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• Pb and As in the BSFL residue are dominated by residual fraction (31–51 %). • 32–48 % of Pb and As are mainly accumulated in the BSFL body. • BSFL has a strong adsorption capacity for Pb (< 60 mg/kg) and As (> 45 mg/kg). • MRPs (e.g., ZntA and ArsR) control the intake, effluent and storage of Pb and As. • Lactobacillus and Enterococcus are the dominant flora under Pb and As stress. The accumulation and transformation of lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) during the digestion of sewage sludge (SS) by black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) remain unclear. In this study, we used 16 s rRNA and metagenomic sequencing techniques to investigate the correlation between the microbial community, metalloregulatory proteins (MRPs), and Pb and As migration and transformation. During the 15-day test period, BSFL were able to absorb 34–48 % of Pb and 32–45 % of As into their body. Changes in bacterial community abundance, upregulation of MRPs, and redundancy analysis (RDA) results confirmed that ZntA, EfeO, CadC, ArsR, ArsB, ArsD, and ArsA play major roles in the adsorption and stabilization of Pb and As, which is mainly due to the high contribution rates of Lactobacillus (48–59 %) and Enterococcus (21–23 %). Owing to the redox reaction, the regulation of the MRPs, and the change in pH, the Pb and As in the BSFL residue were mainly the residual fraction (F4). The RDA results showed that Lactobacillus and L. koreensis could significantly (P < 0.01) reduce the reducible fraction (F2) and F4 of Pb, whereas Firmicutes and L. fermentum can significantly (P < 0.05) promote the transformation of As to F4, thus realizing the passivation Pb and As. This study contributes to the understanding of Pb and As in SS adsorbed by BSFL and provides important insights into the factors that arise during the BSFL-mediated migration of Pb and As. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Threatening cooperation and competition have a positive effect on group creativity. • Increased inter-brain synchronization was observed during threatening cooperation in the temporo-parietal junction. • Decreased inter-brain synchronisation was observed during competition in the prefrontal cortex. • A machine learning approach could discriminate the experimental conditions. Previous research has revealed that threats lead to conflicting conclusions about the performance of group creativity. In this study, it was proposed that the interactive mode (cooperation and competition) would underly the divergent effects of threats on group creativity. The underlying neural mechanisms of the divergent effects were further explored. A total of 56 participants were paired into dyads, performing creative tasks cooperatively and competitively in threatening and non-threatening situations, without verbal communication. Brain signals were collected using functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyper-scanning techniques. The results showed that when participants cooperated with each other, threats (vs. without threats) enhanced group creativity, while no such enhancement was observed in competitive interactions. In the threatening situation, participants' group creativity in competitive interactions was as good as those in cooperative interactions. During the threatening cooperation situation, there were increased inter-brain synchronization in the right temporo-parietal junction and decreased brain activity at the prefrontal cortex and temporo-parietal junction. Regardless of the presence of threats, there were decreased inter-brain synchronization and decreased brain activity during competition in the prefrontal cortex. These results reveal a positive effect of threatening cooperation and competition on group creativity and provide further insight into the inter-brain mechanisms that enhance group creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] ERPs were recorded to explore the difference between MP and MT. [•] MP is earlier than MT in various stages of proposition testing. [•] MT occupied more cognitive resources than MP in the final stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Tests of the principles of dual process theory are typically conducted in the reasoning and judgement/decision-making literature. The present study explores dual process explanations with a new paradigm – the Embedded Chinese Character Task (ECCT). The beauty of this task is that it allows the contrast of automatic and deliberate processes without the potential for conflict. We used event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measures to investigate the time course of automatic (Type 1) and deliberative (Type 2) processes on the ECCT. Thus we explored whether there were differences in processing speed in neural activation. The ECCT requires the extraction of one Chinese character from another, which requires either an automatic strategy reliant on knowledge of Chinese character formation and meaning (based on the radical), or a deliberative strategy using the shape of the components of the character (based on the stroke). Participants judged whether character elements were included or excluded in test characters. Faster response time were observed when judging 'inclusion relations' on automatic problems supporting the proposal that they required a Type 1 process. In line with the behavioral results, the hypothesized faster automatic process showed the rapid differentiation of N2 and P3b components between inclusion and exclusion responses, while no difference was shown for deliberative problems. Thus, neural differences in processing were shown between automatic and deliberate problems, and automatic processing was faster than deliberate processing. Highlights • Embedded Chinese character task was introduced to dual-process theory. • Results showed difference when people use automatic and deliberate strategies. • Significant N2 and P3b were elicited in automatic tasks. • Only N2 were yielded in deliberate tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender differences in intuition remain debatable. Previous research found an intuitive bias for women, but