MIMIC model of teachers and students attitudes towards online learning during Covid-19: A gender perspective

Academic institutions around the globe have shifted to online learning because of the unpredictable spread of COVID-19. The present study aimed to compare teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards online learning during the pandemic and to examine the effects of gender differences on their attitudes. In study 1, we adapted the Test of eLearning Related Attitudes for Pakistani students in three steps: expert review, piloting, and validation. The individual and collective expert review was performed to adapt the teacher version into the student version using the Technique for Research of Information by the Animation of a Group of Experts (TRIAGE). We tested three sets of measurement invariance models for participants’ status and gender in study 2. Data were collected from 289 university teachers (men = 158, women = 131) and 444 undergraduate students (boys = 156, girls = 287). The results demonstrated that both groups had highly positive yet different attitudes towards online learning. Teachers were more satisfied than students. Model fit was poor, and the overall factor structure, factor loadings, and intercepts varied across groups. Intergroup gender invariance illustrated heterogeneity in attitudes towards online learning favoring men teachers and boy students. Study strengths and implications for the promotion of a positive experience of online learning are discussed

Uncovering the Anticancer Potential of Polydatin: A Mechanistic Insight

Polydatin or 3-O-β-d-resveratrol-glucopyranoside (PD), a stilbenoid component of Polygonum cuspicadum (Polygonaceae), has a variety of biological roles. In traditional Chinese medicine, P. cuspicadum extracts are used for the treatment of infections, inflammation, and cardiovascular disorders. Polydatin possesses a broad range of biological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, and immunostimulatory effects. Currently, a major proportion of the population is victimized with cervical lung cancer, ovarian cancer and breast cancer. PD has been recognized as a potent anticancer agent. PD could effectively inhibit the migration and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells, as well as the expression of the PI3K protein. The malignancy of lung cancer cells was reduced after PD treatments via targeting caspase 3, arresting cancer cells at the S phase and inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome by downregulation of the NF-κB pathway. This ceases cell cycle, inhibits VEGF, and counteracts ROS in breast cancer. It also prevents cervical cancer by regulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), apoptosis, and the C-Myc gene. The objective of this review is thus to unveil the polydatin anticancer potential for the treatment of various tumors, as well as to examine the mechanisms of action of this compound