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To compare the storage tolerance and volatiles of 'Haritaz' and 'Nova' raspberries, used these varieties as test materials. After harvesting, the raspberries were stored in air-conditioned boxes at 0 ℃. The sensory scores and nutritional indexes of both varieties were determined and the changes in volatile substances were analyzed using GC-IMS and GC-MS techniques. At 15 d of storage, the sensory score, good fruit rate, solid-acid ratio, and vitamin C content of 'Nova' raspberries were significantly higher than those of 'Haritaz' raspberries (P

Abstract Drought is a prevalent abiotic stress that commonly affects the quality and yield of tea. Although numerous studies have shown that lignin accumulation holds significant importance in conferring drought tolerance to tea plants, the underlying molecular regulatory mechanisms governing the tea plant's response to drought remain largely elusive. LACCASEs (LACs), which belong to the class of plant copper-containing polyphenol oxidases, have been widely reported to participate in lignin biosynthesis in plants and are implicated in numerous plant life processes, especially in the context of adverse conditions. In this study, we detected the upregulation of CsLAC4 in response to drought induction. Remarkably, the overexpression of CsLAC4 not only substantially increased the lignin content of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana but also simulated the development of vascular tissues, consequently leading to a significant enhancement in drought tolerance. Moreover, via dual-luciferase assays and transient overexpression in tea leaves, we revealed that CsLAC4 was negatively regulated by the upstream CsmiR397a. Interestingly, the expression of CsmiR397a was downregulated during drought stress in tea plants. Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressing CsmiR397a showed increased sensitivity to drought stress. By transient overexpression of CsmiR397a and CsLAC4 in tea plant leaves, we verified that CsLAC4, which is regulated by CsmiR397a, conferred drought tolerance to tea plants by enhancing lignin biosynthesis. These findings enhance our understanding of the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the response of tea plants to drought stress.

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of periodical negative air ions (NAI) on the quality of ‘Fuji’ apple fruit after treatment at 0, 30, 60, and 90 min every 4 weeks. NAI for 60 min decreased weight loss, mitigated decay, and maintained hardness of the apple fruit during the 40 weeks of storage. Treatment of fruits with NAI for 60 min enhanced the apple defense ability against pathogens by maintaining the cell wall integrity and improving the related-enzyme activities as well as accumulation of total phenols and flavonoids. Reverse-phase HPLC and solid-phase microextraction GC–MS analysis showed that NAI treatment for 60 min increased the levels of fructose, sucrose, sorbitol, malic acid and volatiles, such as 2-hexenal, 2-methylbutyl acetate, hexyl acetate, and ethyl butanoate. Taken together, NAI is promising for improving the quality ‘Fuji’ apples during the cold storage.

Abstract Background Degradation via enzymatic processes for the production of valuable β-1,3-glucooligosaccharides (GOS) from curdlan has attracted considerable interest. CBM6E functions as a curdlan-specific β-1,3-endoglucanase, composed of a glycoside hydrolase family 128 (GH128) module and a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) derived from family CBM6. Results Crystallographic analyses were conducted to comprehend the substrate specificity mechanism of CBM6E. This unveiled structures of both apo CBM6E and its GOS-complexed form. The GH128 and CBM6 modules constitute a cohesive unit, binding nine glucoside moieties within the catalytic groove in a singular helical conformation. By extending the substrate-binding groove, we engineered CBM6E variants with heightened hydrolytic activities, generating diverse GOS profiles from curdlan. Molecular docking, followed by mutation validation, unveiled the cooperative recognition of triple-helical β-1,3-glucan by the GH128 and CBM6 modules, along with the identification of a novel sugar-binding residue situated within the CBM6 module. Interestingly, supplementing the CBM6 module into curdlan gel disrupted the gel’s network structure, enhancing the hydrolysis of curdlan by specific β-1,3-glucanases. Conclusions This study offers new insights into the recognition mechanism of glycoside hydrolases toward triple-helical β-1,3-glucans, presenting an effective method to enhance endoglucanase activity and manipulate its product profile. Furthermore, it discovered a CBM module capable of disrupting the quaternary structures of curdlan, thereby boosting the hydrolytic activity of curdlan gel when co-incubated with β-1,3-glucanases. These findings hold relevance for developing future enzyme and CBM cocktails useful in GOS production from curdlan degradation.

Along with the rapid development of society, freshwater shortages have become a global concern. Although existing desalination technologies have alleviated this pressure to some extent, their long-term environmental impact and energy consumption are still questionable. Therefore, it is necessary to find a new effective way for seawater desalination with cleaner energy. Solar-driven interfacial water evaporation technology has the advantages of environmental protection, energy saving, high evaporation efficiency, low cost, and strong sustainability, and is considered one of the most effective technologies to relieve water resource stress. This review summarized the recent advances in carbon-based interfacial photothermal converters focused on the preparation methods of 2D and 3D photothermal absorbers, the potential ways to enhance the efficiency of photothermal conversion. Finally, this paper proposed the challenges and future trends of interfacial photothermal converters.

In order to screen the appropriate concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) fumigation, and provide the theoretical and scientific basis for the preservation of small white apricot during production, Kuqa fresh apricot was used as the test material, and the apricot was fumigated with 1%, 3%, 5% and 7% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for 5 min, and distilled water was used as the control (CK). The apricot was stored at 0 ℃. The storage period quality and physiological indexes were measured every 7 days. The results showed that the storage quality of small white apricot was maintained by different concentrations of H2O2 fumigation. Compared with control (CK) and other treatments, the 3% H2O2 fumigation group delayed the browning of small white apricot fruit, and the incidence was reduced by 8% compared with CK group on the 42 day of storage. The respiratory peak was delayed for 7 days, which inhibited the decline rate of fruit hardness and reduced the permeability of fruit cell membrane. The contents of soluble solids and titratable acids in fruits were 25% and 38% higher than those in CK group at the end of storage. 3% H2O2 fumigation treatment group, compared with other treatment groups and control group,the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) were effectively inhibited, and the activity of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) were increased. The surface of some fruits was browning after 5% and 7% H2O2 fumigation, which affected the quality of small white apricot. 3% H2O2 atomized fumigation group is more helpful to maintain the quality and flavor of small white apricot during storage, which has a good application prospect in preservative preservation of small white apricot.

Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) are one of the most widely used plasticizers globally, extensively employed in various decoration materials. However, studies on the impact of these materials on indoor environmental PAE pollution and their effects on human health are limited. In this study, forty dust samples were collected from four types of stores specializing in decoration materials (flooring, furniture boards, wall coverings, and household articles). The levels, sources, exposure doses, and potential health risks of PAEs in dust from decoration material stores were assessed. The total concentrations of Σ9PAE (the sum of nine PAEs) in dust from all decoration-material stores ranged from 46,100 ng/g to 695,000 ng/g, with a median concentration of 146,000 ng/g. DMP, DEP, DBP, and DEHP were identified as the predominant components. Among all stores, furniture board stores exhibited the highest Σ9PAE (159,000 ng/g, median value), while flooring stores exhibited the lowest (95,300 ng/g). Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that decoration materials are important sources of PAEs in the indoor environment. The estimated daily intakes of PAEs through non-dietary dust ingestion and dermal-absorption pathways among staff in various decoration-material stores were 60.0 and 0.470 ng/kg-bw/day (flooring stores), 113 and 0.780 ng/kg-bw/day (furniture board stores), 102 and 0.510 ng/kg-bw/day (wall covering stores), and 114 and 0.710 ng/kg-bw/day (household article stores). Particularly, staff in wall-covering and furniture-board stores exhibited relatively higher exposure doses of DEHP. Risk assessment indicated that although certain PAEs posed potential health risks, the exposure levels for staff in decoration material stores were within acceptable limits. However, staff in wall covering stores exhibited relatively higher risks, necessitating targeted risk-management strategies. This study provides new insights into understanding the risk associated with PAEs in indoor environments.

In this study, "Longcheng No.2" Actinidia arguta, electronic nose, and headspace solid phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to investigate the effects of CO2 injury on the flavor quality of Actinidia arguta. The change of volatile components and related quality indexes were determined during storage, with the non-sticking controlled atmosphere element as CK group and the sticking controlled atmosphere element as TR group (the content of O2 was 11.22%~15.55% and the content of CO2 was 9.00%~11.93% in stable state). The results showed that CK treatment could maintain the green color of flesh and keep the fresh and fragrant flavor of fruit. TR treatment could accelerate the decrease of fruit chlorophyll content, the flesh yellow seriously at the end stage and showed symptoms of CO2 injury after 45 d storage, at the same time inhibited the increase of TSS, increase the content of TA and accelerate the consumption of VC. After 60 days, the main characteristics volatile components 2-hexenal and hexanal could not be detected. While the relative contents of ethanol were 36.78%, with the obvious fermentation flavor and the disappearance of the fresh grass flavor of the fruit. In conclusion, TR treatment could cause CO2 injury, reduce nutritional quality, destroy original flavor, and was not conducive to maintaining the quality of Actinidia arguta during storage.

Frozen shoulder (FS) is characterized by pain and limited range of motion (ROM). Inflammation and fibrosis are accepted as main pathologic processes associated with the development of FS. However, the intrinsic mechanisms underlying pathologic fibrosis remain unclear. We aimed to elucidate the key molecules involved in pathologic fibrosis and explore new therapeutic targets for FS. Synovial fibroblasts isolated from patient biopsies were identified using immunofluorescence. Western blotting, RT-qPCR, cell adhesion tests, and would-healing assays were used to evaluate the fibrosis-related functions of synovial fibroblasts. Elevated cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) expression was detected in FS using Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Salvianolic acid b (SaB) inhibited CD36, blocking synovial fibroblast-induced inflammation and fibrosis. Our RNA-seq data showed that knocking down CD36 dramatically impaired the capacity of synovial fibroblasts for cell adhesion and that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway may be crucial to the fibrotic process of FS. By up-regulating CD36 and inhibiting the phosphorylation of Akt, we demonstrated that CD36 promotes pathologic fibrosis by activating the PI3k-Akt pathway. Finally, rats treated with SaB had improved ROM and less collagen fiber deposition than the FS model group.Conclusion: SaB attenuates inflammation and inhibited the CD36-mediated activation of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to block pathologic fibrosis of FS in vitro and in vivo models.

Objective: To optimize the extraction process of green tea polysaccharide (GTP), purify the polysaccharide and analyze the antioxidant activity in vitro. Methods: The single factor experiments combined with response surface analysis was used to optimize the extraction process of polysaccharides. High performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC), gas chromatography (GC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to analyze the preliminary structure of polysaccharides, and the antioxidant activity of polysaccharides was studied by in vitro antioxidant experiments. Results: The optimal extraction conditions for GTP were determined as follows: Liquid/solid ratio 30:1 mL/g, extraction temperature 60 ℃, extraction time 70 min. Under these conditions, the yield of GTP reached to 10.56%. Structural analysis results showed that the total sugar, protein and uronic acid contents in GTP were 90.75%±3.69%, 0.92%±0.09%, and 0.82%±0.07%, respectively, and the average molecular weight was about 7.3 kDa. In vitro antioxidant test results showed that GTP had scavenging rates of 39.8%, 72.2% and 32.5% on ABTS+ free radical, DPPH free radical and hydroxyl free radical (OH·) at 2 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: In this process, green tea polysaccharides had presented high yield, low molecular weight and high antioxidant activity.

In order to determine the effect of phase temperature storage on the quality of fresh cut lotus root after anti browning agents treatment. Fresh cut lotus roots were treated with anti browning agent (mass fraction of 1.0% anhydrous citric acid+0.1% calcium ascorbate+0.2% L-aspartic acid) and stored at phase temperature (−0.5±0.1) ℃, ice temperature (−0.5±0.3) ℃ and cold storage (4±1) ℃. The effects of different precise temperature on apparent color, browning substrate and related enzyme activities, physiological indices and nutrient quality of fresh cut lotus root were studied. The results showed that precise temperature (phase temperature and ice temperature) could delay the decrease of L*, the increase of a* and browning degree, inhibit the decrease of total phenol and the activities of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase when stored for 6 d, and the phase temperature storage was the best to maintain the original color of fresh-cut lotus root. In the storage process, the precise temperature (phase temperature and ice temperature) treatment could inhibit the increase of respiratory intensity, ethylene production rate, relative conductivity and malondialdehyde content, while delaying the increase of reducing sugar and the decrease of VC content in fresh cut lotus root. The comprehensive score of SPSS showed that the comprehensive score of phase temperature group was the highest. Principal component analysis showed that the correlation between phase temperature treatment group and polyphenol oxidase, relative conductivity, browning rate, malondialdehyde and a* was lower. Therefore, phase temperature storage could delay the browning and maintain the quality of fresh cut lotus root.

