Bare Areas Research Articles

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Human Critical Area (HCA) in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China and the Impact of Socioeconomic Factors between 2000 and 2020

The Human Critical Area (HCA) is an area that characterizes the surface landscape created by human beings in the Anthropocene. Based on the signatures left by major human activities over the Earth′s surface, this research demarcates an arid inland region of Northwest China, the “Three Water Lines”, into four HCA types: Agricultural Area, Built-up Area, Ecological Area, and Bare Area. This paper explores the HCA′s distribution and changes in the “Three Water Lines” region between 2000 and 2020 with land use/cover data, as well as the impact of socioeconomic factors on the HCA dynamics with statistics sourcing from authoritative yearbooks. To achieve this, the Land Use Transition Matrix is used to investigate the changes in area and distribution, while binary linear regression and stepwise multiple linear regression are applied to examine the single and joint effects of the socioeconomic factors. The main findings are as follows: (i) The four HCA types are distinguished quantitatively and by their distribution patterns. Ecological Area and Bare Area cover most (more than 90% in total) of the territory with extensive and continuous distribution. Agricultural Area is mainly found on the eastern and western parts of the region, with flat terrain, abundant water resources, and moderate temperatures. Built-up Area is the most concentrated but has an unbalanced distribution and the lowest quantity. (ii) Despite some discernible spatial and quantity changes at regional and county levels between 2000 and 2020, the general characteristics in HCA’s structure and distribution pattern have mainly remained consistent. (iii) Transitions between HCA types occur constantly, and the primary source type of the transitions differs from one another. Ecological Area and Bare Area form the sources of the most evident transitions. (iv) Agricultural Area and Built-up Area are more prone influence from some socioeconomic dynamics. By contrast, there is no evidence that socioeconomic factors directly affect Bare Area. As the first empirical study of the newly conceived concept, Human Critical Area, this paper sheds light on the renovation of geographic traditions of studying the evolution of the human-environment system through the lens of human activities-driven landscape changes.

Anatomical variations of the liver and its suspensory system: a cadaver‐based study

Introduction & ObjectiveNon‐traumatic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain has become a socio‐economic burden, being the leading cause of absenteeism and prolonged disability. Despite all medical advances, the origin of this pain is still unclear. Studies have reported theories on the role of fascia, nociceptive stimulation, and visceral (im)mobility, and provided evidence for the success of visceral manipulation therapy. The influence of viscera on the MSK system is neglected in scientific research, even though the human body functions best when its components, including the viscera, are free to move in full range. Thus, to understand the role of visceral mobility on the MSK system, this study aimed to investigate the anatomical variation of the liver’s suspensory system via physical measurements and 3D surface scanning. It is hypothesized that anatomical variations will exist.Materials & MethodsWith IRB clearance, fourteen of twenty‐two formaldehyde‐fixed donors were selected for this study; the other eight donors excluded due to pathology affecting the region of interest. Using gross dissection, livers and diaphragms were isolated. Using a string and a digital micrometer, the length and thickness of the triangular ligaments, the falciform ligament, and the circumference of the bare area was measured for each selected donor. Each isolated liver was weighed. Using a structured light scanner, each liver and suspensory system (bare area and aforementioned ligaments) were digitalized for future analysis.ResultsThe mean lengths (mm) of the left triangular ligament edges were 55.70 ± 27.1, 88.38 ± 31.69, and 63.62 ± 28.76. The mean lengths (mm) of the right triangular ligament edges were 35.32 ± 21.15, 46.98 ± 51.83, and 33.28 ± 21.83. The mean lengths (mm) of the falciform edges were 102.75 ± 30.40, 172.32 ± 35.70, and 105.51 ± 49.25. The mean thicknesses (mm) of the left and right triangular ligaments, and the falciform, were 0.32 ± 0.16, 0.32 ± 0.20, and 0.34 ± 0.31, respectively. The bare area circumference was 443.12 ± 98.38mm, and the mean liver weight was 1439.09 ± 752.39g.ConclusionThis dissection‐based study provides evidence of a broad range of anatomical variations that exists between livers and suspensory system, emphasizing the uniqueness of the human body’s anatomy.Significance/ImplicationThis was the first study to examine the morphological variation of the liver’s ligaments and bare area via meticulous physical measurements. The results suggest that the liver’s suspensory system has carefully adapted to each body’s needs and demands. Understanding and visualizing this could help train clinicians who provide visceral manipulation therapy to the liver for MSK pain. A patient’s specific liver morphology may differ greatly from standard anatomy textbook descriptions, so recognizing the anatomical variation of the liver’s suspensory system and the potential impact it has on the MSK system could lead to alternative and improved treatments. Further research could include statistical modeling from the 3D digitalized models. To understand the actual role of the liver’s suspensory system in influencing the MSK system, the biomechanical and proprioceptive properties of the ligaments should be researched.

