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Introduction: The prevalence of dysphagia in the general population is 6–16%. The dysphagia team focuses on dia­gnosis and treatment of dysphagia. The dysphagia team consists of a clinical speech therapist, an otorhinolaryngologist and nurse (depending on the workplace). Other specialties such as radiologist, nutritionist and physiotherapist can also be a member of the team. FEES (Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing) and VFSS (Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study) are used as the gold standard for objective examination of the dysphagia. Aim of the work: The aim of the work is to evaluate retrospectively the contribution of the dysphagia team working in the department of otorhinolaryngology in Hospital České Budějovice, in the care of patients after stroke disease indicated for examination from the Complex Cerebrovascular Center (CCC) in 2016–2020. Material and methods: The retrospective study included 33 patients after stroke with clinical suspicion of dysphagia, who were referred from the CCC to the Counseling Center for Swallowing Disorders for objective examination of dysphagia. Results: In 9 patients (27.3%), dysphagia was ruled out during FEES, thus enabling oral intake without restrictions. Dysphagia was confirmed in 24 patients (72.7%). Ten patients (30.3%) had a prolonged pharyngeal swallowing phase without food penetration into the airways. Three patients (9.1%) had a bolus penetration into the airways during the examination, but it remained above the vocal cords and it was completely expelled from the airways (PAS 2). In 11 cases (33.3%) aspiration was found, of which nine cases (27.3% of all patients, 81.8% of patients with aspiration) involved silent aspiration without any attempt to expel bolus from the airways (PAS 8). Conclusion: In 31 patients (94.0%) the benefit of examination by the dysphagia team was noted. In the case of 22 patients (66.7%), it was an adjustment of nutrition and swallowing rehabilitation with confirmed dysphagia. Restrictions were lifted in 9 patients (27.3%) with false-positive screening and clinical examination. We observe a positive effect of long-term swallowing rehabilitation in 61.5% of the monitored patients. Keywords: endoscopy – stroke – rehabilitation – deglutition disorder

openaire: EC/H2020/771049/EU//FREEDLES Funding Information: We thank Juho Antikainen, Lukáš Fajmon, Petri Forsström, Karel Holouš, Mihkel Kaha, Bijay Karki, Lauri Korhonen, Andres Kuusk, Mait Lang, Titta Majasalmi, Jan Pisek, Ville Ranta, and the staff of the Hyytiälä forestry field station for their assistance in the field and airborne campaigns and data preprocessing. The study was carried out using PRISMA Products, © of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), delivered under an ASI License to use. This study has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme [grant agreement No 771049]. The text reflects only the authors' view and the Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. This study was also funded by the Academy of Finland grant DIMEBO [grant number 323004]. Funding Information: We thank Juho Antikainen, Lukáš Fajmon, Petri Forsström, Karel Holouš, Mihkel Kaha, Bijay Karki,Lauri Korhonen, Andres Kuusk, Mait Lang, Titta Majasalmi, Jan Pisek, Ville Ranta, and the staff of the Hyytiälä forestry field station for their assistance in the field and airborne campaigns and data preprocessing. The study was carried out using PRISMA Products, © of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), delivered under an ASI License to use. This study has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme [grant agreement No 771049 ]. The text reflects only the authors' view and the Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. This study was also funded by the Academy of Finland grant DIMEBO [grant number 323004 ]. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors Forest floor vegetation can account for a notable fraction of forest productivity and species diversity, and the composition of forest floor vegetation is an important indicator of site type. The signal from the forest floor influences the interpretation of optical remote sensing (RS) data. Retrieval of forest floor reflectance properties has commonly been investigated with multiangular RS data, which often have a coarse spatial resolution. We developed a method that utilizes a forest reflectance model based on photon recollision probability to retrieve forest floor reflectance from near-nadir data. The method was tested in boreal, hemiboreal, and temperate forests in Europe, with hemispherical photos and airborne LiDAR as alternative data sources to provide forest canopy structural information. These two data sources showed comparable performance, thus demonstrating the value of using airborne LiDAR as the structural reflectance model input to derive wall-to-wall maps of forest floor reflectance. We derived such maps from multispectral Sentinel-2 MSI and hyperspectral PRISMA satellite images for a boreal forest site. The validation against in situ measurements showed fairly good performance of the retrievals in sparse forests (that had effective plant area index less than 2). In dense forests, the retrievals were less accurate, due to the small contribution of forest floor to the RS signal. We also demonstrated the use of the method in monitoring the recovery of forest floor vegetation after a thinning disturbance. The reflectance model that we used is computationally efficient, making it well applicable also to data from new and forthcoming hyperspectral satellite missions.

