bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CLASSIFICATION UNDER LABEL NOISE BASED ON OUTDATED MAPS
Authors: Maas A. , Rottensteiner F. , Heipke C.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. Supervised classification of remotely sensed images is a classical method for change detection. The task requires training data in the form of image data with known class labels, whose manually generation is time-consuming. If the labels are acquired from the outdated map, the classifier must cope with errors in the training data. These errors, referred to as label noise, typically occur in clusters in object space, because they are caused by land cover changes over time. In this paper we adapt a label noise tolerant training technique for classification, so that the fact that changes affect larger clusters of pixels is considered. We also integrate the existing map into an iterative classification procedure to act as a prior in regions which are likely to contain changes. Our experiments are based on three test areas, using real images with simulated existing databases. Our results show that this method helps to distinguish between real changes over time and false detections caused by misclassification and thus improves the accuracy of the classification results.
GEOMETRIC CALIBRATION OF FULL SPHERICAL PANORAMIC RICOH-THETA CAMERA
Authors: Aghayari S. , Saadatseresht M. , Omidalizarandi M. , Neumann I.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. A novel calibration process of RICOH-THETA, full-view fisheye camera, is proposed which has numerous applications as a low cost sensor in different disciplines such as photogrammetry, robotic and machine vision and so on. Ricoh Company developed this camera in 2014 that consists of two lenses and is able to capture the whole surrounding environment in one shot. In this research, each lens is calibrated separately and interior/relative orientation parameters (IOPs and ROPs) of the camera are determined on the basis of designed calibration network on the central and side images captured by the aforementioned lenses. Accordingly, designed calibration network is considered as a free distortion grid and applied to the measured control points in the image space as correction terms by means of bilinear interpolation. By performing corresponding corrections, image coordinates are transformed to the unit sphere as an intermediate space between object space and image space in the form of spherical coordinates. Afterwards, IOPs and EOPs of each lens are determined separately through statistical bundle adjustment procedure based on collinearity condition equations. Subsequently, ROPs of two lenses is computed from both EOPs. Our experiments show that by applying 3*3 free distortion grid, image measurements residuals diminish from 1.5 to 0.25 degrees on aforementioned unit sphere.
CLASSIFICATION OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAMMETRIC 3D POINT CLOUDS
Authors: Becker C. , Häni N. , Rosinskaya E. , d’Angelo E. , Strecha C.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. We present a powerful method to extract per-point semantic class labels from aerial photogrammetry data. Labelling this kind of data is important for tasks such as environmental modelling, object classification and scene understanding. Unlike previous point cloud classification methods that rely exclusively on geometric features, we show that incorporating color information yields a significant increase in accuracy in detecting semantic classes. We test our classification method on three real-world photogrammetry datasets that were generated with Pix4Dmapper Pro, and with varying point densities. We show that off-the-shelf machine learning techniques coupled with our new features allow us to train highly accurate classifiers that generalize well to unseen data, processing point clouds containing 10 million points in less than 3 minutes on a desktop computer.
VOXEL BASED SEGMENTATION OF LARGE AIRBORNE TOPOBATHYMETRIC LIDAR DATA
Authors: Boerner R. , Hoegner L. , Stilla U.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. Point cloud segmentation and classification is currently a research highlight. Methods in this field create labelled data, where each point has additional class information. Current approaches are to generate a graph on the basis of all points in the point cloud, calculate or learn descriptors and train a matcher for the descriptor to the corresponding classes. Since these approaches need to look on each point in the point cloud iteratively, they result in long calculation times for large point clouds. Therefore, large point clouds need a generalization, to save computation time. One kind of generalization is to cluster the raw points into a 3D grid structure, which is represented by small volume units ( i.e. voxels) used for further processing. This paper introduces a method to use such a voxel structure to cluster a large point cloud into ground and non-ground points. The proposed method for ground detection first marks ground voxels with a region growing approach. In a second step non ground voxels are searched and filtered in the ground segment to reduce effects of over-segmentations. This filter uses the probability that a voxel mostly consist of last pulses and a discrete gradient in a local neighbourhood . The result is the ground label as a first classification result and connected segments of non-ground points. The test area of the river Mangfall in Bavaria, Germany, is used for the first processing.
AUTOMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE IMAGERY – A
CASE STUDY FOR URBAN AREAS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Authors: Maas A. , Alrajhi M. , Alobeid A. , Heipke C.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. Updating topographic geospatial databases is often performed based on current remotely sensed images. To automatically extract the object information (labels) from the images, supervised classifiers are being employed. Decisions to be taken in this process concern the definition of the classes which should be recognised, the features to describe each class and the training data necessary in the learning part of classification. With a view to large scale topographic databases for fast developing urban areas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia we conducted a case study, which investigated the following two questions: (a) which set of features is best suitable for the classification?; (b) what is the added value of height information, e.g. derived from stereo imagery? Using stereoscopic GeoEye and Ikonos satellite data we investigate these two questions based on our research on label tolerant classification using logistic regression and partly incorrect training data. We show that in between five and ten features can be recommended to obtain a stable solution, that height information consistently yields an improved overall classification accuracy of about 5%, and that label noise can be successfully modelled and thus only marginally influences the classification results.
A REGISTRATION METHOD OF POINT CLOUDS COLLECTED BY MOBILE LIDAR USING SOLELY STANDARD LAS FILES INFORMATION
Authors: Gézero L. , Antunes C.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. In the last few years, LiDAR sensors installed in terrestrial vehicles have been revealed as an efficient method to collect very dense 3D georeferenced information. The possibility of creating very dense point clouds representing the surface surrounding the sensor, at a given moment, in a very fast, detailed and easy way, shows the potential of this technology to be used for cartography and digital terrain models production in large scale. However, there are still some limitations associated with the use of this technology. When several acquisitions of the same area with the same device, are made, differences between the clouds can be observed. The range of that differences can go from few centimetres to some several tens of centimetres, mainly in urban and high vegetation areas where the occultation of the GNSS system introduces a degradation of the georeferenced trajectory. Along this article a different method point cloud registration is proposed. In addition to the efficiency and speed of execution, the main advantages of the method are related to the fact that the adjustment is continuously made over the trajectory, based on the GPS time. The process is fully automatic and only information recorded in the standard LAS files is used, without the need for any auxiliary information, in particular regarding the trajectory.
AN EFFICIENT METHOD TO CREATE DIGITAL TERRAIN MODELS FROM POINT CLOUDS COLLECTED BY MOBILE LiDAR SYSTEMS
Authors: Gézero L. , Antunes C.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. The digital terrain models (DTM) assume an essential role in all types of road maintenance, water supply and sanitation projects. The demand of such information is more significant in developing countries, where the lack of infrastructures is higher. In recent years, the use of Mobile LiDAR Systems (MLS) proved to be a very efficient technique in the acquisition of precise and dense point clouds. These point clouds can be a solution to obtain the data for the production of DTM in remote areas, due mainly to the safety, precision, speed of acquisition and the detail of the information gathered. However, the point clouds filtering and algorithms to separate “terrain points” from “no terrain points”, quickly and consistently, remain a challenge that has caught the interest of researchers. This work presents a method to create the DTM from point clouds collected by MLS. The method is based in two interactive steps. The first step of the process allows reducing the cloud point to a set of points that represent the terrain’s shape, being the distance between points inversely proportional to the terrain variation. The second step is based on the Delaunay triangulation of the points resulting from the first step. The achieved results encourage a wider use of this technology as a solution for large scale DTM production in remote areas.
