Oxytocin, but not vasopressin, decreases willingness to harm others by promoting moral emotions of guilt and shame.

Prosocial and moral behaviors have overlapping neural systems and can both be affected in a number of psychiatric disorders, although whether they involve similar neurochemical systems is unclear. In the current registered randomized placebo-controlled trial on 180 adult male and female subjects, we investigated the effects of intranasal administration of oxytocin and vasopressin, which play key roles in influencing social behavior, on moral emotion ratings for situations involving harming others and on judgments of moral dilemmas where others are harmed for a greater good. Oxytocin, but not vasopressin, enhanced feelings of guilt and shame for intentional but not accidental harm and reduced endorsement of intentionally harming others to achieve a greater good. Neither peptide influenced arousal ratings for the scenarios. Effects of oxytocin on guilt and shame were strongest in individuals scoring lower on the personal distress subscale of trait empathy. Overall, findings demonstrate for the first time that oxytocin, but not vasopressin, promotes enhanced feelings of guilt and shame and unwillingness to harm others irrespective of the consequences. This may reflect associations between oxytocin and empathy and vasopressin with aggression and suggests that oxytocin may have greater therapeutic potential for disorders with atypical social and moral behavior.

Differential alterations of CXCR3, CXCR5 and CX3CR1 in patients with immune thrombocytopenia.

As a versatile element for maintaining homeostasis, the chemokine system has been reported to be implicated in the pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). However, research pertaining to chemokine receptors and related ligands in adult ITP is still limited. The states of several typical chemokine receptors and cognate ligands in the circulation were comparatively assessed through various methodologies. Multiple variable analyses of correlation matrixes were conducted to characterize the correlation signatures of various chemokine receptors or candidate ligands with platelet counts. Our data illustrated a significant decrease in relative CXCR3 expression and elevated plasma levels of CXCL4, 9-11, 13, and CCL3 chemokines in ITP patients with varied platelet counts. Flow cytometry assays revealed eminently diminished CXCR3 levels on T and B lymphocytes and increased CXCR5 on cytotoxic T cell (Tc) subsets in ITP patients with certain platelet counts. Meanwhile, circulating CX3CR1 levels were markedly higher on T cells with a concomitant increase in plasma CX3CL1 level in ITP patients, highlighting the importance of aberrant alterations of the CX3CR1-CX3CL1 axis in ITP pathogenesis. Spearman's correlation analyses revealed a strong positive association of peripheral CXCL4 mRNA level, and negative correlations of plasma CXCL4 concentration and certain chemokine receptors with platelet counts, which might serve as a potential biomarker of platelet destruction in ITP development. Overall, these results indicate that the differential expression patterns and distinct activation states of peripheral chemokine network, and the subsequent expansion of circulating CXCR5+ Tc cells and CX3CR1+ T cells, may be a hallmark during ITP progression, which ultimately contributes to thrombocytopenia in ITP patients.

"Listen to your heart": A novel interoceptive strategy for real-time fMRI neurofeedback training of anterior insula activity.

Real-time fMRI (rt-fMRI) neurofeedback (NF) training is a novel non-invasive technique for volitional brain modulation. Given the important role of the anterior insula (AI) in human cognitive and affective processes, it has become one of the most investigated regions in rt-fMRI studies. Most rt-fMRI insula studies employed emotional recall/imagery as the regulation strategy, which may be less effective for psychiatric disorders characterized by altered emotional processing. The present study thus aimed to examine the feasibility of a novel interoceptive strategy based on heartbeat detection in rt-fMRI guided AI regulation and its associated behavioral changes using a randomized double-blind, sham feedback-controlled between-subject design. 66 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to receive either NF from the left AI (LAI) or sham feedback from a control region while using the interoceptive strategy. N = 57 participants were included in the final data analyses. Empathic and interoceptive pre-post training changes were collected as behavioral measures of NF training effects. Results showed that participants in the NF group exhibited stronger LAI activity than the control group with LAI activity being positively correlated with interoceptive accuracy following NF training, although there were no significant increases of LAI activity over training sessions. Importantly, ability of LAI regulation could be maintained in a transfer session without feedback. Successful LAI regulation was associated with strengthened functional connectivity of the LAI with cognitive control, memory and learning, and salience/interoceptive networks. The present study demonstrated for the first time the efficacy of a novel regulation strategy based on interoceptive processing in up-regulating LAI activity. Our findings also provide proof of concept for the translational potential of this strategy in rt-fMRI AI regulation of psychiatric disorders characterized by altered emotional processing.