Despite progress in the treatment of head and neck cancer, the five-year overall survival rate is still low because of late dia­gnosis. The head and neck mucosal tumours were usually dia­gnosed in higher stages in past, therefore new endoscopic optical imaging methods were developed for better and earlier detection of these lesions. They are divided in two main groups – horizontal and vertical methods. The horizontal ones show the surface of the mucous membrane (narrow band imaging, autofluorescence, photodynamic dia­gnosis, magnifying and contact endoscopy). The vertical ones show different layers of the mucosa (optical coherence tomography and confocal endomicroscopy). Narrow band imaging and autofluorescence endoscopy are already used routinely in foreign countries, magnifying and contact endoscopy are getting to practice recently. The authors present a summary of narrow band imaging and autofluorescence endoscopy usage in the dia­gnostics of oropharyngeal carcinoma.

Introduction: The article presents the results of a research project the aim of which was to describe the level of kindergarten teachers’ work with educational objectives in connection with the application of a differentiated curriculum for the development of gifted children. Methods: The research tool was a questionnaire in which the teachers selected one of three answers possible and matched their pedagogical activities in kindergarten the most. 345 teachers from kindergartens in the Czech Republic took part in the research. Data was processed using computer software SPSS. Results: It was discovered that most of them can differentiate their instructions, however, at least a half of them do not respect the rules of inclusive education and their instructions result in an unwanted labelling of the gifted children. We have also proved that the level of the teachers’ work with the educational objectives is positively influenced by their longer than 10 years’ experience, work with heterogeneous class age-wise, and their having attended a seminar focused on the topic of giftedness. Discussion: The discussion focuses on the description of variables affecting the level of work with educational objectives in connection with the application of a differentiated curriculum for the development of gifted children. Limitations: The limitation is the simplification of the pedagogical reality into 3 possible answers and the artificial metrization of this data. Another problem was that our questionnaire was focused only on selected aspects of pedagogical work with gifted preschoolers, which were related to the curriculum modification and inclusive education. Furthermore, despite the big amount of validly filled in questionnaires (345) the research cannot be considered to be large area survey and the results cannot be generalized. Conclusions: Gifted children should have the maximal space for the development of their own potential. It is also necessary to increase the teachers’ skills to apply the differentiated curriculum with the features of inclusive education in order to develop the giftedness of all the children as much as possible. One of the possibilities is the kindergarten teachers’ attendance to educational events on the topic of giftedness, which is one of the variables which significantly influence the quality of their work.

IMPORTANCE: Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a rare benign chronic disease of the larynx etiologically linked with the infection of low-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). Combination of surgical and immunomodulatory therapy has limited success. Possible use of prophylactic HPV vaccine that includes HPV-6 and HPV-11 antigens has been studied. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the HPV vaccination is associated with a lower number of recurrences requiring surgical intervention in patients with new and recurrent RRP. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a non–placebo-controlled intervention study. Enrollment data were collected from October 2011 to August 2013. The patients were followed up at 1 month, 12 months, and 5 years after the third dose of the vaccine and clinically monitored until December 31, 2018. Data were analyzed from 2019 to 2021. Altogether, 50 adults with active RRP were enrolled and followed up in referral centers. For the final outcome, follow-up data for 42 patients were available. Eight patients who did not fulfill the protocol were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: All patients received HPV vaccine as an adjuvant treatment and were clinically followed up. When RRP progression or a significant recurrent lesion was detected, surgical removal via direct laryngoscopy was indicated. No adjuvant therapy with antiviral or biological agents was used. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: This study compared the prevaccination and postvaccination positivity for HPV-specific antibodies. The main outcome was the difference in the frequency of RRP recurrences in the prevaccination and postvaccination period. RESULTS: A total of 50 patients with RRP were enrolled (median [SD] age, 41.5 [12.3] years [range, 21-73 years]; 39 [78%] men and 11 [22%] women). After HPV vaccination, patients with previously no HPV-specific antibodies showed seroconversion, and all patients developed 100-fold higher levels of HPV vaccine type-specific antibodies compared with the prevaccination period. In patients with recurrent RRP, decreased frequency of recurrences requiring surgical treatment was present after vaccination (from 0.85 to 0.36 recurrences/y). No difference in postvaccination recurrences was found between patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent RRP. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this nonrandomized clinical trial, the frequency of RRP recurrences was significantly lower after HPV vaccination, and patients with RRP thus had a reduced burden of disease. Because no difference was detected in the frequency of recurrent postvaccination lesions in patients with new and recurrent disease, it appears that both groups showed equal benefit following HPV vaccination. These findings suggest that the earlier that patients with RRP receive HPV vaccine, the sooner they may show reduced burden of disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT Identifier: 2011-002667-14; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01375868

