Use of automated change detection and VGI sources for identifying and validating urban land use change

© 2020, by the authors. Land use and land cover (LULC) mapping is often undertaken by national mapping agencies, where these LULC products are used for different types of monitoring and reporting applications. Updating of LULC databases is often done on a multi-year cycle due to the high costs involved, so changes are only detected when mapping exercises are repeated. Consequently, the information on LULC can quickly become outdated and hence may be incorrect in some areas. In the current era of big data and Earth observation, change detection algorithms can be used to identify changes in urban areas, which can then be used to automatically update LULC databases on a more continuous basis. However, the change detection algorithm must be validated before the changes can be committed to authoritative databases such as those produced by national mapping agencies. This paper outlines a change detection algorithm for identifying construction sites, which represent ongoing changes in LU, developed in the framework of the LandSense project. We then use volunteered geographic information (VGI) captured through the use of mapathons from a range of different groups of contributors to validate these changes. In total, 105 contributors were involved in the mapathons, producing a total of 2778 observations. The 105 contributors were grouped according to six different user-profiles and were analyzed to understand the impact of the experience of the users on the accuracy assessment. Overall, the results show that the change detection algorithm is able to identify changes in residential land use to an adequate level of accuracy (85%) but changes in infrastructure and industrial sites had lower accuracies (57% and 75 %, respectively), requiring further improvements. In terms of user profiles, the experts in LULC from local authorities, researchers in LULC at the French national mapping agency (IGN), and first-year students with a basic knowledge of geographic information systems had the highest overall accuracies (86.2%, 93.2%, and 85.2%, respectively). Differences in how the users approach the task also emerged, e.g., local authorities used knowledge and context to try to identify types of change while those with no knowledge of LULC (i.e., normal citizens) were quicker to choose 'Unknown' when the visual interpretation of a class was more difficult

Exploring the longitudinal relationships between the use of grammar in text messaging and performance on grammatical tasks

Research has demonstrated that use of texting slang (textisms) when text messaging does not appear to impact negatively on children's literacy outcomes and may even benefit children's spelling attainment. However, less attention has been paid to the impact of text messaging on the development of children's and young people's understanding of grammar. This study therefore examined the interrelationships between children's and young adults' tendency to make grammatical violations when texting and their performance on formal assessments of spoken and written grammatical understanding, orthographic processing and spelling ability over the course of 1 year. Zero-order correlations showed patterns consistent with previous research on textism use and spelling, and there was no evidence of any negative associations between the development of the children's performance on the grammar tasks and their use of grammatical violations when texting. Adults' tendency to use ungrammatical word forms ('does you') was positively related to performance on the test of written grammar. Grammatical violations were found to be positively associated with growth in spelling for secondary school children. However, not all forms of violation were observed to be consistently used in samples of text messages taken 12 months apart or were characteristic of typical text messages. The need to differentiate between genuine errors and deliberate violation of rules is discussed, as are the educational implications of these findings

Genome Wide Transcriptome Analysis of Dendritic Cells Identifies Genes with Altered Expression in Psoriasis

Activation of dendritic cells by different pathogens induces the secretion of proinflammatory mediators resulting in local inflammation. Importantly, innate immunity must be properly controlled, as its continuous activation leads to the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or peptidoglycan (PGN) induced tolerance, a phenomenon of transient unresponsiveness of cells to repeated or prolonged stimulation, proved valuable model for the study of chronic inflammation. Thus, the aim of this study was the identification of the transcriptional diversity of primary human immature dendritic cells (iDCs) upon PGN induced tolerance. Using SAGESeq approach, a tag-based transcriptome sequencing method, we investigated gene expression changes of primary human iDCs upon stimulation or restimulation with Staphylococcus aureus derived PGN, a widely used TLR2 ligand. Based on the expression pattern of the altered genes, we identified non-tolerizeable and tolerizeable genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (Kegg) analysis showed marked enrichment of immune-, cell cycle- and apoptosis related genes. In parallel to the marked induction of proinflammatory mediators, negative feedback regulators of innate immunity, such as TNFAIP3, TNFAIP8, Tyro3 and Mer are markedly downregulated in tolerant cells. We also demonstrate, that the expression pattern of TNFAIP3 and TNFAIP8 is altered in both lesional, and non-lesional skin of psoriatic patients. Finally, we show that pretreatment of immature dendritic cells with anti-TNF-α inhibits the expression of IL-6 and CCL1 in tolerant iDCs and partially releases the suppression of TNFAIP8. Our findings suggest that after PGN stimulation/restimulation the host cell utilizes different mechanisms in order to maintain critical balance between inflammation and tolerance. Importantly, the transcriptome sequencing of stimulated/restimulated iDCs identified numerous genes with altered expression to date not associated with role in chronic inflammation, underlying the relevance of our in vitro model for further characterization of IFNprimed iDCs

