gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Normal Doppler Parameters of Portal Vein and Hepatic Artery in 37 Healthy Iranian Volunteers (2006)

Background/Objective: Doppler sonography is a valuable noninvasive method for the diagnosis of various liver diseases. However, there is scarce information on normal parameters of hepatic artery (HA) and portal vein (PV) in Iran. This study was conducted to assess normal Doppler indices of HA and PV in normal Iranian population. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 37 (18 female, 19 male) healthy volunteers aged 20-40 years underwent Doppler sonography after 8 hours of fasting. PV was assessed at crossing point with inferior vena cava in normal respiration and HA in the hepatic hilum. Results: The mean±SD PV diameter was 9.36±1.65 mm. The mean±SD maximum, and mean velocity of PV were 35.28±16.54 and 27.317±13.139, respectively. The mean±SD peak systolic velocity and resistance index of HA were 67.64±33.48 and 0.76±0.07, respectively. Conclusion: Normal Doppler parameters of HA and PV depend on different factors like gender, respiratory phase and technique of measurement and there is no uniform standard technique for these measurements. These factors must be considered when using Doppler parameters for diagnosis of liver disease.
<scp>IL</scp>‐22, not simply a Th17 cytokine (2013)

Interleukin-22 (IL-22) has important functions in host defense at mucosal surfaces as well as in tissue repair. It is unique as a cytokine that is produced by immune cells, including T-helper (Th) cell subsets and innate lymphocytes, but acts only on non-hematopoietic stromal cells, in particular epithelial cells, keratinocytes, and hepatocytes. Although IL-22 is beneficial to the host in many infectious and inflammatory disorders, depending on the target tissue it can be pathogenic due to its inherent pro-inflammatory properties, which are further enhanced when IL-22 is released together with other pro-inflammatory cytokines, in particular IL-17. To avoid pathology, IL-22 and IL-17 production have to be controlled tightly and independently. While common factors such as signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and retinoid orphan receptor γt (RORγt) drive the expression of both cytokines, other factors, such as c-Maf act specifically on IL-22 and enable the separate expression of either cytokine. Here, we discuss the production of IL-22 from various T-cell populations as well as protective versus pathogenic roles of IL-22. Finally, we focus on recent advances in our understanding of the molecular regulation of IL-22 in T cells.
Educational Technologies for Precollege Engineering Education (2011)

Numerous efforts seek to increase awareness, interest, and participation in scientific and technological fields at the precollege level. Studies have shown these students are at a critical age where exposure to engineering and other related fields such as science, mathematics, and technology greatly impact their career goals. A variety of advanced learning technologies have emerged to enhance learning, promote hands-on experiences, and increase interest in engineering. However, creating and sustaining technology-infused learning environments at the precollege level is a challenging task, as many schools have limited resources and expertise. Moreover, while numerous technology solutions are available to support ambitious engineering-learning goals, choosing the right technology to align to program goals and resources may be a daunting task. In this work, we fill the gap between the applicability of educational implements and suitable teaching methods for precollege engineering. We present an overview of available hardware- and software-based technologies, and characterize these technologies based on criteria such as median price, the type of learning activities fostered, and the required users' expertise levels. In addition, we outline how these technologies align with deductive and inductive teaching methods that emphasize direct-instruction, inquiry-, problem-, and project-based methods, as studies have shown these methods are effective for precollege engineering education.
Pulse Wave Ultrasound Manometry (PWUM): Measuring central blood pressure non-invasively (2011)

