gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Skin Hygiene and Infection Prevention: More of the Same or Different Approaches? (1999)

The purpose of this article is to review research indicating a link between hand hygiene and nosocomial infections and the effects of hand care practices on skin integrity and to make recommendations for potential changes in clinical practice and for further research regarding hand hygiene practices. Despite some methodological flaws and data gaps, evidence for a causal relationship between hand hygiene and reduced transmission of infections is convincing, but frequent handwashing causes skin damage, with resultant changes in microbial flora, increased skin shedding, and risk of transmission of microorganisms, suggesting that some traditional hand hygiene practices warrant reexamination. Some recommended changes in practice include use of waterless alcohol-based products rather than detergent-based antiseptics, modifications in lengthy surgical scrub protocols, and incorporation of moisturizers into skin care regimens of health care professionals.
A Modified Bronchoalveolar Lavage Procedure That Allows Measurement of Lung Epithelial Lining Fluid Volume (1990)

We replaced the standard serial bronchoalveolar lavage technique with a new "rewash" lavage procedure to allow estimation of the volume and protein concentration of the epithelial lining fluid (ELF) in anesthetized sheep. A bronchoscope 6.0 mm in diameter wedged in an airway was used to lavage a segment of lung with four cycles of instillation and aspiration of the lavage solution containing a radioactive tracer (technetium pertechnetate, 99mTcO4-). Errors caused by the fall in concentration of the tracer during the lavage were minimized by extrapolating the tracer concentration back to time zero when the lavage solution had mixed with the ELF, but had not had time to be affected by loss of the tracer or influx of fluid from the interstitium. In control sheep, the ELF of these lavaged segments had a mean volume of 1.6 +/- 1.0 ml and a mean protein concentration that was 26 +/- 19% of the protein concentration measured in the plasma. Increasing the left atrial pressure 19 +/- 5 cm H2O to cause "cardiac lung edema" had no significant effect on the ELF volume, but it increased the mean protein concentration to 57 +/- 30% of the plasma value (p less than 0.01). Lung injury caused by intravenous oleic acid caused lung edema, increased the mean ELF volume to 6.8 +/- 2.2 ml, and increased the mean ELF protein concentration to 86 +/- 26% of the plasma value (p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Evaluation of new 4 French catheters by comparison to 6 French coronary artery images. (1999)

The use of 4 Fr catheters for diagnostic coronary arteriography improves patient comfort and could potentially reduce costs by decreasing arterial complications and encouraging outpatient examination. We examined the performance of recently developed 4 Fr catheters (100 cm long, 0.042 inch internal diameter) through in vitro flow rate patterns and in vivo image quality. Flow patterns (flow rate calculated from pressure with the Hagen Poiseuille relation) were obtained by hand (10 ml volume; maximal effort, one-handed full injection) and power injection (10 ml volume; 5 ml/sec) in the 4 Fr catheters were compared to 5 Fr (0.047 inch) and 6 Fr (0.057 inch) catheters. In 20 patients, coronary arteriograms were obtained from 4 Fr hand injection (4 HI), 4 Fr power injection (4 PI), 6 Fr hand injection (6 HI ), and 6 Fr power injection (6 PI) were compared after being scored into 5 grades. Coronary diameter was assessed at two sites for all injections in the same group of patients. In power injections, peak flow rates were consistently 5.5 ml/sec in all catheters. Hand injections were much more variable; peak flow rate ranges for 5 different physicians were 3.5-6.0 ml/sec. in 6 Fr, 1.8-3.0 ml/sec. in 5 Fr and 1.4-2.0 ml/sec in 4 Fr catheters. Mean image scores of left arteriograms were significantly higher for 4 PI versus 4 HI and for 6 Fr images compared to 4 PI (p < 0.001). In right arteriograms, 4 HI scored significantly lower than other methods (4 PI, 6 HI and 6 PI; p < 0.001). In 4 HI left coronary arteriograms, the frequency of grade > 2 was 96% and > 3 was 82%. Power injection improved 4 Fr imaging to 99% greater than grade 2 and 93% greater than grade 3. There were no differences in the frequency of images above grade 3 in right coronary arteriograms. Measured coronary artery diameters at 40 normal and 17 stenotic sites by QCA analysis (Acom, Siemens AZ, Erlangen, Germany) did not influence the study data. We concluded that coronary arteriograms by hand injection with 4 Fr catheters were inferior compared to 6 Fr images. Power injection and/or larger catheters may be necessary to ensure the highest quality images are obtained.
Somatic Genetics Empowers the Mouse for Modeling and Interrogating Developmental and Disease Processes (2011)

