Effect of Tiered Implementation of Clinical Decision Support System for Acute Kidney Injury and Nephrotoxin Exposure in Cardiac Surgery Patients.

Background:  Nephrotoxin exposure may worsen kidney injury and impair kidney recovery if continued in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI).

Objectives:  This study aimed to determine if tiered implementation of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) would reduce nephrotoxin use in cardiac surgery patients with AKI.

Methods:  We assessed patients admitted to the cardiac surgery intensive care unit at a tertiary care center from January 2020 to December 2021, and August 2022 to September 2023.

Towards food security: Exploring the spatio-temporal dynamics of soybean in India.

India is the world's largest edible oil importer, and soybean oil accounts for a major portion of those imports, with implications for the Indian economy. Despite being the 4th largest globally in terms of harvested soybean area and 5th largest in terms of production, India is still heavily dependent on imports to meet the vegetable oil requirement for its population. It is therefore imperative to understand the dynamics and trends in India's soybean production to help the country achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils.

Spatial and temporal intercomparison of four global burned area products.

We characterize the agreement and disagreement of four publically available burned products (Fire CCI, Copernicus Burnt Area, MODIS MCD45A1, and MODIS MCD64A1) at a finer spatial and temporal scale than previous assessments using a grid of three-dimensional cells defined both in space and in time. Our analysis, conducted using seven years of data (2005-2011), shows that estimates of burned area vary greatly between products in terms of total area burned, the location of burning, and the timing of the burning. We use regional and monthly units for analysis to provide insight into the variation between products that can be lost when considering products yearly and/or globally.

The Collection 6 MODIS burned area mapping algorithm and product.

The two Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on-board NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites have provided nearly two decades of global fire data. Here, we describe refinements made to the 500-m global burned area mapping algorithm that were implemented in late 2016 as part of the MODIS Collection 6 (C6) land-product reprocessing. The updated algorithm improves upon the heritage Collection 5.

Mapping Double and Single Crop Paddy Rice With Sentinel-1A at Varying Spatial Scales and Polarizations in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Paddy Rice is the prevalent land cover in the mosaicked landscape of the Hanoi Capital Region, Vietnam. In this study, we map double and single crop rice in Hanoi using a random forest algorithm and a time-series of Sentinel-1 SAR imagery at 10 and 20 m resolution using VV-only, VH-only, and both polarizations. We compare spatial and areal variation and quantify input band importance, estimate crop growth stages, estimate rice field/collective metrics using Fragstats with image segmentation, and highlight the importance of the results for land use and land cover.

Multi-spectral misregistration of Sentinel-2A images: analysis and implications for potential applications.

This study aims at analyzing sub-pixel misregistration between multi-spectral images acquired by the Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) aboard Sentinel-2A remote sensing satellite, and exploring its potential for moving target and cloud detection. By virtue of its hardware design, MSI's detectors exhibit a parallax angle that leads to sub-pixel shifts that are corrected with special pre-processing routines. However, these routines do not correct shifts for moving and/or high altitude objects.

Transitioning from MODIS to VIIRS: an analysis of inter-consistency of NDVI data sets for agricultural monitoring.

The Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite was launched in 2011, in part to provide continuity with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Terra and Aqua remote sensing satellites. The VIIRS will eventually replace MODIS for both land science and applications and add to the coarse-resolution, long term data record. It is, therefore, important to provide the user community with an assessment of the consistency of equivalent products from the two sensors.

Satellites may underestimate rice residue and associated burning emissions in Vietnam.

In this study, we estimate rice residue, associated burning emissions, and compare results with existing emissions inventories employing a bottom-up approach. We first estimated field-level post-harvest rice residues, including separate fuel-loading factors for rice straw and rice stubble. Results suggested fuel-loading factors of 0.

Automatic sub-pixel co-registration of Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2A MSI images using phase correlation and machine learning based mapping.

This study investigates misregistration issues between Landsat-8/OLI and Sentinel-2A/MSI at 30 m resolution, and between multi-temporal Sentinel-2A images at 10 m resolution using a phase correlation approach and multiple transformation functions. Co-registration of 45 Landsat-8 to Sentinel-2A pairs and 37 Sentinel-2A to Sentinel-2A pairs were analyzed. Phase correlation proved to be a robust approach that allowed us to identify hundreds and thousands of control points on images acquired more than 100 days apart.

The collection 6 MODIS active fire detection algorithm and fire products.

The two Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments, on-board NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites, have provided more than a decade of global fire data. Here we describe improvements made to the fire detection algorithm and swath-level product that were implemented as part of the Collection 6 land-product reprocessing, which commenced in May 2015. The updated algorithm is intended to address limitations observed with the previous Collection 5 fire product, notably the occurrence of false alarms caused by small forest clearings, and the omission of large fires obscured by thick smoke.

Factors controlling vegetation fires in protected and non-protected areas of myanmar.

Fire is an important disturbance agent in Myanmar impacting several ecosystems. In this study, we quantify the factors impacting vegetation fires in protected and non-protected areas of Myanmar. Satellite datasets in conjunction with biophysical and anthropogenic factors were used in a spatial framework to map the causative factors of fires.

Land and cryosphere products from Suomi NPP VIIRS: Overview and status.

