The Roles of Clique Status Hierarchy and Aggression Norms in Victimized Adolescents' Aggressive Behavior.

The healthy context paradox indicates that in "healthy" contexts, with lower bullying or victimization norms, victimization experiences would unexpectedly exacerbate adolescents' adjustment difficulties, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, particularly from the clique perspective. The current 2-year longitudinal multilevel study attempts to examine the conditional effects of both clique structure (i.e., status hierarchy) and clique norms (i.e., aggression norms) on the relationship between individual victimization and aggressive behavior. The sample consisted of 691 Chinese junior high school students (Mage = 12.74, SD = 0.43; 55.6% boys), who were identified to belong to 153 cliques with sizes varying from 3 to 12 students (Msize = 5.08, SD = 1.89), according to the social cognitive map. Participants completed peer-nominated measures at two time points, two years apart. The multilevel models revealed that it was in less hierarchical cliques with lower aggression that victimized adolescents would exhibit more relational forms of aggression (rather than overt forms) two years later. More intriguingly, contrary results were found in all-girls cliques and all-boys cliques. Specifically, victimized girls' overt and relational aggression was higher in cliques with less hierarchy and lower aggression, whereas, in cliques with more hierarchy and higher aggression, victimized boys' relational aggression was higher, which conforms to the healthy context paradox and the peer contagion hypothesis, respectively. These findings highlight that egalitarian cliques with low aggression would promote aggressive behavior of victimized adolescents, especially for girls rather than for boys, which in turn has crucial implications for anti-bullying interventions.

Effects of quercetin on the pharmacokinetics of losartan and its metabolite EXP3174 in rats.

1. This study investigates the influence of quercetin on the pharmacokinetics of losartan and its metabolite EXP3174 in rats. 2. The pharmacokinetic profiles of losartan and EXP3174 of orally administered losartan (10 mg/kg) with or without pretreatment with quercetin (20 mg/kg/day for 7 days) were investigated. Additionally, Caco-2 cell transwell model and rat liver microsome incubation experiments were also conducted to investigate its potential mechanism. 3. The results showed that when the rats were pretreated with quercetin, the Cmax (2.16 ± 0.40 vs. 1.33 ± 0.21 mg/L) and the AUC(0-t) (13.89 ± 1.22 vs. 7.34 ± 0.75 mg·h/L) of losartan increased significantly (p < .05), and while the Cmax (0.76 ± 0.09 vs. 1.14 ± 0.18 mg/L) of EXP3174 decreased significantly compared to the control (p < .05). The t1/2 of losartan was prolonged from 3.27 ± 0.45 h to 4.74 ± 0.51 h (p < .05). The results also indicated that quercetin could increase losartan absorption rate by inhibiting the activity of P-gp and decrease its metabolic stability by inhibiting the activity of CYP450 enzyme. 4. These results indicated that the herb-drug interaction between quercetin and losartan might occur when they are co-administered in rats, quercetin could increase the systemic exposure of losartan and decrease the plasma concentration of EXP3174, possibly by inhibiting the activity of P-gp or CYP450 enzyme.

The association between peer network centrality and aggression is moderated by moral disengagement.

There is very little research on the dynamics of peer groups in schools and aggressive behavior among Chinese youth. In the present study, we investigated the link between pure indegree centrality and aggression (i.e., overt and relational aggression), and examined moderating effects of moral disengagement on this association, among Chinese adolescents in classes with different percentage of aggressors. Participants were 589 sophomore students (446 boys, 75.72% of sample; Mage = 15.98, SD = 0.64) from 16 classes in one vocational secondary school. The results showed that the effects for overt and relational aggression were moderated by the proportion of aggressors within classes and moral disengagement. For students in classes with a higher density of aggressors, there was a strong positive association between pure indegree centrality and overt aggression (but not relational aggression) for those students with higher moral disengagement. Conversely, in classes with fewer aggressive students, the covariation between centrality and both overt and relational aggression was negative for students with higher moral disengagement. These findings are consistent with an ecological perspective on the development of aggression, which shows that aggregating aggressive students in school classes may strengthen the associations between peer dynamics, moral disengagement, and aggressive behavior.

