Search Results (116)

The exponential growth of user-generated video content necessitates efficient summarization systems for improved accessibility, retrieval, and analysis. This study presents and benchmarks a multimodal video summarization framework that classifies segments as informative or non-informative using audio, visual, and fused features. Sixty hours of annotated video across ten diverse categories were analyzed. Audio features were extracted with pyAudioAnalysis, while visual features (colour histograms, optical flow, object detection, facial recognition) were derived using OpenCV. Six supervised classifiers—Naive Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors, Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and XGBoost—were evaluated, with hyperparameters optimized via grid search. Temporal coherence was enhanced using median filtering. Random Forest achieved the best performance, with 74% AUC on fused features and a 3% F1-score gain after post-processing. Spectral flux, grayscale histograms, and optical flow emerged as key discriminative features. The best model was deployed as a practical web service using TensorFlow and Flask, integrating informative segment detection with subtitle generation via beam search to ensure coherence and coverage. System-level evaluation demonstrated low latency and efficient resource utilization under load. Overall, the results confirm the strength of multimodal fusion and ensemble learning for video summarization and highlight their potential for real-world applications in surveillance, digital archiving, and online education. Full article

The digitisation of law-enforcement archives is examined with the aim of moving from static analogue records to interoperable semantic information systems. A step-by-step framework for optimal digitisation is proposed, grounded in archival best practice and enriched with artificial-intelligence and semantic-web technologies. Emphasis is placed on semantic data representation, which renders information actionable, searchable, interlinked, and automatically processed. As a proof of concept, a large language model—OpenAI ChatGPT, version o3—was applied to a corpus of narrative police reports, extracting and classifying key entities (metadata, persons, addresses, vehicles, incidents, fingerprints, and inter-entity relationships). The output was converted to Resource Description Framework triples and ingested into a triplestore, demonstrating how unstructured text can be transformed into machine-readable, interoperable data with minimal human intervention. The approach’s challenges—technical complexity, data quality assurance, information-security requirements, and staff training—are analysed alongside the opportunities it affords, such as accelerated access to records, cross-agency interoperability, and advanced analytics for investigative and strategic decision-making. Combining systematic digitisation, AI-driven data extraction, and rigorous semantic modelling ultimately delivers a fully interoperable information environment for law-enforcement agencies, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and evidentiary integrity. Full article

The Catalan Linguistic Area (CLA) is a mycophile region where interest in the nutritional properties of traditional edible fungi is steadily growing, driven by their gastronomic appeal. The present study undertakes a scoping review with two main objectives. First, to compile a list of edible fungi taxa identified in the CLA, and second, to determine whether their nutritional values have already been published. Data were collected through books from different library catalogues and archives, expert consultations, a specialized database, and a search in three academic databases: PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. As a result, we obtained a list of 643 culinary fungi taxa, of which 35.46% have reported nutritional values. Moreover, among the most cited CLA culinary fungi, Hygrophorus latitabundus Britzelm. and Hypomyces lateritius (Fr.) Tul. & C. Tul. have no nutritional values reported in the literature. Additionally, an ethnomycoticity index (EMI) and ethnomyconymic diversity index are proposed as adaptations to ethnomycology of two commonly used ethnobotanical indices. To conclude, wild edible fungi (WEF) are widely used in the CLA, but nutritional values for the majority of macromycetes are still lacking. Further studies need to be carried out regarding ethnomycology, enhancing their nutritional values, since data recorded are disperse and difficult to standardise. Full article

In social networks like community Question-Answering (cQA) services, members interact with each other by asking and answering each other’s questions. This way they find counsel and solutions to very specific real-life situations. Thus, it is safe to say that community fellows log into this kind of social network with the goal of satisfying information needs that cannot be readily resolved via traditional web searches. And in order to expedite this process, these platforms also allow registered, and many times unregistered, internauts to browse their archives. As a means of encouraging fruitful interactions, these websites need to be efficient when displaying contextualized/personalized material and when connecting unresolved questions to people willing to help. Here, demographic factors (i.e., gender) together with frontier deep neural networks have proved to be instrumental in adequately overcoming these challenges. In fact, current approaches have demonstrated that it is perfectly plausible to achieve high gender classification rates by inspecting profile images or textual interactions. This work advances this body of knowledge by leveraging lexicalized dependency paths to control the level of abstraction across texts. Our qualitative results suggest that cost-efficient approaches exploit distilled frontier deep architectures (i.e., DistillRoBERTa) and coarse-grained semantic information embodied in the first three levels of the respective dependency tree. Our outcomes also indicate that relative/prepositional clauses conveying geographical locations, relationships, and finance yield a marginal contribution when they show up deep in dependency trees. Full article

