Recruiting Volunteers for New Horizons\u27 Apprenticeship Program for Homeless Young Adults

Introduction New Horizons is a Seattle-based organization focused on meeting the basic needs of homeless young adults ages 18-25 through food, shelter, clothing, health clinics, and social work appointments. To help their clients achieve a sustainable lifestyle, New Horizons addresses the most challenging obstacles including job and house hunting through an innovative apprenticeship program through their café, Street Bean Coffee Roasters. Clients can learn skills transferable to other careers, including barista basics, work experience, and networking. Our project is to help New Horizons find volunteers or employees for their apprenticeship program. In finding volunteers or employees for the café, we are providing professional training and networking opportunities for the apprentices so when the apprenticeship program is completed, the participants have job experience for their resume and connections to assist in their job search. In addition to recruiting staff for the café, we are also building a connection between New Horizons and Seattle Pacific University’s (SPU) volunteer groups in hopes of providing more volunteer opportunities and creating a quarterly volunteer event. Background Homelessness is a local and national crisis, disproportionately affecting Black, Native American, Hispanic, and LGBTQ populations (Huffman et al., 2021). According to the National Conference of State Legislators (NSCL, 2022), an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness each year. Of these, about 700,000 are unaccompanied minors, meaning they are not part of a family or accompanied by a parent or guardian. In Seattle, the homeless population has risen exponentially. According to New Horizons (2018), “The number of unstably housed persons in King County has steadily risen by roughly 20% each year for the past three years”; over 1,500 youth in King County are affected by homelessness. The barriers the homeless youth encounter can be divided into four groups: domestic, health, bureaucratic, and social support (Huffman et al., 2021). Issues identified within these categories include maintaining personal hygiene, inability to find and receive proper medical treatment, education and employment gaps, criminal records, and limited support from potential employers. These issues are multifactorial, overlapping and intersecting on multiple planes, “mutually reinforcing the structures undergirding work and home” (Huffman et al., 2021), creating the ‘scaffolded city’ phenomenon the homeless population lives within. A survey conducted to analyze the needs insecurity among Florida college students identified extensive support programs as essential to the inclusion of students traditionally excluded by higher education via remediation, transfer, vocational training, and contract education (Nix et al., 2021). New Horizons confronts most of these challenges by providing an abundance of holistic resources for the homeless youths of Seattle. Although there is a lot known about the social inequities that the homeless youth population face, there is not much information regarding sustainable resources to transition off the streets and become included in the socioeconomic world. A quasi-experimental longitudinal study aimed to assess the feasibility of improving socioeconomic inclusion outcomes by supporting identity capital in youths who struggled to shake the identity of homelessness (Thulien et al., 2021). Identity capital includes fostering hope, focusing on personal strengths, and improving self-esteem. Most notably, many participants expressed gratitude for the normalization of strategies and skills they learned, framing them as something one needs (Thulien et al., 2021). These findings suggest that targeting identity capital is feasible and may be a promising approach to incorporate into a more complex intervention that includes housing, education, and employment resources to help youth transition out of homelessness. New Horizons offers an apprenticeship program through Street Bean Coffee that gives a chance to gain work experience and skills, but also provides networking opportunities and higher chances of long-term employment. Activities with Rationale To support the community of New Horizons our group has developed flyers with QR codes and other deliverables to help find adequate staffing, volunteers, and providing supplies. The QR codes itself has direct links to their amazon wish list, donation needs, volunteer page, street bean coffee roaster barista position. With these codes people can access their website to not just look for a job position but it provides awareness to a community in need of support. We also were able to connect New Horizons with SPU’s volunteer programs Latreia an Urban Involvement. Our group provided resources and points of contact to the coordinator of these SPU volunteer programs in hopes the relationship between New Horizons and SPU would strengthen. This connection allows for there to be volunteer events to better assist and help serve the community. Outcomes We had short term goals of providing for the population of New Horizons through creation of resources so that they can utilize them to cater to their needs and New Horizons will receive student volunteers from Latreia before March 9th 2022. Our long-term goals were to