In vitro inhibitory effects of Friedelin on human liver cytochrome P450 enzymes.

CONTEXT: Friedelin is a triterpenoid with several biological activities. However, the affects of Friedelin on the activity of human liver cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the inhibitory effects of Friedelin on the major human liver CYP isoforms (CYP3A4, 1A2, 2A6, 2E1, 2D6, 2C9, 2C19 and 2C8). MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, the inhibitory effects of Friedelin (100 µM) on the eight human liver CYP isoforms were investigated in vitro using human liver microsomes (HLMs), and then enzyme inhibition, kinetic studies, and time-dependent inhibition studies were conducted to investigate the IC50, Ki and Kinact/KI values of Friedelin. RESULTS: The results indicate that Friedelin inhibited the activity of CYP3A4 and 2E1, with the IC50 values of 10.79 and 22.54 µM, respectively, but other CYP isoforms were not affected. Enzyme kinetic studies showed that Friedelin is not only a noncompetitive inhibitor of CYP3A4, but also a competitive inhibitor of CYP2E1, with Ki values of 6.16 and 18.02 µM, respectively. In addition, Friedelin is a time-dependent inhibitor of CYP3A4 with Kinact/Ki value of 4.84 nM/min. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The in vitro studies of Friedelin with CYP isoforms suggested that Friedelin has the potential to cause pharmacokinetic drug interactions with other co-administered drugs metabolized by CYP3A4 and 2E1. Further clinical studies are needed to evaluate the significance of this interaction.

Antibacterial Activity and Action Mechanism of Bacteriocin Paracin wx7 as a Selective Biopreservative against Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis in Fresh-Cut Lettuce.

Fresh-cut vegetables are widely consumed, but there is no food preservative available to selectively inhibit vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis, which is a serious health menace in fresh-cut vegetables. To develop a promising food biopreservative, a bacteriocin, paracin wx7, was synthesized, showing selective inhibition against E. faecalis with MIC values of 4-8 µM. It showed instant bactericidal mode within 1 h at high concentrations with concomitant cell lysis against vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis. Its lethal effect was visualized in a dose-dependent manner by PI/SYTO9 staining observation. The results of an in vivo control experiment carried out on E. faecalis in fresh-cut lettuce showed that 99.97% of vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis were dead after 64 µM paracin wx7 treatment for 7 days without influencing total bacteria. Further, the action mechanism of paracin wx7 was investigated. Confocal microscopy showed that paracin wx7 was located both on the cell envelope and in cytoplasm. For the cell envelope, the studies of membrane permeability using SYTOX Green dyeing and DNA leakage revealed that paracin wx7 damaged the membrane integrity of E. faecalis. Simultaneously, it exhibited membrane depolarization after analysis using DiSC3(5). Damage to the cell envelope resulted in cell deformation observed by scanning electron microscopy. On entering the cytoplasm, the paracin wx7 induced the production of endogenous reactive oxygen species.

Chemical synthesis of carbon dots with blue, green and red emission for dopamine reversible switching probes.

Carbon dots (CDs) possess the merits such as energy efficiency, green sustainability and environmental friendliness, comparing with top-down synthesis methods at higher pressure or temperature condition. Here, a variety of emission states CDs were prepared by using the method of room temperature chemistry by selecting green raw materials such as glucose, p-phthalaldehyde and m-diethylaminophenol. The luminescence mechanism was studied in detail. The luminescent center of blue emitting carbon dots (B-CDs) and green emitting carbon dots (G-CDs) is CO bond, and the increased contents of CO bond lead to the creation of new energy levels between the energy gaps of HOMO and LUMO levels, which results in the red shift of luminescence wavelength. The emission state of red emitting carbon dots (R-CDs) is due to the formation of amino N. In addition, R-CDs have an exclusive respond to dopamine (DA) and are regarded as good fluorescent probes for detecting DA. Furthermore, the addition of ascorbic acid (AA) restores the luminescence of R-CDs quenched by DA. Therefore, R-CDs has great application potential as a selective fluorescent "turn on-off" probe.