As one of the most important and advanced technology for carbon-mitigation in the building sector, building performance simulation (BPS) has played an increasingly important role with the powerful support of building energy modelling (BEM) technology for energy-efficient designs, operations, and retrofitting of buildings. Owing to its deep integration of multi-disciplinary approaches, the researchers, as well as tool developers and practitioners, are facing opportunities and challenges during the application of BEM at multiple scales and stages, e.g., building/system/community levels and planning/design/operation stages. By reviewing recent studies, this paper aims to provide a clear picture of how BEM performs in solving different research questions on varied scales of building phase and spatial resolution, with a focus on the objectives and frameworks, modelling methods and tools, applicability and transferability. To guide future applications of BEM for performance-driven building energy management, we classified the current research trends and future research opportunities into five topics that span through different stages and levels: (1) Simulation for performance-driven design for new building and retrofit design, (2) Model-based operational performance optimization, (3) Integrated simulation using data measurements for digital twin, (4) Building simulation supporting urban energy planning, and (5) Modelling of building-to-grid interaction for demand response. Additionally, future research recommendations are discussed, covering potential applications of BEM through integration with occupancy and behaviour modelling, integration with machine learning, quantification of model uncertainties, and linking to building monitoring systems.

Exploring people’s attitudes toward the appearance design of social robots in a low-cost and efficient way, and enhancing the experience of human–robot interaction have always been topics of concern for robot developers and interaction designers. This study aimed to explore the influence of the baby schema effect on users’ perceptions of cuteness and trustworthiness pertinent to social robot faces through two experiments. Experiment 1 used 100 uniformly processed pictures of robot faces in the real world to help explore the linear relationship among the degree of baby face, cuteness, and trustworthiness, and received a total of 98 valid questionnaires via the Internet. Experiment 2 was a 5 × 3 within-subjects factorial design. The research variables were robot type (i.e. MAKI, RoboThespian, Flobi, Pepper, and iCat) and baby schema (low schema, uncontrolled, and high schema); their impact on users’ perceptions of cuteness and trustworthiness was investigated. A total of 175 valid questionnaires were collected via the Internet. The generated results are as follows: (1) The degree of baby face and perceived emotion of social robot faces had a positive impact on trustworthiness for most real-world robots. (2) This study obtained the correlation formula of baby face, cuteness, and trustworthiness from a quantitative point of view, thus providing a reference for research on the related credibility of communication robots. (3) In general, baby schema effect also existed in the cuteness evaluation of most real-world robots. Faces with high schema were considered cuter and more trustworthy than uncontrolled or low schema faces. (4) Robot type and baby schema had a significant interaction with cuteness and trustworthiness. (5) However, for certain types of robots, baby schema effect may also have a counter-effect, that is, an overly high baby schema may reduce users’ perceptions of the cuteness and trustworthiness of social robots.

IntroductionZebrafish is a suitable animal model for molecular genetic tests and drug discovery due to its characteristics including optical transparency, genetic manipulability, genetic similarity to humans, and cost-effectiveness. Mobility of the zebrafish reflects pathological conditions leading to brain disorders, disrupted motor functions, and sensitivity to environmental challenges. However, it remains technologically challenging to quantitively assess zebrafish's mobility in a flowing environment and simultaneously monitor cellular behavior in vivo.MethodsWe herein developed a facile fluidic device using mechanical vibration to controllably generate various flow patterns in a droplet housing single zebrafish, which mimics its dynamically flowing habitats.ResultsWe observe that in the four recirculating flow patterns, there are two equilibrium stagnation positions for zebrafish constrained in the droplet, i.e., the “source” with the outward flow and the “sink” with the inward flow. Wild-type zebrafish, whose mobility remains intact, tend to swim against the flow and fight to stay at the source point. A slight deviation from streamline leads to an increased torque pushing the zebrafish further away, whereas zebrafish with motor neuron dysfunction caused by lipin-1 deficiency are forced to stay in the “sink,” where both their head and tail align with the flow direction. Deviation angle from the source point can, therefore, be used to quantify the mobility of zebrafish under flowing environmental conditions. Moreover, in a droplet of comparable size, single zebrafish can be effectively restrained for high-resolution imaging.ConclusionUsing the proposed methodology, zebrafish mobility reflecting pathological symptoms can be quantitively investigated and directly linked to cellular behavior in vivo.

BackgroundBullying is a major problem worldwide and has numerous detrimental effects on the mental health of victims. The link between bullying and psychological distress in adolescents is well known. However, few studies have analyzed the impact of combined interpersonal, peer, and cultural factors on psychological distress using a social-ecological system framework in Eastern countries. Negotiable fate is a cultural belief common in Eastern societies that suggests that people can negotiate with fate for more control by exercising personal agency within the limits of what fate has determined. This study examined the moderating effects of neuroticism and negotiable fate on the relationship between bullying victimization and psychological distress among Chinese adolescents. Moreover, human society commonly suffers from multiple disasters that lead to severe mental health problems. There are few empirical studies on the effects of bullying among adolescents in multiple disaster contexts. This study included participants who experienced floods and COVID-19 simultaneously in 2021.Materials and methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional cluster sampling study from August 6 to 9, 2021, approximately 2 weeks after the start of the Zhengzhou City flooding and 7 days after the new wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Zhengzhou City. The study included 1,207 participants (52.4% men, n = 633; Mage = 14.36, SD = 0.94) from a middle school in Zhengzhou City, China.ResultsThe results revealed that bullying was positively linked to psychological distress (β = 0.5.34, p

ObjectivesBullying in schools is a serious concern worldwide. The active defending or passive bystanding behaviors of bullying bystanders significantly contributes to the prevention of bullying. Relevant studies have increasingly adopted a social-ecological system approach in bullying research. However, the role of parental factors (microsystem) and cultural value (macrosystem) factors in adolescents' bullying behaviors in non-western culture contexts is unclear. Social harmony, which is closely related to social behavior, is a core value in Chinese culture. Exploring the role of social harmony in bullying bystanders in China could enhance our understanding of bullying, and enrich the diversity of the literature. This study aimed to examine the mediation effects of social harmony on the associations between parental support and the bullying bystanders among Chinese adolescents.Materials and methodsThe participants comprised 445 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 14.41, SD = 0.51) from Beijing City, China. A 17-month, two-point longitudinal study was conducted. Parental support, social harmony, and the behavior of bullying bystanders were evaluated at two time points. The hypothesized mediation model was examined using a structural equation modeling approach using bootstrapping techniques.ResultsThe results showed that social harmony partly mediated the positive relationship between adolescents' parental support and active defending behaviors, and fully mediated the negative relationship between adolescents' parental support and passive bystanding behaviors.ConclusionThese results highlight the importance of studying parental and cultural values in research on bullying bystanders.

