Three-dimensional models:from cell culture to Patient-Derived Organoid and its application to future liposarcoma research

Liposarcoma is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas,however,its occurrence rate is still rare compared to other cancers.Due to its rarity,in vitro experiments are an essential approach to elucidate liposarcoma pathobiology.Conventional cell culture-based research(2D cell culture)is still playing a pivotal role,while several shortcomings have been recently under discussion.In vivo,mouse models are usually adopted for pre-clinical analyses with expectations to overcome the issues of 2D cell culture.However,they do not fully recapitulate human dedifferentiated liposarcoma(DDLPS)characteristics.Therefore,three-dimensional(3D)culture systems have been the recent research focus in the cell biology field with the expectation to overcome at the same time the disadvantages of 2D cell culture and in vivo animal models and fill in the gap between them.Given the liposarcoma rarity,we believe that 3D cell culture techniques,including 3D cell cultures/co-cultures,and Patient-Derived tumor Organoids(PDOs),represent a promising approach to facilitate liposarcoma investigation and elucidate its molecular mechanisms and effective therapy development.In this review,we first provide a general overview of 3D cell cultures compared to 2D cell cultures.We then focus on one of the recent 3D cell culture applications,Patient-Derived Organoids(PDOs),summarizing and discussing several PDO methodologies.Finally,we discuss the current and future applications of PDOs to sarcoma,particularly in the field of liposarcoma.

Critically Evaluate Foreign Language Teachers Training in Culture and Intercultural Communication

The aim of foreign language teaching in the contemporary is to develop foreign language talents who own intercultural competence.Thus,it is necessary to improve teachers’cultural quality and intercultural awareness.The paper explores some relevant training courses on culture and intercultural awareness,and discusses the deficiency of these courses.

Extended protective effects of three dimensional cultured human mesenchymal stromal cells in a neuroinflammation model

BACKGROUND Human mesenchymal stromal cells(MSCs)possess regenerative potential due to pluripotency and paracrine functions.However,their stemness and immunomod-ulatory capabilities are sub-optimal in conventional two-dimensional(2D)culture.AIM To enhance the efficiency and therapeutic efficacy of MSCs,an in vivo-like 3D culture condition was applied.METHODS MSCs were cultured on polystyrene(2D)or in a gellan gum-based 3D system.In vitro,prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2,indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase,heme oxygenase 1,and prostaglandin E synthase gene expression was quantified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.MSCs were incubated with lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-treated mouse splenocytes,and prostaglandin E2 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels were measured by enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay.In vivo,LPS was injected into the lateral ventricle of mouse brain,and MSCs were administered intravenously the next day.Animals were sacrificed and analyzed on days 2 and 6.RESULTS Gellan gum polymer-based 3D culture significantly increased expression of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 and Nanog homeobox stemness markers in human MSCs compared to 2D culture.This 3D environment also heightened expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and heme-oxygenase 1,enzymes known for immunomodulatory functions,including production of prostaglandins and heme degradation,respectively.MSCs in 3D culture secreted more prostaglandin E2 and effectively suppressed tumor necrosis factor-alpha release from LPS-stimulated splenocytes and surpassed the efficiency of MSCs cultured in 2D.In a murine neuroinflammation model,intravenous injection of 3D-cultured MSCs significantly reduced ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression,mitigating chronic inflammation more effectively than 2D-cultured MSCs.CONCLUSION The microenvironment established in 3D culture serves as an in vivo mimetic,enhancing the immunomodulatory function of MSCs.This suggests that engineered MSCs hold significant promise a potent tool for cell therapy.

