Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of recent onset chest pain or discomfort of suspected cardiac origin: summary of NICE guidance

Chest pain is very common, and in the United Kingdom about 1% of visits to a general practitioner, 5% of visits to the emergency department, and 25% of emergency hospital admissions are for this symptom.1 Chest pain has many causes, and when the cause could be cardiac in origin, appropriate and timely assessment and diagnostic investigation are needed. This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the assessment and diagnosis of recent onset chest pain or discomfort of suspected cardiac origin.2 NICE recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence and explicit consideration of cost effectiveness. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on the experience and opinion of the Guideline Development Group (GDG) on what constitutes good practice. Evidence levels for the recommendations are given in italic in square brackets. Two separate diagnostic pathways are presented. The first is for people with acute chest pain in whom an acute coronary syndrome is suspected. The second is for people with intermittent stable chest pain in whom stable angina is suspected. ### Acute chest pain and suspected acute coronary syndrome #### Initial clinical assessment and referral to hospital
Gender Differences in Service Connection for PTSD

Background. Mentally ill female veterans obtain a smaller proportion of their care from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities than mentally ill male veterans do, possibly because women are less likely than men to be service connected for psychiatric disabilities. “Service connected” veterans have documented, compensative conditions related to or aggravated by military service, and they receive priority for enrollment into the VA healthcare system. Objectives. To see if there are gender discrepancies in rates of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and, if so, to see if these discrepancies could be attributed to appropriate subject characteristics (eg, differences in symptom severity or impairment). Research Design. Mailed survey linked to administrative data. Claims audits were conducted on 11% of the sample. Subjects. Randomly selected veterans seeking VA disability benefits for PTSD. Women were oversampled to achieve a gender ratio of 1:1. Results. A total of 3337 veterans returned usable surveys (effective response rate, 68%). Men's unadjusted rate of service connection for PTSD was 71%; women's, 52% (P < 0.0001). Adjustment for veterans' PTSD symptom severity or functional impairment did not appreciably reduce this discrepancy, but adjustment for dissimilar rates of combat exposure did. Estimated rates of service connection were 53% for men and 56% for women after adjusting for combat exposure. This combat preference could not be explained by more severe PTSD symptoms or greater functional impairment. Conclusions. Instead of a gender bias in awards for PTSD service connection, we found evidence of a combat advantage that disproportionately favored men. The appropriateness of this apparent advantage is unclear and needs further investigation.
Cell border demarcation in the scanning electron microscope by silver stains.

Silver nitrate and silver proteinate were both successfully used as electron stains for the demarcation of the aortic endothelial cell borders in the scanning electron microscope. By energy-dispersive X-ray analysis it was demonstrated that silver was present in the demarcation lines around the endothelial cells. The presence of silver closely coincided with the places where secondary electrons were produced. Judged by the quality of the aortic tissue in the transmission electron microscope, the method using silver proteinate was preferable to those using silver nitrate. The limited resolution of the method is demonstrated. The role of the dextran solution in such procedures was investigated, and it was shown that the presence of such a dextran solution, or its particle size or charge, does not contribute to the formation of these silver lines around the endothelial cells. In ultrathin sections of such material the cell surface-contrasting capacity of colloidal thorium dioxide solutions was compared to the cell border-contrasting capacity of silver proteinate. It was found that prior aldehyde fixation abolished the cell border demarcation by silver proteinate, but only reduced the cell surface demarcation by thorium dioxide particles.
Modulation of contractile protein gene expression in fetal murine crural muscles: Emergence of muscle diversity

The modulation of contractile protein gene expression in mouse crural muscles (i.e., muscles located in the region between the knee and ankle) during the fetal period (defined as 15 days gestation to birth), resulting in diversity among and within these muscles, has been evaluated with in situ hybridization and correlated with morphogenetic events in the extensor digitorum longus and soleus muscles. During the fetal period extensive secondary myotube formation occurs in the crural muscles, and the myotubes become innervated (Ontell and Kozeka [1984a, b] Am. J. Anat. 171:133–148, 149–161; Ontell et al. [1988a, b] Am. J. Anat. 181:267–278, 181:278–288). At 15 days gestation, hybridization with 35S‐labeled antisense cRNA probes demonstrates the accumulation of transcripts forα‐cardiac andα‐skeletal actin; MLC1A, MLC1F, and MLC3F; and MHCemb, MHCpn, and MHCβ/slow. At 16 days gestation, accumulation of MHCemb transcripts is reduced (as compared with earlier developmental stages); intensity of signal following hybridization with the probe forα‐skeletal actin is, for the first time, equal to that for the cardiac isoform; and MLC1V mRNA accumulation is discernible. At this stage, variation in transcript accumulation for some mRNAs among and within crural muscles becomes evident. Two factors may play a role in the selective distribution of these transcripts: (1) the stage of muscle maturation; and (2) the future myofiber type. At 16 days gestation anterior crural muscles (which mature ˜ 2 days before posterior crural muscles; Ontell and Kozeka [1984a, b], ibid., Ontell et al. [1988a, b], ibid.) exhibit a greater accumulation of transcripts forα‐skeletal actin and for MLC3F than is found in posterior crural muscles. In muscles that in the neonate are composed, in large part, of slow myofibers, MHCβ/slow and MLC1V mRNAs accumulate in greater amounts, whereas MHCpn transcripts are less abundant in the soleus muscle than in other crural muscles. By 19 days gestation regionalization of transcript accumulation is more pronounced. The soleus muscle, a predominantly slow twitch muscle in the newborn mouse (Wirtz et al. [1983] J. Anat. 137:109–126) exhibits strong signal after hybridization with probes specific for MHCβ/slow and MLC1V. While the level of transcript accumulation for the developmetal isoforms, MHCemb, MLC1A, andα‐cardiac actin, is greatly reduced in most crural muscles at 19 days gestation, these transcripts persist in the soleus muscle at levels equal to or exceeding their amount in limb muscles of 13 day gestation mouse embryos. By 19 days gestation both MyoD and myogenin are “down‐regulated” (as compared with their expression at earlier developmental stages) in all muscle masses. Alterations in contractile protein gene expression are correlated with changes in the myogenic regulatory factors present in fetal hindlimbs during development. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
One model to rule them all

Spin Models The idea of finding an all-encompassing model to describe the world around us has appealed to generations of scientists. Although we are very far from this ultimate goal, more modest steps can be taken if we focus on particular problems. De las Cuevas and Cubitt used concepts borrowed from computer science to show that all classical spin models (introduced initially to study magnetism) can be solved by tackling a slightly more complex, universal model (see the Perspective by Wehner). Thanks to these findings, it may be possible to physically simulate systems with complex interactions, using the well-understood two-dimensional Ising model with fields. Science , this issue p. [1180][1]; see also p. [1156][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aab3326 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaf0748
Bone morphogenetic proteins and their antagonists: current and emerging clinical uses

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the TGFβ superfamily of secreted cysteine knot proteins that includes TGFβ1, nodal, activins and inhibins. BMPs were first discovered by Urist in the 1960s when he showed that implantation of demineralized bone into intramuscular tissue of rabbits induced bone and cartilage formation. Since this seminal discovery, BMPs have also been shown to play key roles in several other biological processes, including limb, kidney, skin, hair and neuronal development, as well as maintaining vascular homeostasis. The multifunctional effects of BMPs make them attractive targets for the treatment of several pathologies, including bone disorders, kidney and lung fibrosis, and cancer. This review will summarize current knowledge on the BMP signalling pathway and critically evaluate the potential of recombinant BMPs as pharmacological agents for the treatment of bone repair and tissue fibrosis in patients.
Own-age biases in adults’ and children’s joint attention: Biased face prioritization, but not gaze following!

Previous studies have reported own-age biases in younger and older adults in gaze following. We investigated own-age biases in social attentional processes between adults and children by focusing on two aspects of the joint attention process; the extent to which people attend towards an individual’s face, and the extent to which they fixate objects that are looked at by this person (i.e., gaze following). Participants viewed images that always contained a child and an adult who either looked towards each other or each looked at objects located to their side. Observers consistently, and rapidly fixated the actor’s faces, though the children were faster to fixate the child’s face than the adult’s faces, whilst the adults were faster to fixate on the adult’s face than the child’s face. The children also spent significantly more time fixating the child’s face than the adult’s face, and the opposite pattern of results was found for the adults. Whilst both adults and children prioritized objects when they were looked at by the actor, both groups showed equivalent levels of gaze following, and there was no own-age bias for gaze following. Our results show an own-age bias for prioritizing faces, but not gaze following.
Frontal lobe volume in patients with Huntington's disease

Neuropathologic and neuroimaging studies have suggested that frontal lobes are affected in Huntington's disease (HD), and that atrophy in this region may be associated with some of the cognitive impairment and clinical decline observed in patients with HD. We measured gray and white matter volumes within the frontal lobes on MRI for 20 patients with HD (10 mildly affected and 10 moderately affected) and 20 age- and sex-matched control subjects. We also correlated frontal lobe measurements with measures of symptom severity and cognitive function. Patients who were mildly affected had frontal lobe volumes (both gray and white matter) essentially identical to those of control subjects, despite clearly abnormal basal ganglia. Patients who were moderately affected demonstrated significant reductions in total frontal lobe volume (17%) and frontal white matter volume (28%). Frontal lobe white matter volume reductions, but not total frontal lobe volume reductions, were disproportionately greater than overall brain volume reductions (17%). Frontal lobe volume correlated with symptom severity and general cognitive function, but these correlations did not remain significant after taking into account total brain volume. We conclude that cognitive impairment and symptom severity are associated with frontal lobe atrophy, but this association is not specific to the frontal lobes. Frontal lobe atrophy (like total brain atrophy) occurs in later stages of increasing HD symptom severity and this atrophy primarily involves white matter.
Cardiovascular responses to graded activity in the lizards Varanus and Iguana.

GLEESON,TODD T. , GORDON ~. MITCHELL,AND ALBERT F. BENNETT. Cardiovascular responses to graded activity in the lizards Varanus and Iguana. Am. J. Physiol. 239 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 8): R174-R179, 1980. -Respiratory gas exchange and blood oxygen content were measured in two lizard species at rest and during treadmill activity at low speeds. These data were used to evaluate the changes in cardiac output and oxygen extraction from the blood during activity. The high aerobic scope (1.07 ml 02-g-’ l h-‘) of Varanus allows a wider range of running speeds that can be sustained aerobically than can Iguana with its low aerobic scope (0.65 ml 02. g-’ l h-l). Both Varanus and Iguana increase their cardiac output (&) and oxygen extraction in response to activity. As these lizards increase their running speeds to the maximum speed which is sustained for 220 min (0.5 km/h, Iguana; 1.2 km/h, Varanus), heart rate and stroke volume change in a manner which affords Varanus a greater factorial scope in cardiac output than Iguana (3x vs. 1.7~) despite equal maximum rates of Q (20.5 n&g-‘. h-l). The greater oxygen content of arterial blood in Varanus permits a greater oxygen extraction from the blood than Iguana (6.1 + 0.4 ~01% vs. 3.8 t 0.5 ~01%) while running at speeds that elicit maximum oxygen consumption. The cardiovascular responses to activity in these lizards are similar to each other and to other vertebrates. The larger aerobic scope of Varanus appears due to a quantitative increase in the oxygen content of arterial blood relative to Iguana and in the contribution of stroke volume to increasing the factorial scope of cardiac output in Varanus.
Potassium metabisulphite as a potential biocide against Dekkera bruxellensis in fuel ethanol fermentations

Dekkera bruxellensis is an important contaminant yeast of fuel ethanol fermentations in Brazil, whose system applies cell repitching between the fermentative cycles. This work evaluated the addition of potassium metabisulphite (PMB) on yeast growth and fermentative yields in pure and co‐cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and D. bruxellensis in two situations: addition to the acidic solution in which the cells are treated between the fermentative cycles or to the fermentation medium. In the range of 200–400 mg l−1, PMB was effective to control the growth of D. bruxellensis depending on the culture medium and strain. When added to the acidic solution (250 mg l−1), a significant effect was observed in mixed cultures, because the inactivation of SO2 by S. cerevisiae most likely protected D. bruxellensis from being damaged by PMB. The physiological response of S. cerevisiae to the presence of PMB may explain the significant decrease in alcohol production. When added to the fermentation medium, PMB resulted in the control but not the death of D. bruxellensis, with less intensive effect on the fermentative efficiency. In co‐culture with the addition of PMB, the fermentative efficiency was significantly lower than in the absence of PMB.
The impact of chronic diseases on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Chinese patients in primary care.

BACKGROUND Ageing of the population results in an increasing number of people living with chronic diseases that can adversely affect their quality of life. Information on the impact of chronic diseases on quality of life can make health services more patient-centred. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine the impact of eight chronic diseases on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Chinese patients. METHODS A cross-sectional case-control study was carried out on 760 adult Chinese patients of a family medicine clinic in Hong Kong. Each subject answered the COOP/WONCA charts and a standard questionnaire on demographic and morbidity data. The likelihood of sub-optimal COOP/WONCA scores of each disease group was compared with that of patients without any of the surveyed diseases. The independent effects of each disease on the COOP/WONCA scores were analysed by multivariate logistic regression, controlling for demographic variables and co-morbidity. RESULTS Depression increased the risks for sub-optimal scores in all but one COOP/WONCA chart with odds ratios (OR) ranging from 2.1818 to 3.8645. Hypertension increased the risk of a sub-optimal physical fitness score (OR 1.7263). Increased risk of limitations in daily activities was associated with stroke (OR = 1.8771), osteoarthritis of the knee (OR = 1.5867), diseases of joints other than the knees (OR 2.0187) and asthma/COPD (OR 2.1679). Osteoarthritis of the knees also increased the risk of sub-optimal overall health (OR = 1.7927). CONCLUSIONS Depression was the most disabling disease, and osteoarthritis of the knee had more impact on the HRQOL than many other chronic diseases. The lack of adverse effects of diabetes mellitus and heart disease on the HRQOL of Chinese patients deserves further studies.
Availability and performance of psychiatric acute care facilities in California from 1992 to 1996.

