gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Nitric oxide production contributes to the angiogenic properties of vascular endothelial growth factor in human endothelial cells. (1997)

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a regulator of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. To investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in VEGF-induced proliferation and in vitro angiogenesis, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were used. VEGF stimulated the growth of HUVEC in an NO-dependent manner. In addition, VEGF promoted the NO-dependent formation of network-like structures in HUVEC cultured in three dimensional (3D) collagen gels. Exposure of cells to VEGF led to a concentration-dependent increase in cGMP levels, an indicator of NO production, that was inhibited by nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. VEGF-stimulated NO production required activation of tyrosine kinases and increases in intracellular calcium, since tyrosine kinase inhibitors and calcium chelators attenuated VEGF-induced NO release. Moreover, two chemically distinct phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI-3K) inhibitors attenuated NO release after VEGF stimulation. In addition, HUVEC incubated with VEGF for 24 h showed an increase in the amount of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) protein and the release of NO. In summary, both short- and long-term exposure of human EC to VEGF stimulates the release of biologically active NO. While long-term exposure increases eNOS protein levels, short-term stimulation with VEGF promotes NO release through mechanisms involving tyrosine and PI-3K kinases, suggesting that NO mediates aspects of VEGF signaling required for EC proliferation and organization in vitro.
Repetitive Sequences in Eukaryotic DNA and their Expression (1982)

The Hippo pathway was initially discovered in Drosophila melanogaster as a key regulator of tissue growth. It is an evolutionarily conserved signaling cascade regulating numerous biological processes, including cell growth and fate decision, organ size ...Read More
Targets for cystic fibrosis therapy: proteomic analysis and correction of mutant cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (2010)

Proteomic analysis has proved to be an important tool for understanding the complex nature of genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis (CF), by defining the cellular protein environment (proteome) associated with wild-type and mutant proteins. Proteomic screens identified the proteome of CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), and provided fundamental information to studies designed for understanding the crucial components of physiological CFTR function. Simultaneously, high-throughput screens for small-molecular correctors of CFTR mutants provided promising candidates for therapy. The majority of CF cases are caused by nucleotide deletions (DeltaF508 CFTR; >75%), resulting in CFTR misfolding, or insertion of premature termination codons ( approximately 10%), leading to unstable mRNA and reduced levels of truncated dysfunctional CFTR. In this article, we review recent results of proteomic screens, developments in identifying correctors for the most frequent CFTR mutants, and comment on how integration of the knowledge gained from these studies may aid in finding a cure for CF and a number of other genetic disorders.
Solid-Phase Synthesis of Oligourea Peptidomimetics (1999)

A procedure for the solid-phase synthesis of oligourea peptidomimetics starting from Boc-protected monomers is described. The compounds are prepared on Tentagel® resin and can be obtained selectively either as the C-terminal free acids with UV irradiation when a photocleavable linker is used or as C-terminal hydantoins with 10% TEA/MeOH and a catalytic amount of KCN.
An Overview of Medical Image Registration Methods (1998)

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of existing medical image registration methods. These methods will be classified according to a model based on nine salient criteria, the main dichotomy of which is extrinsic versus intrinsic methods. The statistics of the classification show definite trends in the evolving registration techniques, which will be discussed. At this moment, the bulk of interesting intrinsic methods is either based on segmented points or surfaces, or on techniques endeavoring to use the full information content of the images involved. 1 Introduction Within the current clinical setting, medical imaging is a vital component of a large number of applications. Such applications occur throughout the clinical track of events; not only within clinical diagnostis settings, but prominently so in the area of planning, consummation, and evaluation of surgical and radiotherapeutical procedures. Since information gained from two images acquired in the clinical...
Disordered, Strongly Scattering Porous Materials as Miniature Multipass Gas Cells (2011)

