Healthy Communities in Southern Illinois

Due to industrial and lifestyle changes, rural and small town areas are losing population and suffering economic hardship. These areas also suffer from the poorest health. However, most rural or small town residents also believe in the American Dream, revitalizing their local area, and preserving the small town or rural way of life. In this paper, I look at the relationship between obesity and local infrastructure – including walkability and access to healthy food – in southern Illinois. I then make suggestions for development policies for the region in the context of local public opinion

Disaster and Gender in Southern Illinois

The unique needs of women in the context of disaster have been largely overlooked in disaster management. For this reason, women have been hard-hit by natural disasters in the United States and internationally. However, by learning from the mistakes of the past, the negative effects of disasters on women may be mitigated through disaster management that is sensitive to the different needs and experiences of women and men. Illinois is at risk for a variety of natural disasters including floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and storms. Some areas of the state, including southern Illinois, are more vulnerable due to social characteristics such as high poverty rates, high rates of single parent households, large elderly populations, and above average rates of domestic violence and sexual assault. Men’s and women’s experiences of these social vulnerabilities within the context of disaster are different. Research on past disasters has documented the ways that gender-based social roles and social gender equality determine how hard and in what ways women are hit by disasters. More often than not women continue to shoulder the bulk of caretaking responsibilities. Further, women have different needs in regard to health, and safety from violence. The negative effects of disaster on women and the communities that they reside within can be reduced by preparedness plans that consider the needs of women. Before a disaster hits an area, local leaders should be aware of towns or counties with high rates of gender-based violence, single parent households, and poverty as those women are especially at risk in a disaster. Leaders should also be aware of areas that have a greater than average population of children, the elderly, or disabled persons. Evacuation plans should be tailored with these characteristics in mind

Geographies of Inequality: Urban Renewal and the Race, Gender, and Class of Post-Katrina New Orleans

In this paper, we address pressing questions on the perpetuation of race, gender, and class inequalities in ongoing restoration practices shaping the New New Orleans. We unpack federal and local efforts to rebuild and revitalize the city over the last ten years and map the geography of New Orleans at the neighborhood level both before and after the storm. We discuss how mismanaged resources, corrupt profit-taking, conflicts of interest for the stakeholders, and socially unconscious design conditioned a fiscally irresponsible and non-inclusive recovery. These efforts have pushed out already marginalized populations, resulted in the gentrification of historically African American neighborhoods, and ultimately maintained complex social inequalities

The Climate of Opinion in Illinois 2008- 2016: Roots of Gridlock

Since January 1, 2015, Illinois has been frozen in a governmental and political gridlock that has dominated the state’s political discourse, consumed the energies of all involved, and created chaos in governmental and non-profit agencies that normally deliver state services. It has also created untold hardship and suffering among those who are most dependent on state services. The conflict has especially threatened to drastically reduce the quality and missions of the institutions of public higher education in Illinois, a state system that was widely recognized as one of the best in the nation and the world

Loss of murine Paneth cell function alters the immature intestinal microbiome and mimics changes seen in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains the leading cause of gastrointestinal morbidity and mortality in premature infants. Human and animal studies suggest a role for Paneth cells in NEC pathogenesis. Paneth cells play critical roles in host-microbial interactions and epithelial homeostasis. The ramifications of eliminating Paneth cell function on the immature host-microbial axis remains incomplete. Paneth cell function was depleted in the immature murine intestine using chemical and genetic models, which resulted in intestinal injury consistent with NEC. Paneth cell depletion was confirmed using histology, electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and real time RT-PCR. Cecal samples were analyzed at various time points to determine the effects of Paneth cell depletion with and without Klebsiella gavage on the microbiome. Deficient Paneth cell function induced significant compositional changes in the cecal microbiome with a significant increase in Enterobacteriacae species. Further, the bloom of Enterobacteriaceae species that occurs is phenotypically similar to what is seen in human NEC. This further strengthens our understanding of the importance of Paneth cells to intestinal homeostasis in the immature intestine

Optimization of Cannula Visibility during Ultrasound-Guided Subclavian Vein Catheterization, via a Longitudinal Approach, by Implementing Echogenic Technology

