gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Rhinovirus Inhalation Causes Long-Lasting Excessive Airway Narrowing in Response to Methacholine in Asthmatic Subjects In Vivo (1995)

Exacerbations of asthma are often associated with respiratory infections, and particularly those caused by rhinovirus. The causative role of rhinovirus in these acute episodes is still unclear, since it has not been determined whether or not infection with the virus promotes excessive airway narrowing in asthma. We tested the hypothesis that experimental infection with inhaled wild-type rhinovirus 16 (RV16) increases the maximal degree of airway narrowing in response to bronchoconstrictor stimuli in patients with mild to moderate asthma. Fourteen nonsmoking subjects with atopic asthma and normal FEV1 values participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study. A total dose of 3 x 10(4) of the 50% tissue-culture-infective dose (TCID50) of RV16 or a placebo was administered by pipette, atomizer, and nebulizer in equal doses into both nostrils on two consecutive days. Dose-response curves for inhaled methacholine were recorded 1 d before and 2, 7, and 15 d after RV16 infection or placebo. The response to methacholine was measured by the percent decrease in FEV1, and the maximal degree of airway narrowing was expressed by the average response on the plateau of the dose-response curve. In the seven subjects receiving the virus, RV16 infection was confirmed in nasal washings and/or by an increase in antibody titer, whereas these tests were negative in the placebo group. There was no significant change in baseline FEV1 during the study in either group (p = 0.06).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
DNA Methyltransferase Contributes to Delayed Ischemic Brain Injury (2000)

DNA methylation is important for controlling the profile of gene expression and is catalyzed by DNA methyltransferase (MTase), an enzyme that is abundant in brain. Because significant DNA damage and alterations in gene expression develop as a consequence of cerebral ischemia, we measured MTase activity in vitro and DNA methylation in vivo after mild focal brain ischemia. After 30 min middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) and reperfusion, MTase catalytic activity and the 190 kDa band on immunoblot did not change over time. However, [(3)H]methyl-group incorporation into DNA increased significantly in wild-type mice after reperfusion, but not in mutant mice heterozygous for a DNA methyltransferase gene deletion (Dnmt(S/+)). Dnmt(S/+) mice were resistant to mild ischemic damage, suggesting that increased DNA methylation is associated with augmented brain injury after MCA occlusion. Consistent with this formulation, treatment with the MTase inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and the deacetylation inhibitor trichostatin A conferred stroke protection in wild-type mice. In contrast to mild stroke, however, DNA methylation was not enhanced, and reduced dnmt gene expression was not protective in an ischemia model of excitotoxic/necrotic cell death. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that MTase activity contributes to poor tissue outcome after mild ischemic brain injury.
ONLINE STUDENT ATTITUDES TO OWNERSHIP OF USER-GENERATED MATERIAL WITHIN AN ONLINE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (2017)

This paper investigates online student attitudes towards ownership of collaboratively created online resources and explores whether a sense of community might influence such attitudes.Five participants were randomly selected as they represented a group working collaboratively to complete part of an online module aimed at postgraduate education professionals located in different parts of the world.Applying Rovai's framework (2001) to identify a sense of community, the work adopts a case-study methodology whilst utilizing a range of data collection methods including email, personal online journal postings and a short questionnaire.Data generated was coded to identify emergent themes with a colleague acting as critical friend to verify the findings and ensure validity of the research.The findings indicate that students believe jointly-created resources should be freely available to participants and to tutors who may request that they be given permission to reuse or repurpose such artefacts.The sense of belonging to a Community of Practice is key to this view although the subsequent question of making such materials freely available across the institution or through OERs requires further investigation.
Salt and water: read the package insert (2003)

Salt and water are probably the most common therapeutic agents that we give to patients: used improperly, they can be lethal weapons. Rational management of fluid and electrolyte disorders requires that we think of salt (or saline) and water as drugs that have indications, contraindications, and appropriate doses. Such drug information, typically supplied in what Americans call the ‘package insert’, can be found in Tables 1 and 2. 

