bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Inverse Procedural Modeling by Automatic Generation of L‐systems
Authors: Št'ava O. , Beneš B. , Měch R. , Aliaga D. G. , Krištof P. 
Published: June 2010

AbstractWe present an important step towards the solution of the problem of inverse procedural modeling by generating parametric context‐free L‐systems that represent an input 2D model. The L‐system rules efficiently code the regular structures and the parameters represent the properties of the structure transformations. The algorithm takes as input a 2D vector image that is composed of atomic elements, such as curves and poly‐lines. Similar elements are recognized and assigned terminal symbols of an L‐system alphabet. The terminal symbols' position and orientation are pair‐wise compared and the transformations are stored as points in multiple 4D transformation spaces. By careful analysis of the clusters in the transformation spaces, we detect sequences of elements and code them as L‐system rules. The coded elements are then removed from the clusters, the clusters are updated, and then the analysis attempts to code groups of elements in (hierarchies) the same way. The analysis ends with a single group of elements that is coded as an L‐system axiom. We recognize and code branching sequences of linearly translated, scaled, and rotated elements and their hierarchies. The L‐system not only represents the input image, but it can also be used for various editing operations. By changing the L‐system parameters, the image can be randomized, symmetrized, and groups of elements and regular structures can be edited. By changing the terminal and non‐terminal symbols, elements or groups of elements can be replaced.
Perceptually‐motivated Real‐time Temporal Upsampling of 3D Content for High‐refresh‐rate Displays
Authors: Didyk Piotr , Eisemann Elmar , Ritschel Tobias , Myszkowski Karol , Seidel Hans‐Peter 
Published: June 2010

AbstractHigh‐refresh‐rate displays (e. g., 120 Hz) have recently become available on the consumer market and quickly gain on popularity. One of their aims is to reduce the perceived blur created by moving objects that are tracked by the human eye. However, an improvement is only achieved if the video stream is produced at the same high refresh rate (i. e. 120 Hz). Some devices, such as LCD TVs, solve this problem by converting low‐refresh‐rate content (i. e. 50 Hz PAL) into a higher temporal resolution (i. e. 200 Hz) based on two‐dimensional optical flow.In our approach, we will show how rendered three‐dimensional images produced by recent graphics hardware can be up‐sampled more efficiently resulting in higher quality at the same time. Our algorithm relies on several perceptual findings and preserves the naturalness of the original sequence. A psychophysical study validates our approach and illustrates that temporally up‐sampled video streams are preferred over the standard low‐rate input by the majority of users. We show that our solution improves task performance on high‐refresh‐rate displays.
Scalable Height Field Self‐Shadowing
Authors: Timonen Ville , Westerholm Jan 
Published: June 2010

AbstractWe present a new method suitable for general purpose graphics processing units to render self‐shadows on dynamic height fields under dynamic light environments in real‐time. Visibility for each point in the height field is determined as the exact horizon for a set of azimuthal directions in time linear in height field size and the number of directions. The surface is shaded using the horizon information and a high‐resolution light environment extracted on‐line from a high dynamic range cube map, allowing for detailed extended shadows. The desired accuracy for any geometric content and lighting complexity can be matched by choosing a suitable number of azimuthal directions. Our method is able to represent arbitrary features of both high‐ and low‐frequency, unifying hard and soft shadowing. We achieve 23 fps on 1024×1024 height fields with 64 azimuthal directions under a 256×64 environment lighting on an Nvidia GTX 280 GPU.
Reinterpretable Imager: Towards Variable Post‐Capture Space, Angle and Time Resolution in Photography
Authors: Agrawal Amit , Veeraraghavan Ashok , Raskar Ramesh 
Published: June 2010

