gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Theoretical modeling of heating and structure alterations in cartilage under laser radiation with regard to water evaporation and diffusion dominance (1998)

We develop a theoretical model to calculate the temperature field and the size of modified structure area in cartilaginous tissue. The model incorporates both thermal and mass transfer in a tissue regarding bulk absorption of laser radiation, water evaporation from a surface and temperature dependence of diffusion coefficient. It is proposed that due to bound- to free-phase transition of water in cartilage heated to about 70 degrees Celsius, some parts of cartilage matrix (proteoglycan units) became more mobile. The movement of these units takes place only when temperature exceed 70 degrees Celsius and results in alteration of tissue structure (denaturation). It is shown that (1) the maximal temperature is reached not on the surface irradiated at some distance from the surface; (2) surface temperature reaches a plateau quicker that the maximal temperature; (3) the depth of denatured area strongly depends on laser fluence and wavelength, exposure time and thickness of cartilage. The model allows to predict and control temperature and depth of structure alterations in the course of laser reshaping and treatment of cartilage.
Solid-state characterization and impurities determination of fluconazol generic products marketed in Morocco (2012)

In this paper, we report the results of quality control based in physicochemical characterization and impurities determination of three samples of fluconazole drug substances marketed in Morocco. These samples were supplied by different pharmaceuticals companies. The sample A, as the discovered product, was supplied by Pfizer, while samples B and C (generics), were manufactured by two different Indian industries. Solid-state characterization of the three samples was realized with different physicochemical methods as: X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier-transformation infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry. High performance liquid chromatography was used to quantify the impurities in the different samples. The results from the physicochemical methods cited above, showed difference in polymorph structure of the three drug substances. Sample A consisted in pure polymorph III, sample B consisted in pure polymorph II, sample C consisted in a mixture of fluconazole Form III, form II and the monohydrate. This result was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry. Also it was demonstrated that solvents used during the re-crystallization step were among the origins of these differences in the structure form. On the other hand, the result of the stability study under humidity and temperature showed that fluconazole polymorphic transformation could be owed to the no compliance with the conditions of storage. The HPLC analysis of these compounds showed the presence of specific impurities for each polymorphic form, and a possible relationship could be exist between impurities and crystalline form of fluconazole.
Plastic Electronic Devices Through Line Patterning of Conducting Polymers (2005)

Abstract A novel method for the preparation of transparent conducting‐polymer patterns on flexible substrates is presented. This method, line patterning, employs mostly standard office equipment, such as drawing software, a laser printer, and commercial overhead transparencies, together with a solution or dispersion of a conducting polymer. The preparation of a seven‐segment polymer‐dispersed liquid‐crystal display using electrodes of the conducting polymer poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(4‐styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) is described in detail. Furthermore, a method to fabricate an eleven‐key push‐button array for keypad applications is presented. Properties of the electrode films and patterns are discussed using microscopy images, atomic force microscopy, conductivity measurements, and tests of film stability.
Optimization of Formulations and Conditions for the Aerosol Delivery of Functional Cationic Lipid:DNA Complexes (1997)

We have examined several variables inherent in aerosolizing cationic lipid:DNA complexes using a jet nebulizer and thereby have optimized the delivery of functional complexes. Maximal aerosol transfer efficiency of cationic lipid:pDNA complexes was quantitated and shown to require the presence of at least 25 mM NaCL as an excipient. This is possibly related to effects on the measured zeta potentials of the complex, which indicate that the complexes are more highly charged in solutions of physiological ionic strength than in solutions of low ionic strength. Inclusion of saline also resulted in retention of the starting lipid to plasmid DNA (pDNA) ratio following nebulization. These data were used to design in vitro aerosolization experiments with tissue culture cells that resulted in the identification of a cationic lipid:pDNA ratio of 0.75:1 (mol:mol) as being optimal for aerosolization. This formulation largely protected pDNA from shear degradation during nebulization and produced a respirable aerosol droplet size (1-3 microns). It was tested further in a mouse model and shown to result in the dose-dependent transfection of mouse lungs, generating the equivalent of several picograms of reporter gene activity per mouse lung. The results of these experiments have provided a set of optimal conditions for nebulizing cationic lipid:pDNA complexes that can be used as a starting point for the further evaluation of aerosol delivery of these nonviral gene delivery vectors in vivo.
Detection by PCR of reductive dehalogenase motifs in a sulfidogenic 2-bromophenol-degrading consortium enriched from estuarine sediment (2003)

Abstract Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were developed based on three known reductive dehalogenase (RDH) genes (pceA from Dehalospirillum multivorans, cprA from Desulfitobacterium dehalogenans, tceA from Dehalococcoides ethenogenes) and used to amplify bands of the appropriate size from a microbial consortium inoculated with contaminated estuarine sediment and enriched under sulfidogenic conditions using 2-bromophenol (2-BP) as the sole carbon source. These PCR fragments were found to contain many of the conserved amino acids and motifs present in the known RDH genes. The three cloned PCR products (2bprdh61, 2bprdh63, 2bprdh81 - designated 2-bromophenol RDH) shared 21 of the 31 conserved amino acids present in the C-terminus of the RDHs in GenBank. (The N-terminus of the RDH protein shares very little homology for the known RDH genes.) All 2-BP PCR products and the known RDH genes were found to contain two iron-sulfur cluster binding domains as well as conserved PCR priming sites. Southern hybridization of genomic DNA revealed multiple bands, implying additional RDH-like motifs in the sulfidogenic 2-BP-degrading consortium. In order to gain information on upstream regions of the RDH-like motifs, DNA fragments containing 2bprdh61, 2bprdh63, and 2bprdh81 were cloned and sequenced via an inverse PCR approach. The results indicated the presence of transposase gene homologues upstream of 2-bprdh61A and 2-bprdh81A. Therefore, some RDH-like PCR products in our consortium are possibly pseudogenes and some RDH genetic diversity may be generated by transposition.
Some Studies on Starch Gelation (1985)

Abstract The mechanical behaviour of starch gels at small static deformations was investigated. In the concentration range 6 ‐ 30% w/w starch gels behave as Hookean solids with a linear dependence between shear modulus and concentration. At a fixed concentration the shear modulus of starch gel increases in the order potato <maize <pea. The starch gel was considered to be a composite in which swollen gelatinized starch granules reinforce an interpenetrating amylose gel matrix. The factors which influence the mechanical behaviour of this composite are discussed.
Leachate Generation and Control at Landfill Disposal Sites (1985)

Abstract A two-part overview of the state-of-the-art in landfill management is presented with emphasis on the production and characteristics of landfill leachate and gas and methods for control and treatment. The patterns of production of landfill leachate and gas are illustrated with results from a landfill simulation study with and without leachate recycle. Leachate treatment options are summarized and fortified by information derived from selected literature reports.
1,2,3-Benzothiadiazoles. Part II. A novel rearrangement of diazonium salts derived from 7-amino-1,2,3-benzothiadiazoles (1970)

Diazotisation of a substituted 7-amino-1,2,3-benzothiadiazole, followed by removal of the diazonium group by hypophosphorous acid or by a Sandmeyer reaction, may lead to a 1,2,3-benzothiadiazole containing an orientation of substituents different from that of the starting material. The occurrence of the rearrangement is governed by the nature and position of the 4- and 6-substituents of the original amino compound.
Convergent evolution of similar enzymatic function on different protein folds: The hexokinase, ribokinase, and galactokinase families of sugar kinases (1993)

