bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multidimensional adaptive sampling and reconstruction for ray tracing
Authors: Hachisuka Toshiya , Jarosz Wojciech , Weistroffer Richard Peter , Dale Kevin , Humphreys Greg , Zwicker Matthias , Jensen Henrik Wann
Published: August 2008

We present a new adaptive sampling strategy for ray tracing. Our technique is specifically designed to handle multidimensional sample domains, and it is well suited for efficiently generating images with effects such as soft shadows, motion blur, and depth of field. These effects are problematic for existing image based adaptive sampling techniques as they operate on pixels, which are possibly noisy results of a Monte Carlo ray tracing process. Our sampling technique operates on samples in the multidimensional space given by the rendering equation and as a consequence the value of each sample is noise-free. Our algorithm consists of two passes. In the first pass we adaptively generate samples in the multidimensional space, focusing on regions where the local contrast between samples is high. In the second pass we reconstruct the image by integrating the multidimensional function along all but the image dimensions. We perform a high quality anisotropic reconstruction by determining the extent of each sample in the multidimensional space using a structure tensor. We demonstrate our method on scenes with a 3 to 5 dimensional space, including soft shadows, motion blur, and depth of field. The results show that our method uses fewer samples than Mittchell's adaptive sampling technique while producing images with less noise.
A meshless hierarchical representation for light transport
Authors: Lehtinen Jaakko , Zwicker Matthias , Turquin Emmanuel , Kontkanen Janne , Durand Frédo , Sillion François X. , Aila Timo
Published: August 2008

We introduce a meshless hierarchical representation for solving light transport problems. Precomputed radiance transfer (PRT) and finite elements require a discrete representation of illumination over the scene. Non-hierarchical approaches such as per-vertex values are simple to implement, but lead to long precomputation. Hierarchical bases like wavelets lead to dramatic acceleration, but in their basic form they work well only on flat or smooth surfaces. We introduce a hierarchical function basis induced by scattered data approximation. It is decoupled from the geometric representation, allowing the hierarchical representation of illumination on complex objects. We present simple data structures and algorithms for constructing and evaluating the basis functions. Due to its hierarchical nature, our representation adapts to the complexity of the illumination, and can be queried at different scales. We demonstrate the power of the new basis in a novel precomputed direct-to-indirect light transport algorithm that greatly increases the complexity of scenes that can be handled by PRT approaches.
Discovering structural regularity in 3D geometry
Authors: Pauly Mark , Mitra Niloy J. , Wallner Johannes , Pottmann Helmut , Guibas Leonidas J.
Published: August 2008

We introduce a computational framework for discovering regular or repeated geometric structures in 3D shapes. We describe and classify possible regular structures and present an effective algorithm for detecting such repeated geometric patterns in point- or meshbased models. Our method assumes no prior knowledge of the geometry or spatial location of the individual elements that define the pattern. Structure discovery is made possible by a careful analysis of pairwise similarity transformations that reveals prominent lattice structures in a suitable model of transformation space. We introduce an optimization method for detecting such uniform grids specifically designed to deal with outliers and missing elements. This yields a robust algorithm that successfully discovers complex regular structures amidst clutter, noise, and missing geometry. The accuracy of the extracted generating transformations is further improved using a novel simultaneous registration method in the spatial domain. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm on a variety of examples and show applications to compression, model repair, and geometry synthesis.
A perceptually validated model for surface depth hallucination
Authors: Glencross Mashhuda , Ward Gregory J. , Melendez Francho , Jay Caroline , Liu Jun , Hubbold Roger
Published: August 2008

Capturing detailed surface geometry currently requires specialized equipment such as laser range scanners, which despite their high accuracy, leave gaps in the surfaces that must be reconciled with photographic capture for relighting applications. Using only a standard digital camera and a single view, we present a method for recovering models of predominantly diffuse textured surfaces that can be plausibly relit and viewed from any angle under any illumination. Our multiscale shape-from-shading technique uses diffuse-lit/flash-lit image pairs to produce an albedo map and textured height field. Using two lighting conditions enables us to subtract one from the other to estimate albedo. In the absence of a flash-lit image of a surface for which we already have a similar exemplar pair, we approximate both albedo and diffuse shading images using histogram matching. Our depth estimation is based on local visibility. Unlike other depth-from-shading approaches, all operations are performed on the diffuse shading image in image space, and we impose no constant albedo restrictions. An experimental validation shows our method works for a broad range of textured surfaces, and viewers are frequently unable to identify our results as synthetic in a randomized presentation. Furthermore, in side-by-side comparisons, subjects found a rendering of our depth map equally plausible to one generated from a laser range scan. We see this method as a significant advance in acquiring surface detail for texturing using a standard digital camera, with applications in architecture, archaeological reconstruction, games and special effects.
Animating developable surfaces using nonconforming elements
Authors: English Elliot , Bridson Robert
Published: August 2008

