A study on psychological characteristics predicting socio-political tendency: a trans-generational and cross cultural study

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis study examines how ten psychological characteristics (empathy, flexibility, perspective-taking, egalitarian sex role, normative identity style, interpersonal trust, openness, suggestibility, prosocial behaviour, and authoritarianism) predict individuals’ political attitudes in the context of different cultural backgrounds, in different eras in China, and different Chinese family circumstances. Moreover, the study considers whether there is a potential effect of gender on these characteristics and political attitudes. It includes four sub-studies: a pilot study (aimed at testing the reliability and validity of translated Chinese measures); a trans-generational study; a cross-cultural study; and a study comparing Chinese single children and non-single children. The results show that the reliability and validity of translated Chinese measures were sound. Moreover, empathy and authoritarianism were shown to be predictors for democracy in both young Europeans and young local British samples; while an egalitarian sex role was a significant and important predictor for democracy amongst young Chinese, older Chinese, single child and non-single child groups. Furthermore, both European and local British groups showed higher degrees of empathy, perspective-taking, openness, and democracy compared with the young Chinese generation; while, the young Chinese group showed a higher degree of normative identity style, interpersonal trust, suggestibility, and authoritarianism. Compared with the older Chinese generation, the young Chinese young generation scored higher on empathy, egalitarian sex role, openness, and democracy. In addition, female participants consistently scored higher on egalitarian sex role than their male counterparts in any sub-studies. In particular, young Chinese women tended to be loyal supporters of egalitarianism and democracy. The interpretations of results were made within the cultural context and changes in Chinese policy

Physical exercise interventions for perinatal depression symptoms in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundThe previous meta-analysis indicated that physical exercise could play a crucially therapeutic role in reducing perinatal depression symptoms in women. However, the efficacy varies across different exercise types, forms, intensities, and duration.AimThe purpose of this study was to review and evaluate the effects of different types, forms, intensities, and duration of exercise for improving perinatal depressive symptoms.DesignA systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsRandomized controlled trials until December 2021 were searched from seven databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO. The risk of bias in eligible trials was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. When high heterogeneity was tested, we used random-effects models. A funnel plot was used to assess the publication bias. This review was performed under the PRISMA guidelines, Consensus on Exercise Reporting (CERT) checklist and Cochrane Handbook. The certainty of the body of evidence was assessed using the GRADE method.ResultsOf 1,573 records, 20 trials were identified in this study. The results of this review revealed that women with perinatal depression symptoms gained benefits from physical exercise [OR = 0.62, 95% CI (0.45, 0.86), P = 0.004; MD = −0.57, 95% CI (−0.83, −0.30), P < 0.0001]. Type of walking [SMD = −1.06, 95% CI (−1.92, −0.19), P < 0.00001], form of “Individual + group-based”exercise [SMD = −0.91, 95% CI (−0.80, −0.03), P = 0.04], intensity of ≥150 min per week [SMD = −0.84, 95% CI (−1.53, −0.15), P = 0.02], and ≥12 weeks duration [SMD = −0.53, 95% CI (−0.75, −0.31), P < 0.00001] seemed to generate more prominent improvement on perinatal depression symptoms.ConclusionPhysical exercise showed a significant effect on reducing perinatal depressive symptoms. This meta-analysis provides an important update on exercise’s efficacy in treating perinatal depression. Further higher quality and large-scale trials are needed to substantiate our findings.Systematic review registration[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/], identifier [CRD42022296230]

Vasculoprotective effects of rosiglitazone through modulating renin-angiotensin system in vivo and vitro

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) agonist rosiglitazone has been suggested to exert cardiovascular protection through the improvement of lipid metabolism, anti-inflammation, anti-proliferation etc. However, whether renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is involved in the vascular protective effects of PPARγ agonists is not fully understood. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the renin-angiotensin system in vascular protection mediated by PPARγ agonists.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To investigate the actions of the renin-angiotensin system in vascular protection mediated by activation of PPARγ in vivo and in vitro.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Rats were fed a regular diet (n = 8), a cholesterol-rich diet plus methylthiouracil (80 mg/Kg/day, n = 10), a cholesterol-rich diet plus methylthiouracil and rosiglitazone (4 mg/kg/day, n = 10). The rosiglitazone treatment was started from one month after the start of cholesterol-rich diet plus methylthiouracil, and lasted five months. Cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were pretreated with 1 μmol/L angiotensin II (ANG II) for 6 h and randomly divided into the control group; the ANG II group (1 μmol/L ANG II); the groups respectively treated with different concentration rosiglitazone (20, 30, 50) μmol/L for 12 h; the groups treated with 30 μmol/L rosiglitazone for (6, 12, 24) h. Morphology changes of the aortic tissues were observed by hematoxylin and eosin stain. The VSMC growth was detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay. Angiotensin II and expression of angiotensin receptors were determined by radioimmunoassay, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot, and immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After 6 months, lipid deposition, VSMC proliferation and migration toward intima were observed in aortic tissues in the rats on a cholesterol-rich diet plus methylthiouracil, while these pathological changes induced by the cholesterol-rich diet were significantly suppressed by rosiglitazone. In addition, VSMC proliferation induced by ANG II was markedly inhibited by rosiglitazone. Rosiglitazone markedly down-regulated expression of angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT₁R) and up-regulated expression of angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT₂R) in the aortic tissues and ANG II-treated VSMCs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study demonstrated that PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone suppressed ANG II-induced VSMC proliferation in vitro and early atherosclerotic formation evoked by cholesterol-rich diet in vivo. These vasculoprotective effects of rosiglitazone were mediated at least partially by reduction in local tissue ANG II concentration, down-regulation of AT₁R expression and up-regulation of AT₂R expression both at the mRNA and protein levels.</p

