bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF A SELECTIVE N‐METHYL‐d‐ASPARTATE NR2B RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST IN THE 6‐HYDROXYDOPAMINE RAT MODEL OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE
Authors: Leaver KR , Allbutt HN , Creber NJ , Kassiou M , Henderson JM 
Published: September 2008

SUMMARY

Current pharmacotherapies for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) are largely symptomatic and do not attenuate the characteristic nigral (dopamine) cell loss.
Using the 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) rat model of PD, we investigated the novel, potentially neuroprotective compound BZAD‐01, which is an N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor antagonist selective for the NR2B subunit.
Forty female Sprague‐Dawley rats were pretreated with either 10 mg/kg BZAD‐01 or vehicle (5% sucrose and 0.1% ascorbate) in their drinking water for 11 days prior to and for 3 days following 6‐OHDA surgery. During surgery, rats received an injection of either a toxic dose of 16 µg 6‐OHDA or a non‐toxic dose of 1 µg 6‐OHDA (sham) into the medial forebrain bundle. A series of behavioural tests, including curling (measuring body axis bias), head position bias and narrow beam, was performed fortnightly for 8 weeks after surgery to assess the effects of BZAD‐01 pretreatment on parkinsonism. Drug‐induced rotational asymmetry was also assessed just before rats were killed. Post‐mortem immunohistochemistry was performed to quantify the degree of nigral dopamine cell loss.
Pretreatment of 6‐OHDA‐lesioned rats with BZAD‐01 significantly reduced the amount of dopamine cell loss and significantly improved all behavioural measures. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in any of the behavioural measures between lesioned rats pretreated with BZAD‐01 and rats that underwent sham surgery.
INHIBITORY EFFECT OF EMODIN ON BLEOMYCIN‐INDUCED PULMONARY FIBROSIS IN MICE
Authors: Chen Xiao‐Hong , Sun Ren‐Shan , Hu Jian‐Ming , Mo Zi‐Yao , Yang Zi‐Feng , Jin Guang‐Yao , Guan Wen‐Da , Zhong Nan‐Shan 
Published: September 2008

SUMMARY

Currently, there is no satisfactory treatment for pulmonary fibrosis. Emodin, a component in Chinese herbs, has been shown to have an antifibrotic effect on pancreatic fibrosis and liver fibrosis. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that emodin may attenuate the development of pulmonary fibrosis.
Mice were randomly divided into five groups (n = 16 in each). One group was a control group; the remaining four groups were treated with intratracheal instillation of 3 mg/kg bleomycin (BLM). The following day, emodin (5, 10 or 20 mg/kg per day, p.o.) treatment was started for three of the BLM‐treated groups and was continued for 21 days. The fourth BLM‐treated group (and the control group) received daily 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (placebo) by gavage over the same period.
Bleomycin challenge provoked severe pulmonary fibrosis, with marked increases in fibrosis fraction, hydroxyproline content and myeloperoxidase activity in lung tissue. Emodin treatment (10 and 20 mg/kg per day, p.o.) attenuated all these biochemical indices, as well as histopathological alterations induced by BLM. Furthermore, in mice injected with BLM, elevated levels of transforming growth factor‐β1, interluekin (IL)‐4 and IL‐13 were found in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. These increases were significantly inhibited by 10 and 20 mg/kg per day emodin.
In cell culture, exposure of cells to 6.25, 12.5, 25 or 50 µmol/L emodin for 24 h decreased fibroblast proliferation. Treatment of cells with the same concentrations of emodin for 72 h decreased collagen production by fibroblasts. In addition, emodin (6.25, 12.5, 25 or 50 µmol/L) inhibited the steady state expression of α1 (I) procollagen and α2 (I) procollagen mRNA in a dose‐dependent manner.
The results of the present study suggest that emodin may be effective in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.
EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE‐INDUCED REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES PRODUCTION ON EXCITATION–CONTRACTION COUPLING IN MAMMALIAN SKELETAL MUSCLE
Authors: Van Der Poel Chris , Edwards Joshua N , Macdonald William A , Stephenson D George 
Published: September 2008

