Study of Supportive Housing in Illinois: Interim Report on Publicly-Funded Service Usage by Residents Prior to Entry into Supportive Housing

This study was launched to document and analyze supportive housing residents' use of public services prior to entering housing and afterwards, in order to determine the cost savings of supportive housing to other systems. The hypothesis of the study is that supportive housing reduces a person's usage of expensive, primarily public-funded services.The study tracks individuals' amount of service usage for 2 years before they entered supportive housing, comparing it to their usage of services 2 years after, as well as the change in types of services utilized over time. The study included supportive housing residents across Illinois living in developments that had been in operation for at least one year, and that served individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and individuals who have a mental illness and/or who are formerly incarcerated

Supportive Housing in Illinois: A Wise Investment

This study reports on 177 supportive housing residents around Illinois, comparing their use of publicly-funded services two years before entering supportive housing to two years after entry. Data were collected from Medicaid-reimbursed services, state mental health hospitals, substance use treatment, state prisons, and various county jails and hospitals. The study found an overall cost savings of over $850,000 in the two years after entry into supportive housing, a little over$2,400 per person annually. There was a drastic reduction in state prison, county jail, and state mental health hospital overnight stays. There was a shift from using expensive inpatient services before housing (nursing homes, inpatient care, state mental health hospitals) to less expensive outpatient services after entry into housing (outpatient medical and psychiatric care, case management). Supportive Housing in Illinois: A Wise Investment was researched and written by the Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty with support from the Illinois Supportive Housing Providers Association and the Corporation for Supportive Housing

Retinoic Acid-Mediated Gene Expression in Transgenic Reporter Zebrafish

AbstractRetinoic acid-mediated gene activation is important for normal vertebrate development. The size and nature of retinoic acid make it difficult to identify the precise cellular location of this signaling molecule throughout an embryo. Additionally, retinoic acid (RA) signaling is regulated by a complex combination of receptors, coactivators, and antagonizing proteins. Thus, in order to integrate these signals and identify regions within a whole developing embryo where cells can respond transcriptionally to retinoic acid, we have used a reporter transgenic approach. We have generated several stable lines of transgenic zebrafish which use retinoic acid response elements to drive fluorescent protein expression. In these zebrafish lines, transgene expression is localized to regions of the neural tube, retina, notochord, somites, heart, pronephric ducts, branchial arches, and jaw muscles in embryos and larvae. Transgene expression can be induced in additional regions of the neural tube and retina as well as the immature notochord, hatching gland, enveloping cell layer, and fin by exposing embryos to retinoic acid. Treatment with retinoic acid synthase inhibitors, citral and diethylaminobenzaldehyde (DEAB), during neurulation, greatly reduces transgene expression. DEAB treatment of embryos at gastrulation phenocopies the embryonic effects of vitamin A deprivation or targeted disruption of the RA synthase retinaldehyde dehydrogenase-2 in other vertebrates. Together these data suggest that the reporter expression we see in zebrafish is dependent upon conserved vertebrate pathways of RA synthesis

Impact of Service Learning on the Inter-Cultural Competency of Pre-Service Teachers

The population of the U.S. is becoming increasingly diverse in language and culture. And, the population of students in elementary and secondary schools is becoming more diverse, as well. Therefore, it is critical that pre-service teachers (PSTs) experience and understand other cultures. Teachers will need to become more inter-culturally competent (ICC). According to Hammer & Bennett (2010), ICC is the capability to accurately understand and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonality.” One way to do this is for PSTs to participate in Service Learning. According to the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC), service learning is “a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities (NSLC, 2012). This study responded to the question: Do different types of Service Learning have different impacts on changes in inter-cultural competence of pre-service teachers? The data set included more than 800 students who took the general education course, Human Relations in a Multicultural Society. Students completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) at the beginning and at the conclusion of the semester (Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003). This study analyzed several types of Service Learning that may have impacted the pretest and posttest results. Service Learning opportunities included 18 hours of volunteer work at organizations such as residences for disabled adults, English language tutoring of immigrants and refugees, home visits with children of new immigrants, and others. The university may use this information in considering the effectiveness of its cultural diversity goal: experience diversity with supervised reflection and recognize and respond to conditions of marginalized populations. University departments will use the information in planning, evaluating, and promoting opportunities in the community

