Metabolite Profiling and Transcriptome Analysis Provide Insight into Seed Coat Color in Brassica juncea.

The allotetraploid species Brassica juncea (mustard) is grown worldwide as oilseed and vegetable crops; the yellow seed-color trait is particularly important for oilseed crops. Here, to examine the factors affecting seed coat color, we performed a metabolic and transcriptomic analysis of yellow- and dark-seeded B. juncea seeds. In this study, we identified 236 compounds, including 31 phenolic acids, 47 flavonoids, 17 glucosinolates, 38 lipids, 69 other hydroxycinnamic acid compounds, and 34 novel unknown compounds. Of these, 36 compounds (especially epicatechin and its derivatives) accumulated significantly different levels during the development of yellow- and dark-seeded B. juncea. In addition, the transcript levels of BjuDFR, BjuANS,BjuBAN, BjuTT8, and BjuTT19 were closely associated with changes to epicatechin and its derivatives during seed development, implicating this pathway in the seed coat color determinant in B. juncea. Furthermore, we found numerous variations of sequences in the TT8A genes that may be associated with the stability of seed coat color in B. rapa, B. napus, and B. juncea, which might have undergone functional differentiation during polyploidization in the Brassica species. The results provide valuable information for understanding the accumulation of metabolites in the seed coat color of B. juncea and lay a foundation for exploring the underlying mechanism.

Will exposure to different consequences of prosocial behavior always lead to subsequent prosocial behavior among adolescents: An experimental study of short videos.

The relationship between exposure to prosocial media content and prosocial behavior has been extensively explored. However, previous studies mainly explore the effect of prosocial media content exposure by comparing an individual's exposure to the different types of content (i.e., prosocial content or neutral content), and generally focus on traditional media and video games, with less attention given to the increasingly popular new media platforms. In this study, we explored new dimensions by considering individuals' exposure to different consequences of the same prosocial behavior (i.e., reward, punishment, or no consequences) in the context of short videos. Drawing upon Social Cognitive Theory and the General Learning Model, this experimental study identified the effect of such exposure on subsequent prosocial behavior among adolescents. We found that compared to the no consequences group, exposure to the reward consequence did not significantly predict moral elevation and subsequent prosocial behavior. Meanwhile, exposure to the punishment consequence had a significantly negative effect on subsequent prosocial behavior via moral elevation. Furthermore, the results revealed that empathy moderated the relationship between moral elevation and prosocial behavior, and moral elevation only positively predicted prosocial behavior among those with low empathy. Theoretically, this study deepens our understanding of the impact of exposure to different consequences of prosocial behavior on adolescents' subsequent prosocial behavior, and highlights the importance of moral elevation and empathy to understand the underlying mechanism. The study also provides some practical implications for parents and practitioners to nurture prosocial behavior among adolescents.

Relationship between mortality in people with mental disorders and suicide mortality in China during 2000 to 2014: An observational study.

Suicide is one of the top 10 causes of death in many countries. Although there are many studies on mental disorders, few studies have examined mortality in suicide population and mentally ill population. This study examined the association between mortality and mental disorders using data on suicides and mental disorders in China. Data from China's Health and Family Planning Statistical Yearbook for 2000 to 2014 were used to analyze the relationship between mortality associated with suicide and mental disorders. The analyses found that mortality among people with mental disorders dropped from 5.42/10 million in 2000 to 2.68/10 million in 2014, decreased more among females than males, and differed between urban and rural areas; that suicide mortality dropped from 10.79/10 million in 2000 to 6.79/10 million in 2014; the decrease was greater in women than in men, with suicide being highest among male residents of cities; and no significant correlation was found between mortality among persons with mental disorders and suicide mortality. There was no correlation between suicide mortality and mental-disorder mortality during 2000 to 2014; however, overall mortality decreased more among females than males during this period.

[A study on characteristics of the criminals with alcohol-related offence in forensic psychiatry].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the criminal characteristics of alcohol-related offence in forensic psychiatric practice. METHODS: Ninety cases were collected according to our research criteria and were divided into two groups, ordinary drinking (OD) (63 cases) and chronic alcoholic (CA) (27 cases). Descriptive and comparative studies were conducted between the two groups. RESULTS: 54.0% OD group had induced incident compare with 22.2% CA group; 58.7% of OD group had a motive while 55.6% of CA group were with no clear motive; 66.6% of OD group had a chosen target, 51.8% of CA group with no clear target; 19.0% of OD group chose criminal time while only 3.7% of CA group did; 61.9% of OD took certain anti-detection means while 59.3% of CA group stayed at the scene. 98.4% of OD group was found guilty and only 3.7% of CA was found guilty. CONCLUSION: OD group tends to have induced events, criminal motive, often are found to be guilty; CA group tends to be older, lacks awareness of self-protection during and after committing the crime, and usually is found not guilty or only partially responsible.

Accuracy rate of lie-detection in China: estimate the validity of CQT on field cases.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the accuracy rate of the comparison question test (CQT) by Binomial Distribution way on field cases in Chengdu area of China. In detail, the study revealed the accuracy rate of detecting guilty and innocent examinees, and the rate of False Positive and False Negative. METHOD: The study was built on the field cases with only two examinees that held the opposite opinions to the same single case. The original evaluators and four experienced polygraph specialists independently chose and scored 148 field criminal cases into the final study, among which 111 paired-records were concluded as indicative records and the rest, 37 ones, were ruled as non-indicative. RESULT: Judging from all records, the accuracy rate of detecting guilty examinees was 0.836 with a 0.164 False Negative rate. In addition, the rate to detect innocents was 0.822 with a 0.178 False Positive rate. Judging from indicative cases only excluding the non-indicative, the accuracy rate rose to 0.958 for perceiving guilty examinees with a 0.042 False Negative rate. To innocents, the accuracy rate was 0.859 with a 0.141 False Positive rate. CONCLUSION: The study with non-standard methodology was not limited to mock cases and the final confessions. It was able to estimate validity of other lie-detection ways, GKT, POT, etc., with this method being applied. With high accuracy rate and validity, polygraph examinations were able to give better decisions to real-life investigations.

Genetic variants in the promoters of let-7 family are associated with an increased risk of major depressive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Let-7 family plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD). Genetic polymorphisms in the promoters of miRNA may influence individual׳s susceptibility to diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between rs10877887 and rs13293512 polymorphisms in the promoters of let-7 family and the risk of MDD. METHOD: Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing assays were used to analyze the rs10877887 and rs13293512 polymorphisms in 237 MDD patients and 296 controls. RESULTS: We found that the rs10877887 CC genotype was associated with an increased risk of MDD (CC vs. TT: OR=1.73, 95% CI, 1.04-2.86, P=0.03, and CC vs. TT/TC: OR=1.74, 95% CI, 1.08-2.80, P=0.02, respectively). Similarly increased risk was also observed for the rs13293512 (CC vs. TT: OR=1.83, 95% CI, 1.12-2.99, P=0.015; CC vs. TT/TC: OR=1.84, 95% CI, 1.20-2.81, P=0.005; and C vs. T: OR=1.32, 95% CI, 1.03-1.68, P=0.03, respectively). Stratification analysis showed that patients with the rs13293512 TC and CC genotypes had a 2.29 and 2.56-fold increased risk of MDD recurrence after treatment (TC vs. TT: 95% CI, 1.23-4.25, P=0.008; CC vs. TT: 95% CI, 1.25-5.23, P=0.009, respectively). LIMITATIONS: Relatively small sample size and hospital-based study design may influence the results. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the rs10877887 and rs13293512 polymorphisms may be related to the development of MDD.