We present a new discretization for the physics-based animation of developable surfaces. Constrained to not deform at all in-plane but free to bend out-of-plane, these are an excellent approximation for many materials, including most cloth, paper, and stiffer materials. Unfortunately the conforming (geometrically continuous) discretizations used in graphics break down in this limit. Our nonconforming approach solves this problem, allowing us to simulate surfaces with zero in-plane deformation as a hard constraint. However, it produces discontinuous meshes, so we further couple this with a "ghost" conforming mesh for collision processing and rendering. We also propose a new second order accurate constrained mechanics time integration method that greatly reduces the numerical damping present in the usual first order methods used in graphics, for virtually no extra cost and sometimes significant speed-up.
Display adaptive tone mapping
Authors: Mantiuk Rafał , Daly Scott , Kerofsky Louis
Published: August 2008

We propose a tone mapping operator that can minimize visible contrast distortions for a range of output devices, ranging from e-paper to HDR displays. The operator weights contrast distortions according to their visibility predicted by the model of the human visual system. The distortions are minimized given a display model that enforces constraints on the solution. We show that the problem can be solved very efficiently by employing higher order image statistics and quadratic programming. Our tone mapping technique can adjust image or video content for optimum contrast visibility taking into account ambient illumination and display characteristics. We discuss the differences between our method and previous approaches to the tone mapping problem.
Single image dehazing
Authors: Fattal Raanan
Published: August 2008

In this paper we present a new method for estimating the optical transmission in hazy scenes given a single input image. Based on this estimation, the scattered light is eliminated to increase scene visibility and recover haze-free scene contrasts. In this new approach we formulate a refined image formation model that accounts for surface shading in addition to the transmission function. This allows us to resolve ambiguities in the data by searching for a solution in which the resulting shading and transmission functions are locally statistically uncorrelated. A similar principle is used to estimate the color of the haze. Results demonstrate the new method abilities to remove the haze layer as well as provide a reliable transmission estimate which can be used for additional applications such as image refocusing and novel view synthesis.
Musculotendon simulation for hand animation
Authors: Sueda Shinjiro , Kaufman Andrew , Pai Dinesh K.
Published: August 2008

We describe an automatic technique for generating the motion of tendons and muscles under the skin of a traditionally animated character. This is achieved by integrating the traditional animation pipeline with a novel biomechanical simulator capable of dynamic simulation with complex routing constraints on muscles and tendons. We also describe an algorithm for computing the activation levels of muscles required to track the input animation. We demonstrate the results with several animations of the human hand.
3D unsharp masking for scene coherent enhancement
Authors: Ritschel Tobias , Smith Kaleigh , Ihrke Matthias , Grosch Thorsten , Myszkowski Karol , Seidel Hans-Peter
Published: August 2008

We present a new approach for enhancing local scene contrast by unsharp masking over arbitrary surfaces under any form of illumination. Our adaptation of a well-known 2D technique to 3D interactive scenarios is designed to aid viewers in tasks like understanding complex or detailed geometric models, medical visualization and navigation in virtual environments. Our holistic approach enhances the depiction of various visual cues, including gradients from surface shading, surface reflectance, shadows, and highlights, to ease estimation of viewpoint, lighting conditions, shapes of objects and their world-space organization. Motivated by recent perceptual findings on 3D aspects of the Cornsweet illusion, we create scene coherent enhancements by treating cues in terms of their 3D context; doing so has a stronger effect than approaches that operate in a 2D image context and also achieves temporal coherence. We validate our unsharp masking in 3D with psychophysical experiments showing that the enhanced images are perceived to have better contrast and are preferred over unenhanced originals. Our operator runs at real-time rates on a GPU and the effect is easily controlled interactively within the rendering pipeline.
Real-time data driven deformation using kernel canonical correlation analysis
Authors: Feng Wei-Wen , Kim Byung-Uck , Yu Yizhou
Published: August 2008

Achieving intuitive control of animated surface deformation while observing a specific style is an important but challenging task in computer graphics. Solutions to this task can find many applications in data-driven skin animation, computer puppetry, and computer games. In this paper, we present an intuitive and powerful animation interface to simultaneously control the deformation of a large number of local regions on a deformable surface with a minimal number of control points. Our method learns suitable deformation subspaces from training examples, and generate new deformations on the fly according to the movements of the control points. Our contributions include a novel deformation regression method based on kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) and a Poisson-based translation solving technique for easy and fast deformation control based on examples. Our run-time algorithm can be implemented on GPUs and can achieve a few hundred frames per second even for large datasets with hundreds of training examples.
Articulated mesh animation from multi-view silhouettes
Authors: Vlasic Daniel , Baran Ilya , Matusik Wojciech , Popović Jovan
Published: August 2008

