Preliminary survey of historic buildings with wearable mobile mapping systems and uav photogrammetry

In cultural heritage, three-dimensional documentation of historic buildings is fundamental for conservation and valorisation projects. In recent years, the consolidated tools and methods: Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and close-range photogrammetry, have been joined by portable Mobile Mapping Systems (MMSs), which can offer significant advantages in terms of speed of survey operations at the price of reduced accuracy. The reduction of survey times and, therefore, costs makes the application of MMS techniques ideal for the preliminary stages of analysis of historical artifacts, when a rapid survey is indispensable for estimating the costs of conservation interventions. In this paper, we present a methodology for the expeditious survey of historic buildings and the surrounding urban fabric that is based on the use of an MMS and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The MMS is the Gexcel Heron MS Twin color. It was used to survey two architecture of interest and the urban context surrounding them from the ground level. The UAV is the DJI Mini 2, used to integrate the terrestrial survey by acquiring the buildings' roofs. The case study presented in the paper is the survey of San Clemente and San Zeno al Foro churches, two historic churches in the city centre of Brescia (Italy). The result are a complete point cloud of the two buildings and a metric virtual tour of all spaces. These results were made available to the architects through the Cintoo web platform to plan future activities

SCAN-TO-BIM EFFICIENT APPROACH TO EXTRACT BIM MODELS FROM HIGH PRODUCTIVE INDOOR MOBILE MAPPING SURVEY

Building Information Modeling represents one of the most interesting developments in construction fields in the last 20 years. BIM process supports the creation of intelligent data that can be used throughout the life cycle of a construction project. Where a project involves a pre-existing structure, reality capture can provide the most critical information. The purpose of this paper is to describe an efficient approach to extract 3D models using high productive indoor Mobile Mapping Systems (iMMS) and an optimized scan-to-BIM workflow. The scan-to-BIM procedure allows reconstructing several elements within a digital environment preserving the features and reusing them in the development of the BIM project. The elaboration of the raw data acquired from the iMMS starts with the software HERON® Desktop where a SLAM algorithm runs and a 3D point cloud model is produced. The model is translated in the Gexcel Reconstructor® point cloud post processing software where a number of deliverables as orthophotos, blueprints and a filtered and optimized point cloud are obtained. In the proposed processing workflow, the data are introduced to Autodesk ReCap®, where the model can be edited and the final texturized point cloud model extracted. The identification and modeling of the 3D objects that compose the BIM model is realized in ClearEdge3D EdgeWiseTM and optimized in Autodesk Revit®. The data elaboration workflow implemented shows how an optimized data processing workflow allows making the scan-to-BIM procedure automatic and economically sustainable

TARGETLESS REGISTRATION METHODS BETWEEN UAV LIDAR AND WEARABLE MMS POINT CLOUDS

Fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and wearable or portable Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS) are two widely used platforms for point cloud acquisition with Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) sensors. The two platforms acquire from distant viewpoints and produce complementary point clouds, one describing predominantly horizontal surfaces and the other primarily vertical. Thus, the registration of the two data is not straightforward. This paper presents a test of targetless registration between a UAV LiDAR point cloud and terrestrial MMS surveys. The case study is a vegetated hilly landscape characterized by the presence of a structure of interest; the UAV acquisition allows the entire area to be acquired from above, while the terrestrial MMS acquisitions will enable the construction of interest to be detailed. The paper describes the survey phase with both techniques. It focuses on processing and registration strategies to fuse the two data together. Our approach is based on the ICP (Iterative Closest Point) method by exploiting the data processing algorithms available in the Heron Desktop post-processing software for handling data acquired with the Heron Backpack MMS instrument. Two co-registration methods are compared. Both ways use the UAV point cloud as a reference and derive the registration of the terrestrial MMS data by finding ICP matches between the ground acquisition and the reference cloud exploiting only a few areas of overlap. The two methods are detailed in the paper, and both allow us to complete the co-registration task

SURVEY OF HISTORICAL GARDENS: MULTI-CAMERA PHOTOGRAMMETRY VS MOBILE LASER SCANNING

This paper presents an investigation into the characterization of historical gardens by comparing two 3D survey methodologies. In this context, approaches employing terrestrial laser scanning are considered the most accurate, while Mobile Mapping Systems (MMSs) are considered promising due to their extreme productivity. Less common is the use of close-range photogrammetry. This paper compares two approaches based on the use of a wearable MMS and the use of an in-house built photogrammetric multi-camera prototype. The comparison aims to assess the applicability of the two techniques in this field, evaluating their advantages and disadvantages in surveying a historical garden and extracting information for tree inventory, such as the DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) and canopy footprint. We compared the practicality of surveying and processing operations; and the quality and characteristics of the point clouds obtained. Both systems produced a dense representation of the terrain. The multi-camera survey resulted to be more defined due to the lower noise of the point cloud but incomplete in the definition of tree canopies. DBH of tree trunks can be extracted with both systems, except for thinner and finer diameter trunks detected by the MMS approach but not always by the multi-camera. The MMS approach proved more effective thanks to a shorter survey time required to cover an equal area and the fact that the MMS survey alone is sufficient for the geometric description of trees. In contrast, the multi-camera approach cannot avoid integration with an aerial survey for canopy reconstruction

PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS WITH WEARABLE MOBILE MAPPING SYSTEMS AND UAV PHOTOGRAMMETRY

In cultural heritage, three-dimensional documentation of historic buildings is fundamental for conservation and valorisation projects. In recent years, the consolidated tools and methods: Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and close-range photogrammetry, have been joined by portable Mobile Mapping Systems (MMSs), which can offer significant advantages in terms of speed of survey operations at the price of reduced accuracy. The reduction of survey times and, therefore, costs makes the application of MMS techniques ideal for the preliminary stages of analysis of historical artifacts, when a rapid survey is indispensable for estimating the costs of conservation interventions.In this paper, we present a methodology for the expeditious survey of historic buildings and the surrounding urban fabric that is based on the use of an MMS and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The MMS is the Gexcel Heron MS Twin color. It was used to survey two architecture of interest and the urban context surrounding them from the ground level. The UAV is the DJI Mini 2, used to integrate the terrestrial survey by acquiring the buildings' roofs. The case study presented in the paper is the survey of San Clemente and San Zeno al Foro churches, two historic churches in the city centre of Brescia (Italy).The result are a complete point cloud of the two buildings and a metric virtual tour of all spaces. These results were made available to the architects through the Cintoo web platform to plan future activities.</p

5-Methylcytosine and 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine Spatiotemporal Profiles in the Mouse Zygote

Background: In the mouse zygote, DNA methylation patterns are heavily modified, and differ between the maternal and paternal pronucleus. Demethylation of the paternal genome has been described as an active and replication-independent process, although the mechanisms responsible for it remain elusive. Recently, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine has been suggested as an intermediate in this demethylation. Methodology/principal findings: In this study, we quantified DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation in both pronuclei of the mouse zygote during the replication period and we examined their patterns on the pericentric heterochromatin using 3D immuno-FISH. Our results demonstrate that 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine localizations on the pericentric sequences are not complementary; indeed we observe no enrichment of either marks on some regions and an enrichment of both on others. In addition, we show that DNA demethylation continues during DNA replication, and is inhibited by aphidicolin. Finally, we observe notable differences in the kinetics of demethylation and hydroxymethylation; in particular, a peak of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, unrelated to any change in 5-methylcytosine level, is observed after completion of replication. Conclusion/significance: Together our results support the already proposed hypothesis that 5-hydroxymethylcytosine is not a simple intermediate in an active demethylation process and could play a role of its own during early development

Nuclear Reprogramming: Kinetics of Cell Cycle and Metabolic Progression as Determinants of Success

Establishment of totipotency after somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT) requires not only reprogramming of gene expression, but also conversion of the cell cycle from quiescence to the precisely timed sequence of embryonic cleavage. Inadequate adaptation of the somatic nucleus to the embryonic cell cycle regime may lay the foundation for NT embryo failure and their reported lower cell counts. We combined bright field and fluorescence imaging of histone H2b-GFP expressing mouse embryos, to record cell divisions up to the blastocyst stage. This allowed us to quantitatively analyze cleavage kinetics of cloned embryos and revealed an extended and inconstant duration of the second and third cell cycles compared to fertilized controls generated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Compared to fertilized embryos, slow and fast cleaving NT embryos presented similar rates of errors in M phase, but were considerably less tolerant to mitotic errors and underwent cleavage arrest. Although NT embryos vary substantially in their speed of cell cycle progression, transcriptome analysis did not detect systematic differences between fast and slow NT embryos. Profiling of amino acid turnover during pre-implantation development revealed that NT embryos consume lower amounts of amino acids, in particular arginine, than fertilized embryos until morula stage. An increased arginine supplementation enhanced development to blastocyst and increased embryo cell numbers. We conclude that a cell cycle delay, which is independent of pluripotency marker reactivation, and metabolic restraints reduce cell counts of NT embryos and impede their development

Recent developments in genetics and medically assisted reproduction : from research to clinical applications

Two leading European professional societies, the European Society of Human Genetics and the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, have worked together since 2004 to evaluate the impact of fast research advances at the interface of assisted reproduction and genetics, including their application into clinical practice. In September 2016, the expert panel met for the third time. The topics discussed highlighted important issues covering the impacts of expanded carrier screening, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, voiding of the presumed anonymity of gamete donors by advanced genetic testing, advances in the research of genetic causes underlying male and female infertility, utilisation of massively parallel sequencing in preimplantation genetic testing and non-invasive prenatal screening, mitochondrial replacement in human oocytes, and additionally, issues related to cross-generational epigenetic inheritance following IVF and germline genome editing. The resulting paper represents a consensus of both professional societies involved.Peer reviewe

Eco-bio-social determinants for house infestation by non-domiciliated Triatoma dimidiata in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico

Background Chagas disease is a vector-borne disease of major importance in the Americas. Disease prevention is mostly limited to vector control. Integrated interventions targeting ecological, biological and social determinants of vector-borne diseases are increasingly used for improved control. Methodology/principal findings We investigated key factors associated with transient house infestation by T. dimidiata in rural villages in Yucatan, Mexico, using a mixed modeling approach based on initial null-hypothesis testing followed by multimodel inference and averaging on data from 308 houses from three villages. We found that the presence of dogs, chickens and potential refuges, such as rock piles, in the peridomicile as well as the proximity of houses to vegetation at the periphery of the village and to public light sources are major risk factors for infestation. These factors explain most of the intra-village variations in infestation. Conclusions/significance These results underline a process of infestation distinct from that of domiciliated triatomines and may be used for risk stratification of houses for both vector surveillance and control. Combined integrated vector interventions, informed by an Ecohealth perspective, should aim at targeting several of these factors to effectively reduce infestation and provide sustainable vector control