gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Serum Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV (DPP IV, CD26) Activity in Chronic Hepatitis C (2001)

Background: DPP IV is a cell surface ectoenzyme widely distributed in the human body. It has been implicated in T-cell activation, hepatocyte-extracellular-matrix interactions and fibroblast proliferation. Furthermore, upregulated CD26 expression has been found on the surface of human hepatoma cells transfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) c-DNA. We examined the serum DPP IV activity in a large number of patients with chronic HCV infection in a cross-sectional study. We also investigated whether the activity differs from that in controls and depends upon the response to interferon (IFN) therapy. Methods: Serum DPP IV activity was measured by microplate-based (Multiskan-Plus-MKII, Labsystem) kinetic assay in 144 patients with chronic HCV infection. Seventy-four out of 144 patients (46 nonresponders, 28 responders) were formerly treated with interferon. Sixty healthy blood donors served as controls. Gly-Pro-PNA (Bachem, Torrance, USA) was used as substrate. Results are expressed in nmol/ml/min (U/l). Shapiro-Wilk's test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman rank order correlation were used for statistical analysis. Results: Serum DPP IV activity was significantly higher (mean = 20.89 [s 9.6]) in patients with chronic HCV infection than in healthy controls (12.39 [2.76, P < 10-5]). The enzyme activities significantly differed in naive HCV-positive patients (22.2 [9.89, P < 10-5]) and nonresponders (23.28 [9.57, P < 10-5]) from that in the healthy controls and also from that in responders (13.69 [4.21]). Correlation was found between DPP IV activity and AST (r = 0.44, P < 10-5), ALT (r = 0.44, P < 10-5), GGT (r = 0.41, P < 10-5) levels. Conclusion: Serum DPP IV activity seems to be an indicator of HCV induced liver injury. The activity may reflect the efficacy of interferon therapy.
Effect of Color-Coded Notation on Music Achievement of Elementary Instrumental Students (1991)

In this study, the researcher attempted to determine whether the use of color-coded notation in instructional materials affected students' performance on tasks of performing music from memory, sight-reading, and naming letter names of notes. Ninety-two fifth- and sixth-grade beginning wind players were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group used color-coded method books in which each pitch was highlighted with a different color. The control group used identical materials, but with the notation uncolr ored. All subjects were tested on reading both color-coded and uncolored notation. Results after the 12-week instructional period showed no clear advantage for the experimental group. Group means on the memory task did not differ significantly. Experimental and control group scores did not differ significantly when subjects sight-read the type of notation with which they had been trained, although the experimental group mean was higher. A statistically significant interaction was noted between the treatment and the presentation mode. Similar results were found on the note-naming task. The color-coded materials had a positive affective influence in that 65% of all subjects favored the color-coded notation as easier to play.
Thermochromic polyolefin foils (2005)

Abstract Novel polyethylene and polypropylene foils were prepared by incorporating a thermochromic composite into the polymer matrices by extrusion technology. The composite is homogeneously embedded in the polymer. Detailed investigations on the optical and surface properties of the prepared Polyolefin foils are reported. The investigations include the concentration and temperature dependence of the ultraviolet–visible spectra as well as the determination of the surface tension by contact‐angle measurements. A linear relationship between the concentration of the composite and the absorption intensity of the foil has been found. In contrast to polyethylene in polypropylene no migration process was observed under the used condition. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 1789–1792, 2005
Mechanism of the droplet formation and stabilization in the aqueous two‐phase polymerization of acrylamide (2009)

Abstract Aqueous two‐phase polymerization of acrylamide has been carried out in an aqueous solution of poly(ethylene glycol) initiated by ammonium persulfate. The chemical composition of the product was characterized by FTIR, and the droplet size distribution in the initial stage of the polymerization was followed by dynamic light scattering. On the basis of the evolution of polyacrylamide aqueous droplets size distribution and morphology at every stage, a new mechanism of droplet formation was proposed. The experimental phenomenon that the small droplets always existed in the process of polymerization and some irregular shape droplets were formed in the product of aqueous two phase polymerization could be successfully explained by the new mechanism. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009
<i>T</i><sub>1</sub> mapping using spoiled FLASH‐EPI hybrid sequences and varying flip angles (2009)