have the homeless youth population located around New Horizons gain more knowledge regarding resources that are available to them, such as job opportunities via Street Bean Coffee Roasters within 3 months and have New Horizons obtain a consistent flow of volunteers and resources via collaboration with SPU\u27s Urban Involvement, quarterly. These short term goals were both met while the long term goals are still in progress. Evaluation The utilization of mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative data, proves to help evaluate the success of our interventions more efficiently (Abilgaard et al., 2016). The qualitative data analyzed was whether the barista position was filled and whether SPU’s volunteer programs formed a connection with New Horizons. After the initiation of our interventions, there was the removal of the job application on New Horizons website, the barista position filled, and Latreia partnering with New Horizons where a group of SPU volunteers painting their garage to be used as a blank canvas for young adults to do graffiti artwork. These outcomes display evidence of an effective relationship between SPU’s volunteering programs and New Horizons and our goals being met. The quantitative data analyzed was the number of people that attended the Latreia event and how many people scanned the flyer QR codes. Ten volunteers attended the event compared to their average range of 10-15 people that regularly attend their events. Data collected from the QR code tracking website suggested that 34 people scanned the QR code for the barista position, 28 people scanned the QR code for New Horizon’s Amazon wish list, and 27 people scanned the QR code for the volunteering page. These evaluations proved that the SPU community interacted with the flyers and were successful in bringing attention to New Horizons’ needs. Conclusion To help New Horizons and the community they serve we were able to help them form long term relationships that will continue on when we leave. By creating this relationship with SPU volunteer programs and access to a new barista, New Horizons can better serve the population of homeless youth through job training and acts of service. With the aid of our interventions bringing awareness to New Horizons by various means, we were able to engage with their culture to help change their world. Limitations of Research There are limitations to our project and research. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a limited amount of recent national and local research and statistics available to analyze and collect around homelessness (NSCL, 2022). Due to social distancing and isolation precautions, surveys and data collection cannot be completed or are very limited (NSCL, 2022). The small sample size or cross-sectional instead of longitudinal methods can limit a study. Diversity in age groups and selected sample size may not represent the total population (Thulien et al., 2021). Different geographic locations or urban vs rural areas may affect the availability of resources, programs, or tactics utilized based on the prevalence of the homeless population. In Nix et al. (2021), the inadequacy of faculty and staff training was evident in varied faculty and staff awareness of basic need opportunities. For future interview-based studies such as Huffman et al. (2021), training young adults who have experience being homeless to conduct the interviews may mediate socioeconomic differences between interviewers and interviewees, allowing for more fully open reflection, trust, and nuanced interpretation. Shared experiences between the interviewers and interviewees may also demonstrate effectiveness of apprenticeship programs for homeless youths while providing a supportive role model who has transitioned from their homeless identity into a successfully employed individual with professional networking connections. References Abildgaard, J., Saksvik, P., & Nielsen, K. (2016). How to measure the intervention process: An assessment of qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection in the process evaluation of organizational interventions. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, Article 1380. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01380 Huffman, T., Leier, C., Generous. M., Hinrichs, M., & Brenneman, L. (2021). Climbing the ‘scaffolded city’: Tactics used by homeless young adults to navigate employment barriers. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 49(2), 148-167. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2020.1839119 National Conference of State Legislatures. (2022). Youth homelessness overview. National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/homeless-and-runaway-youth.aspx New Horizons. (2018). About: Youth homelessness. New Horizons. https://nhmin.org/youth-homelessness-seattle/ Nix, A., Bertrand Jones, T., Daniels, H., Hu, P., & Hu, S. (2021). “There’s so much that we’re doing”: How Florida college system institutions address basic needs insecurity among students. Community College Review, 1, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521211047674 Thulien, N., Wang, A., Mathewson, C., Wang, R., & Hwang, S. (2021). Tackling exclusion: A pilot mixed method quasi-experimental identity capital intervention for young people exiting homelessness. PLoS ONE, 16(8), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.025628

