Semantic scene classification for image annotation and retrieval

We describe an annotation and retrieval framework that uses a semantic image representation by contextual modeling of images using occurrence probabilities of concepts and objects. First, images are segmented into regions using clustering of color features and line structures. Next, each image is modeled using the histogram of the types of its regions, and Bayesian classifiers are used to obtain the occurrence probabilities of concepts and objects using these histograms. Given the observation that a single class with the highest probability is not sufficient to model image content in an unconstrained data set with a large number of semantically overlapping classes, we use the concept/object probabilities as a new representation, and perform retrieval in the semantic space for further improvement of the categorization accuracy. Experiments on the TRECVID and Corel data sets show good performance. © 2008 Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Growth of the Eucalyptus urograndis, Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum, Tectona grandis and Ochroma pyramidale on integration crop-livestock-forest systems in the Amazon Biome.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth in diameter and height eucalyptus (hybrid Eucalyptus urograndis), paricá (Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum), teak (Tectona grandis) and balsa tree (Ochroma pyramidale), seeking to supply information about the use of these species in crop-livestock-forest integration (ICLF) systems

Measuring Health: A Multivariate Approach

We examined the health status of 171 countries by employing factor analysis on various national health indicators for the period 2000–2005 to construct two new measures on health. The first measure is based on the health of individuals and the second on (the quality of) the health services. Our measures differ substantially from indicators used in previous studies on health and also lead to different rankings of countries. As rankings are not that informative without further information, we analyzed the distance between each country and the sample mean. Differences between countries are much more pronounced for our measure on health services than for our measure on the health of individuals. Using cluster analysis, we classified the countries in six homogenous groups

Consumo y digestibilidad en carneros alimentados con una dieta a base de bagacillo de caña de azúcar tratado con hidróxido de sodio residual (4 % base seca) de ingenios azucareros

The effect of the chemical treatment of sugarcane bagasse with a residual sodium hydroxide solution (4% dry base) of the chemical cleaning of sugar mills, enhanced with a solution with 12% NaOH, on consumption and the apparent digestibility of dry matter in rams. The bagacillo treated (60%) was offered as a basic diet to 5 Pelibuey rams located in cages. The results showed a level of consumption (1 161 ± 71 g / animal / d) and an acceptable dry matter digestibility index (57.23 ± 2.36), which suggests the possibility of reusing the alkaline residual solution of the cleaning of mills They process sugarcane to improve the nutritional value of cane bagasse.Se  evaluó el efecto del tratamiento químico del bagacillo de  caña de  azúcar con  una solución  de  hidróxido de  sodio  residual  (4 %  base seca) de  la  limpieza  química  de ingenios  azucareros,  potenciada con  una  solución con  un  12 %  de  NaOH,  sobre el consumo y la  digestibilidad  aparente de  la  materia  seca en  carneros. Se  oferto  como dieta básica el bagacillo tratado (60 %) a  5 carneros Pelibuey situados en  jaulas. Los resultados  mostraron  un  nivel  de  consumo  (1 161  ±  71  g/animal/d)  y  un  índice  de digestibilidad de  la materia seca (57.23  ±2.36)  aceptables, lo que  sugiere la posibilidad de  reutilizar la solución residual alcalina de  la limpieza de  ingenios que  procesan caña de azúcar para  mejorar el valor nutritivo del bagacillo de caña

Morphological phenotypic dispersion of garlic cultivars by cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling

Multivariate techniques have become a useful tool for studying the phenotypic diversity of Germplasm Bank accessions, since they make it possible to combine a variety of different information from these accessions. This study aimed to characterize the phenotypic dispersion of garlic (Allium sativum L.) using two multivariate techniques with different objective functions. Twenty accessions were morphologically characterized for bulb diameter, length, and weight; number of cloves per bulb; number of leaves per plant; and leaf area. Techniques based on generalized quadratic distance of Mahalanobis, UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) clustering, and nMDS (nonmetrric MultiDimensional Scaling) were applied and the relative importance of variables quantified. The two multivariate techniques were capable of identifying cultivars with different characteristics, mainly regarding their classification in subgroups of common garlic or noble garlic, according to the number of cloves per bulb. The representation of the phenotypic distance of cultivars by multidimensional scaling was slightly more effective than that with UPGMA clustering

Climatic Variability Leads to Later Seasonal Flowering of Floridian Plants

Understanding species responses to global change will help predict shifts in species distributions as well as aid in conservation. Changes in the timing of seasonal activities of organisms over time may be the most responsive and easily observable indicator of environmental changes associated with global climate change. It is unknown how global climate change will affect species distributions and developmental events in subtropical ecosystems or if climate change will differentially favor nonnative species. Contrary to previously observed trends for earlier flowering onset of plant species with increasing spring temperatures from mid and higher latitudes, we document a trend for delayed seasonal flowering among plants in Florida. Additionally, there were few differences in reproductive responses by native and nonnative species to climatic changes. We argue that plants in Florida have different reproductive cues than those from more northern climates. With global change, minimum temperatures have become more variable within the temperate-subtropical zone that occurs across the peninsula and this variation is strongly associated with delayed flowering among Florida plants. Our data suggest that climate change varies by region and season and is not a simple case of species responding to consistently increasing temperatures across the region. Research on climate change impacts need to be extended outside of the heavily studied higher latitudes to include subtropical and tropical systems in order to properly understand the complexity of regional and seasonal differences of climate change on species responses