gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Numerical modeling of needle tip artifacts in MR gradient echo imaging (2004)

Exact determination of needle tip position is obsolete for interventional procedures under control of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Exact needle tip navigation is complicated by the paramagnetism of microsurgical instruments: Local magnetic field inhomogeneities are induced resulting in position encoding artifacts and in signal voids in the surrounding of instruments and especially near their tips. The artifacts generated by the susceptibility of the material are not only dependent on the material properties themselves and on the applied MRI sequences and parameters, but also on the geometric shape of the instruments and on the orientation to the static magnetic field in the MR unit. A numerical model based on superposition of induced elementary dipole fields was developed for studying the field distortions near paramagnetic needle tips. The model was validated by comparison with experimental data using field mapping MRI techniques. Comparison between experimental data and numerical simulations revealed good correspondence for the induced field inhomogeneities. Further systematic numerical studies of the field distribution were performed for variable types of concentric and asymmetric tip shapes, for different ratios between tip length and needle diameter, and for different orientations of the needle axis in the external static magnetic field. Based on the computed local inhomogeneities of the magnetic field in the surroundings of the needle tips, signal voids in usual gradient echo images were simulated for a prediction of the artifacts. The practically relevant spatial relation between those artifacts and the hidden tip of the needle was calculated for the different tip shapes and orientations in the external field. As needle tip determination is crucial in interventional procedures, e.g., in taking biopsies, the present model can help to instruct the physician prior to surgical interventions in better estimating the needle tip position for different orientations and needle tip shapes as they appear in interventional procedures. As manufacturing prototypes with subsequent measurements of artifacts in MRI are a costly procedure the presented model may also help to optimize shapes of needle tips and of other parts of MR-compatible instruments and implants with low expense prior to production if some shape parameters can be chosen freely.
Influence of reconstruction settings in electrical impedance tomography on figures of merit and physiological parameters (2019)

The quest for standard reconstruction settings is highly relevant for future clinical applications. Simulation measures might help to assess the quality of the reconstruction models, but further evaluation of more data and different experimental settings is required.
Simultaneous display of different peptides on the surface of filamentous bacteriophage (1997)

We have developed a new system for producing hybrid virions of filamentous bacteriophage fd simultaneously displaying two different peptides by infecting cells harbouring a plasmid containing a modified gene VIII with an engineered bacteriophage carrying a second and different copy of a modified gene VIII. The simultaneous display of different peptides has many potential applications in exploring the immune response and studying protein-protein interaction.
Dorsal thumb flap for release of adduction contracture of the first web space. (1975)

A local flap, utilizing the skin over the dorsum of the thumb, for release of a first web space contracture has been described. Its construction allows for full integumentary release, adequate visualization of underlying contracted tissues, and a closure that provides full thickness sensory skin coverage over the entire web space and key pinch contact area.
Specialized Accreditation of Sport Management Programs: Perspectives of Faculty and Administrators (2009)

Changes in higher education, demands for accountability, and concerns over academic quality have brought increased attention to accreditation (Eaton, 2006). The growth of specialized accreditation has created numerous opportunities but also brings challenges (Tullis & Carney, 2007). The sport management discipline has recently launched an outcome-based and mission-driven accreditation organization: the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA). The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions sport management faculty and administrators have towards the potential benefits and challenges of accreditation. Surveys (N=322) were distributed and 119 useable responses were obtained. In general, respondents indicated support for COSMA but many also expressed concerns. Institutions that had joined COSMA had different perspectives than those who had not, particularly in relation to the value of external benefits such as competitive advantages and increased marketing potential. Concerns over costs, involvement of business professionals and the credibility of the organization were also considered.
Hybridized Thermoplastic Aramids: Enabling Material Technology For Future Force Headgear (2006)

