Decentralization of Government Functions, a European Principle of the Albanian Modernization Process: A libertarian approach to territorial issues

Albania, for 30 years, has entered the phase of transition from a society organized into a one-party central governing regime to a democratic society of a free market economy. But the pace of moving in this direction and modernizing the country is not the expected one, because the centralized proclamations of the political elite and expertise have not allowed liberal approaches to enter Albanian legislation and governing practices. This has been the case in particular in the sector of territorial planning, where central governments have aimed and managed to not allow the actual decentralization of the governing function of drafting and adopting local territorial planning instruments. This has resulted in a shortage of local instruments, in general, but even when managed to ensure they are presented far beyond the needs, problems and objective local imbalances. This is because their distance mapping from the actual municipality for which they were designed failed to recognize the specifics and characteristics of each of them. The result has been evident; in both cases, planning has been inexistent to drive sustainable, smart and inclusive urban development processes. In this paper we aim to build another approach for future development in Albania, a country which aims at integration into the European Union. This path should be development based on previously adopted territorial planning instruments, drawn up in democratic and parliamentary processes as a local political activity. Central government must understand and accept the new and different role than the one it played 30 years ago in territorial development issues, and that the process of drafting and adopting local territorial planning instruments should be a function of local government itself.

System for determining the parameters of a sea vessel by analyzing a photo image

In this paper, a method is considered for determining the parameters of a sea vessel, such as its spatial orientation and the distance from the observation point to this vessel from a photographic image to facilitate the task of identifying vessels at night. A measuring system for practical implementation is proposed, consisting of an optical segment, a segment for determining the angle of the vessel by the image, a segment for determining the distance to the object, and a segment for accumulating and filtering data. An algorithm for extracting the parameters of ship lights from a photographic image, their analysis, and the calculation of the quantities required for classification are described. The effectiveness of various classifier architectures for determining the angle of the vessel was experimentally tested, among which the SVM architecture was the most effective. A method for compiling a “depth map” for a static image based on the data of real distances to objects in the daylight image and the coordinates of the corresponding pixels in the same image is described. The method of backpropagation of the error is used for the obtained distances in the corresponding segment of the system based on the existence of the position-distance mapping. The model of the “depth map” constructed based on these data made it possible to obtain a sufficient distance to the object from the photograph.

Improving the reconstruction of dental occlusion using a reconstructed-based identical matrix point technique

Digital dental models are widely used compared to dental impressions or plaster-dental models for occlusal analysis as well as fabrication of prosthodontic and orthodontic appliances. The digital dental model has been considered as one of the significant measures for the analysis of dental occlusion. However, the process requires more computation time with less accuracy during the re-establishment of dental occlusion. In this research, a modern method to re-establish dental occlusion has been designed using a Reconstructed-based Identical Matrix Point (RIMP) technique. The curvature of the dental regions has been reconstructed using distance mapping in order to minimize the computation time, and an iterative point matching approach is used for accurate re-establishment. Satisfactory restoration and occlusion tests have been analyzed using a dental experimental setup with high-quality digital camera images. Further, the high-quality camera images are converted to grayscale images for mathematical computation using MATLAB image processing toolbox. Besides, 70 images have been taken into consideration in which 30 planar view images has been utilized for experimental analysis. Indeed, based on the outcomes, the proposed RIMP outperforms overall accuracy of (91.50%) and efficiency of (87.50%) in comparison with conventional methods such as GLCM, PCR, Fuzzy C Means, OPOS, and OGS.

Localization of a Micro AUV with Dynamic Trilateration Using Low-power Packet Radio RSSI

Communication radio-based AUV localization was demonstrated in this study. The proposed solution was formulated and derived for both stationary and linearly drifting objects of interest and is possible of operating in GNSS-denied operations. Linear curve-fit to experimental data for radio-distance mapping with range calculation was tested in terrestrial and marine environments. The use of packet radio equipment on a secondary basis for localization may present a potential for reduced requirements for high precision or task-specific hardware in the future.

Three-Dimensional Distance and Coverage Maps in the Assessment of Peritalar Subluxation in Progressive Collapsing Foot Deformity

Background: Progressive collapsing foot deformity (PCFD), formerly termed adult-acquired flatfoot deformity, is a complex 3-dimensional (3D) deformity of the foot characterized by peritalar subluxation (PTS). PTS is typically measured at the posterior facet, but recent studies have called this into question. The objective of this study was to use 3D distance mapping (DM) from weightbearing computed tomography (WBCT) to assess PTS in patients with PCFD and controls. We hypothesized that DMs would identify the middle facet as a superior marker for PTS. Methods: We analyzed WBCT data of 20 consecutive stage I patients with PCFD and 10 control patients with a novel DM technique to objectively characterize joint coverage across the entire peritalar surface, including both articular and nonarticular regions. Joint coverage was defined as the percentage of articular area with DMs <4 mm and impingement when distances were <0.5 mm. Comparisons were performed with independent t tests or Wilcoxon tests. P values <.05 were considered significant. Results: Overall, coverage was decreased in articular regions and impingement was increased in nonarticular regions of patients with PCFD with a significant increase in uncoverage in the middle (46.6%, P < .001) but not anterior or posterior facets. Significant increases in sinus tarsi coverage were identified (98.0%, P < .007) with impingement in 6 of 20 patients with PCFD. Impingement of the subfibular region was noted in only 1 of 20 cases but narrowing greater than 2 standard deviations was noted in 17 of 20 patients. Conclusions: Objective DMs identified significant markers of PTS in the middle but not posterior or anterior facets. We confirmed prior 2-dimensional data that suggested uncoverage of the middle facet provided a more robust and consistent measure of PTS than measures in the posterior facet. Level of Evidence: Level III, case-control study.