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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Analysis of stability of human upright posture based upon the measurement of the head sway.

The paper is dealing with the description of a simple and inexpensive technique for recording and measuring of the head sway during upright stance. In particular the recording system and the evaluation of the body sway data are highlighted. The objectives of the head sway signal analysis are the determination of sway components in the side-to-side (lateral) direction and forward-backward (anteroposterior) direction. It is anticipated that it will be possible to extract from the digitized data some information about the transfer characteristic and stability margin of the neuromuscular control system concerned with the maintenance of equilibrium. Additional information of potential clinical significance could be obtained by correlating the measured sway data with electromyographically determined changes in the activity of the main postural muscles. The information obtained is comparable to that gathered by more sophisticated, and more expensive conventional devices. A special feature is the easy portability of the system which permits collection of stabilometric data even in remote locations, while the analysis on which the diagnostic assessment is based can be performed at a later date in a central facility equipped with the necessary instrumentation.

Head↗

Stability and analysis of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine, 2-chloro-2'-arabino-fluoro-2'-deoxyadenosine and 2-chloroadenine in human blood plasma.

Cladribine (2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine, CdA) is a purine nucleoside analog with activity against lymphoproliferative and autoimmune disorders. 2-Chloro-2'-arabino-fluoro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CAFdA), a derivative of CdA with better acid stability, shows a similar in vitro spectrum of activity as CdA. 2-Chloroadenine (CAde) is the major catabolite of both CdA and CAFdA. We have developed a high performance liquid chromatography method to measure CdA, CAFdA and their metabolite CAde in plasma. This method employees an internal standard, chloroadenosine (CAdo), and a C8 solid-phase extraction to isolate and concentrate the substances. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a C8 reverse-phase column, with UV detection at 265 nm, which gives a limit of detection of 1 nmol/l for all substances. The method was reproducible with intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variations below 6% at 50 nmol/l and at 5 nmol/l below 23%. The average recoveries of CdA, CAde, CAFdA and the internal standard were higher than 70%. Stability studies of authentic patient samples show that samples containing CdA should be kept in a refrigerator or on ice to prevent degradation. Plasma containing CAde should not be kept at -20 degrees C for longer than 10 weeks before analysis. CdA and CAFdA remain almost stable during storage at -20 degrees C for 12 weeks.

Adenine↗

Analysis and stability of phenylglyoxylic and mandelic acids in the urine of styrene-exposed people.

In this work a high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described that is reliable and practical for use in routine biological monitoring of exposure to styrene. The method uses a modern diode array detection technique by which mandelic and phenylglyoxylic acids can be measured simultaneously using different wavelengths. The liquid chromatographic method was compared to a gas chromatographic method developed for the analysis of mandelic, phenylglyoxylic and para-hydroxymandelic acids. The methods gave results consistent with each other. These two methods were then used to check the stability of the main metabolites of styrene, especially of phenylglyoxylic acid, in urine samples stored at +6 degrees C or at -18 degrees C for periods up to 70 days. None of the frozen samples showed any significant decrease in the phenylglyoxylic acid concentration, whereas at 6 degrees C one of the samples showed a reduction of 46% after 1 month.

Chromatography, Gas↗

The folding of an enzyme. I. Theory of protein engineering analysis of stability and pathway of protein folding.

The theory, assumptions and limitations are outlined for a simple protein engineering approach to the problem of the stability and pathway of protein folding. It is a general procedure for analysing structure-activity relationships in non-covalent bonding, including enzyme catalysis, that relates experimentally accessible data to changes in non-covalent bonding. Kinetic and equilibrium measurements on the unfolding and refolding of mutant proteins can be used to map the formation of structure in transition states and folding intermediates. For example, the ratio of the changes in the activation energy of unfolding and the free energy of unfolding on mutation is measured to give a parameter phi. There are two extreme values of phi that are often found in practice and may be interpreted in a simple manner. A value of phi = 0 implies that the structure at the site of mutation is as folded in the transition state as it is in the folded state. Conversely, phi = 1 shows that the structure at the site of mutation is as unfolded in the transition state as it is in the unfolded structure. Fractional values of phi are more difficult to interpret and require a more sophisticated approach. The most suitable mutations involve truncation of side-chains to remove moieties that preferably make few interactions with the rest of the protein and do not pair with buried charges. Fractional values of phi found for this type of mutation may imply that there is partial non-covalent bond formation or a mixture of states. The major assumptions of the method are: (1) mutation does not alter the pathway of folding; (2) mutation does not significantly change the structure of the folded state; (3) mutation does not perturb the structure of the unfolded state; and (4) the target groups do not make new interactions with new partners during the course of reaction energy. Assumptions (2) and (3) are not necessarily essential for the simple cases of phi = 0 or 1, the most common values, since effects of disruption of structure can cancel out. Assumption (4) may be checked by the double-mutant cycle procedure, which may be analysed to isolate the effects of just a pair of interactions against a complicated background. This analysis provides the formal basis of the accompanying studies on the stability and pathway of folding of barnase, where it is seen that the theory holds very well in practice.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Pattern Formation in a Spatial Public Goods Dilemma due to Diffusive or Directed Motion.

The costly provision of public goods serves as a model problem for the evolution of cooperative behavior, presenting a social dilemma between the collective benefits of shared resources and the individual incentive to free-ride in resource production. The spatial structure of populations can also impact cooperation over public goods, as diffusion of public goods and intentional motion of individuals towards regions with greater resources can interact with population and public goods dynamics to produce heterogeneous patterns in the spatial distribution of strategies and resources. In this paper, we build off a model introduced by Young and Belmonte for the reaction dynamics of interacting individuals and an explicit public good, deriving a system of PDEs that describes the spatial profiles of strategies and the public good in the presence of both diffusive motion of individuals and resources and chemotaxis-like directed motion of individuals in response to gradients in the concentration of public goods. Through linear stability analysis, we show that spatial patterns in strategic and public goods profiles can emerge due to either Turing instability with high defector diffusivity or a directed-motion instability through strong sensitivity of cooperators towards increasing resource concentration. We further explore the emergent spatial patterns with a mix of weakly nonlinear stability analysis and numerical simulation, showing that, for a wide range of reaction parameters, diffusion-driven instability appears to increase cooperation and public goods across the spatial domain, while directed motion of cooperators towards public goods tends to decrease cooperation and environmental quality across the environment.

Models, Biological↗

Effects of protein-polyphenol interactions on beverage haze, stabilization, and analysis.

The haze-forming activity of a polypeptide depends greatly on its proline content. Haze-forming polyphenols have at least two binding groups, each of which has at least two hydroxy groups on an aromatic ring. The protein/polyphenol ratio has a strong influence on the amount of haze formed; the largest amount occurs when the numbers of polyphenol binding ends and protein binding sites are nearly equal. This has important consequences for turbidimetric methods used to measure haze-active proteins and polyphenols in beverages. The ratio also influences the effectiveness of a number of stabilization procedures.

Beverages↗

[Alterations in postural control: the use of spectral analysis in stability measurement].

UNLABELLED: Static posturography studies the frequency at which the center of gravity in the human body oscillates. There is no universal agreement as to the importance of this index or whether it is specific in identifying alterations in the postural control systems (vestibular, proprioceptive and visual). Nevertheless, some hypotheses appear generally accepted: a) visual information dominates; b) proprioception affects anterior-posterior oscillation; c) relatively low frequency body oscillation is affected by vestibular input while higher frequency oscillations are controlled by proprioceptive information. In order to check these hypotheses, four groups of patients underwent spectral analysis of bodily oscillations recorded with static posturography. The four groups of patients were similar in terms of age and broken down as follows: Group A-peripheral diabetic neuropathy (10 cases); Group B-diabetic neuropathy-free patients (10 cases); Group C-pure peripheral vestibulopathy (10 cases); Group D-normal subjects (20 cases). Analysis was performed dividing the frequency spectrum (FFT) into three groups: gr. I) 0.01-0.7 Hz; gr. II) 0.7-1 Hz; gr. III) > 1 Hz. Analysis of the spectra for Group A showed a significant increase in high frequency bodily oscillation (gr. III) with the eyes open in the anterior-posterior direction (M = 8.6 +/- 5.5; p < 0.05) and in the lateral direction (M = 4.0 +/- 2.0; p < 0.05); an increase was also found in both directions with the eyes closed (M = OCX II: 7.4 +/- 1.5; p < 0.05) (M = OCX III: 5.6 +/- 1.6; p < 0.01) (M = OCY II: 16.8 +/- 5.0; p < 0.05) (M = OCY II: 9.2 +/- 4.4; p < 0.05). In Group B the increase was limited to high frequency anterior-posterior oscillations (gr. III) at open eyes (M = 3.6 +/- 1.6; p < 0.05) and at closed eyes (M = 4.4 +/- 1.5; p < 0.05). In Group C there was an increase in high frequency lateral oscillations (gr. III) at open eyes (M = 4.2 +/- 0.5; p < 0.01) and panfrequency oscillations at closed eyes (M = OCX I: 47.7 +/- 5.6; p < 0.01) (M = OCX II: 23.2 +/- 4.9; p < 0.01) (M = OCX III: 7.2 +/- 2.3; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The diabetic proprioceptive deficit appears to lead to multiplanar destabilization at the medium-to-high frequency range. The labyrinthine deficit, on the other hand, appears to cause lateral destabilization at all frequencies. The method of analysis used appears to provide useful parameters with which to evaluate static posture since they can specifically identify alterations in orthostatic bodily control of various origins.

Adult↗

[The correlation between left ventricular segmental kinesis and a Selvester QRS analysis in stabilized myocardial infarct].

