gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Pathophysiology and treatment of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: the role of animal models (2013)

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a kidney disease with progressive glomerular scarring and a clinical presentation of nephrotic syndrome. FSGS is a common primary glomerular disorder that causes renal dysfunction which progresses slowly over time to end-stage renal disease. Most cases of FSGS are idiopathic Although kidney transplantation is a potentially curative treatment, 40% of patients have recurrence of FSGS after transplantation. In this review a brief summary of the pathogenesis causing FSGS in humans is given, and a variety of animal models used to study FSGS is discussed. These animal models include the reduction of renal mass by resecting 5/6 of the kidney, reduction of renal mass due to systemic diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia or SLE, drug-induced FSGS using adriamycin, puromycin or streptozotocin, virus-induced FSGS, genetically-induced FSGS such as via Mpv-17 inactivation and α-actinin 4 and podocin knockouts, and a model for circulating permeability factors. In addition, an animal model that spontaneously develops FSGS is discussed. To date, there is no exact understanding of the pathogenesis of idiopathic FSGS, and there is no definite curative treatment. One requirement facilitating FSGS research is an animal model that resembles human FSGS. Most animal models induce secondary forms of FSGS in an acute manner. The ideal animal model for primary FSGS, however, should mimic the human primary form in that it develops spontaneously and has a slow chronic progression. Such models are currently not available. We conclude that there is a need for a better animal model to investigate the pathogenesis and potential treatment options of FSGS.
Biofilm formation on intrauterine devices in patients with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (2010)

A biofilm is a complex community of surface-associated cells enclosed in a polymer matrix. They attach to solid surfaces and their formation can be affected by growth conditions and co-infection with other pathogens. The presence of biofilm may protect the microorganisms from host defenses, as well as significantly reduce their susceptibility to antifungal agents. Pathogenic microbes can form biofilms on the inert surfaces of implanted devices such as catheters, prosthetic cardiac valves and intrauterine devices (IUDs). The present study was carried out to analyze the presence of biofilm on the surface of intrauterine devices in patients with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis, and to determine the susceptibility profile of the isolated yeasts to amphotericin B and fluconazole. Candida albicans was recovered from the IUDs and it was found to be susceptible to the antifungal agents when tested under planktonic growing conditions. These findings indicate the presence of the biofilm on the surface of the IUD as an important risk factor for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis.
Primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts: A model of mesenchymal cartilage formation (2004)

Cartilage formation is an intricate process that requires temporal and spatial organization of regulatory factors in order for a mesenchymal progenitor cell to differentiate through the distinct stages of chondrogenesis. Gene function during this process has best been studied by analysis of in vivo cartilage formation in genetically altered mouse models. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) isolated from such mouse models have been widely used for the study of growth control and DNA damage response. Here, we address the potential of MEFs to undergo chondrogenic differentiation. We demonstrate for the first time that MEFs can enter and complete the program of chondrogenic differentiation ex vivo, from undifferentiated progenitor cells to mature, hypertrophic chondrocytes. We show that chondrogenic differentiation can be induced by cell-cell contact or BMP-2 treatment, while in combination, these conditions synergistically enhance chondrocyte differentiation resulting in the formation of 3-dimensional (3-D) cartilaginous tissue ex vivo. Temporal expression profiles of pro-chondrogenic transcription factors Bapx1 and Sox9 and cartilaginous extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins Collagen Type II and X (Coll II and Coll X) demonstrate that the in vivo progression of chondrocyte maturation is recapitulated in the MEF model system. Our findings establish the MEF as a powerful tool for the generation of cartilaginous tissue ex vivo and for the study of gene function during chondrogenesis.
Verapamil induced gingival enlargement in cluster headache (2004)

Verapamil is an effective prophylactic treatment for cluster headaches and, therefore, is widely used. This report describes four patients with cluster headache who developed gingival enlargement after initiating treatment with verapamil. In two patients, it was possible to control this side effect adequately by optimising oral hygiene and dental plaque control. In the other two patients, lowering of the verapamil dose, in addition to optimal oral hygiene and dental plaque control, was necessary; in one patient verapamil had to be stopped completely to reverse the gingival enlargement. Doctors treating cluster headache with verapamil need to be aware of this side effect, especially as it may be preventable with good dental hygiene and dental plaque control, is reversible with reduction or cessation of verapamil, and can lead to dental loss.
Insulin proteinase liberates from glucagon a fragment known to have enhanced activity against Ca2+ + Mg2+-dependent ATPase (1988)

We find, contrary to previous reports, that substantial cleavage of glucagon by insulin proteinase occurs at only one region, namely the double-basic sequence -Arg17-Arg18-. Cleavage takes place almost exclusively between these two residues, liberating fragments glucagon-(1-17) and glucagon-(18-29). Others have shown that the fragment glucagon-(19-29) is 1000-fold more efficient compared with intact glucagon, at inhibiting the Ca2+-activated and Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity and the Ca2+ pump of liver plasma membranes. We show that this fragment is not liberated in detectable quantities by our insulin proteinase preparation. On the other hand, others have shown that glucagon-(18-29), though less active than glucagon-(19-29), was still 100-fold more active than glucagon itself in the above-mentioned system. Our observations represent the first demonstration of the release by insulin proteinase of a hormone fragment having enhanced activity, although it has yet to be shown that the activity of this fragment is important in vivo. Since the formation of glucagon-(19-29) from glucagon-(18-29) would involve merely removal of Arg18, a second enzyme might exist to provide the more active fragment.
Percolation of light through whispering gallery modes in 3D lattices of coupled microspheres (2007)

Using techniques of flow-assisted self-assembly we synthesized three-dimensional (3D) lattices of dye-doped fluorescent (FL) 5 mum polystyrene spheres with 3% size dispersion with well controlled thickness from one monolayer up to 43 monolayers. In FL transmission spectra of such lattices we observed signatures of coupling between multiple spheres with nearly resonant whispering gallery modes (WGMs). These include (i) splitting of the WGM-related peaks with the magnitude 4.0-5.3 nm at the average wavelength 535 nm, (ii) pump dependence of FL transmission showing that the splitting is seen only above the threshold for lasing WGMs, and (iii) anomalously high transmission at the WGM peak wavelengths compared to the background for samples with thickness around 25 mum. We propose a qualitative interpretation of the observed WGM transport based on an analogy with percolation theory where the sites of the lattice (spheres) are connected with optical "bonds" which are present with probability depending on the spheres' size dispersion. We predict that the WGM percolation threshold should be achievable in close packed 3D lattices formed by cavities with ~10(3) quality factors of WGMs and with ~1% size dispersion. Such systems can be used for developing next generation of resonant sensors and arrayed-resonator light emitting devices.
Evaluation of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) as an adjuvant. Enhancement of the serum antibody response in mice to polysaccharide-protein conjugates by concurrent injection with MPL (1991)

Concurrent injection of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) in saline or as an oil-in-water emulsion enhanced both the primary and secondary serum antibody responses to the capsular polysaccharide (CP) components of seven conjugates: the enhanced responses were Ag-specific. In contrast, MPL did not enhance the serum antibody response to five of the six unconjugated CP. MPL and trehalose dimycolate injected concurrently with the unconjugated Vi CP of Salmonella typhi (Vi) enhanced the serum antibody response to that Ag. MPL further enhanced the Vi antibody levels when injected with conjugates of this CP. The serum antibody responses to Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A, used as the carrier protein for the Staphylococcus aureus types 5 and 8 conjugates, were also enhanced by MPL. MPL in oil-in-water emulsion was generally more effective than when administered in saline.
Importance of collateral circulation for prevention of left ventricular aneurysm formation in acute myocardial infarction. (1989)

The effect of preexistent coronary collateral perfusion on the prevention of left ventricular aneurysm formation was examined in 47 patients undergoing an intracoronary thrombolysis within 6 hours after the onset of a first acute anterior myocardial infarction. Left ventricular aneurysm formation and wall motion were analyzed with cineventriculography. A left ventricular aneurysm was determined as well-defined demarcation of the infarcted segment from normally contracting myocardium. In 25 patients with successful thrombolysis (group A), a left ventricular aneurysm was observed in one patient (4%) during the chronic stage of infarction. In 10 patients who had a significant collateral circulation to the infarct-related coronary artery and unsuccessful reperfusion (group B), the left ventricular aneurysm was observed in only one patient (10%). In the remaining 12 patients with unsuccessful recanalization in the absence of a significant collateral perfusion (group C), there was a higher incidence (seven of 12, 58%) of left ventricular aneurysm formation than in groups A and B (p less than 0.05). In group A, both the global ejection fraction and regional wall motion in the infarct areas improved significantly (p less than 0.05) between the acute and chronic stages of infarction. By contrast, in groups B and C, these indexes on the ventricular function did not change significantly during the convalescent period. Thus, although the collateral perfusion existing at the onset of acute myocardial infarction may not improve ventricular function, it exerts a beneficial effect on the prevention of left ventricular aneurysm formation.
Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Vertebral Lesions (2004)

FNAB of vertebral lesions is an effective, sensitive and specific procedure in the diagnostic workup of a patient with or without a prior history of malignancy. Surgical pathology examination, including core biopsies of unsatisfactory or suspicious lesions, can further improve the diagnostic yield.
Victorian blueprint for school reform (2008)

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Very Low-Dose Tolerance with Nucleosomal Peptides Controls Lupus and Induces Potent Regulatory T Cell Subsets (2005)

We induced very low-dose tolerance by injecting lupus prone (SWR x NZB)F1 (SNF1) mice with 1 mug nucleosomal histone peptide autoepitopes s.c. every 2 wk. The subnanomolar peptide therapy diminished autoantibody levels and prolonged life span by delaying nephritis, especially by reducing inflammatory cell reaction and infiltration in kidneys. H4(71-94) was the most effective autoepitope. Low-dose tolerance therapy induced CD8+, as well as CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cell subsets containing autoantigen-specific cells. These adaptive Treg cells suppressed IFN-gamma responses of pathogenic lupus T cells to nucleosomal epitopes at up to a 1:100 ratio and reduced autoantibody production up to 90-100% by inhibiting nucleosome-stimulated T cell help to nuclear autoantigen-specific B cells. Both CD4+ CD25+ and CD8+ Treg cells produced and required TGF-beta1 for immunosuppression, and were effective in suppressing lupus autoimmunity upon adoptive transfer in vivo. The CD4+ CD25+ T cells were partially cell contact dependent, but CD8+ T cells were contact independent. Thus, low-dose tolerance with highly conserved histone autoepitopes repairs a regulatory defect in systemic lupus erythematosus by generating long-lasting, TGF-beta-producing Treg cells, without causing allergic/anaphylactic reactions or generalized immunosuppression.
ChemInform Abstract: Consequences of a Diminution of the Porphyrin π‐System: Attempted Syntheses of Bacteriophin and Chlorophin. (1991)

Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
A frequent mild mutation in ALG6 may exacerbate the clinical severity of patients with congenital disorder of glycosylation Ia (CDG-Ia) caused by phosphomannomutase deficiency (2002)

Single nucleotide polymorphisms occur throughout the human genome. A gene that causes one of the congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) has a mutation (911T-->C ) that changes a phenylalanine to serine at position 304 (F304S) of the alpha 1,3 glucosyl transferase. We show that this change reduces the ability of the gene product to rescue defective glycosylation of an alg6-deficient strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during rapid growth. This finding suggested that the mutation might affect glycosylation in humans. We therefore compared the frequency of this variant in 301 controls and in 101 CDG patients who carry known mutations in other genes involved in CDG, i.e. PMM2 (CDG-Ia; 91 patients) and MPI (CDG-Ib; 10 patients). The variant allele frequency is identical in both CDG patients (0.30) and controls (0.28). Importantly, the F304S genotype frequency in 55 CDG-Ia patients classified as mild/moderate (n = 28), or severe (n = 27) was significantly higher in severely affected patients (0.41) than in mild/moderately affected patients (0.21). Mortality (n = 9) was higher when F304S was present (n = 6). Severely affected patients with the PMM2 mutations F119L/R141H (n = 22) carry the F304S mutation more often (0.36) than mildly affected patients (0.18, n = 11) with this mutation. Clinical severity of mildly affected sibs with the same PMM2 mutations did not correlate with F304S genotype. Thus, the presence of the F304S allele may exacerbate the clinical outcome, especially in severely affected CDG patients. We speculate that this type of variant may be implicated in other multi-factorial disorders that involve N-glycosylation.
Cyclin D1 expression in human prostate carcinoma cell lines and primary tumors (1998)

