Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “NORTH AMERICA”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

A randomized controlled trial of interventions to promote cervical cancer screening among Chinese women in North America.

BACKGROUND: North American Chinese women have lower levels of Papanicolaou (Pap) testing than other population subgroups. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of two alternative cervical cancer screening interventions for Chinese women living in North America. METHODS: Four hundred and eighty-two Pap testing underutilizers were identified from community-based surveys of Chinese women conducted in Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. These women were randomly assigned to one of two experimental arms or control status. Several Chinese-language materials were used in both experimental arms: an education-entertainment video, a motivational pamphlet, an educational brochure, and a fact sheet. Women in the first experimental group (outreach worker intervention) received the materials, as well as tailored counseling and logistic assistance, during home visits by trilingual, bicultural outreach workers. Those in the second experimental group (direct mail intervention) received the materials by mail. The control group received usual care. Follow-up surveys were completed 6 months after randomization to ascertain participants' Pap testing behavior. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: A total of 402 women responded to the follow-up survey (83% response rate). Of these women, 50 (39%) of the 129 women in the outreach group, 35 (25%) of the 139 women in the direct mail group, and 20 (15%) of the 134 women in the control group reported Pap testing in the interval between randomization and follow-up data collection (P<.001 for outreach worker versus control, P =.03 for direct mail versus control, and P =.02 for outreach worker versus direct mail). Intervention effects were greater in Vancouver than in Seattle. CONCLUSION: Culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions may improve Pap testing levels among Chinese women in North America.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Strong founder effect in Drosophila pseudoobscura colonizing New Zealand from North America.

The North American native species Drosophila pseudoobscura was first identified in New Zealand in the last few decades. Here, we have studied the genetic consequences of its spread across the Pacific Ocean. Using 10 microsatellites that are highly variable in North American populations, we found that the New Zealand population has substantially fewer alleles, a much lower average heterozygosity, and significantly different allele frequencies at these loci. We have discussed the relative sensitivity of these parameters for detecting the founding event. X-linked loci were more strongly differentiated between continents than autosomal loci, as reflected by larger changes in allele frequencies and greater reductions in numbers of alleles and average heterozygosity. The severity of the genetic diversity loss supports a scenario of a few D. pseudoobscura females being introduced to New Zealand from North America.

Alleles↗
PubMed2003

Violence against women in North America.

Although North America is viewed as a place where women have equal rights and status, violence against women is still rampant. Forty to 51% of women experience some type of violence in their lifetime including child abuse, physical violence, rape and domestic violence. The perpetrator is most likely to be a current or former partner. Such violence stems from historical views of women as property and may flourish because of the public's reluctance to get involved in family matters. The concept of violence has been expanded to include non-traditional types such as sexual harassment, breeches of fiduciary trust and stalking. Treatment of victims of violence must include ensuring their safety, encouraging them to make healthy choices and helping them to understand they are not at fault. Education at all levels is required to change attitudes which perpetuate violence despite laws which forbid it.

Crime Victims↗
PubMed2003

Risk management of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in North America.

As North American Free Trade Agreement partners, Canada, the United States of America (USA) and Mexico apply independent but harmonised transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) risk management strategies in observance of Office International des Epizooties guidelines. The divergence between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk management approaches in North American and Europe reflects comparatively reduced external and internal BSE risks in North America. The external quarantine and internal surveillance measures adopted for BSE respond to several iterations of national risk assessments initiated in the early 1990s and revised as recently as 2002. Feed bans applied since 1997 to preclude establishment of BSE also bear the potential to limit intra-species and inter-species exposure to scrapie, chronic wasting disease (CWD) and transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME). Surveillance continues for the four TSEs through collaborative efforts of national and sub-national veterinary infrastructures and accompanying laboratory networks. Mexico has never identified the presence of any TSE. The last diagnosed case of TME in North America dates back to 1985. Since the only recognised appearance in Canada through an import from Great Britain in 1993, BSE has not been detected in North America. Scrapie and CWD remain at generally low prevalence in Canada and the USA. Independent but harmonised eradication programmes target elimination of the latter two diseases.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed2003

Susceptibility patterns of orally administered antimicrobials among urinary tract infection pathogens from hospitalized patients in North America: comparison report to Europe and Latin America. Results from the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program (2000).

