gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Human prostatic cancer cells, PC3, elaborate mitogenic activity which selectively stimulates human bone cells. (1990)

Prostatic cancer typically produces osteoblastic metastases which are not attended by marrow fibrosis (i.e., osteoblast but not stromal fibroblast proliferation). In the present study we sought to test the hypothesis that prostatic cancer cells produce factor(s) which act selectively on human osteoblasts. Such a paracrine mechanism would explain the observed increase in osteoblasts, unaccompanied by an increase in marrow fibroblasts. To test this hypothesis we investigated the mitogenic activity released by the human prostatic tumor cell line, PC3. PC3 cells have been reported previously to produce mitogenic activity for cells that was relatively specific for rat osteoblasts compared to rat fibroblasts. However, the effects of this activity on human cells has not been examined previously. PC3-conditioned medium (CM) (5-50 micrograms CM protein/ml) stimulated human osteoblast proliferation by 200-950% yet did not stimulate human fibroblast proliferation [( 3H]thymidine incorporation). PC3 CM also increased cell numbers in human osteoblast but not fibroblast cell cultures. To determine whether the osteoblast-specific mitogenic activity could be attributed to known bone growth factors, specific assays for these growth factors were performed. PC3 CM contained 10 pg insulin-like growth factor (IGF) I, less than 2 pg IGF II, 54 pg basic fibroblast growth factor, and 16 pg transforming growth factor beta/microgram CM protein. None of these growth factors alone or in combination could account for the observed osteoblast-specific PC3 cell-derived mitogenic activity. Furthermore, when 5 micrograms/ml PC3 CM was tested in combination with maximally effective concentrations of either basic fibroblast growth factor, IGF I, IGF II, or transforming growth factor beta, it produced an additive effect suggesting that PC3 CM stimulates osteoblast proliferation by a mechanism independent of these bone mitogens. Biochemical characterization supported the hypothesis that the PC3 cell growth factor was unique from other growth factors. The PC3 growth factor did not bind to heparin and was resistant to acid as well as the reducing agent, dithiothreitol. Sephadex G-75 and fast protein liquid chromatography Mono S cation-exchange chromatography revealed the PC3-derived mitogen to be an Mr 26,000-30,000 basic protein. Therefore, we conclude that PC3 cells release a mitogen which exhibits higher specificity for human osteoblasts than human fibroblasts and is unique from other growth factors tested. Production of this mitogen by human prostatic carcinoma cells could play an etiological role in the intense osteoblast-specific stimulation that occurs at sites of bone metastases.
A multiscale retinex for bridging the gap between color images and the human observation of scenes (1997)

Direct observation and recorded color images of the same scenes are often strikingly different because human visual perception computes the conscious representation with vivid color and detail in shadows, and with resistance to spectral shifts in the scene illuminant. A computation for color images that approaches fidelity to scene observation must combine dynamic range compression, color consistency-a computational analog for human vision color constancy-and color and lightness tonal rendition. In this paper, we extend a previously designed single-scale center/surround retinex to a multiscale version that achieves simultaneous dynamic range compression/color consistency/lightness rendition. This extension fails to produce good color rendition for a class of images that contain violations of the gray-world assumption implicit to the theoretical foundation of the retinex. Therefore, we define a method of color restoration that corrects for this deficiency at the cost of a modest dilution in color consistency. Extensive testing of the multiscale retinex with color restoration on several test scenes and over a hundred images did not reveal any pathological behaviour.
An N-Terminal Amphipathic Helix in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) NS4B Mediates Membrane Association, Correct Localization of Replication Complex Proteins, and HCV RNA Replication (2004)

