Metagenomic perspectives on antibiotic resistance genes in tap water: The environmental characteristic, potential mobility and health threat.

As an emerging environmental contaminant, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in tap water have attracted great attention. Although studies have provided ARG profiles in tap water, research on their abundance levels, composition characteristics, and potential threat is still insufficient. Here, 9 household tap water samples were collected from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in China. Additionally, 75 sets of environmental sample data (9 types) were downloaded from the public database. Metagenomics was then performed to explore the differences in the abundance and composition of ARGs. 221 ARG subtypes consisting of 17 types were detected in tap water. Although the ARG abundance in tap water was not significantly different from that found in drinking water plants and reservoirs, their composition varied. In tap water samples, the three most abundant classes of resistance genes were multidrug, fosfomycin and MLS (macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin) ARGs, and their corresponding subtypes ompR, fosX and macB were also the most abundant ARG subtypes. Regarding the potential mobility, vanS had the highest abundance on plasmids and viruses, but the absence of key genes rendered resistance to vancomycin ineffective. Generally, the majority of ARGs present in tap water were those that have not been assessed and are currently not listed as high-threat level ARG families based on the World Health Organization Guideline. Although the current potential threat to human health posed by ARGs in tap water is limited, with persistent transfer and accumulation, especially in pathogens, the potential danger to human health posed by ARGs should not be ignored.

Is AI chatbot recommendation convincing customer? An analytical response based on the elaboration likelihood model.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in e-commerce has currently stimulated scholarly attention, however studies on AI and e-commerce generally relatively few. The current study aims to evaluate how artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots persuade users to consider chatbot recommendations in a web-based buying situation. Employing the theory of elaboration likelihood, the current study presents an analytical framework for identifying factors and internal mechanisms of consumers' readiness to adopt AI chatbot recommendations. The authors evaluated the model employing questionnaire responses from 411 Chinese AI chatbot consumers. The findings of present study indicated that chatbot recommendation reliability and accuracy is positively related to AI technology trust and have negative effect on perceived self-threat. In addition, AI technology trust is positively related to intention to adopt chatbot decision whereas perceived self-threat negatively related to intention to adopt chatbot decision. The perceived dialogue strengthens the significant relationship between AI-tech trust and intention to adopt chatbot decision and weakens the negative relationship between perceived self-threat and intention to adopt AI chatbot decisions.

Characterizing the role of unpredictability within different dimensions of early life adversity.

Dimensional models of early life adversity highlight the distinct roles of deprivation and threat in shaping neurocognitive development and mental health. However, relatively little is known about the role of unpredictability within each dimension. We estimated both the average levels of, and the temporal unpredictability of deprivation and threat exposure during adolescence in a high-risk, longitudinal sample of 1354 youth (Pathways to Desistance study). We then related these estimates to later life psychological distress, and Antisocial and Borderline personality traits, and tested whether any effects are mediated by future orientation. High average levels of both deprivation and threat exposure were found to be associated with worse mental health on all three outcomes, but only the effects on Antisocial and Borderline personality traits were mediated by decreased future orientation, a pattern consistent with evolutionary models of psychopathology. Unpredictability in deprivation exposure proved to be associated with increased psychological distress and a higher number of Borderline traits, but with increased future orientation. There was some evidence of unpredictability in threat exposure buffering against the detrimental developmental effects of average threat levels. Our results suggest that the effects of unpredictability are distinct within different dimensions of early life adversity.

Specific retinal neurons regulate context-dependent defensive responses to visual threat.

While encountering a visual threat, an animal assesses multiple factors to choose an appropriate defensive strategy. For example, when a rodent detects a looming aerial predator, its behavioral response can be influenced by a specific environmental context, such as the availability of a shelter. Indeed, rodents typically escape from a looming stimulus when a shelter is present; otherwise, they typically freeze. Here we report that context-dependent behavioral responses can be initiated at the earliest stage of the visual system by distinct types of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the retina's output neurons. Using genetically defined cell ablation in mature mice, we discovered that some RGC types were necessary for either escaping (alpha RGCs) or freezing (intrinsically photosensitive RGCs) in response to a looming stimulus but not for both behaviors; whereas other RGC types were not required for either behavior (direction-selective RGCs preferring vertical motion). Altogether, our results suggest that specific RGC types regulate distinct behavioral responses elicited by the same threatening stimulus depending on contextual signals in the environment. These findings emphasize the unique contribution of early visual pathways to evolutionally conserved behavioral reactions.

Navigating the landscape of fear: Fruit flies exhibit distinct antipredator and antiparasite defensive behaviors.

