LIVIVO - The Search Portal for Life Sciences

zur deutschen Oberfläche wechseln
Advanced search

Search results

Result 1 - 10 of total 31

Search options

  1. Article ; Online: Mapping of glacial lakes using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data and a random forest classifier

    Sonam Wangchuk / Tobias Bolch

    Science of Remote Sensing, Vol 2, Iss , Pp 100008- (2020)

    Strengths and challenges

    2020  

    Abstract: Glacial lakes pose a serious threat to downstream areas and significantly impact glacier melt. The number and area of lakes has grown in most regions during the last decades due to the ongoing atmospheric warming and retreating glaciers. It is therefore ... ...

    Abstract Glacial lakes pose a serious threat to downstream areas and significantly impact glacier melt. The number and area of lakes has grown in most regions during the last decades due to the ongoing atmospheric warming and retreating glaciers. It is therefore important to identify and monitor these lakes. However, mapping of glacial lakes in alpine regions is challenged by many factors. These factors include the small size of glacial lakes, cloud cover in optical satellite images, cast shadows from mountains and clouds, seasonal snow in satellite images, varying degrees of turbidity amongst glacial lakes, and frozen glacial lake surfaces. In our study, we have developed a fully automated method for mapping glacial lakes across alpine regions including the Python package called “GLakeMap”. The method uses multi-source data such as Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar and Sentinel-2 Multi-spectral Instrument data, a digital elevation model, and a random forest classifier model. We use multi-source datasets as inputs for rule-based segmentation of images, mainly aiming at extracting glacial lake objects from satellite images using a set of rules. Segmented objects are then classified either as glacial lake or non-glacial lake objects by the random forest classifier model. The method was tested in eight sites across alpine regions mainly located in High Mountain Asia but also in the Alps and the Andes. We show that the proposed method overcomes a majority of the aforementioned challenges to detect and delineate glacial lakes. The method performs efficiently irrespective of geographic, geologic, and climatic conditions of glacial lakes.
    Keywords Sentinel-1 ; Synthetic Aperture Radar ; Radar backscatter ; Sentinel-2 ; Normalised difference water index ; Image segmentation ; Physical geography ; GB3-5030 ; Science ; Q
    Subject code 550
    Language English
    Publishing date 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Elsevier
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

    More links

    Kategorien

  2. Article ; Online: Glacial Lake Area Change and Potential Outburst Flood Hazard Assessment in the Bhutan Himalaya

    Sonam Rinzin / Guoqing Zhang / Sonam Wangchuk

    Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol

    2021  Volume 9

    Abstract: Against the background of climate change-induced glacier melting, numerous glacial lakes are formed across high mountain areas worldwide. Existing glacial lake inventories, chiefly created using Landsat satellite imagery, mainly relate to 1990 onwards ... ...

    Abstract Against the background of climate change-induced glacier melting, numerous glacial lakes are formed across high mountain areas worldwide. Existing glacial lake inventories, chiefly created using Landsat satellite imagery, mainly relate to 1990 onwards and relatively long (decadal) temporal scales. Moreover, there is a lack of robust information on the expansion and the GLOF hazard status of glacial lakes in the Bhutan Himalaya. We mapped Bhutanese glacial lakes from the 1960s to 2020, and used these data to determine their distribution patterns, expansion behavior, and GLOF hazard status. 2,187 glacial lakes (corresponding to 130.19 ± 2.09 km2) were mapped from high spatial resolution (1.82–7.62 m), Corona KH-4 images from the 1960s. Using the Sentinel-2 (10 m) and Sentinel-1 (20 m × 22 m), we mapped 2,553 (151.81 ± 7.76 km2), 2,566 (152.64 ± 7.83 km2), 2,572 (153.94 ± 7.83 km2), 2,569 (153.97 ± 7.79 km2) and 2,574 (156.63 ± 7.95 km2) glacial lakes in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. The glacier-fed lakes were mainly present in the Phochu (22.63%) and the Kurichu (20.66%) basins. A total of 157 glacier-fed lakes have changed into non-glacier-fed lakes over the 60 years of lake evolution. Glacier-connected lakes (which constitutes 42.25% of the total glacier-fed lake) area growth accounted for 75.4% of the total expansion, reaffirming the dominant role of glacier-melt water in expanding glacial lakes. Between 2016 and 2020, 19 (4.82 km2) new glacial lakes were formed with an average annual expansion rate of 0.96 km2 per year. We identified 31 lakes with a very-high and 34 with high GLOF hazard levels. These very-high to high GLOF hazard lakes were primarily located in the Phochu, Kurichu, Drangmechu, and Mochu basins. We concluded that the increasing glacier melt is the main driver of glacial lake expansion. Our results imply that extending glacial lakes studies back to the 1960s provides new insights on glacial lake evolution from glacier-fed lakes to non-glacier-fed lakes. Additionally, we ...
    Keywords glacial lake mapping ; GLOF hazard potential ; Corona KH-4 ; Sentinel-2 ; Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) ; Bhutan Himalaya ; Science ; Q
    Subject code 550
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

