gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Different innate neutrophil responses in controlled and uncontrolled asthma (2015)

Introduction: Respiratory viruses are a major cause of asthma exacerbations. Neutrophilic inflammation occurs during infections and is associated with difficult to treat asthma. The role of neutrophils in viral infections and whether neutrophil dysfunction contributes to exacerbation pathogenesis remains unclear. Aim: We aimed to investigate neutrophil immune responses in controlled (CA) and uncontrolled asthma (UnCA). We hypothesised that neutrophils from UnCA but not CA have impaired immune responses. Methods: Peripheral blood neutrophils from patients with CA (ACQ0.75) (n=7) or nonasthmatics (NA) (n=9) were stimulated with bacterial (LPS (1μg/ml), fMLP (100nM)) and viral surrogates( imiquimod (3μg/ml), R848 (1.5μg/ml), poly I:C (10μg/ml)) or rhinovirus (RV)16 (multiplicity of infection 1). Cell free supernatant was collected after 1h for measurement of neutrophil elastase (NE) by a colourimetric activity assay and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 by zymography or after 24h for CXCL8 release by ELISA. Results: fMLP stimulated neutrophils from UnCA but not CA had a 70% reduction in CXCL8 compared to NA. fMLP induced MMP9 release was also impaired by 50% in UnCA and 30% in CA compared to NA. Enhanced NE release (double) occurred constitutively and with fMLP stimulation in neutrophils from CA compared to NA. Interestingly, RV16 induced CXCL8 and R848 induced MMP-9 in CA and UnCA but not NA neutrophils. UnCA and CA responded similarly to other stimuli. Conclusion: Impaired innate responses in neutrophils from UnCA occurred only with the bacterial toxin fMLP, this might allow certain bacteria to colonise the airways and contribute to an altered lung microbiome in UnCA.
Preparation of Rare Earth Doped Laser Materials. (1978)

This report describes the preparation of specific host materials doped with either Ce(3+) or Pr(3+). The materials were prepared by either a solid phase sintering, crystallization from a high temperature flux, or direct growth by the Czochralski method from a melt. Both the amount of dopant and particularly the valence state of cerium were important variables in attempting to control fluorescence. Samples were prepared for both spectral investigations and possible laser schemes in the blue-green region. Growth atmospheres and conditions were adjusted to yield the maximum amount of Ce(3+) in single crystals. YAG:Ce(3+) and YAlO3:Pr were prepared in fabricated forms of disks, rectangular rods or cylindrical rods. These crystals were then examined at other laboratories. (Author)
A direct inverse scattering method for imaging obstacles with unknown surface conditions (1998)

A new technique is described for imaging obstacles using the acoustic far-field response for plane wave incidence. The method requires no a priori information about the surface, nor does it depend upon prior knowledge of the surface boundary conditions. The algorithm is straightforward to implement and is illustrated by imaging multiple targets simultaneously for various surface boundary conditions: soft, hard, and impedance. The input data is the full acoustic scattering matrix at a single frequency, from which the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the far-field operator are determined. Associated incident wave functions are then used to compute a spatial indicator function which takes on large values in the exterior of the target but is bounded inside the obstacle, or obstacles when there are multiple disconnected surfaces. [Work supported by ONR.]
Discussion: “Bureau of Mines Progress in Developing Open and Closed-Cycle Coal-Burning Gas Turbine Power Plants” (Smith, J., Strimbeck, D. C., Coates, N. H., and McGee, J. P., 1966, ASME J. Eng. Power, 88, pp. 313–320) (1966)

