gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Standard error of measurement and smallest detectable change of the Sarcopenia Quality of Life (SarQoL) questionnaire: An analysis of subjects from 9 validation studies (2019)

This study shows that, for individual subjects, a change in overall quality of life of at least 7.35 points (on a scale from 0 to 100) would have to be observed to confirm that a true change, beyond measurement error, has occurred. It also demonstrated that the SarQoL questionnaire is a precise instrument, with the observed scores within less than 3 points of the theoretical "true score".
Prediction of response to drug therapy in psychiatric disorders (2018)

Personalized medicine has become increasingly relevant to many medical fields, promising more efficient drug therapies and earlier intervention. The development of personalized medicine is coupled with the identification of biomarkers and classification algorithms that help predict the responses of different patients to different drugs. In the last 10 years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several genetically pre-screened drugs labelled as pharmacogenomics in the fields of oncology, pulmonary medicine, gastroenterology, haematology, neurology, rheumatology and even psychiatry. Clinicians have long cautioned that what may appear to be similar patient-reported symptoms may actually arise from different biological causes. With growing populations being diagnosed with different psychiatric conditions, it is critical for scientists and clinicians to develop precision medication tailored to individual conditions. Genome-wide association studies have highlighted the complicated nature of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Following these studies, association studies are needed to look for genomic markers of responsiveness to available drugs of individual patients within the population of a specific disorder. In addition to GWAS, the advent of new technologies such as brain imaging, cell reprogramming, sequencing and gene editing has given us the opportunity to look for more biomarkers that characterize a therapeutic response to a drug and to use all these biomarkers for determining treatment options. In this review, we discuss studies that were performed to find biomarkers of responsiveness to different available drugs for four brain disorders: bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. We provide recommendations for using an integrated method that will use available techniques for a better prediction of the most suitable drug.
Insight into the Catalytic Mechanism of Bimetallic Platinum–Copper Core–Shell Nanostructures for Nonaqueous Oxygen Evolution Reactions (2015)

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a critical role in multiple energy conversion and storage applications. However, its sluggish kinetics usually results in large voltage polarization and unnecessary energy loss. Therefore, designing efficient catalysts that could facilitate this process has become an emerging topic. Here, we present a unique Pt-Cu core-shell nanostructure for catalyzing the nonaqueous OER. The catalysts were systematically investigated with comprehensive spectroscopic techniques, and applied in nonaqueous Li-O2 electrochemical cells, which exhibited dramatically reduced charging overpotential (<0.2 V). The superior performance is explained by the robust Cu(I) surface sites stabilized by the Pt core in the nanostructure. The insights into the catalytic mechanism of the unique Pt-Cu core-shell nanostructure gained in this work are expected to serve as a guide for future design of other nanostructured bimetallic OER catalysts.
Gender recognition with uniform local binary patterns (2018)

Automatic gender recognition has been applied in many areas such as analyzing the structure of demographic social environments. In this paper we present a gender recognition algorithm based on uniform local binary pattern (LBP). LBP has proven to be very efficient image descriptor in many pattern recognition applications. In feature extraction step of the proposed method, a well known variant of LBP, uniform local binary pattern is utilized. Before applying LBP the face detection and alignment tasks are performed respectively. By doing alignment, the overlapping of similar part of face has been achieved. Then, we combine local uniform LBP histograms to create the final feature vector. We show that in the experiments carried out in Feret face dataset that the proposed method can achieve up to 93.57% recognition rate.
Protecting Intelligent Distributed Power Grids against Cyber Attacks (2010)

Like other industrial sectors, the electrical power industry is facing challenges involved with the increasing demand for interconnected operations and control. The electrical industry has largely been restructured due to deregulation of the electrical market and the trend of the Smart Grid. This moves new automation systems from being proprietary and closed to the current state of Information Technology (IT) being highly interconnected and open. However, while gaining all of the scale and performance benefits of IT, existing IT security challenges are acquired as well. The power grid automation network has inherent security risks due to the fact that the systems and applications for the power grid were not originally designed for the general IT environment. In this paper, we propose a conceptual layered framework for protecting power grid automation systems against cyber attacks. The following factors are taken into account: (1) integration with existing, legacy systems in a non-intrusive fashion; (2) desirable performance in terms of modularity, scalability, extendibility, and manageability; (3) alignment to the 'Roadmap to Secure Control Systems in the Energy Sector' and the future smart grid. The on-site system test of the developed prototype security system is briefly presented as well.
Histamine synthesis is required for granule maturation in murine mast cells (2013)