    More links

    Kategorien

  3. Article ; Online: Testing Positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Two Countries 105 Days Apart

    Tshokey Tshokey / Jamyang Choden / Lila Adhikari / Binay Thapa / Sonam Wangchuk

    Prague Medical Report, Vol 122, Iss 3, Pp 228-

    2021  Volume 232

    Abstract: Recovered COVID-19 patients may test positive for SARS-CoV-2 for a long time from intermittent shedding of viral fragments. A 36-year-old man who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the Czech Republic and recovered tested positive again in Bhutan, 105 days ...

    Abstract Recovered COVID-19 patients may test positive for SARS-CoV-2 for a long time from intermittent shedding of viral fragments. A 36-year-old man who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the Czech Republic and recovered tested positive again in Bhutan, 105 days beyond his first positive test. He experienced minimal symptoms and recovered without complications. Although no virological test was conducted to rule out reinfection, the repeat positive test after initial recovery likely resulted from prolonged shedding of dead viral particles than a reinfection.
    Keywords Medicine ; R ; Medicine (General) ; R5-920
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Karolinum Press
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

    More links

    Kategorien

  4. Article ; Online: Influence of Meteorological Conditions on Artificial Ice Reservoir (Icestupa) Evolution

    Suryanarayanan Balasubramanian / Martin Hoelzle / Michael Lehning / Jordi Bolibar / Sonam Wangchuk / Johannes Oerlemans / Felix Keller

    Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol

    2022  Volume 9

    Abstract: Since 2014, mountain communities in Ladakh, India have been constructing dozens of Artificial Ice Reservoirs (AIRs) by spraying water through fountain systems every winter. The meltwater from these structures is crucial to meet irrigation water demands ... ...

    Abstract Since 2014, mountain communities in Ladakh, India have been constructing dozens of Artificial Ice Reservoirs (AIRs) by spraying water through fountain systems every winter. The meltwater from these structures is crucial to meet irrigation water demands during spring. However, there is a large variability associated with this water supply due to the local weather influences at the chosen location. This study compared the ice volume evolution of an AIR built in Ladakh, India with two others built in Guttannen, Switzerland using a surface energy balance model. Model input consisted of meteorological data in conjunction with fountain discharge rate (mass input of an AIR). Model calibration and validation were completed using ice volume and surface area measurements taken from several drone surveys. The model was successful in estimating the observed ice volume evolution with a root mean square error within 18% of the maximum ice volume for all the AIRs. The location in Ladakh had a maximum ice volume four times larger compared to the Guttannen site. However, the corresponding water losses for all the AIRs were more than three-quarters of the total fountain discharge due to high fountain wastewater. Drier and colder locations in relatively cloud-free regions are expected to produce long-lasting AIRs with higher maximum ice volumes. This is a promising result for dry mountain regions, where AIR technology could provide a relatively affordable and sustainable strategy to mitigate climate change induced water stress.
    Keywords icestupa ; water storage ; climate change adaptation ; geoengineering ; energy balance (EB) model ; water resource management ; Science ; Q
    Subject code 550
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

    More links

    Kategorien

  5. Article ; Online: An Exemplary National COVID-19 Vaccination

    Sangay Phuntsho / Tshokey Tshokey / Mongal Singh Gurung / Sonam Wangdi / Sonam Wangchuk

    Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, Vol 7, Iss 7, p

    Lessons from Bhutan

    2022  Volume 131

    Abstract: Vaccination remains a key public health intervention against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine distribution and coverage are variable between countries due to access and implementation issues. Vaccine inequity was evident with some countries having ...

    Abstract Vaccination remains a key public health intervention against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine distribution and coverage are variable between countries due to access and implementation issues. Vaccine inequity was evident with some countries having no access to the vaccines while others have initiated multiple booster doses. We share Bhutan’s approach to COVID-19 vaccination and lessons learned during the successful conduct of a nationwide vaccination program. As of 12 December 2021, 80.3% of the Bhutanese population have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 77.0% have received at least two doses. Considering age groups, 97.2% of adults (18 years) have received at least one dose and 93.6% have received at least two doses. The first dose coverage for the adolescents 12–17 years was 99.7% and second dose coverage was 92.3% since some were not yet due for their second dose at the time of writing this report. The well-established existing national immunization program was especially useful in the implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccination program. The Bhutan Vaccine System, a digital platform for registration and monitoring of vaccination, was rapidly developed and extensively utilized during the campaign. The selfless leadership of the king, the government, and prior detailed planning with multi-sectoral collaboration and coordination, was the key in this exemplary vaccination program. Bhutan has successfully vaccinated children between 5–11 years with high coverage and no serious issues. Many adults have also received first and second booster doses, based on their risks and preferences.
    Keywords Bhutan ; COVID-19 ; vaccination program ; national campaign ; Medicine ; R
    Subject code 070
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher MDPI AG
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

    More links

    Kategorien

  6. Article ; Online: A new species of Zographetus Watson, 1893 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) from Sikkim, eastern Himalaya, India.

    Karmakar, Tarun / Lepcha, Sonam Wangchuk / Basu, Dipendra Nath / Kunte, Krushnamegh

    Zootaxa

    2021  Volume 5072, Issue 4, Page(s) 373–379

    Abstract: A new species, Zographetus dzonguensis sp. nov., is described based on three male specimens from Upper Dzongu, North Sikkim District, Sikkim, India. The new species is closely similar to Z. pangi from Guangdong and Z. hainanensis from Hainan, China, from ...

    Abstract A new species, Zographetus dzonguensis sp. nov., is described based on three male specimens from Upper Dzongu, North Sikkim District, Sikkim, India. The new species is closely similar to Z. pangi from Guangdong and Z. hainanensis from Hainan, China, from which it is distinguished based on the following combination of external characters: (a) forewing with the white spot at the base of space M3 being sharply pointed at the inner edge and conspicuously more elongated, and (b) on underside of hindwing, all chocolate-brown spots being smaller, in Z. dzonguensis sp. nov. compared with both Z. pangi and Z. hainanensis. In Z. dzonguensis sp. nov., the male genitalia may be distinguished as follows: (c) tegumen and uncus are almost equal in length, (d) the dorsal outline of tegumen is relatively flat, and (e) saccus is distinctly bent upward as angle between vinculum and saccus is more acute than in Z. pangi and Z. hainanensis.
    MeSH term(s) Animals ; Genitalia, Male ; India ; Lepidoptera ; Male ; Moths ; Sikkim
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-12-01
    Publishing country New Zealand
    Document type Journal Article
    ISSN 1175-5334
    ISSN (online) 1175-5334
    DOI 10.11646/zootaxa.5072.4.4
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

    More links

    Kategorien

  7. Article ; Online: Surveillance of norovirus among children with diarrhea in four major hospitals in Bhutan

    Sonam Wangchuk / Takashi Matsumoto / Hidekatsu Iha / Kamruddin Ahmed

    PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 9, p e

    Replacement of GII.21 by GII.3 as a dominant genotype.

