gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Topological network design for SONET ring architecture (1998)

Service restoration and survivability have become increasingly important in telecommunications network planning with the introduction of fiber-optic high-speed networks. Synchronous optical network (SONET) technology promotes the use of interconnected rings in designing reliable networks. We describe a heuristic approach for designing networks comprised of interconnected rings. Our approach is particularly attractive for relatively sparse networks in which the set of all cycles (constituting the potential rings) can be determined at a reasonable computational effort. Most networks fall into this category. Given a set of nodes, with demand among all possible node-pairs, and a set of available links that connect the nodes, the problem is to select an optimal subset of rings, utilizing only allowable links, such that each node is included in at least one ring and each ring is connected to at least one other ring at two or more nodes. Such a multiple ring network ensures instantaneous restoration of service in case of a single link or node failure. We first generate a large set of candidate rings and approximate the cost of each ring based on the nodes that are served by the ring and based on the demands. We then apply a set covering algorithm that selects a (minimum cost) subset of the candidate rings such that each node is included on at least one ring. Finally, we select a few additional rings in order to achieve the required connectivity among the rings. We present computational results for realistic-size (e.g., 500 nodes) telecommunication networks.
Collagen in tissue-engineered cartilage: Types, structure, and crosslinks (1998)

The function of articular cartilage as a weight-bearing tissue depends on the specific arrangement of collagen types II and IX into a three-dimensional organized collagen network that can balance the swelling pressure of the proteoglycan/water gel. To determine whether cartilage engineered in vitro contains a functional collagen network, chondrocyte-polymer constructs were cultured for up to 6 weeks and analyzed with respect to the composition and ultrastructure of collagen by using biochemical and immunochemical methods and scanning electron microscopy. Total collagen content and the concentration of pyridinium crosslinks were significantly (57% and 70%, respectively) lower in tissue-engineered cartilage that in bovine calf articular cartilage. However, the fractions of collagen types II, IX, and X and the collagen network organization, density, and fibril diameter in engineered cartilage were not significantly different from those in natural articular cartilage. The implications of these findings for the field of tissue engineering are that differentiated chondrocytes are capable of forming a complex structure of collagen matrix in vitro, producing a tissue similar to natural articular cartilage on an ultrastructural scale.
Combinatorial Blockade of Calcineurin and CD28 Signaling Facilitates Primary and Secondary Therapeutic Gene Transfer by Adenovirus Vectors in Dystrophic ( mdx ) Mouse Muscles (1998)

Recombinant adenovirus vectors (AdV) have been considered a potential vehicle for performing gene therapy in patients suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy but are limited by a cellular and humoral immune response that prevents long-term transgene expression as well as effective transduction after AdV readministration. Conventional immunosuppressive agents such as cyclosporine and FK506, which act by interfering with CD3-T-cell receptor-mediated signaling via calcineurin, are only partially effective in reversing these phenomena and may also produce substantial organ toxicity. We hypothesized that activation of redundant T-cell activation pathways could limit the effectiveness of these drugs at clinically tolerable doses. Therefore, we have tested the ability of immunomodulatory immunoglobulins (Ig) with different modes of action to facilitate AdV-mediated gene transfer to adult dystrophic (mdx) mice. When used in isolation, immunomodulatory Ig (anti-intercellular adhesion molecule-1, anti-leukocyte function-associated antigen-1, anti-CD2, and CTLA4Ig) were only mildly effective in mitigating cellular and/or humoral immunity against adenovirus capsid proteins and the therapeutic transgene product, dystrophin. However, the combination of FK506 plus CTLA4Ig abrogated the immune response against adenovirus proteins and dystrophin to a degree not achievable with the use of either agent alone. At 30 days after AdV injection, >90% of myofibers could be found to express dystrophin with little or no evidence of a cellular immune response against transduced fibers. In addition, the humoral immune response was markedly suppressed, and this was associated with increased transduction efficiency following vector readministration. These data suggest that by facilitating both primary and secondary transduction after AdV administration, combined targeting of CD3-T-cell receptor-mediated signaling via calcineurin and the B7:CD28 costimulatory pathway could greatly increase the potential utility of AdV-mediated gene transfer as a therapeutic modality for genetic diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy that will require long-term transgene expression and repeated vector delivery.
The Challenge of Rising Health Care Costs — A View from the Congressional Budget Office (2007)

