gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Drifting Impact Oscillator With a New Model of the Progression Phase (2012)

In this paper, a new model of the progression phase of a drifting oscillator is proposed. This is to account more accurately for the penetration of an impactor through elasto-plastic solids under a combination of a static and a harmonic excitation. First, the dynamic response of the semi-infinite elasto-plastic medium subjected to repeated impacts by a rigid impactor with conical or spherical contacting surfaces is considered in order to formulate the relevant force-penetration relationship during the loading and unloading phases of the contact. These relationships are then used to develop a physical and mathematical model of a new drifting oscillator, where the time histories of the progression through the medium include both the loading and unloading phases. A nonlinear dynamic analysis of the system was performed and it confirms that the maximum progressive motion of the oscillator occurs when the system exhibits period one motion. The dynamic response for both contact geometries (conical or spherical) show a topological similarity for a range of the static loads.
Catheter-type defibrillation electrode using glassy carbon: results of electrode implantation. (1990)

The implantable defibrillator, developed by Dr Michel Mirowski, is a remarkable electric therapeutic device which has been in clinical use since 1980 in the treatment of life-threatening arrhythmia. However, as the present life span of this device is only 3 years, research is being carried on to extend the lifetime with improved stimulation methods, circuits and electrodes. In particular, the electrode system which is inserted into the right ventricle has more than 50 times the electrode area of a pacing electrode and is prone to degradation. What is needed is biocompatibility and electrical stability, similar to that of cardiac pacemaker electrodes, which can be used for more than 10 years. For this purpose, we focused on a conductive ceramic as a new material for the defibrillation electrode instead of the previously-used metal. We selected glassy carbon as our electrode material and tested the surface condition through acute and chronic animal experiments. No clots formed around the electrodes after a 3-month implantation, nor were there surface disorders after the defibrillation stimulations. We concluded that glassy carbon is a promising material for future defibrillation electrodes.
COVID-19 and Venous Thromboembolism: A Meta-analysis of Literature Studies (2020)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, leading in some cases to a critical condition with poor long-term outcomes and residual disability requiring post-acute rehabilitation. A major concern in severe COVID-19 is represented by a concomitant prothrombotic state. However, contrasting data are available about the prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE). A detailed search on the association of COVID-19 with thromboembolic complications was conducted in the main electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The weighted mean prevalence (WMP) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was calculated with the random-effects model. Twenty studies enrolling 1,988 COVID-19 patients were included. The WMP of VTE was 31.3% (95% CI: 24.3-39.2%). The WMP of DVT was 19.8% (95% CI: 10.5-34.0%), whereas the WMP of PE was 18.9% (95% CI: 14.4-24.3%). Similar results were obtained when specifically analyzing studies on patients admitted to intensive care units and those on patients under antithrombotic prophylaxis. Regression models showed that an increasing age was associated with a higher prevalence of VTE (Z-score: 3.11, <i>p</i> = 0.001), DVT (Z-score: 2.33, <i>p</i> = 0.002), and PE (Z-score: 3.03, <i>p</i> = 0.002), while an increasing body mass index was associated with an increasing prevalence of PE (Z-score <i>=</i> 2.01, <i>p</i> = 0.04). Male sex did not impact the evaluated outcomes. The rate of thromboembolic complications in COVID-19 patients is definitely high. Considering the risk of fatal and disabling complications, adequate screening procedures and antithrombotic strategies should be implemented.
Protein kinase D mediates synergistic expression of COX-2 induced by TNF-α and bradykinin in human colonic myofibroblasts (2009)

Myofibroblasts have recently been identified as major mediators of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-associated colitis, but the precise mechanism(s) involved remains incompletely understood. In particular, the possibility that TNF-alpha signaling cross talks with other proinflammatory mediators, including bradykinin (BK), has not been examined in these cells. Here we show that treatment of 18Co cells, a model of human colonic myofibroblasts, with BK and TNF-alpha induced striking synergistic COX-2 protein expression that was paralleled by increases in the levels of transcripts encoding COX-2 and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase 1 (mPGES-1) and by the production of PGE(2). COX-2 expression in 18Co cells treated with BK and TNF-alpha was prevented by the B(2) BK receptor antagonist HOE-140, the preferential protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors Ro31-8220 and GF-109203X, and Gö-6976, an inhibitor of conventional PKCs and protein kinase D (PKD). In a parallel fashion, TNF-alpha, while having no detectable effect on the activation of PKD when added alone, augmented PKD activation induced by BK, as measured by PKD phosphorylation at its activation loop (Ser(744)) and autophosphorylation site (Ser(916)). BK-induced PKD activation was also inhibited by HOE-140, Ro31-8220, and Gö-6976. Transfection of 18Co cells with small interfering RNA targeting PKD completely inhibited the synergistic increase in COX-2 protein in response to BK and TNF-alpha, demonstrating, for the first time, a critical role of PKD in the pathways leading to synergistic expression of COX-2. Our results imply that cross talk between TNF-alpha and BK amplifies a PKD phosphorylation cascade that mediates synergistic COX-2 expression in colonic myofibroblasts. It is plausible that PKD increases COX-2 expression in colonic myofibroblasts to promote an inflammatory microenvironment that supports tumor growth.
Observation of microscopic distribution of magnetic fields by electron holography (1982)

