gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Appropriateness of cholecystectomy in the United Kingdom--a consensus panel approach. (1991)

A consensus development approach was used to assess the extent to which doctors in the UK agreed about the appropriate indications for cholecystectomy. Two panels, one composed entirely of surgeons and one containing a mix of relevant specialists, were asked to rate a series of possible indications. A consensus was achieved for 61% (surgical panel) and 67% (mixed panel) of indications considered. The surgical panel considered more indications as being appropriate for cholecystectomy (29% v 13%) and fewer indications as being inappropriate (27% v 50%) than the mixed panel. For between one third and a half of all indications, the panels were unable to reach agreement, partly as a result of differences in views as to the role of endoscopic sphincterotomy.
Regioselective Bromination Tactics in the de Novo Synthesis of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> Analogues (2009)

The ability to introduce substituents at designated sites about the perimeter of the chlorin or 13(1)-oxophorbine macrocycle is essential for fundamental studies related to chlorophylls. A chlorin is a dihydroporphyrin, whereas a 13(1)-oxophorbine is a chlorin containing an annulated oxopentano ring spanning positions 13 and 15. 13(1)-Oxophorbines bearing auxochromes at the 7-position of the macrocycle are valuable targets given their resemblance to chlorophyll a or b, which contains the 13(1)-oxophorbine skeleton and bears a 7-methyl or 7-formyl group, respectively. A rational route to 7-substituted 13(1)-oxophorbines was developed that relies on a new method for regioselective bromination. Under neutral conditions, a 13-acetyl-10-mesitylchlorin (FbC-M(10)A(13)) undergoes bromination (with 1 molar equiv of NBS in THF) both in ring B (7-position) and at the 15-position (42% versus 28% isolated yield), thereby thwarting installation of the isocyclic ring (ring E, spanning the 13-15 positions). Under acidic conditions (10% TFA in CH(2)Cl(2)), ring B is deactivated, and bromination occurs preferentially at the 15-position (87% yield). The capability for preferential 15-bromination is essential to install the isocyclic ring, after which bromination can be directed to the 7-position of ring B (neutral conditions, 86% yield). The ability to suppress bromination in ring B (under acidic media) has been exploited in syntheses of sparsely substituted analogues of chlorophyll b. The analogues contain a 7-substituent (acetyl, formyl, or TIPS-ethynyl), a 10-mesityl group, and the 18,18-dimethyl group as the only substituents in the 13(1)-oxophorbine skeleton. The three analogues exhibit absorption spectral features that closely resemble those of free base analogues of chlorophyll b. Taken together, the facile access to chlorins and 13(1)-oxophorbines bearing substituents at distinct sites should enable fundamental spectroscopic studies and diverse applications.
A Common Cancer-Associated DNA Polymerase ϵ Mutation Causes an Exceptionally Strong Mutator Phenotype, Indicating Fidelity Defects Distinct from Loss of Proofreading (2014)

Exonucleolytic proofreading and DNA mismatch repair (MMR) act in series to maintain high-fidelity DNA replication and to avoid mutagenesis. MMR defects elevate the overall mutation rate and are associated with increased cancer incidence. Hypermutable colorectal and endometrial tumors with functional MMR were recently reported to carry amino acid substitutions in the exonuclease domain of DNA polymerase ε (Polε). This created a notion that loss of the proofreading activity of Polε is an initiating cause of some sporadic human cancers. In this study, we identified a somatic P286R substitution in the conserved ExoI motif of Polε in a collection of 52 sporadic colorectal tumor specimens. This change has been repeatedly observed in colorectal and endometrial tumors in previous studies despite many possible ways to inactivate Polε proofreading. To understand the reasons for the recurrent appearance of the P286R variant, we characterized its functional consequences using the yeast model system. An analogous substitution in the yeast Polε produced an unusually strong mutator phenotype exceeding that of proofreading-deficient mutants by two orders of magnitude. This argues that the P286R mutation acts at some level other than loss of exonuclease to elevate cancer risk. Heterozygosity for the variant allele caused a strong mutator effect comparable with that of complete MMR deficiency, providing an explanation for why loss of heterozygosity is not required for the development of Polε-mutant human tumors.
Is RCB a leakage resilient authenticated encryption scheme (2017)

Leakage resilient cryptography wants to provide security against side channel attacks. In this paper, we present several issues of the \(\mathsf {RCB}\) block cipher mode, proposed by Agrawal et al. in [2]. \(\mathsf {RCB}\) is the first Leakage Resilient Authenticated Encryption (AE) scheme ever presented. In particular, we present a forgery attack that breaks the \(\textsf {INT-CTXT} \) security which is a fundamental requirement in the design of AE schemes.
Current Drug Information: NSAID Use Not Associated with Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease (2011)

A study was conducted to evaluate the relationship, if any between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Results indicated that no association existed between NSAIDs and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Current follow-up strategies after resection of colon cancer (1994)

The surveillance strategies reported here rely most heavily on clinic visits and CEA level determinations, generally reflecting guidelines previously proposed in the current literature.
ALPD: Active Learning Framework for Enhancing the Detection of Malicious PDF Files (2014)

Email communication carrying malicious attachments or links is often used as an attack vector for initial penetration of the targeted organization. Existing defense solutions prevent executables from entering organizational networks via emails, therefore recent attacks tend to use non-executable files such as PDF. Machine learning algorithms have recently been applied for detecting malicious PDF files. These techniques, however, lack an essential element - they cannot be updated daily. In this study we present ALPD, a framework that is based on active learning methods that are specially designed to efficiently assist anti-virus vendors to focus their analytical efforts. This is done by identifying and acquiring new PDF files that are most likely malicious, as well as informative benign PDF documents. These files are used for retraining and enhancing the knowledge stores. Evaluation results show that in the final day of the experiment, Combination, one of our AL methods, outperformed all the others, enriching the anti-virus's signature repository with almost seven times more new PDF malware while also improving the detection model's performance on a daily basis.
Establishment and Characterization of a Diploid Cell Line from the Tick, Dermacentor parumapertus Neumann (Acarina: Ixodidae) (1977)

Establishment of a continuous cell line (RML-14) from embryonic tissues of the tick Dermacentor parumapertus Neumann is reported. The culture medium employed consisted of a combination (2:1) of Eagle's and L-15 (Leibovitz) media supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum, 10% tryptose phosphate broth, and 0.1% bovine plasma albumin. At the 8th passage, 99% of dividing cells had the female chromosome complement, among which more than 70% had a diploid chromosome number of 22. At the 13th passage, cell population showed approximately a 3-fold increase during the first 8 days of culture. As of December 1976, had been subcultured 40 times.
734. Trihalogenomethyl compounds of potential therapeutic interest. Part IV (1964)

R. E. Bowman, M. D. Closier and P. J. Islip, J. Chem. Soc., 1964, 3841 DOI: 10.1039/JR9640003841
FDA-Approved Drugs that Protect Mammalian Neurons from Glucose Toxicity Slow Aging Dependent on Cbp and Protect Against Proteotoxicity (2011)

Screening a library of drugs with known safety profiles in humans yielded 30 drugs that reliably protected mammalian neurons against glucose toxicity. Subsequent screening demonstrated that 6 of these 30 drugs increase lifespan in C. elegans: caffeine, ciclopirox olamine, tannic acid, acetaminophen, bacitracin, and baicalein. Every drug significantly reduced the age-dependent acceleration of mortality rate. These protective effects were blocked by RNAi inhibition of cbp-1 in adults only, which also blocks protective effects of dietary restriction. Only 2 drugs, caffeine and tannic acid, exhibited a similar dependency on DAF-16. Caffeine, tannic acid, and bacitracin also reduced pathology in a transgenic model of proteotoxicity associated with Alzheimer's disease. These results further support a key role for glucose toxicity in driving age-related pathologies and for CBP-1 in protection against age-related pathologies. These results also provide novel lead compounds with known safety profiles in human for treatment of age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and diabetic complications.
A Two-Stage State Estimator for Dynamic Monitoring of Power Systems (2014)

Fault recorders can track the transients in the power system during a fault. However, they cannot provide a wide area picture of the power system operating condition. The provision to track the transients is of great interest for the power system operators. In this paper, a two-stage state estimator (SE), based on both conventional and phasor measurement unit (PMU) measurements, is presented. The estimator is able to track the dynamics of the power system states during a fault. The advantage of the proposed SE is that it does not require full power system observability by the PMU measurements. The two-stage SE was successfully tested on the IEEE 14 and 118 bus systems.
Sodium Ion-Driven Serine/Threonine Transport in <i>Porphyromonas gingivalis</i> (2001)

Porphyromonas gingivalis is an asaccharolytic, gram-negative bacterium that relies on the fermentation of amino acids for metabolic energy. When grown in continuous culture in complex medium containing 4 mM (each) free serine, threonine, and arginine, P. gingivalis assimilated mainly glutamate/glutamine, serine, threonine, aspartate/asparagine, and leucine in free and/or peptide form. Serine and threonine were assimilated in approximately equal amounts in free and peptide form. We characterized serine transport in this bacterium by measuring uptake of the radiolabeled amino acid in washed cells of P. gingivalis energized with a tetrapeptide not containing serine. Serine was transported by a single system with an affinity constant for transport (K(t)) of 24 microM that was competitively inhibited by threonine. Serine transport was dependent on sodium ion concentration in the suspending buffer, and the addition of the ionophore gramicidin caused the inhibition of serine uptake. Together these data indicate that serine transport was sodium ion-motive force driven. A P. gingivalis gene potentially encoding a serine transporter was identified by sequence similarity to an Escherichia coli serine transporter (SstT). This P. gingivalis gene, designated sstT, was inactivated by insertion of a Bacteroides tetQ gene, producing the mutant W50ST. The mutant was unable to transport serine, confirming the presence of a single serine transporter in this bacterium under these growth conditions. The transport of serine by P. gingivalis was dependent on the presence of free cysteine in the suspension buffer. Other reducing agents were unable to stimulate serine uptake. These data show that P. gingivalis assimilates free serine and threonine from culture media via a cysteine-activated, sodium ion-motive force-driven serine/threonine transporter.
Analysis of classification algorithms applied to road surface recognition (2015)

The development of remote surface recognition systems is an important step in ensuring road safety. This paper examines the performance of surface classification algorithms, used for the analysis of backscattered microwave and ultrasonic signals. The novelty of our research is the joint use of data obtained from sonar and multifrequency polarimetric radar. The results demonstrate the feasibility of reliable surface classification using the proposed methodology.
Risk selection and risk adjustment in competitive health insurance markets (2014)

In most markets, competition induces efficiency by ensuring that goods are priced according to their marginal cost. This is not the case in health insurance markets. This is due to the fact that the cost of a health insurance policy depends on the characteristics of the consumer purchasing it, and asymmetric information or regulation often precludes an insurer from matching the price an individual pays to her expected cost. This disconnect between cost and price causes inefficiency: When the premiums paid by consumers do not match their expected costs, consumers may sort inefficiently across plans. In this dissertation, I study the effects of policies used to alleviate selection problems. In Chapter 1, I develop a model to study the effects of risk adjustment on equilibrium prices and sorting. I simulate consumer choice and welfare with and without risk adjustment in the context of a Health Insurance Exchange. I find that when there is no risk adjustment, the market I study unravels and everyone enrolls in the less comprehensive plan. However, diagnosis-based risk adjustment causes over 80 percent of market participants to enroll in the more comprehensive plan. In Chapter 2, we study an unintended consequence of risk adjustment: upcoding. When payments are risk adjusted based on potentially manipulable risk scores, insurers have incentives to maximize those risk scores. We study upcoding in the context of Medicare, where private Medicare Advantage plans are paid via risk adjustment but Traditional Medicare is not. We find that when the same individual enrolls in a private plan her risk score is 5% higher than if she would have enrolled in Traditional Medicare. In Chapter 3, we study two forms of insurance for insurers: Reinsurance and risk corridors. Protecting insurers from risk can lower prices and improve competition by inducing entry into risky markets. It can also induce inefficiencies by causing insurers to manage risk less carefully. We use simulations to compare the power of reinsurance and risk corridors to protect insurers against risk while limiting efficiency losses. We find that risk corridors are always able to limit insurer risk with the lowest efficiency cost.
A performance evaluation of texture measures for image classification and segmentation using the cascade-correlation architecture (2002)

The performance of several texture-based measures is compared with respect to their ability to classify and segment images. Texture measures considered are: co-occurrence matrices, features derived from the Fourier spectrum and Gabor filters. The performance of raw pixel gray level values and gray level averages as classification features is also investigated. The cascade-correlation neural network architecture is used as a classifier. It was found that certain measures derived from the Fourier spectrum outperformed other types. The size of the fragments used for classification played a dominant role with respect to performance.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Site-Specific Carboxypeptidase B1 Tyrosine Nitration and Pathophysiological Implications following Its Physical Association with Nitric Oxide Synthase-3 in Experimental Sepsis (2009)

LPS-induced sepsis results in oxidative modification and inactivation of carboxypeptidase B1 (CPB1). In this study, immunoprecipitated CPB1 was probed for tyrosine nitration using monoclonal nitrotyrosine-specific Abs in a murine model of LPS-induced sepsis. Tyrosine nitration of CPB1 was significantly reduced in the presence of NO synthase (NOS) inhibitors and the xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitor allopurinol and in NOS-3 knockout (KO) mice. CPB1 tyrosine nitration and loss of activity by the concerted action of NOS-3 and XO were also confirmed in vitro using both the NO donor 3-morpholinosydnonimine and peroxynitrite. Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry data indicated five sites of tyrosine nitration in vitro including Tyr(248), the tyrosine at the catalytic site. The site- and protein-specific nitration of CPB1 and the possible high nitration yield to inactivate it were elucidated by confocal microscopy. The studies indicated that CPB1 colocalized with NOS-3 in the cytosol of sinus-lining cells in the red pulp of the spleen. Further analysis of CPB1-immunoprecipitated samples indicated immunoreactivity to a monoclonal NOS-3 Ab, suggesting protein complex formation with CPB1. XO and NOS inhibitors and NOS-3 KO mice injected with LPS had decreased levels of C5a in spleens of septic mice, indicating peroxynitrite as a possible cause for CPB1 functional alteration. Thus, CPB1 colocalization, coupling, and proximity to NOS-3 in the sinus-lining cells of spleen red pulp could explain the site-specific tyrosine nitration and inactivation of CPB1. These results open up new avenues for the investigation of several enzymes involved in inflammation and their site-specific oxidative modifications by protein-protein interactions as well as their role in sepsis.
Blockade of Transforming Growth Factor β/Smad Signaling in T Cells by Overexpression of Smad7 Enhances Antigen-Induced Airway Inflammation and Airway Reactivity (2000)

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta has been implicated in immunosuppression. However, it remains obscure whether regulation of T cells by TGF-beta contributes to the immunosuppression in vivo. To address this issue, we developed transgenic mice expressing Smad7, an intracellular antagonist of TGF-beta/Smad signaling, selectively in mature T cells using a plasmid construct coding a promoter element (the distal lck promoter) that directs high expression in peripheral T cells. Peripheral T cells were not growth inhibited by TGF-beta in Smad7 transgenic mice. Although Smad7 transgenic mice did not spontaneously show a specific phenotype, antigen-induced airway inflammation and airway reactivity were enhanced in Smad7 transgenic mice associated with high production of both T helper cell type 1 (Th1) and Th2 cytokines. Thus, blockade of TGF-beta/Smad signaling in mature T cells by expression of Smad7 enhanced airway inflammation and airway reactivity, suggesting that regulation of T cells by TGF-beta was crucial for negative regulation of the inflammatory (immune) response. Our findings also implicated TGF-beta/Smad signaling in mature T cells as a regulatory component of allergic asthma.
Involvement of Rho kinase pathway in the mechanism of renal vasoconstriction and cardiac hypertrophy in rats with experimental heart failure (2005)

