Validation of an on-screen application-based measurement of shoulder range of motion over telehealth medium

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Detrended fluctuation analysis detects altered coordination of running gait in athletes following a heavy period of training

Objectives

To investigate whether functional overreaching affects locomotor system behaviour when running at fixed relative intensities and if any effects were associated with changes in running performance.

Determinants of Regional Variation in Health Expenditures in Germany

Health care expenditure in Germany shows clear regional differences. Such geographic variations are often seen as an indicator for inefficiency. With its homogeneous health care system, low co‐payments and uniform prices, Germany is a particularly suited example to analyse regional variations. We use data for the year 2011 on expenditure, utilization of health services and state of health in Germany's statutory health insurance system. This data, which originate from a variety of administrative sources and cover about 90% of the population, are enriched with a wealth of socio‐economic variables, data on pollutants, prices and individual preferences. State of health and demography explains 55% of the differences as measured by the standard deviation while all control variables account for a total of 72% of the differences at county level. With other measures of variation, we can account for an even greater proportion. A higher proportion of variation than usually supposed can thus be explained. Whilst this study cannot quantify inefficiencies, our results contradict the thesis that regional variations reflect inefficiency. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of maternal and infant covariates on sibship correlation in birth weight

Birth weight on 12,644 singleton infants from 6,196 sibships born in Maryland between 1980 and 1984 were used to estimate the effects of nine maternal and infant covariates on the sibship correlation in birth weight. Assuming a homogeneous correlation across all families, the estimated intraclass correlation was 0.4664 (+/- 0.0099). This high sibship correlation makes it possible to predict, with reasonable accuracy, the birth weight of a child given information on previous sibs, as well as covariates on the mother and/or infant pertinent to a given pregnancy. The reduction in variance associated with incorporating information on the nine covariates used here was approximately equal to that obtained by conditioning on a single previous sib. Testing for heterogeneity in correlation among different groups of families showed that a crude measure of parity (first live birth vs. other), time between births, mother's marital status, and maternal age at the birth of the last child significantly influenced the sibship correlation in birth weight.     

Preclinical Drug Metabolism in the Age of High-Throughput Screening: An Industrial Perspective

With the advent of genomics, combinatorial paradigms and high-throughput screen (HTS)-based pharmacological testing, the number of compounds flowing through the discovery pipeline is likely to escalate. At the same time, with increased knowledge of the human drug-metabolizing enzymes and the availability of in vitro absorption-metabolism (AM) models, Preclinical Drug Metabolism is poised to meet the challenges of HTS. In order to be successful, however, a rational HTS strategy (vs. serendipitous HTS) has to be employed. Such a strategy is based on automation, validation and integration of in vitroAM models and database management (AVID). A generalized strategy for rational (AVID-based) HTS in Preclinical Drug Metabolism is described briefly.     

Correlation with age and sex of flash-evoked electroretinogram and retinal oscillatory potentials recorded with skin electrodes

Electroretinograms and retinal oscillatory potentials to full-field flash stimulation were recorded by dermal electrodes in a population of subjects (1 to 84 yrs) balanced for age and sex (119 females, 133 males), without evidence or history of ocular and/or relevant systemic diseases. The electroretinogram latencies and b-wave amplitude increased, while the a-wave amplitude decreased linearly with age. The oscillatory potential amplitude initially increased, to decrease approximately at the age of 50, with an inverted U-shaped distribution.Presented in part at the XXV ISCEV Symposium, Sarasota (Florida), April 26–30, 1987.     

Integrated plasma cortisol concentration in children with asthma receiving long-term inhaled corticosteroids.

We assessed the effect of long-term therapy with inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) on the pituitary-adrenal axis, by measuring the integrated concentration (IC) of plasma cortisol in eight children with asthma (age, 6-16 years) who regularly used inhaled BDP in doses ranging from 8 to 26.5 micrograms/kg (200-450 micrograms/day) for 6 months to 4 years. The control group included six children (age, 6-16 years) who had the IC of plasma cortisol measured as part of an endocrinological evaluation and were found to be healthy. Cortisol concentration was measured in blood samples collected continuously over a 24-hr period. Mean IC of plasma cortisol in the study group was significantly lower than in the healthy controls (mean +/- SD, 4.9 +/- 3.3 vs 9.1 +/- 1.9 micrograms/mL; P less than 0.02). Cortisol response to 0.25 mg ACTH (iv) was abnormal in one of the eight BDP-treated patients. No correlation was found between IC of plasma cortisol and the BDP dose, severity of asthma, height percentile, or the Tanner stage. We conclude that long-term therapy, even with relatively conventional doses of inhaled BDP may cause reduction in the normal physiological secretion of cortisol. The clinical relevance of low IC of plasma cortisol is not clear, but it may reflect partial suppression of the pituitary-adrenal axis.     

Effect of Omeprazole on Diazepam Disposition in the Rat: in Vitro and in Vivo Studies

Purpose. The inhibitory effects of omeprazole on diazepam metabolism in vitro and in vivo are compared in the rat. Methods. 3-hydroxylation and N-demethylation of diazepam was investigated in the presence of a range of omeprazole concentrations (2-500µM) in hepatic microsomes and hepatocytes. Zero order infusions together with matched bolus doses of omeprazole were used to achieve a range of steady state plasma concentrations (10-50mg/ L) and to study the diazepam-omeprazole interaction in vivo. Results. The 3-hydroxlation pathway was more prone to inhibition (K_Is 108 ± 30 and 28 ± 11 µM in microsomes and hepatocytes, respectively) than the demethylation pathway (K_Is of 226 ± 76 and 59 ± 27 µM in microsomes and hepatocytes, respectively). In both in vitro systems, the mechanism of inhibition was competitive with Km/K_I ratios larger than 1 for the 3HDZ pathway and smaller than 1 for the NDZ pathway. There was an omeprazole concentration dependent decrease in diazepam clearance in vivo which could be modelled using a simple inhibition equation with a K_I of 57µM (19.8mg/L). In contrast there was no statistically significant change in the steady state volume of distribution for diazepam in the presence of omeprazole. Conclusions. The in vivo K_I for the omeprazole: diazepam inhibition interaction shows closer agreement with the K_I values obtained in hepatocytes than with those observed in microsomes.     

Correlation between in vivo and in vitro toxic effects of foreign compounds

Studies in rats in vivo and in isolated hepatocytes from the same species and strain of animal in vitro with the hepatotoxicant hydrazine have shown that despite measuring the same parameters in each system, the effects do not always show a quantitative or qualitative correlation. For example depletion of glutathione and ATP occurred in both systems but required a much higher concentration of hydrazine in vitro. The effects on triglyceride levels, citrulline synthesis and taurine levels in vivo were not observed in vitro and the inhibition of urea synthesis and cytotoxicity in vitro were not observed in vivo.Inhibition of protein synthesis proved to be the marker which showed the best correlation, occurring at a similar hydrazine concentration in vitro and in vivo although not to the same extent.The situation with other toxicants is variable, in some cases correlation is good, in others modification of conditions in vitro are required.