Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-time rendering of plant leaves

This paper presents a framework for the real-time rendering of plant leaves with global illumination effects. Realistic rendering of leaves requires a sophisticated appearance model and accurate lighting computation. For leaf appearance we introduce a parametric model that describes leaves in terms of spatially-variant BRDFs and BTDFs. These BRDFs and BTDFs, incorporating analysis of subsurface scattering inside leaf tissues and rough surface scattering on leaf surfaces, can be measured from real leaves. More importantly, this description is compact and can be loaded into graphics hardware for fast run-time shading calculations, which are essential for achieving high frame rates. For lighting computation, we present an algorithm that extends the Precomputed Radiance Transfer (PRT) approach to all-frequency lighting for leaves. In particular, we handle the combined illumination effects due to lowfrequency environment light and high-frequency sunlight. This is done by decomposing the local incident radiance of sunlight into direct and indirect components. The direct component, which contains most of the high frequencies, is not pre-computed with spherical harmonics as in PRT; instead it is evaluated on-the-fly using pre-computed light-visibility convolution data. We demonstrate our framework by the rendering of a variety of leaves and assemblies thereof.
The Rise of the Promoters: User Classes and Contribution Patterns in Enterprise Social Media

Abstract The proliferation of enterprise social media (ESM) has created opportunities for employees to self-organize around common goals or interests. However, little is known about the different user classes that exist in ESM and the factors that drive contributions to ESM communities. Using multilevel analyses of secondary data from the ESM of a global organization, we find that (1) although ESM communities reflect a core-periphery structure similar to that identified in other forms of online communities, nearly two-thirds of the users represent promoters—a distinct class of users who use the platform primarily to post promotional content without viewing existing content created by others; and (2) despite individual differences in user type, the actual contribution to an ESM community is the result of an intricate interaction between a user’s disposition for participation and a set of group characteristics. Our findings suggest that recognizing the unique contribution patterns of different user groups is key to understanding participation in ESM communities.
KELP: a Kernel-based Learning Platform

KeLP is a Java framework that enables fast and easy implementation of kernel functions over discrete data, such as strings, trees or graphs and their combination with standard vectorial kernels. Additionally, it provides several kernel-based algorithms, e.g., online and batch kernel machines for classiﬁcation, regression and clustering, and a Java environment for easy implementation of new algorithms. KeLP is a versatile toolkit, very appealing both to experts and practitioners of machine learning and Java language programming, who can ﬁnd extensive documentation, tutorials and examples of increasing complexity on the accompanying website. Interestingly, KeLP can be also used without any knowledge of Java programming through command line tools and JSON/XML interfaces enabling the declaration and instantiation of articulated learning models using simple templates. Finally, the extensive use of modularity and interfaces in KeLP enables developers to easily extend it with their own kernels and algorithms.
On the Behavior of Intrinsically High-Dimensional Spaces: Distances, Direct and Reverse Nearest Neighbors, and Hubness

Over the years, different characterizations of the curse of dimensionality have been provided, usually stating the conditions under which, in the limit of the infinite dimensionality, distances become indistinguishable. However, these characterizations almost never address the form of associated distributions in the finite, although high-dimensional, case. This work aims to contribute in this respect by investigating the distribution of distances, and of direct and reverse nearest neighbors, in intrinsically high-dimensional spaces. Indeed, we derive a closed form for the distribution of distances from a given point, for the expected distance from a given point to its kth nearest neighbor, and for the expected size of the approximate set of neighbors of a given point in finite high-dimensional spaces. Additionally, the hubness problem is considered, which is related to the form of the function Nk representing the number of points that have a given point as one of their k nearest neighbors, which is also called the number of k-occurrences. Despite the extensive use of this function, the precise characterization of its form is a longstanding problem. We derive a closed form for the number of k-occurrences associated with a given point in finite high-dimensional spaces, together with the associated limiting probability distribution. By investigating the relationships with the hubness phenomenon emerging in network science, we find that the distribution of node (in-)degrees of some real-life, large-scale networks has connections with the distribution of k-occurrences described herein.
Effect of citral on mouse hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes

Abstract Context: Citral is used as a potential natural treatment for various infectious diseases. Objective: To examine the effect of citral on the mRNA expression and activities of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes and establish the relationship between citral-induced liver injury and oxidative stress. Materials and methods: ICR mice were randomly divided into citral (20, 200, and 2000 mg/kglow), Tween-80, and control groups (0.9% saline), 10 mice in each group. The citral-treated groups were intragastrically administered citral for 3 d, control groups treated with 0.5% Tween-80 and 0.9% saline in the same way. Liver injury and CYP450 enzymes were analyzed by analyzing the histopathological changes and the changes of related enzymes. Results: Citral treatment (2000 mg/kg) for 3 d increased serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase levels, as well as glutathione, gydroxyl radicals, malonaldehyde and total superoxide dismutase contents, but decreased the content of total antioxidant capacity. In doses of 20 and 200 mg/kg groups mice, the contents of NO were decreased significantly and other changes were similar to the 2000 mg/kg group mice, but the liver damage was most severe in the 2000 mg/kg group. Citral induced the mRNA expression and activities of CYP450 1A2, 2D22, and 2E1 in the liver of mice at doses of 20 and 200 mg/kg. There were no changes in testing indexes in Tween-80 treated group mice. Due to its toxic effects, the CYP induction effect of citral negatively correlated with its dose. Although the mRNA expression of CYP450 3A11 was induced by citral, its activity was not affected by low and moderate doses of citral. CYP450 3A11 activity was significantly decreased by high-dose citral. Conclusions: Citral is hepatotoxic and induced oxidative stress in higher dose, which has a negative effect on CYP450 enzymes. These data suggest caution needs to be taken in order to avoid citral-drug interactions in human beings.
Catalyst Acceleration for First-order Convex Optimization: from Theory to Practice

We introduce a generic scheme for accelerating gradient-based optimization methods in the sense of Nesterov. The approach, called Catalyst, builds upon the inexact acceler- ated proximal point algorithm for minimizing a convex objective function, and consists of approximately solving a sequence of well-chosen auxiliary problems, leading to faster convergence. One of the key to achieve acceleration in theory and in practice is to solve these sub-problems with appropriate accuracy by using the right stopping criterion and the right warm-start strategy. In this paper, we give practical guidelines to use Catalyst and present a comprehensive theoretical analysis of its global complexity. We show that Catalyst applies to a large class of algorithms, including gradient descent, block coordinate descent, incremental algorithms such as SAG, SAGA, SDCA, SVRG, Finito/MISO, and their proximal variants. For all of these methods, we provide acceleration and explicit sup- port for non-strongly convex objectives. We conclude with extensive experiments showing that acceleration is useful in practice, especially for ill-conditioned problems.
Nonviral Gene Therapy for Cancer: A Review

Although the development of effective viral vectors put gene therapy on the road to commercialization, nonviral vectors show promise for practical use because of their relative safety and lower cost. A significant barrier to the use of nonviral vectors, however, is that they have not yet proven effective. This apparent lack of interest can be attributed to the problem of the low gene transfer efficiency associated with nonviral vectors. The efficiency of gene transfer via nonviral vectors has been reported to be 1/10th to 1/1000th that of viral vectors. Despite the fact that new gene transfer methods and nonviral vectors have been developed, no significant improvements in gene transfer efficiency have been achieved. Nevertheless, some notable progress has been made. In this review, we discuss studies that report good results using nonviral vectors in vivo in animal models, with a particular focus on studies aimed at in vivo gene therapy to treat cancer, as this disease has attracted the interest of researchers developing nonviral vectors. We describe the conditions in which nonviral vectors work more efficiently for gene therapy and discuss how the goals might differ for nonviral versus viral vector development and use.
Functional outcome in contemporary children and young adults with tetralogy of Fallot after repair

