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P450scc mutant nanostructuring for optimal assembly.

Molecular modeling and protein engineering were synergically employed to improve the fabrication of cytochrome P450scc mutant nanostructures for biodevice assembly. The optimization of protein three-dimensional structure by molecular modeling was performed using two models: in vacuum and simulating the presence of a polar solvent. Calculations were performed on a model to predict a P450scc mutant which could improve the process of molecules' immobilization onto solid supports. Engineerized cytochrome P450scc thin films were prepared and characterized by various biophysical techniques such as pi-A isotherms, surface potential measurements, Brewster angle microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, circular dichroism, nanogravimetry, and electrochemical analysis. This paper takes into consideration biomolecules modified by protein engineering that represent a new and powerful approach for obtaining synthetic simpler artificial structures with new or improved properties (i.e., specificity, stability, sensitivity, etc.) useful for biosensors development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The Canadian Model of Occupational Performance applied to females with osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a prevalent disease among older women. It results not only in physical limitations, but may raise spiritual and affective issues that can interfere with a person's ability to perform routine occupations. In addition, the social, cultural, physical, and institutional elements of the environment play a vital role in influencing the choices individuals make and how they manage symptomatic osteoporosis. The purpose of this paper is to examine the occupational impact of osteoporosis on post-menopausal women by applying the Canadian Model of Occupational performance (Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, 1997) as an organizational framework to existing knowledge of this disease.

Adult↗

Predicting cirrhosis in patients with hepatitis C based on standard laboratory tests: results of the HALT-C cohort.

Knowledge of the presence of cirrhosis is important for the management of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Most models for predicting cirrhosis were derived from small numbers of patients and included subjective variables or laboratory tests that are not readily available. The aim of this study was to develop a predictive model of cirrhosis in patients with CHC based on standard laboratory tests. Data from 1,141 CHC patients including 429 with cirrhosis were analyzed. All biopsies were read by a panel of pathologists (blinded to clinical features), and fibrosis stage was determined by consensus. The cohort was divided into a training set (n = 783) and a validation set (n = 358). Variables that were significantly different between patients with and without cirrhosis in univariate analysis were entered into logistic regression models, and the performance of each model was compared. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of the final model comprising platelet count, AST/ALT ratio, and INR in the training and validation sets was 0.78 and 0.81, respectively. A cutoff of less than 0.2 to exclude cirrhosis would misclassify only 7.8% of patients with cirrhosis, while a cutoff of greater than 0.5 to confirm cirrhosis would misclassify 14.8% of patients without cirrhosis. The model performed equally well in fragmented and nonfragmented biopsies and in biopsies of varying lengths. Use of this model might obviate the requirement for a liver biopsy in 50% of patients with CHC. In conclusion, a model based on standard laboratory test results can be used to predict histological cirrhosis with a high degree of accuracy in 50% of patients with CHC.

Adult↗

Critical research issues in development of biomathematical models of fatigue and performance.

This article reviews the scientific research needed to ensure the continued development, validation, and operational transition of biomathematical models of fatigue and performance. These models originated from the need to ascertain the formal underlying relationships among sleep and circadian dynamics in the control of alertness and neurobehavioral performance capability. Priority should be given to research that further establishes their basic validity, including the accuracy of the core mathematical formulae and parameters that instantiate the interactions of sleep/wake and circadian processes. Since individuals can differ markedly and reliably in their responses to sleep loss and to countermeasures for it, models must incorporate estimates of these inter-individual differences, and research should identify predictors of them. To ensure models accurately predict recovery of function with sleep of varying durations, dose-response curves for recovery of performance as a function of prior sleep homeostatic load and the number of days of recovery are needed. It is also necessary to establish whether the accuracy of models is affected by using work/rest schedules as surrogates for sleep/wake inputs to models. Given the importance of light as both a circadian entraining agent and an alerting agent, research should determine the extent to which light input could incrementally improve model predictions of performance, especially in persons exposed to night work, jet lag, and prolonged work. Models seek to estimate behavioral capability and/or the relative risk of adverse events in a fatigued state. Research is needed on how best to scale and interpret metrics of behavioral capability, and incorporate factors that amplify or diminish the relationship between model predictions of performance and risk outcomes.

