Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of bradykinin-receptor blockade on the response to angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor in normotensive and hypertensive subjects.

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors not only decrease the production of angiotensin II but also decrease the degradation of bradykinin. In this study, a specific bradykinin-receptor antagonist, icatibant acetate (HOE 140), was used to determine the contribution of bradykinin to the short-term effects of ACE inhibition on blood pressure and plasma renin activity in both normotensive and hypertensive subjects. METHODS We compared the hemodynamic, renal, and endocrine effects of captopril alone (25 mg), captopril plus icatibant (100 microg per kilogram of body weight), the angiotensin II subtype 1-receptor antagonist losartan (75 mg), and placebo in 20 subjects with normal blood pressure and 7 subjects with hypertension. The subjects were studied while they were salt depleted (i.e., in balance on a diet in which they were allowed 10 mmol of sodium per day). The drugs were administered on four separate study days in a single-blind, randomized fashion. RESULTS The coadministration of icatibant significantly attenuated the hypotensive effect of captopril (maximal decrease in mean arterial pressure for all subjects combined, 10.5+/-1.0 mm Hg, as compared with 14.0+/-1.0 mm Hg for captopril alone; P=0.001), in such a way that the decrease in blood pressure after the administration of captopril plus icatibant was similar to that after the administration of losartan (maximal decrease in mean arterial pressure, 11.0+/-1.7 mm Hg). Icatibant did not alter the renal hemodynamic response to captopril, but it significantly altered the change in plasma renin activity in response to ACE inhibition (-0.4+/-0.4 ng of angiotensin I per milliliter per hour, as compared with 2.0+/-0.7 ng per milliliter per hour for captopril alone; P=0.007). The magnitude of these effects was similar in both the normotensive and the hypertensive subjects, as well as in both the black subjects and the white subjects. CONCLUSIONS These data confirm that bradykinin contributes to the short-term effects of ACE inhibition on blood pressure in normotensive and hypertensive persons and suggest that bradykinin also contributes to the short-term effects of ACE inhibition on the renin-angiotensin system.
Xenon Hydrate as an Analog of Methane Hydrate in Geologic Systems Out of Thermodynamic Equilibrium

Methane hydrate occurs naturally under pressure and temperature conditions that are not straightforward to replicate experimentally. Xenon has emerged as an attractive laboratory alternative to methane for studying hydrate formation and dissociation in multiphase systems, given that it forms hydrates under milder conditions. However, building reliable analogies between the two hydrates requires systematic comparisons, which are currently lacking. We address this gap by developing a theoretical and computational model of gas hydrates under equilibrium and nonequilibrium conditions. We first compare equilibrium phase behaviors of the Xe·H2O and CH4·H2O systems by calculating their isobaric phase diagram, and then study the nonequilibrium kinetics of interfacial hydrate growth using a phase field model. Our results show that Xe·H2O is a good experimental analog to CH4·H2O, but there are key differences to consider. In particular, the aqueous solubility of xenon is altered by the presence of hydrate, similar to what is observed for methane; but xenon is consistently less soluble than methane. Xenon hydrate has a wider nonstoichiometry region, which could lead to a thicker hydrate layer at the gas‐liquid interface when grown under similar kinetic forcing conditions. For both systems, our numerical calculations reveal that hydrate nonstoichiometry coupled with hydrate formation dynamics leads to a compositional gradient across the hydrate layer, where the stoichiometric ratio increases from the gas‐facing side to the liquid‐facing side. Our analysis suggests that accurate composition measurements could be used to infer the kinetic history of hydrate formation in natural settings where gas is abundant.
Oleosin isoforms of high and low molecular weights are present in the oil bodies of diverse seed species.

