Technical Definition Research Articles

A Conceptual Analysis of Occurrences: Implications for the Identity, Mereology and Representation of Occurrence Instances in Biodiversity Data Exchange

The Darwin Core standard (Darwin Core Maintenance Group 2021) defines occurrences as “An existence of an Organism at a particular place at a particular time.” Setting aside the fact that the term “organism” has a technical definition in Darwin Core, the concept of plants and animals, or biological individuals in general, occurring in particular places at particular times, is part of our ordinary, everyday experience of the world around us. While this informal understanding of an occurrence is straightforward and useful, standardizing the information content and use of a corresponding term for computational biodiversity knowledge engineering requires a rigorous specification of the relations that exist between occurrence instances and when these relations actually hold. The ontogenetic occurrence of a biological individual can be defined as the spatiotemporal region occupied by the biological individual during its ontogeny (Fig. 1) where a spatiotemporal region is to be understood as the trajectory of a 3-dimensional spatial region as it changes through time. An instance of an occurrence as defined in Darwin Core can then be interpreted as a certain segment of an ontogenetic occurrence and vice versa. This interpretation extrapolates to groups of biological individuals. For a group of individuals, the spatial region would be aggregated by the individual regions of space occupied by the individuals in the group. This interpretation of occurrences allows expression of the underlying semantic structure of commonplace statements about an occurrence in a uniform way, invoking the spatiotemporal regions occupied by the biological individuals observed. An important consequence of conceptualizing occurrences as segments of the ontogenetic occurrence of an individual is that these entities can be arbitrarily segmented or aggregated by segmenting or aggregating the corresponding spatiotemporal regions. The result of any such operation would be valid instances of an occurrence. Regarding the identity of occurrence instances, this model has a clear reading: occurrences are identical if and only if they correspond to the same spatiotemporal region occupied by the same individual or individuals. Data about occurrences can and will usually only be approximate, which reflects both methodological limitations as well as pragmatic considerations regarding the use cases for the desired data. Therefore, information about the kind of approximation, about the observation methodology and contextual biological knowledge are instrumental to the analysis and integration of occurrence data. In many cases, the observed biological individuals remain anonymous, which leads to raw data that is routinely aggregated for groups of individuals. This may present challenges when additional data about individuals is to be shared. An occurrence concept anchored on the level of a biological individual, with a clear way to aggregate data for groups of individuals, may be helpful for indicating ways to handle such data consistently.

MEMPERLUAS KEMAMPUAN ALAT PENCABUT SINGKONG: PENGEMBANGAN LEBIH LANJUT UNTUK KEBUTUHAN PETANI

This research builds upon the author's earlier work on the design of a cassava pulling tool. The aim is to develop a non-mechanical or minimally-powered tool that addresses farmer needs. The tool design incorporates Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to ensure user satisfaction. QFD is a method that integrates customer desires into technical requirements during the design phase, prior to production. Data analysis revealed key user desires: lightweight materials, affordability, the ability to pull multiple cassava stems simultaneously, durability, safety, and additional functionalities. House of Quality (HOQ) analysis identified the most crucial attribute (weight of importance: 30%) as the ability to pull multiple stems at once. This finding served as the primary basis for prototype development and technical characteristic definition. Subsequent prototype testing successfully uprooted cassava plants, demonstrating the tool's capability of pulling multiple stems in a single operation.

System friendliness of distributed resources in sustainable energy systems

The increasing share of volatile renewable energy generation in current and future energy systems which does not follow the demand, makes it necessary to shift the synchronization tasks to the system and demand level. The intended demand side consumption management is usually incentivized via financial mechanisms. However, the optimum design of related incentives is still unclear. It is usually discussed under the term “system friendliness” which in turn still lacks a broadly accepted definition. In this article we introduce a new technical definition of “system friendliness” and develop comprehensive and holistic related indicators. For that, we introduce the burden concept for energy systems which represents the amount of technical infrastructure required for stable operation. We use the concept of a hypothetical system energy storage to derive indicators that are capable of quantifying the system friendliness of a given point-of-interest. The developed indicators are independent of regulations or market environments which enables comparability of results between studies and different systems. In a case study we demonstrate our newly developed methodology and exemplary examine decentral district energy storages. Our findings demonstrate that today’s regulatory environments that usually support residential self-consumption maximization are counterproductive. Instead, we show that dynamic end-user prices coupled with dynamic feed in tariffs are able to incentivize an almost 100% system friendly behavior of distributed prosumers.

