Measuring β-diversity by remote sensing: a challenge for biodiversity monitoring

Biodiversity includes multiscalar and multitemporal structures and processes, with different levels of functional organization, from genetic to ecosystemic levels. One of the mostly used methods to infer biodiversity is based on taxonomic approaches and community ecology theories. However, gathering extensive data in the field is difficult due to logistic problems, especially when aiming at modelling biodiversity changes in space and time, which assumes statistically sound sampling schemes. In this context, airborne or satellite remote sensing allows information to be gathered over wide areas in a reasonable time. Most of the biodiversity maps obtained from remote sensing have been based on the inference of species richness by regression analysis. On the contrary, estimating compositional turnover (β‐diversity) might add crucial information related to relative abundance of different species instead of just richness. Presently, few studies have addressed the measurement of species compositional turnover from space. Extending on previous work, in this manuscript, we propose novel techniques to measure β‐diversity from airborne or satellite remote sensing, mainly based on: (1) multivariate statistical analysis, (2) the spectral species concept, (3) self‐organizing feature maps, (4) multidimensional distance matrices, and the (5) Rao's Q diversity. Each of these measures addresses one or several issues related to turnover measurement. This manuscript is the first methodological example encompassing (and enhancing) most of the available methods for estimating β‐diversity from remotely sensed imagery and potentially relating them to species diversity in the field

Long-Term Secondary Care Costs of Endometrial Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study Nested within the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS).

BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence on the costs of Endometrial Cancer (EC) by stage of disease. We estimated the long-term secondary care costs of EC according to stage at diagnosis in an English population-based cohort. METHODS: Women participating in UKCTOCS and diagnosed with EC following enrolment (2001-2005) and prior to 31st Dec 2009 were identified to have EC through multiple sources. Survival was calculated through data linkage to death registry. Costs estimates were derived from hospital records accessed from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) with additional patient level covariates derived from case notes and patient questionnaires. Missing and censored data was imputed using Multiple Imputation. Regression analysis of cost and survival was undertaken. RESULTS: 491 of 641 women with EC were included. Five year total costs were strongly dependent on stage, ranging from £9,475 (diagnosis at stage IA/IB) to £26,080 (diagnosis at stage III). Stage, grade and BMI were the strongest predictors of costs. The majority of costs for stage I/II EC were incurred in the first six months after diagnosis while for stage III / IV considerable costs accrued after the first six months. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to survival advantages, there are significant cost savings if patients with EC are detected earlier.The analysis underpinning this study was supported with a grant from Cancer Research UK (CRUK Grant No: A16008) awarded to RL (http://www.cancerresearchuk. org/funding-for-researchers). The trial (UKCTOCS) for which the patients in this study form a subgroup was funded by the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, the Department of Health and the Eve Appeal

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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A comparative study of the magnetocaloric effect in RNi2 (R=Nd, Gd, Tb) intermetallic compounds

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conventional and anisotropic magnetocaloric effects were studied in cubic rare earth RNi2 (R= Nd, Gd, Tb) ferromagnetic intermetallic compounds. These three compounds are representative of small, null, and large magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the series, respectively. Magnetic measurements were performed in polycrystalline samples in order to obtain the isothermal magnetocaloric data, which were confronted with theoretical results based on mean field calculations. For the R=Tb case, we explore the crystalline electrical-field anisotropy to predict the anisotropic magnetocaloric behavior due to the rotation of an applied magnetic field of constant intensity. Our results suggest the possibility of using both conventional and anisotropic magnetic entropy changes to extend the range of temperatures for use in the magnetocaloric effect. c 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3054178]1051Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CICECO[REEQ/1126/2001]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)[REEQ/1126/2001