvement, nations should elaborate strategies for the joint enhancement of the indicators discussed here, observing the existing associations. The implications of the use of risk management indexes and agricultural performance indicators are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Leaf chlorophyll of spruce stands retrieved through inversion of INFORM utilizing Sentinel-2 and RapidEye data. • The retrieved and measured leaf chlorophyll content from the Sentinel-2 data had higher R2 and NRMSE values. • Using the mean of the ten best solutions the retrieval error for both Sentinel-2 and RapidEye data decreased. • The retrieval error of leaf chlorophyll decreased when Sentinel-2 red edge bands were used in the inversion process. Leaf chlorophyll plays an essential role in controlling photosynthesis, physiological activities and forest health. In this study, the performance of Sentinel-2 and RapidEye satellite data and the Invertible Forest Reflectance Model (INFORM) radiative transfer model (RTM) for retrieving and mapping of leaf chlorophyll content in the Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands of a temperate forest was evaluated. Biochemical properties of leaf samples as well as stand structural characteristics were collected in two subsequent field campaigns during July 2015 and 2016 in the Bavarian Forest National Park (BFNP), Germany, parallel with the timing of the RapidEye and Sentinel-2 images. Leaf chlorophyll was measured both destructively and nondestructively using wet chemical spectrophotometry analysis and a hand-held chlorophyll content meter. The INFORM was utilised in the forward mode to generate two lookup tables (LUTs) in the spectral band settings of RapidEye and Sentinel-2 data using information obtained from the field campaigns. Before generating the LUTs, the sensitivity of the model input parameters to the spectral data from RapidEye and Sentinel-2 were examined. The canopy reflectance of the studied plots were obtained from the satellite images and used as input for the inversion of LUTs. The coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square errors (RMSE), and the normalised root mean square errors (NRMSE), between the retrieved and measured leaf chlorophyll, were then used to examine the attained results from RapidEye and Sentinel-2 data, respectively. The use of multiple solutions and spectral subsets for the inversion process were further investigated to enhance the retrieval accuracy of foliar chlorophyll. The result of the sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the simulated canopy reflectance of Sentinel-2 is sensitive to the alternation of all INFORM input parameters, while the simulated canopy reflectance from RapidEye did not show sensitivity to leaf water content variations. In general, there was agreement between the simulated and measured reflectance spectra from RapidEye and Sentinel-2, particularly in the visible and red-edge regions. However, examining the average absolute error from the simulated and measured reflectance revealed a large discrepancy in spectral bands around the near-infrared shoulder. The relationship between retrieved and measured leaf chlorophyll content from the Sentinel-2 data had a higher coefficient of determination with a higher NRMSE (NRMSE = 0.36 μg/cm2, R2 = 0.45) compared to those obtained using the RapidEye data (NRMSE = 0.31 μg/cm2 and R2 = 0.39). Using the mean of the ten best solutions (retrieved chlorophyll) the retrieval error for both Sentinel-2 and RapidEye data decreased (NRMSE = 0.34, NRMSE = 0.26, respectively), as compared to only selecting the single best solution. When the Sentinel-2 red edge bands were used as the spectral subset, the retrieval error of leaf chlorophyll decreased indicating the importance of red edge, as well as properly located spectral bands, for leaf chlorophyll estimation. The chlorophyll maps produced by the inversion of the two LUTs effectively represented the variation of foliar chlorophyll in BFNP and confirmed our earlier findings on the observed stress pattern caused by insect infestation. Our findings emphasise the importance of multispectral satellites which benefits from red edge spectral bands such as Sentinel-2 as well as RapidEye for regional mapping of vegetation foliar properties, particularly, chlorophyll using RTMs such as INFORM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Leaf water content (LWC) retrieved using INFORM. • INFORM variables stem density and crown diameter replaced by canopy cover. • Canopy cover estimated from LiDAR data as prior information in INFORM. Abstract The accurate estimation of leaf water content (LWC) and knowledge about its spatial variation are important for forest and agricultural management since LWC provides key information for evaluating plant physiology. Hyperspectral data have been widely used to estimate LWC. However, the canopy reflectance can be affected by canopy structure, thereby introducing error to the retrieval of LWC from hyperspectral data alone. Radiative transfer models (RTM) provide a robust approach to combine LiDAR and hyperspectral data in order to address the confounding effects caused by the variation of canopy structure. In this study, the INFORM model was adjusted to retrieve LWC from airborne hyperspectral