Sphingomonas lycopersici sp. nov., isolated from tomato rhizosphere soil.

Two aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-motile and non-spore-forming rods bacterial strains, designated MMSM20T and MMSM24, were isolated from tomato rhizosphere soil and could produce indole-3-acetic acid and siderophore. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and 92 core genes showed that strains MMSM20T and MMSM24 belonged to the genus Sphingomonas and were most closely related to three validly published species Sphingomonas jeddahensis G39T, Sphingomonas mucosissima DSM 17494T and Sphingomonas dokdonensis DSM 21029T. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between strains MMSM20T and MMSM24 were 97.6 and 81.0 %, respectively, demonstrating that they were conspecific. The ANI and dDDH values between the two strains and the three type strains above were below the threshold values for species delimitation. The genomic DNA G+C contents of strains MMSM20T and MMSM24 were 66.6 and 66.4 mol%, respectively. The major fatty acids of the two strains were identified as C14 : 0 2OH, summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c); the predominant quinone was ubiquinone 10; the polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, sphingoglycolipid and unidentified lipids. Results of phenotypic and genotypic analyses supported that strains MMSM20T and MMSM24 represent a novel species of the genus Sphingomonas, for which the name Sphingomonas lycopersici sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MMSM20T (=GDMCC 1.3401T=JCM 35647T).

Bacillus velezensis RC116 Inhibits the Pathogens of Bacterial Wilt and Fusarium Wilt in Tomato with Multiple Biocontrol Traits.

Soil-borne plant diseases seriously threaten the tomato industry worldwide. Currently, eco-friendly biocontrol strategies have been increasingly considered as effective approaches to control the incidence of disease. In this study, we identified bacteria that could be used as biocontrol agents to mitigate the growth and spread of the pathogens causing economically significant diseases of tomato plants, such as tomato bacterial wilt and tomato Fusarium wilt. Specifically, we isolated a strain of Bacillus velezensis (RC116) from tomato rhizosphere soil in Guangdong Province, China, with high biocontrol potential and confirmed its identity using both morphological and molecular approaches. RC116 not only produced protease, amylase, lipase, and siderophores but also secreted indoleacetic acid, and dissolved organophosphorus in vivo. Moreover, 12 Bacillus biocontrol maker genes associated with antibiotics biosynthesis could be amplified in the RC116 genome. Extracellular secreted proteins of RC116 also exhibited strong lytic activity against Ralstonia solanacearum and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici. Pot experiments showed that the biocontrol efficacy of RC116 against tomato bacteria wilt was 81%, and consequently, RC116 significantly promoted the growth of tomato plantlets. Based on these multiple biocontrol traits, RC116 is expected to be developed into a broad-spectrum biocontrol agent. Although several previous studies have examined the utility of B. velezensis for the control of fungal diseases, few studies to date have evaluated the utility of B. velezensis for the control of bacterial diseases. Our study fills this research gap. Collectively, our findings provide new insights that will aid the control of soil-borne diseases, as well as future studies of B. velezensis strains.

Forensic Application of ForenSeqTM DNA Signature Prep Kit in Zhengjiang She Ethnic Group.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the ability of the ForenSeqTM DNA Signature Prep kit (ForenSeq kit) in analyzing the sequence information of STRs in Zhejiang She ethnic group and its forensic application efficacy. METHODS: A total of 50 Zhejiang She ethnic group samples were sequenced with the ForenSeq kit on the MiSeq FGx platform. The data was analyzed using ForenSeqTM universal analysis software to obtain the motif structure and flank regions of the 58 STRs, then compared with PCR-CE typing results to test the consistency. At last, the allele frequency and population genetic parameters were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 448 sequence polymorphic alleles were detected in 50 samples of Zhejiang She ethnic group. Compared with fragment length polymorphism detected by PCR-CE, 82 alleles were increased by MPS detection based on ForenSeq kit, and 7 SNPs variation were detected in the flanking regions of 6 loci. The 22 male individuals were genotyped, and total 19 haplotypes were detected in 24 Y chromosome STRs of these 22 males. The cumulative discrimination power of the 27 autosomal STRs was 1-8.87×10-30, the cumulative probability of exclusion of duo-testing was 0.999 999 962 640 657, the cumulative probability of exclusion of trios-testing was 0.999 999 999 999 633. CONCLUSIONS: Based on MPS typing technology, using the ForenSeq kit greatly improves the detection efficiency. In addition, the 58 STRs have good genetic polymorphisms in Zhejiang She ethnic group, which are suitable for individual identification and paternity identification in forensic application.

