Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Video collections in panoramic contexts

Video collections of places show contrasts and changes in our world, but current interfaces to video collections make it hard for users to explore these changes. Recent state-of-the-art interfaces attempt to solve this problem for 'outside->in' collections, but cannot connect 'inside->out' collections of the same place which do not visually overlap. We extend the focus+context paradigm to create a video-collections+context interface by embedding videos into a panorama. We build a spatio-temporal index and tools for fast exploration of the space and time of the video collection. We demonstrate the flexibility of our representation with interfaces for desktop and mobile flat displays, and for a spherical display with joypad and tablet controllers. We study with users the effect of our video-collection+context system to spatio-temporal localization tasks, and find significant improvements to accuracy and completion time in visual search tasks compared to existing systems. We measure the usability of our interface with System Usability Scale (SUS) and task-specific questionnaires, and find our system scores higher.
Educational Differences in Adolescents' Sexual Health: A Pervasive Phenomenon in a National Dutch Sample

Educational level is strongly associated with age of first intercourse and risk of unintended pregnancies. This study examined these associations in a large representative sample of Dutch adolescents and also included associations of educational level with other sexual health aspects. Adolescents aged 12 to 25 (3,926 boys and 3,915 girls) completed an online questionnaire that included measures of romantic and sexual experience; the evaluation of their sexual debut; the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy; and sexual attitudes, satisfaction, self-efficacy, knowledge, victimization, and functioning. The results showed that adolescents on a vocational track or who completed fewer years of education were more at risk of several adverse sexual health outcomes than adolescents on an academic track. They had their first sexual experiences at an earlier age; evaluated these experiences less favorably; had less sexual health knowledge and fewer refusal skills; and had a higher risk of unintended pregnancy, STIs, and victimization. Possible explanations for these consistent differences are discussed. Sex education and services should pay specific and targeted attention to less educated young people and tailor their efforts specifically to the needs, characteristics, and realities of this group.
A new smallest sigma set for the Unscented Transform and its applications on SLAM

In this work we propose a new set of sigma points for the Unscented Transform that uses the minimum number of points. We than compare this new set with the symmetric set, the reduced set, and the spherical set. Simulations comparing this sets are done to verify the properties of this set and to verify their transforms. Lastly, we simulate each of these sets in a recursive filter for SLAM. The results show that our set is a better choice for a non symmetric prior distribution and still a good alternative for symmetric prior distributions.
Rights Approach A Strategic Theory of the Firm as a Nexus of Incomplete Contracts: A Property

This article maintains that insights gained by joining property rights theory with Austrian economics can contribute to the dynamic capabilities literature by giving context to key constructs in the dynamic capabilities approach, particularly the nature of organizational processes and resource positions. By defining resources and capabilities as bundles of property rights, scholars can theoretically consider how firms develop, deploy, and renew those resources and capabilities by a process of bundling and rebundling resource combinations. Furthermore, central to bundling resource combinations is the contracting process, which generates information that leads to more efficient solutions that are achieved through intense bargaining and ingenuity, that in turn lead to discovery of new economic opportunities. However, in a world of positive transaction costs, the notion of the firm as a nexus of (complete) contracts is less useful for the authors' purposes; rather, the firm is defined as a nexus of incomplete contracts, which enables the possibility of entrepreneurial alertness and ingenuity. Thus, the authors maintain that the contracting process is a form of the entrepreneurial discovery process enabling firms to sense and seize new economic opportunities. Furthermore, the authors suggest that property rights Tom Roehl for their insightful comments. We also thank Action Editor Michael Leiblein and two anonymous reviewers for suggestions and comments that improved the article. The usual disclaimer applies.
System for the automated segmentation of heads from arbitrary background

