Using Augmented Reality Guides for Insertion Task: A qualitative Study

International audienc

VR-CAD Framework for Parametric Data Modification with a 3D Shape-based Interaction

In this poster, we present a new VR-CAD framework, allowing user to modify parametric CAD data with 3D interaction in an immersive environment. With this framework, users can implicitly modify parameter values of CAD data with co-localized 3D shape-based interaction. This poster describes the system architecture and the interaction technique based on it

Spatial Presence in Real and Remote Immersive Environments

International audienceThis paper presents an experiment assessing the feeling of spatial presence in both real and remote environments (respectively the so-called "natural presence" and "telepresence"). Twenty-eight (28) participants performed a 3D-pointing task while being located in a real office and the same office remotely rendered over HMD. The spatial presence was evaluated by means of the ITC-SOPI questionnaire and users' behaviour analysis (trajectories of head during the task). The analysis also included the effect of different levels of immersion of the system-visual-only versus visual and audio-rendering in such environments. The results show a higher sense of spatial presence for the remote condition, regardless of the degree of immersion, and for the "visual and audio" condition regardless of the environment. Additionally, trajectory analysis of users' heads reveals that participants behaved similarly in both environments

O uso de SIG como ferramenta de apoio na gestão da manutenção predial do Campus Universitário Reitor João David Ferreira

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Tecnológico. Engenharia Civil.Por ter a capacidade de atribuir dados alfanuméricos a dados georreferenciados, os Sistemas de Informações Geográficas (SIG) assumem um papel fundamental na gestão do espaço, pois permitem a coleta, o armazenamento e a visualização de dados espaciais para inúmeros propósitos. Devido à demanda existente na gestão da manutenção predial do Campus Universitário Reitor João David Ferreira Lima, foi proposto um SIG do campus como ferramenta de apoio. Para isso, foram reunidos dados e documentos de inspeções prediais realizadas por meio do programa emergencial “Recupera UFSC”, e também estruturado um banco de dados, espacial e alfanumérico, das edificações presentes no campus. A partir do tratamento e compilação desses dados, foram produzidos documentos que auxiliam na identificação das edificações, assim como na compreensão das suas respectivas condições sob o aspecto de manutenção predial. Os dados e documentos então foram inseridos em um SIG, possibilitando a consulta e análise das informações pertinentes às edificações. O estudo concluiu, por fim, que diante da complexidade do espaço físico do campus, o SIG se estabelece além de uma ferramenta de apoio na gestão da manutenção predial, com potencial de ampliação das suas funcionalidades e de sua abrangência, tanto no espaço físico estudado como em toda a instituição.By having the ability to assign alphanumeric data to georeferenced data, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play a fundamental role in space management, as they allow the collection, storage and visualization of spatial data for several purposes. Due to an existing demand in the management of the building maintenance at Reitor João David Ferreira Lima University Campus, a GIS was proposed as a support tool. To put the idea in practice, data and documents from building inspections carried out through the emergency program “Recupera UFSC” were gathered, and a spatial and alphanumeric database of the existing buildings on the campus area was also elaborated. By the treatment and compilation of the database, documents were developed to help the identification of the buildings, as well as in the understanding about their respective conditions under the aspect of building maintenance. The database and files got inserted into a GIS, allowing the verification and analysis of relevant details about the building’s campus. Finally, the study concluded that, thanks to the complexity of the campus’ spacial zone, the GIS establishes itself as a support tool for management of campus building’s maintenance, with potential to expand its functionalities and coverage, both in the study area and through the institution’s area

A convolute diversity of the Auriculariales (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) with sphaeropedunculate basidia

Morphological and DNA data show that effused representatives of the Auriculariales (Basidiomycota) with sphaeropedunculate basidia belong to eleven genera of which seven are dealt with in this study. Among them, Myxarium is the largest genus containing 21 accepted species of which nine are reintroduced below and five are described as new. Protodontia is limited to three species only, P. subgelatinosa (the generic type) and two newly described species from Africa. Protoacia is a new monotypic genus for P. delicata, sp. nov., widely distributed on coniferous hosts in Eurasia. Myxariellum is erected for two new species with smooth hymenophore from northwestern North America while Gelacantha is introduced for G. pura, a new species with hydnoid hymenophore from Caucasus. Our data do not confirm the present synonymy of Sebacina sphaerospora with Tremella glaira, and these species are placed in two separate genera - Hydrophana, gen. nov., and Ofella, gen. nov., respectively. A key to European Myxarium and similar-looking species is included.Peer reviewe

Establishment of an in vivo Streptozotocin-Induced Type 1 Diabetes Model Recapitulating Early Brain and Retinal Fibrosis

