Search Results (32)

The advancement of computational tools for cartometric analysis has opened new avenues for the identification and understanding of stemmatic relationships between historical maps through the analysis of their planimetric distortions. The 19th-century Western cartographic depiction of Jerusalem serves as an ideal case study in this context. The challenges of conducting comprehensive onsite surveys—due to limited time and local knowledge—combined with the fascination surrounding the area’s representation, resulted in a proliferation of maps marked by frequent errors, distortions, and extensive copying. How can planimetric similarities and differences between maps be measured, and what insights can be derived from these comparisons? This paper introduces a methodology aimed at detecting and segmenting regions of local planimetric similarity across maps, corresponding to the portions that were either copied between them or derived from a common source. To detect these areas, the ground control points from the georeferencing process are employed to deform a common lattice grid for each map. These grids, triangulated to maintain shape rigidity, can be partitioned under conditions of geometric similarity, allowing for the segmentation and clustering of locally similar regions that represent shared areas between the maps. By integrating this segmentation with a filter on the intensity of distortion, the areas of the grid that are almost non-deformed, and thus not relevant for the study, can be excluded. To showcase the support this methodology offers for close reading, it is applied to the maps in the dataset depicting the Russian Compound. The methodology serves as a tool to assist in constructing the genealogy of the area’s representation and uncovering new historical insights. A larger dataset of 50 maps from the 19th century is then used to identify all the local predecessors of a given map, showcasing another application of the methodology, particularly when working with extensive collections of maps. These findings highlight the potential of computational cartometry to uncover hidden layers of cartographic knowledge and to advance the digital genealogy of map collections. Full article

Coastal defense has traditionally relied on hard infrastructures like breakwaters, dykes, and groins to protect harbors, settlements, and beaches from the impacts of longshore drift and storm waves. The prolonged exposure to wave erosion and dynamic loads of different nature can result in damage, deformation, and eventual failure of these infrastructures, entailing severe economic and environmental losses. Periodic post-construction monitoring is crucial to identify shape changes, ensure the structure’s stability, and implement maintenance works as required. This paper evaluates the performance and quality of the restitution products obtained from the application of UAV photogrammetry to the longest breakwater in the province of Cádiz, southern Spain. The photogrammetric outputs, an orthomosaic and a Digital Surface Model (DSM), were validated with in situ RTK-GPS measurements, displaying excellent planimetric accuracy (RMSE 0.043 m and 0.023 m in X and Y, respectively) and adequate altimetric accuracy (0.100 m in Z). In addition, the average enveloping surface inferred from the DSM allowed quantification of the deformation of the breakwater and defining of the deformation mechanisms. UAV photogrammetry has proved to be a suitable and efficient technique to complement traditional monitoring surveys and to provide insights into the deformation mechanisms of coastal structures. Full article

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are a necessity for modelling many large-scale environmental processes. In this study, we investigate the potential of data from two spaceborne lidar altimetry missions, ICESat-2 and GEDI—with respect to their vertical accuracies and planimetric data collection patterns—as sources for rasterisation towards creating global DEMs. We validate the terrain measurements of both missions against airborne lidar datasets over three areas in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and New Zealand and differentiate them using land-cover classes. For our experiments, we use five years of ICESat-2 ATL03 data and four years of GEDI L2A data for a total of 252 million measurements. The datasets are filtered using parameter flags provided by the higher-level products ICESat-2 ATL08 and GEDI L3A. For all areas and land-cover classes combined, ICESat-2 achieves a bias of −0.11 m, an MAE of 0.43 m, and an RMSE of 0.93 m. From our experiments, we find that GEDI is less accurate, with a bias of 0.09 m, an MAE of 0.98 m, and an RMSE of 2.96 m. Measurements in open land-cover classes, such as “Cropland” and “Grassland”, result in the best accuracy for both missions. We also find that the slope of the terrain has a major influence on vertical accuracy, more so for GEDI than ICESat-2 because of its larger horizontal geolocation error. In contrast, we find little effect of either beam power or background solar radiation, nor do we find noticeable seasonal effects on accuracy. Furthermore, we investigate the spatial coverage of ICESat-2 and GEDI by deriving a DEM at different horizontal resolutions and latitudes. GEDI has higher spatial coverage than ICESat-2 at lower latitudes due to its beam pattern and lower inclination angle, and a derived DEM can achieve a resolution of 500 m. ICESat-2 only reaches a DEM resolution of 700 m at the equator, but it increases to almost 200 m at higher latitudes. When combined, a 500 m resolution lidar-based DEM can be achieved globally. Our results indicate that both ICESat-2 and GEDI enable accurate terrain measurements anywhere in the world. Especially in data-poor areas—such as the tropics—this has potential for new applications and insights. Full article

