Oaks (Quercus robur) are an important substrate for many epiphytic lichens, and with increasing age the bark of oaks becomes suitable for red-listed species. These species may respond to environmental and landscape factors differently, and at different spatial scales. We tested the effect of tree, environmental and land use factors on the occurrence and richness patterns of lichens species at various spatial scales (circles with radius ranging from 28 to 1225 m), in a heterogeneous landscape in South Eastern Sweden. The occurrence patterns of Cliostomum corrugatum and Chaenotheca phaeocephala were best explained by the density of oaks within radii of 400 and 302 m, respectively. In contrast, Ramalina baltica was best explained at smaller scale (263 m) as was species richness (302 m). This study shows that the most important factor for the occurrence and richness patterns of lichens was oak density at almost all the considered scales. Tree circumference also positively affected all four response variables.

Abstract The interpretation and identification of information from the side-scan sonar imagery are mainly depended on visual observation and personal experiences. Recent studies tended to increase the identification efficiency by using numerical analysis methods. This can reduce the error that cause by the differences of observer¡¦s experience as well as by extended time observation. The position around the center line of the slant range corrected side-scan sonar imagery might result in the degradation of the ability of numerical methods to successfully detect artificial objects. Theoretically, this problem could be solved by using a specific characteristic function to identify the existence of concrete reefs, and then filtering the noise of the central line area with a threshold value. This study was intended to develop fully automatic sonar imagery processing system for the identification of cubic concrete and cross-type protective artificial reefs in Taiwan offshore area. The procedures of the automatic sonar imagery processing system are as follows: (1) Image Acquisition¡G500kHz with slant range of 75m. (2) Feature Extraction¡Ggrey level co-occurrence matrix (i.e., Entropy, Homogeneity and Mean) (3) Classification¡Gunsupervised Bayesian classifier. (4) Object Identification¡Gby characteristic feature (i.e., Entropy). (5) Object¡¦s Status Analysis¡Gobject¡¦s circumference¡Barea¡Bcenter of mass and quantity. This study used the sonar images collected at Chey-Ding artificial reef site in Kaohsiung City as a case study, aiming to verify the automatic sonar imagery processing system and find out the optimum window size. The image characteristic functions include one set of first order parameter (i.e., mean) and two sets of second order parameter (i.e., entropy and homogeneity). Eight(8) sonar images with 1-8 sets of cubic concrete and cross-type protective artificial reefs where used in this step. The identification efficiency of the system, in terms of the produce¡¦s accuracy, is 79.41%. The results illustrated that there were 16~28 sets of artificial reefs being detected in this case which is comparable with the actual amount of 17 sets. Based on this investigation, the optimum window size was concluded to be 12¡Ñ12 pixels with sliding size of 4 pixel. Imagery collected at Fang-Liau artificial reef site of Pingtung County was tested. For the purpose of applicability, the original imagery (2048¡Ñ2800 pixels) was divided into 8 consecutive smaller sized imagery frames(2048¡Ñ350 pixels). The influence of using a two-fold classification procedure and a central filtering method to reduce the noise that caused by slant range correction were discussed. The results showed that central line filtering method is applicable. The results of object¡¦s status analysis showed that there are 156-236 sets of reefs existed. Automatic determination of the target using the characteristic function of entropy is feasible. If the value is larger than 1.45, it represents positive identification of concrete artificial reefs. It can be classified as muddy sand seabed type if the value is smaller than 1.35. If the value is between 1.35~1.45, it illustrates the existence of a transition zone where objects of smaller in dimensions might exist. To achieve the purpose of automatic operation, firstly, we have to identify the existence of the concrete reefs by using the specific characteristic function. Based on the result of existing concrete reefs, suture line filtering method will hence be used to filter the noise from the image information. For that all of the procedures are automatically operated without human intervention. Key word: side-scan sonar ; characteristic function ; gray level co-occurrence matrix ; Bayesian classification ;entropy ; homogeneity ; mean

