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INTRODUCTION: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the leading causes of death among Asian Americans. Despite being a culturally diverse racial group with differences in history, language, religion, and values, Asian Americans are often viewed as a monolith. With the high prevalence rate of T2D, a careful examination of self-management interventions across Asian Americans is needed to develop effective and culturally sensitive interventions. OBJECTIVE: To describe existing literature by examining study characteristics, different intervention components, and outcome measures of various T2D interventions among Asian Americans. METHODS: Using Arksey and OMalleys framework to ground this review, six online databases were used to identify studies. RESULTS: A total of 18 publications were included. Thirteen studies were published after 2013, with 44% and 22% of these studies focused on Chinese Americans and Korean Americans. We found a lack of geographic diversity in the location of the studies. Majority of the participants were females. Most of the interventions were implemented in person. Licensed health care providers were the most common interventionists, with a number of studies using community health workers. Outcome measures focused on three key areas: physiological, psychosocial and behavioral, and program-related outcomes. Many of the studies measured changes in HbA1C, self-efficacy, distress, depression, and quality of life. Overall, we saw improvements in physiological measures in most of the studies. For example, majority of the studies showed a decline in the participants HbA1C. Most studies showed an increase or improvement in healthy behaviors. Studies that measured efficacy, knowledge, attitude, motivation, quality of life, or general health showed improvement from baseline. All the studies that measured distress or depression showed a reduction of symptoms postintervention. CONCLUSION: Overall, we found that culturally tailored interventions that focus on specific Asian American subpopulations saw an improvement in physiological, psychosocial, or behavioral measures. There were several gaps in the existing T2D self-management programs or interventions among Asian Americans studied in the United States. Based on our analysis, we recommend when designing or implementing self-management interventions among Asian Americans, considerations should be made for targeted recruitment for understudied Asian American subgroups, gender, and location.

Cancers display significant heterogeneity with respect to tissue of origin, driver mutations, and other features of the surrounding tissue. It is likely that individual tumors engage common patterns of the immune system-here "archetypes"-creating prototypical non-destructive tumor immune microenvironments (TMEs) and modulating tumor-targeting. To discover the dominant immune system archetypes, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Immunoprofiler Initiative (IPI) processed 364 individual tumors across 12 cancer types using standardized protocols. Computational clustering of flow cytometry and transcriptomic data obtained from cell sub-compartments uncovered dominant patterns of immune composition across cancers. These archetypes were profound insofar as they also differentiated tumors based upon unique immune and tumor gene-expression patterns. They also partitioned well-established classifications of tumor biology. The IPI resource provides a template for understanding cancer immunity as a collection of dominant patterns of immune organization and provides a rational path forward to learn how to modulate these to improve therapy.

The present research verified the role motivational factors play in the learning process, using an undergraduate Natural Sciences course. The overall aim was to evaluate the motivation of these students, determine if motivation varied with the number of years of university attended and identify which motivational factors influence the learning of Natural Sciences. In total, 73 students, during different course offerings from 2012 to 2017, participated in the research, which corresponded to 56.5% of the total enrollment from that time frame. A questionnaire, which was organized into two parts, was employed for data collection, and scored using the Likert scale. In the first part, the following motivational factors were assessed: intrinsic motivation, self-determination, career motivation, self-efficacy and grade motivation. In the second part, the teaching strategies and activities utilized during the course were evaluated with regards to their motivational character. It was found that a majority of students were motivated and that the level of motivation increased throughout the course, being driven by intrinsic factors, that indicated that the students were trying harder to learn scientific concepts, rather than seeking approval and rewards. Furthermore, it was found that participation in projects was the most motivational activity, followed by the academic week and internships.

Critical incidents are unanticipated challenges experienced in the context of practice-teaching, by teacher-interns which are turning points for prospective improvements later on in the profession. With this in mind, the researchers aimed to identify the common persistent critical incidents experienced by pre-service physical educators (PSPEs) from a certain Philippine higher education institution during their off-campus teaching. One hundred and fifty-eight (158) pre-service physical educators from a teacher education institution in Pampanga, Philippines composed the pool of prospective key informants. From this, they were streamlined to ten (10) to participate in a focus group discussion; particularly those with extreme cases. The transcriptions were analyzed using content analysis and trustworthiness of data was also ensured. The emerging critical incidents dealt within the challenges encountered in terms of instruction, the students, and their cooperating-teachers. However, their coping strategies in managing these incidents included their self-determination, acceptance, motivation; behavior management; and professional guidance. It is of significance that these incidents be explored to improve the delivery of experiential learning courses relevant to the ever-changing educational mainstream.

