gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Quaternary phosphonium compounds as latent accelerators for anhydride‐cured epoxy resins. I. Latency and cure characteristics (1979)

Abstract Quaternary phosphonium compounds have been found to be extremely effective latent accelerators for anhydride‐cured bisphenol A epoxy resins; at concentrations from 0.01% to 0.25%, fast gel times are found in the temperature range of 135°–200°C combined with very good storage properties at ambient temperatures. Using these materials as accelerators, it is possible to formulate long‐life, one‐component epoxy resins. From gel time data, Arrhenius plots were made for some of these phosphonium compounds, and results indicate low activation energy values of the order of 16.1 kcal/mole. Reaction mechanisms are proposed to explain the effectiveness of these phosphonium compounds as latent accelerators. The initiation mechanism probably involves the formation of hydrogen‐bonded phosphonium–epoxy or phosphonium–anhydride complexes which rearrange on the application of heat to form activated species resulting in polymerization of the epoxy–anhydride components. The transfer of a proton from the phosphonium complex(es) to other epoxy or anhydride molecules would appear to be the rate‐determining step in this initiation mechanism. Comparison of other well‐known accelerators used for the anhydride cure of bisphenol A epoxy resins shows quaternary phosphonium compounds to be among the most effective accelerators disclosed to date.
Melatonin in Serum and the Pineal of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (1984)

Involvement of melatonin in the blood pressure regulation as an endogenous central hypotensive factor has been suggested in rats and in man. We studied the relationship between melatonin and the development of hypertension in 5- and 15-week-old spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats, by measuring serum and the pineal concentrations with a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay coupled with a novel extraction method. Serum melatonin concentration at midnight in young SHR rats was significantly higher than that in age-matched WKY rats (P less than 0.01), whereas it was decreased in the adult SHR (P less than 0.01). No such differences were observed at noon. Pineal content of melatonin at midnight in 5-week-old SHR rats was lower than in age-matched WKY rats (P less than 0.01). These data demonstrate that melatonin in the nocturnal serum of SHR rats is elevated at prehypertensive stage while it is decreased after the development of hypertension. The role of melatonin in the hypertensive process in SHR rats requires further study.
Asian women are at increased risk of gestational thyrotoxicosis. (1996)

Gestational thyrotoxicosis is now widely believed to result from excessive thyroidal stimulation by hCG. Our clinical impression has been that this condition is more frequent in Asian women than in those of European origin. To assess this possibility further, we analyzed thyroid hormone levels in the sera of 294 Asian women, obtained as part of a screening program at 15-16 weeks of pregnancy, and compared these with 292 sera from age- and parity-matched European women at a similar time of gestation. TSH levels were significantly lower in the Asian group (P < 0.001). Suppressed TSH levels (< 0.35 mIU/L) were found in 15.7% of Asian women and 4.8% of European women (P < 0.001). In both groups of women with suppressed TSH values, hCG and hCG beta levels were higher than in the women with normal TSH levels. Free T4 levels in the Asian women were significantly higher in those with suppressed TSH (P < 0.001), but this was not found in the European women. There was also a significant increase in the free T3 index in the Asian women with suppressed TSH compared to that in an age-matched group of Asian women with normal TSH levels (P < 0.02), but this was not observed in European women with suppressed TSH. None of the women with suppressed TSH had thyroid-stimulating antibodies. These results show that Asian women more frequently develop biochemical evidence of thyrotoxicosis at the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy than those of European origin and are, therefore, likely to be at greater risk of clinically apparent gestational thyrotoxicosis and hyperemesis gravidarum. Genetically determined differences in the production or metabolism of hCG isoforms may account for this increased risk.
Effect of hematocrit on blood pressure via hyperviscosity (1999)

Increase in blood viscosity, defined as resistance to flow, is one factor in hypertension and atherosclerosis that contributes to the morbidity and mortality associated with tissue ischemia. In this research we evaluated the effect of hematocrit on increasing viscosity, and possible related changes in blood pressure, flow rate, and the equivalent physiologic compensation ratios. Blood samples were taken from 32 healthy individuals and centrifuged for 5 min at 3000 rpm to obtain 2.5 mL of erythrocyte mass from each. Then, at each step 0.5 mL of plasma was consecutively added in a total of 17 steps. The resultant hematocrit and viscosity changes were measured. Viscosity measurement was performed by capillary viscometer. The results were evaluated by the Student t test. It was observed that in the range of 60.16% and 25.32%, a 10.99% increase of hematocrit produced an increase of 1 unit relative viscosity, which means approximately a 20% increase in blood viscosity for a healthy individual. According to Poiseuille's equation, with a constant vessel length, if viscosity is increased by 20%, the decrease in blood flow rate will be 16.67% (100/120 = 83.33%; 100 - 83.33 = 16.67%). For the physiologic compensation of 20% increased viscosity, blood pressure increase will be 20% or vasodilation will be 4.66% in radius. Atherosclerotic and some healthy vessels with little vasodilatory capacities might benefit from treatment modalities to decrease the viscosity by hemodilution.
Origin of High Li<sup>+</sup> Conduction in Doped Li<sub>7</sub>La<sub>3</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>12</sub> Garnets (2015)

Substitution of a native ion in the crystals with a foreign ion that differs in valence (<i>aliovalent doping</i>) has been widely attempted to upgrade solid-state ionic conductors for various charge carriers including O²⁻, H⁺, Li⁺, Na⁺, etc. The doping helps promote the high-conductive framework and dredge the tunnel for fast ion transport. The garnet-type Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZO) is a fast Li⁺ solid conductor, which received much attention as an electrolyte candidate for all-solid-state lithium ion batteries, showing great potential to offer high energy density and minimize battery safety concerns to meet extensive applications in large energy storage systems such as those for electric vehicles and aerospace. In the Li-stuffed garnet framework of LLZO, the 3D pathway formed by the incompletely occupied tetrahedral sites bridged by a single octahedron enables the superior Li⁺ conductivity. For optimal performance, many aliovalent-doping efforts have been made throughout metal elements (Al³⁺, Ta⁵⁺) and metalloid elements (Ga³⁺, Te⁶⁺) in the periodic table with various valences to stabilize the high-conductive phase and increase the Li vacancy concentration.
Usefulness of PCR method for detection of Leishmania in Poland. (2009)

Leishmania parasites are the etiological agents of leishmaniosis, with severe course and often fatal prognosis, and the global number of cases has increased in recent decades. The gold standards for the diagnosis of leishmaniosis are microscopic examinations and culture in vitro of the different clinical specimens. The sensitivity of these methods is insufficient. Recent development in specific and sensitive molecular methods (PCR) allows for detection as well as identification of the parasite species (subspecies). The aim of the study was to estimate the usefulness of molecular methods (PCR) for detection of Leishmania species and consequently for the implementation of such methods in routine diagnostics of leishmaniosis in Polish patients returning from endemic areas of the disease. In our investigations we used 54 known Leishmania positive DNA templates (from culture and clinical specimens) received from the CDC (Atlanta, GA, USA). Moreover, 25 samples of bone marrow, blood or other tissues obtained from 18 Polish individuals suspected of leishmaniosis were also examined. In PCR we used two pairs of primers specific to the conserved region of Leishmania kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) minicircle (13A/13B and F/R). Using these primers we obtained amplicons in all DNA templates from the CDC and in three Polish patients suspected for Leishmania infection. In one sample from among these cases we also obtained positive results with DNA isolated from a blood specimen which was previously negative in microscopic examinations.
Investigation of the Coal Gasification Process Under Various Operating Conditions Inside a Two-Stage Entrained Flow Gasifier (2012)

Numerical simulations of the coal gasification process inside a generic 2-stage entrained-flow gasifier fed with Indonesian coal at approximately 2000 metric ton/day are carried out. The 3D Navier–Stokes equations and eight species transport equations are solved with three heterogeneous global reactions, three homogeneous reactions, and two-step thermal cracking equation of volatiles. The chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) model is used for the devolatilization process. This study is conducted to investigate the effects of different operation parameters on the gasification process including coal mixture (dry versus slurry), oxidant (oxygen-blown versus air-blown), and different coal distribution between two stages. In the two-stage coal-slurry feed operation, the dominant reactions are intense char combustion in the first stage and enhanced gasification reactions in the second stage. The gas temperature in the first stage for the dry-fed case is about 800 K higher than the slurry-fed case. This calls for attention of additional refractory maintenance in the dry-fed case. One-stage operation yields higher H2, CO and CH4 combined than if a two-stage operation is used, but with a lower syngas heating value. The higher heating value (HHV) of syngas for the one-stage operation is 7.68 MJ/kg, compared with 8.24 MJ/kg for two-stage operation with 75%–25% fuel distribution and 9.03 MJ/kg for two-stage operation with 50%–50% fuel distribution. Carbon conversion efficiency of the air-blown case is 77.3%, which is much lower than that of the oxygen-blown case (99.4%). The syngas heating value for the air-blown case is 4.40 MJ/kg, which is almost half of the heating value of the oxygen-blown case (8.24 MJ/kg).
Ultrafast two-dimensional electron gas detector and mixer for terahertz radiation (2000)

A hot-electron bolometric detector and mixer (heterodyne detector), which uses the nonlinearities of the heated two-dimensional electron gas medium, is proposed and analyzed. The cooling process of the detector is through diffusion of the electrons into the contacts; a time constant of 1 ps and responsivity of 3000 V/W are calculated for a device which is 0.8 μm long. The predicted double-sideband receiver noise temperature for the mixer version is in the range 1000–2000 K at 1 THz, with a 100 GHz intermediate frequency bandwidth. The operating temperature would be 77 K and the local oscillator power 1 μW.
Optical micro encoder using a twin-beam VCSEL with integrated microlenses (2002)

An improved optical micro encoder using a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is presented in this paper. A twin-beam VCSEL is used to obtain two quasi-sinusoidal signals in phase quadrature, thereby both detection of the displacement direction and signal interpolation have become possible. Also, microlenses monolithically integrated onto the VCSEL improve resolution. The encoder size is approximately 1.5/spl times/2.0/spl times/0.6 mm/sup 3/. Displacement measurement was performed using a scale with a pitch of 20 /spl mu/m, and resolution of 0.1 /spl mu/m has been achieved with signal interpolation.
Optimal Surface Chemistry for Peptide Immobilization in On-Chip Phosphorylation Analysis (2008)

We investigated the optimal surface chemistry of peptide immobilization for on-chip phosphorylation analysis. In our previous study, we used a heterobifunctional cross-linker sulfosuccinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-1-carboxalate (SSMCC) to immobilize cysteine-terminated peptides on an amine-modified gold surface. The study revealed that the phosphorylation efficiency and rate were low (only 20% at 2 h) comparing with the reaction in solution. In this study, to improve the phosphorylation efficiency, the kinase substrates were immobilized via poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), a flexible, hydrophilic polymer. An improvement in cSrc phosphorylation was achieved (60% at 1 h) from using a PEG-inserted peptide and SSMCC. However, no phosphorylation could be detected when the peptide was immobilized with a PEG-containing cross-linker. Fluorescence-labeled peptide studies revealed that the use of longer cross-linkers resulted in lower immobilization density. We considered that the flexible PEG linker was preferable to secure high phosphorylation efficiency for the immobilized peptide, probably due to the improvement of cSrc accessibility and peptide mobility, but the immobilization protocol is critical for keeping high density of the peptide immobilization. In addition, such an accelerating effect of PEG linker against on-chip phosphorylation of an immobilized peptide may depend on kinase structures or the position of the active center, because no improvement of on-chip peptide phosphorylation was observed in protein kinase A. However, PEG linker also did not suppress the phosphorylation in protein kinase A. Thus, we concluded that SSMCC and PEGylated peptide will be a good combination for the surface chemistry of on-chip phosphorylation in peptide array.
Randomised clinical trial of effect of oral nifedipine on pain and healing after hemorrhoidectomy (2013)

Abstract. Hemorrhoidectomy has the best long-term results and is the only effective treatment for symptomatic third and fourth degree hemorrhoids. Patients and doctors consider it a painful operation. Nifedipine reduces the activity of the internal anal sphincter and relieves symptoms in patients with haemorrhoids or anal fissure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral nifedipine after haemorrhoidectomy.We randomly assigned 40 consecutive patients admitted for hemorrhoidectomy by Milligan Morgan technique. Group 1 (n=20) is the control group, group 2 (n=20) is the study group. All received habitual treatment; lactulose as stool softener, metronidazole 500 mg three times daily for seven postoperative days, and ketorolac tromethamine as analgesic. Group 2 additionally received oral nifedipine 20 mg twice daily from 2 days before surgery until wound healing. Linear analog scales were used to assess pain. Time to first bowel movement, return to normal activity, complications, and use of additional analgesics were recorded. Patients were reviewed and assessed postoperatively every week for measurement of blood pressure, pulse rate, wound healing and adverse effects until return to work. Patients in the oral nifedipine group had significantly less pain, less analgesics consumption [median 18 (12 - 38) vs 33 (25 - 48)] (p=0,021). Median time to healing the wounds was 28 days (range 14 - 40) in the oral nifedipine group and 40 days (21 - 60) in the control group (P=0,023). Median time to return to work or normal activity was 37.5 days (range 20 - 80) in the oral nifedipine group and 47.5 days (20 - 115) in the control group (P=0,445). There was no significant change in baseline pulse rate or systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Headache occurred in 4 patients who responded to paracetamol. The use of oral nifedipine reduced postoperative pain, analgesic consumption, and promoted earlier wounds healing and return to work. And we suggest its inclusion in routine posthemorrhoidectomy treatment. Key words: Nifedipine, hemorrhoids, hemorrhoidectomy, postoperative pain, wound healing
Whole blood gene differences between osteoarthritic dogs compared to healthy geriatric dogs (2010)

A study was conducted to determine differences in 29 healthy geriatric dogs (initially 13.51 ± 1.66 kg, 10.7 ± 2.33 years) with no radiographic evidence of arthritis or lameness history compared with 31 arthritic dogs (initially 13.5 ± 1.27 kg, 11.0 ± 2.23 years) with varying degrees of radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis and a history of lameness. All dogs were fed a maintenance control food for 28 days prior to sample collection. Blood samples were drawn into PAXgene blood RNA tubes at day 28 and RNA was extracted according to the procedures provided in the PAXgene RNA Kit Handbook (Qiagen, Valencia, CA). Probes were generated based on the canine genome sequencing for 89 arthritis related genes for RT‐PCR analysis based on previous literature. Transcripts having a P < 0.05 (following a false discovery rate adjustment) and a fold change range of at least 1.25 were considered different among the two groups. Analysis of the RNA found differences in 23 genes between the blood of osteoarthritic and healthy geriatric dogs. Of the genes identified, 22 were down‐regulated and 1 up‐regulated. Several of these genes have also been analyzed for in canine articular cartilage, however, the majority of them are elevated in OA vs healthy cartilage. Similar to human data, an inverse relationship of genes associated with osteoarthritis between blood and articular cartilage may exist in the dog.
Survey: omnifont-printed character recognition (1991)

This paper presents an overview of methods for recognition of omnifont printed Roman alphabet characters with various fonts, sizes and formats (plain, bold, etc.) from OCR system perspectives. First, it summarizes the current needs for optical printed character recognition (OPCR) in general, and then describes its importance for conversion between paper and electronic media. Current status of commercially available software and products for OPCR are briefly reviewed. Analysis indicates that the challenge we face in OPCR is far from being solved, and there is still a great gap between human needs and machine reading capabilities. Second, OPCR systems and algorithms are briefly reviewed and compared from the context of digital document processing for the following four stages: preprocessing of images, segmentation, recognition, and post-processing. Finally, possible research directions to improve the performance of OPCR systems are suggested, such as using an approach based on the combination of template matching and varieties of feature-based algorithms to recognize isolated characters, the use of multilayered architectures for OPCR, and parallel processing- based high-performance architectures.
A New Synthesis of 9-(2-Deoxy-2-fluoro-β-<scp>D</scp>-arabinofuranosyl)guanine (araF-G) (2003)

