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Recent Developments In Antipoverty Policies In The United States, James P. Ziliak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

I survey recent developments in antipoverty policy in the United States over the past decade and examine how the safety net and tax system affects poverty and its correlates using data from the 2000 to 2010 waves of the Current Population Survey-Annual Social and Economic Supplement. Unlike the 1980s and 1990s, and until the health care overhaul in 2009, the first decade of the 21st Century was relatively tepid in terms of major transfer policy reforms. However, real spending on most major social program increased significantly, and in some cases doubled or tripled, in response to demographic shifts and the …

Public Health Pbrns: Generating Evidence For Policy & Practice, Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks Program

Health Management and Policy Reports

The Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks Program is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that supports the development of research networks for studying the comparative effectiveness, efficiency and equity of public health strategies deployed in real-world practice settings. A practice-based research network (PBRN) brings multiple public health agencies together with research partners to design and implement studies of population-based strategies that prevent disease and injury and promote health. Participating practitioners and researchers collaborate to identify pressing research questions of interest, design rigorous and relevant studies, execute research effectively, and translate findings rapidly into practice. As such, PBRNs …

An Evolutionarily Conserved Rit Gtpase-P38 Mapk Signaling Pathway Mediates Oxidative Stress Resistance, Weikang Cai, Jennifer L. Rudolph, Susan M. W. Harrison, Ling Jin, Aubrey L. Frantz, Douglas A. Harrison, Douglas A. Andres

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Ras-related small GTP-binding proteins control a wide range of cellular processes by regulating a variety of effector pathways, including prominent roles in the control of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. Although the regulatory role(s) for many Ras family GTPases are well established, the physiological function for the Rit/Rin subfamily has been lacking. Here, using both knockout mice and Drosophila models, we demonstrate an evolutionarily conserved role for Rit subfamily GTPases (mammalian Rit and Rin, and the Drosophila RIC homologue) in governing survival in response to oxidative stress. Primary embryonic fibroblasts derived from Rit knockout mice display increased apoptosis and selective …

Ccr3 Inhibition For Ocular Angiogenesis And Macular Degeneration, Jayakrishna Ambati

Ophthalmology and Visual Science Faculty Patents

Provided are methods and compositions for the treatment or prevention of ocular angiogenesis and neovascularization. Administration of inhibitors of the CCR3 receptor or its ligands eotaxin (CCL11), eotaxin-2 (CCL24) or eotaxin-3 (CCL26) inhibits ocular angiogenesis.

Preventive Medicine Introduction, F. Douglas Scutchfield Md

Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health Presentations

No abstract provided.

Longitudinal Analysis Of Arterial Blood Pressure And Heart Rate Response To Acute Behavioral Stress In Rats With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus And In Age-Matched Controls, David C. Randall, Richard O. Speakman, Dennis L. Silcox, Laura V. Brown, David R. Brown, Ming C. Gong, Abhijit R. Patwardhan, L. Raymond Reynolds, Dennis G. Karounos, Don E. Burgess, Chikodi N. Anigbogu

Physiology Faculty Publications

We recorded via telemetry the arterial blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) response to classical conditioning following the spontaneous onset of autoimmune diabetes in BBDP/Wor rats vs. age-matched, diabetes-resistant control (BBDR/Wor) rats. Our purpose was to evaluate the autonomic regulatory responses to an acute stress in a diabetic state of up to 12 months duration. The stress was a 15-s pulsed tone (CS+) followed by a 0.5-s tail shock. The initial, transient increase in BP (i.e., the "first component," or C₁), known to be derived from an orienting response and produced by a sympathetic increase in peripheral …

Laforin, A Dual Specificity Phosphatase Involved In Lafora Disease, Is Present Mainly As Monomeric Form With Full Phosphatase Activity, Vikas V. Dukhande, Devin M. Rogers, Carlos Romá-Mateo, Jordi Donderis, Alberto Marina, Adam O. Taylor, Pascual Sanz, Matthew S. Gentry

