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Cigarette smoke induces an inflammatory response in the lungs by recruiting inflammatory cells, leading to lung diseases such as lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pulmonary fibrosis. Existing inhalation exposure methods for assessing the adverse effects of cigarette smoke require expensive equipment and are labor‐intensive. Therefore, we attempted to develop a novel method to assess these adverse effects using intratracheal instillation (ITI) of whole cigarette smoke condensate (WCSC). The WCSC (0, 5, 10, or 20 mg/mL) was administered by ITI once daily for 6 or 12 days using an automatic video instillator. Repeated WCSC ITI increased the lung weight, and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1), neutrophil, and lymphocyte levels within bronchoalveolar lavage fluid compared to the control. In the histopathological analysis of the lung tissue, a mild inflammatory response was observed in the 6 and 12 days 20 mg/mL WCSC exposure groups. The genome‐wide RNA‐seq expression patterns revealed that inflammatory and immune response‐related genes, such as the chemokine signaling pathway, Th1/Th2 cell differentiation, and cytokine‐cytokine receptor interaction, were employed following WCSC exposure. In addition, MCP‐1 was time‐dependent and increased in the 10 mg/mL exposure group compared to the control group. These results suggested that the WCSC might induce the potential pulmonary inflammatory response. Furthermore, we proposed that ITI may be a rapid and effective method of evaluating the adverse effects of WCSC within a short exposure period (less than 2 weeks), and it can be used to evaluate cigarette inhalation toxicity studies as an alternative method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korea operates exclusive bus lanes (XBLs) on many of its expressways. As XBLs convert one lane of regular-use traffic into bus-only traffic, they have a large impact on traffic flow, so careful judgment is required to determine if the operation is effective. However, XBLs have been operated based on only political judgment due to the lack of standards for the operation of expressway XBLs. Therefore, we sought to establish standards for the operation of expressway XBLs using the micro-traffic simulation program VISSIM and the multi-criteria value function methodology. Various scenarios were established based on traffic volume changes of passenger vehicles and bus traffic of four- and five-lane expressway networks. Through an expert survey, the average speed and speed-deviation values, which are the criteria for evaluating operational efficiency and safety, were determined. Also, value points were converted using average speed and speed deviation extracted from the simulation. In addition, quantitative operation standards were established using the converted value scores. Using the results of this study, we established standards for the operation of the XBLs and presented guidelines for related agencies such as police, bus groups, and corporations. The National Police have prepared guidelines for the operation of the XBLs. Citing the results of this study, the new guidelines were implemented in February 2021, and sections of some XBLs have been abolished. Through this study, quantitative standards for the operation of XBLs, one of the management lane techniques necessary for sustainable highway operation, were prepared and applied to actual highways. By properly applying the newly applied guidelines according to quantitative standards, there will be effects of reducing traffic congestion, improving travel time, and enhancing environmental characteristics such as exhaust gas emission. It is also expected to have a positive effect on safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student loans have become a social-financial issue in the United States. This study uses a nationally representative dataset to examine the association between financial socialization and student loan borrowing behavior of individuals after controlling a number of different socio-demographic factors. Results show that the financial burdens of college education, such as borrowing and the dollar amounts of a loan, are higher for Blacks, however, their college attendance is significantly lower than Whites. Blacks are more independent and receive less financial support from family and relatives than Whites. The wealth gap that exists between Black and White parents may contribute to the disparity. Additional financial resources for higher education as well as financial education and counseling may be needed to create better academic access for the vulnerable underserved groups including minority students.

This article aims to formulate and answer the question of how insights from poststructuralism can inform our pedagogy of reflection that is based on the inseparability between theory and practice. To meaningfully situate this discussion in the context of preservice teachers' reflection on their community-based field experience, we draw on our own teaching experiences in the U.S. early childhood teacher education programs. In this article, we provide illustrative examples of several strategies we have found useful in helping preservice teachers engage with poststructurally inspired, theoretical reflection or reflective practice to examine their multiple and competing discourses that shape their understandings, relationships, and interactions with themselves and the children in their field sites such as Head Start programs and homeless shelters. In this process, we highlight how preservice teachers began to rethink their "at risk" discourse concerning children, coming from certain racial/ethnic, language, and social economic class backgrounds. Going beyond instrumental view of practical (ir)relevance of theory in the current evidence-based practice model, this article addresses the needs for providing epistemological diversity in teacher education to allow multiple readings of field experiences and disrupt the legitimacy afforded to dominant discourses in education.