gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Influence of the Route of Allergen Administration and Genetic Background on the Murine Allergic Pulmonary Response (1997)

We used various ovalbumin sensitization and challenge protocols to determine the importance of the route of allergen administration and the genetic background in modulating the physiologic, inflammatory, and immunologic features characteristic of allergen-induced asthma. In BALB/c mice, induction of maximal airway hyperresponsiveness and airspace eosinophilia required administration of ovalbumin by both the intraperitoneal and the intranasal routes (combination protocol), whereas intraperitoneal immunization alone resulted in maximal ovalbumin-specific IgE plasma levels. Thus, a systemic immune response to allergen, in addition to, or independent of IgE production, as well as local allergen challenge were necessary for maximal induction of pulmonary disease. BALB/c mice treated with ovalbumin by the combination protocol had increased Th2-type cytokine mRNA levels in bronchial lymph node tissue compared with control mice. In contrast, C57BL/6 mice treated with ovalbumin by the combination protocol had significantly decreased responses compared with BALB/c mice for all parameters of allergic pulmonary disease examined, with the exception of airspace eosinophilia. Genetic background has a striking and selective effect on the phenotype of murine allergic pulmonary disease. Further analysis of this murine model should be useful in helping define the critical pathogenetic events in allergen-induced asthma.
Membrane Recycling in the Neuronal Growth Cone Revealed by FM1–43 Labeling (1999)

Membrane dynamics within the chick ciliary neuronal growth cone were investigated by using the membrane-impermeant dye FM1-43. A depolarization-evoked endocytosis was observed that shared many properties with the synaptic vesicle recycling previously described at the presynaptic terminal. In addition, in the absence of depolarization a basal level of constitutive endocytotic activity was observed at approximately 30% of the rate of evoked endocytosis. This constitutive endocytosis accounted for large amounts of membrane retrieval: the equivalent of the entire growth cone surface area could be internalized within a 30 min period. Endosomes generated via constitutive and evoked processes were highly mobile and could move considerable distances both within the growth cone and out to the neurite. In addition to their different requirements for formation, evoked and constitutive endosomes displayed a significant difference in release properties. After a subsequent depolarization of labeled growth cones, evoked endosomes were released although constitutive endosomes were not released. Furthermore, treatment with latrotoxin released evoked endosomes, but not constitutive endosomes. Although the properties of evoked endosomes are highly reminiscent of synaptic vesicles, constitutive endosomes appear to be a separate pool resulting from a distinct and highly active process within the neuronal growth cone.
Genistein potentiates wild-type and delta F508-CFTR channel activity (1997)

Effects of genistein on wild-type (wt) and delta F508-cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) were studied in NIH/3T3 cells stably transfected with wt or mutant CFTR cDNA. As measured by I- efflux, half-maximal concentration of agonist (K1/2) for forskolin-dependent activation was greater for delta F508-CFTR than wt-CFTR. Genistein decreased the K1/2 for both forms of the channel and increased the maximal activity of delta F508-CFTR by 3.7-fold. In cell-attached patches, 10 microM forskolin induced minimal delta F508-CFTR activity with characteristic prolonged closed times (estimated time constant, > 30 s). Genistein increased the forskolin-induced macroscopic currents of wt-CFTR and delta F508-CFTR by 3- and 19-fold, respectively. Variance analysis suggested that in the presence of forskolin and genistein the open probabilities (Po) of wt- and delta F508-CFTR were identical. In single-channel studies, at maximal adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) stimulation, genistein increased the Po of wt-CFTR by prolonging the open time, but, at submaximal cAMP stimulation, the Po was increased by prolonging the open time and shortening the closed time. In excised patches with CFTR channels preactivated in the cell-attached mode, genistein increased ATP-dependent wt- and delta F508-CFTR current about twofold by prolonging the open time. Our results thus suggest that phosphorylation-dependent activation of delta F508-CFTR is defective and that genistein corrects this defect at least in part by binding to the CFTR protein.
Robust speech recognition by normalization of the acoustic space (1991)

