Promotion of self-directed learning abilities among Chinese medical students through preparing for career calling and enhancing teaching competencies in medical education: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Medical students face a heavy burden as they are tasked with acquiring a vast amount of medical knowledge within a limited time frame. Self-directed learning (SDL) has become crucial for efficient and ongoing learning among medical students. However, effective ways to foster SDL ability among Chinese medical students are lacking, and limited studies have identified factors that impact the SDL ability of medical students. This makes it challenging for educators to develop targeted strategies to improve students' SDL ability. This study aims to assess SDL ability among Chinese medical students and examine the effects of career calling and teaching competencies on SDL ability, as well as the possible mechanisms linking them. METHODS: Data were collected from 3614 respondents (effective response rate = 60.11%) using cross-sectional online questionnaires and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0. The questionnaire comprised a Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, Self-directed Learning Ability Scale (Cronbach's alpha = 0.962), Teaching Competencies Scale, and Career Calling Scale. RESULTS: The average SDL ability score of Chinese medical students was 3.68 ± 0.56, indicating a moderate level of SDL ability. The six factors of the Self-directed Learning Ability Scale-self-reflection, ability to use learning methods, ability to set study plans, ability to set studying objectives, ability to adjust psychological state, and willpower in studying-accounted for 12.90%, 12.89%, 12.39%, 11.94%, 11.34%, and 8.67% of the variance, respectively. Furthermore, career calling was positively associated with SDL learning ability (ß = 0.295, p < 0.001), and SDL learning ability was positively associated with teaching competencies (ß = 0.191, p < 0.01). Simple slope analysis showed that when the level of teaching competencies was higher, the influence of career calling on SDL ability was stronger. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese medical students' SDL ability has room for improvement. Medical students could strengthen their willpower in studying by setting milestones goals with rewards, which could inspire their motivation for the next goals. Teachers should guide students to learn experience to improve students' reflective ability. Educators play a crucial role in bridging the gap between career calling education and SDL ability enhancement, highlighting the significance of optimal teaching competencies. Colleges should focus on strengthening teachers' sense of career calling and teaching competencies.

Nodakenin Ameliorates Ovariectomy-Induced Bone Loss by Regulating Gut Microbiota.

Disordered gut microbiota (GM) structure and function may contribute to osteoporosis (OP). Nodakenin has been shown to ameliorate osteoporosis; however, its anti-osteoporotic mechanism is unknown. This study aimed to further reveal the mechanism of the anti-osteoporotic action of nodakenin from the perspective of the microbiome and metabolome. An osteoporosis model was induced in mice through ovariectomy (OVX), with bone mass and microstructure assessed using µCT. Subsequently, ELISA and histologic examination were used to detect biochemical indicators of bone conversion and intestinal morphology. Using metabolomics and 16S rRNA sequencing, it was possible to determine the composition and abundance of the gut microbiota in feces. The results revealed that nodakenin treatment improved the bone microstructure and serum levels of bone turnover markers, and increased the intestinal mucosal integrity. 16S rRNA sequencing analysis revealed that nodakenin treatment decreased the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Patescibacteria, as well as the F/B ratio, and elevated the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes in OVX mice. In addition, nodakenin enhanced the relative abundance of Muribaculaceae and Allobaculum, among others, at the genus level. Moreover, metabolomics analysis revealed that nodakenin treatment significantly altered the changes in 113 metabolites, including calcitriol. A correlation analysis revealed substantial associations between various gut microbiota taxa and both the osteoporosis phenotype and metabolites. In summary, nodakenin treatment alleviated OVX-induced osteoporosis by modulating the gut microbiota and intestinal barrier.

