Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taking the Scenic Route to 3D: Optimising Reconstruction from Moving Cameras

Reconstruction of 3D environments is a problem that has been widely addressed in the literature. While many approaches exist to perform reconstruction, few of them take an active role in deciding where the next observations should come from. Furthermore, the problem of travelling from the camera's current position to the next, known as pathplanning, usually focuses on minimising path length. This approach is ill-suited for reconstruction applications, where learning about the environment is more valuable than speed of traversal. We present a novel Scenic Route Planner that selects paths which maximise information gain, both in terms of total map coverage and reconstruction accuracy. We also introduce a new type of collaborative behaviour into the planning stage called opportunistic collaboration, which allows sensors to switch between acting as independent Structure from Motion (SfM) agents or as a variable baseline stereo pair. We show that Scenic Planning enables similar performance to state-of-the-art batch approaches using less than 0.00027% of the possible stereo pairs (3% of the views). Comparison against length-based pathplanning approaches show that our approach produces more complete and more accurate maps with fewer frames. Finally, we demonstrate the Scenic Pathplanner's ability to generalise to live scenarios by mounting cameras on autonomous ground-based sensor platforms and exploring an environment.
Meat, fish and egg intake and risk of breast cancer

Intakes of animal protein, meat, and eggs have been associated with breast cancer incidence and mortality in ecological studies, but data from long‐term prospective studies are limited. We therefore examined these relationships in the Nurses' Health Study. We followed 88,647 women for 18 years, with 5 assessments of diet by food frequency questionnaire, cumulatively averaged and updated over time. We calculated the relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for risk of developing invasive breast cancer, over categories of nutrient and food intake. During follow‐up, 4,107 women developed invasive breast cancer. Compared to the lowest quintile of intake, the RR and 95% CI for the highest quintile of intake were 1.02 (0.92–1.14) for animal protein, 0.93 (0.83–1.05) for red meat and 0.89 (0.79–1.00) for all meat. Results did not differ by menopausal status or family history of breast cancer. We found no evidence that intake of meat or fish during mid‐life and later was associated with risk of breast cancer. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Is there a Brazilian model of development? Are there lessons for countries in Africa?

Brazilâ€™s recent growth has been intensely pro-poor, and both poverty and inequality have declined significantly in the last decade. It has been suggested that Brazilâ€™s unexpected successes are the outcome of a new model of development. The paper argues that Brazilâ€™s unique combination of economic and social policies is at the root of its inclusive growth, but it is poorly understood. An assessment as to whether this combination constitutes a model is perhaps premature, but it is worth considering whether there are any lessons from Brazilâ€™s development policies for Sub-Saharan African countries.
Transcranial electric stimulation for the investigation of speech perception and comprehension

ABSTRACT Transcranial electric stimulation (tES), comprising transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), involves applying weak electrical current to the scalp, which can be used to modulate membrane potentials and thereby modify neural activity. Critically, behavioural or perceptual consequences of this modulation provide evidence for a causal role of neural activity in the stimulated brain region for the observed outcome. We present tES as a tool for the investigation of which neural responses are necessary for successful speech perception and comprehension. We summarise existing studies, along with challenges that need to be overcome, potential solutions, and future directions. We conclude that, although standardised stimulation parameters still need to be established, tES is a promising tool for revealing the neural basis of speech processing. Future research can use this method to explore the causal role of brain regions and neural processes for the perception and comprehension of speech.
Effects of self-, chase and mixed self/cross-pollinations on pistil longevity and fruit set in Ceiba species (Bombacaceae) with late-acting self-incompatibility.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Late-acting self-incompatibility (LSI), in which selfed flowers fail to form fruits despite apparently successful growth of the pollen tubes to the ovules, is a contentious and still poorly understood phenomenon. Some studies have indicated pollen tube-pistil interactions, and major gene control. Others favour an early acting inbreeding depression explanation. METHODS Experimental pollinations, including selfs (in a subsample of which the style was cut before pollen tubes reached the ovary), chase self/cross-pollinations, crosses, and mixed self/cross-pollinations were used to study floral/pistil longevity and effect on fruit set and seed yield in two Ceiba species known to have LSI. RESULTS Self-pollinations, including those with a cut style, had extended floral longevity compared with unpollinated flowers. Chase pollinations in which cross-pollen was applied up to 3 h after selfing set fruits, but with reduced seed set compared with crosses. Those with cross-pollen applied at 4 and 8 h after self-pollination all failed to set fruits. Flowers subjected to 1 : 1 and 2 : 1 self/cross-pollinations all produced fruits but again with a significantly lower seed set compared with crosses. CONCLUSIONS Extended floral longevity initiated with self-pollen tubes growing in the style indicates some kind of pollen tube-pistil interaction. Fruit set only in chase pollinations up to 3 h implies that self-pollen tubes either grow more slowly in the style or penetrate ovules more slowly on arrival at the ovary compared with cross-tubes. This agrees with previous observations indicating that the incidence of penetrated ovules is initially lower in selfed compared with crossed pistils. However, the low seed yield from mixed pollinations indicates that self- and cross-pollen tubes arrive at the ovary and penetrate ovules more or less simultaneously. Possible explanations for these discordant results are discussed.
Determinants of surgery related anxiety in cataract patients

Background/aims: Not much is known about the relative importance of different determinants of anxiety in cataract patients. This study analysed the predictive value of factors related to surgery induced anxiety. Methods: In 128 cataract patients, recruited from two hospitals (Medical Centre Maastricht Annadal (MCMA) and Rotterdam Eye Hospital (REH)), state anxiety was assessed at four different time points using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The following predictive factors of anxiety were measured: trait anxiety, outcome expectancies, doctor-patient relationship, coping strategy, social support, information supply, sociodemographic variables, and previous cataract surgery. Repeated measures ANOVA, t tests, multiple regression analysis, and correlations were used to analyse data. Results: In general patients reported little anxiety. The level of anxiety (scale 1–4) was the highest before surgery, decreased immediately after surgery, and increased again after the postoperative visit. Patients with higher trait anxiety levels (r = 0.41; p<0.01), and women (r = 0.30; p<0.01) reported more anxiety. The REH patients showed lower anxiety scores than the MCMA patients. Conclusion: Women and patients with higher trait anxiety were more likely to experience higher levels of state anxiety. Positive outcome expectancies and social support may decrease anxiety.
Cardiovascular Disease Is Related to Hypertension in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Greek Cohort Study

Objective. To evaluate the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Greek patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) under medical followup, and to assess the contribution of traditional CVD and RA-specific factors associated with CVD development. Methods. This is a historic cohort study; information was collected from medical records of patients who had > 2 years’ followup. Sociodemographic, clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic variables were evaluated for association with development of CVD. Results. A total of 325 RA patients were studied: 250 women, mean age at RA onset 44 ± 15 years, and 75 men, mean age at RA onset 51 ± 15 years; median followup was 10 years. Fourteen women (5.6%) and 12 men (16%) developed CVD (p = 0.004). Multi-adjusted analysis revealed that hypertension (hazard ratio 3.76, 95% CI 0.99–15.06) was associated with incidence of CVD; late age at disease onset (HR 1.07, 95% CI 1.04–1.11), elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) level 1 year after start of followup (HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00–1.05), and leflunomide treatment (HR per 1 year of treatment = 1.02, 95% CI 1.00–1.05) were also positively associated with CVD development. Conclusion. Hypertension was an important risk factor for CVD development in patients with RA. Late RA onset and inadequate early control of disease activity (as attested by CRP) remain additional risk factors. Leflunomide treatment may have a contributing effect. Early and effective treatment of RA and strict control of hypertension may modify the burden of CVD in RA patients.
Gaucher disease associated with parkinsonism: Four further case reports

Type 1 Gaucher disease is considered the non‐neuronopathic form of this autosomal recessively inherited lysosomal storage disease. We report the simultaneous occurrence of Gaucher disease with parkinsonian in four adult patients. The patients had a relatively early onset of parkinsonian manifestations, and their disease was rapidly progressive and refractory to therapy. Each had a different Gaucher genotype, although four alleles carried the common N370S mutation. No mutations were identified in the genes for parkin or α‐synuclein. The concurrence of these two phenotypes, both in this series of patients and in others in the literature, suggests a shared pathway, modifier, or other genetic etiology. Published 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Financial Inclusion in India - a Review of Initiatives and Achievements

Finance has become an essential part of an economy for development of the society as well as economy of nation. For, this purpose a strong financial system is required in not only in under-developed countries and developing countries but also developed countries for sustainable growth. Through Financial inclusion we can achieve equitable and inclusive growth of the nation. Financial inclusion stands for delivery of appropriate financial services at an affordable cost, on timely basis to vulnerable groups such as low income groups and weaker section who lack access to even the most basic banking services. In this paper, the researcher attempts to understand financial inclusion and its importance for overall development of society and Nation's economy. This study focuses on approaches adopted by various Indian banks towards achieving the ultimate goal of financial inclusion for inclusive growth in India and analyses of past years progress and achievements. The relevant data for this study has been collected with the help of from various Research
Comparison of a single-antigen microimmunofluorescence assay and inclusion fluorescent-antibody assay for detecting chlamydial antibodies and correlation of the results with neutralizing ability

An inclusion fluorescent-antibody assay (IFA) with McCoy cells infected with Chlamydia trachomatis serovar L2 was compared with a single-antigen (L2) microimmunofluorescence (MIF) assay for the detection of antichalmydial antibodies. A total of 562 serum specimens were tested by both assays, and sera representing a range of titers were tested for their ability to neutralize the infectivity of C. trachomatis. Overall, there was poor correlation between the two assays (r2 = 0.62). With most sera the inclusion IFA was more sensitive. There was better correlation between IFA titer and ability to neutralize the five serovars tested (L2, L3, C, E, and F) than between the MIF assay and neutralization. In summary, the IFA appeared to be more sensitive than the MIF assay for detecting antibodies to C. trachomatis.
An Electromagnetic Detection Case Study on Crude Oil Injection in a Young Sea Ice Environment

This paper presents a multidisciplinary case study on a crude oil injection experiment in an artificially grown young sea ice environment under controlled conditions. In particular, the changes in the geophysical and electromagnetic responses of the sea ice to oil introduction are investigated for this experiment. Furthermore, we perform a preliminary study on the detection of oil spills utilizing the normalized radar cross section (NRCS) data collected by a C-band scatterometer is presented. To this end, an inversion scheme is introduced that retrieves the effective complex permittivity of the domain prior and after oil injection by comparing the simulated and calibrated measured NRCS data, while roughness parameters calculated using lidar are utilized as prior information. Once the complex permittivity values are obtained, the volume fraction of oil within the sea ice is found using a mixture formula. Based on this volume fraction, a binary detection of oil presence seems to be possible for this test case. Finally, the possible sources of error in the retrieved effective volume fraction, which is an overestimate of the actual value, are identified and discussed by macrolevel and microlevel analyses through bulk salinity measurements and X-ray imagery of the samples, as well as a brief chemical analysis.
A common truncation variant of lipoprotein lipase (Ser447X) confers protection against coronary heart disease: the Framingham Offspring Study

Genetic variation at the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) locus has been shown to influence plasma lipids and to modulate risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Recently, we found that the most frequent variant at this locus, involving a C‐terminal truncation of two amino acids (Ser447X), was associated with both higher LPL activity and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) in patients with CHD. However, the impact of this S447X variant on lipids and CHD in the general population was hitherto unknown. We, therefore, analyzed a total of 1 114 men and 1 144 women randomly ascertained from the Framingham Offspring Study (FOS) for the presence of this LPL variant. Carrier frequency of the S447X allele was 17%, and in men carrier status was associated with higher total cholesterol (Δ=6.2 mg/dl, p=0.03), higher HDL‐C (Δ=2.3 mg/dl, p=0.01), and lower triglyceride (TG) levels (Δ=−19.4 mg/dl, p=0.02). Moreover, in men, the S447X allele conferred significant protection against CHD (odds ratio: 0.43; p=0.04). These effects on lipids and CHD were not seen in women. Our study represents the first report on the impact of this mutation on CHD in men from the general population, and we conclude, therefore, that the S447X variant may confer significant protection against high TG levels, low HDL‐C, and premature CHD in these subjects.
Experience of the health promotion clinics in Aseer region, Saudi Arabia

Context: Health promotion is the most important element of primary health care. Therefore, it is essential for the health team to apply such activity. Objective: To describe a newly established health promotion clinic at primary health care centers, in Abha city, KSA. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted during the year 2009. The files of 429 individuals were reviewed after one year from attending the health promotion clinics in Abha city, KSA. Master sheet was designed based on the relevant items of the file. The health promotion services used in the study were based on the recommendation of the relevant guidelines. Data entry and analysis was carried out using Statistical Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS). P-values less than 0.05 were selected for statistical significance. Results: After one year, the percentage of the individuals who intake imbalanced diet and did not perform any type of physical activity was more than 90% while 8% are currently smokers and 14% had depression. Clinical examination and investigation revealed that more than one quarter of our subjects were overweight. Obesity was 42% in males versus 51% in females (P<0.04). Pre-hypertension and hypertension were detected among 44 and 12% respectively. About one fifth of our subjects had pre-diabetes 21% and 3% were confirmed to have diabetes mellitus. Diet and physical activity counseling was given to all participants while referral to concerned clinics was done for individuals who suffer from high blood sugar, abnormal lipid profile, obesity and depression. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that health promotion clinics provided by trained professional health care team can be used as a new approach for early detection and management of the common health problems in primary health care centers.
Validation of Prediction of Diabetes by the Archimedes Model and Comparison With Other Predicting Models

OBJECTIVE—To validate the ability of the Archimedes model to accurately predict the risk of developing diabetes in individuals. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Subjects were randomly selected from the San Antonio Heart Study population. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (aROC) curve derived from the Archimedes model was calculated and also compared with the aROCs from two published multiple logistic regression models designed to estimate diabetes risk. RESULTS—The aROC for the Archimedes model was 0.818 (95% CI 0.739–0.899) compared with aROCs of 0.869 (0.801–0.936) and 0.870 (0.802–0.937) for the two logistic regression models, respectively. Risk estimates from the logistic models were highly correlated with the estimates derived from the Archimedes model. CONCLUSIONS—The Archimedes model predicts individual diabetes risk with a high level of sensitivity and specificity, comparable with that of models designed specifically for that purpose. Unlike the latter models, Archimedes also predicts the risk of numerous other health outcomes.
Endoscopic ultrasound‐guided paracentesis of ascitic fluid

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)‐guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) has been widely used for the diagnosis of primary and metastatic gastrointestinal (GI) and non‐GI malignancies. Few studies have been published to evaluate the accuracy and the cytologic features of EUS‐guided paracentesis in the diagnosis and staging of malignant neoplasms.
Better Objective Sleep Quality in Older Adults with High Subjective Memory Decline.

BACKGROUND Sleep disturbance is implicated in memory function across normal aging and neurodegenerative disease. Furthermore, there is mounting evidence to suggest that high levels of subjective memory decline (SMD) may signal very early neurodegenerative changes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This view prompts research examining the relationship between SMD and other risk factors for cognitive decline, including sleep disturbance. OBJECTIVE To determine whether objective and subjective indices of sleep predict SMD in older adults. METHODS 181 community-based older adults were divided into groups of high and low SMD based on their responses to the Memory Assessment Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q). They undertook two weeks of objective sleep monitoring (actigraphy), and completed a subjective sleep quality assessment using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. RESULTS Hierarchical logistic regression indicated that after controlling for demographics and mood, objective sleep quality predicted high SMD group status (ΔNagelkerke R2 = 0.07, χ2 = 9.80 (3), p = 0.020), while subjective sleep quality did not. Contrary to expectation, however, less sleep disruption predicted high SMD. CONCLUSION These unexpected results may suggest a non-linear trajectory between sleep and memory decline in aging. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research, which taken together, may indicate compensatory sleep patterns of reduced sleep disruption in people with high levels of SMD. These preliminary findings suggest the utility of including analysis of sleep behavior in further longitudinal research of this at-risk group of older people.
Fostering Innovation in Cultural Contexts

Many museums are committed to market orientation as the underlying philosophy for their strategies. This orientation has to be coordinated with a service orientation focused on quality and custody in order to fulfill the museum’s mission. In the current work, the authors analyze the different impact of market orientation and service orientation on organizational and technological innovations implemented by museums. The hypotheses posited are examined for a sample of 491 British, French, Italian, and Spanish museums. Findings suggest that visitor and donor orientation are two key market orientation dimensions for technological and organizational innovation in museums, whereas interfunctional coordination and collaboration with competitors do not act directly, although they do boost the effect of visitor orientation. Further, quality orientation is also central to innovation. The present work thus concludes the existence of two interrelated routes that lead to technological and organizational innovation in museums, a business approach based on market orientation and a cultural approach based on service orientation.
Predisclosure Information, Firm Capitalization, And Security Price Behavior Around Earnings Announcements

Several studies on the relationship between earnings reports and security price behavior provide evidence suggesting that a significant portion of the information revealed through earnings reports is reflected in security prices prior to the report month (e.g., Ball and Brown [1968] and Brown and Kennelly [1972]). This has been attributed (at least partly) to the existence of other more timely sources of information which allow market agents to forecast earnings prior to their release. The evidence above reflects an "average finding" across all firms. One question of interest is whether there are significant systematic crosssectional differences in the security price reactions to earnings announcements of firms which are associated with specific firm characteristics that lead to differential amounts of predisclosure information. This study focuses on firm size (capitalization) as one such characteristic. ' A "firm
Proteasome Activity Modulates Chromatin Modifications and RNA Polymerase II Phosphorylation To Enhance Glucocorticoid Receptor-Mediated Transcription

ABSTRACT The 26S proteasome modulates steroid hormone receptor-dependent gene transcription at least in part by regulating turnover and recycling of receptor/transcriptional DNA complexes, thereby ensuring continued hormone response. For the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), inhibition of proteasome-mediated proteolysis or RNA interference-mediated depletion of specific proteasome subunits results in an increase in gene expression. To facilitate transcription, proteasome inhibition alters at least two features associated with modification of chromatin architecture and gene transcription. First, proteasome inhibition increases trimethyl histone H3K4 levels with a corresponding accumulation of this modification on GR-regulated promoters in vivo. Secondly, global levels of phosphorylated RNA polymerase II (Pol II) increase, together with hormone-dependent association of the phosphorylated Pol II, with the promoter and the body of the activated gene. We propose that apart from modulating receptor turnover, the proteasome directly influences both the transcription machinery and chromatin structure, factors integral to nuclear receptor-regulated gene transcription.