As it has been widely established using invasive methodologies, central blood pressure (CBP) has a strong clinical relevance. Despite its significance, CBP is particularly challenging to measure in standard clinical practice. Pulse-Wave-based Ultrasound Manometry (PWUM) is a simple-to-use, non-invasive ultrasound-based method that combines Pulse Wave Imaging (PWI) and vessel diameter measurements for the quantitative regional and noninvasive measurement of the central pulse pressure. The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of the proposed method in human subjects and to compare the PWUM to non-invasive arterial tonometry. Arterial wall displacements were estimated using radiofrequency (RF) ultrasound signals at high frame rates (248-392 Hz) using a Sonix Touch (Ultrasonix, Burnaby, Canada) system at 3.3 MHz. This allowed for (1) the estimation of the Young's modulus of the arterial wall, based on an image-guided measurement of the Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) and the Moens-Korteweg equation, and (2) the estimation of the vessel distension waveform over the entire cardiac cycle. The combination of these two measurements allowed for the computation of the pressure waveform under the assumption of linear elasticity. The PWUM method was tested on the abdominal aorta of 11 healthy subjects (age 35.7± 16 y.o.). The PWUM pulse pressure measurements were compared to those obtained by radial applanation tonometry that uses a commercial system (SphygmoCor, Company, location) that estimates the pulse pressure at the thoracic aorta through a transfer function approach based on peripheral (carotid and radial) pressure measurements. All subjects were tested with both PWUM and tonometry to evaluate the performance of the former. The average intra-subject variability of the pulse pressure amplitude was found to be equal to 4.2 mmHg, demonstrating good reproducibility of the method. Excellent correlation was found between the waveforms obtained by PWUM and those obtained by tonometry in all subjects (0.94 <; r <; 0.98). A significant bias of 4.7 mmHg was found between PWUM and tonometry. The feasibility of the PWUM method was demonstrated in this study. PWUM is a simple, non-invasive and regional ultrasound-based method that provides a direct measurement of the pulse pressure waveform at the imaged location, and may offer therefore the capability of estimating the pulse pressure at different arterial sites. This can constitute an important alternative to current, clinically used central pressure methodologies that are either invasive (catheterization) or incur the solution of an inverse problem based on several assumptions on geometry and boundary conditions. Future developments include the validation of the method against invasive estimates, application to other central arteries, in the presence and absence of cardiovascular disease.
Inhibition of tumor growth by DNA vaccines encoding TRAIL receptor DR5 (2008)

2872 Engagement of TRAIL with cognate death receptors (DR) induces apoptotic tumor cell death in preclinical models but TRAIL resistant cancers are often encountered. Results from Phase I clinical trials with mAb to human DR4/5 showed limited toxicity and stable disease in some cases. We hypothesize that induction of anti-DR Ab by active vaccination will provide protective anti-tumor immunity. To test this hypothesis, BALB/c mice were depleted of regulatory T cells and immunized 3-4 times by intramuscular electro-vaccination with plasmid DNA encoding the extracellular and transmembrane domains of mouse DR5 (mDR5) fused at the C-terminus with domain 1 of tetanus toxin fragment C (pmDR5ectm-Td.1). The level of vaccine-induced anti-mDR5 Ab was measured by flow cytometry via specific binding to D2F2 mouse mammary tumor cells transiently transfected with pmDR5ectm/GFP containing mDR5ectm sequence regulated by pCMV promoter followed by eGFP under an IRES sequence; therefore, transfected cells expressing the recombinant mDR5 also expressed eGFP. Binding of immune sera to D2F2-mDR5/GFP cells with green fluorescence indicated the presence of anti-mDR5 Ab. Anti-mDR5 mAb MD5-1 was the positive control binding 100% of the cells which expressed the transgene. At 1:20 dilution, DR5 immune sera bound 2, 7, 31, and 37% of DR5/eGFP positive cells following one, two, three and four DNA vaccinations, respectively. Electro-vaccination with heterologous human or rat DR5 DNA did not induce anti-mDR5 Ab. To test anti-tumor activity, BALB/c mice electro-vaccinated with pmDR5ectm-Td1 and pGM-CSF four to five times following Treg depletion were challenged s.c. with mammary tumors D2F2 or TUBO. Both tumor lines expressed endogenous mDR5 at modest levels. Approximately 30% of immunized mice were protected from the challenge suggesting that anti-mDR5 Ab induced by DNA vaccination may inhibit tumor growth. Because TRAIL is also implicated in mediating immune surveillance and thymocyte apoptosis and DR5 expression is upregulated upon T cell activation, tumor rejection by pmDR5 vaccination may occur via indirect T cell modulation as well as direct killing of tumor cells. Further investigation of the mechanism will provide necessary insight to enhance DR5 Ab response and combine DR5 vaccination with conventional therapies. (CA76340 and DOD W81XWH-07-1-0521)
Molecular Engineering of Organic Dyes for Improved Recombination Lifetime in Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (2013)