and LiDAR data. Two structural parameters (i.e. stem density and crown diameter) in the input of the INFORM model that affect canopy reflectance most were replaced by canopy cover which could be directly obtained from LiDAR data. The LiDAR-derived canopy cover was used to constrain in the inversion procedure to alleviate the ill-posed problem. The models were validated against field measurements obtained from 26 forest plots and then used to map LWC in the southern part of the Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany. The results show that with the introduction of prior information of canopy cover obtained from LiDAR data, LWC could be retrieved with a good accuracy (R 2 = 0.87, RMSE = 0.0022 g/cm2, nRMSE = 0.13). The adjustment of the INFORM model facilitated the introduction of prior information over a large extent, as the estimation of canopy cover can be achieved from airborne LiDAR data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate measurement of canopy chlorophyll content (CCC) is essential for the understanding of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics through monitoring and evaluating properties such as carbon and water flux, productivity, light use efficiency as well as nutritional and environmental stresses. Information on the amount and distribution of CCC helps to assess and report biodiversity indicators related to ecosystem processes and functional aspects. Therefore, measuring CCC continuously and globally from earth observation data is critical to monitor the status of the biosphere. However, generic and robust methods for regional and global mapping of CCC are not well defined. This study aimed at examining the spatiotemporal consistency and scalability of selected methods for CCC mapping across biomes. Four methods (i.e., radiative transfer models (RTMs) inversion using a look-up table (LUT), the biophysical processor approach integrated into the Sentinel application platform (SNAP toolbox), simple ratio vegetation index (SRVI), and partial least square regression (PLSR)) were evaluated. Similarities and differences among CCC products generated by applying the four methods on actual Sentinel-2 data in four biomes (temperate forest, tropical forest, wetland, and Arctic tundra) were examined by computing statistical measures and spatiotemporal consistency pairwise comparisons. Pairwise comparison of CCC predictions by the selected methods demonstrated strong agreement. The highest correlation (R2 = 0.93, RMSE = 0.4371 g/m2) was obtained between CCC predictions of PROSAIL inversion by LUT and SNAP toolbox approach in a wetland when a single Sentinel-2 image was used. However, when time-series data were used, it was PROSAIL inversion against SRVI (R2 = 0.88, RMSE = 0.19) that showed greatest similarity to the single date predictions (R2 = 0.83, RMSE = 0.17 g/m2) in this biome. Generally, the CCC products obtained using the SNAP toolbox approach resulted in a systematic over/under-estimation of CCC. RTMs inversion by LUT (INFORM and PROSAIL) resulted in a non-biased, spatiotemporally consistent prediction of CCC with a range closer to expectations. Therefore, the RTM inversion using LUT approaches particularly, INFORM for ‘forest’ and PROSAIL for ‘short vegetation’ ecosystems, are recommended for CCC mapping from Sentinel-2 data for worldwide mapping of CCC. Additional validation of the two RTMs with field data of CCC across biomes is required in the future.

The estimation of the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation in forests (forest fAPAR) from multi-spectral Landsat-8 data is investigated in this paper using a physically based radiative transfer model (Invertible Forest Reflectance Model, INFORM) combined with an inversion strategy based on artificial neural nets (ANN). To derive the forest fAPAR for the Dabie mountain test site in China in 30 m spatial resolution (size approximately 3000 km2), a database of forest canopy spectral reflectances was simulated with INFORM taking into account structural variables such as leaf area index (LAI), crown coverage and stem density as well as leaf composition. To establish the relationship between forest fAPAR and the reflectance modeled by INFORM, a logarithmic relationship between LAI and fAPAR was used previously established using on-site field measurements. On this basis, predictive models between Landsat-8 reflectance and fAPAR were established using an artificial neural network. After calibrating INFORM for the test site, forty-two forest stands were used to validate the performance of the method. The results show that spectral signatures modeled by INFORM correspond reasonably well with the forest canopy reflectance spectra derived from Landsat data. Deviations increase with increasing angle between surface normal of the hilly terrain and sun incidence. The comparison of estimated and measured fAPAR (R2 = 0.47, RMSE = 0.11) demonstrates that INFORM can be inverted using neural nets to provide acceptable estimates of forest fAPAR. The accuracy of the predictions increased significantly when excluding pixels located in very steep terrain. This demonstrates that the applied topographic correction was not sufficiently accurate and should be improved for making optimum use of radiative transfer models such as INFORM.

