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Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is widely used for cancer treatment due to its non-invasive and precise effectiveness, however, hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment greatly limits the efficacy of photodynamic therapy. Compared with conventional photosensitizers, carbon dots (CDs) have great potential. Therefore, developing a water-soluble, low-toxicity photosensitizer based on CDs is particularly important, especially one that can enhance the photodynamic efficacy using the tumor microenvironment to produce oxygen. Herein, manganese-doped carbon dot (Mn-CDs, ∼2.7 nm) nanoenzymes with excellent biocompatibility were prepared by a solvothermal method using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid manganese disodium salt hydrate and o-phenylenediamine as precursors. TEM, AFM, HR-TEM, XRD, XPS, FT-IR, ζ potential, DLS, UV-Vis, and PL spectra were used to characterize the Mn-CDs. Cancer resistance was assessed using the CCK-8 kit, calcein AM versus propidium iodide (PI) kit, and the Annexin V-FITC/PI cell apoptosis assay kit. The obtained Mn-CDs have excellent near-infrared emission properties, stability, and efficient 1O2 generation. Notably, the manganese doping renders CDs with catalase (CAT)-like activity, which leads to the decomposition of acidic H2O2in situ to generate O2, enhancing the PDT efficacy against OSCC-9 cells under 635 nm (300 mW·cm−2) irradiation. Thus, this work provides a simple and feasible method for the development of water-soluble photosensitizers with oxygen production, presenting good biosafety for PDT in hypoxic tumors.

Epistasis strongly affects the performance of superior maize hybrids. In this study, a multiple-hybrid population, consisting of three hybrid maize sets with varied interparental divergence, was generated by crossing 28 temperate and 23 tropical inbred lines with diverse genetic backgrounds. We obtained 1,154 tested hybrids. Among these tested hybrids, heterosis increased steadily as the heterotic genetic distance increased. Mid-parent heterosis was significantly higher in the temperate by tropical hybrids than in the temperate by temperate hybrids. Genome-wide prediction and association mapping was performed for grain weight per plant (GWPP) and days to silking (DTS) using 20K high-quality SNPs, showing that epistatic effects played a more prominent role than dominance effects in temperate by tropical maize hybrids. A total of 33 and 420 epistatic QTL were identified for GWPP and DTS, respectively, in the temperate by tropical hybrids. Protein–protein interaction network and gene-set enrichment analyses showed that epistatic genes were involved in protein interactions, which play an important role in photosynthesis, biological transcription pathways, and protein synthesis. We showed that the interaction of many minor-effect genes in the hybrids could activate the transcription activators of epistatic genes, resulting in a cascade of amplified yield heterosis. The multiple-hybrid population design enhanced our understanding of heterosis in maize, providing an insight into the acceleration of hybrid maize breeding by activating epistatic effects.

When COVID-19 pandemic hit China, Chinese clinical psychologists, counselors and other practitioners reacted quickly to provide psychological interventions for different target groups Different professional ethical concerns and potential transgressions arose during different stages of pandemic This paper aimed to summarize different ethical concerns and transgressions during different stages of pandemic in China, as well as how the professional ethical workgroup in the registration system of clinical psychologists and professional organizations of Chinese Psychological Society (CPS) to publish a series of documents as recommendations on ethical practice It is hoped by providing a picture of "problems vs solutions" in terms of professional ethical issues on psychological interventions for COVID-19 pandemic in China, the paper may provide certain inspirations as well as emotional support to clinical practitioners from other countries and regions who have been fighting the pandemic

On the basis of growing environment, maize can largely be classified into temperate and tropical groups, leaving extensive genetic variation and evolutionary signatures in the maize genome. To identify candidate genes governing flowering time and photoperiod sensitivity, selective signature analysis and SNP- and haplotype-based GWAS were performed using 39,350 high-quality SNP markers in temperate and tropical maize groups consisting of 410 inbred lines phenotyped in three representative experiments in different latitudes. Selective signature analysis revealed 106 selective-sweep regions containing 423 candidate genes involved mainly in biological regulation and biosynthesis pathways. Among these genes, 25 overlapped with known genes governing flowering time and photoperiod sensitivity and 37 were also detected by GWAS for days to tassel, anthesis-silk interval, and photoperiod sensitivity measured by days to silking. Only two of the candidate genes governing flowering time overlapped selective signals. Most haplotype alleles within significant haplotype loci showed the same direction of effect on flowering time and photoperiod sensitivity. The inbred lines carrying GATT at HapL499 (haplotype locus 499) on chromosome 1 had relatively short flowering times. Lines carrying CA at HapL4054 on chromosome 10, TA at HapL4055 on chromosome 10, and GTTGT at HapL978 on chromosome 2 were less sensitive to photoperiod than lines carrying other haplotype alleles. Haplotype loci associated with flowering time and photoperiod sensitivity explained respectively 17.5%–18.6% and 11.2%–15.5% of phenotypic variation. Candidate genes and favorable haplotypes identified in this study may support the more efficient utilization of maize germplasm groups. Keywords: Selective signature analysis, GWAS, Maize, Flowering time, Photoperiod sensitivity

