Utilizing a medical school outreach program to help high school students explore the impact of food security and ultraprocessed foods on health risks.

We offered an enrichment program for high school students with the theme, "The Environment, Health, and You" during the Summer of 2022 and the Spring of 2023. We developed several educational modules for high school students that provided them with an opportunity to learn and explore the foundations of physiological systems, nutrient needs to maintain health, and the impact that environmental factors can have on them. The modules included videos, discussion boards, games, readings, and labs.

White Blood Cell and C-Reactive Protein Levels Are Similar in Obese Hispanic White Women Reporting Adherence to a Healthy Plant, Unhealthy Plant, or Animal-Based Diet, unlike in Obese Non-Hispanic White Women.

While modifying dietary patterns can reduce the effects of inflammation in obesity, less is known about the impact of dietary patterns on inflammation levels in women of different ethnicities. This study investigated the link between dietary patterns and mediators associated with inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cells (WBCs), among obese Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White women. CRP and WBC counts were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2003 and 2010.

Self-directed learning assessment practices in undergraduate health professions education: a systematic review.

Purpose: The goal of this systematic review was to examine self-directed learning (SDL) assessment practices in undergraduate health professions education.

Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science) to retrieve English-language articles published between 2015 and July of 2022, investigating assessment of SDL learning outcomes. Extracted data included the sample size, field of study, study design, SDL activity type, SDL assessment method, number of SDL assessments used, study quality, number of SDL components present utilising the framework the authors developed, and SDL activity outcomes.

Exploration of a Collaborative Self-Directed Learning Model in Medical Education.

Purpose: One of the aims of medical education is to generate lifelong learners, leading to the identification of self-directed learning (SDL) as an essential component of medical education. While SDL is focused on an individual learner, collaboration is critically important in medicine. We developed an online course using the collaborative SDL (CSDL) framework.

Using What's at Hand: The Creation of an Online Microbiology Outreach Program.

Outreach programs lead to increased student interest to pursue careers in science fields. However, hosting existing programs during a pandemic has proven difficult. We used "The Seven Principles of Good Practice," which emphasizes interactions between the instructor and students, feedback, and peer interactions, to design an online microbiology program for high school students.

Test Corrections Appear To Benefit Lower-Achieving Students in an Introduction to Biology Major Course: Results of a Single-Site, One-Semester Study.

Student-performed assessment correction is a well-established practice in the field of teaching and learning. This practice engages students in the feedback process and promotes active learning, which may be particularly important when serving underrepresented minority students. There is a dearth of research into the role of assessment correction in student learning outcomes (SLOs) in science courses, particularly at minority-serving institutions.

Stressed: The Unfolded Protein Response in T Cell Development, Activation, and Function.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a highly conserved pathway that allows cells to respond to stress in the endoplasmic reticulum caused by an accumulation of misfolded and unfolded protein. This is of great importance to secretory cells because, in order for proteins to traffic from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), they need to be folded appropriately. While a wealth of literature has implicated UPR in immune responses, less attention has been given to the role of UPR in T cell development and function.

Treatment of established TH2 cells with 4μ8c, an inhibitor of IRE1α, blocks IL-5 but not IL-4 secretion.

Background: T cell activation induces ER stress and upregulates Inositol Requiring Enzyme 1 alpha (IRE1α), an activator of the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway. Inhibition of IRE1α RNase activity in activated CD4 splenocytes from naïve mice, via treatment of the cells with the commercially available drug 4μ8c upon activation, results in the reduction of the secretion of proteins IL-5, IL-4, and IL-13. Prior to this work, it was unknown if 4μ8c could inhibit TH2 cytokines in established TH2 cells, cells that are crucial in promoting disease in severe asthma.

The serine-threonine kinase inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) promotes IL-4 production in T helper cells.

The inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) is a serine-threonine kinase that plays crucial roles in activating the unfolded protein response. Studies suggest that IRE1α is activated during thymic T cell development and in effector CD8(+) T cells. However, its role in regulating T helper cell differentiation remains unknown.

Analysis of sirtuin 1 expression reveals a molecular explanation of IL-2-mediated reversal of T-cell tolerance.

The type III histone deacetylase sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) is a suppressor of both innate and adoptive immune responses. We have recently found that Sirt1 expression is highly induced in anergic T cells. However, the transcriptional program to regulate Sirt1 expression in T cells remains uncharacterized.

Lck regulates IL-10 expression in memory-like Th1 cells.

The Src family kinase Lck is thought to facilitate Th2 differentiation; however, its role in Th1 cells has not been well explored. Using mice that lack Lck in mature T cells, we find that lck(-/-) Th1 skewed cells have normal expression of T-bet and produce IFN-γ at WT levels. However, there is a 3-fold increase in IL-10 producing cells in the mutant cultures.

Lck mediates Th2 differentiation through effects on T-bet and GATA-3.

The Src family kinase Lck has been shown to be crucial in T cell signaling and development. However, its role in Th effector functions is not well understood. Lck has previously been shown to play a role in the cytokine expression of Th2 cells, but the mechanism by which Lck influences Th2 effector functions is unknown.