Cigarettes and health: Historical controversies and constraints‐part II

This paper reports on an experimental study that examines the relative effect of price and personal referral cues on the consumers' perception of dental services. The results of the study show that price and personal referral do effect the perceived competence of the dentist as well as consumer purchase probability.     

Health literacy and public health: A systematic review and integration of definitions and models

Background  

Health literacy concerns the knowledge and competences of persons to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. Although its importance is increasingly recognised, there is no consensus about the definition of health literacy or about its conceptual dimensions, which limits the possibilities for measurement and comparison. The aim of the study is to review definitions and models on health literacy to develop an integrated definition and conceptual model capturing the most comprehensive evidence-based dimensions of health literacy.     

Coronary flow regulation in mouse heart during hypercapnic acidosis: role of NO and its compensation during eNOS impairment

AIMS: This study addressed the hypotheses that the hypercapnic flow response in wild-type (WT) mouse heart is mainly mediated by nitric oxide (NO) and, thus, severely blunted in endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout (eNOS-KO) mice and in WT mice after continuous pharmacological block (2 weeks) of NOS enzymes (WT-LN). METHODS AND RESULTS: Step changes of arterial pCO(2) were performed in isolated perfused hearts (n = 105). Contributions of NOS (L-NAME, TRIM), cyclooxygenase (indomethacin), epoxyeicosanotrienes (miconazole), adenosine A2A-receptors (SCH 58261), KV-channels (4-AP), KCa-channels (TEA), and K ATP-channels (glibenclamide) were studied in WT and eNOS-KO mouse hearts. Change of arterial pCO(2) increased coronary flow by 31.3 +/- 4% in WT, a response that was significantly decreased to 9.2 +/- 6% after L-NAME. Additional glibenclamide infusion (n = 5) completely abolished the steady-state flow increase during hypercapnic acidosis (-4.2 +/- 2.3%, P = 0.004 vs. control). Hearts from eNOS-KO mice as well as WT-LN showed a fully preserved flow response insensitive towards NOS-blockade. Whereas indomethacin, miconazole, TEA, and SCH 58261 were ineffective to reduce the flow response, glibenclamide blunted it in eNOS-KO hearts. CONCLUSION: NO-production and K ATP-channel activation together may fully account for the steady-state hypercapnic flow response in mouse heart. However, chronic deletion of eNOS does not result in a reduced hypercapnic flow response. Enhanced activation of K ATP-channels and potentially Kv-channels contributes to the compensatory mechanisms involved in the hypercapnic flow response when eNOS activity is absent.     

Hepatitis C-associated autoimmunity in patients coinfected with HIV.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with multiple extrahepatic manifestations. It is unclear to what extent extrahepatic manifestations occur in HIV/HCV coinfection. Methods: We prospectively assessed cross-sectional frequencies of autoimmune manifestations in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (n=98), HIV-mono-infected (n=45) and HCV-mono-infected patients (n=78). Diagnostic vasculitis scores, HCV and HIV loads, CD4 cell counts, thyroid-, cardiolipin-, non-organ-specific tissue antibodies (nuclear, smooth muscle, anti-liver-kidney-microsome, neutrophil-cytoplasmic) and cryoglobulins were determined. Results: Synergistic effects of HCV and HIV infection were observed with respect to the prevalence of antibodies against thyroglobulin (HCV infection 15.4%, HIV infection 8.8%, HIV/HCV coinfection 30.6%; P<0.001) and cardiolipin antibodies (HCV infection 9.0%, HIV infection 31%, HIV/HCV coinfection 46%; P<0.001). Cryoglobulinemia type III, was significantly associated with HCV infection (HCV, 25.6%; HIV/HCV, 20.4%) but not with HIV infection (4.4%, P<0.05). Rheumatoid factor was commonly detected in patients with HCV infection (48%), but occurred considerably less frequently in patients with HIV infection (4.4%) or HIV/HCV coinfection (9.5%, P<0.01). Conclusion: HIV coinfection appears to differentially modulate the frequency of HCV-related autoimmunity. However, autoimmunity is rarely accompanied by clinical manifestations.