scholarly journals Identification of Risk Areas for Intestinal Schistosomiasis, Based on Malacological and Environmental Data and on Reported Human Cases

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo R. S. Coelho ◽  
Fabrício T. O. Ker ◽  
Amanda D. Araújo ◽  
Ricardo. J. P. S. Guimarães ◽  
Deborah A. Negrão-Corrêa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
Risk Maps

The aim of the present study was to use an integrated approach for the identification of risk areas for Schistosoma mansoni transmission in an area of low endemicity in Minas Gerais, Brazil. For that, areas of distribution of Biomphalaria glabrata were identified and were related to environmental variables and communities with reported schistosomiasis cases, in order to determine the risk of infection by spatial analyses with predictive models. The research was carried out in the municipality of Alvorada de Minas, with data obtained between the years 2017 and 2019 inclusive. The Google Earth Engine was used to obtain geo-climatic variables (temperature, precipitation, vegetation index and digital elevation model), R software to determine Pearson's correlation and MaxEnt software to obtain an ecological model. ArcGis Software was used to create maps with data spatialization and risk maps, using buffer models (diameters: 500, 1,000 and 1,500 m) and CoKriging. Throughout the municipality, 46 collection points were evaluated. Of these, 14 presented snails of the genus Biomphalaria. Molecular analyses identified the presence of different species of Biomphalaria, including B. glabrata. None of the snails eliminated S. mansoni cercariae. The distribution of B. glabrata was more abundant in areas of natural vegetation (forest and cerrado) and, for spatial analysis (Buffer), the main risk areas were identified especially in the main urban area and toward the northern and eastern extensions of the municipality. The distribution of snails correlated with temperature and precipitation, with the latter being the main variable for the ecological model. In addition, the integration of data from malacological surveys, environmental characterization, fecal contamination, and data from communities with confirmed human cases, revealed areas of potential risk for infection in the northern and eastern regions of the municipality. In the present study, information was integrated on epidemiological aspects, transmission and risk areas for schistosomiasis in a small, rural municipality with low endemicity. Such integrated methods have been proposed as important tools for the creation of schistosomiasis transmission risk maps, serve as an example for other communities and can be used for control actions by local health authorities, e.g., indicate priority sectors for sanitation measures.

Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in northeastern Iran: a GIS-based spatio-temporal multi-criteria decision-making approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (10) ◽  
pp. 2217-2229 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. MOLLALO ◽  
E. KHODABANDEHLOO
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Cutaneous Leishmaniasis ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Fuzzy Ahp ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
Risk Maps

SUMMARYZoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) constitutes a serious public health problem in many parts of the world including Iran. This study was carried out to assess the risk of the disease in an endemic province by developing spatial environmentally based models in yearly intervals. To fill the gap of underestimated true burden of ZCL and short study period, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy AHP decision-making methods were used to determine the ZCL risk zones in a Geographic Information System platform. Generated risk maps showed that high-risk areas were predominantly located at the northern and northeastern parts in each of the three study years. Comparison of the generated risk maps with geocoded ZCL cases at the village level demonstrated that in both methods more than 90%, 70% and 80% of the cases occurred in high and very high risk areas for the years 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. Moreover, comparison of the risk categories with spatially averaged normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) images and a digital elevation model of the study region indicated persistent strong negative relationships between these environmental variables and ZCL risk degrees. These findings identified more susceptible areas of ZCL and will help the monitoring of this zoonosis to be more targeted.

scholarly journals Time Series Analysis of MODIS-Derived NDVI for the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa: Impact of Recent Intense Drought

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkanyiso Mbatha ◽  
Sifiso Xulu
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Kendall Test ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Enhanced Vegetation Index ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation

The variability of meteorological parameters such as temperature and precipitation, and climatic conditions such as intense droughts, are known to impact vegetation health over southern Africa. Thus, understanding large-scale ocean–atmospheric phenomena like the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole/Dipole Mode Index (DMI) is important as these factors drive the variability of temperature and precipitation. In this study, 16 years (2002–2017) of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra/Aqua 16-day normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), extracted and processed using JavaScript code editor in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform in order to analyze the response pattern of the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa, the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP), during the study period. The MODIS-enhanced vegetation index and burned area index were also analyzed for this period. The area-averaged Modern Retrospective Analysis for Research Application (MERRA) model maximum temperature and precipitation were also extracted using the JavaScript code editor in the GEE platform. This procedure demonstrated a strong reversal of both the NDVI and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), leading to signs of a sudden increase of burned areas (strong BAI) during the strongest El Niño period. Both the Theilsen method and the Mann–Kendall test showed no significant greening or browning trends over the whole time series, although the annual Mann–Kendall test, in 2003 and 2014–2015, indicated significant browning trends due to the most recent strongest El Niño. Moreover, a multi-linear regression model seems to indicate a significant influence of both ENSO activity and precipitation. Our results indicate that the recent 2014–2016 drought altered the vegetation condition in the HiP. We conclude that it is vital to exploit freely available GEE resources to develop drought monitoring vegetation systems, and to integrate climate information for analyzing its influence on protected areas, especially in data-poor counties.

scholarly journals Development of Tools for Coastal Management in Google Earth Engine: Uncertainty Bathtub Model and Bruun Rule

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1424
Author(s):  
Lucas Terres de Lima ◽  
Sandra Fernández-Fernández ◽  
João Francisco Gonçalves ◽  
Luiz Magalhães Filho ◽  
Cristina Bernardes
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Coastal Management ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Bruun Rule ◽  
Source Models ◽  
Google Earth Engine ◽  
Bathtub Model

Sea-level rise is a problem increasingly affecting coastal areas worldwide. The existence of free and open-source models to estimate the sea-level impact can contribute to improve coastal management. This study aims to develop and validate two different models to predict the sea-level rise impact supported by Google Earth Engine (GEE)—a cloud-based platform for planetary-scale environmental data analysis. The first model is a Bathtub Model based on the uncertainty of projections of the sea-level rise impact module of TerrSet—Geospatial Monitoring and Modeling System software. The validation process performed in the Rio Grande do Sul coastal plain (S Brazil) resulted in correlations from 0.75 to 1.00. The second model uses the Bruun rule formula implemented in GEE and can determine the coastline retreat of a profile by creatting a simple vector line from topo-bathymetric data. The model shows a very high correlation (0.97) with a classical Bruun rule study performed in the Aveiro coast (NW Portugal). Therefore, the achieved results disclose that the GEE platform is suitable to perform these analysis. The models developed have been openly shared, enabling the continuous improvement of the code by the scientific community.

scholarly journals Benchmarking homogenization algorithms for monthly data

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. K. C. Venema ◽  
O. Mestre ◽  
E. Aguilar ◽  
I. Auer ◽  
J. A. Guijarro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Skill Scores ◽  
Simulated Network ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. The COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action ES0601: advances in homogenization methods of climate series: an integrated approach (HOME) has executed a blind intercomparison and validation study for monthly homogenization algorithms. Time series of monthly temperature and precipitation were evaluated because of their importance for climate studies and because they represent two important types of statistics (additive and multiplicative). The algorithms were validated against a realistic benchmark dataset. The benchmark contains real inhomogeneous data as well as simulated data with inserted inhomogeneities. Random independent break-type inhomogeneities with normally distributed breakpoint sizes were added to the simulated datasets. To approximate real world conditions, breaks were introduced that occur simultaneously in multiple station series within a simulated network of station data. The simulated time series also contained outliers, missing data periods and local station trends. Further, a stochastic nonlinear global (network-wide) trend was added. Participants provided 25 separate homogenized contributions as part of the blind study. After the deadline at which details of the imposed inhomogeneities were revealed, 22 additional solutions were submitted. These homogenized datasets were assessed by a number of performance metrics including (i) the centered root mean square error relative to the true homogeneous value at various averaging scales, (ii) the error in linear trend estimates and (iii) traditional contingency skill scores. The metrics were computed both using the individual station series as well as the network average regional series. The performance of the contributions depends significantly on the error metric considered. Contingency scores by themselves are not very informative. Although relative homogenization algorithms typically improve the homogeneity of temperature data, only the best ones improve precipitation data. Training the users on homogenization software was found to be very important. Moreover, state-of-the-art relative homogenization algorithms developed to work with an inhomogeneous reference are shown to perform best. The study showed that automatic algorithms can perform as well as manual ones.

