On the Road to Self-Sufficiency after Welfare Reform: An Assessment of the Impact of Changes in Welfare Asset Limits on Auto- Ownership Rates and Employment

In this paper, we assess the impact of the easing of vehicle exemption limits and asset restrictions after the passage of welfare reform legislation on the rates of car-ownership observed among female headed households with children. Prior to the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, nearly all states exempted only $1,500 of vehicle equity from the minimum assets test and assets were limited to$1000 in most states. Post-welfare reform, however, nearly all states increased the vehicle exemption limit, with twenty-five states exempting the entire value of a single vehicle. In addition, the overall asset test rose in most states. In this paper, we use micro-level data from the 1993 and 1996 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) from the years 1994 to 1999 to examine 1) how changes in state-level welfare rules over this time period affected auto ownership rates among those most likely at risk of receiving welfare and 2) how the resulting change in auto ownership rates affected the probability of being employed for these individuals. To identify the effect of the redefined benefit eligibility rules on auto-ownership rates, we exploit inter-state differences and changes over time in welfare eligibility rules. Once we control for individual level demographics and state-level economic conditions, our results suggest that the probability of owning a car is greater for those who reside in states with higher overall asset limits and in states with exemptions for multiple vehicles. When we look at the sample of female heads with children relative to a control group of male and female household heads without children, we also find that assessing the value of the vehicle on an equity basis (rather than fair market basis) is associated with higher rates of car ownership. Using a two stage least squares approach (2SLS) that instruments car ownership with benefit eligibility rules, we find some evidence that asset-related rules have an effect on employment outcomes via car ownership. Thus, our results shed light on the role of the changes to eligibility rules on the transition from welfare to work.

Through Their Eyes: Using Photography with Youth Who Experienced Trauma

Adolescent youth in foster care are often exposed to multiple traumas and often leave the child welfare system without processing thoughts, feelings, or plans for the future. This study employed photo elicitation with a group of adolescent youth in foster care to discover what is important to them. Eight themes emerged. Family and friends, or the need to have someone who is always there for them was the most frequent theme photographed. Utilizing photo elicitation with youth who have been abused and/or neglected is an engaging and empowering method as it allows for individualized case planning that is guided by the wants and needs of the youth themselves

A Policy-Driven Theory of State Institutional Opinion Leadership: The Case of Gay Rights in the American States

This dissertation explores the comparative ability of states – via state judiciaries, state legislatures, and direct democracy – to lead mass public opinion on homosexuality through the adoption of gay rights policies. I consider four potential attitudinal consequences from public policy – legitimation (policy and opinion move in the same direction), backlash (policy and opinion move in opposite directions), polarization (policy splits opinion), and no relationship (policy has no influence on opinion) – proposing that state courts are better suited to lead homosexuality attitudes than state legislatures. I further hypothesize that a number of state characteristics condition the relationship between public policy and public opinion. My results show that the mere existence of policy, regardless of its source, changes how citizens feel regarding homosexuality. Specific to state institutions, my results indicate that state legislatures lead public opinion, direct democracy does not lead public opinion, and the results with respect to courts are inconclusive, requiring more research before determining their opinion leadership power. In most cases analyzed herein, policy induces public opinion regarding homosexuality to move in the same direction as the policy adoption, serving to legitimize public opinion. This legitimation consequence of policy is a tremendous revelation not noted in the state politics literature heretofore. Citizens may not even need to be aware of a policy’s existence; rather, through repeated exposure to the policy and its direct (e.g., banishing discrimination against gay and lesbian citizens) and indirect effects (e.g., gays and lesbians more willing to “come out” due to greater legal protections), citizen feelings become more positive toward homosexuality

Regulation of the Proteolytic Processing and Function of Amyloid Precursor Protein by Candidate Ligands

