The Effect of Face-Voice Gender Consistency on Impression Evaluation.

Face and voice are important information cues of interpersonal interaction. Most previous studies have investigated the cross-modal perception of face and voice from the perspective of cognitive psychology, but few empirical studies have focused on the effect of gender consistency of face and voice on the impression evaluation of the target from the perspective of social cognition. Based on the two-stage model of stereotype activation and the stereotype content model, this research examined the effects of face-voice gender consistency on impression evaluation (gender categorization and warmth competence evaluation) by using a cross-modal priming paradigm (Study 1, 20 males and 23 females, Mage = 21.00, SDage = 2.59), a sequential presentation task (Study 2a, 57 males and 70 females, Mage = 18.54, SDage = 1.54; Study 2b, 52 males and 51 females, Mage = 18.54, SDage = 1.36), and a simultaneous presentation task (Study 3, 51 males and 55 females, Mage = 23.58, SDage = 3.20), respectively. The results showed that: (1) there was a face-voice gender consistency preference in gender categorization, and the response of face-voice consistent condition was faster than that of inconsistent condition; (2) compared with the face-voice gender-inconsistent individuals, the participants showed a higher and more stable evaluation of the warmth and competence of the gender-consistent individuals, indicating the effect of matching preference of the face-voice gender consistency on the impression evaluation; (3) people paid more attention to the gender information of faces in the impression evaluation, and the female face could improve people's evaluation on the target's warmth and competence; (4) males were more intolerant of face-voice gender inconsistency when presented sequentially; the "voice needs to match face" effect was stronger for females when presented simultaneously. These findings, on the one hand, enrich and expand previous theories and research on cross-modal processing of face and voice from the perspective of social cognitive impression evaluation; on the other hand, these findings have important practical implications for impression management and decision-making in social interaction.

Social essentialism in the United States and China: How social and cognitive factors predict within- and cross-cultural variation in essentialist thinking.

People intuitively view some social groups (such as Black people, Muslims, and women) as having biological underpinnings and discrete boundaries. Essentialist beliefs about social groups shape how people view themselves and others, leading to a number of negative social consequences. Whereas previous research has demonstrated variations in social essentialism within some Western societies, less is known about how social essentialism manifests in East Asian cultures that have well-documented differences in social values and cognitive styles from Western cultures. The current research investigated cultural variations in social essentialist thinking in the United States and China to reveal how cultural ideologies and social belief systems shape people's basic representations of the social world. Analyses revealed several cultural and social correlates of social essentialism both between and within the cultures and demonstrated the mediating role of collectivistic values in predicting cultural differences in essentialist beliefs about group coherence.

Effect of attribution on the emotions and behavioral intentions of third-party observers toward intergroup discriminators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 has caused intergroup discrimination associated with the disease to become increasingly prominent. Research demonstrates that the attitudes and behaviors of third-party observers significantly impact the progression of discrimination incidents. This study tested a parallel mediating model in which the attribution tendencies of observers influence their behavioral intentions through the mediating effect of the emotions of anger and contempt. The first two studies confirmed the proposed model with discrimination incidents reported against "returnees from Wuhan" and "returning workers from Hubei." Study 3 further manipulated the attribution tendencies of observers, providing empirical evidence for the causality from attribution tendencies to emotions, confirming the validity of the model. These findings enrich the cognitive (attribution)-emotion-action model, further enhancing our understanding of the role of third parties in intergroup conflicts, with implications for the management of people's emotions and behaviors in social crises.

Culture influences the development of children's gender-related peer preferences: Evidence from China and Thailand.

Current understanding of how culture relates to the development of children's gender-related peer preferences is limited. To investigate the role of societal acceptance of gender nonconformity, this study compared children from China and Thailand. Unlike China and other cultures where the conceptualization of gender as binary is broadly accepted, individuals who identify as a nonbinary "third" sex/gender have been highly visible and tolerated in Thai society for at least several decades. Chinese and Thai 4- to 9-year-olds (N = 458) viewed vignettes of four hypothetical peers who varied on gender (i.e., boy vs. girl) and gender-typed toy play behavior (i.e., masculine vs. feminine), and were asked to give a friendship preference rating for each peer. Chinese, compared with Thai, children evidenced gender-related peer preferences that emerged earlier, remained more stable across age groups, and were relatively more biased against gender-nonconforming behavior. The only cultural similarity was in children's preference for peers who were of the same gender and/or displayed same-gender-typed behavior. Thus, while preference for peers who are of the same gender and/or display same-gender-typed behavior is common among children across cultures, the developmental onset and course of these preferences vary by culture. Moreover, societal acceptance of gender nonconformity might be key to limiting children's bias against gender-nonconforming peers.

Discovery of a Nur77-mediated cytoplasmic vacuolation and paraptosis inducer (4-PQBH) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Nur77, an orphan nuclear receptor, has antitumor activity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its antitumor mechanisms of action in HCC are complicated and rarely reported. Our recent work demonstrated that certain quinoline-Schiff-base derivatives were good Nur77 mediators that exerted excellent anti-HCC activities in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, these compounds shared similar chemical structures, but they displayed different Nur77-targeted anticancer mechanisms of action. As a continuous work, we synthesized a series of 4-(quinoline-4-amino) benzoylhydrazide derivatives and evaluated their anti-HCC activity and binding affinity to Nur77 in vitro. Compound 4-PQBH emerged as the best Nur77 binder (KD = 1.17 µM) and has potentially selective cytotoxicity to HCC cells. Mechanistically, 4-PQBH extensively induced caspase-independent cytoplasmic vacuolization and paraptosis through Nur77-mediated ER stress and autophagy. Moreover, 4-PQBH exhibited an effective xenograft tumor inhibition by modulating Nur77-dependent cytoplasmic vacuolation and paraptosis. This paper is the first to disclose that chemotherapeutic agents targeting Nur77-mediated cytoplasmic vacuolization and paraptosis may provide a promising strategy to combat HCC that frequently evade the apoptosis program.

Dominance or Integration? Influence of Sexual Dimorphism and Clothing Color on Judgments of Male and Female Targets' Attractiveness, Warmth, and Competence.

The face is an important source of information in social interactions. Prior studies exploring the mechanism of face perception were consistent with either dominance or integration theory. Studies have shown that both sexually dimorphic features and background cues play essential roles in the formation of impressions and the perception of facial attractiveness. In this study, we conducted two experiments to examine 539 participants' appraisal of attractiveness, warmth, and competence of the target faces of masculine and feminine men and women dressed in red, blue, or white. The results showed that: (1) feminized male/female faces were considered to have a higher degree of attractiveness, warmth, and competence, (2) people rated feminine faces wearing red higher in terms of attractiveness perception, while there was no significant effect of red on attractiveness perception of masculine faces, (3) when evaluating the warmth of targets, the promotion effect of red was found for feminine faces but not for masculine faces. This study, conducted in a pathogen disgust environment, provides direct evidence to support the integration theory over the dominance theory. Feminized red preference found in this study matches Chinese collectivism and the red cultural heritage, which has an important value for people's daily impression management and consumption decisions.

Influence of smartphone use motives on smartphone addiction during the COVID-19 epidemic in China: the moderating effect of age.

With the development of science and technology, the phenomenon of smartphone addiction has become very common. However, smartphone addiction has adverse consequences. To date, few studies have examined psychological crises and smartphone use motives during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic according to age. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the influences of different types of smartphone use motives on smartphone addiction and explore the moderating effect of age on adolescents and adults. A total of 1346 participants (600 adults and 746 adolescents) completed questionnaires on their motives for smartphone use and smartphone addiction. Results indicated significant positive correlations between smartphone use motives and smartphone addiction. In the moderation model, mood regulation, social relations, pastime, and conformity significantly and directly predicted smartphone addiction; however, perceived enjoyment did not. Age played a moderating role in the prediction of smartphone addiction. Teenagers and adults have different motives for smartphone use, and different motives have different effects on adolescents and adults. Adolescents have higher coping motivation and conformity motivation than adults, and for adolescents, perceived pleasure motivation has a significant impact on smartphone addiction. For adults, perceived pleasure and social relationship motivation have a significant impact on smartphone addiction. Therefore, interventions for smartphone addiction can be developed by investigating the motives of use among different people, and age should be considered when developing interventions for smartphone addiction.

Non-Pregnant and Pregnant Women's Femininity Preferences in Male Faces: Tests Based on Within- and Between-Sex Sexual Dimorphism Facial Manipulations.

Past research on women's preferences for male facial masculinity in Western cultures has produced inconsistent results. Some inconsistency may be related to the use of different facial stimulus manipulations (e.g., between-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation or within-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation) that do not perfectly avoid non-facial cues, and pregnancy status may also influence women's face preferences. We therefore recruited pregnant and nonpregnant Chinese women and manipulated the sexual dimorphism of male facial stimuli to explore the influences of manipulation methods, non-facial cues, and pregnancy status on face preferences. Results showed that: (1) in contrast with a general masculinity preference observed in Western cultures, both pregnant and nonpregnant Chinese women preferred feminized and neutral male faces generally; (2) pregnant women's preference for feminized male faces was stable across manipulation methods, while nonpregnant women preferred feminized male faces except under between-sex sexual dimorphism manipulation; and (3) manipulation methods, rather than non-facial cues, influenced participants' face preferences. Specifically, women showed the strongest preferences for femininity when face stimuli were manipulated by within-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation, followed by unmanipulated faces and between-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation. This effect was stronger for nonpregnant women in the unmanipulated condition and for pregnant women in the between-sex sexual dimorphic facial manipulation. This research provides empirical evidence of women's preferences for sexual dimorphism in male faces in a non-Western culture, as well as the effects of facial manipulation methods, pregnancy status, and the interactions between these factors.

The relationship of perceived social support to feelings of hopelessness under COVID-19 pandemic: The effects of epidemic risk and meaning in life.

Lockdown orders were issued on January 23, 2020 in Wuhan, China, for the purpose of preventing and controlling COVID-19, which led to severe psychological problems for residents. The present study aimed to investigate the recovery model of hopelessness through interpersonal pathways during the COVID-19 epidemic. An online survey was conducted in 34 provinces (those in autonomous regions and municipalities) of China. This survey investigated residents' hopelessness and the impact of three factors on it, including their perceived social support, meaning in life, and epidemic risk levels. Results showed that both perceived social support and meaning in life negatively predicted hopelessness, while meaning in life played a partial mediating role between perceived social support and hopelessness. Further, epidemic risk level played a moderating role between perceived social support and meaning in life, indicating a "marginal zone effect." Specifically, when comparing other province, perceived social support showed a stronger positive relationship with meaning in life among residents living in other regions of Hubei province. In sum, this study extends the recovery model of hopelessness through interpersonal pathways, and has important implications for public health emergency management.

Oridonin prevents insulin resistance-mediated cognitive disorder through PTEN/Akt pathway and autophagy in minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) was characterized for cognitive dysfunction. Insulin resistance (IR) has been identified to be correlated with the pathogenesis of MHE. Oridonin (Ori) is an active terpenoid, which has been reported to rescue synaptic loss and restore insulin sensitivity. In this study, we found that intraperitoneal injection of Ori rescued IR, reduced the autophagosome formation and synaptic loss and improved cognitive dysfunction in MHE rats. Moreover, in insulin-resistant PC12 cells and N2a cells, we found that Ori blocked IR-induced synaptic deficits via the down-regulation of PTEN, the phosphorylation of Akt and the inhibition of autophagy. Taken together, these results suggested that Ori displays therapeutic efficacy towards memory deficits via improvement of IR in MHE and represents a novel bioactive therapeutic agent for treating MHE.

The (Continuous) Nature of Perceived Gender Counter-Stereotype: A Threshold Model of Gender Stereotype Maintenance.

People often expect men and women to look, act, and think like typical members of their gender groups. When men and women deviate from gender-stereotypical expectations across various domains, people tend to denigrate them, compared to those who follow stereotypical expectations. This derogatory attitude-termed the backlash effect-has been well supported by psychological research. However, previous studies on the backlash effect have often neglected the fact that men and women can be counter-stereotypical of their gender groups, to varying degrees. This research tried to address this continuous nature of counter-stereotypical characteristics in various domains using six experiments to evaluate individual responses to gendered facial cues, behaviors, and psychological traits. We conducted three studies, with two experiments per study. Most importantly, this research proposed a threshold model of gender stereotype maintenance to explain people's evaluations of gender-counter-stereotypical targets across various domains. The threshold model suggested that appraisal for a target with balanced gender-stereotypical and gender-counter-stereotypical characteristics tends to be more positive than for a target who strictly adheres to gender stereotypes or gender-counter-stereotypical characteristics. The results of all three studies supported the threshold model, which demonstrated a curvilinear pattern of participants' appraisals and targets' gender-counter-stereotypical degrees. The threshold model of stereotype maintenance has enriched the traditional stereotype maintenance theory and enlightened the development of a more effective impression management strategy. Moreover, it provided more ecological validity that treated gender counter-stereotype as a continuum rather than a binary variable.

Vibrational coupling in plasmonic molecules.