A newly devised method for measuring magnetic fields localized in a submicron region is described. In this method, magnetic lines of force are observed as the contour lines for the transmitted electron phase with two neighboring lines containing the constant magnetic flux of h/e. Actual microscopic distributions of magnetic fields which were inaccessible by any other method, such as stray fields from a fine ferromagnetic particle, are measured.
Characterization and Applications of New Hyper-Cross-Linked Cyclodextrins (2009)

Nanosponges are recently developed hyper-cross-linked cyclodextrin polymers nanostructured to form 3-dimensional networks; they are obtained by reacting cyclodextrin with a cross-linker such as carbonyldiimidazole. Nanosponges can be synthesized in neutral or acidic forms, depending in turn on the agent used as cross-linker. They are solid nanoparticles and can be prepared in crystalline form with spherical shape using an ultrasound-assisted preparation method. The average diameter of a nanosponge is below 1 μm but fractions below 500 nm can be selected. Nanosponges can encapsulate various types of molecules by forming inclusion and non-inclusion complexes. In this study we used dexamethasone as model molecule; up to 35% could be incorporated. Nanosponges could be used to increase aqueous solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs, to remove pollutants from contaminated water, or as nanocarriers for biomedical applications.
Acromegaly is associated with increased cancer risk: a survey in Italy (2017)

It is debated if acromegalic patients have an increased risk to develop malignancies. The aim of the present study was to assess the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of different types of cancer in acromegaly on a large series of acromegalic patients managed in the somatostatin analogs era. It was evaluated the incidence of cancer in an Italian nationwide multicenter cohort study of 1512 acromegalic patients, 624 men and 888 women, mean age at diagnosis 45 ± 13 years, followed up for a mean of 10 years (12573 person-years) in respect to the general Italian population. Cancer was diagnosed in 124 patients, 72 women and 52 men. The SIRs for all cancers was significantly increased compared to the general Italian population (expected: 88, SIR 1.41; 95% CI, 1.18-1.68, <i>P</i> < 0.001). In the whole series, we found a significantly increased incidence of colorectal cancer (SIR 1.67; 95% CI, 1.07-2.58, <i>P</i> = 0.022), kidney cancer (SIR 2.87; 95% CI, 1.55-5.34, <i>P</i> < 0.001) and thyroid cancer (SIR 3.99; 95% CI, 2.32-6.87, <i>P</i> < 0.001). The exclusion of 11 cancers occurring before diagnosis of acromegaly (all in women) did not change remarkably the study outcome. In multivariate analysis, the factors significantly associated with an increased risk of malignancy were age and family history of cancer, with a non-significant trend for the estimated duration of acromegaly before diagnosis. In conclusion, we found evidence that acromegaly in Italy is associated with a moderate increase in cancer risk.
Advances in Gene Therapy for Bladder Cancer (2009)

Bladder cancer continues to be a lethal disease despite advances in surgical, chemotherapy and radiotherapy techniques. As the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of bladder cancer development, progression, and metastases increases, new opportunities for therapeutic advances arise. The advances in vector development and production also provide additional opportunities for therapeutic advances for all diseases including cancer. This chapter reviews the past, present and future gene therapy approaches and will serve as a valuable resource for anyone who wishes to understand the role of gene therapy in the future management of bladder cancer. In particular the molecular alterations, cytoreductive, corrective and immunomodulation approaches are reviewed.
Performance of CaX Zeolite for Separation of C2H6, C2H4, and CH4by Adsorption Process; Capacity, Selectivity, and Dynamic Adsorption Measurements (2010)

Adsorption-based process for removal of ethane and ethylene, as the main products of oxidative coupling methane reaction from unreacted methane is discussed. The adsorption equilibrium of methane, ethane, and ethylene was determined experimentally on CaX, the calcium cation exchanged NaX zeolite, by the volumetric measurements in a high pressure setup at three different temperatures. The adsorption isotherms were well modeled by the extended Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm and the adsorbed capacity, adsorption constants, and surface heterogeneity parameter were determined by regression of the model to the isothermal experiments. The results indicated that CaX zeolite would be a selective adsorbent for the separation of ethane, ethylene, and methane from each other at moderate temperatures and pressures. The breakthrough curves of gases were determined in a dynamic adsorption experiment of the gaseous mixture in a fixed bed of CaX zeolites for a feed with similar molar composition of OCM hydrocarbon product. Significant difference of breakthrough times was observed for methane, ethane, and ethylene. It is concluded that construction of an adsorption unit from CaX zeolites at the OCM reactor downstream would be economic and useful for the separation of methane from the C2 products.
DNA replication, RNAi and epigenetic inheritance (2012)

Epigenetic marks, such as histone methylation, play a central role in chromatin structure and gene expression. During DNA replication, chromatin undergoes a wave of disruption and reassembly. Little is known about how the epigenetic marks are faithfully inherited from one generation to the next. In fission yeast, the hallmark of heterochromatin, a condensed chromatin structure, is H3K9 methylation. This conserved epigenetic mark is mediated by small interference RNAs (siRNAs) in a cell cycle-dependent manner: at S phase, heterochromatin is briefly transcribed by RNAP II and the transcripts are subsequently processed into siRNAs. These small RNAs, together with other key silencing factors, including Dos1/Raf1/Clr8/Cmc1, Dos2/Raf2/Clr7/Cmc2 and Rik1, mediate H3K9 methylation by the histone H3K9 methyltransferase Clr4. Our recent findings indicate that the ε subunit of DNA polymerase, Cdc20, associates with the Dos2-Rik1 complex and is essential for H3K9 methylation and heterochromatin function. Moreover, Cdc20 regulates siRNA generation by promoting RNAP II transcription of heterochromatin. These data suggest that DNA polymerase components may play a key role in the inheritance of histone methylation by coordinating DNA replication, RNAi and histone methylation, and explain previously observed cell cycle-regulated RNAi-dependent heterochromatin silencing. We propose a model in which, at DNA replication forks, DNA polymerase subunits mediate the recruitment of epigenetic factors required for RNAi and histone modification to heterochromatin to promote the faithful transmission of histone methylation.
Clinical and electrocardiographic covariates of deceleration capacity in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. (2009)

Deceleration capacity in patients with the first STEMI treated with primary angioplasty is influenced by age, gender, hypertension and heart rate, but not the location of myocardial infarction or left ventricular ejection fraction. Correlation between DC and HRV indices suggests that DC is related to autonomic modulation of heart rate.
Polarization-dependent losses of integrated optical splitters in glass (1996)

During the last two years investments have been made in order to develop new measurement techniques for the characterization of fiber networks. An important characteristic is the neutrality of polarization dependence losses (PDL). Fiber networks contain beside optical sources and detectors a series of basic components like singlemode fibers, integrated optical components (IOC) for the subdistribution, wavelength selective components (WDM) and amplifying elements. The quality of the optical data between transmitters and receivers and the achieved maximum range are determined essentially by the PDL value. In this report the PDL characteristics of passive splitters made by IOT Integrierte Optik GmbH will be described, especially those of N X M splitters. N stands for the entrance port of the splitter and can be 1 or 2. M stands for the exit port of the splitter and can be 2, 4, 8, or 16. Different measuring processes will be described and the achieved measurement results for the PDL will be discussed, In addition to this the different sources of error during the process are described. The achieved results of IOT's N X M splitters have very low PDL values. They are typically smaller than 0.1 dB what makes them excellently suitable for the construction of long-distance optical communication networks. In the meantime such splitters are valued worldwide by different systems suppliers and installed in first optical networks.
Controllable phase transitions between multiple charge density waves in monolayer 1T-VSe2 via charge doping (2021)

Two-dimensional materials are known to possess emergent properties that are not found in their bulk counterparts. Recent experiments have shown a 7×3 charge density wave (CDW) in monolayer 1 T-VSe2, in contrast to the 4×4×3 phase in bulk. Here, via first-principles calculations, we show that multiple CDW phases compete in monolayer VSe2, the ground state of which can be tuned by charge doping. With doping, the 7×3 CDW of the pristine VSe2 transfers to a 4×4 or 3×3 phase, at critical doping concentrations of around 0.2 electrons per formula unit and 0.2 holes per formula unit, respectively. These transitions are further understood by analyzing the role of Fermi surface nesting and momentum-dependent electron–phonon coupling in monolayer 1T-VSe2. These results make VSe2 an appealing material for electronic devices based on controllable CDW phase transitions.
Regulation of Phototransduction in Short-Wavelength Cone Visual Pigments via the Retinylidene Schiff Base Counterion (2001)