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) remain a worldwide nosocomial infection problem. Geographic variations in pathogen occurrence and susceptibility profiles require monitoring to provide information to guide new (garenoxacin [BMS284756]) therapeutic options. Two thousand seven hundred-eighty UTI isolates from Europe (n = 783), Latin America (531), and North America (1,466) were tested and compared against 44 agents by reference methods in the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program. The top seven pathogens accounted for 90% of all isolates and the rank order for all regions was: Escherichia coli (1,316; 47%), Enterococcus spp. (351; 13%), Klebsiella spp. (306; 11%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (210; 8%), Proteus mirabilis (145; 5%), Enterobacter spp. (97; 4%), and Citrobacter spp. (78; 3%). The pathogen rank order was similar among regions except for the rarer occurrence of Enterococcus spp. (Rank #6, 4%) in Latin America. E. coli ampicillin resistance was highest in Europe and Latin America (51-55%). Ampicillin (37%), ciprofloxacin or garenoxacin (4%), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (23%) resistance remained lowest in North America. Nitrofurantoin susceptibility in E. coli was still at acceptable levels and ranged from 91 to 96% across regions. The regional ciprofloxacin-resistant rank order for P. aeruginosa by region was: Latin America (55%) > Europe (41%) > North America (29%). Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) were only detected in North America (7%). Garenoxacin possessed a 34 to 44% wider spectrum compared to ciprofloxacin against enterococci UTI isolates. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase rates for E. coli and Klebsiella spp. were 4 and 19%, respectively. These results emphasized the need to assess the often striking differences in pathogen occurrence and resistance rates among the commonly encountered UTI pathogens.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2000

[Prevention of cardiovascular diseases: should the same criteria be applied in Latin America and Europe and North America?].

The prevention of cardiovascular diseases is based on the management of known cardiovascular risk factors by pharmacological means or by modifying lifestyles. A reduction in cholesterol levels is associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events and mortality, in both primary or secondary prevention trials. A reduction in blood pressure also leads to a decrease in acute myocardial infarction and the incidence of stroke. Regular exercise is associated with better disease free survival and the effects of smoking cessation are well known. High homocysteine levels are also associated with cardiovascular disease. However, there are no prospective clinical trials showing a beneficial effect of homocysteine reduction on cardiovascular mortality. A change in the type of dietary fat should also be beneficial, but this has not been proven in prospective clinical trials. In Chile, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death among adults and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, including hyperhomocysteinemia is similar to that of European or North American populations. Successful primary and secondary prevention programs to manage these risk factors have been developed in Chile. Therefore, the criteria applied in North America and Europe for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, should be applied with slight modifications, in Latin American Countries.

Canada↗
PubMed1994

Comparison of dietary habits, physical activity and body size among Chinese in North America and China.

BACKGROUND: Chinese in North America have higher rates of many chronic diseases than do Chinese in Asia. However, there is a lack of data among comparisons of the environmental and lifestyle factors for Chinese in China and Chinese residing in North America. METHODS: We examined self-reported dietary nutrient intakes, physical activity patterns and body mass index of 2488 healthy Chinese men and women residing in North America (US and Canada) and in the People's Republic of China. RESULTS: On average, Chinese in China consumed more calories (males 2904 kcal in China, versus 2201 kcal in North America; females 2317 Kcal in China, versus 1795 Kcal in North America and more carbohydrate, but less fat (males 72.2 g in China versus 84.5 g in North America, females 56.6 g in China versus 70.8 g in North America), protein, vitamin A, beta-carotene and vitamin C than did Chinese in North America. Per cent calories from fat was 35% for Chinese in North America and 22% for Chinese in China. In contrast, the per cent of calories from carbohydrates was 62-68% in China and 48% in North America. Chinese in China reported spending more time in vigorous activity, sleeping and walking but less hours in sitting than Chinese in North America. Chinese in China weighted less and were leaner than North American Chinese. CONCLUSIONS: These differences in nutrient intakes, physical activity and body size of Chinese living on two different continents suggest possible explanations for observed differences in chronic disease rates in the two populations.

Asian People↗
PubMed2004

Influenza A viruses of migrating wild aquatic birds in North America.