Plasmon hybridization theory, inspired by molecular orbital theory, has been extremely successful in describing the near-field coupling in clusters of plasmonic nanoparticles, also known as plasmonic molecules. However, the vibrational modes of plasmonic molecules have been virtually unexplored. By designing precisely configured plasmonic molecules of varying complexity and probing them at the individual plasmonic molecule level, intramolecular coupling of acoustic modes, mediated by the underlying substrate, is observed. The strength of this coupling can be manipulated through the configuration of the plasmonic molecules. Surprisingly, classical continuum elastic theory fails to account for the experimental trends, which are well described by a simple coupled oscillator picture that assumes the vibrational coupling is mediated by coherent phonons with low energies. These findings provide a route to the systematic optical control of the gigahertz response of metallic nanostructures, opening the door to new optomechanical device strategies.

[Effect of Biofeedback Combined with Task-oriented Training on Hand Function, Gesell Scale Score and Balance Ability in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of biofeedback combined with task-oriented training on hand function, Gesell's infant development scale score (Gesell) and balance ability in children with spastic cerebral palsy (SCP). METHODS: 66 children with SCP admitted to our hospital from January 2016 to June 2018 were randomly divided into the control group and the observation group. The control group ( n=33) received conventional rehabilitation treatment, and the observation group ( n=33) received biofeedback combined with task-oriented training based on the treatment of control group. After 6-month treatment, Modified Ashworth scale (MAS) score, Berg balance scale (BBS) score, standing and walking function score in gross motor function scale (GMFM), assisting hand assessment scales (AHA) score, Gesell scale score and satisfaction of the children's parents were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The MAS score after treatment was lower than that before treatment in both two groups ( P<0.05), and the BBS score after treatment was higher than that before treatment in both two groups ( P<0.05). After treatment, the MAS score in the observation group was lower than the control group, and the BBS score in the observation group was higher than the control group ( P<0.05). The scores of standing and walking function after treatment were higher than that before treatment in both two groups ( P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of standing and walking function in the observation group were higher than the control group ( P<0.05). The AHA score and Gesell developmental quotient (DQ) score after treatment were higher than that before treatment in both two groups ( P<0.05). After the treatment, the AHA score and Gesell DQ score in the observation group were higher than the control group ( P<0.05). The satisfaction rate of rehabilitation treatment in the observation group was higher than the control group (90.91% vs. 60.61%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Biofeedback combined with task-oriented training can improve balance ability, spasm relieve, hand function, development level, standing and walking function in the children with spastic cerebral palsy and increase the treatment satisfaction degree of children's guardians.

Sex Differences in Mate Retention and Mate Quality Enhancement: The Effect of Facial Sexual Dimorphism Cues on Willingness to Introduce a New Friend to One's Partner.

Building on previous studies, we investigated the influence of sexual dimorphism cues on mate retention and mate quality enhancement behaviors. A total of 233 participants were presented with facial photographs with varying sexual dimorphism cues that were generated using computer graphic techniques and were asked to rate their behavior tendencies associated with mate retention and quality enhancement. The results showed that (1) female participants utilized mate retention tactics as a function of the sexual dimorphism cues of targets, whereas male participants showed an overall stronger and indiscriminate tendency for mate retention; (2) female participants rated masculine men as more competent and more generally attractive and tended to introduce them to their own partner, a pattern that was consistent with mate quality enhancement strategies, whereas male participants did not exhibit comparable behaviors. Taken together, these results suggest that masculine and feminine facial cues are important, albeit subtle, to one's reproductive value and are closely associated with mate retention and quality enhancement strategies. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.

Polycrystallinity of Lithographically Fabricated Plasmonic Nanostructures Dominates Their Acoustic Vibrational Damping.

The study of acoustic vibrations in nanoparticles provides unique and unparalleled insight into their mechanical properties. Electron-beam lithography of nanostructures allows precise manipulation of their acoustic vibration frequencies through control of nanoscale morphology. However, the dissipation of acoustic vibrations in this important class of nanostructures has not yet been examined. Here we report, using single-particle ultrafast transient extinction spectroscopy, the intrinsic damping dynamics in lithographically fabricated plasmonic nanostructures. We find that in stark contrast to chemically synthesized, monocrystalline nanoparticles, acoustic energy dissipation in lithographically fabricated nanostructures is solely dominated by intrinsic damping. A quality factor of Q = 11.3 ± 2.5 is observed for all 147 nanostructures, regardless of size, geometry, frequency, surface adhesion, and mode. This result indicates that the complex Young's modulus of this material is independent of frequency with its imaginary component being approximately 11 times smaller than its real part. Substrate-mediated acoustic vibration damping is strongly suppressed, despite strong binding between the glass substrate and Au nanostructures. We anticipate that these results, characterizing the optomechanical properties of lithographically fabricated metal nanostructures, will help inform their design for applications such as photoacoustic imaging agents, high-frequency resonators, and ultrafast optical switches.

