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In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, many education systems have relied on distance learning and educational technologies to an unprecedented degree. However, rigorous empirical research on the impacts on learning under these conditions is still scarce. We present the first large-scale, quantitative evidence detailing how school closures affected education in China. The data set includes households and teachers of 4,360 rural and urban primary school students. We find that although the majority of students engaged in distance education, many households encountered difficulties including barriers to learning (such as access to appropriate digital devices and study spaces), curricular delays, and costs to parents equivalent to between 3.5 and 6 months of income. We also find significant disparities across rural and urban households.

Rural China has seen an increase in its migrant workers returning home. As a result, many of these workers' children, who had previously boarded at school, needed to return home as well. While the existing research indicates that boarding affects the development of disadvantaged children, the effect of the switch to nonboarding on the growth of vulnerable boarding children remains unknown. Using two-stage data from 20,594 fourth- and fifth-grade students in rural Shaanxi and Gansu provinces as well as the difference-in-differences method, this study estimates the impact of switching to nonboarding on the academic performance and mental health of vulnerable boarding students. The results suggest that the shift toward nonboarding significantly reduces boarding students' academic performance, and further testing shows that these results are robust. Additionally, the switch to nonboarding insignificantly increased the standardized mental health scores of rural primary school students but significantly increased their standardized impulsive tendency scores. Heterogeneity analysis found that boarding students whose mothers had lower educational achievement or whose families belonged to lower economic levels had poorer academic performance after switching, while boarding students whose parents had higher education achievement or myopia possessed better mental health after switching. This study offers novel, policy-relevant insights into potential strategies that would improve the academic performance and mental health of students who transition to nonboarding, especially those with low-educated parents and those belonging to poor families.

The home language environment is a significant correlate of early childhood development outcomes; however, less is known about this mechanism in rural and peri-urban China where rates of developmental delay are as high as 52%. This study examines associations between the home language environment and child development in a sample of 158 children (58% boys) aged 18–24 months (Mage = 21.5) from rural and peri-urban households in Western China. Results show a significant association between adult-child conversation count and language development, suggesting the home language environment may be a mechanism for child development in rural and peri-urban China. 22.5% of the sample were at risk of language delay. Mother's employment and child's age were significant factors in the home language environment. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This research investigates the links between the home language environment and ECD in rural and peri-urban communities in China. This study shows significant positive associations between measures of the home language environment and language development outcomes, as well as with overall ECD outcomes. Adult-child conversations were more important for language development outcomes than was the number of adult words spoken. Female-initiated conversations were more important than child-initiated conversations for language development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the current study is to examine the impact of an in-school computer-assisted learning (CAL) intervention on the math achievement of rural students in Taiwan, including a marginalized subgroup of rural students called Xinzhumin, and the factors associated with this impact. In order to achieve this, we conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 1,840 fourth- and fifth-grade students at 95 schools in four relatively poor counties and municipalities of Taiwan during the spring semester of 2019. While the Intention-To-Treat (ITT) analysis found that the CAL intervention had no significant impacts on student math achievement, the Local Average Treatment Effect (LATE) analysis revealed significant associations with the math performance of the most active 20% of students in the treatment group. LATE estimates suggest that using CAL for more than 20 minutes per week for ten weeks corresponds to higher math test scores, both in general (0.16 SD–0.22 SD), and for Xinzhumin students specifically (0.3 SD–0.34 SD). Teacher-level characteristics were associated with compliance rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that elements of the family environment may have significant associations with cognitive and language development outcomes. Less is known, however, about the family