Soft lithography meets self-organization: some new developments in meso-patterning

This is a brief review of our recent and ongoing work on simple, rapid, room temperature, pressure-less and large area (˜ cm2) imprinting techniques for high fidelity meso-patterning of different types of polymer films. Examples include soft solid polymer films and surfaces like cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyacrylamide (PAA) based hydrogels, thermoplastics like polystyrene (PS), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) etc both on planar and curved surfaces. These techniques address two key issues in imprinting: (i) attainment of large area conformal contact with the stamp, especially on curved surfaces, and (ii) ease of stamp detachment without damage to the imprinted structures. The key element of the method is the use of thin and flexible patterned foils that readily and rapidly come into complete conformal contact with soft polymer surfaces because of adhesive interfacial interactions. The conformal contact is established at all length scales by bending of the foil at scales larger than the feature size, in conjunction with the spontaneous deformations of the film surface on the scale of the features. Complex two-dimensional patterns could also be formed even by using a simple one-dimensional master by multiple imprinting. The technique can be particularly useful for the bulk nano applications requiring routine fabrication of templates, for example, in the study of confined chemistry phenomena, nanofluidics, bio-MEMS, micro-imprinting, optical coatings and controlled dewetting

Prevention of Lens Epithelial Cell Growth In Vitro Using Mibefradil-Containing PLGA Micro Particles

The prevention of the posterior capsule opacification is still unsolved. To interfere with proliferating cells the T-type calcium channel antagonist Mibefradil was immobilized in poly-lactic-co-glycolic-acid micro particles which were fixed at a capsular tension ring and tested in a human organ culture model as well as in human lens cells HLE-B3 in vitro. It is feasible to get a release significantly affecting cell viability and growth evaluated by MTT test and cell cycle analysis. In addition, Bionas® sensor chips were used for time-dependent adhesion experiments in living lens cells. Interestingly, the concentration of Mibefradil which inhibited subconfluent cells is not effective in confluent cells. This is an important feature for the protection of the intact tissue in the eye

Bone Healing Evaluation Following Different Osteotomic Techniques in Animal Models: A Suitable Method for Clinical Insights

Osteotomy is a common step in oncological, reconstructive, and trauma surgery. Drilling and elevated temperature during osteotomy produce thermal osteonecrosis. Heat and associated mechanical damage during osteotomy can impair bone healing, with consequent failure of fracture fixation or dental implants. Several ex vivo studies on animal bone were recently focused on heating production during osteotomy with conventional drill and piezoelectric devices, particularly in endosseous dental implant sites. The current literature on bone drilling and osteotomic surface analysis is here reviewed and the dynamics of bone healing after osteotomy with traditional and piezoelectric devices are discussed. Moreover, the methodologies involved in the experimental osteotomy and clinical studies are compared, focusing on ex vivo and in vivo findings

Heritage Recording and 3D Modeling with Photogrammetry and 3D Scanning

The importance of landscape and heritage recording and documentation with optical remote sensing sensors is well recognized at international level. The continuous development of new sensors, data capture methodologies and multi-resolution 3D representations, contributes significantly to the digital 3D documentation, mapping, conservation and representation of landscapes and heritages and to the growth of research in this field. This article reviews the actual optical 3D measurement sensors and 3D modeling techniques, with their limitations and potentialities, requirements and specifications. Examples of 3D surveying and modeling of heritage sites and objects are also shown throughout the paper

Study of Periodic Forcing with a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Device for the Control of Flow Separation on a NACA 0012

