Image pre-processing for optimizing automated photogrammetry performances

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how optical pre-processing with polarizing filters and digital pre-processing with HDR imaging, may improve the automated 3D modeling pipeline based on SFM and Image Matching, with special emphasis on optically non-cooperative surfaces of shiny or dark materials. Because of the automatic detection of homologous points, the presence of highlights due to shiny materials, or nearly uniform dark patches produced by low reflectance materials, may produce erroneous matching involving wrong 3D point estimations, and consequently holes and topological errors on the mesh originated by the associated dense 3D cloud. This is due to the limited dynamic range of the 8 bit digital images that are matched each other for generating 3D data. The same 256 levels can be more usefully employed if the actual dynamic range is compressed, avoiding luminance clipping on the darker and lighter image areas. Such approach is here considered both using optical filtering and HDR processing with tone mapping, with experimental evaluation on different Cultural Heritage objects characterized by non-cooperative optical behavior. Three test images of each object have been captured from different positions, changing the shooting conditions (filter/no-filter) and the image processing (no processing/HDR processing), in order to have the same 3 camera orientations with different optical and digital pre-processing, and applying the same automated process to each photo set

Image-based 3D capture of cultural heritage artifacts an experimental study about 3D data quality

The paper presents an analysis of the 3D data quality generated from small-medium objects by well-known automatic photogrammetry packages based on Structure from Motion (SfM) and Image Matching (IM). The work aims at comparing different shooting configurations and image redundancy, using as high-quality reference the 3D data acquired by triangulation-based laser scanners characterized by a low measurement uncertainty. Two set of tests are presented: i) a laboratory 3D measurement made with the two active and passive approaches, where the image-based 3D acquisition makes use of different camera orientations leading to different image redundancy; ii) a 3D digitization in the field with an industrial laser scanner and two sets of images taken with different overlap levels. The results in the field confirm the relationship between measurement uncertainty and image overlap that emerged in the Lab tests

Digital Contents for Enhancing the Communication of Museum Exhibition: The Pervival Project

The PERVIVAL project aims at developing an interactive system with the preliminary function of explaining a complex museum collection in a simple and immediate way and allowing the visitor to better understand the museum collection he is about to see. In particular, the interactive system aims at enhancing the understanding of the collections of funeral furnishings of Egyptians, which are characterized by a multiplicity of objects of rich symbolism and connected to each other through complex funeral rituals. The idea is to explain the religious creed of ancient Egyptians through the objects placed in the tomb, having in this way a double benefit: enlightening the rituals and placing the objects back in their primary function. In this way, the knowledge of the visitor is not only enlarged through the description of something that is described on papyruses or inscriptions (hence, not comprehensible) but also the proper function of every single object will be explained through the connection among them, as a function of amulets or goods necessary to travel through the World of the Dead. The connection between the different objects allows a much greater understanding of the exposed collection that would be perceived in this way not as a set of single isolated pieces, but as a harmonious set of complementary elements between they represent a specific historical-cultural context

Auxetic structures used in kinesiology tapes can improve form-fitting and personalization

Each year 65% of young athletes and 25% of physically active adults suffer from at least one musculoskeletal injury that prevents them from continuing with physical activity, negatively influencing their physical and mental well-being. The treatment of musculoskeletal injuries with the adhesive elastic kinesiology tape (KT) decreases the recovery time. Patients can thus recommence physical exercise earlier. Here, a novel KT based on auxetic structures is proposed to simplify the application procedure and allow personalization. This novel KT exploits the form-fitting property of auxetics as well as their ability to simultaneously expand in two perpendicular directions when stretched. The auxetic contribution is tuned by optimizing the structure design using analytical equations and experimental measurements. A reentrant honeycomb topology is selected to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach. Prototypes of auxetic KT to treat general elbow pains and muscle tenseness in the forearm are developed

Accurate reconstruction of the Roman circus in Milan by georeferencing heterogeneous data sources with GIS

This paper presents the methodological approach and the actual workflow for creating the 3D digital reconstruction in time of the ancient Roman Circus of Milan, which is presently covered completely by the urban fabric of the modern city. The diachronic reconstruction is based on a proper mix of quantitative data originated by current 3D surveys and historical sources, such as ancient maps, drawings, archaeological reports, restrictions decrees, and old photographs. When possible, such heterogeneous sources have been georeferenced and stored in a GIS system. In this way the sources have been analyzed in depth, allowing the deduction of geometrical information not explicitly revealed by the material available. A reliable reconstruction of the area in different historical periods has been therefore hypothesized. This research has been carried on in the framework of the project Cultural Heritage Through Timeâ\u80\u94CHT2, funded by the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage (JPI-CH), supported by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage (MiBACT), the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MIUR), and the European Commission

Safety, Immunogenicity and Dose Ranging of a New Vi-CRM197 Conjugate Vaccine against Typhoid Fever: Randomized Clinical Testing in Healthy Adults

