gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Effects of SGLT2 Inhibition on eGFR and Glomerular and Tubular Damage Markers in Japanese Patients With Type 2 Diabetes (2018)

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a new class of antihyperglycemic drugs that enhances insulin-independent urinary glucose excretion. Recent studies have suggested that SGLT2 inhibitors possess a renoprotective property in type 2 diabetes patients. However, evidence of the effects of SGLT2 inhibition on glomerular and tubular damage markers is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on renal function, especially on glomerular and tubular damage markers in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 81 patients who used SGLT2 inhibitors. Next, we investigated whether treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors affected urinary damage markers including N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP), type IV collagen, and beta2-microglobulin (beta2MG) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Results: In the retrospective study, SGLT2 inhibition reduced the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 4 and 12 weeks in a manner that was correlated with the baseline eGFR. In the longitudinal study, SGLT2 inhibition tended to increase the urinary damage marker levels with an accompanying decrease in eGFR after 1 month of use. The observed changes in eGFR and urinary damage markers were reversed at 3 months, even though both the HbA1c level and blood pressure were further improved. Conclusions: These results indicated that SGLT2 inhibition reduces the eGFR in a manner depending on the baseline eGFR levels and transiently increased the glomerular and tubular damage markers in patients with type 2 diabetes. J Endocrinol Metab. 2018;8(5):106-112 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jem531w
Longitudinal Study of DNA Methylation and Epigenetic Clocks Prior to and Following Test-Confirmed COVID-19 and mRNA Vaccination (2022)

The host epigenetic landscape rapidly changes during SARS-CoV-2 infection, and evidence suggest that severe COVID-19 is associated with durable scars to the epigenome. Specifically, aberrant DNA methylation changes in immune cells and alterations to epigenetic clocks in blood relate to severe COVID-19. However, a longitudinal assessment of DNA methylation states and epigenetic clocks in blood from healthy individuals prior to and following test-confirmed non-hospitalized COVID-19 has not been performed. Moreover, the impact of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines upon the host epigenome remains understudied. Here, we first examined DNA methylation states in the blood of 21 participants prior to and following test-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis at a median time frame of 8.35 weeks; 756 CpGs were identified as differentially methylated following COVID-19 diagnosis in blood at an FDR adjusted <i>p</i>-value < 0.05. These CpGs were enriched in the gene body, and the northern and southern shelf regions of genes involved in metabolic pathways. Integrative analysis revealed overlap among genes identified in transcriptional SARS-CoV-2 infection datasets. Principal component-based epigenetic clock estimates of PhenoAge and GrimAge significantly increased in people over 50 following infection by an average of 2.1 and 0.84 years. In contrast, PCPhenoAge significantly decreased in people fewer than 50 following infection by an average of 2.06 years. This observed divergence in epigenetic clocks following COVID-19 was related to age and immune cell-type compositional changes in CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells, B cells, granulocytes, plasmablasts, exhausted T cells, and naïve T cells. Complementary longitudinal epigenetic clock analyses of 36 participants prior to and following Pfizer and Moderna mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination revealed that vaccination significantly reduced principal component-based Horvath epigenetic clock estimates in people over 50 by an average of 3.91 years for those who received Moderna. This reduction in epigenetic clock estimates was significantly related to chronological age and immune cell-type compositional changes in B cells and plasmablasts pre- and post-vaccination. These findings suggest the potential utility of epigenetic clocks as a biomarker of COVID-19 vaccine responses. Future research will need to unravel the significance and durability of short-term changes in epigenetic age related to COVID-19 exposure and mRNA vaccination.
Integrated dc-dc based-GaN converter with screen printed capacitors allowing double side cooling (2014)

