Faculty Perspective Regarding Practical Experience of Adapted Physical Education for Undergraduate Students.

Preparing future physical education professionals to teach adapted physical education (APE) is a responsibility of physical education teacher education (PETE) programs. Furthermore, there is limited literature on practicum and/or field experiences as a part of APE courses from the perspective of faculty members. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore faculty views in relation to the practical experiences in undergraduate APE courses. Structured interviews were conducted with faculty members of higher education institutions in the U.S. There were five study participants in this study. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. The findings included three subthemes: (a) quality of quantity, (b) need for diversity in practical experiences, and (c) practical experience pertaining to APE courses. Practical experience in APE courses is an integral part of professional preparation for undergraduate students in kinesiology programs. There are no exact criteria for requirements across the states; however, students could maximize their learning by engaging in diverse APE practicum settings. The instructor of APE courses should provide clear guidelines and feedback for students. Instructors of APE courses must also consider the institutional and environmental context prior to planning and implementing practical experiences to provide successful learning experiences for students.

How disability severity is associated with changes in physical activity and inactivity from adolescence to young adulthood.

BACKGROUND: Disabilities may play a different role in determining people's physical activity (PA) and physical inactivity (PI) levels when they go through multiple lifetime transitions (e.g., graduation, marriage) between adolescence and young adulthood. This study investigates how disability severity is associated with changes in PA and PI engagement levels, focusing on adolescence and young adulthood, when the patterns of PA and PI are usually formed. METHODS: The study employed data from Waves 1 (adolescence) and 4 (young adulthood) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which covers a total of 15,701 subjects. We first categorized subjects into 4 disability groups: no, minimal, mild, or moderate/severe disability and/or limitation. We then calculated the differences in PA and PI engagement levels between Waves 1 and 4 at the individual level to measure how much the PA and PI levels of individuals changed between adolescence and young adulthood. Finally, we used two separate multinomial logistic regression models for PA and PI to investigate the relationships between disability severity and the changes in PA and PI engagement levels between the two periods after controlling for multiple demographic (age, race, sex) and socioeconomic (household income level, education level) variables. RESULTS: We showed that individuals with minimal disabilities were more likely to decrease their PA levels during transitions from adolescence to young adulthood than those without disabilities. Our findings also revealed that individuals with moderate to severe disabilities tended to have higher PI levels than individuals without disabilities when they were young adults. Furthermore, we found that people above the poverty level were more likely to increase their PA levels to a certain degree compared to people in the group below or near the poverty level. CONCLUSIONS: Our study partially indicates that individuals with disabilities are more vulnerable to unhealthy lifestyles due to a lack of PA engagement and increased PI time compared to people without disabilities. We recommend that health agencies at the state and federal levels allocate more resources for individuals with disabilities to mitigate health disparities between those with and without disabilities.

Academic Acculturation of International Doctoral Students in the U.S.: A Qualitative Inquiry.

The aim of this phenomenological inquiry is to explore the academic acculturation experiences of international kinesiology professionals during their doctoral programs in higher education institutions in the U.S. Purposive sampling technique was used which include six study participants. The data collected from a demographic questionnaire and a focused interview. Using acculturation theory as a conceptual framework, the subjects' academic acculturation as former international PhD students were described. There are three subthemes: (1) graduate program and requirements, (2) the academic environment of graduate program, and (3) professional development for a career in kinesiology. Findings are discussed in light of academic acculturation with a focus on assimilation (proactive adaptation in a new environment), and integration (flexibly to embrace the life experiences, learning experiences, and current experiences of the students in a new context). Particularly, findings examine how international kinesiology professionals perceived their doctoral degree experiences and sustained academic acculturation, pertaining to research and professional development at their programs. Exploring the academic acculturation of international PhD students is crucial for diversity awareness in higher education in the U.S. Often described as a minority with a narrower status, these international students undergoing academic acculturation should be assisted with aligning to their contextual frames, in terms of degree level and its characteristics in their field of study.

Shikonin induces programmed necrosis-like cell death through the formation of receptor interacting protein 1 and 3 complex.

An alternative cell demise programmed necrosis has also been proposed when apoptotic machinery is impaired or blocked during tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) stimulation. Shikonin (SKN), an herbal extract from the Chinese plant, has been reported to induce either apoptosis or necrosis depending on cell types or its concentrations. In this presentation, SKN caused cell death of NIH3T3 in a dose-dependent manner. Intriguingly, SKN-mediated cell death was in part protected by necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), a specific inhibitor of programmed necrosis, but not zVAD a pan-caspase inhibitor. SKN directly mediated cell death via receptor interacting protein1 and 3 (RIP1-RIP3) complex formation, which is required for TNFα-mediated programmed necrosis. Additionally, SKN-caused cell death was reversed by a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC) whereas TNFα-mediated necrosis was successfully protected by butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), implying that ROS may be differentially derived from death inducing agents. Concurrently with the protective effect of the ROS scavenger or Nec-1 on TNFα or SKN, the RIP1-RIP3 complex was significantly affected in the presence of those agents. Here, it is highlighted that SKN as well as TNFα can directly mediate cell death via a pronecrotic complex, but ROS were generated via different routes depending on cell death-inducing agents.