Closed loop control of sedation for colonoscopy using the Bispectral Index

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Leslie, K.; Absalom, A.; Kenny, G. N. C.

Sixteen patients undergoing colonoscopy were sedated with propofol using a closed-loop control system guided by the Bispectral Index (BIS). Propofol administration, via a target-controlled infusion, was controlled by a proportional-integral-differential control algorithm. The median (range) propofol

Utilizing bi-spectral index (BIS) for the monitoring of sedated adult ICU patients: a systematic review.

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Bilgili, Beliz; Montoya, Juan C; Layon, A J; Berger, Andrea L; Kirchner, H L; Gupta, Leena K; Gloss, David S

2017-03-01

The ideal level of sedation in the ICU is an ongoing source of scrutiny. At higher levels of sedation, the current scoring systems are not ideal. BIS may be able to improve both. We evaluated literature on effectiveness of BIS monitoring in sedated mechanically ventilated (MV) ICU patients compared to clinical sedation scores (CSS). For this systematic review, full text articles were searched in OVID, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases from 1986 - 2014. Additional studies were identified searching bibliographies/abstracts from national/international Critical Care Medicine conferences and references from searched articles retrieved. Search terms were: 'Clinical sedation scale, Bi-spectral Index, Mechanical ventilation, Intensive care Unit'. Included were prospective, randomized and non-randomized studies comparing BIS monitoring with any CSS in MV adult (>18 yr old) ICU patients. Studies were graded for quality of evidence based on bias as established by the GRADE guidelines. Additional sources of bias were examined. There were five studies which met inclusion criteria. All five studies were either unclear or high risk for blinding of participants and blinding of outcome assessment. All papers had at least one source of additional high risk, or unclear/unstated. BIS monitoring in the mechanically ventilated ICU patient may decrease sedative drug dose, recall, and time to wake-up. The studies suggesting this are severely limited methodologically. BIS, when compared to subjective CSSs, is not, at this time, clearly indicated. An appropriately powered randomized, controlled study is needed to determine if this monitoring modality is of use on the ICU.

Bispectral Index Monitoring Reduces the Dosage of Propofol and Adverse Events in Sedation for Endobronchial Ultrasound.

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Quesada, Natividad; Júdez, Diego; Martínez Ubieto, Javier; Pascual, Ana; Chacón, Enrique; De Pablo, Francisco; Mincholé, Elisa; Bello, Salvador

2016-01-01

Current guidelines recommend monitoring the anesthetic depth of sedation during respiratory endoscopy by using clinical scales despite their subjective nature and the potential change in the level of sedation caused by frequent stimulation. Monitoring by means of the bispectral index (BIS) has shown its utility in reducing the use of drugs and their adverse events in general anesthesia, but evidence in prolonged sedation is insufficient. Our objective was to evaluate BIS in patients undergoing endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS). A randomized cohort study of 90 patients with mediastinal lymph node involvement and/or lung or mediastinal lesions for whom EBUS was indicated, comparing the modified observer's assessment of alertness/sedation scale clinical evaluation (n = 45) versus the BIS evaluation (n = 45) of sedation with propofol-remifentanil, was conducted in order to evaluate the clinical parameters, doses used, adverse events, and tolerance of the procedure. We found a shorter waking time and a significantly lower dose of total propofol in the BIS group. Significantly fewer overall adverse events were recorded in the BIS group and included desaturation, hypotension, and bradypnea. Tolerance was better in the BIS group. No significant differences were found in terms of cough, memory of the procedure, or the level of difficulty of EBUS on the part of the pulmonologists. BIS monitoring of sedation in EBUS makes it possible to reduce the dosage of propofol, thereby shortening the waking time and reducing adverse events. This form of monitoring should be taken into consideration in the future for systematic use in prolonged sedation, as in the case of EBUS. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Comparison of bispectral index and entropy monitoring in patients undergoing internalisation of deep brain stimulators

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Suparna Bharadwaj

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Depth of anaesthesia (DOA monitors are shown to reduce the intra-operative dose of anaesthetic agents, provide haemodynamic stability and shorten emergence times. Electroencephalography (EEG based DOA monitors such as bispectral index (BIS and entropy have been calibrated and validated in healthy subjects. Hence the clinical effectiveness of these monitors may be affected when monitoring patients with neurological disorders (e.g., epilepsy, dystonia, dementia and Parkinson's disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether BIS and entropy correlate with each other and with clinical indices of DOA in patients with movement disorders under general anaesthesia (GA. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective, observational study in patients with movement disorders undergoing internalization of deep brain stimulators. All patients received standard GA with age-adjusted mean alveolar concentration (aaMAC of an inhalational agent between 0.7 and 1.1. BIS and entropy sensors were applied on the patient's left forehead. Data collected included clinical parameters and EEG-based DOA indices. Correlation analysis was performed between entropy, BIS and the clinical indices of DOA. Bland Altman analysis was performed to determine the agreement between BIS and entropy. Results: Thirty patients were studied (mean age was 58.4 ± 11 years, male: female 18:12 and weight 79.2 ± 17 kg. Indications for deep brain stimulation were Parkinson's disease (n = 25, essential tremors (n = 2 and dystonia (n = 3. There was a very strong positive correlation between BIS and response entropy (RE (r = 0.932 and BIS and state entropy (SE (r = 0.950 and a strong negative correlation among aaMAC and BIS, RE and SE with r values of −0.686, −0.788 and −0.732, respectively. However, there was no correlation between BIS, RE, SE and haemodynamic values. Conclusion: Our study showed that BIS and entropy perform well in patients with movement disorders

Anesthesia for arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the beach chair position: monitoring of cerebral oxygenation using combined bispectral index and near-infrared spectroscopy.

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Kawano, Hiroaki; Matsumoto, Tomomi

2014-10-01

Recent research has shown that cerebrovascular complications following shoulder surgery performed in the beach chair position under general anesthesia arise secondary to cerebral ischemia. Appropriate management of cerebral oxygenation is thus one of the primary goals of anesthetic management during such procedures. The present report describes the case of a 65-year-old male patient, in which both bispectral index (BIS) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were used to monitor cerebral oxygenation. During the positioning, we observed an increased suppression ratio (SR) while BIS and regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) were at adequate level. In view of the difference in blood pressure between the heart and the base of the brain, blood pressure was maintained to ensure adequate cerebral perfusion. Although intraoperative rSO2 was at or around the cut-off point (a 12% relative decrease from baseline), no marked decrease in BIS or further increase in the SR was observed. Monitoring of cerebral perfusion using combined BIS and NIRS optimized anesthetic management during the performance of arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the beach chair position.

Quando o índice bispectral (BIS pode fornecer valores espúrios Cuando el índice bispectral (BIS puede suministrar valores falsos When the bispectral index (Bis can give false results

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Leonardo Teixeira Domingues Duarte

2009-02-01

profundidad de la anestesia, reduce el aparecimiento del despertar y memoria intraoperatoria. Esa revisión tuvo el objetivo de presentar situaciones clínicas en que el BIS denota valores no verdaderos, que están falsamente elevados o reducidos, debido a condiciones del paciente o a acciones de anestésicos no previstos cuando se elaboró su algoritmo. CONTENIDO: Los valores del BIS pueden sufrir la alteración y el influjo en múltiples situaciones clínicas en que existen estándares anormales del EEG; efecto de diferentes anestésicos y otros fármacos no incluidos en la elaboración de su algoritmo; interferencia por equipos eléctricos; o debido a peculiaridades del monitor. CONCLUSIÓN: A pesar de que el algoritmo del BIS haya sufrido diversas alteraciones desde su primera versión, esas situaciones que determinan variaciones falsas de los valores del BIS, deben ser reconocidas por el anestesiólogo para evitar complicaciones, sean a causa de la sobredosis anestésica, o por subdosis que podrán causar el despertar y la memoria intraoperatoria.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The bispectral index (BIS is a multifactorial parameter derived from the electroencephalogram (EEG, which allows monitoring of the hypnotic component of anesthesia. It was obtained from the algorithm based on the analysis of a large number of EEGs from volunteers and patients undergoing sedation and general anesthesia with different anesthetic agents. The use of BIS to monitor the depth of anesthesia reduces the incidence of intraoperative awakening and recall, among other benefits. The objective of this review was to present clinical situations in which the BIS gives false results, either elevated or decreased, due to conditions related to the patient or anesthetic actions unforeseen when the algorithm was elaborated. CONTENTS: The bispectral index can be altered and influenced in different clinical situations in which abnormal EEG patterns are present; the effects of different anesthetics and other

Awareness of bispectral index monitoring system among the critical care nursing personnel in a tertiary care hospital of India

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Shikha Thakur

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Bispectral index monitoring system (BIS is one of the several systems used to measure the effects of anaesthetic and sedative drugs on the brain and to track changes in the patient′s level of sedation and hypnosis. BIS monitoring provides information clinically relevant to the adjustment of dosages of sedating medication. It can help the nursing personnel in preventing under- and over sedation among intensive care unit (ICU patients. Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge of nursing personnel working in the ICU regarding BIS. Methods: Fifty-four subjects participated in the study. A structured questionnaire was developed to assess the knowledge of the nursing personnel regarding BIS. Focus group discussions were held among the nursing personnel to know their views regarding BIS. Results: Mean age (years of the subjects was 30.7΁7.19 (21-47 years, with a female preponderance. Although the use of BIS in ICU is not common, majority (94.44% were aware of BIS and its purpose. 79.62% of the subjects knew about its implication in patient care. The mean knowledge score of the subjects was 11.87΁2.43 (maximum score being 15. Conclusion: There exists an awareness among the critical care nursing staff in our institution regarding BIS and its clinical implications. Its use in the critical care setting may benefit the patients in terms of providing optimal sedation.

Can bispectral index or auditory evoked potential index predict implicit memory during propofol-induced sedation?

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Wang, Yun; Yue, Yun; Sun, Yong-hai; Wu, An-shi

2006-06-05

Some patients still suffer from implicit memory of intraoperative events under adequate depth of anaesthesia. The elimination of implicit memory should be a necessary aim of clinical general anaesthesia. However, implicit memory cannot be tested during anaesthesia yet. We propose bispectral index (BIS) and auditory evoked potential index (AEPI), as predictors of implicit memory during anaesthesia. Thirty-six patients were equally divided into 3 groups according to the Observer's Assessment of Alertness/Sedation Score: A, level 3; B, level 2; and C, level 1. Every patient was given the first auditory stimulus before sedation. Then every patient received the second auditory stimulus after the target level of sedation had been reached. BIS and AEPI were monitored before and after the second auditory stimulus presentation. Four hours later, the inclusion test and exclusion test were performed on the ward using process dissociation procedure and the scores of implicit memory estimated. In groups A and B but not C, implicit memory estimates were statistically greater than zero (P memory scores in group A did not differ significantly from those in group B (P > 0.05). Implicit memory scores correlated with BIS and AEPI (P AEPI. The 95% cutoff points of BIS and AEPI for predicting implicit memory are 47 and 28, respectively. Implicit memory does not disappear until the depth of sedation increases to level 1 of OAA/S score. Implicit memory scores correlate well with BIS and AEPI during sedation. BIS is a better index for predicting implicit memory than AEPI during propofol induced sedation.

[Pneumocephalus as a cause of a decrease in the bispectral index].

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Herreras Gutiérrez, J L; Gilsanz Rodríguez, F

2014-01-01

A sharp decrease in the values of the bispectral index (BIS), along with an increase in suppression rate, was observed in a patient after the removal of an epidermoid tumor in the cerebellopontine angle by right retrosigmoid access under general anesthesia. This was probably related to a frontal pneumocephalus. No accompanying neurological signs were observed. The patient was extubated in the Recovery Room with no further incidents, as the BIS increased again. The neurosurgeons chose conservative treatment, relying on the reabsorption and redistribution of the air. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Should we monitor with bispectral index in all patients at high risk for seizures in the operating room?

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Elgueta, M F; Vega, P; Lema, G; Clede, L

2013-10-01

We report the case of a patient with a cerebral aneurysm, located in the left middle cerebral artery. During the clipping of this aneurysm, the bispectral index (BIS) increased for no apparent reason. This was then interpreted as intraoperative non-convulsive status epilepticus. This clinical condition may have negative impact in the prognosis of the patient, so it is very important to be able to detect this conditions as early as possible. Measuring the BIS while the patient is anaesthetised could be useful in this situation, considering that an increase in values greater than 60, associated with acidosis and without any other peri-anaesthetic explanation, may provide evidence of a convulsive equivalent state, allowing appropriate action to be taken. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Effect of relaxation on working memory and the Bispectral Index of the EEG.

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Hudetz, Judith A; Hudetz, Anthony G; Reddy, Diane M

2004-08-01

Beneficial effects of relaxation on cardiovascular and immune functions and on memory has been implied but an empirical relationship between task performance and anxiety reduction has not been reported. In this study, we investigated whether guided imagery of relatively short duration would decrease S-Anxiety and electroencephalogram Bispectral Index and improve working memory. 42 participants (age: M=39, SD=11, 14 men, 28 women, university students and VA Medical Center employees, recruited by their professor or by fellow employees) underwent relaxation by 16-min. guided imagery or no treatment (control). Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the WAIS-III Letter-Number Sequencing Test were administered before and after relaxation. S-Anxiety and BIS Index decreased and the Letter-Number test score increased by 30% after relaxation but not in the control group. This score was higher for participants with low anxiety and BIS Index. There was no significant difference between the groups before treatment. The results suggest that guided imagery of short duration produces relaxation as measured by psychological and neurophysiological indices and improves working memory performance.

An Adaptive Monitoring Scheme for Automatic Control of Anaesthesia in dynamic surgical environments based on Bispectral Index and Blood Pressure.

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Yu, Yu-Ning; Doctor, Faiyaz; Fan, Shou-Zen; Shieh, Jiann-Shing

2018-04-13

During surgical procedures, bispectral index (BIS) is a well-known measure used to determine the patient's depth of anesthesia (DOA). However, BIS readings can be subject to interference from many factors during surgery, and other parameters such as blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) can provide more stable indicators. However, anesthesiologist still consider BIS as a primary measure to determine if the patient is correctly anaesthetized while relaying on the other physiological parameters to monitor and ensure the patient's status is maintained. The automatic control of administering anesthesia using intelligent control systems has been the subject of recent research in order to alleviate the burden on the anesthetist to manually adjust drug dosage in response physiological changes for sustaining DOA. A system proposed for the automatic control of anesthesia based on type-2 Self Organizing Fuzzy Logic Controllers (T2-SOFLCs) has been shown to be effective in the control of DOA under simulated scenarios while contending with uncertainties due to signal noise and dynamic changes in pharmacodynamics (PD) and pharmacokinetic (PK) effects of the drug on the body. This study considers both BIS and BP as part of an adaptive automatic control scheme, which can adjust to the monitoring of either parameter in response to changes in the availability and reliability of BIS signals during surgery. The simulation of different control schemes using BIS data obtained during real surgical procedures to emulate noise and interference factors have been conducted. The use of either or both combined parameters for controlling the delivery Propofol to maintain safe target set points for DOA are evaluated. The results show that combing BIS and BP based on the proposed adaptive control scheme can ensure the target set points and the correct amount of drug in the body is maintained even with the intermittent loss of BIS signal that could otherwise disrupt an automated control system.

Changes to the bispectral index and regional cerebral blood flow in a sedative state, caused by midazolam administration

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池田, 淳子; イケダ, ジュンコ; Junko, IKEDA

2006-01-01

Psychosedation, as used in the field of dentistry, is intended to provide trouble-free dental care while maintaining a proper level of sedation. One drug used in psychosedation is midazolam, which is known to have a strong amnestic effect. In the current research, I sought to clarify whether the bispectral index (BIS) using EEC analysis can be used for assessment of optimal sedation in psychosedation, and what effects midazolam has on the cerebrum's mechanism of memory. The subjects were 17 h...

Protocol for the BAG-RECALL clinical trial: a prospective, multi-center, randomized, controlled trial to determine whether a bispectral index-guided protocol is superior to an anesthesia gas-guided protocol in reducing intraoperative awareness with explicit recall in high risk surgical patients

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Villafranca Alex

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Awareness with explicit recall of intra-operative events is a rare and distressing complication that may lead to severe psychological symptoms. Candidate depth of anesthesia monitors have been developed, partly with the aim of preventing this complication. Despite conflicting results from clinical trials and the lack of incisive validation, such monitors have enjoyed widespread clinical adoption, in particular the bispectral index. The American Society of Anesthesiologists has called for adequately powered and rigorously designed clinical trials to determine whether the use of such monitors decreases the incidence of awareness in various settings. The aim of this study is to determine with increased precision whether incorporating the bispectral index into a structured general anesthesia protocol decreases the incidence of awareness with explicit recall among a subset of surgical patients at increased risk for awareness and scheduled to receive an inhalation gas-based general anesthetic. Methods/Design BAG-RECALL is a multi-center, randomized, controlled clinical trial, in which 6,000 patients are being assigned to bispectral index-guided anesthesia (target range, 40 to 60 or end-tidal anesthetic gas-guided anesthesia (target range, 0.7 to 1.3 age-adjusted minimum alveolar concentration. Postoperatively, patients are being assessed for explicit recall at two intervals (0 to 72 hours, and 30 days after extubation. The primary outcome of the trial is awareness with explicit recall. Secondary outcomes include postoperative mortality, psychological symptoms, intensive care and hospital length of stay, average anesthetic gas administration, postoperative pain and nausea and vomiting, duration of stay in the recovery area, intra-operative dreaming, and postoperative delirium. Discussion This trial has been designed to complement two other clinical trials: B-Unaware and MACS (ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT00281489 and NCT00689091

Capnography and the Bispectral Index—Their Role in Pediatric Sedation: A Brief Review

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Maria Sammartino

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Sedation in children is increasingly emerging as a minimally invasive technique that may be associated with local anaesthesia or diagnostic and therapeutic procedures which do not necessarily require general anaesthesia. Standard monitoring requirements are not sufficient to ensure an effective control of pulmonary ventilation and deep sedation. Capnography in pediatric sedation assesses the effect of different drugs on the occurrence of respiratory failure and records early indicators of respiratory impairment. The Bispectral index (BIS allows the reduction of dose requirements of anaesthetic drugs, the reduction in the time to extubation and eye opening, and the reduction in the time to discharge. In the field of pediatric sedation, capnography should be recommended to prevent respiratory complications, particularly in spontaneous ventilation. The use of the BIS index, however, needs further investigation due to a lack of evidence, especially in infants. In this paper, we will investigate the role of capnography and the BIS index in improving monitoring standards in pediatric sedation.

The accuracy and clinical feasibility of a new Bayesian-based closed-loop control system for propofol administration using the bispectral index as a controlled variable

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De Smet, Tom; Struys, Michel M. R. F.; Neckebroek, Martine M.; Van den Hauwe, Kristof; Bonte, Sjoert; Mortier, Eric P.

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: Closed-loop control of the hypnotic component of anesthesia has been proposed in an attempt to optimize drug delivery. Here, we introduce a newly developed Bayesian-based, patient-individualized, model-based, adaptive control method for bispectral index (BIS) guided propofol infusion

The utility of bispectral index monitoring for prevention of rocuronium-induced withdrawal movement in children: A randomized controlled trial.

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Lim, Byung Gun; Lee, Il Ok; Kim, Young Sung; Won, Young Ju; Kim, Heezoo; Kong, Myoung Hoon

2017-01-01

This study was designed to determine whether a deep hypnotic state with a bispectral index (BIS) value less than 40 could alleviate withdrawal movement (WM) upon rocuronium injection during anesthesia induction in children. Finally, 135 healthy children (3-12 years) scheduled for minor elective surgery were studied. Without premedication, anesthesia was induced with thiopental sodium 5 mg/kg. Patients were randomized into 2 groups (control vs experimental) and then by virtue of rocuronium injection time, patients in the experimental group were allocated into 2 groups, as follows: in the control group (group C; n = 45), rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg was administered at the loss of eyelash reflex; in the 1st experimental group, rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg was administered when BIS fell to less than 40 (group T; n = 45); however, if BIS did not fall below 40 after thiopental sodium administration, manual ventilation was provided with oxygen 6 L/minute using sevoflurane 8% and then rocuronium was administered when BIS fell below 40 (the 2nd experimental group, group S; n = 45). Rocuronium-induced WM was evaluated using a 4-point scale (no movement; movement/withdrawal involving the arm only; generalized response, with movement/withdrawal of more than 1 extremity, but no requirement for restraint of the body; and generalized response which required restraint of the body and caused coughing or breath-holding). No significant differences were found among the groups for patient characteristics including age, sex, height, and location of venous cannula. However, body weight, height, and body mass index in group S were all smaller than those in group T. The incidence of WM caused by rocuronium was 100% in group C, 95.6% in group T, and 80% in group S, and was significantly lower in group S than in group C. The grade of WM was 3.7 ± 0.6 in group C, 3.2 ± 0.9 in group T, and 2.6 ± 1.0 in group S. It was significantly lower in group T than in group C and

Lower Bispectral index values in psychiatric patients: A prospective, observational study

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Venkatapura J Ramesh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background : Bispectral index score (BIS is a processed electroencephalographic parameter used to measure level of sedation in anaesthetised patients. In few studies of psychiatric patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, it was observed that the BIS values were lower at baseline. It is not clear from those studies whether the BIS values are really low. Also, it is not clear whether the lower values are related to the primary psychiatric illness or the due to the effect of ECT. Therefore, we studied the BIS values in psychiatric illnesses and compared them with the normal controls. Materials and Methods : BIS index was recorded in 237 patients with various psychiatric illness (Group P and 40 control patients without any psychiatric illness undergoing spinal surgery (Group C. BIS values were recorded in supine position before breakfast and before the morning doses of antipsychotic/benzodiazepine medications. It was recorded during resting state in all the subjects. Results : BIS values were lower in group P compared to control group (a mean of 89.8 ± 7.8 vs 95.7 ± 2.4, P < 0.0001. In the group P, the patients with psychosis and bipolar disorder had significantly lower BIS values than the patients with depression (P = 0.04. Conclusions : BIS values in psychiatric patients are lower than those in the control group. Psychotic and bipolar disorders are associated with significantly lower BIS values than the depression.

Nitrous Oxide and Nitrous Oxide-Free Low-Flow Anesthesia Using Bispectral Index Monitoring: Effects on Hemodynamics, Recovery Times, Volatile Anesthetic Consumption and Costs

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Bengü Gülhan Köksal

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: In this study, we aimed to compare the effects of desfluraneN2O and desflurane-fentanyl combinations on hemodynamics, recovery times, volatile anesthetic consumption and costs in low-flow desflurane anesthesia by bispectral index (BIS monitoring of depth of anesthesia. Methods: After approval of ethics committee and obtaining patient consents, 60 patients were divided into two equal groups randomly. Non-invasive blood pressure measurement, ECG, SpO2 and BIS were monitored. All patients received 10 L .min-1 100% oxygen with mask for 5 minute before intubation. 2 mg.kg-1 propofol, 2 μg.kg-1 fentanyl and 0.6 mg.kg-1 rocuronium bromide were administered at induction in both groups. Desfluran 6% was chosen for anesthesia maintenance. Group 1 received 50% O2-N2O mixture in 6 L.min-1 and Group 2 received 50% O2-air mixture in 6 L.min-1 as carrier gas. Low-flow anesthesia (1 L.min-1 was started after a 10-min period of initial high flow (6 L.min-1. In Group 2, infusion of fentanyl was begun in 1 μg.kg.hour-1 rate. Desflurane level was adjusted at a main BIS value of 40-60. Blood pressure, heart rate, FiO2, etO2, FiN22, EtN2O, FiCO2, EtCO2, Fidesfluran and Etdesflurane were recorded. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of heart rate, arterial blood pressure, settings of desfluran and recovery time. BIS values (p<0.001 and anesthetic agent costs (p<0.001 were higher in Group 2. Conclusion: Using fentanyl infusion instead of nitrous oxide in low flow-anesthesia with desflurane did not alter the hemodynamic parameters. Fentanyl infusion with medical air-oxygen as carrier gas is an alternative technique, but increases BIS values and anesthetic agent costs. (The Medical Bulletin of Haseki 2010; 48: 132-8

Nonlinear damage detection in composite structures using bispectral analysis

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Ciampa, Francesco; Pickering, Simon; Scarselli, Gennaro; Meo, Michele

2014-03-01

Literature offers a quantitative number of diagnostic methods that can continuously provide detailed information of the material defects and damages in aerospace and civil engineering applications. Indeed, low velocity impact damages can considerably degrade the integrity of structural components and, if not detected, they can result in catastrophic failure conditions. This paper presents a nonlinear Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) method, based on ultrasonic guided waves (GW), for the detection of the nonlinear signature in a damaged composite structure. The proposed technique, based on a bispectral analysis of ultrasonic input waveforms, allows for the evaluation of the nonlinear response due to the presence of cracks and delaminations. Indeed, such a methodology was used to characterize the nonlinear behaviour of the structure, by exploiting the frequency mixing of the original waveform acquired from a sparse array of sensors. The robustness of bispectral analysis was experimentally demonstrated on a damaged carbon fibre reinforce plastic (CFRP) composite panel, and the nonlinear source was retrieved with a high level of accuracy. Unlike other linear and nonlinear ultrasonic methods for damage detection, this methodology does not require any baseline with the undamaged structure for the evaluation of the nonlinear source, nor a priori knowledge of the mechanical properties of the specimen. Moreover, bispectral analysis can be considered as a nonlinear elastic wave spectroscopy (NEWS) technique for materials showing either classical or non-classical nonlinear behaviour.

Clinical vs. bispectral index-guided propofol induction of anesthesia: A comparative study

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Snehdeep Arya

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Clinically optimized focusing of drug administration to specific need of patient with bispectral index (BIS monitoring results in reduced dose and faster recovery of consciousness. This study was planned with an aim to study and compare the conventional clinical end point or BIS on the requirement of dosage of propofol, hemodynamic effects, and BIS alterations following propofol induction. Methods: 70 patients, ASA I and II, 20-60 years undergoing elective surgical procedure under general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation were selected and divided into two groups. Group A received (inj. fentanyl (2 μg/kg, followed 3 min later by inj. propofol at the rate of 30 mg/kg/hr infusion till the loss of response to verbal command while group B received inj. fentanyl (2 μg/kg, followed 3 min later by inj. propofol at the rate of 30 mg/kg/hr infusion. The end point of hypnosis was when the BIS value was sustained for 1 min at 48±2. The patients were intubated. Total induction dose of propofol was noted in each group. The value of BIS and hemodynamic parameters (heart rate, systolic/diastolic blood pressure were noted at the time of loss of consciousness, at the time of intubation, and 1 min after intubation, thereafter every minute for first 10 min and thereafter every 10 min till end of surgery. Any involuntary muscle activity such as jerky movements, dystonic posturing, and opisthotonos were also recorded. Results: The mean dose of propofol used in groups A and B were 1.85±0.48 mg/kg and 1.79±0.41 mg/kg, respectively. The dosage used in group B were less but not clinically significant (P=0.575. On comparing the dosage of propofol in males among the groups there was a significantly lower dosage of propofol required in group B (2.06±0.45 mg/kg and 1.83±0.32 mg/kg, respectively, P=0.016. This decrease however was not seen in female patients dosage being 1.65±0.44 mg/kg and 1.75±0.49 mg/kg, respectively (P=0.372. The hemodynamic

Comparison of Bispectral Index and Entropy values with electroencephalogram during surgical anaesthesia with sevoflurane.

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Aho, A J; Kamata, K; Jäntti, V; Kulkas, A; Hagihira, S; Huhtala, H; Yli-Hankala, A

2015-08-01

Concomitantly recorded Bispectral Index® (BIS) and Entropy™ values sometimes show discordant trends during general anaesthesia. Previously, no attempt had been made to discover which EEG characteristics cause discrepancies between BIS and Entropy. We compared BIS and Entropy values, and analysed the changes in the raw EEG signal during surgical anaesthesia with sevoflurane. In this prospective, open-label study, 65 patients receiving general anaesthesia with sevoflurane were enrolled. BIS, Entropy and multichannel digital EEG were recorded. Concurrent BIS and State Entropy (SE) values were selected. Whenever BIS and SE values showed ≥10-unit disagreement for ≥60 s, the raw EEG signal was analysed both in time and frequency domain. A ≥10-unit disagreement ≥60 s was detected 428 times in 51 patients. These 428 episodes accounted for 5158 (11%) out of 45 918 analysed index pairs. During EEG burst suppression, SE was higher than BIS in 35 out of 49 episodes. During delta-theta dominance, BIS was higher than SE in 141 out of 157 episodes. During alpha or beta activity, SE was higher than BIS in all 49 episodes. During electrocautery, both BIS and SE changed, sometimes in the opposite direction, but returned to baseline values after electrocautery. Electromyography caused index disagreement four times (BIS > SE). Certain specific EEG patterns, and artifacts, are associated with discrepancies between BIS and SE. Time and frequency domain analyses of the original EEG improve the interpretation of studies involving BIS, Entropy and other EEG-based indices. NCT01077674. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Discrete-continuous bispectral operators and rational Darboux transformations

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Boyallian, Carina; Portillo, Sofia

2010-01-01

In this Letter we construct examples of discrete-continuous bispectral operators obtained by rational Darboux transformations applied to a regular pseudo-difference operator with constant coefficients. Moreover, we give an explicit procedure to write down the differential operators involved in the bispectral situation corresponding to the pseudo-difference operator obtained by the Darboux process.

Validation of the bispectral index as an indicator of anesthetic depth in Thoroughbred horses anesthetized with sevoflurane.

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Tokushige, Hirotaka; Kakizaki, Masashi; Ode, Hirotaka; Okano, Atsushi; Okada, Jun; Kuroda, Taisuke; Wakuno, Ai; Ohta, Minoru

2016-01-01

To evaluate the bispectral index (BIS) as an indicator of anesthetic depth in Thoroughbred horses, BIS values were measured at multiple stages of sevoflurane anesthesia in five horses anesthetized with guaifenesin and thiopental following premedication with xylazine. There was no significant difference between the BIS values recorded at end-tidal sevoflurane concentrations of 2.8% (median 60 ranging from 47 to 68) and 3.5% (median 71 ranging from 49 to 82) in anesthetized horses. These BIS values during anesthesia were significantly lower (Phorses (median 98 ranging from 98 to 98) or sedated horses (median 92 ranging from 80 to 93). During the recovery phase, the BIS values gradually increased over time but did not significantly increase until the horses showed movement. In conclusion, the BIS value could be useful as an indicator of awakening during the recovery period in horses, as previous reported.

Comparison of Hemodynamic Variations, Bispectral Index and Myoclonus Score of Propofol Dosage in Anesthesia Induced Patients

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Gh. Shabanian

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Aims: Propofol is the most widely used intravenous anesthetic medication. It is necessary to assess the doses of the medication to determine proper anesthetic depth and to prevent its side-effects. The aim of this study was to compare 1 and 2.5mg/Kg doses of propofol in hemodynamic changes, myoclonus degree, and bi-spectral index (BIS monitoring level in patients under anesthetic induction. Materials & Methods: In the two-blind random clinical trial study, 92 patients being candidate for surgery wit general anesthesia induction were studied in Shahr-e Kord Kashani Center in 2013. The subjects, selected via simple sampling method, were randomly divided into two groups. The first and the second groups were received 1 and 2.5mg/kg doses of propofol, respectively. Hemodynamic, myoclonus, and BIS indices were measured at four different times in the groups. Data was analyzed by SPSS 17 using independent T and Chi-square tests, as well as repeated ANOVA and Fisher’s test. Findings: There was no significant difference between the groups in the hemodynamic variables such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure, pulse rate, and BIS (p>0.05. In addition, the change rates of the variables were the same. Nevertheless, there was a significant difference between the groups in the pulse change rate (p=0.032. There was no significant difference between the groups in myoclonus (p>0.05. Conclusion: The hemodynamic changes and the changes in myoclonus degree and BIS are the same in 1 and 2.5mg/kg doses of propofol in the patients undergoing anesthetic induction.

Anesthesia recovery comparison between remifentanil-propofol and remifentanil-desflurane guided by Bispectral Index® monitoring

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Raphael Grossi Rocha

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background and objectives: There is a strong demand for fast and predictable anesthesia recovery with few side effects. Choice of the hypnotic agent could impact on that. This study investigated the differences between recoveries after remifentanil-propofol and remifentanil-desflurane anesthesias guided by bispectral index (BIS®. Methods: Forty patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups according to the anesthesia technique applied: remifentanil-propofol (REM-PRO and remifentanil-desflurane (REM-DES. After the discontinuation of the anesthetics, the times to extubation, to obey commands and to recover the airway protection reflex were recorted. In the post-anesthetic recovery room (PACU it was recorded the occurrence of nausea and vomiting (PONV, scores of Ramsay sedation scale and of numeric pain scale (NPS, morphine dose and length of stay in the unit. Results: Data from 38 patients were analyzed: 18 from REM-PRO and 20 from REM-DES group. Anesthesia times were similar (REM-PRO = 193 min, SD 79.9 vs. 175.7 min, SD 87.9 REM-DES; p = 0.5. REM-DES had shorter times than REM-PRO group: time to follow command (8.5 min; SD 3.0 vs. 5.6 min; SD 2.5; p = 0.0 and extubation time (6.2 min; 3.1–8.5 vs. 9.5 min; 4.9–14.4; p = 0.0. Times to recover airway protective reflex were similar: 16 patients from REM-PRO (88.9% restored the airway protective reflex 2 min after extubation vs. 17 from REM-DES (89.5%; and 2 patients from REM-PRO (11.1% vs. 2 from REM-DES (10.5% 6 min after extubation, p = 1. Ramsay sedation score, NPS, PONV incidents, morphine dose and PACU stay of length PACU were also similar. Conclusion: Remifentanil-desflurane-based anesthesia has a faster extubation time and to follow command than remifentanil-propofol-based anesthesia when both guided by BIS®. Resumo: Justificativa e objetivos: Há uma forte demanda por recuperação pós-anestésica rápida e previsível com poucos efeitos adversos. A escolha do agente

Neuroprotective effect of bispectral index-guided fast-track anesthesia using sevoflurane combined with dexmedetomidine for intracranial aneurysm embolization

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Chao-liang Tang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Dexmedetomidine has sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, anti-sympathetic, and anti-shivering effects. Dexmedetomidine might be effective in combination with sevoflurane for anesthesia, but prospective randomized controlled clinical trials with which to verify this hypothesis are lacking. In total, 120 patients who underwent embolization of an intracranial aneurysm were recruited from Anhui Provincial Hospital and Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University of China and randomly allocated to two groups. After intraoperative administration of 2% to 3% sevoflurane inhalation, one group of patients received pump-controlled intravenous injection of 1.0 μg/kg dexmedetomidine for 15 minutes followed by maintenance with 0.3 μg/kg/h until the end of surgery; the other group of patients only underwent pump-controlled infusion of saline. Bispectral index monitoring revealed that dexmedetomidine-assisted anesthesia can shorten the recovery time of spontaneous breathing, time to eye opening, and time to laryngeal mask removal. Before anesthetic induction and immediately after laryngeal mask airway removal, the glucose and lactate levels were low, the S100β and neuron-specific enolase levels were low, the perioperative blood pressure and heart rate were stable, and postoperative delirium was minimal. These findings indicate that dexmedetomidine can effectively assist sevoflurane for anesthesia during surgical embolization of intracranial aneurysms, shorten the time to consciousness and extubation, reduce the stress response and energy metabolism, stabilize hemodynamic parameters, and reduce adverse reactions, thereby reducing the damage to the central nervous system. This trial was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/ (registration number: ChiCTR-IPR-16008113.

Spin Calogero Particles and Bispectral Solutions of the Matrix KP Hierarchy

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Bergvelt, Maarten; Gekhtman, Michael; Kasman, Alex

2009-01-01

Pairs of nxn matrices whose commutator differ from the identity by a matrix of rank r are used to construct bispectral differential operators with rxr matrix coefficients satisfying the Lax equations of the Matrix KP hierarchy. Moreover, the bispectral involution on these operators has dynamical significance for the spin Calogero particles system whose phase space such pairs represent. In the case r = 1, this reproduces well-known results of Wilson and others from the 1990's relating (spinless) Calogero-Moser systems to the bispectrality of (scalar) differential operators

Differences between state entropy and bispectral index during analysis of identical electroencephalogram signals: a comparison with two randomised anaesthetic techniques.

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Pilge, Stefanie; Kreuzer, Matthias; Karatchiviev, Veliko; Kochs, Eberhard F; Malcharek, Michael; Schneider, Gerhard

2015-05-01

It is claimed that bispectral index (BIS) and state entropy reflect an identical clinical spectrum, the hypnotic component of anaesthesia. So far, it is not known to what extent different devices display similar index values while processing identical electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. To compare BIS and state entropy during analysis of identical EEG data. Inspection of raw EEG input to detect potential causes of erroneous index calculation. Offline re-analysis of EEG data from a randomised, single-centre controlled trial using the Entropy Module and an Aspect A-2000 monitor. Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich. Forty adult patients undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia. Blocked randomisation of 20 patients per anaesthetic group (sevoflurane/remifentanil or propofol/remifentanil). Isolated forearm technique for differentiation between consciousness and unconsciousness. Prediction probability (PK) of state entropy to discriminate consciousness from unconsciousness. Correlation and agreement between state entropy and BIS from deep to light hypnosis. Analysis of raw EEG compared with index values that are in conflict with clinical examination, with frequency measures (frequency bands/Spectral Edge Frequency 95) and visual inspection for physiological EEG patterns (e.g. beta or delta arousal), pathophysiological features such as high-frequency signals (electromyogram/high-frequency EEG or eye fluttering/saccades), different types of electro-oculogram or epileptiform EEG and technical artefacts. PK of state entropy was 0.80 and of BIS 0.84; correlation coefficient of state entropy with BIS 0.78. Nine percent BIS and 14% state entropy values disagreed with clinical examination. Highest incidence of disagreement occurred after state transitions, in particular for state entropy after loss of consciousness during sevoflurane anaesthesia. EEG sequences which led to false 'conscious' index values often showed high

Comparative study of Poincaré plot analysis using short electroencephalogram signals during anaesthesia with spectral edge frequency 95 and bispectral index.

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Hayashi, K; Yamada, T; Sawa, T

2015-03-01

The return or Poincaré plot is a non-linear analytical approach in a two-dimensional plane, where a timed signal is plotted against itself after a time delay. Its scatter pattern reflects the randomness and variability in the signals. Quantification of a Poincaré plot of the electroencephalogram has potential to determine anaesthesia depth. We quantified the degree of dispersion (i.e. standard deviation, SD) along the diagonal line of the electroencephalogram-Poincaré plot (named as SD1/SD2), and compared SD1/SD2 values with spectral edge frequency 95 (SEF95) and bispectral index values. The regression analysis showed a tight linear regression equation with a coefficient of determination (R(2) ) value of 0.904 (p plot tightly correlates with SEF95, reflecting anaesthesia-dependent changes in electroencephalogram oscillation. © 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

Effect of rocuronium on the bispectral index under anesthesia and tracheal intubation.

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Yue, Hui; Han, Jinyu; Liu, Ling; Wang, Kaiyuan; Li, Jincheng

2016-12-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of various doses of rocuronium on bispectral index (BIS) responses to propofol induction and tracheal intubation, as well as the role of the non-depolarization muscle relaxant rocuronium on the depth of sedation. A total of 72 patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-II) were anaesthetized with propofol using a target-controlled infusion, and randomly divided into two sedation level groups (n=36). The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the BIS value: A normal sedation group (group 1), with a stable BIS value at 40-60, and a deep sedation group (group 2), with a BIS value rocuronium (0.3, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2 mg/kg). Tracheal intubation was performed after 2 min of rocuronium administration. BIS, electromyography (EMG), heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded continuously and averaged over 1 min during baseline (T1), steady state (T2), 2 min after rocuronium infusion (T3), and 0, 2 and 5 min after tracheal intubation. The results demonstrated that HR and MAP decreased significantly at T2 and T3 compared with T1. Following tracheal intubation (L0), HR and MAP significantly increased compared with T2 and T3, and returned to levels similar to those prior to intubation after 5 min. In group 1C and 1D, BIS was significantly decreased at T3 compared with T2; BIS was significantly increased at L0 compared with T3 in group 1A and 1B. EMG at earlier stages of anesthesia was significantly higher compared with other points, and was significantly increased at L0 compared with T3 in group 1A and 1B. These results demonstrated that BIS response may be associated with the dosage of rocuronium in the normal sedation group, although no association was observed with the deep sedation group. Tracheal intubation resulted in marked hemodynamic changes under both normal and deep sedation.

Changes to the bispectral index and regional cerebral blood flow in a sedative state, caused by midazolam administration

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Ikeda, Junko

2006-01-01

Psychosedation, as used in the field of dentistry, is intended to provide trouble-free dental care while maintaining a proper level of sedation. One drug used in psychosedation is midazolam, which is known to have a strong amnestic effect. In the current research, I sought to clarify whether the bispectral index (BIS) using electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis can be used for assessment of optimal sedation in psychosedation, and what effects midazolam has on the cerebrum's mechanism of memory. The subjects were 17 healthy adult volunteers. Intravenous sedation involved a single administration of 0.06 mg/kg midazolam, or 6 mg/kg/h propofol, administered for 5 minutes and then continuously administered for 25 minutes at 3 mg/kg/h. For nitrous oxide inhalation sedation, 10-30% nitrous oxide was used. Clinical sedation and the BIS were measured in a variety of circumstances. To examine the effects of midazolam on the central nervous system, changes in brain oxygen consumption in visual memory tasks were assessed through observing changes in areas of brain activation using 3T fMRI. With intravenous sedation using midazolam or propofol, the BIS decreased immediately after drug administration, and the BIS at which optimal sedation was clinically determined was about 65. In contrast, no decrease in the BIS was noted with nitrous oxide inhalation sedation. In observing areas of brain activation by fMRI, the oxygen consumption mainly of visual cortices in the occipital lobe increased as a result of stimulation by visual memory tasks. Regardless of the amnestic effect midazolam produced in subjects, it did not suppress activation of the visual cortices in the occipital lobe. In intravenous sedation using midazolam or propofol, the BIS is effective in determining optimal sedation, and appropriate perioperative management can be performed using the BIS. However, in nitrous oxide inhalation sedation it appears that the BIS cannot be used to monitor levels of sedation. Amnestic

Obesity does not influence the onset and offset of sevoflurane effect as measured by the hysteresis between sevoflurane concentration and bispectral index.

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Cortínez, Luis I; Gambús, Pedro; Trocóniz, Iñaki F; Echevarría, Ghislaine; Muñoz, Hernán R

2011-07-01

The onset and offset of action of anesthetic gases might be delayed by respiratory changes and gas exchange alterations present in obese patients. In this study, we assessed the influence of obesity on the hysteresis between sevoflurane and its effect as measured by the bispectral index (BIS). Because the use of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in obese patients has improved gas exchange, we also assessed the influence of PEEP on hysteresis. Fifteen obese and 15 normal-weight patients, ASA physical status I and II, 20 to 50 years old, scheduled to undergo general anesthesia for elective laparoscopic surgery, were prospectively studied. Anesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with sevoflurane and fentanyl. At the end of surgery and after stable BIS values of 60 to 65, the inspired concentration of sevoflurane was increased to 5 vol% for 5 minutes or until BIS was rate constant was not influenced by body mass index or PEEP (P > 0.05). Neither obesity nor PEEP showed any influence on the PK/PD descriptors. Our results do not support the hypothesis that obesity prolongs induction or recovery times when sevoflurane, a poorly soluble anesthetic, is used to maintain anesthesia from 90 to 120 minutes.

Feasibility of bispectral index-guided propofol infusion for flexible bronchoscopy sedation: a randomized controlled trial.

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Yu-Lun Lo

Full Text Available There are safety issues associated with propofol use for flexible bronchoscopy (FB. The bispectral index (BIS correlates well with the level of consciousness. The aim of this study was to show that BIS-guided propofol infusion is safe and may provide better sedation, benefiting the patients and bronchoscopists.After administering alfentanil bolus, 500 patients were randomized to either propofol infusion titrated to a BIS level of 65-75 (study group or incremental midazolam bolus based on clinical judgment to achieve moderate sedation. The primary endpoint was safety, while the secondary endpoints were recovery time, patient tolerance, and cooperation.The proportion of patients with hypoxemia or hypotensive events were not different in the 2 groups (study vs. control groups: 39.9% vs. 35.7%, p = 0.340; 7.4% vs. 4.4%, p = 0.159, respectively. The mean lowest blood pressure was lower in the study group. Logistic regression revealed male gender, higher American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, and electrocautery were associated with hypoxemia, whereas lower propofol dose for induction was associated with hypotension in the study group. The study group had better global tolerance (p<0.001, less procedural interference by movement or cough (13.6% vs. 36.1%, p<0.001; 30.0% vs. 44.2%, p = 0.001, respectively, and shorter time to orientation and ambulation (11.7±10.2 min vs. 29.7±26.8 min, p<0.001; 30.0±18.2 min vs. 55.7±40.6 min, p<0.001, respectively compared to the control group.BIS-guided propofol infusion combined with alfentanil for FB sedation provides excellent patient tolerance, with fast recovery and less procedure interference.ClinicalTrials. gov NCT00789815.

Response surface modeling of alfentanil-sevoflurane interaction on cardiorespiratory control and bispectral index.

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Dahan, A; Nieuwenhuijs, D; Olofsen, E; Sarton, E; Romberg, R; Teppema, L

2001-06-01

Respiratory depression is a serious side effect of anesthetics and opioids. The authors examined the influence of the combined administration of sevoflurane and alfentanil on ventilatory control, heart rate (HR), and Bispectral Index (BIS) in healthy volunteers. Step decreases in end-tidal partial pressure of oxygen from normoxia into hypoxia (approximately 50 mmHg) at constant end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (approximately 48 mmHg) were performed in nine male volunteers at various concentrations of alfentanil and sevoflurane, ranging from 0 to 50 ng/ml for alfentanil and from 0 to 0.4 end-tidal concentration (ET%) for sevoflurane, and with various combinations of alfentanil and sevoflurane. The alfentanil-sevoflurane interactions on normoxic resting (hypercapnic) ventilation (Vi), HR, hypoxic Vi, and HR responses and BIS were assessed by construction of response surfaces that related alfentanil and sevoflurane to effect using a population analysis. Concentration-effect relations were linear for alfentanil and sevoflurane. Synergistic interactions were observed for resting Vi and resting HR. Depression of Vi by 25% occurred at 38 +/- 11 ng/ml alfentanil (population mean +/- SE) and at 0.7 +/- 0.4 ET% sevoflurane. One possibility for 25% reduction when alfentanil and sevoflurane are combined is 13.4 ng/ml alfentanil plus 0.12 ET% sevoflurane. Additive interactions were observed for hypoxic Vi and HR responses and BIS. Depression of the hypoxic Vi response by 25% occurred at 16 +/- 1 ng/ml alfentanil and 0.14 +/- 0.05 ET% sevoflurane. The effect of sevoflurane on the BIS (25% reduction of BIS occurred at 0.45 +/- 0.08 ET%) was independent of the alfentanil concentration. Response surface modeling was used successfully to analyze the effect of interactions between two drugs on respiration. The combination of alfentanil and sevoflurane causes more depression of Vi and HR than does the summed effect of each drug administered separately. The effects of

The impact of age on bispectral index values and EEG bispectrum during anaesthesia with desflurane and halothane in children.

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Tirel, O; Wodey, E; Harris, R; Bansard, J Y; Ecoffey, C; Senhadji, L

2006-04-01

The relationship between end-tidal sevoflurane concentration, bispectral index (BIS) and the EEG bispectrum in children appears to be age dependent. The aim of this study was to quantify the BIS values at 1 MAC (minimum alveolar concentration) for desflurane and halothane, and explore the relationship with age for these anaesthetic agents in children. ECG, EEG and BIS were recorded continuously in 90 children aged 6-170 months requiring anaesthesia for elective surgery. Fifty children were anaesthetized with desflurane, and 40 children with halothane. Recordings were performed through to a steady state of 2 MAC, and thereafter at 1 and 0.5 MAC, respectively. The bispectrum of the EEG was estimated using MATLAB(c) software. A multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was used. At a steady state of 1 MAC, BIS values were significantly higher with halothane 62 (43-80) than desflurane 34 (18-64). BIS values were significantly correlated with age in both groups: DES (r(2)=0.57; PEEG bispectrum) were different for the two volatile anaesthetic agents. In children, BIS values are linked to age irrespective of the volatile anaesthetic agent used. The difference in BIS values for different agents at the same MAC can be explained by the specific effect on the EEG bispectrum induced by each anaesthetic agent, bringing into question the ability of the EEG bispectrum to accurately determine the depth of anaesthesia.

Bispectral index-guided general anaesthesia in combination with interscalene block reduces desflurane consumption in arthroscopic shoulder surgery: a clinical comparison of bupivacaine versus levobupivacaine.

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Ozturk, Levent; Kesimci, Elvin; Albayrak, Tuna; Kanbak, Orhan

2015-07-21

The goal of this study was to compare the influence of an interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) performed with either bupivacaine or levobupivacaine in conjunction with general anaesthesia (GA) on desflurane consumption, which was titrated to maintain the recovery profiles and postoperative analgesia while also keeping the bispectral index score (BIS) between 40 and 60 in patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Sixty patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery were prospectively randomized to receive GA with desflurane alone (group C) or in combination with a preoperative ISB by either bupivacaine 0.25 % (group B) 40 ml or levobupivacaine 0.25 % (group L) 40 ml. BIS scores or respiratory and hemodynamic parameters during the operation, recovery characteristics, consumed doses of desflurane and pain intensities were evaluated. The eye opening time was 4.0 ± 2.5 minutes for group B, 4.6 ± 2.4 minutes for group L, and 6.2 ± 2.1 minutes for group C (p surgery were higher in group C (p shoulder surgery. The trial registration number is ACTRN12613000381785.

Effects of Phenytoin Therapy on Bispectral Index and Haemodynamic Changes Following Induction and Tracheal Intubation

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Parmod P Bithal

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation (LTI increase blood pressure and heart rate (HR. Intensity of these changes is influenced by the anaesthetic depth assessed by the bispectral index (BIS. We determined the effect of phenytoin on anaesthetic depth and its influence on haemodynamics following LTI. Fifty patients of ASA grades I and II on oral phenytoin 200 to 300mg per day for more than one week were compared with 48 control patients. Standard anaesthesia technique was followed. BIS, non invasive mean blood pressure (MBP and HR were recorded 30, 60, 90 and 120 sec after LTI. Phenytoin group needed lesser thiopentone for induction, 5 mg (1.1 vs. 4.3 mg (0.7 [p=0.036]. BIS was significantly lower in the phenytoin group vs. the control 30, 60, 90 and 120 sec after LTI [43.1 (16.0 vs. 48.9 (14.9, p=0.068, 56.3 (16.7 vs. 64.3 (14.4, p=0.013, 59.8 (15.8 vs. 67.5 (12.1, p=0.008, 62.6 (14 vs. 68.9 (11.2, p=0.017, and 64.2 (11.3 vs. 69 (11.7, p=0.033], respectively. MBP was also lower in the phenytoin group 30, 60, 90 and 120 sec after LTI [112.8 mmHg (13.8, vs. 117.9 mmHg (18 p=0.013, 108.6 (12.8 vs. 117.5 (16 p=0.003, 106.1 mmHg (14.1 vs. 113.2 mmHg (14.9, p=0.017, 101.8 mmHg (13.8 vs. 109.5 mmHg (14.1, p=0.007], respectively. HR was lower in phenytoin group at 30 sec. (p=0.027, 60 sec (p=0.219, and again at 120 sec (p=0.022. Oral phenytoin therapy for over a week results in greater anaesthetic depth as observed using BIS, which also attenuated haemodynamic response of LTI.

Relationship between type of brain injury with Bispectral Index monitoring in intubated ICU trauma patients

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Omid Moradi Moghaddam

2015-05-01

Conclusion: Different kinds of acute traumatic cranial lesions with different prognosis may have different values in BIS monitoring. Presence or absence of frontal lobe injury, had no statistically significant correlations with BIS values.

Bispectral methods of signal processing applications in radar, telecommunications and digital image restoration

CERN Document Server

Totsky, Alexander V; Kravchenko, Victor F

2015-01-01

By studying applications in radar, telecommunications and digital image restoration, this monograph discusses signal processing techniques based on bispectral methods. Improved robustness against different forms of noise as well as preservation of phase information render this method a valuable alternative to common power-spectrum analysis used in radar object recognition, digital wireless communications, and jitter removal in images.

Cerebral state index during propofol anesthesia : A Comparison with the Bispectral Index and the A-Line ARX Index

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jensen, EW; Litvan, H; Revuelta, M; Rodriguez, BE; Caminal, P; Martinez, P; Vereecke, H; Struys, Michel MRF

Background: The objective of this study was to prospectively test the Cerebral State Index designed for measuring the depth of anesthesia. The Cerebral State Index is calculated using a fuzzy logic combination of four subparameters of the electroencephalographic signal. The performance of the

Bispectral experimental estimation of the nonlinear energy transfer in two-dimensional plasma turbulence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manz, P.; Ramisch, M.; Stroth, U.

2008-01-01

Experimental density and potential fluctuation data from a 2D probe array have been analysed to study the turbulent cascade in a toroidally confined magnetized plasma. The bispectral analysis technique used is from Ritz et al ( 1989 Phys. Fluids B 1 153) and Kim et al ( 1996 Phys. Plasmas 3 3998...... scales. This is the first experimental evidence for the dual turbulent cascade in a magnetized plasma....

The effect of different doses of esmolol on hemodynamic, bispectral index and movement response during orotracheal intubation: prospective, randomized, double-blind study

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Mensure Yılmaz Çakırgöz

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: A prospective, randomized and double-blind study was planned to identify the optimum dose of esmolol infusion to suppress the increase in bispectral index values and the movement and hemodynamic responses to tracheal intubation. Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty patients were randomly allocated to one of three groups in a double-blind fashion. 2.5 mg kg-1 propofol was administered for anesthesia induction. After loss of consciousness, and before administration of 0.6 mg kg-1 rocuronium, a tourniquet was applied to one arm and inflated to 50 mm Hg greater than systolic pressure. The patients were divided into 3 groups; 1 mg kg-1 h-1 esmolol was given as the loading dose and in Group Es50 50 μg kg-1 min-1, in Group Es150 150 μg kg-1 min-1, and in Group Es250 250 μg kg-1 min-1 esmolol infusion was started. Five minutes after the esmolol has been begun, the trachea was intubated; gross movement within the first minute after orotracheal intubation was recorded. Results: Incidence of movement response and the ΔBIS max values were comparable in Group Es250 and Group Es150, but these values were significantly higher in Group Es50 than in the other two groups. In all three groups in the 1st minute after tracheal intubation heart rate and mean arterial pressure were significantly higher compared to values from before intubation (p < 0.05. In the study period there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of heart rate and mean arterial pressure. Conclusion: In clinical practise we believe that after 1 mg kg-1 loading dose, 150 μg kg-1 min-1 iv esmolol dose is sufficient to suppress responses to tracheal intubation without increasing side effects.

Hemodynamics and bispectral index (BIS of dogs anesthetized with midazolam and ketamine associated with medetomidine or dexmedetomidine and submitted to ovariohysterectomy Avaliação hemodinâmica e do índice bispectral (BIS de cadelas anestesiadas com midazolam e cetamina associados à medetomidina ou dexmedetomidina e submetidas a ovário-salpingo-histerectomia

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Fernando do Carmo Silva

2010-04-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To evaluate hemodynamics and bispectral index (BIS in bitches anesthetized with ketamine and midazolam in combination with dexmedetomidine or medetomidine and submitted to ovariohysterectomy. METHODS: Twenty bitches pretreated with levomedetomidine and buprenorphine were anesthetized with 5 mg.kg-1 ketamine and 0.2 mg.kg-1 midazolam i.v. Continuous infusion of 0.4 mg.kg-1.h-1 midazolam and 20 mg.kg-1.h-1 ketamine was initiated in combination with DEX (n=10: 20 µg.kg-1.h-1 dexmedetomidine or MED (n=10: 30 µg.kg-1.h-1 medetomidine over 30 minutes. A pharmacokinetic study provided dexmedetomidine plasma concentration, set to be 3.0 ng.mL-1. RESULTS: BIS decreased in both groups (P0.05, but heart rate decreased in both groups, as compared to control values (POBJETIVO: Verificar o comportamento hemodinâmico e o índice bispectral de cadelas anestesiadas com cetamina e midazolam associados à dexmedetomidina ou medetomidina. MÉTODOS: Vinte cadelas receberam pré-tratamento com levomepromazina e buprenorfina e foram anestesiadas com cetamina, 5 mg.kg-1 i.v., e midazolam, 0,2 mg.kg-1 i.v., seguidos da administração contínua de midazolam, 0,4 mg.kg-1.h-1, e cetamina, 20 mg.kg-1.h-1, associados, conforme o grupo, à: DEX (n=10: dexmedetomidina 20 µg.kg-1.h-1 ou MED (n=10: medetomidina 30 µg.kg-1.h-1, mantidos por 30 minutos. A dose de dexmedetomidina foi obtida por meio de estudo farmacocinético planejando-se concentração plasmática de 3,0 ng.mL-1. RESULTADOS: Os valores do BIS diminuíram em ambos os grupos (P0,05, sem a presença de efeitos adversos. CONCLUSÃO: A administração contínua de dexmedetomidina em concentração plasmática calculada de 3 ng.mL-1, em combinação com midazolam e cetamina, resulta em plano anestésico adequado para castração de cadelas, estabilidade hemodinâmica e despertar tranquilo, sem efeitos adversos.

A bispectral q-hypergeometric basis for a class of quantum integrable models

Science.gov (United States)

Baseilhac, Pascal; Martin, Xavier

2018-01-01

For the class of quantum integrable models generated from the q-Onsager algebra, a basis of bispectral multivariable q-orthogonal polynomials is exhibited. In the first part, it is shown that the multivariable Askey-Wilson polynomials with N variables and N + 3 parameters introduced by Gasper and Rahman [Dev. Math. 13, 209 (2005)] generate a family of infinite dimensional modules for the q-Onsager algebra, whose fundamental generators are realized in terms of the multivariable q-difference and difference operators proposed by Iliev [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 363, 1577 (2011)]. Raising and lowering operators extending those of Sahi [SIGMA 3, 002 (2007)] are also constructed. In the second part, finite dimensional modules are constructed and studied for a certain class of parameters and if the N variables belong to a discrete support. In this case, the bispectral property finds a natural interpretation within the framework of tridiagonal pairs. In the third part, eigenfunctions of the q-Dolan-Grady hierarchy are considered in the polynomial basis. In particular, invariant subspaces are identified for certain conditions generalizing Nepomechie's relations. In the fourth part, the analysis is extended to the special case q = 1. This framework provides a q-hypergeometric formulation of quantum integrable models such as the open XXZ spin chain with generic integrable boundary conditions (q ≠ 1).

A new multi-sensor integrated index for drought monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Jiao, W.; Wang, L.; Tian, C.

2017-12-01

Drought is perceived as one of the most expensive and least understood natural disasters. The remote-sensing-based integrated drought indices, which integrate multiple variables, could reflect the drought conditions more comprehensively than single drought indices. However, most of current remote-sensing-based integrated drought indices focus on agricultural drought (i.e., deficit in soil moisture), their application in monitoring meteorological drought (i.e., deficit in precipitation) was limited. More importantly, most of the remote-sensing-based integrated drought indices did not take into consideration of the spatially non-stationary nature of the related variables, so such indices may lose essential local details when integrating multiple variables. In this regard, we proposed a new mathematical framework for generating integrated drought index for meteorological drought monitoring. The geographically weighted regression (GWR) model and principal component analysis were used to composite Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) based temperature condition index (TCI), the Vegetation Index based on the Universal Pattern Decomposition method (VIUPD) based vegetation condition index (VCI), tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) based Precipitation Condition Index (PCI) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) based soil moisture condition index (SMCI). We called the new remote-sensing-based integrated drought index geographical-location-based integrated drought index (GLIDI). We examined the utility of the GLIDI for drought monitoring in various climate divisions across the continental United States (CONUS). GLIDI showed high correlations with in-situ drought indices and outperformed most other existing drought indices. The results also indicate that the performance of GLIDI is not affected by environmental factors such as land cover, precipitation, temperature and soil conditions. As such, the GLIDI has considerable potential for

Use of rocuronium and sugammadex under neuromuscular transmission monitoring in a patient with multiple sclerosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chryssoula Staikou

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Multiple sclerosis (MS is a potentially disabling disease characterized by demyelinating lesions in the central nervous system. One of the anesthetic challenges encountered in surgical patients with MS is the management of neuromuscular blockade (NMB and its reversal. We report a case of a 31-year-old female patient suffering from MS, who underwent gynecological surgery under general anesthesia with sevoflurane, fentanyl, and rocuronium which was successfully reversed with sugammadex. Neuromuscular transmission (NMT monitoring was used to guide the intraoperative doses of rocuronium and also the reversal of NMB by the use of sugammadex to ensure a safe tracheal extubation. In addition, delivered volatile was titrated according to anesthetic depth monitoring (Bispectral Index while esophageal temperature was also monitored for the maintenance of normothermia. Postoperatively, a multimodal analgesic scheme offered a high-quality analgesia and sleep, minimization of anxiety, and increased patient satisfaction. At 1-month follow-up, the patient's course was uncomplicated without any MS exacerbation. We consider that the use of rocuronium and sugammadex under NMT monitoring may represent a useful and safe choice in patients with MS.

