A framework for systematically improving occupational therapy expert opinions on work capacity

Aim:  To present an evidence-based framework to improve the quality of occupational therapy expert opinions on work capacity for litigation, compensation and insurance purposes.
Methods:  Grounded theory methodology was used to collect and analyse data from a sample of 31 participants, comprising 19 occupational therapists, 6 medical specialists and 6 lawyers. A focused semistructured interview was completed with each participant. In addition, 20 participants verified the key findings.
Results:  The framework is contextualised within a medicolegal system requiring increasing expertise. The framework consists of (i) broad professional development strategies and principles, and (ii) specific strategies and principles for improving opinions through reporting and assessment practices.
Conclusions:  The synthesis of the participants' recommendations provides systematic guidelines for improving occupational therapy expert opinion on work capacity.     

Localization by immunoelectron microscopy of spanning protein of triad junction in terminal cisternae/triad vesicles

Summary Polyclonal antibodies have been developed against the junctional feet or spanning protein from skeletal muscle triads. These probes in combination with immunogold labels have been used to localize the spanning protein by electron microscope of isolated vesicles from terminal cisternae/triads. The spanning protein antibodies specifically bind to the electron dense junctional feet. In vesicles permeabilized by hypotonic treatment or by saponin, some gold particles may be seen on the luminal side of the vesicle. Trypsin treatment of vesicles causes complete loss of the 300 K spanning protein from SDS gels while dot blots show that some but not all the antigenic activity is lost. This treatment is associated with the loss of the electron dense projections from the membrane surface and is coincident with the loss of immunogold staining when antibody is added to the intact vesicles. On the other hand, in experiments in which the luminal portions of the isolated vesicles have been made accessible to the polyclonal antibodies by sectioning lightly fixed vesicles before immunogold tagging, extensive gold labelling was found to occur in trypsin treated vesicles which have lost detectable projections from the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. These data support the view that the spanning protein projects from the sarcoplasmic reticulum towards the transverse tubules but further suggest that spanning protein extends into and probably through the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane in accord with the proposition that it is a Ca²⁺ channel.Nomenclature SP spanning protein - SR sarcoplasmic reticulum - TC terminal cisternae - T-tubule transverse tubule - HMW high molecular weight - ELISA enzyme linked immunosorbent assay - PMSF phenylmethyl sulphonylfluoride - SDS sodium dodecyle sulphate     

Fertilization and early embryology: Non-enzymatic formation of formaldehyde in mouse oocyte freezing mixtures

Three cryoprotectant solvents, dimethylsulphoxide, 1,2-propanedioland glycerol, were investigated for a non-enzymatic reactionproduct, formaldehyde. All three cryoprotectants demonstrateda direct relationship between increasing solvent molarity andincreasing formaldehyde concentration which was independentof temperature and protein (bovine serum albumin). Medium compositionsignificantly influenced the formaldehyde concentration withHTF T6 M16 = M2. The formaldehyde could be effectively removedby reduced glutathione, cysteine and dithiothreitol with cysteinebeing the most effective scavenging agent A reaction mechanismfor this scavenging is proposed. The combination of cysteineand cryoprotectant reduced the zona pellucida ‘hardening’effect in mouse oocytes.     

Evaluation of a 200 mm long vacuum aspiration tube for measurement of erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

The ESrT-system 200 comprises a 215 mm long vacuum aspiration venepuncture tube which contains anticoagulant diluent for the measurement of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) without direct handling of the blood sample. This combines the advantage of a tube of "Westergren" length with a reduction in biohazard risk. Blood from 160 patients (ESR range 2-135 mm/first hour) was tested in parallel with the selected Westergren ESR method of the International Committee for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH) and a close correlation (r = 0.967) between the two methods was obtained. A second Westergren ESR, using anticoagulated but undiluted blood, was measured on 58 specimens to give an ICSH "expected" ESR. The ESrT-system 200 result was within 12 mm/first hour of the "expected" result for 91% of the specimens. This new ESR system is simple to use, does not require mathematical correction of the ESR reading for tube length, and gives results that are comparable with those obtained with the ICSH Westergren method.     

Performance measures of 7– to 15-year-old children on the auditory verbal learning test

This study provides Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) data for 10 boys and 10 girls in each offour age groups, 7-to 8-years, 9-to 10-years, 11-to 12-years and 14-to 15-years. Gender was not a significant factor in any of the measures in this study. Superior performance by older children was found for acquisition, retention, word span, and retrieval efficiency. Age did not affect acquisition rate, the shape of the serial position curve, memory for the source of items, or the proportion of items recalled after a 20-min delay. The stability of these measures across the wide age range of normal children is indicative of their potential diagnostic significance.