gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Improved sensitivity measurement of the human eye length in vivo with Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (2008)

We present a system for intraocular distance measurement of the human eye in vivo with high sensitivity. The instrument is based on Fourier domain low coherence interferometry (FD-LCI). State-of-the-art FD-LCI systems are capable to image a depth range of only a few mm, because the depth range is determined by the spectral resolution of the spectrometer. To measure larger distances (e.g. human eye length) we implemented two separate reference arms with different arm lengths into the interferometer. Each reference arm length corresponds to a different depth position within the sample (e.g. cornea and retina). Therefore two different depth sections, each with a depth range of a few mm can be imaged simultaneously. With the new system axial distances could be measured with a precision of 8&mgr;m. We demonstrate the performance of the instrument by measuring the axial eye length of 9 patients with cataract and compare our results with those obtained using the IOL Master (Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc.).
Improving the Nonlinear Tolerance of Polarization-Division-Multiplexed CO-OFDM in Long-Haul Fiber Transmission (2009)

We present digital signal processing techniques and algorithms for improving the tolerance of polarization-division multiplexed (PDM) coherent optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (CO-OFDM) to fiber nonlinear effects, in both single-channel and wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) transmission. For single-channel transmission, we discuss a self-phase modulation (SPM) compensation method that jointly processes two polarization components of a PDM CO-OFDM signal. For WDM transmission, we describe a novel OFDM channel estimation scheme that reduces the cross-phase-modulation (XPM) penalty among the WDM channels. The nonlinear tolerance improvements enabled by these signal processing techniques are quantified through numerical simulations for both dispersion-unmanaged and dispersion-managed long-haul optical fiber transmission with 112-Gb/s PDM CO-OFDM wavelength channels.
Interference Alignment Algorithm for Quasi-Static MIMO Cellular System (2011)

In this paper, we propose an iterative interference alignment (IA) algorithm for quasi-static MIMO cellular networks. Such networks impose a key technical challenge in the IA algorithm design, namely the overlapping between the direct and interfering links due to the cellular topology. We shall address this challenge and propose a three stage IA algorithm. As illustration, we analyze the achievable degree of freedom (DoF) of the proposed algorithm for a symmetric MIMO cellular network. The derived DoF bound is also backward compatible with that achieved on K-pair MIMO interference channels.
Sustained-release silk biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering scaffolds (2009)

Various silk based drug delivery systems were designed to exploit silk's novel material properties in order to attain slow, sustained, controlled release. Using the small molecule model drug adenosine, release profiles from various silk delivery systems were characterized in vitro. The therapeutic potential of the implants was validated in a dose response study in the rat model of kindling epileptogenesis. Adenosine releasing silk implants engineered to release varied target release doses were implanted in rat brains and dose-dependent delays in epileptogenesis were observed over 14 days. We conclude that silk-based adenosine delivery systems represent a safe and efficient strategy to suppress seizures, and that these degradable, implantable biomaterials could potentially be applied to a range of therapeutics.
A Tagging-via-substrate Approach to Detect the Farnesylated Proteome Using Two-dimensional Electrophoresis Coupled with Western Blotting (2010)

Prenylation is a post-translational modification critical for the proper function of multiple physiologically important proteins, including small G-proteins, such as Ras. Methods allowing rapid and selective detection of protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation are fundamental for the understanding of prenylated protein function and for monitoring efficacy of drugs such as farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs). Although the natural substrates for prenyltransferases are farnesyl pyrophosphate and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, farnesyltransferase has been shown to incorporate isoprenoid analogues into protein substrates. In this study, protein prenyltransferase targets were labeled using anilinogeraniol, the alcohol precursor to the unnatural farnesyl pyrophosphate analogue 8-anilinogeranyl diphosphate in a tagging-via-substrate approach. Antibodies specific for the anilinogeranyl moiety were used to detect the anilinogeranyl-modified proteins. Coupling this highly effective labeling/detection method with two-dimensional electrophoresis and subsequent Western blotting allowed simple, rapid analysis of the complex farnesylated proteome. For example, this method elucidated the differential effects induced by two chemically distinct FTIs, BMS-214,662 and L-778,123. Although both FTIs strongly inhibited farnesylation of many proteins such as Lamins, NAP1L1, N-Ras, and H-Ras, only the dual prenylation inhibitor L-778,123 blocked prenylation of Pex19, RhoB, K-Ras, Cdc42, and Rap1. This snapshot approach has significant advantages over traditional techniques, including radiolabeling, anti-farnesyl antibodies, or mass spectroscopy, and enables dynamic analysis of the farnesylated proteome.
Controllable alignment of nematic liquid crystals around microscopic posts: Stabilization of multiple states (2002)

Nematic liquid crystal materials are rod-like molecules that align in a locally common direction called the director. This gives rise to anisotropic properties that are used in electro-optical devices such as displays, which usually consist of a sandwich of material between two substrates. The behavior of the director at the substrate surfaces is a critical design consideration, and a wide variety of surface treatments has been reported. Most are dominated by molecular interactions, e.g., high surface energy materials that give homogeneous alignment (the director parallel to substrate). The elastic properties of nematics can also be used to influence alignment by shaping the surface on the micron scale. The potential that this offers to engineer device properties is relatively unexplored; to date, the majority of results reported concentrate on essentially two-dimensional effects. Here we show that the three-dimensional configuration of nematics around microscopic posts results in multiple stable director orientations, and can be used in particular to implement bistable displays with a broad range of control over the optical and switching properties.
Studies in Humans on the Mechanism of Potent Spermicidal and Apoptosis-Inducing Activities of Vanadocene Complexes (2000)

We previously demonstrated that bis-cyclopentadienyl (Cp) complexes of vanadium(IV) (vanadocenes) are potent spermicidal and apoptosis-inducing agents. To gain further insight into the structure-function relationships controlling these two properties of vanadocenes, we have synthesized analogues in which the bis-Cp rings were substituted with one or five electron-donating methyl groups. The three complexes included vanadocene dichloride (VDC), bis(methylcyclopentadienyl) vanadium dichloride (VMDC), and bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) vanadium dichloride (VPMDC). The concentration-dependent effect of these vanadocenes on sperm-immobilizing activity (SIA), mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsim), axonemal dynein ATPase activity, and tyrosine phosphorylation of global and axoneme-specific sperm proteins was assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis, flow cytometry, colorimetry, and immunoblotting, respectively. Apoptosis-inducing ability was quantitated by the two-color flow cytometric terminal dideoxynucleotidyl transferase-based assay that labels 3'-hydroxyl ends of fragmented DNA. All three vanadocenes induced rapid sperm immobilization (T(1/2) < 15 sec). Substitution of the bis-Cp rings by five methyl groups augmented the SIA of VDC by 10-fold. The EC(50) values (50% inhibitory concentration) for VDC, VMDC, and VPMDC were 7.5 microM, 4.3 microM, and 0.7 microM, respectively. Whereas SIA of vanadocenes was apparent at low micromolar concentrations, the apoptosis-inducing property was evident only at higher micromolar concentrations. The concentrations of VDC, VMDC, and VPMDC required for 50% apoptosis were 49 microM, 67 microM, and 153 microM, and for 50% reduction in sperm DeltaPsim were 435 microM, 173 microM, and 124 microM, respectively. Spermicidal activity of vanadocenes was not dependent on the inhibition of ATPase or tyrosine phosphorylation of global and sperm axonemal proteins. Due to the ability of these vanadocene complexes to rapidly generate hydroxyl radicals in the presence of oxidant, our findings provide unprecedented evidence for a novel mechanism of action for spermicidal vanadocenes. The differential concentration-dependent spermicidal and apoptosis-inducing properties of vanadocenes gives them particular utility as a new class of vaginal contraceptives.
Studies on quinazolines. 5. 2,3-Dihydroimidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline derivatives: a novel class of potent and selective .alpha.1-adrenoceptor antagonists and antihypertensive agents (1993)

