ABSTRACT
The biology major has developed rapidly in recent years. Biology is a science that penetrates every aspect of human life and is one of the core majors in most agricultural colleges and universities. However, many teachers lack practical experience in the subject. To overcome this problem, in recent years, we have been trying to introduce new reforms into our teaching. This article provides some insight into the way that biology majors have been reformed, which will help educators in agricultural colleges and universities. At present, teachers implement the "Industrial Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Cultivation" (IIETC) model, but it is not clear whether this helps biology majors to master the course and improve their practical skills. In this study, the IIETC model is outlined, and the academic achievement and satisfaction of students taught under the IIETC model are assessed. A T-test is used to examine potential differences between IIETC and traditional teaching models. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were given to two groups of students who followed different teaching models as part of an exploratory study. The aim was to explore how effective IIETC is at helping biology majors master the course and improve students' wellbeing. Our results show that compared with traditional teaching methods, the IIETC model has a significant positive impact on the academic performance and happiness of biology students. Students trained under the IIETC model were more active and scored more highly in their final exams. They were more likely to feel that they had achieved success and happiness through the course (P = 0.03). The outcomes of this research reveal a novel teaching reform that improved students' enthusiasm for innovation and entrepreneurship during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The effects are very encouraging and deserve further exploration and expansion in future work.
ABSTRACT
In the Drosophila oogenesis, germline stem cells (GSCs) continuously self-renew and differentiate into daughter cells for consecutive germline lineage commitment. This developmental process has become an in vivo working platform for studying adult stem cell fate regulation. An increasing number of studies have shown that while concerted actions of extrinsic signals from the niche and intrinsic regulatory machineries control GSC self-renewal and germline differentiation, epigenetic regulation is implicated in the process. Here, we report that Brahma (Brm), the ATPase subunit of the Drosophila SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes, is required for maintaining GSC fate. Removal or knockdown of Brm function in either germline or niche cells causes a GSC loss, but does not disrupt normal germline differentiation within the germarium evidenced at the molecular and morphological levels. There are two Drosophila SWI/SNF complexes: the Brm-associated protein (BAP) complex and the polybromo-containing BAP (PBAP) complex. More genetic studies reveal that mutations in polybromo/bap180, rather than gene encoding Osa, the BAP complex-specific subunit, elicit a defect in GSC maintenance reminiscent of the brm mutant phenotype. Further genetic interaction test suggests a functional association between brm and polybromo in controlling GSC self-renewal. Taken together, studies in this paper provide the first demonstration that Brm in the form of the PBAP complex functions in the GSC fate regulation.
Subject(s)
Cell Cycle Proteins/genetics , Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/genetics , Drosophila Proteins/genetics , Ovum/metabolism , Trans-Activators/genetics , Transcription Factors/genetics , Animals , Animals, Genetically Modified , Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism , Cell Differentiation/genetics , Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly , Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/metabolism , Drosophila Proteins/metabolism , Drosophila melanogaster/genetics , Drosophila melanogaster/metabolism , Female , Gene Expression , Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics , Green Fluorescent Proteins/metabolism , Microscopy, Confocal , Mutation , Ovary/cytology , Protein Binding , RNA Interference , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Trans-Activators/metabolism , Transcription Factors/metabolismABSTRACT
To solve the problems faced in clinical use of hypocrellins, a water-soluble preparation of Hypocrellin B (HB), HB-Triton X-100 (TX-100) micelles, was prepared. To evaluate the photodynamic activity, the free radicals (*OH and HB*-) and singlet oxygen (1O2) generated via photosensitization of the preparation in aqueous solution were detected by using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and spectrophotometric methods. It was observed that 1O2 was formed with a quantum yield of 0.72, similar to that for HB in organic solvents, further, hydroxyl radicals (*OH) could also be efficiently produced by the new preparation, which have never before been detected following HB photoactivities. In addition, the semiquinone anion radicals (HB*-) could also be generated via the self-electron transfer between an excited triplet state and a ground state molecule. The accumulation of HB*- would replace that of *OH or 1O2 with the depletion of oxygen in the system. All these findings suggested that the HB-TX-100 micelles could play the photodynamic action through not only the type I mechanism by free radicals (*OH, O2*- and HB*-) but also the type II mechanism by singlet oxygen (1O2). It can be concluded further that the new preparation basically maintains the inherent photodynamic activity of HB, or even higher.
