Fine-Grained Large-Scale Vulnerable Communities Mapping via Satellite Imagery and Population Census Using Deep Learning

One of the challenges in the fight against poverty is the precise localization and assessment of vulnerable communities’ sprawl. The characterization of vulnerability is traditionally accomplished using nationwide census exercises, a burdensome process that requires field visits by trained personnel. Unfortunately, most countrywide censuses exercises are conducted only sporadically, making it difficult to track the short-term effect of policies to reduce poverty. This paper introduces a definition of vulnerability following UN-Habitat criteria, assesses different CNN machine learning architectures, and establishes a mapping between satellite images and survey data. Starting with the information corresponding to the 2,178,508 residential blocks recorded in the 2010 Mexican census and multispectral Landsat-7 images, multiple CNN architectures are explored. The best performance is obtained with EfficientNet-B3 achieving an area under the ROC and Precision-Recall curves of 0.9421 and 0.9457, respectively. This article shows that publicly available information, in the form of census data and satellite images, along with standard CNN architectures, may be employed as a stepping stone for the countrywide characterization of vulnerability at the residential block level.

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Semantic discrimination of technicality in French nominalizations

Zeitschrift für Wortbildung / Journal of Word Formation ◽

10.3726/zwjw.2020.02.06 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 100-119

Author(s):

Marine Wauquier ◽

Nabil Hathout ◽

Cécile Fabre

Keyword(s):

Statistical Modeling ◽

Large Scale ◽

Distributional Analysis ◽

Lexical Resources ◽

Definition Of ◽

Semantic Distinction

Abstract French suffixations in -age, -ion and -ment are considered roughly equivalent, yet some differences have been pointed out regarding the semantics of the resulting nominalizations. In this study, we confirm the existence of a semantic distinction between them on the basis of a large scale distributional analysis. We show that the distinction is partially determined by the degree of technicality of the denoted action: -age nominals tend to be more technical than -ion ones. We examine this hypothesis through the statistical modeling of technicality. To this end, we propose a linguistic definition of technicality, which we implement using empirical, quantitative criteria estimated in corpora and lexical resources. We show to what extent the differences with respect to these criteria adequately approximate technicality. Our study indicates that this definition of technicality, while amendable, provides new perspectives for the characterization of action nouns.

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Functional characterization of 3D protein structures informed by human genetic diversity

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1820813116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 116 (18) ◽

pp. 8960-8965 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Michael Hicks ◽

Istvan Bartha ◽

Julia di Iulio ◽

J. Craig Venter ◽

Amalio Telenti

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Functional Characterization ◽

Protein Structures ◽

Large Scale Data ◽

Allosteric Sites ◽

Missense Variation ◽

Binding Pockets ◽

Definition Of ◽

Scale Data

Sequence variation data of the human proteome can be used to analyze 3D protein structures to derive functional insights. We used genetic variant data from nearly 140,000 individuals to analyze 3D positional conservation in 4,715 proteins and 3,951 homology models using 860,292 missense and 465,886 synonymous variants. Sixty percent of protein structures harbor at least one intolerant 3D site as defined by significant depletion of observed over expected missense variation. Structural intolerance data correlated with deep mutational scanning functional readouts for PPARG, MAPK1/ERK2, UBE2I, SUMO1, PTEN, CALM1, CALM2, and TPK1 and with shallow mutagenesis data for 1,026 proteins. The 3D structural intolerance analysis revealed different features for ligand binding pockets and orthosteric and allosteric sites. Large-scale data on human genetic variation support a definition of functional 3D sites proteome-wide.

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A comparative study of greywater from domestic and public buildings

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2013.181 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 135-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

C. Santos ◽

C. Matos ◽

F. Taveira-Pinto

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

Potable Water ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Public Buildings ◽

Correct Definition ◽

Cost Effective Treatment ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

Definition Of

Greywater (GW) can be an important resource for urban water consumption, replacing potable water for purposes that do not require drinking water quality. If applied on a large scale, this practice will reduce the potable water demand and the wastewater produced in urban areas, minimizing the negative impacts and costs of water extraction and wastewater treatment. A correct characterization of GW is important to assess its potential for a direct reuse or, if not possible, to make a correct definition of a feasible and cost-effective treatment system. This article aims to contribute to the characterization of GW produced in washbasins and showers in domestic and public buildings. A compilation of several works on GW collection and sampling produced by the authors is presented. Samples were taken from GW produced in showers and washbasins in households, changing rooms and in a restaurant. Results are compared with values presented in similar studies and compared with standards and guidelines published in different countries.

