Inter-rater reliability of postural observation after stroke.

Objective: To explore the inter-observer reliability of bedside observations of stroke patients' posture using two versions of a pictorial tool.

Design: Three projects were conducted. The initial version of the tool was used in project 1.

Heated dorsal hand vein sampling for metabolic studies: a reappraisal.

The purpose of the current study was to determine the accuracy of a given heated dorsal hand vein (HDHV) measurement in predicting a simultaneous arterial measurement and to validate this technique for use in stable isotope studies. Twenty catheterizations of the femoral artery, femoral vein, and a dorsal hand vein were performed in 13 healthy male subjects. Simultaneous blood samples were obtained from all three sites during primed continuous infusions of L-[1-13C]leucine (Leu) and L-[ring-2H5]phenylalanine (Phe) in the postabsorptive state, with or without intravenous glucose infusion.

Positioning of the stroke patient: a review of the literature.

Stroke is a common and disabling illness, adversely affecting the quality of life of hundreds of people each year. While there are many therapeutic approaches to stroke patient rehabilitation, encouraging patients to adopt "reflex-inhibiting" patterns of posture is a widely advocated strategy for helping patients to avoid complications of hemiplegia such as spasticity and contractures. However, while the central role of nurses in thus helping patients is recognized, the influence of posture on recovery from stroke has never been evaluated.

Insulin increases transcription of rat gene 33 through cis-acting elements in 5'-flanking DNA.

Gene 33 is a multihormonally-regulated rat gene whose transcription is rapidly and markedly enhanced by insulin in liver and cultured hepatoma cells. To examine the mechanism by which insulin regulates transcription, we have constructed chimeric plasmids in which expression of the bacterial cat gene, encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), is governed by gene 33 promoter elements and contiguous sequences in DNA flanking the transcription start point (tsp). When transfected into H4IIE hepatoma cells, these constructs gave rise to stably transformed cell lines producing the bacterial CAT enzyme.

State-dependent fear extinction with two benzodiazepine tranquilizers.

Four experiments with rats were run to investigate whether fear extinction conducted under the influence of a benzodiazepine transfers to the undrugged state. Fear was conditioned by pairing an experimental chamber with footshock and was assessed by observing freezing, a characteristic response of the rat to stimuli associated with shock. In Experiment 1, extinction of the chamber cues under chlordiazepoxide (librium) or diazepam (valium) was compared with extinction under a placebo; both drugs interfered with extinction in a dose-dependent manner as indicated by freezing during an undrugged test.