A Comparative Evaluation of GIS based Flood Susceptibility Models: A Case of Kopai River Basin, Eastern India

Flood is a typical natural disaster which every year causes enormous damage to the natural environment, buildings and victims worldwide. The efficiency of flooding depends upon numerous criteria: flood strength, amplitude, frequency, flow time, changes in plan and river geometry, etc. In this research, three statistical models such as the frequency ratio, Shannon's entropy, and weight of evidence have been used to identify flood susceptibility regions in the Kopai River Basin. In order to run these statistical models, flooded and non-flooded pixels were employed. The outcome of these three models demonstrates that the upper reach of the basin is characterised by non-flooded zones and the bottom reach of the basin is high flooded zones. The lower part of the basin is therefore more vulnerable than that of the upper portion. 11 thematic layers are employed to get the final output of flood susceptibility zones. e.g., soil type, normalised vegetation difference index, normalised water differential index, river lift, slope, drainage density, land usage and land cover, rainfall, soil moisture indices, surface roughness. 370 sample points have been taken as test data and finally receiver operating curves have been plotted for testing the degree of accuracy. The result of the validation reveals that the accuracy of the frequency ratio is 96.5%. Shannon entropy is 91.2% accurate and the weight of evidence is 97.1% accurate. Weight of evidence is therefore the best model for flood susceptibility zones identification for this Kopai basin.

Differential diagnosis of various forms of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea

Aim. To investigate the usefulness of differential diagnostic criteria of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) related to energy deficiency and stress. Materials and methods. There were provided clinical and laboratory examination of 56 patients with FHA associated with stressful events (group 1) and 64 patients with FHA on the background of eating disorders (group 2), including assessment of adipose tissue, determination of leptin level, adipose tissue index and differential index. Results. Patients of group 2 were distinguished by a more significant deficiency of body mass index, total body fat, and leptin levels in comparison with patients of group 1. The differential index [AUC=0.907 (0.84-0.97)] turned out to be the most informative indicator in the differential diagnosis of various forms of FHA, its threshold value was 21.4, the least informative - body mass index [AUC=0.78 (0.71-0.87)]. Conclusion. The differential index can be considered as an informative differential diagnostic criterion for various forms of FHA.

God Images and Empathy Among a Group of Secondary School Pupils in South Africa

A sample of 258 secondary school pupils attending year 8, 9, 10, and 11 classes in South Africa completed the empathy scale of the Eysenck Junior Impulsiveness Questionnaire, a semantic differential index of God images, and the short-form Revised Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data demonstrate a small but statistically significant correlation between positive God images and greater empathic capacity, after controlling for sex and for individual differences in personality.