bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cyber Security
Authors: Goedeker Michael A.
Published: March 2015

This chapter focuses on the understanding and skills needed by tomorrow's business leaders, namely understanding what security teams do and why security is so challenging based on external influences such as cyber espionage, warfare, and crime, which are currently having an adverse impact on the trust that customers have on the Internet and e-Business and e-Commerce. The introduction starts with issues that the business and IT security face in regards to a common language, which has caused issues in the past in understanding how vital security is to international business revenue through a secure and Internet-connected infrastructure and data. Details are then discussed about how cyber espionage and warfare hinder business and have adverse negative consequences through customer mistrust of Internet-based company resources and data storage. Lastly, this chapter looks at how both government and business lack a common connection between the business and IT as well as the vital security function in projects as well as the usage of proactive security teams, understanding the hacking process to secure systems, and the need and proper usage of security awareness campaigns to decrease risk and increase business value of the security function.
Understanding of Leadership in Distance Education Management
Authors: Ekren Gülay , Karataş Serçin , Demiray Uğur
Published: March 2015

Today, distance education institutions are different from other traditional organizational structures because they require a virtual structuring. Therefore, the concept and practice of educational leadership is considered as a special area in distance education management process. As a requirement of 21st century, distance education leadership has been seen as a matter or necessity to be developed and to be investigated in the management of distance education. In this chapter, it is aimed to bring the insights of various researchers to define characteristics or qualifications of leadership in distance education, which are or should be different from traditional educational leadership through a literature review relevant to leadership and theories in leadership, educational leadership, and distance education leadership.
Online Instructors as Distance Education Experts
Authors: Shen Libi
Published: March 2015

An expert is a person with content knowledge and professional skills in a field. Are online teachers distance education experts? What are the main behavioral, cognitive, and emotional characteristics of distance education instructors? What competencies should online instructors possess in order to be distance education experts? In this chapter, the researcher examines National Educational Technology Standards for teachers, National Standards for Quality Online Teaching, and empirical research on teachers' roles and competencies to seek a definition for online instructors as distance education experts. Several issues related to online teachers' competencies and technology standards are discussed. Future research studies are recommended.
Faculty Development Needs for Distance Education
Authors: Saylor Anne
Published: March 2015

This report presents the results of a review that looked at what college resources are needed to support an online environment and how a small liberal arts college can prepare faculty for a shift in pedagogy is one of today's major issues, when using a Learning Management System (LMS) to teach. A literature review was done to review the ideas of what college resources are needed to support an online learning environment in Higher Education and the implications for faculty development in a small liberal arts college. The main themes surveyed were faculty and the support needed to move a classroom instructor to an online instructor. The research focused on how constructivist learning could support faculty development.
Information as a Global Public Good and the Role of Modern Educational Technologies in the Creation of the Information Society
Authors: Sahin Deniz
Published: March 2015

Becoming the “basic production and power factor” in the 21st century, information confronts us in a very important form as a Global Public Good (GPG). It is the basis of the “information society” that is regarded as the advanced social form of the present time. Important roles fall to education in the production, access, and use of the information that transforms societies into an economic and social development stage. Education needs to reconstruct itself in accordance with the conditions of the information society through adapting itself to technological and scientific changes in order to fulfill the functions it undertakes. Addressing the topic from a theoretical perspective, this chapter aims at determining the place and importance of education for the creation of information as a global public good and the information society on the basis of the educational paradigm of the information society, and educational technologies to make it possible.
Mechanisms for Understanding Participation in Online File Sharing
Authors: Shemroske Kenneth , Silva Leiser
Published: March 2015

This study researches behavior associated with online file sharing activities. Specifically, a technology known as ‘Bittorrent' is studied in an auto-observational technique and supported by information gained through forums and blogs to gain insight. The main research question the authors ask is: what are the factors and processes that facilitate an individual's participation in online sharing of copyrighted files? They propose a social mechanism that concentrates on the actions of individuals leading up to and including their participation in a group file sharing activity. A higher level mechanism is then presented which links individual participation with exogenous forces. This research addresses a need for understanding the behaviors of those that choose to participate in online file sharing of copyrighted digital media. Further the proposal of mechanisms presented here may prove fruitful for use in studies beyond the context used here.
Heart failure
Authors: Patel C , Deoghare S
Published: March 2015

Heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorders that impairs the ability of the ventricle to fill with or eject blood. Despite effective medical interventions, mortality and morbidity remain substantial. There have been significant advances in the therapy of HF in recent decades, such as the introduction of beta-blockers and antagonists of the renin-angiotensin system but still there is a major unmet need for better therapies for HF. In the present era, pathophysiology of HF has been explored. Various novel pathways, molecular sites have been identified, which contribute to the progression of the disease. By targeting these sites, newer pharmacological agents have been developed, which can play a promising role in the treatment of HF. This article focuses on recent advancements in pharmacotherapy of HF, which include agents targeting myocardial contractility, cytokines and inflammation, fibrosis and remodeling, myocardial metabolism, oxidative stress, and other newly defined pathways.
Muckle-Wells syndrome in an Indian family associated with NLRP3 mutation
Authors: Abdulla MC , Alungal J , Hawkins PN , Mohammed S
Published: March 2015

