Psychotic disorders are known to be associated with elevated dopamine synthesis; yet, nondopamine factors may underlie the manifestation of some psychotic symptoms that are nonresponsive to dopamine-blocking agents. One under-explored nondopamine mechanism is neuroplasticity. We propose an account of the course of psychotic symptoms based on the extensive evidence for dopamine facilitation of Hebbian synaptic plasticity in cortical and subcortical memory systems. The encoding of psychotic experiences in autobiographical memory (AM) is expected to be facilitated in the hyperdopaminergic state associated with acute psychosis. However, once such ‘spurious AM of psychosis’ (SAMP) is encoded, its persistence may become dependent more on synaptic factors than dopamine factors. Under this framework, the involuntary retrieval of residual SAMP is postulated to play a key role in mediating the reactivation of symptoms with similar contents, as often observed in patients during relapse. In contrast, with active new learning of normalizing experiences across diverse real-life contexts, supported by intact dopamine-mediated salience, well-integrated SAMP may undergo ‘extinction’, leading to remission. The key steps to the integration of SAMP across psychotic and nonpsychotic memories may correspond to one’s ‘recovery style’, involving processes similar to the formation of ‘non-believed memory’ in nonclinical populations. The oversuppression of dopamine can compromise such processes. We synthesize this line of evidence into an updated dopamine-gated memory framework where neuroplasticity processes offer a parsimonious account for the recurrence, persistence, and progression of psychotic symptoms. This framework generates testable hypotheses relevant to clinical interventions.

Although dietary factors have been examined as potential risk factors for liver cancer, the evidence is still inconclusive. Using a diet-wide association analysis, our research evaluated the associations of 126 foods and nutrients on the risk of liver cancer in a Chinese population. We obtained the diet consumption of 72,680 women in the Shanghai Women’s Health Study using baseline dietary questionnaires. The association between each food and nutrient and liver cancer risk was quantified by Cox regression model. A false discovery rate of 0.05 was used to determine the foods and nutrients which need to be verified. Totally 256 incident liver cancer cases were identified in 1,267,391 person-years during the follow-up duration. At the statistical significance level (P ≤ 0.05), higher intakes of cooked wheaten foods, pear, grape and copper were inversely associated with liver cancer risk, while spinach, leafy vegetables, eggplant and carrots showed the positive associations. After considering multiple comparisons, no dietary variable was associated with liver cancer risk. Similar findings were seen in the stratification, secondary and sensitivity analyses. Our findings observed no significant association between dietary factors and liver cancer risk after considering multiple comparisons in Chinese women. More evidence is needed to explore the associations between diet and female liver cancer occurrence.

Expert drivers possess the ability to execute high sideslip angle maneuvers, commonly known as drifting, during racing to navigate sharp corners and execute rapid turns. However, existing model-based controllers encounter challenges in handling the highly nonlinear dynamics associated with drifting along general paths. While reinforcement learning-based methods alleviate the reliance on explicit vehicle models, training a policy directly for autonomous drifting remains difficult due to multiple objectives. In this paper, we propose a control framework for autonomous drifting in the general case, based on curriculum reinforcement learning. The framework empowers the vehicle to follow paths with varying curvature at high speeds, while executing drifting maneuvers during sharp corners. Specifically, we consider the vehicle’s dynamics to decompose the overall task and employ curriculum learning to break down the training process into three stages of increasing complexity. Additionally, to enhance the generalization ability of the learned policies, we introduce randomization into sensor observation noise, actuator action noise, and physical parameters. The proposed framework is validated using the CARLA simulator, encompassing various vehicle types and parameters. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our framework in achieving autonomous drifting along general paths. The code is available at https://github.com/BIT-KaiYu/drifting.

Introduction: Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with cognitive deficit with risk of future dementia. By examining the entropy of the spontaneous brain activity, we aimed to understand the neural mechanism pertaining to cognitive decline in LLD.

