Oral health attitudes and practices among a German Mexican Mennonite farmworker community.

The oral health needs of migrant farm laborers are greater and more immediate than those of comparable populations. However, little is known about the conditions of oral health care among German-speaking Mexican Mennonites, a distinctive cultural subgroup of migrant farm laborers. The purpose of this study was to examine the oral health practices, perceived oral health status, and barriers to obtaining dental care among a community of Low German-speaking Mexican Mennonites residing in Southwest Kansas.

The role of local health departments in providing sexually transmitted disease services and surveillance in rural communities.

Local health departments (LHDs) are an important source for screening and treating sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in rural communities. Yet, they oftentimes lack the resources needed to adequately assess and monitor these conditions. The purpose of this study was to (1) explore how rural LHDs assess and monitor STDs; (2) identify barriers to effective surveillance; (3) examine STD patterns in their communities; and (4) provide recommendations for improving surveillance.

Correlating reading comprehension and health numeracy among adults with low literacy.

Objective: Using the Test of Functional Health Literacy for Adults (TOFHLA), a pilot study was conducted to assess whether reading comprehension and numeracy scores sufficiently correlate in health contexts among adults with low literacy skills.

Methods: The TOFHLA was administered to 144 adults with low literacy enrolled in a health literacy program prior to the start of coursework. Raw scores for reading and numeracy were calculated.

Identification and functional analysis of a delta-6 desaturase from the marine microalga Glossomastix chrysoplasta.

A delta-6 (Delta6) desaturase gene was isolated from the marine microalga Glossomastix chrysoplasta, a stramenopile that produces large amounts of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). A functional analysis of this gene was performed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Isolation of the Delta6 fatty acid desaturase was achieved via reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with degenerate primers designed from conserved histidine motifs and 5' and 3' RACE.

Physiological studies of eicosapentaenoic acid production in the marine microalga Glossomastix chrysoplasta.

We describe the characterization of the microalga Glossomastix chrysoplasta, an eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) producer in the Pinguiophyceae class, Chromophyte division. Growth conditions were selected to optimize algal growth and EPA production. EPA represented up to 30% of the fatty acid content of Glossomastix chrysoplasta, at levels of 22 mg EPA per gram dry weight.