The Role of Dyadic Interactions in Personal and Collective Future Thinking

Research on future thinking has focused on both personal future thinking about one’s own life and collective future thinking about the fate of the world. A recent study has revealed a dissociation between the two types of future thoughts, specifically a positivity bias in personal future thoughts and a negativity bias in collective future thoughts (Shrikanth et al., 2018). I recently conducted a pilot study exploring processes that can facilitate this dissociation, specifically the role of dyadic interactions. The pilot experiments revealed that the negativity bias in collective future thinking can be exaggerated when people discuss the country’s future with each other. The current study sought to replicate this finding, as well as exploring how dyadic interactions impact the emotional content of personal future thinking. 108 participants were asked to talk about the collective future of the United States and their personal future either with a partner or on their own. The results were consistent with the pilot experiments and supported that paired participants had an exaggerated negative bias in their collective future thoughts compared to individuals. Contrary to past studies on collaborative recall of autobiographical memory, impression management, discomfort of sharing negatives, and mutual reinforcement, I did not find a positive bias in the personal future thoughts of pairs or individuals

Does governmental venture capital (GVC) advance green innovation? Big data evidence from China

This paper examines the impact of governmental venture capital on green innovation utilizing a unique and comprehensive dataset in China between 2009 and 2018. Our results consistently reveal significant and positive effects of GVCs on green innovation, a result derived from the analysis of 317,870 firm-year observations conducted through a difference-in-differences and propensity score matching panel approach. Moreover, GVCs investments indicate a significant but smaller effect when they invest in start-ups. Following GVC investments, companies tend to attract additional private and other governmental financing. Interestingly, GVCs structured as limited partnerships appear to stimulate more green innovation compared to corporate?venture-structured GVCs. JEL Classification: G24, M13, O38, L26, Q55</p

Enantioselective Circular Dichroism Sensing of Cysteine and Glutathione with Gold Nanorods

Enantioselective analysis of biological thiols, including cysteine (Cys) and glutathione (GSH), is extremely important because of their unique role in bioentities. Here we demonstrated that the end-to-end assemblies of plasmonic gold nanorods with chiral Cys or GSH can be used as a distinctive chiroptical sensor for reliable determination of the absolute configuration of Cys and GSH at the visible light region. The end-to-end assemblies of Au nanorods induced by Cys or GSH exhibit strong circular dichroism (CD) signals in the region of 500–850 nm, which is attributed to chiral current inside Au nanorods induced by the mixed biothiols. The CD intensity of the assemblies shows good linearity with the amount of Cys and GSH. The limit of detection for Cys and GSH using end-to-end assemblies is at micromolar concentrations. In addition, the sensing system exhibits good selectively toward Cys and GSH in the presence of other amino acids

DataSheet_1_Thyroid function and thyroid homeostasis parameters are associated with increased urinary albumin excretion in euthyroid individuals over 60 years old from NHANES.zip

IntroductionThe relationship between thyroid function/homeostasis parameters and renal function has been extensively studied. However, the relationship between thyroid function and thyroid homeostasis parameters with albuminuria among elderly individuals remains unclear.MethodsThe population was divided into an albuminuria group and a non-albuminuria group for baseline characteristic difference analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was used to test the association between thyroid function, and thyroid homeostasis parameters and albuminuria. The nonlinear relationship was explored with restricted cubic splines. Meanwhile, we investigated whether the relationship also existed in the diabetes and hypertension subgroups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the effectiveness of the indices.ResultsFT4 and TFQIFT4 were positively correlated with albuminuria (OR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.02–1.23, p = 0.02; OR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.08–2.99, p = 0.03), and FT3/FT4 was negatively correlated with albuminuria (OR = 0.03; 95% CI = 0.00–0.26, p = 0.003). Additionally, the nonlinear relationship between FT3/FT4 as well as TSHI and albuminuria was approximately U-shaped. Similar results were observed in the hypertension subgroup but not in the diabetes subgroup. There was a U-shaped nonlinear relationship between FT3 and albuminuria in the diabetes group. In addition, FT3/FT4 performed better than TFQI, TT4RI, and TSHI in ROC analyses for albuminuria prediction.ConclusionFT4, TFQIFT4, and a low FT3/FT4 ratio were risk factors for albuminuria in euthyroid individuals over 60 years old. However, FT3 was more associated with albuminuria in the diabetes subgroup. TSH was not associated with albuminuria in any analysis. In our study, we attempted to provide more reasonable thyroid parameters and basis for evaluating patients with underlying albuminuria. FT3/FT4 may be used as a helpful indicator to predict albuminuria and provide novel ideas for the evaluation and treatment of albuminuria.</p

Data_Sheet_1_Mental burden among Chinese undergraduate medical students: A prospective longitudinal study before, during, and after the COVID-19 outbreak.docx

BackgroundIncreasing evidence indicated a clear association between COVID-19 pandemic and mental health. This study aimed to assess the dynamic change of mental burden during and after the COVID-19 outbreak and related predictive factors among Chinese undergraduate medical students.MethodsThis longitudinal survey was conducted among Chinese undergraduate medical students before, during, and after the COVID-19 outbreak. We focused on COVID-19 related mental burdens including psychological distress, stress reaction, and insomnia symptoms, and defined the sum score of the three specific mental burden indexes as the overall mental burden index. The prevalence of specific and overall mental burdens and their changing patterns at two phases of the pandemic (during vs. after the COVID-19 outbreak) were measured. In addition, multinomial logistic regressions were used to assess the associations between the psychosocial status before the pandemic and specific and overall mental burden changing patterns.ResultsOur findings showed that the prevalence of overall mental burden increased (from 27.46 to 37.28%) after the COVID-19 outbreak among the 863 Chinese undergraduate medical students who participated in the surveys at baseline, during, and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, the prevalence of stress reaction symptoms decreased (from 10.90 to 3.60%), while the rates of psychological distress (from 28.06 to 37.95%) and insomnia symptoms (from 12.54 to 20.71%) increased. Participants, with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, somatic symptoms, internet addiction, childhood adversity, stressful life events, and being neurotic were found to have a higher risk of developing mental burden in at least one survey (during or after the COVID-19 outbreak). Healthy family function and being extravert were found to positively impact mental burden.ConclusionPsychological distress, stress reaction and insomnia symptoms have been prevalent among Chinese undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 outbreak, and the prevalence of overall mental burden increased after the COVID-19 outbreak. Some students, especially those with the risk factors noted above, exhibited persistent or progression symptoms. Continued mental health care was in demand for them even after the COVID-19 outbreak.</p

Synergistic Toughening of Graphene Oxide–Molybdenum Disulfide–Thermoplastic Polyurethane Ternary Artificial Nacre

Inspired by the ternary structure of natural nacre, robust ternary artificial nacre is constructed through synergistic toughening of graphene oxide (GO) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets <i>via</i> a vacuum-assisted filtration self-assembly process. The synergistic toughening effect from high mechanical properties of GO and lubrication of MoS₂ nanosheets is successfully demonstrated. Meanwhile, the artificial nacre shows high electrical conductivity. This approach for constructing robust artificial nacre by synergistic effect from GO and MoS₂ provides a creative opportunity for designing and fabricating integrated artificial nacre in the near future, and this kind of ternary artificial nacre has great potential applications in aerospace, flexible supercapacitor electrodes, artificial muscle, and tissue engineering

Use of Synergistic Interactions to Fabricate Strong, Tough, and Conductive Artificial Nacre Based on Graphene Oxide and Chitosan

Graphene is the strongest and stiffest material, leading to the development of promising applications in many fields. However, the assembly of graphene nanosheets into macrosized nanocomposites for practical applications remains a challenge. Nacre in its natural form sets the “gold standard” for toughness and strength, which serves as a guide to the assembly of graphene nanosheets into high-performance nanocomposites. Here we show the strong, tough, conductive artificial nacre based on graphene oxide through synergistic interactions of hydrogen and covalent bonding. Tensile strength and toughness was 4 and 10 times higher, respectively, than that of natural nacre. The exceptional integrated strong and tough artificial nacre has promising applications in aerospace, artificial muscle, and tissue engineering, especially for flexible supercapacitor electrodes due to its high electrical conductivity. The use of synergistic interactions is a strategy for the development of high-performance nanocomposites

Sulfur Migration Enhanced Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer for Efficient CO₂ Desorption with Core-Shelled C@Mn₃O₄

Transforming hazardous species into active sites by ingenious material design was a promising and positive strategy to improve catalytic reactions in industrial applications. To synergistically address the issue of sluggish CO2 desorption kinetics and SO2-poisoning solvent of amine scrubbing, we propose a novel method for preparing a high-performance core–shell C@Mn3O4 catalyst for heterogeneous sulfur migration and in situ reconstruction to active –SO3H groups, and thus inducing an enhanced proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) effect for CO2 desorption. As anticipated, the rate of CO2 desorption increases significantly, by 255%, when SO2 is introduced. On a bench scale, dynamic CO2 capture experiments reveal that the catalytic regeneration heat duty of SO2-poisoned solvent experiences a 32% reduction compared to the blank case, while the durability of the catalyst is confirmed. Thus, the enhanced PCET of C@Mn3O4, facilitated by sulfur migration and simultaneous transformation, effectively improves the SO2 resistance and regeneration efficiency of amine solvents, providing a novel route for pursuing cost-effective CO2 capture with an amine solvent

Image2_Anti-inflammatory and uric acid lowering effects of Euodiae fructus on hyperuricemia and gout mice.TIF

The metabolic disease hyperuricemia (HUA) is caused by presence of excessive serum uric acid (UA), which leads to an increased risk of chronic kidney disease and gout. As a widely used traditional Chinese medicine, Euodiae fructus (ER) has strong anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, however, its therapeutic effects on HUA and gout have not been investigated. To investigate the potential effects and underlying mechanisms, the effect of ER on proinflammatory cytokines and NLRP3 inflammasome activation was studied in mouse bone marrow macrophages. Moreover, a mouse model of HUA and gouty arthritis was established by coadministration of potassium oxonate (PO) and monosodium urate crystals to mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 37 consecutive days. Oral administration of ER aqueous extract was given 1 hour later after the injection of PO for 10 days. Our study showed that ER is a powerful NLRP3 inhibitor in mouse macrophages. Most importantly, ER (0.75 g/kg) treatment substantially decreased the ankle joint thickness ratio, serum UA, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels (p < 0.05). Additionally, ER (0.75 g/kg) dramatically reversed the increases in renal urate transporter 1 (URAT1) and glucose transporter 9 (GLUT9) as well as the decreases in organic anion transporter 1 (OAT1) and ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) levels (p < 0.05). Moreover, ER (0.75 g/kg) markedly ameliorated the production of the serum inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α (p < 0.01), and improved the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome signaling in the kidneys. Taken together, these data indicate that ER, a powerful and specific NLRP3 inhibitor, has multiple anti-HUA, anti-gout and anti-inflammatory effects. Our investigation is designed to experimentally support the conventional use of ER-containing classical herbal formulas in the treatment of HUA-related disorders and may add a new dimension to the clinical application of ER.</p