AN ATTITUDE MODELLING METHOD BASED ON THE INHERENT FREQUENCY OF A SATELLITE PLATFORM
Authors: Mo F. , Tang X. , Xie J. , Yan C.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. The accuracy of attitude determination plays a key role in the improvement of surveying and mapping accuracy for high-resolution remote-sensing satellites, and it is a bottleneck in large-scale satellite topographical mapping. As the on-board energy is constrained and the performance of an attitude-measurement device is limited, the attitude acquired is discretely sampled with a settled time interval. The larger the interval, the easier the data transmission, and the more deviation the attitude data will have. Meanwhile, several kinds of jitter frequencies have been detected in satellite platforms. This paper presents a novel attitude modelling (AttModel) method that sufficiently considers the discrete and periodic characteristics, and the attitude model built is continuous and consists of several inherent waves of different frequencies. The process of modelling includes two steps: (a) frequency detection, which uses raw gyroscope data within a period of time to detect the attitude frequencies (as the gyroscope data can actually reflect continuous, very small changes of the satellite platform), and (b) attitude modelling , which processes the attitude data that was filtered by extended Kalman filtering based on general polynomial and trigonometric polynomials, and these trigonometric polynomials are rebuilt by those frequencies detected in the first part of the modelling process. Finally, one experiment designed for verifying the effectiveness of the presented method shows that the AttModel method can reach a slightly better pointing accuracy without ground-control points than traditional attitude-interpolation methods.
OBJECT MANIFOLD ALIGNMENT FOR MULTI-TEMPORAL HIGH RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSING IMAGES CLASSIFICATION
Authors: Gao G. , Zhang M. , Gu Y.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. Multi-temporal remote sensing images classification is very useful for monitoring the land cover changes. Traditional approaches in this field mainly face to limited labelled samples and spectral drift of image information. With spatial resolution improvement, “pepper and salt” appears and classification results will be effected when the pixelwise classification algorithms are applied to high-resolution satellite images, in which the spatial relationship among the pixels is ignored. For classifying the multi-temporal high resolution images with limited labelled samples, spectral drift and “pepper and salt” problem, an object-based manifold alignment method is proposed. Firstly, multi-temporal multispectral images are cut to superpixels by simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) respectively. Secondly, some features obtained from superpixels are formed as vector. Thirdly, a majority voting manifold alignment method aiming at solving high resolution problem is proposed and mapping the vector data to alignment space. At last, all the data in the alignment space are classified by using KNN method. Multi-temporal images from different areas or the same area are both considered in this paper. In the experiments, 2 groups of multi-temporal HR images collected by China GF1 and GF2 satellites are used for performance evaluation. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method not only has significantly outperforms than traditional domain adaptation methods in classification accuracy, but also effectively overcome the problem of “pepper and salt”.
SIMULATION OF INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM ERRORS AT AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FROM UAV
Authors: Shults R.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. The problem of accuracy determination of the UAV position using INS at aerial photography can be resolved in two different ways: modelling of measurement errors or in-field calibration for INS. The paper presents the results of INS errors research by mathematical modelling. In paper were considered the following steps: developing of INS computer model; carrying out INS simulation; using reference data without errors, estimation of errors and their influence on maps creation accuracy by UAV data. It must be remembered that the values of orientation angles and the coordinates of the projection centre may change abruptly due to the influence of the atmosphere (different air density, wind, etc.). Therefore, the mathematical model of the INS was constructed taking into account the use of different models of wind gusts. For simulation were used typical characteristics of micro electromechanical (MEMS) INS and parameters of standard atmosphere. According to the simulation established domination of INS systematic errors that accumulate during the execution of photographing and require compensation mechanism, especially for orientation angles. MEMS INS have a high level of noise at the system input. Thanks to the developed model, we are able to investigate separately the impact of noise in the absence of systematic errors. According to the research was found that on the interval of observations in 5 seconds the impact of random and systematic component is almost the same. The developed model of INS errors studies was implemented in Matlab software environment and without problems can be improved and enhanced with new blocks.
3D DATA ACQUISITION BASED ON OPENCV FOR CLOSE-RANGE PHOTOGRAMMETRY APPLICATIONS
Authors: Jurjević L. , Gašparović M.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. Development of the technology in the area of the cameras, computers and algorithms for 3D the reconstruction of the objects from the images resulted in the increased popularity of the photogrammetry. Algorithms for the 3D model reconstruction are so advanced that almost anyone can make a 3D model of photographed object. The main goal of this paper is to examine the possibility of obtaining 3D data for the purposes of the close-range photogrammetry applications, based on the open source technologies. All steps of obtaining 3D point cloud are covered in this paper. Special attention is given to the camera calibration, for which two-step process of calibration is used. Both, presented algorithm and accuracy of the point cloud are tested by calculating the spatial difference between referent and produced point clouds. During algorithm testing, robustness and swiftness of obtaining 3D data is noted, and certainly usage of this and similar algorithms has a lot of potential in the real-time application. That is the reason why this research can find its application in the architecture, spatial planning, protection of cultural heritage, forensic, mechanical engineering, traffic management, medicine and other sciences.
AUTOMATIC ROOFTOP EXTRACTION IN STEREO IMAGERY USING DISTANCE AND BUILDING SHAPE REGULARIZED LEVEL SET EVOLUTION
Authors: Tian J. , Krauß T. , d’Angelo P.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. Automatic rooftop extraction is one of the most challenging problems in remote sensing image analysis. Classical 2D image processing techniques are expensive due to the high amount of features required to locate buildings. This problem can be avoided when 3D information is available. In this paper, we show how to fuse the spectral and height information of stereo imagery to achieve an efficient and robust rooftop extraction. In the first step, the digital terrain model (DTM) and in turn the normalized digital surface model (nDSM) is generated by using a newly step-edge approach. In the second step, the initial building locations and rooftop boundaries are derived by removing the low-level pixels and high-level pixels with higher probability to be trees and shadows. This boundary is then served as the initial level set function, which is further refined to fit the best possible boundaries through distance regularized level-set curve evolution. During the fitting procedure, the edge-based active contour model is adopted and implemented by using the edges indicators extracted from panchromatic image. The performance of the proposed approach is tested by using the WorldView-2 satellite data captured over Munich.
SENTINEL-2 GLOBAL REFERENCE IMAGE VALIDATION AND APPLICATION TO MULTITEMPORAL
PERFORMANCES AND HIGH LATITUDE DIGITAL SURFACE MODEL
