gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Depth map processing with iterative joint multilateral filtering (2010)

Depth maps estimated using stereo matching between frames from different video views typically exhibit false contours and noisy artifacts around object boundaries. In this paper, iterative joint multilateral filtering is proposed to deal with these artifacts. The proposed filter consists of multiple filter kernels. Knowing that the estimated depth maps are erroneous, besides the kernels which measure the proximity of depth samples and the similarity between depth sample values, we further develop kernels which measure similarity between the corresponding video pixel values. To increase reliability, these novel kernels operate on the color (RGB) domain instead of only on the luminance domain. Furthermore, the filter shapes are designed to adapt brightness variations. Finally, to tackle large misalignment between boundaries in depth maps and in the corresponding video frames, iterative approach is utilized. Our results demonstrate that the proposed method can significantly improve the boundaries in depth maps and can reduce false contours. With the processed depth maps, it is observed that the quality of object boundaries in synthesized views can be improved.
Resultados comunicados por el paciente en las fichas técnicas de medicamentos aprobados en España durante el período 2000-2012 (2014)

The use frequency of PRO in SPCs is clearly minor compared to other efficacy endpoints considered, being the difference significantly higher in case of its use as only efficacy endpoint. The therapeutic areas where PROs were most reported were nervous system medicines, immunologic system modulator medicines, respiratory system, muscle and skeleton system.
Text and graphics on UMI's ProQuest direct: the best (yet) of both worlds (1997)

Cet article presente les nouveaux avantages du systeme d'information Proquest Direct. En effet, ce systeme d'information propose des contenus de periodiques et de journaux concernant les affaires, l'information et les domaines professionnels. De plus il allie les documents graphiques et les documents textuels. Apres une presentation generale des avantages de l'utilisation de ProQuest Direct, plusieurs specificites du systeme sont presentees : la recherche des images, la resolution des images, la selection des formats de visualisation, les options de fourniture de l'information, la facturation, et d'autres fonctions
Fabry–Perot optical fiber strainmeter with an embeddable, low-power interrogation system (2015)

Detection of earthquakes and tidal variations via measurement of strain in the Earth’s crust requires compact and robust instrumentation with low power usage that can be deployed in the field. Here we demonstrate a stationary-wave integrated Fourier transform spectrometer (SWIFTS) and measure the variations induced by ground strain on an optical fiber Bragg grating sensor using two short (17±2  mm) Fabry–Perot (FP) cavities, one for the sensor, and one for temperature compensation. The SWIFTS delivers spatial interferograms that are then Fourier transformed to deduce the deformation from a cross-spectral analysis of the FP spectra. The full system is tested in field conditions to record crustal earth strain signals and successfully detect the earth tide and an earthquake signal. With this low-coherency interferometry technique, this system offers an excellent compromise between the resolution needed and the cost of a fully autonomous field instrument.
Luteolin, an emerging anti-cancer flavonoid, poisons eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase I (2002)

Luteolin, a naturally occurring flavonoid, is abundant in our daily dietary intake. It exhibits a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties, but little is known about its biochemical targets other than the fact that it induces topoisomerase II-mediated apoptosis. In the present study, we show that luteolin completely inhibits the catalytic activity of eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase I at a concentration of 40 microM, with an IC50 of 5 microM. Preincubation of enzyme with luteolin before adding a DNA substrate increases the inhibition of the catalytic activity (IC50=0.66 microM). Treatment of DNA with luteolin before addition of topoisomerase I reduces this inhibitory effect. Subsequent fluorescence tests show that luteolin not only interacts directly with the enzyme but also with the substrate DNA, and intercalates at a very high concentration (>250 microM) without binding to the minor groove. Direct interaction between luteolin and DNA does not affect the assembly of the enzyme-DNA complex, as evident from the electrophoretic mobility-shift assays. Here we show that the inhibition of topoisomerase I by luteolin is due to the stabilization of topoisomerase-I DNA-cleavable complexes. Hence, luteolin is similar to camptothecin, a class I inhibitor, with respect to its ability to form the topoisomerase I-mediated 'cleavable complex'. But, unlike camptothecin, luteolin interacts with both free enzyme and substrate DNA. The inhibitory effect of luteolin is translated into concanavalin A-stimulated mouse splenocytes, with the compound inducing SDS-K+-precipitable DNA-topoisomerase complexes. This is the first report on luteolin as an inhibitor of the catalytic activity of topoisomerase I, and our results further support its therapeutic potential as a lead anti-cancer compound that poisons topoisomerases.
Rational Design of Mussel‐Inspired Hydrogels with Dynamic Catecholato−Metal Coordination Bonds (2020)

