bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anti‐Aspergillus human host defence relies on type 1 T helper (Th1), rather than type 17 T helper (Th17), cellular immunity
Authors: Chai Louis Y. A. , Van De Veerdonk Frank , Marijnissen Renoud J. , Cheng Shih‐Chin , Khoo Ai Leng , Hectors Magda , Lagrou Katrien , Vonk Alieke G. , Maertens Johan , Joosten Leo A. B. , Kullberg Bart‐Jan , Netea Mihai G.
Published: December 2009

Both interferon‐γ‐producing type 1 T helper (Th1)‐ and interleukin‐17 (IL‐17)‐producing Th17 cells have been proposed to be involved in anti‐fungal host defence. Although invasive aspergillosis is one of the most severe human fungal infections, little is known regarding the relative importance of the Th1 versus Th17 cellular immune pathways for the human anti‐Aspergillus host defence. Using human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and a system consisting of monocyte‐derived macrophages with lymphocytes, we found that Aspergillus fumigatus is a weak inducer of human IL‐17 but induces a strong Th1 response. These data were validated by the very low IL‐17 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum of patients with invasive aspergillosis. Surprisingly, live A. fumigatus reduced IL‐17 production induced by mitogenic stimuli. This effect was mediated through the propensity of A. fumigatus to metabolize tryptophan and release kynurenine, which modulates the inflammatory response through inhibition of IL‐17 production. In conclusion, A. fumigatus does not stimulate production of IL‐17 and human host defence against aspergillosis may not rely on potent Th17 responses.
The expression and function of Nod‐like receptors in neutrophils
Authors: Ekman Anna‐Karin , Cardell Lars Olaf
Published: December 2009

Neutrophils make up an essential part of the innate immune system, and are involved both in the initial responses to pathogens, and in orchestrating later immune responses. Neutrophils recognize pathogens through pattern‐recognition receptors (PRRs), which are activated by microbial motifs. The Nod‐like receptors (nucleotide‐binding domain leucine‐rich repeat containing family; NLRs) constitute a recently discovered group of PRRs whose role in the neutrophil immune responses is not yet characterized. The present study aimed to investigate the expression and function of NLRs in neutrophils. Neutrophils were isolated from human peripheral blood, and the presence of nucleotide‐binding oligomerization domain 1 (NOD1), NOD2 and NACHT‐LRR‐PYD‐containing protein 3 (NLRP3) was evaluated with flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. The expression of NOD1, NOD2 and NLRP3 messenger RNA was determined using real‐time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. Changes in neutrophil cytokine secretion, phenotype and migration following agonist‐induced activation were studied using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, flow cytometry and a chemotaxis assay, respectively. No expression of NOD1 was found in isolated neutrophils and stimulation with the NOD1 ligand γ‐d‐glutamyl‐meso‐diaminopimelic acid induced no signs of activity. In contrast, a marked expression of NOD2 and NLRP3 was found. NOD2 activation with MurNAc‐l‐Ala‐d‐isoGln (MDP) resulted in interleukin‐8 secretion, CD62 ligand down‐regulation, CD11b up‐regulation and increased migration towards an inflammatory stimulus. NLRP3 activation with alum caused interleukin‐1β secretion and facilitated migration. Altogether, this suggests that NLRs may be a previously unknown pathway for neutrophil activation.
Prevalence of immediate vasovagal reaction in blood donors visiting two blood banks of Karachi
Authors: Rohra D. K. , Juriasinghani V. , Rai K. , Azam S. I.
Published: December 2009

Vasovagal reaction (VVR) is a very common adverse event related to blood donation. No study has been conducted in Pakistan to estimate the prevalence of VVR in blood donors. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of immediate VVR in blood donors of Karachi, Pakistan. The study was conducted in two blood banks of Karachi. Data regarding the development of immediate VVR were documented. The effect of blood donation on vital parameters like pulse rate, blood pressure (BP), temperature and respiratory rate was also observed. Six hundred and seventy‐four blood donors were recruited. All the donors who consented were males. Weakness and dizziness were two most common symptoms which were reported by 91 (13.5%) and 73 (10.8%) of the participants, respectively. Out of 91 donors in whom signs and symptoms of immediate VVR were observed, a significant drop in systolic BP (13.5 ± 2.5 mmHg) and decrease in pulse rate (13.3 ± 3.6) were concurrently noted in 55 donors (8.2% of all the participants). There was lack of association of age, body mass index (BMI), estimated blood volume, ethnicity, educational status, profession and first time donation status with the frequency of VVR. Only marital status was found to be significantly associated with higher frequency of immediate VVR, where married donors were having higher odds as compared to singles. The prevalence of VVR in the blood donors at two blood banks of Karachi is at least 8.2%. Furthermore, married men are at more risk of experiencing VVR in our population.
Estimation of the age at onset in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 Cuban patients by survival analysis
Authors: Almaguer‐Mederos LE , Falcón NS , Almira YR , Zaldivar YG , Almarales DC , Góngora EM , Herrera MP , Batallán KE , Armiñán RR , Manresa MV , Cruz GS , Laffita‐Mesa J , Cyuz TM , Chang V , Auburger G , Gispert S , Pérez LV
Published: December 2009

Almaguer‐Mederosa LE, Falcón NS, Almira YR, Zaldivar YG, Almarales DC, Góngora EM, Herrera MP, Batallán KE, Armiñán RR, Manresa MV, Cruz GS, Laffita‐Mesa J, Cyuz TM, Chang V, Auburger G, Gispert S, Pérez LV. Estimation of the age at onset in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 Cuban patients by survival analysis.

