Healthy Local Businesses, Healthy Communities: Final Report 2015

Like any large infrastructure project, the Green Line construction posed considerable risks to businesses operating on the line. To help understand how these changes impacted local businesses, Wilder Research partnered with the CCFC's Business Resources Collaborative to survey more than 200 business representatives along the Green Line. This information provides useful feedback for similar projects, and the findings provide an opportunity to reflect on the challenges and successes encountered by businesses during and after construction. We would like to share three vital findings from this research

A Fair View: The Connection Between PBIS and Title I

This presentation offers a Title I school\u27s early implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS). Initial focus will apply to the universal (Tier I) application, where a shared leadership model utilized the collective experiences of educators and school-based mental health professionals. Secondary discussions will highlight the importance of community-based involvement, with primary examples noted in state-level representatives. Additional topics will highlight the use of the Second Step Curriculum in instilling self-regulation and social skills at a Title I school. This will accompany particular strategies employed in various settings in the school setting (e.g., classroom, cafeteria, hallways, etc.). Participants will witness a modeling of examples for classroom and home use. Final discussions will focus on the cultural components of implementing a PBIS framework. This will involve a year-to-year comparison of office disciplinary referrals (ODRs). Implications for future practice will be offered in a Q&A session

Homelessness in Minnesota: Detailed Findings from the 2018 Minnesota Homeless Study

The Minnesota Homeless Study, conducted every three years by Wilder Research, is a point-in-time study aimed at better understanding homelessness in Minnesota. The study is the most comprehensive source of descriptive information about homeless adults, youth, and children in the state, and is intended to equip readers with the data needed to improve housing programs and policies, address systemic problems, and ultimately eliminate homelessness in Minnesota.This summary provides a snapshot of the numbers of people who were homeless in Minnesota in 2018 and findings from face-to-face interviews conducted on October 25, 2018, with 4,181 adults experiencing homelessness throughout Minnesota

Genetic Variation and Antioxidant Response Gene Expression in the Bronchial Airway Epithelium of Smokers at Risk for Lung Cancer

Prior microarray studies of smokers at high risk for lung cancer have demonstrated that heterogeneity in bronchial airway epithelial cell gene expression response to smoking can serve as an early diagnostic biomarker for lung cancer. As a first step in applying functional genomic analysis to population studies, we have examined the relationship between gene expression variation and genetic variation in a central molecular pathway (NRF2-mediated antioxidant response) associated with smoking exposure and lung cancer. We assessed global gene expression in histologically normal airway epithelial cells obtained at bronchoscopy from smokers who developed lung cancer (SC, n=20), smokers without lung cancer (SNC, n=24), and never smokers (NS, n=8). Functional enrichment analysis showed that the NRF2-mediated, antioxidant response element (ARE)-regulated genes, were significantly lower in SC, when compared with expression levels in SNC. Importantly, we found that the expression of MAFG (a binding partner of NRF2) was correlated with the expression of ARE genes, suggesting MAFG levels may limit target gene induction. Bioinformatically we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in putative ARE genes and to test the impact of genetic variation, we genotyped these putative regulatory SNPs and other tag SNPs in selected NRF2 pathway genes. Sequencing MAFG locus, we identified 30 novel SNPs and two were associated with either gene expression or lung cancer status among smokers. This work demonstrates an analysis approach that integrates bioinformatics pathway and transcription factor binding site analysis with genotype, gene expression and disease status to identify SNPs that may be associated with individual differences in gene expression and/or cancer status in smokers. These polymorphisms might ultimately contribute to lung cancer risk via their effect on the airway gene expression response to tobacco-smoke exposure.Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; National Institutes of Health (Z01 ES100475, U01ES016035, R01CA124640