U.S. Army ballistic helmet manufacturing has not changed significantly in nearly 30 years. Advances in U.S. helmet technology have been largely in shell design, improved aramid fibers, and helmet liner and suspension systems. The Army is currently replacing its first composite ballistic helmet, Personnel Armor System Ground Troops (PASGT), with the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH). ACH has undergone ballistic testing and system analysis with improvements to weapons and body armor interfacing issues. Still, ACH uses some of the same materials (butyl rubber toughened phenolic resin with aramid fabric reinforcements) and the same process technology as its 30 year old PASGT predecessor. The current research effort has focused on identifying and resolving technology barriers that limit a new and improved generation of ballistic materials from being considered for use in future helmet systems. Both historical and contemporary perspectives of ballistic helmet technology are provided as rationale for the development of alternative helmet materials and their associated processes. The primary technology barriers are four-fold: structural durability (static and dynamic deformation), contiguous preform construction (less cutting of the reinforcement without wrinkling), hybridization of dissimilar fibers and resins, and low cost manufacturing (rapid heating, consolidation, and cooling of tools and parts). Flat plates and full helmet shells were molded to quantify the performance and benefits of hybridized materials to meet current and future demands for increased ballistic mass efficiency.
Three-Dimensional GaN/AlN Nanowire Heterostructures by Separating Nucleation and Growth Processes (2011)

Bottom-up nanostructure assembly has been a central theme of materials synthesis over the past few decades. Semiconductor quantum dots and nanowires provide additional degrees of freedom for charge confinement, strain engineering, and surface sensitivity-properties that are useful to a wide range of solid state optical and electronic technologies. A central challenge is to understand and manipulate nanostructure assembly to reproducibly generate emergent structures with the desired properties. However, progress is hampered due to the interdependence of nucleation and growth phenomena. Here we show that by dynamically adjusting the growth kinetics, it is possible to separate the nucleation and growth processes in spontaneously formed GaN nanowires using a two-step molecular beam epitaxy technique. First, a growth phase diagram for these nanowires is systematically developed, which allows for control of nanowire density over three orders of magnitude. Next, we show that by first nucleating nanowires at a low temperature and then growing them at a higher temperature, height and density can be independently selected while maintaining the target density over long growth times. GaN nanowires prepared using this two-step procedure are overgrown with three-dimensionally layered and topologically complex heterostructures of (GaN/AlN). By adjusting the growth temperature in the second growth step either vertical or coaxial nanowire superlattices can be formed. These results indicate that a two-step method allows access to a variety of kinetics at which nanowire nucleation and adatom mobility are adjustable.
Effect of Gate Overlap and Source/Drain Doping Gradient on 10-nm CMOS Performance (2006)

This brief investigates the effect of gate overlap and source/drain (S/D) doping gradient on the switching delay of prospective 10-nm CMOS digital circuits. A two-dimensional mixed-mode simulation is used to extract switching delays, taking both the resistance (series) and capacitance (overlap) effects into account. It is shown that for abrupt S/D profiles, optimum performance is obtained at a gate overlap of about 1 nm/edge, depending on the capacitive loading. Underlap is undesirable due to current degradation from the ungated region. It is further shown that a graded S/D doping profile degrades the switching performance. For the same OFF current, a doping gradient les 3 nm/dec is required to avoid significant degradation of switching delays under optimum gate overlap conditions
Systematic Review of Clinical Research on Biomarkers for Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (2012)