Muckle - Wells syndrome (MWS) is a rare autosomal dominant disease that belongs to a group of hereditary periodic fever syndromes. It is part of the wider spectrum of the cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) which has only rarely been described in non-Caucasian individuals. It is characterized by recurrent self-limiting episodes of fever, urticaria, arthralgia, myalgia and conjunctivitis from childhood. Progressive sensorineural hearing loss and amyloidosis are two late complications. MWS is caused by gain of function mutations in the NLRP3 gene, which encodes cryopyrin, a protein involved in regulating the production of proinflammatory cytokines. We report two patients with MWS in an Indian family associated with the p.D303N mutation in the NLRP3 gene. These findings promote awareness of these hereditary periodic fever syndromes as a cause for recurrent fevers from childhood in the Indian population.
Mortality of Dandy-Walker syndrome in the United States: Analysis by race, gender, and insurance status
Authors: McClelland Shearwood , Ukwuoma Onyinyechi I. , Lunos Scott , Okuyemi Kolawole S.
Published: March 2015

Background: Dandy-Walker syndrome (DWS) is a congenital disorder often diagnosed in early childhood. Typically manifesting with signs/symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, DWS is catastrophic unless timely neurosurgical care can be administered via cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage. The rates of mortality, adverse discharge disposition (ADD), and CSF drainage in DWS may not be uniform regardless of race, gender or insurance status; such differences could reflect disparities in access to neurosurgical care. This study examines these issues on a nationwide level. Materials and Methods: The Kids’ Inpatient Database spanning 1997-2003 was used for analysis. Only patients admitted for DWS (ICD-9-CM = 742.3) were included. Multivariate analysis was adjusted for several variables, including patient age, race, sex, admission type, primary payer, income, and hospital volume. Results: More than 14,000 DWS patients were included. Increasing age predicted reduced mortality (OR = 0.87; P < 0.05), ADD (OR = 0.96; P < 0.05), and decreased likelihood of receiving CSF drainage (OR = 0.86; P < 0.0001). Elective admission type predicted reduced mortality (OR = 0.29; P = 0.0008), ADD (OR = 0.68; P < 0.05), and increased CSF drainage (OR = 2.02; P < 0.0001). African-American race (OR = 1.20; P < 0.05) and private insurance (OR = 1.18; P < 0.05) each predicted increased likelihood of receiving CSF drainage, but were not predictors of mortality or ADD. Gender, income, and hospital volume were not significant predictors of DWS outcome. Conclusion: Increasing age and elective admissions each decrease mortality and ADD associated with DWS. African-American race and private insurance status increase access to CSF drainage. These findings contradict previous literature citing African-American race as a risk factor for mortality in DWS, and emphasize the role of private insurance in obtaining access to potentially lifesaving operative care.
Neuromeningeal cryptococcosis in sub-Saharan Africa: Killer disease with sparse data
Authors: Assogba Komi , Belo Mofou , Wateba Majeste Ihou , Gnonlonfoun Dieu Donné , Ossou-Inguiet Paul M. , Tsanga Berenger B.C. , Ndiaye Moustapha , Grunitzky Eric K.
Published: March 2015

Introduction: The extent of neuromeningeal cryptococcosis (NMC) has increased since the advent of HIV/AIDS. It has non-specific clinical signs but marked by high mortality. Objective: To analyze the characteristics of the NMC in sub-Saharan Africa. Materials and Methods: We have conducted a literature reviewed on the NMC in sub-Saharan Africa from the publications available on the basis of national and international data with keywords such as “Cryptococcus, Epidemiology, Symptoms, Outcomes and Mortality” and their equivalent in French in July 2011. All publications from 1990 to 2010 with 202 references were analyzed. The following results are the means of different studied variables. Results: We selected in final 43 publications dealing with the NMC which 24 involved 17 countries in Africa. The average age was 36 years old. The average prevalence was 3.41% and the average incidence was 10.48% (range 6.90% to 12%). The most common signs were fever (75%), headaches (62.50%) and impaired consciousness. Meningeal signs were present in 49% of cases. The mean CD4 count was 44.8cells/mm3. The India ink and latex agglutination tests were the most sensitive. The average time before the consultation and the hospital stay was almost identical to 27.71 days. The average death rate was 45.90%. Fluconazole has been the most commonly used molecule. Conclusion: The epidemiological indicators of NMC varied more depending on the region of sub-Saharan Africa. Early and effective taking care of patients to reduce diagnostic delay and heavy mortality remains the challenges.
Myoarchitectonic advancement of the C2 spinous process for C1-C2 posterior fusion: A novel technique
Authors: Sinha Ajit Kumar , Goyal Sumit
Published: March 2015