Nature has often been the main source of inspiration for designing smart functional materials. As an example, mussels can attach to almost any wet surfaces, for example, wood, rocks, metal, etc., due to the presence of catechols containing amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-l-alanine (DOPA). Fabrication of mussel-inspired hydrogels using dynamic catecholato-metal coordination bonds has recently been in the limelight because of the hydrogels' ease of gelation, interesting self-healing, self-recovery, adhesiveness, and pH-responsiveness, as well as shear-thinning and mechanical properties. Mussel inspired hydrogels take advantage of catechols, for example, DOPA in the blue mussel, to undergo catecholatometal gelation through coordination chemistry. This review explores the latest developments in the fabrication of such hydrogels using catecholato-metal coordination bonds, and discusses their potential applications in sensors, flexible electronics, tissue engineering, and wound dressing. Moreover, current challenges and prospects of such hydrogels are discussed. The main focus of this paper is on providing a deeper understanding of this growing field in terms of chemistry, physics, and associated properties.
Effects of Diagnostic Application of Monoclonal Antibody on Survival in Melanoma Patients (1997)

Follow-up data of more than 300 melanoma patients were reviewed in which an immunoscintigraphy study had been performed as part of a routine staging protocol. All patients had received a commercially available 99mTc-labeled F(ab')2 fragment specific to a high-molecular-weight melanoma-associated antigen (HMW-MAA). Survival data of patients that had received one injection (group I) were compared with those receiving two or more injections (group II). For better comparison, patients were matched according to the following risk factors: (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) tumor level according to Clark, (iv) tumor depth according to Breslow, (v) location of primary tumor, and (vi) metastases [and if positive, (vii) location of metastases]. Twenty-eight patient pairs were established that showed no statistically significant differences comparing the above-mentioned risk factors. In addition, no significant difference was found comparing the interval between primary diagnosis of disease and first injection of monoclonal antibody (MAb) in both groups. In contrast, survival time between first diagnosis of melanoma was significantly prolonged in group II (multiple injections) as compared to group I (single injection). This was true for survival time between primary diagnosis as well as from first injection of MAb until death or closing time of study. Our data suggest, that multiple injections of melanoma-specific F(ab')2 fragment have a beneficial effect on median survival in melanoma patients.
Brief Report: Whole‐Exome Sequencing to Identify Rare Variants and Gene Networks That Increase Susceptibility to Scleroderma in African Americans (2018)

In the largest genetic study in AA patients with SSc to date, our findings corroborate the role of functional variants that aggregate in a fibrotic pathway and increase SSc susceptibility.
Three-Dimensional Atlas of Iron, Copper, and Zinc in the Mouse Cerebrum and Brainstem (2012)

Atlases depicting molecular and functional features of the brain are becoming an integral part of modern neuroscience. In this study we used laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) to quantitatively measure iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) levels in a serially sectioned C57BL/6 mouse brain (cerebrum and brainstem). Forty-six sections were analyzed in a single experiment of approximately 158 h in duration. We constructed a 46-plate reference atlas by aligning quantified images of metal distribution with corresponding coronal sections from the Allen Mouse Brain Reference Atlas. The 46 plates were also used to construct three-dimensional models of Fe, Cu, and Zn distribution. This atlas represents the first reconstruction of quantitative trace metal distribution through the brain by LA-ICPMS and will facilitate the study of trace metals in the brain and help to elucidate their role in neurobiology.
Gene Therapy for Killing p53-Negative Cancer Cells: Use of Replicating Versus Nonreplicating Agents (2003)

Research has focused on the use of viral vectors to attack p53-negative cancer cells. Such agents may be nonreplicating, whereas others are replicating. This paper uses mathematical models to study the conditions under which therapy can lead to tumor remission. It is found that the optimal characteristics of the vector can be quite different depending on whether the virus replicates or not. If it does not replicate, the rate of virus-induced tumor cell killing should be maximized. If the virus does replicate, the rate of virus-induced cell killing should be kept small. If the virus is too lytic in cancer cells, viral spread is compromised, resulting in persistence of both virus and tumor. This has important implications for choosing the correct techniques to evaluate replicating viruses in culture. A low multiplicity of infection must be used for evaluation, because this mimicks the spread of the virus through an established tumor. If a high multiplicity of infection is used, the virus that appears most efficient in this evaluation can be least efficient at eradicating the cancer in vivo. Theoretical results are discussed in the context of experimental data.
Nature-Inspired Heat and Moisture Exchanger Filters Composed of Gelatin and Chitosan for the Design of Eco-Sustainable “Artificial Noses” (2023)