Abstract The objective was to systematically review the medical literature and comprehensively summarize clinical research performed on biomarkers for pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to summarize the studies that have assessed serum biomarkers acutely in determining intracranial lesions on CT in children with TBI. The search strategy included a literature search of PubMed,(®) MEDLINE,(®) and the Cochrane Database from 1966 to August 2011, as well as a review of reference lists of identified studies. Search terms used included pediatrics, children, traumatic brain injury, and biomarkers. Any article with biomarkers of traumatic brain injury as a primary focus and containing a pediatric population was included. The search initially identified 167 articles. Of these, 49 met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were critically reviewed. The median sample size was 58 (interquartile range 31-101). The majority of the articles exclusively studied children (36, 74%), and 13 (26%) were studies that included both children and adults in different proportions. There were 99 different biomarkers measured in these 49 studies, and the five most frequently examined biomarkers were S100B (27 studies), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) (15 studies), interleukin (IL)-6 (7 studies), myelin basic protein (MBP) (6 studies), and IL-8 (6 studies). There were six studies that assessed the relationship between serum markers and CT lesions. Two studies found that NSE levels ≥15 ng/mL within 24 h of TBI was associated with intracranial lesions. Four studies using serum S100B were conflicting: two studies found no association with intracranial lesions and two studies found a weak association. The flurry of research in the area over the last decade is encouraging but is limited by small sample sizes, variable practices in sample collection, inconsistent biomarker-related data elements, and disparate outcome measures. Future studies of biomarkers for pediatric TBI will require rigorous and more uniform research methodology, common data elements, and consistent performance measures.
Mechanical strength studies on degraded waterlogged wood treated with sugars (2016)

This study aims to measure the mechanical strength of chemically degraded wood samples and compare the values obtained with fresh wood and degraded wood treated with sugars. The mechanical strength of chemically degraded waterlogged wood samples was determined using a three-point bending system to generate load-deflection curves and subsequently calculate the modulus of elasticity and load to failure longitudinally. The values obtained allow us to compare the mechanical properties of white birch wood samples that were air dried after treatment with 60% w/v solutions of sucrose, trehalose, or sucralose. In addition, the same parameters were measured for fresh white birch wood samples and chemically degraded samples that were allowed to air dry without treatment. Fresh white birch was found to have a longitudinal modulus of elasticity of 11.5 GPa whereas this value decreased by 70% when the wood was degraded. Treatment with sugars increased the measured values of modulus of elasticity up to 36.9 GPa, a substantially higher value than for fresh wood. These data indicate that non-reducing sugars could be useful alternatives to polyethylene glycol for the conservation of waterlogged archaeological wood.
A Type-and-Identity-based Proxy Re-Encryption Scheme and its Application in Healthcare (2008)

Abstract. Proxy re-encryption is a cryptographic primitive developed to delegate the decryption right from one party (the delegator) to an-other (the delegatee). In a proxy re-encryption scheme, the delegator assigns a key to a proxy to re-encrypt all messages encrypted with his public key such that the re-encrypted ciphertexts can be decrypted with the delegatee’s private key. We propose a type-and-identity-based proxy re-encryption scheme based on the Boneh-Franklin Identity Based En-cryption (IBE) scheme. In our scheme, the delegator can categorize mes-sages into different types and delegate the decryption right of each type to the delegatee through a proxy. Our scheme enables the delegator to provide the proxy fine-grained re-encryption capability. As an applica-tion, we propose a fine-grained Personal Health Record (PHR) disclosure scheme for healthcare service by applying the proposed scheme.
Genomic repeats, genome plasticity and the dynamics of Mycoplasma evolution (2002)

Mycoplasmas evolved by a drastic reduction in genome size, but their genomes contain numerous repeated sequences with important roles in their evolution. We have established a bioinformatic strategy to detect the major recombination hot-spots in the genomes of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma pulmonis. This allowed the identification of large numbers of potentially variable regions, as well as a comparison of the relative recombination potentials of different genomic regions. Different trends are perceptible among mycoplasmas, probably due to different functional and structural constraints. The largest potential for illegitimate recombination in M.pulmonis is found at the vsa locus and its comparison in two different strains reveals numerous changes since divergence. On the other hand, the main M.pneumoniae and M.genitalium adhesins rely on large distant repeats and, hence, homologous recombination for variation. However, the relation between the existence of repeats and antigenic variation is not necessarily straightforward, since repeats of P1 adhesin were found to be anti-correlated with epitopes recognized by patient antibodies. These different strategies have important consequences for the structures of genomes, since large distant repeats correlate well with the major chromosomal rearrangements. Probably to avoid such events, mycoplasmas strongly avoid inverse repeats, in comparison to co-oriented repeats.
Characterization of Human Hematopoietic Cells with Short‐Lived <i>in Vivo</i> Repopulating Activity (2001)

Recent studies with purified hematopoietic stem cells in vitro support a model of stem cell self-renewal control that involves distinct mechanisms regulating permissiveness to and execution of lineage restriction. Such a model predicts the existence of phenotypically separable populations of hematopoietic cells that are pluripotent and either capable or incapable of extensive self-renewal. Such populations have been previously described in the mouse. We describe here the first evidence that such cells can now be identified in humans using different types of immunodeficient mice as hosts.
A novel granulocyte-derived peptide with lipopolysaccharide-neutralizing activity. (1994)

Rabbit CAP18 (cationic antimicrobial protein, 18 kDa) is a leukocyte protein identified and purified using as an assay its capacity to bind and inhibit various activities of LPS. Oligonucleotide probes designed from the putative N-terminal protein sequence were used to obtain the corresponding cDNA from a rabbit bone marrow cDNA library. Examination of the cDNA sequence revealed that the protein fragment of the putative N-terminus was actually a 37-amino-acid C-terminal fragment. This fragment, designated CAP18(106-142), inhibits many activities of LPS. In the present studies, synthetic CAP18(106-142) is shown to: 1) bind to erythrocytes coated with diverse strains of LPS; 2) inhibit LPS-induced release of cytokines (TNF, IL-1, IL-6) and nitric oxide from macrophages; 3) inhibit LPS-induced LAL coagulation and 4) protect mice from LPS lethality. CAP18(106-142) may have therapeutic utility for conditions associated with elevated concentrations of LPS.
Effects on aflatoxin M1 residues in milk by addition of hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate to aflatoxin-contaminated diets of dairy cows (1991)

Hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS), an anticaking agent for agricultural feeds, was added to aflatoxin (AF)-contaminated diets of 3 lactating dairy cows and evaluated for its potential to reduce aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) residues in milk. During phase I, cows were fed alternating diets that consisted of 200 micrograms of AF/kg of feed for 7 days, 0.5% HSCAS plus 200 micrograms of AF/kg of feed for 7 days, and feed with the HSCAS removed for a final 7 days. The AFM1 milk concentrations from the intervals with HSCAS added to diets were compared with those times when HSCAS was absent. The presence of 0.5% HSCAS in feed containing 200 micrograms of AF/kg reduced AFM1 secretion into the milk by an average of 0.44 micrograms/L (from pretreatment of 1.85 micrograms/L to 1.41 micrograms/L with HSCAS, a 24% reduction). Following a 10-day period of noncontaminated feed consumption and no AFM1 residues in the milk, phase II of the study was begun. The same experimental design as phase I was used, but the dosages of HSCAS and AF were changed to 1.0% and 100 micrograms/kg of feed, respectively. The addition of 1.0% HSCAS in feed containing 100 micrograms of AF/kg decreased AFM1 content in the milk by an average of 0.40 micrograms/L (from a pretreatment of 0.91 micrograms/L to 0.51 micrograms/L when HSCAS was present, a 44% reduction). These findings suggest that HSCAS, a high-affinity sorbent compound for AF in vitro, is capable of reducing the secretion of AFM1 into milk.
Baseline factors associated with glycaemic response to treatment with once‐weekly dulaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes (2016)

