A modified look-up table for implicit disambiguation of Marching Cubes

A new triangulation scheme for the Marching Cubes algorithm is proposed. The scheme allows the extraction of continuous isosurfaces from volumetric data without the need to use disamgiguation techniques.     

Effectiveness and limits of magnetic resonance techniques in the identification of different coordination pathways of the Mn(II) in the presence of biomacromolecules

Summary Magnetic resonance techniques yield important information on different coordination behaviour of Mn(II) in the presence of biomacromolecules. A preliminary study on model systems is necessary to have a deeper insight on dynamics and structural aspects.The EPR technique is not able to identify a binding interaction between Trp and manganous ion when the metal is bonded to the Imidazole. Proton shift NMR studies on the Mn(II)-5ATP-Imid complex evidenziate a ternary system formation and a stacking interaction between the imidazole-ring and the nucleotide purine-moiety.An EPR and NMR combined analysis on the Mn(II)-5ATP-Trp system points out a stacking interaction and the simultaneous presence of a covalent binding between the metal ion and the biomolecules. The role of the metal ion to favour this coordination is suggested.Presented at the 22nd Microsymposium, Characterization of Structure and Dynamics of Macromolecular Systems by NMR Methods, Prague, July 20–23, 1981     

Enterprise modeling and Data Warehousing in Telecom Italia

We present a methodology for Data Warehouse design and its application within the Telecom Italia information system. The methodology is based on a conceptual representation of the Enterprise, which is exploited both in the integration phase of the Warehouse information sources and during the knowledge discovery activity on the information stored in the Warehouse. The application of the methodology in the Telecom Italia framework has been supported by prototype software tools both for conceptual modeling and for data integration and reconciliation.     

Comparative investigation of smooth polycrystalline diamond films on dental burs by chemical vapor deposition

Depositions of hot filament chemical vapor-deposited diamond on cobalt-cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) rotary cutting dental burs are presented. Conventional dental tools made of sintered polycrystalline diamond have a number of problems associated with the heterogeneity of the crystallite, decreased cutting efficiency, and short life. A preferential (111) faceted diamond was obtained after 15 h of deposition at a growth rate of 1.1 μm/h. Diamond-coated WC-Co dental burs and conventional sintered burs are mainly used in turning, milling, and drilling operations for machining metal ceramic hard alloys such as CoCr, composite teeth, and aluminum alloy in the dental laboratory. The influence of structure, the mechanical characteristics of both diamond grains and hard alloys on the wear behavior, as well as the regimen of grinding on diamond wear are considered. Erosion wear properties are also investigated under air-sand erosion testing. After machining with excessive cutting performance, calculations can be made on flank and crater wear areas. Diamond-coated WC-Co dental burs offered significantly better erosion and wear resistance compared with uncoated WC-Co tools and sintered burs. This paper was presented at the fourth International Surface Engineering Congress and Exposition held August 1–3, 2005 in St. Paul, MN.     

From Shape to Function: The Next Step in Bioprinting

In 2013, the “biofabrication window” was introduced to reflect the processing challenge for the fields of biofabrication and bioprinting. At that time, the lack of printable materials that could serve as cell-laden bioinks, as well as the limitations of printing and assembly methods, presented a major constraint. However, recent developments have now resulted in the availability of a plethora of bioinks, new printing approaches, and the technological advancement of established techniques. Nevertheless, it remains largely unknown which materials and technical parameters are essential for the fabrication of intrinsically hierarchical cell–material constructs that truly mimic biologically functional tissue. In order to achieve this, it is urged that the field now shift its focus from materials and technologies toward the biological development of the resulting constructs. Therefore, herein, the recent material and technological advances since the introduction of the biofabrication window are briefly summarized, i.e., approaches how to generate shape, to then focus the discussion on how to acquire the biological function within this context. In particular, a vision of how biological function can evolve from the possibility to determine shape is outlined.     

An experimental study on residual stress relaxation in low-cycle fatigue of Inconel 718Plus

Residual stress relaxation induced by the application of mechanical loads is determined by the nature of residual stress, the elasto-plastic material properties, and the type of applied load. Despite the importance of the first load cycle, analytical models available in the literature generally assumed residual stress relaxation as a continuous process. Residual stress induced by machining on Inconel 718Plus superalloy cylindrical specimens was measured before and after the application of load cycles under strain control. Low-cycle fatigue tests were carried out at room temperature for different strain amplitudes, and X-ray diffraction measurements were performed before and after 10 and 100 cycles. A comprehensive analytical model was derived to describe the relaxation process associated with the initial cycles and that associated with the continuous application of load cycle, which is based on the plastic strain energy per cycle W and requires the evaluation of parameters that are only dependent on the material and not on the strain amplitude.     

