gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
The β‐Lactams Strike Back: Ceftazidime‐Avibactam (2015)

Gram-negative resistance has reached a crucial point, with emergence of pathogens resistant to most or all available antibiotics. Ceftazidime-avibactam is a newly approved agent combining ceftazidime and a novel β-lactamase inhibitor with activity against multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria. Avibactam has increased potency and expanded spectrum of inhibition of class A and C β-lactamases relative to available β-lactamase inhibitors, including extended-spectrum β-lactamases, AmpC, and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) enzymes. Avibactam expands ceftazidime's spectrum of activity to include many ceftazidime- and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Early clinical data indicate that ceftazidime-avibactam is effective and well tolerated in patients with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) and complicated intraabdominal infections (cIAI). In a phase II trial of patients with cUTIs, ceftazidime-avibactam produced similar rates of clinical and microbiologic success compared with imipenem-cilastatin (70.5% and 71.4% microbiologic success rates, respectively). Likewise, patients receiving ceftazidime-avibactam plus metronidazole in a phase II study of patients with cIAI had similar response rates to those receiving meropenem (91.2% and 93.4% clinical success rates, respectively). Based on available in vitro, in vivo, and phase II trial data, as well as preliminary phase III trial results in ceftazidime-resistant, gram-negative cUTI and cIAI, ceftazidime-avibactam received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for treatment of cUTI, including pyelonephritis, and cIAI, in combination with metronidazole, in adult patients with limited or no alternative treatment options. The approved dosage, ceftazidime 2 g-avibactam 0.5 g administered as a 2-hour infusion every 8 hours, was selected based on pharmacodynamic analysis and available clinical data. This dosage is under further investigation in patients with cUTI, cIAI, and nosocomial or ventilator-associated pneumonia. The current body of evidence suggests that ceftazidime-avibactam is a promising addition to our therapeutic armamentarium with potential to answer an urgent unmet medical need. Further data in highly resistant gram-negative infections, particularly those caused by KPC-producing Enterobacteriaceae, are needed. As it is introduced into clinical use, careful stewardship and rational use are essential to preserve ceftazidime-avibactam's potential utility.
Effects of thiazolidinediones for early treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. (2002)

The thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are a new class of oral antidiabetic agents used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. TZDs are selective and potent agonists of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, which is expressed in target tissues for insulin action and in a variety of cells that play an important role in atherosclerosis. TZDs primarily improve glycemic control by reducing insulin resistance in target tissues. Evidence also suggests that the TZDs may have a direct, beneficial effect on beta-cell function. In patients with impaired glucose tolerance (prediabetics), treatment with a TZD improves insulin secretory responses and proinsulin concentrations. These beta-cell-specific effects may result in prolongation of beta-cell function and the enduring glycemic control necessary to prevent microvascular complications. Durable glycemic control has not been clearly demonstrated with other antihyperglycemic agents. The TZDs may prevent or delay the macrovascular complications associated with type 2 diabetes. TZDs improve the characteristic dyslipidemia of type 2 diabetes, promote decreases in blood pressure, and enhance fibrinolysis. In addition, they exert direct effects on the vasculature, including the ability to decrease the intimal medial thickness and inhibit transendothelial migration of monocytes. These demonstrated antiatherogenic effects may reduce the cardiovascular complications commonly associated with type 2 diabetes. TZDs also reduce microalbuminuria to a greater extent than other agents. Use of a TZD early in the course of therapy may reduce the risk of development of many of the long-term microvascular and macrovascular complications associated with type 2 diabetes.
Evolutionary considerations in relating oligosaccharide diversity to biological function (1999)

The oligosaccharide chains (glycans) attached to cell surface and extracellular proteins and lipids are known to mediate many important biological roles. However, for many glycans, there are still no evident functions that are of obvious benefit to the organism that synthesizes them. There is also no clear explanation for the extreme complexity and diversity of glycans that can be found on a given glycoconjugate or cell type. Based on the limited information available about the scope and distribution of this diversity among taxonomic groups, it is difficult to see clear trends or patterns consistent with different evolutionary lineages. It appears that closely related species may not necessarily share close similarities in their glycan diversity, and that more derived species may have simpler as well as more complex structures. Intraspecies diversity can also be quite extensive, often without obvious functional relevance. We suggest one general explanation for these observations, that glycan diversification in complex multicellular organisms is driven by evolutionary selection pressures of both endogenous and exogenous origin. We argue that exogenous selection pressures mediated by viral and microbial pathogens and parasites that recognize glycans have played a more prominent role, favoring intra- and interspecies diversity. This also makes it difficult to appreciate and elucidate the specific endogenous roles of the glycans within the organism that synthesizes them.
Boosting the Battery Life of Wearables for Health Monitoring Through the Compression of Biosignals (2017)

Modern wearable Internet of Things (IoT) devices enable the monitoring of vital parameters such as heart or respiratory (RESP) rates, electrocardiography (ECG), photo-plethysmographic (PPG) signals within e-health applications. A common issue of wearable technology is that signal transmission is power-demanding and, as such, devices require frequent battery charges and this poses serious limitations to the continuous monitoring of vitals. To ameliorate this, we advocate the use of lossy signal compression as a means to decrease the data size of the gathered biosignals and, in turn, boost the battery life of wearables and allow for fine-grained and long-term monitoring. Considering 1-D biosignals such as ECG, RESP, and PPG, which are often available from commercial wearable IoT devices, we provide a thorough review of existing biosignal compression algorithms. Besides, we present novel approaches based on online dictionaries, elucidating their operating principles and providing a quantitative assessment of compression, reconstruction and energy consumption performance of all schemes. As we quantify, the most efficient schemes allow reductions in the signal size of up to 100 times, which entail similar reductions in the energy demand, by still keeping the reconstruction error within 4% of the peak-to-peak signal amplitude. Finally, avenues for future research are discussed. © 2014 IEEE.
Low-density carbon fiber composites (1976)

Low-density discontinuous carbon fiber composites have attractive properties for utilization in the aerospace, nuclear reactor, and high-temperature furnace applications as a shock-resistant structural thermal-insulating material. They are quite refractory, have a high ratio of strength to weight, a low coefficient of thermal conductivity, high resilience, and excellent toughness. Mechanical and thermal property data are present for the basic, low-density carbon fiber composite system (typically 0.1 to 0.3 g/cc density). High-strength varieties, with densities between 0.3 and 0.9 g/cc and compressive strengths ranging to nearly 90 MPa, were prepared and evaluated for thermal and physical characteristics. Methods of improving composite resilience were investigated, leading to the development of materials which fully recover on unloading from 20 percent strain, and with a permanent set of less than 5 percent on unloading from 50 percent strain.
Determination of oestrogen concentrations in bovine plasma by a recombinant oestrogen receptor–reporter gene yeast bioassay† (1998)

A recombinant cell yeast bioassay (RCBA) was applied to the generic measurement of bovine plasma oestrogen concentration. Samples were prepared by diethyl ether extraction of plasma following addition of [3H]17 beta-oestradiol as internal standard; organic and aqueous phases were separated by freezing (recovery 97.1 +/- 0.7%) and dried extract reconstituted in culture medium (recovery 31.4 +/- 4.5%). Plasma oestrogen concentrations were measured by incubation of extracts with yeast containing a stable human oestrogen receptor (hER) and a reporter construct comprising an hER response element regulating beta-galactosidase expression. The linearity of response for the analysis of spiked plasma samples using the RCBA, following corrections, is described by y = 0.8994x - 0.111 (r2 = 0.9776, P < 0.0001). Inter-assay variation for endogenous oestrogen was 11.5% for > 1 pg ml-1. Plasma oestrogen concentrations for intact (n = 5) and castrated (n = 3) males were < 0.5 pg ml-1, and 3.7 +/- 2.6 pg ml-1 for luteal phase females (n = 10). Analysis by RCBA of sequential samples from heifers during the reproductive cycle failed to detect the pre-ovulatory increase in plasma 17 beta-oestradiol as determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA) (maximal concentrations 2.09 +/- 2.1 pg ml-1 and 32.6 +/- 14.6 pg ml-1, respectively). Interestingly, when samples were hydrolysed using Helix pomatia glucuronidase the RCBA gave concentrations (29.5 +/- 8.9 pg ml-1) not significantly different to those obtained by RIA. These preliminary findings suggest that a substantial proportion of plasma oestrogen during the pre-ovulatory period may be conjugated. These data indicate the potential of the RCBA to measure biologically active and physiological levels of plasma oestrogens in cattle. One potentially valuable application of this generic oestrogen assay could be in surveillance programmes to detect illegal use of anabolic oestrogens in live-stock where the identity of the analyte may be unknown.
Asperterrestide A, a Cytotoxic Cyclic Tetrapeptide from the Marine-Derived Fungus <i>Aspergillus terreus</i> SCSGAF0162 (2013)

A new cytotoxic and antiviral cyclic tetrapeptide, asperterrestide A (1), a new alkaloid, terremide C (2), and a new aromatic butenolide, aspernolide E (3), together with 10 known compounds were isolated from the fermentation broth of the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus terreus SCSGAF0162. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configuration of 1 was determined by the Mosher ester technique and analysis of the acid hydrolysates using a chiral-phase HPLC column. Compound 1 contains a rare 3-OH-N-CH3-Phe residue and showed cytotoxicity against U937 and MOLT4 human carcinoma cell lines and inhibitory effects on influenza virus strains H1N1 and H3N2.
Ideal rear contact formed via employing a conjugated polymer for Si/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cells (2016)

PFN is introduced to the Al/n-Si interface to improve the contact quality by reducing the work function of Al electrode, getting an ohmic contact. An excellent photovoltaic efficiency of 13.35% has been achieved in a planar device with a PFN layer.
Bolus methylprednisolone therapy in adult idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. (1987)

Eleven patients with adult idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) were treated with bolus methylprednisolone at doses of 1 g/day for 3 days. In nine of eleven patients the platelet count rose to more than 100 X 10(9)/l during 2-9 days. In two other patients, it rose to 81 X 10(9)/l and 43 X 10(9)/l. In six of eleven patients splenectomy was carried out without any platelet transfusion when the platelets rose to more than 100 X 10(9)/l after bolus mPSL therapy. Bolus mPSL therapy is efficient as a pre-treatment for a planned splenectomy in adult ITP.
Extinction of tyrosine aminotransferase gene activity in somatic cell hybrids involves modification and loss of several essential transcriptional activators. (1993)

Extinction is defined as the loss of cell type-specific gene expression that occurs in somatic cell hybrids derived by fusion of cells with dissimilar phenotypes. To explore the basis of this dominant-negative regulation, we have studied the activities of the control elements of the liver-specific gene encoding tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) in hepatoma/fibroblast hybrid crosses. We show that extinction in complete somatic cell hybrids is accompanied by the loss of activity of all known cell type-specific control elements of the TAT gene. This inactivity is the result of first, lack of expression of genes coding for the transcriptional activators HNF4 and HNF3 beta and HNF3 gamma, which bind to essential elements of the enhancers; and second, loss of in vivo binding and activity of ubiquitous factors to these enhancers, including CREB, which is the target for repression by the tissue-specific extinguisher locus TSE1. Complete extinction of TAT gene activity is therefore a multifactorial process affecting all three enhancers controlling liver-specific and hormone-inducible expression. It results from lack of activation, rather than active repression, and involves both post-translational modification and loss of essential transcriptional activators.
The Vasculature of Xenotransplanted Human Melanomas and Sarcomas on Nude Mice (1989)

The tumor-inherent vasculature plays a major role with respect to tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation. Ultrastructural studies of the tumor vasculature are necessary in order to obtain more detailed information on the architecture and structure and on the sites affected by tumor therapy. The vasculature of xenotransplanted human tumors on nude mice was investigated in this study by means of scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Structurally complete, real arteries or veins are neither to be seen in the periphery nor in the center. Large-caliber vessels basically have a capillary wall structure. The endothelial cells show a very alternating height and electron density. Frequently, different cell types and tumor cells themselves are apparently involved in the formation of the vessel wall. The endothelium is characterized by very simple, immature cell contacts. In some tumors, the amount of vessels without or with incomplete endothelium seems to be higher than the number of structurally real capillaries. This has consequences as well for radiotherapy as for hyperthermia and chemotherapy.
Inhibition of DNA methylation by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine suppresses the growth of human tumor cell lines. (1998)

Alterations in DNA methylation patterns accompany the establishment of immortal cell lines. De novo methylation of CpG islands within the control regions of growth-regulatory genes may inactivate their transcription, giving cells selective growth advantages in culture. We exposed seven human tumor cell lines and two human fibroblast cell strains to the demethylating agent, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR), to determine whether the silencing of growth-regulatory genes by de novo methylation in immortalized cell lines could be reversed, possibly restoring growth control. After recovery from the immediate cytotoxic effects of 5-Aza-CdR, this agent suppressed cellular growth in all seven tumor lines but not in either fibroblast strain. Because alterations in the p16 (CDKN2/MTS1) cell cycle regulatory gene are associated with numerous cancers, we analyzed expression of this gene before and after 5-Aza-CdR treatment. The gene was reactivated by 5-Aza-CdR treatment in three of four tumor cell lines not expressing p16, whereas the fourth tumor line contained a p16 homozygous deletion. p16 was shown to be hypermethylated only in the cell lines and its up-regulation by 5-Aza-CdR was associated with demethylation of the p16 promoter. The remaining tumor lines expressed p16 at constant levels before and after 5-Aza-CdR treatment and showed minimal p16 promoter methylation, suggesting that other growth-regulatory genes may have been silenced by de novo methylation in these cells. p16 expression, cell growth inhibition, and G1 cell cycle arrest by 5-Aza-CdR in the T24 bladder tumor cell line were also heritable after prolonged passage in culture. Furthermore, a dormant p16 gene was reactivated in T24 cells growing in nu/nu rats, and 5-Aza-CdR treatment of T24 cells before inoculation into nu/nu mice decreased the rate of tumor growth. These results suggest that 5-Aza-CdR may slow the growth of tumor cells by reactivating growth-regulatory genes silenced by de novo methylation.
Galactosidase Assays of Single-Cell Lysates on a Microchip: A Complementary Method for Enzymatic Analysis of Single Cells (2004)

The use of microfluidic glass chips for continuous single-cell lysis and assay of internal /spl beta/-Galactosidase (/spl beta/-Gal) content is described. Cells were transported single file toward a Y-shaped mixing junction at which lytic agents were introduced by suction. Flow velocities of /spl sim/100 and /spl sim/40 /spl mu/m/s were used under protein denaturing [35 mM sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)] and nondenaturing (0.1% Triton X-100) conditions, respectively. Complete and reproducible lysis of individual cells on-chip occurred within 30 s using Triton X-100 and 2 s when using SDS. Optimal concentrations of lysis and enzyme substrate reagents were determined using microtitre plate and chip-based procedures. Fluorescence peaks, due to the enzymatic product fluorescein mono-/spl beta/-D-galactopyranoside (FMG), were detected downstream of the mixing and cell lysis point for the reaction of /spl beta/-Gal with 200 /spl mu/M of the fluorogenic substrate fluorescein-di-/spl beta/-D-galactopyranoside (FDG). FMG fluorescence was observed from cells preincubated with FDG off-chip then subsequently lysed on-chip with SDS. Unincubated cells were mixed on-chip with both FDG and Triton X-100, each individual cell generating FMG fluorescence downstream of the mixing point detected within 2 min of mixing. In contrast, viable cells incubated with FDG required 1 h or more in order to generate significant signal in a flow cytometer.
Conditional regulatory elements of human immunodeficiency virus type 2 long terminal repeat (1994)

