gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Diagnosis of cobalamin deficiency I: Usefulness of serum methylmalonic acid and total homocysteine concentrations (1990)

The serum cobalamin assay is the primary diagnostic test for cobalamin deficiency. It appears to be an excellent screening test since most patients with clinically confirmed cobalamin deficiency have low levels. Recent studies indicate that the clinical picture of cobalamin deficiency is much more diverse than previously believed. It is also apparent that many patients with low serum cobalamin concentrations are not cobalamin deficient. Thus, there is a need for additional diagnostic tests to further distinguish patients with low serum cobalamin levels who are actually cobalamin deficient and will benefit from lifetime treatment from those who are not deficient and will not benefit. Serum levels of methylmalonic acid and total homocysteine have been shown to be markedly elevated in most patients with cobalamin deficiency, and total homocysteine concentrations are markedly elevated in most patients with folate deficiency. The levels of these metabolites fall to normal if these patients are treated with the appropriate vitamin but remain essentially unchanged if the wrong vitamin is administered. These observations demonstrate that serum methylmalonic acid and total homocysteine levels are useful in diagnosing patients with cobalamin and folate deficiency and in distinguishing between these two vitamin deficiencies.
<i>In Situ</i> Chemical Monitoring and Imaging of Contents within Microfluidic Devices Having a Porous Membrane Wall Using Liquid Microjunction Surface Sampling Probe Mass Spectrometry (2020)

The ability to observe dynamic chemical processes (e.g., signaling, transport, etc.) <i>in vivo</i> or <i>in situ</i> using nondestructive chemical imaging opens a new door to understanding the complex dynamics of developing biological systems. With the advent of "biology-on-a-chip" devices has come the ability to monitor dynamic chemical processes in a controlled environment, using these engineered habitats to capture key features of natural systems while allowing visual observation of system development. Having the capability to spatially and temporally map the chemical signals within these devices may yield new insights into the forces that drive biosystem development. Here, a porous membrane sealed microfluidic device was designed to allow normal microfluidic operation while enabling continuous, location specific sampling and chemical characterization by liquid microjunction surface sampling probe mass spectrometry (LMJ-SSP MS). LMJ-SSP was used to extract fluids with nL-to-μL/min flow rates directly from selected areas of the microfluidic device without negatively impacting the device function. These extracts were subsequently characterized using MS. This technique was used to acquire MS images of the entirety of several multi-input microfluidic devices having different degrees of fluid mixing. LMJ-SSP MS imaging visualized the spatial distribution of chemical components within the microfluidic channels and could visualize chemical reactions occurring in the device. These microfluidic devices with a porous membrane wall are wholly compatible with the construction of biology-on-a-chip devices. This ultimately would enable correlation of biosystem physical structure with an evolving chemical environment.
Large-area Silicon-Film/sup (TM)/ manufacturing under the PVMaT program (2002)

AstroPower is developing a manufacturing process for Silicon-Film/sup (TM)/ solar cell production under an NREL-administered PVMaT cost-share program. Progress in improving efficiencies and increasing the size and production volume of Silicon-Film/sup (TM/) solar cells over the past year are discussed. Future concepts and goals for the Silicon-Film/sup (TM)/ process are also discussed.
High-Efficiency Generation and Delivery of Aerosols Through Nasal Cannula During Noninvasive Ventilation (2012)

Submicrometer aerosols can be formed using a conventional mesh nebulizer and delivered through a nasal cannula with total delivery efficiencies of 80-90%. Streamlining the nasal cannula significantly improved the delivery efficiency of both submicrometer and micrometer aerosols; however, use of submicrometer particles with ECG delivery resulted in overall lower depositional losses.
Discovery of ML355, a Potent and Selective Inhibitor of Human 12-Lipoxygenase (2014)

Human lipoxygenases (LOXs) are enzymes involved in catalyzing the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids to provide the corresponding bioactive hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (HETE) metabolites as the end product [1-3]. These eicosanoid signaling molecules are involved in a number of physiologic responses such as platelet aggregation, inflammation and cell proliferation [4-6]. As a result, modulation of these responses through the inhibition of the lipoxygenase enzymes is of great interest. Our group has particular interest in platelet-type 12-(S)-LOX (12-LOX) because of its demonstrated role in skin diseases, diabetes, platelet hemostasis, thrombosis and cancer [7-11]. However, despite the potential of 12-LOX as a therapeutic target, few potent and selective inhibitors have been reported. The lack of high quality 12-LOX inhibitors prompted us to initiate a high-throughput screening campaign as part of the MLPCN program which ultimately led to the discovery of ML127. While potent and selective, ML127 demonstrated limited tolerance for structural modifications, which hampered continued medicinal chemistry efforts thus a continued discovery efforts to develop additional novel inhibitors of 12-LOX is needed. Herein, we report the identification and medicinal chemistry optimization of an unrelated, second chemotype, ML355, which displays nM potency against 12-LOX and excellent selectivity over related lipoxygenases and cyclooxygenases. ML355 has favorable absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties, inhibits PAR-4 induced aggregation and calcium mobilization in human platelets, and reduces 12-HETE in mouse/human beta cells suggesting its potential utility in animal models for antiplatelet therapy and diabetes.
Immunogenicity and Protective Efficacy of Tuberculosis DNA Vaccines Encoding Putative Phosphate Transport Receptors (1999)

Using culture filtrate Ag-specific mAbs generated from mycobacteria-infected H-2b haplotype mice, we have previously identified three genes in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome, encoding proteins homologous to the periplasmic ATP-binding cassette phosphate-binding receptor PstS of the phosphate-specific transport system of E. coli. To define the potential vaccinal properties of these phosphate-binding proteins, female C57BL/6 mice were injected i.m. with plasmid DNA encoding PstS-1, PstS-2, or PstS-3 proteins from M. tuberculosis and immunogenicity and protective efficacy against i.v. challenge with M. tuberculosis H37Rv was analyzed. Significant levels of highly Ag-specific Abs and Th1-type cytokines IL-2 and IFN-gamma could be detected following vaccination with each of the three genes. However, only mice vaccinated with PstS-3 DNA demonstrated significant and sustained reduction in bacterial CFU numbers in spleen and lungs for 3 mo after M. tuberculosis challenge, as compared with CFU counts in mice vaccinated with control DNA. Vaccination with PstS-2 DNA induced a modest reduction in CFU counts in spleen only, whereas vaccination with PstS-1 DNA was completely ineffective in reducing bacterial multiplication. In conclusion, our results indicate that DNA vaccination is a powerful and easy method for comparative screening of potentially protective Ags from M. tuberculosis and that the PstS-3 protein is a promising new subunit vaccine candidate.
Molecular Cloning and Characterization of the 120-Kilodalton Protein Gene of <i>Ehrlichia canis</i> and Application of the Recombinant 120-Kilodalton Protein for Serodiagnosis of Canine Ehrlichiosis (2000)

The 120-kDa outer membrane protein (p120) is a potential adhesin of Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and recombinant p120 is very useful for serodiagnosis of human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis. The analogous gene of p120 in Ehrlichia canis was cloned, sequenced, and expressed. Like the E. chaffeensis p120, the E. canis p120 contains tandem repeat units. However, neither the repeat number nor the amino acid sequences in the repeats are identical in the two Ehrlichia species. The repeat units are hydrophilic and by probability analysis are predicted to be surface exposed in both species. The repeat regions of the p120s of the two species have common amino acid sequences that are predicted to be surface exposed. The overall amino acid sequence of the E. canis p120 is 30% homologous to that of E. chaffeensis p120. Protein immunoblotting demonstrated that the recombinant E. canis p120 reacted with convalescent sera from dogs with canine ehrlichiosis. These results indicate that the recombinant p120 is a potential antigen for the serodiagnosis of canine ehrlichiosis.
Synthesis Gas Production by Rapid Solar Thermal Gasification of Corn Stover (2008)

Biomass resources hold great promise as renewable fuel sources for the future, and there exists great interest in thermochemical methods of converting these resources into useful fuels. The novel approach taken by the authors uses concentrated solar energy to efficiently achieve temperatures where conversion and selectivity of gasification are high. Use of solar energy removes the need for a combustion fuel and upgrades the heating value of the biomass products. The syngas product of the gasification can be transformed into a variety of fuels useable with today?s infrastructure. Gasification in an aerosol reactor allows for rapid kinetics, allowing efficient utilization of the incident solar radiation and high solar efficiency.
Low threshold interband cascade lasers (2013)

Various semiconductor laser concepts have been researched during recent years to cover the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral range with robust, compact and reliable coherent sources operating at ambient temperatures. Among them, interband cascade lasers [1] (ICLs), which unite interband transitions with the concept of cascading active regions, have recently shown great promise as a low power consumption devices. They can emit in the tens of mW output power range between 3 and 6 μm. In this work, we describe improvements of our quantum-engineered ICLs leading towards lower threshold current densities and higher operation temperatures. This includes the active region design as well as the doping levels in different parts of the structure. Broad area lasers with unprecedented threshold current densities as low as 97 A/cm<sup>2</sup> at room temperature are presented.
The Presence of Virus Neutralizing Antibodies Is Highly Associated with Protection against Virulent Challenge in Domestic Pigs Immunized with ASFV live Attenuated Vaccine Candidates (2022)

