A NEW CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENHANCING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AMONG HIGHER VOCATIONAL STUDENTS BASE ON GROUP WORK INTERVENTIONS

This paper aims to describe a new conceptual framework for enhancing employability skills based on group work interventions. The research design used is an experiential learning design and was conducted through explanatory research, which combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Higher vocational students were used as research subjects, and group dynamics theory was used as the theoretical basis. Data were collected using questionnaire surveys, interviews, group work methods, and experimental research. A new conceptual framework for enhancing employability skills was developed by selecting 40 fresh graduates from Jiangmen Polytechnic to participate in a 2-month employability skills promotion group work activity. The new conceptual framework clarifies the variables and characteristics that affect the improvement of employment skills and reveals the relationships between the variables. The findings present a new conceptual framework for improving the employability skills of higher vocational students based on group work interventions and describe the variables and characteristics within this framework. This research significantly contributes to the field, equipping educators and organizers with the knowledge to create tailored programs for enhancing employability skills among higher vocational students.Ultimately, these efforts aim to empower students with the necessary competencies to thrive in the dynamic job market and embark on successful career paths. Keywords: conceptual framework; employability skills; group work interventio

IMPORTANCE OF IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL EDUCATION ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL CRISIS COPING ABILITY

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for leveraging ideological and political education to enhance the mental crisis coping ability of university students. The primary objective is to integrate ideological and political education in universities to improve student abilities to cope with psychological crises and innovate intervention methods. The study utilized induction and data analysis techniques to define psychological crises and interventions for university students while examining the role of ideological and political education in psychological crisis intervention. Through reflection on the current state of ideological and political education interventions, this paper proposes constructive and feasible pathways and countermeasures for implementation. The results indicate that ideological and political education positively intervenes in psychological crises faced by university students. Therefore, this paper recommends supporting the application of ideological and political education as an essential pillar of mental health education to provide new perspectives and approaches for intervening in psychological crises among university students. Finally, it is essential to value its theoretical foundations and support its integration into mental health intervention strategies in universities. This research contributes to the development of a novel approach to managing psychological crises among university students, which can ultimately promote their well-being and success. Keywords: ideological education; political education; psychological crisis; coping abilit

Inflammation subtypes in psychosis and their relationships with genetic risk for psychiatric and cardiometabolic disorders

Cardiometabolic disorders have known inflammatory implications, and peripheral measures of inflammation and cardiometabolic disorders are common in persons with psychotic disorders. Inflammatory signatures are also related to neurobiological and behavioral changes in psychosis. Relationships between systemic inflammation and cardiometabolic genetic risk in persons with psychosis have not been examined. Thirteen peripheral inflammatory markers and genome-wide genotyping were assessed in 122 participants (n = 86 psychosis, n = 36 healthy controls) of European ancestry. Cluster analyses of inflammatory markers classified higher and lower inflammation subgroups. Single-trait genetic risk scores (GRS) were constructed for each participant using previously reported GWAS summary statistics for the following traits: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, coronary artery disease, type-2 diabetes, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and waist-to-hip ratio. Genetic correlations across traits were quantified. Principal component (PC) analysis of the cardiometabolic GRSs generated six PC loadings used in regression models to examine associations with inflammation markers. Functional module discovery explored biological mechanisms of the inflammation association of cardiometabolic GRS genes. A subgroup of 38% persons with psychotic disorders was characterized with higher inflammation status. These higher inflammation individuals had lower BACS scores (p = 0.038) compared to those with lower inflammation. The first PC of the cardiometabolic GRS matrix was related to higher inflammation status in persons with psychotic disorders (OR = 2.037, p = 0.001). Two of eight modules within the functional interaction network of cardiometabolic GRS genes were enriched for immune processes. Cardiometabolic genetic risk may predispose some individuals with psychosis to elevated inflammation which adversely impacts cognition associated with illness

Impact of polygenic risk for coronary artery disease and cardiovascular medication burden on cognitive impairment in psychotic disorders

