gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Physical and electrical characterization of Hafnium oxide and Hafnium silicate sputtered films (2001)

Hafnium oxides and hafnium silicate films were investigated as a possible replacement for the SiO2 gate dielectric. Hafnium oxide films were formed by reactive sputtering from a single Hf oxide target in a predominantly Ar atmosphere containing small additions of oxygen. Hafnium silicates were made by adding a He-diluted silane gas for Si incorporation. By changing the silane gas flow, different Si atomic concentrations were incorporated into the Hf oxide films. Depositions were performed with the substrate held at temperatures of 22 °C and 500 °C. The chemical composition of the films was determined with nuclear techniques. Optical reflectivity was used to measure the optical band gap. The film morphology was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the electrical properties were measured with capacitance–voltage and current–voltage measurements using aluminum gate capacitors. TEM and electrical measurement showed that a SiO2 interfacial layer of about 3 nm formed at the Si interface due to the oxidizing sputter ambient. This precluded the growth of Hf based high-K films with small equivalent thickness. After correction for the interfacial oxide layer, the dielectric constant was found to decrease from about 21 for Hf oxide to about 4–5 for the Hafnium silicates with low Hf content (3 at. % Hf and 32 at. % Si). The optical band gap was found to increase from 5.8 eV for Hf oxide to about 7 eV for the silicate films. After annealing at 1000 °C followed by a 300 °C postmetallization anneal, negligible flat band voltage shift were measured on hafnium silicate films and good interface passivation was observed. However, leakage currents increased due to the high temperature processing.
Polyclonal CTL Responses Observed in Melanoma Patients Vaccinated with Dendritic Cells Pulsed with a MAGE-3.A1 Peptide (2003)

Vaccination with mature, monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) pulsed with the MAGE-3(168-176) peptide, which is presented by HLA-A1, has been reported to induce tumor regressions and CTL in some advanced stage IV melanoma patients. We present here a precise evaluation of the level of some of these anti-MAGE-3.A1 CTL responses and an analysis of their clonal diversity. Blood lymphocytes were stimulated with the MAGE-3.A1 peptide under limiting dilution conditions and assayed with an A1/MAGE-3 tetramer. This was followed by the cloning of the tetramer-positive cells and by TCR sequence analysis of the CTL clones that lysed targets expressing MAGE-3.A1. We also used direct ex vivo tetramer staining of CD8 cells, sorting, and cloning of the positive cells. In three patients who showed regression of some of their metastases after vaccination, CTL responses were observed with frequencies ranging from 7 x 10(-6) to 9 x 10(-4) of CD8(+) blood T lymphocytes, representing an increase of 20- to 400-fold of the frequencies found before immunization. A fourth patient showed neither tumor regression nor an anti-MAGE-3.A1 CTL response. In each of the responses, several CTL clones were amplified. This polyclonality contrasts with the monoclonality of the CTL responses observed in patients vaccinated with MAGE-3.A1 peptide or with an ALVAC recombinant virus coding for this antigenic peptide.
Controlled release of functional proteins through designer self-assembling peptide nanofiber hydrogel scaffold (2009)

The release kinetics for a variety of proteins of a wide range of molecular mass, hydrodynamic radii, and isoelectric points through a nanofiber hydrogel scaffold consisting of designer self-assembling peptides were studied by using single-molecule fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). In contrast to classical diffusion experiments, the single-molecule approach allowed for the direct determination of diffusion coefficients for lysozyme, trypsin inhibitor, BSA, and IgG both inside the hydrogel and after being released into the solution. The results of the FCS analyses and the calculated pristine in-gel diffusion coefficients were compared with the values obtained from the Stokes-Einstein equation, Fickian diffusion models, and the literature. The release kinetics suggested that protein diffusion through nanofiber hydrogels depended primarily on the size of the protein. Protein diffusivities decreased, with increasing hydrogel nanofiber density providing a means of controlling the release kinetics. Secondary and tertiary structure analyses and biological assays of the released proteins showed that encapsulation and release did not affect the protein conformation and functionality. Our results show that this biocompatible and injectable designer self-assembling peptide hydrogel system may be useful as a carrier for therapeutic proteins for sustained release applications.
TNF-α Pretreatment Induces Protective Effects against Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Mice (1997)