Kinases that catalyze phosphorylation of sugars, called here sugar kinases, can be divided into at least three distinct nonhomologous families. The first is the hexokinase family, which contains many prokaryotic and eukaryotic sugar kinases with diverse specificities, including a new member, rhamnokinase from Salmonella typhimurium. The three-dimensional structure of hexokinase is known and can be used to build models of functionally important regions of other kinases in this family. The second is the ribokinase family, of unknown three-dimensional structure, and comprises pro- and eukaryotic ribokinases, bacterial fructokinases, the minor 6-phosphofructokinase 2 from Escherichia coli, 6-phosphotagatokinase, 1-phosphofructokinase, and, possibly, inosine-guanosine kinase. The third family, also of unknown three-dimensional structure, contains several bacterial and yeast galactokinases and eukaryotic mevalonate and phosphomevalonate kinases and may have a substrate binding region in common with homoserine kinases. Each of the three families of sugar kinases appears to have a distinct three-dimensional fold, since conserved sequence patterns are strikingly different for the three families. Yet each catalyzes chemically equivalent reactions on similar or identical substrates. The enzymatic function of sugar phosphorylation appears to have evolved independently on the three distinct structural frameworks, by convergent evolution. In addition, evolutionary trees reveal that (1) fructokinase specificity has evolved independently in both the hexokinase and ribokinase families and (2) glucose specificity has evolved independently in different branches of the hexokinase family. These are examples of independent Darwinian adaptation of a structure to the same substrate at different evolutionary times. The flexible combination of active sites and three-dimensional folds observed in nature can be exploited by protein engineers in designing and optimizing enzymatic function.
A method of measurement of thermal conductivity: Application to free-standing diamond sheet (1993)

Self-supporting diamond sheets, made by the metastable chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique, have been reported to have a range of properties, presumably dependent on the morphological details and the impurity burden of the particular sample. CVD diamonds are typically in the form of large area (i.e., many square cm) sheets averaging a few hundred microns in thickness. For this form of matter, a novel method of thermal conductivity measurement is reported based upon the well-known principle of the phase lag of a traveling thermal wave. In the present variation of this technique, the traveling wave traverses the diamond sheet from its leading edge (which was pulsed with an infrared diode laser) through the point of measurement. The average thermal diffusivity of the sheet was calculated. The equipment is relatively simple and the sample preparation minimal. Both theoretical and experimental details are given. The random error in thermal diffusivity measurements is estimated to be about 7% due mainly to uncertainties in estimating the delay time lag of the thermal wave as it travels along the length of the diamond sheet.
Combined effects of streptozotocin and mitozolomide against four human cell lines of the Mer+ phenotype. (1986)

The majority of human tumor cell lines are proficient in the repair of guanine O6-alkylations (designated Mer+) and are thus capable of preventing the cytotoxic effects of chloroethylating agents. It has been proposed that in these cells guanine O6-chloroethylations are rapidly removed by the enzyme O6-alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase before the formation of DNA interstrand cross-links can occur. In this study pretreatment of four Met+ human cells (A2182 lung carcinoma, A375 melanoma, HT-29 colon carcinoma, and IMR-90 normal lung fibroblasts) with the DNA methylating agent streptozotocin apparently saturates the monoadduct repair system and allows mitozolomide to form interstrand cross-links in these cells. The inhibition of the alkyltransferase results in the continued presence of guanine O6-chloroethylations which then undergo a series of reactions that lead to DNA interstrand cross-link formation. As observed by colony forming assays, streptozotocin pretreatment causes a dramatic increase in the sensitivity of these four Mer+ cell lines to the cytotoxic effects of mitozolomide. These results indicate that a combination of streptozotocin pretreatment followed by mitozolomide may be useful in the treatment of human cancer.
Indirect Estimation Via <i>L</i> = λ<i>W</i> (1989)

For a large class of queueing systems, Little's law (L = λW) helps provide a variety of statistical estimators for the long-run time-average queue length L and the long-run customer-average waiting time W. We apply central limit theorem versions of Little's law to investigate the asymptotic efficiency of these estimators. We show that an indirect estimator for L using the natural estimator for W plus the known arrival rate λ is more efficient than a direct estimator for L, provided that the interarrival and waiting times are negatively correlated, thus extending a variance-reduction principle for the GI/G/s model due to A. M. Law and J. S. Carson. We also introduce a general framework for indirect estimation which can be applied to other problems besides L = λW. We show that the issue of indirect-versus-direct estimation is related to estimation using nonlinear control variables. We also show, under mild regularity conditions, that any nonlinear control-variable scheme is equivalent to a linear control-variable scheme from the point of view of asymptotic efficiency. Finally, we show that asymptotic bias is typically asymptotically negligible compared to asymptotic efficiency.
Anonymous and Traceable Communication Using Tamper-Proof Device for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (2007)

The goal of VANETs is to develop an efficient and se- cure communication system applicable to vehicles to en- hance driver's safety and comfort. Since information flow- ing through VANETs is inherently life-critical and sensi- tive to location privacy, vehicular communications should provide anonymity and authenticity without sacrificing effi- ciency. This makes it difficult to design a secure communi- cation scheme for VANETs. In this paper, we propose the signature scheme which resolve the key update problem in VANETs using tamper-proof device. Using the scheme as a building block, we also propose the vehicle-to-vehicle com- munication protocol which provides desirable but conflict- ing functionalities such as anonymity, authenticity, unlinka- bility, non-repudiation, and traceability.
Optical pressure measurement (2004)

The supersonic combustor of a hypersonic engine is a harsh environment in which to apply close-coupled sensors. While fiber optic sensors have some inherent advantages over conventional electronic sensors, the first challenge was to design a fiber optic connector that could support the application of fiber optic sensors. We have designed a high-temperature fiber optic connector that will allow the placement of a fiber optic sensor into the wall of a high-temperature pressure vessel such as the DCR combustor. This connector has proven versatile enough to support monitoring of the ignition status of the combustor via looking at the spectral content of the flame. Additional information about the combustion process can be obtained by using multiple fibers and multiple detectors with different wavelength sensitivities or by connecting the fiber to a spectrometer. We have also shown that two different fiber optic transducer manufacturers, using two different fiber optic sensing technologies, can produce fiber optic pressure transducers that can be installed inside of the high-temperature fiber optic connector. These pressure transducers were closely coupled to the combustor and have successfully monitored the combustor pressure during short ground tests. The transducers used for these tests were modifications of standard designs by Fiso Technologies and Optrand Inc. The small size of the fiber optic pressure transducers and their high-temperature capability allowed them to be applied in locations where the application of conventional strain gauge transducers is not possible. Such close coupling of the transducers allowed observation of phenomena not seen with prior existing instrumentation. Both of the transducers furnished useful data; however, optimization of the transducers was not possible under the scope of this program. It should be noted that the hypersonic DCR tests are short ground tests using heat sink model hardware. The optical sensors have not yet been proven in a flight environment, where the run times will be longer and the combustor temperatures will be higher. We must perform additional work to make them ready for flight tests.
Plasma pharmacokinetics of idarubicin and its 13-dihydro metabolite???a comparison of bolus versus 2 h infusion during a 3 day course (1997)

