Skeletal camera network embedded structure-from-motion for 3D scene reconstruction from UAV images

Structure-from-Motion (SfM) techniques have been widely used for 3D scene reconstruction from multi-view images. However, due to the large computational costs of SfM methods there is a major challenge in processing highly overlapping images, e.g. images from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). This paper embeds a novel skeletal camera network (SCN) into SfM to enable efficient 3D scene reconstruction from a large set of UAV images. First, the flight control data are used within a weighted graph to construct a topologically connected camera network (TCN) to determine the spatial connections between UAV images. Second, the TCN is refined using a novel hierarchical degree bounded maximum spanning tree to generate a SCN, which contains a subset of edges from the TCN and ensures that each image is involved in at least a 3-view configuration. Third, the SCN is embedded into the SfM to produce a novel SCN-SfM method, which allows performing tie-point matching only for the actually connected image pairs. The proposed method was applied in three experiments with images from two fixed-wing UAVs and an octocopter UAV, respectively. In addition, the SCN-SfM method was compared to three other methods for image connectivity determination. The comparison shows a significant reduction in the number of matched images if our method is used, which leads to less computational costs. At the same time the achieved scene completeness and geometric accuracy are comparable

First record of the genus Rutylapa from China, with description of a new species (Diptera: Keroplatidae)

This is the first report of the genus Rutylapa Edwards, 1929, from China. Rutylapa longa Cao & Xu sp. n. is described and figured, and it is compared to the other Palaearctic species of the genus, R. ruficornis Zetterstedt

Acupuncture for Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcomes

AbstractThe present systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken to evaluate the effects of acupuncture in women with breast cancer (BC), focusing on patient-reported outcomes (PROs).MethodsA comprehensive literature search was carried out for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting PROs in BC patients with treatment-related symptoms after undergoing acupuncture for at least four weeks. Literature screening, data extraction, and risk bias assessment were independently carried out by two researchers.ResultsOut of the 2, 524 identified studies, 29 studies representing 33 articles were included in this meta-analysis. At the end of treatment (EOT), the acupuncture patients’ quality of life (QoL) was measured by the QLQ-C30 QoL subscale, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Endocrine Symptoms (FACT-ES), the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General/Breast (FACT-G/B), and the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL), which depicted a significant improvement. The use of acupuncture in BC patients lead to a considerable reduction in the scores of all subscales of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) measuring pain. Moreover, patients treated with acupuncture were more likely to experience improvements in hot flashes scores, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and anxiety compared to those in the control group, while the improvements in depression were comparable across both groups. Long-term follow-up results were similar to the EOT results.ConclusionsCurrent evidence suggests that acupuncture might improve BC treatment-related symptoms measured with PROs including QoL, pain, fatigue, hot flashes, sleep disturbance and anxiety. However, a number of included studies report limited amounts of certain subgroup settings, thus more rigorous, well-designed and larger RCTs are needed to confirm our results

Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Insecticidal Activities of Essential Oils of Discarded Perfume Lemon and Leaves (Citrus Limon (L.) Burm. F.) as Possible Sources of Functional Botanical Agents

Two essential oils were isolated from discarded perfume lemon and leaves (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. F.) by hydro-distillation with good yield (0.044% for perfume lemon and 0.338% for leaves). Their biological activities were evaluated against five selected bacterial strains and Aedes albopictus (Ae. albopictus, Diptera: Culicidae). Chemical composition indicated that both essential oils were rich in essential phytochemicals including hydrocarbons, monoterpenes and sesquiterpene. These constituents revealed some variability among the oils displaying interesting chemotypes (R)-(+)-limonene (12.29–49.63%), citronellal (5.37–78.70%) and citronellol (2.98–7.18%). The biological assessments proved that the two essential oils had similar effect against bacterial (inhibition zones diameter ranging from 7.27 ± 0.06 to 10.37 ± 0.15 mm; MICs and MBCs ranging from 1.6 to 6.4 mg/mL); against Ae. albopictus larvae (LC(50) ranging from 384.81 to 395.09 ppm) and adult mosquito (LD(50) ranging from 133.059 to 218.962 μg/cm(2)); the activity of the two chemotypes ((R)-(+)-limonene and citronellal): larvae (LC(50) ranging from 267.08 to 295.28 ppm), which were all presented in dose-dependent manners. Through this work, we have showcased that recycling and reusing of agriculture by-products, such as discarded perfume lemon and leaves can produce eco-friendly alternatives in bacterial disinfectants and mosquito control product

