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Understanding emotions based on false beliefs is a necessary component of theory of mind. Previous research has indicated a lag in children's understanding of belief-based emotions as compared to false beliefs. Experiment 1 involved 83 Chinese 3- to 5-year-old children who were tested for the developmental change of the belief-emotion lag. Experiment 1 identified a lag effect in 3- and 4-year-olds who had better performance at the false belief task than the belief-based emotion understanding task. To further examine the potential influence of material familiarity on the lag, 27 3-year-old children participated in Experiment 2. The results of Experiment 2 showed that 3-year-olds performed slightly better in the belief-based emotion understanding task when familiar materials were replaced by unfamiliar materials. A possible reason for the diminished level of the lag effect was discussed in light of children's emotional arousal. The findings have practical implications for implementing social and emotional learning programmes that foster young children's theory of mind understanding.

Konjac glucomannan (KGM) was degraded by β-glucanase. The structural characteristics of KGM and its hydrolysate were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and their molecular masses were determined by gel permeation chromatography with multiple angle laser light scattering. The chemical characteristics of the hydrolysate were evaluated by measuring their intrinsic viscosity, deacetylation degree, soluble polysaccharide content and electrical characteristics. The results showed that the major chain structure of the hydrolysate did not change compared with KGM. After 120 min of treatment with a five-fold excess of the enzyme, a weak crystalline region may appear. SEM results showed that the surface of the hydrolysate gradually became lamellated, and its molecular weight decreased to (36.48 ± 1.23) kDa. The characteristic viscosity decreased by 98%, the degree of deacetylation increased significantly (P < 0.05), and the content of total soluble sugar decreased significantly (P < 0.05). This study can provide a reference for the enzymatic modification of KGM to promote the high-value utilization of KGM hydrolysate resources.

The effects of vacuum-assisted high pressure curing on the histological structure and sensory and physicochemical quality of grass carp pieces were studied. Fish pieces cured at normal pressure (control) or at high pressures (0, 2.3, 4.6 and 6.9 kPa) in vacuum were evaluated for salt content, histological structure and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content, water content and water distribution. Results indicated that during curing, salt gradually penetrated into fish tissue, and vacuum curing resulted in a decreased yield of the fish product, an increase in shear force, hardness, resilience and viscosity, a decrease in thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARs) value, water content and centrifugal loss, and an increase in the intercellular spaces. After vacuum-assisted high pressure curing treatment, the salt content was increased, the product yield was decreased, and the whiteness was increased. The fish cured at 6.9 kPa had the lowest shear force, hardness, cohesiveness, elasticity, and viscosity, but the TVB-N content was not significantly changed, and the juice loss rate was increased. In conclusion, vacuum-assisted high pressure curing can improve the quality of cured fish, and slow down the spoilage rate.