The plasma pharmacokinetics of a second generation anthracycline derivative, idarubicin (Ida), have been studied in 17 patients with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) and high risk features. The drug (10 mg/m2) was given in a randomized cross-over design as 3 min and 2 h infusions for three consecutive days. Cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C, 1 g/m2) was given on days 1-4. The plasma concentration time course of Ida was most properly described by the three-compartment pharmacokinetic model, independent of administration time. The maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of Ida was reduced by a factor of 3 by increasing the infusion time from 3 min to 2 h. The pharmacokinetic pattern of the active metabolite idarubicinol (IdaOH) was only to a minor extent affected by the longer infusion time. The time course of IdaOH following each dose of Ida was accurately described by the one-compartment model with a first-order formation phase. The are under the plasma concentration versus time curves (AUC) of Ida and IdaOH were not affected by the administration time. Following Ida in combination with Ara-C, the medial duration of leukopenia (< 1.0 x 10(9)/l) was 14 days (range 5-56) and of thrombocytopenia (< 50 x 10(9)/l) was 22 days (range 7-120). The large majority of patients developed infectious complications. Two patients with MDS-AML showed a good response. The results of the present study give no evidence of reduced hematologic toxicity by increasing the administration time of Ida from 3 min to 2 h. However, minimizing Cmax, by administration of Ida as prolonged infusion during a 3 day course, might be clinically important in order to reduce cardiotoxicity and hopefully to increase anti-tumor efficacy through an increased accumulation of Ida and IdaOH in leukemic cells.
Pathogenesis and Pathophysiology of Pneumococcal Meningitis (2011)

Pneumococcal meningitis continues to be associated with high rates of mortality and long-term neurological sequelae. The most common route of infection starts by nasopharyngeal colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae, which must avoid mucosal entrapment and evade the host immune system after local activation. During invasive disease, pneumococcal epithelial adhesion is followed by bloodstream invasion and activation of the complement and coagulation systems. The release of inflammatory mediators facilitates pneumococcal crossing of the blood-brain barrier into the brain, where the bacteria multiply freely and trigger activation of circulating antigen-presenting cells and resident microglial cells. The resulting massive inflammation leads to further neutrophil recruitment and inflammation, resulting in the well-known features of bacterial meningitis, including cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis, cochlear damage, cerebral edema, hydrocephalus, and cerebrovascular complications. Experimental animal models continue to further our understanding of the pathophysiology of pneumococcal meningitis and provide the platform for the development of new adjuvant treatments and antimicrobial therapy. This review discusses the most recent views on the pathophysiology of pneumococcal meningitis, as well as potential targets for (adjunctive) therapy.
Topology and structure of an engineered human cohesin complex bound to Pds5B (2016)

The cohesin subunits Smc1, Smc3 and Scc1 form large tripartite rings which mediate sister chromatid cohesion and chromatin structure. These are thought to entrap DNA with the help of the associated proteins SA1/2 and Pds5A/B. Structural information is available for parts of cohesin, but analyses of entire cohesin complexes are limited by their flexibility. Here we generated a more rigid 'bonsai' cohesin by truncating the coiled coils of Smc1 and Smc3 and used single-particle electron microscopy, chemical crosslinking-mass spectrometry and in silico modelling to generate three-dimensional models of cohesin bound to Pds5B. The HEAT-repeat protein Pds5B forms a curved structure around the nucleotide-binding domains of Smc1 and Smc3 and bridges the Smc3-Scc1 and SA1-Scc1 interfaces. These results indicate that Pds5B forms an integral part of the cohesin ring by contacting all other cohesin subunits, a property that may reflect the complex role of Pds5 proteins in controlling cohesin-DNA interactions.
Pressure dependence of argon cluster size for different nozzle geometries (2009)

We experimentally study Rayleigh scattering from a cluster jet produced by high pressure argon gas expanding into vacuum through four different nozzles (a supersonic slit nozzle, a slit nozzle, a conical nozzle, and a sonic nozzle). The scattering signal intensity and the scattering image are recorded by photomultiplier tube and charge-coupled device camera, respectively. Based on the scattering image, the atom density in the gas flow is estimated. This allows for the comparison of the dependence of average cluster size on argon gas backing pressure between the nozzles. The experimental results show that the planar expansion developed from the supersonic slit and the slit nozzles exhibits the higher atom density than the axisymmetric expansion from the conical and the sonic nozzles. The slit nozzle is shown to have the highest pressure dependence of average cluster size. It is found that the supersonic slit nozzle is more favorable to the large clusters than the slit nozzle under the backing pressure of up to 50 bars, though it has the lower pressure dependence of average cluster size.