Investigating limitations of SURF approach for thermal imaging analysis and mapping

Wildlife conservation involves an understanding of a specific animal, its environment and the interaction within a local ecosystem. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) present cost effective, non-intrusive solution for detecting animals over large areas and the use thermal imaging cameras offer the ability detect animals that would otherwise be concealed to visible light cameras. This report examines some of limitations on using SURF for the development of large maps using multiple stills images extracted from the thermal imaging video camera which contain wildlife (eg. Koala in them).

Decision fusion for reliable flood mapping using remote sensing images

Flood extent mapping is a basic tool for flood damage assessment, which can be done by digital classification techniques using satellite imageries, including the data recorded by radar and optical sensors. However, converting the data into the information we need is not a straightforward task. One of the great challenges involved in the data interpretation is to separate the permanent water bodies and flooding regions, including both the fully inundated areas and the wet areas where trees and houses are partly covered with water. This paper adopts the decision fusion technique to combine the mapping results from radar data and the NDVI data derived from optical data. An improved capacity in terms of identifying the permanent or semi-permanent water bodies from flood inundated areas has been achieved. Computer software tools Multispec and Matlab were used.

Attrition and success rates of accelerated students in nursing courses: A systematic review

Background There is a comprehensive literature on the academic outcomes (attrition and success) of students in traditional/baccalaureate nursing programs, but much less is known about the academic outcomes of students in accelerated nursing programs. The aim of this systematic review is to report on the attrition and success rates (either internal examination or NCLEX-RN) of accelerated students, compared to traditional students. Methods For the systematic review, the databases (Pubmed, Cinahl and PsychINFO) and Google Scholar were searched using the search terms ‘accelerated’ or ‘accreditation for prior learning’, ‘fast-track’ or ‘top up’ and ‘nursing’ with ‘attrition’ or ‘retention’ or ‘withdrawal’ or ‘success’ from 1994 to January 2016. All relevant articles were included, regardless of quality. Results The findings of 19 studies of attrition rates and/or success rates for accelerated students are reported. For international accelerated students, there were only three studies, which are heterogeneous, and have major limitations. One of three studies has lower attrition rates, and one has shown higher success rates, than traditional students. In contrast, another study has shown high attrition and low success for international accelerated students. For graduate accelerated students, most of the studies are high quality, and showed that they have rates similar or better than traditional students. Thus, five of six studies have shown similar or lower attrition rates. Four of these studies with graduate accelerated students and an additional seven studies of success rates only, have shown similar or better success rates, than traditional students. There are only three studies of non-university graduate accelerated students, and these had weaknesses, but were consistent in reporting higher attrition rates than traditional students. Conclusions The paucity and weakness of information available makes it unclear as to the attrition and/or success of international accelerated students in nursing programs. The good information available suggests that accelerated programs may be working reasonably well for the graduate students. However, the limited information available for non-university graduate students is weak, but consistent, in suggesting they may struggle in accelerated courses. Further studies are needed to determine the attrition and success rates of accelerated students, particularly for international and non-university graduate students.

Electrocardiographic repolarization variables in detecting myocardial infarction and ischemic injury : From body surface potential mapping to a single lead

The aim of the studies was to improve the diagnostic capability of electrocardiography (ECG) in detecting myocardial ischemic injury with a future goal of an automatic screening and monitoring method for ischemic heart disease. The method of choice was body surface potential mapping (BSPM), containing numerous leads, with intention to find the optimal recording sites and optimal ECG variables for ischemia and myocardial infarction (MI) diagnostics. The studies included 144 patients with prior MI, 79 patients with evolving ischemia, 42 patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and 84 healthy controls. Study I examined the depolarization wave in prior MI with respect to MI location. Studies II-V examined the depolarization and repolarization waves in prior MI detection with respect to the Minnesota code, Q-wave status, and study V also with respect to MI location. In study VI the depolarization and repolarization variables were examined in 79 patients in the face of evolving myocardial ischemia and ischemic injury. When analyzed from a single lead at any recording site the results revealed superiority of the repolarization variables over the depolarization variables and over the conventional 12-lead ECG methods, both in the detection of prior MI and evolving ischemic injury. The QT integral, covering both depolarization and repolarization, appeared indifferent to the Q-wave status, the time elapsed from MI, or the MI or ischemia location. In the face of evolving ischemic injury the performance of the QT integral was not hampered even by underlying LVH. The examined depolarization and repolarization variables were effective when recorded in a single site, in contrast to the conventional 12-lead ECG criteria. The inverse spatial correlation of the depolarization and depolarization waves in myocardial ischemia and injury could be reduced into the QT integral variable recorded in a single site on the left flank. In conclusion, the QT integral variable, detectable in a single lead, with optimal recording site on the left flank, was able to detect prior MI and evolving ischemic injury more effectively than the conventional ECG markers. The QT integral, in a single-lead or a small number of leads, offers potential for automated screening of ischemic heart disease, acute ischemia monitoring and therapeutic decision-guiding as well as risk stratification.

Impact of chemotherapy on cancer-related fatigue and cytokines in 1312 patients: A systematic review of quantitative studies

Purpose of review: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is the most common psychosomatic distress experienced by cancer patients before, during and after chemotherapy. Its impact on functional status and Health Related Quality of Life is a great concern among patients, healthcare professionals and researchers. The primary objective of this systematic review is to determine whether the different chemotherapies affect the association of CRF with individual pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. The PRISMA statement guideline has been followed to systematically search and screen article from PubMed and Embase. Recent findings: This review has examined 14 studies which included a total of 1312 patients. These studies assayed 20 different kinds of cytokines. The cytokines interleukin-6, interleukin-1RA, TGF-[beta] and sTNF-R2 were associated with CRF in patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy. However, only interleukin-13 was identified in the taxane-based chemotherapy. Similarly, different sets of cytokines were linked with CRF in patients with chemotherapy regimens containing platinum, cyclophosphamides, topotecan or bleomycin. Summary: This review has identified that cytokines are differentially linked with CRF according to the various types of chemotherapy regimens.

Mapping of Average Shear Wave Velocity for Bangalore Region: A Case Study

Mapping the shear wave velocity profile is an important part in seismic hazard and microzonation studies. The shear wave velocity of soil in the city of Bangalore was mapped using the Multichannel Analysis of Surface Wave (MASW) technique. An empirical relationship was found between the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) corrected N value ((N1)60cs) and measured shear wave velocity (Vs). The survey points were selected in such a way that the results represent the entire Bangalore region, covering an area of 220 km2. Fifty-eight 1-D and 20 2-D MASW surveys were performed and their velocity profiles determined. The average shear wave velocity of Bangalore soils was evaluated for depths of 5 m, 10 m, 15 m, 20 m, 25 m and 30 m. The sub-soil classification was made for seismic local site effect evaluation based on average shear wave velocity of 30-m depth (Vs30) of sites using the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and International Building Code (IBC) classification. Mapping clearly indicates that the depth of soil obtained from MASW closely matches with the soil layers identified in SPT bore holes. Estimation of local site effects for an earthquake requires knowledge of the dynamic properties of soil, which is usually expressed in terms of shear wave velocity. Hence, to make use of abundant SPT data available on many geotechnical projects in Bangalore, an attempt was made to develop a relationship between Vs (m/s) and (N1)60cs. The measured shear wave velocity at 38 locations close to SPT boreholes was used to generate the correlation between the corrected N values and shear wave velocity. A power fit model correlation was developed with a regression coefficient (R2) of 0.84. This relationship between shear wave velocity and corrected SPT N values correlates well with the Japan Road Association equations.

In-training assessment - Its potential in enhancing clinical teaching

Context In-training assessment (ITA) has established its place alongside formative and summative assessment at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. In this paper the authors aimed to identify those characteristics of ITA that could enhance clinical teaching. Methods A literature review and discussions by an expert working group at the Ninth Cambridge Conference identified the aspects of ITA that could enhance clinical teaching. Results The features of ITA identified included defining the specific benefits to the learner, teacher and institution, and highlighting the patient as the context for ITA and clinical teaching. The ‘mapping’ of a learner’s progress towards the clinical teaching objectives by using multiple assessments over time, by multiple observers in both a systematic and opportunistic way correlates with the incremental nature of reaching clinical competence. Conclusions The importance of ITA based on both direct and indirect evidence of what the learner actually does in the real clinical setting is emphasized. Particular attention is given to addressing concerns in the more controversial areas of assessor training, ratings and documentation for ITA. Areas for future research are also identified.

