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23 pages, 29774 KB  
Article
Probabilistic Prior-Constrained Instance Reconstruction for Individual Tree Crown Segmentation in Minimally Annotated Forest Plots
by Zhihao Wang, Hang Zhou, Yunjie Zhu, Suyu Yang and Chunhua Hu
Remote Sens. 2026, 18(12), 2054; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18122054 (registering DOI) - 22 Jun 2026
Abstract
Individual tree crown (ITC) segmentation in structurally complex mixed forests remains challenging under limited annotation, uneven effective height-structure support, and severe inter-crown adhesion. Existing end-to-end instance segmentation methods often require substantial instance-level annotation, and their cross-domain transferability can degrade when applied to plots [...] Read more.
Individual tree crown (ITC) segmentation in structurally complex mixed forests remains challenging under limited annotation, uneven effective height-structure support, and severe inter-crown adhesion. Existing end-to-end instance segmentation methods often require substantial instance-level annotation, and their cross-domain transferability can degrade when applied to plots with different forest structures. This study proposes a probabilistic prior-constrained instance reconstruction framework that treats semantic segmentation output as an interpretable canopy prior and reconstructs object-level crowns through a structured post-processing pipeline. A height-aware canopy support mask (HCSM) converts the probability field into a credible operational domain through hysteresis thresholding, morphological reconstruction, and a height constraint. Constrained recovery within the support domain (E2GROW) repairs coverage deficiency through spatially bounded boundary adjustment with guard rails on area ratio and buffer distance. Selective splitting then addresses residual merge errors through branch-specific seed-guided partitioning, including an aggressive Voronoi reference branch and a more conservative LOCAL/marker-controlled watershed branch with explicit trigger and child-object filtering criteria. An instance-level evaluation loop based on Gate-3 Recall, a precision proxy, and threshold-crossing audits is used during module development as an iterative safeguard. On a single 500 × 500 m mixed conifer–broadleaf plot with 306 reference crowns retained for evaluation, the high-Recall VORv1 branch improves Recall from 0.369 to 0.673 over the internal R2 baseline produced by the semantic-prior-to-instance initialization procedure, whereas the balanced E2GROW configuration achieves the highest F1_proxy with fewer predicted objects; the overall gain originates from two distinct mechanisms: threshold-crossing boundary recovery for coverage-deficient crowns and local structural decomposition for merged crown groups. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the support-domain construction is stable across the explored parameter ranges, and that the two splitting branches realize a structural Recall–precision trade-off with no evidence of simple additive gains. The framework is modular and auditable, and its demonstrated applicability is strongest for annotation-scarce closed-canopy plots where a usable semantic canopy prior and height information are available. The reported evidence represents a single-site, within-plot methodological demonstration. Full article
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24 pages, 32811 KB  
Article
Unsupervised Autoencoder-Based Feature Ranking and Anomaly Detection for Porphyry Copper Prospectivity Mapping from Multi-Source Geospatial Datasets
by Mobin Saremi, Zohre Hoseinzade, Adel Shirazy, Aref Shirazi and Amin Beiranvand Pour
Minerals 2026, 16(6), 660; https://doi.org/10.3390/min16060660 (registering DOI) - 22 Jun 2026
Abstract
The mineral system model formalizes the critical geological processes and mappable parameters that control ore formation, which can then be translated into spatial predictors used as input features in machine learning (ML)-based mineral prospectivity mapping (MPM). In most MPM studies, exploration evidence features [...] Read more.
The mineral system model formalizes the critical geological processes and mappable parameters that control ore formation, which can then be translated into spatial predictors used as input features in machine learning (ML)-based mineral prospectivity mapping (MPM). In most MPM studies, exploration evidence features are indeed derived from the mineral system model of the targeted deposit type. However, not all features produced in this way are necessarily informative or favorable for prospectivity analysis. This challenge can be addressed by using feature selection frameworks to identify the most relevant features before applying ML and deep learning (DL) algorithms for mathematical integration. To address this need, this study employs an unsupervised variational autoencoder (VAE) framework to evaluate and rank exploration evidence layers. The VAE quantifies feature importance through a systematic strategy that measures the sensitivity of reconstruction-error components, mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and Kullback–Leibler (KL) divergence, to individual feature variations. In this way, the VAE ranks the exploration features and helps to identify those that are the most useful for prospectivity mapping. The proposed approach was applied to a real geo-dataset from a porphyry copper district in Iran. Based on the conceptual model of porphyry copper mineralization, 15 evidence layers were generated, including proximity to phyllic, argillic, propylitic, iron oxide, and silicification alteration zones; proximity to intrusive rocks, faults, and fault intersections; and geochemical maps of Cu, Mo, Sb, Pb, Zn, As, and W. The VAE-based ranking indicated that evidence layers related to hydrothermal alterations, intrusive rocks, and faults were the most influential exploration features, whereas geochemical evidence layers showed lower relative importance. Based on this evaluation, two modeling scenarios were considered: in the first, all available features were used, and in the second, only the features selected by the VAE framework were included. In both cases, the final prospectivity model was produced by an autoencoder (AE). For comparison, the prediction-area (P–A) plots of the two prospectivity models were generated using 14 known mineral occurrences as positive ground-truth labels, indicating that the model based on the selected features achieved a higher prediction rate (80%) than the model based on all features (72%). These results demonstrate that the evidence layers derived from the mineral system approach can benefit from unsupervised VAE-based evaluation, leading to improved performance of the prospectivity modeling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Mineral Exploration Methods and Applications)
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19 pages, 2102 KB  
Article
Unearthing the Archive: Ιdeologies of Transcription and the Anagnostou–Kretschmer Dispute
by Rea Delveroudi
Languages 2026, 11(6), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages11060130 (registering DOI) - 22 Jun 2026
Abstract
This study examines the linguistic landscape of northern Lesbos at the turn of the 20th century through the lens of historical sociolinguistics. The research focuses on the scientific intersection and subsequent controversy between the native scholar Spyridon Anagnostou and the renowned German linguist [...] Read more.
This study examines the linguistic landscape of northern Lesbos at the turn of the 20th century through the lens of historical sociolinguistics. The research focuses on the scientific intersection and subsequent controversy between the native scholar Spyridon Anagnostou and the renowned German linguist Paul Kretschmer. Methodologically, the study employs archival research, biographical analysis, and a comparative study of Anagnostou’s original manuscripts held at the Research Center for Modern Greek Dialects (KENDI) against published editions. The results include the identification of 36 unpublished fairy tales and an analysis of phonetic and morphological phenomena, such as kappacism and rare feminine endings, which are largely absent from contemporary records. Comparative analysis further reveals significant “dialectal normalization” and ideological interventions in both scholars’ transcriptions. We conclude that Anagnostou’s manuscripts serve as a vital “linguistic fossil” and a proxy for unrecorded spontaneous speech, recovering diachronic depth lost to dialect leveling. Ultimately, the study highlights the importance of marginal local scholarship in reconstructing a “language history from below” and addressing epistemic injustice and the ideology of transcriptions in the history of dialectology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Modern Dialect of Lesbos: Selected Topics)
27 pages, 357 KB  
Article
AI, Evidentiary Authority, and the Right to a Fair Trial in Criminal Proceedings
by Hülya Kocagül and Melik Kartal
Laws 2026, 15(3), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws15030058 (registering DOI) - 22 Jun 2026
Abstract
AI systems are entering criminal proceedings as evidence producers, risk assessors, and decision shapers, yet the procedural architecture of adversarial and mixed systems was built on the assumption that evidence originates from human actors whose reasoning can be reconstructed and challenged. This article [...] Read more.
AI systems are entering criminal proceedings as evidence producers, risk assessors, and decision shapers, yet the procedural architecture of adversarial and mixed systems was built on the assumption that evidence originates from human actors whose reasoning can be reconstructed and challenged. This article introduces the concept of evidentiary authority—the power to determine what counts as reliable evidence and how much weight it carries—and argues that this authority is migrating from human decision-makers to algorithmic systems without adequate procedural safeguards. The article draws on forensic linguistics and comparative criminal procedure to examine two domains where this migration is most visible: generative AI, which can fabricate or manipulate the texts on which forensic authorship analysis depends, and predictive AI, which feeds opaque risk scores into judicial decisions at stages where adversarial scrutiny is weakest. A structural phenomenon, which the article terms the “inferential catalyst”, is identified: AI outputs that shape proceedings without entering the formal evidence record. These two domains are tested against seven principles of criminal procedure: free evaluation of evidence, immediacy, judicial independence, the right to a reasoned decision, adversarial proceedings, the right of confrontation, and the presumption of innocence. At each principle, the same structural problem recurs: the system presupposes human reasoning that AI outputs cannot provide and that existing procedural mechanisms cannot compel. Six safeguards are proposed as conditions for admissibility: algorithmic transparency, independent auditing, defence access to algorithmic expertise, admissibility standards for algorithmic evidence, enhanced justification obligations, and capacity building. Full article
25 pages, 4206 KB  
Article
Intensified and Extended Growing Seasons in Abies marocana Forests (2000–2024): A Robust Seasonal Trend Analysis Using 16-Day MODIS EVI Time Series
by Oliver Gutiérrez-Hernández and Luis V. García
Remote Sens. 2026, 18(12), 2052; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18122052 (registering DOI) - 22 Jun 2026
Abstract
We modelled, for the first time, the seasonal dynamics and long-term trends of Abies marocana forests (Rif Mountains, northern Morocco) using remote-sensing-derived vegetation indices. Using the MODIS Terra Vegetation Indices product MOD13Q1 (enhanced vegetation index, EVI; 16-day frequency; 250 m spatial resolution) from [...] Read more.