Across three studies, we investigated whether threats to belongingness influence the tendency to use social relationships as a source of meaning in life (MIL), and in turn, perceived levels of MIL. This study builds on previous similar work in this area (e.g.; Hicks and King in J Posit Psychol 4:471–482, 2009), by explicitly measuring the tendency to base MIL on social relationships. In Study 1, we found that belongingness was positively associated with both the tendency to base MIL on social relationships and overall levels of MIL. Meanwhile, an exploratory mediation analysis was consistent with the idea that basing MIL on social relationships partially mediated the association between belongingness and MIL. In Study 2, we found that an experimental manipulation of social exclusion reduced both the importance attached to social relationships as a source of MIL and MIL levels (and a similar mediation pattern as Study 1). Moreover, participants experiencing threats to belonging tended to reaffirm MIL through autonomy in a compensation type process. In Study 3, we found that the effect of social exclusion on MIL levels and basing MIL on social relationships was attenuated when the value of social relationships was negated. Implications for future research on social relationships and compensation processes in MIL judgments are discussed.

Genotyping platforms, as critical supports for genomics, genetics, and molecular breeding, have been well implemented at national institutions/universities in developed countries and multinational seed companies that possess high-throughput, automatic, large-scale, and shared facilities. In this study, we integrated an improved genotyping by target sequencing (GBTS) system with capture-in-solution (liquid chip) technology to develop a multiple single-nucleotide polymorphism (mSNP) approach in which mSNPs can be captured from a single amplicon. From one 40K maize mSNP panel, we developed three types of markers (40K mSNPs, 251K SNPs, and 690K haplotypes), and generated multiple panels with various marker densities (1K–40K mSNPs) by sequencing at different depths. Comparative genetic diversity analysis was performed with genic versus intergenic markers and di-allelic SNPs versus non-typical SNPs. Compared with the one-amplicon-one-SNP system, mSNPs and within-mSNP haplotypes are more powerful for genetic diversity detection, linkage disequilibrium decay analysis, and genome-wide association studies. The technologies, protocols, and application scenarios developed for maize in this study will serve as a model for the development of mSNP arrays and highly efficient GBTS systems in animals, plants, and microorganisms., This study reports the development of high-resolution multiple-SNP (mSNP) arrays, which can capture multiple SNPs from single amplicons, through integrating an improved genotyping by target sequencing approach with liquid chip technology. From a 40K maize mSNP panel, multiple panels with 1K–40K mSNPs (including up to 251K SNPs and 690 haplotypes) were generated by sequencing at different depths, then tested in various genetic analyses using a large number of maize inbred lines. The technical protocol can be widely used in other organisms.

Fitts' Law is one of the most robust and well-studied principles in psychology. It holds that movement time (MT) for target-directed aiming movements increases as a function of target distance and decreases as a function of target width. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Fitts' Law is affected not only by the demands of the target on the current trial but also by the requirements for performance on the previous trial. Experiments 1 and 2 examined trial-to-trial effects of varying target width; Experiment 3 examined trial-to-trial effects of varying target distance. The findings from Experiments 1 and 2 showed that moving a finger or cursor towards a large object on a previous trial shortened the movement time on the current trial, whereas the opposite occurred with a small object. In contrast, target distance on the previous trial had no effect on movement time on the current trial. These findings suggest that performance on trial n has a clear and predictable effect on trial n+1 (at least for target width) and that Fitts' Law as it is normally expressed does not accurately predict performance when the width of the target varies from trial to trial.

Two aspects of meaning in life have drawn much attention in previous research: presence of meaning and search for meaning. We proposed four additional aspects concerning individuals’ thoughts and feelings about meaning in life: need for meaning, meaning confusion, meaning avoidance, and meaning anxiety. We developed items to measure these dimensions. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the data fit the factors well. Convergent and discriminant validities of the four dimensions were demonstrated though their distinct patterns of correlations with other variables, such as personality traits, need satisfaction, personal aspirations, life satisfaction, anxiety and depression. Moreover, cluster analysis revealed that individuals could be divided into meaningful groups according to these dimensions, with each group demonstrating unique psychological features. Implications for future studies on meaning in life are discussed.