environment in peri-urban China, where rates of cognitive and language delay in children aged 0-3 years are as high as 51% and 54%, respectively. Using data collected from 81 peri-urban households with toddlers aged 18-24 months in Southwestern China, this study examines the associations between stimulating parenting practices, the home language environment, and parental self-efficacy, with cognitive and language development. The results indicate that stimulating parenting practices was significantly associated with cognitive development, the home language environment was significantly associated with language development, and parental self-efficacy was significantly associated with cognitive development. The implications of such findings reveal several mechanisms for supporting healthy cognitive and language development among toddlers from peri-urban China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a huge threat to human health even though the diagnosis and treatment strategies have improved rapidly in the past few decades. Increasing evidence has illustrated the critical role noncoding RNA and their regulatory network play in the pathology of HCC. Here, we identified a novel long noncoding RNA, RP5-1120P11.3, that is ectopically expressed in HCC. Further characterization of RP5-1120P11.3 revealed that it promoted proliferation and invasion of HCC cells while inhibiting apoptosis. Importantly, our data revealed that miR-196b-5p interacted with and was regulated by RP5-1120P11.3 via a sponging mechanism. Inhibition of miR-196b-5p attenuated the phenotypes resulting from RP5-1120P11.3 inhibition. Moreover, our data showed that miR-196b-5p inhibited the expression of WIPF2 in HCC, illustrating a regulatory axis of RP5-1120P11.3-miR-196b-5p-WIPF2 that facilitated the progression of HCC. In addition, our data showed that RP5-1120P11.3 contributed to xenograft generation in vivo by regulating miR-196b-5p and WIPF2. These findings suggested that the RP5-1120P11.3-miR-196b-5p-WIPF2 axis is a potential target for treatment of HCC. Key words: RP5-1120P11.3, lncRNA, hepatocellular carcinoma, miR-196b-5p, WIPF2, carcinogenesis. Le carcinome hépatocellulaire (CHC) demeure une menace importante pour la santé humaine même si les stratégies de diagnostic et de traitement se sont rapidement améliorées au cours des dernières décennies. De plus en plus de données ont mis en évidence le rôle des ARN non codants et de leur réseau régulateur qui exercent des fonctions clés dans la pathologie du CHC. Les auteurs ont identifié iciun nouvel ARN non codant, leRP5-1120P11.3 qui est exprimé de manière ectopique dans le CHC. Une caractérisation plus poussée du RP5-1120P11.3 a révélé qu'il favorisait la prolifération et l'invasion des cellules de CHC tout en inhibant l'apoptose. De manière importante, leurs données ont révélé que le miR-196b-5p interagissait avec le RP5-1120P11.3 et était régulé par lui par un mécanisme de capture. L'inhibition du miR-196b-5p atténuait les phénotypes résultant de l'inhibition du RP5-1120P11.3. De plus, leurs données montraient que le miR-196b-5p inhibait l'expression de WIPF2 dans les cellules de CHC, illustrant ainsi un axe régulateur constitué de RP5-1120P11.3-miR-196b-5p-WIPF2 qui facilitait la progression du CHC. Par ailleurs, leurs données montraient que le RP5-1120P11.3 contribuait à la croissance de xénogreffes in vivo en régulant le miR-196b-5p et WIPF2. Ces résultats suggéraient que l'axe RP5-1120P11.3-miR-196b-5p-WIPF2 constitue une cible potentielle pour le traitement du CHC. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Mots-clés : RP5-1120P11.3, long ARNnc, carcinome hépatocellulaire, miR-196b-5p, WIPF2, carcinogenèse., Introduction Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-related death ranks the third of all cancer-related deaths worldwide (Li et al. 2018; Zhang et al. 2017). Genetic aberration is one of the major risk factors [...]

In low‐ and middle‐income countries, urbanization has spurred the expansion of peri‐urban communities, or urban communities of formerly rural residents with low socioeconomic status. The growth of these communities offers researchers an opportunity to measure the associations between the level of urbanization and the home language environment (HLE) among otherwise similar populations. Data were collected in 2019 using Language Environment Analysis observational assessment technology from 158 peri‐urban and rural households with Han Chinese children (92 males, 66 females) aged 18–24 months in China. Peri‐urban children scored lower than rural children in measures of the HLE and language development. In both samples, child age, gender, maternal employment, and sibling number were positively correlated with the HLE, which was in turn correlated with language development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study aims to identify the associations between teacher mental health and student mental health. Cross-sectional data were collected from 127,877 students aged 9–20 years and 2,759 teachers across 31 provinces in China. The mental health of students and teachers were assessed by well-being (life satisfaction and positive mental health), and psychological distress (depression and anxiety). Controlling for demographic variables, multilevel regression analyses suggest that higher teacher positive mental health was linked to higher student positive mental health and lower student depression; higher teacher depression were correlated with higher student depression; and teacher life satisfaction and anxiety were not correlated with any indicators of student mental health. The study highlights the significant association between teacher mental health and student mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-linked ectodermal dysplasia receptor (XEDAR) is a new member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family that induces cell death. The purpose of this study is to determine the tumor-suppressive potential of XEDAR in the development and differentiation of gastric cancer (GC). XEDAR levels were analyzed in human GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC), quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR), and Western blot analysis. We found that XEDAR expression was significantly downregulated in GC tissues and further decreased in low differentiated GC tissues. Overexpression of XEDAR in MKN45 and MGC803 cells suppressed the ability of cell proliferation and migration, whereas silencing XEDAR showed the opposite effect. Additionally, XEDAR silencing resulted in the upregulation of the differentiation molecular markers β-catenin, CD44 and Cyclin D1 at the protein levels, whereas XEDAR overexpression showed the opposite effect. Notably, XEDAR positively regulated the expression of liver X receptor alpha (LXRα) through upregulating the RELA gene that was characterized as a transcription factor of LXRα in this study. Inhibition of LXRα by GSK2033 or activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by Wnt agonist 1 impaired the effect of XEDAR overexpression on differentiation of MKN45 cells. Moreover, inhibition of RELA mediated by siRNA could promote cell proliferation/migration and rescue the effect of XEDAR overexpression on cell behaviors and expression of genes. Subsequently, overexpression of XEDAR suppressed the growth of GC cells in vivo. Taken together, our findings showed that XEDAR could promote differentiation and suppress proliferation and invasion of GC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently emerged as key regulators of the occurrence and progression of various human cancers, including colorectal cancer. However, the regulatory mechanism of lncRNAs in the tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer remains poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the potential role of lncRNA HCG18 in colorectal cancer. Herein, we found that HCG18 expression was significantly upregulated in colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of HCG18 significantly inhibited the growth and invasion of colorectal cancer cells, while its overexpression had the opposite effect. Moreover, HCG18 was identified as a sponge of miR‐1271. Our results showed that knockdown of HCG18 markedly upregulated miR‐1271 expression in colorectal cancer cells. Notably, HCG18 expression was inversely correlated with miR‐1271 expression in colorectal cancer specimens. Further investigation revealed that HCG18 contributed to the enhancement of MTDH/Wnt/β‐catenin signalling in colorectal cancer cells. The antitumour effect of HCG18 inhibition was significantly reversed by miR‐1271 inhibition or MTDH overexpression. Overall, the results of our study demonstrate that HCG18 exerts a potential oncogenic function in colorectal cancer by enhancing MTDH/Wnt/β‐catenin signalling via sponging of miR‐1271, highlighting the importance of HCG18/miR‐1271/ MTDH/Wnt/β‐catenin signalling in the progression of colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer (GC) poses a serious threat to human life, whereas its pathogenesis remains elusive. The present study aimed to investigate the potential pathogenic mechanism behind gastric cancer development. RT-PCR analysis using divergent primers, RNase R digestion assay, and mRNA stability assay were performed to characterize circCOL6A3 (ID: hsa_circ_0006401) in GC cell lines; Western blot was conducted to detect the expression of COL6A3. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), EdU incorporation assay, and Transwell were run to evaluate GC cell proliferation and migration. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to validate the relationship between miR-3064–5p and COL6A3. Both circCOL6A3 and COL6A3 were highly expressed in GC cells, while miR-3064–5p was down-regulated. Depleted circCOL6A3 significantly decreased cell viability and mobility, and increased cell apoptosis. CircCOL6A3 regulated the expression of miR-3064–5p, and the effect of si-circCOL6A3 on cell biological behaviors was abolished by miR-3064–5p inhibitor. MicroRNA-3064–5p targets COL6A3 to regulate its expression. Taken together, the present study indicated that overexpressed circCOL6A3 promoted cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis of gastric cancer through rescission of miR-3064-5p-induced inhibitory effect on COL6A3. Our study will furnish theoretical grounds for future clinical diagnosis and treatment of GC patients. • circCOL6A3 was upregulated in GC cell lines. • Silence of circCOL6A3 restricted GC cell proliferation, migration and induced cell apoptosis. • circCOL6A3 sponged