Oleosins are unique and major proteins localized on the surface of oil bodies in diverse seed species. We purified five different oleosins (maize [Zea mays L.] KD 16 and KD 18, soybean [Glycine max L.] KD 18 and KD 24, and rapeseed [Brassica campestris L.] KD 20), and raised chicken antibodies against them. These antibodies were used to test for immunological cross-reactivity among oleosins from diverse seed species. Within the same seed species, antibodies raised against one oleosin isoform did not cross-react with the other oleosin isoform (i.e. between maize oleosins KD 16 and KD 18, and between soybean oleosins KD 18 and KD 24). However, the respective antibodies were able to recognize oleosins from other seed species. Where interspecies cross-reactivity occurred, the results suggest that there are at least two immunologically distinct isoforms of oleosins present in diverse seed species, one of lower M(r), and another one of higher M(r). This suggestion is also supported by the relative similarities between the amino acid sequence of a small portion of rapeseed oleosin KD 20 and those of maize oleosins KD 16 and KD 18. In maize kernel, there was a tissue-specific differential presentation of the three oleosins, KD 16, KD 18, and KD 19, in the oil-storing scutellum, embryonic axis, and aleurone layer. The phylogenetic relationship between the high and low M(r) isoforms within the same, and among diverse, seed species is discussed.
Data Quality in Action: Challenge in an Insurance Company

Insurance companies are challenging to the implementation of data quality management. This presentation is the result of a project at Cosesp, a large insurance company in Brazil, and covers, as much as can be disclosed, several issues of real world data quality management implementations. Luis Francisco Lima GoDigital Precision Marketing francisco@godigital.com. br Dalvani Lima GoDigital Precision Marketing dalvani@godigital.com. br 7th International Conference on Information Quality (IQ-2002)
A coupled linguistics/statistical technique for query structure classification and its application to Query Expansion

The retrieval effectiveness of Query Expansion (QE) is very much dependent on the ability to accurately identify and expand core concepts which are truly representative of the intended search goal. Two characteristics of natural language queries which hinder the performance of query expansion for information retrieval are query length and structure. The varying lengths of a query translate to the number of core concepts that may exist and the possibility of there being multiple query intents embedded within a single query. On the other hand, the structure of queries reveals the linguistic properties which allows for the determination of whether they take the form of well-formed sentences or are simply bags-of-words which in the strictest sense are a series of words with no obvious relations amongst them. Whilst query lengths are easily assessed, we propose a two-level automated classification technique consisting of linguistics based and statistical processing for query structure classification. The proposed method has revealed high levels of classification accuracy on TREC ad hoc test queries.
40-nm-wide tunable fiber ring laser with single-mode operation using a highly stretchable FBG

We demonstrate a 750-Hz linewidth single-mode erbium-doped fiber (EDF) ring laser with wide tunability using a widely tunable fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The stable single-mode operation is realized by using the FBG as a narrow wavelength-selective element and 4 m of unpumped EDF as a saturable absorber in the cavity. The 40-nm continuous tuning range of 1522-1562 nm is achieved using a highly stretchable FBG that exhibits a filter tuning range of over 52 nm. The grating is prepared with chemically stripped deuterium-loaded fiber to eliminate degrading factors for the grating strength, thereby achieving the wide tunability. The tuning range represents a 3.5-fold increase in wavelength tuning over previous use of FBGs.
Peptide‐polymer biotherapeutic synthesis on novel cross‐linked beads with “spatially tunable” and “isolated” functional sites

Solid phase synthesis of polymer biotherapeutics using conventional polymers suffers from many limitations such as low synthetic yield and purity. The conventional polymers prepared by either pre‐ or post‐functionalization strategies have no control over the point of functionalization. Hence we report a novel cross‐linked polymer in which the functional groups are spatially tuned to predefined distance with optimal site isolation. This has been achieved by the design and synthesis of a tetra functional PEG, 3,3′‐(PEG)bis(1‐(4‐vinylphenoxy)propan‐2‐ol) (bis(VPP)PEG). It has been incorporated at cross‐linking of 1–12%, into a polystyrene network by free radical suspension polymerization. In this polymer, the distance between hydroxyl functional groups has been spatially tuned in a predefined manner by varying the length of the cross‐linker backbone from ethylene glycol to PEG1000 Da and the loading capacity could be varied from 0.1 to 0.9 mmol/g. The polymer has been characterized by SEM, FTIR, and 13C NMR. The polymer exhibits excellent swelling behavior and high chemical stability. The synthetic efficiency of the polymer was demonstrated by the successful synthesis of three structural classes of PEGylated antimicrobial peptide biotherapeutics and the difficult ACP (65–74) fragment. Thus the “spatially defined” and “site isolated” synthesis within the new polymer offers a novel strategy for synthesis of difficult peptide‐polymer bioconjugates. The bioassay studies shows that PEGylation of AMPs significantly reduces their hemolytic potential but the retainment of antibacterial property was dependent both on the peptide sequence and the size of PEG used. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 90: 512–525, 2008.
The ‘immunologic advantage’ of HIV-exposed seronegative individuals

