ASH structure alignment package: Sensitivity and selectivity in domain classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toh Hiroyuki

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Structure alignment methods offer the possibility of measuring distant evolutionary relationships between proteins that are not visible by sequence-based analysis. However, the question of how structural differences and similarities ought to be quantified in this regard remains open. In this study we construct a training set of sequence-unique CATH and SCOP domains, from which we develop a scoring function that can reliably identify domains with the same CATH topology and SCOP fold classification. The score is implemented in the ASH structure alignment package, for which the source code and a web service are freely available from the PDBj website http://www.pdbj.org/ASH/. Results The new ASH score shows increased selectivity and sensitivity compared with values reported for several popular programs using the same test set of 4,298,905 structure pairs, yielding an area of .96 under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve. In addition, weak sequence homologies between similar domains are revealed that could not be detected by BLAST sequence alignment. Also, a subset of domain pairs is identified that exhibit high similarity, even though their CATH and SCOP classification differs. Finally, we show that the ranking of alignment programs based solely on geometric measures depends on the choice of the quality measure. Conclusion ASH shows high selectivity and sensitivity with regard to domain classification, an important step in defining distantly related protein sequence families. Moreover, the CPU cost per alignment is competitive with the fastest programs, making ASH a practical option for large-scale structure classification studies.

LOCAL WEATHER CLASSIFICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna PIOTROWICZ

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Two approaches of local weather type definitions are presented and illustrated for selected stations of Poland and Hungary. The subjective classification, continuing long traditions, especially in Poland, relies on diurnal values of local weather elements. The main types are defined according to temperature with some sub-types considering relative sunshine duration, diurnal precipitation totals, relative humidity and wind speed. The classification does not make a difference between the seasons of the year, but the occurrence of the classes obviously reflects the annual cycle. Another important feature of this classification is that only a minor part of the theoretically possible combination of the various types and sub-types occurs in all stations of both countries. The objective version of the classification starts from ten possible weather element which are reduced to four according to factor analysis, based on strong correlation between the elements. This analysis yields 3 to 4 factors depending on the specific criteria of selection. The further cluster analysis uses four selected weather elements belonging to different rotated factors. They are the diurnal mean values of temperature, of relative humidity, of cloudiness and of wind speed. From the possible ways of hierarchical cluster analysis (i.e. no a priori assumption on the number of classes, the method of furthest neighbours is selected, indicating the arguments of this decision in the paper. These local weather types are important tools in understanding the role of weather in various environmental indicators, in climatic generalisation of short samples by stratified sampling and in interpretation of the climate change.

Classification,Hazards and Countermeasures of Agricultural Environmental Pollution Emergencies

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Xiaoming; CHUAI; Haixia; ZHOU; Jianping; ZHAO; Shubo; CHENG; Jiang; YU

2013-01-01

Agricultural environmental pollution emergencies have become a hot research topic because of the high incidence and influence depth.This paper introduces classification and features of agricultural environmental pollution emergencies:by pollutant type,it falls into organic pollution emergencies and inorganic pollution emergencies;by the approach of entering agricultural environment,it falls into water resource agricultural environmental pollution emergencies and non-water resource agricultural environmental pollution emergencies.Hazards of agricultural environmental pollution emergencies are analyzed from 4 perspectives:personal security,indirect loss,ecological environment and social stability.In view of the hazards,countermeasures are given to deal with the pollution emergencies as(i)establishing a risk evaluation mechanism for agricultural environment;(ii)enhancing the capacity of handling agricultural environmental pollution emergencies;(iii)introducing new management concepts for environmental emergencies,and cultivating keen emergency management consciousness.

Noise sensitivity: Symptoms, health status, illness behavior and co-occurring environmental sensitivities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baliatsas, Christos, E-mail: c.baliatsas@nivel.nl [Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), Utrecht (Netherlands); Kamp, Irene van, E-mail: irene.van.kamp@rivm.nl [National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven (Netherlands); Swart, Wim, E-mail: wim.swart@rivm.nl [National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven (Netherlands); Hooiveld, Mariëtte, E-mail: m.hooiveld@nivel.nl [Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), Utrecht (Netherlands); Yzermans, Joris, E-mail: J.Yzermans@nivel.nl [Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), Utrecht (Netherlands)

2016-10-15

Epidemiological evidence on the symptomatic profile, health status and illness behavior of people with subjective sensitivity to noise is still scarce. Also, it is unknown to what extent noise sensitivity co-occurs with other environmental sensitivities such as multi-chemical sensitivity and sensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMF). A cross-sectional study performed in the Netherlands, combining self-administered questionnaires and electronic medical records of non-specific symptoms (NSS) registered by general practitioners (GP) allowed us to explore this further. The study sample consisted of 5806 participants, drawn from 21 general practices. Among participants, 722 (12.5%) responded “absolutely agree” to the statement “I am sensitive to noise”, comprising the high noise-sensitive (HNS) group. Compared to the rest of the sample, people in the HNS group reported significantly higher scores on number and duration of self-reported NSS, increased psychological distress, decreased sleep quality and general health, more negative symptom perceptions and higher prevalence of healthcare contacts, GP-registered NSS and prescriptions for antidepressants and benzodiazepines. These results remained robust after adjustment for demographic, residential and lifestyle characteristics, objectively measured nocturnal noise exposure from road-traffic and GP-registered morbidity. Co-occurrence rates with other environmental sensitivities varied between 9% and 50%. Individuals with self-declared sensitivity to noise are characterized by high prevalence of multiple NSS, poorer health status and increased illness behavior independently of noise exposure levels. Findings support the notion that different types of environmental sensitivities partly overlap. - Highlights: • People with self-reported noise sensitivity experience multiple non-specific symptoms. • They also report comparatively poorer health and increased illness behavior. • Co-occurrence with other

Noise sensitivity: Symptoms, health status, illness behavior and co-occurring environmental sensitivities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baliatsas, Christos; Kamp, Irene van; Swart, Wim; Hooiveld, Mariëtte; Yzermans, Joris

2016-01-01

Epidemiological evidence on the symptomatic profile, health status and illness behavior of people with subjective sensitivity to noise is still scarce. Also, it is unknown to what extent noise sensitivity co-occurs with other environmental sensitivities such as multi-chemical sensitivity and sensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMF). A cross-sectional study performed in the Netherlands, combining self-administered questionnaires and electronic medical records of non-specific symptoms (NSS) registered by general practitioners (GP) allowed us to explore this further. The study sample consisted of 5806 participants, drawn from 21 general practices. Among participants, 722 (12.5%) responded “absolutely agree” to the statement “I am sensitive to noise”, comprising the high noise-sensitive (HNS) group. Compared to the rest of the sample, people in the HNS group reported significantly higher scores on number and duration of self-reported NSS, increased psychological distress, decreased sleep quality and general health, more negative symptom perceptions and higher prevalence of healthcare contacts, GP-registered NSS and prescriptions for antidepressants and benzodiazepines. These results remained robust after adjustment for demographic, residential and lifestyle characteristics, objectively measured nocturnal noise exposure from road-traffic and GP-registered morbidity. Co-occurrence rates with other environmental sensitivities varied between 9% and 50%. Individuals with self-declared sensitivity to noise are characterized by high prevalence of multiple NSS, poorer health status and increased illness behavior independently of noise exposure levels. Findings support the notion that different types of environmental sensitivities partly overlap. - Highlights: • People with self-reported noise sensitivity experience multiple non-specific symptoms. • They also report comparatively poorer health and increased illness behavior. • Co-occurrence with other

EPA Region 1 Environmentally Sensitive Areas

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This coverage represents polygon equivalents of environmentally sensitive areas (ESA) in EPA Region I. ESAs were developed as part of an EPA headquarters initiative...

EPA Region 1 Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Points)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This coverage represents point equivalents of environmentally sensitive areas in EPA New England. This coverage represents polygon equivalents of environmentally...

Visualization of Nonlinear Classification Models in Neuroimaging - Signed Sensitivity Maps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Peter Mondrup; Schmah, Tanya; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard

2012-01-01

Classification models are becoming increasing popular tools in the analysis of neuroimaging data sets. Besides obtaining good prediction accuracy, a competing goal is to interpret how the classifier works. From a neuroscientific perspective, we are interested in the brain pattern reflecting...... the underlying neural encoding of an experiment defining multiple brain states. In this relation there is a great desire for the researcher to generate brain maps, that highlight brain locations of importance to the classifiers decisions. Based on sensitivity analysis, we develop further procedures for model...... direction the individual locations influence the classification. We illustrate the visualization procedure on a real data from a simple functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment....

Environmental Sensitivity in Children: Development of the Highly Sensitive Child Scale and Identification of Sensitivity Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Pluess, Michael; Assary, Elham; Lionetti, Francesca; Lester, Kathryn J.; Krapohl, Eva; Aron, Elaine N.; Aron, Arthur

2018-01-01

A large number of studies document that children differ in the degree they are shaped by their developmental context with some being more sensitive to environmental influences than others. Multiple theories suggest that "Environmental Sensitivity" is a common trait predicting the response to negative as well as positive exposures.…

Noise sensitivity: symptoms, health status, illness behavior and co-occurring environmental sensitivities.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baliatsas, C.; Kamp, I. van; Swart, W.; Hooiveld, M.; Yzermans, J.

2016-01-01

Epidemiological evidence on the symptomatic profile, health status and illness behavior of people with subjective sensitivity to noise is still scarce. Also, it is unknown to what extent noise sensitivity co-occurs with other environmental sensitivities such as multi-chemical sensitivity and

Fines Classification Based on Sensitivity to Pore-Fluid Chemistry

KAUST Repository

Jang, Junbong

2015-12-28

The 75-μm particle size is used to discriminate between fine and coarse grains. Further analysis of fine grains is typically based on the plasticity chart. Whereas pore-fluid-chemistry-dependent soil response is a salient and distinguishing characteristic of fine grains, pore-fluid chemistry is not addressed in current classification systems. Liquid limits obtained with electrically contrasting pore fluids (deionized water, 2-M NaCl brine, and kerosene) are combined to define the soil "electrical sensitivity." Liquid limit and electrical sensitivity can be effectively used to classify fine grains according to their fluid-soil response into no-, low-, intermediate-, or high-plasticity fine grains of low, intermediate, or high electrical sensitivity. The proposed methodology benefits from the accumulated experience with liquid limit in the field and addresses the needs of a broader range of geotechnical engineering problems. © ASCE.

Fines classification based on sensitivity to pore-fluid chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Junbong; Santamarina, J. Carlos

2016-01-01

The 75-μm particle size is used to discriminate between fine and coarse grains. Further analysis of fine grains is typically based on the plasticity chart. Whereas pore-fluid-chemistry-dependent soil response is a salient and distinguishing characteristic of fine grains, pore-fluid chemistry is not addressed in current classification systems. Liquid limits obtained with electrically contrasting pore fluids (deionized water, 2-M NaCl brine, and kerosene) are combined to define the soil “electrical sensitivity.” Liquid limit and electrical sensitivity can be effectively used to classify fine grains according to their fluid-soil response into no-, low-, intermediate-, or high-plasticity fine grains of low, intermediate, or high electrical sensitivity. The proposed methodology benefits from the accumulated experience with liquid limit in the field and addresses the needs of a broader range of geotechnical engineering problems.

Hydrologic classification of rivers based on cluster analysis of dimensionless hydrologic signatures: Applications for environmental instream flows

Science.gov (United States)

Praskievicz, S. J.; Luo, C.

2017-12-01

Classification of rivers is useful for a variety of purposes, such as generating and testing hypotheses about watershed controls on hydrology, predicting hydrologic variables for ungaged rivers, and setting goals for river management. In this research, we present a bottom-up (based on machine learning) river classification designed to investigate the underlying physical processes governing rivers' hydrologic regimes. The classification was developed for the entire state of Alabama, based on 248 United States Geological Survey (USGS) stream gages that met criteria for length and completeness of records. Five dimensionless hydrologic signatures were derived for each gage: slope of the flow duration curve (indicator of flow variability), baseflow index (ratio of baseflow to average streamflow), rising limb density (number of rising limbs per unit time), runoff ratio (ratio of long-term average streamflow to long-term average precipitation), and streamflow elasticity (sensitivity of streamflow to precipitation). We used a Bayesian clustering algorithm to classify the gages, based on the five hydrologic signatures, into distinct hydrologic regimes. We then used classification and regression trees (CART) to predict each gaged river's membership in different hydrologic regimes based on climatic and watershed variables. Using existing geospatial data, we applied the CART analysis to classify ungaged streams in Alabama, with the National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) catchment (average area 3 km2) as the unit of classification. The results of the classification can be used for meeting management and conservation objectives in Alabama, such as developing statewide standards for environmental instream flows. Such hydrologic classification approaches are promising for contributing to process-based understanding of river systems.

Centrifuge: rapid and sensitive classification of metagenomic sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Daehwan; Song, Li; Breitwieser, Florian P; Salzberg, Steven L

2016-12-01

Centrifuge is a novel microbial classification engine that enables rapid, accurate, and sensitive labeling of reads and quantification of species on desktop computers. The system uses an indexing scheme based on the Burrows-Wheeler transform (BWT) and the Ferragina-Manzini (FM) index, optimized specifically for the metagenomic classification problem. Centrifuge requires a relatively small index (4.2 GB for 4078 bacterial and 200 archaeal genomes) and classifies sequences at very high speed, allowing it to process the millions of reads from a typical high-throughput DNA sequencing run within a few minutes. Together, these advances enable timely and accurate analysis of large metagenomics data sets on conventional desktop computers. Because of its space-optimized indexing schemes, Centrifuge also makes it possible to index the entire NCBI nonredundant nucleotide sequence database (a total of 109 billion bases) with an index size of 69 GB, in contrast to k-mer-based indexing schemes, which require far more extensive space. © 2016 Kim et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

The Discriminative validity of "nociceptive," "peripheral neuropathic," and "central sensitization" as mechanisms-based classifications of musculoskeletal pain.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Smart, Keith M

2012-02-01

OBJECTIVES: Empirical evidence of discriminative validity is required to justify the use of mechanisms-based classifications of musculoskeletal pain in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the discriminative validity of mechanisms-based classifications of pain by identifying discriminatory clusters of clinical criteria predictive of "nociceptive," "peripheral neuropathic," and "central sensitization" pain in patients with low back (+\\/- leg) pain disorders. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional, between-patients design using the extreme-groups method. Four hundred sixty-four patients with low back (+\\/- leg) pain were assessed using a standardized assessment protocol. After each assessment, patients\\' pain was assigned a mechanisms-based classification. Clinicians then completed a clinical criteria checklist indicating the presence\\/absence of various clinical criteria. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses using binary logistic regression with Bayesian model averaging identified a discriminative cluster of 7, 3, and 4 symptoms and signs predictive of a dominance of "nociceptive," "peripheral neuropathic," and "central sensitization" pain, respectively. Each cluster was found to have high levels of classification accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, positive\\/negative predictive values, positive\\/negative likelihood ratios). DISCUSSION: By identifying a discriminatory cluster of symptoms and signs predictive of "nociceptive," "peripheral neuropathic," and "central" pain, this study provides some preliminary discriminative validity evidence for mechanisms-based classifications of musculoskeletal pain. Classification system validation requires the accumulation of validity evidence before their use in clinical practice can be recommended. Further studies are required to evaluate the construct and criterion validity of mechanisms-based classifications of musculoskeletal pain.

Identifying environmentally sensitive areas under the Oil Pollution Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lively-Diebold, B.; Pease, A.L.; Watson, S.N.; Wasel, P.A.

1993-01-01

Section 4202(a)(6) of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) requires the President to issue regulations that require owners or operators of tank vessels, offshore facilities, and certain onshore facilities that could impact environmentally sensitive areas, drinking water intakes, and other economically sensitive areas to prepare and submit plans for responding to a worst case discharge of oil and to a substantial threat of such a discharge. The authority to implement the response plan regulations has been delegated to various agencies, including the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Transportation. In addition, Area Committees designated under the OPA are responsible for assuring preplanning of response efforts, including procedures for protecting environmentally sensitive areas, and protection, rescue and rehabilitation of fisheries and wildlife. Area Contingency Plans for each of the designated areas will describe the areas of special economic and environmental importance that might be damaged by discharges. This paper will discuss and compare the identification of environmentally sensitive areas and vulnerability analyses required as elements of response plans for agencies implementing regulations under the OPA authority. This paper will also describe the progress of the Area Committees with respect to contingency planning development for protection of environmentally sensitive areas

Example-Dependent Cost-Sensitive Classification with Applications in Financial Risk Modeling and Marketing Analytics

OpenAIRE

Correa Bahnsen, Alejandro

2015-01-01

Several real-world binary classification problems are example-dependent cost-sensitive in nature, where the costs due to misclassification vary between examples and not only within classes. However, standard binary classification methods do not take these costs into account, and assume a constant cost of misclassification errors. This approach is not realistic in many real-world applications. For example in credit card fraud detection, failing to detect a fraudulent transaction may have an ec...

Unmet health care needs for persons with environmental sensitivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gibson PR

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Pamela Reed Gibson, Shannon Kovach, Alexis LupferDepartment of Psychology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USAAbstract: Studies of unmet health care needs have shown that women, people with poor health, and people with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to report having unmet health care needs. In this study, we examined the types of and reasons for unmet health care needs in 465 people with environmental sensitivities. A second area of inquiry involved negative reactions to general anesthesia. Results showed that the most common barriers to receiving care were the inability to find a provider who understands environmental sensitivities and a lack of accessibility due to chemical and electromagnetic exposures in health care environments. Lower income and poorer health (longer illness, a worsening or fluctuating course of illness, and a higher level of disability were significantly correlated with the total number of reported unmet health care needs. Some people with environmental sensitivities reported having negative reactions to anesthesia of long duration; most common were nausea and vomiting, fatigue, and reduced cognitive ability.Keywords: environmental sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, electrohypersensitivity, chemical hypersensitivity, chemical intolerance, contested illness

In the shadow of the Cosmetic Directive--inconsistencies in EU environmental hazard classification requirements for UV-filters.

Science.gov (United States)

Sobek, A; Bejgarn, S; Rudén, C; Molander, L; Breitholtz, M

2013-09-01

UV-filters are chemicals with potentially environmental hazardous properties. In the European Union (EU), UV-filters contained in sunscreen products are currently regulated by the Cosmetic Directive (from July 2013 by the Cosmetic Products Regulation). Environmental hazard classifications according to the regulation on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP) must be determined for UV-filters contained in industrial chemical products, whereas UV-filters contained in sunscreens are exempted from CLP. In this study we determined the potential environmental hazard classifications of UV-filters and sunscreen products if the CLP regulation was to be required for cosmetic products. Two sunscreen products were evaluated in accordance with the aquatic environmental hazard criteria for mixtures. The results highlight that the inconsistencies in the current EU regulation of UV filters hamper the risk management of environmental hazards of UV filters used in cosmetic products. Almost 50% of the investigated UV-filters approved for use in cosmetic products on the European market according to the current Cosmetic Directive were identified to meet the CLP classification as being hazardous to the aquatic environment. Assuming a worst-case scenario, the two examined sunscreens could both be classified as hazardous to the aquatic environment with long-lasting effects according to CLP classification criteria. Hence, if the CLP regulation was applicable to sunscreen products, both brands could potentially be labelled with the environmental hazard pictogram and associated hazard and precautionary statements. Including cosmetic products, and thereby sunscreens, in the CLP regulation would contribute to a more harmonized and transparent regulation of potentially hazardous substances on the EU market. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Guam, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

In the shadow of the Cosmetic Directive — Inconsistencies in EU environmental hazard classification requirements for UV-filters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobek, A.; Bejgarn, S.; Rudén, C.; Molander, L.; Breitholtz, M.

2013-01-01

UV-filters are chemicals with potentially environmental hazardous properties. In the European Union (EU), UV-filters contained in sunscreen products are currently regulated by the Cosmetic Directive (from July 2013 by the Cosmetic Products Regulation). Environmental hazard classifications according to the regulation on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP) must be determined for UV-filters contained in industrial chemical products, whereas UV-filters contained in sunscreens are exempted from CLP. In this study we determined the potential environmental hazard classifications of UV-filters and sunscreen products if the CLP regulation was to be required for cosmetic products. Two sunscreen products were evaluated in accordance with the aquatic environmental hazard criteria for mixtures. The results highlight that the inconsistencies in the current EU regulation of UV filters hamper the risk management of environmental hazards of UV filters used in cosmetic products. Almost 50% of the investigated UV-filters approved for use in cosmetic products on the European market according to the current Cosmetic Directive were identified to meet the CLP classification as being hazardous to the aquatic environment. Assuming a worst-case scenario, the two examined sunscreens could both be classified as hazardous to the aquatic environment with long-lasting effects according to CLP classification criteria. Hence, if the CLP regulation was applicable to sunscreen products, both brands could potentially be labelled with the environmental hazard pictogram and associated hazard and precautionary statements. Including cosmetic products, and thereby sunscreens, in the CLP regulation would contribute to a more harmonized and transparent regulation of potentially hazardous substances on the EU market. - Highlights: • UV-filters are used in both cosmetic and industrial products/applications • UV-filters in cosmetic products are excluded from CLP • We

Comparison between different methodologies of environmental sensitivity classification for lagoons; Comparacao entre diferentes metodologias de classificacao do indice de sensibilidade do litoral a derramamentos de oleo para ambientes lagunares

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lacerda, Carine; Cabral, Alexandre; Griep, Gilberto Henrique [Fundacao Universidade do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, RS (Brazil)

2008-07-01

This paper aims to show a brief presentation about the variation of Environmental Sensibility Index (ISL) to west coast of Patos Lagoon, in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, between the seasons winter and summer. Furthermore, it compares two different methodologies for Sensibility Classification: the first one, for fluvial environments, which was suggested by PETROBRAS, 2006 and other one for either coastal and tidal environments, suggested by Environmental Ministry, 2002. (author)

Classification of phosphogypsum as a waste material from the aspect of environmental protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajković Miloš B.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Phosphogypsum is primarily classified as a heavy waste. The classification of phosphogypsum as dangerous waste may be only maintained under the condition that phosphates with the highest content of radio nuclides are used in the production of H3PO4 by the so called "wet procedure" (Morocco, Florida, which, due to the great quantity of present radio nuclides, causes considerable environmental pollution by radon. The classification of phosphogypsum as a separate category of radioactive waste may be conditionally accepted, because phosphogypsum is not a radioactive waste. All the instructions about the collection, documentation and storage of phosphogypsum so far on disposal sites, and possible transport, also due to non-existing legal recommendations must comply with the classification of phosphogypsum as dangerous waste.

Criteria for classification of competitive housing projects in terms of their environmental friendliness

Science.gov (United States)

Nezhnikova, Ekaterina

2017-10-01

This article deals with social and economic essence of strategy of the housing industry development, both complex system of economic relations in field of production and consumption, which is regulated through the mechanism of prices and implemented through formation and realization of priority directions. Developed criteria for classification of housing construction projects as environmentally friendly and the quality criteria of variables for assessment of the environmental friendliness of residential buildings allowed to determine the ways of development of the industry on the basis of creation of competitive projects in interrelation with quality, environmental friendliness and price of consumption.

Sensitivity of Coastal Environments and Wildlife to Spilled Oil: Mississippi: WETLANDS (Wetland Polygons)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains vector polygons representing coastal wetlands classified according to the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) classification system for...

Vantage Sensitivity: Environmental Sensitivity to Positive Experiences as a Function of Genetic Differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Pluess, Michael

2017-02-01

A large number of gene-environment interaction studies provide evidence that some people are more likely to be negatively affected by adverse experiences as a function of specific genetic variants. However, such "risk" variants are surprisingly frequent in the population. Evolutionary analysis suggests that genetic variants associated with increased risk for maladaptive development under adverse environmental conditions are maintained in the population because they are also associated with advantages in response to different contextual conditions. These advantages may include (a) coexisting genetic resilience pertaining to other adverse influences, (b) a general genetic susceptibility to both low and high environmental quality, and (c) a coexisting propensity to benefit disproportionately from positive and supportive exposures, as reflected in the recent framework of vantage sensitivity. After introducing the basic properties of vantage sensitivity and highlighting conceptual similarities and differences with diathesis-stress and differential susceptibility patterns of gene-environment interaction, selected and recent empirical evidence for the notion of vantage sensitivity as a function of genetic differences is reviewed. The unique contribution that the new perspective of vantage sensitivity may make to our understanding of social inequality will be discussed after suggesting neurocognitive and molecular mechanisms hypothesized to underlie the propensity to benefit disproportionately from benevolent experiences. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Environmental coefficients of the free-field sensitivity of measurement microphones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barrera Figueroa, Salvador; Cutanda Henriquez, Vicente; Torras-Rosell, Antoni

2017-01-01

The sensitivity of measurement microphones, both pressure and free field, is affected by changes in the environmental conditions, mainly temperature and static pressure. Static pressure and temperature coefficients for the pressure sensitivity have been the object of previous studies focused...... on Laboratory Standard microphones and few working standard microphones. The literature describes frequency dependent values for these coefficients which are used for calibration purposes. However, there is no description of the environmental coefficients of the free-field sensitivity though there have been...... some implementations that attempt to take care of the differences between the coefficients for the two types of sensitivities. Measuring the coefficients in a free field poses some challeng; it is not so easy to change neither the static pressure nor the temperature inside anechoic room within...

Sensitivity analysis of a low-level waste environmental transport code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiromoto, G.

1989-01-01

Results are presented from a sensivity analysis of a computer code designed to simulate the environmental transport of radionuclides buried at shallow land waste repositories. A sensitivity analysis methodology, based on the surface response replacement and statistic sensitivity estimators, was developed to address the relative importance of the input parameters on the model output. Response surface replacement for the model was constructed by stepwise regression, after sampling input vectors from range and distribution of the input variables, and running the code to generate the associated output data. Sensitivity estimators were compute using the partial rank correlation coefficients and the standardized rank regression coefficients. The results showed that the tecniques employed in this work provides a feasible means to perform a sensitivity analysis of a general not-linear environmental radionuclides transport models. (author) [pt

A conceptualisation framework for building consensus on environmental sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

González Del Campo, Ainhoa

2017-09-15

Examination of the intrinsic attributes of a system that render it more or less sensitive to potential stressors provides further insight into the baseline environment. In impact assessment, sensitivity of environmental receptors can be conceptualised on the basis of their: a) quality status according to statutory indicators and associated thresholds or targets; b) statutory protection; or c) inherent risk. Where none of these considerations are pertinent, subjective value judgments can be applied to determine sensitivity. This pragmatic conceptual framework formed the basis of a stakeholder consultation process for harmonising degrees of sensitivity of a number of environmental criteria. Harmonisation was sought to facilitate their comparative and combined analysis. Overall, full or wide agreement was reached on relative sensitivity values for the large majority of the reviewed criteria. Consensus was easier to reach on some themes (e.g. biodiversity, water and cultural heritage) than others (e.g. population and soils). As anticipated, existing statutory measures shaped the outcomes but, ultimately, knowledge-based values prevailed. The agreed relative sensitivities warrant extensive consultation but the conceptual framework provides a basis for increasing stakeholder consensus and objectivity of baseline assessments. This, in turn, can contribute to improving the evidence-base for characterising the significance of potential impacts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nanomaterials for environmental studies: Classification, reference material issues, and strategies for physico-chemical characterisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stone, Vicki; Nowack, Bernd; Baun, Anders; Brink, Nico van den; Kammer, Frank von der; Dusinska, Maria; Handy, Richard; Hankin, Steven; Hasselloev, Martin; Joner, Erik; Fernandes, Teresa F.

2010-01-01

NanoImpactNet is a European Commission Framework Programme 7 (FP7) funded project that provides a forum for the discussion of current opinions on nanomaterials in relation to human and environmental issues. In September 2008, in Zurich, a NanoImpactNet environmental workshop focused on three key questions: 1.What properties should be characterised for nanomaterials used in environmental and ecotoxicology studies? 2.What reference materials should be developed for use in environmental and ecotoxicological studies? 3.Is it possible to group different nanomaterials into categories for consideration in environmental studies? Such questions have been, at least partially, addressed by other projects/workshops especially in relation to human health effects. Such projects provide a useful basis on which this workshop was based, but in this particular case these questions were reformulated in order to focus specifically on environmental studies. The workshop participants, through a series of discussion and reflection sessions, generated the conclusions listed below. The physicochemical characterisation information identified as important for environmental studies included measures of aggregation/agglomeration/dispersability, size, dissolution (solubility), surface area, surface charge, surface chemistry/composition, with the assumption that chemical composition would already be known. There is a need to have test materials for ecotoxicology, and several substances are potentially useful, including TiO 2 nanoparticles, polystyrene beads labelled with fluorescent dyes, and silver nanoparticles. Some of these test materials could then be developed into certified reference materials over time. No clear consensus was reached regarding the classification of nanomaterials into categories to aid environmental studies, except that a chemistry-based classification system was a reasonable starting point, with some modifications. It was suggested, that additional work may be required

Nanomaterials for environmental studies: Classification, reference material issues, and strategies for physico-chemical characterisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stone, Vicki, E-mail: v.stone@napier.ac.uk [School of Life Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH10 5DT (United Kingdom); Nowack, Bernd [Materials, Products and the Environment Group, Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5 CH - 9014 St. Gallen (Switzerland); Baun, Anders [Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, NanoDTU, Building 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Brink, Nico van den [Alterra, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen (Netherlands); Kammer, Frank von der [Department of Environmental Geosciences, Vienna University, Althanstrasse 14, Wien 1090 (Austria); Dusinska, Maria [Health Effects Laboratory, Centre for Ecological Economics, Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Instituttveien, 18, 2027 Kjeller (Norway); Handy, Richard [University of Plymouth, Davy Building, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA (United Kingdom); Hankin, Steven [Institute of Occupational Medicine, Research Avenue North, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AP (United Kingdom); Hasselloev, Martin [Department of Chemistry, Environmental Nanoparticle Research Group, Goeteborg University, SE-412 96 Goeteborg (Sweden); Joner, Erik [Bioforsk Soil and Environment, Fredrik A Dahls vei 20, N-1432 Aas (Norway); Fernandes, Teresa F. [School of Life Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH10 5DT (United Kingdom)

2010-03-01

NanoImpactNet is a European Commission Framework Programme 7 (FP7) funded project that provides a forum for the discussion of current opinions on nanomaterials in relation to human and environmental issues. In September 2008, in Zurich, a NanoImpactNet environmental workshop focused on three key questions: 1.What properties should be characterised for nanomaterials used in environmental and ecotoxicology studies? 2.What reference materials should be developed for use in environmental and ecotoxicological studies? 3.Is it possible to group different nanomaterials into categories for consideration in environmental studies? Such questions have been, at least partially, addressed by other projects/workshops especially in relation to human health effects. Such projects provide a useful basis on which this workshop was based, but in this particular case these questions were reformulated in order to focus specifically on environmental studies. The workshop participants, through a series of discussion and reflection sessions, generated the conclusions listed below. The physicochemical characterisation information identified as important for environmental studies included measures of aggregation/agglomeration/dispersability, size, dissolution (solubility), surface area, surface charge, surface chemistry/composition, with the assumption that chemical composition would already be known. There is a need to have test materials for ecotoxicology, and several substances are potentially useful, including TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles, polystyrene beads labelled with fluorescent dyes, and silver nanoparticles. Some of these test materials could then be developed into certified reference materials over time. No clear consensus was reached regarding the classification of nanomaterials into categories to aid environmental studies, except that a chemistry-based classification system was a reasonable starting point, with some modifications. It was suggested, that additional work may be

East Florida, 1993 - 1995 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

West Florida, 1993-1995 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

South Florida, 1993-1995 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Lichen microalgae are sensitive to environmental concentrations of atrazine.

Science.gov (United States)

Traba, Helena Moreno; Domínguez-Morueco, Noelia; Barreno, Eva; Catalá, Myriam

2017-04-03

The identification of new organisms for environmental toxicology bioassays is currently a priority, since these tools are strongly limited by the ecological relevance of taxa used to study global change. Lichens are sensitive bioindicators of air quality and their microalgae are an untapped source for new low-cost miniaturized bioassays with ecological importance. In order to increase the availability of a wider range of taxa for bioassays, the sensitivity of two symbiotic lichen microalgae, Asterochloris erici and Trebouxia sp. TR9, to atrazine was evaluated. To achieve this goal, axenic cultures of these phycobionts in suspension were exposed to a range of environmental concentrations of the herbicide atrazine, a common water pollutant. Optical density and chlorophyll autofluorescence were used as endpoints of ecotoxicity and ecophysiology on cell suspensions. Results show that lichen microalgae show high sensitivity to very low doses of atrazine, being higher in Asterochloris erici than in Trebouxia sp. TR9. We conclude that environmental concentrations of atrazine could modify population dynamics probably through a shift in reproduction strategies of these organisms. This seminal work is a breakthrough in the use of lichen microalgae in the assessment of micropollution effects on biodiversity.

A Sensitivity Analysis Approach to Identify Key Environmental Performance Factors

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Xi Yu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Life cycle assessment (LCA is widely used in design phase to reduce the product’s environmental impacts through the whole product life cycle (PLC during the last two decades. The traditional LCA is restricted to assessing the environmental impacts of a product and the results cannot reflect the effects of changes within the life cycle. In order to improve the quality of ecodesign, it is a growing need to develop an approach which can reflect the changes between the design parameters and product’s environmental impacts. A sensitivity analysis approach based on LCA and ecodesign is proposed in this paper. The key environmental performance factors which have significant influence on the products’ environmental impacts can be identified by analyzing the relationship between environmental impacts and the design parameters. Users without much environmental knowledge can use this approach to determine which design parameter should be first considered when (redesigning a product. A printed circuit board (PCB case study is conducted; eight design parameters are chosen to be analyzed by our approach. The result shows that the carbon dioxide emission during the PCB manufacture is highly sensitive to the area of PCB panel.

Value of sensitive in-situ environmental assets in energy resource extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thampapillai, Dodo J.

2011-01-01

The extraction of energy resources and the preservation of sensitive in-situ environmental assets are invariably mutually exclusive alternatives. The opportunity cost value of preserving the environmental assets can be assessed by recourse to resource rent taxes, and threshold values. The case study analysis carried out in this paper suggests that the preservation of these assets could be justifiable on the grounds of “acceptable sacrifice”. - Highlights: ► Resource rents owed to the state from energy resource extraction can be significant. ► Benefits if mining energy resources are over-stated when the role of sensitive environmental assets is ignored. ► Threshold values could help to resolve conflicts between environmental preservation and resource extraction.

An analysis of students’ cognitive structures in relation to their environmental sensitivity

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Gercek Cem

2017-01-01

Full Text Available One of the basic aims of environment-related subjects included in the biology curriculum is to raise environmental awareness. Yet, the fact that the concepts taught especially in the context of environmental issues are abstract influences meaningful learning. This, in turn, influences behaviours displayed. Exhibiting students’ cognitive structures in assuring effective and meaningful concept teaching increases the importance of studies conducted. Unavailability of studies in the literature analysing students’ cognitive structures in relation to their sensitivity to the environment demonstrates the importance of this current study. This study aims to analyse students’ cognitive structures in relation to their environmental sensitivity. The study employs survey model- one of the qualitative research designs. The study group was composed of 56 high school students in the 2016-2017 academic year. The study group was formed through purposeful sampling. Word Association Test (WAT was prepared in order to uncover students’ cognitive structures in relation to their environmental sensitivity. Having transcribed the data obtained, they were put to content analysis and were transferred to the medium of computer. The results showed that students’ cognitive structure concerning their environmental sensitivity was divided into categories.

Two Classification Methods for Grouping Common Environmental Sounds in Terms of Perceived Pleasantness

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-01

NUMBER OF PAGES 24 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON Kelly Dickerson a. REPORT Unclassified b. ABSTRACT Unclassified c . THIS...ARL-TR-7960 ● FEB 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Two Classification Methods for Grouping Common Environmental Sounds in Terms...of Perceived Pleasantness by Kelly Dickerson, Brandon S Perelman, Laura Sherry, and Jeremy R Gaston Approved for public

Environmental sensitivity: equivocal illness in the context of place.

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Christopher M

2006-03-01

This article presents a phenomenologically oriented description of the interaction of illness experience, social context, and place. This is used to explore an outbreak of environmental sensitivities in Nova Scotia, Canada. Environmental Sensitivity (ES) is a popular designation for bodily reactions to mundane environmental stimuli that are insignificant for most people. Mainstream medicine cannot support the popular models of this disease process and consequently illness experience is subject to ambiguity and contestation. As an 'equivocal illness', ES generates considerable social action around the nature, meaning and validity of suffering. Sense of place plays an important role in this process. In this case, the meanings that accrue to illness experience and that produce salient popular disease etiology are grounded in the experience and social construction of the Nova Scotian landscape over time. Shifting representations of place are reflected in illness experience and the meanings that arise around illness are emplaced in landscape.

The Short Term Effectiveness of an Outdoor Environmental Education on Environmental Awareness and Sensitivity of In-Service Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Okur-Berberoglu, Emel; Ozdilek, Hasan Göksel; Yalcin-Ozdilek, Sükran

2015-01-01

Outdoor education is mostly mentioned in terms of environmental education. The aim of this research is to determine the short term effectiveness of an outdoor environmental education program on biodiversity awareness, environmental awareness and sensitivity to natural environment. The data is collected from an outdoor environmental education…

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: American Samoa, 2004 (NODC Accession 0002827)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Currently, the most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach...

Exploration and production operations in an environmentally sensitive area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barker, G.W.; Steele, E.J.; Robalino, J.; Baldwin, S.J.