Testosterone derived from testicular Leydig cells (LCs) is important for male sheep, and the testis is susceptible to external temperature. The present study aimed to explore the alleviating effect of selenomethionine (Se‐Met) on heat‐induced injury in Hu sheep LCs. Isolated LCs were exposed to heat (41.5°C, heat exposure, HE) or not (37°C, nonheat exposure, NE), and cells in NE and HE were treated with 0 (C) or 8 μmol/L (S) Se‐Met for 6 h. Cell viability, testosterone level, and the expression of GPX1, HSD3B, apoptosis‐related genes and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (p38MAPK)/heat shock protein beta‐1 (HSPB1) pathway were examined. The results showed that Se‐Met increased GPX1 expression (NE‐S vs. NE‐C: 2.28‐fold; HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 2.36‐fold, p < 0.05) and alleviated heat‐induced decrease in cell viability (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 1.41‐fold; HE‐C vs. NE‐C: 0.61‐fold, p < 0.01), although the viability was still lower than that in the NE‐C cells (HE‐S vs. NE‐C: 0.85‐fold) and Se‐Met‐treated cells (HE‐S vs. NE‐S: 0.81‐fold). Se‐Met relieved heat‐induced decrease in testosterone level (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 1.84‐fold, p < 0.05) and HSD3B expression (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 1.67‐fold, p < 0.05). Se‐Met alleviated heat‐induced increase in Bcl2‐associated protein X (BAX) expression (HE‐C vs. HE‐S: 2.4‐fold, p < 0.05), and decrease in B‐cell lymphoma‐2 (BCL2) expression (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 2.62‐fold, p < 0.05), resulting in increased BCL2/BAX ratio in the HE‐S cells (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 5.24‐fold, p < 0.05). Furthermore, Se‐Met alleviated heat‐induced activation of p‐p38MAPK/p38MAPK (HE‐C vs. HE‐S: 1.79‐fold, p < 0.05) and p‐HSPB1/HSPB1 (HE‐C vs. HE‐S: 2.72‐fold, p < 0.05). In conclusion, p38MAPK/HSPB1 might be involved in Se‐Met‐mediated alleviation of heat‐induced cell apoptosis, cell viability and testosterone secretion impairments in sheep LCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, vehicle edge networks have made great progress in integrating mobile edge computing technologies into vehicular networks, however, in real-time road traffic, emergency tasks represented by autonomous driving are usually concurrent with streaming application data, which brings additional task offloading energy consumption and offloading delay. Considering the characteristics of emergency tasks and general tasks, firstly, a task dynamic offloading framework based on non-orthogonal multiple access technique and Lyapunov theory is constructed, which takes the system stability as the premise and controls the transmission power and wireless interface of the vehicle in real time. Secondly, for the energy efficiency optimization problem of general tasks and the execution delay optimization problem of emergency tasks, based on the exact potential game theory. A joint power and channel allocation algorithm compatible with dual task types is proposed to obtain the optimal pure strategy Nash equilibrium solution. Finally, the numerical results verify that the proposed scheme has significant advantages over other benchmark schemes in terms of system stability and energy cost reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food allergies severely impact the health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients and their caregivers (family or informal caregivers). Currently there is no comprehensive review to provide an overview and critical assessment of the instruments in the field. Six databases were searched from inception until 10 August 2023, and a combination of subject terms and free words was used to search the literature. We used the COnsensus‐based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments methodology (COSMIN) to evaluate the measurement properties of the instruments. Forty‐one studies reported on ten eligible instruments. Based on COSMIN guidelines, one instrument was recommended for Grade A, and the remaining nine instruments were recommended for Grade B. The Grade A instrument identified, the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire‐Parent Form (FAQLQ‐PF), can help researchers assess the effectiveness of treatment for patients with food allergy and to understand the psychosocial impact of the disease on patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play an important role in the uteri. Repulsive guidance molecule b (RGMb; a.k.a. Dragon) has been confirmed as the coreceptor of BMPs to function through drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic protein (Smads) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways. We hypothesise that RGMb regulates the uterine function through the Smads and MAPK pathways. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the expression of RGMb in goat uteri and the potential role of RGMb in the endometrial epithelial cells (EECs). Methods: The localisation of RGMb in goat uterine tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), EECs were isolated and transfected with siRNA to investigate the role of RGMb in proliferation, and apoptosis. The expression levels of Smads and MAPK members was measured by western blot (WB) and real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Key results: IHC showed that RGMb was localised in goat endometrial luminal cells, glandular epithelial cells, and circular muscle fibres, but not in stromal cells. RT-PCR results showed that treatment with RGMb siRNA suppressed the expressions of proliferation-related genes cyclin D1 (CCND1 , P = 0.0291), cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2 P = 0.0107), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA, P = 0.0508), leading to the reduced viability of EECs (P = 0.0010). WB results showed that the expression ratio of cleaved-caspase 3/caspase 3 (P = 0.0013) was markedly increased after RGMb siRNA transfection. Likewise, the level of phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2, P = 0.0068) and p-Smad1/5/8 (P = 0.0011) decreased significantly, while there were no appreciable differences in the level of p-P38 MAPK expression (P > 0.05). Conclusions: RGMb might participate in the regulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis through Smads and ERK signalling pathways in goat EECs. Implications: RGMb is involved in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis in goat endometrial epithelial cells. Diagram showing Smad dependent pathway and Smad independent pathway. Diagram showing Smad dependent pathway and Smad independent pathway. The uterus is necessary for the entire pregnancy of healthy females. In this study, we demonstrate that repulsive guidance molecule b (RGMb) might be involved in the regulation of proliferation and apoptosis through Smads and ERK signalling pathways in goat endometrial epithelial cells. The effect of RGMb on endometrial epithelial cells will provide evidences for in-depth study of RGMb in regulating endometrial functions. Photograph by Y. Xue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: What are the main findings? In total, 14 core genes for vitamin D against MetS are obtained via enrichment analysis. Van der Waals forces are the main interactions to sustain vitamin D binding with targets. What is the implication of the main finding? Vitamin D could reduce triglycerides significantly and improve insulin resistance. Vitamin D might modulate the PPAR signaling pathway and inhibit bile secretion. As a dietary supplement or functional food additive, vitamin D (VD) deficiency may impact extra-skeletal functions associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors. However, the precise effects and mechanisms of VD supplementation on dyslipidemia and insulin resistance in MetS subjects remain controversial. Here, we investigate potential therapeutic targets, pathways and mechanisms of VD against MetS through a comprehensive strategy including meta-analysis, network pharmacology analysis, molecular docking, dynamics simulations, and quantum chemical calculations. Our results reveal that VD supplementation significantly reduces triglyceride levels, fasting glucose, and insulin concentrations in subjects, thereby improving insulin homeostasis to some extent. We theoretically identify 14 core MetS-associated targets. Notably, VD exhibits substantial interactions with three targets (PPARγ, FABP4, and HMGCR) in the PPAR signaling pathway, indicating that VD can modulate this pathway. Van der Waals forces predominantly stabilize the complexes formed between VD and the three targets. Nonetheless, to provide valuable insights for personalized MetS management, further research is necessary to confirm our findings, emphasizing the importance of exploring genetic variability in VD response. In conclusion, our study contributes insights into the mechanisms of VD in preventing and treating MetS through dietary supplementation, promoting the development of VD-based functional foods or nutritious diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]