gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Opposing Effects of Pigment Epithelium–Derived Factor on Breast Cancer Cell versus Neuronal Survival: Implication for Brain Metastasis and Metastasis-Induced Brain Damage (2012)

Brain metastases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality for patients with cancer, yet preventative and therapeutic options remain an unmet need. The cytokine pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is downregulated in resected human brain metastases of breast cancer compared with primary breast tumors, suggesting that restoring its expression might limit metastatic spread. Here, we show that outgrowth of large experimental brain metastases from human 231-BR or murine 4T1-BR breast cancer cells was suppressed by PEDF expression, as supported by in vitro analyses as well as direct intracranial implantation. Notably, the suppressive effects of PEDF were not only rapid but independent of the effects of this factor on angiogenesis. Paralleling its cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells, PEDF also exerted a prosurvival effect on neurons that shielded the brain from tumor-induced damage, as indicated by a relative 3.5-fold reduction in the number of dying neurons adjacent to tumors expressing PEDF. Our findings establish PEDF as both a metastatic suppressor and a neuroprotectant in the brain, highlighting its role as a double agent in limiting brain metastasis and its local consequences.
Research on Energy Efficiency of Supercapacitor Energy Storage System (2006)

Recent developments in the field of supercapacitors have led to the achievement of high specific energy and high specific power devices which are suitable for energy storage in high power electronic applications, especially in the field of management of embarked electrical power. Equivalent serial resistance is put forward to estimate energy efficiency. Reducing the equivalent series resistance in a supercapacitor will gain a great appreciation. A supercapacitor energy storage system (SCESS) is also designed in this paper which is mainly composed of three parts: the electrical double-layer capacitors array that stores energy, the AC/DC-DC/AC power converter system and the integrated control system composed of microprocessors. This SCESS installed capacity is 0.235 MJ; peak power is 50 kW; and generating efficiency is up to 97.94%.
A new traffic light detection and recognition algorithm for electronic travel aid (2013)

A new traffic light detection and recognition algorithm for electronic travel aid was realized. Traffic lights were detected by rectangular and circular shapes extraction. Color distributions of the circular regions in HSI and RGB color space, combined with the position of the circular shape in the rectangle were used to recognize the traffic light. Gray level normalization, top hat transformation and image interception were used to reduce the disturbances of the environment. The average recognition rate is 97% and the speed is 0.086s per frame. Video analysis was used to improve the performance of the system.
Application of redD, the transcriptional activator gene of the undecylprodigiosin biosynthetic pathway, as a reporter for transcriptional activity in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and Streptomyces lividans. (2000)

redD encodes the transcriptional activator of the biosynthetic pathway for undecylprodigiosin, a red-pigmented, mycelium-bound antibiotic made by Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and Streptomyces lividans. A promoterless version of redD preceded by the efficiently used tuf1 ribosome binding site was inserted into two different plasmid vectors, providing a convenient reporter of transcriptional activity in both species. One plasmid, plJ2587, replicates autonomously in both Escherichia coli and streptomycetes, while the other, plJ2585, replicates in E. coli and can be transferred to streptomycetes by conjugation or transformation, whereupon it integrates stably at the chromosomal attachment site for the temperate phage phiC31. The utility of the plasmids in detecting not only transcriptional activity, but also its regulation, was confirmed using the rrnAp, ermEp*, and glnRp promoters. The ability to screen visually and spectrophotometrically for red pigmentation should make the vectors particularly attractive for analysing the regulation of gene expression, and for the isolation of mutants, in both S. coelicolor and S. lividans.
<i>Rhodococcus equi</i> (2004)