[1] The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument was launched in October 2011 as part of the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP). The VIIRS instrument was designed to improve upon the capabilities of the operational Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer and provide observation continuity with NASA's Earth Observing System's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Since the VIIRS first-light images were received in November 2011, NASA- and NOAA-funded scientists have been working to evaluate the instrument performance and generate land and cryosphere products to meet the needs of the NOAA operational users and the NASA science community.

The transition experience of rural older persons with advanced cancer and their families: a grounded theory study.

Background: Transitions often occur suddenly and can be traumatic to both patients with advanced disease and their families. The purpose of this study was to explore the transition experience of older rural persons with advanced cancer and their families from the perspective of palliative home care patients, bereaved family caregivers, and health care professionals. The specific aims were to: (1) describe the experience of significant transitions experienced by older rural persons who were receiving palliative home care and their families and (2) develop a substantive theory of transitions in this population.

Planning and providing for a good death using rural French-Canadian and English-Canadian insights.

Little is known about what constitutes a good death, although palliative care is broadly aimed at enabling the good death. Good deaths could vary considerably across populations. A two-stage ethnographic study was conducted in rural Canada, involving English-speaking Albertans and French-Canadians in Quebec, to establish a conceptual understanding of the good death from a rural perspective.

The spatial and temporal distribution of crop residue burning in the contiguous United States.

Burning crop residue before and/or after harvest is a common farming practice however; there is no baseline estimate for cropland burned area in the contiguous U.S. (CONUS).

The "good" rural death: a report of an ethnographic study in Alberta, Canada.

Much concern has centred on the "good" death since the modern hospice/palliative care movement began, and considerable progress has been made in urban services to promote the good death. Little is known about the perspectives of people who live in rural and remote areas of Canada on the good death and how this good death might be enabled in those areas. This report is of an ethnographic study in rural Alberta involving English-speaking Albertans.

The rapidly changing location of death in Canada, 1994-2004.

This 2008 study assessed location-of-death changes in Canada during 1994-2004, after previous research had identified a continuing increase to 1994 in hospital deaths. The most recent (1994-2004) complete population and individual-level Statistics Canada mortality data were analyzed, involving 1,806,318 decedents of all Canadian provinces and territories except Quebec. A substantial and continuing decline in hospitalized deaths was found (77.

Monitoring agricultural burning in the Mississippi River Valley region from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS).

The 2003 active fire observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), on board NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites, were analyzed to assess burning activity in the cropland areas of the Mississippi River Valley region. Agricultural burning was found to be an important contributor to fire activity in this region, accounting for approximately one-third of all burning. Agricultural fire activity showed two seasonal peaks: the first, smaller peak, occurring in June during the spring harvesting of wheat; and the second, bigger peak, in October during the fall harvesting of rice and soy.

Researching a best-practice end-of-life care model for Canada.

The vast majority of the 220,000 Canadians who die each year, principally of old age and progressive ill health, do not have access to specialized hospice or palliative care. Hospice and palliative care programs are unevenly distributed across Canada, with existing programs limited in capacity and services varying considerably across programs. End-of-life (EOL) care is defined as "The services that may be needed by dying persons and their families or friends in the last year of life, as well as bereavement services following death.

Barriers to providing palliative care in long-term care facilities.

Objective: To assess challenges in providing palliative care in long-term care (LTC) facilities from the perspective of medical directors.

Design: Cross-sectional mailed survey. A questionnaire was developed, reviewed, pilot-tested, and sent to 450 medical directors representing 531 LTC facilities.

Quality of care for residents dying in Ontario long-term care facilities: findings from a survey of directors of care.

The purpose of this study was to collect information on the practice of end-of-life (EOL) care in long-term care (LTC) facilities in the Province of Ontario, Canada. A cross-sectional survey of directors of care in all licensed LTC facilities in the province was conducted between September 2003 and April 2004. Directors of care from 426 (76% response rate) facilities completed the postal survey questionnaire.

Planning and providing end-of-life care in rural areas.

Context: Approximately 20% of North Americans and 25% of Europeans reside in rural areas. Planning and providing end-of-life (EOL) care in rural areas presents some unique challenges.

Purpose: In order to understand these challenges, and other important issues or circumstances, a literature search was conducted to assess the state of science on rural EOL care.

End-of-life care in long-term care settings for older people: a literature review.

Most if not all of end-of-life care for people living in long-term care facilities is provided within the facility. This type of care is likely to increase with population ageing. This paper presents a literature review of the published literature on end-of-life care in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, aged care facilities, residential care homes and continuing care settings, published between 2000 and 2004.

A GIS-based assessment on the vulnerability and future extent of the tropical forests of the Congo Basin.

This paper examines the vulnerability of the Congo Basin's forests through a GIS platform, taking into consideration the variables of population growth, road density, logging concession, and forest fragmentation. The assessment indicates that the forests will continue to shrink towards the interior over the next 50 years. Current contiguous forests will fragment into three large blocks, including one on the west side of the Congo River and two in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while a large number of small forest patches will retain in the periphery of the large blocks.

End-of-life care volunteers: a systematic review of the literature.

This report presents a review of 1988 and onwards research and other literature on end-of-life (EOL) care volunteers. Only 18 research or case studies articles were identified for an integrative review through a search of nine library databases. A review of this literature revealed three themes: (1) the roles of EOL volunteers, (2) volunteer training and other organizational needs or requirements, and (3) outcomes, particularly the impact of volunteering on volunteers and the impact of volunteers on EOL care.