gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Urokinase therapy for thrombosed hemodialysis access grafts. (1993)

Urokinase, with or without angioplasty, is an alternative to surgical treatment for the treatment of thrombosed polytetrafluoroethylene vascular access grafts. To evaluate the efficacy and outcome of thrombolytic therapy, all available charts of patients with a thrombosed graft treated at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center from June 1988 to August 1991 were reviewed. Twenty-three grafts in 21 patients underwent 43 procedures, 17 thrombolytic and 26 surgical, during this period. Four procedures in the thrombolytic group and the surgical group were patent less than 48 hours. Complications occurred in a significantly higher percentage of the thrombolytic group (11 of 17) than the surgical group (two of 26) (p < 0.001). Using life-table analysis, the primary patency was approximately 40 percent at six months and 20 percent at one year in both groups. Urokinase therapy was significantly more expensive than surgical therapy in this study. This increased cost was the result of ten of 17 patients receiving urokinase for more than eight hours. It is concluded that percutaneous delivery of thrombolytic therapy with angioplasty of any documented lesion is as effective as surgical procedure in the treatment of thrombosed hemodialysis access grafts, thrombolytic therapy is associated with a significantly higher complication rate and urokinase treatment that requires more than six to eight hours to lyse the graft thrombus may not be cost-effective.
Osteopontin N-terminal Domain Contains a Cryptic Adhesive Sequence Recognized by α9β1 Integrin (1996)

Osteopontin is an adhesive glycoprotein implicated in numerous diseases associated with inflammation and remodeling. There are several structural domains in osteopontin that are of particular interest. The RGD motif is a cell attachment sequence shown to be critical for cell adhesion through alphav-containing integrins. In close proximity to the RGD domain is the thrombin cleavage site. Previous observations suggest that thrombin cleavage of osteopontin occurs in vivo and may be physiologically important. To study the functional significance of osteopontin cleavage by thrombin, we made glutathione S-transferase-osteopontin fusion proteins. These proteins contain either the N- or C-terminal domains expected to be formed following thrombin cleavage at the Arg169-Ser170 peptide bond. We compared these osteopontin fragments with native osteopontin in their ability to support adhesion of several different cell lines and identified the receptors mediating these interactions. Our data show that the N-terminal osteopontin fragment, which contains the RGD domain, supports adhesion of a melanoma cell line that is unable to bind native osteopontin. This suggests that osteopontin adhesive interactions may be regulated by thrombin cleavage. We also demonstrate that osteopontin contains a cryptic binding activity, which can be recognized by a novel osteopontin receptor. This receptor has been identified as the alpha9beta1 integrin.
The Unsolved Enigmas of Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (2003)

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a polyfunctional glycoprotein cytokine whose inducible production can occur in many, perhaps all, tissues. LIF acts on responding cells by binding to a heterodimeric membrane receptor composed of a low-affinity LIF-specific receptor and the gp130 receptor chain also used as the receptor for interleukin-6, oncostatin M, cardiotrophin-1, and ciliary neurotrophic factor. LIF is essential for blastocyst implantation and the normal development of hippocampal and olfactory receptor neurons. LIF is used extensively in experimental biology because of its key ability to induce embryonic stem cells to retain their totipotentiality. LIF has a wide array of actions, including acting as a stimulus for platelet formation, proliferation of some hematopoietic cells, bone formation, adipocyte lipid transport, adrenocorticotropic hormone production, neuronal survival and formation, muscle satellite cell proliferation, and acute phase production by hepatocytes. Unwanted actions of LIF can be minimized by circulating soluble LIF receptors and by intracellular suppression by suppressors of cytokine-signaling family members. However, the outstanding problems remain of how the induction of LIF is mediated in response to demands from such a heterogeneity of target tissues and why it makes design sense to use LIF in the regulation of such a diverse and unrelated series of biological processes.
1/f frequency noise effects on self-heterodyne linewidth measurements (1991)

The effects of a 1/f frequency noise on self-heterodyne detection are described, and the results are applied to the problem of laser diode linewidth measurement. The self-heterodyne autocorrelation function and power spectrum are evaluated for both the white and the 1/f components of the frequency noise. From numerical analysis, the power spectrum resulting from the 1/f frequency noise is shown to be approximately Gaussian, and an empirical expression is given for its linewidth. These results are applied to the problem of self-heterodyne linewidth measurements for coherent optical communications, and the amount of broadening due to 1/f frequency noise is predicted.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>
Breast Cancer Resistance Protein–Mediated Efflux of Androgen in Putative Benign and Malignant Prostate Stem Cells (2005)

Malignantly transformed stem cells represent a potential common nidus for the primary cancer and the recurrent cancer that arises after treatment failure. Putative prostate stem cells and prostate tumor stem cells in benign and malignant human prostate tissue, in primary human prostate xenografts, and in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) mouse model of prostate cancer, are defined by expression of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), a marker of pluripotent hematopoietic, muscle, and neural stem cells, and by an absence of androgen receptor (AR) protein. Inhibition of BCRP-mediated efflux of dihydrotestosterone by novobiocin or fumitremorgin C in a rat prostate progenitor cell line that expresses BCRP and AR mRNAs, but minimal AR protein, results in stabilization and nuclear translocation of AR protein, providing a mechanism for lack of AR protein in BCRP-expressing stem cells. In both benign and malignant human prostate tissue, the rare epithelial cells that express BCRP and lack AR protein are localized in the basal cell compartment, survive androgen deprivation, and maintain proliferative potential in the hypoxic, androgen-deprived prostate. Putative prostate tumor stem cells that express BCRP but not AR protein in TRAMP are the source of a BCRP-negative and AR-negative, Foxa2- and SV40Tag-expressing, transit amplifying compartment that progresses to the poorly differentiated carcinomas that arise rapidly after castration. Therefore, BCRP expression isolates prostate stem/tumor stem cells from the prostate tissue microenvironment through constitutive efflux of androgen, protecting the putative tumor stem cells from androgen deprivation, hypoxia, or adjuvant chemotherapy, and providing the nidus for recurrent prostate cancer.
Effect of helix inversion of poly(β-phenethyl l-aspartate) on macroscopic piezoelectricity (2014)

It has been reported that poly(β-phenethyl l-aspartate) (PPLA) exhibits irreversible inversion from right-handed to left-handed helixes in a solid state at 130–140 °C from the results of circular dichroism measurement and X-ray diffraction. On the other hand, it is well known that semicrystalline chiral polymers show shear piezoelectricity due to their asymmetric crystal structure. The results of macroscopic shear piezoelectric measurement include information on macroscopic and microscopic properties due to the helix structure of the chain molecules. However, in general, no direct correspondence has been reported between the macroscopic piezoelectric properties and crystal characteristics because of the existence of a unique complex high-order structure in polymer films. We measured the temperature dependence of the piezoelectricity of a PPLA film in order to obtain more information concerning the helix inversion process. As a result, the sign inversion of the piezoelectric constant was observed at the temperature at which the helix inversion took place. It was also shown that the macroscopic orientation of the crystalline structure was maintained in the PPLA film after the sign inversion, even though molecular motion such as the segmental motion and side-chain motion of PPLA molecules was activated.
Multi-domain, cell-envelope proteinases of lactic acid bacteria. (1999)

The multi-domain, cell-envelope proteinases encoded by the genes prtB of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, prtH of Lactobacillus helveticus, prtP of Lactococcus lactis, scpA of Streptococcus pyogenes and csp of Streptococcus agalactiae have been compared using multiple sequence alignment, secondary structure prediction and database homology searching methods. This comparative analysis has led to the prediction of a number of different domains in these cell-envelope proteinases, and their homology, characteristics and putative function are described. These domains include, starting from the N-terminus, a pre-pro-domain for secretion and activation, a serine protease domain (with a smaller inserted domain), two large middle domains A and B of unknown but possibly regulatory function, a helical spacer domain, a hydrophilic cell-wall spacer or attachment domain, and a cell-wall anchor domain. Not all domains are present in each cell-envelope proteinase, suggesting that these multi-domain proteins are the result of gene shuffling and domain swapping during evolution.
Receptor tyrosine kinase expression in human bone marrow stromal cells (1998)

