bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Image‐based Material Weathering
Authors: Xuey Su , Wang Jiaping , Tong Xin , Dai Qionghai , Guo Baining 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe appearance manifold [WTL*06] is an efficient approach for modeling and editing time‐variant appearance of materials from the BRDF data captured at single time instance. However, this method is difficult to apply in images in which weathering and shading variations are combined. In this paper, we present a technique for modeling and editing the weathering effects of an object in a single image with appearance manifolds. In our approach, we formulate the input image as the product of reflectance and illuminance. An iterative method is then developed to construct the appearance manifold in color space (i.e., Lab space) for modeling the reflectance variations caused by weathering. Based on the appearance manifold, we propose a statistical method to robustly decompose reflectance and illuminance for each pixel. For editing, we introduce a “pixel‐walking” scheme to modify the pixel reflectance according to its position on the manifold, by which the detailed reflectance variations are well preserved. We illustrate our technique in various applications, including weathering transfer between two images that is first enabled by our technique. Results show that our technique can produce much better results than existing methods, especially for objects with complex geometry and shading effects.
Distortion‐Free Steganography for Polygonal Meshes
Authors: Bogomjakov Alexander , Gotsman Craig , Isenburg Martin 
Published: April 2008

AbstractWe present a technique for steganography in polygonal meshes. Our method hides a message in the indexed rep‐resentation of a mesh by permuting the order in which faces and vertices are stored. The permutation is relative to a reference ordering that encoder and decoder derive from the mesh connectivity in a consistent manner. Our method is distortion‐free because it does not modify the geometry of the mesh. Compared to previous steganographic methods for polygonal meshes our capacity is up to an order of magnitude better.Our steganography algorithm is universal and can be used instead of the standard permutation steganography algorithm on arbitrary datasets. The standard algorithm runs in Ω (n2 log2 n log log n) time and achieves optimal O(nlog n) bit capacity on datasets with n elements. In contrast, our algorithm runs in O(n) time, achieves a capacity that is only one bit per element less than optimal, and is extremely simple to implement.
Characterization for High Dynamic Range Imaging
Authors: Kim Min H. , Kautz Jan 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn this paper we present a new practical camera characterization technique to improve color accuracy in high dynamic range (HDR) imaging. Camera characterization refers to the process of mapping device‐dependent signals, such as digital camera RAW images, into a well‐defined color space. This is a well‐understood process for low dynamic range (LDR) imaging and is part of most digital cameras — usually mapping from the raw camera signal to the sRGB or Adobe RGB color space. This paper presents an efficient and accurate characterization method for high dynamic range imaging that extends previous methods originally designed for LDR imaging. We demonstrate that our characterization method is very accurate even in unknown illumination conditions, effectively turning a digital camera into a measurement device that measures physically accurate radiance values — both in terms of luminance and color — rivaling more expensive measurement instruments.
Modeling a Generic Tone‐mapping Operator
Authors: Mantiuk Rafał , Seidel Hans‐Peter 
Published: April 2008

AbstractAlthough several new tone‐mapping operators are proposed each year, there is no reliable method to validate their performance or to tell how different they are from one another. In order to analyze and understand the behavior of tone‐mapping operators, we model their mechanisms by fitting a generic operator to an HDR image and its tone‐mapped LDR rendering. We demonstrate that the majority of both global and local tone‐mapping operators can be well approximated by computationally inexpensive image processing operations, such as a per‐pixel tone curve, a modulation transfer function and color saturation adjustment. The results produced by such a generic tone‐mapping algorithm are often visually indistinguishable from much more expensive algorithms, such as the bilateral filter. We show the usefulness of our generic tone‐mapper in backward‐compatible HDR image compression, the black‐box analysis of existing tone mapping algorithms and the synthesis of new algorithms that are combination of existing operators.
Prehospital identification of stroke – room for improvement
Authors: Fischer C. E. , Barnung S. , Nielsen S. L. , Rasmussen L. S. 
Published: April 2008

