gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Using the volumetric effect of a finite‐sized detector for routine quality assurance of multileaf collimator leaf positioning (2003)

Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced form of radiation therapy and promises to improve dose conformation while reducing the irradiation to the sensitive structures. The modality is, however, more complicated than conventional treatment and requires much more stringent quality assurance (QA) to ensure what has been planned can be achieved accurately. One of the main QA tasks is the assurance of positioning accuracy of multileaf collimator (MLC) leaves during IMRT delivery. Currently, the routine quality assurance of MLC in most clinics isbeing done using radiographic films with specially designed MLC leaf sequences. Besides being time consuming, the results of film measurements are difficult to quantify and interpret. In this work, we propose a new and effective technique for routine MLC leaf positioning QA. The technique utilizes the fact that, when a finite-sized detector is placed under a leaf, the relative output of the detector will depend on the relative fractional volume irradiated. A small error in leaf positioning would change the fractional volume irradiated and lead to a deviation of the relative output from the normal reading. For a given MLC and detector system, the relation between the relative output and the leaf displacement can be easily established through experimental measurements and used subsequently as a quantitative means for detecting possible leaf positional errors. The method was tested using a linear accelerator with an 80-leaf MLC. Three different locations, including two locations on central plane (X1 = X2 = 0) and one point on an off-central plane location (X1 = -7.5, X = 7.5), were studied. Our results indicated that the method could accurately detect a leaf positional change of approximately 0.1 mm. The method was also used to monitor the stability of MLC leaf positioning for five consecutive weeks. In this test, we intentionally introduced two positional errors in the testing MLC leaf sequences: -0.2 mm and 1.2 mm. The technique was found to be robust and could detect the positional inaccuracy in each week's test. The influence of other possible error sources, including the ion chamber placement, jaw settings, gantry and collimator angle read-outs, and the positioning errors of the adjacent leaves, on detection accuracy were also investigated. The principle of our method is independent of the types of the MLC and the detector and may have significant practical implications in facilitating routine MLC QA for IMRT delivery.
Paradoxical effect of clindamycin in experimental, acute toxoplasmosis in cats (1996)

Cats were experimentally inoculated parenterally with the ME49 strain of Toxoplasma gondii to characterize the efficacies of two different dosages of orally administered clindamycin hydrochloride in the treatment of ocular toxoplasmosis. Concentrations of clindamycin hydrochloride at levels previously suggested to be inhibitory to T. gondii replication in vitro were achieved in the serum and aqueous humor but not in the cerebrospinal fluid. Antibiotic therapy, initiated 7 days after inoculation, resulted in no significant difference in the morphometric severity of ocular posterior segment lesions compared with that in the control groups. Treatment appeared to blunt T. gondii-specific immunoglobulin M production but had no significant effect on immunoglobulin G titers. Paradoxically, clindamycin administration was associated with increased morbidity and mortality from hepatitis and interstitial pneumonia, which are characteristic of generalized toxoplasmosis. Serum tumor necrosis factor alpha activity was detected at moderate levels in all groups of cats and correlated with the severity of clinical disease. The results of the study suggest that clindamycin, when administered at this specific time interval following inoculation, does not ameliorate ocular lesions and has a detrimental effect on the clinical course of acute, experimental toxoplasmosis in cats. The factors responsible for and the relevance of this detrimental effect to naturally occurring toxoplasmosis in humans and pet cats were not clear from the study but may relate to an antibiotic-associated decrease in the antitoxoplasmic activity of phagocytic cells responsible for the control of T. gondii.
Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Action Recognition Using Depth Map Sequences (2015)

