Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER) Annual Report from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022

In this annual report, we present our reflections on 2022 along with the Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (JPEER) readership trends and authorship metrics. In 2022, J-PEER published two issues in volume 12 comprised of 17 articles. The second issue of the year included a special issue on the impact of COVID-19 on education, marking the impact that the pandemic had on pre-college engineering education

Montgomery 1960: Using Technology to Teach Empathy and Perspective Taking

A primary purpose of higher education in the U.S. is to promote personally and socially responsible graduates that can lead at work and in society (AAC&U, 2005). To successfully do so, students need coaching that intentionally develops empathy, perspective taking, intercultural agility, and the capacity to make ethical decisions (Narveaz, 2006). The holistic approaches historically used to teach these skills died with classical curriculum as the research university emerged and the risk-management culture replaced our in loco parentis relationships with students (Colby & Eichman. 2005). The current legal and political climate limits genuine discussion between college students and faculty/staff mentors about how to face the ethical and intercultural challenges presented by college life and emerge a leader (Bickel & Lake, 1998). Yet colleges still need to facilitate personal and social responsibility education and coach students to use these skills to lead. The use of gamification technology can be used to promote the higher order skill development needed by college students to meet the leadership challenges of tomorrow - empathy, perspective taking, intercultural agility, and ethical decision-making. This poster presentation introduces Experience 1960 Montgomery, Alabama (an ARIS Online Virtual Reality App) that immerses the participant in the lived historical experiences of the college student leaders as they navigate the events that became the Dixon v. State of Alabama court case. This technological platform allows participants to engage with the decisions, actions, and perspectives of the governmental officials, college administrators, and student demonstrators during the 1960s student sit-ins for Civil Rights in Montgomery, Alabama. The historical leadership case study allows participants to see themselves in each of the moral leader comparators lived experiences as told by them and see the original documents and newspaper coverage of the events. The events selected for this pilot spawned two landmark legal cases—the Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education (1961) extending due process rights to students and the Sullivan v. NY Times (1964) requiring malice for journalists to libel public officials. In addition to enhancing the delivery of ELPS 351: Personally and Socially Responsible Leadership, completion of this project will provide valuable classroom and student leader training, as it aids in student understanding of the contextual factors influencing administrator and legislator action

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER) Annual Report from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023

In this annual report, we present readership trends and authorship metrics of the Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER) in 2023. J-PEER published two issues in volume 13 comprising 15 articles. These articles covered a variety of topics including student-focused participation, outcomes, and practices and teacher-focused instruments and professional development, among other topics. Finally, Provocations is launched with a special issue and will be a recurring section of J-PEER in future issues

Association between statin use, the vaginal microbiome, and Gardnerella vaginalis vaginolysin-mediated cytotoxicity.

BACKGROUND:Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the leading dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiome. The pathways leading towards the development of BV are not well understood. Gardnerella vaginalis is frequently associated with BV. G. vaginalis produces the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin (CDC), vaginolysin, which can lyse a variety of human cells and is thought to play a role in pathogenesis. Because membrane cholesterol is required for vaginolysin to function, and because HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) affect not only serum levels of cholesterol but membrane levels as well, we hypothesized that statins might affect the vaginal microbiome. METHODS:To investigate the relationship between use of the statins and the vaginal microbiome, we analyzed 16S rRNA gene taxonomic surveys performed on vaginal samples from 133 women who participated in the Vaginal Human Microbiome Project and who were taking statins at the time of sampling, 152 women who reported high cholesterol levels but were not taking statins, and 316 women who did not report high cholesterol. To examine the effect of statins on the cytolytic effect of vaginolysin, the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin (CDC) produced by Gardnerella vaginalis, we assessed the effect of simvastatin pretreatment of VK2E6/E7 vaginal epithelial cells on vaginolysin-mediated cytotoxicity. RESULTS:The mean proportion of G. vaginalis among women taking statins was significantly lower relative to women not using statins. Women using statins had higher mean proportions of Lactobacillus crispatus relative to women with normal cholesterol levels, and higher levels of Lactobacillus jensenii relative to women with high cholesterol but not taking statins. In vitro, vaginal epithelial cells pretreated with simvastatin were relatively resistant to vaginolysin and this effect was inhibited by cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS:In this cross-sectional study, statin use was associated with reduced proportions of G. vaginalis and greater proportions of beneficial lactobacilli within the vaginal microbiome. The negative association between statin use and G. vaginalis may be related to inhibition of vaginolysin function

Statin use affects community state type.

<p>Statin use affects community state type.</p

Microbial community profiles of women grouped by statin use.

<p>Stacked bar plots showing vaginal microbial community profiles from 316 women who did not report high cholesterol and who were not taking statins, 152 women reported having high cholesterol but who were taking statins, and 133 women who were taking statins. The profiles are grouped by the most abundant species and are ordered by decreasing proportion of the dominant bacterium.</p