Visual effect of air pollution on the need for arousal and variety-seeking behavior.

Research on air pollution, one of the most common environmental factors, has primarily focused on its effects on physical, mental, and cognitive health. However, air pollution-induced achromatic color of an environment, which is a prominent feature of air pollution, has received little attention. This study explored the visual effects of air pollution on the variety-seeking purchase behavior of consumers through two scenario-based experiments and primed manipulation (Study 1 and Study 2) and one natural experiment using data from a local fruit chain store (Study 3). Study 1 tested the main effect of air pollution on the variety-seeking behavior and found that primed air pollution increased variety-seeking when consumers purchased beverages. Study 2 broadened the category and tested the mechanism, and the results indicated that primed air pollution increased the variety of purchased chocolates and demonstrated the mediating effect of the need for arousal. Study 3 tested the boundary condition and extended the external validity with actual purchases. The results revealed that severe air pollution increased the purchased SKUs by 22.9% and visibility reduced the moderation effect. This research extended the literature on the visual effect of air pollution by providing evidence of the effects of air pollution on variety-seeking behavior through the need for arousal. And, product managers could leverage the results by offering a greater variety of goods on days with air pollution to increase sales.

Genetic regulatory effects in response to a high-cholesterol, high-fat diet in baboons.

Steady-state expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) explain only a fraction of disease-associated loci identified through genome-wide association studies (GWASs), while eQTLs involved in gene-by-environment (GxE) interactions have rarely been characterized in humans due to experimental challenges. Using a baboon model, we found hundreds of eQTLs that emerge in adipose, liver, and muscle after prolonged exposure to high dietary fat and cholesterol. Diet-responsive eQTLs exhibit genomic localization and genic features that are distinct from steady-state eQTLs. Furthermore, the human orthologs associated with diet-responsive eQTLs are enriched for GWAS genes associated with human metabolic traits, suggesting that context-responsive eQTLs with more complex regulatory effects are likely to explain GWAS hits that do not seem to overlap with standard eQTLs. Our results highlight the complexity of genetic regulatory effects and the potential of eQTLs with disease-relevant GxE interactions in enhancing the understanding of GWAS signals for human complex disease using non-human primate models.

Genetic regulatory effects in response to a high cholesterol, high fat diet in baboons.

Steady-state expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) explain only a fraction of disease-associated loci identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), while eQTLs involved in gene-by-environment (GxE) interactions have rarely been characterized in humans due to experimental challenges. Using a baboon model, we found hundreds of eQTLs that emerge in adipose, liver, and muscle after prolonged exposure to high dietary fat and cholesterol. Diet-responsive eQTLs exhibit genomic localization and genic features that are distinct from steady-state eQTLs. Furthermore, the human orthologs associated with diet-responsive eQTLs are enriched for GWAS genes associated with human metabolic traits, suggesting that context-responsive eQTLs with more complex regulatory effects are likely to explain GWAS hits that do not seem to overlap with standard eQTLs. Our results highlight the complexity of genetic regulatory effects and the potential of eQTLs with disease-relevant GxE interactions in enhancing the understanding of GWAS signals for human complex disease using nonhuman primate models.

More friends on SNS, more materialism? The moderating roles of self-esteem and social comparison orientation.

On social networking sites, users are continuously exposed to a variety of posts from the networked individuals. Such information may often influence recipients' perceptions of what is important and goal pursuits such as materialism. Even though several studies have examined the negative consequences of using social networking sites, less attention has been paid to the role of friends' number and its impact on people's life goal pursuits. This study aimed to investigate the dark side of online friends and explored why and when more friends in social networking sites would promote materialism. Based on a sample of 264 WeChat users, study 1 discovered that friends' number positively impacted materialism through extrinsic goal (i.e., wealth and status). Additionally, such association was moderated by social comparison orientation and self-esteem. Importantly, self-esteem buffers the detrimental effect of friends' number on materialism while social comparison orientation increases it. Study 2 further tested the causal relationship and showed that friends' number on SNS might become a signal to indicate materialism via an experiment. In conclusion, our findings add to the understanding of psychological processes regarding the dark side of online friends' number and render suggestions for developing positive personal value.

Research on the influence mechanism of creative time pressure on employee knowledge hiding: Evidence from creative service enterprises in China.

Employee knowledge sharing is critical to the success of creative service enterprises. However, knowledge hiding is prevalent in creative service enterprises. Using 381 advertising agency employees as respondents, we explored the mechanism of action of creative time pressure affecting knowledge hiding. We constructed a regulated dual-path model by drawing on affective event theory, with work passion as a mediating variable and team psychological safety climate as a moderating variable. The results show that creative time pressure increases employees' knowledge hiding; creative time pressure mitigates knowledge hiding through the effect of harmonious passion, while obsessive passion enhances employees' knowledge hiding; team psychological safety climate can regulate the relationship between creative time pressure and two types of work passion and the strength of the two paths. Therefore, the mediating effect of harmonious passion is stronger in a high team psychological safety climate, while the mediating effect of obsessive passion is stronger in a low team psychological safety climate.

Study on the influence of COVID-19 on the growth of China's small and medium-sized construction enterprises.

