The ERG1a potassium channel increases basal intracellular calcium concentration and calpain activity in skeletal muscle cells.

Background: Skeletal muscle atrophy is the net loss of muscle mass that results from an imbalance in protein synthesis and protein degradation. It occurs in response to several stimuli including disease, injury, starvation, and normal aging. Currently, there is no truly effective pharmacological therapy for atrophy; therefore, exploration of the mechanisms contributing to atrophy is essential because it will eventually lead to discovery of an effective therapeutic target.

Job satisfaction among radiation therapy educators.

Context: Job satisfaction is one of the most consistent variables related to employee retention and is especially relevant considering the shortage of radiation therapists and radiation therapy educators in the United States.

Objective: To investigate job satisfaction levels among radiation therapy educators certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists and employed in programs accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology.

Methods: The long form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was mailed to 158 radiation therapy educators to measure job satisfaction.

Predicting NCLEX-PN performance for practical nursing students.

Success on the licensure examination, NCLEX-PN, is a fundamental outcome criterion for practical nursing programs as well as a state requirement for professional practice. Nurse educators and administrators have an interest in identifying factors that predict success on the licensure examination. This study examined demographic, pre-admission, and programmatic variables to determine their predictive value for NCLEX-PN success in a statewide 2-year college system.

Mentoring undergraduate nursing students: assessing the state of the science.

Academic mentoring is frequently offered as one strategy to facilitate student success, but the research evidence may be wanting. The authors present an integrative review of the data-based scholarship published between 1992 and 2002. Analysis involved synthesizing the research evidence and presenting findings within a conceptual framework.

Nurse productivity measures for the 21st century.

The concept and measurement of nurses' productivity ranges from traditional economic interpretation of nurses as labor costs to human capital theory interpretation of nurses as intellectual capital assets.

Confidentiality--An analysis of the issue.

Today, in the high-tech, fast-paced health care arena in which professionals practice, confidential information and the right to privacy in one's personal life have become very basic concerns of society. Among the general public, a genuine interest exists about potential invasions of privacy and the undermining of confidentiality. Members of society are more educated concerning rights as the result of multimedia and education presented by health care professionals.