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Practical Technique (practical + technique)
Selected AbstractsHigh-Quality Adaptive Soft Shadow MappingCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2007Gaël Guennebaud Abstract The recent soft shadow mapping technique [GBP06] allows the rendering in real-time of convincing soft shadows on complex and dynamic scenes using a single shadow map. While attractive, this method suffers from shadow overestimation and becomes both expensive and approximate when dealing with large penumbrae. This paper proposes new solutions removing these limitations and hence providing an efficient and practical technique for soft shadow generation. First, we propose a new visibility computation procedure based on the detection of occluder contours, that is more accurate and faster while reducing aliasing. Secondly, we present a shadow map multi-resolution strategy keeping the computation complexity almost independent on the light size while maintaining high-quality rendering. Finally, we propose a view-dependent adaptive strategy, that automatically reduces the screen resolution in the region of large penumbrae, thus allowing us to keep very high frame rates in any situation. [source] A New Technique for the Old Arterial Graft: Internal Thoracic ArteryJOURNAL OF CARDIAC SURGERY, Issue 2 2008Ufuk Tutun M.D. It stays patent well in the long-term period, and this evidence is directly related to the superior later outcome in terms of longevity. Coronary artery bypass grafting with multiarterial grafts can be performed safely, and better long-term result can be expected with the use of arterial conduits, especially ITA. We describe a simple and practical technique for the left ITA grafting by dividing the ITA graft and using its proximal and distal parts in situ for the distal left anterior descending (LAD) artery and the obtuse marginal artery grafting. [source] Comparison of cell culture with RT-PCR for enterovirus detection in stool specimens from patients with acute flaccid paralysisJOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS, Issue 4 2007Zabih-Ollah Shoja Abstract Since October 2000, Iran has been declared polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite the fact that poliomyelitis caused by polioviruses has been eliminated from Iran, the number of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases has not been reduced. Therefore, it is of great importance to investigate the other viral agents that may cause AFP (mainly nonpolio enteroviruses, which play a significant role in the etiology of neurological syndromes). Some enteroviruses do not grow in the conventional cell lines that are being used for enterovirus detection. Furthermore, the virus titer is an important factor in the sensitivity of cell culture to detect the virus. The fact that cell culture is a time-consuming procedure is another reason to find a more practical method for enterovirus detection. Therefore, a more sensitive and rapid method should be used to detect enteroviruses as efficiently as possible in the stool specimens of AFP cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate cell culture and RT-PCR in enterovirus detection. Findings have shown that RT-PCR can increase the rate of nonpolio enterovirus detection by up to 10% in comparison with cell culture. Also, the rapid detection of enteroviruses by RT-PCR can decrease both the unnecessary use of antibiotics and the costs in clinical practice. For this reason, we find that RT-PCR is a more practical technique for enterovirus detection. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 21:232,236, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The sural artery patency test: A useful precaution in risky patients for the reverse sural flapMICROSURGERY, Issue 3 2008Onder Tan M.D. The arterial insufficiency is not rare in high risky patients for the reverse sural flap. Thus, we introduce a novel practical technique by performing intraoperative patency test to the sural artery to predetermine the arterial potential, to avoid a possible arterial insufficiency and to increase the reliability of the sural flap in these patients. We succesfully applied the reverse sural flap to seven risky patients with crushing injury, mine explosion, and diabetes, in whom the sural artery patency test was positive. The flap size varied from 8 × 5 cm to 16 × 10 cm. The major defect localization was the heel with/without sole. All flaps survived uneventfully with good contours and durabilities. The sural artery patency test obtain us to decide to safely raise the sural flap or not, and to predict the outcomes of the operative procedure in critical wounds associated with poor arterial supply. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2008. [source] | ||||||||||