Aging in Hull: A Community Needs Assessment

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Hull Council on Aging. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Hull’s residents age 55 or older. The contents of this report are meant to inform the Town of Hull, the Hull Council on Aging and Senior Center, and organizations that work with and on behalf of older residents of Hull for the purposes of planning and coordination of services. The report will also help to build awareness about issues facing Hull among community members at large

Live Peabody: An Age-Friendly Action Plan

The vision of the Live Peabody Initiative is to inspire change in the City of Peabody so that residents of all ages and abilities can thrive. The success of this initiative is dependent on the involvement of a dedicated and passionate group of residents and stakeholders that will proactively spearhead this age-friendly effort. These individuals will actively collaborate with civic, business and non-profit organizations as well as state and local government officials to heighten awareness of the age-friendly movement and implementation of the action items outlines in this report—all to spur positive change for the City of Peabody. This report signifies a milestone in the continued efforts and calls for community involvement in the age-friendly process to improve the quality of life for Peabody residents across generations

Aging in Eastham: A Community Needs Assessment

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Eastham Council on Aging. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Eastham’s residents age 50 or older. The contents of this report are meant to inform the Town of Eastham, the Eastham Council on Aging and Senior Center, and organizations that work with and on behalf of older residents of Eastham for the purposes of planning and coordination of services. The report will also help to build awareness about issues facing Eastham among community members at large

Envisioning an Age-Friendly Norwood

Nestled just outside the I-95 beltway, the Town of Norwood, Massachusetts is a community southwest of Boston that takes pride in the history of residents staying in, or returning to, the community across the lifespan. Projections indicate that by 2035, about one out of three Norwood residents will be age 60 or older—24% of the Town’s population will be between the ages of 60 and 79, with an additional 8% age 80 and older (see Appendix A). The desire to stay and a growing older adult population lends to many multi-generational families within the community, creating a sense of supportive social capital. The strong desire among residents to stay in Norwood is matched by a strong level of collaboration among Town leaders and dedication to building an inclusive Age Friendly environment that supports residents of all ages and abilities. The Norwood Council on Aging (Norwood COA) is a municipal department charged with the mission to “identify the needs of older adults along with the available resources within the community, to educate the community-at-large on the problems of aging and the needs of older citizens, to design and promote services that are needed to serve older people, and to serve as advocates, and to enhance the lives of older adults in the community” (Norwood COA website). The Norwood COA is dedicated to accomplishing this mission and ensuring that the evolving needs of Norwood’s large and growing population of older adults are met through age friendly planning and policy. Services provided include legal, financial, and medical information and services, as well as programming to include games, arts, exercise, and trips. Kerri McCarthy, Executive Director of the Town of Norwood COA, is guiding partnerships with other town departments and organizations in the region to build a community that is age friendly for all residents. In December 2019, the Town of Norwood was recognized as a certified member of the AARP Network of Age Friendly Communities. The milestone marked the start of a multi-year initiative, in collaboration with the Elder Care Alliance of the Neponset River Chamber, to become an age friendly community. In January 2020, the Norwood COA invited collaboration from the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) in the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston to initiate a needs assessment and explore the age-friendly community framework, as outlined by the WHO. 2020 presented multiple challenges in the Town of Norwood. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, the community of Norwood experienced a significant storm in June that resulted in the indefinite closure of a longstanding community resource, Norwood Hospital. In order to accommodate public health recommendations and capacity of the Town’s leadership, the scope of this project was adjusted. Specifically, 2 community forums and 3 resident focus groups, initially scheduled in March 2020, were forced to be cancelled. The purpose of this report is to share highlights from completed components of the needs assessment and to provide a foundation for future input from the community and future age friendly planning efforts

Aging in Norwell: A Community Needs Assessment

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Norwell Council on Aging. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Norwell’s residents age 50 or older. The contents of this report are meant to inform the Town of Norwell, the Norwell Council on Aging and Senior Center, and organizations that work with and on behalf of older residents of Norwell for the purposes of planning and coordination of services. The report will also help to build awareness about issues facing Norwell among community members at large. Already, estimates suggest that 35% of Norwell’s population is age 50 or older and this trend stands to continue. This results from a number of factors—that adults who have lived and made Norwell home want to continue living in the community with which they are familiar and near to their family and friends and perhaps residents who are moving to Norwell to be closer to adult children or grandchildren. Another contributing factor includes the out- migration of young people seeking employment, education, or lower costs of living elsewhere. Regardless of the reason, this central overarching observation—that the older population of Norwell is already large and will continue to expand—makes clear the importance of considering how well features of the Town, the services and amenities available, and virtually every aspect of the community align with the age demographic moving forward. In preparing for this demographic shift, the Norwell Council on Aging and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging at the University of Massachusetts Boston partnered to conduct a study to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of the Town’s residents age 50 and older. As part of this assessment, we conducted interviews and focus groups to hear from Norwell leadership, key stakeholders in the community, and a diverse group of residents. In addition, a survey was developed and administered to year- round Norwell residents age 50 and older. A total of 1,081 questionnaires were returned, reflecting a strong return rate of 25%. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources were examined in support of the project aims. A broad range of findings are reported in this document, highlighting the many positive features of Norwell as well as concerns expressed by older residents. The COA plays an important leadership role in the community, serving as a resource to other Town offices and organizations working in the community, and collaborating on initiatives broadly beneficial to residents. The 2022 Needs Assessment process coincided with the Norwell Senior Center’s 40th birthday. Town leaders and residents gathered to celebrate the COA’s 40-year impact on the community and look forward to the future. The COA also launched their Dementia Friendly initiative in 2022, in response to planning needs related to the increasing prevalence of dementia, and other health challenges associated with aging. This needs assessment will inform the COA, and collaborative partners, in planning that builds upon the success of past efforts and continues to benefit the community of Norwell. While many of our findings, and the recommendations that follow, intersect with the scope of responsibility of the Norwell Council on Aging, it is understood that responding to many needs and concerns expressed in the community will require the involvement of other municipal offices or community stakeholders, and some will require substantial collaborative effort