Dulaglutide glycaemic efficacy has been demonstrated in the AWARD clinical trial programme. The objective of the present analysis was to determine the major baseline factors associated with the reduction in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) in response to dulaglutide. Baseline covariates from patients receiving dulaglutide in six phase III studies (n = 2806) were analysed using a gradient-boosting method to assess their relative influence on the change in HbA1c after 26 weeks of treatment. Influential variables (relative influence >5%) were further evaluated in univariate and multivariable modelling. The gradient-boosting analysis showed that the top influential baseline factors associated with HbA1c reduction were: HbA1c (48.8%), age (9.1%), fasting serum glucose (FSG; 8.2%), fasting serum insulin (FSI; 6.7%) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; 5.4%). Multivariable regression showed that higher baseline HbA1c was the major factor associated with greater HbA1c reduction [coefficient estimates: -0.6% (-6.6 mmol/mol); p < 0.0001]. Age ≤65 years, lower FSG level, FSI level ≤55 pmol/L and eGFR ≤100 mL/min/1.73 m<sup>2</sup> were associated with greater decreases in HbA1c, but the effect was very small [coefficient estimates: -0.05% to -0.2% (-0.6 to -2.2 mmol/mol)]. These data indicate that higher baseline HbA1c, reflecting poor glycaemic status, is the major factor associated with greater reduction in HbA1c in response to dulaglutide treatment.
Titanomagnetite Properties and Microstructures (2014)

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Experiments Results and Discussions Conclusion
Laserbasiertes Fügeverfahren zur Herstellung von Kunststoff-Metall-Hybridbauteilen (2014)

In der vorliegenden Arbeit erfolgt die Entwicklung eines zweistufigen laserbasierten Fügeverfahrens zur großserientauglichen Herstellung von Kunststoff-Metall-Verbunden. Über eine gezielte Lasermikrostrukturierung der Metalloberfläche erfolgt beim anschließenden Fügen eine Verkrallung des Kunststoffs in den Hinterschneidungen. Das entwickelte Fügeverfahren bietet bessere oder gleiche Scherfestigkeit als konventionelle Klebstoffsysteme bei gleichzeitiger Minimierung der klebtechnischen Nachteile.
Recent progress of pyrimidine derivatives for high-performance organic light-emitting devices (2018)

Pyrimidine is an electron-deficient azaaromatic compound containing two nitrogen atoms at 1, 3-positions that plays a key role as an organic semiconductor or semiconducting material. Because of the high electron-accepting property induced by C═N double bonds and due to its coordination ability, pyrimidine has been incorporated as a building block in phosphorescent emitters, fluorescent emitters, bipolar host materials, and electron transporting materials in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Recently, pyrimidine-based thermally activated delayed fluorescent emitters combined with various electron donors have been developed, and their device performances were far better than those based on conventional fluorescent emitters. In this review, recent progress of pyrimidine-based OLED materials is presented and accompanied by a historical overview, current status, key issues, and outlook for the next generation of high-performance OLED materials.
Role of G proteins in mouse egg activation: Stimulatory effects of acetylcholine on the ZP2 to ZP2f conversion and pronuclear formation in eggs expressing a functional m1 muscarinic receptor (1992)

Sperm-mediated egg activation may be analogous to ligand-mediated signal transduction through G protein-coupled receptors. We investigated this possibility in the mouse egg by microinjecting mouse oocytes with an m1 muscarinic receptor mRNA. Following oocyte maturation in vitro, the metaphase II-arrested eggs were treated with acetylcholine and its effect was examined on zona pellucida modifications and pronuclear formation, which are end points of early and late egg activation, respectively. Treatment of these eggs with acetylcholine reveals that both the ZP2 to ZP2f conversion and pronuclear formation occur. Atropine and microinjected GDP beta S block the acetylcholine-induced ZP2 conversion, suggesting that the acetylcholine effects are mediated via a functional G protein-coupled m1 receptor. The acetylcholine-induced ZP2 conversion, however, is not inhibited by pertussis toxin under conditions in which greater than 90% of the endogenous Gi is inactivated by ADP ribosylation. The presence of a pertussis toxin-insensitive G protein, Gq, is detected by immunoblotting; this G protein could be a candidate to mediate the pertussis toxin-insensitive effects of acetylcholine. Results of these experiments are consistent with the hypothesis that receptor-mediated G protein activation may play a role in egg activation.