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Effortless print-sound integration is essential to reading development, and the superior temporal cortex (STC) is the most critical brain region. However, to date, the conclusion is almost restricted to alphabetic orthographies. To examine the neural basis in non-alphabetic languages and its relationship with reading abilities, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in typically developing Chinese children. Two neuroimaging-based indicators of audiovisual processing-additive enhancement (higher activation in the congruent than the average activation of unimodal conditions) and neural integration (different activations between the congruent versus incongruent conditions)-were used to investigate character-sounds (opaque) and pinyin-sounds (transparent) processing. We found additive enhancement in bilateral STCs processing both character and pinyin stimulations. Moreover, the neural integrations in the left STC for the two scripts were strongly correlated. In terms of differentiation, first, areas beyond the STCs also showed additive enhancement in processing pinyin-sounds. Second, while the bilateral STCs, left inferior/middle frontal and parietal regions manifested a striking neural integration (incongruentcongruent) for character-sounds, no significant clusters were revealed for pinyin-sounds. Finally, the neural integration in the left middle frontal gyrus for characters was specifically associated with silent reading comprehension proficiency, indicating automatic semantic processing during implicit character-sound integration. In contrast, the neural integration in the left STC for pinyin was specifically associated with oral reading fluency that relies on grapho-phonological mapping. To summarize, this study revealed both script-universal and script-specific neurofunctional substrates of print-sound integration as well as their processing- and region-dependent associations with reading abilities in typical Chinese children.

High-risk prostate cancer can take advantage of the combination of hypofractionated radiotherapy and pelvic conventional fraction radiotherapy. The comparison between fixed field dynamic IMRT and VMAT techniques can provide suggestions for clinical treatment. We selected 10 high-risk prostate cancer patients who received radiotherapy at the cancer center of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2016 to December 2019. The targets contained in prostate, seminal vesicles and pelvic lymph nodes. With the same prescription and optimized parameters, 9F, single-arc (1ARC) and double-arc (2ARC) treatment plans were developed. The dose distribution of the targets, OAR, MU, treatment time and gamma pass ratios of dose verification was compared. The D2% (69.37 ± 0.89) Gy, D50% (66.92 ± 0.63) Gy, HI (0.09 ± 0.02), and CI (0.83 ± 0.05) of PTV1 in 9F were slightly better than those of 1ARC which were (71.13 ± 1.21) Gy, (68.50 ± 0.76) Gy, (0.12 ± 0.02), (0.74 ± 0.07), except D98%, the difference was significant (P .05). All dosimetry indices of PTV1 in 9F and 2ARC were close and have no significant differences (P .05). The V95% (99.45 ± 0.78)% of PTV2 in 9F was slightly better than that in 1ARC (99.35 ± 1.28)%. The difference was significant (P .05). All dosimetry indices of PTV2 in 9F and 2ARC were close and the difference was not significant (P .05). The Dmean of the bladder and the V67.5 Gy of rectum between all three plans were similar. The Dmean of left and right femoral in 1ARC and 2ARC were lower than that in 9F, and the difference was significant (P .05). Other dosimetry indices of OARs in 9F were lower than those in 1ARC and 2ARC, and much lower than 1ARC. The difference was significant (P .05). Mean monitor units in 1ARC and 2ARC were fewer by 70.0% and 67.2% in comparison with 9F. The treatment mean time in 1ARC and 2ARC was shorter by 81.7% and 61% in comparison with 9F. Verification pass ratios of γ (3%/3 mm) were 97.8% (9F), 98.9% (1ARC) and 99.4% (2ARC) respectively. The difference was significant (P .05). Compared with IMRT, VMAT improved delivery efficiency noticeably. Two arcs provided comparable tumor dosimetry coverage, but performed worse in dose sparing for bladder, rectum and small bowel. The IMRT plan was preferable to VMAT in prostate cancer simultaneous integrated boost radiotherapy.

