Search results for " Index"

Determinants of the interannual relationships between remote sensed photosynthetic activity and rainfall in tropical Africa

2007

International audience; The response of photosynthetic activity to interannual rainfall variations in Africa South of the Sahara is examined using 20 years (1981-2000) of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) AVHRR data. Linear correlations and regressions were computed between annual NDVI and annual rainfall at a 0.5° latitude/longitude resolution, based on two gridded precipitation datasets (Climate Prediction Center Merged Analysis of Precipitation [CMAP] and Climatic Research Unit [CRU]). The spatial patterns were then examined to detect how they relate to the mean annual rainfall amounts, land-cover types as from the Global Land Cover 2000 data set, soil properties and soil typ…

Global Estimation of Biophysical Variables from Google Earth Engine Platform

2018

This paper proposes a processing chain for the derivation of global Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR), Fraction Vegetation Cover (FVC), and Canopy water content (CWC) maps from 15-years of MODIS data exploiting the capabilities of the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform. The retrieval chain is based on a hybrid method inverting the PROSAIL radiative transfer model (RTM) with Random forests (RF) regression. A major feature of this work is the implementation of a retrieval chain exploiting the GEE capabilities using global and climate data records (CDR) of both MODIS surface reflectance and LAI/FAPAR datasets allowing the global estim…

Lack of reactivation of tuberculosis in patients with psoriasis treated with secukinumab in a real-world setting of latent tuberculosis infection

2022

Background Some biologics for psoriasis, especially anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha therapies, may re-activate latent tuberculosis (TBC) infection with consequent morbidity and mortality. However, there is a low reported incidence of conversion to positive TBC status among patients with psoriasis treated with second-generation biologic therapies, particularly anti-interleukin (IL)-17 therapies such as secukinumab. Objectives To evaluate the safety profile of secukinumab in psoriasis patients with latent TBC infection. Methods Real-life data were collected by retrospective chart review on patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who showed positivity for TBC screening at baseline an…

The economic sustainability of residential location and social housing. An application in Palermo city

2016

The aim of this paper is to analyse the interconnections among the so-called “grey area” citizens, who have great difficult to get an own house, and the public (and private) stakeholders that have a key part to play in translating the housing politics into practice. The analysis proposes some economic tools – the analysis of the local real estate market and the “Income-Threshold” – to support municipality in achieving social housing projects corresponding to the family’s financial constraints. The methodology of analysis is applied to data directly collected in Palermo. The purpose is to point out the operational and problematic aspects corresponding to the family’s access to the real estat…

TISSBERT: A benchmark for the validation and comparison of NDVI time series reconstruction methods

2018

[EN] This paper introduces the Time Series Simulation for Benchmarking of Reconstruction Techniques (TISSBERT) dataset, intended to provide a benchmark for the validation and comparison of time series reconstruction methods. Such methods are routinely used to estimate vegetation characteristics from optical remotely sensed data, where the presence of clouds decreases the usefulness of the data. As for their validation, these methods have been compared with previously published ones, although with different approaches, which sometimes lead to contradictory results. We designed the TISSBERT dataset to be generic so that it could simulate realistic reference and cloud-contaminated time series …

Measurement of Low Concentration of Nanosized Objects Suspended in a Liquid Medium

2018

The new optical scheme of refractometer with temperature stabilisation 10-2 °C is developed, which allows measuring a refractive index of the sample with accuracy not worse than 10-5; dependence of refraction index on concentration of SiO2 nanoparticles in liquid suspension is obtained within the framework of the research.

Relationship between aortic stifness and renal resistance index in hypertensive patients

2014

Experimental Characterization and Acoustic Correction of a Multipurpose Performance Hall: The Italian Theatre “Cavallino Bianco”

2022

This study presents the retrofit acoustic dq1esign of the Italian theatre “Cavallino Bianco”. In its historical configuration, the hall had a curved roof with a pressed-plant fiber ceiling, which was demolished and replaced with a wooden roof without a false ceiling, leading to an increase in volume and a worsening of the reverberation time. This study proposed the realization of a wave ceiling and the application of sound-absorbing and reflecting panels on the walls, which have already been implemented. These modifications have affected the acoustic characterization of the theatre, as shown both through on-site measurements during the main construction phases and through numerical simulati…

Residential segregation of foreigners: an analysis of the Italian city of Palermo

2015

Ethnic residential segregation in Italy is an emerging key question, which will be crucial in the definition and implementation of both urbanistic and social policies. This paper focuses on this phenomenon in the Italian city of Palermo. We use individual data for all the population residing in the city at 31 December 2011, organized by ethnicity and district. Firstly, we describe the spatial distribution and the residential segregation of foreigners in the city, applying many different segregation measures. Among the others, we also apply the Duncan and Duncan dissimilarity index. Finally, we apply a recent methodological approach, which allows reducing the bias of the Duncan’s index…

Good clinical response, remission, and predictors of remission in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with tumor necrosis factor-α blockers: The GI…

2007

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of good clinical response and remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with longstanding disease treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) drugs at outpatient clinics. METHODS: Retrospective national study of 14 academic tertiary referral rheumatology medical centers. RA patients with a Disease Activity Score (DAS28) > 3.2 were defined as having active disease and could start TNF-alpha blockers. All patients received one TNF-alpha blocker plus methotrexate (10-20 mg/wk). At the third month the patients were categorized as responders or nonresponders, based on improvement of at least 0.25 of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ).…