gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of automatic mobile playlist generator (2007)

Mobile music consumption is increasing and many of the current mobile phones already offer music listening capabilities. Still, most of the current automatic playlist generation systems do not function in the mobile domain. This paper presents an evaluation of a content-based prototype mobile playlist generator. A user study was conducted to find out the quality and performance of our content-based automatic playlist generation engine from the user's perspective. In addition, possible benefits, usage scenarios, and future improvements are covered in this study, to support further development. There were 30 test subjects taking part in the usability study consisting of individual interviews and a trial. The overall performance of the automatic playlist generator satisfied 90% of the test subjects and they would like to use such system. Still, there are many improvements and new design ideas to take into account in further development to gain even better user acceptance and performance. These development ideas include e.g. getting rid of the most unsuccessful recommendations, providing option to group similar artists on the playlists and adding support for new ways of creating playlists by utilizing multiple seed songs.
THE LIBERATION OF A SLOW‐REACTING SMOOTH MUSCLE‐STIMULATING SUBSTANCE IN ANAPHYLAXIS (1940)

1. The response of the isolated jejunum of the sensitised guinea‐pig to the anaphylactic antigen resembles that produced by venoms and by S.R.S. in its latency, in the time required for relaxation, and in the after‐changes in excitability of the muscle. 2. The contractions of the jejunum of the guinea‐pig to antigen, to histamine, and to the slow‐reacting muscle‐stimulant substance (S.R.S.) formed by venoms were compared under various conditions of decreased reactivity of the muscle. These were brought about by administration of S.R.S., lysocithin, histaminase (Torantil), CO 2 , the toxin of Cl. welchii type A, and by photodynamic action. In most cases the responses to histamine, S.R.S., and antigen were depressed to the same extent. After repeated treatment with S.R.S. the response to S.R.S. was greatly reduced or abolished, that to histamine was unimpaired, and the response to the antigen was only slightly affected. During recovery from lysocithin poisoning the response to the antigen was only slightly reduced, while those to S.R.S. and histamine were greatly reduced. After treatment with the toxin of Cl. welchii type A the response to S.R.S. was greatly reduced, whereas those to histamine and to the antigen were unimpaired. A similar dissociation was observed with the guinea‐pig's uterus after lysocithin. 3. The inability of the jejunum of the guinea‐pig to respond to histamine when CO 2 has been bubbled through the solution containing it does not result from the formation of a loose but inactive compound of histamine with CO 2 , but from an effect of CO 2 on the muscle, causing a decrease in its reactivity to various stimuli. 4. The intra‐arterial injection of antigen into the isolated perfused lung of the guinea‐pig causes the liberation of a slow‐reacting musclestimulant substance into the outflowing perfusate. 5. Fresh saline extracts of sensitised lung show an increase in their S.R.S. content after incubation with antigen, but extracts of tissue desiccated after treatment with antigen and subsequently re‐extracted show no such increase. 6. Fresh and desiccated extracts of sensitised jejunum incubated with antigen behave like lung extracts, but fresh saline extracts of sensitised uterus and liver similarly treated show no increase in activity. 7. Desiccated as well as fresh extracts of intestine treated with cobra venom show a striking increase in their content of S.R.S. 8. It is concluded that the anaphylactic contraction of smooth muscles is in part due to the liberation of histamine and probably in part also to S.R.S., which is liberated and not formed in the antigenantibody reaction.
Single Intranasal MucosalMycobacterium bovisBCG Vaccination Confers Improved Protection Compared to Subcutaneous Vaccination against Pulmonary Tuberculosis (2003)

