Rendering of 3D scenes in analytical polygon-based computer holography with texture mapping.

A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a technique that generates an object light field by superimposing elementary holograms. Unlike traditional holography, this technique does not require the generation of an additional reference light to interfere with the calculated object light field. Texture mapping is a method that enhances the realism of 3D scenes. A fast method is presented that allows users to render holograms of 3D scenes consisting of triangular meshes with texture mapping. All calculations are performed with analytical expressions to ensure that the holograms generated by this method are fast and can reconstruct three-dimensional scenes with high quality. Using this method, a hologram of a three-dimensional scene consisting of thousands of triangles is generated. Our algorithm generates the same reconstruction results as those of Kim et al. [Appl. Opt.47, D117 (2008)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.47.00D117], but significantly reduces the computation time (the computation time of our algorithm is only one-third of that of Kim et al.'s algorithm). The results show that the proposed method is computationally efficient as compared to a previous work. The proposed method is verified by simulations and optical experiments.

Efficient rendering by parallelogram-approximation for full analytical polygon-based computer-generated holography using planar texture mapping.

We have developed a full analytical method with texture mapping for polygon-based computer-generated holography. A parallel planar projection mapping for holographic rendering along with affine transformation and self-similar segmentation is derived. Based on this method, we further propose a parallelogram-approximation to reduce the number of polygons used in the polygon-based technique. We demonstrate that the overall method can reduce the computational effort by 50% as compared to an existing method without sacrificing the reconstruction quality based on high precision rendering of complex textures. Numerical and optical reconstructions have shown the effectiveness of the overall scheme.

Design, 3D printing, and evaluation of full-contact dental models for denture tests.

AIM: The full-contact model has been widely used in tooth preparation and prosthesis fabrication. However, it is rarely used in denture tests. The purpose of the present study was to design a suitable full-contact dental model for denture tests. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A standard dental model with the complete tooth morphology was raster scanned and 3D reconstructed. Then, the positioning and fixing surfaces of the dental model were reshaped. The dental model was digitally trimmed into two parts: a fundamental part and a replaceable part. The modular design was presented according to dentition defects around the first molar. The prepared tooth replicas were designed through preparation/scanning/registration/separation sequences. The dental model was fabricated by stereolithography (SLA) 3D-printing rapid prototype technology. The static fracture force of the dental model was predicted using the finite element method. The effects of the four design methods on the suitability of the five testing operations (abutment fabrication, prosthesis fabrication, assembling, loading, and observation) were quantitatively analyzed. The static tests of three fixed partial dentures (FPDs), including tooth-supported, implant-supported, and tooth-tooth-supported prostheses, were conducted to investigate the fracture feature. The dynamic test of a removable partial denture (RPD) was undertaken to study the wear characteristic. RESULTS: The dental model could bear the maximum fracture strength of 4268.3 N. Seven positive and two negative effects of the design methods were produced. The maximum fracture strength of the FPDs were 1331.2 N, 1356.7 N, and 1987.7 N. The wear facets of the RPD in the dynamic denture test were distributed in three regions. CONCLUSIONS: The force capacity of the full-contact dental model allows the application of static denture tests. The dental model provides improvements in fixture design, removable design, and replica design for the testing operations. The dental model is recommended more in the dynamic test than in the static test.

Effects of mixotrophic cultivation on antioxidation and lipid accumulation of Chlorella vulgaris in wastewater treatment.

The effects of mixotrophic cultivation on antioxidation and lipid production of Chlorella vulgaris in wastewater treatment were analyzed. The biomass and lipid content of the mixotrophic C. vulgaris cultured in wastewater were higher compared with the autotrophic C. vulgaris cultured in BG-11. The mixotrophic C. vulgaris provided more fatty acids as the contents of total fatty acids rose. The unsaturated fatty acid/total fatty acid ratio under mixotrophic cultivation was up to 0.91, indicating the mixotrophic cultivation system was applicable for the generation of unsaturated fatty acids. Activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were improved after the addition of wastewater to algal cultures. Moreover, the activity and starch formation of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase decreased and the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase was enhanced, which contributed to the lipid production in the mixotrophic C. vulgaris in wastewater. This study suggests mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae in wastewater is an efficient way to improve lipid production.

[Design and performance analysis of elastic temporomandibular joint structure of biomimetic masticatory robot].

Masticatory robots have a broad application prospect in the field of denture material tests and mandible rehabilitation. Mechanism type of temporomandibular joint structure is an important factor influencing the performance of the masticatory robot. In view of the wide application of elastic components in the field of the biomimetic robot, an elastic component was adopted to simulate the buffering characteristics of the temporomandibular joint disc and formed the elastic temporomandibular joint structure on the basis of point-contact high pair. Secondly, the influences of the elastic temporomandibular joint structure (on mechanism degree, kinematics, dynamics, etc.) were discussed. The position and velocity of the temporomandibular joint were analyzed based on geometric constraints of the joint surface, and the dynamic analysis based on the Lagrange equation was carried out. Finally, the influence of the preload and stiffness of the elastic component was analyzed by the response surface method. The results showed that the elastic temporomandibular joint structure could effectively guarantee the flexible movement and stable force of the joint. The elastic joint structure proposed in this paper further improves the biomimetic behavior of masticatory robots. It provides new ideas for the biomimetic design of viscoelastic joint discs.

[Equivalent modeling and evaluation of molars using point-contact higher kinematic pair based on occlusal dynamic analysis].

As a representative part of the oral system and masticatory robot system, the modeling method of the dental model is an important factor influencing the accuracy of the multi-body dynamic model. Taking the right first molars of the masticatory robot as the research object, an equivalent model, point-contact higher kinematic pair composed of v-shaped surface and sphere surface, was proposed. Firstly, the finite element method was used to analyze the occlusal dynamics of the original model in three static contact cases (intrusive contact, centric occlusion, and extrusive contact) and one dynamic chewing case, and the expected bite force was obtained. Secondly, the Hertz contact model was adopted to establish the analytical expression of the bite force of the equivalent model in three static contact cases. The normal vectors and contact stiffness in the expression were designed according to the expected bite force. Finally, the bite force performance of the equivalent model in three static contact cases and one dynamic chewing case was evaluated. The results showed that the equivalent model could achieve the equivalent bite force of 8 expected items in the static contact cases. Meanwhile, the bite force in the early and late stages of the dynamic chewing case coincides well with the original model. In the middle stage, a certain degree of impact is introduced, but it can be weakened by subsequent trajectory planning. The equivalent modeling scheme of the dental model proposed in this paper further improves the accuracy of the dynamic model of the multi-body system. It provides a new idea for the dynamic modeling of other complex human contacts.

[Stress analysis of the molar with the all-ceramic crown prosthesis based on centric occlusal optimization].

Stress distribution of denture is an important criterion to evaluate the reasonableness of technological parameters, and the bite force derived from the antagonist is the critical load condition for the calculation of stress distribution. In order to improve the accuracy of stress distribution as much as possible, all-ceramic crown of the mandibular first molar with centric occlusion was taken as the research object, and a bite force loading method reflecting the actual occlusal situation was adopted. Firstly, raster scanning and three dimensional reconstruction of the occlusal surface of molars in the standard dental model were carried out. Meanwhile, the surface modeling of the bonding surface was carried out according to the preparation process. Secondly, the parametric occlusal analysis program was developed with the help of OFA function library, and the genetic algorithm was used to optimize the mandibular centric position. Finally, both the optimized case of the mesh model based on the results of occlusal optimization and the referenced case according to the cusp-fossa contact characteristics were designed. The stress distribution was analyzed and compared by using Abaqus software. The results showed that the genetic algorithm was suitable for solving the occlusal optimization problem. Compared with the reference case, the optimized case had smaller maximum stress and more uniform stress distribution characteristics. The proposed method further improves the stress accuracy of the prosthesis in the finite element model. Also, it provides a new idea for stress analysis of other joints in human body.

Effect of immobilization on growth and organics removal of chlorella in fracturing flowback fluids treatment.

In this paper, fracturing flowback fluids were biologically treated by immobilized chlorella. The individual and interactive effects of three variables (sodium alginate concentration, CaCl2 concentration, and crosslinking time) on growth of immobilized algal were optimized by response surface methodology combined with Box-Behnken design. The results showed that the SA (sodium alginate) concentration most significantly affected algal density and treatment efficiency. The interaction between SA concentration and crosslinking time was weak, the interaction between CaCl2 concentration and crosslinking time was modest, while the interaction between SA concentration and CaCl2 concentration was significant. The immobilized chlorella performed the best when the SA concentration, CaCl2 concentration and crosslinking time were 2.42%, 2.69% and 16.76 h, respectively, and the COD removal rate of fracturing flowback fluids was significantly higher than that of the free algal (34.70% vs. 8.96%), indicating immobilization could improve growth and organics removal of chlorellas for processing fracturing flowback fluids.

Static Analysis with a Realistic Loading Condition on All-Ceramic Crown Prosthesis During Chewing

PURPOSE: To evaluate the stress distribution during chewing in a realistic loading condition on a prosthesis (single-tooth crown) using a static analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An all-ceramic crown in the mandibular first molar was selected as the representative prosthesis. First, three contact states (intrusive state, transition state, and extrusive state) were selected from the parametric chewing trajectory. Then, the distances between the antagonistic molars and the normal vectors of the mandibular first molar were calculated by using an automated contact analysis routine (independently developed). Next, normal and tangential forces were defined based on the contact information and the food property. Finally, the static analysis was executed by applying the force and the fixed boundary condition. RESULTS: The distribution of the occlusal force was nonuniform in the static analysis. Compared to concentrated and uniform loading conditions, the stress distribution of the prosthesis under the nonuniform loading condition revealed new characteristics. CONCLUSION: The generation procedure of the static analysis, based on fundamental contact analysis, was evidence-based. The static analysis with the nonuniform loading condition was more recommended than the other two conditions.

2,5-Dimethyl-N-[1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)ethyl-idene]aniline.

In the title compound, C(14)H(16)N(2), the pyrrole and benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 72.37 (8)°. In the crystal, centrosymmetrically related mol-ecules are assembled into dimers by by pairs of N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, generating rings of R(2) (2)(10) graph-set motif. C-H⋯π inter-actions also occur.

2-Methyl-N-[1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)ethyl-idene]aniline.

There are two independent mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C13H14N2, in which the dihedral angles formed by the pyrrole and benzene rings are 83.63 (8) and 87.84 (8)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via pairs of N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers, which are further connected by C-H⋯π inter-actions.

CPG-based generation strategy of variable rhythmic chewing movements for a dental testing chewing robot.

The rhythmic chewing movement pattern is dynamically reshaped to adapt to a variable chewing environment. The variance affects the wear performance of dental prostheses. This study was aimed to generate these variable rhythmic chewing movements for dental testing equipment. A six-axis parallel chewing robot DUT-2 was adopted as the dental testing equipment. Four variances were extracted from the rhythmic movement, including period, offset, amplitude, and mode. The relevant movement cases, including gradually accelerating movement, gradually increasing movement, gradually shrinking movement, and bilateral movement, were designed. Then, a central pattern generator (CPG) model based on morphed phase oscillators was proposed. According to the coupling feature of the rhythmic movements, the specific modulation method of the CPG model was provided for these movements. The simulated incisor trajectory was outputted by importing the driving amplitudes from the CPG model to the virtual prototype of the chewing robot. The bite force (considering two-body and three-body contacts) was analyzed by writing the driving amplitudes into the motion controller of the chewing robot's physical prototype. The relative errors of offset and amplitude in the z-direction were 4.14% and 0.74%, respectively. The transition was smooth around the turning point during the gradually increasing movement and bilateral movement. For two-body contact, the average relative error and bias of the maximum bite force were 4.15% and 1.08%, respectively. The food involvement decreased the accuracies to 13.18% and 2.50%, respectively. The CPG model supplies a bionic and explicit approach for generating the variable rhythmic chewing movements. The variable movements related to chewing preferences and food properties could be replicated. Besides, the high repeatability of the maximum bite force is beneficial for running the repetitive wear tests. Finally, the CPG model makes it possible to study the influence of the variance on wear performance.

A robotic chewing simulator supplying six-axis mandibular motion, high occlusal force, and a saliva environment for denture tests.