SUMMARY

Here we review evidence obtained recently by us indicating that the poor longevity of isolated mammalian skeletal muscle preparations at temperatures in the normal physiological range is related to the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the resting muscle.
Temperature‐induced ROS production increases markedly above 32°C in isolated, resting skeletal muscle and is associated with the gradual and irreversible functional deterioration of the muscle.
The majority of the temperature‐induced muscle ROS originates in the mitochondria and acts on various sites involved in excitation–contraction coupling.
HYPOGLYCAEMIC AND HYPOLIPIDAEMIC EFFECTS OF EMODIN AND ITS EFFECT ON L‐TYPE CALCIUM CHANNELS IN DYSLIPIDAEMIC–DIABETIC RATS
Authors: Zhao Xiao‐Yan , Qiao Guo‐Fen , Li Bao‐Xin , Chai Li‐Min , Li Zhe , Lu Yan‐Jie , Yang Bao‐Feng 
Published: September 2008

SUMMARY

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects of 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg per day emodin and its potential effects on L‐type calcium channels in dyslipidaemic–diabetic rats.
Dyslipidaemic‐diabetic rats were induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (55 mg/kg) after intragastric administration of a high‐fat diet for 2 weeks.
Daily administration of emodin for 2 weeks resulted in a significant dose‐dependent reductions in blood glucose, serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids and malonaldehyde (P < 0.05) in dyslipidaemic–diabetic rats compared with vehicle‐treated dyslipidaemic–diabetic rats. In addition, emodin caused dose‐dependent increases in plasma superoxide dismutase activity in dyslipidaemic–diabetic rats (P < 0.05). Immunofluorescent staining and reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction showed that the expression of L‐type calcium channels in the pancreas and heart was restored, to different extents, by the three doses of emodin treatment.
The results of the present study suggest that emodin has antidiabetic and lipid‐modulating effects that involve, in part, upregulation of L‐type calcium channel expression in the pancreas and heart in dyslipidaemic–diabetic rats.
Achalasia cardia presenting as stridor
Authors: WECHALEKAR Mihir D. , SOUTHCOTT Anne M. 
Published: September 2008

Abstract:Achalasia cardia is a motility disorder of the oesophagus characterized by aperistalsis of the oesophageal body and incomplete relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter. It usually presents with dysphagia, regurgitation and heartburn. It may have various respiratory manifestations. Rarely, it may be complicated by acute airway compromise causing stridor. This case report presents an elderly woman with massive dilatation of the oesophagus secondary to achalasia, who presented with a short history of heartburn and rapid deterioration of her respiratory status due to tracheal compromise and stridor as a result of achalasia. The various hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of this rare complication are described.
On the relationship between mass and diameter distributions in tree communities
Authors: Stegen James C. , White Ethan P. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractIt has been suggested that frequency distributions of individual tree masses in natural stands are characterized by power‐law distributions with exponents near −3/4, and that therefore tree communities exhibit energetic equivalence among size classes. Because the mass of trees is not measured directly, but estimated from diameter, this supposition is based on the fact that the observed distribution of tree diameters is approximately characterized by a power‐law with an exponent ≈ −2. Here we show that diameter distributions of this form are not equivalent to mass distributions with exponents of −3/4, but actually to mass distributions with exponents of −11/8. We discuss the implications of this result for the metabolic theory of ecology and for understanding energetic equivalence and the processes structuring tree communities.
(R)‐(+)‐limonene, kairomone forDastarcus helophoroides, a natural enemy of longhorned beetles
Authors: Wei Jian‐Rong , Yang Zhong‐Qi , Hao Hui‐Ling , Du Jia‐Wei 
Published: September 2008

