Helping ostomy patients back to independence.

Because elderly ostomy patients must deal with numerous challenges, be sure to identify their strengths and enhance their self-esteem. When teaching the older adult, remember factors that may affect learning, such as sensory changes, slowed reaction time, decreased short-term memory, and motivation. Consider the effects of other chronic illnesses and medications when developing a routine for ostomy care, and be sure to discuss dietary considerations with the patient.

An elemental analysis of archaeological bone from Sicily as a test of predictability of diagenetic change.

Cortical human bone samples from three tightly dated components of a single Sicilian site were chemically analyzed employing the highly sensitive technique of inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. Although the skeletons appeared to be excellently preserved, significant diagenesis was detected. Moreover, a majority of the elements tested showed no constant or linear variation over time, implying that diagenetic change tends not to be a predictable function of duration of interment. Variation among major long bones of a single skeleton was quite high, as was variation across the cortex. The latter may reflect chemical inhomogeneity in bone tissue or may be an artifact of postmortem change. The results demonstrate the hazards of unsuspected and unpredictable diagenesis, which must be controlled before reliable dietary inferences can be drawn.