Canopy gap characteristics, their size-distribution and spatial pattern in a mountainous cool temperate forest of Japan

Canopy gaps and their characteristic features (e.g. area and shape) influence the availability of nutrients, moisture and light in a forest ecosystem, and consequently affect the regeneration process and species composition in the forest. Most of the earlier research on canopy gap used field measurement and conventional remote sensing to quantify gap and these methods have limitations and accuracy problems. However, the development in Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) technology has been effective in overcoming limitations and challenges associated with conventional remote sensing. The ability of LiDAR to represent the three-dimensional structure of the canopies and the sub-canopy resulting in high-resolution topographic maps, highly accurate estimated of vegetation height, cover and canopy structure makes it suitable technology for gap studies. LiDAR-based digital surface model (DSM) and digital elevation model (DEM) were used to quantify the canopy gaps over 5124ha of University of Tokyo Chichibu Forests (UTCF) consisting of three forest-types; primary, secondary and plantation forest. Disturbance driven canopy gaps might have spatial and characteristic variation due to differences in disturbance history, nature, frequency and intensity in different forest and land-types. Quantifying gap characteristics and studying variation and size distribution in different forest types and topography help to understand the different gap dynamics and their ecological perspectives. In this study, a gap was defined as an opening with a maximum height of 2m and minimum area threshold of 10m2. The minimum area threshold, which represents the gap area created by the death of at least a single tree, was determined through a random sampling of 100 tree crowns at UTCF using high resolution aerial photographs. Gap size distribution was analyzed in different forest types and land types. Spatial autocorrelation of gap occurrence was studied using semivariance analysis and distance to the nearest gap (DNG), which is the distance to the nearest gap for an individual gap. Canopy gap size frequency distribution in different forest-types was investigated using power-law. The negative exponent (α), which is also the scaling component of the power-law distribution, was compared between forest-types. Altogether, 6179 gaps with area 10-11603 m2 were found. Gap size distribution in UTCF showed skewness with a high frequency of smaller gaps and a few large gaps. Half of the gaps were smaller than 19 m2 and less than one percent of gaps (0.73 %) were larger than 400 m2. Primary forest contained high gap density (1.85 gaps per ha), shortest mean-DNG (22m) and second-largest gap-area fraction (0.72 %) after plantation forest area (0.76 %). Secondary forest had the lowest gap density (1.03 gaps per hectare) but had the larger mean gap-area (43 m2) than in primary forest (39 m2). The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test showed differences (p2400 m2) were absent in the secondary forest. Gap size frequency distribution followed a power-law distribution only in plantation forest area (p>0.1, α =2.27). The scaling parameter in the primary and secondary forest was 2.56 (p=0.01) and 2.20 (p=0.02), respectively. Gap distribution showed some spatial autocorrelation in primary and secondary forest at least with distance up to 1300m. Most of the gaps in the primary forest were concentrated in the valley and middle slope, whereas the upper and middle slope had fewest gaps

Poems

DEAR LORD I’m embarrassed by my love for You and by the ugly cries that escape me at night Worry birds circling overhead, looking for You. Summer\u27s almost over, but the tree’s single bud has not opened.https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/onearth/1036/thumbnail.jp

Optimal Lossless Dynamic Quantum Huffman Block Encoding

In this article we present an adaptation of the quantum Huffman encoding which was introduced in [IEEE Transactions on information theory 46.4 (2000): 1644-1649] and was studied in [Scientific Reports 7.1 (2017): 14765]. Our adaptation gives a block encoding as it is applied successively to encode one block after the other. It is also a dynamic encoding because it is updated at every block. We prove that our encoding gives the optimal average codeword length over any other dynamic block encoding with a common jointly orthonormal sequence of length codewords

Outcome of cephalo-medullary nailing in intertrochanteric fracture of femur

Background: Intertrochanteric fracture is commonly seen in elderly and osteoporotic bone due to trivial trauma and requires hospitalization. Nonoperative treatment leads to complications like bedsore, pneumonia and deep vein thrombosis. The introduction of cephalomedullary nailing has broadened its use in complex intertrochanteric fracture with least complications.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in Birgunj, Nepal from 4th October 2020 to 3rd October 2021 among 50 patients of age more than 30 years with closed intertrochanteric fractures. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review committee and proper informed consent was taken. Modified Harris hip scoring system was used. Type of implant used was PFN long and short.Results: The mean age of 50 patients was 66.42 years, female to male ratio was 1.5:1 (30:20) and right side (72%) with fall injury (78%) was commonly observed. According to Kyles classification, 40% patients had Kyles’s type II fracture followed by type III (38%).  Most of the cases start mobilization on 2nd post operative day. Mean Harris hip score at 14 days, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months were 52.02, 64.50, 72.91 and 84.40 respectively. Early mobilization within 2 days of post-surgery had significant improvement in functional outcome throughout follow up as compared to more than 2 days (p=0.001, 0.001, 0.001 and 0.001 at 14 days, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months respectively). Radiological union was achieved in all cases within 6 months.Conclusions: The study results concluded cephalomedullary nailing is effective treatment for intertrochanteric fracture

Girls in Trouble

In honor of the 2013 Daniel Pearl World Music Days, The Carl & Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies presents Girls in Trouble. Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Alicia Jo Rabins, with bassist Aaron Hartman, fuses American folk music and underground rock with stories of biblical women.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/bennettcenter-posters/1309/thumbnail.jp

Agent Based Software Testing for Multi Agent Systems

Software testing starts with verification and validation and fulfills the requirement of the customer. Testing can be done by automation tool like Win runner, QTP or manually. If we talk about manual testing it takes lot of time and manpower also so nowadays we are using automation software. When we talk about automation testing so the cost of such kind of testing is very high so each company cannot afford. In this paper we are presenting agent based testing which is helpful for both kind of testing. Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) are characterized by autonomous and collaborative behaviors [1, 2]. Developing such systems is a complex process. As a result, a methodology for developing MAS is highly necessary. In this paper, a methodology using roles and ontology for such a purpose is presented [2]. The functionality of roles is estimated in the various phases of the MAS development. It is based on an emphasis on the properties and behaviors associated with each agent in MAS

Appropriate Contrast Enhancement Measures for Brain and Breast Cancer Images

Medical imaging systems often produce images that require enhancement, such as improving the image contrast as they are poor in contrast. Therefore, they must be enhanced before they are examined by medical professionals. This is necessary for proper diagnosis and subsequent treatment. We do have various enhancement algorithms which enhance the medical images to different extents. We also have various quantitative metrics or measures which evaluate the quality of an image. This paper suggests the most appropriate measures for two of the medical images, namely, brain cancer images and breast cancer images