Abstract1 Chemical cues involved in host location byDastarcus helophoroides(Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Bothrideridae), a parasitoid ofAnoplophora glabripennisMotschulsky,Monochamus alternatusHope,Massicus raddei(Blessig),Apriona germari(Hope),Apriona swainsoni(Hope) andBatocera horsfielde(Hope) in the family Cerambycidae, were investigated in a Y‐tube olfactometer. Responses ofD. helophoroidesadults toward odour sources from their host (M. raddei) and host tree (Quercus mongolicusFisch. ex. Turcz.) were tested in either no‐choice or two‐way choice tests. Wood with larval tunnels and larvae frass were attractive toD. helophoroides. Both sexes showed attraction to wood with larval tunnels.2 Volatile chemicals emitted from wood with larval tunnels and larval frass were collected on Porapak Q and analyzed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Several compounds identified from these sources, including α‐pinene, β‐pinene, Δ‐3‐carene, limonene and β‐myrcene, were tested againstD. helophoroidesin the same Y‐tube olfactometer.3 The result showed thatD. helophoroidesadults were attracted to (R)‐(+)‐limonene, with or without the background odour from uninfested fresh wood. This may suggest that (R)‐(+)‐limonene is an important kairomone for this parasitic beetle.4 Dose‐dependent response ofD. helophoroidesadults to (R)‐(+)‐limonene indicated thatD. helophoroidesadults showed significant attraction to (R)‐(+)‐limonene when release rates exceeded 2.08 μg/h in Y‐tube olfactometer tests. Moreover, significantly moreA. glabripennislarvae were parasitized byD. helophoroidesin the presence ofR‐(+)‐limonene, relative to the control in cage experiments.
Critical temperatures for xylogenesis in conifers of cold climates
Authors: Rossi Sergio , Deslauriers Annie , Griçar Jozica , Seo Jeong‐Wook , Rathgeber Cyrille BK , Anfodillo Tommaso , Morin Hubert , Levanic Tom , Oven Primoz , Jalkanen Risto 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACTAim  To identify temperatures at which cell division and differentiation are active in order to verify the existence of a common critical temperature determining growth in conifers of cold climates.Location  Ten European and Canadian sites at different latitudes and altitudes.Methods  The periods of cambial activity and cell differentiation were assessed on a weekly time‐scale on histological sections of cambium and wood tissue collected over 2 to 5 years per site from 1998 to 2005 from the stems of seven conifer species. All data were compared with daily air temperatures recorded from weather stations located close to the sites. Logistic regressions were used to calculate the probability of xylogenesis and of cambium being active at a given temperature.Results  Xylogenesis lasted from May to October, with a growing period varying from 3 to 5 months depending on location and elevation. Despite the wide geographical range of the monitored sites, temperatures for onset and ending of xylogenesis converged towards narrow ranges with average values around 4–5, 8–9 and 13–14 °C for daily minimum, mean and maximum temperature, respectively. On the contrary, cell division in the cambium stopped in July−August, when temperatures were still high.Main conclusions  Wood formation in conifers occurred when specific critical temperatures were reached. Although the timing and duration of xylogenesis varied among species, sites and years, the estimated temperatures were stable for all trees studied. These results provide biologically based evidence that temperature is a critical factor limiting production and differentiation of xylem cells in cold climates. Although daily temperatures below 4−5 °C are still favourable for photosynthesis, thermal conditions below these values could inhibit the allocation of assimilated carbon to structural investment, i.e. xylem growth.
Quantifying the advantage of secondary mathematics study for accounting and finance undergraduates
Authors: Alcock Jamie , Cockcroft Sophie , Finn Frank 
Published: September 2008

AbstractWe examine the role that secondary mathematics plays in the performance of students in introductory business courses. Students who pass more advanced secondary mathematics subjects perform significantly better in introductory business courses. This ‘mathematics effect’ is significantly stronger than the effect of other business‐related secondary subjects, such as economics or accounting. Our findings also confirm previous studies showing that secondary accounting is beneficial for studying first‐year tertiary accounting. Interestingly though, we find that studying secondary economics can detract from a student's introductory tertiary results in some courses. Our findings have implications for educators and administrators as well as current secondary students.
Exposure Fusion: A Simple and Practical Alternative to High Dynamic Range Photography
Authors: Mertens T. , Kautz J. , Van Reeth F. 
Published: September 2008

