gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Microplastics as a Trojan horse for trace metals (2021)

Due to an assumed lack of anionic binding sites (most plastics are non-polar), scientists long considered virgin particulate plastics inert towards metal ions. However, we proved significant metal sorption to microplastics at neutral pH and release in a solution mimicking gastrointestinal chemistry serving as a proof-of-principle for environmental and human bioavailability. Competitive ion-exchange incubation experiments comprised 55 metals and metalloids. Fast kinetics were observed with 45 %–75 % of As, Be, Bi, Cr, Fe, In, Pb, Th, Sn and the rare-earth element ions being sorbed after 1 h. The investigated metal and metalloid cations showed significant differences in the extent of sorption, based upon which a distinct categorization was possible. Microplastics are not only a potential danger for aquatic and human life, but - as demonstrated in this paper - also serve as a Trojan Horse for dissolved metal cations. The corresponding effects on aquatic and human health will gain higher importance in the near future due to the predicted increases of marine plastic litter and microplastic sorbents.
Kv1.2-Containing K+Channels Regulate Subthreshold Excitability of Striatal Medium Spiny Neurons (2004)

A slowly inactivating, low-threshold K(+) current has been implicated in the regulation of state transitions and repetitive activity in striatal medium spiny neurons. However, the molecular identity of the channels underlying this current and their biophysical properties remain to be clearly determined. Because previous work had suggested this current arose from Kv1 family channels, high-affinity toxins for this family were tested for their ability to block whole cell K(+) currents activated by depolarization of acutely isolated neurons. alpha-Dendrotoxin, which blocks channels containing Kv1.1, Kv1.2, or Kv1.6 subunits, decreased currents evoked by depolarization. Three other Kv1 family toxins that lack a high affinity for Kv1.2 subunits, r-agitoxin-2, dendrotoxin-K, and r-margatoxin, failed to significantly reduce currents, implicating channels with Kv1.2 subunits. RT-PCR results confirmed the expression of Kv1.2 mRNA in identified medium spiny neurons. Currents attributable to Kv1.2 channels activated rapidly, inactivated slowly, and recovered from inactivation slowly. In the subthreshold range (ca. -60 mV), these currents accounted for as much as 50% of the depolarization-activated K(+) current. Moreover, their rapid activation and relatively slow deactivation suggested that they contribute to spike afterpotentials regulating repetitive discharge. This inference was confirmed in current-clamp recordings from medium spiny neurons in the slice preparation where Kv1.2 blockade reduced first-spike latency and increased discharge frequency evoked from hyperpolarized membrane potentials resembling the "down-state" found in vivo. These studies establish a clear functional role for somato-dendritic Kv1.2 channels in the regulation of state transitions and repetitive discharge in striatal medium spiny neurons.
Maternal Pre-pregnancy BMI Associates With Sex-Specific Placental microRNA Patterns (2022)

Maternal obesity is communicated to the fetus through the placenta. Mouse studies have shown sex-specific responses to maternal obesity in both the placenta and offspring. Epigenetic mechanisms, like microRNAs, may mediate these changes, as they can modulate gene expression in response to environmental stimulus. Here we test the hypothesis that sex-specific responses to maternal pre-pregnancy BMI (ppBMI) are evident in placental microRNA abundances. We used small-RNA sequencing to assay placental microRNAs from the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study (NHBCS, n = 281) and the Rhode Island Child Health Study (RICHS, n = 187). MicroRNAs previously associated with ppBMI were regressed on the product of ppBMI and infant sex using negative binomial generalized linear models. Cohort-level results were combined using fixed effects meta-analysis. We found evidence of five microRNAs with sex-specific ppBMI associations (FDR < 0.05) in NHBCS and three microRNAs with consistent interaction effects across both cohorts (meta-analysis p-value < 0.05). In both cohorts, miR-9903, miR-122–5p and miR-548x-3p were downregulated in males, relative to females (51% in NHBCS and RICHS), with ppBMI. mRNA targets of miR-9903 are enriched among pathways related to glucose transport. Both miR-122–5p and miR-548x-3p are predicted to target estrogen receptor 1 transcript (esr1). This study reveals that placental microRNAs are susceptible to maternal ppBMI, in an infant sex-specific manner. Our results support previous findings in mice and suggest that placental microRNAs may mediate the differential abundance of esr1 in male and female placentae. NIEHS (R24ES028507, R01ES025145, P30ES019776), NIMHD R01MD011698 and NICHD 1K99HD104991-01.
Figs S1-S8 from Optimization of Erlotinib Plus Sulindac Dosing Regimens for Intestinal Cancer Prevention in an Apc-Mutant Model of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) (2023)

