371 research outputs found
Leaf area estimation from tree allometrics in Eucalyptus globulus plantations
Data from five studies on the relationships between dendrometric measurements and leaf area of Eucalyptus
globulus Labill. plantations were pooled and analyzed to develop regression models for the estimation of leaf area of
individual trees. The data, collected at two sites in west-central and southwestern Portugal, varied in age from 2 to 19 years
and in plant density from 481 to 1560 trees/ha and included both first and second rotation coppice stands. A total of
29 nonlinear regression models were tested and ranked with a multicriteria evaluation (MCE) procedure, based on
goodness-of-fit statistics, predictive ability statistics, and collinearity diagnostics. The best models were validated using an
independent data set. The final model selection was based on comparisons of prediction residuals data, statistical tests, and
silvicultural and physiological considerations. One model is proposed as adequate for leaf area estimation of E. globulus
plantation trees. This model contains four parameters and independent variables that quantify stem diameter, crown size, and
stand density
Performance evaluation of image segmentation
In spite of significant advances in image segmentation techniques, evaluation of these methods thus far has been largely subjective. Typically, the effectiveness of a new algorithm is demonstrated only by the presentation of a few segmented images that are evaluated by some method, or it is otherwise left to subjective evaluation by the reader. We propose a new approach for evaluation of segmentation that takes into account not only the accuracy of the boundary localization of the created segments but also the under-segmentation and over-segmentation effects, regardless to the number of regions in each partition. In addition, it takes into account the way humans perceive visual information. This new metric can be applied both to automatically provide a ranking among different segmentation algorithms and to find an optimal set of input parameters of a given algorithm
Review of Aerosol Observations by Lidar and Chemical Analysis in the State of São Paulo, Brazil
Male breast cancer: a disease distinct from female breast cancer
Purpose: Male breast cancer (BC) is rare, representing approximately 1% of cancers that occur in men and approximately 1% of all BCs worldwide. Because male BC is rare, not much is known about the disease, and treatment recommendations are typically extrapolated from data available from clinical trials enrolling female BC patients. Methods: We review the epidemiology, risk factors, prognosis, and the varied molecular and clinicopathologic features that characterize male BC. In addition, we summarize the available data for the use of systemic therapy in the treatment of male BC and explore the ongoing development of targeted therapeutic agents for the treatment of this subgroup of BCs. Results: There are important biological differences between male and female BC. Male BC is almost exclusively hormone receptor positive (+), including the androgen receptor (AR), and is associated with an increased prevalence of BRCA2 germline mutations, especially in men with increased risk for developing high-risk BC. Additional research is warranted to better characterize male BC. To accomplish this, a multi-national consortium approach, such as the International Male Breast Cancer Program, is needed in response to the scarcity of patients. This approach allows the pooling of information from a large number of men with BC and the creation of registries for future therapeutic-focused clinical trials. Conclusions: Given the unique biology of BC in men, promising new therapeutic targets are currently under investigation, including the use of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors or AR-targeted agents either as monotherapy or in combination with other agents
Viabilidade de uso do híbrido Hawaii 7996 como porta-enxerto de cultuvares comerciais de tomate.
A técnica de enxertia é utilizada em algumas hortaliças, principalmente em áreas infestadas, para atribuir resistência a patógenos do solo, minimizando as perdas de produção de cultivares suscetíveis. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o desenvolvimento e a produtividade de plantas de tomateiro enxertadas em híbrido, tido como resistente a Ralstonia solanacearum, em comparação a pés-francos. O experimento foi desenvolvido em viveiro (produção de mudas e enxertia) e em céu aberto, no município de Cruz das Almas, Bahia, no período de outubro de 2003 a fevereiro de 2004. Utilizou-se o método de enxertia de fenda cheia, com o híbrido ‘Hawaii 7996’ como porta-enxerto e as cultivares Santa Clara, Santa Cruz Kada e Débora Plus, suscetíveis a R. solanacearum, como enxerto. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, com seis tratamentos (3 enxertados e 3 pés-francos), 5 repetições e 6 plantas por parcela útil. Avaliaram-se os caracteres: diâmetro do caule, altura da planta e da primeira inflorescência, distância entre inflorescências e produtividade comercial de frutos. O desenvolvimento das plantas, a produção total e a massa média dos frutos foram semelhantes para os tratamentos enxertados em relação a seus respectivos pés-francos e não houve incompatibilidade entre porta-enxerto e enxerto. A cultivar Santa Cruz Kada foi mais sensível às condições agroecológicas do município de Cruz das Almas, refletindo negativamente na produção e no peso médio dos frutos. Observou-se na enxertia com o híbrido ‘Hawaii
7996’ potencial para viabilizar a produção de tomateiros comerciais suscetíveis à murcha bacteriana, em áreas infestadas com R. solanacearum
Computational Physics on Graphics Processing Units
The use of graphics processing units for scientific computations is an
emerging strategy that can significantly speed up various different algorithms.