A Bubbling Nearby Molecular Cloud: COMPLETE Shells in Perseus

We present a study on the shells (and bubbles) in the Perseus molecular cloud using the COMPLETE survey large-scale 12CO(1-0) and 13CO(1-0) maps. The twelve shells reported here are spread throughout most of the Perseus cloud and have circular or arc-like morphologies with a range in radius of about 0.1 to 3 pc. Most of them have not been detected before most likely as maps of the region lacked the coverage and resolution needed to distinguish them. The majority of the shells are coincident with infrared nebulosity of similar shape and have a candidate powering source near the center. We suggest they are formed by the interaction of spherical or very wide-angle winds powered by young stars inside or near the Perseus molecular cloud -a cloud that is commonly considered to be mostly forming low-mass stars. Two of the twelve shells are powered by high-mass stars close to the cloud, while the others appear to be powered by low or intermediate mass stars in the cloud. We argue that winds with a mass loss rate of about 10^-8 to 10^-6 M_sun/yr are required to produce the observed shells. Our estimates indicate that the energy input rate from these stellar winds is similar to the turbulence dissipation rate. We conclude that in Perseus the total energy input from both collimated protostellar outflows and powerful spherical winds from young stars is sufficient to maintain the turbulence in the molecular cloud. Large scale molecular line and IR continuum maps of a sample of clouds will help determine the frequency of this phenomenon in other star forming regions.Comment: 48 pages in total: 16 pages of text and references; 2 pages of tables; 30 figures (one page per figure). Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Signs of Humanity: A Qualitative Exploration of Panhandling in Philadelphia

People who participate in panhandling are those who ask for financial or other assistance on the street. In Philadelphia, it is known that a large portion of people who panhandle also experience housing insecurity or other hardship. Panhandlers are a very visible fraction of a city’s homeless population and their experiences are of particular interest because their cardboard signs can give insight into common hardships such as housing and food insecurity and substance abuse disorders. While panhandlers in Philadelphia have been surveyed in the past, there is not recent literature on their lived experiences and perspectives and information was not collected and analyzed in a qualitative manner. The purpose of this study was to shed light on the experiences and needs of those who panhandle in Philadelphia. This was a qualitative study that utilized open-ended and freelisting questions. The results of the open ended questions will be analyzed via thematic coding. This approach will highlight major themes in responses to allow summary and organization of the major findings. Analysis of the freelisting question specifically will give information about the ways that those who participate in panhandling spend the money they receive. Formal results are pending, but preliminary findings reveal appreciation of social interaction with passersby, explanations for IV drug use, and lack of family and social support among study participants.The final results will guide recommendations on initiatives benefiting Philadelphia’s homeless population

Association Between Pain Sensitization and Disease Activity in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141868/1/acr23266.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141868/2/acr23266_am.pd

Rigid spin-labeled nucleoside Ç: a nonperturbing EPR probe of nucleic acid conformation

Rigid spin-labeled nucleoside Ç, an analog of deoxycytidine that base-pairs with deoxyguanosine, was incorporated into DNA oligomers by chemical synthesis. Thermal denaturation experiments and circular dichroism (CD) measurements showed that Ç has a negligible effect on DNA duplex stability and conformation. Nucleoside Ç was incorporated into several positions within single-stranded DNA oligomers that can adopt two hairpin conformations of similar energy, each of which contains a four-base loop. The relative mobility of nucleotides in the alternating C/G hairpin loops, 5′-d(GCGC) and 5′-d(CGCG), was determined by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The most mobile nucleotide in the loop is the second one from the 5′-end, followed by the third, first and fourth nucleotides, consistent with previous NMR studies of DNA hairpin loops of different sequences. The EPR hairpin data were also corroborated by fluorescence spectroscopy using oligomers containing reduced Ç (Çf), which is fluorescent. Furthermore, EPR spectra of duplex DNAs that contained Ç at the end of the helix showed features that indicated dipolar coupling between two spins. These data are consistent with end-to-end duplex stacking in solution, which was only observed when G was paired to Ç, but not when Ç was paired with A, C or T

Volume 06

Introduction from Dean Dr. Charles Ross Caught Between Folklore and the Cold War: The Americanization of Russian Children\u27s Literature by Kristen Gains Graphic Design by Amanda Willis Graphic Design by Holly Backer Prejudices in Swiss German Accents by Monika Gutierrez Photography by Cara O\u27Neal Photography by Sara Nelson Edmund Tyrone\u27s Long Journey through Night by Sasha Silberman Photography by Jessica Beardsley Photography by Jamie Gardner and Edward Peeples The Republican Razor: The Guillotine as a Symbol of Equality by Jamie Clift Graphic Design by Matthew Sakach Genocide: The Lasting Effects of Gender Stratification in Rwanda By Tess Lione and Emily Wilkins Photography by Kelsey Holt and Jessica Page Morocco and the 20 February Movement by Charles Vancampen, Gilbert Hall, Jenny Nehrt, Kasey Dye, Amanda Tharp, Jamie Leeawrik, & Ashley McGee Photography by Emily Poulin Photography by Michael Kropf Improving Performance of Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic Using SIMD Assembly Code Instructions by Nick Pastore Art by Austin Polasky and Morgan Glasco Art by Laura L. Kahler The Effects of the Neutral Response Option on the Extremeness of Participant Responses by Melinda L. Edwards and Brandon C. Smith Graphic Design by Mariah Asbell Graphic Design by Cabell Edmunds College Bullying: An Exploratory Analysis by Amelia D. Perry Photography by Alyssa Hayes Death-Related Crime: Applying Bryant\u27s Conceptual Paradigm of Thanatological Crime to Military Settings by Irina Boothe Graphic Design by Perry Bason Graphic Design by James Earl