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Basic nutrition knowledge of 88 undergraduate nursing students was evaluated using a 40-item Nutrition Knowledge Survey (NKS). The NKS was adapted from a basic nutrition textbook test-bank. The survey reliability was .88 (Kuder-Richardson-20 formula). An expert panel evaluated the instrument for content validity. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and post hoc Scheffe test were used to analyze the data. The mean NKS score was 53.1% (SD = 14.3), which corresponds to a failing test score. There was a significant difference (P = .03) in basic nutrition knowledge between freshman and junior year in school. There were no significant differences between nutrition knowledge and other years in school. The nurses' nutrition course meets a general education requirement and is usually taken during the sophomore year. No grade level had a passing score, although the third year nursing students had the highest score (57.2%).There was a significant difference (P = .002) in nutrition knowledge and previous nutrition course experience. The course did make a significant difference in nutrition knowledge, but the mean scores for each year in school were still failing. A general education course in nutrition does not provide sufficient nutrition knowledge for nurses. As front-line medical care providers, nurses are often called upon for nutrition information. It is essential that nutrition experts provide appropriate and adequate nutrition education to nursing students to ensure that they will be able to offer accurate basic nutrition information, to identify nutrition problems, and to determine when to refer patients to registered dietitians and nutrition educators.

Environmental health specialists, other onsite wastewater professionals, scientists, and homeowners have questioned the effectiveness of septic tank additives. This paper describes an independent, third-party, field scale, research study of the effects of three liquid bacterial septic tank additives and a control (no additive) on septic tank microbial populations. Microbial populations were measured quarterly in a field study for 12 months in 48 full-size, functioning septic tanks. Bacterial populations in the 48 septic tanks were statistically analyzed with a mixed linear model. Additive effects were assessed for three septic tank maintenance levels (low, intermediate, and high). Dunnett's t-test for tank bacteria (α = .05) indicated that none of the treatments were significantly different, overall, from the control at the statistical level tested. In addition, the additives had no significant effects on septic tank bacterial populations at any of the septic tank maintenance levels. Additional controlled, field-based research is warranted, however, to address additional additives and experimental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first establish the literature on the use of ultradilute aquasols as extraordinary, powerful, bactericidal inorganic agents equal to most commercial antibiotics. These findings provide the rationale for a major role for inorganic materials scientists to contribute the insights unique to their field for new, safer health vectors. The focus of this preliminary paper is exclusively on the materials science of 2-phase stable sols at ultradilute concentrations near 1 at.-ppm. We analyze the solid and liquid phases for the first time in detail using standard materials science analysis tools. The solid phase is analyzed using DTA, TGA, XRD, SEM, and TEM, and the liquid water phase is analyzed using FTIR, UV-VIS, and Raman spectroscopy. There are at least three crystalline phases in the system Ag-O: Ag, Ag2O, and Ag4O4, which are stable in air. In an aqueous environment between 0 and 100°C there is evidence that various combinations of metal, oxides, and possible 'oxy-hydroxide' complexes exist. Similarly, data from Raman and UV-VIS spectroscopy show definite changes in the structure of the water host. These results, in a preliminary way, are parallel to the many empirical observations made by physicians for the last 100 years on the use of metallic silver and water in various combinations for human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]