gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Fluvastatin improves osteoporosis in fructose-fed insulin resistant model rats through blockade of the classical mevalonate pathway and antioxidant action (2009)

Feeding rats with a high-fructose diet induced insulin resistance, leading to hypertension or metabolic disorders. Although hypertension is known to accelerate osteoporosis, it is not obvious whether insulin resistance would accelerate osteoporosis. In this study, we evaluated whether osteoporosis might accelerate in fructose-fed rats (FFR), and examined the effect of fluvastatin through a blockade of the mevalonate pathway and an antioxidant action. Stimulation of recombinant receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) ligand (RANKL) expressed by osteoblasts/ stromal cells and macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) significantly increased TRAP-positive multinuclear osteoclasts and pit formation, accompanied by an increase in reactive oxygen species as assessed by dichlorodihydrofluorescein (DCF) staining. Interestingly, it was completely abolished by treatment with fluvastatin, pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), but not pravastatin. These actions of fluvastatin were partially abolished by co-treatment with geranylgeranylpyrophosphate (GGPP), but not farnesylpyrophosphate (FPP). In the estrogen-deficient model by ovariectomy, FFR exhibited a decrease in bone mineral density, activation of osteoclasts, and an increase in urinary deoxypyridinoline. Importantly, the treatment of fluvastatin, but not pravastatin, attenuated FFR-induced osteoporosis. The present study demonstrates that fructose fed to rats induced insulin resistance and accelerated osteoporosis, while fluvastatin, but not pravastatin, significantly attenuated osteoclast differentiation and activation through a blockade of the classical mevalonate pathway and an antioxidant action, leading to prevention of osteoporosis.
Endoscopic pneumatic balloon dilation in primary achalasia: predictive factors, complications, and long-term follow-up (2008)

Pneumatic dilation (PD) has been widely used in the treatment of idiopathic achalasia with a 70-90% response. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PD and its predictive factors by means of clinical assessment. In addition, we evaluated its safety and the need for subsequent surgical intervention. Fifty-six patients were treated with a Witzel dilator. The response was evaluated at medium (1-5 years) and long term (>5 years). Diverse possible predictive factors to response were analyzed. After the first PD, 85.7% of the 56 patients improved and passed from clinical stage II-III to clinical stage 0-I (P < 0.005). After the second dilation, 84.6% of the patients (13) passed to clinical stage 0-I (P < 0.05). Only patients who were not young (>40 years) avoided a second dilation and/or surgery (P < 0.001). During the first 5 years of follow-up, 80% of patients maintained their response; this percentage decreased to 58% after 10 years. PD therapy of achalasia is a safe technique, with few adverse effects (4% perforations and 10% gastroesophageal reflux). It offers a medium-term response of 80% and long-term response of around 60%. Age was the only predictive response factor.
A Case ofPaenibacillus-induced Sepsis Complicated with Pneumatocele in a Very Low Birth Weight Infant (2014)

Paenibacillus spp. are gram-positive, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobic bacteria found in nature and rarely cause diseases in humans. We report our experience with Paenibacillus-induced sepsis complicated with pneumatocele in a very low birth weight male infant with a gestational age of 29 weeks and 5 days and a birth weight of 1,380 g, who was born by cesarean section with because of preterm labor and premature rupture of membrane. On day 12 after admission, the patient presented oxygen desaturation without apnea and fever. We identified pleural effusion on chest radiography and diagnosed pneumatocele on low-dose chest computed tomography. An empirical antibiotic was administered to treat the infection. The patient's blood culture revealed gram-positive rods, and Paenibacillus spp. was identified using16s rRNA sequencing.
Substrate specificity and catalytic mechanism of a xyloglucan xyloglucosyl transferase HvXET6 from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) (2008)

A family 16 glycoside hydrolase, xyloglucan xyloglucosyl transferase (EC 2.4.1.207), also known as xyloglucan endotransglycosylase (XET), and designated isoenzyme HvXET6, was purified approximately 400-fold from extracts of young barley seedlings. The complete amino acid sequence of HvXET6 was deduced from the nucleotide sequence of a near full-length cDNA, in combination with tryptic peptide mapping. An additional five to six isoforms or post-translationally modified XET enzymes were detected in crude seedling extracts of barley. The HvXET6 isoenzyme was expressed in Pichia pastoris, characterized and compared with the previously purified native HvXET5 isoform. Barley HvXET6 has a similar apparent molecular mass of 33-35 kDa to the previously purified HvXET5 isoenzyme, but the two isoenzymes differ in their isoelectric points, pH optima, kinetic properties and substrate specificities. The HvXET6 isoenzyme catalyses transfer reactions between xyloglucans and soluble cellulosic substrates, using oligo-xyloglucosides as acceptors, but at rates that are significantly different from those observed for HvXET5. No hydrolytic activity could be detected with either isoenzyme. Comparisons of the reaction rates using xyloglucan or hydroxyethyl cellulose as donors and a series of cellodextrins as acceptors indicated that the acceptor site of HvXET can accommodate five glucosyl residues. Molecular modelling supported this conclusion and further confirmed the ability of the enzyme's active site to accommodate xyloglucan and cellulosic substrates. The two HvXETs followed a ping-pong (Bi, Bi) rather than a sequential reaction mechanism.
Damage Accumulation During Multiple Stress Level Fatigue of Short-Glass-Fiber Reinforced Styrene-Maleic Anhydride (2001)

