gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Diphasic Xerogels, A New Class of Materials: Phases in the System Al 2 o 3 ‐Sio 2 (1984)

Two series of xerogels (desiccated hydrogels), one consisting of single phases and the other of two phases, were prepared from organic and inorganic precursors in the system Al 2 o 3 ‐Sio 2 . The effect of these nanostructural differences in the xerogel powders on the energy content and behavior on heating were studied using DTA, powder X‐ray diffraction, and ultrafast heating on a strip furnace. The results demonstrate that diphasic xerogels are substantially different materials from single‐phase xerogels of the same composition.
<title>Solid state diode-pumped eye-safe lasers in remote sensing and ecological monitoring systems</title> (2002)

The perspective of using diode pumped solid-state 1.5 — 2 µm lasers for synthesis of laser measurement systems is discussed. Comparative estimations of atmospheric transmission in spectral windows of 1 .0 — 1.1 µm, 1 .5 — 1.7 µm and 2.0-2.3 µm are made, and characteristics of solid-state lasers and low-threshold receivers are considered. It is shown that lasers based on Yb-Er glass and crystals doped with erbium and holmium ions are preferable to lasers based on non-linear optical converters of neodymium-lasers radiation to the 1.5 — 2 µm spectral region by their "efficiency/cost" ratio.
Cryptococcus neoformans: a Sugar-Coated Killer (2014)

The main principles for the genetic pathophysiology of cryptococcosis will probably be consistent among all three varieties. In this chapter the author considers the yeasts to be different varieties or serotypes. Seven major areas are examined to support the potential molecular insights into this pathogenic yeast which will allow one to identify drug targets, define drug resistance mechanisms, and/or prepare mutants or fungal products for protective fungal vaccines. Initial molecular biology studies focused on distinguishing molecular strain differences with the use of karyotypes, repetitive elements, and eventually randomly amplified polymorphic DNAs, amplification fragment length polymorphisms, and PCR fingerprinting for strain genotyping. Cryptococcus neoformans has several well-characterized virulence phenotypes which have been approached in their understanding by both genetic and molecular tools. Experimental cryptococcosis in animal models has tended to be associated with large inocula or some type of induced immunosuppression. In summary, the encapsulated yeast C. neoformans has developed into a major human pathogen over the last two decades. It causes a serious infection which we can treat, but it is still associated with substantial morbidity and mortality and is correctly called the sugar-coated killer In C. neoformans, all the keys are in place to unlock the mysteries of what it means to be a fungal pathogen. This basidiomycete has become a model pathogen for the study of molecular fungal pathogenesis, and although it has unique features, many of the paradigms discovered by its study will be used to understand other invasive mycoses.
Passado, Presente e Perspectivas Futuras da Profissão de Nutricionista em Portugal (2014)

A formação conducente à profissão de nutricionista em Portugal inicia-se em 1975. Passados quase quarenta anos, estima-se existirem actualmente em Portugal perto de 1500 nutricionistas. Apesar de uma história ainda curta, esta profissão encerra já diversos acontecimentos marcantes que a impulsionaram, tornando-a uma profissão reconhecida por instituições, empresas e pela população em geral. Tendo em conta a realidade actual acreditamos que novas áreas de actuação irão emergir no futuro, podendo assumir um destaque idêntico à nutrição clínica, área de actuação onde exercem funções mais nutricionistas. Seria, contudo, importante a recomendação de rácios de nutricionistas, a nível governamental, nas diversas áreas de actuação/locais de trabalho, de forma a ser mais facilitador a colaboração destes profissionais. Este artigo pretende assim reflectir sobre o passado, sobre o presente e sobre perspectivas futuras da profissão de nutricionista em Portugal.
Meningioma subtype classification using morphology features and random forests (2013)

The majority of meningiomas belong to one of four subtypes: fibroblastic, meningothelial, transitional and psammomatous. Classification of histopathology images of these meningioma is a time consuming and error prone task, and as such automatic methods aim to help reduce time spent and errors made. This work is concerned with classifying histopathology images into the above subtypes by extracting simple morphology features to represent each image subtype. Morphology features are identified based on the pathology of the meningioma subtypes and are used to classify each image into one of the four WHO Grade I subtypes. The morphology features correspond to visual changes in the appearance of cells, and the presence of psammoma bodies. Using morphological image processing these features can be extracted and the presence of each detected feature is used to build a vector for each meningioma image. These feature vectors are then classified using a Random Forest based classifier. A set of 80 images was used for experimentation with each subtype being represented by 20 images, and a ten-fold cross validation approach was used to obtain an overall classification accuracy. Using the above methodology a maximum classification accuracy of 91:25% is achieved across the four subtypes with coherent misclassification (e.g. no misclassification between fibroblastic and meningothelial). This work demonstrates that morphology features can be used to perform meningioma subtype classification and provide an understandable link between the features identified in the images and the classification results obtained.
Estimating effective connectivity in linear brain network models (2017)

Contemporary neuroscience has embraced network science to study the complex and self-organized structure of the human brain. One of the main outstanding issues is that of inferring, from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, the so-called effective connectivity in brain networks, which models the causal interactions among neuronal populations. This inverse problem is complicated by the fact that the BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) signal measured by fMRI is a dynamic and nonlinear function (the hemodynamic response) of neuronal activity. In this paper, we consider resting-state (rs) fMRI data: building upon a linear population model of the hemodynamic response and a stochastic linear DCM model, the model parameters are estimated through an EM-type iterative procedure, which alternately estimates the neuronal activity by means of the Rauch-Tung-Striebel (RTS) smoother, updates the connections among neuronal states and refines the parameters of the hemodynamic model. A state-of-the-art iteratively reweighted scheme is adapted to the problem to favour sparsity in the interconnection structure. Experimental results using rs-fMRI data are shown, demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach in comparison with state-of-the-art routines (SPM12 toolbox).
Summary Recommendations for Responsible Monitoring and Regulation of Clinical Software Systems (1997)

Clinical software systems are becoming ubiquitous. A growing literature documents how these systems can improve health care delivery, but concerns about patient safety must now be formally addressed. In 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called for discussions on regulation of software programs as medical devices. In response, a consortium of organizations dedicated to improving health care through information technology developed recommendations for the responsible regulation and monitoring of clinical software systems by users, vendors, and regulatory agencies. These recommendations were revised and approved by the American Medical informatics Association Public Policy Committee and Board. Other organizations reviewed, modified, and approved the recommendations, and the Boards of Directors of most of the organizations in the consortium endorsed the guidelines. The consortium proposes four categories of clinical system risk and four classes of monitoring and regulatory action that can be applied on the basis of the risk level. The consortium recommends that most clinical software systems be supervised locally and that developers of health care information systems adopt a code of good business practices. Budgetary and other constraints limit the type and number of systems that the FDA can regulate effectively; therefore, the FDA should exempt most clinical software systems and focus on systems that pose high clinical risk and provide limited opportunity for competent human intervention.
Application of a Real‐Time PCR‐Based System for Monitoring of O26, O103, O111, O145 and O157 Shiga Toxin‐Producing Escherichia coli in Cattle at Slaughter (2012)

Faecal samples were collected from 573 slaughtered cattle aged between three and 24 months in seven abattoirs. After enrichment (mTSB with novobiocin), samples were screened by real-time PCR first for stx and if positive, tested for the top-five Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serogroups using PCR assays targeting genes specific for serogroups O26, O103, O111, O145 and O157. Of 563 samples with available results, 74.1% tested positive for stx genes. Amongst them, the serogroups O145, O103, O26, O157 and O111 were detected in 41.9%, 25.9%, 23.9%, 7.8% and 0.8%, respectively. From 95 O26, 166 O145 and 30 O157 PCR-positive samples, 17 O26, 28 O145 and 12 O157 strains were isolated by colony hybridization after immunomagnetic separation. The 17 O26 strains were eae-positive, but only nine strains harboured stx (eight possessing stx1 and one stx2). Of the 28 O145 strains, ten were eae-positive including four harbouring stx1 or stx2, whereas 18 were negative for stx and eae. Five of the 12 O157 strains harboured stx2 and eae, did not ferment sorbitol, and were identified as STEC O157:H7/H⁻. The other seven O157 strains were negative for stx and eae or positive only for eae. Shiga toxin genes and the top-five STEC serogroups were frequently found in young Swiss cattle at slaughter, but success rates for strain isolation were low and only few strains showed a virulence pattern of human pathogenic STEC.
Cell-penetrating peptides and their therapeutic applications (2009)

