Unveiling the Impact of Metacognition on Academic Achievement in Physical Education and Activity Settings: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Qualitative Insights.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to unveil the impact of metacognition on academic achievement in physical education and activity settings by conducting a comprehensive systematic literature review with a meta-analysis of qualitative findings. Patients and Methods: Systematic searches identified English-language, peer-reviewed journal articles reporting the results of qualitative or mixed-methods studies of the emerging themes of metacognition on academic achievement in sports. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and SPORTDiscus were searched from inception to June 2023. Results: Data from 20 studies were included in the review. Thematic meta-analysis identified descriptive themes: 1) Metacognitive performance during the learning process in different sports disciplines; 2) Domains of metacognitive skills related to academic performance; 3) Self-regulation strategies related to academic performance; 4) Influencing factors of metacognition; 5) Metacognitive interventions on motor learning and academic performance. Generate an analytical theme based on five descriptive themes. Conclusion: In-depth descriptions of the emerging themes related to metacognition and academic performance during motor learning were provided by different students and athletes. The conclusions reported in the study align with the theoretical models of metacognition. The research findings will provide strategies for physical education teachers, coaches, and trainers to enhance both physical and academic performance.

Hyaluronic acid/inulin-based nanocrystals with an optimized ratio of indigo and indirubin for combined ulcerative colitis therapy via immune and intestinal flora regulation.

Indigo (IND) and indirubin (INB) have demonstrated a synergistic effect in treating ulcerative colitis at a ratio of 7.5:1. However, the colon mucus layer, a critical physiological barrier against external threats, is also a biological barrier, limiting the potential for effective drug delivery to the lamina propria for regulating inflammatory cells. Inspired by the potential of Hyaluronic acid (HA), to enhance cellular uptake by inflammatory cells, and Pluronic® F127 (F127), known for overcoming the mucus barrier, this study innovatively developed INB/IND nanosuspensions by co-modifying with F127 and HA. Moreover, inulin serves a dual purpose as a spray protective agent and a regulator of intestinal flora. Therefore, it was incorporated into INB/IND nanosuspensions for subsequent spray drying, resulting in the preparation of INB/IND nanocrystals (INB/IND-NC). The mucus penetration of INB/IND-NC was 24.30 times that of the control group. Besides, INB/IND-NC exhibited enhanced cellular uptake properties proximately twice that of Raw INB/IND. Importantly, INB/IND-NC exhibited improved therapeutic efficacy in DSS-induced mice by regulating the expression of cytokines, regulating immune responses via downregulating the expression of macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells and maintaining intestinal flora homeostasis. Our study provides a new perspective for applying natural products for treating inflammatory diseases.

Thermogravimetric and spectroscopic analyses along with the kinetic modeling of the pyrolysis of phosphate tailings.

The present study aimed to understand the pyrolysis characteristics of phosphorus tailings and promote the resource utilization of phosphorus tailings. Thermogravimetry was combined with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-Raman spectroscopy-mass spectrometry (TG-FTIR-RS-MS) and kinetic models to investigate the possible reaction mechanisms during the pyrolysis of phosphorus tailings and the changes in the release characteristics of pyrolysis volatiles. The results showed that the pyrolysis process occurred in three different stages. First, small amounts of adsorbed water were removed, and organic matter in the tailings was decomposed. Second, CaMg(CO3)2 underwent thermal decomposition to produce CaCO3, MgO, and CO2. Third, CaCO3 further decomposed into CaO and CO2. Similarly, the pyrolysis kinetics were divided into three intervals based on the differences in their activation energy values. The pyrolysis reaction mechanism functions were two-dimensional diffusion (Valensi model), nucleation and growth (Avrami-Erofeev, n = 1/2), and nucleation and growth (Avrami-Erofeev, n = 1/4). The gases released during the pyrolysis of phosphate tailings were mainly CO2, F2, and HF.

Strategies for Taste Masking of Orodispersible Dosage Forms: Time, Concentration, and Perception.