Converter topology, power devices, passives elements and technology are the keys elements to achieve highly efficient and integrated converters. This article discusses each of these items with a point of load converter application in mind. The potential advantages of series connection are discussed: increase of both the specific power and the efficiency, reduction of semiconductors voltage rating and amplitude of the dV/dt, increase of the apparent switching frequency. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the advantages of the versatile Flying Capacitor topology (DC/DC or DC/AC conversion) can be combined with those of gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors. Integrated screen-printed capacitors are also investigated to reduce parasitic elements and allow double side cooling. A 48V to 5V prototype with screen-printed flying capacitors is built to show the feasibility of such a solution.
FunctionalDomains of the RhlR Transcriptional Regulator of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2003)

The RhlR transcriptional regulator of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, along with its cognate autoinducer, N-butyryl homoserine lactone (C(4)-HSL), regulates gene expression in response to cell density. With an Escherichia coli LexA-based protein interaction system, we demonstrated that RhlR multimerized and that the degree of multimerization was dependent on the C(4)-HSL concentration. Studies with an E. coli lasB::lacZ lysogen demonstrated that RhlR multimerization was necessary for it to function as a transcriptional activator. Deletion analysis of RhlR indicated that the N-terminal domain of the protein is necessary for C(4)-HSL binding. Single amino acid substitutions in the C-terminal domain of RhlR generated mutant RhlR proteins that had the ability to bind C(4)-HSL and multimerize but were unable to activate lasB expression, demonstrating that the C-terminal domain is important for target gene activation. Single amino acid substitutions in both the N-terminal and C-terminal domains of RhlR demonstrated that both domains possess residues involved in multimerization. RhlR with a C-terminal deletion and an RhlR site-specific mutant form that possessed multimerization but not transcriptional activation capabilities were able to inhibit the ability of wild-type RhlR to activate rhlA expression in P. aeruginosa. We conclude that C(4)-HSL binding is necessary for RhlR multimerization and that RhlR functions as a multimer in P. aeruginosa.
Forced Convection Air Cooling of an Array of Electronic Modules Using the Finite Element Method to Analyse Module Heat Transfer (1988)

Because of the current trend in manufacturing to pack a greater number of electronic components into a given volume, the thermal failure of microelectronic systems is becoming an increasingly difficult design problem. This paper describes heat-transfer research into the important case of air cooling by forced convection of an array of electronic modules on a printed circuit board (PCB). Because of the interrupted nature of the airflow over the surface and the complex three-dimensional nature of the heat flow path, theoretical analysis is difficult and heat-transfer data for design are relatively scarce. A research rig was designed and constructed which provided control of module power dissipation and continuously monitored the temperature of individual packages. An automatic data-acquisition system was successfully developed to record the large amount of experimental data that was generated. Realistic finite element models of the electronic package, leads and substrate were developed and used to reveal the temperature distribution. These models were also used, in conjunction with the experimental data, to determine heat-transfer coefficients. Correlations were established that related the value of the heat-transfer coefficient to distance from the leading edge of the PCB. It is intended that these correlations, together with the thermal analysis contained in the paper, will provide useful data for designers.
Performance evaluation of disposable inhalable aerosol sampler at a copper electrorefinery (2019)

This study evaluates the performance of the disposable inhalable aerosol sampler (DIAS), a new sampler developed to be more cost-effective than the traditional inhalable particle samplers and comparable to the inhalable particle sampling convention. Forty-eight pairs of the DIAS prototype and the IOM sampler were utilized to collect copper exposure measurements (23 personal and 25 area) at an electrorefinery facility. The geometric mean (GM) value of ratios of exposure data (DIAS/IOM) was 1.1, while the GM of ratios (DIAS/IOM) was 1.6 for the area exposure data, revealing 84% of the ratios were greater than one. For both personal and area exposure data, the concordance correlation coefficient tests revealed significant disagreements between the two types of samplers and suggested precision as the source of the disagreement. The estimated mean concentration was higher for the DIAS compared that for the IOM for the area exposure data (p < 0.05), while the results were comparable for the personal exposure data (p = 0.49). Overall, the DIAS generated higher exposure results compared to the IOM sampler for the area exposures. For the personal exposures, the findings were inconclusive due to inconsistent results of factors aforementioned. This study is limited to one metal component (copper) of the dust at a worksite. To date, this is the first field evaluation using personal exposure data to test the performance of the DIAS and the second evaluation using area exposure data. Thus, it will be necessary to conduct additional field evaluations with various elements to further evaluate the performance of the DIAS. In addition, particle migration to the internal walls of the cap was observed during the transportation of collected samples to a laboratory for both sampler types (6.4% for the DIAS and 7.4% for the IOM). Occupational health and safety professionals should be aware of potential errors caused from transferring samples from a field to a laboratory and should be careful not to exclude particles collected on the caps.
Hardware compressed main memory: operating system support and performance evaluation (2001)