Rhodococcus equi is an important cause of subacute or chronic abscessating bronchopneumonia of foals up to 3-5 months of age. It shares the lipid-rich cell wall envelope characteristic of the mycolata, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as the ability of pathogenic members of this group to survive within macrophages. The possession of a large virulence plasmid in isolates recovered from pneumonic foals is crucial for virulence. The plasmid contains an 27 kb pathogenicity island (PI) that encodes seven related virulence-associated proteins (Vaps), including the immunodominant surface-expressed protein, VapA. Only PI genes are differentially expressed when the organism is grown in macrophages in vitro. Ten of the PI genes, including six Vap genes, have signal sequences, suggesting that they are exported from the cell to interact with the macrophage. Different PI genes are regulated by temperature, pH, iron, oxidative stress and probably also by magnesium, all environmental changes encountered after environmental R. equi are inhaled in dust and are ingested into macrophages in the lung. The basis of pathogenicity of R. equi is its ability to multiply in and eventually to destroy alveolar macrophages. Infectivity is largely or exclusively limited to cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage. Current evidence suggests that infection of foals with virulent R. equi results in some foals in subversion of cell-mediated immunity and development of an ineffective and sometimes lethal Th2-based immune response. Significant progress has been made recently in the development of R. equi-E. coli shuttle vectors, transformation and random and site specific mutagenesis procedures, all of which will be important in molecular dissection of the mechanisms by which R. equi subverts normal macrophage killing mechanisms and cell-mediated immunity.
Homocysteine, folate and vitamin B<sub>12</sub>in neuropsychiatric diseases: review and treatment recommendations (2009)

In Europe, neuropsychiatric diseases currently make up approximately a third of the total burden of disease. In 2004, 27% of the overall population was affected by at least one of the most frequent neuropsychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer's dementia, Parkinson's disease, stroke or depression. The annual costs of care exceed those of cancer, cardiovascular conditions and diabetes. In order to delay the onset or course of neurodegenerative diseases, the available potential should be utilized. As well as improving quality of life of patients and relatives, this may reduce the great financial burden caused by neurodegenerative disorders. However, the availability of established drugs or therapeutic agents is very limited. This paper reviews the state of current knowledge as to how homocysteine metabolism is relevant for neurodegenerative and other neuropsychiatric diseases, with particular emphasis on the evidence for prophylactic and therapeutic strategies. In the European countries, many people do not take the recommended daily minimum amount of folate and vitamin B12. Deficiency of these vitamins and secondary changes in the concentrations of associated metabolites, such as methylmalonic acid and homocysteine, may contribute to the onset and progression of neuropsychiatric diseases. This paper reviews the evidence regarding whether substitution of folate and vitamin B12 is beneficial, for example, in cerebrovascular disease, dementia and depression.
Chirality Dependent Potency Enhancement and Structural Impact of Glycol Nucleic Acid Modification on siRNA (2017)

Here we report the investigation of glycol nucleic acid (GNA), an acyclic nucleic acid analogue, as a modification of siRNA duplexes. We evaluated the impact of (S)- or (R)-GNA nucleotide incorporation on RNA duplex structure by determining three individual crystal structures. These structures indicate that the (S)-nucleotide backbone adopts a conformation that has little impact on the overall duplex structure, while the (R)-nucleotide disrupts the phosphate backbone and hydrogen bonding of an adjacent base pair. In addition, the GNA-T nucleobase adopts a rotated conformation in which the 5-methyl group points into the minor groove, rather than the major groove as in a normal Watson-Crick base pair. This observation of reverse Watson-Crick base pairing is further supported by thermal melting analysis of GNA-C and GNA-G containing duplexes where it was demonstrated that a higher thermal stability was associated with isoguanine and isocytosine base pairing, respectively, over the canonical nucleobases. Furthermore, it was also shown that GNA nucleotide or dinucleotide incorporation increases resistance against snake venom phosphodiesterase. Consistent with the structural data, modification of an siRNA with (S)-GNA resulted in greater in vitro potencies over identical sequences containing (R)-GNA. A walk of (S)-GNA along the guide and passenger strands of a GalNAc conjugate duplex targeting mouse transthyretin (TTR) indicated that GNA is well tolerated in the seed region of both strands in vitro, resulting in an approximate 2-fold improvement in potency. Finally, these conjugate duplexes modified with GNA were capable of maintaining in vivo potency when subcutaneously injected into mice.
Synthèse à partir du texte de visage 3D parlant français (1997)

Biocompatible hemodialysis membranes do not cause major untoward effects due to blood-interface reactions. In principle, however, every component of the extracorporeal circuit may have detrimental effects. Biocompatibility parameters include for example complement components, leukocyte drop, elastase release and interleukin-1 generation. Furthermore, ethylene oxide sensitization, beta 2-microglobulin clearance and endotoxin contamination are of importance. The clinical relevance of biocompatibility in modern hemodialysis is critically discussed.
Targeting the Intrinsically Disordered Structural Ensemble of α-Synuclein by Small Molecules as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Parkinson’s Disease (2014)