‘Kant on the Deceitful Art of Rhetoric’

Abstract Kant accuses bad rhetoric of being a deceitful art. In this article, I give an account of both what it means for Kant that bad rhetoric deceives and how this art deceives in the first place. Additionally, I explore significant moral and aesthetic repercussions of bad rhetoric’s being deceitful. The article is structured into Part A and Part B. I start by reconstructing Kant’s technical definition of deception as disagreement between the semblance and the cognition of truth. I go on to argue that bad rhetoric deceives by promising more than it provides. I show that bad rhetoric deceives technically. In Part B, I identify a distinctive trait of deception in bad rhetoric. By exploring this trait, I shed light upon Kant’s moral criticism of bad rhetoric, and I ultimately suggest Kant’s perspective on the appropriate aesthetic response to this art.

Drafting a Cybersecurity Standard for Outer Space Missions: On Critical Infrastructure, China, and the Indispensability of a Global Inclusive Approach

Despite limited progress within international institutions, the need for articulating a regulatory framework for cyber operations in outer space is becoming a pressing concern. One precondition for regulation is to share cybersecurity and outer-space common terminology that can inform the negotiation of standards, policies and laws. While the UN Institute for Disarmament Research has recently issued a baseline policy glossary, binding technical definitions are missing, and the lack of a binding international cybersecurity regime adds to the obsolescence of a binding outer-space regime tracing back to half a century ago. As the IEEE SA embarks on the drafting of the first-ever technical standard for cybersecure-by- design outer-space missions, scoping and conceptual challenges abound. Technical standards are US-centred, non-binding, engineering-intensive exercises, where lawyers and Asian jurisdictions are only marginally involved; nevertheless, as China’s framework for cybersecurity is refined and its involvement in outer-space policing deepens, its disengagement from Western-driven standard-setting bodies appears unsustainable. Drawing on the specific challenge of defining what makes a cyber system ‘mission-critical’, I expose the necessity to examine how domestic cybersecurity laws from a diverse range of States identify ‘critical’ information infrastructure. Generalising therefrom, I advocate a jurisdictionally inclusive process that combines American supremacy in technical standard-setting for outer-space missions with Chinese normative contributions to cybersecurity regulation, including on data localisation and mandatory multilevel cyber-hygiene requirements. I further argue that involving legal experts from a diverse range of jurisdictions and sociolegal cultures may enhance the global reception of standardisation outputs, thus securing higher degrees of voluntary compliance therewith. This could foster cooperation and promote regional and global satellite cybersecurity.

The outcomes of robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass grafting surgery in the Atlantic demographic-a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has significantly reduced the morbidity and mortality of patients suffering from ischemic heart disease over its six decades of practice. In recent years, minimally invasive techniques have been increasingly described and utilized, with the promise of providing patients with the same standard of care without the need for the traditional full sternotomy, and in select cases without cardiopulmonary bypass, and thus providing improved recovery metrics. The present systematic review and meta-analysis sought to determine the outcomes of all patients receiving robotic-assisted CABG in an Atlantic patient demographic. The methods for this systematic review and meta-analysis adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. Four databases were searched, using appropriate search terminology. Meta-analysis using proportions or means, as appropriate, were applied, and were presented as per routine practice. Kaplan-Meier curves were digitized and aggregated using previously reported, validated techniques. Quality assessment and risk of bias of each study were assessed systematically. Patient populations were subcategorized as per established technical definitions. Thirty-five studies were identified through the literature search, with three studies having subgroupings appropriate for separate analysis (yielding 42 data points maximally). A total of 9,078 patients (69% male), with a mean age of 62.3 years, were identified across the study period. On actuarial assessment, survival at yearly assessment from 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-yearly intervals was determined to be 95%, 94%, 92%, 90%, and 88%, respectively. The present systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that short-term mortality, operative time, and admission [intensive care unit (ICU) and overall length of stay] outcomes were encouraging in the Atlantic demographic. Freedom from long-term mortality assessment of a smaller cohort showed encouraging results. A major caveat to the present analysis is the high degree of heterogeneity in the reporting of data. Analysis of future randomized controlled trials will be vital in establishing these procedures as commonplace.

