gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Differential Regulation of Interleukin (IL)–4, IL‐5, and IL‐10 during Measles in Zambian Children (2002)

To determine the effect of measles virus infection on cytokine production in children from sub-Saharan Africa, temporal changes in cytokine production in vivo were analyzed and the T cell sources of type 1 and type 2 cytokines were identified in Zambian children with measles. The immune response during measles involved early type 1 responses, with production of interferon-gamma by CD8(+) T cells and of interleukin (IL)-2 by CD4(+) T cells. Subsequently, more-prolonged increases were observed in the type 2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13, both produced by CD4(+) T cells. IL-5 was regulated differently from IL-4 and IL-13: levels were low compared with levels in control children and were reflected in lower eosinophil counts during measles. Immunoglobulin E was lower in children with measles, despite high levels of IL-4 and IL-13. Plasma levels of IL-10 were elevated for weeks, potentially contributing to impaired cellular immunity and depressed hypersensitivity responses following measles.
Transmission of Tuberculosis in New York City -- An Analysis by DNA Fingerprinting and Conventional Epidemiologic Methods (1994)

In the inner-city community we studied, recently transmitted tuberculosis accounts for approximately 40 percent of the incident cases and almost two thirds of drug-resistant cases. Recent transmission of tuberculosis, and not only reactivation of latent disease, contributes substantially to the increase in tuberculosis.
Structure of the cDNA Encoding Transcobalamin I, a Neutrophil Granule Protein (1989)

Transcobalamin I (TCI) is a member of the R binder family of vitamin B12 binding proteins. It is a major protein constituent of secondary granules in neutrophils. We have isolated and characterized full length cDNA clones encoding TCI in order to determine whether its expression is coordinately regulated with the appearance of secondary granules and whether it is consequently a useful marker of granulocyte development. Partial amino acid sequences of human R protein were obtained from tryptic digestion fragments. Using the polymerase chain reaction, a partial TCI cDNA probe was isolated by selective amplification of a region of cDNA located between two oligonucleotides deduced from the available partial amino acid sequences. The amplified probe was then used to obtain full length clones from a granulocyte cDNA library. Identity of the clones was confirmed by matching DNA sequence to known peptide amino acid sequence. TCI is transcribed to a single 1.5-kilobase mRNA species. The predicted protein sequence is 433 amino acids long. We have compared the sequence of TCI to that of rat intrinsic factor. The two proteins have areas of extensive homology which implicate regions potentially important for vitamin B12 binding. TCI mRNA was present in late neutrophil precursors but absent from uninduced and induced HL60 cells.
Speech recognition for an information kiosk (2002)

In the context of the ESPRIT MASK project one faces the problem of adapting a "state-of-the-art" laboratory speech recognizer for use in the real world with naive users. The speech recognizer is a software-only system that runs in real-time on a standard RISC processor. All aspects of the speech recognizer have been reconsidered from signal capture to adaptive acoustic models and language models. The resulting system includes such features as microphone selection, response cancellation, noise compensation, query rejection capability and decoding strategies for real-time recognition.
Construction of the 3D structure of the mTOR kinase-domain and discovery of novel mTOR inhibitors (2007)

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase involved in the regulation of protein translation and cell proliferation. Based on signals received from nutrition, growth factors, and insulin, mTOR controls cell growth accordingly and is therefore a key target for anticancer therapeutics through its inhibition. Two regions of interest are the FRB domain, where mTOR's natural ligand rapamycin binds when in complex with FKBP12, and the ATP-binding site located within the kinase-domain. Because cancer cells have shown resistance to rapamycin's inhibitory effects, the kinase portion of the protein has become an attractive target for the design of novel inhibitors. Current kinase-domain inhibitors generally lack stability and specificity, mainly due to the absence of a high-resolution crystal structure for mTOR. Therefore, an urgent need exists for more insight into mTOR's three-dimensional (3D) structure as well as improved kinase-domain targeted therapeutics.The purpose of this study was to construct a 3D structural model of the mTOR kinase-domain using homology modeling techniques, which would then facilitate the discovery of novel compounds with increased inhibitory effects. After constructing the mTOR structural model, we employed pharmaceutical drug design approaches to virtually 'dock' known mTOR kinase inhibitors into the putative ligand binding pocket of the kinase domain. Using the key structural features of mTOR inhibitors LY294002 and wortmannin, two pharmacophores were created and later employed as queries in our in silico search of commercially available compounds. This systematic procedure yielded 14 novel compounds, 7 from each pharmacophore search, which were purchased in sufficient quantities for initial biological evaluation. Western blot experimental results revealed that 4 of the 14 test compounds show mTOR inhibition in vitro at 10uM concentration.Analysis of the lead compounds' binding interactions with mTOR identifies several active site residues potentially responsible for ligand binding affinity. In order for a small molecule to possess mTOR inhibitory activity, it it must establish interactions with Leu2186, Ile2237, and Ile2356. In addition, it must also make contact with Lys2166 and/or Val2240. Our homology model, in conjunction with these findings, will facilitate the continued rational (computer-aided) design of potent and selective mTOR kinase domain inhibitors.
Biocompatibility and antibacterial activity of chitosan and hyaluronic acid immobilized polyester fibers (2007)

