The main purpose of the paper is to show how a magnetoresistive (MR) element can work as a current sensor instead of using a Wheatstone bridge composed by four MR elements, defining the concept of a magnetoresistive shunt (MR-shunt). This concept is reached by considering that once the MR element is biased at a constant current, the voltage drop between its terminals offers information, by the MR effect, of the current to be measured, as happens in a conventional shunt resistor. However, an MR-shunt has the advantage of being a non-dissipative shunt since the current of interest does not circulate through the material, preventing its self-heating. Moreover, it provides galvanic isolation. First, we propose an electronic circuitry enabling the utilization of the available MR sensors integrated into a Wheatstone bridge as sensing elements (MR-shunt). This circuitry allows independent characterization of each of the four elements of the bridge. An independently implemented MR element is also analyzed. Secondly, we propose an electronic conditioning circuit for the MR-shunt, which allows both the bridge-integrated element and the single element to function as current sensors in a similar way to the sensing bridge. Third, the thermal variation in the sensitivity of the MR-shunt, and its temperature coefficient, are obtained. An electronic interface is proposed and analyzed for thermal drift compensation of the MR-shunt current sensitivity. With this hardware compensation, temperature coefficients are experimentally reduced from 0.348%/°C without compensation to −0.008%/°C with compensation for an element integrated in a sensor bridge and from 0.474%/°C to −0.0007%/°C for the single element. Full article

Renal fibrosis (RF) stands as a pivotal pathological process in the advanced stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and impeding its progression is paramount for delaying the advancement of CKD. The miR-10 family, inclusive of miR-10a and miR-10b, has been implicated in the development of various fibrotic diseases. Nevertheless, the precise role of miR-10 in the development of RF remains enigmatic. In this study, we utilized both an in vivo model involving unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in mice and an in vitro model employing TGF-β1 stimulation in HK-2 cells to unravel the mechanism underlying the involvement of miR-10a/b in RF. The findings revealed heightened expression of miR-10a and miR-10b in the kidneys of UUO mice, accompanied by a substantial increase in p-Smad3 and renal fibrosis-related proteins. Conversely, the deletion of these two genes led to a notable reduction in p-Smad3 levels and the alleviation of RF in mouse kidneys. In the in vitro model of TGF-β1-stimulated HK-2 cells, the co-overexpression of miR-10a and miR-10b fostered the phosphorylation of Smad3 and RF, while the inhibition of miR-10a and miR-10b resulted in a decrease in p-Smad3 levels and RF. Further research revealed that miR-10a and miR-10b, through binding to the 3’UTR region of Vasohibin-1 (VASH-1), suppressed the expression of VASH-1, thereby promoting the elevation of p-Smad3 and exacerbating the progression of RF. The miR-10 family may play a pivotal role in RF. Full article

Pectin is a structural polysaccharide and a major component of plant cell walls. Pectate lyases are a class of enzymes that degrade demethylated pectin by cleaving the α-1,4-glycosidic bond, and they play an important role in plant growth and development. Currently, little is known about the PL gene family members and their involvement in salt stress in potato. In this study, we utilized bioinformatics to identify members of the potato pectate lyase gene family and analyzed their gene and amino acid sequence characteristics. The results showed that a total of 27 members of the pectate lyase gene family were identified in potato. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that these genes were divided into eight groups. Analysis of their promoters indicated that several members’ promoter regions contained a significant number of hormone and stress response elements. Further, we found that several members responded positively to salt treatment under single salt and mixed salt stress. Since StPL18 exhibited a consistent expression pattern under both single and mixed salt stress conditions, its subcellular localization was determined. The results indicated that StPL18 is localized in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. The results will establish a foundation for analyzing the functions of potato pectate lyase family members and their expression under salt stress. Full article

