gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Activation of the metabotropic glutamate receptor attenuates N-methyl-D-aspartate neurotoxicity in cortical cultures. (1991)

Excitatory amino acid receptor-mediated neurotoxicity (excitotoxicity) has been proposed to contribute to neuronal loss in a wide variety of neurodegenerative conditions. Although considerable evidence has accumulated implicating N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), kainate, and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptors in the processes of excitotoxicity, relatively little research has focused on the ability of other neurotransmitter systems to influence excitotoxic neuronal injury. In the present study, we examined the effects of trans-1-aminocyclopentyl-1,3-dicarboylic acid (ACPD), a selective agonist for the metabotropic glutamate, or ACPD, receptor, and carbachol, an agonist at the acetylcholine receptor, on neuronal degeneration produced by brief exposure to NMDA in murine cortical cultures. Since excitotoxic neuronal injury is probably caused by increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentrations, the two transmitter agonists were of particular interest as both have been shown to mobilize intracellular calcium stores. Contrary to what might be expected, ACPD and, to a lesser degree, carbachol attenuated NMDA neurotoxicity. The neuroprotective effect of ACPD, but not of carbachol, was dependent upon the developmental state of cultures; in older cultures (greater than or equal to 18 days in vitro), the protective effect decreased. The neuroprotection by ACPD may be, in part, mediated by protein kinases, since protection is partially reversed by the protein kinase antagonists H-7 and HA-1004. These data suggest that concomitant activation of the ACPD receptor may serve as a protective mechanism against neurotoxicity that could be produced by brief intense NMDA receptor activation during normal or abnormal brain function.
Aromatic Rings in Chemical and Biological Recognition: Energetics and Structures (2011)

This review describes a multidimensional treatment of molecular recognition phenomena involving aromatic rings in chemical and biological systems. It summarizes new results reported since the appearance of an earlier review in 2003 in host-guest chemistry, biological affinity assays and biostructural analysis, data base mining in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and the Protein Data Bank (PDB), and advanced computational studies. Topics addressed are arene-arene, perfluoroarene-arene, S⋅⋅⋅aromatic, cation-π, and anion-π interactions, as well as hydrogen bonding to π systems. The generated knowledge benefits, in particular, structure-based hit-to-lead development and lead optimization both in the pharmaceutical and in the crop protection industry. It equally facilitates the development of new advanced materials and supramolecular systems, and should inspire further utilization of interactions with aromatic rings to control the stereochemical outcome of synthetic transformations.
Amino/guanidino-functionalized N-(pyrrolidin-2-ethyl)glycine-based pet-PNA: Design, synthesis and binding with DNA/RNA (2010)

The N-(pyrrolidin-2-ethyl) glycine-based PNA (pet-PNA) backbone, with 4-amino or 4-guanidino-functionalized pyrrolidine ring, confers constrained conformational flexibility on aegPNA. The oligomers bind to the target DNA and RNA sequences with increased sequence specificity and antiparallel versus parallel orientation selectivity. The easy post-synthetic guanidination gives very good access to the positively charged PNA oligomers.
Design of the pediatric arm rehabilitation robot ChARMin (2014)

In adult patients with motor impairments, such as stroke, actuated robots are available to provide an intensive rehabilitation training and to actively assist, enhance and assess neurorehabilitation. However, there is currently no actuated robot available specifically designed for the rehabilitation of children with upper extremity motor impairments. Therefore, ChARMin was designed, an arm exoskeleton robot to assist arm movements for young patients, especially children with cerebral palsy. The first prototype has four degrees of freedom for the shoulder and elbow. The design is based on a serial mechanical structure together with parallel kinematics for remote center of rotation actuation. This approach allows to keep a safe distance between parts of the robot and the patient and it reduces friction, while being highly adaptable to cover the large anthropometric range of the patients aged 5 to 18 years.
Significance of vasospasm in the treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms (1977)

