Assessing soil sealing and ecosystem services of urban front yards using Google Street View: A case study in Bloemhof district Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Private gardens play an important role as urban green space in cities and can improve the microclimate and address the impacts of climate change. Paving over front yards, soil sealing, reduces the environmental benefit of front yards. Residential private front yards comprise a considerable portion of land and green space in the suburbs of cities. Currently there is no method available to determine sealed soil percentages of private front yards. This study took place in the Bloemhof suburban district in Rotterdam. Four streets were selected and a total of 123 houses with 105 private front yards were assessed. Five sealed soil reference categories were defined and Google Street View (GSV) images were used to assess the front yards. This study found that the aggregated sealed soil percentages of the private front yards in the four selected streets are very high: 69%, 78%, 96%, and 97%. These front yards have a significant greening potential. The new insight in this study is that the use of Google Street View images for categorisation of front yards leads to values for individual front yard that can be used for comparison and for establishing sealed soil values per street.

Reduced older male presence linked to increased rates of aggression to non-conspecific targets in male elephants

Males in many large mammal species spend a considerable portion of their lives in all-male groups segregated from females. In long-lived species, these all-male groups may contain individuals of vastly different ages, providing the possibility that behaviours such as aggression vary with the age demographic of the social environment, as well as an individual's own age. Here, we explore social factors affecting aggression and fear behaviours in non-musth male African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ) aggregating in an all-male area. Adolescent males had greater probabilities of directing aggressive and fearful behaviours to non-elephant targets when alone compared to when with other males. All males, regardless of age, were less aggressive towards non-elephant targets (e.g. vehicles and non-elephant animals) when larger numbers of males from the oldest age cohort were present. The presence of older males did not influence the probability that other males were aggressive to conspecifics or expressed fearful behaviours towards non-elephant targets. Older bulls may police aggression directed towards non-elephant targets or may lower elephants’ perception of their current threat level. Our results suggest male elephants may pose an enhanced threat to humans and livestock when adolescents are socially isolated, and when fewer older bulls are nearby.

A STUDY OF CORRELATION OF PRAGMATIC RISK SCORE WITH MORTALITY IN PATIENTS ADMITTED TO RLJH AND RC ICU WITH CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19)

Background : In many people the disease is mild and self-limiting, but in a considerable portion of patients the disease is severe and fatal. Determining which patients are at high risk of severe illness or mortality is an essential part of understanding this illness Aims and Objective : Study of correlation of prognostic risk score with mortality in patients admitted to RLJH and RC ICU with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) . Methodology : This was a Retrospective observational study in the patients tested RT-PCR positive for COVID 19 and admitted at SRI DEVARAJ URS MEDICAL COLLEGE Tamaka, Kolar during the two month duration i.e. June 2021 to July 2021 in the 50 patients .The statistical analysis was done by Graph pad prism 6 version from that we have calculated correlation co-efcient and Survival graph Result : In our study we have seen that The majority of the patients were in the age group of 61-70 were 28% , followed by 51-60 were 24%, 71-80 were 22%, 41-50 were 14% , 30-40 & >80 were 6%. The majority of the patients were Male i.e. 68% and Female were 32%. There was strong correlation between Prognostic score and mortality of the patients which was statistically highly signicant i.e. Spearman r= 0.8450, P value (two-tailed) was < 0.0001*** . survival rate for the Score 0, 2 was almost 100% and as the score increases i.e. 3,4,5,6 there survival percentage also decrease approximately to 25 %, 5% and 0%,0% respectively. Conclusion :It can be concluded from our study that there was signicantly higher coreltaion between the Prognostic score and mortality of the patients hence this score could be reliable tool for the assessment of the severe patients and prompt and aggressive treatment for the better outcome

Socioeconomic and territorial dynamics in Breves-Marajó (Pa), post-decline of madeira activity

The present article aims to analyze the economy of the municipality of Breves, in Brazilian State of Pará, from the decline of logging activity, which was considered the main economic base of the city, linked to trade and service provision activities, as fundamental to the upkeep and subsistence of Breves’ population, and diversification of that production, against the decay of logging business. Such activities shape the local economy in our times, employing a considerable portion of Breves’ labor, including many of which were idle, because of the unemployment generated by the closing of timber companies. Aiming to broaden the discussion on the topic, it were conducted literature searches, as well as both qualitative and quantitative interviews, which contributed to the characterization of the local economy and to verify how the current economic activity is able to ensure the livelihood of the local population.

English-only Instruction in Tertiary-level L2 Writing: An Exploratory Study with Translingualism

Since CLT's propagation emphasises teaching English monolingually in an adamant manner, the tide has been set to follow that trend blindly. However, English-only instruction has been under debate recently, particularly in non-native teaching contexts. This paper questions the credibility of English-only instruction in teaching tertiary-level L2 writing in Bangladesh. Through small-scale action research with 36 students studying at a private university, the researchers discover that inconsistent dependency on English as the only medium of instruction has far-reaching effects on academic writing perception in a multilingual setting. The initial findings suggest that students from Bangla-medium background, who are taught following NCTB (National Curriculum and Textbook Board) syllabus, constitute the most considerable portion of the affected community. To address the issue, participants were trained following a translingual action plan. A comparative analysis between their former and subsequent performances projects that application of translingual practices has a constructive influence that can equip the learners with a deeper understanding of academic writing. It also proposes that other than trying to fit the learners into the scaffold of English-only instruction, the novice writers should be taught translingually.

