Semi-automated detection of ungulates using UAV imagery and reflective spectrometry

Supplementary electronic material 1: The ‘Adult Arabian Oryx’ rule set.In the field of species conservation, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is increasing in popularity as wildlife observation and monitoring tools. With large datasets created by UAV-based species surveying, the need arose to automate the detection process of the species. Although the use of computer learning algorithms for wildlife detection from UAV-derived imagery is an increasing trend, it depends on a large amount of imagery of the species to train the object detector effectively. However, there are alternatives like object-based image analysis (OBIA) software available if a large amount of imagery of the species is not available to develop a computer-learned object detector. The study tested the semi-automated detection of reintroduced Arabian Oryx (O. leucoryx), using the specie's coat sRGB-colour profiles as input for OBIA to identify adult O. leucoryx, applied to UAV acquired imagery. Our method uses lab-measured spectral reflection of hair sample values, collected from captive O. leucoryx as an input for OBIA ruleset to identify adult O. leucoryx from UAV survey imagery using semi-automated supervised classification. The converted mean CIE Lab reflective spectrometry colour values of n = 50 hair samples of adult O. leucoryx to 8-bit sRGB-colour profiles of the species resulted in the red-band value of 157.450, the green-band value of 151.390 and blue-band value of 140.832. The sRGB values and a minimum size permitter were added as the input of the OBIA ruleset identified adult O. leucoryx with a high degree of efficiency when applied to three UAV census datasets. Using species sRGB-colour profiles to identify re-introduced O. leucoryx and extract location data using a non-invasive UAV-based tool is a novel method with enormous application possibilities. Coat refection sRGB-colour profiles can be developed for a range of species and customised to autodetect and classify the species from remote sensing data.The Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Czechia.https://www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvmanhj2023Veterinary Tropical Disease

Number and Laminar Distribution of Neurons in a Thalamocortical Projection Column of Rat Vibrissal Cortex

This is the second article in a series of three studies that investigate the anatomical determinants of thalamocortical (TC) input to excitatory neurons in a cortical column of rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Here, we report the number and distribution of NeuN-positive neurons within the C2, D2, and D3 TC projection columns in P27 rat somatosensory barrel cortex based on an exhaustive identification of 89 834 somata in a 1.15 mm3 volume of cortex. A single column contained 19 109 ± 444 neurons (17 560 ± 399 when normalized to a standard-size projection column). Neuron density differences along the vertical column axis delineated “cytoarchitectonic” layers. The resulting neuron numbers per layer in the average column were 63 ± 10 (L1), 2039 ± 524 (L2), 3735 ± 905 (L3), 4447 ± 439 (L4), 1737 ± 251 (L5A), 2235 ± 99 (L5B), 3786 ± 168 (L6A), and 1066 ± 170 (L6B). These data were then used to derive the layer-specific action potential (AP) output of a projection column. The estimates confirmed previous reports suggesting that the ensembles of spiny L4 and thick-tufted pyramidal neurons emit the major fraction of APs of a column. The number of APs evoked in a column by a sensory stimulus (principal whisker deflection) was estimated as 4441 within 100 ms post-stimulus

Cell Type–Specific Thalamic Innervation in a Column of Rat Vibrissal Cortex

This is the concluding article in a series of 3 studies that investigate the anatomical determinants of thalamocortical (TC) input to excitatory neurons in a cortical column of rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1). We used viral synaptophysin-enhanced green fluorescent protein expression in thalamic neurons and reconstructions of biocytin-labeled cortical neurons in TC slices to quantify the number and distribution of boutons from the ventral posterior medial (VPM) and posteromedial (POm) nuclei potentially innervating dendritic arbors of excitatory neurons located in layers (L)2–6 of a cortical column in rat somatosensory cortex. We found that 1) all types of excitatory neurons potentially receive substantial TC input (90–580 boutons per neuron); 2) pyramidal neurons in L3–L6 receive dual TC input from both VPM and POm that is potentially of equal magnitude for thick-tufted L5 pyramidal neurons (ca. 300 boutons each from VPM and POm); 3) L3, L4, and L5 pyramidal neurons have multiple (2–4) subcellular TC innervation domains that match the dendritic compartments of pyramidal cells; and 4) a subtype of thick-tufted L5 pyramidal neurons has an additional VPM innervation domain in L4. The multiple subcellular TC innervation domains of L5 pyramidal neurons may partly explain their specific action potential patterns observed in vivo. We conclude that the substantial potential TC innervation of all excitatory neuron types in a cortical column constitutes an anatomical basis for the initial near-simultaneous representation of a sensory stimulus in different neuron types

