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Straddling the Boundary of Misleading Information Group: Exploring the Association Between Network Brokerage and Morality Expressions
No full textExisting misleading information studies mostly focus on either the message content or social network structures, overlooking the association between the content and structural factors. This research examines the role of brokers, the key network actors straddling between misleading and true/regular information groups. Content-wise, morality expressions are examined, which signal social media users’ expressions toward what is right and wrong. This research provides insights into the understudied relationship between network brokerage and moral expressions and identifies connections between moral foundation and network brokerage theories. Findings suggest that binding morality (i.e., authority and loyalty) is dominant among network brokers. Practical strategies are suggested toward potentially harnessing the power of brokers and moral framing to help combat the spread of misleading information
Policy Recommendations to Reduce Old Age Food Insecurity in the United States
No full textIn 2023, 7.4 million adults ages 60 and over in the United States were food insecure. As the number of older people at risk of food insecurity in the U.S. continues to rise, effective policy responses are critical. The current policy responses to old age food insecurity are complex, costly, and not nearly effective enough.
Based on the book, Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adults Food Insecurity, this brief summarizes five policy recommendations to improve food insecurity among U.S. older adults. The authors recommend measuring food security in multidimensional ways, treating food insecurity as a health issue, adopting SNAP policies that increase benefits and participation, connecting food assistance programs with other social welfare programs, and increasing income support for older adults
Budget Tradeoffs Shape Food Insecurity Among U.S. Older Adults
No full textFor low-income older adults, it may be difficult to meet basic needs on a fixed monthly income. Stretching resources can be difficult, especially if unexpected expenses arise, leading many older adults to face difficult budget tradeoffs. Based on the book, Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adults Food Insecurity, this brief summarizes how budget tradeoffs between food and other essential expenses—housing, utilities, medical care, transportation, and personal and cleaning supplies—shape food insecurity among older adults
ALL-ATOM AND COARSE-GRAINED PLATFORM TO SIMULATE PEPTOIDS
No full textPeptoids, or N-substituted glycines, are synthetic peptidomimetic oligomers that exhibit exceptional proteolytic stability, conformational flexibility, and tunable bioactivity, thereby expanding their utility in applications ranging from antimicrobial therapeutics to molecular self-assembly and biomaterials engineering. To investigate the influence of sequence composition on structural stability and aggregation propensity, a multiscale simulation platform is developed to systematically explore the conformational and assembly behavior of seven-residue peptoid oligomers constructed from three chemically distinct building blocks: NLY, a lysine-mimetic residue bearing a cationic ammonium side chain; BEN, a chiral benzyl residue introducing aromaticity and conformational rigidity; and BBR, a bromobenzyl residue capable of halogen bonding and electronic modulation. A custom Python pipeline was developed to automate the derivation of CG bonded parameters from AA data, enabling iterative refinement and validation of CG models against atomistic benchmarks. The platform comprises three core components: (1) all-atom (AA) system construction and simulation with CHARMM General force field, (2) coarse-grained (CG) model development and simulation with MARTINI 3 force field, and (3) reverse-mapping from CG to AA. Additionally, automated simulations tools were developed to establish the systems, run the simulations and analyze the results. In total, the study evaluated 2,187 unique peptoid sequences, each subjected to extensive equilibrium and self-assembly simulations. Furthermore, an efficient and template-free reverse mapping algorithm was designed to reconstruct CHARMM-compatible atomistic structures directly from CG simulation outputs, bridging CG predictions with detailed structural validation. High-throughput simulations of twenty-molecule assemblies allowed identification of sequences that preferentially form low-order aggregates (monomers to tetramers), which are favorable for solution stability and downstream functionalization. The optimized CG parameters, validated across homopolymer and mixed-sequence systems, were shown to accurately recapitulate key features of peptoid conformational landscapes and self-assembly dynamics. Overall, this work presents a robust and extensible modeling framework for peptoids, integrating atomistic accuracy with coarse-grained efficiency. It provides foundational methodologies for future design, simulation, and experimental realization of functional peptoid-based nanostructures and materials