Development of an HIV/STI and partner violence health promotion intervention for abused US Virgin Islands women.

Women in the US Virgin Islands (USVI) experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at disproportionate rates compared to women on the US mainland. Women in violent relationships report experiencing controlling behaviours that decrease their ability to negotiate for sex using condoms or to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Though several evidence-based interventions exist to prevent either IPV or HIV, few address them through an integrated health promotion approach or attend to particular USVI cultural mores. This article describes the systematic development of a theory based, culturally tailored, integrated health promotion intervention that addresses IPV and HIV among USVI women experiencing abuse. The process included: (i) identifying and integrating evidence-based health promotion interventions, (ii) conducting formative research using focus groups, (iii) synthesizing focus group data to inform intervention development and (iv) developing a culturally and linguistically appropriate intervention specific to the needs and concerns of USVI women. The Empowered Sisters Project: Making Choices Reducing Risks (ESP) was developed through this research. ESP is a three-session health promotion curriculum focussed on enhancing sexual health and safety among women experiencing abuse. The ESP intervention components included promoting condom use, increasing IPV and HIV knowledge and developing a personalized safety plan. Health professionals facilitated individual intervention sessions using culturally tailored visual media and scripts. This program focussed on experiences of women living in the USVI and has implications for utility across the Caribbean diaspora.

An assessment of nutrients and sedimentation in the St. Thomas East End Reserves, US Virgin Islands.

Nutrients and sedimentation were monitored for approximately 2 years at six sites in the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER), St. Thomas, USVI, as part of a NOAA project to develop an integrated environmental assessment. Concentrations of ammonium (NH4+) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) were higher in Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay in the western portion of STEER than in the other sites further east (i.e., Cowpet Bay, Rotto Cay, St. James, and Little St. James). There was no correlation between rainfall and nutrient concentrations. Using a set of suggested nutrient thresholds that have been developed to indicate the potential for the overgrowth of algae on reefs, approximately 60% of the samples collected in STEER were above the threshold for orthophosphate (HPO4=), while 55% of samples were above the DIN threshold. Benner Bay had the highest sedimentation rate of any site monitored in STEER, including Mangrove Lagoon. There was also an east to west and a north to south gradient in sedimentation, indicative of higher sedimentation rates in the western, more populated areas surrounding STEER, and sites closer to the shore of the main island of St. Thomas. Although none of the sites had a mean or average sedimentation rate above a suggested sedimentation threshold, the mean sedimentation rate in Benner Bay was just below the threshold.

Historical versus contemporary medicinal plant uses in the US Virgin Islands.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Hidden in the documents of the dark past of the trans-Atlantic slavery are gems of ethnomedicinal observations, supported by herbarium specimens, which tell of the traditional medicine of a by-gone slave society in the Caribbean. In the context of the former Danish West Indies (now US Virgin Islands), we identify pre-1900 medicinal plants and their historical uses, and trace their status in the traditional medicine of St. Croix today (2014). By a combined historical and ethnobotanical approach we assess the scale of loss and preservation of traditional medicinal knowledge on St. Croix, and explore the drivers involved in the disappearance of knowledge in the oral tradition of medicine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Names, uses and identities of 18th and 19th century medicinal plant uses in the Danish West Indies were derived from manuscripts and publications of Von Rohr (1757/58), Oldendorp (1777), West (1793), Benzon (1822), Riise (1853), Eggers (1876;1879) and Berg and Eggers (1888). The presence of the plant species in the pre-1900 Danish West Indies was confirmed by review of herbarium specimens in the University of Copenhagen Herbarium (C). The same species were collected on St. Croix in 2014 or their ecological status discussed with local specialists. Semi-structured interviews supported by photographs and specimens were conducted with six medicinal plant specialist on St. Croix, to document and compare contemporary names and uses of the historically used medicinal plants. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The historic ethnomedicinal sources revealed 102 medicinal uses of 64 plant species. Thirty-eight (37%) of the pre-1900 medicinal uses were traced in interviews, while sixty-four uses (63%) appear to be forgotten, discontinued or otherwise lost. Thirteen species appear to have entirely lost their status as medicinal plants on St. Croix, while 32 species (50%) have lost uses while retaining or gaining others. While 20% of the lost medicinal plant uses can be explained by biodiversity loss, and others likely have become obsolete due to advances in public health and scientific medicine, 33 of the 64 lost medicinal uses of non-rare species uses fall in the same categories as the preserved uses (fever, stomach, wound, laxative, pulmonary, intestinal, pain, anthelmintic, blood purifier, eye-inflammation). We therefore argue that at least half of the known pre-1900 medicinal plant uses have become culturally extinct for other reasons than to biodiversity loss or modern obsoleteness. CONCLUSIONS: The present study utilized knowledge from an oral medicinal tradition, documented in the context of a colonial society. Without doubt, basis for further similar studies exists in the more or less accessible archives, herbaria and collections of former colonial powers. Such studies could directly benefit the descendants of the original intellectual property holders culturally and economically, or serve as stepping stones to integrate, or re-integrate, lost medicinal plant uses in both local and wider evidence-based contexts.