Introduction:  Rapid recognition of stroke is important because it allows early brain imaging and management such as thrombolytic therapy. We evaluated the identification of the diagnosis acute cerebrovascular incident in a physician‐based prehospital emergency medical system.Methods:  From the Copenhagen Mobile Emergency Care Unit (MECU) register we identified patients classified as having an acute cerebrovascular incident through a 2‐year period. We subsequently searched the hospital registration system and compared the consistency between the primary hospital discharge diagnosis and the MECU diagnosis made on referral. Our primary aim was to calculate the proportion of admitted patients with a hospital discharge diagnosis from the category ‘acute cerebrovascular incident.’Results:  In total, 583 patients were included in our study. In 25 patients, no hospital discharge diagnosis could be found. Of the remaining 558 patients, a hospital discharge diagnosis of cerebrovascular incident was made for 168 (30.1%) patients. Other cerebral disease was found in 171 (30.7%), systemic disease in 52 (9.3%), and other diagnoses in 167 (29.9%).Discussion:  We found a low accuracy of the clinical diagnosis acute cerebrovascular incident in the prehospital setting with room and need for improvement in order to allow appropriate and expeditious referral for thrombolytic therapy.
Diagnostic performance of clinical motor and non‐motor tests of Parkinson disease: a matched case–control study
Authors: Bohnen N. I. , Studenski S. A. , Constantine G. M. , Moore R. Y. 
Published: April 2008

Background and purpose: The diagnosis of Parkinson disease (PD) is made typically on the basis of motor abnormalities. PD is now recognized to have both motor and non‐motor manifestations, indicating a need for the development of reliable non‐motor diagnostic tests for PD. The aim of the present study was to compare the accuracy of various clinical motor and non‐motor tests for the diagnosis of PD.Methods: Forty‐five PD patients (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1–3; mean age 59.5 ± 10.0 years) and 45 healthy controls matched for gender and age completed a clinimetric motor test battery to assess limb bradykinesia, tremor and balance. Non‐motor tests consisted of depression, anxiety and smell identification ratings. Area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) analysis was used.Results: We found that smell identification was the most accurate predictor of the presence of PD within the overall group of patients and matched control subjects (AUC = 0.886) and also in the subgroups of mild severity (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1–1.5; AUC = 0.923), young‐onset (AUC = 0.888) and female PD patients (AUC = 0.797). The second best diagnostic test was the grooved pegboard test for the clinically most affected body side.Conclusions: We conclude that olfactory function is the most accurate diagnostic predictor within a heterogeneous sample of patients with PD.
Sensory evaluation and physico‐chemical measurements of tomatoes commonly consumed in New Zealand
Authors: Busch Janette M. , Savage Geoffrey P. , Searle Bruce P. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractFive different locally sourced commercially grown tomatoes (cultivars; Aranca, Excell, Flavourine, Mondeo and Solairo) and one grown in Australia (Gourmet) were subjected to sensory evaluation using a consumer taste panel. Physico‐chemical characteristics (CIE colour, dry matter, °Brix, titratable acidity, pH and °Brix : acid ratio) were also measured on the tomatoes. Overall, the sensory evaluation results showed that there were differences between the tomato cultivar most likely to be purchased (Excell, bright red skin colour) and the tomato liked most overall (Aranca, darker red skin colour). Panellists gave a wide range of juiciness and hardness scores to the tomatoes evaluated. Cultivars Flavourine, Aranca and Solairo were moderately sweet while Excell, Mondeo and Gourmet were regarded as not sweet at all. Physico‐chemical results showed that the New Zealand grown tomato varieties evaluated were comparable with other tomatoes grown in New Zealand while most tomatoes were redder and had higher titratable acidity compared with studies of tomato varieties from other countries. The panellists initially ranked the tomatoes on the redness of skin colour but changed their rankings when they had assessed their taste and texture.
Reproductive hormonal changes and catamenial pattern in adolescent females with epilepsy
Authors: El‐Khayat Hamed A. , Soliman Nancy A. , Tomoum Hoda Y. , Omran Maher A. , El‐Wakad Amany S. , Shatla Rania H. 
Published: April 2008