Since 2011, five of Austria’s 29 known prehistoric pile dwellings have been part of the transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site “Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps”. These remarkable archaeological sites have been preserved for over 7000 years in lakes and moors. Due to their hidden location underwater or in the soil of bogs, the sites are inaccessible to the public, making it difficult to convey the full scope of this heritage. To address this, the national project “Surfaced—the digital pile dwellings” was launched, aiming to create a virtual bridge connecting the sites, collections, and exhibitions across Austria. It involved digitizing 500 objects, scanned in high resolution, and presenting them as 3D models in an open-access web application. The web application PfahlbauKompass allows users to explore these 3D models, view information about the artefacts and the sites, and create digital collections. It provides access to finds from national museums, regional heritage houses, and private collections. The project offers scientific potential as well as opportunities for virtual exhibitions and educational initiatives. It aims to preserve and visualize an essential part of Austria’s cultural heritage and was designed not only to archive finds but also to raise awareness of the hidden sites among the public. Full article

This study investigates how born-digital memes about high-profile events can serve as rich archival resources for understanding contemporary cultural phenomena and public sentiment by using a linked-data framework. Using a mixed-method approach, this study analyzes memes from a high-profile trial through web scraping and linked-data structures to map themes, sentiments, and cultural references. The linked-data frame includes data collection and integration, semantic web technologies, ontology development, and API data access. The findings point to dominant narratives and shifting sentiment, which further illustrate how such memes reflect and contribute to the polarization of the societal discourse concerning the event. This research is relevant for understanding digital culture, exploring the archival potential of born-digital materials, and assessing the dynamics of public opinion in widely publicized cases. By showing the efficiency of linked data methodologies in the analysis of born-digital discourse, we add valuable insights to both digital humanities and social sciences, offering a new approach of studying ephemeral online content as cultural artifacts. Full article

This paper focuses on gender issues within the Italian Animal Science and Production Association (ASPA), which includes both academic and non-academic researchers involved in animal sciences. Data from the association’s archives in 2023 and bibliometric data obtained from Scopus and Web of Science were used. This study highlighted how within the ASPA and in that part of the academic realm falling within the field of animal science, a noticeable gender gap still exists, albeit decreasing over time at a very slow pace. There is clear vertical segregation, with a minority of women occupying full professor positions, and horizontal segregation with a low percentage of women involved in animal science disciplines closer to STEM fields, such as “Animal breeding and genetics”. At the bibliometric level, gender differences in bibliometric indicators are observed, favouring men, although these differences are not significant when considering the academic position, scientific sector, and age. In the official journal of the ASPA (Italian Journal of Animal Science), women are under-represented in prestigious positions such as first, last, and corresponding authors. Scientific societies, academic institutions, and research organizations are called upon to do their part to accelerate the process of overcoming these inequalities. Full article

Background and Objectives: This systematic review aimed to compare the effect of chitosan in smear layer removal with other commonly used chelators during root canal treatment. Materials and Methods: The PRISMA guidelines were followed. Ex vivo studies performed in non-endodontically treated extracted human permanent teeth with a fully formed apex, in which sodium hypochlorite was the main irrigant and chitosan was used as final irrigation to observe its capacity to remove the smear layer using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), were included. In addition, reviews, letters, opinion articles, conference abstracts, book chapters, or articles that did not use a control group were excluded. A literature search was undertaken without limits on time or language, until February 2024, in PubMed—MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and in the electronic archives of four endodontic journals. The risk of bias was evaluated by adapting the risk of bias assessment used in a previous study. Study selection, data collection, and synthesis were performed and the risk of bias was assessed by two independent reviewers. Results: Six studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included. Four studies found chitosan to be as effective as EDTA and one paper showed it was more effective than EDTA and MTAD; however, one article found it to be comparable to citric acid. The overall risk of bias was medium. Quantitative analysis of the results was not possible due to the heterogeneity found between the study methodologies of the included articles. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, 0.2% chitosan may be considered as a promising irrigation solution when employed as a final irrigant in order to remove the smear layer. Nonetheless, a standardized protocol for the use of chelators in root canal treatment should be established in future studies. Full article

