Assessment of high resolution SAR imagery for mapping floodplain water bodies: a comparison between Radarsat-2 and TerraSAR-X

Flooding is a world-wide problem that is considered as one of the most devastating natural hazards. New commercially available high spatial resolution Synthetic Aperture RADAR satellite imagery provides new potential for flood mapping. This research provides a quantitative assessment of high spatial resolution RADASAT-2 and TerraSAR-X products for mapping water bodies in order to help validate products that can be used to assist flood disaster management. An area near Dhaka in Bangladesh is used as a test site because of the large number of water bodies of different sizes and its history of frequent flooding associated with annual monsoon rainfall. Sample water bodies were delineated in the field using kinematic differential GPS to train and test automatic methods for water body mapping. SAR sensors products were acquired concurrently with the field visits; imagery were acquired with similar polarization, look direction and incidence angle in an experimental design to evaluate which has best accuracy for mapping flood water extent. A methodology for mapping water areas from non-water areas was developed based on radar backscatter texture analysis. Texture filters, based on Haralick occurrence and co-occurrence measures, were compared and images classified using supervised, unsupervised and contextual classifiers. The evaluation of image products is based on an accuracy assessment of error matrix method using randomly selected ground truth data. An accuracy comparison was performed between classified images of both TerraSAR-X and Radarsat-2 sensors in order to identify any differences in mapping floods. Results were validated using information from field inspections conducted in good conditions in February 2009, and applying a model-assisted difference estimator for estimating flood area to derive Confidence Interval (CI) statistics at the 95% Confidence Level (CL) for the area mapped as water. For Radarsat-2 Ultrafine, TerraSAR-X Stripmap and Spotlight imagery, overall classification accuracy was greater than 93%. Results demonstrate that small water bodies down to areas as small as 150m² can be identified routinely from 3 metre resolution SAR imagery. The results further showed that TerraSAR-X stripmap and spotlight images have better overall accuracy than RADARSAT-2 ultrafine beam modes images. The expected benefits of the research will be to improve the provision of data to assess flood risk and vulnerability, thus assisting in disaster management and post-flood recovery

Editorial: Social and Administrative Policy in Healthcare and Pharmacy Practice

Most public health policies and activities in developing and developed countries are government-funded, so new information should be open to the public (1). There is a need to focus on both strengths and weaknesses of medication use policy, medication marketing, and evaluation of theoretical models. Furthermore, these could impact practice and/or patient behavior in responses to the social, health, and environmental challenges providing both theoretical and empirical findings. Potential issues include but are not limited to medication products/programs/services, medication adherence, disease management, medication use policy, and medication marketing (2–4). Social and health issues related to delivering health care services, medical governance, medication management, and pharmaceutical management related to multilevel, multi-stakeholder, and multi-sectoral approaches to healthy and affected communities should be explored. It is noteworthy to criticize ethical issues related to medication products/programs/services, medication use policy, and medication marketing. The ideas relevant to the social policy and health policy-related concepts received contributions from health policymakers, academics, practitioners, and collaborators in other sectors whose work impacts social and administrative policy. They were the appropriate sources to discuss how policy and practice change over time, how it compares across the globe, and how it is realized at all levels, from international to local. Whilst focused on relevance to practice, it was understood that examining the theories and philosophies that underpin social and administrative policy was essential. It captured a diversity of opinions across a broad range of fields, from the traditional (medication adherence; disease management; medication use policy; medication marketing, etc.) to the new (big data, new technologies). This Research Topic provided a venue for health professionals in social and administrative policy disciplines with a specific interest in policy and practice to share their research findings and other Research Topics related to public health

Mobile applications in clinical practice: What is needed in the pharmacy scenario?

Pharmacy informatics is demonstrated to have a positive effect on pharmacy practice. The incorporation of pharmacy informatics in academic programs is a common feature in the pharmacy curriculum. This work aims to provide an overview of the current and potential role of mobile applications (apps) in pharmacy education and practice. Mobile apps are the most common informatics tools used by medical and pharmacy practitioners as well as students. Both students and practitioners have overall positive perceptions toward using mobile apps in their daily clinical training and practice although the fact that the number of pharmacy apps is still small relatively in comparison with other medical-related apps. There are many potential roles for mobile apps in pharmacy practice and education. The future efforts of educational uses of mobile apps in pharmacy should target playing a role in the provision of customized tools for clinical pharmacy education

Secure Login of Statistical Data With Two Parties

Privacy-containing data publishing shows the problem of releasing sensitive data while the mining of useful information. Among present privacy models, SHA privacy algorithm provides more security and privacy model. In this paper, we address the problem of released private data, where different dataset for the same set of user are held by two parties. Here, we present an algorithm for sensitive private data released on web in the form of statistical data. After this, we propose a SHA algorithm that releases differentially private data in a secure way during the privacy computation. Experimental results on real-scenario suggest that the proposed algorithm can effectively preserve information during mining of private information. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150312

Knowledge of the risk factors of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among pharmacy students: findings from a Malaysian university

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a global health burden that affects a broad scope of individuals worldwide. Pharmacists, as members of the multidisciplinary team, play a significant role in promoting public awareness towards potential risk factors for NCDs. This study aims to gauge the knowledge of NCDs risk factors among pharmacy students of a Malaysian public university. This paper also outlines perspectives of pharmacy students on the strategies to raise the awareness of NCDs risk factors. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Faculty of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia. Self-administered questionnaires were pretested and validated before being distributed to pharmacy students across different years of study. The data indicated an average level of knowledge towards risk factors of NCDs among study participants with no significant differences in knowledge between male and female genders (p = 0.583). However, there is a significant difference in knowledge concerning the year of study (p < 0.001); as positive correlation can be seen between the level of education and the knowledge of NCDs risk factor. Most of the students (75%) were unaware of the planning by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to control NCDs. Reinforcement of NCDs-related education activities is imperative in order to increase the overall awareness concerning the risk factors of NCDs among future pharmacy practitioners. Further collaborations between educational institutions and the MOH were proposed to help raise awareness of NCDs risk factors among the younger population

New 2-D interleaving grouping LBC applied on image transmission

The modern technologies of the image transmission look for ultra-reducing of the error transmission in addition to enhancing the security over a wireless communication channel. This paper is applied and discussed two different techniques to achieve these requirements, which are linear block code (LBC) and two-dimensions (2-D) interleaving approach. We investigate a new approach of 2-D interleaving that increases the security of the image transmission and helps to diminution the bit error probability (BER). Using an investigated 2-D interleaving grouping LBC approach on image transmission, the system achieves a higher-security information and a better BER comparing with the other systems. It was done by means of peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and histogram analysis tests. Simulation results state these enhancements

Optimal Photodetector Size for High-Speed Free-Space Optics Receivers

The selection of an optimal photodetector area is closely linked to the attainment of higher data rates in optical wireless communication receivers. If the photodetector area is too large, the channel capacity degrades due to lower modulation bandwidth of the detector. A smaller photodetector maximizes the bandwidth, but minimizes the captured signal power and the subsequent signal-to-noise ratio. Therein lies an opportunity in this trade-off to maximize the channel rate by choosing the optimal photodetector area. In this study, we have optimized the photodetector area in order to maximize the channel capacity of a free-space optical link for a diverse set of communication scenarios. We believe that the study in this paper in general -- and the closed-form solutions derived in this study in particular -- will be helpful to maximize achievable data rates of a wide gamut of optical wireless communication systems: from long range deep space optical links to short range indoor visible light communication systems

Evaluating effectiveness and safety toward electronic cigarette among Malaysian vapers: One-month observational study

Objective: Electronic cigarette (e‑cig) is recently growing substitute for smoking. The attention and practice of e‑cig among consumers is expanded globally, and Malaysia is not an exception to this, but the paucity of local data motivates us to do the current research. Methods: A total of 220 e‑cig vapers recruited for the study and divided into two categories based on smoking status as a single user and dual user. Both users observed for 1 month period to assess smoking cessation rate, adverse effects, withdrawal symptoms, and smoking‑related diseases. Results: A month follow‑up showed still 28.44% (P ≤ 0.001) of the entire study population (62 of 218, intention to treat analysis) were abstained from tobacco smoking. However, a high number of single user shown more quit rate as compared to of dual users (72.9% [51] vs. 7.4% [11]: Odds ratio 33.43; 95% confidence interval: 0.102–3.410) and merely two persons (<1%) started e‑cig by ever smokers. The key adverse effects and withdrawal symptoms that observed in dual users were coughing, breathing problems, and craving, whereas in single users high appetite cases documented; however, no cases of any diseases reported among both users during the whole study period. Conclusion: A month follow‑up showed a good smoking cessation rate among Malaysian vapers mainly in single users, whereas less number of quitters but the high reduction in tobacco cigarette consumption observed in dual users without any harmful effects. Furthermore, extended period studies are warranted to confirm its long‑term safety and effectiveness among different Malaysian population