HPV high risk and protective behaviors: the effects of religious affiliation.

The majority of Americans identify themselves as belonging to some religious group. There is a mixed body of literature on whether or not religious affiliation has an influence on engaging in risky behaviors among young adults attending college. This study examined associations between religious affiliation, risky sexual practices, substance use, and family structure among a sample of predominantly white college females attending a southeastern university.

Endothelium-based biomarkers are associated with cerebral malaria in Malawian children: a retrospective case-control study.

Background: Differentiating cerebral malaria (CM) from other causes of serious illness in African children is problematic, owing to the non-specific nature of the clinical presentation and the high prevalence of incidental parasitaemia. CM is associated with endothelial activation. In this study we tested the hypothesis that endothelium-derived biomarkers are associated with the pathophysiology of severe malaria and may help identify children with CM.

Tissue factor and tissue factor pathway inhibitor as key regulators of global hemostasis: measurement of their levels in coagulation assays.

The tissue factor (TF)/factor (F)VIIa complex is the primary initiator of coagulation in vivo. Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is the physiological inhibitor of the TF/FVIIa complex. Deficiencies of either TF or TFPI have not been reported in humans, and a complete absence of either of these two proteins in mice is embryonically lethal.

A survey of the management, control, and complications of diabetes mellitus in patients attending a diabetes clinic in Blantyre, Malawi, an area of high HIV prevalence.

The aim of this study was to describe the current status of diabetes care in an urban diabetes clinic in Malawi and the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in this population, investigating possible associations between HIV and diabetes. A systematic prospective survey of patients attending the diabetes clinic at a teaching hospital in Blantyre, Malawi was conducted. Six hundred twenty patients were assessed.

The impact of information skills training on independent literature searching activity and requests for mediated literature searches.

Background: Most NHS library services routinely offer both mediated searches and information skills training sessions to their users. We analyse the impact of these two services on the amount of literature searching demonstrated by users of hospital- based library services in the north-west of England.

Methods: Data for (1) mediated literature searches, (2) number of library users attending information skills training sessions, (3) amount of library staff time devoted to information skills training, and (4) number of Athens-authenticated log-ins to databases were obtained from statistical returns for 2007, and analysed for significant correlations.

Disparities between asthma management and insurance type among children.

Asthma is a chronic illness among children. Minority children may be vulnerable to asthma complications since more than half are from households that are poor or near poor, and some have no health insurance. Asthma management plans are important for the long-term treatment of asthma and beneficial for self-management.

Characterization of the 4-(benzothiazol-2-yl)phenylnitrenium ion from a putative metabolite of a model antitumor drug.

The 4-(benzothiazol-2-yl)phenylnitrenium ion 11 is generated from hydrolysis or photolysis of O-acetoxy-N-(4-(benzothiazol-2-yl)phenyl)hydroxylamine 8, a model metabolite of 2-(4-aminophenyl)benzothiazole 1 and its ring-substituted derivatives that are being developed for a variety of medicinal applications, including antitumor, antibacterial, antifungal, and imaging agents. Previously, we showed that 11 had an aqueous solution lifetime of 530 ns, similar to the 560 ns lifetime of the 4-biphenylylnitrenium ion 12 derived from the well-known chemical carcinogen 4-aminobiphenyl. We now show that the analogy between these two cations extends well beyond their lifetimes.

The extracellular matrix microtopography drives critical changes in cellular motility and Rho A activity in colon cancer cells.

We have shown that the microtopography (mT) underlying colon cancer changes as a tumor de-differentiates. We distinguish the well-differentiated mT based on the increasing number of "pits" and poorly differentiated mT on the basis of increasing number of "posts." We investigated Rho A as a mechanosensing protein using mT features derived from those observed in the ECM of colon cancer.

Specialty care use in US patients with chronic diseases.

Despite efforts to eliminate health disparities, racial, ethnic, and geographic groups continue lag behind their counterparts in health outcomes in the United States. The purpose of this study is to determine variation in specialty care utilization by chronic disease status. Data were extracted from the Commonwealth Fund 2006 Health Care Quality Survey (n = 2475).