Building a Strong English Civil Engineering Vocabulary

Vocabulary acquisition means the process of learning and acquiring new words and their meanings. Building a strong vocabulary is essential for effective communication, reading comprehension, and overall language proficiency. Civil engineering involves designing, constructing, and maintaining infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and buildings. To be successful in this field, it is important to have a good understanding of technical terms and concepts in English, which is the universal language of communication. Building a robust civil engineering English vocabulary is crucial for effectively communicating with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders, as well as understanding complex engineering principles and procedures. One way to improve the civil engineering vocabulary is to familiarize with key technical terms and definitions. Another important aspect of building a strong civil engineering vocabulary is to study the different types of materials, tools, and techniques used in the industry. In addition to technical terminology and materials, it is also important to learn common abbreviations and acronyms, suffixes and prefixes used in civil engineering. Word formation is also a key aspect in enhancing civil engineering vocabulary. One effective way to expand the civil engineering vocabulary is to read industry publications, technical manuals, and research papers. Lastly, practice and repetition are key to building a strong civil engineering vocabulary. The present article deals with all these essential points in building a strong civil engineering English vocabulary.

A Historical Exploration of the Selected Writing Trends on As-Sīrah An-Nabawiyyah (Prophetic Biography) from the First Century of Islam to the Contemporary Times

This research paper seeks to explore trends or tendencies in as-Sīrah an-Nabawiyyah (Prophetic Biography) emphasizing the historical investigation of selected writings on this subject from the first century of Islam until contemporary times. Muslims and others find exemplary qualities in every aspect of the Prophet’s life that inspire them to love him, understand his sayings, and follow his deeds, and accept all his decisions. Also, Muslim scholars rely on the Prophetic Sīrah to understand and explain the Islamic Sources, al-Qur’an and as-Sunnah. Initially, most works on Sīrah focused on the composition of the Prophet’s biography, and subsequently, their writers became interested in recording its events in separate books. This study aims to highlight the writing trends on the Prophetic Sīrah throughout Islamic history, and then, examine selected writings addressing the demands and concerns of their times. This work starts with an introduction, and then, continues the discussion on the literal and technical definition of the Prophetic Sīrah, the phases of its writing trends, firstly, from the first century to the third century, secondly, from the fourth century to the golden age of Orientalism, and, lastly, from nineteenth century to contemporary age. This study arrives at insightful findings that for each age, there has been a trend or tendency in the writing of the Prophetic Sīrah according to the demands and concerns of the time. The researchers propose that the demands of modern-day writing trends on the Prophetic Sīrah include rhetorical (Kalāmī), philosophical (Falsafī), and social (Ijtimā’ī) approaches.

What is fair? Proxy discrimination vs. demographic disparities in insurance pricing

Discrimination and fairness are major concerns in algorithmic models. This is particularly true in insurance, where protected policyholder attributes are not allowed to be used for insurance pricing. Simply disregarding protected policyholder attributes is not an appropriate solution as this still allows for the possibility of inferring protected attributes from non-protected covariates, leading to the phenomenon of proxy discrimination. Although proxy discrimination is qualitatively different from the group fairness concepts discussed in the machine learning and actuarial literature, group fairness criteria have been proposed to control the impact of protected attributes on the calculation of insurance prices. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship between direct and proxy discrimination in insurance and the most popular group fairness axioms. We provide a technical definition of proxy discrimination and derive incompatibility results, showing that avoiding proxy discrimination does not imply satisfying group fairness and vice versa. This shows that the two concepts are materially different. Furthermore, we discuss input data pre-processing and model post-processing methods that achieve group fairness in the sense of demographic parity. As these methods induce transformations that explicitly depend on policyholders' protected attributes, it becomes ambiguous whether direct and proxy discrimination is, in fact, avoided.

REVOLUTIONIZING GOODS TRANSPORT

Abstract- The definition and delimitation of activities creates a first series of analytical problems. As a matter of fact, freight transport can be internalized in an industrial activity, or an externalised service activity. If we define freight transport as a service activity, we can turn to the service literature which has attempted to characterize the specificities of services in general.According to the standard technical definition, which can be traced back to the classical view of “unproductive services” (Smith, Marx), a service is considered as immaterial, co-produced between user and producer, non-storable, and non-transportable.Hill criticizes the distinction between material goods and “intangible” services. Defining services by their intangibility introduces confusion, and the category of intangibles should be recognized as a type of good. Hill thus suggests making a distinction between three categories: tangible goods, intangible goods, and services. the definition of services was further developed in a more socio-technical approach, focusing on the concept of “service relation”. A service relation is considered as a particular social relation between a producer and a user, leading to a change in the status of a reality owned by the user. Service activities can thus be defined as operations aimed at the transformation of the state of a reality C, performed by a service provider A for a user or client B, the result of which is not an observe that freight transport operations have become more and more complex and differentiated over the past 30 years. Beyond shipping and handling goods, they more and more often include operations such as the treatment of information flows, the differentiation of goods for the final customer etc. The conceptual representation of freight transport Index term: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React, Deep learning, Machine learning, python,

Foundations of Quantum Information for Physical Chemistry.

