Quantitative assessment of information quality in textual sources for landslide inventories

Landslides ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Kreuzer ◽  
Bodo Damm ◽  
Birgit Terhorst

AbstractLandslide research chiefly relies on digital inventories for a multitude of spatial, temporal, and/or process analyses. In respect thereof, many landslide inventories are populated with information from textual documents (e.g., news articles, technical reports) due to effectiveness. However, information detail can vary greatly in these documents and the question arises whether such textual information is suitable for landslide inventories. The present work proposes to define the usefulness of textual source types as a probability to find landslide information, weighted with adaptable parameter requirements. To illustrate the method with practical results, a German landslide dataset has been examined. It was found that three combined source types (administrative documents, expert opinions, and news articles) give an 89 % chance to detect useful information on three defined parameters (location, date, and process type). In conclusion, the definition of usefulness as a probability makes it an intuitive, quantitative measure that is suitable for a wide range of applicants. Furthermore, a priori knowledge of usefulness allows for focusing on a few source types with the most promising outcome and thus increases the effectiveness of textual data acquisition and digitalisation for landslide inventories.

Author(s):  
Denis Tikhomirov

The purpose of the article is to typologize terminological definitions of security, to find out the general, to identify the originality of their interpretations depending on the subject of legal regulation. The methodological basis of the study is the methods that made it possible to obtain valid conclusions, in particular, the method of comparison, through which it became possible to correlate different interpretations of the term "security"; method of hermeneutics, which allowed to elaborate texts of normative legal acts of Ukraine, method of typologization, which made it possible to create typologization groups of variants of understanding of the term "security". Scientific novelty. The article analyzes the understanding of the term "security" in various regulatory acts in force in Ukraine. Typological groups were understood to understand the term "security". Conclusions. The analysis of the legal material makes it possible to confirm that the issues of security are within the scope of both legislative regulation and various specialized by-laws. However, today there is no single conception on how to interpret security terminology. This is due both to the wide range of social relations that are the subject of legal regulation and to the relativity of the notion of security itself and the lack of coherence of views on its definition in legal acts and in the scientific literature. The multiplicity of definitions is explained by combinations of material and procedural understanding, static - dynamic, and conditioned by the peculiarities of a particular branch of legal regulation, limited ability to use methods of one or another branch, the inter-branch nature of some variations of security, etc. Separation, common and different in the definition of "security" can be used to further standardize, in fact, the regulatory legal understanding of security to more effectively implement the legal regulation of the security direction.


Author(s):  
Tim Rutherford-Johnson

By the start of the 21st century many of the foundations of postwar culture had disappeared: Europe had been rebuilt and, as the EU, had become one of the world’s largest economies; the United States’ claim to global dominance was threatened; and the postwar social democratic consensus was being replaced by market-led neoliberalism. Most importantly of all, the Cold War was over, and the World Wide Web had been born. Music After The Fall considers contemporary musical composition against this changed backdrop, placing it in the context of globalization, digitization, and new media. Drawing on theories from the other arts, in particular art and architecture, it expands the definition of Western art music to include forms of composition, experimental music, sound art, and crossover work from across the spectrum, inside and beyond the concert hall. Each chapter considers a wide range of composers, performers, works, and institutions are considered critically to build up a broad and rich picture of the new music ecosystem, from North American string quartets to Lebanese improvisers, from South American electroacoustic studios to pianos in the Australian outback. A new approach to the study of contemporary music is developed that relies less on taxonomies of style and technique, and more on the comparison of different responses to common themes, among them permission, fluidity, excess, and loss.