Study Design: Retrospective descriptive study of an innovative surgical technique. Objective: To assess the feasibility of using a large C2 spinous process as a vascularized bone graft donor with muscles attached to it in C1-C2 posterior fusion with evaluation of post operative fusion and pain in these cases. Summary of Background Data: C1-C2 posterior fusion essentially requires a bone graft and for this a separate incision is needed at the donor site with its associated morbidity. The procedure also entails detachment of muscles attached to the C2 spinous process. Due to the detachment of these muscles with important functions, postoperative nuchal pain is common in these patients. We developed a novel technique of harvesting the vascularized C2 spinous process as a bone graft to minimize the above-mentioned complications. Materials and Methods: Five patients with atlanto-axial dislocation due to various pathologies underwent C1-C2 posterior arthrodesis with the present technique. They were followed up for 6 to 18 months and were evaluated for feasibility of procedure, post operative fusion and post operative complications, especially pain. Results: The procedure was accomplished successfully in all patients without any perioperative complications. All patients were pain free 3 months after surgery—mean Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was 0.4. Fusion (confirmed by plain radiography in three and by CT scan in two patients) was achieved in all five patients (100%). Conclusion: Myoarchitectonic advancement of C2 spinous process is a novel technique of C1-C2 posterior fusion in which a local vascularized bone graft is used avoiding donor site morbidity and at the same time preservation of dynamic function of muscles attached reduces the post operative pain.
Enhancing Metacognitive Practices in Science Education Students Using the Intelligencies for Nation Building
Authors: Ibe NH
Published: March 2015

This study investigated how to enhance metacognitive practices in science education students using the intelligencies for nation building. The study adopted the survey design.180 undergraduate students were randomly sampled from the faculty of Education, Imo state university, Owerri. Seventeen item rating scale was used for data collection. The instrument was structured on a four point scale of Most Often (MO), Often (O), Rarely Often (RO) and Never (N). Three experts from Measurement and Evaluation (2) and one from Science Education scrutinized the instrument to ensure validity. The Cronbach Alpha Reliability Co-efficient was used to determine the reliability of the instrument and it yielded a reliability index of 0.78. The mean and standard deviation was used for answering the research questions. Any mean score below 2.50 was not upheld while a mean of 2.50 and above was accepted. Findings from the study show the following: the use of Linguistic intelligence to enhance metacognitive practices show that the learners are yet to use such strategy often since 13 out of the 14 items that elicited responses were below the cut-off mean while the use of Kinesthetic intelligence to enhance metacognitive practices show that the learners often use such strategy often since 2 out of the 3 items that elicited responses were above the cut-off mean. It was recommended that teachers provide Questions for students to ask themselves as they plan, monitor, and evaluate their thinking within four learning contexts—in class, assignments, quizzes/exams, and the course as a whole. Also prompts for integrating metacognition into discussions of pairs during clicker activities, assignments, and quiz or exam preparation should be encouraged.
Is in utero Fetal Neurological Assessment Comparable to Postnatal Neurological Assessment?
Authors: Vasilj Oliver
Published: March 2015

The traditional concept that brain damage is caused during birth or early neonatal period has been challenged. This is supported by the fact that the incidence of cerebral palsy stayed unchanged despite the global increase of cesarean sections. Consequently, the medicolegal importance of fetal neurological research is essential and needed. Years of research have provided us with important knowledge about association of fetal movements with brain development. The basic studies were done by two-dimensional ultrasound. The implementation of four-dimensional ultrasound in evaluation of fetal behavior has opened new and unexplored possibilities of evaluating the quality of fetal movements and a detailed assessment of fetal facial expressions. It is known that early postnatal neurological assessment, regarding future prediction of neurological optimality, has great limitations do to wonderful brain plasticity. Taking this very important limitation in to the account we could conclude that the preliminary studies comparing prenatal and postnatal neurological assessment are comparable. More importantly they emphasize the fact that the study of fetal behavior is most probably the right path in the study of fetal neurological development.

How to cite this article

Vasilj O. Is in utero Fetal Neurological Assessment Comparable to Postnatal Neurological Assessment? Donald School J Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2015; 9(1):91-95.
First Experience in Clinical Application of KANET
Authors: Tikvica Luetic Ana
Published: March 2015

Introduction of three- and four-dimensional ultrasound into clinical practice enabled qualitative and quantitative assessment of fetal movements, including the analysis of fetal face expression which is considered to be the mirror of the maturational processes of upper motor neuron. Since, prenatal fetal behavioral patterns are reflections of developmental and maturational processes within the fetal central nervous system, the findings about changes in fetal movements and behavior could leed to the prenatal diagnosis of neurological impairment. Kurjak's antenatal neurodevelopment test (KANET) is the first prenatal test based on the three- and four-dimensional ultrasound examination of the fetus that could be used for the evaluation and prediction of the fetal neurologic status.