A Target Sequential Effect on the Forced-Choice Prime Visibility Test in Unconscious Priming Studies: A Caveat for Researchers

In unconscious priming studies, most researchers adopt a combination of subjective and objective measures to assess the visibility of the prime. Although some carry out the visibility test at the end of the experiment separately from the unconscious priming task, others suggest that the forced-choice visibility test should be conducted immediately after the response to the target within each trial. In the present study, the influence of prime and target on the forced-choice prime discrimination was assessed within each trial. The results showed that the target affected the response in the forced-choice prime visibility test. Participants tended to make the same response or avoid repeating the same response they made to the target as in Experiments 1 and 3 rather than randomly guessing. However, even when the forcedchoice visibility test was conducted separately from the priming experiment, the problem was not completely solved, because some participants tended to make one same response in the forced-choice visibility test as in Experiments 2. From another point of view, using these strategies in the forced-choice task can be seen as a helpless move by the participants when they are unaware of the stimuli. Furthermore, the results revealed that the forced-choice test performed immediately after the response to the target within each trial could possibly impair the unconscious priming as well as produce misleading visibility test results. Therefore, it is suggested that the forced-choice prime visibility test and the unconscious priming task may better be conducted separately

Oxy-coal combustion in a 30kWth pressurized fluidized bed: Effect of combustion pressure on combustion performance, pollutant emissions and desulfurization

Oxy-coal combustion with pressurized fluidized beds has recently emerged as a promising carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for coal-fired power plants. Although a large number of energy efficiency analyses have shown that an increase in combustion pressure can further increase the net plant efficiency, there are few experimental studies of pressurized oxy-coal combustion conducted on fluidized bed combustors/boilers with continuous coal feeding. In this study, oxy-coal combustion experiments with lignite and anthracite were conducted with a 30 kWth pressurized fluidized bed combustor within the pressure range of 0.1 MPa to 0.4 MPa. The investigation focused on the elucidation of the impacts of combustion pressure on the combustion performance, pollutant emissions and desulfurization of oxy-coal combustion in fluidized beds. The results showed that an increase in pressure increased the combustion efficiency and combustion rate of coal particles, and the promoting effect of pressure increase was more significant for the high rank coal with smaller particle size and the high O2 concentration atmosphere. For both coals, NOx emissions decreased with pressure but N2O emissions increased with pressure and accounted for a considerable part of the nitrogen oxide pollutants under high pressure oxy-coal combustion conditions. The pressure had insignificant impact on the SO2 emissions of oxy-coal combustion but an increase in pressure enhanced the direct desulfurization of limestone

Experimental study of NOx emissions in a 30 kWth pressurized oxy-coal fluidized bed combustor

© 2019 As one of the most promising carbon capture technologies for coal-fired power plants, oxy-coal combustion has attracted wide interests during the last two decades. In comparison to atmospheric oxy-fuel combustion, pressurized oxy-fuel combustion has the potential to further reduce the energy penalties caused by the carbon capture and storage and improve the net power plant efficiency. Although many researchers have investigated the NOx emissions of atmospheric oxy-coal combustion, the NOx emission behaviors under pressurized oxy-coal combustion conditions are much less understood and further comprehensive experimental investigations with continuous fuel-feeding pressurized oxy-coal combustion systems are needed in order to fill this knowledge gap. In the present study, a series of oxy-coal combustion experiments were conducted in a 30 kWth pressurized fluidized bed combustor. The effects of combustion pressure, bed temperature and excess oxygen on the NOx emissions were investigated systematically. The experimental results have shown that an increase in combustion pressure from 0.1 MPa to 0.4 MPa leads to a significant reduction in NOx emissions. An increase in bed temperature or excess oxygen results in higher NOx emissions under the higher combustion pressure conditions, which is consistent with what is observed under the atmospheric pressure combustion condition. Besides, it is found that the promoting effect of temperature increase on NOx emissions under the higher combustion pressures is weaker than that under the atmospheric pressure

