Proportional Representation Research Articles

Enabling uncertainty quantification in a standard full-waveform inversion method using normalizing flows

To maximize the utility of seismic imaging and inversion results, we need to compute not only a final image but also quantify the uncertainty in the image. Although the most thorough approach to quantify the uncertainty is to use a method such as Markov chain Monte Carlo, which systematically samples the entire posterior distribution, this is often inefficient, and not all applications require a full representation of the posterior. We use normalizing flows (NFs), a machine learning technique to perform uncertainty quantification (UQ) in full-waveform inversion (FWI), specifically for time-lapse data. As with any machine learning algorithm, the NF learns only the mapping from the part of the prior spanned by the training data to the distribution of final models spanned by the training data. Here, we make use of this property to perform UQ efficiently by learning a mapping from the prior to the distribution that characterizes the model perturbations within a specific range. Our approach involves using a range of starting models paired with final models from a standard FWI as training data. Although this does not capture the full posterior of the FWI problem, it enables us to quantify the uncertainties associated with updating from an initial to a final model. Because our target is to perform UQ for time-lapse imaging, we use a local wave-equation solver that allows us to solve the wave equation in a small subset of our entire model, thereby keeping computational costs low. Numerical examples demonstrate that incorporating the training step for NF provides a distribution of model perturbations, which is dependent on a designated prior, to quantify the uncertainty of FWI results.

Electoral vulnerability and localism under two electoral regimes: the case of Chile

ABSTRACT This article seeks to test empirically to what extent localist behavior by legislators is influenced by electoral vulnerability in Chile, following a recent electoral reform. Our results show that such a relationship exists in the case of non-legislative speeches delivered in the Chamber of Deputies, but not in the case of personal meetings held by parliamentarians with constituents. Furthermore, we found that the relationship between electoral vulnerability and a focus on local issues depends on district magnitude. By examining pre- and post-reform periods, after district magnitude was increased while preserving proportional rules, we also show that incentives to cultivate personal votes are more nuanced under the reformed system.

Quaternion-based 2D-DOST and stacked principal component analysis network for multimodal face recognition

Face recognition is widely utilized and has become a ubiquitous part of daily lives. However, original face images are often sensitive and unauthorized access could imperil personal information. To protect privacy and security of multimodal face data, we propose an original approach that integrates differential privacy and a lightweight convolutional neural network with unsupervised predefined quaternion-type filters. Firstly, different modalities of face images are banded together by means of full quaternion matrix representation for simultaneously processing. Then the proposed quaternion two-dimensional discrete orthogonal Stockwell transform is exploited for implementing difference privacy, which is disturbed by virtue of Laplace and exponential mechanism. Afterwards, we devise a stacked quaternion two-dimensional principal component analysis network with three-stages for learning representative features. The proposed network model can enhance the discriminative characteristics through inserting nonlinearity, together with union of feature maps in different levels to achieve information complementation. Experiments conducted on four multimodal face datasets unveil that the proposed method achieves superior recognition performance in comparison with other state-of-the-art approaches.

Spider Silk: Rapid, Bottom‐Up Self‐Assembly of MaSp1 into Hierarchically Structured Fibers Through Biomimetic Processing

AbstractSpider dragline silk's exceptional mechanical performance, coupled with its benign production pathway, have inspired the design of diverse smart materials. Remarkably, relatively little is known about the self‐assembly process of major ampullate spidroin 1 (MaSp1) – the main protein constituent of dragline fiber – during its rapid conversion from soluble precursor protein into hierarchically structured mature silk fibers. Herein, the biomimetic potential of MaSp1 is explored using a new recombinant platform with full domain representation. MaSp1 is found to undergo efficient liquid‐liquid phase separation (LLPS) in response to kosmotropic ions, with notably higher propensity compared to MaSp2, and with MaSp1 exhibiting a more complex solubility profile relative to levels of sodium chloride. To further the understanding of silk spinning, the rapid assembly of mesoscale structures is monitored in real‐time in response to ion and pH gradients, revealing a progression from LLPS droplets toward aligned hierarchical fibers. Furthermore, using this biomimetic system, insoluble macroscopic MaSp1 fibers can be readily generated, wherein the application of mechanical deformation triggers the emergence of β‐sheet secondary structures. The insights gained from this study can have broader application in efforts to mimic the formation of biomaterials with spatially organized features across multiple length scales.

