Interscalene cervical plexus block: a single-injection technic.

A review of the anatomy of the cervical plexus and surrounding structures suggests a single-injection technic which simplifies anesthesia of the cervical plexus and increases the margin of safety in this procedure. Used by the authors, the technic has been successful in 97 percent of over 100 cases.     

Use of CEPH and non-CEPH lymphoblast cell lines in pharmacogenetic studies

A long-term goal of pharmacogenomic research is the design of individualized therapy based on the genomic sequence of the patient in order to maximize response and minimize adverse drug reactions. Identifying genetic variants that predict drug response is challenging because drug responses reflect not only properties intrinsic to the target cell, but also host metabolic factors. One model that is currently being employed to study genotype-phenotype correlations involves the use of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). These cell lines have been used to identify genetic variation that influences response or susceptibility to cancer, radiation, transport, cytotoxicity, and variation in global gene expression. LCLs, particularly those derived from large pedigrees, are a valuable resource for identifying candidate genes and have potential for studies of many relevant phenotypes. This paper highlights studies that have utilized Centre d' Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) and non-CEPH cell lines derived from humans for pharmacogenetic studies, and the advantages and disadvantages associated with this approach.     

Restoration of plakoglobin expression in bladder carcinoma cell lines suppresses cell migration and tumorigenic potential

The reduction or loss of plakoglobin expression in late-stage bladder cancer has been correlated with poor survival where upregulation of this catenin member by histone deacetylase inhibitors has been shown to accompany tumour suppression in an in vivo model. In this study, we directly addressed the question of the role of plakoglobin in bladder tumorigenesis following restoration, or knockdown of expression in bladder carcinoma cell lines. Restoration of plakoglobin expression resulted in a reduction in migration and suppression of tumorigenic potential in vivo. Immunocytochemistry revealed cytoplasmic and membranous localisation of plakoglobin in transfectants with < 1% of cells displaying detectable nuclear localisation of plakoglobin. siRNA knockdown experiments targeting plakoglobin, revealed enhanced migration in all cell lines in the presence and absence of E-cadherin expression. In bladder cell lines expressing low levels of plakoglobin and desmoglein-2, elevated levels of desmoglein-2 were detected following restoration of plakoglobin expression in transfected cell lines. Analysis of wnt signalling revealed no activation event associated with plakoglobin expression in the bladder model. These results show that plakoglobin acts as a tumour suppressor gene in bladder carcinoma cells and the silencing of plakoglobin gene expression in late-stage bladder cancer is a primary event in tumour progression.     

Canadian physical therapists' interest in web-based and computer-assisted continuing education

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Distance education via computer-assisted learning (CAL), including Web-based and CD-ROM learning, confers a number of advantages compared with traditional learning methods. The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the interest of Canadian physical therapists in participating in continuing education using CAL methods and (2) to determine whether interest in CAL was related to type of employment, area of practice, education, computer skill and access, and other demographic variables. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A random sample of Canadian physical therapists and all members of cardiopulmonary interest groups were surveyed. RESULTS: Of 1,426 survey questionnaires mailed, 69 were returned (58 were unopened and 11 were duplicates). From the remaining 1,357 potential survey responses, 757 responses were received, for an overall response rate of 56%. Seventy-eight percent of the respondents indicated their interest in participating in CAL. Factors associated with interest in CAL included 2 or more hours of Internet access per week, Internet access at both home and work, computer skill, education level, practice area, and belonging to a cardiopulmonary interest group. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The findings indicate a large positive interest in CAL. Increasing CAL continuing education opportunities could increase options for physical therapists to meet professional expectations for continuing competency.     

Oscillatory synchrony in the monkey temporal lobe correlates with performance in a visual short-term memory task

Oscillatory synchrony has been proposed to dynamically coordinate distributed neural ensembles, but whether this mechanism is effectively used in neural processing remains controversial. We trained two monkeys to perform a delayed matching-to-sample task using new visual shapes at each trial. Measures of population-activity patterns (cortical field potentials) were obtained from a chronically implanted array of electrodes placed over area V4 and posterior infero-temporal cortex. In correct trials, oscillatory phase synchrony in the beta range (15-20 Hz) was observed between two focal sites in the inferior temporal cortex while holding the sample in short-term memory. Error trials were characterized by an absence of oscillatory synchrony during memory maintenance. Errors did not seem to be due to an impaired stimulus encoding, since various parameters of neural activity in sensory area V4 did not differ in correct and incorrect trials during sample presentation. Our findings suggest that the successful performance of a visual short-term memory task depends on the strength of oscillatory synchrony during the maintenance of the object in short-term memory. The strength of oscillatory synchrony thus seems to be a relevant parameter of the neural population dynamics that matches behavioral performance.