The Marching Intersections algorithm for merging range images

A new algorithm for the integration of partially overlapping range images into a triangular mesh is presented. The algorithm consists of three main steps: it locates the intersections between the range surfaces and a reference grid chosen by the user, then merges all nearly coincident and redundant intersections according to a proximity criterion, and, finally, reconstructs the merged surface(s) from the filtered intersection set. Compared with previous methods, which adopt a volumetric approach, our algorithm shows lower computational costs and improves the accuracy of the surfaces produced. It takes into account the quality of the input measurements and is able to patch small holes corresponding to the parts of the 3D scanned object that were not observed by the acquisition device. The algorithm has been tested on several datasets of range maps; graphical and numeric results are reported.     

Diet and Proteinuria: State of Art

Proteinuria is a broad term used to describe the pathological presence of proteins, including albumin, globulin, Bence-Jones protein, and mucoprotein in the urine. When persistent, proteinuria is a marker of kidney damage and represents a reliable predictor of the risk of progression of renal failure. Medical nutrition therapy is imperative for patients with proteinuria because it may slow the progression of renal disease. The aim of this review is to explore different nutritional approaches in the management of proteinuria and their influence on pathophysiological processes. As such, protein restriction is the main dietary intervention. Indeed, other management approaches are frequently used to reduce it regarding micro and macronutrients, but also the dietary style. Among these, the nutritional approach represents one of the most used and controversial interventions and the studies rarely take the form of randomized and controlled trials. With this work we aspire to analyze current clinical knowledge of how nutrition could influence proteinuria, potentially representing a useful tool in the management of proteinuric nephropathy.     

IL-33 and IL-37: A Possible Axis in Skin and Allergic Diseases

Interleukin (IL)-37 and IL-33 are among the latest cytokines identified, playing a role in several inflammatory conditions, spanning from systemic conditions to tumors to localized diseases. As newly discovered interleukins, their role is still scarcely understood, but their potential role as therapeutic targets or disease activity markers suggests the need to reorganize the current data for a better interpretation. The aim of this review is to collect and organize data produced by several studies to create a complete picture. The research was conducted on the PubMed database, and the resulting articles were sorted by title, abstract, English language, and content. Several studies have been assessed, mostly related to atopic dermatitis and immunologic pathways. Collective data demonstrates a pro-inflammatory role of IL-33 and an anti-inflammatory one for IL-37, possibly related to each other in an IL-33/IL-37 axis. Although further studies are needed to assess the safety and plausibility of targeting these two interleukins for patients affected by skin conditions, the early results indicate that both IL-33 and IL-37 represent markers of disease activity.     

State-of-the-Art on Wound Vitality Evaluation: A Systematic Review

The vitality demonstration refers to determining if an injury has been caused ante- or post-mortem, while wound age means to evaluate how long a subject has survived after the infliction of an injury. Histology alone is not enough to prove the vitality of a lesion. Recently, immunohistochemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology have been introduced in the field of lesions vitality and age demonstration. The study was conducted according to the preferred reporting items for systematic review (PRISMA) protocol. The search terms were “wound”, “lesion”, “vitality”, “evaluation”, “immunohistochemistry”, “proteins”, “electrolytes”, “mRNAs”, and “miRNAs” in the title, abstract, and keywords. This evaluation left 137 scientific papers. This review aimed to collect all the knowledge on vital wound demonstration and provide a temporal distribution of the methods currently available, in order to determine the age of lesions, thus helping forensic pathologists in finding a way through the tangled jungle of wound vitality evaluation.     

昨天/明天: 意大利城市保护与发展50年

本文记录了意大利城市保护的理论和文化信息,更重要的是,它展示了由城市和区域部门执行的具体保护案例,并展示了大学研究中心在保护技术和方法上的进步。主要分为4个部分：历史、城市议题、景观议题、培训和国际合作。从城市设计的理念和技术的角度,向世人解析意大利古罗马建筑如何在现代化城市进程中愈加焕发时尚气息的领先技术。中国现阶段正经历着经济快速发展所带来的种种迷惑,或许能从分享中找到答案。     

J-Integral for Deep and Shallow Notches Under Torsion

J-integral has been calculated along the free-of-stress border of deep and shallow rounded notches under torsion, under the hypothesis of a linear elastic behaviour of the material. Two exact closed-form solutions have been obtained which make it explicit the influence of the notch opening angle and the notch root radius. When the notch root radius tends to zero the proposed solution matches the expression for the corresponding pointed V-notch case.     

Electrode surface treatments in sludge electro-osmosis dewatering

The sewage sludge dewatering produced by wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) is a multifaceted process due to the presence of colloid fractions. Electro-osmosis could be a suitable technique to reduce the water content of the final sludge. Electric fields of 10, 15, and 20?V/cm have been studied for electro-osmosis tests under the pressure of a static or rotating piston, obtaining a dry solids content up to 40–45%, with respect to 25–30% obtained by mechanical methods. In order to optimize the process, the corrosion behavior and the wear of the anodic material appear to be the main critical aspects, due to the high circulating current density and the use of a rotating electrode. We compared the efficiency and the corrosion resistance of dimensionally stable anodes (DSA) with respect to bare stainless steel (AISI 304) and stainless steel coated by PVD technique with TiN, AlTiN, and DLC. Characterization of the anode surfaces by SEM and potentiodynamic tests show that DSA is the most suitable material for our application. However, efficiencies of the electro-osmosis processes have been found comparable, in terms of developed current densities and total energy consumptions, for short-test duration.     

On the Modeling of the Diffraction Pattern from Metal Nanocrystals

The powder diffraction patterns of spherical nanocrystals made of five different fcc metals were generated using atomistic models within a Molecular Dynamics simulation. Static and dynamic effects are interpreted and discussed within the framework of two different approaches, respectively, based on (1) a Reciprocal Space and (2) a Direct Space representation of diffraction. Chosen elements display a wide range of properties, especially related to material stiffness and elastic anisotropy, so to deeply challenge interpretation paradigms. The effect of the shape on static and dynamic features is also addressed.     

Determination of pyrethroids in chicken egg samples: development and validation of a confirmatory analytical method by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

The aim of this study was to develop and validate an efficient analytical method based on gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) for detection and quantification of six pyrethroids residues (Phenothrin, Permethrin, Cyfluthrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin and Fenvalerate) in chicken eggs. The method was based on a preliminary liquid–liquid extraction of albumen‐free yolk samples, followed by a clean‐up by solid‐phase extraction. GC/MS/MS analyses were carried out in the selected reaction monitoring mode. Validation parameters such as specificity, detection capability, decision limit, precision, recovery, stability and ruggedness were determined, resulting in compliance with Decision 2002/657/EC. No complicated apparatus are required; moreover, low volumes of organic solvents and a nonintensive manual labour are required. These low costs and simple procedure, based on rapid and safe operations, may represent a useful tool in the routine analysis of pyrethroids pesticides, in the place of the currently used conventional techniques.