Young Adult Reflections on the Impact of Parental Incarceration and Reentry

Little is known about the continuing effects of childhood parental incarceration into young adulthood. Fourteen young adults who experienced parental incarceration during adolescence shared their experiences through individual interviews focused on the following qualitative research question: In what ways do young adults believe they have been impacted in young adulthood by the earlier experiences of parental incarceration and reentry? Findings indicate that most relationships with previously incarcerated parents remain tenuous. Participants describe ongoing struggles to develop trusting relationships, manage negative emotions, and stay out of trouble. Findings have implications for assisting young adults and families affected by criminal justice involvement

A Retrospective Look at the Experience of Parental Incarceration and Family Reentry During Adolescence

Few studies provide firsthand experiences of parental incarceration in adolescents\u27 own voices. Fourteen young men and women retrospectively shared their experiences of parental incarceration and family reentry during adolescence. Individual interviews focused on the following qualitative research questions: (1) What is the experience of parental incarceration and reentry for adolescents? (2) How does the child-parent relationship change from pre- to postincarceration? Relationships with incarcerated parents tended toward estrangement. Negative emotions and need for emotional support were predominant in the sample. Findings have implications for improving mental health services for children and families, trauma work, and policy interventions across services

Blood-based bioenergetic profiling is related to differences in brain morphology in African Americans with Type 2 diabetes.

Blood-based bioenergetic profiling has promising applications as a minimally invasive biomarker of systemic bioenergetic capacity. In the present study, we examined peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) mitochondrial function and brain morphology in a cohort of African Americans with long-standing Type 2 diabetes. Key parameters of PBMC respiration were correlated with white matter, gray matter, and total intracranial volumes. Our analyses indicate that these relationships are primarily driven by the relationship of systemic bioenergetic capacity with total intracranial volume, suggesting that systemic differences in mitochondrial function may play a role in overall brain morphology

Increasing Efforts to Reduce Cervical Cancer through State-Level Comprehensive Cancer Control Planning

Reducing cervical cancer disparities in the U.S. requires intentional focus on structural barriers such as systems and policy which impact access to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, cervical cancer screening and treatment. Such changes are difficult and often politicized. State comprehensive cancer control (CCC) plans are vehicles that, if designed well, can help build collective focus on structural changes. Study objectives were to identify the prioritization of cervical cancer in state CCC plans, the conceptualization of HPV within these plans, and the focus of plans on structural changes to reduce cervical cancer disparities. Data were gathered by systematic content analysis of CCC plans from 50 states and the District of Columbia from February-June 2014 for evidence of cervical cancer prioritization, conceptualization of HPV, and focus on structural barriers to cervical cancer vaccination, screening or treatment. Findings indicate that prioritization of cervical cancer within state CCC plans may not be a strong indicator of state efforts to reduce screening and treatment disparities. While a majority of plans reflected scientific evidence that HPV causes cervical and other cancers, they did not focus on structural elements impacting access to evidence-based interventions. Opportunities exist to improve state CCC plans by increasing their focus on structural interventions that impact cervical cancer prevention, detection, and treatmentparticularly for the 41% of plans ending in 2015 and the 31% ending between 2016-2020. Future studies should focus on the use of policy tools in state CCC plans and their application to cervical cancer prevention and treatment

Rapid Climate Risk Assessment for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Region

This rapid climate risk assessment for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) uses the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2014 risk analysis framework to assess the distribution of climate hazards and social and biophysical vulnerability to those hazards in order to identify climate risk hotspots. The assessment uses regional climate models from CORDEX-Africa to map rainfall extremes and drought hazards to 2031–2059. Ten social and biophysical vulnerability indicators are identified from across the capital assets (human, physical, social, financial, natural), using data from the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), to develop a vulnerability index. The vulnerability index and distribution of climate hazards are mapped to identify hotspots. Hotspots of vulnerability to and risk of extreme rainfall are shown in northern Madagascar and in south west Tanzania, under both the RCP4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. These hotspots also correspond to the hotspots for drought risk under RCP4.5 and 8.5. However, it is clear that medium-high climate risk (high vulnerability, medium-high climate hazard) is widespread across Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar

Transcriptional and Translational Regulatory Responses to Iron Limitation in the Globally Distributed Marine Bacterium Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique

Iron is recognized as an important micronutrient that limits microbial plankton productivity over vast regions of the oceans. We investigated the gene expression responses of Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique cultures to iron limitation in natural seawater media supplemented with a siderophore to chelate iron. Microarray data indicated transcription of the periplasmic iron binding protein sfuC increased by 16-fold, and iron transporter subunits, iron-sulfur center assembly genes, and the putative ferroxidase rubrerythrin transcripts increased to a lesser extent. Quantitative peptide mass spectrometry revealed that sfuC protein abundance increased 27-fold, despite an average decrease of 59% across the global proteome. Thus, we propose sfuC as a marker gene for indicating iron limitation in marine metatranscriptomic and metaproteomic ecological surveys. The marked proteome reduction was not directly correlated to changes in the transcriptome, implicating post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms as modulators of protein expression. Two RNA-binding proteins, CspE and CspL, correlated well with iron availability, suggesting that they may contribute to the observed differences between the transcriptome and proteome. We propose a model in which the RNA-binding activity of CspE and CspL selectively enables protein synthesis of the iron acquisition protein SfuC during transient growth-limiting episodes of iron scarcity

Drimolen cranium DNH 155 documents microevolution in an early hominin species

Paranthropus robustus is a small-brained extinct hominin from South Africa characterized by derived, robust craniodental morphology. The most complete known skull of this species is DNH 7 from Drimolen Main Quarry, which differs from P. robustus specimens recovered elsewhere in ways attributed to sexual dimorphism. Here, we describe a new fossil specimen from Drimolen Main Quarry, dated from approximately 2.04–1.95 million years ago, that challenges this view. DNH 155 is a well-preserved adult male cranium that shares with DNH 7 a suite of primitive and derived features unlike those seen in adult P. robustus specimens from other chronologically younger deposits. This refutes existing hypotheses linking sexual dimorphism, ontogeny and social behaviour within this taxon, and clarifies hypotheses concerning hominin phylogeny. We document small-scale morphological changes in P. robustus associated with ecological change within a short time frame and restricted geography. This represents the most highly resolved evidence yet of microevolutionary change within an early hominin species

Addressing the Future Burden of Cancer and Its Impact on the Oncology Workforce: Where Is Cancer Prevention and Control?

The need for cancer professionals has never been more urgent than it is today. Reports project serious shortages by 2020 of oncology health care providers. Although many plans have been proposed, no role for prevention has been described. In response, a 2-day symposium was held in 2009 at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to capture the current status of the cancer prevention workforce and begin to identify gaps in the workforce. Five working groups were organized around the following topic areas: (a) health policy and advocacy; (b) translation to the community; (c) integrating cancer prevention into clinical practice; (d) health services infrastructure and economics; and (e) discovery, research, and technology. Along with specific recommendations on these topics, the working groups identified two additional major themes: the difficulty of defining areas within the field (including barriers to communication) and lack of sufficient funding. These interdependent issues synergistically impede progress in preventing cancer; they are explored in detail in this synthesis, and recommendations for actions to address them are presented. Progress in cancer prevention should be a major national and international goal. To achieve this goal, ensuring the health of the workforce in cancer prevention and control is imperative

SNOT-22 in a Control Population

AIM: To assess SNOT-22 and its subscales in a non-rhinosinusitis UK-wide population.  METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE: This analysis uses data from the 'Chronic Rhinosinusitis Epidemiology Study' (CRES) which recruited from 30 centres across the UK, and the Socioeconomic Cost of ChrOnic Rhinosinusitis study' (SocCoR); 250 volunteers without CRS were recruited as part of these studies. Study-specific questionnaires including demographics, socioeconomic factors and past medical history as well as SNOT-22 and SF-36 were distributed. The control (non-CRS) population had no self-reported nasal problems in the past, no chronic conditions undergoing active treatment and no hospital admissions in the preceding 12 months.  RESULTS: The mean SNOT-22 total score overall was 12.0. The mean was 10.2 for males with a median of 6.5, and a mean of 13.2 for females with a median of 9. Females scored significantly more highly than males on the sleep/fatigue and facial domains.  CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate differences in SNOT-22 amongst males and females. These data can be used in future studies for comparison with different disease populations with rhinosinusitis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved