Nowadays, there is a growing need for flying drones with diverse capabilities for both civilian and military applications. There is also a significant interest in the development of novel drones ...which can autonomously fly in different environments and locations and can perform various missions. In the past decade, the broad spectrum of applications of these drones has received most attention which led to the invention of various types of drones with different sizes and weights. In this review paper, we identify a novel classification of flying drones that ranges from unmanned air vehicles to smart dusts at both ends of this spectrum, with their new defined applications. Design and fabrication challenges of micro drones, existing methods for increasing their endurance, and various navigation and control approaches are discussed in details. Limitations of the existing drones, proposed solutions for the next generation of drones, and recommendations are also presented and discussed.
ABSTRACT We have undertaken an ambitious program to visually classify all galaxies in the five CANDELS fields down to H < 24.5 involving the dedicated efforts of over 65 individual classifiers. Once ...completed, we expect to have detailed morphological classifications for over 50,000 galaxies spanning 0 < z < 4 over all the fields, with classifications from 3 to 5 independent classifiers for each galaxy. Here, we present our detailed visual classification scheme, which was designed to cover a wide range of CANDELS science goals. This scheme includes the basic Hubble sequence types, but also includes a detailed look at mergers and interactions, the clumpiness of galaxies, k-corrections, and a variety of other structural properties. In this paper, we focus on the first field to be completed-GOODS-S, which has been classified at various depths. The wide area coverage spanning the full field (wide+deep+ERS) includes 7634 galaxies that have been classified by at least three different people. In the deep area of the field, 2534 galaxies have been classified by at least five different people at three different depths. With this paper, we release to the public all of the visual classifications in GOODS-S along with the Perl/Tk GUI that we developed to classify galaxies. We present our initial results here, including an analysis of our internal consistency and comparisons among multiple classifiers as well as a comparison to the Sérsic index. We find that the level of agreement among classifiers is quite good (>70% across the full magnitude range) and depends on both the galaxy magnitude and the galaxy type, with disks showing the highest level of agreement (>50%) and irregulars the lowest (<10%). A comparison of our classifications with the Sérsic index and rest-frame colors shows a clear separation between disk and spheroid populations. Finally, we explore morphological k-corrections between the V-band and H-band observations and find that a small fraction (84 galaxies in total) are classified as being very different between these two bands. These galaxies typically have very clumpy and extended morphology or are very faint in the V-band.
Summary
Ecologists often group organisms based on similar biological traits or on taxonomic criteria. However, the use of taxonomy in ecology has many drawbacks because taxa may include species with ...very different ecological adaptations. Further, similar characters may evolve independently in different lineages.
In this review, we examine the main criteria that have been used in the identification of nine modes of classifying phytoplankton non‐taxonomically. These approaches are based purely on morphological and/or structural traits, or on more complex combinations including physiological and ecological features.
Different functional approaches have proved able to explain some fraction of the variance observed in the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of algal assemblages, although their effectiveness varies greatly, depending on the number and characteristics of functional traits used. The attribution of functional traits to single species or broad groups of species has allowed a few classifications (e.g. Functional Groups, FG) to be used in the assessment of ecological status.
We stress that the misuse of functional classifications (by applying them under conditions other than those intended) can have serious consequences for interpreting ecological processes. Assigning functional traits or groups cannot be considered a surrogate for the knowledge of species or ecotypes, and the use of specific traits must always be justified and circumscribed within the limits of ecological questions and hypotheses.
An important future challenge will be to integrate advances in molecular genetics, metabolomics and physiology with more conventional traits; this will form the basis of the next generation of functional classifications.
ABSTRACT The K2 Mission uses the Kepler spacecraft to obtain high-precision photometry over 80 day campaigns in the ecliptic plane. The Ecliptic Plane Input Catalog (EPIC) provides coordinates, ...photometry, and kinematics based on a federation of all-sky catalogs to support target selection and target management for the K2 mission. We describe the construction of the EPIC, as well as modifications and shortcomings of the catalog. Kepler magnitudes (Kp) are shown to be accurate to 0.1 mag for the Kepler field, and the EPIC is typically complete to Kp 17 (Kp 19 for campaigns covered by Sloan Digital Sky Survey). We furthermore classify 138,600 targets in Campaigns 1-8 ( 88% of the full target sample) using colors, proper motions, spectroscopy, parallaxes, and galactic population synthesis models, with typical uncertainties for G-type stars of 3% in , 0.3 dex in , 40% in radius, 10% in mass, and 40% in distance. Our results show that stars targeted by K2 are dominated by K-M dwarfs ( 41% of all selected targets), F-G dwarfs ( 36%), and K giants ( 21%), consistent with key K2 science programs to search for transiting exoplanets and galactic archeology studies using oscillating red giants. However, we find significant variation of the fraction of cool dwarfs with galactic latitude, indicating a target selection bias due to interstellar reddening and increased contamination by giant stars near the galactic plane. We discuss possible systematic errors in the derived stellar properties, and differences with published classifications for K2 exoplanet host stars. The EPIC is hosted at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST): http://archive.stsci.edu/k2/epic/search.php.
