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The sea cucumber is an invertebrate with significant economic value and is extensively consumed as a tonic food in Asian countries due to its high nutritional value. Sea cucumber polysaccharides, important bioactive substances found in sea cucumbers, exhibit diverse biological activities, including anticoagulant, antitumor, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and insulin resistance-alleviating activities. Sea cucumber polysaccharides include fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (FCS) and fucoidan (FUC). FCS exists in the body wall of sea cucumbers and has a backbone structure similar to that of mammalian chondroitin sulfate. Compared with sea cucumber FCS, sea cucumber FUC has a simpler chemical structure and is a linear polysaccharide consisting of only α-L-fucose and sulfate groups. It has been shown that the structural properties of sea cucumber polysaccharides (molecular mass, sulfated fucose branches, sulfate group content and sulfation patterns) have a large influence on their biological activities. At present, there are many studies on the biological activities of sea cucumber polysaccharides, but systematic research and analysis on their chemical structures are still lacking. This review focuses on outlining the chemical structures, biological activities, action mechanisms and structure-activity relationship of sea cucumber polysaccharides, with a view to providing a reference for further research and application of sea cucumber polysaccharides.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in the development of cancers and may serve as potential targets for therapy. However, the functions and underlying mechanisms of miRNAs in cancers are not well understood. This work aims to study the role of miR-373-3p in colon cancer cells. We find that the expression of miR-373-3p mimics promotes and the miR-373-3p inhibitor suppresses aerobic glycolysis and proliferation of colon cancer cells. Mechanistically, miR-373-3p inhibits the expression of MFN2, a gene that is known to suppress glycolysis, which leads to the activation of glycolysis and eventually the proliferation of cells. In a nude mouse tumor model, the expression of miR-373-3p in colon cancer cells promotes tumor growth by enhancing lactate formation, which is inhibited by the co-expression of MFN2 in the cells. Administration of the miR-373-3p antagomir blunts in vivo tumor growth by decreasing lactate production. In addition, in human colon cancers, the expression levels of miR-373-3p are increased, while those of MFN2 mRNA are decreased, and the increase of miR-373-3p is associated with the decrease of MFN2 mRNA. Our results reveal a previously unknown function and underlying mechanism of miR-373-3p in the regulation of glycolysis and proliferation in cancer cells and underscore the potential of targeting miR-373-3p for colon cancer treatment.

A deep understanding of the learning level of online learners is a critical factor in promoting the success of online learning. Using knowledge structures as a way to understand learning can help analyze online students' learning levels. The study used concept maps and clustering analysis to investigate online learners' knowledge structures in a flipped classroom's online learning environment. Concept maps (n = 359) constructed by 36 students during one semester (11 weeks) through the online learning platform were collected as analysis objects of learners' knowledge structures. Clustering analysis was used to identify online learners' knowledge structure patterns and learner types, and a non-parametric test was used to analyze the differences in learning achievement among learner types. The results showed that (1) there were three online learners' knowledge structure patterns of increasing complexity, namely, spoke, small-network, and large-network patterns. Moreover, online learners with novice status mostly had spoke patterns in the context of flipped classrooms' online learning. (2) Two types of online learners were found to have different distributions of knowledge structure patterns, and the complex knowledge structure type of learners exhibited better learning achievement. The study explored a new way for educators to analyze knowledge structures by data mining automatically. The findings provide evidence in the online learning context for the relationship between complex knowledge structures and better learning achievement while suggesting the existence of inadequate knowledge preparedness for flipped classroom learners without a special instructional design.

Autistic children (AC) show less audiovisual speech integration in the McGurk task, which correlates with their reduced mouth-looking time. The present study examined whether AC's less audiovisual speech integration in the McGurk task could be increased by increasing their mouth-looking time. We recruited 4- to 8-year-old AC and nonautistic children (NAC). In two experiments, we manipulated children's mouth-looking time, measured their audiovisual speech integration by employing the McGurk effect paradigm, and tracked their eye movements. In Experiment 1, we blurred the eyes in McGurk stimuli and compared children's performances in blurred-eyes and clear-eyes conditions. In Experiment 2, we cued children's attention to either the mouth or eyes of McGurk stimuli or asked them to view the McGurk stimuli freely. We found that both blurring the speaker's eyes and cuing to the speaker's mouth increased mouth-looking time and increased audiovisual speech integration in the McGurk task in AC. In addition, we found that blurring the speaker's eyes and cuing to the speaker's mouth also increased mouth-looking time in NAC, but neither blurring the speaker's eyes nor cuing to the speaker's mouth increased their audiovisual speech integration in the McGurk task. Our findings suggest that audiovisual speech integration in the McGurk task in AC could be increased by increasing their attention to the mouth. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of relations between face attention and audiovisual speech integration, and provide insights for the development of professional supports to increase audiovisual speech integration in AC.