In this chapter, we present a multi-source remote sensing approach for country-wise monitoring of bark beetle calamity to support government decision making processes. In the first part, we describe the forest health monitoring system, which is based on the analysis of satellite big data–Sentinel-2 observations collected every five days. We propose an automated processing chain for high-quality cloud-free image synthesis for user-defined acquisition periods. Such a processing chain is applied to yield yearly cloud-free images of the entire Czech Republic from 2015 onwards. Based on this data, we assess forest health trends using Sentinel-2 derived vegetation indices and in situ data of forest status. Finally, we demonstrate the benefits of multi-source remote sensing for timely and objective mapping of bark beetle spread by combining several data sources, including planet high-resolution satellite data, Sentinel-2 forest health maps and other maps of forest conditions. Detected bark beetle sanitary logging and dead standing wood polygons are used by the Ministry of Agriculture of Czech Republic in their decision processes regarding the management of affected forest areas.

Information about forest background reflectance is needed for accurate biophysical parameter retrieval from forest canopies (overstory) with remote sensing. Separating under and overstory signals would enable more accurate modeling of forest carbon and energy fluxes. We retrieved values of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of forest understory with multi-angular Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF)/albedo data (gridded 500 meter daily Collection 6 product), using a method originally developed for boreal forests. The forest floor background reflectance estimates from MODIS data were compared with in situ understory reflectance measurements carried out at an extensive set of forest ecosystem experimental sites across Europe. The reflectance estimates from MODIS data were hence tested across diverse forest conditions and phenological phases during the growing season, to examine its applicability on ecosystems other than boreal forests. Here we report the method can deliver good retrievals especially over different forest types with open canopies (low foliage cover). The performance of the method was found limited over forests with closed canopies (high foliage cover), where the signal from understory gets much attenuated. The spatial heterogeneity of individual field sites as well as the limitations and documented quality of the MODIS BRDF product are shown to be important for correct assessment and validation of the retrievals obtained with remote sensing.

AFIS officers are mandated by the Czech Annex L11, Appendix N regulation to record specified information about all landings and take-offs at AFIS airports. This task is currently being done manually by the officers. The paper describes a possible usage of a software tool which could help Aerodrome Flight Information Service officers to perform their duties more efficiently. It is focused on the solution to, in full measure, record this mandatory information automatically without the officers’ intervention. The result of the study is a set of information that could be recorded automatically with suggested approach of how this can be performed.

