gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Increased serum levels of macrophage inflammatory protein‐3α in chronic viral hepatitis: prognostic importance of macrophage inflammatory protein‐3α during interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis C (2002)

Increased infiltration of lymphocytes and induction of damage and destruction of hepatocytes by these lymphocytes are characteristic features of chronic viral hepatitis. As chemokines attract lymphocytes to inflamed tissues, we studied macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-3alpha, a CC chemokine, in chronic viral hepatitis. The levels of MIP-3alpha were measured in the sera from 40 patients with chronic viral hepatitis and 30 control subjects by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (detection limit of MIP-3alpha=7.8 pg/mL). The kinetics of MIP-3alpha were checked during interferon (IFN) therapy in 25 patients. The levels of MIP-3alpha in the sera were significantly higher in patients with chronic viral hepatitis (39.0 +/- 28.9 pg/mL) than control subjects (15.6 +/- 4.9 pg/mL; P < 0.0001) and in patients with severe (49.6 +/- 49.2 pg/mL) and moderate degree of hepatitis (50.9 +/- 27.1 pg/mL) than in mild disease (16.0 +/- 6.8 pg/mL; P < 0.05). A significant correlation was seen among serum MIP-3alpha levels with the levels of alanine aminotransferase (r=0.509, P < 0.0001), aspartate aminotransferase (r=0.505, P < 0.0001), and degrees of activity of hepatitis (r=0.592, P < 0.0001) and interface hepatitis (r=0.419, P=0.0066). The levels of MIP-3alpha were significantly increased in patients with hepatitis C 2 weeks after the start of therapy in IFN-responders, but, remained almost unchanged in IFN-nonresponders. These findings might be important not only for the understanding of immunoptahogenesis of hepatocellular damage in chronic hepatitis (CH) patients but also for a therapeutic strategy to control the local immune response in the liver. A prognostic value of MIP-3alpha during IFN therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C is also shown.
Prospects, including time-frames, for improved foot and mouth disease vaccines (2002)

Inactivated foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines have been used successfully as part of eradication programmes. However, there are a number of concerns with the use of such vaccines and the recent outbreaks of FMD in disease-free countries have increased the need for improved FMD control strategies. To address this requirement, new generation FMD vaccines are being developed. Currently, one of the most promising of these vaccine candidates utilises an empty viral capsid subunit delivered to animals by a live virus vector. This candidate, a replication-defective recombinant human adenovirus containing the capsid and 3C proteinase coding regions of FMD virus (FMDV), induces an FMDV-specific neutralising antibody response in inoculated animals. Upon challenge with a virulent animal-passaged homologous virus, swine and cattle vaccinated with this recombinant adenovirus are protected from clinical signs of FMD as well as from FMDV replication. One inoculation of a high dose of this vaccine candidate protected swine from challenge as early as seven days after vaccination.
Self-routing in pervasive computing environments using smart messages (2004)

Smart messages (SMs) are dynamic collections of code and data that migrate to nodes of interest in the network and execute on these nodes. A key challenge in programming pervasive computing environments using SMs is the ability to route SMs to nodes named by content. This paper describes the SM self-routing mechanism, which allows SMs to route themselves at each hop in the path toward a node of interest. SM applications can choose among multiple content based routing algorithms, switch dynamically the routing algorithm in use, or even implement the best suited routing algorithm for their needs. The main benefits provided by self-routing are high flexibility and resilience to adverse network conditions. To demonstrate these benefits, we present proof-of-concept implementation, simulation results, and analysis for the SM self-routing mechanism using several content-based routing algorithms. We also show preliminary results for SM routing algorithms executed over our SM prototype implementation.
Theoretical and practical aspects of penalized spline smoothing (2006)

Parametric regression models that describe the dependence of the mean of some response variable on a set of covariates play a fundamental role in statistics. Allowing for simple interpretation and estimation these models, however, are often not flexible enough for describing the data at hand. In the last 15 to 20 years with the development of computer technology and statistical software, another approach - nonparametric regression - has received more attention and recognition. The mean of a response is thereby modelled as a smooth, but otherwise unspecified function of covariates.\nThe large domain of nonparametric regression models includes local techniques like kernel or locally-weighted smoothers and spline methods. The main focus of this thesis is on penalized splines (P-splines), which have become a very powerful and applicable smoothing technique over the last decade. This nonparametric method can be viewed as a generalization of smoothing splines with a more flexible choice of bases and penalties. The main attraction of P-spline smoothing is its ties with ridge regression, mixed models and Bayesian statistics. This allows the adoption of different techniques, like Markov chain Monte Carlo or likelihood ratio tests for penalized spline methodology. Smoothing, in particular, can be performed with any mixed model or Bayesian software.\nThis thesis addresses several problems of nonparametric techniques that can be successively handled with penalized spline smoothing, due to its link to mixed models. First, smoothing in the presence of correlated errors is shown to be more robust if performed in the mixed models framework. This property is used to estimate the term structure of interest rates. Next, the problem of smoothing of locally heterogeneous functions is treated by representing the adaptive penalized splines as a hierarchical mixed model. Application of Laplace approximation for parameter estimation of this model results in the fast and efficient method for adaptive smoothing, which is implemented in the R package AdaptFit. Investigation of the asymptotic rate at which the spline basis dimension is supposed to grow to minimize mean squared error concludes the thesis.
High power operation of GaInAsP/GaInAs MQW ridge lasers emitting at 1.48 μm (1990)

Multi-quantum-well (MQW) ridge lasers have been produced with CW light outputs in excess of 100 mW at 500 mA. The wavelength of operation is 1480 nm and the lasers are suitable for pumping erbium-doped-fibre amplifiers. These are the highest power ridge lasers yet produced in the 1500 nm wavelength region.
Broadcast Forecast: <i>Whither Weather</i> (1983)

Discussion of television news and the weather report. The author puts forward the view that the program remains incomplete so long as they continue to overlook one crucial 'domain', common virtually to all television news service: that is the weather report. Rather than seeing the weather report as ritualistically tacked on to the end of the news bulletin, with less analytical significance than 'important' news stories, the news broadcast operates as a structured whole with the weather report having an important and possibly; subversive relation with the news that precedes it. The fragmentation function of news and the unification function of weather and the use of male newsreaders and female weather presenters is examined. Tzvetan Todorov's analysis of the genre of the fantastic is cited to demonstrate that, in dealing with the 'problem' of weather, television may unwittingly plunge the world of 'fact', so commonly associated with news, into a world of fantasy.
A Two-Step Execution Mechanism for Thin Secure Hypervisors (2009)

Virtual machine monitors (VMMs), also called hypervisors, can be used to construct a trusted computing base (TCB) enhancing the security of existing operating systems. The complexity of a VMM-based TCB causes the high risk of security vulnerabilities. Therefore, this paper proposes a two-step execution mechanism to reduce the complexity of a VMM-based TCB. We propose a method to separate a conventional VMM-based TCB into the following two parts: (1) A thin hypervisor with security services and (2) A special guest OS for security preprocessing. A special guest OS performing security tasks can be executed in advance. After shutting down the special guest OS, a hypervisor obtains preprocessing security data and next boots a target guest OS to be protected. Thus, the proposed two-step execution mechanism can reduce run-time codes of a hypervisor. This paper shows a design, a prototype implementation and measurement results of lines of code using BitVisor, a VMM-based TCB we have developed.
Diagnosis of human heritable diseases--laboratory approaches and outcomes (1995)

Detection of mutant human genes is rapidly becoming an integral part of clinical practice. Human disease may arise by genetic deletion, insertion, fusion, point mutation, or amplification of unstable sequences. Such changes in structure may occur in germ cells or somatically. Rapid advances in understanding the complex nuclear and mitochondrial genomes necessitates deployment of a variety of methods to identify aberrant genes. These techniques include polymerase chain reaction, Southern transfer, and allele-specific hybridization studies, as well as methods to unmask mismatches between mutant and normal sequences. Development of protein truncation tests has added a vehicle for assessing larger DNA segments for mutations that cause premature translational termination. Linkage analysis remains an important tool where direct assay of disease-causing mutations is not possible. Considerations of confidentiality, informed consent, and insurability are important whenever genetic testing is used. These issues will assume increasing importance as presymptomatic testing for heritable predispositions emerges for common conditions.
Cisco NAC Appliance: Enforcing Host Security with Clean Access (2007)

Cisco NAC ApplianceEnforcing Host Security with Clean AccessAuthenticate, inspect, remediate, and authorize end-point devices using Cisco NAC ApplianceJamey Heary, CCIE® No. 7680Contributing authors: Jerry Lin, CCIE No. 6469,Chad Sullivan, CCIE No. 6493, and Alok AgrawalWith today's security challenges and threats growing more sophisticated, perimeter defense alone is no longer sufficient. Few organizations are closed entities with well-defined security perimeters, which has led to the creation of perimeterless networks with ubiquitous access. Organizations need to have internal security systems that are more comprehensive, pervasive, and tightly integrated than in the past.Cisco® Network Admission Control (NAC) Appliance, formerly known as Cisco Clean Access, provides a powerful host security policy inspection, enforcement, and remediation solution that is designed to meet these new challenges. Cisco NAC Appliance allows you to enforce host security policies on all hosts (managed and unmanaged) as they enter the interior of the network, regardless of their access method, ownership, device type, application set, or operating system. Cisco NAC Appliance provides proactive protection at the network entry point.Cisco NAC Appliance provides you with all the information needed to understand, design, configure, deploy, and troubleshoot the Cisco NAC Appliance solution. You will learn about all aspects of the NAC Appliance solution including configuration and best practices for design, implementation, troubleshooting, and creating a host security policy.Jamey Heary, CCIE® No. 7680, is a security consulting systems engineer at Cisco, where he works with its largest customers in the northwest United States. Jamey joined Cisco in 2000 and currently leads its Western Security Asset team and is a field advisor for its U.S. Security Virtual team. His areas of expertise include network and host security design and implementation, security regulatory compliance, and routing and switching. His other certifications include CISSP, CCSP®, and Microsoft MCSE. He is also a Certified HIPAA Security Professional. He has been working in the IT field for 13 years and in IT security for 9 years. Understand why network attacks and intellectual property losses can originate from internal network hosts Examine different NAC Appliance design options Build host security policies and assign the appropriate network access privileges for various user roles Streamline the enforcement of existing security policies with the concrete measures NAC Appliance can provide Set up and configure the NAC Appliance solution Learn best practices for the deployment of NAC Appliance Monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot the Cisco NAC Appliance solutionThis security book is part of the Cisco Press® Networking Technology Series. Security titles from Cisco Press help networking professionals secure critical data and resources, prevent and mitigate network attacks, and build end-to-end self-defending networks.Category: Cisco Pressi¾SecurityCovers: End-Point Security
Dry etching of AlTiC with CF/sub 4/ and H/sub 2/ for slider fabrication (2003)

AlTiC etching in CF/sub 4/ and H/sub 2/ high-density plasma is investigated. Its etching rate is relatively high and it is not corrosive to the giant magnetoresistive elements. The effects of etching parameters such as pressure, gas flow rate, radio-frequency power, and inductively coupled plasma power on the etching rate, selectivity and surface roughness are studied. The etching parameters are optimized to balance the etching rates of Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ and TiC in order to obtain a smooth etched surface. The etching wall profile and a fabricated 6-nm flying height femto slider are also presented.
Functioning Mechanism of AlF<sub>3</sub> Coating on the Li- and Mn-Rich Cathode Materials (2014)