The long-term fiscal condition of the United States has been largely misdiagnosed. Despite all the attention paid to demographic challenges, such as the coming retirement of the baby-boom generation, our country's financial health will in fact be determined primarily by the growth rate of per capita health care costs. Yet discussions of Medicare and Medicaid policy as well as broader health care reforms have not seriously addressed the issue of how to slow growth in spending. Instead, recent debates have focused on how much to increase spending for the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, how to expand coverage for children, and how . . .
Activation of a recombinant human factor VII structural analogue alters its affinity of binding to tissue factor (1996)

A competitive enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) technique has been developed to facilitate quantitative analysis of the earliest step in the initiation of the extrinsic pathway of coagulation, i.e., complex formation of factor VII/VIIa with tissue factor. The ELISA measures the binding of biotinylated human plasma factor VII to relipidated recombinant human tissue factor. Quantitation of the relative affinity (expressed as IC50) of any factor VII molecular population or structural analogue for tissue factor can be determined by competitive binding. Subnanomolar concentrations of both wild-type recombinant human factor VII (rFVII) and rFVII(R152Q), a mutation at the FVII activation site, competed effectively with biotinylated plasma-derived factor VII in binding to tissue factor. In contrast, the affinity of rFVII(R79Q), a mutation in the first epidermal growth factor-like domain, was 12-fold lower. Following activation of rFVII(R79Q), its affinity for tissue factor and enzymatic activity increased 4-fold and 6-fold, respectively. For wild-type rFVII, enzymatic activity rose significantly following activation. However, its affinity for tissue factor was unchanged. We conclude that both the activation state of factor VII and the mutation of amino-acid residues within the first epidermal growth factor-like domain may alter the affinity of factor VII for tissue factor.
Expression of Fractalkine (CX3CL1) and its Receptor, CX3CR1, Is Elevated in Coronary Artery Disease and Is Reduced During Statin Therapy (2005)

Our results suggest that the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 dyad may contribute to atherogenesis and plaque destabilization in human CAD.
Selective binding to transthyretin and tetramer stabilization in serum from patients with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy by an iodinated diflunisal derivative (2004)

In familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy, TTR (transthyretin) variants are deposited as amyloid fibrils. It is thought that this process involves TTR tetramer dissociation, which leads to partially unfolded monomers that aggregate and polymerize into amyloid fibrils. This process can be counteracted by stabilization of the tetramer. Several small compounds, such as diclofenac, diflunisal and flufenamic acid, have been reported to bind to TTR in vitro, in the T4 (thyroxine) binding channel that runs through the TTR tetramer, and consequently are considered to stabilize TTR. However, if these agents bind plasma proteins other than TTR, decreased drug availability will occur, compromising their use as therapeutic agents for TTR amyloidosis. In the present work, we compared the action of these compounds and of new derivatives designed to increase both selectivity of binding to TTR and inhibitory potency in relation to TTR amyloid fibril formation. We found two diflunisal derivatives that, in contrast with diclofenac, flufenamic acid and diflunisal, displaced T4 from TTR in plasma preferentially over binding to albumin and thyroxine binding globulin. The same diflunisal derivatives also had a stabilizing effect on TTR tetramers in plasma, as studied by isoelectric focusing of whole plasma under semi-denaturing conditions. In addition, by transmission electron microscopy, we demonstrated that, in contrast with other proposed TTR stabilizers (namely diclofenac, flufenamic acid and diflunisal), one of the diflunisal derivatives tested efficiently inhibited TTR aggregation. Taken together, our ex vivo and in vitro studies present evidence for the selectivity and efficiency of novel diflunisal derivates as TTR stabilizers and as inhibitors of fibril formation.
Semiconductor on glass photocathodes as high-performance sources for parallel electron beam lithography (1996)

The throughput of electron beam lithography has historically been limited by electron–electron interactions that cause blurring at high currents. We present a system configuration for maskless parallel electron beam lithography using a new multiple primary source technology that, by employing widely spaced beams, significantly reduces this problem. The proposed source technology, a negative electron affinity (NEA) photocathode, allows us to generate an array of high brightness, low energy spread, independently modulated beams over a large area. In order to assess the effects of electron–electron interactions in this system, Monte Carlo simulations have been performed. The results of these calculations indicate that this configuration enjoys significant advantages over existing maskless systems. By restricting the area of emission for the individual beamlets to submicron dimensions, the blurring due to statistical electron–electron interactions can be significantly reduced for a given current at the wafer. For example, at 50 kV a total current of more than 2.5 μA can be obtained with less than 10 nm beam blurring. Preliminary experimental results suggest that high brightness emission can be maintained from a NEA photocathode in a demountable vacuum system.
Reflectivity of disordered silicon nanowires (2008)

Disordered silicon nanowire mats have high diffuse optical reflectivity, in striking contrast to the low reflectivity of orientationally ordered nanowires. The reflectivity decreases with increasing photon energy across the visible and near infrared spectrum due to absorption in the nanowires. A simple model is used to estimate that the incident photon interacts with up to 20 nanowires before being reflected. A thin coating of hydrogenated amorphous silicon enhances the nanowire absorption.
Effect of Molecular Size on the Ability of Zwitterionic Polysaccharides to Stimulate Cellular Immunity (2000)

The large-molecular-sized zwitterionic capsular polysaccharide of the anaerobe Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343, designated polysaccharide (PS) A, stimulates T cell proliferation in vitro and induces T cell-dependent protection against abscess formation in vivo. In the present study, we utilized a modification of a recently developed ozonolytic method for depolymerizing polysaccharides to examine the influence of the molecular size of PS A on cell-mediated immunity. Ozonolysis successfully depolymerized PS A into structurally intact fragments. PS A with average molecular sizes of 129.0 (native), 77.8, 46.9, and 17.1 kDa stimulated CD4+-cell proliferation in vitro to the same degree, whereas the 5.0-kDa fragment was much less stimulatory than the control 129.0-kDa PS A. Rats treated with 129.0-kDa, 46.9-kDa, and 17.1-kDa PS A molecules, but not those treated with the 5.0-kDa molecule, were protected against intraabdominal abscesses induced by challenge with viable B. fragilis. These results demonstrate that a zwitterionic polysaccharide as small as 22 repeating units (88 monosaccharides) elicits a T cell-dependent immune response. These findings clearly distinguish zwitterionic T cell-dependent polysaccharides from T cell-independent polysaccharides and give evidence of the existence of a novel mechanism for a polysaccharide-induced immune response.
Binding of the Rb1 protein to E1A products is required for adenovirus transformation. (1989)

Several cellular proteins, including polypeptides of 300, 107 and 105kDa, associate with the products of the E1A gene of adenovirus type 5. Here we show that the 105kDa species is the product of the recessive oncogene Rb1 which is absent or altered in retinoblastomas and other human cancers. About 75% of the total Rb1 protein in infected human KB cells was found to be complexed with E1A products and these data support the hypothesis that E1A-mediated transformation results from the elimination of functional Rb1 protein within the cell. However, while the interaction of E1A products with this cellular protein is necessary, transformation appears also to require binding of the 300 and 107kDa polypeptides. We also found that both the Rb1 protein and the 107kDa E1A-binding species were undetectable in a retinoblastoma cell line lacking both alleles of the Rb1 gene. These data suggest that the absence of both the 107kDa and 105kDa/Rb1 proteins may be involved in the development of the oncogenic phenotype of retinoblastoma cells.
Americanization of Discovery: Why Statutory Interpretation Bars 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a)'s Application in Private International Arbitration Proceedings (2010)

Part III.A (discussing the statute's relatively simple measures for obtaining evidence).
Soluble ST2 Blocks Interleukin-33 Signaling in Allergic Airway Inflammation (2007)

The ST2 gene produces a soluble secreted form and a transmembrane form, referred to as soluble ST2 and ST2L, respectively. A recent study has reported that interleukin (IL)-33 is a specific ligand of ST2L and induces production of T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines. Although soluble ST2 is highly produced in sera of asthmatic patients and plays a critical role for production of Th2 cytokines, the function of soluble ST2 in relation to IL-33 signaling remains unclear. Here we show antagonistic effects of soluble ST2 on IL-33 signaling using a murine thymoma EL-4 cells stably expressing ST2L and a murine model of asthma. Soluble ST2 directly bound to IL-33 and suppressed activation of NF-kappaB in EL-4 cells stably expressing ST2L, suggesting that the complex of soluble ST2 and IL-33 fails to bind to ST2L. In a murine model of asthma, pretreatment with soluble ST2 reduced production of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 from IL-33-stimulated splenocytes. These results indicate that soluble ST2 acts as a negative regulator of Th2 cytokine production by the IL-33 signaling. Our study provides a molecular mechanism wherein soluble ST2 modulates the biological activity of IL-33 in allergic airway inflammation.
A Proactive Password Checker (1990)

Password selection has long been a difficult issue; traditionally, passwords are either assigned by the computer or chosen by the user. When the computer does the assignment, the passwords are often hard to remember; when the user makes the selection, the passwords are often easy to guess. This paper describes a technique, and a mechanism, to allow users to select passwords which to them are easy to remember but to others would be very difficult to guess. The technique is site, user, and group compatible, and allows rapid changing of constraints imposed upon the password. Although experience with this technique is limited, it appears to have much promise.
Molecular Self-Assembly of Two-Terminal, Voltammetric Microsensors with Internal References (1991)

Self-assembly of a ferrocenyl thiol and a quinone thiol onto Au microelectrodes forms the basis for a new microsensor concept: a two-terminal, voltammetric microsensor with reference and sensor functions on the same electrode. The detection is based on measurement of the potential difference of current peaks for oxidation and reduction of the reference (ferrocene) and indicator (quinone) in aqueous electrolyte in a two-terminal, linear sweep voltammogram in which a counterelectrode of relatively large surface area is used. The quinone has a half-wave potential, E((1/2)), that is pH-sensitive and can be used as a pH indicator; the ferrocene center has an E(1/2) that is a pH-insensitive reference. The key advantages are that such sensors require no separate reference electrode and function as long as current peaks can be located for reference and indicator molecules.
Phase 1 Gene Therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Using a Translational Optimized AAV Vector (2011)

Efficient and widespread gene transfer is required for successful treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Here, we performed the first clinical trial using a chimeric adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid variant (designated AAV2.5) derived from a rational design strategy. AAV2.5 was generated from the AAV2 capsid with five mutations from AAV1. The novel chimeric vector combines the improved muscle transduction capacity of AAV1 with reduced antigenic crossreactivity against both parental serotypes, while keeping the AAV2 receptor binding. In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled phase I clinical study in DMD boys, AAV2.5 vector was injected into the bicep muscle in one arm, with saline control in the contralateral arm. A subset of patients received AAV empty capsid instead of saline in an effort to distinguish an immune response to vector versus minidystrophin transgene. Recombinant AAV genomes were detected in all patients with up to 2.56 vector copies per diploid genome. There was no cellular immune response to AAV2.5 capsid. This trial established that rationally designed AAV2.5 vector was safe and well tolerated, lays the foundation of customizing AAV vectors that best suit the clinical objective (e.g., limb infusion gene delivery) and should usher in the next generation of viral delivery systems for human gene transfer.
Antibacterial effect of borage (Echium amoenum) on Staphylococcus aureus (2004)

Borage (Echium amoenum) is a large annual plant of the Boraginaceae family, which grows in most of Europe and in northern Iran. The borage flower is used as a medicinal herb in France and other countries. Iranian borage is used in traditional medicine for infectious diseases, flu and as an anti-febrile. We tested the aqueous extract of borage dried flowers in vitro for its antibacterial activity. The extract showed concentration-dependent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus 8327. This activity was heat resistant, but the activity of freeze-dried extract gradually diminished during a 90-day period. The traditional use of Iranian borage flowers for infectious diseases and for controlling fever appears to be justified.
<title>Semantic image retrieval through human subject segmentation and characterization</title> (1997)

Video databases can be searched for visual content by searching over automatically extracted key frames rather than the complete video sequence. Many video materials used in the humanities and social sciences contain a preponderance of shots of people. In this paper, we describe our work in semantic image retrieval of person-rich scenes (key frames) for video databases and libraries. We use an approach called retrieval through segmentation. A key-frame image is first segmented into human subjects and background. We developed a specialized segmentation technique that utilizes both human flesh-tone detection and contour analysis. Experimental results show that this technique can effectively segment images in a low time complexity. Once the image has been segmented, we can then extract features or pose queries about both the people and the background. We propose a retrieval framework that is based on the segmentation results and the extracted features of people and background.
The Difference a Se Makes? Oxygen-Tolerant Hydrogen Production by the [NiFeSe]-Hydrogenase from Desulfomicrobium baculatum (2008)

Protein film voltammetry studies of the [NiFeSe]-hydrogenase from Desulfomicrobium baculatum show it to be a highly efficient H2 cycling catalyst. In the presence of 100% H2, the ratio of H2 production to H2 oxidation activity is higher than for any conventional [NiFe]-hydrogenases (lacking a selenocysteine ligand) that have been investigated to date. Although traces of O2 (<< 1%) rapidly and completely remove H2 oxidation activity, the enzyme sustains partial activity for H2 production even in the presence of 1% O2 in the atmosphere. That H2 production should be partly allowed, whereas H2 oxidation is not, is explained because the inactive product of O2 attack is reductively reactivated very rapidly, but this requires a potential that is almost as negative as the thermodynamic potential for the 2H(+)/H2 couple. The study provides further encouragement and clues regarding the feasibility of microbial/enzymatic H2 production free from restrictions of anaerobicity.
Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) aggravates Staphylococcus aureus septicaemia and septic arthritis (1997)

The aim of this study was to assess the role of NO and its metabolites in bacterial arthritis. The murine model of haematogenously acquired septic arthritis was used. Swiss mice treated with NOS inhibitors (N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine or N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester) were injected intravenously with toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) producing Staphylococcus aureus LS-1. Arthritis was evaluated clinically and histopathologically. Serum cytokine levels, bacterial isolates and intracellular capacity of macrophages to kill bacteria were also analysed. The frequency of arthritis in mice treated with NOS inhibitors was three to four-fold higher than that in non-treated controls (75% versus 20%). The severity of arthritis, expressed as mean arthritic index, was 1.4 and 0.4, respectively. Cartilage and/or bone destruction occurred in 63% of NOS inhibitor-treated mice, but only in 10% of controls. Also, the cumulative septicaemia-induced mortality was clearly higher in mice treated with NOS inhibitors compared with non-treated controls. Intracellular killing capacity of the peritoneal macrophages, treated in vitro with NOS inhibitors, was decreased. Thus, 24 h after bacterial inoculation peritoneal macrophages pretreated with NOS inhibitors killed more than 10 times less bacteria than the control ones (P<0.01). We conclude that NOS inhibitors aggravate S. aureus arthritis, possibly by inducing impairment of the intracellular killing capacity of macrophages.