In 1989, a curious phenomenon was described: HIVspecific T-cell responses to the viral envelope and core proteins could be detected in antibody-positive and antigen-negative sexual partners of known HIV-positive men [1]. Two other reports confirmed that initial observation on a total of six exposed seronegative (ESN) individuals, and the author raised the possibility that exposure to HIV that did not result in seroconversion and infection could be associated with the exclusive priming of T lymphocytes [2,3]. Analyses performed in different cohorts of individuals at high risk of HIV infection, including healthcare workers parenterally exposed to HIV and healthy newborns of HIV-infected mothers, revealed that HIV-specific CD4þ T helper cells, but not antibodies, were present in these persons [4,5]. These observations led to the hypothesis that viral exposure resulting in the exclusive priming of HIVspecific T cells could be associated with protection against the establishment of HIV infection [6].
Gravitational entropy of nonstationary black holes and spherical shells.

The problem of defining the gravitational entropy of a nonstationary black hole is considered in a simple model consisting of a spherical shell which collapses into a preexisting black hole. The second law of black-hole mechanics strongly suggests identifying one-quarter of the area of the event horizon as the gravitational entropy of the system. It is, however, impossible to accurately locate the position of the global event horizon using only local measurements
RSECM: Robust Search Engine using Context-based Mining for Educational Big Data

With an accelerating growth in the educational sector along with the aid of ICT and cloud-based services, there is a consistent rise of educational big data, where storage and processing become the prime matter of challenge. Although many recent attempts have used open source framework e.g. Hadoop for storage, still there are reported issues in sufficient security management and data analyzing problems. Hence, there is less applicability of mining techniques for upcoming search engine due to unstructured educational data. The proposed system introduces a technique called as RSECM i.e. Robust Search Engine using Context-based Modeling that presents a novel archival and search engine. RSECM generates its own massive stream of educational big data and performs the efficient search of data. Outcome exhibits RSECM outperforms SQL based approaches concerning faster retrieval of the dynamic user-defined query.
Développement d'un questionnaire orienté bien-être. Pour un dialogue renforcé médecine du travail - ressources humaines.

Le medecin du travail est interpelle de plus en plus souvent sur les risques psychosociaux. Ce terme recouvre les risques professionnels portant atteinte a l'integrite physique et surtout a la sante mentale des salaries, le stress etant souvent mis en avant. On considere ces risques comme pouvant etre a l'origine de pathologies telles que des depressions professionnelles, des maladies psychosomatiques, des troubles du sommeil mais aussi des TMS (troubles musculo-squelettiques). Le document decrit la conception et l'utilisation d'un questionnaire centre sur ces problemes ; le questionnaire doit etre rempli par le salarie lors de sa visite medicale du travail. Il permet au medecin du travail de rassembler des informations qui lui seront utiles pour l'analyse des conditions de travail dans l'entreprise du salarie, et ainsi de proposer des pistes de prevention a la direction de l'entreprise en question.
Opsonic Antibodies to the Surface M Protein of Group A Streptococci in Pooled Normal Immunoglobulins (IVIG): Potential Impact on the Clinical Efficacy of IVIG Therapy for Severe Invasive Group A Streptococcal Infections

