Morphological Classification Research Articles

A comparative study on water entry and water walking events of elastic spheres

This paper presents a comparative study on water entry and water walking events of elastic spheres using a fluid–structure interaction method. The sphere displacements, cavity formations, and hydrodynamic characteristics during the water entry and water walking events are investigated. When the impact angle decreases, an obliquely impacting elastic sphere on the water surface can undergo a transition from water entry events to water walking events. Based on the morphological classification of the cavity opening, the shapes of cavity openings formed by elastic spheres can be roughly predicted from material properties and impact conditions. Furthermore, the water walking event is characterized by three typical stages: impact below the surface, walking across the surface, and skipping from the surface. Each stage is analyzed in terms of sphere displacements and hydrodynamic characteristics. The results also show that the vertical hydrodynamic forces acting on elastic spheres are not always smaller than those acting on rigid spheres at all impact angles. The critical impact angle that results in an equivalent vertical hydrodynamic force acting on both elastic and rigid spheres can be predicted from the material properties and impact conditions of the elastic sphere.

Etiological Profile of Macrocytic Anemia in Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal

Introduction: The morphological classification of anemia often correlates with the cause of red cell deficiency. Megaloblastic and non-megaloblastic macrocytic anemias are important causes of anemia in at least 1.7% of hospital patients. Vitamin B12 and folate deficiency are rampant in underdeveloped countries. In Nepal, there is a lack of local data evaluating the etiological profile of macrocytic anemia. Methods: A descriptive hospital-based study was conducted, and thirty-five cases of anemia according to the WHO criteria were included after informed consent. Clinical history, physical examination, complete hemogram (including hemoglobin level, red cell indices, total leucocyte count, platelet count, and reticulocyte count), and a peripheral blood smear were obtained per structured proforma. Appropriate biochemical investigations were acquired. Statistical analyses were performed as per standard statistical protocols. Results: The mean age of the patients in our study was 42.40 (±10.29) years. There was a slight male predominance (n=20; 57.14%). Most cases (n=27;77.14%) of macrocytic anemia were megaloblastic. Vitamin B12 deficiency (n=13; 48.14%) was the commonest identifiable cause in megaloblastic group, while liver disease accounts for half of the cases (n=4; 50%) of non-megaloblastic group. The mean hemoglobin was lower (9.94±1.43 g/dl) in megaloblastic anemia compared to non-megaloblastic macrocytic anemia (10.96±1.24 g/dl). Conclusion: The present study showed that megaloblastic anemia was the most common cause of macrocytic anemia, primarily due to vitamin B12 and folate deficiency. Non-megaloblastic anemia was mainly attributed to liver diseases.

Malacofauna from Cappa Lombo Site: Environmental Reconstruction and Subsistence Strategies of The Bontocani Highland Karst Region, South Sulawesi

The remains of mollusk shell fragments are ecofacts that can explain the environmental conditions occupied by humans, especially in the context of the Holocene period in Sulawesi. This research answers questions related to the types of mollusks found in the cultural layer and aims to identify malacofauna remains at the Cappa Lombo site, Bontocani, South Sulawesi. The data collection method was carried out through excavation, and the analytical method involved taxonomic identification, external morphological identification, taxonomic classification, and documentation. This study successfully identified 10 families consisting of 15 genera and species. Terrestrial gastropod mollusks consist of the families Alycaeidae, Cyclophoridae, Ariophantidae, Dyakiidae, Clausiliidae, Achatinidae, and Camaenidae. Freshwater gastropods consist of 2 families, namely Pachychilidae and Viviparidae, while the bivalve class is only represented by the Cyrenidae family, which inhabits estuaries. Based on this identification, this research shows that the reconstruction of the environmental conditions around this site indicates a wet rainforest environment, which tends to be covered with vegetation and primary tropical forest. Additionally, during the occupancy period, there was a change in land use around this site. Data on the presence of mollusks also indicate consumption. Although mollusks were not a primary dietary source, humans during the Holocene at this site were able to utilize the aquatic environmental resources around the site they inhabited.

