Flood Risk Analysis Based on Information Diffusion Theory

Due to the fact that the flood data series of small drainage basins is relatively short, available data are often not sufficient for flood risk analysis. This presents the problem of risk analysis using very small data samples. One method that can be applied is to regard the available small samples as fuzzy information and optimize them using information diffusion technology to yield analytical results with greater reliability. In this article a risk analysis method based on information diffusion theory is applied to create a new flood risk analysis model. Application of the model is illustrated taking the Jinhuajiang and Qujiang drainage basins as examples. This is a new attempt at applying information diffusion theory in flood risk analysis. Computations based on this analytical flood risk model can yield an estimated flood damage value that is relatively accurate. This study indicates that the aforementioned model exhibits fairly stable analytical results, even when using a small set of sample data. The results also indicate that information diffusion technology is highly capable of extracting useful information and therefore improves system recognition accuracy. This method can be easily applied and the analytical results produced are easy to understand. Results are accurate enough to act as a guide in disaster situations.     

Conformationally altered aortic myosin light chains

Aorta smooth myosin contains two types of light chain, LC20 and LC17, which fold together with the N-terminal region of each heavy chain to form the globular head region of myosin. We demonstrate an altered conformation of LC20 after its separation from heavy chain by high concentrations of urea, on the basis of the following evidende: 1) A polyclonal antibody against LC20 was not able to recognize this conformationally altered form; 2) Myosin reconstituted from heavy chains and urea-dissociated light chains exhibited extremely low ATPase activity. Circular dichroism unfolding profiles showed that light chains dissociated from heavy chains by SDS appeared to be more stable than those generated by urea dissociation.     

Characterization of Aspergillus niger catalase

Aspergillus niger catalase has been characterized by a variety of physical techniques including gel filtration, sedimentation rate and equilibrium methods and photon correlation spectroscopy. The catalase has a sedimentation coefficient (S₂₀⁰) of 14.2 ± 0.08 S and diffusion coefficient (D₂₀⁰) of 4.14 ± 0.35 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹. The average molecular weight of the catalase from all available data including current sedimentation equilibrium measurements and two previous literature values is 345 000. The frictional ratio of the molecule assuming a hydration parameter similar to that of bovine liver catalase (.3 g H₂O g⁻¹) is 1.103, suggesting that Aspergillus niger catalase has an asymmetric structure with an axial ratio of approximately 3 (the Stokes radius is 5.83 ± 0.49 nm). The titration curve and amino acid analysis indicate that in the native conformation only 23% of the ionizable amino acid residues are titratable between pH 3 and 10.5. Denaturation with sodium n-dodecylsulphate increases the number of titratable groups to 46%. The ratio of anionic to cationic amino acid residues in Aspergillus niger catalase is 2.46 and the isoelectric point is 6.5. The optimum pH for catalytic activity is approximately 7.     

Depolarized fluorescence photobleaching recovery

The effects of the fact that the laser sources typically used in fluorescence photobleaching recovery (FPR) experiments in the most commonly employed in-line microscope imaging geometries, are highly linearly polarized, are examined in some detail. The implications of the results, in particular for the interpretation of FPR data in complex cell membrane systems in terms of laterally mobile and immobile sub-populations of the labelled molecular species of concern, are discussed. Methods of experimentally eliminating the potentially major rotational diffusion-based artifacts, different from those appropriate to three-dimensional (solution or suspension) systems which require other than in-line geometries, are delineated.Abbreviations FPR fluorescence photobleaching recovery - FRAP fluorescence recovery after photobleaching - 2- and 3-D two- and three-dimensional     

Rapid lateral diffusion of lectin-labelled glycoconjugates in the human colonic adenocarcinoma cell line HT29

The lateral diffusion of lectin-labelled glycoconjugates was studied in the human colon carcinoma cell line HT29 using fluorescence photobleaching techniques. HT29 cells were grown in either Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium with glucose (25 mM; DMEM-Glu) or with galactose (25 mM; DMEM-Gal). Cell cultivation in the DMEM-Gal medium was assumed to promote a transformation of the cells to become small-intestinal-like with characteristic microvilli and associated enzymes. The diffusion of glycoconjugates labelled with fluoresceinated Triticum vulgaris agglutinin (Wheat germ agglutinin; WGA), Ricinus communis agglutinin-I (RCA-I), Concanavalia ensiformis agglutinin (ConA), Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I) and Arachis hypogaea agglutinin (PNA) was in all cases rapid, with a diffusion constant (D) ranging between 0.4 and 0.8×10^-8 cm² s^-1. As a comparison the diffusion of the fluorescent synthetic lipid analog diI-C₁₄ was characterized by D=0.8 – 1.0 × 10^–8 cm² s^-1. The diffusion of lectin-labelled surface components could not be related to the presence of microvilli on HT29 cells grown in DMEM-Gal, which ought to yield an apparently lower diffusion rate. The results indicate either that surface glycoconjugates in HT29 cells are dominated by glycolipid, or that the labelled glycoproteins are more or less free to diffuse in the plane of the membrane.     

Bounding fluid viscosity and translational diffusion in a fluid lipid bilayer

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching was used to investigate the translational diffusion of a fluorescent derivative of a membrane-spanning lipid in L phase multibilayers of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine prepared in water and in glycerol. The translational diffusion coefficient in hydrated bilayers (D _w) ranged between 2 and 5x10^–8 cm²/s and in glycerinated bilayers (D _g) the range was between 3 and 24×10^–10 cm²/s between 10° and 40°C. These results are discussed in terms of models for diffusion in membranes.     

Convergence to stationary distributions in two-species stochastic competition models

Two sets of sufficient conditions are given for convergence to stationary distributions, for some general models of two species competing in a randomly varying environment. The models are nonlinear stochastic difference equations which define Markov chains. One set of sufficient conditions involves strong continuity and -irreducibility of the transition probability for the chain. The second set has a much weaker irreducibility condition, but is only applicable to monotonic models. The results are applied to a stochastic two-species Ricker model, and to Chesson's lottery model with vacant space, to illustrate how the assumptions can be checked in specific models.     

Antigenic mapping of a human λ light chain: Correlation with three dimensional structure

Although the amino acid sequence and three-dimensional structure of human immunoglobulin light chains have been known for more than 15 years, the location of antigenic markers characteristic of chains has not been determined. Here, we use a set of synthetic overlapping peptides to completely model the sequence of the chain Mcg and test these for the binding or rabbit and goat antisera specific for chain determinants. We assess peptide contributions to -antigenic reactivity and also to identify a portion of C-region where conformational factors contribute to the antigenicity. Specific determinants occur both in the constant and variable (first and third framework) domains of the molecule. The fourth framework of the variable region, a segment specified by the joining gene, is also recognized and cross-reacts antigenically with the homologous region of T cell receptor chains. Major specific determinants are localized in the N- and C-terminal segments, which are linear and devoid of major conformational folding. Other segments that are strongly antigenic, such as the third framework of the V region (residue 78–93) and a segment of the constant region (residues 177–192), show strong conformational dependence in antigenicity.     

Rotational correlation times of peptides determined by perturbed angular correlations of γ-rays

The technique of Perturbed Angular Correlations of -rays has been used to study the rotational correlation times in aqueous solution of the peptides: oxytocin, glycyltryptophan, cholecystokinin and the glycopeptide ristocetin. These peptides were labelled with excited ^111mCd through the covalent coupling of the metal chelator diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) to the primary amines-of the peptides. The experimental correlation times are in good accordance with calculations based on the molecular weight. This indicates that the ^111mCd-DTPA is rigidly bound to the molecules. In the case of ristocetin, the correlation time was measured at 2°C, 25°C and 38°C. These experiments show the expected linear dependence on the viscosity divided by temperature. The feasibility of determining rotational correlation times for peptides without lysines and with correlation times in the ns region is thus demonstrated. Also, the correlation time of ^111mCd-DTPA coupled to the lysines of bovine serum albumin was determined. The measured correlation time is about 5 times less than the calculated correlation time. This effect is assigned to local motion. In spite of this, experiments show that ^111mCd-DTPA-bovine-serum-albumin is significantly immobilised by aggregation with immunoglobulins. The nuclear quadrupole interactions, necessary for determining the correlations times, were determined for ^111mCd-DTPA-ristocetin and ^111mCd-DTPA-bovine-serum-albumin by adding sucrose to a concentration of 63% and cooling to 2°C. This showed a small but significant difference between the two molecules. We interpret this as due to different conformations, possibly different coordination numbers. Offprint requests to: E. Danielsen     

Transmembrane diffusion of hydrophobic antimicrobial agents and cell surface hydrophobicity in Bacteroides fragilis

The transmembrane diffusion of hydrophobic antimicrobial agents, e.g. lincomycin and clindamycin, was examined in Bacteroides fragilis which is sensitive to these agents. The results showed that these agents penetrate efficiently through the outer membrane. Cell surface hydrophobicity measured by the partition assay between water and p-xylene revealed that the cell surface of B. fragilis is more hydrophobic than that of Salmonella typhimurium or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Furthermore, treatment with low concentrations of surfactant caused cell lysis. These results suggest that the cell surface hydrophobicity in B. fragilis plays an important role in the efficient transmembrane penetration of hydrophobic compounds. This efficiency explains the susceptibility of B. fragilis to hydrophobic antimicrobial agents.