Due to the limitations of measurement equipment and the influence of factors such as the environment and target, measurement errors may occur during the data acquisition process of airborne LiDAR bathymetry (ALB). The refractive index of water is defined as the propagation ratio of the speed of light waves in a vacuum to that in water; this ratio influences not only the propagation speed of the laser pulse in water but also the propagation direction of the laser pulse entering water. Therefore, the influence of refractive index changes in water on the ALB errors needs to be analyzed. To this end, the principle of ALB is first briefly introduced. Then, the calculation method for the refractive index of water is described with Snell’s law and an empirical formula. Finally, the influence of refractive index changes on ALB errors is analyzed using the derived formula at the water–air interface and in the water column. The experimental results showed that in a constant elevation of 50 m for a bathymetric floor, the refractive index changes in water caused by temperature, salinity, and depth are less than 0.001. The maximum bathymetric error and maximum planimetric error caused by the refractive index changes at the water–air interface are 0.036 m and 0.015 m, respectively. The ALB errors caused by refractive index changes in the water column are relatively low, and the water column does not need to be layered to calculate the ALB errors. The influence of refractive index changes in water on the ALB error is minimal, accounting for only a small proportion of all bathymetric errors. Thus, it is necessary to determine whether the effect of the ALB error due to refractive index changes in water needs to be corrected based on the accuracy requirements of the data acquisition. This study and analysis can provide a reference basis for correcting ALB errors. Full article

The aim of the paper is to identify a suitable method for assessing the deformation of structures (buildings, bridges, walls, etc.) by means of topographic measurements of significant targets positioned on the infrastructure under consideration. In particular, the paper describes an approach to testing a bridge in a mixed structure (concrete and steel). The methodological approach developed can be schematised into the following main phases: (i) surveying using total stations (TSs) in order to obtain the spatial coordinates of the targets by means of the three-dimensional intersection technique (planimetric and altimetric measurements); (ii) least-squares compensation for the measurements performed; (iii) displacement analysis; and (iv) statistical evaluation of the reliability of the results. This method was evaluated on a case study of a newly built double-track railway bridge, located near the metropolitan area of the city of Bari, Italy, during various loading and unloading activities. The results obtained, evaluated by means of certain statistical tests, made it possible to verify the structural suitability of the bridge. Full article

The effect of liver cirrhosis on vascular remodeling in vivo remains unknown. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of cholestatic liver cirrhosis on carotid arterial remodeling. A total of 79 male Sprague Dawley rats underwent bile duct ligation (cirrhotic group) or sham surgery (control group) and 28 days later left carotid artery balloon dilatation; 3, 7, 14 and 28 days after balloon dilatation, the rats were euthanized and carotid arteries were harvested. Histological sections were planimetrized, cell counts determined, and systemic inflammatory parameters measured. Up to day 14 after balloon dilatation, both groups showed a comparable increase in neointima area and degree of stenosis. By day 28, however, both values were significantly lower in the cirrhotic group (% stenosis: 20 ± 8 vs. 42 ± 10, p = 0.010; neointimal area [mm²]: 0.064 ± 0.025 vs. 0.138 ± 0.025, p = 0.024). Simultaneously, cell density in the neointima (p = 0.034) and inflammatory parameters were significantly higher in cirrhotic rats. This study demonstrates that cholestatic liver cirrhosis in rats substantially increases neointimal cell consolidation between days 14 and 28. Thereby, consolidation proved important for the degree of stenosis. This may suggest that patients with cholestatic cirrhosis are at lower risk for restenosis after coronary intervention. Full article