The complete mitochondrial genome of an ornamental firefly Pyrocoelia analis (Coleoptera, Lampyridae)

Pyrocoelia analis (Fabricius, 1801) (Coleoptera, Lampyridae, Pyrocoelia) is a beautiful ornamental insect widely distributed in East and Southeast Asia. The complete mitogenome of P. analis has been sequenced. The mitogenome, total length of 14,785 bp, includes 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, two ribosomal RNAs, and a noncoding D-loop region. The overall base composition of Pyrocoelia analis mitogenome is 34.63% for A, 13.69% for C, 42.79% for T, and 8.89% for G, with a high A + T bias of 77.42%. These mitogenome data might be useful for further phylogeography analyses and other related studies in Hymenoptera

Unveiling the Effects of Solvent Polarity within Graphene Based Electric Double-Layer Capacitors

Solvents have been considered to show a profound influence on the charge storage of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). However, the corresponding mechanisms remain elusive and controversial. In this work, the influences of solvent dipole moment on the EDL structures, kinetic properties, and charging mechanisms of graphene-based EDLCs are investigated with atomistic simulations. Specifically, electrolyte structuring is conspicuously modulated by solvents, where a sharp increment of capacitance (~325.6%) and kinetics (~10-fold) is documented upon the slight descent of polarity by ~33.0%. Unusually, such an impressive enhancement is primarily attributed to the suppressed interfacial electric fields stimulated by strong-polarity solvents in the proximity of electrodes, which goes beyond the previously observed issues that stemmed from the competitive interplays between ions and solvents. Moreover, a distinctive polarity-dependent charging mechanism (i.e., from pure counterion adsorption to coion desorption) is identified, which for the first time delineates the pivotal role of solvent polarity in manipulating the charge storage evolutions. The as-obtained findings highlight that exploiting the solvent effects could be a promising avenue to further advance the performances of EDLCs

FIGURES 1–3. Xenoplatyura wings. 1. X. sichuanensis, n in First record of the genus Xenoplatyura Malloch, 1928 from China, with descriptions of three new species (Diptera: Keroplatidae)

FIGURES 1–3. Xenoplatyura wings. 1. X. sichuanensis, n. sp. 2. X. lata, n. sp. 3. X. bifida, n. sp

Platyroptilon Westwood 1850

Platyroptilon Westwood, 1850 This is a rather small genus of keroplatids with characteristic pectinate antennae. They are represented by about 13 species (not including the species dealt with here) found primarily pantropically (Evenhuis, 2006). Of these, nine species are known from the Neotropical Region, two are known from the Australasian/Oceanian Region and two are known from the Oriental Region. The new species below from two provinces in China includes the first record of the genus from the Palaearctic Region (the specimen from Henan Province). The genus is distinguished from other related genera by the following characters (Matile, 1990): flagellomeres pectinate; anepisternum and laterotergite bare; tibiae with setulae in regular rows on almost entire tibial length; basal cell normal, vein A 1 almost reaching wing margin.Published as part of Xu, Huachao, Cao, Jian, Zhou, Zuji, Wu, Hong & Huang, Zhiwei, 2007, First record of the tribe Keroplatini from China, with descriptions of two new species (Diptera: Keroplatidae), pp. 35-40 in Zootaxa 1497 on pages 35-36, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17705

Heteropterna Skuse 1888

Heteropterna Skuse, 1888 This genus is represented by 25 species and occurs in most zoogeographic regions. Most of the species are known from the Australasian/Oceanian Regions and the Neotropical Region, and there are three species in the Oriental Region, and only one species recorded here is known from in the Palaearctic Region. The genus is distinguished from other related genera by the following characters (Matile, 1990; Søli et al., 2000): antennae strongly compressed; A 1 present; R 4 ending in C; laterotergite bare, mediotergite with triangular membranous area at base.Published as part of Xu, Huachao, Cao, Jian, Zhou, Zuji, Wu, Hong & Huang, Zhiwei, 2007, First record of the tribe Keroplatini from China, with descriptions of two new species (Diptera: Keroplatidae), pp. 35-40 in Zootaxa 1497 on page 39, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17705

Setostylus chinensis Cao, Evenhuis et Zhou, n. sp.