Author(s):  
Branka Vulesevic ◽  
Naozumi Kubota ◽  
Ian G Burwash ◽  
Claire Cimadevilla ◽  
Sarah Tubiana ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims Severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) is defined by an aortic valve area (AVA) <1 cm2 or an AVA indexed to body surface area (BSA) <0.6 cm/m2, despite little evidence supporting the latter approach and important intrinsic limitations of BSA indexation. We hypothesized that AVA indexed to height (H) might be more applicable to a wide range of populations and body morphologies and might provide a better predictive accuracy. Methods and results In 1298 patients with degenerative AS and preserved ejection fraction from three different countries and continents (derivation cohort), we aimed to establish an AVA/H threshold that would be equivalent to 1.0 cm2 for defining severe AS. In a distinct prospective validation cohort of 395 patients, we compared the predictive accuracy of AVA/BSA and AVA/H. Correlations between AVA and AVA/BSA or AVA/H were excellent (all R2 > 0.79) but greater with AVA/H. Regressions lines were markedly different in obese and non-obese patients with AVA/BSA (P < 0.0001) but almost identical with AVA/H (P = 0.16). AVA/BSA values that corresponded to an AVA of 1.0 cm2 were markedly different in obese and non-obese patients (0.48 and 0.59 cm2/m2) but not with AVA/H (0.61 cm2/m for both). Agreement for the diagnosis of severe AS (AVA < 1 cm2) was significantly higher with AVA/H than with AVA/BSA (P < 0.05). Similar results were observed across the three countries. An AVA/H cut-off value of 0.6 cm2/m [HR = 8.2(5.6–12.1)] provided the best predictive value for the occurrence of AS-related events [absolute AVA of 1 cm2: HR = 7.3(5.0–10.7); AVA/BSA of 0.6 cm2/m2 HR = 6.7(4.4–10.0)]. Conclusion In a large multinational/multiracial cohort, AVA/H was better correlated with AVA than AVA/BSA and a cut-off value of 0.6 cm2/m provided a better diagnostic and prognostic value than 0.6 cm2/m2. Our results suggest that severe AS should be defined as an AVA < 1 cm2 or an AVA/H < 0.6 cm2/m rather than a BSA-indexed value of 0.6 cm2/m2.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyridoula Vazou ◽  
Collin A. Webster ◽  
Gregory Stewart ◽  
Priscila Candal ◽  
Cate A. Egan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background/Objective Movement integration (MI) involves infusing physical activity into normal classroom time. A wide range of MI interventions have succeeded in increasing children’s participation in physical activity. However, no previous research has attempted to unpack the various MI intervention approaches. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review, qualitatively analyze, and develop a typology of MI interventions conducted in primary/elementary school settings. Subjects/Methods Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed to identify published MI interventions. Irrelevant records were removed first by title, then by abstract, and finally by full texts of articles, resulting in 72 studies being retained for qualitative analysis. A deductive approach, using previous MI research as an a priori analytic framework, alongside inductive techniques were used to analyze the data. Results Four types of MI interventions were identified and labeled based on their design: student-driven, teacher-driven, researcher-teacher collaboration, and researcher-driven. Each type was further refined based on the MI strategies (movement breaks, active lessons, other: opening activity, transitions, reward, awareness), the level of intrapersonal and institutional support (training, resources), and the delivery (dose, intensity, type, fidelity). Nearly half of the interventions were researcher-driven, which may undermine the sustainability of MI as a routine practice by teachers in schools. An imbalance is evident on the MI strategies, with transitions, opening and awareness activities, and rewards being limitedly studied. Delivery should be further examined with a strong focus on reporting fidelity. Conclusions There are distinct approaches that are most often employed to promote the use of MI and these approaches may often lack a minimum standard for reporting MI intervention details. This typology may be useful to effectively translate the evidence into practice in real-life settings to better understand and study MI interventions.


Author(s):  
Chiara Treghini ◽  
Alfonso Dell’Accio ◽  
Franco Fusi ◽  
Giovanni Romano

AbstractChronic lung infections are among the most diffused human infections, being often associated with multidrug-resistant bacteria. In this framework, the European project “Light4Lungs” aims at synthesizing and testing an inhalable light source to control lung infections by antimicrobial photoinactivation (aPDI), addressing endogenous photosensitizers only (porphyrins) in the representative case of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. In the search for the best emission characteristics for the aerosolized light source, this work defines and calculates the photo-killing action spectrum for lung aPDI in the exemplary case of cystic fibrosis. This was obtained by applying a semi-theoretical modelling with Monte Carlo simulations, according to previously published methodology related to stomach infections and applied to the infected trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli. In each of these regions, the two low and high oxygen concentration cases were considered to account for the variability of in vivo conditions, together with the presence of endogenous porphyrins and other relevant absorbers/diffusers inside the illuminated biofilm/mucous layer. Furthermore, an a priori method to obtain the “best illumination wavelengths” was defined, starting from maximizing porphyrin and light absorption at any depth. The obtained action spectrum is peaked at 394 nm and mostly follows porphyrin extinction coefficient behavior. This is confirmed by the results from the best illumination wavelengths, which reinforces the robustness of our approach. These results can offer important indications for the synthesis of the aerosolized light source and definition of its most effective emission spectrum, suggesting a flexible platform to be considered in further applications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREA VEZZOSI ◽  
ANDERS MÖRTBERG ◽  
ANDREAS ABEL

Abstract Proof assistants based on dependent type theory provide expressive languages for both programming and proving within the same system. However, all of the major implementations lack powerful extensionality principles for reasoning about equality, such as function and propositional extensionality. These principles are typically added axiomatically which disrupts the constructive properties of these systems. Cubical type theory provides a solution by giving computational meaning to Homotopy Type Theory and Univalent Foundations, in particular to the univalence axiom and higher inductive types (HITs). This paper describes an extension of the dependently typed functional programming language Agda with cubical primitives, making it into a full-blown proof assistant with native support for univalence and a general schema of HITs. These new primitives allow the direct definition of function and propositional extensionality as well as quotient types, all with computational content. Additionally, thanks also to copatterns, bisimilarity is equivalent to equality for coinductive types. The adoption of cubical type theory extends Agda with support for a wide range of extensionality principles, without sacrificing type checking and constructivity.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e042354
Author(s):  
David McEvoy ◽  
Conor McAloon ◽  
Aine Collins ◽  
Kevin Hunt ◽  
Francis Butler ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to determine the relative infectiousness of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected persons compared with symptomatic individuals based on a scoping review of available literature.DesignRapid scoping review of peer-reviewed literature from 1 January to 5 December 2020 using the LitCovid database and the Cochrane library.SettingInternational studies on the infectiousness of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2.ParticipantsStudies were selected for inclusion if they defined asymptomatics as a separate cohort distinct from presymptomatics and if they provided a quantitative measure of the infectiousness of asymptomatics relative to symptomatics.Primary outcome measuresPCR result (PCR studies), the rate of infection (mathematical modelling studies) and secondary attack rate (contact tracing studies) - in each case from asymptomatic in comparison with symptomatic individuals.ResultsThere are only a limited number of published studies that report estimates of relative infectiousness of asymptomatic compared with symptomatic individuals. 12 studies were included after the screening process. Significant differences exist in the definition of infectiousness. PCR studies in general show no difference in shedding levels between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals; however, the number of study subjects is generally limited. Two modelling studies estimate relative infectiousness to be 0.43 and 0.57, but both of these were more reflective of the infectiousness of undocumented rather than asymptomatic cases. The results from contact tracing studies include estimates of relative infectiousness of 0, but with insufficient evidence to conclude that it is significantly different from 1.ConclusionsThere is considerable heterogeneity in estimates of relative infectiousness highlighting the need for further investigation of this important parameter. It is not possible to provide any conclusive estimate of relative infectiousness, as the estimates from the reviewed studies varied between 0 and 1.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0310057X2097665
Author(s):  
Natasha Abeysekera ◽  
Kirsty A Whitmore ◽  
Ashvini Abeysekera ◽  
George Pang ◽  
Kevin B Laupland

Although a wide range of medical applications for three-dimensional printing technology have been recognised, little has been described about its utility in critical care medicine. The aim of this review was to identify three-dimensional printing applications related to critical care practice. A scoping review of the literature was conducted via a systematic search of three databases. A priori specified themes included airway management, procedural support, and simulation and medical education. The search identified 1544 articles, of which 65 were included. Ranging across many applications, most were published since 2016 in non – critical care discipline-specific journals. Most studies related to the application of three-dimensional printed models of simulation and reported good fidelity; however, several studies reported that the models poorly represented human tissue characteristics. Randomised controlled trials found some models were equivalent to commercial airway-related skills trainers. Several studies relating to the use of three-dimensional printing model simulations for spinal and neuraxial procedures reported a high degree of realism, including ultrasonography applications three-dimensional printing technologies. This scoping review identified several novel applications for three-dimensional printing in critical care medicine. Three-dimensional printing technologies have been under-utilised in critical care and provide opportunities for future research.


Author(s):  
Ying Pin Chua ◽  
Ying Xie ◽  
Poay Sian Sabrina Lee ◽  
Eng Sing Lee

Background: Multimorbidity presents a key challenge to healthcare systems globally. However, heterogeneity in the definition of multimorbidity and design of epidemiological studies results in difficulty in comparing multimorbidity studies. This scoping review aimed to describe multimorbidity prevalence in studies using large datasets and report the differences in multimorbidity definition and study design. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases to identify large epidemiological studies on multimorbidity. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) protocol for reporting the results. Results: Twenty articles were identified. We found two key definitions of multimorbidity: at least two (MM2+) or at least three (MM3+) chronic conditions. The prevalence of multimorbidity MM2+ ranged from 15.3% to 93.1%, and 11.8% to 89.7% in MM3+. The number of chronic conditions used by the articles ranged from 15 to 147, which were organized into 21 body system categories. There were seventeen cross-sectional studies and three retrospective cohort studies, and four diagnosis coding systems were used. Conclusions: We found a wide range in reported prevalence, definition, and conduct of multimorbidity studies. Obtaining consensus in these areas will facilitate better understanding of the magnitude and epidemiology of multimorbidity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 1134-1157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donghee Shin ◽  
Myunggoon Choi ◽  
Jang Hyun Kim ◽  
Jae-gil Lee

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of interaction techniques (e.g. swiping and tapping) and the range of thumb movement on interactivity, engagement, attitude, and behavioral intention in single-handed interaction with smartphones. Design/methodology/approach A 2×2 between-participant experiment (technological features: swiping and tapping×range of thumb movement: wide and narrow) was conducted to study the effects of interaction techniques and thumb movement ranges. Findings The results showed that the range of thumb movement had significant effects on perceived interactivity, engagement, attitude, and behavioral intention, whereas no effects were observed for interaction techniques. A narrow range of thumb movement had more influence on the interactivity outcomes in comparison to a wide range of thumb movement. Practical implications While the subject of actual and perceived interactivity has been discussed, the issue has not been applied to smartphone. Based on the research results, the mobile industry may come up with a design strategy that balances feature- and perception-based interactivity. Originality/value This study adopted the perspective of the hybrid definition of interactivity, which includes both actual and perceived interactivity. Interactivity effect outcomes mediated by perceived interactivity.


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