Thinking styles and doctors' knowledge and behaviours relating to acute coronary syndromes guidelines

Background How humans think and make decisions is important in understanding behaviour. Hence an understanding of cognitive processes among physicians may inform our understanding of behaviour in relation to evidence implementation strategies. A personality theory, Cognitive-Experiential Self Theory (CEST) proposes a relationship between different ways of thinking and behaviour, and articulates pathways for behaviour change. However prior to the empirical testing of interventions based on CEST, it is first necessary to demonstrate its suitability among a sample of healthcare workers. Objectives To investigate the relationship between thinking styles and the knowledge and clinical practices of doctors directly involved in the management of acute coronary syndromes. Methods Self-reported doctors' thinking styles (N = 74) were correlated with results from a survey investigating knowledge, attitudes, and clinical practice, and evaluated against recently published acute coronary syndrome clinical guidelines. Results Guideline-discordant practice was associated with an experiential style of thinking. Conversely, guideline-concordant practice was associated with a higher preference for a rational style of reasoning. Conclusion Findings support that while guidelines might be necessary to communicate evidence, other strategies may be necessary to target discordant behaviours. Further research designed to examine the relationships found in the current study is required

Differential Cerebral Cortex Transcriptomes of Baboon Neonates Consuming Moderate and High Docosahexaenoic Acid Formulas

BACKGROUND: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n-6) are the major long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) of the central nervous system (CNS). These nutrients are present in most infant formulas at modest levels, intended to support visual and neural development. There are no investigations in primates of the biological consequences of dietary DHA at levels above those present in formulas but within normal breastmilk levels. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Twelve baboons were divided into three formula groups: Control, with no DHA-ARA; “L”, LCPUFA, with 0.33%DHA-0.67%ARA; “L3”, LCPUFA, with 1.00%DHA-0.67%ARA. All the samples are from the precentral gyrus of cerebral cortex brain regions. At 12 weeks of age, changes in gene expression were detected in 1,108 of 54,000 probe sets (2.05%), with most showing <2-fold change. Gene ontology analysis assigns them to diverse biological functions, notably lipid metabolism and transport, G-protein and signal transduction, development, visual perception, cytoskeleton, peptidases, stress response, transcription regulation, and 400 transcripts having no defined function. PLA2G6, a phospholipase recently associated with infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy, was downregulated in both LCPUFA groups. ELOVL5, a PUFA elongase, was the only LCPUFA biosynthetic enzyme that was differentially expressed. Mitochondrial fatty acid carrier, CPT2, was among several genes associated with mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation to be downregulated by high DHA, while the mitochondrial proton carrier, UCP2, was upregulated. TIMM8A, also known as deafness/dystonia peptide 1, was among several differentially expressed neural development genes. LUM and TIMP3, associated with corneal structure and age-related macular degeneration, respectively, were among visual perception genes influenced by LCPUFA. TIA1, a silencer of COX2 gene translation, is upregulated by high DHA. Ingenuity pathway analysis identified a highly significant nervous system network, with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as the outstanding interaction partner. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that LCPUFA concentrations within the normal range of human breastmilk induce global changes in gene expression across a wide array of processes, in addition to changes in visual and neural function normally associated with formula LCPUFA

A novel method to increase the viability of Trichomonas vaginalis in urine

Objectives: Two of the major diagnostic methods for Trichomonas vaginalis. wet mount and culture, rely on the continued viability of the organism. Methods to increase the viability of T. vaginalis in urine are needed. Goal: The goal of this study was to develop a method that increases the time of viability of T. vaginalis in urine. Study Design: Urine samples were inoculated with trichomonads, held at either room temperature or 37 degrees C, and processed through a column and frit, which was then placed in either a tube of culture medium containing antibiotics or a TV InPouch. Results: The column and polyethylene frit system was found to increase the duration of viability for T. vaginalis from urine specimens at least 6-fold. Conclusion: This novel method, which uses a column and frit system to increase the duration of viability of the organism, has the potential to increase the sensitivity of diagnostic tests

Evaluation of the seroprevalence of influenza A(H1N1) 2009 on a university campus: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Human infection with influenza A(H1N1) 2009 was first identified in the United States on 15 April 2009 and on 11 June 2009, WHO declared that the rapidly spreading swine-origin influenza virus constituted a global pandemic. We evaluated the seroprevalence of influenza A(H1N1) 2009 virus on a large public University campus, as well as disparities in demographic, symptomatic and vaccination characteristics of participants. Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, sera was collected from volunteers and then tested for the presence of antibodies to the virus using a ≥ 1:40 dilution cut-off by hemagglutination inhibition assay. In conjunction, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire allowing us to estimate risk factors for infection in this population, as well as distinguish artificially derived antibodies from naturally derived antibodies. Results 300 total participants were recruited and tested. 158 (52.6%) tested positive for influenza A(H1N1) 2009 via hemagglutination inhibition assay using a ≥ 1:40 dilution cut-off. 86 people (54.4%) tested positive for H1N1 but did not report experiencing symptoms during the pandemic meeting the May 2010 CDC definition of influenza-like illness. Furthermore, of those individuals who reported that they had received the H1N1 vaccine, 16% did not test positive. Conclusions Overall, 52.7% of the total study population tested positive for influenza A(H1N1) 2009. 54.4% of those who tested positive for influenza A(H1N1) 2009 using the ≥ 1:40 dilution cut-off on the hemagglutination inhibition assay in this study population did not report experiencing symptoms during the pandemic meeting the May 2010 CDC definition of influenza-like illness. 16% of those who reported receiving the H1N1 vaccine did not test positive by HAI. We also found that vaccination coverage for H1N1 vaccine was poor among Blacks and Latinos, despite the fact that vaccine was readily available at no cost

A Simple Threshold Rule Is Sufficient to Explain Sophisticated Collective Decision-Making

Decision-making animals can use slow-but-accurate strategies, such as making multiple comparisons, or opt for simpler, faster strategies to find a 'good enough' option. Social animals make collective decisions about many group behaviours including foraging and migration. The key to the collective choice lies with individual behaviour. We present a case study of a collective decision-making process (house-hunting ants, Temnothorax albipennis), in which a previously proposed decision strategy involved both quality-dependent hesitancy and direct comparisons of nests by scouts. An alternative possible decision strategy is that scouting ants use a very simple quality-dependent threshold rule to decide whether to recruit nest-mates to a new site or search for alternatives. We use analytical and simulation modelling to demonstrate that this simple rule is sufficient to explain empirical patterns from three studies of collective decision-making in ants, and can account parsimoniously for apparent comparison by individuals and apparent hesitancy (recruitment latency) effects, when available nests differ strongly in quality. This highlights the need to carefully design experiments to detect individual comparison. We present empirical data strongly suggesting that best-of-n comparison is not used by individual ants, although individual sequential comparisons are not ruled out. However, by using a simple threshold rule, decision-making groups are able to effectively compare options, without relying on any form of direct comparison of alternatives by individuals. This parsimonious mechanism could promote collective rationality in group decision-making