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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been approved to improve outcomes and reduce recurrence. Biomarkers for patient selection are needed. In this paper, we proposed an inflammasome-based risk score (IRS) system for prognosis and prediction of ICI response for early-stage NSCLC. Cox regression analysis was used to identify significant genes (from 141 core inflammasome genes) for overall survival (OS) in a microarray discovery cohort (n = 467). IRS was established and independently validated by other datasets (n = 1320). We evaluated the inflammasome signaling steps based on five gene sets, which were IL1B-, CASP-1-, IL18-, GSDMD-, and inflammasome-regulated genes. Gene set enrichment analysis, the Kaplan–Meier curve, receiver operator characteristic with area under curve (AUC) analysis, and advanced bioinformatic tools were used to confirm the ability of IRS in prognosis and classification of patients into ICI responders and non-responders. A 30-gene IRS was developed, and it indicated good risk stratification at 10-year OS (AUC = 0.726). Patients were stratified into high- and low-risk groups based on optimal cutoff points, and high-risk IRS had significantly poorer OS and relapse-free survival. In addition, the high-risk group was characterized by an inflamed immunophenotype and higher proportion of ICI responders. Furthermore, expression of SLAMF8 was the key gene in IRS and indicated good correlation with biomarkers associated with immunotherapy. It could serve as a therapeutic target in the clinical setting of immunotherapy.

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the correlation between nasal resistance and oxygen desaturation to better elucidate the role of nasal obstruction in the pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).Patients and methodsEighty-eight OSA patients aged between 22 and 77 years were enrolled in this study. Nasal resistance was measured at pressures of 75, 150, and 300 Pa, with the patients first in the seated position than in the supine position. Relationships between the oximetric variables and nasal resistance in the seated and supine positions were analyzed.ResultsFrom seated to supine position, a statistically significant increase in nasal resistance was observed at pressures of 75 and 150 Pa (p=0.001 and p=0.006, respectively). Significant positive correlations were noted between nasal resistance in the supine position at 75 Pa (SupineNR75) and oximetry variables, including oxygen desaturation index (ODI, p=0.015) and the percentage of total time with oxygen saturation level lower than 90% (T < 90%, p=0.012). However, significant positive correlations existed only in moderate to severe OSA when the study group was further divided into two subgroups (mild vs moderate to severe OSA). Body mass index (β = 0.476, p

With rapid social changes, stress in life has increased significantly for everyone including college students. Understanding life stress among college students and how it may affect learning burnout has become an important concern for education researchers. The purposes of this study were (1) to assess the current status and factor structures of college students' learning burnout, and (2) to explore the relationship between life stress and learning burnout. The participants included 3,247 convenient samples of college students in Taiwan. The Learning Burnout Scale and The Life Stress Scale were used as assessment instruments for the study. Results of data analysis found that the students' learning burnout could be described by four factors: "low sense of achievement", "interpersonal alienation", "negative learning emotion", and "emotional exhaustion". Among these factors, "low sense of achievement" and "negative learning emotion" were found to be more serious. Using canonical correlation analysis the study also found a significant correlation between life stress and learning burnout. Results suggested that the higher the life stress the student experiences, the higher the degree of their learning burnout. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Student engagement appears to be associated with high-quality learning outcomes. Thus, it is important to measure whether students are engaging effectively in class. This article describes the development and validation of a measure of student engagement named the Student Course Engagement Scale (SCES). Exploratory and confirmatory analyses were conducted on two independent samples (n = 543 and n = 893, respectively) of Taiwanese college students. The resultant 20-item SCES demonstrated good reliability and factorial validity as well as being correlated positively with other engagement measures. The results also confirm the measurement invariance of the five-factors SCES across different gender groups. This instrument provides a practical and valuable tool for assessing course engagement among Chinese college students.

We have developed and validated a new Interpersonal Communication Competence Inventory (ICCI) for college students. Study 1 describes the development of the ICCI and results of an exploratory factor analysis of data from 1336 Chinese students, which identified a four-factor model with reasonable internal consistency. Study 2 describes results of a confirmatory factor analysis of data from 593 Chinese students, which cross-validated the four-factor model as well as supporting the validity of the overall scale. Taken together, these results suggest that the ICCI is a psychometrically valid measure of interpersonal communication competence of college students.

Teachers, especially their teaching behaviours, play an important role in students' learning and students with a high interest in learning show deeper understanding in the classroom. This study intends to explore how far the teacher's charisma--knowledge, character traits, teaching techniques and humour--contribute to students' interest in learning. This study found that students who perceived that their teacher had a high(er) level of charisma also perceived they had more interest in the course than students who perceived that their teacher had a low(er) level of charisma. Furthermore, students perceived that a teacher's charisma contributed significantly to the predictor equation for their perceived interest in learning.

Student attitudes toward mathematics play an important role in the teaching and learning processes of mathematics as positive attitudes correlate with higher student achievement. This paper aims to develop and explore the validity of a Chinese version of the short attitudes toward mathematics inventory (short ATMI) for Taiwanese undergraduates, and further to examine the measurement invariance across gender. The results suggest that, based on the Taiwanese sample, the model with some items excluded has better fit indices than the original model. The generalization of the four-factor construct was also confirmed. The Cronbach's alpha for total and subscales of the modified short ATMI were satisfactory, and moreover, convergent and discriminant validity were shown. Finally, measurement invariance of the inventory across gender was also demonstrated. This study suggests that the Chinese version of the short ATMI is a reliable, valid, and compact instrument that quickly and efficiently measures student attitudes toward mathematics.

The purpose of this study was to validate a Chinese version of the Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test (GRAT) with Taiwanese students. In Study 1, a total of 2511 Taiwanese students participated and completed the translated GRAT. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis were undertaken to assess the psychometric quality of the GRAT and its factor structure. In Study 2, a total of 1260 students were used to validate the revised questionnaire. Results supported the proposed factor structure of the measure and the scores of all subscales showed strong internal reliabilities. These findings therefore validate the psychometric properties of the proposed Chinese version of the GRAT.

This study aimed to develop and validate the Attitude Toward Calculus Inventory (ATCI). Results from three studies are reported that establish the reliability and validity of this instrument. An examination of the factor structure confirms that student attitudes can be explained in terms of four factors: self-confidence, value, enjoyment, and motivation.

Stress has been shown to negatively affect learning. Academic burnout is a significant problem associated with poor academic performance. Although there has been increased attention on these two issues, literature on the relationship between students' life stress and burnout is relatively limited. This study surveys academic burnout and life stresses among college students and further assesses whether reports of life stresses can serve as a predictor of academic burnout. The "Undergraduate Life Stress Scale" and "Learning Burnout Scale" are used as research tools, and data from 2640 students were collected. The results showed that both the level of students' burnout and stress are in general not serious. Female students and upper year students reported higher values of life stresses. The self-identity stress, interpersonal stress, future development stress, and academic stress could jointly predict student academic burnout.

In order to advance the effectiveness of higher education, we concentrated attention on teachers' classroom behaviours and aimed to develop an inventory for evaluating teacher's charisma in college settings. This study identified teacher characteristics that are indicators of teaching charisma and then developed a teaching evaluation questionnaire based on these indicators. The exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a 23-item Inventory of Teaching Charisma in College Classroom (ITCCC) that comprises four factors: knowledge, character traits, teaching techniques, and humor. As opposed to the questionnaire widely used in higher education institutions in Taiwan that mainly focuses on the evaluation of teacher's teaching method or attitude, the new measure enables college students to evaluate teacher's teaching in terms of their charisma. An advantage of thus instrument is that it has just a few items and is therefore easy to administer and to complete. It results in good response rates from students and the analysis is straightforward, since the scores on the items are simply summed to get the subscale scores. The results can serve as a basis for teachers to improve these skills or qualities and may provide a framework to help teachers to increase their teaching efficiency.

In order to help students adapt well to stressful situations or adversity, many researchers have explored the issue of students' resilience. The main purpose of this study was to develop the Inventory of College Students' Resilience (ICSR), for assessing resilience of college students. The present study recruited 993 participants to conduct item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis. We then administered the questionnaire to another 1490 participants in order to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and assess criterion-related validity. The results showed the proposed model fit the data well and the ICSR had both internal consistency and criterion-related validity. The ICSR was also found to have measurement invariance across gender. We conclude that the ICSR can help students to identify strengths and weaknesses in order to reinforce their resilience and improve their response to life stress and trauma.

Loneliness is a common problem for many students. Research indicates that loneliness is associated with relatively poor physical health and depression among students. Burnout in students is also an important issue since it adversely affects students' learning as well as their health and well-being. Both loneliness and learning burnout are related to negative psychological health, and there might exist a relationship between them. This study is to understand the current situation of students' loneliness and learning burnout and further to explore the relationships between the two. The "Loneliness Scale" and "Learning Burnout Scale" are used as research tools, and data from 1788 students were collected. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software was utilized to analyze the data, and the major findings shed light on whether there are differences between males and females with regard to experiencing higher loneliness and learning burnout symptoms. Results also show the relationship of the level of student loneliness and its correlation or otherwise with factors of learning burnout such as low sense of achievement and negative learning emotion. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)

Objectives/hypothesis: This study aimed to assess the role of capnography in objectively evaluating breathing routes during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) and further elucidate the relationship between breathing route, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity, and DISE findings.Study Design: Prospective observational study.Methods: Nighty-five patients with established OSA were recruited for this study from May 2017 to May 2019. DISE was performed in the operating room. Sedation was maintained with propofol using a target-controlled infusion system and the depth of sedation was monitored based on the bispectral index. The breathing routes, which included oral breathing, oronasal breathing, and nasal breathing, were detected using capnography. DISE findings were recorded using the VOTE (velum, oropharynx, base of tongue, and epiglottis) classification.Results: Patients with mouth breathing were associated with increased OSA severity, worse oximetric variables, and higher body mass index in comparison with those with other breathing routes. Mouth breathing was associated with a higher degree and higher prevalence of lateral pharyngeal wall collapse and tongue base collapse during DISE.Conclusions: Mouth breathing was significantly associated with worse oxygen desaturation and increased degree of upper airway collapse. Therefore, patients with mouth breathing during propofol-based intravenous anesthesia should be carefully monitored.Level Of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E659-E664, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]