In recent years, flipped classes have emerged and become popular in college medical education. However, due to the huge medical learning system and the limited pre-class study time of students, it is ...difficult to implement in all courses. And then we adopted the semi-flipped classes (SFCs) to evaluate its teaching effect. This study analysed three educational methods that can be used in oral medicine courses: online education, offline education, and semi-flipped classes.
We used two surveys to evaluate the three educational methods. In the first survey 46 teachers and 238 undergraduates shared their experience of the live-streaming and traditional offline courses offered in the different oral medicine curricula; we used anonymous questionnaires to evaluate their class experience. In the second survey 94 students shared their experience of the semi-flipped and traditional classrooms. Students who attended the SFCs in the experimental group learned about the oral mucosa disease by themselves using an online video course and then participated in offline interaction with teachers. The evaluation of the above educational methods was conducted using the anonymous questionnaires and final exam assessment.
According to the first survey, teachers and students both agreed that the overall teaching experience and learning effectiveness in offline education are superior to those in online education. According to the second survey, students who participated in the SFCs performed better in the final exam than those who participated in the simple offline classes. Additionally, the survey showed that the new teaching method helped students gain more knowledge and positively influenced their clinical practice.
Compared with the online and offline educational methods, the SFC showed better results in both the questionnaire and final exam assessment. Hence, the effectiveness of medical education can be improved by adopting a teaching mode that combines online and offline teaching methods. Scientific and logical SFCs designs, along with their effective implementation, would eventually make SFCs an important tool for medical education.
TiO
2
/SnO
x
-Au ternary heterostructures were successfully fabricated
via
a simple
in situ
reduction of AuCl
4
−
on TiO
2
surfaces pre-modified with Sn
2+
. The samples were characterized by XRD, ...TEM, XPS, N
2
physical absorption and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra. Photocatalytic activity toward degradation of methylene blue (MB) aqueous solution under visible light irradiation was investigated. The results suggested that the highly dispersive and ultrafine Au nanoparticles (NPs) covered with SnO
x
were deposited onto the surface of TiO
2
. The heterostructures significantly enhanced the photocatalytic activity compared with the traditional TiO
2
/Au sample prepared by the impregnation method and also enhanced the activity more than the binary TiO
2
/SnO
x
sample. Moreover, the size of the Au NPs could be well controlled by simply tuning the dosage of HAuCl
4
, and the optimized catalytic activity of the ternary heterostructures was obtained when the dosage of Au was 1% and the Au particle size was ∼2.65 nm. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance could be attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect of the Au NPs and the electron-sink function of the SnO
x
, which improve the optical absorption properties as well as photoinduced charge carrier separation, synergistically facilitating the photocatalysis.
A facile method based on
in situ
reduction is described for constructing TiO
2
/SnO
x
-Au ternary heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic performance.
Objective: Browning of white adipocytes is considered an efficient approach to combat obesity. Rosiglitazone induces the thermogenetic program of white adipocytes, but the underlying mechanisms ...remain elusive. Methods: Expression levels of browning and autophagy flux markers were detected by real-time PCR and immunoblotting. H&E and Oil Red O staining were performed to evaluate the lipid droplets area. Nuclear protein extraction and immunoprecipitation were used to detect the proteins interaction. Results: In this study, we reported that rosiglitazone promoted adipocyte browning and inhibited autophagy. Rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, reversed adipocyte browning induced by rosiglitazone. Autophagy inhibition by rosiglitazone does not prevent mitochondrial clearance, which was considered to promote adipose whitening. Instead, autophagy inhibition increased p62 nuclear translocation and stabilized the PPARγ–RXRα heterodimer, which is an essential transcription factor for adipocyte browning. We found that rosiglitazone activated NRF2 in mature adipocytes. Inhibition of NRF2 by ML385 reversed autophagy inhibition and the pro-browning effect of rosiglitazone. Conclusion: Our study linked autophagy inhibition with rosiglitazone-promoted browning of adipocytes and provided a mechanistic insight into the pharmacological effects of rosiglitazone.