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients suffer premature development of cardiovascular disease and commonly require cardiac revascularization using the autologous saphenous vein (SV). Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are the principal cell type within the vascular wall and are dysfunctional in T2DM SV-SMCs, yet the mechanisms underpinning this are incompletely understood. The purpose of this study was to interrogate differential microRNA (miRNA) expression in SV-SMCs to enhance our understanding of T2DM SV-SMC phenotypic change. miRNA expression in primary human SV-SMCs from T2DM and non-diabetic (ND) donors was determined using an array (n = 6 each of ND and T2DM SV-SMCs). Differentially expressed miRNAs were ranked, and functional annotation of the 30 most differentially expressed miRNAs using DAVID and KEGG analysis revealed pathways related to SMC phenotype, including proliferation, migration, cytokine production and cell signaling. After selecting miRNAs known to be involved in SMC phenotypic regulation, miR-17, miR-29b-2, miR-31, miR-130b and miR-491 were further validated using qRT-PCR (n = 5 each of ND and T2DM SV-SMC), with miR-29b-2 subsequently being removed from further investigation. Potential mRNA targets were identified using mirDIP. Predicted target analysis highlighted likely dysregulation in transcription, epigenetic regulation, cell survival, intracellular signaling and cytoskeletal regulation, all of which are known to be dysfunctional in T2DM SV-SMCs. In conclusion, this paper identified four miRNAs that are dysregulated in T2DM SV-SMCs and are implicated in functional changes in the behavior of these cells. This provides a step forward in our understanding of the molecular and epigenetic regulation of vascular dysfunction in T2DM. Full article

In this paper, a new type of self-excited thermomechanical oscillator containing an oscillating shape memory alloy (SMA) filament with two symmetrically arranged spheres is investigated. The self-excitation of the oscillations is due to a heater of constant temperature, which causes periodic contractions of the filament when it approaches it. The contracted filament moves away from the heater a distance sufficient to cool it. Under the action of the weight of the spheres, the cooled filament re-approaches the heater, causing the above processes to repeat periodically. On the basis of experimental studies, approximating functions of the heater’s heat field distribution are derived. A dynamic model of the oscillator has been created, in which the minor and major hysteresis in the SMA alloy and the distribution of the heat field around the heater have been taken into account. Through numerical solutions of the differential equations, the laws of motion of the spheres are obtained. The displacements of the spheres in two perpendicular directions were measured using an experimental system. The obtained experimental results validate the proposed dynamic model and its assumptions with a high degree of confidence. Conclusions are drawn about the stochastic nature of the oscillations due to the hysteresis properties of the SMA and the temperature variation of the natural frequency of the oscillating system. Full article

Breast cancer includes tumor subgroups with morphological, molecular, and clinical differences. Intrinsic heterogeneity especially characterizes breast tumors with a triple negative phenotype, often leading to the failure of even the most advanced therapeutic strategies. To improve breast cancer treatment, the use of natural agents to integrate conventional therapies is the subject of ever-increasing attention. In this context, garlic (Allium sativum) shows anti-cancerous potential, interfering with the proliferation, motility, and malignant progression of both non-invasive and invasive breast tumor cells. As heterogeneity could be at the basis of variable effects, the main objective of our study was to evaluate the anti-tumoral activity of a garlic extract in breast cancer cells with a triple negative phenotype. Established triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines from patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) were used, revealing subtype-dependent effects on morphology, cell cycle, and invasive potential, correlated with the peculiar down-modulation of Akt signaling, a crucial regulator in solid tumors. Our results first demonstrate that the effects of garlic on TNBC breast cancer are not unique and suggest that only more precise knowledge of the mechanisms activated by this natural compound in each tumor will allow for the inclusion of garlic in personalized therapeutic approaches to breast cancer. Full article

In the age of the digital economy, digital evolution has emerged as a central focus in academic research. The achievement is of paramount importance for augmenting their international investments. This research utilizes data from publicly listed manufacturing firms in China from 2010 to 2021 to examine the influence of enterprise digital evolution on outbound foreign investments. The research findings reveal that enterprise digital evolution has a significant positive impact on the outward foreign investments of enterprises and exhibits heterogeneity in terms of region, company size, and industry type. Mechanism tests reveal that the impact of enterprise digital evolution on outward foreign investments can be realized through four pathways: enhancing ESG performance, reducing debt financing costs (COD1) (representing the proportion of interest costs to the total of long and short-term debts), company age, and debt financing costs (COD2) (denoting the proportion of financial expenses to the total of long and short-term debts). In the context of digitization, enterprise digital evolution continues to hold positive significance for outward foreign investments, contributing to the enrichment of the theoretical research on the subject to a certain extent. Full article

