Impact of Racial Discrimination and Hostility on Adrenergic Receptor Responsiveness in African American Adults.

Objective: Racial discrimination is increasingly recognized as a contributor to increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among African Americans. Previous research has shown significant overlap between racial discrimination and hostility, an established predictor of CVD risk including alterations in adrenergic receptor functioning. The present study examined the associations of racial discrimination and hostility with adrenergic receptor responsiveness.

Micron-pore-sized metallic filter tube membranes for filtration of particulates and water purification.

Robust filtering techniques capable of efficiently removing particulates and biological agents from water or air suffer from plugging, poor rejuvenation, low permeance, and high backpressure. Operational characteristics of pressure-driven separations are in part controlled by the membrane pore size, charge of particulates, transmembrane pressure and the requirement for sufficient water flux to overcome fouling. With long term use filters decline in permeance due to filter-cake plugging of pores, fouling, or filter deterioration.

Associations of abdominal fat with perceived racism and passive emotional responses to racism in African American women.

Objectives: An excess in abdominal fat may predispose African American women to chronic health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Because stress may increase body fat in the center-body region, we used the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) to examine associations between excess abdominal fat and perceived racism (a chronic stressor) and daily stress. Passive emotional responses to perceived racism, hypothesized to have particularly adverse effects, were also examined.

Social correlates of the chronic stress of perceived racism among Black women.

Objectives: This study describes the perceptions of racism, passive and active responses to this psychosocial stressor, and it examines socioeconomic correlates of perceived racism in an economically diverse population of Black women.

Methods: The Telephone-Administered Perceived Racism Scale was administered to 476 Black women, aged 36 to 53 years, who were randomly selected from a large health plan.

Results: The percentage of respondents who reported personally experiencing racism in the past five years ranged from 66% to 93%, depending on the specific item asked.

Measuring quality of life at the end of life: validation of the QUAL-E.

Objectives: To validate the QUAL-E, a new measure of quality of life at the end of life.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the instrument's psychometric properties, including the QUAL-E's associations with existing measures, evaluation of robustness across diverse sample groups, and stability over time. The study was conducted at the VA and Duke University Medical Centers, Durham, North Carolina, in 248 patients with stage IV cancer, congestive heart failure with ejection fraction < or = 20%, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with FEV1 < or = 1.