Search

Background: The US–Mexico border is a medically underserved region where survival disparities have been observed in adults diagnosed and treated for various malignancies. Studies examining survival disparities among children living in this region and diagnosed with cancer are lacking. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of border residence on survival among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and living near the Texas–Mexico border at the time of their diagnosis. The authors hypothesized that this group experiences inferior survival compared with patients with childhood leukemia living in nonborder areas. Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective survival analysis leveraging data from the Texas Cancer Registry. The study included patients aged birth to 19 years who were diagnosed with ALL or AML between 1995 and 2017. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the factors associated with the risk of death. Overall survival estimates were calculated using Kaplan–Meier methods. Results: During the study period, there were 6002 children diagnosed with ALL and 1279 diagnosed with AML. Inferior 5‐year overall survival was observed among children with ALL living along the border region compared with those living in nonborder areas (77.5% vs. 85.8%). In adjusted models, children with ALL living along the border experienced a 30% increased hazard of death versus children living in nonborder areas. In contrast, for children with AML, survival estimates did not vary by border versus nonborder residence. Conclusions: Living along the border was associated with inferior survival among children with ALL, but not among children with AML. Additional studies are urgently needed to identify the factors driving these disparities to effectively design multilevel interventions and influence state and national cancer control programs. The US–Mexico border is a medically underserved region of the United States in which cancer disparities have been observed for adults. In this work, the authors describe survival disparities observed in children diagnosed with leukemia living along the Texas–Mexico border region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sphingobium yanoikuyae S72 was isolated from the rhizosphere of sorghum plant in Mexico and we evaluated its survival and role in the degradation of some selected monoaromatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using minimal medium (Bushnell Hass medium (BH)) in which each of the hydrocarbons (naphthalene, phenanthrene, xylene, toluene, and biphenyl) served as sole carbon source. Gas column chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis was used to evaluate the effect of S72's growth in the medium with the hydrocarbons. The genome of the S72 was sequenced to determine the genetic basis for the degradation of the selected hydrocarbon in S72. The genome was assembled de novo with Spades assembler and Velvet assembler and the obtained contigs were reduced to 1 manually using Consed software. Genome annotation was carried out Prokka version 1.12, and gene calling and further annotation was carried out with NCBI PGAAP. Pangenome analysis and COG annotation were done with bacteria pangenome analysis tool (BPGA) and with PATRIC online server, respectively. S72 grew effectively in the culture medium with the hydrocarbon with concentration ranging from 20–100 mg/mL for each hydrocarbon tested. S72 degraded biphenyl by 85%, phenanthrene by 93%, naphthalene by 81%, xylene by 19%, and toluene by 30%. The sequenced S72 genome was reduced to 1 contig and genome analysis revealed the presence of genes essential for the degradation of hydrocarbons in S72. A total of 126 unique genes in S72 are associated with the degradation of hydrocarbons and xenobiotics. S72 grew effectively in the tested hydrocarbon and shows good degradation efficiency. S72 will therefore be a good candidate for bioremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Existing racial/ethnic disparities in physical activity during childhood increase Hispanics' risk of developing chronic diseases, which serves to increase health disparities. This study examined associations of family cohesion and conflict with self-reported moderate-tovigorous physical activity (MVPA), controlling for psychosocial covariates such as subjective social status, anxiety, and sensation-seeking. Methods: 1000 Mexican origin adolescents reported their MVPA levels approximately 2 years apart. Psychosocial covariates, family cohesion and conflict were measured at the first assessment. Generalized Linear Models were used to prospectively examine the relationship between family cohesion and conflict and subsequent MVPA based on 711 participants who had low levels of baseline MVPA. Results: 35% of boys and 24% of girls reported adequate MVPA levels at follow-up; girls were less likely to report adequate MVPA (RR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.61–0.93) than boys. Overall, family cohesion was associated with MVPA (P = .01), but family cohesion was not (P = .41). Gender-based analyses revealed that adequate MVPA was associated with family cohesion (RR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.03–1.88), sensation seeking (RR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.00–1.10), and age (RR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74–0.98) among girls and with subjective social status (RR = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.08–1.33) among boys. Conclusions: The family social environment and gender differences should be addressed in health promotion programs targeting MVPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given disproportionate burden of physical inactivity among US Hispanics and emerging interests in the potential role of the built environment on physical activity, we tested the hypothesis that residing in a more walkable block group is associated with increased physical activity in a cohort of Mexican-American adults. 10,183 Mexican-American adults from Houston, TX, USA were studied. Physical activity was assessed through self-report. Geographical information systems were used to create a 'walkability index' (WI). We examined the relationship between WI and physical activity using regression models. Findings for the entire study population suggested a direct association between neighborhood walkability and physical activity that approached statistical significance (High WI vs. Low WI: OR = 1.16; 95 % CI 0.95-1.40). Furthermore, participants who lived in a higher WI neighborhood were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines in 2 groups: (1) men whose recreational physical activity included walking (High WI vs. Low WI: OR = 5.43; 95 % CI 1.30-22.73) and (2) men whose only recreational physical activity was (High WI vs. Low WI: OR = 9.54; 95 % CI 1.84-49.60). Our findings suggest gender differences in the association between the built environment and physical activity in Mexican-American adults. Attempts to encourage walking among Mexican-American adults may be easier in high-walkability neighborhoods than in low-walkability neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]