Geometric Phase-Driven Scattering Evolutions.

Conventional approaches for scattering manipulations largely rely on the technique of field expansions into spherical harmonics (electromagnetic multipoles), which nevertheless is not only nongeneric (expansion coefficients depend on the origin position of the coordinate system) but also more descriptive than predictive. Here, we explore this classical topic from a different perspective of controlled excitations and interferences of quasinormal modes (QNMs) supported by the scattering system. Scattered waves are expanded into coherent additions of QNMs, among which the relative amplitudes and phases are crucial factors to architect for scattering manipulations. Relying on the electromagnetic reciprocity, we provide full geometric representations based on the Poincaré sphere for those factors, and discover the hidden geometric phase of QNMs that drives the scattering evolutions. Further synchronous exploitations of the incident polarization-dependent geometric phase and excitation amplitudes enable efficient manipulations of both scattering intensities and polarizations. Continuous geometric phase spanning 2π is directly manifest through scattering variations, even in the rather elementary configuration of an individual particle scattering waves of varying polarizations. We have essentially established a profoundly all-encompassing framework for the calculations of geometric phase in arbitrary scattering systems that are reciprocal. Our theoretical model will greatly broaden horizons of many disciplines not only in photonics but also in general wave physics where geometric phase is generic and ubiquitous.

Proximity or Directional Model of Voting for the Turkish Voter?

Voting behavior is a very complex type of political behavior. Therefore, understanding why voters vote for a particular political party or a candidate requires developing complex models. In 1957, Anthony Downs, who built his model on Hottelings’ and Smithies’ models, argued that political parties’ and candidates’ ideological and issue positions can be expressed on a one-dimensional space. On one hand, it was highly reductionist to argue that political ideas on a particular issue can be expressed this way, on the other, it was highly practical from analytical point of view. Locating parties, candidates and voters on a one-dimensional space according to their ideological or issue positions was then a revolutionaly idea and helped comparing party, candidate and voter ideological and issue positions within and across countries. These models, which were called spatial models of party competition were further developed over time and helped understanding voting behavior. Currently, spatial models of party competition have two major competing models linking voter ideological positions with party ideological positions. Simply, while the proximity model proposes that voters vote for the parties or candidates that hold ideological positions in the political space that are closest to their own, the directional model suggests that the voters vote for the parties or candidates that are on their side of the two-dimensional political spectrum and more extreme than their own while being within the acceptability region. This research aims to test the applicability of these two voting models for the Turkish voter. Türkiye constitutes an interesting case study with its long-term PR electoral system as it was suggested in the extant literature that proximity model is a more appropriate tool to explain voting behavior in Proportional (PR) systems. Thus, we hypothesize that in Türkiye, where a PR electoral system is in effect for parliamentary elections, voter electoral preferences are better explained by the proximity model than the directional model. Our research analyzes Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) data for voters of the four major political parties in Türkiye, the Justice and Development Party (JDP), the Republican People’s Party (RPP), the National Action Party (NAP), and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). A series of Multiple Linear Regression Analyses were conducted to reveal associations between the dependent and the independent variables. Voter embracement, as expressed as like-dislike of each political party for each voter, is seperately used as the dependent variable for each analysis. Issue distance and issue scalar product were used as key independent variables representing the formulas for the proximity and the directional models, respectively. Additionally, education, age, gender and income were recruited as classical control variables. Comparing explanatory powers of the statistical models showed that, contrary to the findings of MacDonald and his colleagues, the proximity model of voting is a more appropriate tool than the directional model to explain voting behavior in Türkiye. From a macro-political perspective, this finding supports Westholm’s (1997) argument that the PR provides a more appropriate tool to explain voting behavior in PR systems. Yet, it should be noted that further multi-country comperative analyses required for certain results.