We investigate the interaction of light and gas in strongly scattering nano- and macroporous media. Manufacturing and structural characterization of ZrO(2), Al(2)O(3) and TiO(2) ceramics with different pore sizes, measurements of optical properties using photon time-of-flight spectroscopy, and high-resolution laser spectroscopy of O(2) at 760 nm are reported. We show that extreme light scattering can be utilized to realize miniature spectroscopic gas cells. Path length enhancement factors up to 750 are reached (5.4 m path through gas for light transmitted through a 7 mm ZrO(2) with 49% porosity and 115 nm pores).
Acute Effects of Intravenous Infusion of ApoA1/Phosphatidylcholine Discs on Plasma Lipoproteins in Humans (1999)

To investigate the metabolism of nascent HDLs, apoA1/phosphatidylcholine (apoA1/PC) discs were infused IV over 4 hours into 7 healthy men. Plasma total apoA1 and phospholipid (PL) concentrations increased during the infusions. The rise in plasma apoA1 was greatest in small prebeta-migrating particles not present in the infusate. Total HDL unesterified cholesterol (UC) also increased simultaneously. After stopping the infusion, the concentrations of apoA1, PL, HDL UC, and small prebeta HDLs decreased, whereas those of HDL cholesteryl ester (CE) and large alpha-migrating apoA1 containing HDLs increased. ApoB-containing lipoproteins became enriched in CEs. Addition of apoA1/PC discs to whole blood at 37 degrees C in vitro also generated small prebeta HDLs, but did not augment the transfer of UC from erythrocytes to plasma. We conclude that the disc infusions increased the intravascular production of small prebeta HDLs in vivo, and that this was associated with an increase in the efflux and esterification of UC derived from fixed tissues. The extent to which the increase in tissue cholesterol efflux was dependent on that in prebeta HDL production could not be determined. Infusion of discs also reduced the plasma apoB and apoA2 concentrations, and increased plasma triglycerides and apoC3. Thus, nascent HDL secretion may have a significant impact on prebeta HDL production, reverse cholesterol transport and lipoprotein metabolism in humans.
Enzymatic glucose sensors. Improved long-term performance in vitro and in vivo. (1994)

We studied the long-term in vitro and in vivo performance of enzyme electrode glucose sensors. Single commercially produced enzyme-active membranes remained functional for estimating glucose in vitro for 14-36 months. These membranes were implanted subcutaneously in rats for 1 year and, upon explanation, remained functional for measuring glucose in vitro. Sensors with these membranes plus an additional outer membrane with lower glucose permeability allowed glucose monitoring in the low oxygen tension of subcutaneous tissue. These sensors were surgically implanted in three nondiabetic dogs. Each sensor implant was coupled to a radio transmitter to allow continuous long-term glucose monitoring in these awake unrestrained dogs. In vivo sensor performance was evaluated by intravenous glucose infusion, with reference blood glucose determinations made in the clinical laboratory. These subcutaneously implanted sensors tracked changes in plasma glucose for up to 12 weeks. The in vivo initial response for three sensor implants was approximately 35 sec (n = 8). Sensor peak response to glucose after bolus infusion ranged from 3 to 14 min. Stability of sensor sensitivity within +/- 15% for more than 1 month was demonstrated in two of the dogs. Sensor lifetime was limited not by loss of enzyme activity, but by biodegradation of the outermost polyurethane membrane. The findings suggest that long-term continuous monitoring of blood glucose using a subcutaneously implanted enzyme electrode sensor may be possible.
Alcohol and Murine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Suppression of Resistance to Cryptosporidium parvum Infection during Modulation of Cytokine Production (1993)

The effects of inoculation of LP-BM5 murine leukemia retrovirus and chronic ethanol (5% v/v) ingestion on immunomodulation and Cryptosporidium parvum infection in C57BL/6 female mice were evaluated. The intestinal mucosae of retrovirally immunosuppressed animals were heavily colonized by Cryptosporidium parasites, and oocysts shedding in the feces persisted throughout the duration of the study. Mortality was exacerbated by murine retrovirus infection alone and exacerbated with concomitant chronic alcohol feeding (42.8 and 69.4%). Chronic ethanol ingestion decreased production of interferon-gamma and soluble interleukin-2 receptor released in supernatants of splenocytes when stimulated with concanavalin A, compared with the control group. Decreased production of interferon-gamma and interleukin-2 receptor was further exacerbated due to retrovirus infection. Tumor necrosis factor production by splenocytes stimulated with lipopolysaccharide, however, was significantly increased because of retrovirus infection. LP-BM5 retrovirus infection alone as well as with concomitant ethanol feeding altered cytokine production, which might have led to immunodeficiency. These changes may help explain the enhanced persistence of Cryptosporidiosis.
The Effects of Thymopentin on the Development of SLE‐Like Syndrome in the MRL/lpr‐lpr Mouse (1994)

Thymopentin (TP-5) is a synthetic pentapeptide that corresponds to the active 32-36 amino acid sequence of the thymic hormone thymopoietin, of which it retains all the immunomodulatory properties. In this study, we have evaluated the effects of long term prophylactic treatment with TP-5 on the clinical, immunological and histological parameters of the SLE-like syndrome that spontaneously occurs in MRL/lpr-lpr (MRL-lpr) mice. TP-5, administered (s.c.) to these mice at the doses of 1, 10 and 100 mg/kg, was given daily, five times a week, from the 9th to the 26th weeks of life. The prophylactic treatment with TP-5 prolonged in a clear dose-dependent fashion the lifespan of MRL-lpr mice as compared with PBS-treated control mice, and the effect reached statistical significance at the doses of 10 and 100 mg/kg. In parallel ex vivo studies, this clinical effect was associated with multiple profound modifications of the immune system including: (i) the reduction of the spontaneous and Con A-induced release of interleukin-4 (IL-4); (ii) the increased secretion of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and IL-6 upon polyclonal mitogenic stimulation, and (iii) the amelioration of the defective Con A-induced lymphoproliferative response. In contrast, although the drug diminished the severity of proteinuria in MRL-lpr mice, it neither reduced histological signs of lupus nephritis nor diminished the serum titres of anti-native DNA and anti-histone autoantibodies. These results indicate that TP-5 displayed powerful immunodulatory activities in a well known model of human SLE.
Physical properties and structure of silk. VI. Conformational changes in silk fibroin induced by immersion in water at 2 to 130°c (1979)

Abstract Silk fibroin films in the random‐coil and β‐form conformations were immersed in water at temperatures from 2 to 130°C, and conformational changes were followed by x‐ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. On treatment with water below 60°C, the random‐coil conformation is converted to the α form and above 70°C to mixtures of the α and β conformations. The β‐form content increases as the immersion temperature is raised. The β form is not affected by immersion in water in the temperature range studied.
Leptospirosis (2001)

Leptospirosis is a globally important zoonotic disease that affects humans on all continents, in both urban and rural contexts, and in temperate and tropical climes. Leptospirosis is a disease of the environment; transmission depends on interactions between humans and mammalian reservoir hosts. A variety of infectious diseases that present as undifferentiated febrile syndromes, such as malaria, dengue and influenza, as well as viral hemorrhagic fevers can mimic leptospirosis. The importance of pulmonary hemorrhage as a lethal complication of leptospirosis has become more widely recognized. In contrast to textbook dogma, population-based studies indicate that there is a poor correlation between infecting leptospiral strain and clinical expression of disease. Genetic transformation of a Leptospira sp. has now been reported, which should allow for detailed analysis of a variety of leptospiral genes. Publication of the whole Leptospira genome is eagerly awaited. Following recent reports of a new, highly effective conjugate typhoid vaccine, new efforts to find leptospirosis vaccines should include the manufacture and testing of conjugate leptospiral lipopolysaccharide vaccines. Recent advances, particularly in epidemiology, molecular genetics and pathogenesis, are placing leptospirosis at the cutting edge of biomedical science.
Biomarkers of early sepsis may be correlated with outcome (2014)

Our data support the hypothesis that survivors have a weaker pro-inflammatory response than non-survivors, but the mid-term survivors did not have a more pronounced anti-inflammatory response. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the mid-term and long-term survivors were significantly different.
A surface protein expressed during the transformation of zygotes of Plasmodium gallinaceum is a target of transmission-blocking antibodies (1984)

Antibodies against gametes of malarial parasites (Plasmodium spp.) have previously been shown to block infectivity of the parasites to mosquitoes by preventing fertilization of the parasites in the insect midgut. These antibodies did not have any effect on the development of fertilized parasites. We now report that a surface protein of Mr 26,000 synthesized by zygotes of P. gallinaceum is the target of antibodies which block infectivity of the fertilized parasites to mosquitoes. Identification of this target antigen offers a new stage of the parasite against which a malaria transmission-blocking vaccine could be developed.
Increasing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Yield to Develop Mice with Human Immune Systems (2013)

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are unique in their capacity to give rise to all mature cells of the immune system. For years, HSC transplantation has been used for treatment of genetic and neoplastic diseases of the hematopoietic and immune systems. The sourcing of HSCs from human umbilical cord blood has salient advantages over isolation from mobilized peripheral blood. However, poor sample yield has prompted development of methodologies to expand HSCs ex vivo. Cytokines, trophic factors, and small molecules have been variously used to promote survival and proliferation of HSCs in culture, whilst strategies to lower the concentration of inhibitors in the culture media have recently been applied to promote HSC expansion. In this paper, we outline strategies to expand HSCs in vitro, and to improve engraftment and reconstitution of human immune systems in immunocompromised mice. To the extent that these "humanized" mice are representative of the endogenous human immune system, they will be invaluable tools for both basic science and translational medicine.
Challenges Facing Lithium Batteries and Electrical Double‐Layer Capacitors (2012)

Energy-storage technologies, including electrical double-layer capacitors and rechargeable batteries, have attracted significant attention for applications in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, bulk electricity storage at power stations, and "load leveling" of renewable sources, such as solar energy and wind power. Transforming lithium batteries and electric double-layer capacitors requires a step change in the science underpinning these devices, including the discovery of new materials, new electrochemistry, and an increased understanding of the processes on which the devices depend. The Review will consider some of the current scientific issues underpinning lithium batteries and electric double-layer capacitors.
Ghrelin receptor mutations -- too little height and too much hunger (2006)

The ghrelin receptor is known from in vitro studies to signal in the absence of the hormone ghrelin at almost 50% of its maximal capacity. But, as for many other 7-transmembrane receptors, the in vivo importance of this ligand-independent signaling has remained unclear. In this issue of the JCI, Pantel et al. find that a natural mutation in the ghrelin receptor, Ala204Glu, which is associated with a selective loss of constitutive activity without affecting ghrelin affinity, potency, or efficacy, segregates in 2 families with the development of short stature (see the related article beginning on page 760). By combination of the observations from this study with those related to the phenotype of subjects carrying another natural ghrelin receptor mutation, Phe279Leu, having identical molecular-pharmacological properties, it is proposed that selective lack of ghrelin receptor constitutive signaling leads to a syndrome characterized not only by short stature, but also by obesity that apparently develops during puberty.
Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the simian rotavirus gene 6 that codes for the major inner capsid protein (1984)

The nucleotide sequence of the gene that codes for the major inner capsid protein of the simian rotavirus SA11 has been determined. A DNA copy of mRNA from gene 6 was cloned in the E. coli plasmid pBR322. The full-length gene is 1357 nucleotides long with a 5'-noncoding region of 23 nucleotides and a 3'-noncoding region of 140 nucleotides. The gene contains a single, long, open reading-frame of 1194 nucleotides capable of coding for a protein of 397 amino acids with a molecular weight of 44,816. The predicted protein product is relatively proline-rich with a net charge at neutral pH of -3.5. One stretch of 53 amino acids (encoded by nucleotides 327-485) is basic.
Cooperative loss and decoherence in quantum computation and commuication (1997)

