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At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Evaluation of two methods of determining the efficacies of two alcohol-based hand rubs for surgical hand antisepsis.

The antimicrobial efficacies of preparations for surgical hand antisepsis can be determined according to a European standard (prEN 12791 [EN]) and a U.S. standard (tentative final monograph for health care antiseptic drug products [TFM]). The U.S. method differs in the product application mode (hands and lower forearms, versus hands only in EN), the number of applications (11 over 5 days, versus a single application in EN), the sampling times (0, 3, and 6 h after application, versus 0 and 3 h in EN), the sampling methods (glove juice versus fingertip sampling in EN), and the outcome requirements (absolute bacterial reduction factor [RF], versus noninferiority to reference treatment in EN). We have studied the efficacies of two hand rubs according to both methods. One hand rub was based on 80% ethanol and applied for 2 min, and the other one was based on 45% propan-2-ol, 30% propan-1-ol, and 0.2% mecetronium etilsulfate and applied for 1.5 min. The ethanol-based hand rub was equally effective as the 3-min reference disinfection of prEN 12791 in both the immediate (RFs, 2.97 +/- 0.89 versus 2.92 +/- 1.03, respectively) and sustained (RFs, 2.20 +/- 1.07 versus 2.47 +/- 1.25, respectively) effects. According to TFM, the immediate effects were 2.99 log10 (day 1), 3.00 log10 (day 2), and 3.43 log10 (day 5), and bacterial counts were still below baseline after 6 h. The propanol-based hand rub was even more effective than the reference disinfection of prEN 12791 in both the immediate (RFs, 2.35 +/- 0.99 versus 1.86 +/- 0.87, respectively) and sustained (RFs, 2.17 +/- 1.00 versus 1.50 +/- 1.26, respectively) effects. According to TFM, the immediate effects were 2.82 log10 (day 1), 3.29 log10 (day 2), and 3.25 log10 (day 5), and bacterial counts were still below baseline after 6 h. Some formulations have been reported to meet the efficacy requirements of one of the methods but not those of the other. That is why we conclude that, despite our results, meeting the efficacy requirements of one test method does not allow the claim that the requirements of the other test method are also met.

Disinfectants↗
PubMed2005

A dissociation between the representation of tool-use skills and hand dominance: insights from left- and right-handed callosotomy patients.

The overwhelming majority of evidence indicates that the left cerebral hemisphere of right-handed humans is dominant both for manual control and the representation of acquired skills, including tool use. It is, however, unclear whether these functions involve common or dissociable mechanisms. Here we demonstrate that the disconnected left hemispheres of both right- and left-handed split-brain patients are specialized for representing acquired tool-use skills. When required to pantomime actions associated with familiar tools (Experiment 2), both patients show a right-hand (left hemisphere) advantage in response to tool names, pictures, and actual objects. Accuracy decreases as stimuli become increasingly symbolic when using the left hand (right hemisphere). Tested in isolation with lateralized pictures (Experiment 3), each patient's left hemisphere demonstrates a significant advantage over the right hemisphere for pantomiming tool-use actions with the contralateral hand. The fact that this asymmetry occurs even in a left-handed patient suggests that the left hemisphere specialization for representing praxis skills can be dissociated from mechanisms involved in hand dominance located in the right hemisphere. This effect is not attributable to differences at the conceptual level, as the left and right hemispheres are equally and highly competent at associating tools with observed pantomimes (Experiment 4).

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Efficacy of two distinct ethanol-based hand rubs for surgical hand disinfection -- a controlled trial according to prEN 12791.

