bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CLASSIFICATION OF LiDAR DATA WITH POINT BASED CLASSIFICATION METHODS
Authors: Yastikli N. , Cetin Z.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. LiDAR is one of the most effective systems for 3 dimensional (3D) data collection in wide areas. Nowadays, airborne LiDAR data is used frequently in various applications such as object extraction, 3D modelling, change detection and revision of maps with increasing point density and accuracy. The classification of the LiDAR points is the first step of LiDAR data processing chain and should be handled in proper way since the 3D city modelling, building extraction, DEM generation, etc. applications directly use the classified point clouds. The different classification methods can be seen in recent researches and most of researches work with the gridded LiDAR point cloud. In grid based data processing of the LiDAR data, the characteristic point loss in the LiDAR point cloud especially vegetation and buildings or losing height accuracy during the interpolation stage are inevitable. In this case, the possible solution is the use of the raw point cloud data for classification to avoid data and accuracy loss in gridding process. In this study, the point based classification possibilities of the LiDAR point cloud is investigated to obtain more accurate classes. The automatic point based approaches, which are based on hierarchical rules, have been proposed to achieve ground, building and vegetation classes using the raw LiDAR point cloud data. In proposed approaches, every single LiDAR point is analyzed according to their features such as height, multi-return, etc. then automatically assigned to the class which they belong to. The use of un-gridded point cloud in proposed point based classification process helped the determination of more realistic rule sets. The detailed parameter analyses have been performed to obtain the most appropriate parameters in the rule sets to achieve accurate classes. The hierarchical rule sets were created for proposed Approach 1 (using selected spatial-based and echo-based features) and Approach 2 (using only selected spatial-based features) and have been tested in the study area in Zekeriyaköy, Istanbul which includes the partly open areas, forest areas and many types of the buildings. The data set used in this research obtained from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality which was collected with ‘Riegl LSM-Q680i’ full-waveform laser scanner with the density of 16 points/m2. The proposed automatic point based Approach 1 and Approach 2 classifications successfully produced the ground, building and vegetation classes which were very similar although different features were used.
LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION FROM FULL-WAVEFORM LIDAR DATA BASED ON SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINES
Authors: Zhou M. , Li C. R. , Ma L. , Guan H. C.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this study, a land cover classification method based on multi-class Support Vector Machines (SVM) is presented to predict the types of land cover in Miyun area. The obtained backscattered full-waveforms were processed following a workflow of waveform pre-processing, waveform decomposition and feature extraction. The extracted features, which consist of distance, intensity, Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) and back scattering cross-section, were corrected and used as attributes for training data to generate the SVM prediction model. The SVM prediction model was applied to predict the types of land cover in Miyun area as ground, trees, buildings and farmland. The classification results of these four types of land covers were obtained based on the ground truth information according to the CCD image data of Miyun area. It showed that the proposed classification algorithm achieved an overall classification accuracy of 90.63%. In order to better explain the SVM classification results, the classification results of SVM method were compared with that of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) method and it showed that SVM method could achieve better classification results.
A MODIFIED METHOD FOR IMAGE TRIANGULATION USING INCLINED ANGLES
Authors: Alsadik Bashar
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The ongoing technical improvements in photogrammetry, Geomatics, computer vision (CV), and robotics offer new possibilities for many applications requiring efficient acquisition of three-dimensional data. Image orientation is one of these important techniques in many applications like mapping, precise measurements, 3D modeling and navigation. Image orientation comprises three main techniques of resection, intersection (triangulation) and relative orientation, which are conventionally solved by collinearity equations or by using projection and fundamental matrices. However, different problems still exist in the state – of –the –art of image orientation because of the nonlinearity and the sensitivity to proper initialization and spatial distribution of the points. In this research, a modified method is presented to solve the triangulation problem using inclined angles derived from the measured image coordinates and based on spherical trigonometry rules and vector geometry. The developed procedure shows promising results compared to collinearity approach and to converge to the global minimum even when starting from far approximations. This is based on the strong geometric constraint offered by the inclined angles that are enclosed between the object points and the camera stations. Numerical evaluations with perspective and panoramic images are presented and compared with the conventional solution of collinearity equations. The results show the efficiency of the developed model and the convergence of the solution to global minimum even with improper starting values.
MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF GAIT BY USING A TIME-OF-FLIGHT CAMERA
Authors: Altuntas C. , Turkmen F. , Ucar A. , Akgul Y. A.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Biomedical applications generally needs measurement the human body parts in motion. On the other hand, the analysis of the human motion includes mobile measurements. The mobile measurement is complicated task because it needs two or more sensor combination, specific measurement techniques and huge computation. Thus, it is actual research topic in photogrammetry and computer sciences community. Time-of-flight (ToF) camera can make measurement the moving object. It can be used for robotic and simultaneous localization and mapping applications. Human motion capture is recent application area for ToF camera. In this study analysis of the body motion were made with time-of-flight camera. We made measurement to runner on treadmill. The motion was analysed with computing the angle between body parts.
PEDESTRIAN DETECTION BY LASER SCANNING AND DEPTH IMAGERY
Authors: Barsi A. , Lovas T. , Molnar B. , Somogyi A. , Igazvolgyi Z.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Pedestrian flow is much less regulated and controlled compared to vehicle traffic. Estimating flow parameters would support many safety, security or commercial applications. Current paper discusses a method that enables acquiring information on pedestrian movements without disturbing and changing their motion. Profile laser scanner and depth camera have been applied to capture the geometry of the moving people as time series. Procedures have been developed to derive complex flow parameters, such as count, volume, walking direction and velocity from laser scanned point clouds. Since no images are captured from the faces of pedestrians, no privacy issues raised. The paper includes accuracy analysis of the estimated parameters based on video footage as reference. Due to the dense point clouds, detailed geometry analysis has been conducted to obtain the height and shoulder width of pedestrians and to detect whether luggage has been carried or not. The derived parameters support safety (e.g. detecting critical pedestrian density in mass events), security (e.g. detecting prohibited baggage in endangered areas) and commercial applications (e.g. counting pedestrians at all entrances/exits of a shopping mall).
CLOUD REMOVAL FROM SENTINEL-2 IMAGE TIME SERIES THROUGH SPARSE RECONSTRUCTION FROM RANDOM SAMPLES
Authors: Cerra D. , Bieniarz J. , Müller R. , Reinartz P.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this paper we propose a cloud removal algorithm for scenes within a Sentinel-2 satellite image time series based on synthetisation of the affected areas via sparse reconstruction. For this purpose, a clouds and clouds shadow mask must be given. With respect to previous works, the process has an increased automation degree. Several dictionaries, on the basis of which the data are reconstructed, are selected randomly from cloud-free areas around the cloud, and for each pixel the dictionary yielding the smallest reconstruction error in non-corrupted images is chosen for the restoration. The values below a cloudy area are therefore estimated by observing the spectral evolution in time of the non-corrupted pixels around it. The proposed restoration algorithm is fast and efficient, requires minimal supervision and yield results with low overall radiometric and spectral distortions.
A UNIFIED BLENDING FRAMEWORK FOR PANORAMA COMPLETION VIA GRAPH CUTS
Authors: Chen Kai , Yao Jian , Xia Menghan , Gui Xinyuan , Lu Xiaohu , Li Li