View this table:

 Table 1 
Package insert for water



View this table:

 Table 2 
Package insert for saline



Water is available in oral form or in parenteral preparations. Because it cannot be infused directly into a small vein without causing haemolysis, intravenous water is usually mixed with glucose. A 4% or 5% dextrose solution is used because the osmolality approximates that of plasma, and thus prevents haemolysis. However, after metabolism of the infused glucose, a solution containing only dextrose becomes equivalent to water. The concentration of salt (or in the case of 4% or 5% dextrose in water, the absence of any) determines the solution’s tonicity .

It is useful to think of intravenous saline as a substitute for dietary salt. A ’normal’ hospital diet with no added salt provides about 4 g or 172 mmol of sodium. Ingested with water, it provides the equivalent of 1.1 l isotonic saline. A litre of isotonic or ‘normal’ (0.9%) saline contains 154 mmol of NaCI, equivalent to 9 g of salt or 3.6 g of sodium. The sodium concentration of isotonic saline is equivalent to the normal sodium concentration of plasma water. If glucose is added to isotonic saline, the solution becomes hyperosmolar but it is still isotonic ; after the glucose is metabolized, isotonic …
The Effect of Transglutaminase Crosslinking on the Rheological Characteristics of Heated Peanut Flour Dispersions (2007)

Peanut flour (PF) is a high-protein ingredient prepared after the partial extraction of oil from roasted peanut seed. Microbial transglutaminase (TGase) catalyzes protein crosslinking via acyl-transfer reactions, resulting in the modification of functional properties such as viscosity, gelation, solubility, and water holding capacity. This work was conducted to observe changes in rheological properties of PF dispersions in the presence and the absence of TGase and amidated pectin (AP). Dispersions were characterized across a range of conditions, including controlled heating and cooling rates under both large- and small-strain deformations. Gelation occurred at temperatures above 78 degrees C using PF dispersions treated with TGase compared to untreated dispersions devoid of the enzyme (about 68 degrees C). The addition of AP (0.5%) resulted in a general increase in viscoelasticity for all dispersions. AP addition also minimized the shift in gel point temperature caused by TGase polymerization reactions. High-molecular-weight polymers were formed in TGase-treated PF dispersions in both the presence and the absence of AP; however, polymer formation was more rapid in PF dispersions without AP. Ortho-phthaldialdehyde assays indicated about 40% protein coupling in PF dispersions treated with TGase compared to about 20% in those containing both AP and TGase. Collectively, these data suggest potential applications of TGase-treated PF dispersions, both in the presence and the absence of AP, for use in peanut-base food products, including protein bars, shakes, and value-added baked goods.
Sequence Space Localization in the Immune System Response to Vaccination and Disease (2003)

We introduce a model of protein evolution to explain limitations in the immune system response to vaccination and disease. The phenomenon of original antigenic sin, wherein vaccination creates memory sequences that can increase susceptibility to future exposures to the same disease, is explained as stemming from localization of the immune system response in antibody sequence space. This localization is a result of the roughness in sequence space of the evolved antibody affinity constant for antigen and is observed for diseases with high year-to-year mutation rates, such as influenza.
Bifidobacterium longum and lactulose suppress azoxymethane-induced colonic aberrant crypt foci in rats (1997)

Bifidobacterium longum has been shown to afford protection against colon tumorigenesis. Lactulose, a keto analog of lactose, serves as a substrate for preferential growth of Bifidobacterium. It is not known whether feeding lactulose along with B. longum will have any advantage over feeding of B. longum alone. To test this combination effect, 61 male Fisher 344 weanling rats were divided into four groups of 15 rats each (16 in the control group) and assigned to one of the following four diets for 13 weeks: (i) AIN76A (control, C); (ii) C + 0.5% B. longum (C+Bl, containing 1 x 10(8) viable cells/g feed); (iii) C + 2.5% lactulose (C+L); (iv) C + 0.5% B. longum + 2.5% lactulose (C+Bl+L). All animals received a s.c. injection of azoxymethane at 16 mg/kg body wt at 7 and 8 weeks of age. Colons of 10 rats from each dietary group were analyzed for aberrant crypt foci (ACF), which are preneoplastic markers. Colonic mucosa and livers from five rats were analyzed for glutathione S-transferase (GST, a Phase II enzyme marker). Results indicate that feeding of lactulose and B. longum singly and in combination reduces the number of ACF (P = 0.0001) and the total number of aberrant crypts significantly (P = 0.0005). The total number of ACF in diets C, C+Bl, C+L and C+Bl+L were 187 +/- 9, 143 +/- 9, 145 +/- 11 and 97 +/- 11 respectively. There was no significant difference in weight gain among treatments. Colonic mucosal GST levels were significantly (P = 0.05) higher in the Bl and L groups compared with group C. Initially there was a mild diarrhea in lactulose-fed rats. There was a positive correlation between higher cecal pH and number of ACF. Results of the study indicate that Bifidobacterium and lactulose exert an additive antitumorigenic effect in rat colon.
Interferon inhibits the conversion of 3T3-L1 mouse fibroblasts into adipocytes. (1980)

Confluent Swiss mouse 3T3-L1 fibroblasts slowly differentiate functionally and morphologically into adipocytes, a conversion hastened by insulin. The cells are sensitive (although less than L929 cells) to the antiviral action of mouse fibroblast interferons but not to interferons from heterologous species (human and chicken). Cultures stimulated with insulin in the presence of partially purified or electrophoretically pure mouse interferons have a much lower percentage of cells accumulating lipid than do insulin-treated control cultures. Interferon-treated cell cultures also contain much less triglyceride, cholesterol, and cholesterol esters than do replicate control cultures stimulated by insulin to differentiate. Increased de novo lipid biosynthesis that occurs during differentiation is inhibited, as determined by incorporation of [14C]acetate into lipids extractable by the Folch method. This incorporation is a sensitive bioassay of the antidifferentiation effect of interferon; less than 1 antiviral unit is inhibitory. Variously inactivated or mock interferon preparations as well as interferons from several heterologous species fail to inhibit 3T3-L1 adipocyte conversion. Interferon is inhibitory even when applied as long as 3 days after insulin stimulation. The effect of interferon does not appear to depend upon its competition with insulin for cell surface receptors. Because interferon can alter the program of events involved in conversion of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts into adipose cells, it may be able to affect the regulation of eukaryotic cell differentiation.
Quantitative analyses of the binding of soluble complement-fixing antibody/dsDNA immune complexes to CR1 on human red blood cells. (1987)

We have used direct binding isotherm analyses to measure the association constant (Ka) and number of binding sites for the binding of prepared complement-fixing antibody (Ab)/dsDNA immune complexes (IC) to human red blood cells (RBC). In order to generalize this study we have examined the binding reaction for a number of different anti-dsDNA Ab (from systemic lupus erythematosus plasmas), complement sources, RBC donors, and dsDNA sizes. The affinity of the IC for the RBC is quite high, and the Ka values fall within a narrow range (5 to 14 X 10(10) liter/mol). Similarly, the limiting stoichiometries for the number of IC bound per RBC were between 40 and 91. The very high affinity and limiting stoichiometries both suggest that the IC bind to the RBC via multiple contacts with clusters of complement receptor type 1 (CR1). Furthermore, we have used three specific monoclonal AB (mAb) to quantitate CR1 on human RBC in the presence and absence of bound IC. One of these Ab, mAb 1B4, is blocked from binding to the RBC if IC are previously bound, and we have used this observation to verify the multivalent nature of the interaction of complement-fixing IC with CR1 on human RBC.
Surfactant protein D is proatherogenic in mice (2005)

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is an important innate immune defense molecule that mediates clearance of pathogens and modulates the inflammatory response. Moreover, SP-D is involved in lipid homeostasis, and pulmonary accumulation of phospholipids has previously been observed in SP-D-deficient (Spd-/-) mice. Atherogenesis involves both inflammation and lipid deposition, and we investigated the role of SP-D in the development of atherosclerosis. SP-D synthesis was localized to vascular endothelial cells. Atherosclerotic lesion areas were 5.6-fold smaller in the aortic roots in Spd-/- mice compared with wild-type C57BL/6N mice on an atherogenic diet. HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) was significantly elevated in Spd-/- mice. Treatment of Spd-/- mice with a recombinant fragment of human SP-D resulted in decreases of HDL-C (21%) as well as total cholesterol (26%), and LDL cholesterol (28%). Plasma TNF-alpha was reduced in Spd-/- mice (45% difference). SP-D was proatherogenic in the mouse model used. The effect is likely to be due to the observed disturbances of plasma lipid metabolism and alteration of the inflammatory process, which underlie the reduced susceptibility to atherosclerosis in Spd-/- mice.
Enhancement of photoacoustic image quality by sound speed correction: ex vivo evaluation (2012)

Real-time photoacoustic (PA) imaging involves beamforming methods using an assumed fixed sound speed, typically 1540 m/s in soft tissue. This leads to degradation of PA image quality because the true sound speed changes as PA signal propagates through different types of soft tissues: the range from 1450 m/s to 1600 m/s. This paper proposes a new method for estimating an optimal sound speed to enhance the cross-sectional PA image quality. The optimal sound speed is determined when coherent factor with the sound speed is maximized. The proposed method was validated through simulation and ex vivo experiments with microcalcification-contained breast cancer specimen. The experimental results demonstrated that the best lateral resolution of PA images of microcalcifications can be achieved when the optimal sound speed is utilized.
Improved Inhibitors of Glucosylceramide Synthase1 (1992)

An inhibitor of glucosylceramide (GlcCer) synthase, 1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP), has been reported to deplete cells and mice of their glucosphingolipids. This inhibitor has proved useful for the elucidation of the many functions of this lipid family [reviewed by Radin, N.S. & Inokuchi, J. (1991) Trends Glycosci. Glycotechnol. 3, 200-213]. In the present study, we have synthesized homologs of PDMP having different acyl chains (C6-C18) and compared their effectiveness for the inhibition of GlcCer synthase in vitro and their inhibition of GlcCer, protein, and DNA synthesis in cultured MDCK (Madin-Darby canine kidney) cells. Using MDCK homogenates and mouse brain and liver microsomes, we found that the C6 compound was relatively inactive and that the longer chain compounds did not differ much in inhibitory power. However, the use of intact MDCK cells showed that the longer chain homologs were much more effective in inhibiting GlcCer synthesis, cell growth, and incorporation of [3H]thymidine. Tests with two radioactive homologs showed that the inhibitor with a longer acyl chain was taken up much more effectively by MDCK cells and that this difference explains the much greater effectiveness of this homolog in intact cells. The inhibitors were effective when solubilized either with a nonionic detergent or with bovine serum albumin. The extent of decrease in DNA synthesis was not directly proportional to the decrease in cellular glucosylceramide, possibly because only a low level of the glycolipid is needed for DNA synthesis.
Designing Multithreaded Algorithms for Breadth-First Search and st-connectivity on the Cray MTA-2 (2006)

Graph abstractions are extensively used to understand and solve challenging computational problems in various scientific and engineering domains. They have particularly gained prominence in recent years for applications involving large-scale networks. In this paper, we present fast parallel implementations of three fundamental graph theory problems, Breadth-First Search, st-connectivity and shortest paths for unweighted graphs, on multithreaded architectures such as the Cray MTA-2. The architectural features of the MTA-2 aid the design of simple, scalable and high-performance graph algorithms. We test our implementations on large scale-free and sparse random graph instances, and report impressive results, both for algorithm execution time and parallel performance. For instance, Breadth-First Search on a scale-free graph of 400 million vertices and 2 billion edges takes less than 5 seconds on a 40-processor MTA-2 system with an absolute speedup of close to 30. This is a significant result in parallel computing, as prior implementations of parallel graph algorithms report very limited or no speedup on irregular and sparse graphs, when compared to the best sequential implementation.
Integrated Optimization of Field Development, Planning, and Operation (2006)

Abstract Field management (FM) is the simulation workflow through which predictive scenarios are carried out to assist in field development plans, surface facility design/de-bottlenecking, uncertainty/sensitivity analysis and instantaneous/lifetime revenue optimization from a hydrocarbon field. This involves, among others, the usage of reservoir simulators, surface-network simulators, process-modeling simulators, and economics packages. We present a comprehensive, portable, flexible, and extensible FM framework completely decoupled from surface and subsurface simulators. The framework has a clearly defined interface for simulators and external FM algorithms. Any black-box simulator or algorithm may become a part of the system by simply adhering to the FM interface, which is discussed in this paper. The FM framework capabilities are demonstrated on several examples involving diversified production strategies and multiple surface/subsurface simulators. One real field case that requires advance/complicated development logic is also presented.
Bursting pressures of CO2 laser‐welded rabbit lleum (1986)

In this study, the short-term bond strength of laser-welded New Zealand white rabbit ileum was examined. Forty-eight longitudinally oriented 0.5-cm transmural, scalpel incisions were reanastomosed solely through the use of the CO2 continuous wave laser at low energy levels. Random power levels of 250, 500, 750, or 1,000 mW were delivered to weld sites by either continuous application for 30 seconds or a pulsating application (ie, 0.5 seconds on, 0.5 seconds off) for 60 seconds. This provided 53.6, 107.1, 160.7, and 214.3 J/cm2, respectively. With the aid of a plexiglass clamp and pressure monitored infusion system, each type of weld was tested six times to determine the intraluminal hydrostatic pressure required to burst the welded seam 1 minute after completing the weld. For the welds made with 107.1, 160.7, and 214.3 J/cm2 in both lasing modes, the mean bursting pressure was 40.7 mmHg (SD +/- 24.9) with no statistically significant difference in weld strengths at these energy densities. There was also no difference between continuous and pulsating delivery methods. However, the energy density of 53.6 J/cm2 in either method produced a mean bursting pressure significantly lower than those produced by the higher energy densities tested and below the estimated basal ileal intraluminal pressure of approximately 9 mmHg. Since 107.1 J/cm2 energy density caused the minimal gross tissue changes while producing an equally strong bond and since continuous is faster than pulsating, 500 mW of continuous delivery was considered the optimal setting for the CO2 laser welding of rabbit ileum.
Iso-X: A Flexible Architecture for Hardware-Managed Isolated Execution (2014)

We consider the problem of how to provide an execution environment where the application's secrets are safe even in the presence of malicious system software layers. We propose Iso-X -- a flexible, fine-grained hardware-supported framework that provides isolation for security-critical pieces of an application such that they can execute securely even in the presence of untrusted system software. Isolation in Iso-X is achieved by creating and dynamically managing compartments to host critical fragments of code and associated data. Iso-X provides fine-grained isolation at the memory-page level, flexible allocation of memory, and a low-complexity, hardware-only trusted computing base. Iso-X requires minimal additional hardware, a small number of new ISA instructions to manage compartments, and minimal changes to the operating system which need not be in the trusted computing base. The run-time performance overhead of Iso-X is negligible and even the overhead of creating and destroying compartments is modest. Iso-X offers higher memory flexibility than the recently proposed SGX design from Intel, allowing both fluid partitioning of the vailable memory space and dynamic growth of compartments. An FPGA implementation of Iso-X runtime mechanisms shows a negligible impact on the processor cycle time.