Rho-dependent kinases serve as downstream effectors of several vasoconstrictor systems, the activities of which are upregulated in congestive heart failure (CHF). We evaluated renal and cardiac effects of Y-27632, a highly selective Rho kinase inhibitor, in an experimental model of volume-overload CHF. Effects of acute administration of Y-27632 (0.3 mg/kg) on renal hemodynamic and clearance parameters and effects of chronic treatment (10.0 mg.kg(-1).day(-1) for 7 days via osmotic minipumps) on cardiac hypertrophy and cumulative Na+ excretion were studied in male Wistar rats with aortocaval fistula and control rats. The Y-27632-induced decrease in renal vascular resistance (from 40.4 +/- 4.6 to 26.0 +/- 3.1 resistance units, P < 0.01) in CHF rats was associated with a significant increase in total renal blood flow (+34%) and cortical and medullary blood flow (approx +37 and +27%, respectively). These values were significantly higher than those in control rats and occurred despite a decrease in mean arterial pressure (-15 mmHg). Despite the marked renal vasodilatory effect, Y-27632 did not alter glomerular filtration rate and renal Na+ excretion. Chronic administration of Y-27632 did not alter daily or cumulative renal Na+ excretion in CHF rats but was associated with a significant decrease in heart-to-body weight ratio, an index of cardiac hypertrophy: 0.32 +/- 0.007, 0.46 +/- 0.017, and 0.37 +/- 0.006% in control, CHF, and CHF + Y-27632 rats, respectively. The findings suggest that Rho kinase-dependent pathways are involved in the mechanisms of renal vasoconstriction and cardiac hypertrophy in rats with volume-overload heart failure. Selective blockade of these signaling pathways may be considered an additional tool to improve renal perfusion and attenuate cardiac hypertrophy in heart failure.
Altered calcium signaling in colonic smooth muscle of type 1 diabetic mice (2011)

Seventy-six percent of diabetic patients develop gastrointestinal symptoms, such as constipation. However, the direct effects of diabetes on intestinal smooth muscle are poorly described. This study aimed to identify the role played by smooth muscle in mediating diabetes-induced colonic dysmotility. To induce type 1 diabetes, mice were injected intraperitoneally with low-dose streptozotocin once a day for 5 days. Animals developed hyperglycemia (>200 mg/dl) 1 wk after the last injection and were euthanized 7-8 wk after the last treatment. Computed tomography demonstrated decreased overall gastrointestinal motility in the diabetic mice. In vitro contractility of colonic smooth muscle rings from diabetic mice was also decreased. Fura-2 ratiometric Ca(2+) imaging showed attenuated Ca(2+) increases in response to KCl stimulation that were associated with decreased light chain phosphorylation in diabetic mice. The diabetic mice also exhibited elevated basal Ca(2+) levels, increased myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 1 expression, and significant changes in expression of Ca(2+) handling proteins, as determined by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting. Mice that were hyperglycemic for <1 wk also showed decreased colonic contractile responses that were associated with decreased Ca(2+) increases in response to KCl stimulation, although without an elevation in basal Ca(2+) levels or a significant change in the expression of Ca(2+) signaling molecules. These data demonstrate that type 1 diabetes is associated with decreased depolarization-induced Ca(2+) influx in colonic smooth muscle that leads to attenuated myosin light chain phosphorylation and impaired colonic contractility.
Thermodynamic and experimental study of carbon formation on carbides under hydrothermal conditions (1995)

Thermodynamic analyses for the corrosion of SiC, TiC, TaC, NbC, WC and B4C in the temperature range 300–1000 °C in high-pressure steam have been conducted using a Gibbs energy minimization computer code. The calculated results are compared to experimental results for corrosion of these carbides in a hydrothermal fluid above the critical point. The formation of carbon has been predicted and observed for all these carbides, except B4C. Carbon is formed at low H2O : carbide molar ratios. Lower pressure also promotes carbon formation. For a high H2O : carbide molar ratio, the carbon will be oxidized to CO and CO2. The hydrothermal method can be used for producing carbon coatings of nanometre to micrometre thickness on the surface of carbides.
Femtosecond pulse generation from a synchronously pumped Ti:sapphire laser (1991)

We report femtosecond mode locking of a Ti:sapphire laser synchronously pumped by a mode-locked, frequency-doubled Nd:YLF laser. Stable tunable 70-fs pulses are generated in a TEM(00) output without the need for stabilization of the cavity length.