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This study examined the dynamic and complex development of college students' engagement in an online English for academic purposes (EAP) course. The study adopted a case study design, collecting data from multiple sources such as class observations and student interviews. Data analysis revealed the learners' engagement profiles and patterns throughout the duration of the course, highlighting the interactions and transactions between learners and the learning environment. In this online learning environment, the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions of learner engagement underwent dynamic development through interactions between learners and contextual complexity. The features and developmental trajectories of learner engagement were influenced by a series of language, cultural, course, technical, and individual factors, such as full English instruction, cultural differences in educational philosophy, course mode, technical support, learners' language proficiency, and motivation. These findings shed light on learner engagement in an online EAP learning context and have the potential to enrich our understanding of the multifaceted, situated, and dynamic nature of engagement. The study has implications for language pedagogy, curriculum design, and program innovation in a globalized world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether copious irrigation of peritoneal cavity during laparoscopic appendectomy for complicated appendicitis effectively reduces the incidence of postoperative complications and improves the postoperative recovery in adults compared with suction alone. Methods: In this prospective randomized trial, adult patients with complicated appendicitis were randomized to “irrigation and suction”(IS) group or “suction only”(SO) group. All surgery was performed with a standardized 3-port laparoscopic approach. The IS group received peritoneal irrigation with a minimum of 2000 mL sterile normal saline. The study primary outcomes included wound infection and postoperative intra-abdominal abscess. The study secondary outcomes included duration of operation, first anal exsufflation time, duration of hospital stay and hospital charges. Chi-squared and t-tests were used to analyze the study data. Results: Between January 2015 and June 2016, a total of 260 patients with complicated appendicitis were enrolled in the study. The peritoneal irrigation resulted in a longer operation time (51.6 ± 16.1 vs. 41.5 ± 15.2 min, p <0.001). There was no significant difference in the rate of wound infection between the two groups. However, the patients who received irrigation had a lower postoperative intra-abdominal abscess rate (3.1% vs. 9.2%, p = 0.039), earlier anal exsufflation (25.2 ± 16.5 vs. 30.7 ± 18.1 hr, p = 0.011), shorter hospital stay (10.2 ± 2.5 vs. 12.5 ± 2.8 days, p <0.001) and lower hospital charges (¥14,592 ± 2,251 vs. 16,674 ± 2,163, p <0.001) compared to those received suction alone. Conclusions: The study findings revealed that copious irrigation of peritoneal cavity during laparoscopic appendectomy could decrease the incidence of postoperative intra-abdominal abscess in adult patients with complicated appendicitis. These patients also had faster postoperative recovery and lower hospital charges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new high-purity i -MAB phase of Mo 4/3 Lu 2/3 AlB 2 ceramic (95.06 wt% Mo 4/3 Lu 2/3 AlB 2 and 4.94 wt% MoB) was successfully synthesized with Mo, Al, Lu, and B as raw materials by spark plasma sintering at 1250 °C. The dense sample with a high relative density of 98.9 % possessed good physical and mechanical properties. The average thermal expansion coefficient from room temperature to 1200 °C was determined to be 8.38 × 10−6 K−1. The heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity were measured to be 0.28 J·g−1·K−1, 9.90 W·m−1·K−1, and 1.22 × 106 Ω−1·m−1 at room temperature, respectively. Additionally, Vickers hardness was tested to be 10.29 GPa under a load of 10 N, fracture toughness was determined to be 5.13 MPa·m1/2, and compressive and flexural strengths were tested to be 1567 MPa and 468 MPa, respectively. Present research adds a new member to the family of structural-functional ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been reported that the trimethylation of histone 3 on lysine 27 (H3K27me3) is required for enhancer of zeste homology 2 (EZH2)-mediated repression of various genes essential for tumorigenesis and tumor development. Here, we reported the expression of EZH2 and H3K27me3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) specimens was higher than the pericarcinoma esophageal specimens. Their expression was positively associated with the poor prognosis of ESCC patients. EZH2 expression, histological grade and distant lymph node metastasis were all independent factors for poor prognosis of ESCC. In addition, enforced expression of EZH2 in esophageal cancer-derived cells could increase the overall H3K27me3 level. Our results suggested the expression of EZH2 and H3K27me3 could serve as biomarkers in the prediction of ESCC patients’ survival and ESCC metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An unsophisticated fluorescence-enabled strategy is brought forward to process the highly sensitive fluorescence detection of Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) which based on polyethyleneimine (PEI)-templated silver/copper nanoclusters (Ag/CuNCs) (λ excitation = 334 nm and λ emission = 466 nm) with cryonase-assisted target recycling amplification. The Ag/CuNCs nanoclusters are synthesized as fluorescent materials due to their strong and stable fluorescence characteristics and are modified with S. typhimurium aptamers to form aptamer-Ag/CuNCs probes. The probes can be adsorbed on the surface of quenching agents-polydopamine nanospheres (PDANSs), thereby inducing fluorescence quenching of the probes. Once the aptamers are bound to the target, the aptamers/targets complexes are separated from the PDANSs surface, and the Ag/CuNCs recover the fluorescence signal. The released complexes will immediately be transformed into a substrate digested by cryonase (an enzyme that can digest all types of nucleic acids), and the released targets are bound to another aptamers to initiate the next round of cleavage. This reaction will be repeated continuously until all relevant aptamers are consumed and all Ag/CuNCs are released, resulting in a significant amplification of the fluorescence signal and improved sensitivity. Using Ag/CuNCs as fluorescent probes combined with cryonase-assisted amplification strategy, the fluorescence aptasensor is constructed with detection limits as low as 3.8 CFU mL−1, which is tenfold better than without the cryonase assistance. The method developed has been applied to milk, orange juice, chicken, and egg white samples with excellent selectivity and accuracy providing an approach for the early and rapid detection of S. typhimurium in food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]