Nutritional Status of Food Insecure Older Adults

Approximately 9.8 million seniors across America were at risk of going hungry in 2015. The percentage of seniors who faced the threat of hunger was equivalent to the percentage of seniors compared with the whole population of the United States. The prevalence rate of hypertension, which contributes to heart attacks and strokes, is over 50%, and the prevalence rate of diabetes is over 25% in seniors. Both heart disease and diabetes are among the top 10 leading causes of death in America with heart disease being number one. Appropriate dieting is recommended as a way to prevent and treat both of these diseases. The goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of support offered by food banks to provide adequate nutrition to food insecure older adults. A total of 300 seniors will be assessed prior to their first use of food bank support and three months after initiation using the Mini Nutritional Assessment. The data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics

East Bay Coalition for the Homeless: Branding Study and Marketing Strategy

There are a number of potential positioning strategies. The two which make the most sense for the EBCH are to “position the EBCH away from others in the category” and to “position the EBCH as unique.” These strategies have the advantage of setting the EBCH apart from the other organizations that address homelessness. Occupying its own “position” in the minds of potential and current donors is not only an effective communications/marketing strategy but also a less costly one because it avoids head-to-head competition and comparisons

PATH-38. ROSETTE-FORMING GLIONEURONAL TUMOR IS DEFINED BY FGFR1 ACTIVATING ALTERATIONS WITH FREQUENT ACCOMPANYING PI3K AND MAPK PATHWAY MUTATIONS

Abstract BACKGROUND Rosette-forming glioneuronal tumor (RGNT) is an uncommon CNS tumor originally described in the fourth ventricle characterized by a low-grade glial neoplasm admixed with a rosette-forming neurocytic component. METHODS We reviewed clinicopathologic features of 42 patients with RGNT. Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed, and genome-wide methylation profiling is underway. RESULTS The 20 male and 22 female patients had a mean age of 25 years (range 3–47) at time of diagnosis. Tumors were located within or adjacent to the lateral ventricle (n=16), fourth ventricle (15), third ventricle (9), and spinal cord (2). All 31 tumors assessed to date contained FGFR1 activating alterations, either in-frame gene fusion, kinase domain tandem duplication, or hotspot missense mutation in the kinase domain (p.N546 or p.K656). While 7 of these 31 tumors harbored FGFR1 alterations as the solitary pathogenic event, 24 contained additional pathogenic alterations within PI3-kinase or MAP kinase pathway genes: 5 with additional PIK3CA and NF1 mutations, 4 with PIK3CA mutation, 3 with PIK3R1 mutation (one of which also contained focal RAF1 amplification), 5 with PTPN11 mutation (one with additional PIK3R1 mutation), and 2 with NF1 deletion. The other 5 cases demonstrated anaplastic features including hypercellularity and increased mitotic activity. Among these anaplastic cases, 3 harbored inactivating ATRX mutations and two harbored CDKN2A homozygous deletion, in addition to the FGFR1 alterations plus other PI3-kinase and MAP kinase gene mutations seen in those RGNT without anaplasia. CONCLUSION Independent of ventricular location, RGNT is defined by FGFR1 activating mutations or rearrangements, which are frequently accompanied by mutations involving PIK3CA, PIK3R1, PTPN11, NF1, and KRAS. Whereas pilocytic astrocytoma and ganglioglioma are characterized by solitary activating MAP kinase pathway alterations (e.g. BRAF fusion or mutation), RGNT are genetically more complex with dual PI3K-Akt-mTOR and Ras-Raf-MAPK pathway activation. Rare anaplastic examples may show additional ATRX and/or CDKN2A inactivation

Functional Polymorphism of the Mu-Opioid Receptor Gene (OPRM1) Influences Reinforcement Learning in Humans

Previous reports on the functional effects (i.e., gain or loss of function), and phenotypic outcomes (e.g., changes in addiction vulnerability and stress response) of a commonly occurring functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1 A118G) have been inconsistent. Here we examine the effect of this polymorphism on implicit reward learning. We used a probabilistic signal detection task to determine whether this polymorphism impacts response bias to monetary reward in 63 healthy adult subjects: 51 AA homozygotes and 12 G allele carriers. OPRM1 AA homozygotes exhibited typical responding to the rewarded response—that is, their bias to the rewarded stimulus increased over time. However, OPRM1 G allele carriers exhibited a decline in response to the rewarded stimulus compared to the AA homozygotes. These results extend previous reports on the heritability of performance on this task by implicating a specific polymorphism. Through comparison with other studies using this task, we suggest a possible mechanism by which the OPRM1 polymorphism may confer reduced response to natural reward through a dopamine-mediated decrease during positive reinforcement learning

