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Biomedical subjects

S Dittmar

Publications and source records attributed to S Dittmar.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Higher-order probabilistic perceptrons as Bayesian inference engines.

An explicit structural connection is established between the Bayes optimal classifier operating on K binary input variables and a corresponding two-layer perceptron having normalized output activities and couplings from input to output units of all orders up to K. With suitable modification of connection weights and biases, such a higher-order probabilistic perceptron should in principle be able to learn the statistics of the classification problem and match the a posteriori probabilities given by Bayes optimal inference. Specific training algorithms are developed that allow this goal to be approximated in a controlled variational sense. An application to the task of discriminating between stable and unstable nuclides in nuclear physics yields network models with predictive performance comparable to the best that has been achieved with conventional multilayer perceptrons containing only pairwise connections.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

Influence of mutations in tissue factor on the fine specificity of macromolecular substrate activation.

The C-terminal fibronectin-type-III-like module of the tissue factor (TF) extracellular domain plays a requisite role in the activation of macromolecular substrates by factor VIIa (VIIa) in complex with TF. Unlike the mutations Lys165-->Ala, Lys166-->Ala in TF, which prevent efficient proteolysis of factor X, we found that the coagulant defect of a site-specific Trp158-->Arg, Ser160-->Gly replacement mutant of TF is largely attributable to the inability of TF to efficiently support the activation of the bound zymogen VII to the active protease VIIa. Binding studies demonstrated comparable affinity of binding of VIIa or VII by wild-type TF and TF(R158G160). In comparison with wild-type TF, the catalytic efficiency of factor X activation was reduced 56-fold with TF(A165A166) as the cofactor, but only 3.5-fold with TF(R165G160). The activation of VII bound to TF by factor Xa or VIIa was reduced 2-fold in the presence of TF(R158G160) and 7-8-fold with TF(A165A166). This suggests that the molecular recognition of VII in complex with TF by the enzymes TF-VIIa and factor Xa are similar. Generation of factor IXa by TF(R158G160)-VIIa was unaltered, but reduced 2-fold with TF(A165A166). In addition, the mutations affected the cleavage of the two scissile bonds of factor IX differently, providing further support for the idea that the cofactor, TF, influences the fine specificity of activation of macromolecular substrates by the TF-VIIa complex.

Blood Coagulation↗
PubMed1994

Platelet adhesion to collagen under flow conditions in diabetes mellitus.

Since vascular complications in diabetes mellitus are attributed in part to blood platelets, our study tested the hypothesis that adhesion of platelets to collagen is enhanced in diabetic subjects. Platelet adhesion kinetics to type I collagen in the presence of plasma were evaluated by a new continuous-flow, micro-adhesion assay combined with resistive-particle counting to detect the loss of single platelets between 0.3 and 2.3 sec. Adhesion was also studied in a magnesium-containing Krebs-Ringer buffer to help assess whether the platelets themselves might be abnormal. We did not observe any differences in adhesion kinetics to collagen between the insulin-dependent (type I), the non-insulin dependent (type II) diabetics and the control subjects for platelets suspended in plasma or in washed platelets (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that platelet adhesiveness to type I collagen is not enhanced in diabetic subjects and is unlikely to contribute to the development of vascular complications.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Nurses' attitudes toward patient education--yesterday and today.

This study examines nurses' attitudes toward patient education. The original study completed in 1986 established a data base and concluded that nurses were generally positive about their patient education role, but were not always clear on certain aspects of the role. Since 1986, there have been replication studies. This present investigation reviews the results of these replication studies and discusses a general consensus of findings.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