The positive side of stress: Investigating the impact of challenge stressors on innovative behavior in higher education.

Stress can be a double-edged sword. Given the intricacy of the innovation process, the link between job stress and individual innovation behavior remains uncertain. To clarify the relationship between challenge stressors and the innovative behavior of higher education teachers, this study was based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory and adopted the structural equation modeling method to explore the impact of challenge stressors on the innovative behavior of higher education teachers and reveal its influencing mechanism and boundary conditions. By analyzing the data from 208 questionnaires of higher education teachers, the findings reveal that challenge stressors positively influence innovative behavior, with task crafting serving as a critical bridge. Additionally, a favorable employment relationship climate enhances the positive impact of challenge stressors. Gender dynamics are also explored, adding nuance to the understanding of this relationship. These results shed light on the inherent mechanisms governing the relationship between challenge stressors and innovative behavior among higher education teachers, and underscore the significance of task crafting. In addition, the discoveries provided fresh insights and ideas for investigating how organizational climate affects individual innovative behavior.

The TET-Sall4-BMP regulatory axis controls craniofacial cartilage development.

Craniofacial microsomia (CFM) is a congenital defect that usually results from aberrant development of embryonic pharyngeal arches. However, the molecular basis of CFM pathogenesis is largely unknown. Here, we employ the zebrafish model to investigate mechanisms of CFM pathogenesis. In early embryos, tet2 and tet3 are essential for pharyngeal cartilage development. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that loss of Tet2/3 impairs chondrocyte differentiation due to insufficient BMP signaling. Moreover, biochemical and genetic evidence reveals that the sequence-specific 5mC/5hmC-binding protein, Sall4, binds the promoter of bmp4 to activate bmp4 expression and control pharyngeal cartilage development. Mechanistically, Sall4 directs co-phase separation of Tet2/3 with Sall4 to form condensates that mediate 5mC oxidation on the bmp4 promoter, thereby promoting bmp4 expression and enabling sufficient BMP signaling. These findings suggest the TET-BMP-Sall4 regulatory axis is critical for pharyngeal cartilage development. Collectively, our study provides insights into understanding craniofacial development and CFM pathogenesis.