TACAN Is an Ion Channel Involved in Sensing Mechanical Pain.

Mechanotransduction, the conversion of mechanical stimuli into electrical signals, is a fundamental process underlying essential physiological functions such as touch and pain sensing, hearing, and proprioception. Although the mechanisms for some of these functions have been identified, the molecules essential to the sense of pain have remained elusive. Here we report identification of TACAN (Tmem120A), an ion channel involved in sensing mechanical pain. TACAN is expressed in a subset of nociceptors, and its heterologous expression increases mechanically evoked currents in cell lines. Purification and reconstitution of TACAN in synthetic lipids generates a functional ion channel. Finally, a nociceptor-specific inducible knockout of TACAN decreases the mechanosensitivity of nociceptors and reduces behavioral responses to painful mechanical stimuli but not to thermal or touch stimuli. We propose that TACAN is an ion channel that contributes to sensing mechanical pain.

Nursing student caring behaviors during blood pressure measurement.

The purpose of this multisite, nonexperimental study was to examine, using a repeated measures design, the effects of a teaching intervention designed to promote caring behaviors as students learn the psychomotor skill of blood pressure measurement. Watson's theory of human caring and a combination of cognitive and connectionist learning theories were used as the organizing construct. Baccalaureate nursing student participants were videotaped and evaluated at two points in time while performing the psychomotor skill of blood pressure measurement on a role-player. Role-players rated the students' caring behaviors using the Role Player Survey of Caring Behaviors During Blood Pressure Measurement instrument. Between these data collection points, students learned about caring behaviors through analysis of a videotaped role-play and required readings. An evaluator randomly selected 10 student videotapes from each of the 6 baccalaureate nursing program study sites and noted the presence or absence of caring behaviors on the Caring Behaviors During Blood Pressure Measurement instrument. Pretest and posttest scores on both subjective and objective research instruments were compared using descriptive statistics and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Students demonstrated a significant improvement in objective and subjective caring behaviors between the two performance examinations. The findings support further investigation of teaching interventions to promote the development of caring behaviors during nursing psychomotor skill development.

Training General Aviation Pilots for Convective Weather Situations.

BACKGROUND: Over the past 10-15 yr, considerable research has occurred for the development, testing, and fielding of real-time Datalink weather products for general aviation (GA) pilots to use before and during flight. As is the case with the implementation of most new technologies, work is needed to ensure that the users (in this case, the pilots) understand both the capabilities and limitations of the new technologies as well as how to use the new systems to improve their task performance. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend a previous study on training pilots how and when to use these new weather technologies. METHOD: This field study used a quasi-experimental design (pre- vs. post-test with a control group). There were 91 GA pilots from the Midwest, Northeastern, and Southeastern United States who participated in a 2-h short course or a control activity. The lecture-based short course covered radar basics, Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD), NEXRAD specifics/limitations, thunderstorm basics, radar products, and decision making. RESULTS: The pilots who participated in the course earned higher knowledge test scores, improved at applying the concepts in paper-based flight scenarios, had higher self-efficacy in post-training assessments as compared to pre-training assessments, and also performed better than did control subjects on post-test knowledge and skills assessments. DISCUSSION: GA pilots lack knowledge about real-time Datalink weather technology. This study indicates that a relatively short training program was effective for fostering Datalink weather-related knowledge and skills in GA pilots.

Characterization of human embryonic stem cells with features of neoplastic progression.

Cultured human embryonic stem (hES) cells can acquire genetic and epigenetic changes that make them vulnerable to transformation. As hES cells with cancer-cell characteristics share properties with normal hES cells, such as self-renewal, teratoma formation and the expression of pluripotency markers, they may be misconstrued as superior hES cells with enhanced 'stemness'. We characterize two variant hES cell lines (v-hESC-1 and v-hESC-2) that express pluripotency markers at high levels and do not harbor chromosomal abnormalities by standard cytogenetic measures. We show that the two lines possess some features of neoplastic progression, including a high proliferative capacity, growth-factor independence, a 9- to 20-fold increase in frequency of tumor-initiating cells, niche independence and aberrant lineage specification, although they are not malignant. Array comparative genomic hybridization reveals an amplification at 20q11.1-11.2 in v-hESC-1 and a deletion at 5q34a-5q34b;5q3 and a mosaic gain of chromosome 12 in v-hESC-2. These results emphasize the need for functional characterization to distinguish partially transformed and normal hES cells.