gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Prevention of Vγ9Vδ2 T Cell Activation by a Vγ9Vδ2 TCR Nanobody (2016)

Vγ9Vδ2 T cell activation plays an important role in antitumor and antimicrobial immune responses. However, there are conditions in which Vγ9Vδ2 T cell activation can be considered inappropriate for the host. Patients treated with aminobisphosphonates for hypercalcemia or metastatic bone disease often present with a debilitating acute phase response as a result of Vγ9Vδ2 T cell activation. To date, no agents are available that can clinically inhibit Vγ9Vδ2 T cell activation. In this study, we describe the identification of a single domain Ab fragment directed to the TCR of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells with neutralizing properties. This variable domain of an H chain-only Ab (VHH or nanobody) significantly inhibited both phosphoantigen-dependent and -independent activation of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells and, importantly, strongly reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines upon stimulation with aminobisphosphonate-treated cells. Additionally, in silico modeling suggests that the neutralizing VHH binds the same residues on the Vγ9Vδ2 TCR as the Vγ9Vδ2 T cell Ag-presenting transmembrane protein butyrophilin 3A1, providing information on critical residues involved in this interaction. The neutralizing Vγ9Vδ2 TCR VHH identified in this study might provide a novel approach to inhibit the unintentional Vγ9Vδ2 T cell activation as a consequence of aminobisphosphonate administration.
The Politics of Social Science Research: Race, Ethnicity and Social Change (2001)

Preface Notes on the Contributors PART I: TOWARDS A SOCIOLOGY OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF 'RACE', ETHNICITY AND NATION Sociology, the State and Social Change: Theoretical Considerations P.Ratcliffe The Color Line and Sociology D.Basu PART II: NON-EUROPEAN SOCIETIES: HISTORIES ROOTED IN SLAVERY, APARTHEID AND GENOCIDE Whatever Tomorrow Brings: African American Families and Government Policy W.R.Allen The Racialisation of Social Scientific Research on South Africa R.Taylor & M.Orkin Independence, Incorporation and Policy Research: An Australian Case Study C.Inglis PART III: WESTERN EUROPEAN SOCIETIES: EX-COLONIAL POWERS 'Race' and Ethnicity Research in Britain: Key Ethical and Political Considerations P.Ratcliffe A Dutch Treat? Ethnic Minorities Researchers, Their Rejection of Marxism and Their Political Nexus J.Rath Is There a Belgian School of Ethnic and Migration Studies? M.Martiniello & H.Bousetta PART IV: EASTERN EUROPE, SOCIALIST AND POST-SOCIALIST SOCIETIES Social Change and Sociological Research on the 'Nation' Issue in Yugoslavia M.Davidovic The State and Social Science Research in Russia V.L.Hesli & L.Kessel Index
Abstract 440: Activation of the Brain Renin-angiotensin System is Critically Involved in the Hypertension Associated With Bbs (2013)

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a human autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a pleiotropic of phenotypes including obesity, renal abnormalities, mental retardation, retinal pigmentary dystrophy, polydactyly and hypogenitalism. Hypertension is also common in BBS patients, except BBS2. Consistent with this, we previously demonstrated that obese Bbs2 knockout mice are normotensive while obese Bbs4 null mice are hypertensive. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of hypertension in BBS remain poorly defined. Using BBS mice, we tested whether abnormalities in the brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to the increased arterial pressure in BBS. Using real time PCR, we found that mRNA expression of RAS components were differentially altered in Bbs2 -/- and Bbs4 -/- mice. Compared to wild type controls, the hypertensive Bbs4 -/- mice exhibited significantly (P&lt;0.05) elevated expression of renin (160%), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE, 185%), angiotensin type 1a receptor (AT1aR, 143%) and AT1bR (244%) in the brain. Notably, while the expression of ACE was increased (154%) in the brain of the normotensive Bbs2 -/- mice, the expression of renin, AT1aR and AT1bR were significantly (P&lt;0.05) decreased by 56%, 60% and 36%, respectively, relative to controls. Next, we examined the functional consequences of the elevated brain RAS components in Bbs4 -/- mice. Consistent with our previous findings, radiotelemetric mean arterial pressure was significantly (P&lt;0.05) elevated in the obese Bbs4 -/- mice (114±3 mmHg) relative to wild type controls (101±1 mmHg). Moreover, Bbs4 -/- mice exhibited an exaggerated decrease in arterial pressure in response to intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of losartan (AT1 receptor antagonist). Indeed, ICV losartan (10 g) decreased mean arterial pressure by 24±7 mmHg in Bbs4 -/- mice vs. 5±10 mmHg in wild type controls (P&lt;0.05). Our data indicate that overactivity of the brain RAS may account for the high blood pressure associated with BBS. This study provides a novel molecular mechanism for the hypertension associated with BBS.
Need for Objective Assessment of Volume Status in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19: The Tri-POCUS Approach (2020)