Summary
Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the effect of epilepsy on the reproductive hormones levels among female patients, and to investigate the frequency of catamenial pattern of seizures.
Methods: A total of 42 female patients with epilepsy and 21 healthy females (control group) were included. Subjects were at least 2 years postmenarche with regular cycles. Symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) were assessed using calendar of premenstrual experience scoring. Patients were evaluated for catamenial pattern of seizures. Levels of FSH, LH, estradiol (E), and progesterone (P) were assessed for all subjects in the three phases of the cycles. Pelvi‐abdominal ultrasound was performed near time of ovulation, to follow up size of mature follicle.
Results: Symptoms of PMS were not different in patients and controls, or in patients with and those without catamenial tendency. In both perimenstrual (M) and midluteal phases, FSH and P levels were lower and E/P ratio higher in patients group. There was a catamenial pattern of seizures in 31% of patients (53.8% M C
1
; 46.15% inadequate luteal phase C
3
pattern). Patients with C
3
pattern showed lower P levels in the midluteal phase compared to patients with noncatamenial pattern, to those with C
1
pattern or to controls. Patients with C
1
pattern had lower P levels than controls in the M phase.
Conclusion: There was evident disruption in the reproductive hormones in female patients with epilepsy with lower FSH and P levels and higher E/P ratio. A total of 31% of patients showed catamenial pattern of seizures (C
1
and C
3
patterns) that was significantly related to P withdrawal.
Local spatial effect of 50 Hz cortical stimulation in humans
Authors: Gwinn Ryder P. , Spencer Dennis D. , Spencer Susan S. , Duckrow Robert B. , Vives Kenneth , Wu Kun , Tkeshelashvili David , Zaveri Hitten P. 
Published: April 2008

Summary
Purpose: Cortical stimulation to abort seizures is under human investigation. Ideal electrode placement and stimulating parameters are unknown with poor understanding of tissue volume affected by stimulation or duration and nature of its effect on cortical activity. To help characterize this effect, we analyzed electrocorticography (ECoG) recorded adjacent to stimulated contacts during and after bipolar stimulation in patients undergoing functional cortical mapping with subdural electrodes.
Methods: We analyzed four functional mapping procedures in three patients. One row of contacts was chosen for bipolar stimulation at sequential distances. Stimulation parameters were those used for functional mapping. Pooled Teager energy (TE) and band power were calculated for: (1) baseline, (2) 5 s during stimulation, and (3) 5–15 s after the stimulus.
Results: Average TE increased during stimulation, falling with distance from the stimulus. Average poststimulus TE increased (284–905%) compared to baseline. Increased TE was observed: (1) up to 10 s after stimulation, (2) stimulation amplitudes of 4 mA or greater, and (3) up to 2 cm from the stimulus. There was no difference in poststimulus TE between the stimulated pair of contacts and outside the pair. Greatest increase in poststimulus signal power occurred in beta and gamma bands.
Conclusions: Human cortical stimulation of 50 Hz resulted in elevated ECoG energy measurements up to 10 s poststimulation. Contacts >2 cm from stimulated electrodes did not show significant response to stimulation. Separating contacts >2 cm on the cortical surface may not result in efficacious treatment of seizure activity using common stimulation amplitudes (2–10 mA).
Alternative Delivery of a 4Fr Lumenless Pacing Lead in Children
Authors: LAPAGE MARTIN J. , RHEE EDWARD K. 
Published: April 2008

Background: The potential advantages of using a 4Fr lumenless pacing lead (3830 SelectSecure™, Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis, MN, USA) in children are largely negated due to the large size of the delivery system. Here we describe an innovative, sheath guided, delivery technique using conventional 5F sheaths.
Methods: Transvenous access was obtained via the left cephalic or axillary vein. A 5Fr introducer set with a 45° curved tip (CheckFlo® Performer® Introducer Set with the Children's Hospital Boston Modification, Cook Medical Inc, Bloomington, IN, USA) was placed over a wire into the right atrium (RA) or right ventricle (RV). The sheath was modified by cutting off the valved end and a SelectSecure™ lead was introduced through the sheath. Rotating the sheath provided steerability and allowed for precise placement of the lead. After successful lead placement, the sheath was removed with a universal sheath splitter.
Results: We placed seven atrial and six ventricular leads in eight patients during nine separate cases with this method. Patient ages and weights ranged from 5 to 16 years and 16 to –59 kg respectively. Pacing thresholds were excellent at implant. Leads were placed successfully in all attempts. There were no procedural complications. One patient had leads placed twice; both lead systems were removed for suspected infection. Over short‐term follow‐up in five patients, lead position and characteristics have remained stable.
Conclusion: Delivery of the SelectSecure™ lead in children can be successfully and precisely performed using a modified 5Fr sheath obviating the need for a large steerable delivery system.
A new US–UK diagnostic project: mood elevation and depression in first‐year undergraduates at Oxford and Stanford universities
Authors: Chandler R. A. , Wang P. W. , Ketter T. A. , Goodwin G. M. 
Published: April 2008

Objective:  To investigate differences in prevalence of mood elevation, distress and depression among first‐year undergraduates at Oxford and Stanford universities.Method:  An online survey was sent to Oxford and Stanford first‐year undergraduate students for two consecutive years in the winter of 2005 and 2006. Students completed a survey that assessed mood symptoms and medication use.Results:  Both universities had similar rates of distress by General Health Questionnaire (Oxford – 42.4%; Stanford – 38.3%), depression by Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (Oxford – 6.2%; Stanford – 6.6%), and psychotropic and non‐psychotropic medication usage (psychotropic: Oxford – 1.5%; Stanford 3.5%; non‐psychotropic: Oxford – 13.3%; Stanford – 18%). Oxford had higher rates of mood elevation by Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) (Oxford – 4%; Stanford – 1.7%).Conclusion:  Oxford and Stanford students have similar rates of mood distress, depression and general medication usage. Students at Oxford have a higher prevalence of MDQ scores that possibly indicate a bipolar disorder, while Stanford students are prescribed more psychotropics.
Premature Ejaculation: Current Medical Treatment and New Directions (CME)
Authors: Sadeghi-Nejad Hossein , Watson Richard 
Published: April 2008

Abstract

Introduction
Premature ejaculation (PE) is the most common form of male sexual dysfunction. Until very recently, scientific investigation of PE has been hampered by a lack of standardized definitions and objective, validated questionnaires. Small numbers of randomized controlled studies evaluating various treatment options have also added to the challenges facing the clinicians who manage PE.

Aim
This article provides a summary of some of the more relevant the peer-reviewed literature pertaining to the medical therapy of premature ejaculation.

Methods
A retrospective review of peer reviewed publications relevant to the field of premature ejaculation and related medical therapies.

Main Outcome Measures
Review of safety and efficacy of various medical therapies for premature ejaculation.

Results
Selective serotonin release inhibitors have been the most promising agents to date. The on-demand “PRN” use of these agents is more convenient, but its efficacy is less well established. Chronic use of this class of medications has been associated with minor, but bothersome side effects. More recently, concern over the risk of an increased suicide rate in young men upon initiation of SSRIs has dampened enthusiasm. Recent experience with the use of Tramadol raises the hope that this might prove to be an agent as effective as SSRIs with less worrisome risk of side-effects. New trials on novel formulations of topical solutions are currently underway in the United States.