This study was conducted to examine peer tutoring models in collaborative learning of mathematical problem solving (MPS) in flipped classrooms and their effect on group achievement. Quantitative data collected include 32 videos of eight groups of students in four MPS periods that were designed based on a simplified version of Polya's four-stage model, and their worksheets completed in each period. The video data were coded based on a framework with low-level and high-level cognitive behaviors as well as management behaviors and were analyzed using lag sequence analysis from which three types of peer tutoring models were determined: organization-oriented, cognitive-supported, and cognitive-guided. ANOVA analysis showed that the groups with cognitive-guided tutors performed significantly better than the groups guided by cognitive-supported and organization-oriented tutors, between which the performance difference did not reach a significant level. The results of this study suggest that training provided to peer tutors should focus more on how to stimulate high-level cognitive thinking skills than on organization skills.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in audiovisual speech perception and temporal processing. The current study has examined the relationship between the audiovisual speech perception deficits and temporal processing deficits in children with and without ASD. To this end, using the McGurk paradigm, we implemented two experiments to explore audiovisual speech perception (Experiment 1) and temporal processing (Experiment 2), as well as the correlation between them, in children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children. We recruited 4- to 8-year-old children, some with ASD and some TD, to perform a McGurk task in Experiment 1 (24 children with ASD, 26 TD children) and to complete a simultaneity judgement task in Experiment 2 (31 children with ASD, 29 TD children). On the basis of the data from participants who participated in both Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 (20 children with ASD, 21 TD children), we analyzed the correlation between audiovisual speech perception and temporal processing in children with ASD and TD children separately. We found that children with ASD showed weaker audiovisual speech perception (based on the population) and less acute temporal processing compared with TD children. The correlation analysis revealed that audiovisual speech perception and temporal processing were correlated in TD children when the visual led the audio but not when the audio led the visual. No such correlation was found in children with ASD either when the visual led the audio or when the audio led the visual. The present study implicated that the correlation between audiovisual speech perception and temporal processing might be contingent on the range of individual temporal processing abilities.

Abstract Background The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity has become an urgent public health problem, evidence showed that intervention for childhood obesity bring enormous health benefits. However, an effective individualized intervention strategy remains to be developed, and the accompanying remission of related complications, such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), needs to be assessed. This study aimed to develop an m-Health-assisted lifestyle intervention program targeting overweight/obese children and assess its effectiveness on indicators of adiposity and NAFLD. Methods This is a cluster-randomized controlled trial that conducted in children with overweight/obesity in Ningbo city, Zhejiang Province, China. Students in Grade 3 (8–10 years old) were recruited from six primary schools, with three be randomized to intervention group and three to usual practice group. The intervention program will last for one academic year and consists of health education, dietary guidance, and physical activity reinforcement. This program is characterized by encouraging four stakeholders, including School, Clinic, famIly, and studENT (SCIENT), to participate in controlling childhood obesity, assisted by m-Health technology. Assessments will be conducted at baseline and 3 months, 9 months, 24 months, and 36 months after baseline. The primary outcome will be the differences between the two groups in students’ body mass index and fatty liver index at the end of the intervention (9 months after baseline). During the implementation process, quality control methods will be adopted. Discussion The program will test the effectiveness of the m-Health-assisted lifestyle intervention on children with obesity and NAFLD. The results of this study will provide evidence for establishing effective lifestyle intervention strategy aimed at childhood obesity and NAFLD and may help develop guidelines for the treatment of obesity and NAFLD in Chinese children. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05482191. Registered on July 2022.

In 2022, China released the Special Action Plan for the Control of Spartina alterniflora (2022–2025) with the goal of completely clearing S. alterniflora from China's coastal wetlands. It is crucial to conduct a thorough analysis of wetlands under artificial intervention and obtain reliable future wetland simulation results. The Yellow River Delta wetland is one of China's important wetland reserves, has faced severe impacts from S. alterniflora invasion over the past decade. This study focuses on the Yellow River Delta wetland, utilizing Landsat imagery and a combined object-oriented and pixel-based approach to achieve wetland mapping from 2013 to 2023. Through wetland analysis, we designed scenarios for natural development, ecological priority, farmland protection, and combined development. The patch generating land use simulation model was used to simulate wetland scenarios for 2030 and analyze factors influencing wetland use cover change and future conversion patterns. The results indicate that between 2013 and 2022, native vegetation was impacted by the invasion of S. alterniflora, with Suaeda glauca being the most affected. In 2023, the removal of S. alterniflora was effective, reducing its area by 42.37 km2 compared to pre-removal conditions. In all three scenarios, the area of Phragmites australis increased and is expected to dominate the wetlands, while the live space of other native salt marsh vegetation has also been restored. However, the predictions indicate that S. alterniflora still poses a potential threat of expansion in the future, necessitating continuous monitoring of its dynamics. We recommend implementing zoned management of the wetland, balancing ecological restoration in coastal areas with agricultural development in the western regions.