Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Equidistant ð f h Þ ﬁsh-eye perspective with application in distortion centre estimation

Radial distortion in an image is a geometric distortion that causes a non-linear variation in resolution across the image, with a higher spatial resolution in the central areas of the image, and lower resolution in the peripheral areas of the image. This is particularly evident in ﬁsh-eye cameras, with very wide ﬁelds-of-view. Equidistant ﬁsh-eye cameras are designed such that the distance between a projected point and the distortion centre of the image is proportional to the incident angle of the projected ray, scaled only by the focal length. The perspective of the projection of a given scene in an equidistant ﬁsh-eye camera differs greatly from the projection of the same scene in a rectilinear pin-hole camera. For example, while the ﬁeld-of-view is signiﬁcantly larger for a ﬁsh-eye camera, the non-linear radial distortion of the scene results in straight lines mapping to curves of a particular shape in the equidistant ﬁsh-eye image. In this paper, we describe equidistant ﬁsh-eye perspective in terms of the projection of sets of parallel lines to the equidistant ﬁsh-eye plane, and derive an equation that describes the projection of a straight line. We also demonstrate how the shape of a projected straight line can be accurately described by arcs of circles on the distorted image plane. We also describe an application of the equidistant perspective properties, by showing that the distortion centre of an equidistant ﬁsh-eye camera can be estimated by the extraction of the vanishing points. Additionally, we examine the accuracy of this estimation procedure on a large set of synthetically created images and a smaller set of real images from ﬁsh-eye cameras.
Population Structure and Covariate Analysis Based on Pairwise Microsatellite Allele Matching Frequencies

We describe a general model for pairwise microsatellite allele matching probabilities. The model can be used for analysis of population substructure, and is particularly focused on relating genetic correlation to measurable covariates. The approach is intended for cases when the existence of subpopulations is uncertain and a priori assignment of samples to hypothesized subpopulations is difficult. Such a situation arises, for example, with western Arctic bowhead whales, where genetic samples are available only from a possibly mixed migratory assemblage. We estimate genetic structure associated with spatial, temporal, or other variables that may confound the detection of population structure. In the bowhead case, the model permits detection of genetic patterns associated with a temporally pulsed multi-population assemblage in the annual migration. Hypothesis tests for population substructure and for covariate effects can be carried out using permutation methods. Simulated and real examples illustrate the effectiveness and reliability of the approach and enable comparisons with other familiar approaches. Analysis of the bowhead data finds no evidence for two temporally pulsed subpopulations using the best available data, although a significant pattern found by other researchers using preliminary data is also confirmed here. Code in the R language is available from www.stat.colostate.edu/~geof/gammmp.html.
Association between Perfluorinated Compound Exposure and Miscarriage in Danish Pregnant Women

Perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) have been extensively used in consumer products and humans are widely exposed to these persistent compounds. A recent study found no association between exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and miscarriage, but no studies have examined adverse effect of the more recently introduced PFASs. We therefore conducted a case-control study within a population-based, prospective cohort during 2010-2012. Newly pregnant women residing in the Municipality of Odense, Denmark were invited to enroll in the Odense Child Cohort at their first antenatal visit before pregnancy week 12. Among a total of 2,874 participating women, 88 suffered a miscarriage and 59 had stored serum samples, of which 56 occurred before gestational week 12. They were compared to a random sample (N=336) of delivering women, who had also donated serum samples before week 12. Using a case-control design, 51 of the women suffering a miscarriage were matched on parity and gestational day of serum sampling with 204 delivering women. In a multiple logistic regression with adjustment for age, BMI, parity and gestational age at serum sampling, women with the highest tertile of exposure to perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) in pregnancy had odds ratios for miscarriage of 16.5 (95% CI 7.4-36.6-36.5) and 2.67 (1.31-5.44), respectively, as compared to the lowest tertile. In the matched data set, the OR were 37.9 (9.9-145.2) and 3.71 (1.60-8.60), respectively. The association with perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) was in the same direction, but not statistically significant, while no association was found with PFOA and PFOS. Our findings require confirmation due to the possible public health importance, given that all pregnant women are exposed to these widely used compounds.
Nonconscious and Contaminative Effects of Hypothetical Questions on Subsequent Decision Making

In this article we examine the impact of asking hypothetical questions on respondents' subsequent decision making. Across several experiments we find that even though such questions are purely hypothetical, respondents are unable to prevent a substantial biasing effect on their behavior. Further, we find that an increase in cognitive elaboration increases the contaminative effects of hypothetical questions and that this increase occurs primarily when the hypothetical information is relevant. In-depth poststudy interviews with a subset of the participants suggest that the effects of hypothetical questions on choice occur beyond awareness and, as a result, are quite difficult to counteract. Copyright 2001 by the University of Chicago.
Potential use of amino acid cocktails to reduce renal tubular reabsorption of radioconjugates.