Creation and preservation of superoscillation in a dielectric optical waveguide.

Superoscillation refers to a phenomenon where a band-limited wave locally oscillates faster than its highest Fourier component. Current research on optical superoscillations predominantly lies on the basis of free-space waves. As the optical waveguides play a key role in energy and information transportation, guided waves with precisely controlled deep-subwavelength features offers unprecedented flexibility for applications. In this Letter, we numerically show that, by superimposing eigenmodes of a multimode SiO2 waveguide and forcing the resultant field to pass through a set of predetermined points, superoscillatory fields in various shapes can be formed in preset cross-sectional planes. Furthermore, by padding prescribed intensities in multiple cross sections, we successfully create a persistent superoscillatory saddle.

Human lysyl-tRNA synthetase evolves a dynamic structure that can be stabilized by forming complex.

The evolutionary necessity of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases being associated into complex is unknown. Human lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS) is one component of the multi-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC), which is not only critical for protein translation but also involved in multiple cellular pathways such as immune response, cell migration, etc. Here, combined with crystallography, CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing, biochemistry, and cell biology analyses, we show that the structures of LysRSs from metazoan are more dynamic than those from single-celled organisms. Without the presence of MSC scaffold proteins, such as aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex-interacting multifunctional protein 2 (AIMP2), human LysRS is free from the MSC. The interaction with AIMP2 stabilizes the closed conformation of LysRS, thereby protects the essential aminoacylation activity under stressed conditions. Deleting AIMP2 from the human embryonic kidney 293 cells leads to retardation in cell growth in nutrient deficient mediums. Together, these results suggest that the evolutionary emergence of the MSC in metazoan might be to protect the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase components from being modified or recruited for use in other cellular pathways.

Effect of light polarization on plasmon-induced charge transfer.

Plasmonic nanoclusters can strongly absorb light energy and generate hot carriers, which have great potentials in photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications. A vital step for those plasmonic applications is the charge transfer at the metal-semiconductor interface. The effect of the light polarization on the charge transfer has not been theoretically investigated so far. Here, we take the Ag-TiO2 system as a model system to study the polarization effect using time-dependent density functional theory simulations. We find that the charge transfer is sensitive to the light polarization, which has its origin in the polarization-dependent hot carrier distributions. For the linearly polarized light, it shows a sine-square dependence on the polar angle, indicating that the charge transfer response to the linear polarization can be decomposed into components perpendicular and parallel to the interface. We also find that there exists directional charge transfer with a circular light polarization. Our results demonstrate that the light polarization can significantly affect the charge transfer behavior and, thus, offer a new degree of freedom to manipulate the plasmonic applications.

Biosynthesis of the yellow xanthomonadin pigments involves an ATP-dependent 3-hydroxybenzoic acid: acyl carrier protein ligase and an unusual type II polyketide synthase pathway.

Xanthomonadins are yellow pigments that are produced by the phytopathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc). A pig cluster is responsible for xanthomonadin biosynthesis. Previously, Xcc4014 of the cluster was characterized as a bifunctional chorismatase that produces 3-hydroxybenzoic acid (3-HBA) and 4-HBA. In this study, genetic analysis identified 11 genes within the pig cluster to be essential for xanthomonadin biosynthesis. Biochemical and bioinformatics analysis suggest that xanthomonadins are synthesized via an unusual type II polyketide synthase pathway. Heterologous expression of the pig cluster in non-xanthomonadin-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain resulted in the synthesis of chlorinated xanthomonadin-like pigments. Further analysis showed that xanC encodes an acyl carrier protein (ACP) while xanA2 encodes a ATP-dependent 3-HBA:ACP ligase. Both of them act together to catalyse the formation of 3-HBA-S-ACP from 3-HBA to initiate xanthomonadin biosynthesis. Finally, we showed that xanH encodes a FabG-like enzyme and xanK encodes a novel glycosyltransferase. Both xanH and xanK are not only required for xanthomonadin biosynthesis, but also required for the balanced biosynthesis of extracellular polysaccharides and DSF-family quorum sensing signals. These findings provide us with a better understanding of xanthomonadin biosynthetic mechanisms and directly demonstrate the presence of extensive cross-talk among xanthomonadin biosynthetic pathways and other metabolic pathways.

