The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between the distribution of hay-fever patients in the city of Córdoba, south-western Iberian Peninsula, and the specific atmospheric biological content originating from local sources. Four different districts were established in the metropolitan area of the city, according to vegetational and urbanistic characteristics. Air samples were taken in each area using portable Hirst-type samplers (Lanzoni VPPS 1000) and the spectrum of biological content was defined. Patients attending the Allergy Unit at Córdoba Teaching Hospital in 2000 with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma, and displaying a positive reaction to aeroallergen extracts, were distributed within the areas as a function of their district of residence. Aerobiological results revealed differences in pollen content between areas, in terms of both quantity and number of pollen types recorded. These differences were largely due to proximity to rural areas, prevalence of pollen from typically urban species and the possible effect of urban architecture as a barrier to the dispersal/ concentration of particles and other pollutants. Patients were not uniformly distributed within the city. The majority lived in districts in which pollen from rural species was mixed with pollen from ornamentals. Patients living in typically urban districts displayed a higher prevalence of allergy to pollen from ornamentals. It is concluded that a high degree of exposure to the same environment may influence the development of sensitisation to the particular pollen load associated with that area.
Multiresolution modelling of polygonal surface meshes has been presented as a solution for the interactive visualisation of scenes formed by hundreds of thousands of polygons. On the other hand, it has been shown that representing surfaces using sets of triangle strips or fans greatly reduces visualisation time and provides an important memory savings. In this paper we present a new method to model polygonal surface meshes. Like the previously explained Multiresolution Ordered Meshes (MOM), this method permits the efficient management of an ample range of approximations of the given model. Furthermore, this method utilises the triangle fan as its basic representation primitive. Experiments realised with data sets of varying complexity demonstrate reduced storage space requirements, while retaining the advantages of MOMs.
Big TV production companies often use expensive commercial products able to apply augmented reality to sport broadcasts. In this paper, we present a method for simulating several animation effects performed by the audience in the stands, such as mosaics, little flags and a big-sized flags. The main goal is to develop a very simple method, using lowcost graphics hardware, affordable for a not so big company, while achieving visual realism and computational efficiency. We define a common geometry model for different effects, a construction process for each effect, and a common animation process by means of a shader. The construction process instantiates the geometry model to the characteristics of a particular effect. The animation process is entirely coded in GLSL for real-time rendering. The movement is simulated by means of a vertex displacement technique, which uses a noise function to modify the shape of geometry.
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