Which Satellite Image should be used for Mapping

Today, topographical mapping based on satellite images is a standard method. With the large number of very high-resolution optical satellites, it only a question of the Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) and the map scale to be generated. But the classical large-format satellite images are expensive. With the today's variety of the classical small satellites (601kg to 1200kg) to Nano-satellites (1.1kg to 10kg) of 3U (10cm x 10cm x 30cm), various options are available that influence the economic solutions. An overview of the accessible optical satellites is given, with some specific information on the mini-satellites that offer new economical solutions for topographic mapping. Significantly more optical satellites are currently in operation, but their images are used only for military purposes or they are restricted for national use due to lack of image storage and limited download possibilities

Using deficit irrigation with treated wastewater in the production of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in Morocco | El uso de riego deficitario con aguas residuales tratadas en la producción de quinua (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) en Marruecos

Scarcity of water resources and growing competition for water, reduce water availability for irrigation. In this experiment which was carried out in the south of Morocco, treated wastewater was used as an alternative resource for irrigation of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). During the first season (2010), six deficit irrigation treatments were applied during all crop stages on DO708 cultivar alternating water stress level at either 100 or 50% of ETm (maximal evatranspiration), while during the second season (2011), three deficit irrigation treatments 100, 50 and 25% were applied only during vegetative growth stage on two quinoa cultivars DO708 and QM1113. The highest water productivity was obtained when deficit irrigation was applied during the vegetative growth stage. Applying 50% of ETm during first season and second season resulted in highest yield. The most sensitive growth stage of quinoa to drought stress was the seed filling stage, and during this stage it is recommended to supply water to avoid yield and water productivity decrease. Combining deficit irrigation strategy, engineering solution (modernization of the irrigation systems, soil moisture monitoring), and the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation, could improve water productivity of this drought tolerant crop under conditions of limited water resources. Key words: Drought stress, water productivity, leaf area index, salinity, yield RESUMEN La escasez de recursos hídricos y la creciente competencia por el agua reduce la disponibilidad de agua para el riego. En este experimento que se llevó a cabo en el sur de Marruecos, el agua residual tratada se utilizó como un recurso alternativo para el riego de quinua (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). Durante la primera temporada (2010), se aplicaron seis tratamientos de riego deficitario alternando 100 y 50% de la ETm (evapotranspiración máxima) durante todas las etapas del cultivo en el cultivar DO708, mientras que en la segunda temporada (2011) se aplicaron tres tratamientos de riego deficitario 100, 50 y 25% sólo durante la etapa de crecimiento vegetativo en dos cultivares de quinua DO708 y QM1113. La mayor productividad del agua se obtuvo cuando se aplicó el riego deficitario durante la etapa de crecimiento vegetativo. Un tratamiento de riego deficitario con 50% de la ETm durante la primera y la segunda temporada registró la mayor productividad del agua. La etapa de crecimiento más sensible de la quinua al estrés hídrico fue la etapa de llenado de la semilla y durante esta etapa se recomienda el suministro de agua para evitar la disminución del rendimiento y reducir la productividad del agua. La combinación de la estrategia de riego deficitario, solución de ingeniería (modernización del sistema de riego, sensores de humedad del suelo) y la reutilización de aguas residuales tratadas para el riego, podría mejorar la productividad del agua de este cultivo tolerante a la sequía bajo condiciones de los recursos hídricos limitados. Palabras clave: Estrés hídrico, productividad del agua, índice de área foliar, salinidad, rendimient

Experimental evaluation of impairments in unrepeatered DP-16QAM link with distributed raman amplification

The transmission impairments of a Raman amplified link using dual-polarization 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (DP-16QAM) are experimentally characterized. The impact of amplitude and phase noise on the signal due to relative intensity noise (RIN) transfer from the pump are compared for two pumping configurations: first-order backward pumping and bi-directional pumping. Experimental results indicate that with increased Raman backward pump power, though the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) is increased, so is the pump-induced amplitude and phase noise. The transmission performance is firstly improved by the enhanced OSNR at a low pump power until an optimum point is reached, and then the impairments due to pump-induced noise start to dominate. However, the introduction of a low pump power in the forward direction can further improve the system's performance

Device-related infection in de novo transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator Medicare patients

