Measuring functional brain recovery in regenerating planarians by assessing the behavioral response to the cholinergic compound cytisine.

Planarians are traditional model invertebrates in regeneration and developmental biology research that also display a variety of quantifiable behaviors useful to screen for pharmacologically active compounds. One such behavior is the expression of seizure-like movements (pSLMs) induced by a variety of substances. Previous work from our laboratory showed that cocaine, but not nicotine, induced pSLMs in intact but not decapitated planarians.

Cotinine antagonizes the behavioral effects of nicotine exposure in the planarian Girardia tigrina.

Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs abused by humans. Our laboratory and others have demonstrated that nicotine decreases motility and induces seizure-like behavior in planarians (pSLM, which are vigorous writhing and bending of the body) in a concentration-dependent manner. Nicotine also induces withdrawal-like behaviors in these worms.

Constructing the dead: Retrospective sensemaking in eulogies.

Eulogies serve a sensemaking function of identity construction--both for the deceased and for the survivors. This work examines the communicative construction of identity in eulogies and shows how eulogia discourse affirms and reconstructs our relational identity through communication. The article extends scholarship on eulogies by using relational communication theories to investigate how eulogic discourse functions as identity construction, considering eulogies of ordinary people, and exploring the gendered nature of eulogies.

Evidence of Nicotine-Induced, Curare-Insensitive, Behavior in Planarians.

Planarians are rapidly developing into very useful research subjects in pharmacology and neuroscience research. Here we report that curare, a cholinergic nicotinic receptor antagonist, alleviates the nicotine-induced planarian seizure-like movements (pSLM) by up to 50 % at equimolar concentrations of nicotine and curare (1 mM), while curare alone does not induce significant pSLMs. The simplest interpretation of our data is that there are nicotine induced behaviors insensitive to curare in our experimental organism.

Planarians in pharmacology: parthenolide is a specific behavioral antagonist of cocaine in the planarian Girardia tigrina.

Planarians are traditional animal models in developmental and regeneration biology. Recently, these organisms are arising as vertebrate-relevant animal models in neuropharmacology. Using an adaptation of published behavioral protocols, we have described the alleviation of cocaine-induced planarian seizure-like movements (pSLM) by a naturally-occurring sesquiterpene lactone, parthenolide.

Minimal structural requirements of alkyl γ-lactones capable of antagonizing the cocaine-induced motility decrease in planarians.

We recently reported that the natural cyclic lactone, parthenolide, and related analogs prevent the expression of behavioral effects induced by cocaine in planarians and that parthenolide's γ-lactone ring is required for this effect. In the present work, we tested a series of alkyl γ-lactones with varying chain length (1-8 carbons) to determine their ability to antagonize the planarian motility decrease induced by 200 μM cocaine. Alkyl lactones with up to a 4-carbon alkyl chain did not affect planarian motility or antagonized the cocaine-induced motility decrease; only the compound γ-nonalactone (a γ-lactone with a 5-carbon chain) was able to prevent the cocaine-induced behavioral patterns, while alkyl lactones with longer carbon chains failed to prevent the cocaine-induced effects.

The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on nurse stress and burnout: a qualitative and quantitative study, part III.

Part III of the study on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) describes qualitative data and discusses the implications of the findings. Study analysis revealed that nurses found MBSR helpful. Greater relaxation and self-care and improvement in work and family relationships were among reported benefits.

The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on nurse stress and burnout, Part II: A quantitative and qualitative study.

This article is the second in a series reporting on research exploring the effects of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction on nurses and describes the quantitative data. The third article describes qualitative data. Treatment group participants reduced scores on 2 of 3 subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory significantly more than wait-list controls; within-group comparisons for both groups pretreatment and posttreatment revealed similar findings.

The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on nurse stress and burnout: a quantitative and qualitative study.

Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, a stress-reduction program, has increasing empirical support as a patient-care intervention. Its emphasis on self-care, compassion, and healing makes it relevant as an intervention for helping nurses manage stress and reduce burnout. This article describes the implementation of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction in a hospital system as a way to lower burnout and improve well-being among nurses, using both quantitative and qualitative data.

A look at a Hispanic and African American population in an urban prenatal diagnostic center: referral reasons, amniocentesis acceptance, and abnormalities detected.

Purpose: To describe the Hispanic and African-American population referred to our inner city Los Angeles Prenatal Diagnostic Center. To evaluate trends in referral reasons, amniocentesis acceptance, and to assess the number and types of fetal abnormalities found from 1995 to 2001.

Methods: A retrospective study using the data from 3085 daily log entries on patients referred for prenatal counseling.

Isochromosome 22 in trisomy 22 mosaic with five cell lines.

This report describes a full-term male infant with trisomy 22 due to an isochromosome 22. Prenatal diagnosis with amniotic fluid showed two cell lines, one with an isochromosome 22 and the other with a deleted isochromosome 22. Subsequent cytogenetic analyses of cord blood, umbilical cord tissue, and placenta revealed additional cell lines.

Transcription factor Sp1 regulates SERCA2 gene expression in pressure-overloaded hearts: a study using in vivo direct gene transfer into living myocardium.

Pressure-overload hypertrophy results in downregulation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase pump encoding SERCA2 gene that regulates Ca(2+) uptake and myocardial relaxation. We previously characterized a proximal promoter region containing four Sp1 element consensus sequences (-284 to -72 base pairs (bp)) that was responsible for pressure-overload-induced transcriptional regulation. The purpose of the present study was to determine which of the Sp1 sites was responsible for the downregulation of SERCA2 gene transcription under pressure overload.