cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin in elderly patients
Creators: name: Kees, Frieder K.
name: Naber, K. G.
name: Meyer, G. P.
name: Grobecker, H.
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1989
Subjects: subject: 615 Pharmazie
subject: Adenoma/metabolism
subject: Aged
subject: Aged, 80 and over
subject: Ciprofloxacin/pharmacokinetics
subject: Humans
subject: Indicators and Reagents
subject: Iothalamic Acid/pharmacokinetics
subject: Male
subject: Middle Aged
subject: Prostatic Neoplasms/metabolism

description: For perioperative prophylaxis 200 mg ciprofloxacin were administered as a short intravenous infusion to 17 patients aged 57-84 years before transurethral resection (TUR-P) or transvesicular enucleation (TVP) of the prostate. 13 patients were injected simultaneously with 2.5 g ioxitalamic acid i.v. to determine the kidney function. In 11 patients the plasma concentrations were assayed and the pharmacokinetic parameters calculated. At the end of infusion the concentrations of ciprofloxacin in plasma reached 4.2 +/- 0.8 microgram/ml and decreased after a fast distribution period (plasma half-life 0.20 +/- 0.09 h) with a terminal half-life of 4.2 +/- 1.3 h to 0.2 +/- 0.09 microgram/ml after 10 h. The apparent volume of distribution in steady state was 183 +/- 45% of body weight, the plasma clearance 457 +/- 146 ml/min/70 kg. The average concentrations in prostatic adenoma tissue were at all sampling times higher (2fold) than in plasma. The mean concentrations in prostatic secretion were about half of the respective plasma concentrations. High concentrations of the concomitantly administered ioxitalamic acid in prostatic secretion are considered as an indicator of urinary contamination. In those patients high ciprofloxacin concentrations in prostatic secretion are not reliable.
Supplementary document for Highly sensitive gas pressure sensor based on hollow core Bragg fiber and harmonic Vernier effect - 6346304.pdf
Creators: name: WANG, Yu
name: Yan, Yaxi
name: YUAN, Weihao
name: Lian, Zhenggang
name: Chen, Daru
name: Lau, Alan Pak Tao
name: Yu, Changyuan
name: Lu, Chao
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2023
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Supplement 1
Kaluza Ansatz applied to Eddington inspired Born-Infeld Gravity
Creators: name: Fernandes, Karan
name: Lahiri, Amitabha
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We apply Kaluza's procedure to Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld action in gravity in five dimensions. The resulting action contains, in addition to the usual four-dimensional actions for gravity and electromagnetism, nonlinear couplings between the electromagnetic field strength and curvature. Considering the spherically symmetric solution as an example we find the lowest order corrections for the Reissner-Nordström metric and the electromagnetic field.
description: V2: 19pp. New section on solution, equivalence of metric and metric-affine theories shown explicitly, convention about numerical factors changed
Horizontal experimentalism: Rethinking democratic resistance
Creators: name: Süß, Rahel
Publisher: name: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: democratic theory
subject: equality
subject: experimentalism
subject: horizontality
subject: openness
subject: representation
subject: resistance
subject: verticality
subject: 300 Sozialwissenschaften

description: Major debates on democratic renewal suggest two ways of eliciting social change: either by strengthening vertical practices of representation or by expanding horizontal forms of participation. The article develops an argument for why there is a need to rethink democratic resistance beyond the vertical–horizontal divide. If contemporary forms of resistance encompass a strategic interplay between vertical and horizontal practices, then an alternative framework is required to capture this logic. Filling this gap, the article introduces the concept of ‘horizontal experimentalism’. Such an idea comprehends an understanding of political means and ends as a continuum and as adjusting each other in an ongoing process of experimental inquiry.
Photophysics and skin penetration of active agents in a commercial sunscreen and insect repellent
Creators: name: Prettypaul, Donald
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2018

description: This dissertation is focused on active agents in commercial sunscreen   and insect repellent products. It consists of two parts, the first focusing on the photophysics of a sunscreen active agent and the second on the permeation and spatial distribution of the sunscreen active and an insect repellent active when these agents are applied to ex-vivo human skin.  In the photochemistry study, ultrafast spectroscopy was used to study the excited state dynamics of the sunscreen molecule, Bemotrizinol. The work focused on the dissipation rates of the electronic excitation energy in different solvents. To complement the results from time-resolved femtosecond spectroscopy, Hartree-Fock UH/UHF 6-31G* calculations were used to characterize the ground and excited states potential energy surfaces. The results indicate that the excited state deactivation pathway follows a proton coupled electron transfer process which proceeds via a concerted mechanism. The dependencies on solvent polarity, viscosity, and H/D isotope effects, were investigated. Sunscreen products have been developed to protect skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation; to achieve adequate protection, the sunscreen must be evenly applied and remain on the surface of the skin. However, skin itself presents a major challenge for application of a uniform film because of its undulating surface. Due to these inherent contours, sunscreen filters may not be distributed evenly during application. Confocal Raman microscopy was utilized to investigate the film properties of a sunscreen formulation when applied to ex-vivo human skin. The results indicate that the presence of a film-forming polymer causes the sunscreen active, Bemotrizinol, to be distributed more homogeneously and to temporally persist on the skin surface.DEET is the most efficacious and widely-used active ingredient formulated into insect repellent. Confocal Raman microscopy was used to investigate the effect of polymers on the spatial distribution and permeation of DEET following its application to ex-vivo human skin. The results confirm that DEET permeates into the skin; furthermore, it is demonstrated that polymers do affect the permeation process in a variety of potentially important ways.
Feature Extraction & Identification Techniques for the Alignment of Perturbation Simulations with Power Plant Measurements
Creators: name: Ioannou, George
name: Thanos Tasakos
name: Mylonakis, Antonios
name: Alexandridis, Georgios
name: Demazière, Christophe
name: Vinai, Paolo
name: Stafylopatis, Andreas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021

