Face in China is a well-known word but still lacks a precise and authoritative definition. Other than the counterpart connotation of social norms in western culture, Chinese face is also a cultural construct strongly connected with situational context. In order to explore the general context and the specific connotation of Chinese face, this paper focuses on comparing the difference between reflective model and formative model when measuring the construct of Chinese face. We find that RM is more reliable and stable than FM in terms of face measurement, but is inferior to FM in explaining the connotations of Chinese face. Moreover, we also explore the effects of different dimensions of Chinese face on consumer preference for ecological products. This study not only enriches the existing research on Chinese face, but also exploratively answers a controversial problem in this area. Furthermore, the findings in this study also provide theoretical support for building an environmentally-friendly society in China.

Purpose: The underlying mechanism of how topographic cues of artificial scaffolds regulate cell function remains poorly understood. Yes-associated protein (YAP) and β-catenin signaling have both been reported to play important roles in mechano-transduction and dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) differentiation. We investigated the effects of YAP and β-catenin in spontaneous odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs induced by topographic cues of a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) membrane. Methods: The topographic cues and function of a fabricated PLGA scaffold were explored via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), alizarin red staining (ARS), reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and pulp capping. Immunohistochemistry (IF), RT-PCR, and western blotting (WB) were used to observe the activation of YAP and β-catenin when DPSCs were cultured on the scaffolds. Further, YAP was inhibited or overexpressed on either side of the PLGA membrane, and YAP, β-catenin, and odontogenic marker expression were analyzed using IF, ARS, and WB. Results: The closed side of the PLGA scaffold promoted spontaneous odontogenic differentiation and nuclear translocation of YAP and β-catenin in vitro and in vivo compared to the open side. The YAP antagonist verteporfin inhibited β-catenin expression, nuclear translocation, and odontogenic differentiation on the closed side, but the effects were rescued by LiCl. YAP overexpressing DPSCs on the open side activated β-catenin signaling and promoted odontogenic differentiation. Conclusion: The topographic cue of our PLGA scaffold promotes odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs and pulp tissue through the YAP/β-catenin signaling axis.

Stress-induced neuroepigenetic programming gains growing more and more interest in the studies of the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, seldom attention is focused on DNA demethylation in fear memory generalization, which is the core characteristic of PTSD. Here, we show that ten-eleven translocation protein 3 (TET3), the most abundant DNA demethylation enzyme of the TET family in neurons, senses environmental stress and bridges neuroplasticity with behavioral adaptation during fear generalization. Foot shock strength dependently induces fear generalization and TET3 expression in nucleus accumbens (NAc) in mice. Inhibition of DNA demethylation by infusing demethyltransferase inhibitors or AAV-Tet3-shRNA virus in NAc enhances the fear generalization and anxiety-like behavior. Furthermore, TET3 knockdown impairs the dendritic spine density, PSD length, and thickness of neurons, decreases DNA hydroxymethylation (5hmC), reduces the expression of synaptic plasticity-related genes including Homer1, Cdkn1a, Cdh8, Vamp8, Reln, Bdnf, while surprisingly increases immune-related genes Stat1, B2m, H2-Q7, H2-M2, C3, Cd68 shown by RNA-seq. Notably, knockdown of TET3 in NAc activates microglia and CD39-P2Y12R signaling pathway, and inhibition of CD39 reverses the effects of TET3 knockdown on the fear memory generalization and anxiety. Overexpression of TET3 by Crispr-dSaCas9 virus delivery to activate endogenous Tet3 in NAc increases dendritic spine density of neurons in NAc and reverses fear memory generalization and anxiety-like behavior in mice. These results suggest that TET3 modulates fear generalization and anxiety via regulating synaptic plasticity and CD39 signaling pathway.

The present paper aims to examine the occurrence of I think in different genres. A collected data of I think from graduate student research interview and objectivism group study within Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE) is analyzed. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are included and the selection tool Antconc 3.4.4 are adopted in the study. By using concordance, all the context including I think are collected. Meanwhile, some phrases (such as I think so, what I think, I think of, etc.) are deleted from the analysis. It is found that I think in different positions and with different collocations fulfill different pragmatic functions respectively. The phrase I think is very frequent in GSRI and OSG, which is due to the nature of the discourse, where the participants are engaged in the communication. From the perspective of syntax and collocation, a lot of examples are analyzed in details. It is found that the interpretation of I think cannot be reached without exploring its linguistic context. In addition, a more detailed observation of linguistic context of I think in OSG and GSRI is explored. Some epistemic certainty (certainly, really, etc.) are included in research interview, with the function of emphasis and deliberation. The study might help to reconsider the functions of I think in different genres.