    2017  Volume 0184826

    Abstract: Diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among Bhutanese children. The etiology of diarrhea is not well known due to the challenges of conducting routine surveillance with Bhutan's modest research facilities. Establishing an etiology is ... ...

    Abstract Diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among Bhutanese children. The etiology of diarrhea is not well known due to the challenges of conducting routine surveillance with Bhutan's modest research facilities. Establishing an etiology is crucial toward generating evidence that will contribute to policy discussions on a diarrheal disease control program. Our previous study, during 2010-2012, revealed that norovirus (NoV) is an important cause of diarrhea among Bhutanese children, and that GII.21 was the major genotype circulating at that time. In other countries, GII.4 is the major genotype responsible for NoV infections. In this update report, we provide new prevalence data to describe the progression of the transformation and distribution of the NoV genotype among Bhutanese children.From June 2013 through May 2014, diarrheal stool samples were collected at one national referral hospital in Thimphu, two regional referral hospitals in the eastern and central regions, and one general hospital in the western region of Bhutan. NoV was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), by amplifying the capsid gene. The RT-PCR results were confirmed by nucleotide sequencing of the amplicons.The proportion of NoV-positive stool samples was 23.6% (147/623), of which 76.9% were NoV GII and the remainders were NoV GI. The median age of infected children was 15.5 months, with a fairly balanced female: male ratio. NoV GII was most prevalent in the colder months (late November-mid April) and NoV GI had the highest prevalence in the summer (mid April-late September). Nucleotide sequencing was successful in 99 samples of GII strains. The most common genotypes were GII.3 (42.6%), GII.4 Sydney 2012 (15.8%), and GII.4 unassigned (11.9%). No GII.21 was found in any child in the present study. Phylogenetic analysis showed that GII.3 strains in the present study belonged to an independent cluster in lineage B. These strains shared an ancestor with those from different countries and Bhutanese strains ...
    Keywords Medicine ; R ; Science ; Q
    Subject code 590
    Language English
    Publishing date 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

    More links

    Kategorien

  8. Article ; Online: Epidemiological Analysis of the 2019 Dengue Epidemic in Bhutan

    Tsheten Tsheten / Angus Mclure / Archie C. A. Clements / Darren J. Gray / Tenzin Wangdi / Sonam Wangchuk / Kinley Wangdi

    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 354, p

    2021  Volume 354

    Abstract: Bhutan experienced its largest and first nation-wide dengue epidemic in 2019. The cases in 2019 were greater than the total number of cases in all the previous years. This study aimed to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns and effective reproduction ...

    Abstract Bhutan experienced its largest and first nation-wide dengue epidemic in 2019. The cases in 2019 were greater than the total number of cases in all the previous years. This study aimed to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns and effective reproduction number of this explosive epidemic. Weekly notified dengue cases were extracted from the National Early Warning, Alert, Response and Surveillance (NEWARS) database to describe the spatial and temporal patterns of the epidemic. The time-varying, temperature-adjusted cohort effective reproduction number was estimated over the course of the epidemic. The dengue epidemic occurred between 29 April and 8 December 2019 over 32 weeks, and included 5935 cases. During the epidemic, dengue expanded from six to 44 subdistricts. The effective reproduction number was <3 for most of the epidemic period, except for a ≈1 month period of explosive growth, coinciding with the monsoon season and school vacations, when the effective reproduction number peaked >30 and after which the effective reproduction number declined steadily. Interventions were only initiated 6 weeks after the end of the period of explosive growth. This finding highlights the need to reinforce the national preparedness plan for outbreak response, and to enable the early detection of cases and timely response.
    Keywords dengue ; epidemic ; Bhutan ; dispersion ; transmissibility ; Medicine ; R
    Subject code 612
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher MDPI AG
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

    More links

    Kategorien

  9. Article: Policy or poverty trap? Attitude of goat farmers towards the conservation rule on goat rearing in Bhutan

    Wangchuk, Kesang / Mindu ᅟ / Thukten ᅟ / Sonam Wangchuk

    Pastoralism. 2016 Dec., v. 6, no. 1

    2016  

    Abstract: The study objectives were to gather feedback and opinions of goat farmers on the Forest and Nature Conservation Rule on goat rearing in Bhutan and identify field constraints arising from the conservation rule. Focus group and individual farmer survey ... ...

