gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Hispanics (2007)

Hispanics are individuals whose ancestry can be traced to Spain and/or areas previously under Spanish control (e.g., Mexico, Puerto Rico). They are a rapidly growing subset of the population of the United States and are quite diverse in their racial ancestry, country of origin, area of residence, socioeconomic status, tobacco use, and access to health care. Current evidence suggests that the prevalence and morbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) vary widely among Hispanic-American nations, with similar but limited findings among Hispanic subgroups in the United States. Potential reasons for such variation include differences in racial ancestry and genetic susceptibility, exposure to tobacco smoke and/or biomass smoke, access to health care, and disease management. Future studies of COPD in Hispanics should include large samples of subgroups that are well defined with regard to self-reported ethnicity, country of origin, area of residence, tobacco use, and socioeconomic status. Areas that need to be carefully examined include validation of COPD diagnoses for epidemiologic studies (e.g., by radiologic assessment), COPD in high-risk groups (e.g., Puerto Ricans), impact of biomass smoke (in rural areas) and air pollution (in urban areas) on COPD morbidity, effects of migration and acculturation on COPD prevalence and morbidity among Hispanic subgroups in the United States, development of reference values for spirometry, smoking cessation, and overcoming barriers to management. Public health measures, such as effective smoking prevention and cessation programs, reduction of air pollution and exposure to biomass smoke, and improved access to health care, would help reduce the burden of COPD among Hispanics in the United States and Latin America.
Molecular cloning and primary nucleotide sequence analysis of a distinct human immunodeficiency virus isolate reveal significant divergence in its genomic sequences. (1986)

In an effort to evaluate data on genomic relatedness among the various human immunodeficiency viruses (HIVs), we have molecularly cloned a virus isolate designated HIV (CDC-451). Preliminary characterization of the HIV (CDC-451) clone indicated that the restriction enzyme map was distinct from those of other known HIV isolates. Analysis of the primary nucleotide sequence of the regions encoding the structural proteins and comparison with sequences known for other HIV isolates indicated substantial differences for HIV (CDC-451). The sequences encoding the group-specific antigen gene, although they showed some variation, were conserved to a greater extent than were those encoding envelope proteins. In the envelope gene sequences, most of the changes (up to 24.5% divergence) were located in the amino-terminal region encoding a glycoprotein with a Mr of 120,000. The carboxyl-terminal region, encoding a protein of Mr 41,000, was more highly conserved. The variation in the sequences encoding envelope proteins may have important implications for the antigenic properties and/or pathogenicity of the disease and for its detection and ultimate eradication.
Ray tracing deformed surfaces (1986)

A collection of new methods for ray tracing differentiable surfaces is developed. The methods are general, and extend the set of "ray-traceable" surfaces suitable for use in geometric modeling. We intersect a ray l = at + b , t &amp;gt; 0 with a parametric surface x = f (u, v) , and with implicit surfaces f(x,y,z) = 0. A smooth surface is treated as a deformation of a flat sheet; the intersection problem is converted to a new coordinate system in which the surfaces are flat, and the rays are bent. We develop methods for providing good initial estimates of the parametric intersection values, and a "closeness criterion," to reduce computation. These same criteria help us substitute a set of simpler surfaces for the more complex surface. The parametric method produces the intersection values of u, v , and t . These are suitable for shading calculations and for mapping textures onto the surface; they can also produce the local coordinate frame values, suitable for anisotropic lighting models.
A Monolithic 8-Bit Video A/D Converter (1983)

A monolithic 8-bit flash type video A/D converter is described. The 3×4.2 mm2 chip contains an input amplifier, a double folding system, digital delay error correction and consumes 100 mA from one single 5.2 V supply.
Type C retrovirus inactivation by human complement is determined by both the viral genome and the producer cell (1994)

The inactivation of type C retroviruses by human serum may be a considerable impediment to the use of retroviral vectors in vivo for gene therapy. Here we show that virus inactivation is dependent both on the virus and on the cell line used to produce the virus. All viruses produced from murine NIH 3T3 or dog Cf2ThS+L- cells are sensitive to human serum. In contrast, those produced from mink Mv-1-Lu and human HOS or TE671 cells are at least partially resistant, with the exception of murine leukemia viruses. In particular, the feline endogenous virus RD114 is completely resistant to a panel of eight human sera when produced from Mv-1-Lu or HOS cells. This differential resistance is controlled by the viral envelope proteins. Virus inactivation can be correlated with the ability of the producer cells to be lysed by human serum. Inactivation of sensitive viruses requires the classical pathway of complement but does not require virion lysis.
Frequent genomic loss at chr16p13.2 is associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (2010)

Genomic alterations play important roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) carcinogenesis. Here, we aimed to identify and characterize recurrent copy-number alterations (CNAs) associated with clinical outcome of CRC by the use of single nucleotide polymorphism arrays, genomic quantitative PCR (qPCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Colorectal neoplasia specimens and paired germline samples from 144 patients (40 adenomas and 104 carcinomas) as well as 40 CRC cell lines were investigated. This large dataset revealed frequent loss, including homozygous loss, at chr16p13.2 (from 5.9 to 7.42Mb). The loss was observed in 30% of adenomas and even more frequently in carcinomas, 56%, indicating that the loss define a subset of adenomas with a propensity for invasion. Consistent with this, the loss occurred twice as frequent in villous (40%) as in tubular adenomas (20%). The loss occurred independently of microsatellite stability and could be validated by qPCR in an independent sample cohort (n = 71). In Stage II/III, microsatellite stable (MSS) CRC it was associated with poor recurrence free survival (hazard ratio 2.4; p = 0.02; Multivariate Cox regression analysis). No transcriptional consequences of the losses were observed, and the only gene, A2BP1, located in the region showed no mutations. Correlation with other CNAs was established for chr3p22 in carcinomas and chr20p (inverse) in adenomas. FISH documented the chr16p13.2 region to be involved in complex structural rearrangements that included translocation to chr3p22 in some cases. The findings indicate that structural rearrangements involving chr16p13.2 are very frequent in colorectal neoplasia, often lead to homozygous deletion, and are associated with poor clinical outcome.
Isolation of endophytic diazotroph Pantoea agglomerans and nondiazotroph Enterobacter asburiae from sweetpotato stem in Japan (2003)

This study is an essential step toward understanding the ecology and interaction between endophytic bacteria and sweetpotato.
Lysosomal Targeting of E-Cadherin: a Unique Mechanism for the Down-Regulation of Cell-Cell Adhesion during Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transitions (2004)

A hallmark characteristic of epithelial tumor progression as well as some processes of normal development is the loss of the epithelial phenotype and acquisition of a motile or mesenchymal phenotype. Such epithelial to mesenchymal transitions are accompanied by the loss of E-cadherin function by either transcriptional or posttranscriptional mechanisms. Here we demonstrate that, upon v-Src expression, a potent trigger of epithelial to mesenchymal transitions, E-cadherin is internalized and then shuttled to the lysosome instead of being recycled back to the lateral membrane. Thus, while E-cadherin internalization facilitates the dissolution of adherens junctions, its subsequent traffic to the lysosome serves as a means to ensure that cells do not reform their cell-cell contacts and remain motile. We also show that ubiquitin tagging of E-cadherin is essential for its sorting to the lysosome. The lysosomal targeting of E-cadherin is mediated by hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate (Hrs) and v-Src-induced activation of the Rab5 and Rab7 GTPases. Our studies reveal that the lysosomal targeting of E-cadherin is an important posttranscriptional mechanism to deplete cellular E-cadherin during Src-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transitions.
A study of the biological receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand inhibitor, denosumab, in patients with multiple myeloma or bone metastases from breast cancer. (2006)

A single s.c. dose of denosumab given to patients with multiple myeloma or bone metastases from breast cancer was well tolerated and reduced bone resorption for at least 84 days. The decrease in bone turnover markers was similar in magnitude but more sustained than with i.v. pamidronate.
Effects of Concentrated Separator Dried Beet Pulp on Nutrient Digestibility, Milk Production, and Preference of Holstein Cattle, (1994)

