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Predictive validity of a computer model of body temperature during exercise.

The predictive validity of a computer model of human temperature regulation is tested by comparison with experimental data. Three male subjects were exercised at five different rates (B.M.R., 100 W, 150 W, 200 W, and 250 W) on a cycle ergometer in a controlled-environmental facility. Thermal conditions ranged from 13 degrees to 29 degrees C on the Effective Temperature (E.T.) scale. Two core (rectal and tympanic) and four skin temperature sites (2 torso, 1 leg, and 1 arm) were monitored. Experimental figures for core temperature (TC) and mean body temperature (MBT), evolved from the six monitored sites, were compared with matched simulation data from the computer model. A high negative correlation (r = -0.87) was found for increasing "effective temperature" and mean absolute difference (d) between experimental and simulation data for mean body temperatures. The model has increasing predictive validity as higher heat stress is encountered (E.T. greater than 25 degrees C, d MBT less than 0.3 degrees C), which decreases (E.T. less than 16 degrees C, d MBT greater than 0.8 degrees C) in reduced environmental temperatures.

Body Temperature Regulation

An augmented computer model of motor unit reorganization in neurogenic diseases of skeletal muscle.

A computer model of denervation and complete reinnervation in skeletal muscle was originally developed for the purpose of furthering an understanding of the underlying mechanisms of motor unit reorganization in neurogenic diseases. We now describe its successor, a computer model for investigating different rates of denervation and reinnervation, as well as incomplete reinnervation. The new model introduces the concept of permanent denervation and features enhanced interactive control over the distribution of motor unit centers and additional measures of dispersion and co-dispersion of muscle fibers. The use of this model for investigating pathophysiologically significant issues in denervating diseases is illustrated with five different sets of parameters. These simulate some of the processes that may be operational in chronic spinal muscular atrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and progressive postpolio muscular dystrophy. The enhanced model will allow in-depth analysis of the influence of hypothesized pathophysiological processes on clinical, electrophysiological and pathological outcomes in human disease.

Computer Simulation

The fractional volume available to prolate spheroids in a network of randomly oriented fibers obtained by computer modeling: correlation with the Ogston equation.

Computer modeling was used to measure the fractional volumes available to prolate spheroid objects in a random, inert network of fibers. The data fit the Ogston equation exactly when the object was a sphere (axial ratio = 1). When the axial ratio was increased from 1 to 9, the Ogston equation was still obeyed if the fiber concentration is multiplied by a factor, A, which increases linearly in proportion to the axial ratio. The factor A allows one to adjust the retardation coefficient derived from gel electrophoresis, KR, for spherical objects to that of prolate spheroids with axial ratios from 1 to 9. Potentially, the same adjustment of KR is possible for objects of other shapes.

Algorithms

[Analysis of dynamic changes in glycosylated blood proteins using a computer model].

UNLABELLED: The authors elaborated a computer model of albumin glycosylation based on the irreversible glycosylation reaction with first order kinetics. The dynamics of changes of glycosylated albumin in relation to the glycaemic profile was confirmed with an older model of haemoglobin glycosylation. By means of regression analysis parameters of the model in three groups of patients were calculated. CONCLUSION: 1. Stratification of the red cell pool is the reason why there is a smaller clinical difference between glycosylated protein and haemoglobin than corresponds to their half-times. 2. Glycosylated proteins are probably eliminated more rapidly than non-glycosylated ones. 3. Higher levels of glycosylated proteins sometimes do not correspond to model calculations are probably due to other factors.

Computer Simulation

Predictions of a network thermodynamics computer model relating to the mechanism of methotrexate rescue by 5-formyltetrahydrofolate and to the importance of inhibition of thymidylate synthase by methotrexate-polyglutamates.