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) are a heterogeneous population of cells derived from colony-forming units-fibroblastic (CFU-Fs). These cells reside in the bone marrow cavity and are capable of differentiating into several cell phenotypes including osteoblasts, chondroblasts, hematopoiesis-supporting stromal cells, and adipocytes. However, the factors that regulate the proliferation and differentiation of the BMSC population are for the most part unknown. Since many members of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family have been shown to participate in growth control of various mesenchymal cell populations, in this study we examined the expression and function of RTKs in the BMSC population. Degenerate oligonucleotides corresponding to two conserved catalytic domains of the RTK family and RT-PCR were used initially to determine which RTKs are expressed in the human BMSC (hBMSC) system. After subcloning the amplification product generated from mRNA of a multicolony-derived hBMSC strain, PDGF receptor (beta), EGF receptor, FGF receptor 1, and Axl were identified by DNA sequencing of 26 bacterial colonies. Furthermore, PDGF and EGF were found to enhance BMSC growth in a dose-dependent manner and to induce tyrosine phosphorylation of intracellular molecules, including the PDGF and EGF receptors themselves, demonstrating the functionality of these receptors. On the other hand, bFGF was found to have little effect on proliferation or tyrosine phosphorylation. Since single colony-derived hBMSC strains are known to vary from one colony to another in colony habit (growth rate and colony structure) and the ability to form bone in vivo, the expression levels of these RTKs were determined in 18 hBMSC clonal strains by semiquantitative RT-PCR and were found to vary from one clonal strain to another. While not absolutely predictive of the osteogenic capacity of individual clonal strains, on average, relatively high levels of PDGF-receptor were found in bone-forming strains, while on average, nonbone-forming strains had relatively high levels of EGF-receptor. Taken together, these results indicate that RTKs play a role in the control of hBMSC proliferation, and that the differential pattern of RTK expression may be useful in correlating the biochemical properties of individual clonal strains with their ability to produce bone in vivo.
Screening the dopamine D1 receptor gene in 131 schizophrenics and eight alcoholics: Identification of polymorphisms but lack of functionally significant sequence changes (1995)

To determine whether mutations in the D1 dopamine receptor (D1 DR) gene are associated with schizophrenia, the coding sequence was examined in 106 Caucasian, 11 African-American, 8 Asian, and 6 Native American patients. Approximately 350 kb of genomic sequence was screened by dideoxy fingerprinting, a method related to single strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis that detects virtually 100% of sequence changes [Sarkar et al., 1992: Genomics 13:441-443; Liu and Sommer, 1994: PCR Methods and Applications 4:97-108]. One polymorphism was identified in Asians and one in Caucasians, but neither altered the amino acid sequence (Leu66, and Ser421, respectively). In addition, a previously reported polymorphism in the 5' untranslated region of exon 2 at bp -48 was found to be common, with an allele frequency of approximately 40% in Caucasians of Western European descent. Based on the fact that no sequence changes of likely functional significance were identified, these data suggest that mutations affecting the structure of the D1 dopamine receptor protein are uncommon and are unlikely to contribute significantly to the genetic predisposition to schizophrenia. The D1 DR gene also was examined in eight alcoholics, including 3 African-Americans and 1 Native American, but no sequence changes were identified.
Induction of autophagy in neurite degeneration of mouse superior cervical ganglion neurons (2007)

