Made In Shanghai - Eurooppalaisen tulkinta Kiinalaisen muodin perinnöstä

The thesis consists of both a theoretic written part, and a productive part. The written part examines Chinese garments from the end of the Qing-dynasty, as well as the dressing culture of today’s China. The thesis subjects are looked into through the gaze of a European. The productive part consists of a womenswear collection of six looks designed with the results of the theoretic study in mind. The written part looks through the achievements of Chinese garment industry and the problems within, while also examining the Western world’s regard for it. The thesis also questions the overuse of plastic and considers the possibility of cultural appropriation. The final collection presents the ideas risen from the written study. The thesis starts off with research about Chinese clothing manufacturing, the Qing-dynasty dress and some handcraft techniques related to them. The research focuses on late 19th century imperial wardrobe, and the modern Qipao-dress of the 20th century. Furthermore, the subject of contemporary Chinese consumerism is looked into, and the loss of a garment’s value in today’s China. It is emphasized, that any opinions and conclusions are from a European’s point of view and are entirely the writer’s own. The clothing collection is produced simultaneously as the theoretical research. It presents the traditional Chinese handcraft techniques and is realized in simple silhouettes that borrow the shape from Qing-dynasty dress. The patterns of the dress have been modernized and exaggerated to present contemporary China. The main material used in the collection is plastic Christmas tinsel, that is either cutting waste or donated warehouse dead-stock from a Finnish Christmas ornament factory. The shiny surfaces of the garments made of this plastic material refer to a false sense of luxury, as seen in the illegal designer copies in Shanghai’s street markets. The objective of the thesis is, how to borrow elements from another culture in a dignified way as to avoid cultural appropriation. Understanding the importance of this issue is highlighted in the thesis, and as well as how important it is to be able to use other cultures as design inspirations. The meaning of garment design through history is also considered in the thesis, and how authentic design is as important as the materials used to create something that lasts centuries. The result of the written part of the thesis shows a basic overview of Chinese Qing-dynasty fashion history, and contemporary Chinese design and production. The productive part of the thesis presents an alternative way to showcase the historical Chinese heritage, in the form of contemporary fashion design. The final collection is presented as an objection to the flooding European luxury brand copycats of China.Opinnäytetyö koostuu sekä kirjallisesta, että produktiivisesta osuudesta. Kirjallinen osuus käsittelee Kiinan Qing-dynastian aikaista pukeutumista, sekä nykyajan Kiinan kulutuskulttuuria länsimaalaisen silmin. Produktiivinen osuus koostuu kuuden asun naisten vaate mallistosta, joka on suunniteltu teoreettisen tutkimustyöhön perustuen. Kirjallisessa osuudessa läpikäydään Kiinan vaateteollisuuden saavutuksia ja ongelmakohtia, sekä sitä, kuinka Kiinan vaate- ja tekstiiliteollisuutta on käsitelty Läntisessä maailmassa. Lisäksi opinnäytetyössä kyseenalaistetaan muovin liikakäyttöä, sekä tutkitaan kulttuurin omimista. Lopullinen vaatemallisto esittelee kuuden asun kokonaisuuden, jossa havainnollistetaan kirjallisessa osuudessa nousseet ajatukset. Opinnäytteen alussa esitellään teoreettista taustatutkimusta kiinalaisesta vaateteollisuudesta sekä Qing-dynastian pukeutumisesta ja käsityötekniikoista. Tutkimus on rajattu 1800-luvun lopun keisarillisiin pukuihin, sekä 1900-luvun perinteiseen Qipao-pukuun. Lisäksi opinnäytetyössä käydään lyhyesti läpi nykyajan kiinan kulutuskulttuuria ja vaatesuunnittelua. Opinnäytetyössä pohditaan vaatteiden merkityksen katoamista, mikä on erityisen silmiinpistävää Kiinassa. Tutkimuksessa korostetaan, että johtopäätelmät ovat Eurooppalaisen näkökulmasta, ja ovat kirjoittajan omia. Teoreettisen taustatyön välissä syntynyt vaatemallisto kuvastaa Kiinan historian loistokkaita käsityömenetelmiä sekä selkeitä siluetteja. Kaavat ovat otettu suoraan Qing-dynastian aikaisista puvuista, ja niitä on modernisoitu sekä paisutettu kuvastamaan nykyajan Kiinaa. Vaatteiden materiaalina on suurilta osin käytetty muovista joulunauhaa, jotka ovat joulunauhatehtaan leikkuujätettä, sekä luovuttettuja varasto-kappaleita. Muovimateriaalin kiiltävät pinnat viittaavat vääristyneeseen kuvaan luksuksesta, joka yhtälailla syntyy Shanghain katu markettien luksus brändi -kopioista. Opinnäytetyössä etsitään vastausta kysymyseen, voiko vieraasta kulttuurista ottaa vaikutteita vaatemallistoon arvokkaasti, ilman että se koettaisiin kulttuurin omimiseksi? Opinnäytetyössä pohditaan myös, mitä keinoja tämän kompastuskiven välttämiseen on, ja mitä jokaisen suunnittelijan tulisi ymmärtää. Opinnäytetyössä korostetaan, että eri kulttuureista lainaaminen on tärkeää, kun se on oikein tehty. Lisäksi opinnäytetyössä pohditaan vaatteen merkitystä historiasta nykypäivään, ja kuinka vaatteen materiaalin lisäksi suunnittelun autenttisuus on yhtä lailla tärkeää kestävän tuotteen luomiseksi. Kirjallisen työn lopputulos esittelee pintapuolisen katsauksen Kiinan Qing-dynastian puku historiaan, sekä nykypäivän kulutus kulttuuriin. Produktiivinen osuus esittelee mahdollisen vaihtoehdon esittää Kiinan historiaa nyky designin muodossa, vastalauseena Kiinan loputtomille Euroopan muotitalojen kopioijille