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this paper, we propose a unified framework for efficiently completing streetview and indoor 360° panoramas due to the lack of bottom areas caused by the occlusion of the acquisition platform. To greatly reduce the severe distortion at the bottom of the panorama, we first reproject it onto the ground perspective plane containing the whole occluded region to be completed. Then, we formulate the image completion problem in an improved graph cuts optimization framework based on the statistics of similar patches by strengthening the boundary constraints. To further eliminate image luminance differences and color deviations and conceal geometrical parallax among the optimally selected patches for completion, we creatively apply a multi-bland image blending algorithm for perfect image mosaicking from the completed patches and the originally reprojected image. Finally, we back-project the completed and blended ground perspective image into the cylindrical-projection panorama followed by a simple feathering to further reduce artifacts in the panorama. Experimental results on some representative non-panoramic images and streetview and indoor panoramas demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed method even in some challenging cases.
HYBRID-BASED DENSE STEREO MATCHING
Authors: Chuang T. Y. , Ting H. W. , Jaw J. J.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Stereo matching generating accurate and dense disparity maps is an indispensable technique for 3D exploitation of imagery in the fields of Computer vision and Photogrammetry. Although numerous solutions and advances have been proposed in the literature, occlusions, disparity discontinuities, sparse texture, image distortion, and illumination changes still lead to problematic issues and await better treatment. In this paper, a hybrid-based method based on semi-global matching is presented to tackle the challenges on dense stereo matching. To ease the sensitiveness of SGM cost aggregation towards penalty parameters, a formal way to provide proper penalty estimates is proposed. To this end, the study manipulates a shape-adaptive cross-based matching with an edge constraint to generate an initial disparity map for penalty estimation. Image edges, indicating the potential locations of occlusions as well as disparity discontinuities, are approved by the edge drawing algorithm to ensure the local support regions not to cover significant disparity changes. Besides, an additional penalty parameter 𝑃𝑒 is imposed onto the energy function of SGM cost aggregation to specifically handle edge pixels. Furthermore, the final disparities of edge pixels are found by weighting both values derived from the SGM cost aggregation and the U-SURF matching, providing more reliable estimates at disparity discontinuity areas. Evaluations on Middlebury stereo benchmarks demonstrate satisfactory performance and reveal the potency of the hybrid-based dense stereo matching method.
DEM RECONSTRUCTION USING LIGHT FIELD AND BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE FUNCTION FROM MULTI-VIEW HIGH RESOLUTION SPATIAL IMAGES
Authors: de Vieilleville F. , Ristorcelli T. , Delvit J.-M.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. This paper presents a method for dense DSM reconstruction from high resolution, mono sensor, passive imagery, spatial panchromatic image sequence. The interest of our approach is four-fold. Firstly, we extend the core of light field approaches using an explicit BRDF model from the Image Synthesis community which is more realistic than the Lambertian model. The chosen model is the Cook-Torrance BRDF which enables us to model rough surfaces with specular effects using specific material parameters. Secondly, we extend light field approaches for non-pinhole sensors and non-rectilinear motion by using a proper geometric transformation on the image sequence. Thirdly, we produce a 3D volume cost embodying all the tested possible heights and filter it using simple methods such as Volume Cost Filtering or variational optimal methods. We have tested our method on a Pleiades image sequence on various locations with dense urban buildings and report encouraging results with respect to classic multi-label methods such as MIC-MAC, or more recent pipelines such as S2P. Last but not least, our method also produces maps of material parameters on the estimated points, allowing us to simplify building classification or road extraction.
OPTIMAL IMAGE STITCHING FOR CONCRETE BRIDGE BOTTOM SURFACES AIDED BY 3D STRUCTURE LINES
Authors: Liu Yahui , Yao Jian , Liu Kang , Lu Xiaohu , Xia Menghan
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Crack detection for bridge bottom surfaces via remote sensing techniques is undergoing a revolution in the last few years. For such applications, a large amount of images, acquired with high-resolution industrial cameras close to the bottom surfaces with some mobile platform, are required to be stitched into a wide-view single composite image. The conventional idea of stitching a panorama with the affine model or the homographic model always suffers a series of serious problems due to poor texture and out-of-focus blurring introduced by depth of field. In this paper, we present a novel method to seamlessly stitch these images aided by 3D structure lines of bridge bottom surfaces, which are extracted from 3D camera data. First, we propose to initially align each image in geometry based on its rough position and orientation acquired with both a laser range finder (LRF) and a high-precision incremental encoder, and these images are divided into several groups with the rough position and orientation data. Secondly, the 3D structure lines of bridge bottom surfaces are extracted from the 3D cloud points acquired with 3D cameras, which impose additional strong constraints on geometrical alignment of structure lines in adjacent images to perform a position and orientation optimization in each group to increase the local consistency. Thirdly, a homographic refinement between groups is applied to increase the global consistency. Finally, we apply a multi-band blending algorithm to generate a large-view single composite image as seamlessly as possible, which greatly eliminates both the luminance differences and the color deviations between images and further conceals image parallax. Experimental results on a set of representative images acquired from real bridge bottom surfaces illustrate the superiority of our proposed approaches.
AN AERIAL-IMAGE DENSE MATCHING APPROACH BASED ON OPTICAL FLOW FIELD
Authors: Yuan Wei , Chen Shiyu , Zhang Yong , Gong Jianya , Shibasaki Ryosuke
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Dense matching plays an important role in many fields, such as DEM (digital evaluation model) producing, robot navigation and 3D environment reconstruction. Traditional approaches may meet the demand of accuracy. But the calculation time and out puts density is hardly be accepted. Focus on the matching efficiency and complex terrain surface matching feasibility an aerial image dense matching method based on optical flow field is proposed in this paper. First, some high accurate and uniformed control points are extracted by using the feature based matching method. Then the optical flow is calculated by using these control points, so as to determine the similar region between two images. Second, the optical flow field is interpolated by using the multi-level B-spline interpolation in the similar region and accomplished the pixel by pixel coarse matching. Final, the results related to the coarse matching refinement based on the combined constraint, which recognizes the same points between images. The experimental results have shown that our method can achieve per-pixel dense matching points, the matching accuracy achieves sub-pixel level, and fully meet the three-dimensional reconstruction and automatic generation of DSM-intensive matching’s requirements. The comparison experiments demonstrated that our approach’s matching efficiency is higher than semi-global matching (SGM) and Patch-based multi-view stereo matching (PMVS) which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the algorithm.
ESTIMATING RELIABILITY OF DISTURBANCES IN SATELLITE TIME SERIES DATA BASED ON STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Authors: Zhou Z.-G. , Tang P. , Zhou M.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Normally, the status of land cover is inherently dynamic and changing continuously on temporal scale. However, disturbances or abnormal changes of land cover — caused by such as forest fire, flood, deforestation, and plant diseases — occur worldwide at unknown times and locations. Timely detection and characterization of these disturbances is of importance for land cover monitoring. Recently, many time-series-analysis methods have been developed for near real-time or online disturbance detection, using satellite image time series. However, the detection results were only labelled with “Change/ No change” by most of the present methods, while few methods focus on estimating reliability (or confidence level) of the detected disturbances in image time series. To this end, this paper propose a statistical analysis method for estimating reliability of disturbances in new available remote sensing image time series, through analysis of full temporal information laid in time series data. The method consists of three main steps. (1) Segmenting and modelling of historical time series data based on Breaks for Additive Seasonal and Trend (BFAST). (2) Forecasting and detecting disturbances in new time series data. (3) Estimating reliability of each detected disturbance using statistical analysis based on Confidence Interval (CI) and Confidence Levels (CL). The method was validated by estimating reliability of disturbance regions caused by a recent severe flooding occurred around the border of Russia and China. Results demonstrated that the method can estimate reliability of disturbances detected in satellite image with estimation error less than 5% and overall accuracy up to 90%.
COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO GENERIC 3D BUILDING RECONSTRUCTION APPROACHES – POINT CLOUD BASED VS. IMAGE PROCESSING BASED
Authors: Dahlke D. , Linkiewicz M.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. This paper compares two generic approaches for the reconstruction of buildings. Synthesized and real oblique and vertical aerial imagery is transformed on the one hand into a dense photogrammetric 3D point cloud and on the other hand into photogrammetric 2.5D surface models depicting a scene from different cardinal directions. One approach evaluates the 3D point cloud statistically in order to extract the hull of structures, while the other approach makes use of salient line segments in 2.5D surface models, so that the hull of 3D structures can be recovered. With orders of magnitudes more analyzed 3D points, the point cloud based approach is an order of magnitude more accurate for the synthetic dataset compared to the lower dimensioned, but therefor orders of magnitude faster, image processing based approach. For real world data the difference in accuracy between both approaches is not significant anymore. In both cases the reconstructed polyhedra supply information about their inherent semantic and can be used for subsequent and more differentiated semantic annotations through exploitation of texture information.
AUTOMATICALLY DETERMINING SCALE WITHIN UNSTRUCTURED POINT CLOUDS
Authors: Kadamen Jayren , Sithole George
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Three dimensional models obtained from imagery have an arbitrary scale and therefore have to be scaled. Automatically scaling these models requires the detection of objects in these models which can be computationally intensive. Real-time object detection may pose problems for applications such as indoor navigation. This investigation poses the idea that relational cues, specifically height ratios, within indoor environments may offer an easier means to obtain scales for models created using imagery. The investigation aimed to show two things, (a) that the size of objects, especially the height off ground is consistent within an environment, and (b) that based on this consistency, objects can be identified and their general size used to scale a model. To test the idea a hypothesis is first tested on a terrestrial lidar scan of an indoor environment. Later as a proof of concept the same test is applied to a model created using imagery. The most notable finding was that the detection of objects can be more readily done by studying the ratio between the dimensions of objects that have their dimensions defined by human physiology. For example the dimensions of desks and chairs are related to the height of an average person. In the test, the difference between generalised and actual dimensions of objects were assessed. A maximum difference of 3.96% (2.93cm) was observed from automated scaling. By analysing the ratio between the heights (distance from the floor) of the tops of objects in a room, identification was also achieved.
3D Building Reconstruction Using Dense Photogrammetric Point Cloud
Authors: Malihi S. , Valadan Zoej M. J. , Hahn M. , Mokhtarzade M. , Arefi H.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Three dimensional models of urban areas play an important role in city planning, disaster management, city navigation and other applications. Reconstruction of 3D building models is still a challenging issue in 3D city modelling. Point clouds generated from multi view images of UAV is a novel source of spatial data, which is used in this research for building reconstruction. The process starts with the segmentation of point clouds of roofs and walls into planar groups. By generating related surfaces and using geometrical constraints plus considering symmetry, a 3d model of building is reconstructed. In a refinement step, dormers are extracted, and their models are reconstructed. The details of the 3d reconstructed model are in LoD3 level, with respect to modelling eaves, fractions of roof and dormers.
VOLUME BASED DTM GENERATION FROM VERY HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAMMETRIC DSMS
Authors: Piltz B. , Bayer S. , Poznanska A. M.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this paper we propose a new algorithm for digital terrain (DTM) model reconstruction from very high spatial resolution digital surface models (DSMs). It represents a combination of multi-directional filtering with a new metric which we call normalized volume above ground to create an above-ground mask containing buildings and elevated vegetation. This mask can be used to interpolate a ground-only DTM. The presented algorithm works fully automatically, requiring only the processing parameters minimum height and maximum width in metric units. Since slope and breaklines are not decisive criteria, low and smooth and even very extensive flat objects are recognized and masked. The algorithm was developed with the goal to generate the normalized DSM for automatic 3D building reconstruction and works reliably also in environments with distinct hillsides or terrace-shaped terrain where conventional methods would fail. A quantitative comparison with the ISPRS data sets Potsdam and Vaihingen show that 98-99% of all building data points are identified and can be removed, while enough ground data points (~66%) are kept to be able to reconstruct the ground surface. Additionally, we discuss the concept of size dependent height thresholds and present an efficient scheme for pyramidal processing of data sets reducing time complexity to linear to the number of pixels, O(WH).
FAST RADIOMETRY GUIDED FUSION OF DISPARITY IMAGES
Authors: Schmid Stephan , Fritsch Dieter
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Previous work on disparity map fusion has mostly focused on geometric or statistical properties of disparity maps. Since failure of stereo algorithms is often consistent in many frames of a scene, it cannot be detected by such methods. Instead, we propose to use radiometric information from the original camera images together with externally supplied camera pose information to detect mismatches. As radiometric information is local information, the computations in the proposed algorithm for disparity fusion can be decoupled and parallelized to a very large degree, which allows us to easily achieve real-time performance.
X-ray CT analysis of pore structure in sand
Authors: Mukunoki Toshifumi , Miyata Yoshihisa , Mikami Kazuaki , Shiota Erika
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The development of microfocused X-ray computed tomography (CT) devices enables digital imaging analysis at the pore scale. The applications of these devices are diverse in soil mechanics, geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, petroleum engineering, and agricultural engineering. In particular, the imaging of the pore space in porous media has contributed to numerical simulations for single-phase and multiphase flows or contaminant transport through the pore structure as three-dimensional image data. These obtained results are affected by the pore diameter; therefore, it is necessary to verify the image preprocessing for the image analysis and to validate the pore diameters obtained from the CT image data. Moreover, it is meaningful to produce the physical parameters in a representative element volume (REV) and significant to define the dimension of the REV. This paper describes the underlying method of image processing and analysis and discusses the physical properties of Toyoura sand for the verification of the image analysis based on the definition of the REV. On the basis of the obtained verification results, a pore-diameter analysis can be conducted and validated by a comparison with the experimental work and image analysis. The pore diameter is deduced from Young–Laplace's law and a water retention test for the drainage process. The results from previous study and perforated-pore diameter originally proposed in this study, called the voxel-percolation method (VPM), are compared in this paper. In addition, the limitations of the REV, the definition of the pore diameter, and the effectiveness of the VPM for an assessment of the pore diameter are discussed.
Glacier surface mass balance modeling in the inner tropics using a positive degree-day approach
Authors: Maisincho L. , Favier V. , Wagnon P. , Jomelli V. , Basantes Serrano R. , Francou B. , Villacis M. , Rabatel A. , Ménégoz M. , Mourre L. , Cáceres B.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. We present a basic ablation model combining a positive degree-day approach to calculate melting and a simple equation based on wind speed to compute sublimation. The model was calibrated at point scale (4900 m a.s.l.) on Antizana Glacier 15 (0.28 km2; 0°28' S, 78°09' W) with data from March 2002 to August 2003 and validated with data from January to November 2005. Cross validation was performed by interchanging the calibration and validation periods. Optimization of the model based on the calculated surface energy balance allowed degree-day factors to be retrieved for snow and ice, and suggests that melting started when daily air temperature was still below 0 °C, because incoming shortwave radiation was intense around noon and resulted in positive temperatures for a few hours a day. The model was then distributed over the glacier and applied to the 2000–2008 period using meteorological inputs measured on the glacier foreland to assess to what extent this approach is suitable for quantifying glacier surface mass balance in Ecuador. Results showed that a model based on temperature, wind speed, and precipitation is able to reproduce a large part of surface mass-balance variability of Antizana Glacier 15 even though the melting factors for snow and ice may vary with time. The model performed well because temperatures were significantly correlated with albedo and net shortwave radiation. Because this relationship disappeared when strong winds result in mixed air in the surface boundary layer, this model should not be extrapolated to other tropical regions where sublimation increases during a pronounced dry season or where glaciers are located above the mean freezing level.
A Call for Conducting Multivariate Mixed Analyses
Authors: Onwuegbuzie Anthony J.
Published: June 2016

