Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust Visual Tracking Using Local Sparse Appearance Model and K-Selection

Online learned tracking is widely used for its adaptive ability to handle appearance changes. However, it introduces potential drifting problems due to the accumulation of errors during the self-updating, especially for occluded scenarios. The recent literature demonstrates that appropriate combinations of trackers can help balance the stability and flexibility requirements. We have developed a robust tracking algorithm using a local sparse appearance model (SPT) and K-Selection. A static sparse dictionary and a dynamically updated online dictionary basis distribution are used to model the target appearance. A novel sparse representation-based voting map and a sparse constraint regularized mean shift are proposed to track the object robustly. Besides these contributions, we also introduce a new selection-based dictionary learning algorithm with a locally constrained sparse representation, called K-Selection. Based on a set of comprehensive experiments, our algorithm has demonstrated better performance than alternatives reported in the recent literature.
Individual Motivations, Perceived Media Importance, and Political Disaffection

Mass media have been blamed for distancing people from the political process by increasing cynicism and voter apathy. A telephone survey of 592 registered voters in Washington state tested a set of relationships among political involvement, perceived media importance, political disaffection, and efficacy. As hypothesized, political involvement was positively associated with the perceived importance of newspapers and radio talk shows. These, in turn, were negatively associated with cynicism and positively associated with efficacy. Cynicism was negatively associated with efficacy, while efficacy was positively associated with involvement. The results suggest that involvement is a key variable in the political decision making process through its relationships with orientations toward information sources. Thus, media can serve as a catalyst for involved citizen decision making. Scholars should attend to the motivational context individuals bring to the media when examining the role of the media in political d.
[Histologic study of the gonads in ovarian differentiation during organogenesis].

We report the results of a histologic study of the differentiating ovary carried out in human embryos and fetuses. Up to the sixth week, the anlage of the gonad is formed by the proliferation of cells originating from the coelomic mesothelium; this proliferation starts with the migration of the primordial germ cells. Between the sixth and the tenth weeks, the primary mesenchyma invades the epithelial mass and divides it into "cords"; by division, the germ cells contained within the mass become ovocytes. At the tenth week, the gonad takes shape and is separated from the mesonephros. At the twelfth week, the gonad is formed of two zones; an outer zone formed of epithelial clusters arranged in rosettes around the ovocytes; and an inner, mesenchymal, zone that becomes the medulla and separates the outer epithelial zone from the remnants of the mesonephros. At the sixteenth week, the gonad becomes the ovary that contains millions of primordial follicles; each follicle consists of an ovocyte surrounded by a ring of granulosa cells originating from the coelomic epithelium; the follicles are separated from each other by mesenchymal cells that form the cortical stroma. The remnants of the mesonephros are clearly separated from the ovary by the medulla. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Improving protocol robustness in ad hoc networks through cooperative packet caching and shortest multipath routing

A mobile ad hoc network is an autonomous system of infrastructure-less, multihop, wireless mobile nodes. Reactive routing protocols perform well in this environment due to their ability to cope quickly against topological changes. This paper proposes a new routing protocol named CHAMP (caching and multiple path) routing protocol. CHAMP uses cooperative packet caching and shortest multipath routing to reduce packet loss due to frequent route failures. We show through extensive simulation results that these two techniques yield significant improvement in terms of packet delivery, end-to-end delay and routing overhead. We also show that existing protocol optimizations employed to reduce packet loss due to frequent route failures, namely local repair in AODV and packet salvaging in DSR, are not effective at high mobility rates and high network traffic.
Cross-talk between Caveolae and Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-rich Domains*

Most mammalian cells have in their plasma membrane at least two types of lipid microdomains, non-invaginated lipid rafts and caveolae. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins constitute a class of proteins that are enriched in rafts but not caveolae at steady state. We have analyzed the effects of abolishing GPI biosynthesis on rafts, caveolae, and cholesterol levels. GPI-deficient cells were obtained by screening for resistance to the pore-forming toxin aerolysin, which uses this class of proteins as receptors. Despite the absence of GPI-anchored proteins, mutant cells still contained lipid rafts, indicating that GPI-anchored proteins are not crucial structural elements of these domains. Interestingly, the caveolae-specific membrane proteins, caveolin-1 and 2, were up-regulated in GPI-deficient cells, in contrast to flotillin-1 and GM1, which were expressed at normal levels. Additionally, the number of surface caveolae was increased. This effect was specific since recovery of GPI biosynthesis by gene recomplementation restored caveolin expression and the number of surface caveolae to wild type levels. The inverse correlation between the expression of GPI-anchored proteins and caveolin-1 was confirmed by the observation that overexpression of caveolin-1 in wild type cells led to a decrease in the expression of GPI-anchored proteins. In cells lacking caveolae, the absence of GPI-anchored proteins caused an increase in cholesterol levels, suggesting a possible role of GPI-anchored proteins in cholesterol homeostasis, which in some cells, such as Chinese hamster ovary cells, can be compensated by caveolin up-regulation.
Effects of Probability Markers on Advertising Claim Acceptance

The results of a laboratory experiment revealed that the participants had generally negative reactions to the use of hedges (e.g. ‘may’, ‘probably’, etc.) and pledges (e.g. ‘definitely,’ ‘undoubtedly’, etc.) in advertising claims. The use of either type of probability marker reduced claim acceptance and produced more negative cognitive responses relative to when no marker was used. This pattern of results emerged regardless of whether the claim was backed by an inductive argument presenting probabilistic evidence or a deductive argument presenting categorical evidence.
Relationship between health utility and psychometric health status measures.

This study examined the relationship between health utility and psychometric health status measures. Utility scores derived by standard gamble and categorical rating methods were also compared to determine if they produce equivalent preference scales. Health status and utility was assessed in 73 chronic renal disease patients with anemia (hematocrit less than or equal to 30) participating in a 48-week clinical study. Patient preferences for current health and three hypothetical states were assessed using standard gamble and categorical rating procedures. Standard gamble utility was related to home management (P less than .05); categorical rating utility was related to home management (P less than .05), energy (P less than .05), alertness behavior (P less than .05), social interaction (P less than .05), and life satisfaction scale scores (P less than .05). Only 25-27% of the variance in utility scores was explained by the health status measures. Standard gamble utilities were consistently higher than categorical rating values for end-stage renal disease with hemodialysis (P less than .0001) and severe anemia requiring blood transfusions (P less than .0001). Patient preferences for current health may be influenced in part by their functional status and well-being, risk aversion or risk-taking attitudes, and the cognitive evaluation processes involved in making judgments necessary for the measurement task, as well as their actual preferences.
Evaluation of Clostridium difficile-associated disease pressure as a risk factor for C difficile-associated disease.

BACKGROUND Colonization pressure has been identified as an important risk factor in the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus species, but the role of colonization pressure in the transmission of Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CDAD pressure, a modified form of colonization pressure based on symptomatic CDAD cases, as a risk factor for CDAD. METHODS Retrospective cohort and nested case-control studies of patients admitted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2003. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate the role of CDAD pressure as a risk factor for CDAD. RESULTS A total of 36 275 patients were included in the cohort, of which 382 had CDAD. The median CDAD pressure was higher for case patients than noncase patients (1.4 vs 0.3; P<.001), and only 1 patient with CDAD had a CDAD pressure of 0. In the nested case-control study, CDAD pressure remained an independent risk factor for CDAD after adjustment for demographics, severity of illness, medications received (chemotherapy, gastric acid suppressors, antidiarrheals or narcotics, and antibiotics), and abdominal procedures or surgery performed. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that CDAD pressure may be an independent risk factor for CDAD. Future studies that evaluate risk of CDAD should control for CDAD pressure.
Negotiating Arab-Muslim Identity, Contested Citizenship, and Gender Ideologies in the Parisian Housing Projects: Faïza Guène's Kiffe kiffe demain

Faïza Guène's Kiffe kiffe demain describes the coming-of-age experiences of Doria, a second-generation Franco-Maghrebi, or beur, adolescent of Moroccan origin, who lives in an economically and socially disfavored Parisian housing project. Doria's abandonment by her father, who abruptly leaves for Morocco to marry a younger woman capable of giving him a male heir, provides the novel's focus: a simultaneous critique of Maghrebi, or North African, patriarchy and a searing indictment of the socioeconomic and political disenfranchisement experienced by the residents of the "other France," namely, Maghrebi Arab-Muslim working-class immigrants and their French-born beur children. This paper demonstrates how the protagonist's negotiation of biculturality exposes the hypocrisy of the French secularizing mission, in which all markers of difference are suspect until they are assimilated into a homogeneous ideal of sameness. At the same time, social oppression produces a vibrant "vernacular" culture in the projects as a contestation of second-class citizenship, racialization, and mediated representation.
Sex‐Specific Genetic Variants are Associated With Coronary Endothelial Dysfunction