Integrated metamaterial with functionalities of absorption and electromagnetically induced transparency.

A switchable metamaterial with bifunctionality of absorption and electromagnetically induced transparency is proposed based on the phase-transition characteristic of phase change material-vanadium dioxide. When vanadium dioxide is in the metallic state, an isotropic narrow absorber is obtained in the terahertz region, which consists of a top metallic cross, a middle dielectric layer, and a bottom vanadium dioxide film. By adjusting structure parameters, perfect absorption is realized at the frequency of 0.498 THz. This designed narrow absorber is insensitive to polarization and incident angle. Absorptance can still reach 75% for transverse electric polarization and transverse magnetic polarization at the incident angle of 65∘. When vanadium dioxide is in the insulating state, the top metallic cross will interact with the bottom split ring resonator, and the interaction between them will lead to the appearance of electromagnetically induced transparency. The behavior of electromagnetically induced transparency works well for transverse electric polarization and transverse magnetic polarization at the small incident angle. The designed hybrid metamaterial opens possible avenues for achieving switchable functionalities in a single device.

Persistent sulfate formation from London Fog to Chinese haze.

Sulfate aerosols exert profound impacts on human and ecosystem health, weather, and climate, but their formation mechanism remains uncertain. Atmospheric models consistently underpredict sulfate levels under diverse environmental conditions. From atmospheric measurements in two Chinese megacities and complementary laboratory experiments, we show that the aqueous oxidation of SO2 by NO2 is key to efficient sulfate formation but is only feasible under two atmospheric conditions: on fine aerosols with high relative humidity and NH3 neutralization or under cloud conditions. Under polluted environments, this SO2 oxidation process leads to large sulfate production rates and promotes formation of nitrate and organic matter on aqueous particles, exacerbating severe haze development. Effective haze mitigation is achievable by intervening in the sulfate formation process with enforced NH3 and NO2 control measures. In addition to explaining the polluted episodes currently occurring in China and during the 1952 London Fog, this sulfate production mechanism is widespread, and our results suggest a way to tackle this growing problem in China and much of the developing world.

Microfluidics-Based Fabrication of Cell-Laden Hydrogel Microfibers for Potential Applications in Tissue Engineering.

Fibrous hydrogel scaffolds have recently attracted increasing attention for tissue engineering applications. While a number of approaches have been proposed for fabricating microfibers, it remains difficult for current methods to produce materials that meet the essential requirements of being simple, flexible and bio-friendly. It is especially challenging to prepare cell-laden microfibers which have different structures to meet the needs of various applications using a simple device. In this study, we developed a facile two-flow microfluidic system, through which cell-laden hydrogel microfibers with various structures could be easily prepared in one step. Aiming to meet different tissue engineering needs, several types of microfibers with different structures, including single-layer, double-layer and hollow microfibers, have been prepared using an alginate-methacrylated gelatin composite hydrogel by merely changing the inner and outer fluids. Cell-laden single-layer microfibers were obtained by subsequently seeding mouse embryonic osteoblast precursor cells (MC3T3-E1) cells on the surface of the as-prepared microfibers. Cell-laden double-layer and hollow microfibers were prepared by directly encapsulating MC3T3-E1 cells or human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in the cores of microfibers upon their fabrication. Prominent proliferation of cells happened in all cell-laden single-layer, double-layer and hollow microfibers, implying potential applications for them in tissue engineering.

Sub-one-third wavelength focusing of surface plasmon polaritons excited by linearly polarized light.

We report the generation of a subwavelength focal spot for surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) by increasing the proportion of high-spatial-frequency components in the plasmonic focusing field. We have derived an analytical expression for the angular-dependent contribution of an arbitrary-shaped SPP line source to the focal field and have found that the proportion for high-spatial-frequency components can be significantly increased by launching SPPs from a horizontal line source. Accordingly, we propose a rectangular-groove plasmonic lens (PL) consisting of horizontally-arrayed central grooves and slantingly-arrayed flanking grooves on gold film. We demonstrate both numerically and experimentally that, under linearly polarized illumination, such a PL generates a focal spot of full width half maximum 274 nm at an operating wavelength of 830 nm. The method we describe provides guidance to the further structure design and optimization for plasmonic focusing devices.

Seasonal variation and size distribution of biogenic secondary organic aerosols at urban and continental background sites of China.

Size-resolved biogenic secondary organic aerosols (BSOA) derived from isoprene and monoterpene photooxidation in Qinghai Lake, Tibetan Plateau (a continental background site) and five cities of China were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Concentrations of the determined BSOA are higher in the cities than in the background and are also higher in summer than in winter. Moreover, strong positive correlations (R2=0.44-0.90) between BSOA and sulfate were found at the six sites, suggesting that anthropogenic pollution (i.e., sulfate) could enhance SOA formation, because sulfate provides a surface favorable for acid-catalyzed formation of BSOA. Size distribution measurements showed that most of the determined SOA tracers are enriched in the fine mode (<3.3µm) except for cis-pinic and cis-pinonic acids, both presented a comparable mass in the fine and coarse (>3.3µm) modes, respectively. Mass ratio of oxidation products derived from isoprene to those from monoterpene in the five urban regions during summer are much less than those in Qinghai Lake region. In addition, in the five urban regions relative abundances of monoterpene oxidation products to SOA are much higher than those of isoprene. Such phenomena suggest that BSOA derived from monoterpenes are more abundant than those from isoprene in Chinese urban areas.

Chemical characteristics of haze particles in Xi'an during Chinese Spring Festival: Impact of fireworks burning.

Fireworks burning releases massive fine particles and gaseous pollutants, significantly deteriorating air quality during Chinese Lunar New Year (LNY) period. To investigate the impact of the fireworks burning on the atmospheric aerosol chemistry, 1-hr time resolution of PM2.5 samples in Xi'an during the winter of 2016 including the LNY were collected and detected for inorganic ions, acidity and liquid water content (LWC) of the fine aerosols. PM2.5 during the LNY was 167±87µg/m3, two times higher than the China National Ambient Air Quality Standard (75µg/m3). K+ (28wt.% of the total ion mass) was the most abundant ion in the LNY period, followed by SO42- (25wt.%) and Cl- (18wt.%). In contrast, NO3- (34wt.%) was the most abundant species in the haze periods (hourly PM2.5>75µg/m3), followed by SO42- (29.2wt.%) and NH4+ (16.3wt.%), while SO42 - (35wt.%) was the most abundant species in the clean periods (hourly PM2.5<75µg/m3), followed by NO3- (23.1wt.%) and NH4+ (11wt.%). Being different from the acidic nature in the non-LNY periods, aerosol in the LNY period presented an alkaline nature with a pH value of 7.8±1.3. LWC during the LNY period showed a robust linear correlation with K2SO4 and KCl, suggesting that aerosol hygroscopicity was dominated by inorganic salts derived from fireworks burning. Analysis of correlations between the ratios of NO3-/SO42- and NH4+/SO42- indicated that heterogeneous reaction of HNO3 with NH3 was an important formation pathway of particulate nitrate and ammonium during the LNY period.

CDK4/6 inhibitor-SHR6390 exerts potent antitumor activity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by inhibiting phosphorylated Rb and inducing G1 cell cycle arrest.

BACKGROUND: Cell cycle dysregulation is common in human malignancies, and CDK4/6 inhibitors targeting cell cycle have potential antitumor activity. SHR6390 is a novel small molecule inhibitor specifically targeting the CDK4/6 pathway. However, the role of SHR6390 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unknown, which will be investigated in our study. METHODS: Eca 109, Eca 9706, and KYSE-510 ESCC cell lines were chosen for further analysis. The effect of SHR6390 on cell viability, cell cycle and cell apoptosis, the status of kinases in Cyclin D1-CDK4/6-Rb pathway were determined by MTS assay, flow cytometry, and western blotting, respectively. Cell-derived and patient-derived xenografts were established to investigate the effects of drugs in vivo. RESULTS: SHR6390 could suppress cell proliferation in vitro cell lines and inhibit tumor growth in vivo PDX models with different drug susceptibility. The effective treatment of SHR6390 induced the inhibition of phosphorylated Rb and cell cycle arrest at G1 phase both in cell lines and in xenografts. SHR6390 combined with paclitaxel or cisplatin offered synergistic inhibitory effects in cell-derived xenografts especially in Eca 9706 xenografts which showed relative lower sensitivity of SHR6390 single. Moreover, low expression of CDK6 and/or high expression of Cyclin D1 might be associated with high sensitivity of SHR6390, which would be validated in the future. CONCLUSIONS: CDK4/6 inhibitor-SHR6390 exerted potential antitumor activity against ESCC cell lines and xenografts, and evaluation of CDK6 and Cyclin D1 expressions might be helpful to select patients beneficial from SHR6390, which provided evidences for future clinical trials.

Creation of multiple on-axis foci and ultra-long focal depth for SPPs.

We present the design of a plasmonic lens (PL) which is composed of pixelated nano-grooves on a gold film for the coupling and focusing of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) into multiple focal spots on the optical axis. The pixelated grooves are arranged along the y-axis and the x-position of each groove is optimized by the simulated annealing algorithm. PLs that implement two and three on-axis foci are presented and the designed structures have been validated with FDTD simulations. We also successfully constructed a long-focal-depth PL with a longitudinal FWHM of the focus that reached 25 plasmonic wavelengths, while its transverse field profile is maintained over 15 µm distance. The presented design method constitutes a new basis for plasmonic beam engineering, and the proposed particular SPP focal fields have potential applications in multiple imaging, particle manipulating, and plasmonic on-chip signal transmission.

Plasmonic quadrant lens for beam-position sensing.

We present the design of a plasmonic quadrant lens (QL) which is capable of coupling the light from free space into surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and focusing them into four directions, depending on the polarization content of the incident light. The lens is composed of a set of uniform nanogrooves etched on a gold film. Two types of QLs with four and eight foci are realized. We further propose QLs as a plasmonic version of well-known quadrant detectors for beam-position sensing through a center location algorithm. The sensitivity of the device is also investigated for both linear and circular polarized incidences. Calculation results show that the four-focus QL offers a large effective detecting area and the eight-focus QL enables beam-position sensing to be operated with two different sensitivities simultaneously.

"Functional" Inspiratory and Core Muscle Training Enhances Running Performance and Economy.

Tong, TK, McConnell, AK, Lin, H, Nie, J, Zhang, H, and Wang, J. "Functional" inspiratory and core muscle training enhances running performance and economy. J Strength Cond Res 30(10): 2942-2951, 2016-We compared the effects of two 6-week high-intensity interval training interventions. Under the control condition (CON), only interval training was undertaken, whereas under the intervention condition (ICT), interval training sessions were followed immediately by core training, which was combined with simultaneous inspiratory muscle training (IMT)-"functional" IMT. Sixteen recreational runners were allocated to either ICT or CON groups. Before the intervention phase, both groups undertook a 4-week program of "foundation" IMT to control for the known ergogenic effect of IMT (30 inspiratory efforts at 50% maximal static inspiratory pressure [P0] per set, 2 sets per day, 6 days per week). The subsequent 6-week interval running training phase consisted of 3-4 sessions per week. In addition, the ICT group undertook 4 inspiratory-loaded core exercises (10 repetitions per set, 2 sets per day, inspiratory load set at 50% post-IMT P0) immediately after each interval training session. The CON group received neither core training nor functional IMT. After the intervention phase, global inspiratory and core muscle functions increased in both groups (p ≤ 0.05), as evidenced by P0 and a sport-specific endurance plank test (SEPT) performance, respectively. Compared with CON, the ICT group showed larger improvements in SEPT, running economy at the speed of the onset of blood lactate accumulation, and 1-hour running performance (3.04% vs. 1.57%, p ≤ 0.05). The changes in these variables were interindividually correlated (r ≥ 0.57, n = 16, p ≤ 0.05). Such findings suggest that the addition of inspiratory-loaded core conditioning into a high-intensity interval training program augments the influence of the interval program on endurance running performance and that this may be underpinned by an improvement in running economy.

