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Guided by the job demands-resources model, we examined the multilevel associations between victimization experience with student violence directed against teachers, school climate, and teachers' subjective well-being (i.e., school connectedness and teaching efficacy) among 1711 teachers (7th-12th grade) from 58 middle and high schools in China. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that teachers who reported more frequent teacher victimization perceived a lower level of teaching efficacy; however, teachers in schools with a higher level of teacher victimization scores at the school level perceived a higher level of teaching efficacy. Although school climate was positively related to teacher well-being at both teacher and school levels, the negative association between teacher victimization and teachers' subjective well-being at the teacher level was exacerbated in schools with a more positive school climate at the school level. The significant cross-level moderating effect of school-level school climate in the association between teacher-level victimization and subjective well-being was consistent with the "healthy context paradox" but contradicted with the "emotion contagion hypothesis." Our findings support the risk influence of teacher victimization and the promotive role of positive school climate on teachers' subjective well-being. Our results also indicate that teachers in schools with a more positive and collective perception of school climate tend to be more attuned to the negative influences of teacher victimization on their subjective well-being than teachers in schools with a less positive and collective perception of school climate.

Elevated CO2 concentrations (eCO2) have been widely observed to stimulate microbial growth. However, the effect of eCO2 on soil microbial biomass may depend on several factors and their interactions, such as the increase in atmospheric CO2 levels, experimental duration and mean annual precipitation (MAP). We conducted a global meta-analysis from 62 studies that included the responses of soil microbial biomass to eCO2. We found a significant positive eCO2 effect on the bacterial biomass (+9.1 %), fungi (+11 %), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (+10.2 %) and actinomycetes (ACT) (+16.4 %). The positive effects were mainly observed in studies with low eCO2 levels (≤200 ppm) rather than high levels of eCO2 (>200 ppm), which could be attributable to soil N limitation. It was also found that eCO2 had a significant positive effect on soil microbial biomass in the short term (≤3 y) and under a high MAP (>800 mm). Importantly, we revealed interactive effects between the eCO2 levels, experimental duration on soil microbial biomass. With an increase in eCO2, the total microbial biomass (TMB), bacterial biomass and fungal biomass decreased over the long term (>3 y). These findings indicate the need to incorporate interactions between eCO2 and environmental factors into ecosystem models, to predict future global climate change effects more accurately and their impact on ecosystem functions.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the skeletal muscle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of the lower limbs in common subtypes of muscular dystrophy (MD) and the experience in the application of MRI in the diagnosis of MD. METHODS: A total of 48 children with MD who were diagnosed by genetic testing were enrolled as subjects. The muscle MRI features of the lower limbs were analyzed. Cumulative fatty infiltration score was calculated for each subtype, and the correlation of cumulative fatty infiltration score with clinical indices was analyzed for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). RESULTS: DMD was characterized by the involvement of the gluteus maximus and the adductor magnus. Becker muscular dystrophy was characterized by the involvement of the vastus lateralis muscle. Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy was characterized by the involvement of the adductor magnus, the vastus intermedius, the vastus medialis, and the vastus lateralis muscle. For DMD, the cumulative fatty infiltration score of the lower limb muscles was significantly correlated with age, course of the disease, muscle strength, and motor function (P0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Different subtypes of MD have different MRI manifestations, and MRI may help with the diagnosis and assessment of MD.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are increasingly common neurodevelopmental disorders accompanied by dysregulation of amino acid (AA) metabolism, and for which there are currently no reliable early diagnostic biomarkers. This study evaluated whether specific AAs can serve as biomarkers for screening ASD patients by analyzing the abundance 21 plasma AAs in 70 ASD patients and 70 control subjects by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We found significant differences between the two groups for eight of the AAs-namely, arginine, cysteine, homocysteine, histidine, methionine, serine, tyrosine, and valine. However, only homocysteine level was positively correlated with ASD symptom severity. Arginine, cysteine, histidine, and methionine were used to generate a predictive model in the Fisher discriminant analysis; cross-validation of this model showed that 88.6% of individuals were correctly segregated into ASD and healthy subject groups with a sensitivity of 85.5% and specificity of 92.2%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.959 (0.927-0.991). Thus, detection of a combination of AAs is an effective method for distinguishing ASD patients from healthy subjects, which may be useful for the early diagnosis of ASD.

