Housing for the cost burdened: a step toward a just society

Affordable housing is one of Atlanta, Georgia’s most pressing, pervasive, and persistent urban planning crises. Additionally, the advent of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the preexisting affordable housing issues across housing security, demographics, the supply and demand of affordable housing policy, and the health of low-income housing occupants. This report aims to address these issues, as they currently persist in Atlanta, and offer recommendations and considerations for their solutions. This document consists of four sections: Affordable Housing Finance in the City of Atlanta, Wealth Divide and Housing, Homelessness, Health & Hazards. A case study of Atlanta’s Healthy Hotel Project, and the Nexus of Housing, Transit, and Jobs. This report was created by graduate students in the master’s in City and Regional Planning Program (MCRP) at the Georgia Institute of Technology in collaboration with multiple local stakeholders. Though this report will not solve the affordable housing issue in the city of Atlanta, it will address the current conditions and numerous challenges associated with affordable housing in Atlanta and will offer a pointed recommendation to create a path toward solutions for these wicked problems

Cell-specific transcriptional analysis in complex tissues

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-12Cell-type specific transcriptional analysis can yield important information about the role of a certain cell type in the context of its tissue microenvironment. Previous methods for isolating cell type-specific transcriptional data have included enzymatic or mechanical tissue dispersion followed by magnetic cell sorting (MACS) or fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and laser capture microdissection. However, these methods have important limitations. Transcriptome analysis by translating ribosome affinity purification (TRAP) allows the researcher to isolate translating mRNA from a genetically defined cell type. Discussed in this review are current methods for translating ribosome affinity purification, caveats of this method, and considerations for successfully completing these studies

An ELISA protocol to improve the accuracy and reliability of serological antibody assays

To assay serum antibodies by indirect ELISA, it is critical to eliminate a variety of false positive and negative reactions attributed to the principle. These include 1) the background (BG) noise reaction caused by hydrophobic binding of immunoglobulin components in sample specimens to solid surfaces, 2) false positive reaction caused by non-specific binding of immunoglobulins to target-antigens by protein-protein interactions, and 3) other false positive and negative reactions caused by buffer components. No current blocking agents can prevent these false positive and negative reactions, and antibody assay results vary significantly depending on the buffer system used. To address these fundamental problems, we investigated all types of non-specific reactions involved in indirect ELISAs, and the blocking efficacy of current buffer systems and a newly developed ELISA buffer, ChonBlock™. The accuracy and reliability of these assay results were examined in detail by inhibition tests in individual buffer systems. Based on these studies, we are providing a definitive ELISA protocol for all users to improve ELISA technique and obtain accurate, reliable, and reproducible assay data against a variety of antigens

Early Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment Is Associated with Reduced Total Cerebral Blood Flow with no Brain Tissue Loss

Lower cerebral blood flow (CBF) and excessive brain atrophy are linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is still undetermined whether reduced CBF precedes or follows brain tissue loss.We compared total CBF (tCBF), global cerebral perfusion (GCP), and volumes of AD-prone regions between cognitively normal (CN) and early amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and tested their associations with cognitive performance to assess their predictive value for differentiation between CN and early aMCI.A total of 74 participants (mean age 69.9±6.2 years, 47 females) were classified into two groups: 50 CN and 24 aMCI, of whom 88% were early aMCI. tCBF, GCP, and global and regional brain volumetry were measured using phase-contrast and T1-weighted MRI. Neuropsychological tests tapping global cognition and four cognitive domains (memory, executive function, language, and visuospatial) were administered. Comparisons and associations were investigated using analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) and linear regression analyses, respectively.Women had significantly higher GCP than men. Both, tCBF and GCP were significantly reduced in aMCI compared with CN, while differences in volumes of cerebral gray matter, white matter, and AD-prone regions were not significant. tCBF and GCP were significantly associated with global cognition (standardized beta (stβ) = 0.324 and stβ= 0.326) and with memory scores (stβ≥0.297 and stβ≥0.264) across all participants. Associations of tCBF and GCP with memory scores were also significant in CN (stβ= 0.327 and stβ= 0.284) and in aMCI (stβ= 0.627 and stβ= 0.485).Reduced tCBF and GCP are sensitive biomarkers of early aMCI that likely precede brain tissue loss