AbstractWe describe a novel multiplexing approach to achieve tradeoffs in space, angle and time resolution in photography. We explore the problem of mapping useful subsets of time‐varying 4D lightfields in a single snapshot. Our design is based on using a dynamic mask in the aperture and a static mask close to the sensor. The key idea is to exploit scene‐specific redundancy along spatial, angular and temporal dimensions and to provide a programmable or variable resolution tradeoff among these dimensions. This allows a user to reinterpret the single captured photo as either a high spatial resolution image, a refocusable image stack or a video for different parts of the scene in post‐processing.A lightfield camera or a video camera forces a‐priori choice in space‐angle‐time resolution. We demonstrate a single prototype which provides flexible post‐capture abilities not possible using either a single‐shot lightfield camera or a multi‐frame video camera. We show several novel results including digital refocusing on objects moving in depth and capturing multiple facial expressions in a single photo.
The Investment Opportunity Set and Earnings Management: Evidence from the Role of Controlling Shareholders
Authors: Chen Ken Y. , Elder Randal J. , Hung Shengmin 
Published: June 2010

ABSTRACTManuscript Type: EmpiricalResearch Question/Issue: We examine the incentive and entrenchment effects of controlling shareholders on the association between the investment opportunity set and earnings management in Taiwan.Research Findings/Results: We find that firms with more investment opportunities are more likely to engage in earnings management. We also find incentive effects of controlling shareholders on firm's financial reporting behavior in that cash flow rights are negatively associated with absolute abnormal accruals under a growth opportunity setting. Our results further indicate that high‐growth firms with a high deviation between cash flow rights and control rights are more likely to engage in earnings management. Further analyses indicate that as the controlling shareholders have effective control of a firm, the effect of controlling shareholder deviation between control and cash flow rights on earnings management becomes stronger.Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study extends existing agency and contracting literature on the incentive and entrenchment effects of controlling shareholders in East Asia on firm value to the quality of financial reporting, which has been a consistent concern of regulators, practitioners, and academia. Our findings provide empirical evidence on the impact of controlling shareholders on the quality of financial reporting in a growth opportunity setting.Practitioner/Policy Implications: Our findings suggest that the institutional environment, such as the growth opportunity setting in Taiwan, matters to the firm's financial reporting behavior in an emerging market, where a corporate governance code has been enacted to protect minority shareholders. This study offers insights to policy makers interested in enhancing the mechanism of corporate governance in emerging markets, which have more potential conflict of interests between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders.
National Adoption of International Accounting Standards: An Institutional Perspective
Authors: Judge William , Li Shaomin , Pinsker Robert 
Published: June 2010

ABSTRACTManuscript Type: EmpiricalResearch Question/Issue: Effective corporate governance requires accurate and reliable financial information. Historically, each nation has developed and pursued its own financial standards; however, as financial markets consolidate into a global market, there is a need for a common set of financial standards. As a result, there is a movement towards harmonization of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) throughout the global economy. While there has been considerable research on the effects of IFRS adoption, there has been relatively little systematic study as to the antecedents of IFRS adoption. Consequently, this study seeks to understand why some economies have quickly embraced IFRS standards while others partially adopt IFRS and still others continue to resist.Research Findings/Results: After controlling for market capitalization and GDP growth, we find that foreign aid, import penetration, and level of education achieved within a national economy are all predictive of the degree to which IFRS standards are adopted across 132 developing, transitional and developed economies.Theoretical/Academic Implications: We found that all three forms of isomorphic pressures (i.e., coercive, mimetic, and normative) are predictive of IFRS adoption. Consequently, institutional theory with its emphasis on legitimacy‐seeking by social actors was relatively well supported by our data. This suggests that the IFRS adoption process is driven more by social legitimization pressures, than it is by economic logic.Practitioner/Policy Implications: For policy makers, our findings suggest that the institutional pressures within an economy are the key drivers of IFRS adoption. Consequently, policy makers should seek to influence institutional pressures that thwart and/or enhance adoption of IFRS. For executives of multinational firms, our findings provide insights that can help to explain and predict future IFRS adoption within economies where their foreign subsidiaries operate. This ability could be useful for creating competitive advantages for foreign subsidiaries where IFRS adoption was resisted, or avoiding competitive disadvantages for foreign subsidiaries unfamiliar with IFRS standards.
Can family affectedness inform infant sibling outcomes of autism spectrum disorders?
Authors: Schwichtenberg A.J. , Young G.S. , Sigman M. , Hutman T. , Ozonoff S. 
Published: June 2010

