Forest resources monitoring are particularly challenging for tropical forest due to their diverse composition and structure and a wide range of stakeholder’s expectations and requirement. New monitoring approaches an...Forest resources monitoring are particularly challenging for tropical forest due to their diverse composition and structure and a wide range of stakeholder’s expectations and requirement. New monitoring approaches and control policies directions are required to meet these different challenges. For the past decades, much of the focus of formal forest monitoring and management policy in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been on large scale conventional harvesting to meet national requirements for economic development, with little attention given to community or small area forest management and monitoring. The current management is considered to be unsustainable and, as forest resources from primary forests are exhausted. This has resulted in extensive cutover forest areas being left to degrade over time. Forest reserve has suffered seriously and if the present trend of deforestation continues;it is just a matter of time when the whole reserve would have been converted to a bare ground. This study therefore examined the integration of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) application on forest resource mapping and monitoring in Bulolo district, Morobe province. Landsat satellite imageries for 1992, 2002 and 2014 were used to classify and identify forest changes through change detection techniques. A GIS database of land use categories and their location within 24 years (1992-2014) were generated and analysed with the aid of GIS analytical functions. This function includes area calculation, overlay, and image differencing, supervised classifications, cross tabulations and map representation. The result shows that population growth (anthropogenic) factors among communities around the natural forest imposes a lot of pressure on the natural forest resources. This should also include consideration of the future usage capacity of the forest resources as well as development of the capacity of local forest owner communities to participate in small scale forest management and utilization.展开更多
Geographical Information System (GIS) can be considered the core of the Interactive Facilities Management Environment (iFaME) framework in managing different facilities on the building bases. This study aims at buildi...Geographical Information System (GIS) can be considered the core of the Interactive Facilities Management Environment (iFaME) framework in managing different facilities on the building bases. This study aims at building a comprehensive geodatabase for different elements of infrastructure facilities and services on the building bases for a selected number of schools and developing a GIS-based iFaME interactive application to manage different facilities at the school level in Kuwait. The iFaME is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) desktop application. It is intended to take planners, decision makers, and maintenance experts inside the building to provide an interactive GIS platform to manage, visualize, query, maintain, and update the database related to school assets and facilities. The Autodesk Revit software was used to produce 3D building information models (BIM) for the selected schools. It provides accurate geometrical representation of the school building elements in an integrated data environment. The iFaME application is integrated with the Revit BIM models and the STAR-APIC Elyx 3D software solution. With the development of the iFaME applications, the facility managers in the MoE could establish greater control over the space allocation and management, asset management, emergency planning, and other areas of facility management. The school managers and maintenance engineers are considered among the most beneficiaries from this application. The school managers will monitor the maintenance activities all the time, while the maintenance engineers will use the application as a container for maintenance orders, and on the same time to document what they accomplished on daily basis. The iFaME application will reduce the maintenance cost of school assets and facilities in addition to increase their efficiency.展开更多
This study aims to examine the use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) technology in land use/land cover mapping to aide sustainable planning and development in the Wafi-Golpu project area. At ...This study aims to examine the use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) technology in land use/land cover mapping to aide sustainable planning and development in the Wafi-Golpu project area. At the same time, this study examines an existing method of Forest Canopy Density (FCD) model to estimate forest canopy density of the proposed deforestation site, which is known as the Advanced Exploration Feasibility Study Activities (AEFSA) area within the Wafi-Golpu Project site. The FCD model calculates the forest canopy density using the three (3) indices of vegetation, soil and shadow from the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite image of year 2013. In this study an attempt has been made to monitor the forest loss or degradation during deforestation in a natural forest stand of the Wafi-Golpu project area using forest FCD mapping and monitoring model and the findings of the study will assist the project planners and developers with their work on forest rehabilitation and reforestation for the purposes of sustainable forest management. The result of the work shows that a considerable amount of forest loss will be undertaken during the AEFSA deforestation exercise and also the findings show that a reliable land use/land cover map will greatly assist sustainable development in a resource project development period.展开更多
Gastroenterology(GE) used to be considered a subspecialty of internal medicine. Today, GE is generally recognized as a wide-ranging specialty incorporating capacities, such as hepatology, oncology and interventional e...Gastroenterology(GE) used to be considered a subspecialty of internal medicine. Today, GE is generally recognized as a wide-ranging specialty incorporating capacities, such as hepatology, oncology and interventional endoscopy, necessitating GEexpert differentiation. Although the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has defined specific expertise areas in Advanced endoscopy, hepatology, digestive oncology and clinical nutrition, training for the latter topic is lacking in the current hepatogastroenterology(HGE) curriculum. Given its relevance for HGE practice, and being at the core of gastrointestinal functioning, there is an obvious need for training in nutrition and related issues including the treatment of disease-related malnutrition and obesity and its associated metabolic derangements. This document aims to be a starting point for the integration of nutritional expertise in the HGE curriculum, allowing a central role in the management of malnutrition and obesity. We suggest minimum endpoints for nutritional knowledge and expertise in the standard curriculum and recommend a focus period of training in nutrition issues in order to produce well-trained HGE specialists. This article provides a road map for the organization of such a training program. We would highly welcome the World Gastroenterology Organisation, the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the American Gastroenterology Association and other(inter)national Gastroenterology societies support the necessary certifications for this item in the HGE-curriculum.展开更多
Despite the adoption of “sickest first”liver transplantation, pretransplant death remains common, and many early deaths occur despite initially low Model fo r End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores. From 1997-2003, w...Despite the adoption of “sickest first”liver transplantation, pretransplant death remains common, and many early deaths occur despite initially low Model fo r End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores. From 1997-2003, we studied 507 cirrho tic United States veterans referred for consideration of liver transplantation t o identify additional predictors of early mortality. Most of the patients were m ale (98%) with cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C and/or alcohol (88%). Data for 296 patients referred prior to February 27, 2002 (training group), were analyzed ; findings were validated in 211 patients referred subsequently (validation grou p). In the training group, 61 patients (21%) died within 180 days without trans plantation; their median initial MELD score was 21. MELD score, persistent ascit es, and low serum sodium (<135 mEq/L) were independent predictors of early morta lity. In patients with a MELD score of less than 21, only low serum sodium and p ersistent ascites were independent predictors of mortality; for MELD scores abov e 21, only MELD was independently predictive. Prognostic significance of persist ent ascites and low serum sodium for low MELD score patients was confirmed in th e validation group. Risk varied continuously with worsening hyponatremia. Modify ing MELD, by including points for persistent ascites and low serum sodium, impro ved prediction of early pretransplant mortality in lowMELDscore patients. In con clusion, persistent ascites and low serum sodium identify patients with cirrhosi s with high mortality risk despite low MELD scores. Ascites, hyponatremia, and o ther findings indicative of hemodynamic decompensation merit further prospective study as prognostic indicators in patients awaiting liver transplantation, and should be considered in setting minimal listing criteria.展开更多
Background: Assessment of clinical factors associated with Barrett’s esophagus (BE) length remained within the realm of anecdotal reports or one center’s experience. The aim of this multicenter study was to determin...Background: Assessment of clinical factors associated with Barrett’s esophagus (BE) length remained within the realm of anecdotal reports or one center’s experience. The aim of this multicenter study was to determine which clinical factors are highly correlated with the length of BE. Methods: Patients diagnosed with BE were recruited into the study from 5 academic centers in the United States. All patients had an upper endoscopy that documented BE by the presence of intestinal metaplasia in biopsy specimens. All patients were evaluated by a validated demographic questionnaire and the GERD Symptom Checklist. Results: A total of 263 patients with BE were recruited into the study. Mean BE length for the entire sample was 4 ±3.3 cm. A longer hiatal hernia (r = 0.22, p < 0.01), any dysplasia (t = -2.3, p < 0.05), H2 receptor antagonist (H2-RA) consumption (t = 1.98, p < 0.05), and nonsmoking (t = -2.5, p < 0.05) were correlated with a longer segment of BE. Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) (t=1.96, p < 0.05) were correlated with a shorter segment of BE. Conclusions: PPIs were correlated with shorter lengths of BE. In contrast, a longer hiatal hernia, any dysplasia, nonsmoking, or use of H2-RAs were correlated with a longer BE segment.展开更多
