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Finance education relies on quantitative analyses and exercises. Lack of quantitative skills undermines student motivation. Interactive teaching methods including case-based learning, problem-based learning, and simulations have been proposed as means to improve student engagement and enhance learning. This study describes an application of a sequence of stock market simulation exercises in a finance investment course. The empirical analysis applies a model of the educational value of this pedagogical strategy to evaluate its impact on cognitive, behavioural, and affective learning dimensions. The results demonstrate that, in the cognitive category, student exam scores on the topics covered by the simulation were significantly higher compared to a control section that did not use the simulation. In the behavioural category that concerns student skills and the affective category that focuses on student satisfaction, survey responses demonstrate a positive impact of the use of simulation on skill-building and satisfaction with the course.

Background The percentage of older population of the total population is increasing in developed areas of developing countries, and the impact and contribution of population composition factors towards cancer mortality are still unclear. Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and trend of cancer mortality among community-living residents in central Pudong New Area of Shanghai from 2007 to 2020. Methods From January to December 2021, we retrospectively collected the death data during 2007 to 2020 of registered permanent residents living in Dongming Road Community of Pudong New Area from the all-cause death monitoring database, and population composition data from Pudong New Area Public Security Bureau. We used the crude mortality rate (CMR) , standardized mortality rate (SMR, with reference to the SMR of the general Chinese population in 2010) , and average annual percent change (AAPC) to analyze the status and trends of cancer mortality, and used the decomposition method to estimate the contribution rates of demographic and non-demographic factors to the change of cancer mortality. Results From 2007 to 2020, a total of 2 446 cancer-induced deaths were reported by the Dongming Road Community, accounting for 28.48% of the total reported deaths (8 589 cases) . The CMR of cancers was 268.56/105, in which the CMR due to lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and gastric cancer was 69.61/105, 33.05/105 and 31.84/105, respectively. The SMR of cancers was 71.46/105 , in which the SMR due to lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and gastric cancer was 33.12/105, 15.46/105, and 15.29/105, respectively. During this period, the CMR for cancers among men, women and the whole population remained stable (Z=1.82, -0.54, 0.87, P>0.05) . The CMR and SMR in men were higher than those in women (u=6.69, P0.05) . As in the whole population, it showed a downward trend year by year (AAPC=-1.73%, Z=-3.09, P=0.010) . Furthermore, the CMR for cancers in those aged 65-79 showed a downward trend gradually (AAPC=-4.17%, Z=-1.80, P

Mammalian cells are surrounded by neighbouring cells and extracellular matrix (ECM), which provide cells with structural support and mechanical cues that influence diverse biological processes1. The Hippo pathway effectors YAP (also known as YAP1) and TAZ (also known as WWTR1) are regulated by mechanical cues and mediate cellular responses to ECM stiffness2,3. Here we identified the Ras-related GTPase RAP2 as a key intracellular signal transducer that relays ECM rigidity signals to control mechanosensitive cellular activities through YAP and TAZ. RAP2 is activated by low ECM stiffness, and deletion of RAP2 blocks the regulation of YAP and TAZ by stiffness signals and promotes aberrant cell growth. Mechanistically, matrix stiffness acts through phospholipase Cγ1 (PLCγ1) to influence levels of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidic acid, which activates RAP2 through PDZGEF1 and PDZGEF2 (also known as RAPGEF2 and RAPGEF6). At low stiffness, active RAP2 binds to and stimulates MAP4K4, MAP4K6, MAP4K7 and ARHGAP29, resulting in activation of LATS1 and LATS2 and inhibition of YAP and TAZ. RAP2, YAP and TAZ have pivotal roles in mechanoregulated transcription, as deletion of YAP and TAZ abolishes the ECM stiffness-responsive transcriptome. Our findings show that RAP2 is a molecular switch in mechanotransduction, thereby defining a mechanosignalling pathway from ECM stiffness to the nucleus.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by insulin resistance and increased hepatic glucose production, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying these abnormalities are poorly understood. MicroRNAs (miRs) are a class of small, noncoding RNAs that have been implicated in the regulation of human diseases, including T2D. miR-26a is known to play a critical role in tumorigenesis; however, its function in cellular metabolism remains unknown. Here, we determined that miR-26a regulates insulin signaling and metabolism of glucose and lipids. Compared with lean individuals, overweight humans had decreased expression of miR-26a in the liver. Moreover, miR-26 was downregulated in 2 obese mouse models compared with control animals. Global or liver-specific overexpression of miR-26a in mice fed a high-fat diet improved insulin sensitivity, decreased hepatic glucose production, and decreased fatty acid synthesis, thereby preventing obesity-induced metabolic complications. Conversely, silencing of endogenous miR-26a in conventional diet-fed mice impaired insulin sensitivity, enhanced glucose production, and increased fatty acid synthesis. miR-26a targeted several key regulators of hepatic metabolism and insulin signaling. These findings reveal miR-26a as a regulator of liver metabolism and suggest miR-26a should be further explored as a potential target for the treatment of T2D.

The forest fire burned area is one of the most basic factors used to describe forest fires and plays a vital role in damage assessment. The development of the NSSI-NDVI vegetation index triangular space method enables simultaneous calculation of the flammable non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV), combustible photosynthetic vegetation (PV), and incombustible bare soil (BS) fractional cover in forest areas. This can be used to compensate for the calculation method that was based on NDVI vegetation index only by comparing vegetation cover before and after forest fires, with the omission of the NPV burned area. To this end, the NSSI-NDVI triangular space shape consistency before and after forest fires was elucidated through combustion and ash wetting experiments. In addition, the feasibility of the NSSI-NDVI triangular space method for the accurate calculation of the post-fire vegetation damage area was verified. Finally, the applicability and accuracy of this research method were verified based on 10 m spatial resolution satellite hyperspectral images from before and after the forest fire in Lushan, Sichuan Province, China. The NSSI-NDVI triangular space method was used to calculate the PV, NPV, and BS coverage simultaneously, and component transformation was used to calculate the burned area and burned site separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]