How to cite this article

Luetic AT. First Experience in Clinical Application of KANET. Donald School J Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2015;9(1):96-99.
Standard climate models radiation codes underestimate black carbon radiative forcing
Authors: Myhre G. , Samset B. H.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. Radiative forcing (RF) of black carbon (BC) in the atmosphere is estimated using radiative transfer codes of various complexities. Here we show that the two-stream radiative transfer codes used most in climate models give too strong forward scattering, leading to enhanced absorption at the surface and too weak absorption by BC in the atmosphere. Such calculations are found to underestimate the positive RF of BC by 10% for global mean, all sky conditions, relative to the more sophisticated multi-stream models. The underestimation occurs primarily for low surface albedo, even though BC is more efficient for absorption of solar radiation over high surface albedo.
Stratospheric and mesospheric HO2 observations from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder
Authors: Millán L. , Wang S. , Livesey N. , Kinnison D. , Sagawa H. , Kasai Y.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. This study introduces stratospheric and mesospheric hydroperoxyl radical (HO2) estimates from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) using an offline retrieval (i.e. run separately from the standard MLS algorithm). This new data set provides two daily zonal averages, one during daytime from 10 to 0.0032 hPa (using day-minus-night differences between 10 and 1 hPa to ameliorate systematic biases) and one during nighttime from 1 to 0.0032 hPa. The vertical resolution of this new data set varies from about 4 km at 10 hPa to around 14 km at 0.0032 hPa. A description of the methodology and an error analysis are presented. Comparisons against the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM), the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) and the Far Infrared Spectrometer (FIRS-2) measurements, as well as photochemical simulations, demonstrate the robustness of the retrieval and indicate that the retrieval is sensitive enough to detect mesospheric HO2 layers during both day and night. This new data set is the first long-term HO2 stratospheric and mesospheric satellite record and it provides needed constraints to help resolve the O3 deficit problem and the "HOx dilemma".
Biases in atmospheric CO2 estimates from correlated meteorology modeling errors
Authors: Miller S. M. , Hayek M. N. , Andrews A. E. , Fung I. , Liu J.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. Estimates of CO2 fluxes that are based on atmospheric measurements rely upon a meteorology model to simulate atmospheric transport. These models provide a quantitative link between the surface fluxes and CO2 measurements taken downwind. Errors in the meteorology can therefore cause errors in the estimated CO2 fluxes. Meteorology errors that correlate or covary across time and/or space are particularly worrisome; they can cause biases in modeled atmospheric CO2 that are easily confused with the CO2 signal from surface fluxes, and they are difficult to characterize. In this paper, we leverage an ensemble of global meteorology model outputs combined with a data assimilation system to estimate these biases in modeled atmospheric CO2. In one case study, we estimate the magnitude of month-long CO2 biases relative to CO2 boundary layer enhancements and quantify how that answer changes if we either include or remove error correlations or covariances. In a second case study, we investigate which meteorological conditions are associated with these CO2 biases. In the first case study, we estimate uncertainties of 0.5–7 ppm in monthly-averaged CO2 concentrations, depending upon location (95% confidence interval). These uncertainties correspond to 13–150% of the mean afternoon CO2 boundary layer enhancement at individual observation sites. When we remove error covariances, however, this range drops to 2–22%. Top-down studies that ignore these covariances could therefore underestimate the uncertainties and/or propagate transport errors into the flux estimate. In the second case study, we find that these month-long errors in atmospheric transport are anti-correlated with temperature and planetary boundary layer (PBL) height over terrestrial regions. In marine environments, by contrast, these errors are more strongly associated with weak zonal winds. Many errors, however, are not correlated with a single meteorological parameter, suggesting that a single meteorological proxy is not sufficient to characterize uncertainties in atmospheric CO2. Together, these two case studies provide information to improve the setup of future top-down inverse modeling studies, preventing unforeseen biases in estimated CO2 fluxes.
Evaluation of the MOZAIC Capacitive Hygrometer during the airborne field study CIRRUS-III
Authors: Neis P. , Smit H. G. J. , Krämer M. , Spelten N. , Petzold A.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. The MOZAIC Capacitive Hygrometer (MCH) is usually operated aboard passenger aircraft in the framework of MOZAIC (Measurement of Ozone by Airbus In-Service Aircraft) for measuring atmospheric relative humidity (RH). In order to evaluate the performance of the MCH, the instrument was operated aboard a Learjet 35A research aircraft as part of the CIRRUS-III field study together with a closed-cell Lyman-α fluorescence hygrometer (Fast in situ Stratospheric Hygrometer, or FISH) and an open-path tunable diode laser system (Open-path Jülich Stratospheric TDL ExpeRiment, or OJSTER) for water vapour measurement. After reducing the CIRRUS-III data set to data corresponding to MOZAIC aircraft operation conditions, the 1 Hz RH data cross correlation between the MCH and reference instruments FISH (clear sky) and OJSTER (in-cirrus) yielded a remarkably good agreement of R2 = 0.92 and slope m = 1.02 and provided a MCH uncertainty of 5% RH. Probability distribution functions of RH deduced from the MCH and reference instruments agreed well between 10 and 70% RH with respect to liquid water in the ambient temperature range of ca. −70 to −40 °C. The use of MCH data is limited to sensor temperatures above the calibration limit of Tsensor = −40 °C (corresponds to ambient temperature of Tambient = −70 °C at typical cruising speed of long-haul passenger aircraft). Good performance of the MCH for clear sky as well as for in-cirrus conditions demonstrated the sensor robustness also for operation inside ice clouds.