We propose a system for the fully automated segmentation of frontal human head portraits from arbitrary unknown background. No user interaction is required at all, as the system is initialized using a standard eye detector. Using this semantic information, the head region is projected into a normalized polar reference frame. Regional and boundary models are learned from the image data to setup an energy function for segmentation. A robust non-local boundary detection scheme is proposed, which minimizes the similarity of fore - and background regions. Additionally, a shape model learned from a large set of manually segmented images is employed as prior information to encourage the segmentation of plausible head shapes. Segmentation is performed as an iterative optimization process, using two different graph-based algorithms.
Opposing functions of CREB and MKK1 synergistically regulate the geometry of dendritic spines in visual cortex

Most excitatory inputs onto pyramidal neurons are made on dendritic spines. The geometry of dendritic spines modulates synaptic function; yet we know little regarding the molecular signals that regulate spine geometry. Here we report that neurons coordinately regulate the geometry of spines to compensate for variability in spine number, by a process requiring the transcription factor CREB and the kinase MKK1. We find that CREB function is induced, whereas MKK1 is inhibited, by activity blockade. To obtain evidence that CREB and MKK1 regulate dendritic spine geometry in vivo, we coexpressed green fluorescent protein and dominant negative CREB or MKK1 in pyramidal neurons of the intact rat visual cortex. Spines on apical dendrites of layer 3 neurons were then characterized by confocal microscopy. We find that CREB and MKK1 regulate spine geometry in opposite ways. MKK1 is required to reduce spine head size when spine density is high, whereas CREB is required to enlarge spines when spine density is low. Our data suggest that CREB and MKK1 might function as complementary negative feedback mechanisms to maintain synaptic drive within bounds. J. Comp. Neurol. 503:605–617, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Histamine treatment induces rearrangements of orthogonal arrays of particles (OAPs) in human AQP4-expressing gastric cells

To test the involvement of the water channel aquaporin (AQP)-4 in gastric acid physiology, the human gastric cell line (HGT)-1 was stably transfected with rat AQP4. AQP4 was immunolocalized to the basolateral membrane of transfected HGT-1 cells, like in native parietal cells. Expression of AQP4 in transfected cells increased the osmotic water permeability coefficient (P f) from 2.02 ± 0.3 × 10−4 to 16.37 ± 0.5 × 10−4 cm/s at 20°C. Freeze-fracture EM showed distinct orthogonal arrays of particles (OAPs), the morphological signature of AQP4, on the plasma membrane of AQP4-expressing cells. Quantitative morphometry showed that the density of OAPs was 2.5 ± 0.3% under basal condition and decreased by 50% to 1.2 ± 0.3% after 20 min of histamine stimulation, mainly due to a significant decrease of the OAPs number. Concomitantly, P f decreased by ∼35% in 20-min histamine-stimulated cells. Both P f and OAPs density were not modified after 10 min of histamine exposure, time at which the maximal hormonal response is observed. Cell surface biotinylation experiments confirmed that AQP4 is internalized after 20 min of histamine exposure, which may account for the downregulation of water transport. This is the first evidence for short term rearrangement of OAPs in an established AQP4-expressing cell line.
Calcitonin: Physiology or fantasy?

Calcitonin, a potent hypocalcemic hormone produced by the C‐cells of the thyroid, was first discovered by Harold Copp in 1962. The physiological significance of calcitonin has been questioned, but recent studies using genetically modified mouse models have uncovered additional actions of calcitonin acting through its receptor (CTR) that are of particular significance to the regulation of bone and calcium homeostasis. Mice in which the CTR is deleted in osteoclasts are more susceptible to induced hypercalcemia and exogenous calcitonin is able to lower serum calcium in younger animals. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that calcitonin can regulate serum calcium by inhibiting the efflux of calcium from bone, and that this action is most important when bone turnover is high. Calcitonin has also been implicated in protecting the skeleton from excessive loss of bone mineral during times of high calcium demand, such as lactation. This action may be linked to an intriguing and as yet unexplained observation that calcitonin inhibits bone formation, because deletion of the CTR leads to increased bone formation. We propose several mechanisms by which calcitonin could protect the skeleton by regulating bone turnover, acting within the bone and/or centrally. A new more holistic notion of the physiological role of calcitonin in bone and calcium homeostasis is required and we have highlighted some important knowledge gaps so that future calcitonin research will help to achieve such an understanding. © 2013 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Phero-trail: a bio-inspired location service for mobile underwater sensor networks

A SEA Swarm (Sensor Equipped Aquatic Swarm) is a collection of mobile underwater sensors that moves as a group with water current and enables 4D (space and time) monitoring of local underwater events such as contaminants and intruders. For prompt alert reporting, mobile sensors routes events to mobile sinks (i.e., autonomous underwater vehicles) via geographic routing that is known to be most efficient under mobility and scarce acoustic bandwidth. In order for a packet to be routed to the destination using geographical routing, it requires to know the location of the destination. This is accomplished by having a location service that returns the location of a requested node. Our goal is to design such location service for SEA Swarm. In this paper, we analyze various design choices to realize an efficient location service in SEA Swarm scenarios. We find that conventional ad hoc network location service protocols cannot be directly used, because the entire swarm moves along water current. We prove that maintaining location information in a 2D plane is a better design choice. Given this, we propose a bio-inspired location service called a Phero-Trail location service protocol. In Phero-Trail, location information is stored in a 2D upper hull of a SEA Swarm, and a mobile sink uses its trajectory (a la a pheromone trail of ants) projected to the 2D hull to maintain location information. This enables mobile sensors to efficiently locate a mobile sink. Our results show that Phero- Trail performs better than existing approaches.
Pulse Pressure and Risk of Alzheimer Disease in Persons Aged 75 Years and Older: A Community-Based, Longitudinal Study

Background and Purpose— Elevated blood pressure has been found to increase the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer disease. We sought to investigate whether pulse pressure was predictive of Alzheimer disease and dementia. Methods— A community-based, dementia-free cohort (n=1270) aged ≥75 years was clinically examined twice over 6 years to detect incident dementia with the use of the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition. Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze pulse pressure in association with incident Alzheimer disease and dementia after adjustment for several potential confounders, including systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Results— During the 5464.6 person-years (median, 4.7 years) of follow-up, 339 subjects developed dementia, including 256 Alzheimer disease cases. Pulse pressure as a continuous variable was not statistically related to the risk of Alzheimer disease and dementia. In the categorical analysis, however, in comparison with median tertile of pulse pressure (70 to 84 mm Hg), subjects with higher pulse pressure had adjusted relative risks (95% CI) of 1.4 (1.0 to 2.0;P =0.04) for Alzheimer disease and 1.3 (0.9 to 1.7) for dementia. The corresponding figures related to lower pulse pressure were 1.7 (1.2 to 2.3) for Alzheimer disease and 1.4 (1.0 to 1.9;P =0.03) for dementia. This association was particularly pronounced among women. Conclusions— Higher pulse pressure is associated with increased risk for Alzheimer disease and dementia in old adults, which is probably due to artery stiffness and severe atherosclerosis. Poor cerebral perfusion related to decreased pulse pressure may explain the association between lower pulse pressure and increased dementia risk.
Circadian Dependence of Infarct Size and Left Ventricular Function After ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Rationale: In rodents, infarct size after ischemia/reperfusion exhibits a circadian dependence on the time of coronary occlusion. It is not known if a similar circadian dependence of infarct size occurs in humans. Objective: To determine if humans exhibit a circadian dependence of infarct size in the setting of ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods and Results: A retrospective analysis of 1031 patients with STEMI referred for primary percutaneous coronary intervention with known ischemic times between 1 and 6 hours identified 165 patients with occluded arteries on presentation without evidence of preinfarction angina or collateral blood flow. Both ischemic duration and angiographic area at risk were not dependent on time of infarct onset. We observed that the extent of infarct size measured by creatine kinase release was significantly associated with time of day onset of infarction (P<0.0001). The greatest myocardial injury occurred at 1:00 AM onset of ischemia and 5:00 AM onset of reperfusion, with the peak creatine kinase measured at the peak of the curve being 82% higher than that recorded at the trough. Similarly, left ventricular ejection fraction measured within 2 days of infarction was also dependent on time of onset of STEMI with the absolute left ventricular ejection fraction at peak >7% higher than at trough (43% vs 51%; P<0.03). These findings were supported by a subgroup of patients (n=45) who underwent cardiac MRI measurements of infarct size and area-at-risk measurements. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate for the first time in humans that myocardial infarct size and left ventricular function after STEMI have a circadian dependence on the time of day onset of ischemia.
A Review of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia (VaD) is a clinical syndrome that encompasses a wide spectrum of cognitive disorders caused by cerebrovascular disease. The subcortical ischemic form of VaD is clinically homogeneous and a major cause of cognitive impairment in the elderly. Vascular lesions contribute to cognitive decline in neurodegenerative dementias, and VaD and Alzheimer’s disease often coexist and share clinical features and multiple neurotransmission involvement. These similarities have led several investigators to use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to enucleate a neurophysiological profile of VaD. TMS studies have identified a pattern of cortical hyperexcitability probably related to the disruption of the integrity of white matter lesions due to cerebrovascular disease. The present review provides a perspective of these TMS techniques by further understanding the role of different neurotransmission pathways and plastic remodeling of neuronal networks in the pathogenesis of VaD.
Validation of the CoaguChek XS international normalised ratio point-of-care analyser in patients at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, South Africa.

BACKGROUND Measurement of the international normalised ratio (INR) is essential in the management of patients on long-term warfarin therapy. The CoaguChek XS portable coagulometer is a point-of-care test for INR measurement. It offers the advantage of improved patient accessibility, particularly in peripheral clinics. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the clinical utility of the CoaguChek XS for monitoring of patients on standard warfarin therapy (INR 2 - 3) as well as those with mechanical heart valve replacements (INR 2.5 - 3.5). METHODS We compared the performance of the CoaguChek XS device with that of the STAGO laboratory analyser with regard to accuracy and precision in 304 patients referred for routine testing. RESULTS The mean INR value of the CoaguChek XS of 2.75 (standard deviation (SD) 1.18) was comparable to that of the STAGO (2.65 (SD 1.04)). The Bland-Altman difference plot revealed good agreement. Bias between the two methods was small, and the imprecision was within acceptable limits. Within the target range (2.0 - 3.5), 93.9% of the CoaguChek XS INR readings were within 0.5 units of the standard laboratory method result. There was, however, an increase in the variability of the differences between the two test methods when the INR was >3.6. CONCLUSION The CoaguChek XS point-of-care device can be used to provide accurate and precise INR measurements over a wide range for monitoring of valvular and non-valvular patients on long-term warfarin therapy.
Influence of length of interval between pulses in PDR brachytherapy (PDRBT) on value of Biologically Equivalent Dose (BED) in healthy tissues

Purpose Different PDR treatment schemas are used in clinical practice, however optimal length of interval between pulses still remains unclear. The aim of this work was to compare value of BED doses measured in surrounded healthy tissues according to different intervals between pulses in PDRBT. Influence of doses optimization on BED values was analyzed. Material and methods Fifty-one patients treated in Greater Poland Cancer Centre were qualified for calculations. Calculations of doses were made in 51 patients with head and neck cancer, brain tumor, breast cancer, sarcoma, penis cancer and rectal cancer. Doses were calculated with the use of PLATO planning system in chosen critical points in surrounded healthy tissues. For all treatment plans the doses were compared using Biologically Equivalent Dose formula. Three interval lengths (1, 2 and 4 hours) between pulses were chosen for calculations. For statistical analysis Friedman ANOVA test and Kendall ratio were used. Results The median value of BED in chosen critical points in healthy tissues was statistically related to the length of interval between PDR pulses and decreased exponentially with 1 hour interval to 4 hours (Kendall = from 0.48 to 1.0; p = from 0.002 to 0.00001). Conclusions Prolongation of intervals between pulses in PDR brachytherapy was connected with lower values of BED doses in healthy tissues. It seems that longer intervals between pulses reduced the risk of late complications, but also decreased the tumour control. Furthermore, optimization influenced the increase of doses in healthy tissues.
Service-independent payload analysis to improve intrusion detection in network traffic

The popularity of computer networks broadens the scope for network attackers and increases the damage these attacks can cause. In this context, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are included as part of any complete security package. This work focuses on nIDSs which work by scanning the network traffic. A service-independent payload processing approach is presented to increase detection rates in non-flood attacks. Three different techniques for payload processing are proposed and they are shown to be able to efficiently detect some of the attack types. Moreover, the proper integration of the knowledge of the different techniques, payload-based and packet header-based, always improves the results. This work leads us to conclude that payload analysis can be used in a general manner, with no service- or port-specific modelling, to detect attacks in network traffic.
Psychosocial characterization, symptoms and illness perception in scleroderma patients: an international study

Introduction: Scleroderma, also known as systemic sclerosis, is a rare, complex and autoimmune disease, with unknown origin and cause (Coelho, Oliveira, & Kroon, 2008). It affects the connective tissue and is characterized by vascular dysfunction, inflammatory and fibrotic of multiple organ systems (Nadashkevich, Davis, &Fritzer, 2004). The symptoms that suggest the existence of scleroderma include: Raynaud phenomenon, skin thickening, calcinosis and telangiectasia (Li, Sahhar, & Littlejohn, 2008). In addition to the swelling of the fingers and hands that may hinder mobility and become a very painful phenomenon (Li et al, 2008), the alterations in internal organs results in significant morbidity and mortality (Assassi, del Junco, Sutter, McNearney, Reveille, Karvanas, .,Gourh, 2009). Despite its severity, the disease remains unknown to many health professionals and may take several years before those affected are diagnosed. This disease is associated with pain, fatigue and progressive disability. Among the physical changes with more psychological impact are the changes in the skin (Malcarne, Hansdottir, Greenbergs, Clements & Weisman, 1999). Due to the disfigurement and physical changes that are typical of the disease, psychological morbidity is high and includes depression, body image problems. Method: The participants in this study are 563 scleroderma patients from 12 European countries and Brazil. These participants are mostly women. The instruments used in this study were the “Canadian Scleroderma Patient Survey of Health Concerns and Research Priorities” and “The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ)”. Results: The most common symptoms and with more impact on the lives of the participants were joint pain, fatigue and Raynaud’s. Just under one fifth of the participants had a diagnosis of scleroderma with the first doctor consulted. Participants with more years of diagnosis revealed to be more satisfied with the medical care they receive. Participants reported a high degree of concern with scleroderma and 84% reported concerns with body image due scleroderma. Depression, anxiety and social phobia are common among scleroderma patients. Conclusion: Due to gravity, lack of knowledge, unpredictability and disfigurement of scleroderma, the existence of psychological disorders in these patients is common. Psychosocial Characterization, Symptoms and Illness Perception in Scleroderma Patients: an international study
The Qualitative Report The

Abstract An introduction and explanation of the epistemological differences of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms is first provided, followed by an overview of the realist philosophical paradigm, which attempts to accommodate the two. From this foundational discussion, the paper then introduces the concept of meaning ma king in research methods and looks at how meaning is generated from qualitative data analysis specifically. Finally, some examples from the literature of how meaning can be constructed and organized using a qualitative data analysis approach are provided. The paper aims to provide an introduction to research methodologies, coupled with a discussion on how meaning making actually occurs through qualitative data analysis.