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Conformational modeling of elastin tetrapeptide Boc-Gly-Leu-Gly-Gly-NMe by molecular dynamics simulations with improvements to the thermalization procedure.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations (MD) at Constant-Temperature or Constant-total Energy for the conformational Global-Minimum (GM) of elastin tetrapeptide Boc-Gly-Leu-Gly-Gly-NMe have been performed. The thermalization problem concerning the initial state of Constant-Temperature MD has been solved developing two effective strategies. In the first one, the run starts from the room-temperature state reached by Molecular Dynamics Simulated Annealing (SA). In the second one, one starts from the annealed-state at low-temperature and performs a long constant-low-temperature run until the initial conformer is perfectly equilibrated. Then, the low-temperature equilibrated-state is used as initial state for MD at room-temperature. heuristic criteria on order to define the onset of steady-state have been established monitoring the hystories of collective parameters (e.g., the total energy, temperature, end-to-end distance, etc.) and their amplitude fluctuations. Moreover, the equilibrium between the system and the heat bath is verified analyzing the total linear momentum conservation by the time evolution of center mass velocity. The slow drift of total energy during Constant-total Energy MD has been corrected using a loose coupling between the system and the heat bath. Moreover, we have verified that the roto-translational motions do not affect significantly the properties of molecular vibrations. The librations of peptide unit inside the type II beta-turn [Gly1]C = 0 ... HN[Gly4], previously detected, were confirmed. Large -Gly-Gly- chain motions were identified and modeled as fluctuations occurring between the tetratepeptide GM and the saddle-point corresponding to the transition state of the conversion toward the extended-chain conformation. All these peptide motions could contribute to the elasticity mechanism of elastin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A comparison of image guidance systems for sinus surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Intraoperative computed tomographic guidance systems are available which utilize either electromagnetic (radiofrequency) or optical (infrared) signals to localize instruments within the surgical field. The objective of this study was to compare the use of these two different image guidance technologies for sinus surgery. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: The electromagnetic-based InstaTrak system (n = 24) and the optical-based Stealth-Station (n = 49) were compared in a series of 73 consecutive sinus series which utilized image guidance technology. RESULTS: Both the electromagnetic and optical systems provided anatomic localization to within 2 mm during surgery. Intraoperative reregistration was effective in correcting for any anatomic drift. There were no intraoperative complications. Mean operative times were 156.3 +/- 8.9 minutes for the electromagnetic and 139.2 +/- 17.7 minutes for the optical system (P < .05). The average intraoperative blood loss did not differ significantly between groups (electromagnetic, 190.6 +/- 28.7 mL; optical, 172.4 +/- 23.0 mL). Each system was noted to have limitations. The presence of metallic objects in the operative field interfered with functioning of the electromagnetic system, whereas the optical system required a clear line of sight to be maintained between the infrared camera and surgical handpiece. Both systems required specialized headsets to be worn by patients during surgery to monitor head position. The electromagnetic system also required these headsets to be worn during the preoperative computed tomography scan. CONCLUSION: Although these two image guidance systems both proved valuable for anatomic localization during sinus surgery, individual preferences can be based on distinct differences in their design and operation.

Adult↗

The Utah anesthesia workstation.

A prototype anesthesia workstation has been developed to demonstrate the feasibility of a computer-assisted anesthesia workplace. The workstation provides a central display of information and aids the user in controlling and monitoring the anesthesia delivery system. The anesthesiologist interacts with the workstation through a Macintosh computer, which is easy for the clinician to understand and to use. Seventeen sensors and monitors transmit information from the anesthesia delivery system to the computer. The computer monitors this information using a set of rules, evaluated once each breath, to detect changes in the delivery system. If an event is detected, the computer alerts the anesthesiologist with a diagram, a text message, and an audible warning. A laboratory test of the monitoring system was performed to see if it properly identified 26 different critical events during simulated low flow and closed circuit anesthesia. Five hundred and eight-three of 660 simulated critical events (88%) were identified with the unique and correct message. On 35 occasions, multiple messages were displayed, including the correct one. Critical events were misidentified or not detected 42 times. Eight false positive alarms occurred during the 20 h of testing; all occurred as a result of baseline drift in a single transducer. These results demonstrate that a sophisticated monitoring system can reliably diagnose specific anesthesia machine failures.