A comprehensive morphological classification scheme for local ventilation performance zones in spatially heterogeneous urban areas

Modifying urban-built structures is a promising strategy for ventilation enhancement when designing sustainable communities. However, incorporating ventilation considerations into planning processes can be challenging because of tradeoffs and synergy among effects of various urban forms on local ventilation efficiency. This study aims to comprehensively integrate morphological parameters from aerodynamic perspective to distinguish local ventilation efficiency within heterogeneous urban areas. By synthesizing influences of spatial factors on airflow, “wind permeability, wind reinforcing, and wind accessibility” were resolved to form the local ventilation performance zone (LVPZ) characterization framework and its parameterization system. Accordingly, a spatial division standard and typical types of LVPZ classification scheme were developed. With an LVPZ-map generated in Wuhan, stable wind speed sequences were observed and their ventilation performance differences were interpreted among LVPZs using wind monitoring and CFD simulation. This scheme helps planners to evaluate local ventilation performance and provide a decision support tool for wind-sensitive urban development.

Depthwise convolutional neural network for multiband automatic quasars classification in ATLAS

ABSTRACT In recent years, the astronomical scientific community has made significant efforts to automate quasars’ detection. Automatic classification of these objects is challenging since they are very distant and appear as point sources, outnumbered by other sources. Thus, performing automatic morphological classification is not straightforward; colour dimension seems better as a key concept. Previous work using machine learning tools has proposed classifiers that use features such as magnitude and colour, working only for quasar representation, which requires high-quality observational data that is not always available. Those features are computationally costly in extensive image surveys like VST ATLAS (Shanks et al. 2015). With the continuous developments in deep-learning architectures, we find a powerful tool to perform automatic classification from images, where capturing information from different bands takes relevance in this kind of approach. In this work, we developed a new quasar selection method that we hope to apply to the complete ATLAS survey in subsequent papers, where the completeness and efficiency of depthwise architecture will be compared to more standard methods such as selection on the colour–colour diagrams and machine-learning feature-based methods. This automatic quasar classification tool uses images in u, g, i, z bands available in ATLAS, heading towards new survey requirements facing the big data era. We propose a deep-learning architecture based on depthwise convolutional units that work directly with ATLAS images, reduced by the VST pipeline. Our model reaches an accuracy of 96.53 per cent with a quasar classification f1-score of 96.49 per cent, a very competitive benchmark compared to previous unscalable approaches.

Target selection for the DESI Peculiar Velocity Survey

ABSTRACT We describe the target selection and characteristics of the DESI Peculiar Velocity Survey, the largest survey of peculiar velocities (PVs) using both the fundamental plane (FP) and the Tully–Fisher (TF) relationship planned to date. We detail how we identify suitable early-type galaxies (ETGs) for the FP and suitable late-type galaxies (LTGs) for the TF relation using the photometric data provided by the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey DR9. Subsequently, we provide targets for 373 533 ETGs and 118 637 LTGs within the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) 5-yr footprint. We validate these photometric selections using existing morphological classifications. Furthermore, we demonstrate using survey validation data that DESI is able to measure the spectroscopic properties to sufficient precision to obtain PVs for our targets. Based on realistic DESI fibre assignment simulations and spectroscopic success rates, we predict the final DESI PV Survey will obtain ∼133 000 FP-based and ∼53 000 TF-based PV measurements over an area of 14 000 deg2. We forecast the ability of using these data to measure the clustering of galaxy positions and PVs from the combined DESI PV and Bright Galaxy Surveys (BGS), which allows for cancellation of cosmic variance at low redshifts. With these forecasts, we anticipate a 4 per cent statistical measurement on the growth rate of structure at z < 0.15. This is over two times better than achievable with redshifts from the BGS alone. The combined DESI PV and BGS will enable the most precise tests to date of the time and scale dependence of large-scale structure growth at z < 0.15.