Details in mesh animations are difficult to generate but they have great impact on visual quality. In this work, we demonstrate a practical software system for capturing such details from multi-view video recordings. Given a stream of synchronized video images that record a human performance from multiple viewpoints and an articulated template of the performer, our system captures the motion of both the skeleton and the shape. The output mesh animation is enhanced with the details observed in the image silhouettes. For example, a performance in casual loose-fitting clothes will generate mesh animations with flowing garment motions. We accomplish this with a fast pose tracking method followed by nonrigid deformation of the template to fit the silhouettes. The entire process takes less than sixteen seconds per frame and requires no markers or texture cues. Captured meshes are in full correspondence making them readily usable for editing operations including texturing, deformation transfer, and deformation model learning.
Performance capture from sparse multi-view video
Authors: de Aguiar Edilson , Stoll Carsten , Theobalt Christian , Ahmed Naveed , Seidel Hans-Peter , Thrun Sebastian
Published: August 2008

This paper proposes a new marker-less approach to capturing human performances from multi-view video. Our algorithm can jointly reconstruct spatio-temporally coherent geometry, motion and textural surface appearance of actors that perform complex and rapid moves. Furthermore, since our algorithm is purely meshbased and makes as few as possible prior assumptions about the type of subject being tracked, it can even capture performances of people wearing wide apparel, such as a dancer wearing a skirt. To serve this purpose our method efficiently and effectively combines the power of surface- and volume-based shape deformation techniques with a new mesh-based analysis-through-synthesis framework. This framework extracts motion constraints from video and makes the laser-scan of the tracked subject mimic the recorded performance. Also small-scale time-varying shape detail is recovered by applying model-guided multi-view stereo to refine the model surface. Our method delivers captured performance data at high level of detail, is highly versatile, and is applicable to many complex types of scenes that could not be handled by alternative marker-based or marker-free recording techniques.
NEAT-o-Games
Authors: Fujiki Yuichi , Kazakos Konstantinos , Puri Colin , Buddharaju Pradeep , Pavlidis Ioannis , Levine James
Published: August 2008

This article describes research that aims to encourage physical activity through a novel pervasive gaming paradigm. Data from a wearable accelerometer are logged wirelessly to a cell phone and control the animation of an avatar that represents the player in a virtual race game with other players over the cellular network. Winners are declared every day and players with an excess of activity points can spend some to get hints in mental games of the suite, like Sudoku. The racing game runs in the background throughout the day and every little move counts. As the gaming platform is embedded in the daily routine of players, it may act as a strong behavioral modifier and increase everyday physical activity other than volitional sporting exercise. Such physical activity (e.g., taking the stairs), is termed NEAT and was shown to play a major role in obesity prevention and intervention. A pilot experiment demonstrates that players are engaged in NEAT-o-Games and become more physically active while having a good dosage of fun.
The evaluation of ARCO
Authors: Sylaiou Styliani , Economou M. , Karoulis A. , White M.
Published: August 2008

This article presents the results of the evaluation study of the Augmented Representation of Cultural Objects (ARCO) system which provides software and interface tools to museum curators for the development of virtual museum exhibitions for the World Wide Web or for information kiosks. The aim of the current research is to investigate how a virtual museum system is coping with the demands of museum curators, to examine the needs of virtual museum visitors, and to provide a set of criteria and guidelines for defining effective evaluation of such systems. Evaluation methods such as heuristic evaluation and walkthroughs were employed in the study in order to assess various components and interfaces of the system.
E = MC
2
+ 1
Authors: Lugmayr Artur , Adrian Hornsby , Golebiowski Piotr , Jumisko-Pyykko Satu , Ubis Fernando , Reymann Simon , Bruns Volker , Kybartaite Asta , Kauranen Jarkko , Matthes Dirk
Published: August 2008

This article presents a unique course for students, the course took place at the Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in the NAMU --- New AMbient MUltimedia research group. The basic idea was to create a five-minute production involving all the new technology available to the modern film-maker. We want to prove that even a non-experienced team of film-makers are capable of creating a short HD film with (almost) commonly available equipment. A full high-definition (HD) digital workflow was undertaken --- from scene to screen. In each production step, new technologies and approaches were tested to explore the world of digital film-making. In pre-production the movie-script was written collaboratively with Wiki tools. The participants' experience was evaluated, and the results are presented in this article. In production we focused on HD methods to create content and applied the Material eXchange Format (MXF) to handle metadata in production; the final movie was distributed via typical television channels, such as DVB-T, IP-TV, and DVB-H. The experimental results are presented in this article as well. In this article we present our experience in terms of technology, introduce a learning-by-doing concept during course development, and give a complete analysis of a full digital HD workflow.
The BBC and its web 2.0 partners
Authors: Sutherland Ben
Published: August 2008

The British Broadcasting Corporation's websites, in English and in the 33 languages broadcast on the BBC World Service, are among the most powerful online providers of content -- in particular news and current affairs information -- on the internet. But as the level of individual users' internet usage and sophistication grows, BBC.co.uk is looking to advance its methods of getting this content to people beyond the provision of one simple one-size-fits-all website. Tools such as RSS feeds and desktop news alerts began the process, which, driven by a Creative Futures programme and a set of 15 "web principles", has now expanded to include the establishment of presences in, and utilisation of, Second Life, YouTube and MySpace. Meanwhile new deals allowing for content to be distributed more widely are being announced virtually on a monthly basis.

But what are the implications of such moves? Should a publicly-funded broadcaster be involved to such an extent with private interests? Is this extension of BBC News into these areas likely to attract further complaints from private media broadcasters who argue they are marginalised by the BBC"s subsidised clout? And will it leave those with limited or no ability or interest in the new interactive world underserved - or neglected altogether?
EM analysis of a wireless Java-based PDA
Authors: Gebotys Catherine H. , White Brian A.
Published: August 2008

The susceptibility of wireless portable devices to electromagnetic (EM) attacks is largely unknown. If analysis of electromagnetic (EM) waves emanating from the wireless device during a cryptographic computation do leak sufficient information, it may be possible for an attacker to reconstruct the secret key. Possession of the secret cryptographic key would render all future wireless communications insecure and cause further potential problems, such as identity theft. Despite the complexities of a PDA wireless device, such as operating system events, interrupts, cache misses, and other interfering events, this article demonstrates that, for the first time, repeatable EM differential attacks are possible. The proposed differential analysis methodology involves precharacterization of the PDA device (thresholding and pattern recognition), and a new frequency-based differential analysis. Unlike previous research, the new methodology does not require perfect alignment of EM frames and is repeatable in the presence of a complex embedded system (including cache misses, operating system events, etc), thus supporting attacks on real embedded systems. This research is important for future wireless embedded systems, which will increasingly demand higher levels of security.
Java bytecode verification via static single assignment form
Authors: Gal Andreas , Probst Christian W. , Franz Michael
Published: August 2008

Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) traditionally perform bytecode verification by way of an iterative dataflow analysis. Bytecode verification is necessary to ensure type safety because temporary variables in the JVM are not statically typed. We present an alternative verification mechanism that transforms JVM bytecode into Static Single Assignment Form (SSA) and thereby propagates definitions directly to uses. Type checking at control flow merge points can then be performed in a single pass.

Our prototype implementation of the new algorithm is faster than the standard JVM bytecode verifier. It has the additional benefit of generating SSA as a side effect, which may be immediately useful for a subsequent dynamic compilation stage.
Secure Time Synchronization in Sensor Networks
Authors: Ganeriwal Saurabh , Pöpper Christina , Čapkun Srdjan , Srivastava Mani B.
Published: August 2008

Time synchronization is critical in sensor networks at many layers of their design. It enables better duty-cycling of the radio, accurate and secure localization, beamforming, and other collaborative signal processing tasks. These benefits make time-synchronization protocols a prime target of malicious adversaries who want to disrupt the normal operation of a sensor network. In this article, we analyze attacks on existing time synchronization protocols for wireless sensor networks and we propose a secure time synchronization toolbox to counter these attacks. This toolbox includes protocols for secure pairwise and group synchronization of nodes that either lie in the neighborhood of each other or are separated by multiple hops. We provide an in-depth analysis of the security and the energy overhead of the proposed protocols. The efficiency of these protocols has been tested through an experimental study on Mica2 motes.
Report on the XML mining track at INEX 2007 categorization and clustering of XML documents
Authors: Denoyer Ludovic , Gallinari Patrick
Published: August 2008

This report concerns the last edition of the XML Mining Track at INEX 2007. A preceding report has been already published concerning the two preceding editions of the track. We present here the new corpus used for this third phase and briefly describe the models and the results obtained by the different participants.
Defining an agenda for human-centered computing
Authors: Sears Andrew , Lazar Jonathan , Ozok Ant , Meiselwitz Gabriele
Published: August 2008

Two workshops sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) were held in September 2006 at NSF headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, with the goal of identifying important and emerging research areas and trends in Human-Centered Computing (HCC). In this article we report on these workshops, each of which was attended by about 30 prominent researchers in the area.
Energy-efficient search for finite-lifetime resources in sensor networks with time-constrained queries
Authors: Mann Christopher R. , Baldwin Rusty O. , Kharoufeh Jeffrey P. , Mullins Barry E.
Published: August 2008

We examine the performance of a random-walk search algorithm for wireless sensor networks when resources are subject to limited lifetimes and queries are constrained by application-specific deadlines. Specifically, via the time-to-live and transmission range parameters, we estimate the appropriate number of resource copies that must be created within the network to minimize the total node arrival rate (the energy-centric approach) or to ensure the total proportion of queries failures does not exceed a specified threshold (the failure-centric approach). The effect of node transmission range on network performance is also investigated. We compare the results of our network simulations to our queueing-based analytic node model and find that there is an inverse relationship between transmission range and the time-to-live value required to minimize the total node arrival rate.
Multitasking workload scheduling on flexible core chip multiprocessors
Authors: Gulati Divya P. , Kim Changkyu , Sethumadhavan Simha , Keckler Stephen W. , Burger Doug
Published: August 2008

While technology trends have ushered in the age of chip multiprocessors (CMP) and enabled designers to place an increasing number of cores on chip, a fundamental question is what size to make each core. Most current commercial designs are symmetric CMPs in which each core is identical and range from a relatively simple RISC pipeline to a large and complicated out-of-order x86 core. When the granularity of parallelism in the tasks matches the granularity of the processing cores, a CMP will be at its most efficient. To adjust the granularity of a core to the tasks running on it, recent research has proposed flexible-core chip multiprocessors, which typically consist of a number of small processing cores that can be aggregated to form larger logical processors. These architectures introduce a new resource allocation and scheduling problem which must determine how many logical processors should be configured, how powerful each processor should be, and where/when each task should run. This paper introduces and motivates this new scheduling problem, describes the challenges associated with it, and examines and evaluates several algorithms (amenable to implementation in an operating system) appropriate for such flexible-core CMPs. We also describe how scheduling for flexible-core architectures differs from scheduling for fixed multicore architectures, and compare the performance of flexible-core CMPs to both symmetric and asymmetric fixed-core CMPs.
Internet nuggets
Authors: Thorson Mark
Published: August 2008

This column consists of selected traffic from the
comp.arch
newsgroup, a forum for discussion of computer architecture on the Internet---an international computer network.
Familial Syndromes Coupling with Small Renal Masses
Authors: Hidalgo Jorge , Chéchile Gilberto
Published: August 2008

During the past two decades, several new hereditary renal cancers have been discovered but are not yet widely known. Hereditary renal cancer syndromes can lead to multiple bilateral kidney tumors that occur at a younger age than that at which the nonhereditary renal cancers occur. The aim of our work is to review the features of hereditary renal cancers, the basic principles of genetic relevant to these syndromes, and the various histopathologic features of renal cancer. In addition, we will describe the known familial syndromes associated with small renal masses.
A Novel High-Performance Patch Radiator
Authors: Raghava N. S. , De Asok
Published: August 2008

A novel two-layer highly efficient directive E-shaped patch radiator is described. By modifying the geometry of a rectangular patch and by introducing two slits, the size of the original rectangular patch is reduced. Further reduction in the size is achieved by stacking E-shaped patches. Both gain and efficiency of this modified antenna is increased by 16%. It is also observed that by introducing EBG structure, the bandwidth of the antenna is increased by 10.5% approximately.
Two-Level Automatic Adaptation of a Distributed User Profile for Personalized News Content Delivery
Authors: Papadogiorgaki Maria , Papastathis Vasileios , Nidelkou Evangelia , Waddington Simon , Bratu Ben , Ribiere Myriam , Kompatsiaris Ioannis
Published: August 2008

This paper presents a distributed client-server architecture for the personalized delivery of textual news content to mobile users. The user profile consists of two separate models, that is, the long-term interests are stored in a skeleton profile on the server and the short-term interests in a detailed profile in the handset. The user profile enables a high-level filtering of available news content on the server, followed by matching of detailed user preferences in the handset. The highest rated items are recommended to the user, by employing an efficient ranking process. The paper focuses on a two-level learning process, which is employed on the client side in order to automatically update both user profile models. It involves the use of machine learning algorithms applied to the implicit and explicit user feedback. The system's learning performance has been systematically evaluated based on data collected from regular system users.
Improvement in Left Ventricular Remodeling by the Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Enhancer AVE9488 After Experimental Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Fraccarollo Daniela , Widder Julian D. , Galuppo Paolo , Thum Thomas , Tsikas Dimitrios , Hoffmann Michael , Ruetten Hartmut , Ertl Georg , Bauersachs Johann
Published: August 2008

Background—

Reduced endothelial nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability contributes to the progression of heart failure. In this study, we investigated whether the transcription enhancer of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) AVE9488 improves cardiac remodeling and heart failure after experimental myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods and Results—

