Hand Drawing Research Articles

Surgery for distal anterior cerebral artery aneurysms

Background Because DACA aneurysms are located in the narrow interhemispheric space surrounded by the corpus callosum and bilateral cingulate gyri with intervening falx cerebri, they are considered some of the most difficult anterior circulation aneurysms to surgically treat. Moreover, because of their rare occurrence and the emerging nonsurgical treatment options, neurosurgeons are limited in their ability to surgically treat DACA aneurysms due to their lack of experience. This article describes details of the preoperative considerations, operative techniques, and surgical results for DACA aneurysms. Methods Medical records, including imaging studies, surgeon's hand drawings and descriptions of microsurgical findings, microphotographs, and video records of operative procedures, were reviewed. Results Among 3577 patients with intracranial aneurysms treated since 1975, 126 (3.5%) patients with DACA aneurysms were identified. They were treated either by surgery (117 patients) or endovascular treatment (9 patients). The results of surgical treatment for the 117 patients with DACA aneurysms were favorable in 94% (90.6% good and 3.4% fair) and unfavorable in 6% (5.1% poor and 0.9% dead). All unfavorable outcomes occurred in patients who were of preoperative grades 4 or 5. Conclusions Successful surgical management of DACA aneurysms depends on precise understanding of their unique microsurgical anatomy, avoidance of pitfalls, and the surgeon's experience. Sufficient brain relaxation, accurate localization of the aneurysm, early identification of the proximal A2 segment, and preservation of the major draining veins are necessary for a safe surgery.

Recognition of hand shape drawings on vertical and horizontal display.

visual recognition of body parts activates somato-motor representations in the brain. In the present study, we investigate the influence of the plane in which hand drawings are displayed (Vertical or Horizontal) on mental rotations evoked by a handedness recognition task. Sixteen right-handed volunteers participated in an experiment where the task was to evaluate the handedness of drawings of the human hand presented in different perspectives and orientations while the Manual Reaction Time (MRT) was measured. For eight volunteers, the hand drawings were displayed on a vertical screen monitor, while for the remainder a mirror was employed and the same drawings appeared on the horizontal plan. Our main finding was that there are no differences in MRTs among the drawings displayed vertically or horizontally, with some exceptions. However, the MRTs were longer when the hands in the drawings assumed configurations that were more awkward to perform using real movements. These results show that the implicit movements involved with handedness recognition are mainly dependent on biomechanical constraints for distal (hand), but not proximal (shoulder) movements. Keywords: handedness recognition, motor imagery, manual reaction time, visual representations, sensorimotor representations.

Chandler's Paths of Learning

In his last two major works,Inventing the Electronic CenturyandShaping the Industrial Century, Alfred Chandler extended his well-known historical model put forth originally inStrategy and Structure, The Visible Hand, andScale and Scopeby drawing on insights from scholarship dealing with organizational learning and evolutionary economics. In the earlier works, he won high praise, as evinced by the awarding of the Bancroft and Pulitzer prizes for his contribution in advancing the understanding of history, economics, and sociology. His work presented a powerful alternative vision of businesspeople from the version usually communicated by the older Progressive school of history. Although practitioners of the latter brand of history generally acknowledged industrialization's material benefits, many worried that such change represented a Faustian bargain: they feared that concentrated economic power threatened the preservation of cherished democratic institutions and values.

Visualizing flow data using assorted glyphs

This project visualizes a scientific dataset containing two-dimensional flow data from a simulated supernova collapse provided by astrophysics researchers. We started our project by designing visualizations using multiple hand drawings representing the flow data without taking into consideration the implementation constraints of our designs. We implemented a few of our hand drawn designs. We used an assortment of simple geometric graphical objects, called glyphs, such as, dots, lines, arrows, and triangles to represent the flow at each sample point. We also incorporated transparency in our visualizations. We identified two important goals for our project: (1) design different types of graphical glyphs to support flexibility in their placement and in their ability to represent multidimensional data elements, and (2) build an effective visualization technique that uses glyphs to represent the two-dimensional flow field.

