Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Distance”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,009 records · Page 56Linked to original sources

Model for the calculation of output for elongated fields at nonstandard distances for a 25-MV betatron and for radiocobalt teletherapy units.

Output-area factors are usually provided only for square fields at one standard distance. To calculate dose for mantle, extended field, total nodal, subtotal body, and total body irradiation, output-area factors are required for a continuous range of shapes and distances. Dose rate measurements have been made for different elongation ratios at various distances with an Allis-Chalmers 25-MV betatron, an AECL Theratron-80 60Co unit, a Picker C-9 60Co unit, and a Picker C-10000 60Co unit. A model is presented that permits the extension of dose rates and area factors for square fields at one distance to elongated fields at any distance. An illustrative calculation for one of the units is given.

Cobalt Radioisotopes↗

Rapid advance of spring arrival dates in long-distance migratory birds.

Several bird species have advanced the timing of their spring migration in response to recent climate change. European short-distance migrants, wintering in temperate areas, have been assumed to be more affected by change in the European climate than long-distance migrants wintering in the tropics. However, we show that long-distance migrants have advanced their spring arrival in Scandinavia more than short-distance migrants. By analyzing a long-term data set from southern Italy, we show that long-distance migrants also pass through the Mediterranean region earlier. We argue that this may reflect a climate-driven evolutionary change in the timing of spring migration.

Africa↗

VPg of tobacco etch potyvirus is a host genotype-specific determinant for long-distance movement.

The V20 cultivar of Nicotiana tabacum was shown previously to exhibit a strain-specific restriction of long-distance movement of tobacco etch potyvirus (TEV). In V20, both TEV-HAT and TEV-Oxnard strains are capable of genome amplification and cell-to-cell movement, but only TEV-Oxnard is capable of systemic infection by vasculature-dependent long-distance movement. To investigate the basis for host-specific movement of TEV, chimeric virus genomes were assembled from TEV-HAT and TEV-Oxnard. Viruses containing the TEV-Oxnard coding regions for HC-Pro and/or capsid protein (CP), two proteins that are known to be essential for TEV long-distance movement, failed to infect V20 systemically. In contrast, chimeric viruses encoding the TEV-Oxnard VPg domain of NIa were able to infect V20 systemically. The critical region controlling the infection phenotype in V20 was mapped to a 67-nucleotide segment containing 10-nucleotide differences, but only five amino acid differences, between TEV-HAT and TEV-Oxnard. In V20 coinfection experiments, a restricted strain had no effect on systemic infection by a long-distance movement-competent chimeric strain, suggesting that the restricted strain was not inducing a generalized systemic resistance response. These data suggest that the VPg domain, which is covalently attached to the 5' end of genomic RNA, interacts either directly or indirectly with host components to facilitate long-distance movement.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Evolution of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 subtype-specific V3 domain is confined to a sequence space with a fixed distance to the subtype consensus.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains can be separated into genetic subtypes based on phylogenetic analysis of the envelope gene. Once it had been shown that population-wide intrasubtype genetic variation of HIV-1 strains increases in the course of the AIDS epidemic, it remained uncertain whether HIV-1 subtypes are phenotypic entities spreading as distinct virus populations. To examine this, we applied Eigen's concepts of sequence geometry and fitness topography to the analysis of intrasubtype evolution of the gp120 V3 domain of HIV-1 subtypes A, B, C, and D in the course of the global AIDS epidemic. We observed that despite the high evolution rate of HIV-1, the nonsynonymous distances to the subtype consensus of sequences obtained early in the epidemic are similar to those obtained more than 10 years later, in contrast to the synonymous distances, which increased steadily over time. For HIV-1 subtype B, we observed that the evolution rate of the individual sequences is independent of their distance from the subtype B consensus, but for the individual sequences most distant from the consensus evolution away from the consensus is constrained. As a result, individual HIV-1 genomes fluctuate within a sequence space with fixed distance to the subtype consensus. Our findings suggest that the evolution of the V3 domain of HIV-1 subtypes A, B, C, and D is confined to an area in sequence space within a fixed distance to the consensus of a respective subtype. This in turn indicates that each HIV-1 subtype is a distinct viral quasispecies that is well adapted to the present environment, able to maintain its identity in the V3 region over time, and unlikely to merge during progression of the AIDS epidemic.

