gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Sequential predictions of menstrual cycle lengths (2010)

Forecasting the length of the menstrual cycle and of its phases is an important problem in infertility management and natural family planning. Using repeated measurements of the length of the entire cycle and of the preovular phase provided by a large English database, we describe a Bayesian hierarchical dynamic approach to the problem. A state-space process is used to model the temporal behavior of the series of lengths for each woman. The individual processes are then embedded into a multivariate system through a Bayesian hierarchy in which model parameters are allowed to vary across subjects according to a specified probability distribution. The most interesting features of the suggested method are (a) it takes into account explicitly the temporal nature of the available data and (b) if combined with a fecundability model, it can be used to forecast the probability of conception in future cycles as a function of any intercourse behavior.
Mining semantic networks for knowledge discovery (2004)

We address the problem of mining a class of semantic networks, called concept frame graphs (CFG's), for knowledge discovery from text. This new representation is motivated by the need to capture richer text content so that nontrivial mining tasks can be performed. We first define the CFG representation and then describe a rule-based algorithm for constructing a CFG from text documents. Treating the CFG as a networked knowledge base, we propose new methods for text mining. On a specific task of discovering the top companies in an area, we observe that our approach leads to simpler content mining algorithms, once the CFG has been constructed. Moreover, exploiting the network structure of CFG results in significant improvements in precision and recall.
The Use of Diurnal Vigilance Changes in the EEG to Verify Vigilance-Enhancing Effects of Memantine in a Clinical Pharmacological Study (1996)

In elderly subjects there is a vigilance decrease from morning to noon which was used in a clinical pharmacological model as a state condition to verify vigilance-enhancing effects of an antidementia drug. In this model the effects of Memantine (20 mg, single-dose application) on the quantified EEG were investigated in 16 elderly (mean age: 65 +/- 5 years), healthy subjects (10 females, 6 males) in a randomised, twofold cross-over design vs. placebo under double-blind conditions. EEG was recorded before medication, and 2 and 4 h after medication under reaction time (RT) and resting (RS) conditions. EEG data were subjected to spectral analysis and the topographic distribution of the amplitude values was mapped. The results show that a time-dependent decrease (from morning to noon) in vigilance (indicated by an increase in average EEG amplitudes caused by increased synchronisation in the alpha and beta range and an increase in delta) occurred under placebo which was counteracted by Memantine. The diurnal variations of the EEG and their compensation by a pharmacological agent represent an effective model for investigating the vigilance-enhancing effects of antidementia drugs.
Opportunities with combined modality therapy for selective organ preservation in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (1996)

Combined-modality therapy for organ preservation represents an appropriate alternative to radical surgery in the management of several malignant diseases. The standard therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer in the United States has been radical cystectomy. Although the sequelae of radical surgery have been ameliorated somewhat by techniques for the construction of orthotopic bladders, the ideal therapy should both cure the patient of cancer and maintain a functioning natural bladder. Years of experience in Europe and Canada with bladder preservation using radiation therapy are documented. Advances in transurethral surgery technique and in the combination of radiation and chemotherapy have led to safe and effective regimens for patients with bladder cancer. Several recent trials with combined-modality therapy have established this treatment as a viable alternative to radical cystectomy in selected patients.
Micro- and nano-encapsulation and controlled-release of phenolic compounds and other food ingredients (2009)