scholarly journals Climate Dynamics of the Spatiotemporal Changes of Vegetation NDVI in Northern China from 1982 to 2015

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Rui Sun ◽  
Shaohui Chen ◽  
Hongbo Su
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Climate Dynamics ◽  
High Coverage ◽  
Vegetation Growth ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation And Temperature

As an important part of a terrestrial ecosystem, vegetation plays an important role in the global carbon-water cycle and energy flow. Based on the Global Inventory Monitoring and Modeling System (GIMMS) third generation of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g), meteorological station data, climate reanalysis data, and land cover data, this study analyzed the climate dynamics of the spatiotemporal variations of vegetation NDVI in northern China from 1982 to 2015. The results showed that growth season NDVI (NDVIgs) increased significantly at 0.006/10a (p < 0.01) in 1982–2015 on the regional scale. The period from 1982 to 2015 was divided into three periods: the NDVIgs increased by 0.026/10a (p < 0.01) in 1982–1990, decreased by −0.002/10a (p > 0.1) in 1990–2006, and then increased by 0.021/10a (p < 0.01) during 2006–2015. On the pixel scale, the increases in NDVIgs during 1982–2015, 1982–1990, 1990–2006, and 2006–2015 accounted for 74.64%, 85.34%, 48.14%, and 68.78% of the total area, respectively. In general, the dominant climate drivers of vegetation growth had gradually switched from solar radiation, temperature, and precipitation (1982–1990) to precipitation and temperature (1990–2015). For woodland, high coverage grassland, medium coverage grassland, low coverage grassland, the dominant climate drivers had changed from temperature and solar radiation, solar radiation and precipitation, precipitation and solar radiation, solar radiation to precipitation and solar radiation, precipitation, precipitation and temperature, temperature and precipitation. The areas controlled by precipitation increased significantly, mainly distributed in arid, sub-arid, and sub-humid areas. The dominant climate drivers for vegetation growth in the plateau climate zone or high-altitude area changed from solar radiation to temperature and precipitation, and then to temperature, while in cold temperate zone, changed from temperature to solar radiation. These results are helpful to understand the climate dynamics of vegetation growth, and have important guiding significance for vegetation protection and restoration in the context of global climate change.

A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Schistosomiasis in Hunan Province, China

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 521-531
Author(s):  
Enru Wang ◽  
Zhengyuan Zhao ◽  
Changhong Miao ◽  
Zhongcai Wu
Keyword(s):  
Schistosoma Japonicum ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Spatiotemporal Analysis ◽  
Hunan Province ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
Schistosomiasis Japonica ◽  
Health Studies ◽  
Risk Areas

Based on annual parasitological data recently collected at county and village levels, this article presents a multiscale spatiotemporal analysis of transmission risk of schistosomiasis japonica in Hunan Province during 2001 to 2015 in a geographic information system environment. The study shows that the incidence and prevalence rate of human Schistosoma japonicum infection in Hunan Province decreased after 2001. A spatial autocorrelation analysis reveals the existence of spatial clusters of human Schistosoma japonicum infection and a growing tendency of spatial clustering over time. The identification of high-risk areas (hot spots) helps find areas of priority for future implementation of control strategies. The research demonstrates the importance of spatial scale in public health studies.

scholarly journals Mapping Malaria Transmission Risk in Northern Morocco Using Entomological and Environmental Data

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Adlaoui ◽  
C. Faraj ◽  
M. El Bouhmi ◽  
A. El Aboudi ◽  
S. Ouahabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Vivax ◽  
Malaria Transmission ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Malaria Vector ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
Cultivation Period ◽  
Very High

Malaria resurgence risk in Morocco depends, among other factors, on environmental changes as well as the introduction of parasite carriers. The aim of this paper is to analyze the receptivity of the Loukkos area, large wetlands in Northern Morocco, to quantify and to map malaria transmission risk in this region using biological and environmental data. This risk was assessed on entomological risk basis and was mapped using environmental markers derived from satellite imagery. Maps showing spatial and temporal variations of entomological risk for Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum were produced. Results showed this risk to be highly seasonal and much higher in rice fields than in swamps. This risk is lower for Afrotropical P. falciparum strains because of the low infectivity of Anopheles labranchiae, principal malaria vector in Morocco. However, it is very high for P. vivax mainly during summer corresponding to the rice cultivation period. Although the entomological risk is high in Loukkos region, malaria resurgence risk remains very low, because of the low vulnerability of the area.

scholarly journals Development of Tools for Coastal Management in Google Earth 2 Engine: Uncertainty Bathtub Model and Bruun Rule

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Terres de Lima ◽  
Sandra Fernández-Fernández ◽  
João Francisco Gonçalves ◽  
Luiz Magalhães Filho ◽  
Cristina Bernardes
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Coastal Management ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Bathymetric Data ◽  
Bruun Rule ◽  
Source Models ◽  
Very High ◽  
Bathtub Model

Sea-level rise is a problem increasingly affecting coastal areas worldwide. The existence 15 of Free and Open-Source Models to estimate the sea-level impact can contribute to better coastal 16 management. This study aims to develop and to validate two different models to predict the 17 sea-level rise impact supported by Google Earth Engine (GEE) &ndash; a cloud-based platform for plan-18 etary-scale environmental data analysis. The first model is a Bathtub Model based on the uncer-19 tainty of projections of the Sea-level Rise Impact Module of TerrSet - Geospatial Monitoring and 20 Modeling System software. The validation process performed in the Rio Grande do Sul coastal 21 plain (S Brazil) resulted in correlations from 0.75 to 1.00. The second model uses Bruun Rule for-22 mula implemented in GEE and is capable to determine the coastline retreat of a profile through the 23 creation of a simple vector line from topo-bathymetric data. The model shows a very high correla-24 tion (0.97) with a classical Bruun Rule study performed in Aveiro coast (NW Portugal). The GEE 25 platform seems to be an important tool for coastal management. The models developed have been 26 openly shared, enabling the continuous improvement of the code by the scientific community.

scholarly journals Development of Tools for Coastal Management in Google Earth Engine: Uncertainty Bathtub Model and Bruun Rule

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Terres de Lima ◽  
Sandra Fernández-Fernández ◽  
João Francisco Gonçalves ◽  
Luiz Magalhães Filho ◽  
Cristina Bernardes
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Coastal Management ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Bruun Rule ◽  
Source Models ◽  
Google Earth Engine ◽  
Bathtub Model

Sea-level rise is a problem increasingly affecting coastal areas worldwide. The existence of Free and Open-Source Models to estimate the sea-level impact can contribute to better coastal man-agement. This study aims to develop and to validate two different models to predict the sea-level rise impact supported by Google Earth Engine (GEE) &ndash; a cloud-based platform for planetary-scale environmental data analysis. The first model is a Bathtub Model based on the uncertainty of projections of the Sea-level Rise Impact Module of TerrSet - Geospatial Monitoring and Modeling System software. The validation process performed in the Rio Grande do Sul coastal plain (S Brazil) resulted in correlations from 0.75 to 1.00. The second model uses Bruun Rule formula implemented in GEE and is capable to determine the coastline retreat of a profile through the creation of a simple vector line from topo-bathymetric data. The model shows a very high cor-relation (0.97) with a classical Bruun Rule study performed in Aveiro coast (NW Portugal). The GEE platform seems to be an important tool for coastal management. The models developed have been openly shared, enabling the continuous improvement of the code by the scientific commu-nity.

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