The outbreak of COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020 had a significant impact on China's economy, society, and citizens; it also had a negative impact on the development of the construction industry. In particular, small and medium-sized construction enterprises with low ability to withstand risk have been strongly impacted, aggravating a crisis of survival among these firms. The focus of this study is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the growth of small and medium-sized construction companies. Based on the characteristics of small and medium-sized construction enterprises, this paper establishes a growth evaluation index and builds a growth evaluation model based on factor analysis. Twenty-three construction enterprises listed on small and medium-sized enterprises board are selected as samples, and the quarterly data of 2019 and 2020 are used for empirical analysis. The results show that the epidemic has had a high short-term impact on construction enterprises, and the total output value of the construction industry in the first quarter of 2020 was 16% lower than that in the same period of last year. In the long run, the impact of the epidemic on the growth of small and medium-sized construction enterprises has been limited. In the first quarter of 2020, the growth score of enterprises decreased by only 1.95% year-over-year, and it was essentially flat in the second and third quarters. The epidemic has had little influence on solvency, tangible resources or intangible resources but a high short term influence on profitability, capital expansion and market expectations. The long-term impact is small; It is conducive to the improvement of enterprise operation ability. Finally, to both address the influence of the COVID-19 on small and medium-sized construction enterprises and to realize their transformation and upgrading, targeted suggestions are offered at the policy and enterprise levels. The results will help to understand the impact of the epidemic on the growth of construction enterprises, and provide decision support for the healthy and orderly development of the follow-up construction industry.

Government Environmental Regulation and Corporate ESG Performance: Evidence from Natural Resource Accountability Audits in China.

With the increasing global concern for the ecological environment and sustainable development, all countries have proposed environmental regulatory policies to improve the quality of their ecological environments. China has also proposed an environmental regulation policy: Leading an officials' accountability audit of natural resources (AANR). As the main subject of consuming resources, the sustainability of enterprises has become a focus of all parties. The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metric measures corporate sustainability. As a result, companies' ESG performance has gained the community's attention. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2019, this study investigates the role of AANR on the ESG performance of companies via the difference-in-differences (DID) method. This study found that implementing the AANR pilot significantly negatively impacted corporate ESG performance. This result was found to remain robust after passing parallel trend and robustness tests. Further research found that the AANR differed significantly across corporate ownership and regions in corporate ESG performance. First, pilot implementation had a more significant impact on the ESG performance of non-state enterprises. Second, the differences across regions showed that the central region had the most significant impact, followed by the western region, while the eastern region had the most negligible impact. This study will help government departments improve the AANR system and enable companies to focus on their ESG performance.

Progenitor cell diversity in the developing mouse neocortex.

In the mammalian neocortex, projection neuron types are sequentially generated by the same pool of neural progenitors. How neuron type specification is related to developmental timing remains unclear. To determine whether temporal gene expression in neural progenitors correlates with neuron type specification, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) analysis of the developing mouse neocortex. We uncovered neuroepithelial cell enriched genes such as Hmga2 and Ccnd1 when compared to radial glial cells (RGCs). RGCs display dynamic gene expression over time; for instance, early RGCs express higher levels of Hes5, and late RGCs show higher expression of Pou3f2 Interestingly, intermediate progenitor cell marker gene Eomes coexpresses temporally with known neuronal identity genes at different developmental stages, though mostly in postmitotic cells. Our results delineate neural progenitor cell diversity in the developing mouse neocortex and support that neuronal identity genes are transcriptionally evident in Eomes-positive cells.

MiR-27b regulates podocyte survival through targeting adenosine receptor 2B in podocytes from non-human primate.

MicroRNAs are a group of small non-coding RNAs that play key roles in almost every aspect of mammalian cell. In kidney, microRNAs are required for maintaining normal function of renal cells, disruption of which contributes to pathogenesis of renal diseases. In this study, we investigated the potential role of miRNAs as key regulators of podocyte survival by using a primary cell culture model from non-human primates (NHPs). Through microRNA profile comparison in glomeruli from mouse, rat and NHP, miR-27b was found to be among a list of glomeruli-enriched miRNA conserved across species. In NHP primary podocyte culture, significant downregulation of miR-27b was observed during treatment of puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN), a classic nephrotoxin. Overexpression of miR-27b enhanced PAN-induced apoptosis and cytoskeleton destruction in podocytes while its inhibition had a protective effect. Target identification analysis identified Adora2b as a potential direct target of miR-27b. Ectopic expression of miR-27b suppressed both Adora2b mRNA and protein expression, whereas inhibition of miR-27b increased the transcript and protein expression levels of Adora2B. Dual luciferase assay further confirmed Adora2b as a direct target of miR-27b. Furthermore, knockdown of Adora2b by siRNAs enhanced PAN-induced apoptosis, similar to the phenotypes we had observed with miR-27b overexpression. In addition, stimulating the adenosine signaling by an Adora2b agonist, NECA, improved podocyte survival upon PAN treatment. Taken together, our data identified a novel role of miR-27b-adora2b axis in primary podocyte survival upon injury and suggested a critical role of adenosine signaling pathway in podocyte protection.