Maize is one of the most broadly cultivated crops throughout the world, and flowering time is a major adaptive trait for its diffusion. The biggest challenge in understanding maize flowering genetic architecture is that the trait is confounded with population structure. To eliminate the effect, we revisited the flower time genetic network by using a tropical maize population Pop32, which was under mass selection for adaptation to early flowering time in China for six generations from tropical to temperate regions. The days to anthesis (DTA) of the initial (Pop32C0), intermedia (Pop32C3), and final population (Pop32C5) was 90.77, 84.63, and 79.72 days on average, respectively. To examine the genetic mechanism and identify the genetic loci underlying this rapid change in flowering time of Pop32, we bulked 30 individuals from C0, C3, and C5 to conduct the whole genome sequencing. And we finally identified 4,973,810 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 6,517 genes with allele frequency significantly changed during the artificial improvement process. We speculate that these genes might participate in the adaptive improvement process and control flowering time. To identify the candidate genes for flowering time from the gene set with allele frequency changed, we carried out weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and identified four co-expression modules that highly associated with the flowering time development, as well as constructed the co-expression network of key flowering time genes. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that the GO terms photosynthesis/light reaction, carbohydrate binding, auxin mediated signaling pathway, response to temperature stimulus that are closely connected with flowering time. Furthermore, targeted GWAS revealed the genes are significantly connected with the flowering time. qRT-PCR of four candidate genes GRMZM2G019879, GRMZM2G055905, GRMZM2G058158, and GRMZM2G171365 showed that their expression level is similar to the flowering time genes, which playing a key role in maize flowering time transition. This study revealed that the changes of flowering time in mass selection process may be strongly associated with the variations of allele frequency changes, and we identified some important candidate genes for flowering time, which will provide a new insight for the rapid improvement of maize important agronomic traits and promote the gene cloning of maize flowering time.

The current studies were designed to explore the structure of sources of meaning in life among Chinese university students. In Study 1, we content-analyzed 171 students’ answers to the question of what made their lives meaningful and derived 74 frequently mentioned ideas. Then, we composed a questionnaire based on these ideas and administered it to another sample of 523 university students in Study 2. Seven underlying dimensions were identified through exploratory factor analysis: Self-development (i.e., to accomplish one’s aspirations and actualize one’s potential), social commitment (i.e., to contribute to society and to adhere to moral principles), interpersonal relationships (i.e., relationships with family members, friends and others), secular pursuits (i.e., stable jobs, material possessions and social status), experiences in life (i.e., to experience all the joys and sorrows in life), civilization (i.e., reading, thinking, music and arts), and autonomy (i.e., to make decisions freely and take charge of one’s own life). Results are discussed in light of the philosophical influences in Chinese culture, especially those from Confucianism and Taoism.

This research aimed to investigate the relationship between the habitual use of expressive suppression, a type of emotion regulation strategy, and risk taking in the financial domain. It also attempted to further examine gender as a possible moderator of this relationship and to explore the anticipated emotion related to negative potential outcomes as the mechanism behind this moderated effect. Two studies were conducted for these purposes. In Study 1, a total of 657 college students completed a test battery, including both the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Grable and Lytton Risk Tolerance Scale. The results showed that expressive suppression was negatively related to financial risk taking, and gender moderated this relationship. In Study 2, 441 college students took a test battery including both the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and a financial investment allocation task. The results replicated the findings in Study 1 and indicated that the anticipated emotion related to negative potential outcomes fully mediated the moderated effect of gender in the suppression-financial risk taking association. These findings implied the importance of considering gender differences in the prediction of financial choices from the perspective of emotion regulation.

The present purpose was to validate the Mini—IPIP scale, a short measure of the five-factor model personality traits, with a sample of Chinese earthquake survivors. A total of 1,563 participants, ages 16 to 85 years, completed the Mini—IPIP scale and a measure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor structure of the Mini—IPIP with adequate values of various fit indices. This scale also showed values of internal consistency, Cronbach's alphas ranged from .79 to .84, and McDonald's omega ranged from .73 to .82 for scores on each subscale. Moreover, the five personality traits measured by the Mini—IPIP and those assessed by other big five measures had comparable patterns of relations with PTSD symptoms. Findings indicated that the Mini—IPIP is an adequate short-form of the Big-Five factors of personality, which is applicable with natural disaster survivors.