Previous studies have investigated the close association that exists between CAG repeat number and the age at onset in SCA2 = spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. These studies have focused on affected individuals. To further characterize this association and estimate the risk of a carrier developing SCA2 at a particular age as a function of a specific CAG repeat size, we have analyzed a large group of 924 individuals, including 394 presymptomatic and 530 affected individuals with a CAG repeat length of 32–79 units. Using a Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, we obtained cumulative probability curves for disease manifestation at a particular age for each CAG repeat length in the 34–45 range. These curves were significantly different (p < 0.001) and showed small overlap. All these information may be very valuable in predictive‐testing programs, in the planning of studies for the identification of other genetic and environmental factors as modifiers of age at onset, and in the design of clinical trials for people at enlarged risk for SCA2.
Cytogenetic analyses of premature ovarian failure using karyotyping and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in a group of 1000 patients
Authors: Lakhal B , Braham R , Berguigua R , Bouali N , Zaouali M , Chaieb M , Veitia RA , Saad A , Elghezal H
Published: December 2009

Lakhal B, Braham R, Berguigua R, Bouali N, Zaouali M, Chaieb M, Veitia RA, Saad A, Elghezal H. Cytogenetic analyses of premature ovarian failure using karyotyping and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in a group of 1000 patients.

To evaluate the implication of chromosome abnormalities in the etiology of premature ovarian failure (POF), 1000 patients with POF recruited at the Department of Cytogenetics of Farhat Hached Hospital (Sousse, Tunisia) between January 1996 and December 2008. Chromosome analyses were performed by using karyotyping and interphase fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) using a centromeric probe of the chromosome X to look for low‐level mosaicism of X‐chromosome monosomy. Hundred and eight chromosomal abnormalities (10.8%) were found using karyotype analysis. Anomalies were detected in 61 cases out of 432 primary amenorrhea patients (14.12%) and 47 cases out of 568 secondary amenorrhea patients (8.27%). In 23 POF patients among 200 (11.5%) with 46,XX normal karyotype and explored using interphase FISH analysis, the percentage of cells with X‐chromosome monosomy was significantly higher as compared with controls in the same age. The cytogenetic study of POF patients showed a high prevalence of chromosome anomalies either in primary or in secondary amenorrhoea. Mosaic X‐chromosome s aneuploïdy was the most frequent abnormality and some patients with POF may be attributable to low‐level 45,X/46,XX mosaicism detectable using FISH analysis.
The Immunohistochemical Localization of Desmin and Smooth Muscle Actin in the Ovary of the African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus) During the Oestrous Cycle
Authors: Madekurozwa M.‐C. , Oke B. O. , Akinloye A. K.
Published: December 2009

The aim of this study was to describe the distribution of smooth muscle actin and desmin immunopositive cells in the ovary of the giant rat. In addition, the study describes the morphological changes in the ovary of this species during the oestrous cycle. Healthy secondary and tertiary follicles dominated the ovary during pro‐oestrus and oestrus. The theca externa of the tertiary follicles was immunopositive for smooth muscle actin, but immunonegative for desmin. Oestrus was also characterized by the presence of corpora haemorrhagica, which had an outer layer of smooth muscle actin immunopositive cells. Differentiating corpora lutea were observed during metoestrus. A further notable feature of the ovary during metoestrus was the presence of numerous atretic secondary and tertiary follicles. In the later stages of atresia, the follicles were infiltrated by desmin and smooth muscle actin immunopositive cells. Dioestrus was characterized by the presence of non‐regressing and regressing corpora lutea. Immunostaining for smooth muscle actin was demonstrated in the enclosing layer of the corpora lutea, as well as in the tunica media of blood vessels within the corpora lutea. The results of this study have shown that morphological changes in the ovary of the giant rat during the oestrus cycle are similar to those of laboratory rodents. Furthermore, the results of the immunohistochemical study indicate that the perifollicular distribution of desmin and smooth muscle actin cells changes during follicular development and atresia.
Inhibitory effects of permethrin on flight responses, host‐searching, and foraging behaviour of Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a larval parasitoid of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)
Authors: Kawazu K. , Shimoda T. , Kobori Y. , Kugimiya S. , Mukawa S. , Suzuki Y.
Published: December 2009