A major limitation of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells is a short electron diffusion length, which is due to fast recombination between electrons in the TiO2 electron-transporting layer and holes in the 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD) hole-transporting layer. In this report, the sensitizing dye that separates the TiO2 from the Spiro-OMeTAD was engineered to slow recombination and increase device performance. Through the synthesis and characterization of three new organic D-pi-A sensitizing dyes (WN1, WN3, and WN3.1), the quantity and placement of alkyl chains on the sensitizing dye were found to play a significant role in the suppression of recombination. In solid-state devices using Spiro-OMeTAD as the hole-transport material, these dyes achieved the following efficiencies: 4.9% for WN1, 5.9% for WN3, and 6.3% for WN3.1, compared to 6.6% achieved with Y123 as a reference dye. Of the dyes investigated in this study, WN3.1 is shown to be the most effective at suppressing recombination in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells, using transient photovoltage and photocurrent measurements.
Wnt Signaling in Liver Cancer (2008)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer death worldwide. As in many other types of cancer, aberrant activation of the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway is an important contributor to tumorigenesis. In HCC this frequently occurs through mutations in the N-terminal region of beta-catenin that stabilize the protein and permit an elevated level of constitutive transcriptional activation by beta-catenin/TCF complexes. In this article we review the abundant evidence that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling contributes to liver carcinogenesis. We also discuss what is known about the roles of Wnt signaling in liver development, regeneration, and stem cell behavior, in an effort to understand the mechanisms by which activation of the canonical Wnt pathway promotes tumor formation in this organ. The Wnt/beta-catenin pathway presents itself as an attractive target for developing novel rational therapies for HCC, a disease for which few successful treatment strategies are currently available.
IL-22–producing neutrophils contribute to antimicrobial defense and restitution of colonic epithelial integrity during colitis (2013)

IL-22 plays an important role in mucosal epithelial cell homeostasis. Using a dextran sodium sulfate-induced mouse model of acute colitis, we observed an IL-23-dependent up-regulation of IL-22 in the middle and distal colon at the onset of epithelial cell damage. This heightened IL-22 correlated with an influx of innate immune cells, suggesting an important role in colonic epithelial protection. Freshly isolated colon-infiltrating neutrophils produced IL-22 contingent upon IL-23 signaling, and IL-22 production was augmented by TNF-α. Importantly, the depletion of neutrophils resulted in diminished IL-22 levels in the colon, and the transfer of IL-22-competent neutrophils to Il22a-deficient mice protected the colonic epithelium from dextran sodium sulfate-induced damage. In addition, IL-22-producing neutrophils targeted colonic epithelial cells to up-regulate the antimicrobial peptides, RegIIIβ and S100A8. This study establishes a role for neutrophils in providing IL-22-dependent mucosal epithelial support that contributes to the resolution of colitis.
Analysis of heterostructures for electroluminescent refrigeration and light emitting without heat generation (2010)

We perform a self-consistent calculation to investigate the feasibility of electroluminescent refrigeration and light emitting without heat generation in AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures, taking into account the effects of various recombination processes. The effect of radiation extraction on the cooling capacity and efficiency is also considered. Carrier blocking layers are used to almost eliminate current leakage and improve the injection efficiency to nearly 100%. An analysis is presented of the cooling power density, the cooling efficiency, and the radiative power density as functions of the applied voltage. We also explore the dependences of the cooling related quantities on the thickness and the doping of the active region. A GaAs active layer of thickness 5 μm at 300 K can give a limiting cooling power density of 97 W/cm2. We show that a net cooling power (&gt;several W/cm2) and a high-power light emitting (&gt;100 W/cm2) without heating are feasible. They require an overall efficiency of more than 90%, which is easily achieved if the photon recycling efficiency is high.
Synthetic emmprin peptides inhibit tumor cell-fibroblast interaction-stimulated upregulation of MMP-2 and tumor cell invasion (2011)

Stromal cells are the main source of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in human carcinoma tissues. Emmprin is a glycosylated transmembrane protein containing two immunoglobulin (Ig) domains that is expressed in carcinoma cells and stimulates MMP production by adjacent stromal cells. The first Ig domain (ECI) of emmprin contains the biologically active site. We investigated whether synthetic peptides carrying a partial ECI sequence could inhibit emmprin activity. Only the second peptide (emp#2), which contains a putative N-glycosylation site sequence, inhibited emmprin-stimulated production of MMP-2 in co-cultures of fibroblasts and several different human tumor cells types, including carcinoma, sarcoma, melanoma, leukemia and glioma cells. Moreover, emp#2 significantly inhibited the invasive activity of glioblastoma cells promoted by interaction with fibroblasts. Perturbation of emmprin activity by this peptide may have potential therapeutic uses in the prevention of MMP-2-dependent cancer invasion.
Universal Rasterizer with edge equations and tile-scan triangle traversal algorithm for graphics processing units (2009)

The rasterization stage in a graphics processing unit (GPU), which consists of triangle setup, rasterization, and parameter interpolation with plane equations, always requires huge operations and is usually the bottleneck of the performance. For real-time applications, a Universal Rasterizer (UR) with edge equations and a tile-scan triangle traversal algorithm are proposed for low cost graphics rendering. In UR, the basic functions for parameter interpolation and rasterization can be executed with a universal shared hardware to reduce the cost. The result shows that it can minimize the processing time of triangle traversal and guarantee no reiteration when traverse. With the hardware sharing and architecture design techniques of pipelining and scheduling, it can achieve the real-time requirements for graphics applications with reasonable hardware cost.
The antifungal drug ciclopirox inhibits deoxyhypusine and proline hydroxylation, endothelial cell growth and angiogenesis <i>in vitro</i> (2002)

The hypusine biosynthetic steps represent novel targets for intervention in cell proliferation. Hypusine is a rare amino acid, formed posttranslationally in one cellular protein, eIF5A, and is essential for cell proliferation. Deoxyhypusine hydroxylase, the metalloenzyme catalyzing the final step in hypusine biosynthesis, and prolyl 4-hydroxylase, a non-heme iron enzyme critical for collagen processing, can be inhibited by small chelating molecules that target their essential metal atom. We examined the effects of 5 compounds (ciclopirox, deferiprone, deferoxamine, mimosine and 2,2'-dipyridyl) on these protein hydroxylases in HUVECs, on cell proliferation and on angiogenesis using 2 model assays: tube-like vessel formation on Matrigel and the chick aortic arch sprouting assay. These compounds inhibited cellular deoxyhypusine hydroxylase in a concentration-dependent manner, but their efficacy varied widely in the following order: ciclopirox--> deferoxamine-->2,2'-dipyridyl-->deferiprone-->mimosine (IC(50) 5-200 microM). Inhibition of DNA synthesis, following the same order (IC(50) 10-450 microM), correlated with G(1) arrest of the cell cycle. These compounds also inhibited proline hydroxylation and maturation of collagen in HUVECs and caused inhibition of angiogenesis in vitro. Of the compounds tested, ciclopirox was by far the most effective inhibitor of HUVEC proliferation and angiogenesis. The strong antiangiogenic activity of this readily available antifungal drug along with its antiproliferative effects suggests a new potential application for ciclopirox in the treatment of solid tumors.
Proactively Breaking Large Pages to Improve Memory Overcommitment Performance in VMware ESXi (2015)

VMware ESXi leverages hardware support for MMU virtualization available in modern Intel/AMD CPUs. To optimize address translation performance when running on such CPUs, ESXi preferably uses host large pages (2MB in x86-64 systems) to back VM's guest memory. While using host large pages provides best performance when host has sufficient free memory, it increases host memory pressure and effectively defeats page sharing. Hence, the host is more likely to hit the point where ESXi has to reclaim VM memory through much more expensive techniques such as ballooning or host swapping. As a result, using host large pages may significantly hurt consolidation ratio.
Thermomechanical-Noise-Limited Capacitive Transduction of Encapsulated MEM Resonators (2019)

The thermomechanical motion imposes the fundamental noise limit in room-temperature resonant sensors and oscillators. Due to the inherently low sensitivity of capacitive transduction in microelectromechanical (MEM) resonators, its effects are often masked by noise in the subsequent amplifier and measurement stages. In this work, we demonstrate a capacitive transduction scheme for measuring kHz-MHz frequency MEM resonators across 1 μm capacitive gaps with 99.8% thermomechanical-noise-limited resolution. We delineate the transimpedance gain and noise of our custom off-chip differential transimpedance amplifier setup. The thermomechanical noise spectrum can provide estimates of the resonant frequency, quality factor, and electromechanical transduction factor comparable to the commonly used driven response, without the downsides of capacitive feedthrough or nonlinearity.
PTH-137 Phosphare studies: important changes in phosphate homeostasis and bone metabolism after IV iron (2019)

<h3>Introduction</h3> Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most common extraintestinal complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and IV iron is commonly used to treat IDA in IBD. Of the two commonly used IV iron preparations, ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) and iron isomaltoside IIM, there is evidence that FCM can cause hypophosphatemia due to FGF23 mediated renal phosphate wasting, which has been associated with osteomalacia; the comparative effects of IIM are unknown. <h3>Methods</h3> In two identical, open-label trials, 245 adults with IDA randomly received (1:1) IIM (1×1000 mg) or FCM (2×750 mg; 1 week apart). We compared the incidence, severity and duration of hypophosphatemia, and effects on fractional phosphate urinary excretion (FEPO4), FGF23, parathyroid hormone (PTH), vitamin D (VitD), and bone turnover biomarkers in blood and urine. <h3>Results</h3> In a pooled analysis, the incidence of hypophosphatemia <2 mg/dL was markedly higher in the FCM vs. IIM group (74.4% vs. 8.0%, p<0.0001). Hypophosphatemia persisted at day 35 in 43.0% of FCM-treated patients compared to 0.9% of IIM-treated patients (p<0.0001). Severe hypophosphatemia ≤1 mg/dL occurred in 11.3% of FCM patients compared to 0.0% of IIM-treated patients (p<0.0001). FCM infusion significantly increased intact FGF23 compared to IIM (p<0.0001): FGF23 after FCM rose from 49.9 pg/mL at baseline to 149.5 pg/mL one day post-infusion; and to 327.9 pg/ml by day 8.The corresponding figures for IIM were 59.9 pg/mL at baseline, 58.3 pg/mL by day 1 and 66.9 pg/mL by day 8. Compared to treatment with IIM, FCM significantly: increased FEPO4; decreased serum 1,25-(OH)2 vitD; decreased ionized calcium; and increased PTH, which persisted through day 35. Post-FCM changes were accompanied by significant increases in total and bone specific alkaline phosphatase that persisted through day 35. Correction of IDA was comparable between the two treatments. Significantly fewer adverse drug reactions occurred with IIM than with FCM. Serious or severe hypersensitivity reactions occurred in 0.8% in the IIM group and 1.7% in the FCM group. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Compared to IIM, FCM-induced high rates of FGF23-mediated hypophosphatemia, which was frequently severe and often persisted for >35 days. FCM, but not IIM, induced changes in vitD and calcium homeostasis that triggered secondary hyperparathyroidism, which likely contributed to persistence of hypophosphatemia. Alteration of bone metabolism after FCM administration may be of great clinical significance particularly for IBD patients who often have low vit D and regularly receive iv iron.
Making electronic information accessible to everyone (2002)

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1998 requires that all electronic information used by federal agencies be accessible to people with vision, hearing, and mobility impairments. Section 508 only applies to federal agencies at this time. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the W3C defines three levels of priority for Web accessibility. Some of the Section 508 requirements are based on Priority I of the WAI. However, WAI recommendations are entirely voluntary. Even though there is no mandate to impose these requirements on commercial software or web pages, most of these requirements are not difficult to meet. If you are involved in the design and development and documentation of software applications, or Web pages, you should know how to apply accessibility features to your applications.