Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the Sequential Spot Sampler (S3) for time-resolved measurement of PM 2.5 sulfate and nitrate through lab and field measurements

Abstract. The Sequential Spot Sampler (S3), a newly developed instrument to collect aerosols for time-resolved chemical composition measurements, was evaluated in the laboratory and field for the measurement of particulate sulfate and nitrate. The S3 uses a multi-temperature condensation growth tube to grow individual aerosols to droplets which are then deposited as a ∼ 1 mm diameter dry spot at the end of the growth tube in a 100 µL well of a multi-well plate. The well plate advances automatically to provide a sequence of time-resolved samples. The collected aerosols are subsequently analyzed in the laboratory. The sample is concentrated during the collection process, and the laboratory extraction and analysis steps can be automated. The well plate, as received from the field, is placed onto a needle-based autosampler that adds liquid for sample extraction and injects sample extract from each well onto an ion chromatograph for analysis. Laboratory evaluation for sulfate and nitrate ions showed that poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) used as well plate material does not contribute any artifacts; a 60 min extraction procedure leads to the recovery of sulfate and nitrate from the dry spots at above 95 % extraction efficiency; and samples stored frozen and analyzed up to 23 months later show less than a 10 % change in sulfate and nitrate concentrations. The limit of detection was 0.5 µg m−3 for sulfate and 0.2 µg m−3 for nitrate for a 1 h sampling period. In a month-long field study conducted in southern California, two S3s were deployed alongside a URG denuder–filter-pack and a Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler combined with an Ion Chromatograph (PILS-IC). Collocated S3 sampler concentrations compared by linear regression show good agreement, with r2 = 0.99 and slope = 0.99 (±0.004) µg m−3 for sulfate and r2 = 0.99 and slope = 1.0 (±0.006) µg m−3 for nitrate. When compared to the URG denuder–filter-pack and the PILS-IC, the S3 sulfate and nitrate concentrations yielded correlations above 0.84 for the square of the correlation coefficient and regression slopes close to 1.
Human adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase: changes with feeding and relation to postheparin plasma enzyme.

An assay procedure using three different methods to recover lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity from biopsy specimens of human adipose tissue has been developed. Elution of enzyme from small pieces of tissue was performed at 4 and 37 degrees C using a physiological buffer containing heparin and serum. Extraction of enzyme from a tissue homogenate was carried out in the presence of detergent (sodium deoxycholate and Nonidet P-40), which markedly improved the recovery of enzyme activity. It is suggested that elution at 4 degrees C represents extracellular enzyme activity only and therefore theoretically is the closest measure of physiologically active LPL on vascular endothelium, whereas elution at 37 degrees C, in addition, reflects some intracellular enzyme secreted during the incubation period. In female subjects of various relative body weights activity eluted at 37 degrees C as well as detergent-extracted activity were highly correlated with the extracellular activity eluted at 4 degrees C (r = 0.9). Furthermore, all three parameters correlated strongly with LPL activity in post-heparin plasma, suggesting that they are valid indices of physiologically active LPL. The regression of LPL activity in plasma after a 60-min heparin infusion on adipose tissue LPL yielded higher correlation coefficients for activities recorded after elution at 4 and 37 degrees C (r = 0.725 and 0.754, respectively) than for detergent extraction (r = 0.607). Moreover, the increment of adipose tissue LPL after feeding was approximately twice as high for the activity eluted at 4 and 37 degrees C (34%) as for detergent-extracted activity (19%). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Minimizing Human Intervention for Constructing Korean Part-of-Speech Tagged Corpus

