Low-Income Housing in Eastern North Carolina

The problem with the quality of housing in low-income areas is critical. Most of this housing is old and outdated which puts homeowners at risk for health problems and safety. The main purpose behind this research is to dive into how wages affect how affordable housing is, whether apartments or houses. Due to increased knowledge of the problem, policies were set in place to try to fix many issues. These policies were across all the types of government, Federal, State, and Local. On the Federal level, policies such as the Moving to Opportunity program, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and the Cares Act helped get low-income residents to move into better areas, but still able to afford housing they would need. On the State level, Housing Choice Vouchers and the Rental Assistance Demonstration do well for private and public housing developers since they are more tailored towards what that area needs. Local level policies will include the interviews I conduct that will give me a better insight into how these areas function and what is needed. The article that I derived most of the research from was Housing for North Carolina’s Future, since it gave me the best way to look at geographical areas and timespans. My investigation will include two forms of research methods, the secondary data analysis, and interviews. The geographical area will be focused on eastern NC, more specifically the rural areas. Focusing on the past 10 to 15 years helps with seeing how trends have changed, and then looking 10-15 years into the future to anticipate where the places are heading. Lastly, interviews will be conducted to have primary data and to hear from people with professional experiences and knowledge. I am expecting to find the differences in the way that rural and urban cities are governed and what means they have to tackle this problem. By comparing the two, we can see how their policies affect their communities and the residents. By looking at how income plays different roles, I will be able to conclude what will need to change in the present and what will be needed for the future so that families get good housing that is both cheap but safe

Millennials Seeking Healthcare: Examining the Degree to Which Patients Utilize Online Resources

Introduction. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, a Silver Tsunami is looming, with more than 75.4 million persons aged 57 to 75 expected to need more costly medical care. However, a larger wave of 83.1 million Millennials nearing adulthood is approaching rapidly. Therefore, it is important to understand how this population finds their physician and what may influence this decision. Methods. Paper-based surveys were administered to adult patients at primary care and geriatric clinics located at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. Questions included demographic information, utilization and influence of online reviews, and the effects negative and positive reviews have on a patient’s choice of physician. Descriptive statistics were calculated for respondent characteristics and survey responses. Chi-square and McNemar’s tests were performed to evaluate differences between age and gender groups, and to determine how influential review ratings are in choosing a physician for medical care. Statistical significance was determined at the 0.05 level. Results. A sample of 284 patients completed the survey (44.35 ± 17.54 years old [range = 18-90], 60.6% female, 57.4% white). Of Millennials, 67.2% read online reviews before choosing a physician. Millennials were significantly more likely to read online reviews before choosing a physician (p = 0.004) and utilize online resources to search for a new physician (p < 0.001) than older patients. Conclusions. Millennials were more likely to research online reviews before choosing a physician. Therefore, an online review presence will be beneficial to one’s practice to acquire this new wave of patients

Anthropology and the Irish Encounter

In their discussion of ancestral versus contemporary anthropology in Ireland, Keith Egan and Fiona Murphy (this issue) do not draw a parallel distinction, quite probably deliberately, between “metropolitan” and “native” anthropologies. Positing a category of “native anthropology” opens up an explosive set of issues about the claim to be “native”—all the more combustible in a place that has known settler colonialism since the 12th century, tidalwaves of out-migration (and consequently a vast and tuned-in diaspora) due to famine in the 19th and economic stagnation in the 20th century, and a total demographic makeover through in-migration in the past two decades. Nonetheless, even though they do not resort to this distinction, Egan and Murphy are likely to agree that they are describing an Irish version of a quandary that is all too familiar to native anthropologists from marginal anthropological traditions, predominantly in the postcolonial world: namely, what is to be done when the acknowledged gold standard of metropolitan ethnographic writing renders your home place in a way that is unrecognizable to you

第964回千葉医学会例会・第31回麻酔科例会

BACKGROUND:Disease-associated malnutrition has been identified as a prevalent condition, particularly for the elderly, which has often been overlooked in the U.S. healthcare system. The state-level burden of community-based disease-associated malnutrition is unknown and there have been limited efforts by state policy makers to identify, quantify, and address malnutrition. The objective of this study was to examine and quantify the state-level economic burden of disease-associated malnutrition. METHODS:Direct medical costs of disease-associated malnutrition were calculated for 8 diseases: Stroke, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Coronary Heart Failure, Breast Cancer, Dementia, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Depression, and Colorectal Cancer. National disease and malnutrition prevalence rates were estimated for subgroups defined by age, race, and sex using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Health Interview Survey. State prevalence of disease-associated malnutrition was estimated by combining national prevalence estimates with states' demographic data from the U.S. Census. Direct medical cost for each state was estimated as the increased expenditures incurred as a result of malnutrition. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Direct medical costs attributable to disease-associated malnutrition vary among states from an annual cost of $36 per capita in Utah to$65 per capita in Washington, D.C. Nationally the annual cost of disease-associated malnutrition is over $15.5 billion. The elderly bear a disproportionate share of this cost on both the state and national level. CONCLUSIONS:Additional action is needed to reduce the economic impact of disease-associated malnutrition, particularly at the state level. Nutrition may be a cost-effective way to help address high health care costs

Agricultural Turns, Geographical Turns: Retrospect and Prospect.