Objective. One limitation of ultrasound-guided vascular access is the technical challenge of visualizing the cannula during insertion into the vessel. We hypothesized that the use of an echogenic vascular cannula (EC) would improve visualization when compared with a nonechogenic vascular cannula (NEC) during real-time ultrasound-guided subclavian vein (SCV) cannulation in the ICU. Material and Methods. Eighty mechanically ventilated patients were prospectively enrolled in a randomized study that was conducted in a medical-surgical ICU. Forty patients underwent EC and 40 patients were randomized to NEC. The procedure was ultrasound-guided SCV cannulation via the infraclavicular approach on the longitudinal axis. Results. The EC group exhibited increased cannula visibility as compared to the NEC group (92%±3% versus 85 ± 7%, resp., P < 0.01). There was strong agreement between the procedure operators and independent observers (k = 0.9, 95% confidence intervals assessed by bootstrap analysis = 0.87 to 0.93; P < 0.01). Access time (12.1 s ± 6.5 versus 18.9 s ± 10.9) and the perceived technical difficulty of the ultrasound method (4.5 ± 1.5 versus 7.5 ± 1.5) were both decreased in the EC group compared to the NEC group (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Echogenic technology significantly improved cannula visibility and decreased access time and technical complexity optimizing thus real-time ultrasound-guided SCV cannulation via a longitudinal approach

Echogenic Technology Improves Cannula Visibility during Ultrasound-Guided Internal Jugular Vein Catheterization via a Transverse Approach

Objective. Echogenic technology has recently enhanced the ability of cannulas to be visualized during ultrasound-guided vascular access. We studied whether the use of an EC could improve visualization if compared with a nonechogenic vascular cannula (NEC) during real-time ultrasound-guided internal jugular vein (IJV) cannulation in the intensive care unit (ICU). Material and Methods. We prospectively enrolled 80 mechanically ventilated patients who required central venous access in a randomized study that was conducted in two medical-surgical ICUs. Forty patients underwent EC and 40 patients were randomized to NEC. The procedure was ultrasound-guided IJV cannulation via a transverse approach. Results. The EC group exhibited increased visibility as compared to the NEC group (88%  ± 8% versus 20%  ± 15%, resp. P < 0.01). There was strong agreement between the procedure operators and independent observers (k = 0.9; 95% confidence intervals assessed by bootstrap analysis = 0.87–0.95; P < 0.01). Access time (5.2 s ± 2.5 versus 10.6 s ± 5.7) and mechanical complications were both decreased in the EC group compared to the NEC group (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Echogenic technology significantly improved cannula visibility and decreased access time and mechanical complications during real-time ultrasound-guided IJV cannulation via a transverse approach

STK295900, a Dual Inhibitor of Topoisomerase 1 and 2, Induces G<inf>2</inf> Arrest in the Absence of DNA Damage

STK295900, a small synthetic molecule belonging to a class of symmetric bibenzimidazoles, exhibits antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines from different origins. Examining the effect of STK295900 in HeLa cells indicates that it induces G2 phase arrest without invoking DNA damage. Further analysis shows that STK295900 inhibits DNA relaxation that is mediated by topoisomerase 1 (Top 1) and topoisomerase 2 (Top 2) in vitro. In addition, STK295900 also exhibits protective effect against DNA damage induced by camptothecin. However, STK295900 does not affect etoposide-induced DNA damage. Moreover, STK295900 preferentially exerts cytotoxic effect on cancer cell lines while camptothecin, etoposide, and Hoechst 33342 affected both cancer and normal cells. Therefore, STK295900 has a potential to be developed as an anticancer chemotherapeutic agent. © 2013 Kim et al

The Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex mediates activation of TopBP1 by ATM

The activation of ATR-ATRIP in response to double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) depends upon ATM in human cells and Xenopus egg extracts. One important aspect of this dependency involves regulation of TopBP1 by ATM. In Xenopus egg extracts, ATM associates with TopBP1 and thereupon phosphorylates it on S1131. This phosphorylation enhances the capacity of TopBP1 to activate the ATR-ATRIP complex. We show that TopBP1 also interacts with the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex in egg extracts in a checkpoint-regulated manner. This interaction involves the Nbs1 subunit of the complex. ATM can no longer interact with TopBP1 in Nbs1-depleted egg extracts, which suggests that the MRN complex helps to bridge ATM and TopBP1 together. The association between TopBP1 and Nbs1 involves the first pair of BRCT repeats in TopBP1. In addition, the two tandem BRCT repeats of Nbs1 are required for this binding. Functional studies with mutated forms of TopBP1 and Nbs1 suggested that the BRCT-dependent association of these proteins is critical for a normal checkpoint response to DSBs. These findings suggest that the MRN complex is a crucial mediator in the process whereby ATM promotes the TopBP1-dependent activation of ATR-ATRIP in response to DSBs