<i>Setostylus chinensis</i> Cao, Evenhuis et Zhou n. sp. <p>(Figs. 5–7)</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> MALE. Lengths: Body: 5.0 mm; wing: 3.3 mm.</p> <p> <i>Head</i>. Vertex and occiput yellowish brown with fairly dense small black recumbent hairs. Three ocelli. Frons obscurely brown, bare. Antennae: brown; Flagellum: flagellomeres strongly compressed with a few long setae. Face and palpi pale yellow.</p> <p> <i>Thorax</i>. Prosternum with short setae. Mesonotum with uniformly setae, obscurely yellow with three broad yellowish brown stripes on disc, medial stripe extending anteriorly to pronotum. Scutellum brown, with long dark setae on posterior margin. Anepisternum pale brown with patch of short hairs above; katepisternum, laterotergite and mediotergite obscurely yellow, bare. Halter pale brown.</p> <p> <i>Legs</i>. Yellow (apex of mid and hind coxae, base of mid and hind femur brown). Fore tibia without comb, mid tibia with only black posterior comb, hind tibiae with black anterior and posterior comb. Tibial spurs black; anterior spur of mid tibia 0.3x length of its posterior spur, two spurs of hind tibia subequal in length.</p> <p>Fore basitarsus 1.3x length of fore tibia, mid and hind basitarsi 0.8–0.9x lengths of their respective tibiae. Claws strong.</p> <p> <i>Wing</i> (Fig. 5). Subhyaline, yellow. Veins brown. Costa slightly beyond one-third distance from vein R5 to vein M1; Sc ends in C reaching the level of middle of Rs; Sc2 absent. Distance between tips of R1 and R4 0.4– 0.5 times as long as R4. Ratio of radiomedial fusion / petiole of M: 1.0–1.1. Petiole of M one-sixth as long as length of M1; vein A1 reaching wing margin.</p> <p> <i>Abdomen</i>. Tergite I brown, tergites II–V brown with yellow on basal half, tergites V–VIII brown. Sternum patterned as on tergites.</p> <p> <i>Hypopygium</i> (Figs.6–7). Tergite IX obscurely yellow, tapered from base to apex and slightly exceeding length of gonocoxites. Cercus visible in dorsal view, tapered apically. Gonocoxites yellow with stiff setae medially and long setae laterally, with a deep cleft medially. Gonostylus long, tapered from base to apex; hairy on basal 3/4, inferior setae short and thick, the remaining setae longer; apex with a long and thick black hair.</p> <p>FEMALE. Unknown.</p> <p> <b>Types.</b> Holotype ɗ (ZJFC 060204) and paratypes from: CHINA: Sichuan province: Wolong National Natural Reserve, 21 July 2006, Jian Cao.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The species name refers to the first record of the genus from China.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> This species is similar to the Japanese species <i>S. abdominalis</i> (Sasakawa & Tamu), but it is easily distinguished by areas from petiole of M to basal branches of M without spot (with a brown spot in <i>S. abdominalis</i>) and two spurs of hind tibia subequal in length (posterior spur of hind tibia very shorter than its anterior spur in <i>S. abdominalis</i>). Having compared <i>S. chinensis</i>, <b>n. sp.</b> with the Malaysian species <i>S. rufobrunneus</i> Matile, we have found that the new species differs in having scutellum with long dark setae on posterior margin (without long setae in <i>S. rufobrunneus</i>) and the gonocoxites with a medial cleft deeper than in <i>S. rufobrunneus</i> and the gonostylus thinner than in <i>S. rufobrunneus</i>.</p>Published as part of <i>Xu, Huachao, Cao, Jian, Zhou, Zuji, Wu, Hong & Huang, Zhiwei, 2007, First record of the tribe Keroplatini from China, with descriptions of two new species (Diptera: Keroplatidae), pp. 35-40 in Zootaxa 1497</i> on pages 38-39, DOI: <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/177057">10.5281/zenodo.177057</a&gt