Executive Summary of Survey Among Temporarily Homeless Families

Executive Summary of Survey Project Among Temporarily Homeless Families The agency we were assigned is a non-profit organization centered around providing housing and resources for houseless families in the Seattle region. The agency consists of five housing locations along with additional day centers. The housing locations are Burien, Northshore, The Regrade, Bellevue, and the Family Diversion Center. They all offer family housing services, healthcare, education, and employment. The goal of our project was to gather information from guests on the healthcare services that they have utilized. It was also used to gather requests for additional services at each site to improve quality of care. With the information collected, the health services at the agency will be improved and provide additional awareness to better meet the guests\u27 specific needs. Background The families within the agency are described as two-parent families (pregnant or with children), single parents of all genders (pregnant or with children), extended families, and families with pets. The guest population varies from people coming from Seattle to those who have arrived from across the world, resulting in a variety of languages spoken at each site. These factors also provide a truly diverse population, each culture being accompanied by their own specific needs. In 2021, 76% of the families served identified as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (Mary’s Place, 2021). Out of all the guests at the agency, 40% of these families considered themselves African American or of African Descent. The agency commits to “create a workplace and service structure that advances equity, diversity, and inclusion as a priority” (p.7). In 2021, the agency served 592 families, had 138,644 overnight stays, served 415,932 meals, served 1,204 children and 592 families, and had 100+ women visit the day center on average each day. Across the multiple locations, the organization commits to address barriers such as social determinants of health, and empower parents to build family stability, secure housing, and prepare for employment. Some of the healthcare services offered are dental, optical, mental health services, pediatric healthcare, and substance use aid. The agency also offers housing, assistance, and support to families with children with life threatening illnesses within their Popsicle Program (Mary’s Place, n.d.). The organization’s Housing Services and Housing Specialist utilize a problem-solving approach along with light flexible funding to support their guests in finding permanent housing. Often, these families have a challenging time finding housing due to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), size of the unit or family, language barriers, or other barriers. In 2021, the agency helped 549 families find permanent housing (Mary’s Place, 2021). A main priority among the guests and the organization is employment. The agency has partnered with 35+ different companies to provide a variety of employment options for the guests (Mary’s Place, n.d.). In addition, the Employer Engagement team offers training for specific careers, readiness skills, access to referrals, and preparations for long-term employment (Mary’s Place, n.d.). To accompany employment services, the organization also values education and encourages to maintain education for families by providing program resources for enhanced learning, language classes, GED classes, region-based school systems, and tutoring services (Mary’s Place, n.d.). These resources are provided for guests and for houseless families not currently sheltered (Mary’s Place, n.d.). Activities and Methods The foundation of our project was centered around the agency’s willingness to improve guest utilization of health services through survey conduction. We began our project by conducting a windshield survey of each shelter site. By doing this, we were able to get a sense of the community and understand the conditions that affect the health of the population. Moving forward, we collected data about the physical environment, social, economics, and services available (Rector, 2021). Using these observations, we developed a nursing diagnosis for the population. The nursing diagnosis is readiness for enhanced knowledge related to guest utilization of agency’s health services. The agency requested that we facilitate a previously designed survey, created by preceding SPU nursing students. Next, we researched the best method of conducting a high-quality survey in an ethical manner. An emphasis was placed on the importance of voluntary participation; therefore, we did not directly ask guests to fill out the surveys in order to avoid skewing data (Kelley et al., 2003). Our literature review revealed several different approaches to how to best conduct the surveys. We used incentives like baked goods and coloring pages for a greater participation outcome. We took into consideration the population of families at the agency and included an activity for children to do while parents took the surveys. We offered surveys to the guests to complete and made them aware of our intentions with the results (Kelley et al., 2003). We addressed the language barrier by using site-provided interpreter services. Our team conducted surveys at each agency location twice and input the data in an Excel document. We created graphs to display the data to the organization. Outcomes/Limitations We succeeded in collecting data from guests regarding the services they are utilizing and their additional needs from the organization. Visiting each site twice provided a greater opportunity to collect surveys resulting in more data. The results consisted of anonymous, voluntary responses which we compiled and analyzed. Since participation was voluntary, the results were limited based on how many guests decided to engage in the survey. We attempted to address this limitation by visiting each site twice to collect the most data possible for each location and offering incentives to encourage participation. Another limitation we came across was a language barrier between us and some of the guests. This was addressed by having nine translations of the survey available to expand participation. We also utilized interpreter phone services when needed to communicate with guests. Conclusion Overall, the project’s purpose was to conduct surveys at the agency locations and gather information about health services being used and current health concerns to improve care quality. We accomplished the organization’s goal by implementing the surveys amongst the guests. By doing this, we hope to have achieved the desired outcomes of increasing awareness of resources by guests, accessibility of resources, and guest satisfaction. With our project, the health services team can set annual goals for guests and the organization. We encourage the continuation of survey use within the agency. References Abdelazeem, B., Abbas, K.S., Amin, M.A., El-Shahat, N.A., Malik, B., Kalantary, A., & Eltobgy, M. (2022) The effectiveness of incentives for research participation: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS ONE, 17(4): e0267534. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267534 Kelley, K., Clark, B., Brown, V., & Sitzia, J. (2003). Good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 15(3), 261-266. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzg031 Orcher, L. T. (2007). Conducting a survey: Technique for a term project, (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315267937 Rector, C., & Stanley, M. J. (2021). Lippincott CoursePoint Enhanced for Rector\u27s Community and Public Health Nursing. Wolters Kluwer. vbk://9781975178284 Who we serve. (n.d.). Mary’s Place. Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://www.marysplaceseattle.org/who-we-serve 2021 gratitude report. (2021). Mary’s Place. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b8989d231d4df1bccd7bcc7/t/6282aaeac941950e930ace53/1652730603879/2021+Gratitude+Report.pd

