Food Security Status and Barriers to Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Two Economically Deprived Communities of Oakland, California, 2013-2014.

IntroductionFood security status may moderate how people perceive barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption. This study aimed to 1) describe the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and microbarriers and mezzobarriers to consumption, and 2) test whether these associations differ by food security status.MethodsWe surveyed adults (n = 531) living in 2 economically deprived communities in Oakland, California, in 2013 and 2014. Multivariate linear regression assessed associations between microbarriers (taste, cost, busyness) and mezzobarriers (produce selection, quality, and purchase ease) and fruit and vegetable consumption, derived from a 26-item dietary screener. Interactions were tested by food security status.ResultsRespondents consumed a mean 2.4 (standard deviation, 1.5) servings of fruits and vegetables daily; 39% of the sample was food insecure. Being too busy to prepare healthy foods was associated with reduced fruit and vegetable consumption (β(busyness) = -0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.52 to -0.28) among all respondents. Food security moderated the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and taste, cost, and perceived ease of purchase of healthy foods. Among the food secure, disliking healthy food taste (β(taste) = -0.38; 95% CI, -0.60 to -0.15) and cost (β(cost) = -0.29; 95% CI, -0.44 to -0.15) concerns were associated with lower consumptions of fruits and vegetables. Mezzobarriers were not significantly associated with consumption in either group.ConclusionPerceived time constraints influenced fruit and vegetable consumption. Taste and cost influenced fruit and vegetable consumption among the food secure and may need to be considered when interpreting analyses that describe dietary intake and designing diet-related interventions

Overcoming language barriers using an information video on spinal anesthesia for cesarean section: implementation and impact on maternal anxiety

Background It is unknown whether the implementation of an information video on spinal anesthesia for caesarean section, narrated in a patient's first language, reduces anxiety, increases satisfaction, and improves doctor-patient communication if there is a language barrier. In South Africa most doctors speak English, and patients Xhosa, with educational and cultural disparities existing in many doctor-patient interactions. Methods One hundred and seventy-five Xhosa patients scheduled for elective cesarean section were enrolled in the study. The first 92 patients received “usual care” verbal explanations of the spinal anesthesia procedure (control group); the next 83 patients watched a spinal anesthesia information video (intervention group), narrated in Xhosa. Videos were displayed using smartphones. Maternal anxiety was assessed before and after spinal explanation, using a Numerical Visual Analog Anxiety Scale (NVAAS). A difference in post-explanation NVAAS score of 1.5 points between intervention and control groups was regarded as clinically significant. Patient satisfaction was assessed using the Maternal Satisfaction Scale for Cesarean Section (MSSCS). Results The mean (SD) age (31.5 (5.2) and 32.1 (5.4) years) and pre-explanation NVAAS score (4.2 (3.2) and 4.0 (3.0)) of the intervention and control groups respectively, showed no difference at baseline. The mean (SD) post-explanation decrease in NVAAS score was greater in the intervention- than in the control group (1.6 (3.5) versus .7 (2.3), P = .046, unadjusted mean difference .9 points (95% CI .02 to 1.8)). A linear regression model for the post-explanation NVAAS score showed that the intervention effect was significantly associated with the pre-explanation score (P = .002), adjusted for age and English fluency. Patients with pre-explanation NVAAS scores ³ 5 showed a statistically significant intervention effect. There was no significant difference in patient satisfaction between the intervention and control groups. The smartphone was an accessible and convenient display medium for the video. Ninety nine percent of patients exposed to the intervention would recommend watching the video prior to the procedure. Conclusion In this pilot study, lower NVAAS scores were observed in anxious patients, when a Xhosa information video was used to ameliorate challenges posed by a doctor-patient language barrier. It is easily implemented and demonstrates a novel use of mobile health technology. The study provides baseline data to inform sample size calculations for future studies. A high level of patient recommendation for the video suggests that this is an agreeable practice

A Ku Bridge over Broken DNA

AbstractThe Ku heterodimer is essential for the nonhomologous end-joining pathway of DNA double-strand break repair; it both protects the broken ends and recruits some of the many proteins required to complete repair. The recently determined structure of Ku provides insights into how it can both bind to the DNA ends and allow access by the other proteins required to rejoin them

The Health Status and Unique Health Challenges of Rural Older Adults in California

Examines the demographics, health, and levels of physical activity and food insecurity of rural seniors compared with those of urban and suburban seniors. Outlines environmental and social risk factors that require context-specific policies and programs

Victimization in Homeless African American Women and their High-Risk Behaviors: Implication for Counselors

Victimization is an increasing concern among homeless African American women. This study’s aim was to investigate victimization factors (e.g., sexual assault, physical assault, and domestic violence) and its prevalence and effects on African American women high risk behaviors while homeless. Participants were 200 homeless African American women (ages, 18 years to 65 years and above) receiving services from clinics, shelters, and community agencies. The authors examined the predictive power of victimization factors (e.g., sexual assault, physical assault, and domestic violence) of homeless African American women on the number of substance use per week in a large metropolitan area in the Southern region of the United States. Using both multiple and logistic regression tests, the authors were able to find correlations in the variables. Results indicated that physical assault and domestic violence were found to be independently related to the number of substance use per week among homeless African American women

Differential effects of \u3ci\u3eCdh23\u3csup\u3e753A\u3c/sup\u3e\u3c/i\u3e on auditory and vestibular functional aging in C57BL/6J mice

The C57BL/6J (B6) mouse strain carries a cadherin 23 mutation (Cdh23753A, also known as Ahl), which affects inner ear structures and results in age-related hearing loss. The B6.CAST strain harbors the wild type Cdh23 gene, and hence, the influence of Ahl is absent. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the effect of age and gender on gravity receptor function in B6 and B6.CAST strains and to compare functional aging between auditory and vestibular modalities. Auditory sensitivity declined at significantly faster rates than gravity receptor sensitivity for both strains. Indeed, vestibular functional aging was minimal for both strains. The comparatively smaller loss of macular versus cochlear sensitivity in both the B6 and B6.CAST strains suggests that the contribution of Ahl to the aging of the vestibular system is minimal, and thus very different than its influence on aging of the auditory system. Alternatively, there exist unidentified genes or gene modifiers that serve to slow the degeneration of gravity receptor structures and maintain gravity receptor sensitivity into advanced age

A Pilot Study: Using the Health Belief Model to Understand Cannabidiol Use in One Amish Community

Amish use of complementary and alternative medicine is common, but little is known about their opinion of cannabidiol. Hemp legalization has popularized cannabidiol, making it available to Amish whose traditions limit access to scientific information. The purpose of this pilot study is to gain an understanding of cannabidiol use in one Old Order Amish community. A researcher-developed questionnaire was mailed to 60 members of one Amish district. The Medicinal Cannabidiol Survey for an Amish Population was adapted from the Medicinal Cannabis Survey for General Practitioners to the specification of cannabidiol, Amish cultural relevance, and the six theoretical constructs of the health belief model. A content validity survey was completed with an overall item-level content validity index score of .92. Most respondents reported hearing discussions in the Amish community regarding cannabidiol [81.8% (n = 9)]. Slightly more agreement was found within the 10 benefit construct statements (40%) compared to six barrier statements (36.5%). Low agreement was observed among all nine questionnaire statements addressing Amish perceived threat to using cannabidiol. The barrier statement that cannabidiol cost prohibits its use had the highest agreement [90.9% (n = 10)] among all statements, which may be a stronger barrier when considering Amish culture. Higher agreement among the benefit construct compared to lower agreement among statements surrounding Amish perceived threat of cannabidiol suggests the likelihood of their cannabidiol use. A major limitation of this study was the sample size; therefore, the tool should be used in a large Amish sample to explore the findings of this pilot study.

Immediate replacement of fishing with dairying by the earliest farmers of the NE Atlantic archipelagos

The appearance of farming, from its inception in the Near East around 12 000 years ago, finally reached the northwestern extremes of Europe by the fourth millennium BC or shortly thereafter. Various models have been invoked to explain the Neolithization of northern Europe; however, resolving these different scenarios has proved problematic due to poor faunal preservation and the lack of specificity achievable for commonly applied proxies. Here, we present new multi-proxy evidence, which qualitatively and quantitatively maps subsistence change in the northeast Atlantic archipelagos from the Late Mesolithic into the Neolithic and beyond. A model involving significant retention of hunter–gatherer–fisher influences was tested against one of the dominant adoptions of farming using a novel suite of lipid biomarkers, including dihydroxy fatty acids, ω-(o-alkylphenyl)alkanoic acids and stable carbon isotope signatures of individual fatty acids preserved in cooking vessels. These new findings, together with archaeozoological and human skeletal collagen bulk stable carbon isotope proxies, unequivocally confirm rejection of marine resources by early farmers coinciding with the adoption of intensive dairy farming. This pattern of Neolithization contrasts markedly to that occurring contemporaneously in the Baltic, suggesting that geographically distinct ecological and cultural influences dictated the evolution of subsistence practices at this critical phase of European prehistory

The proposed Caroline ESA M3 mission to a Main Belt Comet

We describe Caroline, a mission proposal submitted to the European Space Agency in 2010 in response to the Cosmic Visions M3 call for medium-sized missions. Caroline would have travelled to a Main Belt Comet (MBC), characterizing the object during a flyby, and capturing dust from its tenuous coma for return to Earth. MBCs are suspected to be transition objects straddling the traditional boundary between volatile–poor rocky asteroids and volatile–rich comets. The weak cometary activity exhibited by these objects indicates the presence of water ice, and may represent the primary type of object that delivered water to the early Earth. The Caroline mission would have employed aerogel as a medium for the capture of dust grains, as successfully used by the NASA Stardust mission to Comet 81P/Wild 2. We describe the proposed mission design, primary elements of the spacecraft, and provide an overview of the science instruments and their measurement goals. Caroline was ultimately not selected by the European Space Agency during the M3 call; we briefly reflect on the pros and cons of the mission as proposed, and how current and future mission MBC mission proposals such as Castalia could best be approached

The role of adjuvant in mediating antigen structure and stability

The purpose of this study was to probe the fate of a model antigen, a cysteine-free mutant of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme, to the level of fine structural detail, as a consequence of its interaction with an aluminum (Al)-containing adjuvant. Fluorescence spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry were used to compare the thermal stability of the protein in solution versus adsorbed onto an Al-containing adjuvant. Differences in accessible hydrophobic surface areas were investigated using an extrinsic fluorescence probe, 8-Anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS). As has been observed with other model antigens, the apparent thermal stability of the protein decreased following adsorption onto the adjuvant. ANS spectra suggested that adsorption onto the adjuvant caused an increase in exposure of hydrophobic regions of the protein. Electrostatic interactions drove the adsorption, and disruption of these interactions with high ionic strength buffers facilitated the collection of two-dimensional 15N heteronuclear single quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance data of protein released from the adjuvant. Although the altered stability of the adsorbed protein suggested changes to the protein\u27s structure, the fine structure of the desorbed protein was nearly identical to the protein\u27s structure in the adjuvant-free formulation. Thus, the adjuvant-induced changes to the protein that were responsible for the reduced thermal stability were not observed upon desorption. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc