Background: Dengue is a growing problem both in its geographical spread and in its intensity, and yet current global distribution remains highly uncertain. Challenges in diagnosis and diagnostic methods as well as highly variable national health systems mean no single data source can reliably estimate the distribution of this disease. As such, there is a lack of agreement on national dengue status among international health organisations. Here we bring together all available information on dengue occurrence using a novel approach to produce an evidence consensus map of the disease range that highlights nations with an uncertain dengue status. Methods/Principal Findings: A baseline methodology was used to assess a range of evidence for each country. In regions where dengue status was uncertain, additional evidence types were included to either clarify dengue status or confirm that it is unknown at this time. An algorithm was developed that assesses evidence quality and consistency, giving each country an evidence consensus score. Using this approach, we were able to generate a contemporary global map of national-level dengue status that assigns a relative measure of certainty and identifies gaps in the available evidence. Conclusion: The map produced here provides a list of 128 countries for which there is good evidence of dengue occurrence, including 36 countries that have previously been classified as dengue-free by the World Health Organization and/or the US Centers for Disease Control. It also identifies disease surveillance needs, which we list in full. The disease extents and limits determined here using evidence consensus, marks the beginning of a five-year study to advance the mapping of dengue virus transmission and disease risk. Completion of this first step has allowed us to produce a preliminary estimate of population at risk with an upper bound of 3.97 billion people. This figure will be refined in future work.

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Refining the global spatial limits of dengue virus transmission by evidence-based consensus

http://gis.ess.washington.edu/grg/publications/pdfs/Montgomery_Brandon.pdf

Topographic controls on erosion rates in tectonically active mountain ranges

Coxiella burnetii is the agent of Q fever, or ``query fever,'' a zoonosis first described in Australia in 1937. Since this first description, knowledge about this pathogen and its associated infections has increased dramatically. We review here all the progress made over the last 20 years on this topic. C. burnetii is classically a strict intracellular, Gram-negative bacterium. However, a major step in the characterization of this pathogen was achieved by the establishment of its axenic culture. C. burnetii infects a wide range of animals, from arthropods to humans. The genetic determinants of virulence are now better known, thanks to the achievement of determining the genome sequences of several strains of this species and comparative genomic analyses. Q fever can be found worldwide, but the epidemiological features of this disease vary according to the geographic area considered, including situations where it is endemic or hyperendemic, and the occurrence of large epidemic outbreaks. In recent years, a major breakthrough in the understanding of the natural history of human infection with C. burnetii was the breaking of the old dichotomy between ``acute'' and ``chronic'' Q fever. The clinical presentation of C. burnetii infection depends on both the virulence of the infecting C. burnetii strain and specific risks factors in the infected patient. Moreover, no persistent infection can exist without a focus of infection. This paradigm change should allow better diagnosis and management of primary infection and long-term complications in patients with C. burnetii infection.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01496178/document

From Q Fever to Coxiella burnetii Infection: a Paradigm Change.

Mangrove ecosystems dominate the coastal wetlands of tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. They provide various ecological and economical ecosystem services contributing to coastal erosion protection, water filtration, provision of areas for fish and shrimp breeding, provision of building material and medicinal ingredients, and the attraction of tourists, amongst many other factors. At the same time, mangroves belong to the most threatened and vulnerable ecosystems worldwide and experienced a dramatic decline during the last half century. International programs, such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands or the Kyoto Protocol, underscore the importance of immediate protection measures and conservation activities to prevent the further loss of mangroves. In this context, remote sensing is the tool of choice to provide spatio-temporal information on mangrove ecosystem distribution, species differentiation, health status, and ongoing changes of mangrove populations. Such studies can be based on various sensors, ranging from aerial photography to high- and medium-resolution optical imagery and from hyperspectral data to active microwave (SAR) data. Remote-sensing techniques have demonstrated a high potential to detect, identify, map, and monitor mangrove conditions and changes during the last two decades, which is reflected by the large number of scientific papers published on this topic. To our knowledge, a recent review paper on the remote sensing of mangroves does not exist, although mangrove ecosystems have become the focus of attention in the context of current climate change and discussions of the services provided by these ecosystems. Also, climate change-related remote-sensing studies in coastal zones have increased drastically in recent years. The aim of this review paper is to provide a comprehensive overview and sound summary of all of the work undertaken, addressing the variety of remotely sensed data applied for mangrove ecosystem mapping, as well as the numerous methods and techniques used for data analyses, and to further discuss their potential and limitations.

