The hand therapist's role in the prevention and management of upper extemity injuries in the modern mass production industrial setting.

Background: This case study presents the role of an onsite hand therapist (Certified Hand Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist) in an industrial setting and the services that can be provided in this comprehensive care model. Onsite hand therapists can impact on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) first aid programs and can provide state of the art treatment for the injured worker in both a direct and indirect capacity.

Purpose: The purpose of this case study article is to review the many potential services the hand therapist can offer to facilitate the return-to-work of injured employees and provide employers with a proactive case management and state-of-the-art ergonomic prevention, improving profit margins and facilitating safe work environments.

Grip strength is more sensitive to changes in elbow position than isolated wrist extension strength in patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy.

Study Design: This is an observational study.

Introduction: Because isometric wrist extension minimizes the effects of other muscles, the sensitivity of wrist extension strength testing on patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) should be evaluated.

Purpose Of The Study: The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of the elbow position on wrist extension and grip strength in patients with LET.

Neonatal hypoxia, hippocampal atrophy, and memory impairment: evidence of a causal sequence.

Neonates treated for acute respiratory failure experience episodes of hypoxia. The hippocampus, a structure essential for memory, is particularly vulnerable to such insults. Hence, some neonates undergoing treatment for acute respiratory failure might sustain bilateral hippocampal pathology early in life and memory problems later in childhood.

Daily rhythmicity of large-conductance Ca2+ -activated K+ currents in suprachiasmatic nucleus neurons.

Neurons within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) comprise the master circadian pacemaker in mammals. These neurons exhibit circadian rhythms in spontaneous action potential frequency and in the transcription of core circadian clock genes, including Period1 (Per1). Targeted electrophysiological recordings from SCN neurons marked with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter of Per1 gene transcription have previously indicated that K(+) currents are critically involved in the expression of neurophysiological rhythmicity.

Mechanisms underlying episodic gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion.

The episodic secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is crucial for fertility, but the cellular mechanisms and network properties generating GnRH pulses are not well understood. We will explore three primary aspects of this intermittent hormonal signal: the source of rhythm(s), the possible mechanisms comprising oscillator(s), and how GnRH neurons are synchronized to produce a pulse of hormone release into the pituitary portal blood. Current knowledge will be reviewed, and hypotheses and working models proposed for future studies.

Long-term recordings of networks of immortalized GnRH neurons reveal episodic patterns of electrical activity.

The CNS controls reproduction through pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Episodic increases in the firing rate of unidentified hypothalamic neurons have been associated with downstream markers of GnRH secretion. Whether this episodic electrical activity is intrinsic to GnRH neurons, intrinsic to other "pulse generator" neurons that drive GnRH neurons, or a combination of these is unknown.

Cycles of transcription and translation do not comprise the gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulse generator in GT1 cells.

Neural control of reproduction is achieved through episodic GnRH secretion, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying pulse generation. The ultradian time domain of GnRH release suggests mechanisms ranging from macromolecular synthesis to posttranslational modification could be involved. We tested if messenger RNA (mRNA) or protein synthesis are components of the pulse generator by determining the effects of transcription and translation inhibitors on episodic GnRH release from immortalized GT1-1 GnRH neurons.

Mechanisms of unconscious priming: I. Response competition, not spreading activation.

Four experiments were conducted to replicate and expand upon A. G. Greenwald, S.

Evidence for multiple prolactin receptor transcripts in the turkey.

Multiple prolactin receptor (PRL-R) mRNA transcript isoforms have been identified in mammals, but there are conflicting reports concerning the number of avian PRL-R isoforms. We hypothesized that multiple turkey PRL-R transcript isoforms exist and that PRL-R mRNA abundance may be related to reproductive status. Two turkey PRL-R cDNA fragments were generated using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) that displayed a high degree of similarity to mammalian and avian PRL-R.

Active immunization with vasoactive intestinal peptide in turkey hens.

Active immunization of turkey hens against vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has been shown to inhibit incubation behavior and to increase egg production in second-cycle hens. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of VIP immunization on first- and second-cycle turkey hens during a 27-wk production period. First- (25-wk-old) and second- (54-wk-old) cycle hens were intermixed, distributed among 16 pens, and subjected to a photoperiod of 6 h of light and 18 h of darkness for 10 wk.

An opioid pathway in the hypothalamus of the turkey that stimulates prolactin secretion.

Circulating prolactin (PRL) levels increase when dynorphin is infused into the turkey brain. This study tested the hypothesis that centrally infused dynorphin requires an intact vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) system in order to stimulate turkey PRL secretion. It also investigated the roles of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems in dynorphin-induced PRL release.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide stimulates turkey prolactin gene expression by increasing transcription rate and enhancing mRNA stability.

This study evaluates the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of prolactin (PRL) by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Pituitary nuclei from laying (control), incubating (with enhanced VIP secretion), and VIP-immunized laying turkey hens, and from pituitary cells cultured with or without VIP were used in nuclear run-on transcription assays. Cytoplasmic PRL mRNA was analyzed by slot blot hybridization.

Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of prolactin during the turkey reproductive cycle.

The present study examined turkey prolactin (PRL) transcription and PRL mRNA stability during different reproductive stages. Nuclear run-on transcription assays were performed using isolated nuclei from pituitaries of turkeys at different reproductive stages. Meanwhile, cytoplasmic PRL mRNA and plasma PRL were measured by slot blot and RIA respectively.

Photoperiod mediates the ability of serotonin to release prolactin in the turkey.

