Adaptive isocurves based rendering for freeform surfaces

Journal ArticleFreeform surface rendering is traditionally performed by approximating the surface with polygons and then rendering the polygons. This approach is extremely common because of the complexity in accurately rendering the surfaces directly. Recently, several papers presented methods to render surfaces as sequences of isocurves. Unfortunately, these methods start by assuming that an appropriate collection of isocurves has already been derived. The algorithms themselves neither automatically create an optimal or almost optimal set of isocurves so t h e whole surface would be correctly rendered without having pixels redundantly visited nor automatically compute the parameter spacing required between isocurves to guarantee such coverage. In this paper, a new algorithm is developed to fill these needs. An algorithm is introduced that automatically computes a set of almost optimal isocurves covering the entire surface area. This algorithm can be combined with a fast curve rendering method, to make surface rendering without polygonal approximation practical

Hidden curve removal for free form surfaces

Journal ArticleThis paper describes a hidden curve algorithm specifically designed for sculptured surfaces. A technique is described to extract the visible curves for a given scene without the need to approximate the surface by polygons. This algorithm produces higher quality results than polygon based algorithms, as most of the output set has an exact representation. Surface coherence is used to speed up the process. Although designed for sculptured surfaces, this algorithm is also suitable for polygonal data

Second order surface analysis using hybrid symbolic and numeric operators

Journal ArticleResults from analyzing the curvature of a surface can be used to improve the implementation, efficiency, and effectiveness of manufacturing and visualization of sculptured surfaces. In this paper, we develop a robust method using hybrid symbolic and numeric operators to create trimmed surfaces each of which is solely convex, concave, or saddle and partitions the original surface. The same method is also used to identify regions whose curvature lies within prespecified bounds

Adaptive isocurves based rendering for freeform surfaces

technical reportFreeform surface rendering is traditionally performed by approximating the surface with polygons and then rendering the polygons This approach is extremely common because of the complexity in accurately rendering the surfaces directly Recently?? several papers presented methods to render surfaces as sequences of isocurves Unfortunately?? these methods start by assuming that an appropriate collection of isocurves has already been derived The algorithms themselves neither automatically create an optimal or almost optimal set of isocurves so the whole surface would be correctly rendered without having pixels redundantly visited nor automatically compute the parameter spacing required between isocurves to guarantee such coverage In this paper?? a new algorithm is developed to ll these needs An algorithm is introduced that automat ically computes a set of almost optimal isocurves covering the entire surface area This algorithm can be combined with a fast curve rendering method?? to make surface rendering without polygonal approximation practica

Measurement of Organizational Culture and Climate in Healthcare

Although there is increasing interest in the relationship between organizational constructs and health services outcomes, information on the reliability and validity of the instruments measuring these constructs is sparse. Twelve instruments were identified that may have applicability in measuring organizational constructs in the healthcare setting. The authors describe and characterize these instruments and discuss the implications for nurse administrators

Border collapse and boundary maintenance: militarisation and the micro-geographies of violence in Israel–Palestine

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Drawing upon subaltern geopolitics and feminist geography, this article explores how militarisation shapes micro-geographies of violence and occupation in Israel–Palestine. While accounts of spectacular and large-scale political violence dominate popular imaginaries and academic analyses in/of the region, a shift to the micro-scale foregrounds the relationship between power, politics and space at the level of everyday life. In the context of Israel–Palestine, micro-geographies have revealed dynamic strategies for ‘getting by’ or ‘dealing with’ the occupation, as practiced by Palestinian populations in the face of spatialised violence. However, this article considers how Jewish Israelis actively shape the spatial micro-politics of power within and along the borders of the Israeli state. Based on 12 months of ethnographic research in Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem during 2010–2011, an analysis of everyday narratives illustrates how relations of violence, occupation and domination rely upon gendered dynamics of border collapse and boundary maintenance. Here, the borders between home front and battlefield break down at the same time as communal boundaries are reproduced, generating conditions of ‘total militarism’ wherein military interests and agendas are both actively and passively diffused. Through gendering the militarised micro-geographies of violence among Jewish Israelis, this article reveals how individuals construct, navigate and regulate the everyday spaces of occupation, detailing more precisely how macro political power endures.This work was supported by the SOAS, University of London; University of London Central Research Fund

Acyclovir for treating varicella in otherwise healthy children and adolescents: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Acyclovir has the potential to shorten the course of chickenpox which may result in reduced costs and morbidity. We conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials that evaluated acyclovir for the treatment of chickenpox in otherwise healthy children. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched. The reference lists of relevant articles were examined and primary authors and Glaxo Wellcome were contacted to identify additional trials. Two reviewers independently screened studies for inclusion, assessed study quality using the Jadad scale and allocation concealment, and extracted data. Continuous data were converted to a weighted mean difference (WMD). Overall estimates were not calculated due to differences in the age groups studied. RESULTS: Three studies were included. Methodological quality was 3 (n = 2) and 4 (n = 1) on the Jadad scale. Acyclovir was associated with a significant reduction in the number of days with fever, from -1.0 (95% CI -1.5,-0.5) to -1.3 (95% CI -2.0,-0.6). Results were inconsistent with respect to the number of days to no new lesions, the maximum number of lesions and relief of pruritis. There were no clinically important differences between acyclovir and placebo with respect to complications or adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Acyclovir appears to be effective in reducing the number of days with fever among otherwise healthy children with chickenpox. The results were inconsistent with respect to the number of days to no new lesions, the maximum number of lesions and the relief of itchiness. The clinical importance of acyclovir treatment in otherwise healthy children remains controversial

Herpes Simplex Virus Dances with Amyloid Precursor Protein while Exiting the Cell

Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV1) replicates in epithelial cells and secondarily enters local sensory neuronal processes, traveling retrograde to the neuronal nucleus to enter latency. Upon reawakening newly synthesized viral particles travel anterograde back to the epithelial cells of the lip, causing the recurrent cold sore. HSV1 co-purifies with amyloid precursor protein (APP), a cellular transmembrane glycoprotein and receptor for anterograde transport machinery that when proteolyzed produces A-beta, the major component of senile plaques. Here we focus on transport inside epithelial cells of newly synthesized virus during its transit to the cell surface. We hypothesize that HSV1 recruits cellular APP during transport. We explore this with quantitative immuno-fluorescence, immuno-gold electron-microscopy and live cell confocal imaging. After synchronous infection most nascent VP26-GFP-labeled viral particles in the cytoplasm co-localize with APP (72.8+/−6.7%) and travel together with APP inside living cells (81.1+/−28.9%). This interaction has functional consequences: HSV1 infection decreases the average velocity of APP particles (from 1.1+/−0.2 to 0.3+/−0.1 µm/s) and results in APP mal-distribution in infected cells, while interplay with APP-particles increases the frequency (from 10% to 81% motile) and velocity (from 0.3+/−0.1 to 0.4+/−0.1 µm/s) of VP26-GFP transport. In cells infected with HSV1 lacking the viral Fc receptor, gE, an envelope glycoprotein also involved in viral axonal transport, APP-capsid interactions are preserved while the distribution and dynamics of dual-label particles differ from wild-type by both immuno-fluorescence and live imaging. Knock-down of APP with siRNA eliminates APP staining, confirming specificity. Our results indicate that most intracellular HSV1 particles undergo frequent dynamic interplay with APP in a manner that facilitates viral transport and interferes with normal APP transport and distribution. Such dynamic interactions between APP and HSV1 suggest a mechanistic basis for the observed clinical relationship between HSV1 seropositivity and risk of Alzheimer's disease