Background:  Difficulties in communication and reciprocal social behavior are core features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and are often present, to varying degrees, in other family members. This prospective longitudinal infant sibling study examines whether social‐communicative features of family members may inform which infants are at increased risk for ASD and other developmental concerns.Method:  Two hundred and seventeen families participated in this study. Infant siblings were recruited from families with at least one older child diagnosed with an ASD (n = 135) or at least one typically developing older child (n = 82). Families completed the Social Responsiveness Scale to assess social and communication features of the broader autism phenotype (BAP), sometimes called quantitative autistic traits (QAT). Family affectedness was assessed in two ways: categorically, based on number of affected older siblings (i.e., typical, simplex, multiplex risk groups) and dimensionally, by assessing varying degrees of QAT in all family members. Infant siblings were assessed at 36 months of age and completed the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning.Results:  In structural equation models, comparisons between multiplex, simplex and typical groups revealed the highest rates of QAT in the multiplex group followed by the simplex and typical groups. Infant sibling outcomes were predicted by gender, family risk group, proband QAT, and additional sibling QAT.Conclusions:  Replicating previous cross‐sectional and family history findings, the present study found elevated social and communication features of the BAP in siblings and fathers of ASD families, but not in mothers. While social and communication features of the BAP in mothers, fathers, and undiagnosed siblings did not predict infant sibling outcomes, having more than one affected older sibling did. Infant siblings from multiplex families were at significantly higher risk for ASD than infant siblings from simplex families in this sample.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals bind to a novel receptor, microtubule‐associated protein 2, and positively and negatively regulate dendritic outgrowth in hippocampal neurons
Authors: Matsunaga Hayato , Mizota Kaori , Uchida Hitoshi , Uchida Takafumi , Ueda Hiroshi 
Published: June 2010

J. Neurochem.(2010)114, 1333–1343.AbstractThe present study demonstrates a novel high‐affinity neuronal target for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which potentially cause psychological disorders. EDCs competitively inhibited the binding of bovine serum albumin‐conjugated progesterone to recombinant human microtubule‐associated protein 2C (rhMAP2C) with an inhibition constant at picomolar levels. In the rhMAP2C‐stimulated tubulin assembly assay, agonistic enhancement was observed with dibutyl phthalate and pentachlorphenol and pregnenolone, while an inverse agonistic effect was observed with 4‐nonylphenol. In contrast, progesterone and many of the EDCs, including bisphenol A, antagonized the pregnenolone‐induced enhancement of rhMAP2C‐stimulated tubulin assembly. These agonistic and inverse agonistic actions were not observed in tubulin assembly stimulated with Δ1–71 rhMAP2C, which lacks the steroid‐binding site. Using a dark‐field microscopy, pregnenolone and pentachlorphenol were observed to generate characteristic filamentous microtubules in a progesterone‐ or bisphenol A‐reversible manner. In cultured hippocampal neurons, similar agonist‐antagonist relationships were reproduced in terms of dendritic outgrowth. Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching of hippocampal neurons showed that pregnenolone and agonistic EDCs enhanced, but that 4‐nonylphenol inhibited the MAP2‐mediated neurite outgrowth in a progesterone‐ or antagonistic EDC‐reversible manner. Furthermore, none of the examined effects were affected by mifepristone or ICI‐182,786 i.e. the classical progesterone and estrogen receptor antagonists. Taken together, these results suggest that EDCs cause a wide variety of significant disturbances to dendritic outgrowth in hippocampal neurons, which may lead to psychological disorders following chronic exposure during early neuronal development.
Normovolemia defined according to cardiac stroke volume in healthy supine humans
Authors: Bundgaard‐Nielsen Morten , Jørgensen Christoffer C. , Kehlet Henrik , Secher Niels H. 
Published: June 2010

