The Characteristics of Northern Black Churches with Community Health Outreach Programs

OBJECTIVES. The Black church has a long history of addressing unmet health and human service needs, yet few studies have examined characteristics of churches involved in health promotion. METHODS. Data obtained from a survey of 635 Black churches in the northern United States were examined. Univariate and multivariate statistical procedures identified eight characteristics associated with community health outreach programs: congregation size, denomination, church age, economic class of membership, ownership of church, number of paid clergy, presence of other paid staff, and education level of the minister. RESULTS. A logistic regression model identified church size and educational level of the minister as the strongest predictors of church-sponsored community health outreach. The model correctly classified 88% of churches that conduct outreach programs. Overall, the model correctly classified 76% of churches in the sample. CONCLUSIONS. Results may be used by public health professionals and policy makers to enlist Black churches as an integral component for delivery of health promotion and disease prevention services needed to achieve the Year 2000 health objectives for all Americans

Synthesis, characterization and bioactivity of mixed-ligand Cu(II) complexes containing S-methyldithiocarbazate derivatives and saccharinate complex containing S-methyl-β-N-(6-methylpyrid-2-yl)methylenedithiocarbazate

New mixed-ligand complexes of general empirical formula, [Cu(NNS)(sac)(H2O)] (NNS′ = S-methyl-β-N-(6-methylpyrid-2-yl)methylenedithiocarbazate, NNS″ = S-methyl-β-N-(2-acetylpyrid-2-yl)methylenedithiocarbazate and NNS‴ = S-methyl-β-N-(2-benzoylpyrid-2-yl) methylenedithiocarbazate, sac = the saccharinate anion) have been synthesized by reacting [Cu(sac)2(H2O)4] · 2H2O with the appropriate ligands in water–ethanol mixtures and characterized by elemental analysis and conductance, magnetic, IR and electronic spectroscopic measurements. Magnetic and spectral evidence support a five-coordinate geometry for the complexes in which the Schiff bases coordinate as NNS tridentate ligands and the saccharinate anion coordinates as a unidentate N-donor ligand. An X-ray crystallographic structural analysis of [Cu(NNS′)(sac)(H2O)] shows that the complex has a distorted square-pyramidal structure in which the Schiff base is coordinated to the copper ion as a tridentate NNS chelating agent via the pyridine nitrogen atom, the azomethine nitrogen atom and the thiolate sulfur atom, the fourth and fifth coordination positions of the five-coordinate Cu(II) ion being occupied by the imino nitrogen of the saccharinate anion and oxygen atom of the aqua ligand. The complexes have been evaluated for their biological activities against eight pathogenic microbials and human T-lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines. The complexes exhibit marked cytotoxicity against leukemic cell lines and display moderate activity against pathogenic bacteria and fungi

Questionable Thymic Nurse Cell

Since their discovery in 1980, thymic nurse cells (TNCs) have been controversial. Questions pertaining to the existence of the TNC as a “unit” cell with thymocytes completely enclosed within its cytoplasm were the focus of initial debates. Early skeptics proposed the multicellular complex to be an artifact of the procedures used to isolate TNCs from the thymus. Since that time, TNCs have been found in fish, frogs, tadpoles, chickens, sheep, pigs, rats, mice, and humans. Their evolutionary conservation throughout the animal kingdom relieved most speculations about the existence of TNCs and at the same time demonstrated their apparent importance to the thymus and T-cell development. In this review we will discuss and debate reports that describe (i) the organization or structure of TNCs, (ii) the thymocyte subset(s) found within the cytoplasm of TNCs and their uptake and release, and (iii) the function of this fascinating multicellular interaction that occurs during the process of T-cell development. Discussions about the future of the field and experimental approaches that will lead to answers to remaining questions are also presented