BACKGROUND: Cardiac device infection is a serious complication of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) placement and requires complete device removal with accompanying antimicrobial therapy for durable cure. Recent guidelines have highlighted the need to better identify patients at high risk of infection to assist in device selection. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of infection in de novo transvenous (TV) ICD implants and assess factors associated with infection risk in a Medicare population. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using 100% Medicare administrative and claims data to identify patients who underwent de novo TV-ICD implantation (7/2016-12/2017). Infection within 720 days of implantation was identified using ICD-10 codes. Baseline factors associated with infection were identified by univariable logistic regression analysis of all variables of interest, including conditions in Charlson and Elixhauser comorbidity indices, followed by stepwise selection criteria with a p≤0.25 for inclusion in a multivariable model and a backwards, stepwise elimination process with p≤0.1 to remain in the model. A time-to-event analysis was also conducted. RESULTS: Among 26,742 patients with de novo TV-ICD, 519 (1.9%) developed an infection within 720 days post-implant. While more than half (54%) of infections occurred during the first 90 days, 16% of infections occurred after 365 days. Multivariable analysis revealed several significant predictors of infection: age <70 years, renal disease with dialysis, and complicated diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: The rate of de novo TV-ICD infection was 1.9% and identified risk factors associated with infection may be useful in device selection

Atomic-scale modeling of the deformation of nanocrystalline metals

Nanocrystalline metals, i.e. metals with grain sizes from 5 to 50 nm, display technologically interesting properties, such as dramatically increased hardness, increasing with decreasing grain size. Due to the small grain size, direct atomic-scale simulations of plastic deformation of these materials are possible, as such a polycrystalline system can be modeled with the computational resources available today. We present molecular dynamics simulations of nanocrystalline copper with grain sizes up to 13 nm. Two different deformation mechanisms are active, one is deformation through the motion of dislocations, the other is sliding in the grain boundaries. At the grain sizes studied here the latter dominates, leading to a softening as the grain size is reduced. This implies that there is an ``optimal'' grain size, where the hardness is maximal. Since the grain boundaries participate actively in the deformation, it is interesting to study the effects of introducing impurity atoms in the grain boundaries. We study how silver atoms in the grain boundaries influence the mechanical properties of nanocrystalline copper.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX2e, PS figures and sty files included. To appear in Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. vol 538 (invited paper). For related papers, see http://www.fysik.dtu.dk/~schiotz/publist.htm

Identification and genetic characterization of a gibberellin 2-oxidase gene that controls tree stature and reproductive growth in plum

Several dwarf plum genotypes (Prunus salicina L.), due to deficiency of unknown gibberellin (GA) signalling, were identified. A cDNA encoding GA 2-oxidase (PslGA2ox), the major gibberellin catabolic enzyme in plants, was cloned and used to screen the GA-deficient hybrids. This resulted in the identification of a dwarf plum hybrid, designated as DGO24, that exhibits a markedly elevated PslGA2ox signal. Grafting ‘Early Golden’ (EG), a commercial plum cultivar, on DGO24 (EG/D) enhanced PslGA2ox accumulation in the scion part and generated trees of compact stature. Assessment of active GAs in such trees revealed that DGO24 and EG/D accumulated relatively much lower quantities of main bioactive GAs (GA1 and GA4) than control trees (EG/M). Moreover, the physiological function of PslGA2ox was studied by determining the molecular and developmental consequences due to ectopic expression in Arabidopsis. Among several lines, two groups of homozygous transgenics that exhibited contrasting phenotypes were identified. Group-1 displayed a dwarf growth pattern typical of mutants with a GA deficiency including smaller leaves, shorter stems, and delay in the development of reproductive events. In contrast, Group-2 exhibited a ‘GA overdose’ phenotype as all the plants showed elongated growth, a typical response to GA application, even under limited GA conditions, potentially due to co-suppression of closely related Arabidopsis homologous. The studies reveal the possibility of utilizing PslGA2ox as a marker for developing size-controlling rootstocks in Prunus

Utilisation de l'irrigation déficitaire avec des eaux usées traitées pour améliorer la productivité des cultures du maïs sucré, pois chiche, féverole et quinoa