Fluorescence emission in the near-infrared-II (NIR-II) optical window affords reduced autofluorescence and light scattering, enabling deep-tissue visualization for both disease detection and surgical navigation. Small-molecule NIR-II dyes are preferable for clinical bioimaging applications, as the flexibility in their molecular synthesis allows for precise control of their optical and pharmacokinetic properties. Among the various types of dye, donor-acceptor-donor-based (D-A-D) dyes demonstrate exceptional photostability, whereas the frequently used PEGylation approach does not keep their intrinsic brightness enough in water environments due to their inherent effect of self-assembly. Here, we demonstrate that the commercially-available surfactants can serve as a dispersant to prevent molecular aggregation of PEGylated D-A-D dyes. Due to the favorable energetics for co-assembly between D-A-D dyes and surfactants, the formed surfactant-chaperoned dye strategy dramatically increases dye brightness. Accordingly, this effect provides remarkably improved performance for

Symptoms of depression and anxiety usually co-occur and are inextricably linked to sleep disturbance. However, little is known about the symptom-to-symptom relationships among these three mental disorders. Hence, to improve our understanding of concurrent depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance, we used the network analysis approach to construct an interplay relationship among the above three mental disorders and identify which specific symptoms bridge these aggregations. We collected data from a large sample (

Extensive studies have shown that childhood psychological maltreatment causes harmful effects. However, positive psychologists indicate that an absence of negative outcomes does not guarantee that there will be coinciding positive outcomes (e.g., life satisfaction). The mechanisms underlying the association of childhood psychological maltreatment and life satisfaction are relatively underexplored. To address the gap, this study examined the mediating role of internalizing problems between childhood psychological maltreatment and life satisfaction and the moderating role of social support (i.e., psychological and instrumental support from significant social relationships) between internalizing problems and life satisfaction among emerging adults. A total of 346 Chinese young adults were recruited (Mage = 22.49, SDage = 0.96; 236 females and 110 males) to complete self-report measures of demographics, childhood psychological maltreatment, internalizing problems, social support, and life satisfaction. The results showed that (a) the prevalence rate of childhood psychological maltreatment was 46.5% in the present sample, (b) internalizing problems fully mediated the association between childhood psychological maltreatment and life satisfaction, and (c) social support moderated the relationship between internalizing problems and life satisfaction. These findings could provide some fresh avenues for psychological interventions of young adults suffering from childhood psychological maltreatment. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Disorganized attachment is a predictor of psychopathology. Given that no scale has been developed in China that can detect disorganized attachment and help prevent related psychological disorders, this study aimed to translate and examine the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of Adult Disorganized Attachment Scale (ADAS). The sample consisted of 345 Chinese adult residents (as sample 1), 356 Chinese university students (as sample 2; Mage = 19.72, SDage = 1.32), and 109 Chinese university students selected from sample 2 (as test-retest sample). Results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggested that the one-factor model of ADAS fit well. Furthermore, the criterion validity of ADAS validity was good. Specifically, ADAS was significantly related to Experiences in the Close Relationship Scale-Relationship Structures Questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, Buss-Perry Aggression Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The internal consistency reliability and retest reliability of ADAS was good. Thus, the Chinese version of the 9-item ADAS is a reliable and effective tool, which may promote the studies and interventions of adult disorganized attachment in China. This study is the first to investigate the characteristics of disorganized attachment in Chinese adults, thus expanding the cross-cultural exploration of adult disorganized attachment. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

The role of time in estimating the cost of forest carbon is often ignored in the literature, nor does the literature address the issues of where and when the purchase of forest carbon storage becomes socially beneficial. In our study, we identify the spatial and temporal allocations of forest carbon investments that are socially beneficial based on empirical analysis. We use the Central and Southern Appalachian region in the Eastern United States as a case study over three periods (i.e., 1992–2001, 2001–2006, and 2006–2011) that are roughly in line with moderate, upturn, and downturn market conditions. The areas from which it is socially beneficial to buy carbon storage are mainly in flat terrain and further away from urban boundaries, hence facing lower development pressure and lower urban net returns. These areas also have less urban land and more forestland. The mapping of carbon cost over the three market conditions in our case study also indicates that the socially beneficial carbon area shrinks as the opportunity cost increases when the real-estate market evolves from a moderately growing to a booming market. The socially beneficial carbon area shrinks further as the demand from urban development on forestland collapses when the real-estate market enters a downturn stage.

Based on the framework of the self-determination theory, the present study of Chinese college students was designed to investigate the relationships between relatedness frustration and compensatory behaviors on social networking sites (SNSs), as well as the mediating role of SNS self-control failure. Chinese college students (N = 461, 159 males; Mage = 18.62 ± .77) were recruited to complete online questionnaires measuring relatedness frustration, SNS self-control failure, and three types of SNS behaviors (immediate response to SNS signals, self-disclosure on SNSs, and SNS addiction symptoms). Path analyses indicated that relatedness frustration was directly associated with participants’ immediate response to SNS signals and SNS addiction symptoms. SNS self-control failure functioned as a mediator in the links between relatedness frustration and SNS addiction symptoms. This study provided empirical evidence of the relationship between relatedness frustration and SNS compensatory behaviors. Furthermore, the finding on the intervening role of SNS self-control failure offers some insights for designing intervention programs aimed to reduce maladaptive and addictive SNS activities.