Remote Sensing of Mangrove Ecosystems: A Review

Digital terrain representation. Data Acquisition Methodology. Terrain Surface Modeling (Reconstruction). Algorithms for Triangular Irregular Network Formation. Interpolation Methods. Data Quality Control. Mathematical Models for DTM Accuracy.Multi-Scale Representation of Digital Elevation Models. DTM Data Management. Contouring from DTM. DTM-Based Terrain Analysis (DTM Interpretation). Visualization of DTM Surface. Applications. Integration with GIS. Index.

Digital Terrain Modeling: Principles and Methodology

To study a 2001 dengue fever outbreak in Iracoubo, French Guiana, we recorded the location of all patients’ homes and the date when symptoms were first observed. A geographic information system was used to integrate the patient-related information. The Knox test, a classic space-time analysis technique, was used to detect spatiotemporal clustering. Analysis of the relative-risk (RR) variations when space and time distances vary, highlighted the maximum space and time extent of a dengue transmission focus. The results show that heterogeneity in the RR variations in space and time corresponds to known entomologic and epidemiologic factors, such as the mosquito feeding cycle and host-seeking behavior. This finding demonstrates the relevance and potential of the use of GIS and spatial statistics for elaborating a dengue fever surveillance strategy.

/pdf/dengue-spatial-and-temporal-patterns-french-guiana-2001-56c4mfz7z0.pdf

Dengue spatial and temporal patterns, French Guiana, 2001.

Fractional Brownian motion is a surface model through which the topographic surface may be described. This model provides a simple method for estimating the fractal dimension of a digital elevation model. By computing the fractal dimension value at different directions, interpolation artifacts may be revealed, contributing to digital elevation model quality assessment.

Description of terrain as a fractal surface, and application to digital elevation model quality assessment

Digital elevation models (DEMs) are widely used in geoscience. The quality of a DEM is a primary requirement for many applications and is affected during the different processing steps, from the collection of elevations to the interpolation implemented for resampling, and it is locally influenced by the landcover and the terrain slope. The quality must meet the user’s requirements, which only make sense if the nominal terrain and the relevant resolution have been explicitly specified. The aim of this article is to review the main quality assessment methods, which may be separated into two approaches, namely, with or without reference data, called external and internal quality assessment, respectively. The errors and artifacts are described. The methods to detect and quantify them are reviewed and discussed. Different product levels are considered, i.e., from point cloud to grid surface model and to derived topographic features, as well as the case of global DEMs. Finally, the issue of DEM quality is considered from the producer and user perspectives.

Digital Elevation Model Quality Assessment Methods: A Critical Review

Nearshore intertidal topography and topographic-forcing mechanisms of an Amazon-derived mud bank in French Guiana

The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) launched in March 2002 and has been providing images since June 2002. Before its launch, we had implemented a method to improve its resolution by merging its images with Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper images in order to preserve the best characteristics of the two images (spatial, spectral, temporal). We now present the results of this method for real MERIS images (level 1b and 2) in a coastal area. The robustness of the method is studied as well as the influence of the delay between the acquisitions of the two images.

/pdf/spatial-resolution-improvement-by-merging-meris-etm-images-4xe7lohp8w.pdf

Laurent Polidori

Papers

Dengue spatial and temporal patterns, French Guiana, 2001.

Description of terrain as a fractal surface, and application to digital elevation model quality assessment

Digital Elevation Model Quality Assessment Methods: A Critical Review

Nearshore intertidal topography and topographic-forcing mechanisms of an Amazon-derived mud bank in French Guiana

Spatial resolution improvement by merging MERIS-ETM images for coastal water monitoring