Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Minnesota: Improving Health Outcomes by Expanding Harm Reduction Strategies A Prospective Policy Analysis

Background: Morbidity and mortality from opioid misuse is worsening in Minnesota, and synthetic opioids have exacerbated the public health problem for vulnerable communities. People who inject drugs (PWID) due to social, health, economic and environmental factors are experiencing increased fatal overdoses. Minnesota has a broad approach to tackling the opioid crisis, but policies are needed, using new harm reduction strategies, to address the existing gaps. Methods: A prospective policy analysis was conducted using a public health and trauma informed approach using an extensive literature review to understand ways to improve health outcomes in PWID. A Center for Disease Control policy analysis framework was used comparing two policy options: safe consumption sites (SCS) and expansion of Narcan utilizing public health vending machines (PHVM). Results: Both policy options were found to be beneficial, feasible, and cost-effective approaches which would increase enrollment in addiction treatment services and decrease healthcare costs to society. Implementation of a SCS pilot study and PHVM, into areas most affected by the epidemic, would reduce overdose deaths by increasing access and availability of life saving treatments. Three repeating themes appeared in the analysis: language, stigma, and research. Conclusion: A multi-pronged approach can improve MDH opioid epidemic response. Innovative harm reduction policy inclusion and expansion is critical to reduce overdose deaths and must be on Minnesota lawmakers’ policy agenda. Inclusion of affected populations in policy development is vital. Properly framing the issue and use of first-person language is important. Further education and health communication programs are needed to reduce stigma among all stakeholders. Evaluation research of utilization patterns will strengthen evidence for the further expansion of new policy solutions

Exploring Housing Policies in Five Swedish Municipalities: Alternatives and Priorities

IntroductionHousing shortage due to population growth within metropolitan areas, combined with an ageing population has put pressure on current housing provision policies in Sweden. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable housing policies to accommodate the growing number of seniors in accessible home environments. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of how municipalities currently address housing accessibility issues and to explore what types of policy solutions they consider for the future.Material and methodsFive Swedish municipalities were selected to represent a diversity of population, housing situations and geographical areas. Two key actors from each municipality (public officials, housing adaptation grant managers, city architects etc.) participated in semi-structured interviews (N=10). Data were analysed using content analysis, i.e. inductive category formation, described by Mayring (2014). ResultsImportant themes included how such factors as the organizational structure of the municipality and the level of collaboration between municipal and private actors impacted the goals and ambitions of current housing policies. Emerging themes concerning possible measures and policies for the future were innovative types of housing and the need for economic incentives for older people to move from housing with poor accessibility to housing designed to better meet their needs. ConclusionMunicipalities struggle with the lack of accessible and affordable housing for the ageing population. The results suggest there is a need to consider how to prevent organizational issues from hampering policy initiatives and implementation and how to improve collaboration between municipal and private actors involved in housing provision

REO and REACH at the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1993.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-76).by Lisa Barbara Heller-Schoenberg.M.C.P.M.S

Hitching a ride on Hercules:fatal epibiosis drives ecosystem change from mud banks to oyster reefs

[Excerpt] Best known as a "love them or hate them" luxury food, or for their pearls, oysters are also ecosystem engineers, forming vast oyster reefs. Oyster reefs provide habitat for a myriad of species, and support fisheries, improve water quality and provide coastal protection. These services are estimated to be worth US$5,500–$99,000 per hectare per year (Grabowski et al. 2012). Globally, oyster reefs have declined by 85% through destructive overfishing, coastal development, pollution, and introduced competitors, predators and diseases (Beck et al. 2011). Active restoration is becoming an increasingly popular tool to bring back lost oyster reefs and the ecosystem services they provide (Fitzsimons et al. 2019). However, restoration is not always successful, and knowledge about how reefs naturally form and function is vital to improve restoration success. Oyster larvae only settle on hard substrates. Reefs proliferate because oyster shells provide a settlement surface, and oysters provide chemical and sound cues that facilitate larval settlement (Lillis et al. 2013). However, these reefs often form on intertidal sand and mud banks. This raises the question, how do oyster reefs form on mud banks in the absence of hard surfaces

