Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.A.)--Northern Kentucky University, 2007. / Made available through ProQuest. Publication number: AAT 1441198. ProQuest document ID: 1283974331. Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-46)

Thesis (M. CM)--Hong Kong Baptist University, 2006. / Dissertation submitted to the School of Chinese Medicine. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 18-19).

Thesis (M.A.)--Northern Kentucky University, 2006. / Made available through ProQuest. Publication number: AAT 1435881. ProQuest document ID: 1136092761. Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-29)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri--Columbia, 2005. / "July 2005" Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (l. 197-212). Also issued on the Internet.

Addenda and corrigenda are tipped-in & numbered leaves 281-282. Copies of author's previously published articles are inserted back end paper. Bibliography: leaves 222-279. Studies were performed in the Langendorff-perfused isolated rat heart, using a paradigm in which atrial distension was prevented. The release of natriuretic peptides and endothelin-1, along with cardiac function was monitored during periods of transient ischaemia or hypoxia. Additional studies were performed in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.

M.Cur. / Patients with coronary artery disease are forced as a result of physiological changes, to make life style adjustments, whether by means of diet, or by adjusting their activities. Only if the patient's attitude toward his illness is of such a nature that he himself takes responsibility for this state of health, life style adjustments can be effective. The objective of this study is to determine the life style adjustments of angioplasty patients, in order to establish guidelines with regard to a patients education programme for nursing professionals. Literature study has brought to light the risk factors which influence coronary artery disease, as well as the crucial need for life style adjustments, which are investigate and described in this study. From this, criteria were derived for use in the further phases of data compilation. The research model is based on retrospective ex-post-facto correlation, to compare the adjustment of patients after angioplasty, with their life style before the procedure. A contextual-descriptive record regarding education given to patients before discharge, is included in the design. A descriptive survey was made of the structure and effectiveness of the educational programme of the chosen unit. Despite reveal results part of the fact that the analyses indicates that the majority of patients a positive tendency regarding life style adjustment, the expected are not achieved, because of a lack of sufficient knowledge on the the patients. The major recommendation evolving from this study, is, that all institutions where angioplasty is performed, should include an educating programme, which should be executed under supervision and which should from part of the rehabilitation process.

Abstract Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common, widespread pathogen that causes acute and chronic infections. Serological diagnosis of C. pneumoniae infection is primarily based on the microimmunofluorescence (MIF) method, but only a fourfold IgG antibody increase between paired sera and the presence of IgM antibodies have generally been accepted as markers of acute infection. At the present, no commonly accepted, reliable serological or other methods for the diagnosis of chronic C. pneumoniae infection exist. We evaluated C. pneumoniae specific serological tests in different populations, followed the kinetics of C. pneumoniae antibodies in multiple sera obtained from the same individuals, compared anti-human IgA FITC conjugates in MIF test and evaluated C. pneumoniae specific antibody tests before and after coronary events in case-control pairs matched for the time point of serum sampling, place of residence, and treatment. We showed that reinfection or reactivation is needed for the persistence of elevated IgG and IgA antibody levels. In chronic infections and upon reactivation, chronic processes may be better diagnosable based on IgA persistence than IgG levels because of the rapid disappearance of IgA levels after seroconversions. The cycle of reinfection and reactivation seems to be faster than previously thought in crowded conditions, such as in military service, since we recorded several antibody changes between the arrival and departure sera of military recruits during 6-month service. The presence of antibodies does not provide protection from reinfection. Commercial anti-human IgA conjugates act differently in MIF tests, and there is marked variation in their ability to detect IgA antibodies. The EIA test used here overestimated the prevalence and persistence of IgA antibodies when compared to MIF. The best compability between MIF and EIA antibody levels was seen in the participants with high titers. Only high IgA MIF titers to C. pneumoniae at the baseline predicted future coronary events. In the present study, seroconversions both in the participants who developed a coronary event and in the controls were detected by MIF and EIA, but mostly in different persons. Seroconversion suggesting reinfection or reactivation of persistent infection may have a role in accelerating chronic processes, because the participants with MIF seroconversion between consecutive sera had a slightly higher risk for coronary events than the controls. EIA seroconversions were more common in the controls than in the cases before the coronary event. The difference in the kinetics of EIA and MIF antibodies warrants future research and supports the use of the MIF method as a golden standard in the measurement of C. pneumoniae IgG and IgA antibody levels and seroconversions. In their diagnostic practice, laboratories should use, compare, and validate more C. pneumoniae IgA antibody tests in addition to IgG tests. Unspecific findings in C. pneumoniae EIA tests require re-estimation and a new way to interpret the results. Chlamydia experts should speak for MIF and rethink the meaning of IgA antibodies and recommendations in the diagnosis of C. pneumoniae infections.

