Chemical composition and anti-proliferative activity of essential oils from some medicinal plants from Cachicadán, Región La Libertad, Perú.

This study evaluated the chemical composition and anti-proliferative activity of essential oils (EOs) obtained by hydrodistillation from seven medicinal plants from Cachicadán, La Libertad Región, Perú. Limonene (0.64 to 44.

Objective Assessment of Physical Activity and Associated Contexts During High School Sport Practices.

Organized sports provide children and adolescents with opportunities to achieve recommended amounts of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and schools are a primary setting for sports programs. The main aims of this study were to examine participant physical activity (PA) levels during the most popular high school sports in the United States and to assess the influences of practice contextual factors on PA levels. Participant PA and its contexts were assessed during practices for the 10 most popular girls' and boys' high school sports in the United States.

Correlates of bird collisions with buildings across three North American countries.

Collisions with buildings cause up to 1 billion bird fatalities annually in the United States and Canada. However, efforts to reduce collisions would benefit from studies conducted at large spatial scales across multiple study sites with standardized methods and consideration of species- and life-history-related variation and correlates of collisions. We addressed these research needs through coordinated collection of data on bird collisions with buildings at sites in the United States (35), Canada (3), and Mexico (2).

Biological membranes in EV biogenesis, stability, uptake, and cargo transfer: an ISEV position paper arising from the ISEV membranes and EVs workshop.

Paracrine and endocrine roles have increasingly been ascribed to extracellular vesicles (EVs) generated by multicellular organisms. Central to the biogenesis, content, and function of EVs are their delimiting lipid bilayer membranes. To evaluate research progress on membranes and EVs, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) conducted a workshop in March 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, bringing together key opinion leaders and hands-on researchers who were selected on the basis of submitted applications.

Black Pastors' Views on preaching about sex: barriers, facilitators, and opportunities for HIV prevention messaging.

Objectives: Despite the disproportionately high rates of heterosexually transmitted HIV infection among US Blacks and ongoing need for effective inexpensive behavioral interventions, the use of sermons as an HIV prevention tool in Black churches has received little research attention. The Black church plays an important role in Black communities and is a potential ally in development and delivery of sexual risk prevention messages. The objective of this study was to examine Black pastors' thoughts about whether sermons should address issues related to heterosexual relationships - and the barriers and facilitators to discussing these topics in a sermon setting.

Sensitivity enhancement for membrane proteins reconstituted in parallel and perpendicular oriented bicelles obtained by using repetitive cross-polarization and membrane-incorporated free radicals.

Multidimensional separated local-field and spin-exchange experiments employed by oriented-sample solid-state NMR are essential for structure determination and spectroscopic assignment of membrane proteins reconstituted in macroscopically aligned lipid bilayers. However, these experiments typically require a large number of scans in order to establish interspin correlations. Here we have shown that a combination of optimized repetitive cross polarization (REP-CP) and membrane-embedded free radicals allows one to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio by factors 2.

Shared use agreements and leisure time physical activity in North Carolina public schools.

Although increasing community access to public schools through shared use agreements (SUAs) has been a recommended strategy for promoting physical activity (PA) among national, state and local organizations, empirical evidence examining the efficacy of SUAs is limited. This study examined the degree of usage and production of PA among schools with shared use, and how variation in PA output is related to characteristics of the school, type of activity, facility type, and when activity occurs. Data were collected in 20 schools across North Carolina using System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) and Structured Physical Activity Surveys (SPAS) to assess PA in school athletic facilities during out of school time.

Social and Environmental Factors Related to Boys' and Girls' Park-Based Physical Activity.

Introduction: Parks provide opportunities for physical activity for children. This study examined sex differences in correlates of park-based physical activity because differences may indicate that a standard environmental intervention to increase activity among children may not equally benefit boys and girls.

Methods: The System for Observation Play and Recreation in Communities was used to measure physical activity among 2,712 children and adolescents in 20 neighborhood parks in Durham, North Carolina, in 2007.

Accepting transitions: African Americans discuss end of life.

Background: African Americans typically underuse hospice care; this study explores their end of life attitudes.

Methods: An iterative focus group strategy generated qualitative data using 4 baseline groups and 1 confirmatory focus group recruited from predominantly African American churches. Each group consisted of 8 to 14 adults.

Utility of a congregational health assessment to identify and direct health promotion opportunities in churches.

Purpose: The church is a focal point for health education efforts in minority communities due to its status as one of the most prominent and stable institutions. This paper highlights an approach for identifying health programming targets in minority churches.

Methods: Twenty-four churches participated in a one-year Health Ministry Institute (HMI), designed to help churches develop sustainable ministries for health promotion.

Energy expenditure associated with the use of neighborhood parks in 2 cities.

Context: Availability of public neighborhood parks is associated with physical activity. Little is known about how parks contribute to population energy balance.

Purpose: This study estimated energy expenditure associated with the use of neighborhood parks and compared energy expenditure by activity areas within parks and by neighborhood race/ethnicity and income.

Trends in prostate-specific antigen test use, 2000-2005.

Objective: This study examined prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test use among men and identified sociodemographic and health-related characteristics associated with its use over time.

Methods: The National Health Interview Survey collected information on PSA test use among 16,058 men > or = 40 years of age in 2000 and 2005. We examined two outcomes: (1) having had a recent (within two years) screening PSA test and (2) having had three or more PSA tests in the past five years (to indicate frequent use).

Getting from A to IRB: developing an institutional review board at a historically black university.

Shaw University, the oldest historically black college or university in the southern USA, recently partnered with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a major research institution in North Carolina, to further develop Shaw's research infrastructure. One aim of the partnership involved establishing a human research ethics committee and an accompanying administrative structure and research ethics education program. This paper describes the process of developing an entire human research protection program de novo through collaboration with and mentoring by the members of the human research protection program at a nearby major research institution.

Assessing trauma, substance abuse, and mental health in a sample of homeless men.

This study examined the impact of physical and sexual trauma on a sample of 239 homeless men. Study participants completed a self-administered survey that collected data on demographics, exposure to psychological trauma, physical health and mental health problems, and substance use or misuse. Binomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relative significance of demographic factors and the four types of trauma exposure associated with three outcomes: mental health, substance abuse, and physical health problems.

Weight change and functional limitations among older adults in North Carolina.

There is emerging evidence that weight change during older adulthood is associated with decreased physical function; however, less is known about the association between weight change during middle to older adulthood and physical function. This study assessed the association of weight change between middle and older adulthood and functional limitations among 2,531 older African-American and white participants, ages 65 and older at baseline (1987), from the Piedmont Health Survey of the Elderly. Weight gainers had ≥8% increase in weight, weight losers had >8% decrease in weight, and weight maintainers had <8% increase or decrease between age 50 and baseline.

Racial and gender differences in pressure ulcer development among nursing home residents in the Southeastern United States.

Objective: To determine whether there is a difference in the incidence of pressure ulcers (PU) between African American (AA) and White nursing home (NH) residents in the Southeastern United States.

Methods: Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Minimum Data Set were examined for 113,869 residents who were free of PU at NH admission during 1999-2002. Facility and neighborhood characteristics were abstracted from the Online Survey Certification and Reporting database and the 2000 U.

Prostate-specific antigen test use and digital rectal examinations among African-American men, 2002-2006.

African-American men experience greater incidence and mortality from prostate cancer compared to White men as well as men from other groups. Few studies have examined prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and digital rectal examination (DRE) use in African-American men. This study examined use of the PSA test and DRE among African-American men over time and identified correlates associated with the use of these procedures.

Physician-patient discussions with african american men about prostate cancer screening.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cancer killer in men. Men in general and African American men in particular face crucial decisions regarding prostate cancer screening and perhaps treatment for this disease. Major health organizations agree that men should discuss prostate cancer screening with their physicians or other health care professionals.

Consistency of care and blood pressure control among elderly African Americans and whites with hypertension.

Objective: To determine whether racial differences exist between consistency of medical care and blood pressure (BP) control over time among elderly, hypertensive African Americans and whites.

Design: Participants included 1402 African Americans and 1058 whites from the Piedmont Health Survey of the Elderly who were hypertensive (systolic BP > or =140 mm Hg, diastolic BP > or =90 mm Hg, or used antihypertensive medications) at baseline (in 1987). Consistency of care was assessed based on self-reported receipt of physician care at each wave and categorized as consistent (care at each wave); inconsistent (care at some, but not all waves); or no standard care (no care at any wave).

Patterns in prostate-specific antigen test use and digital rectal examinations in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2002-2006.

Background: Studies have examined prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and digital rectal examination (DRE) use among men; however, few have examined use of these procedures together over time. This study examined use of the PSA test and DRE among men over time and identified correlates associated with test use for the PSA test only, the DRE only, and both procedures combined.

Methods: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) collected information on prostate cancer test use among 229,574 men aged 40 or older over 3 years (2002, 2004, and 2006).

Predicting medication use in an elderly hypertensive sample: revisiting the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly Study.

Unlabelled: Though some research has begun to examine specific factors related to race that should be targeted in the design of interventions to improve medication adherence, there remains an underreporting of factors that contribute to the use of hypertensive medications by race.

Methods: This study examined medication use reported by a sample of elderly, controlled and uncontrolled hypertensive patients from the North Carolina Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (NC EPESE) study.

Results: In the adjusted final multivariable models of medication use over time in both Caucasian and African-American women, those with higher BMI were more likely to report taking their medication over time; satisfaction with their medical care was predictive among Caucasian women and receiving treatment from a minority physician was predictive among African-American women.

Prayer and self-reported health among cancer survivors in the United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2002.

Objectives: At least 10.8 million living Americans have been diagnosed with cancer, and about 1.5 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2008.

Self-rated health, activities of daily living, and mobility limitations among black and white stroke survivors.

Objective. To explore racial differences in self-rated health (SRH) and its relationship to activities of daily living (ADLs) and mobility limitations among stroke survivors. Method.

Cultural attitudes toward weight, diet, and physical activity among overweight African American girls.

Introduction: The growing epidemic of childhood obesity has led to an increasing focus on strategies for prevention. However, little is known about attitudes and perceptions toward weight, diet, and physical activity among American youth, and particularly among young African American females. This pilot study sought to qualitatively explore cultural attitudes and perceptions toward body image, food, and physical activity among a sample of overweight African American girls.