Recently, deep learning approach has achieved promising results in various fields of computer vision. In this paper, a new framework called Hierarchical Depth Motion Maps (HDMM) + 3 Channel Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (3ConvNets) is proposed for human action recognition using depth map sequences. Firstly, we rotate the original depth data in 3D pointclouds to mimic the rotation of cameras, so that our algorithms can handle view variant cases. Secondly, in order to effectively extract the body shape and motion information, we generate weighted depth motion maps (DMM) at several temporal scales, referred to as Hierarchical Depth Motion Maps (HDMM). Then, three channels of ConvNets are trained on the HDMMs from three projected orthogonal planes separately. The proposed algorithms are evaluated on MSRAction3D, MSRAction3DExt, UTKinect-Action and MSRDailyActivity3D datasets respectively. We also combine the last three datasets into a larger one (called Combined Dataset) and test the proposed method on it. The results show that our approach can achieve state-of-the-art results on the individual datasets and without dramatical performance degradation on the Combined Dataset.
Detecting Neolithic Burial Mounds from LiDAR-Derived Elevation Data Using a Multi-Scale Approach and Machine Learning Techniques (2018)

Airborne LiDAR technology is widely used in archaeology and over the past decade has emerged as an accurate tool to describe anthropomorphic landforms. Archaeological features are traditionally emphasised on a LiDAR-derived Digital Terrain Model (DTM) using multiple Visualisation Techniques (VTs), and occasionally aided by automated feature detection or classification techniques. Such an approach offers limited results when applied to heterogeneous structures (different sizes, morphologies), which is often the case for archaeological remains that have been altered throughout the ages. This study proposes to overcome these limitations by developing a multi-scale analysis of topographic position combined with supervised machine learning algorithms (Random Forest). Rather than highlighting individual topographic anomalies, the multi-scalar approach allows archaeological features to be examined not only as individual objects, but within their broader spatial context. This innovative and straightforward method provides two levels of results: a composite image of topographic surface structure and a probability map of the presence of archaeological structures. The method was developed to detect and characterise megalithic funeral structures in the region of Carnac, the Bay of Quiberon, and the Gulf of Morbihan (France), which is currently considered for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As a result, known archaeological sites have successfully been geo-referenced with a greater accuracy than before (even when located under dense vegetation) and a ground-check confirmed the identification of a previously unknown Neolithic burial mound in the commune of Carnac.
In vitro activity of zidovudine alone and in combination with ciprofloxacin against Salmonella and Escherichia coli (1993)

The in vitro antibacterial activity of zidovudine alone and in combination with ciprofloxacin was investigated. Zidovudine showed a good activity against Escherichia coli and Salmonella (MIC range 0.5–8 µg/ml and 1.5–62 µg/ml respectively) isolated from biological samples of HIV-infected patients. These strains proved to be extremely susceptible to ciprofloxacin alone. The interaction between zidovudine and ciprofloxacin ranged from additive activity to indifference. No antagonism was observed: the FIC index for every combination resulted ≤ 1.5. The addition of AZT 1 mg/l (clinically achievable plasma concentration after therapeutic doses of 1200 mg/day) did not affect the bactericidal activity of ciprofloxacin; on the contrary, in some cases we observed an increase of bactericidal effect of the quinolone. These data have to be considered in patients with AIDS who can be treated concomitantly with zidovudine and ciprofloxacin.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2003: stress and psychological impact among frontline healthcare workers (2004)

These findings shed light on the need for hospital administrators to be aware of the extent and sources of stress and psychological distress among frontline healthcare workers during disease outbreak.
Anchoring fibrils form a complex network in human and rabbit cornea. (1987)

Anchoring fibril distribution, depth of penetration into the stroma, and pattern of histochemical localization of type VII collagen (the anchoring fibril collagen) were studied in normal human and rabbit corneas. Electron micrographs of cross sections and sections taken parallel to the basement membrane demonstrate that anchoring fibrils insert into the basal lamina and then splay out laterally. They are more readily seen in sections taken parallel to the basal lamina, where they are observed to form a complex branching and anastomosing network below the basal lamina. Distal to the basal lamina, anchoring fibrils appear to insert into patches of dense extracellular matrix termed "anchoring plaques." Average depth of penetration of anchoring fibrils into stroma is 0.60 and 0.54 microns for human and rabbit, respectively. Monoclonal antibodies to type VII collagen localize only to the basement membrane-anchoring fibril zone of both human and rabbit corneas. No obvious differences in anchoring fibril structure or distribution were observed between human corneas, which have a Bowman's layer, and rabbit corneas, which do not.
Asymmetric Term Alignment with Selective Contiguity Constraints by Multi-Tape Automata (2015)