Consensus Sequence↗

Retroviral recombination rates do not increase linearly with marker distance and are limited by the size of the recombining subpopulation.

Recombination occurs at high frequencies in all examined retroviruses. The previously determined homologous recombination rate in one retroviral replication cycle is 4% for markers 1.0 kb apart in spleen necrosis virus (SNV). This has often been used to suggest that approximately 30 to 40% of the replication-competent viruses with 7- to 10-kb genomes undergo recombination. These estimates were based on the untested assumption that a linear relationship exists between recombination rates and marker distances. To delineate this relationship, we constructed three sets of murine leukemia virus (MLV)-based vectors containing the neomycin phosphotransferase gene (neo) and the hygromycin phosphotransferase B gene (hygro). Each set contained one vector with a functional neo and an inactivated hygro and one vector with a functional hygro and an inactivated neo. The two inactivating mutations in the three sets of vectors were separated by 1.0, 1.9, and 7.1 kb. Recombination rates after one round of replication were 4.7, 7.4, and 8.2% with markers 1.0, 1.9, and 7.1 kb apart, respectively. Thus, the rate of homologous recombination with 1.0 kb of marker distance is similar in MLV and SNV. The recombination rate increases when the marker distance increases from 1.0 to 1.9 kb; however, the recombination rates with marker distances of 1.9 and 7.1 kb are not significantly different. These data refute the previous assumption that recombination is proportional to marker distance and define the maximum recombining population in retroviruses.

Genome, Viral↗

C reactive protein concentrations during long distance running.

Long distance runners competing in events ranging from 15 to 88 km showed a distance related acute phase response as indicated by significantly raised serum C reactive protein concentrations. In trained athletes only a small rise in C reactive protein concentrations was seen after races of less than 21 km. After an 88 km ultramarathon concentrations comparable to those found in patients with small myocardial infarctions were detected. Indomethacin did not affect the increases in C reactive protein after the ultramarathon. This study has established serial C reactive protein concentrations for given race distances. These data may help in diagnosing myocardial infarction during long distance running. The acute phase response should be measured in untrained people running shorter distances to provide comparative data for the physically untrained population.

C-Reactive Protein↗

Refinement of NMR-determined protein structures with database derived distance constraints.

The protein structures determined by NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) are not as detailed and accurate as those by X-ray crystallography and are often underdetermined due to the inadequate distance data available from NMR experiments. The uses of NMR-determined structures in such important applications as homology modeling and rational drug design have thus been severely limited. Here we show that with the increasing numbers of high quality protein structures being determined, a computational approach to enhancing the accuracy of the NMR-determined structures becomes possible by deriving additional distance constraints from the distributions of the distances in databases of known protein structures. We show through a survey on 462 NMR structures that, in fact, many inter-atomic distances in these structures deviate considerably from their database distributions and based on the refinement results on 10 selected NMR structures that these structures can actually be improved significantly when a selected set of distances are constrained within their high probability ranges in their database distributions.

Algorithms↗

Protein threading with profiles and distance constraints using clique based algorithms.

With the advent of experimental technologies like chemical cross-linking, it has become possible to obtain distances between specific residues of a newly sequenced protein. These types of experiments usually are less time consuming than X-ray crystallography or NMR. Consequently, it is highly desired to develop a method that incorporates this distance information to improve the performance of protein threading methods. However, protein threading with profiles in which constraints on distances between residues are given is known to be NP-hard. By using the notion of a maximum edge-weight clique finding algorithm, we introduce a more efficient method called FTHREAD for profile threading with distance constraints that is 18 times faster than its predecessor CLIQUETHREAD. Moreover, we also present a novel practical algorithm NTHREAD for profile threading with Non-strict constraints. The overall performance of FTHREAD on a data set shows that although our algorithm uses a simple threading function, our algorithm performs equally well as some of the existing methods. Particularly, when there are some unsatisfied constraints, NTHREAD (Non-strict constraints threading algorithm) performs better than threading with FTHREAD (Strict constraints threading algorithm). We have also analyzed the effects of using a number of distance constraints. This algorithm helps the enhancement of alignment quality between the query sequence and template structure, once the corresponding template structure is determined for the target sequence.