Partially gold-coated tilted FBGs for enhanced surface biosensing.

To date, there is clear experimental evidence that gold-coated tilted fiber Bragg gratings (TFBGs) are highly sensitive plasmonic biosensors that provide temperature-compensated detection of analytes at concentrations in the picomolar range. As most optical biosensors, they bring an evanescent wave in the surrounding medium, which makes them sensitive to both surface refractive index variations (= the useful biosensing signal) and to bulk refractive index changes (= the non-useful signal for biosensing). This dual sensitivity makes them prone to drift. In this work, we study partially gold-coated TFBGs around their cross-section. These gratings present the ability to discriminate both volume and surface refractive index changes, which is interesting in biosensing to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. The effects induced in the TFBGs transmitted amplitude spectra were analyzed for surrounding refractive index (SRI) changes in the range 1.3360-1.3370. Then, the gold film was biofunctionalized with human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) aptamers using thiol chemistry. The detection of HER2 proteins (a relevant cancer biomarker) at 10-9 g/mL, 10-8 g/mL and 10-6 g/mL demonstrated the advantage to identify environmental perturbations through the bare area of the TFBGs, which is left not functionalized. The non-specific drifts that could exist in samples are eliminated and a wavelength shift only related to the surface modification is obtained.

Geochemical Behavior of Sedimentary Phosphorus Species in Northernmost Artificial Mangroves in China

Mangroves are typically found in tropical coastal areas, and these ecosystems face deterioration and loss due to threats from climate and human factors. In this study, sediment cores were collected from human-planted mangroves in sub-tropical Ximen Island, China, and were determined for sedimentary phosphorus (P) species. The objective was to investigate the ability of mangroves planted in a zone bordering their temperature limit to preserve and regulate P. Our results showed that bioavailable P (BAP), which includes exchangeable-P (Ex-P), iron-bound P (Fe-P), and organic P (OP), accounted for approximately 64% of total P (TP). Apatite P (Ca-P), which accounted for 24% of TP, most likely originated from aquaculture activities surrounding the island. The vertical distribution of sedimentary P species along the sediment cores showed a rather constant trend along the salt marsh stand but considerable fluctuations for the mangroves and bare mudflat. These results indicate that mangroves accumulated P when there was a high P discharge event, and that this P was eventually released during organic matter decomposition and contributed to Ca-P formation. Nevertheless, old and young mangroves accumulated higher sedimentary P species, OP, and BAP compared to the salt marsh stand and bare mudflat areas. This study showed the potential of mangroves planted outside their suitable climate zone to preserve and regulate P.

