Acculturation,Discrimination and 24-h Activity in Asian American Immigrant Women

Asian American immigrant (AAI) women may have suboptimal 24-h activity patterns due to traditional gender role and caregiving responsibilities. However, little is known about their objectively-measured activity. We measured AAI women’s 24-h activity patterns using accelerometry and examined cultural correlates of time in sedentary behavior (SB), light intensity physical activity (LIPA), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sleep. Seventy-five AAI women completed surveys on acculturation (years of U.S. residency and English proficiency), discrimination, and sleep quality, and 7 days of wrist- and hip-accelerometer monitoring. Linear regression was conducted controlling for age, BMI, and education. We also compared activity patterns across Asian subgroups (East, Southeast, South Asians). On average, AAI women had 33 min of MVPA, 6.1 h of LIPA, 10 h of SB, and 5.3 h of sleep per day. South Asian women had the longest SB and the shortest sleep and MVPA hours. English proficiency was negatively related to MVPA (p?=?0.03) and LIPA (p?<?0.01). Years of U.S. residency was positively related to SB (p?=?0.07). Discrimination was related to shorter (p?=?0.03) and poorer quality sleep (p?=?0.06). Culturally-tailored programs targeting SB and sleep and integrating coping strategies against discrimination could help optimize AAI women’s 24-h activity patterns.

     

A mechanism of surface hardness enhancement for H+ irradiated polycarbonate

H⁺ irradiation increases the surface hardness of polycarbonate. Nano indentation measurement shows that the hardness increases up to 3.7 GPa at the dose of 5 × 10¹⁶ # cm⁻² and at the irradiation energy of 150 keV. In addition, the hardness increases with the dose and the energy of H⁺ irradiation. In accordance with the nano indentation measurement, the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) depends on the dose and energy of H⁺ irradiation. The peak at ∼1500 cm⁻¹ for the aromatic ring and the peak at ∼1770 cm⁻¹ for the C O stretch decrease with increasing dose and energy, while the increase of the dose and energy develops a new C O stretch vibration at ∼1700 cm⁻¹ and forms aromatic hydrocarbons at ∼1600 cm⁻¹. X-ray diffraction experiments are also consistent with the nano indentation measurement and FTIR spectra. Based on the experiments, we discuss a possible mechanism of the surface hardness enhancements by ion beam irradiation.

H⁺ irradiation increases the surface hardness of polycarbonate.     

Urinary parabens and triclosan concentrations and associated exposure characteristics in a Korean population—A comparison between night-time and first-morning urine

Parabens and triclosan have been widely used in many personal care products and cosmetics. The endocrine disrupting potential of these compounds is of increasing public health concern. The aim of this study is to understand the current exposure profile of these chemicals in last void before bedtime (night-time) and first-morning void (first-morning) urines among a Korean population and to characterize their exposure sources and pathways.A total of 261 people, including infants (0–2 years), toddlers (3–6 years), children (7–12 years), adolescents (13–18 years), and adults (≥19 years), were recruited, and sampled for night-time urine and first-morning urine of the following day. Methyl (MeP), ethyl (EtP), propyl (PrP) and butyl paraben (BuP), and triclosan were measured in urine. The demographic characteristics, use of personal care products, and food consumption were obtained through a questionnaire.Among the target compounds, EtP and MeP were most frequently detected at the highest concentrations. The median concentration of EtP in night-time urine was 32.4?μg/L (interquartile range: 8.37–82.8?μg/L), which is higher than previously reported worldwide. Unlike other test compounds, compared to those measured from first-morning urine, the EtP concentrations were significantly higher in night-time urine, suggesting the presence of different exposure sources. Among adults, the MeP and PrP concentrations in night-time urine were associated with frequent use of skin care products, colored cosmetics, bath products, toothpaste, vinyl food packaging, or consumption of canned food. The MeP and PrP concentrations were higher in females than in males, especially in night-time urine. The results of this study also show that multiple urine samples are necessary to capture the diurnal variation of non-occupational exposure to environmental chemicals, such as parabens.     

