gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
High-resolution, high-performance radiographic film scanner (1990)

In this paper, we discuss the requirenients, design approach, and features for a high-performance, laser-based radiographic film digitizer. The scanner is capable of digitizing a radiograph over a 3.5 diffuse density range in 15-30 seconds while not significantly reducing the noise-equivalent-quanta (NEQ) relative to the original analog screen-film image. Three resolutions are possible, corresponding to maximum film sizes of 35 x 43, 24 x 30, and 18 x 24 cm, with pixel sizes of 86, 59, and 43 microns; respectively. Preliminary results of side-by-side comparisons of scanned data reconstructed on pnnted film with the original analog film are discussed, along with future directions for research.
Inhibition of the collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum by phosphoric and phosphonic amides (1983)

Di- and tripeptides with sequences present in collagen that are known to occupy the S1' through S3' subsites at the active site of the collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum do not themselves inhibit this zinc protease. Thus glycylproline, glycylprolylalanine, and their C-terminal amides are not inhibitors. N alpha-Phosphorylglycylproline, N alpha-phosphorylglycyl-L-prolyl-L-alanine, and their C-terminal amides are weak inhibitors with IC50's (concentration causing half-maximal inhibition) of 4.6, 0.8, 3, and 1.5 mM, respectively. Extension of glycyl-L-prolyl-L-alanine to L-leucyl-glycyl-L-prolyl-L-alanine gives a tetrapeptide known to occupy the S1, S1', S2', and S3' subsites of collagenase when present in collagen but that still does not itself inhibit the enzyme. (Isoamylphosphonyl)glycyl-L-prolyl-L-alanine, a peptide containing a tetrahedral phosphorus atom at the position of the amide carbonyl carbon of the L-leucylglycyl amide bond of the parent tetrapeptide, inhibits collagenase with an IC50 of 16 microM, at least 1000-fold more potent than the parent peptide. Substitution of the two-carbon ethyl chain of alanine for the five-carbon isoamyl chain of leucine increases the IC50 to 46 microM. Substitution of the n-decyl chain for the isoamyl chain does not change the IC50. (Isoamylphosphonyl)glycyl-glycyl-L-proline contains a tripeptide that does not occupy the S1' through S3' subsites of collagenase when this peptide is present in collagen and thus has an IC50 of 4.4 mM. (Isoamylphosphonyl)glycyl-L-prolyl-L-alanine may be an analogue of the tetrahedral transition state for the hydrolysis of the natural collagen substrate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Complex between α-bungarotoxin and an α7 nicotinic receptor ligand-binding domain chimaera (2013)

To identify high-affinity interactions between long-chain α-neurotoxins and nicotinic receptors, we determined the crystal structure of the complex between α-btx (α-bungarotoxin) and a pentameric ligand-binding domain constructed from the human α7 AChR (acetylcholine receptor) and AChBP (acetylcholine-binding protein). The complex buries ~2000 Å² (1 Å=0.1 nm) of surface area, within which Arg³⁶ and Phe³² from finger II of α-btx form a π-cation stack that aligns edge-to-face with the conserved Tyr¹⁸⁴ from loop-C of α7, while Asp³⁰ of α-btx forms a hydrogen bond with the hydroxy group of Tyr¹⁸⁴. These inter-residue interactions diverge from those in a 4.2 Å structure of α-ctx (α-cobratoxin) bound to AChBP, but are similar to those in a 1.94 Å structure of α-btx bound to the monomeric α1 extracellular domain, although compared with the monomer-bound complex, the α-btx backbone exhibits a large shift relative to the protein surface. Mutational analyses show that replacing Tyr¹⁸⁴ with a threonine residue abolishes high-affinity α-btx binding, whereas replacing with a phenylalanine residue maintains high affinity. Comparison of the α-btx complex with that coupled to the agonist epibatidine reveals structural rearrangements within the binding pocket and throughout each subunit. The overall findings highlight structural principles by which α-neurotoxins interact with nicotinic receptors.
<i>In Vitro</i> Selection of Highly Darunavir-Resistant and Replication-Competent HIV-1 Variants by Using a Mixture of Clinical HIV-1 Isolates Resistant to Multiple Conventional Protease Inhibitors (2010)

We attempted to select HIV-1 variants resistant to darunavir (DRV), which potently inhibits the enzymatic activity and dimerization of protease and has a high genetic barrier to HIV-1 development of resistance to DRV. We conducted selection using a mixture of 8 highly multi-protease inhibitor (PI)-resistant, DRV-susceptible clinical HIV-1 variants (HIV-1(MIX)) containing 9 to 14 PI resistance-associated amino acid substitutions in protease. HIV-1(MIX) became highly resistant to DRV, with a 50% effective concentration (EC(50)) ∼333-fold greater than that against HIV-1(NL4-3). HIV-1(MIX) at passage 51 (HIV-1(MIX(P51))) replicated well in the presence of 5 μM DRV and contained 14 mutations. HIV-1(MIX(P51)) was highly resistant to amprenavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, lopinavir, and atazanavir and moderately resistant to saquinavir and tipranavir. HIV-1(MIX(P51)) had a resemblance with HIV-1(C) of the HIV-1(MIX) population, and selection using HIV-1(C) was also performed; however, its DRV resistance acquisition was substantially delayed. The H219Q and I223V substitutions in Gag, lacking in HIV-1(C(P51)), likely contributed to conferring a replication advantage on HIV-1(MIX(P51)) by reducing intravirion cyclophilin A content. HIV-1(MIX(P51)) apparently acquired the substitutions from another HIV-1 strain(s) of HIV-1(MIX) through possible homologous recombination. The present data suggest that the use of multiple drug-resistant HIV-1 isolates is of utility in selecting drug-resistant variants and that DRV would not easily permit HIV-1 to develop significant resistance; however, HIV-1 can develop high levels of DRV resistance when a variety of PI-resistant HIV-1 strains are generated, as seen in patients experiencing sequential PI failure, and ensuing homologous recombination takes place. HIV-1(MIX(P51)) should be useful in elucidating the mechanisms of HIV-1 resistance to DRV and related agents.
Professional educator or professional manager? The contested role of the for-profit international school Principal (2014)

For-profit education is increasingly prevalent within international schooling. The language of client, customer and consumer may not yet be embedded in the classroom, but international school leaders, particularly those operating in for-profit contexts, are having to respond not only to the needs of educational stakeholders but also to the commercial demands of the ‘bottom line’. This article examines the occupational tensions facing international school leaders (specifically Principals and senior managers) as they attempt to master this plural for-profit context. The role of Principals within for-profit school contexts, this article finds, is changing. Principals may define their role in educational terms but this article highlights an emerging commercial narrative, concluding that (for-profit) international school leaders are increasingly required to be personally, philosophically and ontologically at ease with simultaneous educational–commercial discourses, as well versed in the patois of commerce as they are those of education.
Increased Plasma Levels of Adrenomedullin in Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Its Relation to Endothelin-1, Natriuretic Peptides and Noradrenaline (1998)

1. The aim of this study was to elucidate the pathophysiological role of adrenomedullin and the relation between adrenomedullin and other hormones in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 2. Fourteen patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), 26 patients with hypertrophic non-obstructive cardiomyopathy (HNCM) and 14 normal control subjects participated in this study. Radioimmunoassay for plasma adrenomedullin concentration was performed with adrenomedullin-M antibody. Plasma levels of endothelin-1, atrial and brain natriuretic peptides and noradrenaline were also measured. 3. Plasma levels of adrenomedullin were higher in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (8.43 +/- 3.73 pmol/l) than in normal controls (5.24 +/- 0.44 pmol/l, P < 0.005). There was no significant difference between HOCM and HNCM patients. There was a weak correlation between plasma levels of adrenomedullin and total 12-lead QRS voltage in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (r = 0.323, P < 0.05). 4. Plasma levels of endothelin-1, atrial and brain natriuretic peptides were higher in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy than in normal controls. Endothelin-1 showed no significant difference between HOCM and HNCM patients, but atrial and brain natriuretic peptides were higher in HOCM than in HNCM patients. There was a positive correlation between plasma levels of adrenomedullin and endothelin-1 (r = 0.575, P < 0.0001), but no correlation between plasma levels of adrenomedullin and atrial natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide and noradrenaline. 5. Our results indicate that adrenomedullin may play an important role to maintain haemodynamics in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and its action may be related to endothelin-1 but independent of atrial natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide and noradrenaline.
Genome-Wide Analysis of Gene Expression in T Cells to Identify Targets of the NF-κB Transcription Factor c-Rel (2007)

