Design, Development, and Impact of Educational Modules to Broaden Academic Research Cultures (EMBARC) for STEMM Career Development: A Pilot Project.

Though historically marginalized and first-generation college students aspire to attend college, educational equity gaps remain in transfer and pursuit of graduate degrees of science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM). The purpose of this paper is to describe the process and impact of the Educational Modules to Broaden Academic Research Cultures (EMBARC) to leverage students' community cultural wealth (CCW) and address cultural mismatch (CM) - the misalignment between the interdependent values shaped by one's family or culture and the independent values emphasized in Western post-secondary institutions and STEMM fields. Findings from evaluation of the program suggests that leveraging CCW and CM in developing educational modules can contribute to historically marginalized students' education, career and persistence in STEMM.

Eosinophilic Fasciitis: New Developments and Future Directions.

Eosinophilic fasciitis (EF), also known as Shulman's disease, is a rare, autoimmune sclerosing connective tissue disorder. The purpose of this review is to provide clinicians with a comprehensive summary of the latest information on the diagnosis and management of EF. The pathogenesis of EF is unclear; however, it is believed to involve increased fibroblast activity and interleukins linked to eosinophilia, such as interleukin (IL)-5.

Aberrant T follicular helper cells generated by T17 cell plasticity in the gut promote extraintestinal autoimmunity.

Much remains unknown regarding T follicular helper 17 (T17) cells commonly found in autoimmune patients. We previously showed that (and here ask why) egress of gut segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB)-induced T cells from Peyer's patches (PP) to systemic sites promotes arthritis. We found splenic T17 cells are gut derived.

Factors Influencing Science Career Intention: The Power of Counterspace.

The current study examined how participation in an undergraduate research experience (URE) that provides a counterspace affects sociocognitive factors (science self-efficacy, science identity, and academic self-concept) and how they, in turn, may shape science career intention in a sample of STEM undergraduate students. STEM majors from a public university in California completed surveys from 2017 to 2020 and rated their science identity, science self-efficacy, academic self-concept, and their intention to pursue a science-related research career. Structural equation modeling shows that URE participants reported higher (a) science self-efficacy, (b) science identity, and (c) academic self-concept relative to students who did not participate in the URE.

Critical Mentorship in Undergraduate Research Experience BUILDs Science Identity and Self-Efficacy.

In 2014, the NIH Diversity Program Consortium (DPC) launched an initiative to implement and evaluate novel interventions at a variety of academic institutions across the country to engage undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds in biomedically-related research. The local intervention examined in the current study provides Critical Race Theory (CRT)-informed mentoring, more broadly called critical mentoring, for its participants. We examined the relationship between critical mentoring and student outcomes.

Society for Vascular Surgery Compensation Study of Vascular Surgeons in the United States.

Objective: The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) partnered with Phairify, Inc., an organization with experience in physician compensation data compilation for several other medical specialties, to survey its membership and assess factors influencing vascular surgeon compensation.

Methods: The SVS Compensation Study Task Force developed a vascular surgery-specific survey between January 2023 and May 2023, including experience level, academic rank, bonuses, incentives, gender, race, ethnicity, geography, on-call pay, and other factors influencing overall reimbursement.

Morphea-like tattoo reaction in a patient with systemic sclerosis: Case report and review of the literature.

Background: Morphea-like tattoo reactions are rare phenomena, with few cases reported in the literature. We present a case of a morphea-like tattoo reaction and a literature review of such reactions for comparison.

Case Description: A 38-year-old woman with known history of systemic sclerosis presented with abnormal healing and skin thickening over a red tattoo.

A cost analysis of medications prescribed by vascular surgeons.

Objective: Various pharmaceutical cost options have been developed by multiple companies such as GoodRx, Amazon Pharmacy, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs (CPD), Health Warehouse, and local retail pharmacies) to curb the cost of prescription medications prices that patients are having to bear. Vascular surgeons provide long-term continuity of care to patients with vascular disease who often require long-term medical management. This study sought to compare the different pharmaceutical options available for the most prescribed medications by vascular surgeons to their patients and to understand which of them are the most cost-effective.

Oral History in Evaluation: A New Partnership to Expand and Enhance Both Fields.

Evaluators utilize a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to assess outcomes and make recommendations; however, we were unable to find any reference in the literature regarding the incorporation of oral histories for evaluation purposes. Based on our use of oral histories to evaluate a Critical Race Theory (CRT)-based undergraduate research and mentoring program, we learned how oral histories can be used effectively-and meaningfully-for evaluations seeking a deeper understanding of the program participants' lived experiences. By sharing our (and our narrators') experiences as we delved into this new methodology, as well as lessons learned about the benefits, limitations, and considerations when incorporating oral histories into evaluations, we show how both can be adapted to honor oral history while also meeting our evaluation needs.

Impact of COVID-19 on patients undergoing scheduled procedures for chronic venous disease.

ObjectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the medical landscape. Various strategies have been employed to preserve hospital beds, personal protective equipment, and other resources to accommodate the surges of COVID-19 positive patients, hospital overcapacities, and staffing shortages. This has had a dramatic effect on vascular surgical practice.

A Comparison between the Use of Patient-worn Virtual Reality in Wound Care and Hand Surgery: How Does Virtual Reality Work?

Unlabelled: As virtual reality (VR) technology becomes smaller and more affordable, it is gaining in popularity as a tool to address the patient experience of pain and anxiety during invasive procedures. In this study, we explore the effect of VR on the patient experience in two clinical environments of different anxiety levels to propose a possible mechanism of VR on pain and anxiety reduction.

Method: Twenty-five wound care patients were randomly assigned to either a VR group or non-virtual reality (NVR) group, singly blinded.

Exposing the chameleon-like nature of racism: a multidisciplinary look at critical race theory in higher education.

In higher education institutions, critical race theory (CRT) is known to be associated with fields that study racial disparities or systemic oppression such as law, education, and ethnic studies. The impression that CRT is unrelated to fields like business or computer science may have led scholars and practitioners from these disciplines to put their focus on elsewhere than on racial inequality and its implication in their research and practice, despite apparent need. To counter such fallacy, this review article-focusing primarily on the US context-discusses CRT literature in fields where its presence is less known which are nevertheless among the major domains of higher education institutions: health sciences, computer science and information technology, sports, business, and religion.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sense of Belonging and Science Outcomes among Biomedical Science Students: A Longitudinal Study.

To understand how COVID-19 impacted undergraduate research experiences (URE), the current study examined how student outcomes changed over time among biomedical science majors. In addition, this study describes how a Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research (PODER) URE program shifted entirely online in response to COVID-19. Biomedical science majors at a university in Southern California completed surveys in 2019 and 2020 and rated their science identity, science self-efficacy, and academic self-concept.

A systematic literature review of breastfeeding interventions among Black populations using the RE-AIM framework.

Background: Lactation support resources are less likely to be located in close proximity to where Black families live and there is a systemic racist health care belief that Black women prefer bottle feeding (with infant formula) over breastfeeding. Together, these lead to lower reported breastfeeding rates of Black babies compared to other racial / ethnic groups. It is imperative to have a deeper understanding of the cultural aspects as well as the underlying limitations that prevent Black women / persons from being supported to breastfeed.

Virtual Reality Improves Patient Experience and Anxiety During In-office Carpal Tunnel Release.

Background: This study examined how wide- awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) surgery in the office versus the standard operating room (OR) impacts patient experience, and the effect wide awake virtual reality (WAVR) has in conjunction with WALANT on patient experience.

Methods: This is a patient-reported outcome study of patients undergoing carpal tunnel release by a single surgeon between August 2017 and March 2021. Patients were classified by location; traditional OR versus WALANT in-office.

Use of an app-based exercise therapy program including cognitive-behavioral techniques for the management of intermittent claudication.

Objective: Clinical practice guidelines recommend supervised exercise therapy (SET) as first-line therapy for patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and intermittent claudication (IC). The Society for Vascular Surgery Appropriate Use Criteria for IC deems excercise therapy (ET) as appropriate for all patients with IC. However, compliance with recommendations for the use of ET is often poor owing to the lack of availability, patient travel requirements, and cost.