bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transformation and Normal Vector Calculation of Parametrically Defined Surfaces Based on Dual Vectors and Screw Theory: Application to Phong's Shading Model
Authors: Papageorgiou Stavros G. , Aspragathos Nikos A. 
Published: June 2006

Abstract This paper presents a new approach for the transformation and normal vector calculation algorithms of parametrically defined surfaces via dual vectors and line transformations. The surface is defined via dual points, the transformation is performed by rotations and translations based on screw theory while normal vector calculation is utilized for shading based on Phong's illumination model. The main benefit of this approach lies into the compactness of the surface's representation since geometrical characteristics, such as tangent vectors, that are necessary for shading algorithms, are included within its definition. An extensive comparison is performed between the proposed approach and the traditional homogeneous model, presenting the merits of our approach. Analytical and experimental determination of the computational cost via computer implementation of 3D surface transformation and shading is presented. Point‐based methods for the representation, transformation and shading of parametrically defined surfaces are compared to the introduced line‐based methods (dual quaternions and dual orthogonal matrices). It is shown that the simplified rendering procedure of 3D objects, is considerably faster using screw theory over the traditional point‐based structures.
Undersampled Light Field Rendering by a Plane Sweep
Authors: Liu Yang , Chen George , Max Nelson , Hofsetz Christian , McGuinness Peter 
Published: June 2006

AbstractImages synthesized by light field rendering exhibit aliasing artifacts when the light field is undersampled; adding new light field samples improves the image quality and reduces aliasing but new samples are expensive to acquire. Light field rays are traditionally gathered directly from the source images, but new rays can also be inferred through geometry estimation. This paper describes a light field rendering approach based on this principle that estimates geometry from the set of source images using multi‐baseline stereo reconstruction to supplement the existing light field rays to meet the minimum sampling requirement. The rendering and reconstruction steps are computed over a set of planes in the scene volume, and output images are synthesized by compositing results from these planes together. The planes are each processed independently and the number of planes can be adjusted to scale the amount of computation to achieve the desired frame rate. The reconstruction fidelity (and by extension image quality) is improved by a library of matching templates to support matches along discontinuities in the image or geometry (e.g. object profiles and concavities). Given a set of silhouette images, the visual hull can be constructed and applied to further improve reconstruction by removing outlier matches. The algorithm is efficiently implemented by a set of image filter operations on commodity graphics hardware and achieves image synthesis at interactive rates.
A HANDBOOK FOR SCRIPTURAL REASONING
Authors: KEPNES STEVEN 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe essay includes twelve “rules” to define the nature and goals of the practice of Scriptural Reasoning (SR). These rules are intended for heuristic and pedagogic purposes to introduce Scriptural Reasoning to those who have little experience in and knowledge of the practice of SR. The rules emerged from my observations of SR practice and, taken together, the rules are meant to be a guide or “handbook” for future SR practice.
QURĀNIC REASONING AS AN ACADEMIC PRACTICE
Authors: WINTER TIM 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe increasing engagement of Muslim theologians with issues of textual criticism raises larger questions relating to the space provided by Western universities for Muslim theological practice. In this essay, these questions are examined in the context of the rapidly‐increasing Muslim participation in the Scriptural Reasoning project. It is suggested that classical Muslim theological and mystical scriptural commentary will demonstrate continued relevance and vitality, particularly in conversation with Jewish readers, despite the considerable difference in method resulting from the distinctive shape of Qur'anic revelation, and the lack of a history of secularisation in most Muslim cultures.
READING THE BURNING BUSH: VOICE, WORLD AND HOLINESS
Authors: DAVIES OLIVER 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe story of Moses' encounter with God at the Burning Bush has played a central role in the evolution and development of Christian metaphysics. This essay presents a reading which seeks to pay greater attention to the dynamics of the text itself and to the modes of reading which it engenders. These, it is argued, can be shown to be unique in that they confront the reader with an apparatus of attentiveness to the sensible real of the empirical world which, far from being suppressed by the act of reading, is actually foregrounded as a place and time of possible divine disclosure.
THE PROMISE OF SCRIPTURAL REASONING
Authors: HARDY DANIEL W. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThis Response reintroduces Scriptural Reasoning as portrayed in the essays, showing their various readings and reasonings and how they shed light on SR, while also identifying some lacunae in and between them. The different strengths of these views interact with each other in a highly dynamic and sustaining practice of reading and reasoning Scriptures together, where there is a high degree of mutually responsible hospitality and the possibility of achieving a complex harmony. In conclusion, three tasks for the future of SR are identified: concentrating on the seminal features of the Abrahamic traditions, targeting them and auditing SR performance.
Guidelines for the management of pelvic pain associated with endometriosis: a systematic appraisal of their quality
Authors: Appleyard T‐L , Mann CH , Khan KS 
Published: June 2006

Background  Guidelines exist for the management of endometriosis. Validated and reliable appraisal tools exist to assess the quality of guidelines.Objectives  To systematically appraise the quality of guidelines for the management of pelvic pain associated with endometriosis.Search strategy  Guidelines were identified using a prospective protocol through a systematic search of MEDLINE (1951–2005), EMBASE (1974–2005), the Cochrane Library (2005, issue 2), known guideline websites and the World Wide Web.Selection criteria  Type of document: guideline, consensus statement, care protocol or healthcare technology assessment produced by national or international professional organisations and societies or governmental agencies; subject: managemant of pelvic pain associated with endometriosis.Data collection and analysis  Two validated appraisal tools, Cluzeau and The Appraisal of Guidelines and Research and Evaluation (AGREE), were used to quantitatively assess the quality of guidelines. Areas evaluated included ‘rigour of development’, ‘context and content’ and ‘application.’Main results  Eight of 596 potentially relevant citations identified met our inclusion criteria. The Cluzeau instrument quality score were the following: rigour of development, 53% (range 5–65%); context and content, 69% (range 29–79%) and application 20% (range 0–20%). The aplication dimension achieved significantly lower quality scores (P = 0.026 versus rigour of development and P = 0.017 versus context and content). The AGREE instrument quality scores were the following: scope and purpose, 68% (range 17–89%); stakeholder involvement, 33% (range 13–63%); rigour of development, 49% (range 10–81%); clarity of presentation, 55% (range 42–67%); applicability, 14% (range 0–28%) and editorial independence, 28% (range 8–67%). The applicability domain achieved significantly lower quality scores (P = 0.001 versus scope and purpose and P = 0.009 versus rigour of development).Author’s conclusions  Guidelines for the management of pelvic pain associated with endometriosis do not comply with the recommendations for high‐quality standards.
Diagnosis, treatment and follow up of women undergoing conscious pain mapping for chronic pelvic pain: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Swanton A , Iyer L , Reginald PW 
Published: June 2006

Objective  To assess the efficacy of conscious pain mapping in diagnosing and treating chronic pelvic pain (CPP).Design  Prospective cohort study.Setting  Gynaecology Department, UK District General Hospital.Population  Forty‐three women diagnosed with CPP.Methods  The cohort was followed up for 18–24 months after diagnosis and treatment based on conscious pain mapping.Main outcome measures  Improvement of pain assessed by using visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores at 6‐month follow up.Results  Thirty‐nine women had successful conscious pain mapping. Pelvic pathology was identified in 18, pelvic congestion in 13 and 8 women had normal pelvic organs. In 35 women (90%), conscious pain mapping identified the cause of pain. Five out of eight women (63%) who were judged to have a normal pelvis had positive findings at pain mapping. VAS scores fell significantly from pre‐treatment to post‐treatment values at 6‐month follow up (P < 0.01). Overall, 26 women (74%) felt that their symptoms had improved after treatment based on findings at pain mapping. However, we concluded that pain mapping only contributed to the diagnosis and treatment in seven women (27%), who may not have received appropriate diagnosis and treatment if they had a laparoscopy under general anaesthetic.Conclusions  Conscious pain mapping is a useful additional investigation in the management of women with CPP. It can be employed in women with a negative laparoscopy or with visible pathology where the conventional treatment has failed.
Do clinical prediction models improve concordance of treatment decisions in reproductive medicine?
Authors: Van Der Steeg JW , Steures P , Eijkemans MJC , Habbema JDF , Bossuyt PMM , Hompes PGA , Van Der Veen F , Mol BWJ 
Published: June 2006

Objective  To assess whether the use of clinical prediction models improves concordance between gynaecologists with respect to treatment decisions in reproductive medicine.Design  We constructed 16 vignettes of subfertile couples by varying fertility history, postcoital test, sperm motility, follicle‐stimulating hormone level and Chlamydia antibody titre.Setting  Thirty‐five gynaecologists estimated three probabilities, i.e. the 1‐year probability of spontaneous pregnancy, the pregnancy chance after intrauterine insemination (IUI) and the pregnancy chance after in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Subsequently they proposed therapeutic regimens for these 16 fictional couples, i.e. expectant management, IUI or IVF. Three months later, the participant gynaecologists again had to propose therapeutic regimes for the same 16 fictional cases but this time accompanied by pregnancy chances obtained from prediction models: predictions on spontaneous pregnancy, IUI and IVF.Population  Thirty‐five gynaecologists working in academic and nonacademic hospitals in the Netherlands.Methods  Setting section.Main outcome measures  The concordance between gynaecologists of probability estimates, expressed as interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the concordance between gynaecologists of treatment decisions, analysed by calculating Cohen’s kappa (κ).Results  The gynaecologists differed widely in estimating pregnancy chances (ICC: 0.34). Furthermore, there was a huge variation in the proposed therapeutic regimens (κ: 0.21). The treatment decisions made by gynaecologists were consistent with the ranking of their probability estimates. When prediction models were used, the concordance (κ) for treatment decisions increased from 0.21 to 0.38. The number of gynaecologists counselling for expectant management increased from 39 to 51%, whereas counselling for IVF dropped from 23 to 14%.Conclusion  Gynaecologists differed widely in their estimation of prognosis in 16 fictional cases of subfertile couples. Their therapeutic regimens showed likewise huge variation. After confrontation with prediction models in the same 16 fictional cases, the proposed therapeutic regimens showed only slightly better concordance. Therefore a simple introduction of validated prediction models is insufficient to introduce concordant management between doctors.
The History of the Indian Princely States: Bringing the Puppets Back onto Centre Stage
Authors: Groenhout Fiona 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe Indian princely states are now widely, if not yet universally, recognised as being worthy of serious historical analysis. Their rulers occupy a unique position in imperial history: they were major supporters of British imperial rule, yet undermined it by demonstrating that Indian self‐government was not wholly a thing of the past. The article focuses on publications concerned with one or more of three themes which are central to the historiography of the states. These are first, the politics of indirect rule; second, the social, economic and political conditions within the states; and third, the roles pursued by or imposed upon rulers. It suggests that princely India possesses a far broader relevance: not only to ‘mainstream’ modern South Asian history, the history of the British empire and Britain as an imperial nation, but also to debates about the existence of essentially imperial forms of domination, influence and control in an ostensibly post‐imperial world.
Refractive and visual outcome of paediatric cataract surgery in the Ukraine
Authors: Agervi Pia , Kugelberg Ulla , Kugelberg Maria , Zetterström Charlotta 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To describe the refractive and visual outcomes after surgery for congenital or developmental cataract in the Ukraine.Methods:  Cataract surgery was performed in 65 children aged 3–15 years. The cataracts were bilateral in 44 children and unilateral in 21. Examinations, including visual acuity (VA) and objective refraction using retinoscopy, were performed preoperatively and at 1 day, 6 months and 2 years postoperatively. Neither occlusion therapy nor spectacles were prescribed.Results:  Almost all children (96%) gained in VA. In all, 40% of the bilateral cases achieved a corrected Snellen VA ≥ 0.5 and 44% of the unilateral cases obtained a corrected VA ≥ 0.2. The difference between VA (logMAR) preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The bilateral cases showed a postoperative reduction in mean astigmatism from 3.9 D (1 day postoperatively) to 0.6 D (2 years postoperatively) (p < 0.001), while the unilateral cases showed a reduction from 4.2 D (1 day postoperatively) to 0.4 D (2 years postoperatively) (p < 0.001).Conclusion:  Good postoperative VA was achieved in the group with bilateral cataract. Surprisingly, even in the group with unilateral cataract, an increase in VA was obtained, despite the lack of postoperative correction with glasses or occlusion therapy.
The prevalence of age‐related maculopathy (ARM) in an urban Norwegian population: the Oslo Macular Study
Authors: Björnsson Ólafur M. , Syrdalen Per , Bird Alan C. , Peto Tundo , Kinge Bettina 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To examine the prevalence of early and late age‐related maculopathy (ARM) in citizens aged 51 years and older in the city of Oslo and its surroundings.
Methods:
We selected a random sample of 800 subjects, using a cross‐sectional study design. A total of 459 of the 770 eligible subjects agreed to participate, giving an attendance rate of 59.6%. Stereoscopic colour digital photographs were obtained and graded at a certified reading centre using the International Classification Grading System for ARM.Results:  Early ARM in either eye was found in 43.1% (95% CI 38.5–47.7) of subjects aged 51 years and older. This was due to a much higher prevalence of pigmentary changes, predominantly hyperpigmentation in all age groups, than previously reported; 37.5% of people aged 51–60 years of age had pigmentary changes ≥ 63 µm, increasing to 66.0% in the oldest age group. In people aged 71 years and older, geographic atrophy (GA) was found in either eye in 3.6% (95% CI 0.4–6.8) and exudative macular degeneration (AMD) was found in either eye in 2.9% (95% CI 0.0–5.7) of subjects.Conclusion:  To our knowledge, this is the first published study to rely solely on digital photography for grading purposes in a population‐based study. Early ARM was found to have a higher prevalence than previously reported in other populations. Exudative AMD and GA had similar prevalences to those described in the literature, although the prevalence of GA tended to be higher than previously reported in some surveys.
