gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Polymerase chain reaction quantification of cytokine messenger RNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with acute exacerbations of asthma: effect of glucocorticoid therapy (1994)

We have measured the expression of messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA) (mRNA) encoding interleukin-5 (IL-5), IL-4, IL-2 and interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 10 patients with acute exacerbations of asthma and nine non-asthmatic controls. Measurements were repeated in seven of the asthmatics following 7 days of oral glucocorticoid therapy. Total RNA was extracted from the PBMC, reverse transcribed using oligo-(dT) primers and aliquots of the resulting complementary DNA (cDNA) amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the presence of cytokine-specific primers under non-saturating conditions. PCR products were quantified on a relative basis after Southern blotting and probing with radiolabelled internal oligonucleotide probes by computer assisted densitometry of blot autoradiographs. The relative amounts of IL-5 mRNA in PBMC from the asthmatic patients prior to glucocorticoid therapy were greater (P < 0.01) than those in PBMC from non-asthmatic controls. In contrast, there were no differences in the relative amounts of IL-4, IL-2 and IFN gamma mRNA. In the asthmatics, the relative amounts of IL-5 mRNA correlated with the peripheral blood eosinophil counts (P = 0.02). After oral glucocorticoid therapy of the asthmatics, lung function improved and the relative amounts of PBMC IL-5 mRNA were reduced (P = 0.04) and no longer differed from those in PBMC from non-asthmatic controls. Glucocorticoid therapy was not associated with significant changes in the relative amounts of PBMC IL-4, IL-2 and IFN gamma mRNA. PBMC from atopic subjects contained significantly greater quantities of IL-4 mRNA (P = 0.04) but not IL-5, IL-2 and IFN gamma mRNA compared with non-atopic subjects regardless of their asthmatic status. We conclude that PBMC of patients with acute exacerbations of asthma demonstrate elevated expression of mRNA encoding IL-5, but not IL-2, IL-4 and IFN gamma and that the clinical improvement associated with glucocorticoid therapy is associated with a reduction of IL-5 mRNA expression. We further conclude that elevated expression in PBMC of mRNA encoding IL-4 is a feature of atopy but not of asthma. These observations suggest that IL-5 synthesis by activated T-lymphocytes may be relevant to the pathogenesis of asthma, and that inhibition of this release by glucocorticoids may at least partly explain their therapeutic effect in this disease.
Approaches to localizing disease genes as applied to cystic fibrosis (1990)

Using chromosome jumping and walking and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, we have defined the region which must contain the cystic fibrosis gene. DNA segments spanning approximately 250 kb in the direction of the gene were isolated and used to identify several new polymorphisms informative in cystic fibrosis families. These RFLPs include a highly polymorphic, CA/GT repeat, and a 10 bp insertion uncovered using the polymerase chain reaction. By analyzing a family with a recombination near the gene, we can exclude this region as containing the mutation. Data on the extent of linkage disequilibrium of these markers provides additional information on where the gene is located.
Erlang capacity of a power controlled CDMA system (1993)

This work presents an approach to the evaluation of the reverse link capacity of a code-division multiple access (CDMA) cellular voice system which employs power control and a variable rate vocoder based on voice activity. It is shown that the Erlang capacity of CDMA is many times that of conventional analog systems and several times that of other digital multiple access systems.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>
Size‐Specific Interactions Between Single‐ and Double‐Stranded Oligonucleotides and Cationic Water‐Soluble Oligofluorenes (2003)

Abstract An improved synthetic approach was developed for the synthesis of 1,4‐bis[9′,9′‐bis(6″‐( N , N , N ‐trimethylammonium)‐hexyl)‐fluoren‐2′‐yl]benzene tetrabromide ( 1a ), 1,4‐bis[9′,9′;9″,9″‐tetra(6″′‐( N , N , N ‐trimethylammonium)‐hexyl)‐7′,2″‐bisfluoren‐2′‐yl] benzene octabromide ( 1b ) and 1,4‐bis[9′,9′;9″,9″;9″′,9″′‐hexakis(6″″‐( N , N , N ‐trimethylammonium)‐hexyl)‐7′,2″,7″,2″′‐trifluoren‐2′‐yl] benzene dodecabromide ( 1c ). These molecules provide a size‐specific series of water‐soluble oligofluorene molecules with increasing numbers of repeat units to model the interactions between cationic conjugated polymers and DNA. Fluorescence quenching and energy‐transfer measurements were performed with 1a – c and single‐stranded (ss) DNA and double‐stranded (ds) DNA, with and without fluorescein (Fl). These studies show that, on a per‐negative‐charge basis, ssDNA quenches the emission of 1a – c more effectively than dsDNA. Furthermore, we show that the energy‐transfer ratios dsDNA–Fl/ssDNA–Fl are dependent on the number of repeat units in 1a – c .
Coding and transmission of high-definition television-technology trends in Japan (1990)

