Perceived Social Support and Experiential Avoidance in Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Individual Relative Deprivation and Subjective Social Class

Based on the integration of ecological systems theory and the risk and protective factor model, the current study tested whether individual relative deprivation mediated the association between perceived social support and adolescents' experiential avoidance and whether this mediation model was moderated by subjective social class. A sample of 582 senior high school students in China participated in the current survey. The results indicated that perceived social support was negatively related to the students' experiential avoidance. Mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of perceived social support on experiential avoidance, via individual relative deprivation. Moreover, the mediation effect of individual relative deprivation was moderated by subjective social class. Specifically, the negative relationship between perceived social support and individual relative deprivation, and the direct relationship between perceived social support and experiential avoidance were stronger for adolescents with low subjective social class. In contrast, the positive relationship between individual relative deprivation and experiential avoidance was stronger for adolescents with high subjective social class.

Basic psychological need satisfaction and aggressive behavior: the role of negative affect and its gender difference

Background

Basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) is a significant factor in a person's development, especially for adolescents, and the failure to satisfy these basic needs may contribute to individuals' aggressive behavior. However, it is still unclear about the underlying mechanism by which BPNS is negatively associated with aggressive behavior. This study aimed to explore the relationship between BPNS and aggressive behavior in Chinese adolescents, with a focus on the mediating role of negative affect and its gender differences.

Method

A sample of 1,064 junior high school students from three schools in China were selected randomly for the cross-sectional survey. The revised Need Satisfaction Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and Youth's Self-Report were used to measure BPNS, affect, and aggressive behavior. The proposed model was examined by the structural equation modeling test and multi-group comparison analysis.

Results

The results showed that BPNS was negatively linked with adolescents' aggressive behavior, and this effect was mediated by negative affect. Moreover, multigroup analysis demonstrated that there existed a stronger negative association between BPNS and negative affect in female group. Also, the mediating effect of negative affect in the model was greater for girls.

Conclusions

Our findings highlighted the importance of BPNS in adolescents' social behavior (i.e., aggressive behavior), and reveal disparate patterns in how BPNS affects aggressive behavior in girls as compared to boys.

[Impact of social support for schizophrenia patients on their quality of life and family life satisfaction]

Objective: To explore the relationship of social support to patients with schizophrenia, family burden with patients' quality of life and family life satisfaction. Methods: Multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling was used to select 358 patients with schizophrenia and 358 patients' family members in Gansu Province who met the inclusion criteria were included. The Social Support Rating Scale, Family Burden Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Quality of Life Scale were used in the survey. AMOS 24.0 was used to explore the pathway of influence of family burden on social support to patients with schizophrenia, patients' quality of life and patients' family life satisfaction. Results: There was a two-by-two significant correlation between patients' access to social support, family burden, patients' life quality and family life satisfaction (P<0.05), and the total score of the social support scale negatively predicted the total score of the life quality scale (β=-0.28, P<0.05) and positively predicted the total score of the life satisfaction scale (β=0.52, P<0.05). Family burden was a full mediator between the social support to the patient and the patient's quality of life, and as a partial mediator between the social support to the patient and the family's life satisfaction. Conclusions: Social support to people with schizophrenia is a significant predictor of their quality of life and family life satisfaction. Family burden mediates the relationship of social support to patients with their quality of life and family life satisfaction. Interventions can focus on increasing social support for the patient and reducing the burden on the patient's family to improve the patient's quality of life and increase the satisfaction of the patient's family.

Impact of perceived social support on fear of missing out (FoMO): A moderated mediation model

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is a pervasive phenomenon among college students that may negatively affect the physical and mental health of individuals. Perceived social support, as one of the effective protective factors, can mitigate the harmful effects of FoMO, but few studies to date have examined the potential mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study conducted an investigation involving 806 college students in China and used scales measuring perceived social support, basic psychological needs, perceived stress and FoMO to explore the relationship between perceived social support and FoMO. Findings indicated that 1) perceived social support was negatively associated with college students’ FoMO; 2) basic psychological needs partially mediated the relationship between perceived social support and FoMO; 3) the mediating role of basic psychological needs is moderated by perceived stress. Further, the study provides some theoretical and practical implications for the prevention of FoMO.

[Fusion expression of cecropin X including the cleavage of FXa in Escherichia coli]

PCR method was used to introduce the code sequence of Factor Xa cleavage site to the 5' end of cecropin CMIV mutant gene X, then the gene was cloned into the expression vector pGEX-KG, and was highly expressed in E. coli BL21 by IPTG induction. The fusion protein was purified by affinity-chromatography and was cleaved by Factor Xa. Cecropin X with antibacterial activity was obtained after purified by ion-exchange chromatography.

Preliminary study on the cleavage of fusion protein GST-CMIV with palladium(II) complex

A novel method for post-treatment of gene-engineered proteins is reported. A coden of Cys-His unit is introduced into the N-terminal of cecropin CMIV by using PCR. The gene is expressed in E. coli fused with GST. After purification, the fusion protein is cleaved by [Pd(en)(H2O)2]2+ at the His-Arg bond and the cecropin CMIV with antibacterial activity is obtained. The preliminary results held some promise of success for application of the palladium(II) complex as cleavage agent for the production of peptide drugs from gene-engineering fusion proteins.

The terminal structure plays an important role in the biological activity of cecropin CMIV

Antibacterial peptides have received increasing attention as a new pharmaceutical substance. But the molecular mechanism of lysis is still poorly understood. CMIV gene and mutant CMIV gene in GST fusion system were expressed. After cleaving with different cleavage reagents, the peptide with an excess of N-terminus and with an un-amidated C-terminus stopped the activity while the peptide with an excess Asn at the C-terminus had the activity level the same as natural CMIV. The results showed that the terminal structure of cecropin CMIV played an important role in its biological activity.

Renaturation, purification, and characterization of human plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 (PAI-2) accumulated at high level in Escherichia coli

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 (PAI-2) is an important regulator of plasminogen activation, which inhibits both tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). In this study we have developed a high-level expression system by inserting a modified PAI-2 gene downstream of the T7 promoter. The expression level of recombinant PAI-2 amounted to 55-60% of total microbial protein. By efficient renaturation and one-step purification, the recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity. The specific activity and yield of recombinant PAI-2 reached 33,000 IU/mg and 10 mg per gram wet weight of Escherichia coli cells, respectively. The second-order rate constant for uPA was 2.6-2.8 x 10(6) M(-1) x s(-1).

High-level expression of cecropin CMIV in E. coli from a fusion construct containing the human tumor necrosis factor

Cecropin CMIV gene was fused to the 3'-terminus of the mutated tumor necrosis factor (TNFb) gene and the fusion gene was directly under the control of an inducible T7 promoter in pET-11d. This fusion gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli with an expression level of approximate 40%-50% of total cellular proteins, and was produced mainly in the form of inclusion body. Peptide with antibacterial activity was obtained by cleaving the fusion protein with CNBr.