Indirect measures of cigarette use: expired-air carbon monoxide versus plasma thiocyanate

Indirect, biochemical measures of cigarette use are valuable in confirming smoking status in both cross-sectional and cessation studies. This study compares two such biochemical markers, expired-air carbon monoxide (CO) and plasma thiocyanate (SCN), in a representative population sample of 2,237 adults (ages 18–74) from the baseline survey of the Stanford Five City Project. CO and SCN are both significantly higher in self-reported smokers than in nonsmokers and correlate well with number of cigarettes smoked per day. CO appears to be more sensitive and specific than SCN in comparison to self-report, and CO misclassifies a significantly smaller number of nonsmokers, regular smokers, and light smokers (<9 cigarettes per day) than does SCN. Together, CO and SCN better classify smokers and nonsmokers than do either alone. Neither biochemical is a reliable indicator in irregular smokers (no cigarettes in past 48 hr). Despite its much shorter metabolic halflife, CO is a better indicator of cigarette use than is SCN in this cross-sectional study. CO is generally simpler and less expensive to measure than is SCN, and CO may be a preferable indirect measure of smoking status in some studies of smoking cessation.     

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Revised 2018 Standards of Practice and Standards of Professional Performance for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (Competent,Proficient, and Expert) in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Nutrition

In a climate of change, the elevation of post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) services offered through community-based settings has optimized health care delivery. With the population age increasing, there is a growing need for community-based and residential care services, including for older inmates in the prison system. The Dietetics in Health Care Communities Dietetic Practice Group, with guidance from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Management Committee, has updated the Standards of Practice (SOP) and Standards of Professional Performance (SOPP), which describe three levels of practice (competent, proficient, and expert) for registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) working in PALTC nutrition. The SOP uses the Nutrition Care Process and clinical workflow elements for care and management of clients/residents in PALTC settings (eg, long-term acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, home health agencies, hospice, assisted living facilities, and corrections facilities). The SOPP describes six domains of professional performance: Quality in Practice, Competence and Accountability, Provision of Services, Application of Research, Communication and Application of Knowledge, and Utilization and Management of Resources. Within the SOP and SOPP standards, specific indicators provide measurable action statements that illustrate how the standards apply to practice. The SOP and SOPP are complementary resources for RDNs providing nutrition care and services for individuals receiving PALTC services, or in other PALTC nutrition-related areas, including research. The SOP and SOPP provide RDNs with a self-evaluation guide for assuring competence, identifying knowledge and skills to enhance expertise and advance level of practice in PALTC nutrition.     

Coyote control and taste aversion: A predation problem or a people problem?

Failures to suppress coyote predation on domestic livestock using the conditioned taste aversion paradigm may be due to such factors as poor livestock management procedures and overestimated coyote predation data, in addition to theoretical and methodological problems as indicated by Forthman Quick, Gustavson and Rusiniak.