Background: Cognitive impairment is a core deficit across psychotic disorders, the causes and therapeutics of which remain unclear. Epidemiological observations have suggested associations between cognitive dysfunction in psychotic disorders and cardiovascular risk factors, but an underlying etiology has not been established. Methods: Neuropsychological performance using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) was assessed in 616 individuals of European ancestry (403 psychosis, 213 controls). Polygenic risk scores for coronary artery disease (PRSCAD) were quantified for each participant across 13 p-value thresholds (PT 0.5-5e-8). Cardiovascular and psychotropic medications were categorized for association analyses. Each PRSCAD was examined in relation to the BACS and the optimized PT was confirmed with five-fold cross-validation and independent validation. Functional enrichment analyses were used to identify biological mechanisms linked to PRSCAD-cognition associations. Multiple regression analyses examined PRSCAD under the optimal PT and medication burden in relation to the BACS composite and subtest scores. Results: Higher PRSCAD was associated with lower BACS composite scores (p = 0.001) in the psychosis group, primarily driven by the Verbal Memory subtest (p \u3c 0.001). Genes linked to multiple nervous system related processes and pathways were significantly enriched in PRSCAD. After controlling for PRSCAD, a greater number of cardiovascular medications was also correlated with worse BACS performance in patients with psychotic disorders (p = 0.029). Conclusions: Higher PRSCAD and taking more cardiovascular medications were both significantly associated with cognitive impairment in psychosis. These findings indicate that cardiovascular factors may increase the risk for cognitive dysfunction and related functional outcomes among individuals with psychotic disorders

Solvent-vapour-assisted pathways and the role of pre-organization in solid-state transformations of coordination polymers

A family of one-dimensional coordination polymers, [Ag4(O2C(CF2)2CF3)4(phenazine)2(arene)n]·m(arene), 1 (arene = toluene or xylene), have been synthesized and crystallographically characterized. Arene guest loss invokes structural transformations to yield a pair of polymorphic coordination polymers [Ag4(O2C(CF2)2CF3)4(phenazine)2], 2a and/or 2b, with one- and two-dimensional architectures, respectively. The role of pre-organization of the polymer chains of 1 in the selectivity for formation of either polymorph is explored, and the templating effect of toluene and p-xylene over o-xylene or m-xylene in the formation of arene-containing architecture 1 is also demonstrated. The formation of arene-free phase 2b, not accessible in a phase-pure form through other means, is shown to be the sole product of loss of toluene from 1-tol·tol [Ag4(O2C(CF2)2CF3)4(phenazine)2(toluene)]·2(toluene), a phase containing toluene coordinated to Ag(I) in an unusual μ:η1,η1 manner. Solvent-vapour-assisted conversion between the polymorphic coordination polymers and solvent-vapour influence on the conversion of coordination polymers 1 to 2a and 2b is also explored. The transformations have been examined and confirmed by X-ray diffraction, NMR spectroscopy and thermal analyses, including in situ diffraction studies of some transformations

Coordination Polymer Flexibility Leads to Polymorphism and Enables a Crystalline Solid-Vapour Reaction: A Multi-technique Mechanistic Study.

Despite an absence of conventional porosity, the 1D coordination polymer [Ag4 (O2 C(CF2 )2 CF3 )4 (TMP)3 ] (1; TMP=tetramethylpyrazine) can absorb small alcohols from the vapour phase, which insert into AgO bonds to yield coordination polymers [Ag4 (O2 C(CF2 )2 CF3 )4 (TMP)3 (ROH)2 ] (1-ROH; R=Me, Et, iPr). The reactions are reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations. Vapour-solid equilibria have been examined by gas-phase IR spectroscopy (K=5.68(9)×10(-5) (MeOH), 9.5(3)×10(-6) (EtOH), 6.14(5)×10(-5) (iPrOH) at 295 K, 1 bar). Thermal analyses (TGA, DSC) have enabled quantitative comparison of two-step reactions 1-ROH→1→2, in which 2 is the 2D coordination polymer [Ag4 (O2 C(CF2 )2 CF3 )4 (TMP)2 ] formed by loss of TMP ligands exclusively from singly-bridging sites. Four polymorphic forms of 1 (1-A(LT) , 1-A(HT) , 1-B(LT) and 1-B(HT) ; HT=high temperature, LT=low temperature) have been identified crystallographically. In situ powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) studies of the 1-ROH→1→2 transformations indicate the role of the HT polymorphs in these reactions. The structural relationship between polymorphs, involving changes in conformation of perfluoroalkyl chains and a change in orientation of entire polymers (A versus B forms), suggests a mechanism for the observed reactions and a pathway for guest transport within the fluorous layers. Consistent with this pathway, optical microscopy and AFM studies on single crystals of 1-MeOH/1-A(HT) show that cracks parallel to the layers of interdigitated perfluoroalkyl chains develop during the MeOH release/uptake process

