Synergistic exploitation of geoinformation methods for post-earthquake 3D mapping of Vrisa traditional settlement, Lesvos Island, Greece

The aim of this paper is to present the methodology followed and the results obtained by the synergistic exploitation of geo-information methods towards 3D mapping of the impact of the catastrophic earthquake of June 12th 2017 on the traditional settlement of Vrisa on the island of Lesvos, Greece. A campaign took place for collecting: a) more than 150 ground control points using an RTK system, b) more than 20.000 high-resolution terrestrial and aerial images using cameras and Unmanned Aircraft Systems and c) 140 point clouds by a 3D Terrestrial Laser Scanner. The Structure from Motion method has been applied on the high-resolution terrestrial and aerial photographs, for producing accurate and very detailed 3D models of the damaged buildings of the Vrisa settlement. Additionally, two Orthophoto maps and Digital Surface Models have been created, with a spatial resolution of 5cm and 3cm, respectively. The first orthophoto map has been created just one day after the earthquake, while the second one, a month later. In parallel, 3D laser scanning data have been exploited in order to validate the accuracy of the 3D models and the RTK measurements used for the geo-registration of all the above-mentioned datasets. The significant advantages of the proposed methodology are: a) the coverage of large scale areas; b) the production of 3D models having very high spatial resolution and c) the support of post-earthquake management and reconstruction processes of the Vrisa village, since such 3D information can serve all stakeholders, be it national and/or local organizations

Expression of E-peptide of IGF-1 on SK-Ut-1 cell line and in human and rodent origin tissues

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) has endocrine and autocrine/paracrine actions that regulates the pre- and postnatal development in many cell types and tissues of both human and rodent origin. The igf-1 gene, contains six exons, and gives rise to multiple, heterogeneous transcripts (mRNA) by a combination of: a) alternative usage of promoters, b) alternative splicing and c) different polyadenylation signals. These multiple IGF-1 transcripts encode different precursor peptides, which could undergo post-translational modification. Briefly, are encoded the mature IGF-1 peptide and the E-peptides. In humans are potentially produced three E-peptides (Ea, Eb and Ec), while in rodents two (Ea and Eb). Therefore, the objectives of the present study are to demonstrate the existence of Ec/Eb peptides and investigate their biological activity in an in vitro model. By immunobloting, with a polyclonal anti-IGF-1Ec antibody, we detected the pro-form and the E-peptide in various tissues and verified that the peptide can be derived from proteolysis of the precursor peptide, through the action of the furin enzyme. To examine the bioactivity of the peptide, a synthetic Eb and Scramble peptide were used. Additional by developing a ligand binding in vitro assay we investigated, whether the synthetic Eb peptide Eb can bind receptor. Finally, we describe a cellular model (SK-UT-1) which does not endogenously express IGF-1 and IGF-1R, and could be utilized for elucidating the biological role of the peptides, independently of the mature IGF-1 peptide.Ο ινσουλινομιμητικός αυξητικός παράγοντας-1 (IGF-1: Insulin-like growth factor-1) έχει ενδοκρινείς και αυτοκρινείς/παρακρινείς δράσεις που ρυθμίζει την προ και μεταγεννητική ανάπτυξη σε πολλούς τύπους κυττάρων και ιστών τόσο στον άνθρωπο όσο και σε τρωκτικά. Το γονίδιο του (igf-1), περιέχει έξι εξώνια και δίνει γένεση σε πολλαπλά, ετερογενή μετάγραφα (mRNA) μέσω ενός συνδυασμού: α) εναλλακτικής χρήσης υποκινητών, β) εναλλακτικού ματίσματος και γ) διαφορετικών σημάτων πολυαδενυλίωσης. Αυτά τα πολλαπλά μετάγραφα του IGF-1 κωδικοποιούν διαφορετικές ισομορφές του πρόδρομου πεπτιδίου του, οι οποίες, επίσης, υφίστανται μετά-μεταφραστική τροποποίηση. Εν συντομία, κωδικοποιούνται; το ώριμο πεπτίδιο του IGF-1 και μια καρβοξυτελική επέκταση που ονομάζεται E-πεπτίδιο. Στους ανθρώπους παράγονται, υποθετικά, 3 Ε-πεπτίδια (Ea, Eb και Ec), ενώ στα τρωκτικά 2 (Ea και Eb). Ως εκ τούτου, οι στόχοι της παρούσας διατριβής ήταν η ανίχνευση των πεπτιδίων Ec και Eb και η διερεύνηση της βιολογικής τους δράση σε in vitro μοντέλα. Εντοπίστηκε μέσω ανοσοανίχνευσης με πολυκλωνικό anti-IGF-1Ec αντίσωμα, η ενδογενώς παραγόμενη ισομορφή και ανιχνεύτηκε το πεπτίδιο της σε μια σειρά από ιστούς. Επιπλέον επαληθεύτηκε ότι το πεπτίδιο αυτό μπορεί να προέλθει από πρωτεϊνόλυση του πρόδρομου πεπτιδίου του, μέσω της δράσης του ενζύμου φουρίνης. Για να εξεταστεί η βιοδραστικότητα του πεπτιδίου, χρησιμοποιήθηκε συνθετικό πεπτίδιο που αντιστοιχεί στην αμινοξική ακολουθία του Eb των τρωκτικών και πεπτίδιο με τυχαία ακολουθία αμινοξέων. Επιπρόσθετα μέσω μιας in vitro δοκιμής δέσμευσης προσδέτη από τον υποδοχέα του IGF-1R διερευνήθηκε αν το συνθετικό πεπτίδιο Eb μπορεί να προσδεθεί στον υποδοχέα. Τέλος, περιγράφετε ένα κυτταρικό μοντέλο (SK-UT-1) το οποίο, δεν εκφράζει, IGF-1 και IGF-1R, και το οποίο θα μπορούσε να χρησιμοποιηθεί για τη διαλεύκανση του βιολογικού ρόλου των πεπτιδίων

Ridge Splitting Technique for Horizontal Augmentation and Immediate Implant Placement

Insufficient width of the alveolar ridge often prevents ideal implant placement. Guided bone regeneration, bone grafting, alveolar ridge splitting and combinations of these techniques are used for the lateral augmentation of the alveolar ridge. Ridge splitting is a minimally invasive technique indicated for alveolar ridges with adequate height, which enables immediate implant placement and eliminates morbidity and overall treatment time. The classical approach of the technique involves splitting the alveolar ridge into 2 parts with use of ostetomes and chisels. Modifications of this technique include the use of rotating instrument, screw spreaders, horizontal spreaders and ultrasonic device

Clinical outcomes of lingual orthodontic treatment: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES To assess the available evidence on the effectiveness of lingual orthodontic treatment and related clinical parameters through a systematic review of relevant studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eligible clinical studies published from January 2000 to March 2015 were identified through electronic (five major databases) and hand searches. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for prospective studies and a specially designed tool for retrospective studies. RESULTS From the 3734 articles identified by the search, after application of specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 papers were included in the study. Eleven studies were retrospective, four were prospective, and only one was a RCT. In detail, six studies evaluated differences of the treatment outcome from the pre-treatment set-up prediction, two studies evaluated the effect of treatment on periodontal and microbial parameters, and 10 studies assessed various clinical treatment related parameters. Despite several promising findings, the quality of evidence supporting them was found to be low in most cases. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review showed encouraging results on the clinical outcome of lingual orthodontic treatment, especially in regards to the achievement of individualized treatment goals and the reduction of decalcifications on the bonded surfaces of the teeth. However, additional well-designed prospective clinical trials with larger samples are needed to confirm those findings. Several aspects of lingual orthodontic treatment were difficult to be conclusively evaluated due to the study design, the heterogeneity, the small samples sizes, and the high risk of bias seen in the majority of the included studies

Early anterior crossbite correction through posterior bite opening: a 3D superimposition prospective cohort study

Objectives To assess the effectiveness, clinical performance, and potential adverse effects of early anterior crossbite correction through opening of the bite. Subjects and methods The sample consisted of 16 consecutive patients (8.0 ± 0.9, range: 6.2-9.3 years) with dental anterior crossbite in the mixed dentition who were treated through posterior bite opening. Patients were prospectively followed until a minimum of 6 months post-treatment and there were no drop-outs. Results In 14 patients (87.5 per cent), the anterior crossbite was corrected. Results remained stable without any retention regime. Active treatment of the successfully treated cases lasted 2.5 months (range: 0.6-8.9). Crossbite correction of central incisors was achieved by a 2.05 mm (range: 0.97-5.45) forward movement and 9.25° (range: 2.32-14.52°) buccal inclination of the crowns (P < 0.05). The antagonists showed spontaneous adaptation of their position in the opposite direction (P < 0.05). No important adverse effects were recorded. Limitations This was a non-comparative controlled study, on a limited sample. Conclusions Bite opening is a promising, simple, and non-compliance approach for early dental anterior crossbite correction. The technique of 3D superimposition and analysis of digital models used here, allowed precise evaluation of single tooth movement in all three planes of space

