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Biomedical subjects

S Beckham

Publications and source records attributed to S Beckham.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

The Hawaii Diet: ad libitum high carbohydrate, low fat multi-cultural diet for the reduction of chronic disease risk factors: obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperglycemia.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the health effects of a high carbohydrate, low fat multi-cultural traditional diet, The Hawaii Diet, fed ad libitum to an adult population. METHODS: Twenty-two adults recruited from various cultural backgrounds in Hawaii were fed, without calorie or portion size restriction, the Hawaii Diet for 21 days. The Hawaii Diet, based on familiar traditional foods from different cultures, is high in complex carbohydrate (77% of calories), low in fat (12% of calories), and moderate in protein (11% of calories). Participants were encouraged to eat to satiety. RESULTS: There was a significant weight loss on The Hawaii Diet averaging 10.8 lbs (23.8 kg) (P < .0001). Blood pressure was decreased from an average of 136.0/82.7 mm Hg to 125.5/78.9 mm Hg yielding a significant decrease of 10.4 mm Hg for systolic (P < .01). Beginning diastolic levels were normal so decreases in these values were not significant. Average lipid values also decreased with total serum cholesterol being significantly reduced from 205.3 to 156.9 mg/dl (P < .0001); LDL from 125.9 to 94.9 mg/dl (P < .001); and HDL from 38.3 to 31.3 mg/dl (P < .0005). Triglycerides (238.7 to 152.2 mg/dl) and the Chol:HDL ratio (5.8 to 5.2) improved at marginally significant levels (P < .08). There was also a significant reduction in blood glucose levels from 112.2 to 91.5 mg/dL (P < .01). CONCLUSION: The Hawaii Diet consisting of high carbohydrate, low fat ethnic meals appears to have a beneficial influence on weight loss and in decreasing systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL, and blood glucose values. Marginal improvement occurred for triglyceride levels. There was also a significant drop in HDL levels, however, the Chol:HDL was ratio did not increase. Further studies of longer duration with a control group should be conducted to test the effectiveness of The Hawaii Diet in maintaining these health benefits over a longer period of time.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Waianae Diet Program: long-term follow-up.

A long-term follow-up was conducted on 82 participants from prior programs based on ad libitum feeding of a traditional Hawaiian diet. Follow-up period ranged from 12 months to 90 months and averaged 33.67 months. An average weight loss of 15.1 pounds was maintained over 7.5 years of follow-up (p < 0.0005) even when stratified over two year intervals, suggesting that this type of program may be an effective long-term weight loss intervention.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Overcoming social and cultural barriers to care for patients with diabetes.

We attempted to develop a culturally sensitive alternative approach to diabetes management in a multiethnic, socially disadvantaged community (Waianae, Hawaii). The aims of this 3.5-year demonstration project were to establish regular community-based medical contact with diabetic patients who had a history of nonadherence to treatment regimens and to determine whether this strategy would lead to better health care (particularly improved self-management) in these patients. This community-based, culturally sensitive outreach system of medical follow up dramatically improved the amount and quality of medical care provided to this high-risk subpopulation of patients with diabetes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Heme protein dynamics studied by phosphorescence of an external phosphorescent probe molecule.

The rate constant for quenching, kq, of the phosphorescence of 6-bromo-2-naphthyl sulfate (BNS) by cytochromes c, cytochrome c peroxidase, catalase, and myoglobin has been measured as a function of temperature and solvent viscosity. In aqueous solution at pH 7.0 for cytochromes c and myoglobin the value of kq is nearly equal to the rate constant for diffusional intermolecular contact, which is estimated from the value of kq for microperoxidase-11. For cytochrome c peroxidase and catalase kq is at least 350 times smaller than the rate of diffusional quenching, which shows that quenching of BNS phosphorescence occurs predominantly over the short distance between donor and acceptor. The mechanism for cytochrome c and myoglobin is found not to involve static quenching, deep penetration of BNS into the globin, or unfolding of the protein to allow contact between heme and BNS. It is concluded that quenching occurs by interaction of BNS with the exposed heme edge and by surface insertion of BNS into the protein to a depth sufficient for quenching by the unexposed heme. The effect of rapid-diffusional enhancement on kq is small. From a comparison of the results for the heme proteins, a model emerges that describes cytochrome c and myoglobin as having dynamic surfaces. Sufficient fluctuations persist to allow penetration of polyatomic probe molecules into the protein matrix, but the dynamics and/or interior microenvironment acts to increase resistance with increasing depth of penetration.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The Waianae Diet Program: a culturally sensitive, community-based obesity and clinical intervention program for the Native Hawaiian population.

