An Exploration of Dance Learning Stress Sources of Elementary School Dance Class Students with Artistic Abilities: The Influences of Psychological Capital and Self-Concept.

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors which may cause the increase of students' stress in dance class in elementary school. In this study, students' demographic variables, psychological capital (which includes four sub-constructs), and self-concept (which includes five sub-constructs) were used as predicting variables to estimate their influences on dance class students' stress level. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 450 elementary art talent class students with 412 valid responses. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships proposed by the study. As for demographic variables, the results show that the grade, gender, and the dance class hours per week had no significant influences on stress, while the seniority level had a negative influence, which indicated that junior dance students had more stress than senior students. As for psychological capital, self-efficacy and optimism had negative influences on stress, while the other two sub-constructs, hope and resilience, did not have a significant influence on stress. As for physical self-concept, the worry of overweight had positive influences on their stress, while appearance, physical ability performance, health status, and satisfaction of body parts had no significant influence on stress. Based on the research findings, suggestions were made to reduce students' pressure in learning dance.

The Effect of Positive Emotion and Interpersonal Relationships to Adaptation of School Life on High School Athletic Class Students.

BACKGROUND: Adaption for school life is important for all students. As for athletic students, since they need to cope with schoolwork and extensive training, adaption for school life could be very challenging. Taking this into consideration, the purpose of this study was to explore the factors which may help high school athletic students' adaption of school life. Owing to this, the study explored previous researches and proposed four hypotheses: the first two hypotheses proposed that athletes' positive emotion will have positive impacts on both their interpersonal relationships and adaption of school life; the third hypothesis suggests that athletes' interpersonal relationships will have positive impacts on their adaption of school life and the fourth hypothesis suggested that interpersonal relationships play a mediating role among the positive emotion's effect on adaption of school life. METHODS: A total of 800 structured questionnaires were distributed to eleven high schools with athletic class students for data collection with a valid return rate of 90.6%. Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationship among them. RESULTS: The result showed that positive emotion (ß = 0.72, p < 0.05) and interpersonal relationships (ß = 0.34, p < 0.05) had positive impacts on students' adaption of school life with a predictive power of 68%. In addition, positive emotion also affected students' school life adaption through interpersonal relationships. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed the positive emotion can have significant influences on student athletes' interpersonal relationships and school life adaption. IMPLICATIONS: According to our findings, we suggest to encourage and promote athletes' positive emotions so to help them have better interpersonal relationships and school life adaption.

The Influence of Workplace Incivility on Employees' Emotional Exhaustion in Recreational Sport/Fitness Clubs: A Cross-Level Analysis of the Links between Psychological Capital and Perceived Service Climate.

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of workplace incivility on the emotional exhaustion of recreational sport/fitness club providers through a cross-level analysis. A total of 200 recreational sport/fitness club providers from Taiwan were selected for the repeated collection of measures and a 10-day diary method was used. The effect of workplace incivility on recreational sport/fitness club employees' emotional exhaustion on a daily basis was analyzed at the intra-personal level, and the relationship between psychological capital and perceived service climate was studied at the inter-personal level. Five hypotheses were developed and tested using hierarchical linear modeling. The results found that employees' emotional exhaustion and burnout highly correlated with workplace incivility and service climate. Based on the results, recommendations for employees and sport/fitness centers are proposed. Furthermore, research limitations and future directions are discussed.

The Effects of Locus of Control, Agents of Socialization and Sport Socialization Situations on the Sports Participation of Women in Taiwan.

Compared to men, the sports participation of women is lower, especially in the East. Not many studies have compared the impacts of locus of control, agents of socialization, and sport socialization situations on the sports participation of women. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the contributing factors which may promote the sports participation of women in Taiwan. To do this, 450 structured questionnaires were distributed to women in Chiayi, Taiwan, with an 89.3% return rate. The study found that internal locus of control, agents of socialization, and sport socialization situation had positive impacts on the sports participation of women. In line with these results, the study suggests the strengthening of the internal locus of control of women, making the best use of socialization agents, and improvement of sport socialization situations, in order to promote sports participation in women.

Lactoferrin promotes hair growth in mice and increases dermal papilla cell proliferation through Erk/Akt and Wnt signaling pathways.