The health promotive properties of phenolic compounds attracted a lot of attention in recent years because of their biological and pharmacological effects including antioxidative and cytoprotective functions. Green tea catechins and curcumin have been extensively studied and they both show strong anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but low bioavailability is always a problem. Therefore, effective delivery systems could be a solution to enhance their oral bioavailability.In this study tea catechins were encapsulated in two W/O/W double emulsion systems, protein-polysaccharide complex coacervates and emulsifiers/polysaccharide stabilized double emulsion. Physicochemical characteristics were determined for both systems. The coacervate encapsulation achieved 90.5% encapsulation efficiency, and the other double emulsion reached 94.5% efficiency. Coacervate-encapsulated catechins were stable in artificial gastric juice, and could target-release catechins in small intestinal juice triggered by pH. Curcumin was dissolved in medium chain triglyceride (MCT) and further emulsified in water. Curcumin nano-emulsions had average particle sizes of 150.5nm and 148.4nm for 1% and 1.5% curcumin, respectively. The encapsulation efficiencies were 77.5% for 1% curcumin emulsion and 71.5% for 1.5% emulsion. Oral administration of nano-emulsified curcumin could inhibit TPA-induced edema on mouse ears by 100%, and significantly inhibited pro-inflammatory factors IL-1beta, IL-6, MMP-9, and cyclin D1 dose-responsively. The anti-inflammatory effects directly indicated enhanced bioavailability of curcumin.Protein-polysaccharide coacervation was further applied to enzyme encapsulation. α-Amylase can form coacervate with κ-carrageenan under optimized conditions, and reach 99.3% encapsulation efficiency. Enzyme kinetics showed that encapsulation could strongly protect α-Amylase from acid denaturation, suggesting that the stoichiometric complexation of α-amylase did not alter the active binding sites of enzyme.In summary, low cost, convenient and highly efficient encapsulation methods using food grade natural biopolymers have been developed to encapsulate nutraceuticals or enzyme. The encapsulation systems have protective, target-releasing, and bioavailability enhancing functions.
Nitrosulindac (NCX 1102): A new nitric oxide‐donating non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NO‐NSAID), inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in human prostatic epithelial cell lines (2004)

Our results demonstrate the anti-proliferative and proapoptotic activity of nitrosulindac on prostate cancer cell lines and suggest its potential interest for new strategies in the management of prostate cancer.
Serotonin3 receptor antagonists block anorectic responses to amino acid imbalance (1990)

The role of serotonin3 (5-HT3) receptors in the initial food intake depression of rats ingesting amino acid imbalanced or high-protein diets was investigated. The 5-HT antagonists metergoline, pirenpirone, ICS 205-930, and MDL 72222, the dopamine antagonist pimozide, or the alpha-adrenergic antagonist phentolamine were injected 15-45 min before presentation of test diets. Food intake was measured at intervals for 3 days. The 5-HT3 antagonists, ICS 205-930 and MDL 72222, restored feeding of a mild isoleucine (Ile)-imbalanced diet to control levels, although MDL 72222 had a longer time course of action. ICS 205-930 also increased intake of a severe Ile-imbalanced diet and Thr-imbalanced diet but not a high-protein (44% casein) diet. Treatment with metergoline, which blocks 5-HT1, 5-HT2, and dopamine receptor sites but not 5-HT3 sites, increased intake of the basal diet at 3 and 6 h but did not significantly alter intake of the mild Ile-imbalanced diet. Although pimozide tended to increase intake of the mild imbalanced diet, neither dopamine nor alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonism significantly affected imbalanced diet intake. Thus 5-HT3 receptors may mediate the anorexigenic activity of 5-HT associated with feeding an amino acid-imbalanced diet.
Complementarity and the Quantum Eraser (1995)

We present various experiments demonstrating the mutual exclusivity of observing interference and which-path information, as demanded by Bohr's complementarity principle. Using photon pairs created in parametric down-conversion, no which-path measurements need to be performed on the interfering photon itself. Instead the other photon can be used to introduce distinguishability, which consequently destroys interference. However, a suitable measurement erases this distinguishability and interference can be recovered.
Quantum Machine Learning (2018)

Quantum computing promises an unprecedented ability to solve intractable problems by harnessing quantum mechanical effects such as tunneling, superposition, and entanglement. The Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (QuAIL) at NASA Ames Research Center is the space agency's primary facility for conducting research and development in quantum information sciences. QuAIL conducts fundamental research in quantum physics but also explores how best to exploit and apply this disruptive technology to enable NASA missions in aeronautics, Earth and space sciences, and space exploration. At the same time, machine learning has become a major focus in computer science and captured the imagination of the public as a panacea to myriad big data problems. In this talk, we will discuss how classical machine learning can take advantage of quantum computing to significantly improve its effectiveness. Although we illustrate this concept on a quantum annealer, other quantum platforms could be used as well. If explored fully and implemented efficiently, quantum machine learning could greatly accelerate a wide range of tasks leading to new technologies and discoveries that will significantly change the way we solve real-world problems.
Searching Protein Three-Dimensional Structures in Faster Than Linear Time (2010)

Searching for similar structures from a three-dimensional (3-D) structure database of proteins is one of the most important problems in post-genomic computational biology. To compare two structures, we ordinarily use a measure called the root mean square deviation (RMSD) as the similarity measure. We consider a very fundamental problem of finding all the substructures whose RMSDs to the query are within some given threshold, from a 3-D structure database. The problem also appears in many other fields, such as computer vision and robotics. In this article, we propose the first algorithm that runs in faster than linear time on average. Our new algorithm runs in average-case O(m + N/m(1-epsilon)), where N is the database size, m is the query length, and epsilon is an arbitrary small constant such that 0 < epsilon < 1. It is a significant improvement over previous algorithms on the problem, considering that the best known worst-case time complexity of the problem is O(N log m), and the best known average-case (expected) time complexity of the problem was O(N).
Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing Bowel Cleaning Preparations for Colonoscopy (2000)

Colonoscopy is commonly accepted as the procedure of choice for the detection and treatment of colonic lesions. The current study was undertaken to compare effectiveness and tolerance of different bowel preparations. Three hundred patients were randomized into three groups, to be administered either a senna compound, a polyethylene glycol lavage, or an oral sodium phosphate (NaP) solution. Tolerance of the preparation was considered. After each colonoscopy, the endoscopist blindly scored cleansing for each bowel segment and defined the quality of the examination as "optimal," "acceptable," or to be repeated. Significantly more patients in Group C (68%) achieved a "good" cleansing compared with Group B (50%; P < 0.0001) and with Group A (38%; P < 0.005). Sixty-three percent of constipated patients obtained a "good" preparation in Group C, which was significantly higher than in Group A (28%; P < 0.05) and than in Group B (42%; P < 0.02). Feasibility of the examination was considered "optimal" in 80% of procedures in Group C, which was higher than in Group A (59%; P < 0.005) and in Group B (62%; P < 0.005). The tolerance of preparation was "good" in 93% of the examinations for Group C. This prospective randomized trial showed good effectiveness of NaP solutions, with an optimal tolerance. Results of use of the NaP solution showed a clear advantage for constipated patients, with similar results for nonconstipated patients. The author believes that the NaP solution should be the standard preparation for elective colonoscopy.
A Fast Taboo Search Algorithm for the Job Shop Problem (1996)

A fast and easily implementable approximation algorithm for the problem of finding a minimum makespan in a job shop is presented. The algorithm is based on a taboo search technique with a specific neighborhood definition which employs a critical path and blocks of operations notions. Computational experiments (up to 2,000 operations) show that the algorithm not only finds shorter makespans than the best approximation approaches but also runs in shorter time. It solves the well-known 10 × 10 hard benchmark problem within 30 seconds on a personal computer.
Robust folding structure for a foldable display (2010)

Design and analysis of folding structure applied hyperelastic material for a foldable display are described. This folding structure allows to realize extendable and foldable large display using conventional glass panels. From performed Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis and mechanical and optical experimental results, we can confirm the design of the more stable robust folding structure. © 2010 ITE and SID.
Defining and Matching Test-Based Certificates in Open SOA (2011)

