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BMA Scotland GP Leader Calls On Scottish Government To Listen, Support And Work With GPs To Help Improve Patient Care
As GPs across the UK gathered in London for the Annual Conference of Local Medical Committees, Dr Dean Marshall, chairman of the BMA"s Scottish General Practitioners Committee, slammed the government for trying to strip GPs of funding and called for the profession to make decisions about general practice, not civil servants.
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How Microbial Neighbors Settle Differences
Even microbes are governed by the principle of supply and demand - at least at the genetic level. Not all of their gene products, the blueprints for proteins, are required at all times. That means most of their genes only become active when they are needed, as is the case in higher organisms. In the simplest case, a transcription factor will activate the gene in question at the right time. Genes that are regulated in a somewhat more complex manner, on the other hand, are kept inactive by a repressor that is removed only when the gene is needed. Which of these two regulation mechanisms will develop is a question of demand, along the lines of a "use-it-or-lose-it" principle: if genes are frequently active, then, as a rule, they will be directly induced. Genes that encode more rarely used proteins, on the other hand, tend to be kept inactive by repressors. LMU physicist Ulrich Gerland and Professor Terence Hwa of the University of California have now demonstrated using computer simulations and theoretical analyses that another - indeed opposing - principle also comes into play: "wear-and-tear". According to this principle, direct activation can lead to harmful changes. "Which of the two principles prevails depends on evolutionary criteria such as the population size and the periods over which environmental changes take place," says Gerland. "Our study may serve as a useful basis for more detailed studies of the evolution of regulatory systems." (PNAS Early Edition, 22 Mai 2009)
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Small Businesses Fear Reform Could Worsen Rising Health Costs
"Many small businesses are worried that rising health insurance costs are choking their growth and hindering the creation of new companies, and they fear health care reform plans being debated in Congress and by the Obama administration could end up costing them even more in taxes, according to business advocates," the Baltimore Sun reports. Some of those views were collected in a survey released Tuesday by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. According to the survey 29 percent of [309] businesses were unable to offer insurance to their employees, and many said their health care costs had risen this year. "Rising health care costs are choking American small businesses just when we need them the most," said Nicholas Green, an organizer for the research group"s Maryland contingent (Sentementes, 7/22).
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Pitt's Dr. Lewis Kuller Named 2009 Distinguished Scientist By American Heart Association

Lewis Kuller, M.D., Dr.P.H., distinguished professor of public health and professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, has been designated a 2009 American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist for major contributions to cardiovascular disease and stroke research. For more than 40 years, Dr. Kuller has studied risk factors for individuals with heart disease, and the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease. He established and directed the Healthy Women"s Study, the first and longest study of women from pre- to post-menopause. He also is nationally recognized for his contributions to the study of cardiovascular disease and the use of non-invasive techniques, such as ultrasound and coronary computed tomography (CT), to detect early heart disease in people without symptoms. "Lew Kuller is a world-class scientist who has made substantial contributions to the field of public health," said Donald S. Burke, M.D., dean, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. "With a keen sense of purpose, he has pioneered landmark studies that have transformed our understanding of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and women"s health." Dr. Kuller directs the Pittsburgh site of the multicenter Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), which led to a new risk factor index to improve coronary heart disease prediction. He is a co-principal investigator on the CHS Cognition Study, one of the largest prospective dementia studies that has identified risk factors and brain changes with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict dementia many years later. He also is the co-principal investigator of the recently completed Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study, a trial that showed the dietary supplement Ginkgo biloba has no effect on preventing dementia. Dr. Kuller has published more than 600 articles in peer-reviewed journals. A few of his many honors include the Chancellor"s Distinguished Research Award, University of Pittsburgh; the Abraham Lilenfeld Award, American College of Epidemiology; the MERIT Award, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the Alumni Achievement Award, George Washington University; and the Society of Scholars and Centennial Scholar, Johns Hopkins University. The American Heart Association created the Distinguished Scientist designation in 2003. The title is conferred on a select group of prominent scientists whose work has advanced the understanding and management of cardiovascular disease and stroke. University of Pittsburgh


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