Multi-Index Monitoring and Evaluation on Rock Burst in Yangcheng Mine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunliang Tan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Based on the foreboding information monitoring of the energy released in the developing process of rock burst, prediction system for rock burst can be established. By using microseismic method, electromagnetic radiation method, and drilling bits method, rock burst in Yangcheng Mine was monitored, and a system of multi-index monitoring and evaluation on rock burst was established. Microseismic monitoring and electromagnetic radiation monitoring were early warning method, and drilling bits monitoring was burst region identification method. There were three identifying indexes: silence period in microseismic monitoring, rising period of the intensity, and rising period of pulse count in electromagnetic radiation monitoring. If there is identified burst risk in the workface, drilling bits method was used to ascertain the burst region, and then pressure releasing methods were carried out to eliminate the disaster.

A bispectral index guided comparison of target-controlled versus manually-controlled infusion of propofol and remifentanil for attenuation of pressor response to laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation in non cardiac surgery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naser Yeganeh

2006-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Target-controlled infusion is a new delivery system for intravenous anesthetic agents with which the anesthetist targets a plasma or effect-site drug concentration to achieve a predetermined effect. With this system, the tedious task of calculating the amount of administered drug required to achieve the target concentration is left in charge of a microprocessor which commands the infusion device. In this prospective study we compared alterations in blood pressure and heart rate from initiation of induction of anesthesia until 3 minutes after tracheal intubation in two methods of drug infusion, target-controlled infusion (TCI and manually controlled infusion (MCI. Total anesthetic drug used until 3 minutes after intubation and level of produced hypnosis also were compared between two methods. METHODS: 40 patients were enrolled in this clinical trial study and were allocated randomly in two groups, each group consisting of 20 patients. In TCI group, patients received propofol and remifentanil with TCI pump to achieve 7 µg/ml and 4 ng/ml as plasmatic target drug levels, respectively. In MCI group, patients received propofol 2 mg/kg and remifentanil 1 µg/kg of body weight with manually controlled infusion. Both groups received succinylcholine as muscle relaxant to facilitate laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. Bispectral index (BIS was passively recorded in two groups to compare the level of hypnosis. Blood pressure (BP and heart rate (HR were recorded at 5 different times (T-1, T0, T1, T2 and T3. Independent t-test and paired t-test were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Systolic arterial pressure (SAP was not different at T-1 between two groups but systolic hypotension was seen in MCI group more than TCI group at T0 (P<0.05. Systolic hypertension was more common in MCI group after intubation; i.e. SAP showed significant differences in T1, T2 and T3 between two groups (P<0.05. Mean arterial pressure (MAP showed significant

Quality assurance: using the exposure index and the deviation index to monitor radiation exposure for portable chest radiographs in neonates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, Mervyn D. [Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Riley Children' s Hospital, Indianapolis, IN (United States); Riley Hospital for Children, Department of Radiology, Indianapolis, IN (United States); Cooper, Matt L.; Piersall, Kelly [Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Riley Children' s Hospital, Indianapolis, IN (United States); Apgar, Bruce K. [Agfa HealthCare Corporation, Greenville, SC (United States)

2011-05-15

Many methods are used to track patient exposure during acquisition of plain film radiographs. A uniform international standard would aid this process. To evaluate and describe a new, simple quality-assurance method for monitoring patient exposure. This method uses the ''exposure index'' and the ''deviation index,'' recently developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). The deviation index measures variation from an ideal target exposure index value. Our objective was to determine whether the exposure index and the deviation index can be used to monitor and control exposure drift over time. Our Agfa workstation automatically keeps a record of the exposure index for every patient. The exposure index and deviation index were calculated on 1,884 consecutive neonatal chest images. Exposure of a neonatal chest phantom was performed as a control. Acquisition of the exposure index and calculation of the deviation index was easily achieved. The weekly mean exposure index of the phantom and the patients was stable and showed <10% change during the study, indicating no exposure drift during the study period. The exposure index is an excellent tool to monitor the consistency of patient exposures. It does not indicate the exposure value used, but is an index to track compliance with a pre-determined target exposure. (orig.)

Quality assurance: using the exposure index and the deviation index to monitor radiation exposure for portable chest radiographs in neonates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, Mervyn D.; Cooper, Matt L.; Piersall, Kelly; Apgar, Bruce K.

2011-01-01

Many methods are used to track patient exposure during acquisition of plain film radiographs. A uniform international standard would aid this process. To evaluate and describe a new, simple quality-assurance method for monitoring patient exposure. This method uses the ''exposure index'' and the ''deviation index,'' recently developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). The deviation index measures variation from an ideal target exposure index value. Our objective was to determine whether the exposure index and the deviation index can be used to monitor and control exposure drift over time. Our Agfa workstation automatically keeps a record of the exposure index for every patient. The exposure index and deviation index were calculated on 1,884 consecutive neonatal chest images. Exposure of a neonatal chest phantom was performed as a control. Acquisition of the exposure index and calculation of the deviation index was easily achieved. The weekly mean exposure index of the phantom and the patients was stable and showed <10% change during the study, indicating no exposure drift during the study period. The exposure index is an excellent tool to monitor the consistency of patient exposures. It does not indicate the exposure value used, but is an index to track compliance with a pre-determined target exposure. (orig.)

Vital Recorder—a free research tool for automatic recording of high-resolution time-synchronised physiological data from multiple anaesthesia devices

OpenAIRE

Lee, Hyung-Chul; Jung, Chul-Woo

2018-01-01

The current anaesthesia information management system (AIMS) has limited capability for the acquisition of high-quality vital signs data. We have developed a Vital Recorder program to overcome the disadvantages of AIMS and to support research. Physiological data of surgical patients were collected from 10 operating rooms using the Vital Recorder. The basic equipment used were a patient monitor, the anaesthesia machine, and the bispectral index (BIS) monitor. Infusion pumps, cardiac output mon...

Multi-Index Monitoring and Evaluation on Rock Burst in Yangcheng Mine

OpenAIRE

Tan, Yunliang; Yin, Yanchun; Gu, Shitan; Tian, Zhiwei

2015-01-01

Based on the foreboding information monitoring of the energy released in the developing process of rock burst, prediction system for rock burst can be established. By using microseismic method, electromagnetic radiation method, and drilling bits method, rock burst in Yangcheng Mine was monitored, and a system of multi-index monitoring and evaluation on rock burst was established. Microseismic monitoring and electromagnetic radiation monitoring were early warning method, and drilling bits moni...

Comparison of Bispectral Index™ values during the flotation restricted environmental stimulation technique and results for stage I sleep: a prospective pilot investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham, C Michael; McClain, Jesse V; Burger, Amanda

2017-11-29

To determine whether Bispectral Index™ values obtained during flotation-restricted environment stimulation technique have a similar profile in a single observation compared to literature-derived results found during sleep and other relaxation-induction interventions. Bispectral Index™ values were as follows: awake-state, 96.6; float session-1, 84.3; float session-2, 82.3; relaxation-induction, 82.8; stage I sleep, 86.0; stage II sleep, 66.2; and stages III-IV sleep, 45.1. Awake-state values differed from float session-1 (%difference 12.7%; Cohen's d = 3.6) and float session-2 (%difference 14.8%; Cohen's d = 4.6). Relaxation-induction values were similar to float session-1 (%difference 1.8%; Cohen's d = 0.3) and float session-2 (%difference 0.5%; Cohen's d = 0.1). Stage I sleep values were similar to float session-1 (%difference 1.9%; Cohen's d = 0.4) and float session-2 (%difference 4.3%; Cohen's d = 1.0). Stage II sleep values differed from float session-1 (%difference 21.5%; Cohen's d = 4.3) and float session-2 (%difference 19.6%; Cohen's d = 4.0). Stages III-IV sleep values differed from float session-1 (%difference 46.5%; Cohen's d = 5.6) and float session-2 (%difference 45.2%; Cohen's d = 5.4). Bispectral Index™ values during flotation were comparable to those found in stage I sleep and nadir values described with other relaxation-induction techniques.

Bispectral analysis of nonlinear compressional waves in a two-dimensional dusty plasma crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nosenko, V.; Goree, J.; Skiff, F.

2006-01-01

Bispectral analysis was used to study the nonlinear interaction of compressional waves in a two-dimensional strongly coupled dusty plasma. A monolayer of highly charged polymer microspheres was suspended in a plasma sheath. The microspheres interacted with a Yukawa potential and formed a triangular lattice. Two sinusoidal pump waves with different frequencies were excited in the lattice by pushing the particles with modulated Ar + laser beams. Coherent nonlinear interaction of the pump waves was shown to be the mechanism of generating waves at the sum, difference, and other combination frequencies. However, coherent nonlinear interaction was ruled out for certain combination frequencies, in particular, for the difference frequency below an excitation-power threshold, as predicted by theory

Validation of ozone monitoring instrument ultraviolet index against ground-based UV index in Kampala, Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Muyimbwa, Dennis; Dahlback, Arne; Ssenyonga, Taddeo; Chen, Yi-Chun; Stamnes, Jakob J; Frette, Øyvind; Hamre, Børge

2015-10-01

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) overpass solar ultraviolet (UV) indices have been validated against the ground-based UV indices derived from Norwegian Institute for Air Research UV measurements in Kampala (0.31° N, 32.58° E, 1200 m), Uganda for the period between 2005 and 2014. An excessive use of old cars, which would imply a high loading of absorbing aerosols, could cause the OMI retrieval algorithm to overestimate the surface UV irradiances. The UV index values were found to follow a seasonal pattern with maximum values in March and October. Under all-sky conditions, the OMI retrieval algorithm was found to overestimate the UV index values with a mean bias of about 28%. When only days with radiation modification factor greater than or equal to 65%, 70%, 75%, and 80% were considered, the mean bias between ground-based and OMI overpass UV index values was reduced to 8%, 5%, 3%, and 1%, respectively. The overestimation of the UV index by the OMI retrieval algorithm was found to be mainly due to clouds and aerosols.

Examination of the new index creatures for environmental radioactivity monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, Y.; Saito, T.

2001-01-01

The purpose of the environmental radioactivity monitoring is to watch over the radiation hazard to the human body, fallout resting from the nuclear test and the environmental pollution around the nuclear facilities and so forth. The measurement of the environmental radioactivity is done using samples like the atmosphere, land water, land soil, bottom soil of the sea and lake, drainage, food, marine samples, index creatures, etc. The index creatures in the land are pine needle, cryptomeria leaf, mugwort and so on. However, in recent years, they are decreasing at the city. Therefore, Kin-mokusei and Pothos are examined using the microwave heating distillation system developed by Radioisotope Research Center of Osaka University, it was proved that they had possibility of the new index creature. (author)

Availability of anesthetic effect monitoring: utilization, intraoperative management and time to extubation in liver transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schumann, R; Hudcova, J; Bonney, I; Cepeda, M S

2010-12-01

Titration of volatile anesthetics to anesthetic effect monitoring using the bispectral index (BIS) has been shown to decrease anesthetic requirements and facilitate recovery from anesthesia unrelated to liver transplantation (OLT). To determine whether availability of such monitoring influences its utilization pattern and affect anesthetic care and outcomes in OLT, we conducted a retrospective analysis in recipients with and without such monitoring. We evaluated annual BIS utilization over a period of 7 years, and compared 41 BIS-monitored patients to 42 controls. All received an isoflurane/air/oxygen and opioid-based anesthetic with planned postoperative ventilation. Data collection included age, body mass index (BMI), gender, Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, and time to extubation (TtE). Mean preanhepatic, anhepatic, and postanhepatic end-tidal isoflurane concentrations were compared, as well as BIS values for each phase of OLT using the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, respectively. The use of anesthetic effect monitoring when available increased steadily from 15% of cases in the first year to almost 93% by year 7. There was no significant difference in age, gender, BMI, MELD, or TtE between groups. The BIS group received less inhalational anesthetic during each phase of OLT compared to the control group. However, this difference was statistically significant only during the anhepatic phase (P = .026), and was clinically not impressive. Within the BIS group, the mean BIS value was 38.74 ± 5.25 (mean ± standard deviation), and there was no difference for the BIS value between different transplant phases. Availability of anesthetic effect monitoring as an optional monitoring tool during OLT results in its increasing utilization by anesthesia care teams over time. However, unless integrated into an intraoperative algorithm and an early extubation protocol for fast tracking of OLT recipients, this utilization does not appear to provide

An improvement of drought monitoring through the use of a multivariate magnitude index

Science.gov (United States)

Real-Rangel, R. A.; Alcocer-Yamanaka, V. H.; Pedrozo-Acuña, A.; Breña-Naranjo, J. A.; Ocón-Gutiérrez, A. R.

2017-12-01

In drought monitoring activities it is widely acknowledged that the severity of an event is determined in relation to monthly values of univariate indices of one or more hydrological variables. Normally, these indices are estimated using temporal windows from 1 to 12 months or more to aggregate the effects of deficits in the variable of interest. However, the use of these temporal windows may lead to a misperception of both, the drought event intensity and the timing of its occurrence. In this context, this work presents the implementation of a trivariate drought magnitude index, considering key hydrological variables (e.g., precipitation, soil moisture and runoff) using for this the framework of the Multivariate Standardized Drought Index (MSDI). Despite the popularity and simplicity of the concept of drought magnitude for standardized drought indices, its implementation in drought monitoring and early warning systems has not been reported. This approach has been tested for operational purposes in the recently launched Multivariate Drought Monitor of Mexico (MOSEMM) and the results shows that the inclusion of a Magnitude index facilitates the drought detection and, thus, improves the decision making process for emergency managers.

EEG artifacts reduction by multivariate empirical mode decomposition and multiscale entropy for monitoring depth of anaesthesia during surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Quan; Chen, Yi-Feng; Fan, Shou-Zen; Abbod, Maysam F; Shieh, Jiann-Shing

2017-08-01

Electroencephalography (EEG) has been widely utilized to measure the depth of anaesthesia (DOA) during operation. However, the EEG signals are usually contaminated by artifacts which have a consequence on the measured DOA accuracy. In this study, an effective and useful filtering algorithm based on multivariate empirical mode decomposition and multiscale entropy (MSE) is proposed to measure DOA. Mean entropy of MSE is used as an index to find artifacts-free intrinsic mode functions. The effect of different levels of artifacts on the performances of the proposed filtering is analysed using simulated data. Furthermore, 21 patients' EEG signals are collected and analysed using sample entropy to calculate the complexity for monitoring DOA. The correlation coefficients of entropy and bispectral index (BIS) results show 0.14 ± 0.30 and 0.63 ± 0.09 before and after filtering, respectively. Artificial neural network (ANN) model is used for range mapping in order to correlate the measurements with BIS. The ANN method results show strong correlation coefficient (0.75 ± 0.08). The results in this paper verify that entropy values and BIS have a strong correlation for the purpose of DOA monitoring and the proposed filtering method can effectively filter artifacts from EEG signals. The proposed method performs better than the commonly used wavelet denoising method. This study provides a fully adaptive and automated filter for EEG to measure DOA more accuracy and thus reduce risk related to maintenance of anaesthetic agents.

Gender Effect on Recovery Time Following Isoflurane Administration While Using a Bispectral Index Monitor

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Fevurly, Thomas

2003-01-01

...; in addition, most of the studies referring to this potential were retrospective in nature. Recovery time differences have been reported between genders during propofol, alfentanil, and nitrous oxide anesthesia (Gan et al., 1999...

Assessment of Landsat multispectral scanner spectral indexes for monitoring arid rangeland

Science.gov (United States)

Musick, H. B.

1984-01-01

Correlations between spectral indices and vegetation parameters in south-central New Mexico were used to determine the utility of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) spectral indices in arid rangeland monitoring. In addition, spectral index change for 1976-1980 was calculated from retrospective MSS data and compared with qualitative ground truth in order to evaluate vegetation change detection by means of spectral indices. Brightness index change consistently differentiated between cover increase and decrease, but index change appears to have been offset from true cover change; this may at least partly be attributed to the failure of the methods used to standardize MSS scenes for differences in sensor response. Green vegetation indices, by contrast to brightness indices, failed to consistently differentiate between cover increase and decrease.

[Detection of quadratic phase coupling between EEG signal components by nonparamatric and parametric methods of bispectral analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, K; Witte, H

1999-11-01

Recently the assumption of the independence of individual frequency components in a signal has been rejected, for example, for the EEG during defined physiological states such as sleep or sedation [9, 10]. Thus, the use of higher-order spectral analysis capable of detecting interrelations between individual signal components has proved useful. The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of various non-parametric and parametric estimation algorithms using simulated as well as true physiological data. We employed standard algorithms available for the MATLAB. The results clearly show that parametric bispectral estimation is superior to non-parametric estimation in terms of the quality of peak localisation and the discrimination from other peaks.

Monitoring changes in economy-wide energy efficiency: From energy-GDP ratio to composite efficiency index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ang, B.W.

2006-01-01

Since the 1973 world oil crisis, monitoring trends in energy efficiency at the economy-wide level has been an important component of energy strategy in many countries. To support this effort, various energy efficiency-related indicators have been developed. We examine some classical indicators which are often found in national and international energy studies in the 1970s and 1980s. We then describe the recent developments in using the index decomposition analysis to give an economy-wide composite energy efficiency index based on a bottom-up approach. This composite index is superior to the classical indicators as an economy-wide energy efficiency measure and has lately been adopted by a growing number of countries for national energy efficiency trend monitoring

Study on Viscoelastic Deformation Monitoring Index of an RCC Gravity Dam in an Alpine Region Using Orthogonal Test Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaoying Huang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this study is to present a method of determining viscoelastic deformation monitoring index of a Roller-compacted concrete (RCC gravity dam in an alpine region. By focusing on a modified deformation monitoring model considering frost heave and back analyzed mechanical parameters of the dam, the working state of viscoelasticity for the dam is illustrated followed by an investigation and designation of adverse load cases using orthogonal test method. Water pressure component is then calculated by finite element method, while temperature, time effect, and frost heave components are obtained through deformation statistical model considering frost heave. The viscoelastic deformation monitoring index is eventually determined by small probability and maximum entropy methods. The results show that (a with the abnormal probability 1% the dam deformation monitoring index for small probability and maximum entropy methods is 23.703 mm and 22.981 mm, respectively; thus the maximum measured displacement of the dam is less than deformation monitoring index, which indicates that the dam is currently in a state of safety operation and (b the obtained deformation monitoring index using orthogonal test method is more accurate due to the full consideration of more random factors; the method gained from this study will likely be of use to diagnose the working state for those RCC dams in alpine regions.

Awareness during anaesthesia for surgery requiring evoked potential monitoring: A pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pritish J Korula

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Evoked potential monitoring such as somatosensory-evoked potential (SSEP or motor-evoked potential (MEP monitoring during surgical procedures in proximity to the spinal cord requires minimising the minimum alveolar concentrations (MACs below the anaesthetic concentrations normally required (1 MAC to prevent interference in amplitude and latency of evoked potentials. This could result in awareness. Our primary objective was to determine the incidence of awareness while administering low MAC inhalational anaesthetics for these unique procedures. The secondary objective was to assess the adequacy of our anaesthetic technique from neurophysiologist′s perspective. Methods: In this prospective observational pilot study, 61 American Society of Anesthesiologists 1 and 2 patients undergoing spinal surgery for whom intraoperative evoked potential monitoring was performed were included; during the maintenance phase, 0.7-0.8 MAC of isoflurane was targeted. We evaluated the intraoperative depth of anaesthesia using a bispectral (BIS index monitor as well as the patients response to surgical stimulus (PRST scoring system. Post-operatively, a modified Bruce questionnaire was used to verify awareness. The adequacy of evoked potential readings was also assessed. Results: Of the 61 patients, no patient had explicit awareness. Intraoperatively, 19 of 61 patients had a BIS value of above sixty at least once, during surgery. There was no correlation with PRST scoring and BIS during surgery. Fifty-four out of 61 patient′s evoked potential readings were deemed ′good′ or ′fair′ for the conduct of electrophysiological monitoring. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates that administering low MAC inhalational anaesthetics to facilitate evoked potential monitoring does not result in explicit awareness. However, larger studies are needed to verify this. The conduct of SSEP electrophysiological monitoring was satisfactory with the use of this

Litterfall and Leaf Area Index in the CONECOFOR Permanent Monitoring Plots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea CUTINI

2002-09-01

Full Text Available Forest canopies are more sensitive and react more promptly to abiotic and biotic disturbances than other stand structural components. Monitoring crown and canopy characteristics is therefore a crucial issue for intensive and continuous monitoring programs of forest ecosystem status. These observations formed the basis for the measurement of annual litter production and leaf area index (LAI in the Italian permanent monitoring plots (CONECOFOR program established within the EC-UN/ECE program "Intensive Monitoring (Level II of Forest Ecosystems". Preliminary results after three years of observation are presented. The low value of within plot mean relative standard deviation (20.8 ± 1.9% of litter production, which in any case never exceeded 30%, accounted for the good sampling error and accuracy of the chosen method, which seems to be accurate enough to detect changes in litter production through the years. The higher inconsistency of the amount of woody and fruits fractions over the years demonstrated the greater reliability of leaf fraction or, on the other hand, of LAI compared to total litter. Mean values of annual leaf-litter and total litter production and LAI were rather high in comparison with data reported in literature for similar stands, and reflected both a medium-high productivity and a juvenile phase in the development of the selected stands on average. Focusing on changes in litter production through the years, statistical analysis on a sub-sample of plots showed the existence of significant differences both in leaf litter and total litter production. These findings seem to attribute to the "year" factor a driving role in determining changes in litter production and LAI. Temporal intermittence in data collection, together with the shortness of the monitoring period, make it difficult to speculate or arrive at definitive conclusions on changes in litter production due to time-dependent factors. The importance of having a complete

Gender Differences in Recovery Times from General Anesthesia Using Sevoflurane and the Bispectral Index Monitor

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Alguire, Katherine

2003-01-01

Optimization of patient care is one goal of anesthesia providers. With individualized care nurse anesthetists can achieve high degrees of patient satisfaction, reduce overall costs and improve patient outcomes...

SeaDataNet network services monitoring: Definition and Implementation of Service availability index

Science.gov (United States)

Lykiardopoulos, Angelos; Mpalopoulou, Stavroula; Vavilis, Panagiotis; Pantazi, Maria; Iona, Sissy

2014-05-01

SeaDataNet (SDN) is a standardized system for managing large and diverse data sets collected by the oceanographic fleets and the automatic observation systems. The SeaDataNet network is constituted of national oceanographic data centres of 35 countries, active in data collection. SeaDataNetII project's objective is to upgrade the present SeaDataNet infrastructure into an operationally robust and state-of-the-art infrastructure; therefore Network Monitoring is a step to this direction. The term Network Monitoring describes the use of system that constantly monitors a computer network for slow or failing components and that notifies the network administrator in case of outages. Network monitoring is crucial when implementing widely distributed systems over the Internet and in real-time systems as it detects malfunctions that may occur and notifies the system administrator who can immediately respond and correct the problem. In the framework of SeaDataNet II project a monitoring system was developed in order to monitor the SeaDataNet components. The core system is based on Nagios software. Some plug-ins were developed to support SeaDataNet modules. On the top of Nagios Engine a web portal was developed in order to give access to local administrators of SeaDataNet components, to view detailed logs of their own service(s). Currently the system monitors 35 SeaDataNet Download Managers, 9 SeaDataNet Services, 25 GeoSeas Download Managers and 23 UBSS Download Managers . Taking advantage of the continuous monitoring of SeaDataNet system components a total availability index will be implemented. The term availability can be defined as the ability of a functional unit to be in a state to perform a required function under given conditions at a given instant of time or over a given time interval, assuming that the required external resources are provided. Availability measures can be considered as a are very important benefit becauseT - The availability trends that can be

Influence of the depth of sedation on regional cerebral oxygen saturation monitoring in neurosurgery of supratentorial gliomas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Kai⁃ying

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Objective To investigate the influence on regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2 of sedation depth during anesthesia induction and maintenance in supratentorial glioma resections. Methods Thirty patients with Ⅰ - Ⅱ supratentorial glioma (graded by American Society of Anesthesiologists underwent elective supratentorial glioma resection were included in this study. Rocuronium, sufentanil and propofol were used for anesthesia induction. After trachea cannula, total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA was maintained with plasma concentration of propofol 2.80-3.20 μg/ml and remifentanil 0.10-0.20 μg/(kg·min. Thirty groups of rScO2, bispectral index (BIS, mean arterial pressure (MAP and heart rate (HR were recorded continuously till the incision. Results During anesthesia induction, BIS decreased along with the infusion of anesthetics, and there was significant negative correlation between BIS and rScO2 (r = ⁃0.803, P = 0.001. During anesthesia maintenance, rScO2 and BIS were not significantly related (r = 0.147, P = 0.396. Conclusion The rScO2 monitoring can reflect the influence of sedation depth on cerebral oxygen delivery and consumption balance during supratentorial glioma resection under TIVA．

Monitoring of high refractive index edible oils using coated long period fiber grating sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, Luís.; Viegas, Diana; Santos, José Luís.; de Almeida, Jose Manuel M. M.

2015-05-01

Monitoring the quality of high refractive index edible oils is of great importance for the human health. Uncooked edible oils in general are healthy foodstuff, olive oil in particular, however, they are frequently used for baking and cooking. High quality edible oils are made from seeds, nuts or fruits by mechanical processes. Nevertheless, once the mechanical extraction is complete, up to 15% of the oil remains in oil pomace and in the mill wastewater, which can be extracted using organic solvents, often hexane. Optical fiber sensors based on long period fiber gratings (LPFG) have very low wavelength sensitivity when the surround refractive index is higher than the refractive index of the cladding. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) coated LPFG could lead to the realization of high sensitivity chemical sensor for the food industry. In this work LPFG coated with a TiO2 thin film were successfully used for to detect small levels of hexane diluted in edible oils and for real time monitoring the thermal deterioration of edible oils. For a TiO2 coating of 30 nm a wavelength sensitivity of 1361.7 nm/RIU (or 0.97 nm / % V/V) in the 1.4610-1.4670 refractive index range was achieved, corresponding to 0 to 12 % V/V of hexane in olive oil. A sensitivity higher than 638 nm/RIU at 225 ºC was calculated, in the 1.4670-1.4735 refractive index range with a detection limit of thermal deterioration of about 1 minute.

Bispectral analysis applied to coherent floating potential fluctuations obtained in the edge plasmas on JFT-2M

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagashima, Y; Itoh, K; Itoh, S-I; Fujisawa, A; Hoshino, K; Takase, Y; Yagi, M; Ejiri, A; Ida, K; Shinohara, K; Uehara, K; Kusama, Y

2006-01-01

This paper presents results of bispectral analysis applied to floating potential fluctuations in the edge region of ohmically heated plasmas in the JAERI Fusion Torus-2 Modified (JFT-2M) tokamak. Inside the outermost surface of plasmas, coherent mode fluctuations (CMs) in floating potential were observed around the frequency of the geodesic acoustic mode. The squared bicoherence shows significant nonlinear couplings between the CMs and background fluctuations. The biphase at the frequency of the CMs is localized around π, while that at frequencies of background fluctuations distributes in a wide range. The total bicoherence at the frequency of the CMs is proportional to the squared amplitude of the CMs. These observations are consistent with the theoretical prediction on the drift wave-zonal flow systems. Interpretation of the absolute value of the total bicoherence is also discussed

A Phase 1, Single-center, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study in Healthy Subjects to Assess the Safety, Tolerability, Clinical Effects, and Pharmacokinetics-Pharmacodynamics of Intravenous Cyclopropyl-methoxycarbonylmetomidate (ABP-700) after a Single Ascending Bolus Dose.

Science.gov (United States)

Struys, Michel M R F; Valk, Beatrijs I; Eleveld, Douglas J; Absalom, Anthony R; Meyer, Peter; Meier, Sascha; den Daas, Izaak; Chou, Thomas; van Amsterdam, Kai; Campagna, Jason A; Sweeney, Steven P

2017-07-01

Cyclopropyl-methoxycarbonylmetomidate (ABP-700) is a new "soft" etomidate analog. The primary objectives of this first-in-human study were to describe the safety and efficacy of ABP-700 and to determine its maximum tolerated dose. Secondary objectives were to characterize the pharmacokinetics of ABP-700 and its primary metabolite (cyclopropyl-methoxycarbonyl acid), to assess the clinical effects of ABP-700, and to investigate the dose-response and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationships. Sixty subjects were divided into 10 cohorts and received an increasing, single bolus of either ABP-700 or placebo. Safety was assessed by clinical laboratory evaluations, infusion-site reactions, continuous monitoring of vital signs, physical examination, adverse event monitoring, and adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation testing. Clinical effects were assessed with modified observer's assessment of alertness/sedation and Bispectral Index monitoring. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. Stopping criteria were met at 1.00 mg/kg dose. No serious adverse events were reported. Adverse events were dose-dependent and comprised involuntary muscle movement, tachycardia, and ventilatory effects. Adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation evoked a physiologic cortisol response in all subjects, no different from placebo. Pharmacokinetics were dose-proportional. A three-compartment pharmacokinetic model described the data well. A rapid onset of anesthesia/sedation after bolus administration and also a rapid recovery were observed. A quantitative concentration-effect relationship was described for the modified observer's assessment of alertness/sedation and Bispectral Index. This first-in-human study of ABP-700 shows that ABP-700 was safe and well tolerated after single-bolus injections up to 1.00 mg/kg. Bolus doses of 0.25 and 0.35 mg/kg were found to provide the most beneficial clinical effect versus side-effect profile.

A sonographic lesion index for Crohn's disease helps monitor changes in transmural bowel damage during therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zorzi, Francesca; Stasi, Elisa; Bevivino, Gerolamo; Scarozza, Patrizio; Biancone, Livia; Zuzzi, Sara; Rossi, Carla; Pallone, Francesco; Calabrese, Emma

2014-12-01

Therapeutic antibodies against tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNF) are effective in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Mucosal healing is a surrogate marker of efficacy, but little is known about the effects of anti-TNF agents on structural damage in the intestine. Small-intestine contrast ultrasonography (SICUS) is a valuable tool for assessing CD lesions. A new sonographic quantitative index (the sonographic lesion index for CD [SLIC]) was developed to quantify changes in CD lesions detected by SICUS. We explored whether the SLIC can be used to monitor transmural bowel damage in CD patients during anti-TNF therapy. We performed a prospective study of 29 patients with ileal or ileocolonic CD treated with anti-TNF agents; patients underwent SICUS before and after scheduled induction and maintenance therapy. To determine whether changes that can be detected by SICUS occur independently of anti-TNF therapy, 7 patients with ileal CD treated with mesalamine were enrolled as controls. A clinical response was defined as steroid-free remission, with CD activity index scores less than 150. We observed significant improvements in SLIC scores and subscores after induction and maintenance therapy with anti-TNFs, compared with before therapy. SLIC scores and subscores and index classes were improved significantly in patients with vs without clinical responses. Controls had no improvements in terms of CD activity index or SLIC scores, or index classes. Sonographic assessment using the quantitative index SLIC can be used to monitor changes in transmural bowel damage during anti-TNF therapy for CD. Copyright © 2014 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development and assessment of Transpirative Deficit Index (D-TDI) for agricultural drought monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Borghi, Anna; Rienzner, Michele; Gandolfi, Claudio; Facchi, Arianna

2017-04-01

Drought is a major cause of crop yield loss, both in rainfed and irrigated agroecosystems. In past decades, many approaches have been developed to assess agricultural drought, usually based on the monitoring or modelling of the soil water content condition. All these indices show weaknesses when applied for a real time drought monitoring and management at the local scale, since they do not consider explicitly crops and soil properties at an adequate spatial resolution. This work describes a newly developed agricultural drought index, called Transpirative Deficit Index (D-TDI), and assesses the results of its application over a study area of about 210 km2 within the Po River Plain (northern Italy). The index is based on transforming the interannual distribution of the transpirative deficit (potential crop transpiration minus actual transpiration), calculated daily by means of a spatially distributed conceptual hydrological model and cumulated over user-selected time-steps, to a standard normal distribution (following the approach proposed by the meteorological index SPI - Standard Precipitation Index). For the application to the study area a uniform maize crop cover (maize is the most widespread crop in the area) and 22-year (1993-2014) meteorological data series were considered. Simulation results consist in maps of the index cumulated over 10-day time steps over a mesh with cells of 250 m. A correlation analysis was carried out (1) to study the characteristics and the memory of D-TDI and to assess its intra- and inter-annual variability, (2) to assess the response of the agricultural drought (i.e., the information provided by D-TDI) to the meteorological drought computed through the SPI over different temporal steps. The D-TDI is positively auto-correlated with a persistence of 30 days, and positively cross-correlated to the SPI with a persistence of 40 days, demonstrating that D-TDI responds to meteorological forcing. Correlation analyses demonstrate that soils

A Framework for Quantifying the Impacts of Sub-Pixel Reflectance Variance and Covariance on Cloud Optical Thickness and Effective Radius Retrievals Based on the Bi-Spectral Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z; Werner, F.; Cho, H. -M.; Wind, Galina; Platnick, S.; Ackerman, A. S.; Di Girolamo, L.; Marshak, A.; Meyer, Kerry

2017-01-01

The so-called bi-spectral method retrieves cloud optical thickness (t) and cloud droplet effective radius (re) simultaneously from a pair of cloud reflectance observations, one in a visible or near infrared (VIS/NIR) band and the other in a shortwave-infrared (SWIR) band. A cloudy pixel is usually assumed to be horizontally homogeneous in the retrieval. Ignoring sub-pixel variations of cloud reflectances can lead to a significant bias in the retrieved t and re. In this study, we use the Taylor expansion of a two-variable function to understand and quantify the impacts of sub-pixel variances of VIS/NIR and SWIR cloud reflectances and their covariance on the t and re retrievals. This framework takes into account the fact that the retrievals are determined by both VIS/NIR and SWIR band observations in a mutually dependent way. In comparison with previous studies, it provides a more comprehensive understanding of how sub-pixel cloud reflectance variations impact the t and re retrievals based on the bi-spectral method. In particular, our framework provides a mathematical explanation of how the sub-pixel variation in VIS/NIR band influences the re retrieval and why it can sometimes outweigh the influence of variations in the SWIR band and dominate the error in re retrievals, leading to a potential contribution of positive bias to the re retrieval.

Design considerations of a randomized controlled trial of sedation level during hip fracture repair surgery: a strategy to reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium in elderly patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tianjing; Wieland, L Susan; Oh, Esther; Neufeld, Karin J; Wang, Nae-Yuh; Dickersin, Kay; Sieber, Frederick E

2017-06-01

Background Delirium is an acute change in mental status characterized by sudden onset, fluctuating course, inattention, disorganized thinking, and abnormal level of consciousness. The objective of the randomized controlled trial "A STrategy to Reduce the Incidence of Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients" (STRIDE) is to assess the effectiveness of light versus heavy sedation on delirium and other outcomes in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture repair surgery. Our goal is to describe the design considerations and lessons learned in planning and implementing the STRIDE trial. Methods Discussed are challenges encountered including (1) how to ensure that we quickly identify, assess the eligibility of, and randomize traumatic hip fracture patients; (2) how to implement interventions that involve continuous monitoring and adjustment during the surgery; and (3) how to measure and ascertain the primary outcome, delirium. Results To address the first challenge, we monitored the operating room schedule more actively than anticipated. We constructed and organized eligibility assessment data collection forms by purpose and by source of information needed to complete them. We decided that randomization needs to take place in the operating room. To address the second challenge, we designed and implemented a treatment protocol and covered the bispectral index monitor to prevent the Anesthesiologist/Anesthetist from being influenced by the bispectral index reading while administering the intervention. Finally, clinical assessment of delirium consisted of standardized interviews of the patient using validated instruments, interviews of those caring for the patient, and review of the medical record. A consensus panel made the final determination of a delirium diagnosis. We note that STRIDE is a single-center trial. The decisions we took may have different implications for multi-center trials. Conclusions Lessons learned are likely to provide useful information to others

New composite index based on midlatency auditory evoked potential and electroencephalographic parameters to optimize correlation with propofol effect site concentration - Comparison with bispectral index and solitary used fast extracting auditory evoked potential index

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vereecke, HEM; Vasquez, PM; Jensen, EW; Thas, O; Vandenbroecke, R; Mortier, EP; Struys, MMRF

Background: This study investigates the accuracy of a composite index, the A-Line (R) auditory evoked potentials index version 1.6 (AAI(1.6); Danmeter A/S, Odense, Denmark), as a measure of cerebral anesthetic drug effect in a model for predicting a calculated effect site concentration of propofol

InDEx: Open Source iOS and Android Software for Self-Reporting and Monitoring of Alcohol Consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Leightley, Daniel; Puddephatt, Jo-Anne; Goodwin, Laura; Rona, Roberto; Fear, Nicola T

2018-03-23

InDEx is a software package for reporting and monitoring alcohol consumption via a smartphone application. Consumption of alcohol is self-reported by the user, and the app provides a visual representation of drinking behaviour and offers feedback on consumption levels compared to the general population. InDEx is intended as an exemplar app, operating as a standalone smartphone application and is highly customisable for a variety of research domains. InDEx is written in JavaScript, using IONIC framework which is cross-platform and is available under the liberal GNU General Public License (v3). The software is available from GitHub (https://github.com/DrDanL/index-app-public).

Long-term monitoring of endangered Laysan ducks: Index validation and population estimates 1998–2012

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Michelle H.; Courtot, Karen; Brinck, Kevin W.; Rehkemper, Cynthia; Hatfield, Jeffrey

2015-01-01

Monitoring endangered wildlife is essential to assessing management or recovery objectives and learning about population status. We tested assumptions of a population index for endangered Laysan duck (or teal; Anas laysanensis) monitored using mark–resight methods on Laysan Island, Hawai’i. We marked 723 Laysan ducks between 1998 and 2009 and identified seasonal surveys through 2012 that met accuracy and precision criteria for estimating population abundance. Our results provide a 15-y time series of seasonal population estimates at Laysan Island. We found differences in detection among seasons and how observed counts related to population estimates. The highest counts and the strongest relationship between count and population estimates occurred in autumn (September–November). The best autumn surveys yielded population abundance estimates that ranged from 674 (95% CI = 619–730) in 2003 to 339 (95% CI = 265–413) in 2012. A population decline of 42% was observed between 2010 and 2012 after consecutive storms and Japan’s To¯hoku earthquake-generated tsunami in 2011. Our results show positive correlations between the seasonal maximum counts and population estimates from the same date, and support the use of standardized bimonthly counts of unmarked birds as a valid index to monitor trends among years within a season at Laysan Island.

Comparison of two personal ultraviolet index monitors for sun awareness in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caradee Y. Wright

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV radiation is known to have both adverse and beneficial consequences for human health. Sunburn and skin cancer are probably the most well-known acute and chronic adverse health impacts. These themes have recently been discussed in the media for the general public; consequently interest in sun protection is growing. The promotion of the use of practical personal strategies to reduce adverse health risks, such as healthy sun behaviour, sun protection mechanisms and solar ultraviolet radiation awareness tools, is increasing. One such tool is the personal UV index (UVI monitor, promoted commercially as a viable tool for sun awareness; however, such instruments have not been scientifically evaluated in a South African context. Here, two different types of personal UVI monitors, commercially available in South Africa, were compared with a research-grade UVB biometer for a continuous 7-h period on 02 March 2012 in Pretoria. One of the two personal UVI monitors showed reasonable agreement with the UVB biometer, whereas the other monitor overestimated UVI by up to 4 UVI units. When comparing two identical products manufactured by the same company, one monitor overestimated UVI twofold, suggesting inter-instrument variability may be a concern. Commercially available, personal UVI monitors should be used with caution as a public health tool for sun awareness in South Africa.

Using the Hilbert–Huang transform to measure the electroencephalographic effect of propofol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shalbaf, R; Behnam, H; Sleigh, J W; Voss, L J

2012-01-01

Monitoring the effect of anesthetic drugs on the central nervous system is a major ongoing challenge in anesthesia research. A number of electroencephalogram (EEG)-based monitors of the anesthetic drug effect such as the bispectral (BIS) index have been proposed to analyze the EEG signal during anesthesia. However, the BIS index has received some criticism. This paper offers a method based on the Hilbert–Huang transformation to calculate an index, called the Hilbert–Huang weighted regional frequency (HHWRF), to quantify the effect of propofol on brain activity. The HHWRF and BIS indices are applied to EEG signals collected from nine patients during a controlled propofol induction and emergence scheme. The results show that both the HHWRF and BIS track the gross changes in the EEG with increasing and decreasing anesthetic drug effect (the prediction probability P k of 0.85 and 0.83 for HHWRF and BIS, respectively). Our new index can reflect the transition from unconsciousness to consciousness faster than the BIS, as indicated from the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeled parameters and also from the analysis around the point of reawakening. This method could be used to design a new EEG monitoring system to estimate the propofol anesthetic drug effect. (paper)

Analysis and assessment of Shortwave Angle and Slope Index for monitoring rice phenology and hydroperiod.

Science.gov (United States)

Tornos, Lucía; Moyano, María Carmen; Huesca, Margarita; Cicuendez, Victor; Recuero, Laura; Domínguez, Jose Antonio; Palacios-Orueta, Alicia

2014-05-01

According to the United Nations, more than 50 percent of the world population depends on rice for about 80 percent of its food requirements. Besides, rice fields are important aquatic ecosystems, hosting a great variety of aquatic species. However, environmental issues such as water consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases, as well as the effects of climate change in crops, may endanger their sustainability. In this context, the determination of rice hydroperiod and phenology is necessary for rice monitoring and impact management, and is expected to become more relevant in the near future. The present study has explored the potential of Shortwave Angle Slope Index (SASI), based on the spectral data contained in Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, to monitoring rice paddy fields under different water management practices. SASI is a spectral shape index (SSI), based on the angle formed in SWIR1 vertex with NIR and SWIR2 in the spectrum, and the slope of the line linking NIR and SWIR2 vertices. This index was developed to distinguish between dry soil, wet soil, dry vegetation and green vegetation. It takes large, positive values for dry soil and large, negative values for green vegetation. Two case studies in Spain, the Ebro Delta and Orellana are presented. The behaviour of the index in each zone for the period 2001-2012 has been evaluated to characterize the response of SASI index to phenological and flooding events in rice. The average values and standard deviation of the index for the period 2001-2012 were calculated to identify the significant points of SASI in coincidence with phenological and flooding field data. An algorithm for the detection of significant points was also applied to determine phenological metrics, based on the information obtained. SASI presented similar values for both zones during the rice growing period. Differences arose during the non-growing period when the Delta was flooded for environmental reasons (i

Structure of forest ecosystems and leaf area index of wood plants -results of monitoring over the years 1991-1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oszlanyi, J.

1995-01-01

Monitored characteristics and their dynamics over the last four vegetation seasons reveal the following conclusions: 1) Changes of monitored parameters (e.g. the structure of tree and shrub layer, the leaf area index) are slow, drab and insignificant at the permanent monitoring representing a major part of forest ecosystems of the area affected by the Hydroelectric power structures Gabcikovo. Despite the absence of floods, the ground water level is at a sufficient height to contact rhisosphere of wood plants and the recorded changes are in accord with growth regularities. 2) An increase of the ground water level in the upper part of the monitored territory and a partial renaturation of hydropedological conditions led to an improvement of production-ecological parameters of the area. Changes of its structure are of positive tendency, the leaf area index is stabilised at high values and somewhere even increased (in 1994 being by 70-80% higher than in 1991). 3) Localities with a permanent decrease of the ground water level (band along the old river-bed of the Danube, a dry triangle among the old river-bed of the Danube, the inlet canal and the river arm supplied by the intake structure at Dobrohost and other places) were afflicted by negative changes, locally indicating destruction of tree and shrub layers, with the leaf area index significantly reduced by 20-30%. (author). 1 tab., 5 refs [sk

A Framework Based on 2-D Taylor Expansion for Quantifying the Impacts of Subpixel Reflectance Variance and Covariance on Cloud Optical Thickness and Effective Radius Retrievals Based on the Bispectral Method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z.; Werner, F.; Cho, H.-M.; Wind, G.; Platnick, S.; Ackerman, A. S.; Di Girolamo, L.; Marshak, A.; Meyer, K.

2016-01-01

The bispectral method retrieves cloud optical thickness (t) and cloud droplet effective radius (re) simultaneously from a pair of cloud reflectance observations, one in a visible or near-infrared (VIS/NIR) band and the other in a shortwave infrared (SWIR) band. A cloudy pixel is usually assumed to be horizontally homogeneous in the retrieval. Ignoring subpixel variations of cloud reflectances can lead to a significant bias in the retrieved t and re. In the literature, the retrievals of t and re are often assumed to be independent and considered separately when investigating the impact of subpixel cloud reflectance variations on the bispectral method. As a result, the impact on t is contributed only by the subpixel variation of VIS/NIR band reflectance and the impact on re only by the subpixel variation of SWIR band reflectance. In our new framework, we use the Taylor expansion of a two-variable function to understand and quantify the impacts of subpixel variances of VIS/NIR and SWIR cloud reflectances and their covariance on the t and re retrievals. This framework takes into account the fact that the retrievals are determined by both VIS/NIR and SWIR band observations in a mutually dependent way. In comparison with previous studies, it provides a more comprehensive understanding of how subpixel cloud reflectance variations impact the t and re retrievals based on the bispectral method. In particular, our framework provides a mathematical explanation of how the subpixel variation in VIS/NIR band influences the re retrieval and why it can sometimes outweigh the influence of variations in the SWIR band and dominate the error in re retrievals, leading to a potential contribution of positive bias to the re retrieval. We test our framework using synthetic cloud fields from a large-eddy simulation and real observations from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. The predicted results based on our framework agree very well with the numerical simulations. Our

40 CFR Table 4 to Subpart G of... - Process Vents-Monitoring, Recordkeeping, and Reporting Requirements For Maintaining a TRE Index...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., and Reporting Requirements For Maintaining a TRE Index Value >1.0 and. â¤4.0 4 Table 4 to Subpart G of... TRE Index Value >1.0 and. ≤4.0 Final recovery device Parameters to be monitored a Recordkeeping and... for Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry for...

Effects of Depth of Propofol and Sevoflurane Anesthesia on Upper Airway Collapsibility, Respiratory Genioglossus Activation, and Breathing in Healthy Volunteers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simons, Jeroen C P; Pierce, Eric; Diaz-Gil, Daniel

2016-01-01

. Measurements included bispectral index, genioglossus electromyography, ventilation, hypopharyngeal pressure, upper airway closing pressure, and change in end-expiratory lung volume during mask pressure drops. RESULTS: A total of 393 attempted breaths during occlusion maneuvers were analyzed. Upper airway......BACKGROUND: Volatile anesthetics and propofol impair upper airway stability and possibly respiratory upper airway dilator muscle activity. The magnitudes of these effects have not been compared at equivalent anesthetic doses. We hypothesized that upper airway closing pressure is less negative...... closing pressure was significantly less negative at deep versus shallow anesthesia (-10.8 ± 4.5 vs. -11.3 ± 4.4 cm H2O, respectively [mean ± SD]) and correlated with the bispectral index (P airway at deep anesthesia. Respiratory genioglossus activity during airway...

A Groundwater Resource Index (GRI) for drought monitoring and forecasting in a mediterranean climate

Science.gov (United States)

Mendicino, Giuseppe; Senatore, Alfonso; Versace, Pasquale

2008-08-01

SummaryDrought indices are essential elements of an efficient drought watching system, aimed at providing a concise overall picture of drought conditions. Owing to its simplicity, time-flexibility and standardization, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) has become a very widely used meteorological index, even if it is not able to account for effects of aquifers, soil, land use characteristics, canopy growth and temperature anomalies. Many other drought indices have been developed over the years, with monitoring and forecasting purposes, also with the purpose of taking advantage of the opportunities offered by remote sensing and improved general circulation models (GCMs). Moreover, some aggregated indices aimed at capturing the different features of drought have been proposed, but very few drought indices are focused on the groundwater resource status. In this paper a novel Groundwater Resource Index (GRI) is presented as a reliable tool useful in a multi-analysis approach for monitoring and forecasting drought conditions. The GRI is derived from a simple distributed water balance model, and has been tested in a Mediterranean region, characterized by different geo-lithological conditions mainly affecting the summer hydrologic response of the catchments to winter precipitation. The analysis of the GRI characteristics shows a high spatial variability and, compared to the SPI through spectral analysis, a significant sensitivity to the lithological characterization of the analyzed region. Furthermore, the GRI shows a very high auto-correlation during summer months, useful for forecasting purposes. The capability of the proposed index in forecasting summer droughts was tested analyzing the correlation of the GRI April values with the mean summer runoff values of some river basins (obtaining a mean correlation value of 0.60) and with the summer NDVI values of several forested areas, where correlation values greater than 0.77 were achieved. Moreover, its performance

Climate Prediction Center - Monitoring & Data Index

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Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Prediction Center Site Map News Oceanic & Atmospheric Monitoring and Data Monitoring Weather & Climate in Realtime Climate Diagnostics Bulletin Preliminary Climate Diagnostics Bulletin Figures Monthly Atmospheric & Sea Surface

A Framework Based on 2-D Taylor Expansion for Quantifying the Impacts of Sub-Pixel Reflectance Variance and Covariance on Cloud Optical Thickness and Effective Radius Retrievals Based on the Bi-Spectral Method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z.; Werner, F.; Cho, H. -M.; Wind, G.; Platnick, S.; Ackerman, A. S.; Di Girolamo, L.; Marshak, A.; Meyer, Kerry

2016-01-01

The bi-spectral method retrieves cloud optical thickness and cloud droplet effective radius simultaneously from a pair of cloud reflectance observations, one in a visible or near-infrared (VISNIR) band and the other in a shortwave infrared (SWIR) band. A cloudy pixel is usually assumed to be horizontally homogeneous in the retrieval. Ignoring sub-pixel variations of cloud reflectances can lead to a significant bias in the retrieved and re. In the literature, the retrievals of and re are often assumed to be independent and considered separately when investigating the impact of sub-pixel cloud reflectance variations on the bi-spectral method. As a result, the impact on is contributed only by the sub-pixel variation of VISNIR band reflectance and the impact on re only by the sub-pixel variation of SWIR band reflectance. In our new framework, we use the Taylor expansion of a two-variable function to understand and quantify the impacts of sub-pixel variances of VISNIR and SWIR cloud reflectances and their covariance on the and re retrievals. This framework takes into account the fact that the retrievals are determined by both VISNIR and SWIR band observations in a mutually dependent way. In comparison with previous studies, it provides a more comprehensive understanding of how sub-pixel cloud reflectance variations impact the and re retrievals based on the bi-spectral method. In particular, our framework provides a mathematical explanation of how the sub-pixel variation in VISNIR band influences the re retrieval and why it can sometimes outweigh the influence of variations in the SWIR band and dominate the error in re retrievals, leading to a potential contribution of positive bias to the re retrieval. We test our framework using synthetic cloud fields from a large-eddy simulation and real observations from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. The predicted results based on our framework agree very well with the numerical simulations. Our framework can be used

The N-ERC index is a novel monitoring and prognostic marker for advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, Takanori; Tajima, Ken; Hirama, Michihiro; Sato, Tadashi; Kido, Kenji; Iwakami, Shin-Ichiro; Sasaki, Shinichi; Iwase, Akihiko; Shiomi, Kazu; Maeda, Masahiro; Hino, Okio; Takahashi, Kazuhisa

2013-04-01

Although N-ERC/mesothelin (N-ERC) is an attractive diagnostic and treatment monitoring biomarker for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), its clinical utility for predicting the prognosis has not yet been clarified. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the serum N-ERC level can accurately predict the outcome in patients with MPM. Twenty-six patients with MPM were enrolled. Serum N-ERC level was measured before and after chemotherapy. The N-ERC index was determined by the logarithm of the division of the N-ERC level after two courses of chemotherapy by the prior level. The median N-ERC index in the partial response (PR) group was significantly lower than that in patients with the stable disease (SD) plus the progressive disease (PD) group. The overall survival in the group whose median N-ERC index was lower than its median value was significantly longer than the group whose median N-ERC index was higher than its median value. The N-ERC index is therefore considered to be a useful biomarker for predicting not only the chemotherapeutic response, but also the prognosis in patients with advanced MPM.

Fat mass index performs best in monitoring management of obesity in prepubertal children.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira-da-Silva, Luís; Dias, Mónica Pitta-Grós; Dionísio, Elisabete; Virella, Daniel; Alves, Marta; Diamantino, Catarina; Alonso, Anabela; Cordeiro-Ferreira, Gonçalo

2016-01-01

An early and accurate recognition of success in treating obesity may increase the compliance of obese children and their families to intervention programs. This observational, prospective study aimed to evaluate the ability and the time to detect a significant reduction of adiposity estimated by body mass index (BMI), percentage of fat mass (%FM), and fat mass index (FMI) during weight management in prepubertal obese children. In a cohort of 60 prepubertal obese children aged 3-9 years included in an outpatient weight management program, BMI, %FM, and FMI were monitored monthly; the last two measurements were assessed using air displacement plethysmography. The outcome measures were the reduction of >5% of each indicator and the time to achieve it. The rate of detection of the outcome was 33.3% (95% CI: 25.9-41.6) using BMI, significantly lower (pchildren. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Predicting US Drought Monitor (USDM) states using precipitation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration anomalies, Part I: Development of a non-discrete USDM index

Science.gov (United States)

The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) classifies drought into five discrete dryness/drought categories based on expert synthesis of numerous data sources. In this study, an empirical methodology is presented for creating a non-discrete U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) index that simultaneously 1) represents th...

Association between different measurements of blood pressure variability by ABP monitoring and ankle-brachial index.

Science.gov (United States)

Wittke, Estefânia; Fuchs, Sandra C; Fuchs, Flávio D; Moreira, Leila B; Ferlin, Elton; Cichelero, Fábio T; Moreira, Carolina M; Neyeloff, Jeruza; Moreira, Marina B; Gus, Miguel

2010-11-05

Blood pressure (BP) variability has been associated with cardiovascular outcomes, but there is no consensus about the more effective method to measure it by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). We evaluated the association between three different methods to estimate BP variability by ABPM and the ankle brachial index (ABI). In a cross-sectional study of patients with hypertension, BP variability was estimated by the time rate index (the first derivative of SBP over time), standard deviation (SD) of 24-hour SBP; and coefficient of variability of 24-hour SBP. ABI was measured with a doppler probe. The sample included 425 patients with a mean age of 57 ± 12 years, being 69.2% women, 26.1% current smokers and 22.1% diabetics. Abnormal ABI (≤ 0.90 or ≥ 1.40) was present in 58 patients. The time rate index was 0.516 ± 0.146 mmHg/min in patients with abnormal ABI versus 0.476 ± 0.124 mmHg/min in patients with normal ABI (P = 0.007). In a logistic regression model the time rate index was associated with ABI, regardless of age (OR = 6.9, 95% CI = 1.1- 42.1; P = 0.04). In a multiple linear regression model, adjusting for age, SBP and diabetes, the time rate index was strongly associated with ABI (P < 0.01). None of the other indexes of BP variability were associated with ABI in univariate and multivariate analyses. Time rate index is a sensible method to measure BP variability by ABPM. Its performance for risk stratification of patients with hypertension should be explored in longitudinal studies.

Sample Entropy Analysis of EEG Signals via Artificial Neural Networks to Model Patients’ Consciousness Level Based on Anesthesiologists Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George J. A. Jiang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Electroencephalogram (EEG signals, as it can express the human brain’s activities and reflect awareness, have been widely used in many research and medical equipment to build a noninvasive monitoring index to the depth of anesthesia (DOA. Bispectral (BIS index monitor is one of the famous and important indicators for anesthesiologists primarily using EEG signals when assessing the DOA. In this study, an attempt is made to build a new indicator using EEG signals to provide a more valuable reference to the DOA for clinical researchers. The EEG signals are collected from patients under anesthetic surgery which are filtered using multivariate empirical mode decomposition (MEMD method and analyzed using sample entropy (SampEn analysis. The calculated signals from SampEn are utilized to train an artificial neural network (ANN model through using expert assessment of consciousness level (EACL which is assessed by experienced anesthesiologists as the target to train, validate, and test the ANN. The results that are achieved using the proposed system are compared to BIS index. The proposed system results show that it is not only having similar characteristic to BIS index but also more close to experienced anesthesiologists which illustrates the consciousness level and reflects the DOA successfully.

Bispectral analysis of harmonic oscillations measured using beam emission spectroscopy and magnetic probes in CHS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oishi, Tetsutarou; Yoshinuma, Mikirou; Ida, Katsumi; Akiyama, Tsuyoshi; Minami, Takashi; Nagaoka, Kenichi; Shimizu, Akihiro; Okamura, Shoichi; Kado, Shinichiro

2008-01-01

The coherent MHD oscillation, which consists of the fundamental frequency of several kilohertz and its higher harmonics, (harmonic oscillation: HO) has been observed in Compact Helical System. HO consists of two pairs of harmonic series. One is located in the core region near the ι=0.5 rational surface (denoted as 'HO (core)'), the other is located in the edge region near the ι=1.0 rational surface (denoted as 'HO (edge)'). In the present study, bispectral analysis is applied to the fluctuation data, for which HO is measured by beam emission spectroscopy (BES) and using magnetic probes. The analysis has revealed that fundamental mode of HO in both the magnetic and core density fluctuations have phase correlation with the harmonics including fundamental oscillation, while HO in edge density fluctuation does not have such phase correlation. Mode numbers of HOs are identical for harmonic components having different frequencies, i.e., m/n=-2/1 for HO (core) and m/n=-1/1 for HO (edge). It suggests that the generation of harmonics cannot be interpreted simply as mode coupling because the summation rule for the wavenumber is not satisfied, even though the bicoherence value is significant. The bicoherence value and relative amplitude of higher harmonics correlate with each other, which suggests that bicoherence indicates the degree of distortion of the signals. (author)

Association between different measurements of blood pressure variability by ABP monitoring and ankle-brachial index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moreira Leila B

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Blood pressure (BP variability has been associated with cardiovascular outcomes, but there is no consensus about the more effective method to measure it by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM. We evaluated the association between three different methods to estimate BP variability by ABPM and the ankle brachial index (ABI. Methods and Results In a cross-sectional study of patients with hypertension, BP variability was estimated by the time rate index (the first derivative of SBP over time, standard deviation (SD of 24-hour SBP; and coefficient of variability of 24-hour SBP. ABI was measured with a doppler probe. The sample included 425 patients with a mean age of 57 ± 12 years, being 69.2% women, 26.1% current smokers and 22.1% diabetics. Abnormal ABI (≤ 0.90 or ≥ 1.40 was present in 58 patients. The time rate index was 0.516 ± 0.146 mmHg/min in patients with abnormal ABI versus 0.476 ± 0.124 mmHg/min in patients with normal ABI (P = 0.007. In a logistic regression model the time rate index was associated with ABI, regardless of age (OR = 6.9, 95% CI = 1.1- 42.1; P = 0.04. In a multiple linear regression model, adjusting for age, SBP and diabetes, the time rate index was strongly associated with ABI (P Conclusion Time rate index is a sensible method to measure BP variability by ABPM. Its performance for risk stratification of patients with hypertension should be explored in longitudinal studies.

Enhancing the Extreme Climate Index (ECI) to monitor climate extremes for an index-based insurance scheme across Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Helmschrot, J.; Malherbe, J.; Chamunorwa, M.; Muthige, M.; Petitta, M.; Calmanti, S.; Cucchi, M.; Syroka, J.; Iyahen, E.; Engelbrecht, F.