Optomechanics of Single Aluminum Nanodisks.

Aluminum nanostructures support tunable surface plasmon resonances and have become an alternative to gold nanoparticles. Whereas gold is the most-studied plasmonic material, aluminum has the advantage of high earth abundance and hence low cost. In addition to understanding the size and shape tunability of the plasmon resonance, the fundamental relaxation processes in aluminum nanostructures after photoexcitation must be understood to take full advantage of applications such as photocatalysis and photodetection. In this work, we investigate the relaxation following ultrafast pulsed excitation and the launching of acoustic vibrations in individual aluminum nanodisks, using single-particle transient extinction spectroscopy. We find that the transient extinction signal can be assigned to a thermal relaxation of the photoexcited electrons and phonons. The ultrafast heating-induced launching of in-plane acoustic vibrations reveals moderate binding to the glass substrate and is affected by the native aluminum oxide layer. Finally, we compare the behavior of aluminum nanodisks to that of similarly prepared and sized gold nanodisks.

Absorption Spectroscopy of an Individual Fano Cluster.

Plasmonic clusters can exhibit Fano resonances with unique and tunable asymmetric line shapes, which arise due to the coupling of bright and dark plasmon modes within each multiparticle structure. These structures are capable of generating remarkably large local electromagnetic field enhancements and should give rise to high hot carrier yields relative to other plasmonic nanostructures. While the scattering properties of individual plasmonic Fano resonances have been characterized extensively both experimentally and theoretically, their absorption properties, critical for hot carrier generation, have not yet been measured. Here, we utilize single-particle absorption spectroscopy based on photothermal imaging to distinguish between the radiative and nonradiative properties of an individual Fano cluster. In observing the absorption spectrum of individual Fano clusters, we directly verify the theoretical prediction that while Fano interference may be prominent in scattering, it is completely absent in absorption. Our results provide microscopic insight into the nature of Fano interference in systems of coupled plasmonic nanoparticles and should pave the way for the optimization of hot carrier production using plasmonic Fano clusters.

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: Method Effects, Factorial Structure and Scale Invariance Across Migrant Child and Urban Child Populations in China.

Using confirmatory factor analyses, this study examined the method effects on a Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965 ) in a sample of migrant and urban children in China. In all, 982 children completed the RSES, and 9 models and 9 corresponding variants were specified and tested. The results indicated that the method effects are associated with both positively and negatively worded items and that Item 8 should be treated as a positively worded item. Additionally, the method effects models were invariant across migrant and urban children in China.

Coherent Fano resonances in a plasmonic nanocluster enhance optical four-wave mixing.

Plasmonic nanoclusters, an ordered assembly of coupled metallic nanoparticles, support unique spectral features known as Fano resonances due to the coupling between their subradiant and superradiant plasmon modes. Within the Fano resonance, absorption is significantly enhanced, giving rise to highly localized, intense near fields with the potential to enhance nonlinear optical processes. Here, we report a structure supporting the coherent oscillation of two distinct Fano resonances within an individual plasmonic nanocluster. We show how this coherence enhances the optical four-wave mixing process in comparison with other double-resonant plasmonic clusters that lack this property. A model that explains the observed four-wave mixing features is proposed, which is generally applicable to any third-order process in plasmonic nanostructures. With a larger effective susceptibility χ(3) relative to existing nonlinear optical materials, this coherent double-resonant nanocluster offers a strategy for designing high-performance third-order nonlinear optical media.

Optoelectronic memory using two-dimensional materials.

An atomically thin optoelectronic memory array for image sensing is demonstrated with layered CuIn7Se11 and extended to InSe and MoS2 atomic layers. Photogenerated charge carriers are trapped and subsequently retrieved from the potential well formed by gating a 2D material with Schottky barriers. The atomically thin layered optoelectronic memory can accumulate photon-generated charges during light exposure, and the charges can be read out later for data processing and permanent storage. An array of atomically thin image memory pixels was built to illustrate the potential of fabricating large-scale 2D material-based image sensors for image capture and storage.