Several experiments were conducted in the south of Morocco (IAV-CHA, Agadir) during two seasons 2010 and 2011 in order to evaluate the effect of deficit irrigation with treated wastewater on several crops (quinoa, sweet corn, faba bean and chickpeas).&nbsp; During the first season (2010) three crops were tested, quinoa, chickpeas and sweet corn applying 6 deficit irrigation treatments during all crop stages alternating 100% of full irrigation as non-stress condition and 50% of full irrigation as water deficit condition applied during vegetative growth, flowering and grain filling stage. For all crops, the highest water productivity and yield were obtained when deficit irrigation was applied during the vegetative growth stage. During the second season (2011) two cultivars of quinoa, faba bean and sweet corn have been cultivated applying 6 deficit irrigation treatments (rainfed, 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of full irrigation) only during the vegetative growth stage, while in the rest of crop cycle full irrigation was provided except for rainfed treatment. For quinoa and faba bean, treatment receiving 50% of full irrigation during vegetative growth stage recorded the highest yield and water productivity, while for sweet corn applying 75% of full irrigation was the optimal treatment in terms of yield and water productivity.Plusieurs essais ont été conduits dans le sud du Maroc (IAV-CHA, Agadir) durant deux saisons 2010 et 2011 dont le but d’évaluer l’effet de l’irrigation déficitaire par les eaux usées traitées sur plusieurs cultures (quinoa, maïs doux, fève et pois chiche). Durant la première saison (2010) trois cultures ont été testées, quinoa, maïs doux et pois chiche en appliquant 6 traitements d’irrigation déficitaire durant tout les stades culturaux en alternant 100% d’ETm comme condition de confort hydrique et 50% d’ETm comme conditions de stress durant le stade de croissance végétative, floraison et remplissage des grains. Pour toutes les cultures, le rendement et la productivité d’eau les plus élevés ont été obtenus lorsque l’irrigation déficitaire a été appliquée durant le stade de croissance végétative. Pendant la deuxième saison (2011) deux lignés du quinoa, la fève et le maïs doux ont été cultivées en adoptant 6 traitements d’irrigation déficitaire (bour, 0, 25, 50, 75 et 100 d’ETm) appliqués juste pendant le stade de croissance végétative, tandis que durant le reste du cycle cultural les cultures ont reçues une irrigation complète sauf pour le traitement bour. Pour le quinoa et la fève, appliquant 50% d’ETm durant le stade végétatif a permis d’obtenir le rendement et la productivité d’eau les plus élevés, tandis que pour le maïs doux le traitement optimal qui a enregistré le rendement et la productivité d’eau les plus élevés est celui qui a reçu 75% d’ETm.&nbsp

Uncoventional Views on Certain Aspects of Toxin-Induced Metabolic Acidosis

This discussion will highlight the following 9 specific points that related to metabolic acidosis caused by various toxins. The current recommendation suggests that alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor fomepizole is preferred to ethanol in treatment of methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning, but analysis of the enzyme kinetics indicates that ethanol is a better alternative. In the presence of a modest increase in serum osmolal gap (<30 mOsm/L), the starting dose of ethanol should be far less than the usual recommended dose. One can take advantage of the high vapor pressure of methanol in the treatment of methanol poisoning when hemodialysis is not readily available. Profuse sweating with increased water ingestion can be highly effective in reducing methanol levels. Impaired production of ammonia by the proximal tubule of the kidney plays a major role in the development of metabolic acidosis in pyroglutamic acidosis. Glycine, not oxalate, is the main final end product of ethylene glycol metabolism. Metabolism of ethylene glycol to oxalate, albeit important clinically, represents less than 1% of ethylene glycol disposal. Urine osmolal gap would be useful in the diagnosis of ethylene glycol poisoning, but not in methanol poisoning. Hemodialysis is important in the treatment of methanol poisoning and ethylene glycol poisoning with renal impairment, with or without fomepizole or ethanol treatment. Severe leucocytosis is a highly sensitive indicator of ethylene glycol poisoning. Uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation by salicylate can explain most of the manifestations of salicylate poisoning

Who, where, when: the demographic and geographic distribution of bicycle crashes in West Yorkshire

Factors associated with cycle safety, including international differences in injury and mortality rates, protective equipment and bicycle training, have been subject to increasing academic interest. Environmental variables associated with cycle safety have also been scrutinised, but few studies have focussed on geographical factors at the local level. This paper addresses this research gap by analysing a geo-referenced dataset of road traffic incidents, taken from the UK's STATS19 dataset (2005 - 2012). We investigate incidents involving cyclists within West Yorkshire. This is an interesting case study area as it has an historically low cycling rate but very ambitions cycling plans following investment from the Department for Transport. West Yorkshire is found to be an unusually risky area for cyclists, with an estimated 53 deaths and 1372 serious injuries per billion kilometres cycled, based on census commuting statistics. This is roughly double the national average. This riskiness varies spatially and temporally, broadly in line with expectations from the previous literature. An unexpected result was that cycling seems to be disproportionately risky for young people in West Yorkshire compared with young people nationally. The case study raises the issue of potential negative health impacts of promoting cycling amongst vulnerable groups in dangerous areas. We conclude by highlighting opportunities for increasing cycling uptake via measures designed primarily to improve safety. The analysis underlying this research is reproducible, based on code stored at https://github.com/Robinlovelace/bikeR