2017-12-01

Climate services are a key component of National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes, which require the analysis of current climate conditions, future climate change scenarios and the identification of adaptation strategies, including the capacity to finance and implement effective adaptation options. The Extreme Climate Facility (XCF) proposed by the African Risk Capacity (ARC) developed a climate index insurance scheme, which is based on the Extreme Climate Index (ECI): an objective, multi-hazard index capable of tracking changes in the frequency or magnitude of extreme weather events, thus indicating possible shifts to a new climate regime in various regions. The main hazards covered by ECI are extreme dry, wet and heat events, with the possibility of adding other region-specific risk events. The ECI is standardized across broad geographical regions, so that extreme events occurring under different climatic regimes in Africa can be compared. Initially developed by an Italian company specialized in Climate Services, research is now conducted at the CSIR and SASSCAL, to verify and further develop the ECI for application in southern African countries, through a project initiated by the World Food Programme (WFP) and ARC. The paper will present findings on the most appropriate definitions of extremely wet and dry conditions in Africa, in terms of their impact across a multitude of sub-regional climates of the African continent. Findings of a verification analysis of the ECI, as determined through vegetation monitoring data and the SASSCAL weather station network will be discussed. Changes in the ECI under climate change will subsequently be projected, using detailed regional projections generated by the CSIR and through the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX). This work will be concluded by the development of a web-based climate service informing African Stakeholders on climate extremes.

Imaging photoplethysmography for clinical assessment of cutaneous microcirculation at two different depths

Science.gov (United States)

Marcinkevics, Zbignevs; Rubins, Uldis; Zaharans, Janis; Miscuks, Aleksejs; Urtane, Evelina; Ozolina-Moll, Liga

2016-03-01

The feasibility of bispectral imaging photoplethysmography (iPPG) system for clinical assessment of cutaneous microcirculation at two different depths is proposed. The iPPG system has been developed and evaluated for in vivo conditions during various tests: (1) topical application of vasodilatory liniment on the skin, (2) skin local heating, (3) arterial occlusion, and (4) regional anesthesia. The device has been validated by the measurements of a laser Doppler imager (LDI) as a reference. The hardware comprises four bispectral light sources (530 and 810 nm) for uniform illumination of skin, video camera, and the control unit for triggering of the system. The PPG signals were calculated and the changes of perfusion index (PI) were obtained during the tests. The results showed convincing correlations for PI obtained by iPPG and LDI at (1) topical liniment (r=0.98) and (2) heating (r=0.98) tests. The topical liniment and local heating tests revealed good selectivity of the system for superficial microcirculation monitoring. It is confirmed that the iPPG system could be used for assessment of cutaneous perfusion at two different depths, morphologically and functionally different vascular networks, and thus utilized in clinics as a cost-effective alternative to the LDI.

Development of lichen response indexes using a regional gradient modeling approach for large-scale monitoring of forests

Science.gov (United States)

Susan Will-Wolf; Peter Neitlich

2010-01-01

Development of a regional lichen gradient model from community data is a powerful tool to derive lichen indexes of response to environmental factors for large-scale and long-term monitoring of forest ecosystems. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service includes lichens in its national inventory of forests of...

Haemodynamic stability during anaesthesia induction with propofol – impact of phenylephrine. A double-blind, randomised clinical trial.

OpenAIRE

KAMENIK, MIRT; KOS, DARJAN; MÖLLER PETRUN, Andreja; GREEN, DAVID W; ZORKO, NUŠKA; MEKIŠ, DUŠAN

2018-01-01

Background. We studied the efects of a parallel phenylephrine infusion during bispectral index guided anaesthesia induction with propofol on haemodynamic parameters. We hypothesised that mean arterial pressure and cardiac index would be better maintained in the group of patients receiving the phenylephrine infusion during induction. Methods. We studied ASA I-III patients scheduled for oncological abdominal surgery. Forty patients randomly received either a ...

Indexed bibliography on tritium: its sources and projections, behavior, measurement and monitoring techniques, health physics aspects, and waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, M.N.; Holoway, C.F.; Houser, B.L.; Jacobs, D.G.

1975-08-01

References are presented to the world literature on sources of tritium in the environment, the migration of tritium in the environment and uptake by biological materials, monitoring methods, health aspects, and radioactive waste management. Subject, author, and permuted title indexes are included. (U.S.)

Midazolam por via oral como medicação pré-anestésica em crianças e adolescentes com paralisia cerebral: estudo comparativo das variações do índice bispectral Midazolam por vía oral como medicación preanestésica en niños y adolescentes con parálisis cerebral: estudio comparativo de las variaciones del índice bispectral Oral midazolam as pre-anesthetic medication in children and teenagers with cerebral palsy: a comparative study on the variations of the bispectral index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verônica Vieira da Costa

2009-02-01

grupo de pacientes que presentan una serie de particularidades, con alteraciones inclusive en la región de la acción del midazolam. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar la acción del midazolam utilizado como medicación preanestésica sobre el índice bispectral (EEG-BIS de los pacientes con parálisis cerebral. MÉTODO: Se evaluaron dos grupos de pacientes: uno con diagnóstico de PC y el otro sin enfermedad del sistema nervioso central (SNC y periférico. Se registraron valores de EEG-BIS en la enfermería en la víspera de la operación y el día de la operación, 40 minutos después de la administración de 0,6 mg.kg-1 de midazolam por vía oral. Quedaron excluidos pacientes con historial de reacción paradoxal al midazolam y pacientes del grupo control que estuviesen usando otra medicación. RESULTADOS: Se estudiaron 77 pacientes de ambos sexos, entre 4 y 18 años de edad. No hubo diferencia entre los valores de EEG-BIS basal entre los grupos estudiados. Después del uso del midazolam hubo una reducción de los valores del EEG-BIS en los dos grupos estudiados, con diferencia estadística significativa en cada grupo. En la comparación entre los grupos no hubo diferencia estadística. CONCLUSIONES: El midazolam administrado como medicación preanestésica en la dosis de 0,6 mg.kg-1 redujo los valores basales del EEG-BIS sin caracterizar la hipnosis y sin diferencia estadística en los grupos estudiados.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Midazolam is a benzodiazepine with hypnotic action widely used as pre-anesthetic medication in pediatric anesthesia. Children with cerebral palsy (CP also benefit from the use of midazolam, but its effects on this group of patients, who present several particularities, including changes at the site of action of midazolam, are still unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of midazolam, when used as pre-anesthetic medication, on the bispectral index (EEG-BIS of patients with cerebral palsy. METHODS: Two groups of

Using Social Media to Detect Outdoor Air Pollution and Monitor Air Quality Index (AQI): A Geo-Targeted Spatiotemporal Analysis Framework with Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter).

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Wei; Wang, Yandong; Tsou, Ming-Hsiang; Fu, Xiaokang

2015-01-01

Outdoor air pollution is a serious problem in many developing countries today. This study focuses on monitoring the dynamic changes of air quality effectively in large cities by analyzing the spatiotemporal trends in geo-targeted social media messages with comprehensive big data filtering procedures. We introduce a new social media analytic framework to (1) investigate the relationship between air pollution topics posted in Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter) and the daily Air Quality Index (AQI) published by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection; and (2) monitor the dynamics of air quality index by using social media messages. Correlation analysis was used to compare the connections between discussion trends in social media messages and the temporal changes in the AQI during 2012. We categorized relevant messages into three types, retweets, mobile app messages, and original individual messages finding that original individual messages had the highest correlation to the Air Quality Index. Based on this correlation analysis, individual messages were used to monitor the AQI in 2013. Our study indicates that the filtered social media messages are strongly correlated to the AQI and can be used to monitor the air quality dynamics to some extent.

Using Social Media to Detect Outdoor Air Pollution and Monitor Air Quality Index (AQI: A Geo-Targeted Spatiotemporal Analysis Framework with Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Jiang

Full Text Available Outdoor air pollution is a serious problem in many developing countries today. This study focuses on monitoring the dynamic changes of air quality effectively in large cities by analyzing the spatiotemporal trends in geo-targeted social media messages with comprehensive big data filtering procedures. We introduce a new social media analytic framework to (1 investigate the relationship between air pollution topics posted in Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter and the daily Air Quality Index (AQI published by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection; and (2 monitor the dynamics of air quality index by using social media messages. Correlation analysis was used to compare the connections between discussion trends in social media messages and the temporal changes in the AQI during 2012. We categorized relevant messages into three types, retweets, mobile app messages, and original individual messages finding that original individual messages had the highest correlation to the Air Quality Index. Based on this correlation analysis, individual messages were used to monitor the AQI in 2013. Our study indicates that the filtered social media messages are strongly correlated to the AQI and can be used to monitor the air quality dynamics to some extent.

Climate Prediction Center - Monitoring and Data Index

Science.gov (United States)

Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Prediction Center Home Site Map News ; Atmospheric Monitoring and Data Monitoring Weather & Climate in Realtime Climate Diagnostics Bulletin Preliminary Climate Diagnostics Bulletin Figures Monthly Atmospheric & Sea Surface Temperature Indices

[Evaluation of circulatory state using pulse oximeter: 2. PI (perfusion index) x PVI (pleth variability index)].

Science.gov (United States)

Kaneda, Toru; Suzuki, Toshiyasu

2009-07-01

Pulse oximeter expressed by SpO2 is used for monitoring respiratory state during operation and in ICU. Perfusion index (PI) and pleth variability index (PVI) as new indexes are calculated from pulse oximeter (Masimo SET Radical-7, Masimo Corp., USA, 1998) waveforms. And these indices were used as parameters to evaluate the circulatory state. For PI calculation, the pulsatile infrared signal is indexed against the nonpulsatile infrared signal and expressed as a percentage. It might thus be of future value in assessment of perioperative changes in peripheral perfusion. PVI is a measure of a dynamic change in PI that occurs during complete respiratory cycle. It might be thought that PVI, an index automatically derived from the pulse oximeter waveform analysis, had potentially clinical applications for noninvasive hypovolemia detection and fluid responsiveness monitoring.

Cloud cover over the equatorial eastern Pacific derived from July 1983 International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data using a hybrid bispectral threshold method

Science.gov (United States)

Minnis, Patrick; Harrison, Edwin F.; Gibson, Gary G.

1987-01-01

A set of visible and IR data obtained with GOES from July 17-31, 1983 is analyzed using a modified version of the hybrid bispectral threshold method developed by Minnis and Harrison (1984). This methodology can be divided into a set of procedures or optional techniques to determine the proper contaminate clear-sky temperature or IR threshold. The various optional techniques are described; the options are: standard, low-temperature limit, high-reflectance limit, low-reflectance limit, coldest pixel and thermal adjustment limit, IR-only low-cloud temperature limit, IR clear-sky limit, and IR overcast limit. Variations in the cloud parameters and the characteristics and diurnal cycles of trade cumulus and stratocumulus clouds over the eastern equatorial Pacific are examined. It is noted that the new method produces substantial changes in about one third of the cloud amount retrieval; and low cloud retrievals are affected most by the new constraints.

Energy index decomposition methodology at the plant level

Science.gov (United States)

Kumphai, Wisit

Scope and method of study. The dissertation explores the use of a high level energy intensity index as a facility-level energy performance monitoring indicator with a goal of developing a methodology for an economically based energy performance monitoring system that incorporates production information. The performance measure closely monitors energy usage, production quantity, and product mix and determines the production efficiency as a part of an ongoing process that would enable facility managers to keep track of and, in the future, be able to predict when to perform a recommissioning process. The study focuses on the use of the index decomposition methodology and explored several high level (industry, sector, and country levels) energy utilization indexes, namely, Additive Log Mean Divisia, Multiplicative Log Mean Divisia, and Additive Refined Laspeyres. One level of index decomposition is performed. The indexes are decomposed into Intensity and Product mix effects. These indexes are tested on a flow shop brick manufacturing plant model in three different climates in the United States. The indexes obtained are analyzed by fitting an ARIMA model and testing for dependency between the two decomposed indexes. Findings and conclusions. The results concluded that the Additive Refined Laspeyres index decomposition methodology is suitable to use on a flow shop, non air conditioned production environment as an energy performance monitoring indicator. It is likely that this research can be further expanded in to predicting when to perform a recommissioning process.

Monitoring Attention in ADHD with an Easy-to-Use Electrophysiological Index

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Goded Shahaf

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD involves characteristic electroencephalographic (EEG activity. We developed a single-channel EEG marker for attention: the Brain Engagement Index (BEI’. In this study, we evaluated the use of BEI’ for distinguishing between ADHD patients and controls, and for monitoring the effect of pharmacological treatment on ADHD patients. The BEI’ values of 20 ADHD patients and 10 controls were measured using a 1-min auditory oddball paradigm and a continuous performance test (CPT task. We showed that CPT BEI’ is trait-specific and separates controls from ADHD patients. At the same time, oddball BEI’ is state-specific and identifies differences in attention level within the two groups of ADHD participants and controls. The oddball BEI’ also associates with response to treatment, after distinguishing between treatment effect and learning/time effect. The combined use of this marker with common computerized tests holds promise for research and clinical use in ADHD. Further work is required to confirm the results of the present study.

Characteristics and trends on global environmental monitoring research: a bibliometric analysis based on Science Citation Index Expanded.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Di; Fu, Hui-Zhen; Ho, Yuh-Shan

2017-11-01

A bibliometric analysis based on the Science Citation Index Expanded from Web of Science was carried out to provide insights into research activities and trends of the environmental monitoring from 1993 to 2012. Study emphases covered publication outputs, language, categories, journals, countries/territories, institutions, words, and hot issues. The results indicated that the annual output of environmental monitoring publications increased steadily. The environmental sciences and analytical chemistry were the two most common categories. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment published the most articles. The USA and the UK ranked in the top two in terms of all five indicators. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took the leading position of the institutions in terms of publication output. The synthesized analysis by words in title, author keywords, and KeyWords Plus provided important clues for hot issues. Researchers paid more attention on water environment monitoring than other environmental factors. The contaminants including organic contaminants, heavy metal, and radiation were most common research focuses, and the organic contaminants and heavy metal of the degree of concern were gradually rising. Sensor and biosensor played an important role in the field of environmental monitoring devices. In addition to conventional device detection method, the remote sensing, GIS, and wireless sensor networks were the mainstream environmental monitoring methods. The international organization, social awareness, and the countries' positive and effective political and policies promoted the published articles.

A novel insulin resistance index to monitor changes in insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance: the ACT NOW study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tripathy, Devjit; Cobb, Jeff E; Gall, Walter; Adam, Klaus-Peter; George, Tabitha; Schwenke, Dawn C; Banerji, MaryAnn; Bray, George A; Buchanan, Thomas A; Clement, Stephen C; Henry, Robert R; Kitabchi, Abbas E; Mudaliar, Sunder; Ratner, Robert E; Stentz, Frankie B; Reaven, Peter D; Musi, Nicolas; Ferrannini, Ele; DeFronzo, Ralph A

2015-05-01

The objective was to test the clinical utility of Quantose M(Q) to monitor changes in insulin sensitivity after pioglitazone therapy in prediabetic subjects. Quantose M(Q) is derived from fasting measurements of insulin, α-hydroxybutyrate, linoleoyl-glycerophosphocholine, and oleate, three nonglucose metabolites shown to correlate with insulin-stimulated glucose disposal. Participants were 428 of the total of 602 ACT NOW impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) subjects randomized to pioglitazone (45 mg/d) or placebo and followed for 2.4 years. At baseline and study end, fasting plasma metabolites required for determination of Quantose, glycated hemoglobin, and oral glucose tolerance test with frequent plasma insulin and glucose measurements to calculate the Matsuda index of insulin sensitivity were obtained. Pioglitazone treatment lowered IGT conversion to diabetes (hazard ratio = 0.25; 95% confidence interval = 0.13-0.50; P < .0001). Although glycated hemoglobin did not track with insulin sensitivity, Quantose M(Q) increased in pioglitazone-treated subjects (by 1.45 [3.45] mg·min(-1)·kgwbm(-1)) (median [interquartile range]) (P < .001 vs placebo), as did the Matsuda index (by 3.05 [4.77] units; P < .0001). Quantose M(Q) correlated with the Matsuda index at baseline and change in the Matsuda index from baseline (rho, 0.85 and 0.79, respectively; P < .0001) and was progressively higher across closeout glucose tolerance status (diabetes, IGT, normal glucose tolerance). In logistic models including only anthropometric and fasting measurements, Quantose M(Q) outperformed both Matsuda and fasting insulin in predicting incident diabetes. In IGT subjects, Quantose M(Q) parallels changes in insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance with pioglitazone therapy. Due to its strong correlation with improved insulin sensitivity and its ease of use, Quantose M(Q) may serve as a useful clinical test to identify and monitor therapy in insulin-resistant patients.

Depth of anaesthesia and post-operative cognitive dysfunction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steinmetz, J; Funder, K S; Dahl, B T

2010-01-01

A deep level of anaesthesia measured by the bispectral index has been found to improve processing speed as one aspect of cognitive function after surgery. The purpose of the present study was to assess the possible effect of the level of anaesthesia on post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) 1...

A FRAMEWORK FOR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND MONITORING OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM USING COMPOSITE PERFORMANCE INDEX

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanta Kumar Gauri

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A public health program (PHP taken up by the government of a country refers to all organized measures to prevent disease and promote health among the population, by providing different planned cares/services to the people. Usually, the target population for different PHP are different. The basic requirement for success of a PHP is to ensure that all the planned cares/services are reached to each member of the target population. Therefore, the important performance measures for a PHP are the implementation status of all the planned cares/services under the PHP. However, management and monitoring of a PHP become quite difficult by interpreting separately the information contained in a large number of performance measures. Therefore, usually a metric, called composite performance index (CPI, is evaluated to understand the overall performance of a PHP. However, due a scaling operation involved in the CPI computation procedure, the CPI value does not reveal the true overall implementation status of a PHP and consequently, it is effective for management of a PHP. This paper presents a new approach for CPI computation, in which scaling/normalization of the performance variables is not required and therefore, it can be used for monitoring the true overall implementation status of a PHP in a region. A systematic approach for monitoring a PHP using the CPI values is proposed and applied for monitoring the maternal and child healthcare (MCH program. The results are found effective towards continuous improvement of implementation status.

Water use benefit index as a tool for community-based monitoring of water related trends in the Great Barrier Reef region

Science.gov (United States)

Smajgl, A.; Larson, S.; Hug, B.; De Freitas, D. M.

2010-12-01

SummaryThis paper presents a tool for documenting and monitoring water use benefits in the Great Barrier Reef catchments that allows temporal and spatial comparison along the region. Water, water use benefits and water allocations are currently receiving much attention from Australian policy makers and conservation practitioners. Because of the inherent complexity and variability in water quality, it is essential that scientific information is presented in a meaningful way to policy makers, managers and ultimately, to the general public who have to live with the consequences of the decisions. We developed an inexpensively populated and easily understandable water use benefit index as a tool for community-based monitoring of water related trends in the Great Barrier Reef region. The index is developed based on a comparative list of selected water-related indices integrating attributes across physico-chemical, economic, social, and ecological domains currently used in the assessment of water quality, water quantity and water use benefits in Australia. Our findings indicate that the proposed index allows the identification of water performance indicators by temporal and spatial comparisons. Benefits for decision makers and conservation practitioners include a flexible way of prioritization towards the domain with highest concern. The broader community benefits from a comprehensive and user-friendly tool, communicating changes in water quality trends more effectively.

Parental monitoring of children's media consumption: the long-term influences on body mass index in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiberio, Stacey S; Kerr, David C R; Capaldi, Deborah M; Pears, Katherine C; Kim, Hyoun K; Nowicka, Paulina

2014-05-01

Although children's media consumption has been one of the most robust risk factors for childhood obesity, effects of specific parenting influences, such as parental media monitoring, have not been effectively investigated. To examine the potential influences of maternal and paternal monitoring of child media exposure and children's general activities on body mass index (BMI) in middle childhood. A longitudinal study, taken from a subsample of the Three Generational Study, a predominantly white, Pacific Northwest community sample (overall participation rate, 89.6%), included assessments performed from June 1998 to September 2012. Analyses included 112 mothers, 103 fathers, and their 213 children (55.4% girls) at age 5, 7, and/or 9 years. Participation rates ranged from 66.7% to 72.0% of all eligible Three Generational Study children across the 3 assessments. Parents reported on their general monitoring of their children (whereabouts and activities), specific monitoring of child media exposure, children's participation in sports and recreational activities, children's media time (hours per week), annual income, and educational level. Parental BMI was recorded. Predictions to level and change in child BMI z scores were tested. Linear mixed-effects modeling indicated that more maternal, but not paternal, monitoring of child media exposure predicted lower child BMI z scores at age 7 years (95% CI, -0.39 to -0.07) and less steeply increasing child BMI z scores from 5 to 9 years (95% CI, -0.11 to -0.01). These effects held when more general parental monitoring, and parent BMI, annual income, and educational level were controlled for. The significant negative effect of maternal media monitoring on children's BMI z scores at age 7 years was marginally accounted for by the effect of child media time. The maternal media monitoring effect on children's BMI z score slopes remained significant after adjustment for children's media time and sports and recreational activity. These

Application of the index WQI-CCME with data aggregation per monitoring campaign and per section of the river: case study-Joanes River, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

de Almeida, Geane Silva; de Oliveira, Iara Brandão

2018-03-07

This work applied the Water Quality Index developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (WQI-CCME), to communicate the water quality per section of the Joanes River basin, State of Bahia, Brazil. WQI-CCME is a statistical procedure that originally requires the execution of at least four monitoring campaigns per monitoring location and the measurement of at least four parameters. This paper presents a new aggregation method to calculate the WQI-CCME because, to apply the original method in Joanes River, a huge loss of information would occur, by the fact that, the number of analyzed parameters varied between the monitoring campaigns developed by the Government Monitoring Program. This work modified the original aggregation method replacing it by a data aggregation for a single monitoring campaign, in a minimum of four monitoring locations per section of the river and a minimum of four parameters per monitoring location. Comparison between the calculation of WQI-CCME for river sections, with the index, WQI-CETESB, developed by the Brazilian Environmental Sanitation and Technology Company-CETESB, proved the applicability of the new aggregation method. The WQI-CETESB has it bases on the WQI from the National Sanitation Foundation and uses nine fixed parameters. As WQI-CCME uses the totality of the analyzed parameters without restrictions, it is more flexible, and the results seem more adequate to indicate the real river water quality. However, the WQI-CCME has a more stringent water quality scale in comparison with the WQI-CETESB, resulting in inferior water quality information. In conclusion, the WQI-CCME with a new aggregation method is adequate for communicating the water quality at a given time, per section of a river, respecting the minimum number of four analyses and four monitoring points. As a result, without a need to wait for other campaigns, it reduces the cost of a monitoring program and the period to communicate the water quality. The

TOMS Absorbing Aerosol Index

Data.gov (United States)

Washington University St Louis — TOMS_AI_G is an aerosol related dataset derived from the Total Ozone Monitoring Satellite (TOMS) Sensor. The TOMS aerosol index arises from absorbing aerosols such...

Depth of anaesthesia and post-operative cognitive dysfunction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steinmetz, J; Funder, K S; Dahl, B T

2010-01-01

A deep level of anaesthesia measured by the bispectral index has been found to improve processing speed as one aspect of cognitive function after surgery. The purpose of the present study was to assess the possible effect of the level of anaesthesia on post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) 1...... week after surgery, as assessed by a neuropsychological test battery....

Improving and measuring inpatient documentation of medical care within the MS-DRG system: education, monitoring, and normalized case mix index.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenbaum, Benjamin P; Lorenz, Robert R; Luther, Ralph B; Knowles-Ward, Lisa; Kelly, Dianne L; Weil, Robert J

2014-01-01

Documentation of the care delivered to hospitalized patients is a ubiquitous and important aspect of medical care. The majority of references to documentation and coding are based on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS). We educated the members of a clinical care team in a single department (neurosurgery) at our hospital. We measured subsequent documentation improvements in a simple, meaningful, and reproducible fashion. We created a new metric to measure documentation, termed the "normalized case mix index," that allows comparison of hospitalizations across multiple unrelated MS-DRG groups. Compared to one year earlier, the traditional case mix index, normalized case mix index, severity of illness, and risk of mortality increased one year after the educational intervention. We encourage other organizations to implement and systematically monitor documentation improvement efforts when attempting to determine the accuracy and quality of documentation achieved.

Effects of music on sedation depth and sedative use during pediatric dental procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozkalayci, Ozlem; Araz, Coskun; Cehreli, Sevi Burcak; Tirali, Resmiye Ebru; Kayhan, Zeynep

2016-11-01

The study aimed to investigate the effects of listening to music or providing sound isolation on the depth of sedation and need for sedatives in pediatric dental patients. Prospective, randomized, and controlled study. Tertiary, university hospital. In total, 180 pediatric patients, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I and II, who were scheduled for dental procedures of tooth extraction, filling, amputation, and root treatment. Patients were categorized into 3 groups: music, isolation, and control. During the procedures, the patients in the music group listened to Vivaldi's The Four Seasons violin concertos by sound-isolating headphones, whereas the patients in the isolation group wore the headphones but did not listen to music. All patients were sedated by 0.1 mg/kg midazolam and 1 mg/kg propofol. During the procedure, an additional 0.5 mg/kg propofol was administered as required. Bispectral index was used for quantifying the depth of sedation, and total dosage of the propofol was used for sedative requirements. The patients' heart rates, oxygen saturations, and Observer's Assessment of Alertness and Sedation Scale and bispectral index scores, which were monitored during the operation, were similar among the groups. In terms of the amount of propofol used, the groups were similar. Prolonged postoperative recovery cases were found to be significantly frequent in the control group, according to the recovery duration measurements (P = .004). Listening to music or providing sound isolation during pediatric dental interventions did not alter the sedation level, amount of medication, and hemodynamic variables significantly. This result might be due to the deep sedation levels reached during the procedures. However, listening to music and providing sound isolation might have contributed in shortening the postoperative recovery duration of the patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vital Recorder-a free research tool for automatic recording of high-resolution time-synchronised physiological data from multiple anaesthesia devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyung-Chul; Jung, Chul-Woo

2018-01-24

The current anaesthesia information management system (AIMS) has limited capability for the acquisition of high-quality vital signs data. We have developed a Vital Recorder program to overcome the disadvantages of AIMS and to support research. Physiological data of surgical patients were collected from 10 operating rooms using the Vital Recorder. The basic equipment used were a patient monitor, the anaesthesia machine, and the bispectral index (BIS) monitor. Infusion pumps, cardiac output monitors, regional oximeter, and rapid infusion device were added as required. The automatic recording option was used exclusively and the status of recording was frequently checked through web monitoring. Automatic recording was successful in 98.5% (4,272/4,335) cases during eight months of operation. The total recorded time was 13,489 h (3.2 ± 1.9 h/case). The Vital Recorder's automatic recording and remote monitoring capabilities enabled us to record physiological big data with minimal effort. The Vital Recorder also provided time-synchronised data captured from a variety of devices to facilitate an integrated analysis of vital signs data. The free distribution of the Vital Recorder is expected to improve data access for researchers attempting physiological data studies and to eliminate inequalities in research opportunities due to differences in data collection capabilities.

Estimation of rice situation index in Japan using remotely sensed and meteorological data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, D.

2006-01-01

This research aims to develop a remote sensing method for monitoring rice production in Japan. A photosynthesis-based crop production index CPI for rice is proposed that takes into consideration the solar radiation, the effective air temperature, and normalized vegetation index NDVI as a factor representing vegetation biomass. The CPI index incorporates temperature influences such as the effect of temperature on photosynthesis by grain plant leaves, low-temperature effects of sterility, cool summer damage due to delayed growth, and high-temperature injury. These latter factors are significant at around the heading period of rice. The CPI index for rice was modeled at ten monitoring sites in the Kanto, Tohoku, and Hokkaido districts, which occasionally tend to suffer poor harvests as a result of low temperatures. The photosynthesis-based crop production index CPI proposed here can predict the crop situation index of rice by using NDVI, solar radiation at meteorological observatories and air temperature at AMeDAS sites. The method is based on routine observation data, allowing automated monitoring of rice situation index at arbitrary sites in Japan. However, it is possible to further refine the estimation formula for the rice situation index for early monitoring

Development of a Plant Health Index Monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heo, Gyun Young; An, Sang Ha; Seo, Ho Joon; Kim, Cho

2010-01-01

Since 2008, BNF Technology Inc. and Kyung Hee University have developed the 'Plant Health Index (PHI)' which is a software package to detect 'unhealthy conditions' of plant equipment in advance. While the difference between a setpoint and an operational condition is called 'process margin', the residual between an anticipated normal condition and an operational condition is called 'process uncertainty' or 'healthiness' in this study. It is obvious that the anomalies in process uncertainty can be observed earlier than those in process margin, which is the concept of 'early-warning' proposed in the recent condition-based maintenance (CBM) studies. One of the key factors for implementing the early warning capability should be how to expect the anticipated normal conditions using available information. The PHI was developed on the basis of empirical models, and we have published a few papers with regarding to the core technologies of the PHI. However, the overall architecture and features of the PHI have not been introduced to academic area so far. This paper delineates the overview of the PHI, and focuses on the recently developed module, which is the health index generator

Development of a Plant Health Index Monitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heo, Gyun Young [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); An, Sang Ha [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Seo, Ho Joon [BNF Technology Inc., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Cho [Korea South-East Power Co., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2010-05-15

Since 2008, BNF Technology Inc. and Kyung Hee University have developed the 'Plant Health Index (PHI)' which is a software package to detect 'unhealthy conditions' of plant equipment in advance. While the difference between a setpoint and an operational condition is called 'process margin', the residual between an anticipated normal condition and an operational condition is called 'process uncertainty' or 'healthiness' in this study. It is obvious that the anomalies in process uncertainty can be observed earlier than those in process margin, which is the concept of 'early-warning' proposed in the recent condition-based maintenance (CBM) studies. One of the key factors for implementing the early warning capability should be how to expect the anticipated normal conditions using available information. The PHI was developed on the basis of empirical models, and we have published a few papers with regarding to the core technologies of the PHI. However, the overall architecture and features of the PHI have not been introduced to academic area so far. This paper delineates the overview of the PHI, and focuses on the recently developed module, which is the health index generator

Power distribution monitor for nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishizawa, Yasuo; Kiguchi, Takashi.

1974-01-01

Object: To compare the measured local power region monitor (LPRM) index with the result of a primary calculation to correct the threshold condition for the primary calculation thereby to rapidly grasp and monitor the existing power distribution. Structure: The index of an LPRM disposed in a nuclear reactor is processed in a data processor to remove therefrom a noise, and transmitted to a threshold condition processor to be stored therein. The LPRM index measured by the threshold condition processor is compared with the calculated LPRM value transmitted from the primary processor, whereby the threshold condition is corrected and transmitted to the primary processor. After the completion of calculation, the traversing incore probe (TIP) indexing value is converted to a thermal output distribution or a linear output density distribution and transmitted to an output indicator or an output typewriter. The operator may monitor the existing power distribution by monitoring the output indicator. (Kamimura, M.)

Effects of subanaesthetic and anaesthetic doses of sevoflurane on regional cerebral blood flow in healthy volunteers. A positron emission tomographic study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schlünzen, L; Vafaee, M S; Cold, G E

2004-01-01

in the thalamus. At the last level (0.4 MAC vs. 1 MAC) the rCBF was increased in the insula and decreased in the posterior cingulate, the lingual gyrus, precuneus and in the frontal cortex. CONCLUSION: At sevoflurane concentrations at 0.7% and 2.0% a significant decrease in relative rCBF was detected...... escalating doses using 0.4%, 0.7% and 2.0% end-tidal sevoflurane inhalation. During baseline and each of the three levels of anaesthesia one PET scan was performed after injection of . Cardiovascular and respiratory parameters were monitored and electroencephalography and bispectral index (BIS) were......BACKGROUND: We tested the hypothesis that escalating drug concentrations of sevoflurane are associated with a significant decline of cerebral blood flow in regions subserving conscious brain activity, including specifically the thalamus. METHODS: Nine healthy human volunteers received three...

Bus Operation Monitoring Oriented Public Transit Travel Index System and Calculation Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiancheng Weng

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study proposed a two-dimensional index system which is concerned essentially with urban travel based on travel modes and user satisfaction. First, the public transit was taken as an example to describe the index system establishing process. In consideration of convenience, rapid, reliability, comfort, and safety, a bus service evaluation index system was established. The indicators include the N-minute coverage of bus stops, average travel speed, and fluctuation of travel time between stops and bus load factor which could intuitively describe the characteristics of public transport selected to calculate bus travel indexes. Then, combined with the basic indicators, the calculation models of Convenience Index (CI, Rapid Index (RI, Reliability Index (RBI, and Comfort Index (CTI were established based on the multisource data of public transit including the real-time bus GPS data and passenger IC card data. Finally, a case study of Beijing bus operation evaluation and analysis was conducted by taking real bus operation data including GPS data and passenger transaction recorder (IC card data. The results showed that the operation condition of the public transit was well reflected and scientifically classified by the bus travel index models.

The Index House

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reilly, M.A.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on the Pennsylvania Radon Research and Demonstration Project. The project involved the monitoring of the Index House for indoor radon, and was one of the earliest programs involving indoor radon contamination. The history of the house, the investigation, and testing and remediation procedures are discussed

The Dust Storm Index (DSI): A method for monitoring broadscale wind erosion using meteorological records

Science.gov (United States)

O'Loingsigh, T.; McTainsh, G. H.; Tews, E. K.; Strong, C. L.; Leys, J. F.; Shinkfield, P.; Tapper, N. J.

2014-03-01

Wind erosion of soils is a natural process that has shaped the semi-arid and arid landscapes for millennia. This paper describes the Dust Storm Index (DSI); a methodology for monitoring wind erosion using Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) meteorological observational data since the mid-1960s (long-term), at continental scale. While the 46 year length of the DSI record is its greatest strength from a wind erosion monitoring perspective, there are a number of technical challenges to its use because when the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) recording protocols were established the use of the data for wind erosion monitoring was never intended. Data recording and storage protocols are examined, including the effects of changes to the definition of how observers should interpret and record dust events. A method is described for selecting the 180 long-term ABM stations used in this study and the limitations of variable observation frequencies between stations are in part resolved. The rationale behind the DSI equation is explained and the examples of temporal and spatial data visualisation products presented include; a long term national wind erosion record (1965-2011), continental DSI maps, and maps of the erosion event types that are factored into the DSI equation. The DSI is tested against dust concentration data and found to provide an accurate representation of wind erosion activity. As the ABM observational records used here were collected according to WMO protocols, the DSI methodology could be used in all countries with WMO-compatible meteorological observation and recording systems.

Monitoring phenology of photosynthesis in temperate evergreen and mixed deciduous forests using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the photochemical reflectance index (PRI) at leaf and canopy scales

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, C. Y.; Arain, M. A.; Ensminger, I.

2016-12-01

Evergreen conifers in boreal and temperate regions undergo strong seasonal changes in photoperiod and temperatures, which determines their phenology of high photosynthetic activity in the growing season and downregulation during the winter. Monitoring the timing of the transition between summer activity and winter downregulation in evergreens is difficult since this is a largely invisible process, unlike in deciduous trees that have a visible budding and a sequence of leaf unfolding in the spring and leaf abscission in the fall. The light-use efficiency (LUE) model estimates gross primary productivity (GPP) and may be parameterized using remotely sensed vegetation indices. Using spectral reflectance data, we derived the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a measure of leaf "greenness", and the photochemical reflectance index (PRI), a proxy for chlorophyll:carotenoid ratios which is related to photosynthetic activity. To better understand the relationship between these vegetation indices and photosynthetic activity and to contrast this relationship between plant functional types, the phenology of NDVI, PRI and photosynthesis was monitored in an evergreen forest and a mixed deciduous forest at the leaf and canopy scale. Our data indicates that the LUE model can be parameterized by NDVI and PRI to track forest phenology. Differences in the sensitivity of PRI and NDVI will be discussed. These findings have implications to address the phenology of evergreen conifers by using PRI to complement NDVI in the LUE model, potentially improving model productivity estimates in northern hemisphere forests, that are dominated by conifers.

Correlation Between Dermatology Life Quality Index and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index in Patients with Psoriasis Treated with Ustekinumab

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hesselvig, Jeanette Halskou; Egeberg, Alexander; Loft, Nikolai Dyrberg

2018-01-01

Monitoring of biological treatment efficacy for psoriasis is based on clinical evaluation and patient's quality of life. However, long-term correlation between Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) in real life has not been studied in patients treated...

Snow Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Data: Modification of Normalized Difference Snow Index

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, G.; Avdan, U.

2016-12-01

Snow cover is an important part of the Earth`s climate system so its continuous monitoring is necessary to map snow cover in high resolution. Satellite remote sensing can successfully fetch land cover and land cover changes. Although normalized difference snow index NDSI has quite good accuracy, topography shadow, water bodies and clouds can be easily misplaced as snow. Using Landsat TM, +ETM and TIRS/OLI satellite images, the NDSI was modified for more accurate snow mapping. In this paper, elimination of the misplaced water bodies was made using the high reflectance of the snow in the blue band. Afterwards, the modified NDSI (MNDSI) was used for estimating snow cover through the years on the highest mountains in Republic of Macedonia. The results from this study show that the MNDSI accuracy is bigger than the NDSI`s, totally eliminating the misplaced water bodies, and partly the one caused from topography and clouds. Also, it was noticed that the snow cover in the study area has been lowered through the years. For future studies, the MNDSI should be validated on different study areas with different characteristics.

The effective effect-site propofol concentration for induction and intubation with two pharmacokinetic models in morbidly obese patients using total body weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Echevarría, Ghislaine C; Elgueta, María F; Donoso, María T; Bugedo, Diego A; Cortínez, Luis I; Muñoz, Hernán R

2012-10-01

Most pharmacokinetic (PK) models used for propofol administration are based on studies in normal-weight patients. Extrapolation of these models for morbidly obese patients is controversial. Using 2 PK models and a target-controlled infusion system, we determined the predicted propofol effect-site concentration (Ce) needed for induction of anesthesia in morbidly obese subjects using total body weight. Sixty-six morbidly obese subjects from 18 to 50 years of age were randomized to receive propofol to reach and maintain a predetermined propofol Ce, based on the PK models of either Marsh or Schnider. All patients were monitored with a Bispectral Index electroencephalographic monitor. Fentanyl 3 μg/kg total body weight was administered before starting the propofol infusion. After loss of consciousness, vecuronium was administered to facilitate endotracheal intubation. Groups of 6 patients each received propofol at a different, predetermined target propofol Ce. An "effective Ce" (ECe) was defined as the propofol Ce that provided adequate hypnosis (Bispectral Index <60) during the complete induction period (45 seconds after reaching the predetermined target Ce until 5 minutes after tracheal intubation). Heart rate and arterial blood pressure were measured every 1 minute throughout the study period. Probit regression analysis was performed to calculate the effective propofol Ce values to induce hypnosis in 50% (ECe(50)) and 95% (ECe(95)) of patients with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Patient characteristics were similar between models and across the propofol target concentration groups. The ECe(50) of propofol was 3.4 μg/mL (95% CI: 2.9, 3.7 μg/mL) with the Marsh model and 4.5 μg/mL (95% CI: 4.1, 4.8 μg/mL) with the Schnider model (P < 0.001). The ECe(95) values were 4.2 μg/mL (95% CI: 3.8, 6.2 μg/mL) and 5.5 μg/mL (95% CI: 5.0, 7.2 μg/mL) with Marsh and Schnider models, respectively. At the ECe(95), hemodynamic effects were similar with the 2 PK models

An automated fog monitoring system for the Indo-Gangetic Plains based on satellite measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Patil, Dinesh; Chourey, Reema; Rizvi, Sarwar; Singh, Manoj; Gautam, Ritesh

2016-05-01

Fog is a meteorological phenomenon that causes reduction in regional visibility and affects air quality, thus leading to various societal and economic implications, especially disrupting air and rail transportation. The persistent and widespread winter fog impacts the entire the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), as frequently observed in satellite imagery. The IGP is a densely populated region in south Asia, inhabiting about 1/6th of the world's population, with a strong upward pollution trend. In this study, we have used multi-spectral radiances and aerosol/cloud retrievals from Terra/Aqua MODIS data for developing an automated web-based fog monitoring system over the IGP. Using our previous and existing methodologies, and ongoing algorithm development for the detection of fog and retrieval of associated microphysical properties (e.g. fog droplet effective radius), we characterize the widespread fog detection during both daytime and nighttime. Specifically, for the night time fog detection, the algorithm employs a satellite-based bi-spectral brightness temperature difference technique between two spectral channels: MODIS band-22 (3.9μm) and band-31 (10.75μm). Further, we are extending our algorithm development to geostationary satellites, for providing continuous monitoring of the spatial-temporal variation of fog. We anticipate that the ongoing and future development of a fog monitoring system would be of assistance to air, rail and vehicular transportation management, as well as for dissemination of fog information to government agencies and general public. The outputs of fog detection algorithm and related aerosol/cloud parameters are operationally disseminated via http://fogsouthasia.com/.

Evaluation of a reproductive index for estimating productivity of grassland breeding birds

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, M.R.; Norment, C.; Runge, M.C.

2010-01-01

Declining populations of grassland breeding birds have led to increased efforts to assess habitat quality, typically by estimating density or relative abundance. Because some grassland habitats may function as ecological traps, a more appropriate metric for determining quality is breeding success, which is challenging to determine for many cryptic-nesting grassland birds. This difficulty led Vickery et al. (1992) to propose a reproductive index based on behavioral observations rather than nest fate. We rigorously evaluated the index for 2 years using a Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) population in western New York and found a weak correlation in classification of the breeding stages of monitored territories among multiple observers (r = 0.398). We also discovered a large difference between overall territory and nest success rates independently estimated with the index (9.8% over the entire breeding cycle) and with nest searching and monitoring (41.7% of nests successfully fledged young). Most importantly, we made territory-level comparisons of index estimates with actual nest fate and found that the index correctly predicted fates for only 43% of the monitored nests. A Mayfield logistic regression analysis demonstrated that only index rank 4 (eggs hatched, but young failed to fledge) showed a strong positive correlation with nest success. Although the reproductive index may function as a coarse indicator of habitat suitability (e.g., documenting production in potential ecological traps), in our study the index exhibited neither internal consistency nor the ability to predict nest fate at the plot or territory level and functioned poorly as a substitute for nest searching and monitoring. ?? 2010 The American Ornithologists' Union.

Change in refractive index of muscle tissue during laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Na; Chen, Meimei; Liu, Shupeng; Guo, Qiang; Chen, Zhenyi; Wang, Tingyun

2014-01-01

This paper presents a long-period fiber-grating (LPG) based Michelson interferometric refractometry to monitor the change in refractive index of porcine muscle during laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT). As the wavelength of RI interferometer alters with the change in refractive index around the probe, the LPG based refractometry is combined with LITT system to measure the change in refractive index of porcine muscle when irradiated by laser. The experimental results show the denaturation of tissue alters the refractive index significantly and the LPG sensor can be applied to monitor the tissue state during the LITT.

Monitoring 2015 drought in West Java using Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI)

Science.gov (United States)

Febrina Amalo, Luisa; Ma’rufah, Ummu; Ayu Permatasari, Prita

2018-05-01

Drought is a slow developing phenomenon that accumulates over period and affecting various sectors. It is one of natural hazards that occurs each year, particularly in Indonesia over Australian Monsoon period. During drought event, vegetation’s cover can be affected by water stress. Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) is a method for water resource assessment and known to be strongly related to the plant water content. NDWI is produced from MODIS bands Near-infrared (NIR) and Short Wave Infrared (SWIR). This research aims to monitor drought using NDWI in West Java during El Niño 2015 and its impact on rainfall variability. The result showed rainfall was decreased significantly starting from May-June, then increased in November. According to NDWI, it also showed that mostly West Java Region affected by drought during May-November. Very strong drought occurred on September-November. On December, areal extent of drought was decreasing significantly because rainfall had increased during November. Generally, areal extent of drought in West Java was dominated by strong and moderate drought. It implied that El Niño 2015, give great impact on increasing drought and decreasing rainfall in West Java. NDWI can be detected drought occurrence as it have good correlation with rainfall spatially.

Comparação dos valores do índice bispectral em pacientes com paralisia cerebral em estado de vigília Comparación de los valores del índice bispectral en pacientes con parálisis cerebral en estado de vigilia Comparison of the bispectral index in awake patients with cerebral palsy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verônica Vieira da Costa

2007-08-01

Full Text Available JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: O EEG-BIS foi criado por meio de estudos em pacientes adultos saudáveis e as primeiras publicações em crianças surgiram a partir de 1998. A paralisia cerebral (PC é secundária à lesão estática do encéfalo em desenvolvimento. A necessidade de realização de exames e procedimentos cirúrgicos para correção de deformidades sob anestesia ou sedação é comum nesses pacientes. Torna-se cada vez mais necessária a monitorização do estado de hipnose do paciente anestesiado e pode-se incluir nesse grupo os pacientes com paralisia cerebral. O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar a eficiência do EEG-BIS nos pacientes com paralisia cerebral (PC em comparação com os pacientes sem doenças neurológicas (sem PC, em estado de vigília. MÉTODO: Foram avaliados dois grupos de pacientes: um com diagnóstico de paralisia cerebral e outro sem doença do sistema nervoso central (SNC. Na véspera da intervenção cirúrgica, na enfermaria, junto aos pacientes despertos era colocado o monitor de EEG-BIS e solicitado que fechassem os olhos. Os valores que apareciam na tela do monitor, em um intervalo de 10 minutos, eram anotados e registrados em ficha padronizada, sendo calculado um valor médio por paciente. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliados 188 pacientes, de ambos os sexos, com idade média de 10, 07 ± 2,9 (PC e 10,21 ± 3,1 (sem PC anos. O grupo PC apresentou EEG-BIS basal de 95,83 ± 5,142 e o grupo sem PC de 96,56 ± 1,941 sem haver diferença estatística significativa entre eles. CONCLUSÕES: Os sinais de EEG são captados normalmente e os valores de EEG-BIS dos pacientes com PC são semelhantes ao dos pacientes sem PC no estado de vigília.JUSTIFICATIVA Y OBJETIVOS: El EEG-BIS fue creado a través de estudios en pacientes adultos saludables y las primeras publicaciones en niños surgieron a partir de 1998. La parálisis cerebral (PC es secundaria a la lesión estática del encéfalo en desarrollo. La necesidad de

Relative Wave Energy based Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System model for the Estimation of Depth of Anaesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Benzy, V K; Jasmin, E A; Koshy, Rachel Cherian; Amal, Frank; Indiradevi, K P

2018-01-01

The advancement in medical research and intelligent modeling techniques has lead to the developments in anaesthesia management. The present study is targeted to estimate the depth of anaesthesia using cognitive signal processing and intelligent modeling techniques. The neurophysiological signal that reflects cognitive state of anaesthetic drugs is the electroencephalogram signal. The information available on electroencephalogram signals during anaesthesia are drawn by extracting relative wave energy features from the anaesthetic electroencephalogram signals. Discrete wavelet transform is used to decomposes the electroencephalogram signals into four levels and then relative wave energy is computed from approximate and detail coefficients of sub-band signals. Relative wave energy is extracted to find out the degree of importance of different electroencephalogram frequency bands associated with different anaesthetic phases awake, induction, maintenance and recovery. The Kruskal-Wallis statistical test is applied on the relative wave energy features to check the discriminating capability of relative wave energy features as awake, light anaesthesia, moderate anaesthesia and deep anaesthesia. A novel depth of anaesthesia index is generated by implementing a Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system based fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm which uses relative wave energy features as inputs. Finally, the generated depth of anaesthesia index is compared with a commercially available depth of anaesthesia monitor Bispectral index.

Enhanced change detection index for disaster response, recovery assessment and monitoring of buildings and critical facilities-A case study for Muzzaffarabad, Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

de Alwis Pitts, Dilkushi A.; So, Emily

2017-12-01

The availability of Very High Resolution (VHR) optical sensors and a growing image archive that is frequently updated, allows the use of change detection in post-disaster recovery and monitoring for robust and rapid results. The proposed semi-automated GIS object-based method uses readily available pre-disaster GIS data and adds existing knowledge into the processing to enhance change detection. It also allows targeting specific types of changes pertaining to similar man-made objects such as buildings and critical facilities. The change detection method is based on pre/post normalized index, gradient of intensity, texture and edge similarity filters within the object and a set of training data. More emphasis is put on the building edges to capture the structural damage in quantifying change after disaster. Once the change is quantified, based on training data, the method can be used automatically to detect change in order to observe recovery over time in potentially large areas. Analysis over time can also contribute to obtaining a full picture of the recovery and development after disaster, thereby giving managers a better understanding of productive management and recovery practices. The recovery and monitoring can be analyzed using the index in zones extending from to epicentre of disaster or administrative boundaries over time.

Ultraviolet light induced refractive index structures in germanosilica

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svalgaard, Mikael

1997-01-01

The focus of the research presented in this ph.d. thesis is refractive index structures photoinduced in germanonsilica waveguides with ultra-violet (UV) radiation. The physical mechanisms involved in photosensitivity and applications of a wide range of UV induced refractive index structures in both...... application of a scanning near-field optical microscope to obtain high resolution images of UV induced refractive index structures and by monitoring the dynamics of UV induced index changes and luminescence. During part of my ph.d. project I have worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technolgy...

Integrated Monitoring and Modeling of Carbon Dioxide Leakage Risk Using Remote Sensing, Ground-Based Monitoring, Atmospheric Models and Risk-Indexing Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, E. A.; Pickles, W. L.; Gouveia, F. J.; Bogen, K. T.; Rau, G. H.; Friedmann, J.

2006-12-01

estimating its associated risk, spatially and temporally. This requires integration of subsurface, surface and atmospheric data and models. To date, we have developed techniques to map risk based on predicted atmospheric plumes and GIS/MT (meteorologic- topographic) risk-indexing tools. This methodology was derived from study of large CO2 releases from an abandoned well penetrating a natural CO2 reservoir at Crystal Geyser, Utah. This integrated approach will provide a powerful tool to screen for high-risk zones at proposed sequestration sites, to design and optimize surface networks for site monitoring and/or to guide setting science-based regulatory compliance requirements for monitoring sequestration sites, as well as to target critical areas for first responders should a catastrophic-release event occur. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Dept. of Energy by University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-Eng-48.

An extended multivariate framework for drought monitoring in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Real-Rangel, Roberto; Pedrozo-Acuña, Adrián; Breña-Naranjo, Agustín; Alcocer-Yamanaka, Víctor

2017-04-01

Around the world, monitoring natural hazards, such as droughts, represents a critical task in risk assessment and management plans. A reliable drought monitoring system allows to identify regions affected by these phenomena so that early response measures can be implemented. In Mexico, this activity is performed using Mexico's Drought Monitor, which is based on a similar methodology as the United States Drought Monitor and the North American Drought Monitor. The main feature of these monitoring systems is the combination of ground-based and remote sensing observations that is ultimately validated by local experts. However, in Mexico in situ records of variables such as precipitation and streamflow are often scarce, or even null, in many regions of the country. Another issue that adds uncertainty in drought monitoring is the arbitrary weight given to each analyzed variable. This study aims at providing an operational framework for drought monitoring in Mexico, based on univariate and multivariate nonparametric standardized indexes proposed in recent studies. Furthermore, the framework has been extended by taking into account the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) for the drought severity assessment. The analyzed variables used for computing the drought indexes are mainly derived from remote sensing (MODIS) and land surface models datasets (NASA MERRA-2). A qualitative evaluation of the results shows that the indexes used are capable of adequately describes the intensity and spatial distribution of past drought documented events.

Comparing MODIS and near-surface vegetation indexes for monitoring tropical dry forest phenology along a successional gradient using optical phenology towers

Science.gov (United States)

Rankine, C.; Sánchez-Azofeifa, G. A.; Guzmán, J. Antonio; Espirito-Santo, M. M.; Sharp, Iain

2017-10-01

Tropical dry forests (TDFs) present strong seasonal greenness signals ideal for tracking phenology and primary productivity using remote sensing techniques. The tightly synchronized relationship these ecosystems have with water availability offer a valuable natural experiment for observing the complex interactions between the atmosphere and the biosphere in the tropics. To investigate how well the MODIS vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the enhanced vegetation index (EVI)) represented the phenology of different successional stages of naturally regenerating TDFs, within a widely conserved forest fragment in the semi-arid southeast of Brazil, we installed several canopy towers with radiometric sensors to produce high temporal resolution near-surface vegetation greenness indices. Direct comparison of several years of ground measurements with a combined Aqua/Terra 8 day satellite product showed similar broad temporal trends, but MODIS often suffered from cloud contamination during the onset of the growing season and occasionally during the peak growing season. The strength of the in-situ and MODIS linear relationship was greater for NDVI than for EVI across sites but varied with forest stand age. Furthermore, we describe the onset dates and duration of canopy development phases for three years of in-situ monitoring. A seasonality analysis revealed significant discrepancies between tower and MODIS phenology transitions dates, with up to five weeks differences in growing season length estimation. Our results indicate that 8 and 16 day MODIS satellite vegetation monitoring products are suitable for tracking general patterns of tropical dry forest phenology in this region but are not temporally sufficient to characterize inter-annual differences in phenology phase onset dates or changes in productivity due to mid-season droughts. Such rapid transitions in canopy greenness are important indicators of climate change sensitivity of these

THE CONDITION INDEX OF MUSSELS (Mytilus galloprovincialis IN BUDAVA AND RAŠA BAY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nives Marušić

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Condition index is a factor that can show of some area for shellfish cultivation. Analysis of the condition index from various sites may show importance of these sites for cultivation and shellfish during the year. By monitoring the condition index it is possible to determine dynamic of meat amount change in time. Condition index depends on mussel spawning period, presence of food and changes of environmental factors (temperature, salinity, concentration of dissolved oxygen. The research of condition index was monitored in Budava and Ra{a Bay at depth of 0.5 and 2.5 m. In summer months (July and August when the sea water temperature and salinity were in optimum, the mussel condition index had maximum value. Value of the condition index is proportional with sea temperature and salinity. The condition index of mussels significantly changed over the year period, at different sites (Budava and Raška Bay and at different depth (0.5 and 2.5 m.

Application of Nemerow Index Method and Integrated Water Quality Index Method in Water Quality Assessment of Zhangze Reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qian; Feng, Minquan; Hao, Xiaoyan

2018-03-01

[Objective] Based on the water quality historical data from the Zhangze Reservoir from the last five years, the water quality was assessed by the integrated water quality identification index method and the Nemerow pollution index method. The results of different evaluation methods were analyzed and compared and the characteristics of each method were identified.[Methods] The suitability of the water quality assessment methods were compared and analyzed, based on these results.[Results] the water quality tended to decrease over time with 2016 being the year with the worst water quality. The sections with the worst water quality were the southern and northern sections.[Conclusion] The results produced by the traditional Nemerow index method fluctuated greatly in each section of water quality monitoring and therefore could not effectively reveal the trend of water quality at each section. The combination of qualitative and quantitative measures of the comprehensive pollution index identification method meant it could evaluate the degree of water pollution as well as determine that the river water was black and odorous. However, the evaluation results showed that the water pollution was relatively low.The results from the improved Nemerow index evaluation were better as the single indicators and evaluation results are in strong agreement; therefore the method is able to objectively reflect the water quality of each water quality monitoring section and is more suitable for the water quality evaluation of the reservoir.

Bispectral pairwise interacting source analysis for identifying systems of cross-frequency interacting brain sources from electroencephalographic or magnetoencephalographic signals

Science.gov (United States)

Chella, Federico; Pizzella, Vittorio; Zappasodi, Filippo; Nolte, Guido; Marzetti, Laura

2016-05-01

Brain cognitive functions arise through the coordinated activity of several brain regions, which actually form complex dynamical systems operating at multiple frequencies. These systems often consist of interacting subsystems, whose characterization is of importance for a complete understanding of the brain interaction processes. To address this issue, we present a technique, namely the bispectral pairwise interacting source analysis (biPISA), for analyzing systems of cross-frequency interacting brain sources when multichannel electroencephalographic (EEG) or magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data are available. Specifically, the biPISA makes it possible to identify one or many subsystems of cross-frequency interacting sources by decomposing the antisymmetric components of the cross-bispectra between EEG or MEG signals, based on the assumption that interactions are pairwise. Thanks to the properties of the antisymmetric components of the cross-bispectra, biPISA is also robust to spurious interactions arising from mixing artifacts, i.e., volume conduction or field spread, which always affect EEG or MEG functional connectivity estimates. This method is an extension of the pairwise interacting source analysis (PISA), which was originally introduced for investigating interactions at the same frequency, to the study of cross-frequency interactions. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated in simulations for up to three interacting source pairs and for real MEG recordings of spontaneous brain activity. Simulations show that the performances of biPISA in estimating the phase difference between the interacting sources are affected by the increasing level of noise rather than by the number of the interacting subsystems. The analysis of real MEG data reveals an interaction between two pairs of sources of central mu and beta rhythms, localizing in the proximity of the left and right central sulci.

Sugammadex at both high and low doses does not affect the depth of anesthesia or hemodynamics: a randomized double blind trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Fassoulaki, Argyro; Chondrogiannis, Konstantinos; Staikou, Chryssoula

2017-04-01

Previous studies have shown that sugammadex decreases the anesthetic depth when administered to reverse the neuromuscular blockade produced by rocuronium/vecuronium. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of sugammadex alone on anesthetic depth and hemodynamics. Sixty patients scheduled for abdominal surgery participated in the study. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental/fentanyl and maintained with N 2 O/oxygen and sevoflurane concentrations adjusted to maintain Entropy and Bispectral Index (BIS) values between 40 and 50. Cis-atracurium 0.2 mg/kg was administered for neuromuscular blockade which was monitored with a TOF-Watch ® SX acceleromyograph. State entropy (SE), response entropy (RE), Bispectral Index (BIS), systolic (SAP) and diastolic blood pressure (DAP), heart rate (HR), SpO 2 , end-tidal CO 2 and sevoflurane concentrations were recorded every 3 min intraoperatively. Sugammadex 2 mg/kg (Group-2), 4 mg/kg (Group-4) or 16 mg/kg (Group-16) was given intravenously when a count of two responses of the train-of-four (TOF) or a post-tetanic count (PTC) 1-3 appeared or when no response at all (PTC = 0) was observed, respectively. The overall SE values, thus the primary outcome of the study, were 44 ± 11, 43 ± 10 and 43 ± 11 for Group-2, Group-4 and Group-16, respectively (p = 0.812). Also, the secondary endpoints, namely RE, BIS, SAP and DAP, HR and SpO 2 did not differ between the three groups. Comparisons between Group-2 versus Group-4, Group-2 versus Group-16 and Group-4 versus Group-16 showed no differences (p > 0.05) for all the studied variables. Sugammadex alone at low, medium or high clinical doses has no effect on anesthetic depth as assessed by Entropy and BIS or on hemodynamics.

Utilizing Ecological Health Index to Monitor Grazingland Ecological Health: A Quick and Flexible Method for Ranchers and Farmers

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, S.; Borrelli, P. R.; Raven, M. R.; Rowntree, J. E.

2017-12-01

Grazing lands should be monitored to ensure their long-term productivity and sustainability. While monitoring protocols do exist, there is a need to simplify procedures for land managers while maintaining efficacy in order to increase usage. The objective in this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an Ecological Health Index (EHI) on indicating ecological health in grazing lands. We introduced the EHI, which was derived by synthesizing vegetation and soil cover indicators already existing in the literature to ranchers in Patagonia. Additionally, we implemented long-term transects at 44 farms from two ecological regions in Patagonia, the non-brittle Humid Magellan Steppe (HMS) (n=24) and the brittle Subandean Grasslands (SG) (n=20), to collect quantitative vegetative and soil measurements and correlated this back to EHI. In the non-brittle area HMS with even distribution of rainfall and good temperature which can support more plant biomass, the EHI ranged from -40 to 65 with a mean of 12.5 ± 24. The EHI from brittle SG ranged from -80 to 75 with a mean of 1.25 ± 35, which was 90% lower than the mean non-brittle EHI. From a quantitative perspective, HMS had greater species richness compared to SG (27 vs. 20, P=0.0003). Similarly, the average percentage of total live vegetation was higher in HMS than that in SG (77% vs. 48%, P pavement percentage and bare ground + erosion pavement (P < 0.05). These results suggest that EHI could be a useful method to detect the ecological health and productivity in grazing lands. Overall, we conclude that EHI is an effective short and long-term monitoring approach that ranchers could easily use annually to monitor grazing lands and determine the impacts of ranch decision-making on important ecosystem indicators.

