Wellness from Diabetes: Community Health and Diabetes Assessment

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is highly prevalent in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with a prevalence rate of 37.37%, the highest in the world. T2DM dominates Majuro, the country’s capital, as a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, despite efforts of health care workers, local community organizations, and government. Income and education are social determinants of health. The correlations between good health and high income, and between good health and high education level, are positive. However, there is a continuous growth of T2DM incidence and prevalence on Majuro. Therefore, we hypothesized that there is no significant difference between healthful dietary and exercise practices of two groups of people on Majuro, RMI: those with high income and high education levels, and those with low income and low education levels. Community-based research conducted on Majuro helped test our hypothesis and gain knowledge of necessary steps to reverse this epidemic. During beginning stages of our research, related literature on diabetes, social determinants of health, and research methods were reviewed. To acquire qualitative data, focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted. FGDs were held with people grouped according to profession (health, education, community). With the KIIs, key members deeply involved or active in the community were interviewed one-on-one. The bulk of our quantitative data will be gathered by surveys on basic demographics, economics, and health-related perceptions. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and local organizations, 400 surveys will be administered in Marshallese and English, and collected

Realistic Additions to MATLAB Simulation of Active Particles in an Acoustic Field

Acoustic microfluidics provides a contact-free method of manipulating active particles; however, versatile and quick performance quantification of these methods is needed to further apply acoustofluidic techniques in broader settings. Motile Chlamydomonas reinhardtii algae cells continuously swim and redistribute as they are subject to an acoustic field. For performance quantification, this eliminates the tedious procedure of resetting the experiment after each trial, which is necessary when using passive particles as probes. Thus, this method of calibration using active particles is more efficient than using passive particles. Utilizing an accurate simulation of physical active particle experiments is helpful in quickly predicting how changes in individual variables will affect the particle distribution; to know that the experiment is being done correctly, physical experimentation results should follow the simulation results. An existing mathematical simulation that models the behavior of active particles in a known acoustic field within the confines of a given channel was improved to be more realistic. Having an accurate simulation would allow large numbers of simulations under various conditions to be run quickly, saving time and resources. This MATLAB model initially contained arbitrary swimming biases that were an idealized version of swimming cell behavior; the movement and resulting distribution of the cells within an acoustic field were not accurate to physical experiments. Various forces, randomizations, and biases were implemented to observe their effect on cell distribution. Further work would be spent on comparing the simulated particle distribution within an acoustic field to experimental data and making further adjustments to the MATLAB script from there. Further, lubrication forces or particle-particle interactions involving the cells could be added

Eating Bitterness (吃苦): Critical to Chinese Immigrant Identity or Perpetuating the Model Minority Myth?

Chinese immigrant success in America is often attributed to their ability to work hard and endure hardships. In Chinese culture, this is called 吃苦 (eating bitterness). The term "model minority" is often used as a tool to contrast the "lack of success" of other racialized groups in America; the implication is that they could be as "successful" if they 吃苦. As a second-generation Chinese settler, the main character, Dennis, in Yang and Pham’s graphic novel, Level Up, is also expected to 吃苦.  This paper explores how Yang and Pham use Dennis’ struggle to choose between becoming a doctor and playing video games, and his in/ability to 吃苦 to illuminate and critique the concept of the “model minority” myth

The Impact of COVID-19 for Mid-career Women Seeking Leadership Positions in the Workplace

This research explores ways women in their mid-career seeking leadership roles are being affected in the workplace by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is targeted to organizations and leaders committed to gender equity in their workplaces particularly as they are developing new policies in response to COVID-19. Additionally, this research benefits women generally by providing tools for navigating the system and seeking the potential positive outcomes in the workplace. This system includes: work environment, social status, organizational culture, political environment, and policies. This phenomenological study analyzes qualitative data through interviews. It also includes extensive research of peer-reviewed journal articles referencing historical aspects of gender-based biases’ in the workplace, the effects that past pandemics, epidemics and world crises have had on marginalized populations, as well as current studies on how COVID-19 has impacted the workplace