[Potential Source Identification and Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Soil of Heze Oil Peony Planting Area Based on PMF-PCA/APCS and PERI].

To study the sources and potential risks of heavy metals in soils of characteristic agricultural product producing areas is of great significance for the scientific management and safe utilization of soil and crop resources. The contents of heavy metals As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the 254 surface soil samples collected from the Heze oil peony planting area were determined. The content characteristics and correlation of heavy metals were analyzed using multivariate statistical methods. The sources of heavy metals in topsoil were analyzed using Igeo, PMF, and PCA/APCS. The ecological risks of the eight heavy metals were assessed through the potential ecological risk index (PERI). The results showed that the average contents of seven heavy metals in the soil were basically consistent with the background values of soil elements in Heze City, except that the average value of Cd was 1.44 times higher than the background value in Heze City. Correlation analysis and cluster analysis revealed that Pb, Hg, and Cd elements in the soil were greatly affected by human activities in the later period. The sources of eight heavy metals in the study area were natural sources, agricultural fertilizer sources, industrial coal sources, and domestic transportation sources, with the contribution rates of 81.31%, 15.45%, 2.74%, and 0.50%, respectively; 84.25% of the sites in the study area were at slight ecological risk, whereas the moderate risk and strong risk sites accounted for 14.96% and 0.79%, respectively. Among them, Cd and Hg were the dominant elements of ecological risk in the study area.

Victimized adolescents' aggression in cliques with different victimization norms: The healthy context paradox or the peer contagion hypothesis?

Bullying victimization has been linked to an elevated risk of both internalizing and externalizing problems, yet the mechanisms underlying these associations, especially from the perspective of naturally occurring informal cliques, are not well understood. Based on two contrasting hypotheses from the healthy context paradox and the peer contagion hypothesis, the current 2-year longitudinal study (a) investigated the interaction effects of individual victimization (i.e., physical, verbal, and relational forms) and clique victimization norms on their reactive-proactive aggression and (b) examined whether they were distinct to these effects on depressive symptoms. Both self-reported and peer-nominated surveys were administrated to 691 junior high school students (55.6% boys; Mage = 12.74, SD = 0.43 years) who were identified from 153 cliques (Msize = 5.08, SD = 1.89) using a social cognitive map, at two time points 2 years apart. Multilevel modeling indicated that both physical and relational victims (except verbal victims) at baseline committed more reactive forms of aggression (not proactive forms) in cliques with lower victimization norms 2 years later. Similarly, physical victims in lower-victimization cliques reported more depressive symptoms 2 years later. Additionally, these significant results were found in self-reported forms of victimization, but not peer-nominated forms. These findings confirm the healthy context paradox in both individual internalizing and externalizing problems in clique contexts, and elaborate this paradox on different forms of victimization, which provide a more nuanced understanding and have important implications in the field of anti-bullying interventions.

Victims Become Covert Aggressors: Gender Differences in the Mediating Effects of Rumination on Anger and Sadness.

This longitudinal study examined the link between peer victimization and relational aggression by testing the mediating roles of sadness and anger rumination, with attention to gender differences, among Chinese adolescents. Survey measures were administrated to 2,152 junior middle school students at two time points, one year apart. The results found that self-reported peer victimization (but not peer-nominated victimization) positively predicted relational aggression one year later, and this link was completely mediated by sadness and anger rumination. Specifically, perceived peer victimization exerted a positive influence on both sadness and anger rumination, thereby increasing adolescents' tendency to exhibit relational aggression one year later. Furthermore, victimized boys' elevated relational aggression was predominantly accounted for by their high sadness rumination, whereas victimized girls' elevated relational aggression was mainly due to their great anger rumination. Such a gender-difference suggests that interventions to reduce adolescents' externalizing problems may be most effective when tailored to each gender specifically.

Applying Control-Value Theory and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to Explore Pre-service Teachers' Academic Emotions and Learning Satisfaction.

