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User Input (user + input)
Selected AbstractsProcDef: Local-to-global Deformation for Skeleton-free Character AnimationCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 7 2009Takashi Ijiri Abstract Animations of characters with flexible bodies such as jellyfish, snails, and, hearts are difficult to design using traditional skeleton-based approaches. A standard approach is keyframing, but adjusting the shape of the flexible body for each key frame is tedious. In addition, the character cannot dynamically adjust its motion to respond to the environment or user input. This paper introduces a new procedural deformation framework (ProcDef) for designing and driving animations of such flexible objects. Our approach is to synthesize global motions procedurally by integrating local deformations. ProcDef provides an efficient design scheme for local deformation patterns; the user can control the orientation and magnitude of local deformations as well as the propagation of deformation signals by specifying line charts and volumetric fields. We also present a fast and robust deformation algorithm based on shape-matching dynamics and show some example animations to illustrate the feasibility of our framework. [source] Towards automatic structured multiblock mesh generation using improved transfinite interpolationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2008C. B. AllenArticle first published online: 4 OCT 200 Abstract The quality of any numerical flowfield solution is inextricably linked to the quality of the mesh used. It is normally accepted that structured meshes are of higher quality than unstructured meshes, but are much more difficult to generate and, furthermore, for complex topologies a multiblock approach is required. This is the most resource-intensive approach to mesh generation, since block structures, mesh point distributions, etc., need to be defined before the generation process, and so is seldom used in an industrial design loop, particularly where a novice user may be involved. This paper considers and presents two significant advances in multiblock mesh generation: the development of a fast, robust, and improved quality interpolation-based generation scheme and a fully automatic multiblock optimization and generation method. A volume generation technique is presented based on a form of transfinite interpolation, but modified to include improved orthogonality and spacing control and, more significantly, an aspect ratio-based smoothing algorithm that removes grid crossover and results in smooth meshes even for discontinuous boundary distributions. A fully automatic multiblock generation scheme is also presented, which only requires surface patch(es) and a target number of mesh cells. Hence, all user input is removed from the process, and a novice user is able to obtain a high-quality mesh in a few minutes. It also means the code can be run in batch mode, or called as an external function, and so is ideal for incorporation into a design or optimization loop. To demonstrate the power and efficiency of the code, multiblock meshes of up to 256 million cells are presented for wings and rotors in hover and forward flight. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Prediction of unsteady, separated boundary layer over a blunt body for laminar, turbulent, and transitional flowINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 12 2004D. Scott Holloway Abstract The focus of this paper is to study the ability of unsteady RANS-based CFD to predict separation over a blunt body for a wide range of Reynolds numbers particularly the ability to capture laminar-to-turbulent transition. A perfect test case to demonstrate this point is the cylinder-in-crossflow for which a comparison between experimental results from the open literature and a series of unsteady simulations is made. Reynolds number based on cylinder diameter is varied from 104 to 107 (subcritical through supercritical flow). Two methods are used to account for the turbulence in the simulations: currently available eddy,viscosity models, including standard and realizable forms of the k,, model; and a newly developed eddy,viscosity model capable of resolving boundary layer transition, which is absolutely necessary for the type and range of flow under consideration. The new model does not require user input or ,empirical' fixes to force transition. For the first time in the open literature, three distinct flow regimes and the drag crisis due to the downstream shift of the separation point are predicted using an eddy,viscosity based model with transition effects. Discrepancies between experimental and computational results are discussed, and difficulties for CFD prediction are highlighted. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A goal-driven approach for service request modelingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 8 2010Chiung-Hon Leon Lee We propose a goal-driven approach to model the service request intention in service-oriented systems. The service request intention can be extracted from the user input and modeled by predefined goal models. We identify this problem as the service request intention extraction. If a service-oriented system has the abilities of user's intention extraction and can make some activities to satisfy the extracted intention, the system can provide a more convenient and efficient service for the user. We start the system construction from the view of goal-driven requirements engineering. The requirements specification is generated by the goal-based requirements analysis in which the functional and nonfunctional requirements will be extended with goal models. A set of computable goal models that represent the user requirements is selected and refined as the basis of system services. The designer can also design related system services based on the requirements specification. Based on the proposed intention extraction approach, the user's vague and imprecise intention will be extracted and mapped to computer understandable and computable goal models for representing the intention. A case-based method is developed to implement the intention extraction process. The intention interpretation knowledge is stored in a case base, and the intention interpretation is based on the process of case retrieval and adaptation. A general architecture for an intention-aware service-oriented system is proposed for demonstrating how to apply the proposed approach. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Technical note: Standardized and semiautomated Harris lines detectionAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2008S. Suter Abstract Arrest in long bone growth and the subsequent resumption of growth may be visible as radiopaque transverse lines in radiographs (Harris lines, HL; Harris, HA. 1933. Bone growth in health and disease. London: Oxford University Press). The assessment of individual age at occurrence of such lines, as part of paleopathological skeletal studies, is time-consuming and shows large intra- and interobserver variability. Thus, a standardized, automated detection algorithm would help to increase the validity of such paleopathological research. We present an image analysis application facilitating automatic detection of HL. On the basis of established age calculation methods, the individual age-at-formation can be automatically assessed with the tool presented. Additional user input to confirm the automatic result is possible via an intuitive graphical user interface. Automated detection of HL from digital radiographs of a sample of late Medieval Swiss tibiae was compared to the consensus of manual assessment by two blinded expert observers. The intra- and interobserver variability was high. The quality of the observer result improved when standardized detection criteria were defined and applied. The newly developed algorithm detected two-thirds of the HL that were identified as consensus lines between the observers. It was, however, necessary to validate the last one-third by manual editing. The lack of a large test series must be noted. The application is freely available for further testing by any interested researcher. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Cost Effectiveness of Duplicate Genotyping for Testing Genetic AssociationANNALS OF HUMAN GENETICS, Issue 3 2009Nathan Tintle Summary We consider a modification to the traditional genome wide association (GWA) study design: duplicate genotyping. Duplicate genotyping (re-genotyping some of the samples) has long been suggested for quality control reasons; however, it has not been evaluated for its statistical cost-effectiveness. We demonstrate that when genotyping error rates are at least m%, duplicate genotyping provides a cost-effective (more statistical power for the same price) design alternative when relative genotype to phenotype/sample acquisition costs are no more than m%. In addition to cost and error rate, duplicate genotyping is most cost-effective for SNPs with low minor allele frequency. In general, relative genotype to phenotype/sample acquisition costs will be low when following up a limited number of SNPs in the second stage of a two-stage GWA study design, and, thus, duplicate genotyping may be useful in these situations. In cases where many SNPs are being followed up at the second stage, duplicate genotyping only low-quality SNPs with low minor allele frequency may be cost-effective. We also find that in almost all cases where duplicate genotyping is cost-effective, the most cost-effective design strategy involves duplicate genotyping all samples. Free software is provided which evaluates the cost-effectiveness of duplicate genotyping based on user inputs. [source] Anticipating Demand for Emergency Health Services due to Medication-related Adverse Events after Rapid Mass Prophylaxis CampaignsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 3 2007Nathaniel Hupert MD Objectives: Mass prophylaxis against infectious disease outbreaks carries the risk of medication-related adverse events (MRAEs). The authors sought to define the relationship between the rapidity of mass prophylaxis dispensing and the subsequent demand for emergency health services due to predictable MRAEs. Methods: The authors created a spreadsheet-based computer model that calculates scenario-specific predicted daily MRAE rates from user inputs by applying a probability distribution to the reported timing of MRAEs. A hypothetical two- to ten-day prophylaxis campaign for one million people using recent data from both smallpox vaccination and anthrax chemoprophylaxis campaigns was modeled. Results: The length of a mass prophylaxis campaign plays an important role in determining the subsequent intensity in emergency services utilization due to real or suspected adverse events. A two-day smallpox vaccination scenario would produce an estimated 32,000 medical encounters and 1,960 hospitalizations, peaking at 5,246 health care encounters six days after the start of the campaign; in contrast, a ten-day campaign would lead to 41% lower peak surge, with a maximum of 3,106 encounters on the busiest day, ten days after initiation of the campaign. MRAEs with longer lead times, such as those associated with anthrax chemoprophylaxis, exhibit less variability based on campaign length (e.g., 124 out of an estimated 1,400 hospitalizations on day 20 after a two-day campaign versus 103 on day 24 after a ten-day campaign). Conclusions: The duration of a mass prophylaxis campaign may have a substantial impact on the timing and peak number of clinically significant MRAEs, with very short campaigns overwhelming existing emergency department (ED) capacity to treat real or suspected medication-related injuries. While better reporting of both incidence and timing of MRAEs in future prophylaxis campaigns should improve the application of this model to community-based emergency preparedness planning, these results highlight the need for coordination between public health and emergency medicine planning for infectious disease outbreaks to avoid preventable surges in ED utilization. [source] | ||||||||||||||||