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is currently producing a pandemic affecting a large area of Eurasia, and more recently, the Dominican Republic in the Western Hemisphere. ASFV is a large and structurally complex virus with a large dsDNA genome encoding for more than 150 genes. Live attenuated virus strains can induce protection in domestic swine against disease produced by homologous virulent parental viruses. The roles of the different immune mechanisms induced by the attenuated strains in protection still need to be understood. In particular, the role of ASFV neutralizing antibody in protection still is an important controversial issue to be elucidated. Here we present the development of a novel methodology to detect virus neutralizing antibodies based on the reduction of virus infectivity in a Vero cell adapted ASFV strain. The described method was used to assess levels of virus neutralizing antibodies in domestic swine inoculated with live attenuated ASFV. Results demonstrated a high association between the presence of virus neutralizing antibodies and protection in 84 animals immunized with the recombinant vaccine candidates ASFV-G-Δ9GL/ΔUK or ASFV-G-ΔI177L. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating an association between virus neutralizing antibodies and protection against virulent challenge in such a large number of experimental individuals.
High-pressure microhollow cathode discharges in air (2002)

Summary form only given, as follows. Research on high pressure, large volume glow discharges in air is motivated by applications such as reflectors and absorbers for electromagnetic radiation, plasma processing, and the remediation of gaseous pollution. In order to prevent glow-to-arc transitions, which in high-pressure glow discharges start in the cathode region, it is proposed to use a plasma cathode consisting of an array of microhollow cathode discharges. To explore the conditions for stable operation of single 100 /spl mu/m microhollow cathode discharges in flowing air, the current-voltage characteristics, and the visual appearance of a 100 /spl mu/m microhollow cathode discharge were studied. The results show that the threshold current for the transition from a glow into a filamentary discharge varies inversely with pressure. At pressures of 400 Torr the current in the 100 /spl mu/m hollow cathode discharge must not exceed 0.5 mA in order for the discharge to be stable. The type of instability, which causes the transition from dc to fluctuating currents, is not known at this time, but the observed dependence of the threshold current from the gas pressure points to a thermal instability. Assuming that the White-Allis scaling law still holds for air discharges at pressures close to atmospheric, it is expected that reducing the cathode hole diameter to 50 /spl mu/m will allow us to operate microhollow cathode discharges at atmospheric air with currents of up to 0.25 mA. Experimental studies on the effect of the cathode dimensions and cathode material are underway and results will be discussed at the conference.
A generalizable adaptive brain-machine interface design for control of anesthesia (2015)

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) for closed-loop control of anesthesia have the potential to automatically monitor and control brain states under anesthesia. Since a variety of anesthetic states are needed in different clinical scenarios, designing a generalizable BMI architecture that can control a wide range of anesthetic states is essential. In addition, drug dynamics are non-stationary over time and could change with the depth of anesthesia. Hence for precise control, a BMI needs to track these non-stationarities online. Here we design a BMI architecture that generalizes to control of various anesthetic states and their associated neural signatures, and is adaptive to time-varying drug dynamics. We provide a systematic approach to build general parametric models that quantify the anesthetic state and describe the drug dynamics. Based on these models, we develop an adaptive closed-loop controller within the framework of stochastic optimal feedback control. This controller tracks the non-stationarities in drug dynamics, achieves tight control in a time-varying environment, and removes the need for an offline system identification session. For robustness, the BMI also ensures small drug infusion rate variations at steady state. We test the BMI architecture for control of two common anesthetic states, i.e., burst suppression in medically-induced coma and unconsciousness in general anesthesia. Using numerical experiments, we find that the BMI generalizes to control of both these anesthetic states; in a time-varying environment, even without initial knowledge of model parameters, the BMI accurately controls these two different anesthetic states, reducing bias and error more than 70 times and 9 times, respectively, compared with a non-adaptive system.
Enzymatic reduction of levoglucosenone by an alkene reductase (OYE 2.6): a sustainable metal- and dihydrogen-free access to the bio-based solvent Cyrene® (2018)

Levoglucosenone has been successfully converted into Cyrene® through a biocatalytic process using wild-type Old Yellow Enzyme 2.6 (OYE 2.6 wt) from <italic>Pichia stipitis</italic> and its mutant (OYE 2.6 Tyr<sup>78</sup>Trp).
<title>Large optically flat membrane mirrors</title> (1999)

The feasibility of forming very thin (approximately 100 um), flexible membranes into low-cost, low-mass, large diameter optical elements is being explored. While spherical or parabolic shapes are the ultimate goal for imaging and other light-gathering applications, there are potential applications for large, planar surfaces. Also, knowledge gained while working with planar membranes is being applied to concave structures. Recent efforts have concentrated on measuring and understanding the behavior of currently available materials. This paper discusses experimental results, and describes measurement techniques and membrane materials used. Highlighted are our most recent results on a 11-inch diameter membrane mirror which we measured to be flat to approximately 0.1 um rms.
A Novel Technology in Mild and Moisturizing Cleansing Liquids (2009)

