Life satisfaction refers to people’s overall judgements on their own life experiences, which is considered to be a relative stable aspect of subjective well-being. Though a robust of literature has ...identified that gratitude predicts life satisfaction positively, the underlying mechanism remains to be explored from a powerful theoretical perspective. Following the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study explored the mediation role of benign envy, malicious envy and mindfulness in the relationship between dispositional gratitude and life satisfaction among 991 Chinese undergraduates (692 females and 299 males; M = 19.05, SD = 1.543, from 17 to 26 years old). The results revealed that benign envy, malicious envy and mindfulness were mediators between dispositional gratitude and life satisfaction. Importantly, dispositional gratitude linked to life satisfaction through the sequential intermediary of “mindfulness→benign envy” and “mindfulness→malicious envy”. These findings are not only valuable for understanding how dispositional gratitude is linked to life satisfaction according to the broaden-and-build theory, but also contributes to the development of psychological intervention programs aiming at improving people’s life satisfaction.
Under seawater superoleophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane inspired by mussel is successfully fabricated for both surfactant-free and surfactant-stabilized oil/seawater separation. The ...conventional PVDF membrane is modified by a simple solution-immersion method, which was immersed in dopamine aqueous solution for 24h. The morphology and chemistry of dopamine inspired PVDF membrane was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR-ATR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) respectively. The as-prepared membrane obtained stable superoleophobicity under seawater with an oil contact angle of 152±0.3° and extremely low oil-adhesion. Separation experiments for both surfactant-free and surfactant-stabilized emulsions showed that our membrane exhibited high oil/seawater separation efficiency (oil concentration in filtrate below 80ppm) and substantially high permeability, which are several times higher than that current traditional filtration membrane. Fouling resistance to proteins was also investigated for long-term use purpose. This study provides a facile solution-immersion method to fabricate under seawater superoleophobic membrane, highlighting its great potential in practical oil/seawater separation.
•PVDF membrane showed stable superoleophobicity under seawater.•Excellent separation performances for oil/seawater emulsions were obtained.•PVDF membrane showed good fouling resistance and flux recovery.
This study explored the mediation role of emotional intelligence, positive affect, and negative affect in the influence of childhood maltreatment on life satisfaction. A total of 811 participants ...completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale validly. Results revealed that emotional intelligence, positive affect and negative affect are mediators between childhood maltreatment and life satisfaction. In addition, childhood maltreatment influenced life satisfaction through the sequential intermediary of “emotional intelligence-positive affect” and “emotional intelligence-negative affect”. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Abstract
Intercellular signaling is indispensable for single cells to form complex biological structures, such as biofilms, tissues and organs. The genetic tools available for engineering ...intercellular signaling, however, are quite limited. Here we exploit the chemical diversity of biological small molecules to de novo design a genetic toolbox for high-performance, multi-channel cell–cell communications and biological computations. By biosynthetic pathway design for signal molecules, rational engineering of sensing promoters and directed evolution of sensing transcription factors, we obtain six cell–cell signaling channels in bacteria with orthogonality far exceeding the conventional quorum sensing systems and successfully transfer some of them into yeast and human cells. For demonstration, they are applied in cell consortia to generate bacterial colony-patterns using up to four signaling channels simultaneously and to implement distributed bio-computation containing seven different strains as basic units. This intercellular signaling toolbox paves the way for engineering complex multicellularity including artificial ecosystems and smart tissues.
Gratitude is a positive emotional trait, and plays a pivotal role in achieving a satisfactory quality of life. However, the neural basis of the relationship between trait gratitude and life ...satisfaction remains unknown. Here we examined the relationship between regional gray and white matter volume (rGMV/rWMV) in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and trait gratitude, and then explored how gratitude-related brain structures are related to life satisfaction in 136 young healthy adults. Voxel-based morphometry analyses found that trait gratitude was associated with smaller rGMV and rWMV in the MPFC implicated in social-cognitive processes, consistent with the behavioral findings reporting the social functions of gratitude. Importantly, structural variations in the MPFC related to trait gratitude also significantly predicted life satisfaction, and this association was fully mediated by trait gratitude. These results were still significant even after adjusting for the Big Five personality factors. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the common neuroanatomical substrates linking trait gratitude to life satisfaction and our results highlight that the MPFC is an important structure linking trait gratitude to life satisfaction.