Recently, in the view of network analysis, depression has been conceptualized as a complex and dynamic network model combining individual symptoms. To date, no studies have systematically examined and compared depressive symptom networks across different populations.A total of 36,105 participants were recruited and asked to complete the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 among junior high school students, senior high school students, college students, and elderly adults who were more susceptible to depression during the COVID-19 lockdown in China. In the analysis, we applied the optimal cutoff score ≥ 8 for students and a score ≥ 6 for elderly adults to identify 5830 participants who were likely to be depressed. The index of "strength" was used to identify central symptoms in the network structure.The results showed that Sad Mood was the most central symptom among junior high school students, senior high school students, and college students, but the most central symptom in the elderly was Guilt. Among the top three central symptoms, Suicide Ideation was unique to senior high school students, while Anhedonia was most prevalent among college students. Guilt - Suicide Ideation, Anhedonia - Energy, Anhedonia - Sad Mood, and Sleep - Energy showed the strongest association among junior and senior high school students, college students, and elderly adults, respectively. NCT (i.e., Network Comparison Test) suggested that the network's global connectivity was ultimately inconsistent, but the network structure remained roughly intact.In treatment, targeting central symptoms may be critical to alleviating depression.

The present study investigated whether and to what extent children with dyslexia utilize visual and phonetic strategies in character learning. A paired associate learning paradigm was used in two experiments to train children’s pronunciation-orthography associations of novel words, with a recall task 1 week later for retention. Experiment 1 included 32 Mandarin-speaking fifth graders with dyslexia (dyslexia group) and 28 age-matched peers (comparison group) and manipulated the availability of an arbitrary bolded stroke in Chinese character (visual cue, available vs. unavailable) of eight low-frequency real characters. The dyslexia group demonstrated poorer character learning effects than the comparison group, whereas the similar interference effect of visual cues was found across groups. Sixty-six fifth-grade children participated in Experiment 2 (dyslexia, N = 34). The regularity of phonetic cues of 12 pseudo-characters was manipulated into regular, semiregular, irregular, providing full, partial, or no pronunciation cues. The dyslexia group demonstrated comparable learning outcomes of regular pseudo-characters, but poorer learning on semiregular and irregular pseudo-characters than the comparison group. Importantly, they utilize semiregular phonetic cues. In both experiments, the two groups did not differ on the retention of learning. Taken together, children with dyslexia perform poorer in the learning stage, but not in visual or phonetic strategies or the retention of learning. Like their peers, they do not use arbitrary visual cues but utilize phonetic cues, and thus compensate for poor learning of regular characters and alleviate that of semiregular characters.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent and highly aggressive cancer. Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recognized as potential molecular targets for HCC and are currently under increased research focus. Here, we investigate the regulatory processes underlying the axis of the lncRNA taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1), Upstream Transcription Factor 1 (USF1), and reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (ROMO1) in the propagation and metastasis of HCC cells. Distribution of lncRNA TUG1 was found to be prominent in HCC cell cytoplasm and nuclei. LncRNA TUG1 conscripted the USF1 transcription factor to enhance the promoter function of ROMO1. Enlisting the USF1 transcription factor to increase ROMO1 expression following upregulation of TUG1 lncRNA enhanced HCC Huh7 cell proliferation, motility, and metastasis. Rapid tumor proliferation in nude mice provided in vivo verification. The importance of the lncRNA TUG1/USF1/ROMO1 complex as a target for HCC therapy is a key result of this investigation which is exemplified by its role in regulating the proliferation, motility, and metastasis of HCC cells., Distribution of LncRNA TUG1 was prominent in HCC cell cytoplasm and nuclei. LncRNA TUG1 conscripted the USF1 transcription factor to enhance the promoter function of ROMO1. Enlisting the USF1 transcription factor to increase ROMO1 expression following upregulation of TUG1 lncRNA enhanced HCC cell proliferation, migration and metastasis.

