Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Displacement Mapping using Scan Conversion Hardware Architectures

This paper presents a novel algorithm and architectures for perspective correct displacement of the surface geometry of a polygonal model using a displacement map. This new displaced surface geometry is passed onto a traditional rendering pipeline. The algorithm uses a multiple pass approach in which the geometry is displaced in the first pass and then the displaced geometry is rendered. The significant features of the algorithm are that the surface is displaced after its triangle mesh is transformed into screen space and that it uses only bi‐linear interpolation for calculating the displaced geometry allowing a cheap incremental scan‐line implementation. A hardware architecture based on this algorithm is presented along with possible alternative implementations. The technique presented here allows greater photorealism by using increased detail without an increase in bandwidth for geometry or calculation time for transformation.
Making sense out of nonsense

The paper by Hoefs in the May-June issue of Hepatology, “The increase in white blood cells and protein concentrations in ascitic fluid during diuresis in cirrhotic patients” (l), is an intriguing, innovative, and important clinical investigation. It is intriguing in that it shows that sound clinical research doesn’t require sophisticated equipment or complex experimental designs. Hoefs used simple tests available in any clinical laboratory-the measurement of concentration of protein and of blood cells in ascitic fluid. It is the type of obvious observation that forces physicians to wonder why they hadn’t made it and to wish that they had. It is innovative in that it describes a simple, semiquantitative method of expressing the amount of ascites in terms of the minimal (ascites-free) body weight. The fractional amount of ascites is calculated as the weight of ascites, that is the difference between the body weight at any point in time and the minimal body weight divided by the minimal body weight.
Regulation by Adrenocorticotropic Hormone of the in Vivo Expression of Scavenger Receptor Class B Type I (SR-BI), a High Density Lipoprotein Receptor, in Steroidogenic Cells of the Murine Adrenal Gland*

The class B, type I scavenger receptor, SR-BI, binds high density lipoprotein (HDL) and can mediate selective uptake of HDL cholesteryl esters by cultured cells. The high levels of expression of SR-BI in steroidogenic tissues and the importance of selective uptake from HDL as a source of cholesterol for steroidogenesis raised the possibility that SR-BI may participate in cholesterol delivery to steroidogenic tissues in vivo. We have used immunoblotting and immunohistochemical methods to show that SR-BI is specifically expressed in a distinctive pattern on the surfaces of steroid-producing cells in the murine adrenal gland's cortex and that its expression in vivo is induced by adrenocorticotropic hormone and suppressed by glucocorticoids. Thus, expression of SR-BI protein is coordinately regulated with adrenal steroidogenesis. These data provide strong support for the hypothesis that SR-BI is a physiologically relevant HDL receptor that provides substrate cholesterol for steroid hormone synthesis.
Libertad de expresión: fundamentos y límites a su ejercicio

Sumilla Introduccion 1. Fundamentos de la libertad de expresion 2. La libertad de expresion como derecho fundamental 3. Limites a la libertad de expresion: aspectos generales 4. Fuentes para el analisis de los limites a la libertad de expresion 4.1. Las normas constitucionales 4.2. El derecho internacional de los derechos humanos 4.3. La legislacion sobre libertad de expresion 4.4. La jurisprudencia 5. Pasos para el analisis de los limites a la libertad de expresion 6. Jurisprudencia del Tribunal Constitucional sobre limites a la libertad de expresion 7. Conclusion Bibliografia
A bidirectional DC–DC converter for fuel cell electric vehicle driving system

This paper presents a power converter for a fuel cell electric vehicle driving system. A new bidirectional, isolated topology is proposed in consideration of the differing fuel cell characteristics from traditional chemical-power battery and safety requirements. The studied converter has the advantages of high efficiency, simple circuit, and low cost. The detailed design and operating principles are analyzed and described. The simulation and experimental waveforms for the proposed converter are shown to verify its feasibility.
Association of influenza virus NP and M1 proteins with cellular cytoskeletal elements in influenza virus-infected cells

