Fighting Back Against Anti-Asian Xenophobia: Addressing Global Issues in a Distance Learning Classroom

This practitioner essay will outline a project designed by a team of three critical educators at The Experiential School of Greensboro (TESG), a new grassroots charter school in Greensboro, North Carolina. In this essay, we will describe the social context of TESG, discuss how we built towards addressing complicated topics related to systemic racism, and outline the ways we addressed anti-Asian racism and xenophobia in a remote learning context during the COVID-19 pandemic

Active site and kinetic studies on carbonic anhydrase III.

Carbonic anhydrase III (CA III) was purified to homogeneity from red skeletal muscle of both chicken and human. Analysis of purification procedures revealed that preparations may be easily contaminated with a protein possessing phosphoesterase activity. This could be the source of acid phosphatase activity previously attributed to CA III.The effects of various buffers, anions and phosphorylated metabolites on the activity of these isoenzymes towards bicarbonate and several ester substrates were examined. Phosphate (P[i]) enhanced the HC0[-3] dehydration activity of chicken and human CA III, as measured by the pH-stat assay system. Pipes, mops and hepes buffers had no effect.The K[m] of chicken CA III appeared to decrease with P[i], whereas k[cat] remained constant. Exposure of chicken CA III to high [P[i]] followed by low [P[i]] resulted in retention of P[i]-enhanced activity for up to 20 minutes. This slow dissociation could thus sustain the P[i]-effect under conditions of fluctuating [P[i]]. This response was pH-dependent between pH 6.5-7.5.Pyrophosphate, HSO[-3], ATP, ADP, PEP, 1,3-BPG and 3-PG each enhanced bicarbonate dehydration activity and activation by one species precluded further activation by P[i]. No phosphatase activity by CA III was evident. Activation of CA III by the arginine-modifying reagent, 2,3-butanedione (BD), was also investigated. A comparison of this activation with that of phosphate, for the HC0[-3] dehydration reaction, suggested common features.K[m] and k[cat] were determined for 4-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis by chicken CA IE. BD-modification increased k[cat] but had no effect on K[M], whilst P[i] was without effect. This may substantiate the premise that HC0[-3] dehydration and esterase sites are spatially separated on CA IE.The physiological implications of these findings are discussed

Developing a targeted English-language curriculum and materials for Latino caregivers of infants with special needs as part of a NICU pre-discharge education program

poster abstractHealthcare disparities in the Latino community are well documented; Latino infants with special healthcare needs are at high risk of mortality or poor health outcomes and have difficulty obtaining specialty care. Poor English-language skills add an additional layer of vulnerability. Existing health-related English-language curricula address adult, not pediatric health concerns. A clear need exists for short-term health-related English-language education programs to develop survival communication skills in low-literacy Limited English Proficiency (LEP) caregivers. International Center for Intercultural Communication (ICIC) and Family Voices Indiana (FVI) are collaborating to develop and facilitate a targeted English-language curriculum for LEP Latino caregivers of infants with special healthcare needs at Riley Children’s Hospital. ICIC brings expertise in English-for-Specific-Purposes (ESP) program development; FVI serves parents of children with special healthcare needs, including LEP parents, and brings the ability to make such a program meaningful and useful to our target population. The first stage of the project is currently ending, and has featured • Needs-analysis data collection onsite through the observation of current education modules with Latino parents at Riley Hospital as well as surveys of relevant healthcare providers and other hospital staff, followed by • The development of a curriculum, instructional materials, and pre-post intervention assessments based on the identified needs. The second stage will feature the actual intervention and will involve working with a minimum of six (6) low-literacy/low-proficiency caregivers to • Improve their health-related English for the specific purposes of communicating with their infants’ physicians and other healthcare staff while at Riley, • Facilitate communication after discharge, • Increase their readiness to engage in community ESL classes, and • Ensure eventual adaptability of the curriculum for ESL caregivers of various language backgrounds, stronger language or literacy skills, a variety of healthcare contexts, and the larger pediatric population. The post-intervention stage will feature data analysis with the purpose of assessing the viability of the curriculum and materials, and will lead to revisions. ICIC will also train FVI facilitators to offer the program to the population they serve. ICIC will then work with Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation (IURTC) to copyright and license the final curriculum and materials

Decision-Making about the HPV Vaccine among Ethnically Diverse Parents: Implications for Health Communications

Objective: To describe parents' knowledge, attitudes, and decision-making with regard to obtaining the HPV vaccine for their daughters. Methods: White, Black, and Hispanic parents of daughters who were age eligible to receive the HPV vaccine (9–17 years) were recruited from community settings to participate in focus groups. Parents were asked about knowledge and awareness of HPV, decision-making about HPV vaccine, as well as preferred and actual sources of HPV information. Results: Seven focus groups (n = 64 participants) were conducted. Groups were segmented by gender (women = 72%) and race/ethnicity (Black = 59%; White = 23%; Hispanic = 19%). Prevalent themes included: insufficient information to make informed decisions; varied preferences for involvement in decision-making; concerns about vaccine safety; mistrust of medical providers and pharmaceutical companies; and mismatch between actual and preferred sources of information. Discussion: Improving communication between providers and caregivers and helping parents to access information necessary for informed decision-making, while alleviating concerns about vaccine safety, may help to improve vaccine acceptance

MARDy : Mycology Antifungal Resistance Database

J.R. was supported by an Antimicrobial Research Collaborative (ARC) early career research fellowship, Imperial College London (RSRO_54990). T.S. and J.M.G.S. were supported by a Natural Environment Research Council grant awarded to MCF (NE/P001165/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Mouse models of preterm birth: Suggested assessment and reporting guidelines

Preterm birth affects approximately 1 out of every 10 births in the United States, leading to high rates of mortality and long-term negative health consequences. To investigate the mechanisms leading to preterm birth so as to develop prevention strategies, researchers have developed numerous mouse models of preterm birth. However, the lack of standard definitions for preterm birth in mice limits our field\u27s ability to compare models and make inferences about preterm birth in humans. In this review, we discuss numerous mouse preterm birth models, propose guidelines for experiments and reporting, and suggest markers that can be used to assess whether pups are premature or mature. We argue that adoption of these recommendations will enhance the utility of mice as models for preterm birth

Does a Computer Science Graduation Requirement Contribute to Increased Enrollment in Advanced Computer Science Coursework?

Prior research has shown that students pursuing Exploring Computer Science (ECS) as their first elective course were more likely to pursue another computer science course in high school, as compared to students who took a traditional course as the first course. This study investigated whether the results are consistent when students are pursuing ECS to fulfill the Chicago Public Schools\u27 graduation requirement. ECS is designed to foster deep engagement through equitable inquiry around computer science concepts. It is hypothesized that students who are fulfilling a graduation requirement will pursue additional computer science coursework at rates similar to students who were pursuing ECS as an elective course