Background Endothelial dysfunction is an early stage of atherosclerosis. Single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with vascular dysfunction, cardiac events, and coronary artery remodeling. We aimed to detect SNPs associated with endothelial dysfunction and determine whether these associations are sex specific. Methods and Results Six hundred forty‐three subjects without significant obstructive coronary artery disease underwent invasive coronary endothelial function assessment. We collected data from 1536 SNPs that had previously been associated with vasoreactivity, angiogenesis, inflammation, artery calcification, atherosclerotic risk factors, insulin resistance, hormone levels, blood coagulability, or with coronary heart disease. Coronary vascular reactivity was assessed by the percent change in coronary artery diameter ≤ −20% after an intracoronary bolus injection of acetylcholine on invasive coronary physiology study. SNPs significantly associated with coronary epicardial endothelial dysfunction were ADORA1,KCNQ1, and DNAJC4 in the whole cohort, LPA, MYBPH, ADORA3, and PON1 in women and KIF6 and NFKB1 in men (P<0.01). Conclusions We have identified several significant SNPs that are associated with an increased risk of coronary endothelial dysfunction. These associations appear to be sex specific and may explain gender‐related differences in development of atherosclerosis.
Assessing the influence of neighborhood effects on the adoption of improved agricultural technologies in developing agriculture

Researchers generally assume spatial homogeneity when assessing the factors that influence farmers to adopt improved agricultural technologies. However, the potential for spatial heterogeneity is high due to, for example, neighborhood effects such as farmers sharing information about new technology. Ignoring spatial heterogeneity can result in biased or inefficient regression estimates and make inferences based on t and F statistics misleading. Using data collected from 300 randomly selected farmers in three districts of Mozambique during the 2003/04 crop season, a spatial Tobit model was specified to estimate which factors determined the adoption of improved maize varieties, after an initial diagnostic test rejected the null hypothesis of spatial homogeneity. On the basis of the empirical evidence, the paper makes policy recommendations to increase Mozambican farmers’ adoption of improved maize varieties and concludes by emphasizing the need to test and correct for spatial heterogeneity in technology adoption modeling to improve the efficiency of the estimated results.
A influência dos amigos no consumo de drogas entre adolescentes

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the variables associated with friends and alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use in 965 adolescents from 50 public schools in Jacarei and Diadema, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Drug Use Screening Inventory was used for data collection. Having friends who use substances, who are in trouble with the law, who have stolen/damaged something, who sell drugs, who take drugs to parties, and who get bored when they do not drink at parties progressively increased the risk of adolescents using alcohol, tobacco, both of them, and illicit drugs. This result shows the importance of evaluating the consumption of these substances separately, as the consumption of alcohol and tobacco together seems to be more hazardous than consuming them individually.
Generativity, Relational Spirituality, Gratitude, and Mental Health: Relationships and Pathways

In this study, the authors investigated generativity strivings or commitments in relation to spirituality, spiritual transformation (ST), gratitude, and mental health in the educational training context of graduate-level students (N = 194) at a university-based theological seminary in North America. Relational spirituality was operationalized based on a relational theoretical model (Shults & Sandage, 2006) that (a) defines spirituality as ways of relating to the sacred, including religious ways of relating, and (b) views spirituality as often involving a dialectic of dwelling and seeking (Wuthnow, 1998). Intrinsic religiosity was positively and quest negatively related to generativity strivings over and above age. The self-report of a recent ST moderated the relationship between generativity strivings and quest with those reporting an ST showing a quadratic relationship and those not reporting an ST showing a negative relationship. Gratitude mediated the relationship between generativity strivings and mental health, although this effect did not hold in a post hoc analysis controlling for spiritual impression management.
Couple recovery from sexual addiction / co addiction: Results of a survey of 88 marriages

Abstract Results of a survey of 142 married sex addicts and coaddicts suggest that for couples in crisis because of multiple affairs, use of pornography and masturbation in preference to relational sex, visits to prostitutes, arrests for voyeurism or exibitionism, or other compulsive sexual behaviors, survival of the relationship can be enhanced when both members identify themselves as “addict” and “coaddict,” attend individual and joint 12-step meetings and counseling, seek feedback from other couples, and commit to ongoing work on individual problems and on the relationship.
Individual differences in adult attachment: Disentangling two assessment traditions

