gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Effects of storage culture media, temperature and duration on human adipose‑derived stem cell viability for clinical use (2019)

Adipose‑derived stem cells (ADSCs) are mesenchymal stem cells that are often used in regenerative medicine. Maintaining ADSC viability is important, as this optimizes the curative effects of cell therapy. However, the optimal conditions for cell viability preservation remain unknown. The present study aimed to acquire a better protocol for ADSC storage by comparing the effects of various solutions and temperatures for ADSC preservation, in order to suggest the most effective methods of short‑term ADSC preservation for clinical use. ADSCs from passage 2 were suspended in solutions comprising 0.9% NaCl, 10% human serum (HS) or 10% platelet‑rich plasma (PRP). Suspended cells were maintained at 4˚C or room temperature (~26˚C) for 2, 4 and 6 h. The differentiation capacity, apoptosis and proliferation of ADSCs were determined by oil red O/alizarin red S staining, flow cytometry, and a cell counting kit‑8 cell proliferation assay, respectively. In addition, reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis was performed. The results revealed that proliferation of ADSCs decreased with time. The optimal time for ADSC use was ~2 h, and 4 h was determined to be the latest time that ADSCs should be used. The 10% HS group had the highest survival rate, followed by the 10% PRP group; these two groups had higher survival rates than the 0.9% NaCl group (P<0.05). HS and PRP at 4˚C enhanced the ADSC proliferation rate (P<0.05), although the difference between these two groups was insignificant (P>0.05). In conclusion, the optimal time to use ADSCs was <2 h, and should not exceed 4 h. It was recommended that, for the transportation and short‑term storage of ADSCs during clinical use, they should be stored with 10% HS at 4˚C to maintain ADSC viability. In addition, this was a cost‑effective and safe method.
Effects of Yakuchinone A and Yakuchinone В on the Phorbol Ester-Induced Expression of COX-2 and iNOS and Activation of NF-kB in Mouse Skin (2002)

Certain medicinal plants contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidative substances that can exert chemopreventive effects. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the methanol extract of Alpinia oxyphylla Miquel (Zingiberaceae) inhibits tumor promotion in mouse skin. Two major diarylheptanoids named yakuchinone A (1-[4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl]-7-phenyl-3-heptanone) andyakuchinone B (1-[4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl]-7-phenylhept-1-en-3-one) have been isolated from this medicinal plant. Both compounds have strong inhibitory effects on the synthesis of prostaglandins and leukotrienes in vitro. In the present work, we show that both yakuchinone A and yakuchinone B inhibit the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as well as the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha mRNA in mouse skin treated with the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Topical application on mouse skin of these diarylheptanoids also attenuated the TPA-induced DNA binding activity of the ubiquitous eukaryotic transcription factor NF-kappaB that plays a crucial role in regulating the expression of the aforementioned proinflammatory enzymes and cytokines in response to a wide variety of external stimuli. These findings suggest that diarylheptanoids contained in Alpinia oxyphylla down-regulate COX-2 and iNOS expression through suppression of NF-kappaB activation in the TPA-treated mouse skin.
Quarter-wave Fresnel zone planar lens and antenna (1995)

A new variety of the Fresnel zone planar lens with enhanced focusing quality is proposed. Each full-wave zone is divided into four quarter-wave subzones, which are covered by dielectric rings having equal thickness but different permittivities. Based on this planar lens configuration, a transmissive-type Fresnel-zone antenna for DBS-reception with more than 50% aperture efficiency is developed and examined theoretically.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Thermal and mechanical properties of anhydride‐cured epoxy resins with different contents of biobased epoxidized soybean oil (2010)

Abstract Thermosetting resins were synthesized by the partial replacement of the synthetic epoxy prepolymer based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) with increasing amounts of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) with methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride as a crosslinking agent and 1‐methyl imidazole as an initiator. Calorimetric studies showed a drop in the reaction heat with ESO content; this was associated with the lower reactivity of oxirane rings in ESO due to steric constrains. The effects of the replacement of increasing amounts of synthetic DGEBA with ESO on the network properties, such as the storage modulus ( E ′) in the glassy and rubbery regions, glass‐transition temperature ( T g ), and impact and compressive properties were examined. All formulations were transparent, although phase‐separated morphologies were evidenced by scanning electron microscopy observations. The intensity of the transmitted light passed to a minimum at a short reaction time associated with the cloud point and then increased continuously until the refractive index of the dispersed phase approximated that of the continuous phase at complete conversion. The combination of DGEBA with 40 wt % ESO resulted in a resin with an optimum set of properties; E ′ in the glassy state was 93% of that of the neat DGEBA resin, T g decreased only about 11°C, and the impact strength increased about 38% without a loss of transparency. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011
Exact and Heuristic Algorithms for Thrift Cyclic Scheduling (2009)

Non-preemptive schedulers, despite their many discussed drawbacks, remain a very popular choice for practitioners of real-time and embedded systems. The non-preemptive ‘thrift’ cyclic scheduler—variations of which can be found in other application areas—has recently received considerable attention for the implementation of such embedded systems. A thrift scheduler provides a flexible and compact implementation model for periodic task sets with comparatively small overheads; additionally, it can overcome several of the problems associated with traditional ‘cyclic executives’. However, severe computational difficulties can still arise when designing schedules for non-trivial task sets. This paper is concerned with an optimization version of the offset-assignment problem, in which the objective is to assign task offsets such that the required CPU clock speed is minimized whilst ensuring that task overruns do not occur; it is known that the decision version of this problem is complete for Σ2p. The paper first considers the problemof candidate solution verification—itself strongly coNP-Complete—and a fast, exact algorithm for this problem is proposed; it is shown that for any fixed number of tasks, its execution time is polynomial. The paper then proposes two heuristic algorithms of pseudopolynomial complexity for solving the offset-assignment problem, and considers how redundant choices of offset combinations can be eliminated to help speed up the search. The performance of these algorithms is then experimentally evaluated, before conclusions are drawn.
Reprogramming chaperone pathways to improve membrane protein expression in <i>Escherichia coli</i> (2011)

Because membrane proteins are difficult to express, our understanding of their structure and function is lagging. In Escherichia coli, α-helical membrane protein biogenesis usually involves binding of a nascent transmembrane segment (TMS) by the signal recognition particle (SRP), delivery of the SRP-ribosome nascent chain complexes (RNC) to FtsY, a protein that serves as SRP receptor and docks to the SecYEG translocon, cotranslational insertion of the growing chain into the translocon, and lateral transfer, packing and folding of TMS in the lipid bilayer in a process that may involve chaperone YidC. Here, we explored the feasibility of reprogramming this pathway to improve the production of recombinant membrane proteins in exponentially growing E. coli with a focus on: (i) eliminating competition between SRP and chaperone trigger factor (TF) at the ribosome through gene deletion; (ii) improving RNC delivery to the inner membrane via SRP overexpression; and (iii) promoting substrate insertion and folding in the lipid bilayer by increasing YidC levels. Using a bitopic histidine kinase and two heptahelical rhodopsins as model systems, we show that the use of TF-deficient cells improves the yields of membrane-integrated material threefold to sevenfold relative to the wild type, and that whereas YidC coexpression is beneficial to the production of polytopic proteins, higher levels of SRP have the opposite effect. The implications of our results on the interplay of TF, SRP, YidC, and SecYEG in membrane protein biogenesis are discussed.
LGSVL Simulator: A High Fidelity Simulator for Autonomous Driving (2020)

Testing autonomous driving algorithms on real autonomous vehicles is extremely costly and many researchers and developers in the field cannot afford a real car and the corresponding sensors. Although several free and open-source autonomous driving stacks, such as Autoware and Apollo are available, choices of open-source simulators to use with them are limited. In this paper, we introduce the LGSVL Simulator which is a high fidelity simulator for autonomous driving. The simulator engine provides end-to-end, full-stack simulation which is ready to be hooked up to Autoware and Apollo. In addition, simulator tools are provided with the core simulation engine which allow users to easily customize sensors, create new types of controllable objects, replace some modules in the core simulator, and create digital twins of particular environments.
Switched array coils (1990)