SummaryBackground:  Both hypovolemia and a fluid overload are detrimental for outcome in surgical patients but the effort to establish normovolemia is hampered by the lack of an operational clinical definition. Manipulating the central blood volume on a tilt table demonstrates that the flat part of the Frank‐Starling curve is reached when subjects are supine and that finding may be applicable for a clinical definition of normovolemia. However, it is unknown whether stroke volume (SV) responds to an increase in preload induced by fluid administration.Methods:  In 20 healthy subjects (23 ± 2 years, mean ± SD), SV was measured by esophageal Doppler before and after fluid administration to evaluate whether SV increases in healthy, non‐fasting, supine subjects. Two hundred millilitres of a synthetic colloid (hydroxyethyl starch, HES 130/0·4) was provided and repeated if a ≥10% increment in SV was obtained.Results:  None of the subjects increased SV ≥10% following fluid administration but there was a minor increase in mean arterial pressure (92 ± 15 to 93 ± 12 mmHg, P = 0·01), while heart rate (HR) (66 ± 12 beats min−1; P = 0·32), cardiac output (4·8 ± 1·1 l min−1; P = 0·25) and the length of the systole corrected to a HR of 60 beats/min (corrected flow time; 344 ± 24 ms; P = 0·31) did not change.Conclusion:  Supporting the proposed definition of normovolemia, non‐fasting, supine, healthy subjects are provided with a preload to the heart that does not limit SV suggesting that the upper flat part of the Frank‐Starling relationship is reached.
Outcomes With Ventricular Assist Device Versus Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation as a Bridge to Pediatric Heart Transplantation
Authors: Jeewa Aamir , Manlhiot Cedric , McCrindle Brian W. , Van Arsdell Glen , Humpl Tilman , Dipchand Anne I. 
Published: June 2010

AbstractExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has long been the sole means of mechanical support for pediatric patients with end‐stage cardiac failure, but has a high waitlist mortality and a reported survival to hospital discharge of less than 50%. The purpose of this study was to compare waitlist mortality and survival for ECMO versus ventricular assist device (VAD) support. A review was conducted of all patients listed for heart transplantation (HTx) since 2002 and requiring mechanical support. VAD support has been available from 2004 (Berlin Heart Excor Pediatrics). Competing risks analysis was used to model survival to one of four outcomes (HTx, death on waitlist, delisting, improvement). Thirty‐six patients were on mechanical support while awaiting HTx (21 ECMO, 12 VAD, three both). Median age at listing was 1.2 years (birth–16.6 years) for ECMO and 11.3 years (0.3–14.6 years) for VAD. Diagnosis was cardiomyopathy in 33% for ECMO and 93% for VAD. Median time to HTx was 37 days (1–930) overall, 20 days (1–85) for ECMO, and 39 days (5–108) for VAD. Mechanical support was associated with increased odds of HTx (hazard ratio [HR] 2.4 [1.7–3.3], P < 0.0001) but also delisting or death waiting (HR 3.0 [1.1–7.8], P = 0.03). Waitlist mortality of 38% on ECMO was reduced to 13% with VAD use. Survival post‐HTx to hospital discharge was better in the group on VAD support (92 vs. 80%). Pediatric patients requiring mechanical support as a bridge to HTx have short wait times but high waitlist mortality. Those patients who survived to be put on the Berlin Heart Excor Pediatric device based on individualized clinical decision making then had a lower waitlist mortality, a longer duration of support, and a higher survival to transplantation and hospital discharge.
Who donates blood at five ethnically and geographically diverse blood centers in China in 2008
Authors: Wang Jingxing , Guo Nan , Guo Xiaoming , Li Julin , Wen Guo‐Xing , Yang Tonghan , Yun Zhongqiao , Huang Yi , Schreiber George B. , Kavounis Katherine , Ness Paul , Shan Hua 
Published: June 2010