Introducing self-assembly strategies into the construction of catalysts has been proven to have great advantages in asymmetric catalysis. We constructed two chiral metalla-triangles by highly efficient coordination-driven self-assembly from a chiral 3,3'-dipyridyl-substituted BINOL donor. They were successfully applied in asymmetric conjugate addition of a series of α,β-unsaturated ketones with trans-styrylboronic acids. The use of these metalla-triangles as supramolecular catalysts is obviously conducive to the enhancement of catalytic activity and stereoselectivity in the presented addition reactions. Under induction of the chiral metalla-triangles, an array of α,β-enones were converted to chiral γ,δ-unsaturated ketones in medium to quantitative yields (40-98%) with high enantioselectivities (87-96% ee).

Interspecific competition and plant-soil feedbacks are powerful drivers of plant community structure. However, across a range of edaphic conditions the interactive effects of these drivers on complex plant communities remain unclear. For example, plant-soil feedback studies focus on soil trained by a single plant species. We developed a method to assess effects of plant-microbial interactions (PMI) on a complex plant community. We established mesocosms with 13 grassland species, grown individually or together, in overgrazed or restored soil, with or without soil microbial inoculum collected from a productive and diverse native grassland. We assessed biomass production as influenced by edaphic conditions, interspecific competition and PMI. Furthermore, we assessed potential influences of interspecific competition and edaphic conditions on strength and direction of PMI. Our results indicate PMI drives negative growth responses for graminoids while forbs experience positive growth responses. Generally, interspecific competition did not alter the magnitude or direction of PMI-mediated growth responses. Edaphic conditions altered the influence of soil microbial communities on individual plant growth while PMI facilitated plant evenness. In plant community mesocosms, PMI-associated benefits were observed in overgrazed soil. However, interspecific competition overwhelmed plant growth benefits associated with soil microbial communities when plant communities were grown in restored soil. In mesocosms containing dominant grass species, interspecific competition had negative effects on species coexistence, but both positive and negative PMI partially counterbalanced this influence on plant species evenness. Understanding these mechanisms may improve our capacity to manage diverse and productive grasslands by enabling prediction of plant community composition following disturbance and subsequent restoration.

The application of state-dependent speciation and extinction (SSE) models to phylogenetic trees has revealed an important role for traits in diversification. However, this role remains comparatively unexplored on islands, which can include multiple independent clades resulting from different colonization events. Here, we perform a robustness study to identify how trait-dependence in rates of island colonization, extinction and speciation (CES rates) affects the estimation accuracy of a phylogenetic model that assumes no rate variation between trait states. We extend the DAISIE (Dynamic Assembly of Islands through Speciation, Immigration and Extinction) simulation model to include state-dependent rates, and evaluate the robustness of the DAISIE inference model using simulated data. Our results show that when the CES rate differences between trait states are moderate, DAISIE shows negligible error for a variety of island diversity metrics. However, for large differences in speciation rates, we find large errors when reconstructing clade size variation and non-endemic species diversity through time. We conclude that for many biologically realistic scenarios with trait-dependent speciation and colonization, island diversity dynamics can be accurately estimated without the need to explicitly model trait dynamics. Nonetheless, our new simulation model may provide a useful tool for studying patterns of trait variation.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.

Objective. To evaluate and summarize the best evidence for nonpharmacological management of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). This article aims at serving as a reference for nursing staff to prevent and manage CINV. Methods. We systematically searched for evidence on CINV in databases such as Cnki and Wanfang, guide websites such as GIN and NZGG, and professional websites such as UICC and ACS. Only articles published between November 2012 and November 2021 were considered for inclusion in the summary. Two researchers evaluated the quality of the literature and extracted the data. Results. A total of 22 articles were included in this study, including 3 clinical decisions, 2 guidelines, 1 evidence summary, 2 recommended practices, 13 systematic reviews, and 1 expert consensus. Finally, 15 pieces of evidence were summarized from 3 perspectives: risk factor assessment, nursing process specification, and nonpharmacological interventions. Conclusion. Our research summarizes the best evidence on nonpharmacological management of CINV. During actual clinical application, it is necessary to fully consider the clinical situation, combine professional judgment with patients’ wishes, follow the principle of individualization, analyze the obstacles and facilitating factors of the application of evidence, and prudently apply the evidence to the clinical practice.

Summary: Currently, many genetic methods are available for mapping chemical connectivity, but analogous methods for electrical synapses are lacking. Here, we present pupylation-based interaction labeling (PUPIL), a genetically encoded system for noninvasively mapping and stamping transient electrical synapses in the mouse brain. Upon fusion of connexin 26 (CX26) with the ligase PafA, pupylation yields tag puncta following conjugation of its substrate, a biotin- or fluorescent-protein-tagged PupE, to the neighboring proteins of electrical synapses containing CX26-PafA. Tag puncta are validated to correlate well with functional electrical synapses in immature neurons. Furthermore, puncta are retained in mature neurons when electrical synapses mostly disappear—suggesting successful stamping. We use PUPIL to uncover spatial subcellular localizations of electrical synapses and approach their physiological functions during development. Thus, PUPIL is a powerful tool for probing electrical connectivity patterns in complex nervous systems and has great potential for transient receptors and ion channels as well.

China is the country with the largest wheat planting area in the world, and wheat is one of the two main staple food crops consumed in China. Wheat is widely cultivated in 15 provinces throughout the country and across 3 climate zones including the subtropical monsoon climate zone, temperate monsoon climate zone and temperate continental climate zone. The natural conditions of each climate zone are different, and the ways in which the wheat production system operates are different. To ultimately safeguard the production and explore the similarities and differences in input and output of the same system under different climate conditions, the emergy method was used to research the comprehensive performance of the wheat production system based on 2014 statistical data from China. The results indicate that there was a significant variance in the input of local renewable environmental resources, ranging from 0.48E+14 sej/ha in Xinjiang in the temperate continental climate zone to 4.46E+14 sej/ha in Shaanxi in the temperate monsoon climate zone. Among the three climatic zones, the temperate continental climate zone had the lowest emergy self-support ratio (0.13), followed by the temperate monsoon climate zone (0.15) and then the subtropical monsoon climate zone (0.20). Regions in which natural resources are insufficient, such as temperate continental climate zone, need additional purchased resources to maintain normal operation of the wheat production system. Compared with other intensive agricultural production systems, the wheat production system is extensive and low-cost and has room for improvement with more artificial input. The Middle-Lower Yangtze River Plain at the junction of temperate monsoon climate zone and subtropical monsoon climate zone is the most efficient region for planting wheat based on the ratio of the entire emergy input to the entire energy output. This ratio should be considered in the adjustment of the agricultural cropping structure to make use of resources more effectively.

To ensure the safety of the astronauts and the prolongation of the life of the space station, maintainability design and verification is an integral part of design process. As a crucial factor in maintainability design, visibility evaluation is the most important part of maintainability design and verification. However, completely different ergonomics parameters and lacking of relevant research are the two major problems limiting the development and application of the visibility design in the microgravity environment. This paper proposes a visibility automation analysis and evaluation model in microgravity environment based on virtual maintenance. Firstly, visibility evaluation indicators are determined by the literature research and the astronauts working condition investigations. Secondly, in responds to the indicators, this paper proposes an evaluation method combining ergonomics and maintainability criteria based on microgravity. Moreover, a comprehensive visual accessibility evaluation model in microgravity environment is developed. Finally, a case of ORU disassembly in space station is conducted and verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.