Several algorithms are presented that increase the robustness of SPHINX, the CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) continuous-speech speaker-independent recognition systems, by normalizing the acoustic space via minimization of the overall VQ distortion. The authors propose an affine transformation of the cepstrum in which a matrix multiplication perform frequency normalization and a vector addition attempts environment normalization. The algorithms for environment normalization are efficient and improve the recognition accuracy when the system is tested on a microphone other than the one on which it was trained. The frequency normalization algorithm applies a different warping on the frequency axis to different speakers and it achieves a 10% decrease in error rate.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>
Glycosyl transferases of O-antigen biosynthesis in Salmonella enterica: identification and characterization of transferase genes of groups B, C2, and E1 (1993)

In Salmonella enterica, there is a great variety of O antigens, each consisting of a short oligosaccharide (the repeating unit) repeated many times. The O antigens differ in their sugar composition and glycosidic linkages. The genetic determinants of the O antigen are located in an rfb gene cluster, and some, including those of S. enterica O serogroups B, C2, and E1, have been cloned and sequenced. In this study of the glycosyltransferases which form the glycosidic linkages, we identify and characterize the four mannosyl and three rhamnosyl transferase genes of the three rfb gene clusters.
3,4-Diaminopyridine in Childhood Myasthenia: Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial (1996)

Eleven patients with congenital and five with juvenile myasthenia gravis, aged 5 to 24 years, were given 3,4-diaminopyridine in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Clinical improvement was observed in 5 of 11 congenital myasthenia patients, and placebo effect, in 3 of 11. Juvenile myasthenia patients did not respond. Single-fiber electromyographic studies did not reveal any changes correlating with the clinical status of the patient. This study demonstrates the importance of double-blind and placebo-controlled studies to determine the effect of 3,4-diaminopyridine in congenital myasthenia. This drug may have different effects on various presynaptic and postsynaptic defects of neuromuscular transmission resulting in congenital myasthenia syndromes.
Optimizing Private Memory Performance by Dynamically Deactivating Cache Coherence (2012)

User Program has significant percentage of memory requests that target only private data, which does not need to resolve cache coherence conflicts. Yet traditional coherence protocol does not distinguish between shared and private blocks, which leaves much optimization space for memory reference latency and power consumption. This paper proposes an optimized cache coherence protocol, called PMESI, which dynamically deactivates cache coherence maintenance for private memory space. PMESI achieves two distinguishing features: the reduction of memory access latency and system power consumption. Simulation results on the cycle accurate simulator for wide range of industry benchmarks show that 54\% memory references can be efficiently optimized and program execution time is reduced 9\% on average.
Holographic otoscope using dual-shot-acquisition for the study of eardrum biomechanical displacements (2013)

Recently an optoelectronic holography system was deployed in the clinic with the purpose of quantifying the tympanic membrane (TM) displacements of various mammal species, the objective being the understanding of their middle ear biomechanics. The optoelectronic holography system has an in-line configuration where the data gathered is decoded using lensless digital holography with the Fresnel approximation. This paper presents quantitative data obtained from an acoustically excited postmortem chinchilla's TM. To achieve this we used a robust customized windowed unwrapping method to unwrap the noisy optical phase obtained by subtracting phase maps of two recorded holograms and the results were compared with those obtained when using the unwrapping branch-cut algorithm. Additionally, phase maps obtained by the phase-stepping technique were compared applying both unwrapping methods. For in vivo applications particular emphasis is made on post-processing dual-shot-acquisition of holograms as one of various acquisition strategies and algorithms to diminish measurement error due to heartbeat, breathing, and patient's head motion as well as environment induced mechanical disturbances present in a noncontrolled environment, such as in a clinic. By recording only two holograms representing a stationary and deformed state of eardrum, respectively, we can increase the acquisition speed of the camera used to record faster events happening on the TM surface.
Comparison of combination of cimetidine and levamisole with cimetidine alone in the treatment of recalcitrant warts (1999)