Authors: Gaudel A. , Languille F. , Delvit J. M. , Michel J. , Cournet M. , Poulain V. , Youssefi D.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. In the frame of the Copernicus program of the European Commission, Sentinel-2 is a constellation of 2 satellites with a revisit time of 5 days in order to have temporal images stacks and a global coverage over terrestrial surfaces. Satellite 2A was launched in June 2015, and satellite 2B will be launched in March 2017. In cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), the French space agency (CNES) is in charge of the image quality of the project, and so ensures the CAL/VAL commissioning phase during the months following the launch. This cooperation is also extended to routine phase as CNES supports European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) and the Sentinel-2 Mission performance Centre (MPC) for validation in geometric and radiometric image quality aspects, and in Sentinel-2 GRI geolocation performance assessment whose results will be presented in this paper. The GRI is a set of S2A images at 10m resolution covering the whole world with a good and consistent geolocation. This ground reference enables accurate multi-temporal registration of refined Sentinel-2 products. While not primarily intended for the generation of DSM, Sentinel-2 swaths overlap between orbits would also allow for the generation of a complete DSM of land and ices over 60° of northern latitudes (expected accuracy: few S2 pixels in altimetry). This DSM would benefit from the very frequent revisit times of Sentinel-2, to monitor ice or snow level in area of frequent changes, or to increase measurement accuracy in areas of little changes.
DETECTION AND 3D MODELLING OF VEHICLES FROM TERRESTRIAL STEREO IMAGE PAIRS
Authors: Coenen M. , Rottensteiner F. , Heipke C.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. The detection and pose estimation of vehicles plays an important role for automated and autonomous moving objects e.g. in autonomous driving environments. We tackle that problem on the basis of street level stereo images, obtained from a moving vehicle. Processing every stereo pair individually, our approach is divided into two subsequent steps: the vehicle detection and the modelling step. For the detection, we make use of the 3D stereo information and incorporate geometric assumptions on vehicle inherent properties in a firstly applied generic 3D object detection. By combining our generic detection approach with a state of the art vehicle detector, we are able to achieve satisfying detection results with values for completeness and correctness up to more than 86%. By fitting an object specific vehicle model into the vehicle detections, we are able to reconstruct the vehicles in 3D and to derive pose estimations as well as shape parameters for each vehicle. To deal with the intra-class variability of vehicles, we make use of a deformable 3D active shape model learned from 3D CAD vehicle data in our model fitting approach. While we achieve encouraging values up to 67.2% for correct position estimations, we are facing larger problems concerning the orientation estimation. The evaluation is done by using the object detection and orientation estimation benchmark of the KITTI dataset (Geiger et al., 2012).
A MULTI-RESOLUTION FUSION MODEL INCORPORATING COLOR AND ELEVATION FOR SEMANTIC SEGMENTATION
Authors: Zhang W. , Huang H. , Schmitz M. , Sun X. , Wang H. , Mayer H.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. In recent years, the developments for Fully Convolutional Networks (FCN) have led to great improvements for semantic segmentation in various applications including fused remote sensing data. There is, however, a lack of an in-depth study inside FCN models which would lead to an understanding of the contribution of individual layers to specific classes and their sensitivity to different types of input data. In this paper, we address this problem and propose a fusion model incorporating infrared imagery and Digital Surface Models (DSM) for semantic segmentation. The goal is to utilize heterogeneous data more accurately and effectively in a single model instead of to assemble multiple models. First, the contribution and sensitivity of layers concerning the given classes are quantified by means of their recall in FCN. The contribution of different modalities on the pixel-wise prediction is then analyzed based on visualization. Finally, an optimized scheme for the fusion of layers with color and elevation information into a single FCN model is derived based on the analysis. Experiments are performed on the ISPRS Vaihingen 2D Semantic Labeling dataset. Comprehensive evaluations demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach.
ACCURATE ESTIMATION OF ORIENTATION PARAMETERS OF UAV IMAGES THROUGH IMAGE REGISTRATION WITH AERIAL OBLIQUE IMAGERY
Authors: Onyango F. A. , Nex F. , Peter M. S. , Jende P.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have gained popularity in acquiring geotagged, low cost and high resolution images. However, the images acquired by UAV-borne cameras often have poor georeferencing information, because of the low quality on-board Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver. In addition, lightweight UAVs have a limited payload capacity to host a high quality on-board Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). Thus, orientation parameters of images acquired by UAV-borne cameras may not be very accurate. Poorly georeferenced UAV images can be correctly oriented using accurately oriented airborne images capturing a similar scene by finding correspondences between the images. This is not a trivial task considering the image pairs have huge variations in scale, perspective and illumination conditions. This paper presents a procedure to successfully register UAV and aerial oblique imagery. The proposed procedure implements the use of the AKAZE interest operator for feature extraction in both images. Brute force is implemented to find putative correspondences and later on Lowe’s ratio test (Lowe, 2004) is used to discard a significant number of wrong matches. In order to filter out the remaining mismatches, the putative correspondences are used in the computation of multiple homographies, which aid in the reduction of outliers significantly. In order to increase the number and improve the quality of correspondences, the impact of pre-processing the images using the Wallis filter (Wallis, 1974) is investigated. This paper presents the test results of different scenarios and the respective accuracies compared to a manual registration of the finally computed fundamental and essential matrices that encode the orientation parameters of the UAV images with respect to the aerial images.
ACCURATE AND FAST BUILDING DETECTION USING BINARY BAG-OF-FEATURES
Authors: Hu Y. , Li Z. , Li P. , Ding Y. , Liu Y.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. This paper presents a non-interactive building detection approach employing binary bag-of-features (BBOF), namely, extracting building roof contours in remote sensing images automatically, rapidly and accurately. The proposed method includes two major stages, i.e., building area detection and building contours extraction. In the first stage, it contains three modules. i.e., oversegmentation, intersection point classification, building area detection. Firstly, the orthophoto is over-segmented by the Simple Linear Iterative Clustering (SLIC) superpixel segmentation method, and the intersection points is obtained. Secondly, the oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF (ORB) descriptors are generated in LAB colour space from the patches that centred on the intersection points, and the BBOF classifier is adopted to classify the intersection points into two categories. Thirdly, the area that contains of the building roof are detected through reserving the regions around the intersection points in inner parts of building roof, and eliminating the regions around the intersection points in non-building roof. At last, we can roughly generate the building area. For the second stage, it is similar to the first one while the main difference is that its classifier has three categories. Finally, we provide an evaluation between two different classifiers, including ORB+BBOF and SURF+BOF. This evaluation is conducted on orthophotos with different roof colours, texture, shape, size and orientation. The proposed approach presents several advantages in terms of scalability, suitability and simplicity with respect to the existing methods.
FOSS4G DATE ASSESSMENT ON THE ISPRS OPTICAL STEREO SATELLITE DATA: A
BENCHMARK FOR DSM GENERATION
Authors: Di Rita M. , Nascetti A. , Crespi M.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. The ISPRS Working Group 4 Commission I on “Geometric and Radiometric Modelling of Optical Spaceborne Sensors”, provides a benchmark dataset with several stereo data sets from space borne stereo sensors. In this work, the Worldview-1 and Cartosat-1 datasets are used, in order to test the Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) Digital Automatic Terrain Extractor (DATE), developed at Geodesy and Geomatics Division, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, able to generate Digital Surface Models starting from optical and SAR satellite images. The accuracy in terms of NMAD ranges from 1 to 3 m for Wordview-1, and from 4 to 6 m for Cartosat-1. The results obtained show a general better 3D reconstruction for Worldview-1 DSMs with respect to Cartosat-1, and a different completeness level for the three analysed tiles, characterized by different slopes and land cover.
NEW DTM EXTRACTION APPROACH FROM AIRBORNE IMAGES DERIVED DSM
Authors: Mousa Y. A. , Helmholz P. , Belton D.
Published: June 2017