The Bureau is developing both open and closed-cycle coalfired gas turbine plants for use in generating electric power.To date, work with the closed cycle has demonstrated that a hightemperature system using a noble gas as working fluid and with hydrodynamic gas-lubricated bearings is feasible.This program continues with work on prototype, high-temperature, closedcycle gas turbine systems and on a coal-fired gas heater.The Bureau's first step in open-cycle work was to demonstrate the feasibility of new turbine blades designed to resist erosion by coal ash particles in the hot gases driving the turbine.Further work with the open cycle now aims at reducing the ash load in the gases to the turbine by improving coal combustion and ash separation systems.Work is also being done on developing improved coal-feeding and preparation equipment.
A framework for model-based design of embedded systems for energy management (2013)

Model-Based Design of Cyber-Physical Energy Systems (CPES) is a challenge from a modeling and simulation point of view. Multi-domain and multi-scale modeling and simulation as well as high simulation performance are required in order to model distributed systems, appliances, embedded systems, electric components, and physical systems of different nature at different levels of abstraction. In this paper we describe a framework, based on SystemC, for the model-based design of embedded HW/SW systems for distributed energy management applications in buildings and neighborhoods. These embedded systems are included in smart appliances, that are capable of gather information, control the appliance and communicate with the network. Communication (wireless, PLC) is modeled using TLM extensions, in order to achieve high simulation performance. On the other hand, physical domains are modeled using AMS extensions. For demonstration, we model, simulate and evaluate the performance of an in-house energy management system.
Obesity modulates the expression of haptoglobin in the white adipose tissue via TNFα (2002)

Increase in adipose mass results in obesity and modulation of several factors in white adipose tissue (WAT). Two important examples are tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and leptin, both of which are upregulated in adipose tissue in obesity. In order to isolate genes differentially expressed in the WAT of genetically obese db/db mice compared to their lean littermates, we performed RNA fingerprinting and identified haptoglobin (Hp), which is significantly upregulated in the obese animals. Hp is a glycoprotein induced by a number of cytokines, LPS (Lipopolysaccharide), and more generally by inflammation. A significant upregulation of WAT Hp expression was also evident in several experimental obese models including the yellow agouti (/) A(y), ob/ob and goldthioglucose-treated mice (10-, 8-, and 7-fold, respectively). To identify the potential signals for an increase in Hp expression in obesity, we examined leptin and TNFalpha in vivo. Wild type animals treated with recombinant leptin did not show any alteration in WAT Hp expression compared to controls that were food restricted to the level of intake of the treated animals. On the other hand, Hp expression was induced in mice transgenically expressing TNFalpha in adipose tissue. Finally, a significant downregulation of WAT Hp mRNA was observed in ob/ob mice deficient in TNFalpha function, when compared to the ob/ob controls. These results demonstrate that haptoglobin expression in WAT is increased in obesity in rodents and TNFalpha is an important signal for this regulation.
Carbohydrate-linked asparagine-101 of prothrombin contains a metal ion protected acetylation site. Acetylation of this site causes loss of metal ion induced protein fluorescence change (1988)

Prothrombin fragment 1 (prothrombin residues 1-156) contains two acetylation sites that are protected from derivatization by calcium. The first site was protected by only calcium [Welsch, D. J., & Nelsestuen, G. L. (1988) Biochemistry (second of three papers in this issue)] while the second site was protected by magnesium as well. To identify this second acetylation site, fragment 1 was first acetylated with unlabeled reagent in the presence of magnesium. Metal ions were removed, and the protein was acetylated with radiolabeled reagent. The incorporated radiolabel was stable over long periods of time and at acidic or basic pH as long as elevated temperatures were avoided. The radiolabel was removed by treatment of the protein at pH 10 and 50 degrees C or with 0.2 M hydroxylamine at 50 degrees C for at least 30 min. Proteolytic degradation of the protein showed that the radioactivity appeared in a tryptic peptide corresponding to residues 94-111 of prothrombin. The Lys-97 in this peptide was acetylated but did not contain radiolabel. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that the radiolabel was associated with an unextracted sequence product. Aglycofragment 1, produced by treatment of fragment 1 with HF, was radiolabeled by this procedure; peptide 94-111 was isolated and was further digested with protease. The major radiolabeled product contained Asn101-Ser102 along with the expected chitobiose attached to Asn-101. NMR analysis revealed the presence of three acetate groups which would correspond to two from the chitobiose plus the incorporated acetate residue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Optimization of the Double Pump–Probe Technique: Decoupling the Triplet Yield and Cross Section (2012)

