Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2007 Edition

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy contends that any debate over immigration policy must be connected to the larger conversation about America's squeezed middle class and those striving to attain a middle-class standard of living. Accordingly, DMI offers a lens through which to evaluate immigration policy that operates from the basic principle that immigration policy is sound only if it also helps to strengthen and expand America's middle class. With that premise as our starting point, we wrote "Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2007 Edition." First published in December 2005, "Principles" is now updated to reflect recent legislative proposals and a discussion of issues that have emerged as important. It is intended to serve as a guide for those who wish to advance a progressive immigration agenda that reflects the best interests of America's current and aspiring middle class

Impact of Socialization in Elderly Public-Housing Residents

Older adults who experience social isolation have higher rates of mortality relative to their counterparts. Social interactions are an important way to combat this isolation. This research aims to better understand how social isolation in older adults living in low-income households in Richmond, Virginia (RVA) is related to their economic, physical, and psychological health status. As part of the iCubed Health and Wellness Aging Core and in collaboration with the Richmond Memorial: East End Housing Coalition for Older Adults, older adults from a selected public housing unit (n=28) self-reported their financial status, experiences with physical and psycho-social health, and feelings of social isolation. Survey participants were 71.4% female, the mean age was 69.75 years, and 25% were high school graduates. Participants averaged 34 years living in the East End and reported an average of $300 to spend on rent monthly. Overall, 55% (n=20) reported having two or more supports and 61% (n=22) reported hardly ever feeling isolated. However, a small subset of the sample reported having either no supports (5.6%, n=2) and 41.7% (n=15) lacked companionship some of the time or often. A one-way ANOVA was conducted and it was determined that participants who reported feeling left out more often were significantly more likely to report stress, anxiety, and depression (F[2, 25] = 6.998). Findings support the existence of supportive communities formed in low-income areas. Findings also indicate some older individuals residing in public housing in RVA experience social isolation and that this status is linked to poorer psycho-social health.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1048/thumbnail.jp

Morphogenesis: Pharyngeal Arch Development in Ambystoma tigrinum

This study examines pharyngeal arch (PA) development in the eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) during transformation. The PA is a series of six arches that give structure to the gills and is involved in feeding and moving water across the pharyngeal and branchial chambers. Proper remodeling of the PA during transformation is essential to ensure proper respiratory functioning and feeding in terrestrial salamanders. Salamander carcasses were obtained from salamanders that died before, during, or after transformation to a terrestrial state. The carcasses were cleared and stained with alcian blue (cartilage identification) and alizarin red (bone identification) to evaluate PA remodeling during transformation. The majority of salamanders exhibited abnormal PA remodeling. Based on current findings, we hypothesize that the abnormal ossification may be in part due to a changed morphogenesis process.https://openriver.winona.edu/urc2019/1115/thumbnail.jp

Benchmarking the Kansas 4-H Judging System

This study investigated the methods and policies associated with 4-H project judging at the county level within the Kansas 4-H Program. Extension Agents surveyed about current 4-H judging processes indicated a variety of methods used. Data collected showed that 21.8% of the counties surveyed practiced some type of project judging without the 4-H member present. In regard to feedback received by the youth in non-livestock project judging, 64.1% of counties reported both verbal and written forms of feedback, with 25.6% receiving only verbal. In livestock project judging, 93.8% reported that youth receive feedback only verbally. The majority of non-livestock projects are judged using the Danish system, while the number of livestock projects judged are split among both the Danish system and peer system of competitive judging. It was concluded that a wide-variety of judging methods are used, resulting in incongruent programs offered to 4-H members

A community partnership to evaluate the feasibility of addressing food insecurity among adult patients in an urban healthcare system

BACKGROUND: Food insecurity (FI) is a significant public health problem. Possible sequelae of prolonged food insecurity include kidney disease, obesity, and diabetes. Our objective was to assess the feasibility of a partnership between Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) and Gleaners Community Foodbank of Southeastern Michigan to implement and evaluate a food supplementation intervention initiated in a hospital outpatient clinic setting. METHODS: We established a protocol for using the Hunger Vital Signs to screen HFHS internal medicine patients for food insecurity and established the data sharing infrastructure and agreements necessary for an HFHS-Gleaners partnership that would allow home delivery of food to consenting patients. We evaluated the food supplementation program using a quasi-experimental design and constructing a historical comparison group using the electronic medical record. Patients identified as food insecure through screening were enrolled in the program and received food supplementation twice per month for a total of 12 months, mostly by home delivery. The feasibility outcomes included successful clinic-based screening and enrollment and successful food delivery to consenting patients. Our evaluation compared healthcare utilization between the intervention and historical comparison group during a 12-month observation period using a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis. RESULTS: Of 1691 patients screened, 353 patients (20.9%) met the criteria for FI, of which 340/353 (96.3%) consented, and 256/340 (75.3%) were matched and had data sufficient for analysis. Food deliveries were successfully made to 89.9% of participant households. At follow-up, the intervention group showed greater reductions in emergency department visits than the comparison group, -41.5% and -25.3% reduction, respectively. Similar results were observed for hospitalizations, -55.9% and -17.6% reduction for intervention and control groups, respectively. DID regression analysis also showed lower trends in ED visits and hospitalizations for the intervention group compared to the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that community-health system partnerships to address patient-reported food insecurity are feasible and potentially could reduce healthcare utilization in these patients. A larger, randomized trial may be the next step in fully evaluating this intervention, perhaps with more outcomes (e.g., medication adherence), and additional covariates (e.g., housing insecurity and financial strain)

Negative Cooperativity in the Nitrogenase Fe Protein Electron Delivery Cycle

Nitrogenase catalyzes the ATP-dependent reduction of dinitrogen (N2) to two ammonia (NH3) molecules through the participation of its two protein components, the MoFe and Fe proteins. Electron transfer (ET) from the Fe protein to the catalytic MoFe protein involves a series of synchronized events requiring the transient association of one Fe protein with each αβ half of the α2β2 MoFe protein. This process is referred to as the Fe protein cycle and includes binding of two ATP to an Fe protein, association of an Fe protein with the MoFe protein, ET from the Fe protein to the MoFe protein, hydrolysis of the two ATP to two ADP and two Pi for each ET, Pi release, and dissociation of oxidized Fe protein-(ADP)2 from the MoFe protein. Because the MoFe protein tetramer has two separate αβ active units, it participates in two distinct Fe protein cycles. Quantitative kinetic measurements of ET, ATP hydrolysis, and Pi release during the presteady-state phase of electron delivery demonstrate that the two halves of the ternary complex between the MoFe protein and two reduced Fe protein-(ATP)2 do not undergo the Fe protein cycle independently. Instead, the data are globally fit with a two-branch negative-cooperativity kinetic model in which ET in one-half of the complex partially suppresses this process in the other. A possible mechanism for communication between the two halves of the nitrogenase complex is suggested by normal-mode calculations showing correlated and anticorrelated motions between the two halves

Varenicline Versus Nicotine Replacement Therapy for Long-Term Smoking Cessation:An Observational Study Using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink

Background Smoking is the leading avoidable cause of illness and premature mortality. The first-line treatments for smoking cessation are nicotine replacement therapy and varenicline. Meta-analyses of experimental studies have shown that participants allocated to the varenicline group were 1.57 times (95% confidence interval 1.29 to 1.91 times) as likely to be abstinent 6 months after treatment as those allocated to the nicotine replacement therapy group. However, there is limited evidence about the effectiveness of varenicline when prescribed in primary care. We investigated the effectiveness and rate of adverse events of these medicines in the general population. Objective To estimate the effect of prescribing varenicline on smoking cessation rates and health outcomes. Data sources Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Methods We conducted an observational cohort study using electronic medical records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. We extracted data on all patients who were prescribed varenicline or nicotine replacement therapy after 1 September 2006 who were aged ≥ 18 years. We investigated the effects of varenicline on smoking cessation, all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality and hospitalisation for: (1) chronic lung disease, (2) lung cancer, (3) coronary heart disease, (4) pneumonia, (5) cerebrovascular disease, (6) diabetes, and (7) external causes; primary care diagnosis of myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, or prescription for anxiety; weight in kg; general practitioner and hospital attendance. Our primary outcome was smoking cessation 2 years after the first prescription. We investigated the baseline differences between patients prescribed varenicline and patients prescribed nicotine replacement therapy. We report results using multivariable-adjusted, propensity score and instrumental variable regression. Finally, we developed methods to assess the relative bias of the different statistical methods we used. Results People prescribed varenicline were healthier at baseline than those prescribed nicotine replacement therapy in almost all characteristics, which highlighted the potential for residual confounding. Our instrumental variable analysis results found little evidence that patients prescribed varenicline had lower mortality 2 years after their first prescription (risk difference 0.67, 95% confidence interval –0.11 to 1.46) than those prescribed nicotine replacement therapy. They had similar rates of all-cause hospitalisation, incident primary care diagnoses of myocardial infarction and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. People prescribed varenicline subsequently attended primary care less frequently. Patients prescribed varenicline were more likely (odds ratio 1.46, 95% confidence interval 1.42 to 1.50) to be abstinent 6 months after treatment than those prescribed nicotine replacement therapy when estimated using multivariable-adjusted for baseline covariates. Patients from more deprived areas were less likely to be prescribed varenicline. However, varenicline had similar effectiveness for these groups. Conclusion Patients prescribed varenicline in primary care were more likely to quit smoking than those prescribed nicotine replacement therapy, but there was little evidence that they had lower rates of mortality or morbidity in the 4 years following the first prescription. There was little evidence of heterogeneity in effectiveness across the population