gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Atrial natriuretic polypeptide inhibits hypertrophy of vascular smooth muscle cells. (1990)

Vascular remodeling is central to the pathophysiology of hypertension and atherosclerosis. Recent evidence suggests that vasoconstrictive substances, such as angiotensin II (AII), may function as a vascular smooth muscle growth promoting substance. To explore the role of the counterregulatory hormone, atrial natriuretic polypeptide (ANP) in this process, we examined the effect of ANP (alpha-rat ANP [1-28]) on the growth characteristics of cultured rat aortic smooth muscle (RASM) cells. ANP (10(-7) M) significantly suppressed the proliferative effect of 1% and 5% serum as measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation and cell number, confirming ANP as an antimitogenic factor. In quiescent RASM cells, ANP (10(-7), 10(-6) M) significantly suppressed the basal incorporations of 3H-uridine and leucine by 50 and 30%, respectively. ANP (10(-7), 10(-6) M) also suppressed AII-induced RNA and protein syntheses (by 30-40%) with the concomitant reduction of the cell size. Furthermore, ANP also significantly attenuated the increase of 3H-uridine and leucine incorporations caused by transforming growth factor-beta (4 x 10(-11), 4 x 10(-10) M), a potent hypertrophic factor. These results indicate that ANP possesses an antihypertrophic action on vascular smooth muscle cells. Down-regulation of protein kinase C by 24-h treatment with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate did not inhibit ANP-induced suppression on 3H-uridine incorporation. Based on the observation that ANP was more potent than a ring-deleted analogue of ANP on inhibiting 3H-uridine incorporation, we conclude that the ANP's inhibitory effect is primarily mediated via the activation of a guanylate cyclase-linked ANP receptor(s). Indeed 8-bromo cGMP mimicked the antihypertrophic action of ANP. Accordingly, we speculate that in addition to its vasorelaxant and natriuretic effects, the antihypertrophic action of ANP observed in the present study may serve as an additional compensatory mechanism of ANP in hypertension.
Fabrication of buried corrugated waveguides by wafer direct bonding (2000)

A new fabrication method of deeply buried corrugated waveguides is presented. It uses a direct bonding process and allows us to make efficient grating couplers in waveguides. The efficiency of the grating is enhanced by enclosing air in its grooves during the fabrication process. A demonstrator based on a waveguide produced by ion exchange has been fabricated and tested. Theoretical and experimental results are compared.
X.25 implementation the untold story (1983)

CCITT Recommendation X.25 specifies an access protocol for the interface between Data Terminal Equipment and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment for terminals operating in the packet mode on public data networks. The recommendation is written from the Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment's point of view. All of the internal implementation is left up to the designer. This paper describes some of the packet level issues that were encountered during the design and implementation of a packet switch; some solutions are given. Although some of these issues are general and pertain to other protocols, some are specific to Recommendation X.25. Issues covered are: what are the network actions when buffers are depleted; how is a permanent virtual circuit set up; what is done when the remote side of a permanent virtual circuit goes out of order; and what strategy should be taken for internal coupling of the network endpoints.
THE BIOSYNTHESIS OF RICINOLEIC ACID (1965)

1. Ricinoleic acid is shown to be synthesized in the immature castor bean seed only after 3-4 weeks from the time of fertilization. 2. Synthesis occurs both in the isolated embryo and the endosperm. 3. Linoleic acid does not act as precursor of ricinoleic acid in the isolated bean embryo. 4. Oleic acid is shown to be the direct precursor of ricinoleic acid. 5. The reaction does not use molecular oxygen. This suggests that ricinoleic acid is not a precursor of linoleic acid.
Hypersensitivity of human testicular tumors to etoposide-induced apoptosis is associated with functional p53 and a high Bax:Bcl-2 ratio. (1996)

Metastatic testicular cancers are curable, whereas bladder cancers and most other solid tumors are not. Cell lines derived from human testicular (GH, GCT27, and 833K) and bladder (RT4, RT112, and HT1376) tumors retain this differential chemosensitivity in vitro. We have investigated the hypothesis that differential sensitivity to chemotherapy is related to differences in the threshold of susceptibility to undergoing apoptosis. Sensitivity to etoposide was not directly related to the frequency of DNA strand breaks. DNA damage was on average 2-fold greater in the testicular than the bladder tumor cell lines; in contrast, the testicular tumor lines were 15-fold more sensitive to etoposide cytotoxicity than the bladder tumor lines (IC90 values of 19 +/- 6 versus 293 +/- 180 microM, respectively). Using equidamaging (550 rad equivalents) etoposide treatments, the percentage of cells that underwent drug-induced apoptosis was on average higher in the testicular tumor cell lines than the bladder tumor cell lines. The testicular tumor lines have two characteristics that could confer sensitivity to drug-induced apoptosis. First, they have functional p53: the product of the p53-dependent gene waf-1 was increased after etoposide treatment. Second, the testicular tumor lines expressed relatively high levels of the apoptosis-promoting protein Bax, but there was no expression of the suppressor of apoptosis Bcl-2. In contrast, only one of the three bladder cell lines (RT4) had functional p53, and all of the bladder lines had readily detectable levels of Bcl-2 and low levels of Bax. In the testicular cell lines, increases in p53 and p53-transactivated genes were associated with apoptosis but not arrest in G1. In contrast, in the bladder cell line (RT4), increases in p53 and Waf-1 were associated with both arrest in G1 and apoptosis. The differences in the ratio of Bax:Bcl-2 could contribute to the differential sensitivity of the two tumor types. However, in contrast to earlier reports, the ratio of Bax and Bel-2 was not perturbed by DNA damage.
Autolysis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (1976)

Autolysis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae was studied under different conditions. It was found that low pH and temperature, as well as the presence of divalent cations, spermine, sucrose, and polyvinylpyrrolidone, stabilized nongrowing gonococci. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid alone promoted lysis, whereas lysozyme had only a limited additive effect. The autolytic behavior of gonococci appears to be connected with their prolonged cell division process. The relative dependence on the outer membrane and the peptidoglycan layer for the mechanical stability of gonococci is discussed.
Outdoors augmented reality on mobile phone using loxel-based visual feature organization (2008)

We have built an outdoors augmented reality system for mobile phones that matches camera-phone images against a large database of location-tagged images using a robust image retrieval algorithm. We avoid network latency by implementing the algorithm on the phone and deliver excellent performance by adapting a state-of-the-art image retrieval algorithm based on robust local descriptors. Matching is performed against a database of highly relevant features, which is continuously updated to reflect changes in the environment. We achieve fast updates and scalability by pruning of irrelevant features based on proximity to the user. By compressing and incrementally updating the features stored on the phone we make the system amenable to low-bandwidth wireless connections. We demonstrate system robustness on a dataset of location-tagged images and show a smart-phone implementation that achieves a high image matching rate while operating in near real-time.
Selection for Disease Resistance (1989)

Approaches to disease control are prioritized. Genetic improvement could reduce need for treatment and culling but would not reduce the need for proper management and sanitation. Results of several studies indicate that disease incidence and cost increases with selection for milk yield. The large array of disease resistance mechanisms in animals suggests a large number of loci are involved in disease resistance. A few loci, e.g., the major histocompatibility complex, may account for a major portion of genetic variance in disease. Rate of genetic gain from selection for a major locus alone or in combination with performance is discussed. Four criteria for including traits in a breeding program are outlined, and each is discussed with respect to disease. In spite of low heritabilities for disease traits, genetic variation for disease incidence is economically important and justifies including disease in breeding programs. An industry-wide standard for recording and accumulating field data for disease is lacking. Institutional relationships among segments of the animal breeding and animal health industries are needed to facilitate genetic improvement for disease resistance.
Use of HLA peptidomics and whole exome sequencing to identify human immunogenic neo-antigens (2016)

