Global variations in peak bone mass as studied by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

In 1994, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initiated a 5-year Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) to determine geographical and racial differences in peak bone mineral density (BMD) in men and women aged 15-49 years. The study demonstrates that there are distinct global differences in BMD at the hip and spine in both men and women approximating to one population standard deviation between populations with the highest and lowest BMD. These differences persist following adjustments for age, sex and body size. Such information is valuable in understanding the reasons for global differences in fracture rate and predicting future trends in fracture incidence. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Drag on an elliptic cylinder in a fluid particle suspension

An elliptic cylinder is performing oscillations parallel to either of the principal axes of the cross-sectional ellipse in a fluid particle suspension. The stream function governing the flow and the velocity components are determined in terms of Mathieu functions. The drag on the cylinder is evaluated and expressed in terms of two parametersK andK. The effects of the variation of the frequency parameter, eccentricity parameter and relaxation time parameter on the drag parametersK, K is studied numerically.     

Global activities in the world of reference materials including the needs of developing countries

Proceedings of previous BERM meetings have been used to assess emerging trends in the development of RMs to meet AQC requirements of clinical, food, nutrition, and environmental health areas. BRM-1 reflected a strong need to initiate and expand RM activities for certifying organic nutrients in foods. BRM-2 highlighted the distinction between primary (certified) and secondary (e.g. check samples for proficiency testing) RMs¹. BRM-3 identified the need for producing different levels of an analyte in a given matrix (spiked standards) to address matrix related measurement problems in foods. BERM-4 highlighted the need for a global vision in dealing with standards, illustrated by the activities of GESREM. Also, the logistics required for setting up intercomparison programs related to food safety monitoring programs were outlined. BERM-5 presented the changing outlook of the AOAC International in recognizing the usefulness of incorporating RMs for use in conjunction with their methods validation protocol. BERM-6 brought to the forefront the concern for traceability of chemical measurements to internationally recognized standards. BERM-7 recognized the need for multidisciplinary approaches for preparing certain types of CRMs, partly in response to the measurement needs arising from governmental regulations dealing with food safety and environmental health criteria. Finally, BERM symposia have promoted a meaningful dialogue on the RM needs of African, Asian and South American countries and provided the developing countries opportunities to discuss their problems with the international analytical community. The issue of health safety is involved in movement of foodstuffs between countries, and therefore, international efforts as voiced by the World Health Organization to provide guidance and assistance in AQC matters to the needy countries deserve consideration.     

Food safety measurement issues: way forward

Ensuring food safety (FS) is a persistent concern frequently faced by many countries. Safeguarding the quality of food that is fit for human consumption is the primary responsibility of the governmental regulatory agencies. For most part, agro-industries and food processors assume voluntary leadership for producing safe food. However, in the event of FS breach, the regulatory responsibility kicks into identify and rectify the situation. Notwithstanding whether it is the regulator or the industry that institutes the remedial action (e.g. improved hygiene and refined agricultural and manufacturing practices), the role of laboratory measurements is central in safeguarding the integrity of a functioning FS system. There are many analytical tools available to implement this task, such as validated analytical methods, natural matrix reference materials, field tested monitoring systems (proactive assessment) and effective surveillance systems (constant vigilance to prevent repeat safety violations). Way forward: existing FS tools are insufficient and should be strengthened with innovative approaches. Examples are: assembling swift intervention logistics to face FS breaches; rapid response systems including communication; robust metrology based measurement systems located at strategic locations in the country; and inter-disciplinary human resource to match the need for capacity development. These issues are discussed.     

Reductive Cleavage of Acetals/Ketals with ZrCl4/NaBH4

Reductive cleavage of acetals/ketals with zirconium tetrachloride-sodium borohydride leading to the formation of ether alcohols is described.     

Anomalous thermal expansion of osmium dioxide

The precision lattice parameters of osmium dioxide have been determined at different temperatures, in the temperature range 30–444 °C, using a Unicam high temperature powder camera 19 cm in diameter and CuKα radiation. The data have been used to evaluate the coefficients of thermal expansion at various temperatures by a graphical method. The ‘a’ parameter increases non-linearly with increasing temperature while the ‘c’ parameter remains constant throughout the range of temperature studied indicating a zero coefficient of expansion along the c-direction. The abnormal thermal behaviour of this compound is explained in terms of the electronic configuration of the d-shell of the cation.     

Pathways of Enzymatic Phosphotransfer Reactions

Abstract

Mevalonate 5-pyrophosphate (MVAPP) decarboxylase catalyzes the decarboxylation of MVAPP to isopentenyl pyro-phosphate, an ATP-dependent process in which 3-phospho-MVAPP is a transient intermediate that undergoes concomitant decarboxylation and elimination of phosphate. Reaction of (S_p)-adenosine 5′-0-3-thio [3-17_{O 2},180] triphosphate in place of ATP produces (R)-[17O,18O] thiophosphate in place of phosphate. Therefore, the phosphotransfer step producing 3-phospho-MVAPP proceeds with inversion of configuration at P. Gentamicin nucleotidyl-transferase catalyzes the reaction of ATP with the C-2″ hydroxyl group of aminoglycoside antibiotics to produce AMP-2″-aminoglycosides, thereby inactivating the drugs. Enzymatic reaction of (S_p)-2′-deoxyadenosine 5′-O[α-17O] triphosphate with tobramycin produces (R_p)-[α-17O]dAMP-2″-tobramycin. Therefore, transfer of the 2′-deoxyadenosine 5′-phosphoryl group proceeds with inversion of configuration. Since both reactions are uncomplicated bisubstrate processes and both proceed with inversion at P, it is likely that both proceed by mechanisms involving direct, single-step phosphotransfer from the phospho-donor substrate to the acceptor, rather than by double-displacement mechanisms involving covalent, phosphoenzyme-intermediates.     

Robust convex quadratically constrained programs

In this paper we study robust convex quadratically constrained programs, a subset of the class of robust convex programs introduced by Ben-Tal and Nemirovski [4]. In contrast to [4], where it is shown that such robust problems can be formulated as semidefinite programs, our focus in this paper is to identify uncertainty sets that allow this class of problems to be formulated as second-order cone programs (SOCP). We propose three classes of uncertainty sets for which the robust problem can be reformulated as an explicit SOCP and present examples where these classes of uncertainty sets are natural. Research partially supported by DOE grant GE-FG01-92ER-25126, NSF grants DMS-94-14438, CDA-97-26385, DMS-01-04282 and ONR grant N000140310514.Research partially supported by NSF grants CCR-00-09972, DMS-01-04282 and ONR grant N000140310514.