We report systematic studies of the microstructural changes of uncoated and AlF3-coated Li-rich Mn-rich (LMR) cathode materials (Li1.2Ni0.15Co0.10Mn0.55O2) before and after cycling using a combination of aberration-corrected scanning/transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). TEM coupled with EELS provides detailed information about the crystallographic and electronic structure changes that occur after cycling, thus revealing the fundamental improvement mechanism of surface coating. The results demonstrate that the surface coating reduces oxidation of the electrolyte at high voltage, suppressing the accumulation of a thick solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer on electrode particle surface. Surface coating significantly enhances the stability of the surface structure and protects the electrode from severe etching/corrosion by the acidic species in the electrolyte, reducing the formation of etched surfaces and corrosion pits. Moreover, surface coating alleviates the undesirable voltage fade by mitigating layered to spinel-like phase transformation in the bulk region of the material. These fundamental findings may also be widely applied to explain the functioning mechanisms of other surface coatings used in a broad range of electrode materials.
Bias and variance of averaged and smoothed periodogram-based log-amplitude spectra (2002)

The averaged and smoothed periodogram is the most convenient and intuitive spectral estimate. Its statistical properties are well-known for linear amplitudes, but not for log-amplitude (dB) representations. However, spectral estimates are very often represented by log-amplitude, e.g. in parametrizing ultrasound backscatter spectra, without taking into account that the log-transform may introduce a noticeable additional bias. Thus, I developed expressions for bias and variance of log-amplitude periodogram-based estimates that results from: (1) averaging few independent estimates, (2) smoothed estimates (windowing the autocorrelation sequence or the cepstrum). The resulting expressions give clear advice on how to get unbiased estimates with the lowest possible variance for the first case, and on how to choose shape and length of autocorrelation or cepstrum windows so that we get spectral estimates with low variance and yet low bias for the second case.
Development of the methylotrophic yeastPichia methanolica for the expression of the 65 kilodalton isoform of human glutamate decarboxylase (1998)

We describe a protein expression system in the methylotrophic yeast, Pichia methanolica. Methods for transformation and genetic manipulation of the organism were developed using an ade2 strain and the wild-type ADE2 gene. A vacuolar protease-deficient strain was constructed. Two genes encoding alcohol oxidases were found, yet a single isoform of alcohol oxidase was produced during methanol-fed fermentations. The promoter from this gene was used to drive expression. An integrating plasmid for the cytoplasmic expression of the 65 kDa isoform of human glutamate decarboxylase (human GAD65) was assembled. A strain harboring eight copies of this plasmid expressed enzymatically active human GAD65 at levels approaching 0.5 g/l. Identical amounts were made in Pichia pastoris. The recombinant GAD65 was purified to greater than 90% purity.
Mechanism of Positive Regulation by DsrA and RprA Small Noncoding RNAs: Pairing Increases Translation and Protects<i>rpoS</i>mRNA from Degradation (2010)

Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) regulate gene expression in Escherichia coli by base pairing with mRNAs and modulating translation and mRNA stability. The sRNAs DsrA and RprA stimulate the translation of the stress response transcription factor RpoS by base pairing with the 5' untranslated region of the rpoS mRNA. In the present study, we found that the rpoS mRNA was unstable in the absence of DsrA and RprA and that expression of these sRNAs increased both the accumulation and the half-life of the rpoS mRNA. Mutations in dsrA, rprA, or rpoS that disrupt the predicted pairing sequences and reduce translation of RpoS also destabilize the rpoS mRNA. We found that the rpoS mRNA accumulates in an RNase E mutant strain in the absence of sRNA expression and, therefore, is degraded by an RNase E-mediated mechanism. DsrA expression is required, however, for maximal translation even when rpoS mRNA is abundant. This suggests that DsrA protects rpoS mRNA from degradation by RNase E and that DsrA has a further activity in stimulating RpoS protein synthesis. rpoS mRNA is subject to degradation by an additional pathway, mediated by RNase III, which, in contrast to the RNase E-mediated pathway, occurs in the presence and absence of DsrA or RprA. rpoS mRNA and RpoS protein levels are increased in an RNase III mutant strain with or without the sRNAs, suggesting that the role of RNase III in this context is to reduce the translation of RpoS even when the sRNAs are acting to stimulate translation.
Assessment of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in the gingival tissue of patients with periodontitis (2013)

In periodontal diseases, inflammatory mediators, including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), may promote the degeneration of inflamed periodontal tissues. In previous studies, levels of these three cytokines were demonstrated to be elevated in inflammatory gingival tissues and gingival crevicular fluid. The aim of the present study was to quantify IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in the human gingival tissues of patients with periodontitis and to assess the correlation of these three cytokines with each other. In this study, human gingival tissues from 19 patients with periodontitis (male, n=14; female, n=5) were collected. The tissues were homogenized, centrifuged and the protein in the supernatant was quantified. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in the measurement of the IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels, and the mean levels were observed to be 8.41±0.25, 34.01±1.09 and 20.70±0.31 pg/ml, respectively. The mean levels of IL-8 were higher than those of the other two cytokines. In each sample, the level of TNF-α expression was consistently high, with little difference between the results, which contrasted with the fluctuations in IL-6 and IL-8 levels. The expression of the two ILs (IL-6 and IL-8) showed a positive correlation (r=0.932, P=0.01), whereas TNF-α levels were not correlated with IL-6 or IL-8 levels. These results suggest that IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α may be relevant in the pathophysiology of periodontitis, and the measurement of these cytokines may be beneficial in the identification of patients with periodontitis.
<i>Fxna</i>, a novel gene differentially expressed in the rat ovary at the time of folliculogenesis, is required for normal ovarian histogenesis (2007)

In rodents, the formation of ovarian follicles occurs after birth. In recent years, several factors required for follicular assembly and the growth of the newly formed follicles have been identified. We now describe a novel gene, Fxna, identified by differential display in the neonatal rat ovary. Fxna encodes an mRNA of 5.4 kb, and a protein of 898 amino acids. Fxna is a transmembrane metallopeptidase from family M28, localized to the endoplasmic reticulum. In the ovary, Fxna mRNA is expressed in granulosa cells; its abundance is maximal 48 hours after birth, i.e. during the initiation of follicular assembly. Reducing Fxna mRNA levels via lentiviral-mediated delivery of short hairpin RNAs to neonatal ovaries resulted in substantial loss of primordial, primary and secondary follicles, and structural disorganization of the ovary, with many abnormal follicles containing more than one oocyte and clusters of somatic cells not associated with any oocytes. These abnormalities were not attributable to either increased apoptosis or decreased proliferation of granulosa cells. The results indicate that Fxna is required for the organization of somatic cells and oocytes into discrete follicular structures. As an endoplasmic reticulum-bound peptidase, Fxna may facilitate follicular organization by processing precursor proteins required for intraovarian cell-to-cell communication.
Feasibility and long-term efficacy of video-assisted thoracic surgery for unexpected pathologic N2 disease in non-small cell lung cancer (2013)

It is both feasible and safe to perform VATS lobectomy on patients with unexpected N2 NSCLC. VATS provides better survival rates for those patients with just one station of metastatic mediastinal lymph nodes.
Dependence of the Grown-in Defect Distribution on Growth Rates in Czochralski Silicon (1993)

As-grown defects in 6-inch-diameter Czochralski-silicon crystals grown under different crystal growth rate conditions (0.4, 0.7, 1.1 mm/min) were studied by means of preferential etching and IR light-scattering tomography (LST). Grown-in defect images were classified into four types as follows: (a) flow patterns (wedge-shaped etch pits), (b) IR-defect images observed by LST, (c) ringlike distributed small pits, and (d) large pits. It was found by secondary ion mass spectrometry that IR defects are oxygen precipitates. Large pit defects were identified by transmission electron microscopy as large dislocation loops with a length of about 30 µm. At growth rates from 0.7 mm/min to 1.1 mm/min, flow pattern defects and IR defects coexist inside a ringlike distributed oxidation-induced stacking fault (ring-OSF) region. However, at growth rates less than 0.7 mm/min, large pit defects were observed in the region outside the ring. Characteristic ringlike distributed small pit defects were observed on the outer periphery of the ring region. Flow pattern defects were annihilated during annealing at 1100°C, while IR defects were stable at 1250°C.