Short-wavelength visual pigments (SWS1) have lambda(max) values that range from the ultraviolet to the blue. Like all visual pigments, this class has an 11-cis-retinal chromophore attached through a Schiff base linkage to a lysine residue of opsin apoprotein. We have characterized a series of site-specific mutants at a conserved acidic residue in transmembrane helix 3 in the Xenopus short-wavelength sensitive cone opsin (VCOP, lambda(max) approximately 427 nm). We report the identification of D108 as the counterion to the protonated retinylidene Schiff base. This residue regulates the pK(a) of the Schiff base and, neutralizing this charge, converts the violet sensitive pigment into one that absorbs maximally in the ultraviolet region. Changes to this position cause the pigment to exhibit two chromophore absorbance bands, a major band with a lambda(max) of approximately 352-372 nm and a minor, broad shoulder centered around 480 nm. The behavior of these two absorbance bands suggests that these represent unprotonated and protonated Schiff base forms of the pigment. The D108A mutant does not activate bovine rod transducin in the dark but has a significantly prolonged lifetime of the active MetaII state. The data suggest that in short-wavelength sensitive cone visual pigments, the counterion is necessary for the characteristic rapid production and decay of the active MetaII state.
The 7H11 Agar Medium Supplemented with Calf Bovine Serum for Susceptibility Testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates Against Pyrazinamide (2021)

Despite its importance, pyrazinamide (PZA) is a blind spot in drug susceptibility testing in tuberculosis laboratories. The aim of this study was to set up a reliable agar-based proportion method for detection of PZA-resistant phenotypes using Middlebrook 7H11 agar supplemented with calf bovine serum (CBS) compared with albumin/dextrose/catalase (ADC) enrichment and <i>pncA</i>/<i>rpsA</i> sequencing results. The 7H11 agar medium supplemented with 10% ADC or 10% CBS (pH 6.2) and 100 μg/mL PZA was used to detect PZA resistance among 64 <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> isolates. Sanger sequencing and whole-genome sequencing were performed to track mutations in the <i>pncA</i>, <i>rpsA,</i> and their upstream regions. A total of 43 rifampicin/multidrug-resistant, 20 drug-susceptible, and 1 isoniazid mono-resistant <i>M. tuberculosis</i> isolates were investigated. The 7H11+ADC and 7H11+CBS could detect 22 and 23 PZA-resistant strains, respectively. With the same specificity, the sensitivity and accuracy of 7H11+CBS was found to be a little greater than 7H11+ADC in PZA resistance detection compared with sequencing results. Twenty-four mutant strains were found to have different mutations in <i>pncA</i>-upstream, <i>pncA</i> and <i>rpsA</i> genes, in which Gly97Asp was the most dominant mutation. The results obtained from 7H11+CBS were comparable to the results of 7H11+ADC. Therefore, the 7H11 agar proportion method would be a less-expensive test using CBS and produces reliable results.
Returns from Fiji National Provident Fund: Accounting Myth vs Economic Reality (2005)

This paper reviews the accounting practices employed by the Fiji National Provident Fund in reporting its investment interests in Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Fiji Limited. It demonstrates that the FNPF initially failed to observe financial reporting regulations and by so doing reflected a higher return on the investment then would have been the case under generally accepted accounting practices. FNPF changed its accounting practices only when conformity with regulations allowed it to report superior returns than the non-compliant approach initially adopted. The paper demonstrates that FNPF's opportunistic reporting practices have served to benefit those who have recently taken a pension, or are about to do so and those who have recently or will shortly leave fund membership. Conversely newer members and those about to join have been disadvantaged. The paper also considers developments in the regulation of financial reporting, which are due to be adopted in Fiji in 2006 that will impact on the returns the FNPF reports and the consequences for fund members' accounts.
Development of Kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S1-x,Sex)4 (CZTSS)-Based Thin Film Solar Cells with In and Ga Free Absorber Materials (2012)

Chalcogenide-based semiconductors, such as CuInSe2, CuGaSe2, Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS), and CdTe have attracted considerable interest as efficient materials in thin film solar cells (TFSCs). Currently, CIGS and CdTe TFSCs have demonstrated the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 11% in module production. However, commercialized CIGS and CdTe TFSCs have some limitations due to the scarcity of In, Ga, and Te and the environmental issues associated with Cd and Se. Recently, kesterite CZTS, which is one of the In- and Ga- free absorber materials, has been attracted considerable attention as a new candidate for use as an absorber material in thin film solar cells. The CZTS-based absorber material has outstanding characteristics such as band gap energy of 1.0 eV to 1.5 eV, high absorption coefficient on the order of 104cm-1, and high theoretical conversion efficiency of 32.2% in thin film solar cells. Despite these promising characteristics, research into CZTS-based thin film solar cells is still incomprehensive and related reports are quite few compared to those for CIGS thin film solar cells, which show high efficiency of over 20%. The recent development of kesterite-based CZTS thin film solar cells is summarized in this work. The new challenges for enhanced performance in CZTS thin films are examined and prospective issues are addressed as well.