The vmPFC-IPL functional connectivity as the neural basis of future self-continuity impacted procrastination: the mediating role of anticipated positive outcomes

Procrastination is universally acknowledged as a problematic behavior with wide-ranging consequences impacting various facets of individuals' lives, including academic achievement, social accomplishments, and mental health. Although previous research has indicated that future self-continuity is robustly negatively correlated with procrastination, it remains unknown about the neural mechanisms underlying the impact of future self-continuity on procrastination. To address this issue, we employed a free construction approach to collect individuals' episodic future thinking (EFT) thoughts regarding specific procrastination tasks. Next, we conducted voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analysis to explore the neural substrates underlying future self-continuity. Behavior results revealed that future self-continuity was significantly negatively correlated with procrastination, and positively correlated with anticipated positive outcome. The VBM analysis showed a positive association between future self-continuity and gray matter volumes in the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Furthermore, the RSFC results indicated that the functional connectivity between the right vmPFC and the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was positively correlated with future self-continuity. More importantly, the mediation analysis demonstrated that anticipated positive outcome can completely mediate the relationship between the vmPFC-IPL functional connectivity and procrastination. These findings suggested that vmPFC-IPL functional connectivity might prompt anticipated positive outcome about the task and thereby reduce procrastination, which provides a new perspective to understand the relationship between future self-continuity and procrastination.

Disentangling the variability of symbiotic nitrogen fixation rate and the controlling factors

Symbiotic nitrogen (N) fixation (SNF), replenishing bioavailable N for terrestrial ecosystems, exerts decisive roles in N cycling and gross primary production. Nevertheless, it remains unclear what determines the variability of SNF rate, which retards the accurate prediction for global N fixation in earth system models. This study synthesized 1230 isotopic observations to elucidate the governing factors underlying the variability of SNF rate. The SNF rates varied significantly from 3.69 to 12.54 g N m-2  year-1 across host plant taxa. The traits of host plant (e.g. biomass characteristics and taxa) far outweighed soil properties and climatic factors in explaining the variations of SNF rate, accounting for 79.0% of total relative importance. Furthermore, annual SNF yield contributed to more than half of N uptake for host plants, which was consistent across different ecosystem types. This study highlights that the biotic factors, especially host plant traits (e.g. biomass characteristics and taxa), play overriding roles in determining SNF rate compared with soil properties. The suite of parameters for SNF lends support to improve N fixation module in earth system models that can provide more confidence in predicting bioavailable N changes in terrestrial ecosystems.

Strong Interface Coupling Enables Stability of Amorphous Meta-Stable State in CoS/Ni3 S2 for Efficient Oxygen Evolution

Rational design of heterostructure catalysts through phase engineering strategy plays a critical role in heightening the electrocatalytic performance of catalysts. Herein, a novel amorphous/crystalline (a/c) heterostructure (a-CoS/Ni3 S2 ) is manufactured by a facile hydrothermal sulfurization method. Strikingly, the interface coupling between amorphous phase (a-CoS) and crystalline phase (Ni3 S2 ) in a-CoS/Ni3 S2 is much stronger than that between crystalline phase (c-CoS) and crystalline phase (Ni3 S2 ) in crystalline/crystalline (c/c) heterostructure (c-CoS/Ni3 S2 ) as control sample, which makes the meta-stable amorphous structure more stable. Meanwhile, a-CoS/Ni3 S2 has more S vacancies (Sv ) than c-CoS/Ni3 S2 because of the presence of an amorphous phase. Eventually, for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the a-CoS/Ni3 S2 exhibits a significantly lower overpotential of 192 mV at 10 mA cm-2 compared to the c-CoS/Ni3 S2 (242 mV). An exceptionally low cell voltage of 1.51 V is required to achieve a current density of 50 mA cm-2 for overall water splitting in the assembled cell (a-CoS/Ni3 S2 || Pt/C). Theoretical calculations reveal that more charges transfer from a-CoS to Ni3 S2 in a-CoS/Ni3 S2 than in c-CoS/Ni3 S2 , which promotes the enhancement of OER activity. This work will bring into play a fabrication strategy of a/c catalysts and the understanding of the catalytic mechanism of a/c heterostructures.

Sex-based differences in fairness norm compliance and neural circuitry

Human behavior often aligns with fairness norms, either voluntarily or under external pressure, like sanctions. Prior research has identified distinct neural activation patterns associated with voluntary and sanction-based compliance or non-compliance with fairness norms. However, an investigation gap exists into potential neural connectivity patterns and sex-based differences. To address this, we conducted a study using a monetary allocation game and functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how neural activity and connectivity differ between sexes across three norm compliance conditions: voluntary, sanction-based, and voluntary post-sanctions. Fifty-five adults (27 females) participated, revealing that punishment influenced decisions, leading to strategic calculations and reduced generosity in voluntary compliance post-sanctions. Moreover, there were sex-based differences in neural activation and connectivity across the different compliance conditions. Specifically, the connectivity between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right dorsal anterior insular appeared to mediate intuitive preferences, with variations across norm compliance conditions and sexes. These findings imply potential sex-based differences in intuitive motivation for diverse norm compliance conditions. Our insights contribute to a better understanding of the neural pathways involved in fairness norm compliance and clarify sex-based differences, offering implications for future investigations into psychiatric and neurological disorders characterized by atypical socialization and mentalizing.

Conserved untranslated regions of multipartite viruses: Natural markers of novel viral genomic components and tags of viral evolution

Viruses with split genomes are classified as being either segmented or multipartite based on whether their genomic segments occur within a single virion or across different virions. Despite variations in number and sequence during evolution, the genomic segments of many viruses are conserved within the untranslated regions (UTRs). In this study, we present a methodology that combines RNA sequencing with iterative BLASTn of UTRs (https://github.com/qq371260/Iterative-blast-v.1.0) to identify new viral genomic segments. Some novel multipartite-like viruses related to the phylum Kitrinoviricota were annotated using sequencing data from field plant samples and public databases. We identified potentially plant-infecting jingmen-related viruses (order Amarillovirales) and jivi-related viruses (order Martellivirales) with at least six genomic components. The number of RNA molecules associated with a genome of the novel viruses in the families Closteroviridae, Kitaviridae, and Virgaviridae within the order Martellivirales reached five. Several of these viruses seem to represent new taxa at the subgenus, genus, and family levels. The diversity of novel genomic components and the multiple duplication of proteins or protein domains within single or multiple genomic components emphasize the evolutionary roles of genetic recombination (horizontal gene transfer), reassortment, and deletion. The relatively conserved UTRs at the genome level might explain the relationships between monopartite and multipartite viruses, as well as how subviral agents such as defective RNAs and satellite viruses can coexist with their helper viruses.

Relative importance between nitrification and denitrification to N2 O from a global perspective

Nitrous oxide (N2 O) is a potent greenhouse gas, and its mitigation is a pressing task in the coming decade. However, it remains unclear which specific process between concurrent nitrification and denitrification dominates worldwide N2 O emission. We snagged an opportunity to ascertain whence the N2 O came and which were the controlling factors on the basis of 1315 soil N2 O observations from 74 peer-reviewed articles. The average N2 O emission derived from nitrification (N2 On ) was higher than that from denitrification (N2 Od ) worldwide. The ratios of nitrification-derived N2 O to denitrification-derived N2 O, hereof N2 On :N2 Od , exhibited large variations across terrestrial ecosystems. Although soil carbon and nitrogen content, pH, moisture, and clay content accounted for a part of the geographical variations in the N2 On :N2 Od ratio, ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM):denitrifier ratio was the pivotal driver for the N2 On :N2 Od ratios, since the AOM:denitrfier ratio accounted for 53.7% of geographical variations in N2 On :N2 Od ratios. Compared with natural ecosystems, soil pH exerted a more remarkable role to dictate the N2 On :N2 Od ratio in croplands. This study emphasizes the vital role of functional soil microorganisms in geographical variations of N2 On :N2 Od ratio and lays the foundation for the incorporation of soil AOM:denitrfier ratio into models to better predict N2 On :N2 Od ratio. Identifying soil N2 O derivation will provide a global potential benchmark for N2 O mitigation by manipulating the nitrification or denitrification.

