A head model with anatomical structure for facial modelling and animation

In this dissertation, I describe a virtual head model with anatomical structure. The model is animated in a physical-based manner by use of muscle contractions that in turn cause skin deformations; the simulation is efficient enough to achieve real-time frame rates on current PC hardware. Construction of head models is eased in my approach by deriving new models from a prototype, employing a deformation method that reshapes the complete virtual head structure. Without additional modeling tasks, this results in an immediately animatable model. The general deformation method allows for several applications such as adaptation to individual scan data for creation of animated head models of real persons. The basis for the deformation method is a set of facial feature points, which leads to other interesting uses when this set is chosen according to an anthropometric standard set of facial landmarks: I present algorithms for simulation of human head growth and reconstruction of a face from a skull.In dieser Dissertation beschreibe ich ein nach der menschlichen Anatomie strukturiertes virtuelles Kopfmodell. Dieses Modell wird physikbasiert durch Muskelkontraktionen bewegt, die wiederum Hautdeformationen hervorrufen; die Simulation ist effizient genug, um Echtzeitanimation auf aktueller PC-Hardware zu ermöglichen. Die Konstruktion eines Kopfmodells wird in meinem Ansatz durch Ableitung von einem Prototypen erleichtert, wozu eine Deformationstechnik verwendet wird, die die gesamte Struktur des virtuellen Kopfes transformiert. Ein vollständig animierbares Modell entsteht so ohne weitere Modellierungsschritte. Die allgemeine Deformationsmethode gestattet eine Vielzahl von Anwendungen, wie beispielsweise die Anpassung an individuelle Scandaten für die Erzeugung von animierten Kopfmodellen realer Personen. Die Deformationstechnik basiert auf einer Menge von Markierungspunkten im Gesicht, was zu weiteren interessanten Einsatzgebieten führt, wenn diese mit Standard- Meßpunkten aus der Anthropometrie identifiziert werden: Ich stelle Algorithmen zur Simulation des menschlichen Kopfwachstums sowie der Rekonstruktion eines Gesichtes aus Schädeldaten vor

MESSENGER Observations of Volcanism on Mercury: From Hokusai Quadrangle Down to Small Cones

This thesis addresses the regional geology of the planet Mercury as seen by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission. I aimed to investigate the existence and origin of volcanic photogeological units and landforms on Mercury not mappable at the global scale. Using MESSENGER images, I have made the first 1:3,000,000-scale geological map of the Hokusai (H05) quadrangle. My map shows that this region has a similar history of effusive volcanism to the rest of Mercury, with widespread plains formation having given way to lower volume effusions that were ultimately confined to impact craters. However, I found that H05 contains plains that do not conform to the definitions of the two globally recognised plains units on Mercury, intercrater plains and smooth plains, which are thought to be volcanic in origin. I mapped such plains as intermediate plains, due to their intermediate roughness between the two global plains types, and I suggest that they represent incompletely volcanically resurfaced regions of Mercury’s crust. The apparent absence of even small volcanic constructs on Mercury, emphasised to me during my mapping of the volcanologically diverse H05, led me to search for such constructs across Mercury. The two candidates I found, if volcanic, were probably built by low-volume eruptions that were uncharacteristic of most of Mercury’s volcanic history. During my search for volcanoes, I investigated the circum-Caloris knobs. Through mapping, photogeological observations and topographic measurements, I have shown that these small (<15 km across) landforms are not volcanoes, but instead are Caloris ejecta blocks that have undergone long-lived, or even recent, modification into cones. My observations suggest that volatile-loss might have driven modification of the blocks. The intermediate plains, candidate volcanoes, and circum-Caloris knobs will be important targets for the BepiColombo mission, which launched during the preparation of this thesis

Field Guide to Exhumed Major Faults in Southern California

This field guide provides an overview of exposures and provides a field trip guide to localities of exhumed faults in southern California. We focus on exposures of faults that are documented or inferred to be exhumed from seismogenic depths. The goal of this guidebook is to provide geoscientists who are interested in fault zone mechanics and earthquake processes a summary of the results of the work on these sites

Antioxidants in Age-Related Diseases and Anti-Aging Strategies

Aging is a complex, only partially understood process, and is a key risk factor in the development of noncommunicable ailments that greatly impact human quality of life. One of the causes of most age-related diseases is an imbalance in the oxidation-reduction reactions, with the accumulation of reactive species, which are major contributors to cellular senescence. The book contributes to the knowledge connected to the prevention or treatment of these pathological conditions. It focuses on the mechanisms by which oxidative stress and inflammatory factors could cause the genesis and progression of age-associated diseases, and on new strategies for delaying and altering aging

Analysis, interpretation and synthesis of facial expressions

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-130).by Irfan Aziz Essa.Ph.D

Microscale Measurements of Cell and Tissue Mechanics in Three Dimensions

Two-dimensional (2D) studies have revealed that mechanical forces drive cell migration and can feedback to regulate proliferation, differentiation and the synthesis/remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Whether these observations can be translated to clinical settings or be utilized for tissue engineering will depend critically on our ability to translate these findings into physiologically relevant three-dimensional (3D) environments. The general goal of this dissertation has been to develop and apply new technologies capable of extending studies of cell and tissue mechanics into 3D environments. In the first project, we measured both shear and normal traction forces exerted by cells cultured on planar substrates. We observed that focal adhesions serve as pivots about which cells generate rotational moments. In the second project, we combined enzymatically degradable synthetic hydrogels with finite element models to measure the mechanical tractions exerted by cells fully encapsulated within 3D matrices. We found that cells reach out thin protrusions and pull back inward towards the cell body with the highest forces at the tip. Cellular extensions that were invading into the surrounding matrix displayed a strong inward force 10-15 microns behind the leading tip, suggesting that growing extensions may establish a contractile waypoint, before invading further. To study the forces cells exert during tissue remodeling, we utilized photolithograpy to generate arrays of microtissues consisting of cells encapsulated in 3D collagen matrices. Microcantilevers were used to constrain the remodeling of the collagen gel and to report the forces generated during this process. We used this technique to explore the effects of boundary stiffness and matrix density within model tendon and cardiac tissues. Finally, we combined this system with a Foerster radius energy transfer (FRET) based biosensor of fibronectin conformation to reveal how tissue geometry and cell-genereated tractions cooperate to pattern matrix conformation during tissue remodeling. Together, these studies highlight novel approaches to understand the nature of cell-ECM interactions in 3D matrices. Such mechanical insights will help us to understand how physical forces drive cell migration and behavior within physiologically relevant environments