Intra‐Annual Variation of High and Low‐Flow Extremes Associated With Land Use and Climate Change in the Upper Tekeze of the Nile River Basin

AbstractIn northern Ethiopian highlands, climate variability and land use/land cover (LULC) change has been observed during the past decades. However, it remains unclear that to which extent and how these key drivers contributed to changes in hydrological extremes. As a case study, the respective impacts of LULC change and climate variability on hydrological extremes with respect to magnitude, duration, and frequency metrics were assessed in the Upper Tekeze basin, Ethiopia. A scenario‐based approach using LULC and hydro‐climatological data was developed and five simulation experiments were conducted using Soil and Water Assessment Tool model. Results showed that, during 1986–2015, low‐flow duration has decreased by 5.0 days/yr, and the magnitude and occurrence of high flow has increased by 5.23 m3/s/yr and 5.11 days/yr, respectively. Meanwhile, about 47.42% of the landscape has changed its category while no significant change was detected in annual rainfall during the past 31 yr. Particularly, rocky area increased by 82% which was mostly contributed by losses of bare, sand, and low biomass areas. Significant positive and negative contributions to the changes in high and low‐flow extremes, respectively, were detected from LULC change, while no significant contribution was detected from climate change. The increased rock area tends to be one of the major contributors to the increased high flow while climate change seemed to play a minor role. The potential mechanism is the expansion in rock area increased runoff and high flow, which may lead to significant land deterioration and loss of water storage capacity in the mountainous basin.

Effects on ecosystem services value due to land use and land cover change (1990\u20132020) in the transboundary Karnali River Basin, Central Himalayas

Valuation of ecosystem services based on land use and land cover changes (LUCC) offers an incentive to people for sustainable use of the natural resources and can encourage people to adjust the land use sustainably. In this study, we used “Object-based Image Analysis (OBIA),” a remote sensing technique to extract the land use and land cover (LULC) of the transboundary Karnali River Basin (KRB, China and Nepal) from 1990 to 2020, and ecosystem services value (ESV) coefficients derived for the Tibetan Plateau has been used to assess the ESV. The basin has highest percentage of forest (33.44%), followed by bare area (30.29%), shrub/grassland (18.5%), agriculture (13.12%), snow/ice (4.36%), waterbody (0.3%), and built-up (0.03%) as of 2020. Over 30 years, 4.07 km2 of the forest has been converted to agricultural land, 3.31 km2 of agricultural land has been encroached by built-up area, whereas 2.82 km2 of snow/ice area has melted into the waterbody. Furthermore, 80.85 km2 of bare area has been converted to snow/ice, and 2138.83 km2 of snow/ice has been changed to bare area. The ESV of KRB has increased by nearly 2.7 million USD from 1990 to 2020, primarily due to the increase in ESV from the conversion of 133.09 km2 of snow/ice to shrub/grassland. The ESV of forest, waterbody, and snow/ice has decreased, whereas it has increased for other LULC classes in the basin. Spatial distribution of LUCC and assessment of ESV can be a tool to facilitate for better provisioning and regulating the resources for the future.

High‐resolution mapping of soil pollution by Cu and Ni at a polar industrial barren area using proximal and remote sensing

AbstractIndustrial pollution by potentially toxic elements (PTE) remains a key environmental threat, resulting in soil and ecosystem degradation. Remediation of the industrial barrens is challenging in polar regions, where plant growth is hampered by severe climatic conditions. High‐resolution mapping of soil pollution is needed to support soil remediation and management projects. The distribution of nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) was analyzed in the topsoil within the industrial barren around the Ni and Cu smelter in Kola Peninsula, Russia using a field‐portable XRF analyzer. Bulk Cu and Ni contents were measured at 84 observation points within the area of two hectares planned for remediation. The PTE content varied between 0.2 and 9.0 g kg−1 for Cu and between 0.2 and 21 g kg−1 for Ni. The area was surveyed with unmanned aerial vehicles and differential global navigation satellite systems to obtain a high‐accuracy digital terrain model for exploring the factors behind the spatial variability. Field observations were interpolated by regression kriging with different input resolution of auxiliary data (0.5–1.0–1.5–2.0 m) and different regression models (gradient boosting machines and multiple linear regression). Model performance and validation showed that 1.0–1.5 m resolution of auxiliary data were the best for projecting Cu and Ni topsoil contents within the study site. The soil type and topographic wetness index were the most important variables explaining Cu and Ni content variability.