Circadian Rhythm↗

The value of asymmetric signal processing in klinokinesis.

Klinokinesis is a behavioral mechanism in which an organism moves toward or away from a stimulus source by altering its frequency of change of direction without biasing its turns with respect to the stimulus field. Previous studies of a variety of organisms have demonstrated that rates of adaptation (or other information processing features) for increases and decreases in stimulus intensity are often very different from one another. In order to determine if such asymmetric signal processing could improve the efficiency of klinokinesis, computer modeling studies were performed. The model involved a simple generic version of klinokinesis in 2 dimensions with the rate of adaptation for increasing intensity varied independently of the rate for decreasing intensity. The effects of three types of noise that limit the performance of the model were tested - intensity noise, motor noise, and developmental noise. The results demonstrated that, with all three types of noise, the two adaptation rates had quite different effects on efficiency. The overall pattern of effects was different for each type of noise. In the cases of intensity noise and motor noise, the optimum combination of adaptation rates had a 3- to 5-fold higher rate for decreases in attractant than for increases, which is similar to what has previously been found with bacteria and nematodes.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Modeling road-cycling performance.

This paper presents a complete set of equations for a "first principles" mathematical model of road-cycling performance, including corrections for the effect of winds, tire pressure and wheel radius, altitude, relative humidity, rotational kinetic energy, drafting, and changed drag. The relevant physiological, biophysical, and environmental variables were measured in 41 experienced cyclists completing a 26-km road time trial. The correlation between actual and predicted times was 0.89 (P < or = 0.0001), with a mean difference of 0.74 min (1.73% of mean performance time) and a mean absolute difference of 1.65 min (3.87%). Multiple simulations were performed where model inputs were randomly varied using a normal distribution about the measured values with a SD equivalent to the estimated day-to-day variability or technical error of measurement in each of the inputs. This analysis yielded 95% confidence limits for the predicted times. The model suggests that the main physiological factors contributing to road-cycling performance are maximal O2 consumption, fractional utilization of maximal O2 consumption, mechanical efficiency, and projected frontal area. The model is then applied to some practical problems in road cycling: the effect of drafting, the advantage of using smaller front wheels, the effects of added mass, the importance of rotational kinetic energy, the effect of changes in drag due to changes in bicycle configuration, the normalization of performances under different conditions, and the limits of human performance.

Adolescent↗

Motor imagination--a model for motor performances?

The effect of training competition (TC) on central nervous activation was investigated in order to examine whether motor imagination could serve as a model for complex motor skills concerning information processing and motor control. EEG was recorded before and immediately after the TC. The mean alpha frequency (MAF) was computed from the EEG power density spectra. A significant increase of MAF was found after the TC. Similar changes were found during motor imagination. Thus, motor imagination seems to be a good model to examine activation processes.

Electroencephalography↗

Performance of a predictive model for streptococcal pharyngitis in children.

CONTEXT: Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) pharyngitis is a common childhood illness. The clinical diagnosis is difficult to determine and laboratory tests have limitations; hence, the condition is generally overdiagnosed and overtreated. Several clinical pediatric-specific predictive models have been published but none have been prospectively studied. OBJECTIVE: To test the performance of a previously published predictive model for GABHS pharyngitis in children in different clinical settings and during different seasons. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTINGS: Pediatric emergency department and 2 pediatric outpatient clinics. PATIENTS: Children aged between 1 and 18 years with pharyngitis on initial examination at study sites between April 1, 1999, and March 31, 2000. INTERVENTIONS: Recording of clinical features during initial evaluation using a standardized form and recovery of GABHS from patients' throats using reference standard methods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Posttest probability for GABHS positive throat culture associated with the model's positive predictors (moderate to severe tonsillar swelling, cervical lymphadenopathy [moderate to severe tenderness and enlargement of cervical lymph nodes], scarletiniform rash, and the absence of coryza) and the models' negative predictors (absence of the above signs and the presence of coryza). RESULTS: Of 587 patients analyzed, 218 (37%) had a positive throat culture for GABHS. Forty-nine percent were boys. Mean +/- SD age was 6.7 +/- 3.9 years. There was no difference between the subsets within the sample. The posttest probability values for a positive throat culture associated with positive and negative predictors of the model were 79% and 12%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A pediatric predictive model for GABHS pharyngitis performed better than physicians' subjective estimates for a positive throat culture and was comparable with a rapid antigen detection test. The model performed consistently well in different populations and across seasons. It can be useful if reliable microbiological testing and/or follow-up are not attainable.

Adolescent↗

Human stature: which growth model?

The performance of the 6-parameter model No. 3 of Preece and Baines (1978) for growth in human stature is compared with that of the 5-parameter model No. 1 and of the recent 7-parameter JPPS model (Jolicoeur et al., 1988) on data ranging from birth to adulthood about 27 healthy children from the French auxological survey. Model No. 3 has slightly larger residual mean squares on the average, in spite of its additional parameter, and is less robust than model No. 1. The JPPS model passes through the origin, fits infants as satisfactorily as older children and has much smaller residual mean squares than the models of Preece and Baines. The recently revised 6-parameter model of Kanefuji and Shohoji (1990) is not invariant with respect to time scale. JPPS appears to be the most satisfactory asymptotic model for growth in human stature at the present time.

Adolescent↗

The influence of correlated calibration samples on the prediction performance of multivariate models based on mid-infrared spectra of animal cell cultures.

The effect of the presence of metabolism-induced concentration correlations in the calibration samples on the prediction performance of partial least-squares regression (PLSR) models and mid-infrared spectra from Chinese hamster ovary cell cultures was investigated. Samples collected from batch cultures contained highly correlated metabolite concentrations as a result of metabolic relations. Calibrations based on such samples could only be used to predict concentrations in new samples if a similar correlation structure was present and failed when the new samples were randomly spiked with the analytes. On the other hand, such models were able to predict glucose correctly even if they were based on a spectral range in which glucose does not absorb, provided that the correlations in the calibration and in the new samples were similar. If however, samples from a calibration culture were randomly spiked with the main analytes, much more robust PLSR models resulted. It was possible to predict analyte concentrations in new samples irrespective of whether the correlation structure was maintained or not. Validity of all established models for any given use could be predicted a priori by computing the space inclusion and observer conditions. Predictions from these computations agreed in all cases with the experimental test of model validity.

Animals↗

Evaluation of a year-long dispersion modelling of PM10 using the mesoscale model TAPM for Christchurch, New Zealand.

This paper examines the utility of The Air Pollution Model (TAPM; version 2) in simulating meteorology and dispersion of PM(10) for 1999 over the coastal city of Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch usually experiences severe degradation in air quality during austral winter. The formation of a nocturnal inversion layer and the emissions of particulate matter (PM(10)) mainly from solid fuel home heating appliances lead to severe smog episodes on an average of 30 nights during winter. The complex local topography surrounding the city in combination with influences from the urban areas can produce complicated boundary layer winds during quiescent weather. Simulated PM(10) data are used for construction of annual exposure maps for the urban areas in order to assess the health impact of air pollutants due to chronic exposure (presented in an accompanying paper). Meteorology and PM(10) dispersion results are statistically compared with the only permanent air pollution monitoring station available in order to evaluate the model's performance. Statistical measures such as the Index of Agreement (IOA) between modelled and measured data indicate that the model performs well. IOA is greater than 0.6 for meteorological variables, and various calculated skill scores place confidence in the model's performance. However, TAPM has a tendency to overestimate surface wind speed over urban areas during stagnant nocturnal conditions, resulting in quick flushing of pollutants.

