What it takes: perspectives from developing nurse scientists.

The need for nurse scientists has never been greater, given the complexity of health problems facing our world and the rising cost of providing care to prevent and treat them. The development of nurse researchers is critical to preserve and advance the scientific foundation of the discipline. In this article, two successful doctoral students present their personal views about the cognitive and behavioral transformation they experienced during their program of study, highlighting what they believe to be important resources that enhance doctoral education and sharing how they overcame the challenges encountered.

Do Health-Related Feared Possible Selves Motivate Healthy Eating?

The question of what motivates individuals to assume healthy eating habits remains unanswered. The purpose of this descriptive survey is to explore health-related feared possible selves in relation to dietary beliefs and behavior in adults. A convenience sample of 74 middle-aged employees of a health maintenance organization completed self-administered questionnaires.

Bowel preparation for colectomy and risk of Clostridium difficile infection.

Background: Mechanical bowel preparation before colectomy is controversial for several reasons, including a theoretically increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection.

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to compare the incidence of C difficile infection among patients who underwent mechanical bowel preparation and those who did not. A secondary objective was to assess the association between C difficile infection and the use of oral antibiotics.

Long-term exercise training selectively alters serum cytokines involved in fever.

Long-term exercise training selectively alters serum cytokines involved in fever. Chronic exercise training has a number of effects on the immune system that may mimic the physiological response to fever. Female rats that voluntarily exercise on running wheels develop an elevated daytime core temperature after several weeks of training.

The effect of a genetic variant for obesity and Type 2 Diabetes on the therapeutic potential of exercise and calorie restrictive diets in Zucker rats.

Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes are modern pandemics caused by unique genetic-environmental interactions and distinguished by almost universal treatment failures. Relative influences of genome and lifestyle changes on an adult onset Obesity-Type 2 diabetes phenotype were explored. Zucker rats, a recessive model of genetic obesity-Type 2 Diabetes (117 fa/fa and 98 Fa/fa) were used.

Effects of exercise conditioning on thermoregulatory responses to repeated administration of chlorpyrifos.

Little is known about the effects of physical activity (i.e., exercise training) on susceptibility to environmental toxicants.

The effect of opioid antagonism on food intake behavior and body weight in a biobehavioral model of obese binge eating.

The obese Zucker rat (OZR) exhibits a hyperphagic eating pattern similar to the obese binge eater. Dynorphin, an endogenous agonist of the kappa receptor, is associated with regulation offood intake. Lessened sensitivity to opioid antagonists and/or increased central dynorphin levels may contribute to the hyperphagic eating pattern observed in the OZR.

Trajectories of cognitive recovery following a minor brain injury.

Minor brain injury (MBI) is the most frequently diagnosed head trauma in the United States, with treatment costing more than $1.5 billion annually and many patients incapacitated for months following injury. The purpose of this study was to characterize the brain function disruptions associated with MBI and to determine the time trajectory of recovery, using a theoretical model of attention.