A comparison of the illness beliefs of people with angina and their peers: a questionnaire study

BACKGROUND: What people believe about their illness may affect how they cope with it. It has been suggested that such beliefs stem from those commonly held within society . This study compared the beliefs held by people with angina, regarding causation and coping in angina, with the beliefs of their friends who do not suffer from angina. METHODS: Postal survey using the York Angina Beliefs Questionnaire (version 1), which elicits stress attributions and misconceived beliefs about causation and coping. This was administered to 164 people with angina and their non-cohabiting friends matched for age and sex. 132 people with angina and 94 friends completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: Peers are more likely than people with angina to believe that angina is caused by a worn out heart (p <0.01), angina is a small heart attack (p = 0.02), and that it causes permanent damage to the heart (p <0.001). Peers were also more likely to believe that people with angina should take life easy (p <0.01) and avoid exercise (p = 0.04) and excitement (p <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The beliefs of the peer group about causation and coping in angina run counter to professional advice. Over time this may contribute to a reduction in patient concordance with risk factor reduction, and may help to create cardiac invalids

Comparing the Effect of Naturally Restored Forest and Grassland on Carbon Sequestration and Its Vertical Distribution in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Vegetation restoration has been conducted in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) since the 1950s, and large areas of farmland have been converted to forest and grassland, which largely results in SOC change. However, there has been little comparative research on SOC sequestration and distribution between secondary forest and restored grassland. Therefore, we selected typical secondary forest (SF-1 and SF-2) and restored grassland (RG-1 and RG-2) sites and determined the SOC storage. Moreover, to illustrate the factors resulting in possible variance in SOC sequestration, we measured the soil δ13C value. The average SOC content was 6.8, 9.9, 17.9 and 20.4 g kg−1 at sites SF-1, SF-2, RG-1 and RG-2, respectively. Compared with 0–100 cm depth, the percentage of SOC content in the top 20 cm was 55.1%, 55.3%, 23.1%, and 30.6% at sites SF-1, SF-2, RG-1 and RG-2, suggesting a higher SOC content in shallow layers in secondary forest and in deeper layers in restored grassland. The variation of soil δ13C values with depth in this study might be attributed to the mixing of new and old carbon and kinetic fractionation during the decomposition of SOM by microbes, whereas the impact of the Suess effect (the decline of 13C atmospheric CO2 values with the burning of fossil fuel since the Industrial Revolution) was minimal. The soil δ13C value increased sharply in the top 20 cm, which then increased slightly in deeper layers in secondary forest, indicating a main carbon source of surface litter. However the soil δ13C values exhibited slow increases in the whole profile in the restored grasslands, suggesting that the contribution of roots to soil carbon in deeper layers played an important role. We suggest that naturally restored grassland would be a more effective vegetation type for SOC sequestration due to higher carbon input from roots in the CLP

How accurate is patients' anatomical knowledge: a cross-sectional, questionnaire study of six patient groups and a general public sample

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Older studies have shown that patients often do not understand the terms used by doctors and many do not even have a rudimentary understanding of anatomy. The present study was designed to investigate the levels of anatomical knowledge of different patient groups and the general public in order to see whether this has improved over time and whether patients with a specific organ pathology (e.g. liver disease) have a relatively better understanding of the location of that organ.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Level of anatomical knowledge was assessed on a multiple-choice questionnaire, in a sample of 722 participants, comprising approximately 100 patients in each of 6 different diagnostic groups and 133 in the general population, using a between-groups, cross-sectional design. Comparisons of relative accuracy of anatomical knowledge between the present and earlier results, and across the clinical and general public groups were evaluated using Chi square tests. Associations with age and education were assessed with the Pearson correlation test and one-way analysis of variance, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Across groups knowledge of the location of body organs was poor and has not significantly improved since an earlier equivalent study over 30 years ago (χ²= 0.04, df = 1, ns). Diagnostic groups did not differ in their overall scores but those with liver disease and diabetes were more accurate regarding the location of their respective affected organs (χ²= 18.10, p < 0.001, df = 1; χ²= 10.75, p < 0.01, df = 1). Age was significantly negatively correlated (r = -0.084, p = 0.025) and education was positively correlated with anatomical knowledge (F = 12.94, p = 0.000). Although there was no overall gender difference, women were significantly better at identifying organs on female body outlines.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Many patients and general public do not know the location of key body organs, even those in which their medical problem is located, which could have important consequences for doctor-patient communication. These results indicate that healthcare professionals still need to take care in providing organ specific information to patients and should not assume that patients have this information, even for those organs in which their medical problem is located.</p

Silent soft tissue pathology is common with a modern metal-on-metal hip arthroplasty: Early detection with routine metal artifact-reduction MRI scanning

Adverse reactions to metal debris have been reported to be a cause of pain in metal-on-metal hip arthroplasty. We assessed the incidence of both symptomatic and asymptomatic adverse reactions in a consecutive series of patients with a modern large-head metal-on-metal hip arthroplasty

HIV Infection Is Associated with a Lower Incidence of Constriction in Presumed Tuberculous Pericarditis: A Prospective Observational Study

The original publication is available at http:/www.plosone.orgBackground: Pericardial constriction is a serious complication of tuberculous pericardial effusion that occurs in up to a quarter of patients despite anti-tuberculosis chemotheraphy. The impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the incidence of constrictive pericarditis following tuberculous pericardial effusion is unknown. Methods and Results: We conducted a prospective observational study to determine the association between HIV infection and the incidence of constrictive pericarditis among 185 patients (median age 33 years) with suspected tuberculous pericardial effusion. These patients were recruited consecutively between March and October 2004 on commencement of anti-tuberculosis treatment, from 15 hospitals in Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa. Surviving patients (N = 119) were assessed for clinical evidence of constrictive pericarditis at 3 and 6 months of follow-up. Clinical features of HIV infection were present in 42 (35.2%) of the 119 patients at enrolment into the study.66 of the 119 (56.9%) patients consented to HIV testing at enrolment. During the 6 months of follow-up, a clinical diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis was made in 13 of the 119 patients (10.9%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.9-18%). Patients with clinical features of HIV infection appear less likely to develop constriction than those without (4.8% versus 14.3%; P = 0.08). None of the 33 HIV seropositive patients developed constriction, but 8 (24.2%, 95%CI 11.1-42.3%)of the 33 HIV seronegative patients did (P = 0.005). In a multivariate logistic regression model adjusting simultaneously for several baseline characteristics, only clinical signs of HIV infection were significantly associated with a lower risk of constriction (odd ratio 0.14, 95% CI 0.02-0.87, P = 0.035). Conclusions: These data suggest that HIV infection is associated with a lower incidence of pericardial constriction in patients with presumed tuberculous pericarditis. © 2008 Ntsekhe et al.This study was funded, in part, through research grants from the University of Cape Town, the Medical Scholarships for South African Blacks (MESAB), the Medical Research Council of South Africa, the National Research Foundation of South Africa.Publishers' versio

Strongly magnetized pulsars: explosive events and evolution

Well before the radio discovery of pulsars offered the first observational confirmation for their existence (Hewish et al., 1968), it had been suggested that neutron stars might be endowed with very strong magnetic fields of $10^{10}$-$10^{14}$G (Hoyle et al., 1964; Pacini, 1967). It is because of their magnetic fields that these otherwise small ed inert, cooling dead stars emit radio pulses and shine in various part of the electromagnetic spectrum. But the presence of a strong magnetic field has more subtle and sometimes dramatic consequences: In the last decades of observations indeed, evidence mounted that it is likely the magnetic field that makes of an isolated neutron star what it is among the different observational manifestations in which they come. The contribution of the magnetic field to the energy budget of the neutron star can be comparable or even exceed the available kinetic energy. The most magnetised neutron stars in particular, the magnetars, exhibit an amazing assortment of explosive events, underlining the importance of their magnetic field in their lives. In this chapter we review the recent observational and theoretical achievements, which not only confirmed the importance of the magnetic field in the evolution of neutron stars, but also provide a promising unification scheme for the different observational manifestations in which they appear. We focus on the role of their magnetic field as an energy source behind their persistent emission, but also its critical role in explosive events.Comment: Review commissioned for publication in the White Book of "NewCompStar" European COST Action MP1304, 43 pages, 8 figure

