Pavement crack detection and clustering via region-growing algorithm from 3D MLS point clouds

Road condition monitoring plays a critical role in transportation infrastructure maintenance and traffic safety assurance. This research introduces a methodology to detect cracks on pavement point clouds acquired with Mobile Laser Scanning systems, which offer more versatility and comprehensive information about the road environment than other specific surveying systems (i.e., profilometers, 3D cameras). The methodology comprises the following steps: (1) Road segmentation; (2) the detection of candidate crack points in individual scanning lines of the point cloud, based on point elevation; (3) crack point clustering via a region-growing algorithm; and (4) crack geometrical attributes extraction. Both the profile evaluation and the region-growing clustering algorithms have been developed from scratch to detect cracks directly from 3D point clouds instead of using raster data or Geo-Referenced Feature images, offering a quick and effective pre-rating tool for pavement condition assessment. Crack detection is validated with data from damaged roads in Portugal.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. PID2019-105221RB-C43Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. FJC2018-035550-

Recuperacion de compostos bioactivos procedentes de podas de vide mediante o uso de disolventes intelixentes

Neste traballo investigouse a obtención de compostos antioxidantes a partir de podas da vide mediante extracción sólido-líquido utilizando solventes eutécticos profundos (DES) como un medio para desenvolver procesos de separación sostibles. A partir dunha selección preliminar de sete Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) diferentes, seleccionouse unha combinación a base de glicerina-glicina-auga como sistema máis efectivo para recuperar compostos fenólicos a partir desta biomasa residual. Posteriormente, avaliouse o efecto de diferentes parámetros operativos como a temperatura (T), tempo (t), contido en auga e relación líquido-sólido (RLS) para determinar as condicións óptimas de extracción para recuperar antioxidantes naturais en termos de contido fenolóxico total (TPC), flavonoides (TFC) e actividade antioxidante dos extractos. As condicións óptimas (T = 70 ºC, t = 45 min, 40 % de auga e RLS = 15 mL/g) permitiron a recuperación dun alto nivel de compostos fenólicos (TPC = 27,49 mg GAE/g biomasa) e de flavonoides (TFC = 40,74 mg RE/g biomasa); así como unha notable actividade antioxidante (29,76; 36,09 e 20,51 mg TE/g biomasa para os ensaios de DPPH, ABTS e FRAP, respectivamente)

Meckel’s diverticulum in association with omphalocele and tetralogy of fallot: Case report and literature review

El onfalocele o exónfalos se definen como un defecto congénito de la pared abdominal, que consiste en la herniación de las vísceras abdominales a través del anillo umbilical. Esta entidad rara vez se asocia a la comunicación del divertículo de Meckel con el saco del onfalocele. Teniendo en cuenta la escasa prevalencia de dicha entidad, compartimos el reporte de caso de un paciente recién nacido, con diagnóstico de onfalocele menor, en quien se sospechaba ruptura del saco, sin embargo, de manera intraoperatoria se encontró que la aparente ruptura del saco, correspondía a la comunicación con un divertículo de Meckel. El caso además se asoció con hallazgos ecocardiográficos de tetralogía de Fallot

Core Outcome Set for IgE ‐mediated food allergy clinical trials and observational studies of interventions: International Delphi consensus study ‘ COMFA ’

Background: IgE‐mediated food allergy (FA) is a global health concern with substantial individual and societal implications. While diverse intervention strategies have been researched, inconsistencies in reported outcomes limit evaluations of FA treatments. To streamline evaluations and promote consistent reporting, the Core Outcome Measures for Food Allergy (COMFA) initiative aimed to establish a Core Outcome Set (COS) for FA clinical trials and observational studies of interventions. Methods: The project involved a review of published clinical trials, trial protocols and qualitative literature. Outcomes found as a result of review were categorized and classified, informing a two‐round online‐modified Delphi process followed by hybrid consensus meeting to finalize the COS. Results: The literature review, taxonomy mapping and iterative discussions with diverse COMFA group yielded an initial list of 39 outcomes. The iterative online and in‐person meetings reduced the list to 13 outcomes for voting in the formal Delphi process. One more outcome was added based on participant suggestions after the first Delphi round. A total of 778 participants from 52 countries participated, with 442 participating in both Delphi rounds. No outcome met a priori criteria for inclusion, and one was excluded as a result of the Delphi. Thirteen outcomes were brought to the hybrid consensus meeting as a result of Delphi and two outcomes, ‘allergic symptoms’ and ‘quality of life’ achieved consensus for inclusion as ‘core’ outcomes. Conclusion: In addition to the mandatory reporting of adverse events for FA clinical trials or observational studies of interventions, allergic symptoms and quality of life should be measured as core outcomes. Future work by COMFA will define how best to measure these core outcomes

Review of laser scanning technologies and their applications for road and railway infrastructure monitoring

Improving the resilience of infrastructures is key to reduce their risk vulnerability and mitigate impact from hazards at different levels (e.g., from increasing extreme events, driven by climate change); or from human-made events such as: accidents, vandalism or terrorist actions. One of the most relevant aspects of resilience is preparation. This is directly related to: (i) the risk prediction capability; (ii) the infrastructure monitoring; and (iii) the systems contributing to anticipate, prevent and prepare the infrastructure for potential damage. This work focuses on those methods and technologies that contribute to more efficient and automated infrastructure monitoring. Therefore, a review that summarizes the state of the art of LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging)-based data processing is presented, giving a special emphasis to road and railway infrastructure. The most relevant applications related to monitoring and inventory transport infrastructures are discussed. Furthermore, different commercial LiDAR-based terrestrial systems are described and compared to offer a broad scope of the available sensors and tools to remote monitoring infrastructures based on terrestrial systems.Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities | Ref. RTI2018-095893-B-C2

