The journey to antiracism: White identity development for White faculty members at predominantly White higher education institutions

Students of color experience feelings of isolation, exhaustion, and tokenization in predominantly white higher education spaces (Smith, Yosso, Solorzano, 2006). Specifically, students of color feel ostracized and tokenized in the classroom. This experience contributes to an overall culture of Whiteness within higher education and leads to the lack of engagement and belonging of students of color. It also supports the systems of racism and White supremacy within the academy. This field project analyzes the experiences of students of color and provides a series of seven workshops for White faculty to begin their journey toward antiracism in the classroom. This field project was created through autoethnographic research and draws from the foundations of White identity development and Intergroup Dialogue (Helms, 1992; Tatum, 1994; Zúñiga, Nagda, Chesler, & Cytron, 2007). The workshop series serves as a preliminary space where White faculty can begin to analyze their own identity power and privilege as White people in society and how that power translates to the classroom. Analysis of their own identity will allow faculty to approach conversations about race and racism in the classroom with more ease and with a critical lens. This workshop series should be followed by intentional programming and education around implementation of antiracist praxis in the classroom

Massive Left Atrial Calcification Associated with Mitral Valve Replacement

Calcification of the left atrium can be observed in patients with a long-lasting rheumatic heart disease. However, massive calcification of the atrial wall, so called porcelain or coconut atrium is very rare and has been generally reported only as incidental radiographic findings. We report a case of massive and firm calcifications at the left atrium in patient who underwent mitral valve replacement

CT-derived measures of muscle quantity and quality predict poorer outcomes from elective colorectal surgery: a UK multicentre retrospective cohort study

Purpose To assess whether preoperative radiologically defined lean muscle measures are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients undergoing elective surgery for colorectal cancer. Methods This retrospective UK-based multicentre data collection study identified patients having had colorectal cancer resection with curative intent between January 2013 to December 2016. Preoperative computed-tomography (CT) scans were used to measure psoas muscle characteristics. Clinical records provided postoperative morbidity and mortality data. Results This study included 1122 patients. The cohort was separated into a combined group (patients with both sarcopenia and myosteatosis) and others group (either sarcopenia or myosteatosis, or neither). For the combined group, anastomotic leak was predicted on univariate (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.43–11.79; p = 0.009) and multivariate analysis (OR 4.37, 95% CI 1.41–13.53; p = 0.01). Also for the combined group, mortality (up to 5 years postoperatively) was predicted on univariate (HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.64–3.52; p < 0.001) and multivariate analysis (HR 1.93, 95% CI 1.28–2.89; p = 0.002). A strong correlation exists between freehand-drawn region of interest-derived psoas density measurement and using the ellipse tool (R2 = 81%; p < 0.001). Conclusion Measures of lean muscle quality and quantity, which predict important clinical outcomes, can be quickly and easily taken from routine preoperative imaging in patients being considered for colorectal cancer surgery. As poor muscle mass and quality are again shown to predict poorer clinical outcomes, these should be proactively targeted within prehabilitation, perioperative and rehabilitation phases to minimise negative impact of these pathological states