Starting 7 days after coronary artery ligation, rats with MI were treated with placebo or AVE9488 (25 ppm) as a dietary supplement for 9 weeks. AVE9488 therapy versus placebo substantially improved left ventricular (LV) function, reduced LV filling pressure, and prevented the rightward shift of the pressure-volume curve. AVE9488 also attenuated the extent of pulmonary edema, reduced LV fibrosis and myocyte cross-sectional area, and prevented the increases in LV gene expression of atrial natriuretic factor, brain natriuretic peptide, and endothelin-1. eNOS protein levels and calcium-dependent NOS activity were decreased in the surviving LV myocardium from placebo MI rats and normalized by AVE9488. The beneficial effects of AVE9488 on LV dysfunction and remodeling after MI were abrogated in eNOS-deficient mice. Aortic eNOS protein expression and endothelium-dependent NO-mediated vasorelaxation were significantly enhanced by AVE9488 treatment after infarction, whereas increased vascular superoxide anion formation was reduced. Moreover, AVE9488 prevented the marked depression of circulating endothelial progenitor cell levels in rats with heart failure after MI.

Conclusions—

Long-term treatment with the eNOS enhancer AVE9488 improved LV remodeling and contractile dysfunction after MI. Molecular alterations, circulating endothelial progenitor cell levels, and endothelial vasomotor dysfunction were improved by AVE9488. Pharmacological interventions designed to increase eNOS-derived NO constitute a promising therapeutic approach for the amelioration of postinfarction ventricular remodeling and heart failure.
Roles of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-Akt and NADPH Oxidase in Adenosine 5′-Triphosphate–Sensitive K
+
Channel Function Impaired by High Glucose in the Human Artery
Authors: Kinoshita Hiroyuki , Matsuda Naoyuki , Kaba Hikari , Hatakeyama Noboru , Azma Toshiharu , Nakahata Katsutoshi , Kuroda Yasuhiro , Tange Kazuaki , Iranami Hiroshi , Hatano Yoshio
Published: August 2008

The present study was designed to examine roles of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt pathway and reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidases in the reduced ATP-sensitive K
+
channel function via superoxide produced by high glucose in the human artery. We evaluated the activity of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt pathway, as well as reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidases, the intracellular levels of superoxide and ATP-sensitive K
+
channel function in the human omental artery without endothelium. Levels of the p85-α subunit and reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase subunits, including p47phox, p22phox, and Rac-1, increased in the membrane fraction from arteries treated with
d
-glucose (20 mmol/L) accompanied by increased intracellular superoxide production. High glucose simultaneously augmented Akt phosphorylation at Ser 473, as well as Thr 308 in the human vascular smooth muscle cells. A phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002, as well as tiron and apocynin, restored vasorelaxation and hyperpolarization in response to an ATP-sensitive K
+
channel opener levcromakalim. Therefore, it can be concluded that the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt pathway, in combination with the translocation of p47phox, p22phox, and Rac-1, contributes to the superoxide production induced by high glucose, resulting in the impairment of ATP-sensitive K
+
channel function in the human visceral artery.
Spatial and Social Networks in Organizational Innovation
Authors: Wineman Jean D. , Kabo Felichism W. , Davis Gerald F.
Published: August 2008

Research on the enabling factors of innovation has focused on either the social component of organizations or on the spatial dimensions involved in the innovation process. But no one has examined the aggregate consequences of the link from spatial layout, to social networks, to innovation. This project enriches our understanding of how innovation works especially in highly innovative organizations by exploring the social dimensions of innovation as they are embedded in a specific spatial milieu. Workspace layout generates spatial boundaries that divide and reunite built space. These boundaries create relations of accessibility and visibility that integrate or segregate behaviors, activities, and people. As built space structures patterns of circulation, copresence, coawareness, and encounter in an organization, these interrelationships become fundamental to the development of social networks, especially those networks critical to the innovation process. This article presents a review of the knowledge bases of social network and spatial layout theories, and reports on a preliminary study of the effects of spatial layout on the formation and maintenance of social network structure and the support of innovation.
Examining Personal Security and Avoidance Measures in a 12-City Sample
Authors: Giblin Matthew J.
Published: August 2008

Existing research has recognized the multidimensional nature of self-protective behaviors. Using secondary data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, this study examined the predictive ability of measures related to policing, lifestyles, victimization, neighborhood conditions, and demographic characteristics in explaining six types of protective behavior. Results suggest that factors such as awareness of community policing, satisfaction with police, perceptions of disorder, and sex are consistently related to protective measures, whereas the influence of other factors (e.g., personal victimization, race) varies according to the behavior analyzed.
Constructing Trust Between Teacher and Students Through Feedback and Revision Cycles in an EFL Writing Classroom
Authors: Lee Given , Schallert Diane L.
Published: August 2008

The authors' goal was to model the role played by the relationship between a writing teacher and her students in the feedback and revision cycle they experienced in an English-as-a-foreign-language context. Participants included a nonnative teacher of English and 14 students enrolled in her English writing class in a Korean university. Data came from formal, informal, and text-based interviews; semester-long classroom observations; and students' drafts with teacher comments. Findings showed that caring was enacted in complex and reciprocal ways, influenced by interwoven factors from the greater society, the course, the teacher, and the student. Students' level of trust in the teacher's English ability, teaching practices, and written feedback, as much as the teacher's trust in particular students based on how they revised their drafts, played a great role in the development of a caring relationship between them.
Nutrition Risk Screening in Acute Care: A Survey of Practice
Authors: Chima Cinda S. , Dietz‐Seher Christin , Kushner‐Benson Susan
Published: August 2008

The Joint Commission–accredited acute care hospitals are required to screen patients for nutrition risk, but criteria and procedures in use have not been described. The purpose of this study was to survey managers of clinical nutrition services in acute care hospitals regarding procedures for screening for nutrition risk. Members of the Clinical Nutrition Management Dietetic Practice Group were surveyed using an e‐mailed link to an electronic survey. Of 1668 members contacted, 522 usable surveys were completed (31%). Most respondents (84%) reported that nursing staff had primary responsibility for nutrition screening; 10% used nutrition services staff; 4% used a computerized system. Where nursing staff did nutrition screening (n = 441), 57% (n = 252) said that nutrition services staff do a secondary admission screen. Dietitians most often performed secondary screens (70%), followed by dietetic technicians (16%), 4‐year‐degreed staff (4%), and clerks (3%). Most nutrition services staff screens (61%) used different data than nursing staff screens; 12% collected the same data as nursing staff. Screening criteria most often used by nursing staff were a history of weight loss (95%), poor intake prior to admission (81%), nutrition support (79%), chewing/swallowing issues (75%), and skin breakdown (72%). Criteria most commonly used by nutrition services staff were diagnosis (90%), nutrition support (81%), nothing by mouth (NPO)/clear liquid diet order (78%), visceral proteins (71%), and specific diet orders (68%). Most respondents had not formally evaluated their screening systems for sensitivity or specificity. There is a need to further evaluate the nutrition screening systems used in acute care hospitals in the U.S.
10‐Year Review of Pediatric Intestinal Failure: Clinical Factors Associated With Outcome
Authors: Casey Linda , Lee Karr‐Hong , Rosychuk Rhonda , Turner Justine , Huynh Hien Q.
Published: August 2008

Prediction of outcomes in pediatric intestinal failure is challenging but essential to guide intestinal rehabilitation and transplantation decisions. This review of intestinal failure patients spanning 10 years examines clinical details in relation to outcome to identify factors that may refine predictive accuracy. A search was conducted to identify all children with intestinal failure managed at Stollery Children's Hospital between January 1994 and December 2003. They were divided into 3 groups: early death occurring ≤30 days of age, parenteral nutrition dependence for 30‐100 days, and parenteral nutrition dependence for >100 days. The long‐term group was divided according to outcome: death or adaptation. Demographics, diagnosis, nutrition requirements, laboratory parameters, and clinical data were recorded. Groups were compared to identify factors associated with outcome. Necrotizing enterocolitis, gastroschisis, and intestinal atresias were the most common causes for intestinal failure; outcome was not related to diagnosis. Although withdrawal of therapy was common in the early death group, most babies had one or more additional significant comorbidity. Among the 29 babies requiring parenteral nutrition for >100 days with known outcomes, 12 died, 16 adapted fully, and 1 received a multivisceral transplant. Intestinal length >40 cm was associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality (P< .001). Abnormal laboratory values (bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, albumin, and platelet count) after 5 months of age were also significantly different between groups. This data, together with data from previous reviews, should be used to investigate potential predictive factors in prospective studies, particularly in the context of expert multidisciplinary care.
The Subjective Global Assessment: A Review of Its Use in Clinical Practice
Authors: Makhija Sapna , Baker Jeffrey
Published: August 2008

Many methods of evaluating malnutrition have been proposed that combine multiple components such as dietary and medical history, amount of weight loss, biochemical variables, and anthropometry. The Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), first described by Baker et al in 1982, SGA was introduced to assess the patient for malnutrition at the bedside, without the need for precise body composition analysis. Since it was developed, the SGA has been used in various different patient populations, including surgical and oncology patients. It remains the most reliable and efficient method of nutrition assessment. The authors present a review of the SGA and how it has been used in a variety of areas within medicine.
Enforcing Borders in the Nuevo South
Authors: Deeb-Sossa Natalia , Bickham Mendez Jennifer
Published: August 2008

