gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Dpca: Dimensionality Reduction for Discriminative Analytics of Multiple Large-Scale Datasets (2018)

Principal component analysis (PCA) has well-documented merits for data extraction and dimensionality reduction. PCA deals with a single dataset at a time, and it is challenged when it comes to analyzing multiple datasets. Yet in certain setups, one wishes to extract the most significant information of one dataset relative to other datasets. Specifically, the interest may be on identifying or extracting features that are specific to a single target dataset but not the others. This paper presents a novel approach for such so-termed discriminative data analysis, and establishes its optimality in the least-squares sense under suitable assumptions. The criterion reveals linear combinations of variables by maximizing the ratio of the variance of the target data to that of the remainders. The novel approach solves a generalized eigenvalue problem by performing SVD just once. Numerical tests using synthetic and real datasets showcase the merits of the proposed approach relative to its competing alternatives.
Field Effects on Particle Assembly in Composite Needle Systems (2002)

Electrostatic field distributions can have a profound effect on the deposition of particles within nanoscale material/geometric systems. Control of the assembly process of nanoscale systems by electrostatic mechanisms may allow the efficient creation of tailored nanoscale electronic devices, however thermal and hydrodynamic forces may dominate the assembly process and inhibit such control. The degree of electrostatic control of the nanoparticle assembly process can be greatly increased using geometric field amplification concepts and mechanisms, such as using high aspect ratio metal needles as the base substrate. These needles have the added benefit of being easily prepared for transmission electron microscopy.
Sonochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline LaFeO3 (2004)

Nanocrystalline perovskite-type LaFeO3 with particle size of about 30 nm was prepared by a sonochemical method using iron pentacarbonyl and lanthanum carbonate as starting materials. The overall process involves three steps: formation of lanthanum carbonate using lanthanum nitrate and urea; reaction of the so-formed lanthanum carbonate with iron pentacarbonyl resulting in the formation of a precursor; calcination of the precursor to obtain nanocrystalline particles of LaFeO3. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the particles to have a mean size of about 30 nm. Study of the magnetic properties of nanocrystalline LaFeO3 particles shows a coercivity of ∼250 Oe, while the saturation magnetization is ∼40 memu g−1.
Effects of activated polymorphonuclear leukocytes on vascular smooth muscle tone (1991)

Unstimulated polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) release nitric oxide or a like material that relaxes vascular tissues. To determine the effects of activated PMNLs on vascular tone, precontracted rat aortic rings were exposed to ionophore A23187-treated PMNLs. Whereas "unstimulated" PMNLs caused 29 +/- 4% relaxation, "stimulated" PMNLs caused initial contraction followed by 90 +/- 7% relaxation of aortic rings. Indomethacin or the 5-lipoxygenase blocker piriprost had no effect on PMNL-induced initial contraction or subsequent relaxation. However, initial contraction was abolished and the subsequent vasorelaxation attenuated (22 +/- 5%) by the superoxide radical scavenger superoxide dismutase (SOD), suggesting that release of superoxide radicals may have induced vascular contraction and caused endothelial damage that would permit unopposed vasorelaxant effect of PMNLs. To examine this hypothesis, aortic rings were exposed to superoxide radicals (generated by xanthine plus xanthine oxidase, X + XO) or manually deendothelialized. These rings revealed marked relaxation (78 +/- 6 and 85 +/- 6%, respectively) in response to unstimulated PMNLs. These observations suggest that stimulated PMNLs exert an initial vasoconstrictor effect and a subsequent vasorelaxant effect in response to release of superoxide radicals and nitric oxide, respectively. Arachidonate metabolites or 5-lipoxygenase products do not appear to be important in the actions of PMNLs on vascular smooth muscle.
Brief Report: Prediction of Serum HIV-1 Neutralization Titers After Passive Administration of VRC01 (2019)

VRC01 serum neutralization could be accurately predicted, especially when using pharmacokinetics models. The proposed prediction approaches could potentially save significant resources for the characterization of serum neutralization of VRC01, including for other bnAbs and bnAb combinations.
Efficient high-throughput molecular method to detect Ehrlichia ruminantium in ticks (2017)

Ehrlichia ruminantium is the causal agent of heartwater, a fatal tropical disease affecting ruminants with important economic impacts. This bacterium is transmitted by Amblyomma ticks and is present in sub-Saharan Africa, islands in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean, where it represents a threat to the American mainland. An automated DNA extraction method was adapted for Amblyomma ticks and a new qPCR targeting the pCS20 region was developed to improve E. ruminantium screening capacity and diagnosis. The first step in the preparation of tick samples, before extraction, was not automated but was considerably improved by using a Tissue Lyser. The new pCS20 Sol1 qPCR and a previously published pCS20 Cow qPCR were evaluated with the OIE standard pCS20 nested PCR. pCS20 Sol1 qPCR was found to be more specific than the nested PCR, with a 5-fold increase in sensitivity (3 copies/reaction vs 15 copies/reaction), was less prone to contamination and less time-consuming. As pCS20 Sol1 qPCR did not detect Rickettsia, Anasplasma and Babesia species or closely related species such as Panola Mountain Ehrlichia, E. chaffeensis and E. canis, its specificity was also better than Cow qPCR. In parallel, a tick 16S qPCR was developed for the quality control of DNA extraction that confirmed the good reproducibility of the automated extraction. The whole method, including the automated DNA extraction and pCS20 Sol1 qPCR, was shown to be sensitive, specific and highly reproducible with the same limit of detection as the combined manual DNA extraction and nested PCR, i.e. 6 copies/reaction. Finally, 96 samples can be tested in one day compared to the four days required for manual DNA extraction and nested PCR. The adaptation of an automated DNA extraction using a DNA/RNA viral extraction kit for tick samples and the development of a new qPCR increased the accuracy of E. ruminantium epidemiological studies, as well as the diagnostic capabilities and turn-over time for surveillance of heartwater. This new method paves the way for large-scale screening of other bacteria and viruses in ticks as well as genetic characterization of ticks and tick-pathogen coevolution studies.
Vagueness and Degrees of Truth (2008)

Abstract This book argues that an adequate account of vagueness must involve degrees of truth. The basic idea of degrees of truth is that while some sentences are true and some are false, others possess intermediate truth values: they are truer than the false sentences, but not as true as the true ones. This idea is immediately appealing in the context of vagueness — yet it has fallen on hard times in the philosophical literature, with existing degree-theoretic treatments of vagueness facing apparently insuperable objections. The book seeks to turn the tide in favour of a degree-theoretic treatment of vagueness, by motivating and defending the basic idea that truth can come in degrees, by arguing that no theory of vagueness that does not countenance degrees of truth can be correct, and by developing a new degree-theoretic treatment of vagueness — fuzzy plurivaluationism — that solves the problems plaguing earlier degree theories.
High-Efficiency Air-Clad Type Silicon-Nitride Ring-Resonator for Bio-Sensing Applications (2022)

In this paper, a high-efficiency silicon nitride (SiN) based air-clad type ring resonator that sandwiched with air cladding and SiO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> cladding for silicon photonic (SiPh) device was demonstrated. The simulation results showed that 400 nm-thick SiN waveguide have maximum coupling efficiency with a coupling loss of 7.2 dB. By using CMOS compatible process with single lithography (stepper) and reactive ion etching step, high qualities SiN waveguide was fabricated without silicon wafer warpage. The optical output characteristics of ring resonators with the free spectral range of 3.9 nm were obtained. This device can detect NaCl concentrations of 50-1000 mMole in deionized water. Therefore, SiN waveguide grating coupler is one of a promising SiPh devices for bio-sensing applications.
Liquid Crystal Nanoparticles Prepared as Miniemulsions (2006)

Liquid crystal nanoparticles using the low molecular weight liquid crystal E7 are prepared by a miniemulsion approach with a droplet size between 180 and 630 nm. The sizes of liquid crystal droplets prepared in this work are one of the smallest sizes ever reported for liquid crystals, and they are considerably dependent on the type and amount of the surfactant used, as well as on the amount of hexadecane. Furthermore, the behavior of a liquid crystal confined to small droplets is investigated. DSC measurements reveal a large shift in the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature. Further investigations on liquid crystal droplets are carried out using AFM measurements showing that these particles have an order of the liquid crystal molecules within the droplets. Light scattering measurements yield the temperature dependence of the anisotropy and the temporal stability of the droplets. An effect of the director fluctuations within the droplets on dynamic depolarized scattering was found.
Investigating the role of allergic contact dermatitis in residual ocular surface disease on dupilumab (ROSDD),, (2019)

All patients with eye involvement while on dupilumab had a history of eye involvement prior to dupilumab, suggest that dupilumab may encourage rather than cause ocular surface inflammation. Significant improvement after patch testing in nearly half of patients suggests that allergic contact dermatitis contributes to some cases of dupilumab-associated eye complications.
Impact of the joint association between sex, age and diabetes on long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction (2015)

One in two women hospitalized for AMI in this Asian cohort had diabetes and the sex disparity in post-MI mortality was most pronounced among these who were <60 years of age. This underscores the need for better secondary prevention in this high-risk group.
A One-Minute Blood Test to Monitor Immune Responses in COVID-19 Patients and Predict Clinical Risks of Developing Moderate to Severe Symptoms (2020)

Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought enormous loss and interruption to human life and the global economy since the first outbreak reported in China between late 2019 to early 2020, and will likely remain a public health threat in the months and years to come. Upon infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, most people will develop no or mild symptoms, however, a small percentage of the population will become severely ill, require hospitalization, intensive care, and some succumb to death. The current knowledge of COVID-19 disease progression with worsening symptom complex implicates the critical importance of identifying patients with high clinical risk compared to those who would be at lower risk for disease control and patient management with better therapeutic output. Currently no clinical test is available that can predict risk factors and immune status change at different severity scales. The immune system plays a critical role in the defense against infectious diseases. Extensive research has found that COVID-19 patients with poor clinical outcomes differ significantly in their immune responses to the virus from those who exhibit milder symptoms. We previously developed a nanoparticle-enabled blood test that can detect the humoral immune status change in animals. In this study, we applied this new test to analyze the immune response in relation to disease severity in COVID-19 patients. From the testing of 153 COVID-19 patient samples and 142 negative controls, we detected statistically significant differences between COVID-19 patients with no or mild symptoms from those who developed moderate to severe symptoms. Mechanistic study suggests that these differences are associated with type 1 versus type 2 immune responses. We conclude that this new rapid test could potentially become a valuable clinical tool for COVID-19 patient risk stratification and management.
Cloning and Homologous Expression of Novel Lignin Peroxidase Genes in the White-Rot FungusPhanerochaete sordidaYK-624 (2009)

Two genes, encoding YK-LiP1 and YK-LiP2, were cloned from the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete sordida YK-624, and a homologous expression system for the gene was constructed. Two full-length cDNAs (ylpA and ylpB) were isolated by degenerate RT-PCR and RACE-PCR. The results of N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis of native YK-LiP1 and YK-LiP2 showed that ylpA and ylpB coded for YK-LiP2 and YK-LiP1 respectively. The promoter of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase cloned from P. sordida YK-624 (PsGPD) was used to drive the expression of ylpA. Expression vector pGPD-g-ylpA was transformed into a P. sordida YK-624 uracil auxotrophic mutant, UV-64. The YlpA protein was secreted in active form by the transformants after 4 d of growth in a medium containing an excessive nitrogen source, whereas endogenous YK-LiP1 and YK-LiP2 were not produced. The physical and catalytic properties of the purified YlpA protein were very similar to those of YK-LiP2. These results suggest that homologous expression of recombinant YK-LiP2 was successful.
TP receptors regulate renal hemodynamics during angiotensin II slow pressor response (2004)