Computer modeling has been a valuable tool for clarifying the mechanism of action of antifolates. Some consequences of folyl and antifolyl polyglutamate synthesis can be addressed by adaptation of a network thermodynamic computer model of methotrexate action. Reversal or prevention of methotrexate cytotoxicity by 5-formyltetrahydrofolate has widely been assumed to occur through the delivery of reduced folate in substrate amounts for thymidylate synthesis, by-passing the effects of methotrexate at dihydrofolate reductase. This mechanism is inconsistent with experimental data which shows that "rescue" is a competitive phenomenon and that the transport process is incapable of delivering reduced folate at an adequate rate. Computer modeling studies are presented which predict that expansion of the total folate pool as folylpolyglutamates with "rescue" would reduce the inhibitory effect of MTX on thymidylate synthesis. Dihydrofolate polyglutamates could then accumulate to the high level needed to displace methotrexate from the small fraction of sites on dihydrofolate reductase that are sufficient to sustain tetrahydrofolate synthesis. Experimental studies with Ehrlich ascites tumor cells support this prediction. It is likely that a critical step in the protection of normal host tissues in high dose-rescue treatment regimens is the conversion of exogenously supplied 5-formyltetrahydrofolate to polyglutamyl derivatives and accumulation of total intracellular folate to higher than normal levels. Other computer simulations are presented which examine the potential significance of direct inhibition of thymidylate synthase by polyglutamyl forms of methotrexate. The model predicts that in cells with biochemical properties similar to methotrexate sensitive L1210 cells, inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase would still be the predominant site of action unless the thymidylate synthase Ki for a methotrexate polyglutamate is below about 0.1 microM. However, in methotrexate-resistant cells with elevated dihydrofolate reductase but normal membrane transport and polyglutamylation, thymidylate synthase may be the more important target enzyme.

Computers

Computer modeling of gibberellin-DNA binding.

Computer modeling and molecular mechanics performed on the intercalation complexes of selected gibberellins or biosynthetic precursors with DNA dinucleotides revealed that under appropriate conditions the ligands insert (intercalate) between the base-paired double-stranded dinucleotide, 5'-dTdA-3'. Stabilization of the double-stranded dinucleotide after docking of a gibberellin between base pairs is inferred by the sum negative energy of hydrogen bonding and van der Waals contacts and the entropic changes which accompany the formation of each ligand-dinucleotide complex. In addition, the interactions of the gibberellins and dinucleotides, with the gibberellic acid-dinucleotide complex serving as the prototype, show optimum geometry and stereochemical hydrogen bonding recognition which are dependent upon the complementary chirality and stereochemistry of the individual components. Whether or not the gibberellins directly influence the uncoiling of DNA or gene expression at the transcriptional level via an intercalation mechanism is a matter of conjecture, albeit one that warrants intensive investigation.

Computer Simulation

Analysis of glycosylated serum protein changes using a computer model.

UNLABELLED: The authors devised a computer model of albumin glycosylation based on irreversible glycosylation reaction of first-order kinetics. The dynamism of glycosylated albumin changes in relation to glycaemic profiles was compared with an earlier model of haemoglobin glycosylation. A non-linear regression analysis was employed to calculate the parameters of the model in three groups of patients. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Erythrocyte pool stratification accounts for the smaller clinical difference between glycosylated protein and haemoglobin than would correspond to their respective half-life values. 2. Glycosylated proteins are probably eliminated more rapidly than non-glycosylated proteins. 3. Higher levels of glycosylated proteins are occasionally at variance with model calculations, a fact which is probably due to other factors.

Computer Simulation

Sensitivity and specificity of the computational model for maximal expiratory flow.

The computational model for forced expiratory flow from human lungs of Lambert and associates (J. Appl. Physiol.: Respirat. Environ. Exercise Physiol. 52: 44-56, 1982) was used to investigate the sensitivity of maximal expiratory flow to lung properties. It was found that maximal flow is very sensitive to recoil pressure and airway areas but not very sensitive to lung volume, airway compliance, and airway length. Linear programming was used to show that a given air flow-pressure curves was compatible with a fairly wide range of airway properties. Additional data for maximal flow with a He-O2 mixture narrowed the range somewhat. It was shown that the flow-pressure curve contains more information about central than peripheral airways and that information about the latter is obtainable only from flows at recoils less than 2 cmH2O. Parameter ranges compatible with individual flow-pressure curves showed differences that demonstrated that such curves give some indication of individual central airway properties.

Airway Resistance

A Monte Carlo computer model to investigate patient scheduling.

A Monte Carlo computer model was developed to investigate various types of patient appointment schedules for a single channel queue. Input parameters included the incidence of no-shows, the rate of unscheduled walk-ins, the frequency distribution of physician examination times, and the string of appointment times. The results included the frequency distributions of physician utilization rates and the total waiting time of all patients. Five hospital clinics were simulated. Even increment schedules yielded the best trade-off between physician utilization and patient waiting.

Appointments and Schedules

Computer model of cardiac repolarization processes and of the recovery sequence.

A computer model simulating both excitation and recovery processes within a block of heart muscle tissue has been developed and implemented on different IBM PC AT compatible computers. The model incorporates blocks of tissue consisting of several thousand elements and introduces phenomena which are completely or partly omitted in other existing cardiac electrophysiology models. These phenomena include the electric anisotropy of the tissue, different durations of repolarization in different layers of tissue, and the different shapes of action potential which correspond to cells excited when not fully recovered. Implementation of the model on small personal computers requires the use of a special data structure management and an effective algorithmic background. The program of the model is written in PASCAL and uses dynamically allocated data structures and the asynchronous simulation technique of event planing. These techniques are described in detail. The model has been used in various experiments. Results of simulation studies are presented in the form of modeled three-lead electrocardiographic records. The experimental series which are described include basic patterns of regular activation sequences, modeling of premature beats, simulation of effects due to fast pacing, models of ischemia and infarction, simulation of reentry mechanisms with a special reference to the initiation of ventricular fibrillation, and models of late potentials. The future development of more realistic models of the cardiac recovery process is also discussed.

Action Potentials

A computer model of hemorrhagic shock in domestic swine.

We used a modified version of the computer model of the circulation developed by C.V. Greenway (Pharmacol Rev 33:213-251, 1982) to study the volume-pressure relationship of the systemic venous circulation during and immediately after massive blood loss. Our theoretical predictions were based on experimental measurements performed in conscious, chronically instrumented swine subjected to massive and rapid loss of a predetermined amount of blood. These animals were subjected to an exponential removal of either 50% of their calculated blood volume in 1 hour or a linear removal of 60% in 15 minutes. Our computer model indicates a hysteresis effect between the volume-pressure curves during and immediately following hemorrhage. The results emphasize the importance of venous capacitance changes as a compensatory response to blood loss.

Animals

Shell computer model of cardiac electropotential changes.

A discrete process computer model has been developed to simulate the electropotential changes of heart musculature and the operation of the cardiac conduction system. The model is implemented on an ICL-4/72 computer and is oriented to cardiac rhythm studies, allowing practically all rhythm pathologies, including pacemaker applications, to be simulated. The paper describes in detail the principles on which the model is based, compares the model with other models of the same system and shows concisely some results of simulation experiments in the form of computer generated ECG records.

Atrioventricular Node

Computer modeling of actinomycin D interactions with double-helical DNA.

We have performed molecular mechanical calculations on intercalation complexes of actinomycin D with a series of base-paired hexanucleoside pentaphosphates; d(GCGCGC)2, d(GCCGGC)2, d(GCATGC)2, d(GCTAGC)2 and d(ATGCAT)2. Our results are in good agreement with previous experimental work on sequence selectivity. The results provide a rationalization for the strong preference of actinomycin D to intercalate on the 3' side of guanine residues, consistent with previously proposed models. Finally, the computed structures for d(ATGCAT)2-actinomycin D complexes have been compared with two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance nuclear Overhauser effect experimental results. To our knowledge, this is the first extensive comparison of molecular mechanical model structures for a drug-DNA complex with experimental solution phase data. We find generally good agreement between our computational models and the experimental solution phase structures.

