gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Modification of the Recalde method for the isolation of human monocytes. (1988)

A modification of the method for monocyte isolation reported by Recalde (1984. J. Immunol. Methods. 69: 71-77) is described. Application of the modified method to 36 consecutive healthy adult donors gave a monocyte purity of 73 +/- 8% monocytes with less than 1% polymorphonuclear leukocytes and a yield of 3.44 +/- 0.93 x 10(5) monocytes/ml blood. While the monocyte purity of the modified Recalde method was lower than that obtained by elutriation (method BB in Fogelman et al. 1981. J. Lipid Res. 22: 1131-1141) in 15 donors (71 +/- 10% vs. 83 +/- 6%) the monocyte yield and the viability of the cells before and after culture were similar in both methods. The modified Recalde method does not require the expensive or complicated equipment required for elutriation and permits the isolation of human monocytes for culture in autologous serum from multiple donors in a single day.
The rate loss in the Wyner-Ziv problem (1996)

The rate-distortion function for source coding with side information at the decoder (the "Wyner-Ziv problem") is given in terms of an auxiliary random variable, which forms a Markov chain with the source and the side information. This Markov chain structure, typical to the solution of multiterminal source coding problems, corresponds to a loss in coding rate with respect to the conditional rate-distortion function, i.e., to the case where the encoder is fully informed. We show that for difference (or balanced) distortion measures, this loss is bounded by a universal constant, which is the minimax capacity of a suitable additive-noise channel. Furthermore, in the worst case, this loss is equal to the maximin redundancy over the rate-distortion function of the additive noise "test" channel. For example, the loss in the Wyner-Ziv problem is less than 0.5 bit/sample in the squared-error distortion case, and it is less than 0.22 bit for a binary source with Hamming distance. These results have implications also in universal quantization with side information, and in more general multiterminal source coding problems.
Combination of a Hepatitis C Virus NS3-NS4A Protease Inhibitor and Alpha Interferon Synergistically Inhibits Viral RNA Replication and Facilitates Viral RNA Clearance in Replicon Cells (2004)

The present standard of care for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is pegylated alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) in combination with ribavirin. However, specific antivirals such as HCV NS3-NS4A protease inhibitors are now in clinical development, and these agents can potentially be used in combination with the present treatments. Therefore, it is important to investigate the potential benefits or adverse effects of these new combinations by using available in vitro HCV culture systems first. In the present study we demonstrate that the combination of a specific HCV NS3-NS4A protease inhibitor and IFN-alpha synergistically inhibits HCV RNA replication in replicon cells, with little or no increase in cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the benefit of the combination was sustained over time, such that a greater than 3-log reduction in HCV RNA levels was achieved following 9 days of treatment. The viral RNA appeared to be cleared from the replicon cells after 14 days of treatment, and no viral RNA rebound was observed upon withdrawal of the inhibitors. In each case, the antiviral effects obtained with higher concentrations of either the protease inhibitor alone or IFN-alpha alone can be achieved by a combination of both agents at lower concentrations, which may potentially reduce the risk of possible adverse effects associated with high doses of either agent.
Call admission control in multiple service DS-CDMA cellular networks (2002)

We develop traffic models for single and multiple cell CDMA networks with multiple classes of mobile subscriber. The key feature of this development is the specification of an effective bandwidth based call admission control procedure that details the numbers of mobiles of each class in each cell that the system operator should allow in order to maintain an acceptable quality of service. The CDMA mobile network, operating within the admissible region described, has a very similar form to a circuit-switched network operating with fixed routing. This similarity allows the existing traffic modelling techniques and network management strategies for general loss networks, to be applied to CDMA mobile cellular networks.
Multistep Mass Spectrometry Methodology for Direct Characterization of Polar Lipids in Green Microalgae using Paper Spray Ionization (2012)

Paper spray ionization, an ambient ionization method, has been applied for the identification of polar lipids in green microalgae with no sample preparation. A multistep experimental protocol was employed to characterize the lipid species of two microalgae strains, Kyo-Chlorella in tablet form and Nannochloropsis in paste form by mass spectrometry (MS). Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments using collision induced dissociation (CID) were employed for initial characterization of the detected lipid species, which were dominated by polar glycolipids and phospholipids. Product ion scan experiments were performed to determine the lipid head groups and fatty acid composition. Precursor ion scan experiments using fragment ions such as m/z 184, which is characteristic of the phosphocholine headgroup, were then used to confirm the lipid classification. Lipid elemental compositions were determined by exact mass measurements using high resolution mass spectrometry. Finally, the position of unsaturation was determined using reactive paper spray ionization experiments with ozone used as a reagent to cleave double bonds. Ozone was produced in situ using dielectric barrier discharge from a low temperature plasma, and it reacted in ambient air with the spray of ions produced by paper spray ionization. Using the precursor ion scan experiment, the resulting ozone cleavage product ions were used to determine the position of unsaturation for some of these species. By applying this experimental protocol, the molecular formulas and key aspects of the structures of glycerophosphocholines (PCs) such as 9Z-16:1/9Z,12Z-16:2 PC and 6Z,9Z-18:2/6Z,9Z,12Z-18:3PC and monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDGs) such as 18:3/16:3MGDG were identified in the positive ion mode, while glycerophosphoglycerols (PGs) such as 18:3/16:0 PG and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols (SQDGs) such as 18:3/16:0 SQDG were identified in the negative ion mode.
Canadian Rheumatology Association Consensus on the use of anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha directed therapies in the treatment of spondyloarthritis. (2003)

