Counting of shoots of Eucalyptus sp. clones with convolutional neural network

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar o uso do modelo de rede neural convolucional You Only Look Once (YOLO) para detecção e contagem eficiente de brotos de Eucalyptus sp. em plantações, por meio de fotografias aéreas capturadas por veículos aéreos não tripulados. Para isso, avaliou-se a importância da organização dos dados durante o processo de treinamento do sistema. Foram utilizados dois conjunto de dados para treinar a rede neural convolucional: um consistindo em imagens com um único broto e o outro com pelo menos dez brotos por imagem. Os resultados mostraram altas taxas de precisão e recall para ambos os conjuntos de dados. A rede neural convolucional treinada com imagens contendo dez brotos por imagem apresentou desempenho superior quando aplicada a dados não utilizados durante o treinamento. Portanto, a rede neural convolucional YOLO pode ser usada para detecção e contagem de brotos de clones de Eucalyptus sp. a partir de imagens aéreas capturadas por veículos aéreos não tripulados em áreas florestais. Recomenda-se o uso de imagens contendo dez brotos para compor o conjunto de dados de treinamento para o detector de objetos.The objective of this work was to investigate the use of the You Only Look Once (YOLO) convolutional neural network model for the detection and efficient counting of Eucalyptus sp. shoots in stands through aerial photographs captured by unmanned aerial vehicles. For this, the significance of data organization was evaluated during the system-training process. Two datasets were used to train the convolutional neural network: one consisting of images with a single shoot and another with at least ten shoots per image. The results showed high precision and recall rates for both datasets. The convolutional neural network trained with images containing ten shoots per image showed a superior performance when applied to data not used during training. Therefore, the YOLO convolutional neural network can be used for the detection and counting of shoots of Eucalyptus sp. clones from aerial images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles in forest stands. The use of images containing ten shoots is recommended to compose the training dataset for the object detector

Clinical, Radiographic And Hematological Characteristics Of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia.

To describe the clinical, hematological and radiographic characteristics of children hospitalized for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. The study population consisted of 190 children between 3 months and 16 years old, hospitalized for radiographically confirmed pneumonia. Patients were divided into two groups, to wit: 95 children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia, as diagnosed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method; and 95 children with pneumonia caused by other etiologic agents. Using a validated scoring system, the clinical, hematological and radiographic findings of both groups were compared to differentiate Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (group 1) from pneumonia caused by other etiologic agents (group 2), itself divided into two groups, bacterial (n = 75) and viral (n = 20). Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia was found most often in girls (p < 0.01), older children (p < 0.01), and patients with dry cough (p < 0.01) and extrapulmonary manifestations (p < 0.01). The clinical, hematological and radiographic variables of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (mean score = 6.95) scored between those found in bacterial (mean score = 8.27) and viral pneumonia (mean score = 0.90). Results suggest that the scoring system can contribute to the presumptive diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and help differentiate pneumonic status caused by other etiologic agents.86480-

Characterization and Trends of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Fire Emissions in the Brazilian Cerrado during 2002–2017

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Fire occurrence is a major disturbance in the Brazilian Cerrado, which is driven by both natural and anthropogenic activities. Despite increasing efforts for monitoring the Cerrado, a biome-scale study for quantifying and understanding the variability of fire emissions is still needed. We aimed at characterizing and finding trends in Particulate Matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) fire emissions in the Brazilian Cerrado using the PREP-CHEM-SRC emissions preprocessing tool and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fires datasets for the 2002–2017 period. Our results showed that, on average, the Cerrado emitted 1.08 Tg year−1 of PM2.5 associated with fires, accounting for 25% and 15% of the PM2.5 fire emissions in Brazil and South America, respectively. Most of the PM2.5 fire emissions were concentrated in the end of the dry season (August, 0.224 Tg month−1 and September, 0.386 Tg month−1) and in the transitional month (October, 0.210 Tg month−1). Annually, 66% of the total emissions occurred over the savanna land cover; however, active fires that were detected in the evergreen broadleaf land cover tended to emit more than active fires occurring in the savanna land cover. Spatially, each 0.1° grid cell emitted, on average, 0.5 Mg km−2 year−1 of PM2.5 associated with fires, but the values can reach to 16.6 Mg km−2 year−1 in a single cell. Higher estimates of PM2.5 emissions associated with fires were mostly concentrated in the northern region, which is the current agricultural expansion frontier in this biome. When considering the entire Cerrado, we found an annual decreasing trend representing -1.78% of the annual average PM2.5 emitted from fires during the period analyzed, however, the grid cell analysis found annual trends representing ± 35% of the annual average PM2.5 fire emissions

The Syrian Kurds’ race towards autonomy: have they obtained the necessary amount of political and military leverage to claim a long-term de jure autonomous Kurdish region in Syria?

