Incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Content Into Bioengineering Curricula: A Program-Level Approach.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are interconnected with bioengineering, yet have historically been absent from accreditation standards and curricula. Toward educating DEI-competent bioengineers and meeting evolving accreditation requirements, we took a program-level approach to incorporate, catalog, and assess DEI content through the bioengineering undergraduate program. To support instructors in adding DEI content and inclusive pedagogy, our team developed a DEI planning worksheet and surveyed instructors pre- and post-course.

Fostering Community and Inclusion in a Team-Based Hybrid Bioengineering Lab Course.

Unlabelled: As cornerstones of biomedical engineering and bioengineering undergraduate programs, hands-on laboratory experiences promote key skill development and student engagement. Lab courses often involve team-based activities and close communication with instructors, allowing students to build connection and community. Necessitated by the pandemic, changes to class delivery format presented unprecedented challenges to student inclusion and engagement, especially for students from underrepresented minority backgrounds.

Application of Components of the Massachusetts' Sports Concussion Regulations to All Students With Concussion: A Survey of School Nurses.

Appropriate management by schools of all students with a concussion, regardless of the cause, has not received the same attention as sports-related concussions. Focus groups conducted with Massachusetts School Nurses in 2015 found that some had applied protocols required in the state's sports concussion regulations to all students with concussion, not just student athletes. We surveyed high school nurses in Massachusetts to examine (1) the extent of this practice and (2) the extent to which protocols for all students with concussion are included in school policies.

Older adult fall prevention practices among primary care providers at accountable care organizations: A pilot study.

Background: Falls are a serious and common problem among older adults. Low-tech, inexpensive, community-based fall prevention programs have been shown to be both effective and cost effective, however, these programs are not well-integrated into clinical practice.

Research Design: We surveyed primary care providers at a convenience sample of two accountable care organizations in Massachusetts to assess their beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and practices relative to fall risk assessment and intervention for their older patients.

Large mammal declines and the incipient loss of mammal-bird mutualisms in an African savanna ecosystem.

Over the past half-century, large mammal populations have declined substantially throughout East Africa, mainly due to habitat loss and unsustainable direct exploitation. While it has been acknowledged that the loss of large mammals can have direct and cascading effects on community composition and ecosystem characteristics, limited quantitative work has been done on how declines of large herbivore populations impacts the abundance of mutualistic symbionts. Using a space-for-time observational approach, we quantified the large mammal community alongside the densities, host preferences and behaviors of mutualistic red-billed oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorhynchus), and yellow-billed oxpeckers (Buphagus africanus) in northern Tanzania.

Older adult falls prevention behaviors 60 days post-discharge from an urban emergency department after treatment for a fall.

Background: Falls are a common and debilitating health problem for older adults. Older adults are often treated and discharged home by emergency department (ED)-based providers with the hope they will receive falls prevention resources and referrals from their primary care provider. This descriptive study investigated falls prevention activities, including interactions with primary care providers, among community-dwelling older adults who were discharged home after presenting to an ED with a fall-related injury.

Evaluation of Implementation of Massachusetts Sports Concussion Regulations: Results of Focus Groups With School Nurses and Athletic Trainers.

In 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health conducted focus groups with school nurses (SNs) and athletic trainers (ATs) from Massachusetts middle and high schools to assess implementation of legislated regulations relative to the management of students' head injuries incurred during extracurricular sports. Four tape-recorded focus groups were conducted by experienced facilitators. Lists of themes were synthesized by investigators for each focus group.

A statewide baseline inventory of evidence-based fall prevention programs for older adults.

Background: The Massachusetts (MA) Department of Public Health engaged the Injury Prevention Center at Boston Medical Center to develop a statewide baseline (2012) inventory of evidence-based (EB) community falls prevention programs for community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: A web-based survey of organizations (n = 825) serving older adults was deployed in two parts. The Directors' survey determined if a falls prevention program had been offered in 2012, the salience (rating of importance) of falls prevention for the organization, and intention to offer future falls prevention programming.

Savings in acute care costs if all older adults treated for fall-related injuries completed matter of balance.

Background: Falls among older adults are a common and serious public health problem. Evidence-based fall prevention programs delivered in community settings and targeting older adults living independently are increasingly deployed throughout the nation. These programs tend to be offered by public and private organizations that serve older adults, and recruitment usually occurs through direct marketing to the target population, rather than through referrals from healthcare providers.

Evidence for selection on a chordate histocompatibility locus.

Allorecognition is the ability of an organism to differentiate self or close relatives from unrelated individuals. The best known applications of allorecognition are the prevention of inbreeding in hermaphroditic species (e.g.

Attenuation of ephrinB2 reverse signaling decreases vascularized area and preretinal vascular tuft formation in the murine model of oxygen-induced retinopathy.

Purpose: EphB4 and ephrinB2 are known key regulators of retinal vascular development, but due to their capacity for bidirectional signaling, delineation of their individual roles in this process remains unclear. To better dissect out individual contributions, a model of proliferative retinopathy in mice with attenuated ephrinB2 reverse signaling was studied. It was hypothesized that endothelial ephrinB2 reverse signaling regulates hypoxia-induced capillary sprouting, as well as the pathologic formation of neovascular tufts in postnatal retinal microvascular networks.

Chronic whole-body hypoxia induces intussusceptive angiogenesis and microvascular remodeling in the mouse retina.

Currently, little is known about the response of the adult retinal microvasculature to hypoxia. To test the hypothesis that chronic systemic hypoxia induces angiogenesis and microvascular remodeling in the adult mouse retina, adult 10-week old female C57Bl/6 mice were exposed to 10% O(2) for 2 or 3 weeks. After hypoxia exposure, retinas were harvested, whole-mounted, and processed for immunohistochemistry.

IFATS collection: The role of human adipose-derived stromal cells in inflammatory microvascular remodeling and evidence of a perivascular phenotype.

A growing body of literature suggests that human adipose-derived stromal cells (hASCs) possess developmental plasticity both in vitro and in vivo, and might represent a viable cell source for therapeutic angiogenesis and tissue engineering. We investigate their phenotypic similarity to perivascular cell types, ability to contribute to in vivo microvascular remodeling, and ability to modulate vascular stability. We evaluated hASC surface expression of vascular and stem/progenitor cell markers in vitro, as well as any effects of platelet-derived growth factor B chain (PDGF-BB) and vascular endothelial growth factor 165 on in vitro hASC migration.

EphB4 expression along adult rat microvascular networks: EphB4 is more than a venous specific marker.

Objective: EphrinB2 and EphB4 are considered to be markers of arterial/venous identity during embryonic development. However, the expression patterns of these arterial/venous-specific markers in adult microvascular networks remain unclear. The objective of this study was to characterize the cellular distribution of EphB4 expression along the hierarchy of unstimulated and remodeling adult rat mesenteric microvascular networks.