Evaluation of the onset time and intubation conditions of rocuronium bromide in children

Publisher's copy made available with the permission of the publisher © 1997 Australian Society of AnaesthetistsWe have assessed, in children aged three to eight years, the intubating conditions after administration of rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg at 50 or 60 seconds, in groups of 15 patients. Intubating conditions were excellent in 11, good in 3 and fair in 1 patient at 50 seconds and excellent in 12 and good in 3 patients at 60 seconds. The mean onset time, for all patients, to when the first twitch of the train of four (T1), measured at the adductor pollicis, was depressed to less than 30% and 5% of control was 50 (SD 11.4) seconds and 94 (SD 31.7) seconds respectively. Depression of T1 to less than 30% of control, measured at the adductor pollicis in children, appears to indicate that intubating conditions will be clinically acceptable when using rocuronium.P.F. McDonald, D.A. Sainsbury, R.J. Lain

Structure of the PII signal transduction protein of Neisseria meningitidis at 1.85 Ȃ resolution

Copyright @ 2006 International Union of CrystallographyThe PII signal transduction proteins GlnB and GlnK are implicated in the regulation of nitrogen assimilation in Escherichia coli and other enteric bacteria. PII-like proteins are widely distributed in bacteria, archaea and plants. In contrast to other bacteria, Neisseria are limited to a single PII protein (NMB 1995), which shows a high level of sequence identity to GlnB and GlnK from Escherichia coli (73 and 62%, respectively). The structure of the PII protein from N. meningitidis (serotype B) has been solved by molecular replacement to a resolution of 1.85 Ȃ. Comparison of the structure with those of other PII proteins shows that the overall fold is tightly conserved across the whole population of related proteins, in particular the positions of the residues implicated in ATP binding. It is proposed that the Neisseria PII protein shares functions with GlnB/GlnK of enteric bacteria.This study is funded by the Medical Research Council UK and Europe (SPINE) consortium (European Commission Grant No. QLG2-CT-2002-00988)

THE EFFECT OF WARM-UP, STATIC STRETCHING AND DYNAMIC STRETCHING ON HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY

INTRODUCTION: Warm-up and stretching may increase flexibility and reduce injury risk, yet there is disagreement on the benefits of stretching and which technique is best (Thacker et al 2004). This study examined the short-term effects of warm-up, static and dynamic stretching on hamstring flexibility in individuals with previous hamstring injury and uninjured controls. METHOD: A randomised crossover study was performed over 2 days. Hamstring flexibility was assessed in supine using passive knee extension range of motion (PKE ROM). The reliability of assessing PKE ROM using a ‘Myrin’ goniometer, with a crossbar maintaining the hip at 90◦ flexion, was examined in a preliminary pilot study (n= 25) and was excellent (ICC = 0.945, SEM 1.84◦). 36 individuals (18 injured, 18 controls) participated. Only previously injured subjects who were now painfree, but with a residual reduction of 5◦ of PKE ROM compared to the other leg were included. On both days, four measurements of PKE ROM were recorded: (1) at baseline; (2) after a 5-minute aerobic warm-up; (3) after stretch (static or dynamic) and (4) after a 15-minute rest. Both stretches were performed for 30 seconds and repeated 3 times for each leg. Participants carried out both static and dynamic stretches, but on different days. Data were analysed using a 1-way repeated measures anova. RESULTS: Across both groups, there was no interaction effect (p=0.344). There was a significant main effect for time (

MEASUREMENT OF THIGH MUSCLE SIZE USING TAPE OR ULTRASOUND IS A POOR INDICATOR OF THIGH MUSCLE STRENGTH

Although commonly used, the validity of measures of thigh circumference and ultrasound measurements of muscle thickness as indicators of muscle strength is unclear (Maylia et al 1999). This study aimed to determine the relationship of these two simple measures of muscle size to the concentric isokinetic quadriceps and hamstrings strength of a group of Irish Gaelic footballers

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ACTIVATION OF THE SUBDIVISIONS OF GLUTEUS MEDIUS DURING ISOMETRIC HIP CONTRACTIONS

Gluteus medius is involved in movement and stability of the hip and gluteus medius dysfunction is commonly implicated in many lower limb pathologies (Fredericson et al 2000). It is proposed that functional subdivisions exist within the gluteus medius muscle (Conneely and O’Sullivan 2008). There is however a lack of empirical evidence examining the role of the subdivisions of gluteus medius. This study compared the muscle activation of these subdivisions (anterior, middle and posterior) during isometric contractions of hip abduction, internal and external rotation in normal subjects