Mars Dust Storm Effects in the Ionosphere and Magnetosphere and Implications for Atmospheric Carbon Loss

Mars regional and global dust storms are able to impact the lower/upper atmospheres through dust aerosol radiative heating and cooling and atmospheric circulation. Here we present the first attempt to globally investigate how the dust impact transfers from the neutral upper atmosphere to the ionosphere and the induced magnetosphere above 100‐km altitude. This is achieved by running a multifluid magnetohydrodynamic model under nondusty and dusty atmospheric conditions for the 2017 late‐winter regional storm and the 1971–1972 global storm. Our results show that the dayside main ionospheric layer (below ∼250‐km altitude) undergoes an overall upwelling, where photochemical reactions dominate. The peak electron density remains unchanged, and the peak altitude shift is in accordance with the upper atmospheric expansion (∼5 and ∼15 km for the regional and global storms, respectively). Controlled by the day‐to‐night transport, the nightside ionosphere responds to the dust storms in a close connection with what happens on the dayside but not apparently with the ambient atmospheric change. At higher altitudes, dust‐induced perturbations propagate upward from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere and extend from the dayside to the nightside, within a broad region bounded by the induced magnetospheric boundary. It is found that the global dust storm is able to dramatically enhance the CO2+ loss by a factor of ∼3, which amounts to an increase of ∼20% or more for total carbon loss (in the forms of neutrals and ions). Strong dust storms are a potentially important factor in atmospheric evolution at Mars.Key PointsThe dayside main ionosphere is lifted in accordance with dust‐induced atmospheric expansion, with peak electron densities unchangedDust‐induced perturbations propagate upward from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere and extend from the dayside to the nightsideStrong dust storms may enhance CO2+ loss by a factor of ∼3 and increase total carbon loss (neutrals and ions) by ∼20% or morePeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154511/1/jgra55184_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154511/2/jgra-sup-0001-2019JA026838-Text_SI-S01.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154511/3/jgra55184.pd

A novel RNA-mediated mechanism causing down-regulation of insulating promoter interactions in human embryonic stem cells

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-02-10, accepted 2021-11-15, registration 2021-11-16, collection 2021-12, pub-electronic 2021-12-01, online 2021-12-01Publication status: PublishedFunder: British Heart Foundation; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000274; Grant(s): RG/15/12/31616Funder: University of Manchester; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000770Abstract: The genome-wide promoter interactome is primarily maintained and regulated by architectural proteins such as CTCF and cohesin. However, some studies suggest a role for non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in this process. We aimed to characterise the regulatory role of RNA-mediated promoter interactions in the control of gene expression. We integrated genome-wide datasets of RNA-chromatin and promoter-genome interactions in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to identify putative RNA-mediated promoter interactions. We discovered that CTCF sites were enriched in RNA-PIRs (promoter interacting regions co-localising with RNA-chromatin interaction sites) and genes interacting with RNA-PIRs containing CTCF sites showed higher expression levels. One of the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) expressed in hESCs, Syntaxin 18-Antisense 1 (STX18-AS1), appeared to be involved in an insulating promoter interaction with the neighbouring gene, MSX1. By knocking down STX18-AS1, the MSX1 promoter-PIR interaction was intensified and the target gene (MSX1) expression was down-regulated. Conversely, reduced MSX1 promoter-PIR interactions, resulting from CRISPR-Cas9 deletion of the PIR, increased the expression of MSX1. We conclude that STX18-AS1 RNA antagonised local CTCF-mediated insulating promoter interactions to augment gene expression. Such down-regulation of the insulating promoter interactions by this novel mechanism may explain the higher expression of genes interacting with RNA-PIRs linked to CTCF sites

Data on cardiac lncRNA STX18-AS1 expression in developing human hearts and function during in vitro hESC-cardiomyocyte differentiation

This article presents data concerning STX18-AS1, a long noncoding RNA gene identified from a Genome-wide association study of Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). The data describes its expression patterns in human tissues and functions in regulating cardiomyocyte differentiation in vitro. STX18-AS1 is a lncRNA with a higher abundance in developing tissues, including hearts. Its transcription distribution within the embryonic hearts during key heart septation stages supports STX18-AS1’s association with risk SNPs for ASD. The CRISPR stem cell pool in which STX18-AS1 was knocked down, showed reduced CM differentiation efficiency and lower expression of key cardiac transcriptional factors. This indicated its regulative role in supporting the lineage specification from cardiac mesoderm into cardiac progenitors and cardiomyocytes. These data can benefit the understanding of human embryonic heart developmental biology, and the time-course changes of cardiac transcriptional factors during in vitro cardiomyocyte differentiation from human embryonic stem cells