Insect cytochromes P450: diversity, insecticide resistance and tolerance to plant toxins

Elastin fibres can be decomposed into their constituting proteins using several processes; in particular by saponification of some bonds with KOH in aqueous tertiobutyl alcohol, elastin solubilized proteins - ESP- of 10 to 200 KDa were produced with a good yield (70-80%). It is demonstrated that some of these proteins were capable of tightly re-associating with the native elastin fibres and remained bound on the fibres, in spite of several drastic washes using 1 M Guanidinium, HCl at 37 degrees C for 1 h. At pH 4-5, approximately 30-40 microg ESP were retained per mg elastin. The same association is also shown to occur, under similar conditions, with Poly-ethylene-terephthalate, Poly-hexamethylene diamine-adipic acid but not with polyurethanes. The optimal conditions of the coupling were described as depending on ESP concentration, time, pH, ionic strength and Ca++. It was also shown that opposite pH conditions, i.e. pH 14, 0.5 M NaOH, could allow the retained proteins to desorb from polyesters. Hence, it will be possible to determine the sort of proteins which could be involved. This property of ESP allows us (1) to better understand the exceptional capacity of tissue repair certainly due to adhesive properties of the artificial connective matrices containing elastin or ESP, developed in our laboratory, (2) to provide a new approach for elucidating elastin microstructure and function, (3) especially to provide a new mode for coating certain fibres, yielding materials with bioactive and biofunctional qualities.     

"ESP and credibility in science": Response.

Responds to R. A. McConnell's (see record 1969-16553-001) concern that psychologists are uninterested in ESP from a physicist's point of view. A causal explanation in terms of physical interactions is needed to interest scientists in ESP, since explaining ESP requires the assumption of a new kind of force. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pharmacological characterization of novel tissue kallikrein inhibitors in vivo

In this study we have investigated the effect of novel tissue kallikreins on the plasma protein exudation induced by porcine pancreatic kallikrein (PPK) in the rabbit skin in vivo. The tissue kallikrein inhibitors here described were synthesized based on analogues of peptide substrates for tissue kallikreins. The intradermal injection of PPK and rabbit urinary kallikrein, but not of rabbit plasma kallikrein, significantly increased the microvascular permeability leading to local oedema formation in the rabbit skin. At the dose of 3-200 nmol/site, the intradermal co-administration of the tissue kallikrein inhibitors Bz-F-F-S-R-EDDnp (Ki = 0.1 microM; ESP5), PAC-F-S-R-EDDnp (Ki = 0.7 microM; ESP6), Bz-F-F-A-P-R-NH2 (Ki = 7.8 microM; ESP8), PAC-F-F-R-P-R-NH2 (Ki = 0.3 microM; ESP9) and Bz-F-F-S-R-NH2 (Ki = 0.3 microM; ESP11) dose-dependently inhibited the plasma protein exudation induced by PPK. The most potent compound was ESP6 (IC25 = 7.8 nmol/site) followed by ESP5 (IC25 = 14.2 nmol/site), ESP8 (IC25 = 25 nmol/site), ESP9 (IC25 = 30 nmol/site) and ESP11 (IC25 = 50.4 nmol/site). The compounds Bz-F-F-R-P-R-NH2 (Ki = 0.5 microM; ESP1), Bz-F-F-pNa (Ki = 0.4 microM; ESP3), Bz-F(NH2)-F-R-P-R-NH2 (Ki = 1.1 microM; ESP7) and Bz-F-F-S-P-R-NH2 (Ki = 4.6 microM; ESP10) had no significant effect on the PPK-induced plasma protein exudation in doses up to 200 nmol/site. ESP6 also inhibited the PPK-induced plasma protein exudation when administered systemically. This compound may constitute a useful tool to further investigate both the physiological and pathological role of tissue kallikreins.     

Science's legitimate resistance to extrasensory perception: A reply to McConnell.

Responds to R. A. McConnell's (see record 1969-16553-001) concern that psychologists are uninterested in ESP. The problem lies in the possible implications of the label ESP. It is suggested that a better label would be neosensory perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of the ESP culture system II for testing susceptibilities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates to four primary antituberculous drugs

The reliability of the ESP Culture System II (herein referred to as ESP II) for testing susceptibilities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates to isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, and streptomycin was evaluated by comparing results to those of the method of proportion (MOP), which was considered the reference method, for 20 clinical isolates and 30 challenge strains provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Clinical isolates also were tested with the BACTEC TB 460 system; these results agreed with those obtained by the MOP for all isolates and all drugs, except the high concentration of isoniazid, for which agreement was 95%. After resolution of discrepancies, levels of agreement between ESP II and MOP for the clinical isolates were 95 and 100%, respectively, for the low and high concentrations of isoniazid, 100% for rifampin and ethambutol, and 95% for streptomycin. For the 30 challenge isolates, ESP II results for both concentrations of isoniazid agreed with the expected results in all cases, whereas agreement was 93% for both rifampin and streptomycin and 90% for ethambutol. All discrepancies with the CDC isolates were due to failure of ESP II to correctly classify resistant strains. By testing isolates yielding discrepant ethambutol and streptomycin results with a lower concentration of both drugs in the ESP II system, agreement increased to 93% for ethambutol and 100% for streptomycin. For the clinical isolates, the times to an ESP II result of susceptible (means +/- standard errors of the means) were 8.47 +/- 0.12 days (range, 7 to 10 days) and 8.73 +/- 0.29 days (range, 5 to 11 days) when the inoculum was prepared from a McFarland equivalent and from a seed bottle, respectively. The time to an ESP II result of resistant varied by drug and method of inoculum preparation, ranging from 5.50 +/- 0.22 days for ethambutol with the inoculum prepared from a McFarland standard to 8. 0 days for ethambutol with the inoculum prepared from a seed bottle. These data suggest that the ESP II system is a rapid and reliable method for testing susceptibilities of M. tuberculosis isolates to isoniazid and rifampin. Performance, however, may be suboptimal for ethambutol and streptomycin. Testing additional ethambutol-resistant and streptomycin-resistant strains with two concentrations of both drugs is necessary.     

Multicenter comparison of ESP Culture System II with BACTEC 460TB and with Lowenstein-Jensen medium for recovery of mycobacteria from different clinical specimens, including blood

The recently developed ESP Culture System II (AccuMed, Chicago, Ill.) was compared with radiometric BACTEC 460TB (Becton Dickinson, Towson, Md.) and with Lowenstein-Jensen medium for recovery of mycobacteria from over 2,500 clinical specimens both of respiratory and nonrespiratory origin, including blood. The majority of the 219 mycobacterial isolates (129) belonged to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, followed by 37 isolates of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) and 53 isolates of eight other mycobacterial species. Rates of recovery obtained with BACTEC, ESP, and Lowenstein-Jensen medium were 89, 79, and 64%, respectively, with such differences being statistically significant. Different media and systems appeared to behave differently when the more frequently detected organisms were considered: M. tuberculosis complex isolates grew better with BACTEC, and MAC isolates grew better with ESP. An analysis of the combinations of Lowenstein-Jensen medium with BACTEC and with ESP did not reveal significant differences in recovery rates. With regard to the times needed for the detection of positive cultures, they were significantly longer on Lowenstein-Jensen medium (average, 28 days) than with the remaining two systems, between which there was no difference (average, 18 days). We conclude, therefore, that the ESP system, when used in combination with a solid medium, performs as well as the thoroughly validated radiometric BACTEC system and offers the advantages of full automation and absence of radioisotopes.     

东烧厂静电除尘器的改造

介绍了静电除尘器大修及技术改造的一些做法。通过改变除尘器本体的阴、阳极极配形式,降低烟气流速,采用三相高压电源供电和气力输灰工艺等技术措施,提高了烧结静电除尘器的效率。     

How does one decide about ESP?

Comments on the article by J. C. Crumbaugh entitled "ESP and flying saucers: A challenge to parapsychologists" (see record 2005-12015-013). The present author takes issue with two major points made by Crumbaugh. The first has to do with his proposal as a scientific procedure, the second with his conception of where parapsychology stands today. But first there are two minor factual errors that should be corrected. In one lesser slip Crumbaugh refers to "most reputable experimentalists" being led to "lose interest in ESP." As a matter of fact, there has never been any such wholesale interest to be lost, either on the part of experimentalists in psychology or out of it, arid whether reputable or not. The other rather small correction deals with Crumbaugh's remark that "Rhine has rejected the observations of an experiment by a skeptical committee or individual..." The present author states that at no time has he rejected any such observation; moreover there are, as Crumbaugh himself doubtless knows, significant experimental results of ESP experiments conducted with observers present, some of them known to be skeptical. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

ESP and flying saucers: A challenge to parapsychologists.

It has been claimed that the reason it may be impossible to devise a "repeatable" ESP experiment--one that gives results favorable to ESP in at least a majority of repetitions done by qualified skeptical experimenters--is that variables of personality and of attitude toward ESP in experimenters as well as in subjects affect results and that some experimenters are doomed to failure. On occasion, the necessity of this criterion of repeatability has been blandly denied, although it has been a fundamental requirement of proof in all experimental science. Both flying saucers and ESP may exist, but few trained experimentalists will accept them as proved until they have met all criteria of controlled experimentation, including repeatability of the observations. To obtain this proof the experimenter must accept the responsibility of specifying the conditions under which consistent observations may be made. Since there is no universal negative, an hypothesis of the nature of ESP cannot, be disproved, and the burden of proof rests squarely on the positive claimants. As a major step in furnishing the necessary repeatability for experimental proof of ESP, the author challenges the parapsychologists to settle upon one experimental design--any one that offers adequate control--and to obtain adequate repetitions of it with positive results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical evaluation of a new non-radiometric automatic system for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is again a public health problem un many countries and is considered a re-emerging disease. The fastest possible diagnosis in our patients is essential for TB control programs. ESP is a non-radioactive, totally automated, continuously monitored system designed to detect mycobacteria. METHODS: Clinical evaluation of this new system for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis. During 1997 a total of 1,022 clinical sputum specimens were investigated. Specimens were processed in triplicate for ESP, BACTEC 460 TB and L?wenstein-Jensen systems. The validity, isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and time required for detecting M. tuberculosis by the three systems were determined. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values of the new systems were 98%, 99.8%, 98% and 99.8%, respectively. No significant differences were found between the recovery rates by the three systems. The mean time for detection was 10 days (range: 7-13 days) for specimens with positive bacilloscopy and 14 days (range: 10-28 days) for specimens with negative bacilloscopy. The difference was statistically significant between ESP and L?wenstein-Jensen, but not between ESP and BACTEC. CONCLUSIONS: The new system proved to have an excellent sensitivity and specificity, which along with its total automation renders it a system of great clinical interest for the rapid diagnosis of TB and an alternative method for radiometric systems.     

Influence of iron-removal procedures on sequential electron transfer in photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers studied by transient EPR spectroscopy

Electron spin polarized electron paramagentic resonance (ESP EPR) spectra were obtained with deuterated iron-removed photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers (RCs) to specifically investigate the effect of the rate of primary charge separation, metal-site occupancy, and H-subunit content on the observed P865+QA- charge-separated state. Fe-removed and Zn-substituted RCs from Rb. sphaeroides R-26 were prepared by refined procedures, and specific electron transfer rates (kQ) from the intermediate acceptor H- to the primary acceptor QA of (200 ps)-1 vs (3-6 ns)-1 were observed. Correlation of the transient EPR and optical results shows that the observed slow kQ rate in Fe-removed RCs is H-subunit-independent, and, in some cases, independent of Fe-site occupancy as Zn2+ substitution does not ensure retention of the native kQ. In addition, shifts in the optical spectrum of P865 and differences in the high-field region of the Q-band ESP spectrum for Fe-removed RCs with slow kQ indicate possible structural changes near P865. The experimental X-band and Q-band spin-polarized EPR spectra for deuterated Fe-removed RCs where kQ is at least 15-fold slower at room temperature than the (200 ps)-1 rate observed for native Fe-containing RCs have different relative amplitudes and small g-value shifts compared to the spectra of Zn-RCs which have a kQ unchanged from native RCs. These differences reflect the trends in polarization predicted from the sequential electron transfer polarization (SETP) model [Morris et al. (1995) J. Phys. Chem. 99, 3854-3866; Tang et al. (1996) Chem. Phys. Lett. 253, 293-298]. Thus, SETP modeling of these highly resolved ESP spectra obtained with well-characterized proteins will provide definitive information about any light-induced structural changes of P865, H, and QA that occur upon formation of the P865+QA- charge-separated state.     

Predicting Accuracy of Early Cost Estimates Based on Estimate Quality

The accuracy of an estimate is measured by how well the estimated cost compares to the actual total installed cost. The accuracy of an early estimate depends on four determinants: (1) who was involved in preparing the estimate; (2) how the estimate was prepared; (3) what was known about the project; and (4) other factors considered while preparing the estimate. This paper presents results of a research effort that developed an estimate scoring system to measure the impact of these four determinants on estimate accuracy. The estimate scoring system consists of 45 elements and is organized into 4 divisions. Data were collected from 67 projects, representing $5.6 billion in total installed costs, and used to correlate the estimate scores with estimated versus actual costs. Statistical analyses determined the relative influence of the 45 elements, based on collected project data. The results showed a significant correlation between the estimate score and the accuracy of the estimate. Computer software, the Estimate Score Program (ESP), was developed to automate the scoring procedure, assess estimate accuracy, and predict contingency, based on historical cost data. The estimator can enter the base estimate into ESP and then rate the estimate, relative to each of the 45 elements. ESP automatically calculates the estimate score, as the user rates each element. The user can query the ESP historical database to view the estimate scores and estimate accuracy of similar projects. A cumulative probability S-curve, generated by ESP, is based on projects selected in the query and the estimate score of interest. The user can also predict the cost range—upper and lower limits—of a desired confidence level. ESP can be used to “check” the amount of contingency determined by other methods, as well as a method of predicting its own contingency.     

烧结机头电除尘改造浅析

简要介绍了青钢烧结公司二烧车间105m2烧结机头原电除尘系统的运行问题,分析了影响电除尘运行参数的因素与原因及对系统参数的选择,阐述了系统改造方案：调整除尘器内部板线间距和除尘器结构,并更换了更智能化的电气控制系统,强化了设备对含尘气体的处理能力。改造后的电除尘系统连续运行了近半年,效果显著,为烧结机头电除尘系统的进一步优化提供了经验。     

Does psi exist? Lack of replication of an anomalous process of information transfer.

D. J. Bern and C. Honorton (1994) recently presented in this journal a set of ganzfeld extrasensory perception (ESP) experiments conducted by C. Honorton that appeared to support the existence of a communication anomaly. In this article, the authors present a meta analysis of 30 ganzfeld ESP studies from 7 independent laboratories adhering to the same stringent methodological guidelines that C. Honorton followed. The studies failed to confirm his main effect of participants scoring above change on the ESP task, Souffer z?=?0.70, p?=?.24, one-tailed; M effect size (z/N1/2)?=?0.013, SD?=?0.23. The new studies included replication attempts of 3 out of 5 internal effects reported as statistically significant by D. J. Bern and C. Honorton. Only 1 was confirmed, and the authors found the D. J. Bern and C. Honorton were mistaken in describing the original effect as being statistically significant. The authors conclude that the ganzfeld technique does not at present offer a replicable method for producing ESP in the laboratory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Clemmer.

Responds to comments by E. J. Clemmer (see record 1987-05931-001) concerning the present author's (see record 1986-13291-001) discussion of the occurrence of ESP in dreams, suggesting that Clemmer's interpretation is based largely on analogies from other areas of parapsychological research and an a priori rejection of parapsychological phenomena. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

异型板坯电渣转铸工艺的研究

设计了电渣转铸的活动熔池和固定结晶器。利用电渣转铸的提升设备和电磁型钢液面的微机检测系统，详细地研究了电渣转铸工艺过程，并讨论了活动熔池的结构、引锭板的起始位置以及分电流对电渣转铸工艺的影响。     

电除尘器在氧化铝焙烧系统中的应用

介绍电除尘器在氧化铝焙烧过程中的应用,重点介绍了德国鲁奇公司电除尘器的气流均布板、极板、极线及振打装置等内部结构和高压电气、自控系统的特点以及成功应用。     

ESP and credibility in science.

Places the ESP controversy in an epistemological context. The possibility of hoaxes is discussed and the distinction between legal and scientific proof presented. From study of the history of science, it is concluded that evidence in scientific journals concerning controversial subjects is generally regarded dubiously by laymen. The need for more attention in psychology textbooks concerning ESP is stressed. Upton Sinclair's 3-yr ESP picture-drawing experiment is summarized. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of the ESP Culture System II for recovery of mycobacteria from blood specimens collected in isolator tubes

The reliability of the ESP Culture System II (ESP II; AccuMed International, Westlake, Ohio), a continuously monitoring, nonradiometric mycobacterial culture system, for recovery of mycobacteria from sediments of blood collected in an Isolator tube was evaluated by comparing its performance to inoculation of the sediment onto Middlebrook 7H11/7H11 selective biplates. Of 1,704 blood specimens, 73 (4.3%) were positive for mycobacteria (68 Mycobacterium avium complex and 5 M. tuberculosis). Fifty-three specimens were positive by both methods; 13 were positive by ESP II only, and 7 were positive by Middlebrook agar only (chi square = 1.8; P > 0.05). The mean times to positivity were 15.6 days for ESP II and 19.0 days for Middlebrook agar (P < 0.01). The time to detection was the same for 13 specimens; ESP II was positive first for 33, and agar plates were positive first for 7. ESP II allowed recovery of more mycobacteria (90.4% of all isolates versus 82.2% for Middlebrook agar) from sediments of blood specimens collected in Isolator tubes, and it provided significantly faster detection than did Middlebrook plates.     

Not so anomalous observations question ESP in dreams.

In responding to I. L. Child's (see record 1986-13291-001) discussion of ESP in dreams and critique of reviews critical to parapsychology, the present author emphasizes the importance of issues of experimental control and the possibility of bias and questions the results presented to support parapsychology. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)