The biological revolution

Since the 1950s biological sciences are on the rise. Today the rise of biological sciences have become so drammatic that its role has evolved from a single discipline to completely new sets of disciplines which we call today as life sciences. Due to the advancements in genomic technologiesthe fields of life sciences like molecular biology, biotechnology, molecular medicine, nanobiotechnology and neuroscience have evolved rapidly. The positive impact of these developments are not only evident in science and technology but also in economic growth and development

Specifying molecular determinants of the subcellular targeting of synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA A receptors

How GABA-A receptor subtypes segregate so precisely to different subcellular locations is not understood. In this study, I have expressed the recombinant g2 and d GABA-A receptor subunits in cultured hippocampal neurons to analyze the differential cell surface expression and sub-membrane segregation of synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA-A receptors. My data demonstrate that the synaptic targeting of g2-containing GABA-A receptors does not depend on the cytoplasmic TM3-TM4 domain of the g2 subunit. This result was actually surprising, until Alldred et al published their work last year (2005) showing that the synaptic localization of receptors with the g2 subunit requires the TM4 domain rather than the large TM3-TM4 cytoplasmic loop. The premise of our work, when we started, was that the loop region would be responsible. On the other hand, I showed here that the TM3-TM4 cytoplasmic domain of the d subunit is either a factor for the extra-synaptic clustering of the d containing GABAA receptors (this would be an active mechanism) or alternatively that this loop region may not contain any information at all on receptor targeting, and subunits with this domain may simply lack sufficient “information” to be placed in synapses (passive exclusion). I cannot currently distinguish between these two possibilities. Nevertheless, by comparing the d subunit TM3-TM4 loop amino acid sequences across the whole span of vertebrate evolution, I discovered that the loop was remarkably conserved. This would suggest that the loop’s tertiary structure and specific proteins that bind to it are important for some function(s)of d-containing receptors. A passive exclusion mechanism might have lead to a degeneration of the loop sequence

The complexity of mental disorders

Upon completition of human genome project, there has been a huge effort to identify genes that have been associated to mental disorders like schizophrenia or depression. However, these investigations still remain at theoretical level. Thus, psychiatry does not seem to benefit from postgenomic era as desired. This paper will briefly discuss the reasons for this bottleneck in terms of the complexity of mental disorders

Alcohol modulation of extra-synaptic gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptors

Development of effective treatment agents for the alcohol use disorders requires the detailed understanding of molecular targets of alcohol in the brain. The gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs) are the major molecular targets of alcohol in the central nervous system. Mediating inhibitory neurotransmission upon GABA binding in the vertebrate central nervous system, GABAARs are heteropentameric chloride channels, assembled from a large subunit pool encoded by 19 distinct genes. It is the subunit composition that determines the receptor’s biophysical properties, neurotransmitter affinity, the pharmacology, and the position on the cell i.e., synaptic or extra-synaptic. This review paper briefly presents the alcohol modulation of a specific GABAAR subtype located at the extra-synaptic sites with a subunit composition of alpha, beta and delt

ABSTRACTS FROM THE 1ST BALKANS CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE SYMPOSIUM

ABSTRACTS FROM THE 1ST BALKANS CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE SYMPOSIU

Nursing care satisfaction of patients: surgical patients example

Amaç: Araştırma cerrahi servislerindeki hastaların hemşirelik bakım memnuniyetlerini ölçmek amacıyla yapıldı. Yöntem: Tanımlayıcı türde olan araştırma cerrahi servislerinde 267 hasta ile gerçekleştirildi. Veriler “hasta tanıtıcı özellikler formu” ve “Newcastle hemşirelik bakımı memnuniyet ölçeği” kullanılarak yüz yüze görüşme yöntemi ile toplandı. Bulgular: Hastaların hemşirelik bakımı memnuniyet düzeyi ortalamasının 81.7±15.2 olduğu saptandı. Hastaların en çok “hemşirelerin mahremiyetlerine gösterdikleri saygıdan” ve en az “hemşirelerin durumları ve tedavileri ile ilgili yeterli bilgi vermelerinden” memnun oldukları belirlendi. Hemşirelerden sağlıkla ilgili bilgi alan, hemşirelerin verdiği bilgiyi, bakımı ve iletişim düzeyini iyi bulan, korku ve endişelerini hemşirelerle paylaşan ve hemşirelerin verdiği bakımın iyileşmeye etkisinin fazla olduğunu düşünen hastaların bakım memnuniyetlerinin anlamlı şekilde daha yüksek olduğu bulundu (p<0.05). Sonuç: Cerrahi hastalarının bakım memnuniyet düzeyleri ortalama puanın üzerindedir. Hastaların çoğu hemşirelerin verdiği bilginin ve bakımın yeterli olduğunu düşünürken taburculuk eğitiminin ise yeterli olmadığını düşünmektedirler. Araştırma sonuçları bakım memnuniyetini artırmak için geliştirilecek stratejilere katkı sağlayabilir.Objective: The study was descriptively done in order to determine nursing care satisfaction among surgical patients. Methods: In the study, which is done with 267 patients who were treated at surgery clinics; data were collected using “a patient identification features questionnaire form” and “Newcastle satisfaction with nursing care scale” through face to face interview technique. Results: Average nursing care satisfaction of patients was 81.7±15.2. Patients were most satisfied with “the amount of privacy nurses gave you” and least with “the amount of information nurses gave to you about your condition and treatment”. Nursing care satisfaction of patients who received information from nurses about health, found information-care-and- communication given by nurses good, shared fears and anxieties with nurses and thought that care given by nurses had bigger effect upon healing was higher and the difference among the variables was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: As a result, surgery patients’ care satisfactions were above the average. Besides, most of the patients thought that information and care given by nurses was enough but discharge education was not at a sufficient level. Study results may contribute to strategies will be developed in order to increase care satisfaction.No sponso

Hemşire öğretim elemanlarının iletişim becerileri: Öğrenci perspektifi

This research was conducted to evaluate nurse faculty members&rsquo; communication skills from students&rsquo; perspective in a nursing department of health school. Descriptive research design included 167 students, and the research sample was 114 students with a response rate of 68%. A questionnaire included several socio-demographic characteristics and &Ccedil;etinkanat (1998)&rsquo;s Teacher Communication Skills Scale (T.C.S.S), which has five sub-dimensions namely empathy, transparency, equality, efficiency and sufficiency. In its first use of this scale the internal consistency was 0, 81 whereas it is 0, 93 in this study. The results of this study reveal that students evaluate nurse faculty members more on sufficiency and less on efficiency dimensions. Besides, statistically significant differences were determined among faculty members&rsquo; communication skills in terms of students&rsquo; class membership and gender. Female students and third year students have more positive and constructive evaluations than male and last year students. It is suggested that carried out courses of measurement and evaluation methods for devoloping effectiveness dimension. Also ıt is suggested that are investigated in huge nursing student population about this subject.Ama&ccedil;: Bu araştırma, hemşire &ouml;ğretim elemanlarının iletişim becerilerini &ouml;ğrenci g&ouml;z&uuml;yle değerlendirmek amacıyla planlanmıştır.Y&ouml;ntem: Tanımlayıcı nitelikte planlanan araştırmanın evrenini 167 &ouml;ğrenci, &ouml;rneklemini 114 kişi oluşturmuştur. Evrenin %68&rsquo;ine ulaşılmıştır. Araştırmada &ouml;ğrencilerin bazı sosyo-demografik &ouml;zelliklerini belirlemek i&ccedil;in soru formu ve &Ccedil;etinkanat(1998) tarafından geliştirilen &Ouml;ğretmen İletişim Becerileri &Ouml;l&ccedil;eği (&Ouml;.İ.B.&Ouml;) kullanılmıştır. &Ouml;l&ccedil;eğin empati, saydamlık, eşitlik, etkililik ve yeterlilik olmak &uuml;zere beş alt boyutu bulunmaktadır &Ouml;l&ccedil;eğin; ilk yapılan &ccedil;alışmada i&ccedil; tutarlılık katsayısı.81 olarak belirlenmiş olup, bu &ccedil;alışmada .93 olarak bulunmuştur. Bulgular ve sonu&ccedil;: Araştırma sonu&ccedil;larına g&ouml;re &ouml;ğrenciler &ouml;ğretim elemanlarını en fazla etkililik en az yeterlilik boyutunda değerlendirmiş, &ouml;ğrencilerin sınıfları ve cinsiyetlerinin &ouml;ğretim elemanlarının iletişim becerilerine y&ouml;nelik g&ouml;r&uuml;şleri etkilediği belirlenmiştir. &Ouml;ğretim elemanlarının iletişim becerilerini erkek &ouml;ğrenciler kızlara g&ouml;re; &uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;nc&uuml; sınıf &ouml;ğrencileri diğer sınıf &ouml;ğrencilerine g&ouml;re daha olumlu değerlendirmişlerdir. Etkililik boyutundaki davranışların geliştirilmesine y&ouml;nelik &ouml;l&ccedil;me ve değerlendirme konularında gerekli eğitimlerin yapılması, hemşirelik eğitim sisteminde etkililik boyutuna y&ouml;nelik olarak b&uuml;y&uuml;k &ouml;l&ccedil;ekte araştırmaların yapılması &ouml;nerilmektedir

Mapping the Schizophrenia Genes by Neuroimaging: The Opportunities and the Challenges

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a heritable brain disease originating from a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. The genes underpinning the neurobiology of SZ are largely unknown but recent data suggest strong evidence for genetic variations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, making the brain vulnerable to the risk of SZ. Structural and functional brain mapping of these genetic variations are essential for the development of agents and tools for better diagnosis, treatment and prevention of SZ. Addressing this, neuroimaging methods in combination with genetic analysis have been increasingly used for almost 20 years. So-called imaging genetics, the opportunities of this approach along with its limitations for SZ research will be outlined in this invited paper. While the problems such as reproducibility, genetic effect size, specificity and sensitivity exist, opportunities such as multivariate analysis, development of multisite consortia for large-scale data collection, emergence of non-candidate gene (hypothesis-free) approach of neuroimaging genetics are likely to contribute to a rapid progress for gene discovery besides to gene validation studies that are related to SZ