gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
[Sacral neuromodulation in fecal continence disorders]. (2002)

The therapeutic approaches to the impairments of the faecal continence not depending from organic lesions of the anal sphincters or the pelvic floor are often unsuccessful, particularly as far as long distance outcome is concerned. The direct setting to the sacral roots of a magnetic stimulation modulating the reflex activity of the Autonomic Nervous System, firstly applied successfully by the urologist in the bladder incontinence, could correct indefinitely the effects of such a defect implying also a social cost in terms of quality of life and linen clothes expenses. Here details of the Interstim, Medtronic devices are reported, discussing the instrumental and clinical indications and the steps of the protocol of its application, in agreement with the Italian Group of Sacral Neuromodulation (GINS), as well as the most recent data of the literature and the early results of our own experience in the treatment of faecal incontinence. It is stressed the aspect of "work in progress" peculiar to this technique, as clearly shows the difficulty to explain the pathway with which neuromodulation effects on anal sphincters and pelvic floor, and moreover on the colorectal motility, as some ongoing applications to patients with refractory constipation seems to evidence. Data of a long standing follow-up are not yet available but the early and intermediate results are in the main successfully in terms of complete recovery or improvement as clearly show both clinical evidence and subjective evaluation assessing the Quality of Life.
Differential Regulation of Tumor Angiogenesis by Distinct ErbB Homo- and Heterodimers (2002)

Interactions between cancer cells and their microenvironment are critical for the development and progression of solid tumors. This study is the first to examine the role of all members of the ErbB tyrosine kinase receptors (epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR], ErbB-2, ErbB-3, or ErbB-4), expressed singly or as paired receptor combinations, in the regulation of angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. Comparison of all receptor combinations reveals that EGFR/ErbB-2 and ErbB-2/ErbB-3 heterodimers are the most potent inducers of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression compared with EGFR/ErbB-3, EGFR/ErbB-4, ErbB-2/ErbB-4, and ErbB-3/ErbB-4. Immunohistochemistry of tumor xenografts overexpressing these heterodimers shows increased VEGF expression and remarkably enhanced vascularity. Enhanced VEGF expression is associated with increased VEGF transcription. Deletional analysis reveals that ErbB-mediated transcriptional up-regulation of VEGF involves a hypoxia-inducible factor 1-independent responsive region located between nucleotides -88 to -66 of the VEGF promoter. Mutational analysis reveals that the Sp-1 and AP-2 transcription factor binding elements within this region are required for up-regulation of VEGF by heregulin beta1 and that this up-regulation is dependent on the activity of extracellular signal-related protein kinases. These results emphasize the biological implications of cell signaling diversity among members of the ErbB receptor family in regulation of the tumor microenvironment.
Clinical and molecular evaluation of four patients with partial duplications of the long arm of chromosome 18. (1993)

Four individuals with partial duplications of the long arm of chromosome 18 were analyzed at the clinical, cytogenetic, and molecular levels. Two of the individuals had duplications of the long arm from 18q21.1-qter because of inheritance of an unbalanced translocation. Both of these individuals displayed the clinical phenotype characteristic of Edwards syndrome. Two other patients had de novo interstitial duplications of 18q but did not have a clinical diagnosis of Edwards syndrome. The extent of the duplicated material in each patient was determined initially by using cytogenetic analysis and subsequently with more detailed comparisons of the duplicated regions by using molecular probes derived from a chromosome 18-specific lambda phage library. The results demonstrated that one of the de novo interstitial duplications that did not result in the Edwards syndrome phenotype had a more proximal breakpoint than that of the partial duplications of the two patients with features of Edwards syndrome. These results suggest that a single critical region for Edwards syndrome in the proximal portion of 18q is unlikely.
The ARCHIVES of DERMATOLOGY (1967)

THE ARCHIVES OF DERMATOLOGY is deeply involved in the continuing education of the dermatologist. It is, therefore, fair to ask about its role, its philosophy and what means are used to translate this philosophy into meaningful activity. The many means by which new information can be brought to the attention of physicians have been discussed at length at this and previous meetings of this association. It is quite clear from these discussions that three of the critical factors in education are motivation, involvement of the learner, and repetition of the learning process. Although it is difficult, if not impossible, for any teaching device to initiate motivation, it is essential to stimulate it by constantly meeting the needs of the student. Even the well-motivated student will not become involved if an educational device is not truly responsive to his needs. Thus, the role of theArchivescan be defined in these
Coagulase-negative staphylococci are the most common bacteria found in cultures from the deep portions of hidradenitis suppurativa lesions, as obtained by carbon dioxide laser surgery (1999)