Characteristics of the chloroplast genome of Dracaena marginata and phylogenetic analysis

Dracaena marginata is a widely cultivated horticultural plant in the world, which has high ornamental and medicinal value. In this study, the whole genome of leaves from D. marginata was sequenced by Illumina HiSeq 4000 platform. The chloroplast genome were assembled for functional annotation, sequence characteristics and phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that the chloroplast genome of D. marginata composed of four regions with a size of 154 926 bp, which was the smallest chloroplast genome reported for Dracaena species to date. A total of 132 genes were identified, including 86 coding genes, 38 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Codon bias analysis found that the codon usage bias was weak and there was a bias for using A/U base endings. 46 simple sequence repeat and 54 repeats loci were detected in the chloroplast genome, with the maximum detection rate in the large single copy region and inverted repeat region, respectively. The inverted repeats boundaries of D. marginata and Dracaena were highly conserved, whereas gene location differences occurred. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that D. serrulata and D. cinnabari form a monophyletic clade, which was the closest relationship and conformed to the morphological classification characteristics. The analysis of the chloroplast genome of D. marginata provides important data basis for species identification, genetic diversity and chloroplast genome engineering of Dracaena.

Polarization measurements of Arecibo-sky pulsars: Faraday rotations and emission-beam analyses

ABSTRACT We present Faraday rotation measure (RM) values derived at L and P bands as well as some 60 Stokes-parameter profiles, both determined from our long-standing Arecibo dual-frequency pulsar polarimetry programmes. Many of the RM measurements were carried out towards the inner Galaxy and the anticentre on pulsars with no previous determination, while others are remeasurements intended to confirm or improve the accuracy of existing values. Stokes-parameter profiles are displayed for the 58 pulsars for which no meaningful Stokes profile at lower frequency is available and 4 without a high-frequency pair. This is a population that includes many distant pulsars in the inner Galaxy. A number of these polarized pulse profiles exhibit clear interstellar-scattering tails; none the less, we have attempted to interpret the associated emission-beam structures and to provide morphological classifications and geometrical models where possible.

Characterizing and understanding galaxies with two parameters

ABSTRACT We report the discovery of a 2D Galaxy Manifold within the multidimensional luminosity space of local galaxies. The multidimensional luminosity space is constructed using 11 bands that span from far ultraviolet to near-infrared for redshift < 0.1 galaxies observed with GALEX, SDSS, and UKIDSS. The manifold captures the diversity of observed galaxies in terms of stellar-dominated emissions and ties the correlations of various physical properties to the manifold. We find that two latent parameters are sufficient to express 93.2 per cent of the variance in the galaxy sample, suggesting that this Galaxy Manifold is one of the most efficient representations of galaxies. The transformation between the observed luminosities and the manifold parameters as an analytic mapping is provided. The manifold representation provides accurate (precision = 0.85) morphological classifications with a simple linear boundary, and galaxy properties can be estimated with minimal scatter (0.12 and 0.04 dex for star formation rate and stellar mass, respectively) by calibrating with the 2D manifold location. Under the assumption that the manifold expresses the possible parameter space of galaxies, the evolution on the manifold is considered. We find that constant and exponentially decreasing star formation histories form almost orthogonal modes of evolution on the manifold. Through these simple models, we understand that the two modes are closely related to gas content, which suggests the close relationship of the manifold to gas accretion. Lastly, the found manifold suggests a paradigm where galaxies are characterized by their mass/scale and specific SFR, which agrees with previous studies of dimensionality reduction.

Validation of Esaso Classification of Diabetic Maculopathy.

