gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
The role of Akt in the signaling pathway of the glycoprotein Ib-IX–induced platelet activation (2007)

The platelet von Willebrand factor (vWF) receptor, glycoprotein Ib-IX (GPIb-IX), mediates platelet adhesion and induces signaling leading to integrin activation. Phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is important in GPIb-IX-mediated signaling. PI3K-dependent signaling mechanisms, however, are unclear. We show that GPIb-IX-induced platelet aggregation and stable adhesion under flow were impaired in mouse platelets deficient in PI3K effectors, Akt1 and Akt2, and in human platelets treated with an Akt inhibitor, SH-6. Akt1 and Akt2 play important roles in early GPIb-IX signaling independent of Syk, adenosine diphosphate (ADP), or thromboxane A2 (TXA2), in addition to their recognized roles in ADP- and TXA2-dependent secondary amplification pathways. Knockout of Akt1 or Akt2 diminished platelet spreading on vWF but not on immobilized fibrinogen. Thus, Akt1 and Akt2 are both required only in the GPIb-IX-mediated integrin activation (inside-out signaling). In contrast, PI3K inhibitors abolished platelet spreading on both vWF and fibrinogen, indicating a role for PI3K in integrin outside-in signaling distinct from that in GPIb-IX-mediated inside-out signaling. Furthermore, Akt1- or Akt2-deficiency diminished vWF-induced cGMP elevation, and their inhibitory effects on GPIb-IX-dependent platelet adhesion were reversed by exogenous cGMP. Thus, Akt1 and Akt2 mediate GPIb-IX signaling via the cGMP-dependent signaling pathway.
Media in performance: Interactive spaces for dance, theater, circus, and museum exhibits (2000)

The future of artistic and expressive communication in the varied forms of film, theater, dance, and narrative tends toward a blend of real and imaginary worlds in which moving images, graphics, and text cooperate with humans and among themselves in the transmission of a message. We have developed a “media actors” software architecture used in conjunction with real-time computer-vision-based body tracking and gesture recognition techniques to choreograph digital media together with human performers or museum visitors. We endow media objects with coordinated perceptual intelligence, behaviors, personality, and intentionality. Such media actors are able to engage the public in an encounter with virtual characters that express themselves through one or more of these agents. We show applications to dance, theater, and the circus, which augment the traditional performance stage with images, video, music, and text, and are able to respond to movement and gesture in believable, aesthetical, and expres sive manners. We also describe applications to interactive museum exhibit design that exploit the media actors' perceptual abilities while they interact with the public.
Document-Oriented Pruning of the Inverted Index in Information Retrieval Systems (2009)

Searching very large collections can be costly in both computation and storage. To reduce this cost, recent research has focused on reducing the size (pruning) of the inverted index. The inverted index represents a table, the rows and columns of which are terms in the lexicon and documents in the collection, respectively. A non-zero entry in the table, known as a posting, indicates that the corresponding document contains the term. Previous researches on static index pruning was either (i) posting-oriented, in which less important postings are removed from the table, or (ii) term-oriented, in which less important terms are removed from the table. In this paper, we investigate a new, document-oriented pruning strategy that removes entire columns of the table, i.e. removes less important documents from the collection. Three methods for estimating the importance of a document are proposed. Methods 1 and 2 are dependent on the score function of the retrieval system (e.g. Okapi BM25), while Method 3 is independent of the retrieval system. Experimental results compare the three proposed methods with Carmel et al.'s posting-oriented approach, using both the FT and LA Times collections and using both ordinary and difficult queries. Based on mean average precision and precision at 10, experimental results show that Method 3 generally performs best on the FT collection for pruned indexes down to 35% of the original size. However, for more severe pruning, Carmel et al.'s algorithm is better. For the LA Times collection, the performance of Method 3 and that of Carmel et al. are reversed. This variation in performance across collections has not been previously reported.
Area selective deposition of TiO2 by intercalation of plasma etching cycles in PEALD process: A bottom up approach for the simplification of 3D integration scheme (2019)

A selective deposition process for bottom-up approach was developed in a modified plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) sequence. As a case study, a very standard PEALD TiO2 using organo-amine precursor and O2 plasma is chosen. The metal oxide selectivity is obtained on TiN versus Si-based surfaces by adding one etching/passivation plasma step of fluorine every n cycles in a PEALD-TiO2 process. Fluorine gas NF3 allows (1) to etch the TiO2 layer on Si, SiO2, or SiN surface while keeping few nanometers of TiO2 on the TiN substrate and (2) to increase the incubation time on the Si-based surface. Quasi-in situ XPS measurements were used to study the incubation time between Si/SiO2 substrates versus TiN substrate. Results show that Si–F bonds are formed on Si and lock the surface reactions. The effectiveness of this atomic layer selective deposition method was successfully tested on a 3D patterned substrate with the metal oxide deposited only at the edge of metal lines.
Direct Colony Baiting of Termite Colonies: A Tool for Ecological Studies (1991)

