Establishing LA VIDA: A Community-Based Partnership to Prevent Intimate Violence against Latina Women

LA VIDA—the Southwest Detroit Partnership to Prevent Intimate Violence Against Latina Women— evolved in response to community concern about the problem of intimate partner violence (IPV) and the lack of culturally competent preventive and support services for Latino women and men in southwest Detroit. Since 1997, diverse organizations have mobilized as a community-academic partnership to ensure the availability, accessibility, and utilization of IPV services. This article describes and analyzes the evolution of LA VIDA within a community-based participatory research framework using a case study approach that draws on multiple data sources including group and individual interviews and field notes. The challenges and lessons learned in addressing a complex multifaceted problem such as IPV in an ethnic minority community are highlighted in an examination of the process of mobilizing diverse organizations, conducting community diagnosis and needs assessment activities, establishing goals and objectives within a social ecological framework, and integrating evaluation during the development phase.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66991/2/10.1177_109019819902600606.pd

Combined Effect of Dietary Cadmium and Benzo(a)pyrene on Metallothionein Induction and Apoptosis in the Liver and Kidneys of Bank Voles

Bank voles free living in a contaminated environment have been shown to be more sensitive to cadmium (Cd) toxicity than the rodents exposed to Cd under laboratory conditions. The objective of this study was to find out whether benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a common environmental co-contaminant, increases Cd toxicity through inhibition of metallothionein (MT) synthesis—a low molecular weight protein that is considered to be primary intracellular component of the protective mechanism. For 6 weeks, the female bank voles were provided with diet containing Cd [less than 0.1 μg/g (control) and 60 μg/g dry wt.] and BaP (0, 5, and 10 μg/g dry wt.) alone or in combination. At the end of exposure period, apoptosis and analyses of MT, Cd, and zinc (Zn) in the liver and kidneys were carried out. Dietary BaP 5 μg/g did not affect but BaP 10 μg/g potentiated rather than inhibited induction of hepatic and renal MT by Cd, and diminished Cd-induced apoptosis in both organs. The hepatic and renal Zn followed a pattern similar to that of MT, attaining the highest level in the Cd + BaP 10-μg/g group. These data indicate that dietary BaP attenuates rather than exacerbates Cd toxicity in bank voles, probably by potentiating MT synthesis and increasing Zn concentration in the liver and kidneys