The diffusible factor synthase XanB2 is a bifunctional chorismatase that links the shikimate pathway to ubiquinone and xanthomonadins biosynthetic pathways.

The diffusible factor synthase XanB2, originally identified in Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), is highly conserved across a wide range of bacterial species, but its substrate and catalytic mechanism have not yet been investigated. Here, we show that XanB2 is a unique bifunctional chorismatase that hydrolyses chorismate, the end-product of the shikimate pathway, to produce 3-hydroxybenzoic acid (3-HBA) and 4-HBA. 3-HBA and 4-HBA are respectively associated with the yellow pigment xanthomonadin biosynthesis and antioxidant activity in Xcc. We further demonstrate that XanB2 is a structurally novel enzyme with three putative domains. It catalyses 3-HBA and 4-HBA biosynthesis via a unique mechanism with the C-terminal YjgF-like domain conferring activity for 3-HBA biosynthesis and the N-terminal FGFG motif-containing domain responsible for 4-HBA biosynthesis. Furthermore, we show that Xcc produces coenzyme Q8 (CoQ8) via a new biosynthetic pathway independent of the key chorismate-pyruvate lyase UbiC. XanB2 is the alternative source of 4-HBA for CoQ8 biosynthesis. The similar CoQ8 biosynthetic pathway, xanthomonadin biosynthetic gene cluster and XanB2 homologues are well conserved in the bacterial species within Xanthomonas, Xylella, Xylophilus, Pseudoxanthomonas, Rhodanobacter, Frateuria, Herminiimonas and Variovorax, suggesting that XanB2 may be a conserved metabolic link between the shikimate pathway, ubiquinone and xanthomonadin biosynthetic pathways in diverse bacteria.

Multifunctional and multi-output plasmonic meta-elements for integrated optical circuits.

Based on a novel phase-sieve method by in-plane interference processes, a well-designed nonperiodic nanogroove array on gold surface is proposed as a multifunctional and multi-output plasmonic meta-element (MPM) for surface plasmon polariton waves. An MPM functions as a plasmonic lens (PL) as well as a plasmonic array illuminator (PAI), and another MPM acts as two PLs with an intersection angle of π/4 are fabricated and validated by leakage radiation microscopy measurements. Our proposed scheme with implemented functionalities could promote potential applications in high density integrated optical circuits.

Compact polarization rotator for silicon-based slot waveguide structures.

A compact polarization rotator (PR) for silicon-based slot waveguides is proposed, where the slot region including the upper claddings is filled with liquid crystals (LCs). With the anisotropic features of the LCs, the transverse field components of eigenmodes have almost identical amplitudes, leading to a high modal hybridness. As a result, the TE (TM) polarization can be rotated efficiently to the TM (TE) polarization within a short length. The numerical results show that a PR 11.3 µm in length at an operating wavelength of 1.55 µm is achieved with an extinction ratio (ER) (insertion loss) of 12.6 (0.22) dB for TE-to-TM and 11.5 (0.30) dB for TM-to-TE. Moreover, the optical bandwidth for TE-to-TM (TM-to-TE) mode must be ∼64(∼29) nm to keep the ER over 12 (10) dB. In addition, fabrication tolerances to the structural parameters are investigated, and field evolution along the propagation distance through the PR is also demonstrated.