Landslide susceptibility mapping at VAZ watershed (Iran) using an artificial neural network model: a comparison between multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basic function (RBF) algorithms

Landslide susceptibility and hazard assessments are the most important steps in landslide risk mapping. The main objective of this study was to investigate and compare the results of two artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms, i.e., multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basic function (RBF) for spatial prediction of landslide susceptibility in Vaz Watershed, Iran. At first, landslide locations were identified by aerial photographs and field surveys, and a total of 136 landside locations were constructed from various sources. Then the landslide inventory map was randomly split into a training dataset 70 % (95 landslide locations) for training the ANN model and the remaining 30 % (41 landslides locations) was used for validation purpose. Nine landslide conditioning factors such as slope, slope aspect, altitude, land use, lithology, distance from rivers, distance from roads, distance from faults, and rainfall were constructed in geographical information system. In this study, both MLP and RBF algorithms were used in artificial neural network model. The results showed that MLP with Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno learning algorithm is more efficient than RBF in landslide susceptibility mapping for the study area. Finally the landslide susceptibility maps were validated using the validation data (i.e., 30 % landslide location data that was not used during the model construction) using area under the curve (AUC) method. The success rate curve showed that the area under the curve for RBF and MLP was 0.9085 (90.85 %) and 0.9193 (91.93 %) accuracy, respectively. Similarly, the validation result showed that the area under the curve for MLP and RBF models were 0.881 (88.1 %) and 0.8724 (87.24 %), respectively. The results of this study showed that landslide susceptibility mapping in the Vaz Watershed of Iran using the ANN approach is viable and can be used for land use planning

Evaluation of Clinical Course and Neurocognition in Children With Self-Limited Infantile Epilepsy in a Turkish Cohort Study

The outcome of children with self-limited infantile epilepsy was reported to be normal psychosocial and cognitive development as a characteristic criterion. We aimed to investigate the clinical course and neurocognitive outcome in children with self-limited infantile epilepsy in a Turkish cohort. The clinical course, electroencephalographic (EEG) characteristics, neuroimaging, treatment, and outcome of children with self-limited infantile epilepsy were retrospectively analyzed. All infants were reevaluated with the Denver Developmental Screening Test in addition to neurologic examination. Of 44 patients, self-limited familial infantile epilepsy was diagnosed in 8 infants (18.2%) and self-limited nonfamilial infantile epilepsy in 28 (63.6%). Interictal EEGs and neurologic examinations were normal in all cases. Fine motor and gross motor skills, language, adaptive personal/social skills were near-normal in all patients with self-limited familial infantile epilepsy. Delay in language parameters was observed in 2 infants with self-limited nonfamilial infantile epilepsy. Language skills should be thoroughly evaluated with detailed neurocognitive screening tests in patients with self-limited infantile epilepsy

Prediction of neurodevelopmental outcome in term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Background: Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy may result in many neurological deficits. It is crucial to make early diagnosis and assess the prognosis correctly. Aims: We aimed to determine the factors to evaluate the prognosis of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Methods: Electroencephalography, neuroimaging, periodic neurological exams and a developmental test at 44-48 months after discharge from the hospital were performed on twenty five term newborn infants with clinical evidence of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Results: Normal/mildly abnormal neonatal electroencephalography correlated with favorable outcome, particularly if neuroimaging was normal. The cranial MRI sensitivity was 83.3%, while the specificity was 57.9%, the positive predictive value was 38.5%, and the negative predictive value was 91.6%. Moderate/severely abnormal electroencephalography and multifocaVdiffuse cortical or deep gray matter lesions correlated with poor outcome. Conclusions: Newborn infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy should be treated in neonatal intensive care units, assessed with periodic neurological examination, electroencephalogram and brain imaging. This would help to initiate early intervention and improve the outcome of patients. (C) 2012 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Application of Flame RefluxerTM Concept to ISB – Experimental Results of 5 Field Trials in Mobile, Alabama

A new in situ burning (ISB) method, capable of enhanced combustion of oil slicks in containment booms, is analyzed. The concept named Flame RefluxerTM is based on the use of immersed thermally conductive objects to transfer heat generated by the combustion back to the fuel to create a feedback loop. The resulting enhanced heat transfer from flame back to the fuel helps to sustain a significantly increased burning rate. The project spanned a period of two years ranging from bench scale to large-scale experiments in the laboratory and culminating in outdoor field experiments. Five large-scale field experiments were performed at the United States Coast Guard (USCG) test facility at Little Sand Island in Mobile Bay, Alabama. A confined liquid pool (1.4 m diameter) was continuously fed to maintain a constant oil layer thickness of 1 cm floating over water. A 0.5 cm thick copper blanket, 94% porous, was immersed in the oil and served as a heater for the oil slick. Conical shaped copper coils extending out into the fire were attached to the blanket and were used to collect the heat from the flame. Experiments resulted in three major outcomes: i) Additional heat transfer to the fuel lateral dissipation through the copper blanket increased mass loss rate by 6 times ii) Heat stored in the blanket facilitated burning of the heavier components of crude oil such as tar, resulting in negligible residue (15 times less than baseline). iii) Black smoke was reduced by 50%. The Flame RefluxerTM is robust, easy and cheap to construct and has no moving parts. The field experiments demonstrated the feasibility of the technology to be used in efficient clean up of oil spills using ISB