bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Molecular Dynamics Investigation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Prenyl Synthases: Conformational Flexibility and Implications for Computer‐aided Drug Discovery
Authors: Kim Meekyum Olivia , Feng Xinxin , Feixas Ferran , Zhu Wei , Lindert Steffen , Bogue Shannon , Sinko William , de Oliveira César , Rao Guodong , Oldfield Eric , McCammon James Andrew 
Published: October 2014

With the rise in antibiotic resistance, there is interest in discovering new drugs active against new targets. Here, we investigate the dynamic structures of three isoprenoid synthases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis using molecular dynamics (MD) methods with a view to discovering new drug leads. Two of the enzymes, cis‐farnesyl diphosphate synthase (cis‐FPPS) and cis‐decaprenyl diphosphate synthase (cis‐DPPS), are involved in bacterial cell wall biosynthesis, while the third, tuberculosinyl adenosine synthase (Rv3378c), is involved in virulence factor formation. The MD results for these three enzymes were then compared with previous results on undecaprenyl diphosphate synthase (UPPS) by means of active site volume fluctuation and principal component analyses. In addition, an analysis of the binding of prenyl diphosphates to cis‐FPPS, cis‐DPPS, and UPPS utilizing the new MD results is reported. We also screened libraries of inhibitors against cis‐DPPS, finding ~1 μm inhibitors, and used the receiver operating characteristic–area under the curve (ROC‐AUC) method to test the predictive power of X‐ray and MD‐derived cis‐DPPS receptors. We found that one compound with potent M. tuberculosis cell growth inhibition activity was an IC50 ~0.5‐ to 20‐μm inhibitor (depending on substrate) of cis‐DPPS, a ~660‐nm inhibitor of Rv3378c as well as a 4.8‐μm inhibitor of cis‐FPPS, opening up the possibility of multitarget inhibition involving both cell wall biosynthesis and virulence factor formation.
Sky Based Light Metering for High Dynamic Range Images
Authors: Gryaditskya Yulia , Pouli Tania , Reinhard Erik , Seidel Hans‐Peter 
Published: October 2014

AbstractImage calibration requires both linearization of pixel values and scaling so that values in the image correspond to real‐world luminances. In this paper we focus on the latter and rather than rely on camera characterization, we calibrate images by analysing their content and metadata, obviating the need for expensive measuring devices or modeling of lens and camera combinations. Our analysis correlates sky pixel values to luminances that would be expected based on geographical metadata. Combined with high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, which gives us linear pixel data, our algorithm allows us to find absolute luminance values for each pixel—effectively turning digital cameras into absolute light meters. To validate our algorithm we have collected and annotated a calibrated set of HDR images and compared our estimation with several other approaches, showing that our approach is able to more accurately recover absolute luminance. We discuss various applications and demonstrate the utility of our method in the context of calibrated color appearance reproduction and lighting design.
Template‐Based Sampling of Anisotropic BRDFs
Authors: Filip J. , Vávra R. 
Published: October 2014

AbstractBRDFs are commonly used to represent given materials’ appearance in computer graphics and related fields. Although, in the recent past, BRDFs have been extensively measured, compressed, and fitted by a variety of analytical models, most research has been primarily focused on simplified isotropic BRDFs. In this paper, we present a unique database of 150 BRDFs representing a wide range of materials; the majority exhibiting anisotropic behavior. Since time‐consuming BRDF measurement represents a major obstacle in the digital material appearance reproduction pipeline, we tested several approaches estimating a very limited set of samples capable of high quality appearance reconstruction. Initially, we aligned all measured BRDFs according to the location of the anisotropic highlights. Then we propose an adaptive sampling method based on analysis of the measured BRDFs. For each BRDF, a unique sampling pattern was computed, given a predefined count of samples. Further, template‐based methods are introduced based on reusing of the precomputed sampling patterns. This approach enables a more efficient measurement of unknown BRDFs while preserving the visual fidelity for the majority of tested materials. Our method exhibits better performance and stability than competing sparse sampling approaches; especially for higher numbers of samples.
Fractional Reyes‐Style Adaptive Tessellation for Continuous Level of Detail
Authors: Liktor G. , Pan M. , Dachsbacher C. 
Published: October 2014

