bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reinvestigation of the tonic natriuretic action of intrarenal dopamine: comparison of two variants of salt‐dependent hypertension and spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Bądzyńska Bożena , Sadowski Janusz 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe intrarenal dopamine system has been thoroughly investigated at all levels, especially its role in salt‐dependent and other forms of hypertension. However, the evidence regarding dopamine's tonic influence on renal tubular transport of sodium remains equivocal. We reinvestigated its tonic influence on sodium excretion and systemic and renal haemodynamics. Early effects of dopamine D1 receptor blockade using 90‐min Schering 23390 (SCH) infusion were examined in anaesthetized rats on 7 days’ high salt diet (HS), early uninephrectomized rats on 14 days’ HS diet, drinking 1% saline (HS/UNX), and in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In the HS group (baseline BP ~133 mm Hg) renal intracortical SCH promptly decreased sodium, water and total solute excretion (UNaV, V, UosmV), with significant difference from the solvent‐infused group. BP and renal artery blood flow (RBF, Transonic probe) did not change. In HS/UNX model (baseline BP ~150 mm Hg), characterized by hypertrophy of the remaining kidney, the excretion parameters only tended to decrease whereas SCH induced an ~20% fall in RBF. In SHR (BP ~180 mm Hg), UNaV and V tended to increase in solvent‐infused rats; this increasing tendency was abolished by SCH infusion. During experiments the renal vascular resistance increased significantly in SCH‐ and solvent‐infused SHR. Despite some contradictory findings regarding the genuine tonic control of renal excretion by intrarenal dopamine, our results clearly support such role in rats on HS diet and in SHR, the model resembling human essential hypertension. The observations strengthen the experimental basis and the rationale for targeting the intrarenal dopamine system in attempts to combat arterial hypertension.
Optimal sample size for calibrating DNA methylation age estimators
Authors: Mayne Benjamin , Berry Oliver , Jarman Simon 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAge is a fundamental parameter in wildlife management as it is used to determine the risk of extinction, manage invasive species, and regulate sustainable harvest. In a broad variety of vertebrates species, age can be determined by measuring DNA methylation. Animals with known ages are initially required during development, calibration, and validation of these epigenetic clocks. However, wild animals with known ages are frequently difficult to obtain. Here, we perform Monte‐Carlo simulations to determine the optimal sample size required to create an accurate calibration model for age estimation by elastic net regression modelling of cytosine‐phosphate‐guanine methylation data. Our results suggest a minimum calibration population size of 70, but ideally 134 individuals or more for accurate and precise models. We also provide estimates to the extent a model can be extrapolated beyond a distribution of ages that was used during calibration. The findings can assist researchers to better design age estimation models and decide if their model is adequate for determining key population attributes.
Opportunities for reducing college drinking: The roles of drinking attitudes and blackout experience
Authors: DiBello Angelo M. , Hatch Melissa R. , Miller Mary Beth , Neighbors Clayton , Carey Kate B. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBackgroundAs many as 35% of college students report having been drunk in the past month, and greater alcohol use and alcohol‐related problems are associated with a positive attitude toward heavy drinking. One serious consequence of heavy drinking is alcohol‐induced blackout. When they occur, alcohol‐induced blackouts present a unique opportunity to increase motivation to change drinking. However, it is unclear under what conditions an alcohol‐related heavy drinking attitude and experiencing a blackout represent an opportunity to change and how experiencing a blackout(s) influences an individual's motivation to reduce drinking and actual behavior.MethodsThis study tested the interplay between one's positive attitude toward heavy drinking and experiencing a blackout in the past year in predicting motivation to reduce drinking (Study 1) and its impact on drinking over time (Study 2). Data were derived from complementary datasets collected at two universities (Study 1 n = 703, mean age = 20.63 years, 44% male, 52% White; Study 2 n = 568, mean age = 19.18 years, 72% male, 84% White). Drinking behavior was measured using a modified Daily Drinking Questionnaire, the Drinking Norms Rating Form, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and estimated peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Regression analyses were conducted to determine whether a blackout would moderate the association between attitude and motivation to reduce drinking (Study 1) and drinking over time (Study 2).ResultsResults revealed a significant interaction between attitude and blackout, such that individuals who experience a blackout (vs. those who do not) and positively evaluate heavy drinking evidenced lower motivation to reduce drinking (Study 1) and higher levels of estimated peak BAC (Study 2).ConclusionsDrinkers with a negative attitude toward heavy drinking who have experienced a blackout have the strongest motivation to reduce drinking and the greatest reductions in peak drinking behavior over time. These effects are over and above that related to the level of alcohol consumed. For young adults who do not positively endorse heavy drinking, blackouts may present a “moment of opportunity” for intervention.
