Sequential multiple mediation of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance in the relationship between rumination and social anxiety among Chinese adolescents.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The potential mechanism by which rumination influences social anxiety through cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance proposed by the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model has not been well-documented. This study, therefore, aimed to examine the sequential multiple mediation of the two processes. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. METHOD: A total of 233 Chinese adolescents (42.06% girls) completed a set of printed self-report questionnaires measuring rumination, cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance, and social anxiety. The SPSS macro PROCESS (model 6) was used to test a sequential mediating model. A 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated with 5000 bootstrapping re-samples. RESULTS: Bootstrap analyses indicated that there were indirect effects of rumination on social anxiety mediated by cognitive fusion together with experiential avoidance (B = 0.098, BootSE = 0.032, CI = 0.045 to 0.170), or solely by experiential avoidance (B = 0.048, BootSE = 0.020, CI = 0.014 to 0.093). The mediation of cognitive fusion alone was not significant (B = 0.065, BootSE = 0.038, CI = -0.006 to 0.144). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated the sequential mediating role of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance, and the relative prominence of the latter in the association between rumination and social anxiety.

Preparation of collagen/cellulose nanocrystals composite films and their potential applications in corneal repair.

As the main component of the natural cornea, collagen (COL) has been widely applied to the construction of corneal repair materials. However, the applications of collagen are limited due to its poor mechanical properties. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) possess excellent mechanical properties, optical transparency and good biocompatibility. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to introduce cellulose nanocrystals into collagen-based films to obtain corneal repair materials with a high strength. CNCs were incorporated at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 wt%. The physical properties of these composite films were characterized, and in vitro cell-based analyses were also performed. The COL/CNC films possessed better mechanic properties, and the introduction of CNCs did not affect the water content and light transmittance. The COL/CNC films demonstrated good biocompatibility toward rabbit corneal epithelial cells and keratocytes in vitro. Moreover, the collagen films with appropriate ration of CNCs effectively induced the migration of corneal epithelial cells and inhibited the myofibroblast differentiation of keratocytes. A collagen film with 7 wt% CNCs displayed the best combination of physical properties and biological performance in vitro among all the films. This study describes a nonchemical cross-linking method to enhance the mechanical properties of collagen for use in corneal repair materials and highlights potential application in corneal tissue engineering.

Cryoprotective effect of silver carp muscle hydrolysate on baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its underlying mechanism.

Cryoprotective effect of silver carp muscle hydrolysate (SCMH) on baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) was examined by analyzing the growth and survival of the yeast during freeze-thaw cycles, and the physicochemical properties [ultrastructure, intracellular proteins and fatty acids, external ice formation (EIF) and internal ice formation (IIF), freezable water content] of yeast cells with or without SCMH through transmission electron microscopy, SDS-PAGE, GC-MS, and differential scanning calorimetry. The 4% of SCMH treatment exhibited good yeast cryoprotective activity and increased the yeast survival rate from 0.71% to 90.95% after 1 freeze-thaw cycle as compared to the control. The results demonstrated that the addition of SCMH could attenuate the freeze damage of yeast cells, prevent the degradation or loss of soluble proteins, and increase the composition and absolute content of fatty acids. Besides, the addition of 4% SCMH caused a drop in the EIF peak temperature (from -17.95℃ to -25.14℃) and a decrease in the IIF and freezable water content of yeast cells.

Engineering topography: Effects on corneal cell behavior and integration into corneal tissue engineering.

Cell-material interactions are important to tissue engineering. Inspired by the natural topographic structures on the extracellular matrix, a growing number of studies have integrated engineering topography into investigations of cell behavior on biomaterials. Engineering topography has a significant influence on cell behaviors. These cell-topography interactions play an important role in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Similarly, cell-topography interactions are important to corneal reconstruction and regeneration. In this review, we primarily summarized the effects of topographic cues on the behaviors of corneal cells, including cell morphology, adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Furthermore, the integration of engineering surface topography into corneal tissue engineering was also discussed.

Microgrooved collagen-based corneal scaffold for promoting collective cell migration and antifibrosis.

Collagen is a promising material for corneal tissue engineering. The surface topography of collagen is critical for cornea reconstruction and regeneration. Herein, we fabricated collagen films with microgrooved surface to investigate the effect of collagen film topography on corneal cell migration and antifibrosis. We found that the patterned films with microscale grooves could greatly affect the orientation, proliferation, migration, and gene expression of rabbit corneal epithelial cells and keratocytes. Compared with the natural cornea, the optimized collagen films with microgroove pattern show similar swelling performance, optical clarity, and biodegradability, which could efficiently promote the epithelial cell migration, accelerate wound healing process, and inhibit the fibrosis of keratocytes. These results suggest that collagen films with microgroove pattern are promising in corneal tissue engineering.