Who’s Hangry?: Food Insecurity and Psychosocial Adjustment in D.C. Teens

About 19,430 children in Washington D.C. experience food insecurity every day (Oliver, 2022). This is equivalent to 1 in 7 children in the area. According to WUSA, a news channel; food insecurity has been proven to lead to grave behavioral and emotional issues that can impair mental health and make it difficult for students to adjust to social situations (WUSA, 2017).We are excited to announce a new program that will help tackle food insecurity in public high schools in wards 7 & 8. The program’s name is DC Creating Overall Optimism in Kids (DC COOKs). The goal is to provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to cook easy and nutritious meals, even if they do not have access to a grocery store. When teenagers face economic stressors like food insecurity, it can have a significant impact on their emotional and behavioral functioning. While the direct effects of food insecurity on adolescent growth are clear, it is also likely that these stressors work indirectly to affect psychosocial adjustment. It is important to address these issues and provide support to help adolescents navigate this challenge because the consequences of ignoring these struggles can lead to less energy for complex social interactions, inability to effectively adapt to environmental stress, feeling physically unwell, and possibly developing mental health disorders or chronic illness (Thomsen, 2021). By offering these cooking classes, students will be empowered and given the tools they need to make healthy choices which will improve their overall psychosocial well-being. Moreover, the program will reduce food insecurity in the home causing an improvement in teen psychosocial adjustment. Every student deserves access to healthy food, and this program will make it a reality.https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/dchapp/1017/thumbnail.jp

Acculturation and wellness of native american adolescents in the United States of North America

Cultural conflicts and the process of acculturation contribute to feelings of boredom, anxiety, depression, isolation, stress, self-doubt, alienation, and rejection among Native American high school students. Further, acculturation may have a negative impact on the identity development and wellness of these students. The purpose of this pilot study was to: (a) assess and compare the levels of acculturation of Native American and non-Native American 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students; and (b) examine the relationship between level of acculturation and wellness for the Native American students. Results indicated significant differences between Native American and non-Native American students’ levels of acculturation; and significant differences between the Native students’ three levels of acculturation on some of the 17 scales of wellness. Resumen: Conflictos culturales y el proceso de aculturación contribuyen a sentimientos de aburrimiento, ansiedad, depresión, aislamiento, presión, desconfianza, alienación, y del rechazo entre estudiantes de escuela superior que son indios americanos. Aún más, la aculturación puede tener un impacto negativo en el desarrollo de identidad y bienestar de estos estudiantes. El propósito de este estudio piloto fue: (a) evaluar y comparar los niveles de aculturación de estudiantes que eran indios americanos y no-indio americano en los grados académicos del noveno, décimo, décimo primero y de duodécimos; y (B) examinar la relación entre nivel de aculturación y bienestar de los estudiantes indio americanos. Los resultados indicaron diferencias significativas entre estudiantes indio americanos y estudiantes no-indio americano en los niveles de aculturación; y diferencias significativas entre los estudiantes indio americanos en tres niveles de aculturación en la parte de las 17 escalas del bienestar

Metallothionein Isoform 3 Expression in Human Skin, Related Cancers, and Human Skin Derived Cell Cultures

Human skin is a well known target site of inorganic arsenic with effects ranging from hyperkeratosis to dermal malignancies. The current study characterizes the expression of a protein known to bind inorganic, As3+, metallothionein 3 (MT-3). Expression of this protein was assessed immunohistochemically with a specific MT-3 antibody on human formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens in normal skin, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and melanoma. Assessment in normal skin using nine normal specimens showed moderate to intense MT-3 staining in epidermal karatinocytes with staining extending into the basal cells and moderate to intense staining in melanocytes of nevi. MT-3 immunoexpression was shown to be moderate to intense in 12 of 13 of SCC, low to moderate in 8 of 10 BCC, and moderate to intense in 12 melanoma samples. MT-3 expression in cell culture models (normal human epidermal keratinocytes, normal human melanocytes, and HaCaT cells) showed only trace expression of MT-3, while exposures to the histone deacytalase inhibitor, MS-275, partially restored expression levels. These results indicate that the epidermis of human skin and resulting malignancies express high level of MT-3 and potentially impact on the known association of arsenic exposure and the development of skin disorders and related cancers

Accessing primary health care: A meta-ethnography of the experiences of British South Asian patients with diabetes, coronary heart disease or a mental health problem

Objectives: To develop an explanatory framework of the problems accessing primary care health services experienced by British South Asian patients with a long-term condition or mental health problem. Methods: This study used meta-ethnographic methods. Published qualitative studies were identified from a structured search of six databases and themes synthesized across studies to develop a new explanatory framework. Results: Initial searches identified 951 potentially relevant records from which a total of 27 articles were identified that met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twelve of these articles were chosen on the basis of their quality and relevance. These 12 articles described themes relating to the cultural, spatial and temporal dimensions of patient experiences of accessing and using health care. Our interpretive synthesis showed that access to primary care among British South Asians with diabetes, coronary heart disease and psychological health problems is co-constructed and negotiated over time and space along the key domains of the candidacy model of access: from help-seeking to interactions at the interface to following treatment advice. In the case of each condition, British South Asians’ claims to candidacy were constrained where their individual as well as broader social and cultural characteristics lacked fit with professionals’ ways of working and cultural typifications. Conclusion: Interventions that positively affect professionals’ capacity to support patient claims to candidacy are likely to help support British South Asians overcome a broad range of barriers to care for physical and mental health problems. </jats:p

Outcomes of low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasms with remote acellular mucinous peritoneal deposits

Occasionally, low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasms (LAMN) present with mucinous peritoneal deposits (MPD) localized to periappendiceal tissue or diffused throughout the peritoneum. This study was aimed at evaluating the relevance of mucin cellularity for predicting outcomes of LAMN with remote MPD. The records of patients with LAMN and remote MPD who underwent initial assessment at a comprehensive cancer center from 1990 to 2015 were reviewed, and diagnostic procedures, treatments, and outcomes were analyzed. Of 48 patients included in the analysis, 19 had cellular MPD (CMPD) and 29 had acellular MPD. Of 33 patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery, 30 had a complete cytoreduction; the 3 patients with an incomplete cytoreduction had CMPD. In the follow-up period (median, 4 years), 6 patients died of the disease, all of whom had CMPD. Of 11 patients who had progression of disease, 10 had CMPD. Cellularity of remote MPD is an important determinant of disease outcome in LAMN. Approaches such as active surveillance may have a role in selected patients with LAMN and AMPD

Application of a correlation correction factor in a microarray cross-platform reproducibility study

Background Recent research examining cross-platform correlation of gene expression intensities has yielded mixed results. In this study, we demonstrate use of a correction factor for estimating cross-platform correlations. Results In this paper, three technical replicate microarrays were hybridized to each of three platforms. The three platforms were then analyzed to assess both intra- and cross-platform reproducibility. We present various methods for examining intra-platform reproducibility. We also examine cross-platform reproducibility using Pearson\u27s correlation. Additionally, we previously developed a correction factor for Pearson\u27s correlation which is applicable when X and Y are measured with error. Herein we demonstrate that correcting for measurement error by estimating the disattenuated correlation substantially improves cross-platform correlations. Conclusion When estimating cross-platform correlation, it is essential to thoroughly evaluate intra-platform reproducibility as a first step. In addition, since measurement error is present in microarray gene expression data, methods to correct for attenuation are useful in decreasing the bias in cross-platform correlation estimates

MHC-I genotype and tumor mutational burden predict response to immunotherapy.

BackgroundImmune checkpoint blockade (ICB) with antibodies inhibiting cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) (or its ligand (PD-L1)) can stimulate immune responses against cancer and have revolutionized the treatment of tumors. The influence of host germline genetics and its interaction with tumor neoantigens remains poorly defined. We sought to determine the interaction between tumor mutational burden (TMB) and the ability of a patient's major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) to efficiently present mutated driver neoantigens in predicting response ICB.MethodsComprehensive genomic profiling was performed on 83 patients with diverse cancers treated with ICB to determine TMB and human leukocyte antigen-I (HLA-I) genotype. The ability of a patient's MHC-I to efficiently present mutated driver neoantigens (defined by the Patient Harmonic-mean Best Rank (PHBR) score (with lower PHBR indicating more efficient presentation)) was calculated for each patient.ResultsThe median progression-free survival (PFS) for PHBR score &lt; 0.5 vs. ≥ 0.5 was 5.1 vs. 4.4 months (P = 0.04). Using a TMB cutoff of 10 mutations/mb, the stable disease &gt; 6 months/partial response/complete response rate, median PFS, and median overall survival (OS) of TMB high/PHBR high vs. TMB high/PHBR low were 43% vs. 78% (P = 0.049), 5.8 vs. 26.8 months (P = 0.03), and 17.2 months vs. not reached (P = 0.23), respectively. These findings were confirmed in an independent validation cohort of 32 patients.ConclusionsPoor presentation of driver mutation neoantigens by MHC-I may explain why some tumors (even with a high TMB) do not respond to ICB