description: Overview
 •We propose a methodology for the comparison of measured and simulated neutron noise signals in nuclear power plants
 •The key components of the proposed methodology are:
 1.Auto-Power Spectral Density ofplant measurements in order to identify possible perturbation frequencies
 2.Cross-Power Spectral Density between plant measurements and simulated data in order to identify possible perturbations
 •Reactor core used in this study is a German 4-loop pre-KONVOI Pressurized Water Reactor
Additional file 1 of New fungal primers reveal the diversity of Mucoromycotinian arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their response to nitrogen application
Creators: name: Seeliger, Mirjam
name: Hilton, Sally
name: Muscatt, George
name: Walker, Christopher
name: Bass, David
name: Albornoz, Felipe
name: Standish, Rachel J.
name: Gray, Neil D.
name: Mercy, Louis
name: Rempelos, Leonidas
name: Schneider, Carolin
name: Ryan, Megan H.
name: Bilsborrow, Paul E.
name: Bending, Gary D.
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified

description: Additional file 1.
Temporally Consistent Online Depth Estimation Using Point-Based Fusion
Creators: name: Khan, Numair
name: Penner, Eric
name: Lanman, Douglas
name: Xiao, Lei
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Depth estimation is an important step in many computer vision problems such as 3D reconstruction, novel view synthesis, and computational photography. Most existing work focuses on depth estimation from single frames. When applied to videos, the result lacks temporal consistency, showing flickering and swimming artifacts. In this paper we aim to estimate temporally consistent depth maps of video streams in an online setting. This is a difficult problem as future frames are not available and the method must choose between enforcing consistency and correcting errors from previous estimations. The presence of dynamic objects further complicates the problem. We propose to address these challenges by using a global point cloud that is dynamically updated each frame, along with a learned fusion approach in image space. Our approach encourages consistency while simultaneously allowing updates to handle errors and dynamic objects. Qualitative and quantitative results show that our method achieves state-of-the-art quality for consistent video depth estimation.
description: Source code: https://github.com/facebookresearch/TemporallyConsistentDepth
The effect of fertility on women's word-of-mouth behavior
Creators: name: Ulu, Sevincgul
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2018

description: The power of word-of-mouth (WOM) lies in its ability to influence consumer behavior and purchase intention, highlighting drivers of WOM behaviors that are critical to marketers. This dissertation examines a biological factor that influences women’s desire to engage in WOM—monthly ovulatory cycles. Estrogen is a hormone that increases near ovulation, regulates women’s fertility, and shifts women’s social motives and behaviors. This study tests whether fertility influences women’s desire to engage in WOM with others. Six studies suggest that women demonstrate greater desire to share information at high fertility—near ovulation. However, the fertility-regulated increase in the desire to share information was specific to sharing only with other women, an effect that emerged in both hypothetical and real social network behaviors. Additional findings corroborate the prediction that product type moderates the relationship and that sharing information during high fertility functions partially to build alliances with other women and mitigate mate competition. These findings have important implications for understanding how hormones that regulate fertility influence women’s desire to share information, including mating motives that underlie the effect.
Adenosine stimulates guanylate cyclase activity in vascular smooth muscle cells
Creators: name: Kurtz, Armin
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1987
Subjects: subject: 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
subject: 610 Medizin
subject: Adenosine/pharmacology
subject: Adenosine-5'-(N-ethylcarboxamide)
subject: Animals
subject: Cells, Cultured
subject: Cyclic GMP/pharmacology
subject: Enzyme Activation
subject: Guanylate Cyclase/metabolism
subject: Male
subject: Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/enzymology
subject: Rats
subject: Rats, Inbred Strains
subject: Theophylline/pharmacology
subject: Time Factors