We modelled, for the first time, the seasonal dynamics and long-term trends of Abies marocana forests (Rif Mountains, northern Morocco) using remote-sensing-derived vegetation indices. Using the MODIS Terra Vegetation Indices product MOD13Q1 (enhanced vegetation index, EVI; 16-day frequency; 250 m spatial resolution) from 2000 to 2024 (575 images over 25 years), we applied a robust seasonal trend analysis (RSTA) workflow, representing an inferential extension of classical seasonal trend analysis (STA) through the explicit control of Type I error under serial and spatial correlation. This approach combined: (i) harmonic regression to capture the annual and semi-annual cycles of A. marocana forests, estimating seasonal amplitudes and phases while filtering out low-frequency noise; (ii) an iterative trend-free prewhitening (TFPW) procedure following Wang and Swail, applied only to time series with significant serial autocorrelation according to the Durbin–Watson test; (iii) the Theil–Sen slope (TS) estimator, a robust non-parametric method, to quantify the magnitude and direction of seasonality trends; (iv) the contextual Mann–Kendall (CMK) test to assess the statistical significance of seasonality trends, while correcting for spatial autocorrelation and accounting for cross-correlation among neighbouring pixels; (v) the Benjamini–Hochberg (BH) procedure to control the false discovery rate (FDR), ensuring that only statistically robust seasonality trends were retained; and (vi) reconstruction of seasonal curves representing the beginning and end of the study period and derivation of phenological metrics from the statistically significant seasonal trends retained after inferential filtering. After applying the complete analytical workflow, statistically significant trends were detected in 79.2% of pixels within A. marocana forests, compared with 86.4% when prewhitening and false discovery rate control were not applied. All Theil–Sen slopes retained by the RSTA workflow were positive, with a mean slope of approximately 0.00175 EVI year−1, corresponding to an average annual increase of roughly 0.7% and an overall increase of approximately 15% over the 2000–2024 study period relative to the initial mean EVI conditions. Browning trends identified by classical STA were not supported after inferential filtering and FDR control, indicating that all these patterns were spurious or only marginal, and confined to limited areas and edge zones. The reconstructed seasonal trend curves were consistent with a longer growing season, although this inference is based on land-surface vegetation dynamics rather than direct phenological observations. The long-term ecological consequences of these changes in seasonal vegetation activity will hinge on the interactions among warming, rising water demand, and potential disturbance regimes under future climatic conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Forest Remote Sensing)
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23 pages, 24596 KB  
Article
Harmonic and Phase-Modulated Activation Functions for Implicit Neural Representations: A Comprehensive Benchmark Study
by Ahmad S. Tarawneh, Omar Lasassmeh, Anas A. Alkasasbeh, Abdulkareem Alzahrani, Khalid Almohammadi, Maha Alamri and Ahmad B. Hassanat
Mach. Learn. Knowl. Extr. 2026, 8(6), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/make8060170 (registering DOI) - 21 Jun 2026
Abstract
It is well-known that activation functions are crucial in determining spectral expressiveness, training dynamics, and reconstruction accuracy in implicit neural representations (INRs), which employ coordinate-based multilayer perceptrons to represent continuous signals. Despite showing excellent performance, sinusoidal activations, for example SIREN, are limited in [...] Read more.
