united states – Page 12 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Among Indian immigrants, religious practice and obesity may be linked, study shows

By Guest PostJuly 26, 2013Culture, Healthasian indians, body weight, california, dataset, diabetes, ethnic groups, heart disease, hinduism, hindus, independent factor, indian ancestry, indian immigrants, insulin resistance, islam, marjorie kagawa singer, martin f shapiro, mitchell d wong, muslims, nazleen bharmal, obesity, racial, ramadan, religious practice, sikhism, sikhs, united states

Asian Indians are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, and roughly half a million people of Indian ancestry live in California — more than any other state. Individuals from this group are strongly predisposed to obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, due in large part to physical inactivity, diets low in fruit and vegetables, and insulin resistance.

Among other racial and ethnic groups, research has shown that religious practices and religiosity have been associated with obesity and greater body weight, but no one had studied this potential link among Indians. (more…)

Link between low vitamin D blood levels and heart disease varies by race

By Guest PostJuly 25, 2013Health25 hydroxyvitamin, blacks, blood levels, by race, cardiovascular events, cassianne robinson cohen, chinese, coronary heart disease, gene variations, genetic variation, heart disease, hispanics, ian deboer, jama, kidney disease, kidney research institute, leila gray, low vitamin d, mesa, metabolism, michael lauer, multi ethnic, risk factors, study group, united states, university of washington, vitamin d activation, vitamin d levels, whites

Low vitamin D blood levels are linked to greater risk of heart disease in whites and Chinese, but not in blacks and Hispanics, according to a study appearing this week in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Growing evidence has suggested that low blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin are associated with higher risk of developing coronary heart disease among whites. Few of these studies included substantial numbers of people from other races. (more…)

New book by UCLA historian traces role of gender in 1992 Los Angeles riots

By Guest PostJuly 24, 2013Culture, Politics1992, 19th century, american history, american society, asian immigrants, black and white, black male rioters, black man, brenda stevenson, charlotte forten grimke, economic hardship, empire liquor market, free black woman, hot potato case, jewish american judge, joyce karlin, korean black conflict, korean shopkeeper, lapd beating, latasha harlins, life in black, los angeles riots, new book, philadelphia, policemen, rodney king, role of gender, russia, soon ja du, south korea, southern history, total property damage, ucla historian, united states, us race riots, westchester high school

White policemen pulling a black man from a car and viciously beating him. Black male rioters erupting after the officers are acquitted of assault and excessive force charges. Black male rioters pulling a white man from his truck and viciously beating him. Men of color looting stores. Gun-toting male shopkeepers poised on rooftops to protect their businesses.

So many of the indelible images of the 1992 Los Angeles riots feature men, especially black and white men. But there was also a women’s story behind the so-called Rodney King riots, and it is considerably more important and ethnically nuanced than the one that lingers in the public imagination, a UCLA historian argues in a new book. (more…)

Computer models figure out sickle cell crisis

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2013Scienceafrican, blood blockages, brown university, computer models, figure out, george karniadakis, hispanic descent, huan lei, karniadakis lab, red blood cells, sickle cell crisis, ss2 cells, united states

A sickle cell crisis isn’t just about sickle-shaped red blood cells that block capillaries. A second, stickier kind of red blood cell starts the obstruction, making it difficult for sickle cells to flow past.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Using powerful computer models, researchers from Brown University have shown for the first time how different types of red blood cells interact to cause sickle cell crisis, a dangerous blockage of blood flow in capillaries that causes searing pain and tissue damage in people with sickle cell disease.

The models showed that the rigid, crescent-shaped red blood cells that are the hallmark of sickle cell disease don’t cause these blockages on their own. Instead, softer, deformable red blood cells known as SS2 cells start the process by sticking to capillary walls. The rigid sickle-shaped cells then stack up behind the SS2s, like traffic behind a car wreck. (more…)

Navigate America’s Major Rivers Without Getting Wet

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2013Environmentdigital hydrographic data, mississippi river, navigate rivers, navigate upstream, streamer, united states, water bodies

Have you ever dropped a stick into a river and wondered where it might go if it floated all the way downstream? Now you can trace its journey using Streamer – a new on-line service from the National Atlas of the United States^®. (more…)

From flounders to seahorses: Evolutionary success of spiny-rayed fishes detailed

By Guest PostJuly 17, 2013Scienceacanthomorphs, ancestor, anchovies, catfish, dinosaurs, evolutionary history, evolutionary success, flounders, fossil record, genetic tools, herrings, information, life, salmon, seahorses, spiny rayed fishes, thomas near, trout, united states, university of california, university of oxford, vertebrate tree, yale university

Even as the dinosaurs were becoming extinct 66 million years ago, the ancient ancestor of spiny-rayed fishes flourished, eventually giving rise to tens of thousands of species that can now be found in home aquariums or on dinner plates. Using modern genetic tools and information from the fossil record, a team led by researchers at Yale University, University of Oxford, and University of California-Davis have constructed a detailed evolutionary history of the 18,000 species of spiny-rayed fishes existing today, a diverse group that includes basses, pufferfishes, and cichlids, and that comprises a large portion of the vertebrate tree of life.

The findings published the week of July 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show surprisingly close evolutionary relationships between lineages of fish species such as tunas and seahorses, and suggest some fish lineages — like cichlids, the tiny gobies, and little-studied snailfishes — are experiencing high rates of new species origination. (more…)

Outlook is Grim for Mammals and Birds as Human Population Grows

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2013Environment, Naturebirds, birth rate, climate change, congo, data, death rate, democratic republic, ecosystem, erica chambers, extinction, grim, human population, human population footprint, jeffrey mckee, julia guseman, mammals, outlook, population density, prediction, projection, united states

Average Growing Nation Can Expect 10.8 Percent More Threatened Species by 2050

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The ongoing global growth in the human population will inevitably crowd out mammals and birds and has the potential to threaten hundreds of species with extinction within 40 years, new research shows.

Scientists at The Ohio State University have determined that the average growing nation should expect at least 3.3 percent more threatened species in the next decade and an increase of 10.8 percent species threatened with extinction by 2050.

The United States ranks sixth in the world in the number of new species expected to be threatened by 2050, the research showed. (more…)

Women and HIV: A story of racial and ethnic health disparities

By Guest PostJuly 7, 2013Culture, Healthafrican american, aids, american women, behavioral, causes of death, cira, cultural factor, culture, discrimination, ethnic health disparities, hiv, hiv acquisition, hiv epidemic, hiv infection, hiv risk, intimate partner violence, ipv, known risk factors, latina women, lisa rosenthal, negative, non caucasian women, prep access, racial, sarah k calabrese, sexual experience, sexual partnership, sexual risk taking, sexual self concept, sexual stereotypes, sexually transmitted infections, society, stigma, stis, story, theory, united states, women

The history of women with HIV/AIDS in the United States is really a story of racial and ethnic health disparities.

Overall, the rate of American women contracting the disease relative to men has climbed from 8 percent in the 1980s to 25 percent today. But most of this burden is in underserved communities: one in 32 African-American women will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime, as will one in 106 Latina women. Meanwhile, one in 526 Caucasian and Asian women will contract the virus. Death rates are also higher for African-American and Latina women, making it one of the leading causes of death for those groups. (more…)

Tag Archives: united states