A Geographical Location Model for Targeted Implementation of Lure-and-Kill Strategies Against Disease-Transmitting Mosquitoes in Rural Areas

Outdoor devices for luring and killing disease-transmitting mosquitoes have been proposed as potential com- plementary interventions alongside existing intra-domiciliary methods namely insecticide treated nets and house spraying with residual insecticides. To enhance effectiveness of such outdoor interventions, it is essential to optimally locate them in such a way that they target most of the outdoor mosquitoes. Using odour-baited lure and kill stations (OBS) as an example, we describe a map model derived from: 1) com-munity participatory mapping conducted to identify mosquito breeding habitats, 2) entomological field studies conducted to estimate outdoor mosquito densities and to determine safe distances of the OBS from human dwellings, and 3) field surveys conducted to map households, roads, outdoor human aggregations and landmarks. The resulting data were combined in a Ge- ographical Information Systems (GIS) environment and analysed to determine optimal locations for the OBS. Separately, a GIS-interpolated map produced by asking community members to rank different zones of the study area and show where they expected to find most mosquitoes, was visually compared to another map interpolated from the entomological survey of outdoor mosquito densities. An easy-to-interpret suitability map showing optimal sites for placing OBS was produced, which clearly depicted areas least suitable and areas most suitable for locating the devices. Comparative visual interpretation of maps derived from interpolating the community knowledge and entomological data revealed major similarities between the two maps. Using distribution patterns of human and mosquito populations as well as characteristics of candidate outdoor interventions, it is possible to readily determine suitable areas for targeted positioning of the interventions, thus improve effectiveness. This study also highlights possibilities of relying on community knowledge to approximate areas where mosquitoes are most abundant and where to locate outdoor complementary interventions such as odour-baited lure and kill stations for controlling disease-transmitting mosquitoes.\u

Augmented reality over maps

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia InformáticaMaps and Geographic Information System (GIS) play a major role in modern society, particularly on tourism, navigation and personal guidance. However, providing geographical information of interest related to individual queries remains a strenuous task. The main constraints are (1) the several information scales available, (2) the large amount of information available on each scale, and (3) difficulty in directly infer a meaningful geographical context from text, pictures, or diagrams that are used by most user-aiding systems. To that extent, and to overcome the aforementioned difficulties, we develop a solution which allows the overlap of visual information over the maps being queried — a method commonly referred to as Augmented Reality (AR). With that in mind, the object of this dissertation is the research and implementation of a method for the delivery of visual cartographic information over physical (analogue) and digital two-dimensional (2D) maps utilizing AR. We review existing state-of-art solutions and outline their limitations across different use cases. Afterwards, we provide a generic modular solution for a multitude of real-life applications, to name a few: museums, fairs, expositions, and public street maps. During the development phase, we take into consideration the trade-off between speed and accuracy in order to develop an accurate and real-time solution. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of our methods with an application on a real use case based on a map of the city of Oporto, in Portugal.Mapas e Sistema de Informação Geográfica (GIS) desempenham um papel importante na sociedade, particularmente no turismo, navegação e orientação pessoal. No entanto, fornecer informações geográficas de interesse a consultas dos utilizadores é uma tarefa árdua. Os principais dificuldades são (1) as várias escalas de informações disponíveis, (2) a grande quantidade de informação disponível em cada escala e (3) dificuldade em inferir diretamente um contexto geográfico significativo a partir dos textos, figuras ou diagramas usados. Assim, e para superar as dificuldades mencionadas, desenvolvemos uma solução que permite a sobreposição de informações visuais sobre os mapas que estão a ser consultados - um método geralmente conhecido como Realidade Aumentada (AR). Neste sentido, o objetivo desta dissertação é a pesquisa e implementação de um método para a visualização de informações cartográficas sobre mapas 2D físicos (analógicos) e digitais utilizando AR. Em primeiro lugar, analisamos o estado da arte juntamente com as soluções existentes e também as suas limitações nas diversas utilizações possíveis. Posteriormente, fornecemos uma solução modular genérica para uma várias aplicações reais tais como: museus, feiras, exposições e mapas públicos de ruas. Durante a fase de desenvolvimento, tivemos em consideração o compromisso entre velocidade e precisão, a fim de desenvolver uma solução precisa que funciona em tempo real. Por fim, demonstramos a viabilidade de nossos métodos com uma aplicação num caso de uso real baseado num mapa da cidade do Porto (Portugal)