Source analysis of low frequency seismicity at Mt. Vesuvius by a hybrid moment tensor inversion

Seismicity at Mt. Vesuvius has been relatively weak in the last decades. While the occurrence of shallow volcano-tectonic (VT) events at Mt. Vesuvius is well known, the occurrence of deeper low frequency events (LF) was only recently recognized. Previous source studies only targeted VT events, which were found to have quite heterogeneous focal mechanisms. In this paper, we perform for the first time the source inversion of LF seismicity at Mt. Vesuvius, analysing 27 LF events recorded from 2012 to 2021 with the aim to investigate their source processes. Given the challenges of analysing weak LF earthquakes, we implement a specific moment tensor (MT) inversion approach that combines the fit of displacement seismograms in the time domain and amplitude spectra in the frequency domain. The inversion is simultaneously performed for the source depth and moment tensor components in the 2–7 and 2–5 Hz frequency band, assuming either a full or deviatoric MT representation. Source parameter uncertainties are estimated by using a Bayesian bootstrapping scheme. Our results confirm a larger depth of LF events compared to VTs and show a strong heterogeneity of the LF seismic sources, which present various rupture types, different orientations and heterogeneous, whilst poorly resolved, non-double-couple components. The MT variability is qualitatively confirmed by significant differences among the recorded waveforms. The heterogeneity of both VT and LF source processes is attributed to complex source processes in a highly fractured seismogenic volume submitted to a heterogeneous stress field.

MIMTracking: Masked image modeling enhanced vision transformer for visual object tracking

Recently, one-stage trackers achieve state-of-the-art tracking results due to more sufficient integration of search and template representations. These methods usually adopt an encoder for synchronous feature generation and interaction. Despite their high performance, the one-stage approaches tend to feed the encoder full input representations that are highly redundant and dense during training. With a focus on tackling this problem, a novel algorithm termed MIMTracking is developed for visual target tracking. MIMTracking exploits an encoder and a decoder for masked image modeling during training. Randomly sampled discrete search embeddings and template embeddings serve as input of the encoder. The lightweight decoder takes full representations as input and progressively highlights the target region. This design alleviates input redundancy and reduces the computational cost of the training process, thereby allowing for more efficient learning of useful representations. The proposed MIMTracking achieves state-of-the-art tracking results on numerous tracking datasets, e.g., 51.5 % area under curve (AUC) on LaSOText, outperforming the previous top tracker OSTrack by 2 %. Especially, our large model MIMTracking-L further improves the AUC to 53.4 % on LaSOText.

Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among youth with bipolar disorder spectrum disorders and their caregivers

BackgroundLittle is known about rates of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among youth with bipolar spectrum disorders (BSD). As such, the aim of this study is to assess rates and predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among youth with BSD and their caregivers in the United States. MethodsYouth and their main caregiver were recruited from a large pragmatic study cohort. Youth who were aged 8–22 at the time of this data collection, had a bipolar-spectrum disorder diagnosis, had overweight or obesity, and were treated with a second-generation antipsychotic were invited to participate in an online survey and interview assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsA total of 453 surveys and 341 interviews were completed 07/2021–05/2022 by youth and their caregivers. Sixty-seven percent of caregivers and 63 % of youth reported receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine uptake rates among youth and caregivers were highly correlated. Predictors of vaccine uptake among youth were older age and living in the Northeast Region of the United States. Predictors of caregiver vaccine uptake were male sex, higher annual household income and not having to quarantine due to COVID-19. LimitationsThe sample was small and not a full representation of a population with bipolar-spectrum disorders therefore, the results may not be generalizable. The study design and statistical method do not allow for causal inferences to be made. ConclusionsThese findings may aid in targeting interventions to maximize COVID-19 and other vaccine uptake in youth with bipolar disorders and their families.

Machine learning assisted prediction of organic salt structure properties

We demonstrate a machine learning-based approach which predicts the properties of crystal structures following relaxation based on the unrelaxed structure. Use of crystal graph singular values reduces the number of features required to describe a crystal by more than an order of magnitude compared to the full crystal graph representation. We construct machine learning models using the crystal graph singular value representations in order to predict the volume, enthalpy per atom, and metal versus semiconductor/insulator phase of DFT-relaxed organic salt crystals based on randomly generated unrelaxed crystal structures. Initial base models are trained to relate 89,949 randomly generated structures of salts formed by varying ratios of 1,3,5-triazine and HCl with the corresponding volumes, enthalpies per atom, and phase of the DFT-relaxed structures. We further demonstrate that the base model is able to be extended to related chemical systems (isomers, pyridine, thiophene and piperidine) with the inclusion of 2000 to 10,000 crystal structures from the additional system. After training a single model with a large number of data points, extension can be done at significantly lower cost. The constructed machine learning models can be used to rapidly screen large sets of randomly generated organic salt crystal structures and efficiently downselect the structures most likely to be experimentally realizable. The models can be used as a stand-alone crystal structure predictor, but may serve CSP efforts best as a filtering step in more sophisticated workflows.

From Categorical to Dimensional: A Multifaceted Approach to Emotions

Current emotion research utilizes two primary frameworks: categorical and dimensional. Each framework offers unique insight, but also faces challenges in capturing the full spectrum of emotional experience. This study compares and integrates categorical and dimensional approaches to better understand their applications and limitations in emotion research, particularly in enhancing human-centered designs. Using Plutchik’s Wheel and the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), 238 participants rated their emotional responses to AI- generated images of various driving scenarios. Subsequently, the categories of emotions were mapped into the valence and arousal space. The integration of categorical and dimensional models revealed significant variability in individual interpretations of different emotions, highlighting the complexity and non-uniformity of emotional experience. These findings suggest that emotions may require more than two dimensions for full representation. A multifaceted approach that combines both frameworks can offer a comprehensive understanding of emotions and is essential for developing effective, empathetic, human-centered applications.

POLITICAL INTERESTS AND POLITICAL DECISIONS: THE POSSIBILITIES OF FORMING A DEMOCRATIC AGENDA

The article is devoted to the study of political interest as a hidden determinant of the activity of associated and non-associated pressure groups (informal lobbying) within the bureaucratic power vertical. Applying modern interdisciplinary methodological tools, the author offers a rationale for the expediency of public articulation of political interests, elimination of hidden lobbying, as well as non-public agreements between the main political players, which slow down the modernization of the institutional environment of the democratic political system. The article reveals and describes the optimal efforts of the Ukrainian political class, which will be aimed at implementing the specified strategic changes. The author reveals an explanation of the functioning of the mechanisms by which interest groups operate and their influence on the formation of the agenda. The crucial importance of interest groups for understanding the dynamics of political decision-making is noted. It is emphasized that group actors are working to bring their issues to the top of the political agenda. The text examines the functionality of providing well-grounded and reasoned information by interested groups that reinforces the importance of their demands. The paper addresses demonstrations, petitions, and social media campaigns as common tactics used to mobilize public opinion and pressure political institutions into action. The article analyzes the pooling of resources and efforts by associated interest groups that purposefully increase the likelihood that their issues will be high on the political agenda. It is noted that publicizing demands and problems can lead to a change in the course and strategy of the current leadership or power team. It has been established that by consistently advocating their cause in public, group actors can ensure consideration of agenda items by politicians and attract media attention. Attention is paid to the cooperation of political forces and interested groups to obtain detailed information and recommendations during the development of draft laws or regulatory acts. Emphasis is placed on the priorities of elected officials who seek to conform to the “mainstream” of public opinion and public sentiment. In the final part of the article, the author emphasizes that the full representation of political interests and the interests of minority groups that are not in the mainstream of public attention. It was concluded that the institutional structure of European democracy is more open to the development of public interests. Therefore, for modern Ukraine, an important element is the formation of structures of political arbitration regarding the conflict of political interests or the provision of this functionality to already existing institutions

Proportionality in Bello: A Case Against Indirect Military Advantage in War

Abstract Rule of proportionality strikes a bargain in launching attacks. It demands that military commanders suspend or cancel operations if collateral damage anticipated from an attack exceeds the potential military advantage offered. The definitional phrase military advantage has been the subject of a rich debate, varyingly interpreted to expand or limit the scope of attacks. This paper participates in the debate, advocating that military advantage must be limited to exclude attacks on objects that indirectly contribute to military potential, such as, economic, social, psychological or political advantage, which invariably target civilians or civilian enterprises. It critically engages with the principles and precedents invoked to legitimise a broader understanding of military advantage. It posits that such attacks disregard belligerents’ privileges, and render unbound categories of civilian objects susceptible to destruction. Pursuantly, the rule of proportionality, originally articulated to nuance and improve the rule of distinction, is usurped to violate the latter.