The process of introducing drugs into cells has always proved a major challenge for research scientists and for the pharmaceutical industry. The cell membrane is selectively permeable and supports no generic mechanism for their uptake. A drug must be either highly lipophilic or very small to stand a chance of cellular internalization. These restrictions mean that the repertoire of possible drug molecules is limited. Similarly, novel therapeutic approaches such as gene and protein therapy also have limited potential due to the cell-impermeable nature of peptides and oligonucleotides. The existing methods for delivery of macromolecules, such as viral vectors and membrane perturbation techniques, can result in high toxicity, immunogenicity and low delivery yield. However, in 1988 the remarkable ability of a peptide to traverse a cell's plasma membrane independent of a membrane receptor was revealed. Known as Tat, the transcription activator of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) viral genome was shown to enter cells in a non-toxic and highly efficient manner. In light of such properties Tat became known as the first 'cell-penetrating peptide' (CPP). CPPs have demonstrated themselves to be capable of delivering biologically active cargo to the cell interior and the vehicular capabilities of CPPs have already been harnessed for use as laboratory tools. However, it is believed that their true potential lies within the field of therapeutics. Attached to a CPP, therapeutic cargo could be delivered to an intracellular target, thus overcoming the entry restrictions set by the plasma membrane. Since the discovery of Tat, the number of known peptides with cell-penetrating capabilities has grown and in 2003, the first CPP-based drug reached phase II clinical trials. This review discusses the controversial mechanism of entry employed by CPPs, their potential applications in vitro and in vivo, and the ways in which CPP properties have been optimized to maximize their potential as future therapeutics.
Novel coumarin-based sensitive and selective fluorescent probes for biothiols in aqueous solution and in living cells (2013)

Two novel coumarin-derived fluorescent probes were designed and synthesized for the quantitative determination of biothiols, such as cysteine (Cys), glutathione (GSH) and homocysteine (Hcy). Both probes selectively and sensitively detected biothiols in vitro, and successfully sensed biothiols in vivo with low cytotoxicity, suggesting their potential application for biothiol detection.
Acinar adipose tissue infiltration in salivary gland biopsy is associated with kynurenines-Interferon-γ pathway inflammation biomarkers. (2020)

Kynurenines are biomarkers of greater adipose infiltration in LSGB and glandular dysfunction suggesting that activation of interferon-γ pathway is involved in the salivary and lacrimal glands damage.
Pursuing the American Dream: Economic Mobility Across Generations (2012)

Pursuing the American Dream uses the most current data to measure mobility by family income, wealth, and personal earnings to reveal how closely tied a person’s place on the economic ladder is to that of his or her parents’. While a majority of Americans exceed their parents’ family income and wealth, the extent of their absolute mobility gains are not always enough to move them to a different rung of the economic ladder. Measuring both absolute and relative mobility, some of the highlights of the research include: Eighty-four percent of Americans have higher family incomes than their parents did. However, those born at the top and bottom of the income ladder are likely to stay there as adults. Over 40 percent of Americans raised in the bottom quintile of the family income ladder remain stuck there adults, and 70 percent remain below the middle. African Americans are still less likely to exceed their parents’ income than are whites and they are more likely to be stuck at the bottom of the economic ladder across a generation. A four-year college degree promotes upward mobility from the bottom and prevents downward mobility from the middle and the top.
Primary nonfunction of islet xenografts in rat recipients results from non-t-cell-mediated immune responses (1997)

Primary nonfunction (PNF) and early graft failure affect the functional mass of islet tissue engrafted, and represent a major problem in clinical islet transplantation. Previous studies have shown that grafts of isolated canine pancreatic islets survive and function in immunocompetent murine recipients until graft rejection. In contrast, a very high rate of PNF has been demonstrated in rat recipients of canine islet xenografts.l Routine immunosuppressive protocols, such as cyclosporin therapy, have little effect on prolongation of graft survival in this combination. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in this strong, rapid immune response in the rat may provide focus in the development of strategies of immunosuppression which would be clinically relevant. To identify the effector mechanism of PNF in the dog-to-rat islet transplant model, we have shown that long-term culture, or inhibition of native complement, slightly improves early islet function in this model. In this study, we further investigate the effect of inhibiting lymphocyte activity, nitric oxide (NO) production, or macrophage (M(p) function on canine islet xenograft survival in rat recipients.
Towards a Framework for Analytics-driven Domain-specific Mashup Environments. (2013)

Abstract. Mashup environments enable end users to directly engage in the design process of the information system. Traditional mashup technology offers users generic components and therefore targets technically skilled people. Recent research investigates domain-specific mashup platforms with the aim to be easier to understand and use. We present a proposal for research towards a generic framework that supports the design of domain-specific mashup environments through native analytics.
Bio-Inspired Scheme for Classification of Visual Information (2011)

In this chapter, research on visual information classification based on biologically inspired visually selective attention with knowledge structuring is presented. The research objective is to develop visual models and corresponding algorithms to automatically extract features from selective essential areas of natural images, and finally, to achieve knowledge structuring and classification within a structural description scheme. The proposed scheme consists of three main aspects: biologically inspired visually selective attention, knowledge structuring and classification of visual information. Biologically inspired visually selective attention closely follow the mechanisms of the visual “what” and “where” pathways in the human brain. The proposed visually selective attention model uses a bottom-up approach to generate essential areas based on low-level features extracted from natural images. This model also exploits a low-level top-down selective attention mechanism which performs decisions on interesting objects by human interaction with preference or refusal inclination. Knowledge structuring automatically creates a relevance map from essential areas generated by visually selective attention. The developed algorithms derive a set of well-structured representations from low-level description to drive the final classification. The knowledge structuring relays on human knowledge to produce suitable links between low-level descriptions and high-level representation on a limited training set. The backbone is a distribution mapping strategy involving two novel modules: structured low-level feature extraction using convolution neural network and topology preservation based on sparse representation and unsupervised learning algorithm. Classification is achieved by simulating high-level top-down visual information perception and classification using an incremental Bayesian parameter estimation method. The utility of the proposed scheme for solving relevant research problems is validated. The proposed modular architecture offers straightforward expansion to include user relevance feedback, contextual input, and multimodal information if available.
Colorectal carcinoma infiltration by myeloperoxidase-expressing neutrophil granulocytes is associated with favorable prognosis (2013)

The prognostic relevance of innate immune cells infiltrating colorectal carcinoma lesions is highly debated. By evaluating the expression of myeloperoxidase (MPO) as a marker of neutrophil granulocytes in a large cohort of colorectal carcinoma specimens, we have observed that robust tumor-infiltration by MPO<sup>+</sup> cells correlates with improved patient survival independently of other histopathological parameters, including disease stage.
Measurement of Eleven Serum Proteins by Microparticle-Enhanced Nephelometric Immunoassay (1992)

Eleven proteins (immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, IgM, orosomucoid, alpha 1-antiproteinase, haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin, C-reactive protein, transferrin, prealbumin and alpha 2-macroglobulin) in human serum were quantitated by a new microparticle-enhanced nephelometric immunoassay. This is a one step competitive assay, based on the nephelometric measurement of light scattered by clusters of protein-coated microparticles specially synthesized for that use. Statistical evaluation (precision, recovery and method comparison) shows that the determination of serum proteins is reliable and accurate for wide ranges of concentration and that the method is quite adequate for strongly increased concentrations. This microparticle-enhanced nephelometric immunoassay appears to offer an alternative method for routine measurement of a great variety of serum proteins at high and intermediate concentrations, which are usually quantified by radial immunodiffusion or conventional immunonephelometry. On account of its sensitivity, it can also be used for the determination of relatively low concentrations of analytes.
Colonic motility, autonomic function, and gastrointestinal hormones under psychological stress on irritable bowel syndrome. (1987)

Effects of an artificial mental stress on colonic motility, autonomic nervous system, and gastrointestinal hormones were examined in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The subjects were 20 patients with typical IBS and 12 controls. A transducer was inserted to the sigmoid colon from the anus for measuring colonic intraluminal pressure, and mirror drawing test was loaded as psychological stress. At the same time, coefficient of variation of R-R interval on ECG (CV-RR) was measured and the levels of plasma catecholamines, gastrin, glucagon, and motilin were assessed. Colonic motility showed a significant increase in the IBS patients during the stress compared with that in controls (p less than 0.01). Motilin also increased significantly in the IBS patients after the stress (p less than 0.01). CV-RR and motilin revealed positive relationship with colonic motility alteration in the IBS patients although no significant change was detected in controls. These phenomena are thought to be due to autonomic nervous dysfunction and/or gastrointestinal hormonal derrangments induced by psychological stress. It is suggested that organ specificity of the alimentary tract for the stress exists in this disease.
Non-rigid brain image registration using a statistical deformation model (2006)

In this article, we propose a new registration method, based on a statistical analysis of deformation fields. At first, a set of MRI brain images was registered using a viscous fluid algorithm. The obtained deformation fields are then used to calculate a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based decomposition. Since PCA models the deformations as a linear combination of statistically uncorrelated principal components, new deformations can be created by changing the coefficients in the linear combination. We then use the PCA representation of the deformation fields to non-rigidly align new sets of images. We use a gradient descent method to adjust the coefficients of the principal components, such that the resulting deformation maximizes the mutual information between the deformed image and an atlas image. The results of our method are promising. Viscous fluid registrations of new images can be recovered with an accuracy of about half a voxel. Better results can be obtained by using a more extensive database of learning images (we only used 84). Also, the optimization method used here can be improved, especially to shorten computation time.
Lignocellulose bioconversion by engineered mixed cultures from cow rumen and termite gut microbiomes (2014)

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