Although it is well known that the application of broad‐spectrum synthetic insecticides reduces the effectiveness of natural enemies, the details of the actual mechanisms, including the lethal and sublethal effects of this reduction, are not fully understood. The inhibitory effects of a pyrethroid insecticide (permethrin), Adion 20% EC on the flight responses, host‐searching behaviour and foraging behaviour of Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a larval parasitoid of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), were investigated under laboratory conditions. In choice trials, the wasps showed significant preference for P. xylostella‐infested Komatsuna plants over insecticide‐treated plants, suggesting an inhibitory effect of the insecticide on the flight response of C. vestalis. When offered a pair of plants, the wasps showed a significant preference for P. xylostella‐infested plants compared to uninfested plants. However, significantly more wasps were attracted to infested permethrin‐treated plants than to uninfested plants, suggesting that the wasps are attracted to the volatile infochemicals from the infested plants, even if treated with permethrin. The searching time was significantly shorter and the mortality of C. vestalis adults on the insecticide‐treated plants significantly higher than in the control plants treated with distilled water. These results suggest that the application of the insecticide had an inhibitory effect on the wasps’‐searching behaviour and consequently reduced the effectiveness of C. vestalis as a biological control agent against P. xylostella. In addition, the strength of the inhibitory effect of permethrin on the attraction of the wasps to the plants is critical to the survival of C. vestalis. Our results suggest that the attraction of the wasps to the permethrin‐treated infested plants increases the risk of their exposure to this insecticide.
Biological activity of essential oils from seven Azorean plants against Pseudaletia unipuncta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Authors: Rosa J. S. , Mascarenhas C. , Oliveira L. , Teixeira T. , Barreto M. C. , Medeiros J.
Published: December 2009

Ten essential oils from seven Azorean plant species were evaluated for their insecticidal, ovicidal, feeding‐deterrence and growth inhibition activities against Pseudaletia unipuncta. The oils of Laurus azorica (leaves), and Juniperus brevifolia (leaves) showed strong moderate insecticidal effect on fourth‐instar larvae causing 93.3% and 46.7% mortality, respectively. Juniperus brevifolia (leaves), L. azorica (leaves), Persea indica (leaves), Hedychium gardnerianum (leaves) and Pittosporum undulatum (fruits and leaves) significantly affected the hatching of P. unipuncta eggs (<8% eclosions). Five oils showed significant feeding deterrent activities (L. azorica, 92.4%, J. brevifolia, 93.6%, P. undulatum leaves, 95.5% and fruits, 83.8% and H. gardnerianum, 88.2%). All of the essential oils tested, significantly inhibited the larval growth after 5 days of feeding on the treated diet. Essential oils from L. azorica and J. brevifolia were the most potent growth inhibitors among the oils tested, producing a decrease in the initial larva weight (−14.8 and −14.5 mg, respectively). Our results indicate that L. azorica (leaves), J. brevifolia (leaves), P. indica (leaves), H. gardnerianum (leaves), and P. undulatum (leaves and fruits) can be exploited for the development of bioactive compounds as a new source of agrochemicals. Further emphasis on isolation and identification of active constituents can be useful to develop new environment‐friendly insect control agents.
Microbial functional structure of Montastraea faveolata, an important Caribbean reef‐building coral, differs between healthy and yellow‐band diseased colonies
Authors: Kimes Nikole E. , Van Nostrand Joy D. , Weil Ernesto , Zhou Jizhong , Morris Pamela J.
Published: December 2009

A functional gene array (FGA), GeoChip 2.0, was used to assess the biogeochemical cycling potential of microbial communities associated with healthy and Caribbean yellow band diseased (YBD) Montastraea faveolata. Over 6700 genes were detected, providing evidence that the coral microbiome contains a diverse community of archaea, bacteria and fungi capable of fulfilling numerous functional niches. These included carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycling, metal homeostasis and resistance, and xenobiotic contaminant degradation. A significant difference in functional structure was found between healthy and YBD M. faveolata colonies and those differences were specific to the physical niche examined. In the surface mucopolysaccharide layer (SML), only two of 31 functional categories investigated, cellulose degradation and nitrification, revealed significant differences, implying a very specific change in microbial functional potential. Coral tissue slurry, on the other hand, revealed significant changes in 10 of the 31 categories, suggesting a more generalized shift in functional potential involving various aspects of nutrient cycling, metal transformations and contaminant degradation. This study is the first broad screening of functional genes in coral‐associated microbial communities and provides insights regarding their biogeochemical cycling capacity in healthy and diseased states.
A novel hybrid kinase is essential for regulating the σB‐mediated stress response of Bacillus cereus
Authors: De Been Mark , Tempelaars Marcel H. , Van Schaik Willem , Moezelaar Roy , Siezen Roland J. , Abee Tjakko
Published: December 2009

A common bacterial strategy for monitoring environmental challenges is to use two‐component systems, which consist of a sensor histidine kinase (HK) and a response regulator (RR). In the food‐borne pathogen Bacillus cereus, the alternative sigma factor σB is activated by the RR RsbY. Here we present strong indications that the PP2C‐type phosphatase RsbY receives its input from the multi‐sensor hybrid kinase BC1008 (renamed RsbK). Genome analyses revealed that, across bacilli, rsbY and rsbK are located in a conserved gene cluster. A B. cereus rsbK deletion strain was shown to be incapable of inducing σB upon stress conditions and was impaired in its heat adaptive response. Comparison of the wild‐type and rsbK mutant transcriptomes upon heat shock revealed that RsbK was primarily involved in the activation of the σB‐mediated stress response. Truncation of the RsbK RR receiver domain demonstrated the importance of this domain for σB induction upon stress. The domain architecture of RsbK suggests that in the B. cereus group and in other bacilli, environmental and intracellular stress signalling routes are combined into one single protein. This strategy is markedly different from the σB activation pathway in other low‐GC Gram‐positives.
Decrease in hepatic very‐low‐density lipoprotein–triglyceride secretion after weight loss is inversely associated with changes in circulating leptin
Authors: Magkos F. , Fabbrini E. , McCrea J. , Patterson B. W. , Eagon J. C. , Klein S.
Published: December 2009

Aim: Although weight loss usually decreases very‐low‐density lipoprotein–triglyceride (VLDL‐TG) secretion rate, the change in VLDL‐TG kinetics is not directly related to the change in body weight. Circulating leptin also declines with weight loss and can affect hepatic lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine whether circulating leptin is associated with weight loss‐induced changes in VLDL‐TG secretion.

Methods: Ten extremely obese subjects were studied. VLDL‐TG secretion rate and the contribution of systemic (derived from lipolysis of subcutaneous adipose tissue TG) and non‐systemic fatty acids (derived primarily from lipolysis of intrahepatic and intraperitoneal TG, and de novo lipogenesis) to VLDL‐TG production were determined by using stable isotopically labelled tracer methods before and 1 year after gastric bypass surgery.

Results: Subjects lost 33 ± 12% of body weight, and VLDL‐TG secretion rate decreased by 46 ± 23% (p = 0.001), primarily because of a decrease in the secretion of VLDL‐TG from non‐systemic fatty acids (p = 0.002). Changes in VLDL‐TG secretion rates were not significantly related to reductions in body weight, body mass index, plasma palmitate flux, free fatty acid or insulin concentrations. The change in VLDL‐TG secretion was inversely correlated with the change in plasma leptin concentration (r = −0.72, p = 0.013), because of a negative association between changes in leptin and VLDL‐TG secretion from non‐systemic fatty acids (r = −0.95, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Weight loss‐induced changes in plasma leptin concentration are inversely associated with changes in VLDL‐TG secretion rate. Additional studies are needed to determine whether the correlation between circulating leptin and VLDL‐TG secretion represents a cause‐and‐effect relationship.
Working capital management in SMEs
Authors: Baños‐Caballero Sonia , García‐Teruel Pedro J. , Martínez‐Solano Pedro
Published: December 2009

This paper analyses the determinants of Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) for small‐ and medium‐sized firms. It has been found that these firms have a target CCC length to which they attempt to converge, and that they try to adjust to their target quickly. The results also show that it is longer for older firms and companies with greater cash flows. In contrast, firms with more growth opportunities, and firms with higher leverage, investment in fixed assets and return on assets have a more aggressive working capital policy.
Divestitures, wealth effects and corporate governance
Authors: Owen Sian , Shi Liting , Yawson Alfred
Published: December 2009

We analyse the market reaction to divestiture decisions and determine the impact of corporate governance practices. We find the market reaction is significant and can be determined using internal governance mechanisms. We evaluate the determinants of the decision to sell using a control sample of firms displaying characteristics often associated with divestitures indicating that these firms may face the same incentives to divest but elect not to restructure in this manner. Our results suggest that a combination of strong internal and external governance may force managers to act in a manner that is incompatible with their personal desires.
Live Video Montage with a Rotating Camera
Authors: Dong Zilong , Jiang Lei , Zhang Guofeng , Wang Qing , Bao Hujun
Published: December 2009

High‐quality video editing usually requires accurate layer separation in order to resolve occlusions. However, most of the existing bilayer segmentation algorithms require either considerable user intervention or a simple stationary camera configuration with known background, which is difficult to meet for many real world online applications. This paper demonstrates that various visually appealing montage effects can be online created from a live video captured by a rotating camera, by accurately retrieving the camera state and segmenting out the dynamic foreground. The key contribution is that a novel fast bilayer segmentation method is proposed which can effectively extract the dynamic foreground under rotational camera configuration, and is robust to imperfect background estimation and complex background colors. Our system can create a variety of live visual effects, including but not limited to, realistic virtual object insertion, background substitution and blurring, non‐photorealistic rendering and camouflage effect. A variety of challenging examples demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
An Intuitive Interface for Interactive High Quality Image‐Based Modeling
Authors: Habbecke Martin , Kobbelt Leif
Published: December 2009