The increased expression of cyclin D1 in several prostate cancer cell lines and in a subset of primary prostate cancer samples suggests that further studies on the expression of this gene and related genes may be of interest in understanding the pathogenesis of prostate cancer.
Bottom-up biofabrication using microfluidic techniques (2018)

Nature builds living organisms in a bottom-up fashion, starting from the expression of genetic information on a cellular level, to the proliferation, differentiation, and self-assembly of cells into tissues/organs during embryo development and wound-healing processes. To mimic this bottom-up approach, it is essential to handle and manipulate small-scale biomaterials using specific technologies, such as microfluidic techniques. Microfluidics provides the tool-sets that deal with the behavior, precise control and manipulation of small amounts of fluids. Since the handling performed in aqueous environment guarantees the well-preserved bioactivities of biomaterials, microfluidic techniques show unique and critical advantages for biofabrication purposes. In this review, we report the recent progress on the bottom-up biofabrication using microfluidic techniques, such as the fabrication of microtissues, bioprinting of cell-laden tissue scaffolds, and organ-on-a-chip. As future perspectives, the deeper convergence of bottom-up approaches with top-down approaches as well as microfluidic-enabled vascularization of thick tissues is anticipated to have enormous impacts on the field of biofabrication.
Trans-Dioxorhenium(V)-Mediated Electrocatalytic Oxidation of DNA at Indium Tin-Oxide Electrodes: Voltammetric Detection of DNA Cleavage in Solution (1994)

The oxidative electrochemistry of truns-[Re(0)2(4-OMe-py)4]+ in the presence of DNA has been studied. The complex exhibits a reversible oxidation at E1/2(VW) = 1.00 V (vs Ag/AgCl) in buffer or in the presence of poly(dA)poly(dT). However, in the presence of calf thymus DNA or poly(dG)poly(dC), a dramatic catalytic enhancement is observed. An identical result is obtained with Fe(S-C1-~hen)3~+ (E1/2(IIIAI) = 1.02 V), but no electrocatalytic enhancement is observed with truns-[Re(0)2(py)2(dmap)2]+ (E112 = 0.90 V). Electrophoresis of plasmids electrolyzed at 1.2 V in the presence of trans-[Re(0)2(4-OMe-py)4]+ show relaxation from form I to form 11, and analogous reactions with 5'-end 32P-labeled synthetic oligonucleotides show piperidine-labile cleavage specifically at guanine. The combined results point to an electrocatalytic mechanism where the oxidized metal complex oxidizes guanine in DNA by one electron via an efficient, outer-sphere mechanism. Moreover, the experiments demonstrate a potential for the one-electron oxidation of guanine in double-helical DNA at neutral pH of between 0.90 and 1.00 V. This result should provide insight into the mechanisms of DNA oxidation by chemical agents and by ionizing radiation.
Modification of clastogenicity of three known clastogens by garlic extract in mice in vivo (1993)

The anticlastogenic activity of crude extract of garlic (Allium sativum L.) was studied in bone marrow cells of mice. Male laboratory-bred Swiss albino mice were given one of three concentrations of the freshly prepared extract (100 mg, 50 mg, and 25 mg/kg body weight) as a dietary supplement by gavage for 6 consecutive days. On the seventh day the mice were administered a single acute dose of two known clastogens, mitomycin C(1.5 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (25 mg/kg) or sodium arsenite (2.5 mg/kg), simultaneously with garlic extract. After 24 hr, chromosome preparations were made from the bone marrow cells. The endpoint studied were chromosomal aberrations and damaged cells. Garlic extract alone induced a low level of chromosomal damage. The clastogenicity of all three mutagens were reduced significantly in the animals which had been given garlic extract as dietary supplement. The extent of reduction was different for the three clastogens and may be attributed to the interaction with the different components of the extract.
Fast GPU‐based Adaptive Tessellation with CUDA (2009)

