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Breast tissue enhances on contrast MRI and is called background parenchymal enhancement (BPE). Having high BPE has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. We examined the relationship between BPE and the amount of fibroglandular tissue on MRI (MRI-FGT) and breast cancer risk factors. This was a cross-sectional study of 415 women without breast cancer undergoing contrast-enhanced breast MRI at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. All women completed a questionnaire assessing exposures at the time of MRI. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) describing the relationship between breast cancer risk factors and BPE and MRI-FGT were generated using modified Poisson regression. In multivariable-adjusted models a positive association between body mass index (BMI) and BPE was observed, with a 5-unit increase in BMI associated with a 14% and 44% increase in prevalence of high BPE in pre- and post-menopausal women, respectively. Conversely, a strong inverse relationship between BMI and MRI-FGT was observed in both pre- (PR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.57, 0.76) and post-menopausal (PR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.56, 0.78) women. Use of preventive medication (e.g., tamoxifen) was associated with having low BPE, while no association was observed for MRI-FGT. BPE is an imaging marker available from standard contrast-enhanced MRI, that is influenced by endogenous and exogenous hormonal exposures in both pre- and post-menopausal women.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between sugar and NNS consumption with body fat percentage in young adults. Methods: 524 college students were asked to complete the Web-based National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diet History Questionnaire II and had their body fat percentage measured using a bioelectrical impedance analysis scale. Result: One-fourth of the participants were classified as overfat/obese and of those overfat or obese, 49% of them were African American. Overfat/obese participants consumed significantly more sugar than the heathy group and the underfat group (p<0.001). Saccharin consumption was significantly higher in the overfat/obese group compare to the underfat and normal groups (p<0.001). The odds of becoming overfat/obese increased 1.2 times for excessive total sugar consumption (95% CI: 1.0-1.8, p<0.05). Conclusion: Excessive sugar and saccharin consumption were associated with higher body fat percentage in young adults.

Across the United States, community colleges are facing severe funding reductions and surging enrollment, resulting in a condition of impaction in which demand for coursework exceeds financial or physical capacity. In turn, impaction is necessitating changes in enrollment management policies, including rapid evolution in registration priority policies, which ration access to coursework by granting preferential course enrollment timing to students who meet specified criteria. During times of impaction, such policies effectively preclude some groups of students from making progress toward their goals or, under the worst circumstances, from attending college at all. Given the importance of community colleges for providing access to postsecondary education, these policies have significant, long-term implications. Here, we situate the discourse on registration priority policies in a larger context and body of literature, document the variation in policies across the colleges in one state, and develop a set of recommendations for policy and future research.

Established by student activists in the 1960s, Project Community in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan (U-M), Ann Arbor, is one of the longest-running community-engaged learning programs in the country. Community-engaged learning courses like Project Community have been identified by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) as a high-impact educational practice because they allow for simultaneous learning in the classroom and community (AAC&U 2022). This paper explores how Project Community utilizes various pedagogical approaches grounded in liberatory and social justice education to provide U-M students with the opportunity to learn how to engage in mutually beneficial, respectful, and ethical relationships with community members. The structure of this two-course sequence is described and examples of experiential activities are provided so that instructors can gain insights into how students can apply their sociological lens to real world experiences. Data from teaching evaluations and post-course surveys from Fall 2019–2022 are included to explore how Project Community has increased students' awareness of their positionality in society, deepened their understanding of social inequalities, and strengthened their commitment to social responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic dysfunction and excess accumulation of adipose tissue are detrimental side effects from breast cancer treatment. Diet and physical activity are important treatments for metabolic abnormalities, yet patient compliance can be challenging during chemotherapy treatment. Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a feasible dietary pattern where eating is restricted to 8 h/d with water-only fasting for the remaining 16 h. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of a multimodal intervention consisting of TRE, healthy eating, and reduced sedentary time during chemotherapy treatment for early-stage (I–III) breast cancer on accumulation of visceral fat (primary outcome), other fat deposition locations, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease risk (secondary outcomes) compared with usual care. The study will be a two-site, two-arm, parallel-group superiority randomised control trial enrolling 130 women scheduled for chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. The intervention will be delivered by telephone, including 30–60-minute calls with a registered dietitian who will provide instructions on TRE, education and counselling on healthy eating, and goal setting for reducing sedentary time. The comparison group will receive usual cancer and supportive care including a single group-based nutrition class and healthy eating and physical activity guidelines. MRI, blood draws and assessment of blood pressure will be performed at baseline, after chemotherapy (primary end point), and 2-year follow-up. If our intervention is successful in attenuating the effect of chemotherapy on visceral fat accumulation and cardiometabolic dysfunction, it has the potential to reduce risk of cardiometabolic disease and related mortality among breast cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]