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Normative notions that classical Chinese texts support authoritarian practices eclipse the possibility that the texts can become contemporary educational resources. Oriented by a conception of relationality, the research engages a Foucauldian approach to writing history as genealogy to argue that the political use of the so-called Confucian texts as content for imperial Chinese civil service examinations throughout much of the last two millennia situated the texts as objects and subjects of power. More specifically, the conflation of the philosophical texts with the exam process produced an extreme context enhanced by a public's desire for success. This context shaped the conditions of textual engagement and contributed to reductive normative textual interpretations, which had broader social implications. However, if reading contexts influence textual meaning, then changes in contexts impact interpretations of these texts. This perspective suggests that educators of varied disciplines who directly engage the texts contribute to the ongoing construction of textual meanings, providing provocative frameworks to consider contemporary phenomena.

Researchers normatively view faculty or professional learning communities as effective methods for sharing teaching approaches. Such a view overlooks the potential impacts the groups can have more broadly on higher educational communities. In this article, three studies about university-affiliated faculty learning communities are considered from a relational perspective. Confucian relationality, which envisions people as interdependent, considers the development of collegiality that emerges from the communities as a form of personal cultivation and highlights the process-oriented aspects of the studies considered, insinuating the importance of quality interactions, commitment, and reciprocity. In particular, a relational view suggests that learning communities may enrich collegial relationships and generate collaborative projects, and other unimagined possibilities, in ways that affect institutions beyond the contexts of the communities. This work challenges scholars to consider how a relational theoretical framework situates collegiality in the context of research about university-affiliated faculty learning communities as an important achievement.

In order to explore ways to integrate new pedagogical practices, five faculty members created an informal faculty learning community focused on writing-to-learn practices, an inquiry and process-based writing pedagogy. The faculty members learned the writing-to-learn practices together, periodically met to discuss how they implemented the practices, and reflected on each other's instructional methods in the contexts of their own experiences. The faculty members engaged in a self-study in order to understand how the collaborative nature of the learning community helped them to learn and use the new teaching practices. After participating in a series of workshops together, they shared written reflections about their experiences of employing the practices in their own classrooms. The findings of this study reveal that participation in a faculty learning community provided an engaging and effective way to learn and make use of new pedagogical practices. Participants gained practical adaptive strategies from each other, felt supported in their experimentation with the new practices, and analyzed more deeply the ways in which the new practices could be integrated into their teaching. The authors describe how an informal faculty learning community can be an effective tool for faculty to research, learn, and analyze the learning of specific pedagogical practices.

To be successful in navigating the waters of American higher education, international students need to demonstrate proficiency in the English language and an understanding of the educational expectations of American academia. Unlike Americans who apply to a US university, international students must demonstrate that they understand enough English to take a class at a university without much difficulty. Many universities require a language proficiency examination such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL[TM]). Although preparing for such a test can be done in the student's home country, many international students choose to prepare by attending an English as a Second Language (ESL) program in the United States prior to gaining admittance into an American undergraduate or graduate program. By doing this, international students have the chance of improving their level of English while experiencing American life. The American English and Culture Program (AECP) is an intensive ESL program based at the Tempe campus of Arizona State University (ASU). AECP is a non-degree, non-credit program that prepares international students to meet the language requirement for acceptance into ASU or other American universities. It provides the opportunity for international students to become fully prepared for academic study at the university level, while building on their experiences of American as well as global community, communication, connection, and cooperation.

The burden of otolaryngology disease in Pacific Islander populations is relatively uncharacterized. A single-institution retrospective review was undertaken at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation in Saipan, the only hospital in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Demographic, diagnostic, and treatment data were compiled from the clinical charts of all patients seen by an otolaryngologist between January 2015 and April 2020. For all Pacific Islanders in the sample (N=674), the average age was 40.2 (SD 22.4) years and ages ranged from 10 months to 89 years. Patients were 50.7% male and 49.3% female. The most common diagnoses affected the ear (40.8%), followed by the oral cavity/pharynx (23.2%), and nose (14.0%). Middle ear disease comprised 41.7% of reported ear disorders; the most common problem was otitis media (19.4%, n=68) followed by tympanic membrane perforation (14.0%, n=49). Head and neck cancers comprised 8.6% of all diagnoses. Most (77.8%) malignant neoplasms were oral cavity carcinomas. The average age at diagnosis for oral cancer was 46.6 years with a 1.8:1 male-to-female predominance. Patients with cancer of the oral cavity (n=56) chewed betel nut at higher rates (94.6%) compared with other adults in the sample (P<.001). Adult patients reported alcohol use, smoking, and chewing betel quid at rates of 26.5%, 39.9%, and 52.2% respectively. Otolaryngology referrals among Pacific Islanders in this sample were dominated by ear disease and included betel nut-related oral cavity disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Areca nut use is a cause of higher rates of oral cavity cancer in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Little is known about patient insights into the risks of areca nut use worldwide. The purpose of this study is to evaluate perceptions of areca nut use and oral cancer among chewers in the CNMI. This is a survey study undertaken at the CNMI's only regional health center--300 adult participants completed a 21-question survey that assessed demographics, chewing behaviors, perceptions of areca nut use and oral cancer, and the willingness to participate in cessation and screening programs. Data was analyzed using chi-squared tests, at a significance value of P < .05. The participant average age was 38, and 41% were male. Almost all (92%) knew that chewing areca nut causes oral cancer, but only 13% correctly identified the actual areca nut as a carcinogen. About half (59%) believed that oral cancer could be treated. Most people (74%) were willing to participate in screening programs for oral cancer. Those who chewed areca nut daily were more likely to be interested in medicated replacement products relative to those who chewed less frequently (P = .048). In conclusion, there are drastic misperceptions about areca nut and oral cancer in the CNMI. Efforts should be made towards promoting awareness of the carcinogenicity of the actual areca nut, and the treatability of oral cancer. Mandated educational warnings should be required with areca nut sales. Further research evaluating substitution methods and screening programs is indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saipan is a United States (US) territory Western Pacific island where little recent data exists regarding epidemiology, clinical presentation, and standard of care for pediatric seizures. This paper characterizes these features in Saipan's pediatric population with comparisons to mainland US. This is a retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients with a history of seizures at the island's only hospital and major private neurology clinic over a 10-year period. Variables regarding demographics, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment were collected. A total of 144 patients were included, with 101 patients diagnosed with febrile seizures and 31 patients diagnosed with non-febrile seizures. Age at first presentation peaked at 1 year old overall. The most common identified etiology of epilepsy was found to be hypoxic injury (39%), hemorrhagic injury (10%), cerebral malformation (6%), and brain mass (6%). Simple versus complex classification of febrile seizures, etiologies, and first-line treatment for non-febrile seizures were comparable to the mainland US. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was not used consistently in diagnosis. The findings from this study demonstrate that clinical presentations of pediatric seizures in Saipan are comparable to those in the mainland US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prospective cohort. Successful nonoperative treatment of mallet finger injuries requires compliance to prolonged immobilization and understandable educational materials. This study evaluated the use of written and online video education tools after mallet finger injury. After ethics board approval and informed consent, adults with an acute mallet finger injury referred to hand therapy were included. Standard nonoperative treatment was instituted with orthotic immobilization and verbal instructions, in addition to an education pamphlet and an online video link. A questionnaire regarding the educational materials was administered at the follow-up appointment. There were 61 patients (mean age, 42 ± 14 years). The middle (n = 21) and ring (n = 22) fingers were most commonly injured. All patients were fluent in English. Written instructions (n = 57) were used by more patients than the videos (n = 30). Comparing patients who viewed the video with those who did not, there were no differences (P >.05) in demographics (sex, age, education, work status, and second language). Both written and