Effects of Chlorine-Based Fertilizers on Tomato Growth under Soilless Culture

This study investigated the effects of chlorine-based fertilizers under varying nitrogen solution concentrations in a soilless culture system. The experiment included four nitrogen solution concentration levels, with nitrogen concentrations of 6 mmol/L (C1), 12 mmol/L (C2), 18 mmol/L (C3), and 24 mmol/L (C4). Each nutrient concentration level was further divided into four chloride ion treatments (R1, R2, R3, and R4), where 100%, 60%, 33%, and 0% of the NH4+ and K+ ions were derived from NH4Cl and KCl, respectively. The length, surface area and volume of root were significantly higher by 25.3%~136.9%, 40.1%~173.1%, 27.9%~178.0%, respectively, in the R4 treatment than in the R1 and R2 treatments at flowering stage. The aboveground biomass and yield in the R4 treatment were significantly higher, by approximately 15.6%~43.5% and 16.6%~28.6%, respectively, than in the R1, R2, and R3 treatments at the picking stage. The C3 and C4 treatments significantly decreased biomass and yield by 31.9%~50.2% and 20.7%~50.5%, respectively, compared to the C1 and C2 treatments at the picking stage. Besides, the higher nutrient solution increased the incidence of blossom-end rot. In conclusion, high concentrations of chloride ions in nutrient solutions, especially when the Cl− concentration exceeded 10 mmol/L, have been shown to inhibit tomato growth in soilless culture systems. Therefore, replacing sulfur-based fertilizers by chlorine-based fertilizers is not recommended for tomato production under the studied conditions.

“Culture time”板块教学中跨文化意识培养的策略

在新课程改革的大环境中,文化意识成为英语学科核心素养的重要组成部分。语言是文化的载体,语言与文化是相互依赖、相互影响、相互制约的。学习语言的过程也是学习文化的过程。文章主要结合译林版英语五、六年级教材中的Culture time板块的教学案例,探讨如何在英语课堂教学实践中丰富文化素材、发掘其中的文化元素和领略中西方文化异同,以帮助学生有效学习文化知识,拓宽文化视野,培养文化意识。

A Study on the Cross-Cultural Adaptation of International Chinese Teachers at Confucius Institutes in South Korea

International Chinese teachers are one of the determinants of the quality development of Confucius Institutes,and their cross-cultural sociocultural adaption,psychological adaption,and job adaption are in need of in-depth investigation and research.Based on previous research,this paper analyzed the cross-cultural adaptation of international Chinese teachers at Confucius Institutes in South Korea during 2022-2023 through surveys and personal interviews.The study found that the teachers’adaptation was best in terms of work,followed by sociocultural adaptation,and weakest in terms of psychological adaptation.In terms of work adaptation,attention should be focused on adapting to teaching language and teaching methods.In terms of sociocultural adaptation,the focus should be on adapting to personal communication.In terms of psychological adaptation,attention should be paid to feelings of loneliness and anxiety.The study also focused on the internal and external factors influencing their cross-cultural adaptation,as well as the true inner feelings of international Chinese teachers.The study found that factors such as English proficiency,gender,education,professional background,and overseas experience had little impact on teachers’cross-cultural adaptation,while factors such as Korean proficiency,participation in cross-cultural training before going to South Korea,understanding of Korean culture before going to South Korea,and length of time spent in working in South Korea had a greater impact on the cross-cultural adaptation of the research subjects.This study provides reliable reference materials for international Chinese teachers going to South Korea to improve their cross-cultural adaptation abilities and promote the reform and innovation of international Chinese education.

Practice and Exploration of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South Hubei in Ideological and Political Education of Teachers'College

The intangible cultural heritage of south Hubei is rich in profound regional cultural connotations.By integrating such cultural heritage into ideological and political education of teachers'college,it not only helps its inheritance and protection,but also enriches the forms and contents of education,and promotes the innovative development of ideological and political education.In this paper,the integration of the tea-art creation process of green brick tea in southern Hubei and the practice of ideological and political education in teacher education major is selected as a study case,to deeply analyze the integration mechanism.The following integration strategies are proposed:combining ideological and political theory with practice,and adding courses related to tea culture;strengthening the construction of ideological and political practice bases,and enhancing the professional competence of the teaching team;building a"trinity"collaborative training system to ensure the smooth implementation of ideological and political education practice.

How can TESOL Teachers be Mediators of Culture?

Language and culture are closely related to each other. Language teachers, who introduce culture through the language teaching activities, are the most important cultural mediators for students in their language learning process. This essay is to help TESOL teachers to think about their importance of being the cultural mediators and how to be good mediators.

