gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Hypoglycemic activity of Ficus hispida (bark) in normal and diabetic albino rats (2004)

OBJECTIVE: To find out the hypoglycemic activity of Ficus hispida Linn. (bark) in normal and diabetic albino rats and to evaluate its probable mechanism of hypoglycemic activity if any.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Albino rats were divided into groups (n=6) receiving different treatments consisting of vehicle, water-soluble portion of the ethanol extract of Ficus hispida bark (FH) (1.25 g/kg) and standard antidiabetic drugs, glibenclamide (0.5 mg/kg) and 0.24 units of insulin (0.62 ml of 0.40 units/ml). Blood glucose was estimated by the glucose oxidase method in both normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats before and 2 h after the administration of drugs. To find out the probable mechanism of action of FH as a hypoglycemic agent, i) the glycogen content of the liver, skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, and ii) glucose uptake by isolated rat hemi-diaphragm were estimated.
RESULTS: FH showed significant reduction of blood glucose level both in the normal (P<0.01) and diabetic (P<0.001) rats. However, the reduction in the blood glucose level was less than that of the standard drug, glibenclamide. FH also increased the uptake of glucose by rat hemi-diaphragm significantly (P<0.001). There was a significant increase in the glycogen content of the liver (P<0.05), skeletal muscle (P<0.01) and cardiac muscle (P<0.001). The amount of glycogen present in the cardiac muscle was more than the glycogen present in the skeletal muscle and liver.
CONCLUSION: FH has significant hypoglycemic activity. Increased glycogenesis and enhanced peripheral uptake of glucose are the probable mechanisms involved in its hypoglycemic activity.
Infrared Spectroscopy of Landau Levels of Graphene (2007)

We report infrared studies of the Landau level (LL) transitions in single layer graphene. Our specimens are density tunable and show in situ half-integer quantum Hall plateaus. Infrared transmission is measured in magnetic fields up to $B=18\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{T}$ at selected LL fillings. Resonances between hole LLs and electron LLs, as well as resonances between hole and electron LLs, are resolved. Their transition energies are proportional to $\sqrt{B}$, and the deduced band velocity is $\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{c}\ensuremath{\approx}1.1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$. The lack of precise scaling between different LL transitions indicates considerable contributions of many-particle effects to the infrared transition energies.
Microprocessor-Controlled New Class of Optimal Battery Chargers for Photovoltaic Applications (2004)

A simple, fast and reliable technique for charging batteries by solar arrays is proposed. The operating point of a battery is carefully forced near the maximum power point of solar cells under all environmental (e.g., insolation, temperature, degradation) conditions. Optimal operation of solar arrays is achieved using the Voltage-Based Maximum Power Point Tracking (VMPPT) technique and the charger operating point is continuously adjusted by changing the charging current. An optimal solar battery charger is designed, simulated and constructed. Experimental and theoretical results are presented and analyzed. The main advantages of the proposed solar battery charger as compared with conventional ones are shorter charge time and lower cost.
The effect of prostacyclin on the adhesion of leucocytes to injured vascular endothelium (1984)

The effect of local application of various solutions on leucocyte adherence to the wall of small blood vessels in the microcirculation of the rat mesentery was examined. Leucocyte adhesion was produced by local application of zymosan-activated complement. Solutions of EDTA, lignocaine and prostacyclin when applied locally cause the release of a high proportion of leucocytes previously firmly adherent to the endothelium of venules and small veins without producing any significant change in the rate of blood flow through the affected vessels. Acetylcholine injected intravenously increases the rate of blood flow through the mesenteric microcirculation several fold but has no apparent effect on pre-existing leucocyte sticking. The findings suggest that in normal small blood vessels production of prostacyclin by vascular endothelium may inhibit adhesion of leucocytes to the vascular wall. When endothelium is injured local production of prostacyclin may be inhibited sufficiently to permit adhesion of leucocytes to the injured endothelium and so induce the earliest stage in the emigration of leucocytes into the area of injury. Lignocaine may possibly inhibit leucocyte sticking by increasing local production of prostacyclin, but the mode of action of EDTA and many other aspects of the mechanism responsible for leucocyte sticking remain obscure.
Active inference and learning (2016)