Objective Functional outcome measures are of growing importance in the aftercare of patients with congenital heart disease. This study addresses the functional status with regard to exercise capacity, health-related physical fitness (HRPF) and arterial stiffness in a recent cohort of children, adolescents and young adults with tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) after repair. Design Single-centre, uncontrolled and prospective cohort study. Setting Outpatient department of the German Heart Centre Munich; July 2014–January 2018. Patients One hundred and six patients with ToF after repair (13.5±3.7 years, 40 females) were included. Data were compared with a recent cohort of healthy controls (HCs) (n=1700, 12.8±2.6 years, 833 females). Main outcome measures Patients underwent a symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise test, performed an HRPF test (FitnessGram) and had an assessment of their arterial stiffness (Mobil-O-Graph). Results Compared with HC, patients with ToF showed lower predicted V . O2 peak (ToF: 80.4% ± 16.8% vs HC: 102.6% ± 18.1%, p<0.001), impaired ventilatory efficiency (ToF: 29.6 ± 3.6 vs HC: 27.4 ± 2.9, p<0.001), chronotropic incompetence (ToF: 167 ± 17 bpm vs HC: 190 ± 17 bpm, p<0.001) and reduced HRPF (ToF z-score: −0.65 ± 0.87 vs HC z-score: 0.03 ± 0.65, p<0.001). Surrogates of arterial stiffness, central and peripheral systolic blood pressure, did not differ between the two groups. Conclusions Contemporary children, adolescents and young adults with ToF still have functional limitations. How impaired HRPF and limited exercise capacity interact and how they can be modified needs to be evaluated in further intervention studies.
Efficacy-safety of Facilitated Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin in Immunodeficiency Due to Hematological Malignancies. A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis

Background/Aim: Hematological malignancies are frequently complicated by secondary immunodeficiency (SID). Immunoglobulin replacement with intravenous gamma globulins (IVIg) reduces infection incidence, antibiotics' need and hospitalization days in these patients. Facilitated subcutaneous immunoglobulin replacement (fSCIg) has been studied in primary immunodeficiency patients and is equally efficacious with several advantages (self-administration, same bioavailability, long infusion intervals, fewer adverse drug reactions). fSCIg has been less extensively studied in SID. We present our retrospective single-center data of fSCIg administration to hematological patients with SID, focusing on efficacy and safety issues. Patients and Methods: Overall, 33 hematological patients with hypogammaglobulinemia were treated with fSCIg according to ESMO 2015 guidelines, between mid-October 2015 and mid-January 2018 in our Department. Results: The infection rate was very low (18.1%). Shorter infusion intervals further reduced it. ADRs were rare (9%) and mild (grade 1). fSCIg managed to reduce the everyday nursery/hospital burden of our tertiary hospital. Conclusion: fSCIg compares favorably to IVIg replacement in SID patients.
E-Commerce and Privacy: Exploring What We Know and Opportunities for Future Discovery

ABSTRACT: Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has a built-in trade-off between the necessity of providing at least some personal information to consummate an online transaction and the risk of negative consequences from providing such information. This requirement and the increased sophistication of companies' personal information gathering have made e-commerce privacy a critical issue and have spawned a broad research literature that is reviewed in this paper. Key research issues and findings are organized, using a framework defined by four key stakeholder groups—companies, customers, privacy solution providers (PSPs), and governments—as well as the interactions among them. The review indicates that the published research on e-commerce privacy peaked in the early 2000s; thus, it has not addressed many of the technological advances and other relevant developments of the past decade. Potential research opportunities for researchers in Management Information Systems (MIS) and Accounting Information Systems (A.
The palliative care knowledge of nursing home staff: The EU FP7 PACE cross-sectional survey in 322 nursing homes in six European countries