    Abstract The study objectives were to gather feedback and opinions of goat farmers on the Forest and Nature Conservation Rule on goat rearing in Bhutan and identify field constraints arising from the conservation rule. Focus group and individual farmer survey methods were employed, and a semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 180 goat farmers of six districts. All respondents were aware of the conservation rule. Majority of respondents knew goats as a threat to forest and crops. The vast majority of respondents felt that the conservation rule is not relevant in modern times, and all respondents felt the need to revise the rule. The main problem faced by farmers was difficulty in maintaining their goat numbers to four. The other problems faced were frequent conflicts with Forest personnel and restricted opportunities to earn more income. While the expected changes in the conservation rule included provisions to allow a farmer to rear more number of goats under stall-fed conditions, the additional rule suggested by farmers was allowing goats to browse freely in the forest. Majority of farmers reared goats under stall-fed conditions. The most common practice of managing goat populations was selling goats to fellow farmers. Despite the constraints, a majority of farmers expressed their willingness to continue goat rearing in the future, mainly to generate more income. The study findings suggest revision of the rule on goat rearing, with strong consideration of the needs of the modern farming system and growing economic demands. In revising the rule, the study recommends balanced representation from stakeholders and technical experts from both forest and livestock disciplines.
    Keywords attitudes and opinions ; browsing ; crops ; experts ; farmers ; forests ; goats ; human resources ; income ; issues and policy ; natural resources conservation ; poverty ; questionnaires ; rearing ; stakeholders ; surveys ; Bhutan
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2016-12
    Size p. 19.
    Publishing place Springer Berlin Heidelberg
    Document type Article
    ZDB-ID 2769408-2
    ISSN 2041-7136
    ISSN 2041-7136
    DOI 10.1186/s13570-016-0066-9
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

    More links

    Kategorien

  10. Article ; Online: A NOVEL STRAIN OF SHIGELLA SPECIES OUTBREAK IN A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL IN PEMAGATSHEL, BHUTAN, 2012

    Tsheten / Dorji Tshering / Kinley Gyem / Sangay Dorji / Sonam Wangchuk / Tri Hari Irfani / Letho

    Public Health of Indonesia, Vol 2, Iss 4, Pp 165-

    2016  Volume 171

    Abstract: Background: A cluster of suspected shigellosis was reported from health center in Pemagatshel district to Royal Center for Disease Control on 14th May 2012. The investigation was done to determine the cause and risk factor for the outbreak so that ... ...

    Abstract Background: A cluster of suspected shigellosis was reported from health center in Pemagatshel district to Royal Center for Disease Control on 14th May 2012. The investigation was done to determine the cause and risk factor for the outbreak so that appropriate control and prevention measures can be implemented. Methods: A descriptive study was used for the outbreak investigation. The food items and drinks served to boarding students were collected from the mess in-charge in order to assess their risk for the outbreak. The kitchen and its premises were inspected to study the likely contamination by rodents and other animals. The water and stool specimens were tested in the laboratory to identify all possible enteric pathogens. Results: 82 boarding students were affected with an overall attack rate of 28% (82/294). Diarrhea was the predominant symptom followed by abdominal pain and headache. The onset date of the cases varied between 11th and 18th May, 2012. Shigella species was isolated from stool specimens that showed resistant to amoxicillin, nalidixic acid, chloramphenicol and sulfamethoxazole. Water specimen collected from source, distribution reservoir and tap water at school were found grossly contaminated. Conclusion: The outbreak was caused by novel strain of Shigella species which was not detected earlier in Bhutan. The promotion and provision of boiled water will greatly reduce the incidence of shigellosis especially in boarding facility.
    Keywords Shigellosis ; MDR-Shigella ; Boarding school ; Bhutan ; Medicine ; R ; Public aspects of medicine ; RA1-1270
    Subject code 590
    Language English
    Publishing date 2016-12-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher YCAB Publisher
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

    More links

    Kategorien

To top