Reducing Maternal Mortality Rates in Alabama Through Patient Education: A Scoping Review.

Maternal mortality continues to rise in the United States and disproportionately affects those in Alabama. Lack of patient education on warning signs is a preventable cause of maternal mortality. This article aims to systematically quantify existing research investigating the effect of patient education on maternal outcomes.

Dietary intervention of flaxseed: effect on serum levels of IGF-1, IGF-BP3, and C-peptide.

Higher levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) increase cancer risk by stimulating cell proliferation and increasing survival of DNA-damaged cells through antiapoptotic mechanisms. Laboratory studies suggest that flaxseed added to the diet may lower circulating levels of insulin and IGF-1, but there is limited information on the effects of dietary flaxseed on these biomarkers of cancer risk in humans. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of flaxseed supplementation in postmenopausal women on serum levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGF-BP3), and C-peptide, a marker of insulin production.

Assessing the polarization of a quantum field from stokes fluctuations.

We propose an operational degree of polarization in terms of the variance of the Stokes vector minimized over all the directions of the Poincaré sphere. We examine the properties of this second-order definition and carry out its experimental determination. Quantum states with the same standard (first-order) degree of polarization are correctly discriminated by this new measure.

Undernutrition in hospitalized older adults: patterns and correlates, outcomes, and opportunities for intervention with a focus on processes of care.

Undernutrition in hospitalized older adults is increasingly being recognized as a serious problem with implications for both patient care and outcomes and health service utilization and costs. This article presents an overview of research that has been conducted examining undernutrition in hospitalized older adults. First, findings from observational studies examining patterns and predictors of undernutrition in hospitalized older adults will be described, with a focus on methodological challenges.

Effect of flaxseed consumption on urinary levels of estrogen metabolites in postmenopausal women.

Flaxseed is a rich source of dietary lignans. It has been hypothesized that lignans may decrease breast cancer risk through modulation of endogenous hormone levels. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of flaxseed supplementation on urinary levels of estrogen metabolites that may be involved in the development of breast cancer.