Various immunomodulating agents have been used in the treatment of recalcitrant warts, but none is uniformly effective. Drugs like cimetidine and levamisole have been tried with varying success rates. Given the different target activities of immunomodulation by levamisole and cimetidine, we questioned whether the combination might be more effective and conducted this double-blind comparative trial of a combination of cimetidine and levamisole versus cimetidine alone. Forty-eight patients with multiple recalcitrant warts were assigned to two treatment groups (A and B) in double-blind fashion. Of the 48 patients, 22 in group A and 21 in group B were able to be evaluated. At the end of therapy, cure rates obtained were 45.5% (10/21) in cimetidine treated patients (group A) and 85.7% (18/21) in combination treated patients (group B). A statistically significant improvement was seen in patients treated with the combination of levamisole and cimetidine (P < 0.01). A similar statistically significant result was obtained on using intention to treat analysis (P < 0.02). The rate of regression was faster in group B (average regression period of 7 weeks compared with 10 weeks in group A). The present study demonstrated that the combination of cimetidine with levamisole is more effective than cimetidine alone and is a highly effective therapy for the treatment of recalcitrant warts.
Protein kinase C activity in normal and psoriatic cells: cultures of fibroblasts and lymphocytes (1991)

Protein kinase C (PKC) activity was measured in cultures of fibroblasts from biopsies of the involved and uninvolved skin of seven patients with psoriasis and from the skin biopsies of nine normal controls. PKC activity was significantly increased (P less than 0.005) in the particulate fraction of fibroblasts obtained from the involved areas of skin (450 +/- SEM 89 pmol/mg protein/3 min) and the uninvolved skin (394 +/- 94 pmol/mg protein/3 min) in psoriasis as compared to that of controls (103 +/- 24 pmol/mg protein/3 min). The soluble fraction of PKC activity was comparable in controls and in the fibroblasts obtained from involved areas and not significantly different from the values in fibroblasts from uninvolved skin. PKC activity was also measured in the soluble and particulate fractions of lymphocytes from 13 patients with psoriasis and from 14 normal controls. The PKC activity did not differ in the lymphocytes of patients with psoriasis from the controls in either the cytosolic or the membrane fractions. The increase in PKC activity as expressed at the membrane level of psoriatic fibroblasts may be related to an increase in sensitivity of these cells to hormones or growth factors involved in the regulation of their growth.
Molecular Imaging of Temporal Dynamics and Spatial Heterogeneity of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1 Signal Transduction Activity in Tumors in Living Mice (2004)

Tumor hypoxia is a spatially and temporally heterogeneous phenomenon, which results from several tumor and host tissue-specific processes. To study the dynamics and spatial heterogeneity of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1)-specific transcriptional activity in tumors, we used repetitive noninvasive positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of hypoxia-induced HIF-1 transcriptional activity in tumors in living mice. This approach uses a novel retroviral vector bearing a HIF-1-inducible "sensor" reporter gene (HSV1-tk/GFP fusion) and a constitutively expressed "beacon" reporter gene (DsRed2/XPRT). C6 glioma cells transduced with this multireporter system revealed dose-dependent patterns in temporal dynamics of HIF-1 transcriptional activity induced by either CoCl2 or decreased atmospheric oxygen concentration. Multicellular spheroids of C6 reporter cells developed a hypoxic core when >350 microm in diameter. 18F-2'-fluoro-2'deoxy-1beta-D-arabionofuranosyl-5-ethyl-uracil (FEAU) PET revealed spatial heterogeneity of HIF-1 transcriptional activity in reporter xenografts in mice as a function of size or ischemia-reperfusion injury. With increasing tumor diameter (>3 mm), a marked increase in HIF-1 transcriptional activity was observed in the core regions of tumors. Even a moderate ischemia-reperfusion injury in small C6 tumors caused a rapid induction of HIF-1 transcriptional activity, which persisted for a long time because of the inability of C6 tumors to rapidly compensate acute changes in tumor microcirculation.
High power blue light generation by frequency doubling of a laser diode in a periodically domain-inverted LiTaO3 waveguide (1993)

