gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Interleukin-6 and Cardiovascular Diseases (2004)

Inflammatory cytokines are important for both cardiovascular scientists and practicing clinicians. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been emphasized by reports of elevated circulating as well as intracardiac IL-6 levels in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). IL-6 may contribute to the progression of myocardial damage and dysfunction in chronic heart failure syndrome resulting from different causes. As the cause of CHF in cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, allograft rejection, and left ventricular assist device (LVADs) conditions, circulating IL-6 levels are associated with the severity of left ventricular dysfunction, and are also strong predictors of subsequent clinical outcomes. Continuous and excessive production of IL-6 promotes myocardial injury by breaking down both cytokine networks and viral clearance under viral myocarditis. Although IL-6 is likely important in the process of viral antigen presentation, early activation of immune responses and attenuation of viral replication also appear to be significant in an animal model of viral myocarditis. IL-6 can cause cardiac hypertrophy through the IL-6 signal transducing receptor component, glycoprotein 130. There are several interesting cases of cardiac myxoma complicated with mediastinal lymphadenopathy or left ventricular hypertrophy. Increased expression of IL-6 is observed in the myocardium of all donor hearts showing marked dysfunction. Myocardial IL-6 concentrations are also significantly higher in LVAD candidates compared with advanced heart failure patients. Although the IL-6 family plays a central role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases, it remains to be determined whether the IL-6 family is beneficial or detrimental. Future study will be needed to resolve this question.
Delivery of focused short pulses through a multimode fiber (2015)

Light propagation through multimode fibers suffers from spatial distortions that lead to a scrambled intensity profile. In previous work, the correction of such distortions using various wavefront control methods has been demonstrated in the continuous wave case. However, in the ultra-fast pulse regime, modal dispersion temporally broadens a pulse after propagation. Here, we present a method that compensates for spatial distortions and mitigates temporal broadening due to modal dispersion by a selective phase conjugation process in which only modes of similar group velocities are excited. The selectively excited modes are forced to follow certain paths through the multimode fiber and interfere constructively at the distal tip to form a focused spot with minimal temporal broadening. We demonstrate the delivery of focused 500 fs pulses through a 30 cm long step-index multimode fiber. The achieved pulse duration corresponds to approximately 1/30th of the duration obtained if modal dispersion was not controlled. Moreover, we measured a detailed two-dimensional map of the pulse duration at the output of the fiber and confirmed that the focused spot produces a two-photon absorption effect. This work opens new possibilities for ultra-thin multiphoton imaging through multimode fibers.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Sterol Synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (2020)

This chapter explores the biochemical events of ergosterol biosynthesis as well as review the cloning and characterization of the genes that code for the pathway enzymes. The availability of a well-characterized genetic system and the ease of isolating mutants in a haploid organism have made yeast a major source of information on the biochemistry and molecular biology of sterol biosynthesis. Modern techniques in molecular biology have been used to identify the sterol features essential for viability, and information on this pathway has also been important in the characterization and development of compounds that have antifungal activity. The morpholines inhibit two different steps in sterol synthesis and have been employed primarily as agricultural fungicides, although one compound, amorolfine, is available in topical form for use against dermatophytic infections. The polyisoprenoid dolichols, glycosyl carrier lipids functioning in glycolipid synthesis, are derived from farnesyl pyrophosphate, a sterol pathway intermediate.
Studies of Infectious Laryngotracheitis Vaccines: Immunity in Layers (1989)

James R. Andreasen, Jr., John R. Glisson, Mark A. Goodwin, Reynaldo S. Resurreccion, Pedro Villegas, John Brown, Studies of Infectious Laryngotracheitis Vaccines: Immunity in Layers, Avian Diseases, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1989), pp. 524-530
Tumor resistance to alkylating agents conferred by mechanisms operative only in vivo (1990)

EMT-6 murine mammary tumors were made resistant to cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (CDDP), carboplatin, cyclophosphamide (CTX), or thiotepa in vivo by treatment of tumor-bearing animals with the drug during a 6-month period. In spite of high levels of in vivo resistance, no significant resistance was observed when the cells from these tumors were exposed to the drugs in vitro. The pharmacokinetics of CDDP and CTX were altered in animals bearing the respective resistant tumors. The resistance of all tumor lines except for the EMT-6/thiotepa decreased during 3 to 6 months in vivo passage in the absence of drugs. These results indicate that very high levels of resistance to anticancer drugs can develop through mechanisms that are expressed only in vivo.
Robust affine invariant matching with application to line features (2002)

Line features in geometric hashing are discussed. Lines are used as the primitive features to compute the geometric invariants, combining the Hough transform with a variation of geometric hashing as a technique for model-based object recognition in seriously degraded single intensity images. The effect of uncertainty of line features on the computed invariants for the case where images are formed under affine viewing transformations is analytically determined. The system is implemented with experiments on polygonal objects, which are modeled by lines. It is shown that the technique is noise resistant and suitable in an environment containing many occlusions.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>
A Haptic Solution to Assist Visually Impaired in Mobility Tasks (2015)

Electronic travel aids are used for detecting obstacles, identifying services, and, generally, obtaining useful information from the surroundings, thus enabling a safe and effective exploitation of the environment. A drawback is unnatural codification, which may lead to usability concerns. This paper introduces a haptic device aimed to provide the user with information on the presence of obstacles inside the environment. The haptic interface is intended to reproduce the stimuli provided by a traditional white cane, without any contact with the environment. A prototype, implemented through a short cane with an embedded smart sensing strategy and an active handle, is presented. Twenty-five blindfolded normally sighted users participated to assess system performance in detecting obstacles and correctly conveying their position by the haptic interface. With respect to detecting obstacles and their positions, the average values of the sensitivity in the case of left, center, and right positioned obstacles are 0.735, 0.803, and 0.830, while the specificity values are 0.924, 0.835, and 0.827, respectively.
Retroviral cell targeting vectors. (1999)

The availability of cell targeting vectors is an unalterable requirement for in vivo gene therapy trials. This review will describe the different strategies developed over the past few years in order to target retroviral vectors to preselected human cell types by genetic modification of the envelope (Env) proteins. Current targeting concepts include the substitution of the complete Env protein as well as the incorporation of new receptor binding domains into the Env protein. These approaches are aimed at altering the host range of vectors with a natural tropism for non-human cells to specific human cell types, or achieving tissue-specificity for vectors that would naturally infect a wide spectrum of human cell types. Targeting concepts and efficient targeting vectors with potential for clinical trials will be described, and their advantages and disadvantages will be discussed.
RNA Silencing of Single and Multiple Members in a Gene Family of Rice (2005)

RNA silencing with inverted repeat (IR) constructs has been used to suppress gene expression in various organisms. However, the transitive RNA-silencing effect described in plants may preclude the use of RNA silencing for a gene family. Here, we show that, in rice (Oryza sativa), transitive RNA silencing (spreading of double-stranded RNA along the target mRNA) occurred with the green fluorescent protein transgene but not with the endogenous phytoene desaturase gene. We fused IR copies of unique 3' untranslated regions derived from the rice OsRac gene family to a strong promoter and stably introduced them into rice. Each of the seven members of the OsRac gene family was specifically suppressed by its respective IR construct. We also examined IR constructs in which multiple 3' untranslated regions were fused and showed that three members of the OsRac gene family were effectively suppressed by a single construct. Using highly conserved regions of the two members of the OsRac gene family, we also suppressed the expression of all members of the gene family with variable efficiencies. These results suggest that RNA silencing is a useful method for the functional analysis of gene families in rice and other plants.
Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis (2017)

George E. Atwood gelingt es auf eindrückliche Weise, das menschlich verursachte Leiden anderer zu illustrieren und dabei seine eigene Vulnerabilität nicht zu verbergen. Dabei nimmt er eine respektvolle, phänomenologisch orientierte Haltung ein, die die Einbettung von seelischem Leiden innerhalb menschlicher Erfahrungen beschreibt. Selten findet man eine so offene Darstellung eines Psychotherapeuten, der sowohl aus seinem eigenen Misslingen als auch dem Misslingen anderer Fachleute lernt.
Commentary on the reimbursement paradox (2009)

Reimbursement policies are a critical step in the incorporation of new technologies and therapies into the clinical armamentarium. Reimbursement is an umbrella concept describing the process to manage and pay for healthcare services, including benefit coverage, coding, and payment processes. The technologies and services used in therapeutic temperature management are not directly reimbursed, leading to challenges by hospitals and physicians that the services are too expensive to use. The reimbursement models used in the United States make it increasingly difficult for new technologies and therapies to gain direct reimbursement, part of a strategy by insurers, including Medicare and private insurance companies, to manage access to health care services. Insurers, physicians, hospitals, and other providers face conflicting financial incentives in current reimbursement systems. Aligning the financial incentives underlying reimbursement systems is necessary to adequately support new technologies of merit.
The Persistent Quantum Bit (1996)

The construction of large, coherent quantum systems necessary for quantum computation remains an entreating but elusive goal, due to the ubiquitous nature of decoherence. Recent progress in quantum error correction schemes have given new hope to this field, but thus far, the codes presented in the literature assume a restricted number of errors and error free encoding, decoding, and measurement. We investigate a specific scenario without these assumptions; in particular, we evaluate a scheme to preserve a single quantum bit against phase damping using a three-qubit encoding based on Shor. By applying a new formalism which gives simple operators for decoherence and noisy logic gates, we find the fidelity of the stored qubit as a function of time, including decoherence which occurs not only during storage but also during processing. We generalize our results to include any source of error, and derive an upper limit on the allowable decoherence per timestep. Physically, our results suggest the feasibility of engineering artificial metastable states through repeated error correction.
Single-Stage Vernier Time-to-Digital Converter with Sub-Gate Delay Time Resolution (2011)

This paperpresents a single-stage Vernier Time-to-Digital Converter (VTDC) that utilizes the dynamic-logic phase detector. The zero dead-zone characteristic of this phase detector allows for the single-stage VTDC to deliver sub-gate delay time resolution. The single-stage VTDC has been designed in 0.13μm CMOS technology. The simulation results demonstrate a linear input-output characteristic for input dynamic range from 0 to 1.6ns with a time resolution of 25ps.
Purification and characterization of component A of the methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath). (1984)

Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) possesses a multi-component methane monooxygenase which catalyzes in vivo the conversion of methane to methanol. Component A of this enzyme system, believed to be the oxygenase component, has been purified to near homogeneity (95%). The native protein has a molecular weight of approximately 210,000 and is comprised of three subunits of Mr = 54,000, 42,000, and 17,000, which appear to be present in stoichiometric amounts suggesting an alpha 2, beta 2, gamma 2 arrangement in the native protein. Purified preparations of the protein are virtually colorless and examination of the uv/visible absorption spectrum revealed a peak around 280-290 nm and thereafter a steady decrease in absorbance to longer wavelengths. The ESR spectrum of the oxidized protein gave a signal at g = 4.3, presumably due to rhombic iron, and a radical signal at g = 2.01. Upon reduction with dithionite, a signal at g = 1.934 appeared. Chemical analyses of our purified preparations revealed the presence of iron (2.3 mol/mol) and zinc (0.2-0.5 mol/mol): molybdenum, copper, nickel, heme, and acid-labile sulfur were all virtually absent. On ultra thin layer isoelectric focusing, purified component A was judged to have a pI between 5.0 and 5.1. Extracts prepared from a variety of other methanotrophs failed to show any cross-reaction to antibody raised against M. capsulatus component A.
Single-Crystal to Single-Crystal Mechanical Contraction of Metal–Organic Frameworks through Stereoselective Postsynthetic Bromination (2015)

The properties of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be tuned by postsynthetic modification (PSM) to introduce specific functionalities after their synthesis. Typically, PSM is carried out on pendant functional groups or through metal/ligand exchange, preserving the structure of the MOF. We report herein the bromination of integral alkyne units in a pair of Zr(4+) and Hf(4+) MOFs, which proceeds stereoselectively in a single-crystal to single-crystal manner. The chemical and mechanical changes in the MOFs are extensively characterized, including the crystal structures of the postsynthetically brominated materials, which show a mechanical contraction of up to 3.7% in volume. The combination of stability and chemical reactivity in these MOFs leads to the possibility of tuning mechanical properties by chemical transformation while also opening up new routes to internal pore functionalization.
A possible linkage between AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathway (2003)

These results indicate that the AMPK and mTOR signalling pathways are possibly linked. In addition to the mTOR signal acting as a priming switch that modulates p70 S6k activation, AMPK appears to provide an overriding switch linking p70 S6k regulation to cellular energy metabolism.
Characterization of Recombinant Human Type IX Collagen (1999)

As type IX collagen is a minor cartilage component, it is difficult to purify sufficient amounts of it from tissues or cultured cells to study its structure and function. Also, the conventional pepsin digestion used for fibrillar collagens cannot be utilized for purifying type IX collagen, because it contains several interruptions in its collagenous triple helix. A baculovirus expression system was used here to produce recombinant human type IX collagen by coinfecting insect cells with three viruses containing full-length cDNAs for the alpha1(IX), alpha2(IX), and alpha3(IX) collagen chains together with a double promoter virus for the alpha and beta subunits of human prolyl 4-hydroxylase. Correctly folded recombinant type IX collagen was secreted, consisting of the three alpha chains in a 1:1:1 ratio and showing the expected biphasic thermal melting profile. When the individual alpha chains were expressed, disulfide-bonded homotrimers and homodimers of the alpha chains were observed. When the cells were coinfected with the viruses for all three alpha chains, heterotrimers of alpha1(IX), alpha2(IX), and alpha3(IX) were detected in cell culture medium, and the other possible combinations were less prominent. When any two of the alpha chains were co-expressed, in addition to the homodimers and homotrimers, only alpha1(IX) and alpha3(IX) chains were disulfide-bonded. The results thus suggest that the most favored molecular species is an alpha1(IX)alpha2(IX)alpha3(IX) heterotrimer, but the chains are also able to form disulfide-bonded heterotrimers of alpha1(IX) and alpha3(IX) chains and (alpha1(IX))(3), (alpha2(IX))(3), and (alpha3(IX))(3) homotrimers.
Prions (1998)

Prions are unprecedented infectious pathogens that cause a group of invariably fatal neurodegenerative diseases by an entirely novel mechanism. Prion diseases may present as genetic, infectious, or sporadic disorders, all of which involve modification of the prion protein (PrP). Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), scrapie of sheep, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) of humans are among the most notable prion diseases. Prions are transmissible particles that are devoid of nucleic acid and seem to be composed exclusively of a modified protein (PrPSc). The normal, cellular PrP (PrPC) is converted into PrPSc through a posttranslational process during which it acquires a high beta-sheet content. The species of a particular prion is encoded by the sequence of the chromosomal PrP gene of the mammals in which it last replicated. In contrast to pathogens carrying a nucleic acid genome, prions appear to encipher strain-specific properties in the tertiary structure of PrPSc. Transgenetic studies argue that PrPSc acts as a template upon which PrPC is refolded into a nascent PrPSc molecule through a process facilitated by another protein. Miniprions generated in transgenic mice expressing PrP, in which nearly half of the residues were deleted, exhibit unique biological properties and should facilitate structural studies of PrPSc. While knowledge about prions has profound implications for studies of the structural plasticity of proteins, investigations of prion diseases suggest that new strategies for the prevention and treatment of these disorders may also find application in the more common degenerative diseases.
Vibrating varifocal mirrors for 3-D imaging (1969)

As technology advances, the interactions between man and machine become more complex. A reliable three-dimensional man-machine interface could help alleviate some of the complexity; but an effective 3-D display has, so far, eluded technologists. Thus, we have been forced to make unnatural compromises when dealing with data that are essentially three-dimensional in nature. This article describes a system that may meet the autostereoscopic display requirements in many situations.
Speckle-free phase plate (diffuser) for far-field applications (1993)

Phase plates have been used in holography and laser fusion to produce a well-defined far-field intensity envelope that is relatively independent of the input-beam profile. However, superposed on this envelope is unwanted highly modulated speckle from the interference between different phase-plate elements. The speckle can have deleterious effects such as creating intensities in the nonlinear region of a hologram recording medium or by initiating filamentation and hydrodynamic instabilities in laser-fusion applications. A technique has been developed for choosing the phase-plate elements (in combination with polarization rotation) such that these intensity fluctuations approach zero in the limit of plane-wave near-field irradiation. For applications where the near-field phase and amplitude have only small variations, the resulting speckle is also small. Conversely, the observation of far-field intensity fluctuations can be used to estimate the quality of the near-field beam.
ChemInform Abstract: 2′‐O‐Methyloligoribonucleotides: Synthesis and Applications (1992)

Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Effects of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Heart Failure Patients With and Without Cheyne-Stokes Respiration (2000)

CPAP improves cardiac function in CHF patients with CSR-CSA but not in those without it. Although not definitive, our findings also suggest that CPAP can reduce the combined mortality-cardiac transplantation rate in those CHF patients with CSR-CSA who comply with therapy.
Apoptotic Genes in Cancer Therapy (2002)

Induction of apoptosis in malignant cells is a major goal of cancer therapy in general and of certain cancer gene therapy strategies in particular. Numerous apoptosis-regulating genes have been evaluated for this purpose. Besides the most prominent p53 gene others include p16, p21, p27, E2F genes, FHIT, PTEN and CASPASE genes. Recently, the potential for therapy of an adenoviral gene, E1A, known for a long time for its apoptosis-inducing activity, has been discovered. In experimental settings, these genes have proven their tumor-suppressive and apoptosis-inducing activity. Clinical trials are currently being performed with selected genes. By far the most studies transfer the p53 gene using retro- or adenoviral vectors. Disease stabilization or other benefits were observed in a limited number of patients when p53 was applied alone or in combination with cytotoxic drugs. A second proapoptotic gene that has entered clinical trials is adenovirus E1A. Here, too, disease stabilization as well as/or local regression in one case have been demonstrated in selected patients. In all cases, side effects were tolerable. To further improve E1A as a therapeutic transgene, we have deleted transforming domains from the adenovirus 5 and 12 13S cDNAs. Mutants were derived which had completely lost their transforming activity in combination with the E1B oncogene but retained a pronounced tumor-suppressive activity. Cells transduced with these constructs showed a highly reduced ability to grow in soft agar, and tumor growth in nude mice could be substantially suppressed. Outgrowing tumors had lost E1A expression when analyzed in Western blots. These E1A constructs may represent valuable tools for cancer gene therapy in the future.