Conclusions
Interest in medical therapy for PE is rapidly increasing and reflected in a disproportionate number of publications in this field in the past few years. Clinical research in this field is hampered by the complexity, variability among different men and cultures, and subjectivity of PE. Reliable, appropriately controlled and assessed studies are generally lacking and carefully devised, methodically conducted research is much needed.
THE CONTENT AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS IN COLD‐PRESSED PLANT OILS
Authors: SIGER ALEKSANDER , NOGALA‐KALUCKA MALGORZATA , LAMPART‐SZCZAPA ELEONORA 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACT Many nontraditional vegetable oils have been introduced to the market relatively recently, and therefore data on their antioxidant potential have not been reported. Such data are of importance for the evaluation of the nutritional and health impact of these oils. Antioxidant properties of the methanolic extracts of cold‐pressed oils such as soybean, sunflower, rapeseed, corn, grapeseed, hemp, flax, rice bran and pumpkin were studied. The methanolic extracts were obtained by solid phase extraction and separation, and identification of phenolic acids was conducted by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The obtained extracts were characterized by different scavenging activities of 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radicals. The best antioxidant properties were displayed by the extract from hemp, pumpkin and rapeseed oils. The highest content of total phenolic compounds was determined for the pumpkin and hemp oils – about 2.4 mg/100 g. Rapeseed oil was characterized by the highest content of phenolic acids, especially sinapic acid. To better understand the beneficial effects of antioxidant compounds in vegetable oils, it is important to investigate whether these bioactive compounds in oils differ in their reactions with free radicals. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSPhenolic compounds have been reported to be present in all vegetable oils, which is very important for the oxidative stability of the polyunsaturated fatty acids of these oils. Additionally, edible oils rich in natural antioxidants may play a role in reducing the risk of chronic diseases. Thus, the oils examined may be used in different food applications to provide nutrition and health benefits.
FATTY ACID AND PHOSPHOLIPID PROFILE OF FRESHWATER SARDINE MIROGREX TERRAESANCTAE FROM THE SEA OF GALILEE
Authors: HANUŠ LUMÍR O. , ŘEZANKA TOMÁŠ , DEMBITSKY VALERY M. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACT Fatty acid and lipid compositions from different tissues of Galilee Sardine important in the diet of East Mediterranean inhabitants were examined. More than 50 fatty acids were detected in freshwater fish sardines (Mirogrex terraesanctae). The muscles of this fish contained a high level of omega‐3 fatty acids.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSSardines are an important commercial freshwater fish species. The lipids of different sardine tissues, fished in Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), were examined. The benefits of including omega‐3 fatty acids in the diets of humans are well documented. Fatty acids play a major role in the functioning of the immune system and the maintenance of all hormonal systems in the body. Sardines (Mirogrex terraesanctae) are an excellent source of both docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. Sardines are one of the most popular treats in Israeli homes.
A STUDY OF ADLAY ON LOWERING SERUM AND LIVER LIPIDS IN HAMSTERS
Authors: LIN YULING , TSAI CHINGMIN E. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACT The functional component of adlay responsible for lowering blood lipids was studied using an animal model. Forty male hamsters were randomly divided into four dietary groups, including control, whole grain adlay (WGA), oil‐free adlay (OFA) and adlay oil (AO) groups. All groups were fed a high fat diet containing 11.8% oil and 0.2% cholesterol for 8 weeks. The results showed that the WGA, OFA and AO diets could decrease triacylglycerol (TAG), total cholesterol (TC) and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) concentrations in serum (P < 0.05). Specifically, all lipid levels were significantly lowered in the WGA and OFA groups as compared to the AO group (P < 0.05). Ingestion of WGA or OFA also reduced liver TAG and TC concentrations (P < 0.05). The data demonstrated that WGA, OFA and AO prolonged the lag phase of LDL oxidation (P < 0.05). Moreover, hamsters fed with WGA or OFA had lower activity of malic enzyme in liver than those fed with control or AO diet (P < 0.05). WGA, OFA and AO diets were also found to enhance the activity of glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase. Thus, the beneficial components of adlay were mainly in the OFA portion.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSAdlay is one of the most common components used in Chinese herbal medicine for hypolipidemic effect and immunoregulation. Numerous studies had demonstrated that adlay can decrease serum total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in animal models and human subjects. However, the shelf‐life of processed adlay products is relatively short due to the easy oxidation of its oil. According to the results of this study, it seems reasonable to remove the oil component of adlay grains to prevent its peroxidation and the development of off‐flavor in products while retaining most of the hypolipidemic effects of adlay.