Profiles of teachers' emotional labour during COVID-19 and the consequences on mental health: A comparison between online and offline teaching.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing attention on emotional labor in teacher well-being research, person-centered studies are relatively scarce, particularly concerning the emotional labor of online teaching during COVID-19 and its effects on teachers' non-work-related mental health. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to address these gaps by examining emotional labor profiles and their consequences on job satisfaction, depression, and anxiety among Chinese teachers involved in either online or offline teaching during October-December 2022. METHODS: Two samples of teachers were analyzed altogether: one engaged in online teaching (N=605) and the other in offline teaching (N=394). Latent profile analysis was used to identify emotional labor profiles based on three strategies: surface acting, deep acting, and expression of naturally felt emotions. RESULTS: A total of four subgroups of emotional workers were identified: natural expressors, actors, flexible regulators, and authentic regulators. Significant differences were found between online and offline teaching, with a higher proportion of actors and fewer flexible regulators in the online condition, suggesting that the screen acts as a barrier to authentic emotional display. Among the four classes, actors scored lowest on job satisfaction and highest on depression and anxiety, whereas authentic regulators were the most adaptive, especially in online settings. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the impact of online teaching on teachers' emotional labor profiles and mental health, with practical implications for optimizing online teaching environments and supporting teacher well-being.

Scientific epistemology beliefs and acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine: A multigroup analysis based on the UTAUT model in Southern China.

Purpose: This study for the first time delves into the intricate relationship between scientific literacy and the acceptance of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by employing a multigroup path analysis based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. We adopted Scientific Epistemology Belief (SEB) as an indicator for measuring scientific literacy due to its comprehensive reflection of individuals' understanding of scientific knowledge and knowing. In assessing TCM acceptance, we focused on Chinese parents' receptivity towards pediatric TCM, as it offers a more genuine representation of actual inclinations. Methods: A convenience sample of 1016 Chinese parents in Southern China was assessed using online Likert-scale questionnaires on SEB and UTAUT determinants (including performance expectancy, social influence, risk awareness, and facilitating conditions). A K-means cluster analysis was employed to discern distinct SEB profiles, followed by a multigroup path analysis to ascertain UTAUT model variations across these profiles. Results: Five SEB profiles were identified, namely, intermediate, absolutistic, multiplistic, sophisticated, and evidence-based. Evidence-based believers manifested the highest pediatric TCM acceptance, albeit with elements of blind faith, while multiplistic skeptics, prone to questioning everything, displayed the least acceptance. The absolutistic, intermediate, and sophisticated demonstrated moderate TCM acceptance levels, with the intermediate profile outscoring both absolutistic and sophisticated. These findings highlight that individuals with high scientific literacy do not blindly endorse TCM, nor do those with limited scientific understanding fully appreciate TCM's merits. Conclusion: SEB significantly moderates TCM acceptance factors in the UTAUT model, indicating that extremes in scientific knowledge spectrum result in less balanced TCM perspectives. Our findings pave the way for novel insights into harmonizing modern and traditional medical practices.

Significantly Enhanced Oxidation Resistance and Electrochemical Performance of Hydrothermal Ti3C2Tx MXene and Tannic Acid Composite for High-Performance Flexible Supercapacitors.

The electrochemical performances of Ti3C2Tx MXene are severely restricted by the easy oxidation and restacking. Herein, tannic acid (TA) is introduced into Ti3C2Tx dispersion, and the mixed dispersion is further subjected to a simple hydrothermal treatment to prepare the hydrothermal Ti3C2Tx and TA composite (h-Ti3C2Tx@h-TA). Due to the decomposition of TA into gallic acid (GA), hydrothermal TA (h-TA) is a mixture of TA and GA. The strong interaction between h-TA and MXene mainly involves chemical interaction between the hydroxyl groups in h-TA and the surface/edge Ti atoms, along with numerous hydrogen bonds. The h-TA intercalation weakens MXene restacking and increases interlayer spacing, thereby improving ion transport pathways and accessibility. The chemical interaction between the hydroxyl groups of GA and the Ti atoms significantly enhances oxidation resistance and pseudocapacitive active sites. Therefore, the h-Ti3C2Tx@h-TA film electrode shows significantly enhanced capacitance (848 F·g-1 at 1 A g-1) and cycling stability (100% retention after 20 000 cycles). Moreover, flexible sandwiched supercapacitors with symmetrical h-Ti3C2Tx@h-TA electrodes exhibit a high energy density of 30.1 Wh kg-1 at a high power density of 300 W kg-1, outperforming those of Ti3C2Tx-based film electrodes and sandwiched supercapacitors reported so far. The extrusion-printed microsupercapacitors with h-Ti3C2Tx@h-TA electrodes demonstrate high areal capacitance (135 mF cm-2 at 5 mV s-1) along with energy storage performance (6.74 µWh cm-2 at 506 µW cm-2) and cycling stability (98.8% retention after 41 460 cycles), all while maintaining excellent flexibility. These impressive results indicate the great application potential of the hydrothermal Ti3C2Tx MXene and tannic acid composite in flexible energy storage devices.

The increasing rate of net carbon uptake in Eurasia has been declining since the early 2000s.

The analysis of terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics, based on scarce carbon flux observations or carbon flux products simulated by reanalysis meteorological data, has great uncertainties. A more accurate understanding of carbon dynamics in Eurasia was achieved by using a carbon flux dataset (CFD) from meteorological stations with quasi-observational characteristics. The growth of net carbon uptake of ecosystems over Eurasia has been decreasing since the early 2000s. The net ecosystem productivity (NEP) increased significantly with the growth rate of 8.7 × 10-3 g C m-2d-1 yr-1 in spring, summer, and autumn (SSA) during 2003-2011 (p < 0.05), which was correlated with the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and land surface water index (LSWI). This growth was mostly in dry subhumid and humid regions. However, the change in Eurasian NEP was not significant after 2011. Additionally, about 79 % of the stations in Eurasia were in net carbon uptake in SSA, and net carbon emission stations were mainly located in southwestern Eurasia. The intensity of net carbon uptake was highest in the forest, with a mean carbon uptake of 1.73 ± 0.76 g C m-2d-1 in SSA during 2003-2018, and almost all stations demonstrated carbon uptake. During 2011-2018, the number of stations experiencing reduced NEP exceeded those with increased NEP, and this ratio was higher compared to 2003-2011, mainly due to the decrease in EVI and LSWI. The rate of NEP decline at stations with reduced NEP was 5.2 × 10-3 g C m-2d-1 yr-1 faster during 2011-2018 than in the previous period (p < 0.01). Most of the decreases in NEP during 2011-2018 occurred in cropland, grassland and urban land. The spatio-temporal dynamic analysis of Eurasian NEP could provide references for effective carbon management.

Emotional labor mediates the associations between self-consciousness and flow in dancers.

Emotional labor has been a focal point in occupational well-being literature, but studies have long overlooked an important group of emotional laborers: performers. This research represents a pioneering effort to examine dancers' adoption of emotional labor strategies, their antecedent of self-consciousness, and the outcome of flow experience. We explored these elements both in the traditional setting of stage dancing and in the novel context of online dance classes without on-site spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that dancers employed all three common emotional labor strategies: surface acting, deep acting, and expression of naturally felt emotions, with deep acting being the most frequent. In the traditional setting, only the expression of naturally felt emotions mediated the positive effect of private self-consciousness and the negative effect of public self-consciousness on flow experience. In contrast, in the online setting, only private self-consciousness impacted flow through the mediation of deep acting and expression of naturally felt emotions. This exploratory study bridges dramaturgy-originated theories of emotional labor with empirical performing arts research, preliminarily advancing knowledge in the relevant fields of dance education, self-presentation, and flow studies.

Whole-genome sequencing of a biocontrol Myxococcus xanthus R31 isolate and comparative genomic analysis.

Tomato bacterial wilt (TBW) caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the most destructive soil-borne diseases. Myxococcus xanthus R31, isolated from healthy tomato rhizosphere soil using the R. solanacearum baiting method, exhibiting good biocontrol efficacy against TBW. However, the genomic information and evolutionary features of R31 are largely unclear. Here, the high-quality genome assembly of R31 was presented. Using Nanopore sequencing technology, we assembled the 9.25 Mb complete genome of R31 and identified several extracellular enzyme proteins, including carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and peptidases. We also performed a comparative genome analysis of R31 and 17 other strains of M. xanthus with genome sequences in the NCBI database to gain insights into myxobacteria predation and genome size expansion. Average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization calculation and phylogenetic analysis indicated that R31 was closely related to the species M. xanthus. Further comparative genomics analysis suggested that, in addition to characteristics of predatory microorganisms, R31 contains many strain-specific genes, which may provide a genetic basis for its proficient predatory ability. This study provides new insights into R31 and other closely related species and facilitates studies using genetic approaches to further elucidate the predation mechanism of myxobacteria.

The Effects of Emotional Labor on Work Strain and Nonwork Strain Among Dancers: A Person-Centered Approach.

Introduction: Emotional labor is an important research area, but four key gaps remain regarding outcomes of nonwork strains, explanatory frameworks beyond the conservation of resources theory, adoption of person-centered approaches, and subjects of performers. Methods: By surveying 183 Chinese dance students, we employed cluster analysis to examine the adoption of emotional labor strategies (ie, surface acting, deep acting, and expression of naturally felt emotions) and to explore the outcomes on work strain (ie, emotional exhaustion and reduced flow experience) and nonwork strain (ie, depression and anxiety) with introducing the allostatic load theory as an analytical basis. Results: Four types of emotional workers were identified, namely, flexible regulators (33.33%), authentic regulators (15.85%), display rules compliers (39.34%), and non-regulators (11.48%). Authentic regulators had the lowest emotional exhaustion. Non-regulators had the lowest flow. No differences emerged in depression or anxiety across clusters. Discussion: Findings partially align with past research showing risks of surface acting in terms of emotional exhaustion. However, all three strategies enhanced flow states. Moreover, dancers' work strains did not extend to psychological problems, unlike other professions. Possible explanations include training in emotional regulation and flow states in performing. Practical implications exist for training emotional regulation and fostering flow at work.

Monitoring of carbon-water fluxes at Eurasian meteorological stations using random forest and remote sensing.

Simulating the carbon-water fluxes at more widely distributed meteorological stations based on the sparsely and unevenly distributed eddy covariance flux stations is needed to accurately understand the carbon-water cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. We established a new framework consisting of machine learning, determination coefficient (R2), Euclidean distance, and remote sensing (RS), to simulate the daily net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE) and water flux (WF) of the Eurasian meteorological stations using a random forest model or/and RS. The daily NEE and WF datasets with RS-based information (NEE-RS and WF-RS) for 3774 and 4427 meteorological stations during 2002-2020 were produced, respectively. And the daily NEE and WF datasets without RS-based information (NEE-WRS and WF-WRS) for 4667 and 6763 meteorological stations during 1983-2018 were generated, respectively. For each meteorological station, the carbon-water fluxes meet accuracy requirements and have quasi-observational properties. These four carbon-water flux datasets have great potential to improve the assessments of the ecosystem carbon-water dynamics.

Positive and Negative Psychological Derailment in Chinese Adolescents and the Mechanism by Which It Affects Mental Health: A Mediated Moderation Model.

Psychological derailment refers to the phenomenon whereby original self-expectations are seriously inconsistent with developments in reality. Research to date has neglected the valence of derailment and the mechanism by which it affects mental health. To improve the mental health of Chinese adolescents from the perspective of psychological derailment, after validating the translated Chinese versions of the derailment measurement instruments, we conducted an empirical study on the freshmen in senior high schools and universities in China and obtained three major results. First, the study revealed the prevalence of psychological derailment among Chinese adolescents and its strong correlation with mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress and satisfaction with life). Second, the study found significant differences in all mental health indicators among the non-derailed group, the positively derailed group and the negatively derailed group, and suggested that positive psychological derailment may help to ease mental health problems. Third, using path analysis to establish a mediated moderation model relating psychological derailment, psychological derailment valence, self-esteem and depression, the study uncovered that the valence of psychological derailment moderated the effect of psychological derailment on depression, while self-esteem mediated the moderating effect. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Achievement Emotions in Selective Schools: Reexamining the Happy-Fish-Little-Pond Effect in an Extreme Case from the Chinese Collectivist Context.

Achievement emotions, defined as the emotions generated in the academic process or by achievement results, are critical for an individual's mental health, personality development, and academic productivity. Referring to the well-known big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept, which describes the well-known phenomenon that students in selective schools/classes tend to have lower academic self-concepts than those who are comparably competent but attend regular schools/classes, Pekrun and colleagues focused on German students and proposed a similar happy-fish-little-pond effect on achievement emotions in 2019. In our paper, we examined whether this effect exists in extreme cases. To maximize the positive reflected-glory effect of being in a selective school and minimize the negative social comparison contrast effects that result from being ranked low in the school, we conducted an investigation in the Chinese collectivist cultural setting and compared the achievement emotions of students from a highly selective senior middle school with those of students from a regular school where the top-ranking students fell short of the bottom-ranking students in the selective school in terms of academic performance. Through an analysis of variance and a moderated serial mediation model, our study revealed that the bottom-ranking students in the selective school had less positive achievement emotions, lower academic self-concepts, and more negative achievement emotions than the top-ranking students in the regular school, providing strong evidence that students rely more on social comparison than on objective self-evaluation standards to evaluate themselves. The implications of the results for educational policies are discussed.