The effect of regular dental cast artifacts on the 3D superimposition of serial digital maxillary dental models

Superimpositions of serial 3D dental surface models comprise a powerful tool to assess morphological changes due to growth, treatment, or pathology. In this study, we evaluated the effect of artifacts on the superimposition outcome, using standard model acquisition and superimposition techniques. Ten pre- and post-orthodontic treatment plaster models were scanned with an intraoral scanner and superimposed using the iterative closest point algorithm. We repeated the whole process after manual removal of plaster artifacts, according to the current practice, as well as after re-scanning the cleaned models, to assess the effect of the model acquisition process derived artifacts on the superimposition outcome. Non-parametric multivariate models showed no mean effect on accuracy and precision by software settings, cleaning status (artifact removal), or time point. The choice of the superimposition reference area was the only factor that affected the measurements. However, assessment of individual cases revealed significant differences on the detected tooth movement, depending on artifact removal and on the model acquisition process. The effects of all factors tended to decrease with an increase in the size of the superimposition reference area. The present findings highlight the importance of accurate, artifact-free models, for valid assessment of morphological changes through serial 3D model superimpositions

Building Change Detection Based on a Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix and Artificial Neural Networks

The recovery phase following an earthquake event is essential for urban areas with a significant number of damaged buildings. A lot of changes can take place in such a landscape within the buildings’ footprints, such as total or partial collapses, debris removal and reconstruction. Remote sensing data and methodologies can considerably contribute to site monitoring. The main objective of this paper is the change detection of the building stock in the settlement of Vrissa on Lesvos Island during the recovery phase after the catastrophic earthquake of 12 June 2017, through the analysis and processing of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) images and the application of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). More specifically, change detection of the settlement’s building stock by applying an ANN on Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) texture features of orthophotomaps acquired by UAVs was performed. For the training of the ANN, a number of GLCM texture features were defined as the independent variable, while the existence or not of structural changes in the buildings were defined as the dependent variable, assigning, respectively, the values 1 or 0 (binary classification). The ANN was trained based on the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, and its ability to detect changes was evaluated on the basis of the buildings’ condition, as derived from the binary classification. In conclusion, the GLCM texture feature changes in conjunction with the ANN can provide satisfactory results in predicting the structural changes of buildings with an accuracy of almost 92%

Scale issues for geoheritage 3D mapping: The case of Lesvos Geopark, Greece

A geopark can be composed of many individual geosites of various geographical scales, thus, categorization according to cartographic scale is crucial for their 3D mapping. The UNESCO Global Geopark of the island of Lesvos in the north-east Aegean, Greece, is a distinctive example of this type of geopark as it contains many unique geosites that vary in geographical scale. The geographical scale is interconnected with the cartographic scale in which the geosite is visualized. The desired cartographic scale is an essential user requirement within an unmanned aerial vehicle's (UAVs) 3D mapping project as the basis for the data acquisition strategy. This research investigates the scale issues in 3D mapping of geosites. Furthermore, it contributes to the incorporation of the geographic and cartographical scales in association with UAV flight parameters such as Ground Sample Distance (GSD), altitude, gimbal pitch, orientation, and front and side overlapping. A total of 132 geosites located in Lesvos Geopark are being studied to determine the flight parameters of three different UAVs and their camera characteristics. The methodology followed to collect very high-resolution images suitable for 3D mapping consists of five main stages: i) determining the geographical scale of each geosite, ii) defining the cartographic scale of all geosites, iii) calculation of the GSD based on cartographic scale, iv) calculation of UAV flight altitude and flight characteristics, and v) classification of geosites based on the flight characteristics for their 3D mapping. Five geographic (G1: 100 ha) and five cartographic (C1: > 1:50, C2: 1:50–1:100, C3: 1:100–1:250, C4: 1:250–1:500, C5: < 1:500) categories were defined based on the geosites' size and extent. The combination of the two scales determines the most efficient flight characteristics and optimally acquires very high-resolution images required for the 3D mapping of the selected geosites. Finally, the categorization and characteristics of flights for data collection for high-resolution 3D mapping are collected and presented in a web application. The web application is addressed to the management board of Lesvos Geopark and supports the decision-making processes on mapping geosites using UAVs