1994-01-01

The Ecuadorian portion of the Amazon Basin, known locally as the Oriente, is the major oil producing region in Ecuador. The tropical rain forests of the Oriente contain some of the Earth's most biologically diverse and ecologically sensitive areas. In addition, the rain forest is home to several groups of indigenous peoples.When formulating an exploration plan and prior to beginning E and P activities in the Oriente, operators must understand the environmental and sociocultural issues in the region. These concerns are considered throughout the planning process, from project conception to project closure. An environmental management plan is adopted which addresses environmental and sociocultural concerns, minimizes environmental impact, prevents delays, and limits environmental liability

A unified classification of alien species based on the magnitude of their environmental impacts

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Blackburn, T. M.; Essl, F.; Evans, T.; Hulme, P. E.; Jeschke, J.M.; Kühn, I.; Kumschick, S.; Marková, Zuzana; Mrugala, A.; Nentwig, W.; Pergl, Jan; Pyšek, Petr; Rabitsch, W.; Ricciardi, A.; Richardson, D. M.; Sendek, A.; Vila, M.; Wilson, J. R. U.; Winter, M.; Genovesi, P.; Bacher, S.

2014-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 5 (2014), s. 1-11, e1001850 E-ISSN 1545-7885 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP504/11/1028; GA ČR GB14-36079G Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : biological invasions * classification * environmental impact Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 9.343, year: 2014

Environmental sensitivity of the coastal islands of Ubatuba, SP, Brazil

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Getulio Teixeira Batista

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The Environmental Sensitivity Index Maps for Oil Spills (ESI Maps, or SAO in Portuguese constitute an essential component and source of basic information for emergency planning, response decision support and damage evaluation in case of oil spills. This study aims at the elaboration of sensitivity maps for oil spills for the islands within the Ubatuba municipality, north coast of the State of São Paulo. The adopted methodology is based on the Technical Specifications for the production of Environmental Sensitivity Maps for oil spills (SAO maps proposed by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment. The study involved the gathering of secondary data, followed by field work carried out in the summer and winter periods of 2007; the elaboration of the cartographic base maps and, finally, the integration of the data to a GIS (Geographic Information System. As a result it was registered and mapped the physical (geology, geomorphology, oceanography and climatology, biological (fauna, flora and coastal environments and socioeconomic (anthropic influence, human use, artificial structures and impacts resources of Ubatuba coastal islands. Eleven beaches have been identified, located at six islands, with distinct topographic and geomorphologic features. The beaches were classified with sensitivity index 4, because they are sheltered from actions of waves and currents. Most of the mapped environments (44.8% were classified with sensitivity index 8, indicating high sensitivity of the islands. The oil spill impacts on coastal environments can be significantly minimized during the contingency actions when previous knowledge of the ecosystems that compose the islands environment is available, especially when it is integrated into GIS data basis, capable of displaying easy-to-use maps. The environmental sensitivity mapping is an important management instrument, especially when dealing with sensible and poorly studied areas such as the islands of Ubatuba.

EPA Region 1 Environmentally Sensitive Areas

Science.gov (United States)

This coverage represents polygon equivalents of environmentally sensitive areas (ESA) in EPA Region I. ESAs were developed as part of an EPA headquarters initiative based on reviews of various regulatory and guidance documents, as well as phone interviews with federal/state/local government agencies and private organizations. ESAs include, but are not limited to, wetlands, biological resources, habitats, national parks, archaeological/historic sites, natural heritage areas, tribal lands, drinking water intakes, marinas/boat ramps, wildlife areas, etc.

Landscape sensitivity in a dynamic environment

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jiun-Chuan; Jen, Chia-Horn

2010-05-01

Landscape sensitivity at different scales and topics is presented in this study. Methodological approach composed most of this paper. According to the environmental records in the south eastern Asia, the environment change is highly related with five factors, such as scale of influence area, background of environment characters, magnitude and frequency of events, thresholds of occurring hazards and influence by time factor. This paper tries to demonstrate above five points from historical and present data. It is found that landscape sensitivity is highly related to the degree of vulnerability of the land and the processes which put on the ground including human activities. The scale of sensitivity and evaluation of sensitivities is demonstrated in this paper by the data around east Asia. The methods of classification are mainly from the analysis of environmental data and the records of hazards. From the trend of rainfall records, rainfall intensity and change of temperature, the magnitude and frequency of earthquake, dust storm, days of draught, number of hazards, there are many coincidence on these factors with landscape sensitivities. In conclusion, the landscape sensitivities could be classified as four groups: physical stable, physical unstable, unstable, extremely unstable. This paper explain the difference.

Puerto Rico ESI and RSI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types) / RSI (Reach Sensitivity Index River and Stream Types)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) and Reach Sensitivity Index (RSI) data for Puerto Rico. ESI data characterize estuarine...

West Peninsular Florida I 1996 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Prediction of Skin Sensitization with a Particle Swarm Optimized Support Vector Machine

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Chenzhong Cao

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Skin sensitization is the most commonly reported occupational illness, causing much suffering to a wide range of people. Identification and labeling of environmental allergens is urgently required to protect people from skin sensitization. The guinea pig maximization test (GPMT and murine local lymph node assay (LLNA are the two most important in vivo models for identification of skin sensitizers. In order to reduce the number of animal tests, quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs are strongly encouraged in the assessment of skin sensitization of chemicals. This paper has investigated the skin sensitization potential of 162 compounds with LLNA results and 92 compounds with GPMT results using a support vector machine. A particle swarm optimization algorithm was implemented for feature selection from a large number of molecular descriptors calculated by Dragon. For the LLNA data set, the classification accuracies are 95.37% and 88.89% for the training and the test sets, respectively. For the GPMT data set, the classification accuracies are 91.80% and 90.32% for the training and the test sets, respectively. The classification performances were greatly improved compared to those reported in the literature, indicating that the support vector machine optimized by particle swarm in this paper is competent for the identification of skin sensitizers.

Prediction of Skin Sensitization with a Particle Swarm Optimized Support Vector Machine

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Hua; Huang, Jianping; Cao, Chenzhong

2009-01-01

Skin sensitization is the most commonly reported occupational illness, causing much suffering to a wide range of people. Identification and labeling of environmental allergens is urgently required to protect people from skin sensitization. The guinea pig maximization test (GPMT) and murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) are the two most important in vivo models for identification of skin sensitizers. In order to reduce the number of animal tests, quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) are strongly encouraged in the assessment of skin sensitization of chemicals. This paper has investigated the skin sensitization potential of 162 compounds with LLNA results and 92 compounds with GPMT results using a support vector machine. A particle swarm optimization algorithm was implemented for feature selection from a large number of molecular descriptors calculated by Dragon. For the LLNA data set, the classification accuracies are 95.37% and 88.89% for the training and the test sets, respectively. For the GPMT data set, the classification accuracies are 91.80% and 90.32% for the training and the test sets, respectively. The classification performances were greatly improved compared to those reported in the literature, indicating that the support vector machine optimized by particle swarm in this paper is competent for the identification of skin sensitizers. PMID:19742136

Content validity and nursing sensitivity of community-level outcomes from the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC).

Science.gov (United States)

Head, Barbara J; Aquilino, Mary Lober; Johnson, Marion; Reed, David; Maas, Meridean; Moorhead, Sue

2004-01-01

To evaluate the content validity and nursing sensitivity of six community-level outcomes from the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC; Johnson, Maas, & Moorhead, 2000). A survey research design was used. Questionnaires were mailed to 300 public health nursing experts; 102 nurses responded. Experts evaluated between 11 and 30 indicators for each of the six outcomes for: (a) importance of the indicators for measuring the outcome, and (b) influence of nursing on the indicators. Content validity and nursing sensitivity of the outcomes were estimated with a modified Fehring technique. All outcomes were deemed important; only Community Competence had an outcome content validity score < .80. The outcome sensitivity score for Community Health: Immunity was .80; other outcome scores ranged from .62-.70. Indicator ratios for all 102 indicators met the study criterion for importance, with 87% designated as critical and 13% as supplemental. Sensitivity ratios reflected judgments that 45% of the indicators were sensitive to nursing intervention. The study provided evidence of outcome content validity and nursing sensitivity of the study outcomes; further validation research is recommended, followed by testing of the study outcomes in clinical practice. Community-level nursing-sensitive outcomes will potentially enable study of the efficacy and effectiveness of public health interventions focused on improving health of populations and communities.

Comparing non-specific physical symptoms in environmentally sensitive patients: prevalence, duration, functional status and illness behavior.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baliatsas, C.; Kamp, I. van; Hooiveld, M.; Yzermans, J.; Lebret, E.

2014-01-01

Objective: Little is known about the potential clinical relevance of non-specific physical symptoms (NSPS) reported by patients with self-reported environmental sensitivities. This study aimed to assess NSPS in people with general environmental sensitivity (GES) and idiopathic environmental

Illustrating sensitivity in environmental fate models using partitioning maps - application to selected contaminants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyer, T.; Wania, F. [Univ. of Toronto at Scarborough - DPES, Toronto (Canada)

2004-09-15

Generic environmental multimedia fate models are important tools in the assessment of the impact of organic pollutants. Because of limited possibilities to evaluate generic models by comparison with measured data and the increasing regulatory use of such models, uncertainties of model input and output are of considerable concern. This led to a demand for sensitivity and uncertainty analyses for the outputs of environmental fate models. Usually, variations of model predictions of the environmental fate of organic contaminants are analyzed for only one or at most a few selected chemicals, even though parameter sensitivity and contribution to uncertainty are widely different for different chemicals. We recently presented a graphical method that allows for the comprehensive investigation of model sensitivity and uncertainty for all neutral organic chemicals simultaneously. This is achieved by defining a two-dimensional hypothetical ''chemical space'' as a function of the equilibrium partition coefficients between air, water, and octanol (K{sub OW}, K{sub AW}, K{sub OA}), and plotting sensitivity and/or uncertainty of a specific model result to each input parameter as function of this chemical space. Here we show how such sensitivity maps can be used to quickly identify the variables with the highest influence on the environmental fate of selected, chlorobenzenes, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and brominated flame retardents (BFRs).

Influence of alloying elements on the irradiation hardening and environmental sensitivity of zirconium alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pettersson, K.; Hallstadius, L.; Bergqvist, H.; Nylund, A.; Wikstroem, C.

1992-01-01

Ten different alloys of zirconium have been tested with regard to the effect of irradiation on their mechanical properties and their sensitivity to environmentally induced failure. Two different environments were used: iodine vapour and liquid cesium with an addition of 2% cadmium. The neutron dose was 10 21 n/cm 2 (E>1MeV) and the irradiation temperature was about 300 degrees C. All alloy additions increased the irradiation hardening. Especially notable was the large effect of titanium and tin on irradiation hardening. A limited amount of transmission electron microscopy was carried out in order to find an explanation to the effects. The testing in different environments showed that there is no clear correlation between environmental sensitivity and yield stress. For materials of similar yield stress an alloyed material tends to be more sensitive to environmental cracking than a material which only contains oxygen as an impurity. There also seems to be an effect of oxygen on the environmental cracking sensitivity. A material with 910 ppm oxygen was considerably more sensitive to cracking than a material with 470 ppm oxygen despite the fact that the yield stress values differed by only 90 MPa

7 CFR 1794.31 - Classification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Classification. 1794.31 Section 1794.31 Agriculture... Classification. (a) Electric and telecommunications programs. RUS will normally determine the proper environmental classification of projects based on its evaluation of the project description set forth in the...

Sensitivity analysis of the GEMS soil organic carbon model to land cover land use classification uncertainties under different climate scenarios in Senegal

Science.gov (United States)

Dieye, A.M.; Roy, David P.; Hanan, N.P.; Liu, S.; Hansen, M.; Toure, A.

2012-01-01

Spatially explicit land cover land use (LCLU) change information is needed to drive biogeochemical models that simulate soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Such information is increasingly being mapped using remotely sensed satellite data with classification schemes and uncertainties constrained by the sensing system, classification algorithms and land cover schemes. In this study, automated LCLU classification of multi-temporal Landsat satellite data were used to assess the sensitivity of SOC modeled by the Global Ensemble Biogeochemical Modeling System (GEMS). The GEMS was run for an area of 1560 km2 in Senegal under three climate change scenarios with LCLU maps generated using different Landsat classification approaches. This research provides a method to estimate the variability of SOC, specifically the SOC uncertainty due to satellite classification errors, which we show is dependent not only on the LCLU classification errors but also on where the LCLU classes occur relative to the other GEMS model inputs.

Diagnostic herd sensitivity using environmental samples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vigre, Håkan; Josefsen, Mathilde Hartmann; Seyfarth, Anne Mette

either at farm or slaughter. Three sample matrices were collected; dust samples (5 environmental swabs), nasal swabs (10 pools with 5 animals per pool) and air samples (1 filter). Based on the assumption that MRSA occurred in all 48 herds the overall herd sensitivity was 58% for nasal swabs, 33% for dust....... In our example, the prevalence of infected pigs in each herd was estimated from the pooled samples of nasal swabs. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of animal prevalence on the probability to detect MRSA in the dust and air samples at herd level. The results show a significant increase...

The associations between noise sensitivity, reported physical and mental health, perceived environmental quality, and noise annoyance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirk Schreckenberg

2010-01-01

Full Text Available One hundred and ninety residents around Frankfurt Airport (46% female; 17-80 years were interviewed concerning noise annoyance due to transportation noise (aircraft, road traffic, perceived mental and physical health, perceived environmental quality, and noise sensitivity. The aim of the analyses was to test whether noise sensitivity reflects partly general environmental sensitivity and is associated with an elevated susceptibility for the perception of mental and physical health. In this study, the reported physical and mental health variables were not associated with noise exposure but with noise annoyance, and were interpreted to reflect nonspecific codeterminants of annoyance rather than noise effects. Noise sensitivity was found to influence total noise annoyance and aircraft noise annoyance but to a lesser degree annoyance due to road traffic noise. Noise sensitivity was associated with reported physical health, but not with reported mental health. Noise-sensitive persons reported poorer environmental quality in their residential area than less sensitive persons in particular with regard to air traffic (including the facets noise, pollution, and contaminations and quietness. Other aspects of the perceived quality of the environment were scarcely associated with noise sensitivity. This indicates that noise sensitivity is more specific and a reliable predictor of responses to noise from the dominant source (in this case air traffic rather than a predictor of the individual perception of the environmental quality in general.

Sensitivity to Peer Evaluation and Its Genetic and Environmental Determinants: Findings from a Population-Based Twin Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Klippel, Annelie; Reininghaus, Ulrich; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; Decoster, Jeroen; Delespaul, Philippe; Derom, Cathérine; de Hert, Marc; Jacobs, Nele; Menne-Lothmann, Claudia; Rutten, Bart; Thiery, Evert; van Os, Jim; van Winkel, Ruud; Myin-Germeys, Inez; Wichers, Marieke

2018-02-23

Adolescents and young adults are highly focused on peer evaluation, but little is known about sources of their differential sensitivity. We examined to what extent sensitivity to peer evaluation is influenced by interacting environmental and genetic factors. A sample of 354 healthy adolescent twin pairs (n = 708) took part in a structured, laboratory task in which they were exposed to peer evaluation. The proportion of the variance in sensitivity to peer evaluation due to genetic and environmental factors was estimated, as was the association with specific a priori environmental risk factors. Differences in sensitivity to peer evaluation between adolescents were explained mainly by non-shared environmental influences. The results on shared environmental influences were not conclusive. No impact of latent genetic factors or gene-environment interactions was found. Adolescents with lower self-rated positions on the social ladder or who reported to have been bullied more severely showed significantly stronger responses to peer evaluation. Not genes, but subjective social status and past experience of being bullied seem to impact sensitivity to peer evaluation. This suggests that altered response to peer evaluation is the outcome of cumulative sensitization to social interactions.

Can-CSC-GBE: Developing Cost-sensitive Classifier with Gentleboost Ensemble for breast cancer classification using protein amino acids and imbalanced data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Safdar; Majid, Abdul; Javed, Syed Gibran; Sattar, Mohsin

2016-06-01

Early prediction of breast cancer is important for effective treatment and survival. We developed an effective Cost-Sensitive Classifier with GentleBoost Ensemble (Can-CSC-GBE) for the classification of breast cancer using protein amino acid features. In this work, first, discriminant information of the protein sequences related to breast tissue is extracted. Then, the physicochemical properties hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of amino acids are employed to generate molecule descriptors in different feature spaces. For comparison, we obtained results by combining Cost-Sensitive learning with conventional ensemble of AdaBoostM1 and Bagging. The proposed Can-CSC-GBE system has effectively reduced the misclassification costs and thereby improved the overall classification performance. Our novel approach has highlighted promising results as compared to the state-of-the-art ensemble approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Virginia ESI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types - Lines and Polygons)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains vector lines and polygons representing the shoreline and coastal habitats for Virginia, classified according to the Environmental Sensitivity...

Maryland ESI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types - Lines and Polygons)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains vector lines and polygons representing the shoreline and coastal habitats for Maryland, classified according to the Environmental Sensitivity...

Prince William Sound, Alaska ESI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Prince William Sound, Alaska. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Upper Texas Coast (NODC Accession 0046089)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This CD-ROM product from the NOAA National Ocean Service Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division contains the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data...

Environmental sensitivity of a tropical coastline (Trinidad, West Indies) to oil spills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nansingh, Permanand; Jurawan, Shari

1999-01-01

In the wider Caribbean region, Trinidad has been classified as a high risk areas for oil spills by the Intergovernmental Marine Consultative Organisation. In order to develop an oil spill environmental sensitivity index, the inter tidal zones of fifteen representative coastal sites were monitored for physical and biological parameters during the dry and wet seasons. On a scale of 1-10, sheltered habitats with high productivity are the most sensitive to spilt oil with an index value of 10. Exposed habitats with low productivity are the least sensitive with a value of 1. The index applied to coastal habitats in Trinidad is as follows: mangrove swamps (10), coral-algal reefs (9), sheltered rocky coasts (8), sheltered tidal flats (7), mixed sand and gravel beaches (6), sheltered fine to medium-grained sand beaches (5), exposed rocky shores (4), exposed tidal flats (3), exposed medium to coarse-grained sand beaches (2) and eroding wavecut platforms (1). This study demonstrates an approach to effectively combine biological and physical parameters into a single environmental sensitivity index to oil spills. (Author)

ESI-07 Rose Atoll, American Samoa 2003 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR21, Ciales, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR22, Corozal, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR64, Guayama, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR41 Naguabo, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR29, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR30, Rosario, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR20, Florida, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR09, Manati, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR46, Yauco, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR11, Bayamon, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR18 Bayaney, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR56, Parguera, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR07, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-08,Swains Island, American Samoa 2003 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR13, Carolina, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR39 Juncos, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR35, Orocovis, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR06, Camuy, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR02, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Environmentally assisted cracking of non-sensitized stainless steels - possible affecting phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrnsten, Ulla; Haenninen, Hannu

2006-09-01

Intergranular, environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) has been observed, not only in sensitized austenitic stainless steels, but also in non-sensitized stainless steels. This type of cracking has so far been connected to cold-worked stainless steels and it has been reported to occur in the oxidising environments, but it may also be a potential degradation mode in non-oxidising environments (i.e., both in BWR and PWR conditions). Localisation of plastic deformation and the interactions between oxidation and strain localisation are most probably playing the key role in cracking of cold-worked stainless steels. In this paper, the possible affecting phenomena are reviewed with the main emphasis on dynamic strain ageing. However, also environmentally enhanced creep, dynamic recovery, microstructures of the cold-worked austenitic stainless steels and relaxation are briefly discussed. Mechanistic understanding of the effects of these main factors affecting intergranular stress corrosion cracking of cold-worked, non-sensitized austenitic stainless steels is important, especially as the trend in the NDE inspection strategy is moving towards risk informed inspection. (authors)

DOE LLW classification rationale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores, A.Y.

1991-01-01

This report was about the rationale which the US Department of Energy had with low-level radioactive waste (LLW) classification. It is based on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's classification system. DOE site operators met to review the qualifications and characteristics of the classification systems. They evaluated performance objectives, developed waste classification tables, and compiled dose limits on the waste. A goal of the LLW classification system was to allow each disposal site the freedom to develop limits to radionuclide inventories and concentrations according to its own site-specific characteristics. This goal was achieved with the adoption of a performance objectives system based on a performance assessment, with site-specific environmental conditions and engineered disposal systems

A comprehensive sensitivity analysis of microarray breast cancer classification under feature variability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reinders Marcel JT

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Large discrepancies in signature composition and outcome concordance have been observed between different microarray breast cancer expression profiling studies. This is often ascribed to differences in array platform as well as biological variability. We conjecture that other reasons for the observed discrepancies are the measurement error associated with each feature and the choice of preprocessing method. Microarray data are known to be subject to technical variation and the confidence intervals around individual point estimates of expression levels can be wide. Furthermore, the estimated expression values also vary depending on the selected preprocessing scheme. In microarray breast cancer classification studies, however, these two forms of feature variability are almost always ignored and hence their exact role is unclear. Results We have performed a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of microarray breast cancer classification under the two types of feature variability mentioned above. We used data from six state of the art preprocessing methods, using a compendium consisting of eight diferent datasets, involving 1131 hybridizations, containing data from both one and two-color array technology. For a wide range of classifiers, we performed a joint study on performance, concordance and stability. In the stability analysis we explicitly tested classifiers for their noise tolerance by using perturbed expression profiles that are based on uncertainty information directly related to the preprocessing methods. Our results indicate that signature composition is strongly influenced by feature variability, even if the array platform and the stratification of patient samples are identical. In addition, we show that there is often a high level of discordance between individual class assignments for signatures constructed on data coming from different preprocessing schemes, even if the actual signature composition is identical

Environmental context determines community sensitivity of freshwater zooplankton to a pesticide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stampfli, Nathalie C.; Knillmann, Saskia; Liess, Matthias; Beketov, Mikhail A.

2011-01-01

The environment is currently changing worldwide, and ecosystems are being exposed to multiple anthropogenic pressures. Understanding and consideration of such environmental conditions is required in ecological risk assessment of toxicants, but it remains basically limited. In the present study, we aimed to determine how and to what extent alterations in the abiotic and biotic environmental conditions can alter the sensitivity of a community to an insecticide, as well as its recovery after contamination. We conducted an outdoor microcosm experiment in which zooplankton communities were exposed to the insecticide esfenvalerate (0.03, 0.3, and 3 μg/L) under different regimes of solar radiation and community density, which represented different levels of food availability and competition. We focused on the sensitivity of the entire community and analysed it using multivariate statistical methods, such as principal response curves and redundancy analysis. The results showed that community sensitivity varied markedly between the treatments. In the experimental series with the lowest availability of food and strongest competition significant effects of the insecticide were found at the concentration of 0.03 μg/L. In contrast, in the series with relatively higher food availability and weak competition such effects were detected at 3 μg/L only. However, we did not find significant differences in the community recovery rates between the experimental treatments. These findings indicate that environmental context is more important for ecotoxicological evaluation than assumed previously.

A New Computationally Frugal Method For Sensitivity Analysis Of Environmental Models

Science.gov (United States)

Rakovec, O.; Hill, M. C.; Clark, M. P.; Weerts, A.; Teuling, R.; Borgonovo, E.; Uijlenhoet, R.

2013-12-01

Effective and efficient parameter sensitivity analysis methods are crucial to understand the behaviour of complex environmental models and use of models in risk assessment. This paper proposes a new computationally frugal method for analyzing parameter sensitivity: the Distributed Evaluation of Local Sensitivity Analysis (DELSA). The DELSA method can be considered a hybrid of local and global methods, and focuses explicitly on multiscale evaluation of parameter sensitivity across the parameter space. Results of the DELSA method are compared with the popular global, variance-based Sobol' method and the delta method. We assess the parameter sensitivity of both (1) a simple non-linear reservoir model with only two parameters, and (2) five different "bucket-style" hydrologic models applied to a medium-sized catchment (200 km2) in the Belgian Ardennes. Results show that in both the synthetic and real-world examples, the global Sobol' method and the DELSA method provide similar sensitivities, with the DELSA method providing more detailed insight at much lower computational cost. The ability to understand how sensitivity measures vary through parameter space with modest computational requirements provides exciting new opportunities.

Application of environmental sensitivity theories in personalized prevention for youth substance abuse: a transdisciplinary translational perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Thibodeau, Eric L; August, Gerald J; Cicchetti, Dante; Symons, Frank J

2016-03-01

Preventive interventions that target high-risk youth, via one-size-fits-all approaches, have demonstrated modest effects in reducing rates of substance use. Recently, substance use researchers have recommended personalized intervention strategies. Central to these approaches is matching preventatives to characteristics of an individual that have been shown to predict outcomes. One compelling body of literature on person × environment interactions is that of environmental sensitivity theories, including differential susceptibility theory and vantage sensitivity. Recent experimental evidence has demonstrated that environmental sensitivity (ES) factors moderate substance abuse outcomes. We propose that ES factors may augment current personalization strategies such as matching based on risk factors/severity of problem behaviors (risk severity (RS)). Specifically, individuals most sensitive to environmental influence may be those most responsive to intervention in general and thus need only a brief-type or lower-intensity program to show gains, while those least sensitive may require more comprehensive or intensive programming for optimal responsiveness. We provide an example from ongoing research to illustrate how ES factors can be incorporated into prevention trials aimed at high-risk adolescents.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: South Florida, July 1996 (NODC Accession 0006539)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of South Florida (to encompass the...

Environmental gram-positive mastitis treatment: in vitro sensitivity and bacteriologic cure.

Science.gov (United States)

Cattell, M B; Dinsmore, R P; Belschner, A P; Carmen, J; Goodell, G

2001-09-01

A clinical trial was conducted in a large dairy herd to determine the efficacy of intramammary pirlimycin hydrochloride administration during lactation for bacteriologic clearance of gram-positive environmental clinical and subclinical mastitis infections. Quarters infected with environmental streptococci that received pirlimycin therapy (13/28) were 1.8 times more likely to resolve infection than untreated quarters (5/14). The small numbers of quarters infected with coagulase-negative staphylococci resulted in inadequate power to assess treatment differences in cure rate. Although the association was not statistically significant, quarters from cows with sensitive environmental streptococci isolates from composite samples (8/13) resolved infection with treatment at approximately twice the rate of treated quarters with resistant isolates (3/10).

ESI-05, Ofu & Olosega Islands, American Samoa 2003 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR61, Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR26, El Yunque, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI95 Midway Islands, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR12, San Juan, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR65, Punta Tuna, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI90 Gardner Pinnacles, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI92 Laysan Island, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI91 Maro Reef, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-03, Tutuila Island - South, American Samoa 2003 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Tinian, Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR43, Puerto Real, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR59, Punta Cuchara , Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI93 Lisianski Island, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR24, Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR55, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR49, Rio Descalabrado, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Rota, Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Great Lakes, 1995-1998 (NODC Accession 0013820)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in .PDF format for the following Great Lakes and associated waterways: north, east, and west...

Aguijan, Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Saipan, Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, 2006 Environmental Sensitivity Index Map

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Unmet health care needs for persons with environmental sensitivity

OpenAIRE

Gibson, Pamela Reed; Kovach, Shannon; Lupfer, Alexis

2015-01-01

Pamela Reed Gibson, Shannon Kovach, Alexis LupferDepartment of Psychology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USAAbstract: Studies of unmet health care needs have shown that women, people with poor health, and people with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to report having unmet health care needs. In this study, we examined the types of and reasons for unmet health care needs in 465 people with environmental sensitivities. A second area of inquiry involved negative reactions ...

Boosted classification trees result in minor to modest improvement in the accuracy in classifying cardiovascular outcomes compared to conventional classification trees

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Peter C; Lee, Douglas S

2011-01-01

Purpose: Classification trees are increasingly being used to classifying patients according to the presence or absence of a disease or health outcome. A limitation of classification trees is their limited predictive accuracy. In the data-mining and machine learning literature, boosting has been developed to improve classification. Boosting with classification trees iteratively grows classification trees in a sequence of reweighted datasets. In a given iteration, subjects that were misclassified in the previous iteration are weighted more highly than subjects that were correctly classified. Classifications from each of the classification trees in the sequence are combined through a weighted majority vote to produce a final classification. The authors' objective was to examine whether boosting improved the accuracy of classification trees for predicting outcomes in cardiovascular patients. Methods: We examined the utility of boosting classification trees for classifying 30-day mortality outcomes in patients hospitalized with either acute myocardial infarction or congestive heart failure. Results: Improvements in the misclassification rate using boosted classification trees were at best minor compared to when conventional classification trees were used. Minor to modest improvements to sensitivity were observed, with only a negligible reduction in specificity. For predicting cardiovascular mortality, boosted classification trees had high specificity, but low sensitivity. Conclusions: Gains in predictive accuracy for predicting cardiovascular outcomes were less impressive than gains in performance observed in the data mining literature. PMID:22254181

Environmental sensitivity studies for Gen-IV roadmap DUPIC scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Chang Joon

2004-03-01

The environmental effect of the DUPIC (Direct Use of Spent PWR Fuel in CANDU Reactors) fuel cycle, which is considered as one of the partial recycle scenario in Gen-IV roadmap, has been analyzed by using the dynamic analysis method. Through the parametric calculations for the DUPIC fuel cycle deployment time and the fraction of the DUPIC reactors, the environmental effects of the fuel cycle for important parameters such as the amount of spent fuel and the combined amounts of plutonium and minor actinides were estimated and compared to those of the once-through LWR fuel cycle. The results of the sensitivity calculations showed that an early deployment of the DUPIC fuel cycle with a high DUPIC reactor fraction can reduce the accumulation of spent fuel by up to 40%. More important is the associated reduction in the combined amount of plutonium and minor actinides, which may reduce the key repository parameter (long term decay heat). Therefore it is expected that favorable environmental effects will be the outcome of the implementation of the DUPIC fuel cycle

Genetic variability of environmental sensitivity revealed by phenotypic variation in body weight and (its correlations to physiological and behavioral traits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delphine Lallias

Full Text Available Adaptive phenotypic plasticity is a key component of the ability of organisms to cope with changing environmental conditions. Fish have been shown to exhibit a substantial level of phenotypic plasticity in response to abiotic and biotic factors. In the present study, we investigate the link between environmental sensitivity assessed globally (revealed by phenotypic variation in body weight and more targeted physiological and behavioral indicators that are generally used to assess the sensitivity of a fish to environmental stressors. We took advantage of original biological material, the rainbow trout isogenic lines, which allowed the disentangling of the genetic and environmental parts of the phenotypic variance. Ten lines were characterized for the changes of body weight variability (weight measurements taken every month during 18 months, the plasma cortisol response to confinement stress (3 challenges and a set of selected behavioral indicators. This study unambiguously demonstrated the existence of genetic determinism of environmental sensitivity, with some lines being particularly sensitive to environmental fluctuations and others rather insensitive. Correlations between coefficient of variation (CV for body weight and behavioral and physiological traits were observed. This confirmed that CV for body weight could be used as an indicator of environmental sensitivity. As the relationship between indicators (CV weight, risk-taking, exploration and cortisol was shown to be likely depending on the nature and intensity of the stressor, the joint use of several indicators should help to investigate the biological complexity of environmental sensitivity.

Environmentally Sensitive Fluorescent Sensors Based on Synthetic Peptides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurence Choulier

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Biosensors allow the direct detection of molecular analytes, by associating a biological receptor with a transducer able to convert the analyte-receptor recognition event into a measurable signal. We review recent work aimed at developing synthetic fluorescent molecular sensors for a variety of analytes, based on peptidic receptors labeled with environmentally sensitive fluorophores. Fluorescent indicators based on synthetic peptides are highly interesting alternatives to protein-based sensors, since they can be synthesized chemically, are stable, and can be easily modified in a site-specific manner for fluorophore coupling and for immobilization on solid supports.

Geospatial intelligence and visual classification of environmentally observed species in the Future Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Arbab-Zavar, B.; Chakravarthy, A.; Sabeur, Z. A.

2012-04-01

The rapid development of advanced smart communication tools with good quality and resolution video cameras, audio and GPS devices in the last few years shall lead to profound impacts on the way future environmental observations are conducted and accessed by communities. The resulting large scale interconnections of these "Future Internet Things" form a large environmental sensing network which will generate large volumes of quality environmental observations and at highly localised spatial scales. This enablement in environmental sensing at local scales will be of great importance to contribute in the study of fauna and flora in the near future, particularly on the effect of climate change on biodiversity in various regions of Europe and beyond. The Future Internet could also potentially become the de facto information space to provide participative real-time sensing by communities and improve our situation awarness of the effect of climate on local environments. In the ENVIROFI(2011-2013) Usage Area project in the FP7 FI-PPP programme, a set of requirements for specific (and generic) enablers is achieved with the potential establishement of participating community observatories of the future. In particular, the specific enablement of interest concerns the building of future interoperable services for the management of environmental data intelligently with tagged contextual geo-spatial information generated by multiple operators in communities (Using smart phones). The classification of observed species in the resulting images is achieved with structured data pre-processing, semantic enrichement using contextual geospatial information, and high level fusion with controlled uncertainty estimations. The returned identification of species is further improved using future ground truth corrections and learning by the specific enablers.

Childhood quality influences genetic sensitivity to environmental influences across adulthood: A life-course Gene × Environment interaction study.

Science.gov (United States)

Keers, Robert; Pluess, Michael

2017-12-01

While environmental adversity has been shown to increase risk for psychopathology, individuals differ in their sensitivity to these effects. Both genes and childhood experiences are thought to influence sensitivity to the environment, and these factors may operate synergistically such that the effects of childhood experiences on later sensitivity are greater in individuals who are more genetically sensitive. In line with this hypothesis, several recent studies have reported a significant three-way interaction (Gene × Environment × Environment) between two candidate genes and childhood and adult environment on adult psychopathology. We aimed to replicate and extend these findings in a large, prospective multiwave longitudinal study using a polygenic score of environmental sensitivity and objectively measured childhood and adult material environmental quality. We found evidence for both Environment × Environment and Gene × Environment × Environment effects on psychological distress. Children with a poor-quality material environment were more sensitive to the negative effects of a poor environment as adults, reporting significantly higher psychological distress scores. These effects were further moderated by a polygenic score of environmental sensitivity. Genetically sensitive children were more vulnerable to adversity as adults, if they had experienced a poor childhood environment but were significantly less vulnerable if their childhood environment was positive. These findings are in line with the differential susceptibility hypothesis and suggest that a life course approach is necessary to elucidate the role of Gene × Environment in the development of mental illnesses.

Global Sensitivity Analysis of Environmental Models: Convergence, Robustness and Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Sarrazin, Fanny; Pianosi, Francesca; Khorashadi Zadeh, Farkhondeh; Van Griensven, Ann; Wagener, Thorsten

2015-04-01

Global Sensitivity Analysis aims to characterize the impact that variations in model input factors (e.g. the parameters) have on the model output (e.g. simulated streamflow). In sampling-based Global Sensitivity Analysis, the sample size has to be chosen carefully in order to obtain reliable sensitivity estimates while spending computational resources efficiently. Furthermore, insensitive parameters are typically identified through the definition of a screening threshold: the theoretical value of their sensitivity index is zero but in a sampling-base framework they regularly take non-zero values. There is little guidance available for these two steps in environmental modelling though. The objective of the present study is to support modellers in making appropriate choices, regarding both sample size and screening threshold, so that a robust sensitivity analysis can be implemented. We performed sensitivity analysis for the parameters of three hydrological models with increasing level of complexity (Hymod, HBV and SWAT), and tested three widely used sensitivity analysis methods (Elementary Effect Test or method of Morris, Regional Sensitivity Analysis, and Variance-Based Sensitivity Analysis). We defined criteria based on a bootstrap approach to assess three different types of convergence: the convergence of the value of the sensitivity indices, of the ranking (the ordering among the parameters) and of the screening (the identification of the insensitive parameters). We investigated the screening threshold through the definition of a validation procedure. The results showed that full convergence of the value of the sensitivity indices is not necessarily needed to rank or to screen the model input factors. Furthermore, typical values of the sample sizes that are reported in the literature can be well below the sample sizes that actually ensure convergence of ranking and screening.

Incorporation of support vector machines in the LIBS toolbox for sensitive and robust classification amidst unexpected sample and system variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Dingari, Narahara Chari; Barman, Ishan; Myakalwar, Ashwin Kumar; Tewari, Surya P; Kumar Gundawar, Manoj

2012-03-20

Despite the intrinsic elemental analysis capability and lack of sample preparation requirements, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has not been extensively used for real-world applications, e.g., quality assurance and process monitoring. Specifically, variability in sample, system, and experimental parameters in LIBS studies present a substantive hurdle for robust classification, even when standard multivariate chemometric techniques are used for analysis. Considering pharmaceutical sample investigation as an example, we propose the use of support vector machines (SVM) as a nonlinear classification method over conventional linear techniques such as soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) and partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) for discrimination based on LIBS measurements. Using over-the-counter pharmaceutical samples, we demonstrate that the application of SVM enables statistically significant improvements in prospective classification accuracy (sensitivity), because of its ability to address variability in LIBS sample ablation and plasma self-absorption behavior. Furthermore, our results reveal that SVM provides nearly 10% improvement in correct allocation rate and a concomitant reduction in misclassification rates of 75% (cf. PLS-DA) and 80% (cf. SIMCA)-when measurements from samples not included in the training set are incorporated in the test data-highlighting its robustness. While further studies on a wider matrix of sample types performed using different LIBS systems is needed to fully characterize the capability of SVM to provide superior predictions, we anticipate that the improved sensitivity and robustness observed here will facilitate application of the proposed LIBS-SVM toolbox for screening drugs and detecting counterfeit samples, as well as in related areas of forensic and biological sample analysis.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Guam - 2005 maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0033616)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the U.S. is NOAA's Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach systematically complies...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Hawaii - 2001, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0033632)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the U.S. is NOAA's Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach systematically complies...

