Search

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the effects of academic performance and depression in friendships among elementary school children in China. Participants included 1122 children (44% boys) within 561 stable friendship dyads initially in fourth and fifth grades (initial M[subscript age] = 11 years). Data on academic performance, depression, and friendship were collected from multiple sources in the period of 2012 to 2014. Dyadic analysis using the actor-partner interdependence model showed that friends' academic performance significantly and positively predicted children's later academic performance, indicating same-domain effects, and significantly and negatively predicted children's later depression, indicating cross-domain effects, with a medium effect size ([epsilon][subscript 3] = 0.70) for the effects of academic performance. The results help understand the role of friendship in children's development in the Chinese context.

BackgroundIonic liquids (ILs) are promising pretreatment solvents for lignocellulosic biomass, but are largely prepared from petroleum precursors. Benzaldehydes from depolymerized lignin, such as vanillin, syringaldehyde, and 4-methoxy benzaldehyde, represent renewable feedstocks for the synthesis of ionic liquids. We herein report syntheses of novel lignin-derived ionic liquids, with extended N-alkyl chains, and examine their melting points, cellulose dissolution capacities, and toxicity profiles against Daphnia magna and E. coli strain 1A1. The latter organism has been engineered to produce isoprenol, a drop-in biofuel and precursor for commodity chemicals.ResultsThe new N,N-diethyl and N,N-dipropyl methyl benzylammonium ILs were liquids at room temperature, showing 75-100 °C decreased melting points as compared to their N,N,N-trimethyl benzylammonium analog. Extension of N-alkyl chains also increased antibacterial activity threefold, while ionic liquids prepared from vanillin showed 2- to 4-fold lower toxicity as compared to those prepared from syringaldehyde and 4-methoxybenzaldehyde. The trend of antibacterial activity for anions of lignin-derived ILs was found to be methanesulfonate

The structure, morphology, and performance of polyurethanes are greatly influenced by the structure of chain extenders. In this study, two types of amine chain extenders, 1,3‐bis(3‐aminopropyl)‐1,1,3,3‐tetramethyldisiloxane (BAPD) and isophorone diamine (IPDA), were utilized in the synthesis of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)‐based poly(urea‐urethane) elastomers (PDMS‐PUUs). The mechanical properties, morphology, and in vitro oxidative stability of the as‐prepared elastomers were controlled by altering the ratio of BAPD and IPDA. The results indicate that the overall phase mixing of PDMS‐PUUs improves after incorporating of BAPD into the hard segments. The hard segment, composed of IPDA with a rigid structure, plays a crucial role in maintaining the essential mechanical properties of the PDMS‐PUUs. Furthermore, PDMS‐PUUs based on mixed chain extenders exhibit relatively high boundary diffuseness and boundary thickness. Especially, the PDMS‐PUU sample synthesized from BAPD and IPDA with a molar ratio of 1/1 features the highest boundary diffuseness (0.094) and boundary thickness (0.395 nm), consequently displaying some remarkable properties, including enhanced cyclic tensile properties, superior strain recovery (92.6%), a low modulus (8.6 MPa), and high tensile strength (20.3 MPa). PDMS‐PUUs also exhibit good oxidative stability and biocompatibility, implying that the as‐prepared PDMS‐PUUs are proven to be biostable and capable of long‐term implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past few years, sweat analysis for health monitoring has attracted increasing attention benefiting from wearable technology. In related research, the sensitive detection of uric acid (UA) in sweat with complex composition based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for the diagnosis of gout is still a significant challenge. Herein, we report a visualized and intelligent wearable sweat platform for SERS detection of UA in sweat. In this wearable platform, the spiral channel consisted of colorimetric paper with Ag nanowires (AgNWs) that could capture sweat for SERS measurement. With the help of photos from a smartphone, the pH value and volume of sweat could be quantified intelligently based on the image recognition technique. To diagnose gout, SERS spectra of human sweat with UA are collected in this wearable intelligent platform and analyzed by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. The results indicate that the artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm exhibits good identification of gout with high accuracy at 97%. Our work demonstrates that SERS-AI in a wearable intelligent sweat platform could be a feasible strategy for diagnosis of gout, which expands research on sweat analysis for comfortable and noninvasive health monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entomopathogenic fungi are protected by a cell wall with dynamic structure for adapting to various environmental conditions. β‐1,3‐Glucan recognition proteins activate the innate immune system of insects by recognizing surface molecules of fungi. However, the associations between pathogenicity and the different components of entomopathogenic fungal cell walls remain unclear. Three Beauveria bassiana strains were selected that have significantly differing virulence against Bombyx mori. The molecular mechanisms underlying the immune response in B. mori were investigated using RNA sequencing, which revealed differences in the immune response to different B. bassiana strains at 12 h post‐infection. Immunofluorescence assays revealed that β‐1,3‐glucan content had an opposite trend to that of fungal virulence. β‐1,3‐Glucan injection upregulated BmβGRP4 expression and significantly reduced the virulence of the high‐virulence strain but not that of the medium‐virulence or low‐virulence strains. BmβGRP4 silencing in B. mori with RNA interference resulted in the opposite virulence pattern, indicating that the virulence of B. bassiana was affected by the cell walls' content of β‐1,3‐glucan, which could be recognized by BmβGRP4. Furthermore, interference with the gene CnA (calcineurin catalytic A subunit) involved in β‐1,3‐glucan synthesis eliminated differences in virulence between B. bassiana strains. These results indicate that strains of a single species of pathogenic fungi that have differing cell wall components are recognized differently by the innate immune system of B. mori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legacy effects of invasive plant species can hinder the recovery of native communities, especially under nitrogen deposition conditions, where invasive species show growth advantages and trigger secondary invasions in controlled areas. Therefore, it is crucial to thoroughly investigate the effects of nitrogen deposition on the legacy effects of plant invasions and their mechanisms. The hypotheses of this study are as follows: (1) Nitrogen deposition amplifies the legacy effects of plant invasion. This phenomenon was investigated by analysing four potential mechanisms covering community system structure, nitrogen metabolism, geochemical cycles, and microbial mechanisms. The results suggest that microorganisms drive plant–soil feedback processes, even regulating or limiting other factors. (2) The impact of nitrogen deposition on the legacy effects of plant invasions may be intensified primarily through enhanced nitrogen metabolism via microbial anaerobes bacteria. Essential insights into invasion ecology and ecological management have been provided by analysing how nitrogen-fixing bacteria improve nitrogen metabolism and establish sustainable methods for controlling invasive plant species. This in-depth study contributes to our better understanding of the lasting effects of plant invasions on ecosystems and provides valuable guidance for future ecological management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]