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Muscle Tension (muscle + tension)
Selected AbstractsItem selection and content validity of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool for non-verbal adultsJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 1 2009Céline Gélinas Abstract Title.,Item selection and content validity of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool for non-verbal adults. Aim., This paper is a report of the item selection process and evaluation of the content validity of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool for non-verbal critically ill adults. Background., Critically ill patients experience moderate to severe pain in the intensive care unit. While critical care clinicians strive to obtain the patient's self-report of pain, many factors compromise the patient's ability to communicate verbally. Pain assessment methods often need to match the communication capabilities of the patient. In non-verbal patients, observable behavioural and physiological indicators become important indices for pain assessment. Method., A mixed method study design was used for the development of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool in 2002,2003. More specifically, a four-step process was undertaken: (1) literature review, (2) review of 52 patients' medical files, (3) focus groups with 48 critical care nurses, and interviews with 12 physicians, and (4) evaluation of content validity with 17 clinicians using a self-administered questionnaire. Results., Item selection was derived from different sources of information which were convergent and complementary in their content. An initial version of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool was developed including both behavioural and physiological indicators. Because physiological indicators received more criticism than support, only the four behaviours with content validity indices >0·80 were included in the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool: facial expression, body movements, muscle tension and compliance with the ventilator. Conclusion., Item selection and expert opinions are relevant aspects of tool development. While further evaluation is planned, the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool appears as a useful instrument to assess pain in critically ill patients. [source] Differential activation of stress-responsive signalling proteins associated with altered loading in a rat skeletal muscleJOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2005Inho Choi Abstract Skeletal muscle undergoes a significant reduction in tension upon unloading. To explore intracellular signalling mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, we investigated twitch tension, the ratio of actin/myosin filaments, and activities of key signalling molecules in rat soleus muscle during a 3-week hindlimb suspension and 2-week reloading. Twitch tension and myofilament ratio (actin/myosin) gradually decreased during unloading but progressively recovered to initial levels during reloading. To study the involvement of stress-responsive signalling proteins during these changes, the activities of protein kinase C alpha (PKC,) and three mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs),c-Jun NH2 -terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), and p38 MAPK,were examined using immunoblotting and immune complex kinase assays. PKC, phosphorylation correlated positively with the tension (Pearson's r,=,0.97, P,<,0.001) and the myofilament ratio (r,=,0.83, P,<,0.01) over the entire unloading and reloading period. Treatment of the soleus muscle with a PKC activator resulted in a similar paralleled increment in both PKC, phosphorylation and the ,-sarcomeric actin expression. The three MAPKs differed in the pattern of activation in that JNK activity peaked only for the first hours of reloading, whereas ERK and p38 MAPK activities remained elevated during reloading. These results suggest that PKC, may play a pivotal role in converting loading stress to intracellular changes in contractile proteins that determine muscle tension. Differential activation of MAPKs may also help alleviate muscle damage, modulate energy transport and/or regulate the expression of contractile proteins upon altered loading. J. Cell. Biochem. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Moderating effects of political skill, perceived control, and job-related self-efficacy on the relationship between negative affectivity and physiological strainJOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 5 2008Kelly L. Zellars The present study examined whether employees high in negative affectivity (NA) are destined to experience strain at a higher level than those low in NA. We used data collected from 230 employees to investigate the moderating effects of political skill, as a form of interpersonal control, on the relationship between NA and physiological strain. As hypothesized, NA was positively related to physiological strain (i.e., facial muscle tension as measured by electromyography (EMG)), and political skill