Geriatric conditions were common among older homeless adults living in diverse environments, and the prevalence of these conditions was higher than that seen in housed adults 20 years older. Services that address geriatric conditions are needed for older homeless adults living across varied environments.

Adults aged 50 and older make up half of individuals experiencing homelessness and have high rates of morbidity and mortality. They may have different life trajectories and reside in different environments than do younger homeless adults. Although the environmental risks associated with homelessness are substantial, the environments in which older homeless individuals live have not been well characterized. We classified living environments and identified associated factors in a sample of older homeless adults. From July 2013 to June 2014, we recruited a community-based sample of 350 homeless men and women aged fifty and older in Oakland, California. We administered structured interviews including assessments of health, history of homelessness, social support, and life course. Participants used a recall procedure to describe where they stayed in the prior six months. We performed cluster analysis to classify residential venues and used multinomial logistic regression to identify individual factors prior to the onset of homelessness as well as the duration of unstable housing associated with living in them. We generated four residential groups describing those who were unsheltered (n=162), cohabited unstably with friends and family (n=57), resided in multiple institutional settings (shelters, jails, transitional housing) (n=88), or lived primarily in rental housing (recently homeless) (n=43). Compared to those who were unsheltered, having social support when last stably housed was significantly associated with cohabiting and institution use. Cohabiters and renters were significantly more likely to be women and have experienced a shorter duration of homelessness. Cohabiters were significantly more likely than unsheltered participants to have experienced abuse prior to losing stable housing. Pre-homeless social support appears to protect against street homelessness while low levels of social support may increase the risk for becoming homeless immediately after losing rental housing. Our findings may enable targeted interventions for those with different manifestations of homelessness.

We describe the first case of cat-to-human transmission of influenza A(H7N2), an avian-lineage influenza A virus, that occurred during an outbreak among cats in New York City animal shelters. We describe the public health response and investigation.

Members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily control cell fate determination, including cell death and differentiation. Fas (CD95) is the prototypical "death receptor" of the TNFR superfamily and signals apoptosis through well established pathways. In the adult nervous system, Fas induces apoptosis in the context of neuropathology such as stroke or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, during nervous system development, Fas promotes neurite growth and branching. The molecular mechanisms underlying Fas-induced process formation and branching have remained unknown to date. Here, we define the molecular pathway linking Fas to process growth and branching in cell lines and in developing neurons. We describe a new cytoplasmic membrane proximal domain (MPD) that is essential for Fas-induced process growth and that is conserved in members of the TNFR superfamily. We show that the Fas MPD recruits ezrin, a molecule that links transmembrane proteins to the cytoskeleton, and activates the small GTPase Rac1. Deletion of the MPD, but not the death domain, abolished Rac1 activation and process growth. Furthermore, an ezrin-derived inhibitory peptide prevented Fas-induced neurite growth in primary neurons. Our results define a new domain, topologically and functionally distinct from the death domain, which regulates neuritogenesis via recruitment of ezrin and activation of Rac1.