The aim of this article is to examine to what extent have the Syrian Kurds, during the Syrian War and the battle against the ISIS, achieved the necessary strategic leverage towards their goal of reaching an autonomous Kurdish de jure region in Syria. Thus, based on the history of the Kurdish-Syrian conflict and the international literature on the subject, the article inquires about the possibility of extensive and fair negotiations between the Kurds and the Syrian regime on the basis of a post-war agreement concerning the Syrian State. In order to do so, firstly it analyzes how the war in Syria and Western support for Syrian Kurdish actors have strengthened Kurdish political and military power in the region, as well as the underlying aspects of this support. The article then discusses why such support would not also imply the support for the claims of a de jure Kurdish region in Syria, and also assesses whether a de facto autonomy would be sustainable in the long term. Finally, the article presents its conclusive arguments about the state of the situation and possible measures to overcome the conflict.Tradução:O presente artigo visa examinar a seguinte questão: até que ponto os curdos sírios, durante a Guerra Síria e o combate ao ISIS, obtiveram uma alavancagem estratégica em direção ao seu objetivo de alcançar uma região curda autônoma de jure na Síria? Assim, com base no histórico do conflito curdo-sírio e na literatura internacional a respeito do tema, o artigo perquire sobre a existência de uma possibilidade de negociações amplas e justas entre os curdos e o regime sírio sobre as bases de um Estado Sírio pós-guerra. Para isso, em primeiro lugar, analisar-se-á como a guerra na Síria e o apoio ocidental a atores curdos sírios reforçaram o poder político e militar curdo na região, e também os aspectos subjacentes deste apoio. Então, o artigo discute por que tal apoio não implicaria também no apoio, por parte destes atores ocidentais, às pretensões de autonomia curda de jure, avaliando também se uma autonomia de facto seria sustentável em longo prazo. Por fim, o artigo apresenta seus argumentos conclusivos sobre o estado da situação e possíveis medidas para superar o conflito

Dietary, Anthropometric, and Biochemical Determinants of Plasma High-Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol in Free-Living Adults

The level of high-density lipoprotein is thought to be critical in inhibiting lesion formation as well as reducing the lipid load of preexisting atherosclerotic lesions. With the aim of determining the main determinants of plasma HDL-cholesterol (HDL-c) in free-living adults, 997 individuals (52.3 ± 10 years, 67% females) were selected for a descriptive cross-sectional study. The used data corresponded to the baseline obtained from participants clinically selected for a lifestyle modification program. Covariables of clinical, anthropometry, food intake, aerobic fitness, and plasma biochemistry were analyzed against plasma HDL-c either as continuous or categorized variables. After adjustments for age, gender, and BMI the excess of abdominal fat along with high carbohydrate-energy intake and altered plasma triglycerides were the stronger predictors of reduced plasma HDL-c. In conclusion lifestyle interventions aiming to normalize abdominal fatness and plasma triglycerides are recommended to restore normal levels of HDL-c in these free-living adults

POSITIVISMO DESAFIADO: DO CONCEITO DE DIREITO AO PÓS-ESCRITO DE HART E SUA RELAÇÃO COM A CRÍTICA DE DWORKIN

O presente trabalho busca apresentar uma análise argumentativa da resposta do pós-escrito de O Conceito de Direito às críticas formuladas por Dworkin. Primeiramente, será demonstrado que Hart intenta uma teoria descritiva geral do direito, enquanto Dworkin propõe uma teoria liberal do direito. Em seguida, explica-se a teoria de Hart como união de regras primárias e secundárias. Posteriormente serão analisadas as críticas de Dworkin. A metodologia do trabalho baseou-se em pesquisa teórica, com levantamento bibliográfico. Para fundamentar as hipóteses foi utilizado o método dedutivo. Finalmente, defende-se que a posição de Dworkin não apresenta um desafio real para O Conceito de Direito

Counting of shoots of Eucalyptus sp. clones with convolutional neural network

Abstract The objective of this work was to investigate the use of the You Only Look Once (YOLO) convolutional neural network model for the detection and efficient counting of Eucalyptus sp. shoots in stands through aerial photographs captured by unmanned aerial vehicles. For this, the significance of data organization was evaluated during the system-training process. Two datasets were used to train the convolutional neural network: one consisting of images with a single shoot and another with at least ten shoots per image. The results showed high precision and recall rates for both datasets. The convolutional neural network trained with images containing ten shoots per image showed a superior performance when applied to data not used during training. Therefore, the YOLO convolutional neural network can be used for the detection and counting of shoots of Eucalyptus sp. clones from aerial images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles in forest stands. The use of images containing ten shoots is recommended to compose the training dataset for the object detector

A remote sensing-based method to assess water level fluctuations in wetlands in southern Brazil.