Semiautomatic volume of interest drawing for 18F-FDG image analysis—method and preliminary results

Functional imaging of cancer adds important information to the conventional measurements in monitoring response. Serial (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), which indicates changes in glucose metabolism in tumours, shows great promise for this. However, there is a need for a method to quantitate alterations in uptake of FDG, which accounts for changes in tumour volume and intensity of FDG uptake. Selection of regions or volumes [ROI or volumes of interest (VOI)] by hand drawing, or simple thresholding, suffers from operator-dependent drawbacks. We present a simple, robust VOI growing method for this application. The method requires a single seed point within the visualised tumour and another in relevant normal tissue. The drawn tumour VOI is insensitive to the operator inconsistency and is, thus, a suitable basis for comparative measurements. The method is validated using a software phantom. We demonstrate the use of the method in the assessment of tumour response in 31 patients receiving chemotherapy for various carcinomas. Valid assessment of tumour response could be made 2-4 weeks after starting chemotherapy, giving information for clinical decision making which would otherwise have taken 9-12 weeks. Survival was predicted from FDG-PET 2-4 weeks after starting chemotherapy (p = 0.04) and after 9-12 weeks FDG-PET gave a better prediction of survival (p = 0.002) than CT or MRI (p = 0.015). FDG-PET using this method of analysis has potential as a routine tool for optimising use of chemotherapy and improving its cost effectiveness. It also has potential for increasing the accuracy of response assessment in clinical trials of novel therapies.

On fine art and generative line drawings

The algorithmic generation of line drawings is discussed from an artist's point of view.zUsing artwork examples generated by the author, several different methods are considered and the underlying logic and algorithms are presented. A descriptive model for line drawings is proposed, viewing the ‘universe of hand drawings’ and the ‘universe of machine drawings’ as distinct entities. This model allows us to consider the range of possibilities for line-oriented, algorithmically generated drawings.

Synthesis and characterization of hybrid borosiloxane gels as precursors for Si–B–O–C fibers

The sol–gel method has been used for the synthesis of borosilicate gels from mixtures of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and dimethyldiethoxysilane (DMDES) and boric acid. The use of boric acid, B(OH)3 allows the hydrolysis and condensation of hybrid silicon alkoxides without further addition of water or catalyst. The use of difunctional silicon units, –(CH3)2SiO– promote the formation, during the sol–gel process, of linear oligomers which facilitate fiber drawing before gelation. Gel characterization performed by FT-IR, XRD, TG-DTA and DCS analysis indicates the formation of a mixed network with incorporation of the boron units via =B-O-Si≡ bridges. The formation of borosiloxane bonds seems favored by the presence of DMDES. SiBOC glasses were obtained after pyrolysis of the borosilicate gels in argon atmosphere at 1000 °C. TG-DTA study indicates that the ceramic yield decreases by increasing the amount of DMDES. Gel fibers were successfully prepared from convenient partially-aged solutions by hand drawing. Pyrolysis of the obtained gel fibers under argon atmosphere at 1000 °C open the possibility to produce SiBOC homogeneous glass fibers with diameter as low as 10 μm.

Mental rotation of anthropoid hands: a chronometric study

It has been shown that mental rotation of objects and human body parts is processed differently in the human brain. But what about body parts belonging to other primates? Does our brain process this information like any other object or does it instead maximize the structural similarities with our homologous body parts? We tried to answer this question by measuring the manual reaction time (MRT) of human participants discriminating the handedness of drawings representing the hands of four anthropoid primates (orangutan, chimpanzee, gorilla, and human). Twenty-four right-handed volunteers (13 males and 11 females) were instructed to judge the handedness of a hand drawing in palm view by pressing a left/right key. The orientation of hand drawings varied from 0 masculine (fingers upwards) to 90 masculine lateral (fingers pointing away from the midline), 180 masculine (fingers downwards) and 90 masculine medial (finger towards the midline). The results showed an effect of rotation angle (F(3, 69) = 19.57, P < 0.001), but not of hand identity, on MRTs. Moreover, for all hand drawings, a medial rotation elicited shorter MRTs than a lateral rotation (960 and 1169 ms, respectively, P < 0.05). This result has been previously observed for drawings of the human hand and related to biomechanical constraints of movement performance. Our findings indicate that anthropoid hands are essentially equivalent stimuli for handedness recognition. Since the task involves mentally simulating the posture and rotation of the hands, we wondered if "mirror neurons" could be involved in establishing the motor equivalence between the stimuli and the participants' own hands.