The misfolding of intrinsically disordered proteins such as α-synuclein, tau and the Aβ peptide has been associated with many highly debilitating neurodegenerative syndromes including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Therapeutic targeting of the monomeric state of such intrinsically disordered proteins by small molecules has, however, been a major challenge because of their heterogeneous conformational properties. We show here that a combination of computational and experimental techniques has led to the identification of a drug-like phenyl-sulfonamide compound (ELN484228), that targets α-synuclein, a key protein in Parkinson's disease. We found that this compound has substantial biological activity in cellular models of α-synuclein-mediated dysfunction, including rescue of α-synuclein-induced disruption of vesicle trafficking and dopaminergic neuronal loss and neurite retraction most likely by reducing the amount of α-synuclein targeted to sites of vesicle mobilization such as the synapse in neurons or the site of bead engulfment in microglial cells. These results indicate that targeting α-synuclein by small molecules represents a promising approach to the development of therapeutic treatments of Parkinson's disease and related conditions.
Slic-Seg: A minimally interactive segmentation of the placenta from sparse and motion-corrupted fetal MRI in multiple views (2016)

Segmentation of the placenta from fetal MRI is challenging due to sparse acquisition, inter-slice motion, and the widely varying position and shape of the placenta between pregnant women. We propose a minimally interactive framework that combines multiple volumes acquired in different views to obtain accurate segmentation of the placenta. In the first phase, a minimally interactive slice-by-slice propagation method called Slic-Seg is used to obtain an initial segmentation from a single motion-corrupted sparse volume image. It combines high-level features, online Random Forests and Conditional Random Fields, and only needs user interactions in a single slice. In the second phase, to take advantage of the complementary resolution in multiple volumes acquired in different views, we further propose a probability-based 4D Graph Cuts method to refine the initial segmentations using inter-slice and inter-image consistency. We used our minimally interactive framework to examine the placentas of 16 mid-gestation patients from MRI acquired in axial and sagittal views respectively. The results show the proposed method has 1) a good performance even in cases where sparse scribbles provided by the user lead to poor results with the competitive propagation approaches; 2) a good interactivity with low intra- and inter-operator variability; 3) higher accuracy than state-of-the-art interactive segmentation methods; and 4) an improved accuracy due to the co-segmentation based refinement, which outperforms single volume or intensity-based Graph Cuts.
LOS LIBROS LITÚRGICOS DE LA CATEDRAL DE CÁDIZ A FINES DEL MEDIOEVO Y COMIENZOS DE LA MODERNIDAD (2005)

En este articulo se analiza el mundo de los libros liturgicos utilizados en las diversas celebraciones en la Catedral de Cadiz durante el siglo XVI, a partir del primer Libro de Fabrica conservado en el Archivo Historico Catedralicio: la tipologia de los libros, los maestros, los procesos de elaboracion, los precios de los materiales utilizados, los salarios y el comercio de libros
<i>Lemna paucicostata</i> Hegelm. 6746 (1980)

Photoautotrophic and mixotrophic growth of Lemna paucicostata Hegelm. 6746 (formerly Lemna perpusilla Torr. 6746) was investigated to establish standardized conditions for biochemical studies. Optimal temperature for growth was 29 to 30 C. The medium used previously (Datko AH, Mudd SH, Giovanelli J 1977 J Biol Chem 252: 3436-3445) was modified by inclusion of NH(4)Cl, decreasing macronutrient and ethylenediamine tetraacetate concentration, increasing micronutrient concentration, and inclusion of bicarbonate (for photoautotrophic growth) or 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (for mixotrophic growth) buffers. Varying the sulfate concentration between 14 and 1 millimolar had no effect on growth. For photoautotrophic growth in the new medium (medium 4), the effects of CO(2) concentration, light intensity, and pH were measured. Under the optimal conditions, a multiplication rate (MR) of 300 to 315, equivalent to a doubling time of 23 to 24 hours was obtained. Addition of glutamine or asparagine did not increase this MR. For mixotrophic growth in low light, the effects of sucrose concentration and pH were determined. Under optimal conditions, MR was 210. A concentration of sucrose less than maximal for growth was chosen for the medium for experiments which will include (14)C-labeling of intermediates. MR under these conditions was 184. Growth was equally good in medium 4 and in half-strength Hutner's medium when sulfate was high (0.4 to 1 millimolar), but better in medium 4 when sulfate was low (20 micromolar). Growth rates could be restored to normal in half-strength Hutner's with low sulfate by decreasing the molybdate concentration.By modifying medium 4 to contain very low amounts of sulfate, and by preconditioning medium and plants, it was shown that there was an increment in plant protein of approximately 2.5 micrograms per nanomole of added MgSO(4). Colonies undergoing sulfur limitation exhibited a slow growth rate and a high frond to colony ratio. Molybdate and selenate produced growth inhibition reversible by sulfate. Conditions were developed in which the plants could be maintained indefinitely in the presence of either molybdate or selenate in altered metabolic steady-states with lowered growth rates and protein per frond.
Alkylations of (<i>R,R</i>)‐2‐<i>t</i>‐Butyl‐6‐methyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐4‐ones which are not Possible with Lithium Amides may be Achieved with a Schwesinger P4 Base (1991)