Algorithms↗

Estimating diffusion distances in muscle.

Models of fibers and capillaries in cross sections of muscle were used to quantify the relationships between diffusion distances and tissue capillarity. The fibers were constructed as square and hexagonal arrays, and the placement of capillaries around the perimeters of the fibers ordered them in similar arrays. Diffusion distances were measured as the percent cumulative frequency of fiber area within a given distance of a capillary when capillary-to-fiber ratio was increased from 0.5 to 4.0. Equations fitted to the data make it possible to estimate diffusion distances in muscle and to correlate changes in diffusion distances with fiber growth, capillary growth, and the geometrical arrangement of capillaries in the muscle bed.

Animals↗

Energetics of best performances in middle-distance running.

Oxygen consumption (VO2) and blood lactate concentration were determined during constant-speed track running on 16 runners of intermediate level competing in middle distances (0.8-5.0 km). The energy cost of track running per unit distance (Cr) was then obtained from the ratio of steady-state VO2, corrected for lactate production, to speed; it was found to be independent of speed, its overall mean being 3.72 +/- 0.24 J.kg-1 x m-1 (n = 58; 1 ml O2 = 20.9 J). Maximal VO2 (VO2max) was also measured on the same subjects. Theoretical record times were then calculated for each distance and subject and compared with actual seasonal best performances as follows. The maximal metabolic power (Er max) a subject can maintain in running is a known function of VO2max and maximal anaerobic capacity and of the effort duration to exhaustion (te). Er max was then calculated as a function of te from VO2max, assuming a standard value for maximal anaerobic capacity. The metabolic power requirement (Er) necessary to cover a given distance (d) was calculated as a function of performance time (t) from the product Crdt-1 = Er. The time values that solve the equality Er max(te) = Er(t), assumed to yield the theoretical best t, were obtained by an iterative procedure for any given subject and distance and compared with actual records.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Superior fatigue resistance of elite black South African distance runners.

Black athletes currently dominate long-distance running events in South Africa. In an attempt to explain an apparently superior running ability of black South African athletes at distances > 3 km, we compared physiological measurements in the fastest 9 white and 11 black South African middle-to long-distance runners. Whereas both groups ran at a similar percentage of maximal O2 uptake (%VO2max) over 1.65-5 km, the %VO2max sustained by black athletes was greater than that of white athletes at distances > 5 km (P < 0.001). Although both groups had similar training volumes, black athletes reported that they completed more exercise at > 80% VO2max (36 +/- 18 vs. 14 +/- 7%: P < 0.005). When corrections were made for the black athletes' smaller body mass, their superior ability to sustain a high %VO2max could not be explained by any differences in VO2max, maximal ventilation, or submaximal running economy. Superior distance running performance of the black athletes was not due to a greater (+/- 50%) percentage of type I fibers but was associated with lower blood lactate concentrations during exercise. Time to fatigue during repetitive isometric muscle contractions was also longer in black runners (169 +/- 65 vs. 97 +/- 69 s; P < 0.05), but whether this observation explains the superior endurance or was due to the lower peak muscle strength (46.3 +/- 10.3 vs. 67.5 +/- 18.0 Nm/l lean thigh volume; P < 0.01) remains to be established.

Adult↗

Ocular responses to translation and their dependence on viewing distance. I. Motion of the observer.

