Data_Sheet_1_The relationship between Chinese college students’ mate preferences and their parents’ education level.ZIP

Parents have an influence on the formation of their children’s mate preferences. This research conducted two studies to test the relationship between parents’ education level and the gender role characteristics (masculinity and femininity) of ideal mate for college students, and the moderating role of urban-rural residence on this relationship. In study 1, 1,033 participants (627 females) reported their explicit attitude toward gender role characteristics for an ideal mate via the Chinese Sex Role Inventory-50. In study 2, we recruited 130 participants (66 females) and used an implicit association test to measure their implicit attitude. Regression-based analyses showed that the higher education level of parents was significantly associated with female students’ mate preferences with high-femininity but low-masculinity traits. For male students, the higher education level of parents was associated with their explicit (not implicit) preferences of mates with high-masculinity but low-femininity traits. The significant moderating effect of urban-rural residence was observed in explicit preference, with the different patterns in gender groups. In conclusion, parents with higher educational attainment might bring up children who are more likely to embrace a partner with non-traditional gender roles (e.g., androgynous individuals, feminine men or masculine women).</p

Table_1_The relationship between Chinese college students’ mate preferences and their parents’ education level.DOCX

Parents have an influence on the formation of their children’s mate preferences. This research conducted two studies to test the relationship between parents’ education level and the gender role characteristics (masculinity and femininity) of ideal mate for college students, and the moderating role of urban-rural residence on this relationship. In study 1, 1,033 participants (627 females) reported their explicit attitude toward gender role characteristics for an ideal mate via the Chinese Sex Role Inventory-50. In study 2, we recruited 130 participants (66 females) and used an implicit association test to measure their implicit attitude. Regression-based analyses showed that the higher education level of parents was significantly associated with female students’ mate preferences with high-femininity but low-masculinity traits. For male students, the higher education level of parents was associated with their explicit (not implicit) preferences of mates with high-masculinity but low-femininity traits. The significant moderating effect of urban-rural residence was observed in explicit preference, with the different patterns in gender groups. In conclusion, parents with higher educational attainment might bring up children who are more likely to embrace a partner with non-traditional gender roles (e.g., androgynous individuals, feminine men or masculine women).</p

<i>p, p′</i>-Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene Induces Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Cell Proliferation through Oxidative Stress

<div><p><i>p, p′</i>-Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), the major metabolite of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), is an organochlorine pollutant and associated with cancer progression. The present study investigated the possible effects of <i>p,p′</i>-DDE on colorectal cancer and the involved molecular mechanism. The results indicated that exposure to low concentrations of <i>p,p′</i>-DDE from 10⁻¹⁰ to 10⁻⁷M for 96 h markedly enhanced proliferations of human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines. Moreover, <i>p,p′</i>-DDE exposure could activate Wnt/β-catenin and Hedgehog/Gli1 signaling cascades, and the expression level of c-Myc and cyclin D1 was significantly increased. Consistently, <i>p,p′</i>-DDE-induced cell proliferation along with upregulated c-Myc and cyclin D1 were impeded by β-catenin siRNA or Gli1 siRNA. In addition, <i>p,p′</i>-DDE was able to activate NADPH oxidase, generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduce GSH content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and calatase (CAT) activities. Treatment with antioxidants prevented <i>p,p′</i>-DDE-induced cell proliferation and signaling pathways of Wnt/β-catenin and Hedgehog/Gli1. These results indicated that <i>p,p′</i>-DDE promoted colorectal cancer cell proliferation through Wnt/β-catenin and Hedgehog/Gli1 signalings mediated by oxidative stress. The finding suggests an association between <i>p,p′</i>-DDE exposure and the risk of colorectal cancer progression.</p></div

Inhibition of Hedgehog/Gli1 signaling blocks <i>p,p′</i>-DDE-induced DLD1 cell proliferation.

<p>After DLD1 cells were transfected with control siRNA or Gli1 siRNA, followed by treating with <i>p,p′</i>-DDE (10⁻⁹M) for 96 h, (A) Protein levels of Gli1, c-Myc and cyclin D1 were examined by western blotting. α-tubulin was used as a control. Grayscale scan analysis of western blot bands from three independent experiments were shown in right panel of graph. *<i>p</i><0.05 and **<i>p</i><0.01 compared to the cells only transfected with control siRNA. ^##<i>p</i><0.01 compared to the cells transfected with Gli1 siRNA along with <i>p,p′</i>-DDE treatment. (B) Cell viability and (C) proliferation rate were analyzed by MTT and cell number assays. The results are percent as the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. **<i>p</i><0.01 compared to control.</p

Proposed diagram of <i>p,p′</i>-DDE-induced colorectal adenocarcinoma cell proliferation.