Whether the intranasal (i.n.) route of Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccination provides better protection against pulmonary tuberculosis than subcutaneous (s.c.) vaccination remains an incompletely solved issue. In the present study, we compared both immune responses and protection elicited by single BCG vaccinations via the i.n. or s.c. route in BALB/c mice. While both i.n. and s.c. vaccination triggered comparable levels of primary immune activation in the spleen and draining lymph nodes, i.n. vaccination led to a greater antigen-specific gamma interferon recall response in splenocytes than s.c. vaccination upon secondary respiratory mycobacterial challenge, accompanied by an increased frequency of antigen-specific lymphocytes. There was also a quicker cellular response in the lungs of i.n. vaccinated mice upon mycobacterial challenge. Mice vaccinated i.n. were found to be much better protected, particularly in the lung, than s.c. vaccinated counterparts against pulmonary tuberculosis at both 3 and 6 months postvaccination. These results suggest that the i.n. route of vaccination improves the protective effect of the current BCG vaccine.
Cytomegalovirus Vectors Violate CD8 + T Cell Epitope Recognition Paradigms (2013)

CD8(+) T cell responses focus on a small fraction of pathogen- or vaccine-encoded peptides, and for some pathogens, these restricted recognition hierarchies limit the effectiveness of antipathogen immunity. We found that simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) protein-expressing rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) vectors elicit SIV-specific CD8(+) T cells that recognize unusual, diverse, and highly promiscuous epitopes, including dominant responses to epitopes restricted by class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Induction of canonical SIV epitope-specific CD8(+) T cell responses is suppressed by the RhCMV-encoded Rh189 gene (corresponding to human CMV US11), and the promiscuous MHC class I- and class II-restricted CD8(+) T cell responses occur only in the absence of the Rh157.5, Rh157.4, and Rh157.6 (human CMV UL128, UL130, and UL131) genes. Thus, CMV vectors can be genetically programmed to achieve distinct patterns of CD8(+) T cell epitope recognition.
Lim1 Is Essential for the Correct Laminar Positioning of Retinal Horizontal Cells (2007)

Although much is known about the transcriptional regulation that coordinates retinal cell fate determination, very little is known about the developmental processes that establish the characteristic laminar architecture of the retina, in particular, the specification of neuronal positioning. The LIM class homeodomain transcription factor Lim1 (Lhx1) is expressed in postmitotic, differentiating, and mature retinal horizontal cells. We show that conditional ablation of Lim1 results in the ectopic localization of horizontal cells to inner aspects of the inner nuclear layer, among the retinal amacrine cells. The ectopic cells maintain a molecular phenotype consistent with horizontal cell identity; however, these neurons adopt a unique morphology more reminiscent of amacrine cells, including a dendritic arbor positioned within the inner plexiform layer. All other retinal cell populations appear unaltered. Our data suggest a model whereby Lim1 lies downstream of horizontal cell fate determination factors and functions cell autonomously to instruct differentiating horizontal cells to the appropriate laminar position in the developing retina. This study is the first to describe a cell type-specific genetic program that is essential for targeting a discrete retinal neuron population to the proper lamina.
Laron Dwarfism and Mutations of the Growth Hormone–Receptor Gene (1989)

Laron dwarfism is associated with resistance to growth hormone (GH). To investigate its genetic basis, we used genetic linkage to test whether the disorder results from a defect in the gene for the human GH receptor. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and sequencing of specific GH-receptor-gene fragments allowed us to characterize specific intragenic DNA markers in 35 control subjects of Mediterranean descent, for use in linkage studies. In two Mediterranean families in which the parents were consanguineous and some of the children had Laron dwarfism, the disease trait and DNA polymorphisms were inherited together. Moreover, an analysis of the GH-receptor-gene RNA transcripts in lymphocytes from one of these families allowed us to identify a thymidine-to-cytosine substitution that generated a serine in place of a phenylalanine at position 96 in the extracellular coding domain of the mature protein. This defect probably affects the receptor adversely and is probably responsible for the lack of plasma GH-binding activity in the patients. This mutation was not found in the GH-receptor genomic sequences of seven unrelated subjects with Laron dwarfism who belonged to different population groups. An analysis of the GH-receptor markers in these patients indicated that different gene frameworks (polymorphic sites within the single gene) were associated with the mutant alleles. We conclude that Laron dwarfism is due to abnormalities in the gene for GH receptor, which may differ from family to family.
Purification, primary structures, and antibacterial activities of beta-defensins, a new family of antimicrobial peptides from bovine neutrophils. (1993)

