Search

Although research suggests a relationship among personal characteristics, behaviors, and performance, there has been limited examination of these influences in the context of intelligence tests using eye movement techniques. Thus, this study explored the roles of personal characteristics (i.e., visual/verbal cognitive styles, self-efficacy) and reading behaviors in the reasoning performance of Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices test based on social cognitive perspectives using eye movement techniques, in order to provide more authentic information about individuals’ actual behaviors. A total of 53 undergraduate and graduate students participated. Thirty participants were classified as visual style and the others were classified as verbal style learners. Regarding the role of cognitive styles in reading behaviors and reasoning performance, the results indicated a marginal difference in dispersion reading behavior between participants with visual and verbal cognitive style, and a significant relationship between visual style and dispersion reading behavior. However, no difference was found in performance between these two styles. As for the role of self-efficacy, the results showed that it was positively related to horizontal reading and APM-short performance. Mediation analyses revealed that self-efficacy not only directly impacted reasoning performance, but also had an indirect effect on performance through horizontal and tilted reading. On the other hand, cognitive style had no direct or indirect effect on reasoning performance. Moreover, the results showed that horizontal, vertical and tilted reading significantly predicted reasoning performance. The findings suggest that educators could enhance learners’ self-efficacy through goal setting, feedback, and strategy instruction, which would help facilitate their learning behaviors and performance.

Increasing evidence suggests that body composition is associated with the development of acute pancreatitis (AP). This study aimed to investigate the applicability of body composition in predicting AP severity. Data of 213 patients with AP from Affiliated Hospital of Putian University (AHOPTU) were included in this study, whilst data of 173 patients with AP from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital (FMUUH) were used for external validation. Patients were classified into the non-severe and severe groups according to AP severity. After seven days of treatment, in patients from AHOPTU, the difference in skeletal muscle index before and after treatment (ΔSMI) was significantly higher (P = 0.002), while the skeletal muscle radiodensity before treatment (PreSMR) was significantly lower (P = 0.042) in the non-severe group than in the severe group. The multivariate logistic regression model also revealed that the ΔSMI and PreSMR were independent risk factors for AP severity. The optimal cut-off values of ΔSMI and PreSMR were 1.0 and 43.7, respectively. The following metabolic score (SMS) was established to predict AP severity: 0: ΔSMI < 1.0 and PreSMR < 43.7; 1: ΔSMI ≥ 1.0 and PreSMR < 43.7 or ΔSMI < 1.0 and PreSMR ≥ 43.7; 3: ΔSMI ≥ 1.0 and PreSMR ≥ 43.7. In patients from AHOPTU and FMUUH, the areas under the curves (AUC) for this model were 0.764 and 0.741, respectively. ΔSMI and PreSMR can accurately predict AP severity. It is recommended to routinely evaluate the statuses of patients with AP using the predictive model presented in this study for individualized treatment.

Excessive induction of inflammatory and immune responses is widely considered as one of vital factors contributing to the pathogenesis and progression of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Neutrophils are well-studied members of inflammatory and immune cell family, contributing to the innate and adaptive immunity. Neutrophil-released neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) play an important role in the regulation of various kinds of diseases, including CNS diseases. In this review, current knowledge on the biological features of NETs will be introduced. In addition, the role of NETs in several popular and well-studied CNS diseases including cerebral stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and neurological cancers will be described and discussed through the reviewing of previous related studies.

Abstract Background To study whether oral presentation (OP) assessment could reflect the novice learners’ interpretation skills and reading behaviour on brain computed tomography (CT) reading. Methods Eighty fifth-year medical students were recruited, received a 2-hour interactive workshop on how to read brain CT, and were assigned to read two brain CT images before and after instruction. We evaluated their image reading behaviour in terms of overall OP post-test rating, the lesion identification, and competency in systematic image reading after instruction. Students’ reading behaviour in searching for the target lesions were recorded by the eye-tracking technique and were used to validate the accuracy of lesion reports. Statistical analyses, including lag sequential analysis (LSA), linear mixed models, and transition entropy (TE) were conducted to reveal temporal relations and spatial complexity of systematic image reading from the eye movement perspective. Results The overall OP ratings [pre-test vs. post-test: 0 vs. 1 in case 1, 0 vs. 1 in case 2, p

Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocyte population in the human circulatory system and are rapidly recruited to sites of inflammation. Neutrophils play a multifaceted role in intestinal inflammation, as they contribute to the elimination of invading pathogens. Recently, their role in epithelial restitution has been widely recognized; however, they are also associated with bystander tissue damage. The intestinal epithelium provides a physical barrier to prevent direct contact of luminal contents with subepithelial tissues, which is extremely important for the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis. Numerous studies have demonstrated that transepithelial migration of neutrophils is closely related to disease symptoms and disruption of crypt architecture in inflammatory bowel disease and experimental colitis. There has been growing interest in how neutrophils interact with the epithelium under inflammatory conditions. Most studies focus on the effects of neutrophils on intestinal epithelial cells; however, the effects of intestinal epithelial cells on neutrophils during intestinal inflammation need to be well-established. Based on these data, we have summarized recent articles on the role of neutrophil–epithelial interactions in intestinal inflammation, particularly highlighting the epithelium-derived molecular regulators that mediate neutrophil recruitment, transepithelial migration, and detachment from the epithelium, as well as the functional consequences of their crosstalk. A better understanding of these molecular events may help develop novel therapeutic targets for mitigating the deleterious effects of neutrophils in inflammatory bowel disease.

Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) are the only enzyme class known to deiminate arginine residues into citrulline in proteins, a process known as citrullination. This is an important post-translational modification that functions in several physiological and pathological processes. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are generated by NETosis, a novel cell death in neutrophils and a double-edged sword in inflammation. Excessive activation of PADs and NETs is critically implicated in their transformation from a physiological to a pathological state. Herein, we review the physiological and pathological functions of PADs and NETs, in particular, the involvement of PAD2 and PAD4 in the digestive system, from inflammatory to oncological diseases, along with related therapeutic prospects.

BackgroundColon cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies and causes high mortality worldwide. Exploring the tumor-immune interactions in the tumor microenvironment and identifying new prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers will assist in decoding the novel mechanism of tumor immunotherapy. BGN is a typical extracellular matrix protein that was previously validated as a signaling molecule regulating multiple processes of tumorigenesis. However, its role in tumor immunity requires further investigation.MethodsThe differentially expressed genes in three GEO datasets were analyzed, and BGN was identified as the target gene by intersection analysis of PPIs. The relevance between clinical outcomes and BGN expression levels was evaluated using data from the GEO database, TCGA and tissue microarray of colon cancer samples. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models were conducted for identifying the risk factors correlated with clinical prognosis of colon cancer patients. Next, the association between BGN expression levels and the infiltration of immune cells as well as the process of the immune response was analyzed. Finally, we predicted the immunotherapeutic response rates in the subgroups of low and high BGN expression by TIS score, ImmuCellAI and TIDE algorithms.ResultsBGN expression demonstrated a statistically significant upregulation in colon cancer tissues than in normal tissues. Elevated BGN was associated with shorter overall survival as well as unfavorable clinicopathological features, including tumor size, serosa invasion and length of hospitalization. Mechanistically, pathway enrichment and functional analysis demonstrated that BGN was positively correlated with immune and stromal scores in the TME and primarily involved in the regulation of immune response. Further investigation revealed that BGN was strongly expressed in the immunosuppressive phenotype and tightly associated with the infiltration of multiple immune cells in colon cancer, especially M2 macrophages and induced Tregs. Finally, we demonstrated that high BGN expression presented a better immunotherapeutic response in colon cancer patients.ConclusionBGN is an encouraging predictor of diagnosis, prognosis and immunotherapeutic response in patients with colon cancer. Assessment of BGN expression represents a novel approach with great promise for identifying patients who may potentially benefit from immunotherapy.