Evidence of Inter- and Intra-Molecular Crosslinking of Tyrosine Residues of Calmodulin Induced by Photo-Activation of Ruthenium(II)

Tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) upon illumination with light at a wavelength of 450 nm in the presence of an electron acceptor induces dityrosine crosslinking in proteins

Lecture object: an architecture for archiving lectures on the Web

A new software architectural model for the archival of slide-based presentations on the Internet is proposed. This architecture is based on the concept of the "lecture object," a persistent format, independent of the lecture production and viewing technology. The work has been undertaken in the context of the Web Lecture Archive Project, a collaboration of the CERN HR Division Training and Development group and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. To date some 250 lectures have been archived and are viewable worldwide using standard Web browsers and freely available video player software

Coherent States and Modified de Broglie-Bohm Complex Quantum Trajectories

This paper examines the nature of classical correspondence in the case of coherent states at the level of quantum trajectories. We first show that for a harmonic oscillator, the coherent state complex quantum trajectories and the complex classical trajectories are identical to each other. This congruence in the complex plane, not restricted to high quantum numbers alone, illustrates that the harmonic oscillator in a coherent state executes classical motion. The quantum trajectories are those conceived in a modified de Broglie-Bohm scheme and we note that identical classical and quantum trajectories for coherent states are obtained only in the present approach. The study is extended to Gazeau-Klauder and SUSY quantum mechanics-based coherent states of a particle in an infinite potential well and that in a symmetric Poschl-Teller (PT) potential by solving for the trajectories numerically. For the coherent state of the infinite potential well, almost identical classical and quantum trajectories are obtained whereas for the PT potential, though classical trajectories are not regained, a periodic motion results as t --> \infty.Comment: More example

Simultaneous bilateral or unilateral carpal tunnel release? A prospective cohort study of early outcomes and limitations

BACKGROUND: Over 60% of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome present with symptoms and findings of nerve compression in both hands. Our goal was to compare patient-rated difficulties in performing activities of daily living in the early postoperative period between those undergoing bilateral carpal tunnel release and those undergoing unilateral carpal tunnel release. METHODS: This prospective cohort study enrolled consecutive patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome undergoing bilateral carpal tunnel release (n = 47) or unilateral carpal tunnel release (n = 41). Patient function and disease severity were measured by an abbreviated form of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire, QuickDASH, and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire at baseline, at postoperative visit 1 at a mean time (and standard deviation) of 10 ± 3 days, and at postoperative visit 2 at a mean time (and standard deviation) of 30 ± 6 days. Patients rated their difficulty in completing fifteen activities of daily living each day for the first postoperative week. Patients reported the factors that influenced their choice of surgery. RESULTS: There was no difference in baseline function or disease severity between the two groups with regard to QuickDASH and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire. Patients in both groups improved after carpal tunnel release with no difference between groups either at postoperative visit 1 for QuickDASH (p = 0.97) and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (p = 0.86) or at postoperative visit 2 for QuickDASH (p = 0.43) and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (p = 0.34). Patients undergoing bilateral carpal tunnel release had more difficulty only during postoperative days 1 to 2 in opening jars (p = 0.03), cooking (p = 0.008), and doing household chores (p = 0.02). Patients in the two groups did not differ (p > 0.05) in their abilities to perform activities of daily living necessary for personal hygiene or independence on any day during the first seven days following surgery with regard to using the bathroom, bathing, dressing, or eating. Although the most common reason why patients chose bilateral carpal tunnel release was to avoid two surgical procedures (42%), the most common reason why patients chose unilateral carpal tunnel release was concern for self-care (36%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome can anticipate more severe functional impairment during the first few postoperative days with bilateral carpal tunnel release compared with unilateral carpal tunnel release, but limitations beyond postoperative day 2 or 3 are similar for bilateral and unilateral carpal tunnel release. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence

WLAP the Web Lecture Archive Project: The Development of a Web-Based Archive of Lectures, Tutorials, Meetings and Events at CERN and at the University of Michigan

This paper summarizes the results of a project to develop an electronic repository of "content-rich" lectures, talks, and training activities on the World-Wide Web. The work was carried out from July 1999 to July 2001 by a collaboration consisting of the University of Michigan ATLAS Collaboratory Project, the University of Michigan Media Union, the CERN HR Division, supported by the CERN IT and ETT Divisions and the CERN Academic and Summer Student Programs. In this document, we describe the software application chosen to synchronize the slide presentations to the video recordings, provide technical solutions to the various recording and archival challenges encountered during the project, and propose a set of research and development issues we feel merit further investigation. We also present the concept of a "Lecture Object" and suggest the adoption of standards so that lectures at multiple institutes can be seamlessly shared and incorporated into federated databases world-wide

The influence of insurance status on access to and utilization of a tertiary hand surgery referral center

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the impact of insurance status on access to and utilization of elective specialty hand surgical care. We hypothesized that patients with Medicaid insurance or those without insurance would have greater difficulty accessing care both in obtaining local surgical care and in reaching a tertiary center for appointments. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included all new patients with orthopaedic hand problems (n = 3988) at a tertiary center in a twelve-month period. Patient insurance status was categorized and clinical complexity was quantified on an ordinal scale. The relationships of insurance status, clinical complexity, and distance traveled to appointments were quantified by means of statistical analysis. An assessment of barriers to accessing care stratified with regard to insurance status was completed through a survey of primary care physicians and an analysis of both patient arrival rates and operative rates at our tertiary center. RESULTS: Increasing clinical complexity significantly correlated (p < 0.001) with increasing driving distance to the appointment. Patients with Medicaid insurance were significantly less likely (p < 0.001) to present with problems of simple clinical complexity than patients with Medicare and those with private insurance. Primary care physicians reported that 62% of local surgeons accepted patients with Medicaid insurance and 100% of local surgeons accepted patients with private insurance. Forty-four percent of these primary care physicians reported that, if patients who were underinsured (i.e., patients with Medicaid insurance or no insurance) had been refused by community surgeons, they were unable to drive to our tertiary center because of limited personal resources. Patients with Medicaid insurance (26%) were significantly more likely (p < 0.001) to fail to arrive for appointments than patients with private insurance (11%), with no-show rates increasing with the greater distance required to reach the tertiary center. CONCLUSIONS: Economically disadvantaged patients face barriers to accessing specialty surgical care. Among patients with Medicaid coverage or no insurance, local surgical care is less likely to be offered and yet personal resources may limit a patient’s ability to reach distant centers for non-emergency care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence

Dynamical reentrance and geometry imposed quantization effects in Nb-AlOx-Nb Josephson junction arrays

In this paper, we report on different phenomena related to the magnetic properties of artificially prepared highly ordered (periodic) two-dimensional Josephson junction arrays (2D-JJA) of both shunted and unshunted Nb-AlOx-Nb tunnel junctions. By employing mutual-inductance measurements and using a high-sensitive bridge, we have thoroughly investigated (both experimentally and theoretically) the temperature and magnetic field dependence of complex AC susceptibility of 2D-JJA. We also demonstrate the use of the scanning SQUID microscope for imaging the local flux distribution within our unshunted arrays