Typhoid fever causes more than 21 million cases of disease and 200,000 deaths yearly worldwide, with more than 90% of the disease burden being reported from Asia. Epidemiological data show high disease incidence in young children and suggest that immunization programs should target children below two years of age: this is not possible with available vaccines. The Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health developed a conjugate vaccine (Vi-CRM₁₉₇) for infant vaccination concomitantly with EPI vaccines, either starting at 6 weeks with DTP or at 9 months with measles vaccine. We report the results from a Phase 1 and a Phase 2 dose ranging trial with Vi-CRM₁₉₇ in European adults.Following randomized blinded comparison of single vaccination with either Vi-CRM₁₉₇ or licensed polysaccharide vaccines (both containing 25·0 µg of Vi antigen), a randomised observer blinded dose ranging trial was performed in the same center to compare three concentrations of Vi-CRM₁₉₇ (1·25 µg, 5·0 µg and 12·5 µg of Vi antigen) with the polysaccharide vaccine.All vaccines were well tolerated. Compared to the polysaccharide vaccine, Vi-CRM₁₉₇ induced a higher incidence of mild to moderate short lasting local pain. All Vi-CRM₁₉₇ formulations induced higher Vi antibody levels compared to licensed control, with clear dose response relationship.Vi-CRM₁₉₇ did not elicit safety concerns, was highly immunogenic and is therefore suitable for further clinical testing in endemic populations of South Asia.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01123941 NCT01193907

Short Vi-polysaccharide abrogates T-independent immune response and hyporesponsiveness elicited by long Vi-CRM197 conjugate vaccine

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.Polysaccharide-protein conjugates have been developed to overcome the T-independent response, hyporesponsiveness to repeated vaccination, and poor immunogenicity in infants of polysaccharides. To address the impact of polysaccharide length, typhoid conjugates made with short- and long-chain fractions of Vi polysaccharide with average sizes of 9.5, 22.8, 42.7, 82.0, and 165 kDa were compared. Long-chain-conjugated Vi (165 kDa) induced a response in both wild-type and T cell-deficient mice, suggesting that it maintains a T-independent response. In marked contrast, short-chain Vi (9.5 to 42.7 kDa) conjugates induced a response in wild-type mice but not in T cell-deficient mice, suggesting that the response is dependent on T cell help. Mechanistically, this was explained in neonatal mice, in which long-chain, but not short-chain, Vi conjugate induced late apoptosis of Vi-specific B cells in spleen and early depletion of Vi-specific B cells in bone marrow, resulting in hyporesponsiveness and lack of long-term persistence of Vi-specific IgG in serum and IgG+ antibody-secreting cells in bone marrow. We conclude that while conjugation of long-chain Vi generates T-dependent antigens, the conjugates also retain T-independent properties, leading to detrimental effects on immune responses. The data reported here may explain some inconsistencies observed in clinical trials and help guide the design of effective conjugate vaccines.Peer reviewe

Age-dependent acquisition of IgG antibodies to Shigella serotypes—a retrospective analysis of seroprevalence in Kenyan children with implications for infant vaccination

BackgroundShigellosis mainly affects children under 5 years of age living in low- and middle-income countries, who are the target population for vaccination. There are, however, limited data available to define the appropriate timing for vaccine administration in this age group. Information on antibody responses following natural infection, proxy for exposure, could help guide vaccination strategies.MethodsWe undertook a retrospective analysis of antibodies to five of the most prevalent Shigella serotypes among children aged <5 years in Kenya. Serum samples from a cross-sectional serosurvey in three Kenyan sites (Nairobi, Siaya, and Kilifi) were analyzed by standardized ELISA to measure IgG against Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri 1b, 2a, 3a, and 6. We identified factors associated with seropositivity to each Shigella serotype, including seropositivity to other Shigella serotypes.ResultsA total of 474 samples, one for each participant, were analyzed: Nairobi (n = 169), Siaya (n = 185), and Kilifi (n = 120). The median age of the participants was 13.4 months (IQR 7.0–35.6), and the male:female ratio was 1:1. Geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) for each serotype increased with age, mostly in the second year of life. The overall seroprevalence of IgG antibodies increased with age except for S. flexneri 6 which was high across all age subgroups. In the second year of life, there was a statistically significant increase of antibody GMCs against all five serotypes (p = 0.01–0.0001) and a significant increase of seroprevalence for S. flexneri 2a (p = 0.006), S. flexneri 3a (p = 0.006), and S. sonnei (p = 0.05) compared with the second part of the first year of life. Among all possible pairwise comparisons of antibody seropositivity, there was a significant association between S. flexneri 1b and 2a (OR = 6.75, 95% CI 3–14, p < 0.001) and between S. flexneri 1b and 3a (OR = 23.85, 95% CI 11–54, p < 0.001).ConclusionChildren living in low- and middle-income settings such as Kenya are exposed to Shigella infection starting from the first year of life and acquire serotype-specific antibodies against multiple serotypes. The data from this study suggest that Shigella vaccination should be targeted to infants, ideally at 6 or at least 9 months of age, to ensure children are protected in the second year of life when exposure significantly increases

Design of Digital Interaction for Complex Museum Collections

Interactive multimedia applications in museums generally aim at integrating into the exhibition complementary information delivered through engaging narratives. This article discusses a possible approach for effectively designing an interactive app for museum collections whose physical pieces are mutually related by multiple and articulated logical interconnections referring to elements of immaterial cultural heritage that would not be easy to bring to the public with traditional means. As proof of this concept, a specific case related to ancient Egyptian civilization has been developed. A collection of Egyptian artifacts such as mummies, coffins, and amulets, associated with symbols, divinities, and magic spells through the structured funerary ritual typical of that civilization, has been explained through a virtual application based on the concepts discussed in the methodological section