3D Hair sketching for real-time dynamic & key frame animations

Physically based simulation of human hair is a well studied and well known problem. But the “pure” physically based representation of hair (and other animation elements) is not the only concern of the animators, who want to “control” the creation and animation phases of the content. This paper describes a sketch-based tool, with which a user can both create hair models with different styling parameters and produce animations of these created hair models using physically and key frame-based techniques. The model creation and animation production tasks are all performed with direct manipulation techniques in real-time.     

Sediment Concentration and Its Prediction by Perceptron Kalman Filtering Procedure

Predictions of the discharge and the associated sediment concentration are very useful ingredients in any water resources reservoir design, planning, maintenance, and operation. Although there are many empirical relationships between the discharge and sediment concentration amounts, they need estimation of model parameters. Generally, parameter estimations are achieved through the regression method (RM), which has several restrictive assumptions. Such models are locally valid and their structures and parameter values are questionable from region to others. This paper proposes a new approach for sediment concentration prediction provided that there are measurements of discharge and sediment concentration. The basis of the methodology is a dynamic transitional model between successive time instances based on two variables, namely, discharge and sediment concentration measurements. The transition matrix elements are estimated from the measurements through a special form of the artificial neural networks as perceptrons. The sediment concentration predictions from discharge measurements are achieved through a perceptron Kalman filtering (PKF) technique. In the meantime, this technique also provides temporal predictions. A certain portion of the measurement sequence is employed for the model parameter estimations through training and the remaining part is used for the model verification. Detailed comparisons between RM and PKF approaches are presented and, finally, it is shown that the latter model works dynamically by simulating the observation scatter diagram in the best possible manner with smaller prediction errors. The application of the methodology is performed for the discharge and sediment concentration measurements obtained from the Mississippi River basin at St. Louis, Missouri. It is found that the PKF methodology has smaller average relative, root-mean-square, and absolute errors than RM. Furthermore, graphical representation, such as the scatter and frequency diagrams, indicated that the PKF approach has superiority over the RM.     

A protein which masks galactose receptor mediated phage susceptibility in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis MPL56

A 28.5-kb plasmid, isolated from Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis MPL56, causes complete inhibition of four lactococcal phages. Cell wall characteristics of wild-type strain MPL56 were compared with its 28.5 kb plasmid-cured, phage-sensitive derivative MPL56-22. After proteolytic enzyme treatments, adsorption of phages occurred at high levels, an example is 94.6–98.5% in MPL56 cells. Analysis of cell wall extracts of MPL56-22 by sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) indicated that the only difference between strains was the 55.4 kDa band in protein patterns of MPL56. Adsorption of the four phages was completely inhibited when MPL56-22 cells were subjected to SDS, Triton-X-100, HCl and NaOH treatments. Lectins that were specific for glucose/mannose and N-acetylglucosamine did not prevent adsorption of phages in cell wall extracts of MPL 56-22. However a lectin specific for galactose (MCA; Momordica charantia ) completely inhibited adsorption of these phages in cell wall extracts of MPL56-22. HPLC patterns of cell wall carbohydrates of MPL56-22 and its HCl treated preparations showed that the most prevalent difference was the galactose on untreated MPL56-22 cell wall chromatograms.     

Relation between abrasion resistance and flexural strength of high volume fly ash concrete

In this paper, abrasion of high volume fly ash (HVFA) concretes made with 50% and 70% of cement replacement with fly ash was assessed in terms of its relation to flexural tensile strength. Comparisons were made between normal Portland cement (NPC) concrete and fly ash concrete. Comparisons were also made between fly ash concretes. Investigation results have shown that the abrasion resistance increased as flexural tensile strength increased. Analysis of the results showed that, for concrete with tensile strength of greater than 4–5 MPa, the abrasion resistance of HVFA concrete with 70% replacement with cement was found to be higher than that of counterpart control NPC concrete and concrete made with 50% fly ash. The comparison between the relation of abrasion to compressive strength and abrasion to flexural tensile strength made in terms of R² of the linear regression showed that a stronger relation existed between abrasion and flexural tensile strength than that of abrasion to compressive strength of the concrete studied.

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Résumé L'étude a pour but d'estimer la relation entre la résistance à l'usure avec la résistance à la traction en flexion des bétons contenant de 50% et 70% de cendres volantes. On a comparé le béton pur au béton contenant des cendres volantes. Des comparaisons ont été faites également entre les différents bétons contenant des cendres volantes. Les resultats de la recherche ont montré que la résistance à l'usure augmente à mesure que la résistance à la traction en flexion de 4∼5 MPa ont une résistance à l'usure plus grande s'ils contienneint 70% de cendres volantes que s'ils étaient purs ou contenaient 50% de cendres volantes. La comparaison entre les relation de la résistance à l'usure en compression et de la résistance à l'usure en traction a été établie en termes de R² de la régression linéaire. On a prouvé qu'une relation plus forte a été obtenue entre la résistance à l'usure et la résistance à la traction en flexion par rapport à la résistance à l'usure en compression du béton étudié.

     

Design improvements on rotary valve particle feeders used for obtaining suspended airflows

The back repulsion of low density particles, sticking of particles in feeder valve and interlocking and cohesive archs of particles in feeder hopper have been widely observed problems of a conventional rotary valve feeder used for feeding of granular particles into an airflow line. In this study, these problems of the rotary valve feeders were isolated by means of novel modifications to its conventional design. Results of the modifications showed that the modified feeder can be sensitively used to feed granular particles with mass feeding rates ranging between 5±0.15 and 85±0.85 g/s without encountering problems experienced with conventional rotary valves.     

Use of Warranties on Highway Projects: A Real Option Perspective

Since the introduction of warranty provisions in federal highway jobs, more and more state departments of transportation (DOTs) have considered the use of such provisions to protect their initial investment. This paper describes the pros and cons of warranty contracting in highway construction based on a survey of warranty practices in the United States. In particular, the need for state DOTs to buy a warranty for a well-built project is questioned. As an alternative, this paper introduces the warranty option, which gives the DOT the right to buy a warranty only if it becomes necessary at the end of construction. This option is exercised if the performance on site warrants it. This paper describes the mechanics of the warranty option and its advantages over the conventional warranty. A bid evaluation model is also developed for the warranty option approach.     

A method for preparing collagen graft materials

The aim of this research was to develop a method of local production of collagen graft materials which are presently imported. The following methods were used to produce collagen membrane and sponge from human placentas and rat tail tendons. Collagen type I was isolated from human placenta and rat tail tendon by acetic acid extraction and characterised by SDS-PAGE. The collagen sponge was prepared by dissolving the collagen in HCl. The resulting dispersion was poured into a glass container, freeze-dried and then cross-linked by immersion in glutaraldehyde solution. It was then washed with distilled water and freeze-dried again. The collagen membrane was also similarly prepared by dispersing lyophilized collagen in HCl but then mixed with glutaraldehyde, exposed to U.V. light and later air dried.