Abstract. In this work, a new filtering approach is proposed for a fully automatic Digital Terrain Model (DTM) extraction from very high resolution airborne images derived Digital Surface Models (DSMs). Our approach represents an enhancement of the existing DTM extraction algorithm Multi-directional and Slope Dependent (MSD) by proposing parameters that are more reliable for the selection of ground pixels and the pixelwise classification. To achieve this, four main steps are implemented: Firstly, 8 well-distributed scanlines are used to search for minima as a ground point within a pre-defined filtering window size. These selected ground points are stored with their positions on a 2D surface to create a network of ground points. Then, an initial DTM is created using an interpolation method to fill the gaps in the 2D surface. Afterwards, a pixel to pixel comparison between the initial DTM and the original DSM is performed utilising pixelwise classification of ground and non-ground pixels by applying a vertical height threshold. Finally, the pixels classified as non-ground are removed and the remaining holes are filled. The approach is evaluated using the Vaihingen benchmark dataset provided by the ISPRS working group III/4. The evaluation includes the comparison of our approach, denoted as Network of Ground Points (NGPs) algorithm, with the DTM created based on MSD as well as a reference DTM generated from LiDAR data. The results show that our proposed approach over performs the MSD approach.
Investigating the Drivers of Pro-Environmental Behaviour: A Household Waste Minimisation Case
Authors: Kharat Manoj Govind , Murthy Shankar , Kamble Sheetal Jaisingh , Kharat Mukesh Govind
Published: June 2017

Identifying and analysing the drivers of household pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) is a question of great interest. Providing an answer to this question investigating PEB has implications for planners and policymakers. The currents study attempts to identify and analyse the drivers that contribute to PEB significantly. To achieve this, an in-depth literature review and qualitative analysis were carried out. A questionnaire was developed to measure the PEB construct and its determinants. Next, the reliability of the questionnaire was assessed followed by Pearson’s correlational analysis. Results indicate that PEB comprises of nine dimensions viz., behavioural intention, attitude, personal moral norms, subjective norms, situational factors, perceived behavioural control, community concern, internal attribution and perceived consequences. The study results provide significant insights to help more people act in pro-environmental ways. From the theoretical perspective, the study results provide empirical evidence to researchers and a reliable and valid scale to measure PEBs.
Prevalence, Causes and Most Common Method of Deliberate Self-Harm Used by Adolescent of Pakistan
Authors: Khan Hira , Laeeque Bisma , Firdous Nuzhat
Published: June 2017

This study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan to explore the overall and gender-wise prevalence of Deliberate Self-Harm in adolescents. Identification of most common reason and method practiced for DSH by adolescents were also the objective of study. The sample size for the study was calculated with G-power factor formula and as per the results generated from the software, a sample of (N=200) hundred males and hundred females was analyzed. ISAS inventory was used as research tool in this study. Cross-sectional survey was conducted and it was found that 62% adolescents indulged into the practice of DSH. Furthermore biting was the most common method and affect regulation was identified as most common reason due to which adolescents practiced DSH. It was also exhibited by data analysis that females were twice more active participant of DSH as compared to males.
Deferred Frozen Embryo Transfer: What Benefits can be Expected from this Strategy in Patients with and without Endometriosis?
Authors: Bourdon Mathilde , Santulli Pietro , Gayet Vanessa , Maignien Chloé , Marcellin Louis , Chapron Charles
Published: June 2017

Progress with cryopreservation techniques have enabled development of the deferred frozen-thawed embryo transfer (DET) strategy as an alternative to relying on fresh embryo transfers.

With DET, the entire embryo cohort is cryopreserved, and embryo transfer is then performed in a subsequent cycle that takes place separately from the controlled ovarian stimulation (COS).

Initially developed to limit the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome that occurs with high responders, this strategy has been applied extensively with other populations in an effort to improve implantation rates. The assumption is that COS, which is essential for in vitro fertilization/intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) procedures to obtain a multi-follicular development, could have a detrimental impact on the endometrium as a result of greatly elevated levels of steroids. It is currently not clear whether the DET strategy can be generally applied to all women requiring an IVF/ICSI procedure.

The objectives of this literature review regarding DET, were hence: (i) to present the scientific background that contributed to extensive adoption of this technique, (ii) to detail the pregnancy outcomes and potential obstetric and neonatal consequences, (iii) to report on its ability to prevent risks induced by COS, and (iv) to propose indications for the DET strategy in clinical practice.
Laparoscopic Surgery for Colorectal Endometriosis and its Impact upon Fertility: An Updated Australian Series of 307 Cases
Authors: Wills Hannah , Tsaltas Jim , Cooper Michael J.W. , Reid Geoffrey D. , Morgan Matthew , Woods Rod , Barel Oshri
Published: June 2017

Introduction

Colorectal involvement occurs in up to 12% of cases of endometriosis. Various surgical options for its management have been described, including segmental resection and disc excision, with debate surrounding indications for surgery and the impact of such procedures. The current study aimed to describe the experiences of three Australian gynaecologists regarding laparoscopic bowel surgery for colorectal endometriosis.

Methods

The records of three gynaecological surgeons were analysed for patients who underwent surgical removal of colorectal endometriosis by way of appendicectomy, bowel disc excision and/or segmental resection, between 1999 and 2012.

Results

A total of 307 patients were identified. Sixteen (5.2%) underwent appendicectomy, 146 (47.6%) underwent disc excision, 126 (41.0%) underwent segmental resection and 19 (6.2%) underwent simultaneous procedures. The majority of procedures were performed laparoscopically (265 of 307; 86.3%). Nineteen procedures (6.2%) were planned laparotomies due to the known extent of disease. Twenty-three procedures were converted from laparoscopy to laparotomy (conversion rate of 7.5%). Complications occurred in 35 of the 307 cases (11.4%). Sixty-seven women amongst the 122 wishing to conceive post-operatively achieved at least one pregnancy (pregnancy rate of 54.9%). Of the 84 pregnancies achieved amongst the 67 women who conceived, 49 (58.3%) were achieved through assisted reproductive technologies, and 31 pregnancies (36.9%) were conceived spontaneously. This information was unavailable for 4 pregnancies (4.8%).

Conclusions

The current series demonstrates that laparoscopic surgery for severe disease is feasible in specialised centres. Furthermore, such surgery may have a positive impact upon post-operative fertility.
Defining Skin Ulcers in Systemic Sclerosis: Systematic Literature Review and Proposed World Scleroderma Foundation (WSF) Definition
Authors: Suliman Yossra Atef , Bruni Cosimo , Johnson Sindhu R. , Praino Emanuela , Alemam Mohamed , Borazan Nabeel , Cometi Laura , Myers Bethany , Khanna Dinesh , Allanore Yannick , Baron Murray , Krieg Thomas , Herrick Ariane , Afonso Ana , Distler Oliver , Kafaja Suzanne , Denton Christopher P. , Matucci-Cerinic Marco , Furst Daniel E.
Published: June 2017

Purpose

There is a lack of a valid definition for skin ulcers in systemic sclerosis (SSc) to be used in clinical trials. Our aim was to develop a consensus definition for SSc skin ulcers based on the results of a systematic literature review (SLR) for skin ulcer definitions and expert opinion; and to evaluate its face validity, reliability and feasibility.

Methods

SLR for skin ulcer definitions was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane library for articles published from inception to January 1st, 2016. SSc experts were to discuss the definition categories and vote for the relevant terms. Reliability of the definition was tested in a second expert meeting, seven SSc experts evaluated 7 SSc patients with skin lesions twice. Face validity and feasibility were evaluated by sending out case report forms (CRFs) to four SSc experts, who were each asked to use the definition in five patients.

Results

A total of 3464 abstracts and titles were screened, and 446 articles were fully evaluated. Of these, 66 met eligibility criteria and skin ulcer definitions were extracted. SSc experts discussed, refined, and voted on the consensus definition using nominal process. Kappa for inter-rater agreement was 0.51 and for intra-rater agreement was 0.90. The mean time to decide if the lesion is an ulcer was 7.4 seconds. All investigators endorsed the face validity of the new definition in the CRFs.

Conclusions

Using an SLR and a nominal technique, we developed a preliminary consensus-based definition of SSc skin ulcers. Face validity, feasibility and reliability were demonstrated for the developed definition.
Ultrasound Vector Flow Imaging – could be a new tool in evaluation of arteriovenous fistulas for hemodialysis?
Authors: Fiorina Ilaria , Raciti Maria Vittoria , Goddi Alfredo , Cantisani Vito , Bortolotto Chandra , Chu Shane , Calliada Fabrizio
Published: June 2017

Introduction

We report the use of a new ultrasound technique to evaluate the axial and lateral components of a complex flow in the arteriovenous fistula (AVF). Vector Flow Imaging (VFI) allows to identify different components of the flow in every direction, even orthogonal to the flow streamline, represented by many single vectors. VFI could help to identify flow alterations in AVF, probably responsible for its malfunction.

Methods

From February to June 2016, 14 consecutive patients with upper-limb AVF were examined with a Resona 7 (Mindray, Shenzhen, China) ultrasound scanner equipped with VFI. An analysis of mean velocity, angular direction and mean number of vectors impacting the vessel wall was carried out. We also identified main flow patterns present in the arterial side, into the venous aneurysm and in correspondence of significant stenosis.

Results

A disturbed flow with the presence of vectors directed against the vessel walls was found in 9/14 patients (64.28%): in correspondence of the iuxta-anastomotic venous side (4/9; 44.4%), into the venous aneurysmal tracts (3/9; 33.3%) and in concomitance of stenosis (2/9; 22.2%). The mean velocity of the vectors was around 20-25 cm/s, except in presence of stenosis, where the velocities were much higher (45-50 cm/s). The vectors directed against the vessel walls presented high angle attack (from 45° to 90°, with a median angular deviation 65°).

Conclusions

VFI was confirmed to be an innovative and intuitive imaging technology to study the flow complexity in the arteriovenous fistulas.
Virgilian Echoes: Arms and the Man and the Aeneid
Authors: Leary Daniel
Published: June 2017

This article began as “From Caesar to Joan: Shaw's Epic Hero with a Dozen Faces.” Then the author decided to add another character: Bluntschli of Arms and the Man since Bluntschli was a version of Aeneas in the play the title of which was taken from the opening of Virgil's Aeneid. That Shaw had epic in mind is confirmed by this title and by his very apparent use of Virgilian echoes, especially in the first act. This early play provides a clear view of Shaw assembling the characteristics of an epic, while doing his educating variations, very craftily. This article treats Act I as the first stage, the Literal stage, of a four-stage approach that it takes from Dante's reading of scripture. At this time, it deals only with the first three stages. The article moves from the Literal How to the Why of the Tropecal (sic) level, then to the Moral level. (It leaves the fourth level, the Anagogical, for a later article.)
The Shavian Protagonists and Shaw's Changing Use of Classical Myths
Authors: Li Kay
Published: June 2017

This article illustrates Shaw's changing use of classical myths to portray his protagonists. As these protagonists developed with his theory of the Life Force and Creative Evolution, they were structurally configured and supported through manipulations of classical myths. First, Shaw makes use of mythical elements in his early writings. Then he thinks through classical myths. Ultimately, he makes his own myth of the Life Force and Creative Evolution and, in so doing, dismantles the scaffolding provided by the classical myths. As Shaw drifts away from the socialist and political writer wanting to amend the defects of social systems and becomes a visionary and a mystic, he is increasingly reliant on classical myths as elevated platforms to work out his concept of the superman.
Intensive care unit organisation and nurse outcomes: A cross-sectional study of traditional and “hot-floor” structures
Authors: Abbenbroek Brett , Duffield Christine , Elliott Doug
Published: June 2017

