Background: Tools and systems to improve mental health have been understudied in low-resource environments, such as sub-Saharan Africa. This study explores depression amongst women participating in a community-based intervention combining savings- and lending-groups, entrepreneurial training and other skills training. Aims: This study aims to determine whether depression decreases with more program participation, and the extent to which social capital variables may explain these changes. Method: Survey data were gathered in June 2018, within 6 months of group formation, and again in June 2019 from 400 women participants in the program. Data between 2018 and 2019 were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum and Chi square tests. Inferential statistics included random effects regression models and general structural equation models. Results: At 1-year follow-up, depression and loneliness amongst Kenyan women ( n = 400) participating in the program had decreased. Social capital remained higher within groups than within the broader community, and mediated the association between program participation and decreased depression. Conclusions: Findings suggest this novel, community-based intervention has the potential to benefit mental health. Future research, including a randomised control trial, is required to establish (1) the extent of the program’s benefits and (2) the program’s application to particular subject areas and population segments.

Polycomb-group (PcG) proteins are highly conserved epigenetic transcriptional regulators. They are capable of either maintaining the transcriptional silence of target genes through many cell cycles or enabling a dynamic regulation of gene expression in stem cells. In Drosophila melanogaster, recruitment of PcG proteins to targets requires the presence of at least one polycomb response element (PRE). Although the sequence requirements for PREs are not well-defined, the presence of Pho, a PRE-binding PcG protein, is a very good PRE indicator. In this study, we identify two PRE-containing regions at the PcG target gene, giant, one at the promoter, and another approximately 6 kb upstream. PRE-containing fragments, which coincide with localized presence of Pho in chromatin immunoprecipitations, were shown to maintain restricted expression of a lacZ reporter gene in embryos and to cause pairing-sensitive silencing of the mini-white gene in eyes. Our results also reinforce previous observations that although PRE maintenance and pairing-sensitive silencing activities are closely linked, the sequence requirements for these functions are not identical.

The fourth annual summer research summit organized by the Center of Excellence (COE) in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) was held on May 20, 2021. The theme of this year’s summit was ‘Strengthening Our Commitment to Racial and Social Justice to Improve Public Health.’ Given the ongoing pandemic, the summit was conducted virtually through digital platforms. This program was intended for both BCM and external audiences interested in advancing health equity, diversity and inclusion in healthcare among healthcare providers and trainees, biomedical scientists, social workers, nurses, individuals involved in talent acquisition and development such as hiring managers (HR professionals), supervisors, college and hospital affiliate leadership and administrators, as well as diversity and inclusion excellence practitioners. We had attendees from all regions of the United States, India, Pakistan and the Demographic Republic of the Congo. The content in this Book of Abstracts encapsulates a summary of the research efforts by the BCM COE scholars (which includes post-baccalaureate students, medical students, clinical fellows and junior faculty from BCM) as well as the external summit participants. The range of topics in this year’s summit was quite diverse encompassing disparities in relation to maternal and child health (MCH), immigrant heath, cancers, vaccination uptakes and COVID-19 infections. Various solutions were ardently presented to address these disparities including community engagement and partnerships, improvement in health literacy and development of novel technologies and therapeutics. With this summit, BCM continues to build on its long history of educational outreach initiatives to promote diversity in medicine by focusing on programs aimed at increasing the number of diverse and highly qualified medical professionals ready to introduce effective and innovative approaches to reduce or eliminate health disparities. These programs will improve information resources, clinical education, curricula, research and cultural competence as they relate to minority health issues and social determinants of health. The summit received very positive response in terms of zealous participation and outstanding evaluations; and overall, it was a great success.   Copyright © 2021 Lopez et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.

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Previous studies have implicated impairment in the expression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and the S1177 phosphorylated form of eNOS in mediating endothelial dysfunction in the spontaneously hypertensive rats. However, the relevance of this observation in human hypertension remains unknown. Accordingly, we assessed endothelial function in 19 patients with untreated essential hypertension (HTN) and 18 age-matched normotensive controls (NT), using noninvasive flow mediated vasodilation (FMD) in the brachial artery. We also assessed endothelial cell (EC) protein expression of eNOS and S1177 phosphorylated eNOS using immunofluorescence staining of the ECs extracted via J wire insertion into antecubital veins. We found that FMD was significantly reduced in the HTN versus the NT group (6.67±0.53 % vs. 9.16±0.98 %, p < 0.05). Despite impairment in endothelial function, we found that protein expression of total eNOS and S1177 phosphorylated eNOS were not significantly different between the HTN and NT groups (0.46±0.07 vs. 0.38±0.05 and ±0.05 vs. 0.36±0.08, p = NS, respectively). In conclusion, our study suggests that impairment in the endothelial vasodilator function is independent of eNOS or S1177 phosphorylation of eNOS protein expression in human hypertension. Further studies are needed to clarify the molecular basis of endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive patients.