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Negative interpersonal attitudes can affect people's well-being, interpersonal relationships, and cooperation. Overcoming negative interpersonal attitudes is a key subject in loving-kindness and compassion meditations (LCMs). However, the results and study design of previous research on negative interpersonal attitudes have been inconsistent. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize the effects of LCMs and explore moderators through meta-analysis. A literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ISI Core Collection, Medline, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, and PsycINFO databases up to April 2, 2021. Of the 281 identified empirical studies on LCMs, 25 measured negative interpersonal attitudes, and 21 were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that the effects of LCMs on negative interpersonal attitudes in daily life were significant both for randomized controlled trials (g = -.203) and uncontrolled trials (g = -.539). The instant effects after meditation were also significant in randomized controlled experiments (g = -.187). Leave-one-out sensitivity analysis and nonsignificant subgroup analysis showed that the results were robust except for randomized controlled experiments. Although no significant moderators were identified, moderator analysis suggested that reducing bias and sending wishes to difficult targets were especially effective, and LCM subtypes might impact the results. Individual studies found that the contribution of meditation practice during interventions was weak. In sum, LCMs have the potential to reduce negative interpersonal attitudes, especially in multiweek interventions. Future studies should further explore the underlying mechanisms and consider the implications of study design features, such as the induction of negative interpersonal attitudes and the targets of LCMs., Author(s): Jingyi Zhou [sup.1] , Yongqi Lang [sup.1] , Zilin Wang [sup.1] , Chenyu Gao [sup.1] , Jing Lv [sup.2] , Yuan Zheng [sup.1] , Xiaodan Gu [sup.1] , Luyi [...]

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of cooperative modification treatments and treatment sequencing on the properties of treated fast-growing wood. Two integrated treatment methods including, impregnation with Phenol-Formaldehyde resin followed by heat treatment (PF-HT), and heat treatment antecedent to impregnation with Phenol-Formaldehyde resin (HT-PF) were applied on Taxodium hybrid "Zhongshanshan" wood. Comprehensive characterization was undertaken, investigating micro-morphology, chemical structure, mechanical properties, shrinkage and expansion properties, and decay resistance before and after treatment. Results indicated that the weight percentage gain (WPG) of the HT-PF wood exceeded that of the PF-HT wood, and the WPG of the former displayed an ascending tendency with increasing heating temperature, reaching a final difference of 10%. For instance, the modulus of elasticity of the HT-PF wood was 18% higher than that of the PF-HT wood in the bending test at a temperature of 215°C. Throughout the dynamic water adsorption test, both the hydrated water percentage and the dissolved water percentage of PF-HT wood were lower than those of PF-HT wood. After 3 months of exposure to brown-rot fungi, both HT-PF wood and PF-HT wood achieved a high level of decay resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing red fluorescence emitters with simple structures via convenient synthetic routes is highly desirable yet challenging. Herein, two novel donor–acceptor-type red emitters, DCFOPV-TPA and SCFOPV-TPA, featuring the intramolecular charge transfer effect were designed by integrating triphenylamine and trifluoromethyl into a CN-substituted oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) backbone. Both chromophores exhibited aggregation-induced enhanced emission and solvatochromic behavior. Moreover, DCFOPV-TPA also displayed reversible mechanofluorochromic properties under external force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the journal Allergy, explores the impact of mast cell proteases, specifically chymase and β-tryptase, on primary human airway smooth muscle cells (SMCs). The study found that chymase suppressed the metabolic activity and proliferation of SMCs, as well as partially suppressed SMC contraction. Chymase also caused remodeling of the cytoskeleton and degradation of fibronectin and tight junction proteins in SMCs. These findings suggest that chymase may have a dampening effect on airway SMCs and could potentially play a role in asthma development. The study was supported by various research grants and the authors declare no conflicts of interest. [Extracted from the article]

As a medium, science fiction animation has a special significance for the construction of science and technology awareness among youth. As the science fiction animation market is booming and popular among young people, it is more and more urgent to explore ways to improve the impact of science fiction animation. This research report analyzes the science fiction symbolic landscape presented by the animation through the questionnaire analysis and interviews of Love, Death and Robots, and explores the meaning construction of the science fiction symbols in the animation and the dissemination path of the scientific spirit kernel, in order to explore the law of its construction of science and technology consciousness for young people, with a view to providing some reference for the innovative development of science fiction animation in China in the future.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignancy with high morbidity and mortality. Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) serves as a reader of RNA m6A (N6 methyladenosine) modification to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Emerging evidence suggests that IGF2BP2 plays critical roles in tumorigenesis and malignant development. However, the biological function and molecular mechanism of IGF2BP2 in ESCC are not well understood. Here, we found that IGF2BP2 expression was upregulated in esophageal cancer tissues and ESCC cells, and IGF2BP2 overexpression enhanced proliferation, migration, invasion, and stem cell-like properties of ESCC cells. Conversely, the knockdown of IGF2BP2 expression inhibited malignant phenotype of ESCC cells. Mechanistically, IGF2BP2 upregulated octomer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) mRNA expression, and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay proved that IGF2BP2 could interact with OCT4 mRNA. Moreover, OCT4 was modified at m6A confirmed by methylated m6A RNA immunoprecipitation (Me-RIP)-qPCR assay, and IGF2BP2 knockdown reduced OCT4 mRNA stability. These results suggested that IGF2BP2 served as a reader for m6A-modified OCT4, thus increased OCT4 mRNA expression by regulating its stability. Furthermore, the knockdown of OCT4 could reverse the effects of IGF2BP2 on ESCC cells. In conclusion, these data indicate that IGF2BP2, as a reader for m6A, plays an oncogenic role by regulating OCT4 expression in ESCC, which provides new insights into targeting IGF2BP2/OCT4 axis for the therapy of ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]