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes has risen to one of the top American public health concerns. The hyperglycemic state of chronic diabetes leads to microvascular and macrovascular changes that predispose patients to delayed wound healing and organ fibrosis. The validation of models to specifically detect early, quantifiable fibrotic changes seen in the diabetic state is of fundamental importance for understanding the diabetic pathophysiology and exploring earlier management options. Here, we investigated if we could detect early signs of internal fibrosis in a streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic mouse model by quantifying α-SMA expression in various organs using flow cytometry. METHODS: We used a low-dose STZ-induced T1DM model. T1DM was confirmed via sustained hyperglycemia (\u3e250mg/dl) over 8-10 weeks. Delayed healing of full thickness wounds was confirmed by tracking wound healing progression over two weeks. Wounded and unwounded skin samples were analyzed histologically to quantify collagen deposition as a sign of fibrosis. Organ fibrosis was assessed in a semi-high-throughput manner using flow cytometry to quantify the percentage of alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin (α-SMA) positive cells in diabetic versus normoglycemic controls. RESULTS: Combining STZ with post-injection glucose treatment yielded highly efficient 100% pathogenesis with 100% survival. Diabetic mice showed signs of hyperglycemia, polyuria, and delayed wound healing. Histological analysis indicated a greater increase in epidermal height and lower levels of collagen deposition in diabetic wounds. After 10-12 weeks of hyperglycemia, we observed elevated α-SMA in brain and retinal tissues. DISCUSSION: The STZ model has previously presented cumbersome, costly, and time-intensive limitations for the study of diabetic complications. Here we tested a quantitative method for detecting early signs of fibrosis using flow cytometry. The higher percentage of α-SMA positive cells in retinal and brain tissue of diabetic mice suggests fibrosis of these tissues. We argue that this is a suitable method to study early diabetic complications

Avaliação das condições competitivas da indústria de confecção: um estudo nas micro e pequenas empresas da região da Grande Florianópolis (SC)

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Sócio-Econômico. Economia.O principal objetivo deste estudo é verificar as condições competitivas das micro e pequenas empresas – MPEs - da indústria têxtil-confecção da Grande Florianópolis. Em nível internacional, esta indústria defronta com mudanças no padrão produtivo e concorrencial, levando empresas situadas em espaços nacionais a redefinirem suas ações. No Brasil, após a abertura comercial e desregulamentação econômica na década de 1990, o complexo têxtilconfecção realiza esforços para melhorar suas condições competitivas e seguir as normas setoriais ditadas internacionalmente. Dentro deste contexto, em Santa Catarina e, em foco, a região da Grande Florianópolis, há um conjunto de empresas têxtil-confecção que realiza ações importantes que se traduzem em melhores condições competitivas. A partir de aplicação de questionário em 14 empresas, das 71 existentes, as empresas que procuram se capacitar para melhor posicionamento competitivo no mercado, destacando: as ações relacionadas a terceirização de grande parte da produção para minimizar custos, preocupação com a qualidade do produto final para aumentar a demanda, oferecimento de uma gama de produtos para atender o maior número de consumidores, realização de processos inovativos ainda que baseados em experiências e habilidades próprias dos proprietários e funcionários e preocupação com os condicionantes sistêmicos como carga tributária, sistema financeiro, etc

Reversible Order-Disorder Transition in Ettringite-Metaettringite Conversion

The stability of ettringite under sorption and the conversion into metaettringite are studied using hybrid Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and (classical) Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations sampling the osmotic ensemble. The desorption branch obtained from simulation and the associated volume changes are in agreement with the experimental evidence. We pay special attention to the structural changes at low RH, which is associated with metaettringite conversion, which is recognized as a disordered polymorph of ettringite with an unknown structure to date. We show that the conversion of ettringite into metaettringite is associated with an increase in entropy. The adsorption branch obtained from simulations is reversible in the ettringite domain in agreement with experiments. The reversibility in the conversion of metaettringite into ettringite, which is observed experimentally, is not captured by the simulation approach adopted. The large deformations associated with ettringite desorption make it difficult to capture reversibility with a direct sampling of the osmotic ensemble. Further, we discuss the role of hydrogen bonds on the hysteresis observed in sorption cycles in ettringite

Characterizing the Influence of Motion Parameters on Performance when Acquiring Moving Targets

International audienceCurrent pointing techniques provide no adequate way to select very small objects whose movements are fast and unpredictable, and theoretical tools –such as Fitts' law– do not model unpredictable motion. To inform the design of appropriate selection techniques, we studied how users performed when selecting moving objects in a 2D environment. We propose to characterize selection performance as a function of the predictability of the moving targets, based on three parameters: the speed (S) of the target, the frequency (F) at which the target changes direction, and the amplitude (A) of those direction changes. Our results show that for a given speed, selection is relatively easy when A and F are both low or high, and difficult otherwise

Remote Collaboration across Heterogeneous Large Interactive Spaces

International audienceImmersive virtual reality systems or high resolution wall-sized displays become more common for analyzing the increasing among of data from science, industry, business and society. These large interactive spaces are powerful tools to enable remote users to work together on shared data. However, we cannot imagine that remote collaboration in such systems becomes widespread if it requires that all users have the exact same physical devices, and we need to make remote collaboration across different systems possible. The asymmetric interaction capabilities of each user are also an interesting opportunity to develop new collaboration strategies. In this short position paper, we present our past work about collaborative virtual environments and, in particular, how to represent the physical environments of each user in a virtual environment. We also introduce an ongoing project which aims to support remote collab-orative interaction across heterogeneous large interactive spaces