Novel Correspondence-based Approach for Consistent Human Skeleton Extraction

This paper presents a novel base-points-driven shape correspondence (BSC) approach to extract skeletons of articulated objects from 3D mesh shapes. The skeleton extraction based on BSC approach is more accurate than the traditional direct skeleton extraction methods. Since 3D shapes provide more geometric information, BSC offers the consistent information between the source shape and the target shapes. In this paper, we first extract the skeleton from a template shape such as the source shape automatically. Then, the skeletons of the target shapes of different poses are generated based on the correspondence relationship with source shape. The accuracy of the proposed method is demonstrated by presenting a comprehensive performance evaluation on multiple benchmark datasets. The results of the proposed approach can be applied to various applications such as skeleton-driven animation, shape segmentation and human motion analysis

Determinación de la calidad del aceite de té mediante 19F RMN y 1H RMN

The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique was applied to monitor the quality of tea oil herein. The adulteration of virgin tea oil was monitored by 19F NMR and 1H NMR. The 19F NMR technique was used as a new method to detect the changes in quality and hydroperoxide value of tea oil. The research demonstrates that 19F NMR and 1H NMR can quickly detect adulteration in tea oil. High temperature caused a decrease in the ratio D and increase in the total diglyceride content. Some new peaks belonging to the derivatives of hydroperoxides appeared at δ-108.21 and δ-109.05 ppm on the 19F NMR spectrum when the oil was autoxidized and became larger when the hydroperoxide value increased. These results have great significance in monitoring the moisture content, freshness and oxidation status of oils and in detecting adulteration in high priced edible oils by mixing with cheap oils.En este trabajo se utiliza la técnica de resonancia magnética nuclear (RMN) para controlar la calidad del aceite de té. La adulteración del aceite de té virgen se controló mediante las técnicas de 19F RMN y 1H RMN. La técnica de 19F RMN se utilizó como un nuevo método para detectar los cambios en la calidad y el índice de hidroperóxido del aceite de té. La investigación demuestra que las técnicas 19F RMN y 1H RMN pueden detectar rápidamente la adulteración del aceite de té. La alta temperatura provoca una disminución en la proporción D y un aumento en el contenido total de diglicéridos. Algunos picos nuevos, pertenecientes a derivados de hidroperóxidos, aparecieron a δ-108,21 y δ-109,05 ppm en el espectro de 19F RMN cuando el aceite se autoxidaba e incrementaban cuando aumentaba el índice de hidroperóxido. Estos resultados tienen gran importancia en el seguimiento del contenido de humedad, de la frescura y del estado de oxidación de los aceites y en la detección de la adulteración de aceites comestibles de alto valor con aceites baratos mediante el uso de 19F RMN y 1H RMN

Ginkgo biloba extract for essential hypertension: A systemic review

AbstractBackgroundGinkgo biloba extract (GBE), a traditional natural herbal product, is often used in the treatment of essential hypertension (EH) as complementary therapy in China and European countries.AimTo critically assess the current clinical evidence of efficacy and safety of GBE for EH.Methods7 electronic databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, VIP, CBM, Wanfang data, and CNKI) were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of GBE for EH. Methodological quality was assessed independently using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.ResultsA total of 9 RCTs with 1012 hypertensive patients were identified and reviewed. Most RCTs were of high risk of bias with flawed study design and poor methodological quality. 6 trials demonstrated potential positive effect of GBE as complementary therapy on BP reduction when compared with antihypertensive drug therapy; however, it was not associated with a statistically significant effect on both SBP and DBP reduction in 3 other trials. Despite the positive findings, there were so many methodological limitations and significant clinical heterogeneity. Most of the trials did not report adverse effects, and the safety of GBE is still uncertain.ConclusionNo confirmative conclusions on the efficacy and safety of GBE for EH could be drawn. More rigorous trials are warranted to support their clinical use

