Purpose:
Through combing the 40 years’ history of the development of Chinese educational policy research, this article attempts to sort out the efforts and lessons learned by researchers in the field ...of education policy in China.
Design/Approach/Methods:
As one of the earliest scholars engaged in the study of Chinese education policy, based on the academic publications, symposia, and thematic research, the author has found efforts in four directions in the field: proposals for policy-oriented research and research-oriented policy, disciplinization-based endeavors, empirical research on theory-guided educational policy, and guidance on major educational policy research topics and a think tank for educational policy decisions.
Findings:
This article argues that there is now a correspondence among the ideas, themes, forms, and frameworks of the educational reform promulgated by the government in recent years that have appeared in educational policy research, but there is no clear demarcation of what makes an educational policy researcher; no stable academic community has been formed that might strive together toward the foundation of a disciplinary paradigm, the rational organization of academic ideas, and the establishment and handing over of a theoretical framework to a succeeding generation.
Originality/Value:
This article takes a step back to claim that a paradigm for Chinese educational policy research is still nascent in the arduous process of formulation.
A simple and economic strategy to construct a chitosan-ink carbon nanoparticle sponge sensor was proposed by freeze-drying of chitosan and Chinese ink mixture solution. The microstructure and ...physical properties of the composite sponges with different ratios are characterized. The interfacial compatibility of chitosan and carbon nanoparticles in ink is satisfied, and the mechanical property and porosity of chitosan was increased by the incorporation of carbon nanoparticles. Due to excellent conductivity and good photothermal conversion effect of the carbon nanoparticles in ink, the constructed flexible sponge sensor has satisfactory strain and temperature sensing performance and high sensitivity (133.05 ms). In addition, these sensors can be successfully applied to monitor the large joint movement of the human body and the movement of muscle groups near the esophagus. Dual functionally integrated sponge sensors show great potential for strain and temperature detection in real time. The prepared chitosan-ink carbon nanoparticle composite shows promising applications in wearable smart sensors.
Abstract
Background
Growing evidences indicate that the alterations in gut microbiota are associated with the efficacy of glucocorticoids (GCs) in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). ...However, there is no evidence to prove whether gut microbiota directly mediates the effects of GCs.
Methods
Using the MRL/lpr mice, this study firstly addressed the effects of three doses of prednisone on gut microbiota. Then, this study used fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to transfer the gut microbiota of prednisone-treated MRL/lpr mice into the blank MRL/lpr mice to reveal whether the gut microbiota regulated by prednisone had similar therapeutic efficiency and side effects as prednisone.
Results
The effects of prednisone on gut microbiota were dose-dependent in the treatment of MRL/lpr mice. After transplantation into MRL/lpr mice, prednisone-regulated gut microbiota could alleviate lupus, which might be due to decreasing
Ruminococcus
and
Alistipes
and retaining the abundance of
Lactobacillus
. However, prednisone-regulated gut microbiota did not exhibit side effects as prednisone. The reason might be that the pathogens upregulated by prednisone could not survive in the MRL/lpr mice as exogenous microbiota, such as
Parasutterella
,
Parabacteroides
, and
Escherichia-Shigella
.
Conclusions
These data demonstrated that the transplantation of gut microbiota may be an effective method to obtain the therapeutic effects of GCs and avoid the side effects of GCs.
Simiao decoction, a classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, has been widely used for thousands of years due to its safety and efficiency in treating gouty arthritis. Utilizing serum ...proinflammatory cytokines and gut ecosystems, this study elucidated the mechanisms of alleviating gouty arthritis by Simiao decoction. Simiao decoction (4.0, 8.0, and 16.0 g/kg) was orally administered to gouty arthritis mice and febuxostat was given as a positive control. The spleen, kidney, and liver indexes indicated that Simiao decoction was safe for the treatment of gouty arthritis in C57BL/6 mice. Besides, our study demonstrated that Simiao decoction was effective for reducing the level of serum uric acid and decreasing MPO, XOD, and ADA activity, as well as alleviating gouty-related symptoms, such as foot swelling and pain. Moreover, Simiao decoction could also reduce some specific serum proinflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-9, IFN-γ, MIP-1α and MIP-1β. We then surveyed the effects of Simiao decoction on the gut ecosystems in a systematic manner by combining network pharmacology, ELISA, western blot, and illumina sequencing. In the murine of model of gouty arthritis, Simiao decoction could suppress NLRP3 inflammasomes expression, reduce gut apoptosis through modulating TNF-α, Caspase 8, and AIFM1 protein expressions, affect lipid metabolism by regulating APOB, LPL, PPARα protein expressions and restore gut microbiota
via
reducing potential pathogens. Overall, these findings suggested that Simiao decoction was an effective therapeutic drug for gouty arthritis and the gut ecosystem might act as a potential anti-inflammatory target of Simiao decoction.
Photothermal nanoplatforms with small size, low cost, multifunctionality, good biocompatibility and in particular biodegradability are greatly desired in the exploration of novel diagnostic and ...therapeutic methodologies. Despite Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) have been approved as safe clinical agents, the low molar extinction coefficient and subsequent poor photothermal performance shed the doubt as effective photothermal materials. In this paper, we demonstrate the fabrication of polypyrrole (PPy)-enveloped Fe3O4 NP superstructures with a spherical morphology, which leads to a 300-fold increase in the molar extinction coefficient. The basic idea is the optimization of Fe3O4 electronic structures. By controlling the self-assembly of Fe3O4 NPs, the diameters of the superstructures are tuned from 32 to 64 nm. This significantly enhances the indirect transition and magnetic coupling of Fe ions, thus increasing the molar extinction coefficient of Fe3O4 NPs from 3.65 × 106 to 1.31 × 108 M–1 cm–1 at 808 nm. The envelopment of Fe3O4 superstructures with conductive PPy shell introduces additional electrons in the Fe3O4 oscillation system, and therewith further enhances the molar extinction coefficient to 1.12 × 109 M–1 cm–1. As a result, the photothermal performance is greatly improved. Primary cell experiments indicate that PPy-enveloped Fe3O4 NP superstructures are low toxic, and capable to kill Hela cells under near-infrared laser irradiation. Owing to the low cost, good biocompatibility and biodegradability, the PPy-enveloped Fe3O4 NP superstructures are promising photothermal platform for establishing novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods.
Metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are promising catalysts for dye degradation in wastewater treatment despite the challenges of NP recovery and recycling. In this study, water-dispersible NP ...superstructures with spherical morphology were constructed from hydrophobic Pd and Fe3O4 NPs by virtue of the oil droplets in an oil-in-water microemulsion as templates. Control of the evaporation rate of organic solvents in the oil droplets produces solid, hollow, and bowl-like superstructures. The component Fe3O4 and in particular Pd NPs can catalyze H2O2 degradation to create hydroxyl radicals and therewith degrade various dyes, and the magnetic Fe3O4 NPs also permit recycling of the superstructures with a magnet. Because the hollow and bowl-like superstructures increase the contact area of the NPs with their surroundings in comparison to solid superstructures, the catalytic activity is greatly enhanced. To improve the structural stability, the superstructures were further enveloped with a thin polypyrrole (PPy) shell, which does not weaken the catalytic activity. Because the current method is facile and feasible to create recyclable catalysts, it will promote the practicability of NP catalysts in treating industrial polluted water.
The screen‐printing process of conductive ink can realize simple and large‐scale manufacture of micro/nano patterns for producing wearable electronic products. Herein, chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) are ...used as a dispersant for the preparation of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) ink with high viscosity and uniformity by ultrasound treatment. ChNCs can interact with MWCNT in noncovalent ways, including π–π and hydrophobic interactions. ChNCs/MWCNT (CCNT) ink does not aggregate even after standing for 3 months with a maximum MWCNT concentration of 33 mg mL−1 and dispersion efficiency of 91.1%. Using CCNT ink, a paper‐based thermoelectric generator (TEG) is manufactured by screen‐printing technology. With good thermoelectric and strain sensing properties, CCNT coated paper can stably collect human energy at room temperature to realize self‐powering. The CCNT coated paper‐based TEG can convert thermal voltage signals into musical notes, monitor the changes in human behavior and respiratory rate, and monitor joint movements. Moreover, CCNT coated paper has no cytotoxicity by CCK‐8 and live/dead staining. This work puts forward a strategy of green preparation of MWCNT‐based ink by adding renewable chitin, which opens up a new way to apply MWCNT‐based ink in self‐powering wearable multifunctional sensors.
A stable and biocompatible multiwalled carbon nanotube ink stabilized by chitin nanocrystals is prepared, in which the two nanoparticles can interact via π–π and hydrophobic interactions. The conductive ink is coated on paper by screen‐printing technology to obtain the paper‐based thermoelectric generator, which shows multifunctional applications in self‐powering wearable sensor.