✓ The authors have analyzed a total of 96 consecutive cases in which vasospasm followed subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The SAH was caused by ruptured intracranial aneurysm or developed after aneurysm surgery. Usually at least 4 days elapsed between SAH and the onset of vasospasm. Vasospasm subsided an average of 2 weeks after onset. Of 68 patients with preoperative vasospasm, eight died due to cerebral edema resulting from ischemia, and 49% of the survivors had neurological deficits. Preoperative vasospasm was not aggravated by surgical intervention when operations were carried out more than 7 days after the onset of vasospasm. Postoperative vasospasm was found in 25 of 52 patients who underwent operation within 1 week after SAH (excluding cases in Grade V). Five of these patients died, all of whom underwent surgery between the fourth and seventh day after SAH (the day of SAH was counted as the first day). There were no deaths among 20 patients operated on within the first 3 days after SAH. Postoperative vasospasm was always mild in these cases, when it occurred, probably because blood clot or blood-stained cerebrospinal fluid was removed by operative procedures. In all cases, 4 to 11 days elapsed between the last SAH and the onset of postoperative vasospasm regardless of the timing of surgery.
Identification of cysteine-rich domains of the type 1 tumor necrosis factor receptor involved in ligand binding. (1992)

The extracellular portion of the type 1 (p55) and type 2 (p75) tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors contains a repetitive amino acid sequence pattern of four cysteine-rich domains (CRDs). This pattern is found also in several other cell surface proteins, including the p75 nerve growth factor receptor and the CD40, 4-1BB, OX40, Fas, and CD27 antigens. To investigate whether CRDs play a role in TNF binding, we have constructed soluble variants of the extracellular portion of human type 1 TNF receptor (sTNFR1), in which CRD1 (N-terminal) or CRD4 (C-terminal) was deleted by mutagenesis. These variants or a wild type sTNFR1 were linked in their C terminus to the hinge and Fc portion of IgG1 heavy chain to create sTNFR1-IgG chimeras (immunoadhesins). Deletion of either CRD1 or -4 did not cause any major perturbations in the structure of the sTNFR1 variants, as evidenced by their efficient expression and secretion from transfected cells, and by their binding to conformation-dependent monoclonal antibodies that recognize diverse epitopes on sTNFR1. The wild type sTNFR1 immunoadhesin exhibited high affinity binding to TNF alpha (Kd = 65 pM) and TNF beta (Kd = 640 pM). Deletion of CRD4 resulted in about a 10-fold reduction in affinity for TNF alpha (Kd = 660 pM) and for TNF beta (Kd = 5.7 nM). In contrast, deletion of CRD1 resulted in a complete loss of binding to TNF alpha and to TNF beta. These results indicate that CRD4 is important but not necessary for TNF binding, while CRD1 is required. In addition, the results suggest some overlap between the TNFR1 binding sites for TNF alpha and TNF beta, despite low amino acid sequence homology between these cytokines.
Continuous Sample Preparation Using Free-flow electrophoresis On A Silicon Microstructure (2005)

A miniaturized version of a continuous-flow electrophoretic device is presented. The small internal volumes make this technique attractive for biochemists. Separations of small ions, peptides and whole cells are given.
Curved-grating, surface-emitting distributed feedback lasers (2002)

Surface-emitting distributed feedback (SE-DFB) lasers have a gold-coated grating on the p-contact surface that provides feedback and diffracts guided-mode radiation into the surface normal. To date, broad-area SE-DFB devices have produced as much as nine watts cw output power and 27 percent total "wall-plug" efficiency under continuous wave operating conditions. Grating chirp has been shown to improve the output efficiency as well as produce nearly diffraction-limited beam quality along the longitudinal direction. However, the lateral beam quality of broad area SE-DFB laser has been poor due to multi-mode operation and filamentation.
Identification of a common T/natural killer cell progenitor in human fetal thymus. (1994)

