gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Learning discriminative functional network features of schizophrenia (2017)

Associating schizophrenia with disrupted functional connectivity is a central idea in schizophrenia research. However, identifying neuroimaging-based features that can serve as reliable “statistical biomarkers” of the disease remains a challenging open problem. We argue that generalization accuracy and stability of candidate features (“biomarkers”) must be used as additional criteria on top of standard significance tests in order to discover more robust biomarkers. Generalization accuracy refers to the utility of biomarkers for making predictions about individuals, for example discriminating between patients and controls, in novel datasets. Feature stability refers to the reproducibility of the candidate features across different datasets. Here, we extracted functional connectivity network features from fMRI data at both high-resolution (voxel-level) and a spatially down-sampled lower-resolution (“supervoxel” level). At the supervoxel level, we used whole-brain network links, while at the voxel level, due to the intractably large number of features, we sampled a subset of them. We compared statistical significance, stability and discriminative utility of both feature types in a multi-site fMRI dataset, composed of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. For both feature types, a considerable fraction of features showed significant differences between the two groups. Also, both feature types were similarly stable across multiple data subsets. However, the whole-brain supervoxel functional connectivity features showed a higher cross-validation classification accuracy of 78.7% vs. 72.4% for the voxel-level features. Cross-site variability and heterogeneity in the patient samples in the multi-site FBIRN dataset made the task more challenging compared to single-site studies. The use of the above methodology in combination with the fully data-driven approach using the whole brain information have the potential to shed light on “biomarker discovery” in schizophrenia.
Thermal comfort in environments with different vertical air temperature gradients (2018)

The use of displacement ventilation for cooling environments is limited by the vertical temperature gradient. Current standards recommend a temperature difference of up to 3 K/m between the head and the feet. This paper reviews the scientific literature on the effect of vertical temperature gradients on thermal comfort and compares this to the results of our own experiments. Early experiments have demonstrated a high sensitivity of dissatisfied test subjects to changes in the temperature gradient between head and foot level. Recent studies have indicated that temperature gradients of 4-5 K/m are likely to be acceptable, and the mean room temperature may have a greater sensitivity on the percentage of dissatisfied (PD). In new experiments, test subjects have evaluated the thermal comfort of different vertical air temperature gradients in a modular test chamber, the Aachen comfort cube (ACCu), where they have assessed vertical temperature gradients of ΔT/Δy = 1, 4.5, 6, 8, and 12 K/m at a constant mean room temperature of 23°C. The results of the different temperature gradients are in contrast to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 (Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, Atlanta GA, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, 2013) as the PD increases almost constantly with higher vertical air temperature gradients. The PD for the overall sensation increases by approximately 7% between gradients of 1 and 8 K/m. The evaluation of our own tests has revealed that vertical temperature gradients of up to 8 K/m or higher are likely to be acceptable for test subjects.
Development of a Stable Respiratory Syncytial Virus Pre-Fusion Protein Powder Suitable for a Core-Shell Implant with a Delayed Release in Mice: A Proof of Concept Study (2019)

Currently, there is an increasing interest to apply pre-fusion (pre-F) protein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as antigen for the development of a subunit vaccine. A pre-F-containing powder would increase the flexibility regarding the route of administration. For instance, a pre-F-containing powder could be incorporated into a single-injection system releasing a primer, and after a lag time, a booster. The most challenging aspect, obtaining the booster after a lag time, may be achieved by incorporating the powder into a core encapsulated by a nonporous poly(dl-lactic-<i>co</i>-glycolic acid) (PLGA) shell. We intended to develop a stable freeze-dried pre-F-containing powder. Furthermore, we investigated whether incorporation of this powder into the core-shell implant was feasible and whether this system would induce a delayed RSV virus-neutralizing antibody (VNA) response in mice. The developed pre-F-containing powder, consisting of pre-F in a matrix of inulin, HEPES, sodium chloride, and Tween 80, was stable during freeze-drying and storage for at least 28 days at 60 °C. Incorporation of this powder into the core-shell implant was feasible and the core-shell production process did not affect the stability of pre-F. An in vitro release study showed that pre-F was incompletely released from the core-shell implant after a lag time of 4 weeks. The incomplete release may be the result of pre-F instability within the core-shell implant during the lag time and requires further research. Mice subcutaneously immunized with a pre-F-containing core-shell implant showed a delayed RSV VNA response that corresponded with pre-F release from the core-shell implant after a lag time of approximately 4 weeks. Moreover, pre-F-containing core-shell implants were able to boost RSV VNA titers of primed mice after a lag time of 4 weeks. These findings could contribute to the development of a single-injection pre-F-based vaccine containing a primer and a booster.
Ordering in Polymer Micelle-Directed Assemblies of Colloidal Nanocrystals (2015)

Assembly of presynthesized nanocrystals by block copolymer micelles can be rationalized by the incorporation of nanocrystals into micellar coronas of constant width. As determined by quantitative analysis using small-angle X-ray scattering, high loading of small nanocrystals yields composites exhibiting order on two length scales, whereas intermediate loading of nanocrystals larger than the coronal width produces single nanocrystal networks. The resulting structures obey expectations of thermodynamically driven assembly on the nanocrystal length scale, whereas kinetically frozen packing principles dictate order on the polymer micelle length scale.
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Romidepsin Induces HIV Expression in CD4 T Cells from Patients on Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy at Concentrations Achieved by Clinical Dosing (2014)

Persistent latent reservoir of replication-competent proviruses in memory CD4 T cells is a major obstacle to curing HIV infection. Pharmacological activation of HIV expression in latently infected cells is being explored as one of the strategies to deplete the latent HIV reservoir. In this study, we characterized the ability of romidepsin (RMD), a histone deacetylase inhibitor approved for the treatment of T-cell lymphomas, to activate the expression of latent HIV. In an in vitro T-cell model of HIV latency, RMD was the most potent inducer of HIV (EC50 = 4.5 nM) compared with vorinostat (VOR; EC50 = 3,950 nM) and other histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors in clinical development including panobinostat (PNB; EC50 = 10 nM). The HIV induction potencies of RMD, VOR, and PNB paralleled their inhibitory activities against multiple human HDAC isoenzymes. In both resting and memory CD4 T cells isolated from HIV-infected patients on suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), a 4-hour exposure to 40 nM RMD induced a mean 6-fold increase in intracellular HIV RNA levels, whereas a 24-hour treatment with 1 µM VOR resulted in 2- to 3-fold increases. RMD-induced intracellular HIV RNA expression persisted for 48 hours and correlated with sustained inhibition of cell-associated HDAC activity. By comparison, the induction of HIV RNA by VOR and PNB was transient and diminished after 24 hours. RMD also increased levels of extracellular HIV RNA and virions from both memory and resting CD4 T-cell cultures. The activation of HIV expression was observed at RMD concentrations below the drug plasma levels achieved by doses used in patients treated for T-cell lymphomas. In conclusion, RMD induces HIV expression ex vivo at concentrations that can be achieved clinically, indicating that the drug may reactivate latent HIV in patients on suppressive cART.
Los comités y las comisiones nacionales de bioética en América Latina y el Caribe. Situación actual, propuestas y desafíos (2018)

This book presents the most recent experiences of the Programme of Bioethics and Ethics of Science for Latin America and the Caribbean, promoted by UNESCO since 2005. With the purpose of promoting exchange and cooperation between the countries that have faced the effort to create and to consolidate a national bioethics committee or commission (NBC), the book seeks to share the work and commitments of each country, while updating ideas about the learnings and challenges of NBCs in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the voice of its promoters.
Effect of surge voltage risetime on the insulation of low voltage machines fed by PWM converters (2002)

This paper investigates the repetitive surge voltage withstand of low voltage mush wound machines operated on adjustable speed drives (ASD) using insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) semiconductor technology. Historical work on surge testing of motor insulation has focused on one or more of the following aspects; large HP motors, medium voltage form wound motors, single shot impulse type transients or low voltage machines with surge risetimes >200 ns. IGBT drives can have risetimes of 50 ns to 200 ns. Thus, a new study on electrical stress of insulation systems due to the nonlinear voltage distribution of mush wound motors when subjected to repetitive steep dV/dt square pulse waveforms (rather than impulse wave testing) is presented. Magnitude and risetime of the repetitive ASD surge voltage transient induced on the machine terminals is reviewed first. Next, surge propagation into the winding was investigated to identify maximum voltage stress points on the conductor insulation. Potential failure mechanisms observed at these points are then discussed. The significance of decreasing surge risetime and increasing cable lengths on internal nonlinear voltage distribution is studied with experimental results from a 7.5 HP motor with a tapped stator winding.
Mycoplasma genitalium-Encoded MG309 Activates NF-κB via Toll-Like Receptors 2 and 6 To Elicit Proinflammatory Cytokine Secretion from Human Genital Epithelial Cells (2008)

Mycoplasma genitalium has been implicated in several important reproductive tract syndromes in women, including pelvic inflammatory disease, cervicitis, and tubal factor infertility. The mechanisms of immune activation are unclear, and we sought to determine whether M. genitalium was capable of activating innate immune responses through ligation of highly expressed Toll-like receptors (TLR) of the genital tract. Using HEK293 cells expressing specific human TLR, viable M. genitalium and the recombinant C-terminal portion of the immunogenic protein MG309 (rMG309c) were shown to activate NF-kappaB via TLR2/6. These data provided a putative mechanism for activation of the innate response in genital tissues. Genital epithelial cells (EC) are the first responders to sexually transmitted pathogens and express high levels of TLR2 and -6. Following exposure to purified rMG309c, vaginal and ecto- and endocervical EC secreted proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8. Vaginal EC were less responsive than cervical EC. The capacity of rMG309c to bind TLR2/6 and elicit inflammation was sensitive to proteinase K digestion and independent of traditional N-terminal lipoylation. Furthermore, the immunostimulatory capacity of rMG309c was localized specifically to a 91-amino-acid subfragment of the recombinant protein, suggesting that TLR activation is likely amino acid based. Together, these data indicated that human vaginal and cervical EC are immunologically responsive to M. genitalium and to purified rMG309c via highly expressed TLR of the genital tract. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms for activation of acute-phase inflammatory responses and suggest that M. genitalium colonization of reproductive tract tissues may result in inflammatory sequelae.
Late Gadolinium Enhancement Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Tissue Characterization for Cancer‐Associated Cardiac Masses: Metabolic and Prognostic Manifestations in Relation to Whole‐Body Positron Emission Tomography (2019)

Background Cardiac magnetic resonance ( CMR) differentiates neoplasm from thrombus via contrast enhancement; positron emission tomography ( PET) assesses metabolism. The relationship between CMR contrast enhancement and metabolism on PET is unknown. Methods and Results The population included 121 cancer patients undergoing CMR and <sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose (<sup>18</sup>F- FDG) - PET , including 66 with cardiac masses and cancer-matched controls. Cardiac mass etiology (neoplasm, thrombus) on CMR was defined by late gadolinium enhancement; PET was read blinded to CMR for diagnostic performance, then colocalized to measure FDG avidity. Of CMR -evidenced thrombi (all nonenhancing), none were detected by PET . For neoplasm, PET yielded reasonable sensitivity (70-83%) and specificity (75-88%). Lesions undetected by PET were more likely to be highly mobile ( P=0.001) despite similar size ( P=0.33). Among nonmobile neoplasms, PET sensitivity varied in relation to extent of CMR -evidenced avascularity; detection of diffusely enhancing or mixed lesions was higher versus predominantly avascular neoplasms (87% versus 63%). Colocalized analyses demonstrated 2- to 4-fold higher FDG uptake in neoplasm versus thrombus ( P<0.001); FDG uptake decreased stepwise when neoplasms were partitioned based on extent of avascularity on late gadolinium enhancement CMR ( P≤0.001). Among patients with neoplasm, signal-to-noise ratio on late gadolinium enhancement CMR moderately correlated with standardized uptake values on PET ( r=0.42-0.49, P<0.05). Mortality was higher among patients with CMR -evidenced neoplasm versus controls (hazard ratio: 1.99 [95% CI, 1.1-3.6]; P=0.03) despite nonsignificant differences when partitioned via FDG avidity (hazard ratio: 1.56 [95% CI, 0.85-2.74]; P=0.16). Among FDG-positive neoplasms detected concordantly with CMR , mortality risk versus cancer-matched controls was equivalently increased (hazard ratio: 2.12 [95% CI, 1.01-4.44]; P=0.047). Conclusions CMR contrast enhancement provides a criterion for neoplasm that parallels FDG -evidenced metabolic activity and stratifies prognosis. Extent of tissue avascularity on late gadolinium enhancement CMR affects cardiac mass identification by FDG - PET .
<title>Nonlinear optical changes in the complex index of refraction in conducting polymer-methanofullerene films evaluated by photoexcitation spectroscopy</title> (1996)