Switched array coils (SACs) are a useful tool in local coil imaging since they allow in a user-friendly manner one to make the best choice in the trade-off between field of view and signal-to-noise ratio. This is done by selecting the current path within a conductor array equipped with suitable switches. Since the switching can be controlled by the system, this allows changing of the coil dimensions within multislice sequences. Thus image quality can be improved due to smaller coil dimensions for a given slice and a larger area can be covered by electronically shifting this sensitive area. The principle can be applied to surface--as well as volume--coil designs.
Characterization of <i>ATP8B1</i> Gene Mutations and a Hot‐linked Mutation Found in Chinese Children With Progressive Intrahepatic Cholestasis and Low GGT (2010)

ATP8B1 gene mutations play an important role in Chinese patients with progressive intrahepatic cholestasis and low GGT. The linked mutation P209T and IVS6+5G>T is a hot mutation in the Chinese population. Histological examination may be helpful in differentiating familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 from bile salt export pump-related disease.
Characterization and Wash Performance Analysis of Microbial Extracellular Enzymes from East Calcutta Wetland in India (2008)

Extracellular protease from a novel bacterial isolate showing maximum similarity of 98.22% with Microbacterium luteolum was obtained from East Calcutta Wetland, India. It showed compatibility with commercial detergents. The enzyme retains more than 60% of its activity between 6.0 to 10.5 pH. The maximum activity is at pH 7.5 with 71% activity at pH 10.0 and 10.5. The protease retained its activity between 4 to 60C with maximum activity at 30C and a residual activity of 74.4% at 60C after overnight incubation. It was completely inhibited by 5mM PMSF pointing towards the presence of serine group of protease. Its inhibition by EDTA indicates the involvement of metal cations in its catalytic activity. It is not effected by Cu +2 , partially inhibited by Pb +2 and Ni +2 , while completely inhibited by Co +1 , Cr +6 , Zn +1 , Al +3 , Ag +3 and Hg +2 . Strong reducing agents like merceptoethanol and oxidants like bleach and hydrogen peroxide inactivate the enzyme. The enzyme retains 88% of its activity on being mixed with commercially available detergents while it is inactivated by non-ionic Triton X 100. Its efficiency as an additive with detergent in terms of cleaning stains like grease, burnt mobil, vegetable curry and blood was found to be satisfactory. It could enhance the quality of washing as additive in case of all the ten detergents that were tried. The protease alone was also capable of cleaning but the detergent additive mixture could work better. The enzyme was found to work efficiently on different colors as well as on fabric. On mixing with detergent it was found to retain activity up to 2 months and there after, there was a drop in efficiency of washing. The bacterial cells were immobilized in calcium alginate and the released enzyme was found to be equally effective. Market surveys were carried out and the satisfactory result prompted the use of another additive (extracellular lipase) obtained from yet another bacterial strain from East Calcutta Wetland. The lipase activity was confirmed through degradation of coconut oil analyzed by Gas Chromatography. Thus the combination was observed to be more successful as indicated through the market survey. These observations suggest the suitability of the protease and lipase combination as additive to commercially available detergents.
Multi-Omics Driven Metabolic Network Reconstruction and Analysis of Lignocellulosic Carbon Utilization in Rhodosporidium toruloides (2021)

