Development of Balanced Budget Bites and Feasibility Evaluation

Objective: Balanced Budget Bites was created to educate individuals of Feeding Brookings about different cooking techniques, food safety, meal planning, budgeting, and financial resources in the Brookings, SD area while highlighting lower-cost food items. Participants and Recruitment: The target audience of Balanced Budget Bites were individuals that participated in Feeding Brookings that were recruited for four weeks via a flyer and a posting of the flyer on Feeding Brookings’ Facebook page. Method and Implementation: Participants of Feeding Brookings completed a pre-survey before taking Balanced Budget Bites to assess their skills, confidence, and knowledge related to nutrition and finance. The online curriculum consisted of three learning modules with nutrition and finance videos, activities, and handouts to go along with each module. Participants completed a post-survey at the end of the course, which consisted of the same questions as the pre-survey, to assess their changes in skills, confidence, and knowledge related to nutrition and finance. Results: Statistical analysis of Balanced Budget Bites was not feasible, given only 7 participants completed the online course in its entirety; however, results of Balanced Budget Bites aligned with results of previous studies that used video technology to assess individuals’ confidence, skills, and knowledge of nutrition. Participants of Balanced Budget Bites were able to learn about how to add foods to common items that came in their food boxes from Feeding Brookings to increase the nutrients in meals with limited additional cost. Conclusion: Balanced Budget Bites was a positive experience for members of the Feeding Brookings community. It was created as an online learning curriculum and made available during COVID-19, which has caused increased stress on many Americans

Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change Management Challenge: Gardening with climate-smart native plants in the Northeast

An estimated 80% of ornamental plants for sale are non-native. This means that the average yard does a poor job of supporting native flora and fauna. By shifting our plantings towards natives, we can dramatically increase the diversity of bees, butterflies, birds and other animals. In contrast, non-native plants do not support local food webs and can become invasive. Native plants increase biodiversity and reduce risks associated with invasive species, which supports resilient ecosystems in the face of climate change

Mechanisms underlying neonate-specific metabolic effects of volatile anesthetics

Volatile anesthetics (VAs) are widely used in medicine, but the mechanisms underlying their effects remain ill-defined. Though routine anesthesia is safe in healthy individuals, instances of sensitivity are well documented, and there has been significant concern regarding the impact of VAs on neonatal brain development. Evidence indicates that VAs have multiple targets, with anesthetic and non-anesthetic effects mediated by neuroreceptors, ion channels, and the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Here, we characterize an unexpected metabolic effect of VAs in neonatal mice. Neonatal blood β-hydroxybutarate (β-HB) is rapidly depleted by VAs at concentrations well below those necessary for anesthesia. β-HB in adults, including animals in dietary ketosis, is unaffected. Depletion of β-HB is mediated by citrate accumulation, malonyl-CoA production by acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and inhibition of fatty acid oxidation. Adults show similar significant changes to citrate and malonyl-CoA, but are insensitive to malonyl-CoA, displaying reduced metabolic flexibility compared to younger animals

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Identification of Amino Acid Residues in System xc- that are Important in Regulating its Cell Surface Expression

System xCT is an antiporter crucial for the production of glutathione by controlling cellular levels of cysteine, the limiting reagent in glutathione synthesis (Kim, et al., 2001). Glutathione is a key component in the antioxidant cascade that exists to protect neurons and glia from oxidative stress (Kim, et al., 2001). Previous research in the Chase laboratory found that membrane levels of xCT increase 2- to 3-fold in response to oxidative stress. Therefore, we sought to determine the events which regulate cell surface expression of xCT. Studies of other membrane proteins have demonstrated that their cell surface expression and trafficking are controlled through the ubiquitination of lysine residues on the membrane-bound protein (Traub and Lukacs, 2007). Therefore, in our study, we induced lysine to arginine mutations on the seven intracellular xCT lysine residues in order to determine whether these residues are ubiquitinated in vivo and whether these residues are involved in xCT trafficking. We performed biotinylation assays and immunocytochemistry on transfected cells to measure the membrane and cellular expressions of mutated xCT proteins. Ubiquitination assays were also performed. Since only lysine and not arginine residues can be ubiquitinated, we hypothesize that the mutation of key lysine residues to arginine will result in increased membrane xCT levels and a reduction in xCT ubiquitination. Furthermore, we hypothesize that this mutation will only affect membrane trafficking and not overall cellular expression of xCT