This paper offers an active inference account of choice behaviour and learning. It focuses on the distinction between goal-directed and habitual behaviour and how they contextualise each other. We show that habits emerge naturally (and autodidactically) from sequential policy optimisation when agents are equipped with state-action policies. In active inference, behaviour has explorative (epistemic) and exploitative (pragmatic) aspects that are sensitive to ambiguity and risk respectively, where epistemic (ambiguity-resolving) behaviour enables pragmatic (reward-seeking) behaviour and the subsequent emergence of habits. Although goal-directed and habitual policies are usually associated with model-based and model-free schemes, we find the more important distinction is between belief-free and belief-based schemes. The underlying (variational) belief updating provides a comprehensive (if metaphorical) process theory for several phenomena, including the transfer of dopamine responses, reversal learning, habit formation and devaluation. Finally, we show that active inference reduces to a classical (Bellman) scheme, in the absence of ambiguity.
Design of a Nonlinear Observer for Vehicle Velocity Estimation and Experiments (2010)

This brief presents a nonlinear observer for estimating the longitudinal and lateral velocities based on Dugoff's tire model and vehicle dynamics. The observer has a fixed gain structure and can make full use of information about acceleration measurements and nonlinear vehicle model. A sufficient condition is derived to guarantee the stability of the observer, and the robustness of the observer with respect to additive disturbances is analyzed with the help of input-to-state stability theory. The performance of the observer is compared with that of existing approaches and evaluated experimentally under a variety of maneuvers and road conditions.
Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of vertically aligned ZnO nanorod–nanowall junction arrays on a ZnO-coated silicon substrate (2006)

Arrays of vertically well-aligned ZnO nanorod–nanowall junctions have been synthesized on an undoped ZnO-coated silicon substrate by a carbothermal reduction and vapour phase transport method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show that the nanostructures are well-oriented with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the as-prepared ZnO nanostructure reveals a dominant near-band-edge (NBE) emission peak and a weak deep level (DL) emission, which demonstrates its good optical properties. Temperature-dependent PL spectra show that both the intensity of NBE and DL emissions increased with decreasing temperature. The NBE emission at 3.27 eV is identified to originate from the radiative free exciton recombination. The possible growth mechanism of ZnO nanorod–nanowall junctions is also proposed.
Plasma acceleration by finite amplitude Alfven wave beams (1990)

It sounds like magic: you put a dedicated device in contact with air, expose it to sunlight and it starts producing fuel, for free. That is the basic idea behind the fundamental research conducted by DIFFER, the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, in association with Toyota Motor Europe (TME). The partnership aims to develop a device that absorbs water vapor, and splits it into hydrogen and oxygen directly using the sun’s energy.
PET Imaging to Monitor Cancer Therapy (2014)

Improved knowledge and understanding of key aspects of cancer has led to the development of novel cancer therapeutics acting through complex pathways and mode of actions. The success of these novel cancer therapeutics is often difficult to predict using standard response criteria based on anatomic changes. Monitoring response to cancer therapy at molecular level using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has gained popularity in recent years. PET allows longitudinal assessment of specific biological processes rather than just changes in anatomic changes in tumor size. In this review, we provide an overview on application for PET imaging to monitor cancer therapy with emphases on PET of tumor metabolism, cell proliferation, angiogenesis, hypoxia and receptor dynamics.
TNF-α pretreatment prevents subsequent activation of cultured brain cells with TNF-α and hypoxia via ceramide (1999)

