Assessing the Success of Postfire Reseeding in Semiarid Rangelands Using Terra MODIS

Successful postfire reseeding efforts can aid rangeland ecosystem recovery by rapidly establishing a desired plant community and thereby reducing the likelihood of infestation by invasive plants. Although the success of postfire remediation is critical, few efforts have been made to leverage existing geospatial technologies to develop methodologies to assess reseeding success following a fire. In this study, Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data were used to improve the capacity to assess postfire reseeding rehabilitation efforts, with particular emphasis on the semiarid rangelands of Idaho. Analysis of MODIS data demonstrated a positive effect of reseeding on rangeland ecosystem recovery, as well as differences in vegetation between reseeded areas and burned areas where no reseeding had occurred (P,0.05). We conclude that MODIS provides useful data to assess the success of postfire reseeding

2011 Rangeland Vegetation Assessment in the Big Desert, Upper Snake River Plain, Idaho

ABSTRACT To better understand long term post-fire effects in sagebrush-steppe ecosystems, vegetation data were collected at 50 randomly located sample points during the month of June 2011. In particular, field samples were acquired on June 6-7, 13-14, 21-22, and 27-28 th . Data were collected at the area known as the Big Desert using line-point intercept transects to characterize land cover. Additionally, sagebrush stem diameter measurements were taken to determine the average age of sagebrush plants. Average age estimations were used to analyze the recovery rate of sagebrush following the 2006 Crystal fire and thereby better understand fire intensity and severity at each sample site. Based upon a previous study using Local Net Primary Productivity Scaling, data collection and analysis included ten sites considered "always degraded" and ten sample sites considered "never degraded". The purpose of this data collection and analysis was to determine if a difference in land cover (by functional group) and sagebrush age existed within these two areas. Sites classified as "always degraded" had an average sagebrush plant age of 13.4 years while "never degraded" sites held a slightly higher average at 15.6 years. Grass was the most common cover type across all sites (n = 50) and rock was the least common. Areas considered "always degraded" were dominated by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and litter while "never degraded" sites were dominated by shrubs and forbs. A difference in percent grass and shrub cover was found between "always degraded" and "never degraded" sites (P < 0.05)

A New Application to Facilitate Post-Fire Recovery and Rehabilitation in Savanna Ecosystems

The U.S. government spends an estimated $3billion per year to fight forest fires in the United States. Post-fire rehabilitation activities represent a small but essential portion of that total. The Rehabilitation Capability Convergence for Ecosystem Recovery (RECOVER) system is currently under development for Savanna ecosystems in the western U.S. The prototype of this system has been built and will have realworld testing during the summer 2013 fire season. When fully deployed, the RECOVER system will provide the emergency rehabilitation teams with critical and timely information for management decisions regarding stabilization and rehabilitation strategies

Hyperspectral data processing for repeat detection of small infestations of leafy spurge.

Abstract Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) is an invasive plant species in the north central and western U.S. and southern Canada. Idaho has established populations in the north and southeastern regions which are spreading into new sites. This study demonstrates the ability of high resolution hyperspectral imagery to provide high quality data and consistent methods to locate small and low percent canopy cover occurrences of leafy spurge. Locating leafy spurge in its early stages of invasion is critical for land managers in order to prioritize treatment, conservation, and restoration activities. Hyperspectral data were collected in 2002 and 2003 for the study area in southeastern Idaho. The imagery was classified with the Mixture Tuned Matched Filtering (MTMF) algorithm. Although classifications from single date images provided discrimination of leafy spurge at approximately 10% cover in one 3.5 m pixel, for repeatability and consistency purposes, the threshold for leafy spurge discrimination is approximately 40% cover. We hypothesize that georegistration errors, small differences in leafy spurge reflectance, training endmember selection, and image processing and field validation biases between years influence multi-date detection limits. Although hyperspectral imagery is costly, in some situations, the advantages of having reliable and repeatable mapping abilities for discrimination of economically damaging invasive species such as leafy spurge outweigh the image and processing costs.

Paracentesis: Faster and easier using the RenovaRP® pump

PURPOSEParacentesis is commonly performed in interventional radiology practice, and large volume paracentesis (LVP) using wall suction can take up to an hour to complete, placing significant stress on room and resource time. As the number of LVP procedures performed by Interventional Radiologists continue to increase, this study was undertaken to analyze the impact of the RenovaRP® Paracentesis Management System (GI Supply) on procedure time and patient satisfaction.METHODSBetween March 9, 2020 and May 29, 2020, procedural data and patient satisfaction was collected as part of a practice quality improvement project and retrospectively analyzed on 39 sequential paracenteses performed with wall suction prior to acquiring the RenovaRP® system and subsequently on 42 paracenteses performed with use of the device.RESULTSA substantially higher fluid flow rate was found using the RenovaRP® system compared to wall suction, 237.2 mL/min vs. 108.6 mL/min (P < .001). This resulted in a significant decrease in procedure room time from 53 min to 31 min (P < .001). There was associated improvement in the patient experience during paracentesis.CONCLUSIONThe RenovaRP® decreases procedure time for LVP with improvement in the patient experience during paracentesis

An i2b2-based, generalizable, open source, self-scaling chronic disease registry

Objective: Registries are a well-established mechanism for obtaining high quality, disease-specific data, but are often highly project-specific in their design, implementation, and policies for data use. In contrast to the conventional model of centralized data contribution, warehousing, and control, we design a self-scaling registry technology for collaborative data sharing, based upon the widely adopted Integrating Biology & the Bedside (i2b2) data warehousing framework and the Shared Health Research Information Network (SHRINE) peer-to-peer networking software. Materials and methods Focusing our design around creation of a scalable solution for collaboration within multi-site disease registries, we leverage the i2b2 and SHRINE open source software to create a modular, ontology-based, federated infrastructure that provides research investigators full ownership and access to their contributed data while supporting permissioned yet robust data sharing. We accomplish these objectives via web services supporting peer-group overlays, group-aware data aggregation, and administrative functions. Results: The 56-site Childhood Arthritis & Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Registry and 3-site Harvard Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Longitudinal Data Repository now utilize i2b2 self-scaling registry technology (i2b2-SSR). This platform, extensible to federation of multiple projects within and between research networks, encompasses >6000 subjects at sites throughout the USA. Discussion We utilize the i2b2-SSR platform to minimize technical barriers to collaboration while enabling fine-grained control over data sharing. Conclusions: The implementation of i2b2-SSR for the multi-site, multi-stakeholder CARRA Registry has established a digital infrastructure for community-driven research data sharing in pediatric rheumatology in the USA. We envision i2b2-SSR as a scalable, reusable solution facilitating interdisciplinary research across diseases