Expedient and divergent synthesis of unnatural peptides through cobalt-catalyzed diastereoselective umpolung hydrogenation

The development of a reliable method for asymmetric synthesis of unnatural peptides is highly desirable and particularly challenging. In this study, we present a versatile and efficient approach that uses cobalt-catalyzed diastereoselective umpolung hydrogenation to access noncanonical aryl alanine peptides. This protocol demonstrates good tolerance toward various functional groups, amino acid sequences, and peptide lengths. Moreover, the versatility of this reaction is illustrated by its successful application in the late-stage functionalization and formal synthesis of various representative chiral natural products and pharmaceutical scaffolds. This strategy eliminates the need for synthesizing chiral noncanonical aryl alanines before peptide formation, and the hydrogenation reaction does not result in racemization or epimerization. The underlying mechanism was extensively explored through deuterium labeling, control experiments, HRMS identification, and UV-Vis spectroscopy, which supported a reasonable CoI/CoIII catalytic cycle. Notably, acetic acid and methanol serve as safe and cost-effective hydrogen sources, while indium powder acts as the terminal electron source.

Promoter characterization of a citrus linalool synthase gene mediating interspecific variation in resistance to a bacterial pathogen

BACKGROUND

Terpenoids play essential roles in plant defense against biotic stresses. In Citrus species, the monoterpene linalool mediates resistance against citrus canker disease caused by the gram-negative bacteria Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc). Previous work had associated linalool contents with resistance; here we characterize transcriptional responses of linalool synthase genes.

RESULTS

Leaf linalool contents are highly variable among different Citrus species. "Dongfang" tangerine (Citrus reticulata), a species with high linalool levels was more resistant to Xcc than "Shatian" pummelo (C. grandis) which accumulates only small amounts of linalool. The coding sequences of the major leaf-expressed linalool synthase gene (STS4) are highly conserved, while transcript levels differ between the two Citrus species. To understand this apparent differential transcription, we isolated the promoters of STS4 from the two species, fused them to a GUS reporter and expressed them in Arabidopsis. This reporter system revealed that the two promoters have different constitutive activities, mainly in trichomes. Interestingly, both linalool contents and STS4 transcript levels are insensitive to Xcc infestation in citrus plants, but in these transgenic Arabidopsis plants, the promoters are activated by challenge of a bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, as well as wounding and external jasmonic acid treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study reveals variation in linalool and resistance to Xcc in citrus plants, which may be mediated by different promoter activities of a terpene synthase gene in different Citrus species.

Global variations and controlling factors of anammox rates

Soil anammox is an environmentally friendly way to eliminate reactive nitrogen (N) without generating nitrous oxide. Nevertheless, the current earth system models have not incorporated the anammox due to the lack of parameters in anammox rates on a global scale, limiting the accurate projection for N cycling. A global synthesis with 1212 observations from 89 peer-reviewed papers showed that the average anammox rate was 1.60 ± 0.17 nmol N g-1  h-1 in terrestrial ecosystems, with significant variations across different ecosystems. Wetlands exhibited the highest rate (2.17 ± 0.31 nmol N g-1  h-1 ), followed by croplands at 1.02 ± 0.09 nmol N g-1  h-1 . The lowest anammox rates were observed in forests and grasslands. The anammox rates were positively correlated with the mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, soil moisture, organic carbon (C), total N, as well as nitrite and ammonium concentrations, but negatively with the soil C:N ratio. Structural equation models revealed that the geographical variations in anammox rates were primarily influenced by the N contents (such as nitrite and ammonium) and abundance of anammox bacteria, which collectively accounted for 42% of the observed variance. Furthermore, the abundance of anammox bacteria was well simulated by the mean annual precipitation, soil moisture, and ammonium concentrations, and 51% variance of the anammox bacteria was accounted for. The key controlling factors for soil anammox rates differed from ecosystem type, for example, organic C, total N, and ammonium contents in croplands, versus soil C:N ratio and nitrite concentrations in wetlands. The controlling factors in soil anammox rate identified by this study are useful to construct an accurate anammox module for N cycling in earth system models.

Brain modular connectivity interactions can predict proactive inhibition in smokers when facing smoking cues

Proactive inhibition is a critical ability for smokers who seek to moderate or quit smoking. It allows them to pre-emptively refrain from seeking and using nicotine products, especially when facing salient smoking cues in daily life. Nevertheless, there is limited knowledge on the impact of salient cues on behavioural and neural aspects of proactive inhibition, especially in smokers with nicotine withdrawal. Here, we seek to bridge this gap. To this end, we recruited 26 smokers to complete a stop-signal anticipant task (SSAT) in two separate sessions: once in the neutral cue condition and once in the smoking cue condition. We used graph-based modularity analysis to identify the modular structures of proactive inhibition-related network during the SSAT and further investigated how the interactions within and between these modules could be modulated by different proactive inhibition demands and salient smoking cues. Findings pointed to three stable brain modules involved in the dynamical processes of proactive inhibition: the sensorimotor network (SMN), cognitive control network (CCN) and default-mode network (DMN). With the increase in demands, functional connectivity increased within the SMN, CCN and between SMN-CCN and decreased within the DMN and between SMN-DMN and CCN-DMN. Salient smoking cues disturbed the effective dynamic interactions of brain modules. The profiles for those functional interactions successfully predicted the behavioural performance of proactive inhibition in abstinent smokers. These findings advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms of proactive inhibition from a large-scale network perspective. They can shed light on developing specific interventions for abstinent smokers.

Gene transcriptional expression of cortical thinning during childhood and adolescence

The cognitive and behavioral development of children and adolescents is closely related to the maturation of brain morphology. Although the trajectory of brain development has been depicted in detail, the underlying biological mechanism of normal cortical morphological development in childhood and adolescence remains unclear. By combining the Allen Human Brain Atlas dataset with two single-site magnetic resonance imaging data including 427 and 733 subjects from China and the United States, respectively, we performed partial least squares regression and enrichment analysis to explore the relationship between the gene transcriptional expression and the development of cortical thickness in childhood and adolescence. We found that the spatial model of normal cortical thinning during childhood and adolescence is associated with genes expressed predominantly in astrocytes, microglia, excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Top cortical development-related genes are enriched for energy-related and DNA-related terms and are associated with psychological and cognitive disorders. Interestingly, there is a great deal of similarity between the findings derived from the two single-site datasets. This fills the gap between early cortical development and transcriptomes, which promotes an integrative understanding of the potential biological neural mechanisms.

Being bold wisely: neural substrates underlying ability to exploit risk

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. To succeed one must take risks, and more importantly, take risks wisely, which depends on individual ability to exploit risk. Here, we explore neural substrates for the ability to exploit risk by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). First, we carried out structural magnetic resonance imaging and measured individual risk-taking propensity and corresponding earnings by administrating the Balloon Analogue Risk Task in 1,389 participants. Behavior analysis revealed an inverted-U-shaped relation between risk-taking propensity and earnings, that earnings initially increased and then decreased as risk-taking propensity increased. Then individual ability to exploit risk was estimated by calculating the difference between individual actual earnings and the average earnings of the group at the same level of risk-taking propensity. VBM analysis revealed that individual ability to exploit risk was positively correlated with the gray matter volumes of three clusters located in the right orbitofrontal cortex, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and right dlPFC, respectively. These findings highlight the neural substrates for the ability to exploit risk and implicate that precise valuation, adaptive learning, and self-control may underpin the ability to exploit risk, which expand our understanding of the ability to exploit risk and its neural substrates.

Identification and molecular characterization of a novel cytorhabdovirus from rose plants (Rosa chinensis Jacq.)

A novel negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus, tentatively named "rose-associated cytorhabdovirus" (RaCV), was identified by high-throughput sequencing. RaCV is 16,067 nucleotides in length and contains eight open reading frames (ORFs 1-8) encoding a nucleocapsid protein (N), a putative phosphoprotein (P), a putative P3 protein (P3), a putative P4 protein (P4), a putative matrix protein (M), a glycoprotein (G), a putative P7 protein (P7), and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (L), respectively. The coding genes are flanked by a 3' leader sequence (228 nt) and a 5' trailer sequence (251 nt) and are separated by conserved intergenic junctions (3'-AUUCUUUUUG(N)nCUN-5'). Phylogenetic analysis showed that RaCV clustered with yerba mate virus A (YmVA) within the cytorhabdovirus clade, and it exhibited low a degree of nt sequence similarity (<40% identity) to other rhabdoviruses. Amino acid sequence comparisons between the putative proteins of RaCV and the corresponding proteins of other cytorhabdoviruses showed that the sequence identity levels were far below the species demarcation cutoff of 80% for cytorhabdoviruses. These results suggest that RaCV should be classified as a new member of the genus Cytorhabdovirus.