The goal of this paper was to disentangle the contributions of type of measurement and relational domain to the lack of concordance between adult attachment measures. Eighty-six college students completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and self-reported measures of attachment security adapted to their relationships with four different relational partners. Results showed that whereas the AAI main dimensions were unrelated to self-reports relative to any partner, reports of attachment security with different partners were interrelated. Further, very few of the AAI State of Mind scales related to self-reported attachment security, but the AAI Experience scales did relate to self-reports in a theoretically consistent manner. Finally, the AAI scales of Idealization and Lack of Recall correlated positively with self-reported attachment when controlling for experiences reported on the AAI. The results suggest that a fundamental distinction between adult attachment measures could be the degree of automaticity of the constructs tapped, and that attachment self-reports may be biased by defensive information-processing strategies among dismissing individuals.
Moderating effect of idiocentrism and allocentrism on person-organization person-job fit and work attitudes relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating influence of idiocentrism and allocentrism on person-organization fit, person-job fit and work attitudes relationship. Design/methodology/approach – The survey data were collected from 426 employees of a holding company. Findings – The results reveal that allocentrism makes a difference in fitting the particular aspect of work environment for the individual. Results showed that allocentrism positively moderates person-organization fit and job satisfaction and organizational commitment and turnover relationship. However, no moderating influence of idiocentrism was found on person-organization fit and employee attitude relationship. Furthermore, it was also found that neither idiocentrism nor allocentrism moderated the relationship between the person-job fit and employee attitudes relationship. Originality/value – This research adds a cultural component to the person-environment fit research.
Prevalence of Low Femoral Bone Density in Older U.S. Adults from NHANES III

Most estimates of osteoporosis in older U.S. adults have been based on its occurrence in white women, even though it is known to affect men and minority women. In the present study, we used dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry measurements of femoral bone mineral density (BMD) from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988–1994) to estimate the overall scope of the disease in the older U.S. population. Specifically, we estimate prevalences of low femoral BMD in women 50 years and older and explore different approaches for defining low BMD in older men in that age range. Low BMD levels were defined in accordance with an approach proposed by an expert panel of the World Health Organization and used BMD data from 382 non‐Hispanic white (NHW) men or 409 NHW women ages 20–29 years from the NHANES III dataset. For women, estimates indicate 13–18%, or 4–6 million, have osteoporosis (i.e., BMD >2.5 standard deviations [SD] below the mean of young NHW women) and 37–50%, or 13–17 million, have osteopenia (BMD between 1 and 2.5 SD below the mean of young NHW women). For men, these numbers depend on the gender of the reference group used to define cutoff values. When based on male cutoffs, 3–6% (1–2 million) of men have osteoporosis and 28–47% (8–13 million) have osteopenia; when based on female cutoffs, 1–4% (280,000–1 million) have osteoporosis and 15–33% (4–9 million) have osteopenia. Most of the older U.S. adults with low femur BMD are women, but, regardless of which cutoffs are used, the number of men is substantial.
The importance of environmental justice in stream rehabilitation

New forms of river management have emerged following widespread recognition of the environmental damage caused by attempts to harness and control rivers for navigation, consumptive water use and power generation. A dominant top‐down engineering‐based paradigm is being challenged by catchment‐framed, ecosystem‐based approaches which claim to place greater emphasis on participation and equity. However, there has been limited attention given to examining these claims, and principles of justice are frequently left unarticulated or embedded in what is still presented as an essentially technical, outcome‐driven management process. This paper examines the contribution of an environmental justice framework in articulating and explicating the ethical and political nature of decision making in stream rehabilitation practice. Particular attention is given to distributive, procedural and relational elements of justice, and to the limitations of an anthropocentric approach. A broader‐based ecological justice framework is proposed. Several key issues in applying this framework are discussed, including the need for ‘situated justice’, for multiple voices to be heard, for dealing with unity and diversity at the catchment scales, and in integrating knowledge through genuine transdisciplinary research and practice.
Women's career types: attributions of satisfaction with career success

This study, examines women's career types and their effects on women's satisfaction with their career success and their attributions of the sources of this career success. The study proposes a typology of four career types that are determined by the manifestation of a woman's career pattern and career locus. It finds empirical evidence of three distinct career types for women: achievers, navigators and accommodators. Women having accommodator career types are significantly less satisfied with their career success than women having navigator career types and achiever career types.