Evofosfamide for the Treatment of Human Papillomavirus-Negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Evofosfamide (TH-302) is a clinical-stage hypoxia-activated prodrug of a DNA-crosslinking nitrogen mustard that has potential utility for human papillomavirus (HPV) negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), in which tumor hypoxia limits treatment outcome. We report the preclinical efficacy, target engagement, preliminary predictive biomarkers and initial clinical activity of evofosfamide for HPV-negative HNSCC. Evofosfamide was assessed in 22 genomically characterized cell lines and 7 cell line–derived xenograft (CDX), patient-derived xenograft (PDX), orthotopic, and syngeneic tumor models. Biomarker analysis used RNA sequencing, whole-exome sequencing, and whole-genome CRISPR knockout screens. Five advanced/metastatic HNSCC patients received evofosfamide monotherapy (480 mg/m2 qw × 3 each month) in a phase 2 study. Evofosfamide was potent and highly selective for hypoxic HNSCC cells. Proliferative rate was a predominant evofosfamide sensitivity determinant and a proliferation metagene correlated with activity in CDX models. Evofosfamide showed efficacy as monotherapy and with radiotherapy in PDX models, augmented CTLA-4 blockade in syngeneic tumors, and reduced hypoxia in nodes disseminated from an orthotopic model. Of 5 advanced HNSCC patients treated with evofosfamide, 2 showed partial responses while 3 had stable disease. In conclusion, evofosfamide shows promising efficacy in aggressive HPV-negative HNSCC, with predictive biomarkers in development to support further clinical evaluation in this indication

Responses of respiration in the light to warming in field-grown trees : a comparison of the thermal sensitivity of the Kok and Laisk methods

The Kok and Laisk techniques can both be used to estimate light respiration R-light. We investigated whether responses of R-light to short- and long-term changes in leaf temperature depend on the technique used to estimate R-light. We grew Eucalyptus tereticornis in whole-tree chambers under ambient temperature (AT) or AT + 3 degrees C (elevated temperature, ET). We assessed dark respiration R-dark and light respiration with the Kok (R-Kok) and Laisk (R-Laisk) methods at four temperatures to determine the degree of light suppression of respiration using both methods in AT and ET trees. The ET treatment had little impact on R-dark, R-Kok or R-Laisk. Although the thermal sensitivities of R-Kok or R-Laisk were similar, R-Kok was higher than R-Laisk. We found negative values of R-Laisk at the lowest measurement temperatures, indicating positive net CO2 uptake, which we propose may be related to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity. Light suppression of R-dark decreased with increasing leaf temperature, but the degree of suppression depended on the method used. The Kok and Laisk methods do not generate the same estimates of R-light or light suppression of R-dark between 20 and 35 degrees C. Negative rates of R-Laisk imply that this method may become less reliable at low temperatures

Responses of respiration in the light to warming in field-grown trees : a comparison of the thermal sensitivity of the Kok and Laisk methods

The Kok and Laisk techniques can both be used to estimate light respiration R light . We investigated whether responses of R light to short- and long-term changes in leaf temperature depend on the technique used to estimate R light. We grew Eucalyptus tereticornis in whole-tree chambers under ambient temperature (AT) or AT + 3 ° C (elevated temperature, ET). We assessed dark respiration R dark and light respiration with the Kok ( R Kok ) and Laisk ( R Laisk ) methods at four temperatures to determine the degree of light suppression of respiration using both methods in AT and ET trees. The ET treatment had little impact on R dark , R Kok or R Laisk. Although the thermal sensitivities of R Kok or R Laisk were similar, R Kok was higher than R Laisk. We found negative values of R Laisk at the lowest measurement temperatures, indicating positive net CO 2 uptake, which we pro- pose may be related to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity. Light suppression of R dark decreased with increasing leaf temperature, but the degree of suppression depended on the method used. The Kok and Laisk methods do not generate the same estimates of R light or light suppression of R dark between 20 and 35 ° C. Negative rates of R Laisk imply that this method may become less reliable at low temperatures

Responses of respiration in the light to warming in field‐grown trees: a comparison of the thermal sensitivity of the Kok and Laisk methods

The Kok and Laisk techniques can both be used to estimate light respiration R light . We investigated whether responses of R light to short- and long-term changes in leaf temperature depend on the technique used to estimate R light. We grew Eucalyptus tereticornis in whole-tree chambers under ambient temperature (AT) or AT + 3 ° C (elevated temperature, ET). We assessed dark respiration R dark and light respiration with the Kok ( R Kok ) and Laisk ( R Laisk ) methods at four temperatures to determine the degree of light suppression of respiration using both methods in AT and ET trees. The ET treatment had little impact on R dark , R Kok or R Laisk. Although the thermal sensitivities of R Kok or R Laisk were similar, R Kok was higher than R Laisk. We found negative values of R Laisk at the lowest measurement temperatures, indicating positive net CO 2 uptake, which we pro- pose may be related to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity. Light suppression of R dark decreased with increasing leaf temperature, but the degree of suppression depended on the method used. The Kok and Laisk methods do not generate the same estimates of R light or light suppression of R dark between 20 and 35 ° C. Negative rates of R Laisk imply that this method may become less reliable at low temperatures