Showing papers by "University of Missouri published in 1990"

Searching for Peptide Ligands With an Epitope Library

Abstract: Tens of millions of short peptides can be easily surveyed for tight binding to an antibody, receptor or other binding protein using an "epitope library." The library is a vast mixture of filamentous phage clones, each displaying one peptide sequence on the virion surface. The survey is accomplished by using the binding protein to affinity-purify phage that display tight-binding peptides and propagating the purified phage in Escherichia coli. The amino acid sequences of the peptides displayed on the phage are then determined by sequencing the corresponding coding region in the viral DNA's. Potential applications of the epitope library include investigation of the specificity of antibodies and discovery of mimetic drug candidates.

Effects of alcohol on human aggression: an integrative research review

Abstract: This review used quantitative and qualitative techniques to integrate the alcohol and aggression literature. The primary purpose of the review was to determine if a causal relation exists between alcohol and aggression. The main meta-analysis included 30 experimental studies that used between-subjects designs, male confederates, and male subjects who were social drinkers. Studies using other designs or subject populations were integrated with meta-analytic procedures when possible and summarized descriptively when not. The results of the review indicate that alcohol does indeed cause aggression. However, alcohol effects were moderated by certain methodological parameters.

The relation between alcohol problems and the anxiety disorders

Abstract: The idea that people suffering from anxiety have a proclivity to consume alcohol to relieve their symptoms is supported by reports showing high comorbidity rates of alcohol and anxiety problems. The authors reviewed relevant epidemiologic surveys, family studies, and field studies and conclude that the relationship between alcohol problems and anxiety appears to be variable among the anxiety disorders. In agoraphobia and social phobia, alcohol problems appear more likely to follow from attempts at self-medication of anxiety symptoms, but panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder may be more likely to follow from pathological alcohol consumption. Simple phobia does not appear to be related to alcohol problems in any meaningful way.

Diagnosis of Alcohol Use Disorders in Schizophrenia

Abstract: Alcohol use disorders are common comorbid conditions in schizophrenia, and their presence is associated with poor adjustment and poor treatment response. Standard alcohol assessment instruments have not been validated for use with schizophrenic patients, and several authors have questioned the validity of these patients' self-reports. A reliable and valid screening procedure for assessing alcohol use is needed. The present study used the following three methods to evaluate a rural sample of 75 outpatients with DSM-III-R schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: (1) clinical records; (2) research interviews using standard alcohol assessment instruments; and (3) case managers' ratings. In addition, consensus diagnoses, determined by combining information from all three methods with intensive case reviews, were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the other approaches. As expected, clinical evaluations frequently missed alcohol problems. Research interviews and case managers' ratings differentiated between alcoholic and nonalcoholic schizophrenic patients and were highly correlated. Case managers' ratings, which incorporated longitudinal observations of behavior and collateral reports as well as interview data, were more sensitive measures of current alcohol use disorders than research interviews. Subjects frequently manifested alcohol-related problems that interfered with community adjustment without the full dependence syndrome, suggesting that schizophrenic patients may be particularly vulnerable to negative effects of alcohol.

A community study of anxiety in children and adolescents.

Abstract: The authors used an epidemiologic approach to investigate rates, symptoms, and behavioral concomitants of anxiety across the child and adolescent age span. They drew 210 children aged 8, 12, and 17 in equal numbers from a community sample and evaluated them with structured diagnostic assessments. They found anxiety to be the most frequently reported type of psychopathology across all three age groups. Although the prevalence of any anxiety symptom remained constant, specific types of anxiety varied with age. Age differences in nonanxiety behavior were found between subjects with and without anxiety, particularly with regard to interpersonal dysfunction.

Multisystemic Treatment of Adolescent Sexual Offenders

Abstract: This study compared the efficacy of multisystemic therapy (MST) and individual therapy (IT) in the outpatient treatment of adolescent sexual offenders. Sixteen adolescent sexual offenders were randomly assigned to either MST or IT conditions. Youths in the MST and IT conditions received an average of 37 hours and 4S hours of treatment, respectively. Recidivism data were collected on all subjects at an approximately 3-year follow-up. Betweengroups comparisons showed that significantly fewer subjects in the MST condition had been rearrested for sexual crimes and that the frequency of sexual rearrests was significantly lower in the MST condition than in the IT condition. The relative efficacy of MST was attributed to its emphasis on changing behavior and interpersonal relations within the offender's natural environment.

Electromagnetic wave propagation in periodic structures: Bloch wave solution of Maxwell's equations

Abstract: We examine the propagation of electromagnetic waves in periodic dielectric structures by solving the vector Maxwell equations with the plane-wave method. Contrary to experimental reports, as well as results of scalar-wave calculations, we do not find a true gap extending throughout the Brillouin zone in the fcc structure. However, there is a depletion in the photon density of states, seemingly a remnant of the Mie resonance, giving rise to a pseudogap in the spectrum that is quite strong for dielectric-sphere packing fraction \ensuremath{\beta}\ensuremath{\sim}0.3--0.4. An effect analogous to the Borrmann effect in x-ray diffraction is predicted, where certain photon modes will propagate an anomalously long distance before getting absorbed.