BACKGROUND: In China recruitment and retention of sufficient numbers of safe blood donors continues to be a challenge. Understanding who donates blood, particularly those who donate larger (>200 mL) whole blood (WB) units, will help blood centers to target more effective recruitment and retention strategies.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Demographic characteristics of 226,489 allogeneic WB donors from January to December 2008 at five geographically and ethnically diverse, urban blood centers were analyzed.RESULTS: The typical Chinese WB donor can be characterized as first‐time volunteer (67.9%), male (56.9%), less than 45 years old (93.8%), and Han ethnicity (86.1%). Most donors had some college or below educational level (77.5%), donated at a mobile collection site (97.6%), and donated 300‐ or 400‐mL units (76.0%). Differences in WB volume donations and donor demographics exist among the five centers.CONCLUSION: In China compared to the United States, donations are made by younger donors and donors give infrequently and make smaller WB donations. To help ensure supply adequacy, continued efforts are needed to have donors give larger volumes of WB in China.
Cosmopolitan Hagglers or Haggling Locals?
Authors: HAWKINS SIMON 
Published: June 2010

AbstractThere has been much debate about the definition of cosmopolitan, but little attention has been paid to the underlying opposition of cosmopolitans to locals. Based on ethnographic work in the medina of Tunis, this article suggests that categories of local and cosmopolitan are discursively created and that the categorization of specific groups shifts depending on the context. I focus on a group of salesmen in the medina's tourist trade. These salesmen categorize themselves as sophisticated individuals who know about, and adapt to, the cultural practices of different tourist groups. They describe tourists as ignorant and inflexible. By contrast the tourists describe themselves in cosmopolitan terms and the salesmen as culturally determined locals. I suggest that while the categorization of cosmopolitanism depends on the opposition of cosmopolitan to local, the two are not commensurate terms. While cosmopolitanism refers to a cluster of attributes that individuals or groups ascribe to themselves, status as a local derives from being viewed by those who consider themselves to be cosmopolitans. The relation of cosmopolitanism to localness echoes earlier structured oppositions such as modernity to tradition, particularly with its implications of progress and homogeneity for the first category in contrast to the backwardness and heterogeneity of the second. By implication, cosmopolitans are sometimes seen as free from cultural constraints. I argue that cosmopolitanism is an ideological construction that always draws on specific contexts. Any group, given the appropriate circumstances, can be held as the local object of a cosmopolitan gaze.
Making Territorial Claims: Brazilian Hip Hop and the Socio‐Geographical Dynamics ofPeriferia
Authors: PARDUE DEREK 
Published: June 2010

AbstractIn this essay I posit that the stylistic divergences in Brazilian hip hop reveal a set of social and geographical dynamics related to São Paulo, the country's largest city and supposed beacon of modernity. The case of São Paulo hip hop speaks beyond Brazil and potentially contributes to larger discussions of the contemporary city complex including the role of the working‐class periphery sprawls on urbanism. This text focuses on the primacy ofperiferia(periphery) as an ideological and spatial concept rooted in the artistic expressions of the “marginal.” In their activities, hip hoppers articulate “periphery” as not only a place but also as an epistemology, which in turn works to change the meaning of the city for the historically disenfranchised. Not without its limitations and internal critics, marginality secretes a “magic” or at least retains a pull as hip hoppers and urban, working‐class Brazilians, in general, look to convince others of their value in exchange for respect.
The diapause response of Rhagoletis pomonella to varying environmental conditions and its significance for geographic and host plant‐related adaptation
Authors: Feder Jeffrey L. , Powell Thomas H.Q. , Filchak Ken , Leung Brian 
Published: June 2010

AbstractThe recent shift of Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh (Diptera: Tephritidae) from its ancestral host hawthorn to apple is a model for incipient sympatric speciation in action. Previous studies have shown that changes in the over‐wintering pupal diapause are critical for differentially adapting R. pomonella flies to a difference in the fruiting times of apples vs. hawthorns, generating ecologically based reproductive isolation. Here, we exposed pupae of the hawthorn race to various combinations of pre‐ and over‐wintering rearing conditions and analyzed their effects on eclosion time and genetics. We report certain unexpected results in regards to a combination of brief pre‐winter and over‐wintering periods indicative of gene*environment interactions requiring a reassessment of our current understanding of R. pomonella diapause. We present a hypothesis that involves physiological factors related to stored energy reserves in pupae that influences the depth and duration of Rhagoletis diapause. This ‘pupal energy reserve’ hypothesis can account for our findings and help clarify the role host plant‐related life history adaptation plays in phytophage biodiversity.