The characterization of water level fluctuations is crucial to explain the hydrological processes that contribute to the maintenance of the structure and function of wetlands. The aim of this study was to develop a method based on remote sensing to characterize and map the water level variation patterns, evapotranspiration, discharge, and rainfall over wetlands in the Gravataí River basin, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. For this purpose, ground-based measurements of rainfall, water discharge, and evapotranspiration together with satellite data were used to identify the apparent water level based on the normalized difference water index (NDWI). Our results showed that the variation of the water level followed the rainfall, water discharge, and evapotranspiration seasonal patterns in the region. The NDWI showed similar values to the ground-based data collected 10 days prior to satellite image acquisition. The proposed technique allows for quantifying the pattern of flood pulses, which play an important role for establishing the connectivity between different compartments of wetlands in the study area. We conclude that our methodology based on the use of satellite data and ground measurements was a useful proposition to analyze the water level variation patterns in an area of great importance in terms of environmental degradation and use of agriculture. The information obtained may be used as inputs in hydrologic models, allowing researchers to evaluate the impact, at both local and regional scales, caused by advance of agriculture into natural environments such as wetlands

Sarcoma retroperitoneal: relato de caso

Introduction: Retroperitoneal sarcoma is a rare malignant tumor, originating in the mesenchymal cell that undergoes changes in its genetic code, thus producing atypical tissue. It is usually an asymptomatic pathology until it reaches a considerable size of mass, in which, its growth is the main factor causing symptoms. Diagnostic confirmation takes place through imaging tests in addition to biopsy and anatomopathological studies. The treatment of choice is surgery, increasing the survival of the affected patient. Objective: disclose a case of retroperitoneal sarcoma in a patient of the Hospital Escola de Valença, with its consequent outcome, through the analysis of medical records and studies in literature. Case report: 65-years-old man treated at the Hospital Escola de Valença presenting low back pain and hematuria, a retroperitoneal mass was identified with consequent resection and histological studies, showing high degree spindle cell sarcoma. Conclusion: Retroperitoneal lesions are rare findings and represent a therapeutic challenge because, in most cases, patients are asymptomatic or with non specific symptoms. Keywords: Mesenchymal tumor, malignancy, retroperitoneum, surgeryIntrodução: O sarcoma retroperitoneal é um tumor maligno, raro, com origem na célula mesenquimal que sofre alteração em seu código genético, produzindo assim um tecido atípico. Normalmente é uma patologia assintomática até atingir um tamanho considerável de massa, na qual, seu crescimento é o principal fator causador de sintomas. A confirmação diagnóstica se dá através de exames de imagem somadas à biopsia e estudos anatomopatológicos. O tratamento de escolha é a cirurgia, aumentando a sobrevida do paciente acometido. Objetivo: divulgar um caso de sarcoma retroperitoneal em um paciente do Hospital Escola de Valença, com seu consequente desfecho, através da análise de prontuário e estudos em literatura. Relato de caso: Homem de 65 anos atendido no Hospital Escola de Valença apresentando dor lombar e hematúria, sendo identificada massa retroperitoneal com consequente ressecção da mesma e realização de estudos histológicos, evidenciando sarcoma de células fusiformes de alto grau. Conclusão: As lesões retroperitoneais são achados raros e representam um desafio terapêutico pois na maioria das vezes os pacientes se apresentam assintomáticos ou com sintomas inespecíficos

Manifestações do racismo institucional e religioso em comunidades quilombolas no Mato Grosso do Sul

Este artigo tem como objetivo compreender aspectos das dimensões institucional e religiosa do racismo que se manifesta em comunidadesquilombolas no Mato Grosso do Sul, no Centro-Oeste brasileiro. Como estratégia metodológica, realizou-se uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa, na qual foram realizados processos de observação participante, diálogos e interações com quilombolas de sete comunidades localizadas no Mato Grosso do Sul. De um modo geral, foi possível constatar que as manifestações de racismo institucional e religioso fazem com que as comunidades quilombolas sejam espaços de significativa precariedade, nos quais os sujeitos aquilombados subsistem, sem que consigam acessar um conjunto de serviços públicos básicos, além de serem compulsoriamente impelidos a renunciar elementos de sua história, cultura e até de sua subjetividade. Sem a pretensão de esgotar a temática, o artigo traz, nas considerações finais, algumas problematizações que reforçam a necessidade do engajamento no combate às manifestações de racismo na sociedade contemporânea.