Impact of Rescaling Approaches in Simple Fusion of Soil Moisture Products

In this study, the impact of various rescaling approaches in the framework of data fusion is explored. Four different soil moisture products (Advanced Scatterometer; Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS, AMSR-E; Antecedent Precipitation Index; and Global Land Data Assimilation System-NOAH) are fused. The systematic differences between products are removed before the fusion utilizing various rescaling approaches focusing on different methods (regression, variance/cumulative distribution function (CDF) matching, multivariate adaptive regression splines, and support vector machines based), stationarity assumptions (constant or time-varying rescaling coefficients), and time-frequency techniques (periodic or nonperiodic high- and low-frequency components). Given that statistical descriptions (e.g., standard deviation and correlation coefficient) of reference data sets are utilized in rescaling approaches, the precision of the selected reference data set also impacts the final fused product precision. Experiments are validated over 542 soil moisture monitoring sites selected from the International Soil Moisture Network data sets between 2007 and 2011. Overall, results highlight the importance of reference data set selection-particularly that a more precise reference product yields a higher precision fused soil moisture product. This conclusion is sensitive neither to the number of fused products nor the rescaling procedure. Among rescaling approaches, the precision of fused products is most affected by the choice of rescaling stationary assumption and time-frequency decomposition technique. Variations in rescaling methods have only a small impact on the precision of pair fused products. In contrast, utilizing a time-varying stationary assumption and nonperiodic decomposition technique produces correlation improvements of 0.07 [-] and 0.02 [-], respectively, versus the other widely implemented rescaling approaches

The History of How a Transformatin Began: Black Diamond and Indusrial Revolution

DergiPark: 757598trakyasobedBu çalışmada, “kara elmas” olarak tabir edilen kömürün, Endüstri Devrimi’ndeki etkisi ve dünya ekonomisinde hegemon güç haline gelen İngiltere’de meydana getirdiği değişimlerdeki rolü incelenmiştir. Kömür, doğanın insana sunduğu çok önemli bir enerji kaynağıdır. Kömürün elde edilmesi için doğanın dönüştürülmesi gerekir. İnsan, doğanın dönüştürülmesi sürecinde etken bir varlık olarak yer alırken, kendisini de dönüştürür. Bu süreçte doğadan elde edilen kömür, insan ile girdiği ilişkide, hem doğanın hem de insanın dönüşümünü hızlandırmış ve Endüstri Devrimi’nin temel enerji kaynağı olmuştur. Bununla birlikte kömürün elde edilmesine yönelik yeni teknolojiler geliştirilmiş, taşınması için ulaşım sektöründe yenilikler yapılmış ve üretim gündelik rolünden sıyrılıp, makineleşme ile birlikte kütle halinde yapılmaya başlanmıştır. Bu gelişmeler ilk defa, düşük maliyetli kömürü avantaja dönüştüren İngiltere’de ortaya çıkmıştır. İngiltere, kömürü kullanarak Endüstri Devrimi’ni başlatırken, kendi içinde kentleşmeden-işçi hareketlerine kadar ekonomik ve siyasal değişmeleri de yaşamıştır. Diğer yandan kömür ve onun etrafında oluşan yenilikler, İngiltere’nin dünya ekonomisini ve siyasetini yönlendirmesinde yardımcı olmuştur. Sonuç olarak, her ne kadar bir enerji kaynağı şeklinde düşünülse de toplumsal bir madde olan kömür, İngiltere’ye liderlik rolünü verdirirken, Endüstri Devrimi sonrasında eskiye dönüşün mümkün olmadığı bir dünya yaratılmasında aracı rolünü üstlenmiştir.In this study, the effect of coal, which is called "black diamond", in the Industrial Revolution, and its role in the variances it has made in the UK, which has become hegemonic power in the world economy, have been examined. Coal is a very important energy source that nature gives people. Nature must be transformed in order to draw coal. While human being is an active entity in the process of transforming nature, it also transforms itself. In the mutual relationship with human, coal has also become the main energy source of the Industrial Revolution, which will accelerate the transformation of both nature and human. However, new technologies for coal drawing have been developed, innovations have been made in the transportation sector for transportation, and production has started to be stripped from its daily role and made in mass. These developments first appeared in England, which turned low-cost coal into an advantage. While England started the Industrial Revolution using coal, it also experienced economic and political changes from urbanization to labor movements. On the other hand, coal and the innovations around it have helped Britain guide the world economy and politics. As a result, coal, which is a social substance, gave England its leadership role, while playing the intermediary role in creating a world where it is not possible to bring back the past after the Industrial Revolution

Modelling and simulation studies on adaptive controller for alt-azimuth telescopes despite unknown wind disturbance and mass