The continued high global demand for passenger and freight air traffic as well as increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in spite of rising fuel costs and several tragic cases involving loss-of-control events, has resulted in researchers examining alternative technologies, which would result in safer, more reliable, and superior performing aircraft. Aerodynamic flow control may be the most promising approach to this problem having already proven its ability to enable higher flow efficiency while also simultaneously improving overall flow control. Recent research in the area of aerodynamic control is transitioning from traditional mechanical flow control devices such as slats and flaps to plasma actuators. Plasma actuators offer an inexpensive and energy efficient method of flow control. In addition, plasma actuator technology has the potential of application to a host of other aircraft performance parameters including applications in radar mitigation and in situ wing deicing.;Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD), one of the most widely studied forms of plasma actuation, employs an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) device, which uses dominant electric fields and the respective electrically related body forces for actuation. Unlike momentum jets or other traditional flow control methods used on wings and tail surfaces, a DBD device operates without moving components or injecting any mass into the flow stream.;Work performed focuses on qualitatively investigating experimentally the use of DBD devices for flow separation control on a NACA 0012-based 2D wing model. Flow visualization techniques illuminated flow seed particles around the model to determine the state of the flow (i.e., attached or separated) for various actuator cases. The DBD was operated in a steady-on mode as well as for three different pulsing frequencies (only for low power testing) based on the Strouhal frequency for each flight condition and compared to the clean (i.e., plasma off) case. Some of the flow control results were compared to another active flow control scheme known as dynamic roughness (DR) which consists of surface mounted time dependent deforming elements that operate as a periodic forcing device that energizes the boundary layer. The potential use of DBDs for application to existing UAVs and aircraft was also evaluated based on applicability, power consumption, and other relevant factors.;Results of this work indicate that low power gapless DBD actuators are an effective form of separation control at low Reynolds numbers Ohorn (10 4) near the angle of attack where separation begins to occur. However, testing seems to indicate that gapless low power DBDs are underpowered to have any substantial flow control authority at higher Reynolds numbers and angles of attack. With improved materials for DBD construction and more testing, DBDs could potentially be an effective form of flow control on UAVs and manned aircraft in the future

Photogrammetric measurement of 3D freeform millimetre-sized objects with micro features: an experimental validation of the close-range camera calibration model for narrow angles of view

The measurement of millimetre and micro-scale features is performed by high-cost systems based on technologies with narrow working ranges to accurately control the position of the sensors. Photogrammetry would lower the costs of 3D inspection of micro-features and would be applicable to the inspection of non-removable micro parts of large objects too. Unfortunately, the behaviour of photogrammetry is not known when photogrammetry is applied to micro-features. In this paper, the authors address these issues towards the application of digital closerange photogrammetry (DCRP) to the micro-scale, taking into account that in literature there are research papers stating that an angle of view (AOV) around 10° is the lower limit to the application of the traditional pinhole close-range calibration model (CRCM), which is the basis of DCRP. At first a general calibration procedure is introduced, with the aid of an open-source software library, to calibrate narrow AOV cameras with the CRCM. Subsequently the procedure is validated using a reflex camera with a 60mm macro lens, equipped with extension tubes (20 and 32mm) achieving magnification of up to 2 times approximately, to verify literature findings with experimental photogrammetric 3D measurements of millimetresized objects with micro-features. The limitation experienced by the laser printing technology, used to produce the bi-dimensional pattern on common paper, has been overcome using an accurate pattern manufactured with a photolithographic process. The results of the experimental activity prove that the CRCM is valid for AOVs down to 3.4° and that DCRP results are comparable with the results of existing and more expensive commercial techniques.Percoco, G.; Sánchez Salmerón, AJ. (2015). Photogrammetric measurement of 3D freeform millimetre-sized objects with micro features: an experimental validation of the close-range camera calibration model for narrow angles of view. Measurement Science and Technology. 26(9):1-9. doi:10.1088/0957-0233/26/9/095203S19269Mitchell, H. L., Kniest, H. T., & Won‐Jin, O. (1999). Digital Photogrammetry and Microscope Photographs. The Photogrammetric Record, 16(94), 695-704. doi:10.1111/0031-868x.00148Chen, Z., Liao, H., & Zhang, X. (2014). Telecentric stereo micro-vision system: Calibration method and experiments. Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 57, 82-92. doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2014.01.021Stamatopoulos, C., & Fraser, C. S. (2011). Calibration of long focal length cameras in close range photogrammetry. The Photogrammetric Record, 26(135), 339-360. doi:10.1111/j.1477-9730.2011.00648.xYang, X., & Fang, S. (2014). Effect of field of view on the accuracy of camera calibration. Optik, 125(2), 844-849. doi:10.1016/j.ijleo.2013.07.089Strobl, K. H., Sepp, W., & Hirzinger, G. (2009). On the issue of camera calibration with narrow angular field of view. 2009 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. doi:10.1109/iros.2009.5354776Ricolfe-Viala, C., & Sanchez-Salmeron, A.-J. (2010). Lens distortion models evaluation. Applied Optics, 49(30), 5914. doi:10.1364/ao.49.005914Ricolfe-Viala, C., Sanchez-Salmeron, A.-J., & Valera, A. (2013). Efficient Lens Distortion Correction for Decoupling in Calibration of Wide Angle Lens Cameras. IEEE Sensors Journal, 13(2), 854-863. doi:10.1109/jsen.2012.2229704Zhang, Z. (2000). A flexible new technique for camera calibration. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 22(11), 1330-1334. doi:10.1109/34.888718Percoco, G., Lavecchia, F., & Salmerón, A. J. S. (2015). Preliminary Study on the 3D Digitization of Millimeter Scale Products by Means of Photogrammetry. Procedia CIRP, 33, 257-262. doi:10.1016/j.procir.2015.06.046Ricolfe-Viala, C., & Sanchez-Salmeron, A.-J. (2011). Camera calibration under optimal conditions. Optics Express, 19(11), 10769. doi:10.1364/oe.19.010769Guidi, G. (2013). Metrological characterization of 3D imaging devices. Videometrics, Range Imaging, and Applications XII; and Automated Visual Inspection. doi:10.1117/12.2021037Herráez, J., Martínez-Llario, J., Coll, E., Rodríguez, J., & Martin, M. T. (2013). Design and calibration of a 3D modeling system by videogrammetry. Measurement Science and Technology, 24(3), 035001. doi:10.1088/0957-0233/24/3/03500

Konzept und prototypische Umsetzung eines "Four Vision"-Kamerasystems mit Anwendungen in kommunalen und landwirtschaftlichen Bereichen für den Einsatz auf UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)

In der Arbeit wurde ein Mehrkamerasystem mit schrägblickenden Kameras für den Einsatz an unbemannten Trägerplattformen konzipiert, gebaut, kalibriert und getestet. Die Funktionstüchtigkeit des Kamerasystems konnte durch zwei Befliegungen unter Beweis gestellt werden. Dabei wurde für Anwendungen im Agrarbereich das Versuchsfeld und für kommunale Anwendungen der Campus der Agrar- und Umweltwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Rostock überflogen. Als Ergebnisse entstanden Orthophotos, OrthoDEMs und 3D-Punktwolken, die durch die schrägen Visuren richtungsabhängig ausgewertet werden können

Automaattinen teksturointi georeferoiduilta kuvilta 3D malliin

The purpose of this thesis was to form automated texturing of 3D models from georeferenced airborne images made with the Pictometry technique. As an exemplary application, a 3D building model was generated. The study aimed to texture the building models based on photogrammetry knowledge, to be realized with Matlab software. The data in this thesis were bought from Blom and it consisted of images and image parameters. National Land Survey (NLS) airborne laser scanning (ALS) point clouds of the research area were also employed in this thesis. The first step was the investigation of the Pictometry -technology adopted, followed by an examination of the oblique and nadir view images and the parameters and their units of measurements in the data files from several research articles. The object space coordinates were estimated from the images with the inversion of the collinearity equation. The collinearity equation was applied, for example, to visualize and verify the right position of the three-dimensional (3D) coordinates in the image. The original building point cloud data were in the coordinate system of valtion vanha järjestelmä (VVJ), eventually transformed to the current ETRS-TM35FIN coordinate system with the height system N2000. Unfortunately, the attempt to generate a fully automatic Matlab program from the original data was unsuccessful because the orthophoto of the façade was not the complete façade. The obtained orthophoto had been transformed in the vertical and horizontal direction compared to what it was expected to be. It was possible to generate a semi-automatic system from the original data but the corrections to the coordinates needed to be defined for each image separately. From the semi-automatic system, it was possible to make realistically-looking three-dimensional models of buildings, with the location of the building positioned in the real coordinates. Another approach to generate automated texturing was to recalculate the internal orientation (IO) and the external orientation (EO) parameters with other programs. This was done because there were tens of metres of error in the coordinate measurements compared with the real coordinates, and tens of pixels of an error in the image coordinates compared with the real image coordinates. Applying these regenerated orientation parameters enabled automated texturing from the known model vertex coordinates or the coordinates measured from the image.Tämän tutkimuksen ensisijainen tarkoitus oli muodostaa Pictometry -tekniikalla otetuista georeferoiduista ilmakuvista rakennuksien tekstuuri automaattisesti. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tehdä mahdollisimman automaattisesti Matlab -ohjelmalla saaduista lähtötiedoista fotorealistinen julkisivun tekstuuri. Työssä käytetty data sisältää Blomilta hankittuja kuvia ja kuviin liittyviä parametritietoja. Lisäksi työssä käytetään Maanmittauslaitoksen (MML) ilmasta laserkeilattua (ALS) pistepilviaineistoa. Tutkimus aloitettiin perehtymällä Pictometry -tekniikkaan, hankittuihin kuviin, kuvien parametreihin ja parametrien yksiköihin useiden tieteellisten artikkeleiden avulla. Kohdekoordinaattien mittaaminen kuvilta suoritettiin käänteisellä kollineaarisuusyhtälöllä. Kollineaarisuusyhtälöä käytettiin muun muassa kohdekoordinaattien visuaaliseen tarkistamiseen kuville. Alkuperäinen rakennusten pistepilviaineisto on valtion vanhassa järjestelmässä (VVJ), ja se on muutettu ETRS- TM35FIN -koordinaatistoon ja korkeusjärjestelmään N2000. Täysin automaattista Matlab -ohjelmaa ei pystytty rakentamaan, koska rakennuksen julkisivun irrottaminen kuvalta kohteen koordinaattien avulla ei muodostanut haluttua julkisivua, vaan irrotetulla ortokuvalla oli tavoiteltuun ortokuvaan nähden siirto sekä vaaka- että pystysuunnassa käytettäessä alkuperäistä dataa. Puoliautomaattinen järjestelmä oli mahdollista tehdä, mutta se vaati jokaiselle kuvalle jonkinlaisen siirron. Puoliautomaattisena Matlab -ohjelmana hankituilla kuvilla oli kuviin liittyvien parametrien avulla mahdollista tehdä realistisen näköinen ja todellisessa koordinaatistossa sijaitsevan rakennuksen kolmiulotteinen malli. Täysin automaattisen tekstuurin muodostamiseksi orientointiparametrit tehtiin uudelleen käyttämällä muita ohjelmia. Syynä tähän oli se, että mittauksissa esiintyvät kohdekoordinaattien virheet todellisiin kohteen koordinaatteihin nähden olivat kymmeniä metrejä ja kuvilta mitattujen kuvapisteiden sijainti oli myöskin kymmenien pikseleiden päässä oikeasta kohteesta. Automaatio ja tekstuurin muodostaminen joko tunnettujen kulmien koordinaateista tai pisteitä mittaamalla kuvilta oli mahdollista uusia orientointiparametreja käyttämällä

Stachybotrys chartarum: its identification and response to antimicrobial treatment and prevention

BACKGROUND: Stachybotrys chartarum is mostly associated with water intrusion in the indoor environment. It is known as a species complex fungus and it can often be misidentified with its closely related species. Fungal resilience is a challenging problem when attempting to eradicate it from the environment and several studies have documented the ineffectiveness of antimicrobials when applied in real-life settings. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to: a) evaluate various identification methods to characterise Stachybotrys species; and b) determine the effects of antimicrobial agents on S. chartarum. METHODS: Current identification methods; a) Culture characteristics and microscopy; b) Polymerase chain reaction (PCR); and c) Matrix assisted desorption ionisation- time of flight (MALDI-TOF), were employed. The effects of antimicrobial agents consisting of bleach, aerosolised hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid and organosilane (OS) on S. chartarum were evaluated a) in vitro; b) On building material and; c) By using a proteomic approach. RESULTS: The methods of culture and microscopy are useful for early stage screening. A universal PCR primer set is suitable for identification at the genus level. However, tri5 primers provide a quick and specific method for identifying S. chartarum and S. chlorohalonata. MALDI-TOF could differentiate both species but could not provide reliable identification for other Stachybotrys species. The in vitro and environmental studies of antimicrobial agents show that bleach and OS appeared to be effective as treatment and prevention strategies, respectively. Differences in protein changes towards bleach and OS suggest that a combination of antimicrobial agents with different modes of action might provide a more effective way to eliminate fungal growth. CONCLUSION: Confirmatory methods are important to obtain the correct identification especially for less commonly studied moulds such as S. chartarum. More research with regard to an effective application strategy or delivery method is required to complement the antimicrobial agents that are currently available on the market

Report on a special investigation of the City of New Albin for the period January 1, 2006 through July 31, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the City of New Albin for the period January 1, 2006 through July 31, 200