Effects of interpersonal sensitivity on depressive symptoms in postgraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Psychological capital and sleep quality as mediators

BackgroundThis study aimed to examine depressive symptoms associated with interpersonal sensitivity, sleep quality, and psychological capital among postgraduate students during static campus management after the COVID-19 pandemic in China.MethodsResearch data were obtained during static campus management (10–19 April 2022) after the reappearance of COVID-19 in cities in eastern China. We collected data through an online questionnaire, and the anonymous self-reported questionnaire included the Patient Health Questionnaire, the interpersonal sensitivity subscale of Symptom Checklist-90, the Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. analysis of variance was performed using t-test and ANOVA. The PROCESS macro was used to determine the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and depression, together with the independent and serial mediating role of psychological capital and sleep quality.ResultsA total of 2,554 postgraduate students were included in this study. The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms was 30.97, 6.58, and 1.45%, respectively. Interpersonal sensitivity was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (direct effect = 0.183, p < 0.001). Between interpersonal sensitivity and depressive symptoms, psychological capital and sleep quality played a single mediating role (indirect effect = 0.136 and 0.100, p < 0.001, respectively) and a chain mediating role together (indirect effect = 0.066, p < 0.001).ConclusionInterpersonal sensitivity has a significant influence on depression among Chinese graduate students. Psychological capital and sleep quality may not only independently mediate the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and depression, but also co-play a chain-mediating role in the pathway from interpersonal sensitivity to depression. Positive psychological interventions and sleep guidance may be beneficial in alleviating depressive symptoms

Effect of cultivar and fertilization on functional value of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.)

Batat (Ipomoea batatas L.) je višegodišnja tropska vrsta iznimno velike nutritivne vrijednosti korijena i lista. Pripada u skupinu funkcionalne hrane zbog značajne količine specijaliziranih biljnih metabolita, antioksidativnih spojeva (vitamina, polifenola, karotenoida) i sadržaja esencijalnih minerala, dijetalnih vlakana, uz niski glikemijski indeks korijena. Sastav i koncentracija specijaliziranih biljnih metabolita su promjenjivi, zbog utjecaja genotipa, ekoloških uvjeta uzgoja i gnojidbe, što predstavlja problem u proizvodnji povrća kao funkcionalne hrane, od koje se očekuje ujednačena hranidbena i zdravstvena vrijednost. S obzirom na povećan interes za proizvodnjom batata stabilne antioksidacijske aktivnosti te malobrojne rezultate o toj problematici, uočena je potreba istraživanja utjecaja sorte i rastuće gnojidbe posebice kalijem na komponente prinosa, udio polifenola i antioksidacijsku aktivnost korijena i lista batata, u cilju dobivanja smjernica tehnologije uzgoja batata povećanih nutritivnih vrijednosti i ujednačene kvalitete. S tim ciljem je u SZ Hrvatskoj na Pokusno-pokaznom polju u Varaždinu, provedeno dvogodišnje istraživanje, radi utvrđivanja smjernica tehnologije uzgoja batata veće funkcionalne vrijednosti. Tijekom 2008. i 2009. godine postavljeni su istovjetni dvofaktorijalni poljski pokusi po metodi slučajnog bloknog rasporeda u četiri ponavljanja. Prvi faktor je sorta u dvije razine (ʹBatʹ i ʹBoniatoʹ), i drugi gnojidba dušikom i kalijem u tri razine (kontrolna gnojidba odnos N i K 1:1, druga razina odnos N i K 1:2,5 i treća odnos N i K 1:5). Tijekom istraživanja s obzirom na sortu i rastuću gnojidbu dušikom i kalijem ostvareni su u obje godine veći prinosi korijena m-2 (ʹBatʹ 2,78 do 4,67 kg i ʹBoniatoʹ 2,70 do 4,92 kg) i lista (ʹBatʹ 1,82 do 3,73 kg i ʹBoniatoʹ 3,68 do 5,33 kg) veći postotak K u korijenu (ʹBatʹ 1,49 do 2,34 % i ʹBoniatoʹ 1,20 do 1,81%) i listu (ʹBatʹ 2,22 do 3,20 % i ʹBoniatoʹ 2,72 do 3,68 %), veći postotak N u korijenu (ʹBatʹ 1,49 do 1,80 % i ʹBoniatoʹ 1,55 do 1,83 %) i listu (ʹBatʹ 3,16 do 3,73 % i ʹBoniatoʹ 3,04 do 3,38 %),veći udio krupnije frakcije korijena (ʹBatʹ 17,29 do 19,86% i ʹBoniatoʹ 9,61 do 17,79 %), veći udio ukupnih polifenola korijena sorte ʹBatʹ (3,75 do 16,08 mg GAE g-1 st) i ORAC vrijednosti korijena (ʹBatʹ 15,10 do 73,03 µmol TE g-1 st) i veći udio flavonoida u listu (ʹBatʹ 8,27 do 11,58 mg g-1 ST i ʹBoniatoʹ 9,59 do 20,61 mg g-1 ST), dok je udio ukupnih polifenola u listu (ʹBatʹ 49,68 do 50,25 i ʹBoniatoʹ 51,77 do 53,31 mg g-1 ST) i ORAC vrijednosti (ʹBatʹ 402,50 do 422,17 µmol TE g-1 ST i ʹBoniatoʹ 439,90 do 474,96 µmol TE g-1 ST) bio veći u drugoj godini istraživanja. Obje sorte su uz veću razinu gnojidbe dale veće prinose korijena i lista, veći udio N, sirovih proteina, K, dok je udio ukupnih polifenola i antioksidacijska aktivnost bila značajno veća u listu u odnosu na korijen kod obje razine gnojidbe.Sweet potato (lat. Ipomoea batatas) is a vegetable species of extremely high nutritional value of roots and leaves. It belongs to a group of functional foods because of the significant amount of specialized herbal metabolites, antioxidants (vitamins, polyphenols, carotenoids) and the content of essential minerals, dietary fibres, with low glycaemic root index. Polyphenol compounds include a large group of specialized plant metabolites that contribute to better organoleptic and nutritional components of vegetables and fruits. Specialized secondary herbal metabolites are compounds synthesized in plants as secondary metabolic products in the interaction of plants with agro-environmental conditions. Specialized metabolites differ according to the chemical structure and their function in the organism. In food, specialized metabolites are most often defined as natural non-nutritional food ingredients, which have health-beneficial effects if consumed in adequate quantities. Moreover, antioxidants play an important role in human nutrition due to the strong function of protecting the body and boosting the immune system. By consuming foods rich in antioxidants, we help the body fight against various diseases caused by free radicals. The composition and concentration of specialized plant metabolites are variable due to the influence of genotypes, ecological conditions of cultivation and fertilization, which presents a problem in the production of vegetables as a functional food, which is expected to have a consistent nutritional and health value. The functional value of food is found in products that, besides basic nutritional value, have a positive effect on human health, preventing and reducing the risk of developing certain diseases. Due to the content of specialized metabolites, sweet potato is classified into functional foods because besides being a good source of minerals and vitamins, it supplies the body with important antioxidants. Antioxidants are produced in the cells or are introduced into our body through food intake, and function in several ways: they prevent the formation of new free radicals in the body, they destroy the radicals created in the body, or repair damage in the cells created by the action of free radicals. Oxidative stress implies a shift of balance in cellular oxidationreduction reactions in the direction of oxidation. Oxidative stress causes excessive formation of free radicals of oxygen, resulting in the loss of balance in creating free radicals and the inability of a cell to disintegrate them, and causing changes related to cell damage. The root and leaf consumption of sweet potatoes is associated with various positive physiological effects on health, such as antioxidant activity, ant mutagenicity, anti cancerogenicity, antimicrobial activity, and antidiabetic effect. Functional values of the sweet potato prompted producers to commercially breed sweet potato, as a new vegetable crop in Croatia. Due to the increased interest in the production of sweet potato with stable antioxidant activity and a small number of results on this problem, the need to investigate cultivar influence and growing fertilization, especially potassium on yield components, polyphenol concentrations and antioxidant activity of its root and leaf, has been recognized. With this aim, a two-year research was conducted in the Experimental-demonstration field in Varazdin to determine the guidelines for the breeding technology of equally balanced but nutritional and functional values of the sweet potato. During 2008 and 2009, identical twofactor polymorphisms were set up according to the method of randomized complete block design with four repetitions. The first factor is the variety in two steps, and the second fertilization with nitrogen and potassium in three steps. Two types of fertilization (ʹBatʹ and ʹBoniatoʹ) and two increased fertilization levels (500 and 1000 kg ha-1 NPK 7:14:21) were carried out with the addition of potassium salt K2SO4 to achieve a ratio of N:K 1:2.5 and 1: 5t. As a control variant, a lower fertilization level was used with the ratio N:K 1:1 with 250 kg ha-1 NPK 15:15:15. Transplant production with a lump of substrate in polystyrene containers was organized in the protected area of the Department of Vegetable Crops of the Faculty of Agriculture. Planting was carried out in mid-May, with 2 plants per m2 on raised bed covered with PE film, or 40 plants per basic parcel of 20 m2. Sweet potato transplants were planted manually on a 1.2 m spacing distance and a 0.4 m line spacing, enabling 2 plants per square meter. Fertilization was performed prior to machine shaping and setting of PE film. Temperatures and rainfall were monitored daily on CDA devices. Thirty-sixty days after planting, leaves and stems were counted on each plot, and the length of the stem and leaf area index was measured, while the total yield of leaf mass and root was weighed at the end of the vegetation. After the roots’ transport and storage, individual weighing of each root was performed, in order to calculate the share of individual root fractions and the influence of variety and fertilization on root size and marketable yield. The reference root and leaf sample were analyzed on the content of dry weigh, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium at the Faculty of Agriculture, while total and individual polyphenols and antioxidant activity were analyzed at the Faculty of Food Technology at the Department of Biochemical Engineering. During the study, the validity of varieties was affirmed, along with fertilizers and their interaction on the amount of dry weigh in the leaf in both research years (ʹBatʹ 5.97 to 7.34 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 5.81 to 7.29 %), on raw protein in the leaf (ʹBatʹ 18.43 to 23.34 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 18.81 to 21.13 %), the total amount of N in the leaf (ʹBatʹ 2.95 to 3.74 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 3.04 to 3.38 %), (ʹBatʹ 0.22 to 0.33 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 0.21 to 0.34 %), quantity of K in the leaf (ʹBatʹ 2.22 to 3.20 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 2.23 to 3.68 %). The values of the antioxidant activity of the leaf and total polyphenols of the ʹBatʹ variety were growing (80.07 to 121.27 μmol Trolox g-1 DW, that is 14.38 to 23.17 mg GAE g-1 DW in 2008 and 396.87 to 422 , 2 μmol TE g-1 DW, or 48.52 to 50.25 mg GAE g-1 DW in 2009) and the ʹBoniatoʹ variety values were falling (in 2008, 126 to 104 μmol TE g-1 DW, ie 22,03 to 20,58 mg GAE g-1 DW and increased in 2009 to 396.38 to 474.96 μmol TE g-1 DW, that is 50.02 to 53.31 mg GAE g-1 DW). There were higher values of individual and total flavonoids in the leaf (ʹBatʹ 8.27 to 11.58 mg g-1 DW and ʹBoniatoʹ 9.56 to 20.61 mg g-1 DW). In the roots, bigger amounts of dry weigh were found in both research years (ʹBatʹ 14.50 to 25.28 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 16.15 to 23.64 %), as well as raw protein in the root (ʹBatʹ 9.18 to 11.25 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 8.56 to 11.44 %), the total amount of N in the root (ʹBatʹ 1.47 to 1.80 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 1.37 to 1.83 %), the amount of P in the root (ʹBatʹ 0.15 to 0.28 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 0.19 to 0.27 %), the amount of K in the root (ʹBatʹ 1.49 to 2.34 %, ʹBoniatoʹ 1.18 to 1.81 %). The values of the antioxidant activity of root and total polyphenols of the Bat variety were growing (9.26 to 17.40 μmol TE g-1 fw, that is 2.30 to 4.32 mg GAE g-1 fw in 2008 and 48.73 to 61,56 μmol TE g-1 fw, or 13.03 to 16.08 mg GAE g-1 fw in 2009). The values of the ʹBoniatoʹ variety were falling (30.69 to 20.34 μmol TE g-1 fw, or 7.62 to 5.05 mg GAE g-1 fw in 2008, and in 2009 51.00 to 48.08 μmol TE g-1 fw, while polyphenols were growing 11.88 to 13.02 mg GAE g-1 fw). During the study, varying impact of variety and fertilization and their interaction with morphological properties (length of stem, number of stems, leaf counts and leaf area index) was determined, with ʹBoniatoʹ variety having significantly higher values compared to the ʹBatʹ variety. The length of stem thirty days after planting (ʹBatʹ 27.68 to 29.90 cm, ʹBoniatoʹ 30.00 to 31.88 cm), number of stems (ʹBatʹ 1.57 to 1.80, ʹBoniatoʹ 1.63 to 1.80 ), number of leaves (ʹBatʹ 21.93 to 25.78, ʹBoniatoʹ 28.88 to 40.45), leaf area index (ʹBatʹ 200.40 to 235.63 cm2, ʹBoniato ʹ263.93 to 369.73 cm2). The length of stem sixty days after planting was (ʹBatʹ 50.93 to 61.45 cm, ʹBoniatoʹ 59.83 to 63.78 cm), number of stems (ʹBatʹ 12.80 to 15.38, ʹBoniatoʹ 15.40 to 18.28), number of leaves (ʹBatʹ 219.30 to 255.25, ʹBoniatoʹ 313.93 to 369.00), leaf area index (ʹBatʹ 2004.40 to 2330.70 cm2, ʹBoniatoʹ 2869.25 to 3305.95 cm2). In both years, variety and fertilization interactions provided higher root yields per m2 (ʹBatʹ 2,78 to 4,67 kg and ʹBoniatoʹ 2,70 to 4,92 kg) and leaves (ʹBatʹ 1,82 to 3,73 kg and ʹBoniatoʹ 3,68 to 5,33 kg), a higher share of a larger root fraction (ʹBatʹ 17.29 to 19.86 % and ʹBoniatoʹ 9.61 to 17.79 %) and a higher share of the total marketable root (ʹBatʹ 89.78 to 91,12 % and ʹBoniatoʹ 83.77 to 87.68 % in 2008 and in 2009 ʹBatʹ 78.1 to 86.57 % and ʹBoniatoʹ 87.80 to 90.95 %). Higher level of fertilization in both varieties gave higher roots and leaf yields, higher percentage of dry weigh and crude protein, higher amounts of N, P and K, and bigger quantities of larger roots fractions. Total and individual polyphenols and antioxidant activity were variable (higher in ʹBatʹ variety and slightly lower in ʹBoniatoʹ variety), but significantly higher in the leaf of both varieties compared to the root

Induction, expression and characterisation of laccase genes from the marine-derived fungal strains Nigrospora sp. CBMAI 1328 and Arthopyrenia sp. CBMAI 1330

The capability of the fungi Nigrospora sp. CBMAI 1328 and Arthopyrenia sp. CBMAI 1330 isolated from marine sponge to synthesise laccases (Lcc) in the presence of the inducer copper (110 M) was assessed. In a liquid culture medium supplemented with 5 M of copper sulphate after 5 days of incubation, Nigrospora sp. presented the highest Lcc activity (25.2 UL1). The effect of copper on Lcc gene expression was evaluated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Nigrospora sp. showed the highest gene expression of Lcc under the same conditions of Lcc synthesis. The highest Lcc expression by the Arthopyrenia sp. was detected at 96 h of incubation in absence of copper. Molecular approaches allowed the detection of Lcc isozymes and suggest the presence of at least two undescribed putative genes. Additionally, Lcc sequences from the both fungal strains clustered with other Lcc sequences from other fungi that inhabit marine environments.M. Passarini was supported by Ph.D. grant from FAPESP (2008/06720-7), Sao Paulo, Brazil. The authors thank FAPESP for financial support (BIOTA-FAPESP grant 2010/50190-2 and FAPESP grant 2013/19486-0) and Roberto G.S. Berlinck and CEBIMAR for the support related to samples collecting. L.D. Sette thanks CNPq for Productivity Fellowships 304103/2013-6

Mechanically active materials in three-dimensional mesostructures

Complex, three-dimensional (3D) mesostructures that incorporate advanced, mechanically active materials are of broad, growing interest for their potential use in many emerging systems. The technology implications range from precision-sensing microelectromechanical systems, to tissue scaffolds that exploit the principles of mechanobiology, to mechanical energy harvesters that support broad bandwidth operation. The work presented here introduces strategies in guided assembly and heterogeneous materials integration as routes to complex, 3D microscale mechanical frameworks that incorporatemultiple, independently addressable piezoelectric thin-film actuators for vibratory excitation and precise control. The approach combines transfer printing as a scheme formaterials integrationwith structural buckling as ameans for 2D-to-3D geometric transformation, for designs that range from simple, symmetric layouts to complex, hierarchical configurations, on planar or curvilinear surfaces. Systematic experimental and computational studies reveal the underlying characteristics and capabilities, including selective excitation of targeted vibrational modes for simultaneous measurements of viscosity and density of surrounding fluids. The results serve as the foundations for unusual classes of mechanically active 3D mesostructures with unique functions relevant to biosensing, mechanobiology, energy harvesting, and others