The existing built heritage is excessively energy intensive compared to the standards required by European policies that promote zero- or near-zero-energy buildings. Hence the need to promote a radical energy requalification of the existing stock through ad hoc solutions. In the modelling of buildings undergoing redevelopment, the boundary conditions considered by the designer are often underestimated, resulting in a digital model that does not perfectly adhere to reality, due to a lack of historical and documentary knowledge. The present work—which concerns the Santa Maria Micaela residential complex built in Valencia by architect Santiago Artal Ríos, a representative work of Spanish Modernism—aims to overcome this vulnus with modelling that also takes into account historical and archive information. The housing complex was studied using a multidisciplinary approach with historical–archival analyses and site surveys that allowed BIM modelling and localisation in a WEB-GIS platform. The modelling took into account the peculiarities of the original design (exposure, windiness, and shading) and data from historical research (stratigraphy of building elements, dimensions, types of materials). The energy simulation, on the other hand, referred to a representative dwelling unit of the complex, and using SolidWorks software the ventilation flows were evaluated, which made it possible to create a model that was more in keeping with reality and to more correctly identify the performance upgrading proposal. The energy improvement was then evaluated according to the hypothesised interventions using two different analysis methodologies, TerMus and CE3X, for direct comparison. The transposition into WebGIS then made it possible to assess the potential of a digital platform to enhance information sharing. Full article

The increasing request for digitized data among several fields, including the built environment and cultural heritage (CH), highlights the need for proficient ways to access, archive, and share 3D data and related information among users. The sector of reality capture produces accurate and reliable products that can support building management and CH maintenance, at the price of heavy and resource-demanding data. An emerging solution to this problem is represented by the web platforms for 3D data management, that promise to relieve users from the costs of archive and hardware, providing effective visualization, access and sharing tools. The panorama of commercial web platforms is analyzed according to the Software-as-a-Service business model, and the features of some representative platforms are exposed. The paper discusses the main advantages of diffused access and collaboration and the potential issues concerning long-term archival and data persistence. It provides a general overview of the main available platforms and describes their main features, comparing their specific pros and cons according to their category. The future perspectives of the web platform sector are promising as, according to the current development path, they may be able to empower built environments and the CH sector with a diffused, systematic, and conscious use of 3D data. Full article

The treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an unmet challenge, with the median overall survival rate remaining less than a year, even with the use of FOLFIRINOX-based therapies. This study analyzed archived macrophage-associated mRNA expression using datasets deposited in the UCSC Xena web platform to compare normal pancreatic tissue and PDAC tumor samples. The TGFB2 gene exhibited low mRNA expression levels in normal tissue, with less than one TPM. In contrast, in tumor tissue, TGFB2 expression levels exhibited a 7.9-fold increase in mRNA expression relative to normal tissue (p < 0.0001). Additionally, components of the type-I interferon signaling pathway exhibited significant upregulation of mRNA levels in tumor tissue, including Interferon alpha/beta receptor 1 (IFNAR1; 3.4-fold increase, p < 0.0001), Interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9; 4.2-fold increase, p < 0.0001), Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1; 7.1-fold increase, p < 0.0001), and Interferon Alpha Inducible Protein 27 (IFI27; 66.3-fold increase, p < 0.0001). We also utilized TCGA datasets deposited in cBioportal and KMplotter to relate mRNA expression levels to overall survival outcomes. These increased levels of mRNA expression were found to be prognostically significant, whereby patients with high expression levels of either TGFB2, IRF9, or IFI27 showed median OS times ranging from 16 to 20 months (p < 0.01 compared to 72 months for patients with low levels of expression for both TGFB2 and either IRF9 or IFI27). Examination of the KMplotter database determined the prognostic impact of TGFB2 mRNA expression levels by comparing patients expressing high versus low levels of TGFB2 (50th percentile cut-off) in low macrophage TME. In TME with low macrophage levels, patients with high levels of TGFB2 mRNA exhibited significantly shorter OS outcomes than patients with low TGFB2 mRNA levels (Median OS of 15.3 versus 72.7 months, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression models were applied to control for age at diagnosis. Nine genes exhibited significant increases in hazard ratios for TGFB2 mRNA expression, marker gene mRNA expression, and a significant interaction term between TGFB2 and marker gene expression (mRNA for markers: C1QA, CD74, HLA-DQB1, HLA-DRB1, HLA-F, IFI27, IRF9, LGALS9, MARCO). The results of our study suggest that a combination of pharmacological tools can be used in treating PDAC patients, targeting both TGFB2 and the components of the type-I interferon signaling pathway. The significant statistical interaction between TGFB2 and the nine marker genes suggests that TGFB2 is a negative prognostic indicator at low levels of the IFN-I activated genes and TAM marker expression, including the immune checkpoint LGALS9 (upregulated 16.5-fold in tumor tissue; p < 0.0001). Full article