Outpatient clinic visits during heat waves: findings from a large family medicine clinical database

Introduction:The purpose of this study was to determine whether heat waves are associated with increased frequency of clinic visits for ICD-9 codes of illnesses traditionally associated with heat waves. Methods:During 4 years of family medicine clinic data between 2012 and 2016, we identified six heat wave events in San Diego County. For each heat wave event, we selected a control period in the same season that was twice as long. Scheduling a visit on a heat wave day (versus a non-heat wave day) was the primary predictor, and receiving a primary ICD-9 disease code related to heat waves was the outcome. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity and marital status. Results:Of the 5448 visits across the heat wave and control periods, 6.4% of visits (n = 346) were for heat wave-related diagnoses. Scheduling a visit on heat wave day was not associated with receiving a heat wave-related ICD code as compared with the control period (adjusted odds ratio: 1.35; 95% confidence interval: 0.86-1.36; P = 0.51). Discussion:We show that in a relatively large and demographically diverse population, patients who schedule appointments during heat waves are not being more frequently seen for diagnoses typically associated with heat waves in the acute setting. Given that heat waves are increasing in frequency due to climate change, there is an opportunity to increase utilization of primary care clinics during heat waves

Creating a Future of Our Own Design: The International Indigenous HealthFusion Team Challenge as a Promising Practice to Support Indigenous Students in Health Fields

Training and recruitment of First Nations and Indigenous health professionals is part of reconciliation, addressing health disparities and embedding cultural safety and humility into the health ecosystem of the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. Calls to develop the First Nations and Indigenous health workforce are articulated within the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action 23, BC’s Transformative Change Accord: First Nations Health Plan, and the seven directives that guide the work of the First Nations Health Authority in BC and its health governance partners. This article brings forward the voices of current Indigenous students training in allied health professions at the University of British Columbia and their Indigenous mentors who participated in the 2018 International Indigenous HealthFusion Team Challenge in Sydney, Australia. The Challenge represents a promising practice in training Indigenous health professionals here in BC as it: (1) Affirmed their Indigenous identity, knowledge, and aspirations, supporting them to become more “visible” as Indigenous students; (2) Created a space where both Indigenous and mainstream health discipline knowledges were encouraged, valued, and respected; (3) Provided opportunity to connect with Indigenous peers and health leaders; and (4) Built students’ confidence to take on leadership roles. First Nations and Indigenous students studying in health fields represent the future of BC’s health and wellness ecosystem that brings together the best of Indigenous and mainstream healing approaches. Creating opportunities for students to grow as Indigenous health leaders is part of reconciliation and the new relationship represented by the BC First Nations Health Governance Structure

Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones.

Climate variability and change are issues of growing public health importance. Numerous studies have documented risks of extreme heat on human health in different locations around the world. Strategies to prevent heat-related morbidity and reduce disparities are possible but require improved knowledge of health outcomes during hot days at a small-scale level as important within-city variability in local weather conditions, socio-demographic composition, and access to air conditioning (AC) may exist. We analyzed hospitalization data for three unique climate regions of San Diego County alongside temperature data spanning 14 years to quantify the health impact of ambient air temperature at varying exceedance threshold levels. Within San Diego, coastal residents were more sensitive to heat than inland residents. At the coast, we detected a health impact at lower temperatures compared to inland locations for multiple disease categories including heat illness, dehydration, acute renal failure, and respiratory disease. Within the milder coastal region where access to AC is not prevalent, heat-related morbidity was higher in the subset of zip codes where AC saturation is lowest. We detected a 14.6% increase (95% confidence interval [4.5%, 24.6%]) in hospitalizations during hot weather in comparison to colder days in coastal locations where AC is less common, while no significant impact was observed in areas with higher AC saturation. Disparities in AC ownership were associated with income, race/ethnicity, and homeownership. Given that heat waves are expected to increase with climate change, understanding health impacts of heat and the role of acclimation is critical for improving outcomes in the future