Categorisation of land-cover and land-use adjacent to a Sri Lankan mangrove lagoon using object-based classification: state-of-the-art

This research deals mainly with the changes in land cover and their impact on the environment (the soil, the infiltration and drainage of water, evapotranspiration, flora and fauna) in and around Chilaw Lagoon, a Sri Lankan mangrove site. This requires research on the space-time dynamics in soil use and land cover to estimate and predict the human influences on the ecological changes. It examines how the fishing and the shrimp farms can (co-)exist on a sustainable manner in particular. A tool getting more and more crucial in the detection, description, quantification and observance of changes in the landscape and land use, is remote sensing (e.g. Dahdouh-Guebas et al., 2005a). In combination with geographical information systems (GIS) and field work, this is an effective management tool, particularly useful in the detection of ecological degradation (Dahdouh-Guebas et al., 2005b). It is very important to detect cryptic ecological degradation to mitigate loss of ecological functions, such as the protection function of mangroves (Dahdouh-Guebas et al., 2005c; Dahdouh-Guebas and Koedam, 2006). In addition, mangroves function as a source for timber and non-timber forest products for subsistence users, and as a nursery for numerous marine species (Ewel et al., 1998). Our research implements the following activities: (1) Characterisation of the actual land cover by means of remote sensing (Ikonos images) before the field work; (2) Verification on the field of the results of the image classification: land cover, land use, habitats, vegetation assemblages, individual species; (3) Field work on the vegetation structure; (4) Evaluation of the perception of the local population concerning the actual situation of the wood and fishery resources and in particular the cultivation of shrimps; and (5) By analysis of the image processing, the ecological footprint of the shrimp farms and the fishery, a calculation will be attempted of the area of the mangrove forests that are needed for a sustainable management of the shrimp farms and of the mangrove forests. There appears to be a conflict between the shrimp farms and the mangrove forests. One cuts down mangroves to build shrimp farms. But, on the other side shrimp farms cannot survive without mangroves because the gravid females used for stocking the shrimp ponds are dependent on the mangroves. A first expected result is an extensive classification of a very high Ikonos satellite image of Chilaw-Lagoon, with an interpretation key. This will give a good view on land cover and land use in the lagoon which will be used for land management. A second expected result is to give guidelines, based on the ecological footprint of shrimp farms, for reforestation of mangroves. And by this way to give a solution for the conflicts between adjacent land use. The research is ongoing, but this presentation discusses the state-of-the-art in the light of the above objectives and the expected results

A UML Profile for the Design, Quality Assessment and Deployment of Data-intensive Applications

Big Data or Data-Intensive applications (DIAs) seek to mine, manipulate, extract or otherwise exploit the potential intelligence hidden behind Big Data. However, several practitioner surveys remark that DIAs potential is still untapped because of very difficult and costly design, quality assessment and continuous refinement. To address the above shortcoming, we propose the use of a UML domain-specific modeling language or profile specifically tailored to support the design, assessment and continuous deployment of DIAs. This article illustrates our DIA-specific profile and outlines its usage in the context of DIA performance engineering and deployment. For DIA performance engineering, we rely on the Apache Hadoop technology, while for DIA deployment, we leverage the TOSCA language. We conclude that the proposed profile offers a powerful language for data-intensive software and systems modeling, quality evaluation and automated deployment of DIAs on private or public clouds

Floating with seeds: understanding hydrochorous mangrove propagule dispersal: a field and modeling approach

Présentation avec posterinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedYoung Marine Scientists’ Day Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ), 24 février, Brugge, Belgiqu

Model based control for multi-cloud applications

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Modelling mangrove propagule dispersal: sensitivity analysis and implications for shrimp farm rehabilitation

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedHexennial International Conference ‘Meeting on Mangrove ecology, functioning and Management – MMM3’, 2-6 juillet, Galle, Sri Lank

Fate of the predictions in Galle-Unawatuna mangroves, Sri Lanka: A validation after 10 years using satellite (IKONOS) and ground-truth data

