Multi-layered e-feedback anxiety: An action research study among Chinese learners using peer feedback activities in an academic writing course.

There is a gradual increase in the use of e-feedback in higher education, but issues regarding learners' anxiety remain unresolved. In light of the learners' anxiety, e-feedback would essentially become a formality if they are not proactive in providing constructive feedback. This action research examines three cycles of e-feedback activities performed by 12 doctoral students in an academic writing course in a public university in Macau, China. Specifically, the e-feedback activity involved a comprehensive use of various new educational technology tools, namely Moodle, WeChat and Rain Classroom. This study reveals that the causes of students' anxiety when using e-feedback are multi-layered, mainly from the use of smartphones as a communication medium for conducting formal learning activities and the lack of interpersonal and English skills for conveying their thoughts when providing e-feedback. The traditional Chinese culture about the importance of "face" and interpersonal harmony also has impacts on learners' e-feedback delivery. These findings shed new lights on pedagogical practice in higher education.

TGF-ß1 contributes to the hepatic inflammation in animal models with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis by Smad3/TLR2 signaling pathway.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly affecting human health and the economy worldwide due to various factors. Here, we found that the expression of TGF-ß1 and TLR2 was significantly up-regulated in liver samples from both rats and mice nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) models. By constructing corresponding cell model, we found that TGF-ß1 challenge can positively regulate the expression of TLR2 and p-Smad2/3, and the dual luciferase reporter gene system and EMSA assay confirmed the existence of Smad3 binding site (-916 ∼ -906) in the promoter region of TLR2. The overexpression and interference changes of Smad2/3 further verified the above experimental results. Taken together, these findings suggest that TGF-ß1 promotes TLR2 transcription and its target gene expression via Smad3, leading to malignant exacerbation of liver inflammation in NASH, which provides new insights into the treatment of NASH.

Learners' perceived advantages and social-affective dispositions toward online peer feedback in academic writing.

Peer feedback is widely acknowledged for its advantages and benefits in improving students' learning in writing classes. Although the integration of online platforms has been found to impact peer feedback, research on second language learners' perceived advantages of social affective disposition to using multiple platforms for delivering peer feedback is limited. To address the aforementioned research gap, we conducted this 12-week action research to explore how 12 doctoral students at a university in Macau perceived their experience of using multiple online feedbacks in an academic writing course. To integrate the various advantages of different online platforms, we adopted three tools including Moodle, Rain Classroom, and WeChat for the delivery of peer feedback. The results demonstrated learners' perceived advantages and disadvantages of online peer feedback and how the different online peer feedback can be combined to magnify their benefits for academic writing. It also revealed that the use of emojis, memes, and one-to-one conversation window on WeChat can foster students' positive emotions. However, the ubiquitous connection by WeChat Moments increased their emotional load and undermined peer trust.

LuHui Derivative, A Novel Compound That Inhibits the Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated (FTO), Alleviates the Inflammatory Response and Injury in Hyperlipidemia-Induced Cardiomyopathy.

Hyperlipidemia is a major risk factor for metabolic disorders and cardiovascular injury. The excessive deposition of saturated fatty acids in the heart leads to chronic cardiac inflammation, which in turn causes myocardial damage and systolic dysfunction. However, the effective suppression of cardiac inflammation has emerged as a new strategy to reduce the impact of hyperlipidemia on cardiovascular disease. In this study, we identified a novel monomer, known as LuHui Derivative (LHD), which reduced the serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and reduced lipid deposition in cardiomyocytes. In addition, LHD treatment improved cardiac function, reduced hyperlipidemia-induced inflammatory infiltration in cardiomyocytes and suppressed the release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). From a mechanistic perspective, cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36), an important cell surface receptor, was identified as a downstream target following the LHD treatment of palmitic acid-induced inflammation in cardiomyocytes. LHD specifically binds the pocket containing the regulatory sites of RNA methylation in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) protein that is responsible for elevated intracellular m6A levels. Moreover, the overexpression of the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase FTO markedly increased CD36 expression and suppressed the anti-inflammatory effects of LHD. Conversely, loss-of-function of FTO inhibited palmitic acid-induced cardiac inflammation and altered CD36 expression by diminishing the stability of CD36 mRNA. Overall, our results provide evidence for the crucial role of LHD in fatty acid-induced cardiomyocyte inflammation and present a new strategy for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and its complications.