Abstract: The benefits of direct colony baiting are described: bait substrates enclosed in polyvinyl chloride tubes are applied in direct contact with the galleries of the termite nest. Attention of researchers is drawn to the potential of this method for species other than the mound-building Coptotermes 1acteus. In the post-organochlorine era, knowledge of termite biology and behaviour is a precursor to effective control. This paper describes Australian experiences with termite baiting techniques and future directions for baiting research. EXPERIENCE WITH BAITING IN AUSTRALIA I first used baits to locate termites in 1979, after the method of La Fage and others (1973) as part of a study of the effects of removal of ground-wood by campers in Wyperfeld National Park in the desert of northwestern Victoria. By using rolls of toilet paper as baits and experimentally manipulating the wood supply it was possible to clearly show that fire-wood collection greatly diminished termite numbers (Ewart 1979). Baiting for termites in Australia has a long history, mostly the work of the CSIRO 3 Division of Entomology in Canberra (Gay and others 1957). One enduring technique is the use of wood dowels to detect termites in trees
Biofilm: why the sudden interest? (2005)

In recent years there has been increasing interest in the role of biofilms in perpetuating the chronicity and severity of bacterial infections. Enter the word biofilm as a search criterion with PubMed (National Library of Medicine) and you will doubtless be surprised to recover over 4000 citations, with nearly 3000 registered since 2000. So why has there been such an explosion of interest in this phenomenon? This article seeks to provide a brief overview of the subject, with particular reference to the role that biofilms may have to play in otologic disease.
Randomized trial to determine the effect of nebivolol on mortality and cardiovascular hospital admission in elderly patients with heart failure (SENIORS) (2005)

Nebivolol, a beta-blocker with vasodilating properties, is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for heart failure in the elderly.
Post-Treatment with the Cyclosporin Derivative, NIM811, Reduced Indices of Cell Death and Increased the Volume of Spared Tissue in the Acute Period following Spinal Cord Contusion (2007)

Cyclosporin A (CsA) is a potent immunosuppressive drug shown to inhibit mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT). Although the therapeutic efficacy of CsA in traumatic brain injury is being investigated, CsA is highly neurotoxic and any neuroprotective effect in models of spinal cord injury (SCI) is unclear. NIM811 is a non-immunosuppressive CsA derivative that inhibits mPT, and is significantly less cytotoxic than CsA. Presently, we investigated the effects of NIM811 post-treatment on indices of apoptosis, lesion size, and tissue sparing at acute time-points following SCI. Adult rats received a "mild/moderate" contusion to the spinal cord, and were administered either 20 mg/kg NIM811 or vehicle by oral gavage 15 min later. One group of rats was euthanized at 1, 4, or 24 h post-injury, and the cytosolic levels of cytochrome c and fragmented DNA in the spinal cord were quantified. The remaining rats received an additional dose of NIM811 or vehicle at 24 h post-injury, and were euthanized on day 7 for morphometric assessments of the lesion and tissue spared. Control groups included rats that received sham surgery or no surgery. The results revealed that NIM811 post-treatment reduced the cytosolic levels of cytochrome c and fragmented DNA during the first 24 h following SCI. NIM811 also reduced the volume of the lesion, and enhanced the volumes of spared gray and white matter at 7 days post-injury. Together, these findings suggest that NIM811 treatment promoted tissue survival following SCI, in part, through inhibition of apoptotic mechanisms. This is the first study to demonstrate the therapeutic potential of NIM811 post-treatment in a model of acute SCI, and supports the need for continued investigation into NIM811 as a neuroprotective treatment for human SCI.
Cells release subpopulations of exosomes with distinct molecular and biological properties (2016)

Cells release nano-sized membrane vesicles that are involved in intercellular communication by transferring biological information between cells. It is generally accepted that cells release at least three types of extracellular vesicles (EVs): apoptotic bodies, microvesicles and exosomes. While a wide range of putative biological functions have been attributed to exosomes, they are assumed to represent a homogenous population of EVs. We hypothesized the existence of subpopulations of exosomes with defined molecular compositions and biological properties. Density gradient centrifugation of isolated exosomes revealed the presence of two distinct subpopulations, differing in biophysical properties and their proteomic and RNA repertoires. Interestingly, the subpopulations mediated differential effects on the gene expression programmes in recipient cells. In conclusion, we demonstrate that cells release distinct exosome subpopulations with unique compositions that elicit differential effects on recipient cells. Further dissection of exosome heterogeneity will advance our understanding of exosomal biology in health and disease and accelerate the development of exosome-based diagnostics and therapeutics.
Rotation and Translation Mechanisms for Tabletop Interaction (2006)