Abstract We propose a technique for fusing a bracketed exposure sequence into a high quality image, without converting to High dynamic range (HDR) first. Skipping the physically based HDR assembly step simplifies the acquisition pipeline. This avoids camera response curve calibration and is computationally efficient. It also allows for including flash images in the sequence. Our technique blends multiple exposures, guided by simple quality measures like saturation and contrast. This is done in a multiresolution fashion to account for the brightness variation in the sequence. The resulting image quality is comparable to existing tone mapping operators.
The Visual Computing of Projector‐Camera Systems
Authors: Bimber Oliver , Iwai Daisuke , Wetzstein Gordon , Grundhöfer Anselm 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThis article focuses on real‐time image correction techniques that enable projector‐camera systems to display images onto screens that are not optimized for projections, such as geometrically complex, coloured and textured surfaces. It reviews hardware‐accelerated methods like pixel‐precise geometric warping, radiometric compensation, multi‐focal projection and the correction of general light modulation effects. Online and offline calibration as well as invisible coding methods are explained. Novel attempts in super‐resolution, high‐dynamic range and high‐speed projection are discussed. These techniques open a variety of new applications for projection displays. Some of them will also be presented in this report.
Compression and Importance Sampling of Near‐Field Light Sources
Authors: Mas Albert , Martín Ignacio , Patow Gustavo 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThis paper presents a method for compressing measured datasets of the near‐field emission of physical light sources (represented by raysets). We create a mesh on the bounding surface of the light source that stores illumination information. The mesh is augmented with information about directional distribution and energy density. We have developed a new approach to smoothly generate random samples on the illumination distribution represented by the mesh, and to efficiently handle importance sampling of points and directions. We will show that our representation can compress a 10 million particle rayset into a mesh of a few hundred triangles. We also show that the error of this representation is low, even for very close objects.
High‐speed Marching Cubes using HistoPyramids
Authors: Dyken Christopher , Ziegler Gernot , Theobalt Christian , Seidel Hans‐Peter 
Published: September 2008

Abstract We present an implementation approach for Marching Cubes (MC) on graphics hardware for OpenGL 2.0 or comparable graphics APIs. It currently outperforms all other known graphics processing units (GPU)‐based iso‐surface extraction algorithms in direct rendering for sparse or large volumes, even those using the recently introduced geometry shader (GS) capabilites. To achieve this, we outfit the Histogram Pyramid (HP) algorithm, previously only used in GPU data compaction, with the capability for arbitrary data expansion. After reformulation of MC as a data compaction and expansion process, the HP algorithm becomes the core of a highly efficient and interactive MC implementation. For graphics hardware lacking GSs, such as mobile GPUs, the concept of HP data expansion is easily generalized, opening new application domains in mobile visual computing. Further, to serve recent developments, we present how the HP can be implemented in the parallel programming language CUDA (compute unified device architecture), by using a novel 1D chunk/layer construction.
Transferring the Rig and Animations from a Character to Different Face Models
Authors: Orvalho Verónica Costa , Zacur Ernesto , Susin Antonio 
Published: September 2008

AbstractWe introduce a facial deformation system that allows artists to define and customize a facial rig and later apply the same rig to different face models. The method uses a set of landmarks that define specific facial features and deforms the rig anthropometrically. We find the correspondence of the main attributes of a source rig, transfer them to different three‐demensional (3D) face models and automatically generate a sophisticated facial rig. The method is general and can be used with any type of rig configuration. We show how the landmarks, combined with other deformation methods, can adapt different influence objects (NURBS surfaces, polygon surfaces, lattice) and skeletons from a source rig to individual face models, allowing high quality geometric or physically‐based animations. We describe how it is possible to deform the source facial rig, apply the same deformation parameters to different face models and obtain unique expressions. We enable reusing of existing animation scripts and show how shapes nicely mix one with the other in different face models. We describe how our method can easily be integrated in an animation pipeline. We end with the results of tests done with major film and game companies to show the strength of our proposal.
Fast Ray Tracing of Arbitrary Implicit Surfaces with Interval and Affine Arithmetic
Authors: Knoll A. , Hijazi Y. , Kensler A. , Schott M. , Hansen C. , Hagen H. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractExisting techniques for rendering arbitrary‐form implicit surfaces are limited, either in performance, correctness or flexibility. Ray tracing algorithms employing interval arithmetic (IA) or affine arithmetic (AA) for root‐funding are robust and general in the class of surfaces they support, but traditionally slow. Nonetheless, implemented efficiently using a stack‐driven iterative algorithm and SIMD vector instructions, these methods can achieve interactive performance for common algebraic surfaces on the CPU. A similar algorithm can also be implemented stacklessly, allowing for efficient ray tracing on the GPU. This paper presents these algorithms, as well as an inclusion‐preserving reduced affine arithmetic (RAA) for faster ray‐surface intersection. Shader metaprogramming allows for immediate and automatic generation of symbolic expressions and their interval or affine extensions. Moreover, we are able to render even complex forms robustly, in real‐time at high resolution.
GPU‐Based Spherical Light Field Rendering with Per‐Fragment Depth Correction
Authors: Todt S. , Rezk‐Salama C. , Kolb A. , Kuhnert K.‐D. 
Published: September 2008