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Lafora Disease (LD) is a fatal neurodegenerative epileptic disorder that presents as a neurological deterioration with the accumulation of insoluble, intracellular, hyperphosphorylated carbohydrates called Lafora bodies (LBs). LD is caused by mutations in either the gene encoding laforin or malin. Laforin contains a dual specificity phosphatase domain and a carbohydrate-binding module, and is a member of the recently described family of glucan phosphatases. In the current study, we investigated the functional and physiological relevance of laforin dimerization. We purified recombinant human laforin and subjected the monomer and dimer fractions to denaturing gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, phosphatase assays, protein-protein interaction assays, …

Evaluation Of The Global Association Between Cholesterol-Associated Polymorphisms And Alzheimer's Disease Suggests A Role For Rs3846662 And Hmgcr Splicing In Disease Risk, Christopher R. Simmons, Fanggeng Zou, Steven G Younkin, Steven Estus

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)s that are essentially unequivocally associated with peripheral cholesterol. Since the alleles of the APOE gene, which modulate peripheral cholesterol metabolism, and midlife plasma cholesterol are both associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk, we have evaluated the hypothesis that SNPs associated with plasma cholesterol are also associated with AD.

RESULTS: Seventeen non-APOE SNPs reproducibly associated with cholesterol per GWAS were tested for association with AD in ~2,000 AD and ~4,000 non-AD subjects. As a group, these SNPs are associated with AD. Two SNPs in particular, rs3846662 and rs1532085, are …

Critical Role Of Pi3k/Akt/Gsk3Β In Motoneuron Specification From Human Neural Stem Cells In Response To Fgf2 And Egf, Luis Ojeda, Junling Gao, Kristopher G. Hooten, Enyin Wang, Jason R. Thonhoff, Tiffany J. Dunn, Tianyan Gao, Ping Wu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) are critical for the development of the nervous system. We previously discovered that FGF2 and EGF had opposite effects on motor neuron differentiation from human fetal neural stem cells (hNSCs), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that FGF2 and EGF differentially affect the temporal patterns of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β) activation. High levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt activation accompanied with GSK3β inactivation result in reduction of the motor neuron transcription factor HB9. Inhibition of PI3K/Akt by chemical inhibitors or RNA interference or overexpression of …

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors And Mithramycin A Impact A Similar Neuroprotective Pathway At A Crossroad Between Cancer And Neurodegeneration, Sama F. Sleiman, Jill Berlin, Manuela Basso, Saravanan S. Karuppagounder, Jürgen Rohr, Rajiv R. Ratan

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Mithramycin A (MTM) and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are effective therapeutic agents for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. MTM is a FDA approved aureolic acid-type antibiotic that binds to GC-rich DNA sequences and interferes with Sp1 transcription factor binding to its target sites (GC box). HDACi, on the other hand, modulate the activity of class I and II histone deacetylases. They mediate their protective function, in part, by regulating the acetylation status of histones or transcription factors, including Sp1, and in turn chromatin accessibility to the transcriptional machinery. Because these two classes of structurally and functionally diverse compounds mediate similar therapeutic …

Cd40 Is Essential In The Upregulation Of Traf Proteins And Nf-Kappab-Dependent Proinflammatory Gene Expression After Arterial Injury, Zifang Song, Rong Jin, Shiyong Yu, Joshua J. Rivet, Susan S. Smyth, Anil Nanda, D. Neil Granger, Guohong Li

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Despite extensive investigations, restenosis, which is characterized primarily by neointima formation, remains an unsolved clinical problem after vascular interventions. A recent study has shown that CD40 signaling through TNF receptor associated factor 6 (TRAF6) plays a key role in neointima formation after carotid artery injury; however, underlying mechanisms are not clearly elucidated. Because neointima formation may vary significantly depending on the type of injury, we first assessed the effect of CD40 deficiency on neointima formation in 2 injury models, carotid artery ligation and femoral artery denudation injury. Compared with wild-type mice, CD40 deficiency significantly reduced neointima formation and lumen stenosis …

Reduced Viscosity Barley Β-Glucan Versus Placebo: A Randomized Controlled Trial Of The Effects On Insulin Sensitivity For Individuals At Risk For Diabetes Mellitus, Harold Bays, Joy L. Frestedt, Margie Bell, Carolyn Williams, Lore Kolberg, Wade Schmelzer, James W. Anderson

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Prior studies suggest soluble fibers may favorably affect glucose/insulin metabolism.