Childhood maltreatment and its influence on mental health are key concerns around the world. Previous studies have found that childhood maltreatment is a positive predictor of mental symptoms, but ...few studies have been done to explore the specific mediating mechanisms between these two variables. Previous studies have found that there is a negative correlation between childhood maltreatment and emotional intelligence and between childhood maltreatment and social support, both of which are strong indicators of mental symptoms. Therefore, in this study, we took emotional intelligence and social support as mediating variables, exploring their mediating effects between childhood maltreatment and mental symptoms via the structural equation modeling method. We recruited 811 Chinese college students to complete the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Symptom Checklist 90 Scale (SCL-90), the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), and the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS). The results showed a significant and positive correlation between childhood maltreatment and mental symptoms (
= 0.26,
< 0.001); meanwhile, social support played a significant mediating role in the influence of childhood maltreatment on emotional intelligence 95% confidence intervals, (-0.594 to -0.327); and emotional intelligence likewise played a significant mediating role in the effect of social support on mental symptoms 95% confidence intervals, (-0.224 to -0.105). These results indicated that childhood maltreatment not only directly increases the likelihood of developing mental symptoms, but also affects emotional intelligence through influencing social support and then indirectly increasing the likelihood of developing mental symptoms. This study provided a theoretical basis for ameliorating adverse effects of childhood maltreatment on mental symptoms by enhancing emotional intelligence and social support.
By phosphorylating elongation factors and the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II, the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) is the critical kinase for transcription elongation and ...co-transcriptional processing of eukaryotic genes. It exists in inactive small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (7SK snRNP) and active (free P-TEFb) complexes in cells. The P-TEFb equilibrium determines the state of cellular activation, proliferation, and differentiation. Free P-TEFb, which is required for growth, can be recruited to RNA polymerase II via transcription factors, BRD4, or the super elongation complex (SEC). UV light, various signaling cascades, transcriptional blockade, or compounds such as hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), and other histone deacetylase inhibitors lead to a rapid release of free P-TEFb, followed by its reassembly into the 7SK snRNP. As a consequence, transcription of HEXIM1, a critical 7SK snRNP subunit, and HIV is induced. In this study, we found that a bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) bromodomain inhibitor, JQ1, which inhibits BRD4 by blocking its association with chromatin, also leads to the rapid release of free P-TEFb from the 7SK snRNP. Indeed, JQ1 transiently increased levels of free P-TEFb and BRD4·P-TEFb and SEC·P-TEFb complexes in cells. As a consequence, the levels of HEXIM1 and HIV proteins rose. Importantly, the knockdown of ELL2, a subunit of the SEC, blocked the ability of JQ1 to increase HIV transcription. Finally, the effects of JQ1 and HMBA or SAHA on the P-TEFb equilibrium were cooperative. We conclude that HMBA, SAHA, and JQ1 affect transcription elongation by a similar and convergent mechanism.
Background: P-TEFb regulates transcription elongation, cell growth, and proliferation.
Results: BET bromodomain inhibition by JQ1 transiently releases free P-TEFb from the inactive 7SK snRNP, thus activating HEXIM1 and HIV transcription.
Conclusion: JQ1 affects the P-TEFb equilibrium.
Significance: P-TEFb release from and reassembly into 7SK snRNP by JQ1 inhibits tumor cell growth and reactivates latent HIV.
Gratitude has been investigated in various areas in psychology. The present research showed that gratitude had some positive effects on some aspects of our life, such as subjective well-being, life ...satisfaction, and social relationships. It can also help us relieve negative emotions. However, the existing literature has not studied the influence of gratitude on envy. The present study used structural equation modeling to test the mediating role of social support between gratitude and two types of envy (malicious and benign). We recruited 426 Chinese undergraduates to complete the Gratitude Questionnaire, Malicious and Benign Envy Scales, and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results showed that gratitude positively predicted benign envy and negatively predicted malicious envy. In addition, the indirect effect of gratitude on two types of envy via social support was significant. These results revealed the direct relationship between gratitude and malicious/benign envy, and the mediating effect of social support, which will contribute to find effective measures to inhibit malicious envy and promote benign envy from the perspective of cultivating gratitude and increasing individuals' social support.
As child maltreatment is a common social problem worldwide, the present study explores the relationship between child maltreatment and dispositional envy and the mediating effects of self-esteem and ...social support in this relationship. Data were collected from 426 Chinese college students (
age = 20.63,
= 1.85), using the Child Abuse Scale, Dispositional Envy Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The results show that self-esteem plays a partially mediating role in the association between child maltreatment and envy. In addition, sequential mediation analyses have further revealed the maltreatment effect of envy, through social support and self-esteem. Further, a multiple-group analysis has shown that men with high child maltreatment scores tend to have lower levels of social support than women. These results provide an important reference for revealing how maltreatment early in life effects social emotion in adulthood, particularly dispositional envy. They may provide a valuable resource for psychological interventions targeting people of both genders who are victims of child maltreatment.
Although father love is vital for the positive growth of the child, there is currently no reliable tool to assess the psychological absence of fathers. Therefore, the current study aims to develop an ...instrument to measure adolescents' experiences of father-love absence from a psychological absence perspective. According to the fundamental psychological diathesis assumption, the father-love absence scale (FLAS) was developed based on expert panel discussions. A total of 2592 junior high school student participants were surveyed, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to determine the items for the formal scale. The results showed that the 18-item FLAS consisted of four factors, which were emotional absence (EA), cognitive absence (CA), behavioral absence (BA), and volitional absence (VA). In conclusion, the FLAS demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity, and this scale is a valuable tool for assessing father-love absence.
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