Heme Oxygenase-1 Expression Affects Murine Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Progression.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme in heme degradation, is a cytoprotective enzyme upregulated in the vasculature by increased flow and inflammatory stimuli. Human genetic data suggest that a diminished HO-1 expression may predispose one to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) development. In addition, heme is known to strongly induce HO-1 expression. Utilizing the porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) model of AAA induction in HO-1 heterozygous (HO-1+/-, HO-1 Het) mice, we found that a deficiency in HO-1 leads to augmented AAA development. Peritoneal macrophages from HO-1+/- mice showed increased gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including MCP-1, TNF-alpha, IL-1-beta, and IL-6, but decreased expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-beta. Furthermore, treatment with heme returned AAA progression in HO-1 Het mice to a wild-type profile. Using a second murine AAA model (Ang II-ApoE-/-), we showed that low doses of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor rosuvastatin can induce HO-1 expression in aortic tissue and suppress AAA progression in the absence of lipid lowering. Our results support those studies that suggest that pleiotropic statin effects might be beneficial in AAA, possibly through the upregulation of HO-1. Specific targeted therapies designed to induce HO-1 could become an adjunctive therapeutic strategy for the prevention of AAA disease

Microsatellite Instability in Pediatric High Grade Glioma Is Associated with Genomic Profile and Differential Target Gene Inactivation

High grade gliomas (HGG) are one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in children, and there is increasing evidence that pediatric HGG may harbor distinct molecular characteristics compared to adult tumors. We have sought to clarify the role of microsatellite instability (MSI) in pediatric versus adult HGG. MSI status was determined in 144 patients (71 pediatric and 73 adults) using a well established panel of five quasimonomorphic mononucleotide repeat markers. Expression of MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 was determined by immunohistochemistry, MLH1 was assessed for mutations by direct sequencing and promoter methylation using MS-PCR. DNA copy number profiles were derived using array CGH, and mutations in eighteen MSI target genes studied by multiplex PCR and genotyping. MSI was found in 14/71 (19.7%) pediatric cases, significantly more than observed in adults (5/73, 6.8%; p = 0.02, Chi-square test). MLH1 expression was downregulated in 10/13 cases, however no mutations or promoter methylation were found. MSH6 was absent in one pediatric MSI-High tumor, consistent with an inherited mismatch repair deficiency associated with germline MSH6 mutation. MSI was classed as Type A, and associated with a remarkably stable genomic profile. Of the eighteen classic MSI target genes, we identified mutations only in MSH6 and DNAPKcs and described a polymorphism in MRE11 without apparent functional consequences in DNA double strand break detection and repair. This study thus provides evidence for a potential novel molecular pathway in a proportion of gliomas associated with the presence of MSI

CD8+ T Cells and IFN-γ Mediate the Time-Dependent Accumulation of Infected Red Blood Cells in Deep Organs during Experimental Cerebral Malaria

Background: Infection with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) in susceptible mice induces a syndrome called experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) with severe pathologies occurring in various mouse organs. Immune mediators such as T cells or cytokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of ECM. Red blood cells infected with PbA parasites have been shown to accumulate in the brain and other tissues during infection. This accumulation is thought to be involved in PbA–induced pathologies, which mechanisms are poorly understood. Methods and Findings: Using transgenic PbA parasites expressing the luciferase protein, we have assessed by real-time in vivo imaging the dynamic and temporal contribution of different immune factors in infected red blood cell (IRBC) accumulation and distribution in different organs during PbA infection. Using deficient mice or depleting antibodies, we observed that CD8 + T cells and IFN-c drive the rapid increase in total parasite biomass and accumulation of IRBC in the brain and in different organs 6–12 days post-infection, at a time when mice develop ECM. Other cells types like CD4 + T cells, monocytes or neutrophils or cytokines such as IL-12 and TNF-a did not influence the early increase of total parasite biomass and IRBC accumulation in different organs. Conclusions: CD8 + T cells and IFN-c are the major immune mediators controlling the time-dependent accumulation of P. berghei-infected red blood cells in tissues