We report photoinduced absorption and photoinduced reflectance spectra of poly(3-octyl thiophene)- methanofullerene films. The data allow direct evaluation of the corresponding changes in the complex refractive index, (Delta) N equals (Delta) n((omega) )+i(Delta) (kappa) ((omega) ), of the films. As a results of the efficient photoinduced intermolecular charge transfer, the magnitudes of (Delta) n((omega) ) and (Delta) (kappa) ((omega) ) are significantly enhanced over those in either of the component materials, with (Delta) n and (Delta) (kappa) approximately equals 10<SUP>-2</SUP> in the infrared at laser pump intensity of only 50mW/cm<SUP>2</SUP>. Moreover, the photoinduced absorption shows new features at 1.2 eV and 1.6 eV, both of which are associated with excited state absorptions of the methanofullerene anion. The implications of these photoinduced changes in the index resulting from photoexcitations are discussed in terms of potential optoelectronic and nonlinear optical applications of these materials, indicating that conducting polymer/methanofullerene films are promising as high- performance nonlinear optical materials.
Treatment for painful calcified chronic pancreatitis: extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy versus endoscopic treatment: a randomised controlled trial (2006)

ESWL is a safe and effective preferred treatment for selected patients with painful calcified chronic pancreatitis. Combining systematic endoscopy with ESWL adds to the cost of patient care, without improving the outcome of pancreatic pain.
Differential Gene Expression in Anterior and Posterior Annulus Fibrosus (2014)

N/A.
Customized positive PEG linkers for the delivery of antisense molecules (2007)

4731 Introduction: Targeting genes has elicit significant effort over last two decades. Initial effort has focused on first generation of oligonucleotide based molecules as potential therapeutics for various human diseases. Recent progresses in oligonucleotide chemistry helped to introduce second and third generation antisense technology such as locked nucleic acid (LNA) and silencing RNA (siRNA). Effective systemic delivery of this type of molecules is still the biggest hurdle to fully realize their therapeutic potential in clinic. Short half-life and poor cellular uptake of highly negative charged feature of oligonucleotides has resulted suboptimal efficacy in xenograft models. To overcome these challenges, here we want to report the development of new Customized positively charged PEG linkers and their application to enhance the cellular uptake of antisense oligonucleotide, including LNA. Procedure: Customized positively charged PEG linkers were made by incorporating either peptide fragments, or synthetic positive moieties into the backbone of PEG polymer. These PEG polymers were then converted to releasable, tail-free linkers using proprietary technologies before conjugated with antisense oligonucleotides. The PEG-oligo conjugates were tested for their stability in buffer and plasma. Subsequently, in vitro protein inhibition and target gene down-regulation studies were conducted using Western Blot and Real-Time PCR techniques in a panel of tumor cell lines with and without transfection agents. Summary of Data: The PEG-oligo conjugates are stable under physiological buffer conditions and have shown greatly enhanced stability towards certain nucleases such as phosphodiesterase I (59-exonuclease), phosphodiesterase II (39-exonuclease), and nuclease P1 (endonuclease) in vitro. All the PEG-oligo conjugates have demonstrated a controlled release of native antisense molecule in rat plasma. More importantly, PEG-oligo conjugates have shown dose-dependent and specific target gene down-regulation documented by both Western blot and Real-Time PCR studies. Conclusions: PEGylation of oligonucleotide using Customized positively charged PEG linkers has improved the in vitro stability of oligo molecules and released native antisense at different rates in plasma. The in vitro activity of PEG-oligo is dose dependent and more efficient than native molecule, especially in the absence of transfection agents. Safety, efficacy and down-modulation of target gene will be determined using PEG-oligo conjugates in preclinical models. Customized positively charged PEG linkers may provide a unique approach for the more efficient in vivo delivery of antisense molecules including LNA to fully realize its therapeutic potential.
Deterministic Forwarding PHB (2015)

This document defines a Differentiated Services Per-Hop-Behavior (PHB)
Group called Deterministic Forwarding (DF). The document describes the
purpose and semantics of this PHB. It also describes creation and
forwarding treatment of the service class. The document also describes
how the code-point can be mapped into one of the aggregated Diffserv
service classes [RFC5127].
Conductivity-based contact sensing for probe arrays in dip-pen nanolithography (2003)

This letter reports a contact sensing method for dip-pen nanolithography which functions by monitoring the conductivity between the lithography probe and the substrate. Experimental results show that this method has high sensitivity and is suitable for dip-pen nanolithography applications with large probe arrays.
Investigating Tissue Optical Properties and Texture Descriptors of the Retina in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (2015)

Texture and optical properties of the retinal tissue undergo pronounced changes in MS even without optic neuritis. Our results may help to further improve the diagnostic efficacy of OCT in MS and neurodegeneration.
Digital Pre-distortion Techniques for Ultra-high Symbol Rates (2019)

Get PDF Email Share Share with Facebook Tweet This Post on reddit Share with LinkedIn Add to CiteULike Add to Mendeley Add to BibSonomy Get Citation Copy Citation Text G. Khanna, B. Spinnler, E. De Man, and N. Hanik, "Digital Pre-distortion Techniques for Ultra-high Symbol Rates," in OSA Advanced Photonics Congress (AP) 2019 (IPR, Networks, NOMA, SPPCom, PVLED), OSA Technical Digest (Optica Publishing Group, 2019), paper SpT2E.1. Export Citation BibTex Endnote (RIS) HTML Plain Text Citation alert Save article
A rapid three-dimensional High Intensity Focused Ultrasound beam plotting (2008)

The goal of this study was to develop a rapid three-dimensional High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) beam plotting system for visualizing the acoustic energy distribution, achieved using a three-dimensional positioning system and data acquisition hardware. Beam plots of a 1.1MHz HIFU transducer were performed to evaluate the capability of the proposed system. A three-dimensional beam plotting was completed in only about 30 minutes and covered a predetermined volume of 5mm x 20mm x 5mm with a spatial resolution of 0.2mm x 0.001mm x 0.2mm. The FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum) dimensions of the ultrasound field on axial and lateral directions were measured at 12.51mm and 1.4mm respectively. The proposed system can not only perform 2-dimensional beam plots but also can aid in the visualization of a three-dimensional ultrasound beam pattern volume within a relatively short scanning time.
Semiempirical Peak Fitting Guided by ab Initio Calculations of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Narrow Scans of Chemisorbed, Fluorinated Silanes (2020)

Here, we address the issue of finding correct CF<sub>2</sub>/CF<sub>3</sub> area ratios from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) C 1s narrow scans of materials containing -CH<sub>2</sub>CH<sub>2</sub>(CF<sub>2</sub>)<i><sub>n</sub></i>CF<sub>3</sub> (<i>n</i> = 0, 1, 2, ...) moieties. For this work, we modified silicon wafers with four different fluorosilanes. The smallest had a trifluoropropyl (<i>n</i> = 0) moiety, followed by nonafluorohexyl (<i>n</i> = 3), tridecafluoro (<i>n</i> = 5), and finally, heptadecafluoro (<i>n</i> = 7) moieties. Monolayer deposition of the fluorosilanes was confirmed by spectroscopic ellipsometry, wetting, and XPS. Analysis of the trifluoropropyl (<i>n</i> = 0) surface and a sample of polytetrafluoroethylene provided pure-component XPS spectra for -CF<sub>3</sub> and -(CF<sub>2</sub>)<i><sub>n</sub></i>- moieties, respectively. Initial XPS C 1s peak fitting, which follows the literature precedent, was not entirely adequate. To address this issue, six different fitting approaches with increasing complexity and/or input from the Hartree-Fock theory (HF) were considered. Ultimately, we show that by combining HF results with empirical analyses, we obtain more accurate CF<sub>2</sub>/CF<sub>3</sub> area ratios while maintaining high-quality fits.