Anesthesiology↗

Fluctuation-dissipation relationship in chaotic dynamics

We consider a general N-degree-of-freedom dissipative system that exhibits chaotic behavior. Based on a Fokker-Planck description associated with the dynamics, we establish that the drift and the diffusion coefficients can be related through a set of stochastic parameters that characterize the steady state of the dynamical system in a way similar to the fluctuation-dissipation relation in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. The proposed relationship is verified by numerical experiments on a driven double-well system.

Journal Article↗

NMDA receptors are involved in temporal integration in the oculomotor system of the cat.

Spontaneous eye movements were recorded before and after a microinjection (0.1-0.2 microliter) of either APV (an NMDA receptor antagonist) or NBQX (a non-NMDA receptor antagonist) into the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (NPH) of the alert cat. A unilateral injection of APV caused bilateral failure of the horizontal gaze-holding system: in the light, each saccade was followed by a post-saccadic drift. A unilateral injection of NBQX caused no sign of gaze-holding failure; in the light, spontaneous eye movements were unaffected; in complete darkness, a nystagmus with linear slow phases directed towards the injected side was observed. We conclude that NMDA receptors of the NPH neurones are involved in the gaze-holding system.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗

Two-dimensional map for impact oscillator with drift.

An impact oscillator with drift is considered. The model accounts for viscoelastic impacts and is capable of mimicking the dynamics of progressive motion, which is important in many applications. To simplify the analysis of this system, a transformation decoupling the original coordinates is introduced. As a result, the bounded oscillations are separated from the drift motion. To study the bounded dynamics, a two-dimensional analytical map is developed and analyzed. In general, the dynamic state of the system is fully described by four variables: time tau , relative displacement p and velocity y of the mass, and relative displacement q of the slider top. However, this number can be reduced to two if the beginning of the progression phase is being monitored. The lower and upper bounds of the map domain are approximated. A graphical method of iteration of the two-dimensional map, similar to the cobweb method used in the one-dimensional case, is proposed. The results of numerical iterations of this two-dimensional map are presented, and a comparison is given between bifurcation diagrams calculated for this map and for the original system of differential equations.

Journal Article↗

Interactions between eye movement systems in cats and humans.

Eye movements can be broadly classified into target-selecting and gaze-stabilizing eye movements. How do the different systems interact under natural conditions? Here we investigate interactions between the optokinetic and the target-selecting system in cats and humans. We use combinations of natural and grating stimuli. The natural stimuli are movies and pictures taken from the cat's own point of view with a head-mounted camera while it moved about freely in an outdoor environment. We superimpose linear global motion on the stimuli and use measurements of optokinetic nystagmus as a probe to study the interaction between the different systems responsible for controlling eye movements. Cats display higher precision stabilizing eye movements in response to natural pictures as compared to drifting gratings. In contrast, humans perform similarly under these two conditions. This suggests an interaction of the optokinetic and the pursuit system. In cats, the natural movies elicit very weak optokinetic responses. In humans, by contrast, the natural movie stimuli elicit effectively stabilizing eye movements. In both species, we find a unimodal distribution of saccades for all stimulus velocities. This suggests an early interaction of target-selecting and gaze-stabilizing saccades. Thus, we argue for a more integrated view in humans of the different eye movement systems.

Animals↗

Understanding the synergistic catalytic effect between La(2)O(3) and CaO for the CH(4) lean De-NO(x) reaction: kinetic and mechanistic studies.

Doping of La(2)O(3) crystallites with Ca(2+) ions significantly enhances the intrinsic rate of NO reduction by CH(4) in the presence of 5% O(2) at 550 degrees C compared to pure La(2)O(3) and CaO solids, while the opposite is true after doping of CaO with La(3+) ions. It was found that the 5 wt % La(2)O(3)-95 wt % CaO system has one of the highest intrinsic site reactivities (TOF = 8.5 x 10(-3) s(-1)) reported at 550 degrees C for the NO/CH(4)/O(2) reaction among metal oxide surfaces. The doping process occurred after first dispersing La(2)O(3) and CaO crystallites in deionized water heated to 60 degrees C for 90 min, while the dried material was then ground and heated slowly in air to 800 degrees C and kept at this temperature for 5 h. The doping process had the effect of creating surface oxygen vacant sites (F-type defects) in the oxide lattices the concentration of which is a function of the wt % La(2)O(3) used in the mixed oxide system as revealed by photoluminescence and O(2) chemisorption studies. According to DRIFTS (15)NO transient isotopic experiments (SSITKA), oxygen vacant sites in Ca(2+)-doped La(2)O(3) promote the formation of a more active chemisorbed NO(x) species (NO(2)(-)) that contributes to the enhancement of reaction rate as compared to pure lanthana, calcium oxide, and La(3+)-doped CaO. These results were supported by the kinetic orders of the reaction with respect to NO and O(2) obtained as a function of wt % La(2)O(3) content in the mixed oxide system. Carbon dioxide (a reaction product) competes for the same oxygen vacant sites to form stable adsorbed carbonate-like species, thus lowering the reduction rate of NO. The dependence of the reaction TOF on the wt % La(2)O(3) loading at 550 degrees C was found to follow the trend of the dependence of photoluminescence intensity on the wt % La(2)O(3) content in the La(2)O(3)-CaO oxide system.

