The nature of reciprocity in international service-learning : a case study

This thesis reports an investigation into the nature of reciprocity in international service-learning with a specific focus on the service and learning experiences of the service-providers and community partners. The purpose of this research is to collect and analyse evidence about the nature of reciprocity in international service-learning. The research is a critical interpretative research which applies a case study method as its research strategy, and follows a flexible design. Data evidence from semi-structured interviews are interpreted through thematic analysis, and documents are interpreted by using critical discourse analysis. Through investigating the implementation of the ‘Student-Volunteer-based Chinese Language and Culture Education’ (SVCLCE) Program from 2012 to 2014, it was discovered that partners were driven by exchange-oriented reciprocity, and they each enacted generativity and influence-oriented reciprocity to facilitate their interchange of benefits. Their satisfaction with the collaboration was fundamentally determined by the achievement of benefits, which was influenced by personal factors and the power dynamics in the broader context. Thus, it was found that relationship-oriented reciprocity should be enacted between the partners to bring them together for progressive collaboration, despite their differences, while not glossing over the root issues regarding inequality and hegemony in the broader context of the collaboration. Furthermore, it is acknowledged that establishing a relationship is time consuming, and that a strategy of supervision and validation of partners should be involved as a complement for the development of the collaboration

Causal associations of sleep traits with cancer incidence and mortality

To explore the correlation and causality between multidimensional sleep traits and pan-cancer incidence and mortality among patients with cancer. The multivariable Cox regression, linear and nonlinear Mendelian randomization (MR), and survival curve analyses were conducted to assess the impacts of chronotype, sleep duration, and insomnia symptoms on pan-cancer risk (N = 326,417 from United Kingdom Biobank) and mortality (N = 23,956 from United Kingdom Biobank). In the Cox regression, we observed a linear and J-shaped association of sleep duration with pan-cancer incidence and mortality among cancer patients respectively. In addition, there was a positive association of insomnia with pan-cancer incidence (HR, 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00–1.06, p = 0.035), all-cause mortality (HR, 1.17, 95% CI: 1.06–1.30, p = 0.002) and cancer mortality among cancer patients (HR, 1.25, 95% CI: 1.11–1.41, p < 0.001). In the linear MR, there was supporting evidence of positive associations between long sleep duration and pan-cancer incidence (OR, 1.41, 95% CI: 1.08–1.84, p = 0.012), and there was a positive association between long sleep duration and all-cause mortality in cancer patients (OR, 5.56, 95% CI: 3.15–9.82, p = 3.42E-09). Meanwhile, a strong association between insomnia and all-cause mortality in cancer patients (OR, 1.41, 95% CI: 1.27–1.56, p = 4.96E-11) was observed in the linear MR. These results suggest that long sleep duration and insomnia play important roles in pan-cancer risk and mortality among cancer patients. In addition to short sleep duration and insomnia, our findings highlight the effect of long sleep duration in cancer prevention and prognosis

Revisiting Relationships among Specific Surface Area, Soil Consistency Limits, and Group Index of Clays

International audienceInvestigations correlating specific surface area (SSA) with other soil parameters like consistency limits are helpful in understanding the internal meaning of soil properties. In this study, a large database (267 groups of test results) from the literature is established, and the performed statistical analyses show that the traditional relationship with limited data may be invalid when large data are involved. Hereafter, there is a relatively good relationship between the soil consistency limits and SSA when the threshold SSA value (about 80 m2/g) is identified, which suggests that the soils totally behave as pellets and platelets in the geometry, respectively, before and after this value. Despite the fact that this threshold SSA should complicatedly depend on the crystalline formation, clay mineral, and clay fraction in the particle size distribution, this threshold is relatively reliable in view of these large data statistics. Additionally, the group index by ASTM and the methylene blue value by Laboratoire Centrale des Ponts et Chaussées in France can be mutually converted to characterize subgrade soils to account for the established relationship between consistency limits and SSA

Detection and Localization of Overlapped Fruits Application in an Apple Harvesting Robot

