Business Plan (1994)

"Reviewed May 15, 1994."By the time you get serious enough about an idea to need a business plan, you will have already spent a lot of time thinking about it and doing a great deal of informal research. Now you have to refine all your vague guesses and suppositions

Heuristic Refinement Method for the Derivation of Protein Solution Structures: Validation on Cytochrome B562

A method is described for determining the family of protein structures compatible with solution data obtained primarily from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Starting with all possible conformations, the method systematically excludes conformations until the remaining structures are only those compatible with the data. The apparent computational intractability of this approach is reduced by assembling the protein in pieces, by considering the protein at several levels of abstraction, by utilizing constraint satisfaction methods to consider only a few atoms at a time, and by utilizing artificial intelligence methods of heuristic control to decide which actions will exclude the most conformations. Example results are presented for simulated NMR data from the known crystal structure of cytochrome b562 (103 residues). For 10 sample backbones an average root-mean-square deviation from the crystal of 4.1 A was found for all alpha-carbon atoms and 2.8 A for helix alpha-carbons alone. The 10 backbones define the family of all structures compatible with the data and provide nearly correct starting structures for adjustment by any of the current structure determination methods

Age and Growth of Cobia, \u3ci\u3eRachycentron canadum\u3c/i\u3e, from the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

We examined 1005 cobia, Rachycentron canadum, from recreational catches in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from 1987 to 1995. Specimens ranged from 325 to 1651 mm fork length (FL); females had a mean FL of 1050 mm (n=730) and were significantly larger than males that had a mean FL of 952 mm (n=275). The over all male to female ratio was 1:2.7. Ages of 565 cobia were estimated from thin-sectioned otoliths (sagittae). Marginal-increment analysis of sagittal otoliths showed a single annual minimum during June. Male cobia (n=170; 525-1330 mm FL) ranged from age 0 to 9, and females (n=395; 493-1651 mm FL) ranged from age 0 to 11. The relationship of observed fork length and age was described by the von Bertalanffy growth equation for males FLt = 1171(1-exp [-0.432(t+1.150)]) and for females FLt = 1555(1-exp [-0.272(t+1.254)]). Growth in length for both sexes was relatively fast through age 2, after which growth slowed gradually. Estimates of the von Bertalanffy growth equation parameters L-infinity and K were significantly different for males and females, whereas estimates for t(0) were not significantly different. Sagittal otolith weight was a good predictor of age. The instantaneous rate of total mortality (Z) estimated by catch curve analysis for fully recruited ages 4-8 was 0.75

First Record of Bonefish, Albula vulpes, from Mississippi Coastal Waters

Bonefish (Albula spp.), Family Albulidae, occur worldwide in coastal waters of tropical and warm temperate seas (Crabtree et al. 1997), and 2 species, A. vulpes and A. nemoptera, are recognized from the western Atlantic Ocean (Rivas and Warlen 1967). The normal range of A. vulpes in the western Atlantic extends from Bermuda to Brazil, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico, Central America and the Antilles (Hildebrand 1963), but in US waters, A. vulpes typically occurs off south Florida (Crabtree et al. 1997). In contrast, A. nemoptera has been reported from Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica and Hispaniola (Uyeno et al. 1983). Published accounts of A. vulpes from the northcentral Gulf of Mexico (hereafter GOM) are rare. Ogren and Brusher (1977) collected a single specimen of A. vulpes from St. Andrew Bay, Florida but did not report its size. Thompson and Deegan (1982) reported the collection of 3 A. vulpes leptocephali (range: 34.8–53.5 mm standard length (SL)) from Louisiana coastal waters, and Boschung (1992) reported a single A. vulpes juvenile (37 mm SL) collected from Grand Bay, Alabama. We report the first record of A. vulpes from Mississippi

Movements of Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) in Mississippi Coastal Waters Based on Tag–Recapture