Journal Article↗

Ambiguity in the perception of moving stimuli is resolved in favour of the cardinal axes.

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a link between the statistical properties of natural scenes and our perception of moving surfaces. Accordingly, we devised an ambiguous moving stimulus that could be perceived as moving in one of three directions of motion. The stimulus was a circular patch containing three square-wave drifting gratings. One grating was always either horizontal or vertical; the other two had component directions of drift at 120 degrees to the first (and to each other), producing four possible stimulus geometries. These were presented in a pseudorandom sequence. In brief presentations, subjects always perceived two of the gratings to cohere and move as a pattern in one direction, and the third grating to move independently in the opposite direction (its component direction). Although there were three equally plausible axes (one cardinal and two oblique) along which the coherent and independent motions could occur, subjects routinely saw motion along one of the cardinal axes. Thus, the visual system preferentially combines the two oblique gratings to form a pattern that drifts in the opposite direction to the cardinal grating. It was only when the contrast of one of the oblique gratings was changed that an oblique axis of motion was perceived. This perceptual anisotropy can be related to naturally occurring bias in the visual environment, notably the predominance of horizontal and vertical contours in our visual world.

Anisotropy↗

Eye movements and motion perception induced by off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR) at small angles of tilt after spaceflight.

The nystagmus and motion perception of two astronauts were recorded during Earth-vertical axis rotation and during off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR) before and after 7 days of spaceflight. Postflight, the peak velocity and duration of per- and postrotatory nystagmus during velocity steps about the Earth-vertical axis were the same as preflight values. During OVAR at constant velocity (45/s, tilt angles successively 5, 10, and 15 degrees), the mean horizontal slow-phase eye velocity (bias), produced by the 'velocity storage mechanism' in the vestibular system, and the peak-to-peak amplitude (modulation) in horizontal eye velocity and position, generated from the output of otolith afferents, were also the same before as after flight. There were, however, changes in the vertical eve position and in the perceived body motion during OVAR. The angle of the perceived body path described as a cone was larger in both astronauts postflight. One astronaut experienced either a large cone angle with its axis upright, or a smaller cone angle with its axis tilted backwards, accompanied by an upward vertical eye drift. These results suggest an increase in the sensitivity of the otolithic system after spaceflight and a longer period of readaptation to Earth's gravity for otolith-induced responses than for canal-induced responses. Our data support the hypothesis that just after spaceflight the CNS generally interprets changes in the otolith signals to be due to translation rather than to tilt.

Eye Movements↗

Drift mechanism caused by a nonlinear wave and the Cassini Division and Uranian rings formation.

The mechanism leading to the observed coexistence of gaps and narrow ringlets in the planetary rings is found. It is based upon the quasi-stationary radial drift of the matter under action of two forces in the disk plane: the Coriolis force and the Reynolds stresses. To an accuracy of the factor of 2 the first force coincides with the Lorentz force, therefore the radial drift in rings is similar to the gradient drift of plasma in the magnetic field. The second force is produced by the wave generated by the nearby satellite in the resonance position. In inertial systems, the second force alone causes a matter flow in its direction, called acoustic streaming. Since the radial drift is caused by nonlinear time-averaged force of high-frequency harmonic interactions in the wave, it exists in the wave propagation zone: from the birth place of the wave-the resonance position, up to the reflection point of the wave, where its group velocity vanishes. Our estimations show that the size of the density wave propagation zone corresponding to the density wave which had been formerly generated the 2:1 orbital resonance with Mimas is consistent with the width of the Cassini Division. In our case the nature of the radial drift is such that first of all it clears out the farthest from the resonance position; later, the closer areas also get affected by the drift. The zone closest to the resonance position itself is the last to be involved in the process. The matter carried away by the drift is partially accumulated near the resonance position forming a narrow dense ringlet. (c) 1996 American Institute of Physics.

Journal Article↗

Optical chemical sensors for environmental control and system management.