The double pump-probe technique (DPP), first introduced by Swatton et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 1997, 71, 10], is a variant of the standard pump-probe method but uses two pumps instead of one to create two sets of initial conditions for solving the rate equations, allowing a unique determination of singlet- and triplet-state absorption parameters and transition rates. We investigate the advantages and limitations of the DPP theoretically and experimentally and determine the influence of several experimental parameters on its accuracy. The accuracy with which the DPP determines the triplet-state parameters improves when the fraction of the population in the triplet state relative to the ground state is increased. To simplify the analysis of the DPP, an analytical model is presented, which is applicable to both the reverse saturable and the saturable absorption regimes. We show that the DPP is optimized by working in the saturable absorption regime. Although increased accuracy is in principle achievable by increasing the pump fluence in the reverse saturable absorption range, this can cause photoinduced decomposition in photochemically unstable molecules. Alternatively, we can tune the excitation wavelength to the spectral region of larger ground-state absorption, to achieve similar accuracy. This results in an accurate separation of triplet yield and excited-state absorption cross section. If the cross section at another wavelength is then desired, a second pump-probe experiment at that wavelength can be utilized given the previously measured triplet yield under the usually valid assumption that the triplet yield is independent of excitation wavelength.
Effect of Microstructure on Martensitic Transformation and Cyclic Deformation Characteristics in a Cu-Al-Ni Based Alloy with Unidirectionally Solidified Structure (2006)

This DOI is not currently attached to any metadata records. DOIs can’t actually ever be deleted (they’re persistent), but sometimes our members create DOIs in error. We do have a process to approximate deletion which we follow only in rare cases where the DOI has been genuinely created in error, and most crucially, if the DOI has never been published anywhere online or in print and never otherwise distributed to or communicated with anyone (authors, readers, reviewers, etc.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Nimodipine Treatment after Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage and Surgery (1999)

Nimodipine is cost-effective. Therefore, its use in the management of patients with SAH seems economically justified because it increases patient life years at very low incremental cost.
Self‐Assembled Smart Nanocarriers for Targeted Drug Delivery (2015)

Nanostructured drug-carrier systems promise numerous benefits for drug delivery. They can be engineered to precisely control drug-release rates or to target specific sites within the body with a specific amount of therapeutic agent. However, to achieve the best therapeutic effects, the systems should be designed for carrying the optimum amount of a drug to the desired target where it should be released at the optimum rate for a specified time. Despite numerous attempts, fulfilling all of these requirements in a synergistic way remains a huge challenge. The trend in drug delivery is consequently directed toward integrated multifunctional carrier systems, providing selective recognition in combination with sustained or triggered release. Capsules as vesicular systems enable drugs to be confined for controlled release. Furthermore, carriers modified with recognition groups can enhance the capability of encapsulated drug efficacy. Here, recent advances are reviewed regarding designing and preparing assembled capsules with targeting ligands or size controllable for selective recognition in drug delivery.
Association of cystatin C with prostasomes in human seminal plasma (2010)

