Showing papers by "Case Western Reserve University published in 1975"

The slow component of axonal transport. Identification of major structural polypeptides of the axon and their generality among mammalian neurons.

Abstract: This study of the slow component of axonal transport was aimed at two problems: the specific identification of polypeptides transported into the axon from the cell body, and the identification of structural polypeptides of the axoplasm. The axonal transport paradigm was used to obtain radioactively labeled axonal polypeptides in the rat ventral motor neuron and the cat spinal ganglion sensory neuron. Comparison of the slow component polypeptides from these two sources using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide electrophoresis revealed that they are identical. In both cases five polypeptides account for more than 75% of the total radioactivity present in the slow component. Two of these polypeptides have been tentatively identified as tubulin, the microtubule protein, on the basis of their molecular weights. The three remaining polypeptides with molecular weights of 212,000, 160,000, and 68,000 daltons are constitutive, and as such appear to be associated with a single structure which has been tentatively identified as the 10-nm neurofilament. The 212,000-dalton polypeptide was found to comigrate in SDS gels with the heavy chain of chick muscle myosin. The demonstration on SDS gels that the slow component is composed of a small number of polypeptides which have identical molecular weights in neurons from different mammalian species suggests that these polypeptides comprise fundamental structures of vertebrate neurons.

The formation of estrogens by central neuroendocrine tissues

Abstract: Much of what I will discuss here today relates to brain differentiation in rodents. This subject was the interest of two outstanding British scientists, Geoffrey Harris and Peter MacDonald. Harris spent his scientific life and considerable intellectual powers observing and enlarging upon this very interesting phenomenon, which was originally described so brilliantly by Carroll Pfeiffer in 1936. Peter MacDonald was an outstanding young man who had already shown the key role of estrogens in central steroid actions by experiments such as the use of antiestrogens to block the action of androgens on brain differentiation, as described below. Geoffrey Harris’ life ended at the pinnacle and fruition of a career that included the elucidation of the neurovascular and chemical links between the brain and pituitary and the isolation of the LH releasing factor. Peter MacDonald's life and continued work were prematurely lost in the recent Paris air disaster; we can only guess what he might have contributed in years to come. However, both of these men left important scientific and intellectual legacies, part of which you have already heard about. If a man's work is what others judge him by, these two will stand up well to any test, any time. We owe them our gratitude and continued remembrance.

Tertiary marine paleotemperatures

Abstract: Oxygen isotopic compositions of the tests of planktonic foraminifera from several Deep Sea Drilling Project sites provide a general picture of low-latitude marine temperatures from Maastrichtian time to the present. Bottom temperatures determined from the isotopic compositions of benthonic foraminifera are interpreted as being indicative of high-latitude surface temperatures. Prior to the beginning of middle Miocene time, high- and low-latitude temperatures changed in parallel fashion. Following an apparently small and short-lived drop in temperature near the Tertiary-Cretaceous boundary, temperatures remained warm and relatively constant through Paleocene and early and middle Eocene time; bottom temperatures then were on the order of 12°C. A sharp temperature drop in late Eocene time was followed by a more gradual lowering of temperature, culminating in a late Oligocene high-latitude temperature minimum of about 4°C. A temperature rise through early Miocene time was followed in middle Miocene time by a sudden divergence of high- and low-latitude temperatures: high-latitude temperatures dropped dramatically, perhaps corresponding to the onset of major glaciation in Antarctica, but low-latitude temperatures remained constant or perhaps increased. This uncoupling of high-and low-latitude temperatures is postulated to be related to the establishment of a circum-Antarctic circulation similar to that of today. A further drop in high-latitude temperatures in late Pliocene time probably signaled the onset of a major increase in polar glaciation, including extensive sea-ice formation. Early Miocene, small-amplitude (1 per mil) sympathetic fluctuations in isotopic compositions of planktonic and benthonic foraminifera have been identified. These have a period of several hundred thousand years. Superimposed upon these are much more rapid and smaller fluctuations (0.2 to 0.5 per mil) with a period of about 80,000 to 90,000 yr. This is similar to the period observed for Pleistocene isotopic temperature fluctuations. In low latitudes, much smaller vertical temperature gradients seem to have existed during Maastrichtian and Paleogene time than exist at present. The absence of a sharply defined thermocline during early Tertiary time is also suggested.

Reduction of anxiety in children facing hospitalization and surgery by use of filmed modeling.

Abstract: Sixty children about to undergo elective surgery for hernias, tonsillectomies, or urinary-genit al tract difficulties were shown on hospital admission either a relevant peer modeling film of a child being hospitalized and receiving surgery or an unrelated control film. Both groups received extensive preparation by the hospital staff. State measures of anxiety, including self-report, behavioral observation, and Palmar Sweat Index, revealed a significant reduction of preoperative (night before) and postoperative (3-4 week postsurgery examination) fear arousal in the experimental as compared to the control film group. The parents reported a significant posthospital increment in the frequency of behavior problems in the children who had not seen the modeling film. Trait measures of anxiety did not reflect the group differences due to the hospital experience. The literature on hospitalized children suggests that there is a consensus that all children need some kind of psychological preparation for the hospital experience, particularly when accompanied by surgery. The need for such preparation is predicted on the belief that hospitalization and surgery are stressful and anxiety-producing experiences that can lead to transient or long-term psychological disturbances in most children. A number of behavior problems have been observed in children who have been hospitalized for surgery (Chapman, Loeb, & Gibbons, 19S6; Gellert, 19S8) with estimates for the incidence of these problems ranging from 10% to 35% (Jessner, Blom, & Waldfogel, 1952; Prugh, Staub, Sands, Kirschbaum, & Lenihan, 1953; Schaffer & Callender, 1959). Cassell (1965) reported slight psychological upset in as many as 92% of the hospitalized children studied.

Raman scattering of collagen, gelatin, and elastin.

Abstract: The Raman spectra of collagen, gelatin, and elastin are presented. The Raman lines in the latter two spectra are assigned by deuterating the amide N-H groups in gelatin and by studying the superposition spectra of the constituent amino acids. Two lines appear at 1271 and 1248 cm−1 in the spectra of collagen and gelatin that can be assigned to the amide III mode. Possibly, the appearance of two amide III lines is related to the biphasic nature of the tropocollagen molecule, i.e., proline-rich (nonpolar) and proline-poor (polar) regions distributed along the chain. The melting, or collagen-to-gelatin transition, in water-soluble calf skin collagen is studied and the 1248-cm−1 amide III line is assigned to the 31 helical regions of the tropocollagen molecule. Elastin is thought to be mostly random and the Raman spectrum confirms this assertion. Strong amide I and III lines appear at 1668 and 1254 cm−1, respectively, and only weak scattering is observed at 938 cm−1. These features have been shown to be characteristic of the disordered conformation in proteins.

The Adaptation of Parents to the Birth of an Infant With a Congenital Malformation: A Hypothetical Model

Abstract: To determine the course of parental reactions to the birth of a child with a congenital malformation and the process of parental attachment, the parents of 20 children with a wide range of malformations including mongolism, congenital heart disease, and cleft palate were interviewed. Structured interviews took place 7 days to 60 months after birth. Despite the wide variation of malformations, analysis of the interviews demonstrated five stages of parental reactions--shock, denial, sadness and anger, adaptation, and reorganization--in dealing with a congenitally malformed child during the course of his development and care. Observations of these patients suggest that early crisis counseling in the first months of life may be particularly crucial in parental attachment and adjustment.

Eosinophils as mediators of antibody-dependent damage to schistosomula.

Abstract: WE have reported previously1 that damage to schistosomula can be assayed by measuring release of 51Cr from labelled larvae. Using this technique, we have shown that schistosomula can be damaged by a combination of normal human peripheral blood leukocytes and of heat-inactivated sera from patients infected with Schistosoma mansoni1. We now present evidence that the eosinophil is substantially the most active mediator of damage in normal peripheral blood, but that cells from eosinophilic patients are relatively inactive.

Refinement of the structure of beta-chitin.

Abstract: The structure of β-chitin has been refined by rigid-body least-squares methods, based on the intensity data for highly crystalline specimens from the pogonophore Oligobrachia ivanovi. The structure consists of an array of poly-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine chains all having the same sense, which are linked together in sheets by NH … OC hydrogen bonding of the amide groups. In addition to the O-3′H … O-5 intramolecular hydrogen bond, analogous to that in cellulose, the CH2OH side chain forms an intrasheet hydrogen bond to the carbonyl oxygen on the next chain. This structure shows considerably better agreement between observed and calculated intensities than that possessing an intersheet hydrogen bond, as had been proposed previously. The structure is consistent with the swelling properties of β-chitin and can also be seen to be analogous to that of native cellulose.

Apparent Accelerated Aging of Human Collagen in Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract: The chronologic ages of human subjects were determined experimentally by enzymatic digestion of tendon collagen samples. Determined age closely matched actual age for individuals dying with a variety of major diseases. Juvenile diabetics did not fit this pattern; their experimentally determined ages were significantly greater than their actual ages. This raises the possibility of relationships between diabetes mellitus, changes in connective tissue, and accelerated aging.

Approach to performance and sensitivity multiobjective optimization: The goal attainment method

Abstract: This short paper is concerned with computational methods for solving optimization problems with a vector-valued index function (vector optimization). It uses vector optimization as a tool for analyzing static control problems with performance and parameter sensitivity indices. The first part of this short paper presents a new computational method, the goal attainment method, which overcomes some of the limitations and disadvantages of methods currently available. The second part presents an integrated, multiobjective treatment of performance and sensitivity optimization based on a vector index approach. A numerical example in electric power system control is included, with analysis and results demonstrating the use of the goal attainment method and application of the approach to performance and sensitivity optimization.

Continuity of care in a university-based practice.

Abstract: Effects of changes in a pediatric practice--expansion of the number of pediatricians and incorporation into a university hospital setting--on continuity of care and utilization were examined by means of a longitudinal study of a sample of 63 families. Continuity of care was measured by the following index: the number of visits with own physician divided by the total number of pediatric visits per year. Although continuity of well-child visits remained unchanged at the university setting, the continuity of sick visits declined markedly. An increased use of doctor visits for illness care was observed; its relationship with the decline in continuity is analyzed and discussed. While continuity is inherent in a small partnership practice, it is not so in a larger medical organization, particularly when involvement in patient care is part time. In such an organization, deliberate arrangements that enable patients with acute needs to receive care from their own doctors are needed.

Fitzgerald Trait: Deficiency of a Hitherto Unrecognized Agent, Fitzgerald Factor, Participating in Surface-Mediated Reactions of Clotting, Fibrinolysis, Generation of Kinins, and the Property of Diluted Plasma Enhancing Vascular Permeability (PF/Dil)

Abstract: The prolonged partial thromboplastin time observed in the plasma of a 71-yr-old asymptomatic man was related to the deficiency of a hitherto unrecognized agent. The patient's plasma also exhibited impaired surface-mediated fibrinolysis and esterolytic activity and impaired generation of kinins and of the property enhancing vascular permeability designated PF/Dil. The patient's plasma contained normal amounts of all known clotting factors except Fletcher factor (a plasma prekallikrein) which was present at a concentration of 10-15% of pooled normal plasma. Fletcher trait plasma, however, contained normal amounts of the agent missing from the patient's plasma and corrected the defects in clotting, fibrinolysis, and vascular permeability. Fletcher trait plasma was less effective in correcting generation of kinins and esterolytic activity, presumably because of the patient's partial deficiency of prekallikrein. The site of action of the factor deficient in the patient's plasma appeared to be subsequent to the activation of Hageman factor and plasma prekallikrein. A fraction of normal plasma, devoid of other clotting factors, corrected the defect in clotting in the patient's plasma; a similar fraction of the patient's plasma did not correct this abnormality. No evidence yet exists pointing to the familial nature of the patient's defect. Tentatively, the patient's disorder may be referred to by his surname as Fitzgerald trait, and the agent apparently deficient in his plasma as Fitzgerald factor.