Dietary pattern classifications with nutrient intake and body composition changes in Korean elderly

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

The body composition changes in aging increased the risk of metabolic disorder. Recent dietary studies have increasingly focused on the correlations between dietary patterns and chronic diseases to overcome the limitations of traditional single-nutrient studies because nutrients in food have complex relations that interact.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

This study was conducted to classify a dietary pattern among Korean elderly using cluster analysis and to explore the relationships between dietary patterns and body composition changes in Korean elderly aged 65 years or older. The study subjects (n = 1,435) were individuals who participated in the Korean National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES) in 2011.

RESULTS

There were three dietary patterns derived by cluster analysis in this study: ''Traditional Korean'' (37.49% of total population), ''Meat and Alcohol'' (19.65%) and ''Westernized Korean'' (42.86%). The (1) ''Traditional Korean'' pattern was characterized by high consumptions of white rice and low protein, low fat, and low milk products, while (2) ''Westernized Korean'' pattern ate a Korean-style diet base with various foods such as noodles, bread, eggs and milk, (3) ''Meat and Alcohol'' pattern had high consumptions of meat and alcohol. In body composition changes, compared with the ''Traditional Korean'' pattern, the ''Meat & alcohol'' pattern was associated with a 50% increased risk of having elevated BMI (kg/m²), ''Westernized Korean'' pattern was associated with a 74% increased abnormality of ASM/Wt (kg) by logistics analysis. Most of the Korean adult population continues to follow ether a traditional Korean having beneficial effects for successful aging. However, the ''Traditional Korean'' pattern showed low protein intake (0.7 g/kg), calcium intake, and vitamin D intake as well as low of appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM (kg)) among 3 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering the low ASM, consumption of protein, calcium and vitamin D should be increased for Korean elderly health body composition.     

Culture,distress, and oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) interact to influence emotional support seeking

Research has demonstrated that certain genotypes are expressed in different forms, depending on input from the social environment. To examine sensitivity to cultural norms regarding emotional support seeking as a type of social environment, we explored the behavioral expression of oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) rs53576, a gene previously related to socio-emotional sensitivity. Seeking emotional support in times of distress is normative in American culture but not in Korean culture. Consequently, we predicted a three-way interaction of culture, distress, and OXTR genotype on emotional support seeking. Korean and American participants (n = 274) completed assessments of psychological distress and emotional support seeking and were genotyped for OXTR. We found the predicted three-way interaction: among distressed American participants, those with the GG/AG genotypes reported seeking more emotional social support, compared with those with the AA genotype, whereas Korean participants did not differ significantly by genotype; under conditions of low distress, OXTR groups did not differ significantly in either cultural group. These findings suggest that OXTR rs53576 is sensitive to input from the social environment, specifically cultural norms regarding emotional social support seeking. These findings also indicate that psychological distress and culture are important moderators that shape behavioral outcomes associated with OXTR genotypes.     

Knockdown of RCAN1.4 Increases Susceptibility to FAS-mediated and DNA-damage-induced Apoptosis by Upregulation of p53 Expression

Despite the potential importance of the human regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN-1) gene in the modulation of cell survival under stress, little is known about its role in death-inducing signal pathways. In this study, we addressed the effects of RCAN1.4 knockdown on cellular susceptibility to apoptosis and the activation of death pathway proteins. Transfection of siRNAs against RCAN1.4 resulted in enhanced Fas- and etoposide-induced apoptosis, which was associated with increased expression and translocation of Bax to mitochondria. Our results suggest that enhanced expression and activation of p53 was responsible for the upregulation of Bax and the increased sensitivity to apoptosis, which could be reversed by p53 knockdown. To explain the observed upregulation of p53, we propose a downregulation of the ubiquitin ligase HDM2, probably translationally. These findings show the importance of appropriate RCAN1.4 expression in the modulation of cell survival and reveal a link between RCAN1.4 and p53.