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The self, like the concept of central "gravity", facilitates the processing of information that is directly relevant to the self. This phenomenon is known as the self-prioritization effect. However, it remains unclear whether the self-prioritization effect extends to the processing of emotional facial expressions. To fill this gap, we used a self-association paradigm to investigate the impact of self-relevance on the recognition of emotional facial expressions while controlling for confounding factors such as familiarity and overlearning. Using a large and diverse sample, we replicated the effect of self-relevance on face processing but found no evidence for a modulation of self-relevance on facial emotion recognition. We propose two potential theoretical explanations to account for these findings and emphasize that further research with different experimental designs and a multitasks measurement approach is needed to understand this mechanism fully. Overall, our study contributes to the literature on the parallel cognitive processing of self-relevance and facial emotion recognition, with implications for both social and cognitive psychology.

Nontrivial band topologies have been discovered in classical systems and hold great potential for device applications. Unlike photons, sound has fundamentally different dynamics and symmetries in fluids and solids, represented as scalar and vector fields, respectively. So far, searches for topological phononic materials have only concerned sound in either fluids or solids alone, overlooking their intricate interactions in "mixtures". Here, we report an approach for topological phononics employing such unique interplay, and demonstrate the realization of type-II nodal rings, elusive in phononics, in a simple three-dimensional phononic crystal. Type-II nodal rings, as line degeneracies in momentum space with exotic properties from strong tilting, are directly observed through ultrasonic near-field scanning. Strongly tilted drumhead surface states, the hallmark phenomena, are also experimentally demonstrated. This phononic approach opens a door to explore topological physics in classical systems, which is easy to implement that can be used for designing high-performance acoustic devices.

Understanding the differential strength of effects in the presence of a third variable, known as a moderation effect, is a common research goal in many psychological and behavioural science fields. If structural equation modelling is applied to test effects of interest, the investigation of differential strength of effects will typically ask how parameters of a latent variable model are influenced by categorical or continuous moderators, such as age, socio‐economic status, personality traits, etc. Traditional approaches to continuous moderators in SEMs predominantly address linear moderation effects, risking the oversight of nonlinear effects. Moreover, some approaches have methodological limitations, for example, the need to categorise moderators or to pre‐specify parametric forms of moderation. This tutorial introduces local structural equation modelling (LSEM) in a non‐technical way. LSEM is a nonparametric approach that allows the analysis of nonlinear moderation effects without the above‐mentioned limitations. Using an empirical dataset, we demonstrate the implementation of LSEM through the R‐sirt package, emphasising its versatility in both exploratory analysis of nonlinear moderation without prior knowledge and confirmatory testing of hypothesised moderation functions. The tutorial also addresses common modelling issues and extends the discussion to different application scenarios, demonstrating its flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Mastitis in dairy cows is a major problem for livestock production. In this study, we investigated the effects of exogenous melatonin on the milk somatic cell count and yield and the serum anti-inflammatory factors, antioxidant indices, and melatonin in dairy cows. Exogenous melatonin was shown to increase the milk component content, reduce the somatic cell count, and improve the antioxidant capacity and immune responses. Mastitis is an important factor affecting the health of cows that leads to elevated somatic cell counts in milk, which can seriously affect milk quality and result in huge economic losses for the livestock industry. Therefore, the aim of this trial was to investigate the effect of melatonin on performance and mastitis in dairy cows. Forty-eight Holstein cows with a similar body weight (470 ± 10 kg), parity (2.75 ± 1.23), number of lactation days (143 ± 43 days), BCS (3.0–3.5), milk yield (36.80 ± 4.18 kg), and somatic cell count (300,000–500,000 cells/mL) were selected and randomly divided into four groups: control (CON group), trial Ⅰ (T80 group), trial Ⅱ (T120 group), and trial Ⅲ (T160 group). Twelve cows in trial groups I, II, and III were pre-dispensed 80, 120, and 160 mg of melatonin in edible glutinous rice capsules along with the basal ration, respectively, while the control group was fed an empty glutinous rice capsule along with the ration. The trial period was 37 days, which included a 7-day adaptive phase followed by a 30-day experimental period. At the end of the trial period, feeding was ended and the cows were observed for 7 days. Milk samples were collected on days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 37 to determine the somatic cell number and milk composition. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 15, 30, and 37 of the trial to determine the serum biochemical indicators, antioxidant and immune indicators, and the amount of melatonin in the blood. The results showed that the somatic cell counts of lactating cows in the CON group were lower than those in the T120 group on days 14 (p < 0.05) and 28 (p < 0.01) at 1 week after melatonin cessation. The milk protein percentage and milk fat percentage of cows in the T120 group were higher than those in the CON group (p < 0.01). The total protein and globulin content in the T120 group were higher than those in the CON group (p < 0.01). In terms of antioxidant capacity and immunity, the cows 1 week after melatonin cessation showed higher superoxide dismutase activity and interleukin-10 contents (p < 0.01) compared with the CON group and lower malondialdehyde and tumor necrosis factor-alpha contents (p < 0.01) compared with the T120 group. The melatonin content in the T120 group was increased relative to that in the other groups. In conclusion, exogenous melatonin can increase the content of milk components, reduce the somatic cell count, and improve the antioxidant capacity and immune responses to a certain extent. Under the experimental conditions, 120 mg/day melatonin is recommended for mid- to late-lactation cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Se alloying has enabled significantly higher carrier lifetimes and photocurrents in CdTe solar cells, but these benefits can be highly dependent on CdSexTe1‐x processing. This work evaluates the optoelectronic, chemical, and electronic properties of thick (3 µm) undoped CdSexTe1‐x of uniform composition and varied processing conditions (CdSexTe1‐x evaporation rate, CdCl2 anneal, Se content) chosen to reflect various standard device processing conditions. Sub‐bandgap defect emission is observed, which increased as Se content increased and with "GrV‐optimized CdCl2" (i.e., CdCl2 anneal conditions used for group‐V‐doped devices). Low carrier lifetime is found for GrV‐optimized CdCl2, slow CdSexTe1‐x deposition, and low‐Se films. Interestingly, all films (including CdTe control) exhibited n‐type behavior, where electron density increased with Se up to an estimated ≈1017 cm−3. This behavior appears to originate during the CdCl2 anneal, possibly from Se diffusion leading to anion vacancy (e.g., VSe, VTe) and ClTe generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by highly genetic heterogeneity, owing to recurrent fusion genes, gene mutations, intragenic deletion, and gene overexpression, which poses significant challenges in clinical detection. RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) is a powerful tool for detecting multiple genetic abnormalities, especially cryptic gene rearrangements, in a single test. Methods: Sixty samples (B‐ALL, n = 49; T‐ALL, n = 9; mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL), n = 2) and 20 controls were analyzed by targeted RNA‐seq panel of 507 genes developed by our lab. Of these, 16 patients were simultaneously analyzed for gene mutations at the DNA level using a next‐generation sequencing panel of 51 genes. Fusion genes, CRLF2 expression, and IKZF1 intragenic deletion were also detected by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Karyotype analysis was performed using the R‐banding and G‐banding technique on bone marrow cells after 24 hours of culture. Partial fusion genes were analyzed using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: Compared with the results of Karyotype analysis, FISH, and RT‐PCR, the detection rate of fusion genes by targeted RNA‐seq increased from 48.3% to 58.3%, and six unexpected fusion genes were discovered, along with one rare isoform of IKZF1 intragenic deletion (IK10). The DNA sequencing analysis of 16 ALL patients revealed that 96.2% (25/26) of gene mutations identified at the DNA level were also detectable at the RNA level, except for one mutation with a low variant allele fraction. The detection of CRLF2 overexpression exhibited complete concordance between RT‐PCR and RNA‐seq. Conclusion: The utilization of RNA‐seq enables the identification of clinically significant genetic abnormalities that may go undetected through conventional detection methods. Its robust analytical performance might bring great application value for clinical diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy in ALL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]