Accurate measurements of ozone absorption cross-sections in the Hartley band
Authors: Viallon J. , Lee S. , Moussay P. , Tworek K. , Petersen M. , Wielgosz R. I.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. Ozone plays a crucial role in tropospheric chemistry, is the third largest contributor to greenhouse radiative forcing after carbon dioxide and methane and also a toxic air pollutant affecting human health and agriculture. Long-term measurements of tropospheric ozone have been performed globally for more than 30 years with UV photometers, all relying on the absorption of ozone at the 253.65 nm line of mercury. We have re-determined this cross-section and report a value of 11.27 x 10−18 cm2 molecule−1 with an expanded relative uncertainty of 0.86% (coverage factor k= 2). This is lower than the conventional value currently in use and measured by Hearn (1961) with a relative difference of 1.8%, with the consequence that historically reported ozone concentrations should be increased by 1.8%. In order to perform the new measurements of cross-sections with reduced uncertainties, a system was set up to generate pure ozone in the gas phase together with an optical system based on a UV laser with lines in the Hartley band, including accurate path length measurement of the absorption cell and a careful evaluation of possible impurities in the ozone sample by mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. This resulted in new measurements of absolute values of ozone absorption cross-sections of 9.48 x 10−18, 10.44 x 10−18 and 11.07 x 10−18 cm2 molecule−1, with relative expanded uncertainties better than 0.7%, for the wavelengths (in vacuum) of 244.06, 248.32, and 257.34 nm respectively. The cross-section at the 253.65 nm line of mercury was determined by comparisons using a Standard Reference Photometer equipped with a mercury lamp as the light source. The newly reported value should be used in the future to obtain the most accurate measurements of ozone concentration, which are in closer agreement with non-UV-photometry based methods such as the gas phase titration of ozone with nitrogen monoxide.
Aerosol retrieval from multiangle multispectral photopolarimetric measurements: importance of spectral range and angular resolution
Authors: Wu L. , Hasekamp O. , van Diedenhoven B. , Cairns B.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. We investigated the importance of spectral range and angular resolution for aerosol retrieval from multi-angle photo-polarimetric measurements over land. For this purpose, we use an extensive set of simulated measurements for different spectral ranges and angular resolutions and subsets of real measurements of the airborne Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) carried out during the PODEX and SEAC4RS campaigns over continental US. Aerosol retrievals performed from RSP measurements show good agreement with ground based AERONET measurements for AOT, SSA, and refractive index. Furthermore, we found that inclusion of shortwave infrared bands (1590 and/or 2250 nm) significantly improves the retrieval of AOT, SSA and coarse mode microphysical properties. On the other hand, retrieval accuracies on aerosol properties do not improve significantly if more than 10 viewing angles are used in the retrieval.
COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF VERY HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE AND AERIAL ORTHOIMAGERY
Authors: Agrafiotis P. , Georgopoulos A.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. This paper aims to assess the accuracy and radiometric quality of orthorectified high resolution satellite imagery from Pleiades-1B satellites through a comparative evaluation of their quantitative and qualitative properties. A Pleiades-B1 stereopair of high resolution images taken in 2013, two adjacent GeoEye-1 stereopairs from 2011 and aerial orthomosaic (LSO) provided by NCMA S.A (Hellenic Cadastre) from 2007 have been used for the comparison tests. As control dataset orthomosaic from aerial imagery provided also by NCMA S.A (0.25m GSD) from 2012 was selected. The process for DSM and orthoimage production was performed using commercial digital photogrammetric workstations. The two resulting orthoimages and the aerial orthomosaic (LSO) were relatively and absolutely evaluated for their quantitative and qualitative properties. Test measurements were performed using the same check points in order to establish their accuracy both as far as the single point coordinates as well as their distances are concerned. Check points were distributed according to JRC Guidelines for Best Practice and Quality Checking of Ortho Imagery and NSSDA standards while areas with different terrain relief and land cover were also included. The tests performed were based also on JRC and NSSDA accuracy standards. Finally, tests were carried out in order to assess the radiometric quality of the orthoimagery. The results are presented with a statistical analysis and they are evaluated in order to present the merits and demerits of the imaging sensors involved for orthoimage production. The results also serve for a critical approach for the usability and cost efficiency of satellite imagery for the production of Large Scale Orthophotos.