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread across the globe, the knowledge of its epidemiology, clinical features, and management is rapidly evolving. Nevertheless, the data on optimal fluid management strategies for those who develop critical illness remain sparse. Adding to the challenge, the fluid volume status of these patients has been found to be dynamic. Some present with several days of malaise, gastrointestinal symptoms, and consequent hypovolemia requiring aggressive fluid resuscitation, while a subset develop acute respiratory distress syndrome with renal dysfunction and lingering congestion necessitating restrictive fluid management. Accurate objective assessment of volume status allows physicians to tailor the fluid management goals throughout this wide spectrum of critical illness. Conventional point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) enables the reliable assessment of fluid status and reducing the staff exposure. However, due to specific characteristics of COVID-19 (e.g., rapidly expanding lung lesions), a single imaging method such as lung POCUS will have significant limitations. Herein, we suggest a Tri-POCUS approach that represents concurrent bedside assessment of the lungs, heart, and the venous system. This combinational approach is likely to overcome the limitations of the individual methods and provide a more precise evaluation of the volume status in critically ill patients with COVID-19.
Diagnostic Implementation of Fast and Selective Integrin-Mediated Adhesion of Cancer Cells on Functionalized Zeolite L Monolayers (2015)

The rapid and exact identification and quantification of specific biomarkers is a key technology for always achieving more efficient diagnostic methodologies. We present the first application of a nanostructured device constituted of patterned self-assembled monolayers of disk-shaped zeolite L coated with the cyclic integrin ligand c[RGDfK] via isocyanate linker, to the rapid detection of cancer cells. With its high specificity toward HeLa and Glioma cells and fast adhesion ability, this biocompatible monolayer is a promising platform for implementation in diagnostics and personalized therapy formulation devices.
MINIMAL GENE CASSETTE TRANSGENIC RICE PLANTS EXPRESSING GNA AND BT TOXINS RESISTANCE TO BROWN PLANTHOPPER AND RICE STEM BORER. (2003)

Biolistic transformation was used to introduce genes encoding the insecticidal proteins snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) and cry1Ac Bt toxin (�-endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis ) into elite rice (Oryza sativa ) cultivars. Plant transformation was carried out in parallel experiments simultaneously by using either whole plasmids containing suitable gene constructs, or the corresponding minimal gene cassettes which were linear DNA fragments lacking vector backbone sequences excised from the plasmids. Insect bioassays with major pests of rice showed that transgenic rice plants expressing GNA were enhanced the levels of resistance to brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens ), and plants expressing cry1Ac were protected against attack by striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis ). Expression of both transgenes gave protection against both pests, irrespective as to whether the plants were co-transformed with supercoiled whole plasmid DNA, or minimal cassettes. Comparison of results obtained in the present study show that plants transformed with minimal gene cassettes gave slightly higher levels of resistance to the target pest (possibly due to higher expression levels for the transgene product) when compared to plants cotransformed with whole plasmid DNA.
A hybrid silicon sampled grating DBR laser integrated with an electroabsorption modulator using quantum well intermixing (2008)

We demonstrate the first hybrid silicon sampled grating DBR laser integrated with an electroabsorption modulator. Laser operation >45degC is achieved with output power >0.5 mW. Modulator bandwidth is >2 GHz.
DNA origami patterning of synthetic T cell receptors reveals spatial control of the sensitivity and kinetics of signal activation (2021)

Receptor clustering plays a key role in triggering cellular activation, but the relationship between the spatial configuration of clusters and the elicitation of downstream intracellular signals remains poorly understood. We developed a DNA-origami-based system that is easily adaptable to other cellular systems and enables rich interrogation of responses to a variety of spatially defined inputs. Using a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell model system with relevance to cancer therapy, we studied signaling dynamics at single-cell resolution. We found that the spatial arrangement of receptors determines the ligand density threshold for triggering and encodes the temporal kinetics of signaling activities. We also showed that signaling sensitivity of a small cluster of high-affinity ligands is enhanced when surrounded by nonstimulating low-affinity ligands. Our results suggest that cells measure spatial arrangements of ligands, translate that information into distinct signaling dynamics, and provide insights into engineering immunotherapies.
Mode control by rearrangement of the slow wave structure in a 12-cavity relativistic magnetron with diffraction output using single-stepped cavities driven by a transparent cathode (2021)

We present the design of an agile slow wave structure for a “crab-like” A12 relativistic magnetron with diffraction output using single-stepped cavities. By regrouping the interaction region as three sets of four cavities, the TE31 operating mode is generated at 2.60 GHz with 1.0 GW output power for an applied voltage of U = 350 kV and a magnetic field of B = 0.34 T. By regrouping the interaction region as four sets of three cavities, the TE41 operating mode is generated at 2.82 GHz with 1.0 GW output power for an applied voltage of U = 355 kV and a magnetic field of B = 0.36 T. Furthermore, by regrouping the interaction region as six sets of two cavities, the TE31 mode and the TE21 mode are generated. When an applied voltage of U = 350 kV and a magnetic field of B = 0.33 T are used, its output power can be as high as 1.0 GW for the TE31 mode operating at 2.5 GHz. In addition, when an applied voltage of U = 350 kV and a magnetic field of B = 0.42 T are used, its output power can be as high as 1.0 GW with operating mode TE21 at 2.62 GHz. It was found that the rearrangement of the slow wave structure can control the operating mode and, at the same time, lower the operating condition of the beam/wave interaction compared to the traditional 12-cavity relativistic magnetron. The result suggests that this configuration is favorable for mode switching through mechanical rearrangement of the slow wave structure. This work seeks to design a compact high power microwave source for a narrowband directed microwave beam that is suitable for mode switching investigations.
Current and future directions in the prevention and treatment of Malaria (2022)

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is carried by the Anopheles mosquito. Among the four Plasmodium species that can infect humans, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum are the most common. A person can contract the disease after being bitten by an infected insect and can invade and destroy human cells on a deadly rampage through a development cycle. Millions of people die every year from malaria, most of whom live in undeveloped countries in Africa and Asia, where the disease is endemic. Preventative efforts such as vector control, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, seasonal malaria chemoprevention, and intermittent preventive treatment for infants and pregnant women are an important place to start reducing malaria transmission. Through the World Health Organization and many researchers’ efforts, vaccines such as RTS,S/AS01 and PfSPZ exist among many others currently in clinical trials. Also, treatment guidelines have not changed for a long time, and many of the anti-malarial drugs currently have had cases of resistance. Malaria and COVID-19 can have similar presentation and common symptoms including fever, breathing difficulties and acute onset headache, which may lead to misdiagnosis of malaria for COVID-19 and vice versa. This review highlights the development of prevention and treatment strategies that aim to reduce malaria cases worldwide and put into perspective future clinical trials.
Metal‐Free Chlorothiolation of Alkenes Using HCl and Sulfoxides (2018)

We report a novel method for the chlorothiolation of alkenes using HCl and sulfoxides to achieve the 1,2-difunctionalization of unactivated alkenes. The combination of our new HCl reagent (HCl/DMPU) with sulfoxides forms a unique chlorothiolation system. Both terminal and internal alkenes are suitable substrates. This method works at gram scale and is applicable in further synthetic elaborations.
Comparing and visualizing titanium implant integration in rat bone using 2D and 3D techniques (2014)

