Laws and guidelines governing the use of herbal supplements.

In the last of a three-part series on herbal supplements, laws and guidelines impacting the use of herbal supplements are discussed. Distinct differences exist between regulations for herbal supplements and those products defined as drugs. Consideration of herbal therapy should be approached within a context of holistic treatment.

Herbal supplements used to treat common chronic conditions.

This is part 2 of a three-part series designed to provide clinicians with a working knowledge of the use of herbal supplements for health and disease states. Part 2 of the series focuses on the efficacy of herbal supplements used in the treatment of common chronic conditions.

Herbal supplements for health promotion and disease prevention.

This three-part series is designed to provide clinicians with a working knowledge of using herbal supplements for health and disease states. Common herbal preparations used for health promotion or disease prevention will be featured in this part of the series.

The Effect of an Interprofessional Heart Failure Education Program on Hospital Readmissions.

Heart failure (HF) is an increasing concern to public health, affecting approximately 5.1 million Americans and costing the United States over $32 billion annually. Compounding the concern, research has exposed the significant problem of hospital readmissions for the HF population, with an estimated 25% of HF patients are rehospitalized within 30 days of discharge.

Improving wait times and patient satisfaction in primary care.

A strong and inverse relationship between patient satisfaction and wait times in ambulatory care settings has been demonstrated. Despite its relevance to key medical practice outcomes, timeliness of care in primary care settings has not been widely studied. The goal of the quality improvement project described here was to increase patient satisfaction by minimizing wait times using the Dartmouth Microsystem Improvement Curriculum (DMIC) framework and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) improvement process.

A review of smoking cessation: potentially risky effects on prescribed medications.

Aims And Objectives: To identify prescription drugs that require dosage adjustment or monitoring in patients who quit smoking and to provide recommendations for dosage adjustment based on available evidence.

Background: Health care providers are urged to facilitate smoking cessation for patients who smoke, but the effects of smoking cessation on the metabolism of some drugs is not routinely considered.

Design: A comprehensive literature review.

catena-Poly[tetra-sodium [[cis-dioxido-trans-bis-(sulfato-κO)molybdate(VI)]-μ-sulfato-κO:O']].

Single crystals of the title compound, {Na(4)[Mo(VI)O(2)(SO(4))(3)]}(n), were grown from a melt of MoO(3) and Na(2)SO(4) in Na(2)S(2)O(7). In contrast to the structure of the isoformular K compound, K(4)[Mo(VI)O(2)(SO(4))(3)], with its monomeric anion, this sodium analogue contains a polymeric anion of the type {[Mo(VI)O(2)(SO(4))(2)-μ-(SO(4))](4-)}(n). The Mo(VI) cations, surrounded by two tightly bonded O atoms and four O atoms of one bridging and two terminal sulfato ligands, form zigzag chains parallel to [100].

Tetra-potassium cis-dioxido-trans-bis-(sulfato-κO)sulfato(κO,O')molybdate(VI).

The title compound, K(4)[Mo(VI)O(2)(SO(4))(3)], was precipitated from a melt of molybdenum(VI) oxide and potassium sulfate in potassium disulfate. The compound contains monomeric [Mo(VI)O(2)(SO(4))(3)](4-) anions, with the Mo(VI) atom, both oxide ligands, and the S atom and both ligating O atoms of the bidentate sulfate group lying on a crystallographic mirror plane. One of the potassium cations is nine-coordinate, while the other is eight-coordinate.

Measuring asthma self-management knowledge in adults.

Purpose: To present the development and psychometrics of a brief asthma self-management questionnaire for adults incorporating the five content areas considered essential for asthma self-management by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program.

Data Sources: After development of the criterion-referenced questionnaire, determination of content validity, pilot testing, and revision, the questionnaire was administered to 305 adults with asthma.

Conclusions: After exploratory principal component factor analysis, the final 24-item questionnaire had a reliability of .

Synthesis and applications of novel bis(ammonium) chiral ionic liquids derived from isomannide.

Carbohydrate-based novel bis(ammonium) chiral ionic liquids have been synthesized by following a straightforward protocol using isomannide as the substrate. Their applications in chiral discrimination and optical resolution of racemates have been established.

Herbal, prescribed, and over-the-counter drug use in older women: prevalence of drug interactions.

Older adults are at particular risk for drug and herbal interactions because they have multiple health problems that require treatment and are generally more susceptible to adverse drug effects. This study used a database containing self-reported herbal, prescription, and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs concurrently taken by a sample of 58 women who were aged 65 years or older. Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) were identified using a Web-based pharmaceutical program.

Physiological wet laboratory facilities in colleges of nursing.

The purpose of this study was to describe physiological wet laboratories as they exist within colleges of nursing with doctoral programs. Surveys were sent to the current deans and directors of all 96 nursing colleges/schools with doctoral programs as of January 2004, obtained from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Web site. Only 26 (37%) of 71 responding schools operate their own wet laboratory, either singly or with another college.

Obesity-related cardiovascular risk factors: intervention recommendations to decrease adolescent obesity.

The incidence of adolescent obesity is increasing dramatically in the United States with associated risks of hypertension, adverse lipid profiles, and Type II diabetes. Unless reversed, this trend predicts an epidemic of adult cardiovascular disease. Interventions at home, at school, and in the community are required to empower teens to increase physical activity and to modify eating habits.

Promoting adherence: effects of theory-based asthma education.

This study compared the effects of a theoretically focused audiotape and a standard educational booklet on asthma preventive medication adherence and other asthma outcomes. Forty-six adult asthmatics were randomly assigned to receive either an experimental audiotape incorporating components of protection motivation theory, a standard asthma management booklet, both, or no educational materials. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

Noninfectious liver disorders: assessment and diagnosis.

Infectious hepatitis is often the initial suspect when abnormal serum liver function test results are discovered in primary care settings. However, noninfectious liver disorders may also present with altered liver function tests. Noninfectious liver disorders require careful assessment of patient history, physical findings, and serum laboratory tests to distinguish among entities that have varying clinical implications and treatments.