MICROCANTILEVER-BASED FORCE SENSING, CONTROL AND IMAGING

This dissertation presents a distributed-parameters base modeling framework for microcantilever (MC)-based force sensing and control with applications to nanomanipulation and imaging. Due to the widespread applications of MCs in nanoscale force sensing or atomic force microscopy with nano-Newton to pico-Newton force measurement requirements, precise modeling of the involved MCs is essential. Along this line, a distributed-parameters modeling framework is proposed which is followed by a modified robust controller with perturbation estimation to target the problem of delay in nanoscale imaging and manipulation. It is shown that the proposed nonlinear model-based controller can stabilize such nanomanipulation process in a very short time compared to available conventional methods. Such modeling and control development could pave the pathway towards MC-based manipulation and positioning. The first application of the MC-based (a piezoresistive MC) force sensors in this dissertation includes MC-based mass sensing with applications to biological species detection. MC-based sensing has recently attracted extensive interest in many chemical and biological applications due to its sensitivity, extreme applicability and low cost. By measuring the stiffness of MCs experimentally, the effect of adsorption of target molecules can be quantified. To measure MC\u27s stiffness, an in-house nanoscale force sensing setup is designed and fabricated which utilizes a piezoresistive MC to measure the force acting on the MC\u27s tip with nano-Newton resolution. In the second application, the proposed MC-based force sensor is utilized to achieve a fast-scan laser-free Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Tracking control of piezoelectric actuators in various applications including scanning probe microscopes is limited by sudden step discontinuities within time-varying continuous trajectories. For this, a switching control strategy is proposed for effective tracking of such discontinuous trajectories. A new spiral path planning is also proposed here which improves scanning rate of the AFM. Implementation of the proposed modeling and controller in a laser-free AFM setup yields high quality image of surfaces with stepped topographies at frequencies up to 30 Hz. As the last application of the MC-based force sensors, a nanomanipulator named here MM3A® is utilized for nanomanipulation purposes. The area of control and manipulation at the nanoscale has recently received widespread attention in different technologies such as fabricating electronic chipsets, testing and assembly of MEMS and NEMS, micro-injection and manipulation of chromosomes and genes. To overcome the lack of position sensor on this particular manipulator, a fused vision force feedback robust controller is proposed. The effects of utilization of the image and force feedbacks are individually discussed and analyzed for use in the developed fused vision force feedback control framework in order to achieve ultra precise positioning and optimal performance

Constraint-based adaptation for complex space configuration in building services

In this paper an object-based CAD programming is used to take advantage of standardization to handle the schematic design, sizing and layout planning for ceiling mounted fan coil system in a building ceiling void. In order to deal with more complex geometry and real building size, we have used a hybrid approach combining case-based reasoning and constraint programming techniques. Very often, building services engineers use previous solutions and adapt them to new problems. Case-based reasoning mirrors this practical approach and did help us deal effectively with increasingly complex geometry. Our approach combines automation and interactivity. From the specification of the building 3D BIM model, our software prototype proceeds through four steps. First, the user divides the building into zones, each zone being defined by a geometrical primitive (i.e. rectangle zone, triangle zone, curved zone, etc.). Next, for each zone a similar case is retrieved from the case library. The retrieval process will generate a first incomplete 3D solution containing some inconsistencies. Next, the incomplete solution is adapted, using constraint programming techniques, to provide a consistent solution. Finally, distribution routes (i.e. ducts and pipes) are generated using constraint programming techniques. The 3D fan coil solution can be modified or improved by the designer, while providing further contribution by concentrating on interactivity. The project has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in the UK