Infrared and Raman spectroscopy of carbohydrates. Part VI: Normal coordinate analysis of V-amylose

Abstract: A normal coordinate analysis of V-amylose has been performed for an isolated 61 helical chain. Negligible splitting from interactions of vibrations of successive residues is expected between A and E vibrational species due to the large size of the monomer unit. As a result, calculation of only the totally symmetric A modes represents an adequate approximation to the vibrational spectrum of helical polysaccharides. Using this method together with a valence force field we have obtained good agreement between the observed and calculated frequencies. In addition, the computed potential energy distribution and Cartesian displacement coordinates match previous experimental assignments, based on deuterium exchange. The analysis also supports the proposed mechanism for conversion of V-amylose to the more extended B-form. This conversion results in an observed frequency shift for the Raman line at 946 cm−1 which is predicted by the calculations.

Reduction of fear-related dental management problems with use of filmed modeling

Abstract: In this study of the modification of anxiety-related disruptive behavior in dental treatment, matched groups of inner-city children attending a pedodontic clinic were shown a videotaped demonstration of a 4-year-old black child undergoing a dental restorative procedure or were given an unrelated drawing task before dental treatment. Children who viewed the videotape demonstration of a peer model coping with dental procedures showed significantly fewer fear-related disruptive behaviors during restoration of lesions. Observations of children's anxiety levels made by dentists and independent observers validated the effectiveness of viewing the videotaped demonstration. No significant correlation was found between the children's reports of their anxiety and their behavior during dental treatment.

A survey of anesthetic health hazards among dentists

Abstract: All male members of the American Society of Oral Surgeons and a sample of the American Dental Association membership were surveyed for exposure to anesthetic gases and the incidences of certain health problems. Concentrations of waste inhalation anesthetic gases in the dental surgery are several times those found in hospital operating rooms. This study establishes a relationship between exposure to waste gases and the incidence of health problems including spontaneous abortion in spouses, congenital abnormalities in offspring, and cancer and liver disease. Measurable concentrations of waste anesthetic gases have been found in hospital dental operating rooms. A mail survey of 4,797 general dental practitioners and 2,642 oral surgeons indicated that 20.2% of the general practitioners and 74.8% of the oral surgeons had anesthetic exposures exceeding three hours per week. In the comparison of the health of individuals exposed or unexposed to inhalation anesthetics, there was a significant increase (78%) of spontaneous abortion in the spouses of exposed dentists and a significant increase (156%) in liver disease for exposed dentists. The implication of these findings and possible solutions are discussed.

Application of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Chemical Systems

Abstract: The advantages of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) over dispersive infrared spectroscopy are outlined. The use of data processing with specific reference to difference spectroscopy is discussed in light of these advantages. Applications of FTIR to identification, quality control, and quantitative infrared analysis are indicated. The use of difference spectroscopy to improve the quality of the spectra of the desired components is illustrated for a variety of chemical systems. The role of FTIR is thus illustrated in the analytical chemical laboratory.

The Deprofessionalization of Everyone

Abstract: Historical and cross-cultural data call into question the concept of profession as formulated by British and American sociologists. A common underlying theme, however, is the monopolization of esoteric knowledge as a basis for professional authority. Because of the rapid proliferation of knowledge and technology, Daniel Bell has forecast a professionalized society, in which knowledge will be a source of power. This paper projects an alternative hypothesis based on several societal trends, using medicine as the prototypical profession and providing some cross-cultural evidence. These trends include an erosion of the knowledge monopoly as a result of rising levels of public schooling and sophistication and specific patient education, as well as computerization—which changes accessibility patterns—and new divisions of labor, which disseminate practice skills and information more widely. The consequences are decline of trust in professional decisions and diminution of professional power and authority...

Miniature pressure transducer for medical use and assembly method

Abstract: A fluidtight, hermetically sealed, miniature transducer adapted to be inserted into the human body and useful for directly monitoring internal fluid or pneumatic pressures within the human body is disclosed. Semiconductor strain gauge elements constituting a piezoresistive bridge are formed by diffusion on the surface of one side of an integral flexible, rectangular, silicon diaphragm area of a single crystal silicon base. A single crystal silicon cover is eutectically bonded to the base by a metallic laminate seal. The base, cover, and seal define an evacuated fluidtight chamber containing the strain gauge elements. Electrical conductors, which include diffused conductor paths under an insulating oxide layer, extend from the piezoresistive bridge to contact pads outside the fluidtight chamber. The contact pads can be connected to a readout device for electrically measuring the pressure differential between the evacuated chamber and fluid external to the transducer as a function of time.

Implantable electric terminal for organic tissue

Abstract: A non-reacting implantable electric terminal for organic tissue, which is porous and intermeshes with the tissue including blood capillaries without the formation of a fibrous tissue encapsulation that reduces the sensitivity of tissue to electricity. This electric terminal is composed of tissue-compatible implantable material or materials at least one of which is electrically conductive, such as platinum, or an alloy, and which has on at least one surface thereof a porous material or layer having pores that are interconnected and continuous so that body electrolytes and/or tissue containing blood capillaries can contact the electrically conductive material through said porous material or layer. The pores of this material or layer also must have an average diameter sufficient to permit blood vessels to form in them, i.e. a diameter preferably between about 10 and 500 microns. This porous material may be either electrically conductive or electrically non-conductive, and may comprise a porous metal, carbon, ceramic, such as one containing aluminum oxide, and/or a synthetic polymer, or elastomer, such as one containing a silicone, a fluorocarbon, or an epoxy resin. The shape of the electric terminal may vary as desired, and the more interconnected pores it contains the better. This electric terminal may either be placed on the surface of the tissue like a plate or disk, or be inserted into the tissue.

The knapsack problem: A survey

Abstract: A unifying survey of the literature related to the knapsack problem; that is, maximize , subject to and xi ⩾ 0, integer; where vi, wi and W are known integers, and wi (i = 1, 2, …, N) and W are positive. Various uses, including those in group theory and in other integer programming algorithms, as well as applications from the literature, are discussed. Dynamic programming, branch and bound, search enumeration, heuristic methods, and other solution techniques are presented. Computational experience, and extensions of the knapsack problem, such as to the multi-dimensional case, are also considered.

Delayed cerebrovascular consequences of therapeutic radiation. A clinicopathologic study of a stroke associated with radiation-related carotid arteriopathy.

Abstract: A young woman, successfully treated for Hodgkin's disease with radiation and MOPP chemotherapy, incurred a devastating stroke months after radiation therapy to the neck and other areas. There was no premonitory clinical history of cerebrovascular attacks. Autopsy showed unilateral thrombotic occlusion of the internal carotid artery unassociated with neoplastic or fibrotic annular constriction of the vessel. There was medial thickening and fibroblastic proliferation within the carotid artery. Areas of focal elastic membrane degeneration involved the cervical portions of the carotid. Thrombus was organized to the damaged vessel wall and was propagated into the intracranial vessels. Aneurysm formation and arterial hemorrhages were absent. These vascular changes occurred in an area of extensive radiation (7200 rads). Pathoanatomical studies in this patient indicate that radiation-induced vascular changes were associated with a “delayed” stroke.

The use of cluster analysis in physical data base design

Abstract: The physical structure and relative placement of information elements within a data base is critical for the efficient design of a computerized information system which is shared by a community of users. Traditionally the selection among alternative structural designs has been handled largely via heuristics. Recent research has shown that a number of significant design problems can be stated mathematically as nonlinear, integer, zero-one programming problems. In concept, therefore, mathematical programming algorithms can be used to determine "optimal" data base designs. In practice, one finds that realistic problems of even modest size are computationally infeasible. This paper presents a means for overcoming this difficulty in the design of data base records. A metric with which to measure the similarity of usage among data items is developed and used by a clustering algorithm to reduce the space of alternative designs to a point where solution is economically feasible.

Patterns of Language Behavior in Children with Developmental Language Disorders

Abstract: Tests to measure comprehension, formulation, and repetition of certain phonologic, syntactic, and semantic aspects of language were administered to 47 children who had developmental language disord...

Use of Filmed Modeling to Reduce Uncooperative Behavior of Children During Dental Treatment

Abstract: Sixteen inner city children attending a pedodontic clinic were shown either a filmed demonstration of a child model cooperatively undergoing dental treatment or a film unrelated to dental activity. The group viewing the modeling film showed significantly fewer disruptive behaviors during restorative care and were rated as less fearful than the control group.