CDFA Food Finance White Paper Series: Advancing Food Systems Through Development Finance

Announcing the release of the sixth and final white paper of the CDFA Food Finance White Paper Series, Advancing Food Systems Through Development Finance! Research on food systems finance and leadership with pilot projects has positioned CDFA to identify three key strategies for a comprehensive approach for restoring America's local food systems: Reframe food systems development as infrastructure and economic development; Build effective relationships and partnerships across the entire food system; and Plan for strategic food systems financing. The case studies showcase how such strategies can be put to work rebuilding the food system and emphasize the groundbreaking potential of greater connections between development finance and local food systems. Every organization, community, economic development agency, and small business working in the food sector should adopt the Reframe, Build, Plan approach to expand financing and drive capital into the local food system.

Food Systems & Bonds

The following white paper is part of a series that builds the case for creating a defined food systems asset class in order to support the market growth of robust food systems throughout the country. There are significant opportunities for development finance agencies at the state and local level to support food businesses and projects.This paper focuses specifically on bond financing, which is  onsidered a 'bedrock tool' by the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) for the historic and foundational role bonds have played in public financing. Background information on bonds is provided, including different types of bonds, the key players involved in bond deals, and the process by which a bond is sold. Case studies will demonstrate the way in which various types of bonds can support food and agriculture businesses and projects, and also highlight sectors of the food system that could be utilizing bonds more frequently

OSU InFACT Economic Development Financing Plan

CDFA worked with The Ohio State University's Initiative for Food and AgriCultural Transformation (InFACT) to develop an economic development finance plan that creates a new financing entity to build a more robust food system across the state of Ohio by unlocking capital for food-related businesses, projects, and infrastructure. This approach also integrated InFACT's technical assistance programming and supported generous research opportunities for the University's faculty and students

Food Finance Detroit: A Landscape Map for Financing Detroits Local Food System

With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, CDFA is researching how development finance agencies can become more engaged in local and regional food systems. CDFA aims to advance opportunities and leverage existing financing streams to scale local and regional food systems by increasing access to healthy foods and creating new living wage and accessible jobs in communities across the country.

Front End Justice: Diverting People Affected by Mental Illness from the Criminal Justice System

Many of the people caught up in the criminal justice system are non-violent offenders struggling with mental illness, which cannot and should not be addressed through incarceration. Our jails and prisons are ill-equipped to provide effective mental health services. Incarceration compounds the problem by contributing to increased psychological distress. We are relying on the criminal justice system to respond to mental illness, rather than investing fully in the spectrum of mental health care from prevention to recovery. Minnesota must invest in diverting people affected by mental illness away from the criminal justice system and into community-based treatment, services, and supports that promote wellness, recovery, and stability

Complete genome sequences of Betanodavirus from Australian barramundi (Lates calcarifer)

The complete RNA-1 and RNA-2 genome sequences of Betanodavirus were obtained from Australian barramundi (Lates calcarifer). Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the sequences have closest homology to the red spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) species and share between 91 and 98% homology with the other two published complete/near-complete sequences of isolates from Australian fish

Internet Usage by Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Implications to Participatory Medicine and Personalized Healthcare

Online health information and services for patients were suggested to improve symptom management and treatment adherence, thereby contributing to healthcare optimization. This paper aimed to characterize multiple sclerosis (MS) patients Internet usage. Information regarding browsing habits, Internet reliability, and the medical team's attitude to information collected online was obtained by questionnaires from MS patients. Data was compared between nonbrowsers, browsers on MS topics, and browsers on non-MS topics only. From the 96 patients recruited, 61 (63.5%) performed MS-related searches. The most viewed topics were “understanding the disease” and “treatments”. Patients reported that the information helped coping with MS and assured them of the appropriateness of their therapy. Shorter disease duration was correlated with higher Internet activity. Disabled patients were more interested in online interaction with specialists and support groups. This paper suggests that MS patients benefit from online information, and it emphasizes the importance of resources tailored to patients needs

A Longitudinal Study of Spirituality, Character Strengths, Subjective Well-Being, and Prosociality in Middle School Adolescents

Using data from 1,352 middle-school Israeli adolescents, the current study examines the interface of spirituality and character strengths and its longitudinal contribution to subjective well-being and prosociality. Participants were approached three times over a 14-months period and completed measures of character strengths, spirituality, subjective well-being (positive emotions, life satisfaction), and prosociality. Findings revealed a fourth-factor structure of character strengths that included the typical tripartite classification of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intellectual strengths together with spirituality emerging as a statistically autonomous factor. Spirituality was stable over time and contributed to higher subjective well-being and prosociality both cross- sectionally and longitudinally. Discussion focuses on spirituality as a fundamental character strength and an important aspect of positive development

Delayed effects of acute radiation exposure (DEARE) in a murine model of the hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome: Multiple-organ injury consequent to total body irradiation

Introduction. Victims of radiation exposure from terrorist activity, radiation accidents or radiologic warfare will face a variety of acute and chronic organ injuries requiring multi-faceted approaches to treatment. The hematopoietic system is the most sensitive tissue to radiation damage, resulting in the hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome (H-ARS) after exposures of 2-10 Gy in mice. If untreated, H-ARS results in death within weeks from opportunistic infection and/or hemorrhage due to loss of neutrophils and platelets, respectively. However, survivors of ARS are plagued months to years later in life by delayed effects of acute radiation exposure (DEARE), a myriad of chronic illnesses affecting multiple organ systems believed to be due to persistent systemic oxidative stress, inflammation, fibrosis and loss of stem cell self-renewal. Fibrosis and collagen deposition disrupt both normal tissue structure and function and are common to organs with late radiation injury including the kidney and heart after radiation doses >15Gy, but have not been shown to exist after doses as low as those used in the H-ARS model (8Gy). The goal of this study was to determine the extent, if any, of heart and kidney DEARE in survivors of H-ARS. Methods. Mice (male and female C57BL/6) received total body irradiation (TBI; LD50/30 to LD70/30) and kidney and heart were harvested at 9 and 21 months from the H-ARS survivor mice. Tissues were fixed in neutral buffered formalin, paraffin embedded and sectioned, then stained with hematoxylin/eosin (H&E), trichrome, or picosirius red. Serum was collected at 4.3, 9, and 21 months post-TBI and analyzed for blood urea nitrogen (BUN) as an indicator of kidney function. Total RNA was purified from heart and relative changes in NADPH oxidase 2 (Nox2) mRNA expression were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR. Results/Significance. Compared to age-matched non-irradiated controls (NI), renal pathology at 9 months post-TBI was manifest primarily as enlargement of Bowman’s capsule and glomerosclerosis along with limited interstitial fibrosis. By 21 months there was progression of these pathologies as well as extensive interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, cysts, and atubular glomeruli, all of which were more pronounced in TBI mice compared to NI. Consistent with the renal pathology, BUN in TBI mice was significantly increased at 9 and 21 months post-TBI vs. 4.3 months, but normal in NI mice at all time points. In the heart, pericardial, perivascular and interstitial fibrosis were observed at 9 months with increased severity at 21 months post-TBI compared to NI. The perivascular fibrosis was associated with increased medial layer collagen and apparent loss of vascular smooth muscle cells. Nox2 mRNA in heart was increased at 9 and 21 months post-TBI, indicating an increase in oxidant stress. To our knowledge, such striking heart and kidney damage has not been documented after radiation doses as low as those in our H-ARS model (~8Gy) and indicate that DEARE is a concern for individuals exposed to radiation doses previously thought to not elicit late effects