University of Illinois at Chicago
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21439 research outputs found
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Confronting Transit’s Fiscal Cliff in Illinois
No full textA new report from the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs highlights how transit agencies nationwide, and in Illinois in particular, face significant postpandemic budget gaps, threatening transit service provision and availability. The study focuses on transit ridership and financial data from 2019 to the present, examining the factors contributing to depressed ridership and financial pressures, and also identifies potential policy responses.The policy spotlight report, “Confronting Transit’s Fiscal Cliff in Illinois,” was written by Richard Funderburg, professor of public management and policy at the College of Public Affairs and Education, University of Illinois Springfield; and Paula Worthington, lecturer, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago and senior policy advisor, Civic Federation. It finds that postpandemic ridership recovery has been limited by factors such as the rise in remote work, concerns about personal safety and security, and uneven service quality.With fewer riders, agencies that rely heavily on farebox revenues face budget gaps as COVID-era federal resources are depleted. In the past, transit agencies have responded to budget gaps by cutting service, raising fares, deferring capital projects and obtaining additional public support. Service cuts disproportionately affect transit access by disadvantaged individuals and communities, further limiting their access to essential services including health care, employment and education. The policy spotlight report cites evidence that postpandemic restoration of service provision was uneven and slower in many low-income South and West Side neighborhoods of Chicago.</p
<b>A role for ETV1 and endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicle microRNAs in priming fibroblast response to vesicle-bound FGF2</b>
No full textCommunication between various cell types following wounding is paramount for proper healing and regeneration of injured tissue. Endothelial cells and fibroblasts are critical cellular players involved in cutaneous wound repair, yet their communication mechanisms are not well understood. It has previously been shown that extracellular vesicles derived from endothelial cells (ECEVs) induce dermal fibroblasts to express a gene signature correlated with FGF2-mediated cancer associated fibroblast (CAF) activation, under the control of transcription factor ETV1. In this report, we utilize loss-of-function studies to define the mechanistic role of ETV1 in conferring this ECEV-induced transcriptomic shift and functional change in fibroblasts. Additionally, we identify highly expressed ECEV microRNAs and examine their potential contribution to the ECEV mechanism through downstream gene modulation. In summary, we describe a plausible mechanism by which both ETV1 and top ECEV microRNAs promote a genotypic and phenotypic shift in dermal fibroblasts that have taken up ECEVs.</p
Academic medical librarians and video consultations: Our new normal
No full textSince the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in video research consultations has rapidly expanded. This study aimed to characterize the current state of academic health sciences librarians’ practices and perspectives around this mode of consultation. We distributed a survey, which received 124 eligible responses. Our analysis found that video consultations were now generally in higher demand than in-person consultations and were viewed positively by respondents. Advantages mentioned included convenience & flexibility, technical capabilities,and health benefits. Disadvantages mentioned included technology challenges, issues with engagement, interruptions, and personal preference for in-person meetings.</p
Identity Development, Attraction, and Behavior of Heterosexual-Identified Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Scoping Review
No full textIntroductionHeterosexual-identified men who have sex with men (H-MSM) experience sexual identity and behavior discordance. H-MSM may comprise 0.5–3.5% of adult heterosexual men. Understanding and accepting H-MSM as they self-identify may be necessary to implement effective public health and psychosocial interventions. This scoping review synthesizes research on H-MSM’s identity development, attraction, and behavior.MethodsThirteen databases were searched and, using Covidence software, two independent reviewers screened 3617 titles and abstracts and 269 full texts to arrive at 124 articles meeting entry criteria. Ten independent reviewers then conducted thematic content analysis.ResultsH-MSM either expressed sexual identity uncertainty or justified maintaining heterosexual identity, due to fear of discrimination and little or no social support. H-MSM compartmentalized sexual behaviors as isolated events unrepresentative of their sexual identity. H-MSM further minimized same-sex behaviors to infrequent, recreational/sport, or economic coincidences with little partner communication regarding HIV and sexual health. Many H-MSM depersonalized male sex partners, denied same-sex attraction, and avoided gay-identified venues. Reviewed articles further reported H-MSM had negative emotional responses to sex with men (e.g., guilt, shame, disgust).ConclusionsH-MSM are unlike other heterosexual men and other MSM and require unique considerations for social policy and approaches for care.Policy ImplicationsFindings suggest H-MSM are mislabeled as “behaviorally bisexual” in sexual health screening, which may cause inaccurate epidemiology of sexually transmitted and blood borne infections.</p