Background: The provision of high-quality palliative care in nursing homes (NHs) is a major challenge and places demands on the knowledge and skills of the staff. Aim: This study assesses the palliative care knowledge of staff in NHs in Europe. Design: Cross-sectional study using structured survey Setting/participants: Nurses and care assistants working in 322 representative samples of NHs in Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Finland, Poland and Italy. Palliative care knowledge is measured with the Palliative Care Survey. Scores on the scales range between 0 and 1; higher scores indicate more knowledge. Results: A total of 3392 NH-staff were given a questionnaire, and 2275 responded (67%). Knowledge of basic palliative care issues ranged between 0.20 in Poland (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.19; 0.24) and 0.61 in Belgium (95% CI 0.59; 0.63), knowledge of physical aspects that can contribute to pain ranged between 0.81 in Poland (95% CI 0.79; 0.84) and 0.91 in the Netherlands (95% CI 0.89; 0.93), and knowledge of psychological reasons that can contribute to pain ranged between 0.56 in England (95% CI 0.50; 0.62) and 0.87 in Finland (95% CI 0.83; 0.90). Factors associated with knowledge were country, professional role and having undertaken formal training in palliative care. Conclusions: Knowledge of nurses and care assistants concerning basic palliative care issues appears to be suboptimal in all participating countries, although there is substantial heterogeneity. Education of nursing staff needs to be improved across, but each country may require its own strategy to address the unique and specific knowledge gaps.
Virus-Induced Anterior Uveitis (VIAU) in Immunocompromised Patients

ABSTRACT Purpose: To describe the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of VIAU in immunocompromised patients. Methods: A critical review of literature was performed. Results: Diagnosis and treatment of VIAU in immunocompromised patients may be a challenge due to atypical clinical-courses, severe presentations, and more frequent recurrences. A conclusive diagnosis can be made by aqueous-humour PCR-analysis. Visual prognosis depends on early diagnosis and prompt treatment. Frequent ocular examinations are recommended in HIV patients with CD-4-counts below 100 in order to rule out opportunistic ocular coinfections. It is essential to bear in mind the potential side-effects of therapeutic interventions and consider the possibility of Immune Recovery Uveitis (IRU) in eyes with treated viral retinitis after the initiation of HAART. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and treatment of VIAU in immunocompromised patients can be achieved with high suspicion, recognizing clinical features, and obtaining specimens for molecular diagnostic testing in order to avoid usually severe ocular morbidity.
A Darker Side of Hope: Harmony-Focused Hope Decreases Collective Action Intentions Among the Disadvantaged

Hope is viewed as a positive emotion associated with the motivation to change existing conditions. As such, it is highly relevant for social change, particularly when considering disadvantaged groups. We propose that, in the context of unequal intergroup relations, hope may actually undermine motivation for change among disadvantaged group members. Specifically, we distinguish between hope targeted at harmony with the outgroup and hope targeted at social equality between groups. Drawing on insights regarding the consequences of positive intergroup interactions, we predict that hope for harmony with the outgroup can undermine the constructive tension that motivates the disadvantaged toward equality. Across four studies, involving different intergroup contexts, hope for harmony was negatively associated with disadvantaged group members’ motivation for collective action. We further found that high identifiers from the disadvantaged group were immune to this effect. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for the role of hope in social change.
tick: a Python Library for Statistical Learning, with an emphasis on Hawkes Processes and Time-Dependent Models

This paper introduces tick, is a statistical learning library for Python 3, with a particular emphasis on time-dependent models, such as point processes, tools for generalized linear models and survival analysis. The core of the library provides model computational classes, solvers and proximal operators for regularization. It relies on a C++ implementation and state-of-the-art optimization algorithms to provide very fast computations in a single node multi-core setting. Source code and documentation can be downloaded from https:// github.com/X-DataInitiative/tick.
Enterprise Risk Management as a Strategic Governance Mechanism in B2B-Enabled Transnational Supply Chains