Exercise induced renal dysfunction is reported to occur in treated hypertensive patients but not seen normotensive subjects. It is unclear if this phenomenon is related to the disease or to treatment. Methods: Four normal volunteers and 15 hypertensive subjects (antihypertensive medications were discontinued for more than 4 wk) were studied with upright radionuclide renography at rest and during bicycle exercise. The amount of exercise was sufficient to increase the heart rate at least 20 bpm above the resting value. All subjects were healthy, without evidence of left ventricular hypertro phy renal disease or hypertensive retinal disease. BUN, serum creatinine concentration and urinalysis were normal in all subjects. Renograms were performed for 12-15 min after injection of either 1 mCi [123l]orthoiodohippurate (OIH) or 2-7 mCi "Tc-mercap-toacetyltriglycine (MAG3). Visual analysis and mean transit time calculation were performed on the rest and exercise studies. Results: Seven of 14 hypertensive subjects and none of the normal volunteers demonstrated abnormal prolongation in renal transit during exercise which was not seen on the resting renogram. Four of these seven subjects had a history of hyper tension for 2 yr or less. Conclusion: About 50% of individuals with mild-to-moderate hypertension and normal renal function may have abnormal renal transit of renal excretion agents during exercise, although their baseline studies are normal. This finding is unassociated with therapy and appears to be related directly to the pathophysiology of essential hypertension.
Cardiac Myosin Light Chain-2: A Novel Essential Component of Thick-Myofilament Assembly and Contractility of the Heart

Although it is well known that mutations in the cardiac regulatory myosin light chain-2 (mlc-2) gene cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the precise in vivo structural and functional roles of MLC-2 in the heart are only poorly understood. We have isolated a mutation in zebrafish, tell tale heart (telm225), which selectively perturbs contractility of the embryonic heart. By positional cloning, we identified tel to encode the zebrafish mlc-2 gene. In contrast to mammals, zebrafish have only 1 cardiac-specific mlc-2 gene, which we find to be expressed in atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes during early embryonic development, but also in the adult heart. Accordingly, loss of zMLC-2 function cannot be compensated for by upregulation of another mlc-2 gene. Surprisingly, ultrastructural analysis of tel cardiomyocytes reveals complete absence of organized thick myofilaments. Thus, our findings provide the first in vivo evidence that cardiac MLC-2 is required for thick-filament stabilization and contractility in the vertebrate heart.
Child-Na Score: A Predictive Model for Survival in Cirrhotic Patients with Symptomatic Portal Hypertension Treated with TIPS

Background and Aim Several models have been developed to predict survival in patients with cirrhosis undergoing TIPS; however, few of these models have gained widespread acceptance, especially in the era of covered stents. The aim of this study was to establish an evidence-based model for predicting survival after TIPS procedures. Methods A total of 210 patients with cirrhosis treated with TIPS were considered in the study. We comprehensively investigated factors associated with one-year survival and developed a new predictive model using the Cox regression model. Results In the multivariate analysis, the Child-Pugh score and serum sodium levels were independent predictors of one-year survival. A new score incorporating serum sodium into the Child-Pugh score was developed: Child-Na score. We compared the predictive accuracy of Child-Na score with that of other scores; only the Child-Na and MELD-Na scores had adequate predictive ability in patients with serum Na levels <138 mmol/L. The best Child-Na cut-off score (15.5) differentiated two groups of patients with distinct prognoses (one-year cumulative survival rates of 80.6% and 45.5%); this finding was confirmed in a validation cohort (n = 86). In a subgroup analysis stratifying patients by indication for TIPS, the Child-Na score distinguished patients with different prognoses. Conclusions Patients with variceal bleeding and a Child-Na score ≤15 had a better prognosis than patients with a score ≥16. Patients with refractory ascites and a Child-Na score ≥16 had a high risk of death after the TIPS procedures; caution should be used when treating these patients with TIPS.
Burden of highly resistant microorganisms in a Dutch intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND The occurrence of highly resistant microorganisms (HRMOs) is a major threat to critical care patients, leading to worse outcomes, need for isolation measures, and demand for second-line or rescue antibiotics. The aim of this study was to quantify the burden of HRMOs in an intensive care unit (ICU) for adult patients in a university hospital in the Netherlands. We evaluated local distribution of different HRMO categories and proportion of ICU-imported versus ICU- acquired HRMOs. Outcome of HRMO-positive patients versuscontrols was compared. METHODS In this prospective single-centre study, culture results of all ICU patients during a four-month period were recorded, as well as APACHE scores, ICU mortality and length of stay (LOS) in the ICU. RESULTS 58 of 962 (6.0%) patients were HRMO positive during ICU stay. The majority (60%) of those patients were HRMO positive on ICU admission. HRMO-positive patients had significantly higher APACHE scores, longer LOS and higher mortality compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that a large part of antibiotic resistance in the ICU is imported. This underscores the importance of a robust surveillance and infection control program throughout the hospital, and implies that better recognition of those at risk for HRMO carriage before ICU admission may be worthwhile. Only a small minority of patients with HRMO at admission did not have any known risk factors for HRMO.
Convergence Results of a Local Minimax Method for Finding Multiple Critical Points

In [Y. Li and J. Zhou, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. ,, 23 (2001), pp. 840--865], a new local minimax method that characterizes a saddle point as a solution to a local minimax problem was established. Based on the local characterization, a numerical minimax algorithm was designed for finding multiple saddle points. Numerical computations of many examples in semilinear elliptic PDE were successfully carried out to solve for multiple solutions. One of the important issues which remains unsolved is the convergence of the numerical minimax method. In this paper, first Step 5 in the algorithm is modified with the design of a new stepsize rule that is easier to implement practically and with which convergence results of the numerical minimax method are established for isolated and nonisolated critical points. The convergence results show that the algorithm indeed exceeds the scope of a minimax principle. In the last section, numerical multiple solutions to the Henon equation and a sublinear elliptic equation subject to zero Dirichlet boundary condition are presented to show their numerical convergence and profiles.
Automatic web query classification using labeled and unlabeled training data

Accurate topical categorization of user queries allows for increased effectiveness, efficiency, and revenue potential in general-purpose web search systems. Such categorization becomes critical if the system is to return results not just from a general web collection but from topic-specific databases as well. Maintaining sufficient categorization recall is very difficult as web queries are typically short, yielding few features per query. We examine three approaches to topical categorization of general web queries: matching against a list of manually labeled queries, supervised learning of classifiers, and mining of selectional preference rules from large unlabeled query logs. Each approach has its advantages in tackling the web query classification recall problem, and combining the three techniques allows us to classify a substantially larger proportion of queries than any of the individual techniques. We examine the performance of each approach on a real web query stream and show that our combined method accurately classifies 46% of queries, outperforming the recall of the best single approach by nearly 20%, with a 7% improvement in overall effectiveness.
Multivitamins in the prevention of cancer in men: the Physicians' Health Study II randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT Multivitamin preparations are the most common dietary supplement, taken by at least one-third of all US adults. Observational studies have not provided evidence regarding associations of multivitamin use with total and site-specific cancer incidence or mortality. OBJECTIVE To determine whether long-term multivitamin supplementation decreases the risk of total and site-specific cancer events among men. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial (Physicians" Health Study II) of 14 641 male US physicians initially aged 50 years or older (mean [SD] age, 64.3 [9.2] years), including 1312 men with a history of cancer at randomization, enrolled in a common multivitamin study that began in 1997 with treatment and follow-up through June 1, 2011. INTERVENTION Daily multivitamin or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Total cancer (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer), with prostate, colorectal, and other site-specific cancers among the secondary end points. RESULTS During a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 11.2 (10.7-13.3) years, there were 2669 men with confirmed cancer, including 1373 cases of prostate cancer and 210 cases of colorectal cancer. Compared with placebo, men taking a daily multivitamin had a statistically significant reduction in the incidence of total cancer (multivitamin and placebo groups, 17.0 and 18.3 events, respectively, per 1000 person-years; hazard ratio [HR], 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.998; P=.04). There was no significant effect of a daily multivitamin on prostate cancer (multivitamin and placebo groups, 9.1 and 9.2 events, respectively, per 1000 person-years; HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.88-1.09; P=.76), colorectal cancer (multivitamin and placebo groups, 1.2 and 1.4 events, respectively, per 1000 person-years; HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.68-1.17; P=.39), or other site-specific cancers. There was no significant difference in the risk of cancer mortality (multivitamin and placebo groups, 4.9 and 5.6 events, respectively, per 1000 person-years; HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.77-1.01; P=.07). Daily multivitamin use was associated with a reduction in total cancer among 1312 men with a baseline history of cancer (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.56-0.96; P=.02), but this did not differ significantly from that among 13 329 men initially without cancer (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.87-1.02; P=.15; P for interaction=.07). Conclusion In this large prevention trial of male physicians, daily multivitamin supplementation modestly but significantly reduced the risk of total cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00270647.
The Knowledge Gap: Implications for Early Education Â¥t

Today, the United States is experiencing an almost unprecedented sharp increase in economic inequality (Browning, 2003). Wealth distribution-the differences between lowincome families and middleand upperincome families, or the so-called haves and have-nots-is greater now than at any other time in our history since 1929 (Gaziano, 1997). And the ramifications of such income differentials are significant and have farreaching effects, not only for the earliest years of children's literacy development but also throughout their lifetimes. This chapter examines the impact of economic disparities on children's beginning experiences with print (see also Britto, Fuligni, & Brooks-Gunn, Chapter 23, this volume). It argues that, in addition to skill delays, differences in socioeconomic circumstances lead to knowledge delays, which, if not addressed in the early years, may lead to a growing knowledge gap. Potentially far more detrimental than achievement score differences, this gap has been shown to relate to social mobility limitations, health and safety problems, anomie, and lack of civic participation (Viswanath & Finnegan, 1996). Consequently, in efforts to prepare children to learn to read, it is crucial to recognize the important role of knowledge in early literacy (Neuman, 2001) and to better balance skill development with conceptual knowledge development. To make this argument, I first review the concomitants of poverty conditions for children's early literacy development, then describe its implications on increasing knowledge differentials between the "information haves" and the "information have-nots. " I end with a set of recommendations for enhancing content knowledge in the early years.
Outbreak of tetanus cases following the tsunami in Aceh province, Indonesia

Abstract Aceh Province in Indonesia was the area most severely affected by the tsunami of 26 December 2004. Extensive loss of life, property, and livelihood left a large segment of the population without basic needs and vulnerable to epidemic-prone diseases. Following the tsunami, a surveillance/early warning and response system was implemented to detect, investigate, and respond to outbreaks of communicable diseases. Fixed and mobile clinics, hospitals, and laboratories, operating all over the affected areas, reported weekly figures and daily alerts. Over 1 month following the tsunami, 106 cases of clinically diagnosed tetanus were reported. Most cases occurred among adults. The case fatality ratio was 18.9%, higher among older patients and among those with short incubation periods. No other major outbreaks occurred in the acute phase of the emergency. This series of tetanus cases was the largest cluster reported following a natural disaster or mass casualty event, overtaken only by the recent earthquake in the Kashmir (139 cases reported), and reflects the high number of injuries which occurred during the tsunami and poor prior immunization status of the population. In the context of natural disasters, preventive measures against tetanus, including wound cleaning and active and passive immunization, should be routinely conducted. Immediate disaster relief should include supplies for the management of wounds and cases of tetanus.
Notch–Rbpj signaling is required for the development of noradrenergic neurons in the mouse locus coeruleus

Summary The locus coeruleus (LC) is the main source of noradrenaline in the brain and is implicated in a broad spectrum of physiological and behavioral processes. However, genetic pathways controlling the development of noradrenergic neurons in the mammalian brain are largely unknown. We report here that Rbpj, a key nuclear effector in the Notch signaling pathway, plays an essential role in LC neuron development in the mouse. Conditional inactivation of Rbpj in the dorsal rhombomere (r) 1, where LC neurons are born, resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of Phox2a- and Phox2b-expressing early-differentiating LC neurons, and dopamine-&bgr;-hydroxylase- and tyrosine-hydroxylase-expressing late-differentiating LC neurons. In contrast, other neuronal populations derived from the dorsal r1 were either reduced or unchanged. In addition, a drastic upregulation of Ascl1, an essential factor for noradrenergic neurogenesis, was observed in dorsal r1 of conditional knockout mice. Through genomic sequence analysis and EMSA and ChIP assays, a conserved Rbpj-binding motif was identified within the Ascl1 promoter. A luciferase reporter assay revealed that Rbpj per se could induce Ascl1 transactivation but this effect was counteracted by its downstream-targeted gene Hes1. Moreover, our in vitro gene transfection and in ovo electroporation assays showed that Rbpj upregulated Ascl1 expression when Hes1 expression was knocked down, although it also exerted a repressive effect on Ascl1 expression in the presence of Hes1. Thus, our results provide the first evidence that Rbpj functions as a key modulator of LC neuron development by regulating Ascl1 expression directly, and indirectly through its target gene Hes1.
Permutation Meets Parallel Compressed Sensing: How to Relax Restricted Isometry Property for 2D Sparse Signals

Traditional compressed sensing considers sampling a 1D signal. For a multidimensional signal, if reshaped into a vector, the required size of the sensing matrix becomes dramatically large, which increases the storage and computational complexity significantly. To solve this problem, the multidimensional signal is reshaped into a 2D signal, which is then sampled and reconstructed column by column using the same sensing matrix. This approach is referred to as parallel compressed sensing, and it has much lower storage and computational complexity. For a given reconstruction performance of parallel compressed sensing, if a so-called acceptable permutation is applied to the 2D signal, the corresponding sensing matrix is shown to have a smaller required order of restricted isometry property condition, and thus, lower storage and computation complexity at the decoder are required. A zigzag-scan-based permutation is shown to be particularly useful for signals satisfying the newly introduced layer model. As an application of the parallel compressed sensing with the zigzag-scan-based permutation, a video compression scheme is presented. It is shown that the zigzag-scan-based permutation increases the peak signal-to-noise ratio of reconstructed images and video frames.