It was recently elucidated that cystatin C, a protein targeted to the classical secretory pathway by its signal peptide sequence, can also be secreted in association with exosomes. Accordingly, we wanted to investigate whether there is a secretory link between cystatin C and prostasomes in human seminal plasma. Cystatin C concentrations in seminal plasma from 50 men including 6 vasectomized men were measured by turbidimetry on an Architect Ci8200. Some of the seminal plasma samples were also analysed utilizing an Epics Profile XL-MCL cytometer. We found high concentrations of cystatin C in seminal plasma. The 2.5-97.5 percentiles, performed by bootstrap estimation, were 25.8 [95% confidence interval (CI): 22.3-29.4] to 77.0 mg/L (95% CI: 71.9-82.1). Cystatin C is present in approximately 50 times higher concentration in seminal plasma compared with blood plasma. There was no clear difference as regards seminal plasma content of cystatin C between vasectomized men and the rest of the group. Immunoblot analysis with chicken anti-cystatin C antibody revealed a firm association of cystatin C with prostasomes. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that cystatin C was linked to prostasomes also meaning an at least partial prostasomal membrane surface localization.
Stress-induced Protein Phosphatase 2C Is a Negative Regulator of a Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase (2003)

Protein phosphatases of type 2C (PP2Cs) play important roles in eukaryotic signal transduction. In contrast to other eukaryotes, plants such as Arabidopsis have an unusually large group of 69 different PP2C genes. At present, little is known about the functions and substrates of plant PP2Cs. We have previously shown that MP2C, a wound-induced alfalfa PP2C, is a negative regulator of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in yeast and plants. In this report, we provide evidence that alfalfa salt stress-inducible MAPK (SIMK) and stress-activated MAPK (SAMK) are activated by wounding and that MP2C is a MAPK phosphatase that directly inactivates SIMK but not the wound-activated MAPK, SAMK. SIMK is inactivated through threonine dephosphorylation of the pTEpY motif, which is essential for MAPK activity. Mutant analysis indicated that inactivation of SIMK depends on the catalytic activity of MP2C. A comparison of MP2C with two other PP2Cs, ABI2 and AtP2CHA, revealed that although all three phosphatases have similar activities toward casein as a substrate, only MP2C is able to dephosphorylate and inactivate SIMK. In agreement with the notion that MP2C interacts directly with SIMK, the MAPK was identified as an interacting partner of MP2C in a yeast two-hybrid screen. MP2C can be immunoprecipitated with SIMK in a complex in vivo and shows direct binding to SIMK in vitro in protein interaction assays. Wound-induced MP2C expression correlates with the time window when SIMK is inactivated, corroborating the notion that MP2C is involved in resetting the SIMK signaling pathway.
Systematic Discovery of New Genes in the <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> Genome (2003)

We used genome-wide comparative analysis of predicted protein sequences to identify many novel small genes, named smORFs for small open reading frames, within the budding yeast genome. Further analysis of 117 of these new genes showed that 84 are transcribed. We extended our analysis of one smORF conserved from yeast to human. This investigation provides an updated and comprehensive annotation of the yeast genome, validates additional concepts in the study of genomes in silico, and increases the expected numbers of coding sequences in a genome with the corresponding impact on future functional genomics and proteomics studies.
A joint multiple description-encryption image algorithm (2004)

This paper describes a new kind of use for secure image transmission. A stream encryption method is presented, in which a key allows the authorized users to recover the original image. Our algorithm exploits the redundancy properties of the Mojette transform. Anyone whom knows the appropriate key will be able to decode the original image whereas only a scrambled image can be decoded without this key. This data access scheme is moreover perfectly suited for a multiple description context. This method takes into account the regions of interest (ROI), according to the received data, the image decoding is first performed in order to recover these ROIs.
Dietary Carotenoid Intake and Colorectal Cancer Risk (2002)