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) represents a group of related arthritides characterized by their association with HLA-B27 and the development of sacroiliitis and enthesitis. Functional impairment, disability, and loss of quality of life may resemble that observed in rheumatoid arthritis. The SpA Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) is an informal association of rheumatologist members of the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) with a special interest in therapeutics and outcomes research in SpA. Recent experience with anti-tumor necrosis factor-a (anti-TNF-a) directed therapies prompted a consensus-based evaluation of the evidence supporting their efficacy, safety, and appropriate use in SpA. We evaluated the clinical evidence in support of anti-TNF-a directed therapies in SpA. Medline was searched using appropriate keywords. Abstracts of the 1999-2002 annual meetings of the American College of Rheumatology and the European Congress of Rheumatology were extracted and admitted if sufficient detail was available to determine the level of evidence. Recommendations were based on randomized placebo-controlled trials (Level A evidence) and clinical studies without randomization (Level B evidence). Where the scientific literature was incomplete, recommendations reflected the consensus of SPARCC members (Level C evidence). Following development of an original draft document, consensus for revisions was achieved among members of SPARCC. The document was then posted on the CRA website prior to its final revision. The following recommendations have been endorsed by the Therapeutics Committee of the CRA: Infliximab and etanercept are indicated for reduction of signs and symptoms of moderate to severely active SpA in patients who have had an inadequate response to maximal doses of > or = 2 nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) over a 3-month period of observation; and either sulfasalazine or methotrexate is indicated in those with predominantly active peripheral arthritis. Current evidence supports their use as monotherapy (level of evidence A) for at least one year. NSAID and/or second line therapy with either sulfasalazine or methotrexate can be continued concomitantly. There is no evidence addressing potential advantages or disadvantages of combining methotrexate with anti-TNF therapy for SpA. Recommended doses for adults are: infliximab 5 mg/kg at 0, 2, and 6 weeks and every 8 weeks thereafter; etanercept 25 mg subcutaneously twice weekly. No therapy has been shown to slow progression of axial disease in SpA, and prognostic factors for determining response to therapy remain to be determined. It is the position of the CRA that all therapeutic options should be equally available according to the best judgments of the treating physician and the informed decision of the patient.
Epidermal growth factor-induced mitogen signals in cultured intestinal epithelial cells. (1994)

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulated proliferation of an intestinal cell line (IEC-6 cells), derived from rat jejunal crypts. EGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation was analyzed by immunoblotting with a monoclonal antibody specific for phosphotyrosine. EGF initiated rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins with molecular masses of 185, 170, 55, and 42 kilodalton (kDa). In addition, EGF caused the rapid elevation of intracellular free Ca2+ concentration. Thus, EGF-stimulated proliferation and its mitogen signals were clearly observed in IEC-6 cells, suggesting that EGF may play an important role in the maintenance and repair of the intestinal mucosa in vivo.
In Vitro Human Immunodeficiency Virus Eradication by Autologous CD8+T Cells Expanded with Inactivated-Virus-Pulsed Dendritic Cells (2001)

Despite significant immune recovery with potent highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), eradication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from the bodies of infected individuals represents a challenge. We hypothesized that an inadequate or inappropriate signal in virus-specific antigen presentation might contribute to the persistent failure to mount efficient anti-HIV immunity in most HIV-infected individuals. Here, we conducted an in vitro study with untreated (n = 10) and HAART-treated (n = 20) HIV type 1 (HIV-1) patients which showed that pulsing of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) with aldrithiol-2-inactivated autologous virus resulted in the expansion of virus-specific CD8(+) T cells which were capable of killing HIV-1-infected cells and eradicating the virus from cultured patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells independently of the disease stages and HAART response statuses of the patients. This in vitro anti-HIV effect was further enhanced by the HIV protease inhibitor indinavir (at a nonantiviral concentration), which has been shown previously to be able to up-regulate directly patient T-cell proliferation following immune stimulation. However, following a 2-day treatment with culture supernatant derived from immune-activated T cells (which mimics an in vivo environment of HIV-disseminated and immune-activated lymphoid tissues), DC lost their capacity to present de novo inactivated-virus-derived antigens. These findings provide important information for understanding the establishment of chronic HIV infection and indicate a perspective for clinical use of DC-based therapeutic vaccines against HIV.
Low-Density Lipoprotein Subclass Patterns and Risk of Myocardial Infarction (1988)

The association of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) subclass patterns with coronary heart disease was investigated in a case-control study of nonfatal myocardial infarction. Subclasses of LDL were analyzed by gradient gel electrophoresis of plasma samples from 109 cases and 121 controls. The LDL subclass pattern characterized by a preponderance of small, dense LDL particles was significantly associated with a threefold increased risk of myocardial infarction, independent of age, sex, and relative weight. Plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were decreased, and levels of triglyceride, very low-density lipoproteins, and intermediate-density lipoproteins were increased in subjects with this LDL subclass pattern. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that both high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels contributed to the risk associated with the small, dense LDL subclass pattern. Thus, the metabolic trait responsible for this LDL subclass pattern results in a set of interrelated lipoprotein changes that lead to increased risk of coronary heart disease.
Multivalent Li-Site Doping of Mn Oxides for Li-Ion Batteries (2015)

Doping is the most common strategy to suppress the intrinsic structural instability of several families of cathode materials, thus improving their electrochemical performance. During the electrode synthesis, the dopants have a low probability to occupy cationic Li sites, but it is well-known that, during the normal operation of the battery, such probability increases via inter- or intralayer diffusion. In this work, we investigate the effect of 10 Li-site cationic dopants (Mg, Ti, V, Nb, Fe, Ru, Co, Ni, Cu, Al) on the electrochemical properties of Li2MnO3 and LiMnO2 cathode materials using density functional theory. Our results show that, although Mn sites are thermodynamically favorable over Li-site doping, the small thermodynamic barriers between both configurations can be easily overcome during the material synthesis and/or the extraction/insertion of Li during the cycling process of the battery. Also, due to charge balance and diffusion channel opening, some of the Li-site dopants were found to act as activation centers, facilitating the diffusion of the neighboring Li ions. Additionally, they constitute a new activation mechanism for the electrochemically inactive Li2MnO3. These findings explain some of the unusual observed effects of Li-site doping, as compared to the more common transition-metal site doping, and therefore provide a new direction toward the optimization of the electrochemical performance of layered oxide cathode materials.
One Tube Multiplex PCR for Simple Screening of SCCmec I-V Types of Methicillin-ResistantStaphylococcus aureus (2008)

In this study, a rapid and simple one-tube multiplex PCR (M-PCR) method was developed for Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec), primary screening. One hundred and eight methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates with SCC mec typing results using the Oliveira and de Lencastre method (Oliveira and de Lencastre. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 46:2155-2161, 2002), were evaluated for the efficacy of our method. Typing results were also compared to the recently published PCR protocol by Kondo et al., (Kondo et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 51:264-74, 2007). The one-tube M-PCR method showed comparable efficacy to the other two methods. None of the isolates were classified as non-typable in Kondo's and our method. Two formerly assigned SCCmec type I isolates by Oliveira and de Lencastre were determined as SCCmec type IV by Kondo's and the method in this study. In conclusion, the one-tube M-PCR method developed in this study increased the rapidity and simplicity for primary screening SCCmec type I to V MRSA.
3-D phantom and in vivo cardiac speckle tracking using a matrix array and raw echo data (2010)

Cardiac motion has been tracked using various methods, which vary in their invasiveness and dimensionality. One such noninvasive modality for cardiac motion tracking is ultrasound. Three-dimensional ultrasound motion tracking has been demonstrated using detected data at low volume rates. However, the effects of volume rate, kernel size, and data type (raw and detected) have not been sufficiently explored. First comparisons are made within the stated variables for 3-D speckle tracking. Volumetric data were obtained in a raw, baseband format using a matrix array attached to a high parallel receive beam count scanner. The scanner was used to acquire phantom and human in vivo cardiac volumetric data at 1000-Hz volume rates. Motion was tracked using phase-sensitive normalized cross-correlation. Subsample estimation in the lateral and elevational dimensions used the grid-slopes algorithm. The effects of frame rate, kernel size, and data type on 3-D tracking are shown. In general, the results show improvement of motion estimates at volume rates up to 200 Hz, above which they become stable. However, peak and pixel hopping continue to decrease at volume rates higher than 200 Hz. The tracking method and data show, qualitatively, good temporal and spatial stability (for independent kernels) at high volume rates.
New biomarkers of acute kidney injury (2008)

