Survey of users of earth resources remote sensing data

A user survey was conducted to determine current earth resources survey (ERS) data use/user status and recommendations for strengthening use. Only high-altitude aircraft and satellite (primarily LANDSAT) data were included. Emphasis was placed on the private sector/industrial user. Objectives of the survey included: who is using ERS data, how they are using the data, the relative value of current data use as well as obtaining user views as to possible ways of strengthening future ERS data use. The survey results are documented and should provide relevant decision making information for developing future programs of maximum benefit to all end users of satellite ERS data

Integrating archaeology and ancient DNA analysis to address invasive species colonization in the Gulf of Alaska

The intentional and unintentional movement of plants and animals by humans has transformed ecosystems and landscapes globally. Assessing when and how a species was introduced are central to managing these transformed landscapes, particularly in island environments. In the Gulf of Alaska, there is considerable interest in the history of mammal introductions and rehabilitating Gulf of Alaska island environments by eradicating mammals classified as invasive species. The Arctic ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii) is of concern because it affects vegetation and seabirds on Gulf of Alaska islands. This animal is assumed to have been introduced by historic settlers; however, ground squirrel remains in the prehistoric archaeological record of Chirikof Island, Alaska, challenge this timeline and suggest they colonized the islands long ago. We used 3 lines of evidence to address this problem: direct radiocarbon dating of archaeological squirrel remains; evidence of prehistoric human use of squirrels; and ancient DNA analysis of dated squirrel remains. Chirikof squirrels dated to at least 2000 years ago, and cut marks on squirrel bones suggested prehistoric use by people. Ancient squirrels also shared a mitochondrial haplotype with modern Chirikof squirrels. These results suggest that squirrels have been on Chirikof longer than previously assumed and that the current population of squirrels is closely related to the ancient population. Thus, it appears ground squirrels are not a recent, human‐mediated introduction and may have colonized the island via a natural dispersal event or an ancient human translocation.We thank T. Rick, D. Grayson, R. Fleischer, M. Hawkins, A. West, and C. Mikeska for their contributions to this research. We also thank 3 reviewers and the editors of Conservation Biology who greatly improved this paper. This work was funded by the National Geographic Society, the University of Maine, the Smithsonian Institution, and Boston University. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (National Geographic Society; University of Maine; Smithsonian Institution; Boston University)Published versio

A survey of users of earth resources remote sensing data

The results of a NASA supported Battelle survey to obtain user views on the nature and value of LANDSAT data use, on current LANDSAT capabilities, and on ways to improve data use were summarized. Questionnaire and interview responses from over 1000 private and public sector users were analyzed and discussed

Utilizing Skylab data in on-going resources management programs in the state of Ohio

The author has identified the following significant results. The use of Skylab imagery for total area woodland surveys was found to be more accurate and cheaper than conventional surveys using aerial photo-plot techniques. Machine-aided (primarily density slicing) analyses of Skylab 190A and 190B color and infrared color photography demonstrated the feasibility of using such data for differentiating major timber classes including pines, hardwoods, mixed, cut, and brushland providing such analyses are made at scales of 1:24,000 and larger. Manual and machine-assisted image analysis indicated that spectral and spatial capabilities of Skylab EREP photography are adequate to distinguish most parameters of current, coal surface mining concern associated with: (1) active mining, (2) orphan lands, (3) reclaimed lands, and (4) active reclamation. Excellent results were achieved when comparing Skylab and aerial photographic interpretations of detailed surface mining features. Skylab photographs when combined with other data bases (e.g., census, agricultural land productivity, and transportation networks), provide a comprehensive, meaningful, and integrated view of major elements involved in the urbanization/encroachment process

Ethnic differences in associations between fat deposition and incident diabetes and underlying mechanisms: The SABRE study

Objective: To examine ethnic differences in ectopic fat and associations with incident diabetes. Methods: In a UK cohort study, 1338 Europeans, 838 South Asians, and 330 African Caribbeans living in London were aged 40-69 years at baseline. Baseline assessment included blood tests, anthropometry, and questionnaires. Anthropometry-based prediction equations estimated baseline visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Incident diabetes was ascertained from record review, self-report, or oral glucose tolerance testing. Results: South Asians had more and African Caribbeans less estimated VAT than Europeans. Both ethnic minorities had larger truncal skinfolds than Europeans. In men, adjustment for risk factors (BMI, smoking, systolic blood pressure, and HDL-cholesterol) markedly attenuated the association between estimated VAT and diabetes in Europeans (standardized subhazard ratios [95% CI]: from 1.74 [1.49, 2.03] to 1.16 [0.77, 1.76]) and African Caribbeans (1.72 [1.26, 2.35] to 1.44 [0.69, 3.02]) but not South Asians (1.60 [1.38, 1.86] to 1.90 [1.37, 2.64]). In women, attenuation was observed only for South Asians (1.80 [1.01, 3.23] to 1.07 [0.49, 2.31]). Associations between truncal skinfolds and diabetes appeared less affected by multivariable adjustment in South Asians and African Caribbeans than Europeans (1.24 [0.97, 1.57] and 1.28 [0.89, 1.82] versus 1.02 [0.77, 1.36] in men; 1.91 [1.03, 3.56] and 1.42 [0.86, 2.34] versus 1.23 [0.74, 2.05] in women). Conclusions: Differences in overall truncal fat, as well as VAT, may contribute to the excess of diabetes in South Asian and African Caribbean groups, particularly for women