Photostimulation (PS) of turkeys increases the number of hypothalamic vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-immunoreactive neurons, the number of anterior pituitary VIP binding sites, and prolactin (PRL) secretion. Serotonin (5-HT) was recently shown to stimulate PRL secretion through VIP. This study tested the hypothesis that 5-HT's ability to induce PRL secretion is mediated by reproductive status and/or photoperiod in normally cycling turkey hens.

Dopaminergic control of prolactin secretion in the turkey.

The stimulatory and inhibitory effects of dopamine (DA) upon avian prolactin (PRL) secretion suggest that, in birds, these actions are mediated by multiple DA receptors. To test this hypothesis, combined intracranial infusions of DA and selective D1 or D2 DA receptor blockers, plus electrical stimulation (ES) of the brain and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) immunoneutralization, were used to characterize the actions of DA on PRL secretion in the turkey. Blockade of D1 DA receptors prevented the increase in circulating PRL observed in response to infusion of stimulatory concentrations of DA or to ES.

Active immunization against vasoactive intestinal peptide prevents photo-induced prolactin secretion in turkeys.

Photostimulation initiates and maintains the rise in circulating prolactin (PRL) observed during the reproductive cycle of the female turkey. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is the principal PRL-releasing factor. This study tested the hypothesis that gonadal stimulatory photoperiods stimulate PRL secretion by releasing hypothalamic VIP.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide stimulates prolactin mRNA expression in turkey pituitary cells: effects of dopaminergic drugs.

It is well documented that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a prolactin (PRL)-releasing factor and that dopamine (DA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in avian species. However, the roles of VIP and DA in the regulation of PRL gene expression are unclear. In this study, primary anterior pituitary cells cultured from laying turkeys were utilized to investigate the influence of VIP and dopaminergic D1 and D2 receptors on PRL secretion, PRL mRNA, and PRL synthesis.

Effect of maternal passive immunization against vasoactive intestinal peptide on prolactin secretion in turkey poults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in prolactin (PRL) release in young turkey poults. Poults obtained from hens immunized with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)-chicken VIP (cVIP-KLH) conjugate or with KLH alone were used in this study. Plasma VIP antibody was tested by means of monoiodinated cVIP.

Serotonergic stimulation of prolactin secretion is inhibited by vasoactive intestinal peptide immunoneutralization in the turkey.

The neuronal mechanisms that govern prolactin (PRL) secretion in the turkey appear to involve monoaminergic systems. Considerable evidence indicates that serotonin (5-HT), acting centrally, is a potent stimulator of PRL secretion. This study, using birds actively immunized against VIP, tests the hypothesis that 5-HT stimulates PRL secretion by releasing vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP).

The stimulatory and inhibitory effects of dopamine on prolactin secretion in the turkey.

Dopamine (DA) was infused into the third ventricle of anesthetized laying turkey hens at various concentrations to determine its effect on both basal prolactin (PRL) levels and ongoing electrically induced PRL secretion. The infusion of DA at rates of 1.0 or 10.

Modulation of ovarian cytochrome P450 17 alpha-hydroxylase and cytochrome aromatase messenger ribonucleic acid by prolactin in the domestic turkey.

The effect of exogenous ovine prolactin (oPRL) on preovulatory follicle P450 17 alpha-hydroxylase (C17) and aromatase (ARO) mRNA abundance was investigated in turkeys. Ovine PRL (124 IU/hen per day) was injected i.m.

Increased egg production by active immunization against vasoactive intestinal peptide in the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo).

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a hypothalamic prolactin (PRL)-releasing factor in the turkey. The hypothesis in the present study was that active immunization of turkeys with VIP would neutralize endogenous VIP, decrease circulating PRI, and consequently prevent the expression of incubation behavior. Large white female turkeys were divided into three experimental groups comprising untreated controls, control turkeys immunized with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), and turkeys immunized with synthetic chicken VIP conjugate (KLH-cVIP).

Theca cell cytochrome P450 17-hydroxylase and aromatase messenger ribonucleic acid abundance and serum steroid levels during follicular atresia associated with incubation behavior in the domestic turkey hen.

This study was designed to examine changes in cytochrome P450 17 alpha-hydroxylase (C17) and aromatase (ARO) mRNA contents in the theca layer of preovulatory follicles (POF) as turkey hens transit from egg laying to incubation. Hens were grouped into the following categories: 1) laying hens--laid one egg per day and nested 1-2 times per day; 2) transitional hens--laid one egg per day and nested > 4 times per day; and 3) Day 1, Day 3, and Day 5 incubating hens--laid no eggs for 2, 4, or 6 days, respectively, and nested > 4 times per day. Small white follicles (SWF) and the theca layer from the largest (F1) and the third (F3), fifth (F5), and seventh (F7) largest POF were dispersed and challenged with testosterone (T) for 5 h.

Role of vasoactive intestinal peptide in the control of prolactin-induced turkey incubation behavior. II. Chronic infusion of vasoactive intestinal peptide.

Hyperprolactinemia is associated with incubation behavior in avian species. Increased nesting activity is a major indication of incubation behavior. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) stimulates prolactin (PRL) secretion from the anterior pituitary.

Role of vasoactive intestinal peptide in the control of prolactin-induced turkey incubation behavior. I. Acute infusion of vasoactive intestinal peptide.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) stimulates prolactin (PRL) secretion. Ovine PRL induces incubation behavior in avian species. This study was designed to determine whether VIP can elevate plasma PRL for up to 3 h.