The hypermobile and unstable lateral meniscus: a narrative review of the anatomy, biomechanics, diagnosis and treatment options.

The purpose of this review is to improve the awareness of lateral meniscal hypermobility by describing its relevant anatomy, biomechanics, pathophysiology, imaging and arthroscopic findings as well as the treatment options. The lateral meniscus is less stable than the medial meniscus. Its important posterior stabilizers are the popliteomeniscal fascicles, the posterior capsule, the meniscofemoral ligaments and the posterior meniscotibial ligament, which are divided by a bare area, the popliteal hiatus. Atraumatic insufficiency or rupture of one of these key structures may impact the mobility of the lateral meniscus and can lead to an unstable, hypermobile lateral meniscus. Lateral meniscus hypermobility can cause lateral knee pain and mechanical symptoms as locking. Ruptures of the popliteomeniscal fascicles are frequently associated with anterior cruciate ligament and posterolateral corner injuries. Their repair may be important to fully restore knee stability. This is a narrative overview of the literature synthesizing current knowledge about the hypermobile lateral meniscus. Anatomy, biomechanics, diagnosis and treatment of this entity was of particular interest for this review. Literature was retrieved from PubMed database, hand searches and cross-reference checking. Diagnosing lateral meniscus hypermobility is challenging since the magnetic resonance imaging are often unspecific and may show no structural alterations of the meniscus and its attachments. The only hint can be the patient's history and clinical symptoms (e.g., locking). Ultimately, the diagnosis is confirmed during knee arthroscopy, when the lateral meniscus can be mobilized over 50% of the lateral tibial plateau or lateral femoral condyle while anterior probing or by using the aspiration function during arthroscopy. Treatment includes stabilizing the posterior lateral meniscus by repairing the injured structures. Therefore, a systematic arthroscopic evaluation of the lateral compartment is important to fully recognize the problem. Repair can be achieved arthroscopically with various suturing techniques used for meniscal repair with satisfactory results and low recurrence rates.

Landuse Patterns, Air Quality and Bird Diversity in Urban Landscapes of Delhi

In the present paper we attempted to explain the relationships among the landuse pattern, levels of air pollutants and bird diversity based on data from 5 sampling sites in Delhi. Five landuse categories- percent built up area, tree cover, park area and barren area were recognized in the study area. The objective of this study is to find out the effects of landuse changes on air pollution and bird diversity and whether birds can serve as indicator of landuse changes and air pollutants. The levels of six air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NOX, SO2, Ozone and Benzene) from the monitoring stations were used. The bird diversity was assessed using conventional measures. All the sites showed remarkable differences with respect to each of the five landuse categories, air pollution levels, and bird diversity. The results suggest that landuse changes influence air pollution and bird diversity and some bird species can be used as indicator of landuse change and air pollution.

Screening of Salt Tolerant Eucalyptus Clones Based on Physio-Morphological and Biochemical Responses Using Grey Relational Analysis

ABSTRACT The salinity of the soil affects crop productivity. Approximately 20% of the total cropland and 33% of irrigated agricultural areas are salinized worldwide. Therefore, saline barren areas require plants that are tolerant of high saline levels. The objective of the current study is to investigate Eucalyptus clones that can thrive in high saline conditions. To achieve this goal, fifty Eucalyptus clones (E. camaldulensis, E. tereticornis) were irrigated with saline water (120 mM NaCl and 50 mM Na2SO4, electrical conductivity ≥20 dS ) for 3 months. To screen salt-tolerant clones, physiological, biochemical, and growth responses of clones were measured. The best performing clones under salt stress were chosen using Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), a Multiple Attribute Decision-Making (MADM) model, which is a novel approach to deal with this kind of screening study. As a result, the rank of (tolerant, moderate, and susceptible) clones was calculated, based on Grey Relational Grade (GRG). The value of GRG was based on the physio-morphological and biochemical responses of clones, indicating their greater ability to withstand saline stress. Results of this study suggest some salt-tolerant clones for the utilization of salt-affected locations to grow Eucalyptus plants, which may help to increase forest sustainability.