Environmental pollutants like methylmercury (MeHg) can bring devastating neurotoxicity to animals and human beings. Gut microbiota has been found to demethylate MeHg and promote the excretion of Hg ...through feces. However, the impacts of MeHg on gut microbiota and metabolites related to gut-brain interactions were less studied in mammals. The object of this study was to investigate the impacts of acute MeHg exposure on gut microbiome and metabolites together with its impact on gut integrity and related biological responses in rats. Rats were exposed to MeHg through oral administration and were sacrificed after 24 h 16 S rRNA gene sequencing was used to study the perturbance to gut microbiome and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used for metabolomics profiling. It was found that gut was one of the target tissues of MeHg. MeHg induce the changes of intestinal microbial community structure and induce the regulating neuron activity change of intestinal neurotransmitters and metabolites on intestinal neurotransmitters and metabolites regulating the neuron activity. This was supported by the increased BDNF level. These findings may suggest a potential new mechanism regarding the neurotoxicity of MeHg. The protocols used in this study may also be applied to understand the neurotoxicity of other environmental neurotoxins like Pb, Mn, polychlorinated biphenyls, and pesticides, etc and to screen the neurotoxicity of emerging environmental contaminants.
•MeHg induces the changes of intestinal microbial community structure.•MeHg alters gut-brain axis related metabolites.•Gut is one of the target tissues of MeHg toxicity.
Humidity was an unfavorable factor for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA disease activity was severe in high humidity conditions. However, there is no evidence to demonstrate the effects of ...humidity on arthritis in the animal experiments and explore its relevant mechanism.
Using the DBA/1 mice, this study addressed the effects of a high humidity (80 ± 5%) on arthritis in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice. Then, this study used the gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) to explore alterations in serum metabolome caused by the high humidity. Furthermore, xylitol and L-pyroglutamic acid, which were both significantly upregulated by the high humidity, were selected to further study their effects on arthritis in the CIA mice.
The high humidity (80 ± 5%) could aggravate arthritis variables including increasing arthritis score and swelling, serum autoantibodies (anti-COII and anti-CCP), and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-17A, and G-CSF). In addition, the high humidity could cause significant alterations in serum metabolome in the CIA mice. Xylitol and L-pyroglutamic acid were the representative serum metabolites that were significantly upregulated by the high humidity. Further experiments demonstrated that the supplementation of 0.4 mg/mL xylitol in drinking water after inducing the CIA model and 2.0 mg/mL in drinking water before inducing the CIA model could both aggravate arthritis in the CIA mice.
These data demonstrated that high humidity was not beneficial for arthritis development and its mechanism might be associated with xylitol and L-pyroglutamic acid.
Growing evidence indicates that exposure to high levels of nitrite for a prolonged time has adverse health effects. Although gut microbiota is responsible for the transformation of nitrite in the ...gut, the evidence concerning whether gut microbiota mediates the toxicity of nitrite is still lacking. The present study addressed the long-term effects of dietary nitrite on male C57BL/6 mice and employed fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to reveal whether gut microbiota mediated the effects of nitrite. Furthermore, the effect of azoxymethane (AOM) on gut microbiota was detected for mice drinking normal or nitrite-containing water. High nitrite had toxic effects on C57BL/6 mice. Meanwhile, high nitrite induced skin lesions in mice, accompanied with increased serum ALT, colon IL-6, TNF-α, and MDA levels, together with decreased serum Cr, colon sIgA, and T-AOC levels. After fecal microbiota was transplanted into the normal mice, the nitrite-regulated gut microbiota could also induce skin lesions, coupled with reduced serum Cr, and increased colon MDA. The high dose of nitrite caused the upregulations of Alistipes, Prevotella, and Ruminococcus, which could be transplanted into normal mice through FMT. Inversely, gut microbiota from normal mice reduced the effects of nitrite on serum ALT and Cr, together with colon sIgA and MDA. Gut microbiota from normal mice could also upregulate metabolic genes and downregulate stress genes in the nitrite-treated mice. It might due to the upregulation of Akkermansia and Parabacteroides caused by FMT from normal water-treated mice to nitrite-treated mice. In addition, AOM exhibited to be more toxic to the colon in the nitrite-treated mice in comparison with normal water-treated mice, and it might be due to the expression of Hspa1a and Hspa1b in the colon. Interestingly, gut microbiota was more influenced by AOM in the normal water-treated mice than the nitrite-treated mice. Overall, these data demonstrated that gut microbiota mediated the toxicity of a high concentration of dietary nitrite.
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•Long term of nitrite (0.3 g/L NaNO2 in drinking water) caused toxicity on C57BL/6 mice.•The toxicity of nitrite could be alleviated by the transplantation of fecal microbiota from normal C57BL/6 mice.•The gut microbiota regulated by nitrite could induced the toxicity as the nitrite in C57BL/6 mice.•Azoxymethane (AOM) exhibited to be more toxic to colon in the nitrite-treated mice than in the normal water-treated mice.
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