In-situ X-ray computed tomography characterisation of 3D fracture evolution and image-based numerical homogenisation of concrete

In-situ micro X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) tests of concrete cubes under progressive compressive loading were carried out to study 3D fracture evolution. Both direct segmentation of the tomography and digital volume correlation (DVC) mapping of the displacement field were used to characterise the fracture evolution. Realistic XCT-image based finite element (FE) models under periodic boundaries were built for asymptotic homogenisation of elastic properties of the concrete cube with Young’s moduli of cement and aggregates measured by micro-indentation tests. It is found that the elastic moduli obtained from the DVC analysis and the FE homogenisation are comparable and both within the Reuss-Voigt theoretical bounds, and these advanced techniques (in-situ XCT, DVC, micro-indentation and image-based simulations) offer highly-accurate, complementary functionalities for both qualitative understanding of complex 3D damage and fracture evolution and quantitative evaluation of key material properties of concrete

Dama Gazelle (Nanger dama) conservation strategy 2019-2028

Produced following the workshop hosted by Al Ain Zoo in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 11-13 December 2018. Compiled and edited by: David Mallon, Lisa Banfield, Helen Senn & Hessa Al Qahtani.Peer reviewe

Ds. Willem Petrus de Villiers : woordbedienaar in 'n voorpossamelewing

Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record

Kerk en skool : 'n skriftuurlik-historiese ondersoek na die vennootskapsrelasie

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 1975.One copy microfiche.Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record

3D structure and cellular architecture of the thalamo cortical vibrissal system

We present a high-resolution 3D model of the 3D structure and cellular composition of the rat thalamo-cortical vibrissal system. Despite the fact that the vibrissal system is widely used in neuroscience research, effects of its 3D structure on connectivity and function are often overlooked. A realistic anatomical model of network connectivity has to take these parameters into account. To do so, we automatically reconstruct anatomical landmarks (barrels in cortical Layer 4, pial and white matter surfaces, and barreloids in vibrissal thalamus (VPM)) in 3D from high-resolution microscope images. Surprisingly, we find that the anatomical structures vary significantly across the barrel field. For example, the column volume increases three-fold between different rows. In contrast, the overall 3D layout remains remarkably preserved across animals. The position of individual barrels varies by only 35μm between different animals, and the orientation of individual columns by only 4.5°. This small variability allows creating a standardized, high-resolution 3D model of the layout of barrel cortex. To determine whether the cellular composition of the vibrissal system is affected by these large geometric differences, we automatically detect all neuron somata in 3D confocal images of vibrissal cortex and thalamus. The number of neurons in a column varies from 9300 to 29000 across the vibrissal cortex. In contrast, the density of neurons and inhibitory interneurons is constant in all columns (81,000/mm^3 and 8,000/mm^3, respectively). The number of neurons in a barreloid varies from 90 to 400 across VPM. Despite these large variations, the number of cells in a cortical column correlates strongly with the number of cells in the corresponding barreloid in VPM. Further, because the number of neurons in individual columns is preserved between different animals, registration of individual 3D neuron distributions to the standardized 3D barrel cortex allows creating a standardized average 3D neuron distribution. These results show that despite large differences between different columns and barreloids, the 3D layout and cellular composition of individual columns and barreloids is well-preserved between different animals. This allows creating a standardized 3D model of the geometry and cellular composition of the vibrissal system. Further, these results indicate that a cortical column may not be the elementary functional unit of mammalian cortices, as is commonly believed