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BackgroundIndividuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD) report facing family conflicts repeatedly because of their excessive internet gaming. With recent advancements in virtual reality (VR) technology, VR therapy has emerged as a promising method for the management of various psychiatric disorders, including IGD. Given that several risk and protective factors for young people with addiction can be influenced by their interpersonal context, the potential utility of VR-based apps for managing family conflicts needs to be examined with reference to IGD management. However, few studies have evaluated potential treatment modules related to interpersonal conflict management, such as emotion regulation and taking the perspective of others. ObjectiveThis preliminary study aims to examine the potential use of a VR-based app in the management of game-related conflicts with parents of young adults with IGD and matched controls. MethodsIn total, 50 young male adults (24 with IGD and 26 controls) were recruited to participate in the study. We developed a virtual room where game-related family conflicts arise. Using this room, participants completed 2 VR tasks that required them to express anger and then implement coping skills (ie, risk/benefit assessment of stopping a game and taking parents’ perspective) to deal with negative emotions in interpersonal conflict situations and to decrease one’s gaming behavior. ResultsThe results showed that immersion in our VR app tended to provoke negative emotions in individuals with IGD. In addition, after a risk/benefit assessment of stopping a game, the response of stopping a game immediately increased significantly in the IGD group, suggesting that patients’ gaming behavior could be changed using our VR program. Furthermore, in individuals with IGD, longer gaming hours were associated with a lower level of perceived usefulness of the coping skills training. ConclusionsThe findings of this study indicate that our VR app may be useful for implementing more desirable behaviors and managing gaming-related family conflicts in individuals with IGD. Our VR app may offer an alternative for individuals with IGD to learn how a vicious cycle of conflicts is developed and to easily and safely assess their dysfunctional thoughts behind the conflicts (ie, perceived unreasonable risks of stopping a game and thoughts acting as a barrier to taking the perspective of others).

BackgroundExcessive internet game use frequently leads to various physical, psychological, and social problems, and internet gaming disorder (IGD) has become a serious public health issue worldwide. Recently, virtual reality (VR) therapy has emerged as a promising method to increase psychological treatment motivation and accessibility. However, few studies have examined the potential of VR technology for the management of IGD, and VR content tailored to IGD characteristics remains scarce. ObjectiveThis preliminary study aimed to examine the potential of a VR-based program that was designed to help users identify their leisure time use patterns, especially those related to gaming, and to modify their gaming overuse by alternative activities provided in the VR content. Moreover, to investigate whether users’ VR activities reflect various clinical variables of IGD in youth, we examined the relationships among the leisure time activity selection pattern, built-in response, and speech data obtained from the VR program, as well as symptom severity of internet gaming, psychiatric comorbidities, and motivation of participants reported through relevant questionnaire data. MethodsThree types of VR content (understanding my daily activities at home, finding an alternative activity to internet gaming at home, expressing contradictory opinions toward a friend’s gaming beliefs) were developed by simulating the daily situations in which patients with IGD can select alternative free-time leisure activities. We examined internet addiction, mental health problems, and motivation for 23 IGD and 29 control participants. Behavioral and self-rated responses from VR, such as alternative activity selection data and speech patterns (speech time, speech satisfaction, and speech accordance), and results from various questionnaires were compared between groups. The correlations between IGD behaviors in VR and real-life behaviors assessed by questionnaire measures were analyzed. ResultsSignificant correlations were found between internet gaming behavior and user activity data, such as speech and activity selection pattern, in our VR program. Our results showed that the IGD group had fewer leisure activities and preferred game or digital activities to other types of activities compared to controls, even in VR. There was a positive relationship between the viability of alternative leisure activities the participants selected in VR and the amount of perceived satisfaction from that activity (r=.748, P

DNA methylation and trimethylated histone H4 Lysine 20 (H4K20me3) constitute two important heterochromatin-enriched marks that frequently cooperate in silencing repetitive elements of the mammalian genome. However, it remains elusive how these two chromatin modifications crosstalk. Here, we report that DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) specifically 'recognizes' H4K20me3 via its first bromo-adjacent-homology domain (DNMT1BAH1). Engagement of DNMT1BAH1-H4K20me3 ensures heterochromatin targeting of DNMT1 and DNA methylation at LINE-1 retrotransposons, and cooperates with the previously reported readout of histone H3 tail modifications (i.e., H3K9me3 and H3 ubiquitylation) by the RFTS domain to allosterically regulate DNMT1's activity. Interplay between RFTS and BAH1 domains of DNMT1 profoundly impacts DNA methylation at both global and focal levels and genomic resistance to radiation-induced damage. Together, our study establishes a direct link between H4K20me3 and DNA methylation, providing a mechanism in which multivalent recognition of repressive histone modifications by DNMT1 ensures appropriate DNA methylation patterning and genomic stability.