We report high power and stable blue-light generation by frequency doubling a laser diode, stabilized by a grating feedback technique, in a periodically domain-inverted LiTaO3 waveguide. Due to the deep domain-inverted regions and strong waveguide confinement formed by proton-exchange and a quick heat treatment, high efficiency second harmonic generation (SHG) has been obtained. Locking the oscillation wavelength of a laser diode through the waveguide by a grating feedback technique, 8 mW of stable blue SHG has been demonstrated.
New approaches to the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection after liver transplantation using ribavirin. (1995)

The biochemical and virologic responses and the histologic benefit seen after combination therapy are significantly better than those reported with either interferon or ribavirin monotherapy. Combination therapy appears to be effective in preventing the progression of HCV-related graft disease after liver transplantation.
Identifying and Characterizing Plastidic 2-Oxoglutarate/Malate and Dicarboxylate Transporters in Arabidopsis thaliana (2002)

We characterized three Arabidopsis genes, AtpOMT1, AtpDCT1 and AtpDCT2, localized on chromosome 5 and homologous to spinach chloroplastic 2-oxoglutarate/malate transporter (OMT) gene. The yeast-expressed recombinant AtpOMT1 protein transported malate and 2-oxoglutarate but not glutamate. By contrast, the recombinant AtpDCT1 protein transported 2-oxoglutarate and glutamate at similar affinities in exchange for malate. These findings suggested that AtpOMT1 is OMT and AtpDCT1 is a general dicarboxylate transporter (DCT). The recombinant proteins could also transport oxaloacetate at the same binding sites for dicarboxylates. In particular, the AtpOMT1 had a K(m) value for oxaloacetate one order of magnitude lower than those for malate and 2-oxoglutarate. Although the transcripts for the three genes were accumulated in all tissues examined, the expression of the genes in leaf tissues was light inducible. The expression of the three genes was also induced by nitrate supplement but the induction was most prominent and transient in AtpOMT1 similar to nitrate reductase gene. These findings lead to a proposition that AtpOMT1 functions as an oxaloacetate transporter in the malate-oxaloacetate shuttle across chloroplast membranes. We identified T-DNA insertional mutants of AtpOMT1 and AtpDCT1. Although the AtpOMT1 mutants could grow normally in normal air, the AtpDCT1 mutants were non-viable under the same conditions. The AtpDCT1 mutants were able to grow under the high CO2 condition to suppress photorespiration. These findings suggested that at least AtpDCT1 is a necessary component for photorespiratory nitrogen recycling.
Phagocytosis of<i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i>, the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Potentiates Innate Immune Activation and Induces Apoptosis in Human Monocytes (2007)

We have previously demonstrated that phagocytosed Borrelia burgdorferi induces activation programs in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells that differ qualitatively and quantitatively from those evoked by equivalent lipoprotein-rich lysates. Here we report that ingested B. burgdorferi induces significantly greater transcription of proinflammatory cytokine genes than do lysates and that live B. burgdorferi, but not B. burgdorferi lysate, is avidly internalized by monocytes, where the bacteria are completely degraded within phagolysosomes. In the course of these experiments, we discovered that live B. burgdorferi also induced a dose-dependent decrease in monocytes but not a decrease in dendritic cells or T cells and that the monocyte population displayed morphological and biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis. Particularly noteworthy was the finding that apoptotic changes occurred predominantly in monocytes that had internalized spirochetes. Abrogation of phagocytosis with cytochalasin D prevented the death response. Heat-killed B. burgdorferi, which was internalized as well as live organisms, induced a similar degree of apoptosis of monocytes but markedly less cytokine production. Surprisingly, opsonophagocytosis of Treponema pallidum did not elicit a discernible cell death response. Our combined results demonstrate that B. burgdorferi confined to phagolysosomes is a potent inducer of cytosolic signals that result in (i) production of NF-kappaB-dependent cytokines, (ii) assembly of the inflammasome and activation of caspase-1, and (iii) induction of programmed cell death. We propose that inflammation and apoptosis represent mutually reinforcing components of the immunologic arsenal that the host mobilizes to defend itself against infection with Lyme disease spirochetes.
Molecular epidemiology of Vibrio cholerae in Hong Kong (1989)