Concentrated separator by-product was fed to cattle to determine TDN, milk production, and feed preference. The TDN content of concentrated separator by-product was determined using a substitution method involving a basal diet of alfalfa and grass hay and a treatment diet of alfalfa and grass hay plus 10% added concentrated separator by-product. Four ruminally cannulated cows in a replicated 2 x 2 Latin square design were used. The estimated TDN content of concentrated separator by-product was 59.3%. Twenty midlactation dairy cows were fed either a control ration containing 20% molasses dried beet pulp or a treatment ration containing 20% concentrated separator by-product dried beet pulp. Cows in the treatment group produced significantly less daily milk and 3.5% FCM than the control group. Percentages of milk fat, protein, lactose, and SNF were not different between treatments. Eight Holstein heifers were used to determine feed preference. Heifers were given a choice among 20% molasses dried beet pulp (control) or 10, 15, or 30% concentrated separator by-product dried beet pulp. Heifers showed no preference between 10 or 15% concentrated separator by-product dried beet pulp and control, but preferred the control over the 30% concentrated separator by-product dried beet pulp.
Fast Kinetic Studies on the Allosteric Interactions between Acetylcholine Receptor and Local Anesthetic Binding Sites (1979)

Preincubation of receptor-rich membrane fragments from Torpedo marmorata with tertiary amine local anesthetics and several toxins such as histrionicotoxin, crotoxin and cerulotoxin, modifies the amplitude and time course of the relaxation processes monitored upon rapid mixing of the membrane fragments with the fluorescent agonist, Dns-C6-Cho. In particular, the amplitude of the rapid relaxation process, which is proportional to the fraction of acetylcholine receptor sites in a high-affinity state, increases; accordingly, the rate constant of the 'slow' and 'intermediate' relaxation processes also increases up to ten times (except with histrionicotoxin) whereas in a higher range of local anesthetic concentrations the rate constant of the 'rapid' relaxation process decreases. The data are accounted for by a two-state model of the acetylcholine regulator, assuming distinct binding sites for cholinergic agonists and local anesthetics and allosteric interactions between these two classes of sites; local anesthetics stabilize the regulator in a high-affinity state for agonists even in the absence of agonist, and modify the rate constants for th interconversions between the low-affinity and high-affinity states. The model accounts for the 'slow' fluorescence increase monitored upon addition of local anesthetics to a suspension of receptor-rich membranes supplemented with trace amounts of Dns-C6-Cho. The effect of local anesthetics on the apparent rate constant of the 'rapid' relaxation process can be accounted for on the basis of an additional low-affinity binding of local anesthetics to the acetylcholine receptor site. Finally the increase of the apparent rate constant of the 'intermediate' relaxation process can be simply accounted for by assuming the existence of a third state, corresponding to the 'active' state, to which local anesthetics bind and block ionic transport.
Synergistic interactions between overlapping binding sites for the serum response factor and ELK-1 proteins mediate both basal enhancement and phorbol ester responsiveness of primate cytomegalovirus major immediate-early promoters in monocyte and T-lymphocyte cell types (1996)

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is nonpermissive or persistent in many lymphoid and myeloid cell types but can be activated in differentiated macrophages. We have shown elsewhere that both the major immediate-early gene (MIE) and lytic cycle infectious progeny virus expression can be induced in otherwise nonpermissive monocyte-like U-937 cell cultures infected with either human CMV (HCMV) or simian CMV (SCMV) by treatment with the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Two multicopy basal enhancer motifs within the SCMV MIE enhancer, namely, 11 copies of the 16-bp cyclic AMP response element (CRE) and 3 copies of novel 17-bp serum response factor (SRF) binding sites referred to as the SNE (SRF/NFkappaB-like element), as well as four classical NFkappaB sites within the HCMV version, contribute to TPA responsiveness in transient assays in monocyte and T-cell types. The SCMV SNE sites contain potential overlapping core recognition binding motifs for SRF, Rel/NFkappaB, ETS, and YY1 class transcription factors but fail to respond to either serum or tumor necrosis factor alpha. Therefore, to evaluate the mechanism of TPA responsiveness of the SNE motifs and of a related 16-bp SEE (SRF/ETS element) motif found in the HCMV and chimpanzee CMV MIE enhancers, we have examined the functional responses and protein binding properties of multimerized wild-type and mutant elements added upstream to the SCMV MIE or simian virus 40 minimal promoter regions in the U-937, K-562, HL-60, THP-1, and Jurkat cell lines. Unlike classical NFkappaB sites, neither the SNE nor the SEE motif responded to phosphatase inhibition by okadaic acid. However, the TPA responsiveness of both CMV elements proved to involve synergistic interactions between the core SRF binding site (CCATATATGG) and the adjacent inverted ETS binding motifs (TTCC), which correlated directly with formation of a bound tripartite complex containing both the cellular SRF and ELK-1 proteins. This protein complex was more abundant in U-937, K-562, and HeLa cell extracts than in Raji, HF, BALB/c 3T3, or HL-60 cells, but the binding activity was altered only twofold after TPA treatment. A 40-fold stimulation of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity mediated by four tandem repeats of the SNE could be induced within 2 h (and up to 250-fold within 6 h) after addition of TPA in DNA-transfected U-937 cells, indicating that the stimulation appeared likely to be a true protein kinase C-mediated signal transduction event rather than a differentiation response. Slight differences in the sequence of the core SRF binding site compared with that of the classical c-Fos promoter serum response element, together with differences in the spacing between the SRF and ETS motifs, appear to account for the inability of the SCMV SNEs to respond to serum induction.
GFRα3 is an orphan member of the GDNF/neurturin/persephin receptor family (1998)

GDNF, neurturin, and persephin are transforming growth factor beta-related neurotrophic factors known collectively as the GDNF family (GF). GDNF and neurturin signal through a multicomponent receptor complex containing a signaling component (the Ret receptor tyrosine kinase) and either of two glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-linked binding components (GDNF family receptor alpha components 1 and 2, GFRalpha1 or GFRalpha2), whereas the receptor for persephin is unknown. Herein we describe a third member of the GF coreceptor family called GFRalpha3 that is encoded by a gene located on human chromosome 5q31.2-32. GFRalpha3 is not expressed in the central nervous system of the developing or adult animal but is highly expressed in several developing and adult sensory and sympathetic ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. GFRalpha3 is also expressed at high levels in developing, but not adult, peripheral nerve. GFRalpha3 is a glycoprotein that is glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-linked to the cell surface like GFRalpha1 and GFRalpha2. Fibroblasts expressing Ret and GFRalpha3 do not respond to any of the known members of the GDNF family, suggesting that GFRalpha3 interacts with an unknown ligand or requires a different or additional signaling protein to function.
Tumor Suppressor Pten Inhibits Nuclear Accumulation of β-Catenin and T Cell/Lymphoid Enhancer Factor 1–Mediated Transcriptional Activation (2001)

beta-Catenin is a protein that plays a role in intercellular adhesion as well as in the regulation of gene expression. The latter role of beta-catenin is associated with its oncogenic properties due to the loss of expression or inactivation of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) or mutations in beta-catenin itself. We now demonstrate that another tumor suppressor, PTEN, is also involved in the regulation of nuclear beta-catenin accumulation and T cell factor (TCF) transcriptional activation in an APC-independent manner. We show that nuclear beta-catenin expression is constitutively elevated in PTEN null cells and this elevated expression is reduced upon reexpression of PTEN. TCF promoter/luciferase reporter assays and gel mobility shift analysis demonstrate that PTEN also suppresses TCF transcriptional activity. Furthermore, the constitutively elevated expression of cyclin D1, a beta-catenin/TCF-regulated gene, is also suppressed upon reexpression of PTEN. Mechanistically, PTEN increases the phosphorylation of beta-catenin and enhances its rate of degradation. We define a pathway that involves mainly integrin-linked kinase and glycogen synthase kinase 3 in the PTEN-dependent regulation of beta-catenin stability, nuclear beta-catenin expression, and transcriptional activity. Our data indicate that beta-catenin/TCF-mediated gene transcription is regulated by PTEN, and this may represent a key mechanism by which PTEN suppresses tumor progression.
Comparison of intranasal dexmedetomidine and dexmedetomidine-ketamine for premedication in pediatrics patients: A randomized double-blind study (2015)