A GIS for Balboa Park’s Desert Garden in San Diego, California

Balboa Park’s Desert Garden in San Diego, California, contains a collection of desert plants from around the world that attracts a growing number of park enthusiasts each year. The park’s staff desires a GIS inventory of the garden’s assets and spatial tools to aid in querying, reporting, analyzing, and mapping. A quality garden inventory made available to the public for educational purposes will fulfill one of the criteria for future accreditation provided by the American Association of Museums. This project provides: (a) a geodatabase of the plant inventory and garden infrastructure, (b) georeferenced digital photographs of garden features, (c) a digital elevation model compiled from lidar data and a related 3-D land surface map, (d) a map and brochure for the garden’s information kiosk and Balboa Park visitor center, (e) an interactive web mapping service for the public to explore the garden via the internet, and (f) a project workflow poster

Data Mining on Spatial Data In Focus of Positioning Accuracy in GIS Application

This project emphasizes onthe concepts of Global Positioning System (GPS) in a broader perspective of research in GIS. The emphasis is placed on improving GPS positioning accuracy. The project is significant in terms of increasing the quality of the existing prototype by identifying and correcting the sources of errors. GPS is used in vehicles for bothtracking and navigation. Tracking systems enable a base station to keep track of the vehicles without the intervention of the driver where, as navigation system helps the driver to reach the destination. GPS can be a powerful tool that assists researchers locates points of interest. While GPSprovides an easyway to collectlatitude and longitude, it is important to remember that there are errors inherent in any GPS collected point. In order to use GPS most effectively, users need to decide on a strategy for dealing with the errors. Although there are several approaches such as dead reckoning, real time kinematic, to improving position accuracy, differential correction (concept of DGPS) is common to most of researchers. Differential correction can remove most of the effects of S/A and other common sources of error in GPS computed positions. It is the most consistent and effective meansof improving positionaccuracy. This final year project will result in an enhanced version of existing vehicle-tracking prototype system. The enhancement is in the form of accuracy in tracking the truck in this system. This GPS-based vehicle tracking system will tell user where the truck is, who is the driver, the truck plat no and destinations. The project assesses the GPS accuracy issues; identify commonsources ofGPS position error and clarifysome specificmethods in reducing position error. Through this project, the author compares various techniques, analysts, interpreters to test, which is best. The targeted audience for this prototype is for employees working in companies involving in the field of transportation. The Rapid Application Development (RAD) model is used to decrease time needed to design and implement the enhanced system without sacrificing its quality

Positron Emission Tomography for the dose monitoring of intra-fractionally moving Targets in ion beam therapy