The current study aimed to explore the relative role of psychological needs satisfaction and perceived teacher support between mother-child attachment and resilience among impoverished children. Participants consist of 284 Chinese middle school students (49.25% males; Mage = 14.13 years, SD = 1.57) from low-income families who completed a comprehensive questionnaire from the aspects of mother-child attachment, resilience, psychological needs satisfaction and perceived teacher support. Structural equation modeling showed that psychological needs satisfaction partly mediated the relationship between mother-child attachment and resilience. Specifically, mother-child attachment was positively associated with psychological needs satisfaction, which in turn positively associated with resilience. Moreover, perceived teacher support moderated the relationship between psychological needs satisfaction and resilience. The correlation between psychological needs satisfaction and resilience was more robust in children who perceived higher teacher support than those who perceived lower teacher support. The findings suggested that interventions focusing on satisfying the psychological needs of mother-child attachment and enhancing teacher support may promote the resilience of impoverished children.

In both the West and East, social withdrawal, manifested as solitude and shyness, has distinct developmental implications for adolescent mental health. Representative countries in the West (e.g., North America and Europe) and East (e.g., China) were selected to compare cultural differences. This literature review aims to discuss how adolescents experience solitude and shyness differently in North America, Europe, and China from a developmental perspective, and adopts a cross-cultural perspective to explain the distinct outcomes of adolescent social withdrawal. Furthermore, humanistic perspectives are discussed to link adolescent development and humanism in terms of previous empirical evidence and counseling practices. In North America and Europe, solitude has both adaptive and harmful effects on adolescents’ mental health. However, solitude in China and shyness in both cultural settings tend to adversely affect adolescent mental health. These findings from previous studies correspond to developmental perspectives in terms of mental health, personal adaptation, and self-development during adolescence. The strengths, weaknesses, and implications of this literature review are also discussed.

Near-infrared-II (NIR-II) dyes could be encapsulated by either exogenous or endogenous albumin to form stable complexes for deep tissue bioimaging. However, we still lack a complete understanding of the interaction mechanism of the dye@albumin complex. Studying this principle is essential to guide efficient dye synthesis and develop NIR-II probes with improved brightness, photostability

The current study was designed based on the two-process model of the relatedness need to investigate the cyber-psychological mechanisms in the relationship between relatedness frustration and social networking sites (SNSs) behaviors. Chinese college students (N = 494; 190 males; Mage = 18.81 ± .92) were recruited to complete online questionnaires to measure relatedness frustration, relatedness satisfaction, affiliation motivation, and WeChat engagement. Path analyses indicated that relatedness frustration was directly related to defensive WeChat engagement and indirectly related to WeChat involvement and active engagement via affiliation motivation. Affiliation motivation played a significant mediating role, with the relationship between affiliation motivation and WeChat involvement being moderated by relatedness satisfaction. Specifically, this relationship existed only when the level of relatedness satisfaction was high. This study helps to understand motivational coping mechanisms among people with different levels of relatedness satisfaction in relation to SNSs after experiencing relatedness frustration. Potential limitations and future directions of this paper to the cyber-psychology literature are discussed.

Conquering print-sound mappings (e.g., grapheme-phoneme correspondence rules) is vital for developing fluent reading skills. In neuroimaging research, this ability can be indexed by activation differences between audiovisual congruent against incongruent conditions in brain areas such as the left superior temporal cortex. In line with it, individuals with dyslexia have difficulty in tasks requiring print-sound processing, accompanied by a reduced neural integration. However, existing evidence is almost restricted to alphabetic languages. Whether and how multisensory processing of print and sound is impaired in Chinese dyslexia remains underexplored. In this study, we applied a passive audiovisual integration paradigm with functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the possible dysfunctions in processing character-sound (opaque; semantics can be automatically accessed) and pinyin-sound associations (transparent; no particular meaning can be confirmed) in Chinese dyslexic children. Unexpectedly, the dyslexic group did not show reduced neural integration compared with typically developing readers in either character or pinyin experiment. However, the results revealed atypical correlations between neural integration and different reading abilities in dyslexia. Specifically, while the neural integration in the left inferior frontal cortex in processing character-sound pairs correlated with silent reading comprehension in both children with and without dyslexia, it was associated with morphological awareness (semantic-related) in controls but with rapid naming (phonological-related) in dyslexics. This result indicates Chinese dyslexic children may not use the same grapho-semantic processing strategy as their typical peers do. As for pinyin-sound processing, while a stronger neural integration in the direction of “congruent > incongruent” in the left occipito-temporal cortex and bilateral superior temporal cortices was associated with better oral reading fluency in the control group, an opposite pattern was found in dyslexia. This finding may reflect dyslexia’s dysfunctional recruitment of the regions in grapho-phonological processing, which further impedes character learning.HighlightsNeurofunctional correlates of print-sound integration in Chinese children with and without dyslexia are investigated.Dyslexic children show atypical relationships between neural audiovisual integration and reading abilities.Chinese children with dyslexia are likely to use inefficient strategies to process characters and pinyin.

In China, people are more concerned now than in the past about adolescents’ excessive use of smartphones. This study conceptually distinguished two types of loneliness (i.e., social and non-social loneliness) and explored their different effects on adolescents’ problematic smartphone use. The mediation mechanism of smartphone usage motivations (i.e., interpersonal connectedness and habitual escape) and underlying grade difference within these effects were also examined. Data were collected from 487 students in Beijing’s secondary schools. A two-wave design with a time lag of 6 months was used. Results indicated that both social and non-social loneliness (Time 1) positively predicted problematic smartphone use (Time 2, 6 months after Time 1), and the habitual escape motivation (Time 2) played a significant mediation role in these two effects. Further, the grade showed a marginal moderation role in the relation between non-social loneliness and habitual escape motivation. Specifically, this relationship was marginally higher in senior high school students than junior students. Implications, limitations, and future directions were discussed.

The evolution of land-use spatial conflict is a comprehensive reflection of regional development and a common phenomenon in urbanization. The research on land-use spatial conflicts can provide theoretical basis and practical support for spatial control. The present study employs Tianjin as the research object, and ecological risk assessment model was improved based on landscape pattern analysis by selecting appropriate indicators that may bring conflict risk problems. The spatial conflict measurement model of land-use based on the coordination of human-land-landscape elements was preliminarily constructed. The spatial and temporal evolution of land-use spatial conflict degree, and spatial autocorrelation from 2000 to 2020 was preliminarily analyzed. Results showed that (1) the conflict measurement level of the model was verified by Google Earth remote sensing image platform and field survey, and the results were relatively consistent with the actual situation, which proves that this method was feasible. (2) The areas with low intensity of land-use conflict were mainly distributed in remote mountainous areas with less human activities, while the areas with high comprehensive conflict index were mainly distributed in the central urban area with more active human activities and urbanization, the urban fringe area, the water-land ecotone, and some landscape transition areas. (3) There was a close relationship between land use spatial conflict and land-use change. Areas with severe and frequent land-use changes were often areas with noticeable land-use conflict changes. In the period of high land-use change intensity and frequent land-use mode conversion, it was also a period of a large area where regional land-use conflict was enhanced. (4) The overall level of conflict showed an average trend year by year, and the high conflict fluctuates greatly with first rising and then falling, but the change range was small. Moderate conflict mainly showed a decreasing trend, with an extensive change range. The early stage of the mild conflict was relatively stable, and the later stage changed significantly.

BACKGROUND: Deltex 1 (DTX1) is a single transmembrane protein with ubiquitin E3 ligase activity which has been found to play a role in the development of several cancers. We aimed to investigate the associations between DTX1 and breast cancer (BC). METHODS: We explored the roles and mechanisms of DTX1 in BC by using BC cell lines in vitro. Levels of DTX1 in serum and tissues were determined in 316 patients with BC, 102 patients with fibroadenoma, and 113 healthy controls by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The associations between DTX1 and clinical characteristics of BC were analyzed using multivariate analysis and Cox regression survival analysis. RESULTS: Lower levels of DTX1 promoted BC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The cell growth and survival of BC might be regulated by DTX1 via the Notch signaling pathway. Levels of DTX1 in BC tissues were lower compared to fibroadenoma tissues and peri-neoplastic breast tissues (P

T-cell-based immunotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade have been successfully used to treat several human solid cancers. The present study attempted to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of the antitumor effect of adoptive cell therapy along with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Tumor infiltration lymphocytes (TILs) from TNBC mouse tumor tissues were isolated and expanded, and TILs for adoptive cell therapy (TILs-ACT) were applied in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor to the TNBC mouse model. The pre- and post-therapy antitumor efficacy, cytokine secretion, and pathological changes were assessed both in vitro and in vivo. We found that TILs exhibited higher IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion than conventional T cells. The TILs-ACT combined with PD-1 inhibitor promoted active T-cell infiltration into the tumor tissue and exerted a strong antitumor effect in an in vivo model. Additionally, the strategy could downregulate the expression of inhibitory marker PD-1 on TILs. In conclusion, PD-1 blockade regulated T-cell exhaustion that synergized with adoptive TIL transfer immunotherapy, leading to eradication of established TNBC tumors. These findings might be useful in developing a feasible and effective therapeutic approach for TNBC.

