Melatonin-Derived Carbon Dots with Free Radical Scavenging Property for Effective Periodontitis Treatment via the Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway.

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease closely associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) involvement. Eliminating ROS to control the periodontal microenvironment and alleviate the inflammatory response could potentially serve as an efficacious therapy for periodontitis. Melatonin (MT), renowned for its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics, is frequently employed as an ROS scavenger in inflammatory diseases. However, the therapeutic efficacy of MT remains unsatisfactory due to the low water solubility and poor bioavailability. Carbon dots have emerged as a promising and innovative nanomaterial with facile synthesis, environmental friendliness, and low cost. In this study, melatonin-derived carbon dots (MT-CDs) were successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal method. The MT-CDs have good water solubility and biocompatibility and feature excellent ROS-scavenging capacity without additional modification. The in vitro experiments proved that MT-CDs efficiently regulated intracellular ROS, which maintained mitochondrial homeostasis and suppressed the production of inflammatory mediators. Furthermore, findings from the mouse model of periodontitis indicated that MT-CDs significantly inhibited the deterioration of alveolar bone and reduced osteoclast activation and inflammation, thereby contributing to the regeneration of damaged tissue. In terms of the mechanism, MT-CDs may scavenge ROS, thereby preventing cellular damage and the production of inflammatory factors by regulating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway. The findings will offer a vital understanding of the advancement of secure and effective ROS-scavenging platforms for more biomedical applications.

From Good Expectancy to Good Feelings: How Optimism Is Related to Subjective Well-Being in Chinese Adults through the Pathway of Coping.

Positive psychology has attracted increasing attention from many scholars worldwide. There is a considerable body of knowledge on the relationship between optimism and subjective well-being (SWB). However, their mediation mechanism has not been fully studied, and most of the current conclusions were formulated within the context of Western culture, with a limited number of empirical studies specifically targeting Chinese people. Based on the theories of self-regulation and stress coping, our research aimed to validate the association between optimism and SWB among Chinese adults and further investigate the mediating effect of positive and negative coping in this relationship. In Study 1, using a national dataset from the Chinese General Social Survey (N = 12,582), we captured the direct positive relationship between optimism and SWB. In Study 2, taking a cross-sectional study (N = 272), we found the mediating effect of positive and negative coping in the relationship between optimism and SWB according to correlation and regression analysis. In Study 3, taking a cross-lagged study (N = 343), we reverified the results of Study 2 and found negative coping no longer played a role as a mediator after accounting for the factors of social desirability and state anxiety in the analysis. These findings are worthwhile for paying attention to Chinese people's optimistic traits and the pathways to improving their subjective well-being using different coping behaviors.

Diosgenin alters LPS-induced macrophage polarization by activating PPARγ/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Diosgenin (DG) is a steroidal saponin derived from plants, and it exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we employed an in vitro model of P.g.-LPS-stimulated mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanism of DG under the condition of altered polarization of macrophages. The RAW264.7 cells were subjected to pre-treatment with DG with or without P.g.-LPS. In cultured macrophages, DG inhibited P.g.-LPS-induced pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages, and increased anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages. Notably, DG reduced the expression of phosphorylation levels of NF-κB p65 and IκB while increasing the expression of PPARγ. Further studies revealed that PPARγ inhibitor GW9662 or PPARγ siRNA reversed the inhibitory effect of DG on M1 phenotype. Collectively, the anti-inflammatory mechanism of DG is related to altering macrophage polarization by activating PPARγ and inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathways.

Coping with mortality salience: the role of connection thinking and afterlife beliefs in Chinese context.

Introduction: Grounded in Terror Management Theory (TMT), this research explored the influence of mortality salience on preferences for afterlife beliefs (reincarnation vs. resignation to fate) within a Chinese context. We also examined the mediating role of death anxiety and the moderating effects of connection thinking across different age groups. Methods: Across three experimental studies involving a cumulative sample of 485 Chinese participants, we primed individuals with thoughts of their own mortality and then assessed their death anxiety and proclivity toward reincarnation beliefs or resignation to fate. Connection thinking-a cognitive construct emphasizing relational interconnectedness-was also evaluated to ascertain its moderating impact. Results: The data revealed a pronounced preference for reincarnation beliefs as a distal defense mechanism following mortality salience, significantly mediated by death anxiety. The moderating role of connection thinking was also verified, but with age-related differences: among younger Chinese participants (age < 35), heightened connection thinking buffered against increased death anxiety triggered by mortality salience and thus mitigated its mediating role. Conversely, for older participants (age ≥ 35), amplified connection thinking exacerbated both the increased death anxiety and its mediating effect. Discussion: These findings contribute to TMT by elucidating the influence of death anxiety on the relationship between mortality salience and afterlife beliefs in the Chinese cultural context. They also enrich the literature on connection thinking by uncovering its moderating role. Moreover, our research yields practical implications for coping with mortality salience and alleviating existential anxiety, enhancing the understanding of these phenomena across different cultural and age groups.

Automatic assessment of divergent thinking in Chinese language with TransDis: A transformer-based language model approach.

Language models have been increasingly popular for automatic creativity assessment, generating semantic distances to objectively measure the quality of creative ideas. However, there is currently a lack of an automatic assessment system for evaluating creative ideas in the Chinese language. To address this gap, we developed TransDis, a scoring system using transformer-based language models, capable of providing valid originality (novelty) and flexibility (variety) scores for Alternative Uses Task (AUT) responses in Chinese. Study 1 demonstrated that the latent model-rated originality factor, comprised of three transformer-based models, strongly predicted human originality ratings, and the model-rated flexibility strongly correlated with human flexibility ratings as well. Criterion validity analyses indicated that model-rated originality and flexibility positively correlated to other creativity measures, demonstrating similar validity to human ratings. Study 2 and 3 showed that TransDis effectively distinguished participants instructed to provide creative vs. common uses (Study 2) and participants instructed to generate ideas in a flexible vs. persistent way (Study 3). Our findings suggest that TransDis can be a reliable and low-cost tool for measuring idea originality and flexibility in Chinese language, potentially paving the way for automatic creativity assessment in other languages. We offer an open platform to compute originality and flexibility for AUT responses in Chinese and over 50 other languages ( https://osf.io/59jv2/ ).

Thinking Styles and Creativity: The Mediating Role of Psychological Adjustment in College Students.

The observation and cultivation of university students' creativity have always been of enormous concern to the Chinese government. The present research delved into the influence of three dimensions of the Chinese thinking style (Interconnection, Change, and Contradiction) on creativity and the mediating role of psychological adjustment in college students. Specifically, Study 1 investigated the relationship between university students' thinking styles and creativity through self-reported questionnaires. The results revealed that the thinking style of interconnections had a significant positive effect on creativity among university student groups, while the change dimension significantly negatively affected creativity. The relationship between the dimension of contradiction and creativity did not show significance. Study 2 manipulated thinking style by priming techniques, priming university students' thinking styles of interconnections (Study 2a) and change (Study 2b), and verified the mediating role of psychological adjustment between thinking styles and creativity. Aside from replicating the findings of Study 1, the results showed that university students' psychological adjustment mediated the positive effect of interconnections on fluency and the negative effect of change on fluency. These results and findings can provide a theoretical and practical reference for our government to cultivate university students' creativity.

The Effect of Vice-Virtue Bundles on Consumers' Purchase Intentions for Vice Packaged Foods: Evidence from Randomized Experiments.