Numerous ground-based observatories are using small sized ground telescopes for scientific research purposes. The telescopes that are available on the market have three main problems. These issues can be listed as: positioning repeatability, tuning requirement according to different wind speeds for different seasons, and the mass changing via different scientific equipments added to the telescope. This study is aimed at resolving these issues for ground based small alt-azimuth telescopes. Establishing of a set and forget system is performed by designing an adaptive controller. Motor dynamics are taken into consideration for a realistic mathematical model. The Wind-Gust model that consists of a sum of sinusoidal disturbances with unknown phase, amplitude and frequency is used for the wind model. The purposed controller cancels the disturbance effects on the plant while operational positioning and also the makes the plant insensitive to mass changes. The Lyapunov approach is utilised when proving the asymptotic stability. The proposed controller’s success is illustrated with thorough numerical evaluation.The authors would like to thank the technical guidance and funding support of Isik University, Center for Optomechatronics Research and Application (OPAM),and Ataturk University Center for Astrophysical Application and Research (ATASAM). The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Publisher's Versio

Re-evaluation of the symptoms of Hirayama disease through anatomical perspective

Hirayama disease is a rare disease of the anterior horn motor neuron caused by compression of the cervical spinal cord when the neck is flexed. Cervical myelopathy may accompany the disease. It is characterized by symmetrical or asymmetrical muscle weakness and atrophy of muscles innervated by lower cervical and upper thoracic motor neurons. We recorded two male cases of Hirayama disease between the ages of 15 and 21 based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features obtained from the cervical neutral state and from the flexion position which appeared in the right upper extremity. Loss of strength and atrophy in the right upper extremities was existent in clinical findings of these patients. When MRI was taken in the flexion position, there were dilated veins as hypointense signal void on T2 weighted series in posterior epidural area. The contrast enhancement was seen on these veins. It was observed that the posterior dura was displaced anteriorly and the anterior subarachnoid space was narrow. In cases which show clinical findings such as atrophy and loss of strength, having normal MRI results obtained in the neutral position makes it difficult to diagnose Hirayama Disease. In case of a suspicion of Hirayama disease the diagnosis can be made more easily by MRI taken in the flexion position. These case reports aim to bring Hirayama disease to mind and optimize the management of affected individuals

No relation between EFHC2 gene polymorphism and Idiopathic generalized epilepsy.

Background: Idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) is an epilepsy form without an underlying brain lesion or neurological indication or symptom. Recent investigations on the genetic origins of IGE and its subtypes report that certain mutations of various ion and non-ion channels genes in the central nervous system may be associated with IGE.Purpose: In this study we evaluated the relation between IGE and S430Y polymorphism in EFHC2 gene in a Turkish population.Material/methods: The study enrolled 96 healthy volunteers (47 male, 49 female), served as controls, and 96 IGE patients (41 male, 55 female), IGE diagnosis was confirmed in the neurology department. DNA extractions were performed. The presence of S430Y polymorphism in the exon 9 of EFHC2 gene were analyzed by Real-Time PCR. The findings obtained from the control and patient groups were compared.Results: In the patient group there was one heterozygous male with 685 T>C mutation. In the control group, there were two objects with 685 T>C mutation; one heterozygous male, one heterozygous female. 662 G>A mutation was determined in neither controls nor patients.Conclusion: In our series of 96 IGE patients and 96 healthy controls, there was no relation between S430Y polymorphism in EFHC2 gene and IGE presence.Keywords: EFHC2 gene polymorphism, idiopathic generalized epilepsy

A panchromatic boradiazaindacene (BODIPY) sensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel distyryl-substituted boradiazaindacene (BODIPY) dye displays interesting properties as a sensitizer in DSSC systems, opening the way to further exploration of structure-efficiency correlation within this class of dyes

Doğu Akdeniz deki Atmosferik Parçacıkların, Kuru ve Yaş Çökellerin Kimyasal Karakterinin Belirlenmesi ve Türleştirilmesi: Menşe, Kaynak Bölgeler, Biyo-kullanılabilirlik ve Atmosferik Girdilerin Denizsel Üretime Etkisi