Emerging lines of evidence show that the mechanisms of neurite degeneration are convergent, with poor neuritic transport, mitochondrial dysfunction and an increase in intra-axonal calcium being the principal convergence points. Nevertheless, the details are unclear. Here, we revealed the induction of autophagy in degenerating neurites of sympathetic neuron initiated by three different experimental paradigms. Autophagosomes were colocalized with collapsed cytoskeletal proteins in neuritic beadings during degeneration. Accumulation of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3-II, which is the most reliable marker for autophagy, was observed in the early stage of neurite degeneration. The autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine efficiently suppressed neurite degeneration by protecting neurites from the loss of viability and mitochondrial function. Furthermore, knocking down the key autophagy-related genes Atg7 and Beclin1 significantly delayed axonal and dendritic degeneration after nerve growth factor deprivation. Reduced expression of Atg7 also suppressed neurite fragmentation after transection. Therefore, our present data suggest the critical role of autophagy in neurite degeneration and may provide a valuable clue in understanding the mechanism of axonal and dendritic degeneration.
Single molecule sensing by nanopores and nanopore devices (2009)

Molecular-scale pore structures, called nanopores, can be assembled by protein ion channels through genetic engineering or be artificially fabricated on solid substrates using fashion nanotechnology. When target molecules interact with the functionalized lumen of a nanopore, they characteristically block the ion pathway. The resulting conductance changes allow for identification of single molecules and quantification of target species in the mixture. In this review, we first overview nanopore-based sensory techniques that have been created for the detection of myriad biomedical targets, from metal ions, drug compounds, and cellular second messengers to proteins and DNA. Then we introduce our recent discoveries in nanopore single molecule detection: (1) using the protein nanopore to study folding/unfolding of the G-quadruplex aptamer; (2) creating a portable and durable biochip that is integrated with a single-protein pore sensor (this chip is compared with recently developed protein pore sensors based on stabilized bilayers on glass nanopore membranes and droplet interface bilayer); and (3) creating a glass nanopore-terminated probe for single-molecule DNA detection, chiral enantiomer discrimination, and identification of the bioterrorist agent ricin with an aptamer-encoded nanopore.
CD45RO expression on bovine T cells: relation to biological function. (1995)

The 180,000 MW isoform of CD45 (CD45RO) has been identified in cattle with a novel monoclonal antibody (mAb) (IL-A116). This has allowed a more precise analysis of T-cell function in relation to CD45 isoform expression. Within the CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell populations, CD45RO+ and CD45RO- subsets were evident. Most CD4+ and CD8+ T cells that expressed the CD45RO isoform did not express the 220,000 and 205,000 MW isoforms recognized by mAb CC76. In contrast, the WC1+, CD2-, CD4-, CD8-, gamma delta T-cell receptor (TCR)+ T cells in bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were all CD45RO+. Monocytes and granulocytes were CD45RO+ but B cells were CD45RO-. Sorting experiments with CD4+ T cells from an immunized calf demonstrated that proliferative responses to ovalbumin (OVA) were entirely within the CD45RO+ subset. Following stimulation with concanavalin A (Con A) the CD45RO- subset of CD4+ T cells produced transcripts for interleukin-2 (IL-2) but not IL-4 or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), while the CD45RO+ subset produced mRNA for IL-2, IL-4 and IFN-gamma. Biologically active IL-2 was present in supernatants from both CD45RO+ and CD45RO-, CD4+ T cells, and IFN-gamma protein was identified by ELISA in supernatants from the CD45RO+ subset, confirming the production of cytokines implied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In contrast, sorting experiments with CD8+ T cells from animals immune to the protozoan parasite Theileria parva revealed substantial numbers of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors in both the CD45RO+ and CD45RO- subsets. Thus it appears that although all antigenically primed CD4+ T cells remain CD45RO+, and expression of this molecule consequently identifies memory cells within PBMC, antigenically primed CD8+ T cells down-regulate CD45RO expression after activation.
Textures of Liquid Crystals (2003)