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PRACTISE – Photo Rectification And ClassificaTIon SoftwarE (V.2.0)

Geoscientific Model Development Discussions ◽

10.5194/gmdd-8-8481-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. 8481-8518

Author(s):

S. Härer ◽

M. Bernhardt ◽

K. Schulz

Keyword(s):

Snow Cover ◽

Satellite Images ◽

Threshold Value ◽

Landsat 8 ◽

Snow Covered Area ◽

Covered Area ◽

Independent Information ◽

Landsat 7 ◽

Definition Of

Abstract. Terrestrial photography combined with the recently presented Photo Rectification And ClassificaTIon SoftwarE (PRACTISE V.1.0) has proven to be a valuable source to derive snow cover maps in a high temporal and spatial resolution. The areal coverage of the used digital photographs is however strongly limited. Satellite images on the other hand can cover larger areas but do show uncertainties with respect to the accurate detection of the snow covered area. This is especially the fact if user defined thresholds are needed e.g. in case of the frequently used Normalised-Difference Snow Index (NDSI). The definition of this value is often not adequately defined by either a general value from literature or over the impression of the user but not by reproducible independent information. PRACTISE V.2.0 addresses this important aspect and does show additional improvements. The Matlab based software is now able to automatically process and detect snow cover in satellite images. A simultaneously captured camera-derived snow cover map is in this case utilised as in-situ information for calibrating the NDSI threshold value. Moreover, an additional automatic snow cover classification, specifically developed to classify shadow-affected photographs was included. The improved software was tested for photographs and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) as well as Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) scenes in the Zugspitze massif (Germany). The results have shown that using terrestrial photography in combination with satellite imagery can lead to an objective, reproducible and user-independent derivation of the NDSI threshold and the resulting snow cover map. The presented method is not limited to the sensor system or the threshold used in here but offers manifold application options for other scientific branches.

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PRACTISE – Photo Rectification And ClassificaTIon SoftwarE (V.2.1)

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-9-307-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 307-321 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

S. Härer ◽

M. Bernhardt ◽

K. Schulz

Keyword(s):

Snow Cover ◽

Satellite Images ◽

Threshold Value ◽

Landsat 8 ◽

Snow Covered Area ◽

Covered Area ◽

Independent Information ◽

Landsat 7 ◽

Normalized Difference Snow Index ◽

Definition Of

Abstract. Terrestrial photography combined with the recently presented Photo Rectification And ClassificaTIon SoftwarE (PRACTISE V.1.0) has proven to be a valuable source to derive snow cover maps in a high temporal and spatial resolution. The areal coverage of the used digital photographs is however strongly limited. Satellite images on the other hand can cover larger areas but do show uncertainties with respect to the accurate detection of the snow covered area. This is especially the fact if user defined thresholds are needed, e.g. in case of the frequently used normalized-difference snow index (NDSI). The definition of this value is often not adequately defined by either a general value from literature or over the impression of the user, but not by reproducible independent information. PRACTISE V.2.1 addresses this important aspect and shows additional improvements. The Matlab-based software is now able to automatically process and detect snow cover in satellite images. A simultaneously captured camera-derived snow cover map is in this case utilized as in situ information for calibrating the NDSI threshold value. Moreover, an additional automatic snow cover classification, specifically developed to classify shadow-affected photographs, was included. The improved software was tested for photographs and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) as well as Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) scenes in the Zugspitze massif (Germany). The results show that using terrestrial photography in combination with satellite imagery can lead to an objective, reproducible, and user-independent derivation of the NDSI threshold and the resulting snow cover map. The presented method is not limited to the sensor system or the threshold used in here but offers manifold application options for other scientific branches.

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Towards a Formal IoT Security Model

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym12081305 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 1305 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tania Martin ◽

Dimitrios Geneiatakis ◽

Ioannis Kounelis ◽

Stéphanie Kerckhof ◽

Igor Nai Fovino

Keyword(s):

Security Evaluation ◽

Security Level ◽

Universal Model ◽

Arbitrary System ◽

Security Model ◽

Iot Security ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Security Properties ◽

Definition Of

The heterogeneity of Internet of Things (IoT) systems has so far prevented the definition of adequate standards, hence making it difficult to compare meaningfully the security degree of diverse architectural choices. This task can be nonetheless achieved with formal methodologies. However, the dedicated IoT literature shows no evidence of a universal model allowing the security evaluation of any arbitrary system. Based on these considerations, we propose a new model that aims at being global and all-encompassing. Our model can be used to fairly analyse the security level of different IoT systems and compare them in a significant way. It is designed to be adaptive with realistic definitions of the adversary’s (1) actions of interacting with IoT systems; (2) capabilities of accessing the data generated by and exchanged in IoT systems with established rules; and (3) objectives of attacking IoT systems according to the four recognised security properties of confidentiality, integrity, availability and soundness. Such a design enables the straightforward characterization of new adversaries. It further helps in providing a fine-grained security evaluation of IoT systems by either accurately describing attacks against the analysed systems or formally proving their guaranteed level of security.