The Multidimensional Teacher Victimization Scale (MTVS) was developed to provide schools with a comprehensive and psychometrically sound self-report scale to assess teachers' perceptions of teacher-targeted aggressive and violent behaviors perpetrated by students. Using a cross-sectional survey-based research design, data were collected on a sample of 1,711 teachers (seventh to twelfth grade) from 58 schools in China. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a second-order model with one general Teacher Victimization (TV) factor and six lower-order factors (i.e., Physical TV, Social TV, Verbal TV, Cyber TV, Sexual Harassment, and Personal Property Offenses) best represented the data. Measurement invariance tests showed that the scale's factor structure was consistent across middle and high schools and across gender. Latent mean comparisons suggested that similar levels of teacher victimization were reported across male and female teachers and across middle school and high school teachers. As evidence of the scale's concurrent validity, the total teacher victimization score correlated significantly with teachers' self-reported total burnout score and 3 subscale scores, including emotional exhaustion, accomplishment, and depersonalization. Adequate internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were achieved in both the total scale and subscales. Implications for using MTVS as a school-wide violence assessment tool in Chinese schools and other cultural groups are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The conversion of grassland to cropland is one of the major changes in land use, and it accelerates both soil erosion and the loss of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the general patterns of SOC loss after grassland cultivation are rarely assessed, and the potential mechanisms remain unclear. Here, a meta-analysis of 81 case studies was performed to show that SOC decreased with soil depths of 0–60 cm after grassland conversion, but no significant differences were found at depths >60 cm. SOC also declined significantly with the duration of grassland conversion. The response ratio of SOC changes tended to reach equilibrium after 20 years of grassland cropping. Our results indicate that reduction in SOC mainly depended on changes in precipitation, soil physical-chemical properties and soil microbes. These conclusions highlight the importance of improving the accuracy of predictions on SOC losses and on the global carbon cycle in the face of land-use changes worldwide.

Purpose: Glucocorticoids are the only therapeutics that can delay the progression of Duchenne musculardystrophy (DMD), the most prevalent type of inherited neuromuscular disorder in males. However, beyond theiranti-inflammatory effects, glucocorticoids have other underlying mechanisms that remain unclear. Moreover, muscleand circulating levels of insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) often decrease in response to glucocorticoids. Therefore, wehypothesized that glucocorticoids, either alone or in combination with IGF-1, can improve myogenic differentiation.Materials and methods: Established C2C12 myoblasts were employed as an in vitro model of myogenic differentiation,and myogenic differentiation markers, as assessed by Western blot (myogenin, MyoD, and MyHC protein expression),cellular morphology analysis (fusion index) and RT-PCR (MCK mRNA expression), were measured.Results: Myogenic differentiation markers were increased by glucocorticoid treatment. Furthermore, this effect was furtherenhanced by IGF-1, and these results suggest that glucocorticoids, either alone or together with IGF-1, can promotemyogenic differentiation. Akt and GSK-3β play important roles in myogenic differentiation. Interestingly, the levels ofboth phosphorylated Ser473-Akt and phosphorylated Ser9-GSK-3β were increased by glucocorticoid and IGF-1 cotreatment.Pharmacological manipulation with LY294002 and LiCl was employed to inhibit Akt and GSK-3β, respectively.We found that cellular differentiability was inhibited by LY294002 and enhanced by LiCl, indicating that theAkt/GSK-3β signaling pathway is activated by glucocorticoid and IGF-1 treatment to promote myogenic differentiation.Conclusions: Glucocorticoids together with IGF-1 promote myogenic differentiation through the Akt/GSK-3βpathway. Thus, these results further our knowledge of myogenic differentiation and may offer a potential alternativestrategy for DMD treatment based on glucocorticoid and IGF-1.

Over the past several years, both Ontario, Canada and Mainland China have been taking steps toward curriculum reform. Part of that process includes learning from the curricula of other nations. In this chapter, we give an overview of the current mathematics curriculum used in the two jurisdictions. Ontario’s elementary mathematics curriculum was published in 2005 and covers grades one to eight while China’s elementary mathematics curriculum covers grades one to six. We will first introduce the history and research that influences the current curriculum. Then we will discuss the aspects of the curriculum such as the strands of mathematics content and assessment.