Global warming and climate forcing by recent albedo changes on Mars

For hundreds of years, scientists have tracked the changing appearance of Mars, first by hand drawings and later by photographs. Because of this historical record, many classical albedo patterns have long been known to shift in appearance over time. Decadal variations of the martian surface albedo are generally attributed to removal and deposition of small amounts of relatively bright dust on the surface. Large swaths of the surface (up to 56 million km2) have been observed to darken or brighten by 10 per cent or more. It is unknown, however, how these albedo changes affect wind circulation, dust transport and the feedback between these processes and the martian climate. Here we present predictions from a Mars general circulation model, indicating that the observed interannual albedo alterations strongly influence the martian environment. Results indicate enhanced wind stress in recently darkened areas and decreased wind stress in brightened areas, producing a positive feedback system in which the albedo changes strengthen the winds that generate the changes. The simulations also predict a net annual global warming of surface air temperatures by approximately 0.65 K, enhancing dust lifting by increasing the likelihood of dust devil generation. The increase in global dust lifting by both wind stress and dust devils may affect the mechanisms that trigger large dust storm initiation, a poorly understood phenomenon, unique to Mars. In addition, predicted increases in summertime air temperatures at high southern latitudes would contribute to the rapid and steady scarp retreat that has been observed in the south polar residual ice for the past four Mars years. Our results suggest that documented albedo changes affect recent climate change and large-scale weather patterns on Mars, and thus albedo variations are a necessary component of future atmospheric and climate studies.

The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific Information, Third Edition (Coghill, Anne M.; Garson, Lorrin R.; ed.s)

The Handbook for Authors of Papers in the Journals of the American Chemical Society was first published in 1967 and was 127 pages in length. It was mostly devoted to what I would characterize as technical information: lists of symbols and units, the proper style for citation of references, and the like. It also contained detailed instructions for the hand drawing of chemical structures and figures including the proper use of the Leroy lettering set. My copy cost $2. The second edition, titled The ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors, appeared 30 years later in 1997 and was nearly four times as long: 460 pages. The bulk of the book was still technical information, much more than in the first edition, but the revision included a good chapter on Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling; a chapter on Communicating in Other Formats, especially poster presentations; and a chapter on Peer Review, which was a collection of short essays on approaches to reviewing. Increasing concern with copyright led to a c...

Interobserver agreement on interpreting hand drawings of colposcopy in women with borderline cytology to predict high-grade lesions

Objective To assess the interobserver agreement on interpreting hand drawings as a colposcopic image recording technique in women with borderline cytology and to assess the correlation between colposcopic impression and histological outcome. Methods We used colposcopic documentation and histology from a cohort study of women with borderline dyskaryosis. Four gynecologists and four residents scored the same 30 colposcopic documentation forms. Results There is a good interobserver agreement on classifying colposcopic hand drawings as high-grade lesions (average kappa 0.58). The interobserver agreement on interpreting colposcopic image was higher for the more highly experienced gynecologists than for the residents. The agreement between colposcopic impression and histological outcome is poor (kappa 0.17) among the observers. Conclusions Hand drawings are a reliable recording technique of interpreting colposcopic impression documented as high-grade lesion. However, the correlation between colposcopic impression and histological outcome is still poor in women with minor cytological abnormalities.

Posture influences motor imagery: An fMRI study

Motor imagery is widely used to study cognitive aspects of the neural control of action. However, what is exactly simulated during motor imagery is still a matter of debate. On the one hand, it is conceivable that motor imagery is an embodied cognitive process, involving a simulation of movements of one’s own body. The alternative possibility is that, although motor imagery relies on knowledge of the motor processes, it does not entail an actual motor simulation that is influenced by the physical configuration of one’s own body. Here we discriminate between these two hypotheses, in the context of an established motor imagery task: laterality judgments of rotated hand drawings. We found that reaction times of hand laterality judgments followed the biomechanical constraints of left or right hand movements. Crucially, the position of subjects’ own left and right arm influenced laterality judgments of left and right hands. In neural terms, hand laterality judgments activated a parieto-frontal network. The activity within this network increased with increasing biomechanical complexity of the imagined hand movements, even when the amount of stimulus rotation was identical. Moreover, activity in the intraparietal sulcus was modulated by subjects’ own hand position: a larger incongruence in orientation between the subjects’ hand and the stimulus hand led to a selective increase in intraparietal activity. Our results indicate that motor imagery generates motor plans that depend on the current configuration of the limbs. This motor plan is calculated by a parieto-frontal network. Within this network, the posterior parietal cortex appears to incorporate proprioceptive information related to the current position of the body into the motor plan.