ABSTRACT The surface M protein of group A streptococci (GAS) is one of the major virulence factors for this pathogen. Antibodies to the M protein can facilitate opsonophagocytosis by phagocytic cells present in human blood. We investigated whether pooled normal immunoglobulin G (IVIG) contains antibodies that can opsonize and enhance the phagocytosis of type M1 strains of GAS and whether the levels of these antibodies vary for different IVIG preparations. We focused on the presence of anti-M1 antibodies because the M1T1 serotype accounts for the majority of recent invasive GAS clinical isolates in our surveillance studies. The level of anti-M1 antibodies in three commercial IVIG preparations was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the opsonic activity of these antibodies was determined by neutrophil-mediated opsonophagocytosis of a representative M1T1 isolate. High levels of opsonic anti-M1 antibodies were found in all IVIG preparations tested, and there was a good correlation between ELISA titers and opsonophagocytic activity. However, there was no significant difference in the levels of opsonic anti-M1 antibodies among the various IVIG preparations or lots tested. Adsorption of IVIG with M1T1 bacteria removed the anti-M1 opsonic activity, while the level of anti-M3 opsonophagocytosis was unchanged. Plasma was obtained from seven patients with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome who received IVIG therapy, and the level of anti-M1 antibodies was assessed before and after IVIG administration. A significant increase in the level of type M1-specific antibodies was found in the plasma of all patients who received IVIG therapy (P < 0.006). The results reveal another potential mechanism by which IVIG can ameliorate severe invasive group A streptococcal infections.
Hyperuniformity and its generalizations.

Disordered many-particle hyperuniform systems are exotic amorphous states of matter that lie between crystal and liquid: They are like perfect crystals in the way they suppress large-scale density fluctuations and yet are like liquids or glasses in that they are statistically isotropic with no Bragg peaks. These exotic states of matter play a vital role in a number of problems across the physical, mathematical as well as biological sciences and, because they are endowed with novel physical properties, have technological importance. Given the fundamental as well as practical importance of disordered hyperuniform systems elucidated thus far, it is natural to explore the generalizations of the hyperuniformity notion and its consequences. In this paper, we substantially broaden the hyperuniformity concept along four different directions. This includes generalizations to treat fluctuations in the interfacial area (one of the Minkowski functionals) in heterogeneous media and surface-area driven evolving microstructures, random scalar fields, divergence-free random vector fields, and statistically anisotropic many-particle systems and two-phase media. In all cases, the relevant mathematical underpinnings are formulated and illustrative calculations are provided. Interfacial-area fluctuations play a major role in characterizing the microstructure of two-phase systems (e.g., fluid-saturated porous media), physical properties that intimately depend on the geometry of the interface, and evolving two-phase microstructures that depend on interfacial energies (e.g., spinodal decomposition). In the instances of random vector fields and statistically anisotropic structures, we show that the standard definition of hyperuniformity must be generalized such that it accounts for the dependence of the relevant spectral functions on the direction in which the origin in Fourier space is approached (nonanalyticities at the origin). Using this analysis, we place some well-known energy spectra from the theory of isotropic turbulence in the context of this generalization of hyperuniformity. Among other results, we show that there exist many-particle ground-state configurations in which directional hyperuniformity imparts exotic anisotropic physical properties (e.g., elastic, optical, and acoustic characteristics) to these states of matter. Such tunability could have technological relevance for manipulating light and sound waves in ways heretofore not thought possible. We show that disordered many-particle systems that respond to external fields (e.g., magnetic and electric fields) are a natural class of materials to look for directional hyperuniformity. The generalizations of hyperuniformity introduced here provide theoreticians and experimentalists new avenues to understand a very broad range of phenomena across a variety of fields through the hyperuniformity "lens. "
Phase-Rotator-Based All-Digital Phase-Locked Loop for a Spread-Spectrum Clock Generator

A phase-rotator-based all-digital phase-locked loop for spread-spectrum clock generation is presented. It combines a dual-tone triangular and a random modulation profile to achieve a balance between electromagnetic interference reduction and broadband jitter generation. The test chip, fabricated using a 90-nm CMOS process, achieves a 43-dB total EMI reduction at the resolution bandwidth of 100 Hz without incurring a notable bit-error-rate penalty at the receiver's side and consuming only 15.8 mW at 6 GHz from a 1-V supply.
Slow subcarrier-hopped space division multiple access OFDM systems

Recently Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) assisted Multi-Input-Multi-Output (MIMO) OFDM systems invoking Multi-User Detection (MUD) techniques have attracted substantial research interests, which are capable of exploiting both transmitter multiplexing gain and receiver diversity gain. Furthermore, the classic Frequency-Hopping (FH) technique can be effectively amalgamated with SDMA-OFDM systems, resulting in Frequency-Hopped (FH) SDMA-OFDM. In this paper we devise a Turbo Trellis Coded Modulation (TTCM) assisted subcarrier-based FH/SDMA-OFDM scheme, which may be able to fully exploit the attainable frequency diversity, while exhibiting a high Multi-User-Interference (MUI) resistance. In the high-throughput scenario investigated, the proposed Uniform Slow-SubCarrier-Hopped (USSCH) SDMA-OFDM system was capable of achieving 6dB Eb=N0 gain at the BER of 10i4 over the conventional SDMA-OFDM system, while maintaining a similar complexity.
Testing the Validity of the Neurotic Depression Concept

We applied an operational definition of neurotic depression to 185 hospitalized patients who met Feighner and DSM-III-R criteria for unipolar depression. Based on a systematic chart review, 37 patients met the criteria for neurotic depression. As a group, these patients differed from nonneurotics in symptoms, clinical course, outcome, and family history. The neurotic depressives were younger and more likely to identify precipitating factors. They were less likely to meet criteria for melancholia and to have delusions. They were more likely to be ill 3 years later and more likely to have familial alcoholism. These differences help to confirm the validity of the neurotic depression concept.
Improved efficiency through I- and E-feedback: a trackball with contextual force feedback

It has been argued by Engel and Haakma (1993, Expectations and feedback in user-system communication, International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 39, 427-452) that for user-system communication to become more efficient, machine interfaces should present both early layered I-feedback on the current partial message interpretation as well as layered expectations (E-feedback) concerning the message components still to be communicated. As a clear example of our claim, this paper describes an experimental trackball device that provides the user with the less common E-feedback in addition to the conventional layered I-feedback in the form of the momentary cursor position on the screen and the kinetic forces from the ball. In particular, the machine expresses its expectation concerning the goal position of the cursor by exerting an extra force to the trackball.Two optical sensors and two servo motors are used in the described trackball device with contextual force feedback. One combination of position sensor and servo motor handles the cursor position and tactile feedback along the x -axis, the other combination controls that along the y-axis. By supplying supportive force feedback as a function of the current display contents and the momentary cursor position, the user's movements are guided towards the cursor target position expected by the machine. The force feedback diminishes the visual processing load of the user and combines increased ease of use with robustness of manipulation.Experiments with a laboratory version of this new device have shown that the force feedback significantly enhances speed and accuracy of pointing and dragging, while the effort needed to master the trackball is minimal compared with that for the conventional trackball without force feedback.
Antimicrobial metabolites from Lentinus crinitus.

Lentinus crinitus (L. ex Fr.) Fr. is a mushroom which is widespread in Eastern Africalf2), but so far it has not been studied for its secondary metabolites. The strain was collected in Kaffa, Ethiopia, where it grows on dead wood. Culture extract of the fungus showed antimicrobial activity, and the new metabolite 1-desoxy-hypnophilin 1 and the known hypnophilin 2 were isolated as the most active compounds. In addition to these ketones, their corresponding alcohols 3 and 4 were isolated as well. The antimicrobial activity spectra of the new sesquiterpenes are shown in Table 1. Lentinus crinitus DR-5 was grown in submerged culture on a rotatory shaker (150rpm) in 1-liter Erlenmeyer flasks filled with 200 ml of the medium containing maltose (20g), glucose (10g), peptone (2 g), yeast extract (1 g), MgSO4 à"H2O (1 g), KH2PO4 (0.5g), CaCl2 (0.005g), FeCl3 (0.01 g) and ZnSO4 (0.012 g) in 1 liter distilled water. After 14 days, the culture broth was filtered and exgracted three times with ethyl acetate. The crude extract was separated on a Si-60 column with a dichloromethane MeOH gradient (changing from 1:0 to 7:3). When necessary, the collected fractions were purified