gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Intravenous boluses and continuous infusions of L‐DOPA methyl ester in fluctuating patients with Parkinson's disease (1992)

In six patients with Parkinson's disease exhibiting severe "on-off" phenomena, a 200-mg intravenous bolus of either L-DOPA or of its methyl ester were equally effective in reversing motor deficits, although the duration of action of the methyl ester was shorter. There were no marked differences in pharmacokinetic parameters for L-DOPA plasma levels after administration of L-DOPA and the methyl ester. In three patients, optimal infusion rates for the maintenance of mobility were established for L-DOPA and L-DOPA methyl ester. Both drugs were able to maintain patients "on" throughout a 12-h infusion period. However, on average the optimal infusion rate of L-DOPA methyl ester was 2.7 times greater than that for L-DOPA. There was no marked difference in the plasma levels of L-DOPA achieved, but 3-O-methyl DOPA levels increased more after infusion of L-DOPA methyl ester than after infusion of L-DOPA itself. The half-life of elimination and volume of distribution of L-DOPA formed from the methyl ester were markedly increased compared with values obtained after either an intravenous bolus of methyl ester or after an intravenous infusion of L-DOPA itself. An intravenous bolus of L-DOPA methyl ester produces an equivalent magnitude of clinical response to the same dose of L-DOPA. However, higher optimal infusion rates of methyl ester than L-DOPA are required to produce continuous effect. The pharmacokinetic handling of L-DOPA methyl ester given by intravenous infusion may differ from that of L-DOPA when given by the same route.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome and the Art of War* (2009)

Phua, Jason MBBS, MRCP(UK), EDIC; Badia, Joan R. MD, PhD; Ferguson, Niall D. MD, FRCPC, MSc Author Information
Ligation of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules mediates apoptotic cell death in resting B lymphocytes. (1993)

Class II major histocompatibility complex-encoded molecules expressed on the surface of primed B lymphocytes function as restriction elements for presentation of antigen to T lymphocytes, an interaction that ultimately leads to activation and differentiation of both cell types. The engagement of class II on a resting B cell, on the other hand, inhibits subsequent B-cell growth and activation. Our studies show that treatment of resting B lymphocytes with anti-class II antibodies, or with other agents (dibutyryl cAMP or isoproterenol) that increase intracellular levels of cAMP, results in the apoptotic death of most or all of the resting B cells. Conversely, treating cells with immobilized anti-immunoglobulin and interleukin 4, conditions known to prime cells, protects them from class II-mediated death and specifically from increases in nucleosomal fragments characteristic of apoptotic death. Freshly ex vivo activated B cells likewise are refractory to class II-mediated apoptosis. Treating B cells with anti-class II reagents causes an elevation of cAMP in resting, but not in activated, B cells. These results suggest that apoptotic death is a mechanism of prevention of nonspecific B-cell activation in the event that T-cell receptor and/or CD4 ligation of major histocompatibility complex class II occurs in the absence of antigen.
Transplantation of apoptosis-resistant embryonic stem cells into the injured rat spinal cord (2005)

Murine embryonic stem cells were induced to differentiate into neural lineage cells by exposure to retinoic acid. Approximately one million cells were transplanted into the lesion site in the spinal cords of adult rats which had received moderate contusion injuries 9 days previously. One group received transplants of cells genetically modified to over-express bcl-2, which codes for an anti-apoptotic protein. A second group received transplants of the wild-type ES cells from which the bcl-2 line was developed. In the untransplanted control group, only medium was injected. Locomotor abilities were assessed using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) rating scale for 6 weeks. There was no incremental locomotor improvement in either transplant group when compared to control over the survival period. Morbidity and mortality were significantly more prevalent in the transplant groups than in controls. At the conclusion of the 6-week survival period, the spinal cords were examined. Two of six cords from the bcl-2 group and one of 12 cords from the wild-type group showed gross evidence of abnormal growths at the site of transplantation. No similar growth was seen in the control. Pathological examination of the abnormal cords showed very large numbers of undifferentiated cells proliferating at the injection site and extending up to 1.5 cm rostrally and caudally. These results suggest that transplanting KD3 ES cells, or apoptosis-resistant cells derived from the KD3 line, into the injured spinal cord does not improve locomotor recovery and can lead to tumor-like growth of cells, accompanied by increased debilitation, morbidity and mortality.
Human Study of Biatrial Electrical Coupling (2004)

Electrical coupling of the RA and LA in humans is predominantly provided by muscular connections at the level of Bachmann's bundle and the coronary sinus. The true septum (the fossa ovalis and its limbus) of the RA and LA is asynchronous and discordant, usually without contralateral conduction during sinus rhythm or atrial pacing.
Long-Term Culture of Human CD34+ Progenitors With FLT3-Ligand, Thrombopoietin, and Stem Cell Factor Induces Extensive Amplification of a CD34−CD14− and a CD34−CD14+ Dendritic Cell Precursor (1999)

Current in vitro culture systems allow the generation of human dendritic cells (DCs), but the output of mature cells remains modest. This contrasts with the extensive amplification of hematopoietic progenitors achieved when culturing CD34(+) cells with FLT3-ligand and thrombopoietin. To test whether such cultures contained DC precursors, CD34(+) cord blood cells were incubated with the above cytokines, inducing on the mean a 250-fold and a 16,600-fold increase in total cell number after 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. The addition of stem cell factor induced a further fivefold increase in proliferation. The majority of the cells produced were CD34(-)CD1a- CD14(+) (p14(+)) and CD34(-)CD1a-CD14(-) (p14(-)) and did not display the morphology, surface markers, or allostimulatory capacity of DC. When cultured with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4), both subsets differentiated without further proliferation into immature (CD1a+, CD14(-), CD83(-)) macropinocytic DC. Mature (CD1a+, CD14(-), CD83(+)) DCs with high allostimulatory activity were generated if such cultures were supplemented with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF). In addition, p14(-) cells generated CD14(+) cells with GM-CSF and TNF, which in turn, differentiated into DC when exposed to GM-CSF and IL-4. Similar results were obtained with frozen DC precursors and also when using pooled human serum AB+ instead of bovine serum, emphasizing that this system using CD34(+) cells may improve future prospects for immunotherapy.
Single Glycosyltransferase, Core 2 β1→6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase, Regulates Cell Surface Sialyl-Lex Expression Level in Human Pre-B Lymphocytic Leukemia Cell Line KM3 Treated with Phorbolester (1998)

Sialyl-Lex (sLex) antigen expression recognized by KM93 monoclonal antibody was significantly down-regulated during differentiation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in human pre-B lymphocytic leukemia cell line KM3. The sLex determinants were almost exclusively expressed on O-linked oligosaccharide chains of an O-glycosylated 150-kDa glycoprotein (gp150). A low shear force cell adhesion assay showed that TPA treatment significantly inhibited E-selectin-mediated cell adhesion. Transcript and/or enzyme activity levels of alpha1-->3-fucosyltransferase, alpha2-->3-sialyltransferase, beta1-->4-galactosyltransferase, and elongation beta1-->3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase did not correlate with sLex expression levels. However, transcript and enzyme activity levels of core 2 GlcNAc-transferase (C2GnT) were significantly down-regulated during TPA treatment. Following transfection and constitutive expression of full-length exogenous C2GnT transcript, C2GnT enzyme activities were maintained at high levels even after TPA treatment and down-regulation of cell surface sLex antigen expression by TPA was completely abolished. Furthermore, in the transfected cells, the KM93 reactivity of gp150 was not reduced by TPA treatment, and the inhibition of cell adhesion by TPA was also blocked. These results suggest that sLex expression is critically regulated by a single glycosyltransferase, C2GnT, during differentiation of KM3 cells.
Phaselicystis flava gen. nov., sp. nov., an arachidonic acid-containing soil myxobacterium, and the description of Phaselicystidaceae fam. nov. (2009)

A bacterial strain designated SBKo001(T) was isolated from a forest soil sample from Mt Makiling in Laguna, Philippines. It shows the general characteristics associated with myxobacteria, such as swarming of Gram-negative, rod-shaped vegetative cells, fruiting body formation and bacteriolytic activity. The strain is mesophilic, strictly aerobic and chemoheterotrophic and also exhibits resistance to various antibiotics. Major fatty acids are iso-C(15 : 0), C(17 : 1) 2-OH and C(20 : 4) (arachidonic acid). The G+C content of the genomic DNA is 69.2 mol%. A reference strain, NOSO-1 (=DSM 53757), isolated from the Etosha Basin in Namibia, shares nearly the same characteristics with SBKo001(T). The identical 16S rRNA gene sequences of the two strains show 94 % identity to strains of the cellulose-degrading Byssovorax and Sorangium species. Phylogenetic analysis reveals a novel branch diverging from the Polyangiaceae, Sorangiineae, Myxococcales. Their uniqueness in morphological growth stages, unusual fatty acid profile, broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance and branch divergence from the Polyangiaceae imply that strains SBKo001(T) and NOSO-1 not only represent a novel genus and species, proposed here as Phaselicystis flava gen. nov., sp. nov., but also belong to a new family, Phaselicystidaceae fam. nov. The type strain of Phaselicystis flava is SBKo001(T) (=DSM 21295(T) =NCCB 100230(T)).
Biochemistry and Structural DNA Nanotechnology:  An Evolving Symbiotic Relationship (2003)

Structural DNA nanotechnology is derived from naturally occurring structures and phenomena in cellular biochemistry. Motifs based on branched DNA molecules are linked together by sticky ends to produce objects, periodic arrays, and nanomechanical devices. The motifs include Holliday junction analogues, double and triple crossover molecules, knots, and parallelograms. Polyhedral catenanes, such as a cube or a truncated octahedron, have been assembled from branched junctions. Stiff motifs have been used to produce periodic arrays, containing topographic features visible in atomic force microscopy; these include deliberately striped patterns and cavities whose sizes can be tuned by design. Deliberately knotted molecules have been assembled. Aperiodic arrangements of DNA tiles can be used to produce assemblies corresponding to logical computation. Both DNA structural transitions and branch migration have been used as the basis for the operation of DNA nanomechanical devices. Structural DNA nanotechnology has been used in a number of applications in biochemistry. An RNA knot has been used to establish the existence of RNA topoisomerase activity. The sequence dependence of crossover isomerization and branch migration at symmetric sites has been established through the use of symmetric immobile junctions. DNA parallelogram arrays have been used to determine the interhelical angles for a variety of DNA branched junctions. The relationship between biochemistry and structural DNA nanotechnology continues to grow.
Effective moving cast shadow detection for monocular color traffic image sequences (2002)

For an accurate scene analysis using monocular color traffic image sequences, a robust segmentation of moving vehicles from the stationary background is generally required. However, the presence of moving cast shadow may lead to an inaccurate vehicle segmentation, and as a result, may lead to further erroneous scene analysis. We propose an effective method for the detection of moving cast shadow. By observing the characteristics of cast shadow in the luminance, chrominance, gradient density, and geometry domains, a combined probability map, called a shadow confidence score (SCS), is obtained. From the edge map of the input image, each edge pixel is examined to determine whether it belongs to the vehicle region based on its neighboring SCCs. The cast shadow is identified as those regions with high SCSs, which are outside the convex hull of the selected vehicle edge pixels. The proposed method is tested on 100 vehicle images taken under different lighting conditions (sunny and cloudy), viewing angles (roadside and overhead), vehicle sizes (small, medium, and large), and colors (similar to the road and not). The results indicate that an average error rate of around 14% is obtained while the lowest error rate is around 3% for large vehicles.
Enzymes Catalyzing Ubiquitination and Proteolytic Processing of the p105 Precursor of Nuclear Factor κB1 (1998)

Nuclear factor kappaB1 (NF-kappaB) is a heterodimeric complex that regulates transcription of many genes involved in immune and inflammatory responses. Its 50-kDa subunit (p50) is generated by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway from a 105-kDa precursor (p105). We have reconstituted this proteolytic process in HeLa cell extracts and purified the responsible enzymes. Ubiquitination of p105 requires E1, and either of two types of E2s, E2-25K (for which p105 is the first proven substrate) or a member of the UBCH5 (UBC4) family. It also requires a new E3 of 50 kDa, which we call E3kappaB. This set of enzymes differs from the E2s and E3 reported by others to catalyze p105 ubiquitination in reticulocytes. The ubiquitinating enzymes purified here, together with 26S proteasomes, allowed formation of p50. Thus, the 26S proteasome provides all the proteolytic activities necessary for p105 processing. Interestingly, in the reconstituted system, as observed in cells, the C-terminally truncated form of p105, p97, was processed into p50 more efficiently than normal p105, even when both species were ubiquitinated to a similar extent. Therefore, some additional mechanism involving the C-terminal region of p105 influences the proteolytic processing of the ubiquitinated precursor.
Quantum cryptography based on Bell’s theorem (1991)

Practical application of the generalized Bell's theorem in the so-called key distribution process in cryptography is reported. The proposed scheme is based on the Bohm's version of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen gedanken experiment and Bell's theorem is used to test for eavesdropping.
<title>RGB to CMYK conversion using 3D barycentric interpolation</title> (1993)

The technique of barycentric interpolation, commonly used for finite element analysis, is extended to its three dimensional form and applied to color space transforms. This is an improved method for transforming three dimensional image data from an RGB color space to a CMY or CMYK ink or dye color system. The 3-D CMY or CMYK 'color cube' from the desired marking technology is efficiently divided into a space-filling matrix of unequal irregular hexahedra delineated by sample nodes. Node locations are placed in a manner which maximizes sampling and interpolation efficiency. Test charts are printed using the colors represented by each node. The colors are measured and a color vs. ink amount table is formed. Each hexahedra is then partitioned into a space-filling aggregation of irregular tetrahedrons. The four possible hexahedra partitioning modes are derived and the optimum one is determined. Within each tetrahedron the color data associated with its vertices are then used to perform a three-dimensional interpolation. This provides efficient, seamless, artifact-free creation of 3-D color transformation look-up tables while reducing the quantity of printed colors required to achieve a desired accuracy. This method has been successfully incorporated into several applications, most notably Aldus Corporation's PrePrint.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Moving Cast Shadow Detection from a Gaussian Mixture Shadow Model (2005)

Moving cast shadows are a major concern for foreground detection algorithms. Processing of foreground images in surveillance applications typically requires that such shadows have been identified and removed from the detected foreground. This paper presents a novel pixel-based statistical approach to model moving cast shadows of non-uniform and varying intensity. This approach uses the Gaussian mixture model (GMM) learning ability to build statistical models describing moving cast shadows on surfaces. This statistical modeling can deal with scenes with complex and time-varying illumination, and prevent false detection in regions where shadows cannot be detected. Gaussian mixture shadow models (GMSM) are automatically constructed and updated over time, are easily added to GMM architecture for foreground detection, and require only a small number of parameters. Results obtained with different scene types show the robustness of the approach.
The fat-derived hormone adiponectin alleviates alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases in mice (2003)

Adiponectin has recently been shown to be a promising candidate for the treatment of obesity-associated metabolic syndromes. Replenishment of recombinant adiponectin in mice can decrease hyperglycemia, reverse insulin resistance, and cause sustained weight loss without affecting food intake. Here we report its potential roles in alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases in mice. Circulating concentrations of adiponectin decreased significantly following chronic consumption of high-fat ethanol-containing food. Delivery of recombinant adiponectin into these mice dramatically alleviated hepatomegaly and steatosis (fatty liver) and also significantly attenuated inflammation and the elevated levels of serum alanine aminotransferase. These therapeutic effects resulted partly from the ability of adiponectin to increase carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity and enhance hepatic fatty acid oxidation, while it decreased the activities of two key enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis, including acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase. Furthermore, adiponectin treatment could suppress the hepatic production of TNF-α and plasma concentrations of this proinflammatory cytokine. Adiponectin was also effective in ameliorating hepatomegaly, steatosis, and alanine aminotransferase abnormality associated with nonalcoholic obese, ob/ob mice. These results demonstrate a novel mechanism of adiponectin action and suggest a potential clinical application of adiponectin and its agonists in the treatment of liver diseases.
Bandwidth estimation in broadband access networks (2004)

There has been much work on developing techniques for estimating the capacity and the available bandwidth of network paths based on end-point measurements. The focus has primarily been on settings where the constrained link can be modeled as a point-to-point link with a well-defined bandwidth, serving packets in FIFO order. In this paper, we point out that broadband access networks, such as cable modem and 802.11-based wireless networks, break this model in various ways. The constrained link could (a) employ mechanisms such as token bucket rate regulation, (b) schedule packets in a non-FIFO manner, and (c) support multiple distinct rates. We study how these characteristics impede the operation of the various existing methods and tools for capacity and available bandwidth estimation, and present a new available bandwidth estimation technique, <i>Probe- Gap</i>, that overcomes some of these difficulties. Our evaluation is based on experiments with actual 802.11a and cable modem links.
Efficient Spatial Sound Synthesis for Virtual Worlds (2009)

Directional audio coding (DirAC) is a frequency-band processing method for spatial audio based on psychophysical assumptions and on energetic analysis of sound field. The applications of DirAC in spatial sound synthesis for virtual worlds are presented in this paper. The techniques are independent of the sound reproduction method, which can be any loudspeaker setup or headphones. It is shown, that DirAC can be used to position, and to control the extent of virtual sound sources, and also to generate reverberation efficiently in virtual worlds.
Heterodimerization of V1a and V2 vasopressin receptors determines the interaction with β-arrestin and their trafficking patterns (2004)

V1a vasopressin receptor (V1aR) and V2 vasopressin receptor (V2R) present distinct mechanisms of agonist-promoted trafficking. Although both receptors are endocytosed by way of beta-arrestin-dependent processes, beta-arrestin dissociates rapidly from V1aR, allowing its rapid recycling to the plasma membrane while beta-arrestin remains associated with V2R in the endosomes, leading to their intracellular accumulation. Here, we demonstrate that, when coexpressed, the two receptors can be endocytosed as stable heterodimers. On activation with a nonselective agonist, both receptors cotrafficked with beta-arrestin in endosomes where the stable interaction inhibited the recycling of V1aR to the plasma membrane, thus conferring a V2R-like endocytotic/recycling pattern to the V1aR/V2R heterodimer. Coexpression of the constitutively internalized R137HV2R mutant with V1aR was sufficient to promote cointernalization of V1aR in beta-arrestin-positive vesicles even in the absence of agonist stimulation. This finding indicates that internalization of the heterodimer does not require activation of each of the protomers. Consistent with this notion, a V1aR-selective agonist led to the coendocytosis of V2R. In that case, however, the V1aR/V2R heterodimer was not stably associated with beta-arrestin, and both receptors were recycled back to the cell surface, indicating that the complex followed the V1aR endocytotic/recycling path. Taken together, these results suggest that heterodimerization regulates the endocytotic processing of G protein-coupled receptors and that the identity of the activated protomer within the heterodimer determines the fate of the internalized receptors.
Interactions among colony-stimulating factors, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and kit-ligand in the regulation of primitive murine hematopoietic cells. (1992)

The debate about the appropriate methodology of medical education has been (and still is) dominated by the opposing poles of teaching science versus teaching practical skills. I will argue that this conflict between scientific education and practical training has its roots in the underlying, more systematic question about the conceptual foundation of medicine: how far or in what respects can medicine be considered to be a science? By analyzing the epistemological status of medicine I will show that the internal aim of medicine ("promoting health through the prevention and treatment of disease") differs from the internal aim of science ("the methodological and systematic acquisition of knowledge"). Therefore, medicine as a whole discipline should not be considered as a science. However, medicine can be conceptually and methodologically scientific in so much as it is based on scientific knowledge. There is evidence from cognitive science research that diagnostic reasoning not only relies on the application of scientific knowledge but also--especially in routine cases--on a process of pattern recognition, a reasoning strategy based on the memory of previously encountered patients. Hence, medical education must contain both: the imparting of scientific knowledge and the rich exposure to concrete cases during practical training. Hence, the question of teaching science vs. the apprentice model will not be "either-or" but rather "both--but in which proportion?"