A new family of cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides from bovine neutrophils was isolated and characterized. Thirteen structurally homologous peptides were purified to homogeneity from a granule-rich cytoplasmic fraction of purified blood neutrophils. The complete sequences of the peptides were determined by a combination of enzymatic digestion, Edman degradation, and additional biochemical characterization of the carboxyl termini. The peptides are characterized by a highly cationic 38-42-residue chain which includes 6 invariantly spaced cysteines which form three disulfides. They share a highly conserved consensus sequence which is also found in a recently described epithelial antimicrobial peptide from bovine trachea. The in vitro antibacterial activities of the 13 neutrophil peptides, determined in assays using Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli as test organisms, demonstrated that each peptide possessed antimicrobial activity, and that several were as active as the most potent neutrophil defensin, rabbit NP-1. Though the structural and functional attributes of the bovine neutrophil peptides are similar to those of defensins, the two peptide families are distinguished by their unique consensus sequences and additionally by differing tridisulfide motifs. We therefore propose that this new defensin-like antimicrobial peptide family be named beta-defensins.
Increased production of gelatinase B (matrix metalloproteinase‐9) and interleukin‐6 by activated rat microglia in culture (1995)

Activated macrophages produce several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of extracellular matrix (ECM)-degrading enzymes, during wound healing and in other inflammatory states. In response to brain injury, brain microglia become "activated," in a way similar to peripheral tissue macrophages, a process which includes differentiation and probably invasion and proliferation. Little is known about the ECM-degrading MMPs that are secreted by microglia upon activation. Thus, it was of interest to determine whether activated microglia secrete MMPs. Conditioned media samples obtained from cultured microglia that were stimulated with various activating agents were subjected to gelatin-substrate zymography. Microglia constitutively express low levels of a 94-kDa gelatinase (GLase) activity. Treatment with LPS, zymosan, and fixed Staphylococcus aureus for 24 hr stimulated the activity of the 94-kDa GLase, 4-20-fold, in a dose-dependent manner. Addition of INF gamma inhibited the LPS-stimulated activity of MMP-9. LPS, zymosan, and fixed Staphylococcus aureus also stimulated the secretion of IL-6 from microglia in a dose-dependent manner. The 94-kDa GLase activity was Ca++ dependent, it was inhibited by 1,10-phenanthroline, and it was activated by organomercurial compounds. When immunoblots were performed using specific antisera against the 94-kDa gelatinase B (MMP-9) with untreated and LPS-stimulated conditioned medium samples, a 94-kDa immunopositive band was observed. Thus, it appears that the 94-kDa GLase is gelatinase B (MMP-9). These results indicate that activators of peripheral macrophages are potent secretagogues for the MMPs in cultured microglia. The ability of activated microglia to secrete MMPs suggests that these enzymes may play an important function in the brain parenchyma during inflammatory states.
Self-Formed In0.5Ga0.5As Quantum Dots on GaAs Substrates Emitting at 1.3 µm (1994)

We grew 1.3-µm emitting self-formed In 0.5 Ga 0.5 As quantum dots on GaAs substrates by supplying InAs and GaAs monolayers alternately during atomic layer epitaxy. The dots were 20 nm in diameter and 10 nm in height, and were surrounded by In 0.1 Ga 0.9 As in the lateral direction and by GaAs perpendicular to the dots. Diamagnetic energy shifts of excitons in the dots clearly demonstrated three-dimensional quantum confinement.
Expression of hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor and its receptor c-Met in brain tumors: evidence for a role in progression of astrocytic tumors (Review). (1999)

