Acute and Chronic Clinical Performance Comparison of a Porous and a Solid Electrode Design

The long-term performance of porous and solid ring-tipped electrodes was compared in clinical use over a one-year period. Each of the two electrode designs was implanted in 22 patients in conjunction with an output-programmable pacemaker. Implant evaluation included impedance, height of sensed R wave, and a strength-duration curve. Threshold determination by pulse-width programming was performed at the time of implant and at one week, two weeks, two months, six months, and one year. There were no dislodgements with either electrode. No significant differences were noted in the acute parameters or in chronic thresholds.     

Book Reviews

Human Inquiry in Action: Developments in New Paradigm Research: Edited by Peter Reason London: Sage Publications, 1988, 242pp, £9.95     

A comparison of the diets of non-smokers and smokers

Dietary data, mostly in the form of the frequency of consumption of foods, from the 9003 respondents in the Health and Lifestyle Survey were used to compare lifetime non-smokers with light, heavy and ex-smokers, taking account of age and social class. Non-smokers, of both sexes, were significantly more likely than smokers to consume, frequently, fresh fruit in summer and winter, fruit juice, cooked and canned fruit, salads in summer and winter, breakfast cereals, cakes, biscuits, puddings, pasta, poultry, light desserts and preserves. They were also more likely to choose ‘brown’ bread, semi- or skimmed milk, low fat or polyunsaturated spread and to eat breakfast. Smokers were likely to consume chips and processed meats frequently, to drink more alcohol, more cups of tea and coffee and take sugar in these beverages. The differences from the non-smokers were more marked in the heavy smokers. Ex-smokers only differed from non-smokers in consuming more alcohol, tea and coffee, and nuts, in consuming cakes and soft drinks less frequently and in being more likely to choose skimmed or semi-skimmed milk. The results extend previous findings, and suggest that the eating patterns of non-smokers are more in line with current dietary recommendations than those of light smokers or, more particularly, heavy smokers.     

Quantitative Use of the Food Guide Pyramid to Evaluate Dietary Intake of College Students

Objectives To evaluate the usefulness of the Food Guide Pyramid as a quantitative tool for assessing nutritional adequacy and quality.Design One-day food records (n=2,489) were assigned food group scores (1 through 5) by two systems. System 1 recorded the number of food groups on a given record that included the minimum number of servings suggested by the Food Guide Pyramid. System 2 recorded the number of food groups in the Food Guide Pyramid for which at least one serving was included. The food records were further evaluated by mean adequacy ratio (MAR) for iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, and vitamin B-6 (MAR-5 score) and percentage of energy contributed by fat and sugar. Sensitivity and specificity of the food group scores to predict nutritional inadequacy were determined.Subjects College students (n = 2,489) attending introductory nutrition, foods, and health-related courses at a mid-western university.Statistical analyses Student's t test, χ² test, Dunnett's multiple mean comparison test.Results A food group score of 5 was given to 11% and 35% of the diet records by systems 1 and 2, respectively; MAR-5 scores of 75 or greater were given to 70% of the records. Only 4% of the diets contained both 30% or less and 10% or less of energy from fat and sugar, respectively. Both scoring systems can be used as a quantitative tool for screening nutritional inadequacy with high sensitivity (correctly classifying nutritionally inadequate diets) but with a moderate to low specificity (correctly classifying nutritionally adequate diets). J Am Diet Assoc. 1996; 96:453-457.