To test reliability and reproducibility of ESASO morphologic OCT-based classification of diabetic maculopathy (DM). This is a multi-center cross-sectional study including a coordination center (CC) and 18 participating centers (PCs). After instruction on the correct use of ESASO Classification, the validation process was carried out in two consecutive stages. In the first retrospective phase, we evaluated the concordance between PCs and CC in the staging of OCT images collected during PCs' daily activity (608 images). In a second prospective phase, we analyzed the inter-observer agreement of staging assigned by each PCs to OCT images selected by the CC (22 images). The overall concordance achieved in the retrospective phase was 89.8% (Kappa = 0.83 (95% CI: 0.78-0.87); p<0.0001). In 99.5% of cases, concordance did not differ by more than one stage. In the prospective phase, PCs reached an inter-operator agreement of 93.0% (Krippendorff's Alpha = 0.953, 95% CI: 0.929-0.977, p<0.0001). Any discrepancy among the 22 images was within one stage. The results achieved in this study confirm that ESASO OCT-based Classification can be considered as an easy and reproducible method to stage DM during clinical practice. A diffused use of a common and validated method to describe the progression of retinal damage in DM may offer several clinical and scientific advantages.

Assessment of Ocular Deformation in Pathologic Myopia Using 3-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Ocular deformation in pathologic myopia can affect the entire globe. However, few studies have investigated the equatorial pattern of ocular shape. In addition, the correlation between equatorial and posterior morphology needs to be further explored. To assess global ocular deformation in pathologic myopia. This hospital-based, cross-sectional study included 180 pathologic myopic eyes with atrophic maculopathy grading C2 (diffuse chorioretinal atrophy) or more from 180 participants who underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination, including high-resolution 3-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, 10 nonpathologic myopic eyes of 10 participants were set as the control group. According to the cross-sectional view of equator, equatorial shape was classified as round, rectangular, pyriform (noncircular and more protruded in 1 direction), vertical-elliptical, or horizontal-elliptical; according to the nasal and inferior views, the posterior shape was categorized as spheroidal, conical, bulb-shaped, ellipsoidal, multidistorted, and barrel-shaped. Equatorial circularity and ocular sphericity were used to quantitatively assess the morphological variability of the equatorial and posterior regions, respectively. The association between ocular morphology and ocular parameters and myopic maculopathy was also investigated. The mean (SD) age of 180 participants with pathologic myopia was 55.14 (10.74) years, 127 were female (70.6%), and the mean (SD) axial length of studied eyes was 30.22 (2.25) mm. The predominant equatorial shape was pyriform (66 eyes [36.7%]), followed by round (45 eyes [25.0%]). The predominant posterior shape was bulb-shaped (97 eyes [52.2%]), followed by multidistorted (46 eyes [24.7%]). Equatorial circularity and equatorial shapes were correlated (r = -0.469; 95% CI, -0.584 to -0.346; P < .001) and ocular sphericity was correlated with posterior shapes (r = -0.533; 95% CI, -0.627 to -0.427; P < .001). In eyes with a vertical-elliptical equator, equatorial circularity and ocular sphericity were positively linearly correlated (R2 = 0.246; 95% CI, 0.050-0.496; P = .002) and the prevalence of inferior staphyloma was higher (27.8%; P = .04). Eyes with a horizontal-elliptical equator have the most horizontally oriented axis of corneal flat keratometry (median, 43.55 [interquartile range, 43.84] degrees; P = .01) and tended to present with multidistorted posterior shape (21.7%; P = .04). These findings suggest ocular deformation is common in pathologic myopia and can affect the entire eye, including the equatorial and posterior regions. The morphological classification may enhance the understanding of the diverse patterns of ocular shape in pathologic myopia.

Confusion will be my epitaph: genome-scale discordance stifles phylogenetic resolution of Holothuroidea.

Sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea) are a diverse clade of echinoderms found from intertidal waters to the bottom of the deepest oceanic trenches. Their reduced skeletons and limited number of phylogenetically informative traits have long obfuscated morphological classifications. Sanger-sequenced molecular datasets have also failed to constrain the position of major lineages. Noteworthy, topological uncertainty has hindered a resolution for Neoholothuriida, a highly diverse clade of Permo-Triassic age. We perform the first phylogenomic analysis of Holothuroidea, combining existing datasets with 13 novel transcriptomes. Using a highly curated dataset of 1100 orthologues, our efforts recapitulate previous results, struggling to resolve interrelationships among neoholothuriid clades. Three approaches to phylogenetic reconstruction (concatenation under both site-homogeneous and site-heterogeneous models, and coalescent-aware inference) result in alternative resolutions, all of which are recovered with strong support and across a range of datasets filtered for phylogenetic usefulness. We explore this intriguing result using gene-wise log-likelihood scores and attempt to correlate these with a large set of gene properties. While presenting novel ways of exploring and visualizing support for alternative trees, we are unable to discover significant predictors of topological preference, and our efforts fail to favour one topology. Neoholothuriid genomes seem to retain an amalgam of signals derived from multiple phylogenetic histories.

Morphological description of sagittal lumbar spinal alignment using curve magnitude, span, and apex—the multiethnic alignment normative study (MEANS)

Current definition of lumbar lordosis uses the L1-S1 angle. Prevailing classification of sagittal spinal morphology, derived from a young adult population, classifies the spine into four subtypes defined by their sacral slope (SS) and curve morphology. To describe physiological sagittal alignment of the lumbar spine across age groups using three main parameters that dictate the lumbar curve: angular magnitude, span, and apex. A large, multicenter, cross-sectional radiographic comparison study. Four hundred sixty-eight healthy, asymptomatic subjects aged 18 to 80 years from five countries (184 males, 284 females; 98 France, 119 Japan, 79 Singapore, 80 Tunisia, 92 USA, mean age 40.61±14.99 years). Sagittal lumbar profile subtypes clustered based on lumbar curve angular magnitude (ie, Cobb angle of the lumbar lordosis), span, and apex, and described by sagittal radiographic parameters. Subjects underwent whole-body low-dose EOS stereoradiographs. Comparisons between conventional L1-S1 lumbar lordosis (cLL) and true lumbar lordosis (tLL, defined by the inflection-S1 angle) were conducted. Using the K-means clustering algorithm, lumbar curve angular magnitude, span and apex were used to classify sagittal spinal morphology into subtypes, stratified across age groups. Further univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to compare radiographic parameters across subtypes, and identify predictors for the lumbar curve's angular magnitude, span and apex. Mean cLL was -57.27±11.37°, and tLL was -62.62±10.76°. Using tLL, instead of cLL, to describe sagittal spinal morphology, we found significant differences in terms of angular magnitude of the lumbar curve, the median thoracolumbar inflection vertebral level and pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis mismatch Multivariate analysis found a larger SS, more positive T9 tilt, and more kyphotic T4-T12 predictive for a more lordotic tLL, while a larger overhang distance predicted for a less lordotic tLL (p-values<.001). In addition, a larger T9 tilt, less lordotic L1-L5 and smaller PT were predictors of a more caudal thoracolumbar inflection and lumbar apical vertebral levels (p-values<.001). Sagittal lumbar profiles of subjects age<30 years, 30≤age<60 years and age≥60 years, could be classified into 4, 6, and 3 subtypes, respectively. Sagittal lumbar profile subtypes vary across age groups, with more homogenous morphologies at the extremes of ages. Improved understanding of the morphological evolution of sagittal spinal profiles with age in asymptomatic individuals will help guide future individualized surgical treatment.