As organisations increasingly face the need to compete for market share by building highly integrated global supply chains, governance of these complex relationships becomes a major strategic challenge. Research reporting high failure rates for collaborative alliances with supply chain partners makes formation of global supply chains a high risk venture. This study examines the influence of strategic ERM processes on improving supply chain capability while mitigating risks. ERM has become a major strategic management focus and researchers suggest this momentum arises from the need for governance mechanisms that counter the ineffectiveness of government intervention and cooperation in cross-border relationships. We survey 207 organisations on their perceptions of their own ERM processes and a specific supply chain partner’s absorptive capacity, B2B e-commerce business risk, and the global business risk associated with that partner relationship. The results support theorised relationships positing that stronger ERM promotes higher levels of partner absorptive capacity, lower B2B risk, and lower associated global business risk. Results further show that associated global business risk is reduced through managing and controlling partner absorptive capacity and B2B risk. Additional analyses show that stronger ERM is associated with partners being from countries with cultural traits conducive to strong supply chain performance.
Predicted lean body mass, fat mass, and all cause and cause specific mortality in men: prospective US cohort study

Abstract Objective To investigate the association of predicted lean body mass, fat mass, and body mass index (BMI) with all cause and cause specific mortality in men. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Health professionals in the United States Participants 38 006 men (aged 40-75 years) from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, followed up for death (1987-2012). Main outcome measures All cause and cause specific mortality. Results Using validated anthropometric prediction equations previously developed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, lean body mass and fat mass were estimated for all participants. During a mean of 21.4 years of follow-up, 12 356 deaths were identified. A J shaped association was consistently observed between BMI and all cause mortality. Multivariable adjusted Cox models including predicted fat mass and lean body mass showed a strong positive monotonic association between predicted fat mass and all cause mortality. Compared with those in the lowest fifth of predicted fat mass, men in the highest fifth had a hazard ratio of 1.35 (95% confidence interval 1.26 to 1.46) for mortality from all causes. In contrast, a U shaped association was found between predicted lean body mass and all cause mortality. Compared with those in the lowest fifth of predicted lean body mass, men in the second to fourth fifths had 8-10% lower risk of mortality from all causes. In the restricted cubic spline models, the risk of all cause mortality was relatively flat until 21 kg of predicted fat mass and increased rapidly afterwards, with a hazard ratio of 1.22 (1.18 to 1.26) per standard deviation. For predicted lean body mass, a large reduction of the risk was seen within the lower range until 56 kg, with a hazard ratio of 0.87 (0.82 to 0.92) per standard deviation, which increased thereafter (P for non-linearity <0.001). For cause specific mortality, men in the highest fifth of predicted fat mass had hazard ratios of 1.67 (1.47 to 1.89) for cardiovascular disease, 1.24 (1.09 to 1.43) for cancer, and 1.26 (0.97 to 1.64) for respiratory disease. On the other hand, a U shaped association was found between predicted lean body mass and mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, a strong inverse association existed between predicted lean body mass and mortality from respiratory disease (P for trend <0.001). Conclusions The shape of the association between BMI and mortality was determined by the relation between two body components (lean body mass and fat mass) and mortality. This finding suggests that the “obesity paradox” controversy may be largely explained by low lean body mass, rather than low fat mass, in the lower range of BMI.
Leukocytes as a reservoir of circulating oncogenic DNA and regulatory targets of tumor‐derived extracellular vesicles

Essentials Tumor‐bearing mice were employed to follow oncogenic HRAS sequences in plasma, and blood cells. Cancer DNA accumulated in leukocytes above levels detected in exosomes, platelets and plasma. Extracellular vesicles and nucleosomes are required for uptake of tumor DNA by leukocytes. Uptake of tumor‐derived extracellular vesicles by leukocytes triggers coagulant phenotype.