Packaged foods have significantly expanded their market presence, with the utilization of vice-virtue bundles gaining momentum, particularly in the realm of vice-packaged foods. Consequently, understanding how consumers respond to vice-packaged food with vice-virtue bundles (i.e., vice-packaged food combined with virtue ingredients) becomes crucial. This research investigates this issue through four experiments employing a one-way between-subjects design, incorporating distinct stimuli and measures, and involving samples from diverse sources. In Experiment 1 (n = 172), Experiment 2 (n = 169), and the follow-up experiment (n = 153), variance analysis, chi-square test, and mediating analysis demonstrate that consumers are more inclined to purchase vice-packaged food with vice-virtue bundles owing to the perception of it being healthier than vice packaged food with vice-virtue bundles. Furthermore, Experiment 3 (n = 249) employs moderated mediation analysis, uncovering that both the heightened purchase intention for vice-packaged food with vice-virtue bundles and the mediating effect of perceived healthiness are attenuated among consumers with prevention (vs. promotion) focus. Beyond contributing to theories on packaged food consumption, vice-virtue bundles, and regulatory focus theory, these findings hold practical implications for packaged food marketing, promoting rational food choices, and enhancing healthier diets.

18-α-glycyrrhetinic acid alleviates oxidative damage in periodontal tissue by modulating the interaction of Cx43 and JNK/NF-κB pathways.

Objective: Periodontitis is a common chronic inflammatory disease in which oxidative stress is one of the key pathogenic factors. Connexin43 (Cx43) is the most critical and widely distributed connexin isoform. When the organism undergoes a severe and sustained stress response, Cx43-mediated gap junctions (GJs) are believed to underlie the biology of tissue injury exacerbation and amplification. Notably, 18-α-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is a classical pharmacological inhibitor of GJs and has antioxidant potential. However, the regulatory role of GA in the redox signaling of periodontal tissues and the potential mechanisms of Cx43 in the pathogenesis of periodontitis remain uncertain. Methods: In this study, we evaluated the effects and mechanisms of GA in alleviating oxidative damage of periodontal tissues and cells by constructing an H2O2-induced oxidative stress model in human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) and a periodontitis model in rats. Results: Cellular experiments showed that GA effectively attenuated H2O2-induced oxidative damage in hPDLCs by inhibiting the expression and function of Cx43. In addition, pretreatment of hPDLCs with either GA or SP600125 (a JNK inhibitor) inhibited the Cx43/JNK/NF-κB pathway, restored cell viability, and reduced apoptosis. Animal experiment results showed that GA intervention reduced alveolar bone resorption and periodontal tissue destruction, inhibited osteoclast differentiation, improved mitochondrial structural abnormalities and dysfunction in periodontal tissue, and decreased oxidative stress levels and apoptosis in rats with periodontitis. Conclusion: Overall, our findings suggest that the Cx43/JNK/NF-κB pathway may play a vital role to promote periodontitis progression, while GA reduces oxidative stress and apoptosis by inhibiting the interaction of Cx43 and JNK/NF-κB pathways, thus alleviating oxidative damage in the periodontal tissues.

The Profiles, Predictors, and Intergroup Outcomes of Cultural Attachment.

The recent backlash against cultural globalization has raised a conundrum regarding how individuals should navigate their relationship with their cultural groups to both meet their basic need for belongingness and embrace diversity to fully leverage the benefits of globalization. Here we take an attachment perspective to tackle this issue. Employing both person- and variable-centered approaches in two studies (n1 = 328; n2 = 1,317), we verify that people can develop different cultural attachment styles toward their cultural groups (i.e., secure, preoccupied, dismissing, and fearful), which are influenced by various societal, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors. People who securely attach to their cultures will perceive less out-group threat, exhibit more identity inclusiveness, hold less intergroup biases and excessive collective self-esteem, display a greater willingness to engage in intergroup contact, and demonstrate better psychological functioning. All these effects of cultural attachment are independent from and incremental to those of general and place attachment.

The Role of Negative Perfectionism and the Relationship between Critical Thinking and the Halo Effect: Insights from Corporate Managers in Human Resources.

This research aims to explore the relationship between critical thinking and the halo effect among managers working in the Human Resources (HR) departments of corporations. By utilizing a sample of over 301 corporate HR managers as participants, this study provides valuable insight into the dynamics between critical thinking, the halo effect, and the mediating role of negative perfectionism. The findings of this study suggest a significant negative relationship between critical thinking and the halo effect, as well as a significant positive relationship between negative perfectionism and the halo effect. Notably, negative perfectionism acts as a mediator between critical thinking and the halo effect. Our research also reveals that compensation level moderates this relationship, with lower-income HR managers exhibiting a stronger association between negative perfectionism and the halo effect compared to higher-income HR managers. These findings significantly contribute to our understanding of the interplay between critical thinking and the halo effect among HR managers in corporate settings. Identifying negative perfectionism as a mediating factor clarifies the underlying mechanisms between critical thinking and the halo effect, while the moderating effect of compensation level highlights the importance of considering contextual factors. The practical implications of this research include the significance of promoting critical thinking skills among HR managers to mitigate the halo effect in job recruitment and performance evaluation. Additionally, organizations should prioritize fairness and consistency in compensation levels to minimize the influence of negative perfectionism and its impact on the halo effect.

Experimental Study on the Fracture Toughness of Bamboo Scrimber.

In the past decade, bamboo scrimber has developed rapidly in the field of building materials due to its excellent mechanical properties, such as high toughness and high tensile strength. However, when the applied stress exceeds the ultimate strength limit of bamboo scrimber, cracks occur, which affects the performance of bamboo scrimber in structural applications. Due to the propensity of cracks to propagate, it reduces the load-bearing capacity of the bamboo scrimber material. Therefore, research on the fracture toughness of bamboo scrimber contributes to determining the material's load-bearing capacity and failure mechanisms, enabling its widespread application in engineering failure analysis. The fracture toughness of bamboo scrimber was studied via the single-edge notched beam (SENB) experiment and compact compression (CC) method. Nine groups of longitudinal and transverse samples were selected for experimental investigation. The fracture toughness of longitudinal bamboo scrimber under tensile and compressive loadings was 3.59 MPa·m1/2 and 2.39 MPa·m1/2, respectively. In addition, the fracture toughness of transverse bamboo scrimber under tensile and compressive conditions was 0.38 MPa·m1/2 and 1.79 MPa·m1/2, respectively. The results show that, for this material, there was a significant distinction between longitudinal and transverse. Subsequently, three-point bending tests and simulations were studied. The results show that the failure mode and the force-displacement curve of the numerical simulation were highly consistent compared with the experimental results. It could verify the correctness of the test parameters. Finally, the flexural strength of bamboo scrimber was calculated to be as high as 143.16 MPa. This paper provides data accumulation for the numerical simulation of bamboo scrimber, which can further promote the development of bamboo scrimber parameters in all aspects of the application.

The influence of leader humor on employee creativity: from the perspective of employee voice.

Creativity is a primary factor in driving transformational change. This study explored the impact of leader humor on employee creativity (incremental and radical creativity) from the perspective of employee voice. Data were collected from 812 Chinese employees through multipoint surveys. Through the surveys, we found that (1) leader humor has a significant positive effect on employee incremental and radical creativity; (2) promotive/prohibitive voice mediates the relationship between leader humor and employee incremental/radical creativity separately; (3) contradictory thinking moderates the effect of leader humor on prohibitive voice and further moderates the indirect effect of leader humor on radical creativity; and (4) the moderated mediation model mainly applies to state-owned enterprises rather than private-owned enterprises. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

N-Acetyl-l-cysteine-Derived Carbonized Polymer Dots with ROS Scavenging via Keap1-Nrf2 Pathway Regulate Alveolar Bone Homeostasis in Periodontitis.

