Landsat-based above ground biomass estimation in pasture area in São Paulo, Brazil.

Brazilian Cerrado biome occupies 2,039,243 km², of which 29.5% (600,832 km2) is planted pasture area (MMA, 2015). A considerable portion of these pastures are considered degraded, thus identification and recovery of such areas could result in production gains. In the remote sensing (RS) context, pasturelands have been investigated in order to discriminate intensive and extensive grazing system areas. Intensive systems includes soil and animal management, with pasture fertilization and animal rotation in different paddocks. Extensive grazing systems do not have this management. As RS medium spatial resolution data and field measurements on biomass estimates have strong positive correlation (EDIRISINGHE et al., 2012) future researches points to assess the feasibility on grazing systems discrimination through temporal analysis. Thus, the objective of this work was to assess the Surface Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving (SAFER) potential, applied in with OLI/Landsat-8 images, to discriminate intensive and extensive grazing system areas through estimates of above ground biomass

Preliminary definitions for the sonographic features of synovitis in children

Objectives Musculoskeletal ultrasonography (US) has the potential to be an important tool in the assessment of disease activity in childhood arthritides. To assess pathology, clear definitions for synovitis need to be developed first. The aim of this study was to develop and validate these definitions through an international consensus process. Methods The decision on which US techniques to use, the components to be included in the definitions as well as the final wording were developed by 31 ultrasound experts in a consensus process. A Likert scale of 1-5 with 1 indicating complete disagreement and 5 complete agreement was used. A minimum of 80% of the experts scoring 4 or 5 was required for final approval. The definitions were then validated on 120 standardized US images of the wrist, MCP and tibiotalar joints displaying various degrees of synovitis at various ages. Results B-Mode and Doppler should be used for assessing synovitis in children. A US definition of the various components (i.e. synovial hypertrophy, effusion and Doppler signal within the synovium) was developed. The definition was validated on still images with a median of 89% (range 80-100) of participants scoring it as 4 or 5 on a Likert scale. Conclusions US definitions of synovitis and its elementary components covering the entire pediatric age range were successfully developed through a Delphi process and validated in a web-based still images exercise. These results provide the basis for the standardized US assessment of synovitis in clinical practice and research

Regional scale land use/land cover classification using temporal series of MODIS data.

This paper describes a methodology for systematic land use/land cover classification on a regional scale, with emphasis on a low cost and highly automatized approach. This methodology is based on multitemporal analyses of surface reflectance data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), which is located on board NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites and features high temporal frequency, extensive coverage, and extremely low costs for data acquisition. A sequence of automatized procedures were developed for MODIS data pre-processing, as well as for the training and execution of a supervised classification algorithm, where temporal profiles are fitted to smooth polynomial curves and intelligent curve features are then computed in order to reduce data dimensionality and improve profile interpretability, thus providing a more robust classification approach. A case study was performed in the High Taquari Basin, in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso, Brazil, which showed that the method was indeed capable of generalizing well over the entire region of study (over 25,000km2), effectively discriminating between areas of agriculture, pasture, and savannah. The methodology was also seen to be quite successful in identifying areas of deforestation, which is of particular interest for the monitoring of land use and land use change in the region

Dust Emission Features in NGC 7023 between 0.35 and 2.5 micron: Extended Red Emission (0.7 micron) and Two New Emission Features (1.15 and 1.5 micron)

We present 0.35 to 2.5 micron spectra of the south and northwest filaments in the reflection nebula NGC 7023. These spectra were used to test the theory of Seahra & Duley that carbon nanoparticles are responsible for Extended Red Emission (ERE). Our spectra fail to show their predicted second emission band at 1.0 micron even though both filaments exhibit strong emission in the familiar 0.7 micron ERE band. The northwest filament spectrum does show one, and possibly two, new dust emission features in the near-infrared. We clearly detect a strong emission band at 1.5 micron which we tentatively attribute to beta-FeSi_2 grains. We tentatively detect a weaker emission band at 1.15 micron which coincides with the location expected for transitions from the conduction band to mid-gap defect states of silicon nanoparticles. This is added evidence that silicon nanoparticles are responsible for ERE as they already can explain the observed behavior of the main visible ERE band.Comment: 9 pages, color figures, accepted to the ApJ, color and b/w versions available at http://dirty.as.arizona.edu/~kgordon/papers/ere_1um.htm

Low-Temperature Physics

Contains reports on five research projects

The multifaceted presentation of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis: A series of 486 cases from the Eurofever international registry

Objectives. Chronic non-bacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) or chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is an autoinflammatory disorder characterized by sterile bone osteolytic lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic data and clinical, instrumental and therapeutic features at baseline in a large series of CNO/CRMO patients enrolled in the Eurofever registry. Methods. A web-based registry collected retrospective data on patients affected by CRMO/CNO. Both paediatric and adult centres were involved. Results. Complete baseline information on 486 patients was available (176 male, 310 female). The mean age of onset was 9.9 years. Adult onset (>18 years of age) was observed in 31 (6.3%) patients. The mean time from disease onset to final diagnosis was 1 year (range 0-15). MRI was performed at baseline in 426 patients (88%), revealing a mean number of 4.1 lesions. More frequent manifestations not directly related to bone involvement were myalgia (12%), mucocutaneous manifestations (5% acne, 5% palmoplantar pustulosis, 4% psoriasis, 3% papulopustular lesions, 2% urticarial rash) and gastrointestinal symptoms (8%). A total of 361 patients have been treated with NSAIDs, 112 with glucocorticoids, 61 with bisphosphonates, 58 with MTX, 47 with SSZ, 26 with anti-TNF and 4 with anakinra, with a variable response. Conclusion. This is the largest reported case series of CNO patients, showing that the range of associated clinical manifestations is rather heterogeneous. The study confirms that the disease usually presents with an early teenage onset, but it may also occur in adults, even in the absence of mucocutaneous manifestations

Microwave Physics

Contains reports on four research projects.Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) OEMsr-26

Остеоартроз, артериальная гипертензия и ожирение: проблема коморбидности

Представлены данные современных исследований отечественных и зарубежных ученых, касающиеся распространенности сочетанной патологии − остеоартроза с артериальной гипертензией и ожирением.Наведено дані сучасних досліджень вітчизняних і зарубіжних вчених щодо поширеності поєднаної патології − остеоартрозу з артеріальною гіпертензією та ожирінням.The data of contemporary investigations of Ukrainian and foreign scientists about the prevalence of combined pathology (osteoarthrosis with arterial hypertension and obesity) are presented

Low-Temperature Physics

Contains reports on five research projects.Office of Naval Research (Contract N5ori-07823