1. The horizontal eye movements induced by acceleration along the interaural axis were recorded from five monkeys (Macaca mulatta) by the use of the electromagnetic search-coil technique. Animals sat on a sled that was moved briefly in darkness along a linear track (bell-shaped acceleration profile: peak, 400 mm/s2; duration, 200 ms). Immediately before acceleration, animals fixated one of five target lights located at distances ranging from 16 to 150 cm. During fixation, the horizontal positions of both eyes were used to check vergence, while accommodation was monitored with an infrared optometer. 2. Sled motion induced eye movements that were generally smooth and compensatory, e.g., rightward sled motion elicited leftward eye movement. We attribute these responses to a translational vestibuloocular reflex (TVOR) that senses the sled motion through the otolith organs. However, in three animals, these responses were preceded by weak anticompensatory movements (duration, less than 40 ms; amplitude, less than 10% of the maximum compensatory response). 3. Geometry indicates that, during brief sled motion, the eye movements required to keep gaze aligned on a particular location ("full" compensation) are inversely proportional to the viewing distance. Response measures based on the computed eye velocity profiles, such as the velocity achieved at specific times ("time slices") or the peak values of the estimated covariance functions, all indicated that compensatory responses were a linear function of the inverse of the prior viewing distance. Cross-correlation analyses indicated that the effect of the prior viewing distance was to scale responses, although detailed spectral analyses revealed that high-frequency components (greater than 10 Hz) tended to scale less vigorously than lower ones. 4. The adequacy of the compensatory eye movements was assessed by calculating the gain (response recorded/response required for full compensation). Regardless of the response measure used, gains varied considerably from one animal to another and, in some particular animals, from one direction to another but showed a general tendency to increase with viewing distance. For example, on the basis of the peak eye velocity achieved within 250 ms of the onset of sled motion, mean gain at 16 cm was 0.74 (range, 0.48-1.01), whereas at 150 cm it was 1.25 (range, 0.67-1.73). 5. Using wedge prisms to dissociate vergence and accommodation indicated that ocular responses to sled motion were sensitive to selective increases in either vergence (base-out prism with the most distant target) or accommodation (base-in prism with the nearest target). However, the magnitude of the effects showed considerable variability from one animal to another and, in some particular animals, from one direction to another.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Acceleration↗

Effect of viewing distance and location of the axis of head rotation on the monkey's vestibuloocular reflex. I. Eye movement responses.

1. The vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) stabilizes images on the retina against movements of the head in space. Viewing distance, target eccentricity, and location of the axis of rotation may influence VOR responses because rotation of the head about most axes in space rotates and translates the eyes relative to visual targets. To study the VOR response to combined rotation and translation, monkeys were placed on a rate table and rotated briefly in the dark about a vertical axis that was located in front of or behind the eyes. The monkeys fixated a near or far visual target that was extinguished before the rotation. Eye movements were recorded from both eyes by the use of the search coil technique. 2. Peak eye velocity evoked by the VOR was linearly related to vergence angle for any axis of rotation. The percent change in the VOR with near target viewing relative to far target viewing at a vergence angle of 20 degrees was linearly related to the location of the axis of rotation. Axes located behind the eyes produced positive changes in VOR amplitude, and axes located in front of the eyes produced negative changes in VOR amplitude. An axis of rotation located in the coronal plane containing the centers of rotation of the eyes produced no modification of VOR amplitude. For any axis, the VOR compensated for approximately 90% of the translation of the eye relative to near targets. 3. The initial VOR response was not correct in magnitude but was refined by a series of three temporally delayed corrections of increasing complexity. The earliest VOR-evoked eye movement (10-20 ms after rotation onset) was independent of viewing distance and rotational axis location. In the next 100 ms, eye speed appeared to be sequentially modified three times: within 20 ms by viewing distance; within 30 ms by otolith translation; and within 100 ms by eye translation relative to the visual target. 4. These data suggest a formal model of the VOR consisting of four channels. Channel 1 conveys an unmodified head rotation signal with a pure delay of 10 ms. Channel 2 conveys an angular head velocity signal, modified by viewing distance with a pure delay of 20 ms, but invariant with respect to the location of the axis of rotation. Channel 3 conveys a linear head velocity signal, dependent on the location of the axis of rotation, that is modified by viewing distance with a pure delay of 30 ms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Computation of long-distance propagation of impulses elicited by Poisson-process stimulation.

1. The purpose of this work was to determine whether computed temporally coded axonal information generated by Poisson process stimulation were modified during long-distance propagation, as originally suggested by S. A. George. Propagated impulses were computed with the use of the Hodgkin-Huxley equations and cable theory to simulate excitation and current spread in 100-microns-diam unmyelinated axons, whose total length was 8.1 cm (25 lambda) or 101.4 cm (312.5 lambda). Differential equations were solved numerically, with the use of trapezoidal integration over small, constant electrotonic and temporal steps (0.125 lambda and 1.0 microsecond, respectively). 2. Using dual-pulse stimulation, we confirmed that for interstimulus intervals between 5 and 11 ms, the conduction velocity of the second of a short-interval pair of impulses was slower than that of the first impulse. Further, with sufficiently long propagation distance, the second impulse's conduction velocity increased steadily and eventually approached that of the first impulse. This effect caused a spatially varying interspike interval: as propagation proceeded, the interspike interval increased and eventually approached stabilization. 3. With Poisson stimulation, the peak amplitude of propagating action potentials varied with interspike interval durations between 5 and 11 ms. Such amplitude attenuation was caused by the incomplete relaxation of parameters n (macroscopic K-conductance activation) and h (macroscopic Na-conductance inactivation) during the interspike period. 4. The stochastic properties of the impulse train became less Poisson-like with propagation distance. In cases of propagation over 99.4 cm, the impulse trains developed marked periodicities in Interevent Interval Distribution and Expectation Density function because of the axially modulated transformation of interspike intervals. 5. Despite these changes in impulse train parameters, the arithmetic value of the mean interspike interval did not change as a function of propagation distance. This work showed that in theory, whereas the pattern of Poisson-like impulse codes was modified during long-distance propagation, their mean rate was conserved.

Action Potentials↗

Human gaze stabilization during natural activities: translation, rotation, magnification, and target distance effects.

Stability of images on the retina was determined in 14 normal humans in response to rotational and translational perturbations during self-generated pitch and yaw, standing, walking, and running on a treadmill. The effects on image stability of target distance, vision, and spectacle magnification were examined. During locomotion the horizontal and vertical velocity of images on the retina was <4 degrees /s for a visible target located beyond 4 m. Image velocity significantly increased to >4 degrees /s during self-generated motion. For all conditions of standing and locomotion, angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (AVOR) gain was less than unity and varied significantly by activity, by target distance, and among subjects. There was no significant correlation(P > 0.05) between AVOR gain and image stability during standing and walking despite significant variation among subjects. This lack of correlation is likely due to translation of the orbit. The degree of orbital translation and rotation varied significantly with activity and viewing condition in a manner suggesting an active role in gaze stabilization. Orbital translation was consistently antiphase with rotation at predominant frequencies <4 Hz. When orbital translation was neglected in computing gaze, computed image velocities increased. The compensatory effect of orbital translation allows gaze stabilization despite subunity AVOR gain during natural activities. Orbital translation decreased during close target viewing, whereas orbital rotation decreased while wearing telescopic spectacles. As the earth fixed target was moved closer, image velocity on the retina significantly increased (P < 0.05) for all activities except standing. Latency of the AVOR increased slightly with decreasing target distance but remained <10 ms for even the closest target. This latency was similar in darkness or light, indicating that the visual pursuit tracking is probably not important in gaze stabilization. Trials with a distant target were repeated while subjects wore telescopic spectacles that magnified vision by 1.9 or 4 times. Gain of the AVOR was enhanced by magnified vision during all activities, but always to a value less than spectacle magnification. Gain enhancement was greatest during self-generated sinusoidal motion at 0.8 Hz and was less during standing, walking, and running. Image slip velocity on the retina increased with increasing magnification. During natural activities, slip velocity with telescopes increased most during running and least during standing. Latency of the visually enhanced AVOR significantly increased with magnification (P < 0.05), probably reflecting a contribution of the visual pursuit system. The oculomotor estimate of target distance was inferred by measuring binocular convergence, as well as from monocular parallax during head translation. In darkness, target distance estimates obtained by both techniques were less accurate than in light, consistently overestimating for near and underestimating for far targets.

