Emotions, Illness Symptoms, and Job Satisfaction among Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion

Kindergarten teachers’ emotions are an essential factor in their physical and psychological wellbeing. Previous studies mainly focused on the relationship between kindergarten teachers’ emotions and their students’ emotions while ignoring the important relationships between kindergarten teachers’ emotions and their own wellbeing (e.g., teachers’ health, job satisfaction, burnout). Therefore, this study explores teacher emotions as predictor variables, illness symptoms, and job satisfaction as criterion variables, and emotional exhaustion as a mediator. In total, 1997 kindergarten teachers completed the Teacher’s Emotion Scale, the Occupational Emotional Exhaustion Scale, the Illness Symptoms Scale, and the Job Satisfaction Scale. Results revealed that enjoyment negatively predicted illness symptoms and positively predicted job satisfaction via the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. The opposite relationships were found with anger, also confirming the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. Anxiety positively predicted illness symptoms, completely mediated by emotional exhaustion, but no relationship was found with job satisfaction. The function of emotions in teachers’ physical and mental health, implications for kindergartens’ research and practice, and suggestions for future research are discussed

L166P mutant DJ-1 promotes cell death by dissociating Bax from mitochondrial Bcl-X_L

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mutations or deletions in DJ-1/PARK7 gene are causative for recessive forms of early onset Parkinson’s disease (PD). Wild-type DJ-1 has cytoprotective roles against cell death through multiple pathways. The most commonly studied mutant DJ-1(L166P) shifts its subcellular distribution to mitochondria and renders cells more susceptible to cell death under stress stimuli. We previously reported that wild-type DJ-1 binds to Bcl-X_L and stabilizes it against ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation-induced rapid degradation. However, the mechanisms by which mitochondrial DJ-1(L166P) promotes cell death under death stimuli are largely unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that DJ-1(L166P) is more prone to localize in mitochondria and it binds to Bcl-X_L more strongly than wild-type DJ-1. In addition, UVB irradiation significantly promotes DJ-1(L166P) translocation to mitochondria and binding to Bcl-X_L. DJ-1(L166P) but not wild-type DJ-1 dissociates Bax from Bcl-X_L, thereby leading to Bax enrichment at outer mitochondrial membrane and promoting mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in response to UVB irradiation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that wild-type DJ-1 protects cells and DJ-1(L166P) impairs cells by differentially regulating mitochondrial Bax/Bcl-X_L functions.</p

Temporal Spatial Mutations of Soil Erosion in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Lancang River Basin and Its Influencing Mechanisms

As a major threat to ecosystem functions and national food security, soil erosion also exerts an influence on the water quality in basins and the operation and maintenance of hydropower plants. Existing discussions about trends of soil erosion focus mainly on its variation and mutation over time. Few studies have addressed the spatial mutation of soil erosion and its influence mechanism. In this research, Sen&rsquo;s slope estimation was coupled with a Mann&ndash;Kendall model to explore the spatiotemporal distribution, spatial mutation characteristics and influence mechanisms of soil erosion, and conduct a case study on the Middle and Lower reaches of the Lancang River Basin (ML-LRB) in China. There are three main conclusions from this study: (1) During 2000&ndash;2019, the annual soil erosion in the ML-LRB variation ranged from 0 to 7.00 &times; 103 t/(km2&middot;a) with a multi-year mean of 1.53 &times; 103 t/(km2&middot;a), decreasing year by year from north to south, while an increasing trend began to appear in the central above region after 2015. (2) The areas with decreased soil erosion were much larger than those with increased soil erosion during 2000&ndash;2019, and there was a concentrated increase in soil erosion in Dali and in Xishuangbanna. (3) The mutation of the soil erosion intensity was spatially consistent with that of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Overall, this paper provides a new perspective for the study of factors affecting the trends and spatial mutation of soil erosion

Phosphorus Fractions in the Sediments of Yuecheng Reservoir, China

As a result of the inexorable development of the economy and the ever-increasing population, the demand for water in the urban and rural sectors has increased, and this in turn has caused the water quality and eutrophication of the reservoir to become a legitimate concern in the water environment management of river basins. Phosphorus (P) is one of the limiting nutrients in aquatic ecosystems; P in the sediment is a primary factor for eutrophication. Yuecheng Reservoir is located in one of the most productive and intensively cultivated agricultural regions in North China. Detailed knowledge of the sediment is lacking at this regional reservoir. The first study to look into the different P fractions and its diffusion fluxes at the water sediment interface of the Yuecheng Reservoir makes it possible to learn about the internal P loading. According to the results, the concentrations of total phosphorus (TP) ranged from 1576.3 to 2172.6 mg kg and the P fraction concentration sequence is as follows: P associated with calcium (Ca–Pi) &gt; organic P (Po) &gt; P bound to aluminum (Al), ferrum (Fe) and manganese (Mn) oxides and hydroxides (Fe/Al–Pi). The results demonstrated that, although the construction of a large number of water conservancy projects in the upper reaches of the river resulted in the decrease of inflow runoff, the pollutions from terrestrial plants or materials played a key role in the sediment phosphorus fraction, and they should be emphasized on the water environment management of river basin

Complete mitochondrial genome of the hybrid loach of Paramisgurnus dabryanus ssp. (female) and Misgurnus bipartitus (male)

The hybrid loach of Paramisgurnus dabryanus ssp. (female) and Macropharyngodon bipartitus (male) have the desirable trait of growth performance. There is no report of the complete genome of this hybrid. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of this hybrid loach was obtained, and the genome is 16,569 bp in length, including 2 ribosomal RNA genes. 13 proteins-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and a non-coding control region, the gene composition and order of which was similar to most reported from other vertebrates. Sequence analysis showed that the overall base composition is 29.4% for A, 27.5% for T, 26.4% for C, and 16.7% for G. The sequence is a slight A + T bias of 56.9%. The phylogenetic tree showed the hybrid loach to be one of the Paramisgurnus. Also, the mitochondrial genome sequence of loach were aligned by BLAST, when compared with Cobitinae the sequence similarity could reach >90%, and the similarity to Paramisgurnus was >99%. Mitogenome information from this study could be a useful basis for conservation and phylogenetics of this hybrid loach

Enhance Color Rendering Index via Full Spectrum Employing the Important Key of Cyan Phosphor

A new concept called “full-spectrum lighting” has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Traditional devices are usually combined with ultraviolet–light-emitting diode (LED), red, green, and blue phosphors. However, a cyan cavity exists in the 480–520 nm region. Hence, cyan phosphors are needed to compensate for the cavity. (Sr,Ba)₅(PO₄)₃Cl:Eu²⁺ phosphors feature an extremely unique and tunable photoluminescence spectrum. Nevertheless, the tuning mechanisms of these phosphors remain unclear. In this study, we elucidate the mechanism of the cation size-controlled activator uneven-occupation and reoxidation in (Sr,Ba)₅(PO₄)₃Cl:Eu²⁺ phosphors. This mechanism could help tune the optical properties of related apatite families and structures with multiple cation sites and strongly uneven occupation of activators and cations. Finally, the package of the LED device is constructed to show that both color rendering index Ra and R9 are higher than 95. Thus, the device could be a potential candidate for full-spectrum lighting

Screening for Potential Adjuvants Administered by the Pulmonary Route for Tuberculosis Vaccines

Tuberculosis (TB) infects one third of the world’s population, and new infections occur at a rate of 1/s. Better vaccines are needed than the live mycobacterium Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Alveolar macrophages (AMΦs) play a central role in pulmonary manifestations of TB. Targeting immunomodulators to AMΦs, the first line of defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), may initiate a potent cell-mediated immune response. Muramyl dipeptide (MDP) and trehalose dibehenate (TDB) have elicited strong immune response when delivered to the lungs as aerosols. AMΦs show toxicity in response to some immunomodulators. The objective of this work was to screen the immunomodulators MDP and/or TDB encapsulated in microparticles (MPs) and to evaluate certain indicators of toxicity in human AMΦ-like cells. Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) MPs containing MDP and/or TDB were prepared by spray-drying. The morphology, particle size distribution, and immunomodulator encapsulation efficiency of MPs were examined. THP-1 cells were exposed to these MPs for 24 h and characteristics of cell morphology, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) release, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in AMΦ culture supernatants were measured. MTT assay was used to assess the viability of cells. Spray-drying produced low-density MPs having volume median diameters between 4 and 6 μm as measured by laser diffraction and projected area diameter between 3 and 5 μm calculated by microscopy. More TNF-α was produced by THP-1 cells exposed to MPs composed of PLGA-MDP or PLGA alone than PLGA-TDB. LDH release following exposure to MPs of PLGA-MDP and PLGA alone was greater than controls. NAG release was higher following exposure to MPs of PLGA alone or PLGA-MDP 0.1% than PLGA-TDB (0.1% and 1.0%). Cells remained viable after exposure to MPs as per MTT assay. PLGA-MDP MPs demonstrated statistically elevated indicators of biochemical responses in cell culture compared to PLGA-TDB MPs, but the extent of their potential to elicit adverse effects in vivo must be studied independently