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Abstract Deciphering signaling mechanisms critical for the extended pluripotent stem cell (EPSC) state and primed pluripotency is necessary for understanding embryonic development. Here, a membrane protein, podocalyxin‐like protein 1 (PODXL) as being essential for extended and primed pluripotency, is identified. Alteration of PODXL expression levels affects self‐renewal, protein expression of c‐MYC and telomerase, and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) and EPSC colony formation. PODXL is the first membrane protein reported to regulate de novo cholesterol biosynthesis, and human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are more sensitive to cholesterol depletion than fibroblasts. The addition of exogenous cholesterol fully restores PODXL knockdown‐mediated loss of pluripotency. PODXL affects lipid raft dynamics via the regulation of cholesterol. PODXL recruits the RAC1/CDC42/actin network to regulate SREBP1 and SREBP2 maturation and lipid raft dynamics. Single‐cell RNA sequencing reveals PODXL overexpression enhanced chimerism between human cells in mouse host embryos (hEPSCs 57%). Interestingly, in the human–mouse chimeras, laminin and collagen signaling‐related pathways are dominant in PODXL overexpressing cells. It is concluded that cholesterol regulation via PODXL signaling is critical for ESC/EPSC.

Introduction. The Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI) is a self-administered instrument comprising 20 items on a 7-point Likert scale, designed to measure an individual’s level of cognitive flexibility (CF). Low CF levels have been associated with mental health issues including impulsive personality traits, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Assessing CF can help mental health professionals with evaluating the outcomes of psychological interventions and conducting comprehensive assessments. However, there is a scarcity of tools specifically designed for Cantonese-speaking individuals. This study examined the psychometric properties of a Cantonese version of the CFI (CFI-CAN) using a sample of Cantonese-speaking psychiatric outpatients receiving community psychiatric services. Method. The CFI-CAN was developed using the standard translation-back-translation process. The study recruited a sample of 104 participants from a group of Cantonese-speaking psychiatric outpatients receiving psychiatric service in Hong Kong. All of them were aged 18 years or older, with a mean age of 39.43 (SD=11.04), and 75.96% was employed either full time or part time. The psychometric validation of the CFI-CAN included assessing content validity through item and scale level, internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha, test-retest reliability through the intraclass correlation coefficient, minimal detectable change (MDC) using the MDC95 equation, examining floor and ceiling effects, and establishing convergent validity through the Spearman correlation coefficient. Results. Content validity was excellent (I-CVI and S-CVI/UA=1). Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha=0.91, mean=64.07, SD=12.36). Test-retest reliability over 4 weeks was excellent (ICC3,1=0.905, 95% CI=0.839-0.945). MDC was calculated as 14.94. No observed floor and ceiling effect. Convergent validity was established with negative correlation with Chinese version of Perceived Stress Scale (r=−0.610, p

Introduction: A team of community and rehabilitation staff from a regional mental hospital in Hong Kong has been adopting recovery-oriented practices since 2010 to enhance its services through organizational transformation. The REFOCUS model of the Recovery College of Maudsley Hospital has adopted a tool called INSPIRE, which measures the level of support and relationship. In this study, service users were invited to rate the received support and their relationship with service providers to benchmark our current service before we fully implement the REFOCUS model of practice., Methods: INSPIRE was translated into traditional Chinese. Service users were invited to use C-INSPIRE to score one service provider with whom they had the most frequent contact or had the closest relationship., Results: A total of 147 subjects were recruited from different service units at different phases of organizational transformation in recovery-oriented practice. Significantly higher scores in the Relationship Subscale (P = .028) were obtained by units that had introduced recovery-oriented practice for a longer period. However, the overall INSPIRE scores in the Support and Relationship Subscales achieved by Kwai Chung Hospital were 60 and 70, respectively, which were lower than those recorded (72 and 78, respectively) in a study conducted in the United Kingdom. This indicates that there is considerable room for improvement in the delivery of recovery-oriented practice at Kwai Chung Hospital., Discussion: With further training and implementation of REFOCUS for all staff, service users' experience in their recovery can be more empowering and satisfying., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)