description: Good evidence exists to indicate that the vasodilating effect of adenosine is mediated by cell surface receptors on vascular smooth muscle cells. The mechanism of transmembrane signal transduction for adenosine, however, is not fully understood. Since cGMP is a second messenger known to mediate vasodilation, I have examined the effect of adenosine on the intracellular concentration of cGMP in vascular smooth muscle cells from rat aorta. I found that adenosine at 10(-9) to 10(-5) M led to an increase in intracellular cGMP levels in a dose-dependent fashion. The effect of adenosine on cyclic guanosine inorganic monophosphate (cGMP) could be mimicked by the A-type receptor agonists N6-cyclohexyladenosine and 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine and was attenuated by the A-receptor antagonist theophylline. The order of potency of the adenosine analogues was N6-cyclohexyladenosine greater than 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine greater than adenosine. These findings suggest that the effect of adenosine on cGMPi is mediated by A1-type cell surface receptors. Concerning the mechanism by which adenosine could elevate cGMPi, I found that the effect of adenosine on cGMPi was potentiated by the cGMP phosphodiesterase-specific inhibitor M & B 22948. Moreover, I found that N6-cyclohexyladenosine, 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine, and adenosine stimulated a guanylate cyclase in homogenates of the cultured smooth muscle cells in a dose-dependent fashion with the same order of potency as their effects on cGMPi. Further evidence was obtained to indicate that adenosine and its analogues stimulated a particulate guanylate cyclase activity, whereas they did not alter soluble guanylate cyclase activity. Since cGMP is known as a second messenger mediating relaxation of vascular smooth muscle cells, the results obtained in this study could suggest that adenosine exerts its vasorelaxing effect by activating an Ai-receptor-linked guanylate cyclase.
Efficacy of aerosol reduction measures for dental aerosol generating procedures
Creators: name: He, Zixin
name: Gao, Qiman
name: Henley, Anna
name: Der Khatchadourian, Zovinar
name: Somerville, Wendy
name: Wiseman, Michael
name: Mongeau, Luc
name: Tamimi, Faleh
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Space Science
subject: Medicine
subject: Molecular Biology
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: 20199 Astronomical and Space Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Aerosol particles generated by dental procedures could facilitate the transmission of infectious diseases and contain carcinogen particles. Such particles can penetrate common surgical masks and reach the lungs, leading to increased risk for dental care professionals. However, the risk of inhaling contaminated aerosol and the effectiveness of aerosol reduction measures in dental offices remain unclear. The present study aimed to quantify aerosols produced by drilling and scaling procedures and to evaluate present recommendations for aerosol reduction. The concentration of aerosol particles released from the mock scaling and drilling procedures performed on a dental mannequin were measured using a TSI Optical Particle Sizer (OPS 3330) during 15-min sessions carried out in a single-patient examination room. Using the mock drilling procedure as the aerosol source, the aerosol reduction performance of two types of high-volume evacuators (HVEs) and a commercial off-the-shelf air purifier was evaluated in a simulated clinical setting. The use of either HVEs or the air purifier individually reduced the aerosol accumulated over the course of a 15-min drilling procedure at a reduction rate of 94.8 to 97.6%. Using both measures simultaneously raised the reduction rate to 99.6%. The results show that existing HVEs can effectively reduce aerosol concentration generated by a drilling procedure and can be further improved by using an air purifier. Following current regulatory guidelines can ensure a low risk of inhaling contaminated aerosol for dentists, assistants, and patients. Copyright © 2022 American Association for Aerosol Research
Business Models and Sustainability for Materials Modelling Software
Creators: name: Goldbeck, Gerhard
name: Simperler, Alexandra
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Materials Modelling
Software business
Software sustainability

description: Successful software for materials modelling has an expected lifetime of many decades. This long-term nature requires a sound legal and business foundation: the ownership of software must be clearly established and the license models need to be carefully thought through to ensure a sustainable development and maintenance of the software and impactful exploitation by both academic and industrial end-users. Different business models carefully need to be considered when developing a strategy for long term sustainability of software and sustainment of the operation.

As background, the White Paper provides an overview of materials modelling software market, considering different segmentations  and briefly discusses market dynamics.

Furthermore, the fundamental aspects of software sustainability and sustainment are described. Business models are discussed, with a detailed analysis of different revenue models. Emerging business models including digital marketplaces are considered.

