Insights For Future Investigations Research Articles

Integrated multi-omics reveals contrasting epigenetic patterns in leaf and root morphogenesis in Aegilops speltoides

Aegilops speltoides, the closest ancestor of the wheat B subgenome, has been well studied genomically. However, the epigenetic landscape of Ae. speltoides and the effects of epigenetics on its growth and development remain poorly understood. Here, we present a comprehensive multi-omics atlas of leaves and roots in Ae. speltoides, encompassing transcriptome, DNA methylation, histone modifications, and small RNA profiling. Divergent DNA methylation levels were detected between leaves and roots, and were associated with differences in accumulated 24-nt siRNAs. DNA methylation changes in promoters and gene bodies showed strong connections with altered expression between leaves and roots. Transcriptional regulatory networks (TRN) reconstructed between leaves and roots were driven by tissue-specific TF families. DNA methylation and histone modification act together as switches that shape root and leaf morphogenesis by modulating the binding of tissue-specific TFs to their target genes. The TRNs in leaves and roots reshaped during wheat polyploidization were associated with alterations in epigenetic modifications. Collectively, these results not only shed light on the critical contribution of epigenetic regulation in the morphogenesis of leaves and roots in Ae. speltoides but also provide new insights for future investigations into the complex interplay of genetic and epigenetic factors in the developmental biology of common wheat.

Altered leptin level in autism spectrum disorder and meta-analysis of adipokines

BackgroundIncreasing evidence suggests that leptin is involved in the pathology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, our objective was to investigate the levels of leptin in the blood of children with ASD and to examine the overall profile of adipokine markers in ASD through meta-analysis.MethodsLeptin concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit, while adipokine profiling, including leptin, was performed via meta-analysis. Original reports that included measurements of peripheral adipokines in ASD patients and healthy controls (HCs) were collected from databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library. These studies were collected from September 2022 to September 2023 and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Standardized mean differences were calculated using a random effects model for the meta-analysis. Additionally, we performed meta-regression and explored heterogeneity among studies.ResultsOur findings revealed a significant increase in leptin levels in children with ASD compared to HCs (p = 0.0319). This result was consistent with the findings obtained from the meta-analysis (p < 0.001). Furthermore, progranulin concentrations were significantly reduced in children with ASD. However, for the other five adipokines analyzed, there were no significant differences observed between the children with ASD and HCs children. Heterogeneity was found among the studies, and the meta-regression analysis indicated that publication year and latitude might influence the results of the meta-analysis.ConclusionsThese findings provide compelling evidence that leptin levels are increased in children with ASD compared to healthy controls, suggesting a potential mechanism involving adipokines, particularly leptin, in the pathogenesis of ASD. These results contribute to a better understanding of the pathology of ASD and provide new insights for future investigations.

Passing the Temporal Borders Across the Selves: Examining the Association Between Time Perspectives, Consideration of Future Consequences and Future Self-Continuity

In the complex landscape of human decision-making and behaviour, several psychological constructs play a crucial role in shaping people's attitudes towards the past, present, and future. This study examines the interplay between how we perceive our future selves, our consideration of future consequences, and our general time perspectives aiming to deepen our understanding of temporal cognition and its implications for human behavior. The study explored how these factors interact and potentially influence our decisions and behaviour. Through a web survey questionnaire data was collected from the university students. Quantitative analyses explored the associations between individuals' levels of consideration of future consequences, future self-continuity, and their temporal orientations as measured by Zimbardo's Time Perspective Inventory. Results of the study suggests complex associations between these constructs, with individuals' time perspectives and future self-continuity exerting significant influences on consideration of future consequences. By understanding these relationships, gained valuable insights into how individuals make decisions that bridge the gap between their present and future selves and its association with temporal orientations. We discussed implications of the present study on the consideration of future consequences and it provides insights for future investigations.

Synergistic antifungal mechanism of eugenol and citral against Aspergillus niger: Molecular Level

Previous studies have demonstrated that the combination of eugenol and citral (CEC) synergistically damages the Aspergillus niger cell membrane, yet the mechanism remains elusive. This study investigated the molecular perspective of the synergistic damage mechanism of CEC on A. niger cell membrane. Both eugenol and citral are highly lipophilic, with eugenol exhibiting higher lipophilicity. Analysis of glycerophospholipids, ergosterol, fatty acid content, as well as intracellular pH and potassium ions leakage, suggested that eugenol plays a leading role in CEC. In contrast, citral had a greater effect on cell membrane potential and energy metabolism than eugenol. Furthermore, CEC regulated the expression of proteins and genes related to cell membrane synthesis, with eugenol exerting a more pronounced regulatory effect on ergosterol synthesis-related proteins than citral. These results provided new insights for future investigations into the synergistic mechanism of essential oil small molecules or antifungal agents.

