Examining HIV Diagnosis and Linkage to PrEP Prescription Among Members at An Integrated Health System in the Southeast United States.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a priority method for preventing HIV infection. This study's aims were threefold: (1) identify characteristics of members of a large health maintenance organization, Kaiser Permanente Georgia (KPGA), associated with HIV infection, (2) identify which member characteristics associated with HIV were also associated with PrEP prescription, and (3) identify which HIV-associated characteristics were associated with under- or over-prescribing of PrEP. Analysis of variables from the electronic medical record revealed that age, race, gender, mental health diagnosis, STI diagnosis, and sexual orientation were independently associated with HIV diagnosis. The same characteristics were independently associated with PrEP prescription except for race. Persons identifying as Black or unknown race, women, and/or heterosexual; and who had an STI diagnosis and/or illicit drug use had lower odds of being prescribed PrEP than of having an HIV diagnosis. The implications of these findings for improving physician identification of candidates for PrEP prescription are discussed.

Culture, identity, strength and spirituality: A qualitative study to understand experiences of African American women breast cancer survivors and recommendations for intervention development.

OBJECTIVE: Despite advancements in cancer treatment, racial disparities in breast cancer survival persist, with African American women experiencing lower survival rates and poorer quality of life than non-Hispanic White women. Using a social cognitive model of restorative well-being as a framework, this qualitative study sought: (a) to examine strength- and culture-related factors associated with African American female breast cancer survivors' cancer coping and post-treatment experiences and (b) to make recommendations for culturally sensitive intervention. METHODS: Eight focus groups occurred with a total of 40 local African American breast cancer survivors. Focus groups were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Framework analyses were used to identify themes. NVivo qualitative analysis software-managed data. RESULTS: Two major themes emerged from the focus group discussions: (a) God enables breast cancer survivorship and works every day in our lives and (b) the healthiest thing about us is that we are strong African American women. Recommendations for intervention planning and implementation were made towards intervention structure, content development and language framing in a local context. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest a need for community-based participatory survivorship interventions that are culturally and spiritually consonant and peer-based. Such interventions may respond to the cancer-related and personal needs of the target population.

Development of the men's prostate awareness church training: church-based workshops for African American men.

This article describes the development of a spiritually based intervention to increase informed decision making for prostate cancer screening through African American churches. The intervention used spiritually themed health messages, incorporated women as supportive health partners, and included a health information technology component. The Men's Prostate Awareness Church Training Project followed a community-based participatory research process to develop educational materials, and training for 40 community health advisors to implement the 4-part prostate health workshop series that will be implemented in 20 churches. Implications are discussed for designing culturally relevant interventions to reduce prostate cancer disparities impacting African American men.

Assessment of religious and spiritual capital in African American communities.

African American faith communities are an important source of social capital. The present study adapted a theory-based social capital instrument to result in religious (e.g., from organized worship) and spiritual (e.g., from relationship with higher power) capital measures. Data from a national sample of 803 African Americans suggest the instruments have high internal reliability and are distinct from general religiosity. Measurement models confirmed factor structures. Religious capital was positively associated with self-rated health status. Religious and spiritual capital were negatively associated with depressive symptoms, but these associations largely became nonsignificant in multivariate models that controlled for demographic characteristics. An exception is for spiritual capital in the form of community participation, which retained a negative association with depressive symptoms. These instruments may have applied value for health promotion research and practice in African American communities.

Effects of copper-loaded chitosan nanoparticles on intestinal microflora and morphology in weaned piglets.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with copper-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CNP-Cu) on growth performance, intestinal microflora, and morphology in weaned piglets. A number of 90 weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire), weaned at 21 days with body weight of 7.2 ± 0.81 kg, were randomly divided into three groups by weight and sex, each treatment including three replicates of ten pigs. The piglets were fed the same basal diet supplemented with 0 (the control group), 100 mg/kg CNP-Cu, and 100 mg/kg chlortetracycline (the positive group). The results showed that 100 mg/kg CNP-Cu significantly increased average daily gain and feed intake and decreased feed/gain ratio and diarrhea rate (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the amount of Escherichia coli in duodenum, jejunal, and caecum were significantly decreased by 100 mg/kg CNP-Cu; the number of lactobacillus in jejunal and caecum were increased (P < 0.05), and the amount of bifidobacterium in duodenum and caecum were also increased (P < 0.05). Moreover, the villous height of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum mucosa was significantly increased (P < 0.05), and the crypt depth was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The results indicated that CNP-Cu is beneficial to growth and intestinal microflora and morphology and could be a potential substitution of chlortetracycline in diets of weaned piglets.

Effects of chromium-loaded chitosan nanoparticles on growth, blood metabolites, immune traits and tissue chromium in finishing pigs.

Effects of chromium-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (Cr-CNP) on growth performance, blood metabolites, immune traits, and tissue chromium in finishing pigs were investigated. A total of 160 crossbred barrows (66.06 ± 1.01 kg initial weight) were randomly divided into four groups, each group with four pens, ten pigs per pen. Pigs were fed on the same basal diet supplemented with 0 (the control), 100, 200, and 400 µg/kg Cr from Cr-CNP. All pigs were given free access to feed and water. Eight pigs from each treatment were selected to collect blood and tissue samples after 35 days on trial for analysis of blood metabolites and immune traits and tissue chromium. The results of feeding trial showed that there were no significant difference in growth performance between control and Cr-CNP-treated groups. The supplementation of Cr-CNP decreased serum glucose (P < 0.001) in a linear and quadratic manner. Serum immunoglobulins A and M were linearly increased in Cr-CNP-treated groups (P < 0.001), and serum complement 4 in Cr-CNP-treated groups was also linearly increased (P < 0.05). Cr-CNP supplementation linearly increased the chromium content in the blood, longissimus muscle, heart, liver, kidney, and pancreas (P < 0.001). These results suggested that dietary supplementation of Cr as Cr-CNP affects serum glucose, influences immune status, and increases the tissue chromium content of blood, muscle, and selected organs in finishing pigs.