Orodispersible dosage forms, characterized as quick dissolving and swallowing without water, have recently gained great attention from the pharmaceutical industry, as these forms can satisfy the needs of children, the elderly, and patients suffering from mental illnesses. However, poor taste by thorough exposure of the drugs' dissolution in the oral cavity hinders the effectiveness of the orodispersible dosage forms. To bridge this gap, we put forward three taste-masking strategies with respect to the intensity of time, concentration, and perception. We further investigated the raw material processing, the composition of auxiliary material, formulation techniques, and process control in each strategy and drew conclusions about their effects on taste masking.

Nalbuphine Exhibited a Better Adjuvant Than Dexmedetomidine in Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block in Youths.

OBJECTIVE: Nalbuphine and dexmedetomidine are both used as anesthesia adjuvants for brachial plexus block, but their efficacy and safety in younger patients are not clear. In this study, we aimed to compare the efficacy and side effects of these 2 drugs in young patients undergoing brachial plexus block. METHODS: We recruited 48 young patients aged 18 to 30 years requiring supraclavicular brachial plexus block. Subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups. Patients in group levobupivacaine+nalbuphine received 28 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine and 10 mg of nalbuphine diluted in 2 mL 0.9% saline. Patients in group levobupivacaine+dexmedetomidine (LD) received 28 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine and 0.75 µg/kg dexmedetomidine diluted in 2 mL 0.9% saline. Demographic information, types of fracture, onset time of motor and sensory blocks, duration of block, side effects, and analgesic use were recorded. RESULTS: We found that the 2 groups did not differ significantly in the demographic profile and fracture type. Compared with group LD, group LD had significantly shorter sensory and motor block onset time, longer block duration, less analgesic need, and less side effects. CONCLUSION: In summary, our study suggests that nalbuphine is a better anesthesia adjuvant for supraclavicular brachial plexus block in young patients.

Equation of state of water based on the SCAN meta-GGA density functional.

Based on the newly developed SCAN meta-GGA and the widely used PBE-GGA functionals, ab initio molecular dynamics are performed on water. It is proved that, although the SCAN meta-GGA is not as good as the TIP4P/2005 model potential in describing the equation of state of water, it is much better than the PBE-GGA, the ST2 model potential, and ab initio trained neural network potentials. Moreover, the SCAN meta-GGA predicts a first-order liquid-liquid transition from high- to low-density water at negative pressure, in which the structures are qualitatively consistent with experimental observations, and the spinodal point of high-density water is very close to Speedy's stability limit line.

Development of a heterologous enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of clindamycin and lincomycin residues in edible animal tissues.

In this study, new clindamycin (CLIN) artificial antigens were prepared and used to produce broad-specificity monoclonal antibodies. Based on the as-produced mAbs, a heterologous ELISA was developed to detect CLIN and lincomycin (LIN) residues in edible animal tissues. The IC50 values of the developed assay were 0.3ng/mL (CLIN) and 1.2ng/mL (LIN) in buffer, respectively. The detection limits were estimated to be 1.8µg/kg (CLIN) and 6.8µg/kg (LIN) in bovine, chicken, porcine and fish muscles. In the spike and recovery tests, the mean recovery rate ranged from 76% to 112% at different spiked levels, and the intra-/inter-assay coefficients of variation were in the range of 7.1% to 13.2%. This method was verified using LC-MS/MS with a correlation coefficient >0.97. The developed ELISA is therefore well suited for simultaneous determination of CLIN and LIN residues in bovine, chicken, porcine and fish muscles.

Spike-timing-dependent plasticity enhanced synchronization transitions induced by autapses in adaptive Newman-Watts neuronal networks.

