A comparison of data mining techniques and multi-sensor analysis for inland marshes delineation

Inland Marsh (IM) is a type of wetland characterized by the presence of non-woody plants as grasses, reeds or sedges, with a water surface smaller than 25% of the area. Historically, these areas have been suffering impacts related to pollution by urban, industrial and agrochemical waste, as well as drainage for agriculture. The IM delineation allows to understand the vegetation and hydrodynamic dynamics and also to monitor the degradation caused by human-induced activities. This work aimed to compare four machine learning algorithms (classification and regression tree (CART), artificial neural network (ANN), random forest (RF), and k-nearest neighbors (k-NN)) using active and passive remote sensing data in order to address the following questions: (1) which of the four machine learning methods has the greatest potential for inland marshes delineation? (2) are SAR features more important for inland marshes delineation than optical features? and (3) what are the most accurate classification parameters for inland marshes delineation? To address these questions, we used data from Sentinel 1A and Alos Palsar I (SAR) and Sentinel 2A (optical) sensors, in a geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) approach. In addition, we performed a vectorization of a 1975 Brazilian Army topographic chart (first official document presenting marsh boundaries) in order to quantify the marsh area losses between 1975 and 2018 by comparing it with a Sentinel 2A image. Our results showed that the method with the highest overall accuracy was k-NN, with 98.5%. The accuracies for the RF, ANN, and CART methods were 98.3%, 96.0% and 95.5%, respectively. The four classifiers presented accuracies exceeding 95%, showing that all methods have potential for inland marsh delineation. However, we note that the classification results have a great dependence on the input layers. Regarding the importance of the features, SAR images were more important in RF and ANN models, especially in the HV, HV + VH and VH channels of the Alos Palsar I L-band satellite, while spectral indices from optical images were more important in the marshes delineation with the CART method. In addition, we found that the CART and ANN methods presented the largest variations of the overall accuracy (OA) in relation to the different parameters tested. The multi-sensor approach was critical for the high OA values found in the IM delineation (> 95%). The four machine learning methods can be accurately applied for IM delineation, acting as an important low-cost tool for monitoring and managing these environments, in the face of advances in agriculture, soil degradation and pollution of water resources due to agrochemical dumping

Clinical, Radiographic And Hematological Characteristics Of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia.

To describe the clinical, hematological and radiographic characteristics of children hospitalized for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. The study population consisted of 190 children between 3 months and 16 years old, hospitalized for radiographically confirmed pneumonia. Patients were divided into two groups, to wit: 95 children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia, as diagnosed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method; and 95 children with pneumonia caused by other etiologic agents. Using a validated scoring system, the clinical, hematological and radiographic findings of both groups were compared to differentiate Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (group 1) from pneumonia caused by other etiologic agents (group 2), itself divided into two groups, bacterial (n = 75) and viral (n = 20). Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia was found most often in girls (p < 0.01), older children (p < 0.01), and patients with dry cough (p < 0.01) and extrapulmonary manifestations (p < 0.01). The clinical, hematological and radiographic variables of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (mean score = 6.95) scored between those found in bacterial (mean score = 8.27) and viral pneumonia (mean score = 0.90). Results suggest that the scoring system can contribute to the presumptive diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and help differentiate pneumonic status caused by other etiologic agents.86480-

Sig as method for management of public transportation using free softaware

Devido à problemática no trânsito das grandes cidades relacionada a quantidade de veículos, aos impactos socioambientais oriundos da poluição atmosférica gerada pelos automóveis e ao elevado investimento necessário para alocação de linhas de metrô/trem, o transporte público por ônibus se configura como o meio de deslocamento da população mais importante para as cidades; porém, a eficiência deste sistema está diretamente relacionada à qualidade das informações que os gestores dispõem. A proposta deste trabalho é apresentar um método de armazenamento e consulta de itinerários e linhas de ônibus para o Estado do Rio Grande do Sul/Brasil utilizando Sistemas de Informações Geográficas operados no software livre SPRING 5.0. Na construção do SIG, a agilidade operacional, o conhecimento técnico necessário para a construção da base de dados georrelacional e o custo para obtenção do software de trabalho e das imagens de satélite foram elementos norteadores. As medidas de distância foram obtidas junto à Fundação Estadual de Planejamento Metropolitano e Regional (METROPLAN) e pela vetorização de itinerários. A eficácia do método foi medida pelo cruzamento destas informações.The problematic in the transit of the cities related to the amount of vehicles, the social-environmental impacts of the atmospheric pollution generated by automobiles and the great amount of investment needed for subway/train lines construction, transform the locomotion through public transportation (bus) in the most important and viable option for mass transportation in the cities; however, the system efficiency is directly related to the quality of the essential information handled by the authorities. The proposal of this paper is to present a method of storage and consultation of bus itineraries and lines for the State of the Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil using Systems of Geographic Information (SIG) operated in the free software SPRING 5.0. In the construction of the SIG, the operational agility, the technical knowledge necessary for the construction of the georelational database and the cost to obtain the software platform and the satellite images had been important elements. The values of distances were obtained with the Metropolitan and Regional Management State Foundation (METROPLAN) and through vetorization of the itineraries. The effectiveness of the method was measured by the crossing these information