Intravitreal steroids in the management of macular oedema
Authors: Sivaprasad Sobha , McCluskey Peter , Lightman Susan 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.The use of intravitreal corticosteroids in the management of macular oedema has recently gained widespread acceptance. New long‐acting steroid preparations and methods of delivery have facilitated the use of these new modalities. This review describes the various types of macular oedema for which this therapeutic option is used and the results.
Refractive error after triple and non‐simultaneous procedures: is the application of a standard constant keratometry value in IOL power calculation advisable?
Authors: Gruenauer‐Kloevekorn Claudia , Kloevekorn‐Norgall Kristian , Duncker Gernot I. W. , Habermann Anke 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether or not the use of a standard constant keratometry value in cases of preoperative abnormal keratometry values in biometry for triple procedures is advisable.Methods:  Cataract surgery and penetrating keratoplasty were performed in 82 eyes; 53 eyes underwent triple procedures and 29 eyes underwent non‐simultaneous procedures. A standard constant keratometry value of 42.50 D was applied in 18 triple‐procedure eyes because the preoperative measured keratometry values were outwith the normal range (41−47 D). The spherical equivalent and expected values were compared after a mean follow‐up of 20.5 months.Results:  Cases in the triple‐procedure group that achieved spherical equivalent within ± 2.0 D of expected values included nine of 18 eyes (50%) in which a standard constant keratometry value of 42.50 D was applied, three of 17 eyes (18%) in which keratometry values outwith the normal range were applied (p = 0.044), and eight of 18 eyes (45%) in which keratometry values within the normal range were applied (p = 0.862). Cases in the non‐simultaneous procedure group that achieved spherical equivalent within ± 2.0 D of expected values included 22 of 24 eyes (92%) in which keratometry values within the normal range were applied (p = 0.0025), and five of five eyes (100%) in which a standard constant keratometry value was applied.Conclusions:  The application of a standard constant keratometry value of 42.50 D for intraocular lens power calculation in triple procedures can be recommended if abnormal keratometry values were measured previously. If possible, non‐simultaneous procedures should take priority.
Ophthalmological follow‐up at 2 years of age of all children previously screened for retinopathy of prematurity: is it worthwhile?
Authors: Hård Anna‐Lena , Hellström Ann 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To evaluate the extent to which ophthalmological follow‐up at 2 years of age of children born before 32 weeks gestation identifies obvious visual problems, strabismus and significant ametropia (target conditions).Methods:  Of 172 children born during a period of 2.5 years from January 2000, 142 underwent an ophthalmological examination at a median age of 2.33 years. This included evaluation of visual behaviour, cover testing and autorefractometry in cycloplegia. For children with the target conditions, we investigated whether the child had been followed in the eye clinic or referred before 2 years of age, or whether the abnormality was detected as a result of the follow‐up examination.Results:  None of the target conditions were found in 117 children. None of four children with obviously abnormal visual behaviour, two of 10 children with strabismus and four of 11 with large refractive errors were detected in the follow‐up examination. Thus the target conditions were detected at the follow‐up examination in only six of 142 children (4.2%).Conclusions:  Although ophthalmic abnormalities are common in children born prematurely, most of them are identified because high‐risk children are followed regularly in eye clinics and because parents and primary health care personnel detect strabismus. Ophthalmological follow‐up of all children born before 32 weeks appears not to be worthwhile and is therefore only recommended for high‐risk children.
The relationships between risk factors and the distribution of retinopathy lesions in type 2 diabetes
Authors: Hove Marianne Nørgård , Kristensen Jette Kolding , Lauritzen Torsten , Bek Toke 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  Previous studies have shown that the progression of diabetic retinopathy to vision‐threatening lesions may be related to the development of retinopathy lesions in specific retinal areas. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the occurrence of retinopathy in these retinal areas is related to known risk factors for progression of retinopathy in type 2 diabetes.Methods:  A total of 377 randomly selected patients with type 2 diabetes underwent examinations which included measurement of blood pressure, haemoglobin A1c and cholesterol, and a full eye examination including fundus photography. The fundus photographs were digitized and a computer‐assisted technique was used to quantify retinopathy lesions in the macular area, around the vascular arcades and in the retinal periphery. Only the number of microaneurysms/haemorrhages was sufficient for statistical analysis.Results:  Patients with retinopathy had significantly longer diabetes duration, and higher blood pressure and HgbA1c than patients without retinopathy. However, among the patients with retinopathy there was no correlation between these risk factors and the overall number of microaneurysms/haemorrhages or the number of these lesions in the local areas of the fundus studied.Conclusions:  The localized distribution of retinopathy lesions does not correlate with known risk factors and background factors for the development of diabetic retinopathy in the early stages of the disease. Future improvements of grading systems for diabetic retinopathy should focus on a quantification of the overall number and dynamics of retinopathy lesions in the early stages of retinopathy and the regional distribution and dynamics of lesions in more advanced stages of retinopathy.