The normal procedure for the detection of underwater stationary targets is mainly by the application of side-scan sonar. In addition, the identification of targets within the side-scan sonar imagery is primarily based on the visual observation of the operator. Due to its complexity and poor effectiveness, the visual observation procedure was gradually been substituted by numerical analysis procedures and programs. The purpose of the current investigation was dedicated to the development of an automatic image analysis program for the detection and identification of cubic concrete artificial reefs (2 m x 2 m x 2m) in the south-western coastal area off Taiwan. The major components and methodologies of the program include: (1)Image acquisition; side-scan sonar at 500 kHz and slant range at 75 m. (2)Feature extraction; grey level co-occurrence matrix. (3)Feature Classification; unsupervised Bayesian classifier. (4)Target identification; cluster analysis. (5)Target properties analysis, includes circumference, area, central coordinates and quantity of the targets. Program verification and optimal parameters determination were conducted with a sonograph (650 ¡Ñ 650 pixels) acquired at the Chey-Ding artificial reef site off Kaohsiung County. Feature functions employed in this program include entropy, homogeneity, and mean value. The identification accuracy can reach 93% at the most. In addition, the number of artificial reefs estimated by the program was within 9 to 20, while the actual number is 15. A realistic evaluation of this program was conducted with a sonograph (2048 ¡Ñ 6050 pixels) acquired at Fang-Liau artificial reef site off Pyngdong County. In addition to the cubic reefs, the targets at this site include cross-shaped artificial reefs with dimensions less than the cubic reefs. The sonograph was divided into smaller blocks with dimensions of 2048 x 550 pixels during evaluation. The results showed that each block can be evaluated based on the value of the seed point obtained by cluster analysis. The seed point which fells between 20.6 and 24.4 indicates that there are cubic reefs existed. Between 15.3 and 17.4 indicates that there are targets with smaller dimensions (i.e., crossed reefs) existed which can not be identified properly. Between 10.1 and 10.9, there is no target existed on the seafloor. The results indicated that the number of targets identified is between 122 and 240. According to the results of this investigation, the automatic image analysis program can improve the detection and identification of stationary targets within side-scan sonar imagery.

Des relations quantitatives ont été étudiées, chez le Hêtre, entre les singularités externes de l'arbre, des caractéristiques dendrométriques et l'occurrence et la forme géométrique du cœur rouge (CR) : I. Des singularités (branches mortes, cicatrices de branche, blessures, fentes, fourche) et la forme du CR ont été décrites de façon tridimensionnelle détaillée pour 4 arbres. Ainsi, des hypothèses ont été développées d'une part sur l'initiation du CR basées sur des dimensions des cicatrices de branche/noeuds et d'autre part sur des stades de développement de la forme du CR. II. Un modèle de type logistique a été développé qui permettait de quantifier l'effet individuel des cicatrices de branche sur la probabilité d'occurrence du CR; il incluait également un effet dendrométrique. 27 parmi 31 hêtres ont été classés correctement. III. La forme globale du CR (rayon moyen du CR le long de l'axe du tronc) a été modélisée en utilisant des paramètres pour les largeur, longueur et hauteur du CR dans l'arbre. Ces derniers ont pu être estimés à partir des cicatrices de branche et des variables dendrométriques. Le modèle a été paramétré sur 16 hêtres et a été appliqué à l'échantillon indépendant constitué des 4 arbres de l'analyse I. IV. Des déviations locales de la forme globale du CR ont été analysées en dessous et au dessus des nœuds sur 58 planches provenant des 16 arbres de l'analyse III. Les déviations étaient limitées à la zone du nœud et à l'extrémité du CR côté apical. En perspectives, l'importance de la validation des modèles de CR est soulignée. Un couplage de ces modèles à des modèles de croissance ou de transformation des bois ronds pourrait aussi être envisagé.

Bumblebees are important pollinators that are said to be in decline all over the world. Swedish bumblebees have now been inventoried through a nationwide monitoring program for which data for the first time have been analysed. The aim here was to give an indication of how 35 bumblebee species in Sweden have changed in occurrence over five years interval in the national inventory program. The results given in this report showed that 5 bumblebee species (B. lucorum, B. magnus, B. cryptarum, B. terrestris and B. pascuorum) had declined significantly. Furthermore bumblebees as a group had a significant decline while none of the species had increased. Moreover, declining Swedish bumblebees are species that are common in Europe while species that are declining in Europe do not seem to decline in Sweden. This result was somewhat unexpected, considering the European status of bumblebee species. Furthermore results showed that early emerging species and species living in ubiquitous and open areas had declined. This was also surprising comparing with previous research. Lastly the results showed that two bumblebee species (B. hortorum and B. terrestris) have shifted towards the south within Sweden while none shifted towards north or in a west-east direction.

Confocal microendoscopy is a promising new diagnostic imaging technique that is minimally invasive and provides in-vivo cellular-level images of tissue. In this study, we developed various image analysis techniques for ovarian cancer detection using the confocal microendoscope system. Firstly, we developed a technique for automatic classification of images based on focus, to prune out the out-of-focus images from the ovarian dataset. Secondly, we modified the texture analysis technique developed earlier to improve the stability of the textural features. The modified technique gives stable features and more consistent performance for ovarian cancer detection. Although confocal microendoscopy provides cellular-level resolution, it is limited by a small field of view. We present a fast technique for stitching the individual frames of the tissue to form a large mosaic. Such a mosaic will aid the physician in diagnosis, and also makes quantitative and statistical analysis possible on a larger field of view.

The interaction between the driver, the car and the road is essential for the road safety. This case study focuses on the road condition and its effect regarding road safety issues. By studying and isolating the road condition aspect and its contributing role to the accident occurrence, the aim is to explore their relationship, as well as highlight the road parameters that are commonly associated with accident occurrence. This result will be used to develop and increase awareness of the impact of poor road alignment and poor road surface conditions on traffic safety, in order to prevent these accidents from occurring. The road parameters chosen for this study include side friction, cross slope and rut bottom cross slope, road texture, curvature, drainage gradient and rutting. The case study was limited to lv 360 in Västerbotten, where all accidents with an unclear cause of the accident were studied, between 2003 and 2012 were carefully studied and assessed based on the condition of the road at the time of the accident. The study was based on accident data from Transportstyrelsens accident database STRADA and road data was obtained from Vecturas Profilograf. Analysis of the various road parameters and their respective safety limits, identified many hazardous sections on lv 360. Low side friction values, insufficient drainage gradient and incorrect cross slopes are some of the shortcomings that were found. The results show that 70% of all accidents occurred on curves where the vehicle either skidded or went off the road. Furthermore, the results show that the side friction demand in 65% of the accidents far exceeded the designed side friction supply according to VGU. Insufficient side friction associated with curves shows an evident relation with the accident occurrence. The analysis shows that 80% of the accidents had deficiencies in two or more road parameters. Improperly designed cross slopes in curves – where the slope instead of resisting the lateral force, contributed to it – was found to create dangerous circumstances for the traffic. These were also found at lv 360, why the cross slope design according to the results, directly affects the accident rate – particularly at curves. Improper cross slope in sections where the gradient is low often result in insufficient drainage gradient, and consequently a high skid risk. These were common on entry and exit points of curves, where the cross slope shifts between straight sections and curves and thus passes zero. The results show that the drainage gradient in 70 % of the accidents was too low and in many cases fell below VGU's requirement of 0.5 % before and after the curve. / Samarbetet mellan föraren, bilen och vägen är essentiellt för trafiksäkerheten. Denna fallstudie fokuserar på vägens tillstånd och dess roll inom trafiksäkerhetsarbetet. Genom att studera och isolera vägaspekten och dess bidragande roll till olycksförekomsten, är målet att tydliggöra relationen mellan dessa, samt belysa de vägparametrar som vanligen associeras med trafikolyckor. Detta för att utveckla och utöka medvetenheten kring effekten av dålig linjeföring och bristfälliga vägytegenskaper, för att i framtiden kunna förebygga dessa olyckor. De parametrar som studerades är bland annat sidofriktionen, tvärfallet och spårbottentvärfallet, texturen, kurvaturen, snedlutningen och spårdjupet. Arbetet avgränsades till länsväg (lv) 360 i Västerbotten, där alla olyckor med en oklar olycksorsak mellan åren 2003 och 2012 studerades, och bedömdes efter vägens tillstånd vid olyckan. Studien baserades på olycksuppgifter från Transportstyrelsens olycksdatabas STRADA och vägmätningar utförda av Vecturas Profilograf. Vid analys av de olika väg parametrarna och deras respektive gränsvärden, identifierades många brister på länsväg 360. Låga sidofriktionsvärden, otillräcklig snedlutningar och felaktiga tvärfall vid kurvor är några av de brister som påhittades. Resultatet visar att 70 % av alla olyckor inträffade i kurvor där fordonet antingen fått sladd eller åkt av vägen. Vidare visar resultatet att sidofriktionsbehovet i 65 % av olyckorna långt översteg den dimensionerande sidofriktionen enligt regelverket Vägar och Gators Utformning (VGU). För liten sidofriktion i samband med kurvor visar en tydlig koppling till olycksförekomsten. Analysen visar dessutom att 80 % av olyckorna hade brister i två eller fler vägparametrar. Felaktigt utformat tvärfall vid kurvor – där lutningen istället för att motverka sidokraften bidrar till den – skapar livsfarliga förutsättningar för trafiken. Även dessa påträffades på länsväg 360, varför tvärfallets utformning enligt resultatet direkt påverkar på olyckstalet, i synnerhet vid kurvor. För litet tvärfall i de sektioner där även längslutningen är låg innebär dessutom otillräcklig snedlutning (resultanten av tvärfallet och längslutningen) och medför stora risker för halka. Dessa är vanliga vid in- och utfarter av kurvor, där tvärfallet övergår mellan raksträcka och kurva och passerar noll. Resultatet visar att 70 % av olyckorna hade för låg snedlutning samt att flera sträckor i många fall underskred VGU:s krav på 0,5 % före och efter kurvan. Som lösning föreslås hastighetssänkning och varningsskyltar vid skarpa kurvor samt att stor kraft bör läggas på korrekt utförda tvärfall som tar hänsyn till sidokraften.

<p>Groundwater is an important water resource to be used to supplement the water demand for the City of Cape Town for present and future generations. Understanding the groundwater occurrence of the Table Mountain area is very important for future groundwater exploitation and management. Apart from the sea in the west, Table Mountain is mostly surrounded by the unconsolidated sediments including the Kirstenbosch, Newlands, and Oranjezicht areas. These areas are rich in groundwater resources, like springs / some of them were utilized, others not. However, there are few studies that focused on spring resource in this area. No up to date information is available for spring resources research and relative data is lacking from local research institutions. In fact, some of the spring resources in the Table Mountain area had been extracted and been utilized for local community for many years. Data and information newly obtained from this study about such groundwater resources will help future groundwater development and management. There are at least 13 springs in the selected study area. Those springs were investigated for groundwater occurrence, because spring is an important manifestation of the underlying aquifer through which groundwater dynamics can be detected. The main objective of the study was to sketch a clear picture of groundwater occurrence and to obtain an improved understanding of how geomorphology affects groundwater flow, its manifestation and quality. Water resources management is also important because this kind of water resource can be used to help meet the water demand of this local area in the future. There is relationship between the topographical features of the Table Mountain and spring occurrence. The research area delineated is used to interpret the relationship. Hydro-geochemical analysis is carried out to indicate the chemical components of the groundwater and to understand the groundwater type and water quality of this particular area. Based on the completed analysis and interpretation of factors influencing discharge and recharge, some good results were obtained and useful information is made available for first time.</p>

The area of this study is a northeast trending zone which is approximately ninety miles long, extending from Casa Grande to Globe, Arizona. A number of porphyry copper deposits and barren Laramide stocks occur within this zone. Geological mapping of the various Laramide granitic stocks shows that all of the stocks are composite, epizonal granitic stocks, which are all elongate in a N45°E to N80°E direction. Sulfide bearing veins also trend N45°E to N80°E. The configuration of the stocks defines the structural framework into which they were intruded. The consistent elongation of the granitic stocks shows that the stocks were intruded into a series of parallel, regional faults that trend approximately N60°E to N80°E. Isotopic dating of the stocks shows that they become progressively younger from west to east. Typical isotopic ages are 71 m.y. on the west portion of the zone, and 61 m.y. on the east portion. The porphyry copper deposits also show a trend of decreasing age from west to east. The granitic Laramide stocks are localized where the N45°E to N80°E regional faults intersect the Precambrian granite-Pinal Schist contact. In some cases the regional faults are parallel to the Precambrian granite-Pinal Schist contact, in which case the Laramide stocks are parallel to the contact. The Laramide quartz diorite stocks only occur along the "San Pedro hinge line" and farther to the east. Although the individual quartz diorite stocks are aligned in an east-northeast direction, the overall geographical trend of the quartz diorite is north-northwest. The quartz diorite stocks may also become progressively younger proceeding to the east. The defining of the regional faults or lineaments, based upon the orientation of the Laramide granitic stocks, permits a rather precise projection of these lineaments into areas of complete post-mineral rocks. This allows a large area of post-mineral rocks to be reduced to a rather small area, where exploration for porphyry copper deposits can be intensified.

The occurrence of clinically diagnosed and/or ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) in the families of 220 patients with AAAs, treated at the Surgical Clinic, University Hospital of Umeå in the northern part of Sweden during the years 1965-82, was studied. A questionnaire concerning the blood relatives was answered by 87/89 patients. 16/87 patients (18%) had blood relatives with AAAs. In 14 families one blood relative was affected, and in 2 families two blood relatives were affected. First degree relatives were affected in 9/87 cases (10%), and second degree relatives in 7/87 cases (8%). 9/468 (1.9%) of the patients' brothers and sisters but only five of all their cousins had AAAs, and 7/204 (3.4%) of the dead brothers and sisters had died of ruptured AAAs. Concerning the patients who were not included in the letter survey at least 14/133had blood relatives with AAAs. However, the great majority of these patients were dead when the study was performed and could not be asked aboutthe occurrence of AAAs in their families. The patients with AAAs had significantly higher serum concentrations of triglyceride and (YLDL + LDL)-cholesterol and a significantly lower serum concentration of HDL-cholesterol than randomly selected healthy controls of the same sex and age as the patients. We also compared the distributions of genetic markers (HLA antigens, the blood group systems ABO, Rh, MNSs, P, Kell, Lewis and Duffy and the serum protein group systems haptoglobin, transferrin, group-specific component, complement C3, properdin factor and alpha-1-antitrypsin) in patients with AAAs with the distributions in controls and in some cases with the expected distributions according to the Hardy-Weinberg law. A significantly decreased frequency of Rh-negative individuals, and significantly increased frequencies of Kell-positi ve individuals, of MN heterozygotes and of heterozygotes concerning haptoglobin type was found. Furthermore, the aneurysm walls of patients with and without AAAs in the family were compared concerning the morphology, but no differences were found. We also studied the occurrence of collagen types I and III in the aneurysm walls, and the occurrence of vimentin and desmin in the smooth muscle cells of the aneurysm walls, but all these components were present in the aneurysm walls of both the patients with and those without AAAs in the family. To summarize the results, there seems to be an increased frequency of AAAs, and especially of ruptured AAAs, among the brothers and sisters of patients with AAAs. Elevated serum concentrations of triglyceride and (VLDL + LDL)- cholesterol and a lowered serum concentration of HDL-cholesterol seems to be common in patients with AAAs. There seems to be a hereditary predisposition to the development of AAAs, because we found associations with four different genetic markers (Rh, MN, Kell, haptoglobin group). However, there is probably no specific "familial" type of AAAs, because we found no differences between the patients with and those without AAAs in the family.Key words: / <p>S. 1-42: sammanfattning, s. 43-103: 5 uppsatser</p> / digitalisering@umu