Search

Participating in effective professional development (PD) activities is crucial for helping teachers improve the quality of pedagogy and students' learning results. Numerous factors influence the design of effective PD, one of which is duration. However, many teachers do not find much time to participate in long-term concentrated and continuous PD due to their heavy workloads. Based on this consideration, this paper presents the Workshop-Seminar-Demonstration Class PD (WSDPD) model, which addresses the factor of duration by shortening the hours of contact, lengthening the total span of time required, and integrating elements such as active learning and expert follow-up to improve teachers' practical teaching methods. With "Teaching for Conceptual Change" as the theme and junior high school science teachers as participants, the results of the study show that WSD-PD can serve teachers by generating willingness to improve teaching practices for and influence teaching behaviors in them. The settings of different activities in this model are also considered to play distinct and indispensable roles in the program.

We report here the clinical diagnosis and treatment and genetic mutations of an infant with You-Hoover-Fong syndrome (YHFS). The relevant literature review was conducted. A female infant aged 17 months was admitted to Nanhai Affiliated Maternity and Children’s Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine due to “global development delay complicated with postnatal growth retardation for more than 1 year.” The infant was diagnosed with YHFS due to the onset of extremely severe mental retardation, microcephaly, abnormal hearing, severe protein–energy malnutrition, congenital cataract, cleft palate (I°), congenital atrial septal defect, brain atrophy, hydrocephalus, and brain hypoplasia. The whole exon sequencing revealed two compound heterozygous mutations, including a likely pathogenic TELO2 variant, c.2245A > T (p.K749X) from her mother and an uncertain variant, c.2299C > T (p.R767C) from her father, validated by Sanger sequencing. After bilateral cataract surgery, the infant obtained better visual acuity and showed more responses and interactions with her parents. Diagnosis and treatment of this case prompt that these TELO2 variants have not been reported, deepening the understanding of the molecular and genetic mechanism of YHFS in clinical practice.

Abstract TRK-fused gene (TFG) is known to be involved in protein secretion and plays essential roles in an antiviral innate immune response. However, its function in LPS-induced inflammation and pyroptotic cell death is still unknown. Here, we reported that TFG promotes the stabilization of Unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase (ULK1) and participates in LPS plus nigericin (Ng) induced pyroptotic cell death. Our results showed that TFG-deficient THP-1 macrophages exhibit higher mitochondrial ROS production. LPS/Ng stimulation triggers a much higher level of ROS and induces pyroptotic cell death. ULK1 undergoes a rapid turnover in TFG-deficient THP-1 cells. TFG forms complex with an E3 ligase, tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 3 (TRAF3), and stabilizes ULK1 via disturbing ULK1-TRAF3 interaction. Knockdown of TFG facilitates the interaction of ULK1 with TRAF3 and subsequent K48-linked ULK1 ubiquitination and proteasome degradation. Rescue of ULK1 expression blocks LPS/Ng-induced cell death in TFG-deficient THP-1 macrophages. Taken together, TFG plays an essential role in LPS/Ng-induced pyroptotic cell death via regulating K48-linked ULK1 ubiquitination in macrophages.

Liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) photoactuators offer a versatile platform for executing complicated tasks through precisely controlled bending directions and amplitudes. Optical waveguides assist photoactuators to perform tasks unimpededly. While most existing optical waveguide actuators are limited to unidirectional bending, limiting their versatility. Here, a LCE actuator integrated with a tapered optical fiber with controllable bending directions and amplitudes is presented. The LCE actuator displays bending motions induced by uneven shrinkage due to the off‐center fiber. The bending directions are parallel to the previous uniaxial alignment of the LCE film, which can be adjusted to an arbitrary angle with the tapered optical fiber. The LCE actuators exhibit adaptable bending directions at 0°, 45°, and 90°, representing the possible bending motions. The bending amplitudes are regulated by infrared laser power. A hook‐like LCE actuator with 0° bending direction carried the handle of a basket. In addition, a 90° bending direction LCE actuator displays the shrinkage behavior, showing a special bending motion control. Moreover, a bionic hand, comprising five LCE actuators with various bending directions, exhibited diverse gestures with precise control. The controllable bending motions in optical waveguide actuators expand the promising applications in complicated scenarios, such as catheters or other medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5-Fluorouracil (5FU) and its derivatives have been widely used for cancer treatment; however they fail to achieve selective chemotherapy. Herein, this work highlights a successful development of a pH-sensitive aliphatic 5-fluorouracil (5FU) derivative prodrug, which is synthesized via chemically linking 5FU and stearyl alcohol (SA) using ortho ester linkage. It can further self-assemble into a synergistic small molecule nanodrug through a noncovalent interaction with doxorubicin (DOX). The nanodrug displays precise structure and high drug loading (more than 15% of drug loading content (DLC) and 87% of drug loading efficiency (DLE)). SA and ortho ester linkages endow the nanodrug with high lipophilicity on tumor cell membrane and tumoral intracellular pH response, respectively. The nanodrug also exhibits a slightly negatively charged surface (−0.513 mV) at physiological pH (7.4) and a large-to-small size change from 176.2 to 128.9 nm at tumoral intracellular pH (5.0). These superior characteristics endow the nanodrugs with blood circulation stability, selective tumor accumulation, improved cellular uptake, efficient drug release, as well as synergistic effect on tumor cells, thereby significantly inhibiting tumor growth (smaller than initial tumor size), reducing side effects, and prolonging survival time. Thus, such a pH-sensitive small molecule nanodrug self-assembled from the aliphatic 5FU derivative and DOX has a great potential for selective synergistic cancer therapy, greatly advancing their clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metalized plastic current collectors (MPCCs) have shown potential in improving the energy density and safety of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). However, the poor mechanical strength, weak interfacial adhesion force, and surface metal corrosion have impeded the practical application of MPCCs. Here, an innovative engineering of MPCCs is proposed by incorporating halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) as fillers into polyimide (PI) polymer layer, which is further coated with two thin copper (Cu) layers. Because of the strong bonding between HNTs surface and the PI precursor, HNTs improve the mechanical strength of PI‐HNTs composite film, reinforce the interfacial adhesion force between the PI‐HNTs film and the coated Cu layer, and suppress the Cu corrosion by electrolyte. The prepared MPCCs exhibit a low mass density and only account about one‐fifth of the density of commercial Cu CCs. Furthermore, the PI‐HNTs‐Cu composite demonstrates significantly enhanced interfacial adhesion force doubled to 4 N cm−1 along with prolonged stability under electrolyte immersion and electrochemical reaction conditions, and delivers a high fracture strength of 125 MPa. LIBs assembled with MPCCs deliver a twice higher discharge capacity compared to battery with Cu CCs and reach a long‐term cycle capacity retention as high as 92.9% at 0.5 C after 500 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]