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In an era of rapid digital development, e-learning has become a significant trend in the educational field. Medical technology students need to acquire extensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills. E-learning can enhance learning experiences, improving students' understanding and application abilities. This study examined the impact of learning motivation, learning approaches, and learning burnout on the academic performance of medical technology students in an e-learning environment. This study conducted a quantitative survey on 37 medical technology students. The questionnaires included learning motivations, learning methods, and burnout, and responses provided on a 5-point Likert scale. First, the 37 students were categorized into three groups based on their academic performance. Then, differences between these groups were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and correlations between academic performance and questionnaire variables were calculated using Spearman correlation analysis. It revealed that motivation varies among different academic performance levels. Furthermore, in the high-grade group, self-efficacy (r = -0.502, p = 0.047), monitoring studying (r = 0.494, p = 0.032), and emotional exhaustion (r = 0.514, p = 0.024) were correlated to academic performance. In the middle-grade group, self-efficacy for learning and performance was correlated to academic performance (r = 0.858, p = 0.001). In the low-grade group, academic performance was correlated to depth approach (r = 0.826, p = 0.022) and organized studying (r = 0.833, p = 0.020). This study, through a quantitative survey, found significant differences in learning motivation, learning methods, and learning burnout among medical technology students with different academic performance levels. High-grade students demonstrated higher levels of emotional exhaustion, which may reflect feelings of overextension and academic burnout in e-learning environments; the academic performance of the middle-grade group was related to intrinsic motivation; and low-grade students showed a stronger correlation between their learning methods in e-learning and their academic performance. These insights underscore the necessity for personalized learning strategies to enhance educational outcomes effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules are critical to T cell responses and involved in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study aimed to comprehensively analyze the surface expression of these molecules in various phenotypic immune cells, comparing the differences between various levels of the severity in SLE and control groups. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated using Ficoll-Paque from blood samples of severe SLE patients (treatment with immunosuppressants), mild SLE patients (excluding those with persistent proteinuria or thrombocytopenia), and healthy controls (n = 10 each). PBMCs were stimulated for 48 h. The cells were stained with anti-CD3, CD4, CD28, PD-1, and CTLA-4 antibodies and analyzed by flow cytometry. Differences between groups were assessed using the Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U-test, with median values and statistical significance (p < 0.05) reported. Results: The results showed that CD28 expression was significantly higher in SLE patients compared to controls, with the highest levels in mild SLE. However, CD3+ CD28+ and CD4+ CD28+ cells were more prevalent in controls (p = 0.032 and 0.017, respectively). Mild SLE patients exhibited the highest CTLA-4 expression, with significant differences from severe SLE and controls (p = 0.030 and 0.037, respectively). PD-1 expression was lowest in severe SLE but highest in mild SLE within CD3+ CD4+ cells (p = 0.001). After 48 h of activation, CD4+ CTLA4+ and CD3+ CTLA4+ expression levels were significantly higher in controls compared to SLE groups. Conclusions: Our study highlighted that the expression of CD28, CTLA-4, and PD-1 in lymphocytes and specific T cell subsets was various according the severity of SLE in patients, underscoring their roles in disease pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is one of the mainstream treatments for patients with hematologic malignancies. The matching status of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) between the donor and recipient is highly related to the outcomes of HSCT. Haploidentical HSCT (haplo-HSCT) has emerged as a type of HSCT for patients who cannot find a fully HLA-matched donor. In this study, we investigated whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the HLA-related genes and the genes encoding co-stimulatory molecules located on the non-HLA region are related to the outcomes of haplo-HSCT. Methods: The genomic DNAs of 24 patients and their respective donors were isolated from the peripheral blood obtained before performing haplo-HSCT. A total of 75 SNPs of the HLA-related genes (HCP5, NOTCH4, HLA-DOA, LTA, HSPA1L, BAG6, RING1, TRIM27, and HLA-DOB) and the genes located in the non-HLA genes involved in co-stimulatory signaling (CTLA4, TNFSF4, CD28, and PDCD1) were selected to explore their relationship with the outcomes after haplo-HSCT, including graft-versus-host disease, survival status, and relapse. Results: Our data revealed that specific donor or patient SNPs, including rs79327197 of the HLA-DOA gene, rs107822 and rs213210 of the RING1 gene, rs2523676 of the HCP5 gene, rs5742909 of the CTLA4 gene, rs5839828 and rs36084323 of the PDCD1 gene, and rs1234314 of the TNFSF4 gene, were significantly related to the development of adverse outcomes post-haplo-HSCT. Conclusions: These SNPs may play important roles in post-transplant immune response that can be considered during the selection of suitable donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: ABO blood system has many subgroups. In A group, A1 phenotype and A2 phenotype are more common, and A2 is caused by deletion or substitution in A1 allele (ABO*A1.01).Methods: Based on standard ABO serological test, the subject was identified as A2 phenotype. Direct sequencing and ABO gene cloning were performed to analyze the allele.Results: The subject had one A1v allele (ABO*A1.02) and one O allele. The haplotype sequencing analysis of each allelic clone demonstrated that allele 1 was A1v (ABO*A1.02) allele with nt543 variation (543 G > C) and allele 2 was O1v allele (ABO*O.01.02) with nt261 deletion and nt220 variation.Conclusion: The 543 G > C nucleotide substitution of the present A1v allele (ABO*A1.02) shares the same sequence variation site with Ax allele (ABO*AW.33) (543 G > T), and both 543 G > C and 543 G > T nucleotide substitutions encode the same amino acid change of tryptophan to cysteine. Mechanism, such as allelic enhancement, has been proposed to explain this controversial phenotype-genotype relationship. But in present case, there has been no B allele to enhance the expression of Ax to that expected of A2, so there could be another novel underlying mechanism to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B3 is the most common subtype of blood group B in the Taiwanese population, and most of the B3 individuals in the Taiwanese population have the IVS3 + 5 G > A (rs55852701) gene variation. Additionally, a typical mixed field agglutination is observed when the B3 subtype is tested with anti-B antibody or anti-AB antibody. The molecular biology of the gene variation in the B3 subtype has been identified, however, the mechanism of the mixed field agglutination caused by the type B3 blood samples is still unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the reason for the mixed field agglutination caused by B3. A micro-droplet platform was used to observe the agglutination of type B and type B3 blood samples in different blood sample concentrations, antibody concentrations, and at reaction times. We found that the agglutination reaction in every droplet slowed down with an increase in the dilution ratio of blood sample and antibody, whether type B blood or type B3 blood was used. However, as the reaction time increased, the complete agglutination in the droplet was seen in type B blood, while the mixed field agglutination still occurred in B3 within 1 min. In addition, the degree of agglutination was similar in each droplet, which showed high reproducibility. As a result, we inferred that there are two types of cells in the B3 subtype that simultaneously create a mixed field agglutination, rather than each red blood cell carrying a small amount of antigen, resulting in less agglutination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]