COVID-19 collateral: Indirect acute effects of the pandemic on physical and mental health in the UK

ABSTRACTBackgroundConcerns have been raised that the response to the UK COVID-19 pandemic may have worsened physical and mental health, and reduced use of health services. However, the scale of the problem is unquantified, impeding development of effective mitigations. We asked what has happened to general practice contacts for acute physical and mental health outcomes during the pandemic?MethodsUsing electronic health records from the Clinical Research Practice Datalink (CPRD) Aurum (2017-2020), we calculated weekly primary care contacts for selected acute physical and mental health conditions (including: anxiety, depression, acute alcohol-related events, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] exacerbations, cardiovascular and diabetic emergencies). We used interrupted time series (ITS) analysis to formally quantify changes in conditions after the introduction of population-wide restrictions (‘lockdown’) compared to the period prior to their introduction in March 2020.FindingsThe overall population included 9,863,903 individuals on 1st January 2017. Primary care contacts for all conditions dropped dramatically after introduction of population-wide restrictions. By July 2020, except for unstable angina and acute alcohol-related events, contacts for all conditions had not recovered to pre-lockdown levels. The largest reductions were for contacts for: diabetic emergencies (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.25-0.50), depression (OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.52-0.53), and self-harm (OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.54-0.58).InterpretationThere were substantial reductions in primary care contacts for acute physical and mental conditions with restrictions, with limited recovery by July 2020. It is likely that much of the deficit in care represents unmet need, with implications for subsequent morbidity and premature mortality. The conditions we studied are sufficiently severe that any unmet need will have substantial ramifications for the people experiencing the conditions and healthcare provision. Maintaining access must be a key priority in future public health planning (including further restrictions).FundingWellcome Trust Senior Fellowship (SML), Health Data Research UK.RESULTS IN CONTEXTEvidence before this studyA small study in 47 GP practices in a largely deprived, urban area of the UK (Salford) reported that primary care consultations for four broad diagnostic groups (circulatory disease, common mental health problems, type 2 diabetes mellitus and malignant cancer) declined by 16-50% between March and May 2020, compared to what was expected based on data from January 2010 to March 2020. We searched Medline for other relevant evidence of the indirect effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health from inception to September 25th 2020, for articles published in English, with titles including the search terms (“covid*” or “coronavirus” or “sars-cov-2”), and title or abstracts including the search terms (“indirect impact” or “missed diagnos*” or “missing diagnos*” or “delayed diagnos*” or ((“present*” or “consult*” or “engag*” or “access*”) AND (“reduction” or “decrease” or “decline”)). We found no further studies investigating the change in primary care contacts for specific physical- and mental-health conditions indirectly resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic or its control measures. There has been a reduction in hospital admissions and presentations to accident and emergency departments in the UK, particularly for myocardial infarctions and cerebrovascular accidents. However, there is no published evidence specifically investigating the changes in primary care contacts for severe acute physical and mental health conditions.Added value of this studyTo our knowledge this is the first study to explore changes in healthcare contacts for acute physical and mental health conditions in a large population representative of the UK. We used electronic primary care health records of nearly 10 million individuals across the UK to investigate the indirect impact of COVID-19 on primary care contacts for mental health, acute alcohol-related events, asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations, and cardiovascular and diabetic emergencies up to July 2020. For all conditions studied, we found primary care contacts dropped dramatically following the introduction of population-wide restriction measures in March 2020. By July 2020, with the exception of unstable angina and acute alcohol-related events, primary care contacts for all conditions studied had not recovered to pre-lockdown levels. In the general population, estimates of the absolute reduction in the number of primary care contacts up to July 2020, compared to what we would expect from previous years varied from fewer than 10 contacts per million for some cardiovascular outcomes, to 12,800 per million for depression and 6,600 for anxiety. In people with COPD, we estimated there were 43,900 per million fewer contacts for COPD exacerbations up to July 2020 than what we would expect from previous years.Implicatins of all the available evidenceWhile our results may represent some genuine reduction in disease frequency (e.g. the restriction measures may have improved diabetic glycaemic control due to more regular daily routines at home), it is more likely the reduced primary care conatcts we saw represent a substantial burden of unmet need (particularly for mental health conditions) that may be reflected in subsequent increased mortality and morbidity. Health service providers should take steps to prepare for increased demand in the coming months and years due to the short and longterm ramifications of reduced access to care for severe acute physical and mental health conditions. Maintaining access to primary care is key to future public health planning in relation to the pandemic.</jats:sec