Ion beam therapy (IBT) is a promising treatment option in radiotherapy. The characteristic physical and biological properties of light ion beams allow for the delivery of highly tumour conformal dose distributions. Related to the sparing of surrounding healthy tissue and nearby organs at risk, it is feasible to escalate the dose in the tumour volume to reach higher tumour control and survival rates. Remarkable clinical outcome was achieved with IBT for radio-resistant, deep-seated, static and well fixated tumour entities. Presumably, more patients could benefit from the advantages of IBT if it would be available for more frequent tumour sites. Those located in the thorax and upper abdominal region are commonly subjected to intra-fractional, respiration related motion. Different motion compensated dose delivery techniques have been developed for active field shaping with scanned pencil beams and are at least available under experimental conditions at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany. High standards for quality assurance are required in IBT to ensure a safe and precise dose application. Both underdosage in the tumour and overdosage in the normal tissue might endanger the treatment success. Since minor unexpected anatomical changes e.g. related to patient mispositioning, tumour shrinkage or tissue swelling could already lead to remarkable deviations between planned and delivered dose distribution, a valuable dose monitoring system is desired for IBT. So far, positron emission tomography (PET) is the only in vivo, in situ and non-invasive qualitative dose monitoring method applied under clinical conditions. It makes use of the tissue autoactivation by nuclear fragmentation reactions occurring along the beam path. Among others, +-emitting nuclides are generated and decay according to their half-life under the emission of a positron. The subsequent positron-electron annihilation creates two 511 keV photons which are emitted in opposite direction and can be detected as coincidence event by a dedicated PET scanner. The induced three-dimensional (3D) +- activity distribution in the patient can be reconstructed from the measured coincidences. Conclusions about the delivered dose distribution can be drawn indirectly from a comparison between two +-activity distributions: the measured one and an expected one generated by a Monte-Carlo simulation. This workflow has been proven to be valuable for the dose monitoring in IBT when it was applied for about 440 patients, mainly suffering from deep-seated head and neck tumours that have been treated with 12C ions at GSI. In the presence of intra-fractional target motion, the conventional 3D PET data processing will result in an inaccurate representation of the +-activity distribution in the patient. Fourdimensional, time-resolved (4D) reconstruction algorithms adapted to the special geometry of in-beam PET scanners allow to compensate for the motion related blurring artefacts. Within this thesis, a 4D maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) reconstruction algorithm has been implemented for the double-head scanner Bastei installed at GSI. The proper functionality of the algorithm and its superior performance in terms of suppressing motion related blurring artefacts compared to an already applied co-registration approach has been demonstrated by a comparative simulation study and by dedicated measurements with moving radioactive sources and irradiated targets. Dedicated phantoms mainly made up of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and a motion table for regular one-dimensional (1D) motion patterns have been designed and manufactured for the experiments. Furthermore, the general applicability of the 4D MLEM algorithm for more complex motion patterns has been demonstrated by the successful reduction of motion artefacts from a measurement with rotating (two-dimensional moving) radioactive sources. For 1D cos2 and cos4 motion, it has been clearly illustrated by systematic point source measurements that the motion influence can be better compensated with the same number of motion phases if amplitudesorted instead of time-sorted phases are utilized. In any case, with an appropriate parameter selection to obtain a mean residual motion per phase of about half of the size of a PET crystal size, acceptable results have been achieved. Additionally, it has been validated that the 4D MLEM algorithm allows to reliably access the relevant parameters (particle range and lateral field position and gradients) for a dose verification in intra-fractionally moving targets even from the intrinsically low counting statistics of IBT-PET data. To evaluate the measured +-activity distribution, it should be compared to a simulated one that is expected from the moving target irradiation. Thus, a 4D version of the simulation software is required. It has to emulate the generation of +-emitters under consideration of the intra-fractional motion, their decay at motion state dependent coordinates and to create listmode data streams from the simulated coincidences. Such a revised and extended version that has been compiled for the special geometry of the Bastei PET scanner is presented within this thesis. The therapy control system provides information about the exact progress of the motion compensated dose delivery. This information and the intra-fractional target motion needs to be taken into account for simulating realistic +-activity distributions. A dedicated preclinical phantom simulation study has been performed to demonstrate the correct functionality of the 4D simulation program and the necessity of the additional, motionrelated input parameters. Different to the data evaluation for static targets, additional effort is required to avoid a potential misleading interpretation of the 4D measured and simulated +-activity distributions in the presence of deficient motion mitigation or data processing. It is presented that in the presence of treatment errors the results from the simulation might be in accordance to the measurement although the planned and delivered dose distribution are different. In contrast to that, deviations may occur between both distributions which are not related to anatomical changes but to deficient 4D data processing. Recommendations are given in this thesis to optimize the 4D IBT-PET workflow and to prevent the observer from a mis-interpretation of the dose monitoring data. In summary, the thesis contributes on a large scale to a potential future application of the IBT-PET monitoring for intra-fractionally moving target volumes by providing the required reconstruction and simulation algorithms. Systematic examinations with more realistic, multi-directional and irregular motion patterns are required for further improvements. For a final rating of the expectable benefit from a 4D IBT-PET dose monitoring, future investigations should include real treatment plans, breathing curves and 4D patient CT images

GIS based modelling for fuel reduction using controlled burn in Australia : case study : Logan City, Queensland