An organic bait based on Palicourea marcgravii (Rubiaceae) and Tephrosia candida (Fabaceae) does not control nests of Atta laevigata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in eucalyptus plantations
Authors: Lemes Pedro G. , de Matos Mateus F. , Araújo Carlos A. , Serrão José E. , Zanuncio José C. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractLeaf‐cutting ants of the genus Atta (Myrmicinae: Attini) are the main forest pests in Brazil, due to their economic damage, social complexity and geographical distribution. Chemical control with baits is the most viable and successful method to control these insects; and products with low environmental impact have been researched.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the mortality of Atta laevigata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nests treated with Bioisca® bait, in different dosages, in eucalyptus plantations compared with those treated with sulfluramid and fipronil baits.
Seven treatments were used: Bioisca® (Palicourea marcgravii (Rubiaceae) + Tephrosia candida (Fabaceae)), with 5, 10, 15 and 20 g; Blitz® (fipronil), Atta Mex‐S® (sulfluramid) baits with 6 g/m2 of ant nest loose soil and the control, without ant baits.
It took 7 days for the first colony to have its activity stopped using the Blitz® treatment. It happened only at 30 days when treated with Bioisca® and Atta‐Mex‐S® .
The mortality of nests treated with Bioisca® was very low with only one controlled out of 20 that received this bait. Bioisca® does not control the nests of A. laevigata in eucalyptus plantations.
Can altered colostrum miRNA expression profile after cesarean delivery be a risk factor for autoimmune diseases?
Authors: Yerlikaya Fatma Humeyra , Eryavuz Onmaz Duygu , Altunhan Huseyin , Ilhan Merve 
Published: June 2021

AbstractProblemThe cesarean section (CS) rate has increased significantly in North America, Western Europe, and Latin America. However, it has been reported that the incidence of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as asthma and type 1 diabetes increased in parallel with CS in these countries. Our aim was to investigate the expression level of miRNAs associated with inflammatory response and autoimmune diseases in colostrum samples and contribute to elucidating the role of CS in the pathogenesis of immune system–related diseases.Method of studyColostrum samples were taken from voluntary mothers who had 40 normal and 50 cesarean births. miRNAs were extracted from colostrums and detected to miRNA expression profiling (eighty‐four miRNAs) by quantitative real‐time PCR with the Fluidigm integrated microfluidic circuit technology.ResultsThere was a statistically significant change in the expression levels of 17 miRNAs in the colostrums of mothers who had normal and cesarean delivery (p < .05), and all of miRNAs were upregulated in the colostrums of mothers who have had cesarean delivery.ConclusionOur best knowledge is that the study we conducted was the first to investigate the effect of delivery method (CS or normal) on the miRNA profile of colostrum. Cesarean delivery is a potential risk factor for inflammatory and immune system–related diseases in children due to dysregulation in miRNA expression.
Evidence‐based update on Australasian pharmaceutical prescribing approaches for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis
Authors: Bradfield Strydom Moira , Walpola Ramesh Lahiru , Khan Sohil , Ware Robert S. , Tiralongo Evelin 
Published: June 2021

AbstractRecurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) is a subtype of vulvovaginal candidiasis, with debilitating effects on physical and emotional well‐being affecting up to 10% of Australian women. Current evidence suggests that the induction and maintenance approach for RVVC is not particularly effective with post‐treatment relapse rates as high as 57%. Frequently accessed Australasian RVVC prescribing resources and guidelines were examined showing a variety of adaptations of current evidence‐based induction and maintenance therapies, making it difficult to select best treatment in clinical practice. The ways to introduce more clarity and consistency into these guidelines are outlined.
Dedicated hip fracture services: a systematic review
Authors: Moore Parisse , An Vincent V. G. , Nandapalan Haren , Sivakumar Brahman 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBackgroundHip fractures (HFs) are common and pose a significant burden to both the individual and the community. Prompt operative management and aggressive rehabilitation have been shown to improve outcomes. However, there is often a delay in treatment due to lack of theatre availability and appropriate perioperative multi‐disciplinary care. This study reviews the literature and reports on outcomes of HFs treated in dedicated units with allocated theatre time and pre‐determined multi‐disciplinary perioperative pathways. It also provides comparison against outcomes data from HF registries, both domestically and internationally.MethodsAn electronic literature search was performed to identify original, English language studies reporting on patient outcomes from dedicated HF units (HFUs). Studies were graded using the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery criteria. Data were extracted from the text, table and figures of the selected studies.ResultsFive appropriate studies, with a total cohort of 6633 patients (4032 of whom were treated in a dedicated HFU), were identified. Patients treated in these units sustained a lower mortality rate (Risk Ratio = 0.62, p = 0.01).ConclusionsThis review demonstrates that centres with dedicated HFUs result in improved 30‐day mortality. Further research may demonstrate more sustained improvements in outcomes. The implementation of dedicated HFUs within health systems should be considered.