We have developed a cellular model in which cultured astrocytes and brain capillary endothelial cells preconditioned with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) fail to upregulate intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) protein (80% inhibition) and mRNA (30% inhibition) when challenged with TNF-alpha or exposed to hypoxia. Inasmuch as ceramide is known to mediate some of the effects of TNF-alpha, its levels were measured at various times after the TNF-alpha preconditioning. We present evidence for the first time that, in normal brain cells, TNF-alpha pretreatment causes a biphasic increase of ceramide levels: an early peak at 15-20 min, when ceramide levels increased 1.9-fold in astrocytes and 2.7-fold in rat brain capillary endothelial cells, and a delayed 2- to 3-fold ceramide increase that occurs 18-24 h after addition of TNF-alpha. The following findings indicate that the delayed ceramide accumulation results in cell unresponsiveness to TNF-alpha: 1) coincident timing of the ceramide peak and the tolerance period, 2) mimicking of preconditioning by addition of exogenous ceramide, and 3) attenuation of preconditioning by fumonisin B1, an inhibitor of ceramide synthesis. In contrast to observations in transformed cell lines, the delayed ceramide increase was transient and did not induce apoptosis in brain cells.
Epidemiology of Hospitalizations and Deaths from Heat Illness in Soldiers (2005)

Exertional heat illness continues to be a military problem during training and operations. Whereas the hospitalization rate of heat illness is declining, heat stroke has markedly increased.
Inclusión laboral y posconflicto en Colombia: la telecapacidad como herramienta estratégica (2019)

Colombia es uno de los Estados con mayores índices de víctimas de minas antipersona, producto del conflicto armado que supera los cincuenta años. Actualmente, Colombia enfrenta un proceso de justicia transicional, el cual involucra diversos retos en materia de posconflicto. Uno de los medios para alcanzar la paz, radica en incorporar los actores del conflicto armado al mercado laboral y de implementar la telecapacidad como mecanismo de inclusión socioeconómica de las personas en condición de discapacidad víctimas de las minas antipersona y de los desmovilizados en situación de discapacidad de los grupos armados al margen de la ley.
Cloning of Murine Translation Initiation Factor 6 and Functional Analysis of the Homologous Sequence YPR016c in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (1999)

The cDNA sequence of a murine gene whose expression was up-regulated after epidermal injury was cloned utilizing differential display. The full-length cDNA was isolated by 3' and 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends from mouse liver. The predicted protein is >97% identical to the human sequence for eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF) 6, thus identifying the gene as murine eIF6. Functional studies of the yeast eIF6 homolog, YPR016c, were initiated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to determine the cellular role(s) of eIF6. Complete deletion of the YPR016c coding sequence was lethal. Viability was restored in the presence of either YPR016c or murine eIF6, when either was expressed as amino-terminal green fluorescent protein fusion protein. Moreover, both fusion proteins localized to nuclear/perinuclear compartments in their respective yeast strains. When the expression of YPR016c-green fluorescent protein was repressed, there was a dramatic reduction in the 60 S ribosomal subunit and polysome content and decreased 80S monosome content. Additionally, the YPR016c-depleted cells arrested in G1. These studies show that YPR016c, which encodes yeast eIF6, is necessary for maximal polysome formation and plays an important role in determining free 60 S ribosomal subunit content.
Tanezumab for chronic low back pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled, phase 3 study of efficacy and safety (2020)

This randomized, double-blind, phase 3 study (56-week treatment; 24-week follow-up) assessed tanezumab in patients with chronic low back pain and history of inadequate response to standard-of-care analgesics (NCT02528253). Patients received placebo, subcutaneous tanezumab (5 or 10 mg every 8 weeks), or oral tramadol prolonged-release (100-300 mg/day). Primary endpoint was change in low back pain intensity (LBPI) at week 16 for tanezumab vs placebo. Key secondary endpoints were proportion of patients with ≥50% decrease in LBPI at week 16, change in Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire at week 16, and change in LBPI at week 2 for tanezumab vs placebo. Adverse events and joint safety were assessed through weeks 56 and 80, respectively. Tanezumab 10 mg met the primary endpoint by significantly improving LBPI at week 16 vs placebo; least squares (LS) mean (95% CI) difference = -0.40 (-0.76 to -0.04; P = 0.0281). Tanezumab 10 mg significantly improved all key secondary endpoints. Tanezumab 5 mg did not meet the primary endpoint (LS mean [95% CI] treatment difference vs placebo = -0.30 [-0.66 to 0.07; P = 0.1117]), preventing formal testing of key secondary endpoints for this dose. The proportion of patients with ≥50% improvement in LBPI at week 16 was 37.4% in the placebo group, 43.3% in the tanezumab 5 mg group (Odds ratio [95% CI] vs placebo = 1.28 [0.97 to 1.70; P = 0.0846]), and 46.3% in the tanezumab 10 mg group (Odds ratio [95% CI] vs placebo = 1.45 [1.09 to 1.91; P = 0.0101]). Prespecified joint safety events were more frequent with tanezumab 10 mg (2.6%) than tanezumab 5 mg (1.0%), tramadol (0.2%), or placebo (0%). Seven patients, all in the tanezumab 10 mg group (1.4%), underwent total joint replacement. In conclusion, tanezumab 10 mg significantly improved pain and function vs placebo in patients with difficult-to-treat chronic low back pain. Tanezumab was associated with a low rate of joint safety events, some requiring joint replacement.
Novel Observations From Next-Generation RNA Sequencing of Highly Purified Human Adult and Fetal Islet Cell Subsets (2015)

Understanding distinct gene expression patterns of normal adult and developing fetal human pancreatic α- and β-cells is crucial for developing stem cell therapies, islet regeneration strategies, and therapies designed to increase β-cell function in patients with diabetes (type 1 or 2). Toward that end, we have developed methods to highly purify α-, β-, and δ-cells from human fetal and adult pancreata by intracellular staining for the cell-specific hormone content, sorting the subpopulations by flow cytometry, and, using next-generation RNA sequencing, we report the detailed transcriptomes of fetal and adult α- and β-cells. We observed that human islet composition was not influenced by age, sex, or BMI, and transcripts for inflammatory gene products were noted in fetal β-cells. In addition, within highly purified adult glucagon-expressing α-cells, we observed surprisingly high insulin mRNA expression, but not insulin protein expression. This transcriptome analysis from highly purified islet α- and β-cell subsets from fetal and adult pancreata offers clear implications for strategies that seek to increase insulin expression in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Irregular gastrointestinal drug absorption in Parkinson's disease (2008)

Methods for facilitation of pyloric passage or increase of bioavailability are discussed. Development of new drug formulations and alternative routes of administration is ongoing. Transdermal patches and pumps for subcutaneous or intraduodenal infusions are available for patients with severe fluctuations due to erratic gastric emptying.
Depolymerization of Phospholamban in the Presence of Calcium Pump: A Fluorescence Energy Transfer Study (1999)

Phospholamban (PLB), a 52-amino acid protein, regulates the Ca-ATPase (calcium pump) in cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) through PLB phosphorylation mediated by beta-adrenergic stimulation. The mobility of PLB on SDS-PAGE indicates a homopentamer, and it has been proposed that the pentameric structure of PLB is important for its regulatory function. However, the oligomeric structure of PLB must be determined in its native milieu, a lipid bilayer containing the Ca-ATPase. Here we have used fluorescence energy transfer (FET) to study the oligomeric structure of PLB in SDS and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) lipid bilayers reconstituted in the absence and presence of Ca-ATPase. PLB was labeled, specifically at Lys 3 in the cytoplasmic domain, with amine-reactive fluorescent donor/acceptor pairs. FET between donor- and acceptor-labeled subunits of PLB in SDS solution and DOPC lipid bilayers indicated the presence of PLB oligomers. The dependence of FET efficiency on the fraction of acceptor-labeled PLB in DOPC bilayers indicated that it is predominantly an oligomer having 9-11 subunits, with approximately 10% of the PLB as monomer, and the distance between dyes on adjacent PLB subunits is 0.9 +/- 0.1 nm. When labeled PLB was reconstituted with purified Ca-ATPase, FET indicated the depolymerization of PLB into smaller oligomers having an average of 5 subunits, with a concomitant increase in the fraction of monomer to 30-40% and a doubling of the intersubunit distance. We conclude that PLB exists primarily as an oligomer in membranes, and the Ca-ATPase affects the structure of this oligomer, but the Ca-ATPase binds preferentially to the monomer and/or small oligomers. These results suggest that the active inhibitory species of PLB is a monomer or an oligomer having fewer than 5 subunits.
A Corpus Collection and Annotation Framework for Learning Multimodal Clarification Strategies (2005)