We have investigated the association of the influenza virus matrix (M1) and nucleoprotein (NP) with the host cell cytoskeletal elements in influenza virus-infected MDCK and MDBK cells. At 6.5 h postinfection, the newly synthesized M1 was Triton X-100 (TX-100) extractable but became resistant to TX-100 extraction during the chase with a t1/2 of 20 min. NP, on the other hand, acquired TX-100 resistance immediately after synthesis. Significant fractions of both M1 and NP remained resistant to differential detergent (Triton X-114, 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate [CHAPS], octylglucoside) extraction, suggesting that M1 and NP were interacting with the cytoskeletal elements. However, the high-molecular-weight form of the viral transmembrane protein hemagglutinin (HA), which had undergone complex glycosylation, also became resistant to TX-100 extraction but was sensitive to octylglucoside detergent extraction, indicating that HA, unlike M1 or NP, was interacting with TX-100-insoluble lipids and not with cytoskeletal elements. Morphological analysis with cytoskeletal disrupting agents demonstrated that M1 and NP were associated with microfilaments in virus-infected cells. However, M1, expressed alone in MDCK or HeLa cells from cloned cDNA or coexpressed with NP, did not become resistant to TX-100 extraction even after a long chase. NP, on the other hand, became TX-100 insoluble as in the virus-infected cells. M1 also did not acquire TX-100 insolubility in ts 56 (a temperature-sensitive mutant with a defect in NP protein)-infected cells at the nonpermissive temperature. Furthermore, early in the infectious cycle in WSN-infected cells, M1 acquired TX-100 resistance very slowly after a long chase and did not acquire TX-100 resistance at all when chased in the presence of cycloheximide. On the other hand, late in the infectious cycle, M1 acquired TX-100 resistance when chased in either the presence or absence of cycloheximide. Taken together, these results demonstrate that M1 and NP interact with host microfilaments in virus-infected cells and that M1 requires other viral proteins or subviral components (possibly viral ribonucleoprotein) for interaction with host cytoskeletal components. The implication of these results for viral morphogenesis is discussed.
Mental Imagery of Visual Motion Modifies the Perception of Roll-Vection Stimulation

When viewing a wide-angle visual display, which rotates in the frontoparallel plane around the line of sight, observers experience an illusory shift of the direction of gravity; this shift leads to an apparent tilt of the body and displaces allocentric space coordinates. In this study, subjects adjusted an indicator to the apparent horizontal while viewing a rotating display. To determine whether top–down processes could affect the illusion, the subjects were asked to visualize a rotating configuration of dots onto a blank central portion of the moving visual field. Visualizing dots and actually viewing the dots deflected the spatial judgment in very similar ways. These results demonstrate that top–down processing can affect allocentric space coordinates.
Urinary Kallikrein and Urinary Prostaglandin E2 in Genetically Hypertensive Mice

Summary We have evaluated urinary kallikrein activity and urinary prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) immunoreactivity in Schlager high blood pressure (HBP) and low blood pressure (LBP) mice. Urinary kallikrein activity was measured by a colorimetric method employing α-N-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester HCl (TAME) as substrate. It was shown that urinary TAME esterase activity in HBP and LBP mice was probably due to a single enzyme and that this enzyme appeared to be urinary kallikrein. Urinary PGE2 immunoreactivity was determined by a specific radioimmunoassay. Urinary kallikrein activity was significantly elevated and urinary PGE2 immunoreactivity was significantly reduced in HBP compared to LBP mice. High urinary kallikrein activity in HBP mice resembles situations such as human primary aldosteronism, where hypertension is produced by mineralocorticoid excess. Low urinary PGE2 levels in HBP mice, however, compares to the situation observed for human essential hypertension. The HBP mouse thus has alterations in physiological parameters believed to reflect renal blood pressure regulating mechanisms. These alterations are unique among genetically hypertensive animal models and appear to be analogous to alterations seen in certain human hypertensive states. One possible explanation for the inverse relationship between urinary kallikrein activity and urinary PGE2 levels in HBP and LBP mice is that HBP mice could have a physiological block preventing stimulation of renal prostaglandin synthesis by the renal kallikrein-kinin system. We are indebted to D. W. Sandwisch for his very helpful technical advice and to P. K. Howell for her technical assistance.
Naess's Dichotomy of Tenability and Relevance

In his Communication and Argument Arne Naess discusses how to evaluate reasons advanced to support (and objections advanced to detract from) a given point of view. 1 According to Naess there are two distinct issues to be settled with respect to each separate reason: the issue of its tenability and the issue of its relevance. The distinction itself is, I think, booth tenable and relevant. However its application is not as straightforward as one might at first suppose. I shall in turn discuss some difficulties and possibilities of applying the distinction in contexts of: 1. evaluation 2. the production and recognition of higher order reas ons and objections 3. formal discussion
Social Support Versus Social Evaluation: Unique Effects on Vascular and Myocardial Response Patterns