women's intuitive decision-makings sometimes were accurate. This study investigated behavioral and neural patterns of gender differences in intuition using the Embedded Chinese Character Task (ECCT) with event-related potentials. Participants judged whether a target character was included in a test character, which required either an intuitive process (the two characters were spatially separated/adjacent) or an analytical process (target characters were embedded in test characters). Women exhibited shorter reaction times and higher accuracy in intuitive materials for both inclusion and exclusion conditions. They elicited a larger P3b component with stronger parietal alpha power activity in the inclusion condition, and a larger P3b component in intuitive materials than men, indicating female preference for intuitive thinking in ECCT. Men elicited a larger N2 component with weaker parietal alpha power activity in the inclusion condition, indicating their preference for deliberative thinking in ECCT. The stereotype that women make wrong choices through intuitive thinking did not hold; instead, women demonstrated higher accuracy and faster speed than men in ECCT through intuition. The neural mechanism of gender difference in non-mathematic intuition is explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We used ERP measures to explore the neural activity underlying the cognitive processing of envy-related stimuli. [•] P300 amplitudes were larger for high- and moderate-envy target names than for the low-envy target name. [•] Preferential attention toward envy-related stimuli was supported at neurophysiologic levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Previous studies have indicated that individuals with low self-esteem show an attentional bias toward information concerning social rejection. The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate whether task-irrelevant rejection cues could capture the visuo-spatial attention of low self-esteem individuals during a demanding visual detection task. The N2pc ERP component was measured as an index of the allocation of spatial attention. Results revealed that rejection cues induced greater N2pc component responses among individuals with low levels of self-esteem than for those with high levels of self-esteem. These results suggest that task-irrelevant rejection cues are likely to capture the attention of individuals with low self-esteem but not those with high self-esteem. These findings provide direct electrophysiological support for the idea that individuals with low levels of self-esteem show an attentional bias for cues related to social rejection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• CM was negatively correlated with psychological suzhi , gratitude, and PBS. • Psychological suzhi and gratitude were positively correlated with PBS. • Psychological suzhi moderates the association between CM and PBS. • Gratitude mediates the moderating effect of psychological suzhi. Prosocial behaviors are defined as behaviors that are beneficial to others. Although previous studies have suggested that there is a negative association between childhood maltreatment and prosocial behaviors among emerging adults, the conditions and underlying mechanisms of the association remain unclear. Guided by theoretical models and previous research, a mediated moderation model, with psychological suzhi in the moderating and gratitude in the mediating role, was proposed to investigate the association between childhood maltreatment and prosocial behaviors among emerging adults. A total of 2396 Chinese undergraduate students completed measures of childhood maltreatment, psychological suzhi , gratitude, and prosocial behaviors. Results of the correlation analyses showed significant negative associations between childhood maltreatment, prosocial behaviors, psychological suzhi , and gratitude. Moreover, there were significant positive associations between psychological suzhi , gratitude, and prosocial behaviors. The moderated analyses revealed that psychological suzhi moderates the association between childhood maltreatment and prosocial behaviors. The mediated moderation analyses showed that gratitude mediates the moderating effect of psychological suzhi. These findings suggest that while childhood maltreatment hinders the development of prosocial behaviors among Chinese undergraduate students, psychological suzhi buffers its negative effect through gratitude. The results are discussed and the practical implications of these findings are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific interest in the relationship between analytical thinking and paranormal beliefs has increased in recent times. However, due to cultural differences, research in this area has been limited to the consideration of paranormal and religious beliefs. Moreover, few studies have explored the relationship between different types of superstitions and analytical thinking. We hypothesized that analytical thinking promotes distrust of Internet superstition which is a kind of superstition conveyed via the internet and a new form of superstition and that individual differences in the tendency to analytically override initially flawed intuitions are associated with decreased Internet superstition. Participants were classified into an Internet superstition group and a control group. We examined the associations between Internet superstition, traditional superstition, neuroticism, and analytical thinking. We found that analytical thinking negatively predicted both Internet and traditional superstition. Participants who were more willing to engage in analytical thinking were less likely to endorse Internet superstition. Further, Internet superstition has negative relationship with neuroticism. • This study included the Internet superstition of Koi forwarding. • We found that Internet superstitions are more common among youth. • A positive Internet superstition reduced neuroticism, to a certain extent. • We found that analytic thinking can negatively predict irrational beliefs. • A strong correlation between education, age, and cognitive variables was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]