In this chapter, we provide the general and mathematics education context in China and the province of Ontario in Canada. The educational contexts of these two countries are very different. China has a Central Ministry of Education and has a curriculum that is federally mandated. In Canada, education is a provincial responsibility and so each of the ten provinces and three territories may have different curricula. In China, there have been many discussions about basic education. The four stages of the development of basic education are described to provide foundational knowledge of the Chinese education system. We also discuss the current organization of schools and the history of education in Ontario, Canada. International large-scale exams are described to better understand the similarities and differences in Canadian and Chinese mathematics education. China has consistently ranked high on these exams while Canada has been in the middle of these results.

With the advances made in curricula reform, the knowledge of learners and learning plays a decisive role in pedagogical research. This chapter explores student errors in learning 3-digit multiplication and the teaching strategies used to help students better understand the concept. Through the analysis of students’ error patterns and teachers’ instructional strategies for systematic errors in 3-digit multiplication, the study has found that students make three typical systematic errors in 3-digit multiplication. We also found that teachers are finding some student errors, and further exploration and application of the rules are still needed. We noted that teachers’ understanding of the subject matter and students’ errors affect their instructional implementation. In addition, we found that textbooks greatly affect teaching and learning. Student errors provide an important perspective to explore pedagogical content knowledge and serve as curriculum resources for research and practice in teaching.

The improvement of the quality of mathematics education is important for all countries. Teacher education plays a vital role in cultivating teachers and is an important support for education. In this chapter, we describe the education of mathematics teachers, from pre-service education to in-service education, in China and Ontario, Canada. We describe the preparation necessary to be enrolled in a pre-service teacher education program, the courses that are taken in normal universities in China and Faculties of Education in Ontario, and the professional development opportunities after teacher certification. The identification of teacher education candidates and the road to teacher certification have some similarities but also some very different expectations in these two jurisdictions. At the same time, it has a fundamental and important strategic position in the development of provincial and national education.

In this chapter, we provide context and information regarding the mathematics resources used in Ontario, Canada and Mainland China’s elementary math classrooms. An overview of the types of textbooks and how they are used by teachers in both Ontario, Canada and China is shared. Schools in Ontario select from a list of textbooks approved by the government. In China, the government provides a list of mandated textbooks for all subjects. Furthermore, this chapter describes the other forms of resources commonly used in elementary mathematics education such as technology and manipulatives for teaching mathematics. We also give readers a glimpse into the classroom life of Chinese and Canadian elementary school students as the setting for their learning impacts how they learn and interact with available resources.

Aims Ferroptosis, a new form of iron-dependent programmed cell death, has been shown to be involved in a range of diseases. However, the role of ferroptosis in traumatic brain injury (TBI) has yet to be elucidated. We aimed to investigate whether ferroptosis is induced after TBI and whether the inhibition of ferroptosis would protect against traumatic brain injury in a controlled cortical impact injury (CCI) mouse model. Methods After establishing the TBI model in mice, we determined the biochemical and morphological changes associated with ferroptosis, including iron accumulation with Perl's staining, neuronal cell death with Fluoro-Jade B (FJB) staining, iron metabolism dysfunction with Western blotting, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation with malondialdehyde (MDA) assays, and shrunken mitochondria with transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, a specific inhibitor of ferroptosis, ferrostatin-1(fer-1), was administrated by cerebral ventricular injection after CCI. We used cresyl violet (CV) staining to assess lesion volume, along with the Morris water maze and beam walk test to evaluate long-term outcomes. Results TBI was followed by iron accumulation, dysfunctional iron metabolism, the upregulation of ferroptosis-related genes, reduced glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, and the accumulation of lipid-reactive oxygen species (ROS). Three days (d) after TBI, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that the mitochondria had shrunk a typical characteristic of ferroptosis. Importantly, the administration of Fer-1 by cerebral ventricular injection significantly reduced iron deposition and neuronal degeneration while attenuating injury lesions and improving long-term motor and cognitive function. Conclusion This study demonstrated an effective method with which to treat TBI by targeting ferroptosis.

Ecosystem sustainability is the basis for life, economic and social sustainability. The energy metabolism of an ecosystem has long been a focus area in the scientific community because it determines the productivity, sustainability and development of ecosystem. This study applied emergy analysis to explore the metabolism of maize ecosystems under different environmental conditions; to investigate its energy input, environmental pressure and sustainability; and to understand the maintenance mechanism of the general ecosystem based on the China statistical data of 2014. Results showed that the sum of renewable natural resources ranged from 0.62 × 10 14 seJ/ha in Xinjiang to 6.34 × 10 14 seJ/ha in Guangxi; the sum of nonrenewable natural resources ranged from 3.95 × 10 14 seJ/ha for Henan to 9.46 × 10 14 seJ/ha for Jilin; the sum of purchased renewable resources ranged from 2.97 × 10 14 seJ/ha for Heilongjiang to 26.14 × 10 14 seJ/ha for Gansu; the sum of purchased nonrenewable resources ranged from 14.89 × 10 14 seJ/ha in Sichuan to 33.00 × 10 14 seJ/ha in Gansu. In addition, the environmental loading ratio in Xinjiang was the highest, followed by Ningxia (25.92), Gansu (24.77), Inner Mongolia (23.15), the lower values were 4.48, 4.21 and 4.00 for Guizhou, Chongqing and Guangxi, respectively; similarly, the emergy sustainability index in the provinces of southern China were higher than those in northwest of China. Above all, maize ecosystem is developed with a stronger competitive ability than other agricultural ecosystems, especially in the southern region of China, but also has a high environmental loading ratio. Furthermore, the proportion of natural and purchased emergy input ranged from 13.65% vs 86.35% in Xinjiang to 33.70% vs 66.30% in Heilongjiang, which were close to 30% vs 70%, 25% vs75%, 22% vs 78%, 20% vs 80% and 15% vs 85% for Northeast of China, Southwest of China, Loess Plateau, Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and Northwest of China respectively. Our study demonstrates that the natural energy in the maize ecosystem influenced the quantity and proportion of purchased energy. Different combinations of natural and purchased emergy were coupled to maintain the same ecosystem under the different environmental conditions. Its recommendation is to consider changing the crop production systems or artificial energy inputs in different regions based on differences in natural factors in order to make more efficient use of resources, reduce the use of chemical fertilizers, and promote the sustainability of ecosystems.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences between American and Chinese students in their perceptions of school climate and engagement in school, and in the relation between school climate and engagement.Confirmatory factor analyses were used to support the factor structure and measurement invariance of the two measures administered: The Delaware School Climate Survey-Student and the Delaware Student Engagement Scale. Differences in latent means were tested, and differences in relations between variables were examined using multilevel hierarchical linear modeling. Participants consisted of 3,176 Chinese and 4,085 American students, Grades 3-5, 7-8, and 10-12.Chinese students perceived school climate more favorably than American students, particularly beyond elementary school. Findings were more complex for student engagement. In elementary school, American students reported greater cognitive-behavioral and emotional engagement, and especially the former. In middle school and high school, Chinese students reported greater emotional engagement; however, no significant differences were found for cognitive-behavioral engagement. Most intriguing were results of multilevel hierarchical modeling that examined associations between school climate and student engagement: They were significant in American schools but not Chinese schools.Chinese students, compared with American students, perceived the climate of their schools more favorably, especially after elementary school. However, among Chinese students, their perceptions of school climate were unrelated to their self-reported engagement in school-school climate did not seem to matter as much. (PsycINFO Database Record

Although bortezomib (BTZ) remains a first-line agent for multiple myeloma (MM) therapy, the development of BTZ resistance has become an indicator of poor prognosis in MM patients. It is thus urgent to develop strategies to restore the vulnerability of MM to BTZ. This study demonstrated, for the first time, that UbcH10 is highly expressed in BTZ-resistant myeloma cell lines U-266/BTZ, NCI-H929/BTZ and RPMI-8226/BTZ, which is attributed to the inactivation of post-transcriptional control. The in-depth study revealed that during the development of BTZ resistance in these cells, the hsa-miR-631 levels were decreased, which resulted in the increased expression of the target gene UbcH10. We also found that the multiple drug-resistant protein MDR1 exhibited a positive correlation with UbcH10 due to the reduced ubiquitination of MDR1, which was caused by high UbcH10 expression. Following overexpression of miR-631, both BTZ sensitivity and BTZ-induced apoptosis were enhanced in the resistant cells. Meanwhile, resensitization by miR-631 overexpression was blocked by exogenous expression of UbcH10, which was not regulated by intracellular miR-631. In conclusion, the miR-631/UbcH10/MDR1 pathway is closely associated with the development of BTZ resistance in myeloma cells, and the overexpression of miR-631 can significantly improve BTZ sensitivity in resistant myeloma cells.

AIM: To investigate the correlation between retinal thickness(CSRT)in the macular region and glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c)of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Totally 39 cases of patients with diabetes(77 eyes)who screened from May 2016 to March 2017 were selected, and were divided into two groups according to the levels of HbA1c, which the 24 cases(47 eyes)in the low HbA1c group(HbA1cRESULTS: In the high HbA1c group, HbA1c was(10.45±1.30)%, FBG was 10.67±1.64mmol/L and 2hPG was 15.98±1.38mmol/L, which was higher than that in the low HbA1c group, and there was significant difference between the two groups(PPPCONCLUSION: The HbA1c level is associated with retinal thickening in the macular region of patients with diabetes, which could predict the severity of diabetic retinopathy and provide important guidance for prevention and treatment.

To elucidate the effect of long-term treatment with botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) for blepharospasm. Prevalence data and clinical features in southern China and influencing factors for selecting BTX-A treatment were explored. We collected data retrospectively from 338 consecutive patients diagnosed with blepharospasm over 16 years to assess prevalence data and clinical features. Thereafter, all patients were classified into BTX-A (n = 135) or non-BTX-A (n = 203) treatment groups according to the patients’ requests in order to explore the factors influencing whether BTX-A treatment was chosen. Furthermore, dynamic follow-up data were analyzed to evaluate the long-term efficacy in the BTX-A group. The prevalence was 23.3 per million, with an onset age of 50.3 ± 12.3 years and a female:male ratio of 2.4:1; the most common symptom was excessive blinking (91.2%). The symptom severity and psychological assessment scores were significantly decreased by treatment with BTX-A (p < 0.01), and there was no significant difference in response duration with the prolongation of BTX-A injections. Adverse events occurred 52 times (5.0%) among 1038 injections. The symptom severity and psychological assessment scores and the occurrence of eye-opening difficulty were higher, and medical expenses and the symptom tolerability rate were lower in the BTX-A group than in the non-BTX-A group (p < 0.05). The onset age was earlier than that in Western countries. However, starting BTX-A treatment early is justified, even though a higher dosage was needed to maintain reliable long-term efficacy. Additionally, symptom severity and medical expenses are the primary factors affecting whether patients select BTX-A treatment.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked genetic neuromuscular disease that is characterized by progressive muscle wasting and by defects in the regenerative capacity and inflammatory infiltration of muscle. Many noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) participate in the pathophysiological mechanisms of this disease. To explore the role of circular RNAs (circRNAs), a type of ncRNAs, in DMD, microarray analysis was performed to explore the expression patterns of circRNAs in the gastrocnemius muscles in mdx mice, a DMD animal model, and C57 mice. The microarray data were validated by qRT-PCR. Further, gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were performed to predict the function of the differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcRNAs). A circRNA/microRNA (miRNA) interaction network was predicted by bioinformatics. We also predicted the protein-coding ability of the circRNAs based on their N6-methyladenosine motifs and open-reading frames. We identified 197 differentially expressed circRNAs between mdx mice and C57 mice. Of the 197 DEcRNAs, 6 circRNAs were randomly selected to validate the microarray data, and twenty-two circRNAs were randomly selected to construct a circRNA/miRNA interaction network. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the linear counterparts of the DEcRNAs were mainly associated with muscle structure, nervous system development, and the cAMP signaling pathway. A total of 189 circRNAs were predicted to have protein-coding potential, and there were 98 circRNAs that could potentially be translated into polypeptides with 150 or more amino acids. This work described the expression pattern of circRNAs in mdx mice and indicated that circRNAs may play pivotal roles in the pathophysiological mechanisms of DMD.