The Influence of External Knowledge Searches on Enterprises’ Innovation Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Innovation is one aspect of the pursuit of the harmonious development of the environment, economy, and society. Although prior research has examined the factors that influence corporate innovation, how external knowledge search affects it remains unclear. We contribute to this literature by examining how knowledge searches influence firms’ innovation performance from a knowledge-based point of view and organizational search theory. We utilized meta-analysis to conduct empirical testing on 15,059 samples from 58 independent studies. The conclusions are as follows: first, the overall test showed a significant positive correlation between external knowledge search and firm innovation performance; second, the group test shows that the positive impact of external knowledge search on the innovation performance of mature enterprises is more obvious; scaled measurement and collectivism have more significant influences on the relationship between external knowledge search and firm innovation performance. Further research concluded that a breadth search could provide higher innovation performance than a depth search. Meanwhile, the same results were obtained in the subgroup tests of start-ups, non-high-tech enterprises, high-tech enterprises, scale measurement, and collectivism. Finally, both balanced knowledge search and joint knowledge searches significantly improved the innovation performance of enterprises, and the innovation effect brought by balanced knowledge search is more prominent than the latter

Signal Factors Secreted by 2D and Spheroid Mesenchymal Stem Cells and by Cocultures of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived Microvesicles and Retinal Photoreceptor Neurons

We aim to identify levels of signal factors secreted by MSCs cultured in 2D monolayers (2D-MSCs), spheroids (spheroids MSCs), and cocultures of microvesicles (MVs) derived from 2D-MSCs or spheroid MSCs and retinal photoreceptor neurons. We seeded 2D-MSCs, spheroid MSCs, and cells derived from spheroids MSCs at equal numbers. MVs isolated from all 3 culture conditions were incubated with 661W cells. Levels of 51 signal factors in conditioned medium from those cultured conditions were quantified with bead-based assay. We found that IL-8, IL-6, and GROα were the top three most abundant signal factors. Moreover, compared to 2D-MSCs, levels of 11 cytokines and IL-2Rα were significantly increased in conditioned medium from spheroid MSCs. Finally, to test if enhanced expression of these factors reflects altered immunomodulating activities, we assessed the effect of 2D-MSC-MVs and 3D-MSC-MVs on CD14+ cell chemoattraction. Compared to 2D-MSC-MVs, 3D-MSC-MVs significantly decreased the chemotactic index of CD14+ cells. Our results suggest that spheroid culture conditions improve the ability of MSCs to selectively secrete signal factors. Moreover, 3D-MSC-MVs also possessed an enhanced capability to promote signal factors secretion compared to 2D-MSC-MVs and may possess enhanced immunomodulating activities and might be a better regenerative therapy for retinal degenerative diseases

Signal Factors Secreted by 2D and Spheroid Mesenchymal Stem Cells and by Cocultures of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived Microvesicles and Retinal Photoreceptor Neurons.

We aim to identify levels of signal factors secreted by MSCs cultured in 2D monolayers (2D-MSCs), spheroids (spheroids MSCs), and cocultures of microvesicles (MVs) derived from 2D-MSCs or spheroid MSCs and retinal photoreceptor neurons. We seeded 2D-MSCs, spheroid MSCs, and cells derived from spheroids MSCs at equal numbers. MVs isolated from all 3 culture conditions were incubated with 661W cells. Levels of 51 signal factors in conditioned medium from those cultured conditions were quantified with bead-based assay. We found that IL-8, IL-6, and GROα were the top three most abundant signal factors. Moreover, compared to 2D-MSCs, levels of 11 cytokines and IL-2Rα were significantly increased in conditioned medium from spheroid MSCs. Finally, to test if enhanced expression of these factors reflects altered immunomodulating activities, we assessed the effect of 2D-MSC-MVs and 3D-MSC-MVs on CD14+ cell chemoattraction. Compared to 2D-MSC-MVs, 3D-MSC-MVs significantly decreased the chemotactic index of CD14+ cells. Our results suggest that spheroid culture conditions improve the ability of MSCs to selectively secrete signal factors. Moreover, 3D-MSC-MVs also possessed an enhanced capability to promote signal factors secretion compared to 2D-MSC-MVs and may possess enhanced immunomodulating activities and might be a better regenerative therapy for retinal degenerative diseases