Academic emotions refer to the emotions related to achievement activities or outcomes. Academic emotions are directly related to learning performance and have been recognized as critical to learners' learning satisfaction and learning effectiveness in the online learning context. This study aimed to explore the relationship between academic emotions and learning satisfaction and their underlying mechanisms in massive open online courses (MOOCs) learning context using mediation models. This study adhered to the theoretical frameworks of the control-value theory (CVT) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Participants were 283 pre-service teachers who volunteered from a normal university in Southwestern China. Results revealed that: (a) academic emotions did not predict learning satisfaction; (b) learning interest and technology acceptance fully mediated the influence of academic emotions on learning satisfaction; (c) the four dimensions of technology acceptance did not mediate the relationship between academic emotions and learning satisfaction. This study integrated CVT and UTAUT models, and the results emphasized the importance of academic emotions and learning satisfaction in CVT and provision of additional support for UTAUT. Therefore, these findings have significant implications for improving the quality of MOOCs in the post-pandemic era.

Effects of sowing modes on soil water dynamics and grain protein formation in dryland wheat.

In order to clarify the mechanisms underlying dryland wheat quality improvement through sowing technology, the effects of wide space sowing (WSS), furrow sowing (FS), and drill sowing (DS) on soil moisture dynamics and grain protein formation in dryland wheat field were studied in Wenxi, Shanxi Province in 2017-2018 (normal year) and 2018-2019 (dry year). The results showed that compared with the DS, FS significantly increased soil water storage in the 0-200 cm depth at anthesis stage (8.2%-18.7%), and increased the soil water storage in 0-60 cm layer during the two years, 60-120 cm layer in normal year, and 120-200 cm layer in dry year. WSS significantly increased soil water storage in 0-200 cm layer at anthesis stage in normal year (5.2%). Compared with DS, FS significantly increased water consumption of anthesis to mature stage, while WSS significantly increased water consumption from sowing to anthesis stage in dry year. Compared with DS, the glutamine synthetase (GS) activity of grains at 15-35 days after anthesis was significantly increased by FS and WSS, while the glutamate synthase (GOGAT) activity of flag leaves and grains at 5-35 days after anthesis was significantly increased by FS in the dry year. Compared with DS, FS significantly increased grain yield by 20.4%-44.8%, grain protein yield by 25%-49%, and increased grain albumin and globulin contents. WSS significantly increased grain yield by 9%-40%, and increased grain gliadin content. Under different sowing modes of dryland wheat, GS and GOGAT activities in flag leaves and grains after anthesis were significantly correlated with water consumption at anthesis to maturity stage. There were significant correlations between GS and GOGAT activities in flag leaves and grains and 0-120 cm soil layers in the normal water year, and between GS and GOGAT activities and 0-60 cm, 120-200 cm soil layers in the dry year. The contents of grain albumin, globulin and total protein were significantly correlated with soil water storage in 0-60 cm layer at anthesis stage, as well as soil water storage in 120-200 cm layer at anthesis stage in the dry year. In conclusion, FS was beneficial to increasing soil water storage at anthesis and water consumption after anthesis of dryland wheat, improving GS and GOGAT activities of flag leaf and grain, with positive consequences on yield and grain protein content. In addition, deep water storage was more conducive to quality improvement in the late growth period in the dry year.

Co9S8 Nanosheet Coupled Cu2S Nanorod Heterostructure as Efficient Catalyst for Overall Water Splitting.

Electrocatalytic water splitting is a promising technology for large-scale hydrogen production. However, it requires efficient catalysts to overcome the large overpotentials in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report a novel heterostructure catalyst Co9S8/Cu2S on copper foam (Co9S8/Cu2S/CF) with multistep impregnation and electrodeposition. Due to the strong interfacial interaction, the interfacial electrons transfer from Co sites to S sites, which promote the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates, water molecules, as well as the dissociation of water molecules. Therefore, the heterostructure catalyst exhibits low overpotentials of 195 mV for OER and 165 mV for HER at 10 mA cm-2, respectively. Moreover, it only needs 1.6 V to realize water splitting at 10 mA cm-2 in a two-electrode cell. This work provides an efficient method to tailor the surface electronic structure through specific morphological design and construct a heterostructure interface to achieve alkaline water splitting.