The status of materials modelling software is presented with respect to different sustainment attributes (Users and Communities, Product Management, Software development and maintenance, Revenue Generation). The findings are based on a workshop and surveys carried out by the EMMC during 2018. Finally, the thoughts and recommendations shared by Software Owners (SWOs) during the evidence gathering are summarised.
Verifying whether One-Tape Non-Deterministic Turing Machines Run in Time $Cn+D$
Creators: name: Gajser, David
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Computational Complexity (cs.CC)
subject: Formal Languages and Automata Theory (cs.FL)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: We discuss the following family of problems, parameterized by integers $C\geq 2$ and $D\geq 1$: Does a given one-tape non-deterministic $q$-state Turing machine make at most $Cn+D$ steps on all computations on all inputs of length $n$, for all $n$? Assuming a fixed tape and input alphabet, we show that these problems are co-NP-complete and we provide good non-deterministic and co-non-deterministic lower bounds. Specifically, these problems can not be solved in $o(q^{(C-1)/4})$ non-deterministic time by multi-tape Turing machines. We also show that the complements of these problems can be solved in $O(q^{C+2})$ non-deterministic time and not in $o(q^{(C-1)/2})$ non-deterministic time by multi-tape Turing machines.
description: 12 pages + 5 pages appendix
Combining Generators of Adversarial Malware Examples to Increase Evasion Rate
Creators: name: Kozák, Matouš
name: Jureček, Martin
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Cryptography and Security (cs.CR)
subject: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Antivirus developers are increasingly embracing machine learning as a key component of malware defense. While machine learning achieves cutting-edge outcomes in many fields, it also has weaknesses that are exploited by several adversarial attack techniques. Many authors have presented both white-box and black-box generators of adversarial malware examples capable of bypassing malware detectors with varying success. We propose to combine contemporary generators in order to increase their potential. Combining different generators can create more sophisticated adversarial examples that are more likely to evade anti-malware tools. We demonstrated this technique on five well-known generators and recorded promising results. The best-performing combination of AMG-random and MAB-Malware generators achieved an average evasion rate of 15.9% against top-tier antivirus products. This represents an average improvement of more than 36% and 627% over using only the AMG-random and MAB-Malware generators, respectively. The generator that benefited the most from having another generator follow its procedure was the FGSM injection attack, which improved the evasion rate on average between 91.97% and 1,304.73%, depending on the second generator used. These results demonstrate that combining different generators can significantly improve their effectiveness against leading antivirus programs.
description: 9 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Under review
Cohomological obstructions to Nielsen realization
Creators: name: Tshishiku, Bena
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Geometric Topology (math.GT)
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: For a based manifold (M,*), the question of whether the surjection Diff(M,*) \rightarrow π_0 Diff(M,*) admits a section is an example of a Nielsen realization problem. This question is related to a question about flat connections on M-bundles and is meaningful for M of any dimension. In dimension 2, Bestvina-Church-Souto showed a section does not exist when M is closed and has genus g\ge 2. Their techniques are cohomological and certain aspects are specific to surfaces. We give new cohomological techniques to generalize their result to many locally symmetric manifolds. The main tools include Chern-Weil theory, Milnor-Wood inequalities, and Margulis superrigidity.
description: 27 pages, final version, accepted for publication by the Journal of Topology
Control of the size of nanoparticles by spark discharge with an atomizer and a bubbler
Creators: name: Noh, Seung Ryul
name: Jung, Wooik
name: Chae, Sukbyung
name: Han, Bangwoo
name: Lee, Jeonghoon
name: Woo, Chang Gyu
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Space Science
subject: 29999 Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Medicine
subject: Genetics
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Molecular Biology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Cancer
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: We propose a simple method to control the size of nanoparticle generated by spark discharge. Nanoparticle characteristics are of importance for numerous applications. Property control can lead to desired applications. The spark discharge method can generate nanoparticles of high purity with ease. A pin-to-plate type spark discharge-nanoparticle generator (SDG) solely created approximately 1.3×108 metal particles/cm3 of geometric mean diameter (GMD) of 20.4 nm. Instead of pure gas, ethanol vapor and droplets from an atomizer were introduced into the SDG. The GMD was increased to 40.0 nm similar to the size of particles generated from the atomizer. The differences in discharge voltage and frequency were too small to change nanoparticle characteristics. To investigate this phenomenon, a bubbler replaced the atomizer and various solvents were used such as ethanol, methanol, and water. The GMD was reduced to 14.6 nm when the methanol bubbler was used. Organic solvent decreased GMD with decreased number concentration, while water did not contribute to the change in particle size. This suggests that vapor from the bubbler suppresses homogeneous nucleation while droplets from the atomizer induce heterogeneous nucleation. This research can be applied to nanoparticle control techniques for production processes. Copyright © 2022 American Association for Aerosol Research
Multipole Expansion for the Electron-Nucleus Scattering at High Energies in the Unified Electroweak Theory
Creators: name: Luong, Z. P.
name: Vo, M. T.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The paper presents the multipole expansion for the electron-nucleus scattering cross section at high energies within the framework of the unified electroweak theory. The electroweak currents of the nucleus are expanded into the simple components with definite angular momenta, called the multipole form factors. The multipole expansion of the cross section is a consequence of the above expansion. Besides the familiar electromagnetic form factors, there are also the vector and axial form factors, respectively, related to weak interactions. To determine multipole form factors, general formulas for the calculation of reduced matrix elements are established using the fractional parentage coefficient method and the multiparticle shell model. Calculation of them enables us to obtain more detailed information about the nuclear structure and elucidate the role played by the weak interaction in the high-energy reaction mechanisms.
description: 8 pages, 2 figures
Erythropoietin production by fetal mouse liver cells in response to hypoxia and adenylate cyclase stimulation
Creators: name: Kurtz, Armin
name: Jelkmann, W.
name: Pfuhl, A.
name: Malmström, K.
name: Bauer, Christian
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1986
Subjects: subject: 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
subject: 610 Medizin
subject: Adenylate Cyclase/metabolism
subject: Animals
subject: Cells, Cultured
subject: Cobalt/pharmacology
subject: Cyclic AMP/metabolism
subject: Enzyme Activation/drug effects
subject: Erythropoietin/biosynthesis
subject: Forskolin/pharmacology
subject: Isoproterenol/pharmacology
subject: Kinetics
subject: Lactates/biosynthesis
subject: Lactic Acid
subject: Liver/metabolism
subject: Mice
subject: Oxygen/pharmacology