T-cell-based immunotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade have been successfully used to treat several human solid cancers. The present study attempted to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of the antitumour effect of adoptive cell therapy along with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We isolated and expanded tumour infiltration lymphocytes (TILs) from TNBC mouse tumour tissues and adoptive TIL transfusion (TILs-ACT) was applied in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor to the TNBC mouse model. The pre- and post-therapy antitumour efficacy, cytokine secretion, and pathological changes were assessed both in vitro and in vivo. TILs exhibited higher IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion than conventional T cells. The TILs-ACT combined with PD-1 inhibitor promoted active T-cell infiltration into the tumour tissue and exerted a strong antitumour effect in an in vivo model. Additionally, the strategy could downregulate the expression of inhibitory marker PD-1 on TILs. Our results suggested that PD-1 blockade regulated T-cell exhaustion which synergised with adoptive TIL transfer immunotherapy, leading to eradication of established TNBC tumours. These findings might be useful in developing a feasible and effective therapeutic approach for TNBC.

Recently in China, the popularity of the social networking site, WeChat, has increased rapidly. The current study aims to develop a WeChat Engagement Style Measure (WESM) to distinguish among different WeChat use styles. Based on the framework of the two-process model of psychological needs, this study explores relatedness need frustration (RNF) as a predictor and relatedness need satisfaction (RNS) as an outcome of WeChat use. Individual differences in the Big Five personality traits are examined in relation to the two processes. Data were collected from 494 Chinese college students. The results revealed that the 11-item WESM featured three factors: involvement, active engagement, and passive engagement. In the need-as-motive process, RNF only predicted passive WeChat engagement, which was moderated by openness and neuroticism. This effect was stronger for participants with high openness and low neuroticism. In the need-as-requirement process, WeChat involvement and active engagement predicted RNS, and extraversion moderated between active engagement and RNS. This effect was restricted to those with high extraversion. The current study provides a deeper understanding of the two processes of relatedness need and individual personality differences in the context of WeChat usage.

Being in a romantic relationship might be negatively associated with appearance-based rejection sensitivity (Appearance-RS); however, there is little understanding of the mechanism of this relationship. In this study, we explored the effect of romantic relationship status (RRS) on Appearance-RS, and whether this effect is mediated by self-rated attractiveness (SRA) and moderated by appearance-contingent self-worth (A-CSW). Participants were 542 Chinese undergraduates who completed anonymous questionnaires measuring RRS, SRA, A-CSW, Appearance-RS, and various control variables. The results revealed that individual differences in RRS were a pronounced predictor of Appearance-RS. Specifically, single individuals without any romantic relationship were more susceptible to higher Appearance-RS, which was explained by their lower SRA. Additionally, the more participants' self-worth was contingent on their appearance, the stronger their SRA predicted their Appearance-RS. Future studies should explore the role of relationship satisfaction in the effect of RRS on Appearance-RS.

Background Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been demonstrated to be a critical factor for breast cancer malignancy. However, the molecular mechanisms by which IL-6 induce breast cancer cells epithelial–mesenchymal-transition (EMT) and stemness remain elusive. Methods Breast cancer cell lines T47D and MCF7 were exposed to IL-6, the expression of PIM1 was examined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot. Luciferase reporter assay was used to determine the transcriptional modulation of PIM1 by IL-6 and STAT3 inhibitor. Transwell assay was used to detect the invading ability of breast cancer cells induced by IL-6 or PIM1. The expressions of EMT and stemness markers were determined by qRT-PCR. Results IL-6 promoted PIM1 expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and this induction could be abrogated by inhibiting STAT3 activation, subsequently suppressing the transcriptional level of PIM1. Moreover, we noticed that knocking down of PIM1 in cells which was exposed to IL-6 significantly impaired the invasion ability and the expression of EMT and stemness markers. On the contrary, overexpression of PIM1 promoted cell invasion and upregulated the expression of EMT and stemness markers. In addition, we demonstrated that c-myc, the cofactor of PIM1, involved in the pro-oncogenic roles of PIM1. Knocking down of c-myc attenuated the PIM1-induced cell EMT and stemness. Conclusion This study proposed the upregulation of PIM1 by IL-6 contributed to breast cancer cell aggressiveness and targeting PIM1 or c-myc could be novel approaches for breast cancer treatment.

