Hybrid visibility compositing and masking for illustrative rendering

In this paper, we introduce a novel framework for the compositing of interactively rendered 3D layers tailored to the needs of scientific illustration. Currently, traditional scientific illustrations are produced in a series of composition stages, combining different pictorial elements using 2D digital layering. Our approach extends the layer metaphor into 3D without giving up the advantages of 2D methods. The new compositing approach allows for effects such as selective transparency, occlusion overrides, and soft depth buffering. Furthermore, we show how common manipulation techniques such as masking can be integrated into this concept. These tools behave just like in 2D, but their influence extends beyond a single viewpoint. Since the presented approach makes no assumptions about the underlying rendering algorithms, layers can be generated based on polygonal geometry, volumetric data, point-based representations, or others. Our implementation exploits current graphics hardware and permits real-time interaction and rendering.publishedVersio

Stippling by Example

In this work, we focus on stippling as an artistic style and discuss our technique for capturing and reproducing stipple features unique to an individual artist. We employ a texture synthesis algorithm based on the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) of a texture field. This algorithm uses a texture similarity metric to generate stipple textures that are perceptually similar to input samples, allowing us to better capture and reproduce stipple distributions. First, we extract example stipple textures representing various tones in order to create an approximate tone map used by the artist. Second, we extract the stipple marks and distributions from the extracted example textures, generating both a lookup table of stipple marks and a texture representing the stipple distribution. Third, we use the distribution of stipples to synthesize similar distributions with slight variations using a numerical measure of the error between the synthesized texture and the example texture as the basis for replication. Finally, we apply the synthesized stipple distribution to a 2D grayscale image and place stipple marks onto the distribution, thereby creating a stippled image that is statistically similar to images created by the example artist

Interacting with microseismic visualizations

Microseismic visualization systems present complex 3D data of small seismic events within oil reservoirs to allow experts to explore and interact with that data. Yet existing systems suffer several problems: 3D spatial navigation and orientation is difficult, and selecting 3D data is challenging due to the problems of occlusion and lack of depth perception. Our work mitigates these problems by applying both proxemic interactions and a spatial input device to simplify how experts navigate through the visualization, and a painting metaphor to simplify how they select that information.N

Metodologias Ativas em aulas de matemática: caracterização de normatizações curriculares e didáticas para o ensino médio público cearense

O ensino e a aprendizagem de matemática são processos influenciados pela convergência de fatores cognitivos, socioculturais, didáticos, curriculares, dentre outros. Ao levar-se em conta a relação desses fatores com as orientações e normatizações em documentos curriculares oficiais, destacam-se, neste texto, as metodologias de ensino abordadas em aulas. Historicamente vinculadas à tendência pedagógica tradicional, essas metodologias também são marcadas pela tentativa de contraposição ao ensino tradicional da matemática, pela necessidade do estudante ser ativo em seu processo de aprendizagem. Este estudo discute as Metodologias Ativas (MA) no enfrentamento dessa problemática, em especial nas aulas de matemática no ensino médio público cearense. Desse modo, pergunta-se: as Metodologias Ativas são recomendadas para serem empregadas em aulas de matemática, no âmbito do ensino médio em escolas públicas estaduais do Ceará? Como essa recomendação aparece em documentos curriculares oficiais? A pesquisa teve como objetivo caracterizar orientações para o uso das Metodologias Ativas no ensino médio público cearense, presentes em normatizações curriculares e didáticas oficiais. Para tanto, realizaram-se estudos bibliográficos sobre MA e políticas curriculares; estudos documentais na Base Nacional Comum Curricular do ensino médio - BNCC e no Documento Curricular Referencial do Ceará - DCRC. Foi identificado, como resultado, que existem orientações explícitas e implícitas, acerca do uso das Metodologias Ativas nas aulas de matemática do ensino médio público cearense, tanto no documento curricular nacional quanto no estadual. Implícitas na BNCC, quando indica a ação do aluno para aprender, em aulas que privilegiem a formação de habilidades e competências nessa perspectiva; e explícitas no DCRC, quando indica claramente as metodologias ativas como uma das possibilidades didáticas para aulas de matemática

Response of non-motor symptoms to levodopa in late-stage Parkinson's disease: results of a levodopa challenge test