Despite intense interest in the proteolysis of Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), how the normal processing and function of this type I receptor-like glycoprotein is regulated remains ill-defined. APP is reported to function in neurodevelopment, including migration of neuronal precursor cells into the cortical plate. In recent years, several candidate ligands for APP, including F-spondin, Reelin, $\beta1$ Integrin, Contactins, and Lingo-1 have been reported. However, a cognate ligand for APP that regulates its function or processing has yet to be widely confirmed in multiple laboratories. First, in an unbiased approach to reveal novel ligands, Pancortin was identified by a mass spectrometry-based screen for factors that bind to the APP ectodomain in rodent brain. Each of the Pancortin isoforms was confirmed to interact with APP. However, only specific Pancortin isoforms reduced $\beta$-secretase but not $\alpha$-secretase cleavage of endogenous APP. Using in utero electroporation to overexpress or knockdown Pancortin isoforms in rodent cortex, a previously unidentified role for Pancortin in cortical cell migration with evidence for a functional interaction with APP was discovered. Next, I developed new assays in an effort to confirm a role for one or more of the published candidate ligands in regulating APP ectodomain shedding in a biologically relevant context. A comprehensive quantification of APPs$\alpha$ and APPs$\beta$, the immediate products of secretase processing, in both non-neuronal cell lines and primary neuronal cultures expressing endogenous APP yielded no evidence that any of these published candidate ligands stimulate ectodomain shedding. Rather, Reelin, Lingo-1 and Pancortin emerged as the most consistent ligands for significantly inhibiting ectodomain shedding. These studies clarify mechanisms regulating the function and processing of APP, which is needed to understand consequences of chronically altering APP proteolysis to treat AD and to develop new potential drug targets

Building Relationships across Systems to Enhance Resiliency and Improve Foster Care Outcomes

Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of Lancaster County represents a collaborative, systemic response to gaps in current service systems in a largely rural/suburban area. This paper discusses strategies used to foster support for CASA and on-going efforts to develop, implement, and evaluate the CASA program. We share lessons learned related to the development of innovative systemic responses to service gaps in rural areas

Concurrent Session, Project Compass: A Model for Transforming Campuses for Underserved Student Success

Funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Project Compass is a multi-campus, multi-year initiative. It supports four public, four-year colleges engaged in institution-level change essential to expanding, sustaining, and integrating rigorous, evidence-based efforts to retain underserved students. Presenters will discuss the development of campus-based communities of practice; the development of dynamic logic models assuring measurable outcomes; the formation of a cross-campus learning community; and the uniquely engaged, collaborative role established between the Foundation’s intermediary and funded campuses. They will also share formative findings. Participants will engage in a collaborative learning activity that applies the structure and underlying principles of the initiative to their home campuses. Discussion will include resources, questions, and promising practices for institutionalizing sustainable approaches to underserved student success

Sulindac metabolites inhibit epidermal growth factor receptor activation and expression

BACKGROUND: Regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a decreased mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC). NSAIDs induce apoptotic cell death in colon cancer cells in vitro and inhibit growth of neoplastic colonic mucosa in vivo however, the biochemical mechanisms required for these growth inhibitory effects are not well defined. We previously reported that metabolites of the NSAID sulindac downregulate extracellular-signal regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling and that this effect is both necessary and sufficient for the apoptotic effects of these drugs. The goal of this project was to specifically test the hypothesis that sulindac metabolites block activation and/or expression of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR). METHODS: HT29 human colon cancer cells were treated with EGF, alone, or in the presence of sulindac sulfide or sulindac sulfone. Cells lysates were assayed by immunoblotting for phosphorylated EGFR (pEGFR, pY1068), total EGFR, phosphorylated ERK1/2 (pERK1/2), total ERK1/2, activated caspase-3, and α-tubulin. RESULTS: EGF treatment rapidly induced phosphorylation of both EGFR and ERK1/2 in HT29 colon cancer cells. Pretreatment with sulindac metabolites for 24 h blocked EGF-induced phosphorylation of both EGFR and ERK1/2 and decreased total EGFR protein expression. Under basal conditions, downregulation of pEGFR and total EGFR was detected as early as 12 h following sulindac sulfide treatment and persisted through at least 48 h. Sulindac sulfone induced downregulation of pEGFR and total EGFR was detected as early as 1 h and 24 h, respectively, following drug treatment, and persisted through at least 72 h. EGFR downregulation by sulindac metabolites was observed in three different CRC cell lines, occurred prior to the observed downregulation of pERK1/2 and induction of apoptosis by these drugs, and was not dependent of caspase activation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that downregulation of EGFR signaling by sulindac metabolites may occur, at least in part, by inhibiting activation and expression of EGFR. Inhibition of EGFR signaling may account for part of the growth inhibitory and chemopreventive effects of these compounds

