Efficacy of a New Hypotonic Oral Rehydration Solution Containing Zinc and Prebiotics in the Treatment of Childhood Acute Diarrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a hypotonic oral rehydration solution (ORS) containing zinc and prebiotics for treatment of acute diarrhea in children. Study design: We conducted a single-blind, prospective, controlled trial including children (age range, 3-36 months) with acute diarrhea randomly assigned to standard hypotonic ORS (group 1) or to new hypotonic ORS containing zinc and prebiotics (group 2). The main outcome was the rate of resolution of diarrhea at 72 hours. Results: A total of 60 children in group 1 (34 male; mean age, 18.58 months; 95% CI, 15.5-21.6) and 59 in group 2 (36 male; mean age, 19.26 months; 95% CI, 15.9-22.6) completed the study protocol. The rate of diarrhea resolution at 72 hours was higher in group 2 (50% versus 72.9%, P = .010). Total ORS intake in the first 24 hours was higher in group 2 (50 mL/kg; 95% CI, 41-59 versus 22 mL/kg; 95% CI, 17-29; P < .001). The mean number of missed working days by the parents of children in group 2 was lower (0.39; 95% CI, 0.08-0.70 versus 1.45; 95% CI 1.02-1.88; P < .001). Fewer patients in group 2 needed adjunctive drugs for the treatment of diarrhea 6/59 versus 19/60, P = .004. No adverse events were observed in either of the two groups. Conclusion: The addition of zinc and prebiotics to ORS limits diarrhea duration in children. Copyright © 2011 Mosby Inc. All rights reserved

Assessing the inter-method reliability and correlational validity of the Body Type Dictionary (BTD)

The political negotiation, erection, and fall of national and cultural borders represent an issue that frequently occupies the media. Given the historical importance of boundaries as a marker of cultural identity, as well as their function to separate and unite people, the Body Type Dictionary (BTD; Wilson, 2006) represents a suitable computerized content analysis measure to analyse vocabulary qualified to measure body boundaries and their penetrability. Out of this context, this study aimed to assess the inter-method reliability of the BTD (Wilson, 2006) in relation to Fisher and Cleveland’s (1956, 1958) manual scoring system for high and low barrier personalities. The results indicated that Fisher and Cleveland’s manually coded barrier and penetration imagery scores showed an acceptable positive correlation with the computerized frequency counts of the BTD’s coded barrier and penetration imagery scores, thereby indicating an inter-method reliability. In addition, barrier and penetration imagery correlated positively with primordial thought language in the picture response test, and narratives of everyday and dream memories, thereby indicating correlational validity