OBJECTIVE The acute care psychiatric hospital industry has been challenged by managed care, government policies, and marketplace competition to control rising costs. This study examined changes in the availability and performance of acute care psychiatric delivery facilities in California between 1992 and 1996. METHODS A retrospective longitudinal research design was used. Data on facilities, licensed psychiatric beds, discharged patients, days of care, occupancy, average length of stay, licensure, and type of ownership for the years 1992, 1994, and 1996 were purchased from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Data were analyzed using numerical description and percent-change calculations. RESULTS Between 1992 and 1996 licensed beds, days of care, and average length of stay decreased in acute psychiatric facilities and services, while psychiatric discharges and facility occupancy increased. The for-profit sector and the specialty acute care sector experienced large decreases in facilities, licensed beds, days of care, and average length of stay. The generalist sector-general psychiatric units licensed within acute general hospitals-and not-for-profit facilities experienced large increases in discharges. CONCLUSIONS Challenges to institution-based services for the mentally ill population now extend beyond the state hospital system to include community-based acute care psychiatric hospital services. Recent declines in the for-profit, acute care psychiatric hospital specialty sector and the success of the generalist and not-for-profit sectors demonstrate the lack of uniform responses to environmental pressures. However, changes in federal Medicare reimbursement policy enacted in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, as well as competition from alternative providers, are likely to result in further closures of all types of acute care psychiatric facilities over the next few years.
MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL EVIDENCE FOR APOPTOSIS IN THE TERMINAL HYPERTROPHIC CHONDROCYTES OF THE GROWTH PLATE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of cell death in chondrocytes of the growth plate. In the degenerative chondrocyte zone of the growth plate, apoptotic chondrocytes were defeated by the in situ nick end labelling method, by DNA analysis in agarose gel, and by electron microscopy. The results of the in situ nick end labelling method and the occurrence of a ladder pattern of DNA in agarose gel analysis indicated the activation of endogenous endonucleases, resulting in DNA fragmentation. Electron micrographs showed the early morphological changes associated with apoptosis. This report presents both morphological and biochemical evidence for apoptosis in the terminal hypertrophic chondrocytes of the growth plate. These data suggest that apoptosis of degenerative chondrocytes may play an important role in the control of normal and pathological endochondral ossification.
La teoría de la agencia versus la teoría dle servidor: una aplicación a las sociedades cooperativas agrarias del País de Gales (Reino Unido)

RESUMEN En este trabajo se aborda el estudio de los factores determinantes de la relación socios-gerencia profesional en cuatro sociedades cooperativas agrarias del País de Gales (Reino Unido), y ello desde dos planteamientos teóricos diferentes, el de la Teoría de la Agencia y el de la Teoría del Servidor, ABSTRACT In this paper, the study of determinant factors of members-managers relationship is carried out, on four agrarian cooperative societies located in Wales (UK). Two theoretical approaches are involved in this research, Agency Theory and Stewardship Theory, in order to identify which of them fits better to the real situation of these companies. In general, the last one proved to be more explanatory. This is a hypothetic-deductive and confirmatory research of Davis, Schoorman and Donaldson's theory (1997), from chief executives' and chairmen's perceptions of these coops on a series of chief executives' psychological factors and situational (environmental) factors.
Differentiation of Transmitter Phenotypes in Rat Cerebral Cortex

Cortical neurons differ in their neurochemical properties. Projection neurons use excitatory amino acids as transmitters, most local interneurons contain the inhibitory transmitter GABA, and specific subtypes of local circuit neurons express distinct neuropeptides. How this cellular diversity is generated during development is not known. We have been studying the transmitter differentiation of cortical neurons in different in vitro systems using immunohistochemical techniques. Transmitter phenotypes of cortical neurons were examined in slice cultures, i.e. in the absence of extrinsic cortical connections, and in dissociated cortical cell cultures, i.e. in the absence of extrinsic and intrinsic cortical connections. The expression of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in cortical interneurons occurred normally in slice cultures prepared from neonatal rats between birth and 2 days of age, but was strongly impaired in dissociated cell cultures prepared at the same time. These results suggest that the intact cortical environment present in the slice cultures exerts crucial influences for neuropeptide differentiation. In contrast, the transmitters glutamate and GABA were expressed normally in the appropriate cell types and similar in proportions in dissociated cell cultures prepared from cortices at embryonic day 19. Only cells dissociated during S‐phase failed to express glutamate and GABA in vitro. When cells were kept for 24 h after mitosis in a cortical slice preparation in vitro, however, they later expressed their appropriate transmitter phenotypes. Thus, signals from the local cortical environment that act early in the cell cycle are required for the specification of transmitter phenotypes of cortical neurons.