A new memory subsystem, called Memory Xpansion Technology (MXT), has been built for compressing main memory contents. MXT effectively doubles the physically available memory transparently to the CPUs, input/output devices, device drivers, and application software. An average compression ratio of two or greater has been observed for many applications. Since compressibility of memory contents varies dynamically, the size of the memory managed by the operating system is not fixed. In this paper, we describe operating system techniques that can deal with such dynamically changing memory sizes. We also demonstrate the performance impact of memory compression using the SPEC CPU2000 and SPECweb99 benchmarks. Results show that the hardware compression of memory has a negligible performance penalty compared to a standard memory for many applications. For memory starved applications and benchmarks such as SPECweb99, memory compression improves the performance significantly. Results also show that the memory contents of many applications can be compressed, usually by a factor of two to one.
Rapid detection of hepatitis B surface antigen by double antibody radioimmunoassay (1978)

HBsAg and anti-HBs can be detected by double-antibody radioimmunoassay in a reliable routine overnight assay of sensitivity approaching that of solid-phase immunoradiometric assay. The test requires careful standardisation and regular preparation of I125-HBsAg of appropriate quality, but otherwise uses only small quantities of commercially available reagents. In this paper, the reaction kinetics of the first incubation (test sample + limiting amount of rabbit anti-HBs), second incubation (reaction mixture + I125 -HBsAg) and precipitation reaction (reaction mixture + antirabbit globulin) were examined, to determine the minimum time required for the assay compatible with adequate sensitivity and user convenience; in addition, in order to reduce the time of radioactive counting, the maximum amount of I125-HBsAg per test compatible with a satisfactory assay was examined. It was concluded that, by terminating each reaction before equilibrium was reached, results could be obtained in 2--3 hours with a detection limit similar to the standard overnight procedure. To allow routine examination of large numbers of samples, the possibilities of complete automation of this liquid-phase type of assay were discussed.
The Oncogenic MicroRNA-21 Inhibits the Tumor Suppressive Activity of FBXO11 to Promote Tumorigenesis (2015)

The microRNA miR-21 is overexpressed in most human cancers and accumulating evidence indicates that it functions as an oncogene. Since miRNAs suppress the expression of their target genes, we hypothesized that some miR-21 targets may act as tumor suppressors, and thus their expression would be anticipated to be reduced by the high miR-21 levels observed in various human cancers. By microarray analysis and quantitative PCR we identified and validated FBXO11 (a member of the F-box subfamily lacking a distinct unifying domain) as a miR-21 target gene. FBXO11 is a component of the SKP1-CUL1-F-box ubiquitin ligase complex that targets proteins for ubiquitination and proteosomal degradation. By loss of function and gain of function studies, we show that FBXO11 acts as a tumor suppressor, promotes apoptosis and mediates the degradation of the oncogenic protein BCL6. The critical role that FBXO11 plays in miR-21-mediated tumorigenesis was demonstrated by a rescue experiment, in which silencing FBXO11 in miR-21KD cancer cells restored their high tumorigenicity. Expression of miR-21 and FBXO11 are inversely correlated in tumor tissue, and their expression correlates with patient survival and tumor grade. High FBXO11 expression correlates with better patient survival and lower tumor grade consistent with its tumor suppressor activity. In contrast high miR-21 expression, which correlates with poor patient survival and higher tumor grade, is consistent with its oncogenic activity. Our results identify FBXO11 as a novel miR-21 target gene, and demonstrate that the oncogenic miRNA miR-21 decreases the expression of FBXO11, which normally acts as a tumor suppressor, and thereby promotes tumorigenesis.
Information retrieval and applications: minitrack introduction (2003)

