The Prediction of Fall Circumstances Among Patients in Clinical Care - A Retrospective Observational Study.

Standardized fall risk scores have not proven to reliably predict falls in clinical settings. Machine Learning offers the potential to increase the accuracy of such predictions, possibly vastly improving care for patients at high fall risks. We developed a boosting algorithm to predict both recurrent falls and the severity of fall injuries.

Region-specific expression of nitric oxide synthases in the bovine oviduct during the oestrous cycle and in vitro.

Nitric oxide synthases (NOS) account for the endogenous production of nitric oxide (NO), a small and permeable bioreactive molecule. NO is known to act as a paracrine mediator during various processes associated with female reproduction. In the present study, the mRNA expression of the endothelial (eNOS) and inducible (iNOS) NO synthases were examined in bovine oviduct epithelial cells (BOEC) during the oestrous cycle.

Monitoring gene expression changes in bovine oviduct epithelial cells during the oestrous cycle.

The oviduct epithelium undergoes marked morphological and functional changes during the oestrous cycle. To study these changes at the level of the transcriptome we did a systematic gene expression analysis of bovine oviduct epithelial cells at oestrus and dioestrus using a combination of subtracted cDNA libraries and cDNA array hybridisation. A total of 3072 cDNA clones of two subtracted libraries were analysed by array hybridisation with cDNA probes derived from six cyclic heifers, three of them slaughtered at oestrus and three at dioestrus.

Penetration of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine monolayers and bilayers by model beta-blocker agents of varying lipophilicity.

Penetration of model beta-blockers, propranolol, oxprenolol, metaprolol, and nadolol, into dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) monolayers cast on a pH 7.4 phosphate buffer (mu = 0.155 adjusted with NaCl) at 25 degreesC was monitored using a film balance equipped with a Wilhelmy plate for measuring changes in surface pressure.

Effect of organic solvents on in vitro human skin water barrier function.

Skin barrier disruption caused by organic solvents to human cadaver dermatomed skin was evaluated using an in vitro model system. Resultant changes in transepidermal water loss (TEWL), as measured with an evaporimeter, were recorded after topical application of either acetone, chloroform:methanol 2:1, hexane, hexane:methanol 2:3, or the control, water, for exposure times of 1, 3, 6, and 12 min. The resultant lipid/solvent mixture was removed and analyzed for its lipid content.

Localization of lipid microdomains and thermal phenomena in murine stratum corneum and isolated membrane complexes: an electron spin resonance study.

The intercellular region of the stratum corneum can be isolated in the form of membrane complexes (intercellular lipids and adjacent cornified envelopes) which are devoid of the cytoplasmic components. In this study the temperature induced phase transitions and corresponding lipid domain reorganization in isolated stratum corneum (SC) sheets and SC membrane complexes (SCM) were determined using the electron spin resonance (ESR) spin probe technique. The spin probe perdeuterated di-tert-butyl nitroxide (pdDTBN) in SC and SCM revealed less well-defined physiologic phase transitions in the SCM and a more polar lipid domain in SC.

Calorimetric and electron spin resonance examination of lipid phase transitions in human stratum corneum: molecular basis for normal cohesion and abnormal desquamation in recessive X-linked ichthyosis.

Lipids appear to play a critical role as regulators of stratum corneum desquamation. In this study, we observed discrete lipid phase transitions at physiologic temperatures in both normal human scale (NHS) and in lipid extracts of NHS by differential scanning calorimetry. In contrast, such thermal transitions were not observed in recessive x-linked ichthyosis scale (RXLIS).

Neutral lipid storage disease with ichthyosis: lipid content and metabolism of fibroblasts.

Neutral lipid storage disease with ichthyosis is a newly recognized heritable disorder characterized by widespread cellular triglyceride storage. Lipid metabolism in fibroblasts cultured from three affected family members was studied. The stored lipid is triglyceride composed of an unremarkable fatty acid profile and derived from both exogenously-supplied and endogenously-synthesized fatty acids.

Avian sebokeratocytes and marine mammal lipokeratinocytes: structural, lipid biochemical, and functional considerations.

In terrestrial mammals, stratum corneum lipids derive from two sources: deposition of lamellar body lipids in stratum corneum interstices and excretion of sebaceous lipids onto the skin surface, resulting in a two-compartment ("bricks and mortar") system of lipid-depleted cells surrounded by lipid-enriched intercellular spaces. In contrast, intracellular lipid droplets, normally not present in the epidermis of terrestrial mammals, are prominent in avian and marine mammal epidermis (cetaceans, manatees). We compared the transepidermal water loss, ultrastructure, and lipid biochemistry of the viable epidermis and stratum corneum of pigeon apterium, fledgling (featherless) zebra finches, painted storks, cetaceans, and manatees to those of humans and mice.

Interactions of cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate with free fatty acids: possible relevance for the pathogenesis of recessive X-linked ichthyosis.

Whereas the stratum corneum contains large amounts of unesterified cholesterol and minimal amounts of cholesterol sulfate, in recessive X-linked ichthyosis (RXLI), levels of cholesterol decrease while cholesterol sulfate content increases. To study the molecular basis for abnormal shedding in RXLI, we compared the interaction of cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate with the free fatty acid, hexadecanoic acid, by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). While cholesterol and the free fatty acid formed a eutectic mixture, such an interaction did not occur upon mixing of cholesterol sulfate with hexadecanoic acid.

Effect of pH and NaCl on measurements of ionized calcium in matrices of serum and human albumin with a new calcium-selective electrode.

A neutral ligand ion-exchanger type of ion-selective electrode is used in the current version of the Orion Model SS-20 calcium analyzer. We evaluated it over the pH range 4.0 to 8.

Mammalian stratum corneum contains physiologic lipid thermal transitions.

Using a new high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimeter, capable of very slow scanning rates and large sample volumes, we examined the thermal transitions in neonatal mouse stratum corneum. Both physiological and supraphysiological transitions were found in intact tissue that were displaced on cooling and obliterated by solvent treatment establishing them as lipids. Physiologic peaks were encountered in lipid extracts from the same tissues.

The binding isotherms for the interaction of 5-doxyl stearic acid with bovine and human albumin.

Binding isotherms for the interaction of 5-doxyl stearic acid with bovine and human albumin are reported. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) and the limiting solubility of 5-doxyl stearic acid were determined using the electron spin resonance (ESR)-spin label method. The CMC and the limiting solubility of this spin-label stearic acid in saline-phosphate buffer are 3.

Iodine deficiency produces hypercalcemia and hypercalcitonemia in rats.

To determine the effect of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) on secretion of calcitonin by the thyroid, 50 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly separated into seven groups. The groups received different diets, medications, or operations [propylthiouracil (PTU), iodine-deficient diet, (LID), acute or chronic thyroxine treatment, sham operation (SO), hemithyroidectomy (Htx), and total thyroidectomy (Ttx)]. two weeks to six months later, serum TSH concentrations were increased in the Htx, Ttx, and LID groups when compared with SO animals.