Functional characterization and identification of mouse Rad51d splice variants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The homologous recombination (HR) pathway is vital for maintaining genomic integrity through the restoration of double-stranded breaks and interstrand crosslinks. The RAD51 paralogs (RAD51B, RAD51C, RAD51D, XRCC2, XRCC3) are essential for this process in vertebrates, and the RAD51D paralog is unique in that it participates in both HR repair and telomere maintenance. RAD51D is also known to directly interact with the RAD51C and XRCC2 proteins. <it>Rad51d </it>splice variants have been reported in mouse and human tissues, supportive of a role for alternative splicing in HR regulation. The present study evaluated the interaction of the <it>Rad51d </it>splice isoform products with RAD51C and XRCC2 and their expression patterns.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Yeast-2-hybrid analysis was used to determine that the <it>Mus musculus Rad51d </it>splice variant product RAD51DΔ7b (deleted for residues 219 through 223) was capable of interacting with both RAD51C and XRCC2 and that RAD51D+int3 interacted with XRCC2. In addition, the linker region (residues 54 through 77) of RAD51D was identified as a region that potentially mediates binding with XRCC2. Cellular localization, detected by EGFP fusion proteins, demonstrated that each of the splice variant products tested was distributed throughout the cell similar to the full-length protein. However, none of the splice variants were capable of restoring resistance of <it>Rad51d</it>-deficient cell lines to mitomycin C. RT-PCR expression analysis revealed that <it>Rad51dΔ3 </it>(deleted for exon 3) and <it>Rad51dΔ5 </it>(deleted for exon 5)transcripts display tissue specific expression patterns with <it>Rad51dΔ3 </it>being detected in each tissue except ovary and <it>Rad51dΔ5 </it>not detected in mammary gland and testis. These expression studies also led to the identification of two additional <it>Rad51d </it>ubiquitously expressed transcripts, one deleted for both exon 9 and 10 and one deleted for only exon 10.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest <it>Rad51d </it>alternative splice variants potentially modulate mechanisms of HR by sequestering either RAD51C or XRCC2.</p

Measuring Everyday Life: Talking About Research and Why It Matters

Why do people act as they do? How can we improve our health and well-being? What can the past tell us about our future? Research can help us address such questions, but the journey to finding answers can be challenging and full of adventure. Curated from interviews featured on the public radio show, The Measure of Everyday Life, this collection reveals ways that we can ask useful questions. The book also offers insights from behind the scenes of social science research, communication campaigns and interventions, and community engagement projects. A wide range of audiences—including anyone interested in applying academic research to practical projects, new graduate students, and undergraduate students learning about research—should find useful material in the collection

Adipose Concentrations of Organochlorine Compounds and Breast Cancer Recurrence in Long Island, New York

Several studies have measured the association between blood or adipose concentrations of organochlorinated compounds (OCs), such as pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and breast cancer. The estrogenic effects of OCs might adversely affect breast cancer recurrence. The participants were 224 women with nonmetastatic breast cancer enrolled in a New York-based case-control study. Supercritical fluid extraction followed by gas chromatography was conducted on adipose surgical specimens to determine OC concentrations. The mean follow-up time from surgery was 3.6 years. Thirty women (13.4%) were diagnosed with a recurrence. The concentration of pesticides and PCBs was correlated with baseline age and body mass index, but not with cancer stage. The highest tertile of total PCB concentration was associated with an increased risk of recurrence [relative risk (RR), 2.9; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-8.2 versus the lowest tertile]. The risk for the highest tertile of the PCB congener Ballschmiter and Zell 118 was 4.0 (95% CI, 1.3-4.9). There was an increased risk for the middle level of the most abundant pesticide, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-di(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene (RR, 2.3; 95% CI, 0.9-5.7), and for beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, but not for their highest levels. Self-reported home termiticide exposure, alcohol consumption (> or = 1 drink/day), and race were not associated with prognosis. The RR for current cigarette smoking at diagnosis was 2.1 (95% CI, 0.9-5.1). In contrast to previous data showing no relationship between OC exposure and risk of breast cancer in these women, adipose PCB concentrations were associated with tumor recurrence. Pesticide levels were not related to recurrence