Factors Related to Health Status among Nurses in Taiwan

Nurses play an important role in healthcare institutions. Improving the nurses’ health status and increasing nurses’ enthusiasm in clinical nursing can improve the quality of healthcare. The purposes of this study include: (1) to understand the basic characteristics of the participants, and health status; (2) to analyze the differences in health status between different demographic of the participants.The study adopted stratified and cluster sampling, and used a cross-sectional descriptive design. A total of 256 registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses were recruited for the study who have been working in the position for at least one year in a medical center in northern Taiwan. Research tools included basic properties, and the Chinese Health Questionnaire. Data were analyzed with SPSS for Windows 187.0 (Chinese) software for descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way ANOVA.To summarize, we found the following: (1) Participants’ average age was 29.8 years, and most participants were single, childless women with bachelor’s degrees or above, not living with their in-laws, N1 ranked, working on shift, and not participating in health courses. (3) Participants’ health status were found significant differences among gender, education degree, and whether or not they had children.  The findings of this study provide a reference for management decision making

A simple and effective method for RNA isolation and cDNA library construction from the brown seaweed Sargassum polycystum (Fucales, Phaeophyceae)

The isolation of high-quality RNA from brown seaweeds has always been problematic due to a high content of polyphenolic compounds and polysaccharides in their tissues. This study presents a simple and effective method for isolating high-quality RNA from the brown seaweeds Sargassum (Sargassum polycystum, Sargassum siliquosum, Sargassum baccularia, and Sargassum binderi), Padina tetrastromatica, Turbinaria conoides, Dictyota sp., and Hormophysa cuneiformis using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and selective lithium chloride precipitation. Approximately 25–43 μg g−1 fresh weight of total RNA was obtained from these brown algae. The A 260/A 280 absorbance ratio of these RNA samples are between 1.995 ± 0.027 and 2.122 ± 0.013, with distinct 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA bands visible on a formaldehyde agarose gel. The RNA obtained from S. polycystum was found to be suitable for many downstream applications such as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, cloning, synthesis of cDNA, and construction of cDNA library for the generation of expressed sequence tags

Early Mathematics learning in reading and writing numerals: Learning through "What are the numbers?" A picture book made up flora and fauna in Borneo.

Learning through picture books is a method which is widely used in preschools to teach mathematics. However, the research findings on the benefits of using picture books in learning mathematics remain inconclusive. This study aimed to i) investigate the effects of a picture book entitled “What are the numbers?” (a picture book made up flora and fauna in Borneo) on early mathematics achievement (reading and writing numerals up to 20) and ii) to get feedback on how appropriate the use of “what are the numbers” from teachers and parents. The book consists elements of critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creative thinking. The effects were measured by comparing the change in early mathematical ability of children in reading and writing numerals up to 20 by using the Rasch measurement model. The mean of the pre-test achievement was -1.99 logits and the mean of the post-test achievement was 1.75 logits which shows a difference of 3.74 logits. The effect size of the difference between the post-test and pre-test achievement was 1.4, which is considered large. Teachers and parents gave positive feedback on the use of the picture book. They commented that the picture book is able to attract children’s attention, enhance their thinking skills and nurture creativity among children. In conclusion, the picture book based on the 4C approach enhanced early mathematics achievement of children

Telomerase prevents accelerated senescence in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)-deficient human fibroblasts

Fibroblasts derived from glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)-deficient patients display retarded growth and accelerated cellular senescence that is attributable to increased accumulation of oxidative DNA damage and increased sensitivity to oxidant-induced senescence, but not to accelerated telomere attrition. Here, we show that ectopic expression of hTERT stimulates telomerase activity and prevents accelerated senescence in G6PD-deficient cells. Stable clones derived from hTERT-expressing normal and G6PD-deficient fibroblasts have normal karyotypes, and display no sign of senescence beyond 145 and 105 passages, respectively. Activation of telomerase, however, does not prevent telomere attrition in earlier-passage cells, but does stabilize telomere lengths at later passages. In addition, we provide evidence that ectopic expression of hTERT attenuates the increased sensitivity of G6PD-deficient fibroblasts to oxidant-induced senescence. These results suggest that ectopic expression of hTERT, in addition to acting in telomere length maintenance by activating telomerase, also functions in regulating senescence induction