Cytokines are recognized to play an important role in acute stroke. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) is one of the pro-inflammatory cytokines and is expressed in ischemic brain. We hypothesized that TNF might play a role in the regulation of tolerance to ischemia when administered prior to the ischemic episode. We studied the effects of pretreatment of TNF administered intravenously, intraperitoneally, or intracisternally in mice that were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) 48 h later. MCAO was performed in BALB/C mice by direct cauterization of distal MCA, which resulted in pure cortical infarction. A significant reduction in infarct size was noted in mice pretreated by TNF at the dose of 0.5 microgram/mouse (p < 0.01) intracisternally. At the doses used in this study, administration of TNF by intravenous or intraperitoneal routes was not effective. Immunohistochemical analysis of brains subjected to 24 h of MCAO revealed a significant decrease in CD11b immunoreactivity after TNF pretreatment compared with control MCAO. Preconditioning with TNF affects infarct size in a time- and dose-dependent manner. TNF induces significant protection against ischemic brain injury and is likely to be involved in the signaling pathways that regulate ischemic tolerance.
Development of a delivery vehicle for intracellular transport of botulinum neurotoxin antagonists1 (2002)

A targeted delivery vehicle (DV) was developed for intracellular transport of emerging botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) antagonists. The DV consisted of the isolated heavy chain (HC) of BoNT/A coupled to a 10-kDa amino dextran via the heterobifunctional linker 3-(2-pyridylthio)-propionyl hydrazide. The HC served to target BoNT-sensitive cells and promote internalization of the complex, while the dextran served as a platform to deliver model therapeutic molecules to the targeted cells. To determine the ability of this chimeric glycoprotein to enter neurons, dextran and HC were labeled independently with the fluorescent dyes Oregon green 488 and Cy3, respectively. Internalization of DV was monitored in primary cortical cells using laser confocal microscopy. Incubation of cells for 24 h with DV resulted in discrete punctate labeling of both soma and processes. The Cy3 and Oregon green 488 signals were generally co-localized, suggesting that the complex remained in the same intracellular compartment during the initial 24 h. The DV-associated fluorescence was reduced progressively by co-application of increasing concentrations of unlabeled BoNT/A holotoxin. The results suggest that the BoNT/A HC is able to mediate internalization of a coupled dextran, even though the latter bears no resemblance to the BoNT/A light chain (LC). The HC of BoNT/A thus offers promise as a selective carrier to deliver BoNT antagonists to the nerve terminal cytoplasm for inhibiting the proteolytic activity of internalized BoNT/A LC.
The first-in-class alkylating HDAC inhibitor EDO-S101 is highly synergistic with proteasome inhibition against multiple myeloma through activation of multiple pathways (2017)

The first-in-class alkylating HDAC inhibitor EDO-S101 is highly synergistic with proteasome inhibition against multiple myeloma through activation of multiple pathways
The critical closing pressure of the cerebral circulation (2003)

The critical closing pressure (CrCP) of the cerebral circulation indicates the value of arterial blood pressure (ABP) at which cerebral blood flow (CBF) approaches zero. Measurements in animals and in humans, have shown that the CrCP is significantly greater than zero. A simple mathematical model, incorporating the effects of arterial elasticity and active wall tension, shows that CrCP can be influenced by several structural and physiological parameters, notably intracranial pressure (ICP) and active wall tension. Due to the non-linear shape of the complete ABP-CBF curve, most methods proposed for estimation of CrCP can only represent the linear range of the pressure-flow (or velocity) relationship. As a consequence, only estimates of apparent CrCP can be obtained, and these tend to be significantly higher than the true CrCP. Estimates of apparent CrCP have been shown to be influenced by arterial PCO2, ICP, cerebral autoregulation, intra-thoracic pressure, and mean ABP. There is a lack of investigation, under well-controlled conditions, to assess whether CrCP is altered in disease states. Studies of the cerebral circulation need to take CrCP into account, to obtain more accurate estimates of cerebrovascular resistance changes, and to reflect the correct dynamic relationship between instantaneous ABP and CBF.
p53 loss promotes acute myeloid leukemia by enabling aberrant self-renewal (2010)