Applying biochar to soil has been advocated as an effective measure to improve soil fertility and increase carbon (C) sequestration. Biochar is often co-applied with nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agricultural ecosystems, however, the interactive effects of biochar and N addition (BN) on soil greenhouse gases (GHGs) fluxes, soil C and N fractions, and yield has not been investigated. Here, we manipulated a global meta-analysis to explore the effects of biochar and N addition and their interaction on the GHGs, soil C and N fractions, and yield by assembling 75 articles. Results indicate that across all studies, biochar, N, and BN additions all increased soil CO2 emissions (8.5%–29.6%), yield (4.2%–58.2%), soil organic C (SOC, 1.8%–50.4%), dissolved organic C (DOC, 2.7%–30.0%), and total N (TN, 6.8%–15.6%), but had no significant effect on CH4 fluxes. Biochar addition reduced N2O emissions (−21.3%), global warming potential (GWP, −19.8%), greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI, −28.2%), NH4+ (−17.8%) and NO3− (−10.7%), whereas N addition increased these indexes. The interaction effects of BN on CO2 and N2O emissions, GWP, TN, and NH4+ contents were antagonistic, while CH4 emissions, DOC, MBC, NO3−, and yield exhibited synergistic responses. Notably, soil GHGs responses varied depending on geo-climatic factors, edaphic properties, biochar and N treatment parameters, and experimental scenarios. These findings indicate that the co-addition of biochar and N has the potential to mitigate climate change and improve yield, providing a valuable reference for the improvement of climate-smart agriculture.

For electric vehicle (EV) onboard charging, high efficiency and power density of the charger is required. Soft switching technique is an effective way to increase On-Board Charger (OBC) power density and efficiency. This paper presents a fixed frequency zero-voltage-switching OBC topology which can realize Zero-Voltage-Switching (ZVS) of all the power semiconductor devices. An auxiliary resonant branch is used to realize Zero-Voltage-Switching for both front-end full-bridge rectifier and phase-shift full-bridge dc-dc converter. A novel PWM scheme is proposed for the OBC topology. ZVS conditions are derived. Finally, the proposed OBC is verified by the experiment.

Flat peach, a predominant fruit consumed in China, is highly susceptible to softening and perishable. The impact of 1-methylcycloproene (1-MCP) fumigation combined with ε-poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) on softening and postharvest reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phenylpropanoid pathway metabolisms in peaches and its relationship to disease resistance were investigated. Findings revealed that a combination of 1 µL L−1 1-MCP and 300 mg L−1 ε-PL effectively suppressed the activity of cell-wall-degrading enzymes and the disassembly of cell wall structure, thus maintaining higher firmness and lower decay incidence. Compared to the control group, the synergistic approach bolstered enzymatic responses linked to disease resistance and ROS-scavenge system, consistently preserving total phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and glutathione levels. Concurrently, the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde was significantly diminished post-treatment. These results show that there is good synergistic effect between 1-MCP and ε-PL, which could effectively maintain the quality of flat peach fruit by modulating cell wall metabolism and enhancing the resistance.

Abstract Background Spontaneous perirenal hemorrhage is relatively uncommon but may be life-threatening. There are some challenges in early diagnosis due to the lack of specific presentations. Case presentation We report a case of spontaneous perirenal hemorrhage in a newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus patient who initially presented with non-specific flank pain. Weakness and unstable vital signs were noted on admission. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a sizable perirenal hematoma over the left retroperitoneal cavity. Renal arteriography identified active extravasation of contrast media from a distant branch of the left renal artery, and selective embolization effectively obliterated the bleeding spot. After cessation of bleeding, the patient received intensive immunosuppressive therapy for acute kidney injury and encephalopathy due to lupus. Her mental status recovered successfully, and she was withdrawn from short-term hemodialysis. Conclusions Spontaneous perirenal hemorrhage in the condition of systemic lupus erythematosus was a rare clinical entity with life-threatening potential. Early accurate diagnosis of spontaneous renal hemorrhage requires both detailed clinical examination and radiologic studies. Interventional embolization is essential and effective for both diagnosis and treatment. A high index of suspicion is necessary to avoid missing this potentially fatal syndrome, especially in patients with an increased risk of bleeding.

Metacognitive experience, measured by processing fluency, contributes to divergent thinking performance; however, whether it exhibits varying effects on insight problem-solving remains unknown. Additionally, as individuals’ interpretation of metacognitive experience is influenced by their creative mindset, whether creative mindset plays a role in the relationship between metacognitive experience and insight problem-solving is another issue. In Experiment 1, a Chinese logogriph task was used to investigate insight problem-solving performance. The font style of logogriphs (easy versus difficult) was used to alter the ease of processing. The results showed that individuals had lower performance accuracy for logogriphs presented in difficult font styles, suggesting the negative effect of metacognitive disfluency experience on logogriph solving. In Experiment 2, different creative mindsets (entity versus incremental) were activated in individuals via prime manipulation. Individuals with an incremental creative mindset had a significantly higher performance accuracy and longer reaction time for logogriphs presented in difficult font styles than individuals with an entity creative mindset, suggesting that an incremental creative mindset might counteract the negative effect of metacognitive disfluency experience on logogriphs solving. These findings suggest that metacognitive disfluency experience has a negative effect on insight problem-solving and that a creative mindset moderated this effect.

Abstract Microorganisms of the soil‐root continuum play key roles in ecosystem function. The Loess Plateau is well known for its severe soil erosion and thick loess worldwide, where mean annual precipitation (MAP) and soil nutrients decrease from the southeast to the northwest. However, the relative influence of environmental factors on the microbial community in four microhabitats (bulk soil, rhizosphere, rhizoplane, and endosphere) in the soil‐root continuum along the environmental gradient in the Loess Plateau remains unclear. In this study, we investigated 82 field sites from warm‐temperate to desert grasslands across the Loess Plateau, China, to assess the bacterial diversity, composition, community assembly, and co‐occurrence networks in the soil‐root continuum along an environmental gradient using bacterial 16S recombinant DNA amplicon sequencing. We discovered that the microhabitats explained the largest source of variations in the bacterial diversity and community composition in this region. Environmental factors (e.g., MAP, soil organic carbon, and pH) impacted the soil, rhizosphere, and rhizoplane bacterial communities, but their effects on the bacterial community decreased with increased proximity to roots from the soil to the rhizoplane, and the MAP enlarged the dissimilarity of microbial communities from the rhizosphere and rhizoplane to bulk soil. Additionally, stochastic assembly processes drove the endosphere communities, whereas the soil, rhizosphere, and rhizoplane communities were governed primarily by the variable selection of deterministic processes, which showed increased importance from warm‐temperate to desert grasslands. Moreover, the properties of the microbial networks in the rhizoplane community indicate more stable networks in desert grasslands, likely conferring the resistance of microbial communities in higher stress environments. Collectively, our results showed that the bacterial communities in the soil‐root continuum had different sensitivities and assembly mechanisms along an environmental gradient. These patterns are shaped simultaneously by the intertwined dimensions of proximity to roots and environmental stress change in the Loess Plateau.

