Association between perceived overqualification, work engagement, job satisfaction among nurses: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional correlational study aimed to understand nurses' perceived overqualification and work engagement, explore their effects on job satisfaction and provide a theoretical basis for hospital management policies in a public comprehensive tertiary hospital in China. DESIGN: Cross-sectional correlational study. SETTING: The study was conducted in a public comprehensive tertiary hospital in China. The specific location is not disclosed. PARTICIPANTS: 584 nurses participated in the study, with a completion rate of 97.3%. The average age of participants was 34.8±6.7 years, with 96.4% being women. 67.8% held a bachelor's degree or higher, and 71.6% had over 5 years of work experience. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The Scale of Perceived Overqualification was used to assess nurses' perceptions of their qualifications, demonstrating a high level of reliability with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.832. Utrecht Work Engagement Scale was used to assess nurses' work engagement, showing internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.683 for the vigour dimension, 0.693 for the dedication dimension and 0.834 for the absorption dimension. Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to evaluate nurses' job satisfaction, with internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.765 for the intrinsic satisfaction scale and 0.734 for the extrinsic satisfaction scale. The primary outcome measures included perceived overqualification, work engagement and job satisfaction. RESULTS: The average scores for perceived overqualification, work engagement and job satisfaction were 26.38±3.44, 65.36±14.92 and 74.29±15.04, respectively. Perceived overqualification showed negative correlations with work engagement (r=-0.562, p<0.05) and job satisfaction (r=-0.674, p<0.05). However, work engagement was positively correlated with job satisfaction (r=0.519, p<0.05). Path analysis indicated that perceived overqualification had both a direct (ß=-0.06, p<0.001) and an indirect effect (ß=-0.35, p=0.015) on job satisfaction, with work engagement partially mediating this relationship. CONCLUSION: The perception of overqualification among nurses shows a significant correlation with both their work engagement and job satisfaction. This finding suggests that hospital administrators should pay attention to nurses' perceptions of their qualifications and take measures to enhance their job satisfaction. Furthermore, work engagement acts as a mediator between the perception of overqualification and job satisfaction, emphasising the importance of increasing work engagement. Overall, hospitals can improve nurses' work engagement and job satisfaction by providing career development opportunities, establishing feedback mechanisms and fostering work-life balance. Comprehensive management measures focusing on nurses' career development opportunities and levels of work engagement are necessary. Future research could expand the sample size, employ more diverse research designs and integrate qualitative research methods to further explore the factors influencing nurses' job satisfaction and happiness.

Comparative analysis of medicinal plant Isodon rubescens and its common adulterants based on chloroplast genome sequencing.

Isodon rubescens (Hemsley) H. Hara is the source of Donglingcao under the monograph Rabdosiae Rubescentis Herba in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In the local marketplace, this medicine can be accidentally contaminated, deliberately substituted, or mixed with other related species. The contaminants of herbal products are a threat to consumer safety. Due to the scarcity of genetic information on Isodon plants, more molecular markers are needed to avoid misidentification. In the present study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of seven species of Isodon was sequenced, de novo assembled and characterized. The cp genomes of these species universally exhibited a conserved quadripartite structure, i.e., two inverted repeats (IRs) containing most of the ribosomal RNA genes and two unique regions (large single copy and small single copy). Moreover, the genome structure, codon usage, and repeat sequences were highly conserved and showed similarities among the seven species. Five highly variable regions (trnS-GCU-trnT-CGU, atpH-atpI, trnE-UUC-trnT-GGU, ndhC-trnM-CAU, and rps15-ycf1) might be potential molecular markers for identifying I. rubescens and its contaminants. These findings provide valuable information for further species identification, evolution, and phylogenetic research of Isodon.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of the medicinal plant Stephania epigaea H. S. Lo, 1978 (Menispermaceae) from Yunnan, China.

Stephania epigaea H. S. Lo, 1978 is a medicinal plant commonly used in southwest China. This study characterized the first complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of this species. The complete cp was 157,738 bp in length, containing a large single-copy region (LSC) of 88,460 bp, a small single-copy region (SSC) of 19,778 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 24,750 bp. It encoded 130 genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The GC content of the complete genome was 36.7%. Phylogenetic analysis of complete cp sequences revealed that S. epigaea was clustered with S. japonica from the Menispermaceae family.