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC PROCESSING USING ZY-3 SATELLITE IMAGERY
Authors: Kornus W. , Magariños A. , Pla M. , Soler E. , Perez F.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. This paper evaluates the stereoscopic capacities of the Chinese sensor ZiYuan-3 (ZY-3) for the generation of photogrammetric products. The satellite was launched on January 9, 2012 and carries three high-resolution panchromatic cameras viewing in forward (22º), nadir (0º) and backward direction (-22º) and an infrared multi-spectral scanner (IRMSS), which is slightly looking forward (6º). The ground sampling distance (GSD) is 2.1m for the nadir image, 3.5m for the two oblique stereo images and 5.8m for the multispectral image. The evaluated ZY-3 imagery consists of a full set of threefold-stereo and a multi-spectral image covering an area of ca. 50km x 50km north-west of Barcelona, Spain. The complete photogrammetric processing chain was executed including image orientation, the generation of a digital surface model (DSM), radiometric image correction, pansharpening, orthoimage generation and digital stereo plotting. All 4 images are oriented by estimating affine transformation parameters between observed and nominal RPC (rational polynomial coefficients) image positions of 17 ground control points (GCP) and a subsequent calculation of refined RPC. From 10 independent check points RMS errors of 2.2m, 2.0m and 2.7m in X, Y and H are obtained. Subsequently, a DSM of 5m grid spacing is generated fully automatically. A comparison with the Lidar data results in an overall DSM accuracy of approximately 3m. In moderate and flat terrain higher accuracies in the order of 2.5m and better are achieved. In a next step orthoimages from the high resolution nadir image and the multispectral image are generated using the refined RPC geometry and the DSM. After radiometric corrections a fused high resolution colour orthoimage with 2.1m pixel size is created using an adaptive HSL method. The pansharpen process is performed after the individual geocorrection due to the different viewing angles between the two images. In a detailed analysis of the colour orthoimage artifacts are detected covering an area of 4691ha, corresponding to less than 2% of the imaged area. Most of the artifacts are caused by clouds (4614ha). A minor part (77ha) is affected by colour patch, stripping or blooming effects. For the final qualitative analysis on the usability of the ZY-3 imagery for stereo plotting purposes stereo combinations of the nadir and an oblique image are discarded, mainly due to the different pixel size, which produces difficulties in the stereoscopic vision and poor accuracy in positioning and measuring. With the two oblique images a level of detail equivalent to 1:25.000 scale is achieved for transport network, hydrography, vegetation and elements to model the terrain as break lines. For settlement, including buildings and other constructions a lower level of detail is achieved equivalent to 1:50.000 scale.
HIGH RESOLUTION AIRBORNE SAR IMAGE CHANGE DETECTION IN URBAN AREAS WITH SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ACQUISITION GEOMETRIES
Authors: Mendez Dominguez E. , Henke D. , Small D. , Meier E.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. Before applying change detection, high resolution SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) imagery benefits from advanced denoising mechanisms to preserve details and minimize speckle. We propose a change detector based on a MCA (Morphological Components Analysis) of a difference image (DI). With MCA, the data is decomposed into image features utilizing sparse representations of the image content. By introducing a priori knowledge of the content of the scenes, and exploiting shape information corresponding to the changes provided by MCA, we can significantly improve performance under adverse conditions, such as inconsistent acquisition geometries.
DEVELOPMENT AND TEST OF BLIMP-BASED COMPACT LIDAR POWEWR-LINE INSPECTION SYSTEM
Authors: Pan W. W. , Dou Y. J. , Wang G. L. , Wu M. X. , Ren R. G. , Xu X.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. This paper introduces a compact LIDAR system designed to inspect overhead transmission line for maintenance purposes. This LIDAR system is carried by a small unmanned helium airship, which is guided by GPS and laser ranging to fly automatically along the power-line over a limited distance. The 3D coordinates of the power line, power tower and power line channel features are gathered by LIDAR. Test have been accomplished using this blimp-based compact LIDAR power-line inspection system. Its inspections of a 500kV power lines also shows the high efficient inspection, less risk to personnel and more inspections per day compared with manual inspection.
CLASSIFICATION ALGORITHMS FOR BIG DATA ANALYSIS, A MAP REDUCE APPROACH
Authors: Ayma V. A. , Ferreira R. S. , Happ P. , Oliveira D. , Feitosa R. , Costa G. , Plaza A. , Gamba P.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. Since many years ago, the scientific community is concerned about how to increase the accuracy of different classification methods, and major achievements have been made so far. Besides this issue, the increasing amount of data that is being generated every day by remote sensors raises more challenges to be overcome. In this work, a tool within the scope of InterIMAGE Cloud Platform (ICP), which is an open-source, distributed framework for automatic image interpretation, is presented. The tool, named ICP: Data Mining Package, is able to perform supervised classification procedures on huge amounts of data, usually referred as big data, on a distributed infrastructure using Hadoop MapReduce. The tool has four classification algorithms implemented, taken from WEKA’s machine learning library, namely: Decision Trees, Naïve Bayes, Random Forest and Support Vector Machines (SVM). The results of an experimental analysis using a SVM classifier on data sets of different sizes for different cluster configurations demonstrates the potential of the tool, as well as aspects that affect its performance.