&lt;p&gt;Figs S1-S8, Supplementary Tables 1&amp;2&lt;/p&gt;
A study on speech over the telephone and aging (2001)

We describe an experiment to show how the comprehensibility of speech over the telephone is related to the age of the listener. Our intention is to show figures to prove the commonly-held belief that as we get older our hearing of information over the telephone degrades. The study was set up to determine, for all age groups from 20-29 to 80-89, whether comprehension degrades with age and with the type of speech (synthetic or natural). We gave subjects sentences containing target word pairs that they were to write down. The pairs contained more or less predictable words. Our findings, which we consider to be preliminary due to the sample size, show degradation of comprehension with age and degradation from natural speech to synthetic speech.
Supplementary Figure from HPV Sequencing Facilitates Ultrasensitive Detection of HPV Circulating Tumor DNA (2023)

Supplementary Figure from HPV Sequencing Facilitates Ultrasensitive Detection of HPV Circulating Tumor DNA
Effect of leukotriene B4 on enhancement of superoxide production evoked by formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine in myeloid differentiated HL-60 cells: possible involvement of intracellular calcium influx and high affinity receptor for leukotriene B4. (1990)

Exposure of a human leukemic cell line HL-60 to 1% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) for 4 days induced myeloid differentiation. DMSO-differentiated HL-60 cells displayed high and low-affinity binding sites for leukotriene B4 (LTB4). The pretreatment of myeloid differentiated HL-60 cells with 1-10 nM LTB4 enhanced superoxide production evoked by 100 nM formyl-methionyl-leucylphenylalanine (fMLP) to 127-137% of the controls stimulated by fMLP alone. A concentration eliciting a half maximal increase (EC50) of LTB4 for the enhancing effect on superoxide production evoked by fMLP was 0.32 nM. This was roughly similar to the dissociation constant (Kd) of high affinity receptors for LTB4 (0.23 nM). These results suggest that high affinity receptors transduce the enhancing effect of LTB4 on fMLP-induced superoxide production. Although it seems possible that enhancement of fMLP-induced superoxide production is associated with a substantial increase and/or an affinity alteration in receptors for fMLP, LTB4-pretreated cells failed to show significant changes in fMLP binding compared to non-pretreated ones. It seems likely that Ca2+ influx transduces enhancement of fMLP-induced superoxide production, because extracellular Ca2+ is necessary for an enhancing effect of fMLP-induced superoxide production. Also, EC50 of LTB4 for Ca2+ influx (0.78 nM) was similar to that of the enhancing effect of superoxide generation evoked by fMLP. Although pretreatment of LTB4 failed to enhance the maximal level of fMLP-induced intracellular Ca2+ rise, transient overshoot in intracellular Ca2+ evoked by fMLP declined more rqpidly after LTB4 pretreatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Smart Spring Control of Vibration and Noise in Helicopter Blades (2005)

Helicopters are versatile tools for many applications but unfortunately create significant vibration and noise. Traditional passive and active approaches to suppress these vibrations are either effective only at specific frequencies or limited by electromechanical capabilities of smart actuators to overcome the severe aerodynamic conditions. The Smart Spring is a device that avoids these limitations by only altering the structural impedance properties of the blade root. It is desired to implement a numerical tool to analyze the effectiveness of the Smart Spring and to perform efficient parametric studies. In the paper, the Smart Spring is modeled in the SMARTROTOR aeroelastic/aeroacoustic helicopter code as part of the pitch link. It is verified that the Smart Spring is an effective tool for suppressing vibratory loads passing through the pitch link to the airframe. Copyright
A Simplified Hybrid Orientation Technology (SHOT) for high performance CMOS (2004)