Moderating role of family functioning and resource support in the relationship between career calling and academic burnout among Chinese medical students during the controlled COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: This cross-sectional study aims to assess the level of academic burnout among Chinese medical students during the controlled COVID-19 pandemic and identify the potential demographic factors affecting academic burnout. It also explored the relationship between career calling, family functioning, resource support, and academic burnout, as well as investigated whether family functioning and resource support could moderate the relationship between career calling and academic burnout among Chinese medical students. METHODS: The study was conducted in five Chinese cities in 2021. A total of 3614 valid questionnaires were collected to assess the relationship between academic burnout, career calling, family functioning, and resource support, and determine whether demographic factors contribute to academic burnout. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to explore factors correlated with academic burnout and test the moderating effect of family functioning and resource support on the relationship between career calling and academic burnout. RESULTS: The mean academic burnout score was 3.29 ± 1.17. Sex, major, academic performance ranking, monthly living expenses, physical health, and sleep quality significantly affected academic burnout (p < 0.05). Academic burnout was negatively correlated with career calling, resource support, and family functioning. Family functioning and resource support moderated the relationship between career calling and academic burnout. Simple slope analysis revealed that high family functioning and resource support strengthened the impact of career calling on academic burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Most medical students in China experienced relatively high levels of academic burnout during the controlled COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, specific demographic factors contribute to academic burnout. Family functioning and resource support moderate the relationship between career calling and academic burnout. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing career-calling education, supplementing family functioning in the form of school support, and providing sufficient smart learning resources among medical students in the post-pandemic era.

The results revealed that career calling was strongly and negatively correlated with academic burnout during the controlled COVID-19 pandemic.High family functioning and resource support strengthened the impact of career calling on academic burnout during the controlled COVID-19 pandemic.

New and Antifungal Diterpenoids of Sunflower against Gray Mold.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is cultivated around the world as an oil crop, and its receptacle is the byproduct and is usually deemed to be an agro-industrial waste. Then, phytochemical constituents and antifungal bioactivity of the sunflower receptacle against phytopathogenic fungi were investigated. As a result, 17 diterpenoids including 4 new compounds were isolated, and most of them showed potential antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea, in which compounds 1, 3, 5, and 15 exhibited better inhibitory effect with the minimum inhibitory concentration values of 0.05-0.1 mg/mL. Meanwhile, four antifungal diterpenoids destructed plasma membrane integrity, suspended the biofilm formation ability, and increased the extravasation of cellular contents of B. cinerea. Moreover, the EtOAc extract of sunflower receptacle could keep 42.9% of blueberries from the invasion of B. cinerea at 1.6 mg/mL. The finding suggested that sunflower receptacle might be a biocontrol agent for preventing fruit from postharvest diseases.

Quality assurance of postharvest grapes against Botrytis cinerea by terbinafine.

Worldwide, fruit is an indispensable treasure house of nutrition for human beings, occupying a vital position of human diet. Postharvest fruit storage requires efficient antifungal agents to control Botrytis cinerea, which is a vital postharvest disease affecting fruit and leading to enormous losses. However, with the enormous abuse of existing antifungal drugs, the problem of drug-resistant fungi is imminent, making the controlling diseases caused by pathogenic fungi even more challenging. Drug repurposing is an efficient alternative method, we evaluated a well-known antifungal chemical, terbinafine, against the agricultural pathogen, B. cinerea in vitro, as a result, terbinafine showed strong antifungal activity. Furthermore, the in vivo antifungal activity of terbinafine was evaluated, the results showed that terbinafine could reduce the decay area on grapes. Terbinafine could disrupt the cell membrane integrity, increase cell membrane permeability, and eventual cell death of B. cinerea. In addition, terbinafine reduced decay incidence, and weight loss and maintained the soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total phenolic, and malondialdehyde content during the storage period of grapes. Overall, terbinafine could be an antifungal preservative for postharvest table grapes fresh-keeping.