Indirect acute effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health in the UK: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: There are concerns that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK might have worsened physical and mental health, and reduced use of health services. However, the scale of the problem is unquantified, impeding development of effective mitigations. We aimed to ascertain what has happened to general practice contacts for acute physical and mental health outcomes during the pandemic. METHODS: Using de-identified electronic health records from the Clinical Research Practice Datalink (CPRD) Aurum (covering 13% of the UK population), between 2017 and 2020, we calculated weekly primary care contacts for selected acute physical and mental health conditions: anxiety, depression, self-harm (fatal and non-fatal), severe mental illness, eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, acute alcohol-related events, asthma exacerbation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation, acute cardiovascular events (cerebrovascular accident, heart failure, myocardial infarction, transient ischaemic attacks, unstable angina, and venous thromboembolism), and diabetic emergency. Primary care contacts included remote and face-to-face consultations, diagnoses from hospital discharge letters, and secondary care referrals, and conditions were identified through primary care records for diagnoses, symptoms, and prescribing. Our overall study population included individuals aged 11 years or older who had at least 1 year of registration with practices contributing to CPRD Aurum in the specified period, but denominator populations varied depending on the condition being analysed. We used an interrupted time-series analysis to formally quantify changes in conditions after the introduction of population-wide restrictions (defined as March 29, 2020) compared with the period before their introduction (defined as Jan 1, 2017 to March 7, 2020), with data excluded for an adjustment-to-restrictions period (March 8-28). FINDINGS: The overall population included 9 863 903 individuals on Jan 1, 2017, and increased to 10 226 939 by Jan 1, 2020. Primary care contacts for almost all conditions dropped considerably after the introduction of population-wide restrictions. The largest reductions were observed for contacts for diabetic emergencies (odds ratio 0·35 [95% CI 0·25-0·50]), depression (0·53 [0·52-0·53]), and self-harm (0·56 [0·54-0·58]). In the interrupted time-series analysis, with the exception of acute alcohol-related events (0·98 [0·89-1·10]), there was evidence of a reduction in contacts for all conditions (anxiety 0·67 [0·66-0·67], eating disorders 0·62 [0·59-0·66], obsessive-compulsive disorder [0·69 [0·64-0·74]], self-harm 0·56 [0·54-0·58], severe mental illness 0·80 [0·78-0·83], stroke 0·59 [0·56-0·62], transient ischaemic attack 0·63 [0·58-0·67], heart failure 0·62 [0·60-0·64], myocardial infarction 0·72 [0·68-0·77], unstable angina 0·72 [0·60-0·87], venous thromboembolism 0·94 [0·90-0·99], and asthma exacerbation 0·88 [0·86-0·90]). By July, 2020, except for unstable angina and acute alcohol-related events, contacts for all conditions had not recovered to pre-lockdown levels. INTERPRETATION: There were substantial reductions in primary care contacts for acute physical and mental conditions following the introduction of restrictions, with limited recovery by July, 2020. Further research is needed to ascertain whether these reductions reflect changes in disease frequency or missed opportunities for care. Maintaining health-care access should be a key priority in future public health planning, including further restrictions. The conditions we studied are sufficiently severe that any unmet need will have substantial ramifications for the people with the conditions as well as health-care provision. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship, Health Data Research UK

Individual Shrink Wrapping of Zucchini Fruit Improves Postharvest Chilling Tolerance Associated with a Reduction in Ethylene Production and Oxidative Stress Metabolites

