The purpose of this community-based participatory study was to identify factors associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) screening compliance and non-compliance among Cambodians, Vietnamese, Koreans and Chinese men and women 50 years and older living in the United States. A cross-sectional design was used in the study. The completed sample included 815 Asian Americans which included Cambodians (N=215), Vietnamese (N=195), Koreans (N=94) and Chinese (N=311). A 95-item questionnaire was developed and pilot tested for content validity and reliability. An in-person data collection approach was utilized and participants were given choice in responding in English or their native language. Of the 815 participants, 79.1% (N=645) reported never-screened, 7.9% (N=64), non-compliance, and 13.0% (N=106) compliance. Education was significantly associated with never-screened for CRC for Vietnamese and Chinese; employment status for Cambodians and Koreans; lack of health insurance for Cambodians, Korean and Chinese; English fluency and years lived in the U.S. for Vietnamese, Koreans, and Chinese. Less acculturated Asian Americans were more likely to be never screened, but differentially across ethnic subgroups. Barriers to screening included lack of knowledge, language, transportation, and time. Increased culturally-targeted public awareness and education programs are needed to improve CRC screening and compliance among high risk Asian American ethnic subgroups.

Objective. Vietnamese American women are at the greatest risk for cervical cancer but have the lowest cervical cancer screening rates. This study was to determine whether demographic and acculturation, healthcare access, and knowledge and beliefs are associated with a prior history of cervical cancer screening among Vietnamese women. Methods. Vietnamese women (n = 1450) from 30 Vietnamese community-based organizations located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey participated in the study and completed baseline assessments. Logistic regression analyses were performed. Results. Overall levels of knowledge about cervical cancer screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) are low. Factors in knowledge, attitude, and beliefs domains were significantly associated with Pap test behavior. In multivariate analyses, physician recommendation for screening and having health insurance were positively associated with prior screening. Conclusion. Understanding the factors that are associated with cervical cancer screening will inform the development of culturally appropriate intervention strategies that would potentially lead to increasing cervical cancer screening rates among Vietnamese women.

Objective

To test the Sociocultural Health Behavior Model in relation to the health behavior of prostate cancer (PCa) screening among Chinese American men.

Methods

Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model analyses were conducted among Chinese American men.

Results

The path analysis supported the components of the sociocultural model and indicated a positive and significant relationship between PCa screening and the enabling factors; between cultural factors and predisposing, enabling, and access/satisfaction with health care factors; and between enabling factors and access/satisfaction with health care.

Conclusions

The model highlights the significance that sociocultural factors play in relation to PCa screening.

Objective

The purpose of this community-based study was to apply a Sociocultural Health Behavior Model to determine the association of factors proposed in the model with breast cancer screening behaviors among Asian American women.

Methods

A cross-sectional design included a sample of 682 Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese women aged 40 years and older. The frequency distribution analysis and Chi-square analysis were used for the initial screening of the following variables: sociodemographic, cultural, enabling, environmental, and social support. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted on factors for breast cancer screening using multinomial logistic regression analysis.

Results

Correlates to positive breast cancer screening included demographics (ethnicity), cultural factors (living in the United States for 15 years or more, speaking English well), enabling factors (having a regular physician to visit, health insurance covering the screening), and family/social support factors (those who had a family/friend receiving a mammogram).

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that breast cancer screening programs will be more effective if they include the cultural and health beliefs, enabling, and social support factors associated with breast cancer screening. The use of community organizations may play a role in helping to increase breast cancer screening rates among Asian American women.

Significant disparities in cervical cancer incidence and mortality exist among ethnic minority women, and in particular, among Asian American women. These disparities have been attributed primarily to differences in screening rates across ethnic/racial groups. Asian American women have one of the lowest rates of screening compared to other ethnic/racial groups. Yet Asian Americans, who comprise one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, have received the least attention in cancer control research. Studies suggest that various factors, including lack of knowledge, psychosocial and cultural beliefs, and access barriers, are associated with cervical cancer screening behaviors among Asian American women. Indeed, the few interventions that have been developed for Asian American women demonstrate that targeting these factors can yield significant increases in screening rates. It is important to note, however, that the effectiveness of educational interventions is often attenuated if access barriers are not adequately addressed. Hence, interventions that include key essential components, such as the use of community individuals as lay health workers, culturally-tailored and linguistically-appropriate educational materials, and navigation assistance to overcome access barriers, are more likely to be successful in enhancing screening rates. As the benefits of community-based cervical cancer prevention programs become more apparent, it will be essential to identify effective approaches for disseminating such programs more broadly. In conclusion, community-based cervical cancer screening programs have demonstrated promise in addressing existing cervical cancer disparities by increasing awareness and knowledge and promoting recommended screening behaviors. These findings will be instrumental in guiding future community-based programs to reduce cervical cancer health disparities among Asian American women.