Air Pollutants↗

Generalized model and optimum performance of an irreversible quantum Brayton engine with spin systems.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a model of an irreversible quantum Brayton engine using many noninteracting spin systems as the working substance and consisting of two irreversible adiabatic and two isomagnetic field processes. The time evolution of the total magnetic moment M is determined by solving the generalized quantum master equation of an open system in the Heisenberg picture. The time of two irreversible adiabatic processes is considered based on finite-rate evolution. The relationship between the power output P and the efficiency eta for the irreversible quantum Brayton engine with spin systems is derived. The optimally operating region (or criteria) for the engine is determined. The influences of these important parameters on the performances (P and eta) of the engine are discussed. The results obtained herein will be useful for the further understanding and the selection of the optimal operating conditions for an irreversible quantum Brayton engine with spin systems.

Journal Article↗

Predicting the distribution of urinary schistosomiasis in Tanzania using satellite sensor data.

In this paper, remotely sensed (RS) satellite sensor environmental data, using logistic regression, are used to develop prediction maps of the probability of having infection prevalence exceeding 50%, and warranting mass treatment according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The model was developed using data from one area of coastal Tanzania and validated with independent data from different areas of the country. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the model's predictive performance. The model allows reasonable discrimination between high and low prevalence schools, at least within those geographical areas in which they were originally developed, and performs reasonably well in other coastal areas, but performs poorly by comparison in the Great Lakes area of Tanzania. These results may be explained by reference to an ecological zone map based on RS-derived environmental data. This map suggests that areas where the model reliably predicts a high prevalence of schistosomiasis fall within the same ecological zone, which has common intermediate-host snail species responsible for transmission. By contrast, the model's performance is poor near Lake Victoria, which is in a different ecological zone with different snail species. The ecological map can potentially define a template for those areas where existing models can be applied, and highlight areas where further data and models are required. The developed model was then used to provide estimates of the number of schoolchildren at risk of high prevalence and associated programme costs.

Adolescent↗

Load dependence of ventricular performance explained by model of calcium-myofilament interactions.

Although a simple concept of load-independent behavior of the intact heart evolved from early studies of isolated, intact blood-perfused hearts, more recent studies showed that, as in isolated muscle, the mode of contraction (isovolumic vs. ejection) impacts on end-systolic elastance. The purpose of the present study was to test whether a four-state model of myofilament interactions with length-dependent rate constants could explain the complex contractile behavior of the intact, ejecting heart. Studies were performed in isolated, blood-perfused canine hearts with intracellular calcium transients measured by macroinjected aequorin. Measured calcium transients were used as the driving function for the model, and length-dependent rate constants yielding the highest concordance between measured and model-predicted midwall stress at different isovolumic volumes were determined. These length-dependent rate constants successfully predicted contractile behavior on ejecting contractions. This, along with additional model analysis, suggests that length-dependent changes in calcium binding affinity may not be an important factor contributing to load-dependent contractile performance in the intact heart under physiological conditions.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

Human amnesia and animal models of amnesia: performance of amnesic patients on tests designed for the monkey.

The performance of amnesic patients was assessed on five tasks, which have figured prominently in the development of animal models of human amnesia in the monkey. The amnesic patients were impaired on four of these tasks (delayed nonmatching to sample, object-reward association, 8-pair concurrent discrimination learning, and an object discrimination task), in correspondence with previous findings for monkeys with bilateral medial temporal or diencephalic lesions. Moreover, performance of the amnesic patients correlated with the ability to verbalize the principle underlying the tasks and with the ability to describe and recognize the stimulus materials. These tasks therefore seem to be sensitive to the memory functions that are affected in human amnesia, and they can provide valid measures of memory impairment in studies with monkeys. For the fifth task (24-hour concurrent discrimination learning), the findings for the amnesic patients did not correspond to previous findings for operated monkeys. Whereas monkeys with medial temporal lesions reportedly learn this task at a normal rate, the amnesic patients were markedly impaired. Monkeys may learn this task differently than humans.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