URBAN AREA EXTRACTION USING AIRBORNE X-BAND FULLY POLARIMETRIC PI-SAR2 IMAGERY
Authors: Susaki J. , Kishimoto M.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. In this paper, we present a method to extract urban areas from X-band fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. It is known that very high resolution (VHR) SAR can extract buildings, but it requires more processes to map urban areas that should include other objects. The proposed method is mainly composed of two classifications. One classification uses total power of scattering and volume scattering derived by using four component decomposition method with correction of the polarization orientation angle (POA) effect. The other classification uses polarimetric coherency between SHH and SVV . The two results are intersected and final urban areas are extracted after post-classification processing. We applied the proposed method to airborne X-band fully polarimetric SAR data of Polarimetric and Interferometric Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar System (Pi-SAR2), developed by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Japan. The validation show that the results of the proposed method were acceptable, with an overall accuracy of approximately 80 to 90% at 100-m spatial scale.
ANALYSIS OF RADAR AND OPTICAL SPACE BORNE DATA FOR LARGE SCALE TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPPING
Authors: Tampubolon W. , Reinhardt W.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. Normally, in order to provide high resolution 3 Dimension (3D) geospatial data, large scale topographical mapping needs input from conventional airborne campaigns which are in Indonesia bureaucratically complicated especially during legal administration procedures i.e. security clearance from military/defense ministry. This often causes additional time delays besides technical constraints such as weather and limited aircraft availability for airborne campaigns. Of course the geospatial data quality is an important issue for many applications. The increasing demand of geospatial data nowadays consequently requires high resolution datasets as well as a sufficient level of accuracy. Therefore an integration of different technologies is required in many cases to gain the expected result especially in the context of disaster preparedness and emergency response. Another important issue in this context is the fast delivery of relevant data which is expressed by the term “Rapid Mapping”. In this paper we present first results of an on-going research to integrate different data sources like space borne radar and optical platforms. Initially the orthorectification of Very High Resolution Satellite (VHRS) imagery i.e. SPOT-6 has been done as a continuous process to the DEM generation using TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X data. The role of Ground Control Points (GCPs) from GNSS surveys is mandatory in order to fulfil geometrical accuracy. In addition, this research aims on providing suitable processing algorithm of space borne data for large scale topographical mapping as described in section 3.2. Recently, radar space borne data has been used for the medium scale topographical mapping e.g. for 1:50.000 map scale in Indonesian territories. The goal of this on-going research is to increase the accuracy of remote sensing data by different activities, e.g. the integration of different data sources (optical and radar) or the usage of the GCPs in both, the optical and the radar satellite data processing. Finally this results will be used in the future as a reference for further geospatial data acquisitions to support topographical mapping in even larger scales up to the 1:10.000 map scale.
ESTIMATION OF ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS OF RADARSAT-2 D-InSAR PRODUCT USING GROUNDBASEDAND SPACEBORNE METEROLOGICAL DATA
Authors: Thapa S. , Chatterjee R. S.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. Differential Interferometric synthetic aperture RADAR (D-InSAR) has emerged as one of the influential tools for the measurement of Earth’s topography deformation. The temporal variability of atmosphere plays a contaminative role in degrading the accuracy of Interferometric measurements as it causes the path delay in the propagating RADAR signal. The Ionosphere and Troposphere are the two atmospheric layers which are responsible for the path delay error in the Interferometric measurement. In this study ground based meteorological data integrated with spaceborne meteorological data was used to mitigate the path delay induced by the atmosphere on the Radarsat-2 data. In this study Jharia Coal Fields, Jharkhand, was selected where active mining has taken place since 1894. The D-InSAR was generated from Radarsat-2 data. In Troposephric path delay calculation ground based data like water vapor, temperature and humidity acquired during the time of the pass as well as spaceborne meteorological data were used as input. The TEC from IRI-2007 model was used as input to calculate the ionospheric path delay. These Ionospheric as well as Tropospehric delay was subtracted from a Differential Interferrogram to obtain atmospheric artifacts free differential interferrogram. The corrected Diffrential Interferrogram was used to delineate subsidence areas. We observed that D-InSAR and levelling results shows good agreement with each other. The Diffrential Interferomteric pairs with low coherence causes phase unwrapping problem. Therefore, only those pairs with good coherence were considered for the study. The used technique provides an opportunity to understand the contribution of Ionospehric and Tropospehric path delay effects on the D-InSAR results.
FAÇADE RECONSTRUCTION USING GEOMETRIC AND RADIOMETRIC POINT CLOUD INFORMATION
Authors: Tutzauer P. , Haala N.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. This paper aims at façade reconstruction for subsequent enrichment of LOD2 building models. We use point clouds from dense image matching with imagery both from Mobile Mapping systems and oblique airborne cameras. The interpretation of façade structures is based on a geometric reconstruction. For this purpose a pre-segmentation of the point cloud into façade points and non-façade points is necessary. We present an approach for point clouds with limited geometric accuracy where a geometric segmentation might fail. Our contribution is a radiometric segmentation approach. Via local point features, based on a clustering in hue space, the point cloud is segmented into façade-points and non-façade points. This way, the initial geometric reconstruction step can be bypassed and point clouds with limited accuracy can still serve as input for the façade reconstruction and modelling approach.
SEGMENTATION OF UAV-BASED IMAGES INCORPORATING 3D POINT CLOUD INFORMATION
Authors: Vetrivel A. , Gerke M. , Kerle N. , Vosselman G.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. Numerous applications related to urban scene analysis demand automatic recognition of buildings and distinct sub-elements. For example, if LiDAR data is available, only 3D information could be leveraged for the segmentation. However, this poses several risks, for instance, the in-plane objects cannot be distinguished from their surroundings. On the other hand, if only image based segmentation is performed, the geometric features (e.g., normal orientation, planarity) are not readily available. This renders the task of detecting the distinct sub-elements of the building with similar radiometric characteristic infeasible. In this paper the individual sub-elements of buildings are recognized through sub-segmentation of the building using geometric and radiometric characteristics jointly. 3D points generated from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images are used for inferring the geometric characteristics of roofs and facades of the building. However, the image-based 3D points are noisy, error prone and often contain gaps. Hence the segmentation in 3D space is not appropriate. Therefore, we propose to perform segmentation in image space using geometric features from the 3D point cloud along with the radiometric features. The initial detection of buildings in 3D point cloud is followed by the segmentation in image space using the region growing approach by utilizing various radiometric and 3D point cloud features. The developed method was tested using two data sets obtained with UAV images with a ground resolution of around 1-2 cm. The developed method accurately segmented most of the building elements when compared to the plane-based segmentation using 3D point cloud alone.
AUTOMATIC MAPPING OF GLACIER BASED ON SAR IMAGERY BY BENEFITS OF FREELY OPTICAL AND THERMAL DATA
Authors: Fang L. , Hoegner L. , Stilla U.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. For many research applications like water resources evaluation, determination of glacier specific changes, and for calculation of the past and future contribution of glaciers to sea-level change, parameters about the size and spatial distribution of glaciers is crucial. In this paper, an automatic method for determination of glacier surface area using single track high resolution TerraSAR-X imagery by benefits of low resolution optical and thermal data is presented. Based on the normalized difference snow index (NDSI) and land surface temperature (LST) map generated from optical and thermal data combined with a surface slope data, a low resolution binary mask was derived used for the supervised classification of glacier using SAR imagery. Then, a set of suitable features is derived from the SAR intensity image, such as the texture information generated based on the gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), and the intensity values. With these features, the glacier surface is discriminated from the background by Random Forests (RF) method.
TOWARDS GLOBALLY CONSISTENT SCAN MATCHINGWITH GROUND TRUTH INTEGRATION
Authors: Gailis J. , Nüchter A.
Published: March 2015

Abstract. The scan matching based simultaneous localization and mapping method with six dimensional poses is capable of creating a three dimensional point cloud map of the environment, as well as estimating the six dimensional path that the vehicle has travelled. The essence of it is the registering and matching of sequentially acquired 3D laser scans, while moving along a path, in a common coordinate frame in order to provide 6D pose estimations at the respective positions, as well as create a three dimensional map of the environment. An approach that could drastically improve the reliability of acquired data is to integrate available ground truth information. This paper is about implementing such functionality as a contribution to 6D SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping with 6 DoF) in the 3DTK – The 3D Toolkit software (Nüchter and Lingemann, 2011), as well as test the functionality of the implementation using real world datasets.