We present the design of an interactive image‐based modeling tool that enables a user to quickly generate detailed 3D models with texture from a set of calibrated input images. Our main contribution is an intuitive user interface that is entirely based on simple 2D painting operations and does not require any technical expertise by the user or difficult pre‐processing of the input images. One central component of our tool is a GPU‐based multi‐view stereo reconstruction scheme, which is implemented by an incremental algorithm, that runs in the background during user interaction so that the user does not notice any significant response delay.
Linkless Octree Using Multi‐Level Perfect Hashing
Authors: Choi Myung Geol , Ju Eunjung , Chang Jung‐Woo , Lee Jehee , Kim Young J.
Published: December 2009

The standard C/C++ implementation of a spatial partitioning data structure, such as octree and quadtree, is often inefficient in terms of storage requirements particularly when the memory overhead for maintaining parent‐to‐child pointers is significant with respect to the amount of actual data in each tree node. In this work, we present a novel data structure that implements uniform spatial partitioning without storing explicit parent‐to‐child pointer links. Our linkless tree encodes the storage locations of subdivided nodes using perfect hashing while retaining important properties of uniform spatial partitioning trees, such as coarse‐to‐fine hierarchical representation, efficient storage usage, and efficient random accessibility. We demonstrate the performance of our linkless trees using image compression and path planning examples.
Procedural Generation of Rock Piles using Aperiodic Tiling
Authors: Peytavie A. , Galin E. , Grosjean J. , Merillou S.
Published: December 2009

In this paper, we present a tiling method for generating piles of rocks without any computationally demanding physically‐based simulation. Previous techniques rely on a periodic tiling of rocks and generate unrealistic repetitive patterns. In contrast, our approach relies on a modified corner cube algorithm to generate a set of aperiodic tiles. We generalize the construction method so that the geometry of rocks should straddle corner cubes with a view to avoiding unrealistic gaps in the arrangement of rocks. Moreover, we propose an original technique to control the shape of rocks into contact by computing the Voronoï cells using a parameterized anisotropic distance. Our method has been successfully used to generate landscapes and stone huts and walls with thousands of rocks piled together.
Expression Synthesis and Transfer in Parameter Spaces
Authors: Shin Hyun Joon , Lee Yunjin
Published: December 2009

In this paper, we introduce a novel framework that allows users to synthesize the expression of a 3D character by providing a intuitive set of parametric controls. Assuming that human face movements are formed by a set of basis actuation, we analyze a set of real expressions to extract this set together with skin deformation due to the actuation of face. To do this, we first decompose the movement of each marker into a set of distinctive movements. Independent component analysis technique is then adopted to find a independent set of actuations. Our simple and efficient skin deformation model are learned to reproduce the realistic movements of facial parts due to the actuations. In this framework, users can animate characters' faces by controlling the amount actuation or by directly manipulating the face geometry. In addition, the proposed method can be applied to expression transfer which reproduces one character's expression in another character's face. Experimental results demonstrate that our method can produce realistic expression efficiently.
Simulation of Tearing Cloth with Frayed Edges
Authors: Metaaphanon Napaporn , Bando Yosuke , Chen Bing‐Yu , Nishita Tomoyuki
Published: December 2009

Woven cloth can commonly be seen in daily life and also in animation. Unless prevented in some way, woven cloth usually frays at the edges. However, in computer graphics, woven cloth is typically modeled as a continuum sheet, which is not suitable for representing frays. This paper proposes a model that allows yarn movement and slippage during cloth tearing. Drawing upon techniques from textile and mechanical engineering fields, we model cloth as woven yarn crossings where each yarn can be independently torn when the strain limit is reached. To make the model practical for graphics applications, we simulate only tearing part of cloth with a yarn‐level model using a simple constrained mass‐spring system for computational efficiency. We designed conditions for switching from a standard continuum sheet model to our yarn‐level model, so that frays can be initiated and propagated along the torn lines. Results show that our method can achieve plausible tearing cloth animation with frayed edges.
Gradient‐Preserving Color Transfer
Authors: Xiao Xuezhong , Ma Lizhuang
Published: December 2009

Color transfer is an image processing technique which can produce a new image combining one source image's contents with another image's color style. While being able to produce convincing results, however, Reinhard et al.'s pioneering work has two problems—mixing up of colors in different regions and the fidelity problem. Many local color transfer algorithms have been proposed to resolve the first problem, but the second problem was paid few attentions.