The construction of annotated corpora requires considerable manual effort. This paper presents a pragmatic method to minimize human intervention for the construction of Korean part-of-speech (POS) tagged corpus. Instead of focusing on improving the performance of conventional automatic POS taggers, we devise a discriminative POS tagger which can selectively produce either a single analysis or multiple analyses based on the tagging reliability. The proposed approach uses two decision rules to judge the tagging reliability. Experimental results show that the proposed approach can effectively control the quality of corpus and the amount of manual annotation by the threshold value of the rule. key words: part-of-speech tagging, morphological analysis, part-ofspeech tagged corpus
Some effects of enamel matrix proteins on wound healing in the dento-gingival region.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to evaluate by clinical means the effect of enamel matrix proteins on the healing of a soft tissue wound produced by periodontal pocket instrumentation. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was performed as an intra-individual, longitudinal trial of 3 weeks duration with a double-masked, split-mouth, placebo-controlled and randomized design. The patient material was comprised of 28 subjects with moderately advanced, chronic periodontitis. Each patient presented with 3 sites in each of 2 jaw quadrants with a probing pocket depth (PPD) of >or=5 mm and bleeding following pocket probing (BoP). Baseline examination, including assessments of plaque, gingival inflammation, PPD, BoP and root dentin sensitivity, was carried out one week after oral hygiene instruction and careful self-performed plaque control. All experimental sites were scaled and root planed, and the soft tissue wall of the pocket was curetted to remove the pocket epithelium and adjacent granulation tissue. The site was carefully irrigated with saline. When the bleeding from the pocket had ceased, a 24% EDTA gel was applied in the site and retained for 2 min. This was followed by careful irrigation with saline. Left and right jaw quadrants were then randomized to subgingival application of enamel matrix derivative (Emdogain) or vehicle-control. All sites were re-examined after 1, 2 and 3 weeks. In addition, a visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to score the degree of post-treatment discomfort. The primary endpoints of treatment success were defined as (i) pocket closure (PPD <or=4 mm), (ii) no bleeding following pocket probing, (iii) no sign of gingival inflammation (GI score =0) and (iv) low degree of post-treatment discomfort (VAS <or=20). Statistical analyzes of intra-individual differences between the test and control treatments were performed by the use of Wilcoxon signed rank test. For comparison of the proportions of sites reaching the defined endpoints of treatment success, a site-based analysis was performed using 2x2 tables and the Fisher exact test. RESULTS The endpoint "GI score =0" was reached at 16% of the sites subjected to application of Emdogain at 1 week and at 2% of the control sites (p=0.001). At 2 weeks, the corresponding figures were 25% versus 12% (p =0.028). Absence of BoP was at 1 week 57% for the Emdogain treated sites compared to 35% for the control sites (p=0.003). At 2 weeks, this endpoint was reached in 73% and 59% of the test and control sites, respectively (p=0.051). In terms of the endpoint defined for probing pocket depth, PPD <or=4 mm, no differences between test and control sites were found. At 1 week, the proportion of patients reporting a VAS score <or=20 was significantly higher for the Emdogain treated quadrants than for controls (p=0.002). CONCLUSION The results indicated that Emdogain topically applied in instrumented pockets enhance the early healing of periodontal soft tissue wounds.
New developments in automated cytogenetic imaging: unattended scoring of dicentric chromosomes, micronuclei, single cell gel electrophoresis, and fluorescence signals

The quantification of DNA damage, both in vivo and in vitro, can be very time consuming, since large amounts of samples need to be scored. Additional uncertainties may arise due to the lack of documentation or by scoring biases. Image analysis automation is a possible strategy to cope with these difficulties and to generate a new quality of reproducibility. In this communication we collected some recent results obtained with the automated scanning platform Metafer, covering applications that are being used in radiation research, biological dosimetry, DNA repair research and environmental mutagenesis studies. We can show that the automated scoring for dicentric chromosomes, for micronuclei, and for Comet assay cells produce reliable and reproducible results, which prove the usability of automated scanning in the above mentioned research fields.
Structure of the Ebola virus envelope protein MPER/TM domain and its interaction with the fusion loop explains their fusion activity

Significance Current models of virus entry by type 1 viral envelope glycoprotein-mediated membrane fusion place the fusion domains (fusion peptides or fusion loops) and transmembrane (TM) domains of these proteins in close proximity, but a direct molecular interaction and functional cooperation of these domains have not been previously demonstrated for any viral envelope glycoprotein. In the present work, we determined the structure of the only missing pieces of the Ebolavirus glycoprotein 2 [namely, its membrane proximal external region (MPER) and TM domains], demonstrate MPER’s direct molecular interaction with the fusion loop of the same protein, and provide evidence for the functional significance of this interaction. Ebolavirus (EBOV), an enveloped filamentous RNA virus causing severe hemorrhagic fever, enters cells by macropinocytosis and membrane fusion in a late endosomal compartment. Fusion is mediated by the EBOV envelope glycoprotein GP, which consists of subunits GP1 and GP2. GP1 binds to cellular receptors, including Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) protein, and GP2 is responsible for low pH-induced membrane fusion. Proteolytic cleavage and NPC1 binding at endosomal pH lead to conformational rearrangements of GP2 that include exposing the hydrophobic fusion loop (FL) for insertion into the cellular target membrane and forming a six-helix bundle structure. Although major portions of the GP2 structure have been solved in pre- and postfusion states and although current models place the transmembrane (TM) and FL domains of GP2 in close proximity at critical steps of membrane fusion, their structures in membrane environments, and especially interactions between them, have not yet been characterized. Here, we present the structure of the membrane proximal external region (MPER) connected to the TM domain: i.e., the missing parts of the EBOV GP2 structure. The structure, solved by solution NMR and EPR spectroscopy in membrane-mimetic environments, consists of a helix-turn-helix architecture that is independent of pH. Moreover, the MPER region is shown to interact in the membrane interface with the previously determined structure of the EBOV FL through several critical aromatic residues. Mutation of aromatic and neighboring residues in both binding partners decreases fusion and viral entry, highlighting the functional importance of the MPER/TM–FL interaction in EBOV entry and fusion.
Valparaiso University From the SelectedWorks of Rob Swanson 2009 LAP 3 , A Novel Plant Protein Required for Pollen Development , is Essential for Proper Exine Formation is essential for proper exine formation

We isolated lap3-1 and lap3-2 mutants in a screen for pollen that displays abnormal stigma binding. Unlike wild-type pollen, lap3-1 and lap3-2 pollen exine is thinner, weaker, and is missing some connections between their roof-like tectum structures. We describe the mapping and identification of LAP3 as a novel gene that contains a repetitive motif found in b-propeller enzymes. Insertion mutations in LAP3 lead to male sterility. To investigate possible roles for LAP3 in pollen development, we assayed the metabolite profile of anther tissues containing developing pollen grains and found that the lap3-2 defect leads to a broad range of metabolic changes. The largest changes were seen in levels of a straight-chain hydrocarbon nonacosane and in naringenin chalcone, an obligate compound in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway.
Optimization of fluorescence measurement in duplex real-time PCR with TaqMan probes labeled with VIC and quenched by TAMRA.

Real-time PCR with 5′-nuclease TaqMan® probes (1,2) is a relatively robust method for specific DNA sequence detection and quantification. The method is often used in duplex format, where the first set of primers and the probe target the specific DNA sequence of interest, and the second set is used as a reference. In the original duplex TaqMan system, the first probe is labeled with FAM (6carboxyfluorescein) and quenched by TAMRA (6-carboxytetramethylrhoda mine) and the second probe is labeled with VIC (4,7,2′-trichloro-7′-phenyl-6carboxyfluorescein) and quenched by TAMRA (3). This system is widely used both in commercial kits and in original systems, mainly because of an affordable price. However, it produces fluorescence spectra with overlapping peaks that can be correctly measured only using advanced instruments equipped with a spectrograph on the emission side and supported with a powerful software to process the spectra. Real-time PCR cyclers equipped with filter-based optics are unable to correctly monitor fluorescence of the original duplex TaqMan system because of interference between optical channels. For example, amplification of the primers/probe system with a FAM label, which is reflected by an increase in the recorded fluorescence in the FAM channel, leads also to a certain increase in the recorded fluorescence in the VIC channel. The instruments offer an option to eliminate such interference between optical channels by data transformation using some undisclosed calculation. However, this option is imprecise, and an increase in the fluorescence in the FAM channel leads to a decrease in the calculated fluorescence in the VIC channel. Another source of problems is the emission of TAMRA, which is recorded in the same channel as VIC by several intsruments. The reason for the described problems is that standard filters used in real-time PCR cyclers, with filter-based optics, are not optimal for work with a combination of dyes FAM, VIC, and TAMRA. As a basis for optimization of optical channels, we measured a threedimensional (3-D) fluorescence spectrum of the PCR system. The previously described real-time PCR for the detection of Salmonella enterica (4) with a FAM-labeled, TAMRAquenched probe was used in duplex with the previously described real-time PCR for the detection of Escherichia coli (5) with a VIC-labeled, TAMRAquenched probe. The ratio of the template DNA from S. enterica and E. coli was 1:1 (200:200 ng). Reactions were performed in TopYieldTM flatbottom 8-strips (Nunc, Roskilde, Denmark) in a GeneAmp® 9700 Optimization of fluorescence measurement in duplex real-time PCR with TaqMan® probes labeled with VIC and quenched by TAMRA
Laser range finder based on synchronized scanners.

A new geometrical arrangement is proposed to improve performances of optical triangulation. Two scanners in synchronization allow a linear position sensor to be used for surface topography measurement. Besides a large increase in speed of measurement (approximately megahertz), the new geometry allows considerable reduction of the optical head size compared with usual geometries, so the shadow effects are reduced proportionally. It also provides a means to obtain a very large field of view without compromising on resolution. Geometrical analysis and experimental results are presented.
ISO observation of molecular hydrogen and fine-structure lines in the photodissociation region IC 63

We wish to constrain the main physical properties of the photodissociation region (PDR) IC 63. We present the results of a survey for the lowest pure-rotational lines of H_2 with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer and for the major fine-structure cooling lines of O i at 63 and 145 μm and C ii at 157.7 μm with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) in the high-density PDR IC 63. The observations are compared with available photochemical models based on optical absorption and/or millimetre emission line data with and without enhanced H_2 formation rate on grain surfaces. The cloud density n_H is constrained by the fine-structure lines. The models include both collisional excitation and ultraviolet (UV) pumping of the H_2 ro-vibrational levels. Molecular pure-rotational lines up to S(5) are detected. The inferred column density of warm H_2 at 106 ± 11 K is (5.9 ± 1.8)^(+0.9)_(−0.7) × 10^(21) cm^(−2), while that of the hot component at 685 ± 68 K is (1.2 ± 0.4) × 10^(19) cm^(−2). Fine-structure lines are also detected in the far-infrared spectrum of IC 63. The fine-structure lines constrain the density of the PDR to be (1–5) × 10^3 cm^(−3). The impinging UV field on the PDR is enhanced by a factor of 10^3 compared to the mean interstellar field and is consistent with direct measurements in the UV. PDR models that include an enhanced H2 formation at high dust temperature give higher H_2 intensities than models without enhancement. However, the predicted intensities are still lower than the observed intensities.
Spoken language parsing based on incremental disambiguation

Towards a real-time spoken dialogue system, several incremental parsing methods have been proposed so far. They constructs syntactic structures for an initial fragment of an input sentence. However, they have a problem that the structures do not necessarily represent the syntactic relation correctly. The problem is caused by the ambiguity of initial fragments. This paper proposes an incremental disambiguation method, which decides correct structures at an stage where the entire input is not completed. The method nds the structures which are correct independently of the remaining input. When correct structures cannot be decided, the method delays the decision. Since the disambiguation is executed for every word input, the method can nd correct structures at an early stage.
Ecto 5' nucleotidase (5'NT) as a sensitive indicator of human zinc deficiency.