The phenotypic similarities between natural killer (NK) and T cells have led to the hypothesis that these distinctive lymphocyte subsets may be developmentally related and thus may share a common progenitor (Lanier, L. L., H. Spits, and J. H. Phillips, 1992. Immunol. Today. 13:392; Rodewald, H.-R., P. Moingeon, J. L. Lurich, C. Dosiou, P. Lopez, and E. L. Reinherz. 1992. Cell. 69:139). In this report, we have investigated the potential of human CD34+ triple negative thymocytes ([TN] CD3-, CD4-, CD8-) to generate both T cells and NK cells in murine fetal thymic organ cultures (mFTOC) and in vitro clonogenic assays. CD34+ TN thymocytes, the majority of which express prominent cytoplasmic CD3 epsilon (cytoCD3 epsilon) protein, can be divided into high (CD34Bright) and low (CD34Dim) surface expressing populations. CD34Bright TN thymocytes were capable of differentiating into T and NK cells when transferred into mFTOC, and demonstrated high NK cell clonogenic capabilities when cultured in interleukin (IL)-2, IL-7, and stem cell factor (SCF). Likewise, CD34Bright TN thymocyte clones after 5 d in culture were capable of generating NK and T cells when transferred into mFTOC but demonstrated clonogenic NK cell differentiation capabilities when maintained in culture with IL-2. CD34Dim TN thymocytes, however, possessed only T cell differentiation capabilities in mFTOC but were not expandable in clonogenic conditions containing IL-2, IL-7, and SCF. No significant differentiation of other cell lineage was detected in either mFTOC or in clonogenic assays from CD34+ TN thymocytes. These results represent the first definitive evidence of a common T/NK cell progenitor in the human fetal thymus and delineate the point in thymocyte differentiation where T and NK cells diverge.
Role of Chemokines and Chemokine Receptors in Shaping the Effector Phase of the Antitumor Immune Response (2012)

Immune system-mediated eradication of neoplastic cells requires induction of a strong long-lasting antitumor T-cell response. However, generation of tumor-specific effector T cells does not necessarily result in tumor clearance. CTL must first be able to migrate to the tumor site, infiltrate the tumor tissue, and interact with the target to finally trigger effector functions indispensable for tumor destruction. Chemokines are involved in circulation, homing, retention, and activation of immunocompetent cells. Although some of them are known to contribute to tumor growth and metastasis, others are responsible for changes in the tumor microenvironment that lead to extensive infiltration of lymphocytes, resulting in tumor eradication. Given their chemoattractive and activating properties, a role for chemokines in the development of the effector phase of the antitumor immune response has been suggested. Here, we emphasize the role of the chemokine-chemokine receptor network at multiple levels of the T-cell-mediated antitumor immune response. The identification of chemokine-dependent molecular mechanisms implicated in tumor-specific CTL trafficking, retention, and regulation of their in situ effector functions may offer new perspectives for development of innovative immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment.
Development of primer sets designed for use with the PCR to amplify conserved genes from filamentous ascomycetes (1995)

We constructed nine sets of oligonucleotide primers on the basis of the results of DNA hybridization of cloned genes from Neurospora crassa and Aspergillus nidulans to the genomes of select filamentous ascomycetes and deuteromycetes (with filamentous ascomycete affiliations). Nine sets of primers were designed to amplify segments of DNA that span one or more introns in conserved genes. PCR DNA amplification with the nine primer sets with genomic DNA from ascomycetes, deuteromycetes, basidiomycetes, and plants revealed that five of the primer sets amplified a product only from DNA of the filamentous ascomycetes and deuteromycetes. The five primer sets were constructed from the N. crassa genes for histone 3, histone 4, beta-tubulin, and the plasma membrane ATPase. With these five primer sets, polymorphisms were observed in both the size of and restriction enzyme sites in the amplified products from the filamentous ascomycetes. The primer sets described here may provide useful tools for phylogenetic studies and genome analyses in filamentous ascomycetes and deuteromycetes (with ascomycete affiliations), as well as for the rapid differentiation of fungal species by PCR.
Preparation and characterization of membrane fractions enriched in outer and inner envelope membranes from spinach chloroplasts. I. Electrophoretic and immunochemical analyses. (1983)

We have developed a fast and reliable method for the separation of two membrane fractions respectively enriched in outer and inner envelope membranes from isolated, intact, purified spinach chloroplasts kept in a hypertonic medium (0.6 M mannitol). This separation was achieved by osmotically shrinking the inner envelope membrane, thus widening the intermembrane space, and then subsequently removing the "loosened" outer envelope membrane by applying low pressure to the shrunken chloroplasts and slowly extruding them through the small aperture of a Yeda press under controlled conditions. By centrifugation of the mixture obtained through a discontinuous sucrose gradient, we were able to separate two membrane fractions having different densities (fraction 2 or light fraction, d = 1.08 g/cm3, and fraction 3 or heavy fraction, d = 1.13 g/cm3). The recent characterization of polypeptides localized on the outer envelope membrane from spinach chloroplasts, E10 and E24 (Joyard, J., Billecocq, A., Bartlett, S. G., Block, M. A., Chua, N.-H., and Douce, R. J. Biol. Chem., 258, 10000-10006) enabled us to characterize our two membrane fractions. Analyses of the polypeptides by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacryl-amide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting have shown that fraction 2 (light fraction) was completely devoid of polypeptide E30, which is involved in the transport of phosphate across the inner envelope membrane, but was enriched in polypeptides E10 and E24. The reverse was true for fraction 3 (heavy fraction). Under these conditions, it is clear that fraction 2 is strongly enriched in outer envelope membrane whereas fraction 3 consisted mostly of inner envelope membrane. Indeed, by immunoelectrophoresis, we were able to demonstrate that, on a protein basis, fraction 2 contained about 90% of outer membrane, whereas fraction 3 contained about 80% of inner membrane. Further characterization of the outer envelope membrane was achieved by using thermolysin, a nonpenetrant protease.
Beyond QWERTY (2012)