Auditory processing during deep propofol sedation and recovery from unconsciousness

OpenAIRE

Koelsch, Stefan; Heinke, Wolfgang; Sammler, Daniela; Olthoff, Derk

2006-01-01

Objective Using evoked potentials, this study investigated effects of deep propofol sedation, and effects of recovery from unconsciousness, on the processing of auditory information with stimuli suited to elicit a physical MMN, and a (music-syntactic) ERAN. Methods Levels of sedation were assessed using the Bispectral Index (BIS) and the Modified Observer's Assessment of Alertness and Sedation Scale (MOAAS). EEG-measurements were performed during wakefulness, deep propofol sedation (MOAAS 2–3...

Metagenomic frameworks for monitoring antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Port, Jesse A; Cullen, Alison C; Wallace, James C; Smith, Marissa N; Faustman, Elaine M

2014-03-01

High-throughput genomic technologies offer new approaches for environmental health monitoring, including metagenomic surveillance of antibiotic resistance determinants (ARDs). Although natural environments serve as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes that can be transferred to pathogenic and human commensal bacteria, monitoring of these determinants has been infrequent and incomplete. Furthermore, surveillance efforts have not been integrated into public health decision making. We used a metagenomic epidemiology-based approach to develop an ARD index that quantifies antibiotic resistance potential, and we analyzed this index for common modal patterns across environmental samples. We also explored how metagenomic data such as this index could be conceptually framed within an early risk management context. We analyzed 25 published data sets from shotgun pyrosequencing projects. The samples consisted of microbial community DNA collected from marine and freshwater environments across a gradient of human impact. We used principal component analysis to identify index patterns across samples. We observed significant differences in the overall index and index subcategory levels when comparing ecosystems more proximal versus distal to human impact. The selection of different sequence similarity thresholds strongly influenced the index measurements. Unique index subcategory modes distinguished the different metagenomes. Broad-scale screening of ARD potential using this index revealed utility for framing environmental health monitoring and surveillance. This approach holds promise as a screening tool for establishing baseline ARD levels that can be used to inform and prioritize decision making regarding management of ARD sources and human exposure routes. Port JA, Cullen AC, Wallace JC, Smith MN, Faustman EM. 2014. Metagenomic frameworks for monitoring antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments. Environ Health Perspect 122:222–228; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp

The Potential Biochemical Diagnosis Criteria and Therapeutic Effect Indexes: Sex Hormone Binding Globulin Levels and Free Androgen Index in Blood of Patients With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-02

The Investigators Collected 534 PCOS Patients as the Case Group,and 580 Infertile Women With Normal Ovulatory Cycle of the Control Group;; At the Same Time, the Investigators Continuedly Collect Cases to October 2012, and Totally Collected 579 Patients With PCOS Altogether;; 534 Patients in the Cases Group and 580 Women in the Control Group Received no Measures, While 579 Patients Received Drugs;; The Investigators Monitored Basic Indexes in Blood of All the Subjects in This Suvey,and Also Monitored Indexes of 579 Patients After Treatment.

Overview & Background of The Healthy Eating Index

Science.gov (United States)

The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a measure of diet quality, independent of quantity, that can be used to assess compliance with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and monitor changes in dietary patterns.

The effect of cerebral monitoring on recovery after sevoflurane anesthesia in ambulatory setting in children: A comparison among bispectral index, A-line autoregressive index, and standard practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Wei Liao

2011-01-01

Conclusion: BIS- and AAI- guided titration sevoflurane anesthesia could result in shortened recovery and reduced sevoflurane concentration and consumption without affecting the quality of recovery in children receiving ambulatory urologic surgery. The beneficial effects of AAI- and BIS-guided anesthesia in pediatric ambulatory surgeries are similar.

Analysis of Dynamic Changeof Hong Jiannao Lake Based on Scaled Soil Moisture Monitoring Index

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, H.; Liu, Y.

2018-04-01

to climate change and human activities, Hong Jiannao Lake located in the arid and semi-arid area of China, it played a very important role in the regulation of the local climate, the balance of water resources and the maintenance of biological diversity. Hongjiannao Lake area in recent years continues to shrink, it was urgent to get the Hongjiannao Lake area change trend. This article take Hongjiannao Lake as study object using MODIS image of NIR and Red wavelength reflectivity data, selected April to October of 2000-2014,consturcted scale of SMMI (S-SMMI) based on soil moisture monitoring index (SMMI). The result indicated that lake area reduced from 46.9 km2 in 2000 to 27.8 km2 in 2014, average decay rate is 1.3 km2/a. The lake's annual change showed a trend of periodic change. In general, the lake area began to increase slowly each year in April, and the area of the lake area reached the maximum, and then decreased gradually in June to July. Finally, we analysed the main driving factors included natural, man-made, and underground mining which lead to the lake area shrink.

Climate Prediction Center (CPC)Oceanic Nino Index

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Oceanic Nino Index (ONI) is one of the primary indices used to monitor the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The ONI is calculated by averaging sea surface...

Near-real time Monitoring of the widespread winter Fog over the Indo-Gangetic Plains using satellite data

Science.gov (United States)

Patil, D. L.; Gautam, R.; Rizvi, S.; Singh, M. K.

2016-12-01

The persistent and widespread winter fog impacts the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) on an annual basis, disrupting day-to-day lives of millions of people in parts of northern India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The IGP is a densely-populated region located south of the Himalaya, in the northern parts of south Asia. During the past three decades or so, associated with growing population and energy demands, the IGP has witnessed strong upward trends in air pollution, particularly leading to poor air quality in the winter months. Co-occurring with the dense haze over the IGP, severe fog episodes persist throughout the months of December and January. Building on our recent work on satellite-based detection of fog, we have further extended the detection capability towards the development of a near-real time (NRT) fog monitoring system using satellite radiances and products. Here, we use multi-spectral radiances and aerosol/cloud retrievals from Terra/Aqua MODIS data for NRT fog monitoring over the IGP for both daytime as well as nighttime. Specifically, the nighttime fog detection algorithm employs a bi-spectral brightness temperature difference technique between two spectral channels: 3.9 μm and 11 μm. Our ongoing efforts also include extending fog detection capability in NRT to geostationary satellites, for providing continuous monitoring of the onset, evolution and spatial-temporal variation of fog, as well as the geospatial integration of surface meteorological observations of visibility, relative humidity, temperature. We anticipate that the ongoing and future development of a fog monitoring system may be of particular assistance to air and rail transportation management, as well as of general interest to the public. The outputs of fog detection algorithm and related aerosol/cloud parameters are operationally disseminated via http://fogsouthasia.com/.

Winter wheat quality monitoring and forecasting system based on remote sensing and environmental factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haiyang, Yu; Yanmei, Liu; Guijun, Yang; Xiaodong, Yang; Chenwei, Nie; Dong, Ren

2014-01-01

To achieve dynamic winter wheat quality monitoring and forecasting in larger scale regions, the objective of this study was to design and develop a winter wheat quality monitoring and forecasting system by using a remote sensing index and environmental factors. The winter wheat quality trend was forecasted before the harvest and quality was monitored after the harvest, respectively. The traditional quality-vegetation index from remote sensing monitoring and forecasting models were improved. Combining with latitude information, the vegetation index was used to estimate agronomy parameters which were related with winter wheat quality in the early stages for forecasting the quality trend. A combination of rainfall in May, temperature in May, illumination at later May, the soil available nitrogen content and other environmental factors established the quality monitoring model. Compared with a simple quality-vegetation index, the remote sensing monitoring and forecasting model used in this system get greatly improved accuracy. Winter wheat quality was monitored and forecasted based on the above models, and this system was completed based on WebGIS technology. Finally, in 2010 the operation process of winter wheat quality monitoring system was presented in Beijing, the monitoring and forecasting results was outputted as thematic maps

Relative sensitivity of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Microwave Polarization Difference Index (MPDI) for vegetation and desertification monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Francois; Choudhury, Bhaskar J.

1988-01-01

A simple equation relating the Microwave Polarization Difference Index (MPDI) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is proposed which represents well data obtained from Nimbus 7/SMMR at 37 GHz and NOAA/AVHRR Channels 1 and 2. It is found that there is a limit which is characteristic of a particular type of cover for which both indices are equally sensitive to the variation of vegetation, and below which MPDI is more efficient than NDVI. The results provide insight into the relationship between water content and chlorophyll absorption at pixel size scales.

IndexMed projects: new tools using the CIGESMED DataBase on Coralligenous for indexing, visualizing and data mining based on graphs

OpenAIRE

David , Romain; FERAL , Jean-Pierre; Archambeau , Anne; Bailly , Nicolas; Blanpain , Cyrille; Breton , Vincent; De Jode , Aurélie; Delavaud , Aurélie; Dias , Alrick; Gachet , Sophie; Guillemain , Dorian; Lecubin , Julien; Romier , Geneviève; Surace , Christian; Thierry De Ville D 'avray , Laure

2016-01-01

International audience; Data produced by the CIGESMED project (Coralligenous based Indicators to evaluate and monitor the "Good Environmental Status" of the MEDiterranean coastal waters) have a high potential for use by several stakeholders involved in environmental management. A new consortium called IndexMed whose task is to index Mediterranean biodiversity data, makes it possible to build graphs in order to analyse the CIGESMED data and develop new ways for data mining of coralligenous dat...

Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) Vegetation Volume Index: An assessment tool for marsh habitat focused on the three-dimensional structure at CRMS vegetation monitoring stations

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, William B.; Visser, Jenneke M.; Piazza, Sarai C.; Sharp, Leigh A.; Hundy, Laura C.; McGinnis, Tommy E.

2015-12-04

A Vegetation Volume (VV) variable and Vegetation Volume Index (VVI) have been developed for the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS). The VV is a measure of the amount of three-dimensional vegetative structure present at each CRMS site and is based on vegetation data collected annually. The VV uses 10 stations per CRMS site to quantify four vegetation layers: carpet, herbaceous, shrub, and tree. For each layer an overall live vegetation percent cover and height are collected to create a layer volume; the individual layer volumes are then summed to generate a site vegetation volume profile. The VV uses the two-dimensional area of live vegetative cover (in square meters) multiplied by the height (in meters) of each layer to produce a volume (in cubic meters) for each layer present in a 2-meter by 2-meter station. These layers are additive, yielding a total volume for each of the 10 herbaceous vegetation stations and an overall CRMS marsh site average.

Wellbeing in the Netherlands : the SCP life situation index since 1974

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boelhouwer, J

2010-01-01

Recently, there has been a lot of interest in achieving a broader perspective on prosperity and the development of countries. This study is about a composite index for describing and monitoring developments in the life situation of the Dutch population. Since 1974 this Life Situation Index (LSI) is

Effect of Body Mass Index on Intrafraction Prostate Displacement Monitored by Real-Time Electromagnetic Tracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, Wayne M.; Morris, Mallory N.; Merrick, Gregory S.; Kurko, Brian S.; Murray, Brian C.

2012-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate, using real-time monitoring of implanted radiofrequency transponders, the intrafraction prostate displacement of patients as a function of body mass index (BMI). Methods and Materials: The motions of Beacon radiofrequency transponders (Calypso Medical Technologies, Seattle, WA) implanted in the prostate glands of 66 men were monitored throughout the course of intensity modulated radiation therapy. Data were acquired at 10 Hz from setup to the end of treatment, but only the 1.7 million data points with a “beam on” tag were used in the analysis. There were 21 obese patients, with BMI ≥30 and 45 nonobese patients in the study. Results: Mean displacements were least in the left-right lateral direction (0.56 ± 0.24 mm) and approximately twice that magnitude in the superior-inferior and anterior-posterior directions. The net vector displacement was larger still, 1.95 ± 0.47 mm. Stratified by BMI cohort, the mean displacements per patient in the 3 Cartesian axes as well as the net vector for patients with BMI ≥30 were slightly less (<0.2 mm) but not significantly different than the corresponding values for patients with lower BMIs. As a surrogate for the magnitude of oscillatory noise, the standard deviation for displacements in all measured planes showed no significant differences in the prostate positional variability between the lower and higher BMI groups. Histograms of prostate displacements showed a lower frequency of large displacements in obese patients, and there were no significant differences in short-term and long-term velocity distributions. Conclusions: After patients were positioned accurately using implanted radiofrequency transponders, the intrafractional displacements in the lateral, superior-inferior, and anterior-posterior directions as well as the net vector displacements were smaller, but not significantly so, for obese men than for those with lower BMI.

The current California drought through EDDI's eyes: early warning and monitoring of agricultural and hydrologic drought with the new Evaporative Demand Drought Index.

Science.gov (United States)

Hobbins, M.; McEvoy, D.; Huntington, J. L.; Wood, A. W.; Morton, C.; Verdin, J. P.

2015-12-01

We have developed a physically based, multi-scalar drought index—the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI)—to improve treatment of evaporative dynamics in drought monitoring. Existing popular drought indices—such as the Palmer Drought Severity Index that informs much of the US Drought Monitor (USDM)—have primarily relyied on precipitation and temperature (T) to represent hydroclimatic anomalies, leaving evaporative demand (E0) most often derived from poorly performing T-based parameterizations then used to derive actual evapotranspiration (ET) from LSMs. Instead, EDDI leverages the inter-relations of E0 and ET, measuring E0's physical response to surface drying anomalies due to two distinct land surface/atmosphere interactions: (i) in sustained drought, limited moisture availability forces E0 and ET into a complementary relation, whereby ET declines as E0 increases; and (ii) in "flash" droughts, E0 increases due to increasing advection or radiation. E0's rise in response to both drought types suggests EDDI's robustness as a monitor and leading indicator of drought. To drive EDDI, we use for E0 daily reference ET from the ASCE Standardized Reference ET equation forced by North American Land Data Assimilation System drivers. EDDI is derived by aggregating E0 anomalies from its long-term mean across a period of interest and normalizing them to a Z-score. Positive EDDI indicates drier than normal conditions (and so drought). We use the current historic California drought as a test-case in which to examine EDDI's performance in monitoring agricultural and hydrologic drought. We observe drought development and decompose the behavior of drought's evaporative drivers during in-drought intensification periods and wetting events. EDDI's performance as a drought leading indicator with respect to the USDM is tested in important agricultural regions. Comparing streamflow from several USGS gauges in the Sierra Nevada to EDDI, we find that EDDI tracks most major

Indexes of contamination for characterization of continental waters and discharges. Formulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramirez, Restrepo R; Cardenosa, M

1999-01-01

Contamination indexes (ICO) for characterization of natural water bodies and industrial discharges have been formulated in previous works by Ramirez, et al, 1997 in this work, complementary indexes not correlated with other ICOS previously developed are established thus resulting in a complementary tool to be applied in the interpretation and characterization on continental surface water bodies. First, a pH index (ICOpH) is obtained to determine ph incidence on water quality interpretation. A temperature index (ICOTEM) is also obtained to evaluate effluent incidence on receiving water bodies. ICOTEM is based on temperature difference of the wastewater discharge and the water body. Finally, indexes for the evaluation of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons are also developed based on data collected on sediments and fish tissue samples. These hydrocarbon compounds are highly viable to accumulate and produce long-term detrimental effects on living organisms. These latter indexes have been developed based on data of nearly 130 samples collected during monitoring campaigns in streams and water bodies affected by discharges of the petroleum industry or by accidental spills of crude oil or hydrocarbon by-products in Colombian streams; its also possible that anthropic influence other than petroleum discharges might be affecting the streams included in the monitoring campaigns

Fiber optic based multiparametric spectroscopy in vivo: Toward a new quantitative tissue vitality index

Science.gov (United States)

Kutai-Asis, Hofit; Barbiro-Michaely, Efrat; Deutsch, Assaf; Mayevsky, Avraham

2006-02-01

In our previous publication (Mayevsky et al SPIE 5326: 98-105, 2004) we described a multiparametric fiber optic system enabling the evaluation of 4 physiological parameters as indicators of tissue vitality. Since the correlation between the various parameters may differ in various pathophysiological conditions there is a need for an objective quantitative index that will integrate the relative changes measured in real time by the multiparametric monitoring system into a single number-vitality index. Such an approach to calculate tissue vitality index is critical for the possibility to use such an instrument in clinical environments. In the current presentation we are reporting our preliminary results indicating that calculation of an objective tissue vitality index is feasible. We used an intuitive empirical approach based on the comparison between the calculated index by the computer and the subjective evaluation made by an expert in the field of physiological monitoring. We used the in vivo brain of rats as an animal model in our current studies. The rats were exposed to anoxia, ischemia and cortical spreading depression and the responses were recorded in real time. At the end of the monitoring session the results were analyzed and the tissue vitality index was calculated offline. Mitochondrial NADH, tissue blood flow and oxy-hemoglobin were used to calculate the vitality index of the brain in vivo, where each parameter received a different weight, in each experiment type based on their significance. It was found that the mitochondrial NADH response was the main factor affected the calculated vitality index.

Developing an operational rangeland water requirement satisfaction index

Science.gov (United States)

Senay, Gabriel B.; Verdin, James P.; Rowland, James

2011-01-01

Developing an operational water requirement satisfaction index (WRSI) for rangeland monitoring is an important goal of the famine early warning systems network. An operational WRSI has been developed for crop monitoring, but until recently a comparable WRSI for rangeland was not successful because of the extremely poor performance of the index when based on published crop coefficients (K c) for rangelands. To improve the rangeland WRSI, we developed a simple calibration technique that adjusts the K c values for rangeland monitoring using long-term rainfall distribution and reference evapotranspiration data. The premise for adjusting the K c values is based on the assumption that a viable rangeland should exhibit above-average WRSI (values >80%) during a normal year. The normal year was represented by a median dekadal rainfall distribution (satellite rainfall estimate from 1996 to 2006). Similarly, a long-term average for potential evapotranspiration was used as input to the famine early warning systems network WRSI model in combination with soil-water-holding capacity data. A dekadal rangeland WRSI has been operational for east and west Africa since 2005. User feedback has been encouraging, especially with regard to the end-of-season WRSI anomaly products that compare the index's performance to ‘normal’ years. Currently, rangeland WRSI products are generated on a dekadal basis and posted for free distribution on the US Geological Survey early warning website at http://earlywarning.usgs.gov/adds/

Immediate extubation in cardiac surgery: evaluation using electroencephalogram Extubação imediata em cirurgia cardíaca: avaliação pelo eletroencefalograma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdester Cavalcante Pinto Jr.

2003-10-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:The current techniques of anesthesia employed in cardiac surgery leading to immediate extubation depend on adequate analgesia and titration of anesthetic drugs. We sought to determine the best possible moment of extubation, using the bispectral index of the electroencephalogram. METHOD: Twelve ASA III patients were analyzed. Seven (58.4% were children (Group I, submitted to correction of congenital cardiac defects with ages ranging from 0 to 7 years. Five adults (Group II, with ages ranging from 30 to 75 years, underwent coronary artery bypass grafts. In Group I spinal anesthesia (L5-S1 using hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine (0.5mg/kg and morphine (5µg/kg was chosen. In Group II epidural anesthesia (T3-T4 with catheter placement plus ropivacaine (60mg and morphine (2mg were employed. For the induction of anesthesia fentanila (4µg/kg, muscle relaxant and propofol (to bring the bispectral index value down to 30 were utilized. General anesthesia was maintained with sevofluorane, maintaining the bispectral index value between 40 and 60. Extubation was programmed at a bispectral index value of 90. RESULTS: All patients were extubated up to one hour after the end of the surgical procedure, 91.6% of them in the operating room. All had the cognitive functions preserved without history of explicit memory or pain (adults and children who were able to speak, nor facial expression of pain (small children. Four (57% patients in Group I and one (20% in Group II had post-operative pruritus. Two patients (28% in Group II had emesis. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the technique employed is safe and effective, as long as the criteria for its use are strictly observed.INTRODUÇÃO: As técnicas empregadas em cirurgia cardíaca visando a extubação imediata (EI dependem de analgesia adequada e titulação de drogas anestésicas. OBJETIVO: A finalidade deste estudo é analisar a EI, utilizando eletroencefalograma (índice bispectral

Construction and Application of Enhanced Remote Sensing Ecological Index

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, X.; Liu, C.; Fu, Q.; Yin, B.

2018-04-01

In order to monitor the change of regional ecological environment quality, this paper use MODIS and DMSP / OLS remote sensing data, from the production capacity, external disturbance changes and human socio-economic development of the three main factors affecting the quality of ecosystems, select the net primary productivity, vegetation index and light index, using the principal component analysis method to automatically determine the weight coefficient, construction of the formation of enhanced remote sensing ecological index, and the ecological environment quality of Hainan Island from 2001 to 2013 was monitored and analyzed. The enhanced remote sensing ecological index combines the effects of the natural environment and human activities on ecosystems, and according to the contribution of each principal component automatically determine the weight coefficient, avoid the design of the weight of the parameters caused by the calculation of the human error, which provides a new method for the operational operation of regional macro ecological environment quality monitoring. During the period from 2001 to 2013, the ecological environment quality of Hainan Island showed the characteristics of decend first and then rise, the ecological environment in 2005 was affected by severe natural disasters, and the quality of ecological environment dropped sharply. Compared with 2001, in 2013 about 20000 square kilometers regional ecological environmental quality has improved, about 8760 square kilometers regional ecological environment quality is relatively stable, about 5272 square kilometers regional ecological environment quality has decreased. On the whole, the quality of ecological environment in the study area is good, the frequent occurrence of natural disasters, on the quality of the ecological environment to a certain extent.

Do America's Schools Need a "Dow Jones Index"?

Science.gov (United States)

Guthrie, James W.

1993-01-01

Education may be only major social activity lacking publicly accepted composite indicator. A national education index could incorporate dimensions such as student performance, public support for education, children's conditions, and quality of educational service. Such a system might monitor progress, foster accountability, facilitate…

Propofol dose and incidence of dreaming during sedation.

Science.gov (United States)

Eer, Audrey Singyi; Padmanabhan, Usha; Leslie, Kate

2009-10-01

Dreaming is commonly reported after propofol-based sedation. We measured the incidence of dreaming and bispectral index (BIS) values in colonoscopy patients sedated with combinations of propofol, midazolam and fentanyl. Two hundred patients presenting for elective outpatient colonoscopy were sedated with combinations of propofol, midazolam and fentanyl. BIS was monitored throughout the procedure. Patients were interviewed immediately after they emerged from sedation. The primary end point was a report of dreaming during sedation. Ninety-seven patients were administered propofol alone, 44 were administered propofol and fentanyl, 16 were administered propofol and midazolam and 43 were administered propofol, midazolam and fentanyl. Dreaming was reported by 19% of patients. Dreamers received higher doses of propofol and had lower BIS values during sedation. Age of 50 years or less, preoperative quality of recovery score of less than 14, higher home dream recall, propofol dose of more than 300 mg and time to Observers' Assessment of Alertness/Sedation score equalling 5 of 8 min or less were independent predictors of dreaming. Dreaming during sedation is associated with higher propofol dose and lower BIS values.

CHI: A contemporaneous health index for degenerative disease monitoring using longitudinal measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yijun; Meng, Qiang; Evans, Heather; Lober, William; Cheng, Yu; Qian, Xiaoning; Liu, Ji; Huang, Shuai

2017-09-01

In this paper, we develop a novel formulation for contemporaneous patient risk monitoring by exploiting the emerging data-rich environment in many healthcare applications, where an abundance of longitudinal data that reflect the degeneration of the health condition can be continuously collected. Our objective, and the developed formulation, is fundamentally different from many existing risk score models for different healthcare applications, which mostly focus on predicting the likelihood of a certain outcome at a pre-specified time. Rather, our formulation translates multivariate longitudinal measurements into a contemporaneous health index (CHI) that captures patient condition changes over the course of progression. Another significant feature of our formulation is that, CHI can be estimated with or without label information, different from other risk score models strictly based on supervised learning. To develop this formulation, we focus on the degenerative disease conditions, for which we could utilize the monotonic progression characteristic (either towards disease or recovery) to learn CHI. Such a domain knowledge leads us to a novel learning formulation, and on top of that, we further generalize this formulation with a capacity to incorporate label information if available. We further develop algorithms to mitigate the challenges associated with the nonsmooth convex optimization problem by first identifying its dual reformulation as a constrained smooth optimization problem, and then, using the block coordinate descent algorithm to iteratively solve the optimization with a derived efficient projection at each iteration. Extensive numerical studies are performed on both synthetic datasets and real-world applications on Alzheimer's disease and Surgical Site Infection, which demonstrate the utility and efficacy of the proposed method on degenerative conditions that include a wide range of applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A New, Low Braking Index for the LMC Pulsar B0540-69

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, F. E.; Guillemot, L.; Harding, A. K.; Martin, P.; Smith, D. A.

2016-01-01

We report the results of a 16-month monitoring campaign using the Swift satellite of PSR 0540, a young pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Phase connection was maintained throughout the campaign so that a reliable ephemeris could be determined, and the length of the campaign is adequate to accurately determine the spin frequency and its first and second derivatives. The braking index n is 0.031 +/- 0.013 (90% confidence), a value much lower than previously reported for 0 540 and almost all other young pulsars. We use data from the extensive monitoring campaign with RXTE to showt hat timing noise is unlikely to significantly affect the measurement. This is the first measurement of the braking index in the pulsars recently discovered high spin-down state. We discuss possible mechanisms for producing the low braking index.

The monitoring of radioactivity in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

35 separately indexed lectures are discussed of this conference. The contents of the individual contributions cover the following areas: 1) Monitoring networks and guidelines; 2) Monitoring equipment and methods; 3) Development of models for radionuclide migration, and 4) Individual determination and analysis of radionuclides relevant to the environment. (PW) [de

The use of air quality index (AQI) in environmental management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cuesta Santos, Osvaldo; Wallo Vazquez, Antonio; Collazo Aranda, Arnaldo

2006-01-01

The air quality index (AQI) is considered a global air quality index in a particular moment or day and in a specific monitoring station. The AQI is to be interpreted as a guiding air quality index for the general public. Specialists should take into account other factors when studying the pollution levels. The behaviour of air pollution is studied by using the AQI in two monitoring points in Regla, where the main pollutants are measured: SO 2 , NO 2 and total suspended particulates. It was founded that particulates and NO 2 are the pollutants that contribute most to the air quality deterioration, which occurs with greater frequency-days in the categories Poor and Bad, and show an increase in the categories Terrible and Critical. The necessary recommendations for the reduction of air pollution are given. The use of this AQI for assessing air pollution in settlements is recommended as a good tool for environmental information and management. A visual scale is proposed to improve and facilitate the public's understanding

Damage tolerance and structural monitoring for wind turbine blades

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McGugan, Malcolm; Pereira, Gilmar Ferreira; Sørensen, Bent F.

2015-01-01

The paper proposes a methodology for reliable design and maintenance of wind turbine rotor blades using a condition monitoring approach and a damage tolerance index coupling the material and structure. By improving the understanding of material properties that control damage propagation it will b......The paper proposes a methodology for reliable design and maintenance of wind turbine rotor blades using a condition monitoring approach and a damage tolerance index coupling the material and structure. By improving the understanding of material properties that control damage propagation...

Reproducibility of the Pleth Variability Index in premature infants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Den Boogert, W.J. (Wilhelmina J.); H.A. van Elteren (Hugo); T.G. Goos (Tom); I.K.M. Reiss (Irwin); R.C.J. de Jonge (Rogier); V.J. van den Berg (Victor J.)

2017-01-01

textabstractThe aim was to assess the reproducibility of the Pleth Variability Index (PVI), developed for non-invasive monitoring of peripheral perfusion, in preterm neonates below 32 weeks of gestational age. Three PVI measurements were consecutively performed in stable, comfortable preterm

Building the vegetation drought response index for Canada (VegDRI-Canada) to monitor agricultural drought: first results

Science.gov (United States)

Tadesse, Tsegaye; Champagne, Catherine; Wardlow, Brian D.; Hadwen, Trevor A.; Brown, Jesslyn; Demisse, Getachew B.; Bayissa, Yared A.; Davidson, Andrew M.

2017-01-01

Drought is a natural climatic phenomenon that occurs throughout the world and impacts many sectors of society. To help decision-makers reduce the impacts of drought, it is important to improve monitoring tools that provide relevant and timely information in support of drought mitigation decisions. Given that drought is a complex natural hazard that manifests in different forms, monitoring can be improved by integrating various types of information (e.g., remote sensing and climate) that is timely and region specific to identify where and when droughts are occurring. The Vegetation Drought Response Index for Canada (VegDRI-Canada) is a recently developed drought monitoring tool for Canada. VegDRI-Canada extends the initial VegDRI concept developed for the conterminous United States to a broader transnational coverage across North America. VegDRI-Canada models are similar to those developed for the United States, integrating satellite observations of vegetation status, climate data, and biophysical information on land use and land cover, soil characteristics, and other environmental factors. Collectively, these different types of data are integrated into the hybrid VegDRI-Canada to isolate the effects of drought on vegetation. Twenty-three weekly VegDRI-Canada models were built for the growing season (April–September) through the weekly analysis of these data using a regression tree-based data mining approach. A 15-year time series of VegDRI-Canada results (s to 2014) was produced using these models and the output was validated by randomly selecting 20% of the historical data, as well as holdout year (15% unseen data) across the growing season that the Pearson’s correlation ranged from 0.6 to 0.77. A case study was also conducted to evaluate the VegDRI-Canada results over the prairie region of Canada for two drought years and one non-drought year for three weekly periods of the growing season (i.e., early-, mid-, and late season). The comparison of the Veg

ATLAS EventIndex General Dataflow and Monitoring Infrastructure

CERN Document Server

Barberis, Dario; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast datasets discovery, event-picking, crosschecks with other ATLAS systems and checks for event duplication. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome t...

ATLAS EventIndex General Dataflow and Monitoring Infrastructure

CERN Document Server

Fernandez Casani, Alvaro; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast access. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome the performance shortcomings detected during production peaks; an object storage approach is instea...

ATLAS EventIndex general dataflow and monitoring infrastructure

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)638886; The ATLAS collaboration; Barberis, Dario; Favareto, Andrea; Garcia Montoro, Carlos; Gonzalez de la Hoz, Santiago; Hrivnac, Julius; Prokoshin, Fedor; Salt, Jose; Sanchez, Javier; Toebbicke, Rainer; Yuan, Ruijun

2017-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast dataset discovery, event-picking, crosschecks with other ATLAS systems and checks for event duplication. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome th...

Dimension Reduction of Multi-Spectral Satellite Image Time Series to Improve Deforestation Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng Lu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In recent years, sequential tests for detecting structural changes in time series have been adapted for deforestation monitoring using satellite data. The input time series of such sequential tests is typically a vegetation index (e.g., NDVI, which uses two or three bands and ignores all other bands. Being limited to a vegetation index will not benefit from the richer spectral information provided by newly launched satellites and will bring two bottle-necks for deforestation monitoring. Firstly, it is hard to select a suitable vegetation index a priori. Secondly, a single vegetation index is typically affected by seasonal signals, noise and other natural dynamics, which decrease its power for deforestation detection. A novel multispectral time series change monitoring method that combines dimension reduction methods with a sequential hypothesis test is proposed to address these limitations. For each location, the proposed method automatically chooses a “suitable” index for deforestation monitoring. To demonstrate our approach, we implemented it in two study areas: a dry tropical forest in Bolivia (time series length: 444 with strong seasonality and a moist tropical forest in Brazil (time series length: 225 with almost no seasonality. Our method significantly improves accuracy in the presence of strong seasonality, in particular the temporal lag between disturbance and its detection.

Evaluation of a reproductive index to estimate grasshopper sparrow and eastern meadowlark reproductive success

Science.gov (United States)

Althoff, Donald P.; Gipson, P.S.; Pontius, J.S.; Japuntich, R.D.

2009-01-01

We compared an index of reproductive success based on breeding behavior to actual nest fates of grasshopper sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) and eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) on 12 plots (4-ha). Concordance of results between the two methods was 58% for grasshopper sparrows and 42% for eastern meadowlarks on a plot-by-plot basis. The indirect method yielded higher estimates of reproductive activity than nest monitoring for the balance of the plots,. There was little evidence that brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism influenced the estimates of reproductive success using the indirect method. We concluded that nests and about-to-fledge nestlings were missed during searches on some plots. It may be appropriate to use an indirect method to more efficiently survey territories and/or plots for species with hard-to-find nests or when monitoring large areas. Use of a reproductive index may be appropriate and more time-efficient than nest searching and monitoring for comparing management effects such as burning, grazing, haying, military training, and other localized disturbances that are likely to affect reproductive success of grasshopper sparrows and eastern meadowlarks. However, nest monitoring may be necessary for more precise estimates of productivity necessary for long-term monitoring. Nest monitoring results are also likely to allow for direct comparisons to results from other studies because the index method requires intimate knowledge of the species being evaluated - a factor that could lead to reduced precision because the experience level of technicians relying only on behavioral cues from study-to-study is likely to vary considerably.

Hemodynamic comparison of mild and severe preeclampsia: concept of stroke systemic vascular resistance index.

Science.gov (United States)

Scardo, J; Kiser, R; Dillon, A; Brost, B; Newman, R

1996-01-01

Our purpose was to compare baseline hemodynamic parameters of mild and severe preeclampsia. Patients admitted to the Medical University Labor and Delivery Unit with the diagnosis of preeclampsia who had not received prior antihypertensive or magnesium sulfate therapy were recruited for noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring with thoracic electrical bioimpedance. After stabilization in the lateral recumbent position, hemodynamic monitoring was begun. Baseline hemodynamic parameters, mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), cardiac index (CI), and stroke index (SI) were recorded. Stroke systemic vascular resistance index (SSVRI), the resistance imposed by vasculature on each beat of the heart, was calculated for each patient by multiplying SVRI by HR. For statistical analysis, unpaired Student's t-tests (two-tailed) were utilized (P preclampsia appears to be a more intensely vasoconstricted state than mild preeclampsia. Although CI is inversely proportional to SVRI, increased HR in severe preeclampsia prevents this expected decrease in cardiac output.

Nonparametric Integrated Agrometeorological Drought Monitoring: Model Development and Application

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiang; Li, Qin; Singh, Vijay P.; Shi, Peijun; Huang, Qingzhong; Sun, Peng

2018-01-01

Drought is a major natural hazard that has massive impacts on the society. How to monitor drought is critical for its mitigation and early warning. This study proposed a modified version of the multivariate standardized drought index (MSDI) based on precipitation, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture, i.e., modified multivariate standardized drought index (MMSDI). This study also used nonparametric joint probability distribution analysis. Comparisons were done between standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), standardized soil moisture index (SSMI), MSDI, and MMSDI, and real-world observed drought regimes. Results indicated that MMSDI detected droughts that SPEI and/or SSMI failed to do. Also, MMSDI detected almost all droughts that were identified by SPEI and SSMI. Further, droughts detected by MMSDI were similar to real-world observed droughts in terms of drought intensity and drought-affected area. When compared to MMSDI, MSDI has the potential to overestimate drought intensity and drought-affected area across China, which should be attributed to exclusion of the evapotranspiration components from estimation of drought intensity. Therefore, MMSDI is proposed for drought monitoring that can detect agrometeorological droughts. Results of this study provide a framework for integrated drought monitoring in other regions of the world and can help to develop drought mitigation.

The bilateral bispectral and the composite variability indexes during anesthesia for unilateral surgical procedure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Lopes-Pimentel

2017-01-01

Conclusions: Our results indicate that the large interindividual variability of BIS and CVI limits their usefulness. We found differences between the left and right measurements in a right-handed series of patients during surgical stimuli though they were not clinically relevant.

Reproducibility of the Pleth Variability Index in premature infants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Den Boogert, Wilhelmina J.; Van Elteren, Hugo A.; Goos, T.G.; Reiss, Irwin K.M.; De Jonge, Rogier C.J.; van Den Berg, Victor J.

2017-01-01

The aim was to assess the reproducibility of the Pleth Variability Index (PVI), developed for non-invasive monitoring of peripheral perfusion, in preterm neonates below 32 weeks of gestational age. Three PVI measurements were consecutively performed in stable, comfortable preterm neonates in the

Analysis of agricultural drought using vegetation temperature condition index (VTCI) from Terra/MODIS satellite data.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, N R; Parida, B R; Venus, V; Saha, S K; Dadhwal, V K

2012-12-01

The most commonly used normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from remote sensing often fall short in real-time drought monitoring due to a lagged vegetation response to drought. Therefore, research recently emphasized on the use of combination of surface temperature and NDVI which provides vegetation and moisture conditions simultaneously. Since drought stress effects on agriculture are closely linked to actual evapotranspiration, we used a vegetation temperature condition index (VTCI) which is more closely related to crop water status and holds a key place in real-time drought monitoring and assessment. In this study, NDVI and land surface temperature (T (s)) from MODIS 8-day composite data during cloud-free period (September-October) were adopted to construct an NDVI-T (s) space, from which the VTCI was computed. The crop moisture index (based on estimates of potential evapotranspiration and soil moisture depletion) was calculated to represent soil moisture stress on weekly basis for 20 weather monitoring stations. Correlation and regression analysis were attempted to relate VTCI with crop moisture status and crop performance. VTCI was found to accurately access the degree and spatial extent of drought stress in all years (2000, 2002, and 2004). The temporal variation of VTCI also provides drought pattern changes over space and time. Results showed significant and positive relations between CMI (crop moisture index) and VTCI observed particularly during prominent drought periods which proved VTCI as an ideal index to monitor terminal drought at regional scale. VTCI had significant positive relationship with yield but weakly related to crop anomalies. Duration of terminal drought stress derived from VTCI has a significant negative relationship with yields of major grain and oilseeds crops, particularly, groundnut.

INDEXING AND INDEX FUNDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HAKAN SARITAŞ

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Proponents of the efficient market hypothesis believe that active portfolio management is largely wasted effort and unlikely to justify the expenses incurred. Therefore, they advocate a passive investment strategy that makes no attempt to outsmart the market. One common strategy for passive management is indexing where a fund is designed to replicate the performance of a broad-based index of stocks and bonds. Traditionally, indexing was used by institutional investors, but today, the use of index funds proliferated among individual investors. Over the years, both international and domestic index funds have disproportionately outperformed the market more than the actively managed funds have.

Research progress of on-line automatic monitoring of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of water

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Youfa; Fu, Xing; Gao, Xiaolu; Li, Lianyin

2018-02-01

With the increasingly stricter control of pollutant emission in China, the on-line automatic monitoring of water quality is particularly urgent. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a comprehensive index to measure the contamination caused by organic matters, and thus it is taken as one important index of energy-saving and emission reduction in China’s “Twelve-Five” program. So far, the COD on-line automatic monitoring instrument has played an important role in the field of sewage monitoring. This paper reviews the existing methods to achieve on-line automatic monitoring of COD, and on the basis, points out the future trend of the COD on-line automatic monitoring instruments.

An assessment study of the wavelet-based index of magnetic storm activity (WISA) and its comparison to the Dst index

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhonghua; Zhu, Lie; Sojka, Jan; Kokoszka, Piotr; Jach, Agnieszka

2008-08-01

A wavelet-based index of storm activity (WISA) has been recently developed [Jach, A., Kokoszka, P., Sojka, L., Zhu, L., 2006. Wavelet-based index of magnetic storm activity. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, A09215, doi:10.1029/2006JA011635] to complement the traditional Dst index. The new index can be computed automatically by using the wavelet-based statistical procedure without human intervention on the selection of quiet days and the removal of secular variations. In addition, the WISA is flexible on data stretch and has a higher temporal resolution (1 min), which can provide a better description of the dynamical variations of magnetic storms. In this work, we perform a systematic assessment study on the WISA index. First, we statistically compare the WISA to the Dst for various quiet and disturbed periods and analyze the differences of their spectral features. Then we quantitatively assess the flexibility of the WISA on data stretch and study the effects of varying number of stations on the index. In addition, the ability of the WISA for handling the missing data is also quantitatively assessed. The assessment results show that the hourly averaged WISA index can describe storm activities equally well as the Dst index, but its full automation, high flexibility on data stretch, easiness of using the data from varying number of stations, high temporal resolution, and high tolerance to missing data from individual station can be very valuable and essential for real-time monitoring of the dynamical variations of magnetic storm activities and space weather applications, thus significantly complementing the existing Dst index.

Radiation protection monitoring. Proceedings of a regional seminar for Asia and the Far East on radiation protection monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1969-01-01

Proceedings of a regional seminar for Asia and the Far East jointly organized by the IAEA and the World Health Organization, and held in Bombay, 9-13 December 1968. The meeting was attended by 83 participants from 12 countries In the region, and by eight experts from countries outside the region who presented review papers. Contents: Purpose of radiation protection monitoring (4 papers); Radiation monitoring and dosimetry (7 papers); Monitoring of the working environment (12 papers); Individual monitoring (14 papers); Monitoring instruments (7 papers); Calibration and maintenance of instruments (3 papers); List of participants; Author index. All papers, which are preceded by an abstract, as well as the discussions, are in English

The Right to Education Index: An Education Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Krupar, Allyson

2018-01-01

A fundamental principle of Education Diplomacy is that education is a human right central to the attainment of all other human rights. Monitoring and advocacy tools such as the Right to Education Index serve to mobilize national partnerships to hold governments to account for all children's enrollment in school and enjoyment of the right to…

A NEW, LOW BRAKING INDEX FOR THE LMC PULSAR B0540–69

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marshall, F. E.; Harding, A. K. [Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Guillemot, L. [Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace (LPC2E), CNRS-Université d’Orléans, F-45071 Orléans (France); Martin, P. [Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, UPS/CNRS, UMR5277, F-31028 Toulouse Cedex 4 (France); Smith, D. A., E-mail: frank.marshall@nasa.gov [Centre d’Études Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan, IN2P3/CNRS, Université de Bordeaux 1, BP120, F-33175, Gradignan Cedex (France)

2016-08-20

We report the results of a 16 month monitoring campaign using the Swift satellite of PSR B0540–69, a young pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Phase connection was maintained throughout the campaign so that a reliable ephemeris could be determined, and the length of the campaign is adequate to accurately determine the spin frequency ν and its first and second derivatives. The braking index n is 0.031 ± 0.013 (90% confidence), a value much lower than previously reported for B0540–69 and almost all other young pulsars. We use data from the extensive monitoring campaign with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer to show that timing noise is unlikely to significantly affect the measurement. This is the first measurement of the braking index in the pulsar's recently discovered high spin-down state. We discuss possible mechanisms for producing the low braking index.

Koocanusa Reservoir Kokanee spawner index 2005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manson, H.; Porto, L.

2006-01-01

This paper provided details of the 2005 Kokanee escapement survey conducted in both the Koocanusa Reservoir and its tributaries. The aerial surveys were conducted during October. Results of the surveys showed that an estimated 115,760 spawning Kokanee were present in 11 rivers and index streams in the region. The fish were grouped in schools and summed to provide 2 independent estimates. The escapement index was approximately 27 per cent higher than the previous year's study. The Lussier River and Norbury Creek contained the highest numbers of Kokanee. However, the estimates were the lowest recorded since 1996. It was concluded that regular annual monitoring of the adult Kokanee population is needed to provide a trend through time indicator of changes in the region. 3 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs

Challenges for implementing water quality monitoring and analysis on a small Costa Rican catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Golcher, Christian; Cernesson, Flavie; Tournoud, Marie-George; Bonin, Muriel; Suarez, Andrea

2016-04-01

The Costa Rican water regulatory framework (WRF) (2007), expresses the national concern about the degradation of surface water quality observed in the country since several years. Given the urgency of preserving and restoring the surface water bodies, and facing the need of defining a monitoring tool to classify surface water pollution, the Costa-Rican WRF relies on two water quality indexes: the so-called "Dutch Index" (D.I) and the Biological Monitoring Working Party adapted to Costa Rica (BMWP'CR), allowing an "easy" physicochemical and biological appraisal of the water quality and the ecological integrity of water bodies. Herein, we intend to evaluate whether the compound of water quality indexes imposed by Costa Rican legislation, is suitable to assess rivers local and global anthropogenic pressure and environmental conditions. We monitor water quality for 7 points of Liberia River (northern pacific region - Costa Rica) from March 2013 to July 2015. Anthropogenic pressures are characterized by catchment land use and riparian conditions. Environmental conditions are built from rainfall daily series. Our results show (i) the difficulties to monitor new sites following the recent implementation of the WRF; (ii) the statistical characteristics of each index; and (iii) a modelling tentative of relationships between water quality indexes and explanatory factors (land-use, riparian characteristics and climate conditions).

Monitoring cryptic amphibians and reptiles in a Florida state park.

Science.gov (United States)

Engeman, Richard M; Meshaka, Walter E; Severson, Robert; Severson, Mary Ann; Kaufman, Greg; Groninger, N Paige; Smith, Henry T

2016-04-01

We monitored cryptic herpetofauna at Savannas Preserve State Park, Florida, by combining artificial cover counts with a quantitative paradigm for constructing and calculating population indices. Weekly indices were calculated from two consecutive days of data collection each week for 7 months from mid-winter to mid-summer in three habitats. Seventeen species were observed at least once, and time trends using index values were followed for six species. Among these, abundance and seasonal pattern information were obtained for an exotic species (greenhouse frog) and a species identified by the Florida Committee on Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals as threatened (Florida scrub lizard). We identified winter as the optimal time in this area to monitor populations for conducting annual assessments. This combined observation and indexing approach could provide managers or researchers with an economical means to quantitatively index population trends for multiple cryptic herpetofauna species simultaneously. Using artificial cover to sample within a population indexing design can be generalized beyond monitoring herpetofauna. Other forms of artificial cover that can be used as observation stations include aquatic artificial substrates, artificial tree cavities, artificial reefs, and other artificial aquatic structures and artificial sea grass units, among many others, and a wide range of taxa are suitable for population monitoring using artificial cover as observation stations in the approach we present, including insects, soil invertebrates, micro and macro aquatic invertebrates, fish, crustaceans, and small mammals.

Aquifer sensitivity to pesticide leaching: Testing a soils and hydrogeologic index method

Science.gov (United States)

Mehnert, E.; Keefer, D.A.; Dey, W.S.; Wehrmann, H.A.; Wilson, S.D.; Ray, C.

2005-01-01

For years, researchers have sought index and other methods to predict aquifer sensitivity and vulnerability to nonpoint pesticide contamination. In 1995, an index method and map were developed to define aquifer sensitivity to pesticide leaching based on a combination of soil and hydrogeologic factors. The soil factor incorporated three soil properties: hydraulic conductivity, amount of organic matter within individual soil layers, and drainage class. These properties were obtained from a digital soil association map. The hydrogeologic factor was depth to uppermost aquifer material. To test this index method, a shallow ground water monitoring well network was designed, installed, and sampled in Illinois. The monitoring wells had a median depth of 7.6 m and were located adjacent to corn and soybean fields where the only known sources of pesticides were those used in normal agricultural production. From September 1998 through February 2001, 159 monitoring wells were sampled for 14 pesticides but no pesticide metabolites. Samples were collected and analyzed to assess the distribution of pesticide occurrence across three units of aquifer sensitivity. Pesticides were detected in 18% of all samples and nearly uniformly from samples from the three units of aquifer sensitivity. The new index method did not predict pesticide occurrence because occurrence was not dependent on the combined soil and hydrogeologic factors. However, pesticide occurrence was dependent on the tested hydrogeologic factor and was three times higher in areas where the depth to the uppermost aquifer was <6 m than in areas where the depth to the uppermost aquifer was 6 to <15 m. Copyright ?? 2005 National Ground Water Association.

Water quality index and eutrophication indices of Caiabi River, MT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grasiane Andrietti

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the water quality of the Caiabi River based upon the water quality index (WQI and the trophic state index (TSI, considering seasonal and spatial variations, with the aim of determining the most appropriate monitoring design for this study site. Sampling for water quality monitoring was conducted at five points on the Caiabi River from July 2012 to June 2013. Quality parameters quantified were as follows: pH, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total and thermotolerant coliforms, turbidity, Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphorus, biochemical oxygen demand, series of solids, and chlorophyll a. Sampling procedures and analysis followed the methods recommended by the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. The WQI results showed that the quality of the Caiabi River water is good. TSI results demonstrated the low risk of eutrophication in the Caiabi River, indicating an ultra-oligotrophic lotic environment. Analysis of variance showed that 10 of the 16 monitored quality parameters presented differences of means between the dry and rainy seasons or among the monitored points or in the interaction between seasons and points. These results indicate that two annual sampling collections at two points may be sufficient to describe the water quality behavior in the basin, as long as the conditions of land use are stable.

A critique of the Active Ageing Index.

Science.gov (United States)

São José, José Manuel de; Timonen, Virpi; Amado, Carla Alexandra Filipe; Santos, Sérgio Pereira

2017-01-01

Active ageing and successful ageing are ubiquitous concepts in contemporary societies. In the European Union, active ageing is monitored and promoted chiefly by the Active Ageing Index, a policy tool in use since 2012. We acknowledge that the AAI may contribute to sensitizing people, including policymakers, to the multidimensionality and complexity of the process of "ageing well". However, we note that despite being widely used and promoted, the Active Ageing Index remains under-scrutinized. In this article, we undertake a comprehensive critical analysis of the Active Ageing Index. This critical analysis is supported by the Theory of Model Ageing, the Capability Approach and, to a lesser extent, by relevant literature on composite indices. We conclude that the Active Ageing Index was developed with the paradoxical aim of deriving "the solution" from "the problem". It is an under-theorized and narrowly conceptualized index that contributes to the process of Model Ageing, as its conceptual foundation, and its domains and indicators, convey a certain model of active ageing. This model is expert-based and ingrained with a priori assumptions about the potential of older people, the domains of life and activities they value and how strongly they value them. Finally, the Active Ageing Index measures current achievements, not capabilities (i.e. the opportunity set of achievable "doings" and "beings"), resulting in a valuable but incomplete tool for policymaking purposes. We hope that this critical analysis will initiate a debate on the Active Ageing Index that, in our view, is overdue. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conservation Priority Index for Estuarine Fish (COPIEF)

Science.gov (United States)

Branco, Paulo; Costa, José Lino; Raposo de Almeida, Pedro

2008-12-01

Public awareness regarding environmental issues has increased in recent decades. The increasing number of impact assessment studies, management and conservation plans, as well as ecological monitoring studies, demand new and more efficient techniques. Indices are an important tool to aid biologists in these studies and should allow an easier comprehension of the data by managers, decision-makers and the general public. This study presents the first multi-metrical index able to establish a hierarchical ordination of the conservation priority of the estuarine fish species using 72 species from 16 estuarine systems (W and S coasts of Portugal). The index is composed of 10 metrics, comprising species life traits, distribution and population trends. The information needed to score each metric was gathered from the published literature and the index validation was done by external means. This methodology allowed the definition of those fish species most in need of conservation planning, and those less prone to extinction in Portuguese estuarine systems. The proposed index fills a gap in our knowledge and provides a useful tool to the scientific community and to the decision-makers, being a breakthrough in the field of conservation planning of estuarine fish species.

[Probe into monitoring mechanism of Chinese materia medica resources].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiao-Bo; Li, Da-Ning; Guo, Lan-Ping; Lu, Jian-Wei; Sun, Li-Ying; Huang, Lu-Qi

2013-10-01

Focusing on the problems of Chinese materia medica resources,and combining with the national Chinese materia medica resources survey, the paper probes into monitoring mechanism of Chinese materia medica resources. The establishment of the monitoring mechanism needs one organization and management agencies to supervise and guide monitoring work, one network system to gather data information, a group of people to perform monitoring work, a system of technical methods to assure monitoring work scientific and practical, a series of achievements and products to figure out the methods for solving problems, a group of monitoring index system to accumulate basic data, and a plenty of funds to keep normal operation of monitoring work.

Clinical Significance of the Edema Index in Incident Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

OpenAIRE

Kang, Seok Hui; Choi, Eun Woo; Park, Jong Won; Cho, Kyu Hyang; Do, Jun Young

2016-01-01

Background Proper monitoring for volume overload is important to improve prognosis in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The association between volume status and residual renal function (RRF) remains an unresolved issue. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between the edema index and survival or RRF in incident PD patients. Patients and Methods We identified all adults who underwent PD. The edema index was defined as the ratio of extracellular fluid to total body flu...

Perfusion index variations in clinically and hemodynamically stable preterm newborns in the first week of life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farinasso Daniela

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The perfusion index, derived from the pulse oximeter signal, seems to be an accurate predictor for high illness severity in newborns. The aim of this study was to determine the perfusion index values of clinically and hemodynamically stable preterm newborns in the first week of life. Methods Perfusion index recordings were performed on the first, third and seventh day of life on 30 preterm newborns. Their state of health was assessed according to clinical and behaviour evaluation and to the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology. Results The median(interquartile range perfusion index values were 0.9(0.6 on the first, 1.2(1.0 on the third, and 1.3(0.9 on the seventh day, with a significant increase between the first and the third day. Conclusions Perfusion index proved to be an easily applicable, non-invasive method for monitoring early postnatal changes in peripheral perfusion. Its trend during the first week of life suggests that its clinical application should take age into account. Further studies are needed to obtain reference perfusion index values from a larger sample of preterm newborns, to identify specific gestational age-related cut-off values for illness and to test the role of perfusion index in monitoring critically ill neonates.

Monitoring of Space and Earth electromagnetic environment by MAGDAS project: Collaboration with IKIR - Introduction to ICSWSE/MAGDAS project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshikawa Akimasa

2017-01-01

Full Text Available For study of coupling processes in the Solar-Terrestrial System, International Center for Space Weather Science and Education (ICSWSE, Kyushu University has developed a real time magnetic data acquisition system (the MAGDAS project around the world. The number of observational sites is increasing every year with the collaboration of host countries. Now at this time, the MAGDAS Project has installed 78 real time magnetometers – so it is the largest magnetometer array in the world. The history of global observation at Kyushu University is over 30 years and number of developed observational sites is over 140. Especially, Collaboration between IKIR is extended back to 1990's. Now a time, we are operating Flux-gate magnetometer and FM-CW Radar. It is one of most important collaboration for space weather monitoring. By using MAGDAS data, ICSWSE produces many types of space weather index, such as EE-index (for monitoring long tern and shot term variation of equatorial electrojet, Pc5 index (for monitoring solar-wind velocity and high energy electron flux, Sq-index (for monitoring global change of ionospheric low and middle latitudinal current system, and Pc3 index (for monitoring of plasma density variation at low latitudes. In this report, we will introduce recent development of MAGDAS/ICSWSE Indexes project and topics for new open policy for MAGDAS data will be also discussed.

Monitoring of Space and Earth electromagnetic environment by MAGDAS project: Collaboration with IKIR - Introduction to ICSWSE/MAGDAS project

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshikawa, Akimasa; Fujimoto, Akiko; Ikeda, Akihiro; Uozumi, Teiji; Abe, Shuji

2017-10-01

For study of coupling processes in the Solar-Terrestrial System, International Center for Space Weather Science and Education (ICSWSE), Kyushu University has developed a real time magnetic data acquisition system (the MAGDAS project) around the world. The number of observational sites is increasing every year with the collaboration of host countries. Now at this time, the MAGDAS Project has installed 78 real time magnetometers - so it is the largest magnetometer array in the world. The history of global observation at Kyushu University is over 30 years and number of developed observational sites is over 140. Especially, Collaboration between IKIR is extended back to 1990's. Now a time, we are operating Flux-gate magnetometer and FM-CW Radar. It is one of most important collaboration for space weather monitoring. By using MAGDAS data, ICSWSE produces many types of space weather index, such as EE-index (for monitoring long tern and shot term variation of equatorial electrojet), Pc5 index (for monitoring solar-wind velocity and high energy electron flux), Sq-index (for monitoring global change of ionospheric low and middle latitudinal current system), and Pc3 index (for monitoring of plasma density variation at low latitudes). In this report, we will introduce recent development of MAGDAS/ICSWSE Indexes project and topics for new open policy for MAGDAS data will be also discussed.

RESEARCH OF THE METABOLIC AGE AND BODY MASS INDEX FOR FEMALE STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina Petrova Dyakova

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Metabolic age - this feature takes into account, the basic metabolism and all the basic physical parameters and the determining of age, which corresponds to this type of metabolism. The aim of the research is to establish a metabolic age and the index of the body mass (Body Mass Index for students. Anthropometric measurement was applied. The analyzer was used for the composition of body weight (body composition analyzer, BC-420MA “Tanita” for determining the metabolic age and body mass index. The conducted monitoring of the metabolic age reveals opportunities to improve students' motivation for healthy lifestyle.

Near Earth space plasma monitoring under COST 296

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Altadill, D.; Boška, Josef; Cander, Lj. R.; Gulyaeva, T.; Reinisch, B. W.; Romano, V.; Krankowski, A.; Bremer, J.; Belehaki, A.; Stanislawska, I.; Jakowski, N.; Scotto, C.

2009-01-01

Roč. 52, 3/4 (2009), s. 221-234 ISSN 1593-5213 R&D Projects: GA MŠk OC 091 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30420517 Keywords : Ionosphere * monitoring * data validation * monitoring techniques * campaigns * dissemination Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 0.548, year: 2009 http://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/view/4562

Sediment acoustic index method for computing continuous suspended-sediment concentrations

Science.gov (United States)

Landers, Mark N.; Straub, Timothy D.; Wood, Molly S.; Domanski, Marian M.

2016-07-11

Suspended-sediment characteristics can be computed using acoustic indices derived from acoustic Doppler velocity meter (ADVM) backscatter data. The sediment acoustic index method applied in these types of studies can be used to more accurately and cost-effectively provide time-series estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load, which is essential for informed solutions to many sediment-related environmental, engineering, and agricultural concerns. Advantages of this approach over other sediment surrogate methods include: (1) better representation of cross-sectional conditions from large measurement volumes, compared to other surrogate instruments that measure data at a single point; (2) high temporal resolution of collected data; (3) data integrity when biofouling is present; and (4) less rating curve hysteresis compared to streamflow as a surrogate. An additional advantage of this technique is the potential expansion of monitoring suspended-sediment concentrations at sites with existing ADVMs used in streamflow velocity monitoring. This report provides much-needed standard techniques for sediment acoustic index methods to help ensure accurate and comparable documented results.

National baselines for the Sustainable Development Goals assessed in the SDG Index and Dashboards

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt-Traub, Guido; Kroll, Christian; Teksoz, Katerina; Durand-Delacre, David; Sachs, Jeffrey D.

2017-08-01

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) -- agreed in 2015 by all 193 member states of the United Nations and complemented by commitments made in the Paris Agreement -- map out a broad spectrum of economic, social and environmental objectives to be achieved by 2030. Reaching these goals will require deep transformations in every country, as well as major efforts in monitoring and measuring progress. Here we introduce the SDG Index and Dashboards as analytical tools for assessing countries' baselines for the SDGs that can be applied by researchers in the cross-disciplinary analyses required for implementation. The Index and Dashboards synthesize available country-level data for all 17 goals, and for each country estimate the size of the gap towards achieving the SDGs. They will be updated annually. All 149 countries for which sufficient data is available face significant challenges in achieving the goals, and many countries' development strategies are imbalanced across the economic, social and environmental priorities. We illustrate the analytical value of the index by examining its relationship with other widely used development indices and by showing how it accounts for cross-national differences in subjective well-being. Given significant data gaps, scope and coverage of the Index and Dashboards are limited, but we suggest that these analyses represent a starting point for a comprehensive assessment of national SDG baselines and can help policymakers determine priorities for early action and monitor progress. The tools also identify data gaps that must be closed for SDG monitoring.

Cirrus Cloud Optical and Microphysical Property Retrievals from eMAS During SEAC4RS Using Bi-Spectral Reflectance Measurements Within the 1.88 micron Water Vapor Absorption Band

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, K.; Platnick, S.; Arnold, G. T.; Holz, R. E.; Veglio, P.; Yorks, J.; Wang, C.

2016-01-01

Previous bi-spectral imager retrievals of cloud optical thickness (COT) and effective particle radius (CER) based on the Nakajima and King (1990) approach, such as those of the operational MODIS cloud optical property retrieval product (MOD06), have typically paired a non-absorbing visible or near-infrared wavelength, sensitive to COT, with an absorbing shortwave or midwave infrared wavelength sensitive to CER. However, in practice it is only necessary to select two spectral channels that exhibit a strong contrast in cloud particle absorption. Here it is shown, using eMAS observations obtained during NASAs SEAC4RS field campaign, that selecting two absorbing wavelength channels within the broader 1.88 micron water vapor absorption band, namely the 1.83 and 1.93 micron channels that have sufficient differences in ice crystal single scattering albedo, can yield COT and CER retrievals for thin to moderately thick single-layer cirrus that are reasonably consistent with other solar and IR imager-based and lidar-based retrievals. A distinct advantage of this channel selection for cirrus cloud retrievals is that the below cloud water vapor absorption minimizes the surface contribution to measured cloudy TOA reflectance, in particular compared to the solar window channels used in heritage retrievals such as MOD06. This reduces retrieval uncertainty resulting from errors in the surface reflectance assumption, as well as reduces the frequency of retrieval failures for thin cirrus clouds.

