Sixteen-Week Vitamin D Supplementation Increases Peripheral T Cells in Overweight Black Individuals: Post hoc Analysis of a Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background: Vitamin D is considered to modulate T-cell function, which has been implicated in the treatment of inflammatory conditions. However, there is limited knowledge on the effects of vitamin D and its influences on circulating T-cell profiles in humans, particularly in overweight Black individuals who are more likely to be vitamin D insufficient (serum 25(OH)D concentrations of ≤20 ng/mL). Thus, this study tested the hypothesis that vitamin D supplementation modulates T-cell composition, which is in a dose-dependent manner.

Dose responses of vitamin D3 supplementation on arterial stiffness in overweight African Americans with vitamin D deficiency: A placebo controlled randomized trial.

Background: Clinical trials are scant and equivocal on whether vitamin D can ameliorate arterial stiffness, particularly in populations at high risk for vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study determined the dose-response effects of vitamin D3 supplementation on arterial stiffness in overweight African Americans with vitamin D deficiency.

Methods: Seventy overweight African Americans (aged 13-45 years) with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels ≤ 20 ng/mL were randomized to monthly oral supplementation of 18,000 IU (~600 IU/day, n = 17), 60,000 IU (~2000 IU/day, n = 18), or 120,000 IU (~4000 IU/day, n = 18) of vitamin D3 or placebo (n = 17) for 16-weeks.

Dose and time responses of vitamin D biomarkers to monthly vitamin D3 supplementation in overweight/obese African Americans with suboptimal vitamin d status: a placebo controlled randomized clinical trial.

Background: A critical need exists to better understand the physiological sequel of vitamin D supplementation in obese individuals and African Americans. The aim was to comprehensively evaluate dose- and time-responses of a panel of vitamin D biomarkers to vitamin D supplements in this population.

Methods: We conducted a 16-week randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Efficacy of direct detection of pathogens in naturally infected mice by using a high-density PCR array.

We used a high-density array of real-time PCR assays for commonly reported rodent infectious agents (PRIA) to test naturally infected index mice and sentinel mice exposed by contact and soiled-bedding transfer. PRIA detected 14 pathogens--including viruses, bacteria, fur mites, pinworms, and enteric protozoa--in 97.2% of 28 pooled fecal samples, fur-perianal swabs, and oral swabs from 4 cages containing a total of 10 index mice.

Evaluating the drug-target relationship between thymidylate synthase expression and tumor response to 5-fluorouracil. Is it time to move forward?

Thymidylate synthase is a target of 5-fluoruracil, a pyrimidine analog used to treat gastrointestinal and other cancers. The 5-fluorouracil metabolite, fluoro-deoxyuridine monophosphate, forms a ternary complex with thymidylate synthase and 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time-honored connection between thymidylate synthase and 5-fluorouracil.

Assessing culturally diverse pediatric clients.

For many pediatric nurses, providing culturally sensitive care among children of diverse backgrounds is frustrating and time-consuming because elements of cultural care theory were not assimilated into their educational programs. Using a transcultural model developed by Giger and Davidhizar (1995), pediatric nurses can now integrate a holistic and efficient assessment into the child's treatment plan. Essential health beliefs and practices are synthesized into the model's six components to assist the pediatric nurse in providing culturally appropriate care.

Cognitive/concept mapping: a teaching strategy for nursing.

Cognitive/concept mapping is an educational strategy that takes into consideration the principles of educational psychology. The most important single factor that influences learning is what the learner already knows. Nursing students face a great need to understand the larger questions and problems of their chosen field.

Contextual mediation of perceptions in hauntings and poltergeist-like experiences.

The content of perceived apparitions, e.g., bereavement hallucinations, cannot be explained entirely in terms of electromagnetically induced neurochemical processes.

Intestinal protozoa in homosexual men of the San Francisco Bay area: prevalence and correlates of infection.

To compare the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in male homosexuals selected from other sources with the levels previously reported from clinic-derived populations, various homosexual groups of the San Francisco Bay Area were checked by means of stool examination and questionnaires for prevalence of intestinal parasites and for related sexual behavioral patterns during a 3-year period. The prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica (28.6%) was similar to that reported in other studies, whereas that of Giardia lamblia was lower.

Intestinal parasitic infections in homosexual men at a San Francisco health fair.

In a sample of homosexual men attending a San Francisco Bay Area health fair, there were strikingly higher prevalence rates of intestinal parasitic infections compared with rates in a control group of health plan members who had a routine multiphasic health examination. Physicians treating homosexual men must be aware of the likelihood of such infections, whether or not the patients are symptomatic.