ENDOR and ESEEM studies of a cyanide adduct of transferrin

Information about the ligand environment of the iron binding sites in a cyanide adduct of transferrin was obtained by an analysis of powder-type ENDOR and ESEEM spectra. The low-spin cyanide adduct of transferrin is formed only in the C-terminal site of the protein and is characterized by a rhombic EPR spectrum. Earlier work demonstrated that three cyanide groups are necessary to form the adduct, but it wasn\u27t clear whether these groups were coordinated directly to the metal or to cationic sites on the protein. The ENDOR spectra of the \sp{13}CN adduct showed one set of \sp{13}C ENDOR resonances which probably corresponds to only one or two of the CN groups, the other(s) being ENDOR silent. Simulations of the ENDOR line positions indicate a substantial isotropic coupling and smaller dipolar couplings. From an analysis of the orientation dependent dipolar term it is concluded that the carbon giving rise to the ENDOR signals lies along the g\sb{\rm xx} axis of the g-tensor. The iron-carbon distance was calculated based on a point dipole model and a model in which the ground state metal-based d\sb{\rm xy} orbital of the electron was considered explicitly. ESEEM studies with C\sp{15}N indicated that there are at least two equivalent CN groups coordinated to the iron center. The maximum hyperfine coupling for the nitrogen was observed near g\sb{\rm xx} which is consistent with the ENDOR results which placed the carbon of the cyanide group on the g\sb{\rm xx} axis. There is a substantial hyperfine contribution along g\sb{\rm zz} which indicates that the CN bond is not aligned along the g\sb{\rm xx} axis. The lack of resolved couplings in the spectrum along g\sb{\rm yy} makes it impossible to determine the nitrogen position exactly. The ESEEM spectra of the C\sp{14}N adduct were complicated, presumably because the Zeeman and hyperfine terms did not cancel at the spectrometer frequencies used. The ESEEM and ENDOR spectra of the D\sb2O solvent exchanged adduct demonstrated that water does not coordinate directly to the iron. The ESEEM of the g\sp\prime = 4.3 signal which arises from the high-spin N-terminal site was also studied and the observed ESEEM resonances were attributed to histidine nitrogen

KINEMATIC COMPARISON OF THE BEST AND WORST THROWS OF THE TOP MEN’S DISCUS PERFORMERS AT THE 1996 ATLANTA OLYMPIC GAMES

INTRODUCTION: Kinematic comparisons were made of the best and worst discus throws by the top four male performers at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. METHODS: The discus throws of the qualifying and final rounds were filmed by three video cameras at distances from 50 to 80m. One camera was situated at the back of the circle, camera 2 was to the side, and camera 3 was positioned at 45 degrees to the left-front of the circle. Dimensions of the circle and anatomical locations served as 9 calibration points used in the DLT conversion of 21 data points to real coordinates which were smoothed at 10 Hz with a digital lowpass filter. Kinematic variables of the discus throwing technique were calculated for each performer’s best and worst throws. RESULTS: The medalist throws were 69.4 m (OR) by Riedel, 66.6, 65.8, and 65.4 m for Dubrovshchik, Kaptyukh, and Washington. The performers’ poorest throws were 6.3, 6.9, 2.0, and 4.1 m shorter, respectively. 1. The resultant release velocities calculated for the best (worst) throws were 3118 (3008), 2725 (3343), 2567 (2269), and 2500 (2440) cm/s for Riedel, Dubrovshchik, Kaptyukh, and Washington, respectively. 2. The projection angles for best (worst) throws were 32.4 (30.2), 30.0 (36.4), 35.4 (30.8) and 29.9 (59.9) degrees for Riedel, Dubrovshchik, Kaptyukh, and Washington. 3. The horizontal velocity due to body torsion showed that Riedel and Washington used less twisting action in their poor throws and Dubrovshchik used substantially more torsion. 4. The changes between trials in the horizontal velocities due to arm action were – 4.5%, +.9%, -10%, and –43.3% for Riedel, Dubrovshchik, Kaptyukh, and Washington, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: An examination of selected kinematic variables of discus throwing techniques showed that poor throwing trials by the top performers at the 1996 Olympic Games were caused by improper projection angles, faulty plant foot blocking action, and poor transfer of velocities from the torso to the arm and then the discus

Social work intervention with adults who self-neglect in England: responding to the Care Act 2014

Purpose – The paper reports on findings from an evaluative research study which looked at a timed intervention model of practice comprising of up to 24 weeks of intensive meetings with adult service users set up by one local authority in England, to prevent and delay the need for care and support. A particular focus of this paper is adults who hoard. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a mixed-methods design, consisting of interviews with service users (n=13); social workers (n=3); social work managers (n=2); and stakeholders from external services and agencies (n=6). It included a costings analysis of staff time and an analysis of service users’ goals and of ‘satisfaction with life’ self-report questionnaires (n=20), completed at pre- and post-intervention stages. Findings – There was evidence that social workers used strengths, relationship-based and outcome-focused approaches in their work. The techniques used by social workers to engage, achieve change and assess effectiveness with service users varied. These included the use of photographs to enable the service user to map and assess their own progress over time, encouraging hoarders to declutter and reclaim their living space. The service users valued the time the social workers spent with them and the way that they were treated with sensitivity and respect. Research limitations/implications – The study focused on one local authority in England; there was no comparison group. This, and the small sample size, means that statistical generalisations cannot be made and only limited conclusions can be drawn from the quantitative data

GP project: Process and impact evaluation

University of Western Sydney (UWS) was commissioned by the NSW Sexually Transmissible Infections Programs Unit (STIPU) to evaluate the General Practitioner (GP) Project in collaboration Prof. Usherwood and Dr Kang. The GP Project aimed to promote the delivery of evidence-based sexual healthcare within primary care in NSW; this was addressed through the development, promotion, and delivery of nine items tailored for NSW GPs and practice nurses (PNs). For GPs, the items include a double-sided A4-size STI Testing Tool; the online STI Resources for General Practice; a Drivetime Radio Medical CD, which included an interview related to STIs; the Online STI Testing Tool GP Training; an STI Active Learning Module (ALM) for General Practitioners; three sexual health articles in General Practice periodicals; and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Check booklet. For PNs, items included the Practice Nurse Postcard on pap smears and chlamydia, and Online STI Practice Nurse Training

BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SHOT-PUT EVENT AT THE 2004 ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES

The purpose of this study was to analyze the best shot put performances in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Multiple high speed digital video cameras were placed in specific locations on the field at proper angles in order to capture the performance of the athletes in the preliminaries and finals. Two stationary cameras were placed at 45 degrees to each other. In addition 3 more cameras used by the NBC broadcasting were used to assist the other 2 cameras. Temporal and kinematics variables were calculated from the videos records and were analyzed yielding three-dimensional biomechanical results. Patterns of the segmental movements were used rather than absolute values, to assist the athletes and the coaches in the analysis of the performances. Kinematics parameters for the best 3 fina'l performers were presented in this study

Food Security and Homelessness in the City of Anaheim

The primary purpose of the City of Anaheim’s 2007 Homeless Survey was to provide city staff with an opportunity to understand the characteristics of the City’s homeless population. The purpose of this study was to determine whether food insecurity was associated with: (1) homelessness, (2) demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnicity, (3) mental and physical illness, and (4) family life among 85 homeless individuals in Anaheim. Although duration of homelessness was not associated with food insecurity, we found that older participants, White participants, and those with more symptoms of schizophrenia were more likely to experience food insecurity. The results suggest that a substantial proportion of homeless individuals experience food insecurity, and that many of them do not utilize food resources. Although the present study was limited in range, the results demonstrate the existence of food insecurity among the homeless of Anaheim. This problem may continue to exist unless new policies are enacted to compensate the current void in services. A follow-up study to examine the current policies affecting the Anaheim homeless population would provide a strong foundation and direction for future policies

BIOMECHANICAL INTEGRATION OF ESSENTIAL HUMAN MOVEMENT PARAMETERS

INTRODUCTION: This project consisted of the development and application of the Ariel APASview software to dynamically view simultaneous EMG, kinematic, kinetic, forceplate data, graphs, AVI video and 3-D StickFigures for clinical, sport and ergonomic applications. Visual observation and cinematographic records are typically utilized to perform biomechanical analyses of sports techniques, clinical evaluations of pathological movement, and ergonomic analysis. The use of permanent cine and more recently videographic records permit the observer to increase the frequency of the visually freezing the motion and replaying the movement for subsequent analysis. However, these earlier procedures did not allow for simultaneous integration of multiple views and the display of the numerical/graphical data for the observed human movement. Technological developments in hardware and software currently facilitate the integration of video, force plate, and EMG data. This dynamic integration of video, 3-D stick figures, numerical and graphical data Provide a powerful tool for visually syn-chronized analysis of sport, clinical, and ergonomic movements