Since shaft parts operate under harsh environments for a long time, many critical parts suffer from corrosion, wear and other problems, leading to part failure and inability to continue in service. It is imperative to repair failed parts and increase their service life. An orthogonal experimental scheme is designed to numerically simulate the process of laser cladding of Inconel 718 alloy powder on 4140 alloy structural steel based on the ANSYS simulation platform, derive the relationship equation of cladding layer thickness according to the heat balance principle, establish a finite element model, couple three modules of temperature field, stress field and fluid field, and analyze different modules to realize the monitoring of different processes of laser cladding. The optimal cladding parameters were laser power 1000 W, scanning speed 15 rad/s, spot radius 1.5 mm, thermal stress maximum value of 696 Mpa, residual stress minimum value of 281 Mpa, and the degree of influence of three factors on thermal stress maximum value: laser power > spot radius > scanning speed. The pool in the melting process appears to melt the “sharp corner” phenomenon, the internal shows a double vortex effect, with a maximum flow rate of 0.02 m/s. The solidification process shows a different shape at each stage due to the different driving forces. In this paper, multi-field-coupled numerical simulations of the laser cladding process were performed to obtain optimal cladding parameters with low residual stresses in the clad layer. The melt pool grows and expands gradually during melting, but the laser loading time is limited, and the size and shape of the melt pool are eventually fixed, and there is a vortex flowing from the center to both sides of the cross-section inside the melt pool, forming a double vortex effect. The solidification is divided into four stages to complete the transformation of the liquid phase of the melt pool to the solid phase, and the cladding layer is formed. The multi-field-coupled numerical simulation technique is used to analyze the temperature, stress and fluid fields to provide a theoretical basis for the residual stress and surface quality of the clad layer for subsequent laser cladding experiments.

Astragalus alcohol soluble polysaccharide (AASP) could present superior water solubility and antitumor activity with high concentration. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have received growing attention in various fields, but their unstable property increases the application difficulties. In the present study, functionalized nano-composites (AASP−SeNPs) were synthesized through SeNPs using AASP (average molecular weight of 2.1 × 103 Da) as a surface modifier, and the preliminary structural characteristics and inhibitory mechanism on liver cancer (HepG2) cells were investigated. Results showed that AASP−SeNPs prepared under a sodium selenite/AASP mass ratio of 1/20 (w/w) were uniformly spherical with a mean grain size of 49.80 nm and exhibited superior dispersivity and stability in water solution. Moreover, the composites could dose-dependently inhibit HepG2 cell proliferation and induce apoptosis through effectively regulating mitochondria-relevant indicators including ΔΨm depletion stimulation, intracellular ROS accumulation, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio improvement, and Cytochrome c liberation promotion. These results provide scientific references for future applications in functional food and drug industries.

Gas insulated switchgear (GIS) is one of the most important equipment in the power system. Excessive temperature of the GIS busbar conductor will lead to the loss of insulating gas performance and equipment life. In the present paper, based on the finite element method, the temperature distribution and power loss density of a 252 kV three-phase GIS busbar is numerically studied using electromagnetic-heat-flow coupling model, and the structure parameters of the rotation angle, center distance and conductor thickness of the busbar are optimized with Taguchi method. The results show that the conductor thickness has the greatest influence on the maximum temperature and power loss, and the influence proportion is more than 70 %. When the combination scheme of (A1, B5, C5) is adopted, the temperature rises and power loss performance of GIS has been optimized. The maximum temperature is reduced by 9.56 K and the power loss is reduced by 21.7 %. In addition, according to the analysis of the gas breakdown margin, it is found that the SF6 gas still has a good insulation performance after structure optimization. This study is of great significance to the heat transfer and optimization design of three-phase GIS busbar.

The active asteroid 311P/PanSTARRS is one of the two targets of the planned Chinese asteroid exploration mission Tianwen-2. During 2013, 311P experienced several mass-loss events and exhibited multiple comet-like tails. Here we analyze the morphology and surface brightness of the tails to investigate the dust environment around the nucleus and the mechanism of activities. We enhance the features of the tails using image processing techniques to obtain information about the morphologies of the tails, and fit the processed images with syndyne–synchrone diagrams. The fitting results give estimations of the upper limits of the durations (2–8 days) of eruptions and the dust size ranges (0.006 –38.9 mm) in the tails. The results of surface photometry performed for each dust tail show that the brightness distribution index of each tail ranged from approximately −1.81 to 0 and the dust size distribution indices of 311P's tails ranged from −2.29 to −1.45. The quantity of particles in each tail ranged from 0.5 to 8 × 10 ^6 kg, which leads to a total dust-loss quantity of 3.0 × 10 ^7 kg and a mass-loss rate of 1.59 kg s ^−1 . Sublimation, continuous impacts, or tidal forces of planets are excluded as explanations for 311P’s activities, and rotational instability remains a possible activation cause without strong evidence against it.

In order to realize the magnetization of hydrogel mixed with NdFeB powder, a magnetization drive coil based on a Helmholtz coil is designed in this paper. The 3D model of the magnetic field system is drawn by the Maxwell software 3D module, and the influence of different factors on the magnetic induction intensity is analyzed to obtain the optimized structure of the magnetization drive coil; then, the central magnetic induction intensity and magnetic induction line distribution density of the magnetization drive coil and Helmholtz coil are compared to verify the reliability of the structure optimization. The results show that the central magnetic induction intensity is the highest when the distance between the auxiliary coils is 70 mm, the central magnetic induction intensity of the magnetized drive coil is significantly higher than that of the Helmholtz coil when the number of turns is the same, and the central magnetic induction intensity of the optimized magnetized drive coil can reach 1.37 T with a more uniform and dense magnetic induction line distribution. After building the magnetization drive coil, the magnetic induction intensity of the center of the magnetization drive coil can reach 1.34 T by a handheld digital Gauss meter test, and the error is no more than 2% with the simulation result. This design approach provides a reference for the structural design and operating characteristics analysis of magnetized drive coils and shortens the design cost and development cycle of magnetized drive coils.

