gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Inhomogeneous nanoscale polymer-dispersed liquid crystals with gradient refractive index (2002)

Inhomogeneous polymer-dispersed liquid crystal devices having gradient droplet distribution were fabricated and their phase retardation characterized. The gradient refractive index profile can be used as switchable prism gratings, and positive and negative lenses with tunable focal lengths. Such a tunable electronic lens is a broadband device and can be used for unpolarized light.
Burst-mode compatible receivers for high speed digital optical communications (2002)

Burst-mode compatible and burst/packet compatible receivers can not only eliminate complex supporting schemes needed for conventional optical transmission systems, but also will expand the capabilities of optical communications. This paper describes burst mode compatible preamplifiers with an auto-threshold tracking level control fabricated using 12 GHz f/sub T/ Si bipolar technology (BEST-I: Bipolar Enhanced Self-Aligned Technology). The receivers have been used in several applications including high speed optical switching and network systems and digital video transmission.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Register transfer level power optimization with emphasis on glitch analysis and reduction (1999)

We present design-for-low-power techniques for register-transfer level (RTL) controller/data path circuits. We analyze the generation and propagation of glitches in both the control and data path parts of the circuit. In data-flow intensive designs, glitching power is primarily due to the chaining of arithmetic functional units. In control-flow intensive designs, on the other hand, multiplexer networks and registers dominate the total circuit power consumption, and the control logic can generate a significant amount of glitches at its outputs, which in turn propagate through the data path to account for a large portion of the glitching power in the entire circuit. Our analysis also highlights the relationship between the propagation of glitches from control signals and the bit-level correlation between data signals. Based on the analysis, we develop techniques that attempt to reduce glitching power consumption by minimizing propagation of glitches in the RTL circuit. Our techniques include restructuring multiplexer networks (to enhance data correlations and eliminate glitchy control signals), clocking control signals, and inserting selective rising/falling delays, in order to kill the propagation of glitches from control as well as data signals. In addition, we present a procedure to automatically perform the well-known power-reduction technique of clock gating through an efficient structural analysis of the RTL circuit, while avoiding the introduction of glitches on the clock signals. Application of the proposed power optimization techniques to several RTL circuits shows significant power savings, with negligible area and delay overheads.
Worst-case analysis of discrete systems based on conditional abstractions (1999)

Recently, a methodology for worst-case analysis of systems with discrete observable signals has bee" proposed [4]. We extend this methodology to make use of conditional system abstractions that are valid only in some system states. We show that the responsetime analysis for single-processor systems is particularly well suited for "se of such abstractions. We "se a" example to demonstrate that significantly better response-time bounds can be obtained using conditional abstractions.
Molecular Characterization of an Avian Astrovirus (2000)

Astroviruses are known to cause enteric disease in several animal species, including turkeys. However, only human astroviruses have been well characterized at the nucleotide level. Herein we report the nucleotide sequence, genomic organization, and predicted amino acid sequence of a turkey astrovirus isolated from poults with an emerging enteric disease.
IntelliArm: An exoskeleton for diagnosis and treatment of patients with neurological impairments (2008)

This paper presents a novel 7 (active) +2 (passive) degrees of freedom (DOF) exoskeleton to achieve effective rehabilitation of upper limbs with neurological impairment. The 7+2 DOF robot was designed for allowing anatomically correct motions in the upper extremity, and for measuring 18 axis forces/torques and 9 DOF positions. A novel four-step integrated rehabilitation approach was developed and tested including 1) accurate and quantitative diagnosis which is not practical to do during manual clinical examinations or with existing robotic devices; 2) strenuous stretching of spastic joints based on the diagnosis and with intelligent control to adjust the stretching velocity constantly according to the joint conditions; 3) voluntary movement exercise to perform realistic functional tasks based on the patient-specific diagnosis, and 4) outcome evaluations which assessed the treatment outcome quantitatively with multiple physiological measures.
Low pH-induced changes in Pseudomonas exotoxin and its domains: increased binding of Triton X-114 (1990)

Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE), which is composed of three structural domains, is a 66-kilodalton protein secreted by P. aeruginosa that is cytotoxic for mammalian cells. After binding to cell surface receptors and internalization into low-pH endocytic vesicles, PE or an active fragment kills mammalian cells by translocating across an intracellular membrane to the cytoplasm and shutting down protein synthesis. To investigate possible conformational changes associated with the translocation process, full-length PE or recombinant proteins containing the PE cell recognition domain, translocation domain, enzymatic domain, or translocation plus enzymatic domains were incubated with Triton X-114 at pH values ranging from 3.0 to 7.0. The truncated forms used were intact domains that had been expressed in Escherichia coli and subsequently purified. Previous studies (K. Sandvig and J. O. Moskaug, Biochem. J. 245:899-901, 1987) had shown that full-length PE bound more Triton X-114 at a low pH than at a physiologic pH. Therefore, we investigated whether this increased binding was due to a global change in PE or a change within a particular domain. Results showed that all the truncated toxin proteins displayed a similar pH-dependent entry into the detergent phase as native PE, with a transition point of 4.2 for PE and 4.4 to 4.5 for the truncated toxins. The isoelectric points of the recombinant proteins were measured and indicate that, at a low pH (5.0), the cell recognition domain bears a net positive charge, the translocation domain bears a net negative charge, and the enzymatic domain bears no charge. The results suggest that upon acidification in the endosome, PE becomes globally hydrophobic and is converted into a translocation-competent form.
Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in Early Stage Parkinson’s Disease May Slow the Progression of Rest Tremor (P3.365) (2016)

Objective: To examine whether subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in early stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) differentially influenced subdomains of the motor examination of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS Part III) after a seven-day washout of therapy. Background: Despite the demonstrated efficacy of DBS for advanced stage PD and promising preclinical data supporting its earlier application, no studies have shown disease modification resulting from DBS or any other surgical or medical therapy for PD. Methods: An analysis of blinded UPDRS Part III subdomain off scores after a seven-day washout of medication and stimulation from the DBS in early PD pilot trial (NCT00282152) was conducted. Subjects in the pilot were randomized to DBS plus optimal drug therapy (DBS+ODT) or optimal drug therapy (ODT) and evaluated at baseline and every six months for two years. Results: Blinded scores for 13 UPDRS Part III subdomains were analyzed, and changes in rest tremor were striking. Rest tremor off therapy scores significantly increased for the ODT group (n=14) over two years (+3.2, p<0.05), while there was a minimal increase for the DBS+ODT group (+0.3, p=0.72, n=13). Slopes of rest tremor off scores vs. time were different between the groups, with the ODT group increasing significantly more than the DBS+ODT group (DBS+ODT minus ODT = -1.53 points/year, 95[percnt] CI = -2.50 to -0.56, p<0.05).The risk of suffering a two point worsening for rest tremor off therapy was 2.6 times higher in the ODT group compared to the DBS+ODT group (95[percnt] CI = 0.8 to 8.3, logrank p=0.07). Conclusions: STN-DBS in early stage PD may slow the progression of rest tremor. Additional investigation is needed to confirm this finding, and the FDA has approved a pivotal, Phase III, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial evaluating DBS in early stage PD.
An Approach Toward Replacing Vanadium: A Single Organic Molecule for the Anode and Cathode of an Aqueous Redox‐Flow Battery (2017)

By combining a viologen unit and a 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO) radical in one single combi-molecule, an artificial bipolar redox-active material, 1-(4-(((1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-4-yl)oxy)carbonyl)benzyl)-1'-methyl-[4,4'-bipyridine]-1,1'-diium-chloride (<b>VIOTEMP</b>), was created that can serve as both the anode (-0.49 V) and cathode (0.67 V vs. Ag/AgCl) in a water-based redox-flow battery. While it mimics the redox states of flow battery metals like vanadium, the novel aqueous electrolyte does not require strongly acidic media and is best operated at pH 4. The electrochemical properties of <b>VIOTEMP</b> were investigated by using cyclic voltammetry, rotating disc electrode experiments, and spectroelectrochemical methods. A redox-flow battery was built and the suitability of the material for both electrodes was demonstrated through a polarity-inversion experiment. Thus, an organic aqueous electrolyte system being safe in case of cross contamination is presented.
Highly hydrophobic microporous low‐density polyethylene hollow fiber membranes by melt‐extrusion coupled with salt‐leaching technique (2013)

Microporous and highly hydrophobic low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) hollow fiber membranes were successfully prepared via a solvent‐free method, combining melt‐extrusion, and salt‐leaching techniques. NaCl particles with particle size of 5–10 µm were mixed with LDPE pellets to produce a blend of 35, 40, 50, 60, 65 and 68 wt% of salt. A microporous structure was produced by leaching the salt particles from the hollow fiber matrix via immersion in water at 60°C. The fabricated membranes were then characterized in terms of morphology, porosity and pore size distribution, surface roughness, and hydrophobicity, as well as mechanical properties. The remarkable increase in the water contact angles from 98° for LDPE hollow fibers fabricated without the addition of salt (blank sample) to 130° for membranes fabricated with initial salt content of 68 wt% is mainly attributed to the rough surface structure, comprising a large number of micropapillas produced by removing the imbedded salt crystals. The increase in surface roughness and porosity of hollow fiber membranes with increasing initial salt content was confirmed by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscopy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Genetic variation of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type II in three racial/ethnic groups: Implications for prostate cancer risk (1997)

Our report demonstrates substantial genetic variation in the HSD3B2 gene. We hypothesize that allelic variants of the HSD3B2 gene may play a role in predisposition to prostate cancer, and in explaining the substantial racial/ethnic variation in risk.
A higher radix FFT FPGA implementation suitable for OFDM systems (2011)

This article describes a new approach for higher radix butterflies suitable for pipeline implementation. Based on the butterfly computation introduced by Cooley-Tukey [1], we will introduce a novel approach for the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) factorization, by redefining the butterfly computation, which is more suitable for efficient VLSI implementation. The proposed factorization motivated us to present a new concept of a radix-r Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), in which the radix-r butterfly computation concept was formulated as composite engines to implement each of the butterfly computations. This concept enables the radix r butterfly-processing element (BPE) to be designed by maintaining only one complex value multiplier in the butterfly critical path for any given r [2]. Algorithmic description and performance of low complexity FFT methods are considered in this paper where the speed and accuracy evaluation of the proposed method in fixed point is also elaborated.
Micromachined droplet ejector arrays (2002)

In this article we present a micromachined flextensional droplet ejector array used to eject liquids. By placing a fluid behind one face of a vibrating circular plate that has an orifice at its center, we achieve continuous ejection of the fluid. We present results of ejection of water and isopropanol. The ejector is harmless to sensitive fluids and can be used to eject fuels, organic polymers, photoresists, low-k dielectrics, adhesives, and chemical and biological samples. Micromachined two-dimensional array flextensional droplet ejectors were realized using planar silicon micromachining techniques. Typical resonant frequency of the micromachined device ranges from 400 kHz to 4.5 MHz. The ejections of water through a 4 μm diameter orifice at 3.45 MHz and a 10 μm diameter orifice at 2.15 MHz were demonstrated by using the developed micromachined two-dimensional array ejectors.
Serial Quantitative PCR Assay for Detection, Species Discrimination, and Quantification of Leishmania spp. in Human Samples (2011)

The Leishmania species cause a variety of human disease syndromes. Methods for diagnosis and species differentiation are insensitive and many require invasive sampling. Although quantitative PCR (qPCR) methods are reported for leishmania detection, no systematic method to quantify parasites and determine the species in clinical specimens is established. We developed a serial qPCR strategy to identify and rapidly differentiate Leishmania species and quantify parasites in clinical or environmental specimens. SYBR green qPCR is mainly employed, with corresponding TaqMan assays for validation. The screening primers recognize kinetoplast minicircle DNA of all Leishmania species. Species identification employs further qPCR set(s) individualized for geographic regions, combining species-discriminating probes with melt curve analysis. The assay was sufficient to detect Leishmania parasites, make species determinations, and quantify Leishmania spp. in sera, cutaneous biopsy specimens, or cultured isolates from subjects from Bangladesh or Brazil with different forms of leishmaniasis. The multicopy kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) probes were the most sensitive and useful for quantification based on promastigote standard curves. To test their validity for quantification, kDNA copy numbers were compared between Leishmania species, isolates, and life stages using qPCR. Maxicircle and minicircle copy numbers differed up to 6-fold between Leishmania species, but the differences were smaller between strains of the same species. Amastigote and promastigote leishmania life stages retained similar numbers of kDNA maxi- or minicircles. Thus, serial qPCR is useful for leishmania detection and species determination and for absolute quantification when compared to a standard curve from the same Leishmania species.
GFT NMR, a New Approach To Rapidly Obtain Precise High-Dimensional NMR Spectral Information (2003)

Widely used higher-dimensional Fourier transform (FT) NMR spectroscopy suffers from two major drawbacks: (i) The minimal measurement time of an N-dimensional FT NMR experiment, which is constrained by the need to sample N - 1 indirect dimensions, may exceed by far the measurement time required to achieve sufficient signal-to-noise ratios. (ii) The low resolution in the indirect dimensions severely limits the precision of the indirect chemical shift measurements. To relax on constraints arising from these drawbacks, we present here an acquisition scheme which is based on the phase-sensitive joint sampling of the indirect dimensions spanning a subspace of a conventional NMR experiment. This allows one to very rapidly obtain high-dimensional NMR spectral information. Because the phase-sensitive joint sampling yields subspectra containing "chemical shift multiplets", alternative data processing is required for editing the components of the multiplets. The subspectra are linearly combined using a so-called "G-matrix" and subsequently Fourier-transformed. The chemical shifts are multiply encoded in the resonance lines constituting the shift multiplets. This corresponds to performing statistically independent multiple measurements, and the chemical shifts can thus be obtained with high precision. To indicate that a combined G-matrix and FT is employed, we named the new approach "GFT NMR spectroscopy". GFT NMR opens new avenues to establish high-throughput protein structure determination, to investigate systems with a higher degree of chemical shift degeneracy, and to study dynamic phenomena such as slow folding of biological macromolecules in greater detail.
Potent Inhibitors Active against HIV Reverse Transcriptase with K101P, a Mutation Conferring Rilpivirine Resistance (2015)

Catechol diether compounds have nanomolar antiviral and enzymatic activity against HIV with reverse transcriptase (RT) variants containing K101P, a mutation that confers high-level resistance to FDA-approved non-nucleoside inhibitors efavirenz and rilpivirine. Kinetic data suggests that RT (K101P) variants are as catalytically fit as wild-type and thus can potentially increase in the viral population as more antiviral regimens include efavirenz or rilpivirine. Comparison of wild-type structures and a new crystal structure of RT (K101P) in complex with a leading compound confirms that the K101P mutation is not a liability for the catechol diethers while suggesting that key interactions are lost with efavirenz and rilpivirine.
Fairness and Load Balancing in Wireless LANs Using Association Control (2007)

The traffic load of wireless LANs is often unevenly distributed among the access points (APs), which results in unfair bandwidth allocation among users. We argue that the load imbalance and consequent unfair bandwidth allocation can be greatly reduced by intelligent association control. In this paper, we present an efficient solution to determine the user-AP associations for max-min fair bandwidth allocation. We show the strong correlation between fairness and load balancing, which enables us to use load balancing techniques for obtaining optimal max-min fair bandwidth allocation. As this problem is NP-hard, we devise algorithms that achieve constant-factor approximation. In our algorithms, we first compute a fractional association solution, in which users can be associated with multiple APs simultaneously. This solution guarantees the fairest bandwidth allocation in terms of max-min fairness. Then, by utilizing a rounding method, we obtain the integral solution from the fractional solution. We also consider time fairness and present a polynomial-time algorithm for optimal integral solution. We further extend our schemes for the on-line case where users may join and leave dynamically. Our simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithms achieve close to optimal load balancing (i.e., max-min fairness) and they outperform commonly used heuristics.
New Facile Method to Measure Cyanide in Blood (2010)

Cyanide, a well-known toxic substance that could be used as a weapon of mass destruction, is likely responsible for a substantial percentage of smoke inhalation deaths. The vitamin B(12) precursor cobinamide binds cyanide with high affinity, changing color and, correspondingly, its spectrophotometric spectrum in the ultraviolet/visible light range. Based on these spectral changes, we developed a new facile method to measure cyanide in blood using cobinamide. The limit of detection was 0.25 nmol, while the limit of quantitation was approximately 0.5 nmol. The method was reliable, requires minimal equipment, and correlated well with a previously established method. Moreover, we adapted it for rapid qualitative assessment of cyanide concentration, which could be used in the field to identify cyanide-poisoned subjects for immediate treatment.
Enhanced direct mode coding for bi-predictive pictures (2004)

The direct mode coding in the bi-predictive pictures (B-pictures) can efficiently improve the performance of bi-predictive coding, because it exploits the temporal correlation by bi-directional prediction from both forward and backward reference pictures, and meanwhile it does not require any bits for coding the motion vectors. Accordingly, how to accurately calculate the motion vectors in terms of direct mode coding is very important to obtain better prediction values. In other words, it is more desirable to obtain the true motion vectors, because the derived motion vectors need not be coded. The traditional direct mode coding usually derives the motion vector of the current block by scaling the motion vector of the co-located block in the subsequent reference pictures. It is based on the assumption that the near blocks would have the same motion trajectory. In this paper, we present an improved method based on combining motion vector tracking technique and spatial motion vector prediction technique. The proposed method can accurately calculate the motion vectors for the direct mode coding.
Autoxidation of the Site-Specifically PEGylated Hemoglobins: Role of the PEG Chains and the Sites of PEGylation in the Autoxidation (2008)

The PEGylated hemoglobin (Hb) has been evaluated as a potential blood substitute. In an attempt to understand the autoxidation of the PEGylated Hb, we have studied the autoxidation of the PEGylated Hb site-specifically modified at Cys-93(beta) or at Val-1(beta). PEGylation of Hb at Cys-93(beta) perturbed the heme environment and increased the autoxidation rate of Hb, which is at a higher level than that caused by PEGylation at Val-1(beta). The perturbation of the heme environment of Hb is attributed to the maleimide modification at Cys-93(beta) and not due to conjugation of the PEG chains. However, the PEG chains enhance the autoxidation and the H 2O 2 mediated oxidation of Hb. Accordingly, the PEG chains are assumed to increase the water molecules in the hydration layer of Hb and enhance the autoxidation by promoting the nucleophilic attack of heme. The autoxidation rate of the PEGylated Hb does not show an inverse correlation with the oxygen affinity. The H 2O 2 mediated structural loss and the heme loss of Hb are increased by maleimide modification at Cys-93(beta) and further decreased by conjugation of the PEG chains. The autoxidation of the PEGylated Hbs is attenuated significantly in the plasma, possibly due to the presence of the antioxidant species in the plasma. This result is consistent with the recent suggestion that there is no direct correlation between the in vitro and in vivo autoxidation of the PEGylated Hb. Therefore, the pattern of PEGylation can be manipulated for the design of the PEGylated Hb with minimal autoxidation.