METHODS: This prospective, randomized, placebo controlled, double blind, parallel group trial evaluated 50 generally healthy subjects without prior diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (44 completers), who were administered beverages containing placebo (control), lower dose (3 g/d), or higher dose (6 g/d) reduced viscosity barley β-glucan (BBG) extract. Subjects (68% women) mean age 56 years, Body Mass Index (BMI) 32 kg/m2 and baseline fasting plasma glucose 102 mg/dl were instructed to follow a weight-maintaining Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet and consumed three 11 oz study beverages daily with meals for 12 …

Dietary Triglycerides Profoundly Affect Oral Sensitization To Peanut Protein In An Adjuvant-Free Mouse Model Of Peanut Allergy, Erik Eckhardt, Jianing Li

Internal Medicine Presentations

Peanuts and peanut butter contain significant amounts of long-chain triglycerides (LCT), which stimulate lymphatic chylomicron transport. We have recently reported that intestinal absorption of a dietary antigen (ovalbumin; (OVA)) is significantly enhanced when chylomicron formation is induced. This prompted us to investigate the effect of LCT on oral sensitization to concomitantly ingested protein antigens.

No Evidence Of Association Between Hiv-1 And Malaria In Populations With Low Hiv-1 Prevalence, Diego F. Cuadros, Adam J. Branscum, Gisela García-Ramos

Biology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The geographic overlap between HIV-1 and malaria has generated much interest in their potential interactions. A variety of studies have evidenced a complex HIV-malaria interaction within individuals and populations that may have dramatic effects, but the causes and implications of this co-infection at the population level are still unclear. In a previous publication, we showed that the prevalence of malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum is associated with HIV infection in eastern sub-Saharan Africa. To complement our knowledge of the HIV-malaria co-infection, the objective of this work was to assess the relationship between malaria and HIV prevalence in …

Effect Of Variable Transmission Rate On The Dynamics Of Hiv In Sub-Saharan Africa, Diego F. Cuadros, Phillip H. Crowley, Ben Augustine, Sarah L. Stewart, Gisela García-Ramos

Biology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The cause of the high HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa is incompletely understood, with heterosexual penile-vaginal transmission proposed as the main mechanism. Heterosexual HIV transmission has been estimated to have a very low probability; but effects of cofactors that vary in space and time may substantially alter this pattern.

METHODS: To test the effect of individual variation in the HIV infectiousness generated by co-infection, we developed and analyzed a mathematical sexual network model that simulates the behavioral components of a population from Malawi, as well as the dynamics of HIV and the co-infection effect caused by other infectious diseases, …

Targeted Over-Expression Of Glutamate Transporter 1 (Glt-1) Reduces Ischemic Brain Injury In A Rat Model Of Stroke, Brandon K. Harvey, Mikko Airavaara, Jason Michael Hinzman, Emily M. Wires, Matthew J. Chiocco, Douglas B. Howard, Hui Shen, Greg A. Gerhardt, Barry J. Hoffer, Yun Wang

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Following the onset of an ischemic brain injury, the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate is released. The excitotoxic effects of glutamate are a major contributor to the pathogenesis of a stroke. The aim of this study was to examine if overexpression of a glutamate transporter (GLT-1) reduces ischemic brain injury in a rat model of stroke. We generated an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector expressing the rat GLT-1 cDNA (AAV-GLT1). Functional expression of AAV-GLT1 was confirmed by increased glutamate clearance rate in non-stroke rat brain as measured by in vivo amperometry. AAV-GLT1 was injected into future cortical region of infarction 3 weeks prior …

Male Mating Competitiveness Of A Wolbachia-Introgressed Aedes Polynesiensis Strain Under Semi-Field Conditions, Eric W. Chambers, Limb Hapairai, Bethany A. Peel, Hervé Bossin, Stephen L. Dobson