Is a combination of varenicline and nicotine patch more effective in helping smokers quit than varenicline alone? A randomised controlled trial

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Determinants of Salivary Cotinine among Smokeless Tobacco Users : A Cross-Sectional Survey in Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION: More than 80% of all smokeless tobacco (ST) products in the world are consumed in South Asia; yet little is known about their consumption behaviour, addictiveness, and toxic properties. This paper, for the first time, describes associations between salivary cotinine concentrations among ST users in Bangladesh and their socio-demographic characteristics and tobacco use behaviours. METHODS: In a survey of ST users in Dhaka, Bangladesh, we purposively recruited 200 adults who were non-smokers but consumed ST on a regular basis. In-person interviews were conducted to obtain information about socio-demographic and ST use behaviours, and saliva samples were collected to measure cotinine concentration. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to test associations between the log transformed salivary cotinine concentration and other study variables. RESULTS: The geometric mean of cotinine concentration among ST users was 380ng/ml (GSD:2). Total duration of daily ST use in months had a statistically significant association with cotinine concentration. Other ST use characteristics including type and quantity of ST use, swallowing of tobacco juice, urges and strength of urges and attempts to cut down on tobacco use were not found to be associated with cotinine concentration in a multivariable model. CONCLUSION: This is the first report from Bangladesh studying cotinine concentration among ST users and it points towards high levels of addiction. This warrants effective tobacco control policies to help ST cessation and prevention

Effects of addition of phytase, phosphorus and zinc to ruminant diets on rumen metabolism, digestion and performance

In drei Studien wird der Einfluss von P und einer exogenen Phytase auf die Pansenfermentationsparameter, den P Fluss am Dünndarm und die P Bilanz von Milchkühen untersucht. Auch wird die Wirkung unterschiedlicher P und Zn Gehalte im Futter auf den Stoffwechsel von Mastbullen berücksichtigt. 24 Milchkühe, 48 Bullen und 9 duodenal- und pansenfistulierte Kühe wurden für den Fütterungsversuch genutzt. Es wurden drei (Kühe) bzw. vier (Bullen) Rationen gefüttert, die sich in Bezug auf die P und Zn Konzentration und eine Phytasezulage unterschieden. Eine Versuchsgruppe wurde mit P-supplementiertem Kraftfutter gefüttert, während die zweite Gruppe den nativen P-Gehalt im Futter und die dritte Gruppe eine Ration mit nativen P Gehalt und exogener Phytase fraß. Im Bullenmastversuch erhielt eine vierte Gruppe einen Zn-Zusatz. Es sind in allen drei Versuchen keine Unterschiede im P-Gehalt der Milch, Kot, Harn, Darmsaft, Pansensaft und Bilanz aufgetreten, die auf eine Wirkung der exogenen Phytase schließen lassen. Auch gibt es keinen Einfluss der Phytase auf die P-Verdaulichkeit und Konzentration im Knochen. Lediglich die P-Konzentration im Futter zeigt Einfluss.The three present studies investigated the effect of P and exogenous phytase supplementation on rumen fermentation characteristics, the P-flow at the duodenum and the P-balance in lactating dairy cows and the influence of different dietary P and Zn levels on the P-and Zn-metabolism of fattening bulls. 24 lactating cows, 48 bull sand 9 dairy cows with ruminal and duodenal fistulaes were used for the feeding trials and were allocated to three (cows) resp. four (bulls) dietary treatments. One treatment was a concentrate supplemented with dicalcium phosphate which represents the control group. Another concentrate was unsupplemented, the third concentrate was supplemented with exogenous phytase and the last concentrate (in the bull trial) was supplemented with Zn. No differents in P-concentration of milk, urine, faces, duodenal fluid and rumen fluid were observed between the treatments. The values for P-digestibility and P-concentration in bones and organs were not different between the groups. Overall, P-supplementation had some effects while phytase supplementation had no effect on the nvestigated parameters in all three studies.vorgelegt von Laura Schulte-Ebbert, geb. Winte

Master of Science

thesisMultivariate assays using gene expression as their contributing factors, such as the centroid-based PAM50 Breast Cancer Intrinsic Classi er, are becoming commonly used in assisting treatment decisions in medicine, especially in oncology. Although physicians may rely on these multivariate assays for planning treatment, little is known about the e ects on the results of an assay due to the intrinsic error in the laboratory process and measuring its contributing factors. While we expect that classi cation of samples in proximity to one of the centroids de ning the tumor classes will be stable with respect to experimental errors in the gene expression measurements, what happens to the samples not in proximity to a single centroid is unknown. Results reported to the attending physician may be misleading because he or she is receiving no information about the probability for sample misclassi cation. Given the serious consequences due to ambiguous results in clinical classi cations, methods to measure the e ects of a multivariate assay's intrinsic errors need to be established and communicated to attending physicians. In this study, a method to characterize the technical uncertainty in the classi cation of centroid-based multivariate assays, is developed and described, using the PAM50 Breast Cancer Intrinsic Classi er as the model multivariate assay. Furthermore, the described method provides a general and individual classi cation con dence measurement that advances multivariate assays towards personalized healthcare by providing personalized con dence measurements on the assay's result. Finally, this study explores whether using parametric versus nonparametric distance measurements is most e ective when using a single gene expression platform, such as microarray or Real-time, quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction