Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural Symmetries from Motion for Scene Reconstruction and Understanding

The identification and description of partial symmetries in man-made structures is a powerful tool to improve the quality of 3D reconstruction from unordered images and to enable high-level understanding of scene geometry. In this work we propose an approach to identify symmetries and exploit them in Structure from Motion (SfM). Our first contribution is a symmetry detection approach that uses the 3D geometry of the scene as well as 2D appearance clues. We show that a particular parametrization of the transformation space (space in which each point represents a candidate symmetry relation) exposes the dominant symmetries in the scene. Then, we use appearance information to prune incorrect symmetry hypotheses. The second contribution is a constrained bundle adjustment (CBA) scheme that jointly optimizes for the best 3D reconstruction and the symmetry generators. Contrarily to related work on CBA, our approach models n-fold (rotational and translational) repetitions of architectural elements, and allows estimating a generative model of the 3D geometry. Experimental results confirm that our method can correctly identify and exploit partial symmetries in noisy and sparse SfM datasets.
Identification of Novel Resident Pulmonary Stem Cells: Form and Function of the Lung Side Population

Resident lung stem cells function to replace all lineages of pulmonary tissue, including mesenchyme, epithelium, and vasculature. The phenotype of the lung side population (SP) cells is currently under investigation; their function is currently unknown. Recent data suggest lung SP cells are an enriched tissue‐specific source of organ‐specific pulmonary precursors and, therefore, a source of adult stem cells. The adult lung SP cell population has been isolated and characterized for expression of markers indicative of stem cell, epithelial, and mesenchymal lineages. These studies determined that the adult mouse lung SP has epithelial and mesenchymal potential that resides within a CD45− mesenchymal subpopulation, as well as limited hematopoietic ability, which resides in the bone marrow–derived CD45+ subpopulation. The ability to identify these adult lung precursor cells allows us to further study the potential of these cells and their role in the regulation of tissue homeostasis and response to injury. The identification of this target population will potentially allow earlier treatment and, long term, a functional restoration of injured pulmonary tissue and lung health.
Ribavirin Reveals a Lethal Threshold of Allowable Mutation Frequency for Hantaan Virus

ABSTRACT The broad spectrum of antiviral activity of ribavirin (RBV) lies in its ability to inhibit IMP dehydrogenase, which lowers cellular GTP. However, RBV can act as a potent mutagen for some RNA viruses. Previously we have shown a lack of correlation between antiviral activity and GTP repression for Hantaan virus (HTNV) and evidence for RBV's ability to promote error-prone replication. To further explore the mechanism of RBV, GTP levels, specific infectivity, and/or mutation frequency was measured in the presence of RBV, mycophenolic acid (MPA), selenazofurin, or tiazofurin. While all four drugs resulted in a decrease in the GTP levels and infectious virus, only RBV increased the mutation frequency of viral RNA (vRNA). MPA, however, could enhance RBV's mutagenic effect, which suggests distinct mechanisms of action for each. Therefore, a simple drop in GTP levels does not drive the observed error-prone replication. To further explore RBV's mechanism of action, we made a comprehensive analysis of the mutation frequency over several RBV concentrations. Of importance, we observed that the viral population reached a threshold after which mutation frequency did not correlate with a dose-dependent decrease in the level of vRNA, PFU, or [RTP]/[GTP] (where RTP is ribavirin-5′-triphosphate) over these same concentrations of RBV. Modeling of the relationship of mutation frequency and drug concentration showed an asymptotic relationship at this point. After this threshold, approximately 57% of the viral cDNA population was identical to the wild type. These studies revealed a lethal threshold, after which we did not observe a complete loss of the quasispecies structure of the wild-type genome, although we observed extinction of HTNV.
Infarct-remodelled hearts with limited oxidative capacity boost fatty acid oxidation after conditioning against ischaemia/reperfusion injury.

AIMS Infarct-remodelled hearts are less amenable to protection against ischaemia/reperfusion. Understanding preservation of energy metabolism in diseased vs. healthy hearts may help to develop anti-ischaemic strategies effective also in jeopardized myocardium. METHODS AND RESULTS Isolated infarct-remodelled/sham Sprague-Dawley rat hearts were perfused in the working mode and subjected to 15 min of ischaemia and 30 min of reperfusion. Protection of post-ischaemic ventricular work was achieved by pharmacological conditioning with sevoflurane. Oxidative metabolism was measured by substrate flux in fatty acid and glucose oxidation using [(3)H]palmitate and [(14)C]glucose. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption was measured in saponin-permeabilized left ventricular muscle fibres. Activity assays of citric acid synthase, hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and pyruvate dehydrogenase and mass spectrometry for acylcarnitine profiling were also performed. Six weeks after coronary artery ligation, the hearts exhibited macroscopic and molecular signs of hypertrophy consistent with remodelling and limited respiratory chain and citric acid cycle capacity. Unprotected remodelled hearts showed a marked decline in palmitate oxidation and acetyl-CoA energy production after ischaemia/reperfusion, which normalized in sevoflurane-protected remodelled hearts. Protected remodelled hearts also showed higher β-oxidation flux as determined by increased oxygen consumption with palmitoylcarnitine/malate in isolated fibres and a lower ratio of C16:1+C16OH/C14 carnitine species, indicative of a higher long-chain hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity. Remodelled hearts exhibited higher PPARα-PGC-1α but defective HIF-1α signalling, and conditioning enabled them to mobilize fatty acids from endogenous triglyceride stores, which closely correlated with improved recovery. CONCLUSIONS Protected infarct-remodelled hearts secure post-ischaemic energy production by activation of β-oxidation and mobilization of fatty acids from endogenous triglyceride stores.
Visualization of Mitochondrial DNA Replication in Individual Cells by EdU Signal Amplification

Mitochondria are key regulators of cellular energy and mitochondrial biogenesis is an essential component of regulating mitochondria numbers in healthy cells1-3. One approach for monitoring mitochondrial biogenesis is to measure the rate of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication4. We developed a sensitive technique to label newly synthesized mtDNA in individual cells in order to study mtDNA biogenesis. The technique combines the incorporation of 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU)5-7 with a tyramide signal amplification (TSA)8 protocol to visualize mtDNA replication within subcellular compartments of neurons. EdU is superior to other thymidine analogs, such as 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU), because the initial click reaction to label EdU5-7 does not require the harsh acid treatments or enzyme digests that are required for exposing the BrdU epitope. The milder labeling of EdU allows for direct comparison of its incorporation with other cellular markers9-10. The ability to visualize and quantify mtDNA biogenesis provides an essential tool for investigating the mechanisms used to regulate mitochondrial biogenesis and would provide insight into the pathogenesis associated with drug toxicity, aging, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Our technique is applicable to sensory neurons as well as other cell types. The use of this technique to measure mtDNA biogenesis has significant implications in furthering the understanding of both normal cellular physiology as well as impaired disease states.
Spool Seal Design and Testing for the Spool Compressor

Several seals, designed to minimize leakage between the rotating spool assembly’s endplates and the stationary compressor housing, are introduced, constructed and tested. Some designs are deemed impractical due to either high leakage or high torque. A novel one piece hybrid design that blends the function of a face seal and piston ring is tested and shown to achieve excellent results. A test apparatus is introduced to isolate and measure the spool seal’s performance independent of the compressor. It is concluded that the hybrid design is highly effective and well suited for many applications of the spool compressor.
Teaching Marketing Geography by the Case Method

] N a previous paper the author stated that ". the best place to develop the field of marketing geography is in business. The marketing geographer should either work for business full time or should seek to conduct research for business on a parttime consultant basis . the application and evaluation of ideas and methods needs the laboratory of actual business operations. "1 In the seven intervening years, geographers have made considerable progress along these lines. The papers that have preceded this one are by five geographers all of whom are applying their professional skills to the solution of important business problems. Together, the companies which they serve do an annual volume of sales amounting to several billion dollars. The annual investment of these companies in new stores, warehouses, shopping centers, and other facilities runs into many tens of millions of dollars. The business executives who must make the ultimate decisions as to how to employ and direct both the old and new investments depend on these geographers for compilation of data, sound analysis and interpretation, and specific recommendations for action. IHE GEOGRAPHIER'S ROLE IN SOLVING PROBLEMS
Labor Market Responses to Rising Health Insurance Costs: Evidence on Hours Worked

Increases in the cost of providing health insurance must have some effect on labor markets, either in lower wages, changes in the composition of employment, or both. Despite a presumption that most of this effect will be in the form of lower wages, we document a significant effect on work hours as well. Using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), we show that rising health insurance costs during the 1980s increased the hours worked by those with health insurance by up to 3%. We argue that this occurs because health insurance is a fixed cost, and as it becomes more expensive to provide, firms face an incentive to substitute hours per worker for the number of workers employed.
Enhancement of anchorage‐independent growth of human pancreatic carcinoma MIA PaCa‐2 cells by signaling from protein kinase C to mitogen‐activated protein kinase

We found that 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate (TPA) promoted anchorage‐independent growth but did not affect anchorage‐dependent growth of MIA PaCa‐2 human pancreatic carcinoma cells. TPA markedly activated mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal–regulated kinase in an anchorage‐independent manner. Two protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms, conventional PKC (cPKC) and novel PKC (nPKC), but not apical PKC, translocated from the cytosolic to the particulate fraction upon TPA treatment. To identify the PKC isoforms involved in the regulation of anchorage‐independent growth, four PKC isoforms (α, δ, ε, and ζ) were forced to be expressed in MIA PaCa‐2 cells with an adenovirus vector. Overexpression of nPKCδ or nPKCε activated MAPK and promoted anchorage‐independent growth. Overexpression of cPKCα alone did not influence anchorage‐independent growth but lowered the concentration of TPA that was required to enhance such growth. Expression of constitutively active MAPK kinase‐1 (MEK1) also promoted anchorage‐independent growth. Furthermore, PKC inhibitors or an MEK inhibitor completely suppressed both TPA‐induced activation of MAPK and promotion of anchorage‐independent growth, but a cPKC‐selective inhibitor partially suppressed TPA‐induced promotion of the growth. Based on these results, we suggest that MAPK activation, mediated by certain isoforms of PKC, plays a part in oncogenic growth of MIA PaCa‐2 cells. In summary, our data indicated that specific inhibitors of the cPKC and nPKC signaling pathway might be selective anti‐oncogenic growth agents for some types of human pancreatic cancer. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Use of Bio-Guided Fractionation to Explore the Use of Leftover Biomass in Dutch Flower Bulb Production as Allelochemicals against Weeds

A major problem in flower bulb cultivation is weed control. Synthetic herbicides are mainly used, although they cause a range of problems, and integrated weed control through application of naturally occurring allelochemicals would be highly desirable. Flower bulb production creates large amounts of leftover biomass. Utilizing this source for weed control may provide new applications of the bulb crops. We therefore screened 33 flower bulb extracts for allelochemical activity against weeds. Several methanol and chloroform extracts were observed to inhibit germination and growth of Senecio vulgaris L. and Lolium perenne L. , as representatives of di- and mono-cotyledonous weeds, respectively. Narciclasine was identified as the bioactive compound in Narcissus. The extract of Amaryllis belladonna L. was equally active, but did not contain any narciclasine. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the A. belladonna extract resulted in the identification of lycorine as the bio-active compound. The IC50 measured for radicle growth inhibition was 0.10 µM for narciclasine and 0.93 µM for lycorine, compared to 0.11 mM of chlorpropham, a synthetic herbicide. Therefore, the leftover biomass from the spring bulb industry represents an interesting potential source for promising allelochemicals for further studies on weed growth inhibition.
Cochlear Function and Sodium and Potassium Activated Adenosine Triphosphatase

The maintenance of the cation gradients between endolymph and perilymph in the cochlea requires the operation of a cation pump. An adenosine triphosphatase system activated by sodium and potassium is present in high activity in the cochlear membranes (tegmentum vasculosum and stria vascularis). The cochlear microphonic potential is inhibited by perilymphatic perfusion of ouabain and erythrophleine. Since the microphonic potential depends on the high concentration of potassium ions in the endolymph, our findings strongly suggest the operation of an adenosine triphosphatase cation pump system activated by sodium and potassium, in the generation of cochlear cation gradients.
A synthesizable IP core for WiMedia 1.5 UWB LDPC code decoding

The upcoming WiMedia 1.5 standard for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) supports payload throughputs of more than 1 Gbit/s. It features Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes as coding scheme for the high data rate modes. LDPC decoder design for this standard is a very challenging task, since it has to offer high throughputs, low latency, excellent error correction capabilities, and furthermore flexibility.
Prevalence of psychopathic traits in a large sample of Polish adolescents from rural and urban areas.

OBJECTIVE The primary aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of psychopathic traits in a large sample of Polish adolescents representing both the rural and urban social milieu. An additional aim was to compare the results with similar studies conducted in other countries. MATERIALS AND METHOD The study was conducted on a sample of 9,415 secondary school students (4,808 boys, 4,607 girls) aged 13 - 16. Psychopathic traits were measured by teacher-report ratings with the Antisocial Process Screening Device scale (APSD). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Only a marginal part of the Polish adolescents demonstrated clinically significant symptoms of psychopathic disorder (N=253; 2.68%). There was a statistically significant difference between subjects from the rural (2.12%) and urban (3.45%) social milieu. Respective comparison showed that Polish youngsters scored much lower on total psychopathy scores than Chinese (Hong Kong) and American adolescents. The authors encourage replication of this research in other East European countries.
Electrical estimation of channel dopant uniformity using test MOSFET array

The dopant uniformity in an MOSFET channel is estimated using the test MOSFET array which includes many MOSFETs with different channel length. Takeuchi coefficient as a function of the channel length is calculated from the measured threshold voltage data. The electrical channel length as a function of the gate voltage is extracted using channel resistance method. It is found that those data show the similar degree of the dopant uniformity for MOSFETs having various channel structures.
Hedging Exotic Options in Stochastic Volatility and Jump Diffusion Models

Fundamental progress has been made in developing more realistic option pricing models. While the hedging performance of these models has been investigated for plain vanilla options, it is still unknown how well these generalizations improve the hedging of exotic options. Using different barrier options on the DAX, we examine a stochastic volatility, a jump diffusion and a mixed model. We consider delta hedging, vega hedging and delta hedging with minimum variance in the Heston, the Bates and the Merton model. Thus, this work deals with the question of model selection that is nowadays of great importance because of the growing number of models and exotic products.
Identification of Suitable Normalizing Genes for Quantitative Real-Time RT-PCR Analysis of Gene Expression in Fetal Mouse Gonads

In biological research, quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays are commonly employed to study mRNA abundance in cells and tissues. This type of assay usually relies on assessing transcript abundance relative to constitutively expressed endogenous reference genes. Therefore, it is important that the reference genes themselves are stably expressed in the cells or tissues analyzed, independent of factors such as age, sex, disease or experimental manipulations. Since no gene is expressed at the same level in all cells at all times, suitable reference genes must be identified for the specific cellular system or tissue being investigated. Here, we sought to identify stably expressed endogenous reference genes during embryonic gonad development in the mouse. We measured the transcript abundance of 10 frequently employed normalizing genes, of which 4 were stably expressed in fetal gonads from 11.5 to 14.5 dpc irrespective of sex. Based on our analysis, we suggest that Rn18s, Rps29, Tbp and Sdha are suitable reference genes for qRT-PCR expression studies during early gonad differentiation in the mouse.
Implementation of a forward-backward procedure for the fast analysis of electromagnetic radiation/scattering from two-dimensional large phased arrays

Forward-backward method (FBM) was successfully developed for the analysis of electromagnetic radiation/scattering from one-dimensional (1-D) phased array in an efficiency appealing fashion. The FBM applications to treat 2-D array problems are developed in this paper. Acceleration algorithm, performing better than the novel spectrum acceleration algorithm used for 1-D FBM computation, is also developed for this 2-D FBM so the unique advantages of high efficiency and O(N/sub tot/) computational complexity as in the 1-D problems can be retained where N/sub tot/ is the total number of array element. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate its validity.
Are fish eaters healthier and do they consume less health-care resources?

Abstract Objective Regular dietary intake of fish is associated with reduced risk of developing cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, and may improve general well-being. If fish eaters are healthier, they may use fewer health-care resources. The present study aimed to describe the reported intake of fish and fish products in a Danish general population, and to investigate whether fish consumption is associated with generic measures of self-reported health and consumption of health-care resources. Design Data on eating patterns and health status for 3422 Danish adults were obtained by telephone interview in the Funen County Health Survey. These data were merged with individual-level register data on health-care utilisation. Survey respondents were categorised into those consuming fish at least once weekly (fish eaters) and those consuming fish less frequently (non-fish eaters). Results People who reported eating fish twice monthly or once weekly had significantly better overall self-reported health than those who rarely eat fish, even after adjustment for age, gender, social characteristics and lifestyle factors. Fish eaters did not have significantly lower aggregated health-care costs, although their hospital utilisation was significantly lower than that for non-fish eaters. Conclusions Moderate fish consumption was associated with better self-reported general health even after controlling for possible confounding variables. Overall, fish eaters appeared to use the same amount of health-care resources as non-eaters, although fish eaters used more medicine but were less likely to be admitted to a hospital.
Teacher Performance Evaluation in Oman as Perceived by Evaluators

A systematic teacher evaluation seems to be instrumental in enhancing teacher professionalism. However, the road to good implementation of teacher evaluation system rarely goes straightforward without challenges and constraints. In this context, the main purpose of this study was to examine and analyse the teacher performance evaluation in Oman as perceived by evaluators. This investigative study was conducted using the qualitative approach. Seven schools in the Sultanate of Oman were selected as the research site with nine senior teachers, two supervisors, and three school principals of the selected schools as the respondents. The study indicated that participants are sceptical if the evaluation can improve noticeably the teacher professional development. They attributed that to some factors such as lack of time, confidentiality, and lack of incentives, and the law impact of teacher evaluation on teacher performance. These finding should, however, alert the policy designers in the Ministry to the sizable gap that exists between the documented policy of teacher evaluation system and its implementation.
Are Individual Investors Influenced by the Optimism and Credibility of Stock Spam Recommendations?

This study examines attention‐driven investment decisions using a sample of firms essentially unknown to investors prior to becoming the target of a stock spam campaign. We show that the market reaction to spam varies predictably with the content of the spam message. Spam date returns and volume are significantly higher for stocks targeted by spam emails containing optimistic target price projections bundled with ostensibly credible information quoted from a previously issued company press release. There is also some evidence that disclaimers in spam messages reduce, but do not eliminate, the market response. Attention effects also contribute to spammers’ selection of stocks to target and to spam‐related enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission.