The application of LANDSAT remote sensing technology to natural resources management. Section 1: Introduction to VICAR - Image classification module. Section 2: Forest resource assessment of Humboldt County.

A teaching module on image classification procedures using the VICAR computer software package was developed to optimize the training benefits for users of the VICAR programs. The field test of the module is discussed. An intensive forest land inventory strategy was developed for Humboldt County. The results indicate that LANDSAT data can be computer classified to yield site specific forest resource information with high accuracy (82%). The "Douglas-fir 80%" category was found to cover approximately 21% of the county and "Mixed Conifer 80%" covering about 13%. The "Redwood 80%" resource category, which represented dense old growth trees as well as large second growth, comprised 4.0% of the total vegetation mosaic. Furthermore, the "Brush" and "Brush-Regeneration" categories were found to be a significant part of the vegetative community, with area estimates of 9.4 and 10.0%

Type I interferons in tuberculosis: Foe and occasionally friend

Tuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, and, despite its clinical significance, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of pathogenic and protective mechanisms triggered by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Type I interferons (IFN) regulate a broad family of genes that either stimulate or inhibit immune function, having both host-protective and detrimental effects, and exhibit well-characterized antiviral activity. Transcriptional studies have uncovered a potential deleterious role for type I IFN in active tuberculosis. Since then, additional studies in human tuberculosis and experimental mouse models of M. tuberculosis infection support the concept that type I IFN promotes both bacterial expansion and disease pathogenesis. More recently, studies in a different setting have suggested a putative protective role for type I IFN. In this study, we discuss the mechanistic and contextual factors that determine the detrimental versus beneficial outcomes of type I IFN induction during M. tuberculosis infection, from human disease to experimental mouse models of tuberculosis

Spatial and labor market contributions to earnings inequality: an overview

Wages ; Labor market ; Income distribution

Potential of different composts to improve soil fertility

Composts can influence soil fertility and plant health. These influences can be positive or negative, depending of the quality of the composts. Some practitioners already make use of the positive effects on plant health. For example, they use composts to protect their plants against soil borne diseases in substrate, or to detoxify and reactivate soil after steaming. In order to estimate the potential of Swiss composts to influence soil fertility and plant health positively, we analyzed one hundred composts representative of the different composting systems and qualities available on the market. The organic substance and the nutrient content of the composts varied greatly between the composts; the materials of origin were the major factor influencing these values. The respiration rate and enzyme activities also varied greatly, particularly in the youngest composts. These differences become smaller when the composts become more mature. Maturity, the degradation stage of the organic matter, depended not only on the age of the compost, but also on the management of the process. The N-mineralization potential from compost added to soil showed that a high proportion of young composts immobilized the nitrogen in the soil. This problem was hardly correlated with the materials of origin, but with the management of the first stage of the composting process. Especially composts which had become too dry in this period lost their ammonia-nitrogen, and hence immobilized nitrogen in the soil. Also composts with a low NO3/NH4 ratio, as a rough indicator for an immature compost, immobilized nitrogen in the soil. By contrast, the phytotoxicity of the composts varied very much also in matured composts, showing that the storage of the compost plays a decisive role. While the majority of compost protected cucumber plants against Pythium ultimum, only a few composts suppressed Rhizoctonia solani in basil. With respect to disease suppression, the management of the maturation process seems to play a major role. In conclusion, big differences in compost quality and of their impact on soil fertility and on plant health were observed. The management of the composting process seems to influence the quality of the composts to a higher extent than the materials of origin or the composting system. More attention should be paid to biological quality of composts, in order to produce composts with more beneficial effects on crops

The Hall instability of weakly ionized, radially stratified, rotating disks

Cool weakly ionized gaseous rotating disk, are considered by many models as the origin of the evolution of protoplanetary clouds. Instabilities against perturbations in such disks play an important role in the theory of the formation of stars and planets. Thus, a hierarchy of successive fragmentations into smaller and smaller pieces as a part of the Kant-Laplace theory of formation of the planetary system remains valid also for contemporary cosmogony. Traditionally, axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD), and recently Hall-MHD instabilities have been thoroughly studied as providers of an efficient mechanism for radial transfer of angular momentum, and of density radial stratification. In the current work, the Hall instability against nonaxisymmetric perturbations in compressible rotating fluids in external magnetic field is proposed as a viable mechanism for the azimuthal fragmentation of the protoplanetary disk and thus perhaps initiating the road to planet formation. The Hall instability is excited due to the combined effect of the radial stratification of the disk and the Hall electric field, and its growth rate is of the order of the rotation period.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

The Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale: Adaptation and Validation for Young Adolescents

Emotional self-efficacy (ESE) is an important aspect of emotional functioning, with current measures for children and adolescents focused on the measurement of self-beliefs in relation to the management of emotions. In the present study, we report the psychometric properties of the first adaptation of the Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale for youth (Youth-ESES) that measures additional aspects of ESE, such as perceiving and understanding emotions and helping others modulate their emotions. Participants were 192 young adolescents aged 11 to 13 years from a U.K. state school. They completed the Youth-ESES and measures of ability emotional intelligence (EI) and cognitive ability. Results support the same four-factor structure that has been previously documented using the adult version of the ESES, with the four subscales being largely independent from cognitive ability and only moderately related to ability EI. However, the four subscales were less differentiated in the present study compared with adult data previously published, suggesting that there is a strong general factor underlying young adolescents’ ESE scores. Overall, the results suggest that the adapted Youth-ESES can be reliably used with youth, and that confidence in how a young person feels about his or her emotional functioning remains distinct from emotional skill

The effect of the GLP-1 analogue Exenatide on functional connectivity within an NTS-based network in women with and without obesity.

ObjectiveThe differential effect of GLP-1 agonist Exenatide on functional connectivity of the nucleus tractus solitaries (NTS), a key region associated with homeostasis, and on appetite-related behaviours was investigated in women with normal weight compared with women with obesity.MethodsFollowing an 8-h fast, 19 female subjects (11 lean, 8 obese) participated in a 2-d double blind crossover study. Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging at fast and 30-min post subcutaneous injection of 5 μg of Exenatide or placebo. Functional connectivity was examined with the NTS. Drug-induced functional connectivity changes within and between groups and correlations with appetite measures were examined in a region of interest approach focusing on the thalamus and hypothalamus.ResultsWomen with obesity reported less hunger after drug injection. Exenatide administration increased functional connectivity of the left NTS with the left thalamus and hypothalamus in the obese group only and increased the correlation between NTS functional connectivity and hunger scores in all subjects, but more so in the obese.ConclusionsObesity can impact the effects of Exenatide on brain connectivity, specifically in the NTS and is linked to changes in appetite control. This has implications for the use of GLP-1 analogues in therapeutic interventions

Gamma–ray spectroscopy with single–carrier collection in high–resistivity semiconductors

With the standard plane–parallel configuration of semiconductor detectors, good γ–ray spectra can only be obtained when both electrons and holes are completely collected. We show by calculations (and experiments) that with contacts of hemispherical configuration one can obtain γ–ray spectra of adequate resolution and with signal heights of nearly full amplitude even when only one type of carrier is collected. Experiments with CdTe detectors for which the µτ product for electrons is about 10^(3) times that of the holes confirm these calculations. The adoption of hemispherical contacts thus widens the range of high–resistivity semiconductors potentially acceptable for γ–ray detection at room temperature

History of early life adversity is associated with increased food addiction and sex-specific alterations in reward network connectivity in obesity.

Background:Neuroimaging studies have identified obesity-related differences in the brain's resting state activity. An imbalance between homeostatic and reward aspects of ingestive behaviour may contribute to obesity and food addiction. The interactions between early life adversity (ELA), the reward network and food addiction were investigated to identify obesity and sex-related differences, which may drive obesity and food addiction. Methods:Functional resting state magnetic resonance imaging was acquired in 186 participants (high body mass index [BMI]: ≥25: 53 women and 54 men; normal BMI: 18.50-24.99: 49 women and 30 men). Participants completed questionnaires to assess ELA (Early Traumatic Inventory) and food addiction (Yale Food Addiction Scale). A tripartite network analysis based on graph theory was used to investigate the interaction between ELA, brain connectivity and food addiction. Interactions were determined by computing Spearman rank correlations, thresholded at q < 0.05 corrected for multiple comparisons. Results:Participants with high BMI demonstrate an association between ELA and food addiction, with reward regions playing a role in this interaction. Among women with high BMI, increased ELA was associated with increased centrality of reward and emotion regulation regions. Men with high BMI showed associations between ELA and food addiction with somatosensory regions playing a role in this interaction. Conclusions:The findings suggest that ELA may alter brain networks, leading to increased vulnerability for food addiction and obesity later in life. These alterations are sex specific and involve brain regions influenced by dopaminergic or serotonergic signalling