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This study aims to assist preschools in achieving sustainable development by providing system thinking training for teachers and administrators. By promoting system thinking and PDCA, training helps preschool staff and teachers construct their knowledge and culture for organizational growth and effective operation. The research procedure encompasses stages of preparation, knowledge diffusion, knowledge adaptation, and establishing support networks. A total of 744 training participants engage in case studies, discussions, and self-evaluation activities to enhance their understanding and application of the PDCA framework. Quantitative and qualitative methods are used to collect the research participants' perceptions and intentions on this training. Research data is collected using 5-point Likert questionnaires, supplemented with open-ended questions to gather participants' perceptions and suggestions. In addition, qualitative data is obtained through onsite observation, focus groups, and individual interviews. The research results indicate that participants in the training program positively perceive the training activities. Also, those with administrative roles and from non-profit preschools exhibit higher interest and motivation for training, reflecting the need for sustainability knowledge in changing environments.

This paper investigates the prominence of rationalism in the major Western pedagogical theories of Plato, Rousseau, and Dewey, all of whom conceptualize formal teaching, as the inculcation of rationality in individual learners. After each of their theories has been described, the argument turns against the tradition of pedagogical rationalism to question what happens in the education of artists, quasi-artists, and creative designers. The answer given is that imagination must be paramount and strongly encouraged in the education of such students, despite the problematic fact that imagination--seeing the truth--cannot be taught the way that rationality can, relying instead on the analysis of successful works of art and design as exemplary and allowing students to freely pursue their own individual inspirations.

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Herein, we investigated the role of transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1), a multi-functional protein, in tumorigenesis of gastric cancer cells. Results showed that YY1 contributed to gastric carcinogenesis of SC-M1 cells including growth, viability, and abilities of colony formation, migration, invasion, and tumorsphere formation. Levels of pluripotency genes CD44, Oct4, SOX-2, and Nanog were also up-regulated by YY1 in SC-M1 cells. Additionally, the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of YY1 mRNA was the target of microRNA-34 (miR-34) family consisting of miR-34a, miR-34b, and miR-34c. Overexpression of miR-34 family suppressed carcinogenesis through down-regulation of YY1 in NUGC-3 gastric cancer cells scarcely expressing miR-34 family. Alternatively, knockdown of miR-34 family promoted tumorigenesis via up-regulation of YY1 in SC-M1 and AZ521 gastric cancer cells with higher levels of miR-34 family. The miR-34 family also affected tumorsphere ultra-structure and inhibited the xenografted tumor growth as well as lung metastasis of SC-M1 cells through YY1. Expressions of miR-34a and miR-34c in gastric cancer tissues of patients were lower than those in normal tissues. Taken together, these results suggest that miR-34 family-YY1 axis plays an important role in the control of gastric carcinogenesis.

Gastric neoplasm is a high‐mortality cancer worldwide. Chemoresistance is the obstacle against gastric cancer treatment. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been observed to promote malignant progression. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. The mitokine growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a significant biomarker for mitochondrial disorder and is activated by the integrated stress response (ISR) pathway. The serum level of GDF15 was found to be correlated with the poor prognosis of gastric cancer patients. In this study, we found that high GDF15 protein expression might increase disease recurrence in adjuvant chemotherapy‐treated gastric cancer patients. Moreover, treatment with mitochondrial inhibitors, especially oligomycin (a complex V inhibitor) and salubrinal (an ISR activator), respectively, was found to upregulate GDF15 and enhance cisplatin insensitivity of human gastric cancer cells. Mechanistically, it was found that the activating transcription factor 4‐C/EBP homologous protein pathway has a crucial function in the heightened manifestation of GDF15. In addition, reactive oxygen species‐activated general control nonderepressible 2 mediates the oligomycin‐induced ISR, and upregulates GDF15. The GDF15–glial cell‐derived neurotrophic factor family receptor a‐like–ISR–cystine/glutamate transporter‐enhanced glutathione production was found to be involved in cisplatin resistance. These results suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction might enhance cisplatin insensitivity through GDF15 upregulation, and targeting mitokine GDF15–ISR regulation might be a strategy against cisplatin resistance of gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, professional practice has been an issue of concern in higher education. The purpose of this study is to design students' projects to facilitate collaborative learning in authentic contexts. Ten students majoring in Management Information Systems conducted fieldwork with spatial technologies to collect data and provided information works for communities. Activity theory was used to analyze the activity system of the project. The results showed that the project had positive effects on students' attitudes toward practical knowledge and social communication. In the end, the author suggests the benefits and problems related to promoting learning through integration with community practices. (Contains 2 figures.)

Although Web-based instruction provides learners with sufficient resources for self-paced learning, previous studies have confirmed that browsing navigation-oriented Web sites possibly hampers users' comprehension of information. Web sites designed as "categories of materials" for navigation demand more cognitive effort from users to orient their navigation behavior according to the Web site's structure. This study designs a GIS-interface Web site for students to experiment with exploratory learning. Learners interact with maps to retrieve related information and actively organize what they read to develop their own cognitive models. This research uses an exploratory learning Web site and a structured learning Web site to compare learners' comprehension of the content and behavior when browsing the Web site in an experimental design. The results show that learners using the exploratory learning Web site performed better in content interpretation than learners exposed to the structured Web site when employing diverse strategies. (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.)