Drawing from ethnographic research in the Research Triangle of North Carolina and Williamsburg, Virginia, the authors build on Anzaldúa's conceptualization of “borderlands” to analyze how borders of social membership are constructed and enforced in “el Nuevo South.” Our gender analysis reveals that intersecting structural conditions—the labor market, the organization of public space, and the institutional organization of health care and other public services—combine with gendered processes in the home and family to regulate women's participation in community life. Enforcers of borders include institutional actors, mostly women, in social services and clinics who occupy institutional locations that enable them to define who is entitled to public goods and to categorize migrants as undeserving “others.” We reveal how a particularly configured matrix of domination transcends the spheres of home, work, and community to constrain women migrants' physical and economic mobility and personal autonomy and to inhibit their participation in their societies of reception.
Behavioral Disorders in the School
Authors: Gumpel Thomas P.
Published: August 2008

This study presents an attempt to widen the study of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) to include children not formally identified by the school as having EBD through examining the case of extreme school aggressors and their victims. The research describes the validation of the School Violence Inventory (SVI) and its use to map participant roles in six types of school aggression and victimization. Middle and high school students in Israel ( N = 10,383) completed the SVI and were designated as uninvolved, pure aggressors, pure victims, and mixed aggressor—victims for direct physical, relational, and sexual aggression and victimization. Results showed a main effect for grade level for all types of aggression. Multiple hierarchical regressions showed different trajectories for each of the four participant roles. Implications for future research delineating the psychological markers of each of the different roles and implications for the future study of EBD are discussed.
Pursuit Driver Training Improves Memory for Skill-Based Information
Authors: Page Jonathan W. , Thibeault Corey M. , Page Kasee F. , Lewinski William
Published: August 2008

Police drivers must attend to information from multiple sensory modalities during a high-speed pursuit. This aises an important question: Does training facilitate the shifting of focus between visual and auditory modalities and the subsequent recall of information? The authors tested personnel from the London Metropolitan Police Service to see if various levels of driving training influenced memory recall during an attention-shifting task. Participants were presented standard and police-related memory items while simultaneously attending to distracters. Brain activity was measured to the presentation of the distracters to ensure participants are indeed paying attention to both tasks. The authors found that training did have a significant effect on memory for police-related items. The results are attributed to training because the experimental design ruled out concentration and natural ability as possible explanations.
Breastfeeding and feminism: A focus on reproductive health, rights and justice
Authors: Labbok Miriam H , Smith Paige Hall , Taylor Emily C
Published: August 2008

The annual Breastfeeding and Feminism Symposia aim to reposition breastfeeding as a valued part of women's (re)productive lives and rights. The symposia are designed to raise the profile of breastfeeding within the women's advocacy and feminist studies' communities, and to increase recognition among breastfeeding supporters that breastfeeding promotion could receive more socio-political support by partnering with those concerned with women's reproductive health, rights and justice, women's economic advancement, and the elimination of social, economic and health inequities. The third symposium (2007) sought to build dialogue and increase communications between and among these diverse communities. The nine articles presented in this thematic series were selected by the journal editors, and represent the core discussions at the symposium. This editorial presents the areas of synergy and strategies for action that emerged from the discussions. These strategies and this thematic issue are intended to reassert the momentum that evolved among participants, and to stimulate involvement among individuals and organizations not in attendance in promoting breastfeeding as a women's reproductive health, rights and justice concern.
Inappropriately low aldosterone concentrations in adults with AIDS-related diarrhoea in Zambia: a study of response to fluid challenge
Authors: Kaile Trevor , Zulu Isaac , Lumayi Ruth , Ashman Neil , Kelly Paul
Published: August 2008

Background

Chronic diarrhoea is one of the most debilitating consequences of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa and it carries a high mortality rate. We report unexpectedly low concentrations of circulating aldosterone in 12 patients (6 men, 6 women) in the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, who all had diarrhoea for over one month. Changes in serum electrolytes, blood pressure, Karnofsky score and serum aldosterone concentration were being monitored during a short study of responses to saline infusion (3 litres/24 h) over 72 hours.

Findings

At baseline, 9/12 (75%) of the patients were hyponatraemic, 10/11 (91%) were hypokalaemic, and 6/12 (50%) had undetectable aldosterone concentrations. Blood pressure and Karnofsky score rose and creatinine concentration fell in response to the infusion.

Conclusion

Circulating aldosterone concentrations were inappropriately low and complicate the profound electrolyte deficiencies resulting from chronic diarrhoea. Management of these deficiencies needs to be more aggressive than is currently practised and consideration should be given to a formal clinical trial of mineralocorticoid replacement in these severely ill patients. If the inappropriately low aldosterone reflects a general adrenal failure, it may explain a considerable proportion of the high mortality seen both before and after initiation of anti-retroviral therapy.