Sleep and stress in times of the COVID‐19 pandemic: The role of personal resources
Authors: Werner Anika , Kater Maren‐Jo , Schlarb Angelika A. , Lohaus Arnold 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThere is still little research on the association between COVID‐19‐related stress and insufficient sleep. As distress is assumed to be high in these times, the role of personal resources becomes more important. The current study aimed to investigate the predictive role of COVID‐19‐related stress, positive affect, and self‐care behavior for subjective sleep quality and sleep change measures since the outbreak of COVID‐19 in Germany. A sample of 991 adults (M = 34.11 years; SD = 12.99) answered questionnaires during the first lockdown period in Germany and afterward (between April 1 and June 5, 2020). A higher stress level predicted lower sleep quality and more negative changes in overall sleep and pre‐sleep arousal. Higher levels of positive affect and self‐care predicted higher sleep quality and more positive changes in sleep. Analyses showed a moderation of positive affect on the association between stress and change in pre‐sleep arousal. The improvement in personal resources, especially positive affect, in times of high stress seems relevant to overcome sleep problems. Future research should include objective measurements of sleep and longitudinal designs to uncover causal directions of effects.
Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, and endometrial cancer risk: The Japan Public Health Center‐based Prospective Study
Authors: Watanabe Yuya , Katagiri Ryoko , Goto Atsushi , Shimazu Taichi , Yamaji Taiki , Sawada Norie , Iwasaki Motoki , Inoue Manami , Tsugane Shoichiro ,   for the Japan Public Health Center‐based Prospective Study Group
Published: June 2021

AbstractEvidence supporting the association of glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) with the risk of endometrial cancer is controversial and reports from Asia were limited. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association in Japanese women. We evaluated 52 460 women in the Japan Public Health Center‐based Prospective Study aged 45‐74 years who responded to the 5‐year follow‐up survey. GI and GL were calculated from a validated food frequency questionnaire, and the participants were divided into three groups by GI and GL. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with the Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for potential confounding factors. As a result, within 15.5 years of follow‐up, 166 new cases of endometrial cancer were identified. Compared with the lowest GI and GL tertile groups, the HR of the risk of endometrial cancer in the highest GI tertile group was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.53‐1.20; Ptrend = .33), and that of the highest GL tertile group was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.52‐1.19; Ptrend = .82). The results were unchanged after stratification by body mass index, coffee consumption, and history of diabetes. In conclusion, we did not find any significant association between GI and GL with the risk of endometrial cancer. Further research is required to clarify the association.
Restricted Power Diagrams on the GPU
Authors: Basselin J. , Alonso L. , Ray N. , Sokolov D. , Lefebvre S. , Lévy B. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractWe propose a method to simultaneously decompose a 3D object into power diagram cells and to integrate given functions in each of the obtained simple regions. We offer a novel, highly parallel algorithm that lends itself to an efficient GPU implementation. It is optimized for algorithms that need to compute many decompositions, for instance, centroidal Voronoi tesselation algorithms and incompressible fluid dynamics simulations.We propose an efficient solution that directly evaluates the integrals over every cell without computing the power diagram explicitly and without intersecting it with a tetrahedralization of the domain. Most computations are performed on the fly, without storing the power diagram. We manipulate a triangulation of the boundary of the domain (instead of tetrahedralizing the domain) to speed up the process. Moreover, the cells are treated independently one from another, making it possible to trivially scale up on a parallel architecture.Despite recent Voronoi diagram generation methods optimized for the GPU, computing integrals over restricted power diagrams still poses significant challenges; the restriction to a complex simulation domain is difficult and likely to be slow. It is not trivial to determine when a cell of a power diagram is completely computed, and the resulting integrals (e.g. the weighted Laplacian operator matrix) do not fit into fast (shared) GPU memory. We address all these issues and boost the performance of the state‐of‐the‐art algorithms by a factor 2 to 3 for (unrestricted) Voronoi diagrams and a ×50 speed‐up with respect to CPU implementations for restricted power diagrams. An essential ingredient to achieve this is our new scheduling strategy that allows us to treat each Voronoi/power diagram cell with optimal settings and to benefit from the fast memory.
