Algorithmic Perception of Vertices in Sketched Drawings of Polyhedral Shapes

In this article, visual perception principles were used to build an artificial perception model aimed at developing an algorithm for detecting junctions in line drawings of polyhedral objects that are vectorized from hand-drawn sketches. The detection is performed in two dimensions (2D), before any 3D model is available and minimal information about the shape depicted by the sketch is used. The goal of this approach is to not only detect junctions in careful sketches created by skilled engineers and designers but also detect junctions when skilled people draw casually to quickly convey rough ideas. Current approaches for extracting junctions from digital images are mostly incomplete, as they simply merge endpoints that are near each other, thus ignoring the fact that different vertices may be represented by different (but close) junctions and that the endpoints of lines that depict edges that share a common vertex may not necessarily be close to each other, particularly in quickly sketched drawings. We describe and validate a new algorithm that uses these perceptual findings to merge tips of line segments into 2D junctions that are assumed to depict 3D vertices

Does laser therapy improve pain or pinch strength for thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis as an isolated treatment? A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic and prevalent joint disorder that greatly impacts quality of life and has a high economic burden on health resources. Although a number of conservative therapies have proven to be effective for the management of hand OA, only modest treatment effects were reported for most individual interventions. The aim of the proposed study is to assess the effect of laser therapy on pain and pinch strength in subjects with thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis (CMC OA) Materials and Methods: 43 patients, (mean ± SD age: 71 ±12 years; 57% female) with the diagnosis of CMC joint OA grade 1-2 were randomized to the control (n=21) or experimental (n=23) groups. The primary outcome measures were pain intensity [Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)], and the secondary outcome measure was key pinch strength (dynamometer). The experimental group received laser therapy and control group received a placebo treatment. All outcome measures were collected at baseline, immediately following the intervention at 4 weeks, and at 12 weeks following the intervention. Results: The experimental group evidenced a 2-point improvement VAS pain score following the treatment. There was a gain of 0.7 kg of pinch strength in the experimental group following the treatment. The effects of both pinch strength gains and pain reduction diminished by the 12 week follow up. Conclusions: High intensity laser therapy effectively decreases pain intensity when used as a isolated treatment for early CMC OA, but the effect of treatment decreases after 3 months.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Dar a luz en tránsito

Las mujeres embarazadas refugiadas en ruta por Europa tienen que dar a luz en condiciones extremadamente difíciles. Se enfrentan a elecciones terribles, y sus bebés corren el riesgo de ser apátridas

Introdução ao estudo de durabilidade do betão auto-compactável

O âmbito desta dissertação centra-se na temática de estudos de durabilidade do betão auto-compactavel (BAC), cujo cálculo dos constituintes foi feito pelo método de Nepomuceno. Sobre amostras de 40, 55 e 70 MPa, produzidas segundo o método atrás identificado, foram feitos estudos químicos e morfológicos, de propriedades de transporte de mecanismos de degradação e de propriedades indirectas. Os três provetes em estudo de 40, 55 e 70 MPa, apresentam características satisfatórias a nível da microestrutura, propriedades de transporte, carbonatação, penetração de cloretos e análise de ultra-sons. Numa análise comparativa entre as três resistências mecânicas em estudo, verifica-se que as propriedades de durabilidade vão melhorando a medida que a resistência mecânica também aumenta, ou seja, os provete com 70 MPa apresentam as melhores características a nível de durabilidade e os de 40 as piores; os de 55 apresentam propriedades intermédias.The scope of this dissertation focuses on the studyof durability on self-compacting concrete (SSC), whose constituents have been calculated by Nepomuceno method. With samples of 40, 55 and 70 MPa produced by the mentioned above method were done some chemical and morphologic analysis, transport properties, degradation mechanisms and indirect studies, were done. The three samples in study indicate that all have satisfactory characteristics of morphologic microstructure, transport properties, carbonatation, chloride penetration and ultra-sonic pulse velocity. On a comparative basis between the three mechanicalresistances in study, it appears that the durability properties improve as the compressive strength of concrete also increases. Therefore the specimen of 70MPa shows the best characteristics in terms of durability performance and 40 the worst, consequently 55MPa shows intermediate properties

Platforms for Production of Protein-Based Vaccines: From Classical to Next-Generation Strategies

To date, vaccination has become one of the most effective strategies to control and reduce infectious diseases, preventing millions of deaths worldwide. The earliest vaccines were developed as live-attenuated or inactivated pathogens, and, although they still represent the most extended human vaccine types, they also face some issues, such as the potential to revert to a pathogenic form of live-attenuated formulations or the weaker immune response associated with inactivated vaccines. Advances in genetic engineering have enabled improvements in vaccine design and strategies, such as recombinant subunit vaccines, have emerged, expanding the number of diseases that can be prevented. Moreover, antigen display systems such as VLPs or those designed by nanotechnology have improved the efficacy of subunit vaccines. Platforms for the production of recombinant vaccines have also evolved from the first hosts, Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to insect or mammalian cells. Traditional bacterial and yeast systems have been improved by engineering and new systems based on plants or insect larvae have emerged as alternative, low-cost platforms. Vaccine development is still time-consuming and costly, and alternative systems that can offer cost-effective and faster processes are demanding to address infectious diseases that still do not have a treatment and to face possible future pandemics

Design methodology for production systems retrofit in SMEs

Investment in the productive systems of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector is usually quite limited. For this reason, normal practice is to apply minor developments internally or upgrade equipment as it becomes obsolete to increase their productive capacity and competitiveness at a lower cost. However, the work team, mostly made up of engineers, does not usually have experience in the use of design methodologies but also they are often familiar with the functioning of various design and quality-management tools. This paper presents a clear and simple design methodology that facilitates the development of adaptations to items of equipment that might be considered one-off products. It includes a selection of design tools that are, according to the literature on the subject, the most common and best-known among engineers, and which are also best-suited to the environment of an SME. The design methodology was validated experimentally with the upgrading of a gear-rolling tester installed on the premises of an SME in the sector. The recommended techniques and tools were satisfactory applied opening the possibilities for further application of the methodology in similar machine''s upgrades in the future