A Geographic Information Systems approach for classifying and mapping forest management category in Baihe Forestry Bureau, Northeast China

This paper demonstrates a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) procedure of classifying and mapping forest management category in Baihe Forestry Burea, Jilin Province, China. Within the study area, Baihe Forestry Bureau land was classified into a two-hierarchy system. The top-level class included the non-forest and forest. Over 96% of land area is forest in the study area, which was further divided into key ecological service forest (KES), general ecological service forest (GES), and commodity forest (COM). COM covered 45.0% of the total land area and was the major forest management type in Baihe Forest Bureau. KES and GES accounted for 21.2% and 29.9% of the total land area, respectively. The forest management zones designed with GIS in this study were then compared with the forest management zones established using the hand draw by the local agency. There were obvious differences between the two products. It suggested that the differences had some to do with the data sources, basic unit and mapping procedures. It also suggested that the GIS method was a useful tool in integrating forest inventory data and other data for classifying and mapping forest zones to meet the needs of the classified forest management system.

Abutment Rotational Displacement of External Hexagon Implant System Under Lateral Cyclic Loading

This in vitro study investigated the effect of lateral cyclic loading with different load positions and periods on abutment rotational displacement (RD) of external hexagon implant system. Four groups of five implant assemblies each were used. Each assembly consisted of Brånemark System Mk IV implant (Nobel Biocare AB, Göteborg, Sweden), CeraOne abutment (Nobel Biocare AB), and a cement-retained casting. A cyclic load of 50 N was applied centrally and perpendicular to the long axis of the implant for groups A and B for 0.25 and 0.50 x 10(6) cycles, respectively, while for groups C and D, the same load was applied at 4-mm distance eccentrically for 0.25 and 0.50 x 10(6) cycles, respectively. The displacement was evaluated by hand drawing a longitudinal line across the implant-abutment interface. Before and after loading, the lateral distance between two reference points on the abutment and implant was measured under high resolution (x200) and the difference formed the RD value. The data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance and compared with Tukey test (alpha=0.05). Group D had the highest mean of RD value (55.00 +/- 1.871 microm), while group A had the lowest (2.800 +/- 0.837 microm). Groups A and B had a high statistically significant difference in RD values, as compared to groups C or D (p < .001). Moreover, group C had statistically significant difference from group D (p=.011). Conversely, no statistical significance was obtained when group A was compared with group B. Within the limits of this in vitro study, the RD of the external hexagon joint components occurred significantly under eccentric lateral loading when compared to centric loading. The displacement increased significantly with longer period of eccentric lateral loading.

No evidence for a substantial involvement of primary motor hand area in handedness judgements: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Twelve right-handed volunteers were asked to judge the laterality of a hand stimulus by pressing a button with one of their toes. Judgements were based on two-dimensional drawings of the back or palm of a right or left hand at various orientations. Suprathreshold single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was given to the left primary motor hand area (M1-HAND) at 0, 200, 400, 600, 800 or 1000 ms after stimulus onset to probe the functional involvement of the dominant left M1 at various stages of handedness recognition. We found that mean reaction times and error rates increased with angle of rotation depending on the actual biomechanical constraints of the hand but suprathreshold TMS had no influence on task performance regardless of the timing of TMS. However, the excitability of the corticomotor output from the left M1-HAND was modulated during the reaction. Judging left hand drawings was associated with an attenuation of motor-evoked potentials 300-100 ms before the response, whereas judging right hand drawings facilitated the motor-evoked potentials only immediately before the response. These effects were the same for pictures of backs and palms and were independent of the angle of rotation. The failure of TMS to affect task performance suggests that there is no time window during which the M1-HAND makes a critical contribution to mental rotation of the hand. The modulation of motor-evoked potentials according to the laterality of the stimulus indicates a secondary effect of the task on corticomotor excitability that is not directly related to mental rotation itself.

