Multi-methodical realisation of Austrian climate maps for 1971–2000

Constantly changing climate, the availability of a higher resolved digital elevation model and further development of geostatistical interpolation methods gave reason for updating the most frequently demanded climate maps out of the Austrian digital climate atlas from 1961–1990 to 1971–2000. To achieve a station density as high as possible, data from eleven national and foreign institutes were collected and gap-filled. According to the climate parameter, different geostatistical interpolation methods (including regionalised multilinear regressions, geographically weighted regressions and curve fitting to base parameter) were applied. The resultant 17 grids concern 30-year-means of air temperature, precipitation and snow parameters as well as derived indices. They are now available for a variety of scientific and planning purposes

Blind image fusion for hyperspectral imaging with the directional total variation

© 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd. Hyperspectral imaging is a cutting-edge type of remote sensing used for mapping vegetation properties, rock minerals and other materials. A major drawback of hyperspectral imaging devices is their intrinsic low spatial resolution. In this paper, we propose a method for increasing the spatial resolution of a hyperspectral image by fusing it with an image of higher spatial resolution that was obtained with a different imaging modality. This is accomplished by solving a variational problem in which the regularization functional is the directional total variation. To accommodate for possible mis-registrations between the two images, we consider a non-convex blind super-resolution problem where both a fused image and the corresponding convolution kernel are estimated. Using this approach, our model can realign the given images if needed. Our experimental results indicate that the non-convexity is negligible in practice and that reliable solutions can be computed using a variety of different optimization algorithms. Numerical results on real remote sensing data from plant sciences and urban monitoring show the potential of the proposed method and suggests that it is robust with respect to the regularization parameters, mis-registration and the shape of the kernel.MJE and C-BS acknowledge support from Leverhulme Trust project 'Breaking the non-convexity barrier', EPSRC grant 'EP/M00483X/1', EPSRC centre 'EP/N014588/1', the Cantab Capital Institute for the Mathematics of Information, and from CHiPS (Horizon 2020 RISE project grant). Moreover, C-BS is thankful for support from the Alan Turing Institute. DAC acknowledges the support of NERC (grant number NE/K016377/1). We are grateful to NERC's Airborne Research Facility and Data Analysis Node for conducting the airborne survey and pre-processing the environmental data collected from Alto Tajo, Spain (survey CAM11/03)

A qualitative study exploring midlife women’s stages of change from domestic violence towards freedom

Gold OABackground Domestic Violence (DV) remains a significant global health problem for women in contemporary society. Existing literature on midlife women’s experiences of domestic violence is limited and focuses on health implications. Leaving a violent relationship is a dynamic process that often requires multiple attempts and separations prior to final termination. The aim of this study was to explore the process of leaving a violent relationship for midlife women. Methods This qualitative study involved fifteen women aged between 40–55 who had accessed residential and non-residential community support services for domestic violence within the UK. Community-based support agencies provided these women with access to letters of invitation and participant information sheet explaining the study. The women notified agency staff who contacted the research team to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet within a safe place for both the women and researchers. It was stressed to all potential participants that no identifiable information would be shared with the agency staff. Women were considered survivors of DV if they defined themselves as such. Data were gathered through semi structured interviews, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results Midlife women appear to differ from younger women by transitioning quickly though the stages of change, moving rapidly through the breaking free onto the maintenance stage. This rapid transition is the resultant effect of living with long-term violence causing a shift in the women’s perception towards the violent partner, with an associated reclamation of power from within the violent relationship. A realisation that rapid departure from the violence may be critical in terms of personal safety, and the realisation that there was something ‘wrong’ within the relationship, a ‘day of dawning’ that had not been apparent previously appears to positively affect the trajectory of leaving. Conclusions Midlife women appeared to navigate through the stages of change in a rapid linear process, forging ahead and exiting the relationship with certainty and without considering options. Whilst these findings appear to differ from younger women’s process of leaving, further research is needed to explore and understand the optimum time for intervention and support to maximise midlife women’s opportunities to escape an abusive partner, before being reflected appropriately in policy and practice.This study received funding from The Research and Knowledge Transfer Office, The University of Chester, and from the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation – ‘Healthway