miR-3064–5p to counteract the suppression on COL6A3. • circCOL6A3/miR-3064–5p/COL6A3 facilitated GC cell growth and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare earth (RE) -doped ZnO electroluminescence is worthy of investigation for phosphor-free white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to their pure and sharp emissions. Whereas, the low solubility of RE ions in ZnO films is found to hinder the performance of RE-doped ZnO devices. Herein, ZnO:Eu and ZnO:Eu/Tb LEDs were synthesized and the electroluminescence properties were tested. The results show that the emission intensity of ZnO: Eu/Tb LED is 8 times higher than that of ZnO: Eu LED while the input power is smaller when the concentration of terbium is proper. Furthermore, we discussed the excitation mechanism and found that the ratio of the EL intensity of the 5D1 → 7F1 to 5D0 → 7FJ (J=0 − 4) transition increases with increasing Tb doping concentration, which may indicate the possibility of energy transfer from Tb3+ to Eu3+. The results are believed to be an effective strategy to improve the electroluminescence of RE-doped semiconductor for white LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent studies have reported an important role for microRNA‐1271 (miR‐1271) in tumorigenesis. However, the role of miR‐1271 in colorectal cancer remains unknown. Here, we found that miR‐1271 was significantly decreased in colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR‐1271 inhibited cell proliferation, colony formation, cell invasion, and induced cell cycle arrest in colorectal cancer cells. Metadherin (MTDH) was identified as a target gene of miR‐1271. Moreover, miR‐1271 negatively regulated MTDH expression in colorectal cancer cells and reversely correlated with MTDH expression in colorectal cancer specimens. Additionally, miR‐1271 also regulated the activation of Wnt signaling in colorectal cancer cells. The restoration of MTDH expression significantly reversed the antitumor effect of miR‐1271 in colorectal cancer cells. These findings indicate an important role for miR‐1271/MTDH in the tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer, and suggest that miR‐1271 may be a novel therapeutic target for colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low cost, large area, lightweight, stretchable piezoelectric films, based on space-charge electret with a foam structure (i.e., ferroelectrets or piezoelectrets), have been fabricated by using commercially available irradiation cross-linked poly(propylene) (IXPP) foam sheets. Piezoelectric d33 coefficients are as high as 100 pC · N−1. The piezoelectric performance in such IXPP films is well preserved for repeated strains of less than 10%. Piezoelectric d33 coefficients are frequency independent in the range from 2 to 100 Hz. Such new class materials may be applied in sensory skins, smart clothing, bio-inspired systems, microenergy harvesters, and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) films of large area, composed of a porous PTFE core and two compact PTFE cover layers, which are commercially available, were internally charged by application of a corona discharge. The internal charges, which probably reside on the inner surfaces of the compact layers, make the films piezoelectric. Initial quasi-static piezoelectric d33 coefficients are in the range of 1000–2700 pC N−1. After a 1500 min annealing treatment at temperatures of 90 °C, 120 °C and 150 °C, the d33 coefficients stabilize and typically reach about 75%, 40% and 25% of their initial values, respectively. They drop to 18% after a thermally stimulated discharge measurement extending from 30 to 215 °C at a heating rate of 3 °C min−1. A pressure dependence of the piezoelectric d33 coefficients in such films is observed. This is due to the progressive densification of the core between the compact cover layers of the films. Microphones built with such films exhibit a somewhat decreasing frequency response up to about 2 kHz, an increase of the response due to diffraction effects at higher frequencies, and eventually a peak due to a thickness resonance at about 40 kHz. The microphone sensitivity below the diffraction and resonance ranges is about 1 to 1.5 mV Pa−1. This corresponds to dynamic d33 coefficients of 200 to 300 pC N−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The aims of this study were to examine the effects of prophylactic heparin treatment during taurocholate-induced pancreatitis in rats and its impact on serum VEGF levels and local VEGF contents within the pancreas. Methods. Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) was induced by injecting 4% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct. Heparin at a dose of 150 IU/kg s.c. was administered 30 min before the operation. The rats were sacrificed 1 h, 3 h, 6 h and 12 h ( n == 5 per time point) after the onset of pancreatitis. The severity of pancreatitis, serum VEGF levels and local VEGF contents were evaluated with and without heparin pretreatment. Results. The serum VEGF levels increased at an early phase of pancreatitis, and the highest level was found at 12 h after inducing pancreatitis. The gray value of the local VEGF showed a remarkable increase from the onset of the pancreatitis. However, the gray value of VEGF did not show an increase over time but maintained a high level during the entire process. Prophylactic heparin treatment significantly improved the morphologic changes, myeloperoxidase (MPO), TNF-α and malondialdehyde (MDA) activities. Meanwhile, it decreased the serum VEGF levels and the contents of VEGF within the pancreatic tissue. Conclusions. The present study suggests that prophylactic heparin ameliorates the severity of taurocholate-induced pancreatitis via its anti-inflammatory properties. These protective effects may be partly due to decreasing serum VEGF levels and VEGF contents within the pancreas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, Nb-doped TiO 2 films were deposited on glass substrates utilizing RF magnetron co-sputtering with a TiO 2 target and a Nb target. In order to study the effect of Nb concentration, four groups of films with different Nb concentration were prepared and annealed in N 2 at 500 °C. Crystal structure, surface morphology, electrical and optical property of the films were characterized. The lowest resistivity was measured to be 1.2 × 10 −3 Ω cm at the Nb concentration of 7.0 at.%. Meanwhile, Hall mobility and carrier density were 2.0 cm 2 /Vs and 2.6 × 10 21 cm −3 , respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circ_0046600 was reported to promote hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell migratory ability. However, the functional roles and mechanism of circ_0046600 in HCC remain largely unknown. Levels of genes and proteins were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. In vitro experiments were performed using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, transwell, flow cytometry and Western blot assays, respectively. The direct interactions between miR-1258 and circ_0046600 or SERPINE1 mRNA-binding protein 1 (SERBP1) was verified using dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays. Xenograft tumor model was established to perform in vivo assay. Exosomes were obtained from culture media by using the commercial kit. Circ_0046600 was highly expressed in HCC tissues and cells. Silencing of circ_0046600 impaired HCC cell growth and metastasis in vitro, as well as impeded HCC tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, circ_0046600 could competitively target miR-1258 to prevent the degradation of its target gene SERBP1. Rescue assay showed that miR-1258 inhibition reversed the inhibitory effects of circ_0046600 silencing on HCC cell. Moreover, ectopic overexpression of miR-1258 suppressed cell growth and metastasis in HCC, which was abolished by SERBP1 up-regulation. Furthermore, circ_0046600 was packaged into exosomes and could be derived from HCC cells. Circ_0046600 promoted HCC progression via up-regulating SERBP1 through sequestering miR-1258; besides that, circ_0046600 was packaged into exosomes and could be released from HCC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were synthesized by thermal oxidation of zinc selenide films in oxygen atmosphere without introducing any catalysts or additives. According to the X-ray diffraction and morphology analysis, the ZnO films were hexagonal wurtzite structure, indicating the high crystalline quality. Strong emission peak at around 370 nm (ultraviolet) and weak emission peak at 525 nm (green) were observed in the photoluminescence spectra. The dependence of photoluminescence intensity on annealing conditions was investigated in the experiment. With the increase of annealing temperature and time, the photoluminescence intensity reached a peak at 450 °C for 45 min in oxygen, which was considered to be the optimal condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, rutile titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) films were prepared on quartz and SiO 2 /Si substrates utilizing RF magnetron reactive sputtering technology. Crystal structure, surface morphology and optical property of these films were characterized to verify the obtainment of well crystalline rutile TiO 2 films. The dynamics of photocarriers were studied by using temporally resolved transient absorption measurements. The differential reflectivity as a function of pump fluence was investigated. We also directly obtained a carrier lifetime of about 286 ps. The absorption cross-section and the absorption coefficient of free carrier at 800 nm were 1.87 × 10 −17 cm 2 and 32.9 cm −1 , respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using premier Language Environment Analysis technology to measure and analyze the home language environment, this observational study aims to describe the home language environment and child language ability, drawing on empirical data from 77 households with children aged 18-24 months from rural China. The results show large variation in measures of the home language environment and early language ability, similar to other rural Chinese samples. Results also demonstrate significant correlations between child age and the home language environment, maternal employment and the home language environment, father's educational attainment and the home language environment, adult-child conversations and early language ability, and child vocalizations and early language ability., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhang, Ma, Feng, Zhang, Wu, Li, Li, Thani, Pappas, Dill and Rozelle.)