The significance of bacterial findings in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is controversial. Interpretation of the results of bacteriological examinations from the surface of HS lesions is obscured by the possible contamination of resident skin bacteria. Bacteriological analysis of aspirates from deeper parts of HS is liable to show low sensitivity. We used a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser method to evaporate the diseased tissue level by level from the surface downwards, allowing concurrent sampling of bacteriological cultures from each level and thereby minimizing contamination with bacteria from the level above. In this study, 22 women and three men with a mean age of 35.3 years and a mean HS duration of 10.6 years were treated with this CO2 laser surgical method. Aerobic and anaerobic cultures from superficial and deep levels were taken during surgery. The regions treated were axillary in eight and perineal in 17 cases. Bacterial cultures were positive for one or more specimens from at least one level in all cases and from deep levels in all but three cases. Sixteen different species or sub-species were found. Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were the species most frequently found. Peptostreptococcus species and Propionibacterium acnes were not uncommon. S. aureus was detected in a total of 14 cases, six of which were from the deep levels. S. aureus was the sole bacterium isolated in two deep cultures. CNS were found in 21 patients and 16 of these isolates were from the deep levels. In nine of the 16 deep samples CNS were the only bacteria detected. These findings motivate a re-evaluation of the significance of bacteria in the progress of HS and in particular they suggest that CNS are true pathogens. It is known that foreign bodies aggravate the virulence of the CNS in surgical implants, and an environment which resembles that produced by a foreign body, as found in chronic HS tissue, serves to intensify the pathogenic properties of CNS in HS.
Identification of a Survival-Promoting Peptide in Medium Conditioned by Oxidatively Stressed Cell Lines of Nervous System Origin (1998)

A survival-promoting peptide has been purified from medium conditioned by Y79 human retinoblastoma cells and a mouse hippocampal cell line (HN 33.1) exposed to H2O2. A 30 residue synthetic peptide was made on the basis of N-terminal sequences obtained during purification, and it was found to exhibit gel mobility and staining properties similar to the purified molecules. The peptide maintains cells and their processes in vitro for the HN 33.1 cell line treated with H2O2, and in vivo for cortical neurons after lesions of the cerebral cortex. It has weak homology with a fragment of a putative bacterial antigen and, like that molecule, binds IgG. The peptide also contains a motif reminiscent of a critical sequence in the catalytic region of calcineurin-type phosphatases; surprisingly, like several members of this family, the peptide catalyzes the hydrolysis of para-nitrophenylphosphate in the presence of Mn2+. Application of the peptide to one side of bilateral cerebral cortex lesions centered on area 2 in rats results in an increase in IgG immunoreactivity in the vicinity of the lesions 7 d after surgery. Microglia immunopositive for IgG and ED-1 are, however, dramatically reduced around the lesions in the treated hemisphere. Furthermore, pyramidal neurons that would normally shrink, die, or disintegrate were maintained, as determined by MAP2 immunocytochemistry and Nissl staining. These survival effects were often found in both hemispheres. The results suggest that this peptide operates by diffusion to regulate the immune response and thereby rescue neurons that would usually degenerate after cortical lesions. The phosphatase activity of this molecule also suggests the potential for direct neuron survival-promoting effects.
Fast implementations of RSA cryptography (2002)

The authors detail and analyze the critical techniques that may be combined in the design of fast hardware for RSA cryptography: chinese remainders, star chains, Hensel's odd division (also known as Montgomery modular reduction), carry-save representation, quotient pipelining, and asynchronous carry completion adders. A fully operational PAM (programmable active memory) implementation of RSA that combines all of the techniques presented here delivers an RSA secret decryption rate over 600-kb/s for 512-b keys, and 165-kb/s for 1-kb keys. This is an order of magnitude faster than any previously reported running implementation. While the implementation makes full use of the PAM's reconfigurability, it is possible to derive from the (multiple PAM designs) implementation a (single) gate-array specification with estimated size under 100 K gates and speed over 1 Mb/s for RSA 512-b keys. Matching gains in software performance which are also analyzed.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>
Fabrication of Metallic Microstructures Using Exposed, Developed Silver Halide-Based Photographic Film (2000)

This paper demonstrates that the pattern of silver particles embedded in the gelatin matrix of exposed and developed silver halide-based photographic film can serve as a template in a broadly applicable method for the microfabrication of metallic microstructures. In this method, a CAD file is reproduced in the photographic film by exposure and developing. The resulting pattern of discontinuous silver grains is augmented and made electrically continuous by electroless deposition of silver, and the electrically continuous structure is then used as the cathode for electrochemical deposition of an additional layer of the same or different metal. The overall process can be completed within 2 h, starting from a CAD file, and can generate electrically continuous structures with the smallest dimension in the plane of the film of approximately 30 microns. Structures with aspect ratio of up to 5 can also be obtained by using the metallic structures as photomasks in photolithography using SU-8 photoresist on the top of the electroplated pattern and exposed from the bottom, followed by development and electroplating through the patterned photoresist. This method of fabrication uses readily available equipment and makes it possible to develop prototypes of a wide variety of metallic structures and devices. The resulting structures--either supported on the film backing or freed from it--are appropriate for use as passive, structural materials such as wire frames or meshes and can also be used in microfluidic, microanalytical, and microelectromechanical systems.
Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance tomographic imaging (1982)

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) tomographic imaging is a newly emerging, noninvasive, three-dimensional (3-D) imaging technique. Although similar to the well known X-ray Computerized Tomography (X-CT), it uses magnetic fields and RF signals to obtain anatomical information about the human body as cross-sectional images in any desired direction, and can easily discriminate between healthy and abnormal tissues. This new technique is an interdisciplinary science which encompasses the latest technologies in electrical, electronics, computers, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and medical sciences. Principles of this new technique known as "Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance imaging" or simply "NMR imaging" are reviewed from the physics and engineering points of view to provide basic concepts and tools, which, hopefully, will be useful for the future development of this exciting new field. Along with the review of the basic principles and methods involved in NMR tomography, computer simulations and modelings are presented to clarify the complexity of the NMR imaging method and provide an insight into the method, especially image-formation aspects and processing, the central theme of NMR tomography. In this paper, four main types of imaging methods-namely, line-scan imaging, direct Fourier-transform (Kumar-Welti-Ernst method) imaging, line-integral projection reconstruction, and plane-integral projection reconstruction, as well as the possibility of relaxation time imaging, are discussed in detail Methods of improving performance with respect to the statistical aspects of image quality and imaging times are also discussed.
Single-cell gene-expression profiling and its potential diagnostic applications (2011)

Gene-expression profiling has been successfully applied in various diagnostic applications, but its full capacity is yet to be realized. Samples are generally prepared from a mixture of different cells that are present in unknown proportions. Cells are, in many aspects, unique in their characteristics and this heterogeneity confounds the expression profile. The development of new and robust techniques to measure gene expression in single cells opens new avenues in molecular medicine. Today, gene-expression profiles of individual cells can be measured with high precision and accuracy, identifying different cell types as well as revealing heterogeneity among cells of the same kind. Here, we review practical aspects of single-cell gene-expression profiling using reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR and its potential use in diagnostics.
Surface Enhancement Factors for Ag and Au Surfaces Relative to Pt Surfaces for Monolayers of Thiophenol (1999)

Raman signal intensities from the 997 cm −1 ring breathing mode of thiophenol monolayers adsorbed at Ag, Au, and Pt surfaces were employed for determination of absolute surface enhancement factors (SEFs). Unlike previous estimations of SEFs, these SEFs are determined by referencing the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensities to the unenhanced Raman scattering at Pt surfaces. The surfaces studied include those commonly prepared in a laboratory ambient and those prepared in vacuum. Surfaces prepared in ambient include polycrystalline Ag electrochemically roughened by an oxidation-reduction cycle (ORC), mechanically polished (MP) polycrystalline Ag, chemically polished (CP) polycrystalline Ag, Ag (111), MP polycrystalline Au, and MP polycrystalline Pt. Vacuum environment surfaces include coldly deposited Ag films (cold Ag) and room temperature-deposited (RT) “thick” Ag films. Each of these thiophenol/metal systems was sampled with an excitation wavelength (λ ex ) of 514.5 nm; MP Au surfaces were also studied with λ ex of 720 nm. SEFs of 2.0 × 10 4 for ORC Ag, 5.3 × 10 3 for MP Ag, 160 for cold Ag, 64 for MP Au 720 (λ ex = 720 nm), 69 for Ag (111), 39 for CP Ag, 7.9 for RT “thick” Ag, and 2.2 for MP Au 514.5 (λ ex 514.5 nm) are observed relative to the SEF of MP Pt, which is assigned as 1. For practical purposes, the significance of the magnitudes of these SEFs is discussed in terms of estimated surface Raman limits of detection (LODs).
Gene‐expression profiles for five key glycosylation genes for galactose‐fed CHO cells expressing recombinant IL‐4/13 cytokine trap (2005)

