gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
10 Years IKI (2015)

The 21st Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (COP21) will take place from November 30 to December 11, 2015 in Paris. It is there where governments meet to negotiate a new universal climate change agreement. As in previous years, IKI will take part in the climate conference in Paris. The latest information about IKI is available here.
Characteristics of high quality hafnium oxide gate dielectric (2003)

Hafnium oxide (HfO/sub 2/) was investigated as an alternative possible gate dielectric. A MOS capacitor using HfO/sub 2/ as dielectric was fabricated and studied. The HfO/sub 2/ film was formed by direct sputtering of Hf in O/sub 2/ and Ar ambient on to a Si substrate and post-sputtering rapid thermal annealing (RTA). XPS results showed that the interface layer formed between the HfO/sub 2/ and the Si substrate was affected by the RTA time within the 500/spl deg/C to 600/spl deg/C annealing temperature. The interface layer was mainly composed of hafnium silicate and had high interface trap density. Increase in RTA time was found to lower the effective barrier height of the layer and the FN tunneling current.
Identification of a Kd-restricted antigenic peptide encoded by murine cytomegalovirus early gene M84 (2000)

The two sister cytomegaloviruses (CMVs), human and murine CMV, have both evolved immune evasion functions that interfere with the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) pathway of antigen processing and presentation and are effectual in the early (E) phase of virus gene expression. However, studies on murine CMV have shown that E-phase immune evasion is leaky. An E-phase protein involved in immune evasion, namely m04-gp34, was found to simultaneously account for an antigenic peptide presented by the MHC-I molecule D(d). Recent work has demonstrated the induction of protective immunity specific for the E-phase protein M84-p65, one of two murine CMV homologues of the human CMV matrix protein UL83-pp65. In this study, the identification of the MHC-I K(d)-restricted M84 peptide (297)AYAGLFTPL(305) is documented. This peptide is the third antigenic peptide described for murine CMV and the second that escapes immunosubversive mechanisms.
Generation and detection of the cyclohexadienyl radical in phosphonium ionic liquids (2008)

The formation of the cyclohexadienyl radical, C(6)H(6)Mu, in ionic and molecular solvents has been compared. This is the first time that a muoniated free radical is reported in an ionic liquid. In marked contrast to molecular liquids, free radical generation in ionic liquids is significantly enhanced. Comparison of the hyperfine interactions in the ionic liquid and in molecular solvents and with theoretical calculations, suggests significant and unforeseen solvent interaction with the cyclohexadienyl radical.
Characterization of Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes in a 0.5- Standard CMOS Process—Part 2: Equivalent Circuit Model and Geiger Mode Readout (2016)

This paper features a model that allows the design and simulation of perimeter-gated single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). The model enables both Geiger mode and DC mode simulations. The model's key parameters were extracted from measured characteristics of a perimeter-gated SPAD fabricated in a 3-metal, 2-poly, single well CMOS process. This paper also features a survey of state-of-the-art SPAD models. Last, this paper describes the design and measured characteristics of a pixel that includes a perimeter-gated SPAD and a mixed-signal readout circuit.
Trial-to-trial variability in the responses of neurons carries information about stimulus location in the rat whisker thalamus (2011)

From the perspective of neural coding, the considerable trial-to-trial variability in the responses of neurons to sensory stimuli is puzzling. Trial-to-trial response variability is typically interpreted in terms of "noise" (i.e., it represents either intrinsic noise of the system or information unrelated to the stimuli). However, trial-to-trial response variability can be considerably different across stimuli, suggesting that it could also provide an important contribution to the information conveyed by the neural responses about the stimuli. To test this hypothesis, we addressed the problem of discriminating stimulus location from the spike-count responses of neurons recorded in the ventro-postero-medial (VPM) nucleus of the thalamus in anesthetized rats. Using a recently developed information theory approach, we verified that differences between stimuli in the trial-to-trial spike-count variability of the responses provided an important contribution to the overall information carried by the neurons. In addition, we found that the relatively reliable (sub-Poisson) firing regime of our VPM neurons was not only more informative, but also more redundant between neurons compared with a more variable (Poisson) firing regime with the same total number of spikes. The typical increase in trial-to-trial response variability from the periphery to the cortex could therefore serve as a strategy to reduce redundancy between neurons and promote efficient sparse coding distributed in large populations of neurons. Overall, our data suggest that the trial-to-trial response variability plays a critical role in establishing the trade-off between total information and redundancy between neurons in population codes.
Comparative modelling of protein structure and its impact on microbial cell factories (2005)

Comparative modeling is becoming an increasingly helpful technique in microbial cell factories as the knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of a protein would be an invaluable aid to solve problems on protein production. For this reason, an introduction to comparative modeling is presented, with special emphasis on the basic concepts, opportunities and challenges of protein structure prediction. This review is intended to serve as a guide for the biologist who has no special expertise and who is not involved in the determination of protein structure. Selected applications of comparative modeling in microbial cell factories are outlined, and the role of microbial cell factories in the structural genomics initiative is discussed.
Simple off the shelf abstractions for XML schema (2007)

Although the advent of XML Schema [25] has rendered DTDs obsolete, research on practical XML optimization is mostly biased towards DTDs and tends to largely ignore XSDs (some notable exceptions non-withstanding). One of the underlying reasons is most probably the perceived simplicity of DTDs versus the alleged impenetrability of XML Schema. Indeed, optimization w.r.t. DTDs has a local flavor and usually reduces to reasoning about the accustomed formalism of regular expressions. XSDs, on the other hand, even when sufficiently stripped down, are related to the less pervious class of unranked regular tree automata [6, 19, 20, 21]. Recent results on the structural expressiveness of XSDs [19], however, show that XSDs are in fact much closer to DTDs than to tree automata, leveraging the possibility to directly extend techniques for DTD-based XML optimization to the realm of XML Schema. The goal of the present paper is to present the results in [19] in an easy and accessible way. At the same time, we discuss possible applications, related research, and future research directions. Throughout the paper, we try to restrict notation to a minimum. We refer to [19] for further details.
Analysis of assembly skills for dry battery insertion based on force control parameters (2009)

In this paper, assembly skills for dry battery insertion are analyzed with respect to the applied force control. First, force control parameters used in dry battery insertion are identified based on human demonstration data. The time series data of force control parameters are then modeled based on a hidden Markov model (HMM). By analyzing the obtained HMM, basic motions necessary for achieving the task, such as search, pushing, rotation, and modifying motions, are derived. Then control policies to perform each motion are examined qualitatively.
von Willebrand Factor (2011)

Thrombus formation is of paramount importance in the pathophysiology of acute ischemic stroke. Current antithrombotics used to treat or prevent cerebral ischemia are only moderately effective or bear an increased risk of severe bleeding. von Willebrand factor (VWF) has long been known to be a key player in thrombus formation at sites of vascular damage. While the association between VWF and coronary heart disease has been well studied, knowledge about the role of VWF in stroke is much more limited. However, in recent years, an increasing amount of clinical and preclinical evidence has revealed the critical involvement of VWF in stroke development. This review summarizes the latest insights into the pathophysiologic role of VWF-related processes in ischemic brain injury under experimental conditions and in humans. Potential clinical merits of novel inhibitors of VWF-mediated platelet adhesion and activation as powerful and safe tools to combat thromboembolic disorders including ischemic stroke are discussed. Preclinical and clinical evidence illustrates an important role of VWF in ischemic stroke, suggesting that VWF could become a promising target in stroke therapy.
Barrier properties of the Gram‐negative cell envelope towards high molecular weight polyhexamethylene biguanides (1990)

The antimicrobial activities of four discrete molecular weight fractions of polyhexamethylene biguanides towards a number of Escherichia coli strains have been investigated. Whilst activity of the polymers was observed to increase in proportion to polymerization number, the dependence of activity upon molecular weight was five times greater towards sphaeroplasts than towards whole cells. This suggested that the cell envelope, whilst not conferring complete resistance to the agents, did provide a significant exclusion barrier. Comparison of the activities towards rough and deep-rough lipopolysaccharide strains showed growth inhibitory activity, but not bactericidal activity nor respiratory inhibition, to be enhanced in the rough strains. Uptake studies showed mixed H- and C-type adsorption with significantly greater numbers of high-affinity binding sites being associated with rough than deep-rough lipopolysaccharide. The binding affinity of polyhexamethylene biguanides towards cells was also enhanced in the rough strains. Binding affinity was, in all cases, significantly reduced in the presence of magnesium and suggested a mechanism of self-promoted uptake for these biocides, facilitated through core lipopolysaccharide.
Robust, Cost-Effective and Scalable Localization in Large Indoor Areas (2015)

Indoor location information plays a fundamental role in supporting various interesting location- aware indoor applications. Widely deployed WiFi networks make it feasible to perform indoor localization by first establishing a received signal strength (RSS) map covering the whole area based on a signal propagation model, then determining a location from an online RSS measurement given the RSS map. However, challenges remain in practical deployments, due to inaccurately estimated RSS values in the RSS map and insufficient number of access points (APs) in large indoor areas. To address these challenges, we develop a robust, cost-effective and scalable localization system (REAL). Our approach takes the error from the indoor radio signal propagation model into consideration. It also exploits information of unobserved APs at a given location and an optimal clustering method in the location searching phase. Our real-world experimental results demonstrate that REAL achieves considerable localization accuracy at a very low training cost even for a large indoor area. In addition, the results show that our scheme can also be effectively applied to Bluetooth networks with sparse signal coverage.
Characterization of aspen exploded wood lignin (1982)

Exploded wood lignin (EXWL) was extracted from moist steam hydrolysed aspen (Populustremuloides) wood using methanol. The lignin was examined by elemental analysis, gel permeation chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, proton and 13 C nmr. The observed nmr spectra were compared with those of aspen milled wood lignin (MWL). Typical composition of the material is C 9 H 9.2 O 2.7 (OCH 3 ) 1.1 Assignment of all the signals in the nmr spectrum led to the conclusion that the explosion process causes cleavage of the β-aryl-ether bond. The weight average molecular weight was found to be 1700–1900 and the polydispersity 2.6. The finely divided exploded wood was soluble in 90% methanol/water mixtures to well beyond 20% by weight at room temperature.
Characterization of Chloramphenicol and Florfenicol Resistance in <i>Escherichia coli</i> Associated with Bovine Diarrhea (2000)

Florfenicol, a veterinary fluorinated analog of thiamphenicol, is approved for treatment of bovine respiratory pathogens in the United States. However, florfenicol resistance has recently emerged among veterinary Escherichia coli isolates incriminated in bovine diarrhea. The flo gene, which confers resistance to florfenicol and chloramphenicol, has previously been identified in Photobacterium piscicida and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104. The flo gene product is closely related to the CmlA protein identified in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The cmlA gene confers nonenzymatic chloramphenicol resistance via an efflux mechanism. Forty-eight E. coli isolates recovered from calves with diarrhea, including 41 that were both chloramphenicol and florfenicol resistant, were assayed for the presence of both flo and cmlA genes. Forty-two of the 44 isolates for which florfenicol MICs were > or =16 microg/ml were positive via PCR for the flo gene. All E. coli isolates for which florfenicol MICs were < or =8 microg/ml were negative for the flo gene (n = 4) Twelve E. coli isolates were positive for cmlA, and chloramphenicol MICs for all 12 were > or =32 microg/ml. Additionally, eight isolates were positive for both flo and cmlA, and both florfenicol and chloramphenicol MICs for these isolates were > or =64 microg/ml. DNA sequence analysis of the E. coli flo gene demonstrated 98% identity to the published GenBank sequences of both serovar Typhimurium flo(St) and P. piscicida pp-flo. The flo gene was identified on high-molecular-weight plasmids of approximately 225 kb among the majority of florfenicol-resistant E. coli isolates. However, not all of the florfenicol-resistant E. coli isolates tested contained the large flo-positive plasmids. This suggests that several of the E. coli isolates may possess a chromosomal flo gene. The E. coli flo gene specifies nonenzymatic cross-resistance to both florfenicol and chloramphenicol, and its presence among bovine E. coli isolates of diverse genetic backgrounds indicates a distribution much wider than previously thought.
Acute Retinal Necrosis: Clinical Features, Management and Outcomes – a 10 Year Consecutive Case Series (2014)

ARN is a fulminant disorder, which if treated early and aggressively gives good results.
A core of three amino acids at the carboxyl‐terminal region of glutamine synthetase defines its regulation in cyanobacteria (2015)

Glutamine synthetase (GS) type I is a key enzyme in nitrogen metabolism, and its activity is finely controlled by cellular carbon/nitrogen balance. In cyanobacteria, a reversible process that involves protein-protein interaction with two proteins, the inactivating factors IF7 and IF17, regulates GS. Previously, we showed that three arginine residues of IFs are critical for binding and inhibition of GS. In this work, taking advantage of the specificity of GS/IFs interaction in the model cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, we have constructed a different chimeric GSs from these two cyanobacteria. Analysis of these proteins, together with a site-directed mutagenesis approach, indicates that a core of three residues (E419, N456 and R459) is essential for the inactivation process. The three residues belong to the last 56 amino acids of the C-terminus of Synechocystis GS. A protein-protein docking modeling of Synechocystis GS in complex with IF7 supports the role of the identified core for GS/IF interaction.
Hyaluronan-dependent motility of B cells and leukemic plasma cells in blood, but not of bone marrow plasma cells, in multiple myeloma: alternate use of receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility (RHAMM) and CD44 (1996)

We investigated the ability of blood B cells, bone marrow (BM) plasma cells, and terminal leukemic plasma cells (T-PCL) from patients with multiple myeloma (MM) to migrate on extracellular matrix proteins. Hyaluronan (HA), but not collagen type I, collagen type IV, or laminin, promoted migration of MM blood B cells, as determined by time-lapse video microscopy. Between 13% and 20% of MM blood B cells migrated on HA with an average velocity of 19 micron/min, and greater than 75% of MM blood B cells exhibited vigorous cell movement and plasma membrane deformation, as did circulating T-PCL and extraskeletal plasma cells from patients with MM. In contrast, plasma cells obtained from BM of patients with MM lacked motility on all substrates tested and did not exhibit cell membrane protrusions or cellular deformation. MM blood B cells and MM plasma cells from all sources examined expressed the HA-binding receptors receptor for HA-mediated motility (RHAMM) and CD44. On circulating MM B cells, both RHAMM and CD44 participated in HA-binding, indicating their expression ex vivo in an activated conformation. In contrast, for the majority of BM plasma cells in the majority of patients with MM, expression of RHAMM or CD44 was not accompanied by HA binding. A minority of patients did have HA-binding BM plasma cells, involving both RHAMM and CD44, as evidenced by partial blocking with monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to RHAMM or to CD44. Despite HA binding by both RHAMM and CD44, migration of MM blood B cells on HA was inhibited by anti-RHAMM but not by anti-CD44 MoAbs, indicating that RHAMM but not CD44 mediates motility on HA. Thus, circulating B and plasma cells in MM exhibit RHAMM- and HA-dependent motile behavior indicative of migratory potential, while BM plasma cells are sessile. We speculate that a subset(s) of circulating B or plasma cells mediates malignant spread in myeloma.
Potential therapeutic applications of biosurfactants (2013)

•Biosurfactants are versatile molecules useful for many therapeutic applications. •Potential applications include cancer therapeutics and drug delivery systems. •Biosurfactants selectively interfere with cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. •These molecules offer scientifically novel applications as drug delivery vehicles. Biosurfactants have recently emerged as promising molecules for their structural novelty, versatility, and diverse properties that are potentially useful for many therapeutic applications. Mainly due to their surface activity, these molecules interact with cell membranes of several organisms and/or with the surrounding environments, and thus can be viewed as potential cancer therapeutics or as constituents of drug delivery systems. Some types of microbial surfactants, such as lipopeptides and glycolipids, have been shown to selectively inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells and to disrupt cell membranes causing their lysis through apoptosis pathways. Moreover, biosurfactants as drug delivery vehicles offer commercially attractive and scientifically novel applications. This review covers the current state-of-the-art in biosurfactant research for therapeutic purposes, providing new directions towards the discovery and development of molecules with novel structures and diverse functions for advanced applications. Biosurfactants have recently emerged as promising molecules for their structural novelty, versatility, and diverse properties that are potentially useful for many therapeutic applications. Mainly due to their surface activity, these molecules interact with cell membranes of several organisms and/or with the surrounding environments, and thus can be viewed as potential cancer therapeutics or as constituents of drug delivery systems. Some types of microbial surfactants, such as lipopeptides and glycolipids, have been shown to selectively inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells and to disrupt cell membranes causing their lysis through apoptosis pathways. Moreover, biosurfactants as drug delivery vehicles offer commercially attractive and scientifically novel applications. This review covers the current state-of-the-art in biosurfactant research for therapeutic purposes, providing new directions towards the discovery and development of molecules with novel structures and diverse functions for advanced applications.
New insights on the Aucore/Ptshell nanoparticle structure in the sub-monolayer range: SERS as a surface analyzing tool (2011)

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used as a powerful surface analyzing tool to investigate the core–shell structural evolution of Au@Pt nanoparticles, revealing the templating role of the underlying Au atoms on the nanoscale Pt-phase structure in the sub-monolayer range.
Highlights of Brian Pollard's Views on Palliative Care (2005)

In this article I wish to briefly present the highlights of the significant and valuable insights on palliative care for health professionals published by Brian Pollard MB BS(Syd), DA (Syd) FANZCA. GradCertBioeth in his excellent book, The Principles of Palliative Care. An Introduction.
Comparison of different ruthenium–alkylidene bonds in the activation step with N-heterocyclic carbene Ru-catalysts for olefins metathesis (2011)

Density functional theory calculations have been used to investigate the activation steps involving three of the most used alkylidene groups in Ru-catalysts for olefins metathesis. Specifically, we compared the benzylidene, the indenylidene and a phosphonium alkylidene groups. Calculations reveal that the benzylidene and the indenylidene groups behave rather similarly, despite their structural differences. The phosphonium alkylidene group seems to have the most favourable activation pathway.
One-step reconstruction with a 3D-printed, biomechanically evaluated custom implant after complex pelvic tumor resection (2015)

Resection of a pelvic tumor is challenging because of its complex three-dimensional (3D) anatomy and deep-seated location with nearby vital structures. The resection is technically demanding if a custom implant is used for reconstruction of the bone defect as the surgeon needs to ensure the resection margin is sufficiently wide and the orientation of intended resection planes must match that of the custom implant. We describe a novel workflow of performing a partial acetabular resection in a patient with pelvic chondrosarcoma and reconstruction with a custom pelvic implant in a one-step operation. A multi-planar bone resection was virtually planned. A computer-aided design implant that both matched the bone defect and biomechanically evaluated was prefabricated with 3D printing technology. The 3D-printed patient-specific instruments (PSIs) were used to reproduce the same planned resection. The histology of the tumor specimen showed a clear resection margin. The errors of the achieved resection and implant position were deviating (1-4 mm) from the planned. The patient could walk unaided with a good hip function. No tumor recurrence and implant loosening were noted at 11 months after surgery. The use of this novel CT-based method for surgical planning, the engineering software for implant design and validation, together with 3D printing technology for implant and PSI fabrication makes it possible to generate a personalized, biomechanically evaluated implant for accurate reconstruction after a pelvic tumor resection in a one-step operation. Further study in a larger population is needed to assess the clinical efficacy of the workflow in complex bone tumor surgery.