Personality traits and their influence on Echo chamber formation in social media: a comparative study of Twitter and Weibo.

The echo chamber effect on social media has attracted attention due to its potentially disruptive consequences on society. This study presents a framework to evaluate the impact of personality traits on the formation of echo chambers. Using Weibo and Twitter as platforms, we first define an echo chamber as a network where users interact solely with those sharing their opinions, and quantify echo chamber effects through selective exposure and homophily. We then employ an unsupervised personality recognition method to assign a personality model to each user, and compare the distribution differences of echo chambers and personality traits across platforms and topics. Our findings show that, although user personality trait models exhibit similar distributions between topics, differences exist between platforms. Among 243 personality model combinations, over 20% of Weibo echo chamber members are "ynynn" models, while over 15% of Twitter echo chamber members are "nnnny" models. This indicates significant differences in personality traits among echo chamber members between platforms. Specific personality traits attract like-minded individuals to engage in discussions on particular topics, ultimately forming homogeneous communities. These insights are valuable for developing targeted management strategies to prevent the spread of fake news or rumors.

Clinical significance of BTLA gene expression and rs1982809 polymorphism in pan-cancer.

The association between the B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) gene rs1982809 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility has been reported, but these findings are inconsistent. In addition to clarifying the relationship between the rs1982809 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility, the current study also explored the clinical significance of BTLA gene expression. The GSCA tool and Stata software were used to explore the association between BTLA gene expression and tumor stage, immune infiltration, survival prognosis, and drug sensitivity for pan-cancer, and the association of BTLA gene rs1982809 polymorphism with cancer susceptibility, respectively. BTLA gene expression was associated not only with the pathologic stages of thyroid carcinoma, skin cutaneous melanoma, and kidney renal clear cell carcinoma, but also with immune infiltration in 33 types of cancers. In addition, BTLA gene expression was linked to survival prognosis in 8 types of cancers and the sensitivity of 255 drugs such as 5-Fluorouracil, docetaxel, and methotrexate. A meta-analysis of 7 relevant studies with 4002 cancer patients and 5278 healthy controls showed that the BTLA gene rs1982809 polymorphism was unrelated to cancer susceptibility under all genetic models. However, a country-based stratification analysis suggested that the rs1982809 polymorphism could reduce cancer susceptibility in Polish and Tunisian populations. In conclusion, BTLA is expected to serve as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for certain cancers, and the rs1982809 polymorphism is expected to serve as a cancer susceptibility marker in Polish and Tunisian populations.

Lysosomal dysfunction in carbon black-induced lung disorders.

Carbon black (CB), a component of environmental particulate pollution derived from carbon sources, poses a significant threat to human health, particularly in the context of lung-related disease. This study aimed to investigate the detrimental effects of aggregated CB in the average micron scale on lung tissues and cells in vitro and in vivo. We observed that CB particles induced lung disorders characterized by enhanced expression of inflammation, necrosis, and fibrosis-related factors in vivo. In alveolar epithelial cells, CB exposure resulted in decreased cell viability, induction of cell death, and generation of reactive oxidative species, along with altered expression of proteins associated with lung disorders. Our findings suggested that the damaging effects of CB on the lung involved the targeting of lysosomes. Specifically, CB promoted lysosomal membrane permeabilization, while lysosomal alkalization mitigated the harmfulness of CB on lung cells. Additionally, we explored the protective effects of alkaloids derived from Nelumbinis plumula, with a focus on neferine, against CB-induced lung disorders. In conclusion, these findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the pathophysiological effects of CB particles on the lungs and propose a potential therapeutic approach for pollution-related diseases.

Echo chamber effects on short video platforms.

In recent years, short videos have become an increasingly vital source of information. To compete for users' attention, short video platforms have been overusing algorithmic technology, making the group polarization intensify, which is likely to push users into the homogeneous "echo chamber". However, echo chambers can contribute to the spread of misleading information, false news, or rumors, which have negative social impacts. Therefore, it is necessary to explore echo chamber effects in short video platforms. Moreover, the communication paradigms between users and feed algorithms greatly vary across short video platforms. This paper investigated echo chamber effects of three popular short video platforms (Douyin, TikTok, and Bilibili) using social network analysis and explored how user features influenced the generation of echo chambers. We quantified echo chamber effects through two primary ingredients: selective exposure and homophily, in both platform and topic dimensions. Our analyses indicate that the gathering of users into homogeneous groups dominates online interactions on Douyin and Bilibili. We performed performance comparison of echo chamber effects and found that echo chamber members tend to display themselves to attract the attention of their peers and that cultural differences can prevent the development of echo chambers. Our findings are of great value in designing targeted management strategies to prevent the spread of misleading information, false news, or rumors.

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Box Tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis and Insights into Phylogenetics in Pyraloidea.

To resolve and reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within Pyraloidea based on molecular data, the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) was widely applied to understand phylogenetic relations at different taxonomic levels. In this research, a complete mitogenome of Cydalima perspectalis was recorded, and the phylogenetic position of C. perspectalis was inferred based on the sequence in combination with other available sequence data. According to the research, the circular mitochondrial genome is 15,180 bp in length. It contains 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 13 typical protein-coding genes (PCGs), and a non-coding control region. The arrangement of a gene of the C. perspectalis mitogenome is not the same as the putative ancestral arthropod mitogenome. All of the PCGs are initiated by ATN codons, except for the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene, which is undertaken by CGA. Five genes have incomplete stop codons that contain only 'T'. All tRNA genes display a typical clover-leaf structure of mitochondrial tRNA, except for trnS1 (AGN). The control region contained an 'ATAGG(A)'-like motif followed by a poly-T stretch. Based on the mitochondrial data, phylogenetic analysis within Pyraloidea was carried out using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. perspectalis is more closely related to Pygospila tyres within Spilomelinae than those of Crambidae and Pyraloidea.

TP73-AS1 rs3737589 Polymorphism is Associated With the Clinical Stage of Colorectal Cancer.

Objective: TP73-AS1 can promote the occurrence and development of a variety of tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). The current study aimed to investigate the association between a potentially functional genetic polymorphism (rs3737589 T > C) on the TP73-AS1 gene and the susceptibility and clinical stage of CRC in a Chinese Han population. Methods: The polymorphic genotyping was performed by the SNaPshot method. The real-time quantitative PCR method and the luciferase assay were used separately to explore genotype-tissue expression and the function of the genetic polymorphism. Results: A total of 576 CRC patients and 896 healthy controls were included in the current study. The rs3737589 polymorphism was not associated with CRC susceptibility but was associated with the CRC stage (CC vs. TT: OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.12 - 0.54, P=0.0003; C vs. T: OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.53-0.89, P=0.006; and CC vs. (TC + TT): OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.12-0.56, P=0.0004). CRC patients carrying the rs3737589 CC genotype or C allele were less likely to have stage III/IV tumors than those carrying the rs3737589 TT genotype or T allele. The expression of TP73-AS1 was lower in CRC tissues with the rs3737589 CC genotype compared to those with the TT genotype. Bioinformatics analysis and the luciferase assay revealed that the C allele could promote the binding of miR-3166 and miR-4771 to TP73-AS1. Conclusion: The TP73-AS1 gene rs3737589 polymorphism affecting miRNAs binding is associated with the CRC stage and may serve as a biomarker for predicting CRC progression.