Unveiling the mechanism of Buddleja officinalis against esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through network pharmacology and molecular docking approaches

In this research, we aim to explore the underlying mechanism of Buddleja officinalis (BO) in inhibiting esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) by means of network pharmacology and molecular docking approaches. First, BO component targets were determined from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology and HERB databases (known as BenCaoZuJian in Chinese transliteration), and ESCC disease targets were identified from GeneCards and DisGeNET databases. Second, the Venny 2.1 online tool was utilized to visualize the intersection targets, and shared potential targets between BO and ESCC were identified using the STRING database. Third, the component-target-pathway networks were constructed using Cytoscape software. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were utilized for further analyzing the mechanism of BO in inhibiting ESCC. Finally, molecular docking technique was employed to delineate the docking profiles of BO and determine the optimal active component, which is threonine protein kinase (AKT1). We screened six active components and 227 targets from BO, of which 24 were shared targets of ESCC and BO. The network pharmacology analysis indicated core targets with high degrees, namely, serum albumin, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, AKT1, estrogen receptor, and basic fibroblast growth factor receptor 1, which are the most likely binding sites for the active components in BO. The related signaling pathways underpinning the inhibition of ESCC by BO encompass MAPK signaling pathway, adhesion junction pathway, and gastric cancer pathway. Moreover, linarin was recognized as the most suitable component for AKT1. Our results revealed that BO exhibits multicomponent, multi-target, and multi-pathway characteristics, which offer a scientific foundation for elucidating its therapeutic mechanism in ESCC and present novel insights for future investigations.

Taraxerol: A Promising Natural Product in the Management of Inflammation

Abstarct: Inflammation is a complex biological process that plays an important role in many clinical disorders. The natural plant and its secondary metabolites play an important role in the prevention and treatment of inflammation. Taraxerol is a pentacyclic triterpenoid found in medicinal plants, fruits, and vegetables, and is a potent anti-inflammatory agent. This review explains the molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effects of taraxerol and its interactions with many molecular targets, including NF-κB, MAPKs, and COX. Furthermore, the effects of taraxerol on oxidative stress, cell function, and inflammatory cell signaling have been comprehensively described. This review addresses the limitations and obstacles in taraxerol research, as well as provides insights for future investigations. The findings highlight the need for additional research to completely understand the therapeutic potential and clinical applications of taraxerol in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Chloroplast Isolation in Agavaceas.

Chloroplast isolation protocols have been extensively developed for various species of plants, particularly model organisms with easily manipulable physical characteristics. However, succulent plants, such as Agave angustifolia Haw., which possess adaptations for arid environments like the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) and a thicker cuticle, have received less attention, resulting in a potential knowledge gap. This chapter presents a specialized protocol focusing on isolating chloroplast from A. angustifolia, a species exhibiting adaptations to arid conditions and holding ecological and economic significance due to its role in producing bacanora and mezcal beverages. By successfully isolating chloroplast from A. angustifolia plant growth in ex vitro and in vitro conditions, this protocol enables comprehensive future analyses to elucidate metabolic processes and explore potential applications in related species. Consequently, this research aims to bridge this knowledge gap in chloroplast isolation for succulent plants, providing new insights for future investigations in the field.

Germanys Strategic Misjudgment of World War I: Based on the Impact of Anglo-German Diplomatic Interaction

This article reviews and analyzes the Anglo-German diplomatic activities and interactions of some officials from both Britain and Germany before the First World War. It focuses on specific cases involving figures such as Henry Wilson and Prince Lichnowsky, aiming to explore the factors in the pre-war diplomatic interactions between Britain and Germany that led to Germanys strategic misjudgment and ultimately culminated in the outbreak of the war. Structural realism and the concept of security dilemma are employed to examine the intentions and positions of officials and the upper echelons on both sides. This study concludes that the prolonged strategic preparations by Britain and its vigilant attitude towards Germanys aggression demonstrated thorough consideration of the impending war. On the other hand, factors such as the German militarys satisfaction with its own development and the filtering of genuine information within its internal diplomatic system intensified the likelihood of war. Additionally, the ambiguous stance displayed by Britain towards the prospect of war also exerted a certain influence. Taking a research perspective centered on the analysis of mutual or internal interactions between the two parties, this article aims to offer novel insights for future investigations into the realm of strategic misjudgment preceding World War I.

Vulvo-vaginal epithelial tumors in mares: A preliminary investigation on epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor-immune microenvironment.

Vulvo-vaginal epithelial tumors are uncommon in mares, and data on the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the tumor-immune microenvironment (TIME) are still lacking. This is a study investigating the equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) infection state as well as the EMT process and the tumor microenvironment in vulvo-vaginal preneoplastic/ benign (8/22) or malignant (14/22) epithelial lesions in mares. To do this, histopathological, immunohistochemical, transcriptomic, in situ hybridization, and correlation analyses were carried out. Immunohistochemistry quantification showed that cytoplasmic E-cadherin and β-catenin expression as well as nuclear β-catenin expression were features of malignant lesions, while benign/preneoplastic lesions were mainly characterized by membranous E-cadherin and β-catenin expression. Despite this, there were no differences between benign and malignant equine vulvo-vaginal lesions in the expression of downstream genes involved in the canonical and noncanonical wnt/β-catenin pathways. In addition, malignant lesions were characterized by a lower number of cells with cytoplasmic cytokeratin expression as well as a slightly higher cytoplasmic vimentin immunolabeling. The TIME of malignant lesions was characterized by more numerous CD204+ M2-polarized macrophages. Altogether, our results support the hypothesis that some actors in TIME such as CD204+ M2-polarized macrophages may favor the EMT process in equine vulvo-vaginal malignant lesions providing new insights for future investigations in the field of equine EcPV2-induced genital neoplastic lesions.

Cancer Fatalism in the Information Age: A Meta-Analysis of Communicative and Behavioral Correlates

Cancer information in the media often contains ambiguous, conflicting, or contestable knowledge, which may lead to the cultivation of cancer fatalism. Many believe cancer fatalism poses a significant barrier to cancer prevention and detection behaviors in the population. This meta-analysis synthesized empirical results from 100 studies regarding the associations between cancer fatalism and four categories of communicative and behavioral correlates: (a) media exposure, (b) cancer beliefs, (c) cancer prevention and detection engagement, and (d) cancer information management. Our findings show that cancer fatalism is positively linked to TV exposure and negatively linked to radio or Internet exposure. Cancer fatalism is also positively associated with information avoidance and negatively associated with cancer detection behaviors. This study demonstrates the nature and magnitude of the relationships between cancer fatalism and its antecedents or outcomes and offers useful insights for future investigation and theoretical development in understanding the role of cancer fatalism in communication.

Abstract P1007: Graph Neural Network Analysis Of Dynamic Temporal Relationships Between Chromatin Accessibility And RNA Expression In The Developing Mouse Heart

Mammalian development is a dynamic process that transforms the epigenetic and transcriptomic landscapes of cells as they differentiate into various cell types and tissues. In vertebrates, the heart is the first functioning organ of the embryo, but its development has yet to be fully understood. Using simultaneous scRNA-seq and scATAQ-seq data from three major timepoints (E8.5, E10.5, E16.5) of murine development, we develop a novel approach to analyze the temporal relationship between chromatin accessibility and gene expression across development using RNA velocity and interpretable graph neural network (GNN) models. RNA velocity is a powerful splicing kinetics tool for uncovering directed transcriptional dynamics in complex biological systems, and it infers the direction and rate of change of gene expression in single cells over time by comparing the ratio of unspliced to spliced mRNA reads between adjacent cells. We represent the vectors identified through RNA velocity as a directed graph, thereby transforming the single-cell data with the additional simultaneous ATAC-seq information into an input for a GNN. The GNN then learns the temporal epigenetic and transcriptomic dynamics from the node feature information, ie. scATAC-seq, with the graph structure, ie. RNA velocity vectors, to predict the developmental trajectories of cells. After training of the GNN model, we implement an additional GNN explainer model to analyze it and identify subgraphs, ie. networks of DNA regions, that maximize the mutual information associated with its trajectory predictions. By interpreting the contributions of ATAC peaks in the GNN model, we identify novel regulatory dynamics and trends involved in the separation of distinct cardiac lineages in the developing mouse heart. Ultimately, we provide new insight for future investigation into the temporal relationship between chromatin accessibility and gene expression levels..