The early detection of wildfires is a crucial challenge in environmental monitoring, pivotal for effective disaster management and ecological conservation. Traditional detection methods often fail to detect fires accurately and in a timely manner, resulting in significant adverse consequences. This paper presents FireXplainNet, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) base model, designed specifically to address these limitations through enhanced efficiency and precision in wildfire detection. We optimized data input via specialized preprocessing techniques, significantly improving detection accuracy on both the Wildfire Image and FLAME datasets. A distinctive feature of our approach is the integration of Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME), which facilitates a deeper understanding of and trust in the model’s predictive capabilities. Additionally, we have delved into optimizing pretrained models through transfer learning, enriching our analysis and offering insights into the comparative effectiveness of FireXplainNet. The model achieved an accuracy of 87.32% on the FLAME dataset and 98.70% on the Wildfire Image dataset, with inference times of 0.221 and 0.168 milliseconds, respectively. These performance metrics are critical for the application of real-time fire detection systems, underscoring the potential of FireXplainNet in environmental monitoring and disaster management strategies. Full article

Introduction: The present study evaluates the influence of virtual surgical planning with a preoperative 3D resin model on aesthetic and functional outcomes in patients treated by segmental mandibulectomy and reconstruction with fibula-free flap for oral cancer. Methods: All consecutive patients who underwent segmental mandibulectomy and mandibular reconstruction with a fibula-free flap using a 3D template at our department from January 2021 to January 2023 were included in the study. “Patients control” were patients treated by reconstruction with a fibula-free flap without using a 3D template. Three-dimensional modeling was performed by converting from preoperative computed tomography to a stereolithography format to obtain the resin 3D models. Qualitative analysis of anatomical and aesthetic results consisted of the evaluation of the patients’ aesthetic and functional satisfaction and the symmetry of the mandibular contour observed at clinical examination. Quantitative analysis was based on the assessment of the accuracy and precision of the reconstruction by comparing preoperative and postoperative computed tomograms as objective indicators. Results: Seven patients (five males and two females, mean age of 65.1 years) were included in the study. All patients showed a symmetric mandibular contour based on the clinical examination. After recovery, six patients (85.7%) considered themselves aesthetically satisfied. The quantitative analysis (assessed in six/seven patients) showed that the mean difference between preoperative and postoperative intercondylar distance, intergonial angle distance, anteroposterior dimension, and gonial angle improved in the 3D template-assisted group. Conclusion: The 3D-printed template for mandibular reconstruction with microvascular fibula-free flap can improve aesthetic outcomes in comparison with standard approaches. Full article

Bacteria of the genus Acinetobacter, especially Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab), have emerged as pathogens of companion animals during the last two decades and are commonly associated with hospitalization and multidrug resistance. A critical factor for the distribution of relevant strains in healthcare facilities, including veterinary facilities, is their adherence to both biotic and abiotic surfaces and the production of biofilms. A group of 41 A. baumannii isolates obtained from canine and feline clinical samples in Greece was subjected to phenotypic investigation of their ability to produce biofilms using the tissue culture plate (TCP) method. All of them (100%) produced biofilms, while 23 isolates (56.1%) were classified as strong producers, 11 (26.8%) as moderate producers, and 7 (17.1%) as weak producers. A correlation between the MDR and XDR phenotypes and weak or moderate biofilm production was identified. Moreover, the presence of four biofilm-associated genes bap, bla_PER, ompA, and csuE was examined by PCR, and they were detected in 100%, 65.9%, 97.6%, and 95.1% of the strains respectively. All isolates carried at least two of the investigated genes, whereas most of the strong biofilm producers carried all four genes. In conclusion, the spread and persistence of biofilm-producing Ab strains in veterinary facilities is a matter of concern, since they are regularly obtained from infected animals, indicating their potential as challenging pathogens for veterinarians due to multidrug resistance and tolerance in conventional eradication measures. Furthermore, considering that companion animals can act as reservoirs of relevant strains, public health concerns emerge. Full article

In the current study, an electronic nose (E-nose) and gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) were employed to investigate the volatile flavor compounds (VFCs) of intense flavor beef tallow (L) and ordinary beef tallow (P). The study results indicate that an E-nose combined with an LDA and GC-IMS combined with an OPLS-DA can effectively distinguish between the two types of beef tallow. Compared with ordinary beef tallow, the E-nose sensors of intense flavor beef tallow have stronger response signals to sulfides, terpenes, and nitrogen oxides. A total of 22 compounds contribute to making the flavor of intense flavor beef tallow more typical and richer; in contrast, ethyl acetate was the main aroma-active compound found in the ordinary beef tallow. Sulfur-containing compounds and terpenoids might be the key substances that cause sensory flavor differences between the two types of beef tallow. In conclusion, the results of this study clarify the characteristics and differences of the two types of beef tallow and provide an enhanced understanding of the differences in the flavors of the two types of beef tallow. Full article

Goal: This study aimed to examine provincial differences in patient spending for cancer care and reductions in household spending including decisions to forego care in Canada. Methods: Nine-hundred and one patients with cancer, from twenty cancer centers across Canada, completed a self-administered questionnaire (P-SAFE version 7.2.4) (344 breast, 183 colorectal, 158 lung, and 216 prostate) measuring direct and indirect costs and spending changes. Results: Provincial variations showed a high mean out-of-pocket cost (OOPC) of CAD 938 (Alberta) and a low of CAD 280 (Manitoba). Differences were influenced by age and income. Income loss was highest for Alberta (CAD 2399) and lowest for Manitoba (CAD 1126). Travel costs were highest for Alberta (CAD 294) and lowest for British Columbia (CAD 67). Parking costs were highest for Ontario (CAD 103) and lowest for Manitoba (CAD 53). A total of 41% of patients reported reducing spending, but this increased to 52% for families earning <CAD 50,000 per year. The highest national rates of decisions to forego care were in relation to vitamins/supplements, the selection made by 21.3% of those who indicated spending reductions. Reductions for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) were made by 16.3%, and for drugs, by 12.8%. Most cost categories had higher proportions of individuals who decided to forego care when family income was <CAD 50,000 per year and for patients under 65 years of age. Conclusions: Levels of financial burden for patients with cancer in Canada vary provincially, including for OOPC, travel and parking costs, and lost income. Decisions to forego cancer care are highest in relation to vitamins/supplements, CAM, and drugs. Provincial differences suggest that regional health policies and demographics may impact patients’ overall financial burden. Full article

The objective of this study was to investigate the response of the grapevine variety ‘Tribidrag’ to virus infection over two vegetation seasons. Virus-free plants were greenhouse cultivated and green grafted with five different virus inocula composed of grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) singly or in coinfection with other most economically important grapevine viruses. Changes in nutrient status and photosynthesis-related parameters, along with symptom development, were measured. Using the quantitative PCR method, the relative concentration of five selected Vitis genes was determined. Cluster analysis and ANOVA revealed the reduction in phosphorus concentration (P) and photosynthesis-related parameters in infected plants in both seasons, even in the absence of symptom expression, indicating P and assimilation rate (Photo (A)) as stable markers of virus infection. Plants infected with inoculum Y composed of five different viruses provoked major significant changes in the first season while, in the second, fewer changes were measured. The sucrose synthase 3 gene was upregulated in infected plants confirming disturbed sugar metabolism related to virus-induced stress. This study showed that virus-induced changes in ‘Tribidrag’ plants even in the absence of symptoms are dependent on plant age, as well as on the composition of virus inocula. Full article

Purpose: To describe an atypical phenotypic pattern of late-onset retinitis pigmentosa (RP) due to the same specific c.425A>G (p.Tyr142Cys) heterozygous mutation in the cone–rod homeobox gene (CRX gene) in two unrelated Italian patients. Case 1: A 67-year-old woman (P.P.) was incidentally diagnosed with sector RP at the age of 50. The patient was initially asymptomatic and did not have any family history of retinal dystrophy. Fundus examination showed the presence of typical retinal pigmentary deposits with a peculiar pericentral/sector distribution. Genomic sequencing disclosed the missense mutation c.425A>G (p.Tyr142Cys) in the CRX gene. During the follow-up period of 7 years, the patient maintained good visual acuity and complained only of mild symptoms. Case 2: A 76-year-old man (P.E.) presented with nyctalopia and visual field constriction since the age of 50. Fundus examination showed the presence of retinal pigment deposits with a concentric pericentral and perimacular pattern. A full-field electroretinogram (ffERG) showed extinguished scotopic responses and reduced abnormal photopic and flicker cone responses. Genomic sequencing identified the same missense mutation, c.425A>G (p.Tyr142Cys), in the CRX gene. Similarly to the first case, during the whole follow-up of 7 years, the visual acuity remained stable, as did the visual field and the patient’s symptoms. Conclusions: We report the first cases of late-onset retinitis pigmentosa related to a specific heterozygous CRX gene mutation in exon 4. We also report two atypical phenotypic RP patterns related to mutations in the CRX gene. Full article

