124,606 research outputs found
A survey of methods to detect and represent the human symmetry line from 3D scanned human back
No full textAbstract This paper proposes a review of the methods to detect and represent the human symmetry line. In the last years, the development of 3D scanners has allowed to replace the traditional techniques (marking based methods) with modern methodologies that, starting from a 3D valid discrete geometric model of the back, perform the posture and vertebral column detection based on a complex processing of the acquired data. The purpose of the paper is a critical d iscussion of the state of the art in order to highlight the real potentialit ies and the limitations still present of the most important methodologies proposed for human symmetry line detection
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Novel “load adaptive algorithm based” procedure for 3D printing of lattice-based components showing parametric curved micro-beams
No full textThis work deals with the development, the application and the experimental validation of a procedure based on an algorithm, running in a finite element environment replacing the continuous mass of convex solids with a cancellous bone-inspired lattice structure showing curved beams oriented on the basis of the external forces, sharing with it border and boundary conditions. For the validation of the new lattice structure a cubic representative volume element, showing curved micro-beams, was chosen, implementing periodic boundary conditions. At the end, the algorithm created a. stl file to be printed by a 3D printer using an appropriate polymer. The numerical results were compared with experimental results obtained by compression tests. The experimental/numerical correlation confirmed the validity of the FEM “beam element – based” lattice structure that could be applied to different solid shapes
Novel “load adaptive algorithm based” procedure for 3D printing of cancellous bone-inspired structures
No full textThis work shows the practical application and the experimental validation of a procedure based on an algorithm, running in a finite element environment, able to operate inside a convex three-dimensional solid by replacing the continuous mass with an appropriate cancellous bone-inspired space frame sharing, with the solid, the border and organized for having the fibres oriented according to the boundary conditions. The purpose is to reach the maximum mechanical efficiency realizing a load adaptive space frame optimized in terms of weight. Young's moduli of a cubic virtual specimen were numerically estimated. Fifteen specimens were printed by a 3D printer using a titanium alloy. Numerical results were compared with experimental ones obtained by tensile tests. The simulation results confirmed the validity of the FEM “beam element-based” space frame
Dashboard Reachability and Usability Tests: A Cheap and Effective Method for Drivers' Comfort Rating
No full textGeneral comfort may be defined as the "level of well-being" perceived by humans in a working environment. The state-of-the-art about evaluation of comfort/discomfort shows the need for an objective method to evaluate the "effect in the internal body" and "perceived effects" in main systems of comfort perception. In the early phases of automotive design, the seating and dashboard command can be virtually prototyped, and, using Digital Human Modeling (DHM) software, several kinds of interactions can me modeled to evaluate the ergonomics and comfort of designed solutions. Several studies demonstrated that DHM approaches are favorable in virtual reachability and usability tests as well as in macro-ergonomics evaluations, but they appear insufficient in terms of evaluating comfort. Comfort level is extremely difficult to detect and measure; in fact, it is affected by individual perceptions and always depends on the biomechanical, physiological, and psychological state of the tester during task execution. These parameters cannot be modeled using software and instead have to be tested on physical models. A seating buck is often used to prototype a driver's seat, and virtual, mixed, and augmented reality devices help designers to improve ergonomics and comfort of a human-machine interface (HMI). In such environments, both postural and cognitive comfort can be evaluated, but often, testers' opinions are affected by devices, their interaction with designers, and especially, posture analysis systems. One solution to this kind of perception alteration can be found in non-invasive acquisition methods, such as acoustic, magnetic, or optical methods. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but all share the same characteristics: they are expensive and difficult to calibrate and use. This paper presents a new method for objectifying and evaluating postural and cognitive comfort levels based on human posture analysis and a questionnaire to evaluate cognitive performance. The posture acquisition method employs commercial low-cost cameras on tripods. The comfort evaluation methods, previously developed at the University of Salerno, are based on several experimental test campaigns, statistical processing, and biomedical studies. The method was tested in terms of reachability and usability for automotive drivers and was performed in a B-segment car (FIAT Grande Punto). A sensitivity analysis was performed to correlate the low resolution of the photographic acquisition with the consequent errors in the comfort evaluation. Posture acquisition errors were analyzed using DHM (DELMIA) software
Influence of 3D printing parameters on the properties of PLA/clay nanocomposites