Organic and Inorganic Biocidal Energetic Materials for Agent Defeat Weapons: An Overview and Research Perspectives

A critical survey concerning biocidal energetics is proposed according to a classification depending on their chemical structure. The need of optimizing the performances of such compounds is an important target for the inertization of biological weapons, requiring a synergy between the thermal effects of combustion/detonation with the biocidal effects of reaction products released into the environment. The main physicochemical aspects related to the synthesis technique, the thermodynamic variables and the antimicrobial activity have been discussed and compared. In particular, different kinds of biocides have been taken into account, with particular attention to the role of iodine as one of the most promising and eco-friendly chemical species to this purpose, in line with the paradigms of environmental protection and the rational utilization of chemicals. Furthermore, the protocols adopted to assess the effectiveness of biocidal agents have been thoroughly examined according to the recent studies proposed by some of the most reputable research groups in the field. Finally, some insights for future investigations are proposed.

Plasma metabolite profiles related to plant-based diets and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Plant-based diets, especially when rich in healthy plant foods, have been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. However, whether plasma metabolite profiles related to plant-based diets reflect this association was unknown. The aim of this study was to identify the plasma metabolite profiles related to plant-based diets, and to evaluate the associations between the identified metabolite profiles and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Within three prospective cohorts (Nurses' Health Study, Nurses' Health Study II and Health Professionals Follow-up Study), we measured plasma metabolites from 10,684 participants using high-throughput LC MS. Adherence to plant-based diets was assessed by three indices derived from the food frequency questionnaire: an overall Plant-based Diet Index (PDI), a Healthy Plant-based Diet Index (hPDI), and an Unhealthy Plant-based Diet Index (uPDI). Multi-metabolite profiles related to plant-based diet were identified using elastic net regression with a training/testing approach. The prospective associations between metabolite profiles and incident type 2 diabetes were evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. Metabolites potentially mediating the association between plant-based diets and type 2 diabetes risk were further identified. We identified multi-metabolite profiles comprising 55 metabolites for PDI, 93 metabolites for hPDI and 75 metabolites for uPDI. Metabolite profile scores based on the identified metabolite profiles were correlated with the corresponding diet index (Pearson r = 0.33-0.35 for PDI, 0.41-0.45 for hPDI, and 0.37-0.38 for uPDI, all p<0.001). Metabolite profile scores of PDI (HR per 1 SD higher = 0.81 [95% CI 0.75, 0.88]) and hPDI (HR per 1 SD higher = 0.77 [95% CI 0.71, 0.84]) showed an inverse association with incident type 2 diabetes, whereas the metabolite profile score for uPDI was not associated with the risk. Mutual adjustment for metabolites selected in the metabolite profiles, including trigonelline, hippurate, isoleucine and a subset of triacylglycerols, attenuated the associations of diet indices PDI and hPDI with lower type 2 diabetes risk. The explainable proportion of PDI/hPDI-related diabetes risk by these metabolites ranged between 8.5% and 37.2% (all p<0.05). Plasma metabolite profiles related to plant-based diets, especially a healthy plant-based diet, were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes among a generally healthy population. Our findings support the beneficial role of healthy plant-based diets in diabetes prevention and provide new insights for future investigation.

Operation of liquid e-fuel cells using air as oxidant

The promising features and capabilities of liquid fuel cells for power generation and further application in electric vehicles have drawn more research attention in recent times. Notably is the recently proposed and demonstrated fuel cell which employs an electrically rechargeable liquid fuel (e-fuel) along with a catalyst-free material at its anode. The smooth and successful functioning of the e-fuel cell generally requires the supply of oxidant at its cathode. However, the space and storage requirement with the use of pure oxygen as oxidant not only limits the energy density of the fuel cell, but as well results in higher cost. Herein, the operation and performance of this e-fuel cell is examined with the use of air as oxidant, in lieu of the commonly used pure oxygen, at the cell cathode. A peak power density of 168.3 mW cm−2 was obtained when the cathode is fed with air. Such performance when air is employed as oxidant in the e-fuel cell outperforms most conventional direct liquid fuel cells that are even fed with oxygen and thereby demonstrates the use of air as a promising alternative for future application. The performance of the cell when operated with air at various flow rates and operating temperatures, and during a constant current discharge test were also examined. This study therefore provides basis and useful insights for future investigations towards utilizing and catalyzing air as oxidant in the e-fuel cell for improved cell performance.

