0000000000704168
AUTHOR
Pablo Reyes
Crop Phenology Retrieval Through Gaussian Process Regression
Monitoring crop phenology significantly assists agricultural managing practices and plays an important role in crop yield predictions. Multi-temporal satellite-based observations allow analyzing vegetation seasonal dynamics over large areas by using vegetation indices or deriving biophysical variables. This study presents a framework for automatic corn phenology characterization based on high spatial and temporal resolution time series. By using the Difference Vegetation Index (DVI) estimated from Sentinel-2 data over Iowa (US), independent phenological models were optimized using Gaussian Processes regression. Their respective performances were assessed based on simulated phenological indi…
Effective antimicrobial materials based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles
[EN] Effective antimicrobial polymeric nanocomposites were prepared with low density polyethylene (LDPE) and zinc oxide nanoparticles by melt compounding. These nanoparticles (~17 nm) obtained by the sol¿gel method, were used both as-synthesized and modified organically with oleic acid (Mod-ZnO). Young¿s modulus increased ~15 and 18% for LDPE/ZnO and LDPE/Mod-ZnO, respectively, compared to neat LDPE. When these composites were irradiated with white light, they showed an increase with nanoparticle incorporation, and the antimicrobial properties against E. coli were ~96¿99%. The release of the Zn cations was related to the antimicrobial properties. These nanocomposites are attractive for use …
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms as Predictors of Clinical Course in Neurodegeneration. A Longitudinal Study
Background: To study the extent to which neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) influence the cognitive and functional decline in frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: We assessed the progression of NPS and their influence on cognitive and functional progression in a group of FTD (n = 36) and AD patients (n = 47) at two different stages of the disease (2.5 years). A standardized scale was used to assess NPS—the Columbia University Scale for Psychopathology in Alzheimer’s Disease (CUSPAD)—which tracks different symptoms including depression, psychotic symptoms, as well as sleep and conduct problems. In addition, in a subsample of patients (AD n = 14 and FTD n = 14…