Parsing human skeletons in an operating room

Multiple human pose estimation is an important yet challenging problem. In an operating room (OR) environment, the 3D body poses of surgeons and medical staff can provide important clues for surgical workflow analysis. For that purpose, we propose an algorithm for localizing and recovering body poses of multiple human in an OR environment under a multi-camera setup. Our model builds on 3D Pictorial Structures and 2D body part localization across all camera views, using convolutional neural networks (ConvNets). To evaluate our algorithm, we introduce a dataset captured in a real OR environment. Our dataset is unique, challenging and publicly available with annotated ground truths. Our proposed algorithm yields to promising pose estimation results on this dataset.     

Point Light Source Estimation from Two Images and Its Limits

In this paper, the performance of parameter estimation of a single static distant point light source from two video images is analyzed in terms of estimation theory. The illumination parameters are the intensity and direction of the light source.In the first part of this paper, estimators from the literature are reviewed. Most recent estimators evaluate as input data two video images as well as the 3D shape and the 3D motion of the visible moving objects.In the second part of the paper, the performance of these recent methods is analyzed. The input data to estimation as well as the inherent input data errors are described by a stochastic observation model. Based on this model, the performance is analyzed regarding the Cramér-Rao theoretical lower bound of estimation error variances. The bound is derived for a variety of cases of scene illumination, object motion and errors in input data. For simplification purpose, the bound is valid only for object motions with the rotation axis lying in the image plane. The analysis shows in which cases which estimation accuracy can be expected with current methods.Finally, a comparison of the bound with one of the recent estimators shows that recent estimators are suboptimal in case of errors in the 3D shape of the objects. In future work, the stochastic observation model presented in this paper can be used to improve illumination estimation.     

Isolation of red wine components with anti-adhesion and anti-biofilm activity against Streptococcus mutans

Red wine is a widely consumed beverage with multiple beneficial effects on human health. In the present paper, the anticaries properties of red wine were studied in vitro and ex vivo. Our in vitro findings shows that dealcoholised red wine, besides exerting antibacterial activity, strongly interferes with Streptococcus mutans adhesion to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite (sHA) beads, promotes its detachment from sHA, and powerfully inhibits in vitro biofilm formation. The main components responsible for such activities were found to be proanthocyanidins. The ability of red wine to inhibit ex vivoS. mutans biofilm formation on the occlusal surface of natural human teeth also was demonstrated.     

Oxidation resistance improvement of arc-evaporated TiN hard coatings by silicon addition

Ti-Si-N coatings were deposited on M2 steel by arc evaporation using a Ti-Si composite target in an industrial reactor. The films structure before and after heat treatment at 700 °C was characterised by XRD. In addition, two types of quantitative experiments were performed in thermobalance: oxidation rate was deduced from isothermal thermogravimetric analyses at 800 °C, while the temperature of oxidation beginning (Tc) was measured in dynamic mode. Tc was then calculated by a mathematical approximation based on the non-linear least square. The results were compared to those obtained using TiN and SiN_x standards.Depending on the deposition conditions, ternary films have been deposited with an atomic ratio Si/Ti of 0.10 and 0.15. The hardness of the films was close to 40 GPa. Only the TiN phase was detected by XRD. The mean crystal size was estimated to be in the 6-8 nm range, which suggested the nanocomposite nature of the coatings. After air oxidation at 700 °C, it was found that this crystal size was not affected by the thermal treatment, indicating a good thermal stability of the structure. Moreover, incorporation of silicon into TiN-based coatings led to a drastic decrease of their oxidation rate, together with a shift of 200 °C of Tc. The high resistance of oxidation of Ti-Si-N films at elevated temperature is attributable to the network of refractory SiN_x, which acted as a diffusion barrier for oxygen and insulated TiN nanograins from the aggressive atmosphere.     

Characterization of the Melt Quality and Impurity Content of an Lm25 Alloy

The melt quality of an LM25 aluminum casting alloy has been examined using reduced pressure test (RPT) measurements, porous disc filtration analysis (PoDFA), and fatigue and tensile tests. The aim of this study was to determine the existing melt quality and thus to evaluate methods used with respect to monitoring and improving melt cleanliness. Special emphasis was given to the influence of oxides. It was found that the melt quality has varying degrees of effect on the tests used. The results indicate in particular that it was necessary to distinguish between “new” oxides (bifilms) and “hard” inclusions in the melt, as new oxides impact on porosity, whereas hard inclusions impact on ductility. Based on the results of this study, suggestions for the measurement of the melt quality have been proposed.     

Structural analysis of thermal oxide layers grown on Zircaloy-4 established with the help of chemically homogeneous sputter-deposited Zr-O thin films

In the presence of oxygen, magnetron reactive sputtering of zirconium and superficial oxidation of Zircaloy-4 in a microwave post-discharge lead to the formation of equilibrium and non-equilibrium phases of the Zr-O system. These phases can be obtained in a nearly bulk state, that is with thicknesses of several micrometers, with great chemical and structural homogeneity, in the case of magnetron sputtering. They appear only locally after oxidation. A comparison of microstructural features and conditions for the appearance of the metastable oxide-type phases shows, for the two treatments, many analogies. This allows the formulation of some hypotheses about their stabilization mechanism. In particular, it is shown that deviation from ZrO₂ stoichiometry (defined by - ZrO₂) always leads to the formation of a phase normally found at higher temperatures. Therefore, by increasing the oxygen concentration deficit, β-ZrO₂, ψ-ZrO₂ and an amorphous phase are successively encountered.     

Schmelzequalität von Al-Legierungen – Charakterisierung als Basis für Verbesserungen

Melt quality has a strong influence on all relevant properties of casting parts. For that reason melt quality attaches great importance. The aim of this study was to determine the existing melt quality in a foundry. Special emphasis was given to the influence of bifilms on melt quality and gas porosity formation. For this publication, the secondary alloy LM25 was chosen (AlSi7Mg0,5(Cu,Fe)). The melt quality was determined using reduced pressure test (RPT), porous disc filtration analysis (PoDFA), and fatigue and tensile testing techniques. The qualification of the RPT for evaluation of melt quality was examined. Furthermore, the RPT was developed into the advanced RPT. Based on the results of this study, suggestions for the measurement and moreover improvement of the melt quality have been proposed.     

Inverse display characterization: A two‐step parametric model for digital displays

Abstract— A simple additivity model is often used as a basic model for digital‐display characterization. However, such a simple model cannot satisfy the needs of demanding color‐management applications all the time. On the other hand, systematic sampling of the color space and 3‐D interpolation is an expensive method in terms of measurement and computation time when precision is needed. This paper presents an enhanced method to characterize the XYZ‐to‐RGB transform of a digital display. This parametric method exploits the independence between the luminance variation of the electro‐optic response and the colorimetric responses for certain display types. The model is generally applicable to digital displays, including 3‐DMD projectors, single DMDs, CRTs, LCDs, etc., if the independence condition is satisfied. While the problem to solve is a 3‐D‐to‐3‐D transformation (from XYZ to RGB), the proposed parametric model is the composition of a 2‐D transform followed by a 1‐D transform. The 2‐D transform manages the chromatic aspects and, in succession, the 1‐D transform manages the luminance variations. This parametric digital model is applicable in the field of color management, with the objective of characterizing digital displays and applying a reference look such as a film look.     

Correlation between thermal fatigue and thermomechanical properties during the oxidation of multilayered TiSiN nanocomposite coatings synthesized by a hybrid physical/chemical vapour deposition process

TiSiN and TiSiAlN coatings were deposited on M2 steel by a hybrid physical/chemical vapour deposition process. SiH₄ was used as precursor for Si, while metals were brought by arc evaporation. This hybrid process allowed us to control the silicon enrichment along the coating thickness. Both films were synthesized applying a serrated silane partial pressure during deposition, leading to a multilayered structure with a 700 nm period. X-ray diffraction analyses showed only TiN peaks, whose width revealed a mean grain size below 10 nm. The multilayer structure and the nanometric size of the grains in layers containing a high Si content were observed by cross-section microscopy in transmission mode. Mechanical properties were improved compared to both TiN and SiN_x references, in relation to the nanocomposite microstructure of layers enriched in silicon. The oxidation behaviour was assessed by thermogravimetric analyses. The oxidation resistance was studied in isothermal, dynamic as well as cycling (10-cycle runs 25-800-25 °C) conditions. The multilayered nanocomposite TiSiN film exhibited a high durability in terms of mechanical and oxidation behaviours. Thermal cycling experiments revealed its high resistance which seems to result from a synergy between the shield effect of the SiN_x network — that would limit the oxidation process — and the intrinsic “deformability” of TiN layers — that would withstand the volume modifications of the substrate due to temperature variations. A further addition of aluminium, without significantly affecting the mechanical properties, contributes to the improvement of the oxidation resistance thanks to the formation of the expected outer refractory alumina layer.