Anthelmintic properties of traditional African and Caribbean medicinal plants: identification of extracts with potent activity against Ascaris suum in vitro.

Ascariasis affects more than 1 billion people worldwide, mainly in developing countries, causing substantial morbidity. Current treatments for Ascaris infection are based on mass drug administration (MDA) with synthetic anthelmintic drugs such as albendazole, however continual re-infection and the threat of drug resistance mean that complementary treatment options would be highly valuable. Here, we screened ethanolic extracts from 29 medicinal plants used in Africa (Ghana) and the Caribbean (US Virgin Islands) for in vitro anthelmintic properties against Ascaris suum, a swine parasite that is very closely related to the human A. lumbricoides. A wide variety of activities were seen in the extracts, from negligible to potent. Extracts from Clausena anisata, Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides and Punica granatum were identified as the most potent with EC50 values of 74, 97 and 164 µg/mL, respectively. Our results encourage further investigation of their use as complementary treatment options for ascariasis, alongside MDA.

The ecology, evolution, and biogeography of dioecy in the genus Solanum: with paradigms from the strong dioecy in Solanum polygamum, to the unsuspected and cryptic dioecy in Solanum conocarpum.

UNLABELLED: • PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Island plants are over-exploited and "under-explored." Understanding the reproductive biology of plants, especially rare species, is fundamental to clarifying their evolution, estimating potential for change, and for creating effective conservation plans. Clarification of sexual systems like dioecy, and unusual manifestations of it in specific studies within Solanum, helps elucidate evolutionary patterns and genetic and ecological control of sex expression.• METHODS: Studies of reproductive systems of two Caribbean endemics, S. polygamum and S. conocarpum, combined multifaceted analyses of field populations and of multiple generations of greenhouse plants.• KEY RESULTS: The dioecy in both species is, like that in other solanums, largely cryptic, although the gender of S. polygamum flowers is obvious. The rare S. conocarpum is recognized as dioecious; floral gender is not obvious. Variation in sex expression facilitated experiments and promoted hypotheses on control and significance of morphological features and sex expression.• CONCLUSIONS: Confirmed dioecy in at least 15 solanums is distributed across the genus, with perhaps 6 independent origins, and with crypticity in the form of morphologically hermaphroditic, but functionally unisexual, flowers characterizing all species. Dioecy is not more strongly associated with islands. Inaperturate pollen in pistillate flowers characterizes almost all, but not the two dioecious species studied herein. Dioecy in both species indicates leakiness (rare hermaphroditic flowers on male plants) that helps explain island colonization and radiation. Leakiness allowed confirmation-usually impossible for dioecious species-of self-compatibility for S. polygamum, and thus support for the hypothesis that dioecy evolved to promote outcrossing.

Spirituality moderates the relationship of psychosocial stress to metabolic risk factors among Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the US Virgin Islands.

OBJECTIVE: Spirituality may contribute to the health advantage of foreign-born blacks compared to United States (US)-born blacks. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that spirituality attenuates the association of psychosocial stress to stress-associated metabolic risk factors among foreign-born Caribbean blacks living in a US jurisdiction. METHODS: Data on demographic factors, anthropometric measurements (height, weight and waist), fasting glucose and insulin, lifestyle behaviors (smoking and alcohol use), psychosocial stress and spirituality were collected from a population-based sample of 319 Afro-Caribbean immigrants, ages 20 and older, who were recruited between 1995 and 2000 in the Virgin Islands of the United States (USVI). Glucose and insulin measurements were used to estimate insulin resistance by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) method. Participants were classified into three levels of spirituality, "low", "medium" and "high" based on the distribution of spirituality scores. Stepwise regression analyses were used to identify the significant predictors of waist circumference and HOMA-IR within each level of spirituality. RESULTS: The predictors of waist circumference and HOMA-IR varied across the levels of spirituality. Psychosocial stress was an independent predictor of waist and HOMA-IR only among participants with a low level of spirituality. CONCLUSION: Spirituality appears to attenuate the association of psychosocial stress to waist circumference and insulin resistance among Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the USVI.

The CHANGE approach to capacity-building assistance.

The CHANGE approach to capacity-building assistance (CBA), developed over 4 years by the Latino Commission on AIDS Manos Unidas' Program to assist Latino-serving community-based HIV prevention programs in eight northern U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a system for providing community-based organizations (CBOs) with not only the skills to implement interventions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI) project, but also the capacity to reorient to the disruptive innovation of the DEBIs. The CHANGE (customized, holistic, analytical, network-building, grassroots, evaluatory) approach entails an integrated CBA-model emphasizing community and programmatic diagnosis and reflection and the enhancement of staff skills through tailored curricula in six areas: community-assessment, target-refinement, recruitment and retention, basic skills, program implementation, and evaluation. The CHANGE model encourages active CBO participation in the learning process rooted in the experiences of the organization as a member of its community.