Hair loss affects men and women of all ages. Dermal papilla (DP) plays a crucial role in regulating the growth and cycling of hair follicles. Lactoferrin (LF) exhibits a wide range of biological functions, including antimicrobial activity and growth regulation. However, its effect on DP and its role in hair growth remain unknown. In this study, we found that bovine LF (bLF) promoted the proliferation of DP cells and enhanced the phosphorylation of Erk and Akt. The bLF-mediated proliferation was significantly blocked by the Erk phosphorylation inhibitor PD98059 or the Akt phosphorylation inhibitor LY294002. Moreover, biotin-labeled bLF could bind to DP cells, and the binding was independent of lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1, a known LF receptor. Importantly, bLF stimulated hair growth in both young and aged mice. Moreover, we also found that bLF significantly induced the expression of Wnt signaling-related proteins, including Wnt3a, Wnt7a, Lef1, and ß-catenin. The bLF-mediated DP cell proliferation could be significantly reversed by the Wnt pathway inhibitor XAV939. Our findings suggest that bLF promotes hair growth in mice and stimulates proliferation of DP cells through Erk/Akt and Wnt signaling pathways. This study highlights a great potential of the use of bLF in developing drugs to treat hair loss.

A Multilevel Analysis of Coaches' Paternalistic Leadership on Burnout in Taiwanese Athletes.

Using multilevel analysis, this study examined a cross-level effect of paternalistic leadership and team cohesion on athletes' burnout. We called 900 athletes from 28 colleges to participate in this survey, with a return rate of 85.2% and found that paternalistic leadership of coaches had a cross level effect across schools on athletes' burnout. Based on these findings, we propose recommendations for coaches and school administrators.

The Relative Contribution of Dietary Habits, Leisure-Time Exercise, Exercise Attitude, and Body Mass Index to Self-Rated Health among College Students in Taiwan.

Background: Self-rated health (SRH) is consistent with objective health status and can serve as a global measure of health status in the general population. The purpose of this study is to find the connections of dietary habits, leisure-time exercise, exercise attitude, and body mass index (BMI) to SRH among college students. Methods: The "dietary⁻exercise attitude and SRH" questionnaire was developed to investigate college students in Taiwan through the Internet. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the relationship among them. Results: The reliability and validity were confirmed using PLS-SEM. The results found exercise habits, dietary habits, and BMI explained 26.5% of SRH. Poor dietary habits and being overweight led to bad health status (negative path coefficients to SRH). Additionally, the study found that positive exercise attitude had a positive relationship with exercise habits. Conclusions: Based on the results, college students should be well-informed of the potential threat of poor dietary habits and being overweight to health and should improve their attitude with respect to exercise so as to prevent overweight-related diseases.

The lactoferricin B-derived peptide, LfB17-34, induces melanogenesis in B16F10 cells.

Lactoferricin B (LfcinB), a peptide of bovine lactoferrin (LfB), exhibits multiple biological functions, including antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities. However, the role of LfcinB-related peptides in melanogenesis remains unclear. In this study, a set of five LfcinB-related peptides was examined. We found that LfB17­34, an 18-mer LfcinB-derived peptide, increased melanogenesis in B16F10 melanoma cells without significantly affecting cell viability. LfB17­34 increased in vitro tyrosinase activity and melanin content in a dose-dependent manner. The results of RT-qPCR and western blot analyses showed that LfB17­34 increased the mRNA and protein expression of tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein 1 (Trp1). Moreover, LfB17­34 inhibited the phosphorylation of MAPK/Erk, but not p38 and Akt, and constitutively active MEK was able to reverse the LfB17-34-enhanced pigmentation, melanin content, and tyrosinase activity, suggesting a role of Erk signaling in the process of LfB17­34-mediated pigmentation. Taken together, these results suggest that LfB17­34 induces melanogenesis in B16F10 cells primarily through increased tyrosinase expression and activity and that LfB17­34 could be further developed for the treatment of hypopigmentation disorders.

Layer-by-layer rose petal mimic surface with oleophilicity and underwater oleophobicity.

Surfaces designed with specific wetting properties are still a key challenge in materials science. We present here a facile preparation of a surface assembled by the layer-by-layer technique, using a colloidal dispersion of ionomer particles and linear polyethylene imine. The colloidal ethylene-co-methacrylic acid (EMAA) particles are on the order of half a micron in size with surface features from 40 to 100 nm in width. The resultant surface has roughness on two length scales, one on the micron scale due to the packing of particles and one on the nanoscale due to these surface features on the EMAA particles. This hierarchical structure results in a hydrophobic surface with good water pinning properties (∼550 µN). We show that there is a balance between maximizing contact angle and water pinning force. Furthermore, this surface is oleophilic with regard to many organic solvents, also demonstrating underwater oleophobicity, and given the difference in wetting between aqueous and organic phases, this material may be a candidate material for oil/water separations.

The molecular chaperone Cosmc enhances malignant behaviors of colon cancer cells via activation of Akt and ERK.

Expression of T antigen (Galbeta1, 3GalNAc) is associated with enhanced metastatic potential and poor prognosis in colorectal cancer. Cosmc is a molecular chaperone required for the formation of an active T-synthase, which catalyzes the synthesis of T antigen. However, the expression and role of Cosmc in colorectal cancer are still unclear. Here, real-time PCR showed that overexpression of Cosmc mRNA in colorectal tumors compared with paired non-tumorous tissues was associated with increased American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor stage. Forced expression of Cosmc in HCT116 cells significantly increased T antigen expression and enhanced cell growth, migration, and invasion, which was associated with increased phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), ERK, and Akt. These Cosmc-enhanced malignant phenotypes were significantly suppressed by specific inhibitor of MEK or PI3K. We also found that Cosmc overexpression increased tumor growth and decreased survival of tumor-bearing SCID mice. Conversely, knockdown of Cosmc with siRNA in SW480 cells decreased malignant behaviors and the signaling pathways, which were substantially reversed by constitutively active Akt or MEK. Taken together, these results suggest that Cosmc promotes malignant phenotypes of colon cancer cells mainly via activation of MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways, and that Cosmc may serve as a potential target for colorectal cancer treatment.

Ethosomes in hair dye products as carriers of the major compounds of black tea extracts.

OBJECTIVES: This study describes a novel carrier, the ethosome-based system, which is composed of non-ionic surfactants, ethanol, and water. METHODS: Brij(®) 52 (non-ionic surfactants), soya phosphatidylcholine (PC), cholesterol, and the major compounds (caffeine and gallic acid) of black tea extracts were dissolved in the ethanolic phase. The aqueous phase containing Paragon III was heated to 60 °C and mixed with the previous solution. Finally, 3.4 ml NaOH (6.5 N) was added to adjust the pH level to 4.05. The mixture was centrifuged at 2000 g for two minutes, and the precipitate was taken as the end product. Black tea extracts were applied in ethosome-based formulations, and the efficacy of these formulations in penetrating nude mouse skin and in dyeing white hairs was investigated. RESULTS: Compared with an ethanolic solution and black tea extracts, the non-ionic ethosomal delivery system dramatically enhanced the adsorption of black tea extracts onto hair surfaces in vitro. The non-ionic ethosomal system was much more efficient in delivering and facilitating the adsorption of black tea extracts to the hair surface than hydroalcoholic black tea extracts. CONCLUSIONS: This formulation may have potential for development as a hair dye and protective agent.

MUC20 overexpression predicts poor prognosis and enhances EGF-induced malignant phenotypes via activation of the EGFR-STAT3 pathway in endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Mucins play a critical role in the malignancy of various tumors and have been identified as diagnostic markers and as attractive therapeutic targets. However, the role of mucin (MUC) 20 in endometrial cancer (EC) is still unknown. METHODS: The relationship between MUC20 expression and clinical characteristics of EC was analyzed in 97 EC tumors and 16 normal tissues by immunohistochemistry. Effects of MUC20 on EC cells, HEC-1A and RL95-2, were examined by in vitro cell growth, migration, and invasion assays, as well as in vivo tumor growth in SCID mouse model. Western blotting was performed to analyze signaling pathways modulated by MUC20. RESULTS: MUC20 expression was significantly higher in EC tumors compared with the normal tissue. High levels of MUC20 expression in EC tumors were correlated with an unfavorable histologic subtype. Furthermore, MUC20 was an independent prognostic factor for poor survival as evaluated by multivariate analyses. Overexpression of MUC20 in EC cells significantly enhanced cell growth, migration, and invasion, as well as tumor growth in vivo. The MUC20-enhanced invasive behavior was significantly blocked by erlotinib, an EGFR inhibitor. Moreover, MUC20 overexpression enhanced EGF-mediated migration and invasion, suggesting a critical role of EGFR in MUC20-mediated effects. We found that MUC20 overexpression could enhance EGF-induced phosphorylation of EGFR and STAT3. Inhibition of the STAT3 activity by its inhibitor Stattic significantly suppressed the MUC20-enhanced invasive behavior. CONCLUSIONS: MUC20 is novel prognostic factor for EC and its overexpression enhances EGF-triggered invasive behavior through activation of EGFR-STAT3 pathway.

Dermal delivery by niosomes of black tea extract as a sunscreen agent.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using niosomes as a delivery vehicle for the dermal administration in vitro of black tea extract (BTE) as a sunscreen. METHODS: Multi-lamellar niosomes were obtained by means of a previously reported method of lipid hydration films. In vitro penetration experiments through nude mouse skin were carried out to evaluate the potential of niosomes as a dermal formulation. The nude mouse skin membrane allowed the effects of penetration with a niosome formulation to be evaluated. Penetration rates of caffeine- and gallic acid-loaded niosomes in a steady state were higher than dispersion in aqueous solutions. RESULTS: For skin permeation, higher transdermal absorption rates were seen with solutions of caffeine and gallic acid. CONCLUSIONS: In the near future, BTE as a sunscreen agent will be dermally delivered by niosomes.

Polyelectrolyte Multilayers and Complexes to Modify Secondary Interactions in Ethylene-co-methacrylic Acid Ionomers.

Ethylene-co-methacrylic acid (EMAA) ionomers are incorporated into polyelectrolyte complexes and thin films fabricated with the layer-by-layer technique using mixed solvent systems of THF and water. EMAA ionomers have been reported to have self-healing properties. The thin films were optically clear and can be made as a coating or freestanding. Their composition was determined with elemental analysis. DSC showed these polymer blend materials to have suppressed polyethylene crystallinity compared to bulk EMAA and an increased amount of energy required to create the order-to-disorder transition of disrupting the associations between the ionic groups of the ionomer.

Mucin glycosylating enzyme GALNT2 regulates the malignant character of hepatocellular carcinoma by modifying the EGF receptor.

Extracellular glycosylation is a critical determinant of malignant character. Here, we report that N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 2 (GALNT2), the enzyme that mediates the initial step of mucin type-O glycosylation, is a critical mediator of malignant character in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that acts by modifying the activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). GALNT2 mRNA and protein were downregulated frequently in HCC tumors where these events were associated with vascular invasion and recurrence. Restoring GALNT2 expression in HCC cells suppressed EGF-induced cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic investigations revealed that the status of the O-glycans attached to the EGFR was altered by GALNT2, changing EGFR responses after EGF binding. Inhibiting EGFR activity with erlotinib decreased the malignant characters caused by siRNA-mediated knockdown of GALNT2 in HCC cells, establishing the critical role of EGFR in mediating the effects of GALNT2 expression. Taken together, our results suggest that GALNT2 dysregulation contributes to the malignant behavior of HCC cells, and they provide novel insights into the significance of O-glycosylation in EGFR activity and HCC pathogenesis.

MUC1 expression is elevated in severe preeclamptic placentas and suppresses trophoblast cell invasion via ß1-integrin signaling.

CONTEXT: Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder that features insufficient extravillous trophoblast (EVT) invasion. We have previously shown that MUC1 expression in human placenta increases with gestational age and inhibits choriocarcinoma cell invasion. OBJECTIVE: Here, we studied whether MUC1 expression in preeclamptic placentas is dysregulated and the mechanism of EVT invasion regulated by MUC1. DESIGN: MUC1 expression in severe preeclamptic placentas and gestational age-matched control placentas was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR, Western blot analysis, and immunohistochemistry. The effects of MUC1 expression on cell-matrix adhesion, invasion, and cell signaling were studied in HTR8/SVneo EVT cells. RESULTS: We found that MUC1 mRNA and MUC1 protein were significantly up-regulated in severe preeclamptic placentas when compared with the gestational age-matched control placentas. Immunohistochemical analyses showed increased expression of MUC1 in the syncytiotrophoblast and EVT of severe preeclamptic placentas. In addition, MUC1 overexpression suppressed cell-matrix adhesion and invasion of EVT cells. Importantly, our data showed that MUC1 overexpression inhibited ß1-integrin activity and phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase, whereas the surface expression of ß1-integrin was not significantly changed. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that MUC1 is overexpressed in severe preeclamptic placentas and that MUC1 overexpression suppresses EVT invasion mainly via modulating ß1-integrin signaling.

B4GALNT3 expression predicts a favorable prognosis and suppresses cell migration and invasion via ß1 integrin signaling in neuroblastoma.

ß1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase III (B4GALNT3) promotes the formation of GalNAcß1,4GlcNAc (LacdiNAc or LDN). Drosophila ß1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase A (B4GALNTA) contributes to the synthesis of LDN, which helps regulate neuronal development. In this study, we investigated the expression and role of B4GALNT3 in human neuroblastoma (NB). We used IHC analysis to examine 87 NB tumors, and we identified correlations between B4GALNT3 expression and clinicopathologic factors, including patient survival. Effects of recombinant B4GALNT3 on cell behavior and signaling were studied in SK-N-SH and SH-SY5Y NB cells. Increased expression of B4GALNT3 in NB tumors correlated with a favorable histologic profile (P < 0.001, χ² test) and early clinical staging (P = 0.041, χ² test) and was a favorable prognostic factor for survival as evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Reexpression of B4GALNT3 in SK-N-SH and SH-SY5Y cells suppressed cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion. Moreover, B4GALNT3 increased the LacdiNAc modification of ß1 integrin, leading to decreased phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), Src, paxillin, Akt, and ERK1/2. B4GALNT3-mediated suppression of cell migration and invasion were substantially reversed by concomitant expression of constitutively active Akt or MEK. We conclude that B4GALNT3 predicts a favorable prognosis for NB and suppresses the malignant phenotype via decreasing ß1 integrin signaling.

Beta1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase III enhances malignant phenotypes of colon cancer cells.

The enzyme beta1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase III (beta4GalNAc-T3) exhibits in vitro activity of synthesizing N,N'-diacetyllactosediamine, GalNAcbeta1,4GlcNAc. Here, we investigate the expression of beta4GalNAc-T3 in primary colon tumors and the effects of its overexpression on HCT116 colon cancer cells. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR showed that the expression of beta4GalNAc-T3 was up-regulated in 72.5% (n = 40) of primary colon tumors compared with their normal counterparts. beta4GalNAc-T3 overexpression resulted in enhanced cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, migration, anchorage-independent cell growth, and invasion of colon cancer cells. Moreover, beta4GalNAc-T3 overexpression increased tumor growth and metastasis and decreased survival of tumor-bearing nude mice. beta4GalNAc-T3 overexpression showed increased tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin Y118 as well as increased extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation. These results suggest that up-regulation of beta4GalNAc-T3 may play a critical role in promoting tumor malignancy and that integrin and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways could be involved in the underlying mechanism.

Geldanamycin inhibits trichostatin A-induced cell death and histone H4 hyperacetylation in COS-7 cells.

As widely believed treating cells with trichostatin A (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, results in histone H4 hyperacetylation and cell cycle arrest. This compound is often compared with other potential anticancer drugs in cell cycle, proliferation and differentiation research. Furthermore, geldanamycin (GA), a 90-kDa heat shock protein (HSP90) specific inhibitor, is a well-known potential anticancer agent. This study examines whether GA can affect the cellular functions induced by TSA. When using TSA treatment, although caused COS-7 cell death, pretreatment of 0.5 microg/ml GA for 30 min and an addition of 50 ng/ml TSA (GA + TSA) apparently averted cell death. Our results indicated that the cell survival rate was only approximately 20% when prolonged treatment was undertaken with 50 ng/ml TSA (TSA) alone for 24 h. In contrast, the cell survival rate was enhanced by two folds when treating with GA + TSA. Furthermore, DNA fragmentation assay revealed that fragmented DNA was produced 8 h after prolonged treatment with TSA alone. Within 16 h, the apoptotic percentages of TSA-treated cells were between 15-25%. In contrast, the other treatments did not exceed 6%. Furthermore, GA inhibited TSA-induced histone H4 hyperacetylation. Western blotting analysis further demonstrated that the HSP70 levels did not significantly increase in TSA-treated cells. However, the accumulated 70-kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) markedly increased up to 2 to 3 folds at 8 h in GA- and GA + TSA-treated cells, and the maximum amount up to 5 to 7 folds at 20 h. Conversely, HSP90 did not markedly increase in all treatments. Based on the results in this study, we suggest that apoptosis induced by TSA can be prevented by GA-induced increment of heat shock proteins, particularly HSP70.

Purification and characterization of porcine testis 90-kDa heat shock protein (HSP90) as a substrate for various protein kinases.

We purified a large quantity of HSP90 from porcine testis by hydroxylapatite (HA-HSP90) and SDS-PAGE/electroelution (eluted-HSP90) to explore the molecular mechanism of HSP90 phosphorylation affecting its metabolism. The purified HSP90 was used as an antigen to raise polyclonal antibodies in rabbits. Immunoblot analysis revealed that most purified HSP90 was HSP90alpha. Compared with the commercial anti-HSP90 antibody, the polyclonal antibody raised in this study could specifically detect the testis HSP90 and immunoprecipitate HSP90 from tissue homogenates or cell extracts. Incubation of the purified HSP90 or HSP90 immunoprecipitated from extracts of human A431 cells, Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts, and porcine testis with [gamma-32P]ATP/Mg2+ resulted in phosphorylation of HSP90. However, the eluted-HSP90 lost its phosphorylation ability when incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP x Mg2+ alone but could be phosphorylated by various protein kinases, including PKA, CKII, kinase FA/GSK-3 alpha, and AK. The order of phosphorylation of HSP90 by these kinases is PKA = CKII > AK >> kinase FA/GSK-3 alpha.