Composing quadrilateral meshes for animation

The modeling-by-composition paradigm can be a powerful tool in modern animation pipelines. We propose two novel interactive techniques to compose 3D assets that enable the artists to freely remove, detach and combine components of organic models. The idea behind our methods is to preserve most of the original information in the input characters and blend accordingly where necessary. The first method, QuadMixer, provides a robust tool to compose the quad layouts of watertight pure quadrilateral meshes, exploiting the boolean operations defined on triangles. Quad Layout is a crucial property for many applications since it conveys important information that would otherwise be destroyed by techniques that aim only at preserving the shape. Our technique keeps untouched all the quads in the patches which are not involved in the blending. The resulting meshes preserve the originally designed edge flows that, by construction, are captured and incorporated into the new quads. SkinMixer extends this approach to compose skinned models, taking into account not only the surface but also the data structures for animating the character. We propose a new operation-based technique that preserves and smoothly merges meshes, skeletons, and skinning weights. The retopology approach of QuadMixer is extended to work on quad-dominant and arbitrary complex surfaces. Instead of relying on boolean operations on triangle meshes, we manipulate signed distance fields to generate an implicit surface. The results preserve most of the information in the input assets, blending accordingly in the intersection regions. The resulting characters are ready to be used in animation pipelines. Given the high quality of the results generated, we believe that our methods could have a huge impact on the entertainment industry. Integrated into current software for 3D modeling, they would certainly provide a powerful tool for the artists. Allowing them to automatically reuse parts of their well-designed characters could lead to a new approach for creating models, which would significantly reduce the cost of the process

Fast tracking of wind speed with a differential absorption LiDAR system: First results of an experimental campaign at Stromboli volcano

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered a precursor gas of volcanic eruptions by volcanologists. Monitoring the anomalous release of this parameter, we can retrieve useful information for the mitigation of volcanic hazards, such as for air traffic security. From a dataset collected during the Stromboli volcano field campaign, an assessment of the wind speed, in both horizontal and vertical paths, performing a fast tracking of this parameter was retrieved. This was determined with a newly designed shot-per-shot differential absorption LiDAR system operated in the near-infrared spectral region due to the simultaneous reconstruction of CO2 concentrations and wind speeds, using the same sample of LiDAR returns. A correlation method was used for the wind speed retrieval in which the transport of the spatial inhomogeneities of the aerosol backscattering coefficient, along the optical path of the system, was analyzed

Inferior peroneal retinaculum tear with isolated peroneus longus tendon dislocation: A case report of an extremely rare injury, with the proposal of an innovative repair technique

Peroneus longus tendon (PLT) dislocation associated with inferior peroneal retinaculum (IPR) tear is an extremely rare injury. Only 6 cases are described in English literature to date, and its diagnosis is always delayed from the initial trauma. Swelling at the lateral face of the heel and a snapping during the movement of the foot and ankle are typical signs that can induce the suspect of this injury. Operative treatment is required as it typically affects young adults with high functional demands and tendon instability causes pain and functional limitation; also, a neglected dislocated or instable PTL may eventually end up with a rupture. In the few cases reported in literature, different operative techniques have been described, all with excellent results. A case of an initially overlooked dynamic dislocation of the PLT due to IPR tear in a young professional soccer player is described. The lesion was treated with a not yet described operative technique that consists in groove deepening and subsequent IPR repair through transosseous sutures, instead of peroneal tubercle resection as mostly advocated. Final follow up at 15 months showed complete recovery, with a Foot and Ankle Outcome Score of 100%

<i>Mycobacterium chelonae</i> associated with tumor-like skin and oral masses in farmed Russian sturgeons (<i>Acipenser gueldenstaedtii</i>)

Background: Non-tuberculous mycobacteria responsible for piscine mycobacteriosis usually produce visceral granulomas in both freshwater and marine species. In this study, the first occurrence of Mycobacterium chelonae associated with tumor-like lesions in the Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) is reported. Fifteen sturgeons from an Italian fish farm showing skin and oral cauliflower-like masses were investigated by histopathology, bacterial culture and molecular analyses. Results: A total of 20 masses different in size located in the mouth and in pectoral and caudal fins (characterized by abundant calcium deposits and by mild to moderate granulomatous inflammation) were observed with a significant different degree of histological severity. All internal organs of the fish were negative for mycobacteria, Ziehl-Neelsen was positive in only one of the oral masses, whereas bacterial and PCR analyses detected the presence of M. chelonae for almost all the skin and oral masses. Based on these results, a calcinosis of dystrophic origin associated with a chronic granulomatous inflammation was considered as a primary diagnosis consequent to tissue injury in areas susceptible to trauma. Conclusions: We hypothesized that the occurrence of M. chelonae in farmed sturgeons was only a secondary event related to its presence in a stressful rearing environment and subsequent to a dystrophic calcinosis occurred in previously damaged tissues