Abstract Image‐based rendering techniques are a powerful alternative to traditional polygon‐based computer graphics. This paper presents a novel light field rendering technique which performs per‐pixel depth correction of rays for high‐quality reconstruction. Our technique stores combined RGB and depth values in a parabolic 2D texture for every light field sample acquired at discrete positions on a uniform spherical setup. Image synthesis is implemented on the GPU as a fragment program which extracts the correct image information from adjacent cameras for each fragment by applying per‐pixel depth correction of rays. We show that the presented image‐based rendering technique provides a significant improvement compared to previous approaches. We explain two different rendering implementations which make use of a uniform parametrisation to minimise disparity problems and ensure full six degrees of freedom for virtual view synthesis. While one rendering algorithm implements an iterative refinement approach for rendering light fields with per pixel depth correction, the other approach employs a raycaster, which provides superior rendering quality at moderate frame rates. GPU based per‐fragment depth correction of rays, used in both implementations, helps reducing ghosting artifacts to a non‐noticeable amount and provides a rendering technique that performs without exhaustive pre‐processing for 3D object reconstruction and without real‐time ray‐object intersection calculations at rendering time.
Peek‐in‐the‐Pic: Flying Through Architectural Scenes From a Single Image*
Authors: Shesh Amit , Chen Baoquan 
Published: September 2008

AbstractMany casually taken ‘tourist’ photographs comprise of architectural objects like houses, buildings, etc. Reconstructing such 3D scenes captured in a single photograph is a very challenging problem. We propose a novel approach to reconstruct such architectural scenes with minimal and simple user interaction, with the goal of providing 3D navigational capability to an image rather than acquiring accurate geometric detail. Our system, Peek‐in‐the‐Pic, is based on a sketch‐based geometry reconstruction paradigm. Given an image, the user simply traces out objects from it. Our system regards these as perspective line drawings, automatically completes them and reconstructs geometry from them. We make basic assumptions about the structure of traced objects and provide simple gestures for placing additional constraints. We also provide a simple sketching tool to progressively complete parts of the reconstructed buildings that are not visible in the image and cannot be automatically completed. Finally, we fill holes created in the original image when reconstructed buildings are removed from it, by automatic texture synthesis. Users can spend more time using interactive texture synthesis for further refining the image. Thus, instead of looking at flat images, a user can fly through them after some simple processing. Minimal manual work, ease of use and interactivity are the salient features of our approach.
Precomputed Atmospheric Scattering
Authors: Bruneton Eric , Neyret Fabrice 
Published: September 2008

AbstractWe present a new and accurate method to render the atmosphere in real time from any viewpoint from ground level to outer space, while taking Rayleigh and Mie multiple scattering into account. Our method reproduces many effects of the scattering of light, such as the daylight and twilight sky color and aerial perspective for all view and light directions, or the Earth and mountain shadows (light shafts) inside the atmosphere. Our method is based on a formulation of the light transport equation that is precomputable for all view points, view directions and sun directions. We show how to store this data compactly and propose a GPU compliant algorithm to precompute it in a few seconds. This precomputed data allows us to evaluate at runtime the light transport equation in constant time, without any sampling, while taking into account the ground for shadows and light shafts.