We investigated the hypothesis that thromboxane A2 (TxA2)-prostaglandin H2 receptors (TP-Rs) mediate the hemodynamic responses and increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) to ANG II (400 ng x kg(-1) x min(-1) sc for 14 days) using TP-R knockout (TP -/-) and wild-type (+/+) mice. TP -/- had normal basal mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and glomerular filtration rate but reduced renal blood flow and increased filtration fraction (FF) and renal vascular resistance (RVR) and markers of ROS (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and 8-isoprostane PGF2alpha) and nitric oxide (NOx). Infusion of ANG II into TP +/+ increased ROS and thromboxane B2 (TxB2) and increased RVR and FF. ANG II infusion into TP -/- mice reduced ANG I and increased aldosterone but caused a blunted increase in MAP (TP -/- : +6 +/- 2 vs. TP +/+: +15 +/- 3 mmHg) and failed to increase FF, ROS, or TxB2 but increased NOx and paradoxically decreased RVR (-2.1 +/- 1.7 vs. +2.6 +/- 0.8 mmHg x ml(-1) x min(-1) x g(-1)). Blockade of AT1 receptor of TP -/- mice infused with ANG II reduced MAP (-8 mmHg) and aldosterone but did not change the RVR or ROS. In conclusion, during an ANG II slow pressor response, AT1 receptors activate TP-Rs that generate ROS and prostaglandins but inhibit NO. TP-Rs mediate all of the increase in RVR and FF, part of the increase in MAP, but are not implicated in the suppression of ANG I or increase in aldosterone. TP -/- mice have a basal increase in RVR and FF associated with ROS.
Performance Comparison of VHTR Plants With Direct and Indirect Energy Conversion Cycles (2008)

This paper compared the performance of very high temperature reactor (VHTR) plants with direct and indirect closed Brayton Cycles (CBCs) and investigated the effect of the molecular weight of the CBC working fluid on the number of stages in and the size of the single shaft turbomachines. The CBC working fluids considered are helium (4 g/mole) and He-Xe and He-N2 binary mixtures (15 g/mole). Also investigated are the effects of using LPC and HPC with inter-cooling, cooling the reactor pressure vessel with He bled off at the exit of the compressor, and changing the reactor exit temperature from 700°C to 950°C on the plant thermal efficiency, CBC pressure ratio and the number of stages in and size of the turbo-machines. Analyses are performed for reactor thermal power of 600 MW, shaft rotation speed of 3000 rpm, and IHX temperature pinch of 50 °C.
Locality-preserving randomized oblivious routing on torus networks (2002)

We introduce Randomized Local Balance (RLB), a routing algorithm that strikes a balance between locality and load balance in torus networks, and analyze RLB's performance for benign and adversarial traffic permutations. Our results show that RLB outperforms deterministic algorithms (25% more bandwidth than Dimension Order Routing) and minimal oblivious algorithms (50% more bandwidth than 2 phase ROMM [9]) on worst-case traffic. At the same time, RLB offers higher throughput on local traffic than a fully randomized algorithm (4.6 times more bandwidth than VAL (Valiant's algorithm) [15] in the best case). RLBth (RLB threshold) improves the locality of RLB to match the throughput of minimal algorithms on very local traffic in exchange for a 4% reduction in worst-case throughput compared to RLB. Both RLB and RLBth give better throughput than all other algorithms we tested on randomly selected traffic permutations. While RLB algorithms have somewhat lower guaranteed bandwidth than VAL they have much lower latency at low offered loads (up to 3.65 times less for RLBth).
Dendritic Cells Induce a Subpopulation of IL-12Rβ2-Expressing Treg that Specifically Consumes IL-12 to Control Th1 Responses (2016)

Cytokines secreted from dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in the regulation of T helper (Th) cell differentiation and activation into effector cells. Therefore, controlling cytokine secretion from DCs may potentially regulate Th differentiation/activation. DCs also induce de-novo generation of regulatory T cells (Treg) that modulate the immune response. In the current study we used the mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) to investigate the effect of allospecific Treg on IL-12, TNFα and IL-6 secretion by DCs. Treg cells were found to markedly down-regulate IL-12 secretion from DCs following stimulation with TLR7/8 agonist. This down-regulation of IL-12 was neither due to a direct suppression of its production by the DCs nor a result of marked DC death. We found that IL-12 was rather actively consumed by Treg cells. IL-12 consumption was mediated by a subpopulation of IL-12Rβ2-expressing Treg cells and was dependent on MHC class-II expressed on dendritic cells. Furthermore, IL-12 consumption by Tregs increased their suppressive effect on T cell proliferation and Th1 activation. These results provide a new pathway of Th1 response regulation where IL-12 secreted by DCs is consumed by a sub-population of IL-12Rβ2-expressing Treg cells. Consumption of IL-12 by Tregs not only reduces the availability of IL-12 to Th effector cells but also enhances the Treg immunosuppressive effect. This DC-induced IL-12Rβ2-expressing Treg subpopulation may have a therapeutic advantage in suppressing Th1 mediated autoimmunity.
Le Bilan économique. Une timide amélioration en 2016 (2017)

Le Centre Val de Loire s’inscrit avec retard dans la dynamique nationale de
reprise, avec une confirmation de l’amelioration de l’emploi, et une legere baisse
du taux de chomage.
La quasi-stabilisation de la demande d’emploi cache des disparites : la situation
des jeunes sur le marche du travail s’ameliore ; les seniors et chomeurs de
longue duree rencontrent toujours des difficultes importantes et la situation des
femmes se deteriore legerement.
Le dynamisme national en matiere de creation d’entreprise ne se repercute pas
dans la region, en dehors du secteur des services. La reprise de la construction
amorcee en 2015 se poursuit et laisse esperer une inflexion de la courbe de
l’emploi dans ce secteur. Le secteur des transports semble egalement
redemarrer. Les mauvaises conditions climatiques ont pese sur la production
agricole mais aussi, avec les attentats, sur le tourisme et sur le commerce. Les
echanges commerciaux restent excedentaires.
Palladium‐Catalyzed Heck Alkynylation of Benzyl Chlorides. (2007)

Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Two-powder processing of Bi-2223 - an update (1994)

The patented two-powder process of ANL reproducibly yields more uniform and complete formation of Bi-2223 than does the typical mixed-phase powder process. In the two-powder process, intermediate precursors of lead-doped 2212 and CaCuO{sub 2} (which decomposes to Ca{sub 2}CuO{sub 3} + CuO) are made separately, then combined and reacted inside the silver sheath of powder-in-tube (PIT) specimens. This presentation describes efforts to increase the Jc of Bi-2223 PIT tapes by improving the alignment and connectivity of Bi-2223 grains. It will be shown that milling of precursor powders causes pickup of carbon, which resides at grain boundaries and disrupts grain-to-grain connectivity, but that the carbon-content can be reduced by vacuum calcination of the mixed powder (i.e. 2212 + CaCuO{sub 2}) before it is loaded into the silver tube. In addition, it is shown that slight changes in overall composition dramatically affect the final microstructures and may be important for improving the properties of tapes. Finally, a silver wire-in-tube method is described as a method for possibly improving grain alignment by increasing the interfacial area between silver and superconductor.
Tamarind seed xyloglucan – a thermostable high-performance biopolymer from non-food feedstock (2010)

Polysaccharide biopolymers from renewable resources are of great interest as replacements for petroleum-based polymers since they have lower cradle-to-grave non-renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Starch is widely used as a packaging material but is based on food resources such as potato or corn, and suffers from high sensitivity to water vapor even under ambient conditions. For the first time, xyloglucan (XG) from tamarind seed waste is explored as an alternative high-performance biopolymer from non-food feedstock. XG is purified, and dissolved in water to cast films. Moisture sorption isotherms, tensile tests and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis are performed. Glycerol plasticization toughening and enzymatic modification (partial removal of galactose in side chains of XG) are attempted as means of modification. XG films show much lower moisture sorption than the amylose component in starches. Stiffness and strength are very high, with considerable ductility and toughness. The thermal stability is exceptionally high and is approaching 250 °C. Glycerol plasticization is effective already at 10% glycerol. These observations point towards the potential of XG as a “new” biopolymer from renewable non-food plant resources for replacement of petroleum-based polymers.