A series of 2-[(substituted phenylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl]- and 2-[(substituted phenylpiperidin-1-yl)methyl]-2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2- c]quinazolin-5(6H)-ones or -5(6H)-thiones, and 3-[(substituted phenylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl]-2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-c]quinaz oline derivatives were synthesized, as conformationally restricted analogues of SGB-1534 and ketanserin, for evaluation as alpha-antagonists and antihypertensive agents. Most compounds containing a (substituted phenylipiperazinyl)methyl side chain displayed high binding affinity for alpha 1-adrenoceptor with no significant activity at alpha 2-sites. Compounds having a (substituted phenylpiperazinyl)methyl at the 3-position of 2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-c]quinazolin-5(6H)-one ring system had a better activity than those with the same substituent at the 2-position. Structure-activity relationships for alpha 1-adrenoceptor affinity are presented and indicate that compounds with substitution at the ortho position on the benzene ring of the phenylpiperazine side chain moiety are more potent than those without substitution and/or substitutions at the 3- and 4-positions. Computer-assisted superimposition of SGB-1534 and 20b showed little structural correspondence between the quinazolinone and 2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline nucleus, and specific interactions of these molecular fragments with the receptor protein appear unlikely. Antihypertensive activity was evaluated via intravenous administration of each compound to spontaneously hypertensive rats, and compounds (16a, 16b, 20b, and 28b) illustrated similar efficacy to SGB-1534 when assessed after 6 h. The pA2 value for 16a against phenylephedrine in rat aorta was much higher than that of prazosin. On the basis of alpha 1-adrenoceptor affinity/selectivity in vitro and duration of antihypertensive action in vivo, compounds 20b and 28b warrant further evaluation.
Metabolomic Profiling Of Serum Samples By 1H NMR Spectroscopy As A Novel Approach For Diagnosis Of Pediatric Septic Shock (2012)

SIRS/ICU controls (green) and healthy controls (blue). The sphere describes 95% confidence of the Hotelling’s T-squared distribution. Metabolic Profiling of Serum Samples by 1H NMR Spectroscopy as a Novel Approach for Diagnosis of Pediatric Septic Shock Beata Mickiewicz1, Hans J. Vogel1, Hector R. Wong2 and Brent W. Winston3 1Bio-NMR Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, AB, Canada, 2Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, OH, USA, 3Department of Critical Care Medicine, Medicine and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Calgary, AB, Canada.
Intervertebral Disc Tissue Engineering Using a Novel Hyaluronic Acid–Nanofibrous Scaffold (HANFS) Amalgam (2008)

Degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD) represents a significant musculoskeletal disease burden. Although spinal fusion has some efficacy in pain management, spine biomechanics is ultimately compromised. In addition, there is inherent limitation of hardware-based IVD replacement prostheses, which underscores the importance of biological approaches to disc repair. In this study, we have seeded multipotent, adult human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into a novel biomaterial amalgam to develop a biphasic construct that consisted of electrospun, biodegradable nanofibrous scaffold (NFS) enveloping a hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel center. The seeded MSCs were induced to undergo chondrogenesis in vitro in the presence of transforming growth factor-beta for up to 28 days. The cartilaginous hyaluronic acid-nanofibrous scaffold (HANFS) construct architecturally resembled a native IVD, with an outer annulus fibrosus-like region and inner nucleus pulposus-like region. Histological and biochemical analyses, immunohistochemistry, and gene expression profiling revealed the time-dependent development of chondrocytic phenotype of the seeded cells. The cells also maintain the microarchitecture of a native IVD. Taken together, these findings suggest the prototypic potential of MSC-seeded HANFS constructs for the tissue engineering of biological replacements of degenerated IVD.
Photochemically assisted fast abiotic oxidation of manganese and formation of δ-MnO<sub>2</sub>nanosheets in nitrate solution (2017)

