Integrating GEDI and Landsat: Spaceborne Lidar and Four Decades of Optical Imagery for the Analysis of Forest Disturbances and Biomass Changes in Italy.

Forests play a prominent role in the battle against climate change, as they absorb a relevant part of human carbon emissions. However, precisely because of climate change, forest disturbances are expected to increase and alter forests' capacity to absorb carbon. In this context, forest monitoring using all available sources of information is crucial. We combined optical (Landsat) and photonic (GEDI) data to monitor four decades (1985-2019) of disturbances in Italian forests (11 Mha). Landsat data were confirmed as a relevant source of information for forest disturbance mapping, as forest harvestings in Tuscany were predicted with omission errors estimated between 29% (in 2012) and 65% (in 2001). GEDI was assessed using Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data available for about 6 Mha of Italian forests. A good correlation (r2 = 0.75) between Above Ground Biomass Density GEDI estimates (AGBD) and canopy height ALS estimates was reported. GEDI data provided complementary information to Landsat. The Landsat mission is capable of mapping disturbances, but not retrieving the three-dimensional structure of forests, while our results indicate that GEDI is capable of capturing forest biomass changes due to disturbances. GEDI acquires useful information not only for biomass trend quantification in disturbance regimes but also for forest disturbance discrimination and characterization, which is crucial to further understanding the effect of climate change on forest ecosystems.

Accuracy of IOL Power Calculation Using the New Carlevale Sutureless Scleral Fixation Posterior Chamber IOL.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the refractive outcomes of the new Carlevale foldable sutureless scleral fixation intraocular lens (SSF-IOL) (Soleko in eyes without capsular support. METHODS: This retrospective, single-center, noncomparative interventional case series included 25 consecutive eyes of 25 consecutive patients with either aphakia or lens/IOL dislocation due to capsular or zonular defects. The Hoffer Q, Holladay 1, and SRK/T formulas, which do not need measurements of the anterior chamber depth to predict the IOL position, were used to calculate the IOL power. Constant optimization was performed to zero out the mean prediction error (PE). The main outcome measures were mean PE ± standard deviation, median absolute error (MedAE), mean absolute error (MAE), and percentage of eyes with a PE within ±0.50 and ±1.00 diopters (D). RESULTS: Mean axial length was 24.09 ± 2.09 mm (range: 21.85 to 32.17 mm). No statistically significant differences were found among the three formulas for any parameter. The PE was zero due to constant optimization and its standard deviation ranged between 0.89 and 0.95 D. The MedAE ranged between 0.30 and 0.34 D, whereas the MAE ranged between 0.62 and 0.67 D. The percentage of eyes with a PE within ±0.50 D was between 56% and 64% and the percentage of eyes with a PE within ±1.00 D was between 69% and 72%. CONCLUSIONS: Reasonably good refractive outcomes can be obtained when implanting SSF-IOLs in eyes with no capsular support, although the accuracy is lower than what is reported for normal in-the-bag IOL implantation. [J Refract Surg. 2021;37(7):472-476.].

The New Hyperspectral Satellite PRISMA: Imagery for Forest Types Discrimination.

Different forest types based on different tree species composition may have similar spectral signatures if observed with traditional multispectral satellite sensors. Hyperspectral imagery, with a more continuous representation of their spectral behavior may instead be used for their classification. The new hyperspectral Precursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA) sensor, developed by the Italian Space Agency, is able to capture images in a continuum of 240 spectral bands ranging between 400 and 2500 nm, with a spectral resolution smaller than 12 nm. The new sensor can be employed for a large number of remote sensing applications, including forest types discrimination. In this study, we compared the capabilities of the new PRISMA sensor against the well-known Sentinel-2 Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) in recognition of different forest types through a pairwise separability analysis carried out in two study areas in Italy, using two different nomenclature systems and four separability metrics. The PRISMA hyperspectral sensor, compared to Sentinel-2 MSI, allowed for a better discrimination in all forest types, increasing the performance when the complexity of the nomenclature system also increased. PRISMA achieved an average improvement of 40% for the discrimination between two forest categories (coniferous vs. broadleaves) and of 102% in the discrimination between five forest types based on main tree species groups.

Long-term Outcomes and Complications of the New Carlevale Sutureless Scleral Fixation Posterior Chamber IOL.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the visual outcomes and possible complications of a new foldable sutureless scleral fixation intraocular lens (SSF-IOL), the Carlevale IOL (Soleko). METHODS: The SSF-IOL, which has two T-shaped self-blocking plugs on each haptic, was inserted into the posterior chamber. Both haptics was grabbed through two sclerotomies and the two short arms were blocked under the scleral flap, without any suture. A complete clinical evaluation was done preoperatively and at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: A total of 54 eyes of 50 consecutive patients were retrospectively analyzed. The mean corrected distance visual acuity was 0.93 ± 0.61 logMAR preoperatively and improved to 0.42 ± 0.34 logMAR at 3 months, 0.42 ± 0.37 logMAR at 6 months, and 0.38 ± 0.38 logMAR at 12 months postoperatively (all P < .0001). The mean corneal endothelial cell density decreased from 1,725.37 ± 528.06 to 1,612.81 ± 522.91 cells/mm2 at 12 months postoperatively (P < .0001). The mean IOL tilt value was 3.1 ± 1.1° at 12 months postoperatively. The authors observed 6 cases (11.1%) of intraoperative rupture of the IOL haptics, 4 cases (7.4%) of early hyphema, 4 cases (7.4%) of macular cystoid edema, 2 cases (3.7%) of haptic exposure under the conjunctiva, and 1 (1.8%) late retinal detachment. CONCLUSIONS: This newly introduced surgical technique provided promising results regarding efficacy and safety. Complications occurred in a few cases and were successfully managed. The Carlevale IOL seems to be a surgical solution combining the advantages of an easy and minimally invasive implantation with a good functional recovery with minimal complications. [J Refract Surg. 2021;37(2):126-132.].