Selection of reference genes for transcript profiling of Sargassum polycystum by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction

Sargassum species are one of the major alginate-producing seaweed species in Asian countries. Alginate is widely used in food, feed, pharmaceutical and medical industries as thickening and stabilizing agents. To establish a set of consistently expressed genes as reference genes for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) studies of Sargassum polycystum (Fucales, Ochrophyta) in samples collected at two distinct time points from the field, four candidate reference genes, namely ribosomal protein L3 (RPL3), ribosomal protein S15 (RPS15), alphatubulin (α-TUB) and eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF1α), were analyzed using geNorm and NormFinder. The results showed that RPL3, α-TUB and TEF1α were the most stable genes using both programs, whereas RPS15 gene was shown to be the least stable. Identification of stably expressed reference genes is crucial for qRT-PCR studies to allow accurate quantification of target gene expression levels. In addition, the expression of key enzyme in the final step of alginate biosynthesis pathway mannuronan C5 epimerase-SP01411 (MC5E-SP01411) and mannuronan C5 epimerase-SP02271 (MC5E-SP02271) were differentially expressed in the seaweeds collected at two distinct time points from the field. To our knowledge, this is the first report on validation of reference genes for any Sargassum species. Our data provide a basis for the selection of reference genes for future biological research in related studies

Cellular glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) status modulates the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on human foreskin fibroblasts

AbstractGlucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) plays an important role in cellular redox homeostasis, which is crucial for cell survival. In the present study, we found that G6PD status determines the response of cells exposed to nitric oxide (NO) donor. Treatment with NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), caused apoptosis in G6PD-deficient human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF1), whereas it was growth stimulatory in the normal counterpart (HFF3). Such effects were abolished by NO scavengers like hemoglobin. Ectopic expression of G6PD in HFF1 cells switched the cellular response to NO from apoptosis to growth stimulation. Experiments with 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one and 8-bromo-cGMP showed that the effects of NO on HFF1 and HFF3 cells were independent of cGMP signalling pathway. Intriguingly, trolox prevented the SNP-induced apoptosis in HFF1 cells. These data demonstrate that G6PD plays a critical role in regulation of cell growth and survival

Microbial and clinical factors are related to recurrence of symptoms after childhood lower respiratory tract infection

Childhood lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) are associated with dysbiosis of the nasopharyngeal microbiota, and persistent dysbiosis following the LRTI may in turn be related to recurrent or chronic respiratory problems. Therefore, we aimed to investigate microbial and clinical predictors of early recurrence of respiratory symptoms as well as recovery of the microbial community following hospital admission for LRTI in children. To this end, we collected clinical data and characterised the nasopharyngeal microbiota of 154 children (4 weeks–5 years old) hospitalised for a LRTI (bronchiolitis, pneumonia, wheezing illness or mixed infection) at admission and 4–8 weeks later. Data were compared to 307 age-, sex- and time-matched healthy controls. During follow-up, 66% of cases experienced recurrence of (mild) respiratory symptoms. In cases with recurrence of symptoms during follow-up, we found distinct nasopharyngeal microbiota at hospital admission, with higher levels of Haemophilus influenzae/haemolyticus, Prevotella oris and other gram-negatives and lower levels of Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum/propinquum and Dolosigranulum pigrum compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, in cases with recurrence of respiratory symptoms, recovery of the microbiota was also diminished. Especially in cases with wheezing illness, we observed a high rate of recurrence of respiratory symptoms, as well as diminished microbiota recovery at follow-up. Together, our results suggest a link between the nasopharyngeal microbiota composition during LRTI and early recurrence of respiratory symptoms, as well as diminished microbiota recovery after 4–8 weeks. Future studies should investigate whether (speed of) ecological recovery following childhood LRTI is associated with long-term respiratory problems