Expression patterns of loricrin in various species and tissues

Abstract. In this study we analyzed the expression patterns of loricrin in various species and tissues using immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting and Northern blots. Loricrin is a glycine-, serine- and cysteine-rich protein expressed very late in epidermal differentiation in the granular layers of normal mouse and human epidermis. Later on in differentiation, loricrin becomes cross-linked as a major component into the cornified cell envelope by the formation of N^ɛ -(γ-glutamyl)lysine isopeptide bonds. This process either occurs directly or by the intermediate accumulation in L-keratohyaline granules of mouse epidermis and human acrosyringia. Loricrin was identified in all mammalian species analyzed by virtue of its highly conserved carboxy-terminal sequences revealing an electric mobility of ∼60 kDa in rodents, rabbit and cow and of ∼35 kDa in lamb and human on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Loricrin is expressed in the granular layer of all mammalian orthokeratinizing epithelia tested including oral, esophageal and fore-stomach mucosa of rodents, tracheal squamous metaplasia of vitamin A deficient hamster and estrogen induced squamous vaginal epithelium of ovary ectomized rats. Loricrin is also expressed in a few parakeratinizing epithelia such as BBN [N-butyl-N-(4–hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine]-induced murine bladder carcinoma and a restricted subset of oral and single vaginal epithelial cells in higher mammals. Our results provide further evidence that the program of squamous differentiation in internal epithelia of the upper alimentary tract in rodents and higher mammals differ remarkably. In addition, we also have noted the distinct distribution patterns of human loricrin and involucrin, another major precursor protein of the cornified cell envelope.     

Obesity in Older Adults: Technical Review and Position Statement of the American Society for Nutrition and NAASO,The Obesity Society

Obesity causes serious medical complications and impairs quality of life. Moreover, in older persons, obesity can exacerbate the age‐related decline in physical function and lead to frailty. However, appropriate treatment for obesity in older persons is controversial because of the reduction in relative health risks associated with increasing body mass index and the concern that weight loss could have potential harmful effects in the older population. This joint position statement from the American Society for Nutrition and NAASO, The Obesity Society reviews the clinical issues related to obesity in older persons and provides health professionals with appropriate weight‐management guidelines for obese older patients. The current data show that weight‐loss therapy improves physical function, quality of life, and the medical complications associated with obesity in older persons. Therefore, weight‐loss therapy that minimizes muscle and bone losses is recommended for older persons who are obese and who have functional impairments or medical complications that can benefit from weight loss.     

Role of isovaleroyl lipids in channeling of sound in the porpoise melon

Physical properties (e.g. specific gravity, adiabatic compressibility and sound velocity) of lipids isolated from tissues from contiguous areas of the fatty melon of an echo-locating porpoise (Delphinus delphis) were determined to elucidate relations between lipid composition and structure, and sound transmission in the head. Lipid content varied greatly within the melon (13.6–77.6% of the tissue weight) and triacylglycerols (80–100%) were the major lipid components. This lipid class was composed of diisovaleroylglycerides (triacylglycerols containing two isovaleroyl moieties and a long-chain acyl moiety), monoisovaleroyldiacylglycerols and triacylglycerols consisting of long-chain acids. The lipid-rich (>45%) areas in the melon contained a high proportion (>45% of total triacylglycerols) of diisovaleroylglycerides. There were gradations of sound velocities within the melon; the lowest sound velocities were associated with high concentrations of diisovaleroylglycerides (<1400 m/s) and the highest with high concentrations of long-chain triacylglycerols. Assuming an average sound frequency of 75 kHz, and considering dimensions of melon (path length and width of 12–14 cm and 5 cm, respectively), a forward radiating lobe of 15–25 degrees is produced. Thus, the deposition of lipids of different acoustic properties in a three-dimensional matrix within the porpoise melon results in a lens for the projection of sound into the marine environment.     

A Rare, Larval-founded Colony of the Bryozoan Archimedes from the Carboniferous of Alabama

Very few basal attachments of the spiralled fenestrate bryozoan Archimedes are known. A newly discovered specimen is interpreted to have grown on a thin cylindrical ephemeral substratum that extended above the sediment-water interface, allowing paired spirals to develop and to extend in opposite directions when the colony was very small.     

Private Financing Options for Long-term Care

Private financing for long-term care now comes almost exclusively from out-of-pocket payments. Long-term-care costs quickly impoverish most elderly, resulting in Medicaid dependency. The consequences are profound for the western Sun Belt with its rapidly growing elderly population. Key private financing options are long-term-care individual retirement accounts (LTC/IRAs), home equity conversion, social-health maintenance organizations and long-term-care insurance. Study of data from the past half century suggests that the LTC/IRA approach would prove unsatisfactory for the purpose despite the intuitive appeal of this mechanism. Experience with home equity conversions is still very limited, and unresolved questions limit this approach to the role of a reserve option for now. While promising, social-health maintenance organizations are still in the experimental stages and not yet commercially available. Long-term-care insurance is currently sold on a thin market and emphasizes nursing home coverage. New approaches to private financing through long-term-care insurance seem to offer the best approach for immediate implementation.