Search

In order to alleviate the enormous pressure that waste bagasse puts on the environment, BGO was prepared from waste bagasse. With Ca2+ crosslinked SA as the first network and BGO as the heterogeneous nucleus for the second network, the PVA/SA/BGO double-network hydrogel spheres were constructed with the help of freeze-thaw method. The structure, morphology and adsorption properties of the PVA/SA/BGO double-network hydrogel for the organic dye crystalline violet (CV) were investigated. The results show that the obtained BGO has a lamellar structure and abundant oxygen-containing groups. The maximum adsorption amount of PVA/SA/BGO double-network hydrogel toward CV is 460.21 mg ⋅ g-1, and the adsorption process is in accordance with the Langmuir adsorption model and the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individual with internet gaming disorder (IGD) often experience a high level of loneliness, and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that amygdala function is associated with both IGD and loneliness. However, the neurobiological basis underlying these relationships remains unclear. Methods: In the current study, Granger causal analysis was performed to investigate amygdalar subdivision-based resting-state effective connectivity differences between 111 IGD subjects and 120 matched participants with recreational game use (RGUs). We further correlated neuroimaging findings with clinical measures. Mediation analysis was conducted to explore whether amygdalar subdivision-based effective connectivity mediated the relationship between IGD severity and loneliness. Results: Compared with RGUs, IGD subjects showed inhibitory effective connections from the left pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) to the left laterobasal amygdala (LBA) and from the right medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to the left LBA, as well as an excitatory effective connection from the left middle prefrontal gyrus (MFG) to the right superficial amygdala. Further analyses demonstrated that the left pACC-left LBA effective connection was negatively correlated with both Internet Addiction Test and UCLA Loneliness scores, and it mediated the relationship between the two. Conclusion: IGD subjects and RGUs showed different connectivity patterns involving amygdalar subdivisions. These findings support a neurobiological mechanism for the relationship between IGD and loneliness, and suggest targets for therapeutic approaches that could be used to treat IGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, some rituals show that power is represented by seat positions. The current study empirically investigated the relationship between seat position and perception of power, and the cultural differences in this relationship. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to arrange seats for people with different power. The results showed that seats for high‐power people were placed facing the door while others' seats were placed with their backs to the door. In Experiment 2, a priming task was employed to test the link between seat position and perception of power. Results revealed that after pictures of the seat facing the door were primed, judgments for high‐power words were more accurate and faster than for low‐power words, as compared to priming with the condition of the seat with its back to the door. A Stroop task was employed in Experiment 3 to explore cultural differences. Results showed that Chinese participants judged high‐power words faster in the congruent trials than in the incongruent trials, but no such difference was found in African participants. These findings suggest that the concept of power can be partly represented by seat position in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Apathy is a quantitative reduction in motivation and goal-directed behaviors, not only observed in neuropsychiatric disorders, but also present in healthy populations. Although brain abnormalities associated with apathy in clinical disorders have been studied, the organization of brain networks in healthy individuals has yet to be identified., Method: We examined properties of intrinsic brain networks in healthy individuals with varied levels of apathy. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging in combination with graph theory analysis and dynamic causal modeling analysis, we tested communications among nodes and modules as well as effective connectivity among brain networks., Results: We found that the average participation coefficient of the subcortical network, especially the amygdala, was lower in individuals with high than low apathy. Importantly, we observed weaker effective connectivity fromthe hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus to the amygdala, and from the amygdala to the parahippocampal gyrus and medial frontal cortex in individuals with apathy., Conclusion: These findings suggest that individuals with high apathy exhibit aberrant communication within the cortical-to-subcortical network, characterized by differences in amygdala-related effective connectivity. Our work sheds light on the neural basis of apathy in subclinical populations and may have implications for understanding the development of clinical conditions that feature apathy., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: Substance use disorder (SUD) is characterized by compulsive use of addictive substances with considerable impact on both the medical system and society as a whole. The craving of substances leads to relapse in the majority of patients within one year of traditional treatments. In recent decades, neuromodulation approaches have emerged as potential novel treatments of SUD, but the ideal neural target remains contentious., Materials and Methods: In this review, we discuss new insights on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as a neuromodulation target for SUD., Results and Conclusion: First, we illustrate that the ACC serves as a central "hub" in addiction-related neural networks of cognitive functions, including, but not limited to, decision-making, cognitive inhibition, emotion, and motivation. Then, we summarize the literature targeting the ACC to treat SUDs via available neuromodulation approaches. Finally, we propose potential directions to improve the effect of stimulating the ACC in SUD treatment. We emphasize that the ACC can be divided into at least four sub-regions, which have distinctive functions and connections. Studies focusing on these sub-regions may help to develop more precise and effective ACC stimulation according to patients' symptom profiles and cognitive deficits., (© 2020 International Neuromodulation Society.)