Food Stamps and Dependency: Disentangling the Short-term and Long-term Economic Effects of Food Stamp Receipt and Low Income for Young Mothers

The Food Stamp Program (FSP) remains one of the most widely used of all U.S. social safety net programs. While a substantial body of research has developed around the primary goals of the program- improving food access, nutrition, and health among lowincome families-less attention has been paid to the broader goals of hardship and poverty reduction. Using 38 years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we examine several immediate and longer-term economic outcomes of early adult FSP participation for a sample of3,848 young mothers. While FSP participation is associated with some negative outcomes in the immediate future in areas including family income-to-needs and transfer income, such effects are substantially reduced or disappear over the long run. These results suggest that concerns about the adverse economic effects of assistance, based solely on short-term outcomes or outcomes measured at a single point in time, do not hold for the long run. We find no evidence that food stamp recipients in early motherhood are any more or less dependent on public assistance programs than other young mothers who have low income but do not use food stamps

Use of the Nanobridge system for the Rapid Production of Pluipotent Stem Cells and Neural Progenitor Cells

The novel Nanobridge system allows the formation of cellular aggregates of pluripotent stem cells, which can then be grown in suspensions cultures allowing accurate control of the environment in which the cells are growing. The Nanobridge system utilizes a thermo-responsive poly N-isopropyl acrylamide (PNIPAM) polymer decorated with extracellular matrix (ECM) protein fragments (fibronectin or vitronectin) to bind to and bridge between adjacent cells and form cell aggregates at 370 C. A temperature shift from 370 C to 320 C causes the PNIPAM to become water soluble weakening the bonding between adjacent PNIPAM chains and allowing the aggregates to be broken down to smaller aggregates by increased shear forces. By returning the temperature to 370 C and increasing the culture volume with additional medium, the increased number of smaller aggregates are able to grow to a larger diameter. Repeating this cycle allows for the rapid expansion in cell numbers. In addition, the ability to vary the concentrations and ratios of the two components in the Nanobridge system, when coupled with the temperature shift procedure during passaging, allows for tight control over the aggregate diameters at all stages of the expansion process. In this paper, two examples of using the Nanobridge system to culture stem cells will be described: firstly using the system for the rapid expansion of human embryonic stem cells whilst maintaining high viability and pluripotency, and secondly; using the system to develop a process to form neural cell aggregates and maintain and expand cells at a stem/progenitor (NPC) stage, obviating the need for the current cumbersome manual methods to produce larger numbers of NPCs. In the first example, embryonic stem cells (hESC) WA09 were cultured in spinner flasks with the Nanobridge system. At the end of the growth phase, aggregates of 348 micron average diameter were reduced to an average diameter of 139microns after sub-passaging. When this cycle was repeated five times, there was a 500 fold increase in the number of cells produced, with a viability at the end of the process of 90% while maintaining key pluripotent markers NANOG, OCT3/4, SOX2, and DNMT3B. Characterization of the hESC aggregates was performed using the IN Cell Analyser 2200, which demonstrated that there was uniform cell viability and pluripotency marker distribution throughout the aggregates, ie there was no evidence of any diffusional limitations or necrotic regions within the aggregates. At the end of the expansion process it was shown that the cells were able to differentiate into all three germ layers, and that the cells could be converted, to cells types such as cardiomyocytes. The results demonstrate that the Nanobridge system is a simple and scalable method of producing large numbers of PSCs without the need for enzymes during passaging. For the production of the neural progenitors (NPCs), hESC (WA09) cells were formed and cultured as Nanobridge aggregates with diameters of 200-300 mm. Differentiation was initiated by culturing the aggregates in mTESR medium with 5uM SB431542 and 100 nM LDN for 5 days. At day 5, the medium was changed to neural basal medium (NBM) supplemented with EGF and FGF2 for the next 5 days of culture. Cultures were maintained in NBM from day 10 onwards. Passaging was performed at day 5 and day 10 and thereafter on a weekly basis for 4 weeks. Temperature shift and mechanical shear were utilized to breakup aggregates and Nanobridge components and medium were replaced during passaging. Cells demonstrated upregulation and subsequent maintenance of neural-associated markers (PAX6, SOX1, and NCAM) in aggregate culture. Passaging resulted in an overall seven fold increase in the number of cells expressing the neural-associated markers. Furthermore, neural progenitor cell aggregates exhibited the capacity to differentiate towards a more mature phenotype as demonstrated by the outgrowth of neurites. This demonstrated that the Nanobridge system has the potential to facilitate the scale-up of NPC production in bioreactors for applications in regenerative medicine and pharmacological testing

Fibronectin-conjugated thermoresponsive nanobridges generate three dimensional human pluripotent stem cell cultures for differentiation towards the neural lineages.

Production of 3-dimensional neural progenitor cultures from human pluripotent stem cells offers the potential to generate large numbers of cells. We utilised our nanobridge system to generate 3D hPSC aggregates for differentiation towards the neural lineage, and investigate the ability to passage aggregates while maintaining cells at a stem/progenitor stage. Over 38 days, aggregate cultures exhibited upregulation and maintenance of neural-associated markers and demonstrated up to 10 fold increase in cell number. Aggregates undergoing neural induction in the presence or absence of nanobridges demonstrated no differences in marker expression, proliferation or viability. However, aggregates formed without nanobridges were statistically significantly fewer and smaller by passage 3. Organoids, cultured from aggregates, and treated with retinoic acid or rock inhibitor demonstrated terminal differentiation as assessed by immunohistochemistry. These data demonstrate that nanobridge 3D hPSC can differentiate to neural stem/progenitor cells, and be maintained at this stage through serial passaging and expansion

Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain, Vol. 7 No. 11

Official publication of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, Alpha Zet Chapter, Stephen F. Austin State University. Published one a year in the Fall Semester, in cooperation with the English Department of Stephen F. Austin State University.https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/smsr/1000/thumbnail.jp

Bioactive nano-fibrous scaffold for vascularized craniofacial bone regeneration

There has been a growing demand for bone grafts for correction of bone defects in complicated fractures or tumors in the craniofacial region. Soft flexible membrane like material that could be inserted into defect by less invasive approaches; promote osteoconductivity and act as a barrier to soft tissue in growth while promoting bone formation is an attractive option for this region. Electrospinning has recently emerged as one of the most promising techniques for fabrication of extracellular matrix (ECM) like nano-fibrous scaffolds that can serve as a template for bone formation. To overcome the limitation of cell penetration of electrospun scaffolds and improve on its osteoconductive nature, in this study, we fabricated a novel electrospun composite scaffold of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) - poly (ε) caprolactone (PCL) - Bioceramic (HAB), namely, PVA-PCL-HAB. The scaffold prepared by dual electrospinning of PVA and PCL with HAB overcomes reduced cell attachment associated with hydrophobic poly (ε) caprolactone (PCL) by combination with a hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the bioceramic (HAB) can contribute to enhance osteo-conductivity. We characterized the physicochemical and biocompatibility properties of the new scaffold material. Our results indicate PVA-PCL-HAB scaffolds support attachment and growth of stromal stem cells; (human bone marrow skeletal (mesenchymal) stem cells (hMSC) and dental pulp stem cells (DPSC)). In addition, the scaffold supported in vitro osteogenic differentiation and in vivo vascularized bone formation. Thus, PVA-PCL-HAB scaffold is a suitable potential material for therapeutic bone regeneration in dentistry and orthopaedics

Beyond the limits of clinical governance? The case of mental health in English primary care

Background: Little research attention has been given to attempts to implement organisational initiatives to improve quality of care for mental health care, where there is a high level of indeterminacy and clinical judgements are often contestable. This paper explores recent efforts made at an organisational level in England to improve the quality of primary care for people with mental health problems through the new institutional processes of 'clinical governance'. Methods: Framework analysis, based on the Normalisation Process Model (NPM), of attempts over a five year period to develop clinical governance for primary mental health services in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). The data come from a longitudinal qualitative multiple case-study approach in a purposive sample of 12 PCTs, chosen to reflect a maximum variety of organisational contexts for mental health care provision. Results: The constant change within the English NHS provided a difficult context in which to attempt to implement 'clinical governance' or, indeed, to reconstruct primary mental health care. In the absence of clear evidence or direct guidance about what 'primary mental health care' should be, and a lack of actors with the power or skills to set about realising it, the actors in 'clinical governance' had little shared knowledge or understanding of their role in improving the quality of mental health care. There was a lack of ownership of 'mental health' as an integral, normalised part of primary care. Conclusion: Despite some achievements in regard to monitoring and standardisation of prescribing practice, mental health care in primary care seems to have so far largely eluded the gaze of 'clinical governance'. Clinical governance in English primary mental health care has not yet become normalised. We make some policy recommendations which we consider would assist in the process normalisation and suggest other contexts to which our findings might apply

Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain, Vol. 7 No. 11

Official publication of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, Alpha Zet Chapter, Stephen F. Austin State University. Published one a year in the Fall Semester, in cooperation with the English Department of Stephen F. Austin State University