In susceptible individuals, inhalation of Aspergillus spores can affect the respiratory tract in many ways. These spores get trapped in the viscid sputum of asthmatic subjects which triggers a cascade of inflammatory reactions that can result in Aspergillus-induced asthma, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), and allergic Aspergillus sinusitis (AAS). An immunologically mediated disea...

BACKGROUND Although nearly 112 million residents of the United States belong to a non-white ethnic group, the literature about differences in health indicators across ethnic groups is limited almost exclusively to Hispanics. Features of the social experience of many ethnic groups including immigration, discrimination, and acculturation may plausibly influence mortality risk. We explored life ex...

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) use on oxidative stress responses to a single session of resistance exercise in strength-trained men. Twenty-three strength trained men, with 11 self-reporting regular AAS use and 12 self-reporting never taking AAS (NAAS) volunteered to participate in this study. Blood draws were obtained pre and post resist...

the main sources of human exposure to trace metals for non-occupationally exposed individualsare inhalation and ingestion. because the absorption rates of the metals by inhalation are significantly higher (up to 50-60%) than those by ingestion (between 3% and 10%), determination of trace metals in ambient air samples is of special interest. the main purpose of this study was to determine fe, zn...

OBJECTIVES The basis for over-representation of colorectal cancer (CRC) in African-American (AA) populations compared with Caucasians are multifactorial and complex. Understanding the mechanisms for this racial disparity is critical for delivery of better care. Several studies have investigated sporadic CRC for differences in somatic mutations between AAs and Caucasians, but owing to small stud...

Reduced activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) is a risk marker for incident and recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE). Genetic factors influencing aPTT are not well understood, especially in populations of non-European ancestry. The present study aimed to identify aPTT-related gene variants in both European Americans (EAs) and African Americans (AAs). We conducted a genetic association ...

INTRODUCTION Radiological studies show that 80% of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with more than 10 years present spinal afflictions and 40% of those patients will present neurological deterioration. The somatesthetic evoked potential (SEP) and the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are neurophysiologic studies that may be useful in early diagnosis of neurological damage. OBJECTIVE T...

BACKGROUND Although data suggest that intakes of total protein and specific amino acids (AAs) reduce blood pressure, data on other cardiovascular disease risk factors are limited. OBJECTIVE We examined associations between intakes of AAs with known mechanistic links to cardiovascular health and direct measures of arterial stiffness, central blood pressure, and atherosclerosis. METHODS In a ...

BACKGROUND In the absence of vaccines and limitations of currently available chemotherapy, development of safe and efficacious drugs is urgently needed for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) that is fatal, if left untreated. Earlier we reported in vitro apoptotic antileishmanial activity of n-hexane fractions of Artemisia annua leaves (AAL) and seeds (AAS) against Leishmania donovani. In the present s...