Planning and geology in a coastal plain

Holocene coastal plain deposits are characterized by frequent lateral and vertical facies changes. From a geotechnical point of view, the deposits are very sensitive to compaction, because the moisture content is very high and the bearing capacity very low. These characteristics are at the origin of many technical (and financial) problems when buildings and infrastructural elements are constructed. However, when considering land-use planning with regard to the geological setting, many problems can be avoided. Two examples of road planning, and construction in relation to the occurrence of sand-filled channels are discussed, using profiletype maps as a basic source of informatio

Stabilization of the Outenberg Hill in Geraardsbergen

A road, winding across the Oudenberg hill at Geraardsbergen, Belgium, and built partly in embankment and in excavation, suffered from three landslides from 1937 to 1966. Bored piles were used to nail the surface layers to the stable substratum, subsurface drainage to limit the fluctuations of the water table and a 220 m long low viaduct founded directly on bored piles to re-establish the traffic. Since the end of the works no additional movement appeared

Impact of chromophores on colour appearance in a computational skin model

Early diagnosis of skin cancer offers the patient more favorable treatment options. Color fidelity of skin images is a major concern for dermatologists as adoption of digital dermatoscopes is increasing rapidly. Accurate color depiction of the lesion and surrounding skin are vital in diagnostic evaluation of a lesion. We previously introduced VCT-Derma, a pipeline for dermatological Virtual Clinical Trials (VCTs) including detailed and flexible models of human skin and lesions, which represent the patient in the entire dermatoscopy-based diagnostic process. However, those initial models of skin and lesions did not properly account for tissue colors. Our new skin model accounts for tissue color appearance by incorporating chromophores (e.g., melanin, blood) into the tissue model, and simulating the optical properties of the various skin layers. The physical properties of the skin and lesion were selected from clinically plausible values. The model and simulated dermatoscope images were created in open modelling software, assuming a linear camera model. We have assumed ambient white lighting, with a 6mm distance to the camera. Our model of color appearance was characterised by comparing the brightness of the lesion to its depth. The brightness of the lesion is compared through the variability of the mean gray values of a cropped region around the lesion. We compare two skin models, one without extensive chromophore content and one with. Our preliminary evaluation of increasing chromophore content shows promise based on the results presented here. Further refinement and validation of the model is ongoing

Flandrian, a formation or just a name?

The name Flandrian is now used to indicate deposits of the FIandrian transgression or of the Holocene is a whole, particular in Anglo-Saxon literature. As most geological connotations, Flandrian has changed significance and chronostratigraphic age since it was created in 1885 by RUTOT and VAN DEN BROECX. At that time, Flandrian was a pleistocene "assise" which occurred at the end of long series of quaternary and tertiary stages. Therefore, it completed and still completes the geological traditions of the cenozoic sequence. Substages the Flandrian, as Calais and Dunkerque, are generally used, although there only exist type areas of both series instead of type localities. 'Work is going to define the type section in both areas of the Flemish Coastal Plain. It would be useful to re-establish the Flandrian stage on basis of these new investigations, as the last chronostratigraphic member of a continuous series in the cenozoic stratigraphical sequence