Mass spectrometry in grape and wine chemistry. Part I: polyphenols

Mass spectrometry, had and still has, a very important role for research and quality control in the viticulture and enology field, and its analytical power is relevant for structural studies on aroma and polyphenolic compounds. Polyphenols are responsible for the taste and color of wine, and confer astringency and structure to the beverage. The knowledge of the anthocyanic structure is very important to predict the aging attitude of wine, and to attempt to resolve problems about color stability. Moreover, polyphenols are the main compounds related to the benefits of wine consumption in the diet, because of their properties in the treatment of circulatory disorders such as capillary fragility, peripheral chronic venous insufficiency, and microangiopathy of the retina. Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques are nowadays the best analytical approach to study polyphenols in grape extracts and wine, and are the most effective tool in the study of the structure of anthocyanins. The MS/MS approach is a very powerful tool that permits anthocyanin aglycone and sugar moiety characterization. LC-MS allows the characterization of complex structures of grape polyphenols, such as procyanidins, proanthocyanidins, prodelphinidins, and tannins, and provides experimental evidence for structures that were previously only hypothesized. The matrix-assisted-laser-desorption-ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) technique is suitable to determine the presence of molecules of higher molecular weight with high accuracy, and it has been applied with success to study procyanidin oligomers up to heptamers in the reflectron mode, and up to nonamers in the linear mode. The levels of resveratrol in wine, an important polyphenol well-known for its beneficial effects, have been determined by SPME and LC-MS, and the former approach led to the best results in terms of sensitivity.     

Adaptive Management Techniques for Optimized Burn-in of Safety-Critical SoC

The cost of Burn-In is a major concern for the testing of Automotive Systems-on-Chip (SoC). This paper highlights problematic aspects of a Burn-In flow and describes a two-layered adaptive technique that permits to optimize the stress application and strongly reduce BI test time. At the SoC level, the described methodology adaptively copes with FLASH erase time uncertainties; at the Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) level, the strategy relies on power monitors and tester intelligence. The paper reports experimental results on a SoC manufactured by STMicroelectronics; figures show an optimized usage of stress resources and demonstrates a reduction of 25% in the BI test time when using the proposed adaptive techniques.     

Exploiting code division multiplexing with decentralized multiuser detection in the satellite multibeam forward link

In recent years, the need for increased satellite throughput has been tackled by extending the number of satellite beams thus allowing a higher spectrum reuse and peak throughput. However, the satellite antenna size and the number of simultaneous beams that can be generated onboard over a given coverage region cannot grow beyond certain limits because of payload accommodation constraints. The next step being pursued to increase the system throughput resides in extending the frequency reuse among the loaded beams and to mitigate the effects of the increased co‐channel interference through more advanced digital signal processing. This can be achieved in 2 different ways. The first one, which received a large attention in recent years, is to centrally mitigate the multibeam channel cross talk by exploiting precoding techniques at the gateway. The second approach, less investigated in the past, is to put in place decentralized multiuser detection (MUD) at the user terminal side. The precoding approach has the advantage of concentrating the extra processing complexity at the gateway, but it requires nonstandard payloads or accurate payload calibration techniques and periodic channel estimation reporting from the user terminal. Instead, the decentralized approach can operate in combination with existing payloads and does not require any terminal's periodic channel estimate reporting to the gateway. Only the signal‐to‐noise plus interference variations due to possible fading as for conventional adaptive coding and modulation shall be reported. One of the main barriers to the decentralized MUD approach so far was the demodulator complexity. Some simplified approach for conventional frequency/time division multiplexing schemes has been recently published, and its applicability to the forward link investigated. In this paper, we investigate the possible advantages deriving from the adoption of direct‐sequence code division multiplexing associated with affordable complexity of the MUD at the user terminal side. It is shown that the proposed MUD scheme can be practically implemented and provides sizeable advantages compared to current state‐of‐the‐art when the traffic is not evenly distributed among the beams, ie, when a subset of beams has a higher load than the others.     

Performance of Cinta Senese pigs and their crosses with Large White 2. Physical, chemical and technological traits of Tuscan dry-cured ham

Technological, chemical and physical traits of cured ham from Cinta Senese and Large White pigs, and their crosses were investigated. Hams were obtained from 29 Cinta Senese (CS), 29 Large White × Cinta Senese (LW × CS) and 12 Large White (LW) pigs, fed a commercial mixture. Sensory and chemical–physical analysis was performed on a sample-slice and on muscles (Biceps femoris – BF; Semimembranosus – SM; Semitendinosus – ST) and subcutaneous fat. CS showed the highest trimming loss and the lowest salting loss. Hams of CS pigs scored higher for fatness than those of LW pigs, LW × CS showing intermediate values. On sample-slice, CS exhibited higher firmness, redness and marbling of lean, and greater fat extension than LW, with crosses having intermediate scores. Muscle moisture was lowest in CS, while both SM and BF from LW had the highest percentage of protein and the lowest of ash. CS showed higher intramuscular fat content than LW × CS and LW. Shear force of BF was higher in CS than in LW × CS and LW. With respect to LW, CS had lower values of L^* in muscles, and higher values of a^* in subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat of CS contained less SFA and more MUFA than LW × CS and LW.