Students' perception of teachers' mindset beliefs (TMB) is associated with their school engagement (SSE). Based on SSE's contextual-personal interplay, perceived classroom goal structures (CGS) and students' mindset beliefs (SMB) were considered. Data from 1071 high school students were analyzed. The results show that CGS significantly mediated the negative connection between perceived headteachers' fixed mindset beliefs and SSE. Students who perceived headteachers to endorse more fixed mindset beliefs aligned with classroom performance goal structure (PGS) rather than mastery goal structure (MGS) environments, predicted fewer engagements. SMB played a moderated role. The effect of MGS on SSE was much stronger for students with low fixed mindset beliefs, whereas the effect of PGS on SSE was significant only for students with high fixed mindset beliefs. These findings corroborate SSE's development-in-sociocultural-context theory, indicating the value of inculcating growth mindset among teachers, and the fitness of classroom-student motivational systems to improve adolescents' engagement.

Objective Autoantibodies to the α3 chain noncollagen 1 domain of type IV collagen (α3(IV)NC1) are a serological hallmark in the diagnosis of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease. The objective of our study was to compare the performance of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody detection by chemiluminescence immunoassay (CIA) and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Methods Sera from outpatients who were suspected to have anti-GBM disease and 31 patients with biopsy-proven anti-GBM disease were collected. Thirty normal controls were also included. All samples were tested for anti-GBM antibodies by CIA and commercial ELISA. The anti-GBM antibody-positive samples were confirmed by a homemade ELISA coated with recombinant human α3(IV)NC1. Results Compared with detection of anti-GBM antibodies with ELISA, detection of anti-GBM antibodies with CIA showed a positivity agreement of 70% and a negativity agreement of 98.6%. Among the 4 patients with different results, the anti-GBM antibody detection by CIA was in agreement with the homemade ELISA coated with recombinant human α3(IV)NC1 and the clinical diagnosis. In 31 patients with anti-GBM disease, good agreement was achieved in the detection of anti-GBM antibodies with CIA, commercial ELISA and the homemade ELISA (100%, 100%). The AUC for CIA and commercial ELISA was 0.987 and 0.966, respectively. Conclusions The detection of anti-GBM antibodies with CIA demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity and was in good agreement with our homemade ELISA, which seems better than the commercial ELISA in suspected anti-GBM disease patients. The three assays performed in parallel in the diagnosis of anti-GBM disease patients.

Fiber-shaped supercapacitors are promising and attractive candidates as energy storage devices for flexible and wearable electric products. However, their low energy density (because their microstructure lacks homogeneity and they have few electroactive sites) restricts their development and application. In this study, well-distributed polyaniline/graphene composite fibers were successfully fabricated through a new strategy of self-assembly in solution combined with microfluidic techniques. The uniform assembly of polyaniline on graphene oxide sheets at the microscale in a water/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone blended solvent was accompanied by the in situ reduction of graphene oxides to graphene nanosheets. The assembled fiber-shaped supercapacitors with gel-electrolyte exhibit excellent electrochemical performance, including a large specific areal capacitance of 541.2 mF cm−2, along with a high energy density of 61.9 µW h cm−2 at a power density of 294.1 µW cm−2. Additionally, they can power an electronic device and blue LED lights for several minutes. The enhanced electrochemical performance obtained is mainly attributed to the homogeneous architecture designed, with an increased number of electroactive sites and a synergistic effect between polyaniline and graphene sheets. This research provides an avenue for the synthesis of fiber-shaped electrochemically active electrodes and may promote the development of future wearable electronics.

Objectives This study quantified how the efficiency of testing and contact tracing impacts the spread of COVID-19. The average time interval between infection and quarantine, whether asymptomatic cases are tested or not, and initial delays to beginning a testing and tracing programme were investigated.Setting We developed a novel individual-level network model, called CoTECT (Testing Efficiency and Contact Tracing model for COVID-19), using key parameters from recent studies to quantify the impacts of testing and tracing efficiency. The model distinguishes infection from confirmation by integrating a ‘T’ compartment, which represents infections confirmed by testing and quarantine. The compartments of presymptomatic (E), asymptomatic (I), symptomatic (Is), and death with (F) or without (f) test confirmation were also included in the model. Three scenarios were evaluated in a closed population of 3000 individuals to mimic community-level dynamics. Real-world data from four Nordic countries were also analysed.Primary and secondary outcome measures Simulation result: total/peak daily infections and confirmed cases, total deaths (confirmed/unconfirmed by testing), fatalities and the case fatality rate. Real-world analysis: confirmed cases and deaths per million people.Results (1) Shortening the duration between Is and T from 12 to 4 days reduces infections by 85.2% and deaths by 88.8%. (2) Testing and tracing regardless of symptoms reduce infections by 35.7% and deaths by 46.2% compared with testing only symptomatic cases. (3) Reducing the delay to implementing a testing and tracing programme from 50 to 10 days reduces infections by 35.2% and deaths by 44.6%. These results were robust to sensitivity analysis. An analysis of real-world data showed that tests per case early in the pandemic are critical for reducing confirmed cases and the fatality rate.Conclusions Reducing testing delays will help to contain outbreaks. These results provide policymakers with quantitative evidence of efficiency as a critical value in developing testing and contact tracing strategies.

Previous research has shown that creative mindsets influence creativity. Compared with people with a fixed creative mindset, those with a growth creative mindset performed better in creative tasks. The underlying mechanism, however, is not completely understood. The present study has extended previous works to explore whether metacognitive strategy monitoring and control influence the relationship between creative mindsets and divergent thinking performance. The thinking aloud method was used to summarize four strategies in a divergent thinking task (an alternative uses task, AUT) in a pilot study: memory retrieval, splitting, property-based, and general use strategies. In the formal study, the creative mindsets scale, AUT, self-strategic utility judgment (i.e., an index of metacognitive strategy monitoring), and frequency of strategies usage (i.e., an index of metacognitive strategy control) were used to explore the relationships among creative mindsets, divergent thinking, and metacognitive strategy monitoring and control. The results indicated a positive correlation between a growth creative mindset and divergent thinking but a negative correlation between a fixed creative mindset and divergent thinking. More importantly, there were identified mediating roles of metacognitive monitoring and control of splitting and property-based strategies in the relationship between creative mindsets and divergent thinking. The findings reveal that creative mindsets are a critical predictor of divergent thinking, and metacognitive monitoring and control of abstract strategies mediate this association.

In the electric power industry, the requirements for capacity, voltage level and compactness of transformers are getting higher and higher, which lead to significant problems, such as increased loss and more serious hot spots phenomena. Based on the three-dimensional finite element method, this paper establishes the bidirectional coupling between electromagnetic field, flow field and temperature field to calculate the temperature rise of 400 kVA oil-immersed transformer at full load and compare it with the results obtained by the heat-flow unidirectional coupling method (constant loss). The results show, due to the interaction between electromagnetic field and temperature field, the coil loss density increases, but the core loss density does not change. The hot spot temperature of coil increases and the location of coil hot spot changes. The temperature and position of the core hot spot do not change. The loss density of coil decreases as the inlet velocity increases, the hot spot temperature of coil drops faster. When the inlet velocity exceeds 0.5 m/s, increasing the inlet velocity can no longer effectively promote heat exchange. With the increase of the inlet velocity, the interaction between electromagnetic field and temperature field is weakened, but it still has a great impact on the loss density of coil. The multi-physics coupling method is of great significance to improve the accuracy of transformer temperature rise calculation.

Abstract Background Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is characterized by excessive activation of the immune system due to infection, autoimmune diseases, or malignancy. As an aggressive and life-threatening clinical syndrome, HLH secondary to peritoneal dialysis associated peritonitis (PDAP) has never been reported. Case presentation A 34-year-old female peritoneal dialysis (PD) patient was hospitalized for fever, progressively multi-organ damage (including cytopenias, abnormalities of coagulation and liver enzyme) after an episode of organism-specific peritonitis. She was refractory to the broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent. Further tests found hemophagocytosis on the bone marrow examination, and extremely high level of sIL2-R and impaired activity of NK cell. The diagnosis of HLH was eventually established. After HLH-specific therapy, this patient recovered and discharged. Conclusions The present case suggests that clinicians should to be aware of HLH in those patients apparently suspected with refractory or relapsing peritonitis, especially those accompanied with persist fever, hyperferritinemia, and cytopenias. HLH-specific therapy and supportive care should be applied without delay.

Background/Aims: Transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) has been proved to perturb the blood-testis barrier (BTB) by accelerating junction protein endocytosis in Sertoli cells (SCs) to accommodate the traversing of preleptotene spermatocytes across the BTB around stage VIII in rat. Yet the molecular network underlying the impairment of TGF-β3 on BTB integrity is not fully elucidated. Our study herein was designed to investigate the participation of microRNA-142-3p (miR-142-3p), which has been reported to affect TGF-β3 signaling via different pathways, during BTB dynamics and the corresponding mechanisms. Methods: MiRNA mimic or agomiRNA was co-administered with or without TGF-β3 in the cultured SCs or in the rat testis. The SC permeability barrier function was reflected by measuring the transepithelial resistance (TER) and the permeability of the sodium fluorescein (Na-F). The BTB integrity was detected by the permeation of biotin. A luciferase reporter assay was used to testify the potential target of miR-142-3p, lethal giant larvae 2 (Lgl2). Laser capture microdissection (LCM) was applied to acquire cell components of different stages of seminiferious tubules, followed by detection of the expression levels of miR-142-3p, TGF-β3, and Lgl2 by qPCR. The SC barrier function was also detected as above in the presence of TGF-β3 after Lgl2 knockdown. Results: We revealed a reversion of TGF-β3-induced BTB impairment after miR-142-3p treatment both in vitro and in vivo. Meanwhile, the activation of Cdc42 and reduction in occludin aroused by TGF-β3 were also reversed by miR-142-3p. The predicted binding of miR-142-3p with 3’-untranslated region (3’-UTR) of Lgl2, was verified by the luciferase assay. Moreover, an increased Lgl2 level in TGF-β3-treated SCs was found and correlated stage-specific expressions of TGF-β3, miR-142-3p, and Lgl2 were revealed. Knockdown of Lgl2 in SCs was shown to partially antagonize the BTB disruption mediated by TGF-β3. Conclusions: Collectively, our results suggest a resistance of miR-142-3p on the BTB impairment caused by TGF-β3 during the seminiferous epithelial cycle by targeting Lgl2.

The parent-child relationship plays an important role in shaping adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between the parent-child relationship and mental health are unclear. Using a 2-wave longitudinal design, this study examined the role of both mother-child and father-child relationships during home quarantine in boarding school students' internalizing and externalizing problems after school reopening, and the mediating roles of academic buoyancy and academic engagement. A total of 1967 boarding high school students completed a battery of self-report questionnaires before and after school reopening. Results indicated that both father-child and mother-child relationships indirectly contributed to internalizing and externalizing problems through the interlinked mediation path of academic buoyancy and academic engagement. The mother-child relationship had greater influence on internalizing and externalizing problems than the father-child relationship. These findings clarify the associations between the parent-child relationships and mental health problems of boarding high school students during the transition to school reopening in the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding our understanding of psychological adjustment related to parent-child relationships and the potential mechanisms of these relationships.

Metacognition refers to the knowledge and regulation of one’s own cognitive processes, which has been regarded as a critical component of creative thinking. However, the current literature on the association between metacognition and creative thinking remains controversial, and the underlying role of metacognition in the creative process appears to be insufficiently explored and explained. This review focuses on the roles of three aspects of metacognition (i.e., metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experience, and metacognitive monitoring and control) in creative thinking and offers a primary summary of the neurocognitive mechanisms that support metacognition during creative thinking. Future research is needed to explore the interactive effects of the metacognitive components on creative thinking and to elucidate the function of metacognition during different stages of the creative process.