Skin cleansers have evolved from merely cleansing to providing mildness and moisturizing benefits as well. Alkyl carboxylate, commonly known as soap, is the prototypical surfactant used in skin-cleansing soap bars; however, the superior mildness of syndet bars over soap bars is well documented in the literature. Harsh surfactants in cleansers can cause damage to skin lipids and proteins, leading to after-wash tightness, dryness, barrier damage, irritation, and even itch. The structure of synthetic surfactants is often tailored to minimize damage to the stratum corneum. A significant breakthrough in cleansing came with the introduction of syndet bars containing sodium cocoyl isethionate as the cleanser and long-chain fatty acids as the moisturizing agents. Current liquid cleansers use a combination of anionic and amphoteric surfactants to reduce protein damage and skin irritation potential of anionic surfactants. These combinations can still cause skin dryness, and this article indicates that this may be due to the interaction of surfactants with skin lipids. The combination of anionic and amphoteric surfactants can result in increased damage to lipids, even though their skin irritation potential is reduced considerably. Skin dryness is addressed in current moisturizing cleanser systems with the use of emollients, such as petrolatum and triglyceride oils. Typically, higher levels of petrolatum are used to increase moisturization by occlusion, with some moisturizers having a petrolatum content as high as 50% to 60% by weight. A novel approach to skin moisturization involves using a combination of lipids, natural oils, and humectants, supplemented with occlusives. In this article, we describe the efficacy of a new moisturizing body wash technology, with sodium cocoyl isethionate as the primary surfactant and fatty acids and triglyceride oils as the emollients.
Estimation of in-cell and out-of-cell interference levels for improved CDMA forward link error correction (2004)

This work uses the second order statistics of the signal received by a CDMA mobile to determine what proportion of that signal consist of in-cell interference and what proportion is out-of-cell interference plus thermal noise. A least-squares estimator is derived and compared to the Creamer-Rao lower bound. The interference estimated are incorporated into the CDMA mobile channel decoder in order to improve the performance of convolutional and turbo codes on the CDMA forward link.
P153MicroRNAs involved in cardioprotection by ischemic pre- and postconditioning: ProtectomiRs (2014)

Purpose: We aimed to characterize early changes in microRNA expression in acute cardioprotection by ischemic pre- and postconditioning in rat hearts.
Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation (aDBS) for Tourette Syndrome (2017)

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as a novel therapy for the treatment of several movement and neuropsychiatric disorders, and may also be suitable for the treatment of Tourette syndrome (TS). The main DBS targets used to date in patients with TS are located within the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuit involved in the pathophysiology of this syndrome. They include the ventralis oralis/centromedian-parafascicular (Vo/CM-Pf) nucleus of the thalamus and the nucleus accumbens. Current DBS treatments deliver continuous electrical stimulation and are not designed to adapt to the patient's symptoms, thereby contributing to unwanted side effects. Moreover, continuous DBS can lead to rapid battery depletion, which necessitates frequent battery replacement surgeries. Adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS), which is controlled based on neurophysiological biomarkers, is considered one of the most promising approaches to optimize clinical benefits and to limit the side effects of DBS. aDBS consists of a closed-loop system designed to measure and analyse a control variable reflecting the patient's clinical condition and to modify on-line stimulation settings to improve treatment efficacy. Local field potentials (LFPs), which are sums of pre- and post-synaptic activity arising from large neuronal populations, directly recorded from electrodes implanted for DBS can theoretically represent a reliable correlate of clinical status in patients with TS. The well-established LFP-clinical correlations in patients with Parkinson's disease reported in the last few years provide the rationale for developing and implementing new aDBS devices whose efficacies are under evaluation in humans. Only a few studies have investigated LFP activity recorded from DBS target structures and the relationship of this activity to clinical symptoms in TS. Here, we review the available literature supporting the feasibility of an LFP-based aDBS approach in patients with TS. In addition, to increase such knowledge, we report explorative findings regarding LFP data recently acquired and analysed in patients with TS after DBS electrode implantation at rest, during voluntary and involuntary movements (tics), and during ongoing DBS. Data available up to now suggest that patients with TS have oscillatory patterns specifically associated with the part of the brain they are recorded from, and thereby with clinical manifestations. The Vo/CM-Pf nucleus of the thalamus is involved in movement execution and the pathophysiology of TS. Moreover, the oscillatory patterns in TS are specifically modulated by DBS treatment, as reflected by improvements in TS symptoms. These findings suggest that LFPs recorded from DBS targets may be used to control new aDBS devices capable of adaptive stimulation responsive to the symptoms of TS.