Most organisms are at risk of being consumed by a predator or getting infected by a parasite at some point in their life. Theoretical constructs such as the landscape of fear (perception of risk) and nonconsumptive effects (NCEs, costly responses sans predation or infection) have been proposed to describe and quantify antipredator and antiparasite responses. How prey/host species identify and respond to these risks determines their survival, reproductive success and, ultimately, fitness. Most studies to date have focused on either predator-prey or parasite-host interactions, yet habitats and ecosystems contain both parasitic and/or predatory species that represent a complex and heterogenous mosaic of risk factors. Here, we experimentally investigated the behavioral responses of a cactophilic fruit fly, Drosophila nigrospiracula, exposed to a range of species that include parasites (ectoparasitic mite), predators (jumping spiders), as well as harmless heterospecifics (nonparasitic mites, ants, and weevils). We demonstrate that D. nigrospiracula can differentiate between threat and non-threat species, increase erratic movements and decrease velocity in the presence of parasites, but decrease erratic movements and time spent grooming in the presence of predators. Of particular importance, flies could distinguish between parasitic female mites and nonparasitic male mites of the same species, and respond accordingly. We also show that the direction of these NCEs differs when exposed to parasitic mites (i.e., risk of infection) versus spiders (i.e., risk of predation). Given the opposing effects of predation versus infection risk on fly behavior, we discuss potential trade-offs between parasite and predator avoidance behaviors. Our findings illustrate the complexity of risk assessment in a landscape of fear and the fine-tuned NCEs that arise in response. Moreover, this study is the first to examine these behavioral NCEs in a terrestrial system.

A survey on the reasons why victims of stalking did not exhibit help-seeking behavior: a text-mining analysis.

BACKGROUND: Stalking can escalate into violent acts such as threatening and inflicting physical harm, posing a serious threat to personal safety. To prevent exacerbating stalking victimization, victims must seek help and report incidents to the police or relevant authorities. However, victims, in general, underreport these incidents to public institutions. Moreover, there is insufficient understanding of why victims of stalking, especially men, refrain from seeking help. Therefore, this study used text mining to explore the reasons victims of stalking in Japan do not seek help while considering the severity of victimization and analyzing data separately for men and women. METHODS: Among 908 Japanese individuals who reported experiencing repeated stalking behavior from a former intimate partner in the past five years, 253 men and 321 women who did not consult public authorities were included in this study. Participants provided their experiences of being stalked by former romantic partners and were classified into stalking-only, threatened, and physical aggression victim groups based on their self-reported experiences in an online survey. Reasons for not seeking help were collected through open-ended questions and analyzed using text mining. RESULTS: A co-occurrence network analysis revealed that among men in the threatened victim group, the reason for not seeking help was the belief that their complaints would not be taken seriously. The physical aggression victim group did not seek help due to the perception that a female perpetrator does not pose a danger. Among women in the physical aggression victim group, concerns about provoking the perpetrator or worsening the situation by seeking help, as well as feelings of embarrassment, were reasons for not seeking assistance. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of gender stereotype-related reasons among male victims was a valuable insight that could only be obtained through comparison with female victims. However, the study was limited to addressing the individual characteristics of the cases, thus providing only hypothetical insights into general trends. In future research, it will be necessary to generate hypotheses from the findings of this study and accumulate hypothesis-testing research to develop effective strategies for promoting help-seeking behavior among stalking victims.

Verbal Weight-Related Abuse and Binge Eating Behavior: The Mediating Role of Attentional Bias to Threat Cues and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies investigated the impact of weight-related abuse (WRA) on eating pathology. However, the circumstances of such an effect are still unclear. Our study aimed to examine the relationship between verbal WRA and binge eating (BE) behavior via attentional bias (AB) to threat cues and difficulties in emotion regulation. METHOD: We conducted a parallel mediation model. On the basis of the purposive sampling method, 183 individuals with obesity and overweight (70.5% female and 28.4% male; Meanage = 32.78), from February to June 2019, were recruited from a nutrition clinic in Tehran. The participants completed the BE scale (BES), the weight-related abuse questionnaire (WRAQ), the difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS), and the dot probe task (DPT). RESULTS: AB to threat cues had a significantly negative association with verbal WRA and BE. Difficulties in emotion regulation showed a significant positive association with verbal WRA and BE. The parallel mediation model showed a direct effect of verbal WRA on BE. Moreover, the bootstrap analysis revealed that difficulties in emotion regulation could mediate the association between verbal WRA and BE. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that experiences of verbal WRA can contribute to cognitive bias to negative emotion, maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, and behavioral problems like BE.

The harassment of parliamentarians and judicial officers: a South Australian perspective.

An anonymous electronic survey was distributed to the members of the South Australian parliament and judiciary. Data was analysed to determine whether there were meaningful differences between parliamentarians and judicial officers in their experiences as victims of harassment. Responses were received from 28% of all members surveyed with 96% of participants reporting at least one form of harassment. Parliamentarians reported a higher prevalence of more serious forms of harassment relative to judicial officers. Parliamentarians reported experiencing harassment in both private and professional contexts whereas judicial officers almost exclusively experienced harassment in a professional context. Harassment caused significant psychological harm and social disruption across both cohorts. There were minor differences in the sources of help utilised by both cohorts; however, judicial officers reported greater satisfaction with help received relative to parliamentarians. The majority of respondents were in favour of receiving advice from a specialised service to mitigate future harassment behaviour.