In this work a method for considerably improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in T(1) maps based on the variable flip angle approach is proposed, employing spoiled fast low angle shot (FLASH) echo-planar imaging (EPI) hybrid sequences with two echoes per excitation. In phantom measurements it could be verified that the SNR improvement in the underlying images translated into an SNR increase in the T(1) maps exceeding theoretical predictions. Even a hybrid sequence with an 18% shorter measurement time than a standard FLASH readout with identical spatial coverage and resolution yielded an SNR gain of 23% in the resulting T(1) maps. Hybrid sequences with either identical measurement time (9:05 min) or bandwidth (9:30 min) yielded gains of 60% and 67%, respectively. These results could be confirmed by measurements on four healthy volunteers. The image quality of T(1) maps based on hybrid sequences was excellent and the SNR improvement was clearly visible. The measured SNR gains in T(1) maps were between 20% (shortest sequence, white matter) and 66% (sequence with identical bandwidth, gray matter). The resulting T(1) values were comparable, with a slight tendency toward higher values in the hybrid sequences. In summary, without prolonging experiment durations the method proposed yields SNR gains that are commonly achieved by acquiring two averages.
Output feedback disturbance attenuation with robustness to nonlinear uncertain dynamics via state-dependent scaling (2003)

The paper presents a novel approach to output feedback stabilization with L/sub 2/ disturbance attenuation for nonlinear systems in the presence of dynamic uncertainties. A new method of state-dependent scaling unifies treatment of nonlinear and linear gains in the output feedback design. The effect of disturbance on the controlled output, which is allowed to be any function of output measurements, can be attenuated to an arbitrarily small level with global asymptotic stability if the plant belongs to a wide class of interconnected systems whose uncertain components unnecessarily have finite linear-gain. The uncertain dynamics is not limited to input-to-state stable systems either. The approach is not only a natural extension of popular approaches in robust linear control, but also advantageous to numerical computation. The design procedure proposed in the paper consists of novel recursive calculation of robust observer gain as well as feedback gain.
CMUTs on glass with ITO bottom electrodes for improved transparency (2016)

In this work, we fabricated capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) on a glass substrate with indium tin oxide (ITO) bottom electrodes for improved transparency. A 2-µm vibrating silicon plate was formed by anodic bonding. The fabrication process requires three masks. The fabricated devices show approximately 300% improvement of optical transmission in the visible to NIR wavelength range (400 nm – 1000 nm) compared to the devices with chromium/gold (Cr/Au) bottom electrodes. The measured static surface profile confirmed that the fabricated devices are vacuum-sealed. The electrical input impedance measurement shows the device has a resonant frequency of 4.75 MHz at 30-V DC voltage. The series resistance of the device is ∼1 kΩ, which is mainly due to the ITO bottom electrode connections. Using a full bottom electrode or using parallel connections to the pads could reduce the resistance. The main hurdle for the transparency at shorter wavelength range is the 2-µm silicon plate. The transfer-matrix model shows the transparency could be improved to −80% across the measured spectrum, if silicon is replaced with a more transparent plate material such as ITO or silicon nitride.
Synthesis and properties of conductive B <sub>4</sub> C ceramic composites with TiB <sub>2</sub> grain network (2018)

Abstract High electrical resistance and low fracture toughness of B 4 C ceramics are 2 of the primary challenges for further machining of B 4 C ceramics. This report illustrates that these 2 challenges can be overcome simultaneously using core‐shell B 4 C‐TiB 2 &TiC powder composites, which were prepared by molten‐salt method using B 4 C (10 ± 0.6 μm) and Ti powders as raw materials without co‐ball milling. Finally, the near completely dense (98%) B 4 C‐TiB 2 interlayer ceramic composites were successfully fabricated by subsequent pulsed electric current sintering ( PECS ). The uniform conductive coating on the surface of B 4 C particles improved the mass transport by electro‐migration in PECS and thus enhanced the sinterability of the composites at a comparatively low temperature of 1700°C. The mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of the ceramic composites were investigated. The interconnected conductive TiB 2 phase at the grain boundary of B 4 C significantly improved the properties of B 4 C‐TiB 2 ceramic composites: in the case of B 4 C‐29.8 vol% TiB 2 composite, the fracture toughness of 4.38 MPa·m 1/2 , the electrical conductivity of 4.06 × 10 5 S/m, and a high thermal conductivity of 33 W/mK were achieved.
Random Fluctuations in Scaled MOS Devices (2009)

Today, variability is recognized as a major obstacle for continuing MOS transistor miniaturization. Among various kinds of variability, this paper mainly focuses on random fluctuation, which is caused by microscopic perturbations, such as discreteness of charges and atomic scale structural irregularity. Some recent research results for quantitatively understanding the causes of random fluctuation are reviewed. Methods of reducing random fluctuation will be discussed.
Mice Orally Immunized with a Transgenic Plant Expressing the Glycoprotein of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (2011)

While Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) has a high mortality rate in humans, the associated virus (CCHFV) does not induce clinical symptoms in animals, but animals play an important role in disease transmission to humans. Our aim in this study was to examine the immunogenicity of the CCHFV glycoprotein when expressed in the root and leaf of transgenic plants via hairy roots and stable transformation of tobacco plants, respectively. After confirmatory analyses of transgenic plant lines and quantification of the expressed glycoprotein, mice were either fed with the transgenic leaves or roots, fed the transgenic plant material and injected subcutaneously with the plant-made CCHFV glycoprotein (fed/boosted), vaccinated with an attenuated CCHF vaccine (positive control), or received no treatment (negative control). All immunized groups had a consistent rise in anti-glycoprotein IgG and IgA antibodies in their serum and feces, respectively. The mice in the fed/boosted group showed a significant rise in specific IgG antibodies after a single boost. Our results imply that oral immunization of animals with edible materials from transgenic plants is feasible, and further assessments are under way. In addition, while the study of CCHF is challenging, our protocol should be further used to study CCHFV infection in the knockout mouse model and virus neutralization assays in biosafety level 4 laboratories.
Characterization of the Protocatechuic Acid Catabolic Gene Cluster from <i>Streptomyces</i> sp. Strain 2065 (2000)

Protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11.3) catalyzes the ring cleavage step in the catabolism of aromatic compounds through the protocatechuate branch of the beta-ketoadipate pathway. A protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase was purified from Streptomyces sp. strain 2065 grown in p-hydroxybenzoate, and the N-terminal sequences of the beta- and alpha-subunits were obtained. PCR amplification was used for the cloning of the corresponding genes, and DNA sequencing of the flanking regions showed that the pcaGH genes belonged to a 6. 5-kb protocatechuate catabolic gene cluster; at least seven genes in the order pcaIJFHGBL appear to be transcribed unidirectionally. Analysis of the cluster revealed the presence of a pcaL homologue which encodes a fused gamma-carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase/beta-ketoadipate enol-lactone hydrolase previously identified in the pca gene cluster from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP. The pcaIJ genes encoded proteins with a striking similarity to succinyl-coenzyme A (CoA):3-oxoacid CoA transferases of eukaryotes and contained an indel which is strikingly similar between high-G+C gram-positive bacteria and eukaryotes.
Learning based compact thermal modeling for energy-efficient smart building management (2015)

In this article, we propose a new behavioral thermal modeling method for fast building performance analysis, which is critical for energy-efficient smart building control and management. The new approach is based on two recurrent neutral network architecture to obtain the compact nonlinear thermal models for complicated building. We start with a more realistic building simulation program, EnergyPlus, from Department of Energy, to model some practical buildings such as office buildings and data centers. EnergyPlus can model the various time-series inputs to a building such as ambient temperature, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) inputs, power consumption of electronic equipment, lighting and number of occupants in a room sampled in each hour and produce resulting temperature traces of zones (rooms). In this work, we apply two recurrent neural network (RNN) architectures to build the non-linear compact thermal model of the building: one is non-linear state-space RNN architecture (NLSS), which has global feedbacks, and the other one is Elman's RNN architecture (ELNN), which has local feedbacks in each layer. We give a simple formula to calculate the RNN layer number, layer size to configure RNN architecture to avoid overfitting and underfitting problems. A cross-validation based training technique is further applied to improve predictable accuracy of models. Experimental results from a case study of three buildings show that ELNN and NLSS can both build very accurate building thermal models for the 2-zone and 5-zone building cases: both of them have average errors from around 1% to 1.5% for the two buildings. For the more complex 6-zone building case, ELNN outperforms NLSS with maximum errors 16% against 23%. But both methods have 2.2% average errors.
Detection of bilayer phospholipid-binding antibodies using flow cytometry (1996)

Antiphospholipid antibodies (APL) are usually detected using solid-phase immunoassays, where cardiolipin is the most common capture antigen. Phosholipids are believed to adopt a monolayer organization when coated onto polystyrene after evaporation of the solvent. However, bilayer phospholipids are probably those evidenced as microparticles or cell fragments circulating in vivo under various pathological circumstances. The surface density of monolayer phospholipids on polystyrene is six times lower than that of bilayer phospholipids. In order to assess the influence of phospholipid organization on the detection of APL, we prepared glass microspheres coated with bilayer phospholipids (cardiolipin, phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol). Such lipospheres enabled us to study the binding of antibodies in 1:100 diluted plasma samples from patients with anticardiolipin antibodies of IgG isotype previously diagnosed by ELISA. Among the 39 plasma samples analysed by flow cytometry, 17 showed positive IgG binding to lipospheres. Only four additional samples became positive when adding 20 micrograms/ml apolipoprotein H. The specificity of the binding was demonstrated by complete reversibility with 1.4 microM annexin V and with a large excess of liposomes of the same composition. The absence of correlation between liposphere and ELISA results suggests that different subgroups of antibodies are detected depending on the method. The detection of APL using bilayer phospholipids is an original assay and may represent a more physiopathological approach to the specificity of APL.
Identification of Patients at Low Risk for Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism by Measuring Thrombin Generation (2006)

Measurement of thrombin generation identifies patients at low risk for recurrent VTE.
Using two discrete frequencies within the middle infrared to quantitatively determine glucose in serum (2002)

Tight glucose monitoring is essential for the reduction of diabetic complications. This research investigated the changes of absorption spectra observed in serum at three prominent glucose absorption peaks in the middle infrared using a demountable liquid, transmission cell. Two frequencies of light were used to determine the glucose absorption: one at 1193 cm(-1 ) to determine the background water absorption and the other at one of the characteristic peaks (1035, 1080, and 1109 cm(-1)). The peak at 1035 cm(-1) was best for quantitative determination with a standard of error of 20.6 mg/dl (1.1 mmol/L). While interference from other serum constituents could cause problems, urea and albumin-two constituents known to have close absorption peaks-were determined to have no effect on the ability to determine the glucose levels at 1035 cm( -1).
Calpain as proposed target for neuroprotective treatment of brain ischemia. (1996)

Increasing evidence now suggests that excessive activation of calcium-dependent neutral proteases, calpains, could play a key or contributory role in the pathology of cerebral ischemia. This assumption has been supported in part by the suppressive or neuroprotective effects of calpain inhibitors on post-ischemic damage. Targeting calcium-activated proteolysis could be therefore an alternative strategy for protecting neurons against post-ischemic injury. The data of this review indicate that unregulated activation of calcium-dependent proteolysis plays a significant role in the brain damage that occurs following an ischemic insult and that selective and permanent calpain inhibitors may provide a powerfully effective therapeutic means of limiting neuronal damage.
Repair yield simulation with iterative critical area analysis for different types of failure (2003)

We propose a general method for repair yield estimation based on critical area analysis using a commercial Monte-Carlo simulator. We classify failures into several types according to the repair rules and use iterative critical area analysis for each type of failure (ICAA-ETF) to calculate the repair yield. Our proposed method makes it possible to accurately estimate within a few hours the repair yield of a memory product. An example of application to an actual SRAM product is discussed to illustrate in detail how our method can be used for critical area calculation and repair yield modeling.
Effect Na2SO4 treatment on anti-oxidation of Euonymus bungeanus seedling. (2009)

Treatment was implemented on Euonymus bungeanus seedlings with different concentrations of Na2SO4,determination and analysis was made on changes of superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT) and peroxidase(POD) activity in the seedlings.The results showed that SOD-CAT was the main way of defense enzyme system in leaves of Eu.bungeanus.The activity of SOD and POD topped when Na2SO4 concentration of 300 mmol/L,that of CAT topped when Na2SO4 concentration of 150 mmol/L,then when concentration was 300 mmol/L.Based on the results,we could treat seedlings of Eu.bungeanus with Na2SO4 concentration of 300 mmol /L for resistance.
Predicting underwater acoustic network variability using machine learning techniques (2017)

Predicting the performance of an underwater acoustic network (UAN) is a challenging task due to the spatiotemporal variability of the links and its complicated dependence on multiple factors. We present a machine-learning model based on logistic regression (LogR) to capture the spatio-temporal variation in the performance of a UAN. The model captures the effect of environmental factors such as wind speed, tide, current velocity etc., and modem-specific factors, on the performance of the UAN, which can be quantified by the packet success rate (PSR). As the PSR is a complicated non-linear function of environmental/modem-specific factors, developing a forward model in this regard is a difficult task, motivating our data-driven model. Our results indicate that LogR can quantify UAN performance with fair accuracy.
A Third Vesicular Glutamate Transporter Expressed by Cholinergic and Serotoninergic Neurons (2002)

Two proteins previously known as Na(+)-dependent phosphate transporters have been identified recently as vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUT1 and VGLUT2). Together, VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 are operating at most central glutamatergic synapses. In this study, we characterized a third vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT3), highly homologous to VGLUT1 and VGLUT2. Vesicles isolated from endocrine cells expressing recombinant VGLUT3 accumulated l-glutamate with bioenergetic and pharmacological characteristics similar, but not identical, to those displayed by the type-1 and type-2 isoforms. Interestingly, the distribution of VGLUT3 mRNA was restricted to a small number of neurons scattered in the striatum, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and raphe nuclei, in contrast to VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 transcripts, which are massively expressed in cortical and deep structures of the brain, respectively. At the ultrastructural level, VGLUT3 immunoreactivity was concentrated over synaptic vesicle clusters present in nerve endings forming asymmetrical as well as symmetrical synapses. Finally, VGLUT3-positive neurons of the striatum and raphe nuclei were shown to coexpress acetylcholine and serotonin transporters, respectively. Our study reveals a novel class of glutamatergic nerve terminals and suggests that cholinergic striatal interneurons and serotoninergic neurons from the brainstem may store and release glutamate.