Ecto 5' nucleotidase (5'NT) is an integral plasma membrane enzyme located on most mammalian cells, and it is zinc dependent. We assayed 5'NT activity in the lymphocytes of two groups of subjects. The first group of six subjects had a mild state of zinc deficiency, as measured on the basis of zinc levels in lymphocytes, granulocytes, and platelets, but were otherwise healthy. They received 50 mg zinc as acetate orally for 12 weeks. The second six subjects were normal human volunteers in whom a mild state of zinc deficiency was induced experimentally by dietary techniques (4.2 to 5.6 mg daily zinc intake). For the assay of 5'NT, intact lymphocytes were incubated with 8-14C-labeled inosine monophosphate as substrate. Product and substrate were separated by thin-layer chromatography. Zinc level in cells was measured by flameless atomic absorption technique. In the first group of subjects with zinc deficiency, the decreased activity of 5'NT was corrected and the cellular zinc levels were normalized by oral zinc supplementation (p less than 0.01). In the second group of subjects, the baseline data were compared with those in early zinc depletion (4 to 8 weeks) and late depletion periods (greater than 20 weeks). A decrease in the activity of 5'NT was observed during the early zinc depletion phase. Zinc levels in lymphocytes, granulocytes, and platelets decreased significantly only during the late zinc depletion phase (p less than 0.01). Plasma zinc level did not change even during the late zinc depletion phase. Our studies show that 5'NT activity may be a sensitive and useful indicator of mild deficiency of zinc in human subjects. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Randomized Controlled Trials in Psychiatry. Part 1: Methodology and Critical Evaluation∗

Objective: To introduce clinicians to the methodology and critical appraisal of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in psychiatry. Method: The methodology of RCTs in psychiatry is discussed. Using a systematic approach to critical appraisal, a published RCT of treatments for severe depression is examined and evaluated. Results and Conclusions: The RCT appraised illustrates certain problematic areas in the methodology of trials in psychiatry. A detailed knowledge of methodology and critique of RCTs is essential in determining whether reported results will influence clinicians’ practice.
Neural networks based concrete airfield pavement layer moduli backcalculation

The Heavy Weight Deflectometer (HWD) is a Non-Destructive Test (NDT) equipment used to assess the structural condition of airfield pavement systems. This paper presents an Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) based approach for non-destructively estimating the stiffness properties of rigid airfield pavements subjected to full-scale dynamic traffic testing using simulated new generation aircraft gears. HWD tests were routinely conducted on three Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) test items at the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF) to verify the uniformity of the test pavement structures and to measure pavement responses during full-scale traffic testing. Substantial corner cracking occurred in all three of the rigid pavement test items after 28 passes of traffic had been completed. Trafficking continued until the rigid items were deemed failed. The study findings illustrate the potential of ANN-based models for routine and real-time structural evaluation of rigid pavement NDT data.
Whole-body lipolysis and triglyceride-fatty acid cycling in cachectic patients with esophageal cancer.

Whole-body lipolytic rates and the rate of triglyceride-fatty acid cycling (reesterification of fatty acids released during lipolysis) were measured with stable isotopic tracers in the basal state and during beta-adrenergic blockade with propranolol infusion in five cachectic patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, five cachectic cancer-free, nutritionally-matched control patients, and 10 healthy volunteers. Resting energy expenditure and plasma catecholamines were normal in all three groups. The basal rate of glycerol appearance in blood in the patients with cancer (2.96 +/- 0.45 mumol.kg-1.min-1) was similar to that in the nutritionally matched controls (3.07 +/- 0.28 mumol.kg-1.min-1), but 48% greater than in the normal-weight volunteers (2.00 +/- 0.16 mumol.kg-1.min-1) (P = 0.028). The antilipolytic effect of propranolol and the rate of triglyceride-fatty acid cycling in the patients with cancer were also similar in the cachectic control group and approximately 50% greater than in the normal-weight volunteers, but the differences were not statistically significant because of the variability in the data. We conclude that the increase in lipolysis and triglyceride-fatty acid cycling in "unstressed" cachectic patients with esophageal cancer is due to alterations in their nutritional status rather than the presence of tumor itself. Increased beta-adrenergic activity may be an important contributor to the stimulation of lipolysis.
A 3-D Iterative Reconstruction Method for Stationary Planar Positron Cameras

Positron cameras using two opposed area detectors for the coincidence detection of 511 keV annihilation photons have been available for some time. Image reconstruction from the collected annihilation data in this camera configuration is usually based on focal plane tomography. However, this method suffers from structured background existing in the images from the contribution of offfocal plane activity, resulting in low contrast, poorly resolved images. This paper presents a method which reduces this off-focal plane background through an iterative approach which weights individual picture elements according to the activity computed by the previous iteration.