The aim was to compare the osseointegration of grit-blasted implants with and without a hydrogen fluoride treatment in rat tibia and femur, and to visualize bone formation using state-of-the-art 3D visualization techniques. Grit-blasted implants were inserted in femur and tibia of 10 Sprague-Dawley rats (4 implants/rat). Four weeks after insertion, bone implant samples were retrieved. Selected samples were imaged in 3D using Synchrotron Radiation-based μCT (SRμCT). The 3D data was quantified and visualized using two novel visualization techniques, thread fly-through and 2D unfolding. All samples were processed to cut and ground sections and 2D histomorphometrical comparisons of bone implant contact (BIC), bone area (BA), and mirror image area (MI) were performed. BA values were statistically significantly higher for test implants than controls (p < 0.05), but BIC and MI data did not differ significantly. Thus, the results partly indicate improved bone formation at blasted and hydrogen fluoride treated implants, compared to blasted implants. The 3D analysis was a valuable complement to 2D analysis, facilitating improved visualization. However, further studies are required to evaluate aspects of 3D quantitative techniques, with relation to light microscopy that traditionally is used for osseointegration studies.
Amorphous Linear Aliphatic Polyesters for the Facile Preparation of Tunable Rapidly Degrading Elastomeric Devices and Delivery Vectors (2006)

A versatile method for preparing amorphous degradable elastomers with tunable properties that can be easily fabricated into a wide variety of shape-specific devices was investigated. Completely amorphous, liquid poly(ester ether) prepolymers with number-average molecular weights between 4 and 6 x 10(3) g/mol were prepared via condensation polymerization. These liquid prepolymers were then thermally cross-linked to form degradable elastomeric structures. The ability to vary the composition of these liquid prepolymers allows for easy control of the mechanical and degradation properties of the resulting elastomeric structures. Materials can be designed to completely degrade in vitro over a range of 30 days to 6 months, while the Young's modulus can be varied over 3 orders of magnitude (G = 0.02-20 MPa). Also, the liquid nature of these prepolymers makes them amenable to a wide variety of fabrication techniques. Using traditional and modified imprint lithography techniques, we have fabricated devices that demonstrate a wide variety of biologically applicable topologies, which could easily be extended to fabricate devices with more complex geometries. Until now, no method has combined this ease and speed of fabrication with the ability to control the mechanical and degradation properties of the resulting elastomers over such a broad range.
Phase Transformations Involving Network Phases in ISO Triblock Copolymer−Homopolymer Blends (2005)

Poly(isoprene-b-styrene-b-ethylene oxide) (ISO) triblock copolymers were blended with poly(styrene) and poly(isoprene) homopolymers at compositions close to those previously shown to produce triply periodic, multiply continuous network phases. Homopolymer molecular weights were approximately equal to the corresponding block molecular weights, and homopolymer concentrations up to 21 vol % were explored without evidence of phase separation. Three triply periodic network phases were identified: a core−shell double gyroid (Q230, Ia3̄d space group symmetry), an orthorhombic network (O70, Fddd space group symmetry), and an alternating gyroid (Q214, I4132 space group symmetry). Tuning the overall composition by adding homopolymer resulted in systematic phase transitions between the Q230 and O70 networks and between the Q214 and O70 networks. In addition, doping with both poly(styrene) and poly(isoprene) homopolymer induced transitions from three-domain lamellae (LAM3) to the O70 network phase. In general, phases identified in the triblock/homopolymer systems are located at nearly the same compositions established for undiluted ISO. Specific structural assignments and qualitative assessments of long-range order were made using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), birefringence, dynamic mechanical spectroscopy (DMS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data acquired from polydomain (powdered) samples. The results presented herein demonstrate an efficient method for exploring triblock copolymer phase space based on precise and continuous composition control.
Elucidating the cellular uptake mechanisms of heptamethine cyanine dye analogues for their use as an anticancer drug‐carrier molecule for the treatment of glioblastoma (2022)

The development of chemotherapies for glioblastoma is hindered by their limited bioavailability and toxicity on normal brain function. To overcome these limitations, we investigated the structure-dependent activity of heptamethine cyanine dyes (HMCD), a group of tumour-specific and BBB permeable near-infrared fluorescent dyes, in both commercial (U87MG) and patient-derived GBM cell lines. HMCD analogues with strongly ionisable sulphonic acid groups were not taken up by patient-derived GBM cells, but were taken up by the U87MG cell line. HMCD uptake relies on a combination of transporter uptake through organic anion-transporting polypeptides (OATPs) and endocytosis into GBM cells. The uptake of HMCDs was not affected by p-glycoprotein efflux in GBM cells. Finally, we demonstrate structure-dependent cytotoxic activity at high concentrations (EC<sub>50</sub> : 1-100 μM), likely due to mitochondrial damage-induced apoptosis. An in vivo orthotopic glioblastoma model highlights tumour-specific accumulation of our lead HMCD, MHI-148, for up to 7 days following a single intraperitoneal injection. These studies suggest that strongly ionisable groups like sulphonic acids hamper the cellular uptake of HMCDs in patient-derived GBM cell lines, highlighting cell line-specific differences in HMCD uptake. We envisage these findings will help in the design and structural modifications of HMCDs for drug-delivery applications for glioblastoma.
Prototyping energy harvesting active networked tags (EnHANTs) (2013)

This paper focuses on a new type of wireless devices in the domain between RFIDs and sensor networks - Energy Harvesting Active Networked Tags (EnHANTs). Future EnHANTs will be small, flexible, and self-powered devices that can be attached to objects that are traditionally not networked (e.g., books, toys, clothing), thereby providing the infrastructure for novel tracking applications. We present the design considerations for the EnHANT prototypes, developed over the past 3 years. The prototypes harvest indoor light energy using custom organic solar cells, communicate and form multihop networks using ultralow-power Ultra-Wideband Impulse Radio (UWB-IR) transceivers, and adapt their communications and networking patterns to the energy harvesting and battery states. We also describe a small scale EnHANTs testbed that uniquely allows evaluating different algorithms with trace-based light energy inputs.
Tensorial compressive sensing of jointly sparse matrices with applications to color imaging (2017)

The tasks of color and hyperspectral image reconstruction have been addressed in the context of Compressive Sensing (CS) frameworks in the past. Traditional CS methodologies exploit the underlying assumption that images are intrinsically sparse in some domain in order to reconstruct the image with few linear measurements, relative to its original dimensionality. Since the different color or spectral planes of such imagery are usually correlated, exploiting joint sparsity principles has been shown to be beneficial. Specifically, images reconstructed from a given number of measurements with so-called Multiple Measurement Vector (MMV) approaches have better fidelity relative to those yielded by Single Measurement Vector (SMV) frameworks which don't exploit joint sparsity constraints. Standard MMV approaches, however, operate by vectorizing the data, and effectively fail to preserve the intrinsic high-dimensional structure of the imagery. In this paper, we introduce a tensorial MMV approach that exploits joint sparsity constraints across both spatial dimensions of the images as opposed to only the rows or columns, as in traditional vectorial approaches, while still leveraging joint sparsity assumptions across the color or spectral planes. We demonstrate empirically that our method provides better reconstruction fidelity given a fixed number of measurements, and that it is also more computationally efficient.
Optimum catalyst selection over continuous and discrete process variables with a single droplet microfluidic reaction platform (2018)

A mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP) algorithm to optimize catalyst turnover number (TON) and product yield by simultaneously modulating discrete variables - catalyst types - and continuous variables - temperature, residence time, and catalyst loading - was implemented and validated. Several simulated case studies, with and without random measurement error, demonstrate the algorithm's robustness in finding optimal conditions in the presence of side reactions and other complicating nonlinearities. This algorithm was applied to the real-time optimization of a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction in an automated microfluidic reaction platform comprising a liquid handler, an oscillatory flow reactor, and an online LC/MS. The algorithm, based on a combination of branch and bound and adaptive response surface methods, identified experimental conditions that maximize TON subject to a yield constraint from a pool of eight catalyst candidates in just 60 experiments, considerably fewer than a previous version of the algorithm.