Background and objectives Transoral laser surgery is the optimal surgical treatment modality for the early stages of glottic cancer. To allow for further treatment to be as effective and as minimal as possible, persistent or recurrent tumors should be detected very soon. The main aim is to minimize the risk of necessity of performing a total laryngectomy. Flexible videoendoscopy with narrow band imaging (NBI) was recommended by the European Laryngological Society as a diagnostic method for the follow-up of patients treated for laryngeal cancer. Nevertheless, the efficacy of this technique has not been extensively studied in patients after transoral laser cordectomies for vocal fold cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of in-office transnasal NBI flexible videoendoscopy in the follow-up of patients after transoral laser cordectomy for glottic cancer. We also focused on describing the specific characteristics of recurrent tumor appearance. Materials and methods The presented study was conceived as a prospective study. Ninety-four consecutive patients who underwent transoral laser cordectomy for severe dysplasia, Tis, T1, and T2 glottic cancer in the period from June 2010 to August 2015 were enrolled in the study. All patients were postoperatively regularly followed using transnasal videoendoscopic examinations with NBI. Whenever a suspect lesion was identified during in-office examination, its nature was proven histologically. Results We discovered 23 suspect findings in 21 patients by means of flexible videoendoscopy with NBI. Fifteen (65.2%) of them were histologically confirmed as recurrent tumors, whereas in 8 (34.8%) of them, the recurrent tumor was not proven. In two patients, the recurrent tumor was evident on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, but NBI endoscopy did not reveal relapsing disease. The rest (71 patients) were considered true negative. Of the 15 recurrent tumors detected by NBI-coupled videoendoscopy, 8 (53.3%) were identified as submucosal masses with nonsignificant or no vascular changes, 4 (26.7%) were noted as the progression of leukoplakia without visible vascular changes, only 2 (13.3%) showed typical vascular changes, and, in 1 (6.7%) case, evident, significantly exophytic tumor with pathological vascularization was discovered. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the in-office transnasal videolaryngoscopy with NBI were calculated to be 88%, 92%, 71%, and 97%, respectively. Conclusions The results of the study demonstrate that transnasal endoscopy with NBI in an outpatient setting is an excellent method for the follow-up of patients after transoral laser cordectomy for glottic cancer. The method achieves high sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value and a slightly low positive predictive value. Nevertheless, we must bear in mind that recurrent tumors after previous endoscopic resection may have a completely different appearance than new tumors originating from previously untreated tissues. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

It is well known that forests serve as carbon sinks. However, the balancing effect of afforestation and increased forest density on global warming due to carbon storage may be lost by low albedo (thus high absorption) of the forests. In the last 30 years, there has been a steady increase in the growing stock of Finnish forests by nearly a quarter while the area of the forests has remained virtually unchanged. Such increase in forest density together with the availability of detailed forest inventories provided by the Multi-Source National Forest Inventory (MS-NFI) in high spatial resolution makes Finland an ideal candidate for exploring the effects of increased forest density on satellite derived estimates of bio-geochemical products e.g. albedo (directional-hemispherical reflectance, DHR), fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by canopies (fAPAR), leaf area index (LAI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in both current and long-term perspective.In this study, we first used MODIS-based vegetation satellite products for Finnish forests to study their seasonal patterns and interrelations. Next, the peak growing season observations are linked to the MS-NFI database to yield the generic relationships between forest density and the satellite-derived vegetation indicators. Finally, long-term GIMMS3g datasets between 1982 and 2011 (2008 for DHR) are analyzed and interpreted using forest inventory data. The vegetation peak growing season NIR DHR and VIS DHR showed weak to moderate negative correlation with fAPAR, whereas there was no correlation between NIR DHR and fAPAR. Next, we show that the spectral albedos in the near-infrared region (NIR DHR) showed weak negative correlation with forest biomass, basal area or canopy cover whereas, as expected, the spectral albedo in the visible region (VIS DHR) correlated negatively with these measures of forest density. Interestingly, the increase in forest density (biomass per ha) of Finnish forests during the last 30 years was not accompanied by trends in the indicators of vegetation ‘greenness’ and photosynthetic productivity (fAPAR, LAI and NDVI) or in forest albedo (DHR). Even though there were small increases in both DHR, fAPAR, LAI and NDVI and from the start to the end of the study period (1982–2011), the pattern and magnitude of change in these variables did not follow the development of forest biomass in the different NFI inventories.

Relying on previous results, that link entanglement entropy and parton distribution functions in deep inelastic scattering, and focusing on the small Bjorken scaling region we present here indications that gluon shadowing might indeed be explained as due to a depletion of the entanglement entropy, between observed and unobserved degrees of freedom, per nucleon within a nucleus, with respect to the free nucleon. We apply to gluon shadowing the general Page approach to the calculation of the entanglement entropy in bipartite systems, giving physical motivations of the results.