This work shows the original projection of a 1:57,600 scale map of southern Germany at the end of the 18th century, produced under the direction of Karl-Heinrich von Schmitt (1743–1805). The sections of the map were scanned and georeferenced as part of the MAPIRE project, and the results are publicly available. In the present work, we use contemporary documents, in particular the books of César-Francois Cassini de Thury and manuscript sketches of the map found in the Military Archive of Vienna, to show that the overall projection of the map is identical to that used in Cassini’s survey of France (first half of the 18th century). In the archive, we managed to find the overview sheet on which—in addition to the Paris Cassini coordinate system—the section grid of the Schmitt map was also constructed. This sketch served as the basis for the compilation and copying work, wherein the existing map works and survey sketches were inserted into 197 sections of the Schmitt map. Thus, the map coordinate system can be modeled in GIS systems using the Cassini (or Cassini-Soldner) projection, with the Paris Observatory as the projection origin. The georeferencing accuracy of using the pure Cassini projection is around 1–1.3 km (at the extremes, around 5 km), which is much more inaccurate than the one used in later topographic surveys. It is considered a combined result of the compilation of the different maps, presumably surveyed by graphic triangulation with measuring tables. Full article

In the present study, we conducted a scoping review to provide an overview of the existing literature on the carbocyanine dye DiI, in human neuroanatomical tract tracing. The PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched. We identified 61 studies published during the last three decades. While studies incorporated specimens across human life from the embryonic stage onwards, the majority of studies focused on adult human tissue. Studies that utilized peripheral nervous system (PNS) tissue were a minority, with the majority of studies focusing on the central nervous system (CNS). The most common topic of interest in previous tract tracing investigations was the connectivity of the visual pathway. DiI crystals were more commonly applied. Nevertheless, several studies utilized DiI in a paste or dissolved form. The maximum tracing distance and tracing speed achieved was, respectively, 70 mm and 1 mm/h. We identified studies that focused on optimizing tracing efficacy by varying parameters such as fixation, incubation temperature, dye re-application, or the application of electric fields. Additional studies aimed at broadening the scope of DiI use by assessing the utility of archival tissue and compatibility of tissue clearing in DiI applications. A combination of DiI tracing and immunohistochemistry in double-labeling studies have been shown to provide the means for assessing connectivity of phenotypically defined human CNS and PNS neuronal populations. Full article

To improve energy and environmental security in urban environments and in accordance with the requirements of the EU, the task of sustainable developing agriculture in urban agglomerations and monitoring it using satellite images becomes relevant. The aim of the work is the development of methods and means for determining stable islands of thermal energy to substantiate the optimal locations for plant growing practices in the metropolis. The research was conducted in Kyiv, the largest metropolis of Ukraine. Data from the Landsat 8 and 9 satellites were used because of the free data and they have better spatial resolution and an available archive of observation results. It was established that the temperature map of the city of Kyiv shows differences in temperature between different parts of the city, probably due to the presence of different sources of heat radiation. It is obvious that the standard deviation of the temperature in the plots depends on many factors, in particular, the season and the type of land use. It is necessary to find alternative solutions for the development of crop production in this area, taking into account the characteristics of thermal emissions. Based on software products from free satellite monitoring providers, EO Browser, a specialized software solution (web application) has been created for monitoring agricultural plantations in an urban environment. A collection of LANDSAT 8 satellite images was used. Areas with stable heat emissions were found, which are due to the operation of a modern shopping and entertainment center, and non-traditional crops for landscaping adapted to its design are proposed. As a result of research, strong heat emissions were recorded for some objects, for them the temperature exceeds the surrounding area by 4 °C, while the minimum standard deviation in January is 0.5 °C, the maximum in July is 2.8 °C, in April and October—1.7 °C and 1.2 °C, respectively. Full article

This paper describes the Integration of Archives and Cultural Places (IaCuP) project, which aims to integrate information about a historical cemetery, including its map and grave inventory, with genealogical and documentary knowledge extracted from relevant historical archives. The integrated data are accessible to cemetery visitors through an interactive mobile application, enabling them to navigate a graphical representation of the cemetery while exploring comprehensive visualizations of genealogical data. The basic idea stems from the desire to provide people with access to the rich context of cultural sites, which have often lost their original references over the centuries, making it challenging for individuals today to interpret the meanings embedded within them. The proposed approach leverages large language models (LLMs) to extract information from relevant documents and Web technologies to represent such information as interactive visualizations. As a practical case study, this paper focuses on the Jewish Cemetery in Pisa and the Historical Archives of the Jewish Community in Pisa, working on the genealogical tree of one of the most representative families resting in the cemetery. Full article