Optimization of reproductive management programs using lift chart analysis and cost-sensitive evaluation of classification errors.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahinfar, Saleh; Guenther, Jerry N; Page, C David; Kalantari, Afshin S; Cabrera, Victor E; Fricke, Paul M; Weigel, Kent A

2015-06-01

The common practice on most commercial dairy farms is to inseminate all cows that are eligible for breeding, while ignoring (or absorbing) the costs associated with semen and labor directed toward low-fertility cows that are unlikely to conceive. Modern analytical methods, such as machine learning algorithms, can be applied to cow-specific explanatory variables for the purpose of computing probabilities of success or failure associated with upcoming insemination events. Lift chart analysis can identify subsets of high fertility cows that are likely to conceive and are therefore appropriate targets for insemination (e.g., with conventional artificial insemination semen or expensive sex-enhanced semen), as well as subsets of low-fertility cows that are unlikely to conceive and should therefore be passed over at that point in time. Although such a strategy might be economically viable, the management, environmental, and financial conditions on one farm might differ widely from conditions on the next, and hence the reproductive management recommendations derived from such a tool may be suboptimal for specific farms. When coupled with cost-sensitive evaluation of misclassified and correctly classified insemination events, the strategy can be a potentially powerful tool for optimizing the reproductive management of individual farms. In the present study, lift chart analysis and cost-sensitive evaluation were applied to a data set consisting of 54,806 insemination events of primiparous Holstein cows on 26 Wisconsin farms, as well as a data set with 17,197 insemination events of primiparous Holstein cows on 3 Wisconsin farms, where the latter had more detailed information regarding health events of individual cows. In the first data set, the gains in profit associated with limiting inseminations to subsets of 79 to 97% of the most fertile eligible cows ranged from $0.44 to $2.18 per eligible cow in a monthly breeding period, depending on days in milk at breeding and milk

An evaluation of the MEDALUS ESA index (environmental sensitivity to land degradation), from regional to plot scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavado Contador, J. J.; Schnabel, S.; Gomez Gutierrez, A.

2009-01-01

An assessment of the sensitivity to land degradation have been carried out for the region of Extramadura, Sw Spain, by means of the modelling approach developed in the European Commission funded MEDALUS project (Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use) which identifies such areas on the basis of an index (ESA index) that incorporates data on environmental quality (climate, vegetation, soil) as well as on anthropogenic factors (management). Two maps of environmental sensitivity to degradation with different legend resolution (4 and 8 classes of sensitivity) have been made. (Author) 6 refs.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Hawaii, December 2001, 2002, Volume 1 and 2 (NODC Accession 0002828)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Currently, the most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index or ESI. This approach...

Golfo de Fonseca ESI; Honduras and Nicaragua: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Golfo de Fonseca. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by their...

Environmental sensitivity studies for Gen-IV roadmap fast reactor scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Chang Joon

2004-03-01

The environmental effect of the self-sufficient fast reactor scenario, which is considered as one of the full fissile plutonium and transuranic recycle scenario in Gen-IV roadmap, has been analyzed by using the dynamic analysis method. Through the parametric calculations for the fast reactor deployment time and capacity, the environmental effects of the fuel cycle for important parameters such as the amount of spent fuel and the combined amounts of plutonium and minor actinides were estimated and compared to those of the once-through LWR fuel cycle. The results of the sensitivity calculations showed that an early deployment of the fast reactor with a high capacity can reduce the accumulation of spent fuel by up to 37%. Furthermore, the recycling of plutonium and minor actinides can reduce the key repository parameter (long term decay heat). Therefore the favorable environmental effects can be expected with the implementation of the symbiotic fast reactor scenario

A unified classification of alien species based on the magnitude of their environmental impacts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim M Blackburn

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Species moved by human activities beyond the limits of their native geographic ranges into areas in which they do not naturally occur (termed aliens can cause a broad range of significant changes to recipient ecosystems; however, their impacts vary greatly across species and the ecosystems into which they are introduced. There is therefore a critical need for a standardised method to evaluate, compare, and eventually predict the magnitudes of these different impacts. Here, we propose a straightforward system for classifying alien species according to the magnitude of their environmental impacts, based on the mechanisms of impact used to code species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN Global Invasive Species Database, which are presented here for the first time. The classification system uses five semi-quantitative scenarios describing impacts under each mechanism to assign species to different levels of impact-ranging from Minimal to Massive-with assignment corresponding to the highest level of deleterious impact associated with any of the mechanisms. The scheme also includes categories for species that are Not Evaluated, have No Alien Population, or are Data Deficient, and a method for assigning uncertainty to all the classifications. We show how this classification system is applicable at different levels of ecological complexity and different spatial and temporal scales, and embraces existing impact metrics. In fact, the scheme is analogous to the already widely adopted and accepted Red List approach to categorising extinction risk, and so could conceivably be readily integrated with existing practices and policies in many regions.

Machine-learning methods in the classification of water bodies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sołtysiak Marek

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Amphibian species have been considered as useful ecological indicators. They are used as indicators of environmental contamination, ecosystem health and habitat quality., Amphibian species are sensitive to changes in the aquatic environment and therefore, may form the basis for the classification of water bodies. Water bodies in which there are a large number of amphibian species are especially valuable even if they are located in urban areas. The automation of the classification process allows for a faster evaluation of the presence of amphibian species in the water bodies. Three machine-learning methods (artificial neural networks, decision trees and the k-nearest neighbours algorithm have been used to classify water bodies in Chorzów – one of 19 cities in the Upper Silesia Agglomeration. In this case, classification is a supervised data mining method consisting of several stages such as building the model, the testing phase and the prediction. Seven natural and anthropogenic features of water bodies (e.g. the type of water body, aquatic plants, the purpose of the water body (destination, position of the water body in relation to any possible buildings, condition of the water body, the degree of littering, the shore type and fishing activities have been taken into account in the classification. The data set used in this study involved information about 71 different water bodies and 9 amphibian species living in them. The results showed that the best average classification accuracy was obtained with the multilayer perceptron neural network.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: West Peninsular Florida Volume 1 (NODC Accession 0006377)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of West Peninsular Florida (to encompass...

40 CFR 52.2771 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.2771 Section 52.2771 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... classifications: Air quality control region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon...

ESI-HI27 Kawaihae, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI23 Makalawena, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI49 Paia, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI45 Lahaina, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR67, Isla De Vieques, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI65 Ewa, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI73 Kaneohe, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI69 Waimea, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI01 Hilo, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI33 Honokaa, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI71 Hauula, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI82 Hanalei, Island of Kauai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI10 Pahala, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI14, Anegada U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI11, Tortola, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI63 Waipahu, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI29 Mahukona, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI11 Punaluu, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI21 Kailua, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI74 Mokapu, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI46 Napili, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI17 Milolii, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI38 Kipahulu, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI67 Kaena, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI43 Maalaea, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI76 Lihue, Island of Kauai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI72 Kahana, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI06 Kalapana, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI44 Olowalu, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI19 Honaunau, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR16, Central La Plata, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI66 Waianae, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI37 Hana, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI47 Kahakuloa, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI48 Wailuku, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI68 Haleiwa, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Data mining methods in the prediction of Dementia: A real-data comparison of the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of linear discriminant analysis, logistic regression, neural networks, support vector machines, classification trees and random forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santana Isabel

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Dementia and cognitive impairment associated with aging are a major medical and social concern. Neuropsychological testing is a key element in the diagnostic procedures of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI, but has presently a limited value in the prediction of progression to dementia. We advance the hypothesis that newer statistical classification methods derived from data mining and machine learning methods like Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines and Random Forests can improve accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of predictions obtained from neuropsychological testing. Seven non parametric classifiers derived from data mining methods (Multilayer Perceptrons Neural Networks, Radial Basis Function Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines, CART, CHAID and QUEST Classification Trees and Random Forests were compared to three traditional classifiers (Linear Discriminant Analysis, Quadratic Discriminant Analysis and Logistic Regression in terms of overall classification accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, Area under the ROC curve and Press'Q. Model predictors were 10 neuropsychological tests currently used in the diagnosis of dementia. Statistical distributions of classification parameters obtained from a 5-fold cross-validation were compared using the Friedman's nonparametric test. Results Press' Q test showed that all classifiers performed better than chance alone (p Conclusions When taking into account sensitivity, specificity and overall classification accuracy Random Forests and Linear Discriminant analysis rank first among all the classifiers tested in prediction of dementia using several neuropsychological tests. These methods may be used to improve accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of Dementia predictions from neuropsychological testing.

Natural versus man-made forests as buffers against environmental deterioration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reynolds, E R.C.; Wood, P J

1977-01-01

Terms are defined, especially the degree of management of tropical moist forest (TMF) which is likely to produce significant environmental change. The changes in the environment reported in the literature due to transforming indigenous forest into man-made forest are described under separate heads: soil, water, water courses, climate, atmosphere, flora, fauna, amenity and recreation, and human societies. The economic consequences of conserving or protecting TMF are discussed. Phillips, Baurs, and Wadsworths classifications of TMF in terms of its potential to counter environmental deterioration are critically summarized and an approach to an improved method of assessment is suggested. This would be applied to environmental features in order of decreasing sensitivity to TMF conversion. Environmental subjects requiring further research are noted.

49 CFR 1105.6 - Classification of actions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Classification of actions. (a) Environmental Impact Statements will normally be prepared for rail construction... action that would normally require environmental documentation (such as a construction or abandonment... environmental impacts; (6) Water carrier licensing under 49 U.S.C. 10922 that: (i) Involves a new operation (i.e...

High sensitivity neutron activation analysis of environmental and biological standard reference materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, R.R.; Fleming, R.F.; Zeisler, R.

1984-01-01

Neutron activation analysis is a sensitive method with unique capabilities for the analysis of environmental and biological samples. Since it is based upon the nuclear properties of the elements, it does not suffer from many of the chemical effects that plague other methods of analysis. Analyses can be performed either with no chemical treatment of the sample (instrumentally), or with separations of the elements of interest after neutron irradiation (radiochemically). Typical examples of both types of analysis are discussed, and data obtained for a number of environmental and biological SRMs are presented. (author)

The Ecohydrological Context of Drought and Classification of Plant Responses

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, X.; Ackerly, D.; Dawson, T. E.; Manzoni, S.; Skelton, R. P.; Vico, G.; Thompson, S. E.

2017-12-01

Many recent studies on drought-induced vegetation mortality have explored how plant functional traits, and classifications of such traits along axes of, e.g., isohydry - anisohydry, might contribute to predicting drought survival and recovery. As these studies proliferate, concerns are growing about the consistency and predictive value of such classifications. Here, we outline the basis for a systematic classification of drought strategies that accounts for both environmental conditions and functional traits. We (1) identify drawbacks of exiting isohydricity and trait-based metrics, (2) identify major axes of trait and environmental variation that determine drought mortality pathways (hydraulic failure and carbon starvation) using non-dimensional trait groups, and (3) demonstrate that these trait groupings predict physiological drought outcomes using both measured and synthetic data. In doing so we untangle some confounding effects of environment and trait variations that undermine current classification schemes, outline a pathway to progress towards a general classification of drought vulnerability, and advocate for more careful treatment of the environmental conditions within which plant drought responses occur.

Advanced digital I ampersand C systems in nuclear power plants: Risk- sensitivities to environmental stressors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, M.; Vesely, W.E.

1996-01-01

Microprocessor-based advanced digital systems are being used for upgrading analog instrumentation and control (I ampersand C) systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the United States. A concern with using such advanced systems for safety-related applications in NPPs is the limited experience with this equipment in these environments. In this study, we investigate the risk effects of environmental stressors by quantifying the plant's risk-sensitivities to them. The risk- sensitivities are changes in plant risk caused by the stressors, and are quantified by estimating their effects on I ampersand C failure occurrences and the consequent increase in risk in terms of core damage frequency (CDF). We used available data, including military and NPP operating experience, on the effects of environmental stressors on the reliability of digital I ampersand C equipment. The methods developed are applied to determine and compare risk-sensitivities to temperature, humidity, vibration, EMI (electromagnetic interference) from lightning and smoke as stressors in an example plant using a PRA (Probabilistic Risk Assessment). Uncertainties in the estimates of the stressor effects on the equipment's reliability are expressed in terms of ranges for risk-sensitivities. The results show that environmental stressors potentially can cause a significant increase in I ampersand C contributions to the CDF. Further, considerable variations can be expected in some stressor effects, depending on where the equipment is located

Hydrological classification of natural flow regimes to support environmental flow assessments in intensively regulated Mediterranean rivers, Segura River Basin (Spain).

Science.gov (United States)

Belmar, Oscar; Velasco, Josefa; Martinez-Capel, Francisco

2011-05-01

Hydrological classification constitutes the first step of a new holistic framework for developing regional environmental flow criteria: the "Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA)". The aim of this study was to develop a classification for 390 stream sections of the Segura River Basin based on 73 hydrological indices that characterize their natural flow regimes. The hydrological indices were calculated with 25 years of natural monthly flows (1980/81-2005/06) derived from a rainfall-runoff model developed by the Spanish Ministry of Environment and Public Works. These indices included, at a monthly or annual basis, measures of duration of droughts and central tendency and dispersion of flow magnitude (average, low and high flow conditions). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated high redundancy among most hydrological indices, as well as two gradients: flow magnitude for mainstream rivers and temporal variability for tributary streams. A classification with eight flow-regime classes was chosen as the most easily interpretable in the Segura River Basin, which was supported by ANOSIM analyses. These classes can be simplified in 4 broader groups, with different seasonal discharge pattern: large rivers, perennial stable streams, perennial seasonal streams and intermittent and ephemeral streams. They showed a high degree of spatial cohesion, following a gradient associated with climatic aridity from NW to SE, and were well defined in terms of the fundamental variables in Mediterranean streams: magnitude and temporal variability of flows. Therefore, this classification is a fundamental tool to support water management and planning in the Segura River Basin. Future research will allow us to study the flow alteration-ecological response relationship for each river type, and set the basis to design scientifically credible environmental flows following the ELOHA framework.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Bristol Bay, Alaska, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0033382)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach systematically...

Application of PCA and SIMCA statistical analysis of FT-IR spectra for the classification and identification of different slag types with environmental origin.

Science.gov (United States)

Stumpe, B; Engel, T; Steinweg, B; Marschner, B

2012-04-03

In the past, different slag materials were often used for landscaping and construction purposes or simply dumped. Nowadays German environmental laws strictly control the use of slags, but there is still a remaining part of 35% which is uncontrolled dumped in landfills. Since some slags have high heavy metal contents and different slag types have typical chemical and physical properties that will influence the risk potential and other characteristics of the deposits, an identification of the slag types is needed. We developed a FT-IR-based statistical method to identify different slags classes. Slags samples were collected at different sites throughout various cities within the industrial Ruhr area. Then, spectra of 35 samples from four different slags classes, ladle furnace (LF), blast furnace (BF), oxygen furnace steel (OF), and zinc furnace slags (ZF), were determined in the mid-infrared region (4000-400 cm(-1)). The spectra data sets were subject to statistical classification methods for the separation of separate spectral data of different slag classes. Principal component analysis (PCA) models for each slag class were developed and further used for soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). Precise classification of slag samples into four different slag classes were achieved using two different SIMCA models stepwise. At first, SIMCA 1 was used for classification of ZF as well as OF slags over the total spectral range. If no correct classification was found, then the spectrum was analyzed with SIMCA 2 at reduced wavenumbers for the classification of LF as well as BF spectra. As a result, we provide a time- and cost-efficient method based on FT-IR spectroscopy for processing and identifying large numbers of environmental slag samples.

The use of ecological classification in management

Science.gov (United States)

Constance A. Carpenter; Wolf-Dieter Busch; David T. Cleland; Juan Gallegos; Rick Harris; ray Holm; Chris Topik; Al Williamson

1999-01-01

Ecological classificafion systems range over a variety of scales and reflect a variety of scientific viewpoints. They incorporate or emphasize varied arrays of environmental factors. Ecological classifications have been developed for marine, wetland, lake, stream, and terrestrial ecosystems. What are the benefits of ecological classification for natural resource...

Structural knowledge learning from maps for supervised land cover/use classification: Application to the monitoring of land cover/use maps in French Guiana

Science.gov (United States)

Bayoudh, Meriam; Roux, Emmanuel; Richard, Gilles; Nock, Richard

2015-03-01

The number of satellites and sensors devoted to Earth observation has become increasingly elevated, delivering extensive data, especially images. At the same time, the access to such data and the tools needed to process them has considerably improved. In the presence of such data flow, we need automatic image interpretation methods, especially when it comes to the monitoring and prediction of environmental and societal changes in highly dynamic socio-environmental contexts. This could be accomplished via artificial intelligence. The concept described here relies on the induction of classification rules that explicitly take into account structural knowledge, using Aleph, an Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) system, combined with a multi-class classification procedure. This methodology was used to monitor changes in land cover/use of the French Guiana coastline. One hundred and fifty-eight classification rules were induced from 3 diachronic land cover/use maps including 38 classes. These rules were expressed in first order logic language, which makes them easily understandable by non-experts. A 10-fold cross-validation gave significant average values of 84.62%, 99.57% and 77.22% for classification accuracy, specificity and sensitivity, respectively. Our methodology could be beneficial to automatically classify new objects and to facilitate object-based classification procedures.

The local lymph node assay: current position in the regulatory classification of skin sensitizing chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Basketter, David A; Gerberick, G Frank; Kimber, Ian

2007-01-01

The local lymph node assay (LLNA) is being used increasingly in the identification of skin sensitizing chemicals for regulatory purposes. In the context of new chemicals legislation (REACH) in Europe, it is the preferred assay. The rationale for this is that the LLNA quantitative and objective approach to skin sensitization testing allied with the important animal welfare benefits that the method offers. However, as with certain guinea pig sensitization tests before it, this increasing use also brings experience with an increasingly wide range of industrial and other chemicals where the outcome of the assay does not always necessarily meet with the expectations of those conducting it. Sometimes, the result appears to be a false negative, but rather more commonly, the complaint is that the chemical represents a false positive. Against this background we have here reviewed a number of instances where false positive and false negative results have been described and have sought to reconcile science with expectation. Based on these analyses, it is our conclusion that false positives and false negatives do occur in the LLNA, as they do with any other skin sensitization assay (and indeed with all tests used for hazard identification), and that this occurs for a number of reasons. We further conclude, however, that false positive results in the LLNA, as with the guinea pig maximization test, arise most commonly via failure to distinguish what is scientifically correct from that which is unpalatable. The consequences of this confusion are discussed in the article, particularly in relation to the need to integrate both potency measurement and risk assessments into classification and labelling schemes that aim to manage potential risks to human health.

Environmentally Sensitive Areas Surveys Program threatened and endangered species survey: Progress report. Environmental Restoration Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

King, A.L.; Awl, D.J.; Gabrielsen, C.A.

1994-09-01

The Endangered Species Act (originally passed in 1973) is a Federal statute that protects both animal and plant species. The Endangered Species Act identifies species which are, without careful management, in danger of becoming extinct and species that are considered threatened. Along with the designation of threatened or endangered, the Endangered Species Act provides for the identification of appropriate habitat for these species. Since 1993, the United States Department of Energy`s (DOE) Environmental Restoration (ER) Program has supported a program to survey the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) for threatened and endangered species. The Environmentally Sensitive Areas Surveys Program initiated vascular plant surveys during fiscal year 1993 and vertebrate animal surveys during fiscal year 1994 to determine the baseline condition of threatened and endangered species on the ORR at the present time. Data collected during these surveys are currently aiding Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Remedial Investigations on the ORR. They also provide data for ER and Waste Management decision documents, ensure that decisions have technical and legal defensibility, provide a baseline for ensuring compliance with principal legal requirements and will increase public confidence in DOE`s adherence to all related environmental resources rules, laws, regulations, and instructions. This report discusses the progress to date of the threatened and endangered species surveys of the ORR.

Environmental issues and solutions for exploratory drilling in sensitive areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, R.M.

1995-01-01

Chevron USA Production Company (CPDN), the National Forest Service (FS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) successfully utilized a multi-disciplinary team approach to design and implement innovative environmental solutions to drill the 8,000 foot deep, Hunter Creek exploratory well. The project was located in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, less than 20 miles from Grand Teton National Park. Acquiring permission from the FS, the BLM, and ultimately, the public to drill the Hunter Creek well involved substantial teamwork in identifying many potential, environmental pitfalls. Creative, workable and cost-effective mitigation measures employed at Hunter Creek included: utilizing a helicopter and limiting vehicle use of an existing road, conducting environmental and safety training, an erosion control and reclamation plan, designing an environmentally friendly, near-zero-discharge drilling location, initiating a water quality monitoring program to establish baseline data and to ensure protection of surface and ground water, designing a waste minimization plan, identifying threatened and endangered and special status species possibly affected by project activities, and ensuring compliance with all mitigation measures and Federal and State regulations. The Hunter Creek project successfully demonstrates that oil and gas exploration can be conducted with a soft footprint in environmentally sensitive areas if mitigation measures are front-end loaded in the project and honored by all personnel involved. Teamwork, training and communication were found to be indispensable components of achieving success at Hunter Creek

Sensitivity of the Early Development of Ramshorn Snail, Marisa cornuarietis (Ampullariidae) to Environmental Chemicals

OpenAIRE

Sawasdee, Banthita

2011-01-01

In this study, the suitability of the M. cornuarietis embryo toxicity test (MariETT) for environmental chemicals was investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity of the recently introduced M. cornuarietis embryo toxicity test (MariETT) using selected metals (inorganic pollutants) and pesticides (organic pollutants), and to compare its sensitivity and practicability to other established bioassay. The following endpoints were observed: mortality, formation of tentacl...

ESI-HI54 Lanai South, Island of Lanai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI26 Puu Hinai, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI57 Molokai Airport, Island of Molokai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI02 Keaau Ranch, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI28 Keawanui Bay, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI09 Naliikakani Point, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI60 Molokai East, Island of Molokai, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI75 Koko head, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI62 Pearl Harbor, Island of Oahu, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI94 Pearl and Hermes Atoll, NWHI, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI12 Beef Island, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI08 Kau Desert, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 ( Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI9, Peter Island, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI13, Virgin Gorda, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-HI07 Makaopuhi Crater, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Modeling the Sensitivity of Field Surveys for Detection of Environmental DNA (eDNA.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin T Schultz

Full Text Available The environmental DNA (eDNA method is the practice of collecting environmental samples and analyzing them for the presence of a genetic marker specific to a target species. Little is known about the sensitivity of the eDNA method. Sensitivity is the probability that the target marker will be detected if it is present in the water body. Methods and tools are needed to assess the sensitivity of sampling protocols, design eDNA surveys, and interpret survey results. In this study, the sensitivity of the eDNA method is modeled as a function of ambient target marker concentration. The model accounts for five steps of sample collection and analysis, including: 1 collection of a filtered water sample from the source; 2 extraction of DNA from the filter and isolation in a purified elution; 3 removal of aliquots from the elution for use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR assay; 4 PCR; and 5 genetic sequencing. The model is applicable to any target species. For demonstration purposes, the model is parameterized for bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and silver carp (H. molitrix assuming sampling protocols used in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS. Simulation results show that eDNA surveys have a high false negative rate at low concentrations of the genetic marker. This is attributed to processing of water samples and division of the extraction elution in preparation for the PCR assay. Increases in field survey sensitivity can be achieved by increasing sample volume, sample number, and PCR replicates. Increasing sample volume yields the greatest increase in sensitivity. It is recommended that investigators estimate and communicate the sensitivity of eDNA surveys to help facilitate interpretation of eDNA survey results. In the absence of such information, it is difficult to evaluate the results of surveys in which no water samples test positive for the target marker. It is also recommended that invasive species managers articulate concentration

An Investigation into the Environmental Sensitivity and Awareness Level-A Case Study of Sarayönü District, Konya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammed Kamil Öden

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine the environmental sensitivity and awareness level of the inhabitants in Konya, Sarayönü districts. In today’s world, the environment is rapidly being polluted and pollution rate is being increased by human beings. In this regards, the viewpoints of Sarayönü people on the environment and environmental elements are revealed. For this purpose, a research include variables such as gender, age, job and education level was carried out by using a questionnaire made up of 16 questions. The questionnaire was applied to 314 males and 286 females, totaling 600 participants. The research serves to raise an awareness of environment and environmental sensitivity. The findings showed that the people in Sarayönü have a high level of environmental sensitivity. Females tended to reflect a higher level of sensivitiy to the environment than males. The participants opted for air pollution as being the most important environmental element among the air, water, soil etc. pollution.

Can the Ni classification of vessels predict neoplasia?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehlum, Camilla Slot; Rosenberg, Tine; Dyrvig, Anne-Kirstine

2018-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The Ni classification of vascular change from 2011 is well documented for evaluating pharyngeal and laryngeal lesions, primarily focusing on cancer. In the planning of surgery it may be more relevant to differentiate neoplasia from non-neoplasia. We aimed to evaluate the ability...... of the Ni classification to predict laryngeal or hypopharyngeal neoplasia and to investigate if a changed cutoff value would support the recent European Laryngological Society (ELS) proposal of perpendicular vascular changes as indicative of neoplasia. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus....... The pooled sensitivity and specificity of the Ni classification with two different cutoffs were calculated, and bubble and summary receiver operating characteristics plots were created. RESULTS: The combined sensitivity of five studies (n = 687) with Ni type IV-V defined as test-positive was 0.89 (95...

Relationships (I) of International Classification of High-resolution Computed Tomography for Occupational and Environmental Respiratory Diseases with the ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses for parenchymal abnormalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamura, Taro; Suganuma, Narufumi; Hering, Kurt G; Vehmas, Tapio; Itoh, Harumi; Akira, Masanori; Takashima, Yoshihiro; Hirano, Harukazu; Kusaka, Yukinori

2015-01-01

The International Classification of High-resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) for Occupational and Environmental Respiratory Diseases (ICOERD) has been developed for the screening, diagnosis, and epidemiological reporting of respiratory diseases caused by occupational hazards. This study aimed to establish a correlation between readings of HRCT (according to the ICOERD) and those of chest radiography (CXR) pneumoconiotic parenchymal opacities (according to the International Labor Organization Classification/International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses [ILO/ICRP]). Forty-six patients with and 28 controls without mineral dust exposure underwent posterior-anterior CXR and HRCT. We recorded all subjects' exposure and smoking history. Experts independently read CXRs (using ILO/ICRP). Experts independently assessed HRCT using the ICOERD parenchymal abnormalities grades for well-defined rounded opacities (RO), linear and/or irregular opacities (IR), and emphysema (EM). The correlation between the ICOERD summed grades and ILO/ICRP profusions was evaluated using Spearman's rank-order correlation. Twenty-three patients had small opacities on CXR. HRCT showed that 21 patients had RO; 20 patients, IR opacities; and 23 patients, EM. The correlation between ILO/ICRP profusions and the ICOERD grades was 0.844 for rounded opacities (p<0.01). ICOERD readings from HRCT scans correlated well with previously validated ILO/ICRP criteria. The ICOERD adequately detects pneumoconiotic micronodules and can be used for the interpretation of pneumoconiosis.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Georgia, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013780)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of Georgia. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Kodiak, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0026418)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of Kodiak Island and Shelikof Strait, Alaska. ESI data characterize...

U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands ESI: ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Types)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Virgin Islands. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by their...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Mississippi, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013801)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of Mississippi. ESI data characterize coastal environments and wildlife by...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Louisiana maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013802)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of Louisiana. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...

Influence of interaction of environmental risk factors and sensitization in young asthmatic children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindfors, A; van Hage-Hamsten, M; Rietz, H; Wickman, M; Nordvall, S L

1999-10-01

The increasing prevalence of asthma and allergy in many countries demands evaluation of potential risk factors to improve the possibility of prevention. We studied the association between exposure to cat and dog allergen and allergic sensitization in young children with asthma and interactions with potential environmental risk factors. One hundred eighty-nine young children with asthma were evaluated. IgE antibodies to cat and dog were analyzed. Questionnaires were filled in focusing on exposure to cats and dogs, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and signs of home dampness as indicated by window pane condensation (WPC) during the first years of life. House dust was analyzed for content of cat (Fel d 1) and dog (Can f 1) allergen. There was a strong association between the degree of reported exposure to cat and dog and the concentration of the respective allergens in floor dust. A dose-response relationship was found between cat exposure, measured as either reported degree of cat exposure or cat allergen levels in dust, and sensitization both to cat and dog. No such relationship was found between exposure and sensitization to dog. WPC increased the risk for sensitization to cat (odds ratio = 2.6, 95% confidence interval 1.2-5.8), whereas ETS strongly tended to do so both to cat and dog. Interaction was found between exposure to ETS, WPC, and high levels of cat allergen (>8 microg/g dust). The presence of all 3 risk factors revealed a multiplicative interaction with a high risk of sensitization to cat (odds ratio = 42.0, 95% confidence interval 3.7-472.8). Keeping cats indoors may be a health hazard for infants and young children at risk for development of asthma, particularly when they live in a damp house and their parents smoke.

Environmental sensitive road planning and transportation techniques in forest engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Hulusi Acar

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Forestry management has activities dealing with technical, economic, social and environmental services. Forestry operations which are carried out on forest areas , an important part of the ecosistem are materialized in open space. This forestry activities on large areas and high sloping generally, include many different techniques. It is needed primarily to the forest road network in terms of forest management. Determining the approriate route in the natural environment, planning and road construction affairs for forest roads which are necessary accessing in forest areas, is also of great importance from an environmental viewpoint as well as technical and economic manner. Forest road planning which can not be changed later and left a permanent mark on the natural environment carries much more importance to the environment especially on sloping land. This is because, it is important choosing correct type of roaf structure, and doing periodic maintenance of the roads. Skidding activities, after wood production, is important in terms of its impact on forest soil and by means of effects on saplings and trees on the releated forest areas.The development of environmental sensitive techniques is difficult, limited or expensive for this wood extraction works which are made more difficult conditons in the sloping terrain. Therefore, especially in using some silvicultural methods wood extraction damages are even greater. In this study; some road planning, road construction and wood extraction techniques which performed by me have been made to examine the environmental aspects. Environment-friendly forest roads and primary transport techniques on the forest ecosystem are briefly explained and discussed in the frame of the environmental aspects.

Diagnosis and classification of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonutti, Elio; Bizzaro, Nicola

2014-01-01

Celiac disease is a complex disorder, the development of which is controlled by a combination of genetic (HLA alleles) and environmental (gluten ingestion) factors. New diagnostic guidelines developed by ESPGHAN emphasize the crucial role of serological tests in the diagnostic process of symptomatic subjects, and of the detection of HLA DQ2/DQ8 alleles in defining a diagnosis in asymptomatic subjects belonging to at-risk groups. The serological diagnosis of CD is based on the detection of class IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) and anti-endomysial antibodies. In patients with IgA deficiency, anti-tTG or anti-deamidated gliadin peptide antibody assays of the IgG class are used. When anti-tTG antibody levels are very high, antibody specificity is absolute and CD can be diagnosed without performing a duodenum biopsy. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is a gluten reaction in which both allergic and autoimmune mechanisms have been ruled out. Diagnostic criteria include the presence of symptoms similar to those of celiac or allergic patients; negative allergological tests and absence of anti-tTG and EMA antibodies; normal duodenal histology; evidence of disappearance of the symptoms with a gluten-free diet; relapse of the symptoms when gluten is reintroduced. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Classification of agricultural fields using time series of dual polarimetry TerraSAR-X images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Mirzaee

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Due to its special imaging characteristics, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR has become an important source of information for a variety of remote sensing applications dealing with environmental changes. SAR images contain information about both phase and intensity in different polarization modes, making them sensitive to geometrical structure and physical properties of the targets such as dielectric and plant water content. In this study we investigate multi temporal changes occurring to different crop types due to phenological changes using high-resolution TerraSAR-X imagers. The dataset includes 17 dual-polarimetry TSX data acquired from June 2012 to August 2013 in Lorestan province, Iran. Several features are extracted from polarized data and classified using support vector machine (SVM classifier. Training samples and different features employed in classification are also assessed in the study. Results show a satisfactory accuracy for classification which is about 0.91 in kappa coefficient.

Decision theory for discrimination-aware classification

KAUST Repository

Kamiran, Faisal

2012-12-01

Social discrimination (e.g., against females) arising from data mining techniques is a growing concern worldwide. In recent years, several methods have been proposed for making classifiers learned over discriminatory data discriminationaware. However, these methods suffer from two major shortcomings: (1) They require either modifying the discriminatory data or tweaking a specific classification algorithm and (2) They are not flexible w.r.t. discrimination control and multiple sensitive attribute handling. In this paper, we present two solutions for discrimination-aware classification that neither require data modification nor classifier tweaking. Our first and second solutions exploit, respectively, the reject option of probabilistic classifier(s) and the disagreement region of general classifier ensembles to reduce discrimination. We relate both solutions with decision theory for better understanding of the process. Our experiments using real-world datasets demonstrate that our solutions outperform existing state-ofthe-art methods, especially at low discrimination which is a significant advantage. The superior performance coupled with flexible control over discrimination and easy applicability to multiple sensitive attributes makes our solutions an important step forward in practical discrimination-aware classification. © 2012 IEEE.

ESI-HI42 Puu O Kali, Island of Maui, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Virginia, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0014794)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Virginia from 1998 to 2004 (vs. 2 GDB). ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

ESI-VI6, Eastern St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-PR1 Isla Mona and Isla Desecheo, Puerto Rico 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI10 Jost Van Dyke, U.K. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI5, Central St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI4 Western St.Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI7, Western St John, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-VI2, Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

ESI-V1 Frederiksted, St. Croix., U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Deep learning for tumor classification in imaging mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Behrmann, Jens; Etmann, Christian; Boskamp, Tobias; Casadonte, Rita; Kriegsmann, Jörg; Maaß, Peter

2018-04-01

Tumor classification using imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) data has a high potential for future applications in pathology. Due to the complexity and size of the data, automated feature extraction and classification steps are required to fully process the data. Since mass spectra exhibit certain structural similarities to image data, deep learning may offer a promising strategy for classification of IMS data as it has been successfully applied to image classification. Methodologically, we propose an adapted architecture based on deep convolutional networks to handle the characteristics of mass spectrometry data, as well as a strategy to interpret the learned model in the spectral domain based on a sensitivity analysis. The proposed methods are evaluated on two algorithmically challenging tumor classification tasks and compared to a baseline approach. Competitiveness of the proposed methods is shown on both tasks by studying the performance via cross-validation. Moreover, the learned models are analyzed by the proposed sensitivity analysis revealing biologically plausible effects as well as confounding factors of the considered tasks. Thus, this study may serve as a starting point for further development of deep learning approaches in IMS classification tasks. https://gitlab.informatik.uni-bremen.de/digipath/Deep_Learning_for_Tumor_Classification_in_IMS. jbehrmann@uni-bremen.de or christianetmann@uni-bremen.de. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Evaluation of Current Approaches to Stream Classification and a Heuristic Guide to Developing Classifications of Integrated Aquatic Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Melles, S. J.; Jones, N. E.; Schmidt, B. J.

2014-03-01

Conservation and management of fresh flowing waters involves evaluating and managing effects of cumulative impacts on the aquatic environment from disturbances such as: land use change, point and nonpoint source pollution, the creation of dams and reservoirs, mining, and fishing. To assess effects of these changes on associated biotic communities it is necessary to monitor and report on the status of lotic ecosystems. A variety of stream classification methods are available to assist with these tasks, and such methods attempt to provide a systematic approach to modeling and understanding complex aquatic systems at various spatial and temporal scales. Of the vast number of approaches that exist, it is useful to group them into three main types. The first involves modeling longitudinal species turnover patterns within large drainage basins and relating these patterns to environmental predictors collected at reach and upstream catchment scales; the second uses regionalized hierarchical classification to create multi-scale, spatially homogenous aquatic ecoregions by grouping adjacent catchments together based on environmental similarities; and the third approach groups sites together on the basis of similarities in their environmental conditions both within and between catchments, independent of their geographic location. We review the literature with a focus on more recent classifications to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches. We identify gaps or problems with the current approaches, and we propose an eight-step heuristic process that may assist with development of more flexible and integrated aquatic classifications based on the current understanding, network thinking, and theoretical underpinnings.

Dynamic species classification of microorganisms across time, abiotic and biotic environments-A sliding window approach.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Pennekamp

Full Text Available The development of video-based monitoring methods allows for rapid, dynamic and accurate monitoring of individuals or communities, compared to slower traditional methods, with far reaching ecological and evolutionary applications. Large amounts of data are generated using video-based methods, which can be effectively processed using machine learning (ML algorithms into meaningful ecological information. ML uses user defined classes (e.g. species, derived from a subset (i.e. training data of video-observed quantitative features (e.g. phenotypic variation, to infer classes in subsequent observations. However, phenotypic variation often changes due to environmental conditions, which may lead to poor classification, if environmentally induced variation in phenotypes is not accounted for. Here we describe a framework for classifying species under changing environmental conditions based on the random forest classification. A sliding window approach was developed that restricts temporal and environmentally conditions to improve the classification. We tested our approach by applying the classification framework to experimental data. The experiment used a set of six ciliate species to monitor changes in community structure and behavior over hundreds of generations, in dozens of species combinations and across a temperature gradient. Differences in biotic and abiotic conditions caused simplistic classification approaches to be unsuccessful. In contrast, the sliding window approach allowed classification to be highly successful, as phenotypic differences driven by environmental change, could be captured by the classifier. Importantly, classification using the random forest algorithm showed comparable success when validated against traditional, slower, manual identification. Our framework allows for reliable classification in dynamic environments, and may help to improve strategies for long-term monitoring of species in changing environments. Our

New guidelines for dam safety classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dascal, O.

1999-01-01

Elements are outlined of recommended new guidelines for safety classification of dams. Arguments are provided for the view that dam classification systems should require more than one system as follows: (a) classification for selection of design criteria, operation procedures and emergency measures plans, based on potential consequences of a dam failure - the hazard classification of water retaining structures; (b) classification for establishment of surveillance activities and for safety evaluation of dams, based on the probability and consequences of failure - the risk classification of water retaining structures; and (c) classification for establishment of water management plans, for safety evaluation of the entire project, for preparation of emergency measures plans, for definition of the frequency and extent of maintenance operations, and for evaluation of changes and modifications required - the hazard classification of the project. The hazard classification of the dam considers, as consequence, mainly the loss of lives or persons in jeopardy and the property damages to third parties. Difficulties in determining the risk classification of the dam lie in the fact that no tool exists to evaluate the probability of the dam's failure. To overcome this, the probability of failure can be substituted for by a set of dam characteristics that express the failure potential of the dam and its foundation. The hazard classification of the entire project is based on the probable consequences of dam failure influencing: loss of life, persons in jeopardy, property and environmental damage. The classification scheme is illustrated for dam threatening events such as earthquakes and floods. 17 refs., 5 tabs

Sensitivity analysis of specific activity model parameters for environmental transport of 3H and dose assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rout, S.; Mishra, D.G.; Ravi, P.M.; Tripathi, R.M.

2016-01-01

Tritium is one of the radionuclides likely to get released to the environment from Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors. Environmental models are extensively used to quantify the complex environmental transport processes of radionuclides and also to assess the impact to the environment. Model parameters exerting the significant influence on model results are identified through a sensitivity analysis (SA). SA is the study of how the variation (uncertainty) in the output of a mathematical model can be apportioned, qualitatively or quantitatively, to different sources of variation in the input parameters. This study was designed to identify the sensitive model parameters of specific activity model (TRS 1616, IAEA) for environmental transfer of 3 H following release to air and then to vegetation and animal products. Model includes parameters such as air to soil transfer factor (CRs), Tissue Free Water 3 H to Organically Bound 3 H ratio (Rp), Relative humidity (RH), WCP (fractional water content) and WEQp (water equivalent factor) any change in these parameters leads to change in 3 H level in vegetation and animal products consequently change in dose due to ingestion. All these parameters are function of climate and/or plant which change with time, space and species. Estimation of these parameters at every time is a time consuming and also required sophisticated instrumentation. Therefore it is necessary to identify the sensitive parameters and freeze the values of least sensitive parameters at constant values for more accurate estimation of 3 H dose in short time for routine assessment

Estimation of the sensitivity of various environmental sampling methods for detection of Salmonella in duck flocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Mark E; Mueller-Doblies, Doris; Gosling, Rebecca J; Martelli, Francesca; Davies, Robert H

2015-01-01

Reports of Salmonella in ducks in the UK currently rely upon voluntary submissions from the industry, and as there is no harmonized statutory monitoring and control programme, it is difficult to compare data from different years in order to evaluate any trends in Salmonella prevalence in relation to sampling methodology. Therefore, the aim of this project was to assess the sensitivity of a selection of environmental sampling methods, including the sampling of faeces, dust and water troughs or bowls for the detection of Salmonella in duck flocks, and a range of sampling methods were applied to 67 duck flocks. Bayesian methods in the absence of a gold standard were used to provide estimates of the sensitivity of each of the sampling methods relative to the within-flock prevalence. There was a large influence of the within-flock prevalence on the sensitivity of all sample types, with sensitivity reducing as the within-flock prevalence reduced. Boot swabs (individual and pool of four), swabs of faecally contaminated areas and whole house hand-held fabric swabs showed the overall highest sensitivity for low-prevalence flocks and are recommended for use to detect Salmonella in duck flocks. The sample type with the highest proportion positive was a pool of four hair nets used as boot swabs, but this was not the most sensitive sample for low-prevalence flocks. All the environmental sampling types (faeces swabs, litter pinches, drag swabs, water trough samples and dust) had higher sensitivity than individual faeces sampling. None of the methods consistently identified all the positive flocks, and at least 10 samples would be required for even the most sensitive method (pool of four boot swabs) to detect a 5% prevalence. The sampling of dust had a low sensitivity and is not recommended for ducks.

Modelling Socio-Environmental Sensitivities: How Public Responses to Low Carbon Energy Technologies Could Shape the UK Energy System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brighid Moran Jay

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Low carbon energy technologies are not deployed in a social vacuum; there are a variety of complex ways in which people understand and engage with these technologies and the changing energy system overall. However, the role of the public’s socio-environmental sensitivities to low carbon energy technologies and their responses to energy deployments does not receive much serious attention in planning decarbonisation pathways to 2050. Resistance to certain resources and technologies based on particular socio-environmental sensitivities would alter the portfolio of options available which could shape how the energy system achieves decarbonisation (the decarbonisation pathway as well as affecting the cost and achievability of decarbonisation. Thus, this paper presents a series of three modelled scenarios which illustrate the way that a variety of socio-environmental sensitivities could impact the development of the energy system and the decarbonisation pathway. The scenarios represent risk aversion (DREAD which avoids deployment of potentially unsafe large-scale technology, local protectionism (NIMBY that constrains systems to their existing spatial footprint, and environmental awareness (ECO where protection of natural resources is paramount. Very different solutions for all three sets of constraints are identified; some seem slightly implausible (DREAD and all show increased cost (especially in ECO.

Modelling socio-environmental sensitivities: how public responses to low carbon energy technologies could shape the UK energy system.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran Jay, Brighid; Howard, David; Hughes, Nick; Whitaker, Jeanette; Anandarajah, Gabrial

2014-01-01

Low carbon energy technologies are not deployed in a social vacuum; there are a variety of complex ways in which people understand and engage with these technologies and the changing energy system overall. However, the role of the public's socio-environmental sensitivities to low carbon energy technologies and their responses to energy deployments does not receive much serious attention in planning decarbonisation pathways to 2050. Resistance to certain resources and technologies based on particular socio-environmental sensitivities would alter the portfolio of options available which could shape how the energy system achieves decarbonisation (the decarbonisation pathway) as well as affecting the cost and achievability of decarbonisation. Thus, this paper presents a series of three modelled scenarios which illustrate the way that a variety of socio-environmental sensitivities could impact the development of the energy system and the decarbonisation pathway. The scenarios represent risk aversion (DREAD) which avoids deployment of potentially unsafe large-scale technology, local protectionism (NIMBY) that constrains systems to their existing spatial footprint, and environmental awareness (ECO) where protection of natural resources is paramount. Very different solutions for all three sets of constraints are identified; some seem slightly implausible (DREAD) and all show increased cost (especially in ECO).

Habitat typing versus advanced vegetation classification in western forests

Science.gov (United States)

Tony Kusbach; John Shaw; James Long; Helga Van Miegroet

2012-01-01

Major habitat and community types in northern Utah were compared with plant alliances and associations that were derived from fidelity- and diagnostic-species classification concepts. Each of these classification approaches was associated with important environmental factors. Within a 20,000-ha watershed, 103 forest ecosystems were described by physiographic features,...

Ototoxicity (cochleotoxicity) classifications: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Crundwell, Gemma; Gomersall, Phil; Baguley, David M

2016-01-01

Drug-mediated ototoxicity, specifically cochleotoxicity, is a concern for patients receiving medications for the treatment of serious illness. A number of classification schemes exist, most of which are based on pure-tone audiometry, in order to assist non-audiological/non-otological specialists in the identification and monitoring of iatrogenic hearing loss. This review identifies the primary classification systems used in cochleototoxicity monitoring. By bringing together classifications published in discipline-specific literature, the paper aims to increase awareness of their relative strengths and limitations in the assessment and monitoring of ototoxic hearing loss and to indicate how future classification systems may improve upon the status-quo. Literature review. PubMed identified 4878 articles containing the search term ototox*. A systematic search identified 13 key classification systems. Cochleotoxicity classification systems can be divided into those which focus on hearing change from a baseline audiogram and those that focus on the functional impact of the hearing loss. Common weaknesses of these grading scales included a lack of sensitivity to small adverse changes in hearing thresholds, a lack of high-frequency audiometry (>8 kHz), and lack of indication of which changes are likely to be clinically significant for communication and quality of life.

It's time to set some standards: Environmental classification of freshwater wetlands in New Zealand and their protection from eutrophication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sorrell, Brian Keith; Clarkson, Beverly

Most natural resource plans provide protection for lakes and rivers from catchment activities leading to eutrophication. However, they are often silent about wetlands, due to the lack of information available for setting standards, defining reference conditions, and predicting responses to nutrient...... states in New Zealand wetlands, present an environmental classification based on physico-chemical and nutrient data, compare wetlands in New Zealand with those in other temperate regions, and argue for some catchment land use standards to protect wetlands from nutrient enrichment. Our database reveals...... that New Zealand wetlands, like those in other temperate climates, are defined by specific alkalinity and nutrient gradients and that there is a wide range of fertility levels. Using regression tree analysis, we have identified environmental groups of wetlands with significantly distinct nutrient regimes...

Gender sensitive education in watershed management to support environmental friendly city

Science.gov (United States)

Asteria, D.; Budidarmono; Herdiansyah, H.; Ni’mah, N. L.

2018-03-01

This study is about gender-sensitive perspective in watershed management education program as one of capacity building for citizens in watershed management with community-based strategy to support environmental friendly cities and security for women from flood disasters. Involving women and increasing women’s active participation in sustainable watershed management is essential in urban area. In global warming and climate change situations, city management should be integrated between social aspect and environmental planning. This study used mix method (concurrent embedded type, with quantitative as primary method) with research type is descriptive-explanatory. The result of this study is education strategies with gender approaches and affirmative action through emancipation approach and local knowledge from women’s experiences can increase women’s participation. Women’s empowerment efforts need integrated intervention and collaboration from government, NGO, and other stakeholders to optimize women’s role in watershed management for support environmental friendly city. The implication of this study is an educational strategy on watershed conservation with gender perspective to offer social engineering alternatives for decision makers to policy of sustainable watershed management in urban area related to flood mitigation efforts.

Design of Diaphragm Based MEMS Pressure Sensor with Sensitivity Analysis for Environmental Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Nallathambi

2015-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper Micro-electromechanical System (MEMS diaphragm based pressure sensor for environmental applications is discussed. The main focus of this paper is to design, simulate and analyze the sensitivity of MEMS based diaphragm using different structures to measure the low and high pressure values. The simulation is done through the finite element tool and specifications related the maximum convinced stress; deflection and sensitivity of the diaphragms have been analyzed using the software INTELLISUITE 8.7v. The change in pressure is to bending of the diaphragm that modifies the measured displacement between the substrate and the diaphragm. This change in displacement gives the measure of the pressure in that environment. The design of these studies can be used to improve the sensitivity of these devices. Here the diaphragm based pressure sensor produced better displacement, sensitivity and stress output responses are obtained from the square diaphragm. The pressure range from 0.6 MPa to 25 MPa and its maximum displacement is accordingly 59 mm over a pressure range of 0 to 2 MPa. Its sensitivity is therefore 2.35 [10E-12/Pa].

Sensitive and selective culture medium for detection of environmental Clostridium difficile isolates without requirement for anaerobic culture conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cadnum, Jennifer L; Hurless, Kelly N; Deshpande, Abhishek; Nerandzic, Michelle M; Kundrapu, Sirisha; Donskey, Curtis J

2014-09-01

Effective and easy-to-use methods for detecting Clostridium difficile spore contamination would be useful for identifying environmental reservoirs and monitoring the effectiveness of room disinfection. Culture-based detection methods are sensitive for detecting C. difficile, but their utility is limited due to the requirement of anaerobic culture conditions and microbiological expertise. We developed a low-cost selective broth medium containing thioglycolic acid and l-cystine, termed C. difficile brucella broth with thioglycolic acid and l-cystine (CDBB-TC), for the detection of C. difficile from environmental specimens under aerobic culture conditions. The sensitivity and specificity of CDBB-TC (under aerobic culture conditions) were compared to those of CDBB (under anaerobic culture conditions) for the recovery of C. difficile from swabs collected from hospital room surfaces. CDBB-TC was significantly more sensitive than CDBB for recovering environmental C. difficile (36/41 [88%] versus 21/41 [51%], respectively; P = 0.006). C. difficile latex agglutination, an enzyme immunoassay for toxins A and B or glutamate dehydrogenase, and a PCR for toxin B genes were all effective as confirmatory tests. For 477 total environmental cultures, the specificity of CDBB-TC versus that of CDBB based upon false-positive yellow-color development of the medium without recovery of C. difficile was 100% (0 false-positive results) versus 96% (18 false-positive results), respectively. False-positive cultures for CDBB were attributable to the growth of anaerobic non-C. difficile organisms that did not grow in CDBB-TC. Our results suggest that CDBB-TC provides a sensitive and selective medium for the recovery of C. difficile organisms from environmental samples, without the need for anaerobic culture conditions. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Phylogenetic classification of the world’s tropical forests

OpenAIRE

Slik, J. W. Ferry; Franklin, Janet; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor; Field, Richard; Aguilar, Salomon; Aguirre, Nikolay; Ahumada, Jorge; Aiba, Shin-Ichiro; Alves, Luciana F.; K, Anitha; Avella, Andres; Mora, Francisco; Aymard C., Gerardo A.; Báez, Selene; Balvanera, Patricia

2018-01-01

Identifying and explaining regional differences in tropical forest dynamics, structure, diversity, and composition are critical for anticipating region-specific responses to global environmental change. Floristic classifications are of fundamental importance for these efforts. Here we provide a global tropical forest classification that is explicitly based on community evolutionary similarity, resulting in identification of five major tropical forest regions and their relationships: (i) Indo-...

Environmental Sensitivity in Nuclear Emergencies in Rural and Semi-natural Environments. Report of Working Group 8, Environmental Sensitivity of EMRAS II Topical Heading Approaches for Assessing Emergency Situations. Environmental Modelling for RAdiation Safety (EMRAS II) Programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-11-01

Effects Modelling Approaches for Assessing Emergency Situations; - Working Group 7: Tritium Accidents; - Working Group 8: Environmental Sensitivity; - Working Group 9: Urban Areas. This report describes the work of the Environmental Sensitivities Working Group. The work was partially supported by the FMO/EEA FM Grants through the EL0086 - NTUA Scholarship and Mobility Program 2004-2011

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Cook Inlet, Alaska, maps and geographic information systems (NODC Accession 0046027)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Cook Inlet and Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: New Hampshire, maps and Geographic Information Systems data (NODC Accession 0014789)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the New Hampshire coast from 2003 to 2004. ESI data characterize estuarine environments...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Hudson River, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0014791)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Hudson River from 1942 to 2005. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Columbia River, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013951)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Columbia River from 1979 to 2004. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

A full computation-relevant topological dynamics classification of elementary cellular automata.

Science.gov (United States)

Schüle, Martin; Stoop, Ruedi

2012-12-01

Cellular automata are both computational and dynamical systems. We give a complete classification of the dynamic behaviour of elementary cellular automata (ECA) in terms of fundamental dynamic system notions such as sensitivity and chaoticity. The "complex" ECA emerge to be sensitive, but not chaotic and not eventually weakly periodic. Based on this classification, we conjecture that elementary cellular automata capable of carrying out complex computations, such as needed for Turing-universality, are at the "edge of chaos."

Agriculture classification using POLSAR data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skriver, Henning; Dall, Jørgen; Ferro-Famil, Laurent

2005-01-01

of their components) show strongly preferred orientations, such as the stalks or ears of cereals. The importance of SAR polarimetry in crop classification arises principally because polarisation is sen-sitive to orientation. Hence it provides a means to distinguish crops with different canopy archi-tectures. Detailed...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Northern California maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013175)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of northern California which were designed to be utilized in desktop GIS...

ESI-VI3 East Point, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: West Florida, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0006249)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of West Florida (to encompass the coastal...

Ecosystem classification, Chapter 2

Science.gov (United States)

M.J. Robin-Abbott; L.H. Pardo

2011-01-01

The ecosystem classification in this report is based on the ecoregions developed through the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) for North America (CEC 1997). Only ecosystems that occur in the United States are included. CEC ecoregions are described, with slight modifications, below (CEC 1997) and shown in Figures 2.1 and 2.2. We chose this ecosystem...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0002825)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Currently, the most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index or ESI. This approach...

Three-class classification in computer-aided diagnosis of breast cancer by support vector machine

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xuejun; Qian, Wei; Song, Dansheng

2004-05-01

Design of classifier in computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) scheme of breast cancer plays important role to its overall performance in sensitivity and specificity. Classification of a detected object as malignant lesion, benign lesion, or normal tissue on mammogram is a typical three-class pattern recognition problem. This paper presents a three-class classification approach by using two-stage classifier combined with support vector machine (SVM) learning algorithm for classification of breast cancer on mammograms. The first classification stage is used to detect abnormal areas and normal breast tissues, and the second stage is for classification of malignant or benign in detected abnormal objects. A series of spatial, morphology and texture features have been extracted on detected objects areas. By using genetic algorithm (GA), different feature groups for different stage classification have been investigated. Computerized free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses have been employed in different classification stages. Results have shown that obvious performance improvement in both sensitivity and specificity was observed through proposed classification approach compared with conventional two-class classification approaches, indicating its effectiveness in classification of breast cancer on mammograms.

Classification of ASKAP Vast Radio Light Curves

Science.gov (United States)

Rebbapragada, Umaa; Lo, Kitty; Wagstaff, Kiri L.; Reed, Colorado; Murphy, Tara; Thompson, David R.

2012-01-01

The VAST survey is a wide-field survey that observes with unprecedented instrument sensitivity (0.5 mJy or lower) and repeat cadence (a goal of 5 seconds) that will enable novel scientific discoveries related to known and unknown classes of radio transients and variables. Given the unprecedented observing characteristics of VAST, it is important to estimate source classification performance, and determine best practices prior to the launch of ASKAP's BETA in 2012. The goal of this study is to identify light curve characterization and classification algorithms that are best suited for archival VAST light curve classification. We perform our experiments on light curve simulations of eight source types and achieve best case performance of approximately 90% accuracy. We note that classification performance is most influenced by light curve characterization rather than classifier algorithm.

Using blocking approach to preserve privacy in classification rules by inserting dummy Transaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doryaneh Hossien Afshari

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The increasing rate of data sharing among organizations could maximize the risk of leaking sensitive knowledge. Trying to solve this problem leads to increase the importance of privacy preserving within the process of data sharing. In this study is focused on privacy preserving in classification rules mining as a technique of data mining. We propose a blocking algorithm to hiding sensitive classification rules. In the solution, rules' hiding occurs as a result of editing a set of transactions which satisfy sensitive classification rules. The proposed approach tries to deceive and block adversaries by inserting some dummy transactions. Finally, the solution has been evaluated and compared with other available solutions. Results show that limiting the number of attributes existing in each sensitive rule will lead to a decrease in both the number of lost rules and the production rate of ghost rules.

An enhanced topologically significant directed random walk in cancer classification using gene expression datasets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choon Sen Seah

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Microarray technology has become one of the elementary tools for researchers to study the genome of organisms. As the complexity and heterogeneity of cancer is being increasingly appreciated through genomic analysis, cancerous classification is an emerging important trend. Significant directed random walk is proposed as one of the cancerous classification approach which have higher sensitivity of risk gene prediction and higher accuracy of cancer classification. In this paper, the methodology and material used for the experiment are presented. Tuning parameter selection method and weight as parameter are applied in proposed approach. Gene expression dataset is used as the input datasets while pathway dataset is used to build a directed graph, as reference datasets, to complete the bias process in random walk approach. In addition, we demonstrate that our approach can improve sensitive predictions with higher accuracy and biological meaningful classification result. Comparison result takes place between significant directed random walk and directed random walk to show the improvement in term of sensitivity of prediction and accuracy of cancer classification.

APLIKASI SIG UNTUK PEMETAAN INDEKS KEPEKAAN LINGKUNGAN: STUDI KASUS DI PESISIR CILACAP DAN SEGARA ANAKAN (GIS Application for Environmental Sensitivity Index Mapping Case Study in Cilacap Coastal Area and Segara Anakan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Utantyo Utantyo

2015-01-01

, sementara wilayah Segara Anakan dianggap sensitif terhadap polusi minyak mengingat 112 km2 (45% dari 249 Km2 daerah Segara Anakan. Segara Anakan memiliki ranking sensitivitas tertinggi (ESl 8, 9, 10.   ABSTRACT Coastal resources can be impacted during an oil spill incident. Given that oil pollution can occur under a wide variety of circumstances, the use of both detailed coastal inventories in conjunction with established sensitivity indexes and approaches allows for a greater level of information and options available to spill planners. a Geographic Information System (GIS can greatly enhance and improve upon the use and development of data required for oil spill response and contingency planning. This study is determined to examine environmental sensitivities and to combine them into prototype of environmental sensitivity information systems with the aid of GIS in the lagoon of Segara Anakan and Cilacap coastal region. One of the most important strategies in oil spill contingency planning is prioritizing the spill response. Coastal environments would be prioritized and qualitatively queried by establishing Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI classification schema. Environmental sensitivity reflects the degree of reaction of coastal region to withstand and to recover when oil spill hazard was occurred. The method to establish an ESI is by combining related factors of an environmental sensitivity. i.e: (a the exposure to wave and tidal energy, (b the shoreline slope, (c the substrate type, and (d its biological productivity. This study emphasizes the ability of Geographic Information system (GIS to visualize and to model environmental sensitivity factors spatially. the result shows that the application of a GIS to manage, manipulate, and display relevant coastal databases was possible to be done and had notable advantages in sensitivity mapping efforts, Cilacap coastal region has medium sensitivity, since the area is bordered by ESI 5 shoreline (with length of 11.6 km

Identification and Classification of Earthworm Species in Guyana

OpenAIRE

Preeta Saywack; Abdullah Adil Ansari

2011-01-01

Earthworms are very important organisms, they are both environmentally and economically beneficial and hence their correct identification and classification is very vital. Taxonomy aims to classify organisms based on their similarities and differences. The present study was carried out during the year 2006-2007 at University of Guyana, Georgetown focusing on identification and classification of local earthworm species of Guyana and comparison with a known non-native species (California red). ...

The assessment of environmentally sensitive forest road construction in Calabrian pine forest areas of Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Tunay, Metin

2006-07-01

Forest road construction by bulldozers in Calabrian Pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) forests on mountainous terrain of Turkey causes considerable damage to the environment and the forest standing alongside the road. This situation obliges a study of environmentally sound road construction in Turkey. This study was carried out in 4 sample sites of Antalya Forest Directorate in steep (34-50% gradient) and very steep terrain (51-70% gradient) conditions with bulldozer and excavator machine and direct damages to forest during road construction was determined, including forest area losses and damages to downhill trees in mountainous areas. It was determined that in steep terrain when excavators were used, less forest area (22.16%) was destroyed compared to bulldozers and 26.54% less area in very steep terrain. The proportion of damage on trees where bulldozer worked was nearly twofold higher than excavator was used. The results of this research show that the environmentally sensitive techniques applied for the road construction projects are considerably superior to the traditional use of bulldozers on steep slopes. The environmentally sound forest road construction by use of excavator must be considered an appropriate and reliable solution for mountainous terrain where areas of sensitive forest ecosystems are to be opened up.

SHIP CLASSIFICATION FROM MULTISPECTRAL VIDEOS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frederique Robert-Inacio

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Surveillance of a seaport can be achieved by different means: radar, sonar, cameras, radio communications and so on. Such a surveillance aims, on the one hand, to manage cargo and tanker traffic, and, on the other hand, to prevent terrorist attacks in sensitive areas. In this paper an application to video-surveillance of a seaport entrance is presented, and more particularly, the different steps enabling to classify mobile shapes. This classification is based on a parameter measuring the similarity degree between the shape under study and a set of reference shapes. The classification result describes the considered mobile in terms of shape and speed.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Aleutian Islands, Alaska, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0014927)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. ESI data characterize coastal environments and wildlife by...

Environmental/chemical thesaurus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shriner, C.R.; Dailey, N.S.; Jordan, A.C.; Miller, K.C.; Owens, E.T.; Rickert, L.W.

1978-06-01

The Environmental/Chemical Thesaurus approaches scientific language control problems from a multidisciplinary view. The Environmental/Biomedical Terminology Index (EBTI) was used as a base for the present thesaurus. The Environmental/Chemical Thesaurus, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, used as its source of new terms those major terms found in 13 Environmental Protection Agency data bases. The scope of this thesaurus includes not only environmental and biomedical sciences, but also the physical sciences with emphasis placed on chemistry. Specific chemical compounds are not included; only classes of chemicals are given. To adhere to this level of classification, drugs and pesticides are identified by class rather than by specific chemical name. An attempt was also made to expand the areas of sociology and economics. Terminology dealing with law, demography, and geography was expanded. Proper names of languages and races were excluded. Geographic terms were expanded to include proper names for oceans, continents, major lakes, rivers, and islands. Political divisions were added to allow for proper names of countries and states. With such a broad scope, terminology for specific sciences does not provide for indexing to the lowest levels in plant, animal, or chemical classifications

Environmental/chemical thesaurus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shriner, C.R.; Dailey, N.S.; Jordan, A.C.; Miller, K.C.; Owens, E.T.; Rickert, L.W.

1978-06-01

The Environmental/Chemical Thesaurus approaches scientific language control problems from a multidisciplinary view. The Environmental/Biomedical Terminology Index (EBTI) was used as a base for the present thesaurus. The Environmental/Chemical Thesaurus, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, used as its source of new terms those major terms found in 13 Environmental Protection Agency data bases. The scope of this thesaurus includes not only environmental and biomedical sciences, but also the physical sciences with emphasis placed on chemistry. Specific chemical compounds are not included; only classes of chemicals are given. To adhere to this level of classification, drugs and pesticides are identified by class rather than by specific chemical name. An attempt was also made to expand the areas of sociology and economics. Terminology dealing with law, demography, and geography was expanded. Proper names of languages and races were excluded. Geographic terms were expanded to include proper names for oceans, continents, major lakes, rivers, and islands. Political divisions were added to allow for proper names of countries and states. With such a broad scope, terminology for specific sciences does not provide for indexing to the lowest levels in plant, animal, or chemical classifications.

Generation and Characterization of Environmentally Sensitive Variants of the β-Galactosidase from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus

Science.gov (United States)

Yoast, Sienna; Adams, Robin M.; Mainzer, Stanley E.; Moon, Keith; Palombella, Anthony L.; Schmidt, Brian F.

1994-01-01

A method is described for generating and screening variants of the β-galactosidase from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus sensitive to several environmental stresses, with potential application in the food industry. Chemical mutagenesis with hydroxylamine or methoxylamine was performed on the β-galactosidase gene carried on an Escherichia coli expression vector. Mutants sensitive to cold, heat, low pH, low magnesium concentration, and the presence of urea were isolated by screening for reduced color development on β-galactosidase indicator plates. The mutations responsible for three variant β-galactosidases were localized, and the base substitutions were determined by DNA sequencing. The amino acid alterations associated with one low-pH-sensitive (pHs) and two urea-sensitive (Us) variants correspond to P584L (pHs1), G400S/R479Q (Us26), and G167E/E168K/E363K/V492M (Us17), respectively. Mutant pHs1 is also heat, cold, low magnesium, and urea sensitive; Us26 is also cold sensitive; and Us17 is also low-pH sensitive. PMID:16349230

Environmental studies on radioecological sensitivity and variability with special emphasis on the fallout nuclides 90Sr and 137Cs. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aarkrog, A.

1979-06-01

Radioecological sensitivity and variability are quantities that are used to characterize the radioecological properties of environmental samples. The radioecological sensitivity is the infinite time-integrated radionuclide concentration in the environmental sample considered arising from a deposition of 1 mCi KM -2 of the radionuclide in question. This quantity makes it possible to compare various environments as to their vulnerability to a given radioactive contamination. The variability of the concentrations of a radionuclide in an environmental sample, with respect to a given parameter, is defined as the partial coefficient of variation due to this parameter. The variability with time is a useful way to assess the route of contamination of the sample and the local variability is a measure of environmental inhomogenity with respect to radioactive contamination. Radioecology sensitivity and variability were applied to the 90 Sr and 137 Cs data obtained from the environmental studies on the human foodchain carried out during the last two decades in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland. The per caput effective dose-equivalent commitments from radioactive debris from nuclear weapons testing was estimated to be 1.6 mSv in Denmark, 4.2 mSv in the Faroe Islands, and 1.6 mSv in Greenland. (author)

ESI-HI85 Niihau South and Kaula Island, Island of Niihau, Hawaii 2001 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS as a methodical approach to the development of design strategies for environmentally sustainable buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Hanne Tine Ring

. The research methodology applied in the project combines a literature study of descriptions of methodical approaches and built examples with a sensitivity analysis and a qualitative interview with two designers from a best practice example of a practice that has achieved environmentally sustainable...... architecture, such as: ecological, green, bio-climatic, sustainable, passive, low-energy and environmental architecture. This PhD project sets out to gain a better understanding of environmentally sustainable architecture and the methodical approaches applied in the development of this type of architecture...... an increase in scientific and political awareness, which has lead to an escalation in the number of research publications in the field, as well as, legislative demands for the energy consumption of buildings. The publications in the field refer to many different approaches to environmentally sustainable...

Management and valuation of an environmentally sensitive area: Norfolk Broadland, England, case study

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, R. Kerry; Brooke, Jan

1988-03-01

Wetlands, like any other environmentally sensitive resource, require very careful evaluation. While it is accepted that all wetlands may be equally valuable in terms of maintaining global life-support systems, individual areas may be ranked according to their uniqueness or the irreplaceability of the resource should the wetland be developed. The various techniques available for evaluating the wetland resource in the development versus conservation conflict situation are critically assessed. Indirect appraisal via the opportunity cost method can generate valuable data which have contributed to the mitigation of such conflict situations. The Broadland, in Norfolk, England, recently designated an environmentally sensitive area (ESA), provides a case study example of wetland management. The search for an “acceptable” flood alleviation strategy for the ESA is examined in detail. The economic and environmental asset structure of the study area is examined at two levels. A basic “screening” system is applied to each of the identified flood protection planning units to enable the rank ordering of the units. A more detailed appraisal is then made of the value of selected units so that the cost-effectiveness of any planned expenditure on flood protection works can be assessed. Specific management issues and their likely effect on the environment, in terms of land use for example, are also addressed. The 1986 Agriculture Act marks a potential watershed in British conservation policy. The ESA policy encompasses a dual management strategy that attempts to stimulate compatible agricultural and conservation practices and activities. Other countries that still retain significant unspoiled wetland resources may find that preemptive regulatory government intervention in favor of conservation would help to avoid the worst aspects of the British experience.

Comparing performance of mothers using simplified mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) classification devices with an improved MUAC insertion tape in Isiolo County, Kenya

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grant, Angeline; Njiru, James; Okoth, Edgar

2018-01-01

to a "gold standard" classification (the mean of three measurements taken by a research assistant using the MUAC insertion tape).  Results: The sensitivity of mother/caregiver classifications was high for all devices (>93% for severe acute malnutrition (SAM), defined by MUAC 90% for global...... acute malnutrition (GAM), defined by MUAC classification was higher using the MUAC insertion tape (100% sensitivity for SAM and 99% sensitivity for GAM) than using "Click-MUAC" devices. Younden's J for SAM classification, and sensitivity for GAM......Background: A novel approach for improving community case-detection of acute malnutrition involves mothers/caregivers screening their children for acute malnutrition using a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) insertion tape. The objective of this study was to test three simple MUAC classification...

Lauren classification and individualized chemotherapy in gastric cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Junli; Shen, Hong; Kapesa, Linda; Zeng, Shan

2016-05-01

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. During the last 50 years, the histological classification of gastric carcinoma has been largely based on Lauren's criteria, in which gastric cancer is classified into two major histological subtypes, namely intestinal type and diffuse type adenocarcinoma. This classification was introduced in 1965, and remains currently widely accepted and employed, since it constitutes a simple and robust classification approach. The two histological subtypes of gastric cancer proposed by the Lauren classification exhibit a number of distinct clinical and molecular characteristics, including histogenesis, cell differentiation, epidemiology, etiology, carcinogenesis, biological behaviors and prognosis. Gastric cancer exhibits varied sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs and significant heterogeneity; therefore, the disease may be a target for individualized therapy. The Lauren classification may provide the basis for individualized treatment for advanced gastric cancer, which is increasingly gaining attention in the scientific field. However, few studies have investigated individualized treatment that is guided by pathological classification. The aim of the current review is to analyze the two major histological subtypes of gastric cancer, as proposed by the Lauren classification, and to discuss the implications of this for personalized chemotherapy.

Genetic variance in micro-environmental sensitivity for milk and milk quality in Walloon Holstein cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenplas, J; Bastin, C; Gengler, N; Mulder, H A

2013-09-01

Animals that are robust to environmental changes are desirable in the current dairy industry. Genetic differences in micro-environmental sensitivity can be studied through heterogeneity of residual variance between animals. However, residual variance between animals is usually assumed to be homogeneous in traditional genetic evaluations. The aim of this study was to investigate genetic heterogeneity of residual variance by estimating variance components in residual variance for milk yield, somatic cell score, contents in milk (g/dL) of 2 groups of milk fatty acids (i.e., saturated and unsaturated fatty acids), and the content in milk of one individual fatty acid (i.e., oleic acid, C18:1 cis-9), for first-parity Holstein cows in the Walloon Region of Belgium. A total of 146,027 test-day records from 26,887 cows in 747 herds were available. All cows had at least 3 records and a known sire. These sires had at least 10 cows with records and each herd × test-day had at least 5 cows. The 5 traits were analyzed separately based on fixed lactation curve and random regression test-day models for the mean. Estimation of variance components was performed by running iteratively expectation maximization-REML algorithm by the implementation of double hierarchical generalized linear models. Based on fixed lactation curve test-day mean models, heritability for residual variances ranged between 1.01×10(-3) and 4.17×10(-3) for all traits. The genetic standard deviation in residual variance (i.e., approximately the genetic coefficient of variation of residual variance) ranged between 0.12 and 0.17. Therefore, some genetic variance in micro-environmental sensitivity existed in the Walloon Holstein dairy cattle for the 5 studied traits. The standard deviations due to herd × test-day and permanent environment in residual variance ranged between 0.36 and 0.45 for herd × test-day effect and between 0.55 and 0.97 for permanent environmental effect. Therefore, nongenetic effects also

Detailed oil spill contingency analysis in establishment of preparedness plans for exploration drilling in environmentally sensitive areas: an integrated management process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spikkerud, Cathrine S.; Skeie, Geir Morten; Brude, Odd Willy; Gravir, Gjermund [DNV Managing Risk, Oslo (Norway)

2008-07-01

This paper describes the integrated management process leading up to a dynamic oil spill preparedness plan based on detailed analysis of oil spill contingency requirements and environmental risk in environmentally sensitive areas. Starting with a detailed environmental risk and oil spill contingency analysis, oil spill preparedness plans are developed. These plans are generic for the area possibly affected by an oil spill, and are developed in detail for environmental 'hot spots' that are highly challenging in terms of oil spill response. The detailed plans make use of detailed data sets on shoreline substrate sensitivities and cleanup methodology, photographic inventory, logistical issues and access to real-time incident data for important areas. This detailed approach ensures sufficient knowledge about the sensitive area in advance to provide fast and correct strategic and tactical operational recovery decisions. A final element of the integrated process is a web based GIS, providing all parties involved with one common situation overview, ensuring that the facts remain in focus throughout the operation and that those responsible for informing stake-holders have access to correct and timely updated information. (author)

LCI Databases Sensitivity Analysis of the Environmental Impact of the Injection Molding Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Elduque

2015-03-01

Full Text Available During the last decades, society’s concern for the environment has increased. Specific tools like the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA, and software and databases to apply this method have been developed to calculate the environmental burden of products or processes. Calculating the environmental impact of plastic products is relevant as the global plastics production rose to 288 million tons in 2012. Among the different ways of processing plastics, the injection molding process is one of the most used in the industry worldwide. In this paper, a sensitivity analysis of the environmental impact of the injection molding process has been carried out. In order to perform this study, the EcoInvent database inventory for injection molding, and the data from which this database is created, have been studied. Generally, when an LCA of a product is carried out, databases such as EcoInvent, where materials, processes and transports are characterized providing average values, are used to quantify the environmental impact. This approach can be good enough in some cases but in order to assess a specific production process, like injection molding, a further level of detail is needed. This study shows how the final results of environmental impact differ for injection molding when using the PVC’s, PP’s or PET’s data. This aspect suggests the necessity of studying, in a more precise way, this process, to correctly evaluate its environmental burden. This also allows us to identify priority areas and thereby actions to develop a more sustainable way of manufacturing plastics.

40 CFR 52.1821 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.1821 Section 52.1821 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality control region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide...

40 CFR 52.2671 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.2671 Section 52.2671 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide Photochemical oxidants...

40 CFR 52.2321 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.2321 Section 52.2321 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide Photochemical oxidants...

40 CFR 52.2721 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.2721 Section 52.2721 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality control region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide...

40 CFR 52.2621 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.2621 Section 52.2621 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide Photochemical oxidants...

Influence of Feature Selection Methods on Classification Sensitivity Based on the Example of A Study of Polish Voivodship Tourist Attractiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bąk Iwona

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to determine the influence of various methods of selection of diagnostic features on the sensitivity of classification. Three options of feature selection are presented: a parametric feature selection method with a sum (option I, a median of the correlation coefficients matrix column elements (option II and the method of a reversed matrix (option III. Efficiency of the groupings was verified by the indicators of homogeneity, heterogeneity and the correctness of grouping. In the assessment of group efficiency the approach with the Weber median was used. The undertaken problem was illustrated with a research into the tourist attractiveness of voivodships in Poland in 2011.

Learning about the internal structure of categories through classification and feature inference.

Science.gov (United States)

Jee, Benjamin D; Wiley, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Previous research on category learning has found that classification tasks produce representations that are skewed toward diagnostic feature dimensions, whereas feature inference tasks lead to richer representations of within-category structure. Yet, prior studies often measure category knowledge through tasks that involve identifying only the typical features of a category. This neglects an important aspect of a category's internal structure: how typical and atypical features are distributed within a category. The present experiments tested the hypothesis that inference learning results in richer knowledge of internal category structure than classification learning. We introduced several new measures to probe learners' representations of within-category structure. Experiment 1 found that participants in the inference condition learned and used a wider range of feature dimensions than classification learners. Classification learners, however, were more sensitive to the presence of atypical features within categories. Experiment 2 provided converging evidence that classification learners were more likely to incorporate atypical features into their representations. Inference learners were less likely to encode atypical category features, even in a "partial inference" condition that focused learners' attention on the feature dimensions relevant to classification. Overall, these results are contrary to the hypothesis that inference learning produces superior knowledge of within-category structure. Although inference learning promoted representations that included a broad range of category-typical features, classification learning promoted greater sensitivity to the distribution of typical and atypical features within categories.

Impact of environmental factors on PADC radon detector sensitivity during long term storage

Science.gov (United States)

Wasikiewicz, J. M.

2018-01-01

A broad set of data on poly-allyl diglycol carbonate (PADC) exposure to various environmental conditions has been collected for a period of 1 year in order to study the aging effect on the sensitivity to radon detection. Aging is a phenomenon that occurs during long PADC storage resulting in a loss of sensitivity and/or creation of false tracks. Conditions under investigation were storages under pure nitrogen or air atmospheres, in water solutions of different pHs, in a range of temperatures, humidity and exposure to UV, gamma and neutron radiations. It was found that PADC strongly responds to some external conditions through physical changes in the polymer material; for example, etching of UV exposed detectors led to 10% loss of their thickness and the removal of the tracks layer. Performance of detectors was compared with a control that was the sensitivity of detectors from the same sheet at the time of primary calibration - within 1 month of each sheet being manufactured. Substantial difference in performance was found between storage under pure, dry nitrogen and in the presence of water. The former preserves PADC radon detection properties for the period of one year without noticeable change. The latter, on the other hand significantly reduces its performance even after 3 months' storage. It was also established that storage under low temperature is not a suitable means to preserve PADC sensitivity to radon detection due to significant loss in the detector sensitivity.

A proposal of criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadashkevich, Oleg; Davis, Paul; Fritzler, Marvin J

2004-11-01

Sensitive and specific criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis are required by clinicians and investigators to achieve higher quality clinical studies and approaches to therapy. A clinical study of systemic sclerosis patients in Europe and Canada led to a set of criteria that achieve high sensitivity and specificity. Both clinical and laboratory investigations of patients with systemic sclerosis, related conditions and diseases with clinical features that can be mistaken as part of the systemic sclerosis spectrum were undertaken. Laboratory investigations included the detection of autoantibodies to centromere proteins, Scl-70 (topoisomerase I), and fibrillarin (U3-RNP). Based on the investigation of 269 systemic sclerosis patients and 720 patients presenting with related and confounding conditions, the following set of criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis was proposed: 1) autoantibodies to: centromere proteins, Scl-70 (topo I), fibrillarin; 2) bibasilar pulmonary fibrosis; 3) contractures of the digital joints or prayer sign; 4) dermal thickening proximal to the wrists; 5) calcinosis cutis; 6) Raynaud's phenomenon; 7) esophageal distal hypomotility or reflux-esophagitis; 8) sclerodactyly or non-pitting digital edema; 9) teleangiectasias. The classification of definite SSc requires at least three of the above criteria. Criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis have been proposed. Preliminary testing has defined the sensitivity and specificity of these criteria as high as 99% and 100%, respectively. Testing and validation of the proposed criteria by other clinical centers is required.

Data preprocessing techniques for classification without discrimination

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamiran, F.; Calders, T.G.K.

2012-01-01

Recently, the following Discrimination-Aware Classification Problem was introduced: Suppose we are given training data that exhibit unlawful discrimination; e.g., toward sensitive attributes such as gender or ethnicity. The task is to learn a classifier that optimizes accuracy, but does not have

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: San Francisco Bay - 1998, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0036884)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: San Francisco Bay, California maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013224)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

40 CFR 52.1471 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.1471 Section 52.1471 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide Ozone Las Vegas...

40 CFR 52.2371 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.2371 Section 52.2371 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide Ozone Champlain Valley...

40 CFR 52.2821 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.2821 Section 52.2821 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS...: Air quality control region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide...

40 CFR 52.2071 - Classification of regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Classification of regions. 52.2071 Section 52.2071 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality control region Pollutant Particulate matter Sulfur oxides Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide Ozone...

Measurement of semantic similarity for land use and land cover classification systems

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Dongpo

2008-12-01

Land use and land cover (LULC) data is essential to environmental and ecological research. However, semantic heterogeneous of land use and land cover classification are often resulted from different data resources, different cultural contexts, and different utilities. Therefore, there is need to develop a method to measure, compare and integrate between land cover categories. To understand the meaning and the use of terminology from different domains, the common ontology approach is used to acquire information regarding the meaning of terms, and to compare two terms to determine how they might be related. Ontology is a formal specification of a shared conceptualization of a domain of interest. LULC classification system is a ontology. The semantic similarity method is used to compare to entities of three LULC classification systems: CORINE (European Environmental Agency), Oregon State, USA), and Taiwan. The semantic properties and relations firstly have been extracted from their definitions of LULC classification systems. Then semantic properties and relations of categories in three LULC classification systems are mutually compared. The visualization of semantic proximity is finally presented to explore the similarity or dissimilarity of data. This study shows the semantic similarity method efficiently detect semantic distance in three LULC classification systems and find out the semantic similar objects.

Global Stress Classification System for Materials Used in Solar Energy Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Slamova, Karolina; Schill, Christian; Herrmann, Jan; Datta, Pawan; Chih Wang, Chien

2016-08-01

Depending on the geographical location, the individual or combined impact of environmental stress factors and corresponding performance losses for solar applications varies significantly. Therefore, as a strategy to reduce investment risks and operating and maintenance costs, it is necessary to adapt the materials and components of solar energy systems specifically to regional environmental conditions. The project «GloBe Solar» supports this strategy by focusing on the development of a global stress classification system for materials in solar energy applications. The aim of this classification system is to assist in the identification of the individual stress conditions for every location on the earth's surface. The stress classification system could serve as a decision support tool for the industry (manufacturers, investors, lenders and project developers) and help to improve knowledge and services that can provide higher confidence to solar power systems.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: North Carolina and South Carolina Digital Data Re-release, 1996 (NODC Accession 0049956)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises an update of the Environmental Sensitivity Indexes (ESI) data for North and South Carolina. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and...

Current knowledge of environmental exposure in children during the sensitive developmental periods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norma Helena Perlroth

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study aims to identify the scientific evidence on the risks and effects of exposure to environmental contaminants in children during sensitive developmental periods. Data source: The search was performed in the Bireme database, using the terms: children's health, environmental exposure, health vulnerability, toxicity pathways and developmental disabilities in the LILACS, MEDLINE and SciELO systems. Data synthesis: Children differ from adults in their unique physiological and behavioral characteristics and the potential exposure to risks caused by several threats in the environment. Exposure to toxic agents is analyzed through toxicokinetic processes in the several systems and organs during the sensitive phases of child development. The caused effects are reflected in the increased prevalence of congenital malformations, diarrhea, asthma, cancer, endocrine and neurological disorders, among others, with negative impacts throughout adult life. Conclusion: To identify the causes and understand the mechanisms involved in the genesis of these diseases is a challenge for science, as there is still a lack of knowledge on children's susceptibility to many environmental contaminants. Prevention policies and more research on child environmental health, improving the recording and surveillance of environmental risks to children's health, should be an ongoing priority in the public health field. Resumo: Objetivo: O presente estudo busca identificar as evidências científicas sobre os riscos e efeitos da exposição de contaminantes ambientais no organismo infantil durante os períodos sensíveis de seu desenvolvimento. Fonte de dados: As pesquisas foram realizadas pelo banco de dados da Bireme, com os termos children's health, environmental exposure, health vulnerability, toxicity pathways and developmental disabilities nos sistemas LILACS, MEDLINE e SciELO. Síntese de dados: A criança difere do adulto por suas características singulares

Evaluation of Uncertainty and Sensitivity in Environmental Modeling at a Radioactive Waste Management Site

Science.gov (United States)

Stockton, T. B.; Black, P. K.; Catlett, K. M.; Tauxe, J. D.

2002-05-01

Environmental modeling is an essential component in the evaluation of regulatory compliance of radioactive waste management sites (RWMSs) at the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada, USA. For those sites that are currently operating, further goals are to support integrated decision analysis for the development of acceptance criteria for future wastes, as well as site maintenance, closure, and monitoring. At these RWMSs, the principal pathways for release of contamination to the environment are upward towards the ground surface rather than downwards towards the deep water table. Biotic processes, such as burrow excavation and plant uptake and turnover, dominate this upward transport. A combined multi-pathway contaminant transport and risk assessment model was constructed using the GoldSim modeling platform. This platform facilitates probabilistic analysis of environmental systems, and is especially well suited for assessments involving radionuclide decay chains. The model employs probabilistic definitions of key parameters governing contaminant transport, with the goals of quantifying cumulative uncertainty in the estimation of performance measures and providing information necessary to perform sensitivity analyses. This modeling differs from previous radiological performance assessments (PAs) in that the modeling parameters are intended to be representative of the current knowledge, and the uncertainty in that knowledge, of parameter values rather than reflective of a conservative assessment approach. While a conservative PA may be sufficient to demonstrate regulatory compliance, a parametrically honest PA can also be used for more general site decision-making. In particular, a parametrically honest probabilistic modeling approach allows both uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to be explicitly coupled to the decision framework using a single set of model realizations. For example, sensitivity analysis provides a guide for analyzing the value of collecting more

Do we care about sustainability? An analysis of time sensitivity of social preferences under environmental time-persistent effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Faccioli, Michela; Hanley, Nick; Torres, Cati; Font, Antoni Riera

2016-07-15

Environmental cost-benefit analysis has traditionally assumed that the value of benefits is sensitive to their timing and that outcomes are valued higher, the sooner in time they occur following implementation of a project or policy. Though, this assumption might have important implications especially for the social desirability of interventions aiming at counteracting time-persistent environmental problems, whose impacts occur in the long- and very long-term, respectively involving the present and future generations. This study analyzes the time sensitivity of social preferences for preservation policies of adaptation to climate change stresses. Results show that stated preferences are time insensitive, due to sustainability issues: individuals show insignificant differences in benefits they can experience within their own lifetimes compared to those which occur in the longer term, and which will instead be enjoyed by future generations. Whilst these results may be specific to the experimental design employed here, they do raise interesting questions regarding choices over time-persistent environmental problems, particularly in terms of the desirability of interventions which produce longer-term benefits. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental impacts of lighting technologies - Life cycle assessment and sensitivity analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welz, Tobias; Hischier, Roland; Hilty, Lorenz M.

2011-01-01

With two regulations, 244/2009 and 245/2009, the European Commission recently put into practice the EuP Directive in the area of lighting devices, aiming to improve energy efficiency in the domestic lighting sector. This article presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment comparison of four different lighting technologies: the tungsten lamp, the halogen lamp, the conventional fluorescent lamp and the compact fluorescent lamp. Taking advantage of the most up-to-date life cycle inventory database available (ecoinvent data version 2.01), all life cycle phases were assessed and the sensitivity of the results for varying assumptions analysed: different qualities of compact fluorescent lamps (production phase), different electricity mixes (use phase), and end-of-life scenarios for WEEE recycling versus municipal solid waste incineration (disposal phase). A functional unit of 'one hour of lighting' was defined and the environmental burdens for the whole life cycle for all four lamp types were calculated, showing a clearly lower impact for the two gas-discharge lamps, i.e. the fluorescent and the compact fluorescent lamp. Differences in the product quality of the compact fluorescent lamps reveal to have only a very small effect on the overall environmental performance of this lamp type; a decline of the actual life time of this lamp type doesn't result in a change of the rank order of the results of the here examined four lamp types. It was also shown that the environmental break-even point of the gas-discharge lamps is reached long before the end of their expected life-span. All in all, it can be concluded that a change from today's tungsten lamp technology to a low-energy-consuming technology such as the compact fluorescent lamp results in a substantial environmental benefit.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0014793)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania from 1969 to 2000(May 2002 v.3). ESI data...

Managing Sensitive Information: DOD Can More Effectively Reduce the Risk of Classification Errors

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

D'Agostino, Davi M; Borseth, Ann; Fenton, Mattias; Hatton, Adam; Hills, Barbara; Keefer, David; Mayfield, David; Reid, Jim; Richardson, Terry; Schwartz, Marc

2006-01-01

.... While some DoD components and their subordinate commands appear to manage effective programs, GAO identified weaknesses in others in the areas of classification management training, self-inspections...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas, Gulf of Mexico, Alabama 2007, Louisiana 2003, Mississippi 1995, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0036821)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the U.S. is NOAA's Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach systematically complies...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Puerto Rico - Volume 1, geographic information systems data, Volume 2, maps in portable document format (NODC Accession 0006584)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Currently, the most widely used approach to sensitive environment mapping in the United States is the NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This approach...

Learning soil classification with the Kayapó indians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cooper Miguel

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The Kayapó Xicrin do Cateté (Xicrin indigenous reserve is located within the Amazon forest in Pará (Brazil. The Xicrins have developed a soil classification system that is incorporated in their language and culture. The etymology of their classification system and its logical structure makes it similar and comparable with modern soil classification. The etymology of the Xicrin's language is based on the junction of radicals to form words for different soil names. The name of the soil is formed by the main noun radical "puka", to which adjectives referring to soil morphological attributes are added. Modern classification systems are also based on similar morphological variables, and analytical support for defining boundaries of chemical or physical soil attributes are important only in lower hierarchical levels. Soil scientists have developed a soil classification system that is sensitive for the restrictions and potentialities the soil will show for modern agriculture. The Xicrins classify soils for what is important for their life style, i.e. a harmonic and friendly life with the resources they gain from the forest.

On the Feature Selection and Classification Based on Information Gain for Document Sentiment Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asriyanti Indah Pratiwi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Sentiment analysis in a movie review is the needs of today lifestyle. Unfortunately, enormous features make the sentiment of analysis slow and less sensitive. Finding the optimum feature selection and classification is still a challenge. In order to handle an enormous number of features and provide better sentiment classification, an information-based feature selection and classification are proposed. The proposed method reduces more than 90% unnecessary features while the proposed classification scheme achieves 96% accuracy of sentiment classification. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the combination of proposed feature selection and classification achieves the best performance so far.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Northwest Arctic, Alaska, volume 2, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0046028)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Northwest Arctic, Alaska. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...

Prediction of Skin Sensitization Potency Using Machine Learning Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Replacing animal tests currently used for regulatory hazard classification of skin sensitizers is one of ICCVAM’s top priorities. Accordingly, U.S. federal agency scientists are developing and evaluating computational approaches to classify substances as sensitizers or nons...

Detection and Classification of Whale Acoustic Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Xian, Yin

This dissertation focuses on two vital challenges in relation to whale acoustic signals: detection and classification. In detection, we evaluated the influence of the uncertain ocean environment on the spectrogram-based detector, and derived the likelihood ratio of the proposed Short Time Fourier Transform detector. Experimental results showed that the proposed detector outperforms detectors based on the spectrogram. The proposed detector is more sensitive to environmental changes because it includes phase information. In classification, our focus is on finding a robust and sparse representation of whale vocalizations. Because whale vocalizations can be modeled as polynomial phase signals, we can represent the whale calls by their polynomial phase coefficients. In this dissertation, we used the Weyl transform to capture chirp rate information, and used a two dimensional feature set to represent whale vocalizations globally. Experimental results showed that our Weyl feature set outperforms chirplet coefficients and MFCC (Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients) when applied to our collected data. Since whale vocalizations can be represented by polynomial phase coefficients, it is plausible that the signals lie on a manifold parameterized by these coefficients. We also studied the intrinsic structure of high dimensional whale data by exploiting its geometry. Experimental results showed that nonlinear mappings such as Laplacian Eigenmap and ISOMAP outperform linear mappings such as PCA and MDS, suggesting that the whale acoustic data is nonlinear. We also explored deep learning algorithms on whale acoustic data. We built each layer as convolutions with either a PCA filter bank (PCANet) or a DCT filter bank (DCTNet). With the DCT filter bank, each layer has different a time-frequency scale representation, and from this, one can extract different physical information. Experimental results showed that our PCANet and DCTNet achieve high classification rate on the whale

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: US and British Virgin Islands, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0002069)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Virgin Islands. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by their...

Geographic information systems-based expert system modelling for shoreline sensitivity to oil spill disaster in Rivers State, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olanrewaju Lawal

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In the absence of adequate and appropriate actions, hazards often result in disaster. Oil spills across any environment are very hazardous; thus, oil spill contingency planning is pertinent, supported by Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI mapping. However, a significant data gap exists across many low- and middle-income countries in aspect of environmental monitoring. This study developed a geographic information system (GIS-based expert system (ES for shoreline sensitivity to oiling. It focused on the biophysical attributes of the shoreline with Rivers State as a case study. Data on elevation, soil, relative wave exposure and satellite imageries were collated and used for the development of ES decision rules within GIS. Results show that about 70% of the shoreline are lined with swamp forest/mangroves/nympa palm, and 97% have silt and clay as dominant sediment type. From the ES, six ranks were identified; 61% of the shoreline has a rank of 9 and 19% has a rank of 3 for shoreline sensitivity. A total of 568 km out of the 728 km shoreline is highly sensitive (ranks 7–10. There is a clear indication that the study area is a complex mixture of sensitive environments to oil spill. GIS-based ES with classification rules for shoreline sensitivity represents a rapid and flexible framework for automatic ranking of shoreline sensitivity to oiling. It is expected that this approach would kick-start sensitivity index mapping which is comprehensive and openly available to support disaster risk management around the oil producing regions of the country.

Measuring Environmental Factors: Unique and Overlapping International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Coverage of 5 Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinemann, Allen W; Miskovic, Ana; Semik, Patrick; Wong, Alex; Dashner, Jessica; Baum, Carolyn; Magasi, Susan; Hammel, Joy; Tulsky, David S; Garcia, Sofia F; Jerousek, Sara; Lai, Jin-Shei; Carlozzi, Noelle E; Gray, David B

2016-12-01

To describe the unique and overlapping content of the newly developed Environmental Factors Item Banks (EFIB) and 7 legacy environmental factor instruments, and to evaluate the EFIB's construct validity by examining associations with legacy instruments. Cross-sectional, observational cohort. Community. A sample of community-dwelling adults with stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury (N=568). None. EFIB covering domains of the built and natural environment; systems, services, and policies; social environment; and access to information and technology; the Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors (CHIEF) short form; the Facilitators and Barriers Survey/Mobility (FABS/M) short form; the Home and Community Environment Instrument (HACE); the Measure of the Quality of the Environment (MQE) short form; and 3 of the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System's (PROMIS) Quality of Social Support measures. The EFIB and legacy instruments assess most of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) environmental factors chapters, including chapter 1 (products and technology; 75 items corresponding to 11 codes), chapter 2 (natural environment and human-made changes; 31 items corresponding to 7 codes), chapter 3 (support and relationships; 74 items corresponding to 7 codes), chapter 4 (attitudes; 83 items corresponding to 8 codes), and chapter 5 (services, systems, and policies; 72 items corresponding to 16 codes). Construct validity is provided by moderate correlations between EFIB measures and the CHIEF, MQE barriers, HACE technology mobility, FABS/M community built features, and PROMIS item banks and by small correlations with other legacy instruments. Only 5 of the 66 legacy instrument correlation coefficients are moderate, suggesting they measure unique aspects of the environment, whereas all intra-EFIB correlations were at least moderate. The EFIB measures provide a brief and focused assessment of ICF

Automatic liver volume segmentation and fibrosis classification

Science.gov (United States)

Bal, Evgeny; Klang, Eyal; Amitai, Michal; Greenspan, Hayit

2018-02-01

In this work, we present an automatic method for liver segmentation and fibrosis classification in liver computed-tomography (CT) portal phase scans. The input is a full abdomen CT scan with an unknown number of slices, and the output is a liver volume segmentation mask and a fibrosis grade. A multi-stage analysis scheme is applied to each scan, including: volume segmentation, texture features extraction and SVM based classification. Data contains portal phase CT examinations from 80 patients, taken with different scanners. Each examination has a matching Fibroscan grade. The dataset was subdivided into two groups: first group contains healthy cases and mild fibrosis, second group contains moderate fibrosis, severe fibrosis and cirrhosis. Using our automated algorithm, we achieved an average dice index of 0.93 ± 0.05 for segmentation and a sensitivity of 0.92 and specificity of 0.81for classification. To the best of our knowledge, this is a first end to end automatic framework for liver fibrosis classification; an approach that, once validated, can have a great potential value in the clinic.

Signal classification using global dynamical models, Part I: Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadtke, J.; Kremliovsky, M.

1996-01-01

Detection and classification of signals is one of the principal areas of signal processing, and the utilization of nonlinear information has long been considered as a way of improving performance beyond standard linear (e.g. spectral) techniques. Here, we develop a method for using global models of chaotic dynamical systems theory to define a signal classification processing chain, which is sensitive to nonlinear correlations in the data. We use it to demonstrate classification in high noise regimes (negative SNR), and argue that classification probabilities can be directly computed from ensemble statistics in the model coefficient space. We also develop a modification for non-stationary signals (i.e. transients) using non-autonomous ODEs. In Part II of this paper, we demonstrate the analysis on actual open ocean acoustic data from marine biologics. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Breastfeeding and its relation to maternal sensitivity and infant attachment.

Science.gov (United States)

Tharner, Anne; Luijk, Maartje P C M; Raat, Hein; Ijzendoorn, Marinus H; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; Moll, Henriette A; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Hofman, Albert; Verhulst, Frank C; Tiemeier, Henning

2012-06-01

To examine the association of breastfeeding with maternal sensitive responsiveness and infant-mother attachment security and disorganization. We included 675 participants of a prospective cohort study. Questionnaires about breastfeeding practices were administered at 2 and 6 months postpartum. At 14 months, maternal sensitive responsiveness was assessed in a 13-minute laboratory procedure using Ainsworth's sensitivity scales, and attachment quality was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure. Mothers were genotyped for oxytocin receptor genes OXTR rs53576 and OXTR rs2254298. Linear regressions and analyses of covariance adjusted for various background variables were conducted. We tested for mediation and moderation by maternal sensitive responsiveness and maternal oxytocin receptor genotype. Continuous analyses showed that longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with more maternal sensitive responsiveness (B = 0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02; 0.20, p attachment security (B = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.02; 0.46, p attachment disorganization (B = -0.20, 95% CI -0.36; -0.03, p attachment classification, but longer duration of breastfeeding predicted a lower risk of disorganized versus secure attachment classification (n = 151; odds ratio [OR] = 0.81, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.99, p = .04). Maternal sensitive responsiveness did not mediate the associations, and maternal oxytocin receptor genotype was not a significant moderator. Although duration of breastfeeding was not associated with differences in infant-mother attachment classifications, we found subtle positive associations between duration of breastfeeding and sensitive responsiveness, attachment security, and disorganization.

Performance of classification criteria for gout in early and established disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taylor, William J; Fransen, Jaap; Dalbeth, Nicola

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To compare the sensitivity and specificity of different classification criteria for gout in early and established disease. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of consecutive rheumatology clinic patients with joint swelling in which gout was defined by presence or absence...... of monosodium urate crystals as observed by a certified examiner at presentation. Early disease was defined as patient-reported onset of symptoms of 2 years or less. RESULTS: Data from 983 patients were collected and gout was present in 509 (52%). Early disease was present in 144 gout cases and 228 non.......3%/84.4% and 86.4%/63.6%. Criteria not requiring synovial fluid analysis had sensitivity and specificity of less than 80% in early and established disease. CONCLUSIONS: Existing classification criteria for gout have sensitivity of over 80% in early and established disease but currently available criteria that do...

Distribution and classification of Serine β-lactamases in Brazilian Hospital Sewage and Other Environmental Metagenomes deposited in Public Databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Fróes

2016-11-01

serine β-lactamases, indicating the specificity and high sensitivity of this approach in large datasets, contributing for the identification and classification of a large number of homologous genes, comprising possible new ones. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the potential reservoir of β-lactam resistance genes in the environment, contributing to understanding the evolution and dissemination of these genes.

Distribution and Classification of Serine β-Lactamases in Brazilian Hospital Sewage and Other Environmental Metagenomes Deposited in Public Databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Fróes, Adriana M; da Mota, Fábio F; Cuadrat, Rafael R C; Dávila, Alberto M R

2016-01-01

serine β-lactamases, indicating the specificity and high sensitivity of this approach in large datasets, contributing for the identification and classification of a large number of homologous genes, comprising possible new ones. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the potential reservoir of β-lactam resistance genes in the environment, contributing to understanding the evolution and dissemination of these genes.

Quantifying Wheat Sensitivities to Environmental Constraints to Dissect Genotype × Environment Interactions in the Field.

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Parent, Boris; Bonneau, Julien; Maphosa, Lance; Kovalchuk, Alex; Langridge, Peter; Fleury, Delphine

2017-07-01

Yield is subject to strong genotype-by-environment (G × E) interactions in the field, especially under abiotic constraints such as soil water deficit (drought [D]) and high temperature (heat [H]). Since environmental conditions show strong fluctuations during the whole crop cycle, geneticists usually do not consider environmental measures as quantitative variables but rather as factors in multienvironment analyses. Based on 11 experiments in a field platform with contrasting temperature and soil water deficit, we determined the periods of sensitivity to drought and heat constraints in wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) and determined the average sensitivities for major yield components. G × E interactions were separated into their underlying components, constitutive genotypic effect (G), G × D, G × H, and G × H × D, and were analyzed for two genotypes, highlighting contrasting responses to heat and drought constraints. We then tested the constitutive and responsive behaviors of two strong quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated previously with yield components. This analysis confirmed the constitutive effect of the chromosome 1B QTL and explained the G × E interaction of the chromosome 3B QTL by a benefit of one allele when temperature rises. In addition to the method itself, which can be applied to other data sets and populations, this study will support the cloning of a major yield QTL on chromosome 3B that is highly dependent on environmental conditions and for which the climatic interaction is now quantified. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: West Peninsular Florida Volume 2, maps in portable document format (pdf) (NODC Accession 0006394)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of lower West Peninsular Florida (to...

24 CFR 58.37 - Environmental impact statement determinations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Environmental impact statement... Classification § 58.37 Environmental impact statement determinations. (a) An EIS is required when the project is... and Urban Development ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCEDURES FOR ENTITIES ASSUMING HUD ENVIRONMENTAL...

Hydrologic-Process-Based Soil Texture Classifications for Improved Visualization of Landscape Function

Science.gov (United States)

Groenendyk, Derek G.; Ferré, Ty P.A.; Thorp, Kelly R.; Rice, Amy K.

2015-01-01

Soils lie at the interface between the atmosphere and the subsurface and are a key component that control ecosystem services, food production, and many other processes at the Earth’s surface. There is a long-established convention for identifying and mapping soils by texture. These readily available, georeferenced soil maps and databases are used widely in environmental sciences. Here, we show that these traditional soil classifications can be inappropriate, contributing to bias and uncertainty in applications from slope stability to water resource management. We suggest a new approach to soil classification, with a detailed example from the science of hydrology. Hydrologic simulations based on common meteorological conditions were performed using HYDRUS-1D, spanning textures identified by the United States Department of Agriculture soil texture triangle. We consider these common conditions to be: drainage from saturation, infiltration onto a drained soil, and combined infiltration and drainage events. Using a k-means clustering algorithm, we created soil classifications based on the modeled hydrologic responses of these soils. The hydrologic-process-based classifications were compared to those based on soil texture and a single hydraulic property, Ks. Differences in classifications based on hydrologic response versus soil texture demonstrate that traditional soil texture classification is a poor predictor of hydrologic response. We then developed a QGIS plugin to construct soil maps combining a classification with georeferenced soil data from the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The spatial patterns of hydrologic response were more immediately informative, much simpler, and less ambiguous, for use in applications ranging from trafficability to irrigation management to flood control. The ease with which hydrologic-process-based classifications can be made, along with the improved quantitative predictions of soil responses and visualization of landscape

Allergic sensitization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Ree, Ronald; Hummelshøj, Lone; Plantinga, Maud

2014-01-01

Allergic sensitization is the outcome of a complex interplay between the allergen and the host in a given environmental context. The first barrier encountered by an allergen on its way to sensitization is the mucosal epithelial layer. Allergic inflammatory diseases are accompanied by increased pe...

Acorrelation study between histological results and thyroid ultrasound findings. The TI-RADS classification.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Moncó Fernández, Carlos; Serrano-Moreno, Clara; Donnay-Candil, Sergio; Carrero-Alvaro, Juan

2018-04-01

There are several classifications based on thyroid ultrasound for selecting suspected malignant thyroid nodules. The Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) classification proposed by Horvath in 2009 includes 6 categories. To assess the sensitivity of the TI-RADS classification for diagnosing thyroid nodules. A retrospective study of all patients who underwent thyroidectomy at our hospital (n=263) from September 2013 to December 2015. After thyroidectomy, histological results were correlated to the ultrasound findings reported. Of the 263 study patients, 75 (28.5%) were diagnosed with thyroid cancer and 188 (71.5%) with benign disease. Correlation of histological results with preoperative ultrasound reports showed an initial sensitivity of 65%. After excluding 15 patients diagnosed with occult microcarcinoma, sensitivity increased to 81.6%. The ultrasound images from 11 false negatives cases were then reassessed by a radiologist who knew histological diagnosis and reclassified 10 of them as TI-RADS≥4. This procedure could have increased sensitivity up to 98.3%. Although the sensitivity initially found in our study using the TI-RADS scale was relatively low, the value markedly improved when patients with occult microcarcinoma were excluded. Thus, use of the TI-RADS scale would allow for an adequate selection of patients amenable to fine needle aspiration of the nodule. Copyright © 2018 SEEN y SED. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: East Florida, maps in portable document format, Volume 1, Volume 2 (NODC Accession 0004150)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of East Florida (to encompass the coastal...

ESI PDF Maps: Environmental Sensitivity Index PDF Maps (for the U.S. Shorelines, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Algorithms for Hyperspectral Endmember Extraction and Signature Classification with Morphological Dendritic Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Schmalz, M.; Ritter, G.

Accurate multispectral or hyperspectral signature classification is key to the nonimaging detection and recognition of space objects. Additionally, signature classification accuracy depends on accurate spectral endmember determination [1]. Previous approaches to endmember computation and signature classification were based on linear operators or neural networks (NNs) expressed in terms of the algebra (R, +, x) [1,2]. Unfortunately, class separation in these methods tends to be suboptimal, and the number of signatures that can be accurately classified often depends linearly on the number of NN inputs. This can lead to poor endmember distinction, as well as potentially significant classification errors in the presence of noise or densely interleaved signatures. In contrast to traditional CNNs, autoassociative morphological memories (AMM) are a construct similar to Hopfield autoassociatived memories defined on the (R, +, ?,?) lattice algebra [3]. Unlimited storage and perfect recall of noiseless real valued patterns has been proven for AMMs [4]. However, AMMs suffer from sensitivity to specific noise models, that can be characterized as erosive and dilative noise. On the other hand, the prior definition of a set of endmembers corresponds to material spectra lying on vertices of the minimum convex region covering the image data. These vertices can be characterized as morphologically independent patterns. It has further been shown that AMMs can be based on dendritic computation [3,6]. These techniques yield improved accuracy and class segmentation/separation ability in the presence of highly interleaved signature data. In this paper, we present a procedure for endmember determination based on AMM noise sensitivity, which employs morphological dendritic computation. We show that detected endmembers can be exploited by AMM based classification techniques, to achieve accurate signature classification in the presence of noise, closely spaced or interleaved signatures, and

Intelligent environmental sensing

CERN Document Server

Mukhopadhyay, Subhas

2015-01-01

Developing environmental sensing and monitoring technologies become essential especially for industries that may cause severe contamination. Intelligent environmental sensing uses novel sensor techniques, intelligent signal and data processing algorithms, and wireless sensor networks to enhance environmental sensing and monitoring. It finds applications in many environmental problems such as oil and gas, water quality, and agriculture. This book addresses issues related to three main approaches to intelligent environmental sensing and discusses their latest technological developments. Key contents of the book include:   Agricultural monitoring Classification, detection, and estimation Data fusion Geological monitoring Motor monitoring Multi-sensor systems Oil reservoirs monitoring Sensor motes Water quality monitoring Wireless sensor network protocol  

Functional Basis of Microorganism Classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Chengsheng; Delmont, Tom O; Vogel, Timothy M; Bromberg, Yana

2015-08-01

Correctly identifying nearest "neighbors" of a given microorganism is important in industrial and clinical applications where close relationships imply similar treatment. Microbial classification based on similarity of physiological and genetic organism traits (polyphasic similarity) is experimentally difficult and, arguably, subjective. Evolutionary relatedness, inferred from phylogenetic markers, facilitates classification but does not guarantee functional identity between members of the same taxon or lack of similarity between different taxa. Using over thirteen hundred sequenced bacterial genomes, we built a novel function-based microorganism classification scheme, functional-repertoire similarity-based organism network (FuSiON; flattened to fusion). Our scheme is phenetic, based on a network of quantitatively defined organism relationships across the known prokaryotic space. It correlates significantly with the current taxonomy, but the observed discrepancies reveal both (1) the inconsistency of functional diversity levels among different taxa and (2) an (unsurprising) bias towards prioritizing, for classification purposes, relatively minor traits of particular interest to humans. Our dynamic network-based organism classification is independent of the arbitrary pairwise organism similarity cut-offs traditionally applied to establish taxonomic identity. Instead, it reveals natural, functionally defined organism groupings and is thus robust in handling organism diversity. Additionally, fusion can use organism meta-data to highlight the specific environmental factors that drive microbial diversification. Our approach provides a complementary view to cladistic assignments and holds important clues for further exploration of microbial lifestyles. Fusion is a more practical fit for biomedical, industrial, and ecological applications, as many of these rely on understanding the functional capabilities of the microbes in their environment and are less concerned with

A statistical approach to root system classification.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gernot eBodner

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Plant root systems have a key role in ecology and agronomy. In spite of fast increase in root studies, still there is no classification that allows distinguishing among distinctive characteristics within the diversity of rooting strategies. Our hypothesis is that a multivariate approach for plant functional type identification in ecology can be applied to the classification of root systems. We demonstrate that combining principal component and cluster analysis yields a meaningful classification of rooting types based on morphological traits. The classification method presented is based on a data-defined statistical procedure without a priori decision on the classifiers. Biplot inspection is used to determine key traits and to ensure stability in cluster based grouping. The classification method is exemplified with simulated root architectures and morphological field data. Simulated root architectures showed that morphological attributes with spatial distribution parameters capture most distinctive features within root system diversity. While developmental type (tap vs. shoot-borne systems is a strong, but coarse classifier, topological traits provide the most detailed differentiation among distinctive groups. Adequacy of commonly available morphologic traits for classification is supported by field data. Three rooting types emerged from measured data, distinguished by diameter/weight, density and spatial distribution respectively. Similarity of root systems within distinctive groups was the joint result of phylogenetic relation and environmental as well as human selection pressure. We concluded that the data-define classification is appropriate for integration of knowledge obtained with different root measurement methods and at various scales. Currently root morphology is the most promising basis for classification due to widely used common measurement protocols. To capture details of root diversity efforts in architectural measurement

A comparative evaluation of sequence classification programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bazinet Adam L

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A fundamental problem in modern genomics is to taxonomically or functionally classify DNA sequence fragments derived from environmental sampling (i.e., metagenomics. Several different methods have been proposed for doing this effectively and efficiently, and many have been implemented in software. In addition to varying their basic algorithmic approach to classification, some methods screen sequence reads for ’barcoding genes’ like 16S rRNA, or various types of protein-coding genes. Due to the sheer number and complexity of methods, it can be difficult for a researcher to choose one that is well-suited for a particular analysis. Results We divided the very large number of programs that have been released in recent years for solving the sequence classification problem into three main categories based on the general algorithm they use to compare a query sequence against a database of sequences. We also evaluated the performance of the leading programs in each category on data sets whose taxonomic and functional composition is known. Conclusions We found significant variability in classification accuracy, precision, and resource consumption of sequence classification programs when used to analyze various metagenomics data sets. However, we observe some general trends and patterns that will be useful to researchers who use sequence classification programs.

[Antimicrobial sensitivity of the environmental microbiota in the intensive care units of a peruvian hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Tello, José; Rojas-Jaimes, Jesús; Ibarra-Trujillo, Jimmy; Tárraga-Gonzales, Delza

2017-01-01

The objective was to detect Gram-negative bacilli and Gram-positive cocci isolated from the environmental microbiota of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) departments of Neonatology, Pediatrics, and Transplants (kidney, liver, and general) in a Lima hospital and determine their antimicrobial sensitivity. Eighty samples were obtained from inanimate surfaces using a wet swab. A total of 61 bacterial strains were identified, including Staphylococcus epidermis (46.0%), Alcaligenes sp. (21.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16.4%), Acinetobacter sp. (13.1%), Staphylococcus aureus (1.6%), and Staphylococcus haemolyticus (1.6%). Acinetobacter sp. and P. aeruginosa showed a heightened sensitivity to the antibiotics assessed, while Alcaligenes sp. and S. epidermidis presented the highest antimicrobial resistance. It is recommended that sustained asepsis and monitoring methods be used in ICUs.

Evaluation of the performance of the reduced local lymph node assay for skin sensitization testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ezendam, Janine; Muller, Andre; Hakkert, Betty C; van Loveren, Henk

2013-06-01

The local lymph node assay (LLNA) is the preferred method for classification of sensitizers within REACH. To reduce the number of mice for the identification of sensitizers the reduced LLNA was proposed, which uses only the high dose group of the LLNA. To evaluate the performance of this method for classification, LLNA data from REACH registrations were used and classification based on all dose groups was compared to classification based on the high dose group. We confirmed previous examinations of the reduced LLNA showing that this method is less sensitive compared to the LLNA. The reduced LLNA misclassified 3.3% of the sensitizers identified in the LLNA and misclassification occurred in all potency classes and that there was no clear association with irritant properties. It is therefore not possible to predict beforehand which substances might be misclassified. Another limitation of the reduced LLNA is that skin sensitizing potency cannot be assessed. For these reasons, it is not recommended to use the reduced LLNA as a stand-alone assay for skin sensitization testing within REACH. In the future, the reduced LLNA might be of added value in a weight of evidence approach to confirm negative results obtained with non-animal approaches. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Haussdorff and hellinger for colorimetric sensor array classification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alstrøm, Tommy Sonne; Jensen, Bjørn Sand; Schmidt, Mikkel Nørgaard

2012-01-01

Development of sensors and systems for detection of chemical compounds is an important challenge with applications in areas such as anti-terrorism, demining, and environmental monitoring. A newly developed colorimetric sensor array is able to detect explosives and volatile organic compounds......; however, each sensor reading consists of hundreds of pixel values, and methods for combining these readings from multiple sensors must be developed to make a classification system. In this work we examine two distance based classification methods, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Gaussian process (GP......) classification, which both rely on a suitable distance metric. We evaluate a range of different distance measures and propose a method for sensor fusion in the GP classifier. Our results indicate that the best choice of distance measure depends on the sensor and the chemical of interest....

Regime shifts and weakened environmental gradients in open oak and pine ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanberry, Brice B; Dey, Dan C; He, Hong S

2012-01-01

Fire suppression allows tree species that are intolerant of fire stress to increase their distribution, potentially resulting in disruption of historical species-environmental relationships. To measure changes between historical General Land Office surveys (1815 to 1850) and current USDA Forest Inventory and Assessment surveys (2004 to 2008), we compared composition, distribution, and site factors of 21 tree species or species groups in the Missouri Ozarks. We used 24 environmental variables and random forests as a classification method to model distributions. Eastern redcedar, elms, maples, and other fire-sensitive species have increased in dominance in oak forests, with concurrent reductions by oak species; specific changes varied by ecological subsection. Ordinations displayed loss of separation between formerly distinctive oak and fire-sensitive tree species groups. Distribution maps showed decreased presence of disturbance-dependent oak and pine species and increased presence of fire-sensitive species that generally expanded from subsections protected from fire along rivers to upland areas, except for eastern redcedar, which expanded into these subsections. Large scale differences in spatial gradients between past and present communities paralleled reduced influence of local topographic gradients in the varied relief of the Missouri Ozarks, as fire-sensitive species have moved to higher, drier, and sunnier sites away from riverine corridors. Due to changes in land use, landscapes in the Missouri Ozarks, eastern United States, and world-wide are changing from open oak and pine-dominated ecosystems to novel oak-mixed species forests, although at fine scales, forests are becoming more diverse in tree species today. Fire suppression weakened the influence by environmental gradients over species dominance, allowing succession from disturbance-dependent oaks to an alternative state of fire-sensitive species. Current and future research and conservation that rely on

Wagner classification and culture analysis of diabetic foot infection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatma Bozkurt

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the concordance ratio between microorganisms isolated from deep tissue culture and those from superficial culture in patients with diabetic foot according to Wagner’s wound classification method.Materials and methods: A total of 63 patients with Diabetic foot infection, who were admitted to Dicle University Hospital between October 2006 and November 2007, were included into the study. Wagner’s classification method was used for wound classification. For microbiologic studies superficial and deep tissue specimens were obtained from each patient, and were rapidly sent to laboratory for aerob and anaerob cultures. Microbiologic data were analyzed and interpreted in line with sensitivity and specifity formula.Results: Thirty-eight (60% of the patients were in Wagner’s classification ≤2, while 25 (40% patients were Wagner’s classification ≥3. According to our culture results, 66 (69% Gr (+ and 30 (31% Gr (- microorganisms grew in Wagner classification ≤2 patients. While in Wagner classification ≥3; 25 (35% Gr (+ and 46 (65% Gr (- microorganisms grew. Microorganisms grew in 89% of superficial cultures and 64% of the deep tissue cultures in patients with Wagner classification ≤2, while microorganism grew in 64% of Wagner classification ≥3.Conclusion: In ulcers of diabetic food infections, initial treatment should be started according to result of sterile superficial culture, but deep tissue culture should be taken, if unresponsive to initial treatment.

Classifying Classifications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Debus, Michael S.

2017-01-01

This paper critically analyzes seventeen game classifications. The classifications were chosen on the basis of diversity, ranging from pre-digital classification (e.g. Murray 1952), over game studies classifications (e.g. Elverdam & Aarseth 2007) to classifications of drinking games (e.g. LaBrie et...... al. 2013). The analysis aims at three goals: The classifications’ internal consistency, the abstraction of classification criteria and the identification of differences in classification across fields and/or time. Especially the abstraction of classification criteria can be used in future endeavors...... into the topic of game classifications....

Cheese Classification, Characterization, and Categorization: A Global Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Almena-Aliste, Montserrat; Mietton, Bernard

2014-02-01

Cheese is one of the most fascinating, complex, and diverse foods enjoyed today. Three elements constitute the cheese ecosystem: ripening agents, consisting of enzymes and microorganisms; the composition of the fresh cheese; and the environmental conditions during aging. These factors determine and define not only the sensory quality of the final cheese product but also the vast diversity of cheeses produced worldwide. How we define and categorize cheese is a complicated matter. There are various approaches to cheese classification, and a global approach for classification and characterization is needed. We review current cheese classification schemes and the limitations inherent in each of the schemes described. While some classification schemes are based on microbiological criteria, others rely on descriptions of the technologies used for cheese production. The goal of this review is to present an overview of comprehensive and practical integrative classification models in order to better describe cheese diversity and the fundamental differences within cheeses, as well as to connect fundamental technological, microbiological, chemical, and sensory characteristics to contribute to an overall characterization of the main families of cheese, including the expanding world of American artisanal cheeses.

Integrating human and environmental health in antibiotic risk assessment: A critical analysis of protection goals, species sensitivity and antimicrobial resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Page, Gareth; Gunnarsson, Lina; Snape, Jason; Tyler, Charles R

2017-12-01

Antibiotics are vital in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases but when released into the environment they may impact non-target organisms that perform vital ecosystem services and enhance antimicrobial resistance development with significant consequences for human health. We evaluate whether the current environmental risk assessment regulatory guidance is protective of antibiotic impacts on the environment, protective of antimicrobial resistance, and propose science-based protection goals for antibiotic manufacturing discharges. A review and meta-analysis was conducted of aquatic ecotoxicity data for antibiotics and for minimum selective concentration data derived from clinically relevant bacteria. Relative species sensitivity was investigated applying general linear models, and predicted no effect concentrations were generated for toxicity to aquatic organisms and compared with predicted no effect concentrations for resistance development. Prokaryotes were most sensitive to antibiotics but the range of sensitivities spanned up to several orders of magnitude. We show reliance on one species of (cyano)bacteria and the 'activated sludge respiration inhibition test' is not sufficient to set protection levels for the environment. Individually, neither traditional aquatic predicted no effect concentrations nor predicted no effect concentrations suggested to safeguard for antimicrobial resistance, protect against environmental or human health effects (via antimicrobial resistance development). Including data from clinically relevant bacteria and also more species of environmentally relevant bacteria in the regulatory framework would help in defining safe discharge concentrations for antibiotics for patient use and manufacturing that would protect environmental and human health. It would also support ending unnecessary testing on metazoan species. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Refining Time-Activity Classification of Human Subjects Using the Global Positioning System.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Maogui; Li, Wei; Li, Lianfa; Houston, Douglas; Wu, Jun

2016-01-01

Detailed spatial location information is important in accurately estimating personal exposure to air pollution. Global Position System (GPS) has been widely used in tracking personal paths and activities. Previous researchers have developed time-activity classification models based on GPS data, most of them were developed for specific regions. An adaptive model for time-location classification can be widely applied to air pollution studies that use GPS to track individual level time-activity patterns. Time-activity data were collected for seven days using GPS loggers and accelerometers from thirteen adult participants from Southern California under free living conditions. We developed an automated model based on random forests to classify major time-activity patterns (i.e. indoor, outdoor-static, outdoor-walking, and in-vehicle travel). Sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the contribution of the accelerometer data and the supplemental spatial data (i.e. roadway and tax parcel data) to the accuracy of time-activity classification. Our model was evaluated using both leave-one-fold-out and leave-one-subject-out methods. Maximum speeds in averaging time intervals of 7 and 5 minutes, and distance to primary highways with limited access were found to be the three most important variables in the classification model. Leave-one-fold-out cross-validation showed an overall accuracy of 99.71%. Sensitivities varied from 84.62% (outdoor walking) to 99.90% (indoor). Specificities varied from 96.33% (indoor) to 99.98% (outdoor static). The exclusion of accelerometer and ambient light sensor variables caused a slight loss in sensitivity for outdoor walking, but little loss in overall accuracy. However, leave-one-subject-out cross-validation showed considerable loss in sensitivity for outdoor static and outdoor walking conditions. The random forests classification model can achieve high accuracy for the four major time-activity categories. The model also performed well

40 CFR 260.30 - Non-waste determinations and variances from classification as a solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... from classification as a solid waste. 260.30 Section 260.30 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: GENERAL Rulemaking Petitions § 260.30 Non-waste determinations and variances from classification as a solid waste. In...

Environmental Modeling Using Remote Sensing And GIS For Sustainable Ecotourism Development Of RAS Banas Area, Red Sea Coast, Egypt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nasr, A.H.; El-Leithy, B.M.; Khalaf, F.I.

2003-01-01

This study aims at supporting sound planning for sustainable ecotourism development of Ras Banas area along the Red Sea Coast, Egypt. This area is characterized by unique coastal ecosystems and fragile environment. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data have been used as a source of information for the preparation of different thematic geo-environmental maps of the coastal area through visual or digital image interpretation. A digital database for the area was established and the essential derived maps representing data layers on the spatial distribution of different types of terrestrial ecosystems have been used for building a Geographic Information System (GIS) model. The thematic maps include: (1) land cover classification with emphasis on the coastal formations (sabkha, coral reefs, coastal islands and mangroves), (2) shore line, (3) drainage network and (4) basins and flash flood hazard map. In addition, topographic sheets at scale of I :50,000 were digitized and transformed to GIS digital maps that include two layers for coordinate grid and contour lines with spot heights. A spatial model has been developed and constructed for analyzing large spatial data in a GIS environment. The development of the model scenarios aimed at quantifying the impacts of different derived layers that required an assessment of different factors influencing the model. Different layers have been given different weights, based on their anticipated contributions to the model. The model was subjected to various dynamic trials related to its layer components and weights. An environmental sensitivity index map was prepared, where the coastal zone was classified, on the basis of its relative sensitivity to anthropogenic activities, into a high, a medium and a low sensitivity classes. Sensitivity classification has been used for the delineation of the suitable sites for potential sustainable ecotourism development. This derivative mapping and integrated modeling has added a significant new

Predicting redox-sensitive contaminant concentrations in groundwater using random forest classification

Science.gov (United States)

Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Gronberg, Jo Ann; Juckem, Paul F.; Miller, Matthew P.; Austin, Brian P.

2017-08-01

Machine learning techniques were applied to a large (n > 10,000) compliance monitoring database to predict the occurrence of several redox-active constituents in groundwater across a large watershed. Specifically, random forest classification was used to determine the probabilities of detecting elevated concentrations of nitrate, iron, and arsenic in the Fox, Wolf, Peshtigo, and surrounding watersheds in northeastern Wisconsin. Random forest classification is well suited to describe the nonlinear relationships observed among several explanatory variables and the predicted probabilities of elevated concentrations of nitrate, iron, and arsenic. Maps of the probability of elevated nitrate, iron, and arsenic can be used to assess groundwater vulnerability and the vulnerability of streams to contaminants derived from groundwater. Processes responsible for elevated concentrations are elucidated using partial dependence plots. For example, an increase in the probability of elevated iron and arsenic occurred when well depths coincided with the glacial/bedrock interface, suggesting a bedrock source for these constituents. Furthermore, groundwater in contact with Ordovician bedrock has a higher likelihood of elevated iron concentrations, which supports the hypothesis that groundwater liberates iron from a sulfide-bearing secondary cement horizon of Ordovician age. Application of machine learning techniques to existing compliance monitoring data offers an opportunity to broadly assess aquifer and stream vulnerability at regional and national scales and to better understand geochemical processes responsible for observed conditions.

Mining vehicle classifications from the Columbus Metropolitan Freeway Management System.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Vehicle classification data are used in many transportation applications, including: pavement design, : environmental impact studies, traffic control, and traffic safety. Ohio has over 200 permanent count stations, : supplemented by many more short-t...

Image-based deep learning for classification of noise transients in gravitational wave detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Razzano, Massimiliano; Cuoco, Elena

2018-05-01

The detection of gravitational waves has inaugurated the era of gravitational astronomy and opened new avenues for the multimessenger study of cosmic sources. Thanks to their sensitivity, the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo interferometers will probe a much larger volume of space and expand the capability of discovering new gravitational wave emitters. The characterization of these detectors is a primary task in order to recognize the main sources of noise and optimize the sensitivity of interferometers. Glitches are transient noise events that can impact the data quality of the interferometers and their classification is an important task for detector characterization. Deep learning techniques are a promising tool for the recognition and classification of glitches. We present a classification pipeline that exploits convolutional neural networks to classify glitches starting from their time-frequency evolution represented as images. We evaluated the classification accuracy on simulated glitches, showing that the proposed algorithm can automatically classify glitches on very fast timescales and with high accuracy, thus providing a promising tool for online detector characterization.

Three naive Bayes approaches for discrimination-free classification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calders, T.G.K.; Verwer, S.E.

2010-01-01

In this paper, we investigate how to modify the naive Bayes classifier in order to perform classification that is restricted to be independent with respect to a given sensitive attribute. Such independency restrictions occur naturally when the decision process leading to the labels in the data-set

Prediction of customer behaviour analysis using classification algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Raju, Siva Subramanian; Dhandayudam, Prabha

2018-04-01

Customer Relationship management plays a crucial role in analyzing of customer behavior patterns and their values with an enterprise. Analyzing of customer data can be efficient performed using various data mining techniques, with the goal of developing business strategies and to enhance the business. In this paper, three classification models (NB, J48, and MLPNN) are studied and evaluated for our experimental purpose. The performance measures of the three classifications are compared using three different parameters (accuracy, sensitivity, specificity) and experimental results expose J48 algorithm has better accuracy with compare to NB and MLPNN algorithm.

Genome-Wide Comparative Gene Family Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Frech, Christian; Chen, Nansheng

2010-01-01

Correct classification of genes into gene families is important for understanding gene function and evolution. Although gene families of many species have been resolved both computationally and experimentally with high accuracy, gene family classification in most newly sequenced genomes has not been done with the same high standard. This project has been designed to develop a strategy to effectively and accurately classify gene families across genomes. We first examine and compare the performance of computer programs developed for automated gene family classification. We demonstrate that some programs, including the hierarchical average-linkage clustering algorithm MC-UPGMA and the popular Markov clustering algorithm TRIBE-MCL, can reconstruct manual curation of gene families accurately. However, their performance is highly sensitive to parameter setting, i.e. different gene families require different program parameters for correct resolution. To circumvent the problem of parameterization, we have developed a comparative strategy for gene family classification. This strategy takes advantage of existing curated gene families of reference species to find suitable parameters for classifying genes in related genomes. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this novel strategy, we use TRIBE-MCL to classify chemosensory and ABC transporter gene families in C. elegans and its four sister species. We conclude that fully automated programs can establish biologically accurate gene families if parameterized accordingly. Comparative gene family classification finds optimal parameters automatically, thus allowing rapid insights into gene families of newly sequenced species. PMID:20976221

An Ultrasonic Pattern Recognition Approach to Welding Defect Classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Sung Jin

1995-01-01

Classification of flaws in weldments from their ultrasonic scattering signals is very important in quantitative nondestructive evaluation. This problem is ideally suited to a modern ultrasonic pattern recognition technique. Here brief discussion on systematic approach to this methodology is presented including ultrasonic feature extraction, feature selection and classification. A stronger emphasis is placed on probabilistic neural networks as efficient classifiers for many practical classification problems. In an example probabilistic neural networks are applied to classify flaws in weldments into 3 classes such as cracks, porosity and slag inclusions. Probabilistic nets are shown to be able to exhibit high performance of other classifiers without any training time overhead. In addition, forward selection scheme for sensitive features is addressed to enhance network performance

Optimizing measurement sensitivity to facilitate monitoring environmental levels of Rn-daughter concentrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keefe, D.J.; McDowell, W.P.; Groer, P.G.; Witek, R.T.

1977-01-01

In the measurement of environmental levels of radioactivity, the primary problem is the accumulation of a statistically meaningful number of counts within a reasonable period of time. In the case of measurements of airborne 222 Rn-daughter concentrations, the problem is further complicated by the particularly short half-life, 3.05 minutes, of RaA (Po 218 ). Since the Rn-daughters, (RaA, RaB [Pb 214 ] and RaC [Bi 214 ]) are of interest, the equations interrelating these Rn-daughter concentrations were derived from the laws of radioactive-series decay. These equations, although straightforward, are cumbersome to solve. To facilitate the efficient use of these equations, a computer program has been written which permits the calculation of Rn-daughter concentrations or expected counts for a given set of measurement parameters (flow rate and detector efficiencies). A subroutine then calculates the optimum pumping and counting times required to provide the number of counts necessary for acceptable statistics at environmental levels of 222 Rn-daughter concentrations. This subroutine contains a set of parameters, flow rate and efficiencies, that are fixed using realistic restrictions. The use of these optimized pumping and counting times results in maximum measurement sensitivity under realistic constraints

Classification of the eastern alpine vegetation of Lesotho | Morris ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Five vegetation communities in the alpine catchment of Lesotho were identified by hierarchical classification of the botanical composition data. Discriminant analysis indicated that these communities occupy particular topographic positions. The community-environmental relationships identified in this study were similar to ...

Parental Sensitivity, Infant Affect, and Affect Regulation: Predictors of Later Attachment.

Science.gov (United States)

Braungart-Rieker, Julia M.; Garwood, Molly M.; Powers, Bruce P.; Wang, Xiaoyu

2001-01-01

Examined extent to which parent sensitivity, infant affect, and affect regulation at 4 months predicted mother- and father-infant attachment classifications at 1 year. Found that affect regulation and maternal sensitivity discriminated infant-mother attachment groups. The association between maternal sensitivity and infant-mother attachment was…

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Central California (Including Monterey Bay Sanctuary), maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013176)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps have been developed for the coastal areas of Central California from Point Conception to Point Reyes National Seashore....

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Prince William Sound, Alaska, Volumes 1 and 2, geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0019218)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Prince William Sound, Alaska. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...

40 CFR 260.31 - Standards and criteria for variances from classification as a solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... from classification as a solid waste. 260.31 Section 260.31 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: GENERAL Rulemaking Petitions § 260.31 Standards and criteria for variances from classification as a solid waste. (a) The...

Use of remote sensing and GIS in mapping the environmental sensitivity areas for desertification of Egyptian territory

Science.gov (United States)

Gad, A.; Lotfy, I.

2008-06-01

Desertification is defined in the first art of the convention to combat desertification as "land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from climatic variations and human activities". Its consequence include a set of important processes which are active in arid and semi arid environment, where water is the main limiting factor of land use performance in such ecosystem . Desertification indicators or the groups of associated indicators should be focused on a single process. They should be based on available reliable information sources, including remotely sensed images, topographic data (maps or DEM'S), climate, soils and geological data. The current work aims to map the Environmental Sensitivity Areas (ESA's) to desertification in whole territory of Egypt at a scale of 1:1 000 000. ETM satellite images, geologic and soil maps were used as main sources for calculating the index of Environmental Sensitivity Areas (ESAI) for desertification. The algorism is adopted from MEDALLUS methodology as follows; ESAI = (SQI * CQI * VQI)1/3 Where SQI is the soil quality index, CQI is the climate quality index and VQI is the vegetation quality index. The SQI is based on rating the parent material, slope, soil texture, and soil depth. The VQI is computed on bases of rating three categories (i.e. erosion protection, drought resistance and plant cover). The CQI is based on the aridity index, derived from values of annual rainfall and potential evapotranspiration. Arc-GIS 9 software was used for the computation and sensitivity maps production. The results show that the soil of the Nile Valley are characterized by a moderate SQI, however the those in the interference zone are low soil quality indexed. The dense vegetation of the valley has raised its VQI to be good, however coastal areas are average and interference zones are low. The maps of ESA's for desertification show that 86.1% of Egyptian territory is classified as very sensitive areas, while 4.3% as

The Tradescantia micronucleus assay is a highly sensitive tool for the detection of low levels of radioactivity in environmental samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Mišík, Miroslav; Krupitza, Georg; Mišíková, Katarina; Mičieta, Karol; Nersesyan, Armen; Kundi, Michael; Knasmueller, Siegfried

2016-12-01

Environmental contamination with radioactive materials of geogenic and anthropogenic origin is a global problem. A variety of mutagenicity test procedures has been developed which enable the detection of DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation which plays a key role in the adverse effects caused by radioisotopes. In the present study, we investigated the usefulness of the Tradescantia micronucleus test (the most widely used plant based genotoxicity bioassay) for the detection of genetic damage caused by environmental samples and a human artifact (ceramic plate) which contained radioactive elements. We compared the results obtained with different exposure protocols and found that direct exposure of the inflorescences is more sensitive and that the number of micronuclei can be further increased under "wet" conditions. The lowest dose rate which caused a significant effect was 1.2 μGy/h (10 h). Comparisons with the results obtained with other systems (i.e. with mitotic cells of higher plants, molluscs, insects, fish and human lymphocytes) show that the Tradescantia MN assay is one to three orders of magnitude more sensitive as other models, which are currently available. Taken together, our findings indicate that this method is due to its high sensitivity a unique tool, which can be used for environmental biomonitoring in radiation polluted areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional Basis of Microorganism Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Chengsheng; Delmont, Tom O.; Vogel, Timothy M.; Bromberg, Yana

2015-01-01

Correctly identifying nearest “neighbors” of a given microorganism is important in industrial and clinical applications where close relationships imply similar treatment. Microbial classification based on similarity of physiological and genetic organism traits (polyphasic similarity) is experimentally difficult and, arguably, subjective. Evolutionary relatedness, inferred from phylogenetic markers, facilitates classification but does not guarantee functional identity between members of the same taxon or lack of similarity between different taxa. Using over thirteen hundred sequenced bacterial genomes, we built a novel function-based microorganism classification scheme, functional-repertoire similarity-based organism network (FuSiON; flattened to fusion). Our scheme is phenetic, based on a network of quantitatively defined organism relationships across the known prokaryotic space. It correlates significantly with the current taxonomy, but the observed discrepancies reveal both (1) the inconsistency of functional diversity levels among different taxa and (2) an (unsurprising) bias towards prioritizing, for classification purposes, relatively minor traits of particular interest to humans. Our dynamic network-based organism classification is independent of the arbitrary pairwise organism similarity cut-offs traditionally applied to establish taxonomic identity. Instead, it reveals natural, functionally defined organism groupings and is thus robust in handling organism diversity. Additionally, fusion can use organism meta-data to highlight the specific environmental factors that drive microbial diversification. Our approach provides a complementary view to cladistic assignments and holds important clues for further exploration of microbial lifestyles. Fusion is a more practical fit for biomedical, industrial, and ecological applications, as many of these rely on understanding the functional capabilities of the microbes in their environment and are less concerned

Objective classification of ecological status in marine water bodies using ecotoxicological information and multivariate analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Beiras, Ricardo; Durán, Iria

2014-12-01

Some relevant shortcomings have been identified in the current approach for the classification of ecological status in marine water bodies, leading to delays in the fulfillment of the Water Framework Directive objectives. Natural variability makes difficult to settle fixed reference values and boundary values for the Ecological Quality Ratios (EQR) for the biological quality elements. Biological responses to environmental degradation are frequently of nonmonotonic nature, hampering the EQR approach. Community structure traits respond only once ecological damage has already been done and do not provide early warning signals. An alternative methodology for the classification of ecological status integrating chemical measurements, ecotoxicological bioassays and community structure traits (species richness and diversity), and using multivariate analyses (multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis), is proposed. This approach does not depend on the arbitrary definition of fixed reference values and EQR boundary values, and it is suitable to integrate nonlinear, sensitive signals of ecological degradation. As a disadvantage, this approach demands the inclusion of sampling sites representing the full range of ecological status in each monitoring campaign. National or international agencies in charge of coastal pollution monitoring have comprehensive data sets available to overcome this limitation.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: U.S. and British Virgin Islands maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0049955)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises an update of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Virgin Islands. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife...

Classification of permafrost active layer depth from remotely sensed and topographic evidence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peddle, D.R.; Franklin, S.E.

1993-01-01

The remote detection of permafrost (perennially frozen ground) has important implications to environmental resource development, engineering studies, natural hazard prediction, and climate change research. In this study, the authors present results from two experiments into the classification of permafrost active layer depth within the zone of discontinuous permafrost in northern Canada. A new software system based on evidential reasoning was implemented to permit the integrated classification of multisource data consisting of landcover, terrain aspect, and equivalent latitude, each of which possessed different formats, data types, or statistical properties that could not be handled by conventional classification algorithms available to this study. In the first experiment, four active layer depth classes were classified using ground based measurements of the three variables with an accuracy of 83% compared to in situ soil probe determination of permafrost active layer depth at over 500 field sites. This confirmed the environmental significance of the variables selected, and provided a baseline result to which a remote sensing classification could be compared. In the second experiment, evidence for each input variable was obtained from image processing of digital SPOT imagery and a photogrammetric digital elevation model, and used to classify active layer depth with an accuracy of 79%. These results suggest the classification of evidence from remotely sensed measures of spectral response and topography may provide suitable indicators of permafrost active layer depth

PAYMENT CAPACITY SENSITIVITY FACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel BRÎNDESCU – OLARIU

2014-11-01

The results of the study facilitate the determination and classification of the main sensitivity factors for the payment capacity at sample level, the establishment of general benchmarks for the payment capacity (as no such benchmarks currently exist in the Romanian literature and the identification of the mechanisms through which the variation of different factors impacts the payment capacity.

A highly sensitive monoclonal antibody based biosensor for quantifying 3–5 ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs in aqueous environmental samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Li

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Immunoassays based on monoclonal antibodies (mAbs are highly sensitive for the detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs and can be employed to determine concentrations in near real-time. A sensitive generic mAb against PAHs, named as 2G8, was developed by a three-step screening procedure. It exhibited nearly uniformly high sensitivity against 3-ring to 5-ring unsubstituted PAHs and their common environmental methylated PAHs, with IC50 values between 1.68 and 31 μg/L (ppb. 2G8 has been successfully applied on the KinExA Inline Biosensor system for quantifying 3–5 ring PAHs in aqueous environmental samples. PAHs were detected at a concentration as low as 0.2 μg/L. Furthermore, the analyses only required 10 min for each sample. To evaluate the accuracy of the 2G8-based biosensor, the total PAH concentrations in a series of environmental samples analyzed by biosensor and GC–MS were compared. In most cases, the results yielded a good correlation between methods. This indicates that generic antibody 2G8 based biosensor possesses significant promise for a low cost, rapid method for PAH determination in aqueous samples. Keywords: Monoclonal antibody, PAH, Pore water, Biosensor, Pyrene

Efficacy measures associated to a plantar pressure based classification system in diabetic foot medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Deschamps, Kevin; Matricali, Giovanni Arnoldo; Desmet, Dirk; Roosen, Philip; Keijsers, Noel; Nobels, Frank; Bruyninckx, Herman; Staes, Filip

2016-09-01

The concept of 'classification' has, similar to many other diseases, been found to be fundamental in the field of diabetic medicine. In the current study, we aimed at determining efficacy measures of a recently published plantar pressure based classification system. Technical efficacy of the classification system was investigated by applying a high resolution, pixel-level analysis on the normalized plantar pressure pedobarographic fields of the original experimental dataset consisting of 97 patients with diabetes and 33 persons without diabetes. Clinical efficacy was assessed by considering the occurence of foot ulcers at the plantar aspect of the forefoot in this dataset. Classification efficacy was assessed by determining the classification recognition rate as well as its sensitivity and specificity using cross-validation subsets of the experimental dataset together with a novel cohort of 12 patients with diabetes. Pixel-level comparison of the four groups associated to the classification system highlighted distinct regional differences. Retrospective analysis showed the occurence of eleven foot ulcers in the experimental dataset since their gait analysis. Eight out of the eleven ulcers developed in a region of the foot which had the highest forces. Overall classification recognition rate exceeded 90% for all cross-validation subsets. Sensitivity and specificity of the four groups associated to the classification system exceeded respectively the 0.7 and 0.8 level in all cross-validation subsets. The results of the current study support the use of the novel plantar pressure based classification system in diabetic foot medicine. It may particularly serve in communication, diagnosis and clinical decision making. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using ecological zones to increase the detail of Landsat classifications

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, L., III; Mayer, K. E.

1981-01-01

Changes in classification detail of forest species descriptions were made for Landsat data on 2.2 million acres in northwestern California. Because basic forest canopy structures may exhibit very similar E-M energy reflectance patterns in different environmental regions, classification labels based on Landsat spectral signatures alone become very generalized when mapping large heterogeneous ecological regions. By adding a seven ecological zone stratification, a 167% improvement in classification detail was made over the results achieved without it. The seven zone stratification is a less costly alternative to the inclusion of complex collateral information, such as terrain data and soil type, into the Landsat data base when making inventories of areas greater than 500,000 acres.

ESI-VI8, Peter Island, U. K. and Eastern St John, U. S. Virgin Islands 2000 (Environmental Sensitivity Index Map)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the...

Exploring the Relationship between Noise Sensitivity, Annoyance and Health-Related Quality of Life in a Sample of Adults Exposed to Environmental Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Shepherd

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The relationship between environmental noise and health is poorly understood but of fundamental importance to public health. This study estimated the relationship between noise sensitivity, noise annoyance and health-related quality of life in a sample of adults residing close to the Auckland International Airport, New Zealand. A small sample (n = 105 completed surveys measuring noise sensitivity, noise annoyance, and quality of life. Noise sensitivity was associated with health-related quality of life; annoyance and sleep disturbance mediated the effects of noise sensitivity on health.

Catchment Classification: Connecting Climate, Structure and Function

Science.gov (United States)

Sawicz, K. A.; Wagener, T.; Sivapalan, M.; Troch, P. A.; Carrillo, G. A.

2010-12-01

Hydrology does not yet possess a generally accepted catchment classification framework. Such a classification framework needs to: [1] give names to things, i.e. the main classification step, [2] permit transfer of information, i.e. regionalization of information, [3] permit development of generalizations, i.e. to develop new theory, and [4] provide a first order environmental change impact assessment, i.e., the hydrologic implications of climate, land use and land cover change. One strategy is to create a catchment classification framework based on the notion of catchment functions (partitioning, storage, and release). Results of an empirical study presented here connects climate and structure to catchment function (in the form of select hydrologic signatures), based on analyzing over 300 US catchments. Initial results indicate a wide assortment of signature relationships with properties of climate, geology, and vegetation. The uncertainty in the different regionalized signatures varies widely, and therefore there is variability in the robustness of classifying ungauged basins. This research provides insight into the controls of hydrologic behavior of a catchment, and enables a classification framework applicable to gauged and ungauged across the study domain. This study sheds light on what we can expect to achieve in mapping climate, structure and function in a top-down manner. Results of this study complement work done using a bottom-up physically-based modeling framework to generalize this approach (Carrillo et al., this session).

Thyroid Nodule Classification in Ultrasound Images by Fine-Tuning Deep Convolutional Neural Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Chi, Jianning; Walia, Ekta; Babyn, Paul; Wang, Jimmy; Groot, Gary; Eramian, Mark

2017-08-01

With many thyroid nodules being incidentally detected, it is important to identify as many malignant nodules as possible while excluding those that are highly likely to be benign from fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies or surgeries. This paper presents a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for classifying thyroid nodules in ultrasound images. We use deep learning approach to extract features from thyroid ultrasound images. Ultrasound images are pre-processed to calibrate their scale and remove the artifacts. A pre-trained GoogLeNet model is then fine-tuned using the pre-processed image samples which leads to superior feature extraction. The extracted features of the thyroid ultrasound images are sent to a Cost-sensitive Random Forest classifier to classify the images into "malignant" and "benign" cases. The experimental results show the proposed fine-tuned GoogLeNet model achieves excellent classification performance, attaining 98.29% classification accuracy, 99.10% sensitivity and 93.90% specificity for the images in an open access database (Pedraza et al. 16), while 96.34% classification accuracy, 86% sensitivity and 99% specificity for the images in our local health region database.

Statistical Sensitive Data Protection and Inference Prevention with Decision Tree Methods

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chang, LiWu

2003-01-01

.... We consider inference as correct classification and approach it with decision tree methods. As in our previous work, sensitive data are viewed as classes of those test data and non-sensitive data are the rest attribute values...

An alternative respiratory sounds classification system utilizing artificial neural networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rami J Oweis

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Computerized lung sound analysis involves recording lung sound via an electronic device, followed by computer analysis and classification based on specific signal characteristics as non-linearity and nonstationarity caused by air turbulence. An automatic analysis is necessary to avoid dependence on expert skills. Methods: This work revolves around exploiting autocorrelation in the feature extraction stage. All process stages were implemented in MATLAB. The classification process was performed comparatively using both artificial neural networks (ANNs and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS toolboxes. The methods have been applied to 10 different respiratory sounds for classification. Results: The ANN was superior to the ANFIS system and returned superior performance parameters. Its accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity were 98.6%, 100%, and 97.8%, respectively. The obtained parameters showed superiority to many recent approaches. Conclusions: The promising proposed method is an efficient fast tool for the intended purpose as manifested in the performance parameters, specifically, accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity. Furthermore, it may be added that utilizing the autocorrelation function in the feature extraction in such applications results in enhanced performance and avoids undesired computation complexities compared to other techniques.

U.S. Geological Survey ArcMap Sediment Classification tool

Science.gov (United States)

O'Malley, John

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ArcMap Sediment Classification tool is a custom toolbar that extends the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) ArcGIS 9.2 Desktop application to aid in the analysis of seabed sediment classification. The tool uses as input either a point data layer with field attributes containing percentage of gravel, sand, silt, and clay or four raster data layers representing a percentage of sediment (0-100%) for the various sediment grain size analysis: sand, gravel, silt and clay. This tool is designed to analyze the percent of sediment at a given location and classify the sediments according to either the Folk (1954, 1974) or Shepard (1954) as modified by Schlee(1973) classification schemes. The sediment analysis tool is based upon the USGS SEDCLASS program (Poppe, et al. 2004).

QSAR models of human data can enrich or replace LLNA testing for human skin sensitization

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Vinicius M.; Capuzzi, Stephen J.; Muratov, Eugene; Braga, Rodolpho C.; Thornton, Thomas; Fourches, Denis; Strickland, Judy; Kleinstreuer, Nicole; Andrade, Carolina H.; Tropsha, Alexander

2016-01-01

Skin sensitization is a major environmental and occupational health hazard. Although many chemicals have been evaluated in humans, there have been no efforts to model these data to date. We have compiled, curated, analyzed, and compared the available human and LLNA data. Using these data, we have developed reliable computational models and applied them for virtual screening of chemical libraries to identify putative skin sensitizers. The overall concordance between murine LLNA and human skin sensitization responses for a set of 135 unique chemicals was low (R = 28-43%), although several chemical classes had high concordance. We have succeeded to develop predictive QSAR models of all available human data with the external correct classification rate of 71%. A consensus model integrating concordant QSAR predictions and LLNA results afforded a higher CCR of 82% but at the expense of the reduced external dataset coverage (52%). We used the developed QSAR models for virtual screening of CosIng database and identified 1061 putative skin sensitizers; for seventeen of these compounds, we found published evidence of their skin sensitization effects. Models reported herein provide more accurate alternative to LLNA testing for human skin sensitization assessment across diverse chemical data. In addition, they can also be used to guide the structural optimization of toxic compounds to reduce their skin sensitization potential. PMID:28630595

Classification of Clouds in Satellite Imagery Using Adaptive Fuzzy Sparse Representation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Jin

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Automatic cloud detection and classification using satellite cloud imagery have various meteorological applications such as weather forecasting and climate monitoring. Cloud pattern analysis is one of the research hotspots recently. Since satellites sense the clouds remotely from space, and different cloud types often overlap and convert into each other, there must be some fuzziness and uncertainty in satellite cloud imagery. Satellite observation is susceptible to noises, while traditional cloud classification methods are sensitive to noises and outliers; it is hard for traditional cloud classification methods to achieve reliable results. To deal with these problems, a satellite cloud classification method using adaptive fuzzy sparse representation-based classification (AFSRC is proposed. Firstly, by defining adaptive parameters related to attenuation rate and critical membership, an improved fuzzy membership is introduced to accommodate the fuzziness and uncertainty of satellite cloud imagery; secondly, by effective combination of the improved fuzzy membership function and sparse representation-based classification (SRC, atoms in training dictionary are optimized; finally, an adaptive fuzzy sparse representation classifier for cloud classification is proposed. Experiment results on FY-2G satellite cloud image show that, the proposed method not only improves the accuracy of cloud classification, but also has strong stability and adaptability with high computational efficiency.

Classification of Clouds in Satellite Imagery Using Adaptive Fuzzy Sparse Representation

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Wei; Gong, Fei; Zeng, Xingbin; Fu, Randi

2016-01-01

Automatic cloud detection and classification using satellite cloud imagery have various meteorological applications such as weather forecasting and climate monitoring. Cloud pattern analysis is one of the research hotspots recently. Since satellites sense the clouds remotely from space, and different cloud types often overlap and convert into each other, there must be some fuzziness and uncertainty in satellite cloud imagery. Satellite observation is susceptible to noises, while traditional cloud classification methods are sensitive to noises and outliers; it is hard for traditional cloud classification methods to achieve reliable results. To deal with these problems, a satellite cloud classification method using adaptive fuzzy sparse representation-based classification (AFSRC) is proposed. Firstly, by defining adaptive parameters related to attenuation rate and critical membership, an improved fuzzy membership is introduced to accommodate the fuzziness and uncertainty of satellite cloud imagery; secondly, by effective combination of the improved fuzzy membership function and sparse representation-based classification (SRC), atoms in training dictionary are optimized; finally, an adaptive fuzzy sparse representation classifier for cloud classification is proposed. Experiment results on FY-2G satellite cloud image show that, the proposed method not only improves the accuracy of cloud classification, but also has strong stability and adaptability with high computational efficiency. PMID:27999261

Mining vehicle classifications from the Columbus Metropolitan Freeway Management System : [summary].

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Vehicle classification data are used in many transportation applications, including: pavement design, : environmental impact studies, traffic control, and traffic safety. Ohio has over 200 permanent count : stations, supplemented by many more short-t...

Application of a niche-based model for forest cover classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amici V

2012-05-01

Full Text Available In recent years, a surge of interest in biodiversity conservation have led to the development of new approaches to facilitate ecologically-based conservation policies and management plans. In particular, image classification and predictive distribution modeling applied to forest habitats, constitute a crucial issue as forests constitute the most widespread vegetation type and play a key role for ecosystem functioning. Then, the general purpose of this study is to develop a framework that in the absence of large amounts of field data for large areas may allow to select the most appropriate classification. In some cases, a hard division of classes is required, especially as support to environmental policies; despite this it is necessary to take into account problems which derive from a crisp view of ecological entities being mapped, since habitats are expected to be structurally complex and continuously vary within a landscape. In this paper, a niche model (MaxEnt, generally used to estimate species/habitat distribution, has been applied to classify forest cover in a complex Mediterranean area and to estimate the probability distribution of four forest types, producing continuous maps of forest cover. The use of the obtained models as validation of model for crisp classifications, highlighted that crisp classification, which is being continuously used in landscape research and planning, is not free from drawbacks as it is showing a high degree of inner variability. The modeling approach followed by this study, taking into account the uncertainty proper of the natural ecosystems and the use of environmental variables in land cover classification, may represent an useful approach to making more efficient and effective field inventories and to developing effective forest conservation policies.

Ranking environmental projects model based on multicriteria decision-making and the weight sensitivity analysis

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2007-01-01

With the fast growth of Chinese economic,more and more capital will be invested in environmental projects.How to select the environmental investment projects(alternatives)for obtaining the best environmental quality and economic benefits is an important problem for the decision makers.The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision-making model to rank a finite number of alternatives with several and sometimes conflicting criteria.A model for ranking the projects of municipal sewage treatment plants is proposed by using exports' information and the data of the real projects.And,the ranking result is given based on the PROMETHEE method. Furthermore,by means of the concept of the weight stability intervals(WSI),the sensitivity of the ranking results to the size of criteria values and the change of weights value of criteria are discussed.The result shows that some criteria,such as"proportion of benefit to projoct cost",will influence the ranking result of alternatives very strong while others not.The influence are not only from the value of criterion but also from the changing the weight of criterion.So,some criteria such as"proportion of benefit to projoct cost" are key critera for ranking the projects. Decision makers must be cautious to them.

GIS coupled Multiple Criteria based Decision Support for Classification of Urban Coastal Areas in India

Science.gov (United States)

Dhiman, R.; Kalbar, P.; Inamdar, A. B.

2017-12-01

Coastal area classification in India is a challenge for federal and state government agencies due to fragile institutional framework, unclear directions in implementation of costal regulations and violations happening at private and government level. This work is an attempt to improvise the objectivity of existing classification methods to synergies the ecological systems and socioeconomic development in coastal cities. We developed a Geographic information system coupled Multi-criteria Decision Making (GIS-MCDM) approach to classify urban coastal areas where utility functions are used to transform the costal features into quantitative membership values after assessing the sensitivity of urban coastal ecosystem. Furthermore, these membership values for costal features are applied in different weighting schemes to derive Coastal Area Index (CAI) which classifies the coastal areas in four distinct categories viz. 1) No Development Zone, 2) Highly Sensitive Zone, 3) Moderately Sensitive Zone and 4) Low Sensitive Zone based on the sensitivity of urban coastal ecosystem. Mumbai, a coastal megacity in India is used as case study for demonstration of proposed method. Finally, uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo approach to validate the sensitivity of CAI under specific multiple scenarios is carried out. Results of CAI method shows the clear demarcation of coastal areas in GIS environment based on the ecological sensitivity. CAI provides better decision support for federal and state level agencies to classify urban coastal areas according to the regional requirement of coastal resources considering resilience and sustainable development. CAI method will strengthen the existing institutional framework for decision making in classification of urban coastal areas where most effective coastal management options can be proposed.

Stream Classification Tool User Manual: For Use in Applications in Hydropower-Related Evironmental Mitigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McManamay, Ryan A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Troia, Matthew J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); DeRolph, Christopher R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Samu, Nicole M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-01-01

Stream classifications are an inventory of different types of streams. Classifications help us explore similarities and differences among different types of streams, make inferences regarding stream ecosystem behavior, and communicate the complexities of ecosystems. We developed a nested, layered, and spatially contiguous stream classification to characterize the biophysical settings of stream reaches within the Eastern United States (~ 900,000 reaches). The classification is composed of five natural characteristics (hydrology, temperature, size, confinement, and substrate) along with several disturbance regime layers, and each was selected because of their relevance to hydropower mitigation. We developed the classification at the stream reach level using the National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 1 (1:100k scale). The stream classification is useful to environmental mitigation for hydropower dams in multiple ways. First, it creates efficiency in the regulatory process by creating an objective and data-rich means to address meaningful mitigation actions. Secondly, the SCT addresses data gaps as it quickly provides an inventory of hydrology, temperature, morphology, and ecological communities for the immediate project area, but also surrounding streams. This includes identifying potential reference streams as those that are proximate to the hydropower facility and fall within the same class. These streams can potentially be used to identify ideal environmental conditions or identify desired ecological communities. In doing so, the stream provides some context for how streams may function, respond to dam regulation, and an overview of specific mitigation needs. Herein, we describe the methodology in developing each stream classification layer and provide a tutorial to guide applications of the classification (and associated data) in regulatory settings, such as hydropower (re)licensing.

Notes on an Environmental Pollution Vocabulary.

Science.gov (United States)

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Science Information Exchange.

This vocabulary covering the field of environmental pollution was compiled by the staff of the Science Information Exchange, Smithsonian Institution. The view of the approach is to include an outline-classification all physical, life, and social science aspects of environmental pollution, trying to achieve a balance in the representation of each…

Environmental Impacts of a Multi-Borehole Geothermal System: Model Sensitivity Study

Science.gov (United States)

Krol, M.; Daemi, N.

2017-12-01

Problems associated with fossil fuel consumption has increased worldwide interest in discovering and developing sustainable energy systems. One such system is geothermal heating, which uses the constant temperature of the ground to heat or cool buildings. Since geothermal heating offers low maintenance, high heating/cooling comfort, and a low carbon footprint, compared to conventional systems, there has been an increasing trend in equipping large buildings with geothermal heating. However, little is known on the potential environmental impact geothermal heating can have on the subsurface, such as the creation of subsurface thermal plumes or changes in groundwater flow dynamics. In the present study, the environmental impacts of a closed-loop, ground source heat pump (GSHP) system was examined with respect to different system parameters. To do this a three-dimensional model, developed using FEFLOW, was used to examine the thermal plumes resulting from ten years of operation of a vertical closed-loop GSHP system with multiple boreholes. A required thermal load typical of an office building located in Canada was calculated and groundwater flow and heat transport in the geological formation was simulated. Consequently, the resulting thermal plumes were studied and a sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the effect of different parameters like groundwater flow and soil type on the development and movement of thermal plumes. Since thermal plumes can affect the efficiency of a GSHP system, this study provides insight into important system parameters.

MRI Brain Images Healthy and Pathological Tissues Classification with the Aid of Improved Particle Swarm Optimization and Neural Network

Science.gov (United States)

Sheejakumari, V.; Sankara Gomathi, B.

2015-01-01

The advantages of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over other diagnostic imaging modalities are its higher spatial resolution and its better discrimination of soft tissue. In the previous tissues classification method, the healthy and pathological tissues are classified from the MRI brain images using HGANN. But the method lacks sensitivity and accuracy measures. The classification method is inadequate in its performance in terms of these two parameters. So, to avoid these drawbacks, a new classification method is proposed in this paper. Here, new tissues classification method is proposed with improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) technique to classify the healthy and pathological tissues from the given MRI images. Our proposed classification method includes the same four stages, namely, tissue segmentation, feature extraction, heuristic feature selection, and tissue classification. The method is implemented and the results are analyzed in terms of various statistical performance measures. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed classification method in classifying the tissues and the achieved improvement in sensitivity and accuracy measures. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed technique is evaluated by comparing it with the other segmentation methods. PMID:25977706

Modified DCTNet for audio signals classification

Science.gov (United States)

Xian, Yin; Pu, Yunchen; Gan, Zhe; Lu, Liang; Thompson, Andrew

2016-10-01

In this paper, we investigate DCTNet for audio signal classification. Its output feature is related to Cohen's class of time-frequency distributions. We introduce the use of adaptive DCTNet (A-DCTNet) for audio signals feature extraction. The A-DCTNet applies the idea of constant-Q transform, with its center frequencies of filterbanks geometrically spaced. The A-DCTNet is adaptive to different acoustic scales, and it can better capture low frequency acoustic information that is sensitive to human audio perception than features such as Mel-frequency spectral coefficients (MFSC). We use features extracted by the A-DCTNet as input for classifiers. Experimental results show that the A-DCTNet and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) achieve state-of-the-art performance in bird song classification rate, and improve artist identification accuracy in music data. They demonstrate A-DCTNet's applicability to signal processing problems.

Classification of High Spatial Resolution, Hyperspectral ...

Science.gov (United States)

EPA announced the availability of the final report,Classification of High Spatial Resolution, Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Imagery of the Little Miami River Watershed in Southwest Ohio, USA . This report and associated land use/land cover (LULC) coverage is the result of a collaborative effort among an interdisciplinary team of scientists with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA's) Office of Research and Development in Cincinnati, Ohio. A primary goal of this project is to enhance the use of geography and spatial analytic tools in risk assessment, and to improve the scientific basis for risk management decisions affecting drinking water and water quality. The land use/land cover classification is derived from 82 flight lines of Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) hyperspectral imagery acquired from July 24 through August 9, 2002 via fixed-wing aircraft.

Automatic classification of blank substrate defects

Science.gov (United States)

Boettiger, Tom; Buck, Peter; Paninjath, Sankaranarayanan; Pereira, Mark; Ronald, Rob; Rost, Dan; Samir, Bhamidipati

2014-10-01

Technology Center (MPMask). The Calibre ADC tool was qualified on production mask blanks against the manual classification. The classification accuracy of ADC is greater than 95% for critical defects with an overall accuracy of 90%. The sensitivity to weak defect signals and locating the defect in the images is a challenge we are resolving. The performance of the tool has been demonstrated on multiple mask types and is ready for deployment in full volume mask manufacturing production flow. Implementation of Calibre ADC is estimated to reduce the misclassification of critical defects by 60-80%.

Improved analytical sensitivity for uranium and plutonium in environmental samples: Cavity ion source thermal ionization mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ingeneri, Kristofer; Riciputi, L.

2001-01-01

Following successful field trials, environmental sampling has played a central role as a routine part of safeguards inspections since early 1996 to verify declared and to detect undeclared activity. The environmental sampling program has brought a new series of analytical challenges, and driven a need for advances in verification technology. Environmental swipe samples are often extremely low in concentration of analyte (ng level or lower), yet the need to analyze these samples accurately and precisely is vital, particularly for the detection of undeclared nuclear activities. Thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) is the standard method of determining isotope ratios of uranium and plutonium in the environmental sampling program. TIMS analysis typically employs 1-3 filaments to vaporize and ionize the sample, and the ions are mass separated and analyzed using magnetic sector instruments due to their high mass resolution and high ion transmission. However, the ionization efficiency (the ratio of material present to material actually detected) of uranium using a standard TIMS instrument is low (0.2%), even under the best conditions. Increasing ionization efficiency by even a small amount would have a dramatic impact for safeguards applications, allowing both improvements in analytical precision and a significant decrease in the amount of uranium and plutonium required for analysis, increasing the sensitivity of environmental sampling

A renewed perspective on agroforestry concepts and classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Torquebiau, E F

2000-11-01

Agroforestry, the association of trees with farming practices, is progressively becoming a recognized land-use discipline. However, it is still perceived by some scientists, technicians and farmers as a sort of environmental fashion which does not deserve credit. The peculiar history of agroforestry and the complex relationships between agriculture and forestry explain some misunderstandings about the concepts and classification of agroforestry and reveal that, contrarily to common perception, agroforestry is closer to agriculture than to forestry. Based on field experience from several countries, a structural classification of agroforestry into six simple categories is proposed: crops under tree cover, agroforests, agroforestry in a linear arrangement, animal agroforestry, sequential agroforestry and minor agroforestry techniques. It is argued that this pragmatic classification encompasses all major agroforestry associations and allows simultaneous agroforestry to be clearly differentiated from sequential agroforestry, two categories showing contrasting ecological tree-crop interactions. It can also contribute to a betterment of the image of agroforestry and lead to a simplification of its definition.

THE LOW BACKSCATTERING TARGETS CLASSIFICATION IN URBAN AREAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Shi

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The Polarimetric and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (POLINSAR is widely used in urban area nowadays. Because of the physical and geometric sensitivity, the POLINSAR is suitable for the city classification, power-lines detection, building extraction, etc. As the new X-band POLINSAR radar, the china prototype airborne system, XSAR works with high spatial resolution in azimuth (0.1 m and slant range (0.4 m. In land applications, SAR image classification is a useful tool to distinguish the interesting area and obtain the target information. The bare soil, the cement road, the water and the building shadow are common scenes in the urban area. As it always exists low backscattering sign objects (LBO with the similar scattering mechanism (all odd bounce except for shadow in the XSAR images, classes are usually confused in Wishart-H-Alpha and Freeman-Durden methods. It is very hard to distinguish those targets only using the general information. To overcome the shortage, this paper explores an improved algorithm for LBO refined classification based on the Pre-Classification in urban areas. Firstly, the Pre-Classification is applied in the polarimetric datum and the mixture class is marked which contains LBO. Then, the polarimetric covariance matrix C3 is re-estimated on the Pre-Classification results to get more reliable results. Finally, the occurrence space which combining the entropy and the phase-diff standard deviation between HH and VV channel is used to refine the Pre-Classification results. The XSAR airborne experiments show the improved method is potential to distinguish the mixture classes in the low backscattering objects.

Hindi vowel classification using QCN-MFCC features

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shipra Mishra

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In presence of environmental noise, speakers tend to emphasize their vocal effort to improve the audibility of voice. This involuntary adjustment is known as Lombard effect (LE. Due to LE the signal to noise ratio of speech increases, but at the same time the loudness, pitch and duration of phonemes changes. Hence, accuracy of automatic speech recognition systems degrades. In this paper, the effect of unsupervised equalization of Lombard effect is investigated for Hindi vowel classification task using Hindi database designed at TIFR Mumbai, India. Proposed Quantile-based Dynamic Cepstral Normalization MFCC (QCN-MFCC along with baseline MFCC features have been used for vowel classification. Hidden Markov Model (HMM is used as classifier. It is observed that QCN-MFCC features have given a maximum improvement of 5.97% and 5% over MFCC features for context-dependent and context-independent cases respectively. It is also observed that QCN-MFCC features have given improvement of 13% and 11.5% over MFCC features for context-dependent and context-independent classification of mid vowels.

Tactile surface classification for limbed robots using a pressure sensitive robot skin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shill, Jacob J; Collins Jr, Emmanuel G; Coyle, Eric; Clark, Jonathan

2015-01-01

This paper describes an approach to terrain identification based on pressure images generated through direct surface contact using a robot skin constructed around a high-resolution pressure sensing array. Terrain signatures for classification are formulated from the magnitude frequency responses of the pressure images. The initial experimental results for statically obtained images show that the approach yields classification accuracies >98%. The methodology is extended to accommodate the dynamic pressure images anticipated when a robot is walking or running. Experiments with a one-legged hopping robot yield similar identification accuracies ≈99%. In addition, the accuracies are independent with respect to changing robot dynamics (i.e., when using different leg gaits). The paper further shows that the high-resolution capabilities of the sensor enables similarly textured surfaces to be distinguished. A correcting filter is developed to accommodate for failures or faults that inevitably occur within the sensing array with continued use. Experimental results show using the correcting filter can extend the effective operational lifespan of a high-resolution sensing array over 6x in the presence of sensor damage. The results presented suggest this methodology can be extended to autonomous field robots, providing a robot with crucial information about the environment that can be used to aid stable and efficient mobility over rough and varying terrains. (paper)

Common occupational classification system - revision 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stahlman, E.J.; Lewis, R.E.

1996-05-01

Workforce planning has become an increasing concern within the DOE community as the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (ER/WM or EM) seeks to consolidate and refocus its activities and the Office of Defense Programs (DP) closes production sites. Attempts to manage the growth and skills mix of the EM workforce while retaining the critical skills of the DP workforce have been difficult due to the lack of a consistent set of occupational titles and definitions across the complex. Two reasons for this difficulty may be cited. First, classification systems commonly used in industry often fail to cover in sufficient depth the unique demands of DOE`s nuclear energy and research community. Second, the government practice of contracting the operation of government facilities to the private sector has introduced numerous contractor-specific classification schemes to the DOE complex. As a result, sites/contractors report their workforce needs using unique classification systems. It becomes difficult, therefore, to roll these data up to the national level necessary to support strategic planning and analysis. The Common Occupational Classification System (COCS) is designed to overcome these workforce planning barriers. The COCS is based on earlier workforce planning activities and the input of technical, workforce planning, and human resource managers from across the DOE complex. It provides a set of mutually-exclusive occupation titles and definitions that cover the broad range of activities present in the DOE complex. The COCS is not a required record-keeping or data management guide. Neither is it intended to replace contractor/DOE-specific classification systems. Instead, the system provides a consistent, high- level, functional structure of occupations to which contractors can crosswalk (map) their job titles.

A New Classification Approach Based on Multiple Classification Rules

OpenAIRE

Zhongmei Zhou

2014-01-01

A good classifier can correctly predict new data for which the class label is unknown, so it is important to construct a high accuracy classifier. Hence, classification techniques are much useful in ubiquitous computing. Associative classification achieves higher classification accuracy than some traditional rule-based classification approaches. However, the approach also has two major deficiencies. First, it generates a very large number of association classification rules, especially when t...

78 FR 68983 - Cotton Futures Classification: Optional Classification Procedure

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-18

...-AD33 Cotton Futures Classification: Optional Classification Procedure AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing... regulations to allow for the addition of an optional cotton futures classification procedure--identified and... response to requests from the U.S. cotton industry and ICE, AMS will offer a futures classification option...

Regime shifts and weakened environmental gradients in open oak and pine ecosystems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brice B Hanberry

Full Text Available Fire suppression allows tree species that are intolerant of fire stress to increase their distribution, potentially resulting in disruption of historical species-environmental relationships. To measure changes between historical General Land Office surveys (1815 to 1850 and current USDA Forest Inventory and Assessment surveys (2004 to 2008, we compared composition, distribution, and site factors of 21 tree species or species groups in the Missouri Ozarks. We used 24 environmental variables and random forests as a classification method to model distributions. Eastern redcedar, elms, maples, and other fire-sensitive species have increased in dominance in oak forests, with concurrent reductions by oak species; specific changes varied by ecological subsection. Ordinations displayed loss of separation between formerly distinctive oak and fire-sensitive tree species groups. Distribution maps showed decreased presence of disturbance-dependent oak and pine species and increased presence of fire-sensitive species that generally expanded from subsections protected from fire along rivers to upland areas, except for eastern redcedar, which expanded into these subsections. Large scale differences in spatial gradients between past and present communities paralleled reduced influence of local topographic gradients in the varied relief of the Missouri Ozarks, as fire-sensitive species have moved to higher, drier, and sunnier sites away from riverine corridors. Due to changes in land use, landscapes in the Missouri Ozarks, eastern United States, and world-wide are changing from open oak and pine-dominated ecosystems to novel oak-mixed species forests, although at fine scales, forests are becoming more diverse in tree species today. Fire suppression weakened the influence by environmental gradients over species dominance, allowing succession from disturbance-dependent oaks to an alternative state of fire-sensitive species. Current and future research and

Online Learning for Classification of Alzheimer Disease based on Cortical Thickness and Hippocampal Shape Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ga-Young; Kim, Jeonghun; Kim, Ju Han; Kim, Kiwoong; Seong, Joon-Kyung

2014-01-01

Mobile healthcare applications are becoming a growing trend. Also, the prevalence of dementia in modern society is showing a steady growing trend. Among degenerative brain diseases that cause dementia, Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common. The purpose of this study was to identify AD patients using magnetic resonance imaging in the mobile environment. We propose an incremental classification for mobile healthcare systems. Our classification method is based on incremental learning for AD diagnosis and AD prediction using the cortical thickness data and hippocampus shape. We constructed a classifier based on principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. We performed initial learning and mobile subject classification. Initial learning is the group learning part in our server. Our smartphone agent implements the mobile classification and shows various results. With use of cortical thickness data analysis alone, the discrimination accuracy was 87.33% (sensitivity 96.49% and specificity 64.33%). When cortical thickness data and hippocampal shape were analyzed together, the achieved accuracy was 87.52% (sensitivity 96.79% and specificity 63.24%). In this paper, we presented a classification method based on online learning for AD diagnosis by employing both cortical thickness data and hippocampal shape analysis data. Our method was implemented on smartphone devices and discriminated AD patients for normal group.

ERC hazard classification matrices for above ground structures and groundwater and soil remediation activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curry, L.R.

1997-01-01

This document provides the status of the preliminary hazard classification (PHC) process for the Environmental Restoration Contractor (ERC) above ground structures and groundwater and soil remediation activities currently underway for planned for fiscal year (FY) 1997. This classification process is based on current US Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office (RL) guidance for the classification of facilities and activities containing radionuclide and nonradiological hazardous material inventories. The above ground structures presented in the matrices were drawn from the Bechtel Hanford, Inc. (BHI) Decontamination and Decommissioning (D and D) Project Facility List (DOE 1996), which identifies the facilities in the RL-Environmental Restoration baseline contract in 1997. This document contains the following two appendices: (1) Appendix A, which consists of a matrix identifying PHC documents that have been issued for BHI's above ground structures and groundwater and soil remediation activities underway or planned for FY 1997, and (2) Appendix B, which consists of a matrix showing anticipated PHCs for above ground structures, and groundwater and soil remediation activities underway or planned for FY 1997. Appendix B also shows the schedule for finalization of PHCs for above ground structures with an anticipated classification of Nuclear

Classification of sensitizing and irritative potential in a combined in-vitro assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wanner, Reinhard; Sonnenburg, Anna; Quatchadze, Maria; Schreiner, Maximilian; Peiser, Matthias; Zuberbier, Torsten; Stahlmann, Ralf

2010-01-01

We have developed a coculture system which in parallel indicates the sensitizing and irritative potential of xenobiotics. The assay is named loose-fit coculture-based sensitization assay (LCSA) and may be performed within 5 days. The system is composed of human monocytes that differentiate to a kind of dendritic cells by 2-day culturing in the presence of allogenic keratinocytes. The culture medium is enriched by a cocktail of recombinant cytokines. On day 3, concentration series of probes are added. On day 5, cells are harvested and analyzed for expression range of CD86 as a marker of sensitizing potential and for uptake of the viability stain 7-AAD as a marker of irritative potential. Estimation of the concentration required to cause a half-maximal increase in CD86 expression allowed quantification of sensitizing potential, and estimation of the concentration required to reduce viability to 50% allowed quantification of irritative potential. Examination of substances with known potential resulted in categorization of test scores. To evaluate our data, we have compared results with those of the validated animal-based sensitization test, the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA, OECD TG 429). To a large extent, results from LCSA and from LLNA achieved analogous grouping of allergens into categories like weak-moderate-strong. However, the new assay showed an improved capacity to distinguish sensitizers from non-sensitizers and irritants. In conclusion, the LCSA contains potential to fulfil the requirements of the EU's programme for the safety of chemicals 'Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of chemical substances' (REACH, 2006) to replace animal models.

APPLICATION OF SENSOR FUSION TO IMPROVE UAV IMAGE CLASSIFICATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Jabari

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Image classification is one of the most important tasks of remote sensing projects including the ones that are based on using UAV images. Improving the quality of UAV images directly affects the classification results and can save a huge amount of time and effort in this area. In this study, we show that sensor fusion can improve image quality which results in increasing the accuracy of image classification. Here, we tested two sensor fusion configurations by using a Panchromatic (Pan camera along with either a colour camera or a four-band multi-spectral (MS camera. We use the Pan camera to benefit from its higher sensitivity and the colour or MS camera to benefit from its spectral properties. The resulting images are then compared to the ones acquired by a high resolution single Bayer-pattern colour camera (here referred to as HRC. We assessed the quality of the output images by performing image classification tests. The outputs prove that the proposed sensor fusion configurations can achieve higher accuracies compared to the images of the single Bayer-pattern colour camera. Therefore, incorporating a Pan camera on-board in the UAV missions and performing image fusion can help achieving higher quality images and accordingly higher accuracy classification results.

Application of Sensor Fusion to Improve Uav Image Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Jabari, S.; Fathollahi, F.; Zhang, Y.

2017-08-01

Image classification is one of the most important tasks of remote sensing projects including the ones that are based on using UAV images. Improving the quality of UAV images directly affects the classification results and can save a huge amount of time and effort in this area. In this study, we show that sensor fusion can improve image quality which results in increasing the accuracy of image classification. Here, we tested two sensor fusion configurations by using a Panchromatic (Pan) camera along with either a colour camera or a four-band multi-spectral (MS) camera. We use the Pan camera to benefit from its higher sensitivity and the colour or MS camera to benefit from its spectral properties. The resulting images are then compared to the ones acquired by a high resolution single Bayer-pattern colour camera (here referred to as HRC). We assessed the quality of the output images by performing image classification tests. The outputs prove that the proposed sensor fusion configurations can achieve higher accuracies compared to the images of the single Bayer-pattern colour camera. Therefore, incorporating a Pan camera on-board in the UAV missions and performing image fusion can help achieving higher quality images and accordingly higher accuracy classification results.

Adaptive DCTNet for Audio Signal Classification

OpenAIRE

Xian, Yin; Pu, Yunchen; Gan, Zhe; Lu, Liang; Thompson, Andrew

2016-01-01

In this paper, we investigate DCTNet for audio signal classification. Its output feature is related to Cohen's class of time-frequency distributions. We introduce the use of adaptive DCTNet (A-DCTNet) for audio signals feature extraction. The A-DCTNet applies the idea of constant-Q transform, with its center frequencies of filterbanks geometrically spaced. The A-DCTNet is adaptive to different acoustic scales, and it can better capture low frequency acoustic information that is sensitive to h...

Automated classification of cell morphology by coherence-controlled holographic microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Strbkova, Lenka; Zicha, Daniel; Vesely, Pavel; Chmelik, Radim

2017-08-01

In the last few years, classification of cells by machine learning has become frequently used in biology. However, most of the approaches are based on morphometric (MO) features, which are not quantitative in terms of cell mass. This may result in poor classification accuracy. Here, we study the potential contribution of coherence-controlled holographic microscopy enabling quantitative phase imaging for the classification of cell morphologies. We compare our approach with the commonly used method based on MO features. We tested both classification approaches in an experiment with nutritionally deprived cancer tissue cells, while employing several supervised machine learning algorithms. Most of the classifiers provided higher performance when quantitative phase features were employed. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the quantitative phase features played an important role in improving the performance of the classification. The methodology could be valuable help in refining the monitoring of live cells in an automated fashion. We believe that coherence-controlled holographic microscopy, as a tool for quantitative phase imaging, offers all preconditions for the accurate automated analysis of live cell behavior while enabling noninvasive label-free imaging with sufficient contrast and high-spatiotemporal phase sensitivity.

Clay-illuvial soils in the Polish and international soil classifications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kabała Cezary

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Soil with a clay-illuvial subsurface horizon are the most widespread soil type in Poland and significantly differ in morphology and properties developed under variable environmental conditions. Despite the long history of investigations, the rules of classification and cartography of clay-illuvial soils have been permanently discussed and modified. The distinction of clay-illuvial soils into three soil types, introduced to the Polish soil classification in 2011, has been criticized as excessively extended, non-coherent with the other parts and rules of the classification, hard to introduce in soil cartography and poorly correlated with the international soil classifications. One type of clay-illuvial soils (“gleby płowe” was justified and recommended to reintroduce in soil classification in Poland, as well as 10 soil subtypes listed in a hierarchical order. The subtypes may be combined if the soil has diagnostic features of more than one soil subtypes. Clear rules of soil name generalization (reduction of subtype number for one soil were suggested for soil cartography on various scales. One of the most important among the distinguished soil sub-types are the “eroded” or “truncated” clay-illuvial soils.

The Role of the Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Amygdala in Environmental Sensitivity to Infant Crying

Science.gov (United States)

Mutschler, Isabella; Ball, Tonio; Kirmse, Ursula; Wieckhorst, Birgit; Pluess, Michael; Klarhöfer, Markus; Meyer, Andrea H.; Wilhelm, Frank H.; Seifritz, Erich

2016-01-01

Newborns and infants communicate their needs and physiological states through crying and emotional facial expressions. Little is known about individual differences in responding to infant crying. Several theories suggest that people vary in their environmental sensitivity with some responding generally more and some generally less to environmental stimuli. Such differences in environmental sensitivity have been associated with personality traits, including neuroticism. This study investigated whether neuroticism impacts neuronal, physiological, and emotional responses to infant crying by investigating blood-oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) responses using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a large sample of healthy women (N = 102) with simultaneous skin conductance recordings. Participants were repeatedly exposed to a video clip that showed crying infants and emotional responses (valence, arousal, and irritation) were assessed after every video clip presentation. Increased BOLD signal during the perception of crying infants was found in brain regions that are associated with emotional responding, the amygdala and anterior insula. Significant BOLD signal decrements (i.e., habituation) were found in the fusiform gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, Broca’s homologue on the right hemisphere, (laterobasal) amygdala, and hippocampus. Individuals with high neuroticism showed stronger activation in the amygdala and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) when exposed to infant crying compared to individuals with low neuroticism. In contrast to our prediction we found no evidence that neuroticism impacts fMRI-based measures of habituation. Individuals with high neuroticism showed elevated skin conductance responses, experienced more irritation, and perceived infant crying as more unpleasant. The results support the hypothesis that individuals high in neuroticism are more emotionally responsive, experience more negative emotions, and

Applying cost-sensitive classification for financial fraud detection under high class-imbalance

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Moepya, SO

2014-12-01

Full Text Available , sensitivity, specificity, recall and precision using PCA and Factor Analysis. Weighted Support Vector Machines (SVM) were shown superior to the cost-sensitive Naive Bayes (NB) and K-Nearest Neighbors classifiers....

Interim report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on radioactive waste classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, W.C.; Cohen, J.J.

1977-01-01

The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory assisted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the development of a radioactive waste classification system that will satisfy technical, environmental, and societal concerns. This is an interim report to the NRC on work accomplished to date. It describes a proposed waste-classification system that is based on the final disposition of waste material. The system consists of three classes of radioactive waste. The classification of any radioactive waste will depend primarily on its hazard potential. Other characteristics such as longevity (half-size) will be considered also. The levels of hazard that differentiate the three classes of radioactive waste will be determined by ongoing work. This report describes other work to be completed before a suitable radioactive waste-classificaion system is established

Interaural delay sensitivity and the classification of low best-frequency binaural responses in the inferior colliculus of the guinea pig.

Science.gov (United States)

McAlpine, D; Jiang, D; Palmer, A R

1996-08-01

Monaural and binaural response properties of single units in the inferior colliculus (IC) of the guinea pig were investigated. Neurones were classified according to the effect of monaural stimulation of either ear alone and the effect of binaural stimulation. The majority (309/334) of IC units were excited (E) by stimulation of the contralateral ear, of which 41% (127/309) were also excited by monaural ipsilateral stimulation (EE), and the remainder (182/309) were unresponsive to monaural ipsilateral stimulation (EO). For units with best frequencies (BF) up to 3 kHz, similar proportions of EE and EO units were observed. Above 3 kHz, however, significantly more EO than EE units were observed. Units were also classified as either facilitated (F), suppressed (S), or unaffected (O) by binaural stimulation. More EO than EE units were suppressed or unaffected by binaural stimulation, and more EE than EO units were facilitated. There were more EO/S units above 1.5 kHz than below. Binaural beats were used to examine the interaural delay sensitivity of low-BF (BF binaural facilitation, whilst those with larger BPs generally showed binaural suppression. The classification of units based upon binaural stimulation with BF tones was consistent with their interaural-delay sensitivity. Characteristic delays (CD) were examined for 96 low-BF units. A clear relationship between BF and CD was observed. CDs of units with very low BFs (binaural processing in the guinea pig at low frequencies is similar to that reported in all other species studied. However, the dependence of CD on BF would suggest that the delay line system that sets up the interaural-delay sensitivity in the lower brainstem varies across frequency as well as within each frequency band.

Deep Recurrent Neural Networks for Supernovae Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Charnock, Tom; Moss, Adam

2017-03-01

We apply deep recurrent neural networks, which are capable of learning complex sequential information, to classify supernovae (code available at https://github.com/adammoss/supernovae). The observational time and filter fluxes are used as inputs to the network, but since the inputs are agnostic, additional data such as host galaxy information can also be included. Using the Supernovae Photometric Classification Challenge (SPCC) data, we find that deep networks are capable of learning about light curves, however the performance of the network is highly sensitive to the amount of training data. For a training size of 50% of the representational SPCC data set (around 104 supernovae) we obtain a type-Ia versus non-type-Ia classification accuracy of 94.7%, an area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve AUC of 0.986 and an SPCC figure-of-merit F 1 = 0.64. When using only the data for the early-epoch challenge defined by the SPCC, we achieve a classification accuracy of 93.1%, AUC of 0.977, and F 1 = 0.58, results almost as good as with the whole light curve. By employing bidirectional neural networks, we can acquire impressive classification results between supernovae types I, II and III at an accuracy of 90.4% and AUC of 0.974. We also apply a pre-trained model to obtain classification probabilities as a function of time and show that it can give early indications of supernovae type. Our method is competitive with existing algorithms and has applications for future large-scale photometric surveys.

Can the Ni classification of vessels predict neoplasia? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehlum, Camilla S; Rosenberg, Tine; Dyrvig, Anne-Kirstine; Groentved, Aagot Moeller; Kjaergaard, Thomas; Godballe, Christian

2018-01-01

The Ni classification of vascular change from 2011 is well documented for evaluating pharyngeal and laryngeal lesions, primarily focusing on cancer. In the planning of surgery it may be more relevant to differentiate neoplasia from non-neoplasia. We aimed to evaluate the ability of the Ni classification to predict laryngeal or hypopharyngeal neoplasia and to investigate if a changed cutoff value would support the recent European Laryngological Society (ELS) proposal of perpendicular vascular changes as indicative of neoplasia. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus databases. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement. We systematically searched for publications from 2011 until 2016. All retrieved studies were reviewed and qualitatively assessed. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of the Ni classification with two different cutoffs were calculated, and bubble and summary receiver operating characteristics plots were created. The combined sensitivity of five studies (n = 687) with Ni type IV-V defined as test-positive was 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.76-0.95), and specificity was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.72-0.89). The equivalent combined sensitivity of four studies (n = 624) with Ni type V defined as test-positive was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.75-0.87), and specificity was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.82-0.97). The diagnostic accuracy of the Ni classification in predicting neoplasia was high, without significant difference between the two analyzed cutoff values. Implementation of the proposed ELS classification of vascular changes seems reasonable from a clinical perspective, with comparable accuracy. Attention must be drawn to the accompanying risk of exposing patients to unnecessary surgery. Laryngoscope, 128:168-176, 2018. © 2017 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Motor Oil Classification using Color Histograms and Pattern Recognition Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadi, Shiva; Mani-Varnosfaderani, Ahmad; Habibi, Biuck

2018-04-20

Motor oil classification is important for quality control and the identification of oil adulteration. In thiswork, we propose a simple, rapid, inexpensive and nondestructive approach based on image analysis and pattern recognition techniques for the classification of nine different types of motor oils according to their corresponding color histograms. For this, we applied color histogram in different color spaces such as red green blue (RGB), grayscale, and hue saturation intensity (HSI) in order to extract features that can help with the classification procedure. These color histograms and their combinations were used as input for model development and then were statistically evaluated by using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), and support vector machine (SVM) techniques. Here, two common solutions for solving a multiclass classification problem were applied: (1) transformation to binary classification problem using a one-against-all (OAA) approach and (2) extension from binary classifiers to a single globally optimized multilabel classification model. In the OAA strategy, LDA, QDA, and SVM reached up to 97% in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for both the training and test sets. In extension from binary case, despite good performances by the SVM classification model, QDA and LDA provided better results up to 92% for RGB-grayscale-HSI color histograms and up to 93% for the HSI color map, respectively. In order to reduce the numbers of independent variables for modeling, a principle component analysis algorithm was used. Our results suggest that the proposed method is promising for the identification and classification of different types of motor oils.