Morphological classification method and data-driven estimation of the joint roughness coefficient by consideration of two-order asperity

Abstract The roughness of the joint surface plays a significant role in evaluating the shear strength of rock. The waviness (first-order) and unevenness (second-order) of natural joints have different effects on the characterization of joint surface roughness. To accurately quantify the influence of the two-order asperity on the joint roughness coefficient (JRC) prediction of joint surface profile curve, the optimal sampling interval of the asperity was determined through the change of the R p {R}_{{\rm{p}}} value of the joint surface profile curve. The separation of the two-order asperity of 48 joint surface profile curves was completed at the optimal sampling interval, and morphological parameters of the asperity such as i ave {i}_{{\rm{ave}}} , R max {R}_{{\rm{\max }}} , and R p {R}_{{\rm{p}}} were counted from three aspects: asperity angle of the profile curve, asperity degree, and the trace length. Based on the statistical results of the morphological parameters considering the two-order asperity, the new nonlinear prediction models were proposed. The results showed that the curve slope mutation point SI = 2 mm is the optimal separation distance of the two-order asperity of the joint surface profile curve. The refined separation method that considers the waviness and unevenness of morphological parameters can characterize the detailed morphological features of the joint surface in more dimensions. The support vector regression (SVR) and random forest (RF) models that take into account a two-order asperity separated results have higher accuracy than traditional models. The prediction accuracy has improved by 7–8% in SVR model compared with SVR(SO) and RF(SO). The SVR nonlinear model that considering separation of two-orders of joint surface roughness is more suitable for the prediction of JRC.

MORFOLOGI DAN KLASIFIKASI TANAH PADA FORMASI WATURANDA DENGAN PENGGUNAAN LAHAN HUTAN DAN TEGALAN DI DESA LEBAKWANGI, BANJARNEGARA, JAWA TENGAH

Soil develops from the rocks of the Waturanda Formation in Lebakwangi Village is from sedimentary tertiary volcanic activity. The purpose of this study was to identify the soil morphology and soil classification in the Waturanda Formation with forest and dry land use according to the Soil Taxonomy 2014, World Reference Base 2015, and National Soil Classification 2016. The soil profile from the topsoil to subsoil under the forest land use was dominated by clay texture (49.04%-56.46%), with particle density 1.20-1.24 g cm-3, bulk density 1.64-1.82 g cm-3, pH (H2O) 4.05-4.68, pH (KCl) 3.42-3.55, organic C 1.47-2.29%, CEC 13.05-19.60 cmol(+) kg-1, and saturation base 24.35%-73.70%. Similarly, the soil profile under the dryland use was dominated by clay texture (37.06%-62.60%), with particle density 1.10-1.20 g cm-3, bulk density 1.58-1.75 g cm-3, pH (H2O) 4.32-4.54, pH (KCl) 3.49-3.65, organic C 0.96-1.66%, CEC 19.95-25.81 cmol(+) kg-1, and saturation base 58.35%-95.43%. Both soil profiles have an udic humidity regime and isohyperthermic soil temperature regime. Soil classification according to Soil Taxonomy, WRB, and NSC for forest land is Humic Eutrudepts, Clayic Haplic Luvisols, and Eutrict Cambisols, while for dryland use is Pachic Hapludolls, Clayic Haplic Luvisols, and Haplic Molisols.

Morphological characteristics of astrocytes of the fastigial nucleus

Astrocytes are a diverse and morphologically complex class of glial cells restricted to the central nervous system which have been implicated in the modulation of neuronal activity. The cerebellum is involved in planning movements and motor learning. Within the cerebellum three deep cerebellar nuclei (dentate, interposed and fastigial) provide the sole neuronal output. The fastigial nucleus participates in saccadic and vestibular function, and recent evidence disclosed neuronal projections to cognitive, affective, and motor areas. However, thus far there are no reliable descriptions of the distribution and morphological classifications of astrocytes in this nucleus. This work aims to describe the characteristics of astrocytes of the fastigial nucleus based on the expression of GFP in a transgenic mouse model.

Analysis of intracranial pressure pulse waveform in traumatic brain injury patients: a CENTER-TBI study.