Validation of earlier predictions is a challenging but significant contribution to ecological research. The present study tests the predications made 10 years ago by Dahdouh-Guebas et al. (2000) on the evolution of mangrove forest in Galle-Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. The ground inventory carried out in five Sectors covering the entire forest (Point Centred Quarter Method - PCQM) (Cintron and Schaeffer Novelli, 1984) revealed that the adult species composition is dominated by Rhizophora apiculata, Excoecaria agallocha, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and B. sexangula, with their total density of 216-267 stems 0.1ha-1 and basal area 1.19-1.44m2 0.1ha-1. However, both young and juvenile vegetation in the most Sectors was dominated solely by B. gymnorrhiza (128-869 stems and 356-1482 propagules 0.1ha-1). According to Dahdouh-Guebas et al. (2000), the transition of an E. agallocha forest into a B. gymnorrhiza dominated one or at least their co-dominance in the Sectors 1 and 2 is possible, whereas Sector 3 being dominated by adult and juvenile R. apiculata will persist. Overall, the possible transition to a Bruguiera dominated forest in Galle-Unawatuna area was forecasted. The recent decadal changes between 1994 and 2004 through the integration of IKONOS satellite imagery of 2004 with ground-truth information confirmed many of the predictions and showed dynamic shifts in young/adult vegetation by B. gymnorrhiza. Both E. agallocha and R. apiculata continue to be dominant in Sectors 2 and 3, although the adult turnover by B. gymnorrhiza has not yet occurred, probably due to the small time interval between the two investigations. Confirming in part with the earlier prediction on R. apiculata in Sector 3, present study also revealed the abundance of B. gymnorrhiza as young and juvenile vegetation. Viewing the present dynamic shifts and sheer dominance as young vegetation by B. gymnorrhiza with a mean height of 5.8m in most Sectors, it is still possible to anticipate the mangroves being dominated by this species, and actually now validates the predictions made 10 years ago. Because of apparent changes in the mangrove vegetation structure, it could be concluded that the ‘moving mosaic’ pattern of mangrove species distribution reported earlier for Galle-Unawatuna still persists

How to improve educational behaviors for caregivers and patients having Central Venous Access Device (CVAD). a scoping review

Objective: Central venous access devices (CVADs) are essential to the modern management of patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors. Educational programs play a crucial role in promoting appropriate patient actions to support patient safety during hospitalization and homecare. This review aimed to identify literature concerning educational interventions to promote patients’ actions to overcome CVAD-related problems and improve self-monitoring and self-management. Materials and Methods: Documentary evaluation of international databases, such as PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and Cochrane. Searching for data on population, context and concept regarding CVAD self-management. The extracted data was subject to thematic analysis. The following scoping reviews were developed using the five-stage framework outlined by Arksey and O’Malley, and advanced by Levac and colleagues. Results: Of the 2802 articles identified, 19 research articles were selected in this review. Educational programs have been shown to improve CVAD self management, to decrease stress and anxiety related to their use, and to reduce the onset of complications. In addition, nurses have proven to be the professional reference figure for educational interventions. Conclusions: The results of the study lead to the conclusion that programs aimed at improving selfcare and reducing the onset of complications in patients living with chronic and debilitating diseases should be made available to a larger portion of individuals. Both generic and specific programs are needed, in the different contexts of home and hospital, for the short and long term, in order to ameliorate participants’ abilities. The results of this study should, therefore, encourage health professionals to plan, carry out, and evaluate the establishment of educational programs with patient participation

Mangroves facing climate change: landward migration potential in response to projected scenarios of sea level rise

Mangrove forests prominently occupy an intertidal boundary position where the effects of sea level rise will be fast and well visible. This study in East Africa (Gazi Bay, Kenya) addresses the question of whether mangroves can be resilient to a rise in sea level by focusing on their potential to migrate towards landward areas. The combinatory analysis between remote sensing, DGPS-based ground truth and digital terrain models (DTM) unveils how real vegetation assemblages can shift under different projected (minimum (+9 cm), relative (+20 cm), average (+48 cm) and maximum (+88 cm)) scenarios of sea level rise (SLR). Under SLR scenarios up to 48 cm by the year 2100, the landward extension remarkably implies an area increase for each of the dominant mangrove assemblages except for Avicennia marina and Ceriops tagal, both on the landward side. On the one hand, the increase in most species in the first three scenarios, including the socio-economically most important species in this area, Rhizophora mucronata and C. tagal on the seaward side, strongly depends on the colonisation rate of these species. On the other hand, a SLR scenario of +88 cm by the year 2100 indicates that the area flooded only by equinoctial tides strongly decreases due to the topographical settings at the edge of the inhabited area. Consequently, the landward Avicennia-dominated assemblages will further decrease as a formation if they fail to adapt to a more frequent inundation. The topography is site-specific; however non-invadable areas can be typical for many mangrove settings

A constraint-based approach to quality assurance in service choreographies.

Knowledge about the quality characteristics (QoS) of service com- positions is crucial for determining their usability and economic value. Ser- vice quality is usually regulated using Service Level Agreements (SLA). While end-to-end SLAs are well suited for request-reply interactions, more complex, decentralized, multiparticipant compositions (service choreographies) typ- ically involve multiple message exchanges between stateful parties and the corresponding SLAs thus encompass several cooperating parties with interde- pendent QoS. The usual approaches to determining QoS ranges structurally (which are by construction easily composable) are not applicable in this sce- nario. Additionally, the intervening SLAs may depend on the exchanged data. We present an approach to data-aware QoS assurance in choreographies through the automatic derivation of composable QoS models from partici- pant descriptions. Such models are based on a message typing system with size constraints and are derived using abstract interpretation. The models ob- tained have multiple uses including run-time prediction, adaptive participant selection, or design-time compliance checking. We also present an experimen- tal evaluation and discuss the benefits of the proposed approach