It is well established that the NF-kappaB family of transcription factors serves a major role in controlling gene expression in response to T cell activation, but the genome-wide roles of individual family members remain to be determined. c-Rel, a member of the NF-kappaB family, appears to play a specific role in T cell function because T cells from c-Rel(-/-) animals are defective in their response to immune signals. We have used expression profiling to identify sets of genes that are affected by either deletion or overexpression of c-Rel in T cells. Very few of these genes exhibit a strong requirement for c-Rel; rather, c-Rel appears to modulate the expression of a large number of genes in these cells. The sets of c-Rel-affected genes are significantly enriched for genes containing consensus NF-kappaB/Rel sites in their proximal promoter regions. In addition, their promoters contain a higher average density of NF-kappaB/Rel sites compared with all genes represented on the microarrays. A transcriptional module comprised of two closely spaced c-Rel consensus sites is found with higher frequency in the c-Rel-affected gene sets and may represent an important control module for genes regulated by c-Rel or other NF-kappaB family members. We confirmed the importance of these findings on a subgroup of genes by using quantitative PCR to monitor gene expression as well as in vitro c-Rel/DNA binding assays and luciferase reporter assays. The c-Rel-regulated genes identified here support a role for c-Rel in inflammatory responses as well as in the promotion of cell growth and survival.
Fibromatosis and Massive Edema of the Ovary, Possibly Related Entities (1984)

Twenty-five cases of ovarian enlargement secondary to massive edema, to a hitherto undescribed lesion that we have designated fibromatosis, or to both processes were reviewed to explore the possibility of a relation between them. The patients ranged in age from 13 to 39 years. The 14 patients with pure or predominant fibromatosis usually presented because of menstrual abnormalities; two had evidence of androgen excess and three had abdominal pain. At laparotomy two involved ovaries were observed to have twisted on their pedicles. There was definite bilateral ovarian involvement in two cases and probable bilateral involvement in two others. The excised specimens measured up to 12 cm in diameter and typically had firm, white sectioned surfaces. Microscopic examination showed a proliferation of spindle cells usually separated by dense collagen, which surrounded normal follicular structures. Lutein cells were present in the fibromatous areas in one patient, who was masculinized, and in the adjacent ovarian stroma in another patient, who was hirsute; a proliferation of cells of sex cord type was observed in the fibromatous areas in three cases. Six of the specimens contained focal areas of edema similar in appearance to that seen in cases of massive edema. The features of the 11 cases of massive edema were, in general, similar to those of the 40 examples of this entity reported in the literature. Six of the 11 patients had menstrual abnormalities and/or evidence of androgen excess, but most of them presented because of abdominal pain. At operation an involved ovary was observed to have undergone torsion in five of the cases; bilateral ovarian enlargement due to massive edema was present in two cases. The excised specimens, which measured up to 15 cm in diameter, typically had a watery appearance on sectioning. Microscopic examination showed edematous stroma surrounding residual normal ovarian structures. Lutein cells were identified in the edematous stroma in four cases and in the adjacent ovarian stroma in three of these cases. One of these patients was masculinized and another was hirsute. Small foci of fibromatosis similar to that seen in cases of pure fibromatosis were present in eight cases. The similar age range and clinical manifestations of these two processes and the overlap in their histologic features suggest that they are closely related and may reflect differing morphologic expressions of the same underlying disorder. Some of the cases of massive edema, however, may result from the development of stromal edema in ovaries involved by hyperthecosis.
Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Is a Key Signal for Injury-Induced Neurogenesis in the Adult Mouse Olfactory Epithelium (2003)

The mammalian olfactory epithelium (OE) is composed of primary olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) that are renewed throughout adulthood by local, restricted neuronal progenitor cells. The molecular signals that control this neurogenesis in vivo are unknown. Using olfactory bulb ablation (OBX) in adult mice to trigger synchronous mitotic stimulation of neuronal progenitors in the OE, we show the in vivo involvement of a cytokine in the cellular events leading to the regeneration of the OE. We find that, of many potential mitogenic signals, only leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is induced before the onset of neuronal progenitor proliferation. The rise in LIF mRNA expression peaks at 8 hr after OBX, and in situ RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry indicate that LIF is upregulated, in part, in the injured neurons themselves. This rise in LIF is necessary for injury-induced neurogenesis, as OBX in the LIF knock-out mouse fails to stimulate cell proliferation in the OE. Moreover, delivery of exogenous LIF to the intact adult OE using an adenoviral vector stimulates BrdU labeling in the apical OE. Taken together, these results suggest that injured OSNs release LIF as a stimulus to initiate their own replacement.
Differential growth factor production, secretion, and response by high and low metastatic variants of B16BL6 melanoma. (1993)

Low levels of tyrosine and phenylalanine alter the metastatic phenotype of B16BL6 murine melanoma. In this study, we investigated expression and secretion of fibroblast growth factor-like (FGF-like) and transforming growth factor beta-like (TGF beta-like) molecules as well as the biological effect of basic FGF (bFGF) and TGF beta 1 on high (NDP) and low (LTP) metastatic variants of B16BL6 melanoma. Both NDP and LTP cells expressed bFGF-like and TGF beta-like polypeptides as detected by Western blot analysis. An M(r) 29,000 bFGF-like form eluted from heparin-Sepharose by 0.6 M NaCl was found in extracts of both NDP and LTP cells. Elution at 0.6 M NaCl suggested that this M(r) 29,000 form might be more closely related to FGF-5 than to bFGF. In addition, cell extracts of LTP, but not NDP cells, contained an M(r) 47,000 monomeric bFGF-like form that was not retained on heparin-Sepharose. Three major specific immunoreactive forms of M(r) 44,000, 36,000, and 29,000 were present in conditioned medium from NDP cells. The M(r) 29,000 form present in the conditioned medium of NDP cells was retained on heparin-Sepharose. Only the M(r) 44,000 and 36,000 FGF-like molecules were detected in conditioned medium from LTP cells, and they were also not retained on heparin-Sepharose. Anti-TGF beta antibody that recognized both TGF beta 1 and TGF beta 2 detected 3 different TGF beta-like forms (M(r) 25,000, 23,000 and 22,000) in NDP and LTP cell extracts. Conditioned medium from NDP cells contained an M(r) 38,000 form of TGF beta; however, no immunoreactive forms were found in conditioned medium from LTP cells. Thus, the NDP-LTP differences in this melanoma system were primarily in growth factor secretion, not expression. The effect of exogenous bFGF and TGF beta 1 on proliferation of LTP and NDP cells was determined by [methyl-3H]thymidine uptake. bFGF stimulated proliferation of NDP cells; whereas, LTP cells exhibited no increase in proliferation. Both NDP and LTP cells responded to TGF beta 1. Proliferation of NDP cells was inhibited more by this growth factor than was proliferation of LTP cells. When NDP and LTP cells were incubated with 5 ng/ml TGF beta 1 and various amounts of bFGF, the effect of TGF beta 1 was masked. Antibody depletion of bFGF-like molecules from NDP conditioned medium resulted in the decreased proliferation of NDP cells but not LTP cells. Depletion of TGF beta-like molecules resulted in increased proliferation of LTP cells but did not affect NDP cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A real-time vision system for crowding monitoring (2002)

In this paper, the approach used to estimate the number of people for planning purposes in DIMUS (ESPRIT project P-5345) is described. Crowd estimation is based on the image-processing and inference phases applied to the acquired data. Images come from a set of visual b/w camera oriented towards a zone to be monitored. Some significant features extracted from each acquired image are related to the number of people present in the monitored scene using the nonlinear models obtained by means of dynamic programming in an off-line training phase. The present approach, employing previously obtained estimates, improves the accuracy of estimation, with respect to an evaluation based only on present available data, and can predict crowding values without using new data, between two successive acquisitions. Results obtained after an extended test phase in a station of Genova's underground are reported.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Biochemical Comparison Between Clostridium Hystoliticum Collagenases G and H obtained by DNA Recombinant and Extractive Procedures (2012)

One of the main success practices in cell therapy is the transplantation of allogeneic pancreatic islets cells in patients with type 1 diabetes. However, at the moment less than 50 % of procedures are successfully completed; this is because the procedure of pancreatic islet isolation/purification, are not well standardized. This low percent of success can be ascribed to several factors, including: - the variability in donor characteristics, - pancreas recovery and preservation, - not the last, an unpredictable enzymatic blend efficiency. At present, the process of pancreatic islets isolation, sees the use of proteolytic enzymes, collagenases (Class I and Class II) produced by Clostridium hystoliticum bacteria, and purified by extractive procedures. Limit of these enzymes lies in composition variability, such as their concentration and the presence of toxic components, together autocatalytic processes and the presence of other proteolytic enzymes. To reduce the variability in collagenase composition in the blends usable in cell isolation, and to minimize the variability in enzyme composition, we produced the major classes of C. hystoliticum collagenases: collagenase G and collagenase H by DNA recombination techniques. Using biochemical/ezymologic approaches, we compared composition, enzymatic activity and auto-digestion processes, of the C. hystoliticum collagenases obtained using extraction procedures versus the recombinant ones.
Kaffirboom! An up-close and personal look at the official tree of Los Angeles (2003)

(Uploaded by Plazi from the Biodiversity Heritage Library) No abstract provided.
Nucleoside Antibiotics (1968)

Abstract The structural requirements for reactivity at the substrate site and for interaction at the regulatory site of ribonucleotide reductase from Lactobacillus leichmannii have been studied with the use of several nucleotide antibiotics. The 5'-triphosphates of tubercidin, toyocamycin, and sangivamycin were substrates. Without Mg++, tubercidin 5'-triphosphate was a better substrate than ATP. Therefore, the imidazole ring of ATP can be replaced by the pyrrole ring. The presence of a hydroxyl group at position 3' is especially important for reduction since 3'-deoxyadenosine 5'-triphosphate was not a substrate. 3'-Deoxyadenosine 5'-triphosphate did inhibit reduction of ATP but did not compete for the reduction of UTP, GTP, or CTP. Modification of the reductase by the prime effectors, dGTP and 2'-dATP, stimulated the reduction of the 5'-triphosphates of tubercidin and toyocamycin. Reduction of sangivamycin 5'-triphosphate was stimulated by dGTP but not 2'-dATP. Although 3'-deoxyadenosine 5'-triphosphate was not a substrate, it was 50% as good an effector as 2'-dATP for stimulating the reduction of CTP. The pyrrolopyrimidine ribonucleotide antibiotics were less effective than 3'-deoxyadenosine 5'-triphosphate and the pyrazolopyrimidine ribonucleotide, formycin 5'-triphosphate, could not be substituted for ATP. Carbon atom 8 and nitrogen atom 9 of the base portion of ATP, but not nitrogen atom 7, are important for interaction at the regulatory site of ribonucleotide reductase, while a hydroxyl at position 3' of ribose is not essential. ATP, UTP, and GTP reductions are only slightly stimulated when the nucleotide antibiotics are added as allosteric effectors. The reduction of the nucleotide antibiotics and regulation of the reductase may be of possible significance in biological systems.
Global diversification strategy and corporate profit performance (1989)

Abstract Based on a sample of 62 multinationals, this paper examines the impact of global diversification strategy on corporate profit performance by integrating the product and the international market dimensions of diversification. The results suggest that the corporate profit performance impact of related and unrelated diversification varies contingent upon the extent of a firm's international market diversification. One important lesson of this work is that both business strategy researchers and managers should review corporate diversification as having distinct yet interactive strategic dimensions—product and international market—and they would do well to recognize both the different and the joint effect of these dimensions on corporate profit performance.
Antiviral Effect of TNF-α and IFN-γ Secreted from a CD8 <sup>+</sup> Influenza Virus-Specific CTL Clone (1993)

We observed that an influenza-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) clone (B7B7) stimulated with peptide-antigen could produce TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma simultaneously. The culture supernatant containing both TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma of antigen-stimulated CTL clone B7B7 significantly enhanced the lysis of influenza A/PR/8 virus-infected L-M2d6 cells or Meth A cells. Enhanced lysis of influenza virus-infected cells by the supernatants was inhibited by pretreatment of the supernatant with antimurine TNF-alpha antibody and antimurine IFN-gamma antibody. In addition to a single CTL clone, we observed that bulk-cultured CTLs were able to produce TNF and IFN when incubated with target cells. These results suggest that the protective mechanism mediated by TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma secreted from CTL may be possible in the course of an influenza infection.