The Master of Public Health program for Arkansas.

A unique Master of Public Health (MPH) program has been operating in Arkansas for the past two years. Developed by the faculty of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University Medical Center, it offers health professionals the opportunity to earn the MPH degree over a two-year period while remaining in their positions and communities. Most classes are taught on the campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock. Several courses have been offered by the faculty of the Health Services Administration program and Department of Biology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR).

Traumatic spinal cord injury in Arkansas, 1980 to 1989.

To develop and implement target prevention strategies, we studied the causes of spinal cord injuries in Arkansas and the groups most affected by SCI. Any Arkansas resident with a spinal cord injury who satisfied the state registry criteria was defined as a subject. Transportation-related incidents caused 319 (49.5%) of the SCIs. Males 15 to 24 years of age experienced the highest incidence of SCI because of transportation and sport-related injuries. The rate of SCI from falls was 2.8 times higher for people 65 years of age and older than for people 64 years of age and younger. Minority males 15 to 44 years of age were at the greatest risk of violence-related SCIs. More intervention is needed in the areas of transportation and sport-related causes involving males 15 to 24 years of age, fall-related causes involving the elderly, and violence-related causes involving minority males 15 to 44 years of age.

Aromatic amine acetyltransferase as a marker for colorectal cancer: environmental and demographic associations.

In this pilot, case-controlled investigation of 43 colorectal and 41 control male patients, we compared associations of colorectal cancer with the aromatic amine acetyltransferase polymorphism, nutritional and demographic characteristics, medical histories, industrial and occupational histories, and exposures from home environments and personal habits. Persons with the "fast" acetylator trait were at greater risk of colorectal cancer (odds ratio: 2.48; 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 6.03). Results that differed from previous reports were positive associations of colorectal cancer with agricultural and manufacturing industries and with consumption of meats prepared by smoking, curing, and barbecueing. As expected, exercise frequency, cruciferous vegetables, and dietary fiber served as protective factors.

A survey of measured levels and dietary sources of selected organochlorine pesticide residues and metabolites in human sera from a rural population.

We measured serum levels of 11 pesticide residues and metabolites in 85 rural-dwelling persons. In general, the serum levels increased with age, with males having slightly higher levels than females. Consumption of eggs from home-raised hens contributed substantially to increased serum concentrations of trans-nonachlor, heptachlor epoxide, and oxychlordane; consumption of home-grown root vegetables likewise contributed to increased serum concentrations of trans-nonachlor and oxychlordane. Health risks, if any, that may be attributable to these "background" levels of exposure remain to be fully characterized in this, and all other, affected populations.

An evaluation of serum pesticide residue levels and liver function in persons exposed to dairy products contaminated with heptachlor.

We studied a group of 45 dairy farm family members who had consumed undiluted raw milk products known to be contaminated with residues of the pesticide heptachlor at concentrations as high as 89.2 ppm (fat basis). We compared results of serum pesticide assays for these exposed persons with results for an unexposed group of 94 persons from the same geographic area and the results from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The exposed group had significantly higher mean levels of primary heptachlor metabolites--ie, heptachlor epoxide (0.84 +/- 1.0 vs 0.50 +/- 0.9 parts per billion) and oxychlordane (0.71 +/- 0.8 vs 0.49 +/- 1.1 parts per billion)--than the unexposed group. In the exposed group, 21.2% had elevated serum concentrations of these same metabolites; this rate was significantly greater than the rates in both the unexposed farm family members (heptachlor epoxide, 3.8%; oxychlordane, 6.3%) and the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey sample (2.5% for both metabolites). However, we found no evidence of related acute and/or subacute hepatic effects in these exposed persons regardless of their serum concentrations of pesticide residues.

The Bacon Chow study: maternal supplementation and infant growth.

The effect of maternal supplementation during both gestation and lactation on infant growth from birth to 12 mth was investigated in the double-blind, randomly allocated control trial conducted in Taiwan by the late Bacon F. Chow. The supplement was a milk-based formula providing 800 kcal and 40 g protein daily. The placebo provided less than 40 kcal per diem but resembled the supplement in appearance. Supplementation was limited to mothers and began after birth of one infant and continued without interruption until weaning of a second infant. Supplement effects were tested by comparing both supplement and placebo groups and first- and second-infant groups with respect to weight, length and head circumference. Both comparisons of growth curves and analyses of variance were carried out. Both strategies agreed in failing to detect differences in growth between supplement and placebo groups. However, differences were found between first and second infants in the supplement group.

Maternal supplementation and postnatal physical growth: a review.

Five maternal supplementation trials are compared in which mothers, but not their infants, were given food supplements and infant growth was measured as the outcome. In contrast to studies wherein children were supplemented, in addition to or exclusive of mothers, the trials under review generally failed to demonstrate any effect on physical growth.

Anatomical distribution of subcutaneous fat and its description by multivariate methods: how valid are principal components?

Principal components analyses of subcutaneous fat measurements covering arm, trunk, and leg areas of the body were performed on 44 samples varying in sex, age, and ethnicity of subjects; measurement technique; and number of sites studied. Three major components emerged, similar in all samples: A first component of obesity, a second component of anatomical fat distribution contrasting trunk and extremity fat, and a third distributional component contrasting leg and arm fat. These components did not appear to vary with age (school children to older adults), sex, ethnicity (Black-White), technique (caliper, ultrasound, or X-rays), or number of sites (five to 13). The three major components are similar to vectors or obesity and relative fat patterning reported earlier by anthroposcopic (Skerlj et al., 1953) and graphic (Garn, 1955) methods. One of the pattern components (trunk-extremity) appears to correspond to a body build continuum associated with adult chronic diseases (Vague, 1956). The stability of these components among samples that differ in several characteristics suggests the validity of these components in describing aspects of body build of anthropological and epidemiological importance.

Optical studies of the interaction of 33258 Hoechst with DNA, chromatin, and metaphase chromosomes.

The interaction of the bisbenzimidazole dye 33258 Hoechst with DNA and chromatin is characterized by changes in absorption, fluorescence, and circular dichroism measurements. At low dye/phosphate ratios, dye binding is accompanied by intense fluorescence and circular dichroism and exhibits little sensitivity to ionic strength. At higher dye/phosphate ratios, additional dye binding can be detected by further changes in absorptivity. This secondary binding is suppressed by increasing the ionic strength. A-T rich DNA sequences enhance both dye binding and fluorescence quantum yield, while chromosomal proteins apparently exclude the dye from approximately half of the sites available with DNA. Fluorescence of the free dye is sensitive to pH and, below pH 8, to quenching by iodide ion. Substitution of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) for thymidine in synthetic polynucleotides, DNA, or unfixed chromatin quenches the fluorescence of bound dye. This suppression of dye fluorescence permits optical detection of BrdU incorporation associated with DNA synthesis in cytological chromosome preparations. Quenching of 33258 Hoechst fluorescence by BrdU can be abolished by appropriate alterations in solvent conditions, thereby revealing changes in dye fluorescence of microscopic specimens specifically due to BrdU incorporation.