Cardiometabolic Health in South Asians Living in Canada: Canadian Community Health Survey 2000-2014 and Canadian Health Measures Survey 2007-2013

Background: South Asians (SAs) have low physical activity (PA) levels and elevated cardiovascular risk. Objective: To examine the relationship between cardiometabolic health and PA among SAs (20+y) using the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 2000-2014 and Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) 2007-2013. Methods: Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of 1+ cardiometabolic conditions and metabolic syndrome (MetS) according to PA level. Results: In the CCHS, 22.6% of SAs had 1+ cardiometabolic conditions, whereas in the CHMS, 26.4% of SAs had MetS. In the CCHS, self-reported active (>3.0 KKD) recent immigrants and moderately active (1.5-3.0 KKD) non-immigrants and established immigrants had the lowest odds of cardiometabolic conditions. In the CHMS, participants with 10 000 steps and 232 minutes/week of MVPA had the lowest odds of MetS. Conclusions: Given discrepancies in the relationship between PA and cardiometabolic health, the optimal dose of PA amongst SA subgroups warrants further investigation

Survey based investigation on diet/BMI in Indian-American communities

Obesity is defined as a disease where abnormal or excessive fat accumulation presents risks to one’s health. It is also associated with a wide variety of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, and cardiovascular health. In recent years, the rates of obesity have continued to grow in the United States, especially amongst the Indian-American community. Asians have a lower BMI cutoff ( ≥27.5 kg/m2) for obesity instead of the standard ≥30.0 kg/m2 recommendations by CDC due to a higher prevalence of weight-related diseases at lower BMI and carrying 3-5% more body fat than an average Western European. In this study, we seek to address if the consumption of certain dishes specific to the Indian diet and the amount of time spent exercising offer a potential explanation for the increasing rates of obesity for Indians residing in the United States. To implement this study, we designed a survey that asked participants about their height, weight, dietary, and exercise habits. We calculated their BMI and analyzed their scores using a modified Likert Scale score with scores ranging from 1-5. In addition, we conducted a correlation between BMI and Likert Scale scores for each question. We found no significant correlations between the Likert Scale scores on the survey and BMI. This can potentially be attributed to the small sample size (n=34). However, the obese group, on average, reported exercising less, eating out more, consuming more sweets and fried foods, and adding sugar to their drinks when compared to the healthy weight group. And, 70.6% of respondents were overweight or obese, supporting the trend that weight related issues are becoming more and more prevalent in Indian-American communities. For future studies, research needs to be conducted with a larger sample size and more survey questions. Additionally, the survey needs to span the entire United States and incorporate the amount of time residents have resided in the US. The results of this survey in conjunction with the results of other surveys can help develop culturally appropriate solutions to combat weight related issues and diseases in the Indian-American community

Professional Development and Care Planning

The Covid-19 infection trend revealed to the Californian Prison healthcare system the importance of offering top-quality preventive and care services to control diseases. Irrespective of the understanding, there have been challenges in the transitional gap as older nurses are retiring and replaced by new ones. However, the lack of technical experience among the new nurses has exposed the patient population to human errors, which might be costly to amend. As a result, the initiative embarked on a project to train and empower nurses on preventive and care techniques. Critical areas of concern include reporting, data collection, patient symptomology, results interpretation, and active delivery of quality care. The initiative took an in-service training approach through seminars, workshops, and conferences to achieve the goals. The training provides hands-on skills and evidence-based strategies for dealing with diverse prison care system issues. More importantly, it empowers the nursing team to provide patient-centric care to prisoner patients effectively. The initiative results are motivated nursing team, well-empowered and skilled team, lowered transmission of diseases, reduced number of new disease cases, satisfied prisoner patients, and decreased the Californian Prison care unit\u27s cost. In conclusion, nurses\u27 empowerment through skill provision is vital in ensuring capacity building, practical skill imparts, and assured delivery of quality care services

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO BE HIGH? A GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFF-DUTY USE OF CANNABIS

This thesis explores policy options for allowing off-duty law enforcement to use cannabis, considering the potential decriminalization and legalization of recreational cannabis use and the high stress levels of first responders. Utilizing Bardach and Patashnik’s eight-step method, this thesis discusses the mental and physical health problems that law enforcement officers face and then provides research on cannabis to determine whether cannabis could be a useful tool in curbing the stress of this occupation. Finally, policies on recreational use for other occupations and a sample from Canada are examined. Research shows that stress levels in the law enforcement occupation cause substantial mental and physical ailments for officers. Moreover, for those retired or outside law enforcement, cannabis has been used as treatment for some of these conditions. This thesis finds that given the potential of federal legalization, fit-for-duty policies that allow recreational, off-duty use are powerful and beneficial tools to mitigate stress-related ailments.Civilian, Prospect Heights Police DepartmentApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Cell Signaling Crosstalk and Differentiation of F9 Cells into Extraembryonic Endoderm

Mouse F9 cells differentiate into primitive endoderm (PrE) when treated with retinoic acid (RA). During PrE differentiation the canonical Wnt signaling pathway is known to play an integral role in the process. In addition to Wnt signaling, there have been implications that the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway may also be involved. Previous results show that the Indian Hedgehog (Ihh) gene is upregulated during RA-induced differentiation; however further details of Hh signaling during PrE differentiation have yet to be discovered. A Gli-luciferase construct indicated that Hh signaling increases during RA-induced differentiation, implicating that the pathway is involved in PrE formation. Inhibiting Hh signaling impeded the ability of RA to induce cells to differentiate to PrE, revealing that the Hh pathway is required for PrE differentiation. Despite being required, active Hh signaling alone was unable to facilitate differentiation. Overexpression of Gata6, a gene encoding a master regulator of extraembryonic endoderm pattering, was found to increase expression of Ihh as well as increasing Gli activity; further corroborating for the involvement of the Hh pathway during embryonic development. In addition to these findings, I found that there is signaling crosstalk between the Hh and Wnt pathways in F9 cells. For instance, while induced Wnt signaling was found to increase the activity of a Gli reporter, the inhibition of the Hh pathway impeded the ability of RA to increase Wnt signaling. Together, these results indicate that the Hh signaling pathway plays an important role in early embryogenesis, and this is obvious with its interactions with the Wnt signaling pathway in PrE differentiation