Preface.Foreword. 1. Introduction.2. Surface Anchoring and Elasticity.3. Polarizing Microscopy.4. The Blue Phases.5. The Nematic and Cholesteric Phases.6. Twist Grain Boundary Phases.7. The Fluid Smectic Phases.8. The SmC Subphases.9. The Hexatic Phases.10. Soft Crystal Phases and Crystallization.11. Other Liquid Crystal Phases.Appendix A.Appendix B.Color Plates.Index.
Identification of a colon mucosa gene that is down-regulated in colon adenomas and adenocarcinomas. (1993)

A cDNA, which we call DRA (for down-regulated in adenoma) has been isolated. Its mRNA is expressed exclusively in normal colon tissue, probably only in the mucosal epithelia. Expression of the DRA gene is significantly decreased in adenomas (polyps) and adenocarcinomas of the colon. The DRA gene appears to be a single-copy gene present on chromosome 7, a chromosome associated with colorectal tumorigenesis. The predicted DRA polypeptide is an 84,500-Da protein that contains charged clusters of amino acids, primarily at the NH2 and COOH termini. Together with potential nuclear targeting motifs, an acidic transcriptional activation domain, and a homeobox domain, these elements suggest a transcription factor or a protein that may interact with transcription factors. Such a function may be consistent with a role in tissue-specific gene expression and/or as a candidate tumor-suppressor gene.
Cytoplasmic aspartyl‐tRNA synthetase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (1991)

Aspartyl-tRNA synthetase (AspRS) from yeast, a homodimer of 125 kDa, was shortened by several residues from the C- and N-termini, via site-directed mutagenesis, to examine the contribution of the removed peptides to the enzyme properties. This study showed that the N-terminal sequence up to amino acid 70 (which confers peculiar ionic properties to the protein) is dispensable for activity. Domains located beyond amino acid 70 appeared to have increasing catalytic importance; the removal of 80 or 90 residues affected the Km values for ATP and deletions of 101 or 140 amino acids profoundly modified the physiochemical properties of AspRS, and by consequence, its structural organisation (extraction of the mutated proteins out of the cells required the presence of SDS). On the C-terminal side, very limited modifications readily affected the enzyme properties. Deletion of as few as three residues increased the Km for ATP and reduced the aminoacylation kcat as well as the thermostability of the adenylate synthesis activity; the kcat of this step was impaired after deletion of two further residues. Finally, shortening the C-terminal decapeptide completely inactivated AspRS, whilst affecting neither its affinity for tRNAAsp nor its dimerisation capacity. These data reveal the role of the C-terminal decapeptide as a determinant in both reactions catalysed by AspRS. This peptide is involved in ATP binding, stabilising the functional conformation of the amino-acid-activating domain and probably maintaining the tRNA-acceptor end in a reactive position with regard to the activated amino acid.
In doubt, register (2012)

In mid-May 2012, the Arts Law Centre of Australia (Arts Law) and the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) held a seminar in Sydney on the impact of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) on artists who deliver works on consignment to commercial galleries.
A general technique for querying XML documents using a relational database system (2001)

There has been recent interest in using relational database systems to store and query XML documents. Each of the techniques proposed in this context works by (a) creating tables for the purpose of storing XML documents (also called relational schema generation ), (b) storing XML documents by shredding them into rows in the created tables, and (c) converting queries over XML documents into SQL queries over the created tables. Since relational schema generation is a physical database design issue -- dependent on factors such as the nature of the data, the query workload and availability of schemas -- there have been many techniques proposed for this purpose. Currently, each relational schema generation technique requires its own query processor to efficiently convert queries over XML documents into SQL queries over the created tables. In this paper, we present an efficient technique whereby the same query-processor can be used for all such relational schema generation techniques. This greatly simplifies the task of relational schema generation by eliminating the need to write a special-purpose query processor for each new solution to the problem. In addition, our proposed technique enables users to query seamlessly across relational data and XML documents. This provides users with unified access to both relational and XML data without them having to deal with separate databases.
ChemInform Abstract: Synthesis of Some New 1,3‐Diaryl‐5‐(2,3‐dihydrobenzothiazol‐2‐ylidene)‐ 2‐thiobarbituric Acids. (1995)

Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.