Although many techniques have been proposed to improve text input on touch screens, the vast majority of this research ignores non-alphanumeric input (i.e., punctuation, symbols, and modifiers). To support this input, widely adopted commercial touch-screen interfaces require mode switches to alternate keyboard layouts for most punctuation and symbols. Our approach is to augment existing ten-finger QWERTY keyboards with multi-touch gestural input that can exist as a complement to the moded-keyboard approach. To inform our design, we conducted a study to elicit user-defined gestures from 20 participants. The final gesture set includes both multi-touch and single-touch gestures for commonly used non-alphanumeric text input. We implemented and conducted a preliminary evaluation of a touch-screen keyboard augmented with this technique. Findings show that using gestures for non-alphanumeric input is no slower than using keys, and that users strongly prefer gestures to a moded-keyboard interface.
Antenna selection for spatial multiplexing systems with linear receivers (2001)

Future cellular systems will employ spatial multiplexing with multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to take advantage of large capacity gains. In such systems it will be desirable to select a subset of available transmit antennas for link initialization, maintenance or handoff. We present a criterion for selecting the optimal antenna subset when linear, coherent receivers are used over a slowly varying channel. We propose use of the post-processing SNRs (signal to noise ratios) of the multiplexed streams whereby the antenna subset that induces the largest minimum SNR is chosen. Simulations demonstrate that our selection algorithm also provides diversity advantage thus making linear receivers useful over fading channels.
Synthesis and Evaluation of 2-Amino-9-(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxymethyl)- 6-fluoropurine Mono- and Diesters as Potential Prodrugs of Ganciclovir (1999)

A series of 2-amino-9-(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxymethyl)-6-fluoropurine mono- and diesters, 6a-h, were synthesized as potential prodrugs of ganciclovir and evaluated for their oral ganciclovir bioavailability in rats. Treatment of 2-amino-6-chloro-9-(1, 3-dihydroxy-2-propoxymethyl)purine (4) with Me3N in DMF/THF (1/4) followed by the reaction of the resulting trimethylammonium chloride salt 5 with KF in DMF gave 2-amino-9-(1, 3-dihydroxy-2-propoxymethyl)-6-fluoropurine (2) in 83% yield. Esterification of 2 with an appropriate acid anhydride (Ac2O, (EtCO)2O, (n-PrCO)2O, or (i-PrCO)2O) (6 equiv for 6a-d or 1 equiv for 6e-h) in DMF in the presence of a catalytic amount of DMAP produced the diesters 6a-d in 92-98% yields and the monoesters 6e-h in 37-44% yields. Of the prodrugs tested in rats, the monoisobutyrate 6h achieved the highest ganciclovir bioavailability (45%) that is 15-fold higher than that from ganciclovir (3%), followed in order by the diisobutyrate 6d (42%), the diacetate 6a (41%), the monobutyrate 6g (41%), the monopropionate 6f (39%), the dipropionate 6b (35%), the dibutyrate 6c (35%), and the monoacetate 6e (29%). The prodrugs 6e-h were found to be quite stable at pH 6.0 (t1/2 = >29 days), 7.4 (t1/2 = >7 days), and 8.0 (t1/2 = >2 days) but had relatively short half-lives at pH 1.2 (t1/2 = 60-83 min).
Bio-control activity ofPurpureocillium lilacinumstrains in managing root-knot disease of tomato caused byMeloidogyne incognita (2013)

