Exposure to wildfire smoke is associated with both acute and chronic cardiopulmonary illnesses, which are of special concern for wildland firefighters who experience repeated exposure to wood smoke. It is necessary to better understand the underlying pathophysiology by which wood smoke exposure increases pulmonary disease burdens in this population. We hypothesize that wood smoke exposure produces pulmonary dysfunction, lung inflammation, and gene expression profiles associated with future pulmonary complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlack women have the highest death rate from breast cancer and a higher chance of developing breast cancer before the age of 40 than White women. Mammography screening is recommended for early detection which has led to decreased mortality and improved survival. Unfortunately, Black women are less likely to have breast cancer screenings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Inhalation of smoke from the burning of waste materials on military bases is associated with increased incidences of cardiopulmonary diseases. This study examined the respiratory and inflammatory effects of acute inhalation exposures in mice to smoke generated by military burn pit-related materials including plywood (PW), cardboard (CB), mixed plastics (PL), and a mixture of these three materials (MX) under smoldering (0.84 MCE) and flaming (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To identify mothers' salient normative, behavioral and control beliefs and willingness towards participating in genetic salivary testing for depression.
Design: A qualitative, descriptive design was employed. 41 multi-ethnic mothers completed surveys that underwent directed content analysis according to The Theory of Planned Behavior.
Recent epidemiological findings link asthma to adverse cardiovascular responses. Yet, the precise cardiovascular impacts of asthma have been challenging to disentangle from the potential cardiovascular effects caused by asthma medication. The purpose of this study was to determine the impacts of allergic airways disease alone on cardiovascular function in an experimental model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemical disinfection of water provides significant public health benefits. However, disinfectants like chlorine can react with naturally occurring materials in the water to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Natural levels of iodine have been reported to be too low in some source waters to account for the levels of iodinated DBPs detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Not all students who enter nursing programs are prepared at the same level of educational equity, and some may have other obstacles that prevent their success once admitted. This may be especially true for underrepresented minority students. Early assessment of all students is essential to identify potential problems sooner versus later.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Open burning of anthropogenic sources can release hazardous emissions and has been associated with increased prevalence of cardiopulmonary health outcomes. Exposure to smoke emitted from burn pits in military bases has been linked with respiratory illness among military and civilian personnel returning from war zones. Although the composition of the materials being burned is well studied, the resulting chemistry and potential toxicity of the emissions are not.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to develop a 12-week multicomponent, depression prevention pilot intervention and evaluate its feasibility and preliminary effects on improving levels and correlates of depressive symptoms, including anger, self-esteem perceived stress, social support, and racism. A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods design and a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach was employed. University faculty, students and community residents collaborated at a low-income housing complex in a low-resourced, urban community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study identified coping and sociodemographic correlates and predictors of depressive symptoms in mothers at risk for clinical depression. A descriptive, cross-sectional design was employed. A convenience sample of 88 low-income or ethnic-minority mothers aged 21 to 45 completed a depression scale, demographic data sheet, and responded to an open-ended question.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOzone exposure induces neuroendocrine stress response, which causes lymphopenia. It was hypothesized that ozone-induced increases in stress hormones will temporally follow changes in circulating granulocytes, monocytes- and lymphocyte subpopulations. The goal of this study was to chronicle the changes in circulating stress hormones, cytokines, and leukocyte trafficking during 4 h exposure to ozone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/purpose: Most adolescents do not meet the recommended amount of physical activity. Female, Black, and Hispanic students have significantly less physical activity than White male students. Physical activity of Asian or Multiple Race students have not been reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlack/African American women are at high risk for depression, yet are underrepresented in psychiatric genetic research for depression prevention and treatment. Little is known about the factors that influence participation in genetic testing for Black/African American women at risk. The purpose of this study was to elicit the beliefs that underlie participation in genetic testing for depression in Black/African American mothers, a subgroup at high risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHoney bees and other wild bee species including bumble bees have experienced population declines in recent decades. Although many stressors are implicated in bee population declines, much attention has focused on neonicotinoid pesticides, which are widely used and known to be toxic to pollinators. One neonicotinoid, acetamiprid, has been studied very little in bumble bees, despite its use on bumble bee-pollinated crops.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInhal Toxicol
