stment in a large number of patients.Betel nut chewing has become prevalent in Hunan Province, China. There are different voices over its health risks. In spite of this, the local government has not taken any effective measures to control its expansion. It is necessary to reveal the concern of interests and public health behind such voices. This study used qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the dispute over the health risks of betel nut chewing. The different voices over the risks demonstrate the tension of power, interests and public health among the government, institution, business, media and medical elites. Discursive practices of these institutions and individuals are associated with the exercise of power and expression of interests. With the deep concern about its cancerogenicity, majority of the public hold a negative attitude, and agree that the related industry should be controlled. Faced with conflicting perspectives, the government has the responsibility to clarify the issue and express an official stance. Measures should be taken to protect public health.Does working with suicidal patients become easier with time? A representative national survey of 375 psychologists (72% women, Mean age 44 years) showed that years of experience (r = -.13, p = .01) and frequency of contact with suicidal patients (r = -.15, p = .004) correlated only weakly with perceived difficulty. Thematic analysis of respondents' descriptions of difficult suicide-related situations on an open survey-question yielded four themes Unreachable patients, choosing between therapy and security, therapist's boundaries and empathy with death-wishes. We conclude that improved confidence in coping with suicidality may require specific training rather than simply years of work.Abortion providers' approaches to patient-centred pregnancy tissue viewing (PCV) - when a patient requests to see their products of conception - is understudied in abortion care. This mixed-method study aimed to identify (1) if, when, and how PCV is facilitated at US independent abortion clinics; (2) how staff are trained to offer viewing; and (3) provider experiences facilitating PCV. We surveyed administrators from 22 independent abortion clinics affiliated with the Abortion Care Network about their PCV practices and then completed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 providers to better understand their experiences facilitating PCV. Results indicate that most of the clinics that provide PCV do so by patient request. A variety of providers facilitate viewing, including counsellors, educators, physicians, nurses, and medical assistants. Timing, viewing location, and staff training vary by facility. Benefits of and barriers to PCV emerged through three themes (1) patient-centred care; (2) misinformation about fetal tissue; and (3) personal navigations as providers. Providers and administrators report PCV aligns with their patient-centred clinic missions and offers patients opportunities for choice, closure, and access to information. Yet, anti-abortion misinformation about fetal tissue impacts the ways providers must navigate complex conversations about PCV professionally and personally. Clinic resources and concern about adverse patient reactions to identifiable fetal parts present barriers to offering viewing. Understanding providers' experiences and approaches to PCV is an important first step to developing quality practices that can be shared across clinics. The findings of this study support the need for more research and training on PCV in abortion care.Avian coxiellosis is an emerging cause of morbidity and mortality among captive psittacines, and the utility of a rapid detection test using easily obtained samples is paramount in a clinical setting. New sequences were obtained from 3 genes groEL, dnaK, and rpoB. We developed probe-hybridization quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays using groEL and dnaK genes. Samples, including splenic aspirates, liver aspirates, whole blood, and choanal, conjunctival, and cloacal swabs, were collected from 4 psittacine species including 3 blue-and-gold macaws (Ara ararauna), 2 scarlet-chested parrots (Neophema splendida), 1 Timneh African grey parrot (Psittacus timneh), and 1 yellow-naped Amazon parrot (Amazona auropalliata). Retrospective review of postmortem findings from 3 of these psittacines included splenomegaly, hepatitis, and/or transmission electron microscopy confirmation consistent with previous reports of avian coxiellosis. There was 100% agreement between these assays and consensus PCR with sequencing. A Wilcoxon rank-sum test found a strong correlation between groEL and dnaK cycle threshold values (p less then 0.001), validating these assays for detection of this avian Coxiella sp.Multiple communication models describe factors that influence disclosure of sensitive health information. However, these models do not address the receiver's perspective of health-related information, nor do they address how the receiver promotes disclosure. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/pha-767491.html In the primary care chronic disease visit, the patient (sender) must disclose sensitive health-related psychosocial information to the primary care physician (PCP) (receiver) for the PCP to understand potential barriers to care (e.g., financial strain) and make treatment decisions (e.g., referral to social work). A vital gap exists in understanding how PCPs perceive that patients disclose. We conducted individual, semi-structured interviews (n = 17) to understand PCPs' perceptions of patient disclosure of sensitive, psychosocial information in the clinical visit. PCPs facilitate patient disclosure by (a) building and maintaining rapport and (b) nurturing the patient-provider relationship. This article describes PCPs' perceptions of how they access psychosocial information which is vital to inform clinical decisions that facilitate personalized care.Background Long intergenic non-Protein coding (lnc) RNA 00305 (LINC00305) is a pro-inflammatory atherosclerosis-associated lncRNA. We hypothesised altered LINC00305 variant rs2850711 (A/T) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and links with clinical and routine laboratory markers.Methods 100 RA patients and 100 healthy controls were recruited. LINC00305 genotyping and expression were performed using allelic-discrimination PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. LINC00305 diagnostic power was evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Serum nuclear factor- κB (NF-κB) and matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) levels were determined by ELISA, standard laboratory markers by routine methods.Results LINC00305 expression was significantly increased in RA patients and positively correlated with DAS28, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody. In multivariate analysis, NF-κB, MMP-3 and LINC00305 were significant predictors of RA (P less then 0.0001). Individuals carrying AT and TT genotypes of rs2850711 polymorphism had significantly more likely to have RA than AA genotype carriers (P less then 0.05). LINC00305 expression, DAS28 score and serum levels of NF-κB and MMP-3 were significantly increased in the patients carrying LINC00305 AT and TT genotypes as compared with AA genotype patients (P less then 0.01).Conclusion Increased expression level of LINC00305 and its rs2850711 genetic variant may play a role in the diagnosis and management of RA, and its severity and activity.BACKGROUND Tachycardia, cardiac hypertrophy and elevated body temperature are major signs of systemic hyperthyroidism, which are considered to reflect the excessive thyroid hormone (TH) action in the respective peripheral tissues. However, recent observations indicate that the central actions of TH also contribute substantially to cardiovascular regulation and thermogenesis. METHODS Here, we dissect the individual contributions of peripheral TH action versus the central contribution in body temperature regulation and cardiovascular functions by taking advantage of mice lacking the TH transporters MCT8 and OATP1C1 (M/O dko), which exhibit elevated serum T3 levels while their brain is in a profoundly hypothyroid state. We compared these animals to wildtype mice that were treated orally with T3 to achieve similarly elevated serum T3 levels, but do not exhibit central hypothyroidism. For the studies we used radiotelemetry, infrared thermography, gene expression profiling, Western blot, and ELISA assays. RESULTS Our analyses revealed mild hyperthermia and cardiac hypertrophy in T3-treated wildtype mice but not in M/O dko animals, suggesting that central actions of TH are required for these hyperthyroid phenotypes. Although the average heart rate was unaffected in either model, the M/O dko exhibited an altered heart rate frequency distribution with tachycardic bursts in active periods and bradycardic episodes during resting time, demonstrating that the stabilization of heart rate by the autonomic nervous system can be impaired in these centrally hypothyroid animals. CONCLUSIONS Our studies unravel distinct phenotypical traits of hyperthyroidism that depend on an intact central nervous system, and provide valuable insight into the cardiovascular pathology of the Allan-Herndon-Dudley Syndrome, a condition caused by the lack of MCT8 in humans.Iron plays an important role in physiological processes of microalgae and also affects the absorption of other nutrients by algae cells. Therefore, iron is one of the important controlling factors for algae bloom formation. This study investigated the effect of four kinds of complex iron (EDTA-Fe, ferric humate, ferric oxalate and ferric ammonium citrate) on the phosphorus absorption by two freshwater algae (Scenedesmus quadricauda and Anabaena flos-aquae). The results showed that the species and concentration of complex iron had a significant effect on the phosphorus uptake rate of S. quadricauda, but had only a slight effect on that of A. flos-aquae. The former exhibits positive influences on phosphorus absorption and was in the following order ferric oxalate and EDTA-Fe > ferric humate and ammonium ferric citrate, and these effects depended on whether the presence of complex iron constitutes an environmental pressure for the growth of algal cells.Mammalian pluripotent stem cells are thought to exist in two states naïve and primed states. Generally, unlike those in rodents, pluripotent stem cells in primates including humans are regarded as being in the primed pluripotent state. Recently, several groups reported the existence of naïve pluripotent stem cells in humans. In this study, we report the conversion of primed state embryonic stem cells from common marmoset, a New World monkey, to the naïve state by using transgenes. The cells showed typical naïve state features including dome-like colony morphology, growth factor requirement, gene expression profile, X chromosome activation state, and energy metabolic status. Moreover, interspecies chimeric embryo formation ability with mouse embryos was increased in the naïve state. This technique can be applied in basic medical research using non-human primates such as preclinical use of naïve pluripotent stem cells and generating genetically modified primates.