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MECHANISM OF 6-PHOSPHOGLUCONATE DEHYDROGENASE FROM TRYPANOSOMA BRUCEI AND ITS INTERACTION WITH INHIBITORS BY ISOTHERMAL TITRATION CALORIMETRY

6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH) converts 6PG to ribulose 5-phosphate and concomitantly provides NADPH, inside the pentose phosphate pathway. Its presence has been shown essential for growth of bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei, a parasite responsible for African trypanosomiasis and it may be considered a validated drug target in this protozoan. Drugs are the principal means of intervention but new drugs are urgently needed for human African trypanosomiasis. Strong inhibitors have been found against 6PGDH, which show some selectivity versus the parasite enzyme compared the mammalian one. T. brucei 6PGDH shows only a 33% amino acid identity with the mammalian 6PGDH even if their structures have a similar overall fold and many residues nearest neighbours to the substrate are conserved. Regarding 6PGDH mechanism two residues, one acting as an acid and the other as a base, are postulated to assist all the three catalytic steps. These residues (E192 and K185 in the T. brucei) have been identified on the basis of crystallographic evidence and site-directed mutagenesis. Much remains to understand yet, for instance on which way at the end of the reaction the protonation state of the two catalytic groups changes into the opposite to that at the beginning of the reaction and on the homotropic cooperativity of the enzyme (homodimeric) and the induced enzyme changes at the substrate binding. To elucidate this and the inhibition mechanism by some lead compounds to develop as potential drugs, we have exploited isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). ITC measurements were performed in a VP-ITC microcalorimeter and the data were fitted by nonlinear least-squares fitting using OriginTM software. The number of H+ exchanged has been measured after binding studies in different buffers. Binding was studied sometimes by fluorometry. Recombinant T. brucei 6PGDH has been purified from an overexpressing E. coli strain. Kinetics of the enzymes was studied spectrophotometrically, also in function of pH. Preparation of site-directed mutants of the enzyme has been a complementary technique to obtain information on the enzyme. cysteine reactivity has been assayed with the Ellmann reactant DTNB. Binding of the substrate and its analogues is entropy driven, while binding of coenzymes is enthalpy driven. Oxidized coenzyme and its analogue display a half-site reactivity in the ternary complex with the substrate or the inhibitors while reduced coenzyme displays full-site reactivity. Binding of 6PG and 5-phospho-ribonate (5PR) poorly affects the dissociation constant of the coenzymes, while binding of 4-phospho-erythronate (4PE), which is the most selective among the studied inhibitors for the parasite enzyme compared to the mammalian sheep liver one, decreases the dissociation constant of the coenzymes by two orders of magnitude. In a similar way the Kd of 4PE greatly decreases in the presence of the coenzymes. Results suggest that while 5PR acts as substrate analogue, 4PE mimics the transition-state of the dehydrogenation. The stronger affinity of 4PE is interpreted on the basis of the enzyme mechanism, suggesting that the inhibitor forces the catalytic K185 in the protonated state. pH curves of the mutants K185R and E192Q clearly show that other residues are involved in mechanism. It has been shown that a change from an “open” to a “closed” conformation is rate limiting. The conformational changes induced by substrate binding appear to be related with the release of about one H+/enzyme dimer, and with a drastic reduction of cysteine reactivity. The residues H188 and C372 are not directly involved in the substrate binding but are very close to the active site. The mutants H188L and C372S show a linear relationship between the residual activity and the number of H+ released and also with the cysteine reactivity. These data suggest that H188 and C372 are involved in the transition from the “open” to the “closed” form. Further studies have been performed to better characterize the mechanism of 6PGDH. Kinetic isotope effect studies on the reverse reaction, the reductive carboxylation of Ru5P to 6PG indicate that the presence of 6PG changes the rate limiting step of the reaction. In the absence of 6PG the rate limiting step is clearly identified in a conformational change of the enzyme-Ru5P complex. In the presence of 6PG this step become fast, and the rate limiting step can be identified in an isomerization of the enzyme-6PG complex according to the previously published data. These results add new support to the alternative-site model for the mechanism of 6PGDH

Patient-perceived health-related quality of life during recovery after total hip arthroplasty – a 6-month follow-up study

Potilaiden käsitys terveyteen liittyvästä elämänlaadusta lonkan tekonivelleikkauksen jälkeisenä toipumisaikana – kuuden kuukauden seurantatutkimus Tässä kaksivaiheisessa seurantatutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin potilaiden käsitystä terveyteen liittyvästä elämänlaadusta lonkan tekonivelleikkauksen jälkeisenä toipumisaikana. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisessä vaiheessa tarkoituksena oli sekä kuvailla potilaiden kokemuksia potilaana olosta, saamastaan hoidosta ja terveyspalveluorganisaatiosta että analysoida aikaisempien tutkimusten perusteella leikkauksen tuloksia potilaan kannalta. Toisessa vaiheessa tarkoituksena oli arvioida potilaiden kokemaa elämänlaatua leikkauksen jälkeen, ja sitä vaikuttivatko primaaritulokset (fyysinen toimintakyky, kipu, ahdistus) tai taloudelliset seuraukset (potilaiden itsensämaksamat kustannukset, palvelujen käyttö) terveyteen liittyvään elämänlaatuun. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli löytää mahdolliset kriittiset ajankohdat tai tekijät, jotka saattavat hidastaa toipumista ja siten huonontaa potilaiden elämänlaatua. Tätä tietoa voidaan käyttää hoitotyössä kun suunnitellaan sopivaa hoitoa ja tukea toipumisajalle. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisessä vaiheessa primaarileikkaukseen tulevat potilaat (n = 17) kuvailivat teemahaastatteluissa kokemuksiaan kahdesti leikkauksen jälkeen. Haastatteluaineisto analysoitiin induktiivisella sisällönanalyysilla. Lisäksi 17 tutkimusartikkelista analysoitiin deduktiivisella sisällönanalyysilla leikkauksen tuloksia potilaalle, tuloksiin vaikuttavia tekijöitä ja käytetyt tutkimusmetodit. Toisessa vaiheessa primaari- tai revisioleikkaukseen tulevat potilaat (n = 100) arvioivat leikkauksen tuloksia kuuden kuukauden ajan leikkauksen jälkeen: terveyteen liittyvää elämänlaatua, primaarituloksia ja taloudellisia seurauksia. Aineisto kerättiin erilaisilla mittareilla: Sickness Impact Profile, Finnish Version, Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory, ja Numeric Rating Scale. Lisäksi käytettiin tätä tutkimusta varten tehtyjä kyselylomakkeita: Fyysinen toimintakyky-mittari, Palvelujen käyttö-mittari ja Kustannusmittari. Tutkimuksen toiseen vaiheen tulokset analysoitiin tilastollisilla menetelmillä. Potilaiden terveyteen liittyvä elämänlaatu parani ja kipu lievittyi leikkauksen jälkeen ja fyysinen toimintakyky lisääntyi toipumisaikana. Positiivisista muutoksista huolimatta potilaat kokivat ahdistusta samassa määrin kuin ennen leikkaustakin. Palvelujen käyttö vaihteli toipumisajan kuluessa ja potilaiden maksamissa kustannuksissa oli suuria vaihteluita. Fyysisen toimintakyvyn lisääntyminen ja kivun lieveneminen paransivat terveyteen liittyvää elämänlaatua. Sen sijaan huonompi elämänlaatu toipumisaikana oli yhteydessä suurempaan palvelujen käyttöön, kun taas kustannuksilla ei ollut yhteyttä elämänlaatuun. Potilaiden ominaispiirteet tulisi ottaa enemmän huomioon suunniteltaessa sopivaa leikkauksenjälkeistä hoitoa ja tukea. Potilaat tarvitsevat yksilöllisiä ohjeita, sillä monet taustatekijät (esim. ikä, sukupuoli, preoperatiivinen kipu, siviilisääty, ja leikkaustyyppi) vaikuttavat toipumiseen.This two-phase longitudinal follow-up study was conducted to examine the patientperceived impact of total hip arthroplasty when it is measured as changes in patients’ health-related quality of life. In descriptive phase I, the aim was twofold: first, to describe patients’ experiences of being a patient, of care, and of the health care organisation, and, second to describe patient outcomes of total hip arthroplasty on the basis of previous research. In explorative phase II the aim was to evaluate patientperceived health-related quality of life after surgery, and to what extent it is influenced by primary (physical function, pain, state anxiety) or economic (out-of-pocket-costs, service use) outcomes of total hip arthroplasty. The ultimate goal was to identify possible critical points of time as well as factors that may delay recovery and in that way worsen patients’ health-related quality of life. This knowledge may have uses innursing when planning postoperative patient care and support In phase I of the study 17 patients undergoing primary hip arthroplasty described their experiences in focused interviews twice after surgery. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse this data set. In addition, previous research papers (n = 17) were analysed using deductive content analysis to find out patient outcomes of THA, factors related to patient outcomes, and the research methods used. In phase II patients (n = 100) undergoing primary or revision hip arthroplasty evaluated the outcomes up to six months after surgery: health-related quality of life, primary, and economic outcomes. The data were collected by means of the Sickness Impact Profile, Finnish Version, Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Numeric Rating Scale, and a purpose-designed Physical function questionnaire, Service use questionnaire and Out-of-pocket costs diary. The phase II data were analysed using statistical methods. Patients’ health-related quality of life was improved and pain relieved after surgery, and their physical function increased during recovery. Despite positive changes patients’ anxiety remained at the preoperative level. Service use varied with recovery and patients’ out-of-pocket costs showed wide variation. Improvements in physical function and relief from pain improved patients’ health- related quality of life, whereas a worse postoperative health-related quality was associated with increased service use but not with out-of-pocket costs. Patients’ individual characteristics should be taken more into consideration in nursing when planning postoperative, relevant and sufficient patient care for recovery and support, as patients need personally tailored short- and long-term advice, depending on several background factors (e.g. age, gender, preoperative pain, civil status, and type of surgery).Siirretty Doriast

Massadata-analytiikan käyttöönoton ajurit ja haasteet pk-yrityksissä

Massadata-analytiikasta on muodostunut uusi voimavara, jota yritykset haluavat hyödyntää liiketoiminnassaan. Massadata-analytiikan ansiosta yrityksissä voidaan tehdä havaintoja, jotka olisivat muuten saattaneet jäädä löytämättä. Päätöksenteon tuennan lisäksi massadata-analytiikka voi mahdollistaa muun muassa paremman asiakastuntemuksen ja lisääntyneen innovoinnin. Merkittävä osuus massadata-analytiikkaa tutkivasta kirjallisuudesta on kuitenkin melko optimistista, eikä ilmiötä ole välttämättä tarkasteltu riittävän kriittisesti. Massadata-analytiikka ei sellaisenaan takaa kilpailuetua, sillä massadatan ominaisuudet voivat muodostaa haasteita samalla tavalla kuin mahdollisuuksia. Myös pk-yritykset ovat kiinnostuneita massadata-analytiikan hyödyntämisestä, mutta ne voivat kohdata käyttöönotossa erilaisia haasteita. Käyttöönoton haasteiden lisäksi pk-yritysten on varmistuttava siitä, että massadata-analytiikasta on ylipäätään hyötyä, järjestelmä omaksutaan ja käyttöönotto on kannattavaa. Tässä tutkielmassa selvitetään, mitkä teknologiset, organisatoriset ja ympäristölliset tekijät vaikuttavat massadata-analytiikan käyttöönottoon pk-yrityksissä. Lisäksi tarkastellaan, mitä haasteita massadata ja siihen sovellettu analytiikka voivat sellaisinaan aiheuttaa. Tutkielmassa esitetään, miten pk-yritykset voivat hyötyä massadata-analytiikasta. Massadata-analytiikan käyttöönoton ajureiksi pk-yrityksissä tunnistettiin suhteellinen hyöty, kokeiltavuus ja tarkasteltavuus, havaitut hyödyt, ylimmän johdon tuki, organisatorinen ja taloudellinen valmius, kauppiaiden ulkopuolinen tuki sekä paikallinen sääntely. Käyttöönoton haasteiksi luokiteltiin monimutkaisuus, epävarmuus ja turvattomuus, järjestelmän omaksuminen sekä ohjelmisto- ja työmarkkinoiden ongelmat. Ylimmän johdon tuki osoittautui tärkeimmäksi käyttöönottoon vaikuttavaksi tekijäksi, ja siksi jotkin ajurit ja mahdollisuudet ovatkin riippuvaisia johdon tuesta. Kannattavuuden arvioimiseksi pk-yritysten kannattaisi verrata havaittuja tekijöitä omiin olosuhteisiinsa ja pohtia, missä on eniten kehitettävää ja mitkä ominaisuudet ovat valmiiksi positiivisia tekijöitä. Pk-yritysten pitäisi lähestyä massadata-analytiikkaa ratkaisuna tunnistettuun ongelmaan, ei taattuna kilpailuetuna. Käyttöönottoon kannustamiseksi pk-yritysten pitäisi vähentää negatiivisia tekijöitä. Epävarmuutta ja turvattomuutta voidaan vähentää tarkasteltavuudella ja kokeiltavuudella, kun taas johdon tukea voidaan vahvistaa lisäämällä tietoisuutta saavutettavista hyödyistä. Yrityksen toimintaympäristön vakaudella voi myös olla vaikutusta siihen, minkä kategorian tekijät vaikuttavat käyttöönottoon muita enemmän

Nutritional and therapeutic properties of algae: applications and perspectives.

openNegli ultimi anni si è assistito ad una crescente richiesta di alimenti con proprietà salutari e che al contempo possano aiutare a soddisfare i bisogni nutritivi di una sempre crescente popolazione mondiale. Le alghe sono così state messe al centro dell’attenzione di numerosi studi che stanno approfondendo le numerose proprietà dei composti bioattivi in esse contenute: antidiabetiche, antiobesità, anticancro, antiossidanti, antinfiammatorie, antivirali e antibatteriche. Inoltre le alghe sono ricche di nutrienti quali polisaccaridi, minerali, vitamine, antiossidanti e proteine che possono aiutare a supplementare l’alimentazione umana, fornendo così una possibile alternativa a minor impatto ambientale rispetto alle fonti animali. Tuttavia nonostante i molti benefici si presentano diversi ostacoli che possono rallentare l'utilizzo di queste risorse nella dieta umana: i costi sono ancora elevati in quanto le tecnologie di coltivazione, raccolta ed elaborazione sono ancora arretrate per mancanza di interesse da parte delle industrie. Inoltre si prevede che ci possa essere una certa resistenza da parte dei consumatori i quali non sono ancora abituati a questo tipo di ingredienti e infine vi sono delle problematiche legate alle normative e dei paesi coinvolti