Abstract Enolates A of the dioxanones specified in the title, when generated with lithium amide bases, can only be alkylated with highly reactive electrophiles, and only once. With Schwesinger's t ‐Bu‐P 4 base (a very strong, so‐called neutral base, containing 4P and 13N atoms capable of bearing a positive charge in the conjugate P4H + cation) the dioxanone 1 can be doubly alkylated even with iodobutane (products 16 , 17 ). The 5,6‐dimethyl‐ and 5‐benzyl‐6‐methyldioxanone 2 and 3 can be alkylated diastereoselectively with the formation of quaternary centers at C(5) (products 4, 8 — 14 ). In one case, the configuration of the product 4 obtained was determined by conversion to a β‐lactone 6 and an olefin 7 (a previous assignment had to be revised). Even the 2,5,6,6‐tetraalkyl‐substituted dioxanone 19 could be further alkylated (→ 20 + 21 ). Five of the new alkylation products were hydrolyzed to the parent 3‐hydroxy‐carboxylic acids 5 , 22 — 25 . The enormous reactivities achieved with the inherently labile enolates and the P411 + counterions are discussed.
Jahreszeitlicher Verlauf und vermutliche Bedeutung der Peroxidase in verholzten Organen von Vitis (2016)

Die Jahresrhythmik der Peroxidase (PO) wurde in verschiedenen Rebensorten durch Analyse der anionischen Isoenzymverteilung und durch Bestimmungen der Gesamtaktivität untersucht. Im Herbst erfolgte ein Anstieg der Aktivität der P0 mit einem Gipfel zwischen Ende November und Ende Dezember. Eine Beziehung zu der Ruheperiode und zur Abscisinsäure wird angenommen. Im Laufe des Winters und besonders ab Austriebsbeginn nahm die Aktivität wieder ab. Da etliche Isoenzyme auch als IM-Oxidase wirksam sein können, wird ein Zusammenhang mit der Steuerung der Wuchsstoffbildung vermutet. Die leichte Beeinflußbarkeit der PO durch exogene Faktoren kann erklären, warum es in der Nachruhe durch Applikation gewisser Substanzen oder durch Temperatursteuerung zu einem Knospenaufbruch kommt. Die Enzymaktivität war am stärksten in den Trieben und Stämmen. In den Wurzeln waren die Aktivitätsveränderungen weit geringer. Eine direkte Beziehung zur Holzreife ist nicht erkennbar. Der Aktivitätsanstieg der PO im April in den Wurzeln und die Verstärkung bzw. Neusynthese von einigen Isoenzymen in den Stämmen und Trieben im Mai können im Zusammenhang mit der Wurzelbildung und dem zu dieser Zeit noch schwachen Triebwachstum stehen. Das PO-Minimum im Sommer korreliert mit dem starken Wachstum und weist auch wieder auf eine Beteiligung an der Wuchsstoffregulierung hin. Seasonal changes and presumable role of peroxidase activity in woody parts of Vitis The seasonal changes of peroxidase (PO) were investigated in several grapevine varieties by analysis of the anionic isoenzyme patterns and, partly, by quantitative determination of the total enzyme activity. In autumn, the activity of PO increased showing a peak between the end of November and the end of December. A relation of PO to the endogenous bud dormancy and abscisic acid is assumed. During winter and especially from sprouting, the activity of PO decreased again. Since several isoenzymes also show IAA Oxidase activities, a relation to the control of growth substances is to be assumed. As PO is easily influenced by exogenous factors it can be explained why bud break occurs during postdormancy by application of certain substances or by alteration of temperaturn. Activity of PO was greatest in canes and trunks. Changes in activity were less pronounced in the roots, which corresponds to their failure of a true rest period. A direct relation to wood ripening could not be observed. The increasing activity of PO in the roots during April and the enhanced staining intensity or de novo synthesis of some isoenzymes in trunks and canes during May can be related to root formation or to shoot growth still faint by that time. The minimum of PO activity in summer corresponds to the strong growth pointing again to the participation of P0 in the control of growth hormones.
User Redirection and Direct Haptics in Virtual Environments (2016)