Objectives: This study examined the effects of companion presence and evaluation on cardiovascular reactivity to an acute stressor. Methods: Eighty-two women completed a speech task in one of four conditions: with an evaluative companion present, with a nonevaluative companion present, alone while being evaluated by a companion with a video camera, or alone while the companion waited outside. Results: A significant interaction between companion condition and evaluative condition on systolic blood pressure was found; women who were evaluated while alone demonstrated significantly greater reactivity than did women who were in the nonevaluative alone condition. Furthermore, both potential for evaluation and the presence of a companion had important influences on hemodynamic parameters underlying the blood pressure response. Specifically, those in evaluative conditions showed greater myocardial responding than those in nonevaluative conditions and those in alone conditions showed greater vascular responding than did those with companions present. Taken together, those in the evaluative alone condition demonstrated systolic blood pressure responses reflecting both myocardial and vascular contributions. Conclusions: Social support and social evaluation have unique effects on vascular and myocardial responding. The implications for future research include focus on the stress-buffering model of social support and the value of including impedance cardiography measures in investigations of cardiovascular functioning. CVD = cardiovascular disease; SBP = systolic blood pressure; DBP = diastolic blood pressure; MAP = mean arterial pressure; TPR = total peripheral resistance; TPRI = total peripheral resistance index; CO = cardiac output; CI = cardiac index; PEP = preejection period; SV = stroke volume; BMI = body mass index; BSA = body surface area.
DIFFERENCES IN REASONS WHY INDIVIDUALS CHOOSE TO BECOME AGRICULTURAL TEACHER EDUCATORS BY DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

The purpose of this study was to collect demographic information on agricultural teacher educators. Furthermore, the study sought to identify factors that discriminate agriculture teacher educators on selected demographics . The target population was all agriculture teacher educators employed during th e 1995-1996 school year at colleges and universities in the United States offering degree certification programs in agricultural education (N = 207) . The entire census population was surveyed, with 86% providing usable data . A mailed questionnaire was used to collect demographic data on teacher educators and identify reasons why teacher educators chose to enter the education professoriate . From the results of the study, teacher educators in agricultural education are married, middle-aged Caucasian males employed at an 1862 land grant institution, having tenure and holding the rank ofprofessor . Females enter the education professoriate to take advantage of personal and professional development opportunities while males want to share their interest in pedagogy and receive external benefits associated with the job. Ethnic minorities enter the education professoriate because they want to assume a leadership role in teacher education and to influence other minorities to enter the teaching profession . This study should be repeated every five years to analyze trends in the teaching profession.
Effectiveness of child safety seats vs seat belts in reducing risk for death in children in passenger vehicle crashes.

OBJECTIVE To provide an estimate of benefit, if any, of child restraint systems over seat belts alone for children aged from 2 through 6 years. DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING A sample of children in US passenger vehicle crashes was obtained from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration by combining cases involving a fatality from the US Department of Transportation Fatality Analysis Reporting System with a probability sample of cases without a fatality from the National Automotive Sampling System. PARTICIPANTS Children in tow-away [corrected] crashes occurring between 1998 and 2003. MAIN EXPOSURE Use of child restraint systems (rear-facing and forward-facing car seats, and shield and belt-positioning booster seats) vs seat belts. Potentially confounding variables included seating position, vehicle type, model year, driver and passenger ages, and driver survival status. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURE Death of child passengers from injuries incurred during the crash. RESULTS Compared with seat belts, child restraints, when not seriously misused (eg, unattached restraint, child restraint system harness not used, 2 children restrained with 1 seat belt) were associated with a 28% reduction in risk for death (relative risk, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.54-0.97) in children aged 2 through 6 years after adjusting for seating position, vehicle type, model year, driver and passenger ages, and driver survival status. When including cases of serious misuse, the effectiveness estimate was slightly lower (21%) (relative risk, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-1.05). CONCLUSION Based on these findings as well as previous epidemiological and biomechanical evidence for child restraint system effectiveness in reducing nonfatal injury risk, efforts should continue to promote use of child restraint systems through improved laws and with education and disbursement programs.
Suppression of lipopolysaccharide-induced antiviral transcription factor (STAT-1 and NF-κB) complexes by antibody-dependent enhancement of macrophage infection by Ross River virus