Bushfire problem is a long-lasting problem which is a big threat and environmental problem in Australia. Planning to control bushfire is very important for Australian Environment. One of the most effective methods to fight bushfire disasters is planning for controlled burns in order to reduce the risk of unwanted bushfire events. Controlled burns management and planning has been always considered as important by town planners. In this study the aim is to produce a tool for prioritizing burn blocks based on diffract criteria in order to help planners have a sound scientific basis for choosing the most important blocks to have controlled burn on. In this study the following research tasks have been considered 1. Investigate criteria related to prescribed burn management and their usability to design a model for analysing long term geospatial suitability of bushfire prescribed burns. 2. Finding out suitable model for scoring blocks designated as fuel reduction bushfire prescribed burns blocks in long term 3. Testing model in a pilot area Several criteria for building up a multi-criteria analysis with GIS model were studied and the corresponding importance weight for them were debated. Research methodology used in this section was investigating literature and methods for determining weights and possibly, using experts’ ideas by interviews or small surveys or running focus groups in a stakeholder organization to find out the most relevant and the most important criteria. Finally eleven most important criteria were chosen and compared to each other by interviewees to find out their importance weight. The model developed considers all the criteria which is usable to plan and prioritize burn blocks selected in the criteria analysis phase. This model works as a basis for having a sound and robust decision on which blocks are most suitable to be burnt in long term point of view. GIS database used in this model were acquired from the pilot area’s relevant authorities. Model was developed based on the ESRI’s ArcGIS analysis tools as well as ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension. In this model Analytical Hierarchical Process Methodology was used for combining criteria importance and develop a unified value-based solution to the study’s Multi Criteria Analysis problem based on two main themes of ‘Implementation’ and ‘Safety’. Model was tested on Logan City Area in south of Queensland, Australia. The case study is an administration area within Australia that all the criteria data has been prepared and acquired from. Results: As combining the final results by overlaying can cause some bias as some blocks show a good match for safety theme but not a good match for implementation and vice versa, two main themes results were combined using an optimization methodology based on probabilistic principles for generating final prioritized blocks. The usability test of the result generated by this model was done by Logan City Council managers and Parks Department bushfire experts. The suitability of the blocks was very close to what experts had in their minds and this model results were validated completely satisfactory by them. All of the blocks ranked by the model were according to what they had a practical perception from the field visit and field knowledge. In overall and in general, the tool created by this study, will help decision makers has a good basis for deciding about long term priorities to plan for controlled burn activities. Decision makers could use this model to have a long term outlook for the budget and resources needed to be allocated to fuel reduction controlled burn practices. This will facilitate short term planning as well.Bushfire problem is a long-lasting problem which is a big threat and environmental problem in Australia. Planning to control bushfire is very important for Australian Environment. One of the most effective methods to fight bushfire disasters is planning for controlled burns in order to reduce the risk of unwanted bushfire events. In controlled burn, some patches or blocks which are risky to cause threat to environment and humans are selected and burned deliberately under a very safe and controlled condition. This way it is ensured that in real situations the ready-to-burn barks and tree canopy or simply ‘fuel load’ are eliminated from the area. This research aims to investigate different approaches to build up spatial model to aid decision makers have a rational justifications for planning controlled burns in long term. This includes finding out suitable model for scoring blocks designated as bushfire prescribed burns blocks. The target of this research is to investigate suitability criteria related to prescribed burn management and use them to design a model for analysing spatial suitability for bushfire prescribed burns. In the process of this research, first it is tried to find out how prescribed burn programs work, what characteristics a burn plan has and how different criteria may contribute in forming suitability for performing a prescribed burn. Then a model has been developed for this purpose. The model output is the prioritized blocks based on two main themes of ‘Safety’ and ‘Implementation’. A combination of these two themes has been used in order to generate prioritized blocks. In this output the higher is the rank of a block it means that it has higher priority to be burn first in long term planning. The model was tested in Logan City area in South East Queensland Australia. Finally the outcome showed a good agreement between planners suitability choice which was based on field visits and the prioritized blocks generated by model. This agreement was investigated gathering different decision makers’ opinions regarding different blocks and comparing it with the actual model outcome. In overall and in general, the tool created by this study, will help decision makers has a good basis for deciding about long term priorities to plan for controlled burn activities. Decision makers could use this model to have a long term outlook for the budget and resources needed to be allocated to fuel reduction controlled burn practices. This will facilitate short term planning as well