P2X receptor-mediated purinergic sensory pathways to the spinal cord dorsal horn

P2X receptors are expressed on different functional groups of primary afferent fibers. P2X receptor-mediated sensory inputs can be either innocuous or nociceptive, depending on which dorsal horn regions receive these inputs. We provide a brief review of P2X receptor-mediated purinergic sensory pathways to different regions in the dorsal horn. These P2X purinergic pathways are identified in normal animals, which provides insights into their physiological functions. Future studies on P2X purinergic pathways in animal models of pathological conditions may provide insights on how P2X receptors play a role in pathological pain states

Vitamin D and oestrogen receptor polymorphisms in developmental dysplasia of the hip and primary protrusio acetabuli – A preliminary study

We investigated the association of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and primary protrusion acetabuli (PPA) with Vitamin D receptor polymorphisms Taq I and Fok I and oestrogen receptor polymorphisms Pvu II and Xba I. 45 patients with DDH and 20 patients with PPA were included in the study. Healthy controls (n = 101) aged 18–60 years were recruited from the same geographical area. The control subjects had a normal acetabular morphology based on a recent pelvic radiograph performed for an unrelated cause. DNA was obtained from all the subjects from peripheral blood. Genotype frequencies were compared in the three groups. The relationship between the genotype and morphology of the hip joint, severity of the disease, age at onset of disease and gender were examined. The oestrogen receptor Xba I wild-type genotype (XX, compared with Xx and xx combined) was more common in the DDH group (55.8%) than controls (37.9%), though this just failed to achieve statistical significance (p = 0.053, odds ratio = 2.1, 95% CI = 0.9–4.6). In the DDH group, homozygosity for the mutant Taq I Vitamin D receptor t allele was associated with higher acetabular index (Mann-Whitney U-test, p = 0.03). Pvu II pp oestrogen receptor genotype was associated with low centre edge angle (p = 0.07). This study suggests a possible correlation between gene polymorphism in the oestrogen and vitamin D receptors and susceptibility to, and severity of DDH. The Taq I vitamin D receptor polymorphisms may be associated with abnormal acetabular morphology leading to DDH while the Xba I oestrogen receptor XX genotype may be associated with increased risk of developing DDH. No such correlations were found in the group with PPA

Fossils from Mille-Logya, Afar, Ethiopia, elucidate the link between Pliocene environmental changes and Homo origins

Several hypotheses posit a link between the origin of Homo and climatic and environmental shifts between 3 and 2.5 Ma. Here we report on new results that shed light on the interplay between tectonics, basin migration and faunal change on the one hand and the fate of Australopithecus afarensis and the evolution of Homo on the other. Fieldwork at the new Mille-Logya site in the Afar, Ethiopia, dated to between 2.914 and 2.443 Ma, provides geological evidence for the northeast migration of the Hadar Basin, extending the record of this lacustrine basin to Mille-Logya. We have identified three new fossiliferous units, suggesting in situ faunal change within this interval. While the fauna in the older unit is comparable to that at Hadar and Dikika, the younger units contain species that indicate more open conditions along with remains of Homo. This suggests that Homo either emerged from Australopithecus during this interval or dispersed into the region as part of a fauna adapted to more open habitats.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Rapid quantification of myocardial fibrosis: a new macro-based automated analysis

Background: Fibrosis is associated with various cardiac pathologies and dysfunction. Current quantification methods are time-consuming and laborious. We describe a semi-automated quantification technique for myocardial fibrosis and validated this using traditional methods