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Development and evaluation of the effectiveness of a Nurse Navigation programme based on Noddings' Care theory on two dependent variables which were professional identity and career planning among first-year undergraduate nursing students. First-year undergraduate nursing students generally have a low sense of professional identity and career planning, resulting in a loss of nursing power after graduation. Implemention of a Nurse Navigation program based on Noddings' Care theory may be potentially useful in cultivating their professional identity and career planning. A quasi-experimental study. A convenience sample of 122 first-year undergraduate nursing students from two medical universities was recruited between September 2021 and June 2022. Students in the experimental group (n = 63) participated in the Nurse Navigation programme based on Noddings' Care theory, which contained four core components, spreading over 50 lessons. Those in the control group (n = 59) underwent a traditional training programme wit h five components across 44 lessons. The two groups were compared in terms of their level of professional identity by Professional identity questionnaire for nurse students (PIQNS) and career planning by Career planning questionnaire (CPQ) after the training using the t-test. The mean score of professional identity in the experimental group increased significantly from 51.02 ± 8.46 at baseline to 58.02 ± 8.81 after the intervention (p < 0.001), with a large effect size (Cohen's d=0.810). Also, this post-intervention score was statistically significantly higher than that (52.86 ± 9.27) in the control group (p = 0.002), with a medium effect size (Cohen's d=0.571). The mean score of career planning in the experimental group increased significantly from 81.76 ± 9.86 at baseline to 94.52 ± 10.81 after the intervention (p < 0.001), with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.233). Also, this post-intervention score was statistically significantly higher than that (88.25 ± 9.30) in the control group (p < 0.001), with a medium effect size (Cohen's d=0.623). The Nurse Navigation programme based on Noddings' Care theory showed effectiveness in enhancing professional identity and career planning among first-year undergraduate nursing students in China. Further rigorous studies are needed to examine its effectiveness and long-term impacts on these students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human lice have always been a major public health concern due to their vector capacity for louse-borne infectious diseases, like trench fever, louse-borne relapsing fever, and epidemic fever, which are caused by Bartonella quintana , Borrelia recurrentis , and Rickettsia prowazekii , respectively. Those diseases are currently re-emerging in the regions of poor hygiene, social poverty, or wars with life-threatening consequences. These louse-borne diseases have also caused outbreaks among populations in jails and refugee camps. In addition, antibodies and DNAs to those pathogens have been steadily detected in homeless populations. Importantly, more bacterial pathogens have been detected in human lice, and some have been transmitted by human lice in laboratories. Here, we provide a comprehensive review and update on louse-borne infectious diseases/bacterial pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four metal–organic coordination polymers, CsL1(H 2 O) 3 ( 1 ), CsL2·H 2 O ( 2 ), [CsL3(H 2 O) 2 ]·H 2 O ( 3 ) and [RbL3(H 2 O) 2 ]·H 2 O ( 4 ) were successfully synthesized by the self-assembly of Cs(I), Rb(I) and ligands L1 – L3 [ L1 = 7-ethoxy-4′-methoxyisoflavone-3′-sulfonate, L2 = 6-fluoro-4′-methoxyisoflavone-3′-sulfonate, L3 = 5,7-dihydroxy-6,4′-dimethoxyisoflavone-3′-sulfonate]. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses show that 1 – 4 have an intriguing variety of structural features with the change of isoflavone-3′-sulfonates. A variety of non-covalent interactions such as coordination interaction, aromatic stacking and hydrogen bonding exist in their crystal structures, which together with the electrostatic interaction between the Cs + , Rb + and the sulfonate anions assemble 1 – 4 into three-dimensional supramolecular structures. Sulfo-groups of L1 – L3 play important roles, they not only can coordinate with Cs + or Rb + directly, but also provide important bridges in structural link between the organic and the inorganic region in 1 – 4 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To examine the effects of the α3 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) on the expression of β-secretase and the concomitant level of amyloid-β (Aβ), SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells were either transfected with small interference RNAs (siRNAs) specifically targeting this subunit or exposed to nicotine. The levels of α3 nAChR mRNA and protein, as well as the corresponding levels of BACE1 (which cleaves the β-site of APP) and BACE2 (cleaving in the Aβ domain) were determined by real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The levels of Aβ1–42 in culture media were determined by an Elisa procedure. In SH-SY5Y cells transfected with siRNA, the levels of α3 nAChR mRNA and protein were reduced by 96% and 88%, respectively; the levels of BACE1 mRNA and protein were significantly enhanced, while those of BACE2 were reduced; and the level of Aβ in the culture medium was elevated. In contrast, when untransfected SH-SY5Y cells were exposed to nicotine, the levels of both α3 nAChR mRNA and protein were enhanced; while the levels of BACE1 mRNA and protein were diminished and the corresponding levels of BACE2 enhanced; and the level of Aβ in the culture medium was attenuated. These results indicate that the α3 subunit of nAChR inhibits the production of Aβ by reducing the expression of BACE1 and elevating the expression of BACE2, suggesting that this subunit might play an important neuroprotective role in connection with the pathogenesis of AD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• This is the first report of the complete mt genome of Stephanurus dentatus. • The S. dentatus is closely related to the family Chabertiidae rather than Syngamidae. • S. dentatus needs to be moved to the family Chabertiidae from Syngamidae. Swine stephanuriasis caused by kidney worm Stephanurus dentatus is a parasitic disease in tropical and subtropical countries, leading to economic losses. Despite its significance as a pathogen, the phylogenetic position and taxonomic status of this nematode remain poorly understood. Mitochondrial (mt) genome sequences are known to provide useful genetic markers for investigations in these areas, but mt genome sequences are lacking for S. dentatus. In the present study, we determined the complete mt genome sequences of S. dentatus with an Illumina platform and compared it with the mt genomes of other closely related species. The circular mt genome was 13,735 bp in size with 36 genes. All genes are transcribed in the same direction and the mt gene arrangement is identified as a GA3 pattern, that is the most common pattern of gene arrangement observed in nematodes to date. Phylogenetic analysis using concatenated amino acid sequences of 12 protein-coding genes supported the hypothesis that S. dentatus was closely related to the family Chabertiidae. Our results provided insights into the phylogenetic relationship of the family Syngamidae within the superfamily Strongyloidea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fleas are important ectoparasites and vectors associated with a wide range of pathogenic diseases, posing threats to public health concerns, especially cat fleas that spread worldwide. Understanding the microbial components is essential due to cat fleas are capable of transmitting pathogens to humans, causing diseases like plague and murine typhus. In the present study, metagenomic next-generation sequencing was applied to obtain the complete microbiota and related functions in the gut of Ctenocephalides felis. A total of 1,870 species was taxonomically recognized including 1,407 bacteria, 365 eukaryotes, 69 viruses, and 29 archaea. Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum among the six samples. Pathogens Rickettsia felis, Acinetobacter baumannii, Coxiella burnetii , and Anaplasma phagocytophilum were taxonomically identified and had high abundances in all samples. The resistance gene MexD was predominant in microbial communities of all cat fleas. We also performed epidemiological surveys of pathogens R. felis, A. baumannii, C. burnetii , and A. phagocytophilum among 165 cat fleas collected from seven provinces in China, while only the DNAs of R. felis (38/165, 23.03%) and C. burnetii (2/165, 1.21%) were obtained. The data provide new insight and understanding of flea intestinal microbiota and support novel information for preventing and controlling fleas and their transmitted diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]