Multi-stress fatigue of short-glass-fiber-reinforced styrene-maleic anhydride (S/MA) composite materials has been studied. Specimens were tested in tension-tension fatigue ( R = 0.1) in two patterns: high-stress fatigue followed by low-stress fatigue (high-low) and low stress followed by high stress (low-high). Results were analyzed using the Palmgren-Miner cumulative damage law. High-low fatigue gave Miner’s sums very close to unity, and Miner’s sums below unity were obtained for low-high fatigue. A minimum value below unity for low-high fatigue corresponded to a regime in which the first block of cycling was carried to 15% of the life. These results were interpreted by evaluating the evolution of damage and the role of plastic deformation in the fatigue behavior. The high-stress fatigue created a more extensive region of crazing in the matrix material. This plastic deformation increased the mechanical clamping force on the short fibers, making the composite more resistant to subsequent low-stress fatigue testing. When specimens were tested in low-stress fatigue first, cracking occurred in the composite without as much plastic deformation. These cracks were extended by subsequent high-stress fatigue, leading to earlier failure of the composite.
Antiviral treatment of COVID-19 (2020)

Currently, there is not any specific effective antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Although most of the COVID-19 patients have mild or moderate courses, up to 5%–10% can have severe, potentially life threatening course, there is an urgent need for effective drugs. Optimized supportive care remains the mainstay of therapy. There have been more than 300 clinical trials going on, various antiviral and immunomodulating agents are in various stages of evaluation for COVID-19 in those trials and some of them will be published in the next couple of months. Despite the urgent need to find an effective antiviral treatment for COVID-19 through randomized controlled studies, certain agents are being used all over the world based on either in-vitro or extrapolated evidence or observational studies. The most frequently used agents both in Turkey and all over the world including chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, favipiravir and remdesivir will be reviewed here .Nitazoxanide and ivermectin were also included in this review as they have recently been reported to have an activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and are licensed for the treatment of some other human infections.
Optical Single Sideband Signal Generation Using Phase Modulation of Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (2004)

An optical single sideband (OSSB) generation method using phase modulation in semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is proposed to overcome the dispersion-induced carrier suppression problem which limits available fiber frequency range in analog optical link. The OSSB generation was achieved by phase variation in SOA which results /spl pi//2 phase difference between the amplitude and phase terms of modulated optical signal. A 21-dB difference between two sidebands was experimentally observed. From the transmission experiment up to 100 km over single-mode fiber, we confirmed that the generated OSSB signal is good enough to remove the radio frequency signal degradation due to chromatic dispersion.
Supplementary Table 1 from Landscape of Genomic Alterations in Pituitary Adenomas (2023)

&lt;p&gt;Histopathologic characteristics of 42 pituitary adenomas&lt;/p&gt;
Biometric Authentication Protocols on Smartphones (2016)

As biometric authentication methods become more and more common in daily life we have seen an increased interest and developments of more convenient and secure authentication methods for online services. With biometrics enabled smartphones the cost associated with deploying biometric systems is removed and the opportunity for use in new applications is opened. However, with biometrics there are several challenges in terms of security and privacy that must be addressed. In this work we look at two emerging authentication protocols, FIDO Universal Authentication Framework and Biometric Open Protocol Standard, and analyze their security and privacy features from a biometrics perspective.
Model Reference Adaptive Control for Uncertain Dynamical Systems with Unmatched Disturbances (2017)

This chapter focuses on model reference adaptive control of dynamical systems with matched system uncertainties but unmatched disturbances. Departing from the above results, we propose a new, two-level design framework based on a command governor architecture to suppress the effect of matched uncertainties and unmatched disturbances and achieve a close tracking of the output of the reference system. Specifically, we first design an auxiliary state dynamics that allows not only the estimation of the matched uncertainties but also the estimation of the unmatched disturbances. Then, the authors propose a command governor architecture through a backstepping procedure to modify the command signal of the desired reference system such that the system output error signal can be made arbitrarily small by tuning the constant design parameters. Two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed command governor-based adaptive control architecture.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of glutamate uptake in primary astrocytes exposed to titanium dioxide nanoparticles (2015)

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are currently the second most produced engineered nanomaterial in the world with vast usage in consumer products leading to recurrent human exposure. Animal studies indicate significant nanoparticle accumulation in the brain while cellular toxicity studies demonstrate negative effects on neuronal cell viability and function. However, the toxicological effects of nanoparticles on astrocytes, the most abundant cells in the brain, have not been extensively investigated. Therefore, we determined the sub-toxic effect of three different TiO2 nanoparticles (rutile, anatase and commercially available P25 TiO2 nanoparticles) on primary rat cortical astrocytes. We evaluated some events related to astrocyte functions and mitochondrial dysregulation: (1) glutamate uptake; (2) redox signaling mechanisms by measuring ROS production; (3) the expression patterns of dynamin-related proteins (DRPs) and mitofusins 1 and 2, whose expression is central to mitochondrial dynamics; and (4) mitochondrial morphology by MitoTracker® Red CMXRos staining. Anatase, rutile and P25 were found to have LC50 values of 88.22 ± 10.56 ppm, 136.0 ± 31.73 ppm and 62.37 ± 9.06 ppm respectively indicating nanoparticle specific toxicity. All three TiO2 nanoparticles induced a significant loss in glutamate uptake indicative of a loss in vital astrocyte function. TiO2 nanoparticles also induced an increase in reactive oxygen species generation, and a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, suggesting mitochondrial damage. TiO2 nanoparticle exposure altered expression patterns of DRPs at low concentrations (25 ppm) and apoptotic fission at high concentrations (100 ppm). TiO2 nanoparticle exposure also resulted in changes to mitochondrial morphology confirmed by mitochondrial staining. Collectively, our data provide compelling evidence that TiO2 nanoparticle exposure has potential implications in astrocyte-mediated neurological dysfunction.
Model-based performance prediction in software development: a survey (2004)

Over the last decade, a lot of research has been directed toward integrating performance analysis into the software development process. Traditional software development methods focus on software correctness, introducing performance issues later in the development process. This approach does not take into account the fact that performance problems may require considerable changes in design, for example, at the software architecture level, or even worse at the requirement analysis level. Several approaches were proposed in order to address early software performance analysis. Although some of them have been successfully applied, we are still far from seeing performance analysis integrated into ordinary software development. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of recent research in the field of model-based performance prediction at software development time in order to assess the maturity of the field and point out promising research directions.
Carbon combustion synthesis of nanostructured perovskites (2007)

A novel, economical, and energy-efficient process to produce nanostructured particles of several perovskite oxides, such as ferroelectrics BaTiO3, SrTiO3 and LiNbO3, is described. This process, referred to as carbon combustion synthesis of oxides (CCSO) is a modified SHS process that uses carbon as a fuel instead of a pure metal. In CCSO of nanostructured materials, the exothermic oxidation of carbon nanoparticles (∼5 nm) with a surface area of 80 m2/g generates a thermal reaction wave with temperature of up to 1200°C that propagates through the solid submicron reactant mixture, converting it to the desired complex oxide product. The carbon is not incorporated in the solid product since it is released in a gaseous form (CO2) from the sample. The quenching front method combined with XRD and Raman spectroscopy revealed that crystalline tetragonal BaTiO3 particles formed in the early stage of the combustion, before the temperature reached its maximum. A major difference between the thermal transport processes during CCSO and conventional SHS is the extensive emission of CO2. The release of CO2 enables synthesis of highly porous (up to 70%) powders having a particle size in the range of 60–80 nm with a surface area of up to 12.4 m2/g.
Use of the Salmonella MgtR Peptide as an Antagonist of the Mycobacterium MgtC Virulence Factor (2016)

MgtR peptide can target Mtb MgtC protein and reduce mycobacterial macrophage resistance, thus providing a promising new scaffold for the development of antivirulence compounds.
Preface (2017)

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Status and Reproduction in Humans: New Evidence for the Validity of Evolutionary Explanations on Basis of a University Sample (2005)

Abstract A strong positive relationship between reproductive success (offspring count) and status (position in the institutional hierarchy) is demonstrated in a contemporary sample of male university employees (n = 2693). Male academics in leading positions have more children than do other male employees. In female university employees (n = 2073), a negative relationship between status and reproductive success was found, but only if childless women were included in the analysis. Although a positive relationship between male status and offspring count has been predicted by evolutionary theory and was found in animal species and ‘traditional’ human societies, in modern societies most of the studies found no or even a negative relationship between status and reproductive success in males. We suggest that status may be a more important dimension for particular subsamples of modern society than for samples representing entire societies, so that associations might actually differ among subsamples. We suggest that analyses on a small and rather uniform level using modern large‐scale hierarchical organizations (such as universities) are candidates for the investigation of appropriate ‘society subsets’. Our results may stress the importance of evolutionary predictions and may be of relevance for theoretical and empirical considerations at the levels of economics and administration.
Impact of Na+ and Ca2+ Cations on the Adsorption of H2S on Binder-Free LTA Zeolites (2021)