description: This study was done to investigate aspects of control of extrarenal erythropoietin (Ep) production. To this end we studied the effects of three stimuli of renal Ep production in the adult, i.e. hypoxia, cobalt, and activation of adenylate cyclase on Ep generation by cultured fetal mouse liver cells. The fetal liver was taken as a model for extrarenal Ep production because this organ is considered the predominant site of extrarenal Ep production. We found that Ep production by the cells increased as the oxygen concentration was decreased in the incubation atmosphere from 20% to 1%. Cobalt (10(-4)-10(-5) M) had no effect on Ep production. Activation of adenylate cyclase by forskolin (10(-5) M) or isoproterenol (10(-5) M) greatly enhanced Ep production. These findings indicate that the Ep-stimulating effect of cobalt is specific for the kidney. However, oxygen depletion and activation of adenylate cyclase seem to be more general stimuli in Ep-producing cells. Furthermore we found that Ep production in hypoxia correlated with lactate formation in the cultured liver cells. This finding suggests that Ep production in fetal livers under hypoxic conditions parallels the shift from aerobic to anaerobic cellular energy metabolism.
The space of D-norms revisited
Creators: name: Aulbach, Stefan
name: Falk, Michael
name: Zott, Maximilian
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Statistics Theory (math.ST)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 60G70 (Primary), 60E99 (Secondary)

description: The theory of $D$-norms is an offspring of multivariate extreme value theory. We present recent results on $D$-norms, which are completely determined by a certain random vector called generator. In the first part it is shown that the space of $D$-norms is a complete separable metric space, if equipped with the Wasserstein-metric in a suitable way. Secondly, multiplying a generator with a doubly stochastic matrix yields another generator. An iteration of this multiplication provides a sequence of $D$-norms and we compute its limit. Finally, we consider a parametric family of $D$-norms, where we assume that the generator follows a symmetric Dirichlet distribution. This family covers the whole range between complete dependence and independence.
description: 14 pages; to be published in Extremes
Role of phospholipase C and protein kinase C in vasoconstrictor-induced prostaglandin synthesis in cultured rat renal mesangial cells
Creators: name: Pfeilschifter, J.
name: Kurtz, Armin
name: Bauer, Christian
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1986
Subjects: subject: 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
subject: 610 Medizin
subject: Animals
subject: Calcium/metabolism
subject: Cells, Cultured
subject: Dinoprostone
subject: Enzyme Activation/drug effects
subject: Glomerular Mesangium/metabolism
subject: Male
subject: Prostaglandins E/biosynthesis
subject: Protein Kinase C/metabolism
subject: Rats
subject: Rats, Inbred Strains
subject: Type C Phospholipases/metabolism
subject: Vasoconstrictor Agents/pharmacology
subject: Verapamil/pharmacology