Several fiber optic based chemical sensors have been developed for use in plant growth systems and enclosed life support systems. Optical chemical sensors offer several distinct advantages in terms of sensitivity, calibration stability, immunity to biofouling and electrical interference, and ease of multiplexing sensors for multipoint/multiparameter analysis. Also, the ability to locate fiber optic sensors in close proximity to plant roots or leaves should improve the measurement reliability by obviating the need for handling and transport which can compromise sample integrity. Polestar Technologies and GEO-CENTERS have developed and tested many types of optical chemical sensors which utilize novel glass and polymeric materials as the sensor substrate. Analytes are detected using immobilized colorimetric indication systems or molecular recognition elements. Typically transduction is via wavelength specific absorption changes with multiwavelength detection for drift compensation. Sensors have been developed for solution pH, NH3, ethylene, CO2, and dissolved metal ions. In addition, unique PC-compatible optoelectronic interfaces, as well as distributed measurement systems, so that integrated detection systems are now available. In this paper recent efforts to develop sensors for critical nutrient ions are presented.

Biosensing Techniques↗

[Impairment of the accuracy of tracking movements in lesions of the cerebellum and pyramidal system in man].

Kinematic and electromyographic characteristics of step-tracking movements performed with and without visual guidance have been studied in 3 groups of patients suffering from hereditary lesions of intermedial and lateral systems of the cerebellum and pyramidal tract. Lesions of the intermedial cerebellum not changing parameters of the first preprogrammed component altered deeply the maintenance phase that was performed as large oscillations around a required level. Lesions of the lateral cerebellum, on the contrary, were followed by inability to control accurately the amplitude of steps which were performed with a constant hypermetric error; the maintenance phase of movement was not disturbed in this group. In patients suffering from pyramidal lesions the initial rapid limb position adjustment was replaced by slow approximating tracking; the maintenance component of the movement was performed with fluctuations and constant drift towards the ground. It is concluded that whereas the lateral cerebellar system is involved in central motor program mechanisms, the intermedial cerebellum is essential for accurate postural maintenance.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Interplay between humans and infective agents: a population genetic study.

The genetic composition of present day human populations is determined largely by the interaction between the human host and infective agents. Therefore, theoretical analysis of the host-infective-agent system is required in order for us to be able to understand human evolution. Classical population genetics has been confined largely to analysing the interplay of various mechanisms, such as selection, mutation and drift, in one species at a time. Unfortunately, there have been few studies of such interactive systems. In the present investigation, these studies have been enlarged, with problems of human genetics in mind, by mathematical examination of a model in which a diploid host with three alleles interacts with a haploid infective agent with two alleles. The results are compared with those obtained from simpler models analysed in the past. The assumptions inherent in such "gene for gene" models and our results are discussed. An increase in the number of alleles appears to enhance the chances for the establishment of permanent genetic polymorphisms, improving genetic "elasticity" of a population for coping with changing challenges by various infective agents. Interaction between two haploid species leads to a loss of polymorphism in both of them and, hence, to a severe loss of evolutionary elasticity. The hypothesis that the evolution of diploidy might have been favoured by a selective advantage of diploid organisms interacting with environmental challenges, such as infective agents, is supported.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

[Effective control of excitable waves in 2D cardiac excitable media].

We propose a method for effective control of patter on dissipative system by use of little perturbation analysis, and apply this nonuniform feed back method to control the polarization wave of heart represented by FHN equation. In the numerical experiment, we successfully alter the propagating direction of planar waves and drift the spiral waves to boundary without resonant repulsion. The effective control of the excited system will be used to study the mechanism of defibrillation and that is our interesting work.

Action Potentials↗

Legionnaires' disease and the sick-building syndrome.

In October 1985, six cases of legionnaires' disease were associated with a police headquarters building. Four were amongst staff who worked in or visited the communications wing of the headquarters and two cases occurred in the local community. A case-control study implicated the operations room of the communications wing as the main area associated with infection. This wing was air-conditioned and smoke tracer studies showed that drift from the exhaust as well as from the base of the cooling tower entered the main air-intake which serviced the air-conditioning system. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 subgroup pontiac was isolated from water and sludge in the cooling tower pond. Contaminated drift from the top of the cooling tower was probably responsible for the two community cases. An additional discovery was that symptoms suggestive of the sick-building syndrome were associated with working in this wing.

Adult↗

The evolution of aging: a new approach to an old problem of biology.