Article under a CC-BY-NC-ND license - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"BACKGROUND: Non-motor symptoms (NMS) are extremely common among late-stage Parkinson's disease (LSPD) patients. Levodopa (L-dopa) responsiveness seems to decrease with disease progression but its effect on NMS in LSPD still needs to be investigated. OBJECTIVE: To assess the response of blood pressure (BP), pain, fatigue and anxiety to L-dopa in LSPD patients. METHODS: 20 LSPD patients, defined as Schwab and England ADL Scale 3 (MED ON) and 22 PD patients treated with subthalamic deep brain stimulation (advanced PD group) underwent an L-dopa challenge. BP and orthostatic hypotension (OH) assessment, a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and fatigue and the Strait Trait Anxiety (STAI) were evaluated before and after the L-dopa challenge. RESULTS: Systolic BP dropped significantly after L-dopa intake (p < 0.05) in LSPD patients, while there was no change in pain, fatigue or anxiety. L-dopa significantly improved (p < 0.05) pain and anxiety in the advanced PD group, whereas it had no effect on BP or fatigue. L-dopa-related adverse effects (AEs), namely OH and sleepiness, were more common among LSPD patients. 40% and 65% of LSPD patients were not able to fill out the VAS and the STAI, respectively, while measurement of orthostatic BP was not possible in four LSPD patients. CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory study concludes that some non-motor variables in LSPD do not benefit from the acute action of L-dopa while it can still induce disabling AEs. There is a need for assessment tools of NMS adapted to these disabled LSPD patients."info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Preoperative clinical management of patients who are candidates for facial transplantation

Introduction: Face transplantation has gained recognition, changing the clinicalsurgical scenario for restoring complex facial defects, as it attributes functional and aesthetic recovery to patients who have suffered serious accidents. At the time of writing this article, in official publications, 43 patients had already undergone facial transplantation worldwide. Face transplantation has numerous pieces of evidence that can irrefutably provide improvements to the patient. For this, preoperative care for the patient must be carefully established so that there is good surgical performance. Case Report: Male patient, 46 years old, reports that, at the age of 6, he had burns due to exposure to gasoline, with 72% of his body surface burned, showing sequelae of burns and surgical reconstructions on the face, with redundant and ptotic skin flap on the left cheek, absence of upper and lower lip and exposure of lower teeth. Conclusion: It is important to publicize this innovative procedure in different medical specialties and preoperative care through a thorough investigation, which attributes better surgical effectiveness, allowing the rescue of their facial identity, once stigmatized

Data security and trading framework for smart grids in neighborhood area networks

Due to the drastic increase of electricity prosumers, i.e., energy consumers that are also producers, smart grids have become a key solution for electricity infrastructure. In smart grids, one of the most crucial requirements is the privacy of the final users. The vast majority of the literature addresses the privacy issue by providing ways of hiding user’s electricity consumption. However, open issues in the literature related to the privacy of the electricity producers still remain. In this paper, we propose a framework that preserves the secrecy of prosumers’ identities and provides protection against the traffic analysis attack in a competitive market for energy trade in a Neighborhood Area Network (NAN). In addition, the amount of bidders and of successful bids are hidden from malicious attackers by our framework. Due to the need for small data throughput for the bidders, the communication links of our framework are based on a proprietary communication system. Still, in terms of data security, we adopt the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128bit with Exclusive-OR (XOR) keys due to their reduced computational complexity, allowing fast processing. Our framework outperforms the state-of-the-art solutions in terms of privacy protection and trading flexibility in a prosumer-to-prosumer design

O Processo de Internacionalização da Metalúrgica Delta: Análise Baseada no Tripé da Estratégia

This article, theoretical and empirical, aims to analyze the process adopted by a company in the metallurgical and graphic industry regarding its internationalization strategy. Thus, a case study was conducted by a qualitative approach, based on Peng’s strategic tripod (2009). The main objective of this study is to investigate how was the process of internationalization of the company object of this study, based on market vision vs. RBV vs. institution (Peng’s tripod) and identify the factors that impacted in the results obtained. The analysis shows that, a priori, the decisions taken by the company were not guided in all aspects necessary for the adoption of an internationalization process and that there were no operational, financial and economic gains in the adopted strategy.Este artigo, de natureza teórico-empírica, visa analisar o processo adotado por uma empresa do ramo metalúrgico e gráfico no tocante à sua estratégia de internacionalização. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo de caso, com abordagem qualitativa, fundamentada no tripé estratégico de Peng (2009), mercado, resource-based view – RBV e instituição. Os principais objetivos deste trabalho consistem em investigar como se deu o processo de internacionalização da empresa objeto deste estudo, com base no tripé de Peng, e em identificar que fatores impactaram nos resultados obtidos na empreitada. A análise aponta que, a priori, as decisões tomadas pela empresa não foram pautadas em todos os aspectos necessários à adoção de um processo de internacionalização e que não houve ganhos operacionais, financeiros e econômicos na estratégia adotada