The African American communities of Princeville and Tarboro, Edgecombe County, NC : an action-oriented community diagnosis : findings and next steps of action

INTRODUCTION The following is a detailed report of an Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis (AOCD) of the African American communities of Princeville and Tarboro, North Carolina. The community assessment was conducted by a team of six graduate students in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The assessment took place between October 2006 and April 2007, and two community members guided the team. WHY DID YOU DO THIS? The purpose of an AOCD is to identify a community’s strengths, resources, and challenges, and to develop creative ways to approach the challenges. Over the course of the team’s seven months in Princeville and Tarboro, team members researched existing information about the communities, interviewed 42 community members and service providers, and volunteered at numerous events. The team worked to learn about the communities and to understand what life is like for African Americans in Princeville and Tarboro. HOW DID THE TEAM DETERMINE TOPICS? The team analyzed the information collected and identified five primary strengths and six challenges for the communities. This information, along with an explanation of the AOCD process, was presented to the communities at a community forum—Communities United for Collective Action—on April 19, 2007. More than 135 community members and service providers from both Princeville and Tarboro attended the forum and took part in small group discussions about six challenges presented by the team. Participants in the discussions identified causes of the challenges and developed action steps to help the communities address these challenges. WHAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE FORUM? The challenges discussed at the forum are on the following pages, along with a sample of the action steps developed for each. LACK OF JOB OPTIONS People are concerned that with loss of industry, few well-paying jobs, and a lack of job skills training in Princeville and Tarboro, job opportunities for African Americans are limited. This leads to young adults not staying in the communities, not being attracted to move here, and pursuing illegal activities to supplement their income. Meet with local government leaders to discuss an African American small business incubator and apply for funding. Conduct an online search for funding for an African American small business incubator. Speak with local banks about low-interest loans for small businesses. YOUTH VIOLENCE Although the communities are currently working to prevent youth violence, people are concerned about violence increasing among African American youth and how it is affecting youth, their families, and their communities. Reduce the stigma of speaking to mental health professionals and raise awareness about the availability and accessibility of mental health services. Create an opportunity for youth in the communities to come together, tell their stories, and be heard. Perform one-on-one outreach to youth that would include being available during the days, evenings, and on weekends. ATTITUDES TOWARD EDUCATION While people feel that education is important for giving African American youth hope and expanding their future opportunities, there is a need for a collective effort to promote the value of education in the communities and to encourage youth to take advantage of their education. Offer instruction for educators in ways to identify the true potential of students and to help them achieve their potential. Provide empowerment courses for parents, teaching them to promote positive attitudes to their children and change existing negative attitudes. Recruit African Americans to be teachers in Princeville and Tarboro. QUALITY OF EDUCATION While people identified education as an important way to improve the quality of life in their communities, they feel that the schools are not meeting all the needs of African American youth in Princeville and Tarboro. Encourage community participation in the Edgecombe County Public Schools’ quarterly parent meeting. Increase community mentoring programs through sponsorship by churches and other community locations for Parent-Teacher Organization meetings or other school events. Develop a greater range of opportunities for community education. TEENAGE PREGNANCY Although programs currently work with teens to address teenage pregnancy, people continue to be concerned about its effects on the African American families and communities of Princeville and Tarboro. Contact the Board of Education to request a time slot on the next meeting agenda to discuss the possibility of getting comprehensive sex education and teenage pregnancy prevention taught in the schools. Write letters to the city council and county commissioners encouraging prioritization of teenage pregnancy prevention. Raise awareness of existing teenage pregnancy prevention programs. CHRONIC DISEASE People recognize the burden that diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions place on the African American families and communities of Princeville and Tarboro. Both lifestyle habits and limited access to affordable healthcare and prescription drugs contribute to the problem. Contact the town managers of Princeville and Tarboro about the possibility of including health messages in utility bills. Coordinate the writing of health messages. Ask local doctors to write physician messages for inclusion in the mailings. CONCLUSION Following the forum, the team prepared this report and drafted recommendations for the communities based on the team’s experiences throughout the assessment process as well as outcomes from the forum. This document details the AOCD process and the full results of the assessment and is meant to serve as a resource for community members and service providers in Princeville and Tarboro. The document is divided into six sections: Introduction, Defining the Community, Findings, Community Forum, Methodology, and Conclusions and Recommendations. The team hopes the report will be useful in continuing the work that has already begun in Princeville and Tarboro.Master of Public Healt

Utilizing a Global Network of Telescopes to Update the Ephemeris for the Highly Eccentric Planet HD 80606 b and to Ensure the Efficient Scheduling of JWST

The transiting planet HD 80606 b undergoes a 1000 fold increase in insolation during its 111 days orbit due to it being highly eccentric (e = 0.93). The planet's effective temperature increases from 400 to over 1400 K in a few hours as it makes a rapid passage to within 0.03 au of its host star during periapsis. Spectroscopic observations during the eclipse (which is conveniently oriented a few hours before periapsis) of HD 80606 b with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are poised to exploit this highly variable environment to study a wide variety of atmospheric properties, including composition, chemical and dynamical timescales, and large scale atmospheric motions. Critical to planning and interpreting these observations is an accurate knowledge of the planet's orbit. We report on observations of two full-transit events: 2020 February 7 as observed by the TESS spacecraft and 2021 December 7-8 as observed with a worldwide network of small telescopes. We also report new radial velocity observations which, when analyzed with a coupled model to the transits, greatly improves the planet's orbital ephemeris. Our new orbit solution reduces the uncertainty in the transit and eclipse timing of the JWST era from tens of minutes to a few minutes. When combined with the planned JWST observations, this new precision may be adequate to look for non-Keplerian effects in the orbit of HD 80606 b

PANC Study (Pancreatitis: A National Cohort Study): national cohort study examining the first 30 days from presentation of acute pancreatitis in the UK

Abstract Background Acute pancreatitis is a common, yet complex, emergency surgical presentation. Multiple guidelines exist and management can vary significantly. The aim of this first UK, multicentre, prospective cohort study was to assess the variation in management of acute pancreatitis to guide resource planning and optimize treatment. Methods All patients aged greater than or equal to 18 years presenting with acute pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria, from March to April 2021 were eligible for inclusion and followed up for 30 days. Anonymized data were uploaded to a secure electronic database in line with local governance approvals. Results A total of 113 hospitals contributed data on 2580 patients, with an equal sex distribution and a mean age of 57 years. The aetiology was gallstones in 50.6 per cent, with idiopathic the next most common (22.4 per cent). In addition to the 7.6 per cent with a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, 20.1 per cent of patients had a previous episode of acute pancreatitis. One in 20 patients were classed as having severe pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria. The overall mortality rate was 2.3 per cent at 30 days, but rose to one in three in the severe group. Predictors of death included male sex, increased age, and frailty; previous acute pancreatitis and gallstones as aetiologies were protective. Smoking status and body mass index did not affect death. Conclusion Most patients presenting with acute pancreatitis have a mild, self-limiting disease. Rates of patients with idiopathic pancreatitis are high. Recurrent attacks of pancreatitis are common, but are likely to have reduced risk of death on subsequent admissions. </jats:sec

Concurrent validity and reliability of at-home teleneuropsychological evaluations among people with and without HIV

ObjectiveTo determine the reliability of teleneuropsychological (TNP) compared to in-person assessments (IPA) in people with HIV (PWH) and without HIV (HIV-).MethodsParticipants included 80 PWH (Mage = 58.7, SDage = 11.0) and 23 HIV- (Mage = 61.9, SDage = 16.7). Participants completed two comprehensive neuropsychological IPA before one TNP during the COVID-19 pandemic (March-December 2020). The neuropsychological tests included: Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R Total and Delayed Recall), Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT; FAS-English or PMR-Spanish), Animal Fluency, Action (Verb) Fluency, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 3rd Edition (WAIS-III) Symbol Search and Letter Number Sequencing, Stroop Color and Word Test, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (Channel 1), and Boston Naming Test. Total raw scores and sub-scores were used in analyses. In the total sample and by HIV status, test-retest reliability and performance-level differences were evaluated between the two consecutive IPA (i.e., IPA1 and IPA2), and mean in-person scores (IPA-M), and TNP.ResultsThere were statistically significant test-retest correlations between IPA1 and IPA2 (r or ρ = .603-.883, ps &lt; .001), and between IPA-M and TNP (r or ρ = .622-.958, ps &lt; .001). In the total sample, significantly lower test-retest scores were found between IPA-M and TNP on the COWAT (PMR), Stroop Color and Word Test, WAIS-III Letter Number Sequencing, and HVLT-R Total Recall (ps &lt; .05). Results were similar in PWH only.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates reliability of TNP in PWH and HIV-. TNP assessments are a promising way to improve access to traditional neuropsychological services and maintain ongoing clinical research studies during the COVID-19 pandemic