Energy harvesting (EH) is a prominent method to extend the operation time of energy-limited wireless networks. By integrating EH into wireless communications, the same spectrum is able to be used by ...simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) without affecting the quality of service. In this paper, we propose a joint subcarrier and power allocation-based SWIPT scheme in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Specifically, the received OFDM subcarriers are partitioned into two groups. A fraction of the received subcarriers are allocated to form one group, which is used for information decoding (ID), and the remaining subcarriers form the other group, which is used for energy harvesting. Thus, no splitter is needed at the receiver. A joint subcarrier and power allocation problem is formulated to maximize the harvested energy, subject to the ID constraint. By using the dual decomposition method, an efficient algorithm is proposed to solve this joint resource allocation problem.
Cerebral aneurysms (CA) are critical conditions often associated with oxidative stress in vascular endothelial cells (VECs). The enzyme lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) plays a crucial role in ...glycolysis and lactate metabolism, processes implicated in the pathogenesis of aneurysms. Understanding these molecular mechanisms can inform the development of novel therapeutic targets. This study investigated the role of lactate metabolism and lactate-related genes, particularly LDHA and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) genes, in VECs during oxidative stress. Using the GSE26969 dataset, we identified differential expression of lactate-related genes and performed functional enrichment analysis, revealing significant associations with glycolysis and lactate metabolic pathways. To induce oxidative stress, VECs were treated with H2O2, and the expression of LDHA and VEGFA was analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting (WB) assays. Under oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) conditions, the effects of LDHA overexpression and VEGFA knockdown on cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated. Immunoprecipitation combined with western blotting was used to detect the lactylation status of LDHA following OGD/R stimulation and treatment with lactic acid (LA) and 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG). Our results indicated that oxidative stress modulates LDHA expression, glucose uptake, and lactate production, suggesting a metabolic shift towards glycolysis. LDHA overexpression improved cell survival and reduced apoptosis, while VEGFA knockdown had the opposite effect. Additionally, 2-DG treatment reduced LDHA lactylation and apoptosis. Our findings demonstrated that LDHA plays a critical role in the oxidative stress response of VECs, highlighting the potential therapeutic value of targeting glycolysis in CA. This study contributes to the understanding of metabolic adaptations in vascular pathologies and suggests new avenues for therapeutic intervention in CA management.
Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), an established model organism, has been widely used in environmental toxicology research. However, most of the current toxicity testing methods based on worms are ...time-consuming. In this study we aimed to develop an automated and highly-integrated platform for high-throughput and in situ toxicity testing. Considering the superiority of C. elegans as a neurotoxicological model, this platform mainly evaluates general toxicology and neurotoxicology endpoints, which are usually induced by metals and pesticides, the major environmental contaminants. Microplates were used as a worm culturing system, which have good compatibility with any commercial microplate applicable instruments. We developed a microfluidic-based module for worm dispensing, and an image acquisition/analysis module for monitoring worms and detecting toxicity endpoints in bright filed. These were collectively incorporated with a commercial pipetting workstation for automated food/drug delivery and a high-content analysis system for fluorescence detection. The integrated platform achieved an efficient on-demand worm dispensing, long-term maintenance, regular monitoring and imaging, survival assay and behavioral analyses, and visualized gene reporter assay. Moreover, “Lab on Web” was achieved by connecting the platform to the web for remote operation, worm monitoring, and phenotype calculation. To demonstrate the ability of the platform for automated toxicity testing assays; worms were treated with cadmium and longevity, neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity and gst-4 expression were evaluated. We determined its feasibility and proposed the potential application in high-throughput toxicity screening for environmental risk assessment in the nearest future.
•An automated and integrated platform is required for high-throughput toxicity testing.•Specific number of worms can be dispensed to microplates automatically.•Microplate-based system have good compatibility with applicable instruments.•Neurotoxicity indicators like bend frequency and oxidative stress level can be evaluated.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Hesperetin is a class of natural products with a wide range of sources and remarkable biological activities. In this study, we described the synthesis of a series of novel hesperetin derivatives and ...evaluated the in vitro antioxidant and antitumor activity of these compounds. Eleven novel compounds were synthesized in moderate yields. The compounds synthesized in this work exhibited antioxidant activities against DPPH and ABTS free radicals in a dose-dependent manner. Among them, compound
had the best antioxidant activity, with IC
of 1.2 μM and 24 μM for DPPH and ABTS, respectively. The antitumor activity of the compounds against human cancer cell lines, such as breast MCF-7, liver HepG2, and cervical Hela, was determined by a standard 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-
-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Three compounds had moderate IC
values. Interestingly, compound
had better biological activity than hesperetin, which matches the prediction by Maestro from Schrödinger. Therefore, the new hesperidin derivative is a promising drug for the treatment of cancer due to its effective antitumor activity. The results also suggested that the antitumor activities of hesperetin derivatives may be related to their antioxidant activities.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common malignant myeloid diseases in adults with a dismal prognosis. We aimed to explore the effects of circNFIX on the proliferation and apoptosis of ...AML cells.
