Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the burnout syndrome assessment scale in nurses

ObjectiveThis study aimed to translate the Burnout Syndrome Assessment Scale (BOSAS) into Chinese and validate its reliability and validity among Chinese emergency department and ICU nurses.MethodsThe scale was translated into Chinese using Brislin’s translation principle. A total of 626 nurses from Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces in China participated in an online questionnaire survey. The survey included the general information questionnaire for nurses developed by the research team and the Chinese version of the Burnout Syndrome Assessment Scale. Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the scale were analyzed using SPSS.25 and AMOS.24 software.ResultsThe Chinese version of the Burnout Syndrome Assessment Scale consists of a total of 20 items, encompassing two dimensions: personal burnout and job burnout. This structure is consistent with the original English version of the scale. The Chinese version of BOSAS demonstrated high internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.941. Additionally, the scale exhibited good split-half reliability (0.765) and test-retest reliability (0.871). The content validity index (S-CVI) was 0.971, indicating strong content validity. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the same 2-factor structure as the original scale, and confirmatory factor analysis further validated this structure, with all fit indices indicating appropriateness.ConclusionThe Burnout Syndrome Assessment Scale has been successfully introduced and its reliability and validity have been verified in Chinese emergency department and ICU nurses

A real-time fluorescent reverse transcription quantitative PCR assay for rapid detection of genetic markers’ expression associated with Fusarium Wilt of banana biocontrol activities in bacillus

Fusarium wilt of banana, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), especially Tropical Race 4 (TR4), seriously threatens banana production worldwide. There is no single effective control measure, although certain Bacillus strains secrete antibiotics as promising disease-biocontrol agents. This study identified five Bacillus strains displaying strong antibiotic activity against TR4, using a systemic assessment for presence/absence of genetic markers at genome level, and expres sion profiles at transcriptome level. A conventional PCR with 13 specific primer pairs detected biocontrol-related genes. An accurate, quantitative real-time PCR protocol with novel designed specific primers was developed to characterise strain-specific gene expression, that optimises strain culturing and RNA-isolation methodologies. Six genes responsible for synthesising non-ribosomal peptide synthetase biocontrol metabolites were detected in all five strains. Three genes were involved in synthesising three Polyketide synthetase metabolites in all five strains, but the macrolactin synthase gene mln was only detected in WBN06 and YN1282-2. All five Bacillus strains have the genes dhb and bioA, essential for synthesising bacillibactin and biotin. However, the gene sboA, involved in subtilisin synthesis, is absent in all five strains. These genes’ expression patterns were significantly different among these strains, suggesting different mechanisms involved in TR4 biocontrol. Results will help elucidate functional genes’ biocontrol mechanisms

Reciprocal Expression of IL-35 and IL-10 Defines Two Distinct Effector Treg Subsets that Are Required for Maintenance of Immune Tolerance

Summary: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) can exert their functions through multiple suppressive mechanisms; however, it is unclear how Tregs exactly employ these mechanisms. In this study, we found that interleukin-35 (IL-35)-producing Tregs were a distinct effector population from the IL-10-producing subset. We also revealed that these two subsets of effector Tregs have different transcription factor dependency. Terminal differentiation regulator Blimp1 was only critical for IL-10 production, but not for IL-35; Foxp3 was essential for IL-35 but dispensable for IL-10 production. Furthermore, we demonstrated that IL-35-producing and IL-10-producing Tregs have a different activation status, do not share the same geographic locations in secondary lymphoid organs, and work in a complementary way to prevent autoimmunity. Thus, our study highlights the importance of effector Treg generation. We also provide evidence of Treg activation status tuning the generation of distinct effector Treg subsets, which work cooperatively to maintain immune tolerance. : Producing suppressive cytokines is a key molecular mechanism for Tregs to conduct long-range suppressive functions. Wei et al. demonstrated that effector Tregs can be diversified into two functionally distinct subsets based on IL-35 and IL-10 expression that work in a complementary way to maintain immune tolerance. Keywords: effector Treg, interleukin 35, interleukin 10, Blimp1, Foxp

Temporal variations of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 population in a heavily infected banana field in Southwest China

Growing bananas in monoculture leads to less diversity of soil microbial community, the accumulation of soil-borne pathogens and soil degradation in field. In this study, the population of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) in untreated soil and treated soil with bio-organic fertiliser and anaerobic soil disinfestations (ASD) was first time monitored in a banana field in southwest China. The Foc TR4 population was analysed by realtime quantitative PCR (qPCR) and the average population of Foc TR4 in the soil was from 2.76 × 103 to 2.2 × 104 copy numbers/g. The dynamic pattern of Foc TR4 in the field soil showed an initial increase in the pathogen population and then a decrease during the vegetative growth phase of the banana plants. Later the Foc TR4 population in the field significantly increased again when the banana reached the bud formation stage. This result would help to formulate appropriate measures to control Foc TR4

Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition : Proceedings of the International Symposium on Agroecology in China

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