Differences in SEM-AVS and ERM-ERL predictions of sediment impacts from metals in two US Virgin Islands marinas.

Two US Virgin Islands marinas were examined for potential metal impacts by comparing sediment chemistry data with two sediment quality guideline (SQG) values: the ratio of simultaneously extractable metals to acid volatile sulfides (SEM-AVS), and effects range-low and -mean (ERL-ERM) values. ERL-ERMs predicted the marina/boatyard complex (IBY: 2118 microg/g dry weight total metals, two exceeded ERMs) would have greater impacts than the marina with no boatyard (CBM: 231 microg/g dry weight total metals, no ERMs exceeded). The AVS-SEM method predicted IBY would have fewer effects due to high AVS-forming metal sulfide complexes, reducing trace metal bioavailability. These contradictory predictions demonstrate the importance of validating the results of either of these methods with other toxicity measures before making any management or regulatory decisions regarding boating and marina impacts. This is especially important in non-temperate areas where sediment quality guidelines have not been validated.

Effect of supplemental nutrition around lambing on hair sheep ewes and lambs during the dry and wet seasons in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Pregnant St. Croix White and Barbados Blackbelly hair sheep ewes were used to evaluate the effect of supplemental nutrition around the time of lambing on ewe and lamb performance during the dry and wet seasons on St. Croix. Beginning 14 d before expected day of lambing (d 0) and for 21 d postpartum, one group of ewes was fed a pelleted supplement in addition to grazing guinea grass pasture (FEED). Other ewes in the flock grazed pasture only (CONTROL). This study was conducted during the dry season (June through September; FEED n = 14 and CONTROL n = 15) and during the wet season the next year (October through January; FEED n = 11 and CONTROL n = 12). The 24-h milk production of each ewe was measured on d 7, 21, 35, 49, and 63. Ewes were exposed to sterile rams equipped with marking harnesses to detect estrus during the postpartum period. The FEED ewes lost less weight postpartum during both seasons (P < 0.0001) and had higher milk production (P < 0.009) than CONTROL ewes during the dry season. During the dry season, the time to the first postpartum estrus did not differ (P > 0.10) between FEED and CONTROL ewes (46.9 +/- 2.7 vs 52.9 +/- 2.6 d, respectively). During the wet season, the time to first postpartum estrus was less (P < 0.07) in FEED than in CONTROL ewes (33.0 +/- 3.1 vs 41.1 +/- 2.9 d, respectively). The FEED ewes had higher lamb birth weight (P < 0.04) and weaning weight (P < 0.05) than CONTROL ewes (3.2 +/- 0.1 and 12.2 +/- 0.5 vs 2.9 +/- 0.1 and 10.9 +/- 0.5 kg, respectively) during the dry season. In the wet season, lamb birth weight and weaning weight were similar (P > 0.10) between FEED and CONTROL (3.2 +/- 0.1 and 15.5 +/- 0.7 vs 3.1 +/- 0.1 and 15.3 +/- 0.6 kg, respectively). Lambs born during the wet season had higher (P < 0.0001) ADG than lambs born during the dry season (194.4 +/- 5.9 vs 127.7 +/- 4.7 g/d, respectively). Strategic nutritional supplementation of hair sheep ewes may provide a method for increasing the weight of lambs produced during the dry season in the tropics, but it does not seem to be beneficial during the wet season.

Cultivation of medicinal plants in alley cropping systems with Moringa oleifera in the Virgin Islands

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are horticultural crops with socio-economic significance in the Caribbean. People of the Caribbean maintain the tradition of making 'bush (herb) teas' as part of their daily activity. 'Bush tea' is made with a variety of herbs that are combined for their culinary and medicinal properties. Cultivating these plants complements conventional fruit and vegetable production in the Virgin Islands and enhance small-farm productivity. This study was initiated to evaluate the agronomic and economic potential of agroforestry systems involving MAPs with focus on alley cropping. Field experiments were conducted to determine yield and productivity of popular species of medicinal plants and aromatic herbs commonly used in the Virgin Islands. Medicinal plants included 'inflammation bush' (Verbesina alata), 'worrywine' (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) and 'japana' (Eupatorium triplinerve) ... Data were collected on fresh and dry matter yield ... Results indicated yield of intercropped medicinal plants and herbs were not significantly reduced during the first harvest, but yield tended to decrease in subsequent harvest suggesting that tree-crop competition was minimal during the early establishment stage

Infant feeding styles of West Indian women.

