Burnout and study engagement among medical students at Sun Yat-sen University, China: A cross-sectional study.

This study aims to investigate burnout and study engagement among medical students at Sun Yat-sen University, China.A cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students of Sun Yat-sen University, China. A total of 453 undergraduate students completed a self-administered, structured questionnaire between January and February, 2016. Burnout and study engagement were measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and the UTRECHT Work Engagement Scale-Students (UWES-S), respectively. Subjects who scored high in emotional exhaustion subscale, high in cynicism subscale, and low in professional efficacy subscale simultaneously were graded as having high risk of burnout. Independent sample t tests and chi-square tests were used to compare the differences in burnout and work engagement between genders, majors, and grade levels.The means (standard deviations) of the MBI-SS subscales were 3.42 (1.45) for emotional exhaustion, 2.34 (1.64) for cynicism, and 3.04 (1.30) for professional efficacy. The means (standard deviations) of the UWES-S subscales were 3.13 (1.49) for vigor, 3.44 (1.47) for dedication and 3.00 (1.51) for absorption. Approximately 1 in 11 students experienced a high risk of burnout. There were no statistically significant gender differences in burnout and study engagement. There were also no statistically significant differences in burnout and study engagement subscales according to student major. Students in higher grades displayed increased burnout risk, higher mean burnout subscale score of cynicism, lower mean burnout subscale score of professional efficacy, and decreased mean study engagement subscale scores of dedication and absorption. There were strong correlations within study engagement subscales.Chinese medical students in this university experience a high level of burnout. Students at higher-grade level experience more burnout and decreased study engagement compared with students in lower level

Enhancement of recombinant myricetin on the radiosensitivity of lung cancer A549 and H1299 cells

OBJECTIVE: Myricetin, a common dietary flavonoid is widely distributed in fruits and vegetables, and is used as a health food supplement based on its immune function, anti-oxidation, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of myricetin on combination with radiotherapy enhance radiosensitivity of lung cancer A549 and H1299 cells. METHODS: A549 cells and H1299 cells were exposed to X-ray with or without myricetin treatment. Colony formation assays, CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry and Caspase-3 level detection were used to evaluate the radiosensitization activity of myricetin on cell proliferation and apoptosis in vitro. Nude mouse tumor xenograft model was built to assessed radiosensitization effect of myricetin in vivo. RESULTS: Compared with the exposed group without myricetin treatment, the groups treated with myricetin showed significantly suppressed cell surviving fraction and proliferation, increased the cell apoptosis and increased Caspase-3 protein expression after X-ray exposure in vitro. And in vivo assay, growth speed of tumor xenografts was significantly decreased in irradiated mice treated with myricetin. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo evidence that combination of myricetin with radiotherapy can enhance tumor radiosensitivity of pulmonary carcinoma A549 and H1299 cells, and myricetin could be a potential radiosensitizer for lung cancer therapy. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/579151800121063

Quantitative regulation of FLC via coordinated transcriptional initiation and elongation

The basis of quantitative regulation of gene expression is still poorly understood. In Arabidopsis thaliana, quantitative variation in expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) influences the timing of flowering. In ambient temperatures, FLC expression is quantitatively modulated by a chromatin silencing mechanism involving alternative polyadenylation of antisense transcripts. Investigation of this mechanism unexpectedly showed that RNA polymerase II (Pol II) occupancy changes at FLC did not reflect RNA fold changes. Mathematical modeling of these transcriptional dynamics predicted a tight coordination of transcriptional initiation and elongation. This prediction was validated by detailed measurements of total and chromatin-bound FLC intronic RNA, a methodology appropriate for analyzing elongation rate changes in a range of organisms. Transcription initiation was found to vary ∼25-fold with elongation rate varying ∼8- to 12-fold. Premature sense transcript termination contributed very little to expression differences. This quantitative variation in transcription was coincident with variation in H3K36me3 and H3K4me2 over the FLC gene body. We propose different chromatin states coordinately influence transcriptional initiation and elongation rates and that this coordination is likely to be a general feature of quantitative gene regulation in a chromatin context

A 60-year record of 129I in Taal Lake sediments (Philippines): Influenceof human nuclear activities at low latitude region

The influence of human nuclear activities on environmental radioactivity is not well known at low latitude regions that are distant from nuclear test sites and nuclear facilities. A sediment core collected from Taal Lake in the central Philippines was analyzed for 129I and 127I to investigate this influence in a low-latitude terrestrial system. A baseline of 129I/127I atomic ratios was established at (2.04e5.14) * 10-12&nbsp;in the pre-nuclear era in this region. Controlled by the northeasterly equatorial trade winds, increased 129I/127I ratios of (20.1e69.3) * 10-12 suggest that atmospheric nuclear weapons tests at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the central Pacific Ocean was the major source of 129I in the sediment during 1956-1962. The 129I/127I ratios, up to 157.5*10-12 after 1964, indicate a strong influence by European nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. The East Asian Winter Monsoon is found to be the dominant driving force in the atmospheric dispersion of radioactive iodine (129I) from the European nuclear fuel reprocessing plants to Southeast Asia, which is also important for dispersion of other airborne pollutants from the middle-high to low latitude regions. A significant 129I/127I peak at 42.8 cm in the Taal Lake core appears to be the signal of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. In addition, volcanic activities are reflected in the iodine isotope profiles in the sediment core, suggesting the potential of using iodine isotopes as an indicator of volcanic eruptions.<br style="line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-size-adjust: auto;" /

On the International Communication of Jingdezhen City Brand by Means of Publicity Films in the All-media Era

The present all-media era provides new opportunities for the international communication of Jingdezhen city brand. As an important measure to introduce the history and development of Jingdezhen, city publicity films play an effective role in enhancing the soft power and international communication capacity of Jingdezhen. This paper makes a case study of the latest publicity film This Is Jingdezhen, China, discussing its successful narrative strategies from four aspects, namely, accurate establishment of city brand, ceramic culture as the city brand core, wonderful audio-visual entertainment and proper selection of opinion leaders. What is more, limitations in audience orientation and subtitles standardization are pointed out in terms of the publicity film so as to provide references for producing better city publicity films, thus enhancing ceramic culture international communication capacity and building the city brand of world porcelain capital.