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional cytokine which is believed to have important roles in tissue development and regeneration, and tumor progression. It is indistinguishable from scatter factor (SF), a motility factor. HGF/SF is believed to be a mesenchymal cell-derived cytokine acting for epithelial cells bearing its receptor tyrosine kinase, c-Met. Recently, we found that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a highly malignant brain tumor of astrocytic origin, concomitantly express HGF/SF and c-Met. This finding indicates a presence of autocrine loop of HGF/SF signaling pathway in GBM. Moreover, GBM cells also co-express HGF activator, a recently identified serine proteinase having efficient HGF/SF activating activity. The expression of HGF/SF and c-Met was low or hardly detectable in low-grade astrocytoma, and c-Met immunoreactivity was correlated with the histological grade of the tumor suggesting that the creation of HGF/SF autocrine loop occurs along with the progression of astrocytic brain tumors. Experimental evidence indicated that HGF/SF exhibits potent migration/invasion-inducing activity for GBM cells bearing c-Met receptor. It is also a significant angiogenesis factor in GBM, and may serve as a cellular growth factor for certain GBM cells. These lines of evidence suggest that HGF/SF signaling pathway may serve as a promising new target of therapeutic intervention of GBM.
A Field Effect Transistor Fabricated with Metallic Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes (2006)

Abstract We report novel transport properties of the individual single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) field effect transistors (FETs) decorated with the protein (streptavidin)‐coated nanoparticles. Upon adsorption of the protein‐coated nanoparticles at the metal‐nanotube contact, the metallic SWNT devices abruptly exhibit a p‐type semiconducting behavior. In the case of semiconducting SWNT devices, the adsorptions of protein‐coated nanoparticles make the gating more effective, resulting in a far suppressed off‐state leakage current as well as an enhanced on‐state p‐channel current. Through the ab initio electronic structure calculations, it is suggested that such an apparent metal‐semiconductor transition may be due to the intervening charged species in the contact area, originated from the surface of the proteins. Noting the separation of the semiconducting nanotubes from metallic ones would be a formidable task; we suggest that the device concept here could be another breakthrough for the nanotube‐based electronic devices, in which the nanotubes are not necessarily semi‐conducting.
Uncoupling of the Cholera Toxin-GM1 Ganglioside Receptor Complex from Endocytosis, Retrograde Golgi Trafficking, and Downstream Signal Transduction by Depletion of Membrane Cholesterol (2002)

To induce toxicity, cholera toxin (CT) must first bind ganglioside G(M1) at the plasma membrane, enter the cell by endocytosis, and then traffic retrograde into the endoplasmic reticulum. We recently proposed that G(M1) provides the sorting motif necessary for retrograde trafficking into the biosynthetic/secretory pathway of host cells, and that such trafficking depends on association with lipid rafts and lipid raft function. To test this idea, we examined whether CT action in human intestinal T84 cells depends on membrane cholesterol. Chelation of cholesterol with 2-hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin or methyl beta-cyclodextrin reversibly inhibited CT-induced chloride secretion and prolonged the time required for CT to enter the cell and induce toxicity. These effects were specific to CT, as identical conditions did not alter the potency or toxicity of anthrax edema toxin that enters the cell by another mechanism. We found that endocytosis and trafficking of CT into the Golgi apparatus depended on membrane cholesterol. Cholesterol depletion also changed the density and specific protein content of CT-associated lipid raft fractions but did not entirely displace the CT-G(M1) complex from these lipid raft microdomains. Taken together these data imply that cholesterol may function to couple the CT-G(M1) complex with raft domains and with other membrane components of the lipid raft required for CT entry into the cell.
Diverse effects of overexpression of LEAFY and PTLF, a poplar (Populus) homolog of LEAFY/FLORICAULA, in transgenic poplar and Arabidopsis (2000)