With recent advances in genomic technologies, candidate human disease genes are being mapped at an accelerated pace. There is a clear need to move forward with genetic tools that can efficiently validate these mutations in vivo. Murine somatic mutagenesis is evolving to fulfill these needs with tools such as somatic transgenesis, humanized rodents, and forward genetics. By combining these resources one is not only able to model disease for in vivo verification, but also to screen for mutations and pathways integral to disease progression and therapeutic intervention. In this review, we briefly outline the current advances in somatic mutagenesis and discuss how these new tools, especially the piggyBac transposon system, can be applied to decipher human biology and disease.
Demonstration and Evaluation of the Ka-Band Array Feed Compensation System on the 70-m Antenna (1999)

The current plan for DSN evolution calls for the use of Ka-band (32GHz) frequencies on large DSN antennas to increase antenna gain and useful communications bandwidth over that of current X- and S-band systems, with reduced sensitivity to plasma effects.
SimpleDS: A Simple Deep Reinforcement Learning Dialogue System (2016)

This paper presents 'SimpleDS', a simple and publicly available dialogue system trained with deep reinforcement learning. In contrast to previous reinforcement learning dialogue systems, this system avoids manual feature engineering by performing action selection directly from raw text of the last system and (noisy) user responses. Our initial results, in the restaurant domain, show that it is indeed possible to induce reasonable dialogue behaviour with an approach that aims for high levels of automation in dialogue control for intelligent interactive agents.
Laser scanner based road surface estimation for automotive applications (2014)

Driver Assistance Systems and Active Suspension Systems require the accurate perception of the vehicle's environment. In the case of Active Suspension Systems the road surface in front of the wheels has to be reconstructed with an accuracy of few centimeters. In this work we present a new method to generate the relevant road height information based on an automotive compact laser scanner mounted in the car's radiator grill and originally designed for Driver Assistance Systems. Our method is based on the generation of a statistical and a deterministic sensor model which permits to precisely extract the ground height from the raw distance measurements. Additionally, the concept of the corridor representation is introduced. It efficiently processes the 3D data in the relevant areas and integrates past measurements enabling for the first time the representation of long road waves despite limited sensor range. Experimental results based on the comparison of the output of our method with the ground truth of a roadway ramp show the suitability of the presented work.
Impact of risk stratification on outcome among patients with multiple myeloma receiving initial therapy with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (2009)

The outcome of patients with multiple myeloma is dictated primarily by cytogenetic abnormalities and proliferative capacity of plasma cells. We studied the outcome after initial therapy with lenalidomide-dexamethasone among 100 newly diagnosed patients, risk-stratified by genetic abnormalities and plasma cell labeling index. A total of 16% had high-risk multiple myeloma, defined by the presence of hypodiploidy, del(13q) by metaphase cytogenetics, del(17p), IgH translocations [t(4;14), or t(14;16)] or plasma cell labeling index more than or equal to 3%. Response rates were 81% vs 89% in the high-risk and standard-risk groups, respectively. The median progression-free survival was shorter in the high-risk group (18.5 vs 36.5 months, P < .001), but overall survival was comparable. Because of unavailability of all tests for every patient, we separately analyzed 55 stringently classified patients, and the results were similar. In conclusion, high-risk patients achieve less durable responses with lenalidomide-dexamethasone compared with standard-risk patients; no significant differences in overall survival are apparent so far. These results need confirmation in larger, prospectively designed studies.
Comparison of Carbon Dioxide Absorption in Aqueous MEA, DEA, TEA, and AMP Solutions (2013)

The separation and capture process of carbon dioxide from power plants is garnering interest as a method to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, aqueous alkanolamine solutions were studied as absorbents for <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX> capture. The solubility of <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX> in aqueous alkanolamine solutions was investigated with a continuous stirred reactor at 313, 333 and 353 K. Also, the heat of absorption (<TEX>$-{\Delta}H_{abs}$</TEX>) between the absorbent and <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX> molecules was measured with a differential reaction calorimeter (DRC) at 298 K. The solubility and heat of absorption were determined at slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. The enthalpies of <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX> absorption in monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEA), and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) were 88.91, 70.44, 44.72, and 63.95, respectively. This investigation showed that the heat of absorption is directly related to the quantity of heat for absorbent regeneration, and is dependent on amine type and <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX> loading.
Selective and Sensitive Detection of Heavy Metal Ions in 100% Aqueous Solution and Cells with a Fluorescence Chemosensor Based on Peptide Using Aggregation-Induced Emission (2016)

A fluorescent peptidyl chemosensor for the detection of heavy metal ions in aqueous solution as well as in cells was synthesized on the basis of the peptide receptor for the metal ions using an aggregation-induced emission fluorophore. The peptidyl chemosensor (1) bearing tetraphenylethylene fluorophore showed an exclusively selective turn-on response to Hg(2+) among 16 metal ions in aqueous buffered solution containing NaCl. The peptidyl chemosensor complexed Hg(2+) ions and then aggregated in aqueous buffered solution, resulting in the significant enhancement (OFF-On) of emissions at around 470 nm. The fluorescent sensor showed a highly sensitive response to Hg(2+), and about 1.0 equiv of Hg(2+) was enough for the saturation of the emission intensity change. The detection limit (5.3 nM, R(2) = 0.99) of 1 for Hg(2+) ions was lower than the maximum allowable level of Hg(2+) in drinking water by EPA. Moreover, the peptidyl chemosensor penetrated live cells and detected intracellular Hg(2+) ions by the turn-on response.
Railgun Launcher Efficiency: Useful Measure or Misused Metric? (2001)

Abstract : The efficiency of an electromagnetic railgun is assessed. In addition to electrical and kinematic loss terms, the portion of useful mass launched downrange is considered. Both integrated and fixed integrated launch package design approaches are considered using a system assessment code. Various current profiles are used to assess the performance of the launcher and integrated launch-package performance for a 3.52-kg launch package at a muzzle velocity of 2.5 km/s in 6 m of travel. It is found that the majority of electrically efficient launchers do not provide the most useful payload. A few percent reduction in the most efficient launcher can provide up to 18% additional useful energy. Furthermore, the launcher designed in concert with the launch package was found to also increase the amount of useful energy by an additional 7%.
Molecular skins: A new concept for quantitative shape matching of a protein with its small molecule mimics (1993)

A novel analytical method for comparing molecular shapes by optimizing the intersection of molecular "SKINS" has been developed. This method provides a quantitative measure of the shape similarity by maximizing the intersection volume of molecular surfaces with a finite thickness; a molecular skin. We report shape matching of a small tripeptide inhibitor (DFKi) of elastase class proteins with the 56 residue turkey ovomucoid inhibitor (TOMI). To match a large elastase inhibitor such as TOMI with a small inhibitor or drug, we found that it is necessary to use a skin match rather than molecular volume. Skin based comparisons of TOMI protein with DFKi successfully found the alignment expected from comparison of their respective crystallographic complexes with elastase (i.e. HLE/TOMI complex and PPE/tripeptide complex). In the skin comparison of the tripeptide with the TOMI protein, blind searching for skin matches involved optimization of the skin intersection from 172 starting positions randomly selected from a set of 500 points on the TOMI van der Waals surface [within 9.5 A of the Leu-18 on the TOMI binding loop (1 point/A2)]. The tripeptide center of mass was placed at these points and its orientation was randomized before optimization was initiated. The best skin intersection, 86.4 A3, was found three times and corresponds to the experimental alignment. The next best skin intersection was 78.1 A3 giving a discrimination factor in this case of 10%. Searches over the entire surface of the TOMI protein did not identify any new matches with skin intersection greater than 78.1 A3. Matching the DFKi with a TOMI structure relaxed from its crystal conformation by molecular dynamics gives similar results.
Adaptive estimation of transmission distortion in a digital communications channel (1988)

An online nondisruptive time-domain technique is proposed for estimating several important types of linear transmission distortion that commonly occur on line-of-sight digital radio communication channels. This approach uses a system that initially estimates the discrete-pulse response of the communications channel. The amount of amplitude and group-delay distortion present in the estimated channel-pulse response is then determined by iteratively adjusting the coefficients (representing the channel distortion) of a polynomial model of the channel, until the difference between a computed version of the channel-pulse response (from the model), and the measured values of the discrete channel pulse response is minimized. The technique is found to work well for most operating regions of practical interest to digital line-of-sight radio links.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Strategies on reducing blood culture contamination (2012)

Blood culture contamination (BCC) is a common problem in hospitals; contaminated or false-positive blood cultures may confuse the clinicians, precipitate unnecessary antibiotics usage as well as prolonging the hospital stay for patients. Although it is not possible to eliminate BCC, it is important that we introduce methods to reduce BCC. These methods include changes to the sampling technique to increase the chance of sterility, selection of appropriate skin prep kits, using a trained phlebotomy team rather than junior doctors, and introducing an interactive approach, along with clinical clues and laboratory tests for the classification of blood culture results to minimize BCC rate.
A Supplement to the Revisions ofthe Dacetine Ant Genera <i>Orectognathus</i>and <i>Arnoldidris</i>, With Keys to the Species (1957)

The Orectognathiti are a small group of dacetine ants found in the Australopapuan area, grouped into two genera, Orectognathus Fr. Smith and Arnoldidris Brown. Previous revisions (Brown, 1950, 1953) have recognized nine species in the first and four in the latter genus; of these, I had been able to study directly only six species of Orectognathus from satisfactory material and under favo.r- able conditions. Recently, however, I have been able to see additional material collected by E. 0. Wilson in New Caledonia and New Guinea, and in eastern Australia by Father C. Mercovich
250. Protection Against Huntington's Diease Progression: AAV-Mediated Delivery of Biotherapeutics (2006)

Advances in the development of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors for in vivo gene therapy have shown AAV vectors can safely direct the continuous, targeted production of biotherapeutics. This is promising for the treatment of neurological disorders like Huntington's disease where there is a delayed but progressive degeneration of the caudate-putamen. We have therefore investigated whether AAV-mediated in vivo gene therapy can effectively be used to deliver biotherapeutics and support vulnerable striatal neurons in a rodent model of Huntington's disease. Our focus is on brain- derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a potential biotherapeutic, a protein important for general maintenance and functional plasticity of the striatum. We constructed a recombinant AAV vector with cDNA encoding human BDNF under the control of the chicken beta actin/CMV enhancer (CBA) constitutive promoter. The AAV expression cassettes are flanked by inverted terminal repeats from AAV serotype-2 and packaged using caspid proteins from both AAV serotype-1 and -2. Following AAV packaging we performed a protein assay with E15 primary striatal cells to check functional BDNF activity. Cells were transduced with AAV-BDNF and cultured in vitro for 3 weeks to allow neuronal differentiation. We observed a significant increase in calbindin positive neurons following AAV-BDNF transduction (P < 0.04) compared to the AAV-Luciferase vector indicating an increase in BDNF expression inducing neuronal differentiation towards a GABAergic phenotype. In vivo gene therapy was performed in adult male Wistar rats by stereotaxically injecting either AAV-BDNF (n = 12), AAV-Luciferase (n = 6) or vehicle solution (n = 6) into the striatum. We observed extensive AAV transduction and transgene protein expression within the striatum as well as the substantia nigra and globus pallidus due to anterograde transport of the vector via axonal projections. Three weeks following gene delivery the rats received a unilateral striatal injection of the neurotoxin quinolinic acid (50nmol) to model Huntington's disease cell loss. Forelimb use and sensorimotor neglect was analysed post lesioning to quantify motor function impairments between groups. The extent of neuroprotection was quantified by stereological analysis of DARPP-32 positive striatal projection neurons. We observed that BDNF over-expression within the striatum and projection nuclei provides protection against the excitotoxic cell death correlating with an alleviation of sensorimotor impairments. This study highlights the potential role of BDNF as an important biotherapeutic molecule for treating Huntington's disease and the use of in vivo gene therapy to limit neurodegeneration. Supported by Auckland Medical Research Foundation. A.P. Kells is a NZ FoRST Scholarship recipient.
Meta-prediction of phosphorylation sites with weighted voting and restricted grid search parameter selection (2008)

Meta-predictors make predictions by organizing and processing the predictions produced by several other predictors in a defined problem domain. A proficient meta-predictor not only offers better predicting performance than the individual predictors from which it is constructed, but it also relieves experimentally researchers from making difficult judgments when faced with conflicting results made by multiple prediction programs. As increasing numbers of predicting programs are being developed in a large number of fields of life sciences, there is an urgent need for effective meta-prediction strategies to be investigated. We compiled four unbiased phosphorylation site datasets, each for one of the four major serine/threonine (S/T) protein kinase families-CDK, CK2, PKA and PKC. Using these datasets, we examined several meta-predicting strategies with 15 phosphorylation site predictors from six predicting programs: GPS, KinasePhos, NetPhosK, PPSP, PredPhospho and Scansite. Meta-predictors constructed with a generalized weighted voting meta-predicting strategy with parameters determined by restricted grid search possess the best performance, exceeding that of all individual predictors in predicting phosphorylation sites of all four kinase families. Our results demonstrate a useful decision-making tool for analysing the predictions of the various S/T phosphorylation site predictors. An implementation of these meta-predictors is available on the web at: http://MetaPred.umn.edu/MetaPredPS/.
A 'fragmented' restoration scheme for flat network architectures (2002)

An escalation strategy for a flat network based on the Big Crossconnects Architecture (BCA) and discordant virtual paths is proposed. The proposed scheme implements different restoration mechanisms at the switching and transport layers of the BCA for each discordant virtual path. The switching layer mechanism is called the dormant VP protection and will combine the best characteristics of dedicated and semi-dedicated-ATM protection. The transport layer is protected using the VP link switching scheme that is a hybrid between SDH and ATM 1:1 protection mechanisms. The overall escalation is designed so that the interworking between the two mechanisms is transparent to the users.
VoIP performance on multicore platforms (2010)

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> Media infrastructures, such as high-end media gateways and media servers, are usually designed and implemented as customized platforms. These infrastructures are the key underlying components of the next-generation network (NGN). The customized architectural design of such infrastructures is generally associated with high cost and decreased flexibility for deploying and operating the NGN. As multicore-processor computing-system technology continues to improve, telecommunication infrastructures that make use of commercial multicore information technology (IT) platforms are becoming important topics for research. Although such infrastructures provide flexible and extensible telecommunication operation solutions at potentially low cost, such solutions must address the computation and networking performance challenges that result from commercial IT system architecture and system software. In this paper, we study Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) workloads, which are important for media infrastructures. The VoIP traffic was benchmarked using multiple advanced multicore platforms. We analyzed and evaluated the workload behavior of the VoIP traffic, along with various computation and network-accelerating technology. </para>