It is accepted that British rural geography has actively engaged with the ‘cultural turn’, leading to a resurgence of research within the sub-discipline. However, a reading of recent reviews suggests that the cultural turn has largely, if not completely, bypassed those geographers interested in the agricultural sector. Farming centred engagements with notions of culture have been relatively limited compared with those concerned with the non-agricultural aspects of rural space. Indeed, agricultural geography represents something of an awkward case in the context of the disciplinary turn to culture, a situation that demands further exposition. In seeking explanation, it becomes evident that research on the farm sector is more culturally informed than initially appears. This paper argues that there have been both interesting and important engagements between agricultural geography and cultural perspectives over the past decade. The paper elaborates four specific areas of research which provide evidence for concern about the ‘culture’ within agriculture. The future contribution that culturally informed perspectives in geographical research can bring to agricultural issues is outlined by way of conclusion

Oral nutrition support interventions for patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition: a survey of clinical practice amongst UK dietitians

BACKGROUND: Guidance on choosing oral nutritional support strategies varies and the evidence for different approaches is discordant. The present study aimed to examine opinion and practice in the use of oral nutritional support amongst UK dietitians and to assess the factors that influence these clinical decisions. METHODS: The study comprised a cross-sectional, anonymous, national survey of UK dietitians. RESULTS: There were 207 completed responses (3% response rate). More dietitians reported using combined approaches (COMB) [n = 129 (62%)] over food-based (FB) strategies [n = 70 (34%)] or oral nutritional supplements (ONS) alone [n = 8 (4%)] (N = 207, P < 0.001). Intervention choice was associated with clinical setting and clinical speciality; community dietitians reported more frequent use of FB or ONS alone [n = 48 (59%)] versus COMB [n = 34 (41%)] compared to acute dietitians [COMB: n = 83 (78%) COMB versus FB or ONS alone: n = 24 (22%)] (N = 207, P < 0.0001). Specialist nutrition support dietitians reported more frequent use of FB or ONS alone [n = 22 (54%)] versus COMB [n = 19 (46%)] compared to nonspecialists [FB or ONS alone: n = 17 (45%) versus COMB: n = 21 (55%)] and other specialist dietitians [FB or ONS: n = 39 (30%) alone versus COMB: n = 89 (70%)] (P = 0.017). The greatest influences on choice were ease of implementation [n = 192 (93%)], departmental protocols [n = 184 (89%)], professional management pathways [n = 179 (87%)] and published research [n = 165 (80%)]. Patient circumstances [n = 117 (57%) and n = 99 (48%)] and ease of implementation [n = 35 (17%) and n = 48 (24%)] were reported as most influential in the first and second case scenarios, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for further research on approaches to the dietetic management of adult malnutrition

Controlling silver nanoparticle exposure in algal toxicity testing - A matter of timing

The aquatic ecotoxicity testing of nanoparticles is complicated by unstable exposure conditions resulting from various transformation processes of nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions. In this study, we investigated the influence of exposure timing on the algal test response to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), by reducing the incubation time and by aging the AgNPs in algal medium prior to testing. The freshwater green algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata were exposed to AgNO(3), NM-300 K (a representative AgNP) and citrate stabilized AgNPs from two different manufacturers (AgNP1 and AgNP2) in a standard algal growth inhibition test (ISO 8692:2004) for 48 h and a short-term (2 h) (14)C-assimilation test. For AgNO(3), similar responses were obtained in the two tests, whereas freshly prepared suspensions of citrate stabilized AgNPs were less toxic in the 2-h tests compared to the 48-h tests. The 2-h test was found applicable for dissolved silver, but yielded non-monotonous concentration–response relationships and poor reproducibility for freshly prepared AgNP suspensions. However, when aging AgNPs in algal medium 24 h prior to testing, clear concentration–response patterns emerged and reproducibility increased. Prolonged aging to 48 h increased toxicity in the 2-h tests whereas aging beyond 48 h reduced toxicity. Our results demonstrate that the outcome of algal toxicity testing of AgNPs is highly influenced not only by the test duration, but also by the time passed from the moment AgNPs are added to the test medium. This time-dependency should be considered when nanomaterial dispersion protocols for ecotoxicity testing are developed