Most gerontologists believe aging did not evolve, is accidental, and is unrelated to development. The opposite viewpoint is most likely correct. Genetic drift occurs in finite populations and leads to homozygosity in multiple-alleled traits. Episodic selection events will alter random drift towards homozygosity in alleles that increase fitness with respect to the selection event. Aging increases population turnover, which accelerates the benefit of genetic drift. This advantage of aging led to the evolution of aging systems (ASs). Periodic predation was the most prevalent episodic selection pressure in evolution. Effective defenses to predation that allow exceptionally long lifespans to evolve are shells, extreme intelligence, isolation, and flight. Without episodic predation, aging provides no advantage and aging systems will be deactivated to increase reproductive potential in unrestricted environments. The periodic advantage of aging led to the periodic evolution of aging systems. Newer aging systems co-opted and added to prior aging systems. Aging organisms should have one dominant, aging system that co-opts vestiges of earlier-evolved systems as well as vestiges of prior systems. In human evolution, aging systems chronologically emerged as follows: telomere shortening, mitochondrial aging, mutation accumulation, senescent gene expression (AS#4), targeted somatic tissue apoptotic-atrophy (AS#5), and female reproductive tissue apoptotic-atrophy (AS#6). During famine or drought, to avoid extinction, reproduction is curtailed and aging is slowed or somewhat reversed to postpone or reverse reproductive senescence. AS#4-AS#6 are gradual and reversible aging systems. The life-extending/rejuvenating effects of caloric restriction support the idea of aging reversibility. Development and aging are timed by the gradual loss of cytosine methylation in the genome. Methylated cytosines (5mC) inhibit gene transcription, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) cleavage by restriction enzymes. Cleavage inhibition prevents apoptosis, which requires DNA fragmentation. Free radicals catalyze the demethylation of 5mC while antioxidants catalyze the remethylation of cytosine by altering the activity of DNA methyltransferases. Hormones act as either surrogate free radicals by stimulating the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway or as surrogate antioxidants through cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) pathway stimulation. Access to DNA containing 5mC inhibited developmental and aging genes and restriction sites is allowed by DNA helicase strand separation. Tightly wound DNA does not allow this access. The DNA helicase generates free radicals during strand separation; hormones either amplify or counteract this effect. Caloric restriction slows or reverses the aging process by increasing melatonin levels, which suppresses reproductive and free radical hormones, while increasing antioxidant hormone levels. Cell apoptosis during CR leads to somatic wasting and a release of DNA, which increases bioavailable cGMP. The rapid aging diseases of progeria, the three diseases: (xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), Cockayne syndrome(CS), and ataxia telangiectasia (AT)), and Werner's syndrome are related to or caused by defects in three separate DNA helicases. The rapid aging diseases caused by mitochondrial malfunctions mirror those seen in XP, CS, and AT. Comparing these diseases allows for assignment of the different symptoms of aging to their respective aging systems. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) demethylates the genes of AS#4, luteinizing hormone (LH) of AS#5, and estrogen of AS#6 while cortisol may act cooperatively with FSH and LH, and 5-alpha dihydrotestosterone (DHT) with FSH in these role. The Werner's DNA helicase links timing of the age of puberty, menopause, and maximum lifespan in one mechanism. Telomerase is under hormonal control. Most cancers likely result from malfunctions in the programmed apoptosis of AS#5 and AS#6. The Hayflick limit is reached primarily through loss of cytosine methylation of genes that inhibit replication. Men suffer the diseases of AS#4 at a higher rate than women who suffer from AS#5 more often. Adult mammal cloning suggests aging-related cellular demethylation, and thus aging, is reversible. This theory suggests that the protective effect of smoking and ibuprofen for Alzheimer's disease is caused through LH suppression.

Aging↗

Measurement of ion swarm distribution functions in miniature low-temperature co-fired ceramic ion mobility spectrometer drift tubes.

Measurements of the performance of a miniature, portable 12-mm-diameter, 57-mm-length low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) ion mobility spectrometer drift tube were undertaken to verify models of ion transport and determine the physical shape of the ion "swarms" in the LTCC tube. Simplified two-dimensional Gaussian models of ion swarm shape were fit to measured data to extract geometrical shape parameters. Results indicate that tube-transfer function effects that produce asymmetric ion swarms are minimized in the tube reducing temporal dispersion. Data are presented that illustrate the swarm shape as a function of gate time, electric field magnitude, and total charge in the ion swarm. Characterization and understanding of the ion transport mechanisms and effects that limit the resolution and other performance parameters of miniature IMS drift tubes is essential to the development of practical, robust, portable systems for "first responder" and homeland security missions.

Journal Article↗