gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Nanoparticles and their potential application as antimicrobials (2014)

Emerging infectious diseases and the increase in incidence of drug resistance among pathogenic bacteria have made the search for new antimicrobials inevitable. In the current situation, one of the most promising and novel therapeutic agents are the nanoparticles. The unique physiochemical properties of the nanoparticles combined with the growth inhibitory capacity against microbes has led to the upsurge in the research on nanoparticles and their potential application as antimicrobials. From centuries metals such as silver have been used for treating burns and chronic wounds, and copper has been used to make water potable. It is quite evident that some of the metallic compounds possess antimicrobial property. Recently, the confluence of nanotechnology and biology has brought to fore metals in the form of nanoparticles as potential antimicrobial agents. Nanoparticles have unique and well defined physical and chemical properties which can be manipulated suitably for desired applications. Moreover, their potent antimicrobial efficacy due to the large surface area to volume ratio has provided them an edge over their chemical counterparts which are facing the problems of drug resistance. This review focuses on the properties of different types of metallic nanoparticles such as copper, aluminium, gold, silver, magnesium, zinc and titanium nanoparticles. The mechanism of action of nanoparticles as bactericidal, antifungal and antiviral agents will be highlighted in this study. The potential application of nanoparticles will be also reviewed. The application of nanoparticles as antimicrobials is gaining relevance in prophylaxis and therapeutics, in medical devices, food industry and textile fabrics. The problems related to toxicity of nanoparticles will be addressed in brief.
Polyvalent iodine in synthesis. 1. An efficient route to isopropylidene arylmalonates (5-aryl-substituted Meldrum's acid) (1987)

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTPolyvalent iodine in synthesis. 1. An efficient route to isopropylidene arylmalonates (5-aryl-substituted Meldrum's acid)Zhenchu Chen, Youyuan Jin, and Peter J. StangCite this: J. Org. Chem. 1987, 52, 18, 4115–4117Publication Date (Print):September 1, 1987Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 September 1987https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jo00227a031https://doi.org/10.1021/jo00227a031research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views591Altmetric-Citations35LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts
Formulation and design of sustained release matrix tablets of metformin hydrochloride: Influence of hypromellose and polyacrylate polymers (2013)

Hence, combinely HPMC K200M and Eudragit RS100 at a suitable concentration can effectively be used to sustain drug release.
Robust Automatic Surface Reconstruction with Structured Light (1992)

For the measurement of surfaces of close range objects, which do not show sufficient surface texture, an automatic system based on the projection of structured light has been developed. An off-the-shelf slide projector projects chromium slides with a regular dot pattern of 800... 8000 dots and perfectly binary transparency characteristics onto a surface. For robust point determination the object is imaged by three or four CCD cameras, which allows to reduce the number of ambiguities in the establishment of correspondences drastically by the method of intersec-tion of epipolar lines. The advantage of the method is the fact that it does not require any approximate values nor an initial match given by a human operator and does though offer the advantages of a photogrammetric system like redundancy, accuracy and compatibility with triangulation methods. The paper will give an overview of the hardware of the system and the chain of data processing, discuss reliability, accuracy and applicability and give a comparison with competitive methods. Results will be shown from the measurement of a model car surface and from a carbon panel put under load in a deformation analysis. The automatic, non-contact measurement of object surfaces in e.g. industrial, medical or archaeological applications is one of the most important applications
Application of long-period-grating sensors to respiratory plethysmography (2007)

A series of in-line curvature sensors on a garment are used to monitor the thoracic and abdominal movements of a human during respiration. These results are used to obtain volumetric tidal changes of the human torso in agreement with a spirometer used simultaneously at the mouth. The curvature sensors are based on long-period gratings (LPGs) written in a progressive three-layered fiber to render the LPGs insensitive to the refractive index external to the fiber. A curvature sensor consists of the fiber long-period grating laid on a carbon fiber ribbon, which is then encapsulated in a low-temperature curing silicone rubber. The sensors have a spectral sensitivity to curvature, d lambda/dR from approximately 7-nm m to approximately 9-nm m. The interrogation technique is borrowed from derivative spectroscopy and monitors the changes in the transmission spectral profile of the LPG's attenuation band due to curvature. The multiplexing of the sensors is achieved by spectrally matching a series of distributed feedback (DFB) lasers to the LPGs. The versatility of this sensing garment is confirmed by it being used on six other human subjects covering a wide range of body mass indices. Just six fully functional sensors are required to obtain a volumetric error of around 6%.
Interferon-lambda (IFN-λ) induces signal transduction and gene expression in human hepatocytes, but not in lymphocytes or monocytes (2012)

