A survey on hair modeling: styling, simulation, and rendering

Realistic hair modeling is a fundamental part of creating virtual humans in computer graphics. This paper surveys the state of the art in the major topics of hair modeling: hairstyling, hair simulation, and hair rendering. Because of the difficult, often unsolved problems that arise in alt these areas, a broad diversity of approaches is used, each with strengths that make it appropriate for particular applications. We discuss each of these major topics in turn, presenting the unique challenges facing each area and describing solutions that have been presented over the years to handle these complex issues. Finally, we outline some of the remaining computational challenges in hair modeling     

Effects of the self-contained breathing apparatus and fire protective clothing on maximal oxygen uptake

To examine the effects of firefighting personal protective ensemble (PPE) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) on exercise performance, 12 males completed two randomly ordered, graded exercise treadmill tests (GXTPPE and GXTPT). Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) during GXTPPE was 17.3% lower than the GXTPT in regular exercise clothing (43.0 +/- 5.7 vs. 52.4 +/- 8.5 ml/kg per min, respectively). The lower VO2max during the PPE condition was significantly related (r = 0.81, p < 0.05) to attenuated peak ventilation (142.8 +/- 18.0 vs. 167.1 +/- 15.6 l/min), which was attributed to a significant reduction in tidal volume (2.6 +/- 10.4 vs. 3.2 +/- 0.4 l). Breathing frequency at peak exercise was unchanged (55 +/- 7 vs. 53 +/- 7 breaths/min). The results of this investigation demonstrate that PPE and the SCBA have a negative impact on VO2max. These factors must be considered when evaluating aerobic demands of fire suppression work and the fitness levels of firefighters.     

Simultaneous detection of both coronary borders

A method for simultaneous detection of both coronary borders that is based on three-dimensional graph searching principles is presented. The simultaneous method and the authors' previously reported conventional method were applied to 29 coronary images, of which 19 were selected because conventional methods might be expected to have difficulty. Coronary borders identified by the two methods were visually compared. In the 19 difficult images, simultaneous border detection yielded superior results in 7 images and equivalent results in 12 images. Superior or equivalent results were obtained in the remaining 10 typical images. In a set of 43 uncomplicated images, minimal lumen diameters derived using simultaneous border detection correlated well with diameters derived using conventional border detection (r=0.97), diameters obtained from observer-defined borders (r=0.91), and diameters obtained using the Brown-Dodge quantitative coronary arteriography method (r=0.85). Thus simultaneous detection of left and right coronary borders provides improved accuracy in the detection of vessel borders in difficult coronary angiograms.     

Image analysis using mathematical morphology

For the purposes of object or defect identification required in industrial vision applications, the operations of mathematical morphology are more useful than the convolution operations employed in signal processing because the morphological operators relate directly to shape. The tutorial provided in this paper reviews both binary morphology and gray scale morphology, covering the operations of dilation, erosion, opening, and closing and their relations. Examples are given for each morphological concept and explanations are given for many of their interrelationships.