The antigenicity of cells is demarcated by the peptides bound by their Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) molecules. Through this antigen presentation, T cell specificity response is controlled. As a fraction of the expressed mutated peptides is presented on the HLA, these neo-epitopes could be immunogenic. Such neo-antigens have recently been identified through screening for predicted mutated peptides, using synthetic peptides or ones expressed from minigenes, combined with screening of patient tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Here we present a time and cost-effective method that combines whole-exome sequencing analysis with HLA peptidome mass spectrometry, to identify neo-antigens in a melanoma patient. Of the 1,019 amino acid changes identified through exome sequencing, two were confirmed by mass spectrometry to be presented by the cells. We then synthesized peptides and evaluated the two mutated neo-antigens for reactivity with autologous bulk TILs, and found that one yielded mutant-specific T-cell response. Our results demonstrate that this method can be used for immune response prediction and promise to provide an alternative approach for identifying immunogenic neo-epitopes in cancer.
Lack of effect of meal fatty acid composition on postprandial lipid, glucose and insulin responses in men and women aged 50–65 years consuming their habitual diets (2006)

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of consuming meals with different fatty acid compositions on the postprandial changes over 6 h in plasma triacylglycerol, NEFA, total cholesterol, glucose and insulin concentrations in middle-aged men and women. Men (n 11; 58 (5) years) and women (n 11; 56 (4) years) consumed four test meals with a similar macronutrient energy content in random order: a reference meal based on the habitual pattern of fatty acid intake in the UK, a meal with an increased (155 %) linoleic acid (LA) to alpha-linolenic acid (alphaLNA) ratio (high LA:alphaLNA), a meal with increased (23 %) MUFA content (high MUFA) and a meal with increased (583 %) EPA and DHA content (high EPA+DHA). The high-LA:alphaLNA and high-EPA+DHA meals selectively increased the ratio of LA to alphaLNA (men 341 %; women 310 %) and the EPA+DHA (men 414 %; women 438 %) concentration in plasma triacylglycerol. The high-MUFA meal did not alter the change in MUFA content of the plasma. Plasma triacylglycerol, NEFA, glucose and insulin, but not total cholesterol, concentrations changed significantly after each meal. There was no significant effect of meal fatty acid composition or gender on maximum change in concentration, time to maximum concentration or area under the curve of any of the metabolites measured in the blood. These results suggest that differences in meal fatty acid composition exert little or no effect on postprandial changes in plasma lipids, glucose and insulin concentrations.
The human homologs of checkpoint kinases Chk1 and Cds1 (Chk2) phosphorylate p53 at multiple DNA damage-inducible sites (2000)

Upon DNA damage, the amino terminus of p53 is phosphorylated at a number of serine residues including S20, a site that is particularly important in regulating stability and function of the protein. Because no known kinase has been identified that can modify this site, HeLa nuclear extracts were fractionated and S20 phosphorylation was followed. We discovered that a S20 kinase activity copurifies with the human homolog of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe checkpoint kinase, Chk1 (hCHK1). We confirmed that recombinant hCHK1, but not a kinase-defective version of hCHK1, can phosphorylate p53 in vitro at S20. Additional inducible amino- and carboxy-terminal sites in p53 are also phosphorylated by hCHK1, indicating that this is an unusually versatile protein kinase. It is interesting that hCHK1 strongly prefers tetrameric to monomeric p53 in vitro, consistent with our observation that phosphorylation of amino-terminal sites in vivo requires that p53 be oligomeric. Regulation of the levels and activity of hCHK1 in transfected cells is directly correlated with the levels of p53; expression of either a kinase-defective hCHK1 or antisense hCHK1 leads to reduced levels of cotransfected p53, whereas overexpression of wild-type hCHK1 or the kinase domain of hCHK1 results in increased levels of expressed p53 protein. The human homolog of the second S. pombe checkpoint kinase, Cds1 (CHK2/hCds1), phosphorylates tetrameric p53 but not monomeric p53 in vitro at sites similar to those phosphorylated by hCHK1 kinase, suggesting that both checkpoint kinases can play roles in regulating p53 after DNA damage.
An Iron-Regulated Alkyl Hydroperoxide Reductase (AhpC) Confers Aerotolerance and Oxidative Stress Resistance to the Microaerophilic Pathogen Campylobacter jejuni (1999)