description: It was the aim of the present study to find out if a common mechanism exists by which the vasoconstrictive hormones angiotension II, noradrenaline and 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (AGEPC) increase prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis in cultures of rat renal mesangial cells. Angiotension II, noradrenaline and AGEPC stimulated PGE2 synthesis and uptake of 45Ca2+ in cultured mesangial cells. Both of these effects could be completely suppressed by the calcium channel blocker verapamil. Angiotensin II, noradrenaline and AGEPC caused a rapid breakdown of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate with a concomitant increase of 1,2-diacylglycerol and inositol trisphosphate, indicating an activation of phospholipase C by these hormones. Addition of verapamil had no effect on the hormone-induced stimulation of phospholipase C. The synthetic analogue of diacylglycerol, 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol, and the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), both of which are known to stimulate protein kinase C, enhanced PGE2 synthesis. Chelation of extracellular calcium with EDTA or addition of verapamil abolished the effect of 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol and phorbol ester on PGE2 synthesis. 1-Oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol and phorbol ester increased the uptake of 45Ca2+ by the cells in a dose-dependent manner and this effect could be blocked by verapamil. The entirety of these data leads us to suggest that vasoconstrictor-evoked synthesis of PGE2 in rat mesangial cells is mediated by the subsequent activation of phospholipase C and protein kinase C. The activation of protein kinase C by diacylglycerol is likely to be involved in the increase of the calcium permeability of the plasma membrane which is a prerequisite for PGE2 synthesis induced by vasoconstrictive hormones.
Framed Wilson Operators, Fermionic Strings, and Gravitational Anomaly in 4d
Creators: name: Thorngren, Ryan
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study gapped systems with anomalous time-reversal symmetry and global gravitational anomaly in three and four spacetime dimensions. These systems describe topological order on the boundary of bosonic Symmetry Protected Topological (SPT) Phases. Our description of these phases is via the recent cobordism proposal for their classification. In particular, the behavior of these systems is determined by the geometry of Stiefel-Whitney classes. We discuss electric and magnetic operators defined by these classes, and new types of Wilson lines and surfaces that sit on their boundary. The lines describe fermionic particles, while the surfaces describe a sort of fermionic string. We show that QED with a fermionic monopole exhibits the 4d global gravitational anomaly and has a fermionic $π$-flux.
description: 17 pages, 7 figures, comments encouraged; significantly reworked version, designed to reach a wider audience and with new sections on fermionic monopoles in 4d and Stiefel-Whitney operators
Disaster analysis for Australian remote regions using artificial intelligence and data-driven modelling
Creators: name: Khanmohammadi, Sadegh
Publisher: name: Monash University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 460299
subject: Artificial intelligence not elsewhere classified
classificationCode: 350703
subject: Disaster and emergency management
classificationCode: 400508
subject: Infrastructure engineering and asset management

description: In response to escalating global crises, including climate extremes, and natural disasters, integrated emergency management systems have become crucial worldwide. Wildfires, particularly in remote areas, present significant challenges with increasing frequency and impact. The devastating 2019–20 Australian bushfires illustrate this trend, highlighting the need for accurate wildfire behavior prediction to guide management decisions and mitigate adverse effects. This PhD thesis focuses on AI-driven wildfire disaster analysis in Australian remote regions, emphasizing three key research questions: addressing data scarcity, enhancing prediction accuracy, and identifying critical disaster factors.
Role of prostaglandins in hypoxia-stimulated erythropoietin production
Creators: name: Kurtz, Armin
name: Jelkmann, W.
name: Pfeilschifter, J.
name: Bauer, Christian
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1985
Subjects: subject: 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
subject: 610 Medizin
subject: Adenylate Cyclase/metabolism
subject: Animals
subject: Arachidonic Acid
subject: Arachidonic Acids/pharmacology
subject: Cells, Cultured
subject: Cyclic AMP/biosynthesis
subject: Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors
subject: Dinoprostone
subject: Diterpenes/pharmacology
subject: Enzyme Activation/drug effects
subject: Erythropoietin/biosynthesis
subject: Forskolin
subject: Glomerular Mesangium/metabolism
subject: Indomethacin/pharmacology
subject: Male
subject: Oxygen/physiology
subject: Prostaglandins/physiology
subject: Prostaglandins E/biosynthesis
subject: Rats
subject: Rats, Inbred Strains

description: The role of prostaglandins in the mediation of hypoxia-stimulated erythropoietin (Ep) production by cultured rat renal mesangial cells was examined. It was found that an increase in prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production accompanied the rise in Ep due to hypoxia (2% O2). The hypoxia-stimulated increase in Ep production was abolished in the presence of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (10(-5) M). When PGE2 (10(-6) M was added simultaneously with indomethacin, however, no diminution in hypoxia-stimulated Ep production was observed. Addition of arachidonic acid (AA, 10(-5) M), PGE2 (10(-6) M), or PGI2 (10(-4) M) enhanced Ep production under normoxic conditions (20% O2), while PGF2 alpha (10(-6) M) had no effect on Ep production. AA, PGE2, and PGI2 were found to stimulate adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate formation by the cultured mesangial cells. Enhancement of adenylate cyclase activity by forskolin (10(-5) M) also increased Ep production in the cell cultures. Our results suggest that hypoxia-stimulated Ep production by cultured mesangial cells is mediated by prostaglandins with subsequent stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity.
Joint venture governance
Creators: name: Velez-Calle, Andres
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2018

description: Joint venture (JV) success greatly depends on governance mechanisms such as contracts, equity shares and boards of directors. Unlike some other types of alliances, JVs are always governed by detailed legal contracts that describe how the relationships are to be structured and governed. Using a unique database of 626 JV contracts, this dissertation expands our knowledge on JV governance through three interrelated empirical studies.The first study examines JV contracts and the institutional determinants of their complexity by drawing on institutional theory and transaction cost economics (TCE). Results indicate that contractual complexity is greater for international JVs than for domestic JVs. In addition, contractual complexity is also related to institutional variables based on the country in which the contract is enforced. For example, complexity is higher in countries with a civil law system in comparison to common law, in countries with inefficient court systems, and in countries where corruption levels are low.The second study addresses another crucial governance mechanism in JVs: The board of directors. A board is often used to help partner firms monitor and manage the JV, align the interests of the partners and address possible conflicts (Contractor & Reuer, 2014; Cuypers, Ertug, Reuer, & Bensaou, 2017). However, little is known about what determines whether a JV board is actually established. By analyzing the contracts and by drawing on TCE and agency theories, results show that JV boards serve as complements to JV contracts rather than substitutes. Boards are also more likely to be created for JVs which have multiple safeguards, for JVs that perform research and development, and for international JVs and JVs hosted in countries with lower quality of intellectual property rights protection.   The last study explores the relationship between equity shareholding and board participation, two important JV governance mechanisms that are presumed to be correlated.  Results confirm that this correlation is strong (0.58) but not extremely high.  Drawing on TCE and resource dependency theories, this chapter examines why certain joint ventures present a deviation between the percentages of board representation share versus the equity shareholding of each partner. Results indicate that board representation in international JVs tends to have a greater deviation, while JVs with deadlock clauses, large boards, and JVs hosted in stable countries deviate less.
Cyclosporin A inhibits PGE2 release from vascular smooth muscle cells
Creators: name: Kurtz, Armin
name: Pfeilschifter, J.
name: Kühn, K.
name: Koch, K. M.
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1987
Subjects: subject: 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
subject: 610 Medizin
subject: Angiotensin II/pharmacology
subject: Animals
subject: Aorta
subject: Arachidonic Acid
subject: Arachidonic Acids/metabolism
subject: Arginine Vasopressin/pharmacology
subject: Cells, Cultured
subject: Cyclosporins/pharmacology
subject: Dinoprostone
subject: Ethers/pharmacology
subject: Ionomycin
subject: Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/metabolism
subject: Phospholipases/metabolism
subject: Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases/metabolism
subject: Prostaglandins E/metabolism
subject: Rats

description: The influence of the fungoid undecapeptide cyclosporin A (CyA) on PGE2 release from cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells was investigated in this study. We found that CyA time and concentration dependently (ED50:500 ng/ml) inhibited PGE2 release from the cells. CyA attenuated both basal and PGE2 release evoked by angiotensin II (10(-10)-10(-6) M), arginine vasopressin (10(-10)-10(-6) M) and ionomycin (10(-9)-10(-6) M). CyA (1 microgram/ml) did not affect the conversion of exogenous arachidonic acid (1 microM) into PGE2. The inhibitory effect of CyA was neutralized by high concentrations of the calcium ionophore ionomycin (greater than 3 X 10(-6) M). Taken together our results indicate that CyA inhibits both basal and vasoconstrictor evoked PGE2 release from vascular smooth muscle by impairing the availability of free arachidonic acid rather than by inhibiting the conversion of arachidonic acid into PGE2.
A postconviction mentality
Creators: name: Webster, Elizabeth
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2018

description: In the wake of identifiable errors, many prosecutors are beginning to acknowledge wrongful convictions. They have the discretion to overturn wrongful convictions, and they are uniquely positioned to do so. Still, very little scholarship has explored how, when, and why prosecutors choose to assist with exoneration. Therefore, the three broad aims of the present study include: 1) examining the determinants, motivations, and processes influencing prosecutors’ decisions to assist with innocence claims that have resulted in exoneration; 2) exploring the successes and challenges of postconviction collaboration between prosecutors and defense attorneys; and 3) identifying how prosecutorial assistance could open pathways to exoneration. To meet these aims, the study employs a mixed methods research design, featuring semi-structured interviews with 19 prosecutors and 19 defense attorneys and multivariate regression analyses of a large sample of state exoneration cases. Interviewees are selected from cases identified in the National Registry of Exonerations (NRE). All prosecutor respondents have assisted with an innocence claim that resulted in full exoneration, and all defense attorney respondents have represented a client who was exonerated with the help of a prosecutor. For the quantitative component, data collected by the NRE (N=1,610) measures prosecutorial assistance using an ordinal variable to capture differing levels of assistance. Analyses reveal a range of case-related factors that influence prosecutors’ receptivity to assist with exoneration. Overall, findings indicate that although prosecutors have become more responsive to acknowledging and correcting factual errors, they still respond within the context of a legal structure that has not been established to correct these kinds of errors. This has implications for the nature, degree, and quality of postconviction assistance that prosecutors provide. Their postconviction decision making appears to be motivated by a desire to do justice, to protect professional relationships and reputations, and to optimize efficiency. This research investigates an underexplored area and offers both theoretical and practical value. The results will aid system actors as they develop best practices for uncovering wrongful convictions efficiently and build collaborative working relationships in the postconviction setting.
Cyclosporine A enhances renin secretion and production in isolated juxtaglomerular cells
Creators: name: Kurtz, Armin
name: Della Bruna, R.
name: Kühn, K.
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1988
Subjects: subject: 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
subject: 610 Medizin
subject: Animals
subject: Cyclosporins/pharmacology
subject: Juxtaglomerular Apparatus/secretion
subject: L-Lactate Dehydrogenase/metabolism
subject: Rats
subject: Renin/secretion

description: Stimulation of the renin-angiotensin system is a major side effect of the fungoid immunosuppressant cyclosporine A (CyA). The aim of this study was to find out whether or not this effect of CyA results from a direct interaction with renal juxtaglomerular (JG) cells, which are the site of renal renin synthesis and release. Using primary cell cultures from rat renal cortex containing more than 80% JG cells, we found that CyA (0.01 to 10 micrograms/ml) stimulated renin secretion threefold. This stimulation was paralleled by a dose-dependent twofold increase of inactive renin within the cells, while the active intracellular renin remained the same. In order to identify a possible second messenger which could mediate the effects of CyA on JG cells, we examined the simultaneous effects of a single concentration of CyA (1 microgram/ml) on renin secretion, prostaglandin formation and intracellular cAMP concentration. However, prostaglandin formation and cAMP were not detectably altered by CyA in experiments where renin secretion was significantly enhanced. Our results indicate that cyclosporine A stimulates renin secretion and renin synthesis by a direct effect on renal juxtaglomerular cells. This action of CyA is not mediated by changes in cellular prostaglandin or intracellular cAMP.
A Biomedical Entity Extraction Pipeline for Oncology Health Records in Portuguese
Creators: name: Sousa, Hugo
name: Pasquali, Arian
name: Jorge, Alípio
name: Santos, Catarina Sousa
name: Lopes, Mário Amorim
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Computation and Language (cs.CL)
subject: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Textual health records of cancer patients are usually protracted and highly unstructured, making it very time-consuming for health professionals to get a complete overview of the patient's therapeutic course. As such limitations can lead to suboptimal and/or inefficient treatment procedures, healthcare providers would greatly benefit from a system that effectively summarizes the information of those records. With the advent of deep neural models, this objective has been partially attained for English clinical texts, however, the research community still lacks an effective solution for languages with limited resources. In this paper, we present the approach we developed to extract procedures, drugs, and diseases from oncology health records written in European Portuguese. This project was conducted in collaboration with the Portuguese Institute for Oncology which, besides holding over $10$ years of duly protected medical records, also provided oncologist expertise throughout the development of the project. Since there is no annotated corpus for biomedical entity extraction in Portuguese, we also present the strategy we followed in annotating the corpus for the development of the models. The final models, which combined a neural architecture with entity linking, achieved $F_1$ scores of $88.6$, $95.0$, and $55.8$ per cent in the mention extraction of procedures, drugs, and diseases, respectively.
Mechanism of NaCl transport-stimulated prostaglandin formation in MDCK cells
Creators: name: Kurtz, Armin
name: Pfeilschifter, J.
name: Malmström, K.
name: Woodson, R. D.
name: Bauer, C.
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 1987
Subjects: subject: 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
subject: 610 Medizin
subject: Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism
subject: Amobarbital/pharmacology
subject: Animals
subject: Arachidonic Acid
subject: Arachidonic Acids/metabolism
subject: Cell Line
subject: Diglycerides/metabolism
subject: Dogs
subject: Forskolin/pharmacology
subject: Furosemide/pharmacology
subject: Kidney/metabolism
subject: Lactates/metabolism
subject: Membrane Lipids/metabolism
subject: Ouabain/pharmacology
subject: Phosphatidylinositols/metabolism
subject: Prostaglandins/metabolism
subject: Rotenone/pharmacology
subject: Sodium Chloride/metabolism

description: Recently we have found that stimulation of NaCl transport in high-resistance MDCK cells enhances their prostaglandin formation. In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms by which prostaglandin formation could be linked to the ion transport in these cells. We found that stimulation of transport caused a transient stimulation of prostaglandin formation lasting 5-10 min. The rise in prostaglandin formation was paralleled by a rise of free intracellular arachidonic acid. Analysis of membrane lipids revealed that the rise of free arachidonic acid was paralleled by a loss of arachidonic acid from polyphosphoinositides. We failed to obtain indications for the stimulation of calcium-dependent phospholipase A2. However, we did obtain evidence that the incorporation of arachidonic acid into phospholipids was diminished during stimulation of ion transport, indicating a decreased rate of reesterification. Despite the fact that there was no significant fall in total cellular ATP on stimulation of ion transport, we found a high and transient rise of lactate production of the cells on stimulation of the ion transport indicating an alteration of the ADP/ATP ratio. Moreover, prostaglandin formation and lactate formation were linearly correlated in this situation. When glucose utilization was inhibited by mannoheptulose, the rise in lactate formation was abolished, whereas that of PG formation was unaltered, indicating that lactate formation and prostaglandin formation were not causally linked on stimulation of ion transport. Our results suggest that an increase in the rate of sodium chloride transport by MDCK cells stimulates formation by an inhibition of reesterification of free arachidonic acid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)