Mast cells are the major sources of histamine, which is released in response to immunological stimulations. The synthesis of histamine is catalyzed by histidine decarboxylase (HDC). Previous studies have shown that Hdc(-/-) mast cells exhibit aberrant granule morphology with severely decreased granule content. Here, we investigated whether the histamine synthesized in mast cells regulates the granule maturation of murine mast cells. Several genes, including those encoding granule proteases and enzymes involved in heparin biosynthesis, were downregulated in Hdc(-/-) peritoneal mast cells. Impaired granule maturation was also found in Hdc(-/-) BM-derived cultured mast cells when they were cocultured with fibroblasts in the presence of c-kit ligand. Exogenous application of histamine and several H4 receptor agonists restored the granule maturation of Hdc(-/-) cultured mast cells. However, the maturation of granules was largely normal in Hrh4(-/-) peritoneal mast cells. Depletion of cellular histamine with tetrabenazine, an inhibitor of vesicular monoamine transporter-2, did not affect granule maturation. In vivo experiments with mast cell deficient Kit(W) /Kit(W-v) mice indicated that the expression of the Hdc gene in mast cells is required for granule maturation. These results suggest that histamine promotes granule maturation in mast cells and acts as an proinflammatory mediator.
Disparate gain and loss of parasitic abilities among nematode lineages (2017)

Plant parasitism has arisen time and again in multiple phyla, including bacteria, fungi, insects and nematodes. In most of these organismal groups, the overwhelming diversity hampers a robust reconstruction of the origins and diversification patterns of this trophic lifestyle. Being a moderately diversified phylum with ≈ 4,100 plant parasites (15% of total biodiversity) subdivided over four independent lineages, nematodes constitute a major organismal group for which the genesis of plant parasitism could be mapped. Since substantial crop losses worldwide have been attributed to less than 1% of these plant parasites, research efforts are severely biased towards this minority. With the first molecular characterisation of numerous basal and supposedly harmless plant parasites as well as their non-parasitic relatives, we were able to generate a comprehensive molecular framework that allows for the reconstruction of trophic diversification for a complete phylum. In each lineage plant parasites reside in a single taxonomic grouping (family or order), and by taking the coverage of the next lower taxonomic level as a measure for representation, 50, 67, 100 and 85% of the known diversity was included. We revealed distinct gain and loss patterns with regard to plant parasitism per se as well as host exploitation strategies between these lineages. Our map of parasitic nematode biodiversity also revealed an unanticipated time reversal in which the two most ancient lineages showed the lowest level of ecological diversification and vice versa.
High-Efficiency Lentiviral Genetic Modification of Primary Human Natural Killer Cells (2017)

Natural killer (NK) cells have the unique capacity to lyse tumor cells without the need for antigen specific receptors. Modulation of NK cell cytokine, chemokine, and activating and inhibitory receptor expression using gene regimens represents an attractive strategy to further bolster NK cell anti-tumor activity for the purpose of NK cell immunotherapy. Current efforts in clinical-grade genetic modification of patient-derived cells, used in immunotherapy protocols, rely on stable transduction mediated by viral vectors. However, primary NK cells are notoriously difficult to transduce using viral vectors. Here we describe a lentiviral vector-based approach that results in an efficient, robust, and highly reproducible method of stable gene transfer into primary human peripheral blood-derived NK cells, which can subsequently be expanded ex vivo for adoptive infusion into humans. In vitro experiments established highly efficient transduction of ex vivo expanded NK cells could be achieved by activation of primary NK cells in vitro for 2-4 days in cytokine containing media followed by transduction of activated NK cells using LV vectors 2-3 days before integration into our existing ex vivo expansion protocol using irradiated EBV-LCL feeder cells. Unless NK cells were first activated in cytokine-containing media, LV transduction was unsuccessful. Cytokine activation in media containing IL-2 for 2-4 days was found to be sufficient to achieve high transduction efficiency, while additional supplementation of the media with IL-15 or IL-21 had negligible effects. NK cell transduction efficiency and viability with the use of RetroNectin® was uniformly superior to polycation-based transduction protocols. In experiments where NK cells were transduced with identical lentiviral constructs with 8 different promoter sequences driving expression of EGFP, PGK, EFS, and SV40 promoters consistently demonstrated the highest transduction efficiencies reproducibly in the range of 25-60%. Remarkably, when transduced NK cells were stimulated ex vivo using a clinical grade irradiated EBV-LCL feeder cell line, 100-1000 fold expansions of transduced NK cells could be achieved with sustained transgene expression over two weeks. Transduced and expanded primary NK cells remained highly cytotoxic against K562 tumor targets without developing functional deficiencies in degranulation, IFNγ, or TNFα production. These data establish a simple method to produce large numbers (>1011) of genetically modified clinical grade NK cells suitable for infusion. The protocol described herein overcomes previous difficulties described with common transduction techniques opening new avenues to investigate the impact of adoptive infusion of primary NK cells stably transduced to express a variety of different transgenes of interest. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Thermally Stable Nonuniform Microcorrugated Capacitive MEMS Tuner (2015)

This letter reports for the first time a thermally stable capacitive microelectromechanical systems tuner based on a circular nonuniform microcorrugated diaphragm (NMCD) suitable for resonators/filters, which require a large tuning displacement (>10 μm). The temperature-induced center offset of the NMCD is reduced by 13.5× with a temperature variation of ΔT = 100 °C compared with the case of uniform microcorrugated diaphragms, which allow the NMCD to be continuously tunable in the full desired range. Moreover, the change of the actuation voltage required for a 10-μm diaphragm deflection is reduced from 51.5% to 10.4% with ΔT = 45 °C.
Pomegranate fruit extract modulates UVB-mediated phosphorylation of mitogen activated protein kinases and activation of nuclear factor kappa B in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (2004)

Excessive exposure of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, particularly its UV-B component, to humans causes many adverse effects that include erythema, hyperplasia, hyperpigmentation, immunosuppression, photoaging and skin cancer. In recent years, there is increasing use of botanical agents in skin care products. Pomegranate derived from the tree Punica granatum contains anthocyanins (such as delphinidin, cyanidin and pelargonidin) and hydrolyzable tannins (such as punicalin, pedunculagin, punicalagin, gallagic and ellagic acid esters of glucose) and possesses strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, we have shown that pomegranate fruit extract (PFE) possesses antitumor promoting effects in a mouse model of chemical carcinogenesis. To begin to establish the effect of PFE for humans in this study, we determined its effect on UV-B-induced adverse effects in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK). We first assessed the effect of PFE on UV-B-mediated phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway in NHEK. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that the treatment of NHEK with PFE (10-40 microg/mL) for 24 h before UV-B (40 mJ/cm(2)) exposure dose dependently inhibited UV-B-mediated phosphorylation of ERKl/2, JNK1/2 and p38 protein. We also observed that PFE (20 microg/mL) inhibited UV-B-mediated phosphorylation of MAPK in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, in dose- and time-dependent studies, we evaluated the effect of PFE on UV-B-mediated activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) pathway. Using Western blot analysis, we found that PFE treatment of NHEK resulted in a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of UV-B-mediated degradation and phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha and activation of IKKalpha. Using immunoblot analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay, we found that PFE treatment to NHEK resulted in a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of UV-B-mediated nuclear translocation and phosphorylation of NF-kappaB/p65 at Ser(536). Taken together, our data shows that PFE protects against the adverse effects of UV-B radiation by inhibiting UV-B-induced modulations of NF-kappaB and MAPK pathways and provides a molecular basis for the photochemopreventive effects of PFE.
A Practical Method for the Large-Scale Preparation of the P-Chiral Dihydrobenzoazaphosphole Core by Chemical Resolution (2022)

<sup><i>piv</i></sup>ZPhos, as an effective ligand in the Cu-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones and aminoboration of alkenes, is prepared efficiently from the corresponding triflate of <i>P</i>-chiral dihydrobenzoazaphosphole <b>1</b>. However, the previous approach to <b>1</b> by chiral separation is time-consuming and costly, preventing its production and further application on a large scale. In this report, a practical method for the large-scale preparation of <b>1</b> was developed via chiral chemical resolution with (1<i>S</i>,2<i>S</i>)-diaminocyclohexane as an effective resolution reagent.
The Role of the Endolymphatic Sac in Inner Ear Immunity (1987)

The present study further assessed the role of the endolymphatic sac (E.S.) in the generation of inner ear immune responses. Guinea pigs underwent unilateral endolymphatic sac obliteration (Rt) and the opposite ears (Lt) served as controls. The animals were then systemi-cally sensitized to KLII and both inner ears were subsequently challenged with KLU. Absence of the E.S. significantly reduced perilymph anti-KLH levels and greatly reduced cellular infiltration within the cochlea as compared to the control ears (Lt). Control studies demonstrated that neither surgical trauma to the semicircular canal nor the chemical effects of silver nitrate caused immunosuppression of the normal inner ear immune response. From these findings, the E.S. appears to be the main site of antigen processing in the inner ear and a site analogous to the gut with respect to absorptive and immunologic functions.
Identification of Tek/Tie2 Binding Partners (1999)

The Tek/Tie2 receptor tyrosine kinase plays a pivotal role in vascular and hematopoietic development. To study the signal transduction pathways that are mediated by this receptor, we have used the yeast two-hybrid system to identify signaling molecules that associate with the phosphorylated Tek receptor. Using this approach, we demonstrate that five molecules, Grb2, Grb7, Grb14, Shp2, and the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase can interact with Tek in a phosphotyrosine-dependent manner through their SH2 domains. Mapping of the binding sites of these molecules on Tek reveals the presence of a multisubstrate docking site in the carboxyl tail of Tek (Tyr(1100)). Mutation of this site abrogates binding of Grb2 and Grb7 to Tek in vivo, and this site is required for tyrosine phosphorylation of Grb7 and p85 in vivo. Furthermore, stimulation of Tek-expressing cells with Angiopoietin-1 results in phosphorylation of both Tek and p85 and in activation of endothelial cell migration and survival pathways that are dependent in part on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Angiopoietin-1-induced signaling from the Tek receptor is mediated by a multifunctional docking site that is responsible for activation of both cell migration and cell survival pathways.
Passive localization of calling animals using acoustic tomography (1990)

The temporal and spatial patterns in the distribution of animals are poorly understood primarily because of inadequate observation techniques. A new passive localization technique (acoustic tomography) is demonstrated that automatically localizes the positions of calling animals with rms errors of a few centimeters from measurements of the call's travel-time difference at several pairs of microphones [J. L. Spiesberger and K. M. Fristrup, Am. Naturalist 135, 107'153 (1990)]. Tomographic localization is significantly more precise (by factors from about 2 to 100) than passive acoustic techniques used previously because tomography accounts for and estimates the sound speed and wind fields as well as the positions of the microphones all of which significantly modify the travel-time differences. Computers are now fast and inexpensive enough for automatic localization of calling animals in large regions of forests and other terrestrial environments.
Comparison of Two Folding Functions for RNA Secondary Structure Design (2019)

Using computational programs to predict Ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequence with desired properties has been extensively developed in the past few years. The RNA inverse folding is an NP-Hard problem that describes the process of finding an RNA primary structure that will fold into a given RNA secondary structure. With new advances in the new fields of synthetic biology and RNA nanostructures, there is a growing interest in studying RNA inverse folding. In most of the RNA inverse folding algorithms, in order to evaluate the fitness of a given primary structure, a computationally expensive folding operation is required. In this paper, we incorporated two different folding algorithms in our Simulated Annealing RNA Design (SIMARD) algorithm while employing the Dynamic Exploration Strategy (DES). We employed ViennaRNA and pKiss as our folding operations. Our findings show a significant potential to use both folding operations for our RNA design algorithm. We found that using ViennaRNA tended to produce a more accurate structure, and pKiss tended to produce structures with lower thermodynamic free energy.
Efficient electromagnetic micropunching technology for producing well-ordered, high-density micropits (2022)

Micropits are favorable for interfacial lubrication and cell culturing. This study developed an AC electromagnetic-driven high-speed micropunching mechanism capable of rapidly fabricating a large-numbered array of well-ordered micropits. The designed mechanism converts 60-Hz AC into 120-Hz electromagnetic force, which in turn drives a punching-shaft to complete a high-speed punching movement at 120-Hz. The micropunching mechanism is installed on a desktop gantry framework to create a stable, high-speed CNC micropunching system. Combining an eddy current sensor with an oscilloscope determines optimal spring stiffness for the system. A micropunching experiment is performed using a micropunching tool comprised of electrically conductive polycrystalline composite diamond (ECPCD) and an annealed aluminum alloy workpiece. The results revealed that a 120-Hz punching-frequency, a spring stiffness of 2.7 N/mm, and a workpiece moving speed of 2160 mm/min generate micropits with a high-integrity profile. It takes only 3.4 seconds to complete 400 high-integrity, well-organized micropits, with a depth of 23.0–23.3 μm that are burr-free and almost chipless, indicating the proposed high-speed electromagnetic micropunching technology is highly precise and efficient while also being energy-saving.
Low-Cost Optical Subassembly Using VCSEL Pre-Self-Aligned With Optical Fiber for Optical Interconnect Applications (2009)

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> We propose a self-alignment process of an optical device with an optical multimode fiber (MMF) and a novel optical subassembly using a pre-self-aligned device. In order to form the pre-self-aligned device, the optical device such as a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is aligned with the MMF using the surface tension of a transparent liquid adhesive. The optical subassembly we have developed is provided with a simple structure consisting of the pre-self-aligned VCSEL and an interposer board to be mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). Details of the low-cost self-alignment technology and the optical subassembly are reported. Alignment accuracy of average 13 <formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">$\mu{\hbox {m}}$</tex></formula> is achieved and coupling efficiency of the self-aligned VCSEL to the MMF is determined to be maximum 35%. 1-Gb/s optical signal transmission using the optical subassembly is also demonstrated. This self-alignment technology and the fabricated optical subassembly are effective in achieving low-cost optical modules for optical interconnect systems from commodities to high-end applications. </para>