Dexmedetomidine, as premedicant in children provides acceptable parenteral separation. However, mask acceptance in operation room is poor. Combination of dexmedetomidine and ketamine does not increase the success of premedication. Use of dexmedetomidine is associated with decreased EA.
The Effects of Tracheal Tube Tip Design and Tube Thickness on Laryngeal Pass Ability During Oral Tube Exchange with an Introducer (2003)

In situations such as after one-lung anesthesia, when use of a thicker tube exchanger (TE) is not applicable, a newly designed taper-tipped tube with the leading edge in the midline may be considered as an adjunct to an oral tracheal tube exchange, using a thinner TE as the guide for tracheal intubation.
Accurate Image Super-Resolution Using Very Deep Convolutional Networks (2016)

We present a highly accurate single-image superresolution (SR) method. Our method uses a very deep convolutional network inspired by VGG-net used for ImageNet classification [19]. We find increasing our network depth shows a significant improvement in accuracy. Our final model uses 20 weight layers. By cascading small filters many times in a deep network structure, contextual information over large image regions is exploited in an efficient way. With very deep networks, however, convergence speed becomes a critical issue during training. We propose a simple yet effective training procedure. We learn residuals only and use extremely high learning rates (104 times higher than SRCNN [6]) enabled by adjustable gradient clipping. Our proposed method performs better than existing methods in accuracy and visual improvements in our results are easily noticeable.
Epidermal growth factor receptor VIII peptide vaccination is efficacious against established intracerebral tumors. (2003)

Vaccination with an EGFRvIII-specific peptide is efficacious against both s.c. and established intracerebral tumors. The therapeutic effect of peptide vaccination may be mediated, in part, by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.
Varying the Chain Length in N4,N9-Diacyl Spermines: Non-Viral Lipopolyamine Vectors for Efficient Plasmid DNA Formulation (2008)

The aims of this work are to study the effect of varying the chain length in synthesized N4,N9-diacyl spermines on DNA condensation and then to compare their transfection efficiencies in cell lines. The five novel N4,N9-diacyl lipopolyamines: N4,N9-[didecanoyl, dilauroyl, dimyristoyl, dimyristoleoyl, and dipalmitoyl]-1,12-diamino-4,9-diazadodecane were synthesized from the naturally occurring polyamine spermine. The abilities of these novel compounds to condense DNA and to form nanoparticles were studied using ethidium bromide fluorescence quenching and nanoparticle characterization techniques. Transfection efficiency was studied in FEK4 primary skin cells and in an immortalized cancer cell line (HtTA), and compared with a saturated (distearoyl) analogue and also with the non-liposomal transfection formulation Lipogen, N4,N9-dioleoyl-1,12-diamino-4,9-diazadodecane. By incorporating two aliphatic chains and changing their length in a stepwise manner, we show efficient circular plasmid DNA (pEGFP) formulation and transfection of primary skin and cancer cell lines. Two C14 chains (both saturated or both cis-monounsaturated) were efficient transfecting agents, even in the presence of serum, but they were too toxic. N4,N9-Dioleoyl spermine efficiently condenses pDNA and achieves the highest transfection levels with the highest cell viability among the studied lipopolyamines in cultured cells even in the presence of serum.
Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Homeland Security: A Perfect Match? (2009)

This Nano Focus article reviews recent developments in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and its application to homeland security. It is based on invited talks given at the "Nanorods and Microparticles for Homeland Security" symposium, which was organized by one of the authors and presented at the 238th ACS National Meeting and Exhibition in Washington, DC. The three-day symposium included approximately 25 experts from academia, industry, and national laboratories and included both SERS and non-SERS approaches to detection of chemical and biological substances relevant to homeland security, as well as fundamental advances. Here, we focus on SERS and how it is uniquely positioned to have an impact in a field whose importance is increasing rapidly. We describe some technical challenges that remain and offer a glimpse of what form solutions might take.