Structural and Functional Improvements of Coastal Ecosystem Based on Artificial Oyster Reef Construction in the Bohai Sea, China

Oyster reefs are gaining more and more attention in marine ranching and coastal ecosystem restoration, but tremendous knowledge gaps still exist. In this study, we developed trophic models for the established artificial oyster reef (EAOR), newly deployed artificial oyster reef (NAOR), and non-reef bare substratum (NBS) ecosystems located in the Bay of Xiangyun, Bohai Sea, China, to assess the benefits of artificial oyster reef construction and to characterize the unique role of these reefs in coastal management. The analysis showed that the EAOR and NAOR ecosystems were similar to each other, but both were greatly different than the NBS ecosystem. Reefs showed greater “ecological size” and stronger top-down effects compared to the bare area. The ecosystems were not yet mature, but the EAOR and NAOR ecosystems had more complicated trophic relationships, greater potential to withstand perturbations, and higher biological carrying capacities of commercial organisms compared to the NBS ecosystem. These results demonstrated that artificial oyster reef construction resulted in great advantages to the ecosystem. For example, oysters became the structuring functional group and played a critical role in the trophic structure of the reef areas. The phytoplankton/detritus-oysters-carnivorous macrobenthos pathway developed and became dominant in these areas, thereby contributing to highly efficient secondary production. The ratios of total primary production/total respiration were < 1, indicating that the reef ecosystems responded effectively to nutrient inputs from adjacent ecosystems. We speculate that water exchange might be a critical factor influencing the maintenance of the system. Long-term monitoring of the EAOR and NAOR should be implemented for oyster protection and to assess the need to manipulate carnivorous macrobenthos to keep the systems in balance. Results of this study could benefit the restoration, exploitation, and management of oyster reefs. Further studies should take the adjacent ecosystems and anthropogenic activities into account.

Deep Learning-Based Classification of Inflammatory Arthritis by Identification of Joint Shape Patterns-How Neural Networks Can Tell Us Where to "Deep Dive" Clinically.

Objective:We investigated whether a neural network based on the shape of joints can differentiate between rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and healthy controls (HC), which class patients with undifferentiated arthritis (UA) are assigned to, and whether this neural network is able to identify disease-specific regions in joints.MethodsWe trained a novel neural network on 3D articular bone shapes of hand joints of RA and PsA patients as well as HC. Bone shapes were created from high-resolution peripheral-computed-tomography (HR-pQCT) data of the second metacarpal bone head. Heat maps of critical spots were generated using GradCAM. After training, we fed shape patterns of UA into the neural network to classify them into RA, PsA, or HC.ResultsHand bone shapes from 932 HR-pQCT scans of 617 patients were available. The network could differentiate the classes with an area-under-receiver-operator-curve of 82% for HC, 75% for RA, and 68% for PsA. Heat maps identified anatomical regions such as bare area or ligament attachments prone to erosions and bony spurs. When feeding UA data into the neural network, 86% were classified as “RA,” 11% as “PsA,” and 3% as “HC” based on the joint shape.ConclusionWe investigated neural networks to differentiate the shape of joints of RA, PsA, and HC and extracted disease-specific characteristics as heat maps on 3D joint shapes that can be utilized in clinical routine examination using ultrasound. Finally, unspecific diseases such as UA could be grouped using the trained network based on joint shape.

Phenotypic Responses of Some Functional Traits in Four Native Perennial Grass Species Grown on Fly Ash Dump and Native Soil.