Un Caso di linfoma a grandi linfociti granulosi (LGL) in un cavallo: caratterizzazione istochimica ed immunofenotipica = Large granular lymphoma (LGL) in a horse: histochemical and immunophenotype characterization

The aim of this study is to confirm lymphoma diagnosis, characterize the neoplasia immunophenotype and observe cell typologies by histochemical staining

Mycobacterium chelonae associated with tumor-like skin and oral masses in farmed Russian sturgeons (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii)

Peer reviewe

Tobacco, alcohol and family history of cancer as risk factors of oral squamous cell carcinoma: case-control retrospective study

The aim of the study is to observe retrospectively the correlation between Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) and risk factors; including tobacco, alcohol and Family History of Cancer (FHC). A total of 478 patients were included retrospectively from the database of the Department of Oral Sciences and Maxillofacial Surgery, Sapienza University of Rome. A Test Group (TG) consisted of 239 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of OSCC. A Control Group (CG) consisted of 239 patients without history and/or diagnosis of oral cancer. The logistic regression models were used to calculate the adjusted Odd Ratios (ORs) associated with alcohol, tobacco and FHC; including the General Family History of Cancer (GFHC) and Family History of Head and Neck Cancer (FHHNC) and their 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). The high rate of tobacco consumption was associated with an OR of 1.035 (95% CI 1.001–1.070) and a statistical significance (p = 0.041). Drinker patients showed a significant risk of developing OSCC (p = 0.05) and the OR was 1.035 (95% CI 1.010–1.061). The GFHC was associated with a marginal risk of OSCC with an OR of 1.095 (95% CI 0.953–1.259), without significance (p = 0.199). The FHHNC showed a notable risk increase with an OR of 1.871 (95% CI 0.902–3.882), without significance (p = 0.092). Alcohol and tobacco may be associated with an increase in the risk of OSCC

Simplification of Shapes for Fabrication with V-Groove Milling Tools

We introduce here a pipeline for simplifying digital 3D shapes with the aim of fabricating them using 2D polygonal flat parts. Our method generates shapes that, once unfolded, can be fabricated with CNC milling machines using special tools called V-Grooves. These tools make V-shaped furrows at given angles depending on the shape of the used tool. Milling the edges of each flat facet simplifies the manual assembly that consists only in folding the facets at the desired angle between the adjacent facets. Our method generates simplified shapes where every dihedral angle between adjacent facets belongs to a restricted set, thus making the assembly process quicker and more straightforward. Firstly, our method automatically computes a simplification of the model, iterating local changes on a triangle mesh generated by applying the Marching Cubes algorithm on the original mesh. The user performs a second manual simplification using a tool that removes spurious facets. Finally, we use a simple unfolding algorithm which flattens the polygonal facets onto the 2D plane, so that a CNC milling machine can fabricate it with a sheet of rigid material

New Advances in Dial-Lidar-Based Remote Sensing of the Volcanic CO2 Flux

We report here on the results of a proof-of-concept study aimed at remotely sensing the volcanic CO2 flux using a Differential Adsorption lidar (DIAL-lidar). The observations we report on were conducted in June 2014 on Stromboli volcano, where our lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging) was used to scan the volcanic plume at 3c3km distance from the summit vents. The obtained results prove that a remotely operating lidar can resolve a volcanic CO2 signal of a few tens of ppm (in excess to background air) over km-long optical paths. We combine these results with independent estimates of plume transport speed (from processing of UV Camera images) to derive volcanic CO2 flux time-series of 4816\u201333min temporal resolution. Our lidar-based CO2 fluxes range from 1.8 \ub1 0.5 to 32.1 \ub18.0kg/s, and constrain the daily averaged CO2 emissions fromStromboli at 8.3 \ub1 2.1 to 18.1 \ub1 4.5kg/s (or 718\u20131565 tons/day). These inferred fluxes fall within the range of earlier observations at Stromboli. They also agree well with contemporaneous CO2 flux determinations (8.4\u201320.1kg/s) obtained using a standard approach that combines Multi-GAS-based in-plume readings of the CO2 /SO2 ratio ( 488) with UV-camera sensed SO2 fluxes (1.5\u20133.4kg/s). We conclude that DIAL-lidars offer new prospects for safer (remote) instrumental observations of the volcanic CO2 flux