Abstract Compact surface descriptions like higher‐order surfaces are popular representations for both modeling and animation. However, for fast graphics‐hardware‐assisted rendering, they usually need to be converted to triangle meshes. In this paper, we introduce a new framework for performing on‐the‐fly crack‐free adaptive tessellation of surface primitives completely on the GPU. Utilizing CUDA and its flexible memory write capabilities, we parallelize the tessellation task at the level of single surface primitives. We are hence able to derive tessellation factors, perform surface evaluation as well as generate the tessellation topology in real‐time even for large collections of primitives. We demonstrate the power of our framework by exemplarily applying it to both bicubic rational Bézier patches and PN triangles.
Memristor based adders (2014)

Currently memristors are being researched to offer logic and memory functions. Recently, ultra dense resistive memory arrays built from various two terminal semiconductor or insulator thin film devices have been demonstrated. This paper presents memristor-based designs of commonly used (ripple carry, conditional sum and parallel prefix) adders. The latency and area of these adders are compared.
Functional tissue factor is entirely cell surface expressed on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated human blood monocytes and a constitutively tissue factor-producing neoplastic cell line. (1989)

Tissue factor (TF) is an integral membrane glycoprotein which, as the receptor and essential cofactor for coagulation factors VII and VIIa (FVII and FVIIa, respectively), is the primary cellular activator of the coagulation protease cascade. Previous studies on the procoagulant activity of a variety of cell types (either lysed or in the intact state) have variously been interpreted as showing that TF is either stored intracellularly or is present in a cryptic form in the surface membrane. Using mAbs to TF, we have directly investigated the subcellular localization and functional activity of TF in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated blood monocytes and J82 bladder carcinoma cells. Blocking of surface TF of viable cells with inhibitory anti-TF mAbs abolished greater than 90% of TF activity of the intact cells as well as of lysed cells. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of the binding of FVII and anti-TF mAb to J82 cells demonstrated that all surface-expressed TF molecules were capable of binding the ligand, FVII. By immunoelectron microscopy, TF was present only in the surface membrane of monocytes and J82 cells, although the latter also contained apparently inactive TF antigen in multivesicular bodies. On the intact cell surface the catalytic activity of the TF-FVIIa complex was investigated and found to be markedly less relative to cell lysates. Membrane alterations that affect the cofactor activity of TF may be a means of regulating the extent of initiation of the coagulation protease cascade in various cellular settings.
Rhodium‐Catalyzed Intermolecular [2+2+2] Cross‐Trimerization of Aryl Ethynyl Ethers and Carbonyl Compounds To Produce Dienyl Esters (2011)

Positive thinking: A cationic rhodium(I)/H8-binap complex catalyzes the chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective completely intermolecular [2+2+2] cross-trimerization of two aryl ethynyl ethers with both electron-deficient and electron-rich carbonyl compounds (see scheme; cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene). This reaction proceeded at room temperature to give aryloxy-substituted dienyl esters in good yields.
Cytotoxicity and viability assays (2000)

Abstract Drug development programmes involve pre-clinical screening of vast numbers of chemicals for specific and non-specific cytotoxicity against many types of cells. Both are important for indicating the potential therapeutic target and safety evaluation. Animal models have always played an important role in both contexts, and although cell culture systems have figured largely in the field of cancer chemotherapy, where the potential value of such systems for cytotoxicity and viability testing is now widely accepted, there is increasing pressure for a more comprehensive adoption of in vitro testing in safety evaluation. The impetus for change originates partly from financial considerations, since in vitro testing has considerable economic advantages over in vivo testing. There is also an increasing realization of the limitations of animal models in relation to human metabolism, as more and more metabolic differences between species come to be identified. Finally and as importantly, there is the moral pressure to reduce animal experimentation.