The status of professional identity and professional self-efficacy of nursing students in China and how the medical documentaries affect them: A quasi-randomized controlled trial

Objectives: Professional identity and self-efficacy are important for the education and career develop-ment of students. However, how to improve these factors among Chinese nursing students needs further study. This quasi-randomized control trial was designed to explore the effect of medical documentaries on professional self-efficacy and identity among nursing students in Chinese technical schools. Methods: A total of 277 nursing students were enrolled in this study and divided into an experimental group (n = 135) and a control group (n = 142). The experimental group was invited to watch Chinese medical documentaries, whereas the control group remained on a waiting list. A self-designed general questionnaire, along with professional identity and professional self-efficacy questionnaires, was completed by the nursing students. Results: No significant change in professional self-efficacy was observed (-3.55 ± 14.23, P=0.173) in the experimental group, while professional identity significantly declined (-6.24 ± 12.85, P = 0.002) after the intervention. No significant change was found in the two aspects in the control group. Conclusion: Medical documentaries negatively affect professional identity but do not affect professional self-efficacy. Further researches should be conducted to explore the real reasons.

Energy Efficient Constrained Shortest Path First-Based Joint Resource Allocation and Route Selection for Multi-Hop CRNs

Cognitive radio networks(CRNs) are expected to improve spectrum utilization efficiently by allowing secondary users(SUs) to opportunistically access the licensed spectrum of primary users(PUs).In CRNs,source and destination SUs may achieve information interaction in an ad hoc manner.In the case that no direct transmission link between the SU transmission pairs is available,multi-hop relay SUs can be applied to forward information for the source and destination SUs,resulting in multi-hop CRNs.In this paper,we consider a multi-hop CRN consisting of multiple PUs,SU transmission pairs and relay SUs.Stressing the importance of transmission hops and the tradeoff between data rate and power consumption,we propose an energy efficient constrained shortest path first(CSPF)-based joint resource allocation and route selection algorithm,which consists of two sub-algorithms,i.e.,CSPF-based route selection sub-algorithm and energy efficient resource allocation sub-algorithm.More specifically,we first apply CSPF-based route selection sub-algorithm to obtain the shortest candidate routes(SCRs) between the SU pair under the transmission constraints.Then,an energy efficient resource allocation problem of the SCRs is formulated and solved by applying iterative algorithm and Lagrange dual method.Simu-lation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Recent selection and introgression facilitated high-altitude adaptation in cattle

During the past 3000 years,cattle on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau have developed adaptive phenotypes under the selective pressure of hypoxia,ultraviolet(UV)radiation,and extreme cold.The genetic mechanism underlying this rapid adaptation is not yet well understood.Here,we present whole-genome resequencing data for 258 cattle from 32 cattle breeds/populations,including 89 Tibetan cattle representing eight populations distributed at altitudes ranging from 3400 m to 4300 m.Our genomic analysis revealed that Tibetan cattle exhibited a continuous phylogeographic cline from the East Asian taurine to the South Asian indicine ancestries.We found that recently selected genes in Tibetan cattle were related to body size(HMGA2 and NCAPG)and energy expenditure(DUOXA2).We identified signals of sympatric introgression from yak into Tibetan cattle at different altitudes,covering 0.64%–3.26%of their genomes,which included introgressed genes responsible for hypoxia response(EGLN1),cold adaptation(LRP11),DNA damage repair(LATS1),and UV radiation resistance(GNPAT).We observed that introgressed yak alleles were associated with noncoding variants,including those in present EGLN1.In Tibetan cattle,three yak introgressed SNPs in the EGLN1 promoter region reduced the expression of EGLN1,suggesting that these genomic variants enhance hypoxia tolerance.Taken together,our results indicated complex adaptation processes in Tibetan cattle,where recently selected genes and introgressed yak alleles jointly facilitated rapid adaptation to high-altitude environments.

Modification of alternative splicing in bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos using engineered CRISPR-Cas13d

Animal cloning can be achieved by somatic cell nuclear transfer(SCNT),but the resulting live birth rate is relatively low.We previously improved the efficiency of bovine SCNT by exogenous melatonin treatment or by overexpression of lysine-specific demethylase 4D(KDM4D)and 4E(KDM4E).In this study,we revealed abundant alternative splicing(AS)transitions during fertilization and embryonic genome activation,and demonstrated abnormal AS in bovine SCNT embryos compared with in vitro fertilized embryos.We used the CRISPR-Cas13d RNA-targeting system to target cis-elements of ABI2 and ZNF106 pre-m RNA to modify AS,thus reducing the ratio of abnormal-isoform SCNT embryos by nearly 50%and achieving a high survival rate(11%–19%).These results indicate that this system may provide an efficient method for bovine cloning,while also paving the way for further improvements in the efficiency of SCNT.

The development and application of genome editing technology in ruminants: a review

Transgenic ruminants are a valuable resource for both animal breeding and biomedical research.The development of transgenic breeding is proceeding slowly,because it suffers from low efficiency of gene transfer and possible safety problems from uncontrolled random integration.However,new breeding methods combined with genome editing and somatic cell nuclear transfer or microinjection can offer an economic and efficient way to produce gene-edited ruminants,which can serve as bioreactors or have improved disease resistance,animal welfare and product quality.Recent advances in precise genome editing technologies,especially clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/Cas9 nucleases,are enabling the systematic development of gene-edited ruminant production.This review covers the development of gene-edited ruminants,the particulars of site-specific engineered nucleases and the state of the art and new insights into practical applications and social acceptance of genome editing technology in ruminants.It is concluded that the production of gene-edited ruminants is feasible and through improvements in genome editing technology it is possible to help feed the world.