Information fusion in computer vision using the fuzzy integral

Abstract: A method of evidence fusion, based on the fuzzy integral, is developed. This technique nonlinearly combines objective evidence, in the form of a fuzzy membership function, with subjective evaluation of the worth of the sources with respect to the decision. Various new theoretical properties of this technique are developed, and its applicability to information fusion in computer vision is demonstrated through simulation and with object recognition data from forward-looking infrared imagery. >

Increased Endogenous Abscisic Acid Maintains Primary Root Growth and Inhibits Shoot Growth of Maize Seedlings at Low Water Potentials

Abstract: Roots of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings continue to grow at low water potentials that cause complete inhibition of shoot growth. In this study, we have investigated the role of abscisic acid (ABA) in this differential growth sensitivity by manipulating endogenous ABA levels as an alternative to external applications of the hormone. An inhibitor of carotenoid biosynthesis (fluridone) and a mutant deficient in carotenoid biosynthesis (vp 5) were used to reduce the endogenous ABA content in the growing zones of the primary root and shoot at low water potentials. Experiments were performed on 30 to 60 hour old seedlings that were transplanted into vermiculite which had been preadjusted to water potentials of approximately −1.6 megapascals (roots) or −0.3 megapascals (shoots). Growth occurred in the dark at near-saturation humidity. Results of experiments using the inhibitor and mutant approaches were very similar. Reduced ABA content by either method was associated with inhibition of root elongation and promotion of shoot elongation at low water potentials, compared to untreated and wild-type seedlings at the same water potential. Elongation rates and ABA contents at high water potential were little affected. The inhibition of shoot elongation at low water potential was completely prevented in fluridone-treated seedlings during the first five hours after transplanting. The results indicate that ABA accumulation plays direct roles in both the maintenance of primary root elongation and the inhibition of shoot elongation at low water potentials.

Integrin-associated protein : a 50-kd plasma membrane antigen physically and functionally associated with integrins

Abstract: Phagocytosis by monocytes or neutrophils can be enhanced by interaction with several proteins or synthetic peptides containing the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence. Recently we showed that an mAb, B6H12, specifically inhibited this enhancement of neutrophil phagocytosis by inhibiting Arg-Gly-Asp binding to the leukocyte response integrin (Gresham, H. D., J. L. Goodwin, P. M. Allen, D. C. Anderson, and E. J. Brown. 1989. J. Cell Biol. 108:1935-1943). Now, we have purified the antigen recognized by B6H12 to homogeneity. Surprisingly, it is a 50-kD molecule that is expressed on the plasma membranes of all hematopoietic cells, including erythrocytes, which express no known integrins. On platelets and placenta, but not on erythrocytes, this protein is associated with an integrin that can be recognized by an anti-beta 3 antibody. In addition, both the anti-beta 3 and several mAbs recognizing the 50-kD protein inhibit Arg-Gly-Asp stimulation of phagocytosis. These data demonstrate an association between integrins and the 50-kD protein on several cell types. For this reason, we call it Integrin-associated Protein (IAP). We hypothesize that IAP may play a role in signal transduction for enhanced phagocytosis by Arg-Gly-Asp ligands.

Relationship of a putative receptor protein kinase from maize to the S-locus glycoproteins of Brassica.

Abstract: The protein kinase family of enzymes mediates the responses of eukaryotic cells to both inter- and intracellular signals. These enzymes are either serine/threonine-specific or tyrosine-specific. Many of the latter are transmembrane receptors and are important in transduction of extracellular signals across the plasma membrane, whereas few examples of receptor serine kinases have been reported. We have now identified a complementary DNA clone from Zea mays (L.) encoding a putative serine/threonine-specific protein kinase structurally related to the receptor tyrosine kinases. This structural similarity is evidence for a previously undescribed class of transmembrane receptor in higher plants likely to be involved in signal reception and transduction. Furthermore, the catalytic domain of this protein kinase is linked through a transmembrane domain to an extracellular domain similar to that of glycoproteins encoded in the self-incompatibility locus of Brassica which are involved in the self-recognition system between pollen and stigma.

Computer-access security systems using keystroke dynamics

Abstract: An approach to securing access to computer systems is described. By performing real-time measurements of the time durations between the keystrokes when a password is entered and using pattern-recognition algorithms, three online recognition systems were devised and tested. Two types of passwords were considered: phrases and individual names. A fixed phrase was used in the identification system. Individual names were used as a password in the verification system and in the overall recognition system. All three systems were tested and evaluated. The identification system used 10 volunteers and gave an indecision error of 1.2%. The verification system used 26 volunteers and gave an error of 8.1% in rejecting valid users and an error of 2.8% in accepting invalid users. The overall recognition system used 32 volunteers and gave an error of 3.1% in rejecting valid users and an error of 0.5% in accepting invalid users. >

The Rise and Fall of the White Republic: Class Politics and Mass Culture in Nineteenth Century America

Abstract: In this acclaimed historical study, Alexander Saxton establishes the centrality of white racism to American politics and culture. Examining images of race at a popular level - from blackface minstrelsy to the construction of the Western hero, from grassroots political culture to dime novels - as well as the philosophical constructions of the political elite, it is a powerful and comprehensive account of the ideological forces at work in the formation of modern America.

Linking Product and Process Innovations and Modes of International Sourcing in Global Competition: A Case of Foreign Multinational Firms

Abstract: In increasingly complex global competition, multinational firms, U.S. and foreign alike, have stepped up international sourcing of components and finished products to serve various markets. Since an increasing portion of global competition is shaped by European and Japanese multinational firms with due emphasis on product quality and manufacturing, it is an opportune time to examine the like among their product development, manufacturing, and sourcing activities. Those European and Japanese multinational firms marketing products in the United States are chosen as subjects of this study.

New Secale cereale (rye) DNA derivatives for the detection of rye chromosome segments in wheat.

Abstract: Subcloning of a clone of the 120-bp family of rye, pSc119, has produced two extremely useful probes. pSc119.1 assays rye-specific dispersed repetitive sequence families. It is present on all seven ...

Gender Role Conflict and Depression in College Men: Evidence for Compounded Risk

Abstract: This study investigated the relationships between attitudes toward the male role, gender role conflict factors, and depression in 401 college men. Results indicated that all four of the gender role conflict factors were significantly correlated with depression. Hence, more traditional men may experience a compounded risk comprising increased likelihood of depression coupled with decreased use of counseling services. Both directions for future research and the implications for counselors and student services are discussed.

Skeletal muscle oxidative capacity, antioxidant enzymes, and exercise training

Abstract: The purposes of this study were to determine whether exercise training induces increases in skeletal muscle antioxidant enzymes and to further characterize the relationship between oxidative capacity and antioxidant enzyme levels in skeletal muscle. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exercise trained (ET) on a treadmill 2 h/day at 32 m/min (8% incline) 5 days/wk or were cage confined (sedentary control, S) for 12 wk. In both S and ET rats, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activities were directly correlated with the percentages of oxidative fibers in the six skeletal muscle samples studied. Muscles of ET rats had increased oxidative capacity and increased GPX activity compared with the same muscles of S rats. However, SOD activities were not different between ET and S rats, but CAT activities were lower in skeletal muscles of ET rats than in S rats. Exposure to 60 min of ischemia and 60 min of reperfusion (I/R) resulted in decreased GPX and increased CAT activities but had little or no effect on SOD activities in muscles from both S and ET rats. The I/R-induced increase in CAT activity was greater in muscles of ET than in muscles of S rats. Xanthine oxidase (XO), xanthine dehydrogenase (XD), and XO + XD activities after I/R were not related to muscle oxidative capacity and were similar in muscles of ET and S rats. It is concluded that although antioxidant enzyme activities are related to skeletal muscle oxidative capacity, the effects of exercise training on antioxidant enzymes in skeletal muscle cannot be predicted by measured changes in oxidative capacity.

Molecular Biology of Selenoproteins

Abstract: Article de synthese sur la biologie moleculaire des selenoproteines. Etude du metabolisme du selenium (Se), des quatre classes de selenoproteines, de la glutathion peroxidase (GPX) Se-dependante et non dependante, de la phospholipide hydroperoxide GPX, de la GPX plasmatique, de seleno-proteines de mammiferes (rats). Etude de la regulation de l'expression de la GPX par le Se chez les eucaryotes

Expression of trophoblastic interferon genes in sheep and cattle.

Abstract: The trophoblastic interferons ovine and bovine trophoblast protein-1 (oTP-1 and bTP-1, respectively) have been implicated as mediators of maternal recognition of pregnancy in sheep and cattle. The objective of this study was to describe the onset and duration of gene expression for oTP-1 and bTP-1 in preimplantation ovine and bovine conceptuses by in situ hybridization and Northern analysis. Sections from paraffin-embedded ovine conceptuses, collected on Days 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of gestation (n = 1, 3, 3, 2, 2), and bovine conceptuses, collected on Days 12/13, 15/16, and 19 (n = 2, 4, 5), were hybridized to specific [35S]-labeled cDNA probes. Two different probes, one encompassing bases 442-918 and representing both coding and 3'-untranslated regions, and a second 3'-specific probe (bases 650-912) were used to detect oTP-1 mRNA. At all stages examined, oTP-1 mRNA was confined to trophectoderm of ovine conceptuses. Consistent with earlier studies, expression increased markedly at Day 13. oTP-1 mRNA was detected at low levels in seven of seven ovine conceptuses prior to Day 13 when the longer probe was employed. With the 3'-specific probe, however, oTP-1 mRNA was detected in only one of the seven ovine conceptuses prior to Day 13. Thus, although low amounts of oTP-1 mRNA may be present in ovine conceptuses prior to Day 13, massive induction of this mRNA occurs on Day 13 coincident with the initiation of maternal recognition of pregnancy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Symptoms of anxiety disorders in normal children.

Abstract: The present study examined prevalence, expression, and developmental patterns of DSM-III-R anxiety disorder symptoms in 62 never-psychiatrically-ill children. Subclinical phobias and overanxious disorder symptoms were fairly common, while symptoms of other anxiety disorders were less common. Direction of sex and age differences was generally consistent with previous literature, but few reached statistical significance. Nonanxious and subclinically anxious subsamples of never-psychiatrically-ill subjects were compared on individual and family psychopathology. Subclinically anxious children showed greater individual and family psychopathology than nonanxious children, though differences decreased at 12-month follow-up. Anxiety as a normal developmental phenomenon is discussed. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1990, 29, 5:759–765.

Corporate Product Policy and Innovative Behavior of European and Japanese Multinationals: An Empirical Investigation:

Abstract: The author empirically examines the product policies of European and Japanese multinational firms in relation to product and process innovations. He also investigates linkages between corporate pro...

Adaptive frequency domain control of PWM switched power line conditioner

Abstract: An adaptive frequency domain control algorithm for a pulse width modulation (PWM) switched active power line conditioner (PLC) is discussed. An active power line conditioner that minimizes harmonic current in the AC line and improves power factor to unity is recommended. A six switch pulse width modulated current source inverter implements the active PLC. Simulation results of the PLC adaptive frequency domain control using the PWM switching algorithm are presented. >

Estimating the Viability of Ovenbird and Kentucky Warbler Populations in Forest Fragments

Abstract: Breeding habitats for birds in deciduous forests of the eastern and central United States are becoming increasingly fragmented by human activities. Avian communities in small, isolated forest tracts are generally subsets of the communities present in larger forests (Blake & Karr 1987; Hayden et al. 1985); species that are intolerant of habitat area reduction are frequently termed "area-sensitive." Severe declines in songbird populations, particularly those of forest-interior-breeding neotropical migrants, have been linked to the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats (Lynch & Whigham 1978; Robbins 1979; Whitcomb et al. 1981). Detailed studies of the dynamics and constitution of small populations in relict habitats are needed (Lande 1988). Data on the presence of species over a range of patch sizes of suitable habitat have been analyzed to estimate the minimum patch size at which an area-sensitive species commonly occurs (Blake 1983; Diamond 1978; Galli et al. 1976), which is known as its "minimum area" requirement (Robbins 1979). However, tract sizes corresponding with incidence-curve inflection points (Diamond 1978) or areas of minimum occurrence (Blake 1983; Galli et al. 1976) may fall in the range of marginal rather than preferred habitats for area-sensitive species. Forest fragments may represent marginal habitat for

Escape-time distributions of a periodically modulated bistable system with noise.

Abstract: In this paper a periodically driven, bistable system with additive noise is considered in the overdamped limit. Here we have adopted the probability density of residence times as the tool for dynamical studies on the system. We contrast this to the body of previous work, in the area now known as ``stochastic resonance,'' wherein the power spectral density was the preferred physical quantity. It is shown, both by analytic theory and by analog simulations, that the density of residence times has a detailed structure reflective of the inherent symmetries of the system. Closed-form expressions are developed for the distribution function as well as for several averaged quantities of interest. It is emphasized that all our analytic results predict observable physical quantities, which are then demonstrated with measurements on the analog simulator.

Phenotypic switching in mycoplasmas: phase variation of diverse surface lipoproteins.

Abstract: The ability of some microorganisms to rapidly alter the expression and structure of surface components reflects an important strategy for adaptation to changing environments, including those encountered by infectious agents within respective host organisms. Mycoplasma hyorhinis, a wall-less prokaryotic pathogen of the class Mollicutes, is shown to undergo high-frequency phase transitions in colony morphology and opacity and in the expression of diverse lipid-modified, cell-surface protein antigens. These proteins spontaneously vary in size, contain highly repetitive structures, and are oriented with their carboxyl-terminal region external to the membrane. Thus, mycoplasma membrane lipoproteins generate microbial surface diversity and may be part of a complex system that controls interactions of these organisms with their hosts.