February 2020
: The physiological mechanisms underlying the development of respiratory hypersensitivity to cisplatin (CDDP) are not well-understood. It has been suggested that these reactions are likely the result of type I hypersensitivity, but other explanations are plausible and the potential for CDDP to induce type I hypersensitivity responses has not been directly evaluated in an animal model. : To investigate CDDP hypersensitivity, mice were topically sensitized through application of CDDP before being challenged by oropharyngeal aspiration (OPA) with CDDP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
January 2020
Children and adolescents are not meeting the required federal physical activity (PA) guidelines established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is critical that a regular pattern of PA is established in their youth to ensure ongoing PA into adulthood. However, many programs implemented during adolescence have shown limited effects, stressing the need for more innovative approaches to generate more interest and maintenance of PA behavior in this age group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHalogenated platinum salts can trigger the development of occupational asthma. Until recently, laboratory research into the development and manifestation of platinum hypersensitivity responses were hindered by the lack of an animal model suitable for assessing the functional consequences of allergic sensitization. We employed a newly developed mouse model to assess the potential allergenicity of ammonium tetrachloroplatinate (ATCP), compare the relative potency of ATCP and another platinum salt, ammonium hexachloroplatinate (AHCP) and assess potential cross-reactivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImplantation is a sensitive window in reproductive development during which disruptions may increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes including intrauterine growth restriction. Ozone exposure during implantation in rats reduces fetal weight near the end of gestation, potentially though impaired trophoblast migration and invasion and altered implantation. The current study characterized changes in ventilation, pulmonary injury, and circulating factors including hormonal, inflammatory, and metabolic markers related to exposure to ozone (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have shown that acute ozone inhalation activates sympathetic-adrenal-medullary and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal stress axes, and adrenalectomy (AD) inhibits ozone-induced lung injury and inflammation. Therefore, we hypothesized that stress hormone receptor agonists (β2 adrenergic-β2AR and glucocorticoid-GR) will restore the ozone injury phenotype in AD, while exacerbating effects in sham-surgery (SH) rats. Male Wistar Kyoto rats that underwent SH or AD were treated with vehicles (saline + corn oil) or β2AR agonist clenbuterol (CLEN, 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Natl Black Nurses Assoc
December 2017
The purpose of this study was to provide information regarding hair maintenance that would increase physical activity among African-American women. A descriptive study design was used, along with Survey Monkey to obtain online responses from African-American female participants over the age of 18 that were associated with four predominately African-American social organizations. Participants were asked to rate the "ease of use" of 8 hairstyles commonly worn by Black or African-American women living in the United States as it related to three physical activity (PA) intensity categories: light to moderate, vigorous, and water-based physical activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProblem: This study investigates the experience of depression from the perspective of Black single mothers, an understudied diverse-sub-group who consistently report high levels of depressive symptoms that go undetected and untreated.
Participants: The sample consisted of 210 Black single mothers aged 18-45 who reside in urban communities.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used to categorize the responses of Black single mothers to an open-ended question that asks about feelings of depression according to the four domains of the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.
Physical activity is essential for overall good health and aids in the prevention and reduction of many diseases. In 2008, the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWildland fire emissions cause adverse cardiopulmonary outcomes, yet controlled exposure studies to characterize health impacts of specific biomass sources have been complicated by the often latent effects of air pollution. The aim of this study was to determine if postprandial responses after a high fat challenge, long used clinically to predict cardiovascular risk, would unmask latent cardiometabolic responses in rats exposed to peat smoke, a key wildland fire air pollution source. Male Wistar Kyoto rats were exposed once (1 h) to filtered air (FA), or low (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Natl Black Nurses Assoc
December 2015
African-American adolescent girls are less physically active than any other U.S. racial/ethnic group.
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