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Lymphatic filariasis (LF), a global public health problem affecting approximately 120 million people worldwide, is a leading cause of disability in the developing world including the South Pacific. Despite decades of ongoing mass drug administration (MDA) in the region, some island nations have not yet achieved the threshold levels of microfilaremia established by the World Health Organization for eliminating transmission. Previously, the generation of a novel Aedes polynesiensis strain (CP) infected with an exogenous type of Wolbachia has been described. The CP mosquito is cytoplasmically incompatible (i.e., effectively sterile) when mated with wildtype mosquitoes, and a strategy was proposed …

Workers Die From Heat Stroke, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Other

To prevent heatstroke, employers should:

• Train supervisors and employees to recognize symptoms of heat stroke
• Give frequent breaks and provide drinking water
• Adjust work hours to accommodate work conditions such as high heat index and/or high humidity
• Monitor workers who are at risk of heat stroke

Employees should:

• Report unusual behavior
• Know how to treat co-workers for heat stroke
• Monitor your physical condition and that of your coworkers

Workers Killed After Being Electrocuted, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Other

To prevent electrocutions, employers should:

• Provide non-conductive ladders
• Conduct a jobsite survey to identify potential hazards
• Provide electricity awareness training
• Provide onsite automated external defibrillators (AEDs)

• Use non-conductive ladders
• De-energize lines before beginning work
• Make sure all equipment is properly grounded
• Know how to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs)

Origin Of Amphibian And Avian Chromosomes By Fission, Fusion, And Retention Of Ancestral Chromosomes, Stephen R. Voss, D. Kevin Kump, Srikrishna Putta, Nathan Pauly, Anna Reynolds, Rema J. Henry, Saritha Basa, John A. Walker, Jeramiah J. Smith

Biology Faculty Publications

Amphibian genomes differ greatly in DNA content and chromosome size, morphology, and number. Investigations of this diversity are needed to identify mechanisms that have shaped the evolution of vertebrate genomes. We used comparative mapping to investigate the organization of genes in the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), a species that presents relatively few chromosomes (n = 14) and a gigantic genome (>20 pg/N). We show extensive conservation of synteny between Ambystoma, chicken, and human, and a positive correlation between the length of conserved segments and genome size. Ambystoma segments are estimated to be four to 51 times longer than homologous …

Preferential Quadriceps Activation In Female Athletes With Incremental Increases In Landing Intensity, Kevin R. Ford, Gregory D. Myer, Laura C. Schmitt, Timothy L. Uhl, Timothy E. Hewett

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to identify alterations in preparatory muscle activation patterns across different drop heights in female athletes. Sixteen female high school volleyball players performed the drop vertical jump from three different drop heights. Surface electromyography of the quadriceps and hamstrings were collected during the movement trials. As the drop height increased, muscle activation of the quadriceps during preparatory phase also increased (p < .05). However, the hamstrings activation showed no similar increases relative to drop height. Female athletes appear to preferentially rely on increased quadriceps activation, without an increase in hamstrings activation, with increased plyometric intensity. The resultant decreased activation ratio of the hamstrings relative to quadriceps before landing may represent altered dynamic knee stability and may contribute to the increased risk of ACL injury in female athletes.

Lafora Disease E3-Ubiquitin Ligase Malin Is Related To Trim32 At Both The Phylogenetic And Functional Level, Carlos Romá-Mateo, Daniel Moreno, Santiago Vernia, Teresa Rubio, Travis M. Bridges, Matthew S. Gentry, Pascual Sanz

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Malin is an E3-ubiquitin ligase that is mutated in Lafora disease, a fatal form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy. In order to perform its function, malin forms a functional complex with laforin, a glucan phosphatase that facilitates targeting of malin to its corresponding substrates. While laforin phylogeny has been studied, there are no data on the evolutionary lineage of malin.

