The applicability of a computer model for predicting head injury incurred during actual motor vehicle collisions.

BACKGROUND: Head injury is a significant cause of both morbidity and mortality. Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are the most common source of head injury in the United States. No studies have conclusively determined the applicability of computer models for accurate prediction of head injuries sustained in actual MVCs. This study sought to determine the applicability of such models for predicting head injuries sustained by MVC occupants. METHODS: The Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) database was queried for restrained drivers who sustained a head injury. These collisions were modeled using occupant dynamic modeling (MADYMO) software, and head injury scores were generated. The computer-generated head injury scores then were evaluated with respect to the actual head injuries sustained by the occupants to determine the applicability of MADYMO computer modeling for predicting head injury. RESULTS: Five occupants meeting the selection criteria for the study were selected from the CIREN database. The head injury scores generated by MADYMO were lower than expected given the actual injuries sustained. In only one case did the computer analysis predict a head injury of a severity similar to that actually sustained by the occupant. CONCLUSION: Although computer modeling accurately simulates experimental crash tests, it may not be applicable for predicting head injury in actual MVCs. Many complicating factors surrounding actual MVCs make accurate computer modeling difficult. Future modeling efforts should consider variables such as age of the occupant and should account for a wider variety of crash scenarios.

Control mechanisms in the regulation of telomerase reverse transcriptase expression in differentiating human teratocarcinoma cells.

Telomerase is active in about 90% of cancers and contributes to the immortality of cancer cells by maintaining the lengths of the ends of chromosomes. Undifferentiated embryonic human teratocarcinoma (HT) cells were found to express high levels of hTERT, the catalytic subunit of telomerase, and the hTERT promoter was unmethylated in these cells. Retinoic acid (RA)-induced differentiation led to hTERT gene silencing and increased methylation of the hTERT promoter. Treatment with trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, resulted in hTERT reactivation only in very early differentiating HT cells. After methylation patterns had been established within the hTERT promoter region in late differentiating cells, 5-azacytidine, a common demethylating agent, activated the hTERT gene but trichostatin A had no effect on hTERT transcription. These studies suggest that histone deacetylation is involved in early hTERT gene down-regulation and that DNA methylation may maintain silencing of the hTERT gene in these cells.