The Relationship between Teacher Quality and Teaching Effectiveness Perceived by Students from Industrial Vocational High Schools

[[abstract]]This research explores the relationship between teacher quality and teaching effectiveness perceived by students from Industrial Vocational High Schools. The conclusions are: (1) The present conditions of teacher quality and teaching effectiveness perceived by students are positive. (2) With different student “Grade,” “Teacher Gender,” “School Type” and “School Category,” teacher quality perceived by students is significantly different. (3) With different student “Gender” and “School Type,” teaching effectiveness is significantly different. (4) Teacher quality and teaching effectiveness are positively related, meaning the prediction power of teaching effectiveness, with teacher quality as the predictor, is significant

Phenolic acids from medicinal and edible homologous plants: a potential anti-inflammatory agent for inflammatory diseases

Inflammation has been shown to trigger a wide range of chronic diseases, particularly inflammatory diseases. As a result, the focus of research has been on anti-inflammatory drugs and foods. In recent years, the field of medicinal and edible homology (MEH) has developed rapidly in both medical and food sciences, with 95% of MEH being associated with plants. Phenolic acids are a crucial group of natural bioactive substances found in medicinal and edible homologous plants (MEHPs). Their anti-inflammatory activity is significant as they play a vital role in treating several inflammatory diseases. These compounds possess enormous potential for developing anti-inflammatory drugs and functional foods. However, their development is far from satisfactory due to their diverse structure and intricate anti-inflammatory mechanisms. In this review, we summarize the various types, structures, and distribution of MEHP phenolic acids that have been identified as of 2023. We also analyze their anti-inflammatory activity and molecular mechanisms in inflammatory diseases through NF-κB, MAPK, NLRP3, Nrf2, TLRs, and IL-17 pathways. Additionally, we investigate their impact on regulating the composition of the gut microbiota and immune responses. This analysis lays the groundwork for further exploration of the anti-inflammatory structure-activity relationship of MEHP phenolic acids, aiming to inspire structural optimization and deepen our understanding of their mechanism, and provides valuable insights for future research and development in this field

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Allobetulon/Allobetulin–Nucleoside Conjugates as AntitumorAgents

Allobetulin is structurally similar tobetulinic acid, inducing the apoptosis of cancer cells with low toxicity. However, both of them exhibited weak antiproliferation against several tumor cell lines. Therefore, the new series of allobetulon/allobetulin–nucleoside conjugates 9a–10i were designed and synthesized for potency improvement. Compounds 9b, 9e, 10a, and 10d showed promising antiproliferative activity toward six tested cell lines, compared to zidovudine, cisplatin, and oxaliplatin based on their antitumor activity results. Among them, compound 10d exhibited much more potent antiproliferative activity against SMMC-7721, HepG2, MNK-45, SW620, and A549 human cancer cell lines than cisplatin and oxaliplatin. In the preliminary study for the mechanism of action, compound 10d induced cell apoptosis and autophagy in SMMC cells, resulting in antiproliferation and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest by regulating protein expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, and LC3. Consequently, the nucleoside-conjugated allobetulin (10d) evidenced that nucleoside substitution was a viable strategy to improve allobetulin/allobetulon’s antitumor activity based on our present study

A Study of the Effectiveness of Collaborative Teaching in the “Introduction to Design” Course

[[abstract]]ABSTRACT This research incorporated a collaborative teaching model into a selected “introduction to design” course in order to explore its influences on students’ learning effectiveness. The research subjects were selected from a polytechnic university in central Taiwan, and included 59 freshmen from the commercial design department and 57 from the spatial design department. After detailed analysis, the following conclusions have been drawn: (1) none of the pre-test results for any of the units in the professional theory have reached a significant level for students from either department. This means their pre-requisite knowledge for the introduction to design course is homogeneous. (2) The incorporation of a collaborative teaching model can improve students’ learning effectiveness. (3) The students from the commercial design department have greater improvement in learning effectiveness than those from the spatial design department. (4) Both the teachers and the students showed a positive attitude towards the incorporation of the collaborative teaching model

Research on Multiple Intelligences Teaching and Assessment

[[abstract]]ABSTRACT This research aimed at fusing the multiple intelligences theories with the teaching of one chosen course: color theory. Two groups of students from a polytechnic university in central Taiwan were chosen as research subjects, and an experiment was designed and performed to explore the effects of multiple intelligences teaching on the experimental group, versus that of traditional teaching on the control group. Students from the experimental group performed significantly better than students in the control group on an actual hands-on design project assignment

