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Cuphea (Cuphea viscosissima Jacq. × C. Ianceolata W.T. Aiton) may be prone to drought stress, yet little is known about the yield response of this new oilseed crop to irrigation. A field study was conducted in western Minnesota on a Barnes loam soil (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Calcic Hapludolls) in 2002 and 2003 to compare yield and water use of irrigated and nonirrigated cuphea. Nonirrigated cuphea received only precipitation, while irrigated plants received supplemental watering to maintain soil water content near field capacity during the study. Crop drought stress was assessed by measuring photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, leaf water potential, and δ13C (13C/12C stable isotope composition). In 2002, soil water content was similar for irrigated and nonirrigated plants throughout the growing season owing to timely rains, and seed yield was similar between treatments (873 kg ha-1). During 2003, irrigation resulted in a 2.7-fold increase in seed yield and greater harvest index than nonirrigated plants, while water use efficiency (WUE) of seed production for both treatments was similar (2.4 kg ha-1 mm-1). Drought conditions occurred in 2003; by mid-August, leaf photosynthesis and leaf water potential of nonirrigated plants were 83 and 56% less, respectively, than for irrigated cuphea. Moreover, δ13C measurements of seed further confirmed that nonirrigated cuphea suffered significant drought stress. Our results indicate that cuphea is drought sensitive and that regions or soils prone to water deficits will likely require supplemental irrigation to increase seed yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Implementation research that describes how successfully resuscitation guidelines are translated into practice are lacking. We examined whether recent community-based initiatives being conducted as part of the Minnesota Heart Safe (HS) Communities program increase the delivery of CPR and use of automated external defibrillators (AED) by bystanders and first responders prior to ambulance arrival.Methods: Non-EMS witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) with presumed cardiac etiology treated by a single ambulance service in 2013-2015 were studied. Data were obtained from the Minnesota HS program and the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) Surveillance Registry. Pre-ambulance CPR and AED use within HS communities before and after completion of the program were compared.Results: As of July 2016, 17 Minnesota communities within the ambulance service area had achieved HS designation and 294 OHCAs that occurred in these communities met inclusion criteria for analysis (120 before HS designation, 174 after). CPR was initiated by bystanders or first responders prior to ambulance arrival in 83% of OHCA events that occurred before HS designation and in 95% of events that occurred after designation (OR=4.23 [1.80-9.98]). Pre-ambulance AED use increased from 63% to 77% after the community intervention (OR=1.94 [1.16-3.24]). Overall unadjusted survival to hospital discharge increased slightly after HS designation, but this difference was not statistically significant (17% vs 20%, p=0.32).Conclusion: Implementation of the Heart Safe program in communities within our ambulance service area in Minnesota has increased use of CPR and AEDs by bystanders and first responders prior to ambulance arrival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on whether or not out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates increased following the implementation of the Take Heart America Program in Anoka County and Saint Cloud in Minnesota. The program includes learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation and using automated external defibrillators, and retraining of all emergency medical service personnel. The study found that the program doubled survival of patients suffering from cardiac arrest.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Correctional and detention facilities are at high risk of experiencing outbreaks. We aimed to evaluate cohort-based testing among detained persons exposed to laboratory-confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in order to identify presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases., Methods: During 1-19 May 2020, 2 testing strategies were implemented in 12 tiers or housing units of the Cook County Jail, Chicago, Illinois. Detained persons were approached to participate in serial testing (n = 137) and offered tests at 3 time points over 14 days (day 1, days 3-5, and days 13-14). The second group was offered a single test and interview at the end of a 14-day quarantine period (day 14 group) (n = 87)., Results: 224 detained persons were approached for participation and, of these, 194 (87%) participated in ≥1 interview and 172 (77%) had ≥1 test. Of the 172 tested, 19 were positive for SARS-CoV-2. In the serial testing group, 17 (89%) new cases were detected, 16 (84%) on day 1, 1 (5%) on days 3-5, and none on days 13-14; in the day 14 group, 2 (11%) cases were identified. More than half (12/19; 63%) of the newly identified cases were presymptomatic or asymptomatic., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the utility of cohort-based testing promptly after initiating quarantine within a housing tier. Cohort-based testing efforts identified new SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic and presymptomatic infections that may have been missed by symptom screening alone., (Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2020.)

When defining health and illness, we often look to governing bodies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization rather than our communities. With health disparities prominent throughout the US, it is important to look at the structures we have set forth in health care and find new ways to address health as well as new definitions. Storytelling is a valuable tool to help understand how our communities address health and the place of the hospital or clinic in their health. Narrative Health focuses not just on storytelling but also story listening. At the Community-University Health Care Center in Minneapolis, MN, we have implemented narrative health programs with patients and learners from various health professions. Using creative writing pedagogy and techniques to decentralize the practitioner-patient binary of illness, we learn about our patients' stories of health and experiences with health care. It is important to move past the definitions of health to the complexities of story that allow for the human aspects of illness to be absorbed and understood.

Objective: To develop a BPA Exposure Assessment Module (BEAM) for use in large observational studies and to evaluate the ability of the BEAM to estimate bisphenol A (BPA) exposure levels., Design: The BEAM was designed by modifying an FFQ with questions targeting known sources of BPA exposure. Frequency of intake of known dietary sources of BPA was assessed using the BEAM and three 24 h food records as a reference diet measurement tool. Urinary BPA (uBPA) levels were measured as the criterion tool in a pooled urine sample (nine spot samples per participant). Spearman correlations, linear regression and weighted kappa analysis were used to evaluate the ability of the BEAM and food records to estimate BPA exposure levels., Setting: Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN, USA., Subjects: Sixty-eight healthy adult (20-59 years) volunteers., Results: Dietary BPA intake assessed by the BEAM was not associated with uBPA levels and was unable to predict participants' rank by uBPA levels. BEAM models with all a priori predictors explained 25 % of the variability in uBPA levels. Canned food intake assessed by food records was associated with uBPA levels, but was unable to rank participants by uBPA levels. Multivariable-adjusted food record models with a priori predictors explained 41 % of the variability in uBPA levels., Conclusions: Known dietary sources of BPA exposure explained less than half the variability in uBPA levels, regardless of diet assessment method. Findings suggest that a questionnaire approach may be insufficient for ranking BPA exposure level and additional important sources of BPA exposure likely exist.

With much discussion about health disparities in Minnesota in recent years, there has been growing awareness about the inequities between rich and poor and between majority and minority groups. Attention also needs to be paid to the disparities between women who live in rural areas and those who live in urban parts of the state. Rural women are poorer, older and less likely to have adequate health insurance than their urban counterparts, which can compromise their health status. They also fare worse on a number of health indicators and face barriers to adequate health care that can exacerbate disparities. This article describes the root causes of health disparities between women living in rural and urban parts of the state and explores strategies to mitigate them that include increasing the rural physician workforce, improving access to primary and specialty care through telehealth services, and expanding health insurance options.

Aim: The overall purpose of this article was to describe the challenges and benefits of conducting breastfeeding intervention research with two Native American Tribal communities., Methods: A focus group with an interpretive approach was used to collect data within this qualitative study as a means of incorporating a complex, holistic, subjective interpretation of the case managers' perceptions and experiences. In addition, researchers' field notes were used. Findings are discussed in relation to Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Framework., Results: Themes that emerged during the focus group discussions were related to innovation, relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, trialability, and observability., Conclusions: Conducting research in Native American Tribal communities was both enriching and challenging. The research protocol needs to be culturally appropriate, and complex components need to be videotaped for review on an ongoing basis. Time constraints of case managers need to be examined prior to development of the research protocol.