Kinesiophobia and its associated factors in patients with coronary heart disease: a cross-sectional study based on latent feature analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the current situation of kinesiophobia in patients with coronary heart disease, classify it based on potential profile analysis and explore the relevant factors of kinesiophobia in different categories of patients with coronary heart disease. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Patients with coronary heart disease in China. PARTICIPANTS: Adult (aged >18 years) patients with coronary heart disease in China; 252 participants in this study answered the questionnaire. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The study investigated the scores of Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia Heart, and collected information on the patient's age, gender, monthly household income, education level, place of residence, marital status, occupational status, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure and body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: Kinesiophobia in patients with coronary heart disease can be divided into low fear type (C1), intermediate fear type (C2) and high fear type (C3). Elderly patients were classified as type C3. Women and patients with a normal BMI were classified as type C1; patients with a normal BMI and patients with an overweight BMI were classified as type C2. CONCLUSION: Kinesiophobia of patients with coronary heart disease can be divided into three categories, and intervention measures are implemented according to their different demographic characteristics to reduce kinesiophobia of patients and promote the participation of patients in exercise rehabilitation.

Moderating Role of Peer Pressure and Positive Learning Environment Between Career Calling and Academic Procrastination in Chinese Medical Students During Controlled COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic sets specific circumstances that may accelerate academic procrastination behavior of medical students. Career calling is a protective factor that fights against academic procrastination and may further improve medical students' mental health and academic achievement. This study aims to determine the status of Chinese medical students' academic procrastination during controlled COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study investigates the relationships and mechanisms among career calling, peer pressure, a positive learning environment, and academic procrastination. Patients and Methods: Data were collected from several Chinese medical universities through an anonymous cross-sectional survey of 3614 respondents (effective response rate = 60.0%). Using online questionnaires to collect the data and IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 for statistical analysis. Results: The average score of academic procrastination of Chinese medical students was 2.62±0.86. This study proved the usage of peer pressure and positive learning environment as moderating roles of relationship between career calling and academic procrastination. Career calling was negatively correlated with academic procrastination (r = -0.232, p < 0.01), while it was positively correlated with peer pressure (r = 0.390, p < 0.01) and a positive learning environment (r = 0.339, p < 0.01). Moreover, academic procrastination was negatively correlated with peer pressure (r = -0.279, p < 0.01) and a positive learning environment (r = -0.242, p < 0.01). Peer pressure was positively correlated with a positive learning environment (r = 0.637, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The findings emphasize the importance of constructive peer pressure and a positive learning environment that discourages academic procrastination. Educators should highlight medical career calling education by offering related courses to fight against academic procrastination.

Social work research ethics in China: A scoping review of research involving human subjects during COVID-19.

As the first review to systematically explore the scope and application of Chinese social work research ethics, this study incorporated web-crawling technology in the scoping review process and identified 18 eligible studies from 1168 publications from January 2020 to July 2021. Findings suggest that social work scholars are aware of research ethics when conducting human subjects research in the Chinese population. Yet, many failed to fully demonstrate practical considerations of internationally accepted ethical principles (e.g. respect for persons). We discuss education on research ethics, new challenges of the digital age, and considerations of Chinese culture in developing ethical protocols for social work research in China.

Adaptive High-Resolution Imaging Method Based on Compressive Sensing.

Compressive sensing (CS) is a signal sampling theory that originated about 16 years ago. It replaces expensive and complex receiving devices with well-designed signal recovery algorithms, thus simplifying the imaging system. Based on the application of CS theory, a single-pixel camera with an array-detection imaging system is established for high-pixel detection. Each detector of the detector array is coupled with a bundle of fibers formed by fusion of four bundles of fibers of different lengths, so that the target area corresponding to one detector is split into four groups of target information arriving at different times. By comparing the total amount of information received by the detector with the threshold set in advance, it can be determined whether the four groups of information are calculated separately. The simulation results show that this new system can not only reduce the number of measurements required to reconstruct high quality images but can also handle situations wherever the target may appear in the field of view without necessitating an increase in the number of detectors.

Recent Advanced on the MXene-Organic Hybrids: Design, Synthesis, and Their Applications.

With increasing research interest in the field of flexible electronics and wearable devices, intensive efforts have been paid to the development of novel inorganic-organic hybrid materials. As a newly developed two-dimensional (2D) material family, MXenes present many advantages compared with other 2D analogs, especially the variable surface terminal groups, thus the infinite possibility for the regulation of surface physicochemical properties. However, there is still less attention paid to the interfacial compatibility of the MXene-organic hybrids. To this end, this review will briefly summarize the recent progress on MXene-organic hybrids, offers a deeper understanding of the interaction and collaborative mechanism between the MXenes and organic component. After the discussion of the structure and surface characters of MXenes, strategies towards MXene-organic hybrids are introduced based on the interfacial interactions. Based on different application scenarios, the advantages of MXene-organic hybrids in constructing flexible devices are then discussed. The challenges and outlook on MXene-organic hybrids are also presented.

Assembly of 1D nanofibers into a 2D bi-layered composite nanofibrous film with different functionalities at the two layers via layer-by-layer electrospinning.

A two-dimensional (2D) bi-layered composite nanofibrous film assembled by one-dimensional (1D) nanofibers with trifunctionality of electrical conduction, magnetism and photoluminescence has been successfully fabricated by layer-by-layer electrospinning. The composite film consists of a polyaniline (PANI)/Fe3O4 nanoparticle (NP)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) tuned electrical-magnetic bifunctional layer on one side and a Tb(TTA)3(TPPO)2/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) photoluminescent layer on the other side, and the two layers are tightly combined face-to-face together into the novel bi-layered composite film of trifunctionality. The brand-new film has totally different characteristics at the double layers. The electrical conductivity and magnetism of the electrical-magnetic bifunctional layer can be, respectively, tunable via modulating the PANI and Fe3O4 NP contents, and the highest electrical conductivity can reach up to the order of 10-2 S cm-1, and predominant intense green emission at 545 nm is obviously observed in the photoluminescent layer under the excitation of 357 nm single-wavelength ultraviolet light. More importantly, the luminescence intensity of the photoluminescent layer remains almost unaffected by the electrical-magnetic bifunctional layer because the photoluminescent materials have been successfully isolated from dark-colored PANI and Fe3O4 NPs. By comparing with the counterpart single-layered composite nanofibrous film, it is found that the bi-layered composite nanofibrous film has better performance. The novel bi-layered composite nanofibrous film with trifunctionality has potential in the fields of nanodevices, molecular electronics and biomedicine. Furthermore, the design conception and fabrication technique for the bi-layered multifunctional film provide a new and facile strategy towards other films of multifunctionality.

Novel Electrospun Dual-Layered Composite Nanofibrous Membrane Endowed with Electricity-Magnetism Bifunctionality at One Layer and Photoluminescence at the Other Layer.

Dual-layered composite nanofibrous membrane equipped with electrical conduction, magnetism and photoluminescence trifunctionality is constructed via electrospinning. The composite membrane consists of a polyaniline (PANI)/Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) tuned electrical-magnetic bifunctional nanofibrous layer at one side and a Eu(TTA)3(TPPO)2/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) photoluminescent nanofibrous layer at the other side, and the two layers are tightly combined face-to-face together into the novel dual-layered composite membrane with trifunctionality. The electric conductivity and magnetism of electrical-magnetic bifunctionality can be respectively tunable via modulating the respective PANI and Fe3O4 NPs contents, and the highest electric conductivity approaches the order of 1 × 10-2 S cm-1. Predominant red emission at 615 nm can be obviously observed in the photoluminescent layer under 366 nm excitation. Moreover, the luminescent intensity of photoluminescent layer is almost unaffected by the electrical-magnetic bifunctional layer because of the fact that the photoluminescent materials have been successfully isolated from dark-colored PANI and Fe3O4 NPs. The novel dual-layered composite nanofibrous membrane with trifunctionality has potentials in many fields. Furthermore, the design philosophy and fabrication method for the dual-layered multifunctional membrane provide a new and facile strategy toward other membranes with multifunctionality.