BACKGROUND: Aim of the study was to determine the efficacy of two distinct ethanol-based hand rubs for surgical hand disinfection in a controlled cross-over trial according to prEN 12791. METHODS: 20 subjects were included. Hands were washed for 1 min with soap. The bacterial prevalue was obtained by rubbing finger tips in TSB for 1 min. Then, each subject treated the hands with the reference procedure (n-propanol, 60% v/v) or the product (Sterillium Rub, based on 80% ethanol; Avagard, based on 61% ethanol and 1% chlorhexidine gluconate) which were all applied in 3 to 4 portions each of 3 ml for a total of 3 min. Bacterial postvalues (immediate effect) were taken from one hand, the other hand was gloved for 3 h. After gloves were taken off the second postvalue was taken for the assessment of a sustained effect. RESULTS: Bacterial pre-values were between 4.38 +/- 0.66 and 4.46 +/- 0.71. Sterillium Rub achieved the required immediate (mean log10-reduction of 2.59 +/- 1.19) and sustained effect (1.73 +/- 1.08) compared with the reference treatment (immediate effect: 2.58 +/- 1.16; sustained effect: 1.67 +/- 0.96). Avagard, however, did not achieve the required immediate (1.82 +/- 1.40) and sustained effect (1.41 +/- 1.08) in comparison to the reference disinfection (immediate effect: 2.98 +/- 0.90; sustained effect: 2.56 +/- 1.17; p < 0.01; Wilcoxon test). CONCLUSION: Based on our data, Sterillium Rub can be regarded to be effective for surgical hand disinfection, but Avagard can not. The addition of 1% chlorhexidine gluconate to 61% ethanol (w/w) did not outweigh an ethanol concentration of 80% (w/w).

Anti-Infective Agents, Local↗
PubMed1990

Testosterone and hand performance in right-handed young adults.

The relationship between serum testosterone level and hand performance was studied in right-handed young adults without familial sinistrality. Hand performance was measured by a dot-filling task, which was found to be associated with serum testosterone depending upon sex. In women, the right- and left-hand performance was found to be negatively linearly related to testosterone; there was no significant correlation between the right- minus left-hand performance and testosterone. In men, right- and left-hand performance were found to be directly and inversely related to testosterone, respectively. This pattern exhibited some variations depending on eye and foot preferences. The difference in performance between hands was found to be positively linearly related to serum testosterone levels in men.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

A close relationship between hand skill and the excitability of motor neurons innervating the postural soleus muscle in right-handed female subjects.

The claim that there is not a consistent inhibition of the H-reflex from the dominant leg was examined and rejected. Hand preference was assessed by the Edinburgh Inventory, and hand skill by the peg moving task. All the subjects were right-handed in preference and skill. It was re-established that there is an inverse relationship between hand skill and the excitability of motoneurons innervating the postural soleus muscle in right-handed female subjects without familial sinistrality. There was no significant difference between the recovery curves from the right and left sides in subjects with familial sinistrality. The H reflex from right leg was different between these right-handers. There was a positive linear correlation between the asymmetry index of hand skill greater than zero (right-hand dominance) and the asymmetry index for H-reflex recovery curve greater than zero (left dominance in reflex activity). It was concluded that there is a spinal motor asymmetry in postural leg muscles to handedness.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

There is a close relationship between hand skill and the excitability of motor neurons innervating the postural soleus muscle in left-handed subjects.

The claim that there is not a consistent inhibition of the H-reflex from the dominant leg was examined and rejected. It was re-established that there is an inverse relationship between hand skill and the excitability of motoneurons innervating the postural soleus muscle in left-handed subjects. In left-handers with significantly better left-hand skill, the height of the H-reflex recovery curve was significantly higher on the right leg (nondominant) than the left leg (dominant). There was a positive linear correlation between the asymmetries of hand skill greater than zero (better left-hand skill) and the H-reflex recovery curves from the right and left legs greater than zero (right dominance in reflex excitability). In left-handers with no significant difference between the right- and left-hand skills, there was no significant difference between the mean recovery curves from the right and left legs for the interstimulus intervals from 40 to 100 ms; the height of the left recovery curve was found to be significantly higher than the height of the right recovery curve for the interstimulus intervals from 150 to 1000 ms. It was concluded that there is close relationship between hand skill and motoneuronal excitability from right and left soleus muscle with regard to support and operative functions of legs in left-handers.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationships among nonverbal intelligence, hand speed, and serum testosterone level in left-handed male subjects.

The relationships among nonverbal intelligence, hand speed, and serum testosterone level were studied in male left-handers ranging in age from 17 to 19 years. Hand speed was measured by a peg moving task. To assess the differences between nonverbal IQs. Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Test was used. There was a direct correlation between IQ and testosterone. IQ increased linearly with right-hand speed, which was directly related to testosterone. There was no significant correlation between IQ and left-hand speed, which was not significantly correlated with testosterone. IQ decreased with left- minus right-hand speed, which also decreased with testosterone. It was suggested that nonverbal spatial reasoning ability may be directly associated with the efficiency of left brain, which is favored by testosterone in male left-handers. It was also concluded that the left to right asymmetry in hand speed may depend on efficiency of the right brain in left-handed males.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Comparative effects of bilateral hand splints and an elbow orthosis on stereotypic hand movements and toy play in two children with Rett syndrome.

A single-subject rapidly alternating treatment design was used to compare the effectiveness of bilateral hand splints and an elbow orthosis in decreasing stereotypic hand behaviors and increasing toy play in 2 children with Rett syndrome. The subjects' responses were compared across three treatment conditions: no intervention, hand splints, and elbow orthosis. The order of the treatment phases was randomly selected for each subject. Data were collected in both a free-time condition and a toy-play condition; the outcome measures were stereotypic hand movements and hand-to-toy contact. Both subjects demonstrated a decrease in stereotypic hand movements and a corresponding increase in toy contact with the use of the elbow orthosis. The bilateral hand splints had no obvious treatment effect.

Child↗
PubMed2000

[Hand hygiene--is hand disinfection the best solution?].

Nosocomial infections have been recognized as a critical problem in modern medicine and are associated with the quality of health care provided in hospitals. On average, 7-10% of hospitalized patients acquire an infection after hospital admission. A substantial proportion of these result from cross-contamination. Transmission of microorganisms by the hands of health care workers is the main cause for spreading. Prevention of bacterial contamination and infection to the patients requires good hand washing or disinfection, and a series of guidelines have been proposed. However, health care workers show poor compliance with such rules. At a time when costs for patient care are increasing and hospitals are threatened by bacterial resistance, prevention of nosocomial infections is an important issue. Thus, many international publications at present discuss the general problems of hand hygiene, still is the most cost effective method in prevention of nosocomial infections. Factors that contribute to poor compliance in hand hygiene have been targeted, and practical solutions in order to improve hand cleansing practices have been suggested. Increased use of the quicker methods of hand disinfection instead of hand washing is one of them.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1983

Atopic hand dermatitis: a comparison with atopic dermatitis without hand involvement, especially with respect to influence of work and development of contact sensitization.

A group of 77 patients with atopic hand eczema were compared with 136 atopic dermatitis patients without hand manifestations. Age distribution was identical in the two groups, peaking at 25-39 years of age. Both groups were dominated by female patients. No differences existed between them with respect to atopic heredity, occurrence of other atopic manifestations, or distribution of serum IgE values. The fingers represented the predilection sites for hand involvement. Patients with hand lesions changed jobs more frequently (p less than 0.001) than those with unaffected hands, and change from a wet or unclean occupation was more common (p less than 0.001) than from a dry one. Change of work entailed improvement in the skin status of both groups. Prevalence of positive patch test reactions was high and statistically identical in both groups. Occurrence of positive responses did not explain the development of hand affliction; in only 3 patients did the test result correspond to exacerbation of the hand eczema. The number of positive reactions was high in patients with low serum IgE levels, while high levels were associated with fewer positive patch test reactions.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Infant hand-use preferences for grasping objects contributes to the development of a hand-use preference for manipulating objects.

Twenty-five infants, divided into three approximately equal groups according to their hand-use preference for reaching for and grasping objects (right, left, or no-preference), were videotaped at 7 and 11 months while involved in a semiplay activity in which they were presented with 26 toys (20-40 s for each presentation). Unimanual manipulation activity was coded, and the increase or decrease in preferred hand use across the two ages was analyzed. Infants with a right preference for reaching showed an increase in right-hand use for unimanual manipulatory actions from 7 to 11 months. Infants with a left preference for reaching showed an increase in left-hand use whereas infants with no preference for reaching showed a modest increase in the use of the right hand. These results support a modified progressive lateralization theory, which posits that a hand-use preference for reaching for and grasping objects will concatenate during development into a hand-use preference for manipulating objects.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Longitudinal study of median nerve sensory conduction in industry: relationship to age, gender, hand dominance, occupational hand use, and clinical diagnosis.

