Pharmacy student's perceptions, behaviours and attitudes toward virtual reality simulation.

Aims: The definition of virtual reality simulation (VRS) used for study is the recreation of realistic simulation in a fully online situation with an immersive environment for learning an activity. The study aims to evaluate pharmacy students' perspectives, behavioral and attitude characteristics in the process of VRS course requiring practical skills. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was based on quantitative questionnaires analysis. A five-point Likert Scale (rating from 1 = Strongly Disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Neutral; 4 = Agree; 5 = Strongly Agree) was utilized to measure the extent to which the students agrees on 30 statements comprised in A-E sections related to VRS. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were studied by the Cronbach's Alpha calculation. Results: A total of 119 junior and senior pharmacy students, aged 18-25, participated in this study. There is no significant gender difference (P > 0.05) and grade difference (P > 0.05) in mean perception score, mean attitude score, mean behavior score and comparison score respectively. Most pharmacy students had positive perception that VRS could help them in practical ability (61.4 %), autonomous learning (68.9 %) and theoretical knowledge (61.4 %). Nevertheless, less than half the students agreed that VRS courses were indispensable (44.5 %) and needed to be increased (42.9 %). Moreover, the 'disagree' statement (33.6 %) exceeded 'agree' statement (27.7 %) about the question of whether preferring VRS courses to lab teaching. Interestingly, a significant positive correlation that was observed between mean perception score and mean attitude score (r = 0.76, p < 0.001), mean comparison (r = 0.68, p < 0.001) and mean behavior (r = 067, p < 0.001), which revealed that students who thought VRS was beneficial were more likely to accept it. Conclusion: The study highlights the need to establish an interactive, immersive and measurable VRS courses. It is suggested that good interaction between the faculty and student, technology improvement and blended programmatic assessment should be involved in challenges for implementing VRS courses.

Betulin isolated from Pyrola incarnata Fisch. inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation with the guidance of computer-aided drug design.

This study aims to investigate active phytochemicals isolated from Pyrola incarnata Fisch. (P. incarnata) and their protection against neuroinflammation induced by LPS. Betulin, accompanied with other 9 compounds, were isolated from P. incarnata and elucidated by spectroscopic analysis (1H-, 13C NMR). ELISA kits and the measurement of NO production based on Griess reaction showed that betulin (5) (250 µg/mL) could suppress LPS-induced activation of microglial cell BV-2 better than others by inhibiting inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1ß) expression and NO production. With the guidance of computer-aided drug design and the analysis of biological experiment, we demonstrated betulin could reduce LPS-induced iNOS expression, prevent JNKs pathways, and down-regulate the phosphorylation levels of NF-κB/p65. In conclusion, betulin isolated from P. incarnata possessed outstanding anti-neuroinflammation potential, presumably related to iNOS expression, JNKs and NF-κB/p65 pathways. Therefore, Pyrola incarnata may be a valuable natural resource and betulin is a potential drug for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders by inhibiting inflammatory mediators.

Secondary metabolites of Alternaria: A comprehensive review of chemical diversity and pharmacological properties.

Fungi are considered to be one of the wealthiest sources of bio-metabolites that can be employed for yielding novel biomedical agents. Alternaria, including parasitic, saprophytic, and endophytic species, is a kind of dark fungi that can produce a broad array of secondary metabolites (SMs) widely distributed in many ecosystems. These are categorized into polyketides, nitrogen-containing compounds, quinones, terpenes, and others based on the unique structural features of the metabolites. New natural products derived from Alternaria exhibit excellent bioactivities characterized by antibacterial, antitumor, antioxidative, phytotoxic, and enzyme inhibitory properties. Thus, the bio-metabolites of Alternaria species are significantly meaningful for pharmaceutical, industrial, biotechnological, and medicinal applications. To update the catalog of secondary metabolites synthesized by Alternaria fungi, 216 newly described metabolites isolated from Alternaria fungi were summarized with their diverse chemical structures, pharmacological activity, and possible biosynthetic pathway. In addition, possible insights, avenues, and challenges for future research and development of Alternaria are discussed.

Correlation between genetic polymorphisms in apolipoprotein E and atrial fibrillation.

This work explores correlations between genetic polymorphisms in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and atrial fibrillation (AF). We detected polymorphisms in the APOE gene in 64 patients with AF and 49 non-AF volunteers at the Department of Cardiology of Lianyungang Second People's Hospital between July 2017 and July 2019. We found significant differences in age, body mass index, left atrial diameter, and left ventricular ejection fraction between the two groups. Six APOE genotypes were observed: ɛ2/ɛ2; ɛ2/ɛ3; ɛ2/ɛ4; ɛ3/ɛ3; ɛ3/ɛ4; and ɛ4/ɛ4. The ɛ3/ɛ3 genotype was significantly less frequent in the AF group than in the control group, while the ɛ3/ɛ4 and ɛ4/ɛ4 genotypes were significantly more frequent in the AF group than in the control group (p<0.05). ApoE3 penetrance was significantly lower in the AF group than in the control group (p<0.05), while ApoE4 penetrance was significantly higher in the AF group than in the control group (p<0.05). ApoE3 penetrance was significantly lower in the AF group than in the control group (p<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that age, body mass index, left atrial diameter, left ventricular ejection fraction, and ApoE4 were risk factors for AF. Finally, we found that ApoE polymorphisms impacted the occurrence of AF and that ApoE4 is an AF-sensitive phenotype.

Origins, Structures, and Bioactivities of Secondary Metabolites from Marine-derived Penicillium Fungi.

In recent years, marine-derived Penicillium fungi have received remarkable interest as a valuable source of novel natural products encompassing diverse chemical structures and bioactive properties. Mangroves, sediments, algae, and sponges are the four main sources of marine-derived Penicillium fungi. As of 2014, more than 390 novel natural products have been isolated from the marine- derived Penicillium fungi, mainly including polyketides, alkaloids, terpenoids, and macrolides. Biological investigations have shown that these compounds possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and other activities with potential applications in new drug development. To provide an updated catalog of this field, our mini-review summarized the origins, structures, and bioactivities of 188 secondary metabolites from marine-derived Penicillium fungi based on bioactivities classification published from 2015 to 2020.