Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations in the new Curriculum Guidelines and in the Common National Base for the Initial Training of Brazilian Teachers: Implications for the Teaching of Anti-Racist Science and Biology

By ethnic-racial relations one understands the relations established between ethnic groups whose base is guided by race category, seen on a social perspective. Schools should be an environment propitious to the promotion of Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations, the teacher being an indispensable agent in this process. The present study is characterized as documentary research with a qualitative approach that sought to analyze, in a comparative perspective, evidence of a proposal for Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations present and/or absent in the Curriculum Guidelines and in the Common National Base for Initial Teacher Training (Resolution 2/2019), as well as the possible implications for the teaching of anti-racist Science and Biology in Brazil. The study leads us to conclude that the new Curricular Guidelines and the Common National Base for the Initial Teacher Training do not bring concrete evidence of an effective proposal for Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations as proposed by Resolution 2/2015, which was hastily revoked by Resolution 2/2019. The absence of these indications tends to result in negative implications for the teaching of anti-racist Science and Biology, since it was previously supported, we had found in the guidelines for teacher training an alternative to insert the study of ethnic-racial relations in undergraduate courses in the area. We hope that this study will collaborate for research in the area of ​​teacher training and ethnic-racial relations in the teaching of Science and Biology, especially for educational policies aimed at training teachers.

Gastrointestinal Cancers: Racial and Ethnicity Differences

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine race and ethnicity for overall survival (OS) and percent survival after 5- and 10-years for patients diagnosed with one of the gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.Method: We used national data for 12 types of GI cancers (esophagus, stomach, gallbladder, intrahepatic bile duct, extrahepatic bile duct, liver, pancreas, small intestine, colon, rectosigmoid, rectum, and anal) for the years 2004-2016. Results: A total of 2,249,213 patients diagnosed with one of the GI tract cancers with median age of 67 years were included in this study. There were 55% male, 77% non-Hispanic White (NHW), 12% were non-Hispanic Black (NHB), 6% were Hispanic, and the rest were classified as ‘Other’ race (4%). OS was higher for the Hispanics, followed by the ‘Other’, NHW and NHB (P <0.001). After adjusting for sex, income, insurance status, grade differentiation, age, and for Charlson-Dayo index, Hispanics and ‘Other’ race category had lower mortality compared to NHW (HR=0.93, 0.92-0.94, p <0.001; HR=0.92, 0.91-0.93, p <0.001), whereas NHB had higher risk compared to NHW (HR=1.09,1.08-1.09 p <0.001). Hispanics had lower mortality than NHW for 11 or 12 types (except esophagus), and ‘Other’ race category had lower risk for 10 of 12 types (except anal and small intestine). Five- and 10-year survival rates were higher for Hispanic patients (47%, 36%) followed by ‘Other’ (42%, 31%), NHW (40%, 28%), and for NHB (38%, 28%).Conclusion: Hispanics and the patients from ‘Other’ race category diagnosed with one of the GI cancers had longer survival probability and lower risk of mortality compared to NHW and NHB.

Fig. 4. Box-and-whisker plots of log-transformed monthly income for census districts with and without parks, for each race category (A). Three park attributes including distance from residence (B), the percentage of census tract covered by park (C) and park size (D) are plotted against log-transformed monthly income. Please refer to the caption in Fig. 3 for description of data points and trend lines. Park distance, size and cover are also log-transformed.

<p>Urban green infrastructure provides ecosystem services that are essential to human wellbeing. A dearth of national-scale assessments in the Global South has precluded the ability to explore how political regimes, such as the forced racial segregation in South Africa during and after Apartheid, have influenced the extent of and access to green infrastructure over time. We investigate whether there are disparities in green infrastructure distributions across race and income geographies in urban South Africa. Using open-source satellite imagery and geographic information, along with national census statistics, we find that public and private green infrastructure is more abundant, accessible, greener and more treed in high-income relative to low-income areas, and in areas where previously advantaged racial groups (i.e. White citizens) reside.</p>

Fig. 4. Box-and-whisker plots of log-transformed monthly income for census districts with and without parks, for each race category (A). Three park attributes including distance from residence (B), the percentage of census tract covered by park (C) and park size (D) are plotted against log-transformed monthly income. Please refer to the caption in Fig. 3 for description of data points and trend lines. Park distance, size and cover are also log-transformed.

<p>Urban green infrastructure provides ecosystem services that are essential to human wellbeing. A dearth of national-scale assessments in the Global South has precluded the ability to explore how political regimes, such as the forced racial segregation in South Africa during and after Apartheid, have influenced the extent of and access to green infrastructure over time. We investigate whether there are disparities in green infrastructure distributions across race and income geographies in urban South Africa. Using open-source satellite imagery and geographic information, along with national census statistics, we find that public and private green infrastructure is more abundant, accessible, greener and more treed in high-income relative to low-income areas, and in areas where previously advantaged racial groups (i.e. White citizens) reside.</p>

BIOM-04. BRAIN METASTASIS AMONG FEMALE PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH STAGE IV BREAST CANCER

Among the patients diagnosed with advanced stage of breast cancer there is a possibility of developing distant metastases, brain is one of the predominant sites. The objective of this study is to identify patient characteristics and biomarkers for brain metastasis. From National Cancer Database, 2010 through 2015, we identified 52,753 female patients diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics and biomarkers were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Odds ratios (OR) were computed using logistics regression. Kaplan-Meier estimate was used to compute survival. Of 52,753 female patients diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, there were 73% non-Hispanic white (NHW), 17% non-Hispanic black (NHB), 6% Hispanic and 4% from ‘other’ race category. The median age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 62 years. Of the total patients only 8.2% had brain metastatic spread. Brain metastasis was less likely among NHB vs NHW (OR=0.85, p =0.01), among others vs NHW (OR=0.69, p =0.01), with insurance status, government vs no insurance, (OR=0.71, p&lt; 0.01), with private vs no insurance (OR=0.66, p&lt; 0.01), with laterality (left vs bilateral, OR=0.61, p=0.01), (right vs bilateral OR=0.61, p=0.01), ER positive (OR=0.69, p &lt; 0.01), PR positive (OR=0.75, p &lt; 0.01), tumor grade moderately or well differentiated vs poorly or undifferentiated (OR=0.54, p =0.02; OR=0.45, p =0.01) and with 10-year increment in age at the time of diagnosis (OR=0.89, p &lt; 0.001). In this study population five-year survival with and without brain metastasis was 11% and 25% respectively. The protective factors for brain metastatic spread includes NHB or other race category, government or private insurance, cancer either left or right side, moderately or well differentiated tumor, the patients with ER and PR expression. The chance of brain metastatic spread decreases with increasing age. These finding might provide insights for clinicians in treating these patients.

Spatially Based Rules for Reducing Multiple–Race into Single–Race Data

There is a discord between the categorization of mixed–race data in spatial studies, which has become more complex as the mixed–race population increases. We offer an efficient, spatially based method for assigning mixed–race respondents into single–race categories. The present study examined diversity within 25 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States to develop this racial bridging method. We identify prescriptions for each two–race category based on average diversity experiences and similarity scores derived from census tract data. The results show the following category assignments: (1) Black–Asians to Black, (2) White–others to White, (3) Asian–others to Asian, (4) White–Blacks to other, (5) White–Asians to White (if Asian >3.0 percent), (6) White–Asians to Asian (if Asian <3.0 percent), (7) Black–Asians to other (if Black >8.5 percent), and (8) Black–Asians to Black (if Black <8.5 percent). We argue that the proposed method is appropriate for all race–based studies using spatially relevant theoretical constructs such as segregation and gentrification.

Addressing Asian American Misrepresentation and Underrepresentation in Research

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial/ethnic minority group in the United States and have unique, heterogenous health status and outcomes across a range of conditions between disaggregated Asian subgroups. Despite the rapid growth of this group, clinical and epidemiologic research lags considerably in adequately and ap­propriately representing Asian Americans. Too often, Asian American participants and populations are inappropriately aggregated into a single race category in research, masking important differences between ethnic subgroups. In this commentary, actionable recommendations are provided to investigators in order to enhance inclu­sion and representation of Asian Americans in a broad scope of research programs. Incorporating these recommendations in research planning and conduct will support health and promote health equity for these populations. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(3):513-516; doi:10.18865/ed.30.3.513

High Thermoregulatory Strain During Competitive Paratriathlon Racing in the Heat

Purpose: Paratriathletes may display impairments in autonomic (sudomotor and/or vasomotor function) or behavioral (drinking and/or pacing of effort) thermoregulation. As such, this study aimed to describe the thermoregulatory profile of athletes competing in the heat. Methods: Core temperature (Tc) was recorded at 30-second intervals in 28 mixed-impairment paratriathletes during competition in a hot environment (air temperature = 33°C, relative humidity = 35%–41%, and water temperature = 25°C–27°C), via an ingestible temperature sensor (BodyCap e-Celsius). Furthermore, in a subset of 9 athletes, skin temperature was measured. Athletes’ wetsuit use was noted while heat illness symptoms were self-reported postrace. Results: In total, 22 athletes displayed a Tc ≥ 39.5°C with 8 athletes ≥40.0°C. There were increases across the average Tc for swim, bike, and run sections (P ≤ .016). There was no change in skin temperature during the race (P ≥ .086). Visually impaired athletes displayed a significantly greater Tc during the run section than athletes in a wheelchair (P ≤ .021). Athletes wearing a wetsuit (57% athletes) had a greater Tc when swimming (P ≤ .032), whereas those reporting heat illness symptoms (57% athletes) displayed a greater Tc at various time points (P ≤ .046). Conclusions: Paratriathletes face significant thermal strain during competition in the heat, as evidenced by high Tc, relative to previous research in able-bodied athletes and a high incidence of self-reported heat illness symptomatology. Differences in the Tc profile exist depending on athletes’ race category and wetsuit use.