The p53 tumor suppressor limits proliferation in response to cellular stress through several mechanisms. Here, we test whether the recently described ability of p53 to limit stem cell self-renewal suppresses tumorigenesis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive cancer in which p53 mutations are associated with drug resistance and adverse outcome. Our approach combined mosaic mouse models, Cre-lox technology, and in vivo RNAi to disable p53 and simultaneously activate endogenous Kras(G12D)-a common AML lesion that promotes proliferation but not self-renewal. We show that p53 inactivation strongly cooperates with oncogenic Kras(G12D) to induce aggressive AML, while both lesions on their own induce T-cell malignancies with long latency. This synergy is based on a pivotal role of p53 in limiting aberrant self-renewal of myeloid progenitor cells, such that loss of p53 counters the deleterious effects of oncogenic Kras on these cells and enables them to self-renew indefinitely. Consequently, myeloid progenitor cells expressing oncogenic Kras and lacking p53 become leukemia-initiating cells, resembling cancer stem cells capable of maintaining AML in vivo. Our results establish an efficient new strategy for interrogating oncogene cooperation, and provide strong evidence that the ability of p53 to limit aberrant self-renewal contributes to its tumor suppressor activity.
Air-gap guard ring for pixel sensitivity and crosstalk improvement in deep sub-micron CMOS image sensor (2004)

An air-gap guard ring around the pixel sensor, to improve pixel sensitivity and crosstalk, in 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS image sensor technology has been successfully developed. By using the RI (refractive index) difference between the air gap (RI/spl sim/1) and dielectric films (RI=1.4/spl sim/1.6), the major incident light is collected in the targeted pixel due to the total internal reflection occurred in the air-gap/dielectric-film interface. The small pixel pitch of 2.8 /spl mu/m/spl sim/4.0 /spl mu/m has been characterized and demonstrates excellent optical performance. For a 3.0 /spl mu/m pixel, the pixel sensitivity shows 45% enhancement and optical spatial crosstalk achieves 90% reduction at 20/spl deg/ incident angle.
An NQO1 Substrate with Potent Antitumor Activity That Selectively Kills by PARP1-Induced Programmed Necrosis (2012)

Agents, such as β-lapachone, that target the redox enzyme, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), to induce programmed necrosis in solid tumors have shown great promise, but more potent tumor-selective compounds are needed. Here, we report that deoxynyboquinone kills a wide spectrum of cancer cells in an NQO1-dependent manner with greater potency than β-lapachone. Deoxynyboquinone lethality relies on NQO1-dependent futile redox cycling that consumes oxygen and generates extensive reactive oxygen species (ROS). Elevated ROS levels cause extensive DNA lesions, PARP1 hyperactivation, and severe NAD+ /ATP depletion that stimulate Ca2+ -dependent programmed necrosis, unique to this new class of NQO1 "bioactivated" drugs. Short-term exposure of NQO1+ cells to deoxynyboquinone was sufficient to trigger cell death, although genetically matched NQO1- cells were unaffected. Moreover, siRNA-mediated NQO1 or PARP1 knockdown spared NQO1+ cells from short-term lethality. Pretreatment of cells with BAPTA-AM (a cytosolic Ca2+ chelator) or catalase (enzymatic H2O2 scavenger) was sufficient to rescue deoxynyboquinone-induced lethality, as noted with β-lapachone. Investigations in vivo showed equivalent antitumor efficacy of deoxynyboquinone to β-lapachone, but at a 6-fold greater potency. PARP1 hyperactivation and dramatic ATP loss were noted in the tumor, but not in the associated normal lung tissue. Our findings offer preclinical proof-of-concept for deoxynyboquinone as a potent chemotherapeutic agent for treatment of a wide spectrum of therapeutically challenging solid tumors, such as pancreatic and lung cancers.
Effects of Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Old Hypogonadal Males: A Preliminary Study (1993)

These preliminary findings support the need for long term studies of testosterone therapy in older hypogonadal males.
Predictive Performance of Equations to Estimate Creatinine Clearance in Hospitalized Elderly Patients (1992)

The Jelliffe 1973 equation with modified lean body weight was the best equation, followed by the Cockcroft-Gault equation. Even with the best equation, 33 percent of the patients would have received an incorrect drug dose. Therefore, some elderly patients may still require a measured creatinine clearance.
Failure mechanisms of polycrystalline diamond compact drill bits in geothermal environments (1981)

Over the past few years the interest in polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) drill bits has grown proportionately with their successful use in drilling oil and gas wells in the North Sea and the United States. This keen interest led to a research program at Sandia to develop PDC drill bits suitable for the severe drilling conditions encountered in geothermal fields. Recently, three different PDC drill bits were tested using either air or mud drilling fluids: one in the laboratory with hot air, one in the Geysers field with air, and one in the Geysers field with mud. All three tests were unsuccessful due to failure of the braze joint used to attach the PDC drill blanks to the tungsten carbide studs. A post-mortem failure analysis of the defective cutters identified three major failure mechanisms: peripheral nonbonding caused by braze oxidation during the brazing step, nonbonding between PDC drill blanks and the braze due to contamination prior to brazing, and hot shortness. No evidence was found to suggest that the braze failures in the Geysers field tests were caused by frictional heating. In addition, inspection of the PDC/stud cutter assemblies using ultrasonic techniques was found to be ineffective for detecting the presence of hot shortness in the braze joint.
Polyisobutylene‐based biomaterials (2004)

Abstract This article highlights the biomaterial‐related research of the Macromolecular Engineering Research Centre (MERC). The MERC group concentrated on polyisobutylene (PIB)‐based biomaterials. In this article, first the unique properties of PIB are discussed, followed by a review of PIB‐based potential biomaterials. MERC's systematic research program aimed to develop novel PIB‐based biomaterials is then highlighted, including surface modification and biocompatibility studies. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3091–3109, 2004
Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Preventing DNA Damage Effect of Pomegranate Extracts by Chemiluminescence Method (2007)

The antioxidant activities of three parts (peel, juice, and seed) and extracts of three pomegranate varieties in China were investigated by using a chemiluminescence (CL) method in vitro. The scavenging ability of pomegranate extracts (PEs) on superoxide anion, hydroxide radical, and hydrogen peroxide was determined by the pyrogallol-luminol system, the CuSO4-Phen-Vc-H2O2 system, and the luminol-H2O2 system, respectively. DNA damage preventing the effect of PE was determined by the CuSO4-Phen-Vc-H2O2-DNA CL system. The results showed that the peel extract of red pomegranate had the best effect on the scavenging ability of superoxide anion because its IC50 value (4.01 +/- 0.09 microg/mL) was the lowest in all PEs. The seed extract of white pomegranate could scavenge hydroxide radical most effectively of the nine extracts (the IC50 value was 1.69 +/- 0.03 microg/mL). The peel extract of white pomegranate had the best scavenging ability on hydrogen peroxide, which had the lowest IC50 value (0.032 +/- 0.003 microg/mL) in the nine extracts. The seed extract of white pomegranate (the IC50 value was 3.67 +/- 0.03 microg/mL) was the most powerful on the DNA damage-preventing effect in all of the PEs. Also, the statistical analysis indicated that there were significant differences (at P < 0.05) among the extracts of the different varieties and parts in each system.
<title>Precision tracking control in flexible pointing structures</title> (1996)

A hybrid neural control system incorporated with feedforward and feedback dynamics is advocated for flexible multibody structures. The proposed neural controller is designed to achieve trajectory slewing of structural member as well as vibration suppression for precision pointing capability. The feedforward path corresponds to the steady-state output of the dynamics while the feedback path stabilizes the transient-state of the motion. In the spirit of model reference adaptive control, we utilize adaptive time-delay radial basis function networks as a building block to allow the neural network to function as an indirect closed-loop controller. The horizon-of-one predictive controllers cooperatively regulates the dynamics of the nonlinear structure to follow the prespecified reference signals asymptotically. The proposed control strategy is validated in the experimental facility, called the Planar Articulating Controls Experiment which consists of a two-link flexible planar structure constrained to move over a granite table. This paper addresses the theoretical foundation of the architecture and demonstrates its applicability via a realistic structural test bed.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Gene Transfer Application of Poly(ethylene glycol-b-ethylenimine) with High Molar Mass Polyamine Block (2006)

The study of ethyloxazoline/methyloxazoline (EtOXZ/MeOXZ) copolymerization, initiated by methyl tosylate (MeOTs), showed that (i) incorporation of MeOXZ units into random copolymer becomes effective over DP = 100 and (ii) propagation process proceeds with negligible transfer to monomer up to a DP of 400 despite the presence of MeOXZ in the polymerization medium. These results produced random poly(EtOXZ-co-MeOXZ) copolymers with various molar composition ratios in alkyloxazoline units. The close values found for the comonomer reactivity ratios in acetonitrile (r(1MeOXZ) = 1.18; r(2EtOXZ) = 0.34) implied a random chain organization in short sequences of each repeating unit, which was an important parameter in view of the optimization of their subsequent modification: the alkaline hydrolysis was successfully achieved when the MeOXZ unit content of the polyoxazoline chains reached 75%. Using these results, the diblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol-b-(ethyloxazoline-co-methyloxazoline)) (poly(EG-b-(EtOXZ-co-MeOXZ))) with high DP was synthesized by cationic copolymerization of EtOXZ/MeOXZ comonomers using CH(3)-PEG(2kDa)-Ts as macroinitiator. The comonomer composition of this new compound was adjusted in order to optimize the hydrolysis step and obtain finally the diblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol-b-ethylenimine) (poly(EG-b-EI)). The high molar mass of this copolymer was confirmed both by (1)H NMR and SANS measurements. Gene delivery experiments showed that the copolymer has significant DNA transfection capacities.
Near complete surgical resection predicts a favorable outcome in pediatric patients with nonbrainstem, malignant gliomas (2004)

Children with malignant gliomas appeared to fare better than their adult counterparts. Because the extent of resection was one of the strongest predictors of outcome, the authors concluded that the optimal therapy for these patients would include the maximal possible resection.
Molecular Cloning of Segments of the M13 Genome (1978)

The molecular cloning of individual genes of the bacteriophageM13 (Fig. 1) provides a new approach to the study of filamentous phage gene expression and provides the potential for complementation of a defective M13 phage. This paper describes the cloning of Bam I -Eco RI* fragments of M13. 1 The cloning vehicle pBR317 was chosen for this study because it has been well characterized, can be obtained in high yield, and possesses two genes conferring antibiotic resistance on the host cell (Boyer et al. 1977). The cloning was carried out as described previously (Kaplan et al. 1977a). Two enzymes were used to digest the cloning vehicle and the M13 DNA, thus eliminating the possibility of intramolecular reactions. The plasmid pBR317 DNA was digested with Eco RI and Bam I; M13 RFI (superhelical, covalently closed, circular, duplex, replicative-form DNA) was digested with an excess of Bam I and a limiting amount of Eco RI*. Eighty Ap r Tc s clones were analyzed and 75 of them contained plasmid DNA ranging in molecular weight from 5.17 × 10 6 daltons to 5.57 × 10 6 daltons; the remaining five contained plasmid DNA of molecular weight greater than 5.57 × 10 6 daltons. Two transformants, pKG7 and pKG35, were selected for further analysis. RESULTS Identification and Description of the M13 Inserts: Plasmid Molecular-weight Determinations The two plasmid DNAs, pKG7 and pKG35, were electrophoresed on a horizontal 0.7% agarose gel (Kaplan et al. 1977b) along with plasmid DNAs of known molecular weights. The molecular weight of pKG7 was determined to be 5.60 ×...
Impact of Flavour Variability on Electronic Cigarette Use Experience: An Internet Survey (2013)

The results of this survey of dedicated users indicate that flavours are marketed in order to satisfy vapers' demand. They appear to contribute to both perceived pleasure and the effort to reduce cigarette consumption or quit smoking. Due to the fact that adoption of ECs by youngsters is currently minimal, it seems that implementing regulatory restrictions to flavours could cause harm to current vapers while no public health benefits would be observed in youngsters. Therefore, flavours variability should be maintained; any potential future risk for youngsters being attracted to ECs can be sufficiently minimized by strictly prohibiting EC sales in this population group.