gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Role of Antibody‐Mediated Immunity in Host Defense against<i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> (2004)

For many decades, the dominant view in the field of mycobacterial immunology has been that host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis relies exclusively on cell-mediated immunity. In search of new solutions to the overwhelming problem of tuberculosis, investigators set out several years ago to evaluate the help that can be offered by antibody-mediated immunity in host defense against M. tuberculosis, with the possibility that it may lead to the development of a novel and effective vaccine strategy. The literature on studies of antibody-mediated immunity against M. tuberculosis can be divided into several general categories: serological studies, passive antibody studies, animal studies, in vitro studies, and human studies. Monoclonal antibody (MAb) technology, described for the first time in the 1970s, allowed the selection of individual antibodies with particular antigen specificities. Vaccines presently used in humans belong to one of three main categories: inactivated, live attenuated, and subunit vaccines. Adhesion of microbes to host tissues is a significant step in the colonization of the host and the establishment of infection. The majority of these vaccines are thought to provide protection by eliciting protective antibody responses. The progress made in recent years is encouraging and should stimulate interest in evaluating the mechanisms by which antibodies may contribute to host defense against M. tuberculosis. The future challenges are to systematically dissect the conditions required for optimal antibody-mediated immunity against M. tuberculosis and to develop vaccine candidates that will work by eliciting protective antibody responses.
Identification of a Protein Fragment of Interleukin 2 Responsible for Vasopermeability (2003)

The identification of PEP should aid in the discovery of ways to decrease the toxicity of IL-2. Moreover, PEP is a promising candidate for the generation of agents that can enhance the delivery of antibodies and drugs to tumors.
Development of an Electrostatic Partitioner for Highly Efficient Partitioning of Gas and Particles with Minimal Effect on the Gas Phase (2004)

Particle-free air is required in a wide range of scientific and technical applications such as prefiltering for gas analyzers or for the artifact correction of particle mass concentration measurements. Most common processes for the removal of particles from a gas stream are filtration and electrostatic precipitation. However, both mechanism introduce changes to the thermodynamic conditions and/or the composition of the gas, which might be detrimental to the downstream measurement of gas or particle concentrations. For highly efficient separation of gas and particles with no changes to the thermodynamic conditions and substantially no changes to the gas phase, a coaxial gas particle partitioner (GPP, patent pending) has been developed and initially tested. The GPP utilizes corona charging to electrically charge the particles and a strong electric field in a separate unit to take them out of the sample flow when switched on. The vicinity of the corona wire gets continuously flushed by means of a wash flow, which is spatially separated from the sample flow, to prevent gases formed by the corona, such as ozone and oxides of nitrogen, from reaching the sample aerosol flow. Internally, the total aerosol flow is split into a sample flow and an excess gas flow. The splitting of the flow ensures that evaporation or release of particles deposited on the outer wall does not affect the sample flow but only the excess gas flow. The flow splitter is designed such that the particle number size distribution in the sample flow is identical to the ambient distribution when the GPP is switched off. When switched on, the sample flow is particle free. The initial investigations have shown that the GPP is able to separate gas and particles with a higher efficiency than another investigated common point-to-plane electrostatic precipitator (ESP). Particle losses inside the GPP are lower than in the ESP. The response time of GPP and ESP are similar.
Wrapping process for fabrication of A-15 superconducting composite wires (1980)

A method for fabricating superconducting wires wherein a billet of copper containing filaments of niobium or vanadium is rolled to form a strip which is wrapped about a tin-alloy core to form a composite. The alloy is a tin-copper alloy for niobium filaments and a gallium-copper alloy for vanadium filaments. The composite is then drawn down to a desired wire size and heat treated. During the heat treatment process, the tin in the bronze reacts with the niobium to form the superconductor niobium tin. In the case where vanadium is used, the gallium in the gallium bronze reacts with the vanadium to form the superconductor vanadium gallium. This new process eliminates the costly annealing steps, external tin plating and drilling of bronze ingots required in a number of prior art processes.
Antibodies against desmoglein 3 (pemphigus vulgaris antigen) are present in sera from patients with paraneoplastic pemphigus and cause acantholysis in vivo in neonatal mice. (1998)

Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is an autoimmune blistering disease that occurs in association with underlying neoplasms. Patients with PNP develop characteristic IgG autoantibodies directed against multiple antigens, most of which have been identified as cytoplasmic proteins of the plakin family (desmoplakin I, II, BPAG1, envoplakin, and periplakin). This study identified cell surface target antigens of PNP. We focused on desmoglein (Dsg) 3 and Dsg1, the autoantigens of pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus. ELISA using baculovirus-expressed recombinant Dsgs (rDsg3, rDsg1) has revealed that 25 out of 25 PNP sera tested were positive against Dsg3 and 16 of 25 were positive against Dsg1. All of 12 PNP sera tested immunoprecipitated Dsg3. Removal of anti-Dsg3 autoantibodies by immunoadsorption was sufficient to eliminate the ability of PNP sera to induce cutaneous blisters in neonatal mice in vivo. Furthermore, anti-Dsg3-specific antibodies that were affinity purified from PNP sera were proven to be pathogenic and caused blisters in neonatal mice. These findings indicate that Dsg3 and Dsg1 are the cell surface target antigens in PNP and that IgG autoantibodies against Dsg3 in PNP sera play a pathogenic role in inducing loss of cell adhesion of keratinocytes and causing blister formation.
A 27 picosecond photodetector with a modulation doped Al<inf>x</inf>Ga<inf>1-x</inf>As/GaAs heterostructure (1982)

A sensitive ultrahigh speed photodetector with an Al <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">x</inf> Ga <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1-x</inf> As/GaAs modulation doped heterostructure field effect transistor has been developed. With a gate length <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">\geq 20\micro</tex> m, a gate-drain spacing <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">\geq 8\micro</tex> m, and a gate-width of 450 <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">\micro</tex> m, the detector-showed an impulse response with a rise time of 12psec and a full width at half maximum of 27psec. When tested by a GaAs diode laser ( <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">\lambda \simeq 8200</tex> Å), the detector showed an ac optical gain of 6.3. The observed optical gain is attributed to an increase of the high-mobility electrons. The response time is limited by the electron transit time which is determined by the built-in electric field rather than the applied field. This allows picosecond photodetection at extremely low bias voltages (IV). The detectors should find wide applications, such as in gigabit rate optical communication, monolithic optoelectronic integrated circuits, and measurements of the dynamic response of semiconductor lasers.
Dual genetic pathways of endothelin-mediated intercellular signaling revealed by targeted disruption of endothelin converting enzyme-1 gene (1998)

Recent gene targeting studies have revealed unexpected roles for endothelins in the development of neural crest-derived tissues. Endothelin converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1) catalyzes the proteolytic activation of big endothelin-1 to endothelin-1(ET-1) in vitro. However, the importance of ECE-1 cleavage in the multiple endothelin pathways in vivo is unknown. Here we generated a targeted null mutation in the mouse ECE-1 gene. ECE-1-/- term embryos exhibited craniofacial and cardiac abnormalities virtually identical to the defects seen in ET-1 and endothelin A receptor (ETA)-deficient embryos. Epidermal melanocytes as well as enteric neurons of the distal gut were also absent in ECE-1-/- embryos, reproducing the developmental phenotype seen in ET-3-/- and endothelin B receptor (ETB)-/- mice. Surprisingly, large amounts of mature ET-1 peptide are found in ECE-1-/- embryos, indicating that non-ECE-1 protease(s) can activate ET-1 at certain sites. However, these enzymes cannot produce sufficient mature endothelin at the locations crucial for normal embryonic development. These findings reveal that ECE-1 is a bona fide activating protease for both big ET-1 and big ET-3 in vivo, and that the cell-cell communication pathways represented by the ET-1/ECE-1/ETA axis and the ET-3/ECE-1/ETB axis are each involved in the development of distinct subsets of neural crest cell lineages. Mutations in ECE-1 may cause developmental defects in humans, such as Hirschsprung disease, velocardiofacial syndrome and related neurocristopathies.
Cashew apple extract inhibition of fat storage and insulin resistance in the diet-induced obesity mouse model (2015)

The cashew apple is an unvalued by-product from the cashew nut industry, of which millions of tonnes are simply discarded globally. Interestingly, however, cashew apple nutrients may have beneficial effects for health even if these are still poorly described. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of a hydro-alcoholic extract of cashew apple (cashew apple extract; CAE; Cashewin(™)) on obesity and diabetes, in two experimental designs using the diet-induced obesity (DIO) mouse model. First, in the preventive design, mice were treated orally with the CAE at the dose of 200 mg/kg body weight from the first day under a high-fat diet (HFD) and during 8 weeks thereafter. Second, in the curative design, the animals were first maintained under the HFD for 4 weeks and then treated with the CAE for a further 4 weeks under the same regimen. For both experimental designs, body weight, peri-epididymal adipose tissue, liver weight, food consumption, glycaemia, insulinaemia and insulin resistance were assessed. In both designs, the CAE significantly reduced body-weight gain and fat storage in both the peri-epididymal adipose tissue and the liver for mice under the HFD. This was achieved without modifying their energy consumption. Furthermore, glycaemia, insulinaemia and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance) of the DIO mice were significantly lowered compared with the control group. Thus, a well-designed hydro-alcoholic extract of cashew apple could provide an attractive nutritional food ingredient to help support the management of body weight and associated metabolic parameters such as blood glucose and insulin levels.
Shape Memory Bulk Metallic Glass Composites (2010)

Glass-forming and shape memory metals may provide a route to fabricating materials with enhanced mechanical properties.
Novel Fatty Acid Desaturases And Elongases And Uses Thereof (Patent US 2012/0124705 A1) (2011)

The invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules which encode novel fatty acid desaturases and elongases from the organism Emiliana huxleyi. The invention also provides recombinant expression vectors containing desaturase or elongase nucleic acid molecules, host cells into which the expression vectors have been introduced, and methods for large-scale production of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), e.g. arachidonic acid (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Secretion of Active-Form <i>Streptoverticillium mobaraense</i> Transglutaminase by <i>Corynebacterium glutamicum</i> : Processing of the Pro-Transglutaminase by a Cosecreted Subtilisin-Like Protease from <i>Streptomyces albogriseolus</i> (2003)

The transglutaminase secreted by Streptoverticillium mobaraense is a useful enzyme in the food industry. A fragment of transglutaminase was secreted by Corynebacterium glutamicum when it was coupled on a plasmid to the promoter and signal peptide of a cell surface protein from C. glutamicum. We analyzed the signal peptide and the pro-domain of the transglutaminase gene and found that the signal peptide consists of 31 amino acid residues and the pro-domain consists of 45 residues. When the pro-domain of the transglutaminase was used, the pro-transglutaminase was secreted efficiently by C. glutamicum but had no enzymatic activity. However, when the plasmid carrying the S. mobaraense transglutaminase also encoded SAM-P45, a subtilisin-like serine protease derived from Streptomyces albogriseolus, the peptide bond to the C side of 41-Ser of the pro-transglutaminase was hydrolyzed, and the pro-transglutaminase was converted to an active form. Our findings suggest that C. glutamicum has potential as a host for industrial-scale protein production.
Subspace Approximation of Face Recognition Algorithms: An Empirical Study (2008)