A new concept in high performance VLSI called Simplified Hybrid Orientation Technology (SHOT) is introduced. This novel process flow creates circuits with independently oriented surface channels for pMOS and nMOS by integrating FinFETs with planar Ultra-Thin SOI (UTSOI) MOSFETs for the first time. The unique CMOS structure enables high mobility surface channel orientation for both devices. The SHOT scheme is also capable of producing PDSOI devices on the same chip. pFinFET drive current is among the best results reported (810 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m at V/sub dd/ = 1.2V).
Effective Acupuncture Practice through Diagnosis Based on Distribution of Meridian Pathways & Related Syndromes (2011)

This article discusses the importance of acupuncture practice utilizing diagnosis and distribution of various meridians and connecting channels based on meridian theory. The meridian system is considered as basic anatomy for acupuncture, so the corresponding pathways and related syndromes of different channels should play a key role in differentiation, known as meridian-related pattern differentiation. Since this doctrine originated in ancient times and was not so well developed in later generations, many acupuncturists are not able to utilize it efficiently. The authors survey how this doctrine was weakened during the past century, especially in acupuncture education for foreigners, and how this important method is currently being reinvigorated. This article also lays out the ways this doctrine can be applied clinically and introduces examples of a variety of indications including some difficult cases, such as whiplash injury, intervertebral disc herniation, oculomotor nerve paralysis, and eczema, etc.
CONNECTIVITY: SMART SENSORS OR SMART INTERFACES (2001)

Smart sensors devices may not be the universal panacea early proponents have suggested; other technologies, such as smart sensor interfaces, may provide essential tools to help make industrial processes more efficient and better integrate manufacturing operations with the rest of the enterprise.
Cloud-based Machine Learning Techniques Implemented by Microsoft Azure for Designing Power Amplifiers (2021)

Designing power amplifiers based on the demanded power and frequency is one of the challenging processes of circuits design in electrical engineering. This is best understood when it comes to thermal noises and other unwanted agents. This is why the application of cloud-based methods can be beneficial to save time and money for designing such complex systems. In this paper, several machine learning (ML) approaches have been used to design a class E amplifier. In this regard, the proposed methods, which are implemented via Microsoft Azure, are used to model and predict the circuit element values of the class E amplifier. In order to reach a reliable design, some important unwanted factors such as nonlinear parasitic elements of the transistor are considered. The results demonstrated that not only can the proposed could-based techniques estimate such elements accurately, but also working with such tools are really easy.
Finger Force and Touch Feedback Issues in Dexterous Telemanipulation (2005)

Multifingered robotic hands, when used as the slave end effectors in teleoperation, have some advan- tages over the conventional parallel jaw grippers. Effec- tive teleoperation of such end effectors raises the prob- lem of using suitable master devices. The most appropri- ate master devices for this purpose are the instrumented gloves and the hand exoskeletons. When using such mas- ter devices, either for telemanipulation of objects or for interacting with virtual worlds, it is crucial to the success of the task that the human operator feels the grasping and manipulating forces exerted by the slave robotic fin- gers. This requires that the slave hand fingertip forces as well as the tactual sensations be fedback to the hu- man operator's fingers via the dexterous master. This paper thus has two goals. The first goal is to iden- tify and analyze some specific requirements on the design of dexterous master devices meant for teleoperating mul- tifingered robotic hands, within this context of finger force feedback. The requirements are of 2 categories: construc- tional and functional. The constructional issues consist of the isomorphism, portability, motion range capabil- ity, and accommodation for human hand size variability. The functional issues consist of the bandwidth compat- ibility with the human hand, which itself has asymmet- ric input/output characteristics, the proprioceptive (force limit) compatibility, and the consideration of the psycho- metric stability of the human hand in sensing force magni- tudes and variations. Also of importance is the sensitivity of the master device that must be more than that of the human hand. Also evaluated in this paper are the 14 existing designs of hand masters to see how well they satisfy the afore stated constructional and functional requirements. Only 6 are capable of feeding back the slave finger forces to that of the operator while none of them completely satisfy all the requirements listed above. Hence described at the end is a new design of a force feedback master aimed at satis- fying the requirements. Its fabrication and experimental demonstration, however, remain to be performed. The second goal of this paper is to evaluate the state-
Evaluating the potential for undesired genomic effects of the piggyBac transposon system in human cells (2015)

Non-viral transposons have been used successfully for genetic modification of clinically relevant cells including embryonic stem, induced pluripotent stem, hematopoietic stem and primary human T cell types. However, there has been limited evaluation of undesired genomic effects when using transposons for human genome modification. The prevalence of piggyBac(PB)-like terminal repeat (TR) elements in the human genome raises concerns. We evaluated if there were undesired genomic effects of the PB transposon system to modify human cells. Expression of the transposase alone revealed no mobilization of endogenous PB-like sequences in the human genome and no increase in DNA double-strand breaks. The use of PB in a plasmid containing both transposase and transposon greatly increased the probability of transposase integration; however, using transposon and transposase from separate vectors circumvented this. Placing a eGFP transgene within transposon vector backbone allowed isolation of cells free from vector backbone DNA. We confirmed observable directional promoter activity within the 5'TR element of PB but found no significant enhancer effects from the transposon DNA sequence. Long-term culture of primary human cells modified with eGFP-transposons revealed no selective growth advantage of transposon-harboring cells. PB represents a promising vector system for genetic modification of human cells with limited undesired genomic effects.
Rabbit Models of Ocular Diseases: New Relevance for Classical Approaches (2016)

Over 100 million individuals are affected by irreversible visual impairments and blindness worldwide, while ocular diseases remain a challenging problem despite significant advances in modern ophthalmology. Development of novel drugs and drug delivery mechanisms, as well as advanced ophthalmological techniques requires experimental models including animals, capable of developing ocular diseases with similar etiology and pathology, suitable for future trials of new therapeutic approaches. Although experimental ophthalmology and visual research are traditionally performed on rodent models, these animals are often unsuitable for pre-clinical drug efficacy and safety studies, as well as for testing novel drug delivery approaches, e.g. controlled release of pharmaceuticals using intra-ocular implants. Therefore, rabbit models of ocular diseases are particularly useful in this context, since rabbits can be easily handled, while sharing more common anatomical and biochemical features with humans compared to rodents, including longer life span and larger eye size. This review provides a brief description of clinical, morphological and mechanistic aspects of the most common ocular diseases (dry eye syndrome, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, light-induced retinopathies, cataract and uveitis) and summarizes the diversity of current strategies for their experimental modeling in rabbits. Several applications of some of these models in ocular pharmacology and eye care strategies are also discussed.
Mediators of perivascular inflammation in the left ventricle of renovascular hypertensive rats (1996)

Thus, inflammatory cells infiltrate the cardiac tissue of renovascular hypertensive rats as in the case of spontaneously hypertensive rats and these cells may use the ICAM-1/LFA-1 system to infiltrate, but neither TGF beta 1 and PDGF-A, nor the kininogen system seem to be associated with cardiac fibrogenesis. Otherwise, the complement system could act as arteriosclerotic and/or leukocyte mobilizing factors.
Time-of-flight neutron diffraction study of bovine γ-chymotrypsin at the Protein Crystallography Station (2011)

The overarching goal of this research project is to determine, for a subset of proteins, exact hydrogen positions using neutron diffraction, thereby improving H-atom placement in proteins so that they may be better used in various computational methods that are critically dependent upon said placement. In order to be considered applicable for neutron diffraction studies, the protein of choice must be amenable to ultrahigh-resolution X-ray crystallography, be able to form large crystals (1 mm3 or greater) and have a modestly sized unit cell (no dimension longer than 100 Å). As such, γ-chymotrypsin is a perfect candidate for neutron diffraction. To understand and probe the role of specific active-site residues and hydrogen-bonding patterns in γ-chymotrypsin, neutron diffraction studies were initiated at the Protein Crystallography Station (PCS) at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). A large single crystal was subjected to H/D exchange prior to data collection. Time-of-flight neutron diffraction data were collected to 2.0 Å resolution at the PCS with ∼85% completeness. Here, the first time-of-flight neutron data collection from γ-­chymotrypsin is reported.
Combination of CDK and Bcl-2 inhibitors in the treatment of soft-tissue sarcomas. (2018)

11582 Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) present high mortality rates when metastatic and therefore identification of new active therapies is needed. Dinaciclib is a promising CDK inhibitor under evaluation in clinics, targeting principally CDK1 and CDK9 (involved in cell cycle and transcription regulation). BH3-mimetics are a promising new class of pro-apoptotic drugs for cancer treatment. Methods: We analyzed the response to Dinaciclib in a series of different STSs established cell lines, as apoptotic induction visualized in Flow Cytometry. Cell lines were categorized as Dinaciclib-sensitive and Dinaciclib-tolerant. Differences were studied by relevant protein expression changes during treatment leading to hypothesis proposal for key regulators. Validation of targets was performed by siRNA technology prior to engage in drug combination testing. In vivo experiments encompassed drugs safety and effectivity. Results: Dinaciclib induced apoptotic cell death, with important differences in the extent and timing among cell lines. Liposarcoma 402-91 was the most sensitive (cell death > 75% after 72 h), whereas leiomyosarcoma SK-LMS-1 was highly tolerant to Dinaciclib (cell death < 25%). Major partners in cell cycle and apoptosis induction signaling networks were affected by Dinaciclib treatment. The inhibition status of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL was identified as the main determinant of the rhythm and extent of apoptosis triggering. In vitro combination of Dinaciclib with chemical Bcl-xL inhibitors (ABT-747 and A-1331852) overcame tolerance and triggered massive cell death in cultures (95% of cell death after 24 h). Once safely scalated to mice experimentation, drug combination effectiveness on mice engrafted tumors is currently ongoing. Conclusions: CDK inhibitors are active in STSs cell lines. The inhibition status of Bcl-xL can be considered as a predictor of Dinaciclib sensitivity in STS. Combinatorial strategies with CDK inhibitors and BH3-mimetics are worth examination as a new proposal for STS treatment.
Effect of Herbicide Incorporation Methods on Shattercane (Sorghum bicolor) Control in Corn (Zea mays) (1987)

Field experiments were conducted at Lincoln, NE, in 1983 and 1984 to determine the effectiveness of subsurface jet injection of herbicides on a simulated shattercane [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench # SORVU] infestation in corn ( Zea mays L.). Alachlor [2-chloro- N -(2,6-diethylphenyl)- N -(methoxymethyl)acetamide] and EPTC ( S -ethyl dipropyl carbamothioate) plus dichlormid (2,2-dichloro- N,N -di-2-propenylacetamide), incorporated with a disc or applied from the subsurface and surface with a jet injector attached to a sweep plow, generally produced higher corn yields and shattercane control than herbicides applied with the sweep to the subsurface only. EPTC plus dichlormid controlled shattercane better than alachlor. Cultivation improved shattercane control by at least 10% in conjunction with most jet injection and disc-incorporated alachlor treatments. Cultivation increased corn yields by about 10 to 20% when averaged over all herbicides and application patterns. A subsurface plus surface herbicide injection system supplemented with cultivation would be a possible method of incorporating herbicides in reduced tillage to selectively control shattercane in corn.
Composite nanoparticle-metal-organic frameworks for SERS sensing (2023)

In recent years, metal-organic frameworks, in general, and zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, in special, had become popular due to their large surface area, pore homogeneity, and easy preparation and integration with plasmonic nanoparticles to produce optical sensors. Herein, we summarize the late advances in the use of these hybrid composites in the field of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and their future perspectives.