Six-axis motion is essential for the evaluation of the wear failure modes of dental prostheses with complete teeth morphologies, and a high occlusal force capacity is vital for static clenching and dynamic bruxism. Additionally, the saliva environment influences abrasive particles and crack growth. The present research was aimed at the development of a six-axis masticatory and saliva simulator with these capacities. The masticatory simulator was designed based on a six-axis parallel mechanism, and the saliva simulator consisted of a saliva circuit and a temperature control loop. A control system of the masticatory and saliva simulators was constructed. The operating interface includes a centric occlusal position search, a static test, a dynamic test, a saliva supply, and data reporting. The motion and force performances of the masticatory simulator were evaluated. The flow rate and temperature change of the saliva simulator were calculated. For the occlusal position-searching, the driving amplitude is linear with the moving variables during minor one-axis motion. For the static tests, the force capacity of the driving chain is 3540 N, while for the dynamic tests, the force capacity is 1390 N. The flow rate of the saliva is 0.18-51.84 mL/min, and the saliva can effectively wet the prosthesis without the risk of overflow. Moreover, the saliva temperature can increase from room temperature (23°C) to body temperature (37°C) in about 6 min. The proposed DUT-2 simulator with six-axis motion, high force, and a salvia environment provides an in vitro testing approach to validate numerical simulation results and explain the clinical failure modes of prostheses. The centric occlusal position-searching, static tests, and dynamic tests could therefore be executed using a single testing machine. Moreover, the proposed device is more compact than previously reported six-axis masticatory simulators, including the Bristol simulator and DUT-1 simulator.

Design of realistic chewing trajectory for dynamic analysis of the dental prosthesis.

PURPOSE: The chewing trajectory in the dynamic analysis of dental prosthesis is always defined as a two-segmental straight polyline without enough consideration about chewing force and motion laws. The study was aimed to design a realistic human chewing trajectory for the dynamic analysis based on force and motion planning methods. METHODS: The all-ceramic crown restored in the mandibular first molar was selected as the representative prosthesis. Firstly, a dynamic model containing two molar components and one flat food component was built, and an approximate chewing plane was predefined. According to the desired forces (25 N, 150 N and 25 N), three force planning points were calculated by using tentative trajectories. The motion planning was then executed based on four-segment cubic spline model. Finally, the new trajectory was re-imported into the dynamic model as the displacement load for evaluating its stress influence. RESULTS: The maximum lateral velocity was 26.81 mm/s. Besides, the forces in the three force planning points were 14.11 N, 126.75 N and 13.56 N. The overall repetition rate of chewing force was 77.21%. The force and stress profiles were similar to the sine curve on the whole. The maximum dynamic stress of the crown prosthesis was 398.5 MPa. CONCLUSIONS: The motion law was effectively brought into the chewing trajectory to introduce the dynamic effect. The global force performance was acceptable, and the force profile was more realistic than the traditional chewing trajectory. The additional reliable characteristic feature of the stress distribution of the dental prosthesis was observed.

Fine encapsulation of dual-particle electronic ink by incorporating block copolymer for electrophoretic display application.

The design of the oppositely charged ink particles based on titanium dioxide and carbon black for the monochrome electrophoretic display (EPD) was reported. The white ink particles with acidic surface and black ink particles with basic surface were synthesized and sterically stabilized by long alkyl chains, which were charged oppositely by mixing with basic surfactant (OLOA 1200) and acidic surfactant (Span 80), respectively. The electrophoretic mobility and the Zeta potential were -3.87×10(-10)m(2)V(-1)s(-1) and -25.1 mV for the white ink particles, 3.79×10(-10)m(2)V(-1)s(-1) and 24.6 mV for the black ink particles. In addition, the block copolymer, poly(lauryl methacrylate)-b-poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PLMA-b-PDMAEMA) synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), was first incorporated in the modification of the pigments for the fine encapsulation. Then, a stable dual-particle electronic ink with contrast ratio of 120:1 was prepared and encapsulated with the gelatin (GE)/sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC)/sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) microcapsules by complex coacervation method. Finally, the matrix character display prototype driven at a low voltage exhibited excellent performance, the contrast ratio of which was 8:1 at 9 V DC.