Chinese Culture of Learning from Western Teachers' Viewpoint

While more and more teachers from Western culture teach in China, research on the different cultures of learning in China's teaching context and Western teachers' views on the Chinese culture of learning and teaching have been rarely conducted. This essay discusses the implications of cultural differences of learning between China and the West, particularly Western teachers' viewpoint on Chinese culture of learning. The conclusion suggests that it is of great importance to be aware that culture is just one of many factors that determine individual learning, and teachers are supposed to avoid stereotyping and simplistic views with regard to culture of learning, though general trends and patterns may exist among a certain type of culture.

Rebuilding School Culture and Promoting Teachers'Professional Development Rebuilding School Culture and Promoting Teachers'Professional Development

School culture is an important carrier for teachers' professional development.It is also a double-edged sword that can either promote or hinder the professional development of teachers.The improvement of teachers' professional development fundamentally lies in the reconstruction of school culture.School culture is derived from the school system because the system creates the environment that determines professional development.The improvement of school culture is achieved through learning because learning can create a solid platform for teachers'professional development.Principals should rebuild their relationships with their schools and teachers,while teachers should rebuild their relationships with other teachers and their students as well as between their own practices and educational theories.

Chinese Teachers＇ Understanding of Culture Teaching in ELT

In China, the teaching of culture was stipulated to be very important at the government level in the form of a curriculum in early 2000s. Now although the teachers seem to be fully aware of the significance of culture teaching, there are misunderstandings about it. A survey was conducted to find out how the teachers understand and meet the requirements of the curriculums. The results show even the teachers do not understand the objectives of ELT （English Language Teaching） stipulated in the curriculums. They need training and the requirements need clarification, so that the gap between what is expected and what is performed can be bridged.

On Cultural Identity of Teachers in Teaching English

English teaching is a big project in China,whenever we teach English,we transmit western cultures,when taking in the essence of western culture,students also receive the bad things of western culture.Besides,because of learning English,many students know less and less about their own culture and are not interested in learning it.So there is a clash between Chinese cul ture and western culture.So English teachers face a problem:what is their cultural identity in English teaching?Based on the anal ysis of the necessity,demerits and clash of English language and culture teaching,this paper attempts to discuss about teachers’cultural identity in teaching English.

Study on College English Teachers' Cultural Attainment and English Teaching

The promotion of education for all-round development,the new situation of teaching progress and the higher speed growth of technology,culture and economy put in a claim for all the teachers.English is the widespread language all over the world,especially in the foreign affairs,whose effect is more and more important.So how to improve college English teachers'cultural attainment and how to raise the English level of college students need every teacher's endeavor.This thesis makes a discussion to reveal the component of college English teachers'cultural attainment,and then uncovers the inner relationship between college teachers'cultural attainment and the English teaching in university.

Intercultural Language Education and the Challenges Chinese College English Teachers Face

Currently,intercultural language education is a topic which receives much interest due to the rise of globalization,but theories and practice in this field are on the preliminary stage of development in China.To understand ILE better,its background,theory basis,goals,related researches are reviewed and analyzed.Since ILE is relatively new in China,language teachers are facing new challenges in developing intercultural teaching competence to achieve the success of language education.Such challenges consist of understanding the language itself,the difficulty in understanding and teaching culture,designing practical classroom activities and selecting content.

A Study of Intercultural Adaptation of Foreign Teachers in Pingdingshan Colleges and Universities

Along with the advance of cross-culture communication, intercultural adaption arouses a heated discussion in the branch of social science, which is mainly dealing with maladjustment within a host culture. As the matter of fact, in the process of education internationalization, increasing amount of foreign experts and teachers come to China and play an important role in Chinese higher education. While bringing in advanced teaching ideas to local colleges and enjoying exotic Chinese culture, they are also suffering culture shock of different degrees. The thesis is trying to find out: 1) What are the intercultural adaptation levels of foreign teachers in Pingdingshan colleges and universities? 2) What factors may affect their adaptation? 3) What should we do to improve their adaptation levels? In order to solve those problems, a practical study is conducted based on Taylor's transformative learning model theory.