Several authors have written methodological works that provide an introductory- and/or intermediate-level guide to conducting mixed analyses. Although these works have been useful for beginning and emergent mixed researchers, with very few exceptions, works are lacking that describe and illustrate advanced-level mixed analysis approaches. Thus, the purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of multivariate mixed analyses, which represents a complex form of advanced mixed analyses. These analyses characterize a class of mixed analyses wherein at least one of the quantitative analyses and at least one of the qualitative analyses both involve the simultaneous analysis of multiple variables. The notion of multivariate mixed analyses previously has not been discussed in the literature, illustrating the significance and innovation of the article.
Etoricoxib selective sensor based on uracil-5,6-diamino-2-thio hydrochloride as neutral carrier for potentiometric analysis in pharmaceutical preparations
Authors: Rassi Salwa Fares
Published: June 2016

A construction and electrochemical behavior of novel potentiometric membrane sensor responsive to the etoricoxib was described. The sensor was based on the ion-pair complex of etoricoxib (ET) with Uracil-5,6-diamino-2-thio hydrochloride UDTH (ET-UDTH) as exchange sites in a PVC matrix with different plasticizers dibutylphthalate (DBP) (electrode B) tri-n-butylphosphate (TBP) (electrode C), and dioctylphthalate (DOP) (electrode A). The electrodes exhibited near-Nernstian response for ET-UDTH over the concentration range 0.051-40.042 mM. The electrode offered significant advantages including long lifetime (about 2 months), excellent stability and reproducibility, good response time (10-25 s), and wide pH working range (pH 5-12). Selectivity coefficients of ET related to a number of interfering cation and some organic compounds were investigated, and there were negligible interference caused by most of the investigated species. The direct determination of 0.5-10 mM of ET showed an average recovery of 99.03-101.75% and a mean relative standard deviation 0.40-1.88. The results were obtained by determination of ET in tablets using the proposed electrodes which were comparable favorably with those obtained by spectrophotometric method
Comprendre la prolifération de la renouée du Japon sur les rives du Saint-Laurent
Authors: Aubin Valérie , Bibeau Sylvie
Published: June 2016