Recombinant protein glycosylation profiles have been shown to affect the in-vivo half-life, and therefore the efficacy and economics, for many therapeutics. While much research has been conducted correlating the effects of various stimuli on recombinant protein glycosylation characteristics, relatively little work has examined glycosylation-related gene-expression profiles. In this study, the effects of galactose feeding on the gene-expression profiles for five key glycosylation-related genes were determined for Chinese hamster ovary cells producing a recombinant IL-4/13 cytokine trap fusion. The genes investigated were sialidase, a putative alpha2,3-sialyltransferase, CMP-sialic acid transporter, beta1,4-galactosyltransferase, and UDP-galactosyltransferase. Additionally, the sialic acid content (sialylation) of the recombinant protein was examined. The peak sialic acid content of the IL-4/13 cytokine trap fusion protein was observed to be similar for the control and galactose-fed cultures. The gene-expression profiles for four of the glycosylation genes were observed to be sensitive to the glucose concentration and not significantly different for the control and galactose-fed cultures prior to glucose depletion. However, the sialidase gene-expression profiles were different for the control and galactose-fed cultures. The sialidase gene-expression profile increased significantly for the galactose-fed cultures prior to glucose depletion, whereas for the control cultures, the sialidase gene-expression profiles did not increase until the late stationary phase. The intracellular sialidase enzyme activity decreased exponentially with time for the control cultures; however, for the galactose-fed cultures, the intracellular sialidase enzyme activity decreased initially and then remained relatively high compared to the control cultures. These results indicate that the galactose feeding may increase the potential for desialylation, which offsets any improvements in the sialylation rate due to increased substrate levels. Thus, galactose feeding is an unnecessary expense for the production of the IL-4/13 cytokine trap fusion protein in a batch process.
Distributed maximum power point tracking of photovoltaic arrays: Novel approach and system analysis (2008)

One of the major drawbacks of photovoltaic (PV) systems is represented by the effect of module mismatching and of partial shading of the PV field. Distributed maximum power point tracking (DMPPT) is a very promising technique that allows the increase of efficiency and reliability of such systems. Modeling and designing a PV system with DMPPT is remarkably more complex than implementing a standard MPPT technique. In this paper, a DMPPT system for PV arrays is proposed and analyzed. A dc and small-signal ac model is derived to analyze steady-state behavior, as well as dynamics and stability, of the whole system. Finally, simulation results are reported and discussed.
Gynecologic cancer among the socioeconomically disadvantaged (1995)

It is difficult to discern the true dimensions of the relationship between poverty and gynecologic cancer. In well designed studies of patients with gynecologic cancers, demographic stratification usually is performed based on race/ethnicity, age, or geographic locale, but not on economic class. The unstated assumption of many of these reports is that women of color, inhabitants of rural communities, and older women are all poor. Although it is true that these populations are overrepresented among the poor, unless the variable of economic class is specifically evaluated, the broad nature of the problem may go unappreciated: the status of gynecologic cancers among the poor is primarily a reflection of a deeply rooted structural problem in the U.S. economy, the reverberations of which are experienced by all women who cannot afford regular health care. When women are poor and have gynecologic cancers, they often seek orthodox health care only after the symptoms have become unbearable. Explanations of this phenomenon include underlying feelings of pessimism, fatalism, or low self-esteem; faith in a belief system that does not regard the physician as the person to whom one goes for prevention or treatment of diseases; inaccessibility of health care facilities; experiences interpreted as degrading once health care facilities are accessed; high risk behavior and inability to pay. Programs that find effective ways around structural and functional problems of daily life and that respect and understand cultural norms have the best chance of finding temporary solutions to this national problem.
Secretion of sulfated and nonsulfated forms of parathyroid chromogranin A (secretory protein-I). (1990)

Chromogranin A (secretory protein-I) is an acidic, sulfated glycoprotein found in secretory granules of most endocrine cells but not in exocrine or epithelial cells. Parathyroid chromogranin A is sulfated on tyrosine residues, whereas adrenal chromogranin A appears to be sulfated mainly on oligosaccharide residues. Chromogranin B, on the other hand, is tyrosine-sulfated in the bovine adrenal whereas this protein is absent from the parathyroid. The role of this tissue- or species-specific sulfation of chromogranin is not known. Tyrosine sulfation is a common post-translational modification of proteins in the exocytotic pathway and has been suggested to play a role in the sorting or intracellular transport of secretory proteins. To test this, porcine parathyroid tissue slices were metabolically labeled with 35SO4 and [3H]Lys, and the tissue and incubation medium analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoblotting, and immunoprecipitation with chromogranin A-specific antiserum or by radioimmunoassay for parathormone. Secretion of total and 3H-labeled chromogranin A was about 3- and 7-fold higher, respectively, at 0.5 mM than at 3.0 mM Ca2+, and secretion of 35SO4-labeled chromogranin A was 67-fold higher. This indicates that either sulfated chromogranin A is directed primarily to the Ca2+-regulated pathway or that sulfation occurs following sorting to this pathway. Sodium chlorate (1-10 mM) inhibited sulfation in a dose-dependent manner by up to 95% but it had no effect on the onset or rate of chromogranin A secretion. These data indicate that regulated secretion of parathyroid chromogranin A does not require sulfation of tyrosine residues.