Movement patterns of spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) were evaluated in Mississippi coastal waters by an angler-based tagging study from 1995 through 1999. During this period, 505 anglers tagged 15,206 spotted seatrout, the majority of which (84%) did not meet the state\u27s legal minimum size limit of 14 inches (356 mm) total length. Overall, 408 (2.7%) tagged fish were recaptured and reported to project personnel. Over 90% of these recaptured fish moved less than 10 km from site of tagging to site of recapture (mean = 3.0 ± 0.41 km), and 82% moved less than 3 km. The greatest movement from tagging to recapture site by any fish was 60 km over a period of 200 d, and only three fish (0.7%) moved 50 km or more. Study results suggest that spotted seatrout in Mississippi waters comprise a nonmigratory fish stock, as has been found for this species in coastal waters of neighboring states along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Preparation of Novel Hydrolyzing Urethane Modified Thiol-ene Networks

Novel tetra-functional hydrolyzing monomers were prepared from the reaction of TEOS and select alkene-containing alcohols, ethylene glycol vinyl ether or 2-allyloxy ethanol, and combined with trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) (tri-thiol) in a thiol-ene “click” polymerization reaction to produce clear, colorless thiol-ene networks using both radiation and thermal-cure techniques. These networks were characterized for various mechanical characteristics, and found to posses Tg’s (DSC), hardness, tack, and thermal stability (TGA) consistent with their molecular structures. A new ene-modified urethane oligomer was prepared based on the aliphatic polyisocyanate Desmodur® N 3600 and added to the thiol-ene hydrolyzable network series in increasing amounts, creating a phase-segregated material having two Tg’s. An increase in water absorption in the ene-modified urethane formulations leading to a simultaneous increase in the rate of hydrolysis was supported by TGA data, film hardness measurements, and an NMR study of closely related networks. This phenomenon was attributed to the additional hydrogen bonding elements and polar functionality brought to the film with the addition of the urethane segment. SEM was utilized for visual analysis of topographical changes in the film’s surface upon hydrolysis and provides support for surface-driven erosion. Coatings prepared in this study are intended for use as hydrolyzing networks for marine coatings to protect against ship foulin

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Notes and Documents section for Volume 46, Number 2, Summer 1968. It includes a transcript of an interview with Harry H. Adams recounting his time in the traveling Brush Court and an explanation of the appointment of General John Nicks being appointed vice president for Independence Day at Fort Gibson

Left Atrial Paraganglioma in a Dog: Echocardiography, Surgery, and Scintigraphy

Primary tumors of the left atrium are uncommon in dogs and tumor-specific diagnoses have been made only at necropsy. No reports have been found in which the diagnosis was confirmed antemortem and the tumor removed surgically. This report describes a case of obstructive paraganglioma in the left atrium of a dog and long-term survival after surgical removal of most of the tumor using cardiopulmonary bypass. Subsequently, scintigraphy demonstrated the presence of somatostatin receptors in residual tumor in the left atrium. The latter technique may be of value in establishing a definitive diagnosis in future cases of chemodectoma, extra-adrenal paraganglioma, or adrenal paraganglioma (phechromocytoma)

Inverse Scattering for Gratings and Wave Guides

We consider the problem of unique identification of dielectric coefficients for gratings and sound speeds for wave guides from scattering data. We prove that the "propagating modes" given for all frequencies uniquely determine these coefficients. The gratings may contain conductors as well as dielectrics and the boundaries of the conductors are also determined by the propagating modes.Comment: 12 page

Mineralization of Short Term Pericardial Cardiac Patch Grafts

Glutaraldehyde fixed patch grafts of bovine pericardium were implanted in myocardial windows in young (3-4 months old) sheep. The samples were retrieved after one to three weeks for study with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (EDX). A layer of porous material (pseudoneointima, PNI), consisting mostly of a dense mesh of fibers interspersed with blood cells, was noted to form on the blood contacting surface of the graft. Four distinct sets of mineralization were noted in the retrieved grafts: (1) at the blood contacting surface of the PNI; (2) within the PNI at the junction between layers of PNI with differing densities; (#) near the junction of PNI and pericardium (but in the PNI); and (4) within the pericardium. In both the PNI and pericardium the mineral was shown by EDX analysis to contain both calcium and phosphorous indicating the mineral to be a calcium phosphate. Mineralization in the PNI differed from that in the pericardium; in the PNI it was deposited in discrete regions and apparently in association with thrombi while in the pericardium it was distributed diffusely within the collagen matrix, which may influence its formation