Development of future faculty teaching skills.

Doctoral and postdoctoral students considering a career as an educator would be well served by: (1) training in effective classroom communication skills, (2) the use of existing technology in teaching, (3) developing a new course or updating an existing course, and (4) availing themselves of campus teaching resources designed enhance their teaching portfolio. Universities need to place more attention on developing the teaching skills of their doctoral and postdoctoral students. This should include teaching methods and aids, communication skills, motivation, learning theory, testing, counselling and guidance, and course design. An important dimension from a guidance stand point is the conduct of a formal peer review process for beginning faculty.

[Complementary observational study of the efficacy, tolerance and safety of lansoprazole 15 mg as maintenance therapy of reflux esophagitis in daily medical practice in Belgium (record RU49749/R002]. / Etude casuistique complémentaire de l'efficacité, la tolérance et la sécurité du lansoprazole 15 mg dans le traitement d'entretien de l'oesophagite de reflux en pratique médicale quotidienne en Belgique (record RU49749/R002).

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a frequent illness with important implications on quality of life. In order to evaluate in a general population the efficacy and safety of lansoprazole 15 mg in maintenance therapy of reflux oesophagitis in current medical practice, an open label observational study was conducted in Belgium. 1.709 patients were included by 429 general practitioners during 3 to 6 months from 1997 to 1999. At the end of the study, symptoms improved or disappeared in 88% of patients. No drug related severe adverse event was reported. This study confirmed that lansoprazole 15 mg is effective and safe in maintenance treatment of reflux oesophagitis.

A hope is not a promise: fostering hope within palliative care.

In palliative care, where patients have to live with a degree of uncertainty as to the possible course their illness may take and the length of life they may expect, hope is a major issue. It has been said that individuals who know they are going to die soon, can be literally dying for hope. Ahmedzai (1994) points out that a major challenge for palliative care is to find ways of inspiring patients towards new directions for hope. This reflective article will explore the nature of hope and discuss the potential problems surrounding false and unrealistic hope, and will focus on how nurses may foster and support hope throughout life-threatening illness and during the palliative phase of life.

Complementary therapies: making a difference in palliative care.

Palliative care is concerned with people who have a life-threatening illness and has been at the forefront of incorporating complementary therapies into orthodox care. The reasons why such people are likely to seek out complementary therapies and recent research that links the two movements are discussed. The main focus is on the innovative programme of complementary therapies offered to both patients and carers by North Devon Hospice. Thirty-eight patients and carers discussed the provision of complementary therapies in focus groups. The therapies were seen as being an integral part of the Hospice's provision and valuable as a means of introducing people to other services offered by the Hospice. Both potential benefits and possible problems are also discussed. Suggestions are made for expanding the provision of the therapies and to improve access to them.

Validity of calculating fatty acid intake from mixed diets.

One hundred and seventy six weighed duplicate diets were collected over 16 consecutive days from 11 subjects. Analyses of their fatty acid composition were used to asses the validity of food composition tables. Four different calculating techniques were employed. Using the published data produced correlation coefficients of 0.29 between analysed and calculated polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratios, whilst the addition of new analytical data and recoding fried foods produced a correlation coefficient of 0.56. The latter method also decreased the mean difference between analysed and calculated polyunsaturated/saturated consumption, when compared with the standard procedure.

GABA and behavioral inhibition in the neonatal rat pup.

The effects of the GABA agonist muscimol and GABA antagonist picrotoxin were examined in 3-4-day-old deprived rat pups under conditions of low (absence of milk) and high (milk presence) activity baselines. A low dose of muscimol was observed to have activating effects under low baseline conditions, whereas higher doses of muscimol were observed to depress milk-induced activity and mouthing. Picrotoxin treatment was observed to increase activation of these neonates under both baseline conditions. Taken together, these results provide evidence for a functional GABAergic inhibition of behavior in the neonate.