Subneutralizing concentrations of antibody may enhance virus infection by bringing the virus–antibody complex into contact with the cell surface Fc receptors; this interaction facilitates entry of virus into the cell and is referred to as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection. Northern analysis of macrophage RNA demonstrated that ADE infection by the indigenous Australian alphavirus Ross River (RRV-ADE) ablated or diminished message for tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), nitric-oxide synthase 2 (NOS2), and IFN regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1), as well as for IFN-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) and IFN-β; the transcription of a control gene was unaffected. Additionally, electrophoretic mobility-shift assay (EMSA) studies showed that transcription factor IFN-α-activated factor (AAF), IFN-stimulated gene factor 3 (ISGF3), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) complex formation in macrophage nuclear extracts were specifically suppressed post-RRV-ADE infection, emphasizing the capacity for ADE infections to compromise antiviral responses at the transcriptional level. The suppression of antiviral transcription factor complexes was shown to depend on replicating virus and was not simply a result of general antibody–Fc–receptor interaction. Although only a minority of cells (≈15%) were shown to be positive for RRV by immunostaining techniques post ADE, molecular (RT-PCR) analysis showed that unstained cells carried RRV-RNA, indicating a higher level of viral infectivity than previously suspected. Electron microscopy studies confirmed this observation. Furthermore, levels of cellular IL-10 protein were dramatically elevated in RRV-ADE cultures. This evidence demonstrates that RRV can potently disrupt the activation of specific antiviral pathways via ADE infection pathways, and may suggest a significant mechanism in the infection and pathogenesis of other ADE viruses.
Reassessment of a Free Radical Theory of Cancer With Emphasis on Ultraviolet Carcinogenesis

Pro-oxidants, reactive species and free radicals, are toxic substances that can cause oxidative damage to major constituents of biological systems. In contradistinction, antioxidants are defined as any substance that significantly prevents the pro-oxidant-initiated oxidation of a substrate. Consequently, it was suggested that it might be possible to reduce free radical damage and thus cancer risk through 3 dietary changes: (1) caloric reduction, that is, lowering the level of free radical reactions arising in the course of normal metabolism; (2) minimize dietary components that increase the level of free radical reactions (eg, polyunsaturated fats); and (3) supplement the diet with one or more free radical reaction inhibitors (antioxidants). Lipid peroxidation exemplifies the type of chain reaction initiated by free radicals in (2) and (3). Both the phenolic antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and the carotenoid β-carotene can terminate such reactions and have been shown to influence ultraviolet (UV) carcinogenesis. However, there is a lack of correlation between physicochemical and patho-physiological responses in both instances. Whereas the influence on UV carcinogenesis of both antioxidants has been reported to diminish as the level of dietary fat decreases, pointing to the involvement of lipid peroxidative reactions, the mode of BHT’s action in inhibiting UV carcinogenesis appears to be related to UV dose diminution through increased spectral absorbance of the stratum corneum. β-carotene has no such effect and may actually exacerbate UV carcinogenesis under certain dietary conditions. This paradox points to the complex relationship between chemical mechanisms and biological mode of action of antioxidants. Recent clinical and experimental data suggest that antioxidant supplementation of the complex and intricately balanced natural antioxidant defense system as a cancer prevention strategy will demand extreme caution.
A prospective diffusion tensor imaging study in mild traumatic brain injury

Objectives: Only a handful of studies have investigated the nature, functional significance, and course of white matter abnormalities associated with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) during the semi-acute stage of injury. The present study used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate white matter integrity and compared the accuracy of traditional anatomic scans, neuropsychological testing, and DTI for objectively classifying mTBI patients from controls. Methods: Twenty-two patients with semi-acute mTBI (mean = 12 days postinjury), 21 matched healthy controls, and a larger sample (n = 32) of healthy controls were studied with an extensive imaging and clinical battery. A subset of participants was examined longitudinally 3–5 months after their initial visit. Results: mTBI patients did not differ from controls on clinical imaging scans or neuropsychological performance, although effect sizes were consistent with literature values. In contrast, mTBI patients demonstrated significantly greater fractional anisotropy as a result of reduced radial diffusivity in the corpus callosum and several left hemisphere tracts. DTI measures were more accurate than traditional clinical measures in classifying patients from controls. Longitudinal data provided preliminary evidence of partial normalization of DTI values in several white matter tracts. Conclusions: Current findings of white matter abnormalities suggest that cytotoxic edema may be present during the semi-acute phase of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Initial mechanical damage to axons disrupts ionic homeostasis and the ratio of intracellular and extracellular water, primarily affecting diffusion perpendicular to axons. Diffusion tensor imaging measurement may have utility for objectively classifying mTBI, and may serve as a potential biomarker of recovery.
Clinical, hematological and cytogenetical data of 11 patients with myelodysplastic features and idiopathic thrombocytosis

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