This study compared the ability of IFN-α and IFN-λ to induce signal transduction and gene expression in primary human hepatocytes, PBLs, and monocytes. IFN-α drug products are widely used to treat chronic HCV infection; however, IFN-α therapy often induces hematologic toxicities as a result of the broad expression of IFNARs on many cell types, including most leukocytes. rIFN-λ1 is currently being tested as a potential alternative to IFN-α for treating chronic HCV. Although IFN-λ has been shown to be active on hepatoma cell lines, such as HepG2 and Huh-7, its ability to induce responses in primary human hepatocytes or leukocytes has not been examined. We found that IFN-λ induces activation of Jak/STAT signaling in mouse and human hepatocytes, and the ability of IFN-λ to induce STAT activation correlates with induction of numerous ISGs. Although the magnitude of ISG expression induced by IFN-λ in hepatocytes was generally lower than that induced by IFN-α, the repertoire of regulated genes was quite similar. Our findings demonstrate that although IFN-α and IFN-λ signal through distinct receptors, they induce expression of a common set of ISGs in hepatocytes. However, unlike IFN-α, IFN-λ did not induce STAT activation or ISG expression by purified lymphocytes or monocytes. This important functional difference may provide a clinical advantage for IFN-λ as a treatment for chronic HCV infection, as it is less likely to induce the leukopenias that are often associated with IFN-α therapy.
Low Plasma Levels of Pancreatic Polypeptide in Obesity (1980)

Plasma levels of pancreatic polypeptide (PP) were studied in a group of 22 normal and 22 obese subjects after an overnight fast. In a second group of 10 normal and 13 obese adults, PP secretion was stimulated by a protein-rich meal. The results indicate lower fasting PP values in the obese subjects and a decreased response during the second phase of the meal-induced secretion. This could suggest a possible role of PP in obesity.
Disordered Fat Storage and Mobilization in the Pathogenesis of Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes (2002)

The primary genetic, environmental, and metabolic factors responsible for causing insulin resistance and pancreatic beta-cell failure and the precise sequence of events leading to the development of type 2 diabetes are not yet fully understood. Abnormalities of triglyceride storage and lipolysis in insulin-sensitive tissues are an early manifestation of conditions characterized by insulin resistance and are detectable before the development of postprandial or fasting hyperglycemia. Increased free fatty acid (FFA) flux from adipose tissue to nonadipose tissue, resulting from abnormalities of fat metabolism, participates in and amplifies many of the fundamental metabolic derangements that are characteristic of the insulin resistance syndrome and type 2 diabetes. It is also likely to play an important role in the progression from normal glucose tolerance to fasting hyperglycemia and conversion to frank type 2 diabetes in insulin resistant individuals. Adverse metabolic consequences of increased FFA flux, to be discussed in this review, are extremely wide ranging and include, but are not limited to: 1) dyslipidemia and hepatic steatosis, 2) impaired glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity in muscle and liver, 3) diminished insulin clearance, aggravating peripheral tissue hyperinsulinemia, and 4) impaired pancreatic beta-cell function. The precise biochemical mechanisms whereby fatty acids and cytosolic triglycerides exert their effects remain poorly understood. Recent studies, however, suggest that the sequence of events may be the following: in states of positive net energy balance, triglyceride accumulation in "fat-buffering" adipose tissue is limited by the development of adipose tissue insulin resistance. This results in diversion of energy substrates to nonadipose tissue, which in turn leads to a complex array of metabolic abnormalities characteristic of insulin-resistant states and type 2 diabetes. Recent evidence suggests that some of the biochemical mechanisms whereby glucose and fat exert adverse effects in insulin-sensitive and insulin-producing tissues are shared, thus implicating a diabetogenic role for energy excess as a whole. Although there is now evidence that weight loss through reduction of caloric intake and increase in physical activity can prevent the development of diabetes, it remains an open question as to whether specific modulation of fat metabolism will result in improvement in some or all of the above metabolic derangements or will prevent progression from insulin resistance syndrome to type 2 diabetes.
Expression of Bcl-2 Protects against Photoreceptor Degeneration inretinal degeneration slow(rds) Mice (2000)

