How love of nature promotes green consumer behaviors: The mediating role of biospheric values, ecological worldview, and personal norms.

Previous studies have pointed out the importance of emotional affiliation with nature in fostering environmentalism, but the mechanisms through which such emotional motives influence pro-environmental behaviors are still unclear. To address this issue, this study introduced love of nature into the value-belief-norm model as an emotional basis. The model was examined in predicting high-cost and low-cost green consumer behaviors (GCBs) in selected undergraduate student populations in eastern China. Using data from an online survey (N = 291), this study found personal norms positively predicted both high-cost and low-cost GCBs. Ecological worldview positively predicted low-cost GCBs and its effect was larger than that of personal norms. Love of nature had positive effects on biospheric values and personal norms. The relationships between love of nature and the two types of GCBs were mediated mainly by personal norms, ecological worldview, and biospheric values. The results supported the argument that emotional affiliation to nature offers an essential basis for a moral concern that guides GCBs. The findings also suggest moral concerns may be more salient for difficult and inconvenient GCBs.

Design and biological evaluation of phenyl imidazole analogs as hedgehog signaling pathway inhibitors.

The hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is involved in diverse aspects of cellular events. Aberrant activation of Hh signaling pathway drives oncogenic transformation for a wide range of cancers, and it is therefore a promising target in cancer therapy. In the principle of association and ring-opening, we designed and synthesized a series of Hh signaling pathway inhibitors with phenyl imidazole scaffold, which were biologically evaluated in Gli-Luc reporter assay. Compound 25 was identified to possess high potency with nanomolar IC50 , and moreover, it preserved the inhibition against wild-type and drug-resistant Smo-overexpressing cells. A molecular modeling study of compound 25 expounded its binding mode to Smo receptor, providing a basis for the further structural modification of phenyl imidazole analogs.

Understanding Waste Management Behavior Among University Students in China: Environmental Knowledge, Personal Norms, and the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Previous studies have confirmed that individual waste management behavior is influenced by both rational-based and altruistic-oriented beliefs and attitudes. Scholars incorporated personal norms in Ajzen's theory of planned behavior and confirmed its usefulness in predicting waste management behavior. However, limited attention has been paid to the interactions between the variables in the model. Scholars also commented that the cognitive dimension was largely neglected in the current socio-psychological framework of waste management behavior. This study intends to address this issue by incorporating environmental concern and environmental knowledge in the model and examining the psychological paths linking these variables to waste management behavior within the expanded model of planned behavior. Based on a cross-sectional survey among 434 university students in China, the results showed that subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal norms, and environmental knowledge were essential predictors of waste management behavior, whereas the direct effect of attitude was not statistically significant. Environmental concern and subjective norms could influence waste management behavior through personal norms. Environmental knowledge could influence waste management behavior indirectly through environmental concern, personal norms, and perceived behavioral control. Moreover, perceived behavioral control served as a mediator between the relationship of personal norms and waste management behavior.

Biomimetic micellar mesoporous silica xerogel performs superior nitrendipine dissolution, systemic stability and cellular transmembrane transport.

To combine the advantages of micelles and biomimetic silica materials, biomimetic micellar mesoporous silica xerogel (BM-SX) was initially established, biomimetic silica xerogel (B-SX) was also studied as control and nitrendipine (NDP) was taken as model drug. The content mainly focused on drug dissolution, systemic stability and cellular transmembrane transport of NDP loaded B-SX and NDP loaded BM-SX. With extra mesopores formed due to HPMC E50 micelles, the mean pore diameter, surface area and pore volume of BM-SX were all larger than B-SX. After loading NDP into the two carriers, crystal NDP changed to amorphous phase, leading to enhanced NDP dissolution. BM-SX presented superior abilities not only for its higher drug dissolution compared to B-SX but also for its capacity in remaining high amorphous drug phase and therefore no drug dissolution reduction can be observed. The dynamic contact angle result confirmed the strong power of HPMC E50 micelles in maintaining amorphous NDP in the carrier to improve high systemic stability. Both B-SX and BM-SX could increase drug absorption permeability and exert function as drug efflux inhibitor to inhibit the efflux effect of p-gp drug pump and promote NDP absorption and transport, and BM-SX was superior owing to micelles in the system.

Nanoporous fluorescent sensor based on upconversion nanoparticles for the detection of dichloromethane with high sensitivity.

A sensor with high sensitivity and response rate is still lacking in the detection of poisonous and volatile chemicals. Here, we report a highly sensitive nanoporous fluorescence sensor based on core@shell upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) for the detection of dichloromethane. UCNPs were deposited on porous anodic alumina oxide (AAO) templates supported by glass slides to form a thin film-like gas sensor in which UCNPs with active shells exhibit intense background-free fluorescence and simultaneously high optical sensitivity, while an AAO template acts as a porous substrate for UCNPs to increase the absorption capacity for molecules to be tested. A detection limit of 2.91 ppm was obtained for dichloromethane based on this sensor at room temperature. The involved response mechanism was attributed to lowered surface fluorescence quenching and scattering of UCNPs by dichloromethane.

How biomimetic amino modified mesoporous silica xerogel regulates loading and in vitro sustained delivery of levorotary ofloxacin.

The purpose of this study was to facilely develop biomimetic amino modified mesoporous silica xerogel (AMSX) and study how AMSX regulated loading and in vitro sustained delivery of carboxyl-containing drug levorotary ofloxacin (LOFL). Characteristics of AMSX, including morphology, porous structure, elements and crystalline state were investigated and pharmaceutical performance of AMSX for the delivery of LOFL was studied. The result showed that AMSX was accumulational spherical nanoparticles with mesoporous structure. Hydrogen bonding force was formed between carboxylic groups of LOFL and amino groups grafted on the surface of AMSX. Furthermore, a three-level three-factorial Box-Behnken experimental design was applied to optimize the amount of major agent for synthesizing AMSX with expected drug loading capacity and also to figure out how AMSX regulated in vitro delivery of LOFL. It is believed that the present work will provide novel insights for designing mesoporous silica as drug carrier and favored the development of sustained release system.

The relationships between environmental sensitivity, ecological worldview, personal norms and pro-environmental behaviors in Chinese children: Testing the value-belief-norm model with environmental sensitivity as an emotional basis.

This study addresses the relationships that ecological worldview, environmental sensitivity, and personal norms have with pro-environmental behaviors in a particular child population in urban China. The survey questionnaires were distributed to 410 Grade 6 students from eight Green Schools in Shenzhen, China. The sample included 223 (54.3%) boys and 187 (45.6%) girls with ages ranging from 10 to 13 years. The results from structural equation modelling reveal that environmental sensitivity and personal norms were two critical factors in determining students' pro-environmental behaviors. The influence of ecological worldview was fully mediated by personal norms, whereas the effect of environmental sensitivity was partially mediated by both personal norms and ecological worldview.