Aim: To explore the relationship between the practice environment and nurse outcomes in two Intensive Care Unit (ICU) models.Background: Internationally the demand for intensive care is increasing. A large capacity multi-specialty integrated critical care service, the “hot-floor”, is emerging as the preferred organisational model. Benefits include resource consolidation and improved utilisation, operational synergies, operational flexibility and demand management. A large clinical workforce with commensurate frontline management, education and support positions are required. The association between these factors, within the ICU hot-floor work environment, and nurse outcomes is not known.Methods: Registered nurses (RNs) working in two ICUs, one a hot-floor model and one traditional ICU, completed a structured questionnaire. Nurse perceptions of work-life and organisational factors, and dimensions of burnout were examined using the Practice Environment Scale-Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) and Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI).Results: Units matched on service level characteristics, training accreditation, patient casemix, operational and clinical care processes. Nurses in had similar demographic characteristics, professional attributes and experience. Workforce structures were also similar though the hot-floor had relatively less dedicated resources for frontline nurse management and clinical education positions. Hot-floor nurses worked more paid overtime and were redeployed less frequently to external wards. Nurse manager leadership and support was less effective, and nurses expressed lower personal accomplishment.Conclusions: Improved demand management achieved through greater operational flexibility is a key driver for the hot-floor model. Planning for enhanced organisational effectiveness requires corresponding improvements in the work environment to optimise nurse retention to ensure organisational sustainability.
Benign meningioma with complete erosion of the skull in a 38-year-old Ghanaian woman
Authors: Der E.M. , Mikdad R. , Leuri B.J. , Adam A.
Published: June 2017

Meningioma is common intracranial benign tumour, but may be diagnosed only at autopsy in developing countries. We present a 38-year-old woman with progressively worsening headache of 7 years duration, who had sudden onset of inability to walk, vomiting and loss of consciousness. She died shortly on admission at the Tamale Teaching Hospital emergency unit. Autopsy conducted found an encapsulated left cerebral hemisphere convexity tumour that had eroded the skull with extension onto the scalp as a swelling. Histological examination confined the tumour to WHO grade I, meningioma.
The Position of the UN Conventions to Determine and Guarantee Human Rights
Authors: Akbari Bahman
Published: June 2017

In the present era, providing human rights represents the governance quality of a government and human rights treaties are criteria for its assessment. Also the UN human rights conventions, because of their international nature in the past seven decades, have been the main representative to reflect man's fundamental demands. Now the main question is that to what extent these conventions are remarkable and effective in order to explain and guarantee human rights in the international arena? The author believes that the conventions are the most important international mechanisms to identify human rights which compared to the past history of mankind have offered the most comprehensive international regulations in order to reflect the fundamental human rights. But then, two main factors undermined the effectiveness of the conventions. The first factor is intratextual drawbacks of the conventions which are divided into three drawbacks: reservation, withdrawal and arbitrary essence of accepting the committees’ competence. The second and more important factor is the reasons out of the conventions which are divided into two categories: the doctrine of privity of contract and disobedience by some governments under the ideological or moral reasons. The first factor can be addressed by the secondary amendments. However, the big challenge is the second factor which mechanism to settle it are to inform the international community about the importance of the UN human rights conventions, creating intersubjective understanding and eventually accepting the supremacy of international human rights over internal law.
The Prospect of the Relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Saudi Arabia: Plausible Scenarios
Authors: Al- Shogairat Faisal M. , Yurtaev Vladimir
Published: June 2017

Islamic republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia are identified as two effective countries in sub-region of the Persian Gulf, that the radius of their influence covers whole great region of the Middle East. The relationship between the two countries have been full of tension during last decade, and during this period changes of political authorities of these countries were not able to improve this relationship. The cause is the resources of foreign policy behavior of the two countries, historical backgrounds of each country, as well as conflict of interest of each in the region of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. The most competition atmosphere between the two countries is inside the three climacteric countries of Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Accordingly, the prospect of bilateral relations is a consequence of their behaviors in the region and also their dealings with these three countries. Three scenarios presented regarding the two countries' foreign policy in the region can be discussed: efforts to establish governments, attempts to maintain political structures of collapsing countries, and finally, continuation of current trends that may lead to disintegration of these climacteric countries. By studying these scenarios and drivers, blockers and their wild cards, this paper considers the second scenario best for both countries, which is consistent with their national interests, and with the region’s history and general situation.
De brandende kampongs van generaal Spoor
Authors: Fritschij Ineke
Published: June 2017

In this feature authors review recently published books on subjects of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.
Paradigma sistêmico no desenvolvimento humano e familiar: a teoria bioecológica de Urie Bronfenbrenner
Authors: Carvalho-Barreto André de
Published: June 2017

Este ensaio objetiva apresentar e discutir conceitos da teoria bioecológica
de Urie Bronfenbrenner, que é fundamentada no paradigma sistêmico e na
perspectiva do curso de vida aplicada ao estudo do desenvolvimento familiar
e humano. Sua teoria compreende o desenvolvimento como um fenômeno
de continuidade e de mudança das características biopsicológicas dos seres
humanos. Além de reconhecer a importância dos contextos mais próximos
e remotos no desenvolvimento, ele enfatizou tanto a passagem do tempo,
os níveis estrutural e funcional da pessoa quanto o processo das interações
organismo e ambiente. Seus estudos asseveram ainda que as relações
bidirecionais devem abranger, além das díades, outras pessoas na interação.
Considera-se que, apesar da notória contribuição dos estudos do autor, os
conceitos de sua teoria bioecológica e o modelo processo, pessoa, contexto e
tempo necessitam avançar teórica e metodologicamente.