Cuticle chirality and body handedness in Caenorhabditis elegans

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Norway has the highest reported incidence of hip fractures in western Europe. Little is known about the epidemiology of falls in Norway where the winter season is long and dark. The objective of this work was to study reported falls and their consequences among elderly Norwegians living at home. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used for the study. Interviews were performed in the homes of 431 subjects, aged 67-97 years, living at home. Information on falling was gathered through six questions: whether the subject had fallen during the last six months, and if so, how many falls they had, where the last fall occurred, its perceived reason, the activity the subject had been engaged in when the fall occurred, and the resulting injury. RESULTS: In all, 24.1% of subjects reported falling during the last six months, and 9.5% had suffered more than one fall. Falls were most frequently linked to external events (63.1%). Outdoor falls were more frequent (59.0%; 95% CI = 51.2-82.0) than indoor falls. Older subjects were associated with more frequent indoor falls (p < 0.05), but gender was not significant. Fifty-one per cent of subjects had fallen while walking and 53% had suffered an injury from the last fall. In 13.4% of the women and 16.2% of the men, the last fall had resulted in a fracture. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the results of other studies from industrialized Western countries, a similar crude fall rate, similar frequency and similar type of injury were found. However, in contrast to other studies, no gender difference was observed with regard to falling, place of falling and fracture rate.     

Equivalent oxygen percentage as a function of hydration in hydrogel lenses: an in vivo study

Although many investigations have examined the parameters of hydrogel lens hydration loss, the in vivo effect (in humans) on lens oxygen behavior has not been characterized previously. Human subjects wore 2 different lenses (a thin, 38% water polymacon lens and a thin, 55% water bufilcon lens) for 5-min periods under either fully hydrated (i.e., with saline regularly applied to the lens) or partially hydrated (i.e., with "normal" wear of 1 blink every 5 s) conditions. An equivalent oxygen percentage (EOP) technique and a gravimetric method were used to determine lens oxygen behavior and hydration, respectively. The hydration results demonstrate that significant lens dehydration occurs during the partially hydrated (normal blink rate) condition compared to the in situ, fully hydrated situation. A corresponding, statistically significant diminution in oxygen equivalency was also observed.     

Thermal Decomposition of Europium Hydroxide

The thermal decomposition of europium hydroxide in an air atmosphere was investigated by means of weight-loss measurements, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and electron microscopy. These studies showed that EU(OH)° decomposed at temperatures between 225° and 300°C into EuOOH, which was stable up to about 425°C. Between 435° and 465°C this compound decomposed into cubic Eu₂O₃, which was stable until its inversion to the high-temperature monoclinic form. X-ray diffraction data were collected for Eu(OH)₃ and EuOOH and showed that the trihydroxide has a hexagonal crystal structure and the oxyhydroxide is possibly orthorhombic. The Eu(OH)₂, EuOOH, and cubic EunOa powders contained particles up to several microns in size consisting of agglomerates of crystallites in the size range 200 to 400 A. The single monoclinic Eu₂O₃ sample studied contained crystallites whose average size was greater than 2000 A.     

Intestinal gas dynamics and tolerance in humans

Carbohydrate-deficient-glycoprotein syndrome type 1 (CDG1; also known as "Jaeken syndrome") is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by defective glycosylation. Most patients show a deficiency of phosphomannomutase (PMM), the enzyme that converts mannose 6-phosphate to mannose 1-phosphate in the synthesis of GDP-mannose. The disease is linked to chromosome 16p13, and mutations have recently been identified in the PMM2 gene in CDG1 patients with a PMM deficiency (CDG1A). The availability of the genomic sequences of PMM2 allowed us to screen for mutations in 56 CDG1 patients from different geographic origins. By SSCP analysis and by sequencing, we identified 23 different missense mutations and 1 single-base-pair deletion. In total, mutations were found on 99% of the disease chromosomes in CDG1A patients. The R141H substitution is present on 43 of the 112 disease alleles. However, this mutation was never observed in the homozygous state, suggesting that homozygosity for these alterations is incompatible with life. On the other hand, patients were found homozygous for the D65Y and F119L mutations, which must therefore be mild mutations. One particular genotype, R141H/D188G, which is prevalent in Belgium and the Netherlands, is associated with a severe phenotype and a high mortality. Apart from this, there is only a limited relation between the genotype and the clinical phenotype.     

Production of anti-erythrocyte antibodies by leukemic and nonleukemic B cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients

We have assessed the specificity of antibodies from the leukemic B cells of five patients with both chronic lymphocytic leukemia and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (CLL-AHA). Leukemic cells from one patient displayed surface immunoglobulin with heavy and light chain isotypes identical to that of the patient's anti-red blood cell (RBC) antibodies, and the leukemic cells secreted antibodies in vitro with anti-RBC activity. However, in the remaining patients, the leukemic cells displayed surface immunoglobulin with light chain isotypes different from that of the patient's anti-RBC antibodies and secreted antibodies in vitro with no detectable anti-RBC activity. Thus, there are two distinct classes of CLL-AHA patients, differentiated by the presence or absence of an anti-RBC antibody-producing leukemic B cell clone. The apparent heterogeneity in the source of pathogenic anti-RBC antibodies may impact the treatment response of the two classes of CLL-AHA patients.     

Establishing Thermal Processes for Products with Straight-Line Heating Curves from Data Taken at Other Retort and Initial Temperatures

Heat penetration data were obtained at high and low retort temperatures (RTs) and at high and low product initial temperatures in two can sizes for food products displaying straight-line heating curves in an agitating retort. The extrapolation of data to other RTs was found to be a safe practice for products heating with conduction or significant induced convection. Extrapolating to lower RTs for intermediate viscosity products slightly underpredicted required processing times. The effect of initial temperature was consistent with that found in a previous study for broken-heating products in a still retort, in that heat penetration tests conducted at different initial temperatures can have a significant influence on process establishment, depending on the product.     

Physicochemical Properties of Ovalbumin and Lysozyme Treated with Oleic Acid

Results from polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis confirmed that proteins were more negatively charged in the presence of oleic acid. The electrophoretic mobility of unmodified and modified lysozyme was of opposite but similar magnitude. Critical micelle concentration (50.0 μ M) of oleic acid suggested that association between the fatty acid and proteins was mostly hydrophobic. Muramidase activity of modified lysozyme and difference spectra of modified ovalbumin suggested that oleic acid was partially or totally surrounding the proteins. Improved freeze-thaw characteristics of treated egg white were attributed to greater negative charge and instability of proteins produced by oleic acid.     

Thermally Induced Gelation of Native and Modified Egg White-Rheological Changes During Processing; Final Strengths and Microstructures

The heat-induced gelation of native egg white (EW) and egg white modified with succinic anhydride (SEW) or oleic acid (OEW), by addition of 15 moles of reagent/50000g protein, was evaluated. Rigidity modulus (G) and mechanical energy damping were continuously monitored during heating of the samples from 5 - 95°C in a nondestructive temperature-controlled thermal scanning rigidity monitor (TSRM). A measurable increase in G and decrease in energy damping were observed at lower temperatures for OEW than for EW. In SEW the measurable rheological transitions occurred at the highest temperature ranges. Failure strength of the cooked products (gels) evaluated using torsion and uniaxial compression tests revealed large differences due to treatments. Micrographs of gels showed apparent structural differences among treatments.