<p>At low concentrations, <i>p,p′</i>-DDE promotes colorectal adenocarcinoma cell proliferation through c-Myc and cyclin D1 overexpression resulted from the stimulation of Wnt/β-catenin and Hedgehog/Gli1 signalings, which were mediated by oxidative stress.</p

Enantioselective Induction of Cytotoxicity by <i>o</i>,<i>p</i>′‑DDD in PC12 Cells: Implications of Chirality in Risk Assessment of POPs Metabolites

The increased release of chiral persistent organic pollutants (POPs) into the environment has resulted in more attention to the role of enantioselectivity in the fate and ecotoxicological effects of these compounds. Although the enantioselectivity of chiral POPs has been considered in previous studies, little effort has been expended to discern the enantiospecific effects of chiral POPs metabolites, which may impede comprehensive risk assessments of these chemicals. In the present study, <i>o</i>,<i>p</i>′-DDD, the chiral metabolite of <i>o</i>,<i>p</i>′-DDT, was used as a model chiral metabolite. First, a preferential chiral separation at 100% ethanol was employed to obtain a pure enantiomer. The enantioselective cytotoxicity of <i>o</i>,<i>p</i>′-DDD in rat cells (PC12) was evaluated by detecting activation of the cellular apoptosis and oxidative stress systems and microarray analysis. We have documented for the first time that <i>R</i>-(+)-<i>o</i>,<i>p</i>′-DDD increases apoptosis by selectively disturbing the oxidative system (enzymes and molecules) and regulating the transcription of Aven, Bid, Cideb and Tp53. By comparing the data from the present study to data derived from the parent compound, we concluded that the <i>R</i>-enantiomer is the more detrimental stereostructure for both <i>o</i>,<i>p</i>′-DDT and <i>o</i>,<i>p</i>′-DDD. This observed stereostructural effect is in line with the structure–activity relationship formulated at other structural levels. Biological activities of the chiral metabolites are likely to occur in the same absolute configuration between chiral POPs and their metabolites provided that they have the similar stereostructures

Reversal Effects of Bound Polyphenol from Foxtail Millet Bran on Multidrug Resistance in Human HCT-8/Fu Colorectal Cancer Cell

Foxtail millet is the second-most widely planted species of millet and the most important cereal food in China. Our previous study showed that bound polyphenol of inner shell (BPIS) from foxtail millet bran displayed effective antitumor activities in vitro and in vivo. The present research further implied that BPIS has the ability to reverse the multidrug resistance of colorectal cancer in human HCT-8/Fu cells, the IC₅₀ values of 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu), oxaliplatin (L–OHP), and vincristine (VCR) were decreased form 6593 ± 53.8, 799 ± 48.9, and 247 ± 10.3 μM to 5350 ± 22.3 (3261 ± 56.9), 416 ± 16.6 (252 ± 15.6), and 144 ± 8.30 (83.8 ± 5.60) μM when HCT-8/Fu cells were pretreated with 0.5 (1.0) mg/mL BPIS for 12 h. The 12 phenolic acid compounds of BPIS were identified by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-triple-time of flight/mass spectrometry (UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS) method. Especially, the fraction of molecular weight (MW) < 200 of BPIS reversed the multidrug resistance in HCT-8/Fu cells, and ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid were the main active components, the IC₅₀ values were 1.23 ± 0.195 and 2.68 ± 0.163 mg/mL, respectively. The present data implied that BPIS significantly enhanced the sensitivity of chemotherapeutic drugs through inhibiting cell proliferation, promoting cell apoptosis, and increasing the accumulation of rhodamine-123 (Rh-123) in HCT-8/Fu cells. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot data indicated that BPIS also decreased the expression levels of multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1), P-glycoprotein (P-gp), and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP). Collectively, these results show that BPIS has potential ability to be used as a new drug-resistance reversal agent in colorectal cancer

Low concentrations of <i>p,p′</i>-DDE promote colorectal adenocarcinoma cell proliferation.

<p>After DLD1 or SW620 cells were exposed to 10⁻¹² to 10⁻⁶M <i>p,p′</i>-DDE for 96 h, cell viability (A) and proliferation rate (B) were determined using MTT and cell number assays, respectively. Values are percent changes above the control (DMSO, 0.1%) as the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. *<i>p</i><0.05 and **<i>p</i><0.01 compared to control cells.</p

Effects of <i>p,p′</i>-DDE on Nox1, p22^phox, p40^phox, p47^phox and p67^phox expression in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells.

<p>After DLD1 or SW620 cells were exposed to <i>p,p′</i>-DDE (10⁻¹⁰, 10⁻⁹, 10⁻⁸M) for 96 h, the levels of Nox1 (A), p22^phox (B), p40^phox (C), p47^phox (D) and p67^phox (E) mRNA expression were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and normalized to control mRNA. The data were acquired from three biologically independent experiments. Values shown were given as the ± SD. <i>*p<</i>0.05 and <i>**p</i><0.01 compared to control.</p

Effects of vitamin C and E on <i>p,p′</i>-DDT altered-apoptotic protein.

<p>Western blotting was utilized to analyze protein level of apoptotic genes (<i>Bax</i>, <i>Bcl-2</i> and <i>p53</i>) in HL-7702 cells. (A) Protein expressions induced by <i>p,p′</i>-DDT. (B) The grayscale scans of left western blot lines. (C) The suppressive effects of VC (10 µM) and VE (30 µM) on <i>p,p′</i>-DDT (30 µM) altered proteins. (D) The grayscale scans of left western blot lines. The above blots and data were representative of at least three independent experiments with similar results. An asterisk (*) represents a significant difference from controls (*<i>p</i><0.05, **<i>p</i><0.01).</p