[Effect of ginsenosides on serous metabonomic profiles in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats based on ~1H-NMR].

Serum metabonomic profiles of the model of focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion is established with the suture-occluded method by Longa to study the effect of ginsenosides. In this study, 48 rats were randomly divided into six groups: sham-operated group, pathological model group, positive drug group(6 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) and high, medium, low-dose ginsenosides groups(200, 100, 50 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)). They are given intragastric administration respectively with same amount of 0.5% CMC-Na,nimodipine and ginsenoside for 5 days. At 2 h after the final administration, the model was established with the suture-occluded method, and free radical-scavenging activity changes of ginsenoside were observed by maillard reaction, and Longa was possible used as a renoprotective agent-occluded method. At the end of 24 h after the reperfusion, the hemolymph of rats in each group was collected, and the ~1H-NMR spectrum was collected after being treated by certain methods, and analyzed by principal component analysis(PCA). Compared with sham-operated group, pathological model group showed significant increases in the levels of lactate, glutamate, taurine, choline, glucose and methionine, but decreases in the levels of 3-hydroxybutyrate and phosphocreatine/creatine in serum. After treatment with ginsenosides, lipid, 3-hydroxybutyrate and phosphocreatine/creatine were increased in the serum of ginsenosides group rats, but with decreases in lactate and glutamate. The results showed that ginsenosides could regulate metabolic disorders in rats with focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion, and promote a recovery in the process of metabolism. It's helpful to promote the metabolic changes in rats with focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion via ~1H-NMR, and lay a foundation to develop ginsenosides as a new drug to treat ischemic cerebral paralysis.

Health risk assessment of groundwater nitrate contamination: a case study of a typical karst hydrogeological unit in East China.

Nitrate pollution in rivers, lakes, shallow groundwater, and even deep groundwater occurs in many parts of the world. And, it's essential to assessing the relationship between nitrate pollution and human health, which is called human health risk assessment (HHRA). In this paper, groundwater samples were collected for their nitrate content in a typical karst hydrogeological unit in East China during the wet and dry seasons. Then, a human health risk assessment was conducted using the four-step risk assessment process developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), which aimed to determine the potential risk posed to human health by nitrate in the groundwater. To make the assessment more authentic and objective, the drinking water and dermal contact exposure pathways were considered, and the people were divided into four groups, including infants (0~6 months), children (7 months~17 years old), females (18 years and older), and males (18 years and older), in the wet and dry seasons to determine the impacts of the exposure pathway, age, sex, and precipitation period. The results indicated that more than half of the groundwater samples exceeded 10 mg/L (measured as nitrogen), which is the drinking water standard of China. The children and infants had greater health risks than the adults at the same groundwater nitrate concentration, and those two groups need to be paid more attention; the adult females had a greater health risk than the adult males in the two precipitation periods, which shows that the order of the health risk was infants ˃ children ˃ adult females ˃ adult males. In addition, the value of the hazard quotient (HQ) and the area of the adverse effects were both higher in the wet season than in the dry season, which explains that precipitation can affect the human health risk as well. The HQ caused by the drinking water exposure pathway was much higher than that caused by the dermal contact exposure pathway. This study can provide information for more effective and reasonable decisions to city managers for groundwater nitrate pollution prevention.

Karyopherin subunit-α 2 expression accelerates cell cycle progression by upregulating CCNB2 and CDK1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Different types of cancer exhibit distinct gene expression profiles. The present study aimed to identify a specific gene dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that was essential for cancer progression. The whole transcriptomes of primary HCC tissue samples were analyzed with microarrays. The most significantly differentially expressed gene was identified, specifically karyopherin subunit-α 2 (KPNA2), and an analysis using the Oncomine online tool was performed with data from The Cancer Genome Atlas to predict associated genes in HCC. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to confirm the gene expression levels of KPNA2, and the RNA interference knockdown of KPNA2 was performed to identify the effect on putative downstream target genes. A proliferation assay and flow cytometry analysis was used to assess the function of KPNA2 in the regulation of the cell cycle. The results demonstrated that KPNA2 expression was significantly upregulated in HCC tumor tissues compared with liver tissues and was associated with cyclin B2 (CCNB2) and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) expression. KPNA2 expression was identified a novel marker to predict the outcome of patients. In addition, KPNA2 knockdown downregulated CCNB2 and CDK1, inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that KPNA2 may promote tumor cell proliferation by increasing the expression of CCNB2/CDK1. KPNA2 could be a target for therapeutic intervention in HCC.