Systematic study on crystal-contact engineering of diphthine synthase: influence of mutations at crystal-packing regions on X-ray diffraction quality

It is well known that protein crystallizability can be influenced by site-directed mutagenesis of residues on the molecular surface of proteins, indicating that the intermolecular interactions in crystal-packing regions may play a crucial role in the structural regularity at atomic resolution of protein crystals. Here, a systematic examination was made of the improvement in the diffraction resolution of protein crystals on introducing a single mutation of a crystal-packing residue in order to provide more favourable packing interactions, using diphthine synthase from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3 as a model system. All of a total of 21 designed mutants at 13 different crystal-packing residues yielded almost isomorphous crystals from the same crystallization conditions as those used for the wild-type crystals, which diffracted X-rays to 2.1 angstrom resolution. Of the 21 mutants, eight provided crystals with an improved resolution of 1.8 angstrom or better. Thus, it has been clarified that crystal quality can be improved by introducing a suitable single mutation of a crystal-packing residue. In the improved crystals, more intimate crystal-packing interactions than those in the wild-type crystal are observed. Notably, the mutants K49R and T146R yielded crystals with outstandingly improved resolutions of 1.5 and 1.6 angstrom, respectively, in which a large-scale rearrangement of packing interactions was unexpectedly observed despite the retention of the same isomorphous crystal form. In contrast, the mutants that provided results that were in good agreement with the designed putative structures tended to achieve only moderate improvements in resolution of up to 1.75 angstrom. These results suggest a difficulty in the rational prediction of highly effective mutations in crystal engineering.

Place categorization and semantic mapping on a mobile robot

In this paper we focus on the challenging problem of place categorization and semantic mapping on a robot with-out environment-specific training. Motivated by their ongoing success in various visual recognition tasks, we build our system upon a state-of-the-art convolutional network. We overcome its closed-set limitations by complementing the network with a series of one-vs-all classifiers that can learn to recognize new semantic classes online. Prior domain knowledge is incorporated by embedding the classification system into a Bayesian filter framework that also ensures temporal coherence. We evaluate the classification accuracy of the system on a robot that maps a variety of places on our campus in real-time. We show how semantic information can boost robotic object detection performance and how the semantic map can be used to modulate the robot’s behaviour during navigation tasks. The system is made available to the community as a ROS module.

Mapping sociocultural controversies across digital media platforms: One week of #gamergate on Twitter, YouTube, and Tumblr

Social media play a prominent role in mediating issues of public concern, not only providing the stage on which public debates play out but also shaping their topics and dynamics. Building on and extending existing approaches to both issue mapping and social media analysis, this article explores ways of accounting for popular media practices and the special case of ‘born digital’ sociocultural controversies. We present a case study of the GamerGate controversy with a particular focus on a spike in activity associated with a 2015 Law and Order: SVU episode about gender-based violence and harassment in games culture that was widely interpreted as being based on events associated with GamerGate. The case highlights the importance and challenges of accounting for the cultural dynamics of digital media within and across platforms.

Mixed pixel analysis for flood mapping using extended support vector machine

This paper addresses the challenges of flood mapping using multispectral images. Quantitative flood mapping is critical for flood damage assessment and management. Remote sensing images obtained from various satellite or airborne sensors provide valuable data for this application, from which the information on the extent of flood can be extracted. However the great challenge involved in the data interpretation is to achieve more reliable flood extent mapping including both the fully inundated areas and the 'wet' areas where trees and houses are partly covered by water. This is a typical combined pure pixel and mixed pixel problem. In this paper, an extended Support Vector Machines method for spectral unmixing developed recently has been applied to generate an integrated map showing both pure pixels (fully inundated areas) and mixed pixels (trees and houses partly covered by water). The outputs were compared with the conventional mean based linear spectral mixture model, and better performance was demonstrated with a subset of Landsat ETM+ data recorded at the Daly River Basin, NT, Australia, on 3rd March, 2008, after a flood event.

