Motivations and Challenges for African International Students in Choosing On-Campus Housing and Transitioning Off-Campus

The findings of this qualitative phenomenological study explained the motives and challenges faced by African international students (n = 10) who initially chose to live on-campus and subsequently transitioned to off-campus accommodations. The research was conducted through semistructured interviews with African international students who were currently enrolled at a predominantly White institution in the Midwestern United States, discussing their experiences with housing, cultural adjustment, and financial constraints. Although the initial choices to stay on-campus stem from convenience and institutional support, various challenges pushed the students toward going off-campus. To begin with, the costliness of staying in an institution may be exorbitant for them. Such institutions at times prove to be culturally insensitive or socially alienating. Shifting off-campus, while involving difficulties of logistics, has all the advantages of affordability and cultural comfort. These facts therefore pointed toward the urgent necessity for adopting culturally sensitive affordable housing policy on the part of each university with the aim to accommodate different students’ requirements. Other implications included the facilitation of inclusivity through focused supporting programs and the informing of future accommodation policy decisions in relation to international students

Deceptive Recruitment Practices by Admissions

This paper investigates the pervasive issue of deceptive recruitment practices employed by higher education institutions, with a particular focus on for-profit colleges. It explores how misleading advertising regarding job placement rates, tuition costs, financial aid, and institutional accreditation misguides prospective students, leading to financial hardship, unmet academic expectations, and erosion of trust in the higher education system. Through historical cases including Corinthian Colleges, the University of Phoenix, and Temple University’s Fox School of Business this study highlights the legal and ethical implications of such misconduct. It evaluates the regulatory responses by the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission, while advocating for stronger enforcement, institutional accountability, and student financial literacy. By proposing actionable reforms and emphasizing ethical recruitment, the paper aims to restore transparency, equity, and public confidence in college admissions practice

Establishing norms on the Auditory Comprehension Test among a sample of first year university students

This study seeks to establish a wider normative sample base for the Auditory Comprehension Test (ACT) (Green and Krammer, 1983)» The ACT is effective in differentiating between individuals who have a binaural deficit in speech comprehension and those who do not. One hundred and three first year University students were tested on the ACT (seventy- three females and thirty males). Three out of this number (2,91%) were found to have binaural deficits. No significant differences were found to exist between males and females on Left, Right, and Both ear scores of the ACT. Significant differences were found to exist between performance on each ear condition for this current study in comparison with an earlier study (Green & Kramer, 1984) with a smaller sample. This indicates a need for more exhaustive methods of standardising the administration and scoring of the ACT, as well as testing with larger and more varied population groups. Ear plug testing with one of the three subjects found to have binaural deficits indicated a 27 point improvement (21,78%) when the ear plug was fitted in V the weaker ear as compared to the open field binaural no~ear plug condition. An interview conducted with the same subject revealed a preference for visual or audio-visual modes of assimilating environmental stimuli in comparison to auditory inputs alone. This subject showed extreme elevations on the Hypomania scale of the MMPI, The Emotional Perception Test (Green & Severson, 1986) did not reveal any differences in the same subject’s ability to discriminate emotions in comparison to the test norms, although there was a relatively more frequent overestimation of the sadness emotion by this subject in comparison to the normative sample. The promise of the ACT both as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool is emphasized. The need for a comprehensive scoring manual is emphatically indicated

Literacy and STEM Camp with Migrant Students from Waterloo Schools

The program was designed in the form of hands on activities that allowed children embrace their natural curiosity. There is a misconception or rather an incorrect assumption that ELL students must possess a certain degree of English proficiency before they can begin with learning the skills required for STEM

Association between Diabetic Kidney Disease and Diabetic Foot Ulceration

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common global health challenge characterized by a decline in renal function among the diabetic population, which progresses to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Evidence in the literature suggests a strong association between DKD and the development of diabetic foot ulceration (DFU). DFU is a serious health issue that complicates both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, and negatively impacts the quality of life of diabetic patients. Patients with advanced DKD or ESRD have a five-fold increased risk of developing DFU, with 6.5–10 times higher rate of amputation than their non-nephropathic counterparts. Multiple and inter-related pathways of DFU in DKD have been identified in which ischemia, neuropathy and infection are major contributing pathologies. However, extensive research to comprehensively assess the progression of DFU in DKD is lacking. In this chapter, we discuss the causal pathways in DFU development and progression, the relationship between DKD and DFU as well as treatment options and measures to achieve both primary and secondary prevention

Chronic Diseases in North-West Tanzania and Southern Uganda. Public Perceptions of Terminologies, Aetiologies, Symptoms and Preferred Management

Research outputs produced to support a quantitative population survey, quantitative health facility survey, focus groups and in-depth interviews performed by the projec

Hydrogen sulfide therapy as the future of renal graft preservation

Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage renal disease, during which renal grafts from deceased donors are routinely cold-stored to suppress metabolic demand, thereby limiting ischemic injury. However, prolonged cold storage followed by reperfusion induces extensive tissue damage termed cold ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and puts the graft at risk of both early and late rejection. The underlying mechanism of IRI is not completely understood, and a reliable/suitable method to protect the renal graft against cold IRI is lacking. Hibernating animals constitute a natural model of coping with cold IRI, as they regularly alternate between 4 and 37 °C. Recently, endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a gas with a characteristic "rotten-egg" smell, has been implicated in organ protection in hibernation. In kidney transplantation, H2S also seems to confer cytoprotection by lowering metabolism and increasing preservation time while allowing cellular processes of preservation of homeostasis and tissue remodeling to take place, thus increasing renal graft survival. In this chapter, we first discuss mammalian hibernation as a natural model of cold organ preservation with reference to the kidney and highlight the involvement of H2S during hibernation. Next, we present recent developments on the protective effects and mechanisms of exogenous and endogenous H2S in preclinical models of transplant IRI and evaluate the potential of H2S therapy in organ preservation as a great promise for kidney transplant recipients in the future.</p

Natriuretic Peptide Receptor 2 Locus Contributes to Carotid Remodeling.

Background Carotid artery intima/media thickness (IMT) is a hallmark trait associated with future cardiovascular events. The goal of this study was to map new genes that regulate carotid IMT by genome-wide association. Methods and Results We induced IMT by ligation procedure of the left carotid artery in 30 inbred mouse strains. Histologic reconstruction revealed significant variation in left carotid artery intima, media, adventitia, external elastic lamina volumes, intima-to-media ratio, and (intima+media)/external elastic lamina percent ratio in inbred mice. The carotid remodeling trait was regulated by distinct genomic signatures with a dozen common single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with left carotid artery intima volume, intima-to-media ratio, and (intima+media)/external elastic lamina percent ratio. Among genetic loci on mouse chromosomes 1, 4, and 12, there was natriuretic peptide receptor 2 (Npr2), a strong candidate gene. We observed that only male, not female, mice heterozygous for a targeted Npr2 deletion (Npr2+/-) exhibited defective carotid artery remodeling compared with Npr2 wild-type (Npr2+/+) littermates. Fibrosis in carotid IMT was significantly increased in Npr2+/- males compared with Npr2+/- females or Npr2+/+ mice. We also detected decreased Npr2 expression in human atherosclerotic plaques, similar to that seen in studies in Npr2+/- mice. Conclusions We found that components of carotid IMT were regulated by distinct genetic factors. We also showed a critical role for Npr2 in genetic regulation of vascular fibrosis associated with defective carotid remodeling

Induction of a Torpor-Like State by 5 '-AMP Does Not Depend on H2S Production

Therapeutic hypothermia is used to reduce ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) during organ transplantation and major surgery, but does not fully prevent organ injury. Interestingly, hibernating animals undergo repetitive periods of low body temperature called 'torpor' without signs of organ injury. Recently, we identified an essential role of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in entrance into torpor and preservation of kidney integrity during hibernation. A torpor-like state can be induced pharmacologically by injecting 5'-Adenosine monophosphate (5'-AMP). The mechanism by which 5'-AMP leads to the induction of a torpor-like state, and the role of H2S herein, remains to be unraveled. Therefore, we investigated whether induction of a torpor-like state by 5-AMP depends on H2S production.To study the role of H2S on the induction of torpor, amino-oxyacetic acid (AOAA), a non-specific inhibitor of H2S, was administered before injection with 5'-AMP to block endogenous H2S production in Syrian hamster. To assess the role of H2S on maintenance of torpor induced by 5'-AMP, additional animals were injected with AOAA during torpor.During the torpor-like state induced by 5'-AMP, the expression of H2S- synthesizing enzymes in the kidneys and plasma levels of H2S were increased. Blockade of these enzymes inhibited the rise in the plasma level of H2S, but neither precluded torpor nor induced arousal. Remarkably, blockade of endogenous H2S production was associated with increased renal injury.Induction of a torpor-like state by 5'-AMP does not depend on H2S, although production of H2S seems to attenuate renal injury. Unraveling the mechanisms by which 5'-AMP reduces the metabolism without organ injury may allow optimization of current strategies to limit (hypothermic) IRI and improve outcome following organ transplantation, major cardiac and brain surgery