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The incarcerated population has little or no access to science education programs, STEM resources, or sci-entists. We explored the effects of a low-cost, potentially high-impact informal science education program that enabled NASA scientists to provide astrobiology lectures to adults inside 16 correctional institutions in three states. Post- versus pre-lecture surveys suggest that presentations significantly increased science content knowledge, positively shifted attitudes about science and scientists, increased a sense of science self-identity, and enhanced behavioral intentions about communicating science. These were significant across ethnicity, gender, education level, and institution type, size, location, and state. Men scored higher than women on pre-lecture survey questions. Among men, participants with greater levels of education and White non-Hispanics scored higher than those with less educational attainment and African American and other minority participants. Increases in science content knowledge were greater for women than men and, among men, for those with lower levels of education and African American participants. Women increased more in science identity than did men. Thus, even limited exposure to voluntary, non-credit science lectures delivered by scientists can be an effective way to broker a relationship to science for this underserved public group and can potentially serve as a step to broaden participation in science.
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This content will become publicly available on December 1, 2025
Healthier Lipid Profiles of Japanese Adults, Especially in Women with Elevated High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C), Are Associated with Low HDL-C Peroxide Content
Japanese adults typically have healthier lipid profiles than American and European adults and a lower prevalence and later onset of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Many Japanese also have uniquely elevated levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The following analysis examined the relationship between HDL-C level and HDL-C peroxide content, a bioindicator of unhealthy lipid metabolism in Japanese adults. Blood samples were collected from 463 participants, 31–84 years of age, who lived in Tokyo. A second blood sample was collected 5 years later from 241 of the participants, allowing us to evaluate the temporal stability of the inverse correlation between HDL-C level and HDL-C peroxide content. Glucoregulation and inflammatory activity were assessed because both can be associated with dyslipidemia and HDL-C dysfunction. Obesity and central adiposity were also considered. Overall, women had healthier HDL-C profiles than men. Elevated HDL-C (>90 mg/dL) was common (16.6%) and found more often in women. Higher HDL-C peroxide content was associated with older age and central adiposity and incremented further when HA1c and CRP were higher. When assessed 5 years later, lower HDL-C peroxide content continued to be evident in adults with higher HDL-C. While similar associations have been described for other populations, most Japanese adults typically had healthier levels of HDL-C with lower HDL-C peroxide content than previously reported for American adults.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1917727
- PAR ID:
- 10557411
- Publisher / Repository:
- Antioxidants
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Antioxidants
- Volume:
- 13
- Issue:
- 12
- ISSN:
- 2076-3921
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1434
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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