Adult↗

The relative importance of size of food and interfood distance in eliciting aggression in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

We conducted an experiment on a group of captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in which we manipulated both food size and interfood distance independently to examine which factor was more important in causing aggressive competition. For each of 254 trials, the monkeys were offered simultaneously two apple pieces ranging in size from 1 to 40 g at interfood distances ranging from 1 to 5 m. In contrast to other studies, food size and interfood distance were not conflated in this study. Multiple regression analyses revealed that food size was a better predictor of aggression whereas interfood distance was a better predictor of the ability to monopolize foods. Growing evidence suggests that factors such as food size, quality and depletion time are more important than interfood distance in influencing aggression within groups.

Aggression↗

Distance of the motor cortex from the coronal suture as a function of age.

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to investigate whether the distance from the motor cortex to the coronal suture changes with age. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of the charts of pediatric patients who had undergone frontoparietal implantation of subdural grids for long-term video-EEG monitoring during an evaluation for seizure surgery from 1995 to 2001. Cortical mapping was performed in 17 patients to localize the motor cortex. On postimplantation lateral skull radiographs, the coronal suture was identified at its medial aspect, and the anterior-posterior distance was measured to the electrodes overlying motor cortex. RESULTS: Ages ranged from 10 months to 14.6 years with a mean of 8.6 years. The mean distance from the coronal suture to the motor cortex was 31.5 mm (+/-7 mm). The location of the motor cortex correlated significantly with age (r(s) = 0.84, p < 0.0005) and increased at a rate of 1.5 mm per year. All patients aged < 6 years had distances of < 3 cm from the coronal suture to the motor cortex. CONCLUSIONS: The distance from the coronal suture to the motor cortex increases with patient age. This variability has implications for determining the location of eloquent structures based on this anatomical landmark.

Adolescent↗

Coupling of cardiac electrical activity over extended distances by fibroblasts of cardiac origin.

Roughly half of the cells of the heart consist of nonmyocardial cells, with fibroblasts representing the predominant cell type. It is well established that individual cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts in culture establish gap junctional communication at the single cell level (short-range interaction). However, it is not known whether such coupling permits activation of cardiac tissue over extended distances (long-range interaction). Long-range interactions may be responsible for electrical synchronization of donor and recipient tissue after heart transplantation and may play a role in arrhythmogenesis. This question was investigated using a novel heterocellular culture model with strands of cardiomyocytes interrupted by cardiac fibroblasts over defined distances. With use of optical recording techniques, it could be shown that impulse propagation along fibroblast inserts was successful over distances up to 300 microm and was characterized by length-dependent local propagation delays ranging from 11 to 68 ms (apparent local "conduction velocities" 4.6+/-1.8 mm/s, n=23). Involvement of mechanical stretch in this phenomenon was excluded by showing that inserts consisting of communication-deficient HeLa cells were incapable of supporting propagation. In contrast, HeLa cells expressing connexin43 permitted impulse conduction over distances as long as 600 microm. Immunocytochemistry showed that fibroblasts and cardiomyocytes expressed connexin43 and connexin45, whereas connexin40 was absent. These results illustrate that fibroblasts of cardiac origin are capable of synchronizing electrical activity of multicellular cardiac tissue over extended distances through electrotonic interactions. This synchronization is accompanied by extremely large local conduction delays, which might contribute to the generation of arrhythmias in fibrotic hearts.

Animals↗