gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Use of Moringa Oleifera Seeds as a Primary Coagulant in Wastewater Treatment (1998)

Abstract Samples of municipal and industrial wastewaters were treated by coagulation-flocculation and sedimentation, using a crude water extract of dry Moringa oleifera seeds as a primary coagulant. The quality of the treated wastewater was analyzed and compared to that of the wastewater treated with alum. Experiments were conducted at various dosages of the crude 5% (wt/v) water extract of dry shelled and non-shelled Moringa oleifera seeds, using jar-test equipment. Parameters of quality of the wastewaters were measured before and after the treatment to evaluate the removal efficiency on the major pollutants of concern in wastewater treatment, such as suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand (COD), nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen), microorganisms and heavy metals. Results showed that Moringa oleifera seeds were efficient as a primary coagulant in wastewater treatment for removal of suspended solids and microorganisms, and also removal of some metals. Nutrients and COD were not successfully removed. COD and nutrients were somehow increased by coagulation using Moringa oleifera seeds. Compared to alum, Moringa oleifera seeds produced 4 to 6 times less sludge volume. Alum was found to be quite effective in phosphorus removal. The increase in COD and nutrients observed in the case of Moringa oleifera seeds might be avoided by using purified proteins instead of the crude water extract. Keywords: Coagulation-flocculationwastewater treatmentnatural coagulantsMoringa oleiferacationic proteins
Effect of Liposomal Delivery on In Vitro Antitumor Activity of Lipophilic Conjugates of Methotrexate with Lipoamino Acids (2003)

Some selected lipophilic conjugates of the antifolate drug methotrexate (MTX) with lipoamino acids (LAA), previously described, were incorporated in liposomes with a different composition and charge (neutral, positive, or negative). The properties of the liposomal systems were determined. The inhibitory activity of the conjugates after incorporation in the vesicles was determined in a preliminary assessment against a human erythroleukemic cell line (K562 cells) and compared with the activity of the parent drug and of free conjugates. The influence of liposome surface charge and of the type of conjugate (i.e., in the carboxylic or ester form) on the biological effect is discussed.
Development and comparison of iron dextran products. (1999)

Iron dextran complex has existed as a parenteral drug formulation for forty years. Two new formulations of this prodrug became available after an older form was withdrawn from distribution in the United States. Molecular weight, lot-to-lot consistency and thermal stability were examined among these three complex formulations using HP-GPC analysis. Also, particle size measurements using transmission electron microscopy and reduction degradation kinetics were determined. In each mode of analysis, substantial differences were observed among the three preparations with variability and sensitivity to stress (either thermal or acid) decreasing from the oldest form (no longer available) to the next offered complex (Mw of 90 kd +/- 7.5%) to the most recently approved complex (Mw of 265 kd +/- 1.5%). These findings support an iron dextran complex produced by improved techniques and higher manufacturing quality standards with less variability and more reproducibility.
Age as Risk Factor for Sporadic Dementia of the Alzheimer Type? (1994)

Normal brain aging is accompanied by a slight but persistent reduction in energy formation and an increase in energy demand. Stress conditions aggravate energy shortage particularly in old age. Mitochondrial dysfunction in both ATP formation and ATP release may be assumed to be causative for the reduced availability of energy in cerebral cells leading to diminished cellular work. In this respect, aging may be considered as a contributing risk factor for sporadic late-onset dementia of the Alzheimer type. Metabolically, this disorder seems to be characterized also by an early energy shortage in cerebral cells with the same consequences for the disturbance of cellular work. However, the causative abnormality may be seen in a perturbation of the control of cerebral glucose metabolisms, in all probability mediated by a desensitization of the neuronal insulin receptor.
Finding an Invisible History: a Computer Simulation Experiment (in Virtual Polynesia) (1999)

A modeled Polynesian society is used to explain why, in Polynesia, growing stratification did not result in a devaluation of women's status, as most theorists would predict. The computer model used to explore this problem--called TongaSim--is a C++ program that attempts to emulate the basic social dynamics of Tonga, a Western Polynesian society. The program is capable of simulating the operation of a chiefdom with up to 100+ chiefly lines whose descendants marry and have children, create and maintain kinship relationships, exact and pay tribute, produce and redistribute agricultural wealth, expand in territory and go to war, and attempt to gain personal and group status. TongaSim was used to simulate the effect of warfare (a prime mover of stratification) on women's status, specifically the custom of "fahu" that asserts the spiritual superiority of sisters and sister's lines over brothers and their lines. Because of intermarriage patterns, this custom also serves to make higher status chiefly lines superior in kinship to lower status chiefly lines and, thus, supports traditional political power. Two simulations were conducted with the model--one with warfare OFF (inactivated) and one with warfare ON, allowing challenging lower chiefs to go to war and seize land if they were able to do so. The effect of warfare on the fahu custom and its implications in the virtual system were recorded and examined. The simulation showed that, despite the initial conflict between the interests of rising military chiefs and the fahu custom, the custom was appropriated by these rising chiefs, turning the fahu's political effects "on its head." Ultimately in the simulation, the fahu custom provided a vehicle for military chiefs to gain status and power. This, it is argued, is consistent with the lack of any historical evidence that the fahu was challenged and toppled during periods of growing warfare and stratification.
Remodeling of Gap Junctional Channel Function in Epicardial Border Zone of Healing Canine Infarcts (2003)

The epicardial border zone (EBZ) of canine infarcts has increased anisotropy because of transverse conduction slowing. It remains unknown whether changes in gap junctional conductance (Gj) accompany the increased anisotropy. Ventricular cell pairs were isolated from EBZ and normal hearts (NZ). Dual patch clamp was used to quantify Gj. At a transjunctional voltage (Vj) of +10 mV, side-to-side Gj of EBZ pairs (9.2+/-3.4 nS, n=16) was reduced compared with NZ side-to-side Gj (109.4+/-23.6 nS, n=14, P<0.001). Gj of end-to-end coupled cells was not reduced in EBZ. Steady-state Gj of both NZ and EBZ showed voltage dependence, described by a two-way Boltzmann function. Half-maximal activation voltage in EBZ was shifted to higher Vj in positive and negative directions. Immunoconfocal planimetry and quantification showed no change in connexin43 per unit cell volume or surface area in EBZ. Decreased side-to-side coupling occurs in EBZ myocytes, independent of reduced connexin43 expression, and is hypothesized to contribute to increased anisotropy and reentrant arrhythmias.
Inclusion formation and neuronal cell death through neuron-to-neuron transmission of α-synuclein (2009)

Neuronal accumulation of alpha-synuclein and Lewy body formation are characteristic to many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD). This Lewy pathology appears to spread throughout the brain as the disease progresses. Furthermore, recent studies showed the occurrence of Lewy pathology in neurons grafted into the brains of PD patients, suggesting the spread of pathology from the host tissues to the grafts. The mechanism underlying this propagation is unknown. Here, we show that alpha-synuclein is transmitted via endocytosis to neighboring neurons and neuronal precursor cells, forming Lewy-like inclusions. Moreover, alpha-synuclein was transmitted from the affected neurons to engrafted neuronal precursor cells in a transgenic model of PD-like pathology. Failure of the protein quality control systems, especially lysosomes, promoted the accumulation of transmitted alpha-synuclein and inclusion formation. Cells exposed to neuron-derived alpha-synuclein showed signs of apoptosis, such as nuclear fragmentation and caspase 3 activation, both in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate the cell-to-cell transmission of alpha-synuclein aggregates and provide critical insights into the mechanism of pathological progression in PD and other proteinopathies.
Nitric oxide release: Part I. Macromolecular scaffolds (2012)

The roles of nitric oxide (NO) in physiology and pathophysiology merit the use of NO as a therapeutic for certain biomedical applications. Unfortunately, limited NO payloads, too rapid NO release, and the lack of targeted NO delivery have hindered the clinical utility of NO gas and low molecular weight NO donor compounds. A wide-variety of NO-releasing macromolecular scaffolds has thus been developed to improve NO's pharmacological potential. In this tutorial review, we provide an overview of the most promising NO release scaffolds including protein, organic, inorganic, and hybrid organic-inorganic systems. The NO release vehicles selected for discussion were chosen based on their enhanced NO storage, tunable NO release characteristics, and potential as therapeutics.
Control of Chemical Reactions by Feedback-Optimized Phase-Shaped Femtosecond Laser Pulses (1998)

Tailored femtosecond laser pulses from a computer-controlled pulse shaper were used to optimize the branching ratios of different organometallic photodissociation reaction channels. The optimization procedure is based on the feedback from reaction product quantities in a learning evolutionary algorithm that iteratively improves the phase of the applied femtosecond laser pulse. In the case of CpFe(CO) 2 Cl, it is shown that two different bond-cleaving reactions can be selected, resulting in chemically different products. At least in this case, the method works automatically and finds optimal solutions without previous knowledge of the molecular system and the experimental environment.
FieldTrip: Open Source Software for Advanced Analysis of MEG, EEG, and Invasive Electrophysiological Data (2010)

This paper describes FieldTrip, an open source software package that we developed for the analysis of MEG, EEG, and other electrophysiological data. The software is implemented as a MATLAB toolbox and includes a complete set of consistent and user-friendly high-level functions that allow experimental neuroscientists to analyze experimental data. It includes algorithms for simple and advanced analysis, such as time-frequency analysis using multitapers, source reconstruction using dipoles, distributed sources and beamformers, connectivity analysis, and nonparametric statistical permutation tests at the channel and source level. The implementation as toolbox allows the user to perform elaborate and structured analyses of large data sets using the MATLAB command line and batch scripting. Furthermore, users and developers can easily extend the functionality and implement new algorithms. The modular design facilitates the reuse in other software packages.
SJMR: Parallelizing spatial join with MapReduce on clusters (2009)

MapReduce is a widely used parallel programming model and computing platform. With MapReduce, it is very easy to develop scalable parallel programs to process data-intensive applications on clusters of commodity machines. However, it does not directly support heterogeneous related data sets processing, which is common in operations like spatial joins. This paper presents SJMR (Spatial Join with MapReduce), a novel parallel algorithm to relieve the problem. The strategies include strip-based plane sweeping algorithm, tile-based spatial partitioning function and duplication avoidance technology. We evalauted the performance of SJMR algorithm in various situations with the real world data sets. It demonstrates the applicability of computing-intensive spatial applications with MapReduce on small scale clusters.
Reciprocal Tripartite Interactions between the Aedes aegypti Midgut Microbiota, Innate Immune System and Dengue Virus Influences Vector Competence (2012)

Dengue virus is one of the most important arboviral pathogens and the causative agent of dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and dengue shock syndrome. It is transmitted between humans by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, and at least 2.5 billion people are at daily risk of infection. During their lifecycle, mosquitoes are exposed to a variety of microbes, some of which are needed for their successful development into adulthood. However, recent studies have suggested that the adult mosquito's midgut microflora is critical in influencing the transmission of human pathogens. In this study we assessed the reciprocal interactions between the mosquito's midgut microbiota and dengue virus infection that are, to a large extent, mediated by the mosquito's innate immune system. We observed a marked decrease in susceptibility to dengue virus infection when mosquitoes harbored certain field-derived bacterial isolates in their midgut. Transcript abundance analysis of selected antimicrobial peptide genes suggested that the mosquito's microbiota elicits a basal immune activity that appears to act against dengue virus infection. Conversely, the elicitation of the mosquito immune response by dengue virus infection itself influences the microbial load of the mosquito midgut. In sum, we show that the mosquito's microbiota influences dengue virus infection of the mosquito, which in turn activates its antibacterial responses.
The generation of impulse-equivalent pulse trains (1962)

The necessary and sufficient conditions for a function to be the autocorrelation function of a waveform consisting of a finite length train of pulses of various amplitudes is derived. The number of pulse trains having a given realizable autocorrelation function is determined. An "impulse-equivalent" pulse train is defined as one that yields, as closely as is theoretically possible, the same autocorrelation function that a single pulse gives. It is shown that impulse-equivalent pulse sequences exist for all lengths; the number of classes of these sequences is exponentially related to their length. It is demonstrated that all impulse-equivalent pulse trains can be generated by exciting a linear digital filter with two input pulses that correspond in time to the initiation and to the termination of the desired output sequence.
Myeloproliferative neoplasms: From JAK2 mutations discovery to JAK2 inhibitor therapies (2011)

Most BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) carry an activating JAK2 mutation. Approximately 96% of patients with polycythemia vera (PV) harbors the V617F mutation in JAK2 exon 14, whereas the minority of JAK2 (V617F)-negative subjects shows several mutations in exon 12. Other mutation events as MPL, TET2, LNK, EZH2 have been described in chronic phase, while NF1, IDH1, IDH2, ASX1, CBL and Ikaros in blast phase of MPN. The specific pathogenic implication of these mutations is under investigation, but they may have a role in refinement of diagnostic criteria and in development of new prognostic models. Several trials with targeted therapy (JAK inhibitors) are ongoing mostly involving patients with PMF, post-PV MF and post-essential thrombocythemia (ET) MF. Treatment with ruxolitinib and TG101348 has shown clinically significant benefits, particularly in improvement of splenomegaly and constitutional symptoms in MF patients. On the other hand, JAK inhibitors have not thus far shown disease-modifying activity therefore any other deduction on these new drugs seems premature.
Inhibitory effect of scopolamine on withdrawal syndromes in morphine dependent rats (2001)

Objective: To observe the inhibitory effect of scopolamine(Spm) and chlopromazine (Clo) on withdrawal syndromes in morphine dependent rats. Methods: The intensity of withdrawal syndromes on the model of morphine dependent rats was recorded after single or muiltiple subcutaneous administration(sc) of Spm and Clo at different doses. Results: Withdrawal syndromes were markedly decreased when single Spm 1 mg/kg and Clo 0.5 mg/kg combined with morphine were injected ( P 0.05). Spm+Clo(sc) had much stronger effects on inhibiting withdrawal syndromes after intraperitoneal (ip) naloxone in morphine dependent rats ( P 0.01). Conclusion: Spm can act on Ach receptor and relieve morphine withdrawal syndromes. Clo may have a synergistic action with Spm via α 2 receptor in the locus coeruleus of the rat brain stem. [
A Inconstitucionalidade da Investigação Criminal Realizada pelo Ministério Público (2012)

O artigotraz uma revisao bibliografica e uma analise minuciosa da atribuicao exclusiva de investigacao criminal da policia judiciaria no Brasil, questionando a legitimidade do parquet no desempenho desta funcao, a fim de garantir a igualdade de armas entre defesa e acusacao no processo judicial. Assim, a despeito da inquestionavel titularidade da acao penal e do exercicio do controle externo da atividade policial, o autor opina pela inconstitucionalidade do Ministerio Publico na conducao direta da investigacao e sugere o resguardo da exclusividade da investigacao criminal policial.
Parametric correspondence and chamfer matching: two new techniques for image matching (1977)