Abstract

Objective

The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a community-based pilot intervention that combined cervical cancer education with patient navigation on cervical cancer screening behaviors among Chinese American women residing in New York City.

Methods

Chinese women (n = 134) who had not had a Pap test within the previous 12 months were recruited from four Asian community-based organizations (CBOs). Women from two of the CBOs received the intervention (n = 80) consisting of education, interaction with a Chinese physician, and navigation assistance, including help in identifying and accessing free or low-cost screening services. The control group (n = 54) received education delivered by Chinese community health educators and written materials on general health and cancer screening, including cervical cancer, the Pap test, and information about sites that provided free screening. Study assessments were obtained in-person at baseline and postintervention. Screening behavior was self-reported at 12-month postintervention and verified by medical staff.

Results

In the 12-month interval following the program, screening rates were significantly higher in the intervention group (70%) compared to the control group (11.1%). Hierarchical logistic regression analyses indicated that screening behavior was associated with older age (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.01–1.15, p < .05). In addition, women with poorer English language fluency (OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.10–0.89, p < .05) and who did not have health insurance were less likely to obtain screening (OR = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.02–0.96, p < .05). Among health beliefs, greater perceived severity of disease was positively associated with screening behavior (OR = 4.26, 95% CI = 1.01-18.04, p < .05).

Conclusions

Community-based programs that provide combined education and patient navigation may be effective in overcoming the extensive linguistic and access barriers to screening faced by Chinese American women.

Mutations in Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are linked to the most common familial forms and some sporadic forms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The LRRK2 protein contains two well-known functional domains, MAPKKK-like kinase and Rab-like GTPase domains. Emerging evidence shows that LRRK2 contains kinase activity which is enhanced in several PD-associated mutants of LRRK2. However, the GTPase activity of LRRK2 has yet to be formally demonstrated. Here, we produced and purified the epitope-tagged LRRK2 protein from transgenic mouse brain, and showed that purified brain LRRK2 possesses both kinase and GTPase activity as assayed by GTP binding and hydrolysis. The brain LRRK2 is associated with elevated kinase activity in comparison to that from transgenic lung or transfected cultured cells. In transfected cell cultures, we detected GTP hydrolysis activity in full-length as well as in GTPase domain of LRRK2. This result indicates that LRRK2 GTPase can be active independent of LRRK2 kinase activity (while LRRK2 kinase activity requires the presence of LRRK2 GTPase as previously shown). We further found that PD mutation R1441C/G in the GTPase domain causes reduced GTP hydrolysis activity, consistent with the altered enzymatic activity in the mutant LRRK2 carrying PD familial mutations. Therefore, our study shows the biochemical characteristics of brain-specific LRRK2 which is associated with robust kinase and GTPase activity. The distinctive levels of kinase/GTPase activity in brain LRRK2 may help explain LRRK2-associated neuronal functions or dysfunctions in the pathogenesis of PD.

Background

Quantitative simultaneous monitoring of the expression levels of thousands of genes under various experimental conditions is now possible using microarray experiments. However, there are still gaps toward whole-genome functional annotation of genes using the gene expression data.

Results

In this paper, we propose a novel technique called Fuzzy Nearest Clusters for genome-wide functional annotation of unclassified genes. The technique consists of two steps: an initial hierarchical clustering step to detect homogeneous co-expressed gene subgroups or clusters in each possibly heterogeneous functional class; followed by a classification step to predict the functional roles of the unclassified genes based on their corresponding similarities to the detected functional clusters.

Conclusion

Our experimental results with yeast gene expression data showed that the proposed method can accurately predict the genes' functions, even those with multiple functional roles, and the prediction performance is most independent of the underlying heterogeneity of the complex functional classes, as compared to the other conventional gene function prediction approaches.

Interaction between viral proteins is necessary for viral replication and viral particle assembly. We used the yeast two-hybrid assay to identify interactions among all the mature proteins of the hepatitis C virus. The interaction between NS3 and NS3 was one of the strongest viral protein-protein interactions detected. The minimal region required for this interaction was mapped to a specific subdomain of 174 amino acids in the N terminus of the helicase region. Random mutations in the minimal region were generated by PCR, and mutants that failed to interact with a wild-type minimal fragment were isolated using the yeast two-hybrid assay as a screen. Three of these mutations resulted in a reduction or a loss of interaction between helicases. Analytical gel filtration showed that in the presence of an oligonucleotide, wild-type helicases form dimers whereas the mutants remain mostly monomeric. All three mutants were partially or almost inactive when assayed for helicase activity in vitro. Mixing a mutant helicase (Y267S) with wild-type helicase did not dramatically affect helicase activity. These data indicate that dimerization of the helicase is important for helicase activity. The mutations that reduce self-association of the helicase may define the key residues involved in NS3-NS3 dimerization.