We studied restriction fragment length polymorphism of the enterotoxin genes of isolates of Vibrio cholerae El Tor, indistinguishable by bacteriophage typing, which were collected in Hong Kong since 1978. Using this approach, we could distinguish indigenous and exogenous strains obtained from different sources and epidemiological settings.
Breast cancer risk associated with genotypic polymorphism of the mitosis‐regulating gene <i>Aurora‐A/STK15/BTAK</i> (2005)

Aneuploidy, an abnormal number of chromosomes, is relatively common and occurs early in breast cancer development. This observation supports a breast tumorigenic contribution of mechanisms responsible for maintaining chromosome number stability in which centrosomes play an essential role. We therefore speculated that the Aurora-A/STK15/BTAK gene, implicated in the regulation of centrosome duplication, may be associated with breast tumorigenesis. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a case-control study of 709 primary breast cancer patients and 1,972 healthy controls, examining single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including a suggested functional Phe31Ile SNP, in Aurora-A. We were also interested in knowing whether any association between Aurora-A and breast cancer was modified by reproductive risk factors reflecting susceptibility to estrogen exposure. Our hypothesis is that, since estrogen is known to promote breast cancer development via its mitogenic effect leading to malignant proliferation on breast epithelium and since Aurora-A is involved in regulating mitosis, the discovery of a joint effect between the Aurora-A genotype and reproductive risk factors on cancer risk might yield valuable clues to the association of breast tumorigenesis with estrogen. Support for this hypothesis came from the following observations. (i) Two SNPs in Aurora-A were significantly associated with breast cancer risk (p < 0.05). (ii) Haplotype analyses, based on different combinations of multiple SNPs in Aurora-A, revealed a strong association with breast cancer risk; interestingly, the genotypic distribution of the suggested functional Phe31Ile SNP was not significantly different between breast cancer patients and controls, but the specific haplotype containing the putative at-risk Ile allele was more common in patients. (iii) This association between risk and putative high-risk genotypes was stronger and more significant in women thought to be more susceptible to estrogen, i.e., those with a longer interval between menarche and first full-term pregnancy. (iv) The protective effect conferred by a history of full-term pregnancy was significant only in women with a putative low-risk genotype of Aurora-A. Our study provides new findings supporting the mutator role of Aurora-A in breast cancer development, suggesting that breast cancer could be driven by genomic instability associated with variant Aurora-A, the tumorigenic contribution of which could be enhanced as a result of increased mitosis due to estrogen exposure.
A Monochromatic Depolarizer*† (1951)

Up to the present time no image-forming depolarizing filter has been described which will work for monochromatic light. This paper describes a simple monochromatic depolarizer. This depolarizer consists of two variable wave plates whose axes are separated by an angle of 45°. The retardation of the first wave plate varies from zero to 2π. The second wave plate varies from zero to 4π. This variation is made to occur in a time which is short compared to the time constant of the apparatus in which the depolarizer is used. Typical components are Z cut plates of ammonium-dihydrogen-phosphate. The retardation of these plates can be made to vary by applying an electric field along the optic axis.A discussion is also given of the Lyot depolarizer which is effective for light which covers a wide wavelength range. Tolerances are derived for the behavior of the Lyot depolarizer and experimental measurements are shown of its behavior.
Conversion of proglucagon in pancreatic alpha cells: the major endproducts are glucagon and a single peptide, the major proglucagon fragment, that contains two glucagon-like sequences. (1984)

It has previously been shown by biosynthetic labeling studies that glucagon is synthesized in mammalian islets via an 18-kDa precursor, proglucagon, that during processing gives rise to glucagon and a secreted peptide of 10 kDa (the major proglucagon fragment, MPGF). We have now developed a simple procedure for the isolation of this peptide from rat pancreatic islets and have characterized it more fully. On the basis of its amino acid composition, MPGF is identified as the COOH-terminal portion of proglucagon that contains two glucagon-related sequences. These sequences do not appear to be liberated from MPGF in alpha cells of the islets of Langerhans but MPGF may be processed further elsewhere in the body or in other cells of the gastrointestinal tract that produce glucagon precursors.