We present a theory for constructing linear subspace approximations to face-recognition algorithms and empirically demonstrate that a surprisingly diverse set of face-recognition approaches can be approximated well by using a linear model. A linear model, built using a training set of face images, is specified in terms of a linear subspace spanned by, possibly nonorthogonal vectors. We divide the linear transformation used to project face images into this linear subspace into two parts: 1) a rigid transformation obtained through principal component analysis, followed by a nonrigid, affine transformation. The construction of the affine subspace involves embedding of a training set of face images constrained by the distances between them, as computed by the face-recognition algorithm being approximated. We accomplish this embedding by iterative majorization, initialized by classical MDS. Any new face image is projected into this embedded space using an affine transformation. We empirically demonstrate the adequacy of the linear model using six different face-recognition algorithms, spanning template-based and feature-based approaches, with a complete separation of the training and test sets. A subset of the face-recognition grand challenge training set is used to model the algorithms and the performance of the proposed modeling scheme is evaluated on the facial recognition technology (FERET) data set. The experimental results show that the average error in modeling for six algorithms is 6.3% at 0.001 false acceptance rate for the FERET fafb probe set which has 1195 subjects, the most among all of the FERET experiments. The built subspace approximation not only matches the recognition rate for the original approach, but the local manifold structure, as measured by the similarity of identity of nearest neighbors, is also modeled well. We found, on average, 87% similarity of the local neighborhood. We also demonstrate the usefulness of the linear model for algorithm-dependent indexing of face databases and find that it results in more than 20 times reduction in face comparisons for Bayesian, elastic bunch graph matching, and one proprietary algorithm.
Engineered pro‐peptide enhances the catalytic activity of keratinase to improve the conversion ability of feather waste (2021)

Keratinase is an attractive industrial enzyme that can specifically catalyze keratin waste to obtain value-added products. A challenge to the application of keratinase is improving catalytic capacity to achieve efficient hydrolysis. In this study, we effectively expressed the keratinase gene from Bacillus licheniformis BBE11-1 in Bacillus subtilis WB600 based on pro-peptide engineering. Partial deletion of the pro-peptide sequence and the substitution of amino acid at the pro-peptide cleavage site (P1) suggested that the "chaperone effect" and "cleavage efficiency" of the pro-peptide determine the activity of the mature enzyme. Subsequently, seven target sites that can increase the activity of the mature enzyme by 16%-66% were obtained through the multiple sequence alignment of pro-peptides and site-directed mutation. We further performed combinatorial mutations at six sites based on the design principle of three-codon saturation mutations and obtained mutant 2-D12 (236.8 KU/mg) with a mature enzyme activity of 186% of the original (127.6 KU/mg). Finally, continuous fermentation was carried out in a 5-L bioreactor for 22 h, and the activity of the 2-D12 mature enzyme was increased to 391.6 KU/mg. Most importantly, 2-D12 could degrade more than 90% of feather waste into amino acids and peptides within 12 h with the aid of sulfite.
Structures of TorsinA and its disease-mutant complexed with an activator reveal the molecular basis for primary dystonia (2016)

The most common cause of early onset primary dystonia, a neuromuscular disease, is a glutamate deletion (ΔE) at position 302/303 of TorsinA, a AAA+ ATPase that resides in the endoplasmic reticulum. While the function of TorsinA remains elusive, the ΔE mutation is known to diminish binding of two TorsinA ATPase activators: lamina-associated protein 1 (LAP1) and its paralog, luminal domain like LAP1 (LULL1). Using a nanobody as a crystallization chaperone, we obtained a 1.4 Å crystal structure of human TorsinA in complex with LULL1. This nanobody likewise stabilized the weakened TorsinAΔE-LULL1 interaction, which enabled us to solve its structure at 1.4 Å also. A comparison of these structures shows, in atomic detail, the subtle differences in activator interactions that separate the healthy from the diseased state. This information may provide a structural platform for drug development, as a small molecule that rescues TorsinAΔE could serve as a cure for primary dystonia.
<title>Rytov parameter estimation by use of differential-tilt measurements</title> (2000)

The Rytov parameter is a common name given to the log- amplitude variance predicted by an approximate solution to Maxwell's equations for propagation through media with random index of refraction (Rytov theory). Empirical evidence suggests that the Rytov parameter is a non- observable in many practical experiments where the variance of irradiance saturates, an effect not predicted by the standard theory. Nevertheless, the Rytov parameter is useful as an indicator of integrated turbulence strength for extended propagation and thus a desirable experimental quantity to estimate. In this work, we propose an optical configuration and related analysis techniques that provide a practical method for determining the Rytov parameter when scintillometry-based methods fail. This method employs differential-tilt measurements, resulting in a measurable quantity which is proportional to the Rytov parameter and for which Rytov theory is a good approximation. The differential-tilt technique is also insensitive to gimbal motion and additive noise. We illustrate that this method provides approximately 5% relative error in determining the Rytov parameter and may be used to characterize atmospheric turbulence well beyond the limits of conventional scintillometry.
20 Aurion study: 24-week data of multi-target therapy with voclosporin, mmf and steroids for active lupus nephritis (2017)

<h3>Background and Aims</h3> In lupus nephritis (LN), complete remission (CR) or partial remission is associated with better patient and renal survival. Subjects who do not achieve a 25% reduction in proteinuria within 8 weeks of starting induction immunosuppression are unlikely to achieve even a PR. Voclosporin (VCS) is a novel CNI demonstrating less pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic variability and a potentially improved safety profile compared with other CNIs. <h3>Methods</h3> Entry criteria renal biopsy within 24 months (Class III; IV-S, IV-G (A) or (A/C); V, III/V, IV/V, ISN/RPS); urine protein:creatinine ratio (UPCR) ≥1.0 mg/mg (III/IV) or UPCR ≥1.5 mg/mg (V); serologic evidence of active LN; and eGFR >45 mL/min/1.73m<sup>2</sup>. AURION assessed the ability of biomarkers at 8 weeks to predict clinical response over 24 and 48 weeks when taking voclosporin (VCS) 23.7 mg po BID in combination with MMF (1–2 g/day) and reducing corticosteroid dose. We report 24 week data. <h3>Results</h3> In this study, 7/10 (70%) subjects achieved CR at 24 weeks. Of the 10 subjects that achieved a≥25% reduction in UPCR at 8 weeks, 80% were responders (61% reduction in UPCR over baseline) at 24 weeks. In addition, inflammatory markers such as C3, C4 and anti-dsDNA all continued to normalise to 24 weeks. Renal function remained stable. VCS was well-tolerated with no unexpected safety signals observed. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The results suggest that early response to therapy of VCS in combination with MMF may predict 24 week CR in the presence of low steroids in active LN. 48 week CR data will be presented at the meeting.
The Flexible Contour Backrest: A New Design Concept for Wheelchairs (1998)

Studies have shown that the use of a conventional sling backrest in a wheelchair may have a negative impact on the posture and health of users. To avoid such problems, this backrest is often replaced by a back cushion on a rigid surface. However, the use of the latter deprives many wheelchair users of the advantages provided by the sling backrest (easy folding, lightweight, low cost, unobtrusive, simplicity of design). In an effort to maintain these features while providing adequate posture, a new backrest was designed according to specific criteria. The "flexible contour backrest" has been developed so that it can be adapted to a person's back contour with stays, adjustable straps, and curved back posts. Preliminary comparisons done by some experts with commercially available backrests showed that design criteria were reached at 62.9% by the back cushion on a rigid surface, at 64% by the sling backrest, and at 67.7% by the adjustable-tension backrest. On the other hand, design criteria were reached at 80% by the new flexible contour backrest because its design brings together most of the positive features provided by these other backrests (easy to fold, light weight, unobtrusive, airy) as well as providing adequate posture and better fit to the user's morphology.
Instruction based BIST for board/system level test of external memories and intemconnects (2004)

This paper describes a general technique to test external memory/caches and memory interconnects using on-chip logic. Such a test methodology is expected to significantly reduce board/system manufacturing test cost as well as to improve diagnosability of memory and memory-interconnect failures. The proposed methodology incorporates a significant amount of programmability (including programmable MARCH algorithms and data backgrounds) to enable proper testing of all different flavors of memories and caches that one encounters in systems today. Another important aspect of the methodology is its reuse of on-chip memory/cache controllers. This allows the adaptation of the methodology to a variety of memory access protocols (including DDR), without having to re-implement the access protocol inside the BIST engine. These considerations make the external BIST methodology presented in the paper, very general and adaptable to a wide range of applications and their corresponding memory sub-systems.