Honey inhibits lipid oxidation in ready-to-eat ground beef patties.

Our objective was to evaluate the antioxidant capabilities of clover (CH) and wildflower honeys (WH) in delaying lipid oxidation in cooked and reheated ground beef patties stored in refrigerated and frozen states. CH and WH (5%, 10%, or 15% w/w) were each mixed separately into ground beef chuck (18% fat) and formed into 30g patties mixed with 1% salt (w/w). A control (CON) with no honey and a control with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP; 0.25% w/w) were used for comparison. Patties were cooked to 71°C, overwrapped with oxygen-permeable PVC film and either stored refrigerated (4°C) for 12 days or frozen (-18°C) for 45 days. Cook yield, pH and water activity were measured on day 0. On designated sampling days, patties were reheated to 71°C. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH) were measured spectrophotometrically to assess lipid oxidation. TBARS and LOOH of ready-to-eat (RTE) ground beef patties containing either CH or WH were lower (P<0.01) than CON patties following storage; however, STP patties had lower TBARS values than honey-containing patties (P<0.01). WH and CH at 15% were equally effective in suppressing LOOH compared to STP in refrigerated and frozen patties. All honey concentrations improved cook yield, with 10% WH being more effective than STP. Both CH and WH delayed lipid oxidation in RTE ground beef patties stored at 4°C and -18°C, with WH decreasing LOOH formation in refrigerated patties as effectively as STP. Honey may be a natural alternative to phosphates to delay lipid oxidation.

Sleep problems in the elderly.

Sleep problems in older adults are so common that nearly half of all hypnotic prescriptions written are for persons over 65 years old. Although normal aging affects sleep, the practitioner should evaluate the many factors that cause insomnia: medical illness, psychiatric illness, dementia, alcohol and/or polypharmacy, restless legs syndrome, periodic leg movements, and sleep apnea syndrome. Nonpharmacologic treatment of sleep disorders is preferred. The nurse practitioner can assess and manage elderly patients with sleep disorders, but they need to refer those who can benefit from evaluation to a sleep disorder center.

Orientation to home care: maximizing Medicare reimbursement.

What you can do to make sure that your patients' home care services are appropriate for payment by Medicare.

Prevention of osteoporosis: the calcium controversy.

The continuing scientific controversy regarding the use of calcium supplements for the prevention of osteoporosis during menopause presents a challenge to the nurse practitioner. There is little doubt that estrogen prevents bone loss following menopause, but there is a growing doubt among many researchers whether calcium supplementation beyond 800 mg/per day produces any benefit at all in preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis. Yet, the medical consensus in this country continues to recommend 1500 mg of calcium per day for menopausal women. The practitioner's clinical questions relate to the effectiveness, cost, and compliance of calcium prescription. An alternate recommendation and protocol are presented here.

Nimodipine's effect on alcohol disposition in mice.

Adult Binghamton Heterogeneous male mice received either nimodipine (5 mg/kg in saline) or vehicle 10 minutes prior to ethanol (1.02 g/kg) administration. Blood samples were obtained at 2, 10, 30, 60 and 120 minutes following the alcohol injection for determination of ethanol content. Although mean blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were similar for both groups, nimodipine increased the variance in blood alcohol levels. Therefore, while nimodipine may alter alcohol pharmacokinetics through its interaction(s) with the genetic characteristics of the individual animal, the ability of this calcium slow channel blocking agent to enhance the psychotropic effects of alcohol cannot be due to altered absorption or elimination of the intoxicant.

The effect of a calcium antagonist on the retention of simple associational learning.

Using a newly developed training paradigm, rats were trained to associate a spatial location and a black interior with mild footshock and another adjacent location with white interior with the absence of footshock in three independent experiments. Retention of these associations was measured 24 and 48 hr after training in situation in which the animals could move freely between the black and white locations over a 90 sec test. Other rats were subjected to a control procedure in which shock was received on both the black and the white sides of the apparatus. In each of the experiments, half of the animals in the experimental and the control groups were trained following the administration of the calcium slow channel blocking agent, nimodipine (5 mg/kg), and the other half after saline administration. In experiment 1, the injections were given 15 min before training. In experiment 2, the injections were given chronically, over a 6 day period before training. In experiment 3, the animals were given a single injection 7 days before training. In all cases, retention was examined both 24 and 48 hr after training. The results were that the experimental procedures produce a strong aversion to the black portion of the apparatus. The greatest amount of retention was found in animals that had received the chronic injections, whether they were of saline or of nimodipine. In every aspect of retention in which the saline-treated rats were less than perfect in retention, the nimodipine animals exhibited superior performance.

The effects of verapamil and ethanol on body temperature and motor coordination.

Male, adult mice of the Binghamton heterogeneous stock received one of two doses of ethanol (1.0 g/kg or 2.0 g/kg in saline) alone or in combination with the calcium (Ca2+) slow channel blocker, verapamil (5.45 mg/kg in 25% v/v ethanol in saline). Hypothermic responses and motor incoordination were assessed in terms of rectal temperatures and rotorod activity both 20 and 60 min after drug administration. Verapamil alone did not affect body temperature, but it potentiated ethanol-induced hypothermia at both post-administration test times. Both verapamil and ethanol impaired muscular coordination and these effects were additive at the two observation periods. Verapamil did not affect ethanol blood levels from 10 to 80 min after administration of the drugs. Since motor impairment was observed when verapamil was administered with only its ethanol vehicle, this suggests a powerful interactive effect between the two drugs.

Nimodipine's interactions with other drugs: II. Diazepam.

Adult Binghamton Heterogeneous (HET) stock mice were administered one of three doses of diazepam (0.1, 2.5, or 5.0 mg/kg) immediately followed by a second injection of either the slow calcium channel blocker, nimodipine (Bay e 9736), or its vehicle. Hypothermic responses and muscular incoordination were measured twenty and sixty minutes later as assessed by changes in rectal temperature and motoric activity on a rotating rod. Nimodipine (5 mg/kg) alone did not significantly affect body temperature or motor coordination. However, when administered in combination with the two highest doses of diazepam, nimodipine significantly potentiated the hypothermic response produced by these doses both twenty minutes and sixty minutes post-injection. Administration of high doses of diazepam (2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg) resulted in significant motor incoordination at both observation periods, but this effect was not potentiated by nimodipine.

Nimodipine's interactions with other drugs: I. Ethanol.

Adult mice (Binghamton Heterogeneous stock) received different doses of ethanol (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 g/kg) administered alone or in combination with the voltage-sensitive calcium channel antagonist, nimodipine (Bay e 9736). Both 20 and 60 minutes later, sensitivity to ethanol was assessed in terms of rotorod activity and changes in rectal temperatures. Nimodipine (5 mg/kg) alone did not alter rectal temperature or motor coordination, but at both observation periods nimodipine potentiated the hypothermia induced by the highest dose of alcohol (2.0 g/kg) and exaggerated alcohol-induced motor incoordination at all doses. The present set of results indicates that the inhibition of voltage-dependent calcium channels can exaggerate ethanol-induced effects.

Home parenteral nutrition: the "costs" of patient and family participation.

The continued advancements in technology and medicine now make it possible for patients who are nutritional "cripples" to thrive on an outpatient basis through home parenteral nutrition (HPN). Since the social and psychological literature does not yet reflect extensive information on this type of program, this article outlines in detail a successful HPN program and explores the personal factors and needed resources involved in participation in such a program, including the perils of third party reimbursement. Based on experience in evaluating 36 HPN candidates and working with 26 HPN participants, the salient problems and concerns patients and families encounter with HPN therapy are discussed along with suggestions for constructively addressing such issues.