Wearable Technology and Visual Reality Application for Healthcare Systems

This study developed a virtual reality interactive game with smart wireless wearable technology for healthcare of elderly users. The proposed wearable system uses its intelligent and wireless features to collect electromyography signals and upload them to a cloud database for further analysis. The electromyography signals are then analyzed for the users’ muscle fatigue, health, strength, and other physiological conditions. The average slope maximum So and Chan (ASM S & C) algorithm is integrated in the proposed system to effectively detect the quantity of electromyography peaks, and the accuracy is as high as 95%. The proposed system can promote the health conditions of elderly users, and motivate them to acquire new knowledge of science and technology.

Russian Rivers Streamflow Forecasting Using Hydrograph Extrapolation Method

This paper presents a method of hydrograph extrapolation, intended for simple and efficient streamflow forecasting with up to 10 days lead time. The forecast of discharges or water levels is expressed by a linear formula depending on their values on the date of the forecast release and the five previous days. Such forecast techniques were developed for more than 2700 stream gauging stations across Russia. Forecast verification has shown that this method can be successfully applied to large rivers with a smooth shape of hydrographs, while for small mountain catchments, the accuracy of the method tends to be lower. The method has been implemented into real-time continuous operations in the Hydrometcentre of Russia. In the territory of Russia, 18 regions have been identified with a single dependency of the maximum lead time of good forecasts on the area and average slope of the catchment surface for different catchments of each region; the possibilities of forecasting river streamflow by the method of hydrograph extrapolation are approximately estimated. The proposed method can be considered as a first approximation while solving the problem of forecasting river flow in conditions of a lack of meteorological information or when it is necessary to quickly develop a forecasting system for a large number of catchments.

The practice of the calculation of land plot physical area

The issue of physical area calculation has been scrutinized in the article. The research rationale is predefined by the influence of the accuracy of land plot area determination on the economic, environmental, and social components of land tenure. The issue of physical characteristics of a land plot at the determination of its area has been singled out in the article. The goal of the research is the substantiation of the use of land plot physical area calculation methodology in the current social and economic environment. The notion of land plot physical area has been provided. The trends of the application of land plot physical area determination methodology have been systemized. The methodology of land plot physical area determination by means of marking out polygons and determining the average slope has been used. The calculations of land plot area considering the relief at various quantities of the division of a triangle side have been made. Comparison with the calculation of area without considering the relief has been performed. The regression analysis of the dependence of physical area change with the change of the quantity of triangle side divisions has been carried out. The calculation of the relief complexity index for the determination of land plot physical area has been presented. This calculation confirms the economic viability of the determination of a land plot physical area by the suggested methodology at land improvement and agrotechnical activities. The result can be used for various works connected to the spatial aspects of land use and in the following scientific researches.

Cluster and Redundancy Analyses of Taiwan Upstream Watersheds Based on Monthly 30 Years AVHRR NDVI3g Data

The study uses 30 years of the third generation of Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) NDVI3g monthly data from 1982 to 2012 to identify the natural clusters and important driving factors of the upstream watersheds in Taiwan through hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA), respectively. Subsequently, as a result of HCA, six clusters were identified based on the 30 years of monthly NDVI data, delineating unique NDVI characteristics of the upstream watersheds. Additionally, based on the RDA results, environmental factors, including precipitation, temperature, slope, and aspect, can explain approximately 52% of the NDVI variance over the entire time series. Among environmental factors, nine factors were identified significantly through RDA analysis for explaining NDVI variance: average slope, temperature, flat slope, northeast-facing slope, rainfall, east-facing slope, southeast-facing slope, west-facing slope, and northwest-facing slope, which reflect an intimate connection between climatic and orthographic factors with vegetation. Furthermore, the rainfall and temperature represent different variations in all scenarios and seasons. With consideration of the characteristics of the clusters and significant environmental factors, corresponding climate change adaptation strategies are proposed for each cluster under climate change scenarios. Thus, the results provide insight to assess the natural clustering of the upstream watersheds in Taiwan, benefitting future sustainable watershed management.

Assessment of runoff predictability for the Russian rivers depending on their catchment characteristics by the hydrograph extrapolation method

The predictability of river runoff is determined by the maximum lead time of satisfactory forecasts of water discharge obtained by the hydrograph extrapolation method. This indicator characterizes the smoothness of changes in water discharge over time and determines a possibility of using the Hydrometcentre of Russia’s automated system for preparation and daily streamflow forecasting all year long. The dependency between the predictability of river runoff and the main factors of its formation and regime is investigated. In total 18 regions within the territory of Russia are identified; for each of them a dependence between the streamflow predictability indicator and the area and average slope of the catchment is obtained. These regions cover 79% of the entire country. Calculated regional dependencies made it possible to estimate threshold values of the area and average slope of the catchment beyond which satisfactory forecasts are possible with a sufficiently long lead time (8–10 days), or only with a short lead time (1–2 days), or are impossible at all. Keywords: streamflow predictability, hydrograph extrapolation method, maximum forecast lead time, morphometric characteristics of catchment, calculated regional dependencies