Impact of feed restriction on cecum microbiota and differential metabolites in serum of laying hens

Caloric restriction with its beneficial effects has been studied in various species. In poultry, it has also been mentioned that feed restriction can affect various physiological states or have a protective effect on diseases. However, there are limited studies of feed restriction on elucidating the intestinal microbiota and metabolome profiles in chickens. This study aims to investigate distinct cecum microbiota and metabolite profiles in serum on chickens under different feed restriction status. Thirty Longman laying hens were divided into three groups, there are CR0 (caloric restriction) as a control, 20% caloric restriction of feed (CR20) and 40% caloric restriction of feed (CR40) for six weeks. The results showed that the average body weight was decreased from 1.79 kg to 1.55 kg and 1.37 in CR20 and CR40, respectively. The egg production rate also decreased by feed restricted treatment, and the most serve restriction reduced the egg production rate to less than 60%. For the cecum microbiota analysis, there was no difference in the diversity indices at CR20 or CR40 compared with CR0. The results show that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria are the most common phyla in chicken ceca, and Cyanobacteria, Kiritimatiellaeota, Epsilonbacteraeota, Verrucomicrobia, Spirochaetes, Synergistetes and Deferribacteres account for the remainder. The feed restriction treatments increase Cyanobacteria and Synergistetes population, whereas decrease the relative abundance of Epsilonbacteraeota. At the genus levels, the majority were Bacteroides, Rikenellaceae_RC9. Interestingly, Helicobacter was decrease, whereas Synergistetes and Mucispirillum were increase by 40% feed restriction. The non-targeted LC-QTOFMS results showed that stearidonic acid, 13-L-hydroperoxylinoleic acid, pyrrolidonecarboxylic acid, L-glutamine, L-tryptophan, LysoPC (15:0) and LysoPC (18:3) were increased by 20% feed restriction compared with control group. And some critical nutrients have been influenced by the restriction treatments, such as stearidonic acid, arginine, tryptophan, glutamine, histidine and serine were increased by 40% feed restriction. Interestingly, phenylalanine, choline, acetylserotonin, biotin, riboflavin, LysoPC (16:1) and (20:4) were decreased in CR40. In present study, we found for the first time that severe feed restrictions cause nutritional deficiencies, and the first limited nutrients are riboflavin, biotin, pantothenic acid, L-phenylalanine, choline, acrylic acid, glycolic acid. The above metabolites are rare discuss on restricted status in chickens. However, these finding can provide new insights for future investigation in poultry nutritional research.

Rubisco activase A (RcaA) is a central node in overlapping gene network of drought and salinity in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and may contribute to combined stress tolerance

Co-occurrence of abiotic stresses, especially drought and salinity, is a natural phenomenon in field conditions and is worse for crop production than any single stress. Nowadays, rigorous methods of meta-analysis and systems biology have made it possible to perform cross-study comparisons of single stress experiments, which can uncover main overlapping mechanisms underlying tolerance to combined stress. In this study, a meta-analysis of RNA-Seq data was conducted to obtain the overlapping gene network of drought and salinity stresses in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), which identified Rubisco activase A (RcaA) as a hub gene in the dual-stress response. Thereafter, a greenhouse experiment was carried out using two barley genotypes with different abiotic stress tolerance and evaluated several physiochemical properties as well as the expression profile and protein activity of RcaA. Finally, machine learning analysis was applied to uncover relationships among combined stress tolerance and evaluated properties. We identified 441 genes which were differentially expressed under both drought and salinity stress. Results revealed that the photosynthesis pathway and, in particular, the RcaA gene are major components of the dual-stress responsive transcriptome. Comparative physiochemical and molecular evaluations further confirmed that enhanced photosynthesis capability, mainly through regulation of RcaA expression and activity as well as accumulation of proline content, have a significant association with combined drought and salinity stress tolerance in barley. Overall, our results clarify the importance of RcaA in combined stress tolerance and may provide new insights for future investigations.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis revealed novel potential therapeutic targets of traditional Chinese medicine (Pinggan-Qianyang decoction) on vascular remodeling in spontaneously hypertensive rats