The recent trends of HDTV (high-definition television) transmission technologies in Japan are reviewed. The topics include bandwidth compression for analog transmission, bit-rate reduction for digital transmission, and actual transmission experiments using optical fiber lines and communication satellites. A uniform subsampling system, MUSE, has been completed and is ready for practical use. Some adaptive subsampling methods are under study. As to the bit-rate reduction coding, several codecs which operate at around 100-160 Mbit/s have been built. HDTV transmission in the anticipated B-ISDN (broadband integrated services digital network) is also discussed.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>
Successful Radioimmuno-therapy for Lung Metastasis of Human Colonic Cancer in Nude Mice (1991)

The potential for radioimmunotherapy as an adjuvant treatment for early disseminated colonic cancer was investigated in an experimental lung metastasis model. Nude mice receiving intravenous injection with a suspension of human colonic cancer cells (GW-39) developed multiple (10-100) tumor nodules throughout the lungs, and more than 50% of the animals died of extensive tumor involvement within 5-10 weeks. Groups of eight or nine animals bearing 7-day-old tumor transplants were treated with a single intravenous injection of radioiodinated agents: either 0.15 or 0.30 mCi of whole IgG of the NP-4 murine monoclonal antibody (MAb) against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) or 0.15 or 0.30 mCi of whole IgG of Immu-31, an anti-alpha-fetoprotein (anti-AFP) MAb. Treatment of animals with 0.15 or 0.30 mCi of 131I-labeled NP-4 IgG 7 days after injection of tumor cells resulted in survival for 23 weeks after tumor implantation in four of eight and seven of nine animals, respectively. Microscopic examination revealed that over 90% of the lung tumor colonies had no evidence of surviving cells. Animals treated with 0.30 mCi of anti-AFP, an irrelevant MAb, survived 4 weeks longer than controls. Toxicity was evident in four of the 17 animals given 0.30 mCi of NP-4 IgG (specific) or anti-AFP IgG (irrelevant) MAb. These animals died within 1-3 weeks after radioantibody injection, suggesting that death was related to the radiation dose. None of the animals given 0.15 mCi of 131I-MAb died within this period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Laser display with single‐mirror MEMS scanner (2009)

Abstract— While arrayed DMD and LCD microdisplays are well‐established approaches for visualization tasks, image‐forming laser scanners are an emerging technology used to build miniaturized projection displays. A directly modulated RGB‐laser module consisting of diode lasers for red and blue and a frequency‐doubled semiconductor laser for green with color combining optics form the light source for the laser scanner have been developed. Subsequent beam‐shaping optics suppresses unwanted stray light and enables optimum illumination of the scanning mirror. The MEMS device features a single scanning mirror oscillating in two directions in resonant mode. This requires appropriate data delivery realized by a custom‐made driving logic, which converts the pixel stream originally arranged in rows and columns to the Lissajous‐like spot trajectory on the screen. Additionally, the increased image brightness at the vertical and horizontal borders of the field of view (FOV) is also compensated by the modulation of laser power. Theoretical investigations of the resulting maximum achievable system transmission are presented. Different systems, such as an extremely miniaturized monochrome projection head with an integrated diode laser and a full‐color projector have been realized. Important problems to be tackled are fast analog modulation of the laser power with high resolution and improved suppression of stray light and speckle.
Effects of dietary indoles and isothiocyanates on N-nitrosodimethylamine and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)- 1-butanone α-hydroxylation and DNA methylation in rat liver (1985)

Dietary-related indoles, isothiocyanates, and the allyl isothiocyanate glucosinolate, sinigrin, were administered to F344 rats in the diet for 2 weeks (chronic protocol) or by gavage 2 h before sacrifice (acute protocol) and the effects of these pretreatments on the alpha-hydroxylation of two carcinogenic nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), were evaluated. alpha-Hydroxylation was measured in vitro by quantitation of formaldehyde formation upon incubation of the nitrosamines with liver microsomes, and in vivo by quantitation of levels of 7-methylguanine and O6-methylguanine in hepatic DNA, 4 h after nitrosamine treatment. Compounds shown to be inhibitory in the in vitro assay were selected to be further evaluated using the in vivo assay. The results of the in vitro assays showed that indoles were inducers of the demethylation of both nitrosamines. Indole, L-tryptophan and indole-3-carbinol were strong inducers of NDMA and NNK demethylation, respectively. In contrast, isothiocyanates such as phenethyl isothiocyanate and phenyl isothiocyanate demonstrated a wide range of inhibitory activities toward demethylation of these nitrosamines in both the acute and chronic studies. Chronic, but not acute, pretreatment with sinigrin also caused a significant decrease in the demethylation of NDMA and NNK. In view of their promising inhibitory activities, the effects of phenethyl isothiocyanate, phenyl isothiocyanate and sinigrin on the in vivo methylation of DNA by NDMA and NNK were evaluated. The results were parallel to those obtained in the in vitro assays. Phenethyl isothiocyanate, phenyl isothiocyanate and sinigrin generally inhibited the formation of 7-methylguanine and O6-methylguanine in rat hepatic DNA. The results of this study suggest that these compounds could be anticarcinogenic to NDMA and NNK.
Correlation of in vitro and in vivo biological activities during the partial purification of thrombopoietin. (1992)

We have evaluated three in vitro assays for megakaryocyte maturation as monitors of biological activities of thrombopoietin (TPO). The in vitro measurements, that is, potentiation of murine megakaryocyte colonies in soft agar cultures, growth of single murine megakaryocytes in soft agar, and acetylcholinesterase production in liquid cultures of murine bone marrow cells, were correlated with measurements of thrombopoiesis stimulatory activity in vivo, based on labeling of newly formed platelets with [75Se]selenomethionine. Protein fractions produced during the purification of TPO from the plasma of thrombocytopenic rabbits were used to evaluate the in vitro assays. Potentiation of murine megakaryocyte colony growth in soft agar was least valuable as a TPO assay, due to variability. Growth of single megakaryocytes in vitro, in a serum-free, agar culture system, correlated well with measurement of thrombopoiesis-stimulating activity in vivo, in regard to increases in specific activity during the purification, and was the most sensitive of the three assays. The serum-free, liquid culture assay also correlated well with the in vivo assay, and it had the additional advantage of being feasible for evaluation of the large numbers of protein fractions produced by high-resolution chromatographic procedures. Using the liquid culture system to assay fractions from gel permeation high performance liquid chromatography, a biologically active fraction with a molecular weight range of 40-47 kd was identified.
Cloning of the cDNA and expression of moubatin, an inhibitor of platelet aggregation. (1993)

Moubatin, a new type of specific inhibitor of collagen-induced platelet aggregation, has been isolated from the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata (Waxman, L., and Connolly, T. M. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 5445-5449). A polymerase chain reaction-generated hybridization probe, produced using primers based on moubatin protein sequence, identified phage containing the entire cDNA sequence of moubatin. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence yielded a mature protein of 156 amino acids with a putative prepeptide of 15 amino acids. Comparison of the sequence of moubatin to that of other proteins in the Swiss PROT data base revealed no significant homology. The cDNA sequence was cloned into the yeast expression vector pKH4 alpha 2, producing a biologically active protein which inhibited collagen-stimulated aggregation of washed human platelets with an IC50 of about 100 nM, which is similar to the potency of native tick moubatin. A concentration of recombinant moubatin that fully inhibited collagen-stimulated aggregation did not inhibit aggregation induced by a variety of other platelet agonists, again demonstrating comparable properties of the recombinant and native proteins. Moubatin did not inhibit platelet adhesion to collagen even at a concentration up to 16 times its IC50 for the inhibition of aggregation. This specificity for inhibiting collagen-stimulated aggregation and not adhesion to collagen indicates that moubatin is unique among the natural product inhibitors of collagen stimulation of platelets. Further examination of the mechanism of moubatin-mediated inhibition of collagen-stimulated aggregation revealed that 1-6 microM moubatin diminished the second phase of aggregation induced by ADP, inhibited aggregation in response to submaximal concentrations of the thromboxane A2 mimetic U46619, and competed for the binding of a thromboxane A2 receptor antagonist to platelet membranes. Therefore, at higher concentrations, moubatin may affect more than one aspect of platelet signal transduction including the thromboxane A2 receptor. The availability of recombinant moubatin will allow further investigation of its unique activities in vitro and in vivo.
Application of paclitaxel in low non-cytotoxic doses supports vaccination with melanoma antigens in normal mice (2012)

Chemotherapeutic agents such as paclitaxel applied in ultra-low, non-cytotoxic doses were previously shown to stimulate dendritic cell activity and anti-tumor immune responses upon vaccination in mouse transplantable tumor models. However, the mechanisms of these alterations-termed chemoimmunomodulation or chemomodulation-are still not clear. This study investigated the effect of paclitaxel applied in ultra-low, non-cytotoxic doses on the efficiency of immunization of healthy C57BL/6 mice with the peptide derived from tyrosinase related protein (TRP)-2 as a model melanoma antigen. Using an IFNγ ELISPOT assay, it was found that administration of 1 mg paclitaxel/kg in combination with the peptide vaccination strongly increased the frequencies of TRP-2 specific spleen T-cells as compared to levels due to the vaccination alone. This was associated with a significant decrease in the levels of regulatory T-cells (T(reg)) and immature myeloid cells (known as a counterpart of myeloid derived suppressor cells [MDSC] in healthy mice). Such impairments of potential immunosuppressive cells were found to correlate with a strong increase in the amount of effector CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells in the bone marrow and spleen. Furthermore, in paclitaxel-treated mice, a significant augmentation of natural killer (NK) cell numbers in the bone marrow and their ability to produce IFNγ were observed. In addition, the level of NK-T-cells in the lymph nodes was also increased. It is suggested that paclitaxel applied in ultra-low, non-cytotoxic doses may potentially enhance the efficacy of anti-tumor vaccinations by neutralizing immunosuppressive T(reg) and MDSC populations in tumor-bearing hosts.
Procoagulant Human Monocytes Mediate Tissue Factor/Factor VIIa–Dependent Platelet-Thrombus Formation When Exposed to Flowing Nonanticoagulated Human Blood (1995)

Tissue factor (TF) on monocyte and macrophage surfaces is a nonproteolytic cofactor for factor VIIa (FVIIa)-induced coagulation. Monocyte-derived macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques express TF, which, after plaque disruption or rupture, may complex with FVII/VIIa from the bloodstream, resulting in activation of extrinsic coagulation. We studied the effect of TF expression on human monocytes on arterial thrombus formation in a model system of thrombogenesis. Thawed, cryopreserved human monocytes adherent to plastic coverslips were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (0.5 microgram/mL) to express TF and subsequently exposed to flowing nonanticoagulated human blood in a parallel-plate perfusion chamber. The wall shear rate at the cell surface was 650 seconds-1, corresponding to that of average-sized coronary arteries. The stimulated monocytes elicited pronounced fibrin deposition and platelet-thrombus formation. The platelet-thrombus volume was as large as that triggered by human type III collagen fibrils under similar experimental conditions. In contrast, the monocytes elicited much more fibrin deposition than the collagen surface. However, inclusion of an anti-TF monoclonal antibody that blocks the complexation of FVII/FVIIa with TF virtually abolished the fibrin deposition (P < .03) and reduced platelet-thrombus formation by more than 70% (P < .04). Thus, arterial thrombus formation induced by stimulated monocytes was almost completely blocked by the anti-TF antibody, suggesting that inhibition of TF/FVIIa complex formation on monocytes and macrophages at sites of plaque rupture or after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty procedures may reduce intravascular thrombotic complications.
Ligand-induced formation of nucleic acid triple helices. (1994)

We demonstrate that ligand binding can be used to induce the formation of triplex structures that would not otherwise form. Specifically, we show that binding of berenil or 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole DAPI) induces formation of the poly(rA).poly(rA).poly(dT) triplex, providing an example of an RNA(purine).RNA(purine).DNA(pyrimidine) triplex. We also show that binding of berenil, DAPI, ethidium, or netropsin can induce formation of the poly(dT).poly(rA).poly(dT) triplex, thereby overcoming a practical limitation to the formation of DNA.RNA.DNA triplexes with a purine RNA strand. Based on the enhanced thermal stabilities of the drug-bound poly(dT).poly(rA).poly(dT) complexes at 18 mM Na+, we define the relative triplex-inducing efficiencies of these four ligands to be: berenil > DAPI > ethidium > netropsin. Our results demonstrate that ligand binding can be used to induce the formation of triplex structures that do not form in the absence of the ligand. This triplex-inducing capacity has potentially important implications in the design of novel antisense, antigene, and diagnostic strategies.
Antimalarial Synergy of Cysteine and Aspartic Protease Inhibitors (1998)

It has been proposed that the Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease falcipain and aspartic proteases plasmepsin I and plasmepsin II act cooperatively to hydrolyze hemoglobin as a source of amino acids for erythrocytic parasites. Inhibitors of each of these proteases have potent antimalarial effects. We have now evaluated the antimalarial effects of combinations of cysteine and aspartic protease inhibitors. When incubated with cultured P. falciparum parasites, cysteine and aspartic protease inhibitors exhibited synergistic effects in blocking parasite metabolism and development. The inhibitors also demonstrated apparent synergistic inhibition of plasmodial hemoglobin degradation both in culture and in a murine malaria model. When evaluated for the treatment of murine malaria, a combination of cysteine and aspartic protease inhibitors was much more effective than higher concentrations of either compound used alone. These results support a model whereby plasmodial cysteine and aspartic proteases participate in the degradation of hemoglobin, and they suggest that combination antimalarial therapy with inhibitors of the two classes of proteases is worthy of further study.
Novel developments with the PRINTS protein fingerprint database (1997)

The PRINTS database of protein family 'fingerprints' is a diagnostic resource that complements the PROSITE dictionary of sites and patterns. Unlike regular expressions, fingerprints exploit groups of conserved motifs within sequence alignments to build characteristic signatures of family membership. Thus fingerprints inherently offer improved diagnostic reliability by virtue of the mutual context provided by motif neighbours. To date, 600 fingerprints have been constructed and stored in PRINTS, representing a 50% increase in the size of the database in the last year. The current version, 13.0, encodes approximately 3000 motifs, covering a range of globular and membrane proteins, modular polypeptides, and so on. The database is accessible via UCL's Bioinformatics World Wide Web (WWW) server at http://www.biochem.ucl.ac.uk/bsm/dbbrowser / . We describe here progress with the database, its Web interface, and a recent exciting development: the integration of a novel colour alignment editor (http://www.biochem.ucl.ac.uk/bsm/dbbrowser++ +/CINEMA ), which allows visualisation and interactive manipulation of PRINTS alignments over the Internet.
Reactivity of pyrrole pigments, III. Fragmentation of nitro derivatives of pyrrole pigments and its relationship to the Gmelin reaction (1983)

Abstract The 5‐(arylnitromethylene)‐3‐pyrrolin‐2‐ones 1‐5 , the 5‐nitrobilin‐ 1,19 ‐diones 7,8 , and the 5‐nitropyrromethenone 6 are shown to decompose in acidic media to yield maleimides according to fragmentation reactions of nitronic acids. This fragmentation reaction elucidates the nature of the Gmelin reaction and the formation of the “Nitritkörper” (methylvinylmaleimide) by nitrous acid treatment of bilirubin.
Zwitterionic Silver Complexes as Carriers for Facilitated‐Transport Composite Membranes (2004)

Carry on: Zwitterionic silver complexes were prepared from silver salts and zwitterionic-type sulfopropyl imidazolium compounds (see scheme), and their performance as carriers for facilitated-transport composite membranes was investigated for the separation of a mixture of isoprene and n-pentane. Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://www.wiley-vch.de/contents/jc_2002/2004/z53632_s.pdf or from the author. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.