Monitoring wetlands and water bodies in semi-arid Sub-Saharan regions

Surface water in wetlands is a critical resource in semi-arid West-African regions that are frequently exposed to droughts. Wetlands are of utmost importance for the population as well as the environment, and are subject to rapidly changing seasonal fluctuations. Dynamics of wetlands in the study area are still poorly understood, and the potential of remote sensing-derived information as a large-scale, multi-temporal, comparable and independent measurement source is not exploited. This work shows successful wetland monitoring with remote sensing in savannah and Sahel regions in Burkina Faso, focusing on the main study site Lac Bam (Lake Bam). Long-term optical time series from MODIS with medium spatial resolution (MR), and short-term synthetic aperture radar (SAR) time series from TerraSAR-X and RADARSAT-2 with high spatial resolution (HR) successfully demonstrate the classification and dynamic monitoring of relevant wetland features, e.g. open water, flooded vegetation and irrigated cultivation. Methodological highlights are time series analysis, e.g. spatio-temporal dynamics or multitemporal-classification, as well as polarimetric SAR (polSAR) processing, i.e. the Kennaugh elements, enabling physical interpretation of SAR scattering mechanisms for dual-polarized data. A multi-sensor and multi-frequency SAR data combination provides added value, and reveals that dual-co-pol SAR data is most recommended for monitoring wetlands of this type. The interpretation of environmental or man-made processes such as water areas spreading out further but retreating or evaporating faster, co-occurrence of droughts with surface water and vegetation anomalies, expansion of irrigated agriculture or new dam building, can be detected with MR optical and HR SAR time series. To capture long-term impacts of water extraction, sedimentation and climate change on wetlands, remote sensing solutions are available, and would have great potential to contribute to water management in Africa

Do Markets React to Bank Examination Ratings? Evidence of Indirect Disclosure of Management Quality Through BHCs' Applications to Convert to FHCs

Certain nonrecurring circumstances associated with the passage of the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 have created a unique opportunity for the market to obtain bank examination ratings of management quality. We utilize this natural experiment in order to determine how the market views this heretofore private information. We find that the stock market utilizes bank examination ratings in order to reveal regulatory intent, rather than simply as information about management quality. Revelation of unsatisfactory M ratings (denoted “bad news”) causes BHC stock returns and market risk betas to increase, whereas revelation of acceptable M ratings (“good news”) causes BHC stock returns and market risk betas to decrease. The market thrives on “bad news” because unsatisfactory M ratings indicate that regulatory intervention is likely to occur, possibly benefiting both shareholders and creditors. On the other hand, revelation of acceptable M ratings (“good news”) indicates that bank regulators are unprepared to intervene in the near future. Moreover, we find lower bond spreads for a subsample of FHCs with satisfactory M ratings revealed upon conversion

Automated wetland delineation from multi-frequency and muliti-polarized SAR Images in high temporal and spatial resolution

Water scarcity is one of the main challenges posed by the changing climate. Especially in semi-arid regions where water reservoirs are filled during the very short rainy season, but have to store enough water for the extremely long dry season, the intelligent handling of water resources is vital. This study focusses on Lac Bam in Burkina Faso, which is the largest natural lake of the country and of high importance for the local inhabitants for irrigated farming, animal watering, and extraction of water for drinking and sanitation. With respect to the competition for water resources an independent area-wide monitoring system is essential for the acceptance of any decision maker. The following contribution introduces a weather and illumination independent monitoring system for the automated wetland delineation with a high temporal (about two weeks) and a high spatial sampling (about five meters). The similarities of the multispectral and multi-polarized SAR acquisitions by RADARSAT-2 and TerraSAR-X are studied as well as the differences. The results indicate that even basic approaches without pre-classification time series analysis or post-classification filtering are already enough to establish a monitoring system of prime importance for a whole region

Do Markets React to Bank Examination Ratings? Evidence of Indirect Disclosure of Management Quality Through BHCs' Applications to Convert to FHCs

Certain nonrecurring circumstances associated with the passage of the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 have created a unique opportunity for the market to obtain bank examination ratings of management quality. We utilize this natural experiment in order to determine how the market views this heretofore private information. We find that the stock market utilizes bank examination ratings in order to reveal regulatory intent, rather than simply as information about management quality. Revelation of unsatisfactory M ratings (denoted “bad news”) causes BHC stock returns and market risk betas to increase, whereas revelation of acceptable M ratings (“good news”) causes BHC stock returns and market risk betas to decrease. The market thrives on “bad news” because unsatisfactory M ratings indicate that regulatory intervention is likely to occur, possibly benefiting both shareholders and creditors. On the other hand, revelation of acceptable M ratings (“good news”) indicates that bank regulators are unprepared to intervene in the near future. Moreover, we find lower bond spreads for a subsample of FHCs with satisfactory M ratings revealed upon conversion

Critical Care Nurses\u27 Beliefs About and Reported Management of Anxiety

Background: Anxiety is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Critical care nurses are uniquely positioned to reduce anxiety in their patients. Critical care nurses\u27 beliefs about and frequency of use of strategies to reduce anxiety have not been studied. Objectives: To explore critical care nurses\u27 beliefs about the importance of anxiety management and to describe nurses\u27 reported use of strategies to manage anxiety in their patients. Methods: A random sample (N = 2500) of members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses was asked to complete the Critical Care Nurse Anxiety Identification and Management Survey. Results: Respondents (n = 783) were primarily female (92%), white (88.5%) staff nurses (74.1%) who thought that anxiety is potentially harmful (mean, 4.1; SD, 0.8; range, 1 = no harm to 5 = life-threatening harm), that anxiety management is important (mean, 4.8; SD 0.6; range, 1 = no benefit to 5 = profound benefit). A majority commonly used pharmacological management; most also used information and communication interventions. Fewer subjects used the presence of patients\u27 family members to alleviate patients\u27 anxiety; few reported using stress-reduction techniques. Conclusion: Most respondents thought that treating anxiety is important and beneficial. Commonly used strategies included pharmacological relief of anxiety and pain and information and communication interventions. Although these strategies are useful, they may not effectively reduce anxiety in all patients

Participatory Learning for Women's Empowerment in Micro?Finance Programmes: Negotiating Complexity, Conflict and Change

summary Micro?finance programmes for women are currently promoted not only as a strategy for poverty alleviation but also for women's empowerment. However, the complexity of empowerment itself and interlinkages with policy make conventional research methodologies extremely lengthy and costly. This article proposes frameworks and participatory methodologies for integrating empowerment concerns into ongoing programme learning. These would themselves be a contribution to empowerment. First, programme staff would be given a more representative and reliable exposure to the priorities and problems of programme participants. Second, it would develop networks and a forum for discussion between women themselves on issues relevant to their interests and integrated into programme decision?making. The quantitative and qualitative information obtained by programmes and clients on an ongoing basis would be directly and immediately available to inform policy decisions and enable independent outsider research to be cost?effectively targeted to issues where it is really needed for policy development

Gender Diferences in Heart Failure Self-Care: A Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

Background Despite a common view that women are better at self-care, there is very little evidence to support or challenge this perspective in the heart failure (HF) population. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine if there are cross-cultural gender differences in self-reported HF self-care and to describe gender differences in the determinants of HF self-care. Design, setting, and participants A secondary analysis was completed of cross-sectional study data collected on 2082 adults with chronic HF from the United States, Australia and Thailand. Methods Comparisons were made between men and women regarding self-care maintenance, management and confidence as assessed by the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index, as well as the proportion of subjects engaged in adequate self-care. Multivariate comparisons were made to determine if gender explained sufficient variance in HF self-care and the likelihood of reporting adequate self-care, controlling for nine model covariates. Results The sample was comprised of 1306 men and 776 women. Most (73.5%) had systolic or mixed systolic and diastolic HF and 45% had New York Heart Association class III or IV HF. Although small and clinically insignificant gender differences were found in self-care maintenance, gender was not a determinant of any aspect of HF self-care in multivariate models. Married women were 37% less likely to report adequate self-care maintenance than unmarried women. Comorbidities only influenced the HF self-care of men. Being newly diagnosed with HF also primarily affected men. Patients with diastolic HF (predominantly women) had poorer self-care maintenance and less confidence in self-care. Conclusion Differences in HF self-care are attributable to factors other than gender; however, there are several gender-specific determinants of HF self-care that help identify patients at risk for practicing poor self-care

ACOLHIMENTO Á FAMÍLIA NA UNIDADE DE TERAPIA INTENSIVA ADULTO: Revisão integrativa da literatura

A literatura aponta que familiares que possuem um ente hospitalizado podem encontrar-se em uma condição de fragilidade biológica, psíquica e social, uma vez que doença e internação constituem-se em eventos que produzem desconfortos, como sofrimento, alteração de papéis e hábitos da vida cotidiana, bem como a incerteza de recuperação do parente. Este estudo teve por objetivo analisar e descrever a importância do acolhimento familiar de um paciente internado no Centro de Terapia Intensiva (CTI). Este estudo constitui uma revisão integrativa da literatura de caráter exploratório. Para a coleta de dados foram utilizadas as bases de dados Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde (BVS) e indexada na biblioteca eletrônica Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO). Foram selecionados 28 artigos com dados relevantes para o estudo, nos anos de 2007 a 2015. Os resultados apontam que o foco da equipe de enfermagem está direcionado ao quadro clinico e o cuidado direcionado ao paciente, demostrando um domínio aos aparatos tecnológicos e o mecanicismo durante as atividades diárias, ocorrendo uma divergência entre os estudos em relação ao acolhimento, em que alguns apontam falhas e outros evidenciam uma preocupação em implantar o acolhimento de enfermagem durante as visitas na UTI. Conclui-se com este estudo a importância do acolhimento nas estruturas hospitalares, favorecendo um bom exercício técnico e satisfação dos familiares e usuários incorporando a humanização no cuidado. Também demostrou a importância do acolhimento multiprofissional, integrando a família e o usuário ao cuidado