Towards natural object-based image recoloring

Existing color editing algorithms enable users to edit the colors in an image according to their own aesthetics. Unlike artists who have an accurate grasp of color, ordinary users are inexperienced in color selection and matching, and allowing non-professional users to edit colors arbitrarily may lead to unrealistic editing results. To address this issue, we introduce a palette-based approach for realistic object-level image recoloring. Our data-driven approach consists of an offline learning part that learns the color distributions for different objects in the real world, and an online recoloring part that first recognizes the object category, and then recommends appropriate realistic candidate colors learned in the offline step for that category. We also provide an intuitive user interface for efficient color manipulation. After color selection, image matting is performed to ensure smoothness of the object boundary. Comprehensive evaluation on various color editing examples demonstrates that our approach outperforms existing state-of-the-art color editing algorithms.

Municipal Districts in the System of Landscape-Ecological Zoning of the Northern Sikhote-Alin

The process of landscape-ecological zoning of a large natural object makes it possible to represent spatial combinations of geosystems that perform the most important ecological functions. To preserve them at the level of municipal district government, it is necessary to identify ecologically significant landscapes that can be optimally used in the economy and at the same time being part of the regional system for preserving the natural environment. This is a case study of two municipal districts of Khabarovsk Territory – Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan, their place in the landscape-ecological zoning of the Northern Sikhote-Alin, the dynamics of spatio-temporal changes in the categories of regional landscape-ecological zoning within these districts have been considered.

PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH TOURISM ON LAKE RAY IN THE ALMATY REGION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

Lake Ray is a unique natural object of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is located in the Balkhash depression of the Almaty region. The waters of the lake are characterized by a peculiar hydrochemical and mineral composition, which can be used for various types of health tourism and recreation. The study aimed to show scientifically substantiated therapeutic and health-improving attractiveness of the territory of lake basins, to attract investment in the development of tourism. This study presents the physicochemical and spectral analysis of water and therapeutic mud. Organoleptic characteristics (color, odor, consistency, structure) and sanitary and microbiological indicators of the declared sample of mud, physical and chemical indicators of the declared sample of water have been determined. The results indicated that the physicochemical composition of water and brine met the regulatory sanitary and epidemiological requirements and could be used in stationary medical institutions and physiotherapy. Lake Ray in the Republic of Kazakhstan has a unique variety of hydromineral recreational resources.

Sozological substantiation of the creation of the protected natural object «Topilinskaya Gully» (Rostov region)

In the article the substantiation of the organization of a new specially protected natural area of the Rostovregion «Topilinskaya Gully» is given. Topilinskaya gully is forested, located on the Donetsk ridge on the northern borderof the Nizhnekundryuchensky sandу massif. A brief description of the flora and vegetation of the gully is given. The mainassociations, typical, relict and protected forest and psammophytic species are listed. The flora of the gully includes 178species of higher vascular plants from 51 families and 139 genera.

Environmental activity of law enforcement agenciesenvironmental activity of law enforcement agencies

The article defines the legal nature of the environmental protection activities of law enforcement agencies. The bodies carrying out activities for the protection of the environment within the framework of the implementation of the law enforcement function are systematized according to their own functionality into four groups: the general law enforcement bodies (internal affairs of the Russian Federation); the law enforcement agencies that resolve issues related to encroachment on public relations in relation to a specific natural object (specialized agencies); the bodies implementing control and supervisory activities in this area (prosecutorial bodies of Russia); and, finally, the judicial authorities.

The Concept of a Natural Object As an Element of the Forensic Databases

A natural object as an element of the system of accounting and registration activities has a dual nature, which determines the multidirectional functional purposes of its use. On the one hand, as an object of reference funds, it conveys a system of properties and attributes inherent in it as in an independent material object. On the other hand, a natural object acts as one of the forms of keeping forensic records, containing important information about a trace-forming object and the mechanism of trace formation. The currently existing theoretical approaches to the definition of a “natural object” do not fully consider its specificity and the variety of its constituent elements.The article addresses the etymological, subject, and functional approaches to the essence of a natural object, determining its position and status in the system of forensic databases. The analysed features determine the possibility of using this form of information storage as an object of identification, diagnostic and situational expert research. The authors propose a “natural object” definition as a material source of primary (primary-reflected) objective information, containing a set of properties and features resistant to time factors that form derived information. The suggested definition provides a precise understanding of the considered analysed of a “natural object” for further use in departmental regulatory documents and scientific and practical works.

Nature-inspired materials: Emerging trends and prospects

The term “nature-inspired” is associated with a sequence of efforts to understand, synthesize and imitate any natural object or phenomenon either in a tangible or intangible form, which allows us to obtain improved insights into nature. Such inspirations can come through materials, processes, or designs that we see around us. Materials, as opposed to processes and designs found in nature, are tangible and can readily be used without engineering efforts. One such example is that of an aquaporin that is used to filter water. The scope of this work in nature-inspired materials is to define, clarify, and consolidate our current understanding by reviewing examples from the laboratory to industrial scale to highlight emerging opportunities. A careful analysis of “nature-inspired materials” shows that they possess specific functionality that relies on our ability to harness particular electrical, mechanical, biological, chemical, sustainable, or combined gains.