The potential of 24 indigenous isolates of Purpureocillium lilacinum (Paecilomyces lilacinus) (Thom) Samson collected from different agro-climatic zones of India was investigated against the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. The studies were conducted in vitro (larvicidal, ovicidal and egg-parasitising capacity) and under naturally infested field conditions with selected strains. Repeated field trials were conducted with talc-based preparations of fungal strains at 10 kg ha−1, which were applied mixed in farm yard manure (FYM) at 1.5 t ha−1. Results (in vitro) showed that all tested isolates were capable to parasitise eggs, inhibit egg hatching and cause juvenile mortality of M. incognita at various levels. Based on the performance under in vitro studies, eight isolates (NDPL-01, ANDPL-02, SHGPL-03, HYBPL-04, AHDPL-05, PTNPL-06, SNGPL-07 and VNSPL-08) were re-tested to confirm the results. HYBDPL-04 was found causing highest mortality (80%), inhibition of egg hatching (90%) as well as parasitisation of M. incognita eggs (75%). Under field trials also, the best protection of root-knot disease of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.), in terms of reduction of galls (61%) and reproductive factor (Pf/Pi (RF) = 0.2) was achieved through application of HYBDPL-04 + FYM compared to control and other tested isolates. It also enhanced marketable yield of tomato up to 43%. It is concluded that the HYBDPL-04 strain of P. lilacinum is highly effective for management of root-knot disease of tomato under naturally infested field conditions. It is the isolate which produced the maximum number of metabolites which were extracted through high pressure liquid chromatography.
Procoagulant and proinflammatory activity in acute coronary syndromes (1998)

IL-6 and FPA were shown to be independent predictive markers with equal discriminative power to distinguish stable (SA) from unstable (UA + AMI) patients. Moreover, hemostatic and inflammatory markers can be elevated independently in the acute phase of ischemic coronary syndromes.
H2-rich fluids from serpentinization: Geochemical and biotic implications (2004)

Metamorphic hydration and oxidation of ultramafic rocks produces serpentinites, composed of serpentine group minerals and varying amounts of brucite, magnetite, and/or FeNi alloys. These minerals buffer metamorphic fluids to extremely reducing conditions that are capable of producing hydrogen gas. Awaruite, FeNi3, forms early in this process when the serpentinite minerals are Fe-rich. Olivine with the current mantle Fe/Mg ratio was oxidized during serpentinization after the Moon-forming impact. This process formed some of the ferric iron in the Earth's mantle. For the rest of Earth's history, serpentinites covered only a small fraction of the Earth's surface but were an important prebiotic and biotic environment. Extant methanogens react H2 with CO2 to form methane. This is a likely habitable environment on large silicate planets. The catalytic properties of FeNi3 allow complex organic compounds to form within serpentinite and, when mixed with atmospherically produced complex organic matter and waters that circulated through basalts, constitutes an attractive prebiotic substrate. Conversely, inorganic catalysis of methane by FeNi3 competes with nascent and extant life.
Two Retroviral Infections of Periparturient Holstein Cattle: A Phenotypic and Genetic Study (1995)

Environmental and genetic factors affecting prevalences of antibodies to bovine leukosis virus and bovine immunodeficiency-like virus were studied on 137 periparturient Holstein cows selected for milk production. Environmental effects were obtained by logistic regression, and genetic parameters were determined using threshold animal models. Cows selected for high predicted transmitting ability for kilograms of milk fat plus protein had the highest prevalence of antibodies to bovine immunodeficiency-like virus and the lowest prevalence of antibodies to bovine leukosis virus. Heritability estimates for susceptibility to retroviral infections were close to zero.
Interspecific Pair Formation Induced by Natural Mating Reaction in Paramecium (1995)

The species of Paramecium are sexually isolated primarily by the specificity of mating reaction. By this reason, it has been thought that interspecific pair formation does not occur when cells of different species are mixed. However we discovered that interspecific pair formation can be induced simply by mixing the mating reactive cells of two species. Among four species of Paramecium, P. tetraurelia, P. multimicronucleatum, P. caudatum, and P. bursaria, the interspecific pairs were observed in the former three species which belong to the “aurelia” group, but those three species did not mate with P. bursaria which belongs to the “bursaria” group. The percentage of interspecific pair formation was less than 10% in all positive cases. Macronuclear fragmentation, one of the remarkable nuclear changes in normal conjugation, was also observed in the interspecific pairs. The time course of the pair formation and macronuclear changes were similar to those of intraspecific conjugation.