Computers

Validation of a computer model of haemorrhage and transcapillary refill.

A computer model is described which uses blood volume deficit and its duration to simulate the first two hours of haemorrhage, including an estimation of the blood volume added by Starlings transcapillary refill mechanism. Computer prediction of the haematocrit was compared with published data on haemorrhage in animals. There was close correlation with data on the haemodilution caused by Starling's transcapillary refill mechanism in conscious swine (r = 0.84).

Animals

Three-dimensional computer model of the heart: fibrillation induced by extrastimulation.

We present a three-dimensional (3D) computer model that simulates electrical activity in the heart during fibrillation. A real dog heart is discretized to form 1473 interconnected cubic elements. The model exhibits normal activation and recovery from pacing. Five or more extrastimuli induce a self-sustaining tachyarrhythmia that soon degenerates into a fibrillatory rhythm. The extrastimuli increase the excitability of the myocardial cell population. The result is a rapid re-excitation of cells that allows for only a partial recovery of cell action potential. This suggests that a dispersion of refractory states of the cell population is the cause of fibrillation in this computer model.

Animals

An evaluation of eight computer models of mammalian inner hair-cell function.

Eight computer models of auditory inner hair cells have been evaluated. From an extensive literature on mammalian species, a subset of well-reported auditory-nerve properties in response to tone-burst stimuli were selected and tested for in the models. This subset included tests for: (a) rate-level functions for onset and steady-state responses; (b) two-component adaptation; (c) recovery of spontaneous activity; (d) physiological forward masking; (e) additivity; and (f) frequency-limited phase locking. As models of hair-cell functioning are increasingly used as the front end of speech-recognition devices, the computational efficiency of each model was also considered. The evaluation shows that no single model completely replicates the subset of tests. Reasons are given for our favoring the Meddis model [R. Meddis, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 83, 1056-1063 (1988)] both in terms of its good agreement with physiological data and its computational efficiency. It is concluded that this model is well suited to provide the primary input to speech recognition devices and models of central auditory processing.

Animals

Computer models: killing mosquitoes with information.

This paper looks at the relationship between man and mosquitoes from the perspective of coevolution. From this perspective, the primacy of information processing in vector control programs becomes acutely evident. A composite mosquito control program is developed and illustrated to show the benefits derived from incremental increases in information. The use of computer modeling is seen as the next logical step to be taken by vector control personnel to add the next increment of efficiency and effectiveness. This step could well lead to significant reductions or perhaps the elimination of the need for pesticide use. The author encourages the use of computer modeling in teams as the means to learn across disciplines. The feasibility of this approach has been greatly enhanced by the availability of off-the-shelf modeling programs. The author appeals to university and vector control professionals to support students and staff in learning computer modeling techniques.

Animals

A computational model of reasoning from the clinical literature.

This paper explores the premise that a formalized representation of empirical studies can play a central role in computer-based decision support. The specific motivations underlying this research include the following propositions: Reasoning from experimental evidence contained in the clinical literature is central to the decisions physicians make in patient care. A computational model, based upon a declarative representation for published reports of clinical studies, can drive a computer program that selectively tailors knowledge of the clinical literature as it is applied to a particular case. The development of such a computational model is an important first step toward filling a void in computer-based decision support systems. Furthermore, the model may help us better understand the general principles of reasoning from experimental evidence both in medicine and other domains. Roundsman is a developmental computer system which draws upon structured representations of the clinical literature in order to critique plans for the management of primary breast cancer. Roundsman is able to produce patient-specific analyses of breast cancer management options based on the 24 clinical studies currently encoded in its knowledge base. The Roundsman system is a first step in exploring how the computer can help to bring a critical analysis of the relevant literature to the physician, structured around a particular patient and treatment decision.

Artificial Intelligence