Preparation of lactic acid bacteria compound starter cultures based on pasting properties and its improvement of glutinous rice flour and dough

The effects of 5 lactic acid bacteria(LAB)fermentation on the pasting properties of glutinous rice flour were compared,and suitable fermentation strains were selected based on the changes of viscosity,setback value,and breakdown value to prepare LAB compound starter cultures.The results revealed that Latilactobacillus sakei HSD004 and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HSD005 had apparent advantages in increasing the viscosity and reducing the setback and breakdown values of glutinous rice flour.In particular,the compound starter created using the two abovementioned LAB in the ratio of 3:1 had better performance than that using a single LAB in improving the pasting properties and increasing the water and oil absorption capacity of glutinous rice flour.Moreover,the gelatinization enthalpy of the fermented samples increased significantly.For frozen glutinous rice dough stored for 28 days,the viscoelasticity of frozen dough prepared by compound starter was better than that of control dough,and the freezable water content was lower than that of control dough.These results indicate that compound LAB fermentation is a promising technology in the glutinous rice-based food processing industry,which has significance for its application.

Anticancer Activity of Rice Callus Suspension Cultures from Aromatic Varieties and Metabolites Regulated in Treated Cancer Cell Lines

Tissue culture techniques were used to produce large amounts of bioactive compounds with medicinal potential, overcoming space and time constraints for cancer prevention. Rice callus suspension cultures(RCSC) and seed extracts prepared from aromatic rice varieties were used to evaluate the cytotoxic impact on human colon and lung cancer cell lines, as well as a normal control cell line, using Taxol as a positive control. RCSC and seed extracts from two Indian aromatic rice varieties were applied at different concentrations to treat the cancer cell lines and normal lung fibroblasts over varying time intervals. Apoptosis was assessed in 1:5 dilutions of the A549 and HT-29 cell lines treated with RCSC for 72 h, using propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry. RCSC showed a more potent cytotoxic effect than seed extracts with minimal effect on the normal cell line, in contrast to Taxol. Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry further confirmed the apoptotic effect of RCSC. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolic profiling identified metabolites involved in cytotoxicity and highlighted altered pathways. RCSC is proposed as an alternative source for the development of novel anticancer drugs with reduced side effects.

Development and validation of a novel questionnaire regarding vision screening among preschool teachers in Malaysia

AIM:To develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of a knowledge,attitude,and practice questionnaire related to vision screening(KAP-VST)among preschool teachers in Malaysia.METHODS:The questionnaire was developed through a literature review and discussions with experts.Content and face validation were conducted by a panel of experts(n=10)and preschool teachers(n=10),respectively.A pilot study was conducted for construct validation(n=161)and test-retest reliability(n=60)of the newly developed questionnaire.RESULTS:Based on the content and face validation,71 items were generated,and 68 items were selected after exploratory factor analysis.The content validity index for items(I-CVI)score ranged from 0.8-1.0,and the content validity index for scale(S-CVI)/Ave was 0.99.Internal consistency was KR^(2)0=0.93 for knowledge,Cronbach’s alpha=0.758 for attitude,and Cronbach’s alpha=0.856 for practice.CONCLUSION:The KAP-VST is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing knowledge,attitude,and practice in relation to vision screening among preschool teachers in Malaysia.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity among Public Secondary School Teachers in Parakou, Benin, in 2021

Introduction: Overweight and obesity represent a public health problem in Africa due to the epidemiological transition. The objectives of this work were to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to identify associated factors among public secondary school teachers in Parakou, Benin in 2021. Methods: We conducted a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study. Teachers working in public secondary schools in Parakou during the 2020-2021 academic year, present at work and who gave their written informed consent, were included. A two-stage random sampling was carried out. Data were collected during an individual interview using a questionnaire followed by the measurement of anthropometric parameters and blood pressure. Overweight and obesity were defined by a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify associated factors. Results: A sample of 325 teachers, including 88.6% of men, was recruited with an average age of 36.2 ± 6.8 years. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 43.7% (95% CI [38.1%-44.8%]). It increased significantly with income (p Conclusion: The results show a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. Actions are necessary to prevent overweight and obesity among secondary school teachers in Parakou, in Benin.