Detection of direct sun glare on drivers from point clouds

Sunlight conditions can reduce drivers’ visibility, which is a safety concern on road networks. This research introduces a method to study sun glare incidence in road environments. Sun glare areas during daylight hours are automatically detected from mobile laser scanning (MLS) and aerial laser scanning (ALS) point clouds. The method comprises the following steps. First, the Sun’s position (solar altitude and azimuth) referring to a location is calculated. Second, the incidence of sun glare with the user’s angle of vision is analyzed based on human vision. Third, sun ray intersections with near obstacles (vegetation, building, etc.) are calculated utilizing MLS point clouds. Finally, intersections with distant obstacles (mountains) are calculated utilizing ALS point clouds. MLS and ALS data are processed in order to combine both data types, remove outliers, and optimize computational time for intersection searches (point density reduction and Delaunay triangulation). The method was tested on two real case studies, covering roads with different bearings, slopes, and surroundings. The combination of MLS and ALS data, together with the solar geometry, identify areas of risk for the visibility of drivers. Consequently, the proposed method can be utilized to reduce sun glare, implementing warnings in navigation systems.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2019-061Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2020/01Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2019-105221RB-C43Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad | Ref. TIN2016-77158- C4-2-

Hydrothermal treatment of avocado peel waste for the simultaneous recovery of oligosaccharides and antioxidant phenolics

Avocado industrial processing generates huge quantities of residues that are currently wasted without any valuable commercial application. This work deals with autohydrolysis of Avocado peel (AP) for the concomitant recovery of oligosaccharides and polyphenolics. Temperature of 150 °C allowed the highest recovery of oligosaccharides (14.3 g oligosaccharides/100 g AP) and high recovery of antioxidant phenolics (3.48 g gallic acid equivalents/100 g AP and 10.80 g Trolox equivalents/100 g AP measured with ABTS●+ assay). The liquor obtained at this temperature was characterized by TGA and FTIR to study its thermal stability and functional groups. UHPLC-TOF MS analysis of an ethyl acetate extract of AP liquor enabled the tentative identification of 43 compounds, belonging to various metabolite families, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, organic acids, lignans and fatty acids. These findings demonstrated that autohydrolysis of AP is a suitable technology to obtain bioactive agents with potential uses in food and cosmetic industries.Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGUniversidade de Vigo | Ref. Open Access publicationCISUG | Ref. Open Access publicationXunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2017/62Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431F 2020/03Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Ref. RYC2018-024846-IMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | Ref. RYC2018-026177-

Physicians’ experience and opinion on contraindications to allergen immunotherapy:The CONSIT survey

International audienceAllergen immunotherapy (AIT) is the only disease-modifying treatment in allergy but several contraindications limit its use. OBJECTIVE: To collect the outcome of using AIT in theoretically contraindicated situations in real patients in the Contraindications to Specific ImmunoTherapy (CONSIT) survey. METHODS: The CONSIT is an electronic European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology survey conducted to gather the safety outcomes of patients undergoing subcutaneous, sublingual, or venom AIT and the opinions of physicians on each of 17 selected conditions: children younger than 5 years; starting AIT during pregnancy; controlled severe asthma; arrhythmias; coronary disease; cancer; autoimmune disease; bone marrow and solid organ transplantation; human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; previous anaphylaxis during AIT; use of β-blockers, angiotensin-converting inhibitors, cyclosporine, and methotrexate; and inability to communicate. Safety using AIT was reported in a 3-point scale: 1, "no problems"; 2, "minor problems" (requiring only dose modifications); and 3, "major problems" (AIT not tolerated). Each physician was asked about the degree of contraindication that each condition should have: no contraindication (score 1), relative contraindication (score 2), or absolute contraindication (score 3). RESULTS: Five hundred twenty physicians (75% Europeans, 89% allergists) reported on approximately 45,000 patients undergoing AIT with any of these conditions. Major problems were infrequent, occurring more frequently in patients with asthma (9.9%) and with previous anaphylaxis from AIT (9.5%). Regarding opinions, experienced physicians scored a significantly lower mean for all conditions than non-experienced physicians for all routes. CONCLUSION: Major problems were infrequent and experienced physicians were less likely to be restrictive in the use of AIT

Petrophysical properties in the Iberian Range and surrounding areas (NE Spain): 1-density

<p>We introduce the first map of density data in Northeastern Spain which can help in the interpretation of gravimetric surveying. The background map is a simplified version of the Geode continuous geological cartography (scale 1:200.000) of the Iberian Range and Ebro basin. These maps are synthetic and homogeneous maps based on previous 1:50,000 scale geological maps (MAGNA). The map uses the ETRS89 datum and UTM coordinates (30T northern zone) and covers an area of 140,000 sq km. The compiled data shown in the map come from previous papers of the region (≈ 700 points) as well as from more than 800 additional points developed in the course of an exploratory project focused on the underground characterization of a potential CO₂ reservoir in the so-called ‘Linking Zone'. The new data accomplish some basic criteria; they are accurately georeferenced and lithology, stratigraphic age and other technical details about the measurements (e.g. means and error) and methods are fully displayed.</p