Role of NK-like CD8+ T cells during asymptomatic Borrelia burgdorferi infection

Lyme disease (LD) due to Borrelia burgdorferi is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the United States. There is a poor understanding of how immunity contributes to bacterial control, pathology, or both during LD. Dogs in an area of endemicity were screened for B. burgdorferi an

A critical role for matrix metal loproteinases in liver regeneration

Background. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are mediators of liver regeneration. To determine whether MMPs are required for normal hepatic regeneration, we performed 67% hepatectomies on mice treated with a broad-spectrum MMP-inhibitor, and assessed the effect on liver regeneration and urinary AMP activity. Methods. Mice were subjected to sham operations, 67% hepatectomy, or 67% hepatectomy plus treatment with the broad-spectrum AMP inhibitor Marimastat. Urine collected preoperatively and for 8 d postoperatively was tested for MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity using zymography. Serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and hepatocyte growth factor levels were measured. Liver sections were analyzed by CD31 immunohistochemistry and microvessel density. Mitotic index and proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index were determined. Results. The mean regenerating liver weight on postoperative day 8 was 0.72 +/- 0.01 grams for the hepatectomy Marimastat group, and 0.83 +/- 0.02 grams for the hepatectomy control group (P <0.001). Urinary MMP-9 activity was elevated during hepatic regeneration, and decreased on postoperative day 8 when the liver returned to its preoperative mass. In contrast , urine from hepatectomy Marimastat mice, in which liver regeneration was successfully inhibited, showed consistently low levels of MMP-2 and AMP-9 activity. The hepatectomy Marimastat group also exhibited elevated serum IL-6 levels on post-operative day 8, while serum TNF-alpha soluble receptor 11 levels were unchanged. Hepatocyte growth factor levels were not significantly different between the control hepatectomy and hepatectomy Marimastat groups at days 2,4, and 8. Liver microvessel density was reduced in the hepatectomy Marimastat group at day 4. Mitotic index and proliferating cell nuclear antigen index were significantly decreased in the Marimastat hepatectomy group at post-operative day 2. Conclusions. The broad-spectrum AMP-inhibitor Marimastat inhibits liver regeneration. Microvessel density is reduced at day 4. Furthermore, urinary MMP-9 is elevated during liver regeneration, and this effect is not observed when regeneration is inhibited by the broad-spectrum AMP-inhibitor Marimastat. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

MicroRNA-214 antagonism protects against renal fibrosis

Renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis is the common end point of progressive renal disease. MicroRNA (miR)-214 and miR-21 are upregulated in models of renal injury, but the function of miR-214 in this setting and the effect of its manipulation remain unknown. We assessed the effect of inhibiting miR-214 in an animal model of renal fibrosis. In mice, genetic deletion of miR-214 significantly attenuated interstitial fibrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Treatment of wild-type mice with an anti-miR directed against miR-214 (anti-miR-214) before UUO resulted in similar antifibrotic effects, and in vivo biodistribution studies demonstrated that anti–miR-214 accumulated at the highest levels in the kidney. Notably, in vivo inhibition of canonical TGF-β signaling did not alter the regulation of endogenous miR-214 or miR-21. Whereas miR-21 antagonism blocked Smad 2/3 activation, miR-214 antagonism did not, suggesting that miR-214 induces antifibrotic effects independent of Smad 2/3. Furthermore, TGF-β blockade combined with miR-214 deletion afforded additional renal protection. These phenotypic effects of miR-214 depletion were mediated through broad regulation of the transcriptional response to injury, as evidenced by microarray analysis. In human kidney tissue, miR-214 was detected in cells of the glomerulus and tubules as well as in infiltrating immune cells in diseased tissue. These studies demonstrate that miR-214 functions to promote fibrosis in renal injury independent of TGF-β signaling in vivo and that antagonism of miR-214 may represent a novel antifibrotic treatment in the kidney