Quantum information, a field in which great advances have been made in the past decades, now presents opportunities for advanced chemistry. One roadblock to progress, especially for experimental chemical science, is that new concepts and technical definitions need to be learned. In this paper, we review some basic, but sometimes misunderstood, concepts of quantum information based on the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics that will be useful for chemists interested in discovering ways that chemistry can contribute to the quantum information field. We cover topics including qubits and their density matrix formalism, quantum measurement as a quantum operation, information theory, and entanglement. We focus on the difference between the concepts in the quantum context and the classic context. We also discuss the relation and distinction among entanglement, correlation, and coherence. We aim to clarify the rigorous definition of these concepts and then indicate some examples in physical chemistry.

Forsteritic olivine in EH (enstatite) chondrite meteorites: A record of nebular, metamorphic, and crystal‐lattice diffusion effects

AbstractThe occurrence of forsteritic olivine in EH enstatite chondrites is indicative of bulk disequilibrium. In MgO‐rich magmatic systems, forsterite can either crystallize as a liquidus phase or be produced during peritectic melting of enstatite. Because diffusion of divalent cations through forsterite is relatively rapid, it records peak melting (i.e., chondrule‐forming events) and is also sensitive to subsequent metamorphism in the EH chondrite parent body. Here, we report the major and minor element geochemistry of olivine in EH chondrites across petrologic types 3 and 4. In all cases, olivine meets the technical definition of forsterite (>90 mole% Mg2SiO4). For unequilibrated EH chondrites, minor elements identify CaO‐Al2O3‐TiO2‐rich (refractory forsterite), MnO‐rich (“LIME” forsterite), and FeO‐bearing (forsteritic olivine) endmember components, the latter with Cr2O3‐rich and Cr2O3‐poor varieties. At higher petrologic type, minor element concentrations become restricted and compositions approach pure forsterite, while grain sizes reduce strongly with peak metamorphic temperatures. These changes reflect diffusive equilibration with enstatitic groundmass and dissolution reaction with free silica. The global geochemical distribution of forsteritic olivine in EH chondrites is, perhaps unexpectedly, more similar to those in low‐FeO type I chondrules and associated objects in carbonaceous chondrites (CCs), rather than equivalent objects in ordinary (H, L, LL), low‐FeO (or HH), or Kakangari (K) chondrites. Among achondrites, there is similarity between pure forsterite in aubrites and EH4 chondrites arising due to subsolidus equilibration in both settings, while Cr2O3‐poor forsteritic olivine in EH3 and CCs is similar to magnesian xenocrystic olivine in angrites. This might reflect CaO‐rich and SiO2‐poor magmatic sources across multiple early solar system reservoirs.

Non-fragile exponential synchronisation of stochastic neural networks via aperiodic intermittent impulsive control

This study aims to address the non-fragile exponential synchronisation problem of stochastic neural networks (SNNs). To cut down unnecessary control costs, a novel aperiodic intermittent-based impulsive control (APIIC) is designed in this investigation. Besides, the randomly occurring gain fluctuation (ROGF) is considered in APIIC, which satisfies certain Bernoulli distributed white noise sequences. By exploiting the Lyapunov approach and the average dwell-time technique, some sufficient criteria are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities, which ensure that APIIC can achieve exponential synchronisation of SNNs with and without ROGF. More intriguingly, a technical definition of aperiodic window-based average impulsive interval is developed to cut back the conservativeness of these results. At last, the effectiveness of our explored results is confirmed by several numerical examples.

Data fusion in neuromarketing: Multimodal analysis of biosignals, lifecycle stages, current advances, datasets, trends, and challenges

The primary goal of any company is to increase its profits by improving both the quality of its products and how they are advertised. In this context, neuromarketing seeks to enhance the promotion of products and generate a greater acceptance on potential buyers. Traditionally, neuromarketing studies have relied on a single biosignal to obtain feedback from presented stimuli. However, thanks to new devices and technological advances studying this area of knowledge, recent trends indicate a shift towards the fusion of diverse biosignals. An example is the usage of electroencephalography for understanding the impact of an advertisement at the neural level and visual tracking to identify the stimuli that induce such impacts. This emerging pattern determines which biosignals to employ for achieving specific neuromarketing objectives. Furthermore, the fusion of data from multiple sources demands advanced processing methodologies. Despite these complexities, there is a lack of literature that adequately collates and organizes the various data sources and the applied processing techniques for the research objectives pursued. To address these challenges, the current paper conducts a comprehensive analysis of the objectives, biosignals, and data processing techniques employed in neuromarketing research. This study provides both the technical definition and a graphical distribution of the elements under revision. Additionally, it presents a categorization based on research objectives and provides an overview of the combinatory methodologies employed. After this, the paper examines primary public datasets designed for neuromarketing research together with others whose main purpose is not neuromarketing, but can be used for this matter. Ultimately, this work provides a historical perspective on the evolution of techniques across various phases over recent years and enumerates key lessons learned.

Liability Rules for Automated Vehicles: Definitions and Details

This paper explains how the law ought to assign liability for automated vehicle accidents by providing an example of a proposed statute. We advocate for the creation of the legal fiction of a “Computer Driver,” which can have negligence liability, anytime a court or jury determines that the Computer Driver’s behavior failed to imitate or exceed the level of care we would expect of an attentive and unimpaired Human Driver in similar circumstances. We then use this concept to explain how to determine contributory negligence and comparative fault when control of a vehicle is transferred from a Computer Driver to a Human Driver by specifying a portion of time during the take-over transition period in which the Human Driver cannot have contributory negligence or comparative fault as a matter of law. We have proposed and defended these views in contemporaneous traditional law review articles, but to achieve the needed regulatory reform, our suggestions must be presented in a form containing proposed statutory language for adoption by a legislature. To that end, we make our case in this paper by presenting proposed legal definitions and explanatory legislative history for use by legislatures to implement our recommended structure. We use this non-traditional presentation because we believe the complexity associated with automated driving technology can only be fully conveyed by providing the details in a precise way, with technical definitions and wording that should be familiar to engineers and safety specialists.

Facts, values, and the epistemic authority of journalism: How journalists use and define the terms fake news, junk news, misinformation, and disinformation

Abstract In this article, we examine how journalists try to uphold ideals of objectivity, clarity, and epistemic authority when using four overlapping terms: fake news, junk news, misinformation, and disinformation. Drawing on 16 qualitative interviews with journalists in Denmark, our study finds that journalists struggle to convert the ideals of clarity and objectivity into a coherent conceptual practice. Across interviews, journalists disagree on which concepts to use and how to define them, accusing academics of producing too technical definitions, politicians of diluting meaning, and journalistic peers of being insufficiently objective. Drawing on insights from journalism scholarship and rhetorical argumentation theory, we highlight how such disagreements reveal a fundamental tension in journalistic claims to epistemic authority, causing a continuous search for unambiguous terms, which in turn produces the very ambiguity that journalists seek to avoid.

Development and Implementation of a Unified Care Model Performance Framework in the Yishun Zone Regional Population Health System

Background / Objective: Governance and Leadership Subsystem (GLS) of health systems governs but also directs Service Delivery Subsystem (SDS) transformation. Performance management (PM) is a key GLS activity. Coherent PM frameworks improve SDS governance, health system performance and ultimately population health outcomes.
 Yishun Health (YH) is an integrated care organization within National Healthcare Group (NHG) caring for 320,000 residents in northern Singapore as the Yishun Zone Regional Population Health System (YZ). YH designed and deployed the Unified Care Model (UCM) as future-state SDS model to integrate and transform its care/services with care partners. A redesigned PM framework going beyond disease-condition services, specialty-departments, and institutions-partners was required.
 Method: Population segmentation was achieved using NHG River-of-Life segmentation model, dividing YZ residents into four Lifelong Care segments (LLC) and one Episodic Care segment (EC). Employing UCM, LLC and EC were further sub-segmented into a cascade of ever smaller populations of unique care needs to envision future SDS needs/demand-supply matching in the form of integrated microsystems of care/services delivery.
 UCM Performance Framework (UCMPF) was conceptualized by adapting IHI’s Quadruple Aim as annual outcomes for LLC microsystems and Dartmouth’s Clinical Value Compass as 90-day outcomes for EC microsystems. Ability to govern integrated microsystems was then modelled using clinical logic models, enabling curation of input, process, and output indicators into domains of standardized care strategies i.e. “Horizontal Logic”. “Vertical Logic” was then employed to aggregate relevant LLC or EC microsystem input, process, output or outcome indicators up the cascade of UCM population segments and higher order systems to envision future-state GLS, such as i) person and need/demand centric mesosystems e.g. LLC and EC or a community geographically, or ii) provider-centred mesosystems e.g. site-based disease condition-services or program, specialty-departments, institution-partners, culminating ultimately in whole health system or macrosystem performance indicators. UCMPF dual logic enabled stakeholders to visualize interdependencies in whole system PM indicators and more coherently co-create performance indicators at all levels of YZ.
 
 
 Results: Exceeding 1,300 existing care/services indicators across disease condition-services or program, specialty-departments, institution-partners were discovered and systemically visualized using UCMPF in LLC and EC Indicator Menus, revealing how current care/services indicators impacted input, process, output and outcome of LLC and EC at different levels of the SDS. Numerous leadership conversations were conducted to envision future GLS activities using UCMPF, spawning many working level discussions, which continue to be ongoing between senior clinicians and administrators to prioritize indicators for PM. Technical definitions for prioritized indicators was also initiated to support informatics systems and enterprise data warehouse dashboard redesign. 
 Discussion/Conclusion: UCMPF employs a systemic design and visualization approach to mitigate complexity in whole system PM. LLC and EC Menus reduce cognitive difficulty for stakeholders to relate their existing care/services measurement efforts with micro and mesosystem levels of the UCM and jumpstarts conversations whether existing care/services contribute or not towards YZ outcomes i.e. macrosystem. UCMPF therefore supports our ongoing care/services integration activity, and the co-creation of future GLS for YZ SDS is hypothesized to ultimately accelerate health system transformation towards better population health outcomes in YZ.

The interplay of structural features and observed dissimilarities among centrality indices

An abundance of centrality indices has been proposed which capture the importance of nodes in a network based on different structural features. While there remains a persistent belief that similarities in outcomes of indices is contingent on their technical definitions, a growing body of research shows that structural features affect observed similarities more than technicalities. We conduct a series of experiments on artificial networks to trace the influence of specific structural features on the similarity of indices which confirm previous results in the literature. Our analysis on 1163 real-world networks, however, shows that little of the observations on synthetic networks convincingly carry over to empirical settings. Our findings suggest that although it seems clear that (dis)similarities among centralities depend on structural properties of the network, using correlation type analyses do not seem to be a promising approach to uncover such connections.

Sensing Systems in Construction and the Built Environment: Review, Prospective, and Challenges.

This article is a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art sensors of the built environment, applicable in construction, structural engineering, management, and planning industries. This review is framed within the technical definition of sensing systems and their components. Existing sensors are listed and described in two broad categories of structural health monitoring (SHM) and building environment monitoring (BEM). The SHM systems are used for monitoring the long-term performance of structures, such as bridges and buildings. BEM systems are employed to ensure the safety and comfort of the built environment's occupants, as well as the general monitoring of the environment for any required maintenance. The applications and implementation challenges of both systems are discussed, with emphasis on common sensing system limitations such as energy supply, packaging, network layout, and performance validation. Finally, the prospect of sensing systems as part of a digital twin that incorporates multifunctional sophisticated monitoring systems and intelligent analysis methods is discussed.

Recognizing protected and anthropogenic patterns in landscapes using interpretable machine learning and satellite imagery.

The accurate and comprehensive mapping of land cover has become a central task in modern environmental research, with increasing emphasis on machine learning approaches. However, a clear technical definition of the land cover class is a prerequisite for learning and applying a machine learning model. One of the challenging classes is naturalness and human influence, yet mapping it is important due to its critical role in biodiversity conservation, habitat assessment, and climate change monitoring. We present an interpretable machine learning approach to map patterns related to territorial protected and anthropogenic areas as proxies of naturalness and human influence using satellite imagery. To achieve this, we train a weakly-supervised convolutional neural network and subsequently apply attribution methods such as Grad-CAM and occlusion sensitivity mapping. We propose a novel network architecture that consists of an image-to-image network and a shallow, task-specific head. Both sub-networks are connected by an intermediate layer that captures high-level features in full resolution, allowing for detailed analysis with a wide range of attribution methods. We further analyze how intermediate layer activations relate to their attributions across the training dataset to establish a consistent relationship. This makes attributions consistent across different scenes and allows for a large-scale analysis of remote sensing data. The results highlight that our approach is a promising way to observe and assess naturalness and territorial protection.