Foliar nitrogen is a critical factor in leaf physiological processes, plant growth, and ecosystem functioning, which has been proposed as one of the essential biodiversity variables. Nitrogen has been quantified by a number of empirical approaches using hyperspectral data, but the retrieval of nitrogen through a physically based approach remains a challenge. A recent study by Wang et al. (2015a) has revealed that leaf protein can be successfully estimated from fresh leaf spectra using a revised leaf radiative transfer model PROPECT-5 which incorporated the effects of leaf protein and cellulose + lignin on leaf reflectance and transmittance. This provides a potential approach of estimating nitrogen using radiative transfer models given the correlation between protein and nitrogen. However, such a revised leaf model has not been tested for the estimation of leaf nitrogen at the canopy level. In this study, a canopy reflectance model INFORM, coupled with the revised PROSPECT-5 model, was used to retrieve leaf and canopy nitrogen content in a mixed temperate forest using the wavelengths of 800–2500 nm from airborne hyperspectral imagery. Ecological criteria were applied to the parameterization of the model to reduce unrealistic combinations of input parameters. Global sensitivity analysis showed that leaf protein played a small but distinct role in driving the variation of canopy reflectance in the INFORM model. More accurate estimation was obtained for canopy nitrogen content ( R 2  = 0.64, RMSE = 1.90, NRMSE = 0.18) than leaf nitrogen content ( R 2  = 0.46, RMSE = 3.79e-05, NRMSE = 0.19). Moreover, inversion techniques, particularly regularized look-up tables, further improved the estimation accuracies compared to the original tables. Our results indicate that leaf and canopy nitrogen content can be retrieved successfully at the canopy level by inversion of INFORM. Both the direct and indirect effects of nitrogen on canopy reflectance are important for nitrogen estimation. The maps of leaf and canopy nitrogen content are the first to be generated using inversion of coupled leaf-canopy models, and the spatial variation of foliar nitrogen appears to be reasonable and consistent with ecological knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Informacao & Sociedade: Estudos is the property of Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Centro de Humanidades 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.)

In terms of section 129(1) of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA), a credit provider first needs to provide a consumer with notice of his default and a list of possible remedies to overcome the default, before enforcing the agreement in a court of law. This ensures that the consumer is given the opportunity to remedy his default by, for example, undergoing debt counselling instead of having to incur legal costs when defending legal action brought against him by the credit provider. Before the National Credit Amendment Act 19 of 2014 came into operation, the NCA neglected to specify how this notice should be delivered to consumers, and this has led to various conflicting decisions. The matter was eventually settled by the Constitutional Court in two separate cases. After the Constitutional Court pronounced on the matter, the National Credit Amendment Act came into operation prescribing the manner in which the notice must be delivered. Consumer-credit legislation that existed prior to the NCA coming into operation generally also made provision for similar notices to be delivered to consumers. In this article we briefly look at how the previous consumer-credit legislation dealt with the delivery of similar notices and also consider how the delivery of notices is currently governed by the NCA. Most of the problematic issues surrounding the delivery of the section 129(1) notice have been resolved, but some still remain. One such example is found in a recent Supreme Court of Appeal case, where despite the correct delivery of the notice to the consumer, the notice caused unintended jurisdictional problems for a credit provider trying to enforce the credit agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authenticity and the authentic, despite the absence of a consistent metapsychological conceptualization, is an important milestone in psychoanalysis, since defining the authentic, its conceptual and metapsychologicalsetting from a psychoanalytic perspective, can be an exciting challenge for a psychoanalyst for whom abstinence and neutrality are structuring guidelines. At the level of