HB 69 Grocery Investment Program and Fund

In the 2018 session of the Virginia General Assembly, multiple pieces of legislation were brought to committee, proposing the creation of a fund to catalyze public-private partnerships to expand access to Virginians residing in food deserts. Through the creation of the fund, underserved communities would see the construction, rehabilitation and expansion of food retailers in their communities ameliorate food desserts

Assessing the Racial Equity Impact of Legislation to Establish a Virginia Grocery Investment Program and Fund

Abstract In 2018 the Commonwealth of Virginia’s General Assembly considered, but did not pass, legislation to combat food deserts via the creation of the Virginia Grocery Investment Program and Fund. The Fund introduced a $3.75 million per year appropriation intended to leverage public-private partnerships to support construction, rehabilitation, upgrading or expansion of grocery stores or other food retailers in underserved communities. African Americans disproportionately face low access to healthy food. This research utilizes data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Access Research Atlas and demographic data on race/ethnicity from the U.S. Census Bureau to examine the racial/ethnic make-up of low healthy food access populations in Virginia and the potential racial equity impact of the Fund. The findings show that using a low access/low income definition of underserved, compared to the proposed low access-only definition in the legislation, would target the Fund’s impact more in urban areas that are more diverse in general and more heavily African American

Statistics poster competitions: an opportunity to connect academics and teachers

The Australian Statistics Competition (ASC) was a national statistics poster competition that ran from 2006 to 2016. One of the aims of the ASC was to create connections between academics and teachers. In this paper, we report a study that investigated the experience of the organisers of this competition. We administered a written survey and conducted semistructured interviews with the organisers by a semi-structured protocol, with the aim of exploring the experience of the ASC organisers (the academics) in relation to connecting with teachers. We found geographical, intrinsic, organisational and personnel barriers to continuing connections between academics and teachers. We provide a list of recommendations for those involved in, or planning on starting, a similar competition

The Claiborne Corridor: Mid-Anchor Business Profiles 2014

The New Orleans Business Alliance and the Mayor’s Office of Place-based Planning are working closely with the Livable Claiborne Communities Initiatives to encourage the maintenance, development and expansion of businesses throughout the city with a special focus on the LCC. The reports that follow identify mid-anchor businesses that have contributed to the social and economic wealth of the City of New Orleans for, in some cases, hundreds of years. The hope is that these businesses will be supported through new City initiatives to improve façades, marketability and expand employment opportunities. The research and resources provided by the students at UNO will support these efforts and hopefully contribute to the reinvestment and redevelopment of the new New Orleans

The Claiborne Corridor: Mid-Anchor Business Profiles 2014

The New Orleans Business Alliance and the Mayor’s Office of Place-based Planning are working closely with the Livable Claiborne Communities Initiatives to encourage the maintenance, development and expansion of businesses throughout the city with a special focus on the LCC. The reports that follow identify mid-anchor businesses that have contributed to the social and economic wealth of the City of New Orleans for, in some cases, hundreds of years. The hope is that these businesses will be supported through new City initiatives to improve façades, marketability and expand employment opportunities. The research and resources provided by the students at UNO will support these efforts and hopefully contribute to the reinvestment and redevelopment of the new New Orleans

Cartilage boundary lubrication synergism is mediated by hyaluronan concentration and PRG4 concentration and structure

BACKGROUND: Proteoglycan 4 (PRG4) and hyaluronan (HA) are key synovial fluid constituents that contribute synergistically to cartilage boundary lubrication; however, the effects of their concentrations as well as their structure, both of which can be altered in osteoarthritis, on this functional synergism are unknown. The objectives of this study were to evaluate cartilage boundary lubricating ability of 1) PRG4 + HA in solution at constant HA concentration in a range of PRG4 concentrations, 2) constant PRG4 concentration in a range of HA concentrations, 3) HA + reduced/alkylated (R/A) PRG4, and 4) hylan G-F 20 + PRG4. METHODS: Static and kinetic friction coefficients (μ(static,Neq), <μ(kinetic,Neq)>) were measured using a previously characterized cartilage-cartilage boundary mode friction test for the following concentrations of purified PRG4 and HA: Test 1: HA (1.5 MDa, 3.3 mg/mL) + PRG4 from 4.5 – 1500 μg/mL; Test 2: PRG4 (450, 150, 45 μg/mL) + HA (1.5 MDa) from 0.3 – 3.3 mg/mL. Test 3: hylan G-F 20 (3. 3 mg/mL) + PRG4 (450 μg/mL). Test 4: HA (3.3 mg/mL) + R/A PRG4 (450 μg/mL). ANOVA was used to compare lubricants within (comparing 6 lubricants of interest) and between (comparing 3 lubricants of interest) test sequences, with Tukey and Fishers post-hoc testing respectively. RESULTS: This study demonstrates that both PRG4 and HA concentration, as well as PRG4 disulfide-bonded structure, can alter the cartilage boundary lubricating ability of PRG4 + HA solutions. The boundary lubricating ability of high MW HA + PRG4 solutions was limited by very low concentrations of PRG4. Decreased concentrations of high MW HA also limited the cartilage boundary lubricating ability of HA + PRG4 solutions, with the effect exacerbated by low PRG4 concentrations. The reduction of friction by addition of PRG4 to a cross-linked HA viscosupplement product, but not with addition of R/A PRG4 to HA, is consistent with a non-covalent mechanism of interaction where tertiary and quaternary PRG4 structure are important. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these results demonstrate that deficiency of either or both PRG4 and HA, or alterations in PRG4 structure, may be detrimental to SF cartilage boundary lubricating function. This study provides further insight into the nature of cartilage boundary lubrication and advancement towards potential formulation of new intra-articular biotherapeutic treatments for osteoarthritis using PRG4 ± HA