Interpersonal rejection is a well-documented risk factor for depression. The interpersonal consequences of depression, however, have been relatively unstudied. The present study aimed to examine the psychosocial functioning of depressed individuals when faced with interpersonal rejection. The differential consequences on two subtypes of depression – dependent and self-critical depression – were also explored. Based on a survey of 1710 individuals, 44 cases of dependent depression (“dependents”), 44 cases of self-critical depression (“self-critics”), and 46 people without depression took part in the experiment. All participants received a laboratory-manipulated rejection (Nezlek, Kowalski, Leary, Blevin, & Holgate, 1997). Measures of state dependency, state self-criticism, and Willingness to Engage in Teamwork (WET) were assessed for all participants before and after rejection. Additional measures of Willingness to Work Harder (WWH) and Social Interest (SI) were assessed post-rejection. Results indicated that dependents and self-critics responded significantly differently to rejection. After rejection, dependents' state dependency increased, while that of self-critics decreased. Moreover, dependents responded to rejection by pleasing others more (increases in WET, WWH, and SI), whereas self-critics responded by withdrawing (decreases in WET, WWH, and SI). The clinical and research implications of this study are also discussed.

Background: The anti-thrombotic strategy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common and difficult challenge. This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of “one-stop” left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) combined with PCI as an alternative stroke prophylaxis strategy. Methods: From March 2017 to October 2019, AF patients with elevated bleeding risk and significant stable CAD requiring PCI were recruited to undergo LAAC as alternative stroke prophylaxis in Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, China. LAAC was performed either in the same setting with PCI (i.e. “one-stop” LAAC/PCI), or as staged procedure after PCI. Dual antiplatelet therapy was given for all patients after LAAC. Peri-procedural and intermediate-term clinical outcomes were assessed through hospital clinical records review and standardized telephone interviews. Results: A total of 24 patients were recruited including 13 (54.2%) underwent stage procedure and 11 (45.8%) underwent “one-stop” procedure respectively. The mean CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc and HAS-BLED scores were 4.5±1.4 and 3 (IQR 3,4) respectively. Six patients (46.1%) in the staged procedure cohort were treated with triple anti-thrombotic following PCI, with 2 developed minor bleeding before LAAC. One patient (“one-stop” cohort) had gastrointestinal bleeding 1 day after procedure. Otherwise, there was no device related complication or peri-procedural stroke/myocardial infarction. After a mean 19±5.4 months follow-up, there was no death, myocardial infarction, stroke and systemic embolization detected. Conclusions: In this pilot study, “one-stop” LAAC with PCI was shown to be efficacious with no stroke, MI, VARC-2 major bleeding or CV death reported over a mean follow-up of 19 months, and safe with no major peri-procedural bleeding or device related complications.

Relational developmental systems (RDS) theory and ample evidence suggests that parent involvement in schools enhances middle-school age students’ social development, including increased prosocial behaviors and reduced problem behaviors. However, the mechanism of the relationships is unclear, especially in Chinese context. The current study aimed to examine the mediating role of positive coping in the relationship of parent involvement in school and prosocial behaviors, problem behaviors among Chinese middle school students. Moreover, this study explored the correlations between prosocial and problem behaviors. A total of 1062 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 11.73, 41% boys; 59% girls) completed the Parent Involvement in Schools Scale of Chinese Version (PISS-C), the Coping Style Scale of the Chinese Version (CSS-C), the Prosocial Behaviors Questionnaire of the Chinese Version (PBQ-C), and the Youth Self-Report Chinese Version (YSR-C). The results showed that positive coping mediated relationships between parent involvement in schools and prosocial behaviors, problem behaviors. Specifically, parent involvement in schools was positively related to positive coping. In turn, positive coping was positively associated with prosocial behaviors and negatively related to problem behaviors. Another finding revealed that prosocial behaviors was negatively correlated with problem behaviors. Limitations, future directions, and implications were discussed.