Acknowledging the importance of classification not only for library and information science but also for the study and mapping of the world phenomena, in this paper we revisit and systematize the ...main types of classifications and focus on the species of classification mainly drawing on the work of S. R. Ranganathan. We trace the evolution of library classification systems by their structures and modes of design of various shades of classification systems and make a comparative study of enumerative and faceted species of library classifications. The value of this paper is to have a picture of the whole spectrum of existing classifications, which may serve for the study of future developments and constructions of new systems. This paper updates previous works by Comaromi and Ranganathan and is also theoretically inspired by them.
With an estimated prevalence of 68% among healthy adults without a previous diagnosis of scoliosis, adult spinal deformities are a growing concern as the population ages. Our understanding of this ...growing concern has been historically guided by previous studies performed on the pediatric population. Over time, different classifications have been developed with their own respective limitations. The Roussouly classification was the first classification to describe the shapes of an asymptomatic spine. It considers lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence, and the inflection point from lumbar lordosis to thoracic kyphosis to attempt to stratify the shapes of an asymptomatic spine. This classification aims to guide treatment, provide information regarding prognosis, allow stratification for research, and be highly reproducible. Overall, the Roussouly classification is a novel way to think about sagittal malalignment, considering the patient’s individual anatomy, while allowing for communication between surgeons. Additionally, it has proven to be a reliable system that provides prognostic value for clinicians and may minimize complications when a patient’s sagittal alignment is optimized using this classification system.
•There was an annual average of 154,900 cancer diagnoses among Canadians, 2006−2016.•The proportion of rare cancers ranged 9.7–52.5 % using different definitions of rare.•Estimated burden of rare ...cancers was stable across cancer classification schemes with a lower incidence threshold.•The probability of having a rare cancer was low when cancers were defined by histology vs site.•The effect of sex on probability of having a rare cancer varied by age.
The cumulative burden from rare cancers has not been adequately explored in Canada. This analysis aims to characterize the occurrence of rare cancers among Canadians and estimate the probability of being diagnosed with a rare cancer among cancer patients with different demographic characteristics.
The Canadian Cancer Registry was used for this analysis. Cancer types were classified in three ways: using the SEER site recode scheme; by histology group; and by site/histology group. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for each cancer type was estimated for diagnoses from 2006 to 2016. Two ASIR thresholds were used to classify cancers as rare:6/100,000/year and 15/100,000/year. Log-binomial regression was used to estimate the adjusted probability of having a rare cancer among those with cancer by age, sex and geographic region.
Using the 6/100,000/year threshold, the incidence proportion (IP) of rare cancers ranged from 9.7 %(95 %CI:9.6,9.7 %)-17.0 %(95 %CI:16.9,17.0 %), and ranged from 19.2 %(95 %CI:19.1,19.3 %)-52.5 %(95 %CI:52.0,53.0 %) using the <15/100,000/year threshold. The adjusted probability of being diagnosed with a rare cancer was highest among those aged ≤19 years. There was higher concordance in estimates of the burden of rare cancers across methods to classify cancer types when the lower incidence rate threshold was used to define rare cancers.
This analysis yielded evidence that rare cancers comprise a substantial proportion of annual cancer diagnoses among Canadians. Findings from this analysis point to using a lower incidence rate threshold, to generate estimates of the burden of rare cancers that are robust to different cancer classification schemes.
•“Black soils” contribute to ecosystem services, especially as a major carbon store.•We evaluated the taxonomic distances between the centroids of the “black soils”.•“Black soils” roughly correspond ...to Mollisols order in the US Soil Taxonomy.•Vertisols and Andisols should be excluded from the concept of “black soils”.•We recommend establishing a fuzzy definition of “black soils” for general public.
“Black soils” recently proposed by the FAO Global Soil Partnership, include fertile soils, characterized by a thick, dark-colored soil horizon rich in organic matter. This study addressed the proposed concept of “black soils”, in terms of taxonomic relationship of their corresponding soil types of existing soil classifications. Similarity studies were based on the calculation of taxonomic distances between selected soil groups with organic matter–enriched horizons of the Russian Soil Classification System, the United States Soil Taxonomy and the World Reference Base for Soil Resources. In the process, we used the so called ”centroids”, which are the calculated mean values of several soil properties for each of the soil groups using legacy data derived from national and international databases. The results indicated that the Great Groups of the Mollisol Order in the US Soil Taxonomy had small taxonomic distances within the order, except some soils with shallow depth to the hardpan or permafrost. Dark-colored Vertisols and Andisols were found to differ from the Mollisols and similar soils found in similar environments mainly under grasslands. We recommend excluding Vertisols and Andisols from the “black soils” cluster due to the peculiarity in their properties, potential use and management. While the Vertisols and Mollisols of the Soil Taxonomy were completely dissimilar in properties, the WRB Vertisol Reference group and Russian dark-humus compact soils fitted well the Mollisols cluster, presumably due to the different concept of the Vertisols in the studied system. The soil types of the “black soils” of the Russian soil classification had a short distance to the corresponding Reference Groups of the World Reference Base. Also, the similarity was high with the Great Groups of the US Soil Taxonomy for all soil types except of Kastanozems, but the relationship in places was not well interpreted from a pedogeographic point of view. We ascribed the phenomenon to the geographical bias of the databases. Though “black soils” form a distinct cluster that roughly corresponds to the Mollisols Order of the US Soil Taxonomy, the taxonomic distance within the group may be significant, contributing to the pedodiversity of soilscapes of “black soils”.
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