Method to Automatically Register Scattered Point Clouds Based on Principal Pose Estimation

Three dimensional (3-D) modeling is important in applications ranging from manufacturing to entertainment. Multiview registration is one of the crucial steps in 3-D model construction. The automatic establishment of correspondences between overlapping views, without any known initial information, is the main challenge in point clouds registration. An automatic registration algorithm is proposed to solve the registration problem of rigid, unordered, scattered point clouds. This approach is especially suitable for registering datasets that are lacking in features or texture. In general, the existing techniques exhibit significant limitations in the registration of these types of point cloud data. The presented method automatically determines the best coarse registration results by exploiting the statistical technique principal component analysis and outputs translation matrices as the initial estimation for fine registration. Then, the translation matrices obtained from coarse registration algorithms are used to update the original point cloud and the optimal translation matrices are solved using an iterative algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is time efficient and accurate, even if the point clouds are partially overlapped and containing large missing regions

Impact of supercritical carbon dioxide cooling with Minimum Quantity Lubrication on tool wear and surface integrity in the milling of AISI 304L stainless steel

In this study, the effect of supercritical carbon dioxide cooling with Minimum Quantity Lubrication (scCO2+MQL) on tool wear and surface integrity of AISI 304 L austenitic stainless steel in milling was investigated. A series of machining experiments based on a Design of Experiments (DoE) was carried out at various combinations of cutting parameters to investigate the effect of cutting speed and feed rate on tool wear, near-surface residual stresses, surface roughness and microhardness. The results were compared with the experimental results obtained from milling with flood coolant. A significant improvement in tool life was observed in milling with the scCO2+MQL using multilayer coated tungsten carbide inserts. The tool life in terms of cutting time increased by ∼324%, in comparison to a baseline flood coolant. Further, a decrease in surface roughness value (Ra) by about 30%, from 1.09 µm for flood coolant to 0.78 µm after face milling with scCO2+MQL was seen. Additionally, the Ra value slightly increased after machining, for both cooling methods with the increase of cutting speed of ∼19%. The observed changes in Ra value were discussed in terms of a built-up-edge (BUE) formation. There were no apparent differences in surface microhardness between both cooling methods. However, the surface microhardness increased with feed rate after milling with both scCO2+MQL and flood coolant due to the increased strain hardening. Also, there was no significant difference in residual stresses after milling, neither with scCO2+MQL nor the flood coolant. The surface residual stress values obtained in the transverse and longitudinal directions were consistent with a predictive model with errors of around 3–8%

Collaboration between Science and Religious Education teachers in Scottish Secondary schools

The article reports on quantitative research that examines: (1) the current practice in collaboration; and (2) potential for collaboration between Science and Religious Education teachers in a large sample of Scottish secondary schools. The authors adopt and adapt three models (conflict; concordat and consonance) to interrogate the relationship between science and religion (and the perceived relation between these two subjects in schools) (Astley and Francis 2010). The findings indicate that there is evidence of limited collaboration and, in a few cases, a dismissive attitude towards collaboration (conflict and concordat and very weak consonance). There is, however, evidence of a genuine aspiration for greater collaboration among many teachers (moving towards a more robust consonance model). The article concludes by discussing a number of key factors that must be realised for this greater collaboration to be enacted

Cognitive decline and neuroprogression in bipolar disorder: A case for Hitchens’ razor

Fil: Szmulewicz, Alejandro. Harvard University. Harvard School of Public Health; Estados UnidosFil: Valerio, Marina Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Emergencias Psiquiátricas "Torcuato de Alvear"; ArgentinaFil: Martino, Diego Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Favaloro; Argentin

A region segmentation method to measure multiple features using a tactile scanning probe

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) have been widely used in industry to precisely measure parts for inspection or quality control. One of the main barriers to using a CMM touch-trigger probe is the cumbersome programming work required to identify the probing points and for scan path planning. In this paper, we propose a practical data-segmentation method to continuously measure multiple features of the workpiece using a scanning probe. This approach takes advantage of the fast data-capture capability of the scanning probe and, subsequently, the point dataset is segmented using the information extracted from the CAD model of the part. This methodology does not require tedious programming and all desired measurement results can be obtained from a single scan. The principle of the method is presented, and the feasibility of the method is experimentally verified on a bridge-type Hexagon DEA Global CMM equipped with a Leitz LSP-X1 probe. The proposed method avoids manual operation errors and generates more sampling points than traditional methods; therefore, theoretically providing lower measurement uncertainty. The test results also indicate that the new method using a scanning probe is easy to implement and can save more than 90% measurement time in comparison with a conventional touch-trigger method

A longitudinal evaluation of dexamethasone and cortisol plasma concentrations in the dexamethasone suppression test before and during treatment with antidepressant drugs

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66095/1/j.1600-0447.1990.tb03073.x.pd

Men's experience of their transition to first-time fatherhood during their partner's pregnancy: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

This was a qualitative study employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to capture the lived experiences and sense-making of seven male participants (aged 29–41), whose partner was in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and four superordinate themes emerged during the analysis: (1) Pushed and Pulled in Different Directions, (2) A Rollercoaster of Emotions, (3) A Long and Lonely Road and (4) Anticipating Fatherhood. The prenatal period seemed to constitute a turbulent time in the participants' lives and involved them experiencing intense, conflicting emotions and psychological states amidst a shifting sense of self, with few support resources available to them. Implications for counselling psychologists are discussed, with suggestions for future research made

From toothpick legs to dropping vaginas: Gender and sexuality in Joan Rivers' stand-up comedy performance

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2011 Intellect.This article employs sociocultural analysis to examine Joan Rivers’ stand-up comedy performances in order to reveal how she successfully operates in a sphere of artistic expression that has been, and continues to be, male-dominated. The analysis uncovers how Rivers’ stand-up comedy performance involves a complex combination of elements and how it fuses features that are regarded as ‘traditionally masculine’, such as aggression, with features frequently used by other female stand-up comedians, such as self-deprecating comedy and confessional comedy. Furthermore, the analysis exposes the complex ways in which constructions of gender and sexuality are negotiated and re-negotiated in Rivers’ stand-up comedy performance, and illustrates how dominant ideological identity constructions can be simultaneously reinforced and subverted within the same comic moment

On religion and cultural policy: notes on the Roman Catholic Church

This paper argues that religious institutions have largely been neglected within the study of cultural policy. This is attributed to the inherently secular tendency of most modern social sciences. Despite the predominance of the ‘secularisation paradigm’, the paper notes that religion continues to promote powerful attachments and denunciations. Arguments between the ‘new atheists’, in particular, Richard Dawkins, and their opponents are discussed, as is Habermas’s conciliatory encounter with Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI). The paper then moves to a consideration of the Roman Catholic Church as an agent of cultural policy, whose overriding aim is the promotion of ‘Christian consciousness’. Discussion focuses on the contested meanings of this, with reference to (1) the deliberations of Vatican II and (2) the exercise of theological and cultural authority by the Pope and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). It is argued that these doctrinal disputes intersect with secular notions of social and cultural policy and warrant attention outside the specialist realm of theological discourse