common language, authenticity is often attributed to spontaneous attitudes, behaviours or reactions. At the level of the psychoanalytic paradigm, spontaneity implies forms of manifestation that could belong to unelaborated, unprocessed drive dynamics that elude the censorship and the psychic transformation processes. There are reactions through an act that eludes the experience of psychical working over or the working-trough process specific to psychoanalysis. So the question naturally arises: how can we remain authentic if we transform the drive from a spontaneous reaction into a complex expression that uses representations and cultural forms carried out across several levels of symbolisation? What could the meaning of authenticity be, considering the concepts of psychical working over, working-through and transformation, specific to the psychoanalytic thinking and clinical experiences? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation indices (VIs) are widely used in optical remote sensing to estimate biophysical variables of vegetated surfaces. With the advent of spectroscopy technology, spectral bands can be combined in numerous ways to extract the desired information. This resulted in a plethora of proposed indices, designed for a diversity of applications and research purposes. However, it is not always clear whether they are sensitive to the variable of interest while at the same time, responding insensitive to confounding factors. Hence, to be able to quantify the robustness of VIs, a systematic evaluation is needed, thereby introducing a widest possible variety of biochemical and structural heterogeneity. Such exercise can be achieved with coupled leaf and canopy radiative transfer models (RTMs), whereby input variables can virtually simulate any vegetation scenario. With the intention of evaluating multiple VIs in an efficient way, this led us to the development of a global sensitivity analysis (GSA) toolbox dedicated to the analysis of VIs on their sensitivity towards RTM input variables. We identified VIs that are designed to be sensitive towards leaf chlorophyll content (LCC), leaf water content (LWC) and leaf area index (LAI) for common sensors of terrestrial Earth observation satellites: Landsat 8, MODIS, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3 and the upcoming imaging spectrometer mission EnMAP. The coupled RTMs PROSAIL and PROINFORM were used for simulations of homogeneous and forest canopies respectively. GSA total sensitivity results suggest that LCC-sensitive indices respond most robust: for the great majority of scenarios, chlorophyll a + b content (Cab) drives between 75% and 82% of the indices’ variability. LWC-sensitive indices were most affected by confounding variables such as Cab and LAI, although the equivalent water thickness (Cw) can drive between 25% and 50% of the indices’ variability. Conversely, the majority of LAI-sensitive indices are not only sensitive to LAI but rather to a mixture of structural and biochemical variables.

Estimates of biophysical and biochemical variables such as leaf area index (LAI) and canopy chlorophyll content (CCC) are a fundamental requirement for effectively monitoring and managing forest environments. With its red-edge bands and high spatial resolution, the Multispectral Instrument (MSI) on board the Sentinel-2 missions is particularly well-suited to LAI and CCC retrieval. Using field data collected throughout the growing season at a deciduous broadleaf forest site in Southern England, we evaluated the performance of two hybrid retrieval algorithms for estimating LAI and CCC from MSI data: the Scattering by Arbitrarily Inclined Leaves (SAIL)-based L2B retrieval algorithm made available to users in the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP), and an alternative retrieval algorithm optimised for forest environments, trained using the Invertible Forest Reflectance Model (INFORM). Moderate performance was associated with the SNAP L2B retrieval algorithm for both LAI (r2 = 0.54, RMSE = 1.55, NRMSE = 43%) and CCC (r2 = 0.52, RMSE = 0.79 g m−2, NRMSE = 45%), while improvements were obtained using the INFORM-based retrieval algorithm, particularly in the case of LAI (r2 = 0.79, RMSE = 0.47, NRMSE = 13%), but also in the case of CCC (r2 = 0.69, RMSE = 0.52 g m−2, NRMSE = 29%). Forward modelling experiments confirmed INFORM was better able to reproduce observed MSI spectra than SAIL. Based on our results, for forest-related applications using MSI data, we recommend users seek retrieval algorithms optimised for forest environments.

