Dietary beta-tocopherol and linoleic acid, serum insulin, and waist circumference predict circulating sex hormone-binding globulin in premenopausal women.

Reduced levels of circulating sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) are implicated in the etiology of sex steroid-related pathologies and the metabolic syndrome. Dietary correlates of serum SHBG remain unclear and were studied in a convenient cross-sectional sample of healthy 30- to 40-y-old women (n = 255). By univariate analyses, serum SHBG correlated negatively with several indices of the metabolic syndrome, such as BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference (r = -0.

Gastroparesis and gastroparesis-like syndrome: response to therapy and its predictors.

Purpose: The natural history and outcome of patients with gastroparesis is not well known. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical or pathophysiological characteristics, if any, that may be helpful in predicting therapeutic response in this condition.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of a cohort of patients who presented to a tertiary referral center with symptoms suggestive of gastroparesis.

Recurrent and injurious falls in the year following hip fracture: a prospective study of incidence and risk factors from the Sarcopenia and Hip Fracture study.

Background: The incidence and etiology of falls in patients following hip fracture remains poorly understood.

Methods: We prospectively investigated the incidence of, and risk factors for, recurrent and injurious falls in community-dwelling persons admitted for surgical repair of minimal-trauma hip fracture. Fall surveillance methods included phone calls, medical records, and fall calendars.

Methodology and baseline characteristics for the Sarcopenia and Hip Fracture study: a 5-year prospective study.

Background: Age-related hip fractures are associated with poor functional outcomes, resulting in substantial personal and societal burden. There is a need to better identify reversible etiologic predictors of suboptimal functional recovery in this group.

Methods: The Sarcopenia and Hip Fracture (SHIP) study was a 5-year prospective cohort study following community-dwelling older persons admitted to three Sydney hospitals for hip fracture.

Structural and functional consequences of the substitution of glycine 65 with arginine in the N-lobe of human transferrin.

The G65R mutation in the N-lobe of human transferrin was created to mimic a naturally occurring variant (G394R) found in the homologous C-lobe. Because Gly65 is hydrogen-bonded to the iron-binding ligand Asp63, it comprises part of the second-shell hydrogen bond network surrounding the iron within the metal-binding cleft of the protein. Substitution with an arginine residue at this position disrupts the network, resulting in much more facile removal of iron from the G65R mutant.

[The Valenti resection arthroplasty in the treatment of advanced hallux rigidus].

Objective: With this joint-preserving procedure impinging and damaged parts of the first metatarsal head and the proximal phalanx are removed. The attachment of the short flexor tendon is preserved. Joint motion will increase and joint function is preserved.

Lean body mass, not estrogen or progesterone, predicts peak bone mineral density in premenopausal women.

Estrogen and body fat content are important predictors of bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women, but their association with BMD in premenopausal women is less clear. Mounting evidence suggests that dietary fats can have detrimental effects on bone health. In a cross-sectional sample of healthy 30- to 40-y-old women (n = 242), we investigated the predictors of BMD at the hip and spine by multilevel multiple regression analyses.

Novel noninvasive breath test method for screening individuals at risk for diabetes.

Objective: Diagnosis of pre-diabetes and early-stage diabetes occurs primarily by means of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which requires invasive blood sampling. The aim of this study was to determine whether differences exist in breath (13)CO(2) excretion during a (13)C-labeled OGTT between individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and individuals with pre-diabetes and early-stage diabetes (PDED) and whether these differences correlated with blood glucose kinetics.

Research Design And Methods: Blood and breath samples were collected at baseline and every 30 min for a 10-h period after ingestion of 75 g glucose isotopically labeled with 150 mg [U-(13)C(6)]D-glucose.

The incidence of tinea pedis in diabetic versus nondiabetic patients with interdigital macerations: a prospective study.

Background: We sought to determine the incidence of tinea pedis in patients with otherwise asymptomatic pedal interdigital macerations. Both diabetic and nondiabetic populations were compared. Age and body mass index were also examined for their significance.

Learning nursing procedures: the influence of simulator fidelity and student gender on teaching effectiveness.

Simulation technologies are gaining widespread acceptance across a variety of educational domains and applications. The current research examines whether basic nursing procedure training with high-fidelity versus low-fidelity mannequins results in differential skill acquisition and perceptions of simulator utility. Fifty-two first-year students were taught nasogastric tube and indwelling urinary catheter insertion in one of two ways.

Percutaneous spine biopsy: a meta-analysis.

Background: Percutaneous spine biopsy has widely replaced open biopsy. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of the inner diameter of the biopsy needle and the method of imaging guidance on the adequacy and accuracy of tissue samples and to evaluate the complication rates associated with the different needle diameters and imaging guidance methods.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE for studies that evaluated either the adequacy (whether or not a diagnosis could be made on the basis of pathologic examination) or the accuracy (whether or not the primary diagnosis was correct) of samples obtained by means of percutaneous spine biopsy.

Complementary and alternative medicine use was associated with higher perceived physical and mental functioning in early systemic sclerosis.

Objective: This study assessed the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies in patients with early systemic sclerosis (scleroderma, SSc).

Methods: At the annual visit, SSc patients enrolled in the Genetics versus Environment in Scleroderma Outcomes Study (GENISOS) were queried about their use of CAM therapies and intended symptom target, including herbal or nutraceutical therapy, acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation, and mind-body therapy (relaxation, meditative, imagery). The CAM-user SSc patients were compared with matched non-CAM users over two years for database results of demographic, clinical, and health-related quality of life SF-36 questionnaires by using analysis of covariance.

Analysis of change.

When the same subjects or laboratory animals are observed across a set of different conditions or over time, we are usually interested in studying change. In these study designs, each subject serves as its own control. In this chapter, we consider different ways to assess change over time, for example, analyses for evaluating changes from a baseline condition.

Hypertonic resuscitation improves neuronal and behavioral outcomes after traumatic brain injury plus hemorrhage.

Background: : Resuscitation with hypertonic saline or hypertonic saline plus l-arginine acutely improves cerebral blood flow after traumatic brain injury (TBI) followed by hemorrhagic hypotension. The authors investigated whether hypertonic saline or hypertonic l-arginine would improve long-term neuronal survival and behavioral outcomes 15 days after TBI and hemorrhagic hypotension.

Methods: : Mean arterial pressure, arterial blood gases, pH, plasma glucose, hematocrit, and hemoglobin were measured in male Sprague-Dawley rats before and after moderate (2.

Contextual influences on polydrug use among young, low-income women: effects of neighborhood and personal networks.

This study assessed contextual risks for polydrug use in a triethnic sample (non-Hispanic white, African American, Hispanic) of young women with a low income. For the current analysis, a total of 712 young women aged 18 to 31 years who sought care in state-funded family planning clinics in southeast Texas from December 2001 to May 2003 participated in the survey. The main outcome of the study was the number of illicit drugs (including marijuana, MDMA [ecstasy], crack cocaine, and other hard drugs) used in the last 12 months.

Tympanometric findings in young children during upper respiratory tract infections with and without acute otitis media.

Background: Upper respiratory tract infections (URI) likely lead to acute otitis media (AOM) by causing Eustachian tube dysfunction which creates negative middle ear pressure. Children younger than 2 years of age are at highest risk for AOM compared with older children and adults. There has been no published study comparing the middle ear status during URI in infants and young children by age group.

Dietary intake of lactose as a strong predictor for secretor status of nipple aspirate fluid in healthy premenopausal nonlactating women.

Purpose: Nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) is considered a potential source for discovering breast cancer biomarkers. However, the success rate of obtaining NAF was reported to vary from 48% to 77%, and mechanisms for its secretion are not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate dietary, demographic, reproductive, hormonal, and anthropometric factors that are associated with the ability to obtain NAF by aspiration (secretor status) from premenopausal women.

Viral upper respiratory tract infection and otitis media complication in young children.

Background: The common cold or upper respiratory infection (URI) is highly prevalent among young children and often results in otitis media (OM). The incidence and characteristics of OM complicating URI due to specific viruses have not been well studied.

Methods: We performed a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of 294 healthy children (age range, 6 months to 3 years).

Adaptive changes in gait of older and younger adults as responses to challenges to dynamic balance.

The study proposed to identify balance strategies used by younger and older adults during gait under proprioceptive, visual, and simultaneous proprioceptive-visual challenges. Participants ambulated under 4 conditions: consistent, noncompliant surface; inconsistent, compliant surface (C); consistent, noncompliant surface with vision obscured (NCVO); and inconsistent, compliant surface with vision obscured (CVO). Balance adaptations were measured as changes in gait velocity, cadence, and gait-stability ratio (GSR).

Neighborhood and individual factors in marijuana and other illicit drug use in a sample of low-income women.

Few studies have systematically evaluated whether contextual variables differ in their ability to explain the use of different drugs in the same sample. Our objective was to examine correlates of use for different illicit drugs at the individual and neighborhood level in a tri-ethnic sample of low-income women, an underrepresented sample in drug research. Women 18-31 were recruited from a low-cost family planning clinic in southeast Texas from December 2001 to May 2003.

Estimation of thigh muscle cross-sectional area by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in frail elderly patients.

Background: Thigh muscle mass and cross-sectional area (CSA) are useful indexes of sarcopenia and the response to treatment in older patients. Current criterion methods are computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: The objective was to compare thigh muscle mass estimated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), a less expensive and more accessible method, with thigh muscle CSA determined by CT in a group of elderly patients recovering from hip fracture.

Report of the 2004-2005 International Telenursing Survey.

This article reports the findings of a 2004-2005 survey, which portrays an international sample of nurses (n = 719) working with telehealth technologies. The respondents came from a total of 36 countries. The majority of the respondents were from the US, representing 49 of 50 states.