A lighting coordinate database for 3D art objects

Artists making three-dimensional art objects have an idea in their minds about how to illuminate their creations. For museums and galleries to illuminate these objects successfully according to the ideas of the artist, the types of light sources and their locations must be known. To fulfil this requirement, we propose a lighting coordinate database (LCD) to establish the coordinates of light sources. We describe two possible methods of obtaining data for this database: a computer software method and a hardware method. The head of Michelangelo's David is used to test the applicability of the two methods. In the software method, the scanned image of David's head is illuminated on the computer screen and data for the location of light sources are created. In the hardware method, a second set of data is created by illuminating a scale model of David using light emitting diodes (LED).     

Comorbidity and course of psychiatric disorders in a community sample of former prisoners of war

OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed DSM-III-R disorders among American former prisoners of war. Comorbidity, time of onset, and the relationship of trauma severity to complicated versus uncomplicated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were examined. METHOD: A community sample (N=262) of men exposed to combat and imprisonment was assessed by clinicians using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. RESULTS: The rates of comorbidity among the men with PTSD were lower than rates from community samples assessed by lay interviewers. Over one-third of the cases of lifetime PTSD were uncomplicated by another axis I disorder; over one-half of the cases of current PTSD were uncomplicated. PTSD almost always emerged soon after exposure to trauma. Lifetime PTSD was associated with increased risk of lifetime panic disorder, major depression, alcohol abuse/dependence, and social phobia. Current PTSD was associated with increased risk of current panic disorder, dysthymia, social phobia, major depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. Relative to PTSD, the onset of the comorbid disorders was as follows: major depression, predominantly secondary; alcohol abuse/dependence and agoraphobia, predominantly concurrent (same year); social phobia, equal proportions primary and concurrent; and panic disorder, equal proportions concurrent and secondary. Trauma exposure was comparable in the subjects with complicated and uncomplicated PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: The types of comorbid diagnoses and their patterns of onset were comparable to the diagnoses and patterns observed in other community samples. The findings support the validity of the PTSD construct; PTSD can be distinguished from comorbid disorders. Uncomplicated PTSD may be more common than previous studies suggest, particularly in clinician-assessed subjects exposed to severe trauma.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder in a community group of former prisoners of war: a normative response to severe trauma

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to assess and describe the long-term impact of traumatic prisoner of war (POW) experiences within the context of posttraumatic psychopathology. Specifically, the authors attempted to investigate the relative degree of normative response represented by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in comparison to other DSM axis I disorders often found to be present, either alone or concomitant with other disorders, in survivors of trauma. METHOD: A community group of 262 U.S. World War II and Korean War former POWs was recruited. These men had been exposed to the multiple traumas of combat, capture, and imprisonment, yet few had ever sought mental health treatment. They were assessed for psychopathology with diagnostic interviews and psychodiagnostic testing. Regression analyses were used to assess the contributions of age at capture, war trauma, and postwar social support to PTSD and the other diagnosed disorders. RESULTS: More than half of the men (53%) met criteria for lifetime PTSD, and 29% met criteria for current PTSD. The most severely traumatized group (POWs held by the Japanese) had PTSD lifetime rates of 84% and current rates of 59%. Fifty-five percent of those with current PTSD were free from the other current axis I disorders (uncomplicated PTSD). In addition, 34% of those with lifetime PTSD had PTSD as their only lifetime axis I diagnosis. Regression analyses indicated that age at capture, severity of exposure to trauma, and postmilitary social support were moderately predictive of PTSD and only weakly predictive of other disorders. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that PTSD is a persistent, normative, and primary consequence of exposure to severe trauma.     

Centrifuged Casting of Ductile Iron Using Composite Mold

Ductile iron is widely used in the automotive and the related industries.The cast products are produced by using centrifugal casting technique.They are high purity alloys and exhibit stability in the microstructure with similar microstructural appearance.When compared with other static casting methods, higher values in the tensile strength, % elongation, hardness, wear resistance and fatigue strength are obtained with centrifugal casting techniques. In this study, the cast products produced by the centrifugal casting technique using the composite mold consisting of ceramics and metal molds are inspected in order to observe the effect of centrifugal forces on the graphite particles present for discussing the changes observed in the graphite particle distribution, the hardness values and the microstructural formation in the direction from the outer to the center part of the cast product.     

Applying software product-line architecture

Many organizations today are investing in software product-line architecture-for good reason: a well-executed architecture enables organizations to respond quickly to a redefined mission or to new and changing markets. It allows them to accelerate the introduction of new products and improve their quality, to reengineer legacy systems, and to manage and enhance the many product variations needed for international markets. However, technically excellent product line architectures do fail, often because they are not effectively used. Some are developed but never used; others lose value as product teams stop sharing the common architecture; still others achieve initial success, but fail to keep up with a rapidly growing product mix. Sometimes the architecture deterioration is not noticed at first, masked by what appears to be a productivity increase. To learn what factors determine the effective use of software architecture, the authors looked at Nortel (Northern Telecom), a company with nearly 20 years of experience developing complex software architecture for telecommunications product families. They identified six principles that help reduce the complexity of an evolving family of products and that support and maintain the effective use and integrity of the architecture