gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
20 Years of standard patch testing in an eczema population with focus on patients with multiple contact allergies (2007)

Results of standard patch tests performed with the same methodology in one centre are rarely available over a large time span. This gives the unique opportunity to study not only prevalence but also persistency of contact allergy and characterize subpopulations. The objectives were to investigate sensitivity rates and persistencies of patch test results and characterize patients with multiple contact allergies. A 20-year retrospective database-based study of 14 998 patients patch tested with the European Standard Series was performed. 34.5% were sensitized, primarily women. Sensitivity to nickel was most frequent and least frequent to mercaptobenzothiazole, N-isopropyl-N-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine and benzocaine. Yearly proportion of negative, mono/double-allergic, and multiple-allergic cases remained stable. Persistency of positive reactions was high for para-phenylenediamine, Cl(Me)isothiazolinone, and primin and poor for paraben mix. 5.1% were multiple allergic, primarily women, and 90% got diagnosed by the first test. Frequency of multiple allergies increased with age. More multiple- than mono/double-allergic patients were tested multiple times. Persistency and sensitivity rates in a Danish eczema population are provided and are useful for decisions regarding the standard series. Patients with multiple contact allergies are typically elderly women who might have long-lasting and hard-to-treat eczema. Cumulative environmental exposure seems necessary to develop multiple allergies.
Online self-calibration for mobile robots (2003)

This paper proposes a statistical method for calibrating the odometry of mobile robots. In contrast to previous approaches, which require explicit measurements of actual motion when calibrating a robot's odometry, the algorithm proposed here uses the robot's sensors to automatically calibrate the robot as it operates. An efficient, incremental maximum likelihood algorithm enables the robot to adapt to changes in its kinematics online, as they occur. The appropriateness of the approach is demonstrated in two large-scale environments, where the amount of odometric error is reduced by an order of magnitude.
Minutiae Extraction from Fingerprint Images - a Review (2011)

Fingerprints are the oldest and most widely used form of biometric identification. Everyone is known to have unique, immutable fingerprints. As most Automatic Fingerprint Recognition Systems are based on local ridge features known as minutiae, marking minutiae accurately and rejecting false ones is very important. However, fingerprint images get degraded and corrupted due to variations in skin and impression conditions. Thus, image enhancement techniques are employed prior to minutiae extraction. A critical step in automatic fingerprint matching is to reliably extract minutiae from the input fingerprint images. This paper presents a review of a large number of techniques present in the literature for extracting fingerprint minutiae. The techniques are broadly classified as those working on binarized images and those that work on gray scale images directly.
The synthesis of α2‐macroglobulin by rat mammary myoepithelial cells is regulated by synergism between glucocorticoids and cytokines (1993)

Addition of hydrocortisone to the rat mammary gland myoepithelial cell line, G4.2.3, induces the synthesis and secretion of alpha 2-macroglobulin. Interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and transforming growth factor-beta synergize with hydrocortisone, increasing the synthesis of alpha 2-macroglobulin 2- to 4-fold, although they have no effect in the absence of hydrocortisone. Interleukin-6 is the most potent inducer having an optimum concentration of 1 ng/ml. Interleukin-6, unlike interleukin-1 beta or transforming growth factor-beta, decreases the lag phase from 10 h to 4 h before alpha 2-macroglobulin synthesis is induced by hydrocortisone. These results suggest that the mechanism of activation of transcription of the alpha 2-macroglobulin gene in mammary myoepithelial cells might differ from that operating in hepatic cells.
Comparative Effects of Fish Oil Supplementation and Montelukast on Airway Inflammation and Bronchoconstriction Induced by Eucapnic Voluntary Hyperventilation (2010)