EFFECT OF ADOPTION OF INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING STANDARDS ON QUALITY OF FINANCIAL REPORTS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR IN NIGERIA

The adoption of IPSAS aims to enhance the quality and comparability of financial reports in the public sector globally. Despite these objectives, implementing IPSAS in Nigeria has faced significant challenges that may impact the quality of financial reports produced by public sector entities. examine the effect of adopting IPSAS on the quality of financial reports in the Federal Ministry of Finance in Nigeria. Accountability, transparency, relevance, comparability, and full representation are the variables used. The study population comprised accountants, auditors and finance managers in agencies in the Ministry of Finance in Nigeria. Yamane formular was used to arrive at a total number of respondents of 394. The primary data source was used with a structured questionnaire as the instrument of data collection. The data were processed using factor analysis, and the hypotheses were tested using multiple regression. The findings showed that the accountability of IPSAS significantly affects the quality of financial reporting in the Federal Ministry of Finance. The study found that the transparency of IPSAS significantly affects the quality of financial reporting in the Federal Ministry of Finance. The study found that the relevance of IPSAS does not significantly affect the quality of financial reporting in the Federal Ministry of Finance. The study found that the comparability of IPSAS significantly affects the quality of financial reporting in the Federal Ministry of Finance. The study found that the full representation of IPSAS significantly affects the quality of financial reporting in the Federal Ministry of Finance. Based on this, the study recommends that the Federal Ministry of Finance should develop and implement clear accountability frameworks that outline the roles and responsibilities of various personnel in the financial reporting process. This will ensure that everyone understands their accountability in maintaining the quality and integrity of financial reports.

Disproportionality monitoring for special education and stakeholder practices in a post-affirmative action landscape

ABSTRACT In this article, we examine and explore how the recent US Supreme Court case on affirmative action within higher education will shape and contextualize disproportionate minority representation and its monitoring within a K-12 public school context for students with disabilities. That is, as the litigation and ultimate judicial decision shape how institutions of higher education advance affirmative action policies for the admission of racialized and ethnic minority college students, another unanswered question remains. Namely, how will K-12 public school districts both adhere to federal policy that mandates proportionate racial representation of students with disabilities within special education categories and support teachers and school systems with compliance to federal policy? Using a legal compliance focal point theoretical perspective, this article contextualizes the affirmative action conversation as one that must include guidance to education systems and teachers working to ensure federal compliance and racial equity within special education.

Naziemne skanowanie laserowe - wyzwania i możliwości w tworzeniu modeli 3D budynków

The technology of terrestrial laser scanning and its possibilities are subject of scientific research in the area of geodesy, construction, architecture and even more over the last decades. This method provides point clouds data, which contains full and accurate representation of the geometrical parameters of the examined subject. This publication discusses in short the principles and possibilities for creating a three-dimensional data model using the advantages of terrestrial laser scanning. The building of University of Architecture, civil engineering and geodesy, situated in Semkovo resort, Blagoevgrad district is selected for the purpose of the task. Classical land surveying measurements with a total station and terrestrial laser scanning are used for the creation of the three-dimensional models. A comparison and evaluation of the obtained model is made. The result of this evaluation indicates that the technology of terrestrial laser scanning is efficient for representation of high quality data with a wide scope of advantages such as high range, fast data processing, high precision and accurate details.

Development of “sacredness-morality” concept in Russian pedagogical education of the last century