My Mei Mei (review)

Reviewed by: All Aboard!: Passenger Trains around the World Elizabeth Bush Zimmermann, Karl All Aboard!: Passenger Trains around the World; written and illus. with photographs by Karl Zimmermann. Boyds Mills, 2006 [48p] ISBN 1-59078-325-5$19.95 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-8 In this account of Young's own family life, narrator Antonia, who was herself adopted from China, decides she wants a younger sister, or Mei Mei. When her parents eventually decide to adopt another little girl, Antonia is initially thrilled but ultimately disappointed, as the infant isn't the playmate she had hoped, and in fact "took all the attention away from me." Inevitably, Antonia mellows, the baby grows, and the two become close; as the tale ends, the two girls approach their parents with the request for a new younger sibling. This is an interesting variation on dethronement stories, and the spare text succeeds in capturing the singular focus of Antonia's longing for a sibling as well as her initial disappointment with the lackluster newcomer. The tale is so individual to Young's family, however, that audiences are sometimes left out; turns of phrase that may be family tradition are confusing here ("When I was half, I joined Mommy and Baba"), and there's no explanation for the baby's need for extra professional help ("A teacher came to show her how to crawl and walk"). Young uses mixed media to illustrate this deeply personal tale, incorporating a combination of cut paper, gouache, and pastel. He is most successful with paintbrush and crayon, and the portraits of his family members, composed in soft brushstrokes and delicate line, are deftly rendered. The juxtaposition of the soft, smudgy hand drawings with the bold patterns of the cut paper is less graceful; the two styles do not fully mesh, and the resulting combination is at times jarring. Those whose experiences parallel young Antonia's will nevertheless empathize with her dilemma, and fans of Young will be startled and amused by the self-portrait of the author pretending to have his diaper changed by his older daughter. An author's note is included. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

On the environmental scanning electron microscope for taxonomic purposes

Abstract. Realism, resolution, and portrayal of spatial relationships are three conditions for iconic representations in formal taxonomic descriptions. Hand drawing is a painstaking and time‐consuming technique. The environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) is an alternative that can provide detailed images without damaging the specimen, thus allowing it to be used for further study either in light microscopy or molecular analysis. In this work, we evaluate the suitability of ESEM for basic taxonomic study with specimens of two arthropods groups: water mites and bathynelids. The ESEM provides enough resolution to classify even to the species level. Different kinds of curatorial adhesive strips were used with satisfactory results. We foresee that the ESEM will be a common taxonomic tool in the near future.

Picture This! Imaging Techniques for Surgical Pathology

Gross imaging serves a number of important functions in the surgical pathology laboratory: documentation, teaching, and research. The position of sections taken for histopathology must also be recorded, especially in those instances where location is a vital part of the workup. Such section keys are particularly useful in helping to quantify areas of renecrosis, assess margins, and pinpoint areas for further sectioning, steps that are of critical importance for accurate diagnosis and therapy. Five methods of imaging surgical specimens—hand drawing, photocopying, flatbed scanning conventional photography, and digital photography—are compared for quality of reproduction, ease of use, expense, and turnaround time. (The J Histotechnol 27:231, 2004)

Controlling fluid animation with geometric potential

AbstractWe propose a new fluid control technique that uses a geometrically induced potential field. Instead of optimizing the control forces exerted at each frame, as was done in previous work, a potential is added as an extra dimension to the simulation space which coerces the fluid inside this space to form the target shape. This type of shape control requires practically no additional computing by the Navier‐Stokes solver at run‐time, and adds little overhead to implementation. The confinement potentials are induced from geometric information given by animators, and so the control forces that take fluids to a lower potential can be decided in a preprocessing step. We show that a slightly generalized Navier‐Stokes equation for fluids in potential fields can be simulated without changing the solver itself. A harmonic potential function can be quickly found with the Poisson solver which is already implemented as a part of the Navier‐Stokes solver. 2 and 3 dimensional flows designed by common methods such as hand drawing, traditional shape modeling and key‐framing, can be animated efficiently with our control technique. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Effect of polyborazine additive on thermolysis of polyphenylsilane and polyvinylsilane

To improve the ceramic residue yields and processabilities of polyphenylsilane (PPS) and polyvinylsilane (PVS), polyborazine (PBN) was employed as an additive. The ceramic residue yield of PPS increased from an original 39wt% to 65wt%, and of PVS from an original 26wt% to 64wt% by simply heating with 1wt% PBN at 70 °C. Furthermore, low viscous PPS and PVS were transformed into highly viscous polymers, which were found to be suitable for hand drawing into green fibers. The enhanced properties were attributed to an increased molecular weight, as analyzed by GPC. 1H-NMR and 29Si-NMR spectra suggested that dehydrocoupling of SiH 3 in PVS and SiH in PPS by PBN was responsible for the improved ceramic yields.