Multi-Annual Evaluation of Time Series of Sentinel-1 Interferometric Coherence as a Tool for Crop Monitoring

Interferometric coherence from SAR data is a tool used in a variety of Earth observation applications. In the context of crop monitoring, vegetation indices are commonly used to describe crop dynamics. The most frequently used vegetation indices based on radar data are constructed using the backscattered intensity at different polarimetric channels. As coherence is sensitive to the changes in the scene caused by vegetation and its evolution, it may potentially be used as an alternative tool in this context. The objective of this work is to evaluate the potential of using Sentinel-1 interferometric coherence for this purpose. The study area is an agricultural region in Sevilla, Spain, mainly covered by 18 different crops. Time series of different backscatter-based radar vegetation indices and the coherence amplitude for both VV and VH channels from Sentinel-1 were compared to the NDVI derived from Sentinel-2 imagery for a 5-year period, from 2017 to 2021. The correlations between the series were studied both during and outside the growing season of the crops. Additionally, the use of the ratio of the two coherences measured at both polarimetric channels was explored. The results show that the coherence is generally well correlated with the NDVI across all seasons. The ratio between coherences at each channel is a potential alternative to the separate channels when the analysis is not restricted to the growing season of the crop, as its year-long temporal evolution more closely resembles that of the NDVI. Coherence and backscatter can be used as complementary sources of information, as backscatter-based indices describe the evolution of certain crops better than coherence.This research work was supported by the the European Space Agency under Project SEOM-S14SCI-Land (SInCohMap), and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (State Agency of Research, AEI) and the European Funds for Regional Development (Project PID2020-117303GB-C22)

Análisis de necesidades, diseño y desarrollo de un chatbot para la Universidad de Sevilla

En la actualidad el uso de tecnologías en la vida cotidiana cada vez está más extendido y se usan en múltiples aplicaciones de diferente tipo. Por este motivo los chatbots se han convertido en una herramienta muy utilizada para proporcionar ayuda a los usuarios de todo tipo de aplicaciones y servicios. Estos agentes virtuales ofrecen respuestas e información a las consultas de las diferentes personas de manera automática, proporcionando soporte en cualquier momento y reduciendo los recursos que una corporación o institución educativa necesita en su servicio de atención al cliente. Estos se usan en diversos ámbitos como las compras online, reservar una habitación de hotel, un vuelo, proceso de matriculación en la Universidad, etc. En este proyecto se explica el funcionamiento de los chatbots y su avance a lo largo de los años para introducir al lector en esta nueva forma de inteligencia artificial, para después estudiar las funciones que pueden realizar y crear un ejemplo real de asistente virtual. Para ello se estudiarán las diferentes plataformas para el desarrollo del bot, repasando los pros y contras de cada una de ellas, para elegir la más conveniente según las necesidades del proyecto. Una vez desarrollado el bot habrá una primera fase de puesta en preproducción para que diferentes usuarios lo utilicen realizando pruebas, análisis de resultados, corrección de errores, con el fin de mejorar la base de conocimientos de la herramienta siguiendo un proceso mejora continua de Deming. En nuestro caso, se desarrolla un chatbot para el Área de Atención y Orientación del Estudiante de la Universidad de Sevilla con el fin de reducir los recursos necesarios para atender todas las dudas de los estudiantes y mejorar la experiencia de estos a la hora de realizar cualquier consulta. Ahora mismo con el COVID-19 reducir el contacto es primordial y gracias a implementar un asistente virtual se reducirán las personas que acuden presencialmente a la Universidad sin perder calidad en la atención ofrecida a los estudiantes.Universidad de Sevilla. Grado en Ingeniería Electrónica Industria

Sentinel-1 interferometric coherence as a vegetation index for agriculture

In this study, the use of Sentinel-1 interferometric coherence data as a tool for crop monitoring has been explored. For this purpose, time series of images acquired by Sentinel-1 and 2 spanning 2017 have been analysed. The study site is an agricultural area in Sevilla, Spain, where 16 different crop species were cultivated during that year. The time series of 6-day repeat-pass coherence measured at each polarimetric channel (VV and VH), as well as their difference, have been compared to the NDVI and to the backscattering ratio (VH/VV) and other indices based on backscatter. The contribution of different decorrelation sources and the effect of the bias from the space-averaged sample coherence magnitude estimation have been evaluated. Likewise, the usage of 12 days as temporal baseline was tested. The study has been carried for three different orbits, characterised by different incidence angles and acquisition times. All results support using coherence as a measure for monitoring the crop growing season, as it shows good correlations with the NDVI (R2>0.7), and its temporal evolution fits well the main phenological stages of the crops. Although each crop shows its own evolution, the performance of coherence as a vegetation index is high for most of them. VV is generally more correlated with the NDVI than VH. For crop types characterised by low plant density, this difference decreases, with VH even showing higher correlation values in some cases. For a few crop types, such as rice, the backscattering ratio outperforms the coherence in following the growth stages of the plants. Since both coherence and backscattering are directly computed from the radar images, they could be used as complementary sources of information for this purpose. Notably, the measured coherence performs well without the need of compensating the thermal noise decorrelation or the bias due to the finite equivalent number of looks.This work was supported in part by the European Space Agency under Project SEOM-S14SCI-Land (SInCohMap), and in part by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (State Agency of Research, AEI) and the European Funds for Regional Development under Project PID2020-117303GB-C22