For long-term mechanical ventilation, during anesthesia or intensive care, it is crucial to preserve a minimum level of humidity to avoid damage to the respiratory epithelium. Heat and moisture exchange filters (HME), also called "artificial noses," are passive systems that contribute to delivering inspired gases at about the same conditions of healthy respiration, i.e., 32 °C and relative humidity higher than 90%. Current HME devices suffer from limitations linked either to performance and filtration efficiency to their inadequate antibacterial efficiency, sterilization methods, and durability. Furthermore, in times of global warming and diminishing petroleum oil reserves, replacing the employing of synthetic materials with biomass biodegradable raw materials has considerable economic and environmental value. In the present study, a generation of eco-sustainable, bioinspired, and biodegradable HME devices are designed and developed through a green-chemistry process based on raw materials deriving from food waste and taking inspiration from the functioning, structure, and chemistry of our respiratory system. In particular, different blends are obtained by mixing aqueous solutions of gelatin and chitosan in various polymer ratios and concentrations and then by cross-linking them with different low amounts of genipin, a natural chemical cross-linker. Finally, the blends, post-gelation, are freeze-dried to obtain three-dimensional (3D) highly porous aerogels reproducing both the highly exposed surface area of the upper respiratory ways and the chemical composition of the mucus secretion covering the nasal mucosae. Results are comparable with accepted standards for HME devices and suitable bacteriostatic potential, thus validating these bioinspired materials as promising candidates to be used as an eco-sustainable generation of HME devices.
ChemInform Abstract: Structural and Magnetic Properties of Pr18Li8Fe5‐xMxO39 (M: Ru, Mn, Co). (2009)

Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Ultrastructural Features of Psoralen Plus Black Light Induced Successive Changes in Psoriatic Cell (1977)

Based on an ultramicroscopic investigation of the psoralen plus black light-induced photodynamic reaction in the psoriatic cell, there is evidence that the primary reaction takes place in the nuclei, which possess abundant nucleic acid. This initial reaction is manifested by a large vacuole situated in the nucleus. As the vacuole gradually enlarges, the nucleus becomes an annex to the vacuole, while the cytoplasm of the cell succumbs to the necrobiotic process.
Field tests of a two-laser (4416 A and 6328 A) optical distance-measuring instrument correcting for the atmospheric index of refraction (1972)

The most recent version of a microwave-modulated two-laser distance-measuring instrument has completed several months of field tests. This instrument was operated almost continuously for about a month over a 5.9-km base line just north of Boulder, Colorado. During the tests the optical path lengths for red and blue varied over 3 cm for the base line, and the corrected distance typically has a σ of <3 mm. The preliminary results of these tests clearly show that this type of instrument can correct a distance measurement taken in 10 sec to better than five parts in 10 million.
High efficiency voice activated CDMA mobile communication system based on master code synchronization (2003)

The authors propose an innovative code division multiple access (CDMA)-based mobile system for voice (and data) services. The system makes use of voice activation in order to increase the CDMA efficiency (useful transmitted information vs. occupied bandwidth). The synchronization problems are solved by distributing a master code in the forward link and using forced link activation in the return when no speech activity is detected. The blocking probability is minimized by means of multirate speech coding associated with a centralized network control. Bit error rate calculations show all the advantages of operating in a synchronous mode.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>
Design of Implantable Microstrip Antenna for Communication With Medical Implants (2004)

The objective of this paper is to design a microstrip patch antenna for communication with medical implants in the 402-405-MHz Medical Implant Communications Services band. Microstrip antenna design parameters are evaluated using the finite-difference time-domain method, and are compared to measured results. The effects of shape, length, size, location of feed point and ground point, substrate and superstrate materials, and their thicknesses are evaluated. An extensive study of the performance of the antennas to changes in these parameters was undertaken. The results of this paper provide guidance in the design of implantable microstrip antennas.
Computerizing Efficient Estimation of a Pathwise Differentiable Target Parameter (2015)

Frangakis et al. (2015) proposed a numerical method for computing the efficient influence function of a parameter in a nonparametric model at a specified distribution and observation (provided such an influence function exists). Their approach is based on the assumption that the efficient influence function is given by the directional derivative of the target parameter mapping in the direction of a perturbation of the data distribution defined as the convex line from the data distribution to a pointmass at the observation. In our discussion paper Luedtke et al. (2015) we propose a regularization of this procedure and establish the validity of this method in great generality. In this article we propose a generalization of the latter regularized numerical delta method for computing the efficient influence function for general statistical models, and formally establish its validity under appropriate regularity conditions. Our proposed method consists of applying the regularized numerical delta-method for nonparametrically-defined target parameters proposed in Luedtke et al. 2015 to the nonparametrically-defined maximum likelihood mapping that maps a data distribution (normally the empirical distribution) into its Kullback-Leibler projection onto the model. This method formalizes the notion that an algorithm for computing a maximum likelihood estimator also yields an algorithm for computing the efficient influence function at a user-supplied data distribution. We generalize this method to a minimum loss-based mapping. We also show how the method extends to compute the higher-order efficient influence function at an observation pair for higher-order pathwise differentiable target parameters. Finally, we propose a new method for computing the efficient influence function as a whole curve by applying the maximum likelihood mapping to a perturbation of the data distribution with score equal to an initial gradient of the pathwise derivative. We demonstrate each method with a variety of examples.
Nitrite Reductase Genes ( nirK and nirS ) as Functional Markers To Investigate Diversity of Denitrifying Bacteria in Pacific Northwest Marine Sediment Communities (2000)