Urinary metabolomics analysis of the protective effects of Daming capsule on hyperlipidemia rats using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Hyperlipidemia is recognized as one of the most important risk factors for morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases. Daming capsule, a Chinese patent medicine, has shown definitive efficacy in patients with hyperlipidemia. In this study, serum biochemistry and histopathology assessment were used to investigate the lipid-lowering effect of Daming capsule. Furthermore, urinary metabolomics based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was conducted to identify the urinary biomarkers associated with hyperlipidemia and discover the underlying mechanisms of the antihyperlipidemic action of Daming capsule. After 10 weeks of treatment, Daming capsule significantly lowered serum lipid levels and ameliorated hepatic steatosis induced by a high-fat diet. A total of 33 potential biomarkers associated with hyperlipidemia were identified, among which 26 were robustly restored to normal levels after administration of Daming capsule. Pathway analysis revealed that the lipid-lowering effect of Daming capsule is related to the regulation of multiple metabolic pathways including vitamin B and amino acid metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and pentose phosphate pathway. Notably, the study demonstrates that metabolomics is a powerful tool to elucidate the multitarget mechanism of traditional Chinese medicines, thereby promoting their research and development.

MicroRNA-98 ameliorates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity via regulating caspase-8 dependent Fas/RIP3 pathway.

Cardiotoxicity is one of the primary limitations in the clinical use of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). However, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in DOX-induced cardiomyocyte death has not yet been covered. To investigate this, we observed a significant increase in miR-98 expression in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes after DOX treatment, and MTT, LIVE/Dead and Viability/Cytotoxicity staining showed that miR-98 mimic inhibited DOX-induced cell death. This was also confirmed by Flow cytometry and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. Interestingly, the protein expression of caspase-8 was upregulated by miR-98 mimics during this process, whereas Fas and RIP3 were downregulated. In addition, the effect of miR-98 against the expression of Fas and RIP3 were restored by the specific caspase-8 inhibitor Z-IETD-FMK. Thus, we demonstrate that miR-98 protects cardiomyocytes from DOX-induced injury by regulating the caspase-8-dependent Fas/RIP3 pathway. Our findings enhance understanding of the therapeutic role of miRNAs in the treatment of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity.

Density functional theory investigation on iridium(iii) complexes for efficient blue electrophosphorescence.

The geometrical structures, electronic structures, optoelectronic properties and phosphorescence efficiencies of four blue-emitting phosphors [Ir(fpmi)2(pyim)] (1), [Ir(pyim)2(fpmi)] (2), [Ir(fpmi)2(fptz)] (3), [Ir(tfmppz)2(pyim)] (4), [fpmi = 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-methylimdazolin-2-ylidene-C,C2'; pyim = 2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)pyridinato; fptz = 5-(trifluoromethyl-2H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)pyridine; tfmppz = 1-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)pyrazolyl] were investigated by DFT and TDDFT methods. We first optimized geometrical structures in the ground and lowest triplet states, and computed the absorption and emission spectra of 1 and 5[Ir(fpmi)2(pypz)] [pypz = 2-(1H-pyrazol-5-yl)pyridinato], which have been synthesized and characterized in a laboratory, using three functionals, B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, and M062X. The calculation results were compared with relevant experimental data to assess the performance of the functionals. The suitable methods and functionals were then applied to study properties of the three other complexes. The HOMOs of 1-3 are composed of d(Ir) and π(cyclometalated ligands), however, the HOMO of 4 resides on the pyim ligand, while the LUMOs of all four complexes are dominantly localized on the chelating ligands. The calculated absorption results show that the corresponding absorption peaks for the four mainly studied complexes are almost at the same positions, however, the absorption intensities of the bands differ largely from each other. The lowest energy emissions of the four complexes are localized at 507, 512, 468, and 513 nm, respectively. In order to estimate their efficiencies, we carried out simplified radiative rate constant calculations. It turns out that complex 3, which possesses the shortest emission wavelength and the largest radiative rate constant (k r) value, can be considered as a highly efficient blue-emitting iridium(iii) complex.

The determination of nitrite by a graphene quantum dot fluorescence quenching method without sample pretreatment.

A method for quantitative analysis of nitrite was achieved based on fluorescence quenching of graphene quantum dots. To obtain reliable results, the effects of pH, temperature and reaction time on this fluorescence quenching system were studied. Under optimized conditions, decrease in fluorescence intensity of graphene quantum dots (F0 /F) showed a good linear relationship with nitrite concentration between 0.007692-0.38406 mmol/L and 0.03623-0.13043 µmol/L; the limits of detection were 9.8 µmol/L and 5.4 nmol/L, respectively. Variable temperature experiments, UV absorption spectra and thermodynamic calculations were used to determine the quenching mechanism, and indicated that it was an exothermic, spontaneous dynamic quenching process. This method was used to analyse urine samples, and showed that it could be applied to analyse biological samples.