Abstract: Biomarkers for liver diseases and method for using the same are provided. For detecting liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, the biomarkers are selected from any one of the amino acid sequences with SEQ ID NO:1 to SEQ ID NO:24 or derivatives or fragments or variants or the combination thereof or the antibodies against the amino acid sequences. Then the biomarkers are further developed into detection kits, such that by detecting the existence of autoantibodies or autoantigens in screened specimens, liver diseases are detected with higher accuracy and sensitivity.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel nucleic acid encoding a ?-1,3-glucanase polypeptide of lily, and an expression vector, host cell and transgenic plant comprising the nucleic acid of the invention. The expression of the nucleic acid of the invention in the plant will enhance resistance against a wide variety of stresses, in particular fungal attack.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer program products can generate light weight but highly realistic and accurate colored models of three-dimensional colored objects. The colored model may be generated from a second plurality of points that define a coarse digital representation of the surface and at least one texture map containing information derived from a first plurality of colored points that define a fine digital representation of the surface. This derivation is achieved by mapping points within the texture map to the fine digital representation of the three-dimensional surface. Colored scan data may be used to construct the fine digital representation as a triangulated surface (i.e., triangulation) using a wrapping operation.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer program products provide efficient techniques for designing and printing shells of hearing-aid devices with a high degree of quality assurance and reliability and with a reduced number of manual and time consuming production steps and operations. These techniques also preferably provide hearing-aid shells having internal volumes that can approach a maximum allowable ratio of internal volume relative to external volume. These high internal volumes facilitate the inclusion of hearing-aid electrical components having higher degrees of functionality and/or the use of smaller and less conspicuous hearing-aid shells. A preferred method includes operations to generate a watertight digital model of a hearing-aid shell by thickening a three-dimensional digital model of a shell surface in a manner that eliminates self-intersections and results in a thickened model having an internal volume that is a high percentage of an external volume of the model.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer program products provide efficient techniques for reconstructing surfaces from data point sets. These techniques include reconstructing surfaces from sets of scanned data points that have preferably undergone preprocessing operations to improve their quality by, for example, reducing noise and removing outliers. These techniques include reconstructing a dense and locally two-dimensionally distributed 3D point set (e.g., point cloud) by merging stars in two-dimensional weighted Delaunay triangulations within estimated tangent planes. The techniques include determining a plurality of stars from a plurality of points pi in a 3D point set S that at least partially describes the 3D surface, by projecting the plurality of points pi onto planes Ti that are each estimated to be tangent about a respective one of the plurality of points pi. The plurality of stars are then merged into a digital model of the 3D surface.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer program products can generate light weight but highly realistic and accurate colored models of three-dimensional colored objects. The colored model may be generated from a second plurality of points that define a coarse digital representation of the surface and at least one texture map containing information derived from a first plurality of colored points that define a fine digital representation of the surface. This derivation is achieved by mapping points within the texture map to the fine digital representation of the three-dimensional surface. Colored scan data may be used to construct the fine digital representation as a triangulated surface (i.e., triangulation) using a wrapping operation.

Abstract: A method of automatic conversion of a physical object into a three-dimensional digital model. The method acquires a set of measured data points on the surface of a physical model. From the measured data points, the method reconstructs a digital model of the physical object using a Delaunay complex of the points, a flow strcuture of the simplicies in the Delaunay complex and retracting the Delaunay complex into a digital model of the physical object using the flow structure. The method then outputs the digital model of the physical object.

Abstract: A method of geometric morphing between a first object having a first shape and a second object having a second shape. The method includes the steps of generating a first Delaunay complex corresponding to the first shape and a second Delaunay complex corresponding to the second shape and generating a plurality of intermediary Delaunay complexes defined by a continuous family of mixed shapes corresponding to a mixing of the first shape and the second shape. The method further includes the steps of constructing a first skin corresponding to the first Delaunay complex and a second skin corresponding to the second Delaunay complex and constructing a plurality of intermediary skins corresponding to the plurality of intermediary Delaunay complexes. The first skin, second skin and plurality of intermediary skins may be visually displayed on an output device.