People have learned and adopted over time the idea that they can only coexist with nature. As a result of this: natural events were accepted as natural at the beginning but because of their consequences they were termed as disasters. Desire of intervention to these natural events will continue as long as mankind exists. In addition to Struggling with natural disasters, struggling with technology-driven disasters for next generations to come is also one of the most important tasks of human kind. Because Turkey is a potential disaster country, an effective planning of disaster management and disaster logistics is crucial when Turkey's geologic and topographic structure is taken in to consideration. On the basis of these ideas, disaster management mechanisms were considered and importance of intervention to potential disasters before, during and after they occur was examined with regard to disaster logistics in the study. And also, the situation in the years of 2012-2017 between Turkey and EU counties is explained comparatively by utilizing data of Risk Management Index (INFORM) which ranks 191 countries in terms of humanitarian crisis and disasters in association with European Commission and United Nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific leaf area (SLA), which is defined as the leaf area per unit of dry leaf mass is an important component when assessing functional diversity and plays a key role in ecosystem modeling, linking plant carbon and water cycles as well as quantifying plant physiological processes. However, studies of SLA variation across relevant spatial and temporal scales are lacking. While remote sensing is a fast and efficient approach to quantify vegetation parameters, there are insufficient studies estimating SLA from remotely sensed data. This article aims at finding efficient hyperspectral indices for fast and accurate estimation of SLA from leaf and canopy spectral measurements. Validation of our results with data measured at leaf and canopy scale as well as with experimental datasets simulated using PROSPECT (at leaf level) and INFORM (at canopy level) revealed SLA was predicted accurately by several indices, such as simple ratio and normalized index types. Most of the bands sensitive to SLA selected using these indices were in the 1300–1800 nm spectral region. At leaf level, a ratio index at bands1370 nm, 1615 nm performed strongly (R 2 = 0.93 and RMSE = 13.66 cm 2 /g) during cross-validation. The multiband indices with 920 nm, 1675 nm, 1335 nm and 1345 nm, 1675 nm, 1850 nm central wavelengths were also among the top performing indices, with R 2 > 0.90 for both measured and simulated leaf level data. At canopy level, the soil adjusted ratio vegetation index (with a band setting of 1537 nm, 1543 nm) showed that the hyperspectral data from HySpex airborne imagery accurately estimated SLA (R 2 = 0.88 and RMSE = 13.30 cm 2 /g). Generally at canopy level the potential indices for accurate retrieval of SLA from HySpex imagery were two-band indices with soil line information. The discrepancy observed in the performance and band combinations of vegetation indices at leaf and canopy scales can be explained by external factors such as canopy structure, soil background, illumination and sensor configuration which affect the signal when moving from leaf to canopy level. Our findings suggest the availability and suitability of a wide range of existing vegetation indices for assessing SLA accurately and rapidly from remotely sensed data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantification of vegetation properties plays an important role in the assessment of ecosystem functions with leaf dry mater content (LDMC) and specific leaf area (SLA) being two key functional traits. For the first time, these two leaf traits have been estimated from the airborne images (HySpex) using the INFORM radiative transfer model and Continuous Wavelet Analysis (CWA). Ground truth data, were collected for 33 sample plots during a field campaign in July 2013 in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany, concurrent with the hyperspectral overflight. The INFORM model was used to simulate the canopy reflectance of the test site and the simulated spectra were transformed to wavelet features by applying CWA. Next, the top 1% strongly correlated wavelet features with the LDMC and SLA were used to develop predictive (regression) models. The two leaf traits were then retrieved using the CWA transformed HySpex imagery and the predictive models. The results were validated using R 2 and the RMSE of the estimated and measured variables. Our results revealed strong correlations between six wavelet features and LDMC, as well as between four wavelet features and SLA. The wavelet features at 1741 nm (scale 5) and 2281 nm (scale 4) were the two most strongly correlated with LDMC and SLA respectively. The combination of all the identified wavelet features for LDMC yielded the most accurate prediction ( R 2 = 0.59 and RMSE = 4.39%). However, for SLA the most accurate prediction was obtained from the single most correlated feature: 2281 nm, scale 4 ( R 2 = 0.85 and RMSE = 4.90). Our results demonstrate the applicability of Continuous Wavelet Analysis (CWA) when inverting radiative transfer models, for accurate mapping of forest leaf functional traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

İslam dini biigi sahibi olmayı emretmiş ve bilgiyi, çevresini aydınlatan bir ışık kaynağına; bilgisizliği de (cehli) kötüleyerek karanlıklara benzetmiştir. Bilgi sahibi olmak, yükümlülükten, söz ve eylemden önce gerekli görülmüş ve o olmadan bunların sahih olmayacağı vurgulanmıştır. Sorumluluğun temel şartı olan "bilme"den maksat, daima bilfiil bilgi sahibi olmak değil bilgiye yahut bilgi edinme imkanına sahip bulunmaktır. İnsanların sorumlu turulmalarında bilgi önemli bir kriter olduğundan onun zıddı olan bilgisizliğin (cehlin) ne olduğu, hangi durumlarda mazeret kabul edilmeyeceği ve hangi hallerde mazeret kabul edilip sorumluluğu ve cezayı düşürücü bir etken olacağı konusuna açıklık getirilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu maksatla biz bu makalemizde cehlin mahiyetini, kısımlarını, özür kabul edilen ve edilmeyen yönlerini ortaya koymaya çalıştık.