Neurodegenerative Diseases and Cholesterol: Seeing the Field Through the Players

Neurodegenerative diseases, namely Alzheimer’s (AD), Parkinson’s (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD) together with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS), devastate millions of lives per year worldwide and impose an increasing socio-economic burden across nations. Consequently, these diseases occupy a considerable portion of biomedical research aiming to understand mechanisms of neurodegeneration and to develop efficient treatments. A potential culprit is cholesterol serving as an essential component of cellular membranes, as a cofactor of signaling pathways, and as a precursor for oxysterols and hormones. This article uncovers the workforce studying research on neurodegeneration and cholesterol using the TeamTree analysis. This new bibliometric approach reveals the history and dynamics of the teams and exposes key players based on citation-independent metrics. The team-centered view reveals the players on an important field of biomedical research.

BATS: A Spectral Biclustering Approach to Single Document Topic Modeling and Segmentation

Existing topic modeling and text segmentation methodologies generally require large datasets for training, limiting their capabilities when only small collections of text are available. In this work, we reexamine the inter-related problems of “topic identification” and “text segmentation” for sparse document learning, when there is a single new text of interest. In developing a methodology to handle single documents, we face two major challenges. First is sparse information : with access to only one document, we cannot train traditional topic models or deep learning algorithms. Second is significant noise : a considerable portion of words in any single document will produce only noise and not help discern topics or segments. To tackle these issues, we design an unsupervised, computationally efficient methodology called Biclustering Approach to Topic modeling and Segmentation (BATS). BATS leverages three key ideas to simultaneously identify topics and segment text: (i) a new mechanism that uses word order information to reduce sample complexity, (ii) a statistically sound graph-based biclustering technique that identifies latent structures of words and sentences, and (iii) a collection of effective heuristics that remove noise words and award important words to further improve performance. Experiments on six datasets show that our approach outperforms several state-of-the-art baselines when considering topic coherence, topic diversity, segmentation, and runtime comparison metrics.

Orchard Grazing in France: Multiple Forms of Fruit Tree–Livestock Integration in Line with Farmers’ Objectives and Constraints

Although the grazing of extensive standard orchards has long been a common practice in Europe and continues to take place on a considerable portion of existing traditional orchards, it is more unusual for current specialized and intensive orchards (with bush trees) to be grazed. The way in which animals are integrated into these modern forms of orchards differs according to the animal and tree species as well as to the place relegated to livestock as well as the expected and provided ecological services of that place. However, little literature is available on these modern forms of sylvopastoralism. The objective of this paper is therefore to provide the first overview of the advantages and limitations of these systems as perceived by the actors involved. Based on several research programs, we first tracked on-farm innovations to describe a diversity of systems. We then conducted a multifactorial analysis to characterize these systems according to: (i) structural farm variables; (ii) farmer motivations to integrate livestock; (iii) technical adaptations generated by sylvopastoralism; and finally, (iv) observed services and disservices provided by livestock in orchards. A total of 34 farms and 21 variables were used to differentiate three types of systems that differed according to animal species, grazing patterns, the degree of system redesign, and compliance between initial farmer motivations and the observed services. The results showed that while the practice of livestock grazing in orchards can be agronomically effective and economically viable, its success depends on the ability of growers to integrate all of the dimensions of livestock farming into their orchard system for a win-win association. There are a large number of variables that are involved in successful orchard grazing that result in both challenges and opportunities, but success is closely linked to the grower’s ability to adapt the production system to suit the intended role of livestock and to acquire new skills. This typology paves the way for numerous combinations between orchards and livestock. The analysis of the determinants, obstacles, and benefits provided by orchard grazing provides some preliminary elements that are necessary to adapt agricultural support to a diversity of integration patterns in integrated tree and livestock systems.

Energy performance of a rotary burner using pellets prepared from various alternative biomass residues

Alternative biomass makes up a considerable portion of the waste from biomass processing in forestry and agriculture. The aim of this work was to create pellets from several sources of alternative biomass, e.g., lawn clippings, corn husks, linden leaves, and pine needles, which were compared to pure wood pellets. Analysis of the fuel properties focused on their chemical composition, thermogravimetric analysis, calorific values, and ash melting temperatures. The power and emission parameters of the fuels were determined via an automatic pellet boiler. The primary issues in the combustion of the alternative biomass types were low calorific values, increased emissions, high ash contents, and low ash melting temperatures. The two primary options for solving these problems are the production of fuel mixtures with wood or the use of new combustion technologies. This work also dealt with the combustion of alternative biomass via a rotary burner. The results showed an increase in the ash content of the alternative biomass, which also led to the burner occasionally going out due to clogging with the accumulation of ash and sintering. Based on the results, only pellets from pine needles and corn husks can be recommended for further use.

Evaluation of Polarimetric Eigenvector Based Decomposition for Types of Wetland Mapping

ContextThe Kosi mega fan landscape is an alluvial deposited site that have led to several devastating floods. A considerable portion of the land comprises of different types of wetlands and persistent surface wetness. Detection of these wet patches is important in terms of understanding morphology of this sediment deposited fan.ObjectivesThis study identifies different wetland patches in monsoon time with critical reaches of rail-road and waterlogged intersections.MethodsSAR Polarimetry based H-A-Alpha decomposition and Wishart classification is used to identify different backscatter intensities of vegetated wetland, wet soil and open water using dual-pol Sentinel-1 10m data.ResultsThis study showed that Wishart classification offers a good potential for herbaceous waterbody mapping. The presence of a varieties types of wetlands is identified based on their scattering properties. Preliminary it has identified wet soil, low land, marshy patches as well as open water. Though at some places it mistakenly classified vegetation covered water as forest land. Some dry soil also exhibits low entropy volume scattering which is similar to certain type of vegetation cover. This study also identifies the vulnerable zone of waterlogging to existing rail and road network.