An oleaginous yeast <i>Rhodosporidium toruloides</i> is a promising host for converting lignocellulosic biomass to bioproducts and biofuels. In this work, we performed multi-omics analysis of lignocellulosic carbon utilization in <i>R. toruloides</i> and reconstructed the genome-scale metabolic network of <i>R. toruloides</i>. High-quality metabolic network models for model organisms and orthologous protein mapping were used to build a draft metabolic network reconstruction. The reconstruction was manually curated to build a metabolic model using functional annotation and multi-omics data including transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and RB-TDNA sequencing. The multi-omics data and metabolic model were used to investigate <i>R. toruloides</i> metabolism including lipid accumulation and lignocellulosic carbon utilization. The developed metabolic model was validated against high-throughput growth phenotyping and gene fitness data, and further refined to resolve the inconsistencies between prediction and data. We believe that this is the most complete and accurate metabolic network model available for <i>R. toruloides</i> to date.
Effect of Reservoir Heterogeneity on Primary Recovery and CO2 Huff ‘n’ Puff Recovery in Shale-Oil Reservoirs (2014)

Summary An equation-of-state (EOS) -based compositional reservoir simulator, UT-COMP, is used to simulate both primary recovery and carbon dioxide (CO2) huff ‘n’ puff recovery in a shale matrix typical of the Bakken formation, to investigate the effect of reservoir heterogeneity on hydrocarbon recovery. Nonaqueous components are carefully lumped into seven pseudocomponents. Permeability fields with various heterogeneity and correlation lengths are generated. UT-COMP is able to solve the compositional model, despite the permeability difference between the fracture and matrix being six orders of magnitude. The effects of both primary recovery and CO2 huff ‘n’ puff recovery depend significantly on reservoir heterogeneity. In primary recovery, the recovery factor can be fit by a two-parameter exponential formula; higher heterogeneity reduces the rate coefficient in the formula. Permeability fields with identical or similar heterogeneity have similar rate coefficients, even if the correlation lengths are different, which implies that the recovery depends primarily on heterogeneity and is insensitive to correlation length. Multiple-cycle CO2 huff ‘n’ puff processes are simulated in both homogeneous and heterogeneous reservoirs. Recovery rate in the production stage rises to a peak value much higher than that in the primary recovery, and then declines dramatically. The peak recovery rate decreases with increasing huff ‘n’ puff cycles, resulting from depleted reservoir pressure and hydrocarbons. The final recovery factor in the huff ‘n’ puff recovery is lower than that in the primary recovery, because the incremental recovery in the production stage is unable to compensate the loss in the injection and shut-in stages. Use of a longer shut-in time does not help increase the recovery rate in the production stage, because CO2 migration into the shale matrix is very limited because of the low matrix permeability. Reservoir heterogeneity leads to a faster decline of recovery rate in the production stage.
Gamma Interferon-Induced T-Cell Loss in Virulent<i>Mycobacterium avium</i>Infection (2005)

Infection by virulent Mycobacterium avium caused progressive severe lymphopenia in C57BL/6 mice due to increased apoptosis rates. T-cell depletion did not occur in gamma interferon (IFN-gamma)-deficient mice which showed increased T-cell numbers and proliferation; in contrast, deficiency in nitric oxide synthase 2 did not prevent T-cell loss. Although T-cell loss was IFN-gamma dependent, expression of the IFN-gamma receptor on T cells was not required for depletion. Similarly, while T-cell loss was optimal if the T cells expressed IFN-gamma, CD8(+) T-cell depletion could occur in the absence of T-cell-derived IFN-gamma. Depletion did not require that the T cells be specific for mycobacterial antigen and was not affected by deficiencies in the tumor necrosis factor receptors p55 or p75, the Fas receptor (CD95), or the respiratory burst enzymes or by forced expression of bcl-2 in hematopoietic cells.
The mechanism of Fe2+-initiated lipid peroxidation in liposomes: the dual function of ferrous ions, the roles of the pre-existing lipid peroxides and the lipid peroxyl radical (2000)

