Point Spread Functions in Identification of Astronomical Objects from Poisson Noised Image

This article deals with modeling of astronomical objects, which is one of the most fundamental topics in astronomical science. Introduction part is focused on problem description and used methods. Point Spread Function Modeling part deals with description of basic models used in astronomical photometry and further on introduction of more sophisticated models such as combinations of interference, turbulence, focusing, etc. This paper also contains a~way of objective function definition based on the knowledge of Poisson distributed noise, which is included in astronomical data. The proposed methods are further applied to real astronomical data

Automated Classification of Bioprocess Based on Optimum Compromise Whitening and Clustering

The proposed methodology of technological state classification is based on data smoothing, dimensionality reduction, compromise whitening, and optimum clustering. The novelty of our approach is in the stabile state hypothesis which improves initialization of c-mean algorithm and enables interleaved cross-validation strategy. We also employ the Akaike information criterion to obtain the optimum number of technological states that minimize it, but using as many as possible clusters and components. The general approach is applied to state classification of Pseudomonas putida fed-batch cultivation on octanoic acid

Water Use Characteristics of Weeds: A Global Review, Best Practices, and Future Directions

Weeds usually penalize crop yields by competing for resources, such as water, light, nutrients, and space. Most of the studies on the crop-weed competition domain are limited to assessing crop-yield losses due to weed pressure and other crop-weed interactions, overlooking the significant uptake of soil-water by weeds that exacerbates global water constraints and threatens the productivity and profitability. The objective of this review was to synthesize globally available quantitative data on weed water use (WU) sourced from 23 peer-reviewed publications (filtered from 233 publications via a multi-step protocol of inclusion criteria) with experimental investigations across space (3 continents), time (1927–2018), weed species (27 broadleaf and 7 grasses) and characteristics, cropping systems (5), soil types (ranging from coarse-textured sand to fine-textured clay soils), determination techniques, experimental factors (environment, management, resource availability, and competition), and aridity regimes (ranging from semi-arid to humid climate). Distributions of weed WU data reported via eight different metrics were assessed for variability and mean WU. A lack of the best experimental and reporting practices in weed WU research was identified that undermined the robustness, transferability, and application of the WU data. Mandatory protocols and the best practices typically followed in the agricultural water management research were described and recommended for weed scientists to avoid pitfalls in quantifying and presenting weed WU. A model of mixed plant community evapotranspiration (ET) was adapted to model weed-crop-soil system evaporation and transpiration in a crop canopy infested with multiple (n) weed species. Finally, potential cross-disciplinary questions across the domains of crop science, weed science, agricultural water management, irrigation science and engineering, and environmental changes were proposed to direct and prioritize future research efforts in the crop-weed-water arena

Long Time to Diagnosis of Medulloblastoma in Children Is Not Associated with Decreased Survival or with Worse Neurological Outcome

International audienceBACKGROUND: The long time to diagnosis of medulloblastoma, one of the most frequent brain tumors in children, is the source of painful remorse and sometimes lawsuits. We analyzed its consequences for tumor stage, survival, and sequelae. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective population-based cohort study included all cases of pediatric medulloblastoma from a region of France between 1990 and 2005. We collected the demographic, clinical, and tumor data and analyzed the relations between the interval from symptom onset until diagnosis, initial disease stage, survival, and neuropsychological and neurological outcome. RESULTS: The median interval from symptom onset until diagnosis for the 166 cases was 65 days (interquartile range 31-121, range 3-457). A long interval (defined as longer than the median) was associated with a lower frequency of metastasis in the univariate and multivariate analyses and with a larger tumor volume, desmoplastic histology, and longer survival in the univariate analysis, but not after adjustment for confounding factors. The time to diagnosis was significantly associated with IQ score among survivors. No significant relation was found between the time to diagnosis and neurological disability. In the 62 patients with metastases, a long prediagnosis interval was associated with a higher T stage, infiltration of the fourth ventricle floor, and incomplete surgical resection; it nonetheless did not influence survival significantly in this subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: We found complex and often inverse relations between time to diagnosis of medulloblastoma in children and initial severity factors, survival, and neuropsychological and neurological outcome. This interval appears due more to the nature of the tumor and its progression than to parental or medical factors. These conclusions should be taken into account in the information provided to parents and in expert assessments produced for malpractice claims

Autonomous Irrigation Management in Decision Agriculture

In this chapter, the important application of autonomous irrigation management in the field decision agriculture is discussed. The different types of sensor-guided irrigation systems are presented that includes center pivot systems and drip irrigation systems. Their sensing and actuator components are with detailed focus on real-time decision-making and integration to the cloud. This chapter also presents irrigation control systems which takes, as an input, soil moisture and temperature from IOUT and weather data from Internet and communicate with center pivot based irrigation systems. Moreover, the system architecture is explored where development of the nodes including sensing and actuators is presented. Finally, the chapter concludes with comprehensive discussion of adaptive control systems, software, and visualization system design

Current Advances in Internet of Underground Things

The latest developments in Internet of Underground Things are covered in this chapter. First, the IOUT Architecture is discussed followed by the explanation of the challenges being faced in this paradigm. Moreover, a comprehensive coverage of the different IOUT components is presented that includes communications, sensing, and system integration with the cloud. An in-depth coverage of the applications of the IOUT in various disciplines is also surveyed. These applications include areas such as decision agriculture, pipeline monitoring, border control, and oil wells

Is increased time to diagnosis and treatment in symptomatic cancer associated with poorer outcomes?:Systematic review

background: It is unclear whether more timely cancer diagnosis brings favourable outcomes, with much of the previous evidence, in some cancers, being equivocal. We set out to determine whether there is an association between time to diagnosis, treatment and clinical outcomes, across all cancers for symptomatic presentations. methods: Systematic review of the literature and narrative synthesis. results: We included 177 articles reporting 209 studies. These studies varied in study design, the time intervals assessed and the outcomes reported. Study quality was variable, with a small number of higher-quality studies. Heterogeneity precluded definitive findings. The cancers with more reports of an association between shorter times to diagnosis and more favourable outcomes were breast, colorectal, head and neck, testicular and melanoma. conclusions: This is the first review encompassing many cancer types, and we have demonstrated those cancers in which more evidence of an association between shorter times to diagnosis and more favourable outcomes exists, and where it is lacking. We believe that it is reasonable to assume that efforts to expedite the diagnosis of symptomatic cancer are likely to have benefits for patients in terms of improved survival, earlier-stage diagnosis and improved quality of life, although these benefits vary between cancers

Indirect interactions in the High Arctic

Peer reviewe

Discovery of rare event testing for stochastic simulations of diffusion processes

Stochastic modeling of diffusion processes in various spatial domains and with boundary conditions is widely applicable especially in combination with non-linear kinetics of chemical reactions. However, the comparison with exact solution is possible in simple cases e.g. linear diffusion models. The novel testing method introduced in this article enables to study the behavior of linear stochastic diffusion models with possible low particle concentration in target sub-domains. The proposed method is demonstrated on various diffusion models with the known Green function. The novel method is recommended whenever the chi(2) goodness-of-fit test fails or the localization of critical domains is required