Blinn College

In this essay, I argue that Korean food and the circulation of memories about Korean food become a potent site through which Korean Americans negotiate and reclaim their Korean cultural ties within the larger context of the Korean diaspora and American national culture. Through a close reading of two memoirs – Crying in H Mart (2021) and Tastes Like War (2021) – I demonstrate how food memories consolidate a feminist genealogy of memories that brings domestic and intimate family relations to the fore. The affective responses to the memories evoked by the sights and smells of food demonstrate how food memories push the boundaries of the cultural politics of memory. Everyday practices of writing a personal and intimate history of mother–daughter relations through memories of food bring to light the macropolitics of the Korean diaspora in the US. I explain how what I call the culinary politics of memory effectively questions not just Korean American patriarchy, but also American exceptionalism and white saviourhood. Rather than celebrating assimilative multiculturalism, these memoirs give voice to traumatic memories of war, economic militarism, and the ensuing displacements and their impacts on Korean migrant brides and their children in the US.

Racism in education and clinical practice continues to impact health outcomes in the United States. Students and faculty at a large public university identified a gap in advanced practice nursing education and advocated for the creation of a course focused on structural racism and its impact on health outcomes. This article reviews the development of a course curriculum- Racism, Health Care, and Social Justice -focused on structural racism that was designed and implemented to address curricular gaps in a master's program. This course aligns with the updated AACN Essentials, which emphasize a need for structural competency in nursing practice. A single course can expand student understanding of racism in health care and the concepts of structural competency. Future nursing education should more extensively incorporate these concepts.

We enjoyed reading the article by Alimoradi et al titled “Metformin Exhibits Anti-Inflammatory Effects by Regulating microRNA-451/CXCL16 and B Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma 2 in Patients With Osteoarthritis” and would like to offer additional commentary on the potential of metformin as an anti-inflammatory therapeutic in osteoarthritis (OA) management.1 We hope these perspectives may provide insight into areas that may require further research and improvement. Alimoradi et al1 reported that metformin mediates anti-inflammatory effects through the regulation of microRNA-451 and CXCL16 expression, highlighting its impact on pathways that influence B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) protein levels. They found that metformin reduced markers of inflammation in patients with OA, suggesting a potential role for this common antidiabetic medication in managing OA beyond glycemic control. The article calls for further investigation into the molecular pathways involved and concluded that metformin could play a dual role in managing OA symptoms through anti-inflammatory mechanisms. The effect it had on the inflammatory pathways—even through the modulation of microRNA-451—has been an assured avenue of therapy in the management of OA. Recent reviews, including one by Kristófi and Eriksson,2 emphasize that the anti-inflammatory activity in this drug is mediated through activation of AMP kinase and, in turn, inhibiting mechanistic target of rapamycin and NF-κB, both important signaling pathways in inflammation. This delineates support for the findings of the article on microRNA-451 indicating that metformin holds promise in reducing inflammation by modulating microRNA pathways.2 The article also confirms the results by Alimoradi et al,3 who stated that metformin reduced the symptoms of OA by especially taking into consideration genetic parameters, such as BCL-2 and CXCL16 polymorphisms, affecting inflammatory and apoptotic pathways. They observed a marked improvement in pain, daily activities, and quality of life among their patients with OA who were being treated with metformin in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Although this is methodologically sound, a more heterogeneous population with longer follow-up would greatly enhance the generalizability of findings. This study would be further enhanced by the addition of objective measures of inflammation alongside patient-reported outcomes.3 Apart from that, Kim et al4 reviewed the additional use of metformin in several autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases other than OA. Their review emphasizes how the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase by metformin can influence immune cell functions and inflammatory responses, including those specific to OA. These results indicate that, besides alleviating the symptoms, metformin acts at the very root of OA inflammation that leads to the advancement of the disease. This perspective is a reinforcement that therapeutic benefits from metformin go beyond glucose regulation, thus making it a worthy treatment modality in the management of inflammatory diseases such as OA.4 Ultimately, this article presents a timely and relevant investigation into the molecular mechanisms of OA and highlights the value of repurposing existing medications for inflammatory conditions. The study broadens our understanding of metformin's impact on OA management and encourages further exploration of anti-inflammatory therapeutics for improved patient outcomes. We applaud the authors for not only emphasizing the importance of microRNA and CXCL16 regulation in OA but also establishing a basis for future studies on anti-inflammatory pathways in joint disease management. We look forward to reading about future studies that provide additional insight into these therapeutic mechanisms.

To the editor: We enjoyed reading the article by Jossein et al., titled “Failure rate of the pulmonary embolism rule-out criteria rule for adults 35 years or younger: Findings from the RIETE Registry” and would like to offer additional commentary on the methodology and clinical implications of this research.1 We hope these perspectives may provide insight into areas that may require further research and improvement. Jossein et al. reported validity of the PERC-35 rule, highlighting its potential to reduce imaging and radiation exposure in young patients. They found that the PERC-35 rule demonstrated a low false-negative rate of 0.35%, suggesting the test's trustability in this age group. The paper calls for further research validation of the PERC-35 rule via a prospective study and concluded that in the future, the PERC-35 rule could be a valuable tool in an emergency department setting. Firstly, the study's reliance on the RIETE Registry provides a large data set, but its retrospective nature introduces biases and limitations. For example, the absence of formal documentation for pretest PE probability undermines the appropriate application of the PERC-35 rule, which is designed for patients with low pretest probability.1, 2 This gap challenges the validity of the conclusions. Next, we noted that the study excluded pregnancy and postpartum conditions, despite these being significant risk factors for PE in young women. Nearly half of the female PERC-35N patients in the study were pregnant or postpartum. The addition of a “pregnancy or postpartum” criterion could enhance the rule's relevance and prevent unnecessary imaging in this demographic. Although a practice of being unnecessarily thorough with guidelines and criteria can lead to longer experimental periods and increased costs,3 it is still essential to include further detail in the PERC-35 rule to make it applicable and accurate for a wider demographic. Finally, the validation of the PERC-35 rule for pulmonary embolism in younger persons is examined in this work in a timely and pertinent manner. The study suggests more prospective research for better clinical use and emphasizes how the rule may prevent needless imaging and radiation exposure. We commend the authors for pointing out areas where the PERC-35 regulation might be improved for wider applicability in addition to stressing the significance of evidence-based decision making in emergency situations. We anticipate reading about upcoming research that sheds more light on these variables. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.