Organizing for social change: A qualitative examination of local systems change efforts through network configuration
No full textThis poster was presented to the Society for the Analysis of African American Public Health Issues annual conference on November 1, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The research investigated the preliminary results of networks emerging between institutions and actors engaged in racial justice work in Cook County, Illinois, based on 29 in-depth interviews with racial justice organizers and advocates. All interviewees had been participants in the last 5 years of a racial equity fellowship program run by Chicago United for Equity, a racial justice nonprofit in Chicago, IL.</p
Sexual communication patterns of heterosexual-identified men who have sex with men
No full textThe sexual communication patterns that comprise how heterosexual men with concordance between identity and behavior navigate their sexual encounters with women are well-established. Some heterosexual men experience discordance between their sexual identities and behaviors and may have unique practices of sexual communication, but this has not been studied. Knowledge of their sexual communication practices is an important step toward understanding and improving their sexual experiences. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 heterosexual-identified men who have sex with men to learn more about their sexual communication strategies. Three themes were identified through interpretative phenomenological analysis: meeting sex partners, clear communication with men, and poor communication with women. Findings suggest that sexual communication is gendered. Participants reported utilizing short and explicit verbal and written communication strategies with other men via the internet and in various sexualized venues. Yet, participants more frequently used implicit sexual cues as the primary source of sexual communication when with women. Implications related to boosting sexual satisfaction and preventing nonconsensual sexual encounters are discussed.</p
Searching for evidence of strengthening from short-range order in the CrCoNi medium entropy alloy
No full textThe coupling of strength to short-range order (SRO) in the CrCoNi medium entropy alloy remains actively investigated, with conflicting reports supporting and opposing SRO-induced strengthening continuing to emerge. A direct observation of this effect is elusive, due to difficulties in the quantification of SRO. Here, we deliver a structurally agnostic analysis that instead searches for unusual patterns in crystal size effects as evidence of SRO-induced strengthening. For this purpose, we assemble a large dataset of strengthening measurements drawn from a range of thermomechanical processing conditions known to produce SRO. Based on a comparative analysis with pure metal benchmarks, we find no evidence for significant coupling of SRO to strengthening in CrCoNi, and that patterns suggesting a positive finding may be explained by cross-study measurement scatter. Nevertheless, we leverage our analysis to provide an upper bound estimate of SRO-induced strengthening in the unlikely scenario where other sources of scatter are negligible.</p
The Learn-It-All Educator: A Guidebook for Training Brains, Not Replacing Them with AI
No full textThis guidebook provides practical frameworks for higher education faculty to integrate AI thoughtfully into their teaching practice. Drawing on neuroscience research, educational theory, and real-world implementation experience, it offers four core frameworks: Cognitive Triage (managing educator workload), The Intelligent Gearbox (understanding AI capabilities), The Cognitive Gym (designing learning for brain development), and The Intelligent Simpleton (cultivating a learn-it-all mindset). The guidebook emphasizes training brains rather than replacing them, offering concrete strategies for using AI to enhance rather than diminish critical thinking and deep learning
A Model of Traumatic Brain Injury Oligomerizes Tau in Cortical Organoids and Induces Clinically Relevant Pathologies that Synergize with <i>MAPT</i> Mutation
No full textTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most important environmental risk factor for neurodegenerative disease. Tauopathy plays an important role in post-traumatic neurodegeneration. Human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cortical organoids have exciting potential to reveal the influence of genotype on post-traumatic neurodegeneration because they permit manipulation of the genome in a human system.The purpose of this study was to examine how Microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT) mutations influence tau pathology and injury responses following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a human in vitro model. An isogenic 3D cortical organoid system was established to investigate gene–trauma interactions contributing to neurodegeneration.</p
A geographic analysis of neighborhood-level subjective well-being and its associations with neighborhood race in Cook County, IL
No full textThis poster was presented to the Society for the Analysis of African American Public Health Issues (SAAPHI) annual conference in Washington, D.C. on November 1, 2025. The purpose of the research was to (1) determine if SWB variables are spatially autocorrelated (clustered) at the ZIP code level in Cook County, IL; (2) determine where clusters exist; and (3) compare this to the clustering of neighborhoods with high or low Black populations in order to determine if neighborhood-level race is correlated with neighborhood-level SWB outcomes.</p
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