Strain budget of the Ecuador–Colombia subduction zone: A stochastic view

The 2016 Pedernales earthquake (M_W=7.8) ruptured a portion of the Colombia–Ecuador subduction interface where several large historical earthquakes have been documented since the great 1906 earthquake (M=8.6). Considering all significant ruptures that occurred in the region, it has been suggested that the cumulative moment generated co-seismically along this part of the subduction over the last century exceeds the moment deficit accumulated inter-seismically since 1906. Such an excess challenges simple models with earthquakes resetting the elastic strain accumulated inter-seismically in locked asperities. These inferences are however associated with large uncertainties that are generally unknown. The impact of spatial smoothing constraints on co-seismic and inter-seismic models also prevents any robust assessment of the strain budget. We propose a Bayesian kinematic slip model of the 2016 Pedernales earthquake using the most comprehensive dataset to date including InSAR and GPS offsets, tsunami waveforms, and kinematic records from high-rate GPS and strong-motions. In addition, we use inter-seismic geodetic velocities to produce a probabilistic inter-seismic coupling model of the subduction interface. Our stochastic co-seismic and inter-seismic solutions include the ensemble of all plausible models consistent with our prior information and that fit the observations within uncertainties. The analysis of these model ensembles indicates that an excess of co-seismic moment during the 1906–2016 period is likely in Central Ecuador only if we assume that 1942 and 2016 earthquakes are colocated. If this assumption is relaxed, we show that this conclusion no longer holds given uncertainties in co- and inter-seismic processes. The comparison of 1942 and 2016 teleseismic records reveals large uncertainties in the location of the 1942 event, hampering our ability to draw strong conclusions on the unbalanced moment budget in the region. Our results also show a heterogeneous coupling of the subduction interface that coincides with two slip asperities in our co-seismic model for the 2016 Pedernales earthquake and with the location of historical ruptures in 1958, 1979 and 1998. The spatial variability in coupling and complexity in earthquake history suggest strong heterogeneities in frictional properties of the subduction megathrust

Print awareness of adult illiterates: a comparison with young pre-readers and low-educated adult readers

In this study the print awareness of 25 unschooled adult illiterates in the Netherlands was compared with that of 24 pre-reading children and of 23 low-educated literate adults with approximately four years of primary schooling. The illiterates were interviewed about their experiences with writing and all participants completed six assessments of print awareness in the language they preferred (first or second language). The outcomes revealed that the three groups did not differ in distinguishing conventional written signs from other visual signs, that both groups of non-readers differed significantly from low educated readers but not from each other in knowledge of logos, inscriptions and knowledge of the written register, while the adult illiterates performed significantly better than the children on grapheme knowledge. Adult illiterates in literate societies seem to be well informed about the uses and functions of written language and about what writing looks like, but like young children they are not good at reading environmental print out of context and in explaining what exactly is represented in writing. The variation in reactions within the group of illiterate adults could be related to existing models of emergent literacy. Implications for adult literacy education are discussed

Advanced Fuel Cycle Cost Basis

This report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), provides a comprehensive set of cost data supporting a cost analysis for the relative economic comparison of options for use in the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) Program. The report describes the AFCI cost basis development process, reference information on AFCI cost modules, a procedure for estimating fuel cycle costs, economic evaluation guidelines, and a discussion on the integration of cost data into economic computer models. This report contains reference cost data for 26 cost modules—24 fuel cycle cost modules and 2 reactor modules. The cost modules were developed in the areas of natural uranium mining and milling, conversion, enrichment, depleted uranium disposition, fuel fabrication, interim spent fuel storage, reprocessing, waste conditioning, spent nuclear fuel (SNF) packaging, long-term monitored retrievable storage, near surface disposal of low-level waste (LLW), geologic repository and other disposal concepts, and transportation processes for nuclear fuel, LLW, SNF, and high-level waste

Advanced Fuel Cycle Cost Basis

This report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), provides a comprehensive set of cost data supporting a cost analysis for the relative economic comparison of options for use in the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) Program. The report describes the AFCI cost basis development process, reference information on AFCI cost modules, a procedure for estimating fuel cycle costs, economic evaluation guidelines, and a discussion on the integration of cost data into economic computer models. This report contains reference cost data for 25 cost modules—23 fuel cycle cost modules and 2 reactor modules. The cost modules were developed in the areas of natural uranium mining and milling, conversion, enrichment, depleted uranium disposition, fuel fabrication, interim spent fuel storage, reprocessing, waste conditioning, spent nuclear fuel (SNF) packaging, long-term monitored retrievable storage, near surface disposal of low-level waste (LLW), geologic repository and other disposal concepts, and transportation processes for nuclear fuel, LLW, SNF, transuranic, and high-level waste

On natural metalinguistic abilities in aphasia: a preliminary study

Natural metalinguistic abilities, which are put into play without explicit instructions, constitute the cognitive basis for a 'reflexive' use of language, a particular manifestation of the executive function when applied to language and verbal behaviour. This reflexive use entails a specific attentional activity by speakers and hearers with regard to linguistic outputs, and an intentional experience-based control over the language use. Putting into play natural metalinguistic abilities can be considered a significant factor for explaining different kinds of adaptive processes. Our results permit us to conclude that an impairment of metalinguistic abilities is involved in aphasia to different degrees. Moreover, the examination of preserved metalinguistic abilities provides an alternative way for assessing the degree of severity of impaired communicative behaviour by people with aphasia. Our procedure, presumably, will also be useful for suggesting new factors when designing therapeutic programmes