PREDAÇÃO DE Tropidurus oreadicus (REPTILIA, TROPIDURIDAE) POR Heterophrynus sp. (ARACHNIDA, PHRYNIDAE) EM UMA CAVERNA NO PARQUE NACIONAL CHAPADA DAS MESAS, MARANHÃO, BRASIL

In the area of the Chapada das Mesas National Park, south of the state of Maranhão, Brazil, the sandstone of the Sambaíba Formation (Triassic) predominate, demonstrating to be an area with potential for the occurrence of groundwater natural cavities. Cavernous ecosystems do not have vegetation cover and light (aphotic). Its trophic resources originate from external physical and biotic agents. The fieldwork found and identified 87 caves and evaluated its degree of relevance, including a biospeleological survey. During the effort, among the representatives of the cave fauna of the park, one of the most common were the amblypygids of the genus Heterophrynus, troglophiles animals, with representatives found in all the tropical and semitropical zones around the world. This group assumes a tertiary or secondary consumer role in the ecosystems where it occurs, with predation records ranging from arthropods to birds such as the hummingbirds (Aves, Trochilidae). One of the Heterophrynus records that deserves prominence, occurred in a cave which is in a region where the predominant vegetation of the surrounding area is the Cerradão. In this cavity, a trophic relationship of predation was recorded between an amblypygid from the Heterophrynus genus and a Tropidurus oreadicus lizard. The importance of registering for biodiversity is mainly related to the characteristics of the amblypygids, which makes up one of the orders of less diverse arachnids.Keywords: Behavior; Amblypygi; Reptile; Conservation Unit.Na área do Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas (PNCM), ao sul do estado do Maranhão, Brasil, predominam os arenitos da Formação Sambaíba (Triássico), demonstrando ser uma área com potencial para ocorrência de cavidades naturais subterrâneas. Os ecossistemas cavernícolas não possuem cobertura vegetal e luz (afóticos). Seus recursos tróficos são oriundos de agentes físicos e bióticos externos. O trabalho de campo encontrou e identificou 87 cavernas e avaliou seu grau de relevância, incluindo levantamento bioespeleológico. Durante o esforço, dentre os representantes da fauna cavernícola do parque, um dos mais comuns foram os amblipígios do gênero Heterophrynus, animais troglófilos, com representantes encontrados em todas as zonas tropicais e semitropicais ao redor do mundo. Este grupo assume papel de consumidor terciário ou secundário nos ecossistemas onde ocorre, com registros de predação que variam de artrópodes até aves como o beija-flores (Aves, Trochilidae). Um dos registros de Heterophrynus que merece destaque, ocorreu em uma caverna que está localizada em uma região onde a vegetação predominante do entorno é o Cerradão. Nesta cavidade foi registrada uma relação trófica de predação entre um amblipígio do gênero Heterophrynus e um lagarto Tropidurus oreadicus. A importância do registro para a biodiversidade está relacionada principalmente às características dos amblipígios, que compõe uma das ordens de aracnídeos menos diversas.Palavras chave: Comportamento; Amblipígio; Réptil; Unidade de Conservação

Physical Activity Levels in Peripheral Artery Disease Patients

BACKGROUND: Increases in daily physical activity levels is recommended for patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, despite this recommendation, little is known about the physical activity patterns of PAD patients. OBJECTIVE: To describe the physical activity patterns of patients with symptomatic peripheral artery (PAD) disease. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 174 PAD patients with intermittent claudication symptoms. Patients were submitted to clinical, hemodynamic and functional evaluations. Physical activity was objectively measured by an accelerometer, and the time spent in sedentary, low-light, high-light and moderate-vigorous physical activities (MVPA) were obtained. Descriptive analysis was performed to summarize patient data and binary logistic regression was used to test the crude and adjusted associations between adherence to physical activity recommendation and sociodemographic and clinical factors. For all the statistical analyses, significance was accepted at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Patients spent in average of 640 ± 121 min/day, 269 ± 94 min/day, 36 ± 27 min/day and 15 ± 16 min/day in sedentary, low-light, high-light and MVPA, respectively. The prevalence of patients who achieved physical activity recommendations was 3.4%. After adjustment for confounders, a significant inverse association was observed between adherence to physical activity recommendation and age (OR = 0.925; p = 0.004), while time of disease, ankle brachial index and total walking distance were not associated with this adherence criteria (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The patterns of physical activity of PAD patients are characterized by a large amount of time spent in sedentary behaviors and a low engagement in MVPA. Younger patients, regardless of the clinical and functional factors, were more likely to meet the current physical activity recommendations

