Microbiological indicators such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) have been extensively applied to monitor sewage contamination in waters and sediments. However, it has been accomplished by many researchers that microorganism indicators of faecal pollution in aquatic environments have limited applicability, owing to their lack of specificity and variable life span induced by environmental factors s...

Automating quality checking is currently based on finding major video and audio artefacts. The processing is performed on the video and audio signal and/or the transmitted bitstream. The Monitoring Of Audiovisual quality by key Indicators (MOAVI) subgroup of the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG) is an open collaborative project for developing no-reference models for monitoring audiovisual serv...

This paper focuses on the performance of data services in mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) networks and development of a proper set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that may be used to assess the network performance. Data collected via drive test from an already deployed network were analyzed with the goal to determine the QoS from the end user perspective. The...

Agricultural intensification is placing tremendous pressure on the soil's capacity to maintain its functions leading to large-scale ecosystem degradation and loss of productivity in the long term. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find early indicators of soil health degradation in response to agricultural management. In recent years, major advances in soil meta-genomic and spatial studies ...

4.1 Abstract We examine a crosscountry data set of 6 East Asian countries 1 for the period of 19802006 with the aim to study the interrelationship between trade liberalization and environmental degradation. On the basis of the parametric econometric model, we investigate trade liberalization’s impact on the environment quality 2 . We take two environmental indicators for analyses that are carbo...

This paper presents a survey of French Eastern English Channel fishers' observations of the past and current state of the marine ecosystem and their wishes for the future, as a first step towards formulating management objectives. Twenty-nine semi-directive interviews were carried out in June 2006 among fishers and shellfish farmers. Cognitive maps proved useful to formalise their experience an...

The condensed tannin (CT) content of eight shrub species (Cytisus purgans, Cytisus scoparius, Genista florida, Genista occidentalis, Calluna vulgaris, Erica arborea, Erica australis and Juniperus communis) from a grazing mountain area of northern Spain was analysed and related to various indicators of nutritive value. Chemical composition, in vitro gas production, OM degradation and true DM dig...

To increase the dependability of complex systems, one solution is to assess their state of health continuously through the monitoring of variables sensitive to potential degradation modes. When computed in an operating environment, these variables, known as health indicators, are subject to many uncertainties. Hence, the stochastic nature of health assessment combined with the lack of data in d...

Recent work suggesting that fisheries depletions have turned the corner is misplaced because analysis was based largely on fisheries from better-managed developed-world fisheries. Some indicators of status show improvements in the minority of fisheries subjected to formal assessment. Other indicators, such as trophic level and catch time series, have been controversial. Nevertheless, several de...

Increasing demand for biofuel has intensified land-use change (LUC) for sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) expansion in Brazil. Assessments of soil quality (SQ) response to this LUC are essential for quantifying and monitoring sustainability of sugarcane production over time. Since there is not a universal methodology for assessing SQ, we conducted a field-study at three sites within the largest...