Cooperative effects in the loss (the amplitude damping) and decoherence (the phase damping) of the qubits (two-state quantum systems) due to the inevitable coupling to the same environment are investigated. It is found that the qubits undergo the dissipation coherently in this case. In particular, for a special kind of input states (called the coherence-preserving states), whose form depends on the type of the coupling, loss and decoherence in quantum memory are much reduced. Based on this phenomenon, a scheme by encoding the general input states of the qubits into the corresponding coherence-preserving states is proposed for reducing the cooperative loss and decoherence in quantum computation or communication.
Plant biomechanics: an engineering approach to plant form and function (1993)

xiii, 607 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 24 cm.
Arene–Anion Based Arginine‐Binding Motif on a Galactose Scaffold: Structure–Activity Relationships of Interactions with Arginine‐Rich Galectins (2011)

Two series of C3-benzamido and O2-anion-substituted galactopyranosides were synthesized and studied as binders to arginine-rich proteins galectin-1, -3, -7, -8N (N-terminal domain), and -9N (N-terminal domain). The first series had a 4-methylbenzamide at C3 and the anionic O2-substituent was varied. The second series varied the 4-substituent of the C3-benzamide, whereas the anionic O2 substituent was kept as a sulfate. The influence of the O2-anion substituent correlated negatively with the oxygen charge density in case of galectin-1, -3, and -9N. In the second series, the electron-donating capacity of the 4-substituent of the C3-benzamides correlated positively with the magnitude of the affinity enhancement by the 2O-sulfate.
A Combined Bearing Arrangement for High Damping Spindle Systems (1996)

The machining accuracy and performance is largely influenced by the static, dynamic and thermal characteristics of spindle systems in machine tools, because the spindle system is a intermedium for cutting force from tool and machine powef from motor. Large cutting force and power are transmitted by bearing with a point or line contact. So, the spindle system is the static and dynamic weakest point in machine structure. For improvement of static stiffness of spindle system can be changed design parameters, such as diameter of spindle, stiffness of bearing and bearing span. But for dynamic stiffness, the change of the design parameters are not useful. In this paper, the combined bearing arrangement is suggested for high damping spindle system. The combined bearing arrangement is composed of tandem double back to back arrangement type ball bearins and a high damping hydrostatic bearing. The variation of static deflection and amplitude in first natural frequency is evaluated with the location of hydrostatic bearing between front and rear ball bearing. The optimized location of hydrostatic bearing for high static and dynamic stiffness is determined rapidly and exactly using the mode shape and transfer function of spindle. The calculation of damping effect on vibration by unbalance of grinding wheel and pulley in optimized spindle system is carried out to verify the validity of the combined bearing arrangement. Finally, the simulation of grinding process show that the surface roughness of workpiece with high damping spindle system is 60% better than with ball bearing spindle system.
Ferroelectric HfO2-based materials for next-generation ferroelectric memories (2016)

Ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) based on conventional ferroelectric perovskites, such as Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 and SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 , has encountered bottlenecks on memory density and cost, because those conventional perovskites suffer from various issues mainly including poor complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatibility and limited scalability. Next-generation cost-efficient, high-density FeRAM shall therefore rely on a material revolution. Since the discovery of ferroelectricity in Si:HfO 2 thin films in 2011, HfO 2 -based materials have aroused widespread interest in the field of FeRAM, because they are CMOS-compatible and can exhibit robust ferroelectricity even when the film thickness is scaled down to below 10 nm. A review on this new class of ferroelectric materials is therefore of great interest. In this paper, the most appealing topics about ferroelectric HfO 2 -based materials including origins of ferroelectricity, advantageous material properties, and current and potential applications in FeRAM, are briefly reviewed.