Analytic Analysis of Narrowband IoT Coverage Enhancement Approaches

The introduction of Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) as a cellular IoT technology aims to support massive Machine-Type Communications applications. These applications are characterized by massive connections from a large number of low-complexity and low-power devices. One of the goals of NB-IoT is to improve coverage extension beyond existing cellular technologies. In order to do that, NB-IoT introduces transmission repetitions and different bandwidth allocation configurations in uplink. These new transmission approaches yield many transmission options in uplink. In this paper, we propose analytical expressions that describe the influence of these new approaches in the transmission. Our analysis is based on the Shannon theorem. The transmission is studied in terms of the required Signal to Noise Ratio, bandwidth utilization, and energy per transmitted bit. Additionally, we propose an uplink link adaptation algorithm that contemplates these new transmission approaches. The conducted evaluation summarizes the influence of these approaches. Furthermore, we present the resulting uplink link adaptation from our proposed algorithm sweeping the device's coverage.Comment: Accepted in the 2018 Global IoT Summit (GIoTS) conferenc

The three dimensional Ising spin glass in an external magnetic field: the role of the silent majority

We perform equilibrium parallel-tempering simulations of the 3D Ising Edwards-Anderson spin glass in a field. A traditional analysis shows no signs of a phase transition. Yet, we encounter dramatic fluctuations in the behaviour of the model: Averages over all the data only describe the behaviour of a small fraction of it. Therefore we develop a new approach to study the equilibrium behaviour of the system, by classifying the measurements as a function of a conditioning variate. We propose a finite-size scaling analysis based on the probability distribution function of the conditioning variate, which may accelerate the convergence to the thermodynamic limit. In this way, we find a non-trivial spectrum of behaviours, where a part of the measurements behaves as the average, while the majority of them shows signs of scale invariance. As a result, we can estimate the temperature interval where the phase transition in a field ought to lie, if it exists. Although this would-be critical regime is unreachable with present resources, the numerical challenge is finally well posed.Comment: 42 pages, 19 figures. Minor changes and added figure (results unchanged

Nature of the spin-glass phase at experimental length scales

We present a massive equilibrium simulation of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass at low temperatures. The Janus special-purpose computer has allowed us to equilibrate, using parallel tempering, L=32 lattices down to T=0.64 Tc. We demonstrate the relevance of equilibrium finite-size simulations to understand experimental non-equilibrium spin glasses in the thermodynamical limit by establishing a time-length dictionary. We conclude that non-equilibrium experiments performed on a time scale of one hour can be matched with equilibrium results on L=110 lattices. A detailed investigation of the probability distribution functions of the spin and link overlap, as well as of their correlation functions, shows that Replica Symmetry Breaking is the appropriate theoretical framework for the physically relevant length scales. Besides, we improve over existing methodologies to ensure equilibration in parallel tempering simulations.Comment: 48 pages, 19 postscript figures, 9 tables. Version accepted for publication in the Journal of Statistical Mechanic

Thermodynamic glass transition in a spin glass without time-reversal symmetry

Spin glasses are a longstanding model for the sluggish dynamics that appears at the glass transition. However, spin glasses differ from structural glasses for a crucial feature: they enjoy a time reversal symmetry. This symmetry can be broken by applying an external magnetic field, but embarrassingly little is known about the critical behaviour of a spin glass in a field. In this context, the space dimension is crucial. Simulations are easier to interpret in a large number of dimensions, but one must work below the upper critical dimension (i.e., in d<6) in order for results to have relevance for experiments. Here we show conclusive evidence for the presence of a phase transition in a four-dimensional spin glass in a field. Two ingredients were crucial for this achievement: massive numerical simulations were carried out on the Janus special-purpose computer, and a new and powerful finite-size scaling method.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

A Histone Methyltransferase Modulates Antigenic Variation in African Trypanosomes

To evade the host immune system, several pathogens periodically change their cell-surface epitopes. In the African trypanosomes, antigenic variation is achieved by tightly regulating the expression of a multigene family encoding a large repertoire of variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs). Immune evasion relies on two important features: exposing a single type of VSG at the cell surface and periodically and very rapidly switching the expressed VSG. Transcriptional switching between resident telomeric VSG genes does not involve DNA rearrangements, and regulation is probably epigenetic. The histone methyltransferase DOT1B is a nonessential protein that trimethylates lysine 76 of histone H3 in Trypanosoma brucei. Here we report that transcriptionally silent telomeric VSGs become partially derepressed when DOT1B is deleted, whereas nontelomeric loci are unaffected. DOT1B also is involved in the kinetics of VSG switching: in ΔDOT1B cells, the transcriptional switch is so slow that cells expressing two VSGs persist for several weeks, indicating that monoallelic transcription is compromised. We conclude that DOT1B is required to maintain strict VSG silencing and to ensure rapid transcriptional VSG switching, demonstrating that epigenetics plays an important role in regulating antigenic variation in T. brucei

NTHL1 biallelic mutations seldom cause colorectal cancer, serrated polyposis or a multi-tumor phenotype, in absence of colorectal adenomas

In 2015 Weren et al. described a hereditary cancer syndrome caused by biallelic mutations in the DNA base excision repair gene NTHL1, characterized by attenuated adenomatous polyposis and increased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, largely resembling the recessive syndrome caused by MUTYH mutations1. To date, 33 homozygous or compound heterozygous NTHL1 mutation carriers have been reported (21 families)1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. More than 5 colonic adenomas (range: 6 to >50) were identified in 24 of the 28 (85%) mutation carriers who underwent colonoscopy screening, and CRC was diagnosed in 19 (68%) of them. Noteworthy, 17 carriers (57%) were diagnosed with multiple primary malignant tumors in extracolonic locations, being the most recurrently found breast and endometrial tumors, head neck squamous cell carcimomas, meningiomas, and bladder and basal cell carcinomas, suggesting that the NTHL1-associated syndrome is a multi-tumor disease rather than a solely CRC syndrome. On the other hand, the fact that at least ¼ (7/28) of the reported biallelic mutation carriers who underwent colonoscopy screening had ≤10 adenomas, and that ≥5 hyperplastic polyps were detected in five carriers (polyp number range: 5->30), lead us to suspect a possible association of NTHL1 mutations with nonpolyposis CRC and serrated/hyperplastic polyposis. Based on previous evidence and with the aim of refining the phenotypic characteristics of the NTHL1-associated syndrome, here we evaluated the implication of NTHL1 biallelic mutations in the predisposition to personal or familial history of multiple tumor types, familial/early-onset nonpolyposis CRC, and serrated/hyperplastic polyposis

Comparative Evaluation of Three Automated Systems for DNA Extraction in Conjunction with Three Commercially Available Real-Time PCR Assays for Quantitation of Plasma Cytomegalovirus DNAemia in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients▿

Limited data are available on the performance of different automated extraction platforms and commercially available quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR) methods for the quantitation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA in plasma. We compared the performance characteristics of the Abbott mSample preparation system DNA kit on the m24 SP instrument (Abbott), the High Pure viral nucleic acid kit on the COBAS AmpliPrep system (Roche), and the EZ1 Virus 2.0 kit on the BioRobot EZ1 extraction platform (Qiagen) coupled with the Abbott CMV PCR kit, the LightCycler CMV Quant kit (Roche), and the Q-CMV complete kit (Nanogen), for both plasma specimens from allogeneic stem cell transplant (Allo-SCT) recipients (n = 42) and the OptiQuant CMV DNA panel (AcroMetrix). The EZ1 system displayed the highest extraction efficiency over a wide range of CMV plasma DNA loads, followed by the m24 and the AmpliPrep methods. The Nanogen PCR assay yielded higher mean CMV plasma DNA values than the Abbott and the Roche PCR assays, regardless of the platform used for DNA extraction. Overall, the effects of the extraction method and the QRT-PCR used on CMV plasma DNA load measurements were less pronounced for specimens with high CMV DNA content (>10,000 copies/ml). The performance characteristics of the extraction methods and QRT-PCR assays evaluated herein for clinical samples were extensible at cell-based standards from AcroMetrix. In conclusion, different automated systems are not equally efficient for CMV DNA extraction from plasma specimens, and the plasma CMV DNA loads measured by commercially available QRT-PCRs can differ significantly. The above findings should be taken into consideration for the establishment of cutoff values for the initiation or cessation of preemptive antiviral therapies and for the interpretation of data from clinical studies in the Allo-SCT setting

Infrastructure for Detector Research and Development towards the International Linear Collider

The EUDET-project was launched to create an infrastructure for developing and testing new and advanced detector technologies to be used at a future linear collider. The aim was to make possible experimentation and analysis of data for institutes, which otherwise could not be realized due to lack of resources. The infrastructure comprised an analysis and software network, and instrumentation infrastructures for tracking detectors as well as for calorimetry.Comment: 54 pages, 48 picture