Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The university's seminary, the Graduate School of Theology, holds to a Wesleyan-Arminian doctrinal theology. APU offers more than 100 associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs on campus, online, and at seven regional locations across Southern California.Azusa Pacific University is organized into three colleges and seven schools. The academics programs are available from the Honors College, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Music and the Arts, Leung School of Accounting, University College, School of Behavioral and Applied Sciences, School of Business and Management, School of Education, School of Nursing, and School of Theology. APU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
This study aims to present a systematic review of research on the key components necessary for parental involvement in public middle schools. There is limited research on how parental involvement contributes to a student's achievement, specifically in public middle schools. This systematic review seeks to identify the key components of parental involvement, the approaches used to engage parents, and the effectiveness of those components in enhancing the achievement of public middle school students in the United States. A qualitative methodological approach was employed, and six databases were searched to find relevant studies that adhered to the PRISMA 2020 protocol. In total, 14 studies revealed themes related to five research questions: (a) communication as a key component, (b) school-based parental involvement, (c) home-based parental involvement, (d) the engagement period for parental involvement after school, and (e) the effectiveness of these components. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for parents, teachers, school administrators, community members, Education Preparation Programs, and policymakers regarding the impact of parental involvement on middle school students.
Research Questions: Using a sample of 56,807 community college students and 10,343 faculty from 105 community colleges, this study asked which faculty behaviors were associated with student learning, and if there were differences in those behaviors based on faculty type.Methods: Our two-stage analysis used data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE). We used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to identify faculty practices that predict student learning, with a random-effects ANOVA model and a means-as-outcomes model. After identifying the faculty practices that most strongly predicted learning, we identified differences in frequency of their use based on faculty type.Results: Three of the four strongest indicators of student learning were an emphasis on (a) support to help students succeed, (b) contact among students from different backgrounds, and (c) amount of study time. Talking about career plans with an instructor or advisor predicted career learning, academic learning, and personal development. Full-time faculty, faculty teaching career and technical education, developmental faculty, and faculty who had taught a course more than 20 times used these effective practices more than other faculty.Conclusions: Introducing students to institutional support for their success was the strongest predictor in the model, but part-time faculty, faculty teaching only college-level courses, and faculty with less experience in a course engaged in this behavior less often than their peers. Part-time faculty may need more information about support available to students, and college-level faculty could benefit by emphasizing support services.
Hypertension is associated with obesity and vascular dysfunction in postmenopausal women (PMW). We examined the impact of obesity and hypertension on forearm muscle microvascular reactivity and its associations with macrovascular function and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in PMW aged 50–69 years. They were classified by waist circumference (WC) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) as non-obese (PMW-NOB, n = 15) and obese non-hypertensive (PMW-OB, n = 17), and obese hypertensive (PMW-HTN, n = 17). Microvascular function was measured by near-infrared spectroscopy-derived tissue oxygen saturation indices (reperfusion magnitude [TSIRMag], hyperemic response [TSIHRes], and area under the curve [TSIAUC2min]) during reactive hyperemia. Macrovascular function was assessed by aortic stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity [cfPWV]) and pressures (SBP, pulse [PP], augmentation [AP], forward wave [Pf], and backward wave [Pb]) using arterial tonometry. Abdominal obesity was assessed by WC and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-derived VAT. WC and VAT, but not body mass index, were higher in PMW-HTN compared to PMW-NOB and PMW-OB (P < 0.01). TSIHRes and TSIAUC2min were lower in PMW-HTN compared to PMW-NOB and PMW-OB (P < 0.05). cfPWV, aortic SBP, PP, AP, Pf, Pb (all P < 0.05), and VAT (P < 0.01) were higher while plasma arginine was lower (P < 0.05) in PMW-HTN compared to PMW-NOB and PMW-OB. TSIHRes and TSIAUC2min were inversely associated with cfPWV, aortic pressures, and VAT (all P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that abdominal obesity with hypertension is characterized by micro- and macrovascular dysfunction in PMW. Greater VAT is associated with impaired microvascular reactivity, aortic stiffening, and increased aortic pressures.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality, yet the biological mechanisms linking psychological trauma to cardiovascular risk remain incompletely understood. Disruptions in one-carbon metabolism, reflected by elevated homocysteine and altered folate and vitamin B12 levels, contribute to vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction and may represent a modifiable pathway linking PTSD to CVD. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among physiological biomarkers (homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12), PTSD diagnosis, PTSD treatment participation, and CVD risk in a veteran population. A quantitative, comparative retrospective chart review was conducted among 279 U.S. veterans with documented homocysteine levels. CVD risk was categorized as high or low-to-moderate based on metabolic and vascular risk factors. Logistic regression, odds ratios, and chi-square analyses were used to examine predictors of CVD risk and elevated homocysteine. The Neuman Systems Model guided variable selection and interpretation. Elevated homocysteine was significantly associated with age, gender, race, systolic blood pressure, folate, vitamin B12, PTSD diagnosis (OR = 4.31, 95% CI [1.36-13.61]), and CVD risk (OR = 3.50, 95% CI [1.01-12.05]). Participation in PTSD treatment was significantly associated with homocysteine levels (OR = 6.43, 95% CI [2.02-20.45]). Findings support homocysteine as a clinically relevant biomarker linking PTSD and cardiovascular risk. The association between PTSD treatment and homocysteine suggests psychological interventions may influence biological pathways relevant to cardiovascular health, underscoring the value of biomarker-informed nursing assessment in trauma-exposed populations.