Imaging spectroscopy of vegetation requires methods for scaling and generalizing optical signals that are reflected, transmitted and emitted in the solar wavelength domain from single leaves and observed at the level of canopies by proximal sensing, airborne and satellite spectroradiometers. The upscaling embedded in imaging spectroscopy retrievals and validations of plant biochemical and structural traits is challenged by natural variability and measurement uncertainties. Sources of the leaf-to-canopy upscaling variability and uncertainties are reviewed with respect to: (1) implementation of retrieval algorithms and (2) their parameterization and validation of quantitative products through in situ field measurements. The challenges are outlined and discussed for empirical and physical leaf and canopy radiative transfer modelling components, considering both forward and inverse modes. Discussion on optical remote sensing validation schemes includes also description of a multiscale validation concept and its advantages. Impacts of intraspecific and interspecific variability on collected field and laboratory measurements of leaf biochemical traits and optical properties are demonstrated for selected plant species, and field measurement uncertainty sources are listed and discussed specifically for foliar pigments and canopy leaf area index. The review concludes with the main findings and suggestions as how to reduce uncertainties and include variability in scaling vegetation imaging spectroscopy signals and functional traits of single leaves up to observations of whole canopies.

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a widespread tolerant forest tree-species; however, its adaptability to environmental change differs among sites with various buffering capacity. In this study, we compared the spatial effects of aridity index (AI) and nitrogen deposition (ND) on biomass density in natural and man-made pine stands of differing soil fertility using geographically weighted multiple lag regression. Soil fertility was defined using soil series as zonal trophic (27.9%), acidic (48.2%), gleyed (15.2%) and as azonal exposed (2.5%), maple (2.4%), ash (0.8%), wet (2.1%) and peat (0.9%) under pine stands in the Czech Republic (Central Europe; 4290.5 km2; 130–1298 m a.s.l.). Annual AI and ND in every pine stand were estimated by intersection between raster and vector from 1 × 1 km grid for years 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2010 of severe non-specific forest damage spread. Biomass density was obtained from a MODIS 250 × 250 m raster using the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) for years 2000–2015, with a decrease in EVI indicating non-specific damage. Environmental change was assessed by comparing predictor values at EVI time t and t+λ. Non-specific damage was registered over 51.9% of total forest area. Less than 8.8% of damaged stands were natural and the rest (91.2%) of damaged stands were man-made. Pure pine stands were more damaged than mixed. The ND effect prevailed up to 2007, while AI dominated later. Temporal increasing ND effect under AI effectiveness led to the most significant pine stand damage in 2008 and 2014. Predictors from 2000 to 2007 afflicted 58.5% of non-specifically damaged stands at R2 0.09–0.76 (median 0.38), but from 2000 to 2010 afflicted 57.1% of the stands at R2 0.16–0.75 (median 0.40). The most damaged stands occurred on acidic sites. Mixed forest and sustainable management on natural sites seem as effective remediation reducing damage by ND.

Endoscopic optical imaging methods for the detection of mucosal lesions in the ENT area have been developed for better and earlier detection of these changes. They can be divided into horizontal methods group - showing the surface of the mucous membrane (autofluorescence, photodynamic diagnosis, Narrow Band Imaging, magnifying and contact endoscopy) and vertical methods group - visualizing different layers of the mucosa (optical coherence tomography and confocal endomicroscopy). Some of them are routinely used in practice, others are used in experimental mode and their introduction into practice may be a matter of the near future. The authors present a comprehensive overview of available endoscopic optical imaging methods.

Correction: DOI:10.1016/j.rse.2014.08.018 Land surface albedo is an essential climate variable controlling the planetary radiative energy budget, yet it is still among the main uncertainties of the radiation budget in the current climate modeling. To date, albedo satellite products have not been linked to extensive forest inventory data sets due to the lack of ground reference data. Here, we used comprehensive and detailed maps of forest inventory variables to couple forest structure and MODIS albedo products for both winter and summer conditions. We investigated how the relationships between forest variables and albedo change seasonally and along latitudinal gradients in the forest biomes of Finland between 60° and 70° N. We observed an increase in forest albedo with increasing latitude in winter but not in summer. Also, relationships between forest variables and the black-sky albedo or directional–hemispherical reflectance (DHR) at different latitudes were tighter in winter than in summer, especially for forest biomass. Summer albedo was only weakly correlated with the traditional inventory variables. Our findings suggest that the relationships between forest variables and DHR depend on latitude.

Objectives The aim of this pilot study was to investigate an association between laryngopharyngeal reflux detected by combined multiple intraluminal impedance and pH monitoring and Helicobacter pylori in adenoid hyperplasia detected with real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Methods The study group consisted of 30 children (median age 5.34 years) with extraesophageal symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease with adenoid hyperplasia. All children underwent adenoidectomy with subsequent PCR detection of H. pylori DNA in the tissue and multiple intraluminal impedance and pH monitoring. The most proximal impedance sensor was located 1 cm caudal to the entrance of the oesophagus. Results We found significant differences in the number of reflux episodes among patients with PCR positivity (median 35) and negativity (median 0) of H. pylori (p-value of Mann–Whitney U-test 0.0056). Patients with PCR positivity of H. pylori had significantly more reflux episodes reaching the upper oesophageal sphincter (p-value of Mann–Whitney U-test 0.023). The absence of reflux episode was the only independent factor for PCR negativity of H. pylori in the multiple logistic regression model. Conclusions These results support the hypothesis that reflux episodes reaching the upper oesophageal sphincter may play an important role in the transmission of H. pylori into lymphoid tissue of the nasopharynx and thus may contribute to adenoid hyperplasia in children.

Total shortwave and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) albedos of eight boreal forest stands of different species (pine, spruce and birch) and structure were measured, and the results were compared to albedos simulated with an existing forest albedo model. The measured shortwave and PAR albedos were rather insensitive to leaf area index (LAI), the largest differences in albedo occurring between tree species. A thinning operation in one of the pine stands caused a short term increase in the PAR albedo but did not affect the total shortwave albedo, probably due to a low understory albedo in the near-infrared (NIR). In the coniferous stands, the white-sky albedos simulated using the PARAS albedo model ranged from 0.071 to 0.101 and were on average about 10% lower than the measured daily coniferous forest albedos in overcast conditions (0.075–0.120). However, the modelled PAR albedos (0.009–0.025) were clearly lower (by 49%) than the measured ones (0.026–0.037) in the coniferous stands. In the single birch stand, on the other hand, the modelled and measured PAR albedos were similar, but the modelled shortwave albedo was notably higher (0.237) than the measured one (0.167) in overcast conditions. The modelled albedos showed a much weaker trend along the diurnal course of solar zenith angle (SZA) than did the measured ones. A sensitivity analysis was conducted in order to find out possible reasons for the differences between the modelled and measured albedos.

A simple approach for simulating forest albedo based on the spectral invariants theory was applied to produce the black-sky albedos of 644 boreal forest stands composed of Scots pine, Norway spruce and Silver birch. Results were compared to those simulated using a detailed forest radiative transfer model with input from an extensive forest inventory database. The model based on the spectral invariants produced similar ranges of albedo values for the stands of all species as the detailed model, indicating that despite its simplicity and limited input variables it is flexible enough when predicting the albedo of a forest.

The relationship between albedo and forest areas is complex. Little is known about the driving factors of albedo in the boreal zone. Using a radiative transfer model and an extensive forest inventory database, we simulated albedo of forest stands composed of the most abundant tree species of Fennoscandia – Scots pine, Norway spruce and Silver birch. The physically-based radiative transfer model allowed us to uncouple the driving factors of the forest albedo. We analyzed separately how biomass, canopy cover, and species composition influence the shortwave albedo of a boreal forest. The albedos differed significantly between species and increased with solar zenith angle. The lowest values were observed for spruce stands, followed by pine stands and the highest values were observed for birch stands. Diurnal courses of albedo were tightly related to forest density as quantified by biomass or canopy cover. The albedos generally decreased with increasing stand biomass and canopy cover whereas the sensitivity to solar angle increased as the stands became denser. The sharpest decrease in albedo was observed at low biomass values, after which the albedo remained relative stable. The strength of the relationships was weaker for larger solar zenith angles.