PURPOSE: Fish oil (FO) supplementation and montelukast (MK) (Singulair®) have both been shown to be effective in reducing the severity of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). The relationship of fish oil supplementation with available pharmacotherapy for treating EIB has yet to be examined. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to determine the comparative and synergistic effects of FO supplementation and MK on airway inflammation and the severity of bronchoconstriction induced by eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH). METHODS: Twenty asthmatic subjects with EIB were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 2 treatment regimens for a period of 3 weeks. The regimens consisted of (1) active montelukast and placebo fish oil taken each day (MK group) (n=10) or (2) placebo montelukast and active fish oil (n=10) (FO group) taken daily. Following the 3 week period both groups (n=20) received active montelukast and active fish oil for a further 3 weeks (combination therapy, CT group). Subjects underwent an EVH challenge at the beginning of the study and at the end of each supplementation period. Pulmonary function, exhaled nitric oxide (FENO), and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) were collected pre- and post-EVH challenge. RESULTS: All three treatments (FO, MK, and CT) significantly reduced (p<0.05) the post-EVH drop in pulmonary function and attenuated markers of airway inflammation compared to pre-treatment levels. The maximum drop in FEV1 post-EVH challenge was -18.4± 2.1% pre-supplementation compared to -9.3±2.8% on FO, -11.6 + 2.8%, on MK, and -10.8±1.7% on CT. Significant reductions (p<0.05) in pre- and post-EVH cysteinyl leukotriene (cyst-LT) production and pre-EVH FENO levels were observed with each treatment compared to pre-supplementation values. Additionally, EBC pH was significantly increased (p<0.05) with each treatment protocol. No significant differences (p>0.05) were found between any of the treatments (FO, MK and CT) with respect to pulmonary function or any measure of airway inflammation. CONCLUSION: Fish oil is as effective as montelukast in attenuating airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction induced by EVH in asthmatic individuals. However, when fish oil was combined with montelukast no further reduction in airway inflammation or bronchoconstriction was observed.
Work in progress: Understanding migration patterns of engineering undergraduates: The impact of course grades on student major choice (2012)

Building on the work of others, we propose a different approach to studying the influence of letter grades on engineering students' major choice and migration patterns. As this work progresses, we will improve understanding of the effects of course performance, grading distributions, and early major intentions on the likelihood that students will persist in a given field.
New planar architectures for optical digital modulators (2012)

A general method to design planar lightwave circuit (PLC) digital modulators of any order and modulation format is presented, using only star couplers and a reduced number of straight phase modulators (PM) or electro absorption modulators (EAM), with respect to conventional schemes. In addition, no additional phase shifter is required. Detailed design guidelines for quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and phase shift keying (PSK) of any order are given.
Single treatment with cisplatin or UFT, but not their combination treatment enhances the metastatic capacity of mouse fibrosarcoma cells (1999)

To elucidate the roles of chemotherapeutic agents in tumor progression, we examined whether cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (cisplatin) and UFT would promote malignant progression of a weakly tumorigenic and poorly metastatic fibrosarcoma cell line OR-32SK in vivo. C57BL/6 mice, transplanted with QR32SK, were treated with either cisplatin or UFT alone and in combination. After treatment with or without cisplatin and/or UFT, we established in vitro culture cell lines from the tumors arising in the mice on day 21 and then i.v. injected the established cell lines into syngeneic mice. As a result, the cell lines established from cisplatin-treated mice and UFT-treated mice had significantly higher metastatic capacity in lung compared to the ones from control untreated mice (64 and 65%, respectively, versus 26.7%). The cell lines established from the mice with the combination therapy showed lower lung metastasis (11%) than the ones from control untreated mice. Furthermore, we found the incidences of these experimental metastases were closely related with in vitro chemotactic activities and the production of MMP-9 of the cultured cell lines. These results indicate that cisplatin and UFT as a single agent promote the chemotactic activities and the production of MMP-9 in non-metastatic fibrosarcoma cells, resulting in the conversion to highly metastatic ones, and that cisplatin and UFT in combination failed to promote the chemotactic activities and the conversion. These results suggest that the combination therapy with cisplatin and UFT is useful in preventing the emergence of more malignant tumor cells after chemotherapy.
Adaptive Causal Network Coding with Feedback for Multipath Multi-hop Communications (2020)

We propose a novel multipath multi-hop adaptive and causal random linear network coding (AC-RLNC) algorithm with forward error correction. This algorithm generalizes our joint optimization coding solution for point-to-point communication with delayed feedback. AC-RLNC is adaptive to the estimated channel condition, and is causal, as the coding adjusts the retransmission rates using a priori and posteriori algorithms. In the multipath network, to achieve the desired throughput and delay, we propose to incorporate an adaptive packet allocation algorithm for retransmission, across the available resources of the paths. This approach is based on a discrete water filling algorithm, i.e., bit-filling, but, with two desired objectives, maximize throughput and minimize the delay. In the multipath multi-hop setting, we propose a new decentralized balancing optimization algorithm. This balancing algorithm minimizes the throughput degradation, caused by the variations in the channel quality of the paths at each hop. Furthermore, to increase the efficiency, in terms of the desired objectives, we propose a new selective recoding method at the intermediate nodes. We derive bounds on the throughput and the mean and maximum in-order delivery delay of AC-RLNC, both in the multipath and multipath multi-hop case. In the multipath case, we prove that in the non-asymptotic regime, the suggested code may achieve more than 90% of the channel capacity with zero error probability under mean and maximum in-order delay constraints, namely a mean delay smaller than three times the optimal genie-aided one and a maximum delay within eight times the optimum. In the multipath multi-hop case, the balancing procedure is proven to be optimal with regards to the achieved rate. Through simulations, we demonstrate that the performance of our adaptive and causal approach, compared to selective repeat (SR)-ARQ protocol, is capable of gains up to a factor two in throughput and a factor of more than three in mean delay and eight in maximum delay. The improvements on the throughput delay trade-off are also shown to be significant with regards to the previously developed singlepath AC-RLNC solution.
Agl16, a Thermophilic Glycosyltransferase Mediating the Last Step of N -Glycan Biosynthesis in the Thermoacidophilic Crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (2013)

Recently, the S-layer protein of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius was shown to be N-linked with a tribranched hexasaccharide, composed of Man2Glc1GlcNAc2 and a sulfated sugar called sulfoquinovose. To identify genes involved in the biosynthesis and attachment of this glycan, markerless in-frame deletions of genes coding for predicted glycosyltransferases were created. The successful deletion of agl16, coding for a glycosyltransferase, resulted in the S-layer protein and archaellins having reduced molecular weights, as visualized by Coomassie staining or immunoblotting. This analysis indicated a change in the N-glycan composition. Nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analyses confirmed that the glycan of the S-layer protein from the agl16 deletion mutant was a pentasaccharide, which was missing a terminal hexose residue. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses of the hydrolyzed N-glycan indicated that the missing hexose is a glucose residue. A physiological characterization of the agl16 deletion mutant revealed a significant effect on the growth at elevated salt concentrations. At 300 mM NaCl, the doubling time of the Δagl16 mutant was increased 2-fold compared to that of the background strain. Furthermore, the incomplete glycan structure of the Δagl16 deletion strain affected the assembly and function of the archaellum, as exemplified by semisolid Gelrite plate analysis, in which the motility is decreased according to the N-glycan size.
Systemized organic functional group controls in polydiacetylenes and their effects on color changes (2017)

ABSTRACT A variety of organic functional groups have been successfully installed into polydiacetylenes (PDAs) and applied to the color change‐controlled system of PDA sensors. Ten diacetylene compounds possessing different functionalities and lengths were systemically synthesized and fully characterized using spectroscopic methods. The polymerized vesicle solution with these compounds showed different temperatures required to induce a color change (from blue to red) depending on the functionalities installed on 10,12‐pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA) molecules. In addition, the results reported here reveal that the intermolecular interactions of PCDA molecules and the intermolecular distance play a key role to the color of PDA system. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45011.
G-quadruplex unwinding helicases and their function in vivo (2017)

The concept that G-quadruplex (G4) structures can form within DNA or RNA <i>in vitro</i> has been long known and extensively discussed. In recent years, accumulating evidences imply that G-quadruplex structures form <i>in vivo</i> Initially, inefficient regulation of G-quadruplex structures was mainly associated with genome instability. However, due to the location of G-quadruplex motifs and their evolutionary conservation, different cellular functions of these structures have been postulated (e.g. in telomere maintenance, DNA replication, transcription, and translation). Regardless of their function, efficient and controlled formation and unwinding are very important, because 'mis'-regulated G-quadruplex structures are detrimental for a given process, causing genome instability and diseases. Several helicases have been shown to target and regulate specific G-quadruplex structures. This mini-review focuses on the biological consequences of G4 disruption by different helicases <i>in vivo</i>.
Cyclic Stretch and Hypertension Increase Retinal Succinate: Potential Mechanisms for Exacerbation of Ocular Neovascularization by Mechanical Stress (2014)

These findings suggest that cyclic stretch and hypertension increased intracellular succinate in cultured retinal pigment epithelial cells and the vitreoretinal succinate of SHRs through a calcium-dependent pathway.
High-spatial-multiplicity multi-core fibres for future dense space-division-multiplexing system (2015)

Design and fabrication results of high-spatial-multiplicity multi-core fibres are presented. A 30-core single-mode multi-core fibre and a 36-spatial-channels multi-core fibre with low differential mode delay have been realized with low-crosstalk characteristics through optimisation of core structure and core arrangement.
RELIABILITY OF A VISUAL ANALOG VERSION OF THE QUICKDASH (2006)

Background: The QuickDASH, an abbreviated form of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire, uses a graded-adjectives ordinal measurement response scale. In order to improve the sensitivity of the measure and to make it compatible with widely used measures of pain and disability, a visual analog scale version was developed. The present study investigated the reliability of the new version over time when used for the evaluation of patients undergoing treatment. Methods: A test-retest model with a two-day interval was used to evaluate a sample of thirty-eight consecutive patients in an interdisciplinary tertiary rehabilitation setting who were identified as having an upper extremity disorder. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient indicating test-retest reliability was 0.90 for the eleven-item QuickDASH visual analog scale questionnaire (without the work component) and 0.94 for the fifteen-item questionnaire (with the work component), neither of which was significantly different from the results reported for the original questionnaire. Conclusions: The QuickDASH visual analog scale questionnaire has acceptable reliability over time, and it can be used as an alternative to the original QuickDASH.
1,3-Dimethylpyrimidoheterocycles as antibacterial agents. (1997)

1,3-Dimethylbarbituric acid was used as a versatile precursor for the preparation of annelated pyranopyrimidines 2 and 3a-c besides pyrrolopyrimidine 12. The isolated pyrazolopyrimidines 8a-c and 10 and fused pyrazolopyrimidines 14a-d were also synthesized. In addition the new obtained pyrimidoheterocycles were subjected to bacterial testings.
Characterization of the major neutrophil-stimulating activity present in culture medium conditioned by Staphylococcus aureus-stimulated mononuclear leucocytes. (1991)

Culture medium conditioned by stimulating human mononuclear leucocytes (MNL) with killed Staphylococcus aureus (Scm) was found to contain a substantial amount of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) but no detectable tumour necrosis factor-beta (TNF-beta). Culture medium conditioned by MNL in the absence of bacteria contained no TNF-alpha activity. When Scm was fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on Bio-Sil TSK 250, TNF-alpha co-eluted with neutrophil-stimulating activity measured by chemiluminescence. Similarly, the ability of neutrophils to kill opsonized S. aureus was enhanced in fractions that contained this neutrophil-stimulating activity. The stimulating activity could be almost completely removed by pretreatment of the Scm with a TNF-alpha-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb). The ability of neutrophils to kill S. aureus in response to Scm was also substantially reduced by mAb to TNF-alpha. These results demonstrate that bacterial interaction with MNL leads to the release of neutrophil-stimulating activity that consists predominantly of TNF-alpha.
The Design and Implementation of StrandCast (2005)

In this paper, we present a detailed overview of StrandCast, an application-layer multicast protocol for stretch invariant applications. StrandCast’s distribution topology is a linear list of participating receivers, which we call a strand. We describe three benefits that StrandCast has over traditional application-layer multicast topologies. The first is low and constant stress levels. The second is fast join and leave operations. The third benefit is a semireliable transmission scheme that makes long strands practical for very large groups of receivers. We also discuss various stretch invariant applications for which StrandCast is most suitable, including systems that utilize receiver-driven layered multicast for scalable congestion control. 1.
A Complete Graphical Solution for Undrained Cylindrical Cavity Expansion in K_0-Consolidated Mohr-Coulomb Soil (2022)

This paper develops a general and complete solution for the undrained cylindrical cavity expansion problem in non-associated Mohr-Coulomb soil under non-hydrostatic initial stress field (i.e., arbitrary K_0 values of the earth pressure coefficient), by expanding a unique and efficient graphical solution procedure recently proposed by Chen &amp; Wang in 2022 for the special in situ stress case with K_0 = 1. The new generalized, graph-based theoretical framework contains two essential components: the geometrical analysis to track the stress path trajectory/evolution in different sectors of the deviatoric plane; and a full Lagrangian formulation of both the constitutive relationship and radial equilibrium equation to analytically determine the representative soil particle responses at the cavity surface. It is interesting to find that the cavity expansion deviatoric stress path is always composed of a series of piecewise straight lines, for all different case scenarios of K_0 being involved. The salient advantage/feature of the present general graphical approach lies in that it can deduce the cavity expansion responses in full closed form, nevertheless being free of the limitation of the intermediacy assumption for the vertical stress and of the difficulty existing in the traditional zoning method that involves cumbersome, sequential determination of distinct Mohr-Coulomb plastic regions. The analytical closed-form solutions developed herein can be regarded as a definitive one for the undrained cavity expansion problem in classical Mohr-Coulomb materials without the approximations and simplifications in previous solutions, and will be of great value for the interpretation of pressuremeter tests in cohesive-frictional soils.
A 10 Mbps SiGe BiCMOS Transceiver for Operation Down to Cryogenic Temperatures (2007)

A 10 Mbps wire-line transceiver compatible with the RS-485 standard is implemented in SiGe BiCMOS technology. This general purpose SiGe bus transceiver represents the first demonstration of a wide temperature range (-180degC to +27degC) enabled, radiation tolerant as built, wire-line transceiver, and is intended for use in emerging space system avionics platforms. Robust functionality within specifications from -180degC to +27degC is demonstrated.
Endoscopic endonasal versus open transcranial resection of craniopharyngiomas: a case-matched single-institution analysis (2016)

OBJECTIVE The authors compared clinical and radiological outcomes after resection of midline craniopharyngiomas via an endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) versus an open transcranial approach (TCA) at a single institution in a series in which the tumors were selected to be equally amenable to gross-total resection (GTR) with either approach. METHODS A single-institution retrospective review of previously untreated adult midline craniopharyngiomas was performed. Lesions were evaluated by 4 neurosurgeons blinded to the actual approach used to identify cases that were equally amenable to GTR using either an EEA or TCA. Radiological and clinical outcome data were assessed. RESULTS Twenty-six cases amenable to either approach were identified, 21 EEA and 5 TCA. Cases involving tumors that were resected via a TCA had a trend toward larger diameter (p = 0.10) but were otherwise equivalent in preoperative clinical and radiological characteristics. GTR was achieved in a greater proportion of cases removed with an EEA than a TCA (90% vs 40%, respectively; p = 0.009). Endoscopic resection was associated with superior visual restoration (63% vs 0%; p < 0.05), a decreased incidence of recurrence (p < 0.001), lower increase in FLAIR signal postoperatively (-0.16 ± 4.6 cm<sup>3</sup> vs 14.4 ± 14.0 cm<sup>3</sup>; p < 0.001), and fewer complications (20% vs 80% of patients; p < 0.001). Significantly more TCA patients suffered postoperative cognitive loss (80% vs 0; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS An EEA is a safe and effective approach to suprasellar craniopharyngiomas amenable to GTR. For this select group of cases, the EEA may provide higher rates of GTR and visual improvement with fewer complications compared with a TCA.