文摘Forest resources monitoring are particularly challenging for tropical forest due to their diverse composition and structure and a wide range of stakeholder’s expectations and requirement. New monitoring approaches and control policies directions are required to meet these different challenges. For the past decades, much of the focus of formal forest monitoring and management policy in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been on large scale conventional harvesting to meet national requirements for economic development, with little attention given to community or small area forest management and monitoring. The current management is considered to be unsustainable and, as forest resources from primary forests are exhausted. This has resulted in extensive cutover forest areas being left to degrade over time. Forest reserve has suffered seriously and if the present trend of deforestation continues;it is just a matter of time when the whole reserve would have been converted to a bare ground. This study therefore examined the integration of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) application on forest resource mapping and monitoring in Bulolo district, Morobe province. Landsat satellite imageries for 1992, 2002 and 2014 were used to classify and identify forest changes through change detection techniques. A GIS database of land use categories and their location within 24 years (1992-2014) were generated and analysed with the aid of GIS analytical functions. This function includes area calculation, overlay, and image differencing, supervised classifications, cross tabulations and map representation. The result shows that population growth (anthropogenic) factors among communities around the natural forest imposes a lot of pressure on the natural forest resources. This should also include consideration of the future usage capacity of the forest resources as well as development of the capacity of local forest owner communities to participate in small scale forest management and utilization.
文摘Geographical Information System (GIS) can be considered the core of the Interactive Facilities Management Environment (iFaME) framework in managing different facilities on the building bases. This study aims at building a comprehensive geodatabase for different elements of infrastructure facilities and services on the building bases for a selected number of schools and developing a GIS-based iFaME interactive application to manage different facilities at the school level in Kuwait. The iFaME is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) desktop application. It is intended to take planners, decision makers, and maintenance experts inside the building to provide an interactive GIS platform to manage, visualize, query, maintain, and update the database related to school assets and facilities. The Autodesk Revit software was used to produce 3D building information models (BIM) for the selected schools. It provides accurate geometrical representation of the school building elements in an integrated data environment. The iFaME application is integrated with the Revit BIM models and the STAR-APIC Elyx 3D software solution. With the development of the iFaME applications, the facility managers in the MoE could establish greater control over the space allocation and management, asset management, emergency planning, and other areas of facility management. The school managers and maintenance engineers are considered among the most beneficiaries from this application. The school managers will monitor the maintenance activities all the time, while the maintenance engineers will use the application as a container for maintenance orders, and on the same time to document what they accomplished on daily basis. The iFaME application will reduce the maintenance cost of school assets and facilities in addition to increase their efficiency.
文摘This study aims to examine the use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) technology in land use/land cover mapping to aide sustainable planning and development in the Wafi-Golpu project area. At the same time, this study examines an existing method of Forest Canopy Density (FCD) model to estimate forest canopy density of the proposed deforestation site, which is known as the Advanced Exploration Feasibility Study Activities (AEFSA) area within the Wafi-Golpu Project site. The FCD model calculates the forest canopy density using the three (3) indices of vegetation, soil and shadow from the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite image of year 2013. In this study an attempt has been made to monitor the forest loss or degradation during deforestation in a natural forest stand of the Wafi-Golpu project area using forest FCD mapping and monitoring model and the findings of the study will assist the project planners and developers with their work on forest rehabilitation and reforestation for the purposes of sustainable forest management. The result of the work shows that a considerable amount of forest loss will be undertaken during the AEFSA deforestation exercise and also the findings show that a reliable land use/land cover map will greatly assist sustainable development in a resource project development period.