Methods: We collected MRI scans in older adults with LLD (n = 32), mild cognitive impairment [MCI (n = 25)] and normal cognitive function [NC, (n = 47)]. Multiscale entropy analysis (MSE) was applied to resting-state fMRI data. Under the scale factor (tau) 1 and 2, reliable separation of fMRI data and noise was achieved. We calculated the brain entropy in 90 brain regions based on automated anatomical atlas (AAL). Due to exploratory nature of this study, we presented data of group-wise comparison in brain entropy between LLD vs. NC, MCI vs. NC, and LLD and MCD with a p-value below 0.001.

Results: The mean Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of LLD and MCI was 27.9 and 25.6. Under tau 2, we found higher brain entropy of LLD in left globus pallidus than MCI (p = 0.002) and NC (p = 0,009). Higher brain entropy of LLD than NC was also found in left frontal superior gyrus, left middle superior gyrus, left amygdala and left inferior parietal gyrus. The only brain region with higher brain entropy in MCI than control was left posterior cingulum (p-value = 0.015). Under tau 1, higher brain entropy was also found in LLD than in MCI in right orbital part of medial frontal gyrus and left globus pallidus (p-value = 0.007 and 0.005).

Conclusions: Our result is consistent with prior hypothesis where higher brain entropy was found during early aging process as compensation. We found such phenomenon particular in left globus pallidus in LLD, which could be served as a discriminative brain region. Being a key region in reward system, we hypothesis such region may be associated with apathy and with unique pathway of cognitive decline in LLD. We will undertake subsequent analysis longitudinally in this cohort

Key words: resting-state fMRI, Late-life depression, Brain entropy, globus pallidus, cognitive decline

Timing of food intake is an emerging aspect of nutrition; however, there is a lack of research accurately assessing food timing in the context of the circadian system. The study aimed to investigate the relation between food timing relative to clock time and endogenous circadian timing with adiposity and further explore sex differences in these associations among 151 young adults aged 18–25 years. Participants wore wrist actigraphy and documented sleep and food schedules in real time for 7 consecutive days. Circadian timing was determined by dim-light melatonin onset (DLMO). The duration between last eating occasion and DLMO (last EO-DLMO) was used to calculate the circadian timing of food intake. Adiposity was assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Of the 151 participants, 133 were included in the statistical analysis finally. The results demonstrated that associations of adiposity with food timing relative to circadian timing rather than clock time among young adults living in real-world settings. Sex-stratified analyses revealed that associations between last EO-DLMO and adiposity were significant in females but not males. For females, each hour increase in last EO-DLMO was associated with higher BMI by 0·51 kg/m2 (P = 0·01), higher percent body fat by 1·05 % (P = 0·007), higher fat mass by 0·99 kg (P = 0·01) and higher visceral fat area by 4·75 cm2 (P = 0·02), whereas non-significant associations were present among males. The findings highlight the importance of considering the timing of food intake relative to endogenous circadian timing instead of only as clock time.

This study examined the sour grapes/sweet lemons rationalization through 2 conditions: ‘attainable’ (sweet lemons) and ‘unattainable’ (sour grapes), reflecting China’s 2019-nCoV vaccination strategy. The aim was to find ways to change people’s beliefs and preferences regarding vaccines by easing their safety concerns and encouraging more willingness to get vaccinated. An online survey was conducted from January 22 to 27, 2021, with 3,123 residents across 30 provinces and municipalities in the Chinese mainland. The direction of belief and preference changed in line with the sour grapes/sweet lemons rationalization. Using hypothetical and real contrasts, we compared those for whom the vaccine was relatively unattainable (‘sour grapes’ condition) with those who could get the vaccine easily (‘sweet lemons’). Whether the vaccine was attainable was determined in the early stage of the vaccine roll-out by membership in a select group of workers that was supposed to be vaccinated to the greatest extent possible, or, by being in the second stage when the vaccine was available to all. The attainable conditions demonstrated higher evaluation in vaccine safety, higher willingness to be vaccinated, and lower willingness to wait and see. Hence, we propose that the manipulation of vaccine attainability, which formed the basis of the application of sour grapes/sweet lemons rationalization, can be utilized as a means to manipulate the choice architecture to nudge individuals to ease vaccine safety concerns, reducing wait-and-see tendencies, and enhancing vaccination willingness. This approach can expedite universal vaccination and its associated benefits in future scenarios resembling the 2019-nCoV vaccine rollout.

Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) is one of the world’s resilient upland weeds, primarily spreading through its tubers. Its emergence in rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields has been increasing, likely due to changing paddy-farming practices. This study aimed to investigate how C. rotundus, an upland weed, can withstand soil flooding and become a problematic weed in rice fields. The first comparative analysis focused on the survival and recovery characteristics of growing and mature tubers of C. rotundus exposed to soil-flooding conditions. Notably, mature tubers exhibited significant survival and recovery abilities in these environments. Based on this observation, further investigation was carried out to explore the morphological structure, nonstructural carbohydrates, and respiratory mechanisms of mature tubers in response to prolonged soil flooding. Over time, the mature tubers did not form aerenchyma but instead gradually accumulated lignified sclerenchymal fibers, with lignin content also increasing. After 90 d, the lignified sclerenchymal fibers and lignin contents were 4.0 and 1.1 times higher than those in the no soil-flooding treatment. Concurrently, soluble sugar content decreased while starch content increased, providing energy storage, and alcohol dehydrogenase activity rose to support anaerobic respiration via alcohol fermentation. These results indicated that mature tubers survived in soil-flooding conditions by adopting a low-oxygen quiescence strategy, which involves morphological adaptations through the development of lignified sclerenchymal fibers, increased starch reserves for energy storage, and enhanced anaerobic respiration. This mechanism likely underpins the flooding tolerance of mature C. rotundus tubers, allowing them to endure unfavorable conditions and subsequently germinate and grow once flooding subsides. This study provides a preliminary explanation of the mechanism by which mature tubers of C. rotundus from the upland areas confer flooding tolerance, shedding light on the reasons behind this weed’s increasing presence in rice fields.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, non-coding RNAs, which are functional in a variety of biological processes through post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. However, the role of miRNAs in the interaction between Bacillus thuringiensis and insects remains unclear. In this study, small RNA libraries were constructed for B. thuringiensis-infected (Bt) and uninfected (CK) Spodoptera exigua larvae (treated with double-distilled water) using Illumina sequencing. Utilising the miRDeep2 and Randfold, a total of 233 known and 726 novel miRNAs were identified, among which 16 up-regulated and 34 down-regulated differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were identified compared to the CK. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that potential target genes of DE miRNAs were associated with ABC transporters, fatty acid metabolism and MAPK signalling pathway which are related to the development, reproduction and immunity. Moreover, two miRNA core genes, SeDicer1 and SeAgo1 were identified. The phylogenetic tree showed that lepidopteran Dicer1 clustered into one branch, with SeDicer1 in the position closest to Spodoptera litura Dicer1. A similar phylogenetic relationship was observed in the Ago1 protein. Expression of SeDicer1 increased at 72 h post infection (hpi) with B. thuringiensis; however, expression of SeDicer1 and SeAgo1 decreased at 96 hpi. The RNAi results showed that the knockdown of SeDicer1 directly caused the down-regulation of miRNAs and promoted the mortality of S. exigua infected by B. thuringiensis GS57. In conclusion, our study is crucial to understand the relationship between miRNAs and various biological processes caused by B. thuringiensis infection, and develop an integrated pest management strategy for S. exigua via miRNAs.

The effect of single dietary fibre (DF) on lowering uric acid (UA) level has been reported in the literature. However, the potential protective mechanism of DF against potassium oxybate-induced hyperuricaemia (HUA), as modelled by prophylactic administration, remains unclear. The data demonstrate that DF significantly decreased serum and cerebral tissue UA concentrations, inhibited xanthine oxidase expression and activity in the liver and reduced levels of creatinine and urea nitrogen in the serum. Additionally, it mitigated the deposition of amyloid-β in cerebral tissue. Correlation analysis showed that DF modulated the Toll-like receptor 4/NF-κB signalling pathway, attenuating oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in HUA mice. Additionally, DF helps to maintain the composition of the gut microbiota, reducing harmful Desulfovibrio and enriching beneficial Akkermansia and Ruminococcus populations. The results of the faecal metabolomics analysis indicate that DF facilitates the regulation of metabolic pathways involved in oxidative stress and inflammation. These pathways include pyrimidine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, nucleotide metabolism and vitamin B6 metabolism. Additionally, the study found that DF has a preventive effect on anxiety-like behaviour induced by HUA. In summary, DF shows promise in mitigating HUA and cognitive deficits, primarily by modulating gut microbiota and metabolites.

Based on 30 high-resolution U-Th dating controls, we reconstruct stalagmite δ18O records from 45 to 15 thousand years ago (ka B.P., before AD 1950) from the Shizhu Cave, which is located in southwestern China under the influence of both the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM). By integrating with the other stalagmite δ18O records in Asia during the middle to late last glacial, our results reveal two main moisture trajectories: one from the Indian Ocean, through the Shizhu Cave towards central China, and the other from the Pacific Ocean to central and northern China. The systematic decrease of the average values of stalagmite δ18O records from oceans to inland China reveals a spatial pattern of water vapour fractionation and moisture trajectory during the middle to late last glacial. In contrast, the variation amplitude, which is defined as the departures apart from the background δ18O records during Heinrich stadials 1 to 4 (HS1–HS4), show an increasing trend from the coastal oceans to mid-latitude inland China, presenting a ‘coastal-inland’ pattern, which can be interpreted by the enhanced East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) and the weakened EASM. More specifically, the enriched stalagmite δ18O records in the EASM region during HS1 to HS4 are caused by the decreased summer rainfall amount or/and the increased proportion of summer moisture resources from the Pacific Ocean. These new observations deepen our understanding of the complicated stalagmite δ18O records in the EASM region.

A comprehensive direct numerical simulation of electroconvection (EC) turbulence caused by strong unipolar charge injection in a two-dimensional cavity is performed. The EC turbulence has strong fluctuations and intermittency in the closed cavity. Several dominant large-scale structures are found, including two vertical main rolls and a single primary roll. The flow mode significantly influences the charge transport efficiency. A nearly $Ne \sim T^{1/2}$ scaling stage is observed, and the optimal $Ne$ increment is related to the mode with two vertical rolls, while the single roll mode decreases the charge transport efficiency. As the flow strength increases, EC turbulence transitions from an electric force-dominated mode to an inertia-dominated mode. The former utilizes the Coulomb force more effectively and allocates more energy to convection. The vertical mean profiles of charge, electric field and energy budget provide intuitive information on the spatial energy distribution. With the aid of the energy-box technique, a detailed energy transport evolution is illustrated with changing electric Rayleigh numbers. This exploration of EC turbulence can help explain more complicated electrokinetic turbulence mechanisms and the successful utilization of Fourier mode decomposition and energy-box techniques is expected to benefit future EC studies.

Although diversity has often been proposed to improve group performance, its impact on group cooperation has largely been overlooked. This article uses a theoretical approach to examine the effects of diversity on group tasks in the context of the free-rider problem. We identified 3 kinds of diversity that have been commonly reported to improve a group’s performance: (1) ability, (2) cognitive style, and (3) information sources. Each type of diversity was formalized within an evolutionary simulation based on a foraging metaphor. The simulations were run under different environmental assumptions, covering complexity, costs for cooperation, cue redundancy, and cue compensatory level. Our results indicate that diversity in cognitive style and information sources generally increase cooperation. Both diversity factors also improve group members’ average outcome in non-compensatory environments. However, the outcome results are mixed in compensatory environments. We did not find robust and reliable effects of diversity in ability. Our study provides the first approach to modeling isolated diversity effects on group decision-making in the face of the free-rider problem. It may serve as a theoretical framework for future studies.