PTLF, the Populus trichocarpa homolog of LEAFY (LFY) and FLORICAULA, was cloned to assess its function in a dioecious tree species. In situ hybridization studies showed that the gene was expressed most strongly in developing inflorescences. Expression was also seen in leaf primordia and very young leaves, most notably in apical vegetative buds near inflorescences, but also in seedlings. Although ectopic expression of the PTLF cDNA in Arabidopsis accelerated flowering, only one of the many tested transgenic lines of Populus flowered precociously. The majority of trees within a population of 3-year-old transgenic hybrid Populus lines with PTLF constitutively expressed showed few differences when compared to controls. However, phenotypic effects on growth rate and crown development, but not flowering, were seen in some trees with strong PTLF expression and became manifest only as the trees aged. Competence to respond to overexpression of LFY varied widely among Populus genotypes, giving consistent early flowering in only a single male P. tremula x P. tremuloides hybrid and causing gender change in another hybrid genotype. PTLF activity appears to be subject to regulation that does not affect heterologously expressed LFY, and is dependent upon tree maturation. Both genes provide tools for probing the mechanisms of delayed competence to flower in woody plants.
Symbolic generation of finite difference formulas (1978)

Tables of coefficients for high order accurate, compact approximations to the first ten derivatives on and at the midpoints of uniform nets are presented. The exact rational weights are generated and tested by means of symbolic manipulation implemented through MACSYMA. These weights are required in the application of deferred corrections to new methods for solving higher order two point boundary value problems.
Chronically elevated plasma C-type natriuretic peptide level stimulates skeletal growth in transgenic mice (2009)

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) plays a critical role in endochondral ossification through guanylyl cyclase-B (GC-B), a natriuretic peptide receptor subtype. Cartilage-specific overexpression of CNP enhances skeletal growth and rescues the dwarfism in a transgenic achondroplasia model with constitutive active mutation of fibroblast growth factor receptor-3. For future clinical application, the efficacy of CNP administration on skeletal growth must be evaluated. Due to the high clearance of CNP, maintaining a high concentration is technically difficult. However, to model high blood CNP concentration, we established a liver-targeted CNP-overexpressing transgenic mouse (SAP-CNP tgm). SAP-CNP tgm exhibited skeletal overgrowth in proportion to the blood CNP concentration and revealed phenotypes of systemic stimulation of cartilage bones, including limbs, paws, costal bones, spine, and skull. Furthermore, in SAP-CNP tgm, the size of the foramen magnum, the insufficient formation of which results in cervico-medullary compression in achondroplasia, also showed significant increase. CNP primarily activates GC-B, but under high concentrations it cross-reacts with guanylyl cyclase-A (GC-A), a natriuretic peptide receptor subtype of atrial natriuretic peptides (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptides (BNP). Although activation of GC-A could alter cardiovascular homeostasis, leading to hypotension and heart weight reduction, the skeletal overgrowth phenotype in the line of SAP-CNP tgm with mild overexpression of CNP did not accompany decrease of systolic blood pressure or heart weight. These results suggest that CNP administration stimulates skeletal growth without adverse cardiovascular effect, and thus CNP could be a promising remedy targeting achondroplasia.
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (2007)

Provides lessons to help users design and deliver creative presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint.
Corneal wound healing after laser vision correction (2015)

Any trauma can trigger a cascade of responses in tissues, with the purpose of safeguarding the integrity of the organ affected by the trauma and of preventing possible damage to nearby organs. Subsequently, the body tries to restore the function of the organ affected. The introduction of the excimer laser for keratorefractive surgery has changed the treatment landscape for correcting refractive errors, such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. In recent years, with the increased understanding of the basic science of refractive errors, higher-order aberrations, biomechanics, and the biology of corneal wound healing, a reduction in the surgical complications of keratorefractive surgery has been achieved. The understanding of the cascade of events involved in the corneal wound healing process and the examination of how corneal wound healing influences corneal biomechanics and optics are crucial to improving the efficacy and safety of laser vision correction.