The mechanism of Fe(2+)-initiated lipid peroxidation in a liposomal system was studied. It was found that a second addition of ferrous ions within the latent period lengthened the time lag before lipid peroxidation started. The apparent time lag depended on the total dose of Fe(2+) whenever the second dose of Fe(2+) was added, which indicates that Fe(2+) has a dual function: to initiate lipid peroxidation on one hand and suppress the species responsible for the initiation of the peroxidation on the other. When the pre-existing lipid peroxides (LOOH) were removed by incorporating triphenylphosphine into liposomes, Fe(2+) could no longer initiate lipid peroxidation and the acceleration of Fe(2+) oxidation by the liposomes disappeared. However, when extra LOOH were introduced into liposomes, both enhancement of the lipid peroxidation and shortening of the latent period were observed. When the scavenger of lipid peroxyl radicals (LOO(.)), N,N'-diphenyl-p-phenylene-diamine, was incorporated into liposomes, neither initiation of the lipid peroxidation nor acceleration of the Fe(2+) oxidation could be detected. The results may suggest that both the pre-existing LOOH and LOO(.) are necessary for the initiation of lipid peroxidation. The latter comes initially from the decomposition of the pre-existing LOOH by Fe(2+) and can be scavenged by its reaction with Fe(2+). Only when Fe(2+) is oxidized to such a degree that LOO(.) is no longer effectively suppressed does lipid peroxidation start. It seems that by taking the reactions of Fe(2+) with LOOH and LOO(.) into account, the basic chemistry in lipid peroxidation can explain fairly well the controversial phenomena observed in Fe(2+)-initiated lipid peroxidation, such as the existence of a latent period, the critical ratio of Fe(2+) to lipid and the required oxidation of Fe(2+).
The Scarlet Letter and the Red Star: Hawthorne's Appeal to China's Students of American Literature (1990)

Having taught numerous works of American literature -- novels, short stories, essays, poems -- for two and a half years to junior and senior undergraduates and graduate students of English literature and language in two Chinese universities (Fuzhou University and Xiamen University, both in the southeastern coastal province of Fujian, during 1984-1985 and 1986-1988), I have been struck by the almost unanimous recognition of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter as the students' "number one." Other major works have their own peculiar merits, but none measures up to Hawthorne's novel. Huckleberry Finn? Noteworthy chiefly because of Huck's daring involvement in Black emancipation, as well as because of the novel's exposure of the social degeneracy stemming primarily from money lust. Moby-Dick? Oddly composed and painfully long, despite the author's reassuring recognition of life as "eternal warfare," as ceaseless struggle and endless antagonisms. Walden? Also reassuring because of Thoreau's forceful denunciation of materialism, though somewhat mad, too, because of his extreme individualism and his need to "touch Heaven." Some available twentieth-century American novels have a strong general appeal, too -- such as Dreiser's Sister Carrie, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and Ellison's Invisible Man (primarily because they poignantly reveal cultural ills). But The Scarlet Letter. Here is an American novel that speaks directly and forcefully to the Chinese university student. Why?
Subtypes of α1-Adrenoceptors Involved in Noradrenaline-Induced Contractions of Rat Thoracic Aorta and Dog Carotid Artery (1991)

We tried to determine α1-adrenoceptor subtypes involved in noradrenaline-induced contractions of rat thoracic aorta and dog carotid artery. Prazosin competitively antagonized the contractions induced by noradrenaline in both the arteries with a high pKB value (approximately 9.7). WB4101, benoxathian, phentolamine, HV723 and 5-methylurapidil also competitively antagonized the responses to noradrenaline in both the arteries: however, the affinities for the antagonists were significantly higher in the rat thoracic aorta than in the dog carotid artery. The affinities for the competitive antagonists were not changed by treatment with nifedipine. In the rat thoracic aorta, chlorethylclonidine (CEC) elicited either a persistent contraction with rhythmic activities before treatment with nifedipine or partial inactivation of α1-adrenoceptors in the presence of nifedipine. On the other hand, CEC produced only inactivation of α1-i-adrenoceptors in the dog carotid artery. These results suggest that noradrenaline-induced contractions of the rat thoracic aorta and dog carotid artery are respectively mediated through distinct α1-adrenoceptor subtypes. According to the α1A, α1B subclassification, the α1-adrenoceptor of dog carotid artery is like the α1B subtype, while that of rat thoracic aorta is atypical. Both subtypes are also identified as a high affinity site for prazosin (α1H subtype) in the α1H, α1I and α1N subclassification.