Efficacy of dietary chromium (III) supplementation on tissue chromium deposition in finishing pigs.

The study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different forms of trivalent chromium (Cr) supplementation on tissue chromium deposition in finishing pigs. A total of 96 pigs with an initial average body mass 65.57±1.05 kg were blocked by body mass and randomly assigned to four treatments with three replicates. Pigs were offered one of four diets including a control diet or the control diet supplemented with 200 µg/kg chromium from either chromium chloride (CrCl(3)), chromium picolinate (CrPic) or chromium nanocomposite (CrNano) for 40 days. During the trial, all pigs were given free access to feed and water. After feeding trial, eight pigs from each treatment were slaughtered for samples collection. The results showed that supplemental CrNano increased Cr content in blood, longissimus muscle, heart, liver, kidney, jejunum, and ileum (P<0.05). Supplemental Cr from three sources increased Cr excretion from all feces (P<0.05). Urinary Cr excretion was increased by CrNano or CrPic supplementation significantly. These results suggested that chromium nanocomposite exhibited more effective on tissue Cr deposition in pigs, which indicated higher absorption compared with CrCl(3) and CrPic.

Role of religious involvement and spirituality in functioning among African Americans with cancer: testing a mediational model.

The present study tested a mediational model of the role of religious involvement, spirituality, and physical/emotional functioning in a sample of African American men and women with cancer. Several mediators were proposed based on theory and previous research, including sense of meaning, positive and negative affect, and positive and negative religious coping. One hundred patients were recruited through oncologist offices, key community leaders and community organizations, and interviewed by telephone. Participants completed an established measure of religious involvement, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-SP-12 version 4), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Meaning in Life Scale, the Brief RCOPE, and the SF-12, which assesses physical and emotional functioning. Positive affect completely mediated the relationship between religious behaviors and emotional functioning. Though several other constructs showed relationships with study variables, evidence of mediation was not supported. Mediational models were not significant for the physical functioning outcome, nor were there significant main effects of religious involvement or spirituality for this outcome. Implications for cancer survivorship interventions are discussed.

Effects of chromium nanoparticle dosage on growth, body composition, serum hormones and tissue chromium in Sprague-Dawley rats.

This 6-week study was conducted to evaluate the effects of seven different levels of dietary chromium (Cr) (0, 75, 150, 300, 450, 600, and 1 200 ppb Cr) in the form of Cr nanoparticle (CrNano) on growth, body composition, serum hormones and tissue Cr in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Seventy male SD rats (average initial body weight of (83.2+/-4.4) g) were randomly assigned to seven dietary treatments (n=10). At the end of the trial, body composition was assessed via dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). All rats were then sacrificed to collect samples of blood, organs and tissues for determination of serum hormones and tissue Cr contents. The results indicated that lean body mass was significantly increased (P<0.05) due to the addition of 300 and 450 ppb Cr from CrNano. Supplementation of 150, 300, 450, and 600 ppb Cr decreased (P<0.05) percent body fat significantly. Average daily gain was increased (P<0.05) by addition of 75, 150, and 300 ppb Cr and feed efficiency was increased (P<0.05) by supplementation of 75, 300, and 450 ppb Cr. Addition of 300 and 450 ppb Cr decreased (P<0.05) the insulin level in serum greatly. Cr contents in liver and kidney were greatly increased (P<0.05) by the addition of Cr as CrNano in the dosage of from 150 ppb to 1 200 ppb. In addition, Supplementation of 300, 450, and 600 ppb Cr significantly increased (P<0.05) Cr content in the hind leg muscle. These results suggest that supplemental CrNano has beneficial effects on growth performance and body composition, and increases tissue Cr concentration in selected muscles.

Food sources and intakes of caffeine in the diets of persons in the United States.

This study provides information on the caffeine intakes of a representative sample of the US population using the US Department of Agriculture 1994 to 1996 and 1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. The percentage of caffeine consumers of the total sample (N=18,081) and by age and sex groups and for pregnant women were determined. Among caffeine consumers (n=15,716), the following were determined: mean intakes of caffeine (milligrams per day and milligrams per kilogram per day) for all caffeine consumers, as well as for each age and sex group and pregnant women; mean intakes (milligrams per day) of caffeine by food and beverage sources; and the percent contribution of each food and beverage category to total caffeine intake for all caffeine consumers, as well as each age and sex group and pregnant women. Eight-seven percent of the sample consumed food and beverages containing caffeine. On average, caffeine consumers' intakes were 193 mg caffeine per day and 1.2 mg caffeine per kilogram of body weight per day. As age increased, caffeine consumption increased among people aged 2 to 54 years. Men and women aged 35 to 64 years were among the highest consumers of caffeine. Major sources of caffeine were coffee (71%), soft drinks (16%), and tea (12%). Coffee was the major source of caffeine in the diets of adults, whereas soft drinks were the primary source for children and teens.