Current dialogue systems are fairly poor in generating the wide range of clarification strategies as found in human-human dialogue.The overall aim of this work is to learn when and how to best employ different types of clarification strategies in multimodal dialogue systems.This paper describes a framework for learning multimodal clarification strategies for an in-car MP3 music player dialogue system.The framework consists of three major parts.First we collect data on multimodal clarification strategies in a wizard-of-oz study.Second we extract feature in the stateaction space to learn an initial policy from this data.Third we specify a reward function to refine that policy using extensions of existing evaluation schemes.
Flexible CNT-array double helices Strain Sensor with high stretchability for Motion Capture (2015)

Motion capture is attracting more and more attention due to its potential wide applications in various fields. However, traditional methods for motion capture still have weakness such as high cost and space consuming. Based on these considerations, a flexible, highly stretchable strain sensor with high gauge factor for motion capture is fabricated with carbon nanotube (CNT) array double helices as the main building block. Ascribed to the unique flexible double helical CNT-array matrix, the strain sensor is able to measure strain up to 410%, with low hysteresis. Moreover, a demonstration of using this strain sensor for capture hand motion and to control a mechanical hand in real time is also achieved. A model based on finite difference method is also made to help understand the mechanism of the strain sensors. Our work demonstrates that strain sensors can measure very large strain while maintaining high sensitivity, and the motion capture based on this strain sensor is expected to be less expensive, more convenient and accessible.
Effect of the laser heating of nanotube nuclei on the nanotube type population (2009)

Many potential applications of carbon nanotubes are expected to benefit from the availability of single-walled carbon nanotube materials enriched in metallic species, and specifically armchair nanotubes. The present work focuses on the modification of the pulsed laser vaporization (PLV) technique to selectively produce certain carbon nanotube structures. Nanotube nuclei were “warmed-up” with an additional laser pulse, timed to coincide approximately with the nucleation event. The effect of the second laser on the carbon vapor temperature was studied by emission spectroscopy. Nanotube type populations with and without warm-up were compared by means of absorption, photoluminescence, and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the warm-up of nanotube nuclei with a laser pulse has a noticeable, albeit small, effect on the nanotube population. The intensity of spectral features associated with (9,7) nanotube and its large chiral angle neighbors increased, while small chiral angle nanotubes decreased, with exception of the (15,0) tube. This experiment demonstrates that nanotube population during PLV synthesis can be manipulated in a controlled fashion.
A mobility-controlled link quality learning protocol for multi-robot coordination tasks (2014)

The performance of a team of robots executing a coordination task is, to a large extent, determined by the reliability of the communications between the robots. In wireless networks, one way to improve this reliability is to choose the best among the available wireless links. For this purpose, an accurate link quality model is required. We show how a group of robots can exploit their mobility to effectively and rapidly learn such a model directly from an unknown environment. The LQE (Link Quality Estimation) protocol, which is used by the robots to cooperatively collect labeled link quality samples, and learn out of them, is presented in the paper. The accuracy and the robustness of the LQE approach are validated through a set of real-world experiments, performed with mobile robots operating in different network environments. Moreover, in simulation, we study a multi-robot coordination problem, and show the benefits of using the link quality learning approach, at the expenses of devoting little time for learning the model before executing the task.