A remote sensing-based method to assess water level fluctuations in wetlands in southern Brazil.

The characterization of water level fluctuations is crucial to explain the hydrological processes that contribute to the maintenance of the structure and function of wetlands. The aim of this study was to develop a method based on remote sensing to characterize and map the water level variation patterns, evapotranspiration, discharge, and rainfall over wetlands in the Gravataí River basin, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. For this purpose, ground-based measurements of rainfall, water discharge, and evapotranspiration together with satellite data were used to identify the apparent water level based on the normalized difference water index (NDWI). Our results showed that the variation of the water level followed the rainfall, water discharge, and evapotranspiration seasonal patterns in the region. The NDWI showed similar values to the ground-based data collected 10 days prior to satellite image acquisition. The proposed technique allows for quantifying the pattern of flood pulses, which play an important role for establishing the connectivity between different compartments of wetlands in the study area. We conclude that our methodology based on the use of satellite data and ground measurements was a useful proposition to analyze the water level variation patterns in an area of great importance in terms of environmental degradation and use of agriculture. The information obtained may be used as inputs in hydrologic models, allowing researchers to evaluate the impact, at both local and regional scales, caused by advance of agriculture into natural environments such as wetlands

Ergonomic evaluation of workload by milk production – a bibliometric analysis

Introduction and Objective The purpose of this study was to select in a structured manner the relevant articles with scientific recognition, and simultaneously identify the characteristics of these publications that may scientifically enrich the theme in a portfolio of papers. The theme involves ergonomics in milk production as a criterion for evaluating and improving organizational performance in the milking sector. Material and Methods The study used ProKnow-C as a theoretical instrument for intervention. Results The main results show: i) a bibliographic portfolio of 18 items aligned with the view adopted by researchers which served as a theoretical framework for this research; ii) The article entitled “Wrist positions and movements as possible risk factors during machine milking”, by Marianne Stål, Gert-Åke Hansson and Ulrich Moritz in 1999 and published in the Journal of Applied Ergonomics presented the highest scientific recognition, iii) the authors highlighted in the bibliographic portfolio or in its references researching the subject are Gert-Åke Hansson, Marianne Stål and Stefan Pinzke, and iv) the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics shows the highest number of scientific articles in the bibliographic portfolio. Conclusions The studies selected using the methodology indicate research in ergonomics focused on the production of milk in rural areas, specifically in the milking sector, are generally related to the health and safety of the workers

Antenatal Ultrasonographic Anteroposterior Renal Pelvis Diameter Measurement: Is It a Reliable Way of Defining Fetal Hydronephrosis?

Purpose. It was to quantify the intraobserver and interobserver variability of the sonographic measurements of renal pelvis and classify hydronephrosis severity. Methods. Two ultrasonographers evaluated 17 fetuses from 23 to 39 weeks of gestation. Renal pelvis APD were taken in 50 renal units. For intraobserver error, one of them performed three sequential measurements. The mean and standard deviation from the absolute and percentage differences between measurements were calculated. Bland-Altman plots were used to visually assess the relationship between the precision of repeated measurements. Hydronephrosis was classified as mild (5.0 to 9.9 mm), moderate (10.0 to 14.9 mm), or severe (≥15.0 mm). Interrater agreement were obtained using the Kappa index. Results. Absolute intraobserver variation in APD measurements was 5.2 ± 3.5%. Interobserver variation of ultrasonographers was 9.3 ± 9.7%. Neither intraobserver or interobserver error increased with increasing APD size. The overall percentage of agreement with the antenatal hydronephrosis diagnosis was 64%. Cohen's Kappa to hydronephrosis severity was 0.51 (95% CI, 0.33 to 0.69). Conclusion. Inter and intraobserver APD measurement errors were low in these group, but the agreement to hydronephrosis diagnosis and classification was fair. We suggest that standard and serial APD measurement can better define and evaluate fetal hydronephrosis