The retinal degeneration slow or rds gene encodes rds/peripherin, an integral membrane glycoprotein in the outer segments of rod and cone photoreceptors. Mice homozygous for a null mutation in rds fail to develop outer segments and undergo subsequent degeneration of photoreceptors by the apoptotic pathway. Mutations in the human RDS gene are responsible for several forms of inherited blindness including autosomal-dominant retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. Here, we examined the effects of ectopic Bcl-2 expression in transgenic photoreceptors on the rate of retinal degeneration in rds mutant mice. We observed an approximately twofold preservation of photoreceptors compared with nontransgenic rds mutant mice at 3 months. Immunoblot analysis showed similar levels of Bcl-2 in 2-, 3-, and 4-week-old transgenic mice. Expression of Bcl-2 in the rds mouse did not lead to outer segment formation and did not induce cell death. These results suggest that Bcl-2 expression may be an effective therapeutic strategy in humans with mutations in RDS or other genes that affect the integrity of photoreceptor outer segments.
Soap and related products: Palm and lauric oil (1985)

Abstract There are three main methods for producing soap: direct saponification of fats and oils, neutralization of fatty acids and saponification of fatty acid methyl esters. Our unique process of soapmaking, based on the methyl ester saponification method, is described here. By this process, high‐quality toilet soaps can be produced from palm stearin and palm kernel oil as well as tallow and coconut oil. A new sulfonation process was developed to produce high‐quality α‐SFMe (α‐sulfo fatty acid methyl ester) from palm stearin as the starting material. Quality and performance of α‐SFMe bear comparison with those of LAS, AES, AS or AOS. Thus α‐SFMe is a promising surfactant for detergents and will contribute to expanding the use of palm oil in the near future.
Characterization of the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM)+ cell population in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (2010)

Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer stem cells (CSC) play an important role in tumorigenicity. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is one of the markers that identifies tumor cells with high tumorigenicity. The expression of EpCAM in liver progenitor cells prompted us to investigate whether CSC could be identified in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines. The sorted EpCAM(+) subpopulation from HCC cell lines showed a greater colony formation rate than the sorted EpCAM(-) subpopulation from the same cell lines, although cell proliferation was comparable between the two subpopulations. The in vivo evaluation of tumorigenicity, using supra-immunodeficient NOD/scid/γc(null) (NOG) mice, revealed that a smaller number of EpCAM(+) cells (minimum 100) than EpCAM(-) cells was necessary for tumor formation. The bifurcated differentiation of EpCAM(+) cell clones into both EpCAM(+) and EpCAM(-) cells was obvious both in vitro and in vivo, but EpCAM(-) clones sustained their phenotype. These clonal analyses suggested that EpCAM(+) cells may contain a multipotent cell population. Interestingly, the introduction of exogenous EpCAM into EpCAM(+) clones, but not into EpCAM(-) clones, markedly enhanced their tumor-forming ability, even though both transfectants expressed a similar level of EpCAM. Therefore, the difference in the tumor-forming ability between EpCAM(+) and EpCAM(-) cells is probably due to the intrinsic biological differences between them. Collectively, our results suggest that the EpCAM(+) population is biologically quite different from the EpCAM(-) population in HCC cell lines, and preferentially contains a highly tumorigenic cell population with the characteristics of CSC.
Stimulated Acoustic Emission: Nonbackscatter Contrast Effect of Microbubbles Seen with Harmonic Power Doppler Imaging (1997)

Transient imaging has been introduced to enhance the signal intensities when using echo contrast agents. However, this phenomenon is not clearly understood. To evaluate the mechanisms of this phenomenon, isolated pig hearts were investigated with different echo imaging techniques in the beating, working heart as well as in an asystolic state without any motion of the heart. The hearts of five German farm pigs (21 +/- 2.5 kg) were surgically explanted and inserted in an artificial circulation providing physiological flow and pressures. Levovist in the dosage of 0.05-0.3 g was injected into the left atrium and contrast effects evaluated in the left ventricular (LV) cavity and in the myocardium with an ultrasound imager (ATL, HDI 3000) equipped with a prototype software for harmonic imaging. Harmonic B-scans and power Doppler registrations were performed with continuous and intermittent recordings (ECG triggered at end-systole) in the beating heart and using an external trigger in the asystolic heart in which perfusion was interrupted for 20 seconds. In the beating pig heart, transient harmonic power Doppler imaging provided intensive opacification of the LV cavity and visible myocardial uptake when ECG triggering was performed. In the asystolic pig heart, with uninterrupted perfusion, both triggered and nontriggered registrations showed contrast signals in the LV cavity and in the myocardium. These findings cannot be explained with the known physics of ultrasound contrast media. Stimulated acoustic emission occurring during disintegration of the microbubbles in the acoustic field would explain this phenomenon, which has not yet been described for Levovist.
TNF-α is a mitogen in skeletal muscle (2003)