Reliable information on the optical properties of leaves and needles is needed for parameterization of radiative transfer models and interpretation of remotely sensed data. The optical properties also convey information about the structure and biochemical constituents of the leaf or needle tissues, and can be linked to the photosynthetic processes of plants. Currently, very little is known about the optical properties of tree species in the European boreal zone. To bridge this gap, we measured directional-hemispherical reflectance and transmittance factors of the three most common tree species in this zone: Scots pine, Norway spruce and Silver birch. The measurements covered a wide spectral range from 350 to 2500 nm with a high spectral resolution of 3-10 nm. To explore the driving factors of the observed leaf-level optical properties, supplementary measurements of structural and biochemical traits of leaves and needles were made. The results showed that the transmittance of pine and spruce needles is clearly lower than reflectance, whereas for birch reflectance and transmittance were similar. In conifers, exposed needles had higher albedo than the shaded needles. Also, the spectra of needles were more dependent on canopy position than the spectra of birch leaves. The relationships between narrowband reflectances and chlorophyll and nitrogen percentage concentrations and specific leaf area were similar for all species, but the strongest correlations were observed for birch.

We investigate combined continuum removal and radiative transfer (RT) modeling to retrieve leaf chlorophyll a & b content (Cab) from the AISA Eagle airborne imaging spectrometer data of sub-meter (0.4 m) spatial resolution. Based on coupled PROSPECT-DART RT simulations of a Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stand, we propose a new Cab sensitive index located between 650 and 720 nm and termed ANCB650–720. The performance of ANCB650–720 was validated against ground-measured Cab of ten spruce crowns and compared with Cab estimated by a conventional artificial neural network (ANN) trained with continuum removed RT simulations and also by three previously published chlorophyll optical indices: normalized difference between reflectance at 925 and 710 nm (ND925&710), simple reflectance ratio between 750 and 710 nm (SR750/710) and the ratio of TCARI/OSAVI indices. Although all retrieval methods produced visually comparable Cab spatial patterns, the ground validation revealed that the ANCB650–720 and ANN retrievals are more accurate than the other three chlorophyll indices (R2 = 0.72 for both methods). ANCB650–720 estimated Cab with an RMSE = 2.27 µg cm- 2 (relative RRMSE = 4.35%) and ANN with an RMSE = 2.18 µg cm- 2 (RRMSE = 4.18%), while SR750/710 with an RMSE = 4.16 µg cm- 2 (RRMSE = 7.97%), ND925&710 with an RMSE = 9.07 µg cm- 2 (RRMSE = 17.38%) and TCARI/OSAVI with an RMSE = 12.30 µg cm- 2 (RRMSE = 23.56%). Also the systematic RMSES was lower than the unsystematic one only for the ANCB650–720 and ANN retrievals. Our results indicate that the newly proposed index can provide the same accuracy as ANN except for Cab values below 30 µg cm- 2, which are slightly overestimated (RMSE = 2.42 µg cm- 2). The computationally efficient ANCB650–720 retrieval provides accurate high spatial resolution airborne Cab maps, considerable as a suitable reference data for validating satellite-based Cab products.

The amount of green leaf area, quantified by the leaf area index (LAI), is one of the key factors determining ecosystem net primary production and energy exchange between land surfaces and the atmosphere. LAI can be measured indirectly using optical methods that are based on the tight relationship between LAI and canopy light transmittance, or through allometric regression models. Until now there has been very little research to compare LAI estimated by the two different approaches. In this study we compare optically-based estimates of LAI to estimates produced using local foliage biomass models for three boreal tree species. Our study is based on 661 Scots pine, Norway spruce and Silver birch stands in the southern boreal zone in Finland. Routine stand inventory and LAI-2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer measurements were performed in all stands. We used three allometric foliage mass models to calculate foliage masses for each stand. The foliage mass estimates were then converted to LAI using specific leaf area (SLA) values. A theoretical stem diameter distribution was also used together with the only diameter-dependent foliage mass models. Optical LAI was corrected for shoot-level clumping (i.e., the clumping of needles into shoots). Finally, we estimated LAI from measured canopy gap fractions by inverting a canopy radiation model. Allometric foliage mass models produced significantly different foliage mass estimates (and the LAI estimates based on them). Among the allometric methods, however, the most sophisticated in terms of input tree variables agreed fairly well with each other and also with the clumping-corrected optical methods. The results indicate a need for caution when using foliage biomass or LAI estimates calculated using different models, especially if the estimates are to be used as an input for other models. The simple shoot-level clumping correction of optical LAI showed the best fit with allometric LAI. Our results support the use of a simple shoot-level clumping correction instead of more complicated correction methods in optical LAI estimation in coniferous forests.

The spectral invariants theory presents an alternative approach for modeling canopy scattering in remote sensing applications. The theory is particularly appealing in the case of coniferous forests, which typically display grouped structures and require computationally intensive calculation to account for the geometric arrangement of their canopies. However, the validity of the spectral invariants theory should be tested with empirical data sets from different vegetation types. In this paper, we evaluate a method to retrieve two canopy spectral invariants, the recollision probability and the escape factor, for a coniferous forest using imaging spectroscopy data from multiangular CHRIS PROBA and NADIR-view AISA Eagle sensors. Our results indicated that in coniferous canopies the spectral invariants theory performs well in the near infrared spectral range. In the visible range, on the other hand, the spectral invariants theory may not be useful. Secondly, our study suggested that retrieval of the escape factor could be used as a new method to describe the BRDF of a canopy.

In reoperation of femoral prostheses, there is a higher percentage of complications associated with the extraction of bone cement from the femoral channel, which is technically and time consumingly tedious. Shockwaves have been used in medicine for years, particularly in urology for the destruction of concretions and orthopaedics, as a method of treating pain in patients with calcifying enthesopathy.We studied the use of shockwaves generated by a new source based on the multichannel discharge principle in facilitating extraction of bone cement. Femurs of experimental minipigs were chosen as models. We implanted bone cement into the femoral channel and subsequently applied shockwaves. We then measured the force necessary to extract bone cement.The results indicate that the force necessary for extracting cement was consistently statistically significantly lower in the group treated with multichannel discharge shockwaves compared to that for the controls.

Minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) and minimally invasive nonendoscopic thyroidectomy (MINET) represent well accepted and reproducible techniques developed with the main goal to improve cosmetic outcome, accelerate healing, and increase patient’s comfort following thyroid surgery. Between 2007 and 2011, a prospective nonrandomized study of patients undergoing minimally invasive thyroid surgery was performed to compare advantages and disadvantages of the two different techniques. There were no significant differences in the length of incision to perform surgical procedures. Mean duration of hemithyroidectomy was comparable in both groups, but it was more time consuming to perform total thyroidectomy by MIVAT. There were more patients undergoing MIVAT procedures without active drainage in the postoperative course and we also could see a trend for less pain in the same group. This was paralleled by statistically significant decreased administration of both opiates and nonopiate analgesics. We encountered two cases of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsies in the MIVAT group only. MIVAT and MINET represent safe and feasible alternative to conventional thyroid surgery in selected cases and this prospective study has shown minimal differences between these two techniques.

Nowadays endoscopic diverticulotomy is the surgical approach of the first choice in treatment of Zenker's diverticulum. We report our experience with this procedure and try to sum up recent recommendations for management of surgery and postoperative care. Data of 34 patients with Zenker's diverticulum, treated by endoscopic carbon dioxide laser diverticulotomy at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, University Hospital Motol, Prague, Czech Republic, were prospectively stored and followed in relatively short period from May 2009 to December 2013. The average length of diverticulum was 32 mm. The average duration of surgery was 32 min. The patients were fed via feeding tube for 6.1 days and antibiotics were administered for 7 days. Mean hospitalization time was 7.4 days. We observed one transient recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis and no other serious complications. Recurrence rate was 3%. We recommend complete transection of the diverticular septum in one procedure, systemic antibiotic treatment and exclusion of transoral intake for minimally 5 days, and contrast oesophagogram before resumption of oral intake to exclude fistula. Open diverticulectomy should be reserved for cases with inadequate endoscopic exposure and for revision surgery for multiple recurrences from endoscopic diverticulotomies.