Relationship between solar radiation and surface distribution of vegetation in Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island,Maritime Antarctica

The aim of this work is to produce a simplified vegetation map of ice-free areas of the Fildes Peninsula (FP) and Ardley Island (AI) thought object-oriented classification using a QuickBird satellite image and to evaluate the influence of the global solar radiation (GSR) over the vegetation distribution. The vegetation data were generated from multiresolution segmentation using the panchromatic and infrared layers, and for the classification we calculated the normalized vegetative difference index (NVDI) and the green NVDI. Two classes were created – Lichen and Moss Cushion SubFormation and Moss Subformation – with 48 vegetation samples collected on surveys during the austral summers of 2008 and 2009. We used a kappa index to evaluate the classification efficiency using 100 sampled points obtained in austral summer of 2013. The GSR was estimated, and in order to evaluate the effect of meteorological phenomena and cloudless, we measured the GSR using a net radiometer model CNR4 installed in FP between 2014 and 2016. The estimate of GSR was done for seasons of 2015, in order to estimate the light compensation point and the saturation point for the plant communities in FP and AI. The kappa index was 0.73 and the global accuracy was 0.78, showing consistency between the classification and ground truth. The area was covered by vegetation in FP was 16.7% and in AI is 59.1%. The vegetation cover is distributed differently at FP and AI, and our results suggest GSR plays an important role in vegetation distribution and these tendencies could be related to greater GSR demand by mosses when compared to lichens.     

Multiscale Connected Operators

Among the major developments in Mathematical Morphology in the last two decades are the interrelated subjects of connectivity classes and connected operators. Braga-Neto and Goutsias have proposed an extension of the theory of connectivity classes to a multiscale setting, whereby one can assign connectivity to an object observed at different scales. In this paper, we study connected operators in the context of multiscale connectivity. We propose the notion of a -connected operator, that is, an operator connected at scale . We devote some attention to the study of binary -grain operators. In particular, we show that families of -grain openings and -grain closings, indexed by the connectivity scale parameter, are granulometries and anti-granulometries, respectively. We demonstrate the use of multiscale connected operators with image analysis applications. The first is the scale-space representation of grayscale images using multiscale levelings, where the role of scale is played by the connectivity scale. Then we discuss the application of multiscale connected openings in granulometric analysis, where both size and connectivity information are summarized. Finally, we describe an application of multiscale connected operators to an automatic target recognition problem.Ulisses Braga-Neto received the Baccalaureate degree in Electrical Engineering from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil, in 1992, the Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil, in 1994, the M.S.E. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and the M.S.E. degree in Mathematical Sciences, both from The Johns Hopkins University, in 1998, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, from The Johns Hopkins University, in 2001. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and a Visiting Scholar at Texas A&M University, from 2002 to 2004. He is currently an Associate Researcher at the Aggeu Magalhães Research Center of the Osvaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazilian Ministry of Health. His research interests include Bioinformatics, Pattern Recognition, Image Analysis, and Mathematical Morphology.     

A variable neighborhood search heuristic algorithm for the double vehicle routing problem with multiple stacks

This paper addresses the double vehicle routing problem with multiple stacks (DVRPMS) in which a fleet of vehicles must collect items in a pickup region and then travel to a delivery region where all items are delivered. The load compartment of all vehicles is divided into rows (horizontal stacks) of fixed profundity (horizontal heights), and on each row, the unloading process must respect the last‐in‐first‐out policy. The objective of the DVRPMS is to find optimal routes visiting all pickup and delivery points while ensuring the feasibility of the vehicle loading plans. We propose a new integer linear programming formulation, which was useful to find inconsistencies in the results of exact algorithms proposed in the literature, and a variable neighborhood search based algorithm that was able to find solutions with same or higher quality in shorter computational time for most instances when compared to the methods already present in the literature.     

Tubular dentin sealer penetration after different final irrigation protocols: A confocal laser scanning microscopy study

The aim of this study was to evaluate tubular dentin sealer penetration, comparing different final irrigation protocols using a conventional needle (CONV), EndoActivator system (EAS), EndoVac system (EVS), and ultrasound (PUI). Initially, fifty‐two first maxillary molars with a single canal in the palatal root, without abrupt curvatures, resorptive processes, or previous endodontic treatment were selected for this study. Then, the crowns were sectioned to obtain palatal roots 15 mm in length. The root canals were prepared with the ProTaper Universal System and irrigated with 5% NaOCl. Afterwards, the specimens were divided into four groups (n. 13), according to the final irrigation protocol: CONV, EAS, EVS, and PUI. After filling, slices at 3 mm and 5 mm from the apex were obtained for analysis by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Two‐way comparisons between the groups and the levels were performed with Games Howell's test (p < .05). Tubular dentin sealer penetration was higher at 5 mm compared with 3 mm from the apex (p < .05). The EAS group showed a higher percentage of tubular dentin sealer penetration, compared with the CONV group, at both levels. At 3 mm, there was no statistically significant difference among EAS, EVS, and PUI; however, these groups showed better performance, compared with the CONV group. At 5 mm, there was no statistically significant difference between the EAS and EVS groups, but both showed higher sealer penetration than the PUI group (p < .05). The EAS and EVS groups achieved better degrees of tubular dentin sealer penetration, compared with the other groups.     