Background: Associations between dietary fats and mortality are unclear. Methods: We evaluated the relationship between quartiles of total fat, mono-unsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA) and saturated fatty acid (SFA) consumption, and all-cause, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and type 2 diabetes (T2D)-associated mortality in 24,144 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 1999–2010. We added our results to a meta-analysis based on searches until November 2018. Results: In fully adjusted Cox-proportional hazard models in our prospective study, there was an inverse association between total fat (HR: 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.82, 0.99, Q4 vs Q1) and PUFA (0.81, 0.78–0.84) consumption and all-cause mortality, whereas SFA were associated with the increased mortality (1.08, 1.04–1.11). In the meta-analysis of 29 prospective cohorts (n = 1,148,117) we found a significant inverse association between total fat (0.89, 0.82–0.97), MUFA (0.93, 0.87–0.99) and PUFA (0.86, 0.80–0.93) consumption and all-cause mortality. No association was observed between total fat and CVD (0.92, 0.79–1.08) or CHD mortality (1.03 0.99–1.09). A significant association between SFA intake and CHD mortality (1.10, 1.01–1.20) was observed. Neither MUFA nor PUFA were associated with CVD or CHD mortality. Inverse associations were observed between MUFA (0.80, 0.67–0.96) and PUFA (0.84, 0.80–0.90) intakes and stroke mortality. Conclusions: We showed differential associations of total fat, MUFA and PUFA with all-cause mortality, but not CVD or CHD mortalities. SFA was associated with higher all-cause mortality in NHANES and with CHD mortality in our meta-analysis. The type of fat intake appears to be associated with important health outcomes. / European Society of Cardiology / Revisión por pares

Background: Evidence supports a significant non-linear relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease-specific mortality among US adults. Epidemiologic investigations presume that the J/U-shaped distribution is the sum of the detrimental effect of high consumption on other causes of death and the protective effect on coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity and mortality. Studies demonstrated that heavy alcohol consumption reduces the risk of CHD. However, results have been inconsistent among heavy drinkers. In this study, we investigated the association of heavy alcohol consumption with CHD among different subgroups in the US. Methods: Data from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used. BRFSS is an annual survey of Americans’ health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and the use of preventive services among the general adult population via self-report. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between history of CHD and heavy alcohol consumption. Heavy alcohol use was defined as consuming greater than 14 drinks per week for men and greater than 7 drinks per week for women. The model was adjusted for other risk factors. Results: A total of 398,656 cases were included. Approximately, 5.67% of the study population reported history of CHD and 6.47% reported heavy alcohol consumption. Overall, the odds of having CHD among heavy alcohol drinkers was 42% less than those who were not heavy alcohol drinkers (adjusted odds ratio): 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.50-0.68). Stratified by age, we found that heavy alcohol consumption could be either risk factor or protective factor of CHD or no effect on CHD across different age groups: for 18-24 age group, the odds of having CHD among heavy alcohol drinkers was 25% higher than those who were not heavy alcohol drinkers, OR 1.25 (CI 0.54-2.90); for 25-34 age group, 1.42 (0.94-2.14); for 35-44 age group, 1.04 (0.75-1.43); for 45-54 age group, 0.78 (0.63-0.96); for 55-64 age group, 0.71 (0.62-0.82); for >64 age group, 0.61 (0.55-0.67). Stratified by race, for the male group, the odds of having CHD among heavy alcohol drinkers was 45% lower than those who were not heavy alcohol drinkers, 0.55 (0.46-0.67); for the female group, 0.52 (0.41-0.66). Stratified by race, for the White group, the odds of having CHD among heavy alcohol drinkers was 47% lower than those who were not heavy alcohol drinkers 0.53 (0.49-0.57); for the Black group, 0.44 (0.30-0.66); for the Hispanic group, 0.84 (0.62-1.13); for Other groups, 0.56 (0.41-0.77). Conclusion: The study findings demonstrate that heavy alcohol consumption is a protective factor for CHD among people aged >44, the older the more protective, but the younger the more risk of having CHD among people aged