Genetic heterogeneity of denitrifying bacteria in sediment samples from Puget Sound and two sites on the Washington continental margin was studied by PCR approaches amplifying nirK and nirS genes. These structurally different but functionally equivalent single-copy genes coding for nitrite reductases, a key enzyme of the denitrification process, were used as a molecular marker for denitrifying bacteria. nirS sequences could be amplified from samples of both sampling sites, whereas nirK sequences were detected only in samples from the Washington margin. To assess the underlying nir gene structure, PCR products of both genes were cloned and screened by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Rarefraction analysis revealed a high level of diversity especially for nirS clones from Puget Sound and a slightly lower level of diversity for nirK and nirS clones from the Washington margin. One group dominated within nirK clones, but no dominance and only a few redundant clones were seen between sediment samples for nirS clones in both habitats. Hybridization and sequencing confirmed that all but one of the 228 putative nirS clones were nirS with levels of nucleotide identities as low as 45.3%. Phylogenetic analysis grouped nirS clones into three distinct subclusters within the nirS gene tree which corresponded to the two habitats from which they were obtained. These sequences had little relationship to any strain with known nirS sequences or to isolates (mostly close relatives of Pseudomonas stutzeri) from the Washington margin sediment samples. nirK clones were more closely related to each other than were the nirS clones, with 78.6% and higher nucleotide identities; clones showing only weak hybridization signals were not related to known nirK sequences. All nirK clones were also grouped into a distinct cluster which could not be placed with any strain with known nirK sequences. These findings show a very high diversity of nir sequences within small samples and that these novel nir clusters, some very divergent from known sequences, are not known in cultivated denitrifiers.
Urogenital Abnormalities in Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency (2020)

In summary, this report describes a high prevalence of cryptorchidism in a cohort of male ADA-SCID patients which could represent an additional systemic manifestation of ADA-SCID. Considering the impact urogenital and pubertal abnormalities can have on patients' quality of life, we feel it is essential to include urogenital evaluation in ADA-SCID patients to detect any abnormalities, initiate early treatment, and prevent long-term complications.
Distinct differences in autoantigen specificity of anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies in systemic vasculitides and other inflammatory diseases. (1999)

ANCAs typically found in active SVV are demonstrable both by indirect immunofluorescence and antigen-specific enzyme immunoassay, and strong reactivity to either PR3 or MPO is characteristic. Strong ANCA with MPO reactivity is also found in some patients with drug-induced syndromes (lupus, vasculitis). Intermediate to strong perinuclear ANCAs are found in a substantial proportion of patients with UC (40-60%) and RA (30-70%), but in these conditions the ANCAs have many antigen targets that are only weakly recognized.
Degraded Service Provisioning in Mixed-Line-Rate WDM Backbone Networks Using Multipath Routing (2014)

Traffic in optical backbone networks is increasing and becoming more heterogeneous with respect to bandwidth and QoS requirements due to the popularity of high-bandwidth services (such as cloud computing, e-science, telemedicine, etc.), which need to coexist with traditional services (HTTP, etc.). Mixed-line-rate (MLR) networks that support lightpaths of different rates such as 10, 40, 100 Gb/s, etc., are being studied to better support the heterogeneous traffic demands. Here, we study the important topic of degraded services in MLR networks, where a service can accept some degradation (i.e., reduction) in bandwidth in case of a failure in exchange for a lower cost, a concept called partial protection. Network operators may wish to support degraded services to optimize network resources and reduce cost. We propose using multipath routing to support degraded services in MLR networks, a problem that has not been studied before and is significantly more challenging than in single-line-rate (SLR) networks. We consider minimum-cost MLR network design (i.e., choosing which transponder rates to use at each node), considering the opportunity to exploit multipath routes to support degraded services. We propose a mixed-integer-linear-program (MILP) solution and a computationally efficient heuristic, and consider two partial-protection models. Our illustrative numerical results show that significant cost savings can be achieved due to partial protection versus full protection and is highly beneficial for network operators. We also note that multipath routing in MLR networks exploits volume discount of higher-line-rate transponders by cost-effectively grooming requests over appropriate line rates to maximize transponder reuse versus SLR.