Parent School Partnership, 2013-2014

This report describes the evaluation results of the parent-school partnerships over two years (2013-14) of the Partnering for School Success CYFAR project. This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information available from the University of Minnesota Extension: https://www.extension.umn.edu.An important goal Partnering for School Success CYFAR project is promoting family-school relationships to better support Latino student school success. Latino parents and school personnel came together in the first year of the project in each school (Faribault and Triton middle schools) to learn about each other and plan action steps to improve parent-school partnerships. Over the school year, the partnerships then were facilitated by the respective school liaisons to advance the goals they set. This report describes the evaluation results of the parent-school partnerships over two years (2013-14) of the project

Parenting Education Component for Year 1 and 2, 2013-2014

This report focuses on the evaluation of the parent education, “Educación: Nuestra mejor herencia” (Education: Our Best Legacy), that took place during years 1 and 2 (2013-14) of the Partnering for School Success CYFAR project. This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information available from the University of Minnesota Extension: https://www.extension.umn.edu.Partnering for School Success (PSS) is based on a model which recognizes that multiple factors in the family and community impact student success in school. PSS CYFAR* (Children, Youth and Families at Risk) is a partnership of University of Minnesota Extension, Triton (Dodge Center), and Faribault Middle Schools focusing on two of the major factors related to academic achievement for Latino families – family and school environments. CYFAR PSS includes three integrated components of 1) Family-School Partnerships (FSP), 2) School Navigators and 3) Family Strengthening Education. This report focuses on the evaluation of the parent education, “Educación: Nuestra mejor herencia” (Education: Our Best Legacy), that took place during years 1 and 2

Gender and Health Behavior Clustering among U.S. Young Adults

U.S. trends in population health suggest alarming disparities among young adults who are less healthy across most measureable domains than their counterparts in other high-income countries; these international comparisons are particularly troubling for women. To deepen our understanding of gender disparities in health and underlying behavioral contributions, we document gender-specific clusters of health behavior among U.S. young adults using nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We find high levels of poor health behavior, but especially among men; 40 percent of men clustered into a group characterized by unhealthy behavior (e.g., poor diet, no exercise, substance use), compared to only 22 percent of women. Additionally, women tend to age out of unhealthy behaviors in young adulthood more than men. Further, we uncover gender differences in the extent to which sociodemographic position and adolescent contexts inform health behavior clustering. For example, college education was more protective for men, whereas marital status was equally protective across gender. Parental drinking mattered for health behavior clustering among men, whereas peer drinking mattered for clustering among women. We discuss these results in the context of declining female advantage in U.S. health and changing young adult social and health contexts

Roots of Justice: Historical Truth and Reconciliation in Lincoln and Nebraska

A bibliography of resources about the history in Nebraska of Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Recent Refugees We hope that these five bibliographies will prove fruitful in helping us to understand what our history has been, where we have gone astray, and what we can do to help bring about reconciliation in our community and in our state. The discovery of what has happened in Nebraska in the last hundred and seventy years is not an easy task, but it is our goal in putting together this bibliography to begin that task. By putting together a picture that has, to this point, been fragmentary we hope to achieve something like the truth. We envisage that filling in the picture will allow us to understand what people have suffered and what will constitute proper reconciliatory measures

Development and Evaluation of a Parent-Engagement Curriculum to Connect Latino Families and Schools

Parent–school engagement is a contributor to student achievement, but few relevant programs exist for immigrant Latino families. This article describes the design, pilot implementation, and evaluation of a parent-engagement Extension program, developed and implemented in Spanish. The purpose of the program is to help parents develop and/or strengthen their relationships with school staff and teachers, build skills in navigating the U.S. school system, and increase their self-efficacy for supporting their children\u27s success in school. Development of the program curriculum comprised a participatory approach that involved input from cultural guides and focus group sessions conducted in Spanish. Evaluation results indicate positive changes related to most program goals and increased parent–school engagement

Environmental Scan: Southeast Regional Report

In 2010, the Extension Center for Family Development of the University of Minnesota launched a project to learn more about the current and future issues affecting families in Minnesota. During this environmental scan project, community-level interviews were conducted in 11 different regions of the state. This report summarizes the community-level interviews conducted in southeast Minnesota. University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development staff members — Ali Shurilla, Mary Marczak, Jon Fu, and Heather Lee — assisted in the development of this report.This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information available from the University of Minnesota Extension: https://www.extension.umn.edu

Mutations in Ribonucleic Acid Binding Protein Gene Cause Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy

ObjectivesWe sought to identify a novel gene for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).BackgroundDCM is a heritable, genetically heterogeneous disorder that remains idiopathic in the majority of patients. Familial cases provide an opportunity to discover unsuspected molecular bases of DCM, enabling pre-clinical risk detection.MethodsTwo large families with autosomal-dominant DCM were studied. Genome-wide linkage analysis was used to identify a disease locus, followed by fine mapping and positional candidate gene sequencing. Mutation scanning was then performed in 278 unrelated subjects with idiopathic DCM, prospectively identified at the Mayo Clinic.ResultsOverlapping loci for DCM were independently mapped to chromosome 10q25-q26. Deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing of affected individuals in each family revealed distinct heterozygous missense mutations in exon 9 of RBM20, encoding ribonucleic acid (RNA) binding motif protein 20. Comprehensive coding sequence analyses identified missense mutations clustered within this same exon in 6 additional DCM families. Mutations segregated with DCM (peak composite logarithm of the odds score >11.49), were absent in 480 control samples, and altered residues within a highly conserved arginine/serine (RS)-rich region. Expression of RBM20 messenger RNA was confirmed in human heart tissue.ConclusionsOur findings establish RBM20as a DCM gene and reveal a mutation hotspot in the RS domain. RBM20is preferentially expressed in the heart and encodes motifs prototypical of spliceosome proteins that regulate alternative pre-messenger RNA splicing, thus implicating a functionally distinct gene in human cardiomyopathy. RBM20mutations are associated with young age at diagnosis, end-stage heart failure, and high mortality

The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: Population Survey Results and Serum Concentrations for Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans, and Biphenyls

Background: The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study was undertaken to address concerns that the discharge of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) from the Dow Chemical Company in the Midland, Michigan, area had resulted in contamination of soils in the Tittabawassee River floodplain and the city of Midland, leading to an increase in residents’ body burdens of these compounds. Objective: In this article we present descriptive statistics from the resident survey and sampling of human serum, household dust, and soil and compare them with other published values. Methods: From a multistage random sample of populations in four areas of Midland and Saginaw counties and from a distant referent population, we interviewed 946 adults, who also donated blood for analysis of PCDDs, PCDFs, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Samples of household dust and house perimeter soil were collected from consenting subjects who owned their property. Results: All five study populations were comparable in age, race, sex, and length of residence in their current home. Regional differences existed in employment history, personal contact with contaminated soils, and consumption of fish and game from contaminated areas. Median soil concentrations were significantly increased around homes in the Tittabawassee River floodplain (11.4 ppt) and within the city of Midland (58.2 ppt) compared with the referent population (3.6 ppt). Median serum toxic equivalencies were significantly increased in people who lived in the floodplain (23.2 ppt) compared with the referent population (18.5 ppt). Conclusions: Differences in serum dioxin concentrations among the populations were small but statistically significant. Regression modeling is needed to identify whether the serum concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, and PCBs are associated with contaminated soils, household dust, and other factors

Household food security is associated with infant feeding practices in rural Bangladesh.

Although household food security (HHFS) has been shown to affect diet, nutrition, and health of adults and also learning in children, no study has examined associations with infant feeding practices (IFP). We studied 1343 infants born between May 2002 and December 2003 in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Intervention in Matlab study to investigate the effect of HHFS on IFP in rural Bangladesh. We measured HHFS using a previously developed 11-item scale. Cumulative and current infant feeding scales were created from monthly infant feeding data for the age groups of 1-3, 1-6, 1-9, and 1-12 mo based on comparison to infant feeding recommendations. We used lagged, dynamic, and difference longitudinal regression models adjusting for various infant and maternal variables to examine the association between HHFS and changes in IFP, and Cox proportional hazards models to examine the influence of HHFS on the duration of breast-feeding and the time of introduction of complementary foods. Better HHFS status was associated with poor IFP during 3-6 mo but was associated with better IFP during 6-9 and 9-12 mo of age. Although better HHFS was not associated with the time of introduction of complementary foods, it was associated with the type of complementary foods given to the infants. Intervention programs to support proper IFP should target mothers in food-secure households when their babies are 3-6 mo old and also mothers in food-insecure households during the 2nd half of infancy. Our results provide strong evidence that HHFS influences IFP in rural Bangladesh

BRCA2 polymorphic stop codon K3326X and the risk of breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers

Background: The K3326X variant in BRCA2 (BRCA2*c.9976A>T; p.Lys3326*; rs11571833) has been found to be associated with small increased risks of breast cancer. However, it is not clear to what extent linkage disequilibrium with fully pathogenic mutations might account for this association. There is scant information about the effect of K3326X in other hormone-related cancers. Methods: Using weighted logistic regression, we analyzed data from the large iCOGS study including 76 637 cancer case patients and 83 796 control patients to estimate odds ratios (ORw) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for K3326X variant carriers in relation to breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer risks, with weights defined as probability of not having a pathogenic BRCA2 variant. Using Cox proportional hazards modeling, we also examined the associations of K3326X with breast and ovarian cancer risks among 7183 BRCA1 variant carriers. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: The K3326X variant was associated with breast (ORw = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.17 to 1.40, P = 5.9x10- 6) and invasive ovarian cancer (ORw = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.10 to 1.43, P = 3.8x10-3). These associations were stronger for serous ovarian cancer and for estrogen receptor–negative breast cancer (ORw = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.2 to 1.70, P = 3.4x10-5 and ORw = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.28 to 1.76, P = 4.1x10-5, respectively). For BRCA1 mutation carriers, there was a statistically significant inverse association of the K3326X variant with risk of ovarian cancer (HR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.84, P = .013) but no association with breast cancer. No association with prostate cancer was observed. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that the K3326X variant is associated with risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers independent of other pathogenic variants in BRCA2. Further studies are needed to determine the biological mechanism of action responsible for these associations