It is well-known that activation functions are crucial in determining spectral expressiveness, training dynamics, and reconstruction accuracy in implicit neural representations (INRs), which employ coordinate-based multilayer perceptrons to represent continuous signals. Despite showing excellent performance, sinusoidal activations, for example SIREN, are limited in their adaptability to diverse signal types due to their fixed harmonic structure. In this paper, we propose two novel periodic activation functions for INRs. (1) Harmonic generalizes sinusoidal activations by combining the fundamental frequency with learned second and third harmonics through per-neuron trainable amplitude coefficients, resulting in a richer spectral basis within the SIREN initialization framework. (2) PM-FINER (Phase-Modulated FINER) extends the variable-periodic FINER activation by embedding frequency modulation synthesis directly into the instantaneous phase, enabling data-driven phase distortion via a learnable modulation index and carrier ratio. We conducted comprehensive experiments spanning nine architectural configurations (including SIREN, WIRE, FINER, Gaussian, Harmonic, PM-FINER, and an additional direct comparison against the Subtractive Modulative Network (SMN)), using six natural images, three learning rate schedulers, and three random seeds, totaling 486 main training runs (534 runs total including an ω0 sensitivity sweep). Our evaluation combined peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index (SSIM), and rigorous statistical analysis, such as paired t-tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Cohen’s d effect sizes, and Friedman rank tests. Under cosine annealing, Harmonic achieves a mean PSNR gain of 6.08 dB over SIREN and 2.57 dB over FINER (both p<0.001, Cohen’s d>3.7), while PM-FINER ranks statistically on par with Harmonic (mean difference 0.17 dB, p=0.36), outperforming all of the other baselines. Compared with SMN, Harmonic outperforms it by +7.94 dB under cosine annealing (Bonferroni-adjusted p<105, Cohen’s d=12.3), winning on all six images. Additionally, the Friedman ranking across the six images confirmed Harmonic (with mean rank =1.33) and PM-FINER (with mean rank =1.67), being the top two methods under cosine annealing. Our results establish interpretable multi-harmonic and phase-modulated activations as real alternatives to the existing INR activation functions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Learning)
18 pages, 914 KB  
Article
Fractal Characteristics of Coal Structure and Fluid Transport During Compression Failure Process
by Teng Teng and Wang Yuming
Fractal Fract. 2026, 10(6), 421; https://doi.org/10.3390/fractalfract10060421 (registering DOI) - 21 Jun 2026
Abstract
The fractal characteristics of coal pore–fracture networks and their evolution under compression are essential for predicting rock mass failure and fluid transport. This study combines micro-CT scanning with fractal theory and seepage mechanics to investigate the structural evolution of coal under uniaxial compression [...] Read more.
The fractal characteristics of coal pore–fracture networks and their evolution under compression are essential for predicting rock mass failure and fluid transport. This study combines micro-CT scanning with fractal theory and seepage mechanics to investigate the structural evolution of coal under uniaxial compression and its impact on fluid transport. CT scans were performed at four characteristic stages (initial, elastic, plastic, and failure) to reconstruct three-dimensional fracture networks. Quantitative analysis reveals that fracture porosity increases sequentially from 0.44% to 5.01%, with the failure stage reaching 11.4 times the initial value. Fracture length and aperture distributions follow power-law scaling, and their fractal dimensions exhibit distinct evolution patterns: length dimension increases from 2.43 to a peak of 2.56 in the plastic stage and then drops to 2.47 at failure, while aperture dimension decreases from 2.29 to a trough of 2.12 before rebounding to 2.26. These patterns reflect a dynamic adjustment of network complexity, transitioning from primary fractures to micro-fracture dominance and finally to main fracture coalescence. Based on the Knudsen number, three diffusion regimes of Fick, transition and Knudsen are identified. A fractal permeability model is developed by idealizing the pore space as tortuous capillaries, showing that permeability scales with the fourth power of the maximum pore diameter and is positively influenced by the fractal dimension and the number of large pores. Furthermore, a coupled seepage–stress model is derived, incorporating pressure transmission, shear transmission, and crack opening coefficients. The damage variable is expressed as a function of stress level and fractal dimension. These findings provide theoretical support for predicting gas transport and failure behavior in coal under coupled hydro-mechanical conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fractal and Fractional Modelling in Deep Mining and Geomechanics)
38 pages, 2692 KB  
Article
Observability- and Identifiability-Guided Sensor-Set Design for Digital-Twin-Assisted Consolidated Bioprocessing
by Mark Korang Yeboah, Nana Yaw Asiedu and Ahmad Addo
Sensors 2026, 26(12), 3948; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26123948 (registering DOI) - 21 Jun 2026
Abstract
Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is difficult to monitor because enzyme production, lignocellulose degradation, sugar release, and fermentation occur simultaneously under sparse measurement, feedstock variability, and plant–model mismatch conditions. This study proposes a computational sensor-set design framework for digital-twin-assisted CBP monitoring. A five-state virtual plant, [...] Read more.
Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is difficult to monitor because enzyme production, lignocellulose degradation, sugar release, and fermentation occur simultaneously under sparse measurement, feedstock variability, and plant–model mismatch conditions. This study proposes a computational sensor-set design framework for digital-twin-assisted CBP monitoring. A five-state virtual plant, consisting of active biomass, cellulolytic enzyme activity, residual insoluble substrate, soluble sugar, and ethanol, was used to evaluate all 16 ethanol-mandatory measurement packages formed from ethanol, sugar, biomass, enzyme, and residual-substrate proxy channels. Candidate sensor sets were assessed using finite-difference output sensitivities, Fisher-information-based state-observability and parameter-identifiability analyses, eigenvalue and parameter-correlation diagnostics, and paired Monte Carlo unscented Kalman filter soft-sensing reconstruction. Within the tested five-state virtual-plant benchmark and with the specified excitation schedule, noise assumptions, burden indices, and scoring objective, ethanol-only sensing provided the weakest support for state-aware CBP digital-twin reconstruction. At a 6h sampling interval, the state-observability log-pseudodeterminant increased from 4.18 with ethanol-only sensing to 8.56 after adding soluble sugar and to 16.42 with full-proxy monitoring. The ethanol–sugar–biomass–substrate package also gave strong reduced state-observability performance, with log-pseudodeterminants of 15.12, 13.76, and 12.51 at 6, 12, and 24h, respectively. Biomass and enzyme proxies contributed strongly to parameter learning, and the ethanol–sugar–biomass–enzyme package gave the strongest active parameter-identifiability performance, with log-pseudodeterminants of 10.82, 9.06, and 6.67 at 6, 12, and 24h, respectively. In the paired soft-sensing analysis, full-proxy monitoring reduced the mean latent-state RMSE from 1.1899 to 0.3756, followed by ethanol–biomass–enzyme–substrate with 0.3843 and ethanol–sugar–biomass–substrate with 0.4121. The primary aggregate ranking identified ethanol–sugar–biomass–substrate as the best overall package, with a sensor-value score of 0.8432 and a burden index of 7.0, followed by full-proxy monitoring with a score of 0.8173 and a burden index of 10.0. Robustness tests showed that ethanol–sugar–biomass–substrate remained top-ranked under uniform noise scaling, full UKF missingness, delay and bias stress test conditions, most scoring-weight scenarios, and all tested sensor-specific burden workflows. Full-proxy monitoring remained a close competitor under independent sensor-specific noise variation conditions and became top-ranked for some alternative operating trajectories. The proposed framework provides a simulation-based method for prioritizing informative measurement packages before implementing CBP digital twins in laboratory and pilot-plant settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Sensors and Sensing Techniques (2nd Edition))
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25 pages, 40725 KB  
Article
A Method for Extracting Sedimentary Outcrops from UAV Oblique Photogrammetry Point Clouds
by Chufan Ren, Chaodong Wu, Yanan Zhang, Cong Lin, Xinyue Niu and Yanan Chu
Sensors 2026, 26(12), 3946; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26123946 (registering DOI) - 21 Jun 2026
Abstract
Point-cloud analysis of sedimentary outcrops using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) oblique photogrammetry is a crucial approach to sedimentary system characterization, stratigraphic correlation, and petroleum exploration analog studies. In large-scale field settings, however, outcrops are often scattered and fragmented, vegetation and soil cover is [...] Read more.
Point-cloud analysis of sedimentary outcrops using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) oblique photogrammetry is a crucial approach to sedimentary system characterization, stratigraphic correlation, and petroleum exploration analog studies. In large-scale field settings, however, outcrops are often scattered and fragmented, vegetation and soil cover is extensive, and class imbalance is pronounced. Manual interpretation is labor-intensive, while existing clustering algorithms, conventional machine learning methods, and general-purpose point-cloud segmentation networks struggle to simultaneously ensure geometric fidelity, rare-class recognition, and multi-scale feature integration. To address these challenges, we propose a method for extracting sedimentary outcrop point clouds from field surface point clouds using a UAV oblique photogrammetry acquisition strategy. The core segmentation module of the method, sedimentary cross-scale self-attention network (SedCSA-Net), is an enhanced version of PointNet++ that integrates collaborative improvements across four dimensions: data augmentation, sampling strategy, feature encoding, and loss optimization. Taking the Cretaceous Qingshuihe Formation in the Louzhuangzi area of the southern Junggar Basin as a case study, our experimental results indicate that SedCSA-Net overcomes the natural variability of UAV oblique photogrammetry point clouds—such as shadows, voids, and uneven density—achieving a mean Intersection over Union(mIoU) of 89.51% and an Overall Accuracy(OA) of 96.08%, with an outcrop-class Intersection over Union(IoU) of 86.90%. Attitude measurements derived from segmentation results deviate by less than 3° from manually annotated references, demonstrating that the proposed framework provides an end-to-end, generalizable approach for intelligent segmentation, geometric reconstruction, and attitude extraction of large-scale sedimentary outcrop point clouds. Full article
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19 pages, 5469 KB  
Article