Skeletal muscle anatomy and physiology are sexually dimorphic but molecular underpinnings and muscle-specificity are not well-established. Variances in metabolic health, fitness level, sedentary behavior, genetics, and age make it difficult to discern inherent sex effects in humans. Therefore, mice under well-controlled conditions were used to determine female and male (n = 19/sex) skeletal muscle fiber type/size and capillarity in superficial and deep gastrocnemius (GA-s, GA-d), soleus (SOL), extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and plantaris (PLT), and transcriptome patterns were also determined (GA, SOL). Summed muscle weight strongly correlated with lean body mass (r2  = 0.67, p 6000 (GA) and >4000 (SOL) mRNAs differentially-expressed by sex; only a minority of these were shared across GA and SOL. Pathway analyses revealed differences in ribosome biology, transcription, and RNA processing. Curation of sexually dimorphic muscle transcripts shared in GA and SOL, and literature datasets from mice and humans, identified 11 genes that we propose are canonical to innate sex differences in muscle: Xist, Kdm6a, Grb10, Oas2, Rps4x (higher, females) and Ddx3y, Kdm5d, Irx3, Wwp1, Aldh1a1, Cd24a (higher, males). These genes and those with the highest "sex-biased" expression in our study do not contain estrogen-response elements (exception, Greb1), but a subset are proposed to be regulated through androgen response elements. We hypothesize that innate muscle sexual dimorphism in mice and humans is triggered and then maintained by classic X inactivation (Xist, females) and Y activation (Ddx3y, males), with coincident engagement of X encoded (Kdm6a) and Y encoded (Kdm5d) demethylase epigenetic regulators that are complemented by modulation at some regions of the genome that respond to androgen.

Skeletal muscle anatomy and physiology are sexually dimorphic but molecular underpinnings and muscle-specificity are not well-established. Variances in metabolic health, fitness level, sedentary behavior, genetics, and age make it difficult to discern inherent sex effects in humans. Therefore, mice under well-controlled conditions were used to determine female and male (n = 19/sex) skeletal muscle fiber type/size and capillarity in superficial and deep gastrocnemius (GA-s, GA-d), soleus (SOL), extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and plantaris (PLT), and transcriptome patterns were also determined (GA, SOL). Summed muscle weight strongly correlated with lean body mass (r2  = 0.67, p 6000 (GA) and >4000 (SOL) mRNAs differentially-expressed by sex; only a minority of these were shared across GA and SOL. Pathway analyses revealed differences in ribosome biology, transcription, and RNA processing. Curation of sexually dimorphic muscle transcripts shared in GA and SOL, and literature datasets from mice and humans, identified 11 genes that we propose are canonical to innate sex differences in muscle: Xist, Kdm6a, Grb10, Oas2, Rps4x (higher, females) and Ddx3y, Kdm5d, Irx3, Wwp1, Aldh1a1, Cd24a (higher, males). These genes and those with the highest "sex-biased" expression in our study do not contain estrogen-response elements (exception, Greb1), but a subset are proposed to be regulated through androgen response elements. We hypothesize that innate muscle sexual dimorphism in mice and humans is triggered and then maintained by classic X inactivation (Xist, females) and Y activation (Ddx3y, males), with coincident engagement of X encoded (Kdm6a) and Y encoded (Kdm5d) demethylase epigenetic regulators that are complemented by modulation at some regions of the genome that respond to androgen.

In this study, 249 users of the "TOEFL ITP"® assessment series (e.g., admissions officers, English-language teachers, academic staff) in Japan, Mexico, and Indonesia were surveyed about their uses and opinions of TOEFL ITP scores, followed by in-depth interviews with 21 of these users. Overall, the most common use of the test was as an exit requirement from English-language programs to demonstrate proficiency in English listening and reading. The majority of participants saw TOEFL ITP scores as very useful indicators of students' English-language proficiency. Interviews helped clarify the user needs met by this assessment and how test scores were actually applied. Study participants indicated that they need a relatively inexpensive and practical English-language assessment that also provides them with enough information to make decisions about test takers' proficiency in all relevant skill areas. Some of the ways interviewees talked about using TOEFL ITP scores were consistent with the recommendations of Educational Testing Service (ETS), while other uses (e.g., for workplace applications) were more questionable, as they might imply potentially higher stakes than were intended for this test. The results of the study highlight areas where TOEFL ITP users might need additional informational support with regard to score interpretation and use.

This study explored the perceptions of pre-service physical educators (PSPEs) on the KaPEhan strategy, a collaborative virtual platform session to complement classroom-based instruction. This study made use of a qualitative action research design. The action undertaken was implemented among PSPEs of a teacher education institution in Pampanga, Philippines. A purposive sample of those who completed the sessions were asked to voluntarily participate in a structured interview. Aided by thematic analysis, findings revealed that the strategy was viewed positively by the PSPEs in terms of their academic and personal experiences. Although challenges such as conflicts in schedule and inevitable technical glitches were notable, the students recommended that more participants should be encouraged to participate and called for the continuity of the enjoyable sessions. The intervention may be a useful strategy that can be adapted by other teacher education institutions to ensure functional use of leisure time for learning.

The Political Identity and Relational Impact Scale (PIRI) is a self-report scale of personal and relational responses to political conflict. This article describes the development and exploratory factor analysis of the scale. The selected model consists of 30 items and a four-factor structure with high internal consistency.

Dual language learners (DLLs) and the various educational programs that serve them are increasing in number across the country. This framework lays out a conceptual approach for dual language assessment tasks designed to measure the language and literacy skills of young DLLs entering kindergarten in the United States. Although our examples focus on Spanish-English DLLs, we anticipate that our recommendations could be broadly applied to other language combinations with appropriate adaptations for each language.

Abstract Objective The primary objective of this study is to describe associations between emergency department (ED)‐to‐skilled nursing facility (SNF) transition and ED length‐of‐stay (LOS). The secondary objective is to explore how social determinants of health (SDOH) influence ED‐to‐SNF transition visit parameters. In 2020, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the “COVID‐19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers” eliminating the requirement of a 3‐day qualifying hospital stay before SNF placement. The waiver allowed ED patients to be transitioned directly to an SNF from the ED. Methods We conducted a descriptive retrospective case‐control study of adult patients who sought care in the University of North Carolina Hospitals (UNCH) ED between March 1, 2020, and March 1, 2022, lived in a non‐SNF residence before their ED visit, and were transitioned directly to an SNF from the ED (n1 = 27), compared with a group seen in the ED and admitted to hospital for SNF placement (n2 = 54). Results The ED‐to‐SNF group experienced a significantly longer ED LOS compared to the ED‐to‐Inpatient‐to‐SNF group: 72.8 hours (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.2–86.4) compared to 14.5 hours (95% CI, 12.1–16.9). We found no significant differences in SDOH between the ED‐to‐SNF group and the ED‐to‐Inpatient‐to‐SNF group. Conclusion Patients who transition from the ED to an SNF experience long ED stays that may adversely affect health and well‐being. Transitioning directly from the ED to an SNF may contribute to ED boarding and overcrowding.

The linker of the nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex is formed by the conserved interactions between Sad-1 and UNC-84 (SUN) and Klarsicht, ANC-1, SYNE homology (KASH) domain proteins, providing a physical coupling between the nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton that mediates the transfer of physical forces across the nuclear envelope. The LINC complex can perform distinct cellular functions by pairing various KASH domain proteins with the same SUN domain protein. For example, in Caenorhabditis elegans, SUN protein UNC-84 binds to two KASH proteins UNC-83 and ANC-1 to mediate nuclear migration and anchorage, respectively. In addition to distinct cytoplasmic domains, the luminal KASH domain also varies among KASH domain proteins of distinct functions. In this study, we combined in vivo C. elegans genetics and in silico molecular dynamics simulations to understand the relation between the length and amino acid composition of the luminal KASH domain, and the function of the SUN-KASH complex. We show that longer KASH domains can withstand and transfer higher forces and interact with the membrane through a conserved membrane proximal EEDY domain that is unique to longer KASH domains. In agreement with our models, our in vivo results show that swapping the KASH domains of ANC-1 and UNC-83, or shortening the KASH domain of ANC-1, both result in a nuclear anchorage defect in C. elegans.