Several studies have found inverse associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and colorectal cancer risk, suggesting the potential etiological importance of carotenoids (and other phytochemicals) contained in these foods. However, only one study (a case-control study) has examined the association between dietary carotenoids other than beta-carotene and colorectal cancer risk. In the study reported here, we examined the relationships between dietary intakes of beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and beta-cryptoxanthin and colorectal cancer risk in a large cohort study of Canadian women. A case-cohort analysis was undertaken within the cohort of 56,837 women who were enrolled in the Canadian National Breast Screening Study and who completed a self-administered dietary questionnaire. During follow-up to the end of 1993, a total of 388 women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. For comparative purposes, a subcohort of 5,681 women was randomly selected. After exclusions for various reasons, the analyses were based on 295 cases and 5,334 noncases. We did not find any clear association between intake of any of the studied carotenoids and colorectal cancer risk in the study population as a whole or in subgroups defined by smoking status, relative body weight (body mass index), intakes of total fat, energy, alcohol, and folic acid, or menopausal status. Our data do not support any association between dietary intakes of the studied carotenoids and colorectal cancer risk. However, given that this is the first prospective cohort study of carotenoids in relation to colorectal cancer, further studies are warranted.
Immunopharmacological Approaches to Drug Development (1987)

Knowledge of the immunologic system has increased tremendously over the last few decades. This has prompted the development of immunopharmacology, a new discipline that began to flourish in the 1970s, and that broadly addresses the effects of synthetic and natural products on the immune response (Mullen, 1979). The field of immunopharmacology encompasses the development of immunologically based assays and their research and clinical applications, the preparation and utilization of monoclonal antibodies as pharmacological tools or therapeutic agents, the pharmacological regulation of immune responsiveness, and immunotoxicology. The immunopharmacologist must conjoin fundamental pharmacology with modern immunology in an attempt to determine the biological and biochemical effects of synthetic and natural products on immune responsiveness, elucidate the mechanism(s) through which such effects are mediated, and evaluate the clinical potential of such agents.
Fatigue Behavior of Circumferentially Notched Round Bars of Austenitic Stainless Steel Under Torsional and Axial Loads (2010)

Fatigue tests of smooth and notched round bars of austenitic stainless steels SUS316NG and SUS316L were conducted under cyclic tension and cyclic torsion with and without static tension. Fatigue strength under fully reversed (R=−1) cyclic tension once increased with increasing stress concentration factor up to Kt=1.5, but it decreased from Kt=1.5 to 2.5. Fatigue life increased with increasing stress concentration under pure cyclic torsion, while it decreased with increasing stress concentration under cyclic torsion with static tension. From the measurement of fatigue crack initiation and propagation lives using electric potential drop method, it was found that the crack initiation life decreased with increasing stress concentration and the crack propagation life increased with increasing stress concentration under pure cyclic torsion. Under cyclic torsion with static tension, the crack initiation life also decreased with increasing stress concentration but the crack propagation life decreased or not changed with increasing stress concentration then the total fatigue life of sharper notched specimen decreased. It was also found that the fatigue life of smooth specimen under cyclic torsion with static tension was longer than that under pure cyclic torsion. This behavior could be explained based on the cyclic strain hardening under non-proportional loading and the difference in crack path with and without static tension.
Effect of vitamin a on bone resorption: Evidence for direct stimulation of isolated chicken osteoclasts by retinol and retinoic acid (1988)

Abstract The effects of retinol (vitamin A) and retinoic acid on primary cultures of isolated chicken osteoclasts have been studied. The experiments were performed to establish the direct actions of these two agents on the organization of cytoskeletal structures, on the acid phosphatase contents, and on the bone resorption activities of these cells. The results showed that by treating the cultures with retinol or retinoic acid, from 10−8 to 10−5M, there were dose-related responses of the osteoclasts. Adhesion to the substratum was stimulated by increasing the number of cells exhibiting the specialized dot-like adhesion structures, or podosomes, which represent the active part of the sealing zone. The treatments also induced rearrangement of the microtubular patterns with reversible depolymerization of microtubules. Acid phosphatase activity was significantly higher both in vitamin A-treated osteoclasts and in their media. When [3H]proline-labeled bone particles were added to the retinoid-treated osteoclasts, the release of [3H]proline was increased significantly compared to controls. These results suggest that the two vitamin A metabolites cause several modifications of the metabolic status of isolated osteoclasts that result in augmented rates of bone resorption.