Yunnan pine shoot beetles (PSB), Tomicus yunnanensis and Tomicus minor have spread through southwestern China in the last five years, leading to millions of hectares of forest being damaged. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop an effective approach for accurate early warning and damage assessment of PSB outbreaks. Remote sensing is one of the most efficient methods for this purpose. Despite many studies existing on the mountain pine beetle (MPB), very little work has been undertaken on assessing PSB stress using remote sensing. The objective of this paper was to develop a spectral linear mixing model aided by radiative transfer (RT) and a new Yellow Index (YI) to simulate the reflectance of heterogeneous canopies containing damaged needles and quantitatively inverse their PSB stress. The YI, the fraction of dead needles, is a physically-explicit stress indicator that represents the plot shoots damage ratio (plot SDR). The major steps of this methods include: (1) LIBERTY2 was developed to simulate the reflectance of damaged needles using YI to linearly mix the green needle spectra with the dead needle spectra; (2) LIBERTY2 was coupled with the INFORM model to scale the needle spectra to the canopy scale; and (3) a look-up table (LUT) was created against Sentinel 2 (S2) imagery and inversed leaf chlorophyll content (LCC), green leaf area index (LAI) and plot SDR. The results show that (1) LIBERTY2 effectively simulated the reflectance spectral values on infested needles (mean relative error (MRE) = 1.4–18%), and the YI can indicate the degrees of needles damage; (2) the coupled LIBERTY2-INFORM model is suitable to estimate LAI (R2 = 0.73, RMSE = 0.17 m m−2, NRMSE = 11.41% and the index of agreement (IOA) = 0.92) and LCC (R2 = 0.49, RMSE = 56.24 mg m−2, NRMSE = 25.22% and IOA = 0.72), and is better than the original LIBERTY model (LAI: R2 = 0.38, RMSE = 0.43 m m−2, NRMSE = 28.85% and IOA = 0.68; LCC: R2 = 0.34, RMSE = 76.44 mg m−2, NRMSE = 34.23% and IOA = 0.57); and (3) the inversed YI is positively correlated with the measured plot SDR (R2 = 0.40, RMSE = 0.15). We conclude that the LIBERTY2 model improved the reflectance simulation accuracy of both the needles and canopies, making it suitable for assessing PSB stress. The YI has the potential to assess PSB damage.

Frecuentemente el personal de enfermería se encuentra que al ingreso de un anciano la transmisión de información es deficiente o escasa para el abordaje integral e individualizado de éste. Con el objetivo de salvaguardar este problema y mejorar la continuidad asistencial de los ancianos dados de alta a su domicilio o trasladados a otro centro asistencial, el equipo de enfermería de la Residencia Clínica "Los Robles" ha elaborado un instrumento de registro que denominamos "Informe de enfermería al alta o traslado de una residencia geriátrica". En el mismo se pretende recoger de una forma esquemática, ágil y completa la realidad y situación biopsicosocial del anciano garantizando una adecuada transmisión de la información y la continuidad de los cuidados de enfermería. Dicha hoja se elaboró basándonos en gran medida en el Modelo de Necesidades de Virginia Henderson (1). En ella se recogen los aspectos básicos del anciano a través de una serie de ítems cerrados y abiertos, abarcando tanto el estado basal del anciano como los procesos agudos si los hubiere, estando dirigida tanto al personal sanitario del centro asistencial de destino como a los propios cuidadores del anciano en el caso de traslado a domicilio.It is very common for the nursing staff to find out that the information flow regarding an elderly patient on admission is deficient or scarce. To resolve this problem and improve the attendance continuity of the elderly people when they are discharged or transfered from our Center Residence Clinic Geriatric "Los Robles", the nursing staff have developed an instrument for a better register that we have denominated "Nursing inform for the discharge or transfer to a resident for old people". In that inform we try to collect in a schematic, agile, and complete way the reality and the bio-psycho-social situation of the old people guaranteeing an adequate transmission of the information and the continuity of nursing cares. This instrument was created taking as a basis to a great extent Virginia Henderson's needs model (1). In it, a series of basic aspect of the elderly person state are collected, by means of a sequence of opened and closed items, including the basic state and the acute process, if they were any, and it is addressed to the health-care staff of the final center and to the care takers of the old person if they are translated to their own home.

This essay draws on the concepts of profane illumination and the inform to develop a model of the avant-garde in relation to obsolescence and nostalgia. The model is illustrated musically by accounts of two American works, the finale of Charles Ives’s Second Orchestral Set (1915) and John Cage’s Imaginary Landscape No. 4 for twelve radios (1951).