Introduction. The article is the result of analyzing complex dual-core concept of “Sacredness and Morality” in the discourse of educational text on pedagogy. Aim and objectives. The purpose of this study is to develop a model of the concept for pedagogical discourse, including its basic conceptual features.Materials and Methods. Conceptological analysis made it possible to develop a system of conceptual features for each of the nuclear concepts.Results. The structure of the concept has five conceptual features characteristic of both nuclear concepts: ideality, complexity, achievability, social and individual conditionality. The resulting model was applied to the textbooks on pedagogy of pre-Revolution, Soviet and post-Soviet periods. In all cases, it established incomplete relationship with the original linguistic form. In preRevolution period, concept structure did not expose two cores, sacredness concept had a complex structure and is individually conditioned, possibility of its full implementation was rather denied, verbal signs of its dependence on social attitudes were not found in the text, and sign of ideality was not fully realized. The implementation of concept in the textbook of mid-twentieth century looked too idealized. The construction of an absolutely new communist morality made it possible to present current understanding of the concept in “broad strokes”, to express the neophytes’ conviction in reality of embodying standard of a true communist through the means of Soviet education. The model proposed by modern authors did not implement core of morality in general. The textbook returns to one of original ideas about sacredness, but with significant differences. Firstly, it equalized all religious ideas and excluded dominance of one confession in education process. Secondly, it perceived weak social conditioning as a shortcoming that must have been eliminated.Discussion and Conclusions. Analysis of the factors limiting full concept representation lead to recommendations for their elimination. We propose to consider modern request for sacred and moral education in light of normal evolution of the concept underlying it. Despite the words order in nominating phrase, morality core is interpretive and fundamental for a correct understanding of sacredness. For effective work on needs of moral education, we recommend organizing practical work consistently, with progressive and gradual formation of first moral values, and then sacred ones. The basic principles of such work should be those conceptual features that are regularly and fully implemented in each of concept cores.

The Influence of the Electoral System on the Implementation of the Representation Function of General Elections

Influence in the election system in the function of representation implemented in Indonesia with the Constitutional Court's decision that it could result in a shift in the right to place the representation of candidates from political parties to the largest number of votes. This study aims to analyze the Effect of the Election System on the Implementation of the Function of Election Representation. The type of research that can be used is juridical-normative with a legal concept approach, namely the Regulation of Laws. As for the results of this study, namely First, the Development of Election System Regulation in Indonesia has undergone various changes and challenges since the country became independent, both with an open proportional election system, namely Law and Regulation Instability, Injustice and Cheating, Transparency and Accountability, and the role of political parties that lack fair political enforcement. Second, the Effect of the Election System on the Implementation of Election Representation Functions in Indonesia is contrary to the concept of people's sovereignty regulated by article 1 paragraph (2), (3), article 6A paragraph (2), article 22 E paragraph (2), (3), and article 28D paragraph (1) of the State of the Republic of Indonesia law. This is because the provisions of Article 1 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Act have emphasized the sovereignty of the people in the hands of the Indonesian people but are carried out according to the method specified by the law, namely by Article 6A paragraph (2), Article 22E paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution were carried out by political parties through their participation in the election to elect the DPR, DPRD, President and Vice President.

Analisis Sistem Pemilu Proporsional Dan Dampaknya Terhadap Representasi Politik Perempuan di Indonesia

This research highlights the importance of women's representation in the legislature as an indicator of the quality of democracy in Indonesia. Although regulations set a minimum quota of 30% women's representation, the realization is still low with a projection of only 22.1% of women elected in the 2024 DPR. The open proportional electoral system provides opportunities but also presents challenges, such as money politics and patriarchal culture. Internal factors such as lack of confidence and double burden, as well as external factors such as political violence and lack of support from parties, hinder women in politics. To increase this representation, strategies such as gender mainstreaming in political communication, effective affirmative action, and inclusive political education are needed. These efforts aim to create a more inclusive and gender-equal parliament, supporting women's role in public policy-making.

Development of a Precise Tree Structure from LiDAR Point Clouds

Abstract. A precise tree structure that represents the distribution of tree stem, branches, and leaves is crucial for accurately capturing the full representation of a tree. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-based three-dimensional (3D) point clouds (PCs) capture the geometry of scanned objects including forests stands and individual trees. PCs are irregular, unstructured, often noisy, and contaminated by outliers. Researchers have struggled to develop methods to separate leaves and wood without losing the tree geometry. This paper proposes a solution that employs only the spatial coordinates (x, y, z) of the PC. The new algorithm works as a filtering approach, utilizing multi-scale neighborhood-based geometric features (GFs) e.g., linearity, planarity, and verticality to classify linear (wood) and non-linear (leaf) points. This involves finding potential wood points and coupling them with an octree-based segmentation to develop a tree architecture. The main contributions of this paper are (i) investigating the potential of different GFs to split linear and non-linear points, (ii) introducing a novel method that pointwise classifies leaf and wood points, and (iii) developing a precise 3D tree structure. The performance of the new algorithm has been demonstrated through terrestrial laser scanning PCs. For a Scots pine tree, the new method classifies leaf and wood points with an overall accuracy of 97.9%.