Les rives et le fleuve Saint-Laurent sont de plus en plus colonisés par des espèces exotiques envahissantes, dont la renouée du Japon (Fallopia japonica) qui bloque peu à peu les accès à l’eau et bouleverse l’équilibre naturel. Afin de prévenir sa prolifération, le Comité ZIP (Zone d’intervention prioritaire) Jacques-Cartier a étudié sa stratégie de croissance sur le territoire de la Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal. La superficie et la densité des massifs de renouée du Japon ont eu tendance à prendre de l’ampleur entre 2012 et 2013. La croissance de la plante fut plus hâtive sur les rives du fleuve que dans les friches et les boisés voisins. La richesse spécifique d’herbacées a diminué dans les massifs de renouée pendant la saison estivale jusqu’à devenir monospécifique. Une diminution de la richesse d’arthropodes récoltés dans les massifs illustre la modification du réseau trophique que cause cette plante envahissante. Ces impacts menacent l’intégrité écologique des milieux humides des rives du Saint-Laurent.
Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment of a 27-Year-Old Man After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Gugel Mark R. , Johnston William L.
Published: June 2016

Increasing instability of the knee developed in a 27-year-old man who had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) approximately 10 years prior to surgical intervention. After initial conservative treatment, including use of a functional brace for activity, the patient opted for surgical reconstruction with a patellar tendon graft. One of the authors conducted three preoperative examinations to assess the condition of the patient's musculoskeletal system. These manual examinations included findings of somatic dysfunction in the lumbo-pelvic region. In addition, there was extension of muscular tension from the injured left knee and ankle into the lower thorax and ribs 6 through 9. During the postoperative rehabilitation process, examination at regular intervals included documentation of somatic dysfunction and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). Following ACL reconstruction and OMT, the patient showed increasingly stable mobility in the lumbopelvic region. Furthermore, episodic new dysfunctions readily resolved with OMT. The patient returned to his regular sports activities 6 months after surgery.
Strain effect of cellulose-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes measured by photoluminescence and Raman scattering spectroscopy
Authors: Ito Masahiro , Yajima Hirofumi , Homma Yoshikazu
Published: June 2016