Evolutionary theories suggest that fundamental mating-related motives might exert specific effects on human cognition and behaviors. Based on the evolutionary perspective, our prior research illustrated that the activation of mating-related motives leads to a study-time allocation bias toward highly attractive female faces. While study-time allocation is one of the aspects of the self-regulated learning process, it is unclear whether mating motives affect study decision behaviors (as measured by item-selection orders) during the learning process. Therefore, the present study followed the logic of previous research and aimed to examine the effects of mating-related motives on item-selection orders for face–name associations among faces with varying attractiveness. In two experiments, after an imagery procedure, participants in mating-related priming conditions (Experiment 1: mate search, Experiment 2: mate guarding) or control conditions performed an item-selection task. Participants were shown 16 female faces with varying attractiveness on a computer screen and were instructed to decide the order for studying the faces and corresponding names. Experiment 1 showed that activating mate-search motives led male participants to prioritize the choice of highly attractive rather than less attractive faces for studying. In Experiment 2, compared to the participants in the control condition, female participants in the mate-guarding priming condition were more likely to prioritize the choice of highly attractive rather than less attractive faces for studying. The present findings clarify that mating-related motives affect the item-selection prioritization of faces with varying attractiveness.

Chilling injury, tissue browning, and fungal infection are the major problems of peach fruit during post-harvest storage. In this study, a precise temperature control cold storage with low-temperature fluctuation (LFT) and internal circulation flow system is designed. An ozone (O3) generator and a (titanium dioxide) TiO2 photocatalytic reactor were applied to cold storage to investigate the variation of LFT combined with ozone fumigation and a TiO2 photocatalytic reactor in the efficiency of delaying ripening and maintaining peach fruit quality. Results showed that the temperature fluctuation with the improved control system was only ±0.1 to ±0.2 °C compared with that of ±0.5 to ±1.0 °C in conventional cold storage. LFT significantly reduced the chilling injury of peach fruit during storage. Although LFT combined with fumigation of 200 mg m−3 ozone periodical treatment slightly damaged the peach fruit after 40 d of storage, its combination with the TiO2 photocatalytic system significantly improved the postharvest storage quality of the fruit. This treatment maintained higher titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), better firmness, color, microstructure, and lower decay rate, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities, total phenol accumulation, respiratory intensity, ethylene production, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content during 60 d of storage. All the results show that LFT combined with the TiO2 photocatalytic system might be a promising technology for quality preservation in peach fruit storage.

In this study, we report the design and fabrication of a novel fluidic mixer. As proof-of-concept, the laminar flow in the main channel is firstly filled with small air-bubbles, which act as active stirrers inducing chaotic convective turbulent flow, and thus enhance the solutes mixing even at a low input flow rate. To further increase mixing efficiency, a design of neck constriction is included, which changes the relative positions of the inclusion bubbles significantly. The redistribution of liquid volume among bubbles then causes complex flow profile, which further enhances mixing. This work demonstrates a unique approach of utilizing air bubbles to facilitate mixing in bulk solution, which can find the potential applications in microfluidics, fast medical analysis, and biochemical synthesis.

Infection has long been suspected as a trigger of autoimmune diseases, and molecular mimicry mechanism was hypothesized in this study. Microbe originated peptides were searched from the Uniprot database based on a previous defined critical amino acid motif within α3129-150, isoleucine137, tryptophan140, glycine142, phenylalanine 143 and phenylalanine 145. 23826 microbial peptides were identified using our searching strategy, among which seven were related with human infections. Circulating IgG and IgM antibodies against the seven microbial peptides were detected using ELISA in 76 patients with anti-GBM disease. Four peptides were recognized by both IgG and IgM antibodies, and one peptide was recognized by IgG antibodies only. Peptides from Bacteroides, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Bifidobacterium thermophilum possessed the highest recognition frequency with the prevalence of 73.7%, 61.8% and 67.1% for IgG, 56.6%, 44.7% and 67.1% for IgM in anti-GBM patients. Patients with antibodies against these microbial peptides showed more severe kidney injury, including higher serum creatinine and higher percentage of crescent formation. In conclusion, antibodies against microbial peptides were identified in the circulation of anti-GBM patients, implying its etiological role in eliciting autoimmune response against α3(IV)NC1 through molecular mimicry.

Although a growing number of empirical studies have revealed that activating mate-related motives might exert a specific set of consequences for human cognition and behaviors, such as attention and memory, little is known about whether mate-related motives affect self-regulated learning. The present study examined the effects of mate-related motives (mate-search and mate-guarding) on study-time allocation to faces varying in attractiveness. In two experiments, participants in mate-related priming conditions (Experiment 1: mate-search; Experiment 2: mate-guarding) or control conditions studied 20 female faces (10 highly attractive, 10 less attractive) during a self-paced study task, and then were given a yes/no face recognition task. The finding of Experiment 1 showed that activating a mate-search motive led the male participants to allocate more time to highly attractive female faces (i.e., perceived potential mates) than to less attractive ones. In Experiment 2, female participants in the mate-guarding priming condition spent more time studying highly attractive female faces (i.e., perceived potential rivals) than less attractive ones, compared to participants in the control condition. These findings illustrate the highly specific consequences of mate-related motives on study-time allocation, and highlight the value of exploring human cognition and motivation within evolutionary and self-regulated learning frameworks.

One-fifth of patients with seemingly 'curable' pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) experience an early recurrence and death, receiving no definable benefit from a major operation. Some patients with advanced stage tumors are deemed 'unresectable' by conventional staging criteria (e.g. liver metastasis), yet progress slowly. Effective biomarkers that stratify PDA based on biologic behavior are needed. To help researchers sort through the maze of biomarker data, a compendium of ∼2500 published candidate biomarkers in PDA was compiled (PLoS Med, 2009. 6(4) p. e1000046).Building on this compendium, we constructed a survival tissue microarray (termed s-TMA) comprised of short-term (cancer-specific death 30 months, n = 79) who underwent resection for PDA (total, n = 137). The s-TMA functions as a biological filter to identify bona fide prognostic markers associated with survival group extremes (at least 18 months separate survival groups). Based on a stringent selection process, 13 putative PDA biomarkers were identified from the public biomarker repository. Candidates were tested against the s-TMA by immunohistochemistry to identify the best markers of tumor biology. In a multivariate model, MUC1 (odds ratio, OR = 28.95, 3+ vs. negative expression, p = 0.004) and MSLN (OR = 12.47, 3+ vs. negative expression, p = 0.01) were highly predictive of early cancer-specific death. By comparison, pathologic factors (size, lymph node metastases, resection margin status, and grade) had ORs below three, and none reached statistical significance. ROC curves were used to compare the four pathologic prognostic features (ROC area = 0.70) to three univariate molecular predictors (MUC1, MSLN, MUC2) of survival group (ROC area = 0.80, p = 0.07).MUC1 and MSLN were superior to pathologic features and other putative biomarkers as predicting survival group. Molecular assays comparing cancers from short and long survivors are an effective strategy to screen biomarkers and prioritize candidate cancer genes for diagnostic and therapeutic studies.