In this paper, we numerically study the effect of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) on synchronization transitions induced by autaptic activity in adaptive Newman-Watts Hodgkin-Huxley neuron networks. It is found that synchronization transitions induced by autaptic delay vary with the adjusting rate Ap of STDP and become strongest at a certain Ap value, and the Ap value increases when network randomness or network size increases. It is also found that the synchronization transitions induced by autaptic delay become strongest at a certain network randomness and network size, and the values increase and related synchronization transitions are enhanced when Ap increases. These results show that there is optimal STDP that can enhance the synchronization transitions induced by autaptic delay in the adaptive neuronal networks. These findings provide a new insight into the roles of STDP and autapses for the information transmission in neural systems.

Decreased FOXP3+ and GARP+ Tregs to neoadjuvant chemotherapy associated with favorable prognosis in advanced gastric cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has been an increasingly used therapeutic strategy to improve the outcome of advanced gastric cancer (GC) over the past few decades. Lymphocytic infiltration has been reported to be associated with response to NACT, but the immune cell subpopulation and its prognosis contributing to response in GC have not been clarified yet. In the current study, the tumor infiltration of FOXP3+ and GARP+ regulatory T-cells (Tregs, marked by FOXP3 and GARP) response to NACT in advanced GC and their correlation with prognosis were evaluated. The infiltration of FOXP3+ and GARP+ Tregs in 102 patients with advanced GC who were treated with or without NACT was measured using immunohistochemical method. The infiltration of FOXP3+ and GARP+ Tregs was significantly decreased in the NACT group than in the non-NACT group (P=0.023 and P=0.012, respectively) and significantly associated with tumor, node, metastasis stage (P=0.019 and P=0.011, respectively). There was no significant difference in patient's overall survival between the NACT and non-NACT groups (P=0.166); however, patients in the NACT group with decreased infiltration of FOXP3+ and GARP+ Tregs had longer overall survival (P=0.002 and P<0.001, respectively). Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that the infiltration of GARP+ Tregs and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors (P=0.038 and P=0.013, respectively). The results demonstrated that NACT could decrease the infiltration of FOXP3+ and GARP+ Tregs, and that the infiltration of GARP+ Tregs may serve as a new prognostic factor of human GC response to NACT.

Novel Utilization of Terminators in the Design of Biologically Adjustable Synthetic Filters.

Terminators, which signal the end of transcription processes, are typically placed behind the last coding sequence of an operon to prevent interference between transcript units in most biologically synthetic systems. Here, we seek to extend the usability of terminators in genetic system design by using terminators as regulatory genetic parts. Terminators with different impacts on their upstream and downstream genes are characterized in detail via dynamic modeling to predict the behavior of the overall genetic system. Some nonlinear effects of terminators observed in our terminator measurements potentially facilitate regulation of gene expression. Through dynamic modeling in silico, we find that such genetic systems may behave like genetic filters. In agreement with the simulations, we successfully implement genetic high-pass and bandpass filters in vivo, demonstrating the potential of using terminators as regulatory parts. The genetic bandpass filter in this work is implemented through the interdependence between genetic parts, in which the termination efficiency of a terminator varies with the strength of the upstream promoter. This design strategy for a bandpass filter requires fewer base pairs than the conventional strategy of concatenating high-pass and low-pass filters. Our results show that this novel utilization of terminators as regulatory parts may provide a new perspective for efficient design of genetic circuits. We believe that further exploration of the complicated dynamics of terminators is important in the development of synthetic biology.

Association of plasma visfatin with risk of colorectal cancer: An observational study of Chinese patients.

AIM: To investigate the association between plasma visfatin levels and risk of early and advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: In total, 358 CRC patients and 286 controls were enrolled. According to the T factor of the TNM system. cancer patients were divided into two subgroups: early and advanced cancer. Levels of visfatin, anthropometric and metabolic parameters, which were classified as low, medium, and high, based on the tertile distributions in the control group, were determined. RESULTS: The visfatin levels in patients with advanced and early cancer were higher than in controls (least significant difference test, P = 0.004 and 0.013, respectively). The patients in the highest tertile of visfatin concentration presented significantly higher odds for early and advanced CRC, adjusted for potential confounding factors (odds ratio 3.37; 95% CI, 1.93-8.37; P = 0.011; odds ratio 2.38; 95% CI: 1.82-8.35; P = 0.015, respectively). The visfatin level correlated significantly with waist:hip ratio (P < 0.05 for all) among case and control participants. Plasma visfatin levels in early and advanced CRC yielded a receiver operating characteristic curve area of 72 and 86%, respectively. The optimal sensitivity and specificity were 73% and 57% in discriminating between early CRC and normal controls while they were 76% and 68% in discriminating between advanced CRC and normal controls. CONCLUSION: An increased level of visfatin was a strong risk factor for both early and advanced CRC in Chinese patients. Plasma visfatin levels might be a potential biomarker for CRC detection.

