Evaluation Between Serum Concentrations of Lipocalin-2 and Metabolic Syndrome and its Components in Korean-Chinese and Han-Chinese Individuals from Yanbian Area.

Objectives: To investigate the association between the blood concentration of lipocalin-2 (LCN2) in local multiethnic residents and the increased risk for the development of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture population. Methods: A total of 2078 subjects with (study group) or without (control group) MS (1217 Korean-Chinese and 861 Han-Chinese subjects) were included in this study. MS subjects were divided into five groups according to ethnicity and MS components. They were assessed for smoking history, drinking history, past medical history, general demographic characteristics, and LCN2 concentrations. Results: LCN2 concentrations were higher in all ethnic MS groups than in the control group, and the highest concentrations were detected in Han-Chinese subjects with dyslipidemia. Moreover, LCN2 concentrations were significantly higher in Korean-Chinese individuals with all MS components than in the control group. Logistic regression analyses were conducted. In the unadjusted models, Korean-Chinese and Han-Chinese individuals with high LCN2 concentrations both faced a risk of MS with odds ratios (ORs) of 2.339 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.632-3.352) and 1.523 (95% CI: 1.101-2. 108), respectively. After the adjustment, the risk only remained in Korean-Chinese individuals, with an OR of 1.818 (95% CI: 1.031-3.207). Conclusion: Elevated circulating LCN2 was associated with the increased incidence of MS, and the effect in Korean-Chinese individuals was stronger than that in Han-Chinese individuals.

Fate tracking reveals differences between Reelin+ hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and Desmin+ HSCs in activation, migration and proliferation.

The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is the main cause of liver fibrogenesis in response to different etiologies of chronic liver injuries. HSCs are heterogeneous, but the lack of specific markers to distinguish different HSC subset hinders the development of targeted therapy for liver fibrosis. In this study, we aim to reveal new HSC subsets by cell fate tracking. We constructed a novel ReelinCreERT2 transgenic mouse model to track the fate of cells expressing Reelin and their progeny (Reelin+ cells). And we investigated the property of Reelin+ cells, such as differentiation and proliferation, in hepatotoxic (carbon tetrachloride; CCl4 ) or cholestatic (bile duct ligation; BDL) liver injury models by immunohistochemistry. Our study revealed that Reelin+ cells were a new HSC subset. In terms of activation, migration, and proliferation, Reelin+ HSCs displayed different properties from Desmin+ HSCs (total HSCs) in cholestatic liver injury model but shared similar properties to total HSCs in hepatotoxic liver injury model. Besides, we did not find evidence that Reelin+ HSCs transdifferentiated into hepatocytes or cholangiocytes through mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET). In this study, our genetic cell fate tracking data reveal that ReelinCreERT2-labelled cells are a new HSC subset, which provides new insights into targeted therapy for liver fibrosis.

Positive Influence of Cooperative Learning and Emotion Regulation on EFL Learners' Foreign Language Enjoyment.

This study approaches foreign language enjoyment (FLE) through the lenses of positive psychology, and in particular, examines how enjoyment is affected by emotion regulation (ER) and two factors concerning cooperative learning (CL) in a classroom climate, namely positive goal interdependence (PGI) and peer personal support (PPS). To achieve this goal, 115 Chinese university freshmen (male 47; female 68) aged between 18 to 20 (M = 18.69; SD = 0.65) were invited to complete a questionnaire. Regression analyses revealed a clear three-factor structure determining the FLE of students learning English as a foreign language (EFL), which are ER, PGI that highlights cooperation, and PPS that emphasizes the interpersonal relationship between peers. It also showed that PGI and PPS significantly influence each other while positively and jointly shaping FLE. The findings suggest that university EFL students with higher ER abilities are more likely to obtain enjoyment in the learning process and that positive interdependence and interpersonal support during CL also play an effective role in deciding students' FLE. The study not only confirms the importance of ER and CL which may lead to high-level learning enjoyment, but also provides practical implications for the realization of an enjoyable second language acquisition (SLA) experience.

Psychological Capital Relates With Teacher Enjoyment: The Mediating Role of Reappraisal.

This study examined the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and teacher enjoyment in the context of online teaching and investigated whether the emotion regulation (ER) strategy of reappraisal mediated their relationship. 221 Chinese university teachers were selected as the research sample through snowball sampling in an online survey. After controlling for age, gender, teaching experience, education level, time and energy input during online teaching and online teaching experience, the results showed that PsyCap and reappraisal positively influence the teachers' online teaching enjoyment (OTE), and reappraisal significantly mediated the relationship between teachers' PsyCap and OTE, suggesting that optimistic and resilient teachers with more self-efficacy and hope are more likely to find enjoyment during online teaching, and high PsyCap combined with the use of reappraisal leads to greater OTE. The study not only confirms the positive role of reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy in online teaching, but also provides practical implications for the realization of enjoyable online teaching experience.

Enhancing Foreign Language Enjoyment through Online Cooperative Learning: A Longitudinal Study of EFL Learners.

This study examines university students' foreign language enjoyment (FLE) in an online cooperative learning (CL) context and explores, taking a positive psychology approach, how and why CL may shape FLE. To this end, 98 Chinese university students studying English as a foreign language (EFL) were assigned into experimental (n = 49) and control groups (n = 49). Both groups completed a short-form foreign language enjoyment (FLE) scale before and after a 3-month intervention. The students in the experimental group were assigned with tasks that needed to be accomplished by teamwork. Moreover, each team was also requested to reflect upon their cooperation experiences and to self-assess their performance of these tasks. The results show that the overall FLE of the experimental group increased remarkably, whereas that of the control group fluctuated considerably. Furthermore, analyses of experimental group students' self-appraisal comments revealed that students with pleasant cooperation experiences usually experience high FLE, give satisfactory marks on their performance, and feel confident about achieving better FL performance in the future. The findings and implications provide meaningful insights into how online FLE can be boosted through CL so as to promote positive mental health of students in a technology-assisted language learning (TALL) context.

Emulsion formed in bovine serum album/anionic surfactant/H2O system under acidic condition.

At neutral pH, bovine serum album (BSA) conformation is "heart-shaped", and with decreasing pH, BSA may adopt the fast "F" form below a pH of about 4, and expanded "E" form at pH lower than about 3. However, as far as we know, the researches on the interaction between protein and surfactant are all carried out at pH higher than its isoelectric point (pI, which is 4.9), which means only the information about how the "heart-shaped" BSA interacts with surfactant is understood so far. In this paper, we studied the interaction between BSA and anionic surfactant at pH lower than its pI and hope to help understand the role of protein conformation in its interaction with surfactant. We found that BSA and anionic surfactant could form emulsion only when pH value was lower than or about 3, suggesting that the "E" formed BSA was an important criterion for emulsion formation. Moreover, the emulsion formation was companied with increased α-helix content and decreased ß-sheet content for BSA. In addition, the emulsion formation was closely dependent on the anionic surfactant content; only a moderate anionic surfactant could make emulsion formed.

Aggregation of single-chained cationic surfactant molecules into vesicles induced by oligonucleotide.

Vesicles have many important applications in many different fields. In the present paper, we report for the first time that oligonucleotide can induce single-chained cationic surfactant molecules to aggregate into vesicles by determining turbidity with a Uv-vis spectrophotometer, observing images with a transmission electron microscope and/or fluorescence microscope, and dynamic light scattering. This study may increase the efficiency and applicability for a DNA/amphiphile system.