The Waianae Diet Program (WDP) is a community-based program designed at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center in response to the high rates of obesity and chronic disease among Native Hawaiians. Its foundation is a 3-week program of traditional Hawaiian diet and cultural teachings. It employs 8 innovations in clinical nutrition and health promotion theory: 1. Non-calorie restricted weight loss protocol, 2. Dietary clinical intervention, 3. Cultural sensitivity, 4. Transition diet, 5. Whole-person approach, 6. Group ohana (family) support, 7. Community intervention, and 8. Role modeling. It has demonstrated significant weight loss with no calorie restriction, improvement in blood pressure, serum glucose, and serum lipids. It appears to have wide acceptance in the Hawaiian community. More studies are warranted to determine the long-term effect of this program.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed1991

Studies on DNA-cleaving agents: computer modeling analysis of the mechanism of activation and cleavage of dynemicin-oligonucleotide complexes.

Dynemicin A is a recently identified antitumor antibiotic. Upon activation, dynemicin is reported to cause double-stranded cleavage of DNA, putatively through the intermediacy of a diradical. Computer modeling of this activation and cleavage process is described herein as part of an effort to establish a structural hypothesis for this mechanistic sequence and for the design of simple analogues. Intercalation complexes of duplex dodecamers [d(CGCGAATTCGCG)]2 and [d(GC)6]2 with both enantiomers of dynemicin and of all related mechanistic intermediates are evaluated. Examination of these structures shows that cycloaromatization of dynemicin to a diradical intermediate results in the rotation of the diradical-forming subunit with respect to the intercalation plane that is of an opposite sense for the two dynemicin enantiomers. In addition, the activation of the (2S) enantiomer of dynemicin occurs by a less restricted approach trajectory than the corresponding (2R) enantiomer. In all complexes, the 5'-3' strand is at least 1 A closer than the 3'-5' strand to the diyl intermediate. As a result, complexes are produced in which the diyl moiety is aligned along [(2S)] or across [(2R)] the minor groove, leading to different predictions for the selectivity of radical-initiated, oxidative lesion of DNA. Molecular dynamics simulations are found to support these predictions, including the 3-base-pair offset cleavage reported for dynemicin.

Anthraquinones↗
PubMed1991

Obesity and cardiovascular risk intervention through the ad libitum feeding of traditional Hawaiian diet.

The Waianae Diet Program is a community-based intervention strategy designed to be culturally appropriate by using a pre-Western-contact Hawaiian diet to reduce chronic-disease risk factors in Native Hawaiians. This paper describes a trial of the traditional Hawaiian diet fed ad libitum to Native Hawaiians with multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease to assess its effect on obesity and cardiovascular risk factors. Twenty Native Hawaiians were placed on a pre-Western-contact Hawaiian diet for 21 d. The diet was low in fat (7%), high in complex carbohydrates (78%), and moderate in protein (15%). Participants were encouraged to eat to satiety. Average energy intake decreased from 10.86 MJ (2594 kcal)/d to 6.57 MJ (1569 kcal)/d. Average weight loss was 7.8 kg (P less than 0.0001) and average serum cholesterol decreased 0.81 mmol/L (P less than 0.001) from 5.76 to 4.95 mmol/L. Blood pressure decreased an average of 11.5 mm Hg systolic (P less than 0.001) and 8.9 mm Hg diastolic (P less than 0.001).

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1991

Demonstration that phosphorescent 6-bromo-2-naphthyl sulfate can be used to probe heme accessibility in heme proteins.

The phosphorescence properties of 6-bromo-2-naphthyl sulfate (BNS) in aqueous solution were studied. The phosphorescence lifetime is several hundred microseconds and is self-quenched. Although a fluorescent photoproduct is formed from BNS, it does not interfere with the decay properties of triplet-state BNS and its utility as a probe of the accessibility of the heme group in heme proteins. Quenching of BNS phosphorescence does not occur for the non-heme protein lysozyme and apomyoglobin but occurs by a dynamic mechanism with a quenching constant of 1-2 x 10(9) M-1 s-1 for cytochrome c and myoglobin and with a quenching constant of 6.2 x 10(9) M-1 s-1 for protoporphyrin IX. The phosphorescence of an inclusion complex of 1-bromonaphthalene and beta-cyclodextrin is not quenched by heme-containing proteins. The temperature and viscosity dependencies of the rate with which BNS phosphorescence is quenched by microperoxidase-11 are consistent with unit quenching efficiency. These results indicate that quenching of BNS phosphorescence occurs only upon contact with the quencher, and the quenching constant can be used to assess the degree of accessibility of the heme group.

Fluorescent Dyes↗