Ecological land classification and terrestrial environment effects assessment for the Port Hope and Port Granby projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, M.; Wittkugel, U.; Kleb, H.

2006-01-01

The Ecological Land Classification system was developed to provide a standardized methodology for describing plant communities and wildlife habitat in southern Ontario. The method employs a hierarchical classification system. It can be applied at different levels of accuracy, i.e., at regional, sub-regional, and local scales with an increasing differentiation of vegetation communities. The standardization of the approach permits a comparison of vegetation communities from different sites and an evaluation of the rarity of these communities within the province. Further, the approach facilitates the monitoring of changes in terrestrial communities with time. These characteristics make Ecological Land Classification mapping a useful tool for environmental assessment such as the ones undertaken for the Port Hope and Port Granby Long-Term Waste Management Projects, which were conducted pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 1992. In the context of the Environmental Assessment for the Port Hope and Port Granby Projects, an Ecological Land Classification study was undertaken to characterize the terrestrial environment at regional, local and site levels. Vegetation patches (polygons) were delineated on the basis of air photo interpretation. The individual polygons were then visited for detailed inventory and classified to the most detailed level; that is to the vegetation type. Plant communities were then compared with those listed in the Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre database to determine their rarity and to determine where they rank as Valued Ecosystem Components. Ecological Land Classification mapping results were used in the assessment of effects to Valued Ecosystem Components. A spatial analysis of the digitized vegetation maps showed the geographic extent of habitat losses and impairments due to various project works and activities. Landscape rehabilitation strategies and concepts were subsequently developed based on Ecological Land

Designing Interventions that Last: A Classification of Environmental Behaviors in Relation to the Activities, Costs, and Effort Involved for Adoption and Maintenance

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Harriet E.; Boldero, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Policy makers draw on behavioral research to design interventions that promote the voluntary adoption of environmental behavior in societies. Many environmental behaviors will only be effective if they are maintained over the long-term. In the context of climate change and concerns about future water security, behaviors that involve reducing energy consumption and improving water quality must be continued indefinitely to mitigate global warming and preserve scarce resources. Previous reviews of environmental behavior have focused exclusively on factors related to adoption. This review investigates the factors that influence both adoption and maintenance, and presents a classification of environmental behaviors in terms of the activities, costs, and effort required for both adoption and maintenance. Three categories of behavior are suggested. One-off behaviors involve performing an activity once, such as purchasing an energy efficient washing machine, or signing a petition. Continuous behaviors involve the performance of the same set of behaviors for adoption and for maintenance, such as curbside recycling. Dynamic behaviors involve the performance of different behaviors for adoption and maintenance, such as revegetation. Behaviors can also be classified into four categories related to cost and effort: those that involve little cost and effort for adoption and maintenance, those that involve moderate cost and effort for adoption and maintenance, those that involve a high cost or effort for adoption and less for maintenance, and those that involve less cost or effort for adoption and a higher amount for maintenance. In order to design interventions that last, policy makers should consider the factors that influence the maintenance as well as the adoption of environmental behaviors. PMID:29163265

Is overall similarity classification less effortful than single-dimension classification?

Science.gov (United States)

Wills, Andy J; Milton, Fraser; Longmore, Christopher A; Hester, Sarah; Robinson, Jo

2013-01-01

It is sometimes argued that the implementation of an overall similarity classification is less effortful than the implementation of a single-dimension classification. In the current article, we argue that the evidence securely in support of this view is limited, and report additional evidence in support of the opposite proposition--overall similarity classification is more effortful than single-dimension classification. Using a match-to-standards procedure, Experiments 1A, 1B and 2 demonstrate that concurrent load reduces the prevalence of overall similarity classification, and that this effect is robust to changes in the concurrent load task employed, the level of time pressure experienced, and the short-term memory requirements of the classification task. Experiment 3 demonstrates that participants who produced overall similarity classifications from the outset have larger working memory capacities than those who produced single-dimension classifications initially, and Experiment 4 demonstrates that instructions to respond meticulously increase the prevalence of overall similarity classification.

Use of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to describe patient-reported disability in multiple sclerosis and identification of relevant environmental factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Fary; Pallant, Julie F

2007-01-01

To use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to describe patient-reported disability in multiple sclerosis and identify relevant environmental factors. Cross-sectional survey of 101 participants in the community. Their multiple sclerosis-related problems were linked with ICF categories (second level) using a checklist, consensus between health professionals and the "linking rules". The impact of multiple sclerosis on health areas corresponding to 48 ICF categories was also assessed. A total of 170 ICF categories were identified (mean age 49 years, 72 were female). Average number of problems reported was 18. The categories include 48 (42%) for body function, 16 (34%) body structure, 68 (58%) activities and participation and 38 (51%) for environmental factors. Extreme impact in health areas corresponding to ICF categories for activities and participation were reported for mobility, work, everyday home activities, community and social activities. While those for the environmental factors (barriers) included products for mobility, attitudes of extended family, restriction accessing social security and health resources. This study is a first step in the use of the ICF in persons with multiple sclerosis and towards development of the ICF Core set for multiple sclerosis from a broader international perspective.

Experimental studies on the nature of sensitive skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Kligman, A M; Sadiq, Iqbal; Zhen, Yaxian; Crosby, Marilyn

2006-11-01

In the USA, Europe and Japan 40 to 50% of women report that they have sensitive skin, defined as abnormal sub-clinical sensory responses to drugs, cosmetics and toiletries in the absence of visible signs of irritation. Itching, burning, stinging and tightness are the commonest complaints, which mainly afflict women. Manufacturers of skin care products have made available a large variety of products which are designed for persons with sensitive skin. Such products are not required by regulatory agencies to submit evidence of safety and efficacy, allowing marketers to make claims that are often exaggerated, irrational and even preposterous. The consumer with self-assessed sensitive skin has no way of judging which products are likely to be most beneficial and least harmful. The marketplace is awash with products for which there is no evidence that the rosy claims have been substantiated by appropriate testing procedures. There is no internationally accepted consensus regarding the criteria which define sensitive skin. Many papers have been published in the last 15 years, mainly originating from industry, which express widely differing views regarding what constitutes sensitive skin. For some, any adverse reaction to a product topically applied to sensitive skin, including breakouts, redness, scaling etc., a panoply of adverse reactions which is virtually meaningless. Others include environmental factors as causative, including cold, dry wind, heat and high humidity, solar radiation, etc., which add to the manifest complexities of the subject. This is the first paper in a series which provides a comprehensive review of the subject, emphasizing the all too many controversies and confusions arising from the lack of a consensus regarding the identification, classification, epidemiology, prevalence and pathogenesis of sensitive skin. Sensitive skin is a biologic reality and not a psychological, fashionable fantasy on the part of impressionable women. There is an urgent

[Study on sensitivity of climatic factors on influenza A (H1N1) based on classification and regression tree and wavelet analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Hong; Lin, Xiao-ling; Dai, Xiang-yu; Gao, Li-dong; Chen, Bi-yun; Zhang, Xi-xing; Zhu, Pei-juan; Tian, Huai-yu

2012-05-01

To analyze the periodicity of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in Changsha in year 2009 and its correlation with sensitive climatic factors. The information of 5439 cases of influenza A (H1N1) and synchronous meteorological data during the period between May 22th and December 31st in year 2009 (223 days in total) in Changsha city were collected. The classification and regression tree (CART) was employed to screen the sensitive climatic factors on influenza A (H1N1); meanwhile, cross wavelet transform and wavelet coherence analysis were applied to assess and compare the periodicity of the pandemic disease and its association with the time-lag phase features of the sensitive climatic factors. The results of CART indicated that the daily minimum temperature and daily absolute humidity were the sensitive climatic factors for the popularity of influenza A (H1N1) in Changsha. The peak of the incidence of influenza A (H1N1) was in the period between October and December (Median (M) = 44.00 cases per day), simultaneously the daily minimum temperature (M = 13°C) and daily absolute humidity (M = 6.69 g/m(3)) were relatively low. The results of wavelet analysis demonstrated that a period of 16 days was found in the epidemic threshold in Changsha, while the daily minimum temperature and daily absolute humidity were the relatively sensitive climatic factors. The number of daily reported patients was statistically relevant to the daily minimum temperature and daily absolute humidity. The frequency domain was mostly in the period of (16 ± 2) days. In the initial stage of the disease (from August 9th and September 8th), a 6-day lag was found between the incidence and the daily minimum temperature. In the peak period of the disease, the daily minimum temperature and daily absolute humidity were negatively relevant to the incidence of the disease. In the pandemic period, the incidence of influenza A (H1N1) showed periodic features; and the sensitive climatic factors did have a "driving

Cognitive-motivational deficits in ADHD: development of a classification system.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Rashmi; Kar, Bhoomika R; Srinivasan, Narayanan

2011-01-01

The classification systems developed so far to detect attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not have high sensitivity and specificity. We have developed a classification system based on several neuropsychological tests that measure cognitive-motivational functions that are specifically impaired in ADHD children. A total of 240 (120 ADHD children and 120 healthy controls) children in the age range of 6-9 years and 32 Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) children (aged 9 years) participated in the study. Stop-Signal, Task-Switching, Attentional Network, and Choice Delay tests were administered to all the participants. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that percentage choice of long-delay reward best classified the ADHD children from healthy controls. Single parameters were not helpful in making a differential classification of ADHD with ODD. Multinominal logistic regression (MLR) was performed with multiple parameters (data fusion) that produced improved overall classification accuracy. A combination of stop-signal reaction time, posterror-slowing, mean delay, switch cost, and percentage choice of long-delay reward produced an overall classification accuracy of 97.8%; with internal validation, the overall accuracy was 92.2%. Combining parameters from different tests of control functions not only enabled us to accurately classify ADHD children from healthy controls but also in making a differential classification with ODD. These results have implications for the theories of ADHD.

Molecular Classification of Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Denggang; Zuo, Qi; Huang, Qi; Su, Li; Ring, Huijun Z.; Ring, Brian Z.

2017-01-01

The morphology of breast tumors is complicated and diagnosis can be difficult. We present here a novel diagnostic model which we validate on both array-based and RNA sequencing platforms which reliably distinguishes this tumor type across multiple cohorts. We also examine how this molecular classification predicts sensitivity to common chemotherapeutics in cell-line based assays. A total of 1845 invasive breast cancer cases in six cohorts were collected, split into discovery and validation cohorts, and a classifier was created and compared to pathological diagnosis, grade and survival. In the validation cohorts the concordance of predicted diagnosis with a pathological diagnosis was 92%, and 97% when inconclusively classified cases were excluded. Tumor-derived cell lines were classified with the model as having predominantly ductal or lobular-like molecular physiologies, and sensitivity of these lines to relevant compounds was analyzed. A diagnostic tool can be created that reliably distinguishes lobular from ductal carcinoma and allows the classification of cell lines on the basis of molecular profiles associated with these tumor types. This tool may assist in improved diagnosis and aid in explorations of the response of lobular type breast tumor models to different compounds. PMID:28303886

Track classification within wireless sensor network

Science.gov (United States)

Doumerc, Robin; Pannetier, Benjamin; Moras, Julien; Dezert, Jean; Canevet, Loic

2017-05-01

In this paper, we present our study on track classification by taking into account environmental information and target estimated states. The tracker uses several motion model adapted to different target dynamics (pedestrian, ground vehicle and SUAV, i.e. small unmanned aerial vehicle) and works in centralized architecture. The main idea is to explore both: classification given by heterogeneous sensors and classification obtained with our fusion module. The fusion module, presented in his paper, provides a class on each track according to track location, velocity and associated uncertainty. To model the likelihood on each class, a fuzzy approach is used considering constraints on target capability to move in the environment. Then the evidential reasoning approach based on Dempster-Shafer Theory (DST) is used to perform a time integration of this classifier output. The fusion rules are tested and compared on real data obtained with our wireless sensor network.In order to handle realistic ground target tracking scenarios, we use an autonomous smart computer deposited in the surveillance area. After the calibration step of the heterogeneous sensor network, our system is able to handle real data from a wireless ground sensor network. The performance of this system is evaluated in a real exercise for intelligence operation ("hunter hunt" scenario).

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca, maps and geographic information systems data (NODC Accession 0013952)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca from 1978 to 2006. ESI data characterize...

Environmental needs in childhood disability analysed by the WHO ICF, Child and Youth Version

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Illum, Niels Ove; Bonderup, Mette; Gradel, Kim Oren

2016-01-01

influences through interviews in their own homes. RESULTS: Of the 367 invited parents, 332 (90.5%) participated, providing data on children with spina bifida, spinal muscular atrophy, muscular disorders, cerebral palsy, visual impairments, hearing impairments, mental disability and disabilities following......INTRODUCTION: The WHO has launched a common classification for disabilities in children, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, Child and Youth Version (ICF-CY). We wanted to determine whether cat-egories of the environmental (e) and the body functions (b......) components of the classification could address environmental needs in children with different disorders and various disability severities. METHODS: A set of 16 e categories and 47 b categories were selected and worded to best enable parents to describe children's everyday support needs and environmental...

Completed Local Ternary Pattern for Rotation Invariant Texture Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taha H. Rassem

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the fact that the two texture descriptors, the completed modeling of Local Binary Pattern (CLBP and the Completed Local Binary Count (CLBC, have achieved a remarkable accuracy for invariant rotation texture classification, they inherit some Local Binary Pattern (LBP drawbacks. The LBP is sensitive to noise, and different patterns of LBP may be classified into the same class that reduces its discriminating property. Although, the Local Ternary Pattern (LTP is proposed to be more robust to noise than LBP, however, the latter’s weakness may appear with the LTP as well as with LBP. In this paper, a novel completed modeling of the Local Ternary Pattern (LTP operator is proposed to overcome both LBP drawbacks, and an associated completed Local Ternary Pattern (CLTP scheme is developed for rotation invariant texture classification. The experimental results using four different texture databases show that the proposed CLTP achieved an impressive classification accuracy as compared to the CLBP and CLBC descriptors.

A new gammagraphic and functional-based classification for hyperthyroidism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, J.; Lamata, F.; Cerdan, R.; Agilella, V.; Gastaminza, R.; Abusada, R.; Gonzales, M.; Martinez, M.

2000-01-01

The absence of an universal classification for hyperthyroidism's (HT), give rise to inadequate interpretation of series and trials, and prevents decision making. We offer a tentative classification based on gammagraphic and functional findings. Clinical records from patients who underwent thyroidectomy in our Department since 1967 to 1997 were reviewed. Those with functional measurements of hyperthyroidism were considered. All were managed according to the same preestablished guidelines. HT was the surgical indication in 694 (27,1%) of the 2559 thyroidectomy. Based on gammagraphic studies, we classified HTs in: parenchymatous increased-uptake, which could be diffuse, diffuse with cold nodules or diffuse with at least one nodule, and nodular increased-uptake (Autonomous Functioning Thyroid Nodes-AFTN), divided into solitary AFTN or toxic adenoma and multiple AFTN o toxic multi-nodular goiter. This gammagraphic-based classification in useful and has high sensitivity to detect these nodules assessing their activity, allowing us to make therapeutic decision making and, in some cases, to choose surgical technique. (authors)

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlases: A sampling of digital data for geographic information systems, South Carolina, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington (NODC Accession 0046075)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This CD-ROM product from the NOAA National Ocean Service Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division contains a collection of Environmental Sensitivity...

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Alaska - 2, Northwest Arctic - 2002, North Slope - 2005, Western - 2003, maps and geographic systems data (NODC Accession 0049913)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Northwest Arctic, North Slope, and Western Alaska. ESI data characterize estuarine...

2015 Gout classification criteria: an American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism collaborative initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Neogi, Tuhina; Jansen, Tim L Th A; Dalbeth, Nicola; Fransen, Jaap; Schumacher, H Ralph; Berendsen, Dianne; Brown, Melanie; Choi, Hyon; Edwards, N Lawrence; Janssens, Hein J E M; Lioté, Frédéric; Naden, Raymond P; Nuki, George; Ogdie, Alexis; Perez-Ruiz, Fernando; Saag, Kenneth; Singh, Jasvinder A; Sundy, John S; Tausche, Anne-Kathrin; Vaquez-Mellado, Janitzia; Yarows, Steven A; Taylor, William J

2015-01-01

Objective Existing criteria for the classification of gout have suboptimal sensitivity and/or specificity, and were developed at a time when advanced imaging was not available. The current effort was undertaken to develop new classification criteria for gout. Methods An international group of investigators, supported by the American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism, conducted a systematic review of the literature on advanced imaging of gout, a diagnostic study in which the presence of monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) crystals in synovial fluid or tophus was the gold standard, a ranking exercise of paper patient cases, and a multi-criterion decision analysis exercise. These data formed the basis for developing the classification criteria, which were tested in an independent data set. Results The entry criterion for the new classification criteria requires the occurrence of at least one episode of peripheral joint or bursal swelling, pain, or tenderness. The presence of MSU crystals in a symptomatic joint/bursa (ie, synovial fluid) or in a tophus is a sufficient criterion for classification of the subject as having gout, and does not require further scoring. The domains of the new classification criteria include clinical (pattern of joint/bursa involvement, characteristics and time course of symptomatic episodes), laboratory (serum urate, MSU-negative synovial fluid aspirate), and imaging (double-contour sign on ultrasound or urate on dual-energy CT, radiographic gout-related erosion). The sensitivity and specificity of the criteria are high (92% and 89%, respectively). Conclusions The new classification criteria, developed using a data-driven and decision-analytic approach, have excellent performance characteristics and incorporate current state-of-the-art evidence regarding gout. PMID:26359487

SAW Classification Algorithm for Chinese Text Classification

OpenAIRE

Xiaoli Guo; Huiyu Sun; Tiehua Zhou; Ling Wang; Zhaoyang Qu; Jiannan Zang

2015-01-01

Considering the explosive growth of data, the increased amount of text data’s effect on the performance of text categorization forward the need for higher requirements, such that the existing classification method cannot be satisfied. Based on the study of existing text classification technology and semantics, this paper puts forward a kind of Chinese text classification oriented SAW (Structural Auxiliary Word) algorithm. The algorithm uses the special space effect of Chinese text where words...

A new qualitative pattern classification of shear wave elastograghy for solid breast mass evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cong, Rui, E-mail: congrui2684@163.com; Li, Jing, E-mail: lijing@sj-hospital.org; Guo, Song, E-mail: 21751735@qq.com

2017-02-15

Highlights: • Qualitative SWE classification proposed here was significantly better than quantitative SWE parameters. • Qualitative classification proposed here was better than the classification proposed before. • Qualitative classification proposed here could obtain higher specificity without a loss of sensitivity. - Abstract: Objectives: To examine the efficacy of qualitative shear wave elastography (SWE) in the classification and evaluation of solid breast masses, and to compare this method with conventional ultrasonograghy (US), quantitative SWE parameters and qualitative SWE classification proposed before. Methods: From April 2015 to March 2016, 314 consecutive females with 325 breast masses who decided to undergo core needle biopsy and/or surgical biopsy were enrolled. Conventional US and SWE were previously performed in all enrolled subjects. Each mass was classified by two different qualitative classifications. One was established in our study, herein named the Qual1. Qual1 could classify the SWE images into five color patterns by the visual evaluations: Color pattern 1 (homogeneous pattern); Color pattern 2 (comparative homogeneous pattern); Color pattern 3 (irregularly heterogeneous pattern); Color pattern 4 (intralesional echo pattern); and Color pattern 5 (the stiff rim sign pattern). The second qualitative classification was named Qual2 here, and included a four-color overlay pattern classification (Tozaki and Fukuma, Acta Radiologica, 2011). The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) assessment and quantitative SWE parameters were recorded. Diagnostic performances of conventional US, SWE parameters, and combinations of US and SWE parameters were compared. Results: With pathological results as the gold standard, of the 325 examined breast masses, 139 (42.77%) samples were malignant and 186 (57.23%) were benign. The Qual1 showed a higher Az value than the Qual2 and quantitative SWE parameters (all P < 0.05). When applying Qual1

A new qualitative pattern classification of shear wave elastograghy for solid breast mass evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cong, Rui; Li, Jing; Guo, Song

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Qualitative SWE classification proposed here was significantly better than quantitative SWE parameters. • Qualitative classification proposed here was better than the classification proposed before. • Qualitative classification proposed here could obtain higher specificity without a loss of sensitivity. - Abstract: Objectives: To examine the efficacy of qualitative shear wave elastography (SWE) in the classification and evaluation of solid breast masses, and to compare this method with conventional ultrasonograghy (US), quantitative SWE parameters and qualitative SWE classification proposed before. Methods: From April 2015 to March 2016, 314 consecutive females with 325 breast masses who decided to undergo core needle biopsy and/or surgical biopsy were enrolled. Conventional US and SWE were previously performed in all enrolled subjects. Each mass was classified by two different qualitative classifications. One was established in our study, herein named the Qual1. Qual1 could classify the SWE images into five color patterns by the visual evaluations: Color pattern 1 (homogeneous pattern); Color pattern 2 (comparative homogeneous pattern); Color pattern 3 (irregularly heterogeneous pattern); Color pattern 4 (intralesional echo pattern); and Color pattern 5 (the stiff rim sign pattern). The second qualitative classification was named Qual2 here, and included a four-color overlay pattern classification (Tozaki and Fukuma, Acta Radiologica, 2011). The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) assessment and quantitative SWE parameters were recorded. Diagnostic performances of conventional US, SWE parameters, and combinations of US and SWE parameters were compared. Results: With pathological results as the gold standard, of the 325 examined breast masses, 139 (42.77%) samples were malignant and 186 (57.23%) were benign. The Qual1 showed a higher Az value than the Qual2 and quantitative SWE parameters (all P < 0.05). When applying Qual1

Classification in context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mai, Jens Erik

2004-01-01

This paper surveys classification research literature, discusses various classification theories, and shows that the focus has traditionally been on establishing a scientific foundation for classification research. This paper argues that a shift has taken place, and suggests that contemporary...... classification research focus on contextual information as the guide for the design and construction of classification schemes....

Simple Sensitive Spectrophotometric Determination of Vanadium in Biological and Environmental Samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Krishna Priya

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Novel, rapid, highly sensitive and selective spectrophotometric method for the determination of traces of vanadium (V in environmental and biological samples, pharmaceutical and steel samples was studied. The method is based on oxidation of 2,4- dinitro phenyl hydrazine(2,4-DNPH by vanadium (V followed by coupling reaction with N-(1-naphthalene-1-ylethane-1,2-diamine-dihydrochloride (NEDA in acidic medium to give red colored derivative or on oxidation of 4-Amino Pyridine by vanadium (V followed by coupling reaction with NEDA in basic medium to give pink colored derivative. The red colored derivative having an λmax 495 nm which is stable for 8 days and the pink colored derivative with 525 nm is stable for more than 7 days at 350C. Beer's law is obeyed for vanadium (V in the concentration range of 0.02 - 3.5 μg mL–1 (red derivative and 0.03 – 4.5 μg mL–1 (pink derivative at the wave length of maximum absorption. The optimum reaction conditions and other analytical parameters were investigated to enhance the sensitivity of the present method. The detailed study of various interferences made the method more selective. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of vanadium in natural water samples, plant material, soil samples, synthetic mixtures, pharmaceutical samples and biological samples. The results obtained were agreed with the reported methods at the 95 % confidence level. The performance of proposed method was evaluated in terms of Student's t-test and Variance ratio f-test which indicates the significance of proposed method over reported method.

Classification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjørland, Birger

2017-01-01

This article presents and discusses definitions of the term “classification” and the related concepts “Concept/conceptualization,”“categorization,” “ordering,” “taxonomy” and “typology.” It further presents and discusses theories of classification including the influences of Aristotle...... and Wittgenstein. It presents different views on forming classes, including logical division, numerical taxonomy, historical classification, hermeneutical and pragmatic/critical views. Finally, issues related to artificial versus natural classification and taxonomic monism versus taxonomic pluralism are briefly...

Automated classification of cell morphology by coherence-controlled holographic microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Strbkova, Lenka; Zicha, Daniel; Vesely, Pavel; Chmelik, Radim

2017-08-01

In the last few years, classification of cells by machine learning has become frequently used in biology. However, most of the approaches are based on morphometric (MO) features, which are not quantitative in terms of cell mass. This may result in poor classification accuracy. Here, we study the potential contribution of coherence-controlled holographic microscopy enabling quantitative phase imaging for the classification of cell morphologies. We compare our approach with the commonly used method based on MO features. We tested both classification approaches in an experiment with nutritionally deprived cancer tissue cells, while employing several supervised machine learning algorithms. Most of the classifiers provided higher performance when quantitative phase features were employed. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the quantitative phase features played an important role in improving the performance of the classification. The methodology could be valuable help in refining the monitoring of live cells in an automated fashion. We believe that coherence-controlled holographic microscopy, as a tool for quantitative phase imaging, offers all preconditions for the accurate automated analysis of live cell behavior while enabling noninvasive label-free imaging with sufficient contrast and high-spatiotemporal phase sensitivity. (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Single and Multi-Date Landsat Classifications of Basalt to Support Soil Survey Efforts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica J. Mitchell

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Basalt outcrops are significant features in the Western United States and consistently present challenges to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS soil mapping efforts. Current soil survey methods to estimate basalt outcrops involve field transects and are impractical for mapping regionally extensive areas. The purpose of this research was to investigate remote sensing methods to effectively determine the presence of basalt rock outcrops. Five Landsat 5 TM scenes (path 39, row 29 over the year 2007 growing season were processed and analyzed to detect and quantify basalt outcrops across the Clark Area Soil Survey, ID, USA (4,570 km2. The Robust Classification Method (RCM using the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM method and Random Forest (RF classifications was applied to individual scenes and to a multitemporal stack of the five images. The highest performing RCM basalt classification was obtained using the 18 July scene, which yielded an overall accuracy of 60.45%. The RF classifications applied to the same datasets yielded slightly better overall classification rates when using the multitemporal stack (72.35% than when using the 18 July scene (71.13% and the same rate of successfully predicting basalt (61.76% using out-of-bag sampling. For optimal RCM and RF classifications, uncertainty tended to be lowest in irrigated areas; however, the RCM uncertainty map included more extensive areas of low uncertainty that also encompassed forested hillslopes and riparian areas. RCM uncertainty was sensitive to the influence of bright soil reflectance, while RF uncertainty was sensitive to the influence of shadows. Quantification of basalt requires continued investigation to reduce the influence of vegetation, lichen and loess on basalt detection. With further development, remote sensing tools have the potential to support soil survey mapping of lava fields covering expansive areas in the Western United States and other regions of the world with similar

Correlation between observation task performance and visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and environmental light in a simulated maritime study.

Science.gov (United States)

Koefoed, Vilhelm F; Assmuss, Jörg; Høvding, Gunnar

2018-03-25

To examine the relevance of visual acuity (VA) and index of contrast sensitivity (ICS) as predictors for visual observation task performance in a maritime environment. Sixty naval cadets were recruited to a study on observation tasks in a simulated maritime environment under three different light settings. Their ICS were computed based on contrast sensitivity (CS) data recorded by Optec 6500 and CSV-1000E CS tests. The correlation between object identification distance and VA/ICS was examined by stepwise linear regression. The object detection distance was significantly correlated to the level of environmental light (p maritime environment may presumably be ascribed to the normal and uniform visual capacity in all our study subjects. © 2018 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

78 FR 54970 - Cotton Futures Classification: Optional Classification Procedure

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-09

... Service 7 CFR Part 27 [AMS-CN-13-0043] RIN 0581-AD33 Cotton Futures Classification: Optional Classification Procedure AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: The... optional cotton futures classification procedure--identified and known as ``registration'' by the U.S...

Source Classification Framework for an optimized European wide Emission Control Strategy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lützhøft, Hans-Christian Holten; Donner, Erica; Ledin, Anna

2011-01-01

of the PS environmental emission. The SCF also provides a well structured approach for European pollutant source and release classification and management. With further European wide implementation, the SCF has the potential or an optimized ECS in order to obtain good chemical status of European water...

Observation versus classification in supervised category learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Levering, Kimery R; Kurtz, Kenneth J

2015-02-01

The traditional supervised classification paradigm encourages learners to acquire only the knowledge needed to predict category membership (a discriminative approach). An alternative that aligns with important aspects of real-world concept formation is learning with a broader focus to acquire knowledge of the internal structure of each category (a generative approach). Our work addresses the impact of a particular component of the traditional classification task: the guess-and-correct cycle. We compare classification learning to a supervised observational learning task in which learners are shown labeled examples but make no classification response. The goals of this work sit at two levels: (1) testing for differences in the nature of the category representations that arise from two basic learning modes; and (2) evaluating the generative/discriminative continuum as a theoretical tool for understand learning modes and their outcomes. Specifically, we view the guess-and-correct cycle as consistent with a more discriminative approach and therefore expected it to lead to narrower category knowledge. Across two experiments, the observational mode led to greater sensitivity to distributional properties of features and correlations between features. We conclude that a relatively subtle procedural difference in supervised category learning substantially impacts what learners come to know about the categories. The results demonstrate the value of the generative/discriminative continuum as a tool for advancing the psychology of category learning and also provide a valuable constraint for formal models and associated theories.

PAYMENT CAPACITY SENSITIVITY FACTORS

OpenAIRE

Daniel BRÎNDESCU – OLARIU

2014-01-01

The current study focuses on the sensitivity of the corporate payment capacity. Through the nature of the subject, the research is based on simulating variations of the forecasted cash-flows of the companies included in the sample. The study employs 391 forecasted yearly cash-flows statements collected from 50 companies from Timis County (Romania), as well as the detailed hypotheses of the forecasts. The results of the study facilitate the determination and classification of the main se...

A proposed descriptive methodology for environmental geologic (envirogeologic) site characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarz, D.L.; Snyder, W.S.

1994-01-01

We propose a descriptive methodology for use in environmental geologic (envirogeologic) site characterization. The method uses traditional sedimentologic descriptions augmented by environmental data needs, and facies analysis. Most other environmental methodologies for soil and sediment characterization use soil engineering and engineering geology techniques that classify by texture and engineering properties. This technique is inadequate for envirogeologic characterization of sediments. In part, this inadequacy is due to differences in the grain-size between the Unified soil Classification and the Udden-Wentworth scales. Use of the soil grain-size classification could easily cause confusion when attempting to relate descriptions based on this classification to our basic understanding of sedimentary depositional systems. The proposed envirogeologic method uses descriptive parameters to characterize a sediment sample, suggests specific tests on samples for adequate characterization, and provides a guidelines for subsurface facies analysis, based on data retrieved from shallow boreholes, that will allow better predictive models to be developed. This methodology should allow for both a more complete site assessment, and provide sufficient data for selection of the appropriate remediation technology, including bioremediation. 50 refs

Environmental radioactivity in foods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, E.; Jakubick, V.; Kalus, W.; Mueller, H.

1978-01-01

The present volume is a continuation of the earlier bibliographie series 'Contamination and decontamination of foods'. The reduced importance of nuclear weapons tests and decontamination problems in foodstuffs and the increasing amount of literature on environmental monitoring of nuclear facilities and on radioecology made a change of title and a new classification of contents necessary. The main subjects are now: General aspects, environmental radioactivity, radioecology, and radionuclides in foodstuffs. The present volume contains 208 citations on these subjects, mainly from the last two years. (orig.) [de

Multi-temporal and Dual-polarization Interferometric SAR for Land Cover Type Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Xinshuang

2015-05-01

Full Text Available In order to study SAR land cover classification method, this paper uses the multi-dimensional combination of temporal,polarization and InSAR data. The area covered by space borne data of ALOS PALSAR in Xunke County,Heilongjiang Province was chosen as test site. A land cover classification technique of SVM based on multi-temporal, multi-polarization and InSAR data had been proposed, using the sensitivity to land cover type of multi-temporal, multi-polarization SAR data and InSAR measurements, and combing time series characteristic of backscatter coefficient and correlation coefficient to identify ground objects. The results showed the problem of confusion between forest land and urban construction land can be nicely solved, using the correlation coefficient between HH and HV, and also combing the selected temporal, polarization and InSAR characteristics. The land cover classification result with higher accuracy is gotten using the classification algorithm proposed in this paper.

A fingerprint classification algorithm based on combination of local and global information

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chongjin; Fu, Xiang; Bian, Junjie; Feng, Jufu

2011-12-01

Fingerprint recognition is one of the most important technologies in biometric identification and has been wildly applied in commercial and forensic areas. Fingerprint classification, as the fundamental procedure in fingerprint recognition, can sharply decrease the quantity for fingerprint matching and improve the efficiency of fingerprint recognition. Most fingerprint classification algorithms are based on the number and position of singular points. Because the singular points detecting method only considers the local information commonly, the classification algorithms are sensitive to noise. In this paper, we propose a novel fingerprint classification algorithm combining the local and global information of fingerprint. Firstly we use local information to detect singular points and measure their quality considering orientation structure and image texture in adjacent areas. Furthermore the global orientation model is adopted to measure the reliability of singular points group. Finally the local quality and global reliability is weighted to classify fingerprint. Experiments demonstrate the accuracy and effectivity of our algorithm especially for the poor quality fingerprint images.

Classification of refrigerants; Classification des fluides frigorigenes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

This document was made from the US standard ANSI/ASHRAE 34 published in 2001 and entitled 'designation and safety classification of refrigerants'. This classification allows to clearly organize in an international way the overall refrigerants used in the world thanks to a codification of the refrigerants in correspondence with their chemical composition. This note explains this codification: prefix, suffixes (hydrocarbons and derived fluids, azeotropic and non-azeotropic mixtures, various organic compounds, non-organic compounds), safety classification (toxicity, flammability, case of mixtures). (J.S.)

Maps help protect sensitive areas from spills : an integrated approach to environmental mapping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laflamme, A.; Leblanc, S.R.; Percy, R.J.

2001-01-01

The Atlantic Sensitivity Mapping Program (ASMP) is underway in Canada's Atlantic Region to develop and maintain the best possible sensitivity mapping system to provide planners and managers with the full range of information they would need in the event of a coastal oil spill drill or spill incident. This initiative also provides recommendations concerning resource protection at the time of a spill. ASMP has become a powerful tool, providing a consistent and standardized terminology throughout the range of spill planning, preparedness and real-time response activities. The desktop mapping system provides an easy-to-use approach for a wide range of technical and support data and information stored in various databases. The data and information are based on a consistent set of terms and definitions that describe the character of the shore zone, the objective and strategies for a specific response, and the methods for achieving those objectives. The data are linked with other resource information in a GIS-based system and can be updated quickly and easily as new information becomes available. The mapping program keeps evolving to better serve the needs of environmental emergency responders. In addition, all components will soon be integrated into a web-based mapping format for broader accessibility. Future work will focus on developing a pre-spill database for Labrador. 3 refs., 8 figs

Classification, (big) data analysis and statistical learning

CERN Document Server

Conversano, Claudio; Vichi, Maurizio

2018-01-01

This edited book focuses on the latest developments in classification, statistical learning, data analysis and related areas of data science, including statistical analysis of large datasets, big data analytics, time series clustering, integration of data from different sources, as well as social networks. It covers both methodological aspects as well as applications to a wide range of areas such as economics, marketing, education, social sciences, medicine, environmental sciences and the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, it describes the basic features of the software behind the data analysis results, and provides links to the corresponding codes and data sets where necessary. This book is intended for researchers and practitioners who are interested in the latest developments and applications in the field. The peer-reviewed contributions were presented at the 10th Scientific Meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group (CLADAG) of the Italian Statistical Society, held in Santa Margherita di Pul...

Ecological Sensitivity Evaluation of Tourist Region Based on Remote Sensing Image - Taking Chaohu Lake Area as a Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Y.; Li, W. J.; Yu, J.; Wu, C. Z.

2018-04-01

Remote sensing technology is of significant advantages for monitoring and analysing ecological environment. By using of automatic extraction algorithm, various environmental resources information of tourist region can be obtained from remote sensing imagery. Combining with GIS spatial analysis and landscape pattern analysis, relevant environmental information can be quantitatively analysed and interpreted. In this study, taking the Chaohu Lake Basin as an example, Landsat-8 multi-spectral satellite image of October 2015 was applied. Integrated the automatic ELM (Extreme Learning Machine) classification results with the data of digital elevation model and slope information, human disturbance degree, land use degree, primary productivity, landscape evenness , vegetation coverage, DEM, slope and normalized water body index were used as the evaluation factors to construct the eco-sensitivity evaluation index based on AHP and overlay analysis. According to the value of eco-sensitivity evaluation index, by using of GIS technique of equal interval reclassification, the Chaohu Lake area was divided into four grades: very sensitive area, sensitive area, sub-sensitive areas and insensitive areas. The results of the eco-sensitivity analysis shows: the area of the very sensitive area was 4577.4378 km2, accounting for about 37.12 %, the sensitive area was 5130.0522 km2, accounting for about 37.12 %; the area of sub-sensitive area was 3729.9312 km2, accounting for 26.99 %; the area of insensitive area was 382.4399 km2, accounting for about 2.77 %. At the same time, it has been found that there were spatial differences in ecological sensitivity of the Chaohu Lake basin. The most sensitive areas were mainly located in the areas with high elevation and large terrain gradient. Insensitive areas were mainly distributed in slope of the slow platform area; the sensitive areas and the sub-sensitive areas were mainly agricultural land and woodland. Through the eco-sensitivity analysis of

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: Southeast Alaska - volume 1, geographic information systems data and volume 2, maps in portable document format (NODC Accession 0046029)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Northwest Arctic, Alaska. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by...