In this paper, a novel color transfer algorithm is presented to resolve the fidelity problem of color transfer in terms of scene details and colors. It's well known that human visual system is more sensitive to local intensity differences than to intensity itself. We thus consider that preserving the color gradient is necessary for scene fidelity. We formulate the color transfer problem as an optimization problem and solve it in two steps—histogram matching and a gradient‐preserving optimization. Following the idea of the fidelity in terms of color and gradient, we also propose a metric for objectively evaluating the performance of example‐based color transfer algorithms. The experimental results show the validity and high fidelity of our algorithm and that it can be used to deal with local color transfer.
Optimizing Structure Preserving Embedded Deformation for Resizing Images and Vector Art
Authors: Huang Qi‐xing , Mech Radomir , Carr Nathan
Published: December 2009

Smart deformation and warping tools play an important part in modern day geometric modeling systems. They allow existing content to be stretched or scaled while preserving visually salient information. To date, these techniques have primarily focused on preserving local shape details, not taking into account important global structures such as symmetry and line features. In this work we present a novel framework that can be used to preserve the global structure in images and vector art. Such structures include symmetries and the spatial relations in shapes and line features in an image. Central to our method is a new formulation of preserving structure as an optimization problem. We use novel optimization strategies to achieve the interactive performance required by modern day modeling applications. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework by performing structure preservation deformation of images and complex vector art at interactive rates.
Textures on Rank‐1 Lattices
Authors: Dammertz Sabrina , Dammertz Holger , Keller Alexander , Lensch Hendrik P. A.
Published: December 2009

Storing textures on orthogonal tensor product lattices is predominant in computer graphics, although it is known that their sampling efficiency is not optimal. In two dimensions, the hexagonal lattice provides the maximum sampling efficiency. However, handling these lattices is difficult, because they are not able to tile an arbitrary rectangular region and have an irrational basis. By storing textures on rank‐1 lattices, we resolve both problems: Rank‐1 lattices can closely approximate hexagonal lattices, while all coordinates of the lattice points remain integer. At identical memory footprint texture quality is improved as compared to traditional orthogonal tensor product lattices due to the higher sampling efficiency. We introduce the basic theory of rank‐1 lattice textures and present an algorithmic framework which easily can be integrated into existing off‐line and real‐time rendering systems.
Image and Video Abstraction by Anisotropic Kuwahara Filtering
Authors: Kyprianidis Jan Eric , Kang Henry , Döllner Jürgen
Published: December 2009

We present a non‐photorealistic rendering technique to transform color images and videos into painterly abstractions. It is based on a generalization of the Kuwahara filter that is adapted to the local shape of features, derived from the smoothed structure tensor. Contrary to conventional edge‐preserving filters, our filter generates a painting‐like flattening effect along the local feature directions while preserving shape boundaries. As opposed to conventional painting algorithms, it produces temporally coherent video abstraction without extra processing. The GPU implementation of our method processes video in real‐time. The results have the clearness of cartoon illustrations but also exhibit directional information as found in oil paintings.
Interactive Cover Design Considering Physical Constraints
Authors: Igarashi Yuki , Igarashi Takeo , Suzuki Hiromasa
Published: December 2009

We developed an interactive system to design a customized cover for a given three‐dimensional (3D) object such as a camera, teapot, or car. The system first computes the convex hull of the input geometry. The user segments it into several cloth patches by drawing on the 3D surface. This paper provides two technical contributions. First, it introduces a specialized flattening algorithm for cover patches. It makes each two‐dimensional edge in the flattened pattern equal to or longer than the original 3D edge; a smaller patch would fail to cover the object, and a larger patch would result in extra wrinkles. Second, it introduces a mechanism to verify that the user‐specified opening would be large enough for the object to be removed. Starting with the initial configuration, the system virtually “pulls” the object out of the cover while avoiding excessive stretching of cloth patches. We used the system to design real covers and confirmed that it functions as intended.
Variational Surface Approximation and Model Selection
Authors: Li Bao , Schnabel Ruwen , Jin Shiyao , Klein Reinhard
Published: December 2009

We consider the problem of approximating an arbitrary generic surface with a given set of simple surface primitives. In contrast to previous approaches based on variational surface approximation, which are primarily concerned with finding an optimal partitioning of the input geometry, we propose to integrate a model selection step into the algorithm in order to also optimize the type of primitive for each proxy. Our method is a joint global optimization of both the partitioning of the input surface as well as the types and number of used shape proxies. Thus, our method performs an automatic trade‐off between representation complexity and approximation error without relying on a user supplied predetermined number of shape proxies. This way concise surface representations are found that better exploit the full approximative power of the employed primitive types.
Mothers' and Children's Positive Emotion: Relations and Trajectories across Four Years
Authors: Sallquist Julie , Eisenberg Nancy , Spinrad Tracy L. , Gaertner Bridget M. , Eggum Natalie D. , Zhou Nianli
Published: December 2009

The goals of this study were to examine the relations between and trajectories of mothers' and children's social positive expressivity (PE). Mothers' and children's PE were observed annually for four years beginning when children were approximately 18 months old (N = 247; 110 girls). Based on correlations, there was evidence of rank‐order stability in children's and mothers' PE. Based on growth curve analyses, mothers' and children's PE followed curvilinear trajectories; thus, mean‐level instability was found. Children's PE during a free‐play interaction with their mothers increased then decreased slightly whereas mothers' affect during the same task decreased then stabilized. Children's PE during a joy‐inducing situation (i.e., bubbles) with an experimenter slightly decreased and then increased. In panel models, there was no evidence of prediction over time across children's and mothers' PE when taking stability into account. These unique trajectories and relations provide insight into the developmental pattern of young children's and their mothers' PE elicited within social contexts.
The Geography of a Mixed‐Race Society
Authors: CLARK WILLIAM A. V. , MAAS REGAN
Published: December 2009