Emerging evidence suggests that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha plays a role in muscle repair. To determine whether TNF-alpha modulates satellite cell proliferation, the current study evaluated TNF-alpha effects on DNA synthesis in primary myoblasts and on satellite cell activation in adult mouse muscle. Exposure to recombinant TNF-alpha increased total DNA content in rat primary myoblasts dose-dependently over a 24-h period and increased the number of primary myoblasts incorporating 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) during a 30-min pulse labeling. Systemic injection of TNF-alpha stimulated BrdU incorporation by satellite cells in muscles of adult mice, whereas no BrdU was incorporated by satellite cells in control mice. TNF-alpha stimulated serum response factor (SRF) binding to the serum response element (SRE) present in the c-fos gene promoter and stimulated reporter gene expression controlled by the same element. Our data suggest that TNF-alpha activates satellite cells to enter the cell cycle and accelerates G1-to-S phase transition, and these actions may involve activation of early response genes via SRF.
Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (1998)

The paper describes SAGE, a software system that can undertake exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) held in the ARC/INFO geographical information system. The aims of ESDA are described and a simple data model is defined associating the elements of ‘rough’ and ‘smooth’ with different attribute properties. The distinction is drawn between global and local statistics. SAGE's region building and adjacency matrix modules are described. These allow the user to evaluate the sensitivity of results to the choice of areal partition and measure of interarea adjacency. A range of ESDA techniques are described and examples given. The interaction between the table, map and graph drawing windows in SAGE is illustrated together with the range of data queries that can be implemented based on attribute values and locational criteria. The paper concludes with a brief assessment of the contribution of SAGE to the development of spatial data analysis.
Multiple sclerosis distribution in northern Sardinia (2002)

This study highlights a hot spot of MS in the southwestern part of Sassari province, bordering with the commune of Macomer, where MS was once hypothesized as having occurred as an epidemic. Interestingly, these areas of MS clustering comprise the Common Logudorese linguistic domain. The Catalan area, linguistically and genetically distant from the remaining Sardinian domains, does not show such high estimates. Because MS is not a single-source infectious disease, this study may help test the hypothesis that a widely and evenly spread environmental (infectious?) agent may produce disease in subgroups of genetically more susceptible individuals in areas at higher inbreeding rates, wherein a disease mode of inheritance could be better investigated.
Optimization of capillary chromatography ion trap‐mass spectrometry for identification of gel‐separated proteins (1998)

The current paradigm for protein identification using mass spectrometric derived peptide-mass and fragment-ion data employs computer algorithms which match uninterpreted or partially interpreted fragment-ion data to sequence databases, both protein and translated nucleotide sequence databases. Nucleotide sequence databases continue to grow at a rapid rate for some species, providing an unsurpassed resource for protein identification in those species. Ion-trap mass spectrometers with their ability to rapidly generate fragment-ion spectra in a data-dependent manner with high sensitivity and accuracy has led to their increased use for protein identification. We have investigated various parameters on a commercial ion trap-mass spectrometer to enhance our ability to identify peptides separated by capillary reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled on-line to the mass spectrometer. By systematically evaluating the standard parameters (ion injection time and number of microscans) together with selection of multiple ions from the full mass range, improved tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) spectra were generated, facilitating identification of proteins at a low pmol level. Application of this technology to the identification of a standard protein and an unknown from an affinity-enriched mixture are shown.
Discovery of novel diarylamides as orally active diuretics targeting urea transporters (2020)

Urea transporters (UT) play a vital role in the mechanism of urine concentration and are recognized as novel targets for the development of salt-sparing diuretics. Thus, UT inhibitors are promising for development as novel diuretics. In the present study, a novel UT inhibitor with a diarylamide scaffold was discovered by high-throughput screening. Optimization of the inhibitor led to the identification of a promising preclinical candidate, <i>N</i>-[4-(acetylamino)phenyl]-5-nitrofuran-2-carboxamide (<b>1H</b>), with excellent <i>in vitro</i> UT inhibitory activity at the submicromolar level<i>.</i> The half maximal inhibitory concentrations of <b>1H</b> against UT-B in mouse, rat, and human erythrocyte were 1.60, 0.64, and 0.13 μmol/L, respectively. Further investigation suggested that 8 μmol/L <b>1H</b> more powerfully inhibited UT-A1 at a rate of 86.8% than UT-B at a rate of 73.9% in MDCK cell models. Most interestingly, we found for the first time that oral administration of <b>1H</b> at a dose of 100 mg/kg showed superior diuretic effect <i>in vivo</i> without causing electrolyte imbalance in rats. Additionally, <b>1H</b> did not exhibit apparent toxicity <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in vitro</i>, and possessed favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics. <b>1H</b> shows promise as a novel diuretic to treat hyponatremia accompanied with volume expansion and may cause few side effects.