An Investigation on the Academic Burden of Chinese Students Ranging from Primary Schools to Universities Based on a Word Association Test in Guangdong Province.

China's basic education and higher education are currently facing policies aimed at reducing and increasing the academic burden, respectively. In this context, we first review and assess the methods of measuring students' academic burden and then apply the implicit association test for the first time to the academic burden of Chinese students from primary school to university under a unified framework. The results demonstrates that students' academic burden increases with the school stage, and thus university students face a greater burden than primary and high school students, and that learning attitude fully mediates the relationship between objective and subjective views of academic burden. These results suggest the three policy approaches of implementing a management system for classifying academic burden, considering how to improve students' learning quality, and developing their mental health education, thus providing a reference and inspiration for research and practice in the field of academic burden.

Understanding Zhongyong Using a Zhongyong Approach: Re-examining the Non-linear Relationship Between Creativity and the Confucian Doctrine of the Mean.

Zhongyong, a central theme of Confucian thought, refers to the "doctrine of the mean," or the idea that moderation in all things is the optimal path. Despite considerable interest in the relationship between zhongyong and creativity, especially in China, studies of this relationship have not yielded consistent results. Based on a review of the literature, we hypothesized that this inconsistency arises from the dual nature of zhongyong itself, which has both a positive side, promoting creativity, and a negative side, inhibiting creativity. We also hypothesized that the negative side of zhongyong takes the form of excessive zhongyong. Indeed, the observations that every coin has two sides and that too much of a good thing is as bad as too little are core principles of zhongyong in traditional Chinese culture. To test these hypotheses, we conducted two empirical studies (measuring explicit and implicit zhongyong personality, respectively) to examine the relationships between positive and negative zhongyong and creativity (measured in terms of creative personality, divergent thinking, and convergent thinking). The results of both studies revealed an interaction between positive zhongyong and negative zhongyong, indicating that only a moderate level of zhongyong is conducive to creativity; both deficiency and excess are harmful. We discuss the implications of these results, suggesting that a zhongyong approach can help to clarify non-linear relationships between things, and recommending to re-assess the creativity of Chinese culture from a neutral and objective outlook. This paper deepens understanding of zhongyong and offers clear insights into creativity from an in-depth cultural perspective.

Myxococcus xanthus R31 Suppresses Tomato Bacterial Wilt by Inhibiting the Pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum With Secreted Proteins.

The pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum caused tomato bacterial wilt (TBW), a destructive soil-borne disease worldwide. There is an urgent need to develop effective control methods. Myxobacteria are microbial predators and are widely distributed in the soil. Compared with other biocontrol bacteria that produce antibacterial substances, the myxobacteria have great potential for biocontrol. This study reports a strain of Myxococcus xanthus R31 that exhibits high antagonistic activity to R. solanacearum. Plate test indicated that the strain R31 efficiently predated R. solanacearum. Pot experiments showed that the biocontrol efficacy of strain R31 against TBW was 81.9%. Further study found that the secreted protein precipitated by ammonium sulfate had significant lytic activity against R. solanacearum cells, whereas the ethyl acetate extract of strain R31 had no inhibitory activity against R. solanacearum. Substrate spectroscopy assay and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of secreted proteins showed that some peptidases, lipases, and glycoside hydrolases might play important roles and could be potential biocontrol factors involved in predation. The present study reveals for the first time that the use of strain M. xanthus R31 as a potential biocontrol agent could efficiently control TBW by predation and secreting extracellular lyase proteins.

MicroRNA-105 plays an independent prognostic role in esophageal cancer and acts as an oncogene.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer is a common tumor with high mortality worldwide. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic significance and regulatory effects of miR-105 on cellular functions of esophageal cancer cells. METHODS: The expression level of miR-105 was analyzed in esophageal cancer tissues and cell lines by qRT-PCR. Survival analysis was carried out using the Kaplan-Meier and the prognostic significance of miR-105 was analyzed with Cox regression analysis. The effects of miR-105 on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities were detected with cellular experiments. RESULTS: We found that miR-105 was significantly upregulated in esophageal cancer tissues and cell lines, compared with the control group, respectively. Moreover, overexpression of miR-105 was significantly associated with positive lymph node metastasis, advanced TNM stage, and poor overall survival. In addition, overexpression of miR-105 promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in esophageal cancer cells, while downregulation of miR-105 suppressed these cellular behaviors. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that a higher level of miR-105 predicts poorer prognosis in esophageal cancer patients, and miR-105 can promote esophageal cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.