A new paradigm in patient education: a four-part model using videotape production.

In this article, the effectiveness of an instructional videotape for newly admitted hospitalized psychiatric patients is discussed and evaluated. It is suggested that by using 'actors' with whom the patient is familiar (hospital staff), the educational and therapeutic benefit of the video is enhanced. This paper provides a method for pre-production planning of an effective videotape based on a four-part model. In this model, the educational subject matter is divided into four categories; facts, procedures, support, and mastery. An attempt is made to match various styles of presentation by each member of the treatment team to the nature of the part being presented. The short attention span common to newly admitted depressed patients, for example, is remedied by the use of concise messages delivered by each treatment team member. Although videotapes are not a substitute for one-to-one professional interaction, they can provide some basic understanding of the therapeutic environment and allay some of the fears that often plague the newly admitted patient. This paper also demonstrates how the use of videotaped instruction allows the treatment team to administer organized information using unlicensed personnel or the patient himself, thus conserving the professional staff's time.

Factors influencing GAP-43 gene expression in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells.

We have studied factors controlling message levels for the neuronal growth- and plasticity-associated protein, GAP-43. Following exposure of PC12 cells to various effectors, cytoplasmic RNA was isolated and analyzed by Northern transfer and autoradiography using a GAP-43 cDNA probe. Induction by NGF is apparent after 3 hr exposure and reaches maximal levels at 24 hr. Beyond 24 hr, levels remain constant in the continued presence of NGF. Induction is insensitive to variations in culture conditions, such as plating density or substrate, which influence NGF-induced neurite outgrowth. Other inducers, in order of decreasing efficacy, are FGF, dBcAMP, TPA, K+, and EGF. Insulin and retinoic acid are ineffective. Dexamethasone partially inhibited basal expression as well as induction by NGF, FGF, dBcAMP, and TPA. The methyltransferase inhibitor 5'-S-(2-methyl-propyl)adenosine completely inhibited induction by NGF, FGF, and dBcAMP. Inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide partially decreased induction by NGF, FGF, and TPA but slightly enhanced dBcAMP induction. Complete down-regulation of protein kinase C by chronic TPA treatment completely eliminated the TPA response but slightly enhanced induction by NGF. These findings and the results of additivity experiments in which cells were stimulated with various combinations of NGF, dBcAMP and TPA suggest that NGF induction of GAP-43 RNA (1) does not involve activation of protein kinase C but (2) may be mediated partially via activation of protein kinase A.

pp60c-src Kinase is in chick and human embryonic tissues.

The normal cellular protein pp60c-src is a tyrosine-specific protein kinase that is homologous to the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) but its function is unknown. The expression of pp60c-src in chick and human embryonic tissues was monitored by the immune complex protein kinase assay, Western transfer analysis, and immunocytochemical staining at the light microscope level. pp60c-src kinase was expressed in the head and trunk regions of the chick embryo at all stages of development examined; however, expression increased significantly during the major period of organogenesis (Hamburger and Hamilton stages 21 to 32). Western transfer analysis showed that the amount of pp60c-src protein increased in parallel with the increase in kinase activity. Highest levels of pp60c-src kinase were present in the neural tube, brain, and heart of the stage 32 chick embryo. Lower levels of activity were found in eye, limb bud, and liver. Immunocytochemical staining of the neural tube region and heart of the chick confirmed the results of biochemical analysis and showed immunoreactive pp60c-src distributed throughout the neural tube and heart. The distribution of pp60c-src kinase in human fetal tissues was similar to that in the chick embryo; elevated levels of pp60c-src kinase were present in cerebral cortex, spinal cord, and heart, but all other tissues examined expressed some pp60c-src kinase. The results of our studies suggest that pp60c-src plays a fundamental role in an aspect of cellular metabolism that is particularly important in electrogenic tissues.