Supporting learning with 3D interactive applications in early years

Early years education is an key element for the introduction of children in the education system. In order to improve this process, the aim of this study was to explore how guided interaction with 3D apps can fit into a preschool setting, how it can help children learn through playing and how it can improve their learning outcomes. A study was conducted with six classes of 87 students aged between 3 years to 6 years, over a 12-week period. Children used 10 inch Android tablets with a series of apps developed by our research team, about houses of the world, the skeleton & five senses and, animals. A quasi-experimental design based on a nonequivalent groups pretest and posttest de-sign revealed that an active behavior and better learning outcomes are obtained by children participating in the experimental groupCascales Martínez, A.; Martínez Segura, MJ.; Laguna- Segobia, M.; Pérez Lopez, DC.; Contero, M. (2014). Supporting learning with 3D interactive applications in early years. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 8524:11-22. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-07485-6_2S11228524Plowman, L., Stephen, C.: Children, Play and Computers in Preschool Education. British Journal of Educational Technology 36(2), 145–157 (2005)Tootell, H., Plumb, M., Hadfield, C., Dawson, L.: Gestural Interface Technology in early childhood education: A framework for fully-engaged communication. In: Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, art. no. 6479836, pp. 13–20 (2013)Marco, J., Cerezo, E.: Bringing Tabletop Technologies to Kindergarten Children. In: HCI 2009 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction–Celebrating People and Technology, pp. 103–111. Springer, Heidelberg (2009)Heft, T.M., Swaminathan, S.: Using Computers in Early Childhood Classrooms: Teachers’ Attitudes, Skills and Practices. Journal of Early Childhood Research 6(4), 169–188 (2006)Wang, X.C., Ching, C.C.: Social Construction of Computer Experience in a First-Grade Classroom: Social Processes and Mediating Artifacts. Early Education and Development 14(3), 335–361 (2003)Couse, L.J., Chen, D.W.: A Tablet Computer for Young Children? Exploring Its Viability for Early Childhood Education. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 43(1), 75–98 (2012)Kearney, J.: Educating Young Children - Learning and Teaching in the Early Childhood Years. Early Childhood Teachers’ Association (ECTA Inc.) 3(18) (2012)Rankothge, W.H., Sendanayake, S.V., Sudarshana, R.G.P., Balasooriya, B.G.G.H., Alahapperuma, D.R., Mallawarachchi, Y.: Technology Assisted Tool for Learning Skills Development in Early Childhood. In: Proc. of 2012 International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), pp. 165–168 (2012)Sandvik, M., Smørdal, O., Østerud, S.: Exploring iPads in Practitioners’ Repertoires for Language Learning and Literacy Practices In Kindergarten. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy 3(7), 204–221 (2012)Priyankara, K.W.T.G.T., Mahawaththa, D.C., Nawinna, D.P., Jayasundara, J.M.A., Tharuka, K.D.N., Rajapaksha, S.K.: Android Based e-Learning Solution for Early Childhood Education in Sri Lanka. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Computer Science & Education (ICCSE), pp. 715–718 (2013)Zanchi, C., Presser, A.L., Vahey, P.: Next Generation Preschool Math Demo: Tablet Games for Preschool Classrooms. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC 2013, pp. 527–530 (2013)Meyer, B.: Game-based Language Learning for Pre-School Children: A Design Perspective. Electronic Journal of e-Learning 11(1), 39–48 (2013)Straub, D.W.: Validating Instruments in MIS Research. MIS Quarterly 13(2), 147–169 (1989)Cook, T.D., Campbell, D.T., Day, A.: Quasi-experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings, pp. 19–21. Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1979)Buendía, L., Y Berrocal, E.: La Ética de la Investigación Educativa. Ágora Digital 1 (2011)Tojar, J., Serrano, J.: Ética e Investigación Educativa. RELIEVE 6(2) (2000)Cascales, A., Laguna, I., Pérez-López, D., Perona, P., Contero, M.: 3D Interactive Applications on Tablets for Preschoolers: Exploring the Human Skeleton and the Senses. In: Hernández-Leo, D., Ley, T., Klamma, R., Harrer, A. (eds.) EC-TEL 2013. LNCS, vol. 8095, pp. 71–83. Springer, Heidelberg (2013

Multiple superconducting gap and anisotropic spin fluctuations in iron arsenides: Comparison with nickel analog