TÜBİTAK ÇAYDAG15.03.2016Ocak 2014 ve Nisan 2015 tarihleri arasında yoğun bir şekilde aerosol (iri, ince ve bulk) ve kuru ve yaş-çökel (yağmur) örneklemeleri yapılmıştır. Atmosferik parçacıkların kütle derişimleri, suda-çözünebilir majör türler, suda-çözünebilir organik azot, üre ve aminoasit konsantrasyonları belirlenmiştir. Son on yılda partikül madde kompozisyonun belirgin bir şekilde değiştiği gözlenirken özellikle ikincil aerosoller sülfat, amonyum ve nitrat derişimlerinin % 50’lere varan düşüşler sergiledikleri belirlenmiştir. Suda-çözünebilir organik azot’un hem atmosferik parçacık (% 37) hem de yağmur (% 29) fazında toplam azota, sudaçözünebilir inorganik azotlar kadar katkı yapabileceği bulgulanmıştır. Tespit edilen üre derişimlerinin aerosol ve yağmurda organik azota sırasıyla % 17 ve % 6 katkı yaptığı bulunurken aminoasit azot katkılarının pek önemli olmadığı gözlenmiştir. Polifosfatların suda-çözünebilir fosfatlara % 20’ler seviyesinde katkı yapabileceği anlaşılırken göz ardı edilemeyecekleri ortaya konmuştur. Suda-çözünebilir organik azotun büyük bir kısmının tarımsal aktivitelerden kaynaklandığı ne var ki, ürenin hem mineral toz hem de tarımsal kökene sahip olduğu bulgulanmıştır. Fosforun; mineral toz (% 34) ve tarımsal (% 33) olmak üzere başlıca iki ana kaynağı olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Alüminyum iz metalinin büyük bir kısmı anyonik forumda gözlenirken demirin anyonik formunun katyonik formuna kıyasla 1,2 kat daha yüksek olduğu görülmüştür. Hem Kıyı hem de Açık istasyonlardan elde edilen yüzey sularına iki değişik içeriğe sahip toz eklenmiştir. Deneyler süresince klorofil miktarının artış sergilediği gözlenirken fosforun ortamdan çekilerek 0,3 nM seviyelerine düşürüldüğü tespit edilmiştir. Denizsel alan çalışmaları, 10 Nisan ve 29-30 Nisan 2015 tarihlerinde yüzey sularında tespit edilen Chl-a artışının, yağan yağmurlarla ilişkili olabileceği göstermiştir.Intensive samplings of both aerosol (fine/coarse and bulk) and rainwater were carried out between January 2014 and April 2015. Determination of mass composition, water soluble major species, water soluble organic nitrogen, urea and amino acid concentrations in atmospheric particles was carried out. Significant changes have been observed in the composition of particulate matter in the last ten years, especially the concentrations of secondary aerosols such as sulfate, amonnium and nitrate were determined to have decreased down to 50% of previous levels. It was found out that contribution of water soluble organic nitrogen is comparable to those of water soluble inorganic nitrogen in both aerosols (37%) and rainwater (29%). While it was observed that urea comprised 17% and 7% of total organic nitrogen in aerosol and rainwater, respectively, contribution of amino acids was found to be insignificant. It has been established that contribution of polyphosphates to water soluble phospates can reach up to a non-negligible 20%. Majority of water soluble organic nitrogen was found to originate from agricultural activities, while urea, was found to be of mixed origin, with comparable contributions from mineral dust and agricultural activities. The two main sources of phosphorus was determined to be mineral dust and agriculture, accounting for 34 and 33 % of total concentration, respectively. It has been observed that major fraction of soluble Al is found in anionic form, while the concentration of anionic soluble Fe is 1.2 times greater than of cationic Fe. Surface waters which were obtained from both coastal and open waters were treated with atmospheric dust of two different compositions. In the course of experiments, chlorophyll was recorded to increase in all treatments while phosphorus was assimilated from the medium down to 0,3 nM. The possible relationship between rain event and Chl-a increase in the surface waters observed in the cruises of April 10 and 29-30 2015 has been documented

The Evaporative Stress Index as an indicator of agricultural drought in Brazil: An assessment based on crop yield impacts

To effectively meet growing food demands, the global agronomic community will require a better understanding of factors that are currently limiting crop yields and where production can be viably expanded with minimal environmental consequences. Remote sensing can inform these analyses, providing valuable spatiotemporal information about yield-limiting moisture conditions and crop response under current climate conditions. In this paper we study correlations for the period 2003-2013 between yield estimates for major crops grown in Brazil and the Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) - an indicator of agricultural drought that describes anomalies in the actual/reference evapotranspiration (ET) ratio, retrieved using remotely sensed inputs of land surface temperature (LST) and leaf area index (LAI). The strength and timing of peak ESI-yield correlations are compared with results using remotely sensed anomalies in water supply (rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Mapping Mission; TRMM) and biomass accumulation (LAI from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer; MODIS). Correlation patterns were generally similar between all indices, both spatially and temporally, with the strongest correlations found in the south and northeast where severe flash droughts have occurred over the past decade, and where yield variability was the highest. Peak correlations tended to occur during sensitive crop growth stages. At the state scale, the ESI provided higher yield correlations for most crops and regions in comparison with TRMM and LAI anomalies. Using finer scale yield estimates reported at the municipality level, ESI correlations with soybean yields peaked higher and earlier by 10 to 25 days in comparison to TRMM and LAI, respectively. In most states, TRMM peak correlations were marginally higher on average with municipality-level annual corn yield estimates, although these estimates do not distinguish between primary and late season harvests. A notable exception occurred in the northeastern state of Bahia, where the ESI better captured effects of rapid cycling of moisture conditions on corn yields during a series of flash drought events. The results demonstrate that for monitoring agricultural drought in Brazil, value is added by combining LAI with LST indicators within a physically based model of crop water use. Published by Elsevier Inc.Embrapa Visiting Scientist Program ; Labex US, an international scientific cooperation program - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - Embrapa, ; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA

Doğu Akdeniz'de mevcut farklı ekosistemlerin - upwelling bölgeleri, açık deniz ve kıta sahanlığı suları - dinamikleri, bakteriyel ve birincil üretim potansiyelleri, üst trofik seviyelere yansımaları

TÜBİTAK ÇAYDAG15.10.2014Türkiye denizleri, su bütçesi, atmosferik ve karasal girdiler, taban topoğrafyası, iklimsel evrim gibi temel etkenlerin belirlediği fiziksel, kimyasal, biyolojik özellikler bakımından büyük farklılıklar içeren zengin ve değişken deniz ekosistemlerini barındırmaktadır. Birincil üretim potansiyelleri açısından Karadeniz’in özellikle kuzeybatı kıta sahanlığı ötrofik, Marmara Denizi ve körfezleri ileri derecede ötrofik, Ege Denizi ve Doğu Akdeniz oligotrofik yapı sergilemektedir. Özgün bir dinamiği olan Doğu Akdeniz, genelde bir uç oligotrofik sistem olarak tanımlansa da, kendi içinde önemli bölgesel farklılıklar göstermektedir. Özellikle karasal tatlı su ve besin girdilerinden etkilenen kuzeydoğu kıta sahanlığı (Mersin ve İskenderun Körfezleri) ve ‘upwelling’ dinamiğinden etkilenen Rodos döngüsünde önemli düzeylerde birincil üretim potansiyeline sahiptirler ve daha yoksul olan açık denizden farklıdırlar. Aktif dinamik yapıya ve zengin biyolojik çeşitliliğe sahip kıyısal denizlerimizin sürekli gözlem, analiz ve model öngörüleri aracılığıyla araştırılmasının sürdürülmesi, büyük stratejik önemi haizdir. Çalışma O.D.T.Ü. Deniz Bilimleri Enstitüsü Araştırma Gemisi Bilim-2 ile anılan sahalarda ve istasyonlarda mevsimsel bazda gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çalışma ile fonksiyonel olarak üç farklı ekosistemi teşkil eden alanlarda bakteriden balıklara uzanan besin zincirinde olası yapısal farklılıklar, üretim potansiyelleri, dinamikleri karşılaştırılmış, toplanan diğer çevre faktörleri ile etkileşimleri irdelenmiştir.Turkish seas accommodate rich and varied marine ecosystems which are diverse in their physical, chemical, biological characteristics as a result of differences in basic driving factors such as the water budget, atmospheric and land-based inputs, bottom topography, climatic evolution. In terms of primary production potential, the Black Sea especially the northwestern continental shelf exhibits eutrophic characteristics, while Marmara Sea and its bays are highly eutrophic, and Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas display oligotrophic structure. Although the Eastern Mediterranean with its rather unique characteristics is often defined as an ultra-oligotrophic system, there are significant regional differences within the system. The northeastern continental shelf (Mersin and İskenderun Bays) influenced by land-based fresh water and nutrient sources and the Rhodes Gyre influenced by ‘upwelling’ dynamics have potential for high primary production, while the open sea is relatively poor. Continued research through continuous observations, analyses and model predictions have immense strategic importance for the well being of our coastal seas possessing energetic dynamics and rich biological diversity. It is proposed that the physical-biochemical variability of the diverse northern Levantine Sea ecosystems be investigated through systematic observations during oceanographic cruises, as well as model-based predictions. Study has been conducted seasonally aboard Research Vessel Bilim-2 of the Institute of Marine Sciences of Middle East Technical University in the referred areas and stations. Throughout the study, in areas that represent the three different functional ecosystems, possible structural differences, productivity potential, and dynamics were compared in the food chain spanning bacteria to fish, and their interactions with the other environmental factors were investigated