Real‐Time Frequency Adjustment of Images and Videos
Authors: Germano Rafael L. , Oliveira Manuel M. , Gastal Eduardo S. L. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractWe present a technique for real‐time adjustment of spatial frequencies in images and videos. Our method allows for both decreasing and increasing of frequencies, and is orthogonal to image resizing. Thus, it can be used to automatically adjust spatial frequencies to preserve the appearance of structured patterns during image downscaling and upscaling. By pre‐computing the image's space‐frequency decomposition and its unwrapped phases, these operations can be performed in real time, thanks to our novel mathematical perspective on frequency manipulation of digital images: interpreting the problem through the theory of instantaneous frequencies and phase unwrapping. To make this possible, we introduce an algorithm for the simultaneous phase unwrapping of several unordered frequency components, which also deals with the frequency‐sign ambiguity of real signals. As such, our method provides theoretical and practical improvements to the concept of spectral remapping, enabling real‐time performance and improved color handling. We demonstrate its effectiveness on a large number of images subject to frequency adjustment. By providing real‐time control over the spatial frequencies associated with structured patterns, our technique expands the range of creative and technical possibilities for image and video processing.
Write Like You: Synthesizing Your Cursive Online Chinese Handwriting via Metric‐based Meta Learning
Authors: Tang Shusen , Lian Zhouhui 
Published: June 2021

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a novel Sequence‐to‐Sequence model based on metric‐based meta learning for the arbitrary style transfer of online Chinese handwritings. Unlike most existing methods that treat Chinese handwritings as images and are unable to reflect the human writing process, the proposed model directly handles sequential online Chinese handwritings. Generally, our model consists of three sub‐models: a content encoder, a style encoder and a decoder, which are all Recurrent Neural Networks. In order to adaptively obtain the style information, we introduce an attention‐based adaptive style block which has been experimentally proven to bring considerable improvement to our model. In addition, to disentangle the latent style information from characters written by any writers effectively, we adopt metric‐based meta learning and pre‐train the style encoder using a carefully‐designed discriminative loss function. Then, our entire model is trained in an end‐to‐end manner and the decoder adaptively receives the style information from the style encoder and the content information from the content encoder to synthesize the target output. Finally, by feeding the trained model with a content character and several characters written by a given user, our model can write that Chinese character in the user's handwriting style by drawing strokes one by one like humans. That is to say, as long as you write several Chinese character samples, our model can imitate your handwriting style when writing. In addition, after fine‐tuning the model with a few samples, it can generate more realistic handwritings that are difficult to be distinguished from the real ones. Both qualitative and quantitative experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of our method.
Neural Acceleration of Scattering‐Aware Color 3D Printing
Authors: Rittig Tobias , Sumin Denis , Babaei Vahid , Didyk Piotr , Voloboy Alexey , Wilkie Alexander , Bickel Bernd , Myszkowski Karol , Weyrich Tim , Křivánek Jaroslav 
Published: June 2021

AbstractWith the wider availability of full‐color 3D printers, color‐accurate 3D‐print preparation has received increased attention. A key challenge lies in the inherent translucency of commonly used print materials that blurs out details of the color texture. Previous work tries to compensate for these scattering effects through strategic assignment of colored primary materials to printer voxels. To date, the highest‐quality approach uses iterative optimization that relies on computationally expensive Monte Carlo light transport simulation to predict the surface appearance from subsurface scattering within a given print material distribution; that optimization, however, takes in the order of days on a single machine. In our work, we dramatically speed up the process by replacing the light transport simulation with a data‐driven approach. Leveraging a deep neural network to predict the scattering within a highly heterogeneous medium, our method performs around two orders of magnitude faster than Monte Carlo rendering while yielding optimization results of similar quality level. The network is based on an established method from atmospheric cloud rendering, adapted to our domain and extended by a physically motivated weight sharing scheme that substantially reduces the network size. We analyze its performance in an end‐to‐end print preparation pipeline and compare quality and runtime to alternative approaches, and demonstrate its generalization to unseen geometry and material values. This for the first time enables full heterogenous material optimization for 3D‐print preparation within time frames in the order of the actual printing time.
Perceptual quality of BRDF approximations: dataset and metrics
Authors: Lavoué Guillaume , Bonneel Nicolas , Farrugia Jean‐Philippe , Soler Cyril 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDFs) are pivotal to the perceived realism in image synthesis. While measured BRDF datasets are available, reflectance functions are most of the time approximated by analytical formulas for storage efficiency reasons. These approximations are often obtained by minimizing metrics such as L2—or weighted quadratic—distances, but these metrics do not usually correlate well with perceptual quality when the BRDF is used in a rendering context, which motivates a perceptual study. The contributions of this paper are threefold. First, we perform a large‐scale user study to assess the perceptual quality of 2026 BRDF approximations, resulting in 84138 judgments across 1005 unique participants. We explore this dataset and analyze perceptual scores based on material type and illumination. Second, we assess nine analytical BRDF models in their ability to approximate tabulated BRDFs. Third, we assess several image‐based and BRDF‐based (Lp, optimal transport and kernel distance) metrics in their ability to approximate perceptual similarity judgments.