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Kinds of Easy Terms modified by Easy Selected AbstractsEASY AND FLEXIBLE BAYESIAN INFERENCE OF QUANTITATIVE GENETIC PARAMETERSEVOLUTION, Issue 6 2009Patrik Waldmann There has been a tremendous advancement of Bayesian methodology in quantitative genetics and evolutionary biology. Still, there are relatively few publications that apply this methodology, probably because the availability of multipurpose and user-friendly software is somewhat limited. It is here described how only a few rows of code of the well-developed and very flexible Bayesian software WinBUGS (Lunn et al. 2000) can be used for inference of the additive polygenic variance and heritabilty in pedigrees of general design. The presented code is illustrated by application to an earlier published dataset of Scots pine. [source] ORIGINAL RESEARCH,ED PHARMACOTHERAPY: Intracavernous Injections of Prostaglandin E1 for Erectile Dysfunction: Patient Satisfaction and Quality of Sex Life on Long-Term TreatmentTHE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2007Benjamin Alexandre MD ABSTRACT Introduction., Since the availability of oral type 5 phosphodiesterase (PDE5) inhibitors for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), patients' views on the use of intracavernous injections (ICI) of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) may have changed. Aim., To assess the satisfaction of patients with long-term ICI. Methods., Patients with ED (>18 years old) who had used ICI of PGE1 for at least 3 months were asked to complete the "EASY" (Evaluation de l'Acceptation des injectionS dans la dYsfonction érectile) questionnaire. Main Outcome Measures., Overall patient satisfaction with ICI, impact on quality of life, ease of use, satisfaction with the quality of erections, and perceived partner satisfaction. Results., Overall, 596 questionnaires met our inclusion criteria. Mean patient age was 62.1 years, mean duration of ED was 61 months, and mean duration of ICI treatment was 35 months. Before using ICI, 43% of patients had taken at least one PDE5 inhibitor; 81% discontinued PDE5 for want of efficacy. The overall satisfaction rate with ICI was 78.3%. ICI met expectations each time in 78.6% of patients and at least half the time in 90% of patients; 86% were ready to recommend ICI to friends. Patients noted improvements in their sex life (70.1%), relationship with their partner (50%), quality of life (44.8%), and confidence in attempting sexual intercourse (80.3%). The mean number of injections was 4.4 per month. Most patients (81.1%) found the injections easy to use. The mean score for pain on injection was 2.09/10 and for pain on erection was 2.15/10. Three-quarters of patients (73.1%) thought that their partners were satisfied with ICI. Conclusion., Patients on long-term ICI/PGE1 can recover a very satisfying sex life. ICI met patients' expectations in terms of efficacy, ease of use, tolerance, and improved sex life. These results should encourage physicians and patients to use ICI when PDE5 fails, is not well tolerated, or is contraindicated. Alexandre B, Lemaire A, Desvaux P, and Amar E. Intracavernous injections of prostaglandin E1 for erectile dysfunction: Patient satisfaction and quality of sex life on long-term treatment. J Sex Med 2007;4:426,431. [source] Hydrocarbon Generation Evolution of Permo-Carboniferous Rocks of the Bohai Bay Basin in ChinaACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 2 2010Yanming ZHU Abstract: The Bohai Bay Basin is a Mesozoic subsidence and Cenozoic rift basin in the North China Craton. Since the deposition of the Permo-Carboniferous hydrocarbon source rock, the basin has undergone many tectonic events. The source rocks have undergone non-uniform uplift, twisting, deep burying, and magmatism and that led to an interrupted or stepwise during the evolution of hydrocarbon source rocks. We have investigated the Permo-Carboniferous hydrocarbon source rocks history of burying, heating, and hydrocarbon generation, not only on the basis of tectonic disturbance and deeply buried but also with new studies on apatite fission track analysis, fluid inclusion measurements, and the application of the numerical simulation of EASY %Ro. The heating temperature of the source rocks continued to rise from the Indosinian to Himalayan stage and reached a maximum at the Late Himalayan. This led to the stepwise increases during organic maturation and multiple stages of hydrocarbon generation. The study delineated the tectonic stages, the intensity of hydrocarbon generation and spatial and temporal distribution of hydrocarbon generations. The hydrocarbon generation occurred during the Indosinian, Yanshanian, and particularly Late Himalayan. The hydrocarbon generation during the late Himalayan stage is the most important one for the Permo-Carboniferous source rocks of the Bohai Bay Basin in China. [source] Design and use of a multimedia trainer for the subject Descriptive GeometryCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 1 2009Máximo Pérez Morales Abstract Less and less time is being dedicated to Descriptive Geometry in Technical Careers. For that reason, a multimedia application that allows us improve and optimize the teaching,learning process in the resolution of typical problems of this subject has been designed. Easy of use, interactiveness or efficiency are characteristics that can be related to this application. In this article, we describe the more important aspects of the developed Multimedia Trainer, as well as the results obtained in an experience with students with the purpose of evaluating its possibilities of use. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 17: 13,24, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae20164 [source] Barrel Plating Rhodium Electrode: Application to Flow Injection Analysis of HydrazineELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 14 2005Jun-Wei Sue Abstract We introduce here the application of barrel plating technology for mass production of disposable-type electrodes. Easy for mass production, barrel plating rhodium electrode (Rh-BPE) is for the first time demonstrated for analytical application. Hydrazine was chosen as a model analyte to elucidate the electrocatalytic and analytical ability of the Rh-BPE system in pH,7 phosphate buffer solution. Flow injection analysis (FIA) of hydrazine showed a linear calibration range of 25,1000,ppb with a slope and a regression coefficient of 5,nA/ppb and 0.9946, respectively. Twenty-two replicate injections of 25,ppb hydrazine showed a relative standard deviation of 3.17% indicating a detection limit (S/N=3) of 2.5,ppb. The system can be continuously operated for 1 day without any alteration in the FIA signals and is tolerable to the interference of oxalic acid, gelatine, Triton X-100, and albumin for even up to 100 times excess in concentration with respect to 400,ppb hydrazine. Since the fabrication cost of the electrode is cheap, it is thus disposable in nature. Furthermore, barrel plating technique can be extendable to other transition metals for application in many fields of research interest. [source] Patient-orientated web sites on laryngectomy: is their information readable?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE, Issue 6 2009L. POTHIER m, language therapist , macmillan, speech POTHIER L. & POTHIER D.D. (2009) European Journal of Cancer Care Patient-orientated web sites on laryngectomy: is their information readable? The objective of the study was to determine levels of readability of commonly accessed websites containing patient information on laryngectomy. A Cross-sectional study of Internet websites was designed. The first 20 websites obtained from a Google® search of the word "laryngectomy" that contained a patient information section were selected. Primary outcome measures were the Flesch Readability Ease Score (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid readability grade (FKRG) score; from these data UK reading age was calculated. The secondary outcome measure was whether or not a site was accredited by an online readability organisation. The reading ages of the 20 sites ranged from 7.8 to 14.7 years with a median of 11.7 years. Half of the Flesch Reading Ease scores were in the "Difficult" or "Fairly difficult" category with 30% falling into the "Standard" or "Fairly easy" categories. Only 20% sites fell into the "Easy" or "Very Easy" categories that are the recommended level for comprehension by the general UK population. Sites not accredited by an online healthcare quality and content control organisation had worse readability scores than those that were not (FRE: p = 0.007, FKRG: p = 0.012). The poor readability of many of the encountered sites about laryngectomy on the Internet may confuse patients who turn to the Internet for information. Methods to improve patient information websites are discussed. [source] Easy to say, difficult to do: diversity management in retailHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2005Carley Foster This article examines how operational managers are interpreting the management of diversity in practice. It is explicitly concerned with the way in which managing diversity was understood and applied in one large, long-established British retailing company. The findings suggest that while the business benefits attributed to diversity management are appealing to employers, it is a concept that lacks clarity for line managers both in terms of what it is and how it should be implemented within the anti-discrimination legal framework. Line managers, familiar with the value of demonstrating a common approach in their decision-making as the key means of defence against claims of discriminatory treatment, regarded a diversity management agenda concerned with recognising and responding to individual differences as more likely to lead to feelings of unfairness and claims of unequal treatment. It will be argued that, in the implementation of organisational diversity initiatives, employers need to take greater account of the tensions facing line managers, their interpretation of diversity management and perceptions of fair treatment as well as the operational context. [source] Sensitivity, Specificity, and Usefulness of the Dutch Fatigue ScaleINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 3 2001Lucas J. Tiesinga PhD Purpose. To test the sensitivity, specificity, and usefulness of the Dutch Fatigue Scale (DUFS), which is based on NANDAs defining characteristics of fatigue. Methods. A cross-sectional design was used among domiciliary patients (N = 213) with chronic heart failure (n = 138) and with breastfeeding postpartum women (n = 75). Findings. Calculations of the sensitivity and specificity of the DUFS, comparisons of the average DUFS sumscores between both nonfatigued and fatigued subjects, as well as between patients with chronic heart failure and postpartum women, and correlation coefficients performed with sociodemographic factors (age, gender, education) demonstrate acceptable psychometric properties. Conclusions. The DUFS is a reliable and valid measurement tool for the assessment of fatigue. Practice Implications. Accurate recognition of the existence and extent of fatigue must precede interventions. Easy to use, reliable tools for the bedside nurse are invaluable assets to practice. Search Terms: Fatigue, measurement of fatigue, psychometric testing [source] Occurrence and levels of indicators and selected pathogens in different sludges and biosolidsJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007C. Guzmán Abstract Aims:, Determine the occurrence and levels of pathogens and indicators in raw and treated sludges and compare their persistence after two different treatments. Methods and Results:, Helminth ova, Cryptosporidium spp., Salmonella spp., enteroviruses, and bacterial and viral indicators were determined in raw sludges and biosolids produced after mesophilic and thermophilic treatments. Except Salmonella, all of the parameters were quantified. Helminth ova were found at very low concentrations even in raw sludges. Viable Cryptosporidium oocysts were still present in most samples of treated sludges. Faecal coliforms, spores of sulphite-reducing clostridia (SSRC), and somatic coliphages were the only indicators with values above their detection limits in most of the samples. Conclusions:, Pathogens were still detected in some treated sludge samples. SSRC were the most resistant micro-organisms to treatments and hence may be an indicator for the reduction of protozoan oocysts. Somatic coliphages constitute an alternative as viral indicators due to their detection in sludges before and after treatment. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Because of the persistence of some pathogens after sludge treatments, additional indicators are needed. SSRC and somatic coliphages are good candidates. Easy and inexpensive methods for the determination of these indicators are feasible both in industrialized and developing countries. [source] Occurrence of bacterial indicators and bacteriophages infecting enteric bacteria in groundwater in different geographical areasJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2006F. Lucena Abstract Aims:, The aim of this research was to determine the suitability of coliphages (bacteriophages) for assessing the microbial quality of groundwater. Methods and Results:, The number of several bacterial indicators (faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci and spores of sulfite-reducing clostridia) and bacteriophages (somatic coliphages, F-specific RNA bacteriophages and bacteriophages infecting Bacteroides fragilis) were determined in groundwater of aquifers in various geographical areas. Results show that the relative abundance, determined as percentages of positive detections, of the bacterial indicators and bacteriophages varies depending on the aquifer. Conclusions:, A single bacterial indicator may not be enough to assess microbiological quality in certain aquifers. One bacterial indicator and a bacteriophage parameter provide more information than two bacterial indicators. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Coliphages (CPH) provide different information from that provided by bacterial indicators on the microbial quality of groundwater in different geographical areas. Easy, fast and inexpensive methods for the detection of CPH are feasible in both industrialized and developing countries. [source] Soft tissue landmark for ultrasound identification of the sciatic nerve in the infragluteal region: the tendon of the long head of the biceps femoris muscleACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 7 2009J. BRUHN Background and objectives: The sciatic nerve block represents one of the more difficult ultrasound-guided nerve blocks. Easy and reliable internal ultrasound landmarks would be helpful for localization of the sciatic nerve. Earlier, during ultrasound-guided posterior approaches to the infragluteal sciatic nerve, the authors recognized a hyperechoic structure at the medial border of the long head of biceps femoris muscle (BFL). The present study was performed to determine whether this is a potential internal landmark to identify the infragluteal sciatic nerve. Methods: The depth and the thickness of this hyperechoic structure, its relationship with the sciatic nerve and the ultrasound visibility of both were recorded in the proximal upper leg of 21 adult volunteers using a linear ultrasound probe in the range of 7,13 MHz. The findings were verified by an anatomical study in two cadavers. Results: The hyperechoic structure at the medial border of the BFL extended in a dorsoventral direction between 1.4±0.6 cm (mean±SD) and 2.8±0.8 cm deep from the surface, with a width of 2.2±0.9 mm. Between 2.6±0.9 and 10.0±1.5 cm distal to the subgluteal fold, the sciatic nerve was consistently identified directly at the ventral end of the hyperechoic structure in all volunteers. The anatomical study revealed that this hyperechoic structure corresponds to tendinous fibres inside and at the medial border of the BFL. Conclusion: The hyperechoic BFL tendon might be a reliable soft tissue landmark for ultrasound localization of the infragluteal sciatic nerve. [source] Development and validation of a method based on a QuEChERS procedure and heart-cutting GC-MS for determination of five mycotoxins in cereal productsJOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE, JSS, Issue 4-5 2010Sara C. Cunha Abstract A new analytical method for the rapid and simultaneous determination of five mycotoxins (zearelenone, deoxynivalenol, Fusarenon X, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol and nivalenol) in breakfast cereals and flours by heart-cutting GC-MS has been developed and validated. Extraction was performed with MeCN, applying a modified QuEChERS (QUick, Easy, CHeap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) procedure, and the extracts were analyzed after a silylation of the analytes under study. Careful optimization of the parameters of Deans Switch device and GC-MS was achieved in order to attain a fast separation in SIM mode, allowing a total run time of only 8,min. Acceptable recoveries for all mycotoxins at two different spiking levels (20 and 100,,g/kg) were achieved with good repeatability (from 9 to 21%). LOD ranged from 2 to 15,,g/kg and LOQ ranged from 5 to 50,,g/kg, which were lower than the maximum limit legal established by the European Union (EU). The method developed was applied to commercial breakfast cereals and flours; among the mycotoxins studied, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone were the most predominant. [source] What Is Hard to Learn Is Easy to Forget: The Roles of Word Concreteness, Cognate Status, and Word Frequency in Foreign-Language Vocabulary Learning and ForgettingLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 1 2000Annette M. B. De Groot We looked at foreign-language (FL) vocabulary learning and forgetting in experienced FL learners, using a paired-associate training technique in which native-language words were paired with pseudowords. The training involved 6 presentations of the same 60 translation pairs, followed by a test after the 2nd, 4th, and 6th presentation round. A retest followed 1 week after training. The stimulus materials were manipulated on word concreteness, cognate status, and word frequency, and both productive and receptive testing took place. Cognates and concrete words were easier to learn and less susceptible to forgetting than noncognates and abstract words. Word frequency hardly affected performance. Overall, receptive testing showed better recall than productive testing. Theoretical accounts of these findings are proposed. [source] Meal and food preferences of nutritionally at-risk inpatients admitted to two Australian tertiary teaching hospitalsNUTRITION & DIETETICS, Issue 1 2008Angela VIVANTI Abstract Aim:, To determine preferences for meals and snack of long-stay patients and hospitalised patients with increased energy and protein requirements. Methods:, Using consistent methodology across two tertiary teaching hospitals, a convenience sample of adult public hospital inpatients with increased energy and protein requirements or longer stays (seven days or more) were interviewed regarding meal and snack preferences. Descriptive reporting of sample representativeness, preferred foods and frequency of meals and between meal snacks. Results:, Of 134 respondents, 55% reported a decreased appetite and 28% rated their appetite as ,poor'. Most felt like eating either nothing (42%) or soup (15%) when unwell. The most desired foods were hot meal items, including eggs (31%), meat dishes (20%) and soup (69%). Of items not routinely available, soft drink (7.6%) and alcohol (6.7%) were most commonly desired during admission. Almost half (49%) reported difficulty opening packaged food and a majority (81%) indicated finger foods were easy to eat. Conclusion:, Appetites during admission were frequently lower than usual. Responses encourage consideration of eggs, meat dishes and soups for long-stayers or those with high-energy, high-protein needs. Easy to consume but not routinely offered, between meal items, such as soup, juice, cake, soft drink or Milo could be explored further to enhance oral intakes. [source] Catalytically Active Tetramodular 6-Deoxyerythonolide B Synthase Fusion ProteinsCHEMBIOCHEM, Issue 11 2003Corinne M. Squire Dr. Easy as 1, 2, 3? Erythromycin (see scheme) is biosynthesised on a polyketide synthase consisting of three discrete bimodular protein subunits which, in the natural system, must dock together to form the active system. This paper details an experiment in which either two or all three of these proteins are translationally fused through their C and N termini. The tetramodular fusions are shown to be competent in biosynthesis. [source] Easy ,-Alkylation of Ketones with Alcohols Through a Hydrogen Autotransfer Process Catalyzed by RuCl2(DMSO)4.CHEMINFORM, Issue 1 2007Ricardo Martinez Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF. [source] An Easy to 7-Methyl-2-naphthalenecarbonitrile.CHEMINFORM, Issue 39 2005Hiroyuki Koshio Abstract For Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text. [source] An Investigation of the Reaction of 2-Aminobenzaldehyde Derivatives with Conjugated Nitro-olefins: An Easy and Efficient Synthesis of 3-Nitro-1,2-dihydroquinolines and 3-Nitroquinolines.CHEMINFORM, Issue 28 2004Ming-Chung Yan Abstract For Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text. [source] Pd/CaCO3 in Liquid Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG): An Easy and Efficient Recycle System for Partial Reduction of Alkynes to cis-Olefins under a Hydrogen Atmosphere.CHEMINFORM, Issue 25 2004S. Chandrasekhar Abstract For Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text. [source] Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric [5+2] Cycloaddition of Alkyne,VinylcyclopropanesCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 35 2009Ryo Shintani Dr. Easy to scale: A rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular [5+2] cycloaddition of alkyne,vinylcyclopropanes has been developed. High enantioselectivities of up to >99.5,% ee have been achieved by the use of a chiral phosphoramidite ligand. The reaction can be easily scaled up and the stereochemical model of the present catalysis has also been proposed. [source] Biaryls Made Easy: PEPPSI and the Kumada,Tamao,Corriu ReactionCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 1 2007Michael G. Organ Prof. Abstract An easily employed, highly versatile Kumada,Tamao,Corriu (KTC) protocol utilizing the PEPPSI (Pyridine, Enhanced, Precatalyst, Preparation, Stabilization and Initiation) precatalysts 1 and 2 is detailed. The ease-of-use of these catalysts and the synthesis of a wide range of hindered biaryls, large coupling partners and drug-like heterocycles, in high yield, makes the PEPPSI-KTC protocol very attractive. The high reactivity of the PEPPSI system allowed a tetra- ortho -substituted heterocycle, 11 to be synthesized at room temperature for the first time using any protocol. The PEPPSI protocols also tolerated the Boc protecting group and phenols required no protection in modified conditions. A relatively large scale (10 g) reaction was also performed with no loss in performance. Furthermore, PEPPSI-IPr, 1, was compared to previously reported highly active phosphine ligands 42, 43, and 44 and was shown to result in significantly better yields under identical conditions. Finally, we demonstrated that the PEPPSI catalyst system is very adept at performing sequential KTC coupling reactions, analogous to multicomponent reactions, which allow complex polyaryl and polyheteroaryl architectures to be produced in one single operation. [source] Easy to diagnose, difficult to treat: keratosis lichenoides chronicaCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2010E. Adi Summary Keratosis lichenoides chronica (KLC) is a rare disease, with approximately 70 cases reported in the literature. The problem in this long-lasting disease is generally the treatment, not the diagnosis. In the literature, many treatments failed to show any beneficial effect. We present a 20-year-old man with KLC that was successfully treated with a combination of phototherapy, acitretin and calcipotriol ointment. The patient's lesions showed a marked improvement with this combination. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this type of combination treatment being used successfully in KLC. This approach might help reduce doses of retinoids or psoralen ultraviolet A required when these are used separately, and limit the potential toxicity of these treatments. [source] Impulse-based dynamic simulation in linear timeCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 4-5 2007Jan Bender Abstract This paper describes an impulse-based dynamic simulation method for articulated bodies which has a linear time complexity. Existing linear-time methods are either based on a reduced-coordinate formulation or on Lagrange multipliers. The impulse-based simulation has advantages over these well-known methods. Unlike reduced-coordinate methods, it handles nonholonomic constraints like velocity-dependent ones and is very easy to implement. In contrast to Lagrange multiplier methods the impulse-based approach has no drift problem and an additional stabilisation is not necessary. The presented method computes a simulation step in O(n) time for acyclic multi-body systems containing equality constraints. Closed kinematic chains can be handled by dividing the model into different acyclic parts. Each of these parts is solved independently from each other. The dependencies between the single parts are solved by an iterative method. In the same way inequality constraints can be integrated in the simulation process in order to handle collisions and permanent contacts with dynamic and static friction. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Curve skeleton skinning for human and creature charactersCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3-4 2006Xiaosong Yang Abstract The skeleton driven skinning technique is still the most popular method for animating deformable human and creature characters. Albeit an industry de facto due to its computational performance and intuitiveness, it suffers from problems like collapsing elbow and candy wrapper joint. To remedy these problems, one needs to formulate the non-linear relationship between the skeleton and the skin shape of a character properly, which however proves mathematically very challenging. Placing additional joints where the skin bends increases the sampling rate and is an ad hoc way of approximating this non-linear relationship. In this paper, we propose a method that is able to accommodate the inherent non-linear relationships between the movement of the skeleton and the skin shape. We use the so-called curve skeletons along with the joint-based skeletons to animate the skin shape. Since the deformation follows the tangent of the curve skeleton and also due to higher sampling rates received from the curve points, collapsing skin and other undesirable skin deformation problems are avoided. The curve skeleton retains the advantages of the current skeleton driven skinning. It is easy to use and allows full control over the animation process. As a further enhancement, it is also fairly simple to build realistic muscle and fat bulge effect. A practical implementation in the form of a Maya plug-in is created to demonstrate the viability of the technique. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Real-time cartoon animation of smokeCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3-4 2005Haitao He Abstract In this paper, we present a practical framework to generate cartoon style animations of smoke, which consists of two components: a smoke simulator and a rendering system. In the simulation stage, the smoke is modelled as a set of smoothed particles and the physical parameters such as velocity and force are defined on particles directly. The smoke is rendered in flicker-free cartoon style with two-tone shading and silhouettes. Both the simulation and rendering are intuitive and easy to implement. In the most moderate scale scene, an impressive cartoon animation is generated with about a thousand particles at real-time frame rate. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A language to model animation out of behaviour-embedded graphical componentsCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3 2002Prabir K. Pal Abstract Almost all entities,animate or inanimate,that we see around us change with time. The changes are brought about by changes in the values of their attributes. By using a set of parameters to represent the variable attributes of an entity, and by suitably manipulating their values at run time, the behaviour of an entity can be broadly mimicked in animation. The majority of entities, however, are all too complex to animate directly. They are better described in terms of nested layers of smaller and simpler entities, which we call components. Each component is structurally and behaviourally complete and can be described independent of its application. In the present paper, we propose a scheme for 3D animation that broadly follows this line. The keystone of this scheme is a language, nicknamed ,V', which defines the structural and visual attributes of each component of the scene and associates a parameterized behaviour with it, if necessary, in the form of a program script. Thereafter, wherever such a component appears, it does so with a built-in behaviour, which can nevertheless be regulated by its higher-level component through its parameters. The advantage is that an entire animation can be modelled in a declarative fashion in terms of nested components with embedded behaviour. Besides, each component is easy to write, alter and reuse. The effort for development, debugging and maintenance of animation modelled in this way is much less as the concerns are almost always local. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Using particles for 3D texture sculptingCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 4 2001ich Bene Abstract Particle systems have been used in computer graphics for many different purposes, including visual simulation of fur, grass, hair, and similar fuzzy textures and shapes. The underlying theories used in these algorithms are usually quite complex and are mostly based on simulation of diffuse-limited aggregation, cellular development, reaction-diffusion models, etc. This leads to high time complexity of these algorithms. The purpose of this paper is to show that collision detection and distance keeping among moving particles can generate similar realistic textures efficiently. This approach is easy to implement, sufficiently fast allowing for interactive modeling, and inherits the major features from the previously published techniques. We first construct a scene consisting of generators of particles, attractors, and cutters. The generators generate oriented particles, and the attractors attract or repulse them. When collision with the cutter is detected, the particle performs an action according to its state and position in the 3D space. Every particle has assigned a table of possible actions that is used for solving these critical states. Trajectories of the particles are then used as a resulting shape of the texture. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A Windows-based interface for teaching image processingCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010Melvin Ayala Abstract The use of image processing in research represents a challenge to the scientific community interested in its various applications but is not familiar with this area of expertise. In academia as well as in industry, fundamental concepts such as image transformations, filtering, noise removal, morphology, convolution/deconvolution among others require extra efforts to be understood. Additionally, algorithms for image reading and visualization in computers are not always easy to develop by inexperienced researchers. This type of environment has lead to an adverse situation where most students and researchers develop their own image processing code for operations which are already standards in image processing, a redundant process which only exacerbates the situation. The research proposed in this article, with the aim to resolve this dilemma, is to propose a user-friendly computer interface that has a dual objective which is to free students and researchers from the learning time needed for understanding/applying diverse imaging techniques but to also provide them with the option to enhance or reprogram such algorithms with direct access to the software code. The interface was thus developed with the intention to assist in understanding and performing common image processing operations through simple commands that can be performed mostly by mouse clicks. The visualization of pseudo code after each command execution makes the interface attractive, while saving time and facilitating to users the learning of such practical concepts. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 18: 213,224, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20171 [source] Effective page refresh policyCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 3 2007Kai Gao Abstract Web pages are created or updated randomly. As for a search engine, keeping up with the evolving Web is necessary. But previous studies have shown the crawler's refresh ability is limited because it is not easy to detect the change instantly, especially when the resources are limited. This article concerns modeling on an effective Web page refresh policy and finding the refresh interval with minimum total waiting time. The major concern is how to model the change and which part should be updated more often. Toward this goal, the Poisson process is used to model the process. Further, the relevance is also used to adjust the process, and the probability on some sites is higher than others so these sites will be given more opportunities to be updated. It is essential when the bandwidth is not wide enough or the resource is limited. The experimental results validate the feasibility of the approach. On the basis of the above works, an educational search engine has been developed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 14: 240,247, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20155 [source] Hardware architecture for a visualization classroom: VizClassCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 4 2004Tara C. Hutchinson Abstract Interactive learning, critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and problem-based learning are all critical elements for enhancing engineering education. Visualization can provide the much needed computer-assisted design and analysis environment to foster problem-based learning, while virtual reality (VR) can provide the environment for hands-on manipulation, stimulating interactive learning in the engineering classroom. To provide such a space, at the University of California, Irvine a new interactive, spatially balanced learning environment, termed VizClass, has been developed. VizClass incorporates a specially designed lecture room and laboratory integrating both 2- and 3-dimensional spatial learning by coupling a series of interactive projection display boards (touch sensitive whiteboards) and a semi-immersive 3D wall display. Control of devices integrated with VizClass is supported via a centrally located, easy to activate, touch-sensitive display. Digital material, including slides, web content, video clips, sound files, numerical simulations, or animations may be loaded and presented by instructors using either 2D or 3D modalities. This environment has already been integrated into both undergraduate and graduate level courses, providing a balanced spatial learning environment for students. This article describes the unique hardware architecture developed to support this new environment and presents the first course activities conducted within the space. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 12: 232,241, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20024 [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||