Delimitação e caracterização morfométrica da bacia hidrográfica do Riacho do Navio, Pernambuco, a partir de dados SRTM processados no QGIS

A bacia hidrográfica do Riacho do Navio, em Pernambuco, tem importante papel ao atender as demandas hídricas de animais, culturas agrícolas e da população local, sendo fundamental estudá-la de maneira mais específica, a fim de que sejam geradas informações que subsidiem a gestão de seus recursos ambientais. O objetivo deste estudo foi delimitar a bacia hidrográfica do Riacho do Navio e descrever suas características morfométricas (forma, rede de drenagem e relevo) a partir de dados Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) processados no programa livre Quantum GIS (QGIS), via a ferramenta Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Models (TauDEM). A bacia em questão possui 3.312,97 km2, sendo considerada de quinta ordem, com densidade de drenagem de 0,50 km km-2. Observou-se que a declividade média foi de 5,23%, sendo que mais de 86,61% da área da bacia apresentou declividades menores que 8%. O fator de forma, o coeficiente de compacidade e o índice de circularidade atingiram valores de 0,29; 2,10 e 0,22, indicando que a bacia possui formato alongado e, por conseguinte, baixa tendência a enchentes. Por outro lado, a sinuosidade e a declividade média do álveo podem favorecer a ocorrência de cheias em situações de chuvas intensas. O uso do QGIS e do TauDEM para tratamento de imagens SRTM se mostrou uma ferramenta eficiente, podendo auxiliar na gestão e no gerenciamento dos recursos hídricos da bacia do Riacho do Navio. Delimitation and morphometric characterization of the hydrographic basin of Riacho do Navio, Pernambuco, based on SRTM data processed at QGIS A B S T R A C TThe Riacho do Navio watershed, in Pernambuco, has an important role in meeting the water demands of animals, agricultural crops and the local population, and it is essential to study it more specifically, in order to generate information that supports the management of its environmental resources. The objective of this study was to delimit the Riacho do Navio watershed and describe its morphometric characteristics (shape, drainage network and relief) from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data, processed in the free program Quantum GIS (QGIS), via the Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Models (TauDEM) tool. The watershed in question has 3,312.97 km2, being considered of fifth order, with drainage density of 0.50 km km-2. It was observed that the average slope was 5.23%, with more than 86.61% of the watershed area showing slopes less than 8%. The shape factor, the compactness coefficient and the circularity index reached values of 0.29; 2.10 and 0.22, indicating that the watersehd has an elongated shape and, therefore, low tendency to flooding. On the other hand, the sinuosity and the average slope of the riverbed can favor the occurrence of floods in situations of intense rains. The use of QGIS and TauDEM for the treatment of SRTM images proved to be an efficient tool, which can assist in the management and administration of water resources in the Riacho do Navio watershed.Keywords: physiographic analysis, Hydrology, digital elevation model, Semiarid, TauDEM.

Analysis of erodibility factors and declivity in the Gurgueia River sub-basin, Piauí, Brazil

Soil degradation caused by erosion is one of the biggest environmental problems. The Geographic Information System (GIS) QGIS and ArcGIS were used to prepare thematic maps. The average slope resulted in smooth wavy (42.1%), flat (27.8%), and wavy to strong wavy (19.9%) over the entire length of the sub-basin. Erodibility resulted in very high (41%) mainly in sectors with a predominance of Neossolos Quartzarênicos soils, on average (7.1%) in the South and Southwest and low (51.1%) of the area corresponding to the soil of the type Dystrophic Yellow Latosol. The expansion of the agribusiness associated with inadequate soil management in areas susceptible to erosion at BHRG can compromise long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability. It is important develop suitable agricultural techniques appropriate to the soil to optimize its use and its sustainable production capacity.

COMPONENT ANALYSIS SYSTEM-FORMING FACTORS OF GEOSYSTEMS OF PAVLODAR REGION

The article presents the results of identifying the system-forming factors of geosystems and their hierarchy in the Pavlodar region on the basis of the component analysis model, which allow us to obtain data on the structure of the relationships of parameters for the formation of information about the current state and forecast of the dynamics of geosystems in the development of the optimal structure of nature management. Separate quantitative indicators of geosystems obtained on the basis of cartographic materials, using the spatial interpolation method, are considered, and numerical values of the following parameters are used as initial data: duration of sunshine, radiation balance, average annual precipitation, average annual river runoff, maximum river runoff, coefficient of variation or variability of annual runoff, turbidity, average slope, average slope exposure, average NDVI value, etc.. In the calculation of the value matrix in geosystems, the "FACTOR" software is used to build components (programmer T. F. Savina on algorithms of L. M. Pavlichenko). Based on the analysis of scientific papers, the possibility of component analysis to combine statistical modeling and system analysis of specific objects (geosystems) is shown. The use of system analysis in the construction of component analysis is demonstrated, which allows you to identify the functions of the geosystem and rank them by their contribution to the total variance of the system, taking into account the nature of the relationship and self-organization of the system.