The pattern and level of separation among ethnic groups continues to change, and there are certainly more mixed neighborhoods both in cities and suburbs than two decades ago. The immigration flows of the past decade have substantially altered the ethnic mix and neighborhood mixing. In addition, multi‐ethnic individuals themselves are altering the level of mixing among racial and ethnic groups. The research in this article shows that those who report themselves of more than one race have high levels of residential integration both in central cities and suburbs. These residential patterns can be interpreted as further evidence of tentative steps to a society in which race per se is less critical in residential patterning. The level of integration, for Asian mixed and black mixed is different and substantially higher than for those who report one race alone. The research in this article builds on previous aggregate studies of mixed‐race individuals to show substantial patterns of integration in California's metropolitan areas.
ENTWINED PRACTICES: ENGAGEMENTS WITH PHOTOGRAPHY IN HISTORICAL INQUIRY
Authors:   JENNIFER TUCKER in collaboration with Tina Campt
Published: December 2009

The status of photographs as keystones of historical explanation has become a topic of urgent intellectual and cultural interest around the world, at the same time as methods of shaping historical narratives are also changing in ways that compel attention to the employment of photographs in historiography. By exposing the questions we ought to raise about all historical evidence, photographs reveal not simply the potential and limits of photography as a historical source, but the potential and limits of all historical sources and historical inquiry as an intellectual project. As the papers in this issue make apparent, this is precisely the promise and ultimate potential of the historical study of photographs—that it pushes their interpreters to the limits of historical analysis. This essay, which serves as an introduction to the Theme Issue, contextualizes issues raised by the articles and offers a critical synthesis of their impact on future scholarship about photography in historical analysis.
OF FISH, BIRDS, CATS, MICE, SPIDERS, FLIES, PIGS, AND CHIMPANZEES: HOW CHANCE CASTS THE HISTORIC ACTION PHOTOGRAPH INTO DOUBT
Authors: KELSEY ROBIN
Published: December 2009

The role of chance in producing a picture by snapping a shutter release before a complex and quickly changing scene weakens the bond between the historic action photograph and the meanings it is routinely asked to bear. To appreciate this problem and to understand the array of popular notions that have been marshaled to finesse or suppress the role of chance in photographic production, I consider the case of Joe Rosenthal's 1945 photograph of American servicemen raising a flag on Iwo Jima. The analysis pushes the production of this famous photograph through a series of zoological analogies: Is it like a fisherman reeling in a trophy catch? Like a cat pouncing on a mouse or a spider setting a trap for a fly? Like a pig pushing its snout through the dirt? Like chimpanzees banging at typewriters? These analogies are playful but also serious. We need new models for understanding the production of the historic action photograph because the predominant modern and postmodern approaches to that production have suppressed the role of chance. Whereas the modern regime tends to understand the historic action photograph as an inspired flash of history, the postmodern regime tends to understand it as a discursive effect. Entertaining the notion that such a photograph is instead a stochastic result leads to a new conception of photography and its relationship to history. Chance emerges as a third kind of photographic madness, alongside the industrial madness decried by Charles Baudelaire and the indexical madness that moved Roland Barthes.
NEITHER FISH NOR FLESH
Authors: TAGG JOHN
Published: December 2009

Against the notion of chance that Robin Kelsey proposes as the opening to a new conception of photography and its relationship to history, this response argues for attention to the apparatuses that strive to “cope with chance” and guarantee meaning—apparatuses whose effective purpose is precisely not to be undone by chance and not to be reminded of their contingent and arbitrary nature—in other words, of their historicity. This opens another kind of encounter with the historicity of the photographic image, as sliding from frame to frame, never quite fitting any of them, the photograph shows itself as an elusive opening, the ground of irreducibly heterogeneous and radically incommensurable stakes—never just one definitive and well‐flagged stake driven into the ground at some singular moment in the past.
PHOTOGRAPHIC AMBIVALENCE AND HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
Authors: ROTH MICHAEL S.
Published: December 2009

This essay focuses on three topics that arose at the Photography and Historical Interpretation conference: photography's incapacity to conceive duration; photography and the “rim of ontological uncertainty;” photography's “anthropological revolution.” In the late nineteenth century, blindness to duration was conceptualized as the cost of photographic precision. Since the late twentieth century, blindness to our own desires, or inauthenticity, has been underlined as the price of photographic ubiquity. These forms of blindness, however, are not so much disabilities to be overcome as they are aspects of modern consciousness to be acknowledged. The engagement with photography's impact on historical consciousness gives rise to reconsiderations of temporal extension and to the difficulties of acknowledging one's desires in an increasingly open and fractured social field. Photography's indexicality combined with its reproducibility gives rise to photographic ambivalence. As with other forms of ambivalence, we should be less concerned with diluting its constitutive tensions than with learning to live with its conflicted possibilities.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE PRACTICES OF CRITICAL BLACK MEMORY
Authors: RAIFORD LEIGH
Published: December 2009

Not too long after photography's grand debut in 1839, physician and inventor Oliver Wendell Holmes described the new technology as a “mirror with a memory.” What might this phrase mean for the question of African Americans and their relationship to the vicissitudes of photography and the vagaries of memory in particular? Through readings of works of art and social activism that make use of lynching photographs, this essay considers ways in which photography has functioned as a technology of memory for African Americans, what the essay calls critical black memory, and proffers a mode of historical interpretation that both plays upon and questions photography's documentary capacity.