buffered this effect such that the relationship was weaker among employees who were higher in political skill. Tests of mediated moderation further suggested the means by which political skill moderates the NA/strain relationship; specifically, the results were consistent with the idea that perceived control and, in turn, job-related efficacy explain the moderating effect of political skill. Strengths and limitations of the study, practical implications, and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Selegiline, an MAO-B inhibitor, attenuates airway smooth muscle contraction in the rat tracheaJOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY: AN INTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE, Issue 7 2004Maki Yoshimura Selegiline is widely used for Parkinson's disease and sometimes for Alzheimer's disease. It is reported to affect intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Since intracellular Ca2+ is partly regulated by phosphatidylinositol (PI) response and is important for smooth muscle contraction, selegiline may affect airway smooth muscle tension. We examined the effects of selegiline on acetylcholine (ACh)- and KCl-induced contractile and PI responses in rat trachea. The trachea was cut into 3-mm-wide ring segments or 1-mm-wide slices. ACh (3 ,M, 50% effective dose) or KCl (40mM) was added, and ring relaxation was induced by the addition of selegiline. Tracheal slices were incubated with [3H]myo -inositol and 3 ,M ACh in the presence of selegiline, and [3H]inositol monophosphate (IP1) was measured. Selegiline dose-dependently attenuated ACh- and KCl-induced tracheal ring contractions. Fifty-percent inhibitory doses (ID50) of selegiline against ACh- and KCl-induced contraction were 120±30 ,M and 80±20 ,M, respectively. Basal and ACh-induced IP1 accumulation were 2.20±0.20 Bq and 7.88±0.23 Bq, respectively, and selegiline at a dose of 1000 ,M attenuated ACh-induced IP1 accumulation (5.44±0.30 Bq). These results suggest that selegiline inhibits contractile responses through the inhibition of voltage-operated Ca2+ channels and the PI response. [source] Psychophysiological reactivity in female sexual abuse survivorsJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 4 2001Annmarie McDonagh-Coyle Abstract This study examined psychophysiological reactivity in 37 female childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. After assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychiatric comorbidity, and trauma history, we conducted a psychophysiological assessment of forehead muscle tension, electrodermal activity, and heart rate during a mental arithmetic task and 4 script-driven imagery tasks (neutral, consensual sex, pleasant, and trauma). PTSD symptom severity correlated positively with psychophysiologic changes and negative emotions during the trauma imagery task. During mental arithmetic, PTSD symptom severity correlated negatively with autonomic changes and positively with negative emotions. These results extend earlier PTSD research showing trauma-specific increased psychophysiological reactivity related to CSA in women with PTSD. They further suggest a negative association between PTSD severity and autonomic reactions to mental arithmetic. [source] Anthelmintic paraherquamides are cholinergic antagonists in gastrointestinal nematodes and mammalsJOURNAL OF VETERINARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 4 2002Erich W. Zinser Oxindole alkaloids in the paraherquamide/marcfortine family exhibit broad-spectrum anthelmintic activity that includes drug-resistant strains of nematodes. Paraherquamide (PHQ), 2-deoxoparaherquamide (2DPHQ), and close structural analogs of these compounds rapidly induce flaccid paralysis in parasitic nematodes in vitro, without affecting adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. The mechanism of action of this anthelmintic class was investigated using muscle tension and microelectrode recording techniques in isolated body wall segments of Ascaris suum. None of the compounds altered A. suum muscle tension or membrane potential. However, PHQ blocked (when applied before) or reversed (when applied after) depolarizing contractions induced by acetylcholine (ACh) and the nicotinic agonists levamisole and morantel. These effects were mimicked by the nicotinic ganglionic blocker mecamylamine, suggesting that the anthelmintic activity of PHQ and marcfortines is due to blockade of cholinergic neuromuscular transmission. The effects of these compounds were also examined on subtypes of human nicotinic ACh receptors expressed in mammalian cells with a Ca2+ flux assay. 2DPHQ blocked nicotinic stimulation of cells expressing ,3 ganglionic (IC50 , 9 µm) and muscle-type (IC50 , 3 µm) nicotinic cholinergic receptors, but was inactive at 100 µm vs. the ,7 CNS subtype. PHQ anthelmintics are nicotinic cholinergic antagonists in both nematodes and mammals, and this mechanism appears to underlie both their efficacy and toxicity. [source] Psychological benefits for cancer patients and their partners participating in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 9 2010Kathryn Birnie Abstract Objective: Cancer patients experience many negative psychological symptoms including stress, anxiety, and depression. This distress is not limited to the patient, as their partners also experience many psychological challenges. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs have demonstrated clinical benefit for a variety of chronic illnesses, including cancer. This is the first study to report MBSR participation with partners of cancer patients. Methods: This study examined the impact of an 8-week MBSR program for 21 couples who attended the program together on outcomes of mood disturbance, symptoms of stress, and mindfulness. Results: Significant reductions for both patients and partners in mood disturbance (p<0.05) and the Calgary Symptoms of Stress Inventory (C-SOSI) subscales of muscle tension (p<0.01), neurological/GI (p<0.05), and upper respiratory (p<0.01) symptoms were observed after program participation. Significant increases in mindfulness (p<0.05) were also reported in both groups. No significant correlations were observed between patient and partner scores on any measures at baseline or on change scores pre- to post-intervention; however, after MBSR participation couple's scores on the Profile of Mood States and C-SOSI were more highly correlated with one-another. Post-intervention, partners' mood disturbance scores were significantly positively correlated with patients' symptoms of stress and negatively correlated with patients' levels of mindfulness. Conclusions: Overall, the MBSR program was helpful for improving psychological functioning and mindfulness for both members of the couple. Several avenues of future research are suggested to further explore potential benefits of joint couple attendance in the MBSR program. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Mental rotation delays the heart beat: Probing the central processing bottleneckPSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5 2003J. Richard Jennings Abstract We tested the hypothesis that mental rotation would delay response-related processing as indicated by transient slowing of the heart beat. Thirty college-age subjects (half female) were presented with normal and mirror image letters rotated at 0, 60, 120, and 180°. Three letters were assigned to a right-hand response; a separate three to a left-hand response. Responses were only required for letters in one orientation, mirror or normal. Continuous measures of interbeat interval (IBI) of the heart, respiration, and muscle tension were collected. Performance results were largely consistent with prior findings. Greater angular displacement of the stimuli was associated with greater lengthening of IBI immediately after the stimulus. IBI was influenced equally by angle of rotation in respond and inhibit trials. The lengthening of IBI was interpreted as due to a delay in response selection and execution due to mental rotation. [source] Anandamide improves the impaired nitric oxide-mediated neurogenic relaxation of the corpus cavernosum in diabetic rats: involvement of cannabinoid CB1 and vanilloid VR1 receptorsBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2007Mehdi Ghasemi OBJECTIVE To investigate the ability of acute administration of the endogenous cannabinoid, anandamide, in vitro to alter the nonadrenegic noncholinergic (NANC)-mediated relaxation of corpus cavernosum (CC) in diabetic rats and the possible role of nitric oxide (NO), as it is well known that erectile dysfunction (ED) affects 35,75% of men with diabetes mellitus and several studies have been conducted to find appropriate strategies for treating diabetes-induced ED. MATERIALS AND METHODS Diabetes was induced in rats by streptozotocin administration and was maintained for 8 weeks. The CC were removed and isolated in organ baths for pharmacological studies. Agonist-evoked or electrical-field stimulation (EFS)-evoked smooth muscle tensions in CC strips from control and diabetic rats were measured. RESULTS The neurogenic relaxation of phenylephrine (7.5 µm)-precontracted isolated CC strips was impaired in diabetic rats. Anandamide (0.3, 1 and 3 µm) enhanced the relaxant responses to EFS in diabetic CC strips in a dose-dependent manner. This effect was antagonized by the selective cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist AM251 (1 µm) and the selective vanilloid receptor antagonist capsazepine (3 µm). Concurrent administration of partially effective doses of l -arginine (10 µm) and anandamide (0.3 µm) exerted a synergistic improvement in EFS-induced relaxation of diabetic CC strips (P < 0.001). The relaxant responses to the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside, were similar between diabetic and control groups. CONCLUSION For the first time, we show that acute administration of anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid, alone or combined with l -arginine can improve nitrergic nerve-mediated relaxation of the CC in diabetic rats. This effect was mediated by cannabinoid CB1 and vanilloid VR1 receptors within the CC. [source] | |||||||||||||