Characterization of Circular RNA and microRNA Profiles in Septic Myocardial Depression: a Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Rat Septic Shock Model.

Septic shock with heart dysfunction is common in intensive care units. However, the mechanism underlying myocardial depression is still unclear. Whether circular RNA (circRNA) or microRNA (miRNA) profiles differ between patients with and without myocardial depression is unknown. We generated a hypodynamic septic shock model induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in adolescent rats. A total of 12 rats were utilized and heart tissue from each was collected. RNA sequencing was performed on left ventricular tissue. We focused on features of circRNAs and miRNAs, predicting their function by bioinformatic analysis and constructing circRNA-associated and miRNA-associated regulatory networks in heart tissue. We detected 851 circRNAs in heart samples, and 11 showed differential expression. A total of 639 annotated miRNAs and 91 novel miRNAs were explored including 78 showing differential expression between the two groups. We then constructed the most comprehensive circRNA-associated and miRNA-associated networks to explore their regulatory relationship in septic heart tissue, and demonstrated that different networks could potentially participate in and regulate the pathological process of sepsis. Furthermore, gene ontology term enrichment indicated miRNAs, and miRNA-mRNA networks could be associated with regulation and metabolic process, or influence cellular functions. The construction of regulator networks could improve the understanding of the basic molecular mechanisms underlying myocardial depression. It will be important for future investigations to ascertain the biological mechanisms present during the development of sepsis-induced myocardial depression to influence approaches to treatment.

To be funny or not to be funny: Gender differences in student perceptions of instructor humor in college science courses.

For over 50 years instructor humor has been recognized as a way to positively impact student cognitive and affective learning. However, no study has explored humor exclusively in the context of college science courses, which have the reputation of being difficult and boring. The majority of studies that explore humor have assumed that students perceive instructor humor to be funny, yet students likely perceive some instructor humor as unfunny or offensive. Further, evidence suggests that women perceive certain subjects to be more offensive than men, yet we do not know what impact this may have on the experience of women in the classroom. To address these gaps in the literature, we surveyed students across 25 different college science courses about their perceptions of instructor humor in college science classes, which yielded 1637 student responses. Open-coding methods were used to analyze student responses to a question about why students appreciate humor. Multinomial regression was used to identify whether there are gender differences in the extent to which funny, unfunny, and offensive humor influenced student attention to course content, instructor relatability, and student sense of belonging. Logistic regression was used to examine gender differences in what subjects students find funny and offensive when joked about by college science instructors. Nearly 99% of students reported that they appreciate instructor humor and reported that it positively changes the classroom atmosphere, improves student experiences during class, and enhances the student-instructor relationship. We found that funny humor tends to increase student attention to course content, instructor relatability, and student sense of belonging. Conversely, offensive humor tends to decrease instructor relatability and student sense of belonging. Lastly, we identified subjects that males were more likely to find funny and females were more likely to find offensive if a college science instructor were to joke about them.