RESULTS: After an extensive search for malin orthologs, we found that malin is present in all vertebrate species and a cephalochordate, in contrast with the broader species distribution previously reported for laforin. These data suggest that in addition to forming …

Epigenetic Silencing Of Nucleolar Rrna Genes In Alzheimer's Disease, Maciej Pietrzak, Grzegorz Rempala, Peter T. Nelson, Jing-Juan Zheng, Michal Hetman

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Ribosomal deficits are documented in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often represents an early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), as well as in advanced AD. The nucleolar rRNA genes (rDNA), transcription of which is critical for ribosomal biogenesis, are regulated by epigenetic silencing including promoter CpG methylation.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To assess whether CpG methylation of the rDNA promoter was dysregulated across the AD spectrum, we analyzed brain samples from 10 MCI-, 23 AD-, and, 24 age-matched control individuals using bisulfite mapping. The rDNA promoter became hypermethylated in cerebro-cortical samples from MCI and AD groups. In parietal cortex, the rDNA promoter …

Camptothecin Analogs And Methods Of Preparation Thereof, Dennis P. Curran, David Bom, Thomas Burke

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Patents

To read this abstract, please download this patent.

Sr-A Ligand And M-Csf Dynamically Regulate Sr-A Expression And Function In Primary Macrophages Via P38 Mapk Activation, Dejan Nikolic, Lindsay Calderon, Liqin Du, Steven R. Post

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Inflammation is characterized by dynamic changes in the expression of cytokines, such as M-CSF, and modifications of lipids and proteins that result in the formation of ligands for Class A Scavenger Receptors (SR-A). These changes are associated with altered SR-A expression in macrophages; however, the intracellular signal pathways involved and the extent to which SR-A ligands regulate SR-A expression are not well defined. To address these questions, SR-A expression and function were examined in resident mouse peritoneal macrophages incubated with M-CSF or the selective SR-A ligand acetylated-LDL (AcLDL).

RESULTS: M-CSF increased SR-A expression and function, and required the specific …

Microglial P38Α Mapk Is A Key Regulator Of Proinflammatory Cytokine Up-Regulation Induced By Toll-Like Receptor (Tlr) Ligands Or Beta-Amyloid (Aβ), Adam D. Bachstetter, Bin Xing, Lucia De Almeida, Edgardo R. Dimayuga, D. Martin Watterson, Linda J. Van Eldik

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines from activated microglia has been implicated as an important contributor to pathophysiology progression in both acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, it is critical to elucidate intracellular signaling pathways that are significant contributors to cytokine overproduction in microglia exposed to specific stressors, especially pathways amenable to drug interventions. The serine/threonine protein kinase p38α MAPK is a key enzyme in the parallel and convergent intracellular signaling pathways involved in stressor-induced production of IL-1β and TNFα in peripheral tissues, and is a drug development target for peripheral inflammatory diseases. However, much less is known about the quantitative …

Gene Set Analysis For Longitudinal Gene Expression Data, Ke Zhang, Haiyan Wang, Arne C. Bathke, Solomon W. Harrar, Hans-Peter Piepho, Youping Deng

Statistics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Gene set analysis (GSA) has become a successful tool to interpret gene expression profiles in terms of biological functions, molecular pathways, or genomic locations. GSA performs statistical tests for independent microarray samples at the level of gene sets rather than individual genes. Nowadays, an increasing number of microarray studies are conducted to explore the dynamic changes of gene expression in a variety of species and biological scenarios. In these longitudinal studies, gene expression is repeatedly measured over time such that a GSA needs to take into account the within-gene correlations in addition to possible between-gene correlations.

RESULTS: We provide …

Southeastern Law Librarian Summer 2011, Seaall

Newsletters

No abstract provided.

The Sustainable Development Principle In United States Environmental Law, Michael P. Healy

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The American public perceives the principle of sustainable development and sustainability, the shorthand nomenclature, through green-tinted lenses. Whether the user of the term is academic, corporate, or governmental, the advocate of sustainability is understood as an advocate of protecting the environment. The international legal understanding of the principle of sustainable development, however, is more ambiguous than this popular American understanding.

Part II of this Article describes the important principle of sustainable development in modern international environmental law. It discusses how the sustainable development principle has evolved from its initial appearance in the 1987 Brundtland Commission Report through its central position …

Global Ky (Summer 2011), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.