We have studied the effect of individual shrink wrapping (ISW) on the postharvest performance of refrigerated fruit from two zucchini cultivars that differ in their sensitivity to cold storage: Sinatra (more sensitive) and Natura (more tolerant). The fruit was individually shrink wrapped before storing at 4°C for 0, 7 and 14 days. Quality parameters, ethylene and CO2 productions, ethylene gene expression, and oxidative stress metabolites were assessed in shrink wrapped and non-wrapped fruit after conditioning the fruit for 6 hours at 20°C. ISW decreased significantly the postharvest deterioration of chilled zucchini in both cultivars. Weight loss was reduced to less than 1%, pitting symptoms were completely absent in ISW fruit at 7 days, and were less than 25% those of control fruits at 14 days of cold storage, and firmness loss was significantly reduced in the cultivar Sinatra. These enhancements in quality of ISW fruit were associated with a significant reduction in cold-induced ethylene production, in the respiration rate, and in the level of oxidative stress metabolites such as hydrogen peroxide and malonyldialdehyde (MDA). A detailed expression analysis of ethylene biosynthesis, perception and signaling genes demonstrated a downregulation of CpACS1 and CpACO1 genes in response to ISW, two genes that are upregulated by cold storage. However, the expression patterns of six other ethylene biosynthesis genes (CpACS2 to CpACS7) and five ethylene signal transduction pathway genes (CpCTR1, CpETR1, CpERS1, CpEIN3.1 and CpEN3.2), suggest that they do not play a major role in response to cold storage and ISW packaging. In conclusion, ISW zucchini packaging resulted in improved tolerance to chilling concomitantly with a reduction in oxidative stress, respiration rate and ethylene production, as well as in the expression of ethylene biosynthesis genes, but not of those involved in ethylene perception and sensitivity.This work was supported by grants AGL2011-30568-C02/ALI from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and AGR1423 from the Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia, Junta de Andalucía, Spain. Z.M. acknowledges FPU program scholarships from MEC, Spain. S.M. is funded by grant PTA2011-479-I from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Rationally Designed Interfacial Peptides Are Efficient In Vitro Inhibitors of HIV-1 Capsid Assembly with Antiviral Activity

Virus capsid assembly constitutes an attractive target for the development of antiviral therapies; a few experimental inhibitors of this process for HIV-1 and other viruses have been identified by screening compounds or by selection from chemical libraries. As a different, novel approach we have undertaken the rational design of peptides that could act as competitive assembly inhibitors by mimicking capsid structural elements involved in intersubunit interfaces. Several discrete interfaces involved in formation of the mature HIV-1 capsid through polymerization of the capsid protein CA were targeted. We had previously designed a peptide, CAC1, that represents CA helix 9 (a major part of the dimerization interface) and binds the CA C-terminal domain in solution. Here we have mapped the binding site of CAC1, and shown that it substantially overlaps with the CA dimerization interface. We have also rationally modified CAC1 to increase its solubility and CA-binding affinity, and designed four additional peptides that represent CA helical segments involved in other CA interfaces. We found that peptides CAC1, its derivative CAC1M, and H8 (representing CA helix 8) were able to efficiently inhibit the in vitro assembly of the mature HIV-1 capsid. Cocktails of several peptides, including CAC1 or CAC1M plus H8 or CAI (a previously discovered inhibitor of CA polymerization), or CAC1M+H8+CAI, also abolished capsid assembly, even when every peptide was used at lower, sub-inhibitory doses. To provide a preliminary proof that these designed capsid assembly inhibitors could eventually serve as lead compounds for development of anti-HIV-1 agents, they were transported into cultured cells using a cell-penetrating peptide, and tested for antiviral activity. Peptide cocktails that drastically inhibited capsid assembly in vitro were also able to efficiently inhibit HIV-1 infection ex vivo. This study validates a novel, entirely rational approach for the design of capsid assembly interfacial inhibitors that show antiviral activity