Mutational analysis of the human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) long terminal repeat (LTR) revealed a novel cis-acting positive and a negative regulatory element in the U3 region, located upstream of the enhancer-promoter region. These elements acted in a cell type-specific manner, being most active in human lymphocytic CEM cells, more active in Jurkat cells than in human monocytic U937 cells and least active in epithelioid HeLa cells. The down-modulatory effect of the negative regulatory element was abolished by HIV-2 Tat, suggesting the involvement of upstream DNA elements in optimal Tat-mediated trans-activation. The sequence elements that respond to T cell activation signals were also located in the upstream U3 region. Notably, the magnitude of the effect of the upstream regulatory elements depended on the basal activity of the LTR, which was also cell type-dependent. This emphasizes the importance of the cell-specific transcriptional factors and other effectors in regulating HIV gene expression. These observations may be relevant to the cell type-specific restriction of virus replication in vivo.
Oxytocin inhibits the proliferation of MDA-MB231 human breast-cancer cellsvia cyclic adenosine monophosphate and protein kinase A (1997)

Oxytocin (OT) inhibits the proliferation of breast-cancer cells in vitro via a specific G-coupled receptor. To elucidate the intracellular mechanism involved in this biological effect, different G-coupled receptor mediators have been investigated in untreated and OT-treated MDA-MB231 breast-carcinoma cells. In these cells, after OT treatment, a significant cAMP increase was observed using a radioimmunoassay procedure, whereas the Ca2+ (determined with the fluorescent probe fura-2) and the inositol phosphate (determined after cell labeling with myo(2-(3)H)-inositol) concentrations were not modified, contrary to what has been observed in myometrial and myo-epithelial cells. The PKA inhibitor PKI (6-22) amide reverted the effect of OT, indicating that the anti-proliferative effect of the peptide is strictly related to the cAMP-PKA pathway. OT treatment did not modify tyrosine phosphorylation either. Our results indicate that in breast epithelial cells devoid of contractile activity, cAMP is the intracellular mediator of OT action, whereas the Ca2+-phosphoinositide system is not involved.
Mimicking Domino‐Like Photonic Nanostructures on Butterfly Wings (2009)

Butterfly-mimetic photonic nanostructures are fabricated by shearing large arrays of nanometer-scale structures, prepatterned using nanoimprint lithography. The overlapping domino-like structures generate a tunable bright iridescent effect similar to that found in natural butterfly wings (see image).
The role of some small peptides in the transfer of amino nitrogen across the wall of vascularly perfused intestine. (1976)

The characteristics have been investigated of the transfer into the vascular bed of L-leucine and glycine from free amino acids or peptides in the intestinal lumen of Rana pipiens. Over the concentration range 0-5-10 mM the transfer of L-leucine is but little affected by the presence of equimolar concentrations of glycine but the transfer of glycine, in contrast, is greatly inhibited by the presence of L-leucine. 2. With glycyl-L-leucine in the intestinal lumen, the rate of transfer of glycine into the vascular bed is much greater than from the mixture of the two amino acids and is equal to that of the L-leucine. From L-leucyl-glycine the rates of transfer of leucine and of glycine are also higher than from the mixture of the two amino acids but the rate of transfer of glycine is somewhat lower than that of leucine. There is no evidence of the presence of the dipeptides in the effluent from the portal vein. 3. When the peptide glycyl-L-leucine is added to the lumen in the presence of 10 mM concentrations of the free amino acids, additional amounts of L-leucine and of glycine are transferred in approximately equimolar quantities into the vascular bed. This additional transfer exhibits saturation with respect to concentration of peptide in the intestinal lumen. An additional transfer of amino acids was also found when L-leucyl-glycine was added to the lumen in the presence of saturating concentrations of the two amino acids. 4. Evidence is presented that the presence of the dipeptides in the intestinal lumen had little effect on the transfer of free amino acids from the lumen into the vascular bed. Although the transfer of free amino acids from the lumen into the vascular bed is significantly, but not completely, abolished when the Na in the intestinal lumen is replaced by K, the transfer of the amino acids from the dipeptides is but little affected. 5. The findings are discussed in relation to the view that the dipeptides are transported into the mucosal epithelium by a process that is distinct from those promoting uptake of the individual amino acids. Being completely hydrolysed, there is no evidence for an accumulative uptake of the peptides; it is suggested that this may be related to the fact that the peptide uptake occurs in the absence of Na in the intestinal lumen.