Aphis spiraecola Patch is one of the most economically important tree fruit pests worldwide. The pyrethroid insecticide lambda-cyhalothrin is commonly used to control A. spiraecola. In this 2-year study, we quantified the resistance level of A. spiraecola to lambda-cyhalothrin in different regions of the Shaanxi province, China. The results showed that A. spiraecola had reached extremely high resistance levels with a 174-fold resistance ratio (RR) found in the Xunyi region. In addition, we compared the enzymatic activity and expression level of P450 genes among eight A. spiraecola populations. The P450 activity of A. spiraecola was significantly increased in five regions (Xunyi, Liquan, Fengxiang, Luochuan, and Xinping) compared to susceptible strain (SS). The expression levels of CYP6CY7, CYP6CY14, CYP6CY22, P4504C1-like, P4506a13, CYP4CZ1, CYP380C47, and CYP4CJ2 genes were significantly increased under lambda-cyhalothrin treatment and in the resistant field populations. A L1014F mutation in the sodium channel gene was found and the mutation rate was positively correlated with the LC50 of lambda-cyhalothrin. In conclusion, the levels of lambda-cyhalothrin resistance of A. spiraecola field populations were associated with P450s and L1014F mutations. Our combined findings provide evidence on the resistance mechanism of A. spiraecola to lambda-cyhalothrin and give a theoretical basis for rational and effective control of this pest species.

In two-dimensional (2D) electron systems, the viscous flow is dominant when electron-electron collisions occur more frequently than the impurity or phonon scattering. In this work, a quantum hydrodynamic model, considering viscosity, is proposed to investigate the interaction of a charged particle moving above the two-dimensional viscous electron gas. The stopping power, perturbed electron gas density, and the spatial distribution of the velocity vector field have been theoretically analyzed and numerically calculated. The calculation results show that viscosity affects the spatial distribution and amplitude of the velocity field. The stopping power, which is an essential quantity for describing the interactions of ions with the 2D electron gas, is calculated, indicating that the incident particle will suffer less energy loss due to the weakening of the dynamic electron polarization and induced electric field in 2D electron gas with the viscosity. The values of the stopping power may be more accurate after considering the effect of viscosity. Our results may open up new possibilities to control the interaction of ions with 2D electron gas in the surface of metal or semiconductor heterostructure by variation of the viscosity.

Salt solutions have complex effects on the swelling characteristics of compacted bentonite; these effects are caused by the inhibitory action of salinity and the ion-exchange reaction between the solution and bentonite. In order to characterize the swelling properties of compacted bentonite in a salt solution, swelling deformation tests were carried out for Gao-Miao-Zi (GMZ) bentonite specimens in NaCl and CaCl2 solutions. Swelling characteristics decreased with increasing salt concentration. Swelling strains in NaCl solution were larger than those in CaCl2 solution, even though the ionic concentration of 1.0 mol/L (M) NaCl solution is larger than that of 0.5 M CaCl2. According to the exchangeable cations tests, cation exchange was different for specimens immersed in different salt solutions. The swelling fractal model was used to predict the swelling strains of compacted bentonite in a concentrated salt solution. In this model, the effective stress incorporating osmotic suction was applied to take the effect of salinity into consideration, and the swelling coefficient, K, was employed to describe the swelling properties affected by the variation in exchangeable cations. In the model, fractal dimension was measured by nitrogen adsorption, and the salt solution had little effect on fractal dimension. K was estimated by the diffuse double layer (DDL) model for osmotic swelling in distilled water. Comparison of fractal model estimations with experimental data demonstrated that the new model performed well in predicting swelling characteristics affected by a salt solution.