video instructions were reported as helpful; mean helpful score for the video was significantly (P =.03) higher than written instructions. Most patients preferred having written and video instructions, and both were easy to understand and convenient. In our study of patients with acute mallet finger injuries, written and video instructions were utilized and both were reported as helpful. This study provides evidence of the usefulness of online videos as an educational aid and the opportunity for future investigations to improve patient access to education materials. • We evaluated the use of written and online video education tools after acute mallet finger injury. • Written and video instructions were reported as helpful, and most patients preferred having both types of instructions. • This study provides evidence of the usefulness of online videos as an educational aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives There are many barriers impeding the conduct of high-quality emergency care research, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Several of these barriers were originally outlined in 2013 as part of the Academic Emergency Medicine Global Health and Emergency Care Consensus Conference. This paper seeks to establish a broader consensus on the barriers to emergency care research globally and proposes a comprehensive array of new recommendations to overcome these barriers. Methods An electronic survey was conducted of a purposive sample of global emergency medicine research experts from around the world to describe the major challenges and solutions to conducting emergency care research in low-resource settings and rank them by importance. The Global Emergency Medicine Think Tank Clinical Research Working Group at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine 2016 Annual Meeting utilized a modified Delphi technique for consensus-based decision making to categorize and expand upon these barriers and develop a comprehensive array of proposed solutions. Results The working group identified four broad categories of barriers to conducting emergency care research globally, including 1) the limited availability of research personnel, particularly those with prior research training; 2) logistic barriers and lack of standardization of data collection; 3) ethical barriers to conducting research in resource-limited settings, particularly when no local institutional review board is available; and 4) the relative dearth of funding for global emergency care research. Proposed solutions included building a diverse and interdisciplinary research team structured to promote mentorship of junior researchers, utilizing local research assistants or technologic tools such as telemedicine for language translation, making use of new tools such as mobile health ( mHealth) to standardize and streamline data collection, identifying alternatives to local institutional review board approval and the use of community consent when appropriate, and increased advocacy for global emergency care research funding. Conclusions Significant barriers to the conduct of high-quality global emergency care research persist, and innovative strategies need to be adopted to promote and grow the field of global emergency care research. This paper provides a global consensus on the most important barriers identified, as well as recommendations for cost-effective strategies for overcoming these barriers with the overall goal of promoting high-quality research and improving emergency care worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and intermediate congenital melanocytic nevi have a lifetime risk of developing melanoma estimated to range from 0% to 5%. Secondary benign melanocytic proliferations commonly arise in congenital melanocytic nevi; however, some are difficult to definitively distinguish from malignant melanoma based on clinical features and conventional histology. Herein, we describe the use of comparative genomic hybridization in supporting the diagnosis of a deep penetrating nevus developing within a congenital melanocytic nevus of a 3-month-old infant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The substantial clinical and histologic overlap between neurotized congenital melanocytic nevi and the subset of plexiform neurofibromas with hyperpigmentation and hypertrichosis of the overlying skin (pigmented neurofibroma) has led to considerable confusion in the literature. A dark-brown, hypertrichotic plaque covered much of the right lower aspect of the trunk of a 1-year-old girl with a diffuse and plexiform neurofibroma in the same area, numerous café-au-lait macules, and intertriginous freckling. The latter findings were diagnostic of neurofibromatosis-1, which was further supported by the presence of unidentified bright objects on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Histologic examination of the hyperpigmented plaque revealed melanocytic hyperplasia at the dermoepidermal junction and a proliferation of rounded, pigmented melanocytes dispersed individually and in occasional small nests in the papillary dermis and scattered within underlying neurofibromatous tissue. Immunohistochemical staining with A103 (Melan-A/MART-1) and PNL2 confirmed the melanocytic differentiation of the pigmented cells, whereas glial fibrillary acidic protein and Leu-7 were detected only within plexiform areas and slender neuroid spindle cells. This case draws attention to the pigmented neurofibroma as a distinct clinicopathologic entity resulting from proliferation of melanocytes and neurosustentacular cells in the setting of neurofibromatosis-1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]