Effects of different doses of metformin treatment for 6 months on aberrant crypt foci in Chinese patients with impaired glucose tolerance.

This research was carried out to evaluate the chemopreventive effects of different doses of metformin treatment for 6 months on rectal aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). A total of 120 Chinese patients with IGT were enrolled and assigned randomly to a low-dose metformin group (n=30, metformin at 250 mg/day), a middle-dose metformin group (n=30, metformin at 500 mg/day), a high-dose metformin group (n=30, metformin at 1500 mg/day), and a control (untreated with metformin) group (n=30). Each participant was followed for 6 months by protocol, and the number of ACF per patient in the above four groups was examined by magnifying colonoscopy before, and after 3 and 6 months of, treatment. The mean ACF numbers in both the middle-dose and the high-dose metformin groups were significantly decreased at 3 as well as 6 months of treatment, whereas they did not change in the low-dose metformin and the untreated groups. In the high-dose metformin group, BMI, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance index, and 2-h plasma glucose were significantly decreased. However, no such change was observed in the middle-dose metformin group. Changes in the ACF number correlated positively with changes in the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (r=0.273, P=0.013), BMI (r=0.241, P=0.042), and 2-h plasma glucose (r=0.252, P=0.037), respectively, in the high-dose metformin group, but no such correlation was observed in the middle-dose metformin group. Metformin suppressed ACF formation in IGT patients in a dose-dependent manner, possibly through direct and indirect (attenuating insulin resistance) mechanisms.

Association of plasma total and high-molecular-weight adiponectin with risk of colorectal cancer: an observational study in Chinese male.

The research is to investigate the association between plasma concentrations of total and high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin and risk of early and advanced colorectal cancer. One hundred and sixty-five male colorectal cancer patients and one hundred and two controls were enrolled; based on the T factor of the TNM system, intraepithelial carcinoma and submucosally invasive carcinoma were defined as early cancer, and invasion into the muscularis propria or deeper was defined as advanced cancer. The plasma levels of glucose, fasting insulin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and total and HMW adiponectin levels were measured. Each factor level was designated as low or high, and the risk of cancer was estimated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. In the patients with early cancer, high waist/hip ratio (WHR), high fasting insulin, high HOMA model insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), low total adiponectin and HMW adiponectin were all associated with a significant increase in the odds ratio (OR) by univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, WHR, HOMA-IR, total adiponectin and HMW adiponectin were all related to increased cancer risk. However, in the patients with advanced cancer, only low HMW adiponectin was associated with a significant increase in the OR by univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, a low HMW adiponectin level was still related to increased cancer risk, with an adjusted OR of 3.971 (P = 0.036). In conclusion, a decreased level of adiponectin was a strong risk factor not only for early colorectal cancer but also for advanced colorectal in Chinese male patients. HMW adiponectin might be more closely associated with colorectal cancer risk than total adiponectin.

Selecting against S1P3 enhances the acute cardiovascular tolerability of 3-(N-benzyl)aminopropylphosphonic acid S1P receptor agonists.

Structurally modified 3-(N-benzylamino)propylphosphonic acid S1P receptor agonists that maintain affinity for S1P1, and have decreased affinity for S1P3 are efficacious, but exhibit decreased acute cardiovascular toxicity in rodents than do nonselective agonists.