In mammals, repressive histone modifications such as trimethylation of histone H3 Lys9 (H3K9me3), frequently coexist with DNA methylation, producing a more stable and silenced chromatin state. However, it remains elusive how these epigenetic modifications crosstalk. Here, through structural and biochemical characterizations, we identified the replication foci targeting sequence (RFTS) domain of maintenance DNA methyltransferase DNMT1, a module known to bind the ubiquitylated H3 (H3Ub), as a specific reader for H3K9me3/H3Ub, with the recognition mode distinct from the typical trimethyl-lysine reader. Disruption of the interaction between RFTS and the H3K9me3Ub affects the localization of DNMT1 in stem cells and profoundly impairs the global DNA methylation and genomic stability. Together, this study reveals a previously unappreciated pathway through which H3K9me3 directly reinforces DNMT1-mediated maintenance DNA methylation.

The environmental accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is of great concern due to potential carcinogenic and mutagenic risks, as well as their resistance to remediation. While many fungi have been reported to break down PAHs in environments, the details of gene-based metabolic pathways are not yet comprehensively understood. Specifically, the genome-scale transcriptional responses of fungal PAH degradation have rarely been reported. In this study, we report the genomic and transcriptomic basis of PAH bioremediation by a potent fungal degrader, Dentipellis sp. KUC8613. The genome size of this fungus was 36.71 Mbp long encoding 14,320 putative protein-coding genes. The strain efficiently removed more than 90% of 100 mg/l concentration of PAHs within 10 days. The genomic and transcriptomic analysis of this white rot fungus highlights that the strain primarily utilized non-ligninolytic enzymes to remove various PAHs, rather than typical ligninolytic enzymes known for playing important roles in PAH degradation. PAH removal by non-ligninolytic enzymes was initiated by both different PAH-specific and common upregulation of P450s, followed by downstream PAH-transforming enzymes such as epoxide hydrolases, dehydrogenases, FAD-dependent monooxygenases, dioxygenases, and glycosyl- or glutathione transferases. Among the various PAHs, phenanthrene induced a more dynamic transcriptomic response possibly due to its greater cytotoxicity, leading to highly upregulated genes involved in the translocation of PAHs, a defense system against reactive oxygen species, and ATP synthesis. Our genomic and transcriptomic data provide a foundation of understanding regarding the mycoremediation of PAHs and the application of this strain for polluted environments.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, aerobic, pale-yellow coloured and oval-shaped bacterium designated GRR-S6-38T was isolated from a tidal flat sediment that collected from Garorim Bay of the Yellow Sea, Republic of Korea. Strain GRR-S6-38T grew at 15–40 °C (optimum, 30 °C) at pH 6–9 (optimum, pH 7) and at 2–6% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 2% NaCl). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain GRR-S6-38T was closely related to those of J. seosinensis CL-SP26T (98.1%), J. helgolandensis DSM 14858T (97.4%), J. rubra CECT 5088T (97.4%), J. faecimaris DSM 100420T (97.4%), J. marina SHC163T (97.3%), J. donghaensis CECT 7802T (97.2%) and J. pohangensis DSM 19073T (97.1%). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization value between GRR-S6-38T and related type strains were 71.47–78.59% and 17.80–21.40%. Strain GRR-S6-38T was characterized as having Q-10 as the predominant respiratory quinone and the major principle fatty acids (> 10%) were SF 8 (C18:1ω7c/C18:1ω6c, 39.3%), C19:0ω8c cyclo (13.2%) and C18:1ω7c 11-methyl (10.6%). The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified lipid, two unidentified aminolipids and two unidentified phospholipids. The assembled genome of strain GRR-S6-38T has a total length of 3.32 Mbp, and a G + C content is 69.98%. Based on the polyphasic taxonomic evidence presented in this study, GRR-S6-38T is regarded to represent a novel species within the genus Jannaschia, for which name Jannaschia ovalis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is GRR-S6-38T (= KCTC 82518 = KACC 22240 = JCM 36187). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western-based research suggests a modest influence of founders' human capital on the business performance of new technology-based firms (NTBFs). Our exploratory, longitudinal study of 40 NTBFs in China, South Korea and Japan reveals that the human capital of their founders helps them to acquire executive talent, finance and customers, and thereby strongly enhances business performance. Furthermore, we find that East Asian NTBF founders leverage their human capital through networks with former colleagues and business partners in order to access key resources. These findings can be explained by cultural background factors such as social stratification and relational orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]