No full textThe aim of this work was to study the influence of printing temperature in the 3D printing process of PLA/clay nanocomposites. For this reason, PLA 4032D was melt compounded in a twin screw extruder with a layered silicate (Cloisite 30B) at 4 wt%. Then, using a single screw extruder, PLA and PLA/clay filaments were produced so as to obtain the required diameter (1.75 mm). Finally, dog-bone specimens were 3D printed via FDM technique using three different temperatures (185, 200 and 215°C) and such specimens were mechanically tested in tensile mode. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) on PLA/clay filaments reported an increase of storage modulus both at 35°C and 70°C (8 and 40 %, respectively) in comparison to the PLA filament. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) demonstrated the ability of nanoclay to act as nucleating agent because cold crystallization temperature decreased of about 10°C. Finally, nanocomposite 3D printed samples exhibited always higher elastic modulus than PLA specimens and it increases at increasing printing temperature
Stromal niche communalities underscore the contribution of the matricellular protein SPARC to B-cell development and lymphoid malignancies
No full textNeoplastic B-cell clones commonly arise within secondary lymphoid organs (SLO). However, during disease progression, lymphomatous cells may also colonize the bone marrow (BM), where they localize within specialized stromal niches, namely the osteoblastic and the vascular niche, according to their germinal center-or extra-follicular-derivation, respectively. We hypothesized the existence of common stromal motifs in BM and SLO B-cell lymphoid niches involved in licensing normal B-cell development as well as in fostering transformed B lymphoid cells. Thus, we tested the expression of prototypical mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) markers and regulatory matricellular proteins in human BM and SLO under physiologically unperturbed conditions and during B-cell lymphoma occurrence. We identified common stromal features in the BM osteoblastic niche and SLO germinal center (GC) microenvironments, traits that were also enriched within BM infiltrates of GC-associated B-cell lymphomas, suggesting that stromal programs involved in central and peripheral B-cell lymphopoiesis are also involved in malignant B-cell nurturing. Among factors co-expressed by stromal elements within these different specialized niches, we identified the pleiotropic matricellular protein secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC). The actual role of stromal SPARC in normal B-cell lymphopoiesis, investigated in Sparc(-/-) mice and BM chimeras retaining the Sparc(-/-) genotype in host stroma, demonstrated defective BM and splenic B-cell lymphopoiesis. Moreover, in the Trp53 knockout (KO) lymphoma model, p53(-/-)/Sparc(-/-) double-KO mice displayed impaired spontaneous splenic B-cell lymphomagenesis and reduced neoplastic clone BM infiltration in comparison with their p53(-/-)/Sparc(+/+) counterparts. Our results are among the first to demonstrate the existence of common stromal programs regulating both the BM osteoblastic niche and the SLO GC lymphopoietic functions potentially fostering the genesis and progression of B-cell malignancies
Layered silicate reinforced polylactic acid filaments for 3D printing of polymer nanocomposites
No full textIn this study, the possibility to use a layered silicate reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) in additive manufacturing applications was investigated. In particular, after melt compounding in a twin-screw extruder a filament for 3D printing applications was produced using a single-screw extruder. The influence of nanoclay on mechanical, thermal and viscoelastic properties of the produced filaments was investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results reveal an increase in crystallinity for the nanocomposites and the presence of two crystalline forms (α and α'). Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMA) results show that storage modulus increased for the nanocomposites when compared with neat PLA. Finally, the extruded PLA/clay filaments were successfully 3D printed using fused deposition modelling (FDM) technique. The printed nanocomposites showed a higher elastic modulus (15%) compared to printed samples of neat PLA. Moreover, PLA/clay printed samples present also a better shape stability, showing sharper edges
Pragmatic Case Studies as a Source of Unity in Applied Psychology
No full textTo unify or not to unify applied psychology: that is the question. In this article we review pendulum swings in the historical efforts to answer this question—from a comprehensive, positivist, “top-down,” deductive yes between the 1930s and the early 60s, to a postmodern no since then. A rationale and proposal for a limited, “bottom-up,” inductive yes in applied psychology is then presented, employing a case-based paradigm that integrates both positivist and postmodern themes and components. This paradigm is labeled “pragmatic psychology” and, its specific use of case studies, the “Pragmatic Case Study Method” (“PCS Method”). We call for the creation of peer-reviewed journal-databases of pragmatic case studies as a foundational source of unifying applied knowledge in our discipline. As one example, the potential of the PCS Method for unifying different angles of theoretical regard is illustrated in an area of applied psychology, psychotherapy, via the case of Mrs. B. The article then turns to the broader historical and epistemological arguments for the unifying nature of the PCS Method in both applied and basic psychology.Peer reviewe
- …
