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Objective: Although previous research has shown limited availability of healthy food in low-income urban neighbourhoods, the association between food source use and food-purchasing patterns has not yet been examined. We explored food-purchasing patterns in the context of food source use and food source access factors in low-income areas of Baltimore City.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Setting: Predominantly low-income neighbourhoods in East and West Baltimore City.Subjects: A total of 175 low-income African-American adult residents.Results: Supermarkets and corner stores were the most frequently used food sources. Walking was the main form of transportation used by 57 % of all respondents, 97 % of corner-store shoppers and 49 % of supermarket shoppers. Multiple linear regression models adjusting for demographic factors, type of food source used and transportation type found that corner-store use was associated with obtaining more unhealthy food (P = 0·005), whereas driving to the food source was associated with obtaining more healthy food (P = 0·012).Conclusions: The large number of corner stores compared with supermarkets in low-income neighbourhoods makes them an easily accessible and frequently used food source for many people. Interventions to increase the availability and promotion of healthy food in highly accessed corner stores in low-income neighbourhoods are needed. Increased access to transportation may also lead to the use of food sources beyond the corner store, and to increased healthy food purchasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: While corner store-based nutrition interventions have emerged as a potential strategy to increase healthy food availability in low-income communities, few evaluation studies exist. We present the results of a trial in Baltimore City to increase the availability and sales of healthier food options in local stores.Design: Quasi-experimental study.Setting: Corner stores owned by Korean-Americans and supermarkets located in East and West Baltimore.Subjects: Seven corner stores and two supermarkets in East Baltimore received a 10-month intervention and six corner stores and two supermarkets in West Baltimore served as comparison.Results: During and post-intervention, stocking of healthy foods and weekly reported sales of some promoted foods increased significantly in intervention stores compared with comparison stores. Also, intervention storeowners showed significantly higher self-efficacy for stocking some healthy foods in comparison to West Baltimore storeowners.Conclusions: Findings of the study demonstrated that increases in the stocking and promotion of healthy foods can result in increased sales. Working in small corner stores may be a feasible means of improving the availability of healthy foods and their sales in a low-income urban community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of kushenin in treating patients with chronic hepatitis C after renal transplantation. METHODS: Fifty-five patients were randomly assigned by lottery to the treatment group (29 cases) and control group (26 cases). The same immunosuppression therapy was given to all patients in both groups. Patients in the treatment group were treated with kushenin 0.6 g once a day, while those in the control group were treated with conventional liver protective agents such as vitamins. The treatment duration of both groups was 3 months. The incidences of serious hepatitis and acute rejection reaction, serum biochemistry parameters including indicators of liver and kidney functions, hepatic fibrosis index, and serum HCV-RNA were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: (1) The incidence of serious hepatitis in the treatment group and the control group was 3.45% (1/29 cases) and 11.54% (3/26 cases), respectively, which was insignificantly different between the two groups (P=0.335). (2) The incidence of acute rejection in the treatment group was 6.90% (2/29 cases) and that in the control group was 7.69% (2/26 cases), showing insignificant difference (P=0.335). (3) The differences in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), direct bilirubin (DBIL), hyaluronic acid (HA), propeptide collagen type III (PC III), laminin (LN), collagen type IV (Col IV) levels between the two groups were insignificant before transplantation (P>0.05), while the above-mentioned parameters in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group after transplantation (P<0.05). The difference in serum creatinine (SCr) and endogenous creatinine clearance rate (CCr) between the two groups was insignificant before and after transplantation (P>0.05). (4) The negative conversion rate of HCV-RNA in the treatment group was 31.03% (9/29 cases), significantly higher than the value of 11.54% (3/26 cases) in the control group after transplantation (P<0.05). (5) The levels of serum ALT and DBIL in patients with HCV-RNA converted to negative were significantly lower than those with still-positive HCV-RNA (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Kushenin has a certain effect on inhibiting the proliferation of HCV, protecting liver cells, and anti-liver fibrosis. On the other hand, it has no obvious influence on renal allograft function. Thus, the drug is clinically safe and effective for use in treating patients with chronic hepatitis C after renal transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bleeding is a major complication of endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). This study investigated whether the use of metal hemoclips to close EMR-induced ulcers after gastric EMR was effective in preventing delayed bleeding.Methods: This single-center study retrospectively examined the records for 150 lesions of 140 consecutive patients (107 men and 33 women) with a mean age of 61 years (range, 38-81 years) who underwent EMR. For 60 patients, moderate to severe immediate bleeding occurred during the procedure, and the ulcers had been closed using metal hemoclips (clip group). In the remaining 90 cases, the immediate bleeding was absent or mild, and hemoclips were not used (nonclip group). Postprocedure bleeding (delayed bleeding) was analyzed.Results: Overall, delayed bleeding occurred with 14 (9.3%) of the 150 lesions. Delayed bleeding occurred less frequently in the clip group (2 of 60 lesions; 3.3%) than in the nonclip group (12 of 90 lesions; 13.3%; p = 0.04). Of the 60 clip group ulcers, 37 (62%) were completely closed, and none showed delayed bleeding. The median number of hemoclips used for ulcer closure was 10 (range, 4-22), and the median time for ulcer closure was 14 min (range, 4-40 min).Conclusions: Prophylactic closure of gastric EMR-induced ulcers with hemoclips reduced delayed bleeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]