[Simulation and Prediction of Material Foundation of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma for Ischemic Stroke Based on Molecular Docking Technology].

OBJECTIVE: To apply molecular docking technology for virtual screening of active molecules of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, and to explore the effective substances. METHODS: 21 key targets proteins related with cerebral ischemia with 52 compounds of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma based on molecular docking technology were combined to select active small molecules. Meanwhile, multi-component protein target network was established by software Cytoscape 2. 8. 1. RESULTS: It was identified that 23 of those compounds had strong interactions with no less than 10 targets by virtual screening of molecular docking. CONCLUSION: The method of virtual screening based on molecular docking can be used to find the active components of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma in treatment of cerebral ischemia. It provides the reference for research on multi-targets of Chinese medicine compound.

[Simultaneous Determination of Five Active Components in Puerariae Lobatae Radix from Different Habitats by UHPLC].

OBJECTIVE: To develop a UHPLC method for determination of 3'-hydroxy puerarin,puerarin, 3'-methoxy puerarin, daid- zin, and daidzein in Puerariae Lobatae Radix from different habitats. METHODS: The analysis was carried out on an Agela Venusil MP C18 (100 mm x 2. 1 mm, 3 µm) column. The mobile phase was composed of 0. 1% formic acid and methanol with gradient elution. The de- tection wavelength was set at 250 nm. RESULTS: The standard curves of five components showed a good linearity in 12. 41 ~ 248. 24 ng(r =0. 9999), 58. 82 ~ 1 176. 47 ng(r =0. 9997), 12. 65 ~252. 94 ng(r=0. 9999), 12.14 ~ 242.82 ng(r=0. 9998), and 1. 82 ~ 36.30 ng(r =0. 9997), respectively. The average recoveries were 99. 03% ~ 100. 32%, and RSD values were 0. 26% ~ 1. 37%. CONCLUSION: This method is simple, quick,reproducible and can be used to control the quality of Puerariae Lobatae Radix.

[Effects of bisphenol A on OCT4 and SOX2 genes expression in mouse embryonic stem cells].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure on toxicity characteristic and OCT4 and SOX2 gene expression of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC). METHODS: mESC were cultured, and treated with the doses of 10(-8), 10(-7), 10(-6), 10(-5), 10(-4) mol/L respectively of BPA and DMSO (the solvent control group)for 24 hours, and three groups of cells were treated with the same method. The morphological changes of mESC in the control and exposure groups were observed through an inverted microscope. Cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) was used to detect the effects of BPA on proliferation of mESC, and based on the results, the half inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-QPCR) and western blotting were used to detect the expression of OCT4 and SOX2. RESULTS: BPA had certain toxicity on mESC, the treatment of BPA significantly increased cell toxicity in a concentration-dependent manner, and the IC50 was 4.3×10(-4) mol/L, combined with the BPA exposure concentration of the environment and the related literature, eventually taking the five concentrations of 10(-8), 10(-7), 10(-6), 10(-5), 10(-4) mol/L as the experimental groups. The mESC morphology were effected after the treatment of BPA for 24 h, compared with the control group, the number of cells decreased, appearing some floating cells, and the cell cloning became irregular and differentiation in the higher concentration groups. The OCT4 mRNA expression level in the 10(-7) mol/L (1.146 ± 0.087), 10(-6) mol/L (1.156 ± 0.030), 10(-5) mol/L (1.158 ± 0.103) and the 10(-4) mol/L (1.374 ± 0.053) dose group were all significantly higher than the control group (1.000 ± 0.000) (t values were -2.384, -2.953, -3.203, -4.021 respectively, P value all < 0.05). Meanwhile, the SOX2 mRNA expression level in the 10(-4) mol/L (1.113 ± 0.052) were higher than the control group (1.000 ± 0.000) (t value was -2.765, P value < 0.05). Moreover, the OCT4 protein expression level in the 10(-5) mol/L (1.360 ± 0.168) and 10(-4) mol/L (1.602 ± 0.151) were all significantly higher than the control group (1.000 ± 0.000) (t values were -3.538, -4.002 respectively, P value all < 0.05), while no obvious change of the SOX2 protein expression level was detected in all treated groups. CONCLUSION: BPA in a certain dose range could upregulate the expression of OCT4 gene in mouse embryonic stem cells while had no significant effect on the expression of SOX2 gene.

Expression of a neurotoxin gene improves the insecticidal activity of Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpltNPV).

SpltNPV-C3 is a novel nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) screened from 189 wild Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpltNPV) clones collected throughout Japan and has high potential insecticidal activity against S. litura. In this study, we constructed two recombinant SpltNPVs, SpltNPV-Δegt and SpltNPV-Δegt-BmK, which were characterized by the disruption of the UDP-glucosyltransferase gene (egt) only and by replacing the egt locus with the Buthus martensi insect-specific toxin gene (BmK ITa1), respectively. The insecticidal activity of these two recombinant viruses was evaluated by 50% lethal time (LT(50)) and 50% lethal concentration (LC(50)) using third instar S. litura larvae. Bioassays showed that the LT(50) of SpltNPV-Δegt was reduced by 25% at a dose of 10(9) Occlusion bodies (OBs)/ml compared to the wild-type SpltNPV. However, the LC(50) values did not change. The SpltNPV-Δegt-BmK reduced LT(50) by 28% at the highest dose of OBs (10(9) OBs/ml) compared to the wild-type SpltNPV, and the LC(50) was nearly an order of magnitude lower than those of the wild-type SpltNPV and SpltNPV-Δegt. However, there was no discernable difference in the LT(50) between SpltNPV-Δegt-BmK and SpltNPV-Δegt when the 3rd instars of S. litura were fed a dose of 10(8) or 10(9) OBs/ml. The results suggest that these two recombinant forms of SpltNPV provide further opportunities to develop these viruses into commercially viable products to control S. litura populations.

Rapid and selective determination of urinary lysozyme based on magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers extraction followed by chemiluminescence detection.

A rapid, low cost and selective chemiluminescence method coupled with magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers extraction was developed to detect lysozyme in human urine samples. Compared with traditional solid-phase extraction, this method could achieve selective extraction for the lysozyme, avoid the time consuming elution from a column or centrifugation steps, and then showed great potential in the high-throughput screening of clinical samples. The parameters affecting the performance of extraction and chemiluminescence were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the whole analytical procedure was completed within 12 min and spiked recovery ranged from 90.1% to 103.7% (R.S.D.≤6.7%). The limit of quantitation was 5 ng mL(-1). Furthermore, the results obtained by the proposed method were linearly correlated to those by commercial lysozyme detection kit (r=0.9595). Finally, the validated method was used to measure the urinary lysozyme of renal disease patients and healthy controls. The results confirmed the reliability and practicality of the protocol and revealed a good perspective of this method for biological sample analysis.

Oral sildenafil prevents and reverses the development of pulmonary hypertension in monocrotaline-treated rats.

The endothelin system plays an important role in the development of pulmonary hypertension. Several studies have suggested that interfering with the function of the endothelin system will be helpful in pulmonary hypertension treatment. In the present study, we investigated the preventive and therapeutic effects of sildenafil on pulmonary hypertension in monocrotaline-treated rats. In the preventive study, the level of mean pulmonary arterial pressure, right ventricular divide, left ventricular and septum, small pulmonary arterial morphologic and elastic fiber changes were highly improved in the treated group (P<0.05). The expressions of endothelin-1 A type receptors on small pulmonary arterial hypertension were significantly reduced in the sildenafil-treated group (P<0.05). The ET-1 level in plasma was increased in the sildenafil-treated group, but did not reach significance. Emphysema, interstitial pneumonia were significantly improved in the sildenafil-treated group. The same findings were also observed in the therapeutic study. The present results suggest that sildenafil can prevent and reverse the development of pulmonary hypertension in monocrotaline-treated rats by improving the function of endothelin system in pulmonary arteries.

Selectivity and neuroendocrine regulation of the precursor uptake by pheromone glands from hemolymph in geometrid female moths, which secrete epoxyalkenyl sex pheromones.

Macrolepidopteran female moths in families such as Geometridae produce epoxyalkenyl sex pheromones, which are biosynthesized via epoxidation of polyunsaturated hydrocarbons in their pheromone glands. The precursors, however, are expected to be produced outside of the pheromone glands, probably in oenocytes or in the fat body, and transported to the glands via hemolymph. Based on these facts, the selectivity of the epoxidation substrates and of the precursor uptake by pheromone glands was examined with two geometrid species, Hemerophila artilineata and Ascotis selenaria cretacea, using binary mixtures of deuterated precursors and their analogs, which were topically applied to the pheromone glands or injected into the abdomen. GC-MS measurements of pheromone extracts showed equal epoxidation of two polyenes, indicating a low selectivity for both processes, while the epoxidation proceeded at only one double bond specific to each species. This result makes it possible to conclude that the formation of species-specific epoxyalkenyl pheromones results from the rigid formation of polyunsaturated precursors and their epoxidation at a fixed position. Next, the neuroendocrine regulation of these processes was studied with in vivo and in vitro experiments using decapitated females. The epoxy pheromones disappeared completely within 36 h of decapitation, and epoxidation of the injected precursors was not detected in the decapitated females, which restarted the reaction by treatment with a pheromone biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide (PBAN). The precursors topically applied to glands of the decapitated females, however, were converted into epoxy pheromones without PBAN, indicating that this neuropeptide hormone accelerated the precursor uptake by pheromone glands but not the epoxidation already underway in the glands.

SHP-1 suppresses cancer cell growth by promoting degradation of JAK kinases.

SHP-1 has been proposed to be a tumor suppressor gene for several cancers. The expression of SHP-1 protein is diminished or abolished in most leukemia and lymphoma cell lines and tissues, and in some non-hematopoietic cancer cell lines, such as estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer cell lines and some colorectal cancer cell lines. However, we do not know whether the reduced SHP-1 expression is the cause of cancer diseases or the secondary effect of cancer developments. Here, we first demonstrate that SHP-1 has general tumor suppressing function in SHP-1 transfected cell lines. Transfected SHP-1 inhibits the growth of three lymphoma/leukemia cell lines (Ramos, H9, Jurkat) and one breast cancer cell line (HTB26). We also demonstrate a possible molecular mechanism for the tumor suppressing function of SHP-1: SHP-1 inhibits cell growth partly by negative regulation of activated JAK kinase. In addition, we find, for the first time, that SHP-1 down-regulates the level of TYK2 kinase in H9 cells and of JAK1 kinase in HTB26 cells, by accelerating their degradation. The SHP-1 accelerated degradation of JAK1 kinase in HTB26 cells was blocked with the treatment of MG132, a specific inhibitor for proteasome-mediated proteolysis. Our data suggest a new function of SHP-1 in the regulation of proteasome-mediated degradation pathway.

Characterization of geometrid sex pheromones by electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

The utility of liquid chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/TOFMS) was demonstrated for studies on chiral unsaturated epoxy compounds, sex pheromones produced mainly by female moths in the family Geometridae. By electrospray ionization (ESI), each synthetic epoxyalkadiene derived from (Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-triene with a C(18)-C(23) straight chain showed three ion series, [M + NH(4)](+), [M + H](+) and [M - OH](+), with high resolution and good sensitivity, indicating its molecular formula. In addition to these, characteristic fragment ions at m/z M - 57 and M - 71 for the 3,4-epoxides and at m/z M - 123 and 123 for the 9,10-epoxides were detected, whereas the 6,7-epoxides did not produce fragment ions that reflected their structures. Monitoring these diagnostic ions during the LC/MS analysis of a gland extract, the natural sex pheromone of the mulberry looper was confirmed to be (Z,Z)-cis-9,10-epoxy-3,6-octadecadiene, which was separable from the other positional isomers on an ODS column. Furthermore, (Z,Z)-cis-3,4-epoxy-6,9-nonadecadiene secreted by the Japanese giant looper was analyzed with a chiral column, and the stereochemistry was determined directly.

Identification and synthesis of insect pheromone XXX. Sex pheromone of mulberry clearwing mothParadoxecia pieli Lieu.

(E,Z)-3,13-OctadecadienyI acetate (1a) and (E,Z)-3,13-octadecadien-1-ol(2a) were identified from the sex pheromone gland of the virgin female mulberry clearwing mothParadoxecia pieli L., by GC analysis, EAG, SCR survey, and field bioassay. One female equivalent contained 250 ng of1a and 30 ng of2a. In the field tests, 100µg of synthetic1a was attractive to male moths of the species.