gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
The diagnostic dilemma of ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill children* (2010)

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is an important nosocomial infection in the pediatric intensive care unit. Conclusions regarding epidemiology, treatment, and outcomes are greatly hampered by the inadequacies of current diagnostic methods. We recommend a more rigorous approach to diagnosis by using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention algorithm. Given that ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most common reason for antibiotic use in the pediatric intensive care unit, more systematic studies are sorely needed.
Redox-Active Nucleic-Acid Replica for the Amplified Bioelectrocatalytic Detection of Viral DNA (2002)

A new concept for the amplified electrochemical detection of the 7229-base viral DNA of M13phi is developed. A thiolated 27-base nucleic acid (1) is assembled on an Au-electrode. Hybridization between the sensing interface and the M13phi DNA is followed by the polymerase-induced replication of the analyte DNA in the presence of dCTP, dGTP, dATP, and ferrocene-tethered-dUTP (2). The generated redox-active replica mediates electron transfer between the enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx) and the electrode and activates the bioelectrocatalyzed oxidation of glucose. The bioelectrocatalyzed oxidation of glucose provides a biocatalytic amplification path for the formation of the redox-active replica. The electrochemical techniques to follow the replication and the bioelectrocatalytic amplification are differential pulse voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry. The electrical responses from the system relate to the bulk concentration of the M13phi DNA, thus enabling the quantitative analysis of the viral gene.
Three dimensional image guided extrapolation for cone-beam CT image reconstruction (2014)

In cone-beam CT the range of projection views measured for each given image voxel is spatially variant. In the corners of the image volume there is less projection data available to be used by the image reconstruction algorithm, due to data truncation in the z direction (i.e. along the scanner axis). Given the desire to increase the fraction of the voxels which may be reconstructed from a given scan there is a desire to incorporate some extrapolated data into the image reconstruction procedure. In this work one approach is described which consists of a two-pass procedure where the first pass image reconstruction is performed over a larger extent in the z direction, a non-linear transform is applied to the initial reconstruction and a forward projection is applied in order to estimate the extrapolated image data. Initial results are presented which compare the method to zeroth order extrapolation and demonstrate that improvement in the reconstruction of the corner regions with a simple numerical phantom and with anatomical phantom data from a prototype wide coverage CT system.
Conditional repression of the E2 transcription unit in E1-E3-deleted adenovirus vectors is correlated with a strong reduction in viral DNA replication and late gene expression in vitro (1997)

An E1-E3-deleted recombinant adenovirus vector expressing the hybrid protein TetR-KRAB has been produced. In this virus, AdTG9562, the E2 transcription is regulated by TetR-KRAB and tetO sequences inserted in cis. In the absence of tetracycline, a strong reduction in E2A gene expression, viral DNA replication, and late gene expression was observed in noncomplementing A549 cells, and a reduction in viral growth was seen in the E1-expressing 293 cells. In contrast, there was no repression in the presence of the regulator tetracycline. We propose that regulation by TetR-KRAB is a valuable tool with which to study the effects of viral gene expression in vitro.
Mucositis: biology and management (2007)

Mucositis is a common and serious complication secondary to chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer that has a profound effect on morbidity, compliance and treatment outcomes. Currently available interventions are directed at minimizing local radiation exposure and providing symptomatic relief. In the near future, a number of new treatment modalities can be expected to be introduced for reduction of severity and duration of mucositis.
Trapping Microparticles with Strongly Inhomogeneous Magnetic Fields (2003)

By using micron size permanent magnets we have trapped directly single diamagnetic micron size polystyrene microspheres inside a buffer solution with a magnetic field and demonstrated self-assembly of several hundred microns long chains of microspheres in magnetic traps.
Nonlinear Modeling and Control of Overhead Crane Load Sway (1988)

In this paper, we derive a nonlinear dynamical model for an overhead crane. The model takes into account simultaneous travel and transverse motions of the crane. The aim is to transport an object along a specified transport route in such a way that the swing angles are suppressed as quickly as possible. We develop an antiswing control system which adopts a feedback control to specify the crane speed at every moment. The gain matrix is chosen such that a desired rate of decay of the swing angles is obtained. The model and control scheme are simulated on a digital computer and the results prove that the feedback control works well.
Alveolar Surface Tension and Lung Surfactant (1986)

The sections in this article are: 1 Background 1.1 Early Contributors 1.2 Relevance of Alveolar Surface Film 1.3 Current Model of Lung Surfactant Action 2 Definition and Measurement of Surface Tension 2.1 Generation of Interfacial Tension 2.2 Methods 3 Adsorption and Spreading of Surfactant Films 3.1 Form of Surfactant 3.2 Factors Affecting Adsorption and Spreading 4 Properties of Films Related to Lung Surfactant 4.1 Low Surface Tension and Other Quasi-Static Film Properties 4.2 Dynamic Film Properties 5 Influence of Surface Tension on Lung Pressure-Volume Behavior 5.1 Static Properties 5.2 Dynamic Properties 6 Turnover and Recycling of Surfactant Components 6.1 Possible Recycling Paths 6.2 Local Monolayer Recycling 6.3 Extramonolayer Recycling Pathways 7 Summary of Lung Surfactant Properties 7.1 Rapid Adsorption and Spreading 7.2 Low Surface Tension When Film is Compressed 7.3 Stable Low Surface Tension 8 Future Considerations
Mimicry attacks on host-based intrusion detection systems (2002)

We examine several host-based anomaly detection systems and study their security against evasion attacks. First, we introduce the notion of a mimicry attack, which allows a sophisticated attacker to cloak their intrusion to avoid detection by the IDS. Then, we develop a theoretical framework for evaluating the security of an IDS against mimicry attacks. We show how to break the security of one published IDS with these methods, and we experimentally confirm the power of mimicry attacks by giving a worked example of an attack on a concrete IDS implementation. We conclude with a call for further research on intrusion detection from both attacker's and defender's viewpoints.
The correlation of heart rate between natural sleep and dexmedetomidine sedation (2018)

There was a correlation between the change in HR during natural sleep and dexmedetomidine sedation. The bradycardia that occurs when using dexmedetomidine may be a normal physiologic change, that can be monitored rather than corrected.
Muscle weakness in women occurs at an earlier age than in men, but strength is preserved by hormone replacement therapy (1993)

1. The time-course of the age-related decline in specific muscle force (maximum voluntary force per cross-sectional area) in men and women was determined by measuring the maximum voluntary force and cross-sectional area of the adductor pollicis muscle in 273 subjects aged 17-90 years (176 men, 30 premenopausal women and 67 peri- or post-menopausal women who were not receiving hormone replacement therapy). 2. To determine whether the loss of specific muscle force is hormone-dependent in women, we studied a further 25 women, aged 42-72 years, who were receiving hormone replacement therapy. 3. There was no significant difference in specific force between young men and pre-menopausal women. Around the time of the menopause there was a dramatic decline in specific force in women which was prevented by the use of hormone replacement therapy. In men the weakness started later (around the age of 60 years) and the decline in specific force was more gradual, reaching the level seen in post-menopausal women after the age of 75 years. 4. The protective effect of hormone replacement therapy on muscle strength is likely to be an important contributory factor to its proven action in preventing osteoporotic fractures. The dramatic peri-menopausal decline in muscle strength is a likely explanation for the known increases in falls and Colles' fractures around the time of the menopause.
Hepatic Insulin Gene Expression as Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Rats (1997)

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is caused by a lack of insulin that results from the autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic beta-cells. Severe diabetes, if not controlled by periodic insulin injections, can lead to ketoacidosis and death. We have previously shown that sustained low level production of insulin in the liver of diabetic rats prevented their death from complications of diabetes. To test the hypothesis that there is a window of serum insulin concentrations that can prevent ketoacidosis without significant risk of hypoglycemia secondary to hyperinsulinemia, rats were infused with various doses of a recombinant retrovirus encoding an engineered rat preproinsulin-1 gene. The gene was engineered to allow processing into mature insulin by the protease furin. At the lower doses tested, fatal ketoacidosis was prevented, but the rats exhibited nonfasting hyperglycemia. At intermediate doses, which resulted in serum insulin concentrations of 1.6 mg/ml, the rats achieved near-normoglycemia and no serum ketones. These rats did not exhibit hypoglycemia even during a 24-h fast. At high virus doses, the animals achieved nonfasting normoglycemia but exhibited hypoglycemia during the fast. In conclusion, we have defined a therapeutic window of hepatic insulin expression that provides protection against ketoacidosis without significant risk of hypoglycemia. This window of sustained hepatic insulin expression might permit its development into a novel treatment modality for the prevention of ketoacidosis in patients with severe insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Identification and characterization of Neospora caninum tachyzoite antigens useful for diagnosis of neosporosis (1994)

The purpose of the present study was to identify antigens of the protozoan Neospora caninum that could be useful for the diagnosis of neosporosis in domestic animals. As revealed by immunoblotting, immune sera from a wide range of animal species exhibited a similar recognition pattern of four major and several minor N. caninum antigens. In contrast to preinoculation sera, all tested immune sera recognized nonreduced immunodominant 17-, 29-, 30-, and 27-kDa antigens. A 46-kDa protein which showed faint recognition by preimmune sera also exhibited a strong response by immune sera. Immunolocalization of the four immunodominant N. caninum antigens was investigated by immunogold electron microscopy using monospecific polyclonal antisera. The 17-kDa antigen appears to be associated with the body part of the rhoptries, while the 29- and 30-kDa antigens were associated with the dense granules, network, and limiting membrane of the parasitophorous vacuole. Studies were also conducted to compare antibody responses to N. caninum and the related protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Although N. caninum and T. gondii (RH strain) tachyzoites shared a few cross-reacting antigens, the immunodominant antigens of both parasites were not recognized by heterologous sera. Also, immunogold staining with rabbit anti-Neospora hyperimmune serum exhibited almost no labeling of external membranes of Neospora tachyzoites compared with the very marked labeling seen when Toxoplasma tachyzoites (RH strain) were incubated with rabbit anti-Toxoplasma hyperimmune serum. These unique antigenic differences should be useful in developing a diagnostic assay for N. caninum.
Activation of Peripheral Th17 Lymphocytes in Patients with Asthma (2009)

A recently identified interleukin (IL)-17-producing T-helper (Th) lymphocyte subset, which comprises Th17 cells producing hallmark cytokines IL-17A, IL-17F and IL-22, is involved in chronic inflammatory diseases. Elevated gene and protein expressions of IL-17 are manifested in allergic asthma. We further characterized the activation of Th17 cells in asthmatic patients. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were purified from 31 asthmatic patients and 20 sex- and age-matched control subjects. The number of IL-17A secreting cells in peripheral blood was enumerated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay. Cell surface expression of Th17-related chemokine receptor CCR6, and plasma level of IL-17A, IL-17F and IL-22, and ex vivo production of IL-17A and IL-22 were measured by flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The number of peripheral Th17 lymphocytes, expression of CCR6 on Th cells, and ex vivo IL-23, anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 induced production of IL-22 by PBMC were significantly elevated in asthmatic patients compared with control subjects (all p < 0.01). This clinical study further confirmed increased number of peripheral Th17 lymphocytes and cell surface expression of CCR6 receptors on Th cells in asthmatic patients. Pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-23 can exacerbate disease severity by activating pathogenic Th17 lymphocytes to release downstream inflammatory cytokine IL-22 in asthma.
Prevalence and Perceived Preventability of Self-Reported Adverse Drug Events – A Population-Based Survey of 7099 Adults (2013)

One-fifth of the adult general public across age groups reported ADEs during the past month, indicating a need for prevention strategies beyond hospitalised patients. For this, the underlying causes of ADEs should increasingly be investigated. The high burden of ADEs and preventable ADEs from widely used drugs across care settings supports redesigning a safer healthcare system to adequately tackle the problem.
Metabolic modeling and engineering of Escherichia coli to reduce acetate formation in recombinant DNA-fermentations (2007)

Escherichia coli remains one of the most attractive production organisms in industrial biotechnology because of its ability to grow rapidly and at high density on inexpensive substrates, its well-characterized genetics and the availability of an increasingly large number of cloning vectors and mutant host strains. During aerobic fermentation runs of E. coli at high growth rates, considerable amounts of acetate are accumulated as by-product. This by-product has negative effects on growth and protein production. The goal of this research was to minimize acetate formation during recDNA-fermentation processes using metabolic modeling and engineering of E. coli. In metabolic engineering mathematical models require accurate experimental data. Thus, these models heavily rely on data gathered during the steady state operation of bioreactors and consequently, accurate methods for data collection and analysis are necessary. In this research the optimization of the data analysis, especially of some constituent elements of biomass was done. Thus far, metabolic engineering has been largely restricted to the ‘all or nothing’ approach: the deletion and/or massive overexpression of the gene under study. However, in many cases such drastic modifications are not required or result in inferior strain performance. Therefore, a more subtle tuning of gene and/or enzymatic activities is essential. An artificial constitutive promoter library for Escherichia coli was constructed and a PLS model, that reasonably well predicted the promoter strength given its sequence, was built and validated. The effectiveness of the promoter library as a toolbox for metabolic engineering of E. coli was demonstrated. Finally, metabolic modeling and engineering of E. coli was performed to optimize E. coli for recombinant protein production. Combination of cutting off the flux through acetate and overexpressing ppc seems most promising for reducing acetate formation and increasing recombinant production. Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) revealed that the genetic alterations have no significant influence on central metabolism and maintenance. Using transient MFA, the dynamics of fluxes could be calculated and this revealed an increase of 12.5 times in the flux towards the recombinant protein resulting in 5 times more recombinant protein activity.
Receptor-associated protein (RAP): a specialized chaperone for endocytic receptors. (1998)

A number of cellular control mechanisms have evolved that facilitate and evaluate post-translational steps in protein biosynthesis. Chaperones or escort proteins are an important part of these cellular control mechanisms. They associate with newly synthesized proteins and assure correct folding and post-translational modification including disulfide bridge formation, glycosylation and complex formation. The receptor-associated protein (RAP) is a novel type of chaperone recently identified that is especially designed to assist in the biosynthesis and intracellular transport of endocytic receptors. Experimental evidence suggests that RAP acts as a receptor antagonist and prevents association of newly synthesized receptors with their ligands during transport to the cell surface. This mechanism seems to be required in cell types that express both receptor and ligand because premature receptor-ligand interaction in the secretory pathway interferes with proper export of the receptors to the cell surface. This review describes studies that have uncovered this unique protein biosynthesis mechanism.
WASP and WAVE family proteins: Friends or foes in cancer invasion? (2010)

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) and WASP family verprolin-homologous protein (WAVE) family proteins activate cells' major actin nucleating machinery, the actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex, leading to the formation and remodeling of cortical actin filament networks. Cortical actin regulation is critical in many aspects of cell physiology including cell-cell adhesion and cell motility, whose dysregulation is directly associated with cancer invasion and metastasis. In line with this association, the WASP and WAVE family proteins have been reported to be involved in cancer malignancies. What is puzzling, however, is that they can act as either enhancers or suppressors of cancer malignancies depending on the type of cancer and its pathological stage. We are still far from understanding the roles of the WASP and WAVE family proteins in cancer progression. Here, we summarize the recent advances of studies of the WASP and WAVE family proteins with respect to cancer invasion and we offer a model that can account for the diverse outcomes originating from dysregulated WASP and WAVE family proteins in cancer development.
ChemInform Abstract: N‐Phosphonomethyl Dipeptides and Their Phosphonate Prodrugs, a New Generation of Neutral Endopeptidase (NEP, EC 3.4.24.11) Inhibitors. (1994)

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.
In Vitro Fertilization with Cryopreserved Inbred Mouse Sperm1 (2000)

Sperm from C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, BALB/cJ, 129S3/SvImJ, and FVB/NJ inbred mice were cryopreserved in 3% skim milk/18% raffinose cryoprotectant solution. The post-thaw sperm from all strains were evaluated for their viability and fertility by comparing them against B6D2F1 sperm used as a control. The protocol used for freezing mouse sperm was effective in different strains, because the motility was decreased by 50% after cryopreservation similar to other mammalian sperm. However, the progressive motility and the fertility of each inbred strain were affected differently. The C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ, and 129S3/SvImJ strains were the most affected; their fertility (two-cell cleavage) decreased from 70%, 34%, and 84% when using freshly collected sperm to 6%, 12%, and 6% when using frozen/thawed sperm, respectively. Live newborns derived from frozen/thawed sperm were obtained from all strains in the study. These results corroborate the genetic variation among strains with regard to fertility and susceptibility to cryopreservation.
Magnetic resonance imaging: a tool to monitor and optimize enzyme distribution during porcine pancreas distention for islet isolation (2014)

Porcine islet xenotransplantation is emerging as a potential alternative for allogeneic clinical islet transplantation. Optimization of porcine islet isolation in terms of yield and quality is critical for the success and cost-effectiveness of this approach. Incomplete pancreas distention and inhomogeneous enzyme distribution have been identified as key factors for limiting viable islet yield per porcine pancreas. The aim of this study was to explore the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a tool to investigate the homogeneity of enzyme delivery in porcine pancreata. Traditional and novel methods for enzyme delivery aimed at optimizing enzyme distribution were examined. Pancreata were procured from Landrace pigs via en bloc viscerectomy. The main pancreatic duct was then cannulated with an 18-g winged catheter and MRI performed at 1.5-T. Images were collected before and after ductal infusion of chilled MRI contrast agent (gadolinium) in physiological saline. Regions of the distal aspect of the splenic lobe and portions of the connecting lobe and bridge exhibited reduced delivery of solution when traditional methods of distention were utilized. Use of alternative methods of delivery (such as selective re-cannulation and distention of identified problem regions) resolved these issues, and MRI was successfully utilized as a guide and assessment tool for improved delivery. Current methods of porcine pancreas distention do not consistently deliver enzyme uniformly or adequately to all regions of the pancreas. Novel methods of enzyme delivery should be investigated and implemented for improved enzyme distribution. MRI serves as a valuable tool to visualize and evaluate the efficacy of current and prospective methods of pancreas distention and enzyme delivery.