BackgroundBoth experimental and clinical studies have revealed satisfactory effects with the traditional Chinese formula Pinggan Qianyang decoction (PGQYD) for improving vascular remodeling caused by essential hypertension. The present study explored various therapeutic targets of PGQYD using mRNA transcriptomics.MethodsIn this study, rats were randomly divided into three groups: Wistar-Kyoto (WKY; normal control), spontaneously hypertensive (SHR), and PGQYD-treated rat groups. After 12 weeks of PGQYD treatment, behavioral tests were employed and the morphology of thoracic aortas were examined with hematoxylin–eosin (HE) and Masson staining and electron microscopy. The mRNA expression profiles were identified with RNA-Seq and quantitative real-time PCR to validate changes in gene expression observed with microarray analysis. The gene ontology and pathway enrichment analyses were carried out to predict gene function and gene co-expressions. Pathway networks were constructed to identify the hub biomarkers, which were further validated by western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis.ResultsAfter PGQYD treatment, the behavioral tests and histological and morphological findings of vascular remodeling were obviously meliorated compared with the SHR group. In the rat thoracic aorta tissues, 626 mRNAs with an exact match were identified. A total of 129 of mRNAs (fold change > 1.3 and P-value < 0.05) were significantly changed in the SHR group compared to the WKY group. Among them, 16 mRNAs were markedly regulated by PGQYD treatment and validated with quantitative real-time PCR. Additionally, target prediction and bioinformatics analyses revealed that these mRNAs could play therapeutic roles through biological processes for regulating cell metabolic processes (such as glycation biology), biological adhesions, rhythmic processes, and cell autophagy. The cellular signaling pathways involved in autophagy may be AGE–RAGE/PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.ConclusionThe present study provides novel insights for future investigations to explore the mechanisms by which PGQYD may effectively inhibit vascular remodeling by activating the AGE–RAGE/PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway in cell autophagy biology.

Histone H3G34 Mutation in Brain and Bone Tumors.

H3G34 mutations occur in both pediatric non-brainstem high-grade gliomas (G34R/V) and giant cell tumors of bone (G34W/L). Glioblastoma patients with G34R/V mutation have a generally adverse prognosis, whereas giant cell tumors of bone are rarely metastatic benign tumors. G34 mutations possibly disrupt the epigenome by altering H3K36 modifications, which may involve attenuating the function of SETD2 at methyltransferase. H3K36 methylation change may further lead to genomic instability, dysregulated gene expression pattern, and more mutations. In this chapter, we summarize the pathological features of each mutation type in its respective cancer, as well as the potential mechanism of their disruption on the epigenome and genomic instability. Understanding each mutation type would provide a thorough background for a thorough understanding of the cancers and would bring new insights for future investigations and the development of new precise therapies.

Discovering Digital Technology Training Challenges for Future-Ready Educator: A Preliminary Study from Trainer Perspective

Currently, education globally is very challenging and experiencing rapid development that requires the educator to transform the way of teaching. Few empirical studies show that educator have yet to optimize the use of digital technologies in their educational practice, although a lot of training initiatives had been done. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore whether there are any issues with digital technology training specifically in a post-secondary education institution of Malaysia. A qualitative approach using comparable case selection under general sampling strategies was implemented to scrutinize challenges of digital technology training based on trainer perceptions. Five interviews data were collected, four of them, right after digital technology training took place and the other one was a representative from the ministry, which data is used to support the information. A thematic analysis using thematic map technique was used to produce the related theme. The results from open coding showed 48 codes were analyzed to form ten categories. Ten categories were classified based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) lens then organized into personal, behavior and environmental factor that work reciprocally. Saturated themes were found from frequency table help to developed a conceptual framework of digital technology training. The finding of this study gives meaningful insights for future investigation developing a digital technology training framework for future-ready educators.

NK Cell Plasticity in Cancer.

Natural killer (NK) cells are critical immune components in controlling tumor growth and dissemination. Given their innate capacity to eliminate tumor cells without prior sensitization, NK-based therapies for cancer are actively pursued pre-clinically and clinically. However, recent data suggest that tumors could induce functional alterations in NK cells, polarizing them to tumor-promoting phenotypes. The potential functional plasticity of NK cells in the context of tumors could lead to undesirable outcomes of NK-cell based therapies. In this review, we will summarize to-date evidence of tumor-associated NK cell plasticity and provide our insights for future investigations and therapy development.