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Objective: To investigate the effect of a probiotic milk product containing the culture CAUSIDO[R] and of two alternative products on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese subjects. Design: An 8 week randomized, double-blind, placebo- and compliance-controlled, parallel study. Subjects: Seventy healthy, weight-stable, overweight and obese (25.0 < BMI < 37.5 kg/[m.sup.2]) males (n = 20) and females (n = 50), 18-55 y old, were randomly assigned into five groups. Intervention: Four groups consumed 450 ml fermented milk products (yoghurt) daily. Group 1: a yoghurt fermented with two strains of Streptococcus thermophilus and two strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus (StLa). Group 2: a placebo yoghurt fermented with delta-acid-lactone (PY). Group 3: a yoghurt fermented with two strains of Streptococcus thermophilus and one strain of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (StLr). Group 4: a yoghurt fermented with one strain of Enterococcus faecium and two strains of Streptococcus thermophilus (CAUSIDO[R] culture), GAIO[R] (G). The dietary composition of the yoghurt was otherwise similar. The fifth group was given two placebo pills (PP) daily. Results: When comparing all five treatment groups, unadjusted for changes in body weight, no statistical effects were observed in week 8 in the G-group on low density lipoproteins (LDL)-cholesterol (P = 0.29). After adjustment for small changes in body weight, LDL-cholesterol decreased by 8.4% (0.26 [+ or -] 0.10 mmol/l; P Conclusion: The CAUSIDO[R] culture reduced LDL-cholesterol and increased fibrinogen in the overweight subjects at a 450 ml consumption daily for 8 weeks. The effect on LDL-cholesterol confirms previous studies. An immunostimulation by one of the strains in the product might explain the effect on fibrinogen in the G-group. Sponsorship: MD Foods A/S, Denmark. Descriptors: gut bacteria cultures; cholesterol; body weight; fibrinolysis; coagulation; compliance, Introduction It is well known that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a multifactorial disease with a high mortality rate and that it is one of the most important causes of death [...]

Peristomal skin problems are common and are treated by a variety of health professionals. Clear and consistent communication among these professionals is therefore particularly important. The Ostomy Skin Tool (OST) is a new assessment instrument for the extent and severity of peristomal skin conditions. Formal tests of reliability and validity are necessary for its use in clinical practice, research, and education. To estimate inter- and intra nurse assessment variability of the OST and validity by comparison to a 'gold standard' (GS) defined by an expert panel. Thirty photographs of peristomal skin were presented twice to 20 ostomy care nurses - 10 from Denmark (DK) and 10 from Spain (ES) - to determine intra- and inter nurse assessment variability. The same photographs were presented to an international group of experts (dermatologist and ostomy care nurses), to establish a GS for comparison and validation of the results. A high intra-nurse assessment agreement, κ = 0·84, was found with no differences in the intra-nurse assessments from the two groups of nurses (DK and ES). The inter-nurse assessment agreement was 'moderate to good', κ = 0·54, with the agreement between the experts higher, κ = 0·70. A high correlation between the scores from the nurses and the GS were seen in the lower part of the two scales [Discoloration, Erosion, Tissue overgrowth (DET) score < 7)]. The study supported the validity of the OST. It is suggested that a categorical scale can be used to illustrate the severity of the DET scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The layered double hydroxides (LDH) have been widely investigated for their use as sorbents, exchangers and delivery shuttles for anionic compounds in aqueous environments. We synthesized hydrotalcite (HT), calcined it to increase its sorption capacity and quantified the affinities of chloride and sulphate for intercalation, in mixed anion solutions. To better simulate natural systems, no particular measures were taken to exclude air, with its inherent CO 2 . Thus, a small amount of dissolved carbonate (< 1 mM) was present under all tested conditions. The results show that: i) LDH, that has reformed in the presence of minor amounts of CO 2 , always contains some interlayer carbonate; ii) chloride competes with carbonate for intercalation sites, whereas sulphate does not; iii) when chloride and sulphate are present in equal concentrations, the affinity of sulphate is higher than chloride for intercalation, regardless of the total anion concentration; iv) at anion concentrations < 100 mM, sulphate outcompetes chloride, even when chloride is in 3 times molar excess; and v) at anion concentrations ≥ 100 mM, the most abundant anion (3–5 times in molar excess) has the highest affinity. The results bring us closer to a clear description of the structure, composition and behavior of Mg 2 + , Al 3 + LDH that forms in multi ion solutions. This can be used to predict geochemical behavior in natural systems such as determining saturation states of minerals and to optimize wastewater treatment and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]