Garlic compounds selectively kill childhood pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells in vitro without reducing T-cell function: Potential therapeutic use in the treatment of ALL

Drugs used for remission induction therapy for childhood precursor-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are nonselective for malignant cells. Several garlic compounds have been shown to induce apoptosis of cancer cells and to alter lymphocyte function. To investigate the effect of garlic on the apoptosis of ALL cells and lymphocyte immune function, cells from newly diagnosed childhood ALL patients were cultured with several commonly used chemotherapeutic agents and several garlic compounds. Apoptosis, lymphocyte proliferation and T-cell cytokine production were determined using multiparameter flow cytometry. At concentrations of garlic compounds that did not result in significant increases in Annexin V and 7-AAD staining of normal lymphocytes, there was a significant increase in apoptosis of ALL cells with no alteration of T-cell proliferation as determined by CD25/CD69 upregulation or interferonγ, interleukin-2 or tumor necrosis factor-α intracellular cytokine production. In contrast, the presence of chemotherapeutic agents resulted in nonselective increases in both lymphocyte and ALL apoptosis and a decrease in T-cell proliferation and cytokine production. In conclusion, we show selective apoptosis of malignant cells by garlic compounds that do not alter T-cell immune function and indicate the potential therapeutic benefit of garlic compounds in the treatment of childhood ALL

The Role of Environmental Heterogeneity in Meta‐Analysis of Gene–Environment Interactions With Quantitative Traits

With challenges in data harmonization and environmental heterogeneity across various data sources, meta‐analysis of gene–environment interaction studies can often involve subtle statistical issues. In this paper, we study the effect of environmental covariate heterogeneity (within and between cohorts) on two approaches for fixed‐effect meta‐analysis: the standard inverse‐variance weighted meta‐analysis and a meta‐regression approach. Akin to the results in Simmonds and Higgins ( ), we obtain analytic efficiency results for both methods under certain assumptions. The relative efficiency of the two methods depends on the ratio of within versus between cohort variability of the environmental covariate. We propose to use an adaptively weighted estimator (AWE), between meta‐analysis and meta‐regression, for the interaction parameter. The AWE retains full efficiency of the joint analysis using individual level data under certain natural assumptions. Lin and Zeng (2010a, b) showed that a multivariate inverse‐variance weighted estimator retains full efficiency as joint analysis using individual level data, if the estimates with full covariance matrices for all the common parameters are pooled across all studies. We show consistency of our work with Lin and Zeng (2010a, b). Without sacrificing much efficiency, the AWE uses only univariate summary statistics from each study, and bypasses issues with sharing individual level data or full covariance matrices across studies. We compare the performance of the methods both analytically and numerically. The methods are illustrated through meta‐analysis of interaction between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in FTO gene and body mass index on high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol data from a set of eight studies of type 2 diabetes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107543/1/gepi21810.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107543/2/gepi21810-sup-0001-appendix.pd

Meta‐analysis of gene‐environment interaction exploiting gene‐environment independence across multiple case‐control studies

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138916/1/sim7398_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138916/2/sim7398.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138916/3/sim7398-sup-001-sup.pd