Purpose: To describe changes in the prevalence of visual impairment and glasses ownership with age and as associated with income and population density for visual impairment among rural and urban migrant Chinese students., Design: Meta-analysis of 12 cross-sectional, school-based studies conducted between 2012 and 2017., Setting: Rural and urban migrant schools in seven Chinese provinces., Participants: A total of 83 273 rural and urban migrant Chinese students aged 6-17 years., Results: Prevalence of visual impairment (uncorrected visual acuity ≤6/12 in either eye) rose from 19.0% at age 6 to 66.9% at 17, with the overall age-adjusted prevalence higher for girls (35.8%) than for boys (30.1%, p<0.001). The rate of glasses ownership among students who needed them increased from 13.0% at age 6 to 63.9% (p<0.001) at 17 and was significantly higher for girls (37.0%) than boys (34.7%, p<0.001). The unmet need for glasses as a proportion of the student population peaked in junior high school (31.8%). A 1% increase in per capita gross domestic product was associated with a 4.45% rise in uncorrected visual acuity (R 2 =0.057, p=0.020). Population density was significantly associated with glasses ownership among children (R 2 =0.359, p=0.012). A 1% population density increase was associated with an increase in the glasses ownership rate of 6.83%., Conclusion: Efforts are needed to improve vision screening coverage in China's schools, particularly junior high schools, as this is when many rural children leave school and glasses coverage is lowest., Competing Interests: Competing interests: NC is the Director of Research for Orbis International, a non-governmental organization that delivers children’s refraction service among other services in China and other countries., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: To estimate the effect of providing free spectacles on uncorrected visual acuity (VA) among urban migrant Chinese school children., Design: Exploratory analysis from a parallel cluster-randomised clinical trial., Methods: After baseline survey and VA screening, eligible children were randomised by school to receive one of the two interventions: free glasses and a teacher incentive (tablet computer if ≥80% of children given glasses were wearing them on un-announced examination) (treatment group) or glasses prescription and letter to parents (control group). The primary outcome was uncorrected logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution (LogMAR) VA at study closeout, adjusted for baseline uncorrected VA., Results: Among 4376 randomly selected children, 728 (16.6%, mean age 10.9 years, 51.0% boys) at 94 schools failed VA screening and met eligibility criteria. Of these, 358 children (49.2%) at 47 schools were randomised to treatment and 370 children (50.8%) at 47 schools to control. Among these, 679 children (93.3%) completed follow-up and underwent analysis. Spectacle wear in the treatment and control groups was 68.3% and 29.3% (p<0.001), respectively. Uncorrected final VA for eyes of treatment children was significantly better than control children, adjusting only for baseline VA (difference of 0.039 LogMAR units, 95% CI: 0.008, 0.070, equivalent to 0.39 lines, p=0.014) or baseline VA and other baseline factors (0.040 LogMAR units, 95% CI 0.007 to 0.074, equivalent to 0.40 lines, p=0.020)., Conclusion: We found no evidence that spectacles wear worsens children's uncorrected VA among urban migrant Chinese school children., Competing Interests: Competing interests: NC is Director of Research for Orbis International, a non-governmental organisation which delivers children’s refraction among other services in China and other countries., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: To assess the effect of free eyeglasses provision on visual acuity among middle school students in northwestern rural China., Methods and Analysis: Among 31 middle schools randomly selected from 47 middle schools in northwestern rural China, students were randomly allocated by school to one of two interventions: free eyeglasses (intervention group), and eyeglasses prescriptions given only to the parents (control group). The main outcome of this study is uncorrected visual acuity after 9 months, adjusted for baseline visual acuity., Results: Among 2095 students from 31 middle schools, 995 (47.5%) failed the visual acuity screening, 515 (51.8%, 15 schools) of which were randomly assigned to the intervention group, with the remaining 480 students (48.2%, 16 schools) assigned to the control group. Among these, a total of 910 students were followed up and analysed. Endline eyeglasses wear in the intervention group was 44%, and 36% in the control group. Endline visual acuity of students in the intervention group was significantly better than students in the control group, adjusting for other variables (0.045 LogMAR units, 95% CI 0.006 to 0.084, equivalent to 0.45 lines, p=0.027), and insignificantly better only for baseline visual acuity (difference of 0.008 LogMAR units, 95% CI -0.018 to 0.034, equivalent to 0.08 lines)., Conclusion: We found no evidence that receiving free eyeglasses worsened visual acuity among middle school students in northwestern rural China., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN17141957., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Prof Congdon is Director of Research for Orbis International, a non-governmental organization which delivers children’s refraction among other services in China and other countries., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Photocarrier dynamics in tungsten disulfide-black phosphorus (BP) heterostructures were studied by time-resolved differential reflection measurements. The heterostructures were fabricated by stacking together monolayer WS 2 and BP flakes that are both fabricated by mechanical exfoliation. Efficient and ultrafast transfer of photocarriers from WS 2 to BP flakes was observed. This confirms the type-I band alignment of WS 2 /BP heterostructures that was predicted by theory. Accompanied with the photocarrier interlayer transfer process from WS 2 to BP flakes, the change of the absorption of WS 2 persists for several nanoseconds. These results promote the consciousness about the carrier dynamics of interlayer transfer process in van der Waals heterostructures and its application in optoelectronic devices.

The electron dynamics in heterostructures formed by multilayer graphite and monolayer or bulk MoS 2 were studied by femtosecond transient absorption measurements. Samples of monolayer MoS 2 -multilayer graphite and bulk MoS 2 -multilayer graphite were fabricated by exfoliation and dry transfer techniques. Ultrafast laser pulses were used to inject electron-hole pairs into monolayer or bulk MoS 2 . The transfer of these photocarriers to the adjacent multilayer graphite was time resolved by measuring the differential reflection of a probe pulse. We found that photocarriers injected into monolayer MoS 2 transfer to graphite on an ultrafast time scale shorter than 400 fs. Such an efficient charge transfer is key to the development of high performance optoelectronic devices with MoS 2 as the light absorbing layer and graphite as electrodes. The absorption coefficient of monolayer MoS 2 can be controlled by the carriers in graphite. This process can be used for interlayer coupling and control. In a bulk MoS 2 -graphite heterostructure, the photocarrier transfer time is about 220 ps, due to the inefficient interlayer charge transport in bulk MoS 2 . These results provide useful information for developing optoelectronic devices based on MoS 2 -graphite heterostructures.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in the development and progression of various cancers, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Studies have suggested that miR-330-5p is involved in the progression of several cancers. However, the role of miR-330-5p in NSCLC remains unclear. We investigated the effect on and mechanism of miR-330-5p in the progression of NSCLC. We found that miR-330-5p was significantly downregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines as detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), colony formation and cell cycle assays showed that overexpression of miR-330-5p markedly inhibited cell growth. Annexin V-FITC/PI and caspase-3 activity assays showed that overexpression of miR-330-5p significantly promoted cell apoptosis of NSCLC cells. Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assays confirmed NIN/RPN12 binding protein 1 (NOB1) as a target gene of miR-330-5p. RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis showed that overexpression of miR-330-5p inhibited the expression of NOB1 as well as cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 in NSCLC cells. Moreover, overexpression of NOB1 markedly reversed the miR‑330-5p-mediated inhibitory effect on NSCLC cell growth. Correlation analysis showed that miR‑330-5p expression was inversely correlated with NOB1 mRNA expression in NSCLC tissues. Taken together, our results indicate that miR-330-5p inhibits NSCLC cell growth through downregulation of NOB1 expression. Our study suggests that miR-330-5p may serve as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of NSCLC.

Study Design: We collected the samples of cervical intervertebral discs from patients with vertigo to examine the distribution and types of mechanoreceptors in diseased cervical disc., Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether mechanoreceptors are distributed more abundantly in cervical discs from patients with cervical spondylosis, and whether they are related to vertigo., Summary of Background Data: Previous limited studies have found that normal cervical intervertebral discs are supplied with mechanoreceptors that have been considered responsible for proprioceptive functions. Several clinical studies have indicated that the patients with cervical spondylosis manifested significantly impaired postural control and subjective balance disturbance., Methods: We collected 77 samples of cervical discs from 62 cervical spondylosis patients without vertigo, 61 samples from 54 patients with vertigo, and 40 control samples from 8 cadaveric donors to investigate distribution of mechanoreceptors containing neurofilament (NF200) and S-100 protein immunoreactive nerve endings., Results: The immunohistochemical investigation revealed that the most frequently encountered mechanoreceptors were the Ruffini corpuscles in all groups of cervical disc samples. They were obviously increased in the number and deeply ingrown into inner annulus fibrosus and even into nucleus pulposus in the diseased cervical discs from patients with vertigo in comparison with the discs from patients without vertigo and control discs. Only three Golgi endings were seen in the three samples from patients with vertigo. No Pacinian corpuscles were found in any samples of cervical discs., Conclusion: The diseased cervical discs from patients with vertigo had more abundant distribution of Ruffini corpuscles than other discs. A positive association between the increased number and ingrowth of Ruffini corpuscles in the diseased cervical disc and the incidence of vertigo in the patients with cervical spondylosis was found, which may indicate a key role of Ruffini corpuscles in the pathogenesis of vertigo of cervical origin., Level of Evidence: 1.