Hydrogen sulfide is removed from natural gas via adsorption on zeolites. The process operates very effectively, but there is still potential for improvement. Therefore, in this article, the adsorption of hydrogen sulfide was investigated on eight LTA zeolites with different cation compositions. Starting with the zeolite NaA (4 A), which contains only Na + cations, the Ca 2+ cation content was gradually increased by ion exchange. Equilibrium isotherms from cumulative breakthrough curve experiments in a fixed-bed adsorber at 25°C and 85°C at 1.3 bar (abs.) were determined in the trace range up to a concentration of 2000 ppm mol . From a comparison of the isotherms of the different materials, a mechanistic proposal for the adsorption is developed, taking into account the specific positions of the cations in the zeolite lattice when the degree of exchange is increased. The shape of the isotherms indicates two energetically different types of adsorption sites. It is assumed that two mechanisms are superimposed: a chemisorptive mechanism with dissociation of hydrogen sulfide and covalent bonding of the proton and the hydrogen sulfide ion to the zeolite lattice and a physisorptive mechanism by electrostatic interaction with the cations in the lattice. As the degree of exchange increases, the proportion of chemisorption sites seems to decrease. Above an exchange degree of 50%, only evidence of physisorption can be found. It is shown that this finding points to the involvement of weakly bound sodium cations at cation position III in the chemisorption of hydrogen sulfide.
[Assessment of left ventricular contractility (Emax) and arterial load (Ea) in humans by transesophageal echocardiography and radial artery pressure tracing]. (1993)

We determined both the slope of the left ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume relation (Emax), which is a measure of contractility independent of loading conditions, and the slope of the arterial end-systolic pressure-stroke volume relation (Ea), which is a measure of arterial load independent of ventricular function, in 10 patients undergoing elective noncardiac surgery. Left ventricular end-systolic volume (Ves) was measured by transesophageal echocardiography and instantaneous left ventricular end-systolic pressure (Pes) was estimated from the dicrotic notch pressure in the radial artery. Emax was calculated during afterload reduction (nicardipine 30 micrograms.kg-1 iv), and the correlation of Emax to either Pes/Ves ratio or MAP (mean arterial blood pressure)/Ves ratio was accomplished in order to investigate whether these indices were clinically useful measurements of ventricular function or not. Ea was also calculated from the data obtained before and 2-3 min after nicardipine iv. The averaged Emax and x-axis intercept (Vo) were 3.11 mmHg.ml-1 and -3.8 ml, respectively. The correlation coefficient obtained between Emax and Pes/Ves was 0.96, and that obtained between Emax and MAP/Ves was 0.97. Ea decreased significantly (P < 0.05) following intravenous nicardipine, demonstrating a decreased arterial load. The direction of changes in Ea was similar to that reported previously in systemic vascular resistance. From these results, we conclude that measurement of Emax (or Pes/Ves, MAP/Ves) and Ea using transesophageal echocardiography and radial artery pressure tracing is feasible and these are a useful tool to estimate left ventricular performance and arterial load during surgery.
KMSF x-ray laser experiments. Task No. 2. Final report (1984)

This report summarizes work done at KMS Fusion, Inc. in support of the x-ray laser experimental program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It follows an earlier report of Task No. 1 of the subject purchase order. As in that report, most of the original data has been reviewed by the LLNL technical staff, with much of it transferred to LLNL for analysis. Consequently, this report does not include a detailed presentation of the data.
Leukocyte procoagulant activity: enhancement of production in vitro by IgG and antigen-antibody complexes. (1977)

In a variety of immunologic diseases, fibrin-fibrinogen and immune complexes deposit in areas of tissue damage. However, the mechanisms which initiate fibrin-fibrinogen deposition have not been clarified. We find that the procoagulant activity of human leukocytes is markedly increased after incubation with immunoglobulin and immune complexes. This procoagulant activity is evident after 4-24 h incubation in the presence of as little as 0.1 mg/ml of autologous, isologous, or heterologous IgG. At least three of the four subclasses of IgG myeloma proteins are effective. Experiments with purified rabbit and rat antibodies demonstrate that enhancement of procoagulant activity is significantly greater with soluble antigen-antibody complexes than with immunoglobulin alone. In contrast, insoluble complexes are less affective than immunoglobulin alone. Artifacts due to endotoxin contamination of the IgG preparations were excluded on the basis of the differential sensitivities of immunoglobulin and endotoxin to heat and polymyxin B. Evidence is also presented which shows that enhancement of procoagulant activity involves the production, rather than a simple release, of leukocyte procoagulant activity in vitro.