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The purpose of this paper is to describe a visual try-in evaluation framework for the template-guided modelling of a nasal prosthesis.

For patients with nasal defects, there is no self-information that can be used for the fabrication of the nasal prosthesis. Based on model retrieval from a database, the template-guided model construction method can ensure successful building of the nasal prosthesis. The deviation measurement between the two mid-planes of pre-operative and visual post-operative patient’s face allowed a virtual try-in approach in the symmetry evaluation of the prosthetic rehabilitation. The test of fit between the prosthesis model and the surrounding tissue data also provided an evaluation of whether the nasal prosthesis fit the patient’s appearance well before operation.

A case study confirmed that this visual try-in evaluation framework has potential to design the desired nasal prosthesis for daily clinical practice.

This technique facilitates modelling of nasal prostheses while helping to predict the effect before the prosthesis is manufactured.

This visual try-in evaluation framework has great potential for use in clinical applications because of its advantages on the aesthetic evaluation of the prosthetic rehabilitation.

This study aims to focus on the heat treatment influence on the corrosion resistance, adhesion of Streptococcus mutans and mechanical properties of CoCrMo alloys manufactured by the selective laser melting (SLM).

CoCrMo alloys were manufactured using the Dimetal-100 machine. X-ray diffraction (XRD), metallographic analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical corrosion, Vickers microhardness and tensile tests were used to characterize SLM-produced CoCrMo alloys and compare them with the ones manufactured by casting and with the ASTM F75 standard.

The electrochemical results showed that SLM900 samples had the best corrosion resistance in artificial saliva. The adhesion results showed least propagation and overall quantity of Streptococcus mutans on the SLM900 sample. The microhardness, tensile and yield strength of As-SLM, SLM900 and SLM1200D samples were measured according to the ASTM F75 standard. The elongation of SLM900 was less than 8 per cent, which does not meet the standard specifications. Analysis of the fracture morphology showed that the fracture mechanisms of As-SLM and SLM1200D belong to the quasi-cleavage fracture type, and the mechanical fracture mechanism of SLM900 can be characterized as brittle fracture.

This paper presents the adhesion properties of Streptococcus mutans on the surface of CoCrMo alloys manufactured by SLM and proposes how to regulate the effect of the heat treatment on the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of CoCrMo alloys manufactured by SLM.

Methods are presented for the quantitative calculation of the amount of statistical, semantic and pragmatic information in the summary information flow in communication systems represented by nerve cells. These methods have been tried in the analysis of spike trains of central neurons during their reliable activity, i.e. adaptation and formation of a conditioned reflex. Some possible mechanisms of ensuring reliability and stability of informational activity of nervous communication systems are discussed.

In response to today’s marketplace in which many Asian brands are trying to expand their businesses into Western nations, this study investigated the strategic use of cultural authenticity that Asian brands may employ for their success. Although the benefits of using cultural heritage in brand strategies have been noted by past literature, the efficacies of how Asian brands can use brand logo designs to positively influence their brand success have not been studied. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to examine how Chinese brands can increase willingness to try among US consumers by establishing brand uniqueness via culturally authentic brand logo designs.

The data from 289 respondents via online between-subjects factorial experimental research surveys were collected using a national US population as the sample frame. The Chinese brand logos communicating Asian heritage were created by manipulating the cultural authenticity of the brand logo mark and the language of the logotype.

The results suggested that the Asian-themed brand logo is an important tool in exuding a Chinese brand’s sense of cultural authenticity to US consumers. In turn, the perception of cultural authenticity for the Chinese brand positively influenced the US consumers’ perceptions of the brand’s uniqueness, which led to greater willingness to try the brand.

The research provides empirical insights into how “Asian-ness” can be manifested via brand logos to convey cultural authenticity as well as to build perceived brand uniqueness and the willingness to try among US consumers.