Functional response traits of four perennial grass species (Imperata cylindrica, Cenchrus ciliaris, Sporobolus diander, and Cynodon dactylon) growing on the fly ash dump and referral site having native soil were evaluated with the objective of selecting species suitable for rapid development of vegetation cover on the fly ash dumps. All the four species showed spectacular plastic responses in functional traits of plants grown on the fly ash dump and are induced by habitat and hence are adaptive. The traits associated with the root system such as root length, spread, the volume of the substratum occupied by the root system, and root biomass showed greater plasticity than the traits of the shoot system such as shoot biomass, the mean number of tillers per clump, and mean height of tillers. For instance, for all the grass species, the ratio of root/shoot biomass was higher for fly ash grown plants as compared to that of plants grown in native soil. The highest ratio was recorded for C. dactylon (5.61 ± 2.36) and I. cylindrica (5.37 ± 2.36) whereas the lowest ratio was recorded for C. ciliaris (1.87 ± 0.44). This suggests greater allocation of resources to root than to shoot by the species for space exploitative growth that enables them to acquire nutrients from nutritionally poor and unfavorable substratum like fly ash dump. Such a strategy enables species to establish and regenerate on barren areas that include fly ash dumps. The higher root length, spread, biomass, and root/shoot ratio in plants of all the species grown on fly ash as compared to plants grown on the native soil substantiate that plasticity in functional traits enabled the species to adapt to stressed habitats. The plastic responses observed are specific to the trait, specific to the species, and specific to the environment. This is evident by the quantitative differences in the responses between traits within a species, between species, and between habitats. The phenotypic plasticity induced by the fly ash altered the relationships between functional traits of the plants. This is evident by the marked differences in the r-values for different character associations between plants grown on fly ash dump and native soil. The results suggest that all the four grass species evaluated can be used for the rapid development of vegetation cover on the fly ash dumps to mitigate environmental contamination.

The effects of the aggressive species Pteridium caudatum on the vegetation of Socorro Island: Restoration challenges and opportunities

Humans’ impacts on natural environments have become pervasive, and natural regeneration is often hampered by extreme soil degradation. This situation is exacerbated in insular habitats where introductions of non-native grazing mammals have left behind completely barren areas. Once mammals are removed, aggressive native or non-native plant species can grow vigorously. This leads to the question of whether biodiversity can return through native succession, or if other actions are needed to prevent invading pioneer species from causing successional arrest. This occurs on the remote Socorro Island, in the UNESCO World-Heritage Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico. To understand whether native plants are establishing at sites invaded by Pteridium caudatum, we evaluated natural regeneration in sites with different Pteridium cover in two contrasting zones of the island (dry and mesic). We also calculated plant stress indicators (midday leaf water potential, chlorophyl content and maximum quantum yield) for two native species—Dodonea viscosa and Psidium socorrense—growing in open areas and under Pteridium. Our results showed that Pteridium is a significant barrier to seedling establishment. Thus, restoration actions such as seeding and/or plantings should focus on areas without Pteridium cover. Certain local species can be used to restore degraded areas: P. socorrese and Waltheria americana could be used in dry zones, while D. viscosa could be sown in either dry or mesic zones. For adult plants of the two dominant shrubs, Pteridium cover neither imposes or ameliorates stress. Our results suggest that the restoration of plant diversity in the vast Pteridium-invaded areas of Socorro Island will require management actions, including progressive physical removal of Pteridium cover to activate natural regeneration. Pteridium removal can be accelerated by nucleation, planting adults of native shrubs to generate shading. This strategy could be viable if restoration programs involve conservation institutions and government agencies, who currently have critical human and technological resources on the Island.

Pansharpened landsat 8 thermal-infrared data for improved Land Surface Temperature characterization in a heterogeneous urban landscape

Reliable urban Land Use Land Cover (LULC) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) characterization are important for land use planning as well as climate and thermal impact analysis in cities. High resolution LULC and LST datasets are required for detailed spatial analysis such as understanding the contribution of small LULC fragments to thermal characteristics of the entire urban landscape. To date, detailed analysis of urban surfaces using satellite imagery has been hindered by low to moderate spatial resolution of freely available sensors of past and existing missions. Hence, this study sought to investigate the potential of pansharpening Landsat 8 data in improving LULC mapping and LST characterization in Bulawayo metropolitan city, Zimbabwe. Six LULC classes namely; bare area, built-up, low density, dense forest, grasslands and water bodies were considered for the study and respective spatially-explicit locational information (GPS coordinates) class samples identified. Supervised image classification using the Support Vector Machines algorithm was adopted for the un-pansharpened (30m) and separately using different pansharpened (i.e. Brovey, Simple Mean, ESR, IHS and Gram-Schmidt) datasets (15m) as input. Results indicated improved discriminability of LULC and LST features as well as increased classification accuracy from all pansharpening methods when compared to the 30m resolution data. Average inter-class separability increased from 1.577 using original data to 1.863 after pansharpening. The simple mean method showed the highest classification accuracy (92.13%), outperforming un-pansharpened data (89.77%) and other pansharpening methods (89.45–91.75%). Pansharpened data showed better accuracy in LST spatial characterization than un-pansharpened thermal data. For each LULC class, mean LST was slightly higher before, than after pansharpening, by between 0.1 and 1 °C. The study further established that pansharpening based on simple mean method did not compromise the spatial correlation between LULC and LST. These findings present a great improvement towards accurately mapping LULC and LST in heterogeneous urban landscapes.

Detection of bare soils in sugarcane areas by temporal satellite images: A monitoring technique for soil security

Bare soil triggers several undesirable processes for its quality and remote sensing can be a powerful tool to monitoring its occurrence. This work aims to apply multi-temporal satellite image techniques to detect bare soil areas under sugarcane cultivation and relate with soil security. The study was carried out in an area of 2,574 km² located in Brazil. The MapBiomas land use and cover collection was used to know the sugarcane area changes from 1985 to 2019. A collection of Landsat images over 35 years (1985 to 2019) were used to create Synthetic Soil Images (SYSIs) and the Bare Soil Frequency Images (BSF) of the area. SYSIs were generated annually, in the rainy and dry season. BSFs was generated in the total period and every five years by dry and rainy season. Thus, the land use changes and bare soil occurrence were compared to categorical maps of soil types, surface clay classes and slope, and also with economic, social and political changes in the period. In general, the bare soil increased from 1985 to 2006, and began to decline thereafter because of “Agro-environmental Protocol’ that anticipated the end of pre-harvest burning in sugarcane crop. BSF in the rainy season decreased over the period motivated by knowledge of farmers and changes in management. Despite this, many prone to erosion soils classes (Arenosols, Lixisols/Acrisols) remain under conventional tillage in the rainy season. We concluded that the use of multi-temporal satellite images is an important approach to monitoring soil management contributing to soil security.

Treatment of Trans-Sphincteric Fistula-In-Ano with Combined Therapy of Laser and Kshara Sutra

Fistula-in-ano is most infectious disease among all the ano-rectal disorders since ancient times. Over the past few decades, various techniques are being evaluated in terms to prevent its recurrence and complications; it is still a challenging surgical disease. The sign and symptoms of fistula in ano resembles with Bhagandar described in Ayurvedic classics. Kshara sutra therapy (medicated thread) practiced in Ayurveda Since ancient time for the management of Naadi Vrana and Bhagandar. Kshara sutra therapy has revolutionized the treatment of fistula-in-ano, as it treat the main culprit of fistula that is cryptoglandular origin but the drawback of Kshara sutra therapy are as it takes more number of hospital visit, long anxiety period and discomfort. In present time LASER therapy is used in various medical surgery and also in proctology like in fistula as FILAC, DLPL etc. Diode LASER 980nm (Radial Fibre) burns unhealthy granulation tissues in 360° manner with less or minimal pain, LASER act as photo evaporation effect and leads to the shrinkage of the fistula tract. But if we do LASER in internal opening of fistula it provides a bare area for microbes and creates a chance to re-infects the crypts and anal glands, which further leads recurrent fistula formation. Therefore a novel technique for sphincter preserving surgery proposed as combined therapy of Kshara sutra ligation for main culprit that is cryptoglandular infection as SMAK (Sub Mucosal Application of Kshara Sutra) and LASER, shrink the remaining fistula tract instantly