Parasitic diseases of the central nervous system: lessons for clinicians and policy makers

Parasitic diseases of the central nervous system are associated with high mortality and morbidity, especially in resource-limited settings. The burden of these diseases is amplified as survivors are often left with neurologic sequelae affecting mobility, sensory organs, and cognitive functions, as well as seizures/epilepsy. These diseases inflict suffering by causing lifelong disabilities, reducing economic productivity, and causing social stigma. The complexity of parasitic life cycles and geographic specificities, as well as overlapping clinical manifestations in the host reflecting the diverse pathogenesis of parasites, can present diagnostic challenges. We herein provide an overview of these parasitic diseases and summarize clinical aspects, diagnosis, therapeutic strategies and recent milestones, and aspects related to prevention and control

Optimización de procesos en industrias alimentarias

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo investigar las principales tendencias sobre herramientas y métodos, que contribuyen al mejoramiento de los procesos productivos en industrias alimentarias en los últimos 5 años. Los estudios acerca de optimización de procesos se realizaron bajo un análisis de revisión de la literatura científica, con base en datos Redalyc y Google Académico, en el periodo comprendido entre el año 2014 y el año 2018, seleccionando las más relevantes utilizando criterios de exclusión. Asimismo, entre las conclusiones más resaltantes, tenemos que las principales estrategias (herramientas y métodos) utilizados para la optimización de procesos en industrias alimentarias son: Kanban, Análisis de efecto, Lean, Yokogawa, Matlab y Operabilidad. Las que nos permite evaluar los parámetros para medir, cuantificar y direccionar las variables más relevantes, que no sean eficaces para los procesos de producción en una industria.The present investigation has like objective investigate the main tendencies on tools and methods that contribute to the improvement of the productive processes in alimentary industries in the last 5 years. The studies about process optimization were carried out under a review analysis of the scientific literature, based on Redalyc and Google Academic data, in the period between 2014 and 2018, selecting the most relevant using exclusion criteria. In addition, among the most important conclusions, we have that the main strategies (tools and methods) used for the optimization of processes in food industries are: Kanban, Effect Analysis, Lean, Yokogawa, Matlab and Operability. Which allows us to evaluate the parameters to measure, quantify and address the most relevant variables, which are not effective for production processes in an industry

Gender, Sexual Orientation and Manifestations of Happiness of the Students of the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano

The study identifies the happiness manifestations according to gender and sexual orientation of the students of the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano. A mixed methodology with an exploratory-descriptive nonexperimental design was used, and a semi-structured interview and a survey were applied to 2779 university students. The influence of family, friends, colleagues, and teachers on students’ happiness was examined. The results show that gender devices have an influence on subjective well-being; in addition, they reveal the existence of a population with a sexual orientation different from those socially institutionalized as feminine and masculine and which needs to be made visible in university life, especially in the Andean region. The finding, finally, recognizes the needs of students, who, in view of the structures and power relations of a traditional, patriarchal, discriminatory, and homophobic culture in the university space, it is urgent that the institutional management attend to their situation in order to assume inclusive policies and achieve high levels of happiness

Anti-brain protein autoantibodies are detectable in extraparenchymal but not parenchymal neurocysticercosis

Neurocysticercosis (NC) presents a spectrum of clinical manifestations, with two broad clinical entities based on the central nervous system location of the parasite: extraparenchymal (EP-NC) and parenchymal (P-NC). In this work, using quantitative immunoblot methodology, we demonstrate the presence of autoantibodies to brain proteins in CSF from EP-NC, but not P-NC, patients. There was striking correlation between the level of autoantibodies and the levels of the secreted metacestode glycoprotein HP-10, suggesting that the level of stimulation of the autoantibody response may be a function of the number of viable parasites. Nine corresponding proteins autoantigens were provisionally identified by mass spectroscopy. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.Neurocysticercosis (NC) presents a spectrum of clinical manifestations, with two broad clinical entities based on the central nervous system location of the parasite: extraparenchymal (EP-NC) and parenchymal (P-NC). In this work, using quantitative immunoblot methodology, we demonstrate the presence of autoantibodies to brain proteins in CSF from EP-NC, but not P-NC, patients. There was striking correlation between the level of autoantibodies and the levels of the secreted metacestode glycoprotein HP-10, suggesting that the level of stimulation of the autoantibody response may be a function of the number of viable parasites. Nine corresponding proteins autoantigens were provisionally identified by mass spectroscopy. © 2020 Elsevier B.V