Research progress on vascularization of organoids / 生物医学工程学杂志

Organoids are three-dimensional structures formed by self-organizing growth of cells in vitro, which own many structures and functions similar with those of corresponding in vivo organs. Although the organoid culture technologies are rapidly developed and the original cells are abundant, the organoid cultured by current technologies are rather different with the real organs, which limits their application. The major challenges of organoid cultures are the immature tissue structure and restricted growth, both of which are caused by poor functional vasculature. Therefore, how to develop the vascularization of organoids has become an urgent problem. We presently reviewed the progresses on the original cells of organoids and the current methods to develop organoids vascularization, which provide clues to solve the above-mentioned problems.

Statistical Design and Analysis of PCR Tests for Fast Mutating Viruses

As the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates, mutations harboured in patients become increasingly diverse. Patients classified into two strains may have overlapping non-variant-defining mutations. Mutation calling by sequencing is relative to a reference genome. As SARS-CoV-2 mutates, tracking emerging mutant strains may become increasingly problematic if the reference genome remains Wuhan-Hu-1, because the comparison then becomes indirect: current dominant strain relative to Wuhan-Hu-1 versus emerging strain relative to Wuhan-Hu-1. The original Thermo Fishers TaqPath PCR test, on which the UK has standardized national testing of SARS-CoV-2 primarily, targets Wuhan-Hu-1. PCR targets appear readily updated, as TaqPath 2.0 now targets both currently known and future SARS-CoV-2 mutations, probing the N gene and ORF1ab but not the S gene, with 8 probes instead of the original 3 probes. Going forward, our statistical method can more directly compare current wildtype versus emerging mutants, since our new method can use any pair of probes updated to probe the current wildtype and anticipated mutations. The fact that patients harbour mixtures of mutations allows our statistical methods to potentially catch emerging mutants. Given a PCR test which targets the current dominant strain (current wildtype), our statistical method can potentially directly differentiate the current wildtype from an emerging strain.

Social anxiety and the relationship between social support and hope of left-behind children in rural area / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#This study aims at discussing the relationship between social anxiety and level of hope among left-behind children,the mediator role of perceived social support, and to provide objective reference for mental health education and positive psychological quality improvement.@*Methods@#From September to October 2018,Social Anxiety Scale for Children,Hope Scale and Perceived Social Support Scale were administered among 797 rural left-behind children in Hunan Province of China. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between variables. Regression analysis and structural equation modeling were used to assess whether perceived social support played a mediator role in social anxiety and hope of rural left-behind children.@*Results@#Social anxiety (6.84±4.28) was negatively correlated with perceived social support (54.18±14.48) and hope (23.80±5.77) (r=-0.23, -0.19, P<0.01). Perceived social support was positively correlated with hope (r=0.49, P<0.01). Perceived social support played a mediator role in the relationship between social anxiety and rural left-behind children’s level of hope.@*Conclusion@#This study has indicated the positive influence of perceived social support on the level of hope and buffering role on the adverse impact of social anxiety. More activities to improve social support for rural left-behind children need to be carried out during the process of education and mental health.

Cdc42 regulate the apoptotic cell death required for planarian epidermal regeneration and homeostasis.

Rho GTPases have been shown previously to play important roles in several cellular processes by regulating the organization of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons. However, the mechanisms of Rho GTPases that integrate the cellular responses during regeneration have not been thoroughly elucidated. The planarian flatworm, which contains a large number of adult somatic stem cells (neoblasts), is a unique model to study stem cell lineage development in vivo. Here, we focus on cdc42, which is an extensively characterized member among Rho GTPases. We found that cdc42 is required for the maintenance of epidermal lineage. Cdc42 RNAi induced a sustained increased of cell death and led to a loss of the mature epidermal cells but without affected cell division. Our results indicate that cdc42 function as an inhibitor to block the excessive apoptotic cell death in planarian epidermal regeneration and homeostasis.

Literacy development and influencing factors in primary school students of grade 2 to 5 in Guangzhou / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand literacy development of school-aged children of grade 2-5 and its influencing factors in Guangzhou,and to provide a reference for the reform of the teaching of Chinese subject.@*Methods@#By using cluster sampling method, 1 661 school-age children from grade 2 to grade 5 from 5 primary schools in Guangzhou were selected. The self-designed questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data of the participants. The Primary School Literacy Assessment Scale and the Pupil Rating Scale Revised Screening for Learning Disabilities was used to evaluate the literacy and the cognitive characteristics of participants.@*Results@#The average literacy of children of grade 2 to grade 5 in Guangzhou was as follows: grade 2 was (1 159±295), grade 3 was (1 919±394), grade 4 was (2 599±365), grade 5 was (2 947±303), higher than the norm(P<0.01). The average literacy of grade 2 students was lower than the national curriculum requirements while students of grade 3 to grade 5 met the requirements. Univariate analysis found differences in literacy among school-age children based on gender, reading experience before age 6, and parental education background (P<0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that grade (β=607.04), preschool reading experience (β=109.89), father’s education (β=27.14), language factor (β=27.21), social behavior (β=16.03) was positively correlated with literacy in boys (P<0.05). Grade (β=603.53), auditory comprehension and memory (β=29.39), language factor (β=16.74) was positively correlated with the literacy of girls (P<0.05), while time and orientation judgments were negatively correlated with the literacy of both boys (β=-18.95) and girls (β=-21.93) (P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#The literacy level of school-age children in grade 2 to 5 in Guangzhou has reached the national literacy requirements with students in grade 2 being relatively lower. Literacy is related to grade, preschool reading experience, father’s education, and child’s cognitive characteristics. Factors affecting literacy in boys and girls are different. Literacy education should vary according to gender.

Problems of WeChat public platform in academic libraries of traditional Chinese medicine and measures for their solution / 中华医学图书情报杂志

Descibed in this paper are the problems in WeChat public platform construction in academic libraries of traditional Chinese medicine, including low litilization, ordinary columns, indistinct charaterized service, non-spe-cific recommendation of resources , poor charaterized knowledge interaction , and poor popularization , with measures proposed for their solution hoping that they would play an active role in promoting WeChat public platform construc-tion.

SoloMo concept-based strategies for the service in medical college and university libraries / 中华医学图书情报杂志

With the arrival of SoloMo era and the change of users need, the passive service has changed to active service in libraries in order to increase the use of their resources. After the SoloMo concept was described, the bar-riers in users of medical libraries were investigated with questionnaires, the strategies for SoloMo innovative service and change of traditional service patterns in medical libraries were elaborated in order to provide personal service for the users at anytime and anywhere.