This paper proposes a haptic interaction system for Virtual Reality (VR) based on a combination of tracking devices for hands and objects and a real-to-virtual mapping system for user redirection. In our solution the user receives haptic stimuli by manipulating real objects mapped to virtual ob- jects. This solution departs from systems that rely on haptic devices (e.g., haptic gloves) as interfaces for the user to inter- act with objects in the Virtual Environment (VE). As such, the proposed solution makes use of direct haptics (touching) and redirection techniques to guide the user through the vir- tual environment. Using the mapping framework, when the user touches a virtual object in the VE, he will simultane- ously be physically touching the equivalent real object. A relevant feature of the framework is the possibility to de- fine a warped mapping between the real and virtual worlds, such that the relation between the user and the virtual space can be different from the one between the user and the real space. This is particularly useful when the application re- quires the emulation of large virtual spaces but the physical space available is more confined. To achieve this, both the user's hands and the objects are tracked. In the presented prototype we use a head-mounted depth sensor (i.e., Leap Motion) and a depth-sensing camera (i.e., Kinect). To assess the feasibility of this solution, a functional prototype and a room setup with core functionality were implemented. The test sessions with users evaluated the mapping accuracy, the user execution time and the awareness of the user regarding the warped space when performing tasks with redirection. The results gathered indicate that the solution can be used to provide direct haptic feedback in VR applications and for warping space perception within certain limits.
Physical exercise and internet-based cognitive–behavioural therapy in the treatment of depression: Randomised controlled trial (2015)

Exercise and ICBT were more effective than TAU by a general medical practitioner, and both represent promising non-stigmatising treatment alternatives for patients with mild to moderate depression.
Study on preparation and properties of NR/LLDPE thermoplastic elastomer foam (2011)

NR/LLDPE thermoplastic elastomer foams were prepared by means of chemical cross-linking and one-step compression molding.The effects of blending ratio of NR/LLDPE,dosage of blowing agent and sulfur,pressure of compression molding on properties and relative density of NR/LLDPE foams were investigated and the microstructure of foams was observed by fluorescent microscope.The results showed that,the factors mentioned did more influence to the properties and microstructure,and the low relative density,good comprehensive mechanical properties of NR/LLDPE foams were obtained when blending ratio of NR/LLDPE was 70/30,dosage of blowing agent and sulfur were 10 phr and 1.5 phr,pressure of compression molding was 1Mpa.Picture of microstructure indicated that,under this condition,the diameters of NR/LLDPE foam were little and uniformly distributed.The foams had uniform cellular structure and were mainly made up of closed-cells.
High ionic conductivity in confined bismuth oxide-based heterostructures (2016)

Bismuth trioxide in the cubic fluorite phase (δ-Bi2O3) exhibits the highest oxygen ionic conductivity. In this study, we were able to stabilize the pure δ-Bi2O3 at low temperature with no addition of stabilizer but only by engineering the interface, using highly coherent heterostructures made of alternative layers of δ-Bi2O3 and Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), deposited by pulsed laser deposition. The resulting [δ-Bi2O3/YSZ] heterostructures are found to be stable over a wide temperature range (500-750 °C) and exhibits stable high ionic conductivity over a long time comparable to the value of the pure δ-Bi2O3, which is approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the conductivity of YSZ bulk.