Surveillance of North America's wild ducks and shorebirds for 26 and 16 years, respectively, revealed differences in the prevalence of orthomyxoviruses between these hosts. Shorebirds had a high frequency of influenza A virus isolation during their northern migration, while wild ducks had high virus isolation frequencies during their southern migration. Some subtypes of influenza occurred regularly in both hosts with a 2-year periodicity, whereas others rarely occurred. Hemagglutinin subtypes H1 through H12 occurred in both hosts; H13 occurred only in shorebirds; and H14, H15, and influenza B and C never were detected. Shorebirds manifested a broader range of subtypes suggesting that shorebirds are the leading source of some viruses (such as H5) which are isolated less frequently from wild ducks. The viruses reported in this study are available for genomic study to determine whether prediction of host range or pandemic potential is possible.

Animal Migration↗
PubMed1997

Commerce in health services in North America within the context of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

This article discusses the future of commercial trade in personal health services in North America within the context of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the latter's potential influence on health care for the Mexican people. It begins by defining concepts related to international trade of services, particularly health services, and then proceeds to analyze elements of NAFTA that affect the delivery, regulation, and financing of such services, as well as their future trade within the NAFTA area. It concludes with some recommendations directed at helping Mexico's national health care system confront the risks posed while taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Mexican economy's entry into a broader market.

Commerce↗
PubMed2004

Two new carnivores from an unusual late Tertiary forest biota in eastern North America.

Late Cenozoic terrestrial fossil records of North America are biased by a predominance of mid-latitude deposits, mostly in the western half of the continent. Consequently, the biological history of eastern North America, including the eastern deciduous forest, remains largely hidden. Unfortunately, vertebrate fossil sites from this vast region are rare, and few pertain to the critically important late Tertiary period, during which intensified global climatic changes took place. Moreover, strong phylogenetic affinities between the flora of eastern North America and eastern Asia clearly demonstrate formerly contiguous connections, but disparity among shared genera (eastern Asia-eastern North America disjunction) implies significant periods of separation since at least the Miocene epoch. Lacustrine sediments deposited within a former sinkhole in the southern Appalachian Mountains provide a rare example of a late Miocene to early Pliocene terrestrial biota from a forested ecosystem. Here we show that the vertebrate remains contained within this deposit represent a unique combination of North American and Eurasian taxa. A new genus and species of the red (lesser) panda (Pristinailurus bristoli), the earliest and most primitive so far known, was recovered. Also among the fauna are a new species of Eurasian badger (Arctomeles dimolodontus) and the largest concentration of fossil tapirs ever recorded. Cladistical analyses of the two new carnivores strongly suggest immigration events that were earlier than and distinct from previous records, and that the close faunal affinities between eastern North America and eastern Asia in the late Tertiary period are consistent with the contemporaneous botanical record.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Adaptations and responses to drought in Quercus species of North America.

Most North American oaks (Quercus spp.) are adapted to drought-prone sites by an ability either to avoid, or to tolerate, water stress, or both. Generally, they have deep-penetrating root systems, enabling them to maintain relatively high predawn water potentials during drought. Oaks have thick leaves and some have relatively small stomata, both characteristics that favor high water use efficiency. However, some species, from warm regions, have large stomatal pores. The rapid evaporative cooling made possible by large stomata, may be an adaptation to high temperature. Some southeastern species display leaf curling during drought, and Q. douglasii a native of California is drought deciduous. Oaks have a ring-porous xylem anatomy, allowing rapid sap movement in large diameter, early-wood vessels when soil water is plentiful, and slower, but sustained, water movement in narrower, late-wood vessels, which are more resistant to cavitation, during drought. Oaks frequently maintain a higher rate of photosynthesis at low leaf water potentials and high vapor pressure deficits than co-occurring species of other genera. An exception is Quercus rubra, which is generally restricted to relatively mesic sites. During drought, many oak species, especially those native to arid regions, undergo changes in tissue osmotic potential. However, it remains to be shown whether such changes are phenological or drought induced. Reported values for bulk modulus of elasticity vary widely among species and studies, and have been observed to both increase and decrease during drought in a way that is unrelated to region or to changes in predawn water potential or osmotic potential. Diurnal leaf water potential during drought is probably a poor indicator of differences among oak species in gas exchange rate, because of interspecific variation in desiccation avoidance and tolerance.

Journal Article↗