Mobilisation of bacteria in a fine-grained residual soil by electrophoresis

An investigation of electrokinetic bacterial mobilisation in a residual soil from gneiss is presented here. The experimental program aimed at assessing the efficacy of electrophoresis against the electro-osmotic flow to transport endospores of Bacillus subtilis LBBMA 155 and nitrogen-starved cells of Pseudomonas sp. LBBMA 81. Electrokinesis was performed on a low hydraulic reconstituted clayey soil column submitted to a 5mA electrical current for 24h. Cells were coccoid-shaped and characterised as possessing low surface hydrophobicity and less than 1microm in diameter. Distribution coefficient for B. subtilis in the soil was between 16.8 and 19.9 times higher than that for Pseudomonas sp. Distribution coefficient for B. subtilis between eluate and anionic exchange column was 11.8 times higher than that for Pseudomonas sp. After the electrokinesis, it was shown that cells and endospores were distributed hyperbolically through the soil probe and moved against the electro-osmotic flow; however, endospores were transported throughout all soil core and starved cells only till half of its length. The higher transport efficiency of B. subtilis endospores was attributed to their higher negative charge on cell surface. These results demonstrate that electrokinesis can be used for bacteria transport in soils with low hydraulic conductivity, even against the electro-osmotic flow.     

Microscopic evaluation of the dentinal walls of extracted human teeth following electrochemical dissolution of fragmented nickel–titanium instruments

Electrochemical dissolution is a method in which fluoridated solution in direct contact with the fractured instrument receives an electrical current that speeds up fragment dissolution. The aim of this study was to assess the integrity of dentinal walls during the electrochemical dissolution of fractured rotary endodontic instruments in extracted human teeth. Forty‐five human mandibular incisors subjected to the electrochemical dissolution process using fluoride solution with low NaCl concentration (LC group: NaF 12 g/L + NaCl 1 g/L, pH = 5.0), fluoride solution with saturating NaCl concentration (SC group: NaF 12 g/L + NaCl 180 g/L, pH = 5.0) and distilled water (control group) were evaluated. For each group, 15 incisors were submitted for the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) evaluation. The roots were sectioned longitudinally; each hemisection was analyzed (n = 30), and energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was performed. The amount of dentinal tubule openings was analyzed by SEM. Statistical analyses were performed. The test solutions did not alter the amount of dentinal tubule openings when compared with the control group. No Ni or Ti was impregnated into the dentinal tubules after electrochemical techniques. The dentinal structure remained unchanged following the electrochemical dissolution method.     

Optimization of osmotic dehydration of melons followed by air-drying

Osmotic dehydration represents a technological alternative to reduce post‐harvest losses of fruits. In this work, the influence of the osmotic solution concentration and osmotic solution to fruit weight ratio was examined on the osmotic dehydration of melons under vacuum. The process of osmotic dehydration followed by air‐drying was studied and modelled so that it could be optimised. The developed model has been validated with experimental data and simulations have shown that how the operating conditions affect the process. An optimisation was done using the model in order to search for the best operating condition that would reduce the total processing time.     

Topology correction in brain cortex segmentation using a multiscale, graph-based algorithm

Reconstructing an accurate and topologically correct representation of the cortical surface of the brain is an important objective in various neuroscience applications. Most cortical surface reconstruction methods either ignore topology or correct it using manual editing or methods that lead to inaccurate reconstructions. Shattuck and Leahy recently reported a fully automatic method that yields a topologically correct representation with little distortion of the underlying segmentation. We provide an alternate approach that has several advantages over their approach, including the use of arbitrary digital connectivities, a flexible morphology-based multiscale approach, and the option of foreground-only or background-only correction. A detailed analysis of the method's performance on 15 magnetic resonance brain images is provided.     

Economic feasibility of adopting a hydroponics system on substrate in small rural properties

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - Objective is to analyze the economic feasibility of implementing a greenhouse in a hydroponics production system in substrate (sand) on a small family...