Evaluation of two approaches to educating elementary schoolteachers about insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Two approaches to better educate elementary schoolteachers about children with diabetes were tested. One group of teachers was given a program consisting of a video, pamphlets, and a question-and-answer session. The second group was informed that these materials were available to them in the media center.

Inwardly rectifying K+ current in osteoclasts.

Membrane properties of freshly isolated rat osteoclasts were studied using the whole cell patch-clamp recording technique. The membrane potential could switch between two stable levels, approximately -70 and -15 mV. Voltage-clamp studies indicated that osteoclasts exhibited marked inward rectification, with hyperpolarizing voltage commands from -70 mV activating large inward currents.

Transdermal iontophoretic drug delivery: mechanistic analysis and application to polypeptide delivery.

Three factors are of primary importance in determining the iontophoretic flux of a charged solute: the electrochemical potential gradient across the skin, an increase in skin permeability to passive transport due to iontophoresis (loosely defined as skin damage), and a current-induced water flux. The latter two factors can also affect the transport of uncharged solutes during iontophoresis. A method of correcting for the skin damage effect is introduced.

A comprehensive approach to faculty evaluation.

The purpose of this undertaking was to design a comprehensive faculty evaluation instrument that would reflect the complexities of the faculty role. An 80-item instrument was designed from a review of the literature, content analyses on job descriptions, existing evaluation tools. Items were modified on the basis of critical review by educators with expertise and experience in evaluation measurement and faculty role expectations.

Antagonistic adrenergic-muscarinic regulation of M current in smooth muscle cells.

The beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol and analogs of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) induced a potassium current, M current, in freshly dissociated gastric smooth muscle cells. Muscarinic agonists suppress this current, apparently by acting at a locus downstream from regulation of cAMP levels by adenylate cyclase and phosphodiesterase. Thus, M current can be induced by an agent and regulated in antagonistic fashion by beta-adrenergic and muscarinic systems.

Relaxation training as a technique for helping patients cope with the experience of cancer: a selective review of the literature.

The experience of cancer places considerable physiological and psychological demands upon the patient. In recent years the potential benefits of relaxation training have generated widespread interest in both the lay and professional literature, particularly in the area of stress management. This paper examines the use of relaxation training as a method for helping patients cope with the experience of cancer and reviews a number of studies which have used progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery in the oncology setting.

Substance P and acetylcholine both suppress the same K+ current in dissociated smooth muscle cells.

The effect of substance P on freshly dissociated gastric smooth muscle cells was examined electrophysiologically. Substance P caused depolarization, associated with a membrane conductance decrease, which led to the generation of action potentials and contraction. When the membrane potential was held constant under voltage clamp, substance P induced a net inward current, also associated with a conductance decrease.

Cholinergic agonists suppress a potassium current in freshly dissociated smooth muscle cells of the toad.

Single micro-electrode voltage-clamp and current-clamp techniques were used to study cholinergic responses in single freshly isolated gastric smooth muscle cells from the toad Bufo marinus. Acetylcholine (ACh) or muscarine caused membrane depolarization, which sometimes gave rise to action potentials and contractions. The agonist-induced depolarization is due to the suppression of a voltage-dependent K+ conductance, a conclusion based on the following observations.

Computer reconstruction of all the neurons in the optic ganglion of Daphnia magna.

The cellular architecture of the Daphnia compound eye visual system was studied by using computer-aided techniques. All the neurons in one half of the bilaterally symmetric optic ganglion (OG) were reconstructed in three dimensions from serial electron micrographs. The techniques employed were those developed by Levinthal and collaborators (Macagno, Levinthal, and Sobel, Ann.

Chromosome banding in Amphibia. VIII. An unusual XY/XX-sex chromosome system in Gastrotheca riobambae (Anura, Hylidae).

The mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of the marsupial frog Gastrotheca riobambae were analysed with various banding techniques. The karyotype of this species is distinguished by considerable amounts of constitutive heterochromatin and unusual, heteromorphic XY sex chromosomes. The Y chromosome is considerably larger than the X chromosome and almost completely heterochromatic.

Improved electrical coupling in uterine smooth muscle is associated with increased numbers of gap junctions at parturition.

We have studied some passive electrical properties of uterine smooth muscle to determine whether a change in electrical parameters accompanies gap junction formation at delivery. The length constant of the longitudinal myometrium increased from 2.6 +/- 0.

Possible role of gap junctions in activation of myometrium during parturition.

Gap junctions between smooth muscle cells of the myometrium of pregnant rats were found only immediately prior to, during and immediately after parturition by quantitative thin-section and freeze-fracture microscopy. Ovariectomy of 16- to 17-days-pregnant rats resulted in premature termination of pregnancy and the appearance of gap junctions. Methods that prolonged normal pregnancy in rats or maintained pregnancy in ovariectomized animals (progesterone treatment) prevented the appearance of gap junctions.

Gap junctions: their presence and necessity in myometrium during parturition.

Thin sections of longitudinal and circular muscle of myometrium obtained from rats during pregnancy, at term, during delivery, and postpartum were quantitatively examined in the electron microscope. Gap junctions (low resistance pathways) were only present during or immediately prior to delivery and immediately postpartum. The absence of gap junctions during gestation may be necessary for maintenance of pregnancy, while their occurrence during parturition may lead to effective termination of pregnancy.