“It Takes a Village:” Innovative multi-sector collaboration to improve Public Health through Positive Youth Development program implementation, evaluation and data analysis

Breakout Session 2C: Worcester has a long history of effective collaboration for Positive Youth Development across our youth-serving agencies and programs. That collaborative spirit has recently taken hold as a primary strategy for improved Public Health of the overall community. The Community Health Improvement Plan supported by (CHNA 8) Coalition for Healthy Greater Worcester is a road map for improved Health Indicators. The breakout session will describe the current health and well-being of youth in Worcester and the innovative local collaborations that promote youth health and positive development across our community. Diverse funder support is integral to local youth development goals, objectives and outcomes, and the role of funders extends beyond financial support to include advisory and capacity-building roles. Multi-sector collaboration also provides access to data from multiple sources, which both measures impact and informs activities

Wet your Whistle with Water (W3) to improve water intake in seniors’ care

Context: Dehydration is a concern amongst older adults residing in retirement (RH) and long-term care (LTC) homes. Objectives: a) work with home team members to develop effective hydration strategies; b) implement these strategies; c) determine the capacity of home team members to provide process evaluation data on implementation, d) determine if administrative data is helpful in tracking dehydration-related events, and e) determine if a short, online education module can improve the hydration knowledge and attitudes of team members providing care. Methods: Wet your Whistle with Water (W3) included: voluntary online education module for team members; hydration reminders; water stations in common areas; and bi-monthly recreation activities providing beverages. Hydration-related administrative data from 56 LTC residents were analyzed for pre-post comparison. Findings: 218 individuals participated in the education and significant improvements in attitudes and knowledge noted. The LTC home held six hydration recreation programs with an average of 31 attendees and 15 beverages provided. Hydration station fluid intake was low (<120 oz per week). Bowel medications decreased non-signifcantly post-implementation; changes in other administrative variables were non-significant. Limitations: W3 could not be fully implemented in the RH due to challenges with staffing and collecting administrative data. Team member compliance with refilling water jugs, COVID-19 restrictions, and outbreak status impacted usability of the hydration station. Implications: W3 strategies were feasible but require home buy-in and a champion for implementation. Strategies (e.g., reminders) should be tailored to the home and be able to withstand outbreaks. Targeted education can improve confidence, attitudes, and knowledge

Selective inhibition of N-linked glycosylation impairs receptor tyrosine kinase processing

Global inhibition of N-linked glycosylation broadly reduces glycan occupancy on glycoproteins, but identifying how this inhibition functionally impacts specific glycoproteins is challenging. This limits our understanding of pathogenesis in the congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG). We used selective exo-enzymatic labeling of cells deficient in the two catalytic subunits of oligosaccharyltransferase - STT3A and STT3B - to monitor the presence and glycosylation status of cell surface glycoproteins. We show reduced abundance of two canonical tyrosine receptor kinases - the insulin receptor and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) - at the cell surface in STT3A-null cells, due to decreased N-linked glycan site occupancy and proteolytic processing in combination with increased endoplasmic reticulum localization. Providing cDNA for Golgi-resident proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 5a (PCSK5a) and furin cDNA to wild-type and mutant cells produced under-glycosylated forms of PCSK5a, but not furin, in cells lacking STT3A. Reduced glycosylation of PCSK5a in STT3A-null cells or cells treated with the oligosaccharyltransferase inhibitor NGI-1 corresponded with failure to rescue receptor processing, implying that alterations in the glycosylation of this convertase have functional consequences. Collectively, our findings show that STT3A-dependent inhibition of N-linked glycosylation on receptor tyrosine kinases and their convertases combines to impair receptor processing and surface localization. These results provide new insight into CDG pathogenesis and highlight how the surface abundance of some glycoproteins can be dually impacted by abnormal glycosylation

The development of a quantification method for measuring iridescence using sexually selected traits in the Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli)

Reliably quantifying the strength of visual sexual signals, such as iridescence, has been challenging across the field of evolutionary biology, but is critically important for studying biologically relevant trait variation. To address this issue, we present the Iridescence Detection and Isolation Algorithm (IDIA), which was designed to isolate the iridescent signal from photographs for quantification of ornamentation. The Gulf pipefish, Syngnathus scovelli, served as a model system for testing the limits of the algorithm, and was an ideal test case due to their female-specific iridescent bands on their abdomens with a large degree of among-individual variation. Specifically, we tested the repeatability of iridescence estimates in a variety of settings, including manual versus automated measurements, a gradient of lighting intensities, observational data from multiple populations, and in detecting exposure to synthetic estrogen. Using the IDIA, female iridescence was quantified in two ways with results indicating a manual measurement of each individual band may be more reliable than the automated measurement taken by drawing a polygon around all bands. However, the intensity of the lighting the photographs were taken in did not significantly affect repeatability of the measurement of iridescence no matter how it was taken. The IDIA was able to detect geographical variation in female ornamentation of S. scovelli, demonstrating that our automated approach can potentially replicate previously-described population-level variation. Differences in the iridescent signal were significant when comparing female pipefish from the Florida coast to females collected from the Texas coast, indicating the possibility that external factors, such as differing environmental conditions, could affect the strength of female visual signals. Lastly, the IDIA was applied in an ecotoxicology application to detect the development of iridescence in male pipefish exposed to synthetic estrogen. Exposed males began expressing banding patterns with iridescence levels within the range of females. The results from this study confirm the feasibility of using the IDIA for measuring iridescence in fish across a variety of applications

Concerted action of the PHD, chromo and motor domains regulates the human chromatin remodelling ATPase CHD4

CHD4, the core subunit of the Nucleosome Remodelling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex, is a chromatin remodelling ATPase that, in addition to a helicase domain, harbors tandem plant homeo finger and chromo domains. By using a panel of domain constructs we dissect their roles and demonstrate that DNA binding, histone binding and ATPase activities are allosterically regulated. Molecular shape reconstruction from small-angle X-ray scattering reveals extensive domain-domain interactions, which provide a structural explanation for the regulation of CHD4 activities by intramolecular domain communication. Our results demonstrate functional interdependency between domains within a chromatin remodeller. Crown Copyright © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical society. All rights reserved

The Value Proposition for Identity Federations

17 pagesEducation and research institutions around the world are facing significant resource challenges that impact their ability to offer a modern collaborative environment. Campus infrastructure, from the network (both wired and wireless) up through identity management, needs to support inter-institutional collaboration on the part of their students, faculty. In order to understand the layers of costs and benefits involved in local, regional, and global collaboration, campus CIOs and IT staff must understand the value proposition for a stronger network, richer services, and a solid identity management infrastructure. In particular, establishing an identity federation to help support the global engagement needs to have clear value at the local level as well as the regional or global level in order to win the necessary funding in the light of all the competing needs of the institution. This paper attempts to bring clarity to the questions that surround the heart of the value proposition for identity federation. Why should identity management and federation be prioritized? What arguments can campus CIOs use to sway the local and regional funding agencies that already have so many demands? What needs to be done to establish an identity federation, and have it interoperate with other identity federations around the world

The Grizzly, February 29, 2000

Phi Psi Sanctioned • UC Students Weather Winter Sickness • Meghan Gualtieri: Profile of a True UC Role Model • Ursinus\u27 Own Superbagger • GOP Race Tightens in Michigan and Arizona • Investors to Transform Mir Into Out-of-this-World Hotel • Opinion: Food and Diversity at Ursinus College; Fox\u27s Marry a Millionaire Fiasco Sends Wrong Message • A Student\u27s proTheatre: Halves • John Gwinn: Post-Modernist Extraordinaire? • Gymnastics Sustains Record-Breaking Run at Rutgers • UC Grad Bill Stiles Becomes Sports Information Director • Winter Track Season Ends Strong • Bears Captures Last Three Wins • Sports Profile: Yori Adegunwahttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1461/thumbnail.jp

2014 Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar: A Lot On Our Plate; Chronic Health Threats in Massachusetts

A Lot on Our Plate: Chronic Health Threats in Massachusetts is the fifth Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar, and is designed to emphasize a family perspective in policymaking on issues related to childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. In general, Family Impact Seminars analyze the consequences an issue, policy, or program may have for families