A Geometrically Constrained AI Fusion Workflow for Reconstructing Vanished Landscapes from Archival Aerial Imagery
by Dominik Brétt, Jan Pacina and Jakub Vynikal
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(12), 6237; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16126237 (registering DOI) - 21 Jun 2026
Abstract
This study evaluates the accuracy of various preprocessing methods applied to scanned archival aerial photographs for reconstructing historical terrain in the Czech Republic. Seven workflows were tested on identical imagery and control points, varying parameters such as resolution unification, brightness normalization, focal length [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the accuracy of various preprocessing methods applied to scanned archival aerial photographs for reconstructing historical terrain in the Czech Republic. Seven workflows were tested on identical imagery and control points, varying parameters such as resolution unification, brightness normalization, focal length calibration, and AI-based denoising. Accuracy was assessed using GNSS checkpoints and high-resolution LiDAR data. Results show that basic brightness correction reduced the vertical RMSE by 59% (to 5.69 m). In contrast, standalone AI preprocessing was associated with increased geometric instability (RMSE 16.48 m) due to over-smoothing and the loss of essential micro-texture. However, the evaluated “Fusion AI” workflow—combining AI enhancement with strict focal length constraints—successfully mitigated this degradation. By restricting the internal orientation, it stabilized the vertical accuracy at 6.48 m, closely matching the best traditional approaches. Statistical analysis revealed strong spatial autocorrelation and non-normal error distributions, highlighting the need for robust validation. Ultimately, this study confirms that AI can be effectively utilized to enhance visual clarity in data-scarce historical reconstruction without sacrificing spatial reliability, provided it is strictly geometrically constrained. This offers an optimal compromise and a tested, reproducible workflow that supports heritage preservation and long-term environmental analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics)
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14 pages, 1345 KB  
Article
A Functional Data Analysis-Based Framework for Modeling and Multi-Objective Optimization of Sustained-Release Drug Delivery Systems
by Hao Ren, Mengchen Han, Yuchao Qiao, Yu Cui, Chongqi Hao, Yiming Lou, Gaomin Jing, Qiankun Liu, Lang Yang, Li Zheng and Lixia Qiu
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(6), 756; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18060756 (registering DOI) - 21 Jun 2026
Abstract
Objectives: An integrated methodological framework was developed for modeling and multiobjective optimization of sustained-release drug delivery systems. Methods: The cumulative release percentage was fitted as a function curve, and functional principal component analysis was subsequently used to transform the function curves [...] Read more.
Objectives: An integrated methodological framework was developed for modeling and multiobjective optimization of sustained-release drug delivery systems. Methods: The cumulative release percentage was fitted as a function curve, and functional principal component analysis was subsequently used to transform the function curves into functional principal component scores (FPCs). FPCs were then treated as dependent variables, while the proportions of the formulation factors were used as independent variables to construct Scheffé polynomial regression models. Finally, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III (NSGA-III) was applied to perform multi-objective optimization. Results: FPC1, FPC2, and FPC3 captured 95.18%, 4.39%, and 0.32% of the total variation, respectively. Corresponding Scheffé polynomial regression models were established, including quadratic models for FPC1 (adjusted R2 = 0.751, AIC = 168.557) and FPC2 (adjusted R2 = 0.592, AIC = 119.302), and a special cubic model for FPC3 (adjusted R2 = 0.597, AIC = 64.574). The NSGA-III algorithm generated a Pareto optimal set, yielding stable formulation compositions with mean (SD) values of X1 = 0.123 (0.015), X2 = 0.821 (0.032), X3 = 0.012 (0.017), and X4 = 0.045 (0.015). The corresponding FPCs were −41.787 (2.544), 10.009 (0.168), and 8.264 (0.010) for FPCs1–FPCs3, respectively. The reconstructed cumulative release percentages were 42.471 (1.661), 52.623 (2.868), 69.942 (1.200), 84.275 (1.010), and 93.330 (0.832), demonstrating good agreement with the target release profiles. Conclusions: The integrated FDA–Scheffé–NSGA-III framework provides a robust and effective approach for accurately modeling release behavior and optimizing sustained-release formulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Physical Pharmacy and Formulation)
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18 pages, 5557 KB  
Article
Super-Resolution 3D Imaging Reveals Disarray of Dyadic Calcium Ion Channels in Failing Hearts Expressing Low Thyroid Hormone Function
by Atieh Ashkezari, Megha Schmalzle, Amanda Charest, Sanketh Kumar, Riddhi Modi, Nicholas Nasta, Andrea Bertolini, Alessandro Saba, Paolo Cifani, Youhua Zhang, A. Martin Gerdes, Randy F. Stout and Kaie Ojamaa
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(12), 5601; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27125601 (registering DOI) - 21 Jun 2026
Abstract
Ventricular remodeling occurring in heart failure (HF) involves structural disarray of the sarcolemma T-tubule (TT)–sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) dyad junctions, thereby disrupting the close apposition of L-type Ca2+ channels (CaV1.2) with ryanodine receptors (RyR2) that trigger SR Ca2+ release and [...] Read more.
Ventricular remodeling occurring in heart failure (HF) involves structural disarray of the sarcolemma T-tubule (TT)–sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) dyad junctions, thereby disrupting the close apposition of L-type Ca2+ channels (CaV1.2) with ryanodine receptors (RyR2) that trigger SR Ca2+ release and myofilament contraction. In a rat ischemic heart failure model expressing low thyroid hormone (TH) function, we used 3D stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) to image RyR2 clusters with CaV1.2 channels, and the associated protein junctophilin-2 (Jph2). We tested whether treatment with T3, the biologically active form of TH, throughout progression of the disease would preserve T-tubule structure and dyadic ion channel organization. Confocal microscopy of isolated cardiomyocytes (CMs) stained with ANEPPS membrane dye showed significantly decreased TT density in diseased CMs while T3 treatment attenuated TT disorganization. 3D STORM images of dyadic ion channels labeled with fluorescent-tagged antibodies to RyR-Dylight550, Jph-CF647 and CaV1.2/IgG-Dylight488 were captured. A density-based algorithm defined RyR2 clusters, and a 400 nm spherical 3D volume of interest around each RyR2 cluster’s centroid determined the number of CaV1.2 and Jph2 localizations associated with each RyR2 cluster. Analysis revealed significant reduction in RyR2 cluster size and number with reduced co-localized Jph2 in failing CMs. T3 treatment increased RyR2 cluster numbers and cluster volumes albeit non-significantly, with increased co-clustering of Jph2. The number of CaV1.2 co-localized with RyR2 clusters trended lower in the failing CMs. These results support maintaining TH homeostasis in optimizing the nanoscale organization of Ca2+ ion channels in triggering Ca2+ release and myofibrillar contraction in patients with heart disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Ion Channels in Health and Disease)
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13 pages, 460 KB  
Article
Preoperative Intra-Articular Corticosteroid Injection Is Not Associated with Inferior Reoperation or Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Meniscal Allograft Transplantation
by Rushani K. Cameron, Isabella Jazrawi, Cody Perskin, Vishal Sundaram, Guillem Gonzalez-Lomas, Eric J. Strauss, Laith M. Jazrawi and Kirk A. Campbell
Surgeries 2026, 7(2), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/surgeries7020075 (registering DOI) - 20 Jun 2026
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This investigation was performed because corticosteroid injections are commonly used for symptomatic relief in patients with meniscal deficiency, yet their effect on graft survivorship and postoperative outcomes following meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) remains poorly understood, with limited literature specifically addressing this [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This investigation was performed because corticosteroid injections are commonly used for symptomatic relief in patients with meniscal deficiency, yet their effect on graft survivorship and postoperative outcomes following meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) remains poorly understood, with limited literature specifically addressing this topic. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether preoperative intra-articular corticosteroid injections (ICS) are associated with reoperation after MAT. Secondary aims included comparing reoperation-free survival, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) achievement. Methods: A retrospective review of 130 adults undergoing meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) between 2011 and 2023 was performed. Patients with documented corticosteroid injection (CSI) status and ≥2 years of follow-up were included. Exclusion criteria included prior meniscal allograft transplantation, receipt of non-corticosteroid injections (e.g., hyaluronic acid or platelet-rich plasma), concomitant osteotomy procedures, multi-ligament knee reconstruction or inadequate follow-up. Propensity score matching (2:1 no steroid: steroid) based on age, sex, body mass index, fixation technique, operative compartment, and concomitant procedures yielded 54 matched patients (35 no steroid, 19 steroid). The primary outcome was ipsilateral knee reoperation, categorized as major reoperation (revision MAT, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, osteochondral allograft transplantation, conversion to total knee arthroplasty, meniscectomy and meniscus repair). Minor reoperations included irrigation and debridement, lysis of adhesions or manipulation under anesthesia, hardware removal, chondroplasty, and synovectomy. Reoperation-free survival was assessed using Kaplan–Meier analysis. PROMs and PASS were compared using adjusted regression models. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Baseline characteristics and follow-up were comparable between groups (7.6 ± 3.5 vs. 6.6 ± 3.2 years; p = 0.30). Overall reoperation occurred in 37.1% of patients in the no-steroid group and 31.6% in the steroid group (p = 0.771). Major reoperation rates were similar (17.1% vs. 15.8%; p = 1.000. There was no significant difference in minor reoperations between groups (20.0% vs. 10.5%; p = 0.468). Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated no difference in reoperation-free survival (p = 0.903), with comparable survival at the 1-, 2-, and 5-year time points. No individual subtypes differed significantly between groups. PROMs and PASS achievement were also similar, with no statistically significant differences observed. Conclusions: Preoperative corticosteroid injection was not associated with increased reoperation risk, inferior reoperation-free survival, or worse patient-reported outcomes following meniscal allograft transplantation. However, given the study’s limited power, lack of detailed injection characteristics, and the use of a heterogeneous complication outcome, these findings should be interpreted cautiously, as further investigation is warranted. Full article
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26 pages, 357 KB  
Article
A Reproducible Synthetic Socio-Digital Network Dataset for Analyzing Digital Gaps in Community-Based Tourism Communities in Rural Ecuador
by Dolores Mieles-Ceballos, Lourdes Suntagsi-Tuasa, Jael Zambrano-Mieles, Velasco Zambrano-Burgos, Miguel Vera, Nicolás Márquez and Cristian Vidal-Silva
Data 2026, 11(6), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/data11060151 (registering DOI) - 20 Jun 2026
Abstract
Digital transformation has become an essential component of sustainable rural development, yet substantial inequalities persist in how communities access, adopt, and benefit from digital technologies. Understanding these disparities requires not only information about technological resources but also knowledge of the relational structures through [...] Read more.