文摘Gastroenterology(GE) used to be considered a subspecialty of internal medicine. Today, GE is generally recognized as a wide-ranging specialty incorporating capacities, such as hepatology, oncology and interventional endoscopy, necessitating GEexpert differentiation. Although the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has defined specific expertise areas in Advanced endoscopy, hepatology, digestive oncology and clinical nutrition, training for the latter topic is lacking in the current hepatogastroenterology(HGE) curriculum. Given its relevance for HGE practice, and being at the core of gastrointestinal functioning, there is an obvious need for training in nutrition and related issues including the treatment of disease-related malnutrition and obesity and its associated metabolic derangements. This document aims to be a starting point for the integration of nutritional expertise in the HGE curriculum, allowing a central role in the management of malnutrition and obesity. We suggest minimum endpoints for nutritional knowledge and expertise in the standard curriculum and recommend a focus period of training in nutrition issues in order to produce well-trained HGE specialists. This article provides a road map for the organization of such a training program. We would highly welcome the World Gastroenterology Organisation, the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the American Gastroenterology Association and other(inter)national Gastroenterology societies support the necessary certifications for this item in the HGE-curriculum.
文摘Despite the adoption of “sickest first”liver transplantation, pretransplant death remains common, and many early deaths occur despite initially low Model fo r End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores. From 1997-2003, we studied 507 cirrho tic United States veterans referred for consideration of liver transplantation t o identify additional predictors of early mortality. Most of the patients were m ale (98%) with cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C and/or alcohol (88%). Data for 296 patients referred prior to February 27, 2002 (training group), were analyzed ; findings were validated in 211 patients referred subsequently (validation grou p). In the training group, 61 patients (21%) died within 180 days without trans plantation; their median initial MELD score was 21. MELD score, persistent ascit es, and low serum sodium (<135 mEq/L) were independent predictors of early morta lity. In patients with a MELD score of less than 21, only low serum sodium and p ersistent ascites were independent predictors of mortality; for MELD scores abov e 21, only MELD was independently predictive. Prognostic significance of persist ent ascites and low serum sodium for low MELD score patients was confirmed in th e validation group. Risk varied continuously with worsening hyponatremia. Modify ing MELD, by including points for persistent ascites and low serum sodium, impro ved prediction of early pretransplant mortality in lowMELDscore patients. In con clusion, persistent ascites and low serum sodium identify patients with cirrhosi s with high mortality risk despite low MELD scores. Ascites, hyponatremia, and o ther findings indicative of hemodynamic decompensation merit further prospective study as prognostic indicators in patients awaiting liver transplantation, and should be considered in setting minimal listing criteria.
文摘Background: Assessment of clinical factors associated with Barrett’s esophagus (BE) length remained within the realm of anecdotal reports or one center’s experience. The aim of this multicenter study was to determine which clinical factors are highly correlated with the length of BE. Methods: Patients diagnosed with BE were recruited into the study from 5 academic centers in the United States. All patients had an upper endoscopy that documented BE by the presence of intestinal metaplasia in biopsy specimens. All patients were evaluated by a validated demographic questionnaire and the GERD Symptom Checklist. Results: A total of 263 patients with BE were recruited into the study. Mean BE length for the entire sample was 4 ±3.3 cm. A longer hiatal hernia (r = 0.22, p < 0.01), any dysplasia (t = -2.3, p < 0.05), H2 receptor antagonist (H2-RA) consumption (t = 1.98, p < 0.05), and nonsmoking (t = -2.5, p < 0.05) were correlated with a longer segment of BE. Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) (t=1.96, p < 0.05) were correlated with a shorter segment of BE. Conclusions: PPIs were correlated with shorter lengths of BE. In contrast, a longer hiatal hernia, any dysplasia, nonsmoking, or use of H2-RAs were correlated with a longer BE segment.