Like other positive-strand RNA viruses, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is believed to replicate its RNA in association with host cell cytoplasmic membranes. Because of its association with such membranes, NS4B, one of the virus's nonstructural proteins, may play an important role in this process, although the mechanistic details are not well understood. We identified a putative N-terminal amphipathic helix (AH) in NS4B that mediates membrane association. Introduction of site-directed mutations designed to disrupt the hydrophobic face of the AH abolishes the AH's ability to mediate membrane association. An AH in NS4B is conserved across HCV isolates. Completely disrupting the amphipathic nature of NS4B's N-terminal helix abolished HCV RNA replication, whereas partial disruption resulted in an intermediate level of replication. Finally, immunofluorescence studies revealed that HCV replication complex components were mislocalized in the AH-disrupted mutant. These results identify a key membrane-targeting domain which can form the basis for developing novel antiviral strategies.
Therapeutic modulation of brain temperature: relevance to ischemic brain injury. (1992)

Hypothermia was first applied therapeutically as a local anesthetic and later was used to achieve organ protection during procedures necessitating circulatory interruption. Profound whole-body hypothermia, typically carried out in conjunction with extracorporeal bypass, has long been employed during cardiac and neurosurgical operative procedures. More recently, studies in small-animal experimental models of cerebral ischemia have provided persuasive evidence that even small decreases in brain temperature confer striking protection against ischemic neuronal injury. By contrast, small elevations of brain temperature during ischemia accelerate and extend pathologic changes in the brain and promote early disruption of the blood-brain barrier. Hypothermia retards the rate of high-energy phosphate depletion during ischemia and promotes postischemic metabolic recovery. More importantly, mild intraischemic hypothermia markedly attenuates the release of glutamate into the brain's extracellular space and significantly diminishes the release of dopamine. Similarly, the inhibition of calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II triggered by normothermic ischemia is prevented by hypothermia, as is the ischemia-induced translocation and inhibition of the key regulatory enzyme protein kinase C. Hypothermia also appears to facilitate the resynthesis of ubiquitin following ischemia. Studies of potential clinical importance have shown that moderate hypothermia is capable of attenuating ischemic damage even if instituted early in the postischemic period. In the setting of focal cerebral ischemia, moderate brain hypothermia reduces the infarct size (particularly in the setting of reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion); conversely, hyperthermia markedly increases the infarct volume. These studies underscore the importance of monitoring and regulating the brain temperature during experimental studies of cerebral ischemia to insure a consistent pathologic outcome and to avoid the false attribution of "pharmacoprotection" to drugs that reduce the body temperature. The measurement of brain temperature is now practicable in neurosurgical patients requiring invasive monitoring, and human studies have shown that cortical and cerebroventricular temperatures may exceed systemic temperatures. Mild to moderate decreases in brain temperature are neuroprotective in cerebral ischemia, while mild elevations of brain temperature are markedly deleterious in the setting of ischemia or injury. It is anticipated that controlled clinical trials of therapeutic brain temperature modulation will be undertaken over the next several years.
MARSYAS3D: A PROTOTYPE AUDIO BROWSER-EDITOR USING A LARGE SCALE IMMERSIVE VISUAL AND AUDIO DISPLAY (2001)

Most audio editing tools offer limited capabilities for browsing and editing large collections of files. Moreover working with many audio files tends to clutter the limited screen space of a desktop monitor. In this paper we describe MARSYAS3D, a prototype audio browser and editor for large audio collections. A variety of 2D and 3D graphics interfaces for working with collections and/or individual files have been developed. Many of these interfaces are informed by automatic content-based audio analysis tools. Although MARSYAS3D can be used with a desktop monitor it has been specifically designed as an application for the Princeton Scalable Display Wall project. The current Display Wall system has an 8 x 18-foot rear projection screen with a resolution of 4096 x 1536 pixels. For sound a custom-made 16-speaker surround system is used. The users interact with the Wall using a variety of input methods. This immersive display allows for visual and aural presentation of detailed information for browsing and editing large audio collections and supports natural interactive collaborations among multiple simultaneous users. 1.
Medicine and books: Body Horror: Photojournalism, Catastrophe and War (1998)

John Taylor 

Manchester University Press, £15.99, pp 210 

ISBN 0 7190 3722 0 

The thing about looking at photographs is that we have a choice of whether to engage with the event depicted or not. We may have little concept of what preceded the picture being taken or what happened immediately afterwards, but we can look with utter detachment or we can get involved. Much of Body Horror discusses the apparent sanitisation of war and other traumatic situations by the media’s adoption of policies designed more to protect the viewer than to portray reality. Yet, for a book about photography, there are frustratingly few pictures included, and, although the subject matter is fascinating, it not an easy read. 

Throughout the book Taylor suggests that we are likely to be minimising the atrocities of war and disaster by allowing only ethically acceptable photographs to be published, and that we would be more appropriately shocked out of complacency if starker images were splashed across our newspapers. He argues that other nations’ wars and famines could become more our own if we had to face death and destruction rather than the more visually acceptable—but less shocking—alternatives that have come to replace them. Emotive they may be, but better this than bland anaesthesia which sedates and numbs our senses. On the other side of the debate, however, there are those who argue strongly that the persistent use of shocking pictures can induce an analgesic effect and “compassion fatigue,” such that the desired acknowledgement of horror is replaced by “It’s only a photograph.” 

Taylor quotes Martin Bell, the former BBC reporter: “In a world where genocide has returned in recent years to haunt three continents, we should remind ourselves that this crime against humanity requires accomplices—not only the hatred that makes it happen, but the indifference that lets it happen.” It is this indifference and lack of imagination that Taylor and others suggest can come from an inappropriate use of photography. As another critic says, “If we cannot imagine torture, we cannot stop it.” 

In chapter 3 Taylor himself adopts an interesting policy of journalistic self censorship in an effort to reduce gratuitously repulsive material. Rather than printing the actual pictures, he uses words to describe a series of photographs that depict a particularly gruesome execution. But by adopting this method, he ironically creates a far more vivid picture than I suspect the original photographs would have done. I felt physically sickened by his choice of words because they told the story of the execution from start to finish, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. Publishing the photographs alongside the text may have drawn me in, but printing them on their own—suspended in midair without text—would almost certainly have been less powerful.
Enhancing immunogenicity of a CTL epitope from carcinoembryonic antigen by selective amino acid replacements. (2002)

Our results widen the possibility of treating CEA-expressing tumors with enhanced efficacy.
Reducing Heat-Load in Buildings through the Use of Solar Screens: Case Study of Bookshop House, Lagos (2012)

Technology advancement has ensured a better means of livelihood essentially in certain parts of West Africa, specifically Nigeria, where the climate is predominantly hot in most parts throughout the year. Air-conditioning has reduced the harshness of indoor discomforts to the barest minimum. It is no more uncommon to find it regularly in use in most homes and offices. Currently, the economy has the centrality of its power supply hinged on generator plants. The enigma of the current situation is how this alternative problem has catastrophic after effects on the environment. This and many more add up to the greatest of all the threats now evading our environment and the world — G lobal warming. The threat of Global warming is real and the need to find less environmentally destructive sources of energy cannot be overemphasized. This paper is a contribution towards energy saving in buildings through the reduction of solar radiation incident on buildings. Sustainable Building calls for an integrated planning approach for operating buildings economically, substantially reducing their impact on the environment by reducing energy/power consumption, amongst others, and enhancing the well-being of their inhabitants. Only buildings that reconcile all of the above factors are fit for the future. A case study of the CMS (Catholic Mission School) Book Shop house in Lagos was carried out. The methodology involved the use of a solar chart and shadow angle protractor to determine the overheated periods represented by the shading masks and data collected. From this analysis, it was decided to accept the use of external sun shading and preliminary designs and specifications were prepared by the architects. The use of external solar screens made a saving of up to 75% of the energy input which would otherwise have been required by air-conditioning.
Carrier‐induced epitope‐specific regulation and its bypass in a protein‐protein conjugate (1995)

In the course of clinical trials on a birth control vaccine, it was found that some of the immunized women responded poorly to booster immunizations. This vaccine consists of a dimer of the beta chain of human chorionic gonadotropin (beta hCG) and the alpha chain of ovine luteinizing hormone (alpha oLH), linked to tetanus toxoid (TT) as a carrier. Changing this carrier to diphtheria toxoid resulted in reversion to high anti-hCG antibody titers, indicating the extent to which the carrier influences anti-ligand responses in this system. The suppression of anti-hCG responses after booster immunizations was reminiscent of the phenomenon of carrier-induced, epitope-specific regulation. In a mouse model designed to test the effects of preimmunization with TT on anti-hCG responses, we found that a single preimmunization with TT causes reduced anti-hCG antibody responses in two out of four mouse strains, while anti-alpha oLH antibody responses were not affected by the preimmunization with TT. This is particularly interesting considering that beta hCG and alpha oLH were not presented when linked separately to TT. In an effort to devise a strategy to circumvent this carrier-induced, ligand-specific hyporesponsiveness, we investigated the effectiveness of a synthetic T helper epitope from TT as carrier. We show that preimmunization with TT causes a less profound reduction in anti-hCG titers if the preimmunized mice are subsequently injected with alpha oLH-beta hCG conjugated to a synthetic tetanus toxin peptide recognized by TT-induced and peptide-induced T cells.
Anti- and proinflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of tissue damage in Crohnʼs disease (2000)

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of unknown origin. The understanding of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases has been greatly advanced by manipulations of the immune system in mice using targeted disruptions of genes that encode specific anti- and proinflammatory cytokines, as well as T-cell subsets. The outcome of these experiments has implicated CD4+ lymphocytes and certain proinflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-12) as playing a central role in the pathogenesis of mucosal inflammation in Crohn's disease. The present review focuses on these recent important immunological observations, and discusses several newly developed therapeutic strategies that are based either on blocking proinflammatory cytokines or on the administration of anti-inflammatory cytokines.
Monoclonal autoantibodies promote central nervous system repair in an animal model of multiple sclerosis (1994)

Susceptible strains of mice infected intracerebrally with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus develop a chronic, progressive, immune-mediated CNS demyelinating disease similar both pathologically and clinically to multiple sclerosis. Previous reports indicated that polyclonal immunoglobulins from mice injected with homogenized spinal cord promote CNS remyelination when given to SJL/J mice chronically infected with Theiler's virus. To explore further both the mechanism(s) and potential therapeutic usefulness of antibodies in the treatment of CNS demyelinating diseases, we made a panel of monoclonal antibodies derived from splenocytes of SJL/J mice injected with homogenized spinal cord, and screened them for their autoantigen-binding capability. Monoclonal IgM autoantibodies from two clones, designated SCH94.03 and SCH94.32, promoted fourfold more CNS remyelination than controls when given to chronically infected SJL/J mice. CNS remyelination, assessed morphologically by the presence of abnormally thin myelin sheaths relative to axonal diameter, correlated with the absence of clinical disease progression. In titration experiments, treatment with SCH94.03 and remyelination had a positive dose-response relationship, and as little as 10 micrograms of antibody promoted remyelination. Both SCH94.03 and SCH94.32 showed multiorgan autoreactivity, and recognized both surface and cytoplasmic determinants on glial cells. We propose that this model provides a unique system to elucidate the mechanism(s) and test the reparative potential of autoantibodies in the treatment of CNS injury.
Evidence Supporting a Role of Serotonin in Modulation of Sudden Death Induced by Seizures in DBA/2 Mice (2006)

These findings indicate that fluoxetine reduced RA in DBA/2 mice at doses that did not reduce seizure severity. Because DBA/2 mice are a proposed model for human SUDEP, these data support evaluation of fluoxetine for SUDEP prevention in the patient population most susceptible to SUDEP. The data raise concern about the use of serotonin antagonists in this patient population.
Familial Hypercholesterolemia: Present and Future Management (2011)

Patients suffering from familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) are characterized by increased plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and are at increased risk for premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). Current guidelines emphasize the need to aggressively lower LDL-C in FH patients, and statins are the cornerstone in the current regimen. However, additional therapies are eagerly awaited, especially for those patients not tolerating statin therapy or not reaching the goals for therapy. Our understanding of LDL metabolism has improved over the last years and an increasing number of potential novel targets for therapy have been recently identified. Apart from novel targets, we have also been confronted with novel modalities of treatment, such as mRNA antisense therapy. Some of these emerging therapies have proven to be effective in lowering plasma LDL-C levels and are as such expected to have beneficial effects on CVD. Hopefully, they will enrich our armamentarium against the severe dyslipidemia observed in FH patients in the not too distant future.
Creating educational Web sites (1999)

This article deals with the issue of educators creating their own educational Web sites equipped with original Web-based teaching materials developed by themselves. As an illustrative example, teaching of English as a foreign language in Japan is taken. Several concrete ideas in building up educational Web sites are illustrated, including an example of Web-based rapid reading exercise pages, an example of Web pages implementing instant feedback to students' quiz responses, and semi-automatic creation of students' study history files using standard commercially available software. Introduction of the next-generation Web server, developed at Graz University of Technology, for effective document management and organized access rights control is also discussed.
Applying rhythm features to automatically assess non-native speech (2011)

Speech rhythm measurements have been used in a limited number of previous studies on automated speech assessment, an approach using speech recognition technology to judge non-native speakers’ proficiency levels. However, one of the most problematic issues of these previous studies is a lack of a comparison of these rhythm features with other effective non-rhythm features found in decade-long previous research. In this paper, we extracted both non-rhythm and rhythm features and compared them with respect to their performances to predict proficiency scores rated by humans. We show that adding rhythm features significantly improves the performance of the scoring model based only on non-rhythm features.
Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi Deoxyribokinase (2000)

We identified in the genome of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi the gene encoding deoxyribokinase, deoK. Two other genes, vicinal to deoK, were determined to encode the putative deoxyribose transporter (deoP) and a repressor protein (deoQ). This locus, located between the uhpA and ilvN genes, is absent in Escherichia coli. The deoK gene inserted on a plasmid provides a selectable marker in E. coli for growth on deoxyribose-containing medium. Deoxyribokinase is a 306-amino-acid protein which exhibits about 35% identity with ribokinase from serovar Typhi, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, or E. coli. The catalytic properties of the recombinant deoxyribokinase overproduced in E. coli correspond to those previously described for the enzyme isolated from serovar Typhimurium. From a sequence comparison between serovar Typhi deoxyribokinase and E. coli ribokinase, whose crystal structure was recently solved, we deduced that a key residue differentiating ribose and deoxyribose is Met10, which in ribokinase is replaced by Asn14. Replacement by site-directed mutagenesis of Met10 with Asn decreased the V(max) of deoxyribokinase by a factor of 2.5 and increased the K(m) for deoxyribose by a factor of 70, compared to the parent enzyme.
Dispersion-enhanced volume hologram for dense wavelength-division demultiplexer (2000)

A fully packaged dense wavelength-division demultiplexer (DWDDM) by using dispersion-enhanced volume holographic grating and silicon V-grooved fiber array is demonstrated. The device demultiplexes eight optical channels within C band with 2 nm wavelength spacing. The system insertion losses are -5.68, -5.6, -5.40, -5.3, -5.68, -5.59, -5.58, and -5.49 dB, respectively. Typical cross-talks among these eight channels are less than -35 dB. The trade-off between getting smaller physical packaging size and linear dispersion ability at different wavelength is addressed. The device is designed for optical communications for Metropolitan area networks where both free space DWDM and multimode fiber band networks are jointly employed.
Cultivation of corneal epithelial cells on intact and denuded human amniotic membrane. (2000)

Denuded amniotic membrane appears to be an excellent substrate for the cultivation of corneal epithelial cells, with a view to transplantation.