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The relationship between blood cholesterol and coronary heart disease (CHD) is well established. In an effort to reduce the risk of CHD, a low-cholesterol diet is recommended. More than half of all Americans have blood cholesterol levels exceeding the desired cutoff of 200 milligrams per deciliter. Although many people are willing to alter their diets to reduce CHD risk, it is not known whether average Americans who follow accepted dietary guidelines maintain an adequate supply of other essential nutrients. Using information compiled by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II), the diets of 296 participants over the age of 18 who were following a low-cholesterol diet were compared with those of 10,052 individuals not following any special diet. Adjusting for the confounding effects of age, sex, race, education, smoking and socioeconomic status, the dietary intakes were assessed by a 24-hour diet recall. The average length of time on the low-cholesterol diet was 147 weeks. The individuals following the low-cholesterol diet consumed 16 percent fewer calories, 25 percent less fat and 21 percent less cholesterol than the nondieters. The amounts of vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, calcium and iron were similar in both groups. The dietary intake of vitamin C was 18 percent higher in the group following the diet. The nutrient density (the amount of the nutrients per kilocalorie of food) for each vitamin and mineral was higher in the dieting group: 35 percent more vitamin A, 35 percent more thiamine, 30 percent more riboflavin, 27 percent more niacin, 60 percent more vitamin C, 14 percent more calcium and 15 percent more iron. Dieters consumed 27 percent more poultry, 39 percent more fish, 30 percent fewer eggs, and 15 percent less meat. Dieters were able to select foods with a high density of nutrients, which helped to maintain their intake of essential vitamins and minerals. People adhering to the guidelines of a low-cholesterol diet receive the recommended allowances of food and nutrients. Therefore, nutritional benefits can be obtained when low-cholesterol diets are followed correctly. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

We investigated whether printed or videotaped information is more effective in enhancing colon cancer knowledge. Subjects (n = 1100) were randomized into three groups: to receive a booklet, view a videotape, or receive no intervention. Subjects receiving the intervention showed increased knowledge compared with control subjects (booklet = 23% and videotape = 26% vs no intervention = 3%). Findings suggest that personalized educational materials are effective in enhancing colon cancer knowledge. (Am J Public Health. 1994;84:119-121), Individually tailored print and videotape materials about colon cancer may increase knowledge among patients with limited literacy. Researchers assigned 1,100 patients to receive a specially prepared booklet, view a videotape or receive no instruction about colon cancer. The patients took a pretest, received intervention materials and took a posttest and a general achievement test. The difference between pretest and posttest scores for both the videotape and booklet groups were significantly higher than the comparison group. Patients receiving the booklet increased their scores by 23% and those receiving the videotape improved by 26%. In contrast, patients receiving no intervention increased their scores by only 3%. Researchers used achievement test scores to separate patients into high reading ability and low reading ability classes. Reading ability did not significantly affect the cancer knowledge of any intervention group.

Byline: Ronald M. Atlas, Richard D. Clover, W. Paul McKinney The revised international health regulations recognise the importance of shortening the time from a disease outbreak to its detection and notification to the international public health community so that effective responses that enhance global biosecurity can be taken. The new international health regulations aim at requiring countries to issue alerts early enough so that responses can be initiated in a timely manner. But these regulations represent a real challenge for achieving early detection and translating notification into effective public health actions that reduce the risks of mass casualties from emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism. Coordinated early warning mechanisms to facilitate rapid recognition of a disease outbreak are needed so that an effective response within the medical and public health communities can be initiated. Effective training is essential for early recognition of rare biothreat diseases; such training needs to be realistic to achieve an effective response. Responder and system capabilities should be verified periodically through the use of full-scale exercises or virtual drills. Such training and skills are critical for achieving biosecurity.

ABSTRACT: We reviewed the use of Fisher's Exact Test in 71 articles published between 1983 and 1987 in six medical journals. Thirty-three of 56 selected articles did not specify use of a one- or two-tailed test, and 12 (36%) of these actually used the one-tailed test. Five (42%) of these 12 articles contained at least one table in which the standard significance level of P

Background: Heart rate and cardiovascular function are regulated by the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate variability (HRV) as a marker reflects the activity of autonomic nervous system. The prognostic significance of HRV in cardiovascular disease has been reported in clinical and epidemiological studies. The present study focused on the influence of inhaled multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on autonomic nervous system by HRV analysis. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were pre-implanted with a telemetry device and kept in the individual cages for recovery. At week four after device implantation, rats were exposed to MWCNTs for 5 h at a concentration of 5 mg/m³. The real-time EKGs were recorded by a telemetry system at pre-exposure, during exposure, 1 day and 7 days post-exposure. HRV was measured by root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD); the standard deviation of inter-beat (RR) interval (SDNN); the percentage of successive RR interval differences greater than 5 ms (pNN5) and 10 ms (pNN10); low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF). Results: Exposure to MWCNTs increased the percentage of differences between adjacent R-R intervals over 10 ms (pNN10) (p < 0.01), RMSSD (p < 0.01), LF (p < 0.05) and HF (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Inhalation of MWCNTs significantly alters the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Whether such transient alterations in autonomic nervous performance would alter cardiovascular function and raise the risk of cardiovascular events in people with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions warrants further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]