Abstract. This article describes a HMM-based word-alignment method that can selectively enforce a contiguity constraint. This method has a direct application in the extraction of a bilingual terminological lexicon from a parallel corpus, but can also be used as a preliminary step for the extraction of phrase pairs in a Phrase-Based Statistical Machine Trans-lation system. Contiguous source words composing terms are aligned to contiguous target language words. The HMM is transformed into a Weighted Finite State Transducer (WFST) and contiguity constraints are enforced by specific multi-tape WFSTs. The proposed method is es-pecially suited when basic linguistic resources (morphological analyzer, part-of-speech taggers and term extractors) are available for the source language only. 1
Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 Upregulates Adiponectin in Diabetic Mouse Hearts And Attenuates Post-Ischemic Injury (2008)

Adiponectin is a circulating cytokine with important cardioprotective effects. Plasma adiponectin levels are significantly reduced in patients with insulin resistance and type II diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Although adiponectin is primarily synthesized by adipocytes, new studies reveal that adiponectin is secreted by other cell types, including cardiomyocytes. Control of adiponectin gene expression in heart and microvasculature is poorly understood. We investigated the regulation of adiponectin expression by the transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) and its role in attenuating cardiac reperfusion injury. HIF-1 regulation of adiponectin was examined by isolating and characterizing the murine adiponectin promoter. HIF-1-dependent activation of the murine adiponectin promoter was verified via electrophoretic mobility shift assays, transient transfection assays, and QPCR. We show for the first time that HIF-1 activation via an siRNA-mediated prolyl 4-hydroxylase-2 gene silencing strategy induced adiponectin mRNA expression in murine microvascular endothelium in vitro (17-fold), intact hearts (22-fold, wild type; 5-fold, obese/diabetic) and white adipose tissue (37-fold, wild-type; 9.6-fold, obese/diabetic). HIF-1-induced adiponectin expression was associated with improved myocardial viability in obese/diabetic mice (32% increase) and preservation of left ventricular function (36% increase in rate pressure product). Our studies suggest that local production of adiponectin by cardiomyocytes/microvascular endothelial cells may regulate cardiac function and indicate a novel strategy for protecting diabetic hearts from ischemia/reperfusion injury.
Abscisic acid enriched fig extract promotes insulin sensitivity by decreasing systemic inflammation and activating LANCL2 in skeletal muscle (2020)

Abscisic acid is a phytohormone found in fruits and vegetables and is endogenously produced in mammals. In humans and mice, lanthionine synthetase C-like 2 (LANCL2) has been characterized as the natural receptor for ABA. Herein, we characterize the efficacy of a fig fruit extract of ABA in promoting glycemic control. This ABA-enriched extract, at 0.125 µg ABA/kg body weight, improves glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and fasting blood glucose in diet-induced obesity (DIO) and db/db mouse models. In addition to decreasing systemic inflammation and providing glycemic control without increasing insulin, ABA extract modulates the metabolic activity of muscle. ABA increases expression of important glycogen synthase, glucose, fatty acid and mitochondrial metabolism genes and increases direct measures of fatty acid oxidation, glucose oxidation and metabolic flexibility in soleus muscle cells from ABA-treated mice with DIO. Glycolytic and mitochondrial ATP production were increased in ABA-treated human myotubes. Further, ABA synergized with insulin to dramatically increase the rate of glycogen synthesis. The loss of LANCL2 in skeletal muscle abrogated the effect of ABA extract in the DIO model and increased fasting blood glucose levels. This data further supports the clinical development of ABA in the treatment of pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Enhanced Secretion of Biologically Active Murine Interleukin-12 by <i>Lactococcus lactis</i> (2008)

The novel signal peptide SLPmod was used for the secretion of murine interleukin-12 (mIL-12) by Lactococcus lactis. A >4-fold increase in secretion was observed when SLPmod was used instead of the Usp45-derived secretion signal. Oral delivery of this cytokine using the autoinducible host L. lactis FI5876 utilizing SLPmod resulted in a significant increase in mIL-12 plasma levels in mice.
Assessment of refill and hypovolaemia by continuous surveillance of blood volume and extracellular fluid volume (1994)

During renal replacement therapy hypovolaemia due to ultrafiltration (UF) may, when not sufficiently counteracted by refill from the interstitium, result in hypotension. Combining two recently developed methods the haemodynamic process of refill was studied in order to find characteristics featuring hypotension. Relative blood volume (BV) and extracellular fluid volume (EFV) were measured continuously in 40 stable haemodialysis patients by means of an optical and a conductivity technique respectively. Regarding their postdialytic (PD) EFV the patients were divided into three groups: normohydrated (N, n = 20), dehydrated (D, n = 11) and overhydrated (O, n = 9). Significant differences between the groups were assessed in BV decrease (after 2 h until the end of treatment P < 0.05 and after 3 h P < 0.01), EFV decrease (after 3 h P < 0.05) and occurrence of hypotensive episodes (N,5; D,7; O,none; P < 0.01). During the entire session the speed of BV decrease was significantly higher in hypotensive patients (H) than in non-hypotensive patients (non-H). At the moment of hypotension (after 141 +/- 49 min) residual BV was less (P < 0.0005) in H (87.7 +/- 5.2%) than at the corresponding moment in non-H patients (96.5 +/- 4.0%). PD BV and PD EFV, both expressed as a percentage of the starting value, correlated significantly (r = 0.63, p < 0.005) and UF-volume (differences between the groups were not significant) correlated to EFV decrease (r = 0.45, P < 0.005). In conclusion, the combination of both non-invasive methods elucidates the pathophysiology of UF-induced hypotension and provides a means of reducing dialysis morbidity. The influence of tissue hydration state on these variables has been shown.
The maximum possible magnetocaloric ΔT effect (2010)

The current boom of research activity in magnetocaloric materials science is fuelled by the expectation that new advanced refrigerants may be found whose ΔT will significantly surpass that of gadolinium (Gd) metal (2.6–2.9 K/T). Because of this expectation, the main effort in the field has been diverted from the important issues of refrigerator design to the routine characterization of magnetic materials. Estimating the maximum adiabatic temperature change that can be achieved in principle by applying a certain magnetic field, say 1 T, is a matter of priority. In this work the problem of maximum ΔT is approached from general principles. According to the most optimistic estimates, ΔT can never exceed ∼18 K/T, the more realistic upper limit lying somewhere in high single figures. We therefore deem it most unlikely that a refrigerant much better than Gd, in respect of the ΔT value, will ever be found.
Antibiotic penetration in the respiratory tract and implications for the selection of antimicrobial therapy (1997)

There has been an increasing amount of information published recently about the ability of different antimicrobial agents to penetrate specific areas of the lung. Initially, whole lung concentrations were reported, but this methodology has been refined so that levels are now measured in potential sites of infection, such as the bronchial mucosa, epithelial lining fluid, and alveolar macrophages, as well as in sputum. Distinct differences in the ability to concentrate in these sites have been shown among beta-lactams, quinolones, and macrolides. Considerable intracellular concentration of quinolones and macrolides, but not beta-lactams, occurs. This intracellular accumulation has been used for the treatment of atypical mycobacteria. The potential effects of high antibiotic levels on cellular function have also been investigated. The clinical relevance of these findings for the choice of antimicrobial agent, dosage, formulation (eg, liposomal), and route of administration (eg, nebulized) are increasingly being explored.
Robust natural language dialogues for instruction tasks (2010)

Being able to understand and carry out spoken natural instructions even in limited domains is extremely challenging for current robots. The difficulties are multifarious, ranging from problems with speech recognizers to difficulties with parsing disfluent speech or resolving references based on perceptual or task-based knowledge. In this paper, we present our efforts at starting to address these problems with an integrated natural language understanding system implemented in our DIARC architecture on a robot that can handle fairly unconstrained spoken ungrammatical and incomplete instructions reliably in a limited domain.
Polarization Independent Band Gaps in CMOS Back-End-of-Line for Monolithic High-<i>Q</i> MEMS Resonator Confinement (2020)

To pave the way for system-on-chip MEMS confinement up to 50 GHz, the mechanical properties of a CMOS back-end-of-line (BEOL) are studied by analytic and finite element approaches. In particular, the two main directions of vertical and horizontal wave propagation are investigated. With respect to the symmetry of the BEOL, the movement through the nonperiodic horizontal layers is described by the Rayleigh-Lamb equation. It is shown that our finite element method (FEM) approach, preventing Brillouin zone folding, can be employed in simulations of these structures, since the results are in excellent accordance to the corresponding analytical solutions. The vertical propagation through the periodic stack on the other hand is subject to phononic crystal effects resulting in Bragg-like band gaps (BGs) for either a certain or every polarization. Factoring in both types of propagation, it is demonstrated by our FEM simulations how these BGs can be tailored to specific values through variations in the BEOL layers to improve the quality factor of monolithically integrated MEMS devices.
LibGuides: COVID-19: Home (2020)

This guide gathers evidence-based resources on COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
New Fourier reconstruction algorithms for computerized tomography (2000)

In this paper we propose two new algorithms for high quality Fourier reconstructions of digital N by N images from their Radon transform. Both algorithms are based on fast Fourier transforms for nonequispaced data (NFFT) and require only O(N<SUP>2</SUP> log N) arithmetic operations. While the first algorithm includes a bivariate NFFT on the polar grid, the second algorithm consists of several univariate NFFTs on the so-called linogram.
A shift to a peripheral Th2-type cytokine pattern during the carcinogenesis of cervical cancer becomes manifest in CIN III lesions (2005)

These results indicate that a shift to a Th2-type cytokine pattern during the carcinogenesis of cervical cancer occurs in women with CIN III lesions.
Structural Requirement for Cell Adhesion to Kalinin (Laminin-5) (1995)

Laminin-5 (kalinin) was purified from spent cell culture media (SCC25 cells) by affinity chromatography on monoclonal antibody BM165. The protein was recovered as a mixture of the typical polypeptides of 165-155, 140, and 105 kDa as judged b SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis under reducing conditions. The amino acid composition of purified laminin-5 was in agreement with that compiled from the recently published cDNA sequences of the alpha 3-, beta 3-, and gamma 2-laminin chains. Moreover, the content of half-cystine residues in laminin-5 was about two-thirds that in laminin-1, which confirms the prediction of a smaller number of epidermal growth factor-like repeats in the amino-terminal portion of the three chains. The content of coiled-coil alpha-helices (27%) determined by CD spectroscopy was comparable to that reported for laminin-1, which indicates that the long arm portion of laminin-5 is equivalent to that of other laminin isoforms. The melting temperature was recorded at 72 degrees C by CD monitoring of unfolding and refolding of the coiled-coil structures during thermal denaturation and renaturation, respectively. The thermal stability of laminin-5 is therefore significantly higher than that of laminin-1 or alpha 2-chain-containing laminins, which suggests higher ionic interactions between the three polypeptide chains of laminin-5. Cell adhesion-promoting activity of laminin-5 was found to be strictly and entirely dependent on the presence of coiled-coil structures. It decreased gradually after heat denaturation of the protein above 65 degrees C and was totally abrogated at 75 degrees C. This is in contrast to laminin-1, which contains both conformation-dependent and -independent cell-binding sites on the long and short arm domains, respectively.
Cardiac tissue engineering : bioreactor cultivation parameters (1999)

Thesis (Sc.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2000.