Efficacy and Safety of a Mixture of Microencapsulated Sodium Butyrate, Probiotics, and Short Chain Fructooligosaccharides in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome-A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.

Biotics are increasingly being used in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of a mixture of microencapsulated sodium butyrate, probiotics ( DSM 26357, DSM 32418, DSM 32946, DSM 32403, and DSM 32269), and short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOSs) in IBS patients. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 120 adult participants with IBS.

Sleep disturbance and disease activity in adult patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

The aim of the study was to identify whether poor quality of sleep is connected to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and if so, whether sleep disturbances are related to disease activity. Prospective, observational cohort study was performed. In all enrolled adult patients, the disease activity was assessed by using Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) for Crohn's disease (CD) and Partial Mayo Score for ulcerative colitis (UC), respectively.

Low-calorie diet induced weight loss may alter regulatory hormones and contribute to rebound visceral adiposity in obese persons with a family history of type-2 diabetes.

Purpose: To examine potential detrimental long-term effects of acute diet-induced weight loss on visceral adiposity, insulin resistance, cortisol, and adipokines in obese individuals at risk for type-2 diabetes.

Data Sources: Anthropometric measures (height, weight, waist circumference), self-report instruments, abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan, and blood samples (glucose, insulin, interleukin-6, leptin, adiponectin) were obtained from a convenience sample of 20 participants at baseline, after a 28-day low-calorie diet (800 kcal/day) intervention, and again 6 months later.

Conclusions: Fifteen of 20 participants completed the 28-day diet intervention and had a mean weight loss of 15 pounds.

Effect of Iyengar yoga practice on fatigue and diurnal salivary cortisol concentration in breast cancer survivors.

Purpose: To examine the effect of regular Iyengar yoga practice on measures of self-perceived psychosocial function and diurnal salivary cortisol secretion in stage II-IV breast cancer survivors (n = 18).

Data Sources: Women were randomly assigned to attend yoga practice for 90 min twice weekly for 8 weeks (n = 9) or to a wait-listed, noninterventional control group (n = 9). Traditional Iyengar yoga routines that progressively increased in difficulty as participants gained strength and flexibility were used.

Effect of lateral positions on tissue oxygenation in the critically ill.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of lateral positions on tissue oxygenation in critically ill patients.

Design: The study design was prospective and quasi-experimental, and we used a convenience sample with random assignment.

Setting: The study took place in the intensive care unit and the cardiac intensive care unit of a 450-bed medical center in the northwestern United States.

Exercise self-efficacy.

Practitioners have the opportunity to enhance the health of their patients by improving exercise adherence through appropriate exercise prescription and monitoring. Regular physical exercise can prevent or improve many of the chronic health conditions commonly observed in clinical practice. Unfortunately, efforts to help patients adopt an exercise program are often unsuccessful.

Diagnosing alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency.

Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is a genetically transmitted disorder associated with an increased risk of emphysema and liver disease. The highest incidence occurs in whites of Northern European descent; the disorder affects between 70,000 and 100,000 individuals in the United States. Most persons with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency are misdiagnosed or undiagnosed.

Effect of lateral position on arterial and venous blood gases in postoperative cardiac surgery patients.

Background: Investigators have suggested that lateral position may have clinically significant effects on oxygenation in cardiac surgery patients. Presence of lung disease and type of cardiac surgery may be important considerations.

Objectives: To determine the effect of position (left, right, supine) on blood gases in patients who have had coronary artery bypass or cardiac valvular surgery and to compare the effect of position on blood gases in cardiac surgery patients having preoperatively diagnosed lung disease with those having no lung disease.

Effect of position on selected hemodynamic parameters in postoperative cardiac surgery patients.

Background: Indirect/noninvasive blood pressure, heart rate and central venous pressure are frequently monitored hemodynamic parameters in postoperative cardiac surgery patients. No previous studies have explored the effect of lateral position on these variables in this population.

Objectives: To determine differences in (1) blood pressure, central venous pressure, or heart rate measurements among postoperative cardiac surgery patients due to position (supine, 45 degrees right lateral, and 45 degrees left lateral), (2) responses to position between patients having cardiac surgery in which the myocardium was opened (valvular replacement) and those in which it was not (coronary artery bypass graft), and (3) responses to position between cardiac surgery patients having preoperatively diagnosed lung disease and those without lung disease.

Reviews and summaries of research related to AACN 1980 research priorities: contextual topics.

This article reviews and summarizes the research conducted following publication of the 1980s American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' contextual research priorities. Reports of original research conducted on the contextual priority topics between 1981 and 1991 were included. Review articles, doctoral dissertations, theses, and abstracts were excluded unless judged to provide important information on the topic.

Endothelins: new players in cardiovascular physiology and disease.

Intercellular signaling is an important factor in cardiovascular regulation and the development of disease. The endothelins (ETs) are a recently described family of signaling peptides that appear to be important in cardiovascular regulation. Initial studies showed ET to be a potent vasoconstrictor of vascular smooth muscle.

Reviews and summaries of research related to AACN 1980 research priorities: clinical topics.

This article reviews and summarizes the research conducted following publication of the 1980s American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' clinical research priorities. Original research conducted on the clinical priority topics between 1981 and 1991 was included. Review articles, doctoral dissertations, theses and abstracts were excluded unless judged to provide important information on the topic.

Determining AACN's research priorities for the 90s.

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses completed a three-phased process of priority identification for critical care nursing research. In phase 1, a 78-item survey was generated following a comprehensive review of potential research topics. In phase 2, approximately 1000 critical care nurses rated each item on the survey for importance to critical care nursing.

Endothelin binding in brain of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The endothelins (ETs) are a recently discovered family of peptides which appear to be involved in hemodynamic regulation; they have potent vasoconstrictor properties and dose-related effects on blood pressure when administered peripherally. Little is known about the role of ET in the brain. The purpose of this study was to characterize the binding properties of various ETs in the brain of normotensive (Wistar-Kyoto) and hypertensive (spontaneously hypertensive) rats.