Atrial size is a predictor of cardiovascular mortality. Non-ECG-gated computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is a common test for cardiopulmonary evaluation but normative values for biatrial volumes are lacking. We derived normal CT biatrial volumes using manual and semiautomated segmentation with contemporaneous transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) to confirm normal diastology. Thirty-five consecutive cases in sinus rhythm with no history of cardio-vascular, renal, or pulmonary disease and normal diastolic function were selected. Planimetric CTPA measurements were compared to TTE volumes measured using area length method. TTE and CTPA derived normal LAVi and RAVi were 27 + 5 and 20 + 6 mL/m², and 30 + 8 and 29 + 9 mL/m², respectively. Bland–Altman analysis revealed an underestimation of biatrial volumes by TTE. TTE-CT mean biases for LAV and RAV were −5.7 + 12.0 mL and −16.2 + 14.8 mL, respectively. The CT intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 95% CI) for LA and RA volumes were 0.99 (0.96–1.00) and 0.96 (0.76–0.99), respectively. There was excellent correlation (p < 0.001) between the semiautomated and manual measurements for LA (r 0.99, 95% CI 0.98–0.99) and RA (r 0.99, 95% CI 0.99–1.00). Atrial volumetric assessment on CTPA is easy and reproducible and can provide additional metric in cardiopulmonary assessment. Full article

From a series of biodegradable natural polymers of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)—poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P(3HB) and copolymers containing, in addition to 3HB monomers, monomers of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV), 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HHx), and 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB), with different ratios of monomers poured—solvent casting films and nanomembranes with oriented and non-oriented ultrathin fibers were obtained by electrostatic molding. With the use of SEM, AFM, and measurement of contact angles and energy characteristics, the surface properties and mechanical and biological properties of the polymer products were studied depending on the method of production and the composition of PHAs. It has been shown in cultures of mouse fibroblasts of the NIH 3T3 line and diploid human embryonic cells of the M22 line that elastic films and nanomembranes composed of P(3HB-co-4HB) copolymers have high biocompatibility and provide adhesion, proliferation and preservation of the high physiological activity of cells for up to 7 days. Polymer films, namely oriented and non-oriented nanomembranes coated with type 1 collagen, are positively evaluated as experimental wound dressings in experiments on laboratory animals with model and surgical skin lesions. The results of planimetric measurements of the dynamics of wound healing and analysis of histological sections showed the regeneration of model skin defects in groups of animals using experimental wound dressings from P(3HB-co-4HB) of all types, but most actively when using non-oriented nanomembranes obtained by electrospinning. The study highlights the importance of nonwoven nanomembranes obtained by electrospinning from degradable low-crystalline copolymers P(3HB-co-4HB) in the effectiveness of the skin wound healing process. Full article

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide valuable spatial information products for many projects across a wide range of applications. One of the major challenges in this discipline is the quality of positioning accuracy of the resulting mapping products in professional photogrammetric projects. This is especially true when using low-cost UAV systems equipped with GNSS receivers for navigation. In this study, the influence of UAV flight direction and camera orientation on positioning accuracy in an urban area on the west bank of the Euphrates river in Iraq was investigated. Positioning accuracy was tested in this study with different flight directions and camera orientation settings using a UAV autopilot app (Pix4Dcapture software (Ver. 4.11.0)). The different combinations of these two main parameters (camera orientation and flight direction) resulted in 11 different flight cases for which individual planimetric and vertical accuracies were evaluated. Eleven flight sets of dense point clouds, DEMs, and ortho-imagery were created in this way to compare the achieved positional accuracies. One set was created using the direct georeferencing method (without using GCPs), while the other ten sets were created using the indirect georeferencing approach based on ground truth measurements of five artificially created GCPs. Positional accuracy was found to vary depending on the user-defined flight plan settings, despite an approximately constant flight altitude. However, it was found that the horizontal accuracy achieved was better than the vertical accuracy for all flight sets. This study revealed that combining multiple sets of images with different flight directions and camera orientations can significantly improve the overall positional accuracy to reach several centimeters. Full article

Background: Muscle injuries are common in humans and are often associated with irrecoverable damage and disability. Upon muscle injury, TNF-α signaling pathways modulate the healing process and are predominantly associated with tissue degradation. In this study we assumed that TNF-α inhibition could reduce the TNF-α-associated tissue degradation after muscle injury. Materials and methods: Therefore, the left soleus muscle of 42 male Wistar rats was injured using a standardized open muscle injury model. All rats were treated immediately after injury either with infliximab (single i.p. injection; 10 mg/kg b.w.) or saline solution i.p. Final measurements were conducted at day one, four, and 14 post injury. The muscle force, the muscle cell proliferation, the muscle cell coverage as well as the myofiber diameter served as read out parameters of our experiment. Results: Systemic application of infliximab could significantly reduce the TNF-α levels in the injured muscle at day four upon trauma compared to saline treated animals. The ratio of muscle weight to body weight was increased and the twitch muscle force showed a significant rise 14 days after trauma and TNF-α inhibition. Quantification of myofiber diameter in the penumbra zone showed a significant difference between both groups at day one and four after injury, indicated by muscle hypertrophy in the infliximab group. Planimetric analysis of the injured muscle at day 14 revealed increased muscle tissue fraction in the infliximab group compared to the control animals. Muscle cell proliferation did not differ between both groups. Conclusions: These data provide evidence that the TNF-α blockade positively regulates the restauration of skeletal muscles upon injury. Full article

Traditional grain size determination in materials characterization involves microscopy images and a laborious process requiring significant manual input and human expertise. In recent years, the development of computer vision (CV) has provided an alternative approach to microstructural characterization with preliminary implementations greatly simplifying the grain size determination process. Here, an end-to-end workflow to measure grain size in microscopy images without any manual input is presented. Following the ASTM standards for grain size determination, results from the line intercept (Heyn’s method) and planimetric (Saltykov’s method) approaches are used as the baseline. A pre-trained holistically nested edge detection (HED) model is used for CV-based edge detection, and the results are further compared to the classic Canny edge detection method. Post-processing was performed using open-source image processing packages to extract the grain size. In optical microscope images, the pre-trained HED model achieves much higher accuracy than the Canny edge detection method while reducing the image processing time by one to two orders of magnitude compared to traditional methods. The effects of morphological operations on the predicted grain size accuracy are also explored. Overall, the proposed end-to-end convolutional neural network (CNN)-based workflow can significantly reduce the processing time while maintaining the same accuracy as the traditional manual method. Full article

The clinical differential diagnosis between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is often challenging. The description of milder PSP phenotypes strongly resembling PD, such as PSP-Parkinsonism, further increased the diagnostic challenge and the need for reliable neuroimaging biomarkers to enhance the diagnostic certainty. This review aims to summarize the contribution of a relatively simple and widely available imaging technique such as MR planimetry in the differential diagnosis between PD and PSP, focusing on the recent advancements in this field. The development of accurate MR planimetric biomarkers, together with the implementation of automated algorithms, led to robust and objective measures for the differential diagnosis of PSP and PD at the individual level. Evidence from longitudinal studies also suggests a role of MR planimetry in predicting the development of the PSP clinical signs, allowing to identify PSP patients before they meet diagnostic criteria when their clinical phenotype can be indistinguishable from PD. Finally, promising evidence exists on the possible association between MR planimetric measures and the underlying pathology, with important implications for trials with new disease-modifying target therapies. Full article