Experimental results for H2 formation from H- and H and implications for first star formation.

During the epoch of first star formation, molecular hydrogen (H2) generated via associative detachment (AD) of H- and H is believed to have been the main coolant of primordial gas for temperatures below 10(4) kelvin. The uncertainty in the cross section for this reaction has limited our understanding of protogalaxy formation during this epoch and of the characteristic masses and cooling times for the first stars. We report precise energy-resolved measurements of the AD reaction, made with the use of a specially constructed merged-beams apparatus.

Disparities in access to care among asthmatic children in relation to race and socioeconomic status.

Asthma is one of the leading chronic illnesses among children in the United States. International epidemiological studies have also shown asthma prevalence is an increasing problem. The objective of this study was to examine the correlates of access to care among asthmatic children age 0-17 in the United States.

A bounding estimate of neutron dose based on measured photon dose around single pass reactors at the Hanford site.

Neutron and photon radiation survey records have been used to evaluate and develop a neutron to photon (NP) ratio to reconstruct neutron doses to workers around Hanford's single pass reactors that operated from 1945 to 1972. A total of 5,773 paired neutron and photon measurements extracted from 57 boxes of survey records were used in the development of the NP ratio. The development of the NP ratio enables the use of the recorded dose from an individual's photon dosimeter badge to be used to estimate the unmonitored neutron dose.

High-spin ground states via electron delocalization in mixed-valence imidazolate-bridged divanadium complexes.

The field of molecular magnetism has grown tremendously since the discovery of single-molecule magnets, but it remains centred around the superexchange mechanism. The possibility of instead using a double-exchange mechanism (based on electron delocalization rather than Heisenberg exchange through a non-magnetic bridge) presents a tantalizing prospect for synthesizing molecules with high-spin ground states that are well isolated in energy. We now demonstrate that magnetic double exchange can be sustained by simple imidazolate bridging ligands, known to be well suited for the construction of coordination clusters and solids.

The impact of disasters on populations with health and health care disparities.

Context: A disaster is indiscriminate in whom it affects. Limited research has shown that the poor and medically underserved, especially in rural areas, bear an inequitable amount of the burden.

Objective: To review the literature on the combined effects of a disaster and living in an area with existing health or health care disparities on a community's health, access to health resources, and quality of life.

Patient access to radiology reports: what do physicians think?

Purpose: The aim of this study was to seek physicians' perspectives on radiology reporting systems, so that reporting systems can begin to be reorganized and made more patient centered by giving patients greater access to their personal health information.

Methods: Focus-group methodology was used to explore physicians' views on direct patient access to radiologic test results. Subjects for the two groups were physicians at a single academic medical center.

Selective transport of IgE into ovine mammary secretions.

Immunoglobulin (Ig) E is actively transported into ovine colostrum. Here we examine the degree of selectivity and the mechanism by which this transfer occurs in sheep. Results indicate that during colostrogenesis in sheep, transfer of immunoglobulins was most selective for IgG1 and IgA followed by IgE, IgM and IgG2.

Data mining for health executive decision support: an imperative with a daunting future!

Data mining is highly profiled. It has the potential to enhance executive information systems. Such enhancement would mean better decision-making by management, which in turn would mean better services for customers.

Identification of malaria retinopathy improves the specificity of the clinical diagnosis of cerebral malaria: findings from a prospective cohort study.

The diagnosis of cerebral malaria (CM) is difficult to confirm in endemic regions with limited neurodiagnostics. Accurate diagnoses are critical for trials and outcomes studies. Findings from an autopsy-based study suggest that identifying malaria retinopathy in children satisfying the standard clinical case definition of CM improves our ability to accurately diagnose CM in vivo.

Pap test and HIV testing behaviors of South Carolina women 18-64 years old.

Background: Pap tests are used to detect abnormal cell growth in the cervix. Early detection of precancerous cells increases the likelihood of treatment success. In fact, the Pap test is one of only a few cancer screening procedures that can prevent cancer by virtue of identifying and intervening upon abnormal precancerous cells in the early stages.