The impacts of recurring supportive interactions on couples’ psychological, relational, and health outcomes in the context of rheumatic diseases

Supportive communication challenges have been well-documented by previous research in the context of chronic illness management. However, few communication studies have examined the dyadic nature of coping with chronic illnesses through social support. Furthermore, scholarship in this area has often privileged social support as prosocial and has been largely atheoretical in nature (Vangelisti, 2009). Thus, the study set out to address these gaps in the literature and was guided by the theory of illness trajectories (Corbin & Strauss, 1985; 1988), face and politeness theories (Brown & Levinson, 1987; Goffman, 1967) and the stress adaptation model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). The purpose of the study was to examine the transactional nature of supportive interactions in the context of rheumatic disorders via testing of two structural models. The path analysis explored associations between frequency of support seeking and quality of provision along with both members’ subsequent psychosocial outcomes. Couples (n = 229) individually completed an online survey and were compensated $10 for their participation. Results indicated patients’ support seeking (as perceived by partners) was negatively associated with quality of support provision (as perceived by patients) and positively associated with partners’ caregiver burden and relational satisfaction. Caregiver burden was negatively related to partners’ subjective physical health and positively related to their psychological distress. Finally, quality of support provision was positively associated with patients’ relational satisfaction and subjective physical health. The variables in the first structural model accounted for 18% of patients’ perceptions of their partners’ quality of support provision and 38% of patients’ relational satisfaction, while the variables in the second structural model accounted for 56% of quality of support provision, 53% of partners’ caregiver burden, 29% of partners’ psychological distress, and 21% of partners’ relational satisfaction. Findings from the study lend credibility to enveloping the construct of social support in the theory of illness trajectories as a form of “work” and suggest that partners view support provision as an arduous task in the context of chronic illness management. The results also provide a more nuanced understanding of the costs and rewards of supportive interactions for both patients and their romantic partners.  Communication Studie

Improving the Basic Communication Course: Assessing the Core Components

This study seeks to examine the effective means of assessing whether goals and objectives set within a basic communication course are met. The study outlines specific techniques used to evaluate learning outcomes to ensure that the course retains its relevance and general education status. A pretest-posttest design is utilized to determine whether students’ scores on cognitive, behavioral, and affective assessment instruments improve from the beginning to the end of the semester. Results indicate students’ scores improved on each of the primary learning indicators for the course including: an assessment of communication knowledge, conflict management skills, and intercultural communication apprehension. Discussion and implications for the basic communication course are included

Assessing Student Public Speaking Competence in the Hybrid Basic Communication Course

Public speaking remains one of the most sought-after skill sets by employers. However, a method to accurately assess these public speaking skills has long been debated by educators and scholars alike (Morreale, Hugenberg, & Worley, 2006). This study sought to ex-amine the assessment tools used to demonstrate student learning of public speaking skills in the hybrid orientation of the basic communication course. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the validity of two assessment instruments (Informative Presentation Assessment Form and Persuasive Presentation Assessment Form) measuring student public speaking competency. Results established concurrent validity of the two assessment instruments used to measure students’ public speaking competency for the informative and persuasive presentations. Another goal of the cur-rent study was to assess the change in student public speaking behaviors after receiving public speaking training. A pre-post design was used to determine whether trained or untrained students would improve more throughout the course of the semester. Results revealed the trained group experienced a greater increase in competency than the untrained group. Discussion and implications for future research are included

Associations between weight loss attempts, weight-related stress and body image during childhood and adolescence in children with parental obesity

Background: Few longitudinal studies have investigated the role of weight-loss attempts or weight-related stress on body image during childhood. We examined whether weight-loss attempts and weight-related stress are associated with weight misperception and body dissatisfaction across childhood and adolescence. Methods: Data were drawn from the Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth (QUALITY) cohort of Canadian children with parental obesity (8–10 years: n = 630; 10–12 years: n = 564; 15–17 years: n = 377). We assessed weight-loss attempts and weight-related stress at baseline and first follow-up, and perceived and desired silhouettes at first and second follow-up with questionnaires. Weight misperception consisted of the difference in BMI z-score (zBMI) from the perceived silhouette and the measured zBMI. Body dissatisfaction consisted of the discordance between perceived and desired silhouettes. We estimated multivariable mixed-effects regression models adjusting for age, sex, pubertal stage, parental BMI and education, and sport-based teasing. Results: Weight loss attempts were associated with a higher weight misperception score (ever tried, beta [95% confidence intervals; CI]: 0.13 [0.01–0.24]) and with 2.13 times higher desire to be thinner (95% CI: 1.39–3.26) at the subsequent follow-up. Similarly, children stressed by their weight had a higher misperception score (beta [95% CI]: 0.15 [0.02–0.27]) and greater desire to be thinner at the next follow-up (odds ratio [95% CI]: 1.73 [0.999–3.00]). Conclusions: Weight-loss attempts and weight-related stress in children and adolescents are associated with weight misperception and body dissatisfaction, supporting empowerment and counseling focusing on healthy eating behaviors and a positive body image

Faculty computer-mediated communication apprehension during shift to emergency remote teaching: implications for teacher-student interactions and faculty organizational outcomes

Guided by the model of faculty readiness for online teaching (FROT), the goal of the current study was to investigate the influence of instructors' knowledge (e.g., online teaching preparation), confidence (e.g., computer-mediated communication apprehension; CMCA), and attitudes about online teaching (e.g., perceived usefulness) on their communicative and organizational outcomes (e.g., communication frequency and satisfaction, job satisfaction, motivation). We recruited 206 college instructors from a variety of institutions to report on their experiences during the transition to emergency remote teaching in the spring 2020 academic semester. Results from the study suggest that instructors' CMCA was a significant and negative predictor of instructors' communication satisfaction with online student interactions, job satisfaction, and motivation to teach after controlling for the other predictors in the model. Taken together, the findings suggest that CMCA may serve as a barrier to instructor communication competence in online teaching and may have deleterious impacts on instructor affect toward their positions. Ultimately, we recommend that faculty workshops aimed at developing online teaching competence should specifically address instructor dispositional and affective characteristics such as CMCA to prevent faculty vulnerability

Complete Genome Sequences of Cluster A Mycobacteriophages BobSwaget, Fred313, KADY, Lokk, MyraDee, Stagni, and StepMih

Seven mycobacteriophages from distinct geographical locations were isolated, using Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 as the host, and then purified and sequenced. All of the genomes are related to cluster A mycobacteriophages, BobSwaget and Lokk in subcluster A2; Fred313, KADY, Stagni, and StepMih in subcluster A3; and MyraDee in subcluster A18, the first phage to be assigned to that subcluster

OATP1B2 deficiency protects against paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity

Paclitaxel is among the most widely used anticancer drugs and is known to cause a dose-limiting peripheral neurotoxicity, the initiating mechanisms of which remain unknown. Here, we identified the murine solute carrier organic anion–transporting polypeptide B2 (OATP1B2) as a mediator of paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity. Additionally, using established tests to assess acute and chronic paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity, we found that genetic or pharmacologic knockout of OATP1B2 protected mice from mechanically induced allodynia, thermal hyperalgesia, and changes in digital maximal action potential amplitudes. The function of this transport system was inhibited by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor nilotinib through a noncompetitive mechanism, without compromising the anticancer properties of paclitaxel. Collectively, our findings reveal a pathway that explains the fundamental basis of paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity, with potential implications for its therapeutic management

Instructional Models for Course-Based Research Experience (CRE) Teaching

The course-based research experience (CRE) with its documented educational benefits is increasingly being implemented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. This article reports on a study that was done over a period of 3 years to explicate the instructional processes involved in teaching an undergraduate CRE. One hundred and two instructors from the established and large multi-institutional SEA-PHAGES program were surveyed for their understanding of the aims and practices of CRE teaching. This was followed by large-scale feedback sessions with the cohort of instructors at the annual SEA Faculty Meeting and subsequently with a small focus group of expert CRE instructors. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the survey data were analyzed for the aims of inquiry instruction and pedagogical practices used to achieve these goals. The results characterize CRE inquiry teaching as involving three instructional models: 1) being a scientist and generating data; 2) teaching procedural knowledge; and 3) fostering project ownership. Each of these models is explicated and visualized in terms of the specific pedagogical practices and their relationships. The models present a complex picture of the ways in which CRE instruction is conducted on a daily basis and can inform instructors and institutions new to CRE teaching

Boosting Whole-Grain Utilization in the Consumer Market: A Case Study of the Oldways Whole Grains Council’s Stamped Product Database

Whole grains are a vital part of a healthy diet, yet there are insufficient data on the wholegrain content of commercial food products. The purpose of this research is to examine the long-term change in (1) measured whole grains in food products, (2) Whole Grain Stamp usage and (3) the prominence of whole-grain ingredients and product categories, across the United States and Latin America. These changes were quantified by analyzing the Oldways Whole Grains Council’s (WGC) Stamped Product Database from 2007 to 2020. Mean whole grains increased 36-76%, from 19 grams to 25.8 grams per serving in the U.S. and 18.1 grams to 31.9 grams per serving in Latin America. Whole Grain Stamp usage worldwide has increased from 250 products in 2005 to more than 13,000 products in 2020. These findings suggest that manufacturers are increasing the percentage of the grain that is whole in their products and developing more whole-grain products for consumers, thus providing an opportunity for consumers to meet national-level whole-grain recommendations