Following the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and the Cloud paradigms, an increasing number of organizations implement their business processes and applications via runtime composition of services made available on the cloud by single suppliers. This scenario however introduces new security risks and threats, as the service providers may not provide the level of assurance required by their customers. There is therefore the need of a new certification scheme for services that provides trusted evidence that a service has some security properties, and a matching infrastructure to compare service certificates with users' certification preferences. In this paper, we propose a first solution to the definition of a test-based certification process for SOA.
Omega-agatoxins: novel calcium channel antagonists of two subtypes from funnel web spider (Agelenopsis aperta) venom. (1990)

A new series of polypeptide presynaptic antagonists ("omega-agatoxins") was purified from venom of the funnel web spider Agelenopsis aperta. Physiological data indicate that all of these peptides are antagonists of voltage-sensitive calcium channels. Although all three omega-agatoxins (Aga) described here (omega-Aga-IA, omega-Aga-IB, and omega-Aga-IIA) block insect neuromuscular transmission presynaptically, biochemical data permit their subclassification as Type I and Type II toxins. Type I toxins (omega-Aga-IA and -IB) are 7.5 kDa, have closely related amino acid sequences, and exhibit characteristic tryptophan-like UV absorbance spectra. Complete Edman sequencing of omega-Aga-IA reveals it to be a 66-amino acid polypeptide containing 9 cysteines and 5 tryptophan residues. omega-Aga-IIA, a Type II toxin, is 11 kDa, shows limited amino acid sequence similarity to the Type I toxins, and exhibits mixed tryptophan- and tyrosine-like absorbance. Nanomolar concentrations of omega-Aga-IIA inhibit the specific binding of 125I-labeled omega-conotoxin GVIA to chick synaptosomal membranes while omega-Aga-IA and -IB have no effect under identical conditions. The omega-agatoxins thus are defined as two subtypes of neuronal calcium channel toxins with different structural characteristics and calcium channel binding specificities.
Experimental Model to Evaluate Mechanical Closure Resistance of Sutureless Vitrectomy Sclerotomies Using Pig Eyes (2011)

Oblique 23G sutureless sclerotomies offer less mechanical resistance to increases in IOP than do 25G sclerotomies. This animal model may become the basis for future studies to evaluate the advantages of using other types of incision or other surgical tools on sclerotomy closure capacity.
Recent advances in cross machine profile control (1994)

In the last 10-15 years, control of paper variation in the cross machine direction has become a necessary requirement to meet increasing quality demands. Traditional approaches to the control of weight, moisture and caliper have realized good reductions in paper profile variability using relatively simple control technology. Recent advances in computer technology have provided the platform to implement the next generation of cross-machine controls using modern estimation, modelling and control technology. This paper describes the development of an advanced cross-machine control system using state estimation, system identification, multivariable modelling and control and summarizes the results of implementing the profile control system on a modern newsprint machine.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Cleavage of Circular, Superhelical Simian Virus 40 DNA to a Linear Duplex by S <sub>1</sub> Nuclease (1973)

S(1) nuclease, the single-strand specific nuclease from Aspergillus oryzae can cleave both strands of circular covalently closed, superhelical simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA to generate unit length linear duplex molecules with intact single strands. But circular, covalently closed, nonsuperhelical DNA, as well as linear duplex molecules, are relatively resistant to attack by the enzyme. These findings indicate that unpaired or weakly hydrogen-bonded regions, sensitive to the single strand-specific nuclease, occur or can be induced in superhelical DNA. Nicked, circular SV40 DNA can be cleaved on the opposite strand at or near the nick to yield linear molecules. S(1) nuclease may be a useful reagent for cleaving DNAs at regions containing single-strand nicks. Unlike the restriction endonucleases, S(1) nuclease probably does not cleave SV40 DNA at a specific nucleotide sequence. Rather, the sites of cleavage occur within regions that are readily denaturable in a topologically constrained superhelical molecule. At moderate salt concentrations (75 mM) SV40 DNA is cleaved once, most often within either one of the two following regions: the segments defined as 0.15 to 0.25 and 0.45 to 0.55 SV40 fractional length, clockwise, from the EcoR(I) restriction endonuclease cleavage site (defined as the zero position on the SV40 DNA map). In higher salt (250 mM) cleavage occurs preferentially within the 0.45 to 0.55 segment of the map.
Evaluation of a 45° Slant Quasi-Linear Radar Polarization State for Distinguishing Drizzle Droplets, Pristine Ice Crystals, and Less Regular Ice Particles (2002)

Abstract A remote sensing capability is needed to detect clouds of supercooled, drizzle-sized droplets, which are a major aircraft icing hazard. Discrimination among clouds of differing ice particle types is also important because both the presence and type of ice influence the survival of liquid in a cloud and the chances for occurrence of these large, most hazardous droplets. This work shows how millimeter-wavelength dual-polarization radar can be used to identify these differing hydrometeors. It also shows that by measuring the depolarization ratio (DR), the estimation of the hydrometeor type can be accomplished deterministically for drizzle droplets; ice particles of regular shapes; and to a considerable extent, the more irregular ice particles, and that discrimination is strongly influenced by the polarization state of the transmitted microwave radiation. Thus, appropriate selection of the polarization state is emphasized. The selection of an optimal polarization state involves trade-offs in competing factors such as the functional dynamic range of DR, sensitivity to low-reflectivity clouds, and insensitivity to oscillations in the settling orientations of ice crystals. A 45° slant, quasi-linear polarization state, one in which only slight ellipticity is introduced, was found to offer a very good compromise, providing considerable advantages over standard horizontal and substantially elliptical polarizations. This was determined by theoretical scattering calculations that were verified experimentally in field measurements conducted during the Mount Washington Icing Sensors Project (MWISP). A selectable-dual-polarization Ka-band (8.66-mm wavelength) radar was used. A wide variety of hydrometeor types was sampled. Clear differentiation among planar crystals, columnar crystals, and drizzle droplets was achieved. Also, differentiation among crystals of fundamentally different shapes (aspect ratios) within each of the planar and columnar families was found possible. These distinctions matched calculations of DR, usually to within 1 or 2 dB. The results from MWISP and from previous experiments with other polarizations have demonstrated that the agreement between theory and measurements by this method is repeatable. Additionally, although less rigorously predicted by theory, the field measurements demonstrated substantial differentiation among the more irregular and more spherical ice particles, including aggregates, elongated aggregates, heavily rimed dendrites, and graupel. Measurable separation between these various irregular ice particle types and drizzle droplets was also verified.
Validity of the Diffusion Approximation in Determining the Optical Properties of Biological Tissus (2005)

Diffusion approximation (DA) theory is often used as basis of the experiments and methods in determining the optical properties of biological tissues.However,DA is only an approximation of the accurate radiative transfer theory and has its validity range under given conditions.In order to assess the validity of the DA under the requirement of in vivo non-invasive measurement, we compared the results from the DA theory with the more accurate results from the Monte Carlo methods.A numerical validity criterion for the DA is established on the basis of the single-scattering albedo a and anisotropy factor g for semi-infinite tissus with index-matched boundaries.
Defensins knowledgebase: a manually curated database and information source focused on the defensins family of antimicrobial peptides (2006)

The defensins knowledgebase is a manually curated database and information source focused on the defensin family of antimicrobial peptides. The current version of the database holds a comprehensive collection of over 350 defensin records each containing sequence, structure and activity information. A web-based interface provides access to the information and allows for text-based searching on the data fields. In addition, the website presents information on patents, grants, research laboratories and scientists, clinical studies and commercial entities pertaining to defensins. With the rapidly increasing interest in defensins, we hope that the knowledgebase will prove to be a valuable resource in the field of antimicrobial peptide research. The defensins knowledgebase is available at http://defensins.bii.a-star.edu.sg/.