This study introduces a new and previously unconsidered fast abiotic formation of Mn(iv) oxides. We report photochemically assisted fast abiotic oxidation of Mn<sup>2+</sup> (aq) to Mn(iv) (s) by superoxide radicals generated from nitrate photolysis. This photochemical pathway generates randomly stacked layered birnessite (δ-MnO<sub>2</sub>) nanosheets.
Optimization of SNR estimation in decibel domain over communication channels (2005)

A novel signal estimator is proposed to estimate the signal value in the decibel (dB) domain. The basic idea of the proposed estimator is to combine the averages of the linear domain and log domain with certain weights on averaging of each domain. In this paper, we show that the proposed method can cancel the bias resulting from the linear/log domain estimators alone and we obtain the analytical forms for the optimum combination weights for static and single path fading cases. We apply the proposed method to average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimation in WCDMA systems where samples are no longer i.i.d. In that case, while the optimum estimator does not work well, the proposed method is very robust to the channel models in terms of number of multipath and different Doppler spreads: the proposed method provides a much larger linearity range of average SNR compared with the most widely used sample mean estimator.
<i>In Vitro</i> and <i>In Vivo</i> Developmental Competence of Ovulated and <i>In Vitro</i> Matured Porcine Oocytes Activated by Electrical Activation (2003)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo developmental competence of parthenogenetic (parthenote) pig embryos derived from ovulated and in vitro matured (IVM) oocytes. A total of four experiments were carried out. These demonstrated that the mean blastocyst rates from stimulated ovulated and IVM pig oocytes were not significantly different (61% vs. 46%, p > 0.05) following in vitro culture. Both ovulated and IVM pig parthenotes were able to develop in vivo for 30 days. Parthenote fetuses collected 21 and 30 days post estrus were morphologically normal but significantly smaller and lighter than fertilized controls (p < 0.01). IVM pig parthenotes stopped development around 31 days post estrus.
Aminopyrimidine–galactose hybrids are highly selective galectin-3 inhibitors (2019)

Galectins are a family of carbohydrate recognition proteins involved in, among other things, modulating cell signalling and cell-environment interactions, giving them roles in several pathologies like cancer and idiopathic lung fibrosis. Hence, developing new galectin inhibitors with high affinity and high selectivity is important to be able to target such diseases. Most existing galectin inhibitors have a disaccharide scaffold, but there has been success as of late in developing monogalactoside inhibitors such as α-arylthioglycosides. Here, we report aminopyrimidine-derivatised galactosides as good galectin-3 inhibitors with affinities down to 1.7 μM and a more than 300-fold selectivity over galectin-1. Mutant studies replacing Arg144 in galectin-3 with lysine and serine support the hypothesis that the binding of the derivatives involves interactions with Arg144. Molecular dynamics simulations converged to stable poses of the inhibitor aminopyrimidine moiety with polar interactions with Asp148 and Ser237, while the aryl-aminopyrimidine ring stacked onto the side chain of Arg144. Hence, combining an aminopyrimidine motif with a phenyl α-thiogalactoside motif offers an attractive route towards highly selective galectin-3 inhibitors.
Channel secondary random process for robust secret key generation (2015)

The broadcast nature of wireless communications imposes the risk of information leakage to adversarial users or unauthorized receivers. Therefore, information security between intended users remains a challenging issue. Most of the current physical layer security techniques exploit channel randomness as a common source between two legitimate nodes to extract a secret key. In this paper, we propose a new simple technique to generate the secret key. Specifically, we exploit the estimated channel to generate a secondary random process (SRP) that is common between the two legitimate nodes. We compare the estimated channel gain and phase to a preset threshold. The moving differences between the locations at which the estimated channel gain and phase exceed the threshold are the realization of our SRP. We simulate an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system and show that our proposed technique provides a drastic improvement in the key bit mismatch rate (BMR) between the legitimate nodes when compared to the techniques that exploit the estimated channel gain or phase directly. In addition to that, the secret key generated through our technique is longer than that generated by conventional techniques.
Sensors on instrumented socks for detection of lower leg edema - An in vitro study (2015)

This paper presents the design, sensing principles and in vitro evaluation of a novel instrumented sock intended for prediction and prevention of acute decompensated heart failure. The sock contains a drift-free ankle size sensor and a leg tissue elasticity sensor. Both sensors are inexpensive and developed using innovative new sensing ideas. Preliminary tests with the sensor prototypes show promising results: The ankle size sensor is capable of measuring 1 mm changes in ankle diameter and the tissue elasticity sensor can detect 0.15 MPa differences in elasticity. A low-profile instrumented sock prototype with these two sensors has been successfully fabricated and will be evaluated in the future in an IRB-approved human study.
Pseudo-phase-matched four-wave mixing in soliton wavelength-division multiplexing transmission (1996)

In a soliton transmission system using lumped amplifiers, pseudo phase matching allows four-wave mixing fields from soliton-soliton collisions to grow uncontrollably and inf lict severe penalties. Through numerical simulation, we show that this growth can be eliminated, or at least greatly reduced, through the use of fiber whose dispersion is tapered, either continuously or in steps, in conformity with the fiber loss curve.
Spectrogram Analysis of Respiratory Sounds in Exercising Horses (1999)

Spectrogram analysis of respiratory sounds in exercising horses allows differentiation between normal horses and horses with laryngeal hemiplegia and dorsal displacement of the soft palate. If distinguishable respiratory sounds are associated with individual upper airway conditions, spectrogram analysis of respiratory sounds may become a valuable and simple field test. Authors’Addresses:Dept. Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1314; Dept. Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; Dept. Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1314. r 1999 AAEP.
Unifying HDFS and GPFS (2016)

Distributed file systems built for Big Data Analytics and cluster file systems built for traditional applications have very different functionality requirements, resulting in separate storage silos. In enterprises, there is often the need to run analytics on data generated by traditional applications that is stored on cluster file systems. The absence of a single data store that can serve both classes of applications leads to data duplication and hence, increased storage costs, along with the cost of moving data between the two kinds of file systems.
Ester Functionalization of Polypropylene via Controlled Decomposition of Benzoyl Peroxide during Solid-State Shear Pulverization (2013)

Polypropylene (PP) is a nonpolar polyolefin that is sometimes functionalized with polar molecules to allow for reactive compatibilization and improve interfacial adhesion. Functionalized PP is conventionally synthesized by melt extrusion at elevated temperature (T) (≥∼180 °C) with a radical initiator and polar monomer, e.g., maleic anhydride. A drawback to high T functionalization is that β-scission, which leads to cleavage of C–C backbone bonds, is significant and results in major molecular weight (MW) reduction and property degradation. We present a novel method of functionalizing PP using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) alone by a process called solid-state shear pulverization (SSSP), resulting in ester functional groups (benzoates) grafted at high yield onto PP. Ester functionalized PP (PP-g-ES) is synthesized with limited MW reduction because SSSP is done at sufficiently low T to suppress β-scission. Characterization before and after grafting at 0.18 mol % (0.46 wt %) graft level indicates that functionalization (and subsequent purification) is accompanied by only one chain scission event per 12 400 PP repeat units, resulting in 17% and 36% reductions in number-average MW and weight-average MW, respectively. Benzoate grafting levels are tuned from 0.08 to 0.41 mol % (0.22 to 1.14 wt %) by varying the BPO feed level. In addition to limited MW reduction, PP-g-ES exhibits modified interfacial properties, the ability to undergo transesterification reactions consistent with reactive compatibilization, and little to no loss of physical and mechanical properties relative to neat PP.