Entomopathogenic Fungi as Mortality Factors of Macadamia Felted Coccid, Eriococcus ironsidei (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) in Hawaii

Entomopathogenic fungi are considered to play a vital role as a biologi- cal control agent of many insect populations. Different entomopathogenic fungi were observed infecting Eriococcus ironsidei Williams (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) in a macadamia nut orchard in Honokaa, Hawaii. Here, we report the results of the isolation of the unidentified fungal pathogens observed infecting E. ironsidei on macadamia leaves and their identification using molecular techniques. We evaluated the susceptibility of E. ironsidei to the isolated fungi and to one com- mercial formulation of the entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana. To assess whether any of the isolated pathogens have potential to serve as biocontrol agents, E. ironsidei was exposed to isolated fungi. Identified entomopathogens were Chlorocillium griseum and Pleurodesmospora coccorum. Results of this study confirmed that C. griseum, P. coccorum, and B. bassiana cause mortality in E. ironsidei up to 67%, 78%, and 100%, respectively. The present investigation indicates that E. ironsidei is highly susceptible to these fungi and they may have a role in regulating insect pest populations

National innovation and knowledge performance: The role of higher education teaching and training

This paper acknowledges the role of the higher education system (HES) in the production of knowledge and human capital. However, most of the literature attributes this production to the second (research activities) and third (exploitation of teaching and research activities) mission. This paper proposes to investigate the under explored role of the first mission (teaching) of HES in the production of national innovation

Ileitis as presentation of lymphoma in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

El síndrome de Wiskott-Aldrich (SWA) es un raro síndrome de inmunodeficiencia primaria ligado al cromosoma X que se asocia con aumento de incidencia de infecciones, trastornos autoinmunes y neoplasias. Se presenta el caso de un varón de 41 años con diagnóstico de síndrome de Wiskott-Aldrich y cuadro de ileítis como forma de presentación de un síndrome linfoproliferativo. La ileítis, en el contexto del paciente, representa un problema clínico dado el gran número de diagnósticos diferenciales (enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal, infecciones, neoplasias y enfermedades linfoproliferativas) por lo que suele requerir diagnóstico anatomopatológico y consideraciones particulares respecto al posterior tratamiento específico.Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is a rare X chromosome-linked primary immunodeficiency syndrome associated with an increased incidence of infections, autoimmune disorders and neoplasms. We present the case of a 41-year-old man with a diagnosis of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome with ileitis as a form of presentation of a lymphoproliferative syndrome. The ileitis, in the context of the patient, represents a clinical challenge given the large number of differential diagnoses (inflammatory bowel disease, infections, neoplasms and lymphoproliferative diseases), so it usually requires anatomopathological diagnosis and particular considerations regarding the subsequent specific treatment.Fil: Odstrcil Bobillo, María Silvina. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Kohan, Dana. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Heller, Paula Graciela. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Otero, Victoria. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Russo, Maria Paula. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Basquiera, Ana Lisa. Hospital Italiano; Argentin

Rational design of a conformation-specific antibody for the quantification of Aβ oligomers.

Protein misfolding and aggregation is the hallmark of numerous human disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. This process involves the formation of transient and heterogeneous soluble oligomers, some of which are highly cytotoxic. A major challenge for the development of effective diagnostic and therapeutic tools is thus the detection and quantification of these elusive oligomers. Here, to address this problem, we develop a two-step rational design method for the discovery of oligomer-specific antibodies. The first step consists of an "antigen scanning" phase in which an initial panel of antibodies is designed to bind different epitopes covering the entire sequence of a target protein. This procedure enables the determination through in vitro assays of the regions exposed in the oligomers but not in the fibrillar deposits. The second step involves an "epitope mining" phase, in which a second panel of antibodies is designed to specifically target the regions identified during the scanning step. We illustrate this method in the case of the amyloid β (Aβ) peptide, whose oligomers are associated with Alzheimer's disease. Our results show that this approach enables the accurate detection and quantification of Aβ oligomers in vitro, and in Caenorhabditis elegans and mouse hippocampal tissues