Periodontitis is a type of chronic inflammatory oral disease characterized by the destruction of periodontal connective tissue and progressive alveolar bone resorption. As oxidative stress is the key cause of periodontitis in the early periodontal microenvironment, antioxidative therapy has been considered a viable treatment for periodontitis. However, more stable and effective reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging nanomedicines are still highly needed due to the instability of traditional antioxidants. Herein, a new type of N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC)-derived red fluorescent carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) has been synthesized with excellent biocompatibility, which can serve as an extracellular antioxidant to scavenge ROS effectively. Moreover, NAC-CPDs can promote osteogenic differentiation in human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) under H2 O2 stimulation. In addition, NAC-CPDs are capable of targeted accumulation in alveolar bone in vivo, reducing the level of alveolar bone resorption in periodontitis mice, as well as performing fluorescence imaging in vitro and in vivo. In terms of mechanism, NAC-CPDs may regulate redox homeostasis and promote bone formation in the periodontitis microenvironment by modulating the kelch-like ECH-associated protein l (Keap1)/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway. This study provides a new strategy for the application of CPDs theranostic nanoplatform for periodontitis.

The Impact of the Chinese Thinking Style of Relations on Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Coping Styles.

Chinese people tend to view and analyze problems according to relations and holism, which can cause them to adopt positive coping strategies when facing difficulties, thus improving their mental health. This study verifies the relationship among relations as a dimension of the Chinese thinking style, coping strategies, and mental health through three research studies. Study 1 preliminarily examines a significant, positive correlation between Chinese relational thinking and mental health through questionnaire surveys. Study 2 primes Chinese relational thinking and explores its relationship with coping strategies. The results show that relational thinking could enhance individuals' active coping, seeking of emotional support and venting, problem avoidance, and attentional diversion coping strategies while reducing denial and disengagement coping styles. Study 3 further demonstrates through questionnaires across time points that Chinese relational thinking could improve individuals' mental health by enhancing their active coping and minimizing denial and disengagement. The results of the three studies are of great significance in terms of improving mental health from the perspective of Chinese relational thinking and coping strategies.

Experimental investigation on mechanical properties of aged bamboo fiber-reinforced composites under quasi-static loading.

Bamboo fiber-reinforced composites (BFRC) have gradually attracted the interest of researchers due to their excellent mechanical properties. However, the age factor can affect these composites' mechanical properties and weaken them. This study aims to explore the mechanical properties of BFRC subjected different aging tests. First, the BFRC is prepared from raw bamboo through a series of technological processes. Second, the BFRC sheets are processed into tensile and compressive samples with different directions. Third, the samples are treated with a cold-hot test and a UV dry-wet test, respectively. Finally, quasi-static experiments are carried out to study the mechanical properties of aged BFRC. The results reveal that the BFRC has significant anisotropy. The tensile strength of BFRC parallel with the axis of the reinforcing fiber is as high as 148.53 MPa. It is 26.47 times greater than the tensile strength of BFRC perpendicular to the axis of the reinforcing fiber. The mechanical responses and SEM images show that the UV dry-wet test significantly affects on the BFRC compared to the cold-hot test. It dramatically reduces the mechanical properties of the BFRC. The SEM images further indicate that cracks occur on the surface of BFRC samples under the UV dry-wet test. In addition, two aging tests have an interactive effect on BFRC, which can reduce the sensitivity of BFRC to a UV dry-wet environment. These results are expected to deepen the understanding of the mechanical properties of BFRC and provide guidance for its applicable conditions.

The Impact of Culture and Social Distance on Humor Appreciation, Sharing, and Production.

Building on the benign violation theory and self-construal theory, we conducted four studies to examine how culture and social distance would influence humor appreciation, sharing, and production. Study 1 found that Chinese participants appreciated and intended to share a joke involving distant others more than that involving close others. They also generated funnier titles for a joke involving distant others than close others. Studies 2a and 2b compared Chinese and Americans using various types of jokes, replicating the social distance effect among Chinese but finding little effect of social distance among Americans. In Study 3, interdependence-primed participants generated more humorous titles for a joke involving distant than close others, whereas independence-primed participants showed no effect of social distance. The research provides further support to the benign violation theory from a cultural perspective and has important implications for cross-cultural communications.

How Does COVID-19 Risk Perception Affect Sense of Control? The Roles of Death Anxiety and Confucian Coping.

This research examined the impact of COVID-19 risk perception on sense of control, testing the hypotheses that COVID-19 risk perception would reduce sense of control and that this effect would be mediated by death anxiety and moderated by Confucian coping. A series of six studies were conducted with Chinese participants (N = 2202) and employed different research designs in lab and real-life settings. Across the studies, we found that the perceived risk of COVID-19 impaired sense of control. Studies 3a to 5 further revealed that death anxiety mediated the adverse effect of COVID-19 risk perception on sense of control, and Studies 4 to 5 revealed that Confucian coping strategies alleviated the adverse effect of COVID-19 risk perception on sense of control. These findings shed new light on the psychological impact of risk perception in times of crisis and identify mitigating factors and boundary conditions.

The Buffering Effect of Awe on Negative Emotions in Self-Threatening Situations.

Negative emotions arising from self-threat are ubiquitous and harmful. We propose that the experience of awe awakens the small-self, which in turn alleviates these negative emotions. We examine our theoretical hypotheses in four studies employing various self-threatening situations, using distinct awe manipulations and involving participants from different countries. The participants experiencing awe reported lower levels of negative emotions arising from self-threat compared with those in the neutral (Study 1) and happiness conditions (Study 2). Moreover, we verified that the small-self mediates the alleviating effect of awe on negative emotions through measuring (Study 3) and manipulating the small-self (Study 4). Beyond a set of practical implications for promoting mental health and well-being, our research also provides novel insights into awe, self-appraisal, and self-threat.

Resveratrol protects renal damages induced by periodontitis via preventing mitochondrial dysfunction in rats.

OBJECTIVES: Periodontitis is closely associated with kidney disease and reactive oxygen species (ROS) involvement. Mitochondria are the primary source of both endogenous ROS and renal energy. We investigated whether resveratrol (RSV) prevents renal injury and mitochondrial dysfunction in periodontitis rats. METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into control, experimental periodontitis (Ep) and Ep-RSV groups. To induce periodontitis, a steel ligature was placed on the cervix of the bilateral first maxillary molars. RSV (50 mg/kg/day) to the Ep-RSV group and vehicle to the Ep and control groups were gavaged. After 8 weeks, alveolar bone loss, pocket depth, gingival blood index and tooth mobility were assessed. Oxidative stress parameters, mitochondrial structure, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), mitochondrial ROS, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) were analysed in renal. Renal function and histology were also evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the Ep group showed renal structural destruction, elevated oxidative stress levels, mitochondrial structure destruction, MMP loss, mitochondrial ROS accumulation, ATP reduction, and decreased SIRT1 and PGC-1α levels. RSV prevented these destruction (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant impairment in renal function (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Periodontitis induces mitochondrial dysfunction in renal tissues. Resveratrol exerts a preventive effect on periodontitis-induced kidney injury by preventing mitochondrial dysfunction.

What lies ahead of us? Collective future thinking in Turkish, Chinese, and American adults.

Collective future thinking, namely the anticipation of events for a group, is a relatively new research area in memory studies. Research to date with predominantly Western populations suggests that people tend to expect negative events for their country's future. In two studies, we investigated the emotional valence and perceived control of anticipated future events of one's country and examined the roles of country identification and national well-being in collective future thinking. US and Chinese college students (Study 1) and US, Chinese, and Turkish adults of a community sample (Study 2) imagined events that could happen to their respective countries in 1 week, 1 year, and 10-15 years. Participants rated each event on emotional valence and perceived control. They also completed measures for their country identification and perceived national well-being. Chinese participants imagined future events for their country to be more positive than did the US and Turkish participants, whereas US participants reported higher perceived control by their country for the future events than did Chinese and Turks. Country identification and national well-being predicted more positive future thinking and also mediated cultural differences in future-event valence and perceived country control. These original findings shed critical light on the characteristics of collective future thinking that are shaped by societal-cultural factors.