In long-range laser communication, adaptive optics tracking systems are often used to achieve high-precision tracking. When recognizing beacon spots for tracking, the traditional threshold segmentation method is highly susceptible to segmentation errors in the face of interference. In this study, an improved DeepLabV3+ network is designed for fast and accurate capture of beacon spots in complex situations. In order to speed up the inference process, the backbone of the model was rewritten as MobileNetV2. This study improves the ASPP (Atrous Spatial Pyramid Pooling) module by splicing and fusing the outputs and inputs of its different layers. Meanwhile, the original convolution in the module is rewritten as a depthwise separable convolution with a dilation rate to reduce the computational burden. CBAM (Convolutional Block Attention Module) is applied, and the focus loss function is introduced during training. The network yields an accuracy of 98.76% mean intersection over union on self-constructed beacon spot dataset, and the segmentation consumes only 12 milliseconds, which realizes the fast and high-precision capturing of beacon spots. Full article

In recent years, the development of hydrogen energy has been widely discussed, particularly in combination with renewable energy sources, enabling the production of “green” hydrogen. With the significant increase in wind power generation, a promising solution for obtaining green hydrogen is the development of wind-to-hydrogen (W2H) systems. However, the high proportion of wind power and electrolyzers in a large-scale W2H system will bring about the problem of renewable energy consumption and frequency stability reduction. This paper analyzes the operational characteristics and economic feasibility of mainstream electrolyzers, leading to the proposal of a coordinated hydrogen production scheme involving both a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer and an alkaline (ALK) electrolyzer. Subsequently, a coordinated control based on Model Predictive Control (MPC) is proposed for system frequency regulation in a large-scale W2H islanded microgrid. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that the system under PEM/ALK electrolyzers coordinated control not only flexibly accommodates fluctuating wind power but also maintains frequency stability in the face of large disturbances. Compared with the traditional system with all ALK electrolyzers, the frequency deviation of this system is reduced by 25%, the regulation time is shortened by 80%, and the demand for an energy storage system (ESS) is reduced. The result validates the effectiveness of MPC and the benefits of the PEM/ALK electrolyzers coordinated hydrogen production scheme. Full article

We demonstrate a pulsed Er-doped ZBLAN fiber laser operating at 3.75 μm based on the gain-switching scheme. A diffraction grating is introduced as a wavelength selection component to enable stable lasing in this long-wavelength region that deviates from the emission peak of ⁴F_9/2→⁴I_9/2 transition in Er³⁺. Different from the conventional gain-switching behavior where the pulse repetition frequency of the output laser is same as the that of the pump, the gain-switched laser demonstrated here shows a variable pulse repetition frequency, which accounts for 1/n (n = 4, 3, 2) of the pump pulse repetition frequency, in response to the 1950 nm pump power. The output pulse characteristics, including average output power, repetition frequency, pulse duration, and peak power, are investigated in detail. Over 200 mW average output power at 3.75 μm was obtained at 12 W of 1950 nm pump power. This work demonstrates that the Er-doped ZBLAN fiber laser, in combination with gain-switched scheme, is a feasible and promising approach to generate powerful pulsed emission > 3.7 μm. Full article

This article discusses a form of Thomism that has emerged in the field of science and theology, which is termed “Science-Engaged Thomism” (SETh), following the recent and growing movement of Science-Engaged Theology (SET). After a brief introduction of SET, various definitions and essential features of SET and SETh are introduced and discussed, highlighting their similarities and differences. To showcase the latter, the article presents recent examples of SETh. The objective is to suggest that SETh is a form of Thomism, although not necessarily a new form of Thomism. As such, SETh might be considered a complementary approach to SET. Full article

Chronic tympanic membrane perforation represents a prevalent otological condition, necessitating a reliable animal model for the validation and safety assessment of surgical techniques and materials employed in myringoplasty. This prospective study involved the establishment of chronic tympanic membrane perforation animal models in 16 chinchillas. A thermic myringotomy was conducted on the right ear (study group), followed by cold instrument myringotomy, coupled with the topical application of mitomycin C and dexamethasone solution on the left ear (control group). Results revealed that tympanic membrane perforations in the study group persisted for a minimum of 4 weeks in 93.7% of cases and extended to 12 weeks in 62.5% of the cases. In contrast, all tympanic membrane perforations in the control group were present at 4 weeks, with only 37.5% persisting after 12 weeks, although statistical tests did not find significant differences between the two groups (chi-square: p-value = 0.157, Kruskal–Wallis: p-value = 0.093, Mann–Whitney: p-value = 0.121). The thermic myringotomy employed to induce chronic tympanic membrane perforation in animals demonstrated efficiency and sustainability. This model, characterized by stability and reproducibility, holds promise for future experimental applications in the field. Full article

This study compared the clinical experiences of foreign-trained dentists (FTDs) enrolled in an Advance Standing DMD Dental Program (DMDAS) with those of the domestic dental students (DMD) at the University of Illinois Chicago, College of Dentistry (UIC-COD). A cross-sectional retrospective chart review of patients treated by 295 DMD and 253 DMDAS predoctoral dental students was completed at the UIC-COD. The data were retrieved from the electronic health record system (axiUm) for the graduated classes of 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 on various performed clinical procedures as measured by relative value units (RVUs). The retrieved data were used to compare the clinical experiences of DMDAS vs. DMD students. Descriptive (mean) and statistical (independent t-test) analyses were used (α = 0.05). The results indicated that DMD and DMDAS students had comparable clinical experiences in several disciplines, including diagnosis, prevention, direct/indirect restorations, endodontics, periodontics, complete dentures, removable partial dentures, implants/fixed partial dentures, and oral surgery. There was a statistical difference in total RVUs for diagnosis (p = 0.002) and direct restorations (p < 0.001), in which DMD students had more experience. The 28 month program for FTDs appeared to be a reasonable timeframe to obtain an adequate number of varied clinical experiences as compared with the traditional four-year program at the UIC-COD. Full article

The electron–electron, or zero-field interaction (ZFI) in the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of high-spin transition ions in metalloproteins and coordination complexes, is commonly described by a simple spin Hamiltonian that is second-order in the spin S: $\mathcal{H}=D[S_z^2-S\left(S+1\right)/3+E(S_x^2-S_y^2)$. Symmetry considerations, however, allow for fourth-order terms when S ≥ 2. In metalloprotein EPR studies, these terms have rarely been explored. Metal ions can cluster via non-metal bridges, as, for example, in iron-sulfur clusters, in which exchange interaction can result in higher system spin, and this would allow for sixth- and higher-order ZFI terms. For metalloproteins, these have thus far been completely ignored. Single-molecule magnets (SMMs) are multi-metal ion high spin complexes, in which the ZFI usually has a negative sign, thus affording a ground state level pair with maximal spin quantum number m_S = ±S, giving rise to unusual magnetic properties at low temperatures. The description of EPR from SMMs is commonly cast in terms of the ‘giant-spin model’, which assumes a magnetically isolated system spin, and in which fourth-order, and recently, even sixth-order ZFI terms have been found to be required. A special version of the giant-spin model, adopted for scaling-up to system spins of order S ≈ 10³–10⁴, has been applied to the ubiquitous iron-storage protein ferritin, which has an internal core containing Fe³⁺ ions whose individual high spins couple in a way to create a superparamagnet at ambient temperature with very high system spin reminiscent to that of ferromagnetic nanoparticles. This scaled giant-spin model is critically evaluated; limitations and future possibilities are explicitly formulated. Full article

The detection of subsurface archaeological remains using a range of remote sensing methods poses several challenges. Recent studies regarding the detection of archaeological proxies like those of cropmarks highlight the complexity of the phenomenon. In this work, we present three different methods, and associated indices, for identifying stressed reflectance signatures indicating buried archaeological remains, based on a dataset of measured ground spectroradiometric reflectance. Several spectral profiles between the visible and near-infrared parts of the spectrum were taken in a controlled environment in Cyprus during 2011–2012 and are re-used in this study. The first two (spectral) methods are based on a suitable analysis of the spectral signatures in (1) the visible part of the spectrum, in particular in the neighborhood of 570 nm, and (2) the red edge part of the spectrum, in the neighborhood of 730 nm. Machine learning (decision trees) allows for the deduction of suitable wavelengths to focus on in order to formulate the proposed indices and the associated classification criteria (decision boundaries) that can enhance the detection probability of stressed vegetation. Noise in the signal is taken into account by simulating reflectance signatures perturbed by white noise. Applying decision tree classification on the ensemble of simulations and basic statistical analysis, we refine the formulation of the indices and criteria for the noisy signatures. The success rate of the proposed methods is over 90%. The third method rests on the estimation of vegetation/canopy reflectance parameters through inversion of the physical-based PROSAIL reflectance model and the associated classification through machine learning methods. The obtained results provide further insights into the formation of stress vegetation that occurred due to the presence of shallow buried archaeological remains, which are well aligned with physical-based models and existing empirical knowledge. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the usefulness of radiative transfer models such as PROSAIL for understanding the formation of cropmarks. Similar studies can support future research directions towards the development of regional remote sensing methods and algorithms if systematic observations are adequately dispersed in space and time. Full article