Acute kidney injury (AKI) represents a major clinical problem, with rising incidence and high mortality rate. The lack of early biomarkers has resulted in a delay in initiating therapies. Fortunately, the tools of modern science have revealed promising novel biomarkers for AKI, with potentially high sensitivity and specificity. These include a plasma panel (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and cystatin C) and a urine panel (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, interleukin 18, and kidney injury molecule-1). Because they represent sequential biomarkers, it is likely that the AKI panels will be useful for timing the initial insult and assessing the duration of AKI (analogous to the cardiac panel for evaluating chest pain) and for predicting overall prognosis with respect to dialysis requirement and mortality. It is also likely that the AKI panels will help distinguish between the various types and pathogeneses of AKI. It will be important in future studies to validate the sensitivity and specificity of these biomarker panels in clinical samples from large cohorts and from multiple clinical situations. Such studies will be markedly facilitated by multidisciplinary participation of various specialties (intensivists, cardiologists, surgeons) in AKI clinical studies and by the availability of commercial tools for the reliable and reproducible measurement of biomarkers across different laboratories.
Coping with the upcoming heterogeneity in 5G communications and storage using Fulcrum network codes (2014)

In this paper, Fulcrum network codes are introduced as a viable solution to cope with the heterogeneity of 5G communication and storage systems. Fulcrum network codes are an enhancement of random linear network codes (RLNC) offering high throughput performance at low overhead. This contrasts with state of the art solutions that only offer a trade-off between performance and overhead. Additionally, Fulcrum network codes allow any communication or storage node to choose its decoding parameters, e.g., field size, based on their individual computational power or available energy. This means that a system using Fulcrum network codes will be able to perform a fluid allocation of complexity. We introduce the basic concept of Fulcrum network codes as well as a performance evaluation for basic network topologies demonstrating the abilities and potential of this new class of codes.
Hierarchical model for real time simulation of virtual human crowds (2001)

We describe a model for simulating crowds of humans in real time. We deal with a hierarchy composed of virtual crowds, groups, and individuals. The groups are the most complex structure that can be controlled in different degrees of autonomy. This autonomy refers to the extent to which the virtual agents are independent of user intervention and also the amount of information needed to simulate crowds. Thus, depending on the complexity of the simulation, simple behaviors can be sufficient to simulate crowds. Otherwise, more complicated behavioral rules can be necessary and, in this case, it can be included in the simulation data in order to improve the realism of the animation. We present three different ways for controlling crowd behaviors: by using innate and scripted behaviors; by defining behavioral rules, using events and reactions; and by providing an external control to guide crowd behaviors in real time. The two main contributions of our approach are: the possibility of increasing the complexity of group/agent behaviors according to the problem to be simulated and the hierarchical structure based on groups to compose a crowd.
Function of the Windlass Mechanism in Excessively Pronated Feet (2001)

The foot postures of 39 subjects were evaluated for excessive pronation by means of six static weightbearing and five nonweightbearing measurements, and two types of footprint indexes. Visual evidence of windlass function was recorded by video. Chi-square analysis revealed that excessive pronation does not affect the establishment of the windlass mechanism. The position of the forefoot relative to the rearfoot, subtalar joint axis position, and navicular drift/foot length ratio were significantly associated with dynamic windlass function. These results suggest that selected static measurements may have value in predicting some aspects of dynamic foot function during the propulsive phase of the gait cycle.
Distribution of Anopheline Mosquito Bites Among Different Age Groups (1951)

BRIT thought seems to be corroborated by the results of a pilot experiment carried out in collaboration with Dr. C. E. Thornton some years ago. We had the impression that a daily supplement of 40,000-50,000 i.u. of vitamin A given to rheumatic children during the phase of relapse was beneficial
Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (2005)

This report provides information for policy makers, scientists and engineers in the field of climate change and reduction of CO2 emissions. It describes sources, capture, transport, and storage of CO2, as well as the costs, economic potential, and societal issues of the technology, including public perception and regulatory aspects.
Turbo decoder architectures for low-density parity-check codes (2004)

Turbo decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) and generalized low-density (GLD) codes and the corresponding decoder architectures are considered. A regular (c, r)-LDPC code of length n is viewed as the intersection of c interleaved super-codes where each super-code is the direct sum of n/r independent single parity-check sub-codes. Extensions to GLD codes simply utilize more powerful sub-codes. The turbo decoding schedule is employed to decode LDPC and GLD codes using constituent soft-input soft-output (SISO) decoders that communicate through c interleavers. The proposed schedule exhibits a faster convergence behavior, and hence lower decoding latency, than the commonly employed two-phase schedule, and has a reduced memory requirement that is a function of the number of super-codes. The performance of the turbo decoding schedule is evaluated through simulations over an AWGN channel.