Identification of human body shapes has been a key issue to develop sizing standards for ready‐to‐wear and to develop made‐to‐measure applications. Current methods to identify the body shapes are mostly based on subjective/visual determination approaches. The purpose of this paper is to look for numerical evaluation parameters for an objective method in order to classify the body shapes and to build up an automated process link.

Female subjects were chosen for the experimental design. 3D body scanning technology was integrated in the process for measurement taking and body silhouette detection of the sample group. Based on this sample data set, body shape identification was realized by referees as visual analyses, and additionally, an objective method was tried out by using body dimensions as numerical evaluation parameters. Obtained results with the sample group were inserted in a database and a body shape calculation tool was developed.

Statistical analyses showed that there is mostly a good agreement between the pairs of the evaluations including the objective calculation methods and the subjective assessments of the referees. The calculation tool was designed as web‐based software in order to integrate with further developments and automation purposes.

A new automatic tool was developed to make the body shape classification objective and repeatable. By integrating this tool to the product development chain, a continuous process link can be provided for the companies through the way for better fitting clothing.

The essay studies the introduction and use of audio-visual media in contemporary Swedish courtroom praxis and how this affects social interaction and the constitution of judicial space. The background to the study is the increasing use of video technology in law courts during the last decennium, and in particular the reformed trial code regulating court proceedings introduced in Sweden in 2008. The reform is called A Modern Trial (En modernare rättegång, Proposition 2004/05:131). An important innovation is that testimonies in lower level court proceedings now are video recorded and, in case of an appeal trial, then are screened in the appellate court. The study of social interaction and the constitution of judicial space in the essay is based in part on an ethnographic study of the Stockholm appellate court (Svea hovrätt) conducted in the fall 2010; in part on a study of the preparatory works to the legal reform; and in part on research on how media technology affects social interaction and the constitution of space and place.

In this space I complement an article published earlier in Social Studies Research and Practice 8(1), 2012 by providing a wise practice lesson and its ancillary materials. As sophisticated technologies continue to immerse modern students in potent visual data, teachers should help students develop equally potent visual literacy skills. Students who are more visually literate are better prepared to evaluate the visual messages surrounding them and act, not in rote-response visual stimuli, but rather according to their well-informed conscience. The lesson shared here demonstrates the educative potential of employing visual documents, historical photographs, in an inquiry-based approach to social studies instruction. Together, the coupled articles present a pragmatic example of academic research informing classroom practice in meaningful ways to promote students’ civic competence.

The research aims to draw a detailed picture of how international corporate banks and financial institutions approach image advertising to enhance impressions of their credibility. The purpose of the work is twofold, namely to demonstrate how corporate credibility can be conceptualised and made operational for strategic communication, and how the operational categories are utilised in the planning of recent image advertising campaigns in Europe.

A reconceptualised model of credibility dimensions was first proposed to obtain a collection of operational appeal forms. A corpus of 74 print adverts was then analysed in order to establish how financial marketers use the appeal forms to strengthen their corporate reputations. The patterns of credibility appeals obtained were then linked to the supporting visuals to provide a fuller picture of the industry's current praxis for portraying its expertise, trustworthiness and empathy.

The results reveal an overwhelming focus in both text and images on recounting companies' achievements and competencies at the expense of providing assurance of their integrity, truthfulness or attention to clients' needs. There is also clear evidence that corporate advertising is in fact strongly focussed on communicating credibility with less than 10 percent of discourse and visuals devoted to credibility‐free themes and issues.

The study takes a production perspective, using discourse and rhetorical analysis to determine how corporate documents are planned and executed. The data do not thus explain how advertising professionals distinguish between credibility appeals or how their target audiences recognise or respond to text and images communicating credibility.

The results of the research are intended to bring increased attention to the rhetorical options for managing reputations and their potential effects on corporate credibility discourse.

The study demonstrates how dimensions of credibility can be conceptualised at a level relevant both to practitioners and to academic writing courses. Additionally, the application of the credibility appeals disconfirms the expectation that financial services providers are increasingly branding themselves to the market on the basis of their character and concern for customers' well‐being.