Image-based machine learning for monitoring the dynamics of the largest salt marsh in the Yangtze River Delta

The extreme decline in fluvial sediment discharge and rapid increase in sea level have increased salt marsh vulnerability in some of the world’s mega-delta. However, limited research has addressed both the vertical accretion and horizontal/lateral progradation of salt marshes induced by anthropogenic activities in recent decades. Here, a machine learning-based method for retrieving remote sensing images of the salt marsh along the Eastern Chongming Wetland (ECW), the largest wetland in the Yangtze River Delta, was used to monitor salt marsh dynamics between 2002 and 2019. The results demonstrate that salt marshes have experienced significant expansion, including seaward progradation and accretion with ranges of −18.5–60.6 m/yr and 0.103–0.178 m/yr, respectively. Nevertheless, the bare mudflat areas adjoining the salt marshes have remained almost unchanged, while their progradation and accretion have also shown similar trends with the ranges of −13.3–103.7 m/yr, and 0.066–0.256 m/yr, respectively. Although there was a 70% reduction in fluvial sediment supply in the Yangtze River Delta after the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) began operating in 2003, it is less understood if the constant local suspended sediment concentration (SSC) of the estuary could be responsible for supporting enough sediment to enable salt marsh and mudflat expansions. Meanwhile, the results showed that the seaward expansion of the mudflats provided suitable space for the salt marsh to trap vast amounts of sediment and gradually occupy the adjoining mudflat area. The mudflat progradation further provided a larger space for the growth of salt marsh vegetation and promoted salt marsh expansion. Moreover, the accretion of the ECW indicates the high resilience of these salt marshes to sea-level rise (SLR). The present work highlights the external factors and internal driving forces of the salt marsh evolution process, providing information that can be used by communities and coastal managers to conserve and restore the salt marshes in the future.

Exploring and Modeling the Short-Term Influence of Soil Properties and Covers on Hydrology of Mediterranean Forests after Prescribed Fire and Mulching

Several studies have analyzed the changes in individual soil properties and covers and quantified the hydrological response of burned forest soils (with or without post-fire treatment). Less research exists on the influence of these changes on runoff and erosion rates immediately after a prescribed fire and post-fire treatment. Moreover, hydrological modeling of burned areas is based on complex models rather than relying on simple regression equations. This study carries out a combined analysis of the hydrological response of soil and its driving factors in three forests (pine, oak, and chestnut) of Southern Italy that were subjected to prescribed fire and post-fire treatment with mulching. Moreover, simple regression models based on a limited set of soil properties/covers are proposed to predict runoff and erosion. The Principal Component Analysis has shown that the runoff coefficients increase when the water infiltration rate and litter cover decrease and repellency, ash cover, organic carbon content, and bare soil area increase. All the analyzed variables play a secondary role in influencing the sediment concentration. Due to these properties, clear differences in soil properties and covers have been found between unburned and burned soils. The distinctions between the burned soils (mulched or not) are much lower. The proposed regression models use a very low number of soil covers and two dummy variables as input parameters. These models are very accurate in simulating the surface runoff and soil erosion in all soil conditions in the short term.

POS-215 MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF ULTRASTRUCTURAL MORPHOLOGIC CHANGES OF PODOCYTES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF PROTEINURIA IN HUMAN PATIENTS

Proteinuria is associated with podocytes effacement. Relationship between the width of effaced foot processes and the level of proteinuria is proposed, through protein transcytosis along the cytoplasm of effaced podocytes. Bare areas that develop along the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) in various glomerular lesions are other probable defects leading to protein leakage. Changes in the slit diaphragms are a known alteration related to proteinuria. The aim of the current work is to statistically analyze these morphometric ultrastructural changes in relation to the degree of proteinuria in human patients.