ABSTRACT
Background@#Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) is considered a global threat to both human health and the poultry industry. MicroRNAs (miRNA) can modulate the immune system by affecting gene expression patterns in HPAIV-infected chickens. @*Objectives@#To gain further insights into the role of miRNAs in immune responses against H5N1 infection, as well as the development of strategies for breeding disease-resistant chickens, we characterized miRNA expression patterns in tracheal tissues from H5N1-infected Ri chickens. @*Methods@#miRNAs expression was analyzed from two H5N1-infected Ri chicken lines using small RNA sequencing. The target genes of differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were predicted using miRDB. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis were then conducted. Furthermore, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, we validated the expression levels of DE miRNAs (miR-22-3p, miR-146b-3p, miR-27b-3p, miR-128-3p, miR-2188-5p, miR-451, miR-205a, miR-203a, miR-21-3p, and miR-200a-3p) from all comparisons and their immune-related target genes. @*Results@#A total of 53 miRNAs were significantly expressed in the infection samples of the resistant compared to the susceptible line. Network analyses between the DE miRNAs and target genes revealed that DE miRNAs may regulate the expression of target genes involved in the transforming growth factor-beta, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways, all of which are related to influenza A virus progression. @*Conclusions@#Collectively, our results provided novel insights into the miRNA expression patterns of tracheal tissues from H5N1-infected Ri chickens. More importantly, our findings offer insights into the relationship between miRNA and immune-related target genes and the role of miRNA in HPAIV infections in chickens.
ABSTRACT
Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of faculty-student interaction, psychological well-being, and the image of nurses with nursing professionalism in the COVID-19 pandemic situation. @*Methods@#The participants of the study were 243 nursing college students located in Daegu, Kyungpook. Data collection was performed between August 11 and 20, 2021. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression using the IBM SPSS 21.0 program. @*Results@#The multiple regression showed that nursing professionalism was associated with a positive image of nurses (β=.71, p<.001) and higher faculty-student interaction (β=.11, p=.023). Additionally, a negative impression about nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic was negatively associated with nursing professionalism (β=-.12, p=.003). The explanatory power of the factors was 67 percent of the total variances on nursing professionalism; however, psychological well-being was not an associated factor. @*Conclusion@#This study suggested that, to improve nursing student’s nursing professionalism in the COVID-19 pandemic situation, nursing colleges should systemize curricular and non-curricular programs to improve awareness of nurses’ efforts and faculty-student interaction.