A digital tabletop offers several advantages over other groupware form factors for collaborative applications. However, users of a tabletop system do not share a common perspective for the display of information: what is presented right side up to one participant is upside down for another. In this paper, we survey five different rotation and translation techniques for objects displayed on a direct touch digital tabletop display. We analyze their suitability for interactive tabletops in light of their respective input and output degrees of freedom, as well as the precision and completeness provided by each. We describe various tradeoffs that arise when considering which, when and where each of these techniques might be most useful.
ADAMTS13 assays and ADAMTS13-deficient mice (2007)

VWF73-based ADAMTS13 assays will significantly facilitate the accurate diagnosis of microangiopathies and contribute to the improved clinical treatment of these diseases. Accumulated clinical information on patients with ADAMTS13 deficiency and mice lacking the Adamts13 gene indicates that additional environmental or genetic susceptibility factors are required to trigger thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.
Binarization of Low-Quality Barcode Images Captured by Mobile Phones Using Local Window of Adaptive Location and Size (2011)

It is difficult to directly apply existing binarization approaches to the barcode images captured by mobile device due to their low quality. This paper proposes a novel scheme for the binarization of such images. The barcode and background regions are differentiated by the number of edge pixels in a search window. Unlike existing approaches that center the pixel to be binarized with a window of fixed size, we propose to shift the window center to the nearest edge pixel so that the balance of the number of object and background pixels can be achieved. The window size is adaptive either to the minimum distance to edges or minimum element width in the barcode. The threshold is calculated using the statistics in the window. Our proposed method has demonstrated its capability in handling the nonuniform illumination problem and the size variation of objects. Experimental results conducted on 350 images captured by five mobile phones achieve about 100% of recognition rate in good lighting conditions, and about 95% and 83% in bad lighting conditions. Comparisons made with nine existing binarization methods demonstrate the advancement of our proposed scheme.
Gene expression profile of residual breast cancer after doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide neoadjuvant chemotherapy (2009)

In breast cancer patients, primary chemotherapy is associated with the same survival benefits as adjuvant chemotherapy. Residual tumors represent a clinical challenge, as they may be resistant to additional cycles of the same drugs. Our aim was to identify differential transcripts expressed in residual tumors, after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, that might be related with tumor resistance. Hence, 16 patients with paired tumor samples, collected before and after treatment (4 cycles doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide, AC) had their gene expression evaluated on cDNA microarray slides containing 4,608 genes. Three hundred and eighty-nine genes were differentially expressed (paired Student's t-test, pFDR<0.01) between pre- and post-chemotherapy samples and among the regulated functions were the JNK cascade and cell death. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering identified one branch comprising exclusively, eight pre-chemotherapy samples and another branch, including the former correspondent eight post-chemotherapy samples and other 16 paired pre/post-chemotherapy samples. No differences in clinical and tumor parameters could explain this clustering. Another group of 11 patients with paired samples had expression of selected genes determined by real-time RT-PCR and CTGF and DUSP1 were confirmed more expressed in post- as compared to pre-chemotherapy samples. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy some residual samples may retain their molecular signature while others present significant changes in their gene expression, probably induced by the treatment. CTGF and DUSP1 overexpression in residual samples may be a reflection of resistance to further administration of AC regimen.
The Microbiome and Asthma (2014)

That the subglottic airways are not sterile, as was once believed, but are populated by a distinct "bronchial microbiome," is now accepted. Also accepted is the concept that asthma is associated with differences in the composition of this microbiome. What is not clear is whether the differences in microbial community composition themselves mediate pathologic changes in the airways or whether they reflect differences in systemic immune function driven by differences in the development of the gastrointestinal microbiome in early life, when the immune system is most malleable. Recognition of the probable existence of a "common mucosal immune system" allowed synthesis of these apparently opposing ideas into a single conceptual model. Gastrointestinal microbiome-driven differences in systemic immune function predispose to sensitization to allergens deposited on mucosal surfaces, whereas possibly similar, but not identical, differences in immune function predispose to less effective responses to microbial infection of the airways, resulting in persistence of the inflammation underlying the structural and functional abnormalities of asthma. In this model, allergic sensitization and asthma are thus seen as commonly overlapping but not necessarily coincident consequences of abnormalities in microbial colonization, development of immune function, and encounter with agents infecting the respiratory tract.
High-Pressure Dependence of the Free Volume in Fluoroelastomers from Positron Lifetime and PVT Experiments (2004)

The microstructure of the free volume and its high-pressure dependence in fluoroelastomeric copolymers of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and perfluoro(methyl vinyl ether) (PMVE), PFE, as well as vinylidene fluoride (VDF) and hexafluoropropylene (HFP), VDF/HFP22, was studied by pressure−volume−temperature experiments (PVT, P = 0.1−200 MPa) and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS, P = 0.1−448 MPa, all at 22.5 °C). Employing the Simha−Somcynsky equation of state the excess (hole) free volume fraction h and the specific free and occupied volumes, Vf = hV and Vocc = (1 − h)V, were estimated from the specific total volume V. The pressure variation of these volumes and their compressibilities are discussed. We found that the occupied volume Vocc exhibits a remarkable compressibility, κocc ≈ 2.4 × 10-4 MPa-1, while it shows (for T > Tg) almost no thermal expansion. The PALS spectra were analyzed using the new routine LT9.0 assuming dispersion in both the positron (τ2) and orthopositronium (o-Ps) lifetimes (τ3). We speculate that positrons (e+) may show Anderson localization at sites of the entire empty volume possibly assisted by an affinity to fluorine atoms. From the o-Ps lifetime parameters the (excess) free volume hole size distribution, its mean value 〈vh〉, and dispersion σh were calculated. From a comparison of 〈vh〉 with Vf the specific hole number Nh‘ was estimated. Nh‘ was determined to be constant and the same in compression and thermal expansion experiments. When taking correctly into account the compressibility of the occupied volume Vocc the discrepancy in V vs 〈vh〉 plots between compression and thermal expansion experiments discussed in the literature disappears.
Hardness of Polycrystalline Wurtzite Boron Nitride (wBN) Compacts (2019)

Wurtzite boron nitride (wBN), due to its superior properties and many potential practical and scientific applications, such as ideal machining/cutting/milling ferrous and carbide materials, especially as an ideal dielectric substrate material for optical, electronic, and 2-D graphene-based devices, has recently attracted much attention from both academic and industrial fields. Despite decades of research, there is an ongoing debate about if the single-phase wBN is harder than diamond because of the difficulty to make pure wBN material. Here we report the successful synthesis of pure single-phase polycrystalline wurtzite-type boron nitride (wBN) bulk material by using wBN powder as a starting material with a well-controlled process under ultra-high pressure and high temperature. The cubic boron nitride (cBN) was also successfully prepared for the first time from wBN starting material for comparison and verification. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and TEM clearly confirmed that a pure single-phase wBN compact was produced. The microstructure and mechanical properties including Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, and thermal stability for the pure single-phase wBN was first evaluated.
Severe Mycobacterial and Salmonella Infections in Interleukin-12 Receptor-Deficient Patients (1998)

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a cytokine that promotes cell-mediated immunity to intracellular pathogens by inducing type 1 helper T cell (TH1) responses and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production. IL-12 binds to high-affinity beta1/beta2 heterodimeric IL-12 receptor (IL-12R) complexes on T cell and natural killer cells. Three unrelated individuals with severe, idiopathic mycobacterial and Salmonella infections were found to lack IL-12Rbeta1 chain expression. Their cells were deficient in IL-12R signaling and IFN-gamma production, and their remaining T cell responses were independent of endogenous IL-12. IL-12Rbeta1 sequence analysis revealed genetic mutations that resulted in premature stop codons in the extracellular domain. The lack of IL-12Rbeta1 expression results in a human immunodeficiency and shows the essential role of IL-12 in resistance to infections due to intracellular bacteria.
Effect of tryptophan supplementation on diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice (2014)

Intestinal serotonin (5-hydroxytrypamine, 5-HT) metabolism is thought to play a role in gut functions by regulating motility, permeability and other functions of the intestine. In the present study, we investigated the effect of tryptophan (TRP), the precursor of 5-HT, supplementation on intestinal barrier functions and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). An established mouse model of NAFLD induced by feeding a fructose-rich diet (N group) was used in the present study. TRP was administered orally for 8 weeks to C57BL/6J control or NAFLD mice. NAFLD-related liver parameters (hepatic TAG and Oil Red O staining), intestinal barrier parameters (tight-junction protein occludin and portal plasma lipopolysaccharides (LPS)) and 5-HT-related parameters (5-HT, 5-HT transporter (SERT) and motility) were measured. We observed reduced duodenal occludin protein concentrations (P= 0·0007), high portal plasma LPS concentrations (P= 0·005) and an elevated liver weight:body weight ratio (P= 0·01) in the N group compared with the parameters in the control group. TRP supplementation led to an increase in occludin concentrations (P= 0·0009) and consecutively reduced liver weight:body weight ratio (P= 0·009) as well as overall hepatic fat accumulation in the N group (P= 0·05). In addition, the N group exhibited reduced SERT protein expression (P= 0·002), which was normalised by TRP supplementation (P= 0·02). For the first time, our data indicate that oral TRP supplementation attenuates experimental NAFLD in mice. The underlying mechanisms are not clear, but probably involve stabilisation of the intestinal barrier in the upper small intestine and amelioration of the dysregulated intestinal serotonergic system.