The photoluminescence (PL) of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be obtained even under the dry condition when SWNTs are dispersed in biochemical polymers. We fabricated transparent films composed of SWNTs and a large amount of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and evaluated the effects of CMC wrapping on PL properties. The PL peaks from the transparent CMC–SWNT film showed SWNT-type-dependent peak shifts, indicating that SWNTs were under uniaxial compression strain in the CMC film. Raman scattering spectra also suggested uniaxial compression strain. The rate of strain was estimated to be 0.3–0.4% by PL and Raman scattering spectroscopies. Furthermore, the release of strain was demonstrated by stretching the CMC film.
Thin films for material engineering
Authors: Wasa Kiyotaka
Published: June 2016

Thin films are defined as two-dimensional materials formed by condensing one by one atomic/molecular/ionic species of matter in contrast to bulk three-dimensional sintered ceramics. They are grown through atomic collisional chemical reaction on a substrate surface. Thin film growth processes are fascinating for developing innovative exotic materials. On the basis of my long research on sputtering deposition, this paper firstly describes the kinetic energy effect of sputtered adatoms on thin film growth and discusses on a possibility of room-temperature growth of cubic diamond crystallites and the perovskite thin films of binary compound PbTiO3. Secondly, high-performance sputtered ferroelectric thin films with extraordinary excellent crystallinity compatible with MBE deposited thin films are described in relation to a possible application for thin-film MEMS. Finally, the present thin-film technologies are discussed in terms of a future material science and engineering.
Measurement of cantilever vibration using impedance-loaded surface acoustic wave sensor
Authors: Oishi Masaki , Hamashima Hiromitsu , Kondoh Jun
Published: June 2016

In this study, an impedance-loaded surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor was demonstrated to monitor the vibration frequency. Commercialized pressure sensors and a variable capacitor were chosen as external sensors, which were connected to a reflector on a SAW device. As the reflection coefficient of the reflector depended on the impedance, the echo amplitude was influenced by changes in the impedance of the external sensor. The vibration frequency of the cantilever was determined by monitoring the echo amplitude of the SAW device. Moreover, the attenuation constant of an envelope was estimated. The results of our feasibility study indicate that the impedance-loaded SAW sensor can be applied as a detector for structural health monitoring.
Enhancement of effective electromechanical coupling factor by mass loading in layered surface acoustic wave device structures
Authors: Tang Gongbin , Han Tao , Teshigahara Akihiko , Iwaki Takao , Hashimoto Ken-ya
Published: June 2016

This paper describes a drastic enhancement of the effective coupling factor

by mass loading in layered surface acoustic wave (SAW) device structures such as the ScAlN film/Si substrate structure. This phenomenon occurs when the piezoelectric layer exhibits a high acoustic wave velocity. The mass loading decreases the SAW velocity and causes SAW energy confinement close to the top surface where an interdigital transducer is placed. It is shown that this phenomenon is obvious even when an amorphous SiO2 film is deposited on the top surface for temperature compensation. This

enhancement was also found in various combinations of electrode, piezoelectric layer, and/or substrate materials. The existence of this phenomenon was verified experimentally using the ScAlN film/Si substrate structure.
Effect of sonotrode material on grain refining of Mg–3Al and Mg–9Al alloys by ultrasonic melt treatment
Authors: Youn Jeong IL , Lee Young Ki , Kim Young Jig , Park Jeong Wook
Published: June 2016

The new process, nucleation enhanced ultrasonic melt treatment (NEUMT), was proposed to increase the refining efficiency through heterogeneous nucleation by using the sonotrode which has been only concerned with the medium to transfer the ultrasonic energy. In the processing, the metal atoms and/or clusters eroded from the sonotrode were supplied and were simultaneously mixed uniformly into the melt by the ultrasound. These particles act as potential nuclei and refine the structure. The process was applied to assess grain refinement of Mg alloys, especially Mg–3Al and Mg–9Al. The refining efficiency was affected by the sonotrode material, and Ti was very effective in this process by the formation of proper intermetallic compound in the Mg alloy melt. The intermetallic compound was searched by the calculation of plane disregistry of the crystallographic orientation, and Al3Ti was suggested to be the heterogeneous nuclei.
The oral microbiome of patients with axial spondyloarthritis compared to healthy individuals
Authors: Bisanz Jordan E. , Suppiah Praema , Thomson W. Murray , Milne Trudy , Yeoh Nigel , Nolan Anita , Ettinger Grace , Reid Gregor , Gloor Gregory B. , Burton Jeremy P. , Cullinan Mary P. , Stebbings Simon M.
Published: June 2016

Background.A loss of mucosal tolerance to the resident microbiome has been postulated in the aetiopathogenesis of spondyloarthritis, thus the purpose of these studies was to investigate microbial communities that colonise the oral cavity of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) and to compare these with microbial profiles of a matched healthy population.

Methods.Thirty-nine participants, 17 patients with AxSpA and 22 age and gender-matched disease-free controls were recruited to the study. For patients with AxSpA, disease activity was assessed using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI). All participants underwent a detailed dental examination to assess oral health, including the presence of periodontal disease assessed using probing pocket depth (PPD). Plaque samples were obtained and their bacterial populations were profiled using Ion Torrent sequencing of the V6 region of the 16S rRNA gene.

Results.Patients with AxSpA had active disease (BASDAI 4.1 ± 2.1 [mean ± SD]), and a significantly greater prevalence of periodontitis (PPD ≥ 4 mm at ≥4 sites) than controls. Bacterial communities did not differ between the two groups with multiple metrics ofαandβdiversity considered. Analysis of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and higher levels of taxonomic assignment did not provide strong evidence of any single taxa associated with AxSpA in the subgingival plaque.

Discussion.Although 16S rRNA gene sequencing did not identify specific bacterial profiles associated with AxSpA, there remains the potential for the microbiota to exert functional and metabolic influences in the oral cavity which could be involved in the pathogenesis of AxSpA.
Symptoms of depression, sadness and sense of coherence (coping) among cognitively intact older people with cancer living in nursing homes—a mixed-methods study
Authors: Drageset Jorunn , Eide Geir Egil , Hauge Solveig
Published: June 2016

Background:Symptoms of depression are often reported among patients with a cancer diagnosis. Strong sense of coherence (SOC) is shown to be associated with less depression in the general older population and among nursing homes (NH) residents in particular. Knowledge about mixed-methods perspectives that examine symptoms of depression and SOC among cognitively intact NH residents with cancer is scarce.