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the differences in the morphological characteristics and situational precision among younger and older groups of handball players. The sample of participants consisted of 30 handball players, members of the younger category of the Al-Ahli handball club (Bahrein), divided into two groups: older (U16, n = 18) and younger (U15, n = 12). To evaluate their morphological characteristics, eight variables were measured, while two standardized tests were used to evaluate their situational precision. The results indicate that a statistically significant difference between the groups was noticeable for nine variables in total, seven in morphology (body height, p = 0.010; body mass index, p = 0.049; arm length, p = 0.009; upper arm length, p = 0.016; lower arm length, p = 0.040; the planimetric parameter of the hand, p = 0.005; hand length p = 0.004) and two in situational precision (the standing shot, p = 0.003; the jump shot, p = 0.17), and that the achieved difference ranges from a medium to a large effect. For only one variable (body mass, p = 0.734), significant difference was not determined between the groups. It was also determined (by Cohen’s criterion) that handball players with higher longitudinal dimensionality achieve better results for specific precision. Therefore, when selecting young handball players, the aforementioned dimensions should be taken into consideration as predictors of success. Full article

Underwater photogrammetry provides a means of generating high-resolution products such as dense point clouds, 3D models, and orthomosaics with centimetric scale resolutions. Underwater photogrammetric models can be used to monitor the growth and expansion of benthic communities, including the assessment of the conservation status of seagrass beds and their change over time (time lapse micro-bathymetry) with OBIA classifications (Object-Based Image Analysis). However, one of the most complex aspects of underwater photogrammetry is the accuracy of the 3D models for both the horizontal and vertical components used to estimate the surfaces and volumes of biomass. In this study, a photogrammetry-based micro-bathymetry approach was applied to monitor Posidonia oceanica restoration actions. A procedure for rectifying both the horizontal and vertical elevation data was developed using soundings from high-resolution multibeam bathymetry. Furthermore, a 3D trilateration technique was also tested to collect Ground Control Points (GCPs) together with reference scale bars, both used to estimate the accuracy of the models and orthomosaics. The root mean square error (RMSE) value obtained for the horizontal planimetric measurements was 0.05 m, while the RMSE value for the depth was 0.11 m. Underwater photogrammetry, if properly applied, can provide very high-resolution and accurate models for monitoring seagrass restoration actions for ecological recovery and can be useful for other research purposes in geological and environmental monitoring. Full article

Comparing photogrammetric performances of four user-grade unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is the main aim of this paper. This study investigates what is the more suitable UAS for specific applications considering the required scale factor, such as for architectural, environmental and restoration purposes. Some photogrammetric surveys were conducted in a 5 ha area using a Phantom 4 Adv, Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic Air 2 and Mavic Mini 2. These unmanned aircrafts are commercial systems used mainly by private professionals. Some photogrammetric reconstructions were carried out by varying flight altitude and camera settings of the 4 UAS. Structure-from-motion (SfM) algorithms were applied to the images taken from the UASs. The surveys’ quality was analyzed by comparing the ground targets’ coordinates measured on the field with indirect georeferencing through global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Fifty targets were installed and arranged following a kind of regular grid. For each photogrammetric flight, the boundary conditions were maintained the same, as well as the flight trajectories and the ground control point distribution. Altimetric and planimetric residuals were reported and compared for each photogrammetric survey. Using a regular grid of ground targets, the result obtained from Phantom 4 is one order of magnitude better than the ones obtained from the other UASs. Mavic Mini 2 leads to an error average of about 5 cm. Remembering that the Mavic Mini 2 is an ultralight drone (it does not require a pilot’s license), it could significantly reduce costs compared to all the others. Full article