We have studied the relationship between left ventricular segmental wall motion evaluated by means of biplane left ventricular cineangiography and the myocardial infarct size estimated using Selvester's scoring system based on the QRS of the electrocardiogram. Seventy consecutive patients with old myocardial infarction were recruited. All patients underwent diagnostic retrograde left heart catheterization including left ventriculography and selective coronary arteriography. Nineteen patients were excluded from the study due to intraventricular conduction disturbances and left ventricular hypertrophy. Of the remaining 51 patients, aged 33-76 years (mean 56 years), 31 had inferior or postero-inferior myocardial infarction (Group 1); 7 patients had combined anterior and inferior myocardial infarction (Group 2); 13 patients had anterior or antero-septal myocardial infarction (Group 3). The analysis of left ventricular segmental wall motion was performed according to the Collaborative Studies in Coronary Artery Surgery assigning at hypokinesia, akinesia and dyskinesia 1, 2 and 3 points, respectively. The values of statistical correlations between QRS scoring system and ventricular scoring were: r = 0.85 (Group 1); r = 0.78 (Group 2); r = 0.70 (Group 3). Our data indicate that Selvester's scoring system may provide useful information on functional status and on the extent of left ventricular wall motion abnormalities in patients with previous myocardial infarction.

Adult↗

Prediction bounds for random shelf-lives.

Every drug product requires indication of a shelf-life on the immediate container label. The labelled shelf-life is usually determined by a stability analysis with several batches of the drug product. Because of the existence of batch-to-batch variation, the true shelf-lives of different batches differ and can be treated as random variables. To obtain a single labelled shelf-life applicable to all future batches of the drug product, we propose to use a prediction bound of the random shelf-life of a future batch. Under some assumptions, the proposed labelled shelf-life (prediction bound) is lower than the true random shelf-life with a probability approximately equal to a pre-assigned level. For illustration, we provide an example concerning a new drug application stability analysis conducted in a pharmaceutical company. We also discuss an application of our technique to the problem of clean-up of contaminated soils.

Decontamination↗

Stability-indicating analysis of injectable estrogen-androgen combinations in formulations containing corn oil.

A method was developed for the analysis of testosterone 17-enanthate 3-benzilic acid hydrazone, 17-beta-estradiol 3,17-dienanthate, and estradiol benzoate combinations dissolved in an oily vehicle. Testosterone 17-enanthate 3-benzilic acid hydrazone was separated from the other drugs and vehicle components by chromatography on an acetonitrile-infusorial earth column followed by quantitation using UV spectroscopy. The estradiol esters were separated from the oil by an additional chromatographic step using a heptane-silanized infusorial earth column prior to quantitation by GLC. Subjecting formulations to elevated temperatures resulted in detectable losses for testosterone 17-enanthate 3-benzilic acid hydrazone and 17-beta-estradiol 3,17-dienanthate. For both drugs, degradation was due to hydroxysis; the degradation products, testosterone 17-enanthate and 17-beta-estradiol 17-enanthate, did not interfere with the intact drug determination. Methods also were developed to estimate degradation product levels in the formulation.

Chromatography, Gas↗

Conformational analysis and stability of collagen peptides by CD and by 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopies.

Four small type I collagen CNBr peptides containing complete natural sequences were purified from bovine skin and investigated by CD and 1H- and 13C-nmr spectroscopies to obtain information concerning their conformation and thermal stability. CD showed that a triple helix was formed at 10 degrees C in acidic aqueous solution by peptide alpha l(I) CB2 only, and to lesser extent, by alpha 1(I) CB4, whereas peptides alpha 1(I) CB5 and alpha 2(I) CB2 remained unstructured. Analytical gel filtration confirmed that peptides alpha 1(I) CB2 and alpha 1(I) CB4 only were able to form trimeric species at temperature between 14 and 20 degrees C, and indicated that the monomer = trimer equilibrium was influenced by the chaotropic nature of the salt present in the eluent, by its concentration, and by temperature variations. CD measurements at increasing temperatures showed that alpha 1(I) CB2 was less stable than its synthetic counterpart due to incomplete prolyl hydroxylation of the preparation from the natural source. 1H- and 13C-nmr spectra acquired in the temperature range 0-47 and 0-27 degrees C, respectively, indicated that with decreasing temperature the most abundant from of alpha 1(I) CB2 was in slow exchange with an assembled form, characterized by broad lines, as expected for the triple-helical conformation. A large number of trimer cross peaks was observed both in the proton and carbon spectra, and these were most likely due to the nonequivalence of the environments of the three chains in the triple helix. This nonequivalence may have implications for the aggregation of collagen molecules and for collagen binding to other molecules. The thermal transition from trimer to monomer was also monitored by 1H-nmr following the change in area of the signal belonging to one of the two beta protons of the C-terminal homoserine. The unfolding process was found to be fully reversible with a melting temperature of 13.4 degrees C, in agreement with CD results. The qualitative superposition of the melting curves obtained by CD for the peptide bond characteristics and by nmr for a side chain suggests that triple-helical backbone and side chains constitute a single unit.

Amino Acid Sequence↗