A formal framework for heterogeneous systems semantics

Cyber physical systems are usually complex systems which are often critical, meaning their failure can have significant negative impacts on human lives. A key point in their development is the verification and validation (V & V) activities which are used to assess their correctness towards user requirements and the associated specifications. This process aims at avoiding failure cases, thus preventing any incident or accident. In order to conduct these V & V steps on such complex systems, separations of concerns of various nature are used. In that purpose, the system is modeled using heterogeneous models that have to be combined together. The nature of these separations of concerns can be as follows: horizontal, which corresponds to a structural decomposition of the system; vertical, which corresponds to the different steps leading from the abstract specification to the concrete implementation; and transversal, which consists in gathering together the parts that are thematically identical (function, performance, security, safety...). These parts are usually expressed using domain specific modeling languages, while the V & V activities are historically conducted using testing and proofreading, and more and more often, using formal methods, which is advocated in our approach. In all these cases, the V & V activities must take into account these separations in order to provide confidence in the global system from the confidence of its sub-parts bound to the separation in question. In other words, to ensure the correctness of the system, a behavioral semantics is needed which has to rely on the ad-hoc semantics of the subsystems. In order to define it, these semantics must be successfully combined in a single formalism. This thesis stems from the GEMOC project a workbench that allows the definition of various languages along with their coordination properties, and target the formal modeling of the GEMOC core through the association of trace semantics to each preoccupation and the expression of constraints between them to encode the correct behavior of the system. This thesis follows several other works conducted under the TOPCASED, OPEES, QuarteFt, P and GEMOC projects, and provides four contributions in that global context: the first one proposes a methodology to give an operational semantics to executable models illustrated through two case studies: Petri nets and models of processes. The second one proposes a formal context on which refinement can be expressed to tackle vertical separation. The third one gives a denotational semantics to CCSL which is the language that is currently used in the GEMOC projects to express behavioural properties between events from one or several models, possibly heterogeneous. Finally, the fourth one proposes an investigation on how to extend CCSL with the notion of refinement we proposed. All these contribution are mechanized in the Agda proof assistant, and thus have been modeled and proven in a formal manner

From Theory to Praxis: Style, Dualism, and the Composition Classroom

Style, as a workable pedagogy, remains elusive to scholars, not for its lack of a definition, but because it seems to evoke a myriad of individual definitions. Further investigation into style literature reveals a gap between the theory of style and the practice of style, as no current essays investigate teacher's classroom practice regarding style. To bridge that gap, Oklahoma State University composition instructors were asked to complete a survey that addressed their definition, methodology, and assessment of style. Overwhelmingly, their response in each of these areas illustrates that their pedagogy is dualistic in nature, namely because it allows for style to remain identifiable, teachable, and applicable. Although these instructors approach style dualistically, this study reveals a vast amount of variation exists under the dualism umbrella, variation that should addressed in composition pedagogy courses. Finally, future work will combine dualistic, form-based approaches with monistic, voice based approaches to provide students with a rhetorical aim, as well as an expressive one.English Departmen

Thermodynamic characterization of substrate and inhibitor binding to Trypanosoma brucei 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase

6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase is a potential target for new drugs against African trypanosomiasis. Phosphorylated aldonic acids are strong inhibitors of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and 4-phospho-d-erythronate (4PE) and 4-phospho-d-erythronohydroxamate are two of the strongest inhibitors of the Trypanosoma brucei enzyme. Binding of the substrate 6-phospho-d-gluconate (6PG), the inhibitors 5-phospho-d-ribonate (5PR) and 4PE, and the coenzymes NADP, NADPH and NADP analogue 3-amino-pyridine adenine dinucleotide phosphate to 6-phospho-d-gluconate dehydrogenase from T. brucei was studied using isothermal titration calorimetry. Binding of the substrate (K(d) = 5 microm) and its analogues (K(d) =1.3 microm and K(d) = 2.8 microm for 5PR and 4PE, respectively) is entropy driven, whereas binding of the coenzymes is enthalpy driven. Oxidized coenzyme and its analogue, but not reduced coenzyme, display a half-site reactivity in the ternary complex with the substrate or inhibitors. Binding of 6PG and 5PR poorly affects the dissociation constant of the coenzymes, whereas binding of 4PE decreases the dissociation constant of the coenzymes by two orders of magnitude. In a similar manner, the K(d) value of 4PE decreases by two orders of magnitude in the presence of the coenzymes. The results suggest that 5PR acts as a substrate analogue, whereas 4PE mimics the transition state of dehydrogenation. The stronger affinity of 4PE is interpreted on the basis of the mechanism of the enzyme, suggesting that the inhibitor forces the catalytic lysine 185 into the protonated state

Exploring Cortical Attentional System by Using fMRI during a Continuous Perfomance Test

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed in eight healthy subjects to identify the localization, magnitude, and volume extent of activation in brain regions that are involved in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response during the performance of Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT). An extensive brain network was activated during the task including frontal, temporal, and occipital cortical areas and left cerebellum. The more activated cluster in terms of volume extent and magnitude was located in the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Analyzing the dynamic trend of the activation in the identified areas during the entire duration of the sustained attention test, we found a progressive decreasing of BOLD response probably due to a habituation effect without any deterioration of the performances. The observed brain network is consistent with existing models of visual object processing and attentional control and may serve as a basis for fMRI studies in clinical populations with neuropsychological deficits in Conners' CPT performance