Effortless print-sound integration is essential to reading development, and the superior temporal cortex (STC) is the most critical brain region. However, to date, the conclusion is almost restricted to alphabetic orthographies. To examine the neural basis in non-alphabetic languages and its relationship with reading abilities, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in typically developing Chinese children. Two neuroimaging-based indicators of audiovisual processing—additive enhancement (higher activation in the congruent than the average activation of unimodal conditions) and neural integration (different activations between the congruent versus incongruent conditions)—were used to investigate character-sounds (opaque) and pinyin-sounds (transparent) processing. We found additive enhancement in bilateral STCs processing both character and pinyin stimulations. Moreover, the neural integrations in the left STC for the two scripts were strongly correlated. In terms of differentiation, first, areas beyond the STCs showed additive enhancement in processing pinyin-sounds. Second, while the bilateral STCs, left inferior/middle frontal and parietal regions manifested a striking neural integration (incongruent > congruent) for character-sounds, no significant clusters were revealed for pinyin-sounds. Finally, the neural integration in the left middle frontal gyrus for characters was specifically associated with silent reading comprehension proficiency, indicating automatic semantic processing during implicit character-sound integration. In contrast, the neural integration in the left STC for pinyin was specifically associated with oral reading fluency that relies on grapho-phonological mapping. To summarize, this study revealed both script-universal and script-specific neurofunctional substrates of print-sound integration as well as their processing- and region-dependent associations with reading abilities in typical Chinese children.HighlightsThe bilateral superior temporal cortices display additive enhancement in processing print-sound information regardless of orthographies.The location, direction, and strength of the neural audiovisual integration are modulated by orthographic transparency.The neural integration in the left middle frontal gyrus in processing character-sounds is correlated to reading comprehension.The neural integration in the left superior temporal gyrus for pinyin is correlated with oral reading fluency.The neural integrations of character-sounds and pinyin-sounds show spatial overlap and inter-subject correlation in the left superior temporal cortex.

The present study investigated whether and to what extent children with dyslexia utilize visual and phonetic strategies in character learning. A paired associate learning paradigm was used in two experiments to train children's pronunciation-orthography associations of novel words, with a recall task 1 week later for retention. Experiment 1 included 32 Mandarin-speaking fifth graders with dyslexia (dyslexia group) and 28 age-matched peers (comparison group) and manipulated the availability of an arbitrary bolded stroke in Chinese character (visual cue, available vs. unavailable) of eight low-frequency real characters. The dyslexia group demonstrated poorer character learning effects than the comparison group, whereas the similar interference effect of visual cues was found across groups. Sixty-six fifth-grade children participated in Experiment 2 (dyslexia, N = 34). The regularity of phonetic cues of 12 pseudo-characters was manipulated into regular, semiregular, irregular, providing full, partial, or no pronunciation cues. The dyslexia group demonstrated comparable learning outcomes of regular pseudo-characters, but poorer learning on semiregular and irregular pseudo-characters than the comparison group. Importantly, they utilize semiregular phonetic cues. In both experiments, the two groups did not differ on the retention of learning. Taken together, children with dyslexia perform poorer in the learning stage, but not in visual or phonetic strategies or the retention of learning. Like their peers, they do not use arbitrary visual cues but utilize phonetic cues, and thus compensate for poor learning of regular characters and alleviate that of semiregular characters.

Summary: Carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) are impressive imaging probes with great potential for enriching the library of metal-free fluorescent materials, yet current strategies have struggled to achieve products that emit full-color light in a single reaction system. Establishing an efficient and robust synthesis approach that unlocks the color barrier to the luminescence centers of specific CPDs remains a challenge. Herein, the surface-state engineering of pyridine and amide in the indole system to create a palette of resolvable full-color light-emissive CPDs is reported. Detailed structural analysis revealed that cationic polymerization and oxidation reactions potentially contribute to the formation of the main frameworks and emission centers of the final CPDs, with emissive oxygen- and nitrogen-based centers fixed by cross-linked polymer structures. This study provides valuable insight into the energy absorbance and photoluminescence mechanism of CPDs and introduces additional reactants (benzo heterocycle) into CPD research.

This study aims to explore the relationships among social anxiety, social networking sites (SNS) addiction, and SNS addiction tendency and further to examine the moderating role of state attachment anxiety and state attachment avoidance. A sample of Chinese young adults ( N = 437, Mage = 24.21 ± 3.25, 129 males) participated in this study, the data were collected through self-reports. Results revealed that participants’ social anxiety was positively associated with SNS addiction and SNS addiction tendency. State attachment anxiety moderated these two relationships after controlling gender, age, and state attachment avoidance, while state attachment avoidance showed no significant moderating effect. Specifically, the positive relationships between social anxiety and SNS addiction (tendency) were restricted to individuals with low state attachment anxiety. While for individuals with high state attachment anxiety, social anxiety was no longer associated with SNS addiction or SNS addiction tendency. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of state attachment’s moderating role in terms of the relationships between social anxiety and SNS addiction (tendency).