The expressions of circNFIX, miR-876-3p and tripartite motif (TRIM) 31 in the bone marrow specimens of AML patients and AML cell lines were detected by qRT-PCR or western blot. Cell proliferation was evaluated by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and 5-ethynyl-29-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays. Cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to detect protein expression. The relationship between miR-876-3p and circNFIX or TRIM31 was identified by dual-luciferase reporter assay or RNA pull-down assay.
The expression level of circNFIX was significantly increased in the bone marrow samples of AML patients and AML cells when compared with normal controls. CircNFIX silencing inhibited AML cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. Inhibition of miR-876-3p reversed the effect of circNFIX knockdown on AML cell progression. In addition, circNFIX indirectly regulated TRIM31 through miR-876-3p. Further, TRIM31 overexpression counteracted the effect of circNFIX silencing on AML cell proliferation and apoptosis.
CircNFIX knockdown could suppress the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of AML cells by targeting the miR-876-3p/TRIM31 axis.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background
ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK-ALCL) is a rare heterogeneous malignancy of T-cell origin.ALK- ALCL has a poor prognosis, with more patients experiencing relapses and ...refractory to treatment, and its treatment remains challenging. We report a case with bone involvement as the main clinical manifestation of recurrent, and the patient achieved significant partial remission after brentuximab vedotin(BV) combined with a modified CHEP chemotherapy containing mitoxantrone hydrochloride liposome (PLM60) with the addition of chidamide maintenance therapy and received regular follow-up, with a disease-free survival of 16 months to date. A literature review of the clinical presentation and treatment of ALCL was also conducted to identify strategies for its diagnosis and management.
Conclusions
ALK-ALCL with bone involvement as the main manifestation of recurrent is relatively rare. Here, BV combined a modified CHEP chemotherapy containing mitoxantrone hydrochloride liposome was applied for the first time in a patient with relapsed ALK-ALCL, inducing remission and extending survival. However, further prospective studies with many patients are needed to determine the biological characteristics of this rare type of ALK-ALCL and relevant treatment strategies.
•Pretreatment with Corbrin for a certain period of time significantly boosted the defense mechanism against permanent cerebral ischemia.•Pretreatment with Corbrin had no effects on transient cerebral ...ischemia.•The mechanisms of Corbrin against cerebral ischemia might be associated with increase of ATP concentration and the anti-inflammatory effects.
Corbrin Capsule is a traditional Chinese patent medicine with the main component of fermentative cordyceps fungus powder (Cs-C-Q80). The indications of Corbrin Capsule include chronic renal insufficiency, chronic obstructive pulmonary (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, and chronic bronchitis. However, the effects of Corbrin Capsule on acute cerebral ischemia are still unclear. The objective of this study was to explore the preventive effect of Corbrin Capsule in permanent and transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MACO) mice model. Male C57BL/6 mice were given Corbrin of 0.04, 0.2 and 1 mg/kg by gavage once a day for 3, 7 or 14 days and then subjected to pMCAO or tMCAO. Infarct volumes, neurological deficit score, ATP concentration, SOD activity and MDA content were assessed. Results showed that prolonged pretreatment with Corbrin (1.0 mg/kg) to 7 days or more effectively ameliorated brain infarct and neurological scores in pMCAO mice. Shorter (3 days) or without pretreatment of Corbrin was invalid, suggesting a pretreatment time window. The ATP concentration was significantly increased with effective Corbrin pretreatments in ischemic brains, while the content of MDA sharply decreased in Corbrin groups. In tMCAO mice, Corbrin showed no neuroprotection even with pretreatment. In conclusion, long-term pre-administration of Corbrin Capsule is necessary for its anti-cerebral ischemic effects, and the underlying mechanisms might be associated with increase of ATP concentration and the anti-inflammatory effects in ischemic brain tissue.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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