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Highlights This study investigated Chinese children's perspectives on the use of power and the prediction of these perspectives on their resource allocation. The sample included a total of 145 children from two primary schools in Mainland China (68 males, 77 females), with 70 in the younger group (Mage = 6.89, SD = 0.37, ranging from 6.08 to 7.67 years) and 75 in the older group (Mage = 9.03, SD = 0.55, ranging from 8.08 to 9.92 years). To explore the power perspective of children, they were presented a character who was ‘in charge’ and used his/her power to serve themselves or others. The results showed that children aged 6–9 years were more inclined to approve ‘bosses’ who used power for others' benefit, indicating children's support for benevolent power use, especially among 8–9‐year‐olds. Additionally, the study revealed that children who approved of benevolent power use tended to allocate more resources to others when possessing power, a behaviour not observed in 6–7‐year‐olds. This finding, more or less, indicated a correlation between children's perspectives on the use of power and their behaviour in allocating resources. These results demonstrate the importance of promoting a rational understanding of power use among children. All children held the benevolent perspective of power use, which agreed that those in power should use power to serve others. Children aged 8–9 were more inclined to think a ‘boss’ should prioritize the interests of others over their own. Children aged 8–9 who supported the benevolent perspective of power use allocate more resources to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollutants are recognized as one of the major concerns for public health. The free‐living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans are widely used to evaluate the toxicity of environmental contaminants in biomonitoring researches. In the present study, a new transgenic strain, rps‐30−/−;RFP‐RPS‐30UbL was generated, with constitutively active rps‐30 promoter used to control the expression of RFP‐RPS‐30UbL fusion protein. We found RFP‐RPS‐30UbL would accumulate to form 'rod‐like' structures, when worms were exposed to environmental contaminants, including Cd, Hg, Pb, As, Paraquat and Dichlorvos. The number of the 'rod‐like' structures was induced by environmental contaminants in a concentration‐ and time‐dependent manner. The 'rod‐like' structure formation could be detectable in response to the concentration of each contaminant as low as 24‐h LC50 × 10−7, and the detectable time could be within 2 h. Detecting the transcription and expression levels of RFP‐RPS‐30UbL in worms exposed to different kinds of environmental contaminants showed that the expression level of RFP‐RPS‐30UbL was not regulated by environmental contaminants, and the number differences of 'rod‐like' structures were just due to the morphological change of RFP‐RPS‐30UbL from dispersion to accumulation induced by environmental contaminants. In addition, this transgenic strain was developed in rps‐30−/− homozygous worm, which was a longevity strain. Detection of lifespan and brood size showed that rps‐30−/−;RFP‐RPS‐30UbL transgenic worm was more suitable to be cultured and used further than N2;GFP‐RPS‐30UbL, for expressing RPS‐30UbL in wild type N2 worms shortened the lifespan and deceased the brood size. Therefore, rps‐30−/−;RFP‐RPS‐30UbL transgenic worm might play a potential role in versatile environmental biomonitoring, with the advantage of not only the convenient and quick fluorescence‐based reporter assay, but also the quantificational evaluation of the toxicities of environmental contaminants using 'rod‐like' structures with high sensitivity, off‐limited the expression level of the reporter protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging is characterized by the functional decline of tissues and organs and increased risk of aging-associated disorders, which pose major societal challenges and are a public health priority. Despite extensive human genetics studies, limited progress has been made linking genetics with aging. There is a growing realization that the altered assembly, structure and dynamics of the gut microbiota actively participate in the aging process. Age-related microbial dysbiosis is involved in reshaping immune responses during aging, which manifest as immunosenescence (insufficiency) and inflammaging (over-reaction) that accompany many age-associated enteric and extraenteric diseases. The gut microbiota can be regulated, suggesting a potential target for aging interventions. This review summarizes recent findings on the physiological succession of gut microbiota across the life-cycle, the roles and mechanisms of gut microbiota in healthy aging, alterations of gut microbiota and aging-associated diseases, and the gut microbiota-targeted anti-aging strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usage of hollow nerve conduits shows inferior recovery effect on the repair of peripheral nerve defects. In this study, a biocompatible and biodegradable pH-induced injectable chitosan–hyaluronic acid hydrogel for nerve growth factor encapsulation and sustained release was developed as the fillers in the lumen of hollow nerve conduit to reform its microenvironment for peripheral nerve regeneration. The physicochemical properties of hydrogel were characterized by gelation time, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, compressive modulus, porosity, swelling ratio, and in vitro degradation. The in vitro nerve growth factor release profiles and cell evaluation were also investigated. The results show that the structure of chitosan–hyaluronic acid hydrogel is composed of interconnected channels with a controllable pore diameter ranging from 20 to 100 µm. The hydrogel can be degraded more than 70% within 8 weeks in vitro and is available for nerve growth factor sustained release. The chitosan–hyaluronic acid/nerve growth factor hydrogel is non-toxic and suitable for adhesion and proliferation of nerve cells and capable of maintaining nerve growth factor activity. Therefore, it could be a promising intraluminal filler of nerve conduits for peripheral nerve regeneration in neural tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]