The Use of Blended Teaching in Higher Medical Education during the Pandemic Era.

Objective: This study aims to compare the effect of blended teaching and traditional teaching in higher medical education during the pandemic era. Methods: Taking the teaching of neurology as an example, 293 Yangzhou University Clinical Medicine 2016 undergraduate students were selected as the research subjects, and were randomly divided into 2 groups a blended teaching group (n = 148) and a traditional teaching group (n = 145), and received blended teaching and traditional teaching, respectively. The blended teaching was based on a Massive Open Online Course, problem-based learning, and case-based learning and supplemented by Tencent video conferences, QQ messaging groups, and other auxiliary teaching tools. At the end of the course, the teaching effect and satisfaction rate were evaluated through theory assessment, practical skills assessment, and an anonymous questionnaire survey. Results: There were significant differences in theoretical achievements (81.83 ± 6.23 vs 76.79 ± 6.87, P < 0.001) and practical skill achievements (84.74 ± 6.50 vs 78.48 ± 6.53, P < 0.001). In addition, significant differences in all aspects of satisfaction rate were observed between the two groups (all P < 0.001). Conclusion: Blended teaching is beneficial to students' learning and stimulates their enthusiasm, cultivates clinical thinking ability, and improves teaching quality. Thus, it has played a positive role in the reform of higher medical teaching during the pandemic era.

Identification and validation of an immune-associated RNA-binding proteins signature to predict clinical outcomes and therapeutic responses in colon cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The immune infiltration of patients with colon cancer (CC) is closely associated with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). However, immune-associated RBPs (IARBPs) in CC remain unexplored. METHODS: The data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the patients were divided into four immune subgroups by single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), in which weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) identified modules of co-expressed genes correlated with immune infiltration. Univariate (UCR) and multivariate Cox regression (MCR) analyses were applied to screen survival-associated IARBPs. Then, a prognostic signature was performed on TCGA dataset. Risk model was constructed based on the TCGA dataset. Based on the median risk score, CC patients were subdivided into low- and high-risk groups. Furthermore, the accuracy and prognostic value of this signature were validated by using Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curve, receiver operating characteristic (ROC). We further validated the findings in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Finally, we evaluated the association between gene expression level and drug sensitivity. RESULTS: Based on the infiltration of immune cells, the TCGA patients were divided into four subgroups. In total, we identified 25 IARBPs, after differential expression and WGCNA analysis. Subsequently, two IARBP signatures (FBXO17 and PPARGC1A) were identified to be significantly associated with the overall survival (OS) of CC patients. K-M survival analysis revealed that the low-risk group correlated with prolonged OS. The prognostic signature was an independent prognostic factor and reflects the immune status of CC patients. Finally, FBXO17 was related with drug sensitivity of bleomycin, gemcitabine, and lenvatinib. PPARGC1A was related to drug sensitivity of dabrafenib, vemurafenib, and trametinib. CONCLUSION: A novel two immune-associated RBPs that was established that may be useful in predicting survival and individualized treatment.

Synthesis of 2,5-diaryloxazoles through rhodium-catalyzed annulation of triazoles and aldehydes.

An efficient synthesis of a variety of 2,5-diaryloxazole derivatives via a rhodium-catalyzed annulation of triazoles and aldehydes is achieved. Various oxazole derivatives could be obtained in good to excellent yields. A concise synthesis of antimycobaterial natural products balsoxin and texamine has been achieved using this method.

Physiological and biochemical responses of the salt-marsh plant Spartina alterniflora to long-term wave exposure.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ecosystem-based flood defence including salt-marsh as a key component is increasingly applied worldwide due to its multifunctionality and cost-effectiveness. While numerous experiments have explored the wave-attenuation effects of salt-marsh plants critical to flood protection, little is known about the physiological and biochemical responses of these species to continuous wave exposure. METHODS: To address this knowledge gap, we developed a shallow-water wave simulator to expose individual Spartina alterniflora plants to waves in a greenhouse for 8 weeks. S. alterniflora individuals were partially submerged and experienced horizontal sinusoidal motion to mimic plant exposure to shallow water waves. A factorial experiment was used to test the effects of three wave heights (4.1 cm, 5.5 cm and a no-wave control) and two wave periods (2 s and 3 s) on the following key physiological and biochemical plant parameters: plant growth, antioxidant defence and photosynthetic capacity. KEY RESULTS: Comparison of wave treatment and control groups supported our hypotheses that wave exposure leads to oxidative stress in plants and suppresses plant photosynthetic capacity and thereby growth. In response, the wave-exposed plants exhibited activated antioxidant enzymes. Comparison between the different wave treatment groups suggested the wave effects to be generally correlated positively with wave height and negatively with wave period, i.e. waves with greater height and frequency imposed more stress on plants. In addition, wave-exposed plants tended to allocate more biomass to their roots. Such allocation is favourable because it enhances root anchorage against the wave impact. CONCLUSIONS: Simulated wave exposure systems such as the one used here are an effective tool for studying the response of salt-marsh plants to long-term wave exposure, and so help inform ecosystem-based flood defence projects in terms of plant selection, suitable transplantation locations and timing, etc. Given the projected variability of the global wave environment due to climate change, understanding plant response to long-term wave exposure has important implications for salt-marsh conservation and its central role in natural flood defence.

Catalyst-free cyclization of anthranils and cyclic amines: one-step synthesis of rutaecarpine.

An efficient synthesis of a variety of quinazolinone derivatives via a direct cyclization reaction between commercially available anthranils and cyclic amines is described. The developed transformation proceeds with the merits of high step- and atom-efficiency, a broad substrate scope, and good to excellent yields, without additional catalysts, and offers a practical way for the preparation of rutaecarpine and its derivatives with structural diversity.

Synthesis of Dibenzofurans from Cyclic Diaryliodonium Triflates and Water via Oxygen-Iodine Exchange Approach.

An efficient synthesis of a variety of dibenzofuran derivatives via Cu-catalyzed cyclization diaryliodonium salts in water is achieved. Various dibenzofuran derivatives could be obtained in good to excellent yields via this oxygen-iodine exchange approach. A concise synthesis of organic semiconducting material molecule has been achieved using this method.

ASSESSING CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON THE STABILITY OF SMALL TIDAL INLETS: Part 2- DATA RICH ENVIRONMENTS.

Climate change (CC) is likely to affect the thousands of bar-built or barrier estuaries (here referred to as Small tidal inlets - STIs) around the world. Any such CC impacts on the stability of STIs, which governs the dynamics of STIs as well as that of the inlet-adjacent coastline, can result in significant socio-economic consequences due to the heavy human utilisation of these systems and their surrounds. This article demonstrates the application of a process based snap-shot modelling approach, using the coastal morphodynamic model Delft3D, to 3 case study sites representing the 3 main STI types; Permanently open, locationally stable inlets (Type 1), Permanently open, alongshore migrating inlets (Type 2) and Seasonally/Intermittently open, locationally stable inlets (Type 3). The 3 case study sites (Negombo lagoon - Type 1, Kalutara lagoon - Type 2, and Maha Oya river - Type 3) are all located along the southwest coast of Sri Lanka. After successful hydrodynamic and morphodynamic model validation at the 3 case study sites, CC impact assessment are undertaken for a high end greenhouse gas emission scenario. Future CC modified wave and riverflow conditions are derived from a regional scale application of spectral wave models (WaveWatch III and SWAN) and catchment scale applications of a hydrologic model (CLSM) respectively, both of which are forced with IPCC Global Climate Model output dynamically downscaled to ~ 50 km resolution over the study area with the stretched grid Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model CCAM. Results show that while all 3 case study STIs will experience significant CC driven variations in their level of stability, none of them will change Type by the year 2100. Specifically, the level of stability of the Type 1 inlet will decrease from 'Good' to 'Fair to poor' by 2100, while the level of (locational) stability of the Type 2 inlet will also decrease with a doubling of the annual migration distance. Conversely, the stability of the Type 3 inlet will increase, with the time till inlet closure increasing by ~75%. The main contributor to the overall CC effect on the stability of all 3 STIs is CC driven variations in wave conditions and resulting changes in longshore sediment transport, not Sea level rise as commonly believed.