[Monitoring temporal dynamics in leaf area index of the temperate broadleaved deciduous forest in Maoershan region, Northeast China with tower-based radiation measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fan; Wang, Chuan Kuan; Wang, Xing Chang

2016-08-01

Broadband vegetation indices (BVIs) derived from routine radiation measurements on eddy flux towers have the advantage of high temporal resolutions, and thus have the potential to obtain detailed information of dynamics in canopy leaf area index (LAI). Taking the temperate broadleaved deciduous forest around the Maoershan flux tower in Northeast China as a case, we investigated the controlling factors and smoothing method of four BVI time-series, i.e., broadband norma-lized difference vegetation index (NDVI B ), broadband enhanced vegetation index (EVI B ), the ratio of the near-infrared radiation reflectance to photosynthetically active radiation reflectance (SR NP ), and the ratio of the shortwave radiation reflectance to photosynthetically active radiation reflectance (SR SP ). We compared the seasonal courses of the BVIs with the LAI based on litterfall collection method. The values for each BVI were slightly different among the three calculation methods by Huemmrich, Wilson, and Jenkins, but showed similar seasonal patterns. The diurnal variations in BVIs were mainly influenced by the solar elevation and the angle between the solar elevation and slope, but the BVIs were relatively stable around 12:30. The noise of daily BVI time-series could be effectively smoothed by a threshold of clearness index (K). The seasonal courses of BVIs for each time of day around the noon had similar patterns, but their thresholds of K and the percen-tages of remaining data were different. Therefore, the daily values of BVIs might be optimized based on the smoothing and the proportion of remaining data. The NDVI B was closely correlated linearly with the LAI derived from the litterfall collection method, while the EVI B , SR NP , and SR SP had a logarithmic relationship with the LAI. The NDVI B had the advantage in tracking the seasonal dyna-mics in LAI and extrapolating LAI to a broader scale. Given that most eddy flux towers had equipped with energy balance measurements, a

A mortality index for postmarketing surveillance of new medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, J C; Unis, A S

2000-03-01

The rate of introduction of new pharmaceuticals is growing as a result of advances in molecular pharmacology and targeted drug development. The Fatal Toxicity Index (FTI) has been proposed as a means for monitoring drug toxicity through post-marketing surveillance. The FTI requires data regarding the general availability of a particular agent in the community which, in the US, is proprietary. The authors propose a Mortality Index as an alternative method for calculating relative lethality that does not rely on proprietary information for postmarketing surveillance. Using data from the Toxic Exposure Surveillance System (TESS) a Mortality Index was calculated from the proportion of deaths occurring among all patients who present to a health care facility with an overdose on the same agent or class of agents. The average Mortality Index for various drugs or drug classes for the years 1989 to 1997 is reported. Because the Mortality Index for desipramine appeared much greater than that for the other tricyclics, a chi-squared analysis was performed. The authors conclude, based on this analysis, that desipramine is significantly more likely to lead to death after overdosage than any other tricyclic antidepressant in the study. Also, the Mortality Index appeared to identify the impact of pediatric formulations on overdose lethality. We conclude that the Mortality Index may be a useful tool for determining the safety of agents during the postmarketing surveillance phase.

Evaluation of Helkimo anamnestic and dysfunction index in identical twins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kučević Esad H.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: In 1974 Marti Helkimo designed special questionnaires which were used for entering adequate contemporary data collected by medical history, analyzing the functions of the orofacial system and analyzing occlusion. Data were evaluated numerically with 0, 1 or 5, depending on the severity of the relevant findings and severity of clinical signs or symptoms of dysfunction. Objective: The aim of the research was to establish and evaluate specially designed Helkimos anamnestic and dysfunction index in monozygotic twins. Materials and Methods: A longitudinal prospective study was carried out on a randomized sample of 30 pairs of twins, 20 to 40 years old, and of both sexes. Dedicated design of the questionnaire made it possible to calculate the Helkimos anamnestic index (Ai, based on subjective feeling and positive or negative answers of subjects about the state of their masticatory apparatus. The clinical dysfunction index (Di represents objective functional analysis of structural and functional disorders of the orofacial complex, because it monitors multiple parameters. Kinematics of the lower jaw, conditions and limited function of the temporomandibular joints, the presence or absence of painful sensations during mandible movements during palpation of the joints and masticatory muscles, and the overall quantification of the incidence of craniomandibular dysfunction were all monitored and evaluated. The study was conducted in accordance with the local and international laws and ethical standards. Results: Medical records of 47 (78.3% twins did not present the signs and symptoms of craniomandibular dysfunction, i.e., Ai = 0. Twelve respondents were aware of the existence of mild signs of craniomandibular disorders (CMD. Acute and expressed craniomandibular disorder was identified in one of the twins Ai II 1 (1.7%. By evaluating and analyzing the results obtained using Helkimo analysis, positive dysfunction index (Di> 0, or certain signs

Multi-index time series monitoring of drought and fire effects on desert grasslands

Science.gov (United States)

Villarreal, Miguel; Norman, Laura M.; Buckley, Steven; Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; Coe, Michelle A.

2016-01-01

The Western United States is expected to undergo both extended periods of drought and longer wildfire seasons under forecasted global climate change and it is important to understand how these disturbances will interact and affect recovery and composition of plant communities in the future. In this research paper we describe the temporal response of grassland communities to drought and fire in southern Arizona, where land managers are using repeated, prescribed fire as a habitat restoration tool. Using a 25-year atlas of fire locations, we paired sites with multiple fires to unburned control areas and compare satellite and field-based estimates of vegetation cover over time. Two hundred and fifty Landsat TM images, dating from 1985–2011, were used to derive estimates of Total Vegetation Fractional Cover (TVFC) of live and senescent grass using the Soil-Adjusted Total Vegetation Index (SATVI) and post-fire vegetation greenness using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We also implemented a Greenness to Cover Index that is the difference of time-standardized SATVI-TVFC and NDVI values at a given time and location to identify post-fire shifts in native, non-native, and annual plant cover. The results highlight anomalous greening and browning during drought periods related to amounts of annual and non-native plant cover present. Results suggest that aggressive application of prescribed fire may encourage spread of non-native perennial grasses and annual plants, particularly during droughts.

A Fuzzy Expression Way for Air Quality Index with More Comprehensive Information

OpenAIRE

Yujie Wang; Mingxuan Zhao; Yulin Han; Jian Zhou

2017-01-01

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an evaluating indicator for the atmospheric environment released by various environmental monitoring centers to communicate the present air quality status to the public, which is calculated by the aid of the monitored concentrations of six common air pollutants and relevant computational formulae. Considering that the historical data of daily overall AQI illustrated by the traditional expression way merely contain limited information about the original data, thi...

The Establishment and Application of a Labor Quality Index: The Case of Taiwan's Manufacturing Industry

Science.gov (United States)

San,Gee; Huang, Tung-Chun; Huang, Li-Hsuan

2006-01-01

The labor quality index (LQI) not only serves as an important reference for monitoring the progress of the sustainable development of a country, but it can also serve as an important parameter for economic analysis. To compile such an index for Taiwan, we conducted two large-scale surveys of 1000 major enterprises and 844 union leaders,…

Ractor stability monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, Yutaka.

1991-01-01

A stability monitor for a BWR type reactor determines the index of stability by statistic processing of signals from an average power region monitor or the like, but it takes much time and the reliability thereof is not always high. Then, parameters such as reactor core power are measured on every sampling periods as observation data and pretreatments such as normalization are applied successively, to obtain monitored amount and store them successively. Differentiation coefficient relative to time are calculated by using the observed amount at present and that one sample period before, to evaluate on a phasal plane using the amount of observation and the differentiation coefficient with time on the axes of coordinate. As a result, information relative to the stability can be represented accurately, thereby enabling to monitor the stability at a high accuracy. Further, judgement for the condition considering the amplitude is conducted upon oscillation, thereby enabling to conduct control operation certainly. The operation in a region where it has been limited under great caution can be conducted appropriately and safely, enabling to conduct controlled operation of excellent economical property. (N.H.)

Monitoring leaf photosynthesis with canopy spectral reflectance in rice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian, Y.; Zhu, Y.; Cao, W.

2005-01-01

We determined the quantitative relationships between leaf photosynthetic characteristics (LPC) and canopy spectral reflectance under different water supply and nitrogen application rates in rice plants. The responses of reflectance at red radiation (680 nm) to different water contents and N rates were parallel to those of leaf net photosynthetic rate (PN). The relationships of reflectance at 680 nm and ratio index of R(810,680) (near infrared/red) to PN of different leaf positions and layers indicated that the top two full leaves were the best positions for quantitative monitoring of PN with remote sensing technique, and the index R(810,680) was the best ratio index for evaluating LPC. Testing of the models with independent data sets indicated that R(810,680) could well estimate PN of the top two leaves and canopy leaf photosynthetic potential. Hence R(810,680) can be used to monitor LPC in rice under diverse growing conditions

Estudo comparativo entre três técnicas de anestesia geral para biópsia de próstata dirigida por ultrassonografia transretal Estudio comparativo entre tres técnicas de anestesia general para biopsia de próstata dirigida por ultrasonido transrectal A comparative study among three techniques of general anesthesia for ultrasound-guided transrectal prostate biopsy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Antônio Guimarães Barbosa

2010-10-01

ésicas en ese grupo de pacientes. MÉTODO: Fueron estudiados 45 pacientes divididos en tres grupos: 1- Propofol; 2- Propofol + Bloqueo de Plexo Prostático; 3- Propofol + Fentanil. Los pacientes fueron monitorizados con presión arterial no invasiva, electrocardioscopia continua, oximetría de pulso (SpO2 e Índice Bispectral. No recibieron medicación preanestésica. Se evaluaron los parámetros hemodinámicos en el intra y postoperatorio, índice bispectral en el intraoperatorio, el dolor por la escala numérica verbal (ENV en el postoperatorio inmediato y el uso de dipirona como tratamiento del dolor postoperatorio. RESULTADOS: No hubo diferencia significativa entre los tres grupos: en las variables antropométricas, cantidad de propofol, número de fragmentos y tiempo del examen. Los parámetros hemodinámicos y la SpO2 presentaron un comportamiento semejante en los tres grupos durante el estudio. En el grupo 1, el dolor evaluado por la ENV fue más elevado y hubo una mayor necesidad de aplicar la dipirona que en los otros grupos. CONCLUSIONES: La sedación con propofol aislado para la biopsia causa un mayor dolor e incomodidad en el postoperatorio que cuando se asocia al bloqueo del plexo prostático o al fentanil sistémico. Además de la hipnosis, se hace necesario realizar la analgesia intraoperatoria para garantizar la comodidad en el postoperatorioBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Ultrasound-guided transrectal prostate biopsy is a reference in the diagnosis of prostate neoplasias. The higher the number of samples, the greater is the pain and discomfort. The objective of this study was to compare three anesthetic techniques in this group of patients. METHODS: Forty-five patients were included in this study. Patients were divided into three groups: 1 - Propofol; 2 - Propofol + Prostatic Plexus Block; 3 - Propofol + Fentanyl. Patients were monitored with non-invasive blood pressure, continuous electrocardioscopy, pulse oximetry (SpO2, and Bispectral Index. Patients did not

Relationship between PC index and magnetospheric field-aligned currents measured by Swarm satellites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Troshichev, О.; Sormakov, D.; Behlke, R.

2018-01-01

Abstract The relationship between the magnetospheric field-aligned currents (FAC) monitored by the Swarm satellites and the magnetic activity PC index (which is a proxy of the solar wind energy incoming into the magnetosphere) is examined. It is shown that current intensities measured in the R1...... between the PC index and the intensity of field-aligned currents in the R1 dawn and dusk layers: increase of FAC intensity in the course of substorm development is accompanied by increasing the PC index values. Correlation between PC and FAC intensities in the R2 dawn and dusk layers is also observed...

A clinical index for evaluating and monitoring dental erosion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, I B; Westergaard, J; Stoltze, K

2000-01-01

This study describes a new fine-scaled system for classifying initial and advanced dental erosions. The system includes the use of study casts of the teeth in an epoxy resin with an accurate surface reproduction. The severity of erosion on each tooth surface is scored according to six grades...... of severity. In addition, the presence of a Class V restoration and dental erosion on the same surface increases the erosion score, as it is assumed that the need for restorative treatment can be caused by the erosion. A high inter-examiner agreement was found when the present scoring system was used by two...... of the oral cavity and are furthermore suitable for data analysis. The system is thereby well-suited for determining etiologic factors and monitoring the progression of erosion over time....

A Proposal for New Microclimate Indexes for the Evaluation of Indoor Air Quality in Museums

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Schito

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A correct artwork preservation requires strict values of several microclimate parameters, in particular temperature, humidity, and light. In existing museums, the evaluation of the effectiveness of current building plant systems and management is essential to avoid artwork deterioration. In this work, we propose the use of five simple performance indexes that use monitored data to estimate the suitability of the whole museum system in the maintenance of benchmark values of temperature, humidity, and light. The new indexes also take into account microclimate daily span and spatial homogeneity, which can represent a criticality in the preservative process. We apply these new indexes to the results of a monitoring campaign in Palazzo Blu, a museum in Pisa, which lasted for almost four months during a temporary exhibition on Toulouse-Lautrec works. The indexes show a mainly acceptable instantaneous microclimate, but HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning system improvement is necessary to avoid high thermo-hygrometric daily span. This methodology is useful for the identification of microclimate criticalities and can help the cooperation between conservation experts and professionals giving hints to improve museum internal microclimate. In case ofalready optimal microclimate, these indexes can be useful in more complex analyses, including simulations of possible retrofit actions, keeping microclimate suitability as a constraint.

Applicability of internet search index for asthma admission forecast using machine learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Li; Liao, Chengcheng; Zhang, Fengyi; Zhang, Wei; Li, Chunyang; Qiu, Zhixin; Huang, Debin

2018-04-15

This study aimed to determine whether a search index could provide insight into trends in asthma admission in China. An Internet search index is a powerful tool to monitor and predict epidemic outbreaks. However, whether using an internet search index can significantly improve asthma admissions forecasts remains unknown. The long-term goal is to develop a surveillance system to help early detection and interventions for asthma and to avoid asthma health care resource shortages in advance. In this study, we used a search index combined with air pollution data, weather data, and historical admissions data to forecast asthma admissions using machine learning. Results demonstrated that the best area under the curve in the test set that can be achieved is 0.832, using all predictors mentioned earlier. A search index is a powerful predictor in asthma admissions forecast, and a recent search index can reflect current asthma admissions with a lag-effect to a certain extent. The addition of a real-time, easily accessible search index improves forecasting capabilities and demonstrates the predictive potential of search index. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Application of refractometry to quality assurance monitoring of parenteral nutrition solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Wei-Kuo; Chao, You-Chen; Yeh, Ming-Kung

2008-01-01

Parenteral nutrition (PN) solution contains various concentrations of dextrose, amino acids, lipids, vitamins, electrolytes, and trace elements. Incorrect preparation of PN solution could lead to patient death. In this study we used the refractive index as a quality assurance tool to monitor the preparation of PN solution. Refractive indices of single nutrient components and PN solutions consisting of various concentrations of dextrose, amino acids, electrolytes, and lipids were measured. A mathematical equation and its linear plot were generated then used to predict the refractive index of the PN solution. The best-fit refractive index for PN solution (i.e., the predicted refractive index)=0.9798x(% dextrose)+1.2889x(% amino acids)+1.1017x(% lipids)+0.9440x(% sum of the electrolytes)+0.5367 (r2=0.99). This equation was validated by comparing the measured refractive indices of 500 clinical PN solutions to their predicted refractive indices. We found that 2 of the 500 prepared samples (0.4%) had less than the predicted refractive index (<95%). Refractive index can be used as a reliable quality assurance tool for monitoring PN preparation. Such information can be obtained at the bedside and used to confirm the accuracy of the PN solution composition.

Relationship between perfusion index and patent ductus arteriosus in preterm infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez-Pomar, Enrique; Makhoul, Majd; Westgate, Philip M; Ibonia, Katrina T; Patwardhan, Abhijit; Giannone, Peter J; Bada, Henrietta S; Abu Jawdeh, Elie G

2017-05-01

Perfusion index (PI) is a noninvasive measure of perfusion. ΔPI (difference between pre- and postductal PI) may identify hemodynamically significant PDA. However, studies are limited to brief and intermittent ΔPI sampling. Our objective is to assess the value of continuous high resolution ΔPI monitoring in the diagnosis of PDA. Continuous ΔPI monitoring in preterm infants was prospectively performed using two high-resolution pulse oximeters. Perfusion Index measures (ΔPI mean and variability, pre- and postductal PI) were analyzed over a 4-h period prior to echocardiography. A cardiologist blinded to the results evaluated for PDA on echocardiography. Linear mixed regression models were utilized for analyses. We obtained 31 echocardiography observations. Mean ΔPI (-0.23 vs. 0.16; P < 0.05), mean pre-PI (0.86 vs. 1.26; P < 0.05), and ΔPI variability (0.39 vs. 0.61; P = 0.05) were lower in infants with PDA compared to infants without PDA at the time of echocardiography. Mean ΔPI, ΔPI variability, and mean pre-PI measured 4 h prior to echocardiography detect PDA in preterm infants. PI is dynamic and should be assessed continuously. Perfusion index is a promising bedside measurement to identify PDA in preterm infants.

Mental fatigue, motivation and action monitoring

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boksem, MAS; Meijman, TF; Lorist, MM

In this study we examined whether the effects of mental fatigue on behaviour are due to reduced action monitoring as indexed by the error related negativity (Ne/ERN), N2 and contingent negative variation (CNV) event-related potential (ERP) components. Therefore, we had Subjects perform a task, which

Comparison Between Water Quality Index (WQI) and Biological Water Quality Index (BWQI) for Water Quality Assessment: Case Study of Melana River, Johor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nor Zaiha Arman; Mohd Ismid Mohd Said; Shamila Azman; Muhammad Hazim Mat Hussin

2013-01-01

A study of water quality in Melana River, Johor was carried out in three consecutive months (March - May 2012). This study aims to determine the comparative results through biological monitoring as well as conventional method (physical and chemical analysis). Assessment is carried out through collection and identification of the biological indicator which comprises of macro benthos based on Biological Water Quality Index (BWQI). Comparison was done based on two methods namely invertebrate analysis and also laboratory analysis. For invertebrate analysis, Melana River consist of three types of Family groups namely Nymphs, Larvae and Molluscs. The result for Water Quality Index (WQI) and also Biological Water Quality Index (BWQI) analysis showed that the level of Melana River is polluted and classified in Class III. This study shows that even though different methods were used, the similar results were obtained for both rivers and can be applied to any river to identify their level of cleanliness. (author)

Label-free monitoring of diffusion in microfluidics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Kristian Tølbøl; Kristensen, Anders

2017-01-01

Label-free, real-time detection of concentration gradients is demonstrated in a microfluidic H-filter, using an integrated photonic crystal slab sensor to monitor sample refractive index with spatial resolution. The recorded diffusion profiles reveal root-mean-square diffusion lengths for non...

The air pollution index system in Hong Kong

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, F.Y.P.; Gervat, G.P. [Hong Kong Government, Wanchai (Hong Kong). Environmental Protection Dept.

1995-12-31

The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is currently operating an air quality monitoring network in the territory. There are nine monitoring stations, each with air quality monitoring equipment, meteorological instruments and a data logger. Five minute averaged data are transmitted through telephone lines to the central computer at the EPD Air Laboratory and are also stored in the data logger on site, as backup. At present, the EPD releases its air quality measurements to the public via monthly and special press releases, and annual reports. However, as public awareness of air pollution problems has increased, there has been an urgent need for timely and simpler information about air pollution levels. The development and operation of an Air Pollution Index (API) system has addressed that need. This presentation discusses the API computation, the information and advice released to the general public and how they can access the API information. Some API results are also presented. (author)

The air pollution index system in Hong Kong

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, F Y.P.; Gervat, G P [Hong Kong Government, Wanchai (Hong Kong). Environmental Protection Dept.

1996-12-31

The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is currently operating an air quality monitoring network in the territory. There are nine monitoring stations, each with air quality monitoring equipment, meteorological instruments and a data logger. Five minute averaged data are transmitted through telephone lines to the central computer at the EPD Air Laboratory and are also stored in the data logger on site, as backup. At present, the EPD releases its air quality measurements to the public via monthly and special press releases, and annual reports. However, as public awareness of air pollution problems has increased, there has been an urgent need for timely and simpler information about air pollution levels. The development and operation of an Air Pollution Index (API) system has addressed that need. This presentation discusses the API computation, the information and advice released to the general public and how they can access the API information. Some API results are also presented. (author)

Design and application of leakage monitor for reactor and control rod driving system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Dongyu; Zou, Yimin; Ling, Qiu; Guo, Lanying

2009-04-01

By measuring the number of γ photons produced by the annihilation of the β + particles of 13 N's decay product in the sample air, the nuclide density of 13 N can be obtained, comparing with its density in the reactor coolant, we can get the leakage information of the reactor vessel and control rod driving system, the article describes the cause of improvement in monitoring for leakage of reactor vessel and control rod driving system of Qinshan Second Nuclear Power Plant (PWR reactor), also the determination of monitoring method and system configuration, as well as the main technical index and function. Furthermore, the main parts and its function of the monitor are introduced. After operation for more than four years, it is proved that both the stability and MTBF index of the monitor meet the design, even more, thanks to the improvement of the algorithm, the Compton Effect caused by other nuclide became neglectable, the MDA of the monitor was lowered also. (authors)

Development of a Global Evaporative Stress Index Based on Thermal and Microwave LST towards Improved Monitoring of Agricultural Drought

Science.gov (United States)

Hain, C.; Anderson, M. C.; Otkin, J.; Holmes, T. R.; Gao, F.

2017-12-01

This presentation will describe the development of a global agricultural monitoring tool, with a focus on providing early warning of developing vegetation stress for agricultural decision-makers and stakeholders at relatively high spatial resolution (5-km). The tool is based on remotely sensed estimates of evapotranspiration, retrieved via energy balance principals using observations of land surface temperature. The Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) represents anomalies in the ratio of actual-to-potential ET generated with the ALEXI surface energy balance model. The LST inputs to ESI have been shown to provide early warning information about the development of vegetation stress with stress-elevated canopy temperatures observed well before a decrease in greenness is detected in remotely sensed vegetation indices. As a diagnostic indicator of actual ET, the ESI requires no information regarding antecedent precipitation or soil moisture storage capacity - the current available moisture to vegetation is deduced directly from the remotely sensed LST signal. This signal also inherently accounts for both precipitation and non-precipitation related inputs/sinks to the plant-available soil moisture pool (e.g., irrigation) which can modify crop response to rainfall anomalies. Independence from precipitation data is a benefit for global agricultural monitoring applications due to sparseness in existing ground-based precipitation networks, and time delays in public reporting. Several enhancements to the current ESI framework will be addressed as requested from project stakeholders: (a) integration of "all-sky" MW Ka-band LST retrievals to augment "clear-sky" thermal-only ESI in persistently cloudy regions; (b) operational production of ESI Rapid Change Indices which provide important early warning information related to onset of actual vegetation stress; and (c) assessment of ESI as a predictor of global yield anomalies; initial studies have shown the ability of intra

Development of relative thermal stress index (RTSI) for Monitoring and Management of Dry Deciduous Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, R. K.; Vijayan, D.

Gir wildlife sanctuary located between 20 r 57 to 21 r 20 N and 70 r 28 to 71 r 13 E is the last home of Asiatic lions Its biodiversity comprises of 450 recorded flowering plant species 32 species of mammals 26 species of reptiles about 300 species of birds and more than 2000 species of insects As per 1995 census it has 304 lions and 268 leopards The movement of wildlife to thermally comfortable zones to reduce stress conditions forces the changes in management plan with reference to change in localized water demand This necessitates the use of space based thermal data available from AVHRR MODIS etc to monitor temperature of Gir-ecosystem for meso-scale level operational utility As the time scale of the variability of NDVI parameter is much higher than that for lower boundary temperature LBT the dense patch in riverine forest having highest NDVI value would not experience change in its vigour with the change in the season NDVI value of such patch would be near invariant over the year and temperature of this pixel could serve as reference temperature for developing the concept of relative thermal stress index RTSI which is defined as RTSI T p -T r T max -T r wherein T r T max and T p refer to LBT over the maximum NDVI reference point maximum LBT observed in the Gir ecosystem and the temperature of the pixel in the image respectively RTSI images were computed from AVHRR images for post-monsoon leaf-shedded and summer seasons Scatter plot between RTSI and NDVI for summer seasons

Manual on environmental monitoring in normal operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1966-01-01

Many establishments handling radioactive materials produce, and to some extent also discharge, radioactive waste as part of their normal operation. The radiation doses to which members of the public may be exposed during such operation must remain below the stipulated level. The purpose of this manual is to provide technical guidance for setting up programmes of routine environmental monitoring in the vicinity of nuclear establishment. The annex gives five examples of routine environmental monitoring programmes currently in use: these have been indexed separately.

Ambient Radon-222 Monitoring in Amargosa Valley, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

L.H. Karr; J.J. Tappen; D. Shafer; K.J. Gray

2008-01-01

As part of a program to characterize and baseline selected environmental parameters in the region around the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, ambient radon-222 monitoring was conducted in the rural community of Amargosa Valley, the community closest to the proposed repository site. Passive integrating radon monitors and a continuous radon monitoring instrument were deployed adjacent to the Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) (http://www.cemp.dri.edu/index.html) station located in the Amargosa Valley Community Center near the library. The CEMP station provided real-time ambient gamma exposure and meteorological data used to correct the integrated radon measurements as well as verify meteorological data collected by the continuous radon monitoring instrument. Additionally, different types of environmental enclosures that housed the monitors and instrument were used to determine if particular designs influenced the ambient radon measurements

Multi-functional smart aggregate-based structural health monitoring of circular reinforced concrete columns subjected to seismic excitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu, Haichang; Song, Gangbing; Moslehy, Yashar; Mo, Y L; Sanders, David

2010-01-01

In this paper, a recently developed multi-functional piezoceramic-based device, named the smart aggregate, is used for the health monitoring of concrete columns subjected to shake table excitations. Two circular reinforced concrete columns instrumented with smart aggregates were fabricated and tested with a recorded seismic excitation at the structural laboratory at the University of Nevada—Reno. In the tests, the smart aggregates were used to perform multiple monitoring functions that included dynamic seismic response detection, structural health monitoring and white noise response detection. In the proposed health monitoring approach, a damage index was developed on the basis of the comparison of the transfer function with the baseline function obtained in the healthy state. A sensor-history damage index matrix is developed to monitor the damage evolution process. Experimental results showed that the acceleration level can be evaluated from the amplitude of the dynamic seismic response; the damage statuses at different locations were evaluated using a damage index matrix; the first modal frequency obtained from the white noise response decreased with increase of the damage severity. The proposed multi-functional smart aggregates have great potential for use in the structural health monitoring of large-scale concrete structures

Monitoring drought using multi-sensor remote sensing data in cropland of Gansu Province

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeng, Linglin; Shan, Jie; Xiang, Daxiang

2014-01-01

Various drought monitoring models have been developed from different perspectives, as drought is impacted by various factors (precipitation, evaporation, runoff) and usually reflected in various aspects (vegetation condition, temperature). Cloud not only plays an important role in the earth's energy balance and climate change, but also directly impacts the regional precipitation and evaporation. As a result, the change of cloud cover and cloud type can be used to monitor drought. This paper proposes a new drought composite index, the Drought Composite Index (DCI), for drought monitoring based on multi-sensor remote sensing data in cropland of Gansu Province. This index combines the cloud classification data (CLS) from FY satellite and Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) which was calculated using the maximum and minimum NDVI values for the same time period from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. Pearson correlation was performed to correlate NDVI, VCI, CLS and DCI values to precipitation data and soil moisture (SM) data collected from 20 meteorological stations during the growing season of 2011 and 2012. Better agreement was observed between DCI and precipitation as compared with that between NDVI/VCI and precipitation, especially the one-month precipitation, and there is an obvious time lag in the response of vegetation to precipitation. In addition, the results indicated that DCI well reflected precipitation fluctuations in the study area promising a possibility for early drought awareness necessary and near real-time drought monitoring

Design and Application of Drought Indexes in Highly Regulated Mediterranean Water Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Castelletti, A.; Zaniolo, M.; Giuliani, M.

2017-12-01

Costs of drought are progressively increasing due to the undergoing alteration of hydro-meteorological regimes induced by climate change. Although drought management is largely studied in the literature, most of the traditional drought indexes fail in detecting critical events in highly regulated systems, which generally rely on ad-hoc formulations and cannot be generalized to different context. In this study, we contribute a novel framework for the design of a basin-customized drought index. This index represents a surrogate of the state of the basin and is computed by combining the available information about the water available in the system to reproduce a representative target variable for the drought condition of the basin (e.g., water deficit). To select the relevant variables and combinatione thereof, we use an advanced feature extraction algorithm called Wrapper for Quasi Equally Informative Subset Selection (W-QEISS). W-QEISS relies on a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to find Pareto-efficient subsets of variables by maximizing the wrapper accuracy, minimizing the number of selected variables, and optimizing relevance and redundancy of the subset. The accuracy objective is evaluated trough the calibration of an extreme learning machine of the water deficit for each candidate subset of variables, with the index selected from the resulting solutions identifying a suitable compromise between accuracy, cardinality, relevance, and redundancy. The approach is tested on Lake Como, Italy, a regulated lake mainly operated for irrigation supply. In the absence of an institutional drought monitoring system, we constructed the combined index using all the hydrological variables from the existing monitoring system as well as common drought indicators at multiple time aggregations. The soil moisture deficit in the root zone computed by a distributed-parameter water balance model of the agricultural districts is used as target variable. Numerical results show that

Protein Solubility as Quality Index for Processed Soybean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodica Căpriţă

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Protein quality of soybean meal (SBM is linked to both the reduction of antinutritional factors (ANFs, and the optimization of protein digestibility. Both insufficient- and over-heating result in poor quality SBM. Inadequate heating fails to completely destroy the ANFs, which may have a detrimental impact on animal performance, while excessive heating reduces the availability of lysine via the Maillard reaction and possibly, to a lesser extent, of other amino acids. The objective of our study was to compare some biochemical laboratory procedures for assessing quality of SBM: urease index (UI, protein dispersibility index (PDI, KOH protein solubility (PS, and nitrogen solubility index (NSI. The experimental data reveal that UI is not useful to determine excessive heat treatment since additional heating has no effect on the urease index. KOH protein solubility remains high, during initial heat treatment. In marked contrast, the PDI and NSI decreased incrementally from 78% to 20% and from 97% to 60%, respectively, when heating 0 to 30 minutes. Combing the PDI test with the urease test could be useful to monitor soybean quality. SBM containing low UI (0.3 or below and high PDI (40 to 45% may indicate that the sample is definitely high quality because it has been adequately heat processed, but not overprocessed.

Comparison in anesthetic effects of propofol among patients with different ABO blood groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Yiri; Shi, Haixia; Yu, Jianshe

2017-05-01

Our study was aimed to investigate anesthetic effects of propofol in patients with different blood groups.A total of 72 participants were enrolled from patients arranged for surgeries of cholecystectomy, tonsillectomy, and spinal operation. Each blood group (A, B, AB, and O) contained 18 participants. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and bispectral index (BIS) were assayed with Philips monitor. These indexes were observed before propofol anesthesia (T0), and then were recorded when concentration of propofol was 1 μg/mL (T1), 2 μg/mL (T2), 3 μg/mL (T3), and 4 μg/mL (T4). The differences in MAP, HR, and BIS at T0 among groups were compared with the χ test. Multiple comparisons were adopted to calculate the differences in MAP, HR, and BIS between groups at T1, T2, T3, and T4.No significant differences in age, sex, and weight of all groups were found (P > .05). Before propofol anesthesia (T0), all the participants exhibited no differences in MAP, HR, and BIS (P > .05). Subsequently, we found obvious differences in ΔMAP, ΔHR, and ΔBIS between groups. The patients in the B blood group showed highest ΔMAP and ΔHR at each time point (P blood group exhibited highest value at T3 and T4 (P blood group remarkably affects the anesthetic effects of propofol.

Monitoring with Data Automata

Science.gov (United States)

Havelund, Klaus

2014-01-01

We present a form of automaton, referred to as data automata, suited for monitoring sequences of data-carrying events, for example emitted by an executing software system. This form of automata allows states to be parameterized with data, forming named records, which are stored in an efficiently indexed data structure, a form of database. This very explicit approach differs from other automaton-based monitoring approaches. Data automata are also characterized by allowing transition conditions to refer to other parameterized states, and by allowing transitions sequences. The presented automaton concept is inspired by rule-based systems, especially the Rete algorithm, which is one of the well-established algorithms for executing rule-based systems. We present an optimized external DSL for data automata, as well as a comparable unoptimized internal DSL (API) in the Scala programming language, in order to compare the two solutions. An evaluation compares these two solutions to several other monitoring systems.

The SWPER index for women's empowerment in Africa: development and validation of an index based on survey data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ewerling, Fernanda; Lynch, John W; Victora, Cesar G; van Eerdewijk, Anouka; Tyszler, Marcelo; Barros, Aluisio J D

2017-09-01

The Sustainable Development Goals strongly focus on equity. Goal 5 explicitly aims to empower all women and girls, reinforcing the need to have a reliable indicator to track progress. Our objective was to develop a novel women's empowerment indicator from widely available data sources, broadening opportunities for monitoring and research on women's empowerment. We used Demographic and Health Survey data from 34 African countries, targeting currently partnered women. We identified items related to women's empowerment present in most surveys, and used principal component analysis to extract the components. We carried out a convergent validation process using coverage of three health interventions as outcomes; and an external validation process by analysing correlations with the Gender Development Index. 15 items related to women's empowerment were selected. We retained three components (50% of total variation) which, after rotation, were identified as three dimensions of empowerment: attitude to violence, social independence, and decision making. All dimensions had moderate to high correlation with the Gender Development Index. Social independence was associated with higher coverage of maternal and child interventions; attitude to violence and decision making were more consistently associated with the use of modern contraception. The index, named Survey-based Women's emPowERment index (SWPER), has potential to widen the research on women's empowerment and to give a better estimate of its effect on health interventions and outcomes. It allows within-country and between-country comparison, as well as time trend analysis, which no other survey-based index provides. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Lung clearance index to monitor treatment response in pulmonary exacerbations in preschool children with cystic fibrosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rayment, Jonathan H; Stanojevic, Sanja; Davis, Stephanie D; Retsch-Bogart, George; Ratjen, Felix

2018-05-01

Antibiotic treatment for pulmonary symptoms in preschool children with cystic fibrosis (CF) varies among clinicians. The lung clearance index (LCI) is sensitive to early CF lung disease, but its utility to monitor pulmonary exacerbations in young children has not been assessed. We aim to (1) understand how LCI changes during lower respiratory tract symptoms relative to a recent clinically stable measurement, (2) determine whether LCI can identify antibiotic treatment response and (3) compare LCI changes to changes in spirometric indices. LCI and spirometry were measured at quarterly clinic visits over a 12-month period in preschool children with CF. Symptomatic visits were identified and classified as treated or untreated. Treatment response was estimated using propensity score matching methods. 104 symptomatic visits were identified in 78 participants. LCI increased from baseline in both treated (mean relative change +23.8% (95% CI 16.2 to 31.4)) and untreated symptomatic visits (mean relative change +11.2% (95% CI 2.4 to 19.9)). A significant antibiotic treatment effect was observed when LCI was used as the outcome measure (average treatment effect -15.5% (95% CI -25.4 to -5.6)) but not for z-score FEV 1 . LCI significantly deteriorated with pulmonary symptoms relative to baseline and improved with antibiotic treatment. These data suggest that LCI may have a role in the routine clinical care of preschool children with CF. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The Würzburg MIH concept: the MIH treatment need index (MIH TNI) : A new index to assess and plan treatment in patients with molar incisior hypomineralisation (MIH).

Science.gov (United States)

Steffen, R; Krämer, N; Bekes, K

2017-10-01

This was to create a new easy-to-use index for the treatment of MIH. An international MIH working group developed a new MIH index as an epidemiological screening procedure for assessing MIH treatment needs (MIH-TNI), and also for the screening and monitoring of individuals by dental practitioners. The MIH TNI assesses in particular the extent of the destruction of tooth structure in combination with any hypersensitivity occurring in MIH. The MIH-TNI is suggested as a basis for individual dental examinations covering all MIH typical problems or treatment planning. In addition, this index shall be the basis for decision-making in any MIH therapy studies already planned. After the validation of the MIH TNI it may be possible to create a standardised approach for dental treatment for MIH.

Using reefcheck monitoring database to develop the coral reef index of biological integrity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Hai Yen T.; Pedersen, Ole; Ikejima, Kou

2009-01-01

The coral reef indices of biological integrity was constituted based on the reef check monitoring data. Seventy six minimally disturbed sites and 72 maximallv disturbed sites in shallow water and 39 minimally disturbed sites and 37 maximally disturbed sites in deep water were classified based...... on the high-end and low-end percentages and ratios of hard coral, dead coral and fieshy algae. A total of 52 candidate metrics was identified and compiled, Eight and four metrics were finally selected to constitute the shallow and deep water coral reef indices respectively. The rating curve was applied.......05) and coral damaged by other factors -0.283 (pcoral reef indices were sensitive responses to stressors and can be capable to use as the coral reef biological monitoring tool....

Spring Chinook Salmon Interactions Indices and Residual/Precocial Monitoring in the Upper Yakima Basin; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2001-2002 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pearsons, Todd N.; James, Brenda B.; Johnson, Christopher L. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

2003-05-01

. 1997). Monitoring ecological interactions will be accomplished using interactions indices. Interactions indices will be used to index the availability of prey and competition for food and space. The tasks described below represent various subject areas of juvenile spring chinook salmon monitoring but are treated together because they can be accomplished using similar methods and are therefore more cost efficient than if treated separately. Three areas of investigation we pursued in this work were: (1) strong interactor monitoring (competition index and prey index), (2) carrying capacity monitoring (microhabitat monitoring); (3) residual and precocial salmon monitoring (abundance). This report is organized into three chapters to represent these three areas of investigation. Data were collected during the summer and fall, 2002 in index sections of the upper Yakima Basin (Figure 1). Hatchery reared spring chinook salmon were first released during the spring of 1999. The monitoring plan for the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project calls for the continued monitoring of the variables covered in this report. All findings in this report should be considered preliminary and subject to further revision as more data and analytical results become available.

Monitoring of urban heat island over Shenzhen, China using remotely sensed measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Weimin; Hong, Liang; Yang, Lijun; He, Lihuan; Dong, Guihua

2016-05-01

In the past three decades, the Shenzhen city, which is located in south of China, has experienced a rapid urbanization process characterized by sharp decrease in farmland and increases in urban area. This rapid urbanization is one of the main causes of many environmental and ecological problems including urban heat island (UHI). Therefore, the monitoring of rapid urbanization regions and the environment is of critical importance for their sustainable development. In this study, Landsat-8 OLI and TIR images, which were acquired on 2013, are used to monitor urban heat island. After radiometric calibration and atmospheric correction with a simplified method for the atmospheric correction (SMAC) are applied to OLI image, an index-based build-up index (IBI), which is based on the soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) and the normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), is employed to extract the build-up land features with a given thresholds. A single-channel algorithm is used to retrieve land surface temperature while the land surface emissivity is derived from a normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) thresholds method. Surface urban heat island index (SUHII) and urban heat island ratio index (URI) are computed for ten districts of Shenzhen based on build-up land distribution and land surface temperature data. A correlation analysis is conducted between heat island index (including SUHII and URI) and socio-economic statistics (including total population and population density) also are included in this analysis. The results show that, a weak relationship between urban heat island and socio-economic statistics are found.

EPA Office of Water (OW): STORET Water Quality Monitoring Stations NHDPlus Indexed Dataset

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Storage and Retrieval for Water Quality Data (STORET and the Water Quality Exchange, WQX) defines the methods and the data systems by which EPA compiles monitoring...

A new method for calculation of an air quality index

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ilvessalo, P. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland). Air Quality Dept.

1995-12-31

Air quality measurement programs in Finnish towns have expanded during the last few years. As a result of this it is more and more difficult to make use of all the measured concentration data. Citizens of Finnish towns are nowadays taking more of an interest in the air quality of their surroundings. The need to describe air quality in a simplified form has increased. Air quality indices permit the presentation of air quality data in such a way that prevailing conditions are more easily understandable than when using concentration data as such. Using an air quality index always means that some of the information about concentrations of contaminants in the air will be lost. How much information is possible to extract from a single index number depends on the calculation method. A new method for the calculation of an air quality index has been developed. This index always indicates the overstepping of an air quality guideline level. The calculation of this air quality index is performed using the concentrations of all the contaminants measured. The index gives information both about the prevailing air quality and also the short-term trend. It can also warn about the expected exceeding of guidelines due to one or several contaminants. The new index is especially suitable for the real-time monitoring and notification of air quality values. The behaviour of the index was studied using material from a measurement period in the spring of 1994 in Kaepylae, Helsinki. Material from a pre-operational period in the town of Oulu was also available. (author)

A new method for calculation of an air quality index

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ilvessalo, P [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland). Air Quality Dept.

1996-12-31

Air quality measurement programs in Finnish towns have expanded during the last few years. As a result of this it is more and more difficult to make use of all the measured concentration data. Citizens of Finnish towns are nowadays taking more of an interest in the air quality of their surroundings. The need to describe air quality in a simplified form has increased. Air quality indices permit the presentation of air quality data in such a way that prevailing conditions are more easily understandable than when using concentration data as such. Using an air quality index always means that some of the information about concentrations of contaminants in the air will be lost. How much information is possible to extract from a single index number depends on the calculation method. A new method for the calculation of an air quality index has been developed. This index always indicates the overstepping of an air quality guideline level. The calculation of this air quality index is performed using the concentrations of all the contaminants measured. The index gives information both about the prevailing air quality and also the short-term trend. It can also warn about the expected exceeding of guidelines due to one or several contaminants. The new index is especially suitable for the real-time monitoring and notification of air quality values. The behaviour of the index was studied using material from a measurement period in the spring of 1994 in Kaepylae, Helsinki. Material from a pre-operational period in the town of Oulu was also available. (author)

Research on early-warning index of the spatial temperature field in concrete dams.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Guang; Gu, Chongshi; Bao, Tengfei; Cui, Zhenming; Kan, Kan

2016-01-01

Warning indicators of the dam body's temperature are required for the real-time monitoring of the service conditions of concrete dams to ensure safety and normal operations. Warnings theories are traditionally targeted at a single point which have limitations, and the scientific warning theories on global behavior of the temperature field are non-existent. In this paper, first, in 3D space, the behavior of temperature field has regional dissimilarity. Through the Ward spatial clustering method, the temperature field was divided into regions. Second, the degree of order and degree of disorder of the temperature monitoring points were defined by the probability method. Third, the weight values of monitoring points of each regions were explored via projection pursuit. Forth, a temperature entropy expression that can describe degree of order of the spatial temperature field in concrete dams was established. Fifth, the early-warning index of temperature entropy was set up according to the calculated sequential value of temperature entropy. Finally, project cases verified the feasibility of the proposed theories. The early-warning index of temperature entropy is conducive to the improvement of early-warning ability and safety management levels during the operation of high concrete dams.

Floristic Quality Index of Restored Wetlands in Coastal Louisiana

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-01

ER D C/ EL T R- 17 -1 5 Ecosystem Management and Restoration Research Program Floristic Quality Index of Restored Wetlands in Coastal...of Wisconsin Lake Plant Communities with Example Applications. Lake and Reservoir Management 15(2): 133-141. Rocchio, J. 2007. Floristic Quality ... quality in Ohio wetlands. Science of the Total Environment 551: (556-562). Steyer, G. D., and R. E. Stewart, Jr. 1992. Monitoring Program for Coastal

Measurement and Interpretation of Body Mass Index during Childhood and Adolescence

Science.gov (United States)

Malone, Susan Kohl; Zemel, Babette S.

2015-01-01

The landscape of childhood health and disease has changed over the past century, and school nurses are now in a unique position to address the conditions that lead to chronic disease, such as obesity. Measuring body mass index (BMI) during childhood and adolescence is the recommended method for screening and/or monitoring obesity in school…

Correlations between quality indexes of chest compression.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Feng-Ling; Yan, Li; Huang, Su-Fang; Bai, Xiang-Jun

2013-01-01

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a kind of emergency treatment for cardiopulmonary arrest, and chest compression is the most important and necessary part of CPR. The American Heart Association published the new Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care in 2010 and demanded for better performance of chest compression practice, especially in compression depth and rate. The current study was to explore the relationship of quality indexes of chest compression and to identify the key points in chest compression training and practice. Totally 219 healthcare workers accepted chest compression training by using Laerdal ACLS advanced life support resuscitation model. The quality indexes of chest compression, including compression hands placement, compression rate, compression depth, and chest wall recoil as well as self-reported fatigue time were monitored by the Laerdal Computer Skills and Reporting System. The quality of chest compression was related to the gender of the compressor. The indexes in males, including self-reported fatigue time, the accuracy of compression depth and the compression rate, the accuracy of compression rate, were higher than those in females. However, the accuracy of chest recoil was higher in females than in males. The quality indexes of chest compression were correlated with each other. The self-reported fatigue time was related to all the indexes except the compression rate. It is necessary to offer CPR training courses regularly. In clinical practice, it might be better to change the practitioner before fatigue, especially for females or weak practitioners. In training projects, more attention should be paid to the control of compression rate, in order to delay the fatigue, guarantee enough compression depth and improve the quality of chest compression.

Depth of anaesthesia monitoring in obese patients: a randomized study of propofol-remifentanil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meyhoff, C S; Henneberg, S W; Jørgensen, B G

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: In obese patients, depth of anaesthesia monitoring could be useful in titrating intravenous anaesthetics. We hypothesized that depth of anaesthesia monitoring would reduce recovery time and use of anaesthetics in obese patients receiving propofol and remifentanil. METHODS: We investig......BACKGROUND: In obese patients, depth of anaesthesia monitoring could be useful in titrating intravenous anaesthetics. We hypothesized that depth of anaesthesia monitoring would reduce recovery time and use of anaesthetics in obese patients receiving propofol and remifentanil. METHODS: We...... investigated 38 patients with a body mass index >or=30 kg/m(2) scheduled for an abdominal hysterectomy. Patients were randomized to either titration of propofol and remifentanil according to a cerebral state monitor (CSM group) or according to usual clinical criteria (control group). The primary end point.......04). During surgery, when the cerebral state index was continuously between 40 and 60, the corresponding optimal propofol infusion rate was 10 mg/kg/h based on ideal body weight. CONCLUSION: No significant reduction in time to eye opening could be demonstrated when a CSM was used to titrate propofol...

Optical and non-optical characterization of Nb2O5-SiO2 compositional graded-index layers and rugate structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leitel, Robert; Stenzel, Olaf; Wilbrandt, Steffen; Gaebler, Dieter; Janicki, Vesna; Kaiser, Norbert

2006-01-01

The deposition of graded-index layers and rugate structures was performed by coevaporation of silicon dioxide as the low index material and niobium pentoxide as the high index material. To obtain information about the composition depth profile of the films, we used cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy to supplement deposition rate data recorded by two independent crystal quartz monitors during film preparation. The concentration depth profile was transformed to a refractive index profile using the effective medium approximation. The thus obtained refractive index profiles turned out to represent efficient initial approximations for re-engineering purposes

Wireless Sensor Network for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Li

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Indoor air quality monitoring system consists of wireless sensor device, nRF24L01 wireless transceiver modules, C8051MCU, STM32103 remote monitoring platform, alarm device and data server. Distributed in the interior space of wireless sensors measure parameters of the local air quality, wireless transceiver module of the MCU to transmit data to the remote monitoring platform for analysis which displayed and stored field environment data or charts. The data collecting from wireless sensors to be send by wireless Access Point to the remote data server based on B/S architecture, intelligent terminals such as mobile phone, laptop, tablet PC on the Internet monitor indoor air quality in real-time. When site environment air quality index data exceeds the threshold in the monitoring device, the remote monitoring platform sends out the alarm SMS signal to inform user by GSM module. Indoor air quality monitoring system uses modular design method, has the portability and scalability has the low manufacture cost, real-time monitoring data and man-machine interaction.

Associations between body mass index, ambulatory blood pressure findings, and changes in cardiac structure: relevance of pulse and nighttime pressures.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fedecostante, M.; Spannella, F.; Giulietti, F.; Espinosa, E.; Dessi-Fulgheri, P.; Sarzani, R.

2015-01-01

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is central in the management of hypertension. Factors related to BP, such as body mass index (BMI), may differently affect particular aspects of 24-hour ABPM profiles. However, the relevance of BMI, the most used index of adiposity, has been

Periodicities observed on solar flux index (F10.7) during geomagnetic disturbances

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, B.; Narayan, C.; Chhatkuli, D. N.

2017-12-01

Solar activities change within the period of 11 years. Sometimes the greatest event occurs in the period of solar maxima and the lowest activity occurs in the period of solar minimum. During the time period of solar activity sunspots number will vary. A 10.7 cm solar flux measurement is a determination of the strength of solar radio emission. The solar flux index is more often used for the prediction and monitoring of the solar activity. This study mainly focused on the variation on solar flux index and amount of electromagnetic wave in the atmosphere. Both seasonal and yearly variation on solar F10.7 index. We also analyzed the dataset obatained from riometer.Both instruments show seasonal and yearly variations. We also observed the solar cycle dependence on solar flux index and found a strong dependence on solar activity. Results also show that solar intensities higher during the rising phase of solar cycle. We also observed periodicities on solar flux index using wavelet analysis. Through this analysis, it was found that the power intensities of solar flux index show a high spectral variability.

Spatial modelling of population at risk and PM 2.5 exposure index: A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

However, monitoring, spatial representation and development of associated risk indicators have been major problems undermining formulation of relevant policy on air quality. This study used ... to environmental health. Key Words: Population at risk, PM2.5; Spatial modeling, GIS, Exposure index, environmental health ...

Comparison of remote sensing indices for monitoring of desert cienegas

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Natalie R.; Norman, Laura M.; Villarreal, Miguel; Gass, Leila; Tiller, Ron; Salywon, Andrew

2016-01-01

This research considers the applicability of different vegetation indices at 30 m resolution for mapping and monitoring desert wetland (cienega) health and spatial extent through time at Cienega Creek in southeastern Arizona, USA. Multiple stressors including the risk of decadal-scale drought, the effects of current and predicted global warming, and continued anthropogenic pressures threaten aquatic habitats in the southwest and cienegas are recognized as important sites for conservation and restoration efforts. However, cienegas present a challenge to satellite-imagery based analysis due to their small size and mixed surface cover of open water, exposed soils, and vegetation. We created time series of five well-known vegetation indices using annual Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images retrieved during the April–June dry season, from 1984 to 2011 to map landscape-level distribution of wetlands and monitor the temporal dynamics of individual sites. Indices included the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and the Normalized Difference Infrared Index (NDII). One topographic index, the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), was analyzed to examine the utility of topography in mapping distribution of cienegas. Our results indicate that the NDII, calculated using Landsat TM band 5, outperforms the other indices at differentiating cienegas from riparian and upland sites, and was the best means to analyze change. As such, it offers a critical baseline for future studies that seek to extend the analysis of cienegas to other regions and time scales, and has broader applicability to the remote sensing of wetland features in arid landscapes.

Comparison of index velocity measurements made with a horizontal acoustic Doppler current profiler

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, P. Ryan; Johnson, Kevin K.; Duncker, James J.

2012-01-01

The State of Illinois' annual withdrawal from Lake Michigan is limited by a U.S. Supreme Court decree, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for monitoring flows in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Lemont, Illinois as a part of the Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. Every 5 years, a technical review committee consisting of practicing engineers and academics is convened to review the U.S. Geological Survey's streamgage practices in the CSSC near Lemont, Illinois. The sixth technical review committee raised a number of questions concerning the flows and streamgage practices in the CSSC near Lemont and this report provides answers to many of those questions. In addition, it is the purpose of this report to examine the index velocity meters in use at Lemont and determine whether the acoustic velocity meter (AVM), which is now the primary index velocity meter, can be replaced by the horizontal acoustic Doppler current profiler (H-ADCP), which is currently the backup meter. Application of the AVM and H-ADCP to index velocity measurements in the CSSC near Lemont, Illinois, has produced good ratings to date. The site is well suited to index velocity measurements in spite of the large range of velocities and highly unsteady flows at the site. Flow variability arises from a range of sources: operation of the waterway through control structures, lockage-generated disturbances, commercial and recreational traffic, industrial withdrawals and discharges, natural inflows, seiches, and storm events. The influences of these factors on the index velocity measurements at Lemont is examined in detail in this report. Results of detailed data comparisons and flow analyses show that use of bank-mounted instrumentation such as the AVM and H-ADCP appears to be the best option for index velocity measurement in the CSSC near Lemont. Comparison of the rating curves for the AVM and H-ADCP demonstrates

Environmental indicators and bio monitoring: Costa Rica experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruiz Hidalgo, K.

2012-01-01

An experience carried out on rice, watermelon and melon crops were applied in Costa Rica. In sediment and water samples using bio monitoring techniques were found pesticides and pollution levels.The water bodies, sediments and ecological quality was determined by the BMWP- CR Index technique.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Cultivated Land Irrigation Guarantee Capability with Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, C., Sr.; Huang, J.; Li, L.; Wang, H.; Zhu, D.

2015-12-01

Abstract: Cultivated Land Quality Grade monitoring and evaluation is an important way to improve the land production capability and ensure the country food safety. Irrigation guarantee capability is one of important aspects in the cultivated land quality monitoring and evaluation. In the current cultivated land quality monitoring processing based on field survey, the irrigation rate need much human resources investment in long investigation process. This study choses Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei as study region, taking the 1 km × 1 km grid size of cultivated land unit with a winter wheat-summer maize double cropping system as study object. A new irrigation capacity evaluation index based on the ratio of the annual irrigation requirement retrieved from MODIS data and the actual quantity of irrigation was proposed. With the years of monitoring results the irrigation guarantee capability of study area was evaluated comprehensively. The change trend of the irrigation guarantee capability index (IGCI) with the agricultural drought disaster area in rural statistical yearbook of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area was generally consistent. The average of IGCI value, the probability of irrigation-guaranteed year and the weighted average which controlled by the irrigation demand index were used and compared in this paper. The experiment results indicate that the classification result from the present method was close to that from irrigation probability in the gradation on agriculture land quality in 2012, with overlap of 73% similar units. The method of monitoring and evaluation of cultivated land IGCI proposed in this paper has a potential in cultivated land quality level monitoring and evaluation in China. Key words: remote sensing, evapotranspiration, MODIS cultivated land quality, irrigation guarantee capability Authors: Chao Zhang, Jianxi Huang, Li Li, Hongshuo Wang, Dehai Zhu China Agricultural University zhangchaobj@gmail.com

SME Worker Affective (SWA) index based on environmental ergonomics

Science.gov (United States)

Ushada, M.; Kusuma Aji, G.; Okayama, T.; Khidir, M.

2018-04-01

Small-Medium sized (SME) is a focal type of Indonesian industry which contributes to national emerging economies. Indonesian goverment has developed employee social security system (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan) to support worker quality of life. However, there were limited research which could assist BPJS Ketenagakerjaan in evaluating worker quality of life. Worker quality of life could be categorized as the highest worker needs or affective states. SME Worker Affective (SWA) index is being concerned as a basic tool to make balance between worker performance and quality of life in workstation of SMEs. The research objectives are: 1) To optimize the environmental ergonomics in SMEs; 2) To quantify SME Worker Affective (SWA) index based on optimized environmental ergonomics. The research advantage is to support Indonesian goverment in monitoring SMEs good practices to its worker quality of life. Simulated annealing optimized the heart rate and environmental ergonomics parameters. SWA index was determined based on comparison between optimized heart rate and environmental ergonomics parameters. SWA index were quantified for 380 data of worker. The evaluation indicated 51.3% worker in affective and 48.7% in non-affective condition. Research results indicated that stakeholders of SMEs should put more attention on environmental ergonomics and worker affective.

Water quality index for Al-Gharraf River, southern Iraq

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salam Hussein Ewaid

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The Water Quality Index has been developed mathematically to evaluate the water quality of Al-Gharraf River, the main branch of the Tigris River in the south of Iraq. Water samples were collected monthly from five sampling stations during 2015–2016, and 11 parameters were analyzed: biological oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, the concentration of hydrogen ions, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, phosphates, nitrates, chlorides, as well as turbidity, total hardness, electrical conductivity and alkalinity. The index classified the river water, without including turbidity as a parameter, as good for drinking at the first station, poor at stations 2, 3, 4 and very poor at station 5. When turbidity was included, the index classified the river water as unsuitable for drinking purposes in the entire river. The study highlights the importance of applying the water quality indices which indicate the total effect of the ecological factors on surface water quality and which give a simple interpretation of the monitoring data to help local people in improving water quality.

Antecedent precipitation index determined from CST estimates of rainfall

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, David W.

1992-01-01

This paper deals with an experimental calculation of a satellite-based antecedent precipitation index (API). The index is also derived from daily rain images produced from infrared images using an improved version of GSFC's Convective/Stratiform Technique (CST). API is a measure of soil moisture, and is based on the notion that the amount of moisture in the soil at a given time is related to precipitation at earlier times. Four different CST programs as well as the Geostationary Operational Enviroment Satellite (GOES) Precipitation Index developed by Arkin in 1979 are compared to experimental results, for the Mississippi Valley during the month of July. Rain images are shown for the best CST code and the ARK program. Comparisons are made as to the accuracy and detail of the results for the two codes. This project demonstrates the feasibility of running the CST on a synoptic scale. The Mississippi Valley case is well suited for testing the feasibility of monitoring soil moisture by means of CST. Preliminary comparisons of CST and ARK indicate significant differences in estimates of rain amount and distribution.

Development of innovative computer software to facilitate the setup and computation of water quality index.

Science.gov (United States)

Nabizadeh, Ramin; Valadi Amin, Maryam; Alimohammadi, Mahmood; Naddafi, Kazem; Mahvi, Amir Hossein; Yousefzadeh, Samira

2013-04-26

Developing a water quality index which is used to convert the water quality dataset into a single number is the most important task of most water quality monitoring programmes. As the water quality index setup is based on different local obstacles, it is not feasible to introduce a definite water quality index to reveal the water quality level. In this study, an innovative software application, the Iranian Water Quality Index Software (IWQIS), is presented in order to facilitate calculation of a water quality index based on dynamic weight factors, which will help users to compute the water quality index in cases where some parameters are missing from the datasets. A dataset containing 735 water samples of drinking water quality in different parts of the country was used to show the performance of this software using different criteria parameters. The software proved to be an efficient tool to facilitate the setup of water quality indices based on flexible use of variables and water quality databases.

Intraoperative care for aortic surgery using circulatory arrest.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández Suárez, Félix Ezequiel; Fernández Del Valle, David; González Alvarez, Adrián; Pérez-Lozano, Blanca

2017-05-01

The total circulatory arrest (CA) is necessary to achieve optimal surgical conditions in certain aortic pathologies, especially in those affecting the ascending aorta and aortic arch. During this procedure it is necessary to protect all the organs of ischemia, especially those of the central nervous system and for this purpose several strategies have been developed. The first and most important protective method is systemic hypothermia. The degree of hypothermia and the route of application have been evolving and currently tend to use moderate hypothermia (MH) (20.1-28 °C) associated with unilateral or bilateral selective cerebral perfusion methods. In this way the neurological results are better, the interval of security is greater and the times of extracorporeal circulation are smaller. Even so, it is necessary to take into account that there is the possibility of ischemia in the lower part of the body, especially of the abdominal viscera and the spinal cord, therefore the time of circulatory stop should be limited and not to exceed 80 minutes. Evidence of possible neurological drug protection is very weak and only mannitol, magnesium, and statins can produce some benefit. Inhalational anesthetics and some intravenous seem to have advantages, but more studies would be needed to test their long-term benefit. Other important parameters to be monitored during these procedures are blood glucose, anemia and coagulation disorders and acid-base balance. The recommended monitoring is common in complex cardiovascular procedures and it is of special importance the neurological monitoring that can be performed with several techniques, although currently the most used are Bispectral Index (BIS) and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). It is also essential to monitor the temperature routinely at the nasopharyngeal and bladder level and it is important to control coagulation with rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM).

Clinical Application of the PES/WES Index on Natural Teeth: Case Report and Literature Review

OpenAIRE

Lanza, Alessandro; Di Francesco, Fabrizio; De Marco, Gennaro; Femiano, Felice; Itro, Angelo

2017-01-01

The use of reliable indices to evaluate the aesthetic outcomes in the aesthetic area is an important and objective clinical aid to monitor the results over time. According to the literature various indices were proposed to evaluate aesthetic outcomes of implant-prosthetic rehabilitation of the anterior area like Peri-Implant and Crown Index [PICI], Implant Crown Aesthetic Index [ICAI], Pink Esthetic Score/White Esthetic Score [PES/WES], and Pink Esthetic Score [PES] but none of them was relat...

Improving Multi-Sensor Drought Monitoring, Prediction and Recovery Assessment Using Gravimetry Information

Science.gov (United States)

Aghakouchak, Amir; Tourian, Mohammad J.

2015-04-01

Development of reliable drought monitoring, prediction and recovery assessment tools are fundamental to water resources management. This presentation focuses on how gravimetry information can improve drought assessment. First, we provide an overview of the Global Integrated Drought Monitoring and Prediction System (GIDMaPS) which offers near real-time drought information using remote sensing observations and model simulations. Then, we present a framework for integration of satellite gravimetry information for improving drought prediction and recovery assessment. The input data include satellite-based and model-based precipitation, soil moisture estimates and equivalent water height. Previous studies show that drought assessment based on one single indicator may not be sufficient. For this reason, GIDMaPS provides drought information based on multiple drought indicators including Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSI) and the Multivariate Standardized Drought Index (MSDI) which combines SPI and SSI probabilistically. MSDI incorporates the meteorological and agricultural drought conditions and provides composite multi-index drought information for overall characterization of droughts. GIDMaPS includes a seasonal prediction component based on a statistical persistence-based approach. The prediction component of GIDMaPS provides the empirical probability of drought for different severity levels. In this presentation we present a new component in which the drought prediction information based on SPI, SSI and MSDI are conditioned on equivalent water height obtained from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). Using a Bayesian approach, GRACE information is used to evaluate persistence of drought. Finally, the deficit equivalent water height based on GRACE is used for assessing drought recovery. In this presentation, both monitoring and prediction components of GIDMaPS will be discussed, and the results from 2014

Inversion of Farmland Soil Moisture in Large Region Based on Modified Vegetation Index

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J. X.; Yu, B. S.; Zhang, G. Z.; Zhao, G. C.; He, S. D.; Luo, W. R.; Zhang, C. C.

2018-04-01

Soil moisture is an important parameter for agricultural production. Efficient and accurate monitoring of soil moisture is an important link to ensure the safety of agricultural production. Remote sensing technology has been widely used in agricultural moisture monitoring because of its timeliness, cyclicality, dynamic tracking of changes in things, easy access to data, and extensive monitoring. Vegetation index and surface temperature are important parameters for moisture monitoring. Based on NDVI, this paper introduces land surface temperature and average temperature for optimization. This article takes the soil moisture in winter wheat growing area in Henan Province as the research object, dividing Henan Province into three main regions producing winter wheat and dividing the growth period of winter wheat into the early, middle and late stages on the basis of phenological characteristics and regional characteristics. Introducing appropriate correction factor during the corresponding growth period of winter wheat, correcting the vegetation index in the corresponding area, this paper establishes regression models of soil moisture on NDVI and soil moisture on modified NDVI based on correlation analysis and compare models. It shows that modified NDVI is more suitable as a indicator of soil moisture because of the better correlation between soil moisture and modified NDVI and the higher prediction accuracy of the regression model of soil moisture on modified NDVI. The research in this paper has certain reference value for winter wheat farmland management and decision-making.

Pattern Decomposition Method and a New Vegetation Index for Hyper-Multispectral Satellite Data Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Muramatsu, K.; Furumi, S.; Hayashi, A.; Shiono, Y.; Ono, A.; Fujiwara, N.; Daigo, M.; Ochiai, F.

We have developed the ``pattern decomposition method'' based on linear spectral mixing of ground objects for n-dimensional satellite data. In this method, spectral response patterns for each pixel in an image are decomposed into three components using three standard spectral shape patterns determined from the image data. Applying this method to AMSS (Airborne Multi-Spectral Scanner) data, eighteen-dimensional data are successfully transformed into three-dimensional data. Using the three components, we have developed a new vegetation index in which all the multispectral data are reflected. We consider that the index should be linear to the amount of vegetation and vegetation vigor. To validate the index, its relations to vegetation types, vegetation cover ratio, and chlorophyll contents of a leaf were studied using spectral reflectance data measured in the field with a spectrometer. The index was sensitive to vegetation types and vegetation vigor. This method and index are very useful for assessment of vegetation vigor, classifying land cover types and monitoring vegetation changes

COMPONENTS OF THE HEALTHY EATING INDEX IN NUTRITION OF ADULT FEMALES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarína Fatrcová-Šramková

2010-11-01

Full Text Available To assess and monitor the nutriton and dietary status, the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed the Healthy Eating Index - HEI. The index consists of 10 components, each representing different aspects of a healthful diet. The aim of the study was to evaluate the nutrition in adult females and to analyze the actual nutrition according to selected four components (no. 6-9 of the Healthy Eating Index. Components 6 and 7 measure total fat and saturated fat consumption, respectively, as a percentage of total food intake (maximal 30 % and 10 % of total energy daily content respectively; in case of 31,3 % and 58,62 % females respectively. Components 8 and 9 measure total cholesterol (daily maximal 300 mg in case of 69,54 % participants and sodium intake (maximal 2400 mg a day in case of 22,99 % probands. doi:10.5219/106

Vector-borne disease risk indexes in spatially structured populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Velázquez-Castro

2018-02-01

Full Text Available There are economic and physical limitations when applying prevention and control strategies for urban vector borne diseases. Consequently, there are increasing concerns and interest in designing efficient strategies and regulations that health agencies can follow in order to reduce the imminent impact of viruses like Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya. That includes fumigation, abatization, reducing the hatcheries, picking up trash, information campaigns. A basic question that arise when designing control strategies is about which and where these ones should focus. In other words, one would like to know whether preventing the contagion or decrease vector population, and in which area of the city, is more efficient. In this work, we propose risk indexes based on the idea of secondary cases from patch to patch. Thus, they take into account human mobility and indicate which patch has more chance to be a corridor for the spread of the disease and which is more vulnerable, i.e. more likely to have cases?. They can also indicate the neighborhood where hatchery control will reduce more the number of potential cases. In order to illustrate the usefulness of these indexes, we run a set of numerical simulations in a mathematical model that takes into account the urban mobility and the differences in population density among the areas of a city. If we label by i a particular neighborhood, the transmission risk index (TRi measures the potential secondary cases caused by a host in that neighborhood. The vector transmission risk index (VTRi measures the potential secondary cases caused by a vector. Finally, the vulnerability risk index (VRi measures the potential secondary cases in the neighborhood. Transmission indexes can be used to give geographical priority to some neighborhoods when applying prevention and control measures. On the other hand, the vulnerability index can be useful to implement monitoring campaigns or public health investment.

Integrated study of biomass index in La Herreria (Sierra de Guadarrama)

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez Díaz-Ambrona, Carlos G.

2016-04-01

. Selection of vegetation indices to estimate pasture production in Dehesas. PASTOS, 44(2), 6-18, 2014. Kogan, F. N., 1990. Remote sensing of weather impacts on vegetation in non-homogeneous areas. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 11(8), pp. 1405-1419. Kogan, F. N., Gitelson, A., Edige, Z., Spivak, l., and Lebed, L., 2003. AVHRR-Based Spectral Vegetation Index for Quantitative Assessment of Vegetation State and Productivity: Calibration and Validation. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 69(8), pp. 899-906. Niemeyer, S., 2008. New drought indices. First Int. Conf. on Drought Management: Scientific and Technological Innovations, Zaragoza, Spain, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Palmer, W.C., 1968. Keeping track of crop moisture conditions, nationwide: The new Crop Moisture Index. Weatherwise 21, 156-161. Rao, K.N. 2010. Index based Crop Insurance. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia 1, 193-203. Santolaria-Canales, Edmundo and the GuMNet Consortium Team (2015). GuMNet - Guadarrama Monitoring Network. Installation and set up of a high altitude monitoring network, north of Madrid. Spain. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 17, EGU2015-13989-2 Web: http://www.ucm.es/gumnet/

Depth of Anesthesia as a Risk Factor for Perioperative Morbidity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Argyro Petsiti

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The prognostic value of age, physical status, and duration of surgery on perioperative course has been extensively studied. However, the impact of deep hypnotic time (time when Bispectral Index values are less than 40 has not been well evaluated. Methods. We designed an observational study to clarify the relative influence of deep hypnotic time (DHT on outcome. Eligible participants were mentally stable patients over 18 years old scheduled for elective major abdominal surgery. In total, 248 patients enrolled. Data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test and multiple logistic regression. Results. Five variables (DHT, hypotension, age, comorbidity, and duration of surgery showed statistically significant association with complications, when examined independently. However, when all variables were examined together in a multiple logistic regression model, age and comorbidity were no longer associated with outcome. DHT, hypotension, and duration of surgery were significant predictors of “complications,” and “hypotension” was a significant predictor of prolonged hospital stay (P<0.001.  Conclusion. Deep hypnotic time emerged as a new factor associated with outcome, and its impact compared to other factors such as age, surgery duration, hypotension, and comorbidity is redefined. Monitoring and managing depth of anesthesia during surgery are important and should be part of careful operation planning.

Safety and clinical effect of i.v. infusion of cyclopropyl-methoxycarbonyl etomidate (ABP-700), a soft analogue of etomidate, in healthy subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Valk, B I; Absalom, A R; Meyer, P; Meier, S; den Daas, I; van Amsterdam, K; Campagna, J A; Sweeney, S P; Struys, M M R F

2018-06-01

Cyclopropyl-methoxycarbonyl metomidate, or ABP-700, is a second generation analogue of etomidate, developed to retain etomidate's beneficial haemodynamic and respiratory profile but diminishing its suppression of the adrenocortical axis. The objective of this study was to characterise the safety and efficacy of 30-min continuous infusions of ABP-700, and to assess its effect on haemodynamics and the adrenocortical response in healthy human volunteers. Five cohorts involving 40 subjects received increasing infusion doses of ABP-700, propofol 60 μg kg -1  min -1 or placebo. Safety was evaluated through adverse event (AE) monitoring, safety laboratory tests, and arterial blood gasses. Haemodynamic and respiratory stability were assessed by continuous monitoring. Adrenocortical function was analysed by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation tests. Clinical effect was measured using the modified observer's assessment of alertness/sedation (MOAA/S) and continuous bispectral index monitoring. No serious AEs were reported. Haemodynamic and respiratory effects included mild dose-dependent tachycardia, slightly elevated blood pressure, and no centrally mediated apnoea. Upon stimulation with ACTH, no adrenocortical depression was observed in any subject. Involuntary muscle movements (IMM) were reported, which were more extensive with higher dosing regimens. Higher dosages of ABP-700 were associated with deeper sedation and increased likelihood of sedation. Time to onset of clinical effect was variable throughout the cohorts and recovery was swift. Infusions of ABP-700 showed a dose-dependent hypnotic effect, and did not cause severe hypotension, severe respiratory depression, or adrenocortical suppression. The presentation and nature of IMM is a matter of concern. NTR4735. Copyright © 2018 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and psychometrics of the five item daily index in a psychiatric sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyer, Kale; Hooke, Geoff; Page, Andrew C

2014-01-01

Effective treatment of affective disorders requires the ability to reliably monitor patient progress and outcome. The current study aimed to establish the Daily Index-5 (DI-5) as a psychometrically sound and clinically valid measure of treatment response in psychiatric care for use as a companion measure with the WHO Wellbeing Index (WHO-5; Bech et al., 1996. Psychother. Psychosom. 65, 183-190.). Eight hundred and ninety four consecutive inpatients and day-patients at a psychiatric facility completed the DI-5, WHO-5, SF-36 (Ware et al., 1993. SF-36 Health Survey: Manual and Interpretation Guide. The Health Institute, New England Medical Centre, Boston, MA.) and DASS-21 (Lovibond and Lovibond, 1995b. Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Psychology Foundation, Sydney, Australia.; Ware et al., 1993. SF-36 Health Survey: Manual and Interpretation Guide. The Health Institute, New England Medical Centre, Boston, MA.) routinely during treatment. The DI-5 was shown to be a measure with high reliability and validity. In addition criteria for clinically significant recovery are presented with an example implementation of a Clinical Significance Monitoring system. Finally, the latent structure of the DI-5 is established as a uni-dimensional index of affective disorder. The results may be generalized to samples with primary diagnoses of depressive and/or anxiety disorders though assessment of the DI-5 as a measure of treatment response is warranted in patients with other primary diagnoses. The current study indicates that the DI-5 is a quick to administer and interpret, reliable and valid measure for assessing patient outcome that is appropriate for use in monitoring patient change. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Monitoring and Assessment of Youshui River Water Quality in Youyang

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xue-qin; Wen, Juan; Chen, Ping-hua; Liu, Na-na

2018-02-01

By monitoring the water quality of Youshui River from January 2016 to December 2016, according to the indicator grading and the assessment standard of water quality, the formulas for 3 types water quality indexes are established. These 3 types water quality indexes, the single indicator index Ai, single moment index Ak and the comprehensive water quality index A, were used to quantitatively evaluate the quality of single indicator, the water quality and the change of water quality with time. The results show that, both total phosphorus and fecal coliform indicators exceeded the standard, while the other 16 indicators measured up to the standard. The water quality index of Youshui River is 0.93 and the grade of water quality comprehensive assessment is level 2, which indicated that the water quality of Youshui River is good, and there is room for further improvement. To this end, several protection measures for Youshui River environmental management and pollution treatment are proposed.

Design of wideband solar ultraviolet radiation intensity monitoring and control system

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Linmao; Wu, Zhigang; Li, Yusheng; Yu, Guohe; Jin, Qi

2009-08-01

According to the principle of SCM (Single Chip Microcomputer) and computer communication technique, the system is composed of chips such as ATML89C51, ADL0809, integrated circuit and sensors for UV radiation, which is designed for monitoring and controlling the UV index. This system can automatically collect the UV index data, analyze and check the history database, research the law of UV radiation in the region.

Monitoring change in refractive index of cytosol of animal cells on affinity surface under osmotic stimulus for label-free measurement of viability.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jina; Jin, Sung Il; Kim, Hyung Min; Ahn, Junhyoung; Kim, Yeon-Gu; Lee, Eun Gyo; Kim, Min-Gon; Shin, Yong-Beom

2015-02-15

We demonstrated that a metal-clad waveguide (MCW)-based biosensor can be applied to label-free measurements of viability of adherent animal cells with osmotic stimulation in real time. After Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and human embryonic kidney cell 293 (HEK293) cells were attached to a Concanavalin A (Con A)-modified sensor surface, the magnitudes of cell responses to non-isotonic stimulation were compared between live and dead cells. The live cells exhibited a change in the refractive index (RI) of the cytosol caused by a redistribution of water through the cell membrane, which was induced by the osmotic stimulus, but the dead cells did not. Moreover, the normalized change in the RI measured via the MCW sensor was linearly proportional to the viability of attached cells and the resolution in monitoring cell viability was about 0.079%. Therefore, the viability of attached animal cells can be measured without labels by observing the relative differences in the RI of cytosol in isotonic and non-isotonic buffers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nonlinear coupling of tearing fluctuations in the Madison Symmetric Torus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarff, J.S.; Almagri, A.F.; Cekic, M.; Den Hartog, D.J.; Fiksel, G.; Hokin, S.A.; Ji, H.; Prager, S.C.; Shen, W.; Stoneking, M.R.; Assadi, S.; Sidikman, K.L.

1992-11-01

Three-wave, nonlinear, tearing mode coupling has been measured in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) reversed-field pinch (RFP) [Fusion Technol. 19, 131 (1991)] using bispectral analysis of edge magnetic fluctuations resolved in ''k-space. The strength of nonlinear three-wave interactions satisfying the sum rules m 1 + m 2 = m 3 and n 1 + n 2 = n 3 is measured by the bicoherency. In the RFP, m=l, n∼2R/a (6 for MST) internally resonant modes are linearly unstable and grow to large amplitude. Large values of bicoherency occur for two m=l modes coupled to an m=2 mode and the coupling of intermediate toroidal modes, e.g., n=6 and 7 coupled to n=13. These experimental bispectral features agree with predicted bispectral features derived from MHD computation. However, in the experiment, enhanced coupling occurs in the ''crash'' phase of a sawtooth oscillation concomitant with a broadened mode spectrum suggesting the onset of a nonlinear cascade

Costs of detection bias in index-based population monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, C.T.; Kendall, W.L.

2004-01-01

Managers of wildlife populations commonly rely on indirect, count-based measures of the population in making decisions regarding conservation, harvest, or control. The main appeal in the use of such counts is their low material expense compared to methods that directly measure the population. However, their correct use rests on the rarely-tested but often-assumed premise that they proportionately reflect population size, i.e., that they constitute a population index. This study investigates forest management for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) and the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in central Georgia, U.S.A. Optimal decision policies for a joint species objective were derived for two alternative models of Wood Thrush population dynamics. Policies were simulated under scenarios of unbiasedness, consistent negative bias, and habitat-dependent negative bias in observed Wood Thrush densities. Differences in simulation outcomes between biased and unbiased detection scenarios indicated the expected loss in resource objectives (here, forest habitat and birds) through decision-making based on biased population counts. Given the models and objective function used in our analysis, expected losses were as great as 11%, a degree of loss perhaps not trivial for applications such as endangered species management. Our analysis demonstrates that costs of uncertainty about the relationship between the population and its observation can be measured in units of the resource, costs which may offset apparent savings achieved by collecting uncorrected population counts.

Emission index for evaluation of volatile organic compounds emitted from tomato plants in greenhouses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Takayama, K.; Jansen, R.M.C.; Henten, van E.J.; Verstappen, F.W.A.; Bouwmeester, H.J.; Nishina, H.

2012-01-01

Measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by plants allows us to monitor plant health status without touching the plant. To bring this technique a step further towards a practical plant diagnosis technique for greenhouse crop production, we have defined a numerical index named

STUDY OF POND WATER QUALITY BY THE ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND WATER QUALITY INDEX

OpenAIRE

Vinod Jena; Satish Dixit; Ravi ShrivastavaSapana Gupta; Sapana Gupta

2013-01-01

Water quality index (WQI) is a dimensionless number that combines multiple water quality factors into a single number by normalizing values to subjective rating curves. Conventionally it has been used for evaluating the quality of water for water resources suchas rivers, streams and lakes, etc. The present work is aimed at assessing the Water Quality Index (W.Q.I) ofpond water and the impact of human activities on it. Physicochemical parameters were monitored for the calculation of W.Q.I for ...

Wobbe index control system in gas industry processes; Systeme de controle de l'index de Wobbe du gaz naturel dans les processus industriels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cassibba, M.; Bertani, M. [SNAM, (Italy)

2000-07-01

Natural gas supplied to industry for process utilizations originates from different sources and that can cause fluctuations in gas composition. Changing gas composition may lead to production problems in industry with sensitive thermal processes (particularly glass industry and thermal metal treatments), such as efficiency and product quality. An equipment suitable to control and adjust such variations has been developed. Experimental tests in laboratory were carried out in order to investigate the control system accuracy and reliability. In particular five different settings were tested: at a preset thermal input by adjusting the natural gas flow rate in respect to Wobbe Index variations; at a set furnace temperature and stack oxygen level with variable thermal input by monitoring the Wobbe Index value; at constant Wobbe Index value by adding air to natural gas; at constant thermal input and prefixed Wobbe Index value by adding air to natural gas and varying the air and gas mixture flow rate; gross calorific value control by adding air or LPG to natural gas. All the tested settings gave good results. This report illustrates these results and the main features of the control system. The control and regulation system was installed in two glass factories for field tests. (authors)

Computational Depth of Anesthesia via Multiple Vital Signs Based on Artificial Neural Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muammar Sadrawi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated the depth of anesthesia (DoA index using artificial neural networks (ANN which is performed as the modeling technique. Totally 63-patient data is addressed, for both modeling and testing of 17 and 46 patients, respectively. The empirical mode decomposition (EMD is utilized to purify between the electroencephalography (EEG signal and the noise. The filtered EEG signal is subsequently extracted to achieve a sample entropy index by every 5-second signal. Then, it is combined with other mean values of vital signs, that is, electromyography (EMG, heart rate (HR, pulse, systolic blood pressure (SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP, and signal quality index (SQI to evaluate the DoA index as the input. The 5 doctor scores are averaged to obtain an output index. The mean absolute error (MAE is utilized as the performance evaluation. 10-fold cross-validation is performed in order to generalize the model. The ANN model is compared with the bispectral index (BIS. The results show that the ANN is able to produce lower MAE than BIS. For the correlation coefficient, ANN also has higher value than BIS tested on the 46-patient testing data. Sensitivity analysis and cross-validation method are applied in advance. The results state that EMG has the most effecting parameter, significantly.

A multi-criteria index for ecological evaluation of tropical agriculture in southeastern Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Huerta, Esperanza; Kampichler, Christian; Ochoa-Gaona, Susana; De Jong, Ben; Hernandez-Daumas, Salvador; Geissen, Violette

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to generate an easy to use index to evaluate the ecological state of agricultural land from a sustainability perspective. We selected environmental indicators, such as the use of organic soil amendments (green manure) versus chemical fertilizers, plant biodiversity (including crop associations), variables which characterize soil conservation of conventional agricultural systems, pesticide use, method and frequency of tillage. We monitored the ecological state of 52 agricultural plots to test the performance of the index. The variables were hierarchically aggregated with simple mathematical algorithms, if-then rules, and rule-based fuzzy models, yielding the final multi-criteria index with values from 0 (worst) to 1 (best conditions). We validated the model through independent evaluation by experts, and we obtained a linear regression with an r2 = 0.61 (p = 2.4e-06, d.f. = 49) between index output and the experts' evaluation.

Identification of Homogeneous Stations for Quality Monitoring Network of Mashhad Aquifer Based on Nitrate Pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moslem Akbarzadeh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: For water resources monitoring, Evaluation of groundwater quality obtained via detailed analysis of pollution data. The most fundamental analysis is to identify the exact measurement of dangerous zones and homogenous station identification in terms of pollution. In case of quality evaluation, the monitoring improvement could be achieved via identifying homogenous wells in terms of pollution. Presenting a method for clustering is essential in large amounts of quality data for aquifer monitoring and quality evaluation, including identification of homogeneous stations of monitoring network and their clustering based on pollution. In this study, with the purpose of Mashhad aquifer quality evaluation, clustering have been studied based on Euclidean distance and Entropy criteria. Cluster analysis is the task of grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster are more similar (in some sense or another to each other than to those in other groups (clusters. SNI as a combined entropy measure for clustering calculated from dividing mutual information of two values (pollution index values to the joint entropy. These measures apply as similar distance criteria for monitoring stations clustering. Materials and Methods: First, nitrate data (as pollution index and electrical conductivity (EC (as covariate collected from the related locational situation of 287 wells in statistical period 2002 to 2011. Having identified the outlying data and estimating non-observed points by spatial-temporal Kriging method and then standardizes them, the clustering process was carried out. A similar distance of wells calculated through a clustering process based on Euclidean distance and Entropy (SNI criteria. This difference explained by characteristics such as the location of wells (longitude & latitude and the pollution index (nitrate. Having obtained a similar distance of each well to others, the hierarchical clustering

Evaluating Leaf and Canopy Reflectance of Stressed Rice Plants to Monitor Arsenic Contamination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varaprasad Bandaru

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Arsenic contamination is a serious problem in rice cultivated soils of many developing countries. Hence, it is critical to monitor and control arsenic uptake in rice plants to avoid adverse effects on human health. This study evaluated the feasibility of using reflectance spectroscopy to monitor arsenic in rice plants. Four arsenic levels were induced in hydroponically grown rice plants with application of 0, 5, 10 and 20 µmol·L−1 sodium arsenate. Reflectance spectra of upper fully expanded leaves were acquired over visible and infrared (NIR wavelengths. Additionally, canopy reflectance for the four arsenic levels was simulated using SAIL (Scattering by Arbitrarily Inclined Leaves model for various soil moisture conditions and leaf area indices (LAI. Further, sensitivity of various vegetative indices (VIs to arsenic levels was assessed. Results suggest that plants accumulate high arsenic amounts causing plant stress and changes in reflectance characteristics. All leaf spectra based VIs related strongly with arsenic with coefficient of determination (r2 greater than 0.6 while at canopy scale, background reflectance and LAI confounded with spectral signals of arsenic affecting the VIs’ performance. Among studied VIs, combined index, transformed chlorophyll absorption reflectance index (TCARI/optimized soil adjusted vegetation index (OSAVI exhibited higher sensitivity to arsenic levels and better resistance to soil backgrounds and LAI followed by red edge based VIs (modified chlorophyll absorption reflectance index (MCARI and TCARI suggesting that these VIs could prove to be valuable aids for monitoring arsenic in rice fields.

High-Resolution Near Real-Time Drought Monitoring in South Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Aadhar, S.; Mishra, V.

2017-12-01

Drought in South Asia affect food and water security and pose challenges for millions of people. For policy-making, planning and management of water resources at the sub-basin or administrative levels, high-resolution datasets of precipitation and air temperature are required in near-real time. Here we develop a high resolution (0.05 degree) bias-corrected precipitation and temperature data that can be used to monitor near real-time drought conditions over South Asia. Moreover, the dataset can be used to monitor climatic extremes (heat waves, cold waves, dry and wet anomalies) in South Asia. A distribution mapping method was applied to correct bias in precipitation and air temperature (maximum and minimum), which performed well compared to the other bias correction method based on linear scaling. Bias-corrected precipitation and temperature data were used to estimate Standardized precipitation index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to assess the historical and current drought conditions in South Asia. We evaluated drought severity and extent against the satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) anomalies and satellite-driven Drought Severity Index (DSI) at 0.05˚. We find that the bias-corrected high-resolution data can effectively capture observed drought conditions as shown by the satellite-based drought estimates. High resolution near real-time dataset can provide valuable information for decision-making at district and sub- basin levels.

A multiple index integrating different levels of organization.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortes, Rui; Hughes, Samantha; Coimbra, Ana; Monteiro, Sandra; Pereira, Vítor; Lopes, Marisa; Pereira, Sandra; Pinto, Ana; Sampaio, Ana; Santos, Cátia; Carrola, João; de Jesus, Joaquim; Varandas, Simone

2016-10-01

Many methods in freshwater biomonitoring tend to be restricted to a few levels of biological organization, limiting the potential spectrum of measurable of cause-effect responses to different anthropogenic impacts. We combined distinct organisational levels, covering biological biomarkers (histopathological and biochemical reactions in liver and fish gills), community based bioindicators (fish guilds, invertebrate metrics/traits and chironomid pupal exuviae) and ecosystem functional indicators (decomposition rates) to assess ecological status at designated Water Framework Directive monitoring sites, covering a gradient of human impact across several rivers in northern Portugal. We used Random Forest to rank the variables that contributed more significantly to successfully predict the different classes of ecological status and also to provide specific cut levels to discriminate each WFD class based on reference condition. A total of 59 Biological Quality Elements and functional indicators were determined using this procedure and subsequently applied to develop the integrated Multiple Ecological Level Index (MELI Index), a potentially powerful bioassessment tool. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of simultaneous and sequential administration of fentanyl-propofol for surgical abortion: a randomized single-blinded controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Wei; Sha, Baoyong; Zhao, Yuan; Fan, Zhe; Liu, Lin; Shen, Xin

2017-08-01

Propofol lipid emulsion (PLE) is a nanosized sedative, and it is used with a combination of salted antalgic prodrug, fentanyl citrate (FC). To illustrate the synergistic effect of mixing, we compared the sedation/analgesia resulting from simultaneous and sequential administration in surgically induced abortion (No. ChiCTR-IPC-15006153). Simultaneous group showed lower bispectral index, blood pressure, and heart rate, when cannula was inserted into the uterus. It also showed less frequency of hypertension, sinus tachycardia, movement, pain at the injection site, and additional FC. Therefore, premixing of PLE and FC enhanced the sedation and analgesia; stabilized the hemodynamics; lessened the incidence of movement and injection pain; and reduced the requirement of drugs.

The healthy food environment policy index: findings of an expert panel in New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandevijvere, Stefanie; Dominick, Clare; Devi, Anandita; Swinburn, Boyd

2015-05-01

To assess government actions to improve the healthiness of food environments in New Zealand, based on the healthy food environment policy index. A panel of 52 public health experts rated the extent of government implementation against international best practice for 42 indicators of food environment policy and infrastructure support. Their ratings were informed by documented evidence, validated by government officials and international benchmarks. There was a high level of implementation for some indicators: providing ingredient lists and nutrient declarations and regulating health claims on packaged foods; transparency in policy development; monitoring prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and monitoring risk factors for noncommunicable diseases. There was very little, if any implementation of the following indicators: restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children; fiscal and food retail policies and protection of national food environments within trade agreements. Interrater reliability was 0.78 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.76-0.79). Based on the implementation gaps, the experts recommended 34 actions, and prioritized seven of these. The healthy food environment policy index provides a useful set of indicators that can focus attention on where government action is needed. It is anticipated that this policy index will increase accountability of governments, stimulate government action and support civil society advocacy efforts.

CCTV Coverage Index Based on Surveillance Resolution and Its Evaluation Using 3D Spatial Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoungah Choi

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We propose a novel approach to evaluating how effectively a closed circuit television (CCTV system can monitor a targeted area. With 3D models of the target area and the camera parameters of the CCTV system, the approach produces surveillance coverage index, which is newly defined in this study as a quantitative measure for surveillance performance. This index indicates the proportion of the space being monitored with a sufficient resolution to the entire space of the target area. It is determined by computing surveillance resolution at every position and orientation, which indicates how closely a specific object can be monitored with a CCTV system. We present full mathematical derivation for the resolution, which depends on the location and orientation of the object as well as the geometric model of a camera. With the proposed approach, we quantitatively evaluated the surveillance coverage of a CCTV system in an underground parking area. Our evaluation process provided various quantitative-analysis results, compelling us to examine the design of the CCTV system prior to its installation and understand the surveillance capability of an existing CCTV system.

Projets IndexMed: nouveaux outils utilisant la base de données CIGESMED sur les habitats Coralligènes pour l'indexation, la visualisation et l'exploration de données basés sur les graphes

OpenAIRE

David , Romain; FERAL , Jean-Pierre; Archambeau , Anne; Bailly , Nicolas; Blanpain , Cyrille; Breton , Vincent; De Jode , Aurélie; Delavaud , Aurélie; Dias , Alrick; Gachet , Sophie; Guillemain , Dorian; Lecubin , Julien; Romier , Geneviève; Surace , Christian; Thierry De Ville D 'avray , Thierry

2016-01-01

http://www.iemss.org/sites/iemss2016/; International audience; Data produced by the SeasEra CIGESMED project (Coralligenous based Indicators to evaluate and monitor the "Good Environmental Status" of the MEDiterranean coastal waters) have a high potential to be used by several stakeholders involved in environmental management. A new consortium called IndexMed whose task is to index Mediterranean biodiversity data, makes it possible to build graphs in order to analyse the CIGESMED data and dev...

K-type geomagnetic index nowcast with data quality control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

René Warnant

2011-07-01

Full Text Available

A nowcast system for operational estimation of a proxy K-type geomagnetic index is presented. The system is based on a fully automated computer procedure for real-time digital magnetogram data acquisition that includes screening of the dataset and removal of the outliers, estimation of the solar regular variation (SR of the geomagnetic field, calculation of the index, and issuing of an alert if storm-level activity is indicated. This is a time-controlled (rather than event-driven system that delivers the regular output of: the index value, the estimated quality flag, and eventually, an alert. The novel features provided are first, the strict control of the data input and processing, and second, the increased frequency of production of the index (every 1 h. Such quality control and increased time resolution have been found to be of crucial importance for various applications, e.g. ionospheric monitoring, that are of particular interest to us and to users of our service. The nowcast system operability, accuracy and precision have been tested with instantaneous measurements from recent years. A statistical comparison between the nowcast and the definitive index values shows that the average root-mean-square error is smaller than 1 KU. The system is now operational at the site of the Geophysical Centre of the Royal Meteorological Institute in Dourbes (50.1ºN, 4.6ºE, and it is being used for alerting users when geomagnetic storms take place.

Reactor operation monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakagami, Masaharu.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To improve the working performance of a reactor by extending the range for the power conditioning due to the control rod operation and flow rate control. Constitution: The results of calculations for the power distribution and the burn-up degree distribution of the reactor core from a reactor performance computer that processes each of measuring signals in a nuclear power plant are used as the inputs for a computing device of the fuel rod power hysteresis to form the power hysteresis for each of the fuel rods up to the present time. The data are used as the inputs for the computing device of the fuel rod performance index, and the fuel rod performance index representing the critical values for the stresses in the fuel rod cladding tubes and the critical values for the duration of the stresses determined from the power hysteresis and the burn-up degree of the fuel rod are calculated for each of the fuel rods. Accordingly, the power conditioning can be carried out upon power-up in the reactor while monitoring the fuel rod performance index f(t) for each of the fuel assemblies, whereby the range for the power conditioning due to the control rod operation and the flow rate control can be extended relative to fuel assemblies in which f(t) is smaller than 1. (Yoshino, Y.)

Continuous monitoring of arthritis in animal models using optical imaging modalities

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Taeyoon; Yoon, Hyung-Ju; Lee, Saseong; Jang, Won Seuk; Jung, Byungjo; Kim, Wan-Uk

2014-10-01

Given the several difficulties associated with histology, including difficulty in continuous monitoring, this study aimed to investigate the feasibility of optical imaging modalities-cross-polarization color (CPC) imaging, erythema index (EI) imaging, and laser speckle contrast (LSC) imaging-for continuous evaluation and monitoring of arthritis in animal models. C57BL/6 mice, used for the evaluation of arthritis, were divided into three groups: arthritic mice group (AMG), positive control mice group (PCMG), and negative control mice group (NCMG). Complete Freund's adjuvant, mineral oil, and saline were injected into the footpad for AMG, PCMG, and NCMG, respectively. LSC and CPC images were acquired from 0 through 144 h after injection for all groups. EI images were calculated from CPC images. Variations in feet area, EI, and speckle index for each mice group over time were calculated for quantitative evaluation of arthritis. Histological examinations were performed, and the results were found to be consistent with those from optical imaging analysis. Thus, optical imaging modalities may be successfully applied for continuous evaluation and monitoring of arthritis in animal models.

Assessment of an air pollution monitoring network to generate urban air pollution maps using Shannon information index, fuzzy overlay, and Dempster-Shafer theory, A case study: Tehran, Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Pahlavani, Parham; Sheikhian, Hossein; Bigdeli, Behnaz

2017-10-01

Air pollution assessment is an imperative part of megacities planning and control. Hence, a new comprehensive approach for air pollution monitoring and assessment was introduced in this research. It comprises of three main sections: optimizing the existing air pollutant monitoring network, locating new stations to complete the coverage of the existing network, and finally, generating an air pollution map. In the first section, Shannon information index was used to find less informative stations to be candidate for removal. Then, a methodology was proposed to determine the areas which are not sufficiently covered by the current network. These areas are candidates for establishing new monitoring stations. The current air pollution monitoring network of Tehran was used as a case study, where the air pollution issue has been worsened due to the huge population, considerable commuters' absorption and topographic barriers. In this regard, O3, NO, NO2, NOx, CO, PM10, and PM2.5 were considered as the main pollutants of Tehran. Optimization step concluded that all the 16 active monitoring stations should be preserved. Analysis showed that about 35% of the Tehran's area is not properly covered by monitoring stations and about 30% of the area needs additional stations. The winter period in Tehran always faces the most severe air pollution in the year. Hence, to produce the air pollution map of Tehran, three-month of winter measurements of the mentioned pollutants, repeated for five years in the same period, were selected and extended to the entire area using the kriging method. Experts specified the contribution of each pollutant in overall air pollution. Experts' rankings aggregated by a fuzzy-overlay process. Resulted maps characterized the study area with crucial air pollution situation. According to the maps, more than 45% of the city area faced high pollution in the study period, while only less than 10% of the area showed low pollution. This situation confirms the need

Multitemporal Monitoring of Plant Area Index in the Valencia Rice District with PocketLAI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Campos-Taberner

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Leaf area index (LAI is a key biophysical parameter used to determine foliage cover and crop growth in environmental studies in order to assess crop yield. Frequently, plant canopy analyzers (LAI-2000 and digital cameras for hemispherical photography (DHP are used for indirect effective plant area index (PAIeff estimates. Nevertheless, these instruments are expensive and have the disadvantages of low portability and maintenance. Recently, a smartphone app called PocketLAI was presented and tested for acquiring PAIeff measurements. It was used during an entire rice season for indirect PAIeff estimations and for deriving reference high-resolution PAIeff maps. Ground PAIeff values acquired with PocketLAI, LAI-2000, and DHP were well correlated (R2 = 0.95, RMSE = 0.21 m2/m2 for Licor-2000, and R2 = 0.94, RMSE = 0.6 m2/m2 for DHP. Complementary data such as phenology and leaf chlorophyll content were acquired to complement seasonal rice plant information provided by PAIeff. High-resolution PAIeff maps, which can be used for the validation of remote sensing products, have been derived using a global transfer function (TF made of several measuring dates and their associated satellite radiances.

Body mass index predicts risk for complications from transtemporal cerebellopontine angle surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Mantravadi, Avinash V; Leonetti, John P; Burgette, Ryan; Pontikis, George; Marzo, Sam J; Anderson, Douglas

2013-03-01

To determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and risk for specific complications from transtemporal cerebellopontine angle (CPA) surgery for nonmalignant disease. Case series with chart review. Tertiary-care academic hospital. Retrospective review of 134 consecutive patients undergoing transtemporal cerebellopontine angle surgery for nonmalignant disease from 2009 to 2011. Data were collected regarding demographics, body mass index, intraoperative details, hospital stay, and complications including cerebrospinal fluid leak, wound complications, and brachial plexopathy. One hundred thirty-four patients were analyzed with a mean preoperative body mass index of 28.58. Statistical analysis demonstrated a significant difference in body mass index between patients with a postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak and those without (P = .04), as well as a similar significant difference between those experiencing postoperative brachial plexopathy and those with no such complication (P = .03). Logistical regression analysis confirmed that body mass index is significant in predicting both postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak (P = .004; odds ratio, 1.10) and brachial plexopathy (P = .04; odds ratio, 1.07). Elevated body mass index was not significant in predicting wound complications or increased hospital stay beyond postoperative day 3. Risk of cerebrospinal fluid leak and brachial plexopathy is increased in patients with elevated body mass index undergoing surgery of the cerebellopontine angle. Consideration should be given to preoperative optimization via dietary and lifestyle modifications as well as intraoperative somatosensory evoked potential monitoring of the brachial plexus to decrease these risks.

Walkability Index

Science.gov (United States)

The Walkability Index dataset characterizes every Census 2010 block group in the U.S. based on its relative walkability. Walkability depends upon characteristics of the built environment that influence the likelihood of walking being used as a mode of travel. The Walkability Index is based on the EPA's previous data product, the Smart Location Database (SLD). Block group data from the SLD was the only input into the Walkability Index, and consisted of four variables from the SLD weighted in a formula to create the new Walkability Index. This dataset shares the SLD's block group boundary definitions from Census 2010. The methodology describing the process of creating the Walkability Index can be found in the documents located at ftp://newftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/OP/WalkabilityIndex.zip. You can also learn more about the Smart Location Database at https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/OP/Smart_Location_DB_v02b.zip.

Timescale differences between SC-PDSI and SPEI for drought monitoring in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Haiyan; Gao, Ge; An, Wei; Zou, Xukai; Li, Haitao; Hou, Meiting

2017-12-01

The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) has been widely used to monitor drought. Its characteristics are more suitable for measuring droughts of longer timescales, and this fact has not received much attention. The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) can better reflect the climatic water balance, owing to its combination of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. In this study, we selected monthly average air temperature and precipitation data from 589 meteorological stations of China's National Meteorological Information Center, to compare the effects of applying a self-calibrating PDSI (SC-PDSI) and SPEI to monitor drought events in the station regions, with a special focus on differences of event timescale. The results show the following. 1) Comparative analysis using SC-PDSI and SPEI for drought years and characters of three dry periods from 1961 to 2011 in the Beijing region showed that durations of SC-PDSI-based dry spells were longer than those of 3-month and 6-month SPEIs, but equal to those of 12-month or longer timescale SPEIs. 2) For monitoring evolution of the fall 2009 to spring 2010 Southwest China drought and spring 2000 Huang-Huai drought, 3-month SPEI could better monitor the initiation, aggravation, alleviation and relief of drought in the two regions, whereas the SC-PDSI was insensitive to drought recovery because of its long-term memory of previous climate conditions. 3) Analysis of the relationship between SC-PDSI for different regions and SPEI for different timescales showed that correlation of the two indexes changed with region, and SC-PDSI was maximally correlated with SPEI of 9-19 months in China. Therefore, SC-PDSI is only suitable for monitoring mid- and long-term droughts, owing to the strong lagged autocorrelation such as 0.4786 for 12-month lagged ones in Beijing, whereas SPEI is suitable for both short- and long-term drought-monitoring and should have greater application prospects in China.

Spectral Reflectance and Vegetation Index Changes in Deciduous Forest Foliage Following Tree Removal: Potential for Deforestation Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, D.; Hu, Y.; Li, Z.

2016-05-01

It is important to detect and quantify deforestation to guide strategic decisions regarding environment, socioeconomic development, and climate change. In the present study, we conducted a field experiment to examine spectral reflectance and vegetation index changes in poplar and locust tree foliage with different leaf area indices over the course of three sunny days, following tree removal from the canopy. The spectral reflectance of foliage from harvested trees was measured using an ASD FieldSpec Prospectroradiometer; synchronous meteorological data were also obtained. We found that reflectance in short-wave infrared and red-edge reflectance was more time sensitive after tree removal than reflectance in other spectral regions, and that the normalized difference water index (NDWI) and the red-edge chlorophyll index (CIRE) were the preferred indicators of these changes from several indices evaluated. Synthesized meteorological environments were found to influence water and chlorophyll contents after tree removal, and this subsequently changed the spectral canopy reflectance. Our results indicate the potential for such tree removal to be detected with NDWI or CIRE from the second day of a deforestation event.

Drought monitoring with soil moisture active passive (SMAP) measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Ashok; Vu, Tue; Veettil, Anoop Valiya; Entekhabi, Dara

2017-09-01

Recent launch of space-borne systems to estimate surface soil moisture may expand the capability to map soil moisture deficit and drought with global coverage. In this study, we use Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) soil moisture geophysical retrieval products from passive L-band radiometer to evaluate its applicability to forming agricultural drought indices. Agricultural drought is quantified using the Soil Water Deficit Index (SWDI) based on SMAP and soil properties (field capacity and available water content) information. The soil properties are computed using pedo-transfer function with soil characteristics derived from Harmonized World Soil Database. The SMAP soil moisture product needs to be rescaled to be compatible with the soil parameters derived from the in situ stations. In most locations, the rescaled SMAP information captured the dynamics of in situ soil moisture well and shows the expected lag between accumulations of precipitation and delayed increased in surface soil moisture. However, the SMAP soil moisture itself does not reveal the drought information. Therefore, the SMAP based SWDI (SMAP_SWDI) was computed to improve agriculture drought monitoring by using the latest soil moisture retrieval satellite technology. The formulation of SWDI does not depend on longer data and it will overcome the limited (short) length of SMAP data for agricultural drought studies. The SMAP_SWDI is further compared with in situ Atmospheric Water Deficit (AWD) Index. The comparison shows close agreement between SMAP_SWDI and AWD in drought monitoring over Contiguous United States (CONUS), especially in terms of drought characteristics. The SMAP_SWDI was used to construct drought maps for CONUS and compared with well-known drought indices, such as, AWD, Palmer Z-Index, sc-PDSI and SPEI. Overall the SMAP_SWDI is an effective agricultural drought indicator and it provides continuity and introduces new spatial mapping capability for drought monitoring. As an

Evaluation of wet bulb globe temperature index for estimation of heat strain in hot/humid conditions in the Persian Gulf.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehghan, Habibolah; Mortazavi, Seyed Bagher; Jafari, Mohammad J; Maracy, Mohammad R

2012-12-01

Heat exposure among construction workers in the Persian Gulf region is a serious hazard for health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) Index for estimation of heat strain in hot/humid conditions by the use of Physiological Strain Index (PSI) as the gold standard. This cross-sectional study was carried out on 71 workers of two Petrochemical Companies in South of Iran in 2010 summer. The WBGT index, heart rate, and aural temperature were measured by Heat Stress Monitor (Casella Microtherm WBGT), Heart Rate Monitor (Polar RS100), and Personal Heat Strain Monitor (Questemp II), respectively. The obtained data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. The mean (SD) of WBGT values was 33.1 (2.7). The WBGT values exceed from American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) standard (30°C) in 96% work stations, whereas the PSI values were more than 5.0 (moderate strain) in 11% of workstations. The correlation between WBGT and PSI values was 0.61 (P = 0.001). When WBGT values were less and more than 34°C, the mean of PSI was 2.6 (low strain) and 5.2 (moderate strain), respectively. In the Persian Gulf weather, especially hot and humid in the summer months, due to the WBGT values exceeding 30°C (in 96% of cases) and weak correlation between WBGT and PSI, the work/rest cycles of WBGT Index is not suitable for heat stress management. Therefore, in Persian Gulf weather, heat stress evaluation based on physiologic variables may have higher validity than WBGT index.

Evaluation of wet bulb globe temperature index for estimation of heat strain in hot/humid conditions in the Persian Gulf

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Habibolah Dehghan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Heat exposure among construction workers in the Persian Gulf region is a serious hazard for health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT Index for estimation of heat strain in hot/humid conditions by the use of Physiological Strain Index (PSI as the gold standard. Material and Methods : This cross-sectional study was carried out on 71 workers of two Petrochemical Companies in South of Iran in 2010 summer. The WBGT index, heart rate, and aural temperature were measured by Heat Stress Monitor (Casella Microtherm WBGT, Heart Rate Monitor (Polar RS100, and Personal Heat Strain Monitor (Questemp II, respectively. The obtained data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: The mean (SD of WBGT values was 33.1 (2.7. The WBGT values exceed from American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH standard (30°C in 96% work stations, whereas the PSI values were more than 5.0 (moderate strain in 11% of workstations. The correlation between WBGT and PSI values was 0.61 ( P = 0.001. When WBGT values were less and more than 34°C, the mean of PSI was 2.6 (low strain and 5.2 (moderate strain, respectively. Conclusion: In the Persian Gulf weather, especially hot and humid in the summer months, due to the WBGT values exceeding 30°C (in 96% of cases and weak correlation between WBGT and PSI, the work/rest cycles of WBGT Index is not suitable for heat stress management. Therefore, in Persian Gulf weather, heat stress evaluation based on physiologic variables may have higher validity than WBGT index.

Detecting inter-annual variations in the phenology of evergreen conifers using long-term MODIS vegetation index time series.

OpenAIRE

Ulsig, Laura

2016-01-01

Long-term observations of vegetation phenology can be used to monitor the response of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change. Satellite remote sensing provides the most efficient means to observe phenological events through time series analysis of vegetation indices such as the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This study investigates the potential of the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI), which has been linked to vegetation light use efficiency, to improve the accuracy of ...

Analysis of Index Gases of Coal Spontaneous Combustion Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaojun Tang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Analysis of the index gases of coal for the prevention of spontaneous combustion is of great importance for the enhancement of coal mine safety. In this work, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIRS is presented to be used to analyze the index gases of coal in real time to monitor spontaneous combustion conditions. Both the instrument parameters and the analysis method are introduced at first by combining characteristics of the absorption spectra of the target analyte with the analysis requirements. Next, more than ten sets of the gas mixture containing ten components (CH4, C2H6, C3H8, iso-C4H10, n-C4H10, C2H4, C3H6, C2H2, CO, and CO2 are included and analyzed with a Spectrum Two FTIRS made by Perkin Elmer. The testing results show that the detection limit of most analytes is less than 2×10-6. All the detection limits meet the monitoring requirements of coal spontaneous combustion in China, which means that FTIRS may be an ideal instrument and the analysis method used in this paper is sufficient for spontaneous combustion gas monitoring on-line and even in situ, since FTIRS has many advantages such as fast analysis, being maintenance-free, and good safety.

Modification of Low Refractive Index Polycarbonate for High Refractive Index Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gunjan Suri

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Polycarbonates and polythiourethanes are the most popular materials in use today, for optical applications. Polycarbonates are of two types which fall in the category of low refractive index and medium refractive index. The present paper describes the conversion of low refractive index polycarbonates into high refractive index material by the use of a high refractive index monomer, polythiol, as an additive. Novel polycarbonates, where the properties of refractive index and Abbe number can be tailor made, have been obtained. Thermal studies and refractive index determination indicate the formation of a new polymer with improved properties and suitable for optical applications.

The impact of cloud vertical profile on liquid water path retrieval based on the bispectral method: A theoretical study based on large-eddy simulations of shallow marine boundary layer clouds.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Daniel J; Zhang, Zhibo; Ackerman, Andrew S; Platnick, Steven; Baum, Bryan A

2016-04-27

Passive optical retrievals of cloud liquid water path (LWP), like those implemented for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), rely on cloud vertical profile assumptions to relate optical thickness ( τ ) and effective radius ( r e ) retrievals to LWP. These techniques typically assume that shallow clouds are vertically homogeneous; however, an adiabatic cloud model is plausibly more realistic for shallow marine boundary layer cloud regimes. In this study a satellite retrieval simulator is used to perform MODIS-like satellite retrievals, which in turn are compared directly to the large-eddy simulation (LES) output. This satellite simulator creates a framework for rigorous quantification of the impact that vertical profile features have on LWP retrievals, and it accomplishes this while also avoiding sources of bias present in previous observational studies. The cloud vertical profiles from the LES are often more complex than either of the two standard assumptions, and the favored assumption was found to be sensitive to cloud regime (cumuliform/stratiform). Confirming previous studies, drizzle and cloud top entrainment of dry air are identified as physical features that bias LWP retrievals away from adiabatic and toward homogeneous assumptions. The mean bias induced by drizzle-influenced profiles was shown to be on the order of 5-10 g/m 2 . In contrast, the influence of cloud top entrainment was found to be smaller by about a factor of 2. A theoretical framework is developed to explain variability in LWP retrievals by introducing modifications to the adiabatic r e profile. In addition to analyzing bispectral retrievals, we also compare results with the vertical profile sensitivity of passive polarimetric retrieval techniques.

The impact of cloud vertical profile on liquid water path retrieval based on the bispectral method: A theoretical study based on large-eddy simulations of shallow marine boundary layer clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Daniel J.; Zhang, Zhibo; Ackerman, Andrew S.; Platnick, Steven; Baum, Bryan A.

2018-01-01

Passive optical retrievals of cloud liquid water path (LWP), like those implemented for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), rely on cloud vertical profile assumptions to relate optical thickness (τ) and effective radius (re) retrievals to LWP. These techniques typically assume that shallow clouds are vertically homogeneous; however, an adiabatic cloud model is plausibly more realistic for shallow marine boundary layer cloud regimes. In this study a satellite retrieval simulator is used to perform MODIS-like satellite retrievals, which in turn are compared directly to the large-eddy simulation (LES) output. This satellite simulator creates a framework for rigorous quantification of the impact that vertical profile features have on LWP retrievals, and it accomplishes this while also avoiding sources of bias present in previous observational studies. The cloud vertical profiles from the LES are often more complex than either of the two standard assumptions, and the favored assumption was found to be sensitive to cloud regime (cumuliform/stratiform). Confirming previous studies, drizzle and cloud top entrainment of dry air are identified as physical features that bias LWP retrievals away from adiabatic and toward homogeneous assumptions. The mean bias induced by drizzle-influenced profiles was shown to be on the order of 5–10 g/m2. In contrast, the influence of cloud top entrainment was found to be smaller by about a factor of 2. A theoretical framework is developed to explain variability in LWP retrievals by introducing modifications to the adiabatic re profile. In addition to analyzing bispectral retrievals, we also compare results with the vertical profile sensitivity of passive polarimetric retrieval techniques. PMID:29637042

Analysis of Agricultural Drought in East Java Using Vegetation Health Index

OpenAIRE

Amalo, Luisa Febrina; Hidayat, Rahmat; Sulma, Sayidah

2018-01-01

Drought is a natural hazard indicated by the decreasing of rainfall and water storage and impacting agricultural sector. Agricultural drought assessment has been used to monitor agricultural sustainability, particularly in East Java as national agricultural production center. Identification of drought characteristics –correlated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation, and agricultural impact on paddy fields and rice production using VHI (Vegetation Health Index) were conducted. VHI is produced by ...

Spring Chinook Salmon Interactions Indices and Residual/Precocious Male Monitoring in the Upper Yakima Basin; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pearsons, Todd N.; Johnson, Christopher L. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA); James, Brenda B. (Cascade Aquatics, Ellensburg, WA)

2005-05-01

interpret why supplementation is working or not working (Busack et al. 1997). Monitoring ecological interactions will be accomplished using interactions indices. Interactions indices will be used to index the availability of prey and competition for food and space. The tasks described below represent various subject areas of juvenile spring chinook salmon monitoring but are treated together because they can be accomplished using similar methods and are therefore more cost efficient than if treated separately. Topics of investigation we pursued in this work were: (1) strong interactor monitoring (competition index and prey index), (2) carrying capacity monitoring (microhabitat monitoring); (3) residual and precocious male salmon monitoring (abundance); (4) performance of growth modulation in reducing precocious males during spawning; (5) incidence of predation by residualized chinook salmon; and (6) benefits of salmon carcasses to juvenile salmonids. This report is organized into six chapters to represent these topics of investigation. Data were collected during the summer and fall, 2004 in index sections of the upper Yakima Basin (Figure 1). Previous results on the topics in this report were reported in James et al. (1999), and Pearsons et al. (2003; 2004). Hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon were first released during the spring of 1999. The monitoring plan for the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project calls for the continued monitoring of the variables covered in this report. All findings in this report should be considered preliminary and subject to further revision as more data and analytical results become available.

Calibration of Heat Stress Monitor and its Measurement Uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Ekici, Can

2017-07-01

Wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) equation is a heat stress index that gives information for the workers in the industrial areas. WBGT equation is described in ISO Standard 7243 (ISO 7243 in Hot environments—estimation of the heat stress on working man, based on the WBGT index, ISO, Geneva, 1982). WBGT is the result of the combined quantitative effects of the natural wet-bulb temperature, dry-bulb temperature, and air temperature. WBGT is a calculated parameter. WBGT uses input estimates, and heat stress monitor measures these quantities. In this study, the calibration method of a heat stress monitor is described, and the model function for measurement uncertainty is given. Sensitivity coefficients were derived according to GUM. Two-pressure humidity generators were used to generate a controlled environment. Heat stress monitor was calibrated inside of the generator. Two-pressure humidity generator, which is located in Turkish Standard Institution, was used as the reference device. This device is traceable to national standards. Two-pressure humidity generator includes reference temperature Pt-100 sensors. The reference sensor was sheltered with a wet wick for the calibration of natural wet-bulb thermometer. The reference sensor was centred into a black globe that has got 150 mm diameter for the calibration of the black globe thermometer.

[A first step towards safer sedation and analgesia: A systematic evaluation of outcomes and level of sedation and analgesia in the mechanically ventilated critically ill patient].

Science.gov (United States)

Frade-Mera, M J; Regueiro-Díaz, N; Díaz-Castellano, L; Torres-Valverde, L; Alonso-Pérez, L; Landívar-Redondo, M M; Muñoz-Pasín, R; Terceros-Almanza, L J; Temprano-Vázquez, S; Sánchez-Izquierdo-Riera, J Á

Safe analgesia and sedation strategies are necessary in order to avoid under or over sedation, as well as improving the comfort and safety of critical care patients. To compare and contrast a multidisciplinary protocol of systematic evaluation and management of analgesia and sedation in a group of critical care patients on mechanical ventilation with the usual procedures. A cohort study with contemporary series was conducted in a tertiary care medical-surgical ICU February to November during 2013 and 2014. The inclusion criteria were mechanical ventilation ≥ 24h and use of sedation by continuous infusion. Sedation was monitored using the Richmond agitation-sedation scale or bispectral index, and analgesia were measured using the numeric rating scale, or behavioural indicators of pain scale. The study variables included; mechanical ventilation time, weaning time, ventilation support time, artificial airway time, continuous sedative infusion time, daily dose and frequency of analgesic and sedative drug use, hospital stay, and ICU and hospital mortality, Richmond agitation-sedation scale, bispectral index, numeric rating scale, and behavioural indicators of pain scale measurements. Kruskal Wallis and Chi 2 , and a significance of p<.05 were used. The study included 153 admissions, 75 pre-intervention and 78 post-intervention, with a mean age of 55.7±13 years old, and 67% men. Both groups showed similarities in age, reason for admission, and APACHE. There were non-significant decreases in mechanical ventilation time 4 (1.4-9.2) and 3.2 (1.4-8.1) days, respectively; p= 0.7, continuous sedative infusion time 6 (3-11) and 5 (3-11) days; p= 0.9, length of hospital stay 29 (18-52); 25 (14-41) days; p= 0.1, ICU mortality (8 vs. 5%; p= 0.4), and hospital mortality (10.6 vs. 9.4%: p= 0.8). Daily doses of midazolam and remifentanil decreased 347 (227-479) mg/day; 261 (159-358) mg/day; p= 0.02 and 2175 (1427-3285) mcg/day; 1500 (715-2740) mcg/day; p= 0.02, respectively. There

Comparison of AC electronic monitoring and field data for estimating tolerance to Empoasca kraemeri (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) in common bean genotypes.

Science.gov (United States)

Serrano, M S; Backus, E A; Cardona, C

2000-12-01

Two methods for estimating the tolerance of common bean genotypes to Empoasca kraemeri Ross & Moore were compared, using a yield trial carried out at Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Cali, Colombia, versus stylet penetration tactics measured by AC electronic feeding monitors. A stylet penetration index was devised based on principal component scores of three penetration tactics identified (pulsing laceration, cell rupturing, and lancing sap ingestion), combined with knowledge of the hopperburn symptoms caused by each tactic. Tolerant genotypes, as classified by the CIAT yield index, showed significantly more unprotected yield and lower hopperburn scores than the susceptible control. They also induced performance of less pulsing laceration (the tactic considered most damaging to the plant), and more of the other two, mitigating tactics, especially cell rupturing. When index values were calculated for each genotype, stylet penetration index values matched those of the yield index for three out of five genotypes: two EMP-coded tolerant lines ('EMP 385' and 'EMP 392') and the susceptible control 'BAT 41'. Thus, for these three genotypes, all subsequent hoppereburn symptoms are predictable by the type of feeding behavior performed on them. 'Porrillo Sintético' and 'EMP 84', considered borderline genotypes by the yield index, were overestimated and underestimated respectively, by the stylet penetration index. We postulate that, for these two genotypes, plant physiological responses to feeding (either compensatory or heightened sensitivity, respectively) synergize with type of feeding performed to generate the overall hopperburn condition. This multivariate analysis of electronic monitoring data was successfully used to devise an index of resistance. The implications of using the stylet penetration index and the advantages of using electronic monitoring in a bean-breeding program are discussed.

Design and implementation of estimation-based monitoring programs for flora and fauna: A case study on the Cherokee National Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Klimstra, J.D.; O'Connell, A.F.; Pistrang, M.J.; Lewis, L.M.; Herrig, J.A.; Sauer, J.R.

2007-01-01

Science-based monitoring of biological resources is important for a greater understanding of ecological systems and for assessment of the target population using theoretic-based management approaches. When selecting variables to monitor, managers first need to carefully consider their objectives, the geographic and temporal scale at which they will operate, and the effort needed to implement the program. Generally, monitoring can be divided into two categories: index and inferential. Although index monitoring is usually easier to implement, analysis of index data requires strong assumptions about consistency in detection rates over time and space, and parameters are often biasednot accounting for detectability and spatial variation. In most cases, individuals are not always available for detection during sampling periods, and the entire area of interest cannot be sampled. Conversely, inferential monitoring is more rigorous because it is based on nearly unbiased estimators of spatial distribution. Thus, we recommend that detectability and spatial variation be considered for all monitoring programs that intend to make inferences about the target population or the area of interest. Application of these techniques is especially important for the monitoring of Threatened and Endangered (T&E) species because it is critical to determine if population size is increasing or decreasing with some level of certainty. Use of estimation-based methods and probability sampling will reduce many of the biases inherently associated with index data and provide meaningful information with respect to changes that occur in target populations. We incorporated inferential monitoring into protocols for T&E species spanning a wide range of taxa on the Cherokee National Forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. We review the various approaches employed for different taxa and discuss design issues, sampling strategies, data analysis, and the details of estimating detectability using site

[Effect of Transcutaneous Acupoint Electrical Stimulation on Hemodynamic Fluctuation Caused by Loosing Tourniquet in Elderly Patients Undergoing Knee Joint Replacement].

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Han-Sheng; Feng, Yi

2017-12-25

To observe the effect of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TAES) on hemodynamic fluctuation caused by loosing tourniquet in the elderly patients undergoing knee joint replacement. A total of 60 ASA (America Society Anesthesiologist) I or II elderly patients for elective knee joint replacement surgery were randomly divided into control group (30 cases) and TAES group (30 cases). Patients of both groups were treated by intravenous anesthesia, and monitored with bispectral index (BIS, between 45－60) for anesthesia depth, stroke volume variation (SVV) for fluid management, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and cardiac index (CI) for hemodynamic fluctuation evaluation, and with analgesia nociception index (ANI, between 50－70) for remifentanil dosage adjustment. TAES (2 Hz/100 Hz, 8－20 mA) was applied to bilateral Xinshu (BL 15), Feishu (BL 13), Neiguan (PC 6) and Hegu (LI 4) acupoints for 30 min first (followed by anesthesia induction and operation), and given continuously until 15 min after tourniquet loosing. Patients of the control group were only given with electrodes attachment without electrical stimulation. The levels of MAP, CI, and arterial blood pH, PaCO 2 , PaO 2 , base excess (BE) and lactic acid (Lac) 1 min before, and 5 and 15 min after tourniquet loosing, and the dosages of remifentanil and ephedrine after tourniquet loosing were recorded. The changed levels of MAP, CI and blood Lac at 5 min after tourniquet loosing (relevant to the baseline levels), and blood Lac content at 15 min after tourniquet loosing (relevant to 5 min after tourniquet loosing) were significantly lower in the TAES group than in the control group ( P 0.05). TAES has a positive effect on hemodynamics fluctuation caused by loosing tourniquet in the aged patients undergoing knee joint replacement.

Development of real-time voltage stability monitoring tool for power system transmission network using Synchrophasor data

Science.gov (United States)

Pulok, Md Kamrul Hasan

Intelligent and effective monitoring of power system stability in control centers is one of the key issues in smart grid technology to prevent unwanted power system blackouts. Voltage stability analysis is one of the most important requirements for control center operation in smart grid era. With the advent of Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) or Synchrophasor technology, real time monitoring of voltage stability of power system is now a reality. This work utilizes real-time PMU data to derive a voltage stability index to monitor the voltage stability related contingency situation in power systems. The developed tool uses PMU data to calculate voltage stability index that indicates relative closeness of the instability by producing numerical indices. The IEEE 39 bus, New England power system was modeled and run on a Real-time Digital Simulator that stream PMU data over the Internet using IEEE C37.118 protocol. A Phasor data concentrator (PDC) is setup that receives streaming PMU data and stores them in Microsoft SQL database server. Then the developed voltage stability monitoring (VSM) tool retrieves phasor measurement data from SQL server, performs real-time state estimation of the whole network, calculate voltage stability index, perform real-time ranking of most vulnerable transmission lines, and finally shows all the results in a graphical user interface. All these actions are done in near real-time. Control centers can easily monitor the systems condition by using this tool and can take precautionary actions if needed.

Experimental investigation of leak detection using mobile distributed monitoring system

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jiang; Zheng, Junli; Xiong, Feng; Ge, Qi; Yan, Qixiang; Cheng, Fei

2018-01-01

The leak detection of rockfill dams is currently hindered by spatial and temporal randomness and wide monitoring range. The spatial resolution of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) temperature sensing technology is related to the distance between measuring points. As a result, the number of measuring points should be increased to ensure that the precise location of the leak is detected. However, this leads to a higher monitoring cost. Consequently, it is difficult to promote and apply this technology to effectively monitor rockfill dam leakage. In this paper, a practical mobile distributed monitoring system with dual-tubes is used by combining the FBG sensing system and hydrothermal cycling system. This dual-tube structure is composed of an outer polyethylene of raised temperature resistance heating pipe, an inner polytetrafluoroethylene tube, and a FBG sensor string, among which, the FBG sensor string can be dragged freely in the internal tube to change the position of the measuring points and improve the spatial resolution. In order to test the effectiveness of the system, the large-scale model test of concentrated leakage in 13 working conditions is carried out by identifying the location, quantity, and leakage rate of leakage passage. Based on Newton’s law of cooling, the leakage state is identified using the seepage identification index ζ v that was confirmed according to the cooling curve. Results suggested that the monitoring system shows high sensitivity and can improve the spatial resolution with limited measuring points, and thus better locate the leakage area. In addition, the seepage identification index ζ v correlated well with the leakage rate qualitatively.

Weak fault detection and health degradation monitoring using customized standard multiwavelets

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Jing; Wang, Yu; Peng, Yizhen; Wei, Chenjun

2017-09-01

Due to the nonobvious symptoms contaminated by a large amount of background noise, it is challenging to beforehand detect and predictively monitor the weak faults for machinery security assurance. Multiwavelets can act as adaptive non-stationary signal processing tools, potentially viable for weak fault diagnosis. However, the signal-based multiwavelets suffer from such problems as the imperfect properties missing the crucial orthogonality, the decomposition distortion impossibly reflecting the relationships between the faults and signatures, the single objective optimization and independence for fault prognostic. Thus, customized standard multiwavelets are proposed for weak fault detection and health degradation monitoring, especially the weak fault signature quantitative identification. First, the flexible standard multiwavelets are designed using the construction method derived from scalar wavelets, seizing the desired properties for accurate detection of weak faults and avoiding the distortion issue for feature quantitative identification. Second, the multi-objective optimization combined three dimensionless indicators of the normalized energy entropy, normalized singular entropy and kurtosis index is introduced to the evaluation criterions, and benefits for selecting the potential best basis functions for weak faults without the influence of the variable working condition. Third, an ensemble health indicator fused by the kurtosis index, impulse index and clearance index of the original signal along with the normalized energy entropy and normalized singular entropy by the customized standard multiwavelets is achieved using Mahalanobis distance to continuously monitor the health condition and track the performance degradation. Finally, three experimental case studies are implemented to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method can quantitatively identify the fault signature of a slight rub on

Spring Chinook Salmon Interactions Indices and Residual/Precocial Monitoring in the Upper Yakima Basin; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation Report 5 of 7, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pearsons, Todd N.; Johnson, Christopher L.; James, Brenda B. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

2004-05-01

is working or not working (Busack et al. 1997). Monitoring ecological interactions will be accomplished using interactions indices. Interactions indices will be used to index the availability of prey and competition for food and space. The tasks described below represent various subject areas of juvenile spring chinook salmon monitoring but are treated together because they can be accomplished using similar methods and are therefore more cost efficient than if treated separately. Three areas of investigation we pursued in this work were: (1) strong interactor monitoring (competition index and prey index), (2) carrying capacity monitoring (microhabitat monitoring); (3) residual and precocial salmon monitoring (abundance). This report is organized into three chapters to represent these three areas of investigation. Data were collected during the summer and fall, 2003 in index sections of the upper Yakima Basin (Figure 1). Previous results on the topics in this report were reported in James et al. (1999), and Pearsons et al. (2003). Hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon were first released during the spring of 1999. The monitoring plan for the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project calls for the continued monitoring of the variables covered in this report. All findings in this report should be considered preliminary and subject to further revision as more data and analytical results become available.

The e-index, complementing the h-index for excess citations.

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Chun-Ting Zhang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The h-index has already been used by major citation databases to evaluate the academic performance of individual scientists. Although effective and simple, the h-index suffers from some drawbacks that limit its use in accurately and fairly comparing the scientific output of different researchers. These drawbacks include information loss and low resolution: the former refers to the fact that in addition to h(2 citations for papers in the h-core, excess citations are completely ignored, whereas the latter means that it is common for a group of researchers to have an identical h-index. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To solve these problems, I here propose the e-index, where e(2 represents the ignored excess citations, in addition to the h(2 citations for h-core papers. Citation information can be completely depicted by using the h-index together with the e-index, which are independent of each other. Some other h-type indices, such as a and R, are h-dependent, have information redundancy with h, and therefore, when used together with h, mask the real differences in excess citations of different researchers. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Although simple, the e-index is a necessary h-index complement, especially for evaluating highly cited scientists or for precisely comparing the scientific output of a group of scientists having an identical h-index.

Research and Implementation of Distributed Database HBase Monitoring System

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Guo Lisi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available With the arrival of large data age, distributed database HBase becomes an important tool for storing data in massive data age. The normal operation of HBase database is an important guarantee to ensure the security of data storage. Therefore designing a reasonable HBase monitoring system is of great significance in practice. In this article, we introduce the solution, which contains the performance monitoring and fault alarm function module, to meet a certain operator’s demand of HBase monitoring database in their actual production projects. We designed a monitoring system which consists of a flexible and extensible monitoring agent, a monitoring server based on SSM architecture, and a concise monitoring display layer. Moreover, in order to deal with the problem that pages renders too slow in the actual operation process, we present a solution: reducing the SQL query. It has been proved that reducing SQL query can effectively improve system performance and user experience. The system work well in monitoring the status of HBase database, flexibly extending the monitoring index, and issuing a warning when a fault occurs, so that it is able to improve the working efficiency of the administrator, and ensure the smooth operation of the project.

Lysosomal enlargement and lysosomal membrane destabilisation in mussel digestive cells measured by an integrative index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izagirre, Urtzi; Marigomez, Ionan

2009-01-01

Lysosomal responses (enlargement and membrane destabilisation) in mussel digestive cells are well-known environmental stress biomarkers in pollution effects monitoring in marine ecosystems. Presently, in laboratory and field studies, both responses were measured separately (in terms of lysosomal volume density - Vv - and labilisation period -LP) and combined (lysosomal response index - LRI) in order to contribute to their understanding and to develop an index useful for decisions makers. LRI integrates Vv and LP, which are not necessarily dependent lysosomal responses. It is unbiased and more sensitive than Vv and LP alone and diminishes background due to confounding factors. LRI provides a simple numerical index (consensus reference = 0; critical threshold = 1) directly related to the pollution impact degree. Moreover, LRI can be represented in a way that allows the interpretation of lysosomal responses, which is useful for environmental scientists. - Lysosomal responses to pollutants measured by an integrative index.

The ATLAS DDM Tracer monitoring framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zang Dongsong; Garonne, Vincent; Barisits, Martin; Lassnig, Mario; Andrew Stewart, Graeme; Molfetas, Angelos; Beermann, Thomas

2012-01-01

The DDM Tracer monitoring framework is aimed to trace and monitor the ATLAS file operations on the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid. The volume of traces has increased significantly since the framework was put in production in 2009. Now there are about 5 million trace messages every day and peaks can be near 250Hz, with peak rates continuing to climb, which gives the current structure a big challenge. Analysis of large datasets based on on-demand queries to the relational database management system (RDBMS), i.e. Oracle, can be problematic, and have a significant effect on the database's performance. Consequently, We have investigated some new high availability technologies like messaging infrastructure, specifically ActiveMQ, and key-value stores. The advantages of key value store technology are that they are distributed and have high scalability; also their write performances are usually much better than RDBMS, all of which are very useful for the Tracer monitoring framework. Indexes and distributed counters have been also tested to improve query performance and provided almost real time results. In this paper, the design principles, architecture and main characteristics of Tracer monitoring framework will be described and examples of its usage will be presented.

Domestic water service delivery indicators and frameworks for monitoring, evaluation, policy and planning: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Kayser, Georgia L; Moriarty, Patrick; Fonseca, Catarina; Bartram, Jamie

2013-10-11

Monitoring of water services informs policy and planning for national governments and the international community. Currently, the international monitoring system measures the type of drinking water source that households use. There have been calls for improved monitoring systems over several decades, some advocating use of multiple indicators. We review the literature on water service indicators and frameworks with a view to informing debate on their relevance to national and international monitoring. We describe the evidence concerning the relevance of each identified indicator to public health, economic development and human rights. We analyze the benefits and challenges of using these indicators separately and combined in an index as tools for planning, monitoring, and evaluating water services. We find substantial evidence on the importance of each commonly recommended indicator--service type, safety, quantity, accessibility, reliability or continuity of service, equity, and affordability. Several frameworks have been proposed that give structure to the relationships among individual indicators and some combine multiple indicator scores into a single index but few have been rigorously tested. More research is needed to understand if employing a composite metric of indicators is advantageous and how each indicator might be scored and scaled.

Domestic Water Service Delivery Indicators and Frameworks for Monitoring, Evaluation, Policy and Planning: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamie Bartram

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Monitoring of water services informs policy and planning for national governments and the international community. Currently, the international monitoring system measures the type of drinking water source that households use. There have been calls for improved monitoring systems over several decades, some advocating use of multiple indicators. We review the literature on water service indicators and frameworks with a view to informing debate on their relevance to national and international monitoring. We describe the evidence concerning the relevance of each identified indicator to public health, economic development and human rights. We analyze the benefits and challenges of using these indicators separately and combined in an index as tools for planning, monitoring, and evaluating water services. We find substantial evidence on the importance of each commonly recommended indicator—service type, safety, quantity, accessibility, reliability or continuity of service, equity, and affordability. Several frameworks have been proposed that give structure to the relationships among individual indicators and some combine multiple indicator scores into a single index but few have been rigorously tested. More research is needed to understand if employing a composite metric of indicators is advantageous and how each indicator might be scored and scaled.

Detecting Inter-Annual Variations in the Phenology of Evergreen Conifers Using Long-Term MODIS Vegetation Index Time Series

OpenAIRE

Ulsig, Laura; Nichol, Caroline J.; Huemmrich, Karl F.; Landis, David R.; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Lyapustin, Alexei I.; Mammarella, Ivan; Levula, Janne; Porcar-Castell, Albert

2017-01-01

Long-term observations of vegetation phenology can be used to monitor the response of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change. Satellite remote sensing provides the most efficient means to observe phenological events through time series analysis of vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This study investigates the potential of a Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI), which has been linked to vegetation light use efficiency, to improve the accuracy of MO...

Bilateral vocal fold immobility: a 13 year review of etiologies, management and the utility of the empey index

OpenAIRE

Brake, Maria K.; Anderson, Jennifer

2015-01-01

Background Bilateral vocal fold immobility (BVFI) is a rare diagnosis causing dyspnea, dysphonia and dysphagia. Management depends on respiratory performance, airway patency, vocal ability, and quality-of-life priorities. The authors review the presentation, management and outcome in patients diagnosed with BVFI. The utility and efficacy of the Empey index (EI) and the Expiratory Disproportion Index (EDI) are evaluated as an objective monitoring tools for BVFI patients. Methods A 13-year retr...

Spectral entropy monitoring for adults and children undergoing general anaesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chhabra, Anjolie; Subramaniam, Rajeshwari; Srivastava, Anurag; Prabhakar, Hemanshu; Kalaivani, Mani; Paranjape, Saloni

2016-03-14

Anaesthetic drugs during general anaesthesia are titrated according to sympathetic or somatic responses to surgical stimuli. It is now possible to measure depth of anaesthesia using electroencephalography (EEG). Entropy, an EEG-based monitor can be used to assess the depth of anaesthesia using a strip of electrodes applied to the forehead, and this can guide intraoperative anaesthetic drug administration. The primary objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of entropy monitoring in facilitating faster recovery from general anaesthesia. We also wanted to assess mortality at 24 hours, 30 days, and one year following general anaesthesia with entropy monitoring.The secondary objectives were to assess the effectiveness of the entropy monitor in: preventing postoperative recall of intraoperative events (awareness) following general anaesthesia; reducing the amount of anaesthetic drugs used; reducing cost of the anaesthetic as well as in reducing time to readiness to leave the postanaesthesia care unit (PACU). We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2014, Issue 10), MEDLINE via Ovid SP (1990 to September 2014) and EMBASE via Ovid SP (1990 to September 2014). We reran the search in CENTRAL, MEDLINE via Ovid SP and EMBASE via Ovid SP in January 2016. We added one potential new study of interest to the list of 'Studies awaiting Classification' and we will incorporate this study into the formal review findings during the review update. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted in adults and children (aged greater than two years of age), where in one arm entropy monitoring was used for titrating anaesthesia, and in the other standard practice (increase in heart rate, mean arterial pressure, lacrimation, movement in response to noxious surgical stimuli) was used for titrating anaesthetic drug administration. We also included trials with an additional third arm, wherein another EEG monitor, the Bispectral index

A New ENSO Index Derived from Satellite Measurements of Column Ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Ziemke, J. R.; Chandra, S.; Oman, L. D.; Bhartia, P. K.

2010-01-01

Column Ozone measured in tropical latitudes from Nimbus 7 total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS), Earth Probe TOMS, solar backscatter ultraviolet (SBUV), and Aura ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) are used to derive an El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index. This index, which covers a time period from 1979 to the present, is defined as the Ozone ENSO Index (OEI) and is the first developed from atmospheric trace gas measurements. The OEI is constructed by first averaging monthly mean column ozone over two broad regions in the western and eastern Pacific and then taking their difference. This differencing yields a self-calibrating ENSO index which is independent of individual instrument calibration offsets and drifts in measurements over the long record. The combined Aura OMI and MLS ozone data confirm that zonal variability in total column ozone in the tropics caused by ENSO events lies almost entirely in the troposphere. As a result, the OEI can be derived directly from total column ozone instead of tropospheric column ozone. For clear-sky ozone measurements a +1K change in Nino 3.4 index corresponds to +2.9 Dobson Unit (DU) change in the OEI, while a +1 hPa change in SOI coincides with a -1.7DU change in the OEI. For ozone measurements under all cloud conditions these numbers are +2.4DU and -1.4 DU, respectively. As an ENSO index based upon ozone, it is potentially useful in evaluating climate models predicting long term changes in ozone and other trace gases.

Quantitative monitoring of gas flooding in oil-bearing reservoirs using a pulsed neutron tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruhovets, N.; Wyatt, D.F. Jr.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on quantitative monitoring of gas flooding in oil bearing reservoirs which is unique in that saturations of three fluids (gas, oil and water) in the effective pore space have to be determined, while in most other applications saturation behind casing is determined only for two fluids: hydrocarbons and water. A new method has been developed to monitor gas flooding of oil reservoirs. The method is based on computing two porosities: true effective (base) porosity determined before gas flooding, and apparent effective (monitor) porosity determined after gas flooding. The base porosity is determined from open and/or cased hole porosity logs run before the flooding. When open hole logs are available, the cased hole porosity logs are calibrated against open hole log. The monitor porosity is determined from one of the cased hole porosity logs, such as a neutron log or count rate ratio curve from a pulsed neutron log run after the gas flooding. The base and monitor porosities provide determination of the hydrogen index of the reservoir fluid after the flooding. This hydrogen index is then used to determine saturation of the flood agent after flooding. Water saturation after flooding can be determined from the equation which relates neutron total cross section (Σm) to volumetric constituent cross sections, using Σm values from a monitor run (after flooding)

Chronobiological analysis by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring of the hyperbaric and hypobaric indexes for evaluation of the antihypertensive effect of long-acting nifedipine.

Science.gov (United States)

Seki, Shingo; Taniguchi, Masayuki; Ohsawa, Shingo; Koga, Atsushi; Ito, Takashi; Kunoh, Mamoru; Imamoto, Satoshi; Miyazaki, Hidekazu; Takeda, Satoshi; Iwano, Keiji; Satoh, Chikashi; Kanae, Kiyoshi; Mochizuki, Seibu

2005-10-01

It has been suggested that chronobiology can provide new insights into the evaluation and treatment of cardiovascular disease. In the present study the hyperbaric index (hyperBI) and hypobaric index (hypoBI) were compared with the mean blood pressure (BP) over 24 h to evaluate the antihypertensive effect of long-acting nifedipine on essential hypertension. Fourteen patients were treated with nifedipine CR (20-40 mg/day) for 6 months. Ambulatory BP monitoring was performed before and after treatment. The hyperBI (mmHg . h/day) was calculated as the integrated BP area above the conventional upper limit (140/90 mmHg for the daytime and 120/80 mmHg at night), and the hypoBI was calculated as the integrated BP area below the conventional lower limit (110/60 mmHg for the daytime and 100/50 mmHg at night). At baseline, both the systolic and diastolic 24-h hyperBI values closely correlated with the 24-h mean BP (r=0.994 and 0.935, p<0.0001). Treatment with nifedipine significantly lowered both the 24-h mean systolic and diastolic BP (143+/-14/89 +/-12 to 124+/-16/80+/-8 mmHg, p<0.001/p=0.001), as well as the casual BP (167+/-11/101 +/-8 to 140+/-13/86+/-10 mmHg, p<0.001/p<0.01). Reduction of both the systolic and diastolic hyperBI values was statistically significant over the 24-h period (274+/-266 to 90+/-155, p=0.009; 145+/-187 to 41+/-63, p=0.024), as well as during the daytime (200+/-181 to 66+/-116, p=0.014; 105+/-120 to 24+/-38, p=0.017) and at night (systolic, 74+/-106 to 24+/-52, p=0.021). The 24-h mean BP was normalized, but a small excess BP load persisted despite treatment. There was no significant increase of systolic hypoBI during the 24-h period (1+/-2 to 25+/-30, p=0.065), the daytime (0+/-0 to 14+/-38, p=0.20), or at night (1+/-3 to 11+/-19, p=0,052). Similar findings were obtained for diastolic hypoBI. Nifedipine CR improved the 24-h hyperBI and mean BP without causing excessive hypotension. These 2 parameters have a close relationship when assessment is

Comparative study of two modes of gastroesophageal reflux measuring: conventional esophageal pH monitoring and wireless pH monitoring

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Rimon Sobhi Azzam

2012-06-01

Full Text Available CONTEXT: Esophageal pH monitoring is considered to be the gold standard for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal acid reflux. However, this method is very troublesome and considerably limits the patient's routine activities. Wireless pH monitoring was developed to avoid these restrictions. OBJECTIVE: To compare the first 24 hours of the conventional and wireless pH monitoring, positioned 3 cm above the lower esophageal sphincter, in relation to: the occurrence of relevant technical failures, the ability to detect reflux and the ability to correlate the clinical symptoms to reflux. METHODS: Twenty-five patients referred for esophageal pH monitoring and with typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease were studied prospectively, underwent clinical interview, endoscopy, esophageal manometry and were submitted, with a simultaneous initial period, to 24-hour catheter pH monitoring and 48-hour wireless pH monitoring. RESULTS: Early capsule detachment occurred in one (4% case and there were no technical failures with the catheter pH monitoring (P = 0.463. Percentages of reflux time (total, upright and supine were higher with the wireless pH monitoring (P < 0.05. Pathological gastroesophageal reflux occurred in 16 (64% patients submitted to catheter and in 19 (76% to the capsule (P = 0.355. The symptom index was positive in 12 (48% patients with catheter pH monitoring and in 13 (52% with wireless pH monitoring (P = 0.777. CONCLUSIONS: 1 No significant differences were reported between the two methods of pH monitoring (capsule vs catheter, in regard to relevant technical failures; 2 Wireless pH monitoring detected higher percentages of reflux time than the conventional pH-metry; 3 The two methods of pH monitoring were comparable in diagnosis of pathological gastroesophageal reflux and comparable in correlating the clinical symptoms with the gastroesophageal reflux.

Development and application of a short- /long-term composited drought index in the upper Huaihe River basin, China

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M. Yu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Accurate and reliable drought monitoring is of primary importance for drought mitigation and reduction of social-ecological vulnerability. The aim of the paper was to propose a short-term/long-term composited drought index (CDI which could be widely used for drought monitoring and early warning in China. In the study, the upper Huaihe River basin above the Xixian gauge station, which has been hit by severe droughts frequently in recent decades, was selected as the case study site. The short-term CDI was developed by the Principle Component Analysis of the self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index (sc-PDSI, the 1- and 3-month Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI, Z Index (ZIND, the Soil Moisture Index (SMI with the long-term CDI being formulated by use of the self-calibrating Palmer Hydrology Drought Index (sc-PHDI, the 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month SPEI, the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI, the SMI. The sc-PDSI, the PHDI, the ZIND, the SPEI on a monthly time scale were calculated based on the monthly air temperature and precipitation, and the monthly SMI and SSI were computed based on the simulated soil moisture and runoff by the distributed Xinanjiang model. The thresholds of the short-term/long-term CDI were determined according to frequency statistics of different drought indices. Finally, the feasibility of the two CDIs was investigated against the scPDSI, the SPEI and the historical drought records. The results revealed that the short-term/long-term CDI could capture the onset, severity, persistence of drought events very well with the former being better at identifying the dynamic evolution of drought condition while the latter better at judging the changing trend of drought over a long time period.

Linking indices for biodiversity monitoring to extinction risk theory.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Michael A; Moore, Alana L; Krauss, Jochen; Morgan, John W; Clements, Christopher F

2014-12-01

Biodiversity indices often combine data from different species when used in monitoring programs. Heuristic properties can suggest preferred indices, but we lack objective ways to discriminate between indices with similar heuristics. Biodiversity indices can be evaluated by determining how well they reflect management objectives that a monitoring program aims to support. For example, the Convention on Biological Diversity requires reporting about extinction rates, so simple indices that reflect extinction risk would be valuable. We developed 3 biodiversity indices that are based on simple models of population viability that relate extinction risk to abundance. We based the first index on the geometric mean abundance of species and the second on a more general power mean. In a third index, we integrated the geometric mean abundance and trend. These indices require the same data as previous indices, but they also relate directly to extinction risk. Field data for butterflies and woodland plants and experimental studies of protozoan communities show that the indices correlate with local extinction rates. Applying the index based on the geometric mean to global data on changes in avian abundance suggested that the average extinction probability of birds has increased approximately 1% from 1970 to 2009. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Female but not male young heavy drinkers display altered performance monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Janette L; Mattick, Richard P; Sufani, Christopher

2015-09-30

Difficulties in monitoring ongoing behaviour may be linked to real-life problematic drinking behaviours. Prior research suggests female heavy drinkers in particular display greater cognitive control deficits. Here, we examine trial-to-trial behavioural adaptations in a conflict monitoring task, relative to drinking behaviour and sex. Heavy drinkers (n=31, 16 male) and controls (n=35, 18 male) completed an Eriksen flanker task while brain electrical activity was recorded. For reaction time, error rates, and N2 and P3 amplitude of the event-related potential, trial-to-trial conflict adaptation was evidenced by a differential response to the current (congruent vs. incongruent) trials dependent on the identity of the previous trial. For the proportion of errors, heavy drinkers showed increased conflict adaptation compared to controls. Conflict adaptation for N2 (indexing monitoring) was larger for female heavy drinkers than controls, and the opposite was observed for males. There were no interactions involving group or sex for the P3 (indexing inhibition). The results suggest a compensatory response, such that heavy drinkers are required to increase performance monitoring in order to achieve the same behavioural outcome as controls. We also confirm the importance of sex as a factor in the relationship between behavioural control and heavy alcohol use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring Building Deformation with InSAR: Experiments and Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Kui; Yan, Li; Huang, Guoman; Chen, Chu; Wu, Zhengpeng

2016-01-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) techniques are increasingly applied for monitoring land subsidence. The advantages of InSAR include high accuracy and the ability to cover large areas; nevertheless, research validating the use of InSAR on building deformation is limited. In this paper, we test the monitoring capability of the InSAR in experiments using two landmark buildings; the Bohai Building and the China Theater, located in Tianjin, China. They were selected as real examples to compare InSAR and leveling approaches for building deformation. Ten TerraSAR-X images spanning half a year were used in Permanent Scatterer InSAR processing. These extracted InSAR results were processed considering the diversity in both direction and spatial distribution, and were compared with true leveling values in both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and measurement of error analyses. The detailed experimental results for the Bohai Building and the China Theater showed a high correlation between InSAR results and the leveling values. At the same time, the two Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) indexes had values of approximately 1 mm. These analyses show that a millimeter level of accuracy can be achieved by means of InSAR technique when measuring building deformation. We discuss the differences in accuracy between OLS regression and measurement of error analyses, and compare the accuracy index of leveling in order to propose InSAR accuracy levels appropriate for monitoring buildings deformation. After assessing the advantages and limitations of InSAR techniques in monitoring buildings, further applications are evaluated. PMID:27999403

Monitoring Building Deformation with InSAR: Experiments and Validation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kui Yang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR techniques are increasingly applied for monitoring land subsidence. The advantages of InSAR include high accuracy and the ability to cover large areas; nevertheless, research validating the use of InSAR on building deformation is limited. In this paper, we test the monitoring capability of the InSAR in experiments using two landmark buildings; the Bohai Building and the China Theater, located in Tianjin, China. They were selected as real examples to compare InSAR and leveling approaches for building deformation. Ten TerraSAR-X images spanning half a year were used in Permanent Scatterer InSAR processing. These extracted InSAR results were processed considering the diversity in both direction and spatial distribution, and were compared with true leveling values in both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS regression and measurement of error analyses. The detailed experimental results for the Bohai Building and the China Theater showed a high correlation between InSAR results and the leveling values. At the same time, the two Root Mean Square Error (RMSE indexes had values of approximately 1 mm. These analyses show that a millimeter level of accuracy can be achieved by means of InSAR technique when measuring building deformation. We discuss the differences in accuracy between OLS regression and measurement of error analyses, and compare the accuracy index of leveling in order to propose InSAR accuracy levels appropriate for monitoring buildings deformation. After assessing the advantages and limitations of InSAR techniques in monitoring buildings, further applications are evaluated.

Use of the RSA/RCOD Index to Identify Training Priority in Soccer Players.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Del P; Hjelde, Geir H; Cheng, Ching-Feng; Ngo, Jake K

2015-10-01

The use of RSA/RCOD index indicates the repeated change-of-direction (RCOD) performance relative to the repeated-sprint ability (RSA) and provides a standardized approach to prioritize training needs for RSA and RCOD. To compare the RSA/RCOD index among different age groups, RSA and RCOD were measured from 20 under-16 players (U16), 20 under-19 players (U19), and 17 first-team professional players (PRO) from a football (soccer) club that has regular participation in the UEFA Champions League. Each player performed the RSA and RCOD tests, during which the fastest time (FT), average time (AT), total time (TT), and percentage decrement score (%Dec) were recorded. No significant differences were found in RSA/RCOD index-FT, AT, TT, and %Dec among the 3 groups (p > 0.05) and between U19 and PRO in all RSA and RCOD measures (p > 0.05). Most values of RSA/RCOD index were 0.51 among the U16, U19, and PRO groups. Moreover, we concluded that the RSA/RCOD index might not be further changed after 16 years of age unless specific training programs for RSA and RCOD are prescribed. Therefore, this study provides an empirical case, and coaches can establish the RSA/RCOD index value relevant to their training system and monitor players' training needs of RSA and RCOD in a longer term.

Bounds and inequalities relating h-index, g-index, e-index and generalized impact factor: an improvement over existing models.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, Ash Mohammad

2012-01-01

In this paper, we describe some bounds and inequalities relating h-index, g-index, e-index, and generalized impact factor. We derive the bounds and inequalities relating these indexing parameters from their basic definitions and without assuming any continuous model to be followed by any of them. We verify the theorems using citation data for five Price Medalists. We observe that the lower bound for h-index given by Theorem 2, [formula: see text], g ≥ 1, comes out to be more accurate as compared to Schubert-Glanzel relation h is proportional to C(2/3)P(-1/3) for a proportionality constant of 1, where C is the number of citations and P is the number of papers referenced. Also, the values of h-index obtained using Theorem 2 outperform those obtained using Egghe-Liang-Rousseau power law model for the given citation data of Price Medalists. Further, we computed the values of upper bound on g-index given by Theorem 3, g ≤ (h + e), where e denotes the value of e-index. We observe that the upper bound on g-index given by Theorem 3 is reasonably tight for the given citation record of Price Medalists.

The "Pulse Time Index of Norm" highly correlates with the left ventricular mass index in patients with arterial hypertension

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Posokhov IN

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Igor N Posokhov,1 Natalya N Kulikova,2 Irina V Starchenkova,2 Elena A Grigoricheva,3 Vitaly V Evdokimov,3 Artemy V Orlov,4 Anatoly N Rogoza5 On behalf of The BPLab-Vasotens Registry Collaborators 1Hemodynamic Laboratory Ltd, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; 23rd Republican Hospital, Saransk, Russia; 3Chelyabinsk State Medical Academy, Chelyabinsk, Russia; 4National Research Nuclear University MEPhl, Moscow, Russia; 5Cardiology Research Center, Moscow, Russia Background: Arterial stiffness, as measured by the pulse wave velocity (PWV, is recommended for routine use in clinical practice as an important parameter for the evaluation of cardiovascular risk.1 New 24-hour monitors (eg, with Vasotens® technology; Petr Telegin Company, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation provide single PWV measurements as well as several PWV measurements over a period of 24 hours.2 Such 24-hour pulse wave analysis led to the development of the novel Pulse Time Index of Norm (PTIN, which is defined as the percentage of a 24-hour period during which the PWV does not exceed the 10 m/second PWV threshold. The aim of this study is to test the new PTIN for correlation with the left ventricular mass index (LVMI. Methods: Oscillometrically generated waveform files (n=137 used for clinical research studies were reanalyzed using the new 2013 version of the Vasotens technology program, which enables PTIN calculations. Results: A good correlation (r=−0.72 between the PTIN and the LVMI was shown, which was significantly above the blood pressure load (r=0.41. Conclusion: The PTIN generated by the Vasotens technology can be recommended as an indicator of end organ damage via hypertension. Keywords: pulse wave velocity, ambulatory, 24-hour, monitoring, PTIN, arterial stiffness, LVMI

Card index of coal user-payers in the system of accounting and analysis of coal marketing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Czapka, D

1980-01-01

A card index of coal users-payers was formed on the basis of an existing card file of payers which functions in development of an earlier subsystem of financial accounting of coal users by means of a corresponding reorganization of the available set of data and supplementing it with new data on users. The card index performs a monitor and address function. Checked and refined data are input in subsequent technological cycles of data conversion. The structure of the card file, its functions, realization conditions with output of necessary following results are examined.

Monitoring and assessment of the outdoor thermal comfort in Bucharest (Romania)

Science.gov (United States)

Cheval, Sorin; Ciobotaru, Ana-Maria; Andronache, Ion; Dumitrescu, Alexandru

2017-04-01

Bucharest is one of the European cities most at risk of being affected by meteorological hazards. Heat or cold waves, extreme temperature events, heavy rains or prolonged precipitation deficits are all-season phenomena, triggering damages, discomfort or even casualties. Temperature hazards may occur annually and challenge equally the public, local business and administration to find adequate solutions for securing the thermal comfort in the outdoor environment of the city. The accurate and fine resolution monitoring of the air temperature pledges for the comprehensive assessment of the thermal comfort in order to capture as much as possible the urban influence. This study uses sub-hourly temperature data (10-min temporal resolution) retrieved over the period November 2014 - November 2016 collected from nine sensors placed either in plain urban conditions or within the three meteorological stations of the national network which are currently monitoring the climate of Bucharest (Băneasa, Filaret, Afumați). The relative humidity was estimated based on the data available at the three stations placed in WMO standard conditions, and the 10-min values of 8 Thermal Comfort Indices were computed, namely: Heat Index, Humidex, Relative Strain Index, Scharlau, Summer Simmer Index, Physiological Equivalent Index, Temperature-Humidity Index, Thom Discomfort Index. The indices were analysed statistically, both individually and combined. Despite the short range of the available data, this study emphasizes clear spatial differentiations of the thermal comfort, in a very good agreement with the land cover and built zones of the city, while important variations were found in the temporal regime, due to large variations of the temperature values (e.g. >4 centigrade between consecutive hours or >15 centigrade between consecutive days). Ultimately, this study has revealed that the continuous monitoring of the urban climate, at fine temporal and spatial resolution, may deliver

The "Pulse Time Index of Norm" highly correlates with the left ventricular mass index in patients with arterial hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Posokhov, Igor N; Kulikova, Natalya N; Starchenkova, Irina V; Grigoricheva, Elena A; Evdokimov, Vitaly V; Orlov, Artemy V; Rogoza, Anatoly N

2014-01-01

Arterial stiffness, as measured by the pulse wave velocity (PWV), is recommended for routine use in clinical practice as an important parameter for the evaluation of cardiovascular risk.1 New 24-hour monitors (eg, with Vasotens technology; Petr Telegin Company, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation) provide single PWV measurements as well as several PWV measurements over a period of 24 hours.2 Such 24-hour pulse wave analysis led to the development of the novel Pulse Time Index of Norm (PTIN), which is defined as the percentage of a 24-hour period during which the PWV does not exceed the 10 m/second PWV threshold. The aim of this study is to test the new PTIN for correlation with the left ventricular mass index (LVMI). Oscillometrically generated waveform files (n=137) used for clinical research studies were reanalyzed using the new 2013 version of the Vasotens technology program, which enables PTIN calculations. A good correlation (r=-0.72) between the PTIN and the LVMI was shown, which was significantly above the blood pressure load (r=0.41). The PTIN generated by the Vasotens technology can be recommended as an indicator of end organ damage via hypertension.

Monitoring the Wobbe Index of Natural Gas Using Fiber-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandfort, Vincenz; Trabold, Barbara M; Abdolvand, Amir; Bolwien, Carsten; Russell, Philip St. J; Wöllenstein, Jürgen; Palzer, Stefan

2017-11-24

The fast and reliable analysis of the natural gas composition requires the simultaneous quantification of numerous gaseous components. To this end, fiber-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool to detect most components in a single measurement using a single laser source. However, practical issues such as detection limit, gas exchange time and background Raman signals from the fiber material still pose obstacles to utilizing the scheme in real-world settings. This paper compares the performance of two types of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF), namely photonic bandgap PCF and kagomé-style PCF, and assesses their potential for online determination of the Wobbe index. In contrast to bandgap PCF, kagomé-PCF allows for reliable detection of Raman-scattered photons even below 1200 cm -1 , which in turn enables fast and comprehensive assessment of the natural gas quality of arbitrary mixtures.

EXPERT-ANALITICAL MONITORING OF LEARNING PROCESS QUALITY IN HIGH SCHOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. M. Korotun

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The technological model is proposed for monitoring process of learning process quality in high school compliant with current European and home standards. The mathematical methods are elaborated for diverse activities as to learning process objects quality determination unified support. They self-consistently combine: automatic expert evaluation with Bayesian net and Value tree models; Delphi technique enhancement; best practices for education quality assessment. Quality estimates’ consistency index is introduced for their choice and acceptability analysis. Its permanent increasing over monitoring stages is guaranteed. The tools for these stages’ automatic support are described.

Mapping Deforestation in North Korea Using Phenology-Based Multi-Index and Random Forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yihua Jin

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Phenology-based multi-index with the random forest (RF algorithm can be used to overcome the shortcomings of traditional deforestation mapping that involves pixel-based classification, such as ISODATA or decision trees, and single images. The purpose of this study was to investigate methods to identify specific types of deforestation in North Korea, and to increase the accuracy of classification, using phenological characteristics extracted with multi-index and random forest algorithms. The mapping of deforestation area based on RF was carried out by merging phenology-based multi-indices (i.e., normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, normalized difference water index (NDWI, and normalized difference soil index (NDSI derived from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer products and topographical variables. Our results showed overall classification accuracy of 89.38%, with corresponding kappa coefficients of 0.87. In particular, for forest and farm land categories with similar phenological characteristic (e.g., paddy, plateau vegetation, unstocked forest, hillside field, this approach improved the classification accuracy in comparison with pixel-based methods and other classes. The deforestation types were identified by incorporating point data from high-resolution imagery, outcomes of image classification, and slope data. Our study demonstrated that the proposed methodology could be used for deciding on the restoration priority and monitoring the expansion of deforestation areas.

Radiative transfer in shrub savanna sites in Niger: preliminary results from HAPEX-Sahel. 3. Optical dynamics and vegetation index sensitivity to biomass and plant cover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leeuwen, W.J.D. van; Huete, A.R.; Duncan, J.; Franklin, J.

1994-01-01

A shrub savannah landscape in Niger was optically characterized utilizing blue, green, red and near-infrared wavelengths. Selected vegetation indices were evaluated for their performance and sensitivity to describe the complex Sahelian soil/vegetation canopies. Bidirectional reflectance factors (BRF) of plants and soils were measured at several view angles, and used as input to various vegetation indices. Both soil and vegetation targets had strong anisotropic reflectance properties, rendering all vegetation index (VI) responses to be a direct function of sun and view geometry. Soil background influences were shown to alter the response of most vegetation indices. N-space greenness had the smallest dynamic range in VI response, but the n-space brightness index provided additional useful information. The global environmental monitoring index (GEMI) showed a large VI dynamic range for bare soils, which was undesirable for a vegetation index. The view angle response of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), atmosphere resistant vegetation index (ARVI) and soil atmosphere resistant vegetation index (SARVI) were asymmetric about nadir for multiple view angles, and were, except for the SARVI, altered seriously by soil moisture and/or soil brightness effects. The soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) was least affected by surface soil moisture and was symmetric about nadir for grass vegetation covers. Overall the SAVI, SARVI and the n-space vegetation index performed best under all adverse conditions and were recommended to monitor vegetation growth in the sparsely vegetated Sahelian zone. (author)

Monitoring of aphid flight activities in seed potato crops in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andja Vucetic

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Aphid flight activities in seed potato fields have been studied by the yellow water traps. It is a good method for monitoring aphids as vectors of viruses, but this study also showed it is a suitable method for insect-diversity research. During the four-year studies, over 11.500 specimens were collected and a total of 107 different taxa of aphids were identified. The most abundant species were polyphagous species, such as: Acyrthosiphon pisum (Haris, Aphis fabae Scopoli, Aphis gossypii Glover and Brachycaudus helichrysi (Kaltenbach. The results of the studies show that diversity of aphids in different regions of Serbia is similar regardless of the altitude and the diversity of terrain. At most sites it ranged from 2 to 3. The highest value was recorded in Begeč, locality in northern part of Serbia, in year 2008, and it was 2.92. The maximum values of the Shannon-Weaver diversity index at all sites were recorded in the first weeks of the monitoring of aphid flight activities. Morisita-Horn similarity index shows no significant differences between sites regardless of altitudes. The sites are grouped by year, not by similarity of relief. In spite of these results, the Chi-square analysis showed highly significant difference in vector frequencies among seasons and sites with more pronounced differences for PVY. As a consequence of differences in vector frequencies, the vector pressure index in some regions was different also. The number of vectors and vector pressure index vary depending on the altitude of localities. At localities at altitudes under 1000 m, they were high. The highest index was at Kotraža, locality in central part of Serbia, in 2007, when PVY index exceeded the value of 180, while for PLRV it was 60. At high altitudes on mountain Golija, above 1100 m, the number of aphids was low, as well as the vector pressure index which indicates that these regions are suitable for producing virus-free seed potato.

Galactic cosmic ray spectral index: the case of Forbush decreases of March 2012

Science.gov (United States)

Livada, M.; Mavromichalaki, H.; Plainaki, C.

2018-01-01

During the burst of solar activity in March 2012, close to the maximum of solar cycle 24, a number of X-class and M-class flares and halo CMEs with velocity up to 2684 km/s were recorded. During a relatively short period (7-21 March 2012) two Forbush decreases were registered in the ground-level neutron monitor data. In this work, after a short description of the solar and geomagnetic background of these Forbush decreases, we deduce the cosmic ray density and anisotropy variations based on the daily cosmic ray data of the neutron monitor network (http://www.nmdb.eu; http://cosray.phys.uoa.gr). Applying to our data two different coupling functions methods, the spectral index of these Forbush decreases was calculated following the technique of Wawrzynczak and Alania (Adv. Space Res. 45:622-631, 2010). We pointed out that the estimated values of the spectral index γ of these events are almost similar for both cases following the fluctuation of the Forbush decrease. The study and the calculation of the cosmic ray spectrum during such cosmic ray events are very important for Space Weather applications.

From Toes to Top-of-the-Atmosphere: Fowler Sneaker Index

Science.gov (United States)

Crooke, Ben A.; McKinna, Lachlan I W.; Cetinic, Ivona

2016-01-01

Fowler Sneaker Index (FSI), developed by a NASA summer intern, is a new Ocean Color application that facilitates continuous monitoring of environmental conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. It builds on three decades of citizen science data collected by former Maryland State Senator Bernie Fowler, during his yearly "Wade-ins in the Patuxent River". FSI demonstrates how NASA's Earth-observing tools, in combination with a concerned and engaged public, can take science from the tips of our toes-to-top-of the atmosphere and back.

Hypnosis is More Effective than Clinical Interviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida-Marques, Francisco Xavier De; Sánchez-Blanco, José; Cano-García, Francisco Javier

2018-01-01

To determine whether hypnosis is more effective than conventional interviewing to find traumatic life events in patients with fibromyalgia, we carried out a within-subject experimental design with complete intragroup counterbalancing. Thirty-two women under care in a public primary care center gave 2 identical interviews, with an interval of 3 months, in which the occurrence of traumatic life events was explored, once in a state of wakefulness and once in a state of hypnosis. The state of consciousness was evaluated using 3 measures: bispectral index, skin conductance level, and pain intensity. In the hypnotic state, the patients expressed 9.8 times more traumatic life events than in the waking state, a statistically significant difference with a large effect size.

Identifying the most significant indicators of the total road safety performance index.

Science.gov (United States)

Tešić, Milan; Hermans, Elke; Lipovac, Krsto; Pešić, Dalibor

2018-04-01

The review of the national and international literature dealing with the assessment of the road safety level has shown great efforts of the authors who tried to define the methodology for calculating the composite road safety index on a territory (region, state, etc.). The procedure for obtaining a road safety composite index of an area has been largely harmonized. The question that has not been fully resolved yet concerns the selection of indicators. There is a wide range of road safety indicators used to show a road safety situation on a territory. Road safety performance index (RSPI) obtained on the basis of a larger number of safety performance indicators (SPIs) enable decision makers to more precisely define the earlier goal- oriented actions. However, recording a broader comprehensive set of SPIs helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of a country's road safety system. Providing high quality national and international databases that would include comparable SPIs seems to be difficult since a larger number of countries dispose of a small number of identical indicators available for use. Therefore, there is a need for calculating a road safety performance index with a limited number of indicators (RSPI ln n ) which will provide a comparison of a sufficient quality, of as many countries as possible. The application of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and correlative analysis has helped to check if the RSPI ln n is likely to be of sufficient quality. A strong correlation between the RSPI ln n and the RSPI has been identified using the proposed methodology. Based on this, the most contributing indicators and methodologies for gradual monitoring of SPIs, have been defined for each country analyzed. The indicator monitoring phases in the analyzed countries have been defined in the following way: Phase 1- the indicators relating to alcohol, speed and protective systems; Phase 2- the indicators relating to roads and Phase 3- the indicators relating to

Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE). Detecting and monitoring agricultural vegetative water stress over large areas using LANDSAT digital data. [Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, D. R.; Wehmanen, O. A. (Principal Investigator)

1978-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The Green Number Index technique which uses LANDSAT digital data from 5X6 nautical mile sampling frames was expanded to evaluate its usefulness in detecting and monitoring vegetative water stress over the Great Plains. At known growth stages for wheat, segments were classified as drought or non drought. Good agreement was found between the 18 day remotely sensed data and a weekly ground-based crop moisture index. Operational monitoring of the 1977 U.S.S.R. and Australian wheat crops indicated drought conditions. Drought isoline maps produced by the Green Number Index technique were in good agreement with conventional sources.

Estimating the risk of cyanobacterial occurrence using an index integrating meteorological factors: application to drinking water production.

Science.gov (United States)

Ndong, Mouhamed; Bird, David; Nguyen-Quang, Tri; de Boutray, Marie-Laure; Zamyadi, Arash; Vinçon-Leite, Brigitte; Lemaire, Bruno J; Prévost, Michèle; Dorner, Sarah

2014-06-01

The sudden appearance of toxic cyanobacteria (CB) blooms is still largely unpredictable in waters worldwide. Many post-hoc explanations for CB bloom occurrence relating to physical and biochemical conditions in lakes have been developed. As potentially toxic CB can accumulate in drinking water treatment plants and disrupt water treatment, there is a need for water treatment operators to determine whether conditions are favourable for the proliferation and accumulation of CB in source waters in order to adjust drinking water treatment accordingly. Thus, a new methodology with locally adaptable variables is proposed in order to have a single index, f(p), related to various environmental factors such as temperature, wind speed and direction. The index is used in conjunction with real time monitoring data to determine the probability of CB occurrence in relation to meteorological factors, and was tested at a drinking water intake in Missisquoi Bay, a shallow transboundary bay in Lake Champlain, Québec, Canada. These environmental factors alone were able to explain a maximum probability of 68% that a CB bloom would occur at the drinking water treatment plant. Nutrient limitation also influences CB blooms and intense blooms only occurred when the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to total phosphorus (TP) mass ratio was below 3. Additional monitoring of DIN and TP could be considered for these source waters prone to cyanobacterial blooms to determine periods of favourable growth. Real time monitoring and the use of the index could permit an adequate and timely response to CB blooms in drinking water sources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring the Wobbe Index of Natural Gas Using Fiber-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincenz Sandfort

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The fast and reliable analysis of the natural gas composition requires the simultaneous quantification of numerous gaseous components. To this end, fiber-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool to detect most components in a single measurement using a single laser source. However, practical issues such as detection limit, gas exchange time and background Raman signals from the fiber material still pose obstacles to utilizing the scheme in real-world settings. This paper compares the performance of two types of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF, namely photonic bandgap PCF and kagomé-style PCF, and assesses their potential for online determination of the Wobbe index. In contrast to bandgap PCF, kagomé-PCF allows for reliable detection of Raman-scattered photons even below 1200 cm−1, which in turn enables fast and comprehensive assessment of the natural gas quality of arbitrary mixtures.

Complete cumulative index (1963-1983)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

This complete cumulative index covers all regular and special issues and supplements published by Atomic Energy Review (AER) during its lifetime (1963-1983). The complete cumulative index consists of six Indexes: the Index of Abstracts, the Subject Index, the Title Index, the Author Index, the Country Index and the Table of Elements Index. The complete cumulative index supersedes the Cumulative Indexes for Volumes 1-7: 1963-1969 (1970), and for Volumes 1-10: 1963-1972 (1972); this Index also finalizes Atomic Energy Review, the publication of which has recently been terminated by the IAEA

Negative index effects from a homogeneous positive index prism

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, Sherman W.; Epstein, Ariel

2017-12-01

Cellular structured negative index metamaterials in the form of a right triangular prism have often been tested by observing the refraction of a beam across the prism hypotenuse which is serrated in order to conform to the cell walls. We show that not only can this negative index effect be obtained from a homogeneous dielectric prism having a positive index of refraction, but in addition, for sampling at the walls of the cellular structure, the phase in the material has the illusory appearance of moving in a negative direction. Although many previous reports relied on refraction direction and phase velocity of prism structures to verify negative index design, our investigation indicates that to unambiguously demonstrate material negativity additional empirical evidence is required.

IndexCat

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — IndexCat provides access to the digitized version of the printed Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office; eTK for medieval Latin texts; and...

Vegetation index analysis of multi-source remote sensing data in coal mine wasteland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Y.X.; Li, M.Z.; Li, D.L. [China Agricultural University, Beijing (China)

2007-12-15

Thirty-six soil samples were collected and their hyperspectral data used to calculate vegetation indices such as a normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and a difference vegetation index (DVI). These were evaluated for typical surface object features within the wastelands around Haizhou Opencast Coal Mine in Fuxin city. A principal component analysis to the hyperspectral data was performed, and the result showed that the first and the second principal components satisfactorily accounted for the multi-spectral image information. The panchromatic and multi-spectral images of SPOT5 were then merged. The panchromatic image replaced the first principal component to improve spatial resolution of the image. In addition, the multispectral images and the NDVI image were classified into six types using the unsupervised classification method. The linear quantitative models were built up and the highest correlation coefficients were obtained between the hyperspectral vegetation index and the vegetation index data from the SPOT5 image. The results show that the hyperspectral data and remote sensing images can be used for quantitative estimation of soil nutrients in coal mine wasteland. They can also provide large area surface information for fast and effective decision making regarding revegetation and the monitoring of dynamic change.

A scalable monitoring for the CMS Filter Farm based on elasticsearch

CERN Document Server

Andre, Jean-marc Olivier; Behrens, Ulf; Branson, James; Chaze, Olivier; Cittolin, Sergio; Darlea, Georgiana Lavinia; Deldicque, Christian; Dobson, Marc; Dupont, Aymeric; Erhan, Samim; Gigi, Dominique; Glege, Frank; Gomez Ceballos, Guillelmo; Hegeman, Jeroen Guido; Holzner, Andre Georg; Jimenez Estupinan, Raul; Masetti, Lorenzo; Meijers, Franciscus; Meschi, Emilio; Mommsen, Remigius; Morovic, Srecko; Nunez Barranco Fernandez, Carlos; O'Dell, Vivian; Orsini, Luciano; Paus, Christoph Maria Ernst; Petrucci, Andrea; Pieri, Marco; Racz, Attila; Roberts, Penelope Amelia; Sakulin, Hannes; Schwick, Christoph; Stieger, Benjamin Bastian; Sumorok, Konstanty; Veverka, Jan; Zaza, Salvatore; Zejdl, Petr

2015-01-01

A flexible monitoring system has been designed for the CMS File-based Filter Farm making use of modern data mining and analytics components. All the metadata and monitoring information concerning data flow and execution of the HLT are generated locally in the form of small "documents" using the JSON encoding. These documents are indexed into a hierarchy of elasticsearch (es) clusters along with process and system log information. Elasticsearch is a search server based on Apache Lucene. It provides a distributed, multitenant-capable search and aggregation engine. Since es is schema-free, any new information can be added seamlessly and the unstructured information can be queried in non-predetermined ways.The leaf es clusters consist of the very same nodes that form the Filter Farm thus providing "natural" horizontal scaling. A separate "central" es cluster is used to collect and index aggregated information. The fine-grained information, all the way to individual processes, remains available in the leaf cluster...

A Multimetric Benthic Macroinvertebrate Index for the Assessment of Stream Biotic Integrity in Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soon-Jin Hwang

2012-10-01

Full Text Available At a time when anthropogenic activities are increasingly disturbing the overall ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems, monitoring of biological communities is central to assessing the health and function of streams. This study aimed to use a large nation-wide database to develop a multimetric index (the Korean Benthic macroinvertebrate Index of Biological Integrity—KB-IBI applicable to the biological assessment of Korean streams. Reference and impaired conditions were determined based on watershed, chemical and physical criteria. Eight of an initial 34 candidate metrics were selected using a stepwise procedure that evaluated metric variability, redundancy, sensitivity and responsiveness to environmental gradients. The selected metrics were number of taxa, percent Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera (EPT individuals, percent of a dominant taxon, percent taxa abundance without Chironomidae, Shannon’s diversity index, percent gatherer individuals, ratio of filterers and scrapers, and the Korean saprobic index. Our multimetric index successfully distinguished reference from impaired conditions. A scoring system was established for each core metric using its quartile range and response to anthropogenic disturbances. The multimetric index was classified by aggregating the individual metric ..scores and the value range was quadrisected to provide a narrative criterion (Poor, Fair, Good and Excellent to describe the biological integrity of the streams in the study. A validation procedure showed that the index is an effective method for evaluating stream conditions, and thus is appropriate for use in future studies measuring the long-term status of streams, and the effectiveness of restoration methods.

A Multimetric Benthic Macroinvertebrate Index for the Assessment of Stream Biotic Integrity in Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Jun, Yung-Chul; Won, Doo-Hee; Lee, Soo-Hyung; Kong, Dong-Soo; Hwang, Soon-Jin

2012-01-01

At a time when anthropogenic activities are increasingly disturbing the overall ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems, monitoring of biological communities is central to assessing the health and function of streams. This study aimed to use a large nation-wide database to develop a multimetric index (the Korean Benthic macroinvertebrate Index of Biological Integrity—KB-IBI) applicable to the biological assessment of Korean streams. Reference and impaired conditions were determined based on watershed, chemical and physical criteria. Eight of an initial 34 candidate metrics were selected using a stepwise procedure that evaluated metric variability, redundancy, sensitivity and responsiveness to environmental gradients. The selected metrics were number of taxa, percent Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera (EPT) individuals, percent of a dominant taxon, percent taxa abundance without Chironomidae, Shannon’s diversity index, percent gatherer individuals, ratio of filterers and scrapers, and the Korean saprobic index. Our multimetric index successfully distinguished reference from impaired conditions. A scoring system was established for each core metric using its quartile range and response to anthropogenic disturbances. The multimetric index was classified by aggregating the individual metric ..scores and the value range was quadrisected to provide a narrative criterion (Poor, Fair, Good and Excellent) to describe the biological integrity of the streams in the study. A validation procedure showed that the index is an effective method for evaluating stream conditions, and thus is appropriate for use in future studies measuring the long-term status of streams, and the effectiveness of restoration methods. PMID:23202765

SU-E-I-27: Establishing Target Exposure Index Values for Computed Radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, N; Tchou, P; Belcher, K; Scott, A

2014-01-01

Purpose: To develop a standard set of target exposure index (TEI) values to be applied to Agfa Computed Radiography (CR) readers in accordance with International Electrotechnical Committee 62494-1 (ed. 1.0). Methods: A large data cohort was collected from six USAF Medical Treatment Facilities that exclusively use Agfa CR Readers. Dose monitoring statistics were collected from each reader. The data was analyzed based on anatomic region, view, and processing speed class. The Agfa specific exposure metric, logarithmic mean (LGM), was converted to exposure index (EI) for each data set. The optimum TEI value was determined by minimizing the number of studies that fell outside the acceptable deviation index (DI) range of +/− 2 for phototimed techniques or a range of +/−3 for fixed techniques. An anthropomorphic radiographic phantom was used to corroborate the TEI recommendations. Images were acquired of several anatomic regions and views using standard techniques. The images were then evaluated by two radiologists as either acceptable or unacceptable. The acceptable image with the lowest exposure and EI value was compared to the recommended TEI values using a passing DI range. Results: Target EI values were determined for a comprehensive list of anatomic regions and views. Conclusion: Target EI values must be established on each CR unit in order to provide a positive feedback system for the technologist. This system will serve as a mechanism to prevent under or overexposures of patients. The TEI recommendations are a first attempt at a large scale process improvement with the goal of setting reasonable and standardized TEI values. The implementation and effectiveness of the recommended TEI values should be monitored and adjustments made as necessary

Monitoring Drought along the Gulf of Mexico and the Southeastern Atlantic Ocean Using the Coastal Salinity Index

Science.gov (United States)

Conrads, P. A.; Rouen, L.; Lackstrom, K.; McCloskey, B.

2017-12-01

Coastal droughts have a different dynamic than upland droughts, which are typically characterized by agricultural, hydrologic, meteorological, and (or) socio-economic impacts. Drought uniquely affects coastal ecosystems due to changes in salinity conditions of estuarine creeks and rivers. The location of the freshwater-saltwater interface in surface-water bodies is an important factor in the ecological and socio-economic dynamics of coastal communities. The location of the interface determines the freshwater and saltwater aquatic communities, fisheries spawning habitat, and the freshwater availability for municipal and industrial water intakes. The severity of coastal drought may explain changes in Vibrio bacteria impacts on shellfish harvesting and occurrence of wound infection, fish kills, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, and beach closures. To address the data and information gap for characterizing coastal drought, a coastal salinity index (CSI) was developed using salinity data. The CSI uses a computational approach similar to the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The CSI is computed for unique time intervals (for example 1-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month) that can characterize the onset and recovery of short- and long-term drought. Evaluation of the CSI indicates that the index can be used for different estuary types (for example: brackish, oligohaline, or mesohaline), for regional comparison between estuaries, and as an index of wet conditions (high freshwater inflow) in addition to drought (saline) conditions. In 2017, three activities in 2017 will be presented that enhance the use and application of the CSI. One, a software package was developed for the consistent computation of the CSI that includes preprocessing of salinity data, filling missing data, computing the CSI, post-processing, and generating the supporting metadata. Two, the CSI has been computed at sites along the Gulf of Mexico (Texas to Florida) and the Southeastern Atlantic Ocean (Florida to

Monitoring the Vulnerability of Energy Supply System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gnansonounou, E.

2006-01-01

Due to the increasing complexity of the world evolution, the public decision makers, the energy supply industry and the consumers in industrialised countries are more and more sensitive to the vulnerability of energy supply. The emergence of new big consumer countries and the perspective of oil and gas depletion at the end of the current century raise the concerns about how to share fairly the remaining resources for the common and sustainable development of the mankind. Erratic energy prices discourage investment and delay the energy transition. Voluntary measures are needed mainly in industrialised countries in order to develop alternative and sustainable energy sources and to avoid world struggle for energy procurement. In this contribution a synthetic energy vulnerability index is defined for monitoring energy supply vulnerability. The proposed index is based on energy intensity, oil and gas import dependency, CO 2 content of primary energy supply, electricity supply vulnerability and non-diversity in transport fuels. The preliminary assessment of this synthetic index for selected industrialised countries provides promising results that need however further refinement.(author)

Cerebral oxygenation in patients undergoing shoulder surgery in beach chair position: comparing general to regional anesthesia and the impact on neurobehavioral outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguirre, J; Borgeat, A; Trachsel, T; Cobo Del Prado, I; De Andrés, J; Bühler, P

2014-02-01

Ischemic brain damage has been reported in healthy patients after beach chair position for surgery due to cerebral hypoperfusion. Near-infrared spectroscopy has been described as a non-invasive, continuous method to monitor cerebral oxygen saturation. However, its impact on neurobehavioral outcome comparing different anesthesia regimens has been poorly described. In this prospective, assessor-blinded study, 90 patients undergoing shoulder surgery in beach chair position following general (G-group, n=45) or regional anesthesia (R-group; n=45) were enrolled to assess the prevalence of cerebral desaturation events comparing anesthesia regimens and their impact on neurobehavioral and neurological outcome. Anesthesiologists were blinded to regional cerebral oxygen saturation values. Baseline data assessed the day before surgery included neurological and neurobehavioral tests, which were repeated the day after surgery. The baseline data for regional cerebral oxygen saturation/bispectral index and invasive blood pressure both at heart and auditory meatus levels were taken prior to anesthesia, 5 min after induction of anesthesia, 5 min after beach chair positioning, after skin incision and thereafter all 20 min until discharge. Patients in the R-group showed significantly less cerebral desaturation events (psurgery (pshoulder surgery in beach chair position influencing neurobehavioral test results at 24h. Copyright © 2013 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Equity monitoring for social marketing: use of wealth quintiles and the concentration index for decision making in HIV prevention, family planning, and malaria programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Nirali M; Firestone, Rebecca; Bellows, Nicole

2013-01-01

The majority of social marketing programs are intended to reach the poor. It is therefore essential that social marketing organizations monitor the health equity of their programs and improve targeting when the poor are not being reached. Current measurement approaches are often insufficient for decision making because they fail to show a program's ability to reach the poor and demonstrate progress over time. Further, effective program equity metrics should be benchmarked against a national reference population and consider exposure, not just health outcomes, to measure direct results of implementation. This study compares two measures of health equity, concentration indices and wealth quintiles, using a defined reference population, and considers benefits of both measures together to inform programmatic decision making. Three datasets from recent cross-sectional behavioral surveys on malaria, HIV, and family planning from Nepal and Burkina Faso were used to calculate concentration indices and wealth quintiles. Each sample was standardized to national wealth distributions based on recent Demographic and Health Surveys. Wealth quintiles were generated and concentration indices calculated for health outcomes and program exposure in each sample. Chi-square and t-tests were used to assess statistical significance of results. Reporting wealth quintiles showed that recipients of Population Services International (PSI) interventions were wealthier than national populations. Both measures indicated that desirable health outcomes were usually concentrated among wealthier populations. Positive and significant concentration indices in all three surveys indicated that wealth and program exposure were correlated; however this relationship was not necessarily linear. In analyzing the equity of modern contraceptive use stratified by exposure to family planning messages in Nepal, the outcome was equitable (concentration index = 0.006, p = 0.68) among the exposed, while the wealthy

A comparative study between transport and criticality safety indexes for fissile uranium nuclearly pure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moraes da Silva, T. de; Sordi, G.M.A.A. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares, IPEN/CNEN (Brazil)]. e-mail: tmsilva@ipen.br

2006-07-01

The international and national standards determine that during the transport of radioactive materials the package to be sent should be identified by labels of risks specifying content, activity and the transport index. The result of the monitoring of the package to 1 meter identifies the transport index, TI, which represents the dose rate to 1 meter of this. The transport index is, by definition, a number that represents a gamma radiation that crosses the superficial layer the radioactive material of the package to 1 meter of distance. For the fissile radioactive material that is the one in which a neutron causes the division of the atom, the international standards specify criticality safety index CSI, which is related with the safe mass of the fissile element. In this work it was determined the respective safe mass for each considered enrichment for the compounds of uranium oxides UO{sub 2}, U{sub 3}O{sub 8} and U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}. In the study of CSI it was observed that the value 50 of the expression 50/N being N the number of packages be transported in subcriticality conditions it represents a fifth part of the safe mass of the element uranium or 9% of the smallest mass critical for a transport not under exclusive use. As conclusion of the accomplished study was observed that the transport index starting from 7% of enrichment doesn't present contribution and that criticality safety index is always greater than the transport index. Therefore what the standards demand to specify, the largest value between both indexes, was clearly identified in this study as being the criticality safety index. (Author)

Instantaneous 3D EEG Signal Analysis Based on Empirical Mode Decomposition and the Hilbert–Huang Transform Applied to Depth of Anaesthesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mu-Tzu Shih

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Depth of anaesthesia (DoA is an important measure for assessing the degree to which the central nervous system of a patient is depressed by a general anaesthetic agent, depending on the potency and concentration with which anaesthesia is administered during surgery. We can monitor the DoA by observing the patient’s electroencephalography (EEG signals during the surgical procedure. Typically high frequency EEG signals indicates the patient is conscious, while low frequency signals mean the patient is in a general anaesthetic state. If the anaesthetist is able to observe the instantaneous frequency changes of the patient’s EEG signals during surgery this can help to better regulate and monitor DoA, reducing surgical and post-operative risks. This paper describes an approach towards the development of a 3D real-time visualization application which can show the instantaneous frequency and instantaneous amplitude of EEG simultaneously by using empirical mode decomposition (EMD and the Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT. HHT uses the EMD method to decompose a signal into so-called intrinsic mode functions (IMFs. The Hilbert spectral analysis method is then used to obtain instantaneous frequency data. The HHT provides a new method of analyzing non-stationary and nonlinear time series data. We investigate this approach by analyzing EEG data collected from patients undergoing surgical procedures. The results show that the EEG differences between three distinct surgical stages computed by using sample entropy (SampEn are consistent with the expected differences between these stages based on the bispectral index (BIS, which has been shown to be quantifiable measure of the effect of anaesthetics on the central nervous system. Also, the proposed filtering approach is more effective compared to the standard filtering method in filtering out signal noise resulting in more consistent results than those provided by the BIS. The proposed approach is therefore

AP Index

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Planetary Amplitude index - Bartels 1951. The a-index ranges from 0 to 400 and represents a K-value converted to a linear scale in gammas (nanoTeslas)--a scale that...

Colony mapping: A new technique for monitoring crevice-nesting seabirds

Science.gov (United States)

Renner, H.M.; Renner, M.; Reynolds, J.H.; Harping, A.M.A.; Jones, I.L.; Irons, D.B.; Byrd, G.V.

2006-01-01

Monitoring populations of auklets and other crevice-nesting seabirds remains problematic, although numerous methods have been attempted since the mid-1960s. Anecdotal evidence suggests several large auklet colonies have recently decreased in both abundance and extent, concurrently with vegetation encroachment and succession. Quantifying changes in the geographical extent of auklet colonies may be a useful alternative to monitoring population size directly. We propose a standardized method for colony mapping using a randomized systematic grid survey with two components: a simple presence/absence survey and an auklet evidence density survey. A quantitative auklet evidence density index was derived from the frequency of droppings and feathers. This new method was used to map the colony on St. George Island in the southeastern Bering Sea and results were compared to previous colony mapping efforts. Auklet presence was detected in 62 of 201 grid cells (each grid cell = 2500 m2) by sampling a randomly placed 16 m2 plot in each cell; estimated colony area = 155 000 m2. The auklet evidence density index varied by two orders of magnitude across the colony and was strongly correlated with means of replicated counts of birds socializing on the colony surface. Quantitatively mapping all large auklet colonies is logistically feasible using this method and would provide an important baseline for monitoring colony status. Regularly monitoring select colonies using this method may be the best means of detecting changes in distribution and population size of crevice-nesting seabirds. ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2006.

Clinical Application of the PES/WES Index on Natural Teeth: Case Report and Literature Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Lanza

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The use of reliable indices to evaluate the aesthetic outcomes in the aesthetic area is an important and objective clinical aid to monitor the results over time. According to the literature various indices were proposed to evaluate aesthetic outcomes of implant-prosthetic rehabilitation of the anterior area like Peri-Implant and Crown Index [PICI], Implant Crown Aesthetic Index [ICAI], Pink Esthetic Score/White Esthetic Score [PES/WES], and Pink Esthetic Score [PES] but none of them was related to prosthetic rehabilitation on natural teeth. The aim of this study is to verify the validity of PES/WES index for natural tooth-prosthetic rehabilitation of the anterior area. As secondary objective, we proposed to evaluate the long-term predictability of this clinical application, one of which is presented below, following the analysis of the most currently accepted literature.

Ketamine increases the frequency of electroencephalographic bicoherence peak on the alpha spindle area induced with propofol.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayashi, K; Tsuda, N; Sawa, T; Hagihira, S

2007-09-01

The reticular and thalamocortical system is known to play a prominent role in spindle wave activity, and the spindle wave is related to the sedative effects of anaesthetics. Recently, bispectral analysis of the EEG has been developed as a better method to indicate nonlinear regulation including the thalamocortical system linking to the cortical area. In the present study, in order to explore the interference of ketamine with the nonlinear regulation of the sub-cortical system, we examined the effect of ketamine on spindle alpha waves through the bispectral analysis. The study included 21 patients. Anaesthesia was induced and maintained using a propofol-TCI system (target-controlled infusion, with target concentration 3.5 microg ml(-1)). An A-2000 BIS monitor was used and the raw EEG signals were collected via an RS232 interface on a personal computer. Bicoherence, the normalized bispectrum, and power spectrum were analysed before and after i.v. administration of 1 mg kg(-1) racemic ketamine. Propofol caused alpha peaks in both power and bicoherence spectra, with average frequencies of 10.6 (SD 0.9) Hz and 10.7 (1.0) Hz, respectively. The addition of ketamine significantly shifted each peak to frequencies of 14.4 (1.4) Hz and 13.6 (1.5) Hz, respectively [P < 0.05, mean (SD)]. Ketamine shifted the alpha peaks of bicoherence induced by propofol to higher frequencies. This suggests that ketamine changes the alpha spindle rhythms through the modulation of the nonlinear sub-cortical reverberating network.

CROP YIELD AND CO2 FIXATION MONITORING IN ASIA USING A PHOTOSYNTHETICSTERILITY MODEL WITH SATELLITES AND METEOROLOGICAL DATA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daijiro Kaneko [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Matsue National College of Technology, Matsue (Japan); Toshiro Kumakura [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Nagaoka (Japan); Peng Yang [Laboratory of Resources Remote Sensing and Digital Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing (China)

2008-09-30

This study is intended to develop a model for estimating carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) fixation in the carbon cycle and for monitoring grain yields using a photosynthetic-sterility model, which integrates solar radiation and air temperature effects on photosynthesis, along with grain-filling from heading to ripening. Grain production monitoring would support orderly crisis management to maintain food security in Asia, which is facing climate fluctuation through this century of global warming. The author improved a photosynthesis-and-sterility model to compute both the crop yield and crop situation index CSI, which gives a percentage of rice yields compared to normal annual production. The model calculates photosynthesis rates including biomass effects, lowtemperature sterility, and high-temperature injury by incorporating solar radiation, effective air temperature, the normalized difference vegetation index NDVI, and the effect of temperature on photosynthesis by grain plant leaves. A decision-tree method classifies the distribution of crop fields in Asia using MODIS fundamental landcover and SPOT VEGETATION data, which include the Normalized Vegetation index (NDVI) and Land Surface Water Index (LSWI). This study provides daily distributions of the photosynthesis rate, which is the CO2 fixation in Asian areas combined with the land-cover distribution, the Japanese geostationary meteorological satellite (GMS), and meteorological re-analysis data by National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The method is based on routine observation data, enabling automated monitoring of crop yields.

Damage tolerance and structural monitoring for wind turbine blades.

Science.gov (United States)

McGugan, M; Pereira, G; Sørensen, B F; Toftegaard, H; Branner, K

2015-02-28

The paper proposes a methodology for reliable design and maintenance of wind turbine rotor blades using a condition monitoring approach and a damage tolerance index coupling the material and structure. By improving the understanding of material properties that control damage propagation it will be possible to combine damage tolerant structural design, monitoring systems, inspection techniques and modelling to manage the life cycle of the structures. This will allow an efficient operation of the wind turbine in terms of load alleviation, limited maintenance and repair leading to a more effective exploitation of offshore wind. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 5.1 - Parity index and index of prices received by farmers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Parity index and index of prices received by farmers... § 5.1 Parity index and index of prices received by farmers. (a) The parity index and related indices... farmers, interest, taxes, and farm wage rates, as revised May 1976 and published in the May 28, 1976, and...

A novel detector based on dual-mode fiber polished half block's characteristics for sensitive monitorings of radiation and materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeed, Ghadirli

2005-01-01

Full text : The overlay index dependence characteristics of the power distribution between two modes of dual-mode fiber polished half blocks is studied. The heat dependence characteristics of a certain overlay index affects the modal power distributions at the input of interferometer sensors used for monitoring the sensitive heat radiation changes. The other fundamental applications such as material recognitions through the index dependence characteristics in the closed chambers is also suggested

Assessing the utility of meteorological drought indices in monitoring summer drought based on soil moisture in Chongqing, China

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hui; Wu, Wei; Liu, Hong-Bin

2018-04-01

Numerous drought indices have been developed to analyze and monitor drought condition, but they are region specific and limited by various climatic conditions. In southwest China, summer drought mainly occurs from June to September, causing destructive and profound impact on agriculture, society, and ecosystems. The current study assesses the availability of meteorological drought indices in monitoring summer drought in this area at 5-day scale. The drought indices include the relative moisture index ( M), the standardized precipitation index (SPI), the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), the composite index of meteorological drought (CIspi), and the improved composite index of meteorological drought (CIwap). Long-term daily precipitation and temperature from 1970 to 2014 are used to calculate 30-day M ( M 30), SPI (SPI30), SPEI (SPEI30), 90-day SPEI (SPEI90), CIspi, and CIwap. The 5-day soil moisture observations from 2010 to 2013 are applied to assess the performance of these drought indices. Correlation analysis, overall accuracy, and kappa coefficient are utilized to investigate the relationships between soil moisture and drought indices. Correlation analysis indicates that soil moisture is well correlated with CIwap, SPEI30, M 30, SPI30, and CIspi except SPEI90. Moreover, drought classifications identified by M 30 are in agreement with that of the observed soil moisture. The results show that M 30 based on precipitation and potential evapotranspiration is an appropriate indicator for monitoring drought condition at a finer scale in the study area. According to M 30, summer drought during 1970-2014 happened in each year and showed a slightly upward tendency in recent years.

Dynamic Monitoring of Cellular Remodeling Induced by the Transforming Growth Factor-β1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kubala Lukáš

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The plasticity of differentiated adult cells could have a great therapeutic potential, but at the same time, it is characteristic of progression of serious pathological states such as cancer and fibrosis. In this study, we report on the application of a real-time noninvasive system for dynamic monitoring of cellular plasticity. Analysis of the cell impedance profile recorded as cell index using a real-time cell analyzer revealed its significant increase after the treatment of prostate epithelial cells with the transforming growth factor-β1. Changes in the cell index profile were paralleled with cytoskeleton rebuilding and induction of epithelial–mesenchymal transition and negatively correlated with cell proliferation. This novel application of such approach demonstrated a great potential of the impedance-based system for noninvasive and real-time monitoring of cellular fate.

Indexes to Nuclear Regulatory Commission issuances, January--June 1995. Volume 41, Index 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-09-01

Digests and indexes for issuances of the Commission (CLI), the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (LBP), the Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), the directors' Decisions (DD), and the Denials of Petitions for rulemaking (DPRM) are presented in this document. These digests and indexes are intended to serve as a guide to the issuances. The information elements are displayed in one or more of five separate formats arranged as follows: Case name index; digests and headers; legal citations index; subject index; and facility index

Indexes to Nuclear Regulatory Commission issuances, January-March 1984. Volume 19, Index 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

Digests and indexes for issuances of the Commission, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Panel, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, the Administrative Law Judge, the Directors' Decisions, and the Denials of Petitions of Rulemaking are presented in this document. These digests and indexes are intended to serve as a guide to the issuances. Information elements are displayed in one or more of five separate formats: Case Name Index, Digests and Headers, Legal Citations Index, Subject Index, and Facility Index

Indexes to Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issuances, July--December 1993. Volume 38, Index 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-04-01

Digests and indexes for issuances of the Commission (CLI), the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (LBP), the Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), the Directors` Decisions (DD), and the Denials of Petitions for Rulemaking (DPRM) are presented in this document. These digests and indexes are intended to serve as a guide to the issuances. These information elements are displayed in one or more of five separate formats arranged as follows: Case Name Index; Digests and Headers; Legal Citations Index; Subject Index, and Facility Index.

Indexes to Nuclear Regulatory Commission issuances, January--June 1995. Volume 41, Index 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-01

Digests and indexes for issuances of the Commission (CLI), the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (LBP), the Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), the directors` Decisions (DD), and the Denials of Petitions for rulemaking (DPRM) are presented in this document. These digests and indexes are intended to serve as a guide to the issuances. The information elements are displayed in one or more of five separate formats arranged as follows: Case name index; digests and headers; legal citations index; subject index; and facility index.

A Scalable Monitoring for the CMS Filter Farm Based on Elasticsearch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andre, J.M.; et al.

2015-12-23

A flexible monitoring system has been designed for the CMS File-based Filter Farm making use of modern data mining and analytics components. All the metadata and monitoring information concerning data flow and execution of the HLT are generated locally in the form of small documents using the JSON encoding. These documents are indexed into a hierarchy of elasticsearch (es) clusters along with process and system log information. Elasticsearch is a search server based on Apache Lucene. It provides a distributed, multitenant-capable search and aggregation engine. Since es is schema-free, any new information can be added seamlessly and the unstructured information can be queried in non-predetermined ways. The leaf es clusters consist of the very same nodes that form the Filter Farm thus providing natural horizontal scaling. A separate central” es cluster is used to collect and index aggregated information. The fine-grained information, all the way to individual processes, remains available in the leaf clusters. The central es cluster provides quasi-real-time high-level monitoring information to any kind of client. Historical data can be retrieved to analyse past problems or correlate them with external information. We discuss the design and performance of this system in the context of the CMS DAQ commissioning for LHC Run 2.

Simulation of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aerosol index using the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System aerosol reanalysis products

Science.gov (United States)

Colarco, Peter R.; Gassó, Santiago; Ahn, Changwoo; Buchard, Virginie; da Silva, Arlindo M.; Torres, Omar

2017-11-01

We provide an analysis of the commonly used Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index (AI) product for qualitative detection of the presence and loading of absorbing aerosols. In our analysis, simulated top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiances are produced at the OMI footprints from a model atmosphere and aerosol profile provided by the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications aerosol reanalysis (MERRAero). Having established the credibility of the MERRAero simulation of the OMI AI in a previous paper we describe updates in the approach and aerosol optical property assumptions. The OMI TOA radiances are computed in cloud-free conditions from the MERRAero atmospheric state, and the AI is calculated. The simulated TOA radiances are fed to the OMI near-UV aerosol retrieval algorithms (known as OMAERUV) is compared to the MERRAero calculated AI. Two main sources of discrepancy are discussed: one pertaining to the OMI algorithm assumptions of the surface pressure, which are generally different from what the actual surface pressure of an observation is, and the other related to simplifying assumptions in the molecular atmosphere radiative transfer used in the OMI algorithms. Surface pressure assumptions lead to systematic biases in the OMAERUV AI, particularly over the oceans. Simplifications in the molecular radiative transfer lead to biases particularly in regions of topography intermediate to surface pressures of 600 and 1013.25 hPa. Generally, the errors in the OMI AI due to these considerations are less than 0.2 in magnitude, though larger errors are possible, particularly over land. We recommend that future versions of the OMI algorithms use surface pressures from readily available atmospheric analyses combined with high-spatial-resolution topographic maps and include more surface pressure nodal points in their radiative transfer lookup tables.

The Design and Implementation of the Leaf Area Index Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiuhong Li

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The quick and accurate acquisition of crop growth parameters on a large scale is important for agricultural management and food security. The combination of photographic and wireless sensor network (WSN techniques can be used to collect agricultural information, such as leaf area index (LAI, over long distances and in real time. Such acquisition not only provides farmers with photographs of crops and suggestions for farmland management, but also the collected quantitative parameters, such as LAI, can be used to support large scale research in ecology, hydrology, remote sensing, etc. The present research developed a Leaf Area Index Sensor (LAIS to continuously monitor the growth of crops in several sampling points, and applied 3G/WIFI communication technology to remotely collect (and remotely setup and upgrade crop photos in real-time. Then the crop photos are automatically processed and LAI is estimated based on the improved leaf area index of Lang and Xiang (LAILX algorithm in LAIS. The research also constructed a database of images and other information relating to crop management. The leaf length and width method (LAILLW can accurately measure LAI through direct field harvest. The LAIS has been tested in several exemplary applications, and validation with LAI from LAILLW. The LAI acquired by LAIS had been proved reliable.

Hypnosis control based on the minimum concentration of anesthetic drug for maintaining appropriate hypnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Furutani, Eiko; Nishigaki, Yuki; Kanda, Chiaki; Takeda, Toshihiro; Shirakami, Gotaro

2013-01-01

This paper proposes a novel hypnosis control method using Auditory Evoked Potential Index (aepEX) as a hypnosis index. In order to avoid side effects of an anesthetic drug, it is desirable to reduce the amount of an anesthetic drug during surgery. For this purpose many studies of hypnosis control systems have been done. Most of them use Bispectral Index (BIS), another hypnosis index, but it has problems of dependence on anesthetic drugs and nonsmooth change near some particular values. On the other hand, aepEX has an ability of clear distinction between patient consciousness and unconsciousness and independence of anesthetic drugs. The control method proposed in this paper consists of two elements: estimating the minimum effect-site concentration for maintaining appropriate hypnosis and adjusting infusion rate of an anesthetic drug, propofol, using model predictive control. The minimum effect-site concentration is estimated utilizing the property of aepEX pharmacodynamics. The infusion rate of propofol is adjusted so that effect-site concentration of propofol may be kept near and always above the minimum effect-site concentration. Simulation results of hypnosis control using the proposed method show that the minimum concentration can be estimated appropriately and that the proposed control method can maintain hypnosis adequately and reduce the total infusion amount of propofol.

Multivariate Drought Characterization in India for Monitoring and Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Sreekumaran Unnithan, P.; Mondal, A.

2016-12-01

Droughts are one of the most important natural hazards that affect the society significantly in terms of mortality and productivity. The metric that is most widely used by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to monitor and predict the occurrence, spread, intensification and termination of drought is based on the univariate Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). However, droughts may be caused by the influence and interaction of many variables (such as precipitation, soil moisture, runoff, etc.), emphasizing the need for a multivariate approach for drought characterization. This study advocates and illustrates use of the recently proposed multivariate standardized drought index (MSDI) in monitoring and prediction of drought and assessing its concerned risk in the Indian region. MSDI combines information from multiple sources: precipitation and soil moisture, and has been deemed to be a more reliable drought index. All-India monthly rainfall and soil moisture data sets are analysed for the period 1980 to 2014 to characterize historical droughts using both the univariate indices, the precipitation-based SPI and the standardized soil moisture index (SSI), as well as the multivariate MSDI using parametric and non-parametric approaches. We confirm that MSDI can capture droughts of 1986 and 1990 that aren't detected by using SPI alone. Moreover, in 1987, MSDI indicated a higher severity of drought when a deficiency in both soil moisture and precipitation was encountered. Further, this study also explores the use of MSDI for drought forecasts and assesses its performance vis-à-vis existing predictions from the IMD. Future research efforts will be directed towards formulating a more robust standardized drought indicator that can take into account socio-economic aspects that also play a key role for water-stressed regions such as India.

21 CFR 516.157 - Publication of the index and content of an index listing.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Publication of the index and content of an index... MINOR SPECIES Index of Legally Marketed Unapproved New Animal Drugs for Minor Species § 516.157 Publication of the index and content of an index listing. (a) FDA will make the list of indexed drugs...

How indexes have changed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farrar, G.L.

1993-01-01

The accompanying table compares refinery construction and operating wages monthly for the years 1990 and 1991. The Nelson-Farrar refinery construction cost indexes are inflation indexes, while the operating indexes incorporate a productivity which shows improvement with experience and the increasing size of operations. The refinery construction wage indexes in the table show a steady advance over the 2-year period. Common labor indexes moved up faster than skilled indexes. Refinery operating wages showed a steady increase, while productivities averaged higher near the end of the period. Net result is that labor costs remained steady for the period

Wide Area Measurement Based Security Assessment & Monitoring of Modern Power System: A Danish Power System Case Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rather, Zakir Hussain; Chen, Zhe; Thøgersen, Paul

2013-01-01

Power System security has become a major concern across the global power system community. This paper presents wide area measurement system (WAMS) based security assessment and monitoring of modern power system. A new three dimensional security index (TDSI) has been proposed for online security...... monitoring of modern power system with large scale renewable energy penetration. Phasor measurement unit (PMU) based WAMS has been implemented in western Danish Power System to realize online security monitoring and assessment in power system control center. The proposed security monitoring system has been...

Can a canopy temperature-based stress index enhance water use efficiency in irrigated wine grape under arid conditions?

Science.gov (United States)

Enhancement of irrigation water use efficiency and water productivity in arid wine grape production regions is hindered by a lack of automated, real-time methods for monitoring and interpreting vine water status. A normalized, water stress index calculated from real-time vine canopy temperature meas...

A component-based system for agricultural drought monitoring by remote sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Heng; Li, Jun; Yuan, Yanbin; You, Lin; Chen, Chao

2017-01-01

In recent decades, various kinds of remote sensing-based drought indexes have been proposed and widely used in the field of drought monitoring. However, the drought-related software and platform development lag behind the theoretical research. The current drought monitoring systems focus mainly on information management and publishing, and cannot implement professional drought monitoring or parameter inversion modelling, especially the models based on multi-dimensional feature space. In view of the above problems, this paper aims at fixing this gap with a component-based system named RSDMS to facilitate the application of drought monitoring by remote sensing. The system is designed and developed based on Component Object Model (COM) to ensure the flexibility and extendibility of modules. RSDMS realizes general image-related functions such as data management, image display, spatial reference management, image processing and analysis, and further provides drought monitoring and evaluation functions based on internal and external models. Finally, China's Ningxia region is selected as the study area to validate the performance of RSDMS. The experimental results show that RSDMS provide an efficient and scalable support to agricultural drought monitoring.

The de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI: An essential health index for an ageing world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davidson Megan

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Existing instruments for measuring mobility are inadequate for accurately assessing older people across the broad spectrum of abilities. Like other indices that monitor critical aspects of health such as blood pressure tests, a mobility test for all older acute medical patients provides essential health data. We have developed and validated an instrument that captures essential information about the mobility status of older acute medical patients. Methods Items suitable for a new mobility instrument were generated from existing scales, patient interviews and focus groups with experts. 51 items were pilot tested on older acute medical inpatients. An interval-level unidimensional mobility measure was constructed using Rasch analysis. The final item set required minimal equipment and was quick and simple to administer. The de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI was validated on an independent sample of older acute medical inpatients and its clinimetric properties confirmed. Results The DEMMI is a 15 item unidimensional measure of mobility. Reliability (MDC90, validity and the minimally clinically important difference (MCID of the DEMMI were consistent across independent samples. The MDC90 and MCID were 9 and 10 points respectively (on the 100 point Rasch converted interval DEMMI scale. Conclusion The DEMMI provides clinicians and researchers with a valid interval-level method for accurately measuring and monitoring mobility levels of older acute medical patients. DEMMI validation studies are underway in other clinical settings and in the community. Given the ageing population and the importance of mobility for health and community participation, there has never been a greater need for this instrument.

Indexes to Nuclear Regulatory Commission issuances, January-June 1986. Volume 23, Index 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

Digests and indexes for issuances of the Commission, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Panel, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, the Administrative Law Judge, the Directors' Decisions, and the Denials of Petitions of Rulemaking are presented in this document. The information elements are displayed in one or more of five separate formats. These formats are case name index, digests and headers, legal citations index, subject index, and facility index

Virginia ESI: INDEX (Index Polygons)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains vector polygons representing the boundaries of all hardcopy cartographic products produced as part of the Environmental Sensitivity Index...

Development of dietary pattern evaluation tool for adults and correlation with Dietary Quality Index

OpenAIRE

Lee, Yeo Do; Kim, Kyung Won; Choi, Kyung-Suk; Kim, Misung; Cho, Yeo Jin; Sohn, Cheongmin

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES As the prevalence of chronic diseases has risen, the need for straightforward diagnostic tools for monitoring nutrition status to improve nutrition counseling and disease prevention has likewise increased. This study developed an easily usable dietary behavior pattern diagnosis checklist and investigated its correlation with dietary quality index. SUBJECTS/METHODS A draft dietary pattern evaluation tool was generated by analyzing previous studies. The draft questionnaire...

Error monitoring and empathy: Explorations within a neurophysiological context.

Science.gov (United States)

Amiruddin, Azhani; Fueggle, Simone N; Nguyen, An T; Gignac, Gilles E; Clunies-Ross, Karen L; Fox, Allison M

2017-06-01

Past literature has proposed that empathy consists of two components: cognitive and affective empathy. Error monitoring mechanisms indexed by the error-related negativity (ERN) have been associated with empathy. Studies have found that a larger ERN is associated with higher levels of empathy. We aimed to expand upon previous work by investigating how error monitoring relates to the independent theoretical domains of cognitive and affective empathy. Study 1 (N = 24) explored the relationship between error monitoring mechanisms and subcomponents of empathy using the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy and found no relationship. Study 2 (N = 38) explored the relationship between the error monitoring mechanisms and overall empathy. Contrary to past findings, there was no evidence to support a relationship between error monitoring mechanisms and scores on empathy measures. A subsequent meta-analysis (Study 3, N = 125) summarizing the relationship across previously published studies together with the two studies reported in the current paper indicated that overall there was no significant association between ERN and empathy and that there was significant heterogeneity across studies. Future investigations exploring the potential variables that may moderate these relationships are discussed. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Indexes to Nuclear Regulatory Commission issuances, January-June 1984. Vol. 19, Index 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-11-01

Digests and indexes for issuances of the Commission (CLI), the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Panel (ALAB), the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (LBP), the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), the Directors' Decisions (DD), and the Denials of Petitions of Rulemaking are presented in this document. The information elements are displayed in one or more of five separate formats: case name index, digests and headers, legal citations index, subject index, and facility index

Better almond water stress monitoring using fractional-order moments of non-normalized difference vegetation index

Science.gov (United States)

Stem water potential (SWP) has become a very popular tool for farmers to monitor the water status of almond trees. However, it is labor intensive and time consuming to scale up the measurements in the large field. With the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and sensing payload, it become...

Time-varying bispectral analysis of visually evoked multi-channel EEG

Science.gov (United States)

Chandran, Vinod

2012-12-01

Theoretical foundations of higher order spectral analysis are revisited to examine the use of time-varying bicoherence on non-stationary signals using a classical short-time Fourier approach. A methodology is developed to apply this to evoked EEG responses where a stimulus-locked time reference is available. Short-time windowed ensembles of the response at the same offset from the reference are considered as ergodic cyclostationary processes within a non-stationary random process. Bicoherence can be estimated reliably with known levels at which it is significantly different from zero and can be tracked as a function of offset from the stimulus. When this methodology is applied to multi-channel EEG, it is possible to obtain information about phase synchronization at different regions of the brain as the neural response develops. The methodology is applied to analyze evoked EEG response to flash visual stimulii to the left and right eye separately. The EEG electrode array is segmented based on bicoherence evolution with time using the mean absolute difference as a measure of dissimilarity. Segment maps confirm the importance of the occipital region in visual processing and demonstrate a link between the frontal and occipital regions during the response. Maps are constructed using bicoherence at bifrequencies that include the alpha band frequency of 8Hz as well as 4 and 20Hz. Differences are observed between responses from the left eye and the right eye, and also between subjects. The methodology shows potential as a neurological functional imaging technique that can be further developed for diagnosis and monitoring using scalp EEG which is less invasive and less expensive than magnetic resonance imaging.

Intelligent monitoring-based safety system of massage robot

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

胡宁; 李长胜; 王利峰; 胡磊; 徐晓军; 邹雲鹏; 胡玥; 沈晨

2016-01-01

As an important attribute of robots, safety is involved in each link of the full life cycle of robots, including the design, manufacturing, operation and maintenance. The present study on robot safety is a systematic project. Traditionally, robot safety is defined as follows: robots should not collide with humans, or robots should not harm humans when they collide. Based on this definition of robot safety, researchers have proposed ex ante and ex post safety standards and safety strategies and used the risk index and risk level as the evaluation indexes for safety methods. A massage robot realizes its massage therapy function through applying a rhythmic force on the massage object. Therefore, the traditional definition of safety, safety strategies, and safety realization methods cannot satisfy the function and safety requirements of massage robots. Based on the descriptions of the environment of massage robots and the tasks of massage robots, the present study analyzes the safety requirements of massage robots; analyzes the potential safety dangers of massage robots using the fault tree tool; proposes an error monitoring-based intelligent safety system for massage robots through monitoring and evaluating potential safety danger states, as well as decision making based on potential safety danger states; and verifies the feasibility of the intelligent safety system through an experiment.

Do Karst Rivers “deserve” their own biotic index? A ten years study on macrozoobenthos in Croatia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rađa Biljana

2010-07-01

Full Text Available In this study we present the results of a ten year survey of the aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna along four karst rivers: Jadro, Žrnovnica, Grab and Ruda, all of them situated in the Middle Dalmatia region of Croatia, in an attempt to construct the Iliric Biotic Index, which will be more applicable for the water quality analysis than the most frequently applied biotic index in Croatia, the Italian Modification of Extended Biotic Index. The rivers geologically belong to the Dinaric karst, unique geological phenomena in Europe. Benthic macroinvertebrates were collected along each river at 15 sites by standard methods of sampling along with several physicochemical parameters, including: temperature, dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, alkalinity, hardness and pH. Univariate and multivariate techniques revealed differences in the macroinvertebrate community structure as well as in physicochemical parameters between the Karst rivers and continental rivers. Based on those differences, the Iliric Biotic Index was proposed as the standard of karst river water quality in Croatia in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive. Differences between the Iliric Biotic Index and the most commonly used biotic indices in the European Community and the USA (The Biological Monitoring Working Party (B.M.W.P. scores, i.e. Extended Biotic Index, Indice Biotique, Family Biotic Index suggest that karst rivers need a new biotic index.

The development of an on-site wastewater treatment system with monitoring capabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubota, Hiroshi; Shigeizumi, Koga; Noguchi, Shuntaro; Kita, Shingo; Egawa, Moritoshi; Takeshima, Toshikatsu

2015-01-01

A compact Wastewater Treatment Unit that can monitor its own decontamination efficiency by using an underwater dosimeter and turbidity meter was developed. This equipment is so compact as to be able to be loaded up a 1t-class truck and is efficient enough to decrease radioactivity level of wastewater to under 10 Bq/L. There are high levels of correlation between radioactivity and turbidity and underwater radiation dose (URD). Turbidity has the advantage of measuring low radiation density, whilst URD can measure radioactive contamination independently of other factors affecting water quality. However experiments showed that the relationship between turbidity and radioactivity density was changed according to radioactivity of the suspensoid, and that air dose rate had an impact on determination limit of URD index. As this Wastewater Treatment Unit has a dual-meter system, it is possible to calibrate the turbidity index with the measured URD. This dual-meter system would be able to monitor low radioactivity levels in a range of wastewaters. (author)

Flood Victims Quality of Life Index 2017 (FVQoL-Index'17: scale ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Flood Victims Quality of Life Index 2017 (FVQoL-Index'17: scale development ... constructed (adapted and modified) based on the previous standardized instruments. The findings from this study reveal that FVQoL-Index'17 allowed to measure ...

A Fuzzy Expression Way for Air Quality Index with More Comprehensive Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yujie Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Air Quality Index (AQI is an evaluating indicator for the atmospheric environment released by various environmental monitoring centers to communicate the present air quality status to the public, which is calculated by the aid of the monitored concentrations of six common air pollutants and relevant computational formulae. Considering that the historical data of daily overall AQI illustrated by the traditional expression way merely contain limited information about the original data, this paper puts forward a more concrete and intuitive way to express the air quality in the past day. By analyzing the data concerning individual air quality indices of pollutants gathered from five cities of China for six consecutive months and conducting the curve fitting, each sub-index is recommended to be set as a Gaussian fuzzy number. Accordingly, taking advantage of the novel operational law for fuzzy numbers, the fuzzy distribution and membership function of the daily overall AQI can be deduced immediately, which as a reference contributes to the users acquiring the information more intuitively and facilitates making plans or decisions. Subsequently, a case study taking Shanghai as a background is conducted to elaborate the application of the proposed approach. Furthermore, the line chart reflecting the overall air quality status in a past period is depicted, based on which an example of selecting a tourist destination is given to demonstrate its utilization.

Predicting fiber refractive index from a measured preform index profile

Science.gov (United States)

Kiiveri, P.; Koponen, J.; Harra, J.; Novotny, S.; Husu, H.; Ihalainen, H.; Kokki, T.; Aallos, V.; Kimmelma, O.; Paul, J.

2018-02-01

When producing fiber lasers and amplifiers, silica glass compositions consisting of three to six different materials are needed. Due to the varying needs of different applications, substantial number of different glass compositions are used in the active fiber structures. Often it is not possible to find material parameters for theoretical models to estimate thermal and mechanical properties of those glass compositions. This makes it challenging to predict accurately fiber core refractive index values, even if the preform index profile is measured. Usually the desired fiber refractive index value is achieved experimentally, which is expensive. To overcome this problem, we analyzed statistically the changes between the measured preform and fiber index values. We searched for correlations that would help to predict the Δn-value change from preform to fiber in a situation where we don't know the values of the glass material parameters that define the change. Our index change models were built using the data collected from preforms and fibers made by the Direct Nanoparticle Deposition (DND) technology.

Sampling method of environmental radioactivity monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

This manual provides sampling methods of environmental samples of airborne dust, precipitated dust, precipitated water (rain or snow), fresh water, soil, river sediment or lake sediment, discharged water from a nuclear facility, grains, tea, milk, pasture grass, limnetic organisms, daily diet, index organisms, sea water, marine sediment, marine organisms, and that for tritium and radioiodine determination for radiation monitoring from radioactive fallout or radioactivity release by nuclear facilities. This manual aims at the presentation of standard sampling procedures for environmental radioactivity monitoring regardless of monitoring objectives, and shows preservation method of environmental samples acquired at the samplingpoint for radiation counting for those except human body. Sampling techniques adopted in this manual is decided by the criteria that they are suitable for routine monitoring and any special skillfulness is not necessary. Based on the above-mentioned principle, this manual presents outline and aims of sampling, sampling position or object, sampling quantity, apparatus, equipment or vessel for sampling, sampling location, sampling procedures, pretreatment and preparation procedures of a sample for radiation counting, necessary recording items for sampling and sample transportation procedures. Special attention is described in the chapter of tritium and radioiodine because these radionuclides might be lost by the above-mentioned sample preservation method for radiation counting of less volatile radionuclides than tritium or radioiodine. (Takagi, S.)

Verantwoording en kosteneffectiviet van therapeutic drug monitoring (1) : Betere behandeling voor minder geld

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Touw, D.J.; Neef, C.; Vinks, A.A.

2003-01-01

There are a number of effective but highly toxic drugs that exhibit a narrow therapeutic index and marked intersubject pharmacokinetic variability. Optimal therapy with such drugs requires therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in order to safely obtain the desired clinical effects. A systematic review

The formulation of financial, governance and social index of Malaysian Islamic banks: An integrative approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asri Marsidi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The study proposes and discusses the development of an index of Islamic Financial and Social Reporting (IFSR for Islamic banks. The index of IFSR is carefully developed based on the relevant and applicable standards, guidelines and literature from an Islamic perspective such as the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB, Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI, Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM and Islamic social reporting literature. The index is developed in three parts, namely, financial, social, and auditing and governance. The items within the finance section are developed to ensure that the Islamic banks disclose relevant financial information. The items for the social part aim to ensure that the Islamic banks provide the relevant information regarding social and environment. The items within the auditing and governance part are developed to ensure that the Islamic banks provide relevant information regarding the monitoring and supervising activities that the Islamic banks have undertaken. The IFSR index may be lacking in terms of its usage generalisability as it is specifically developed for IFIs. The developed index of IFSR aims to promote a more appropriate level of disclosure among the Islamic banks. The need for the index is motivated by the growing importance of Islamic banks, not only from the economic perspective but also from the social perspective

Research on Land Ecological Condition Investigation and Monitoring Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Chunyan; Guo, Xudong; Chen, Yuqi

2017-04-01

The ecological status of land reflects the relationship between land use and environmental factors. At present, land ecological situation in China is worrying. According to the second national land survey data, there are about 149 million acres of arable land located in forests and grasslands area in Northeast and Northwest of China, Within the limits of the highest flood level, at steep slope above 25 degrees; about 50 million acres of arable land has been in heavy pollution; grassland degradation is still serious. Protected natural forests accounted for only 6% of the land area, and forest quality is low. Overall, the ecological problem has been eased, but the local ecological destruction intensified, natural ecosystem in degradation. It is urgent to find out the situation of land ecology in the whole country and key regions as soon as possible. The government attaches great importance to ecological environment investigation and monitoring. Various industries and departments from different angles carry out related work, most of it about a single ecological problem, the lack of a comprehensive surveying and assessment of land ecological status of the region. This paper established the monitoring index system of land ecological condition, including Land use type area and distribution, quality of cultivated land, vegetation status and ecological service, arable land potential and risk, a total of 21 indicators. Based on the second national land use survey data, annual land use change data and high resolution remote sensing data, using the methods of sample monitoring, field investigation and statistical analysis to obtain the information of each index, this paper established the land ecological condition investigation and monitoring technology and method system. It has been improved, through the application to Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, the northern agro-pastoral ecological fragile zone, and 6 counties (cities).

FORECASTING AND MONITORING AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT IN THE PHILIPPINES

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G. J. Perez

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A monitoring and forecasting sytem is developed to assess the extent and severity of agricultural droughts in the Philippines at various spacial scales and across different time periods. Using Earth observation satellite data, drought index, hazard and vulnerability maps are created. The drought index, called Standardized Vegetation-Temperature Ratio (SVTR, is derived using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI and Land Surface Temperature (LST. SVTR is evaluated by correlating its values with existing agricultural drought index, particulary Evaporative Stress Index (ESI. Moreover, the performance of SVTR in detecting drought occurrences was assessed for the 2015-2016 drought event. This period is a strong El Niño year and a large portion of the country was affected by drought at varying degrees, making it a good case study for evaluating drought indices. Satellitederived SVTR was validated through several field visits and surveys across different major agricultural areas in the country, and was found to be 73% accurate. The drought hazard and vulnerability maps are produced by utilizing the evapotranspration product of MODIS, rainfall climatology from the Tropical Rainfall Microwave Mission (TRMM and ancillary data, including irrigation, water holding capacity and land use. Finally, we used statistical techniques to determine trends in NDVI and LST and generate a sixmonth forecast of drought index. Outputs of this study are being assessed by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA and the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DABSWM for future integration in their operations.

WATER QUALITY INDEX AS AN TOOL FOR RIVER ASSESSMENT IN AGRICULTURAL AREAS IN THE PAMPEAN PLAINS OF ARGENTINA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Moscuzza

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The contributions of nutrients and xenobiotics by anthropogenic activities developed in riverside deteriorate water quality. In this context, the impact of different agroindustry effluents on the water quality of Salado River in Buenos Aires Province (Argentina was analyzed applying water quality indexes (WQI. Water quality index is an efficient a simple monitoring tool to instrument corrective and remediation policies. Winter and summer samplings were performed. A minimal water quality index (WQImin was calculated using only two parameters which can be easy determined in situ. The use of WQImin may be a useful methodology for river management. Meat industry appears as the most pollutant source. Since it is considered as point pollution source, effluents should be treated previous to its disposal with the available technologies.

Viva the h-index

OpenAIRE

Waaijers, Leo

2011-01-01

In their article 'The inconsistency of the h-index' Ludo Waltman and Nees Jan van Neck give three examples to demonstrate the inconsistency of the h-index. As will be explained, a little extension of their examples just illustrate the opposite, a stable feature of the h-index. For starting authors it, the h-index that is, focusses on the number of articles; for experienced authors its focus shifts towards the citation scores. This feature may be liked or not but does not make the h-index an i...

Development of an electronic nose for environmental odour monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Dentoni, Licinia; Capelli, Laura; Sironi, Selena; Del Rosso, Renato; Zanetti, Sonia; Della Torre, Matteo

2012-10-25

Exhaustive odour impact assessment should involve the evaluation of the impact of odours directly on citizens. For this purpose it might be useful to have an instrument capable of continuously monitoring ambient air quality, detecting the presence of odours and also recognizing their provenance. This paper discusses the laboratory and field tests conducted in order to evaluate the performance of a new electronic nose, specifically developed for monitoring environmental odours. The laboratory tests proved the instrument was able to discriminate between the different pure substances being tested, and to estimate the odour concentrations giving correlation indexes (R2) of 0.99 and errors below 15%. Finally, the experimental monitoring tests conducted in the field, allowed us to verify the effectiveness of this electronic nose for the continuous detection of odours in ambient air, proving its stability to variable atmospheric conditions and its capability to detect odour peaks.

Sprache und Sozio-Oekonomischer Index (Speech and Socioeconomic Index)

Science.gov (United States)

Bluhme, Hermann

1976-01-01

A comparison of the socioeconomic index of 77 speakers of Dutch, recorded in 40 places, revealed certain correlations between index and individual linguistic behavior, particularly in regard to the speed of articulation, quantity quotient (low vowels/short vowels), pitch modulation, number of relative clauses and passive construction. (Text is in…

A New Approach to Monitoring Coastal Marshes for Persistent Flooding

Science.gov (United States)

Kalcic, M. T.; Undersood, Lauren W.; Fletcher, Rose

2012-01-01

Many areas in coastal Louisiana are below sea level and protected from flooding by a system of natural and man-made levees. Flooding is common when the levees are overtopped by storm surge or rising rivers. Many levees in this region are further stressed by erosion and subsidence. The floodwaters can become constricted by levees and trapped, causing prolonged inundation. Vegetative communities in coastal regions, from fresh swamp forest to saline marsh, can be negatively affected by inundation and changes in salinity. As saltwater persists, it can have a toxic effect upon marsh vegetation causing die off and conversion to open water types, destroying valuable species habitats. The length of time the water persists and the average annual salinity are important variables in modeling habitat switching (cover type change). Marsh type habitat switching affects fish, shellfish, and wildlife inhabitants, and can affect the regional ecosystem and economy. There are numerous restoration and revitalization projects underway in the coastal region, and their effects on the entire ecosystem need to be understood. For these reasons, monitoring persistent saltwater intrusion and inundation is important. For this study, persistent flooding in Louisiana coastal marshes was mapped using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) time series of a Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). The time series data were derived for 2000 through 2009, including flooding due to Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008. Using the NDWI, duration and extent of flooding can be inferred. The Time Series Product Tool (TSPT), developed at NASA SSC, is a suite of software developed in MATLAB(R) that enables improved-quality time series images to be computed using advanced temporal processing techniques. This software has been used to compute time series for monitoring temporal changes in environmental phenomena, (e.g. NDVI times series from MODIS), and was modified and used to

A remotely sensed pigment index reveals photosynthetic phenology in evergreen conifers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gamon, John A; Huemmrich, K Fred; Wong, Christopher Y S; Ensminger, Ingo; Garrity, Steven; Hollinger, David Y; Noormets, Asko; Peñuelas, Josep

2016-11-15

In evergreen conifers, where the foliage amount changes little with season, accurate detection of the underlying "photosynthetic phenology" from satellite remote sensing has been difficult, presenting challenges for global models of ecosystem carbon uptake. Here, we report a close correspondence between seasonally changing foliar pigment levels, expressed as chlorophyll/carotenoid ratios, and evergreen photosynthetic activity, leading to a "chlorophyll/carotenoid index" (CCI) that tracks evergreen photosynthesis at multiple spatial scales. When calculated from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite sensor, the CCI closely follows the seasonal patterns of daily gross primary productivity of evergreen conifer stands measured by eddy covariance. This discovery provides a way of monitoring evergreen photosynthetic activity from optical remote sensing, and indicates an important regulatory role for carotenoid pigments in evergreen photosynthesis. Improved methods of monitoring photosynthesis from space can improve our understanding of the global carbon budget in a warming world of changing vegetation phenology.

Ambulatory arterial stiffness index during pregnancy in type 1 diabetes mellitus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauszus, Finn; Al-Far, Hanine M; Tjessem, Ingvild

2016-01-01

The ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) and pulse pressure (PP) was analyzed during pregnancy and three months after delivery in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) compared to non-diabetic, pregnant controls. The study was performed prospectively in 176 women with T1DM and 54 control women...... at a tertiary centre. Blood pressure (BP) was measured using a portable oscillometry monitor and AASI was calculated as 1 minus the regression slope of diastolic BP on systolic BP obtained from 24-hour monitoring. Main outcome measures were AASI and PP associated with diabetes vasculopathy and blood pressure...... measurements during and after pregnancy. We found that AASI and PP were higher in 2nd and 3rd trimester during pregnancy in T1DM compared to post partum and significantly associated with albumin excretion rate. The AASI was positively correlated with night-day ratio during and outside pregnancy in diastolic BP...

An index to measure depreciation in air quality in some coal mining areas of Korba industrial belt of Chhattisgarh, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Gurdeep

2006-11-01

The comparison with National Ambient Air Quality Standards does not always depict a true picture of the Air Quality Status of a study area. As an alternative an index that measures depreciation in Air Quality on more realistic terms has been proposed and applied to the ambient air monitoring data collected from some areas of Korba Coalfields in India. Results have been discussed in detail to illustrate the application of the proposed index and utility in bringing out more realistic air quality assessment.

Social Exclusion Index-for Health Surveys (SEI-HS): a prospective nationwide study to extend and validate a multidimensional social exclusion questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

van Bergen, Addi P L; Hoff, Stella J M; Schreurs, Hanneke; van Loon, Annelies; van Hemert, Albert M

2017-03-14

Social exclusion (SE) refers to the inability of certain groups or individuals to fully participate in society. SE is associated with socioeconomic inequalities in health, and its measurement in routine public health monitoring is considered key to designing effective health policies. In an earlier retrospective analysis we demonstrated that in all four major Dutch cities, SE could largely be measured with existing local public health monitoring data. The current prospective study is aimed at constructing and validating an extended national measure for SE that optimally employs available items. In 2012, a stratified general population sample of 258,928 Dutch adults completed a version of the Netherlands Public Health Monitor (PHM) questionnaire in which 9 items were added covering aspects of SE that were found to be missing in our previous research. Items were derived from the SCP social exclusion index, a well-constructed 15-item instrument developed by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). The dataset was randomly divided into a development sample (N =129,464) and a validation sample (N = 129,464). Canonical correlation analysis was conducted in the development sample. The psychometric properties were studied and compared with those of the original SCP index. All analyses were then replicated in the validation sample. The analysis yielded a four dimensional index, the Social Exclusion Index for Health Surveys (SEI-HS), containing 8 SCP items and 9 PHM items. The four dimensions: "lack of social participation", "material deprivation", "lack of normative integration" and "inadequate access to basic social rights", were each measured with 3 to 6 items. The SEI-HS showed adequate internal consistency for both the general index and for two of four dimension scales. The internal structure and construct validity of the SEI-HS were satisfactory and similar to the original SCP index. Replication of the SEI-HS in the validation sample confirmed its

EJSCREEN Indexes 2015 Public

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — There is an EJ Index for each environmental indicator. There are eight EJ Indexes in EJSCREEN reflecting the 8 environmental indicators. The EJ Index names are:...

EJSCREEN Indexes 2016 Public

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — There is an EJ Index for each environmental indicator. There are eleven EJ Indexes in EJSCREEN reflecting the 11 environmental indicators. The EJ Index names are:...

The “Pulse Time Index of Norm” highly correlates with the left ventricular mass index in patients with arterial hypertension

Science.gov (United States)

Posokhov, Igor N; Kulikova, Natalya N; Starchenkova, Irina V; Grigoricheva, Elena A; Evdokimov, Vitaly V; Orlov, Artemy V; Rogoza, Anatoly N

2014-01-01

Background Arterial stiffness, as measured by the pulse wave velocity (PWV), is recommended for routine use in clinical practice as an important parameter for the evaluation of cardiovascular risk.1 New 24-hour monitors (eg, with Vasotens® technology; Petr Telegin Company, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation) provide single PWV measurements as well as several PWV measurements over a period of 24 hours.2 Such 24-hour pulse wave analysis led to the development of the novel Pulse Time Index of Norm (PTIN), which is defined as the percentage of a 24-hour period during which the PWV does not exceed the 10 m/second PWV threshold. The aim of this study is to test the new PTIN for correlation with the left ventricular mass index (LVMI). Methods Oscillometrically generated waveform files (n=137) used for clinical research studies were reanalyzed using the new 2013 version of the Vasotens technology program, which enables PTIN calculations. Results A good correlation (r=−0.72) between the PTIN and the LVMI was shown, which was significantly above the blood pressure load (r=0.41). Conclusion The PTIN generated by the Vasotens technology can be recommended as an indicator of end organ damage via hypertension. PMID:24672245

Disease management: atrial fibrillation and home monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Ricci, Renato Pietro

2013-06-01

Device-detected atrial fibrillation (AF) episodes predict poor clinical outcome regardless of symptoms. Potential benefits of remote monitoring are early arrhythmia detection and patient continuous monitoring. Several studies of device remote monitoring consistently demonstrated that AF represents the most common clinical alert and that detailed information on arrhythmia onset, duration, and burden as well as on the ventricular rate may be early available for clinical evaluation. Reaction time to AF alerts was very short in all series involving either pacemakers or defibrillators and action ability of AF alerts was very high. In the Home Guide Registry, in which 1650 patients were enrolled, AF was detected in 16.3% of patients and represented 36% of all cardiovascular events during the follow-up. Timely anticoagulation introduction in asymptomatic patients may impact on the stroke rate. According to the results of repeated Monte Carlo simulations based on a real population of 166 patients, daily monitoring may reduce the 2-year stroke risk by 9-18% with an absolute reduction of 0.2-0.6%, compared with conventional inter-visit intervals of 6-12 months. In the COMPAS trial, the incidence of hospitalizations for atrial arrhythmias and related stroke was significantly higher in the control group than in the remote monitoring group. Major questions will be addressed by the ongoing IMPACT trial in which a remote monitoring guided anticoagulation strategy based on AF detection will be compared with a physician-directed standard strategy. In patients with heart failure, AF early detection combined with other indexes may help prevent hospitalizations.

[Study on the optimization of monitoring indicators of drinking water quality during health supervision].

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Bixiong; E, Xueli; Zhang, Lan

2015-01-01

To optimize non-regular drinking water quality indices (except Giardia and Cryptosporidium) of urban drinking water. Several methods including drinking water quality exceed the standard, the risk of exceeding standard, the frequency of detecting concentrations below the detection limit, water quality comprehensive index evaluation method, and attribute reduction algorithm of rough set theory were applied, redundancy factor of water quality indicators were eliminated, control factors that play a leading role in drinking water safety were found. Optimization results showed in 62 unconventional water quality monitoring indicators of urban drinking water, 42 water quality indicators could be optimized reduction by comprehensively evaluation combined with attribute reduction of rough set. Optimization of the water quality monitoring indicators and reduction of monitoring indicators and monitoring frequency could ensure the safety of drinking water quality while lowering monitoring costs and reducing monitoring pressure of the sanitation supervision departments.

Differential actigraphy for monitoring asymmetry in upper limb motor activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabuffetti, M; Meriggi, P; Pagliari, C; Bartolomeo, P; Ferrarin, M

2016-09-21

Most applications of accelerometry-based actigraphy require a single sensor, properly located onto the body, to estimate, for example, the level of activity or the energy expenditure. Some approaches adopt a multi-sensor setup to improve those analyses or to classify different types of activity. The specific case of two symmetrically placed actigraphs allowing, by some kind of differential analysis, for the assessment of asymmetric motor behaviors, has been considered in relatively few studies. This article presents a novel method for differential actigraphy, which requires the synchronized measurements of two triaxial accelerometers (programmable eZ430-Chronos, Texas Instruments, USA) placed symmetrically on both wrists. The method involved the definition of a robust epoch-related activity index and its implementation on-board the adopted programmable platform. Finally, the activity recordings from both sensors allowed us to define a novel asymmetry index AR 24 h ranging from  -100% (only the left arm moves) to  +100% (only the right arm moves) with null value marking a perfect symmetrical behavior. The accuracy of the AR 24 h index was 1.3%. Round-the-clock monitoring on 31 healthy participants (20-79 years old, 10 left handed) provided for the AR 24 h reference data (range  -5% to 21%) and a fairly good correlation to the clinical handedness index (r  =  0.66, p  <  0.001). A subset of 20 participants repeated the monitoring one week apart evidencing an excellent test-retest reliability (r  =  0.70, p  <  0.001). Such figures support future applications of the methodology for the study of pathologies involving motor asymmetries, such as in patients with motor hemisyndromes and, in general, for those subjects for whom a quantification of the asymmetry in daily motor performances is required to complement laboratory tests.

PR-Index: Using the h-Index and PageRank for Determining True Impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Chao; Wang, Zhen; Li, Xianghua; Zhang, Zili; Zeng, Wei

2016-01-01

Several technical indicators have been proposed to assess the impact of authors and institutions. Here, we combine the h-index and the PageRank algorithm to do away with some of the individual limitations of these two indices. Most importantly, we aim to take into account value differences between citations-evaluating the citation sources by defining the h-index using the PageRank score rather than with citations. The resulting PR-index is then constructed by evaluating source popularity as well as the source publication authority. Extensive tests on available collections data (i.e., Microsoft Academic Search and benchmarks on the SIGKDD innovation award) show that the PR-index provides a more balanced impact measure than many existing indices. Due to its simplicity and similarity to the popular h-index, the PR-index may thus become a welcome addition to the technical indices already in use. Moreover, growth dynamics prior to the SIGKDD innovation award indicate that the PR-index might have notable predictive power.

Determination and analysis of non-linear index profiles in electron-beam-deposited MgOAl2O3ZrO2 ternary composite thin-film optical coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahoo, N.K.; Thakur, S.; Senthilkumar, M.; Das, N.C.

2005-01-01

Thickness-dependent index non-linearity in thin films has been a thought provoking as well as intriguing topic in the field of optical coatings. The characterization and analysis of such inhomogeneous index profiles pose several degrees of challenges to thin-film researchers depending upon the availability of relevant experimental and process-monitoring-related information. In the present work, a variety of novel experimental non-linear index profiles have been observed in thin films of MgOAl 2 O 3 ZrO 2 ternary composites in solid solution under various electron-beam deposition parameters. Analysis and derivation of these non-linear spectral index profiles have been carried out by an inverse-synthesis approach using a real-time optical monitoring signal and post-deposition transmittance and reflection spectra. Most of the non-linear index functions are observed to fit polynomial equations of order seven or eight very well. In this paper, the application of such a non-linear index function has also been demonstrated in designing electric-field-optimized high-damage-threshold multilayer coatings such as normal- and oblique-incidence edge filters and a broadband beam splitter for p-polarized light. Such designs can also advantageously maintain the microstructural stability of the multilayer structure due to the low stress factor of the non-linear ternary composite layers. (orig.)

Magnetic eta index and the ability to forecast sporadic E layer appearance