For yield measurement of an apple orchard or the mechanical harvesting of apples, there needs to be accurate identification of the target apple fruit. However, in a natural scene, affected by the apple’s growth posture and camera position, there are many kinds of apple images, such as overlapped apples; mutual shadows or leaves; stems; etc. It is a challenge to accurately locate overlapped apples. They will influence the positioning time and recognition efficiency and then affect the harvesting efficiency of apple-harvesting robots or the accuracy of orchard yield measurement. In response to this problem, an overlapped circle positioning method based on local maxima is proposed. First, the apple image is transformed into the Lab color space and segmented by the K-means algorithm. Second, some morphological processes, like erosion and dilation, are implemented to abstract the outline of the apples. Then image points are divided into central points; edge points; or outer points. Third, a fast algorithm is used to calculate every internal point’s minimum distance from the edge. Then, the centers of the apples are obtained by finding the maxima among these distances. Last, the radii are acquired by figuring out the minimum distance between the center and the edge. Thus, positioning is achieved. Experimental results showed that this method can locate overlapped apples accurately and quickly when the apple contour was complete; and this has certain practicability

Identification of Phosphorus Stress Related Proteins in the Seedlings of Dongxiang Wild Rice (Oryza Rufipogon Griff.) Using Label-Free Quantitative Proteomic Analysis

Phosphorus (P) deficiency tolerance in rice is a complex character controlled by polygenes. Through proteomics analysis, we could find more low P tolerance related proteins in unique P-deficiency tolerance germplasm Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza Rufipogon, DXWR), which will provide the basis for the research of its regulation mechanism. In this study, a proteomic approach as well as joint analysis with transcriptome data were conducted to identify potential unique low P response genes in DXWR during seedlings. The results showed that 3589 significant differential accumulation proteins were identified between the low P and the normal P treated root samples of DXWR. The degree of change was more than 1.5 times, including 60 up-regulated and 15 downregulated proteins, 24 of which also detected expression changes of more than 1.5-fold in the transcriptome data. Through quantitative trait locus (QTLs) matching analysis, seven genes corresponding to the significantly different expression proteins identified in this study were found to be uncharacterized and distributed in the QTLs interval related to low P tolerance, two of which (LOC_Os12g09620 and LOC_Os03g40670) were detected at both transcriptome and proteome levels. Based on the comprehensive analysis, it was found that DXWR could increase the expression of purple acid phosphatases (PAPs), membrane location of P transporters (PTs), rhizosphere area, and alternative splicing, and it could decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity to deal with low P stress. This study would provide some useful insights in cloning the P-deficiency tolerance genes from wild rice, as well as elucidating the molecular mechanism of low P resistance in DXWR

Isolation and Identification of a Carbon-Fixing Bacteria Strain and Its Efficiency for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal from Viaduct Rainwater

In order to explore bacteria resources that are applicable for purification of viaduct rainwater, a carbon-fixing bacteria strain numbered 1C-1 was isolated from the sediment of a viaduct rainwater tank. The strain was identified through morphological characteristics and 16S rDNA sequences. The effects of three main factors (the simulated viaduct rainwater concentration, the carbon source dosage, and the inoculation amount) on the nitrogen and phosphorus removal rate of the strain were tested using simulated viaduct rainwater. Based on this, the nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies for the actual viaduct rainwater were verified. The results showed that the strain belonged to Streptomyces sp. Under different simulated viaduct rainwater concentrations, the strain exhibited relatively high efficiency for nitrogen and phosphorus removal at the original concentration of simulated viaduct rainwater; other conditions remaining unchanged, the purification efficiency was relatively high when the glucose dosage was 800 mg, and the removal rates of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) were 71.48%, 47.86%, and 10.43%, respectively; other conditions remaining unchanged, the purification efficiency was relatively high when the inoculation amount was 1%, and the removal rates of NH4+-N, TN, and TP reached 58.62%, 58.35%, and 27.32%, respectively. Under the above optimal process conditions of an original concentration of viaduct rainwater, a carbon source dosage of 800 mg, and an inoculation amount of 1%, the strain removed 92.62%, 6.98%, and 6.16% of NH4+-N, TN, and TP, respectively from the actual viaduct rainwater; more interestingly, the removal rates of NH4+-N and TN were 43.26% and 78.02%, respectively, even without carbon source addition. It seems that there is no need for carbon source addition to remove nitrogen from the actual viaduct rainwater for the strain. To sum up, the carbon-fixing bacteria 1C-1 presents an obvious nitrogen and phosphorus removal effect (especially for nitrogen) for viaduct rainwater treatment and has application potential

LncRNA miR663AHG represses the development of colon cancer in a miR663a-dependent manner

Abstract The MIR663AHG gene encodes both miR663AHG and miR663a. While miR663a contributes to the defense of host cells against inflammation and inhibits colon cancer development, the biological function of lncRNA miR663AHG has not been previously reported. In this study, the subcellular localization of lncRNA miR663AHG was determined by RNA-FISH. miR663AHG and miR663a were measured by qRT-PCR. The effects of miR663AHG on the growth and metastasis of colon cancer cells were investigated in vitro and in vivo. CRISPR/Cas9, RNA pulldown, and other biological assays were used to explore the underlying mechanism of miR663AHG. We found that miR663AHG was mainly distributed in the nucleus of Caco2 and HCT116 cells and the cytoplasm of SW480 cells. The expression level of miR663AHG was positively correlated with the level of miR663a (r = 0.179, P = 0.015) and significantly downregulated in colon cancer tissues relative to paired normal tissues from 119 patients (P < 0.008). Colon cancers with low miR663AHG expression were associated with advanced pTNM stage (P = 0.021), lymph metastasis (P = 0.041), and shorter overall survival (hazard ratio = 2.026; P = 0.021). Experimentally, miR663AHG inhibited colon cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The growth of xenografts from RKO cells overexpressing miR663AHG was slower than that of xenografts from vector control cells in BALB/c nude mice (P = 0.007). Interestingly, either RNA-interfering or resveratrol-inducing expression changes of miR663AHG or miR663a can trigger negative feedback regulation of transcription of the MIR663AHG gene. Mechanistically, miR663AHG could bind to miR663a and its precursor pre-miR663a, and prevent the degradation of miR663a target mRNAs. Disruption of the negative feedback by knockout of the MIR663AHG promoter, exon-1, and pri-miR663A-coding sequence entirely blocked these effects of miR663AHG, which was restored in cells transfected with miR663a expression vector in rescue experiment. In conclusion, miR663AHG functions as a tumor suppressor that inhibits the development of colon cancer through its cis-binding to miR663a/pre-miR663a. The cross talk between miR663AHG and miR663a expression may play dominant roles in maintaining the functions of miR663AHG in colon cancer development

Protocol of the Development of a Core Outcome Set for Ischemic Stroke in Clinical Trials of Chinese Medicine

Background. Ischemic stroke (IS) seriously impacts the quality of life of survivors. Chinese medicine (CM) has been developed for more than 2000 years and plays a key role in the treatment of ischemic stroke. Many Chinese medicine clinical trials have been conducted; however, the heterogeneity of outcome measurements and reporting limits implications of the findings in clinical practice and health policy development. Therefore, it is important to develop a core outcome set (COS) that should be used and reported in trials for ischemic stroke treated by Chinese medicine. This protocol describes the process of developing the IS-CM-COS. Methods and Analysis. The development of the COS will involve the following four steps: (1) A list of outcomes reported in the registered and published Chinese medicine trials of ischemic stroke will be extracted by conducting a systematic literature review. (2) An additional outcome list will be collected by semistructured interview to patients with ischemic stroke. (3) A two-round Delphi survey will be performed to prioritize and condense the outcomes. (4) In the consensus meeting, a final recommended COS will be developed. Discussion. The COS could improve the reliability and consistency of outcome reporting. We hope that this IS-CM-COS will be used in the future Chinese medicine trials for the treatment of ischemic stroke and improve research quality. Trial Registration. This study was registered with the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials Initiative (http://www.comet-initiative.org/studies/details/1282)