As part of a longitudinal study of the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome in industry, we evaluated sensory conduction of the median nerve in relation to age, gender, hand dominance, occupational hand use, and clinical diagnosis. The original 1984 study group consisted of 942 hands of 471 industrial workers, and the follow-up study group in 1989 consisted of 630 hands of 316 (67%) of these same workers. The palmar segmental stimulation technique was employed, and slowing was defined as a maximum latency difference of 0.4 msec or more after adjustment for temperature variation. There was no significant change in the prevalence of slowing between 1984 and 1989 (23% in 1984, 22% in 1989), and slowing was still strongly correlated with increased age but not with gender. Slowing continued to be more prevalent in the dominant hand. Slowing was no longer correlated in any fashion with occupational hand use. The prevalence of probable carpal tunnel syndrome was still strongly correlated with the degree of slowing. Age and hand dominance were more important than any job-related factor in the prediction of slowing after 5 years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

A HANDful of questions: the molecular biology of the heart and neural crest derivatives (HAND)-subclass of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors.

The HAND subclass of basic Helix-loop-helix factors is comprised of two members HAND1 and HAND2. HAND genes are present within the genomes of organisms ranging from flies to man. Experiments employing chick embryology, tissue culture, and gene targeting in mice show that HAND function is critical for the specification and/or differentiation of extraembryonic structures that include the yolk sac, placenta, and the cells of the trophoblast lineages. HAND factors also play key roles in cardiac, gut, sympathetic neuronal development and in the proper development of tissues populated by HAND-expressing neural crest cells, including regions of the developing vasculature, the limbs, the jaw, and teeth. Surprisingly, nearly 10 years after their initial identification and characterization, little is understood about the nature of the downstream target genes which HAND1 and HAND2 regulate, whether the nature of their transcriptional regulation is positive or negative, or if they modulate genetic programs common to these diverse tissue types or if they drive unique subsets of genes that contribute to tissue identity. At the core of these questions is by which mechanisms do HAND factors modulate biological activity? Do they behave like classical class B bHLH factors or is their function more complex requiring a rethinking of the dogma? What follows is a review of what is currently known about HAND factors and a reflection on why elucidating their role in the biological programs within which they participate has been so difficult.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Binding of ethidium ion to left-handed Z-RNA induces a cooperative transition to right-handed RNA at the intercalation site.

The equilibrium binding of the ethidium cation (Etd+) to the right-handed A-form of poly-[r(C-G)], the B-form of poly[d(C-G)], and the left-handed Z-forms of Br-poly[r(C-G)] and Br-poly[d(C-G)] was investigated in 0.22 M NaCl by optical methods. Scatchard analysis indicates that Etd+ intercalates into right-handed forms of poly[r(C-G)] and poly[d(C-G)] in a noncooperative manner. Correlation of Etd+ absorbance binding isotherms and polynucleotide circular dichroism data indicates that drug binding to Br-poly[r(C-G) and Br-poly[d(C-G)] results in cooperative conversion from left-handed Z-forms to right-handed intercalated conformations. Approximate stoichiometries necessary to induce the left- to right-handed transitions are 1 Etd+/9 base pairs (bp) for Z-RNA and 1 Etd+/6 bp for Z-DNA. The apparent limiting binding stoichiometries are approximately 1 Etd+/3 bp for RNA and 1 Etd+/2 bp for DNA. The equilibrium binding constants for binding to the right-handed forms decrease in the order Br-poly[d(C-G)], Br-poly[r(C-G)], poly[d(C-G)], and poly[r(C-G)]. Thermodynamic parameters are obtained by van't Hoff analysis of Etd+ absorbance thermal dissociation data. Enthalpy values for all four polynucleotides are negative and of similar magnitude. Negative entropy values indicate that the binding processes are primarily enthalpically driven.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy: complications related to the hand-port site.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the early results of hand-assisted radical nephrectomy and nephroureterectomy in our institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of 13 patients with malignant disease of the kidney who underwent hand-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy and nephroureterectomy were reviewed retrospectively. Clinical outcomes were compared with a series of 16 patients who underwent similar procedures via a standard laparoscopic approach. RESULTS: There were three major hand-port wound complications in those who underwent hand-assisted procedures, while one other patient required conversion because of technical failure of the device. The operative duration, length of hospital stay, estimated blood loss, transfusion rate, analgesic requirement, conversion rates, and minor complications were similar between the hand-assisted and standard laparoscopy groups. CONCLUSION: There was little difference between hand-assisted and standard laparoscopy in operative duration or recovery, but there were problems with wound complications which may be related to the hand-assisted approach. We have consequently abandoned the technique in favour of a standard laparoscopic approach.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Determinants of two-choice reaction-time patterns for same-hand and different-hand finger pairings.

Several studies of two-choice reaction times have compared situations in which the alternative responses are fingers from one hand (the same-hand pairing) or one finger from each hand (the different-hand pairing). Two patterns of results have been obtained: (a) equivalent reaction times for the same-hand and different-hand pairings and (b) faster reaction times for the different-hand pairing. Previously, these outcomes have been attributed to the adoption of different response-preparation strategies when response pairs are constant (low response-pair uncertainty) versus when they are varied from trial to trial (high response-pair uncertainty). However, response-pair uncertainty has been confounded with whether only the two relevant fingers were placed on response keys or whether more than two fingers were. Experiment 1 of the present study demonstrated that finger placement, rather than response-pair uncertainty, determines which reaction-time pattern is obtained. Experiments 2 and 3 investigated the nature of the finger-placement effect by placing the fingers that were irrelevant for the task on response keys or on immovable blocks. The experiments indicated that the crucial factor is the number of fingers on active response keys, with the type of preparation being different when only two fingers are on keys rather than when more than two fingers are.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Visuomotor organization in the right-handed and the left-handed child: a comparative neuropsychological approach.

The present study was to assess differences between left- and right-handed children on the variable of visual-motor organization, as demonstrated by copying of a complex figure. The sample consisted of 420 right-handed and 389 left-handed children aged 5.5 to 12.5 years, who were group-matched on the basis of age, sex and hand-preference. Analysis indicated that girls show significantly better performance than boys during the ages 7.5 to 9.5, while both sex and hand-preference create a handicap for right-handed boys during ages 9.5 to 12.5. The differences in performance can be attributed to differential neuropsychological strategies or functional differences between sexes and between right and left-handed children.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Individuals with the dominant hand affected following stroke demonstrate less impairment than those with the nondominant hand affected.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to determine if upper extremity impairment and function in individuals with chronic stroke is dependent upon whether the dominant or non-dominant hand is affected. METHODS: Ninety-three community-dwelling individuals with stroke. The Modified Ashworth Scale (tone), handheld dynamometry (isometric strength), monofilaments (sensation), Brief Pain Inventory (pain), Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory Motor Activity Log (paretic arm use), and Reintegration to Normal Living Index (participation) were used to form impairment and function models. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis models (Dominance x Severity) were created for impairment and function variables. There was a significant interaction and main effect of Dominance for the impairment model (P = 0.01) but not the function model (P = 0.75). The dependent variables of tone, grip strength, and pain were all significantly affected by Dominance, indicating less impairment if the dominant hand was affected. All dependent variables except pain were affected by Severity. CONCLUSION: This study looked at the effect of the dominant hand being affected versus the nondominant in individuals with chronic stroke. Individuals with the dominant hand affected demonstrated less impairment than those with the nondominant hand affected. However, there was no effect of dominance on paretic arm use or performance in activities of daily living. Prospective studies to further explore the issue of hand dominance and poststroke function are suggested.

Activities of Daily Living↗