Context: Isolated soy protein reduces plasma concentrations of total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.Objective: To identify the agent(s) responsible for the cholesterol-lowering effect of soy in mildly hypercholesterolemic volunteers: isoflavones isolated together with soy protein or soy protein itself.Design: Double-blind randomized parallel trial.Setting: Single-center study.Participants: A total of 156 healthy men and women with LDL cholesterol levels between 3.62 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) and 5.17 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) after instruction in a National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet and recruited by advertisement from the community.Intervention: One of 5 daily diets (25 g of casein [for isoflavone-free comparison] or 25 g of isolated soy protein containing 3, 27, 37, or 62 mg of isoflavones). Main Outcome Measures:Change and percent change from baseline in plasma concentrations of triglycerides and total, LDL, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol after 9 weeks.Results: Compared with casein, isolated soy protein with 62 mg of isoflavones lowered total and LDL cholesterol levels by 4% (P = .04) and 6% (P = .01), respectively. In patients with LDL cholesterol levels in the top half of the population studied (Ͼ4.24 mmol/L [Ͼ164 mg/dL]), comparable reductions were 9% (PϽ.001) and 10% (P = 001), respectively; in this group, isolated soy protein with 37 mg of isoflavones reduced total (P = .007) and LDL (P = .02) cholesterol levels by 8%, and there was a dose-response effect of increasing amounts of isoflavones on total and LDL cholesterol levels. Plasma concentrations of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were unaffected. Ethanol-extracted isolated soy protein containing 3 mg of isoflavones did not significantly reduce plasma concentrations of total or LDL cholesterol.Conclusions: Naturally occurring isoflavones isolated with soy protein reduce the plasma concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol without affecting concentrations of triglycerides or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in mildly hypercholesterolemic volunteers consuming a National Cholesterol Education ProgramStep I diet. Ethanol-extracted isolated soy protein did not significantly reduce plasma concentrations of total or LDL cholesterol.

This study aims to examine how the sociodemographic and professional characteristics of nurses in Jordan correlate with their levels of knowledge, attitudes, and ageism toward older adults. Ageism has not been studied in Jordan as it pertains to nurses, so a descriptive, correlational, cross‐sectional design, with a convenience sample of 317 Jordanian nurses, using the Fact on Aging Quiz 1, Fraboni Scale of Ageism, and Relating to Older People Evaluation was conducted in January to February 2019. Significant ageism was found, and differences in knowledge, attitudes, and negative ageism vary among nurses by sociodemographic/professional characteristics. Knowledge and attitudes toward older adults significantly correlate with negative ageism which is associated with poor health outcomes for older adults. Our findings reveal that even in a country with high religious observance and close family ties, ageism exists in healthcare settings because of nurses' poor knowledge and attitudes toward older adults. These findings have implications for nursing education, clinical practice, and health policy. Changes across these sectors based on the findings may contribute to reducing ageist practices and improving older adult health outcomes.

The apo A-IV-2 allele attenuates the hypercholesterolemic response to the short-term ingestion of a very-high-cholesterol diet and may partially account for the heterogeneous response to dietary cholesterol. However, cholesterol intake in this study was more than twice that of the general population; whether the apo A-IV-2 allele alters responsiveness at lower levels of cholesterol intake remains to be determined.

Heart failure (HF) is a growing public health problem. Self-management (SM) of HF is an important component of chronic disease management. Guided by the Individual and Family Self-Management Theory (IFSMT), we examined the associations among complexity of condition, self-regulation, and self-efficacy mediation of SM behaviors in a population of HF outpatients. A cross-sectional design was used. Seventy-three outpatients with HF were enrolled. Simple and multiple linear regressions were run for each outcome variable. Only self-regulation was significantly associated with SM behavior. Complexity of condition was not significantly associated with SM behavior. There was no mediation by self-efficacy. Future nursing interventions should explore self-regulation in HF to provide a clearer understanding of the processes used to change health behavior. SM may be particularly useful in HF with preserved ejection fraction (EF), where there is no proven pharmacological treatment.

Six hundred horses of different ages, heights and breeds were weighed on a weighbridge and had their weights estimated by two weigh tapes, 1 and 2, by a formula, and by a visual estimate. For the population as a whole, the most accurate method was the formula (mean [sd] 98.6 [10.6] per cent) closely followed by weigh tape 2 (98.1 [8.1] per cent). Tape 1 and the visual estimate were the least accurate (112.0 [9.3] and 88.3 [20.1] per cent respectively). When the population was divided into two height groups, the formula and weigh tape 2 were the most accurate for horses < 15 hh (99.6 [5.2] per cent and 99.0 [5.6] per cent respectively), and weigh tape 1 and the visual estimate were 113.5 (6.5) per cent and 88.4 (16.3) per cent accurate respectively. For horses > or = 15 hh weigh tape 1 was most accurate (103.5 [9.1] per cent) and the formula, tape 2 and the visual estimate were 95.5 (13.1) per cent, 91.8 (9.2) per cent, and 89.3 (22.2) per cent accurate respectively. Overall the formula appeared to be the most accurate estimator of a horse's weight. However, owing to individual variation, it is recommended that the weights of horses < 15 hh are estimated by the formula or weigh tape 2, and that the weights of those > or = 15 hh are estimated with weigh tape 1.