The essay makes two claims specifically. First, the mechanical reproduction of lynching by way of the photograph has been central to the recounting and reconstitution of black political cultures throughout the Jim Crow and post‐Civil Rights era. From the usage of lynching photography in pamphlets by early twentieth‐century anti‐lynching activists, to posters created by mid‐century civil rights organizations, to their deployment in contemporary art and popular culture, this archive has been a constitutive element of black visuality more broadly. Second, African American engagements with photography as a “site of memory” suggest a mode of historical interpretation in which African Americans simultaneously critique the “truth‐claims” of photography while they mobilize the medium's documentary capacity to intervene in the classification and subjugation of black life.
THE EVIDENCE OF SIGHT
Authors: THOMAS JULIA ADENEY
Published: December 2009

In The Archaeology of Knowledge, Michel Foucault focuses on excavating discursive formations, but he acknowledges that a pre‐discursive reality, “the enigmatic treasure of ‘things’ anterior to discourse,” also exists. This divide between the pre‐discursive and the discursive is straddled, I argue, by photographs as historians use them. The reason for photography's dual capacity lies with the complex nature of sight, which is both precognitive (primarily so, as neuroscience demonstrates), and also culturally encoded. Historians most commonly rely on mute sensuality; they place photographs in books with little comment, implying that some form of unmediated recognition is possible. Used in this way, photographs cannot serve as the basis for new analyses but may underscore the affective stance of historians toward their topics. Less commonly, historians interrogate photographs much like texts, locating them within the discourses through which they emerged. This strategy treats the experience of sight, in Joan Scott's words, as “an interpretation that needs to be interpreted.” Photographs seen as discursive objects may provide understanding of past political and social relations, but we lose any assurance that we can recognize and intuitively understand their subjects. In short, we risk blindness. I explore these two fundamentally different strategies for approaching photographs, using the concepts of recognition and excavation to examine an image made in 1946 by Japanese photographer Hayashi Tadahiko. Photographs, I argue, expose our dual relationship with the past, both visceral and cultural.
Common Divisors, Payout Persistence, and Return Predictability
Authors: POWELL JOHN , SHI JING , SMITH TOM , WHALEY ROBERT
Published: December 2009

In the finance and accounting literature, the use of a common divisor in the dependent and independent variables of ordinary least‐squares regressions is commonplace. What goes less recognized, however, is that their use induces spurious correlation between the regression variables and invalidates standard testing procedures. This paper analyses the common divisor problem by outlining analytical results concerning the expected R2 and providing a simulation procedure that generates test statistics from which critical values can be drawn. To illustrate the procedure, we re‐investigate payout yield return predictability findings that have appeared in the literature and show that the results are spurious.
Pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic modelling of the analgesic effects of lumiracoxib, a selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase‐2, in rats
Authors: Vásquez‐Bahena DA , Salazar‐Morales UE , Ortiz MI , Castañeda‐Hernández G , Trocóniz IF
Published: December 2009

Background and purpose: This study establishes a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model to describe the time course andin vivomechanisms of action of the antinociceptive effects of lumiracoxib, evaluated by the thermal hyperalgesia test in rats.

Experimental approach: Female Wistar fasted rats were injected s.c. with saline or carrageenan in the right hind paw, followed by either 0, 1, 3, 10 or 30 mg·kg−1of oral lumiracoxib at the time of carrageenan injection (experiment I), or 0, 10 or 30 mg·kg−1oral lumiracoxib at 4 h after carrageenan injection (experiment II). Antihyperalgesic responses were measured as latency time (LT) to a thermal stimulus. PK/PD modelling of the antinociceptive response was performed using the population approach with NONMEM VI.

Results: A two‐compartment model described the plasma disposition. A first‐order model, including lag time and decreased relative bioavailability as a function of the dose, described the absorption process. The response model was:LT=LT0/(1 +MED).LT0is the baseline response, andMEDrepresents the level of inflammatory mediators. The time course of MED was assumed to be equivalent to the predicted profile of COX‐2 activity and was modelled according to an indirect response model with a time variant synthesis rate. Drug effects were described as a reversible inhibition of the COX‐2 activity. Thein vivoestimate of the dissociation equilibrium constant of the COX‐2‐lumiracoxib complex was 0.24 µg·mL−1.

Conclusions: The model developed appropriately described the time course of pharmacological responses to lumiracoxib, in terms of its mechanism of action and pharmacokinetics.