Parametric correspondence is a technique for matching images to a three dimensional symbolic reference map. An analytic camera model is used to predict the location and appearance of landmarks in the image, generating a projection for an assumed viewpoint. Correspondence is achieved by adjusting the parameters of the camera model until the appearances of the landmarks optimally match a symbolic description extracted from the image. The matching of image and map features is performed rapidly by a new technique, called "chamfer matching", that compares the shapes of two collections of shape fragments, at a cost proportional to linear dimension, rather than area. These two techniques permit the matching of spatially extensive features on the basis of shape, which reduces the risk of ambiguous matches and the dependence on viewing conditions inherent in conventional image-based correlation matching.
Design of an ultralight and compact projection lens (2003)

Driven by the need for lightweight head-mounted displays, we present the design of an ultralight and compact projection lens for a head-mounted projective display (HMPD). An HMPD consists of a pair of miniature projection lenses, beam splitters, and miniature displays mounted on the helmet and retroreflective sheeting materials placed strategically in the environment. The HMPD has been proposed recently as an alternative modality for three-dimensional visualization. After demonstrating the concept, building a first-generation custom-designed prototype, and investigating perception issues and application potentials, we designed an ultralight and compact projective lens with a diffractive optical element (DOE), plastic components, and aspheric surfaces for the next-generation prototype. The key contribution here lies in the conception, optimization, and assessment of the projection optics. Thus a brief review of the HMPD technology and related research is followed by a detail discussion of the conception and optimization of the ultralight and high-performance projection optics. The design of the DOE will be particularly described in detail. Finally, the diffraction efficiency of the DOE will be evaluated, and the overall performance of the optics will be assessed in both object space for the optical designer and visual space for possible end-users of the technology.
Single Gold Nanoparticles Counter: An Ultrasensitive Detection Platform for One-Step Homogeneous Immunoassays and DNA Hybridization Assays (2009)

In this paper, we present for the first time a single gold nanoparticle counter (SGNPC) in solution based on the photon bursting in a highly focused laser beam (less than 1 fL) due to the plasmon resonance scattering and Brownian motion of gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The photon burst intensity of single 36 nm GNPs is several tens to hundreds times stronger than that of quantum dots (QDs) and organic dyes. The relationship between the photon burst counts and GNPs concentration shows an excellent linearity. The linear range is over 4 orders of magnitude, and the detection limit of GNPs (36 nm) is 17 fM. On the basis of this single nanoparticle technique, we developed an ultrasensitive and highly selective detection platform for homogeneous immunoassay and DNA hybridization assays using GNPs as probes, which were 2-5 orders of magnitude more sensitive than current homogeneous methods. We used this technology to construct homogeneous sandwich immunoassays for cancer biomarkers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and alpha fetal protein (AFP), and aptamer recognition for thrombin. The detection limits are 130 fM for CEA, 714 fM for AFP and 2.72 pM for thrombin. Our method was successfully applied for direct determination of CEA, AFP and thrombin levels in sera from healthy subjects and cancer patients. In homogeneous DNA hybridization detection, we chose methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene as a target. This assay successfully distinguished DNA sequences with single base mismatches, and the detection limits for the target were at 1 fM level.
DSP controlled Buck/Boost power factor correction for telephony rectifiers (2001)

A cascaded buck/boost circuit using a common inductor is useful for power factor correction off 480 VAC mains because it generates traditional DC link voltages of about 400 VDC. However the necessary dual-mode control is not readily available in specialized IC controllers. This means designing a custom discrete controller or utilizing a general purpose programmable controller. This paper describes a Buck/Boost power factor corrector that utilizes a digital signal processor (DSP) for control. PWM algorithms are identified and coded for use with the Analog Devices ADMC401 DSP controller. MATLAB models allow early testing and optimizing of the code for fast execution within each high frequency cycle. Finally a bench prototype is constructed to demonstrate the approach.
Demonstration of WDM survivable unidirectional ringnetwork using tunablechannel dropping receivers (1994)

An experimental optical WDM reconfigurable ring network is proposed. It is composed of three nodes incorporating tunable channel dropping receivers (TCDRs) and EDFAs. The reconfiguration and the protection of the ring are computer-controlled. The authors present first experimental results of a fully connected testbed demonstrator.