Digital transformation has become an essential component of sustainable rural development, yet substantial inequalities persist in how communities access, adopt, and benefit from digital technologies. Understanding these disparities requires not only information about technological resources but also knowledge of the relational structures through which information, support, and opportunities circulate. This article presents a reproducible synthetic socio-digital network dataset designed to support the analysis of digital gaps in community-based tourism (CBT) environments. Rather than containing original respondent-level observations, the repository was computationally reconstructed from aggregate statistics derived from field studies conducted in three rural communities in the province of Guayas, Ecuador: Bucay (5 de Septiembre), Manglares Churute, and Ruta de los Chirijos. All node-level records, survey variables, and support relationships included in the repository were synthetically generated to preserve aggregate community characteristics while protecting participant confidentiality and preventing individual re-identification. The repository contains synthetic actor metadata, reconstructed socio-digital variables, directed support networks, graph representations in interoperable formats, and precomputed Social Network Analysis (SNA) indicators. The dataset includes 90 synthetic actors, more than one thousand generated support interactions distributed across multiple socio-digital dimensions, machine-readable metadata, and reusable scripts for preprocessing, validation, graph construction, and metric computation. The represented dimensions include financial assistance, training support, information exchange, technological support, social media promotion, institutional collaboration, trust, and emotional closeness. To facilitate reuse, all resources are distributed in standardized formats compatible with NetworkX, Gephi, Neo4j, and graph-learning frameworks. The repository follows FAIR principles and includes documentation intended to support transparency, reproducibility, and methodological benchmarking. Potential applications include social network analysis, graph mining, graph neural networks, digital inequality research, computational social science, community resilience studies, and educational activities. By providing an openly documented synthetic dataset and reproducible computational workflow, the repository contributes to the study of socio-digital systems, privacy-preserving data sharing, and community-level digital transformation processes. Full article
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18 pages, 9812 KB  
Article
AI-Assisted Circuit Digital Twin Reproducing Ultrasound Waves in Human Tissues
by Alessandro Massaro
Electronics 2026, 15(12), 2726; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15122726 (registering DOI) - 20 Jun 2026
Abstract
The paper proposes a Digital Twin (DTw) framework, constructing a circuit model replicating the pulse transmission and reception processes for devices with high sensitivity to noises, such as wearable ultrasound transducers. The model is suitable to train supervised AI algorithms denoising the noisy [...] Read more.
The paper proposes a Digital Twin (DTw) framework, constructing a circuit model replicating the pulse transmission and reception processes for devices with high sensitivity to noises, such as wearable ultrasound transducers. The model is suitable to train supervised AI algorithms denoising the noisy ultrasound signal received. The DTw combines the circuit simulations with the AI data processing by training the model with the cleaned pulsed signals and by correcting the noises modeled by ‘white-noise’ voltage generators. Specifically, the voltage outputs of the circuit simulations are used to train the AI models and to test noisy signals for reconstruction. The DTw model is based on the transmission line theory combined with the perturbation impedance approach, supporting human body tissue discrimination based on noises. Two open-source tools are used for the DTw construction, the LTSpice and the Orange Mining tool, which are used for the circuit simulation and for the AI data processing, respectively. The theoretical work proves that the methodology is able to reconstruct correctly, with a good performance in the time domain and the frequency domain, noisy voltage signals, by addressing the analysis on cancer detection by combining circuit, AI and Monte Carlo approaches. Full article
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