Quality control of B-lines analysis in stress Echo 2020

Background The effectiveness trial “Stress echo (SE) 2020” evaluates novel applications of SE in and beyond coronary artery disease. The core protocol also includes 4-site simplified scan of B-lines by lung ultrasound, useful to assess pulmonary congestion. Purpose To provide web-based upstream quality control and harmonization of B-lines reading criteria. Methods 60 readers (all previously accredited for regional wall motion, 53 B-lines naive) from 52 centers of 16 countries of SE 2020 network read a set of 20 lung ultrasound video-clips selected by the Pisa lab serving as reference standard, after taking an obligatory web-based learning 2-h module ( http://se2020.altervista.org ). Each test clip was scored for B-lines from 0 (black lung, A-lines, no B-lines) to 10 (white lung, coalescing B-lines). The diagnostic gold standard was the concordant assessment of two experienced readers of the Pisa lab. The answer of the reader was considered correct if concordant with reference standard reading ±1 (for instance, reference standard reading of 5 B-lines; correct answer 4, 5, or 6). The a priori determined pass threshold was 18/20 (≥ 90%) with R value (intra-class correlation coefficient) between reference standard and recruiting center) > 0.90. Inter-observer agreement was assessed with intra-class correlation coefficient statistics. Results All 60 readers were successfully accredited: 26 (43%) on first, 24 (40%) on second, and 10 (17%) on third attempt. The average diagnostic accuracy of the 60 accredited readers was 95%, with R value of 0.95 compared to reference standard reading. The 53 B-lines naive scored similarly to the 7 B-lines expert on first attempt (90 versus 95%, p = NS). Compared to the step-1 of quality control for regional wall motion abnormalities, the mean reading time per attempt was shorter (17 ± 3 vs 29 ± 12 min, p < .01), the first attempt success rate was higher (43 vs 28%, p < 0.01), and the drop-out of readers smaller (0 vs 28%, p < .01). Conclusions Web-based learning is highly effective for teaching and harmonizing B-lines reading. Echocardiographers without previous experience with B-lines learn quickly.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Non-tariff barriers and the telecommunications sector

'This paper discusses the nature, importance, and measurement of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in services trade with particular reference to telecommunications services. It is shown that although more effectively addressed for the telecom sector at the multilateral level than for other service sectors, NTBs are still widespread and would appear to have a large potential for restricting trade in services. The paper reviews the scope and classification of non-tariff barriers to services trade and sets out an alternative typology for their classification, highlighting the fact that NTBs may be either government-imposed, may result from non-competitive market structures, or from the absence of appropriate regulation. The latter is shown to constitute one of the most important sources of NTBs in network industries, such as telecommunications services. Attempts by the relevant literature to measure NTBs in telecommunications are summarized and their usefulness in identifying 'appropriate' policy mixes is commented. Lastly, the paper probes the question of whether existing multilateral and regional instruments and agreements are adequate to deal with the non-tariff phenomenon in the telecom sector in its several dimensions.' (author's abstract)'Dieses Papier behandelt das Wesen, die Bedeutung und die Messung nicht-tarifaerer Handelsbeschraenkungen (NTBs) im Dienstleistungshandel, unter besonderer Beruecksichtigung der Telekommunikationsdienstleistungen. Es zeigt, dass NTBs, obwohl sie in der Telekommunikation auf der multilateralen Ebene wirksamer angegangen wurden als in anderen Dienstleistungsbereichen, noch immer weit verbreitet sind und den Dienstleistungshandel potentiell stark beeintraechtigen. Das Papier beschreibt die Erscheinungsformen und die Klassifikation nicht-tarifaerer Handelsschranken im Dienstleistungshandel. Es stellt ein alternatives Klassifikationsschema vor, das von der Beobachtung ausgeht, dass NTBs entweder von Regierungen eingefuehrt sein koennen, oder auf monopolistischen Marktstrukturen basieren, oder Ergebnis unzureichender Regulierungen sind. Gezeigt wird, dass der letztgenannte Tatbestand eine der wichtigsten Quellen von NTBs in Netzwerkindustrien, wie der Telekommunikation, ist. Das Papier gibt einen Ueberblick ueber die Literatur zur Messung nicht-tarifaerer Handelsschranken in der Telekommunikation und kommentiert ihre Brauchbarkeit fuer die Entwicklung geeigneter 'policy mixes'. Schliesslich wird geprueft, ob die existierenden multilateralen und regionalen Instrumente und Vereinbarungen ausreichend sind, um mit dem vielschichtigen Problem der nicht-tarifaeren Hemmnisse im Telekommunikationssektor umzugehen.' (Autorenreferat)German title: Nichttarifaere Handelshemmnisse und der TelekommunikationssektorAvailable from <a href=http://www.hwwa.de/Publikationen/Discussion target=NewWindow>http://www.hwwa.de/Publikationen/Discussion</a> Paper/2002/160.pdf / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Time variations of the air quality in reference sites of an urban and industrial environment (province of Trieste)

The air quality in Province of Trieste has been considered in terms of minor pollutant species as nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide: these species are correlated to motor vehicle traffic and to heating system activities, and their distribution can provide information on both urban and industrial factors affecting the air quality. Air pollutant concentration trends make it possible to distinguish three types of areas: (i) the town-centre' areas display nitrogen oxide contents higher than sulphur dioxide; (ii) the industrial' areas have instead sulphur dioxide contents similar or higher than nitrogen oxides; (iii) the peripheral ones, less affected by urban traffic and industrial sources, display the lowest pollutant contents. Pollutant distribution is affected by winds. Industrial source-points of sulphur dioxide were detected. In town centre, sulphur dioxide has its minimum in summer, when home heating systems stop: this decrease is not observed in sites nearby industrial areas