An ethnographic field study design was used to explore infant feeding among 20 West Indian women on the island of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Two styles of infant feeding emerged from the data, "older style" and "contemporary style." Three patterns of combined breast and bottle feeding were identified: day/night, supplemental, and random. Older style mothers followed a day/night pattern, whereas contemporary style mothers used a supplemental pattern. A folk explanatory model of infant feeding was constructed and included why infants were fed in certain ways, as well as the meaning of feeding practices. The health care system had an impact on both styles of infant feeding through hospital practices and provision of formula through the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

Profile of public health nutrition personnel: challenges for population/system-focused roles and state-level monitoring.

OBJECTIVE: Our 3 objectives were to document the current public health nutrition workforce in the United States, identify top public health nutrition priorities for the next 5 years, and assess the capacity of public health nutrition personnel to address these priorities and the nutrition-related objectives of Healthy People 2000. DESIGN: A census survey was distributed to public health nutrition personnel in all state and local health agencies and nonprofit and for-profit agencies funded by official health agencies throughout the United States and US territories. Also, state and territorial nutrition directors were sent a different questionnaire. SUBJECTS: Data were collected from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 2 territories; 7,550 public health nutrition personnel were represented. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using EpiInfo software. Descriptive statistics are presented. RESULTS: Almost half of the respondents worked in local or county health agencies and about two thirds were involved in direct care services. Only about 40% were registered dietitians and about one fourth had a master's degree. Almost 90% of all full-time equivalent positions were funded through federal dollars; 78% of all funding was from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Top health concerns identified were diet/nutrition to prevent chronic disease, low breast-feeding rates, low birth weight, iron deficiency anemia, and obesity/overweight. Public health nutrition personnel will be challenged to assume population/system-focused roles and state-level monitoring of Healthy People 2000 objectives. Only 2 of the 17 nutrition objectives of Healthy People 2000 were monitored by more than 50% of the states. APPLICATIONS: If official health agencies are to shift to public health core functions, as recommended by an Institute of Medicine report, then a substantial proportion of the public health nutrition workforce must not only change how they practice but also obtain the knowledge and skills to do so. Strategies to improve workforce capacity are discussed, including continuing education interventions through professional organizations, distance and on-campus educational opportunities through approved public health nutrition programs, and advocacy for new funding streams focused on public health core functions.

Season and location effects on serum and liver mineral concentrations of Senepol cattle on St Croix, Virgin Islands.

Serum and liver concentrations of selected macro- and trace minerals were determined in Senepol cattle at 8 sites (4 each in a high and low rainfall region) during the dry and wet season on St Croix. At each site an average of 15 mature, lactating cows, grazing native grass/legume pastures without supplementation were blood sampled each season. Liver samples were collected (n = 51) at slaughter from mature animals originating from the same sites. A preliminary analysis indicated no differences in serum mineral concentrations between mature lactating cows and growing heifers. There were differences between sites for serum magnesium (Mg) (P < 0.001), copper (Cu) (P < 0.05) selenium (Se) (P < 0.001) and zinc (Zn) (P < 0.01) in the dry season, and for Cu (P < 0.01), iron (Fe) (P < 0.001) and Zn (P < 0.01) in the wet season. Higher (P < 0.001) serum concentrations of Mg, Cu, Fe and Zn were observed in the dry season, while Se was higher (P < 0.01) in the wet season. Liver concentrations of Cu and Fe were lower (P < 0.01) and liver molybdenum (Mo) (P < 0.001) and Se (P < 0.05) higher during the dry season. The seasonal differences in serum Cu, Se and Zn concentrations have not been observed in other studies in the Central American region. More than 50% of serum samples were deficient in phosphorus (P) regardless of season, and in Cu and Zn during the wet season. Mineral supplementation should be considered.

Cultivation of medicinal plants in alley cropping systems with Moringa oleifera in the Virgin Islands

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are horticultural crops with socio-economic significance in the Caribbean. People of the Caribbean maintain the tradition of making 'bush (herb) teas' as part of their daily activity. 'Bush tea' is made with a variety of herbs that are combined for their culinary and medicinal properties. Cultivating these plants complements conventional fruit and vegetable production in the Virgin Islands and enhance small-farm productivity. This study was initiated to evaluate the agronomic and economic potential of agroforestry systems involving MAPs with focus on alley cropping. Field experiments were conducted to determine yield and productivity of popular species of medicinal plants and aromatic herbs commonly used in the Virgin Islands. Medicinal plants included 'inflammation bush' (Verbesina alata), 'worrywine' (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) and 'japana' (Eupatorium triplinerve) ... Data were collected on fresh and dry matter yield ... Results indicated yield of intercropped medicinal plants and herbs were not significantly reduced during the first harvest, but yield tended to decrease in subsequent harvest suggesting that tree-crop competition was minimal during the early establishment stage (AU)