A systematic design of high-rate full-diversity space-frequency codes for MIMO-OFDM systems

This paper presents a systematic construction of high-rate and full-diversity space-frequency block codes for MIMO-OFDM systems. While all prior constructions offer only a maximum rate of one complex symbol per channel use, our construction yields rate equal to the number of transmit antennas and simultaneously achieves full-diversity. The proposed construction works for arbitrary number of transmit antennas and arbitrary channel power delay profile. A key step in this construction is the generalization of the stacked matrix code design criteria given by Bolcskei et.al., (IEEE WCNC 2000). Explicit equivalence of our generalized code design criteria with the Hadamard-product based criteria of W. Su et.al., (lEEE Trans. Sig. Proc. Nov 2003) is established and new high-rate codes are constructed using our criteria.

The selection, optimization, and compensation model in the work context: A systematic review and meta-analysis of two decades of research

Over the past two decades, the selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model has been applied in the work context to investigate antecedents and outcomes of employees' use of action regulation strategies. We systematically review, meta-analyze, and critically discuss the literature on SOC strategy use at work and outline directions for future research and practice. The systematic review illustrates the breadth of constructs that have been studied in relation to SOC strategy use, and that SOC strategy use can mediate and moderate relationships of person and contextual antecedents with work outcomes. Results of the meta-analysis show that SOC strategy use is positively related to age (rc = .04), job autonomy (rc = .17), self-reported job performance (rc = .23), non-self-reported job performance (rc = .21), job satisfaction (rc = .25), and job engagement (rc = .38), whereas SOC strategy use is not significantly related to job tenure, job demands, and job strain. Overall, our findings underline the importance of the SOC model for the work context, and they also suggest that its measurement and reporting standards need to be improved to become a reliable guide for future research and organizational practice.

Mixed pixel analysis and assessment for flood mapping

The most difficult operation in flood inundation mapping using optical flood images is to map the ‘wet’ areas where trees and houses are partly covered by water. This can be referred to as a typical problem of the presence of mixed pixels in the images. A number of automatic information extracting image classification algorithms have been developed over the years for flood mapping using optical remote sensing images, with most labelling a pixel as a particular class. However, they often fail to generate reliable flood inundation mapping because of the presence of mixed pixels in the images. To solve this problem, spectral unmixing methods have been developed. In this thesis, methods for selecting endmembers and the method to model the primary classes for unmixing, the two most important issues in spectral unmixing, are investigated. We conduct comparative studies of three typical spectral unmixing algorithms, Partial Constrained Linear Spectral unmixing, Multiple Endmember Selection Mixture Analysis and spectral unmixing using the Extended Support Vector Machine method. They are analysed and assessed by error analysis in flood mapping using MODIS, Landsat and World View-2 images. The Conventional Root Mean Square Error Assessment is applied to obtain errors for estimated fractions of each primary class. Moreover, a newly developed Fuzzy Error Matrix is used to obtain a clear picture of error distributions at the pixel level. This thesis shows that the Extended Support Vector Machine method is able to provide a more reliable estimation of fractional abundances and allows the use of a complete set of training samples to model a defined pure class. Furthermore, it can be applied to analysis of both pure and mixed pixels to provide integrated hard-soft classification results. Our research also identifies and explores a serious drawback in relation to endmember selections in current spectral unmixing methods which apply fixed sets of endmember classes or pure classes for mixture analysis of every pixel in an entire image. However, as it is not accurate to assume that every pixel in an image must contain all endmember classes, these methods usually cause an over-estimation of the fractional abundances in a particular pixel. In this thesis, a subset of adaptive endmembers in every pixel is derived using the proposed methods to form an endmember index matrix. The experimental results show that using the pixel-dependent endmembers in unmixing significantly improves performance.