Traumatic brain injury and quality of life: initial Australian validation of the QOLIBRI.

The Quality of Life after Brain Injury (QOLIBRI) is a new international instrument for assessing quality of life after traumatic brain injury (TBI). We report first use and validation. Patients previously admitted with TBI to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, were randomly sampled (n=66, 61% response rate) and administered the QOLIBRI. Fifty-five re-completed it at 2-week follow-up. QOLIBRI scales (with two exceptions) met standard criteria for internal consistency, homogeneity and test-re-test reliability. Correlations with the Assessment of Quality of Life, Short Form-36 version 2 and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were moderate. The QOLIBRI was sensitive to the Glasgow Outcome Scale - Extended scores, Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, and measures of social isolation (Friendship Scale). There was evidence that further refinement may improve the QOLIBRI. The QOLIBRI should be considered as an outcome measure by clinicians and researchers conducting treatment trials, rehabilitation studies or epidemiological surveys into the treatment or sequelae of trauma.

Isolation of histone genes from unfractionated sea urchin DNA by subculture cloning in E. coli.

Histone genes have been cloned selectively in Escherichia coli directly from unfractionated sea urchin DNA using labelled mRNA probe. The cloning method used is potentially applicable for isolating any genetic sequence for which a probe is available. The several eukaryotic gene fragments introduced into bacteria by this method collectively contain all or nearly all of the DNA sequences represented in histone mRNA.