AbstractIn this paper we present a fractional parametric splitting scheme for Reyes‐style adaptive tessellation. Our parallel algorithm generates crack‐free tessellation from a parametric surface, which is also free of sudden temporal changes under animation. Continuous level of detail is not addressed by existing Reyes‐style methods, since these aim to produce subpixel‐sized micropolygons, where topology changes are no longer noticeable. Using our method, rendering pipelines that use larger triangles, thus sensitive to geometric popping, may also benefit from the quality of the split‐dice tessellation stages of Reyes. We demonstrate results on a real‐time GPU implementation, going beyond the limited quality and resolution of the hardware tessellation unit. In contrast to previous split‐dice methods, our split stage is compatible with the fractional hardware tessellation scheme that has been designed for continuous level of detail.
Making in‐Front‐of Cars Transparent: Sharing First‐Person‐Views via Dashcam
Authors: Chen Shao‐Chi , Chen Hsin‐Yi , Chen Yi‐Ling , Tsai Hsin‐Mu , Chen Bing‐Yu 
Published: October 2014

AbstractVisual obstruction caused by a preceding vehicle is one of the key factors threatening driving safety. One possible solution is to share the first‐person‐view of the preceding vehicle to unveil the blocked field‐of‐view of the following vehicle. However, the geometric inconsistency caused by the camera‐eye discrepancy renders view sharing between different cars a very challenging task. In this paper, we present a first‐person‐perspective image rendering algorithm to solve this problem. Firstly, we contour unobstructed view as the transferred region, then by iteratively estimating local homography transformations and performing perspective‐adaptive warping using the estimated transformations, we are able to locally adjust the shape of the unobstructed view so that its perspective and boundary could be matched to that of the occluded region. Thus, the composited view is seamless in both the perceived perspective and photometric appearance, creating an impression as if the preceding vehicle is transparent. Our system improves the driver's visibility and thus relieves the burden on the driver, which in turn increases comfort. We demonstrate the usability and stability of our system by performing its evaluation with several challenging data sets collected from real‐world driving scenarios.
A 3D printed TCP/HA structure as a new osteoconductive scaffold for vertical bone augmentation
Authors: Carrel Jean‐Pierre , Wiskott Anselm , Moussa Mira , Rieder Philippe , Scherrer Susanne , Durual Stéphane 
Published: October 2014

AbstractIntroductionOsteoFlux® (OF) is a 3D printed porous block of layered strands of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and hydroxyapatite. Its porosity and interconnectivity are defined, and it can be readily shaped to conform the bone bed's morphology. We investigated the performance of OF as a scaffold to promote the vertical growth of cortical bone in a sheep calvarial model.Materials and methodsSix titanium hemispheres were filled with OF, Bio‐Oss (particulate bovine bone, BO), or Ceros (particulate TCP, CO) and placed onto the calvaria of 12 adult sheep (6 hemispheres/sheep). Histomorphometric analyses were performed after 8 and 16 weeks.ResultsOF led to substantial vertical bone growth by 8 weeks and outperformed BO and CO by a factor 2 yielding OF 22% ± 2.1; BO 11.5% ± 1.9; and CO 12.9% ± 2.1 total new bone. 3 mm away from the bony bed, OF led to a fourfold increase in new bone relative to BO and CO (n = 8, P < 0.002). At 16 weeks, OF, BO, and CO behaved similarly and showed marked new bone synthesis. A moderate degradation was observed at 16 weeks for all bone substitutes.ConclusionWhen compared to existing bone substitutes, OF enhances vertical bone growth during the first 2 months after implantation in a sheep calvarial model. The controlled porous structure translated in a high osteoconductivity and resulted in a bone mass 3 mm above the bony bed that was four times greater than that obtained with standard substitutes. These results are promising but must be confirmed in clinical tests.
On the Issuing Policies for Perishable Items such as Red Blood Cells and Platelets in Blood Service
Authors: Abbasi Babak , Hosseinifard S. Zahra 
Published: October 2014

ABSTRACTRed blood cells (RBCs) and platelets are examples of perishable items with a fixed shelf life. Recent studies show that transfusing fresh RBCs may lead to an improvement of patient outcomes. In addition, to better manage their inventory, hospitals prefer to receive fresh RBCs and platelets. Therefore, as well as minimizing outdates and shortages, reducing the average age of issue is a key performance criterion for blood banks. The issuing policy in a perishable inventory system has a substantial impact on the age of issue and outdate and shortage rates. Although several studies have compared the last in first out (LIFO) and the first in first out (FIFO) policies for perishable products, only a few studies have considered the situation of blood banks where replenishment is not controllable. In this study, we examine various issuing policies for a perishable inventory system with uncontrollable replenishment, and outline a modified FIFO policy. Our proposed modified FIFO policy partitions the inventory into two parts such that the first part holds the items with age less than a threshold. It then applies the FIFO policy in each part and the LIFO policy between the parts. We present two approximation techniques to estimate the average age of issue, the average time between successive outdates and the average time between successive shortages of the modified FIFO policy. Our analysis shows in several cases that where the objective function is a single economic function, or it is formulated as a multiobjective model, the modified FIFO policy outperforms the FIFO and LIFO policies.
A Decision Support Tool for Predicting Patients at Risk of Readmission: A Comparison of Classification Trees, Logistic Regression, Generalized Additive Models, and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines
Authors: Demir Eren 
Published: October 2014

ABSTRACTThe number of emergency (or unplanned) readmissions in the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) has been rising for many years. This trend, which is possibly related to poor patient care, places financial pressures on hospitals and on national healthcare budgets. As a result, clinicians and key decision makers (e.g., managers and commissioners) are interested in predicting patients at high risk of readmission. Logistic regression is the most popular method of predicting patient‐specific probabilities. However, these studies have produced conflicting results with poor prediction accuracies. We compared the predictive accuracy of logistic regression with that of regression trees for predicting emergency readmissions within 45 days after been discharged from hospital. We also examined the predictive ability of two other types of data‐driven models: generalized additive models (GAMs) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). We used data on 963 patients readmitted to hospitals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. We used repeated split‐sample validation: the data were divided into derivation and validation samples. Predictive models were estimated using the derivation sample and the predictive accuracy of the resultant model was assessed using a number of performance measures, such as area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve in the validation sample. This process was repeated 1,000 times—the initial data set was divided into derivation and validation samples 1,000 times, and the predictive accuracy of each method was assessed each time. The mean ROC curve area for the regression tree models in the 1,000 derivation samples was .928, while the mean ROC curve area of a logistic regression model was .924. Our study shows that logistic regression model and regression trees had performance comparable to that of more flexible, data‐driven models such as GAMs and MARS. Given that the models have produced excellent predictive accuracies, this could be a valuable decision support tool for clinicians (healthcare managers, policy makers, etc.) for informed decision making in the management of diseases, which ultimately contributes to improved measures for hospital performance management.
Stuttering as a trait or state – an ALE meta‐analysis of neuroimaging studies
Authors: Belyk Michel , Kraft Shelly Jo , Brown Steven 
Published: October 2014

AbstractStuttering is a speech disorder characterised by repetitions, prolongations and blocks that disrupt the forward movement of speech. An earlier meta‐analysis of brain imaging studies of stuttering (Brown et al., 2005) revealed a general trend towards rightward lateralization of brain activations and hyperactivity in the larynx motor cortex bilaterally. The present study sought not only to update that meta‐analysis with recent work but to introduce an important distinction not present in the first study, namely the difference between ‘trait’ and ‘state’ stuttering. The analysis of trait stuttering compares people who stutter (PWS) with people who do not stutter when behaviour is controlled for, i.e., when speech is fluent in both groups. In contrast, the analysis of state stuttering examines PWS during episodes of stuttered speech compared with episodes of fluent speech. Seventeen studies were analysed using activation likelihood estimation. Trait stuttering was characterised by the well‐known rightward shift in lateralization for language and speech areas. State stuttering revealed a more diverse pattern. Abnormal activation of larynx and lip motor cortex was common to the two analyses. State stuttering was associated with overactivation in the right hemisphere larynx and lip motor cortex. Trait stuttering was associated with overactivation of lip motor cortex in the right hemisphere but underactivation of larynx motor cortex in the left hemisphere. These results support a large literature highlighting laryngeal and lip involvement in the symptomatology of stuttering, and disambiguate two possible sources of activation in neuroimaging studies of persistent developmental stuttering.
Improving Service Delivery through State–Citizen Partnership: The Case of theAhmedabad Urban Transport System
Authors: Verma Manisha , Priyadarshee Anurag 
Published: October 2014

AbstractIt is widely acknowledged that deeper engagements with people may improve systems of governance at all levels. However, urban local governments inIndia have not generally developed effective structures and mechanisms for engaging with their citizens. This article draws from a study ofAhmedabad,India, where the local municipal corporation actively engaged with the citizens to develop an efficient urban public transport system. The study demonstrates that appropriate partnerships with citizens may effectively address various institutional deficiencies normally faced by urban local governments, and may facilitate improvements in their service delivery.
Physical Capital, Human Capital, and Social Capital: The Changing Roles in China's Economic Growth
Authors: Li Yuheng , Wang Xun , Westlund Hans , Liu Yansui 
Published: October 2014

AbstractThis paper examines the roles of physical capital, human capital, and social capital in China's economic growth during the reform period 1981–2010. Empirical estimation confirms that physical capital and human capital contribute to the economic growth, probably due to the capital accumulation and the improvement of labor productivity. The impact of social capital turns from being insignificant in the 1980s and the 1990s to be positive in the 2000s, suggesting its rising importance in recent decades. A declining role of physical capital in the economic growth in China from 1990s to 2000s is also found. The findings hold for several additional robustness checks, including focusing on longer term determinants of the economic growth, subregional analysis, and endogeneity. Furthermore, the foreign direct investment inflows and adjustment of economic ownership structure are also important for economic growth in China.
Collaboration, Transferable and Non‐transferable Knowledge, and Innovation: A Study of a Cool Climate Wine Industry (Canada)
Authors: Doloreux David , Shearmur Richard , Guillaume Régis 
Published: October 2014

AbstractThe connection between innovation and territory is increasingly being questioned as evidence shows that collaboration and information exchange are not necessarily localised. However, this general observation may differ depending on the industry and type of exchange studied: some types of information may be more transferable than others. This may particularly be the case in the wine industry which, especially inCanada, is concentrated in a few regions, each with its own climate, geography, and institutions. This paper examines the nature and geography of collaboration in this industry, with emphasis on the relative importance of different sources of knowledge, the spatial dimension of exchanges, and their relevance for innovation. We find that certain knowledge exchanges are localised, particularly those that are closely associated with local growing conditions, whereas other more generic industry‐level exchanges occur at a wider spatial scale. Local knowledge transfers are characterised less by the type of knowledge exchanged than by the fact that it focuses on local conditions, and is therefore of little value outside the region.
Interleukin‐21 suppresses the differentiation and functions of T helper 2 cells
Authors: Lin Pin‐Yi , Jen Hsiao‐Yu , Chiang Bor‐Luen , Sheu Fuu , Chuang Ya‐Hui 
Published: October 2014

SummaryT helper type 2 (Th2) cells, which produce interleukin‐4 (IL‐4), IL‐5 and IL‐13, control immunity to all forms of allergic inflammatory responses. Interleukin‐21 (IL‐21) reduces allergic symptoms in murine models and inhibits IL‐4‐induced IgE secretion by B cells. However, whether or not IL‐21 directly affects Th2 cells, which leads to reduced allergic symptoms, is unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of IL‐21 on the differentiation and effector functions of Th2 cells. We found that IL‐21 reduced the number of differentiated Th2 cells and these Th2 cells showed a diminished Th2 cytokine production. Interleukin‐21 suppressed Th2 cytokine production of already polarized Th2 cells by down‐regulation of transcription factor GATA‐3. It also induced apoptosis of Th2 cells with decreased anti‐apoptotic factor Bcl‐2. Intranasal administration of IL‐21 at the beginning of ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization or before OVA challenge decreased Th2 cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of OVA/alum‐immunized allergic mice. In addition, the inhibitory effects of IL‐21 on Th2 effector functions can also be found in allergic patients. Our results demonstrate that IL‐21 suppresses the development of Th2 cells and functions of polarized Th2 cells. Hence, the administration of IL‐21 may be considered for use as a preventive and therapeutic approach when dealing with Th2‐mediated allergic diseases.
The antecedents of union commitment and participation: evaluating moderation effects across unions
Authors: Redman Tom , Snape Ed 
Published: October 2014

AbstractThis article evaluates whether the nature of the union moderates the antecedents of union commitment and participation, based on a study of member attitudes in Voice, formerly the Professional Association of Teachers, and the National Unions of Teachers, often seen as the most ‘moderate’ and ‘militant’ teacher unions, respectively.
The State of Asian Corporate Governance: A Presentation by Jamie Allen: CARE Conference | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | June 9, 2014
Authors: Allen Jamie 
Published: October 2014

Since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, there has been considerable corporate governance reform in the region. But such reform has proceeded on two tracks. On one track, international rules are dominant, and common accounting and financial reporting standards are essentially accepted as necessary for trade and investment. On the second track, however, local cultural norms continue to exert a strong influence on the functioning of the boards, the quality of dialogue with shareholders, and the way they manage related party transactions and capital raising. As a consequence, in these matters of internal governance—where legacy issues and culture, and not international standards, continue to be the main driving force behind governance—there continue to be significant differences among Asian countries. And thus even as convergence is occurring in certain aspects of governance, it is expected to remain limited, particularly in the functioning of boards and internal governance.As for the case of China, there was such a flurry of rule‐making in the early 2000s—a national Code of Corporate Governance in 2002, and a Directive on Quarterly Reports in 2003—that people in Hong Kong used to enjoy saying that China's corporate governance standards were higher than Hong Kong's. But if that may have been true on paper, the reality has been quite different.
Return of the glucoreceptor: Glucose activates the glucose‐sensing receptor T1R3 and facilitates metabolism in pancreatic β‐cells
Authors: Kojima Itaru , Nakagawa Yuko , Ohtsu Yoshiaki , Hamano Kunihisa , Medina Johan , Nagasawa Masahiro 
Published: October 2014

AbstractSubunits of the sweet taste receptor, namely T1R2 and T1R3, are expressed in mouse pancreatic islets. Quantitatively, the expression of messenger ribonucleic acid for T1R2 is much lower than that of T1R3, and immunoreactive T1R2 is in fact undetectable. Presumably, a homodimer of T1R3 could function as a signaling receptor. Activation of this receptor by adding an artificial sweetener, sucralose, leads to an increase in intracellular adenosine triphosphate ([ATP]c). This increase in [ATP]c is observed in the absence of ambient glucose. Sucralose also augments elevation of [ATP]c induced by methylsuccinate, a substrate for mitochondria. Consequently, activation of T1R3 promotes metabolism in mitochondria and increases [ATP]c. 3‐O‐Methylglucose, a non‐metabolizable analog of glucose, also increases [ATP]c. Conversely, knockdown of T1R3 attenuates elevation of [ATP]c induced by glucose. Hence, glucose promotes its own metabolism by activating T1R3 and augmenting ATP production. Collectively, a homodimer of T1R3 functions as a cell surface glucose‐sensing receptor and participates in the action of glucose on insulin secretion. The glucose‐sensing receptor T1R3 might be the putative glucoreceptor proposed decades ago by Niki et al. The glucose‐sensing receptor is involved in the action of glucose and modulates glucose metabolism in pancreatic β‐cells.