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Peculiarities of location of population and settlements on height zones in Sheki administrative region

NATURE AND SCIENCE ◽

10.36719/2707-1146/06/94-99 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 03 (01) ◽

pp. 94-99

Author(s):

Zülfiyyə Əsədullah qızı Həmzəyeva ◽

◽

Tapdıq Güləhməd oğlu Həsənov ◽

Keyword(s):

Key Words ◽

Satellite Images ◽

Census Data ◽

Spatial Differentiation ◽

The State ◽

Population Census ◽

Distribution Characteristics ◽

Administrative Region ◽

Middle Mountains

The article analyzes the distribution characteristics of the population and settlements in the Sheki administrative region by altitude zones. The features and directions of the location of the population and settlements in the Sheki region by altitude are analyzed on the basis of the 1999-2019 population census data of the State Statistics Committee. It was determined that, depending on the ecological and geographical conditions, the total number of population and settlements in the plains and middle mountains is higher than in the highlands. During the study, statistical materials, satellite images taken from a distance of 30 meters were used. Key words: population settlement, settlements, altitude zones, intensity of distribution of settlements in the area, altitude-spatial differentiation

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Mutational signatures and heterogeneous host response revealed via large-scale characterization of SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity

10.1101/2020.07.06.189944 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alex Graudenzi ◽

Davide Maspero ◽

Fabrizio Angaroni ◽

Rocco Piazza ◽

Daniele Ramazzotti

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Purifying Selection ◽

Genomic Diversity ◽

Nucleotide Substitutions ◽

Mutational Signatures ◽

Mutational Hotspots ◽

Scale Characterization ◽

Definition Of ◽

Mutational Processes

AbstractTo dissect the mechanisms underlying the inflation of variants in the SARS-CoV-2 genome, we present one of the largest up-to-date analyses of intra-host genomic diversity, which reveals that most samples present heterogeneous genomic architectures, due to the interplay between host-related mutational processes and transmission dynamics.The deconvolution of the set of intra-host minor variants unveils the existence of non overlapping mutational signatures related to specific nucleotide substitutions, which prove that distinct hosts respond differently to SARS-CoV-2 infections, and which are likely ruled by APOBEC, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and ADAR.Thanks to a corrected-for-signatures dN/dS analysis we demonstrate that the mutational processes underlying such signatures are affected by purifying selection, with important exceptions. In fact, several mutations linked to low-rate mutational processes appear to transit to clonality in the population, eventually leading to the definition of new clonal genotypes and to a statistically significant increase of overall genomic diversity.Importantly, the analysis of the phylogenetic model shows the presence of multiple homoplasies, due to mutational hotspots, phantom mutations or positive selection, and supports the hypothesis of transmission of minor variants during infections. Overall, the results of this study pave the way for the integrated characterization of intra-host genomic diversity and clinical outcome of SARS-CoV-2 hosts.

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Location and Characterization of Breeding Sites of Solitary Desert Locust Using Satellite Images Landsat 7 ETM+ and Terra MODIS

Advances in Entomology ◽

10.4236/ae.2015.31002 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 03 (01) ◽

pp. 6-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Lazar Mohammed ◽

Aliou Diongue ◽

Jeng-Tze Yang ◽

Doumandji-Mitiche Bahia ◽

Lecoq Michel

Keyword(s):

Satellite Images ◽

Desert Locust ◽

Breeding Sites ◽

Landsat 7 ◽

Terra Modis

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Estimating The Distribution of Livestock In Space And Time: A Time-Series Contribution To Livestock Density Mapping

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1239248/v1 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Julianne Meisner ◽

Agapitus Kato ◽

Marshall Lemerani ◽

Erick Mwamba Miaka ◽

Acaga Ismail Taban ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Large Scale ◽

Census Data ◽

Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽

Spatial Density ◽

Density Mapping ◽

External Data ◽

Livestock Density ◽

Definition Of

Abstract More than one billion people rely on livestock for income, nutrition, and social cohesion, however livestock keeping can facilitate disease transmission and contribute to climate change. While data on the distribution of livestock thus have broad utility across a range of applications, efforts to map the distribution of livestock on a large scale are limited to the Gridded Livestock of the World (GLW) project. We present a complimentary effort to map the distribution of cattle and pigs in Malawi, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Sudan. In contrast to GLW, which uses dasymmetric modeling applied to census data to produce time-stratified estimates of livestock counts and spatial density, our work uses complex survey data and distinct modeling methods to generate a time-series of livestock distribution, defining livestock density as the ratio of animals to humans. In addition to favorable cross-validation results and general agreement with national density estimates derived from external data on national human and livestock populations, our results demonstrate extremely good agreement with GLW-3 estimates, supporting the validity of both efforts. Our results furthermore offer a high-resolution time series result and employ a definition of density which is particularly well-suited to the study of livestock-origin zoonoses.

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