Abstract Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers were treated with 60 Co‐γ‐ray and grafted with acrylic acid. The resulting fibers were further grafted with chitosan (CS) via esterification. Afterward, hyaluronic acid (HA) was immobilized onto CS‐grafting fibers. The antibacterial activity of CS against S. aureus , E. coli , and P. aeruginosa was preserved after HA‐immobilization. After immobilizing HA, the L929 fibroblasts cell proliferation was improved forCS‐grafting PET fiber. The results indicate that by grafting with CS and immobilizing with HA, PET fibers not only exhibit antibacterial activity, but also improve the cell proliferation for fibroblast. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 220–225, 2007
Effect of Severe Plastic Deformation on Mechanical Properties of Fe-Ni-Mn High Strength Steel (2009)

Fe-Ni-Mn martensitic steels show excellent age hardenability but suffer from embrittlement after aging. Discontinuous coarsening of grain boundary precipitates was found as the main source of embrittlement. Effect of cold rolling and equal channel angular pressing on the mechanical properties of an Fe-10Ni-7Mn steel was investigated. Cold rolling for 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 90% and equal channel angular pressing for four passes through the Bc route were carried out on a solution annealed material with subsequent aging at 753 K. Hardness measurement, tensile test and scanning electron microscopy were used to study mechanical properties and microstructural features of the as-deformed and aged alloys. Improvement in tensile properties of the as-deformed and aged alloys was found. A tensile strength of about 1840 MPa along with 3% elongation were determined for cold rolled by 90% thickness reduction and aged alloy, while conventional steel shows a premature fracture stress of 820 MPa with zero ductility. It was also indicated that after heavy cold rolling ductility increases in comparison to the equal channel angular pressed and aged alloy.
Characterization of the ferrous iron uptake system of Escherichia coli (1993)

Escherichia coli has an iron(II) transport system (feo) which may make an important contribution to the iron supply of the cell under anaerobic conditions. Cloning and sequencing of the iron(II) transport genes revealed an open reading frame (feoA) possibly coding for a small protein with 75 amino acids and a membrane protein with 773 amino acids (feoB). The upstream region of feoAB contained a binding site for the regulatory protein Fur, which acts with iron(II) as a corepressor in all known iron transport systems of E. coli. In addition, a Fnr binding site was identified in the promoter region. The FeoB protein had an apparent molecular mass of 70 kDa in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and was localized in the cytoplasmic membrane. The sequence revealed regions of homology to ATPases, which indicates that ferrous iron uptake may be ATP driven. FeoA or FeoB mutants could be complemented by clones with the feoA or feoB gene, respectively.
Towards Electroporation Based Treatment Planning considering Electric Field Induced Muscle Contractions (2012)

The electric field threshold for muscle contraction is two orders of magnitudes lower than that for electroporation. Current electroporation treatment planning and electrode design studies focus on optimizing the delivery of electroporation electric fields to the targeted tissue. The goal of one part of this study was to investigate the relation between the volumes of tissue that experience electroporation electric fields in a targeted tissue volume and the volumes of tissue that experience muscle contraction inducing electric fields around the electroporated tissue volume, (V(MC)), during standard electroporation procedures and for various electroporation electrodes designs. The numerical analysis shows that conventional electroporation protocols and electrode design can generate muscle contraction inducing electric fields in surprisingly large volumes of non-target tissue, around the electroporation treated tissue. In studying various electrode configurations, we found that electrode placement in a structure we refer to as a "Current Cage" can substantially reduce the volume of non-target tissue exposed to electric fields above the muscle contraction threshold. In an experimental study on a tissue phantom we compare a commercial two parallel needle electroporation system with the Current Cage design. While tissue electroporated volumes were similar, V(MC) of tissue treated using the Current Cage design electrodes was an order of magnitude smaller than that using a commercially available system. An important aspect of the entire study is that it suggests the benefit of including the calculations of V(MC) for planning of electroporation based treatments such as DNA vaccination, electrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation.
Tandem duplication of the FLC locus and the origin of a new gene in Arabidopsis related species and their functional implications in allopolyploids (2010)

Flowering time is an important adaptive trait and varies among Arabidopsis thaliana and its related species, including allopolyploids that are formed between A. thaliana and Arabidopsis arenosa. FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) inhibits early flowering in A. thaliana. A previous study showed that late-flowering A. arenosa contained two or more FLC alleles that were differentially expressed in Arabidopsis allotetraploids, but the genomic organization and evolution of FLC locus were unknown. Comparative sequence and evolutionary analyses were performed in FLC-containing genomic regions in A. thaliana, A. arenosa and Arabidopsis lyrata, and expression of FLC loci and alleles was examined in Arabidopsis allopolyploids. The FLC locus was tandemly duplicated in A. lyrata and triplicated in A. arenosa, and the tandem duplication event occurred after divergence from A. thaliana. Although FLC duplicates were highly conserved, their upstream sequences rapidly diverged. The third FLC copy in A. arenosa acquired a new splicing site through a point mutation in the intron and generated the new exon followed by an early stop codon, resulting in a novel MADS box gene. Flowering time variation in Arabidopsis allopolyploids is probably related to the expression diversity and/or copy number of multiple FLC loci. Moreover, exonization of intronic sequence is a mechanism for the origin of new genes.
Recent advances in the diagnosis and management of congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (2004)

Congenital adrenal hyperplasias (CAH) are inherited defects of cortisol biosynthesis. More than 90% of CAH are caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD), found in 1:10 000 to 1:15 000 live births. Females with 'classical' 21-OHD, being exposed to excess androgens prenatally, are born with virilized external genitalia. Potentially lethal adrenal insufficiency is characteristic of two-thirds to three-quarters of patients with the classical salt wasting (SW) form of 21-OHD. Non-SW 21-OHD may be diagnosed on genital ambiguity in affected females, and/or later on the occurrence of androgen excess in both sexes. Non-classical 21-OHD, detected in > or =1:100 of certain populations, may present as precocious pubarche in children or polycystic ovarian syndrome in young women. 21-OHD is caused by mutations in the CYP21 gene encoding the steroid 21-hydroxylase enzyme. More than 90% of these mutations result from intergenic recombination between CYP21 and the closely linked CYP21P pseudogene. The degree to which each mutation compromises enzymatic activity is strongly correlated with the clinical severity of the disorder. This close association between genotype and phenotype makes it possible to predict clinical outcome in affected subjects. The risk of SW and prenatal virilization can be estimated, and overtreatment can be avoided in mildly affected cases. Glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid replacement therapies are the mainstays of treatment, but additional therapies are being developed. A first trimester prenatal diagnosis should be proposed in families in whom molecular studies have been performed previously. The state of heterozygotism can be predicted by hormonal testing and confirmed by molecular studies. Prenatal diagnosis by direct mutation detection in previously genotyped families permits prenatal treatment of affected females in order to avoid or minimize genital virilization. Neonatal screening by hormonal methods identifies affected children before SW crises develop, reducing mortality in this disorder.
The 5' untranslated sequence of the c-sis/platelet-derived growth factor 2 transcript is a potent translational inhibitor. (1988)

c-sis/platelet-derived growth factor 2 (PDGF-2) is a prototype growth factor with transforming potential. The c-sis/PDGF-2 transcript contains a long 5' untranslated sequence (UTS) that is highly G.C rich. To examine the influence of this sequence on sis/PDGF-2 expression, we localized the c-sis/PDGF-2 promoter and used this promoter or the simian virus 40 early promoter to drive expression of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase or sis/PDGF-2 gene. The 5' UTS of c-sis/PDGF-2 mRNA had no effect on RNA expression but was shown to exert a potent inhibitory effect on translation. By deletion analysis, we demonstrated that the 5' UTS inhibited protein expression by as much as 40-fold. The inhibitory effect was independent of reporter gene, cell type, or promoter used. A highly G.C-rich 140-base-pair sequence immediately preceding the c-sis/PDGF-2 initiation codon was shown to be nearly as effective as the entire 5' UTS in translational inhibition. Transfection analysis demonstrated that the 5' UTS significantly reduced the transforming efficiency of the sis/PDGF-2 gene as well. Thus, our findings raise the possibility that changes in regulation at the level of sis/PDGF-2 translation may play a role in development of the neoplastic phenotype.
Adult-onset focal dystonias: presentation and treatment options. (1997)

Adult-onset focal dystonias (AFD) are common disorders that are often misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated. Their presentation is readily recognized, and botulinum toxin has become the agent of choice for treating these disorders. Most of the focal dystonias include cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, oromandibular dystonia, spasmodic dysphonia, and limb dystonia, specifically writer's cramp. Their onset is either idiopathic, familial, or post-traumatic, and the pathophysiology of the focal dystonias is not currently known. Local injections of botulinum toxin into the affected area result in chemical denervation of the muscle, resulting in a weakness of the muscles that are involved in the sustained contractions. This weakness alleviates the painful contraction of the dystonia. In this paper we present a case study of the most common type of focal dystonia, cervical dystonia. The etiology in this case was post-traumatic, and significant improvement resulted after treatment with botulinum toxin type A.
Testing of Wearable Monitors in a Real-World Hospital Environment: What Lessons Can Be Learnt? (2012)

If wearable sensors are to play a significant role in monitoring the vital signs of hospitalised patients they need to be accepted by doctors and other healthcare workers. To gain this acceptance, evidence of their effectiveness needs to be demonstrated in clinical trials. In this pragmatic feasibility study four commercially-available, CE-marked sensors were combined into three monitoring systems and used to record the electrocardiograms (ECGs) and photoplethysmograms (PPGs) of 31 hospitalised patients, to determine whether the sensors could collect vital sign data reliably enough for use in larger clinical trials. Patients were asked to wear the sensors for 24 hours. Out of the 31 studies, on only 3 occasions did any of the monitoring systems manage to record both ECG and PPG data for the full 24-hour duration. The causes for the failure of sensors to record data from in-hospital patients consistently are discussed and a clinical perspective is given on the design features needed for a sensor to be usable in a hospital setting.
Identification of essential acidic residues of outer membrane protease OmpT supports a novel active site (2001)

Escherichia coli outer membrane protease OmpT has previously been classified as a serine protease with Ser(99) and His(212) as active site residues. The recently solved X-ray structure of the enzyme was inconsistent with this classification, and the involvement of a nucleophilic water molecule was proposed. Here, we substituted all conserved aspartate and glutamate residues by alanines and measured the residual enzymatic activities of the variants. Our results support the involvement of a nucleophilic water molecule that is activated by the Asp(210)/His(212) catalytic dyad. Activity is also strongly dependent on Asp(83) and Asp(85). Both may function in binding of the water molecule and/or oxyanion stabilization. The proposed mechanism implies a novel proteolytic catalytic site.
Modern power devices (1987)

Carrier Transport Physics. Breakdown Voltage. Power Junction Field-Effect Transistors. Power Field-Controlled Diodes. Power Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors. Power MOS-Bipolar Devices. New Rectifier Concepts. Synopsis. References. Index.
Interactive translation of conversational speech (1996)

As communication becomes increasingly automated and transnational, the need for rapid, computer-aided speech translation grows. The Janus-II system uses paraphrasing and interactive error correction to boost performance. Janus-II operates on spontaneous conversational human dialogue in limited domains with vocabularies of 3,000 or more words. Current experiments involve 10,000 to 40,000 word vocabularies. It now accepts English, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Korean input, which it translates into any other of these languages. Beyond translating syntactically well-formed speech or carefully structured human-to-machine speech utterances, Janus-II research has focused on the more difficult task of translating spontaneous conversational speech between humans. This naturally requires a suitable database and task domain.
Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with coenzyme Q 10 deficiency (1997)

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) transfers electrons from complexes I and II of the mitochondrial respiratory chain to complex III. There is one published report of human CoQ10 deficiency describing two sisters with encephalopathy, proximal weakness, myoglobinuria, and lactic acidosis. We report a patient who had delayed motor milestones, proximal weakness, premature exertional fatigue, and episodes of exercise-induced pigmenturia. She also developed partial-complex seizures. Serum creatine kinase was approximately four times the upper limit of normal and venous lactate was mildly elevated. Skeletal muscle biopsy revealed many ragged-red fibers, cytochrome c oxidase-deficient fibers, and excess lipid. In isolated muscle mitochondria, impaired oxygen consumption was corrected by the addition of decylubiquinone. During standardized exercise, ventilatory and circulatory responses were compatible with a defect of oxidation-phosphorylation, which was confirmed by near-infrared spectroscopy analysis. Biochemical analysis of muscle extracts revealed decreased activities of complexes I+II and I+III, while CoQ10 concentration was less than 25% of normal. With a brief course of CoQ10 (150 mg daily), the patient reported subjective improvement. The triad of CNS involvement, recurrent myoglobinuria, and ragged-red fibers should alert clinicians to the possibility of CoQ10 deficiency.