Introduction Information Retrieval algorithms support the computerized search of large document collections (millions of documents) to retrieve small subsets of documents relevant to a user's information need. Such algorithms are the basis for internet search engines as well as digital library catalogues. In the past few years applications areas of information retrieval methods have included question-answering and text categorization. For HICSS-36, three papers were selected for inclusion into this minitrack, covering three different areas in information retrieval: natural language processing as an essential element of accurate search, the use of bilingual dictionaries in cross-language information retrieval and methods for evaluating algorithm performance under conditions of statistical uncertainty. These papers provide a useful cross-section which indicate the breadth of the field.
Real-time Aberration Compensation without a Wavefront Sensor (2005)

In conventional adaptive optics, the wavefront sensor is often claimed to be an essential component. In this talk, we shall discuss the case where there is no wavefront sensor, and so- called "image-sharpening" techniques are used.
Automatic identification of bird species based on sinusoidal modeling of syllables (2004)

Syllables are elementary building blocks of bird song. In the sounds of many songbirds, a large class of syllables can be approximated as amplitude and frequency varying brief sinusoidal pulses. We test how well bird species can be recognized by comparing simple sinusoidal representations of isolated syllables. Results are encouraging and show that, with limited sets of bird species, a recognizer based on this signal model may already be sufficient.
Acoustic horn reflectance: Equations and measurements (2014)

Reflectance is the transfer function between forward and reflected components of pressure waves that propagate in wave guides such as acoustic horns. Exact solutions to Webster's Horn Equation are only known for a few specific shapes, including parabolic, conical, and exponential. Explicit equations for reflectance in these three horn shapes were recently published for infinite-length horns. Measured reflectance in 3D-printed, finite-length examples of these horn shapes, show no similarity in the frequency-domain to exact reflectance for infinite-length horns. The similarity improves after adjustments to both the equations and the measurements. New equations were derived for exact reflectance of finite-length horns. Measured reflectance was smoothed by time-domain windowing. In contrast to frequency-domain reflectance, comparisons of time-domain reflectance prior to the time sound reaches the end of the horn were not much affected by these adjustments. Because exact equations are known and 3D-printed examples are easy to obtain, these three horn shapes may be useful as standards for comparing different reflectance-measurement systems.
Role of the redox state of cerium oxide on glycine adsorption: an experimental and theoretical study (2023)

The role of the oxidation state of cerium cations in a thin oxide film in the adsorption, geometry, and thermal stability of glycine molecules was studied. The experimental study was performed for a submonolayer molecular coverage deposited in vacuum on CeO<sub>2</sub>(111)/Cu(111) and Ce<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>(111)/Cu(111) films by photoelectron and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopies and supported by <i>ab initio</i> calculations for prediction of the adsorbate geometries, C 1s and N 1s core binding energies of glycine, and some possible products of the thermal decomposition. The molecules adsorbed on the oxide surfaces at 25 °C in the anionic form <i>via</i> the carboxylate oxygen atoms bound to cerium cations. A third bonding point through the amino group was observed for the glycine adlayers on CeO<sub>2</sub>. In the course of stepwise annealing of the molecular adlayers on CeO<sub>2</sub> and Ce<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, the surface chemistry and decomposition products were analyzed and found to relate to different reactivities of glycinate on Ce<sup>4+</sup> and Ce<sup>3+</sup> cations, observed as two dissociation channels <i>via</i> C-N and C-C bond scission, respectively. The oxidation state of cerium cations in the oxide was shown to be an important factor, which defines the properties, electronic structure, and thermal stability of the molecular adlayer.
Human microRNA expression in sporadic and FAP-associated desmoid tumors and correlation with beta-catenin mutations (2017)

Desmoid tumors (DT) are rare, benign, fibroblastic neoplasm with challenging histological diagnosis. DTs can occur sporadically or associated with the familial adenomatous polyposis coli (FAP). Most sporadic DTs are associated with β-catenin gene (CTNNB1) mutations, while mutated APC gene causes FAP disease. microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in many human carcinogenesis.The miRNA profile was analyzed by microarray in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens of 12 patients (8 sporadic, 4 FAP-associated) and 4 healthy controls. One hundred and one mRNAs resulted dysregulated, of which 98 in sporadic DTs and 8 in FAP-associated DTs, 5 were shared by both tumors. Twenty-six miRNAs were then validated by RT-qPCR in 23 sporadic and 7 FAP-associated DT samples matched with healthy controls. The qPCR method was also used to evaluate the CTNNB1 mutational status in sporadic DTs. The correlation between sporadic DTs and miRNA expression showed that miR-21-3p increased in mutated versus wild-type DTs, while miR-197-3p was decreased. The mRNA expression of Tetraspanin3 and Serpin family A member 3, as miR-21-3p targets, and L1 Cell Adhesion Molecule, as miR-197-3p target, was also evaluate. CTNNB1 mutations associated to miRNA dysregulation could affect the genesis and the progression of this disease and help histological diagnosis of sporadic DTs.
Marine Curing of Steel Fiber Composites (1989)

With the attractive possibility of offshore concrete casting in mind, the effects of marine curing on the pull‐out behavior of steel fibers were investigated. Single fiber pull‐out specimens were chosen to clearly examine the behavior of individual fibers. Three curing temperatures of 2°, 22°, and 38 °C were chosen. Deformed fibers with hooks on both ends were chosen. The effects of silica fume addition were also investigated. Pull‐out resistances were continuously monitored by conducting tests starting at the age of 1 day up to about 3 months. In some cases, the tests were extended to an age of 1 year. Some fibers were retrieved and examined in a scanning electron microscope. Curing at a low temperature of 2 °C was not found to adversely affect the pull‐out resistance even after one year of continuous marine exposure. High temperatures, however, were found to promote an early corrosion leading to substantial reductions in pull‐out resistances. The presence of silica fume was not found to promote strength retrogression in any particular way. The deformed locations of the fibers, perhaps because of the residual stresses, were found to be particularly susceptible to anodic pitting.
Tailing RFID Tags for Clone Detection. (2013)

RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) is a key emerging technology for supply-chain monitoring and detection of counterfeit and grey-market goods. The most prevalent RFID tags are, however, simply “wireless barcodes,” themselves vulnerable to cloning and counterfeiting. While continuous monitoring can, in principle, detect cloning attacks, real-world supply chains often contain significant blind zones where tag readings are unavailable, allowing attackers to inject counterfeit goods with cloned tags into supply chains undetectably. This paper introduces tailing, a novel approach, both simple and practical, for detecting cloned RFID tags in supply chains. With tailing, RFID readers write random values to tags as they pass through a supply chain, creating in each tag a tail composed of random values. The tails of legitimate tags and cloned ones diverge over time, making cloning detectable by a centralized detector even across blind zones. We show that tailing works with existing barcode-type tags (e.g., EPC tags). The centralized detector is noninteractive, and requires no modification of existing supplychain data flows. We characterize the cloning-detection efficacy of tailing analytically and through supply-chain simulations, showing that tailing presents high detection rates and low false positive rates, as well as rate tradeoffs outperforming those of previous schemes.