Microaerophiles like Campylobacter jejuni must resist oxidative stresses during transmission or infection. Growth of C. jejuni 81116 under iron limitation greatly increased the expression of two polypeptides of 26 and 55 kDa. The identification of these proteins by N-terminal amino acid sequencing showed both to be involved in the defense against oxidative stress. The 55-kDa polypeptide was identical to C. jejuni catalase (KatA), whereas the N terminus of the 26-kDa polypeptide was homologous to a 26-kDa Helicobacter pylori protein. The gene encoding the C. jejuni 26-kDa protein was cloned, and the encoded protein showed significant homology to the small subunit of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase (AhpC). The upstream region of ahpC encoded a divergent ferredoxin (fdxA) homolog, whereas downstream sequences contained flhB and motB homologs, which are involved in flagellar motility. There was no evidence for an adjacent homolog of ahpF, encoding the large subunit of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase. Reporter gene studies showed that iron regulation of ahpC and katA is achieved at the transcriptional level. Insertional mutagenesis of the ahpC gene resulted in an increased sensitivity to oxidative stresses caused by cumene hydroperoxide and exposure to atmospheric oxygen, while resistance to hydrogen peroxide was not affected. The C. jejuni AhpC protein is an important determinant of the ability of this microaerophilic pathogen to survive oxidative and aerobic stress.
Tunable, switchable, high-Q VHF microelectromechanical bandpass filters (1999)

Recent attempts to reduce the cost and size of wireless transceivers feature higher levels of transistor integration in alternative architectures to reduce the need for the off-chip, high-Q passives used in present-day super-heterodyne transceivers. Unfortunately, removal of off-chip passives often comes at the cost of increased power consumption in circuits preceding and including the analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which must have higher dynamic ranges to avoid desensitization caused by larger adjacent channel interferers. A selectivity (Q) versus power trade-off is seen here. This device makes possible a paradigm-shifting transceiver architecture that, rather than eliminate high-and passive components, attempts to maximize their role with the intention of harnessing the above Q versus power trade-off.
Yeast Infections — Human Genetics on the Rise (2009)

We lead inextricably mycotic lives: yeasts leaven our bread, ferment our wine and beer, and inhabit our skins, mouths, and gastrointestinal tracts; however, not all is harmony. Hippocrates reported aphthous ulcers consistent with thrush in patients with severe debilitation, but it was not until the 1840s that in the newly emerging field of clinical experimental medicine that thrush — as well as other mycotic conditions, including ringworm — was recognized as being caused by transmissible fungi. In 1923 Christine Marie Berkhout named what we now call Candida albicans, for the white robe, toga candida, worn by Roman senators and senatorial . . .
Digital audio carrying extra information (2002)

A new technique is proposed which makes possible the inaudible addition of extra information to an audio signal. Full compatibility with present-day transmission and reproduction systems is guaranteed, as the resulting signal remains in the same format. The extra information can be retrieved by the use of additional signal processing. The technique of adding and retrieving extra information is described, and applications are presented. Special attention is given to the so-called 4-2-4 coding, as the technique presented offers a very promising scheme for such a coding.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>
A Highly Practical RCM Approach towards a Molecular Building Kit of Spirocyclic Reverse Turn Mimics (2006)

The development of privileged molecular scaffolds efficiently mimicking reverse turn motifs and thus increasing both binding and selectivity and enabling the elucidation of the bioactive conformation of a natural peptide has attracted remarkable interest. The frequent occurrence of proline in various turn patterns initiated the design of proline-based reverse turn mimetics. As a structural hybridization of a highly potent type VI beta-turn inducer 1 with saturated spirocyclic lactams 3 efficiently mimicking type II beta turns, we developed a versatile synthetic route towards unsaturated spirocyclic lactams of type 2, when Seebach's self-reproduction of chirality methodology was combined with a peptide coupling reaction and Grubbs' ring-closing metathesis. By this means, a variety of model peptides with six- up to nine-membered lactam rings were accessible following a uniform pathway. Introduction of suitably protected templates into solid-phase peptide synthesis gave rise to unsaturated spirocyclic analogues of the naturally occurring neuropeptide neurotensin. Spectroscopic investigations as well as DFT calculations on a high level of theory revealed a remarkable dependence of the reverse-turn inducing potency on the ring size. While the secondary structure of the unsaturated spirocyclic epsilon-lactam 12 closely agrees with the reference gamma-lactam 3 a, the unsaturated delta-lactam 11 serves as an extraordinarily potent beta-turn inducer which is even superior to beta-lactams of type 3 b. The eight-membered unsaturated spirocyclic lactam 13 adopts a conformation almost ideally matching the prerequisites for a canonical type II beta turn with the highest stability of the whole series. In contrast, the nine-membered spirolactam 14 represents a scaffold with a high conformational flexibility.
The effect of chorionic villus sampling on the fraction of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma (2015)

CVS does not significantly increase the fraction of cell free fetal (placental) DNA in the maternal plasma. A downward trend in cffDNA in maternal plasma is seen at 24 h and 7 days following CVS compared to baseline.
Cyclophilin: A Specific Cytosolic Binding Protein for Cyclosporin A (1984)

Cyclophilin, a specific cytosolic binding protein responsible for the concentration of the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A by lymphoid cells, was purified to homogeneity from bovine thymocytes. Cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography resolved a major and minor cyclophilin species that bind cyclosporin A with a dissociation constant of about 2 X 10(-7) moles per liter and specific activities of 77 and 67 micrograms per milligram of protein, respectively. Both cyclophilin species have an apparent molecular weight of 15,000, an isoelectric point of 9.6, and nearly identical amino acid compositions. A portion of the NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the major species was determined. The cyclosporin A-binding activity of cyclophilin is sulfhydryl dependent, unstable at 56 degrees C and at pH 4 or 9.5, and sensitive to trypsin but not to chymotrypsin digestion. Cyclophilin specifically binds a series of cyclosporin analogs in proportion to their activity in a mixed lymphocyte reaction. Isolation of cyclophilin from the cytosol of thymocytes suggests that the immunosuppressive activity of cyclosporin A is mediated by an intracellular mechanism, not by a membrane-associated mechanism.
A Concept of Supported Amino Acid Ionic Liquids and Their Application in Metal Scavenging and Heterogeneous Catalysis (2007)

Novel supported task-specific ionic liquids have been developed for the first time via the ionic-pair coupling of imidazolium cation of the modified polystyrene support with L-proline. The materials have shown an efficient metal scavenging ability (e.g., CuI, Pd(OAc)2, Pd0, and IrCl3) without the aid of a nonimmobilized ionic liquid, which relies on the highly synergistic effect of the coordination with the nitrogen atom and the COO- group of the L-proline moiety, electrostatic forces, and steric protection. The resulting metal-soaked supported ionic liquids can be used as efficient heterogeneous catalysts. These materials have been investigated in the CuI-catalyzed N-arylation of nitrogen-containing heterocycles and exhibit much higher catalytic activity and a more extensive structural range of aryl and heteroaryl halides than those exhibited by free L-proline in combination with CuI both in the ionic liquid ([BMIM][BF4]) and in the corresponding homogeneous reaction conditions. The CuI-soaked catalyst 4a-2 can be recycled for nine runs at least without any considerable loss of activity. To the best of our knowledge, our catalytic process is among the most efficient approaches to the N-arylation of imidazoles with aryl halides so far reported. Furthermore, the Pd-soaked material 4a-2 also shows higher catalytic activity in the solvent-free hydrogenation of styrene to ethylbenzene. This new concept is generally applicable and may easily be extended to other supported task-specific ionic liquids.
Lens autofluorescence and light scatter in relation to the lens opacities classification system, LOCS III (1999)

The lens fluorometry provides a practical clinical technique to evaluate the yellow coloration and opalescence of the human lens nucleus. It may be a useful additional tool together with a subjective grading system in the follow-up of optical changes occurring in the nuclear region of the lens.
Home Diabetes Monitoring through Touch-Tone Computer Data Entry and Voice Synthesizer Response (1984)

Current studies suggest that the control of Diabetes mellitus can be improved with home monitoring of blood sugars. Voice synthesizers and recent technology, allowing decoding of Touch-Tone® pulses into their digital equivalents, make it possible for diabetics with no more sophisticated equipment than a Touch-Tone® telephone to enter their blood sugars directly into a medical office computer. A working prototype that can provide physicians with timely, logically oriented information about their diabetics is discussed along with plans to expand this concept into giving the patients uncomplicated therapeutic advice without the need for a direct patient/physician interaction. The potential impact on health care costs and the management of other chronic diseases is presented.