We present extensive 75As NMR and NQR data on the superconducting arsenides PrFeAs0.89F0.11 (Tc=45 K), LaFeAsO0.92F0.08 (Tc=27 K), LiFeAs (Tc = 17 K) and Ba0.72K0.28Fe2As2 (Tc = 31.5 K) single crystal, and compare with the nickel analog LaNiAsO0.9F0.1 (Tc=4.0 K) . In contrast to LaNiAsO0.9F0.1 where the superconducting gap is shown to be isotropic, the spin lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 in the Fe-arsenides decreases below Tc with no coherence peak and shows a step-wise variation at low temperatures. The Knight shift decreases below Tc and shows a step-wise T variation as well. These results indicate spinsinglet superconductivity with multiple gaps in the Fe-arsenides. The Fe antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations are anisotropic and weaker compared to underdoped copper-oxides or cobalt-oxide superconductors, while there is no significant electron correlations in LaNiAsO0.9F0.1. We will discuss the implications of these results and highlight the importance of the Fermi surface topology.Comment: 6 pages, 11 figure

Experimental Study and Finite Element Analysis of Critical Stresses of Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes under Various Loads

In this paper, reinforced thermoplastic pipes (RTP) were studied under various loads. A total of five groups of specimens were designed to study the mechanical properties of RTPs under internal pressure, bending, a combination of internal pressure and bending moment, external pressure, and tension. This study obtained the bursting pressure of RTPs under internal pressure, the minimum bending radius under the bending moment, and the failure pressure under external pressure. At the same time, the mechanical properties of RTPs under various loads were analyzed using the finite element analysis. Analytical results agree well with the experimental ones. The finite element model established in this paper can be used for further research on the mechanical properties of RTPs

The intrinsic features of the specific heat at half-filled Landau levels of two-dimensional electron systems

The specific heat capacity of a two-dimensional electron gas is derived for two types of the density of states, namely, the Dirac delta function spectrum and that based on a Gaussian function. For the first time, a closed form expression of the specific heat for each case is obtained at half-filling. When the chemical potential is temperature-independent, the temperature is calculated at which the specific heat is a maximum. Here the effects of the broadening of the Landau levels are distinguished from those of the different filling factors. In general, the results derived herein hold for any thermodynamic system having similar resonant states.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, to appear in J Low Temp Phys (2010

Persistent spin splitting of a two-dimensional electron gas in tilted magnetic fields

By varying the orientation of the applied magnetic field with respect to the normal of a two-dimensional electron gas, the chemical potential and the specific heat reveal persistent spin splitting in all field ranges. The corresponding shape of the thermodynamic quantities distinguishes whether the Rashba spin-orbit interaction RSOI, the Zeeman term or both dominate the splitting. The interplay of the tilting of the magnetic field and RSOI resulted to an amplified splitting in weak fields. The effects of changing the RSOI strength and the Landau level broadening are also investigated.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

First long-term study of particle number size distributions and new particle formation events of regional aerosol in the North China Plain

Atmospheric particle number size distributions (size range 0.003–10 μm) were measured between March 2008 and August 2009 at Shangdianzi (SDZ), a rural research station in the North China Plain. These measurements were made in an attempt to better characterize the tropospheric background aerosol in Northern China. The mean particle number concentrations of the total particle, as well as the nucleation, Aitken, accumulation and coarse mode were determined to be 1.2 ± 0.9 × 104, 3.6 ± 7.9 × 103, 4.4 ± 3.4 × 103, 3.5 ± 2.8 × 103 and 2 ± 3 cm−3, respectively. A general finding was that the particle number concentration was higher during spring compared to the other seasons. The air mass origin had an important effect on the particle number concentration and new particle formation events. Air masses from northwest (i.e. inner Asia) favored the new particle formation events, while air masses from southeast showed the highest particle mass concentration. Significant diurnal variations in particle number were observed, which could be linked to new particle formation events, i.e. gas-to-particle conversion. During particle formation events, the number concentration of the nucleation mode rose up to maximum value of 104 cm−3. New particle formation events were observed on 36% of the effective measurement days. The formation rate ranged from 0.7 to 72.7 cm−3 s−1, with a mean value of 8.0 cm−3 s−1. The value of the nucleation mode growth rate was in the range of 0.3–14.5 nm h−1, with a mean value of 4.3 nm h−1. It was an essential observation that on many occasions the nucleation mode was able to grow into the size of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) within a matter of several hours. Furthermore, the new particle formation was regularly followed by a measurable increase in particle mass concentration and extinction coefficient, indicative of a high abundance of condensable vapors in the atmosphere under study