Community Engagement and Planning: Reading Center for Active Living (ReCal)

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Town of Reading. The goals of this project were to (1) engage the community and (2) investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Reading residents regarding the possibility of a new community or senior center. The content of this report is meant to inform the Reading Center for Active Living Committee (ReCalc) on its mission to “explore the current and future needs of the community and initiate planning for a potential new senior/community center in town that will focus on residents aged 60+ and possibly other members of the community”

Building an Age & Dementia Friendly Barnstable: An Action Plan

The Town of Barnstable has long-been aware of its aging population and, as a result, has initiated a number of planning processes to advance the livability of the community for all ages---this report documents the Age & Dementia Friendly planning process and associated ideas for action

Establishing an In Vitro 3D Spheroid Model to Study Medulloblastoma Drug Response and Tumor Dissemination

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor. Current treatment involves surgery, chemotherapy, and craniospinal radiotherapy, and these are associated with a significant reduction in quality of life. Metastatic dissemination at diagnosis is found in up to 30% of medulloblastoma cases and, alongside therapy resistance, is a significant feature in determining poor outcome. Development of new therapeutic approaches requires models where drug resistance and migration can be readily quantified and that are representative of patient disease. 3D medulloblastoma (3D-MB) spheroids are a simple yet effective means of bridging the gap between 2D culture and in vivo methods, providing users with highly reproducible in vitro models that more accurately recapitulate tumor morphology, drug response, and migration from a tumor mass. Unlike other cancer types, medulloblastoma spheroids fail to grow in their different standard cell culture media; instead, each cell line requires the same stem cell–enriching conditions. This requirement, however, has the advantage that it allows direct comparison of growth and response between cell lines in the absence of any potential media bias. In addition, spheroids can be used to model the initial stages of metastatic dissemination, something that cannot be achieved in 2D culture, providing insight into key changes occurring in migratory cells. Here, we provide protocols that detail the initial generation and maintenance of 3D-MB spheroids from sonic-hedgehog, Group 3, and Group 4 medulloblastoma subgroups, as well as describing functional assays to study drug response and cell migration across hyaluronan matrices, which represent the extracellular matrix backbone of the brain parenchyma. Through application of these simple yet highly representative models, it will be possible to test novel therapeutics targeting metastasis and drug resistance, as well as to develop insights into the mechanistic processes driving relapse in this malignant pediatric brain tumor. © 2022 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC

Arlington: An Age and Dementia Friendly Action Plan

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Town of Arlington and the Arlington Council on Aging. This plan was created uniquely for Arlington, with input from residents, community partners, local businesses, government leaders and aging experts. Surveys were conducted, focus groups were held and feedback was collected both pre and post-pandemic to create a plan that reflects the dynamic environment that we are all living in. Using collected data, survey results, feedback and input, this plan was written by the expert team at the University of Massachusetts Boston Gerontology Institute. The Council on Aging intends to distribute this plan to a broad scope of community partners, local businesses and decision makers in Arlington. We believe that prioritizing this plan will advance relevant projects that will have demonstrable impacts on how older adults live in Arlington. We are grateful to all those who took the time and effort to participate in the surveys and focus groups while input was being collected. Residents aged 60 and older make up the fastest growing segment of our population. Arlington seniors are especially vibrant, leading active lives and advocating in our community like never before. The priorities exemplified by the Age-Friendly and Dementia-Friendly designations reflect some of Arlington’s core values. The goals in this plan serve to inspire all our residents, regardless of age or ability. It not only represents our shared values but also our shared optimism for a brighter future

Y-box binding protein-1: A neglected target in pediatric brain tumors?

© 2020 American Association for Cancer Research. Brain and central nervous system tumors represent the most common childhood solid tumors. Comprising 21% of all pediatric cancers, they remain the leading cause of cancer-related mortality and morbidity in childhood. Due to advances in neurosurgical technique, radiotherapy and the use of combination therapy, survival rates have generally increased. However, by cause of the lesion itself, its surgical removal and subsequent treatment, survivors are at high risk of long-term neurocognitive sequelae and secondary cancer. Clearly, improvements in diagnosis and treatment are needed. Accordingly, current treatment is evolving away from conventional, uniform therapy and towards risk-stratified regimens and molecularly-targeted therapies, with the aim of diminishing adverse side effects while minimizing the risk of disease recurrence. The multifunctional oncoprotein Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1) may serve as one such molecular target. Increased YB-1 levels have been reported in a number of pediatric brain tumors, where YB-1 appears to facilitate the advancement of malignant phenotypes. These include proliferation, invasion, and resistance to therapy, as well as the maintenance of brain tumor-initiating cells. Here we evaluate the current literature and show how YB-1 modulates signaling pathways driving each of these phenotypes. We also review the regulation of YB-1 at a transcriptional, translational, posttranslational and subcellular level and argue that there is strong and sufficient evidence to support the development of YB-1 as a biomarker and future therapeutic target in childhood brain tumors