Intracranial pressure (ICP) pulse waveform analysis may provide valuable information about cerebrospinal pressure-volume compensation in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The authors applied spectral methods to analyze ICP waveforms in terms of the pulse amplitude of ICP (AMP), high frequency centroid (HFC), and higher harmonics centroid (HHC) and also used a morphological classification approach to assess changes in the shape of ICP pulse waveforms using the pulse shape index (PSI). The authors included 184 patients from the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) High-Resolution Sub-Study in the analysis. HFC was calculated as the average power-weighted frequency within the 4- to 15-Hz frequency range of the ICP power density spectrum. HHC was defined as the center of mass of the ICP pulse waveform harmonics from the 2nd to the 10th. PSI was defined as the weighted sum of artificial intelligence-based ICP pulse class numbers from 1 (normal pulse waveform) to 4 (pathological waveform). AMP and PSI increased linearly with mean ICP. HFC increased proportionally to ICP until the upper breakpoint (average ICP of 31 mm Hg), whereas HHC slightly increased with ICP and then decreased significantly when ICP exceeded 25 mm Hg. AMP (p < 0.001), HFC (p = 0.003), and PSI (p < 0.001) were significantly greater in patients who died than in patients who survived. Among those patients with low ICP (< 15 mm Hg), AMP, PSI, and HFC were greater in those with poor outcome than in those with good outcome (all p < 0.001). Whereas HFC, AMP, and PSI could be used as predictors of mortality, HHC may potentially serve as an early warning sign of intracranial hypertension. Elevated HFC, AMP, and PSI were associated with poor outcome in TBI patients with low ICP.

A classification of soil solid material for natural and anthropogenic soils

AbstractSoil classification systems give an idea which soils are similar regarding their morphology (often developed through pedogenesis) and therefore assigned to the same class, and which are dissimilar and therefore assigned to another class. The morphological criteria are often selected along pedogenetic lines of thinking. Soil functions however often depend on other physical and chemical properties not covered in the same consistent and balanced way, for example neither in World Reference Base for Soil Resources nor US Soil Taxonomy. By using the concept of substrate, a concise and hierarchical soil solid material classification that can be used in parallel to a morphological or morphogenetic soil classification is described. It includes parent material genesis (geogenesis), fine earth texture, coarse fragments, lime and lithic carbon content, and rock type and enables to characterize the soil horizon material—as a complement to the pedogenetic horizon designation—and the entire soil profile—as a complement to the (genetic) soil type. The system covers natural and anthropogenic substrates (as found, e.g., in urban areas, on landfills, etc.). Its hierarchical approach can be used in single profile descriptions, but also in soil mapping, for which it provides a framework for delineation and rule‐based aggregation of spatial soil units.

Retinal Vasculature Segmentation Based on Morphology and Pixel Level Classification

Retinal Vasculature Segmentation Based on Morphology and Pixel Level Classification

Molding Helmet Therapy for Severe Deformational Brachycephaly: Position of Eurion and Therapeutic Effect.

Molding helmet therapy is used routinely for moderate to severe deformational plagiocephaly. However, there have been few reports of its use for deformational brachycephaly (DB). The incidence and severity of DB are high in the Asian population, including Japanese people, but there are no reports of treatment for severe cases. The current study showed significant improvement even in severe DB with various deformities. The difference in improvement according to the morphologic classification was investigated. The study included 47 patients treated with helmet therapy for DB with a cephalic index of greater than 100%. Three-dimensional head scans were used for classification and measurement. DB was classified into four types according to the position of the eurion and the presence of deformational plagiocephaly. The therapeutic effect was determined by changes in cephalic index and cranial asymmetry. Patients exhibited a mean change of 8.0% in cephalic index and 6.4 mm in cranial asymmetry. An older age at initiation was associated with less change in both cephalic index and cranial asymmetry. A significant difference in the amount of cephalic index change was observed depending on the position of the eurion when the starting age was 6 months or older ( P < 0.05). Molding helmet therapy for severe DB results in significant morphological improvement. However, depending on the position of the eurion, the effect of treatment may be decreased if it is started too late. It is necessary to understand the difference in improvement depending on the morphology and to ensure early intervention. Risk, II.