In this review, we discuss advances made in the field of computational physics,
focusing on classical molecular dynamics, and on quantum simulations for
electronic structure calculations using the density functional theory, wave
function techniques, and quantum field theory.Comment: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference, PARA 2012,
Helsinki, Finland, June 10-13, 201
Concept of temperature in multi-horizon spacetimes: Analysis of Schwarzschild-De Sitter metric
In case of spacetimes with single horizon, there exist several
well-established procedures for relating the surface gravity of the horizon to
a thermodynamic temperature. Such procedures, however, cannot be extended in a
straightforward manner when a spacetime has multiple horizons. In particular,
it is not clear whether there exists a notion of global temperature
characterizing the multi-horizon spacetimes. We examine the conditions under
which a global temperature can exist for a spacetime with two horizons using
the example of Schwarzschild-De Sitter (SDS) spacetime. We systematically
extend different procedures (like the expectation value of stress tensor,
response of particle detectors, periodicity in the Euclidean time etc.) for
identifying a temperature in the case of spacetimes with single horizon to the
SDS spacetime. This analysis is facilitated by using a global coordinate chart
which covers the entire SDS manifold. We find that all the procedures lead to a
consistent picture characterized by the following features: (a) In general, SDS
spacetime behaves like a non-equilibrium system characterized by two
temperatures. (b) It is not possible to associate a global temperature with SDS
spacetime except when the ratio of the two surface gravities is rational (c)
Even when the ratio of the two surface gravities is rational, the thermal
nature depends on the coordinate chart used. There exists a global coordinate
chart in which there is global equilibrium temperature while there exist other
charts in which SDS behaves as though it has two different temperatures. The
coordinate dependence of the thermal nature is reminiscent of the flat
spacetime in Minkowski and Rindler coordinate charts. The implications are
discussed.Comment: 12 page
The b--->s{\gamma} constraint in effective supergravities from string theory
We study the constraints from the decay in the
parameter space of effective supergravities from orbifold string theory and
with minimal supesymmetric particle content. Both the general dilaton-dominated
universal scenario as well as a non-universal scenario for the soft terms are
investigated. It is found that the recently reported CLEO upper and lower
bounds constrain the parameter space of the models under scrutiny. In
particular we find constraints on the values of the parameter and
the gluino masses. In this class of string scenarios the negative sign of the
Higgs mixing parameter , is phenomenologically preferred.Comment: LaTeX 11 pages, figures uuencoded included in a separate file, some
typos have been corrected,1 figure adde
Adapting Decision DAGs for Multipartite Ranking
European Conference, ECML PKDD 2010, Barcelona, Spain, September 20-24, 2010Multipartite ranking is a special kind of ranking for problems in which classes exhibit an order. Many applications require its use, for instance, granting loans in a bank, reviewing papers in a conference or just grading exercises in an education environment. Several methods have been proposed for this purpose. The simplest ones resort to regression schemes with a pre- and post-process of the classes, what makes them barely useful. Other alternatives make use of class order information or they perform a pairwise classi cation together with an aggregation function. In this paper we present and discuss two methods based on building a Decision Directed Acyclic Graph (DDAG). Their performance is evaluated over a set of ordinal benchmark data sets according to the C-Index measure. Both yield competitive results with regard to stateof- the-art methods, specially the one based on a probabilistic approach, called PR-DDA
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