Alternative Locales for the Health Promotion of African American Men: A Survey of African American Men in Chicago Barbershops.

African American men (AA) carry unequal burdens of several conditions including cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and HIV. Engagement of diverse populations including AA men in research and health promotion practice is vital to examining the health disparities that continue to plague many racially and ethnically diverse communities. To date, there is little research on best practices that indicate locations, community areas and settings to engage AA men in research and health promotion. Traditionally, the AA church has been a key area to engage AA men and women. However, changing tides in attendance of AA parishioners require additional information to identify areas where AAs, particularly, AA men congregate. The AA barbershop has been identified as a place of social cohesion, cultural immersion and solidarity for AA men but specific sub-populations of AA men may be underrepresented. To further investigate additional locales where AA men congregate, this study engaged AA barbers and clients in several urban community barbershops in Chicago, Illinois. 127 AA men over age 18y/o receiving grooming services in 25 Chicago area barbershops across 14 predominantly AA communities were consented and recruited for a quantitative survey study. The self-administered surveys were completed in ~15 min and $10 compensation was provided to men. Descriptive statistics were reported for demographic variables and for frequency of responses for locations to find AA men of specific age ranges for health promotion and screening activities. Outside of the traditionally used churches or barbershops, the top recommended recruitment sites by age were: 18-29y/o- city park or a recreational center; 30-39y/o- gym, bars or the street; 40-49y/o- various stores, especially home improvement stores, and the mall; and 50y/o+- fast food restaurants in the mornings, such as McDonalds, and individual's homes. The study participants also reported that locations where AA men congregate vary by age. Findings from this study illustrate that AA barbers and barbershops remain a key stakeholder in health promotion among AA men. The findings also demonstrate the need for additional research to examine best practices for identifying locations where diverse groups of AA men that vary by age and sexual orientation may congregate in order to support increased health promotion among AA men.

Does prostate volume correlate with vitamin D deficiency among men undergoing prostate biopsy?

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies demonstrate vitamin D is inversely correlated with BPH and prostate cancer (PCa) incidence. We aim to clarify the associations of vitamin D with prostate volume. METHODS: This is an observational study investigating the associations of serum PSA, PSA density and prostate volume with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) in PCa patients and men with negative biopsies seen in outpatient urology clinics in Chicago, IL, USA. There were 571 men (40-79 years old) with elevated PSA or abnormal digital rectal examination with available prostate volume recorded from initial biopsy. The primary outcomes were the unadjusted associations of serum 25-OH D deficiency with prostate volume. The secondary outcomes were the adjusted associations using linear and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: On univariate analysis, serum 25-OH D<20 ng ml-1 inversely correlated with prostate volume among all men undergoing transrectal ultrasonography (P=0.02), and this relationship remained significant for men with negative biopsy on stratified analysis. In adjusted models, controlling for age, serum PSA, 5-α reductase inhibitors use, obesity and PCa diagnosis, prostate volume was inversely associated with vitamin D (P<0.05) using serum vitamin D as a continuous and categorical variable. Logistic regression model also demonstrated an inverse association between vitamin D (continuous and categorical) and prostate volume ⩾40 grams. CONCLUSION: Serum 25-OH D levels are inversely associated with overall prostate volume and enlarged prostate gland (⩾40 grams), especially in men with benign prostatic disease. Given the largely non-toxic effect of supplementation, consideration should be given to assessing vitamin D levels in men with benign prostatic disease in addition, to malignant prostatic disease.

Thomson scattering diagnostics of thermal plasmas: Laser heating of electrons and the existence of local thermodynamic equilibrium.

A number of assessments of electron temperatures in atmospheric-pressure arc plasmas using Thomson scattering of laser light have recently been published. However, in this method, the electron temperature is perturbed due to strong heating of the electrons by the incident laser beam. This heating was taken into account by measuring the electron temperature as a function of the laser pulse energy, and linearly extrapolating the results to zero pulse energy to obtain an unperturbed electron temperature. In the present paper, calculations show that the laser heating process has a highly nonlinear dependence on laser power, and that the usual linear extrapolation leads to an overestimate of the electron temperature, typically by 5000 K. The nonlinearity occurs due to the strong dependence on electron temperature of the absorption of laser energy and of the collisional and radiative cooling of the heated electrons. There are further problems in deriving accurate electron temperatures from laser scattering due to necessary averages that have to be made over the duration of the laser pulse and over the finite volume from which laser light is scattered. These problems are particularly acute in measurements in which the laser beam is defocused in order to minimize laser heating; this can lead to the derivation of electron temperatures that are significantly greater than those existing anywhere in the scattering volume. It was concluded from the earlier Thomson scattering measurements that there were significant deviations from equilibrium between the electron and heavy-particle temperatures at the center of arc plasmas of industrial interest. The present calculations indicate that such deviations are only of the order of 1000 K in 20 000 K, so that the usual approximation that arc plasmas are approximately in local thermodynamic equilibrium still applies.

Diffusion in two-temperature thermal plasmas.

Combined diffusion coefficients, which allow species to be grouped into their parent gases, are derived in a thermal plasma in which the kinetic temperature of the electrons is different from that of the heavy species. As in previous calculations of combined diffusion coefficients for a one-temperature plasma, chemical equilibrium is assumed, and a plasma in a mixture of two homonuclear nonreacting gases is treated. Expressions for ambipolar diffusion in a two-temperature plasma are derived. Coupling between the electrons and the heavy species is retained in the calculations. It is confirmed that the values of the diffusion coefficients are consistent with mass conservation, in contrast to previous calculations that were based on a theory in which the electrons and heavy species were decoupled. Illustrative results are presented for a thermal plasma in different mixtures of argon and hydrogen at 1 bar, for temperatures up to 25 000 K and different ratios of electron to heavy species temperature.

Electron heating in the measurement of electron temperature by Thomson scattering: are thermal plasmas thermal?

Thomson scattering measurements have yielded electron temperatures T(e) up to 7000 K greater than the ion temperature in 1 bar thermal plasmas. To account for laser heating of electrons, T(e) was measured as a function of laser pulse energy, and an unperturbed T(e) obtained by linear extrapolation to zero pulse energy. It is shown that the absorption of laser energy by the electrons, and the cooling of the electrons by collisions and radiative emission, depend strongly on T(e). Considering all these processes gives T(e) values that are in much closer agreement with the ion temperature.