Interesting and very promising antisense properties of 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoroarabinonucleic acids ((a) Wilds, C.J.; Damha, M.J. 2'-Deoxy-2'-fluoroarabinonucleosides and oligonucleotides (2'F-ANA): synthesis and physicochemical studies. Nucl. Acids Res. 2000, 28, 3625-3635; (b) Viazovkina, E.; Mangos, M.; Elzagheid, M.I.; Damha, M.J. Current Protocols in Nucleic Acid Chemistry 2002, 4.15.1-4.15.21) (2'F-ANA) has encouraged our research group to optimize the synthetic procedures for 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-beta-D-arabinonucleosides (araF-N). The synthesis of araF-U, araF-T, araF-A and araF-C is straightforward, (Tann, C.H.; Brodfuehrer, P.R.; Brundidge, S.P.; Sapino, C., Jr. Howell H.G. Fluorocarbohydrates in synthesis. An efficient synthesis of 1-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-iodouracil (beta-FIAU) and 1-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)thymine (beta-FMAU). J. Org. Chem. 1985, 50, 3644-3647; Howell, H.G.; Brodfuehrer, P.R.; Brundidge, S.P.; Benigni, D.A.; Sapino, C., Jr. Antiviral nucleosides. A stereospecific, total synthesis of 2'-fluoro-2'-deoxy-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl nucleosides. J. Org. Chem. 1988, 53, 85-88; Maruyama, T.; Takamatsu, S.; Kozai, S.; Satoh, Y.; Izana, K. Synthesis of 9-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)adenine bearing a selectively removable protecting group. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1999, 47, 966-970) however, the synthesis of the guanine analogue is more complicated and affords poor to moderate yields of araF-G (4) ((a) Elzagheid, M.I.; Viazovkina, E.; Masad, M.J. Synthesis of protected 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-beta-D-arabinonucleosides. Synthesis of 2'-fluoroarabino nucleoside phosphoramidites and their use in the synthesis of 2'F-ANA. Current Protocols in Nucleic Acid Chemistry 2002, 1.7.1-1.7.19; (b) Tennila, T.; Azhayeva, E.; Vepsalainen, J.; Laatikainen, R.; Azhayev, A.; Mikhailopulo, I. Oligonucleotides containing 9-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-adenine and -guanine: synthesis, hybridization and antisense properties. Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucl. Acids 2000, 19, 1861-1884). Here we describe an efficient synthesis of araF-G (4) that involves coupling of 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-3,5-di-O-benzoyl-alpha-D-arabinofuranosyl bromide (1) with 2-chlorohypoxanthine (2) to afford 2-chloro-beta-araF-I (3) in 52% yield. Nucleoside (3) was transformed into araF-G (4) by treatment with methanolic ammonia (150 degrees C, 6 h) in 67% yield.
D2: major subgenotype of hepatitis B virus in Russia and the Baltic region (2008)

Complete or almost complete hepatitis B virus (HBV) genomes were sequenced for 13 genotype A and 42 genotype D strains from the former USSR. The strains were classifiable within subgenotypes A2, D1, D2 and D3. Comparison of the deduced gene products for the four ORFs of 89 genotype D strains revealed 27 subgenotype-specific residues, and a region spanning residues 58-128 in the spacer region of the P gene could be used to distinguish between D1 and D4. This enabled the allocation to subgenotype of strains with partially sequenced genomes. D2 was dominating, while D3 was found in low frequency in the whole region. D1 was most prevalent in the Middle Asian Republics. Mean inter-subgenotype divergences between D1 and D2, D1 and D3 and D2 and D3 were 2.7, 3.4 and 3.4 %, respectively. The intra-subgenotype divergence was 0.4, 1.1, 1.0 and 1.8 % for A2, D1, D2 and D3, respectively. All D1 and D3 strains encoded subtype ayw2, whereas most D2 strains encoded ayw3. Two D2 strains encoded ayw4. Strains with identical S genes were closely related at the level of complete genomes and formed geographically specific clades with low intraclade divergences, possibly indicating past iatrogenic spread. It is not clear whether the finding of four subgenotypes in the area corresponds to separate introductions of the virus or to previous population migrations into the area. An earlier introduction of D3 compared with D2 was supported by its higher intra-subgenotype divergence, while the lower divergence within D1 is probably due to a more recent emergence.