Aim:To investigate symptoms of depression and SOC among NH residents who are cognitively intact and have cancer.

Methods:We used a quantitatively driven mixed-methods design with sequential supplementary qualitative components. We facilitated the collection of quantitative survey data of 60 NH residents (≥ 65 years) with cancer using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and SOC scale. The supplementary psychosocial component comprised qualitative research interviews about experiences related to depression with nine respondents from the same cohort.

Results:In fully adjusted multiple regression analysis of the sociodemographic variables, the GDS was significantly correlated with SOC (P< 0.001). The experience of sadness was identified by the following theme: sadness. Coping with the experience of symptoms of depression was dominated by coping with sadness.

Conclusion:More than half the NH residents reported symptoms of depression, and the SOC was associated with reduced symptoms. A mixed-methods design contributed to nuanced and detailed information about the meaning of depression, and the supplementary component informs and supports the core component. To improve the situation of NH residents with cancer, more attention should be paid to the residents’ experience of symptoms of depression and their SOC.
Does ecophysiology mediate reptile responses to fire regimes? Evidence from Iberian lizards
Authors: Ferreira Catarina C. , Santos Xavier , Carretero Miguel A.
Published: June 2016

Background.Reptiles are sensitive to habitat disturbance induced by wildfires, but some species frequently show opposing responses. The functional causes of such variability have been scarcely explored. In the northernmost limit of the Mediterranean bioregion, a lizard species of Mediterranean affinity (Psammodromus algirusandPodarcis guadarramae) increase in abundance in burnt areas whereas Atlantic species (Lacerta schreiberiandPodarcis bocagei) decrease.Timon lepidus, the largest Mediterranean lizard in the region, shows mixed responses depending on the locality and fire history. We tested whether such interspecific differences are of a functional nature; namely, if ecophysiological traits may determine lizard response to fire. Based on the variation in habitat structure between burnt and unburnt sites, we hypothesise that the Mediterranean species, which increase density in open habitats promoted by frequent fire regimes, should be more thermophile and suffer lower water losses than Atlantic species.

Methods.We submitted 6–10 adult males of the five species to standard experiments for assessing preferred body temperatures (Tp) and evaporativewater loss rates (EWL), and examined the variation among species and along time by means of repeated-measures AN(C)OVAs.

Results.Results only partially supported our initial expectations, since the medium-sizedP. algirusclearly attained higherTpand lower EWL. The two small wall lizards (P. bocageiandP. guadarramae) displayed lowTpand high EWL while the two large green lizards (T. lepidusandL. schreiberi) displayed intermediate values for both parameters.

Discussion.The predicted differences according to the biogeographic affinities within each pair were not fully confirmed. We conclude that ecophysiology may help to understand functional reptile responses to fire but other biological traits are also to be considered.
Genetic, morphological and growth characterisation of a newRoseofilumstrain (Oscillatoriales, Cyanobacteria) associated with coral black band disease
Authors: Buerger Patrick , Alvarez-Roa Carlos , Weynberg Karen D. , Baekelandt Sebastien , Oppen Madeleine J.H. van
Published: June 2016

Black band disease (BBD) is a common disease of reef-building corals with a worldwide distribution that causes tissue loss at a rate of up to 3 cm/day. Critical for a mechanistic understanding of the disease’s aetiology is the cultivation of its proposed pathogen, filamentous cyanobacteria (genusRoseofilum). Here, we optimise existing protocols for the isolation and cultivation ofRoseofilumcyanobacteria using a new strain from the central Great Barrier Reef. We demonstrate that the isolation of this bacteriumviainoculation onto agar plates was highly effective with a low percentage agar of 0.6% and that growth monitoring was most sensitive with fluorescence measurements of chlorophyll-a (440/685 nm). Cell growth curves in liquid and solid media were generated for the first time for this cyanobacterium and showed best growth rates for the previously untested L1-medium (growth ratek= 0.214 biomass/day; doubling timetgen= 4.67 days). Our results suggest that the trace metals contained in L1-medium maximise biomass increase over time for this cyanobacterium. Since the newly isolatedRoseofilumstrain is genetically closest toPseudoscillatoria coralii, but in terms of pigmentation and cell size closer toRoseofilumreptotaenium, we formally merge the two species into a single taxon by providing an emended species description,Roseofilum reptotaenium(Rasoulouniriana) Casamatta emend. Following this optimized protocol is recommended for fast isolation and cultivation ofRoseofilumcyanobacteria, for growth curve generation in strain comparisons and for maximisation of biomass in genetic studies.