Template-Free Synthesis of One-Dimensional SnO2 Nanostructures Using Highly Efficient Hydrothermal Method

One-dimensional (1D) SnO2 nanostructures, as n-type semiconductors with a wide band gap, exhibit unique photoelectric properties that offer potential applications in electronic, photoelectric, gas sensing, and energy generation devices. A detailed study of template-free reaction systems is essential to regulate and efficiently synthesise 1DSnO2 nanostructures. This study employed the hydrothermal method to prepare 1DSnO2 nanostructures, with SnCl4·5H2O as the tin source. The impact of various experimental conditions on SnO2 morphology is analysed. Here, 1DSnO2 nanostructures were characterised by analytical methods such as X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and field emission double-beam electron microscopy. The results confirmed the formation of 1DSnO2 nanostructures with a mixed morphology of nanorods and nanowires. The nanorods exhibited a length of 422.87 ± 110.15 nm, a width of 81.4 ± 16.75 nm, and an aspect ratio of 5:1, whereas the nanowires displayed a length of 200 ± 45.24 nm, a width of 15 ± 5.62 nm, and an aspect ratio of 13:1. With the addition of 50 mg of polyvinylpyrrolidone and seed crystal, the acquisition time of the 1DSnO2 nanostructures decreased from 48 to 12 h. The 1DSnO2 nanostructures were efficiently obtained without a template, laying the foundation for large-scale production and application

Template-Free Synthesis of One-Dimensional SnO₂ Nanostructures Using Highly Efficient Hydrothermal Method

One-dimensional (1D) SnO2 nanostructures, as n-type semiconductors with a wide band gap, exhibit unique photoelectric properties that offer potential applications in electronic, photoelectric, gas sensing, and energy generation devices. A detailed study of template-free reaction systems is essential to regulate and efficiently synthesise 1DSnO2 nanostructures. This study employed the hydrothermal method to prepare 1DSnO2 nanostructures, with SnCl4·5H2O as the tin source. The impact of various experimental conditions on SnO2 morphology is analysed. Here, 1DSnO2 nanostructures were characterised by analytical methods such as X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and field emission double-beam electron microscopy. The results confirmed the formation of 1DSnO2 nanostructures with a mixed morphology of nanorods and nanowires. The nanorods exhibited a length of 422.87 ± 110.15 nm, a width of 81.4 ± 16.75 nm, and an aspect ratio of 5:1, whereas the nanowires displayed a length of 200 ± 45.24 nm, a width of 15 ± 5.62 nm, and an aspect ratio of 13:1. With the addition of 50 mg of polyvinylpyrrolidone and seed crystal, the acquisition time of the 1DSnO2 nanostructures decreased from 48 to 12 h. The 1DSnO2 nanostructures were efficiently obtained without a template, laying the foundation for large-scale production and application

Dihydroartemisinin alleviates lung injury in rat models with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)

Objective To investigate the impacts of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) on airway inflammation and lung injury in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rats by inhibiting interleukin (IL)-6/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 signaling pathway. Methods SD rats were randomly divided into control group, COPD group, low and high dose DHA (L-DHA, H-DHA) groups and neutralized IL-6 group. The inflammatory factors[IL-6, IL-1β, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)] in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured by ELISA; The total number of cells in BALF and the numbers of inflammatory cell types[eosinophils (Eos), neutrophils (Neu), lymphocytes (Lym)] were counted. The pathological changes of lung tissue were microscopied with HE staining and Masson staining; The expression of IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway proteins in lung tissue was measured by Western blot. Results Compared with the control group, the level of IL-6, IL-1β, IL-17, TNF-α, the total number of cells, the numbers of Eos, Neu and Lym cells in the BALF of the COPD group all increased (P＜0.05); The lung tissue was obviously damaged, and the phosphorylation level of IL-6 protein and STAT3 in lung tissue increased (P＜0.05). After the intervention with L-DHA, H-DHA and neutralized IL-6, the above conditions were improved (P＜0.05). Conclusions DHA can reduce airway inflammation and lung tissue damage in COPD rat models, the potential mechanisms may be related to the inhibition of IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway