gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Effects of yoghurt enriched with plant sterols on serum lipids in patients with moderate hypercholesterolaemia (2001)

The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of consumption of a yoghurt-based drink enriched with 1-2 g plant sterols/d on serum lipids, transaminases, vitamins and hormone status in patients with primary moderate hypercholesterolaemia. Thirty patients were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: a low-fat low-lactose yoghurt-based drink enriched with 1 g plant sterol extracted from soyabean/d v. a low-fat low-lactose yoghurt, for a period of 4 weeks. After a 2-week wash-out period, patients were crossed over for an additional 4-week period. Second, after a 4-week wash-out period, eleven patients were treated with 2 g plant sterols/d in a second open part of the study for a period of 8 weeks. The yoghurt enriched with plant sterols significantly reduced, in a dose-dependent manner, serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels and LDL-cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol (P<0.001), whereas no changes were observed in HDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels, either in the first or the second part of the study. There were only slight, not statistically significant, differences in serum transaminase, vitamin and hormone levels. To conclude, a low-fat yoghurt-based drink moderately enriched with plant sterols may lower total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol effectively in patients with primary moderate hypercholesterolaemia.
Genetic code translation displays a linear trade-off between efficiency and accuracy of tRNA selection (2011)

Rapid and accurate translation of the genetic code into protein is fundamental to life. Yet due to lack of a suitable assay, little is known about the accuracy-determining parameters and their correlation with translational speed. Here, we develop such an assay, based on Mg(2+) concentration changes, to determine maximal accuracy limits for a complete set of single-mismatch codon-anticodon interactions. We found a simple, linear trade-off between efficiency of cognate codon reading and accuracy of tRNA selection. The maximal accuracy was highest for the second codon position and lowest for the third. The results rationalize the existence of proofreading in code reading and have implications for the understanding of tRNA modifications, as well as of translation error-modulating ribosomal mutations and antibiotics. Finally, the results bridge the gap between in vivo and in vitro translation and allow us to calibrate our test tube conditions to represent the environment inside the living cell.
Effect of Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) in Pulmonary Inflammation in Asthma Induced by House Dust Mite (HDM): Dosimetry Study (2019)

Asthma is characterized by chronic inflammation in the airways. Several models have been proposed for the discovery of new therapies. Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) is relatively new and effective, very low cost, with no side effects. However, there is still no consensus on the optimal dose to be used. In this sense, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the best dose in an experimental model of asthma induced by House Dust Mite (HDM). Balb/c mice received administration of 100 ug/animal HDM and LLLT applications (diode laser: 660 nm, 100 mW and four different energies 1J, 3J, 5J, and 7.5J) for 16 days. After 24 hours, we studied inflammatory, functional, and structural parameters. The results showed that LBI was able to modulate the pulmonary inflammation observed by reducing the number of cells in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF) as well as reducing the percentage of neutrophils, eosinophils and T lymphocytes. On the other hand, LLLT increased the level of IL-10 and reduced levels of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 in BALF. LLLT was able to reduce the production of mucus, peribronchial eosinophils, collagen deposition, bronchoconstriction index, and bronchial and muscular thickening in the airways. We concluded that the use of LLLT in the treatment of chronic inflammation of the airways attenuated the inflammatory process and functional and structural parameters. We emphasize, in general, that the 1J and 3J laser presented better results. Thus, photobiomodulation may be considered a promising tool for the treatment of chronic pulmonary allergic inflammation observed in asthma.
Carrier-envelope phase locking of multi-pulse lasers with an intra-cavity Mach-Zehnder interferometer (2011)

We propose the use of an intra-cavity Mach Zehnder interferometer (MZI), for increasing the repetition rate at which carrier-envelope phase-locked pulses are generated in passively mode-locked fiber lasers. The attractive feature of the proposed scheme is that light escaping through the open output ports of the MZI can be used as a monitor signal feeding a servo loop that allows multiple pulses to co-exist in the cavity, while rigidly controlling their separation. The proposed scheme enables in principle a significant increase in the pulse-rate with no deterioration in the properties of the generated pulses.
Ensuring health graduates' employability in a changing world: Developing interprofessional practice capabilities using a framework to inform curricula (2014)

Background: Curtin University introduced an interprofessional first year curriculum in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2011. This curriculum, delivered to over 2,300 first year health science students annually, consists of five common compulsory units, eight optional units (specific to several courses) and one discipline specific unit for each course. Significantly, the learning outcomes are informed by an Interprofessional Capability Framework (Brewer & Jones, 2013).  Aim: Qualitative data from student reflective journals in one of the large common units was analysed to determine whether the use of a capability framework supported the development of the desired interprofessional capabilities. Method: The sample consisted of 105 of the 411 students enrolled in one of the common units (response rate 25.6 percent) in the second major teaching period (semester two) in 2011. The data was analysed via NVivo8© to provide a holistic view of the content of the reflections as they related to the Interprofessional Capability Framework. Results: The results indicate that the use of the Interprofessional Capability Framework in structuring the learning outcomes has influenced student learning. For example, ‘Client centred’ was the most frequently coded theme, followed by Collaboration, Team Function, and Quality Care. The results and weightings reflected the Framework. Conclusions: The framework guided this foundational interprofessional unit; the learning outcomes included key elements of the framework, the learning experiences were designed to meet these outcomes, and the assessment utilising a reflective journal was designed to measure the development of novice interprofessional capabilities.
Hereditary ovarian cancer (1997)

Ovarian cancer has been described in association with three autosomal dominant syndromes: familial site-specific ovarian cancer, familial breast and ovarian cancer, and the hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer syndrome. It appears that most breast-ovarian and site-specific ovarian cancer families are explained by mutations in the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene. Other genes associated with inherited susceptibility to ovarian cancer include BRCA2, p53, and the DNA mismatch repair genes.
Biophysical properties and clinical applications of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents (1995)

Contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a very versatile and effective technique for detecting and characterizing lesions, for identifying a variety of patho-physiological abnormalities, and for providing perfusion and functional information. The application of contrast enhanced MRI to many clinical and research indications has emerged because of the rapid evolution in imaging techniques, improved methodology, and the development of efficient and specific contrast agents. Problems related to optimizing parameters and dosage have been due to complex interplay of relaxation times, biophysical mechanisms and acquisition parameters. A knowledge of basic biophysical aspects is therefore essential for a full understanding of the results obtained for different organs under different conditions, and for optimizing the image parameters and dosage of contrast agents. This article underlines the biophysical basis of the effects of contrast agents in MRI, identifies the problems involved in optimizing the parameters for maximum efficiency, and presents a general overview of the clinical studies and research applications in the central nervous system, perfusion abnormalities, hepatobiliary system, musculoskeletal system and the gastrointestinal tract. The section on perfusion studies includes a discussion of quantitative analysis and kinetic models describing the effects of contrast agents. Finally, a critical evaluation of the scope and limitations of contrast enhanced MRI is presented.
Laboratory Evaluation of Avian Odors for Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Attraction (2006)

Abstract Attraction of Culex quinquefasciatus Say, Culex tarsalis Coquillett, Culex nigripalpus Theobald, and Aedes aegypti (L.) to avian and other host odors was investigated in a dual-port olfactometer. Although attraction to a human arm was high for Ae. aegypti (&gt;80%) and low for all Culex spp. (&lt;25%), all species responded similarly to a chicken (55.3–73.6%). Responses of Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus, and Cx. nigripalpus to feathers were low (&lt;20%) but greater than to controls. There was no difference in attraction of Cx. tarsalis to feathers or controls. Responses to CO2 (5 ml/min) were low for all species (&lt;15%) except Cx. tarsalis, which were moderate (24.5%). When feathers were combined with CO2, the resulting attraction was additive or lower than responses to feather and CO2 alone for all species except for Cx. tarsalis, which had responses that were three-fold greater than expected if responses were additive. The CO2–feather treatments were less attractive than a chicken for all species. When olfactometer assays were extended from 3 to 20 min, responses by Ae. aegypti significantly increased to a chicken and CO2 and attraction of Cx. quinquefasciatus significantly greater to chickens, CO2, and feathers. None of the volatile compounds previously identified from feathers or uropygial glands tested were attractive. Both feather-rubbed cotton balls and hexane extracts of feathers were attractive and as attractive as feathers; however, ether extracts were not attractive. Feathers clearly contribute to the attraction of host-seeking Culex spp., and future studies will focus on identification of the attractant compounds.
The generation of cortical interneurons (2010)

Summary The developmental origins of cortical and hippocampal interneurons in the rodent are discussed, in addition to a description of the transcriptional mechanisms that control their specification and differentiation. For an expanded treatment of this topic see Jasper’s Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies, Fourth Edition (Noebels JL, Avoli M, Rogawski MA, Olsen RW, Delgado‐Escueta AV, eds) published by Oxford University Press (available on the National Library of Medicine Bookshelf [NCBI] at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books ).
High-Speed Recorder (1928)

This paper describes a new electrical instrument for automatically recording variations of electrical functions at high speed. The rate of chart motion is lower than that of the oscillograph so that the envelope of an a-c. wave is produced. This recorder has been successfully applied in the analysis of breakdowns on transmission lines, giving data used as the basis of securing improved selective relay protection and for other problems involving automatic high-speed recording.
Inhibition of Protease-Resistant Prion Protein Formation in a Transformed Deer Cell Line Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease (2005)

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (prion disease) of North American cervids, i.e., mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk (wapiti). To facilitate in vitro studies of CWD, we have developed a transformed deer cell line that is persistently infected with CWD. Primary cultures derived from uninfected mule deer brain tissue were transformed by transfection with a plasmid containing the simian virus 40 genome. A transformed cell line (MDB) was exposed to microsomes prepared from the brainstem of a CWD-affected mule deer. CWD-associated, protease-resistant prion protein (PrP(CWD)) was used as an indicator of CWD infection. Although no PrP(CWD) was detected in any of these cultures after two passes, dilution cloning of cells yielded one PrP(CWD)-positive clone out of 51. This clone, designated MDB(CWD), has maintained stable PrP(CWD) production through 32 serial passes thus far. A second round of dilution cloning yielded 20 PrP(CWD)-positive subclones out of 30, one of which was designated MDB(CWD2). The MDB(CWD2) cell line was positive for fibronectin and negative for microtubule-associated protein 2 (a neuronal marker) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (an activated astrocyte marker), consistent with derivation from brain fibroblasts (e.g., meningeal fibroblasts). Two inhibitors of rodent scrapie protease-resistant PrP accumulation, pentosan polysulfate and a porphyrin compound, indium (III) meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine chloride, potently blocked PrP(CWD) accumulation in MDB(CWD) cells. This demonstrates the utility of these cells in a rapid in vitro screening assay for PrP(CWD) inhibitors and suggests that these compounds have potential to be active against CWD in vivo.
Off-line scan path planning for robotic NDT (2018)

This work presents computer-aided scan path generation for robotic non-destructive testing of complex shaped test-pieces. Off-line programmed scan path was used to robotically inspect an aluminium fixed leading edge skin panel of an aircraft wing by means of swept frequency eddy currents method. Eddy currents probe was deployed by means of a six-axis robotic arm KUKA KR5 arc. Reverse engineering of the test-piece was carried out to reconstruct CAD model of its surface. Positioning accuracy of the performed continuous scan was measured with a laser tracker in accordance with ISO 9283:1998 and is reported in the paper. The positional uncertainty of the NDT scan calculated as the standard deviation of the measured path coordinates from the command path coordinates does not exceed 0.5 mm which is rather moderate taking in account uncertainties associated with the off-line robot programming.
Online Evaluation in WWW-Based Courseware: The Quizit System (1996)

The QUIZIT system has been developed to support adaptive and standard testing, along with automatic grading, record keeping, and test administration using the WWW as a delivery vehicle. We have applied QUIZIT in connection with our NSF-supported Education Infrastructure project on Interactive Learning with a Digital Library in Computer Science to help with evaluation in a master’s level course as well as a large freshmen level service course. Preliminary testing in these courses has shown us that QUIZIT is a promising supplement to other forms of evaluation in self-paced education. We also conjecture QUIZIT might be a valuable tool in distance learning environment I wish to dedicate this work to Lia: for her love, trust and belief; and to Tony and Ruth, for the incredible support throughout these sometimes painful (and cold!), but extremely rewarding years of my life. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT First of all, I am very thankful for the support of my two advisors and “gurus”, Profs. Roger W. Ehrich and Edward A. Fox in this project. My large thank you list includes
Are codon usage patterns in unicellular organisms determined by selection‐mutation balance? (1988)

Abstract Strongly biased codon usage is common in unicellular organisms, particularly in highly expressed genes. The bias is most simply explained as a balance between selection and mutation, with selection favouring those codons which are more efficiently translated. In a review Ikemura (1985) has proposed four rules for predicting which codons will be preferred, based on the properties of the transfer RNAs responsible for translating messenger RNA into protein. In this paper codon usage in E. coli and yeast is re‐examined using the recent compilation of Maruyama et al. (1986). The codon adaptation index of Sharp and Li (1986a) is used as a measure of gene expression to investigate the importance of this factor. It is found that Ikemura's rules successfully predict preferred codons for yeast, but that two of them work less well for E. coli , and it is suggested that some of the apparent bias in weakly expressed genes of E. coli may be due to contextual effects on mutation rates.
Visual pattern image sequence coding (1993)

Visual pattern image sequence coding (VPISC) is a new digital image sequence (video) coding process that possesses significant advantages relative to other technologies; in particular, it is extremely efficient in terms of the computational effort required. It is designed to exploit properties of the human visual system (HVS), and thus yields high visual fidelity. Visual quality criteria are deliberately chosen over information-theoretic ones on the grounds that, in images intended for human viewing, visual criteria are the most meaningful ones. VPISC yields impressive compression comparable to other recent methods, such as motion-compensated vector quantization. VPISC divides the images into spatiotemporal cubes, which are then independently matched with one of a small, predetermined set of visually meaningful three-dimensional space-time patterns. The pattern set is chosen to conform to specific characteristics of the HVS. Also introduced are two modifications of VPISC: adaptive and foveal VPISC. These are spatiotemporally nonuniform implementations that code different portions of the image sequence at different resolutions, according to either a fidelity criterion (for AVPISC) or a foveation criterion (for FVPISC).< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
QoS-based adaptive scheduling for a mixed service in HDR system (2003)

We propose an efficient methodology to support the maximum possible throughput of NRT (non-real time) users while satisfying the QoS (quality of service) requirements of all ART (almost real time) for a mixed service in HDR (high data rate). Moreover, we present the modified exponential rule that can improve the total throughput and individual average throughput while guaranteeing the minimum throughput and delay requirement for ART service alone. A token-based mechanism to guarantee each minimum throughput of all users is employed. Simulation results are shown in terms of both average packet delay and throughput according to the choice of total or individual user. Our main conclusion is that adaptive scheduling algorithm in conjunction with both the token bucket and the adaptive rule provides an effective foundation for supporting a mixed service in the system.
Intelligent Reflecting Surface Aided Multi-User Communication: Capacity Region and Deployment Strategy (2020)

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is a new promising technology that is able to reconfigure the wireless propagation channel via smart and passive signal reflection. In this paper, we investigate the capacity region of a two-user communication network with one access point (AP) aided by $M$ IRS elements for enhancing the user-AP channels, where the IRS incurs negligible delay, thus the user-AP channels via the IRS follow the classic discrete memoryless channel model. In particular, we consider two practical IRS deployment strategies that lead to different effective channels between the users and AP, namely, the distributed deployment where the $M$ elements form two IRSs, each deployed in the vicinity of one user, versus the centralized deployment where all the $M$ elements are deployed in the vicinity of the AP. First, we consider the uplink multiple-access channel (MAC) and derive the capacity/achievable rate regions for both deployment strategies under different multiple access schemes. It is shown that the centralized deployment generally outperforms the distributed deployment under symmetric channel setups in terms of achievable user rates. Next, we extend the results to the downlink broadcast channel (BC) by leveraging the celebrated uplink-downlink (or MAC-BC) duality framework, and show that the superior rate performance of centralized over distributed deployment also holds. Numerical results are presented that validate our analysis, and reveal new and useful insights for optimal IRS deployment in wireless networks.
Three-dimensional photonic crystals based on macroporous silicon with modulated pore diameter (2001)

We report on the fabrication and optical characterization of a three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystal on the basis of macroporous silicon. The structure consists of a 2D array of air pores in silicon whose diameter is varied (modulated) periodically with depth. The bandstructure of the resulting 3D hexagonal photonic crystal is calculated and compared with transmission measurements. The described structure allows to adjust the dispersion relation along the pore axis almost independently from the dispersion relation in the plane perpendicular to the pore axis.
Arbeitsablauf zur Behandlung des Trockenen Auges, ein Versuch der Zuordnung von Diagnose zur Therapie (2016)

Das Trockene Auge ist eine sehr komplexe Erkrankung der Augenoberfläche. Zur Behandlung bieten sich eine Vielzahl von Tränenersatzmitteln mit unterschiedlichen Inhaltsstoffen an sowie diverse Methoden. Diese Arbeit entwickelt ein Schema zur Anwendung der in Österreich erhältlichen Produkte. Aus der Literatur werden verschiedene diagnostische Verfahren, ätiologische/pathogenetische Mechanismen sowie Beschreibungen der Schweregrade den therapeutischen Möglichkeiten für das Trockene Auge gegenübergestellt. Daraus entsteht eine Arbeitstabelle, welche als Grundlage zur erleichterten Behandlung dieser Erkrankung dienen soll. Es werden 149 Tränenersatzmittel/Therapeutika für das Trockene Auge in der Arbeitstabelle erfasst, welche je nach Diagnose und dem Schweregrad zu den Therapiemöglichkeiten in 9 Untergruppen zugeordnet werden. Der Arbeitsablauf zur Behandlung dieser Erkrankung beinhaltet die Schritte von der Symptomatik, Diagnostik und Einordnung der subjektiven und objektiven Parameter bis zur optimierten Therapie mit den in Österreich erhältlichen Produkten.