Treatment-free remission in CML patients with additional chromosome abnormalities in the Philadelphia-positive clone or variant Philadelphia translocations.

Probability of treatment-free remission (TFR) in CML patients with additional chromosomal abnormalities (ACA) in the Philadelphia-positive clone or variant Philadelphia translocations (ACA/Var-Ph group, blue panel), in those with no cytogenetic abnormality other than the classical Philadelphia translocation (c-Ph group, green panel) and in the subgroups of CML patients with high-risk ACA (HR-ACA, yellow panel) and Var-Ph (red panel).

Identification of modifiable chronic kidney disease risk factors by gender in an African-American metabolic syndrome cohort.

African Americans experience a disproportionately greater burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) Stage 5 than Caucasians and other minority groups. Precursors to CKD may also be components of metabolic syndrome. This study identified modifiable risk factors for CKD in an African-American metabolic syndrome cohort and compared results by gender. Both men and women (52%) had blood pressure values of 130/80 or higher, impaired fasting glucose levels of 100 to 125 mg/dL (25.5%), and body mass index greater than 25 (98.9%). There was no significant difference between genders. Appropriate clinical management of these factors may prevent or delay the onset of CKD.

Research into action? The Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education's (EIDGE) experiences as a community-based group in Vancouver, Canada.

The Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education has been supportive of research dedicated to establishing the effectiveness of Managed Alcohol Programs since its inception. Dedicated funding for MAPs in Vancouver, British Columbia is contingent on the research demonstrating that alcohol-related harms are reduced while participating in a Managed Alcohol Program. The Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education understands the need for evidence-based research but we are critical of how much research is needed before sustainable funding can be established for these innovative programs.

"Something good can grow here": chicago urban agriculture food projects.

Food security is a challenge facing many African-American low-income communities nationally. Community and university partners have established urban agriculture programs to improve access to high quality affordable fruits and vegetables by growing, distributing, and selling food in urban neighborhoods. While the challenge of food security is within communities of color, few studies have described these urban agriculture programs and documented their impact on the crew members who work in the programs and live in the low-income communities. More information is needed on the program impact for crew and community health promotion. Using a survey and focus group discussion from the crew and staff we describe the program and activities of four Chicago Urban Agriculture programs. We summarized the impact these programs have on crew members' perception of urban agriculture, health habits, community engagement, and community health promotion in low-income African-American neighborhoods.

Physician Emergency Preparedness: A National Poll of Physicians.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a more comprehensive view than previously available of US physician preparedness for public health emergencies, this study examined physicians' assessments of their preparedness, training, participation in institutional activities, information practices, and experiences with patient education. Four kinds of public health emergencies were considered: natural disasters, major airborne infections, major foodborne illness outbreaks, and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives (CBRNE) incidents. METHODS: Between October 19, 2011, and January 11, 2012, researchers conducted a national poll among 1603 practicing physicians in a range of specialties in hospital and nonhospital settings. RESULTS: More than one-half of physicians felt prepared to handle a natural disaster, a major outbreak of an airborne infection, or a major foodborne illness outbreak, whereas one-third (34%) felt prepared to handle a CBRNE incident. About one-half of physicians (55%) had participated in training or a conference related to emergencies in the past 2 years. Sizable fractions of physicians were unaware of emergency response tools in their care setting. For example, nearly one-half in hospitals (44%) did not know whether their care setting had an emergency response plan, and less than one-quarter had participated in a drill using such a plan in the past 2 years. Less than one-third (31%) of physicians had signed up to receive alerts in the case of future emergencies. One in 10 reported sharing emergency information with patients at least "sometimes." CONCLUSIONS: Significant gaps remain in physician preparedness for public health emergencies, as well as in related training and participation in institutional activities. New efforts, with a focus on possible collaborations between public health institutions and health system leaders combined with effective use of online resources, are needed to bring more physicians on board and to develop relevant and useful key tools. New approaches, including those that rely on different types of care providers, may be needed to enhance patient education regarding emergency preparedness.