Can orange colour facilitate the processing of happiness? An exploration study on happiness metaphor.

Colour is a ubiquitous perceptual stimulus, and theoretical models of colour and psychological functioning posit that colour plays a key role in influencing the behaviour and mental function of a person. One investigation and two experiments investigated the colour metaphor representation of happiness concepts and the mapping mode of the colour metaphor of happiness concepts. A questionnaire was conducted to explore the relationship between colour preference and happiness.

A cross-cultural comparison of teacher-student relationship quality in Chinese and Italian teachers and students.

Studies comparing teacher-student relationships between Eastern and Western countries are relatively rare. This study compared the affective qualities of teacher-student relationships between Eastern (i.e.

Relational Victimization and Video Game Addiction among Female College Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Social Anxiety and Parasocial Relationship.

Video game addiction, a common behavioral problem among college students, has been more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic; at the same time, females' video game usage has also attracted considerable research attention. Against this background and under the perspective of social interaction, this study aimed to examine the relationship between relational victimization and video game addiction among female college students, as well as its underlying mechanism-the mediating roles of social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters. Female college students ( = 437) were recruited to complete a set of questionnaires voluntarily in June 2022.

Associations of resilience and respiratory sinus arrhythmia with alienation among college students.

Background: Although the sense of alienation is harmful and causes many developmental problems, very few studies have focused on its antecedent variables and when these variables are related to alienation. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between resilience and sense of alienation among college students, and the moderating role of baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in this association.

Method: Physiological data were collected during a resting condition in the laboratory from 109 college students aged from 17 to 21 years (M = 18.

China's country image in the eyes of international students from central Asian countries.

This study aimed to investigate the conceptualization and measurement of China's country image (CI) as well as its effects on the economic image, product image, national image and residence intention of individuals. A total of 297 international students from central Asia were recruited to complete an online survey. The confirmatory factor analysis of CI scale showed that CI is a multidimensional construct consisting of a cognitive component (further be divided into government image, international image, and social image) and an affective component.

The Moderating Role of Deviant Peer Affiliation in the Relation between Cyber-Victimization, Tobacco and Alcohol Use, and Age Differences.

Cyber-victimization, tobacco and alcohol use are all prominent public health problems among adolescents throughout the world. Against this background, this study examined the association between cyber-victimization and tobacco and alcohol use, as well as the moderating role of deviant peer affiliation and the potential age differences among elementary, middle, and high school students. A survey conducted among 1488 school students (aged 9-19 years, consisting of 702 elementary school students, 318 middle school students, and 468 high school students) found that cyber-victimization was positively correlated with tobacco and alcohol use among students of all stages.

Student-teacher relationship quality and prosocial behaviour: The mediating role of academic achievement and a positive attitude towards school.

Background: The current research investigated the association between teacher-student relationship (both teacher-perceived and student-perceived relationship quality) and students' prosocial behaviours, as well as the mediating roles of students' attitudes towards school and perceived academic competence in this association.

Sample: Four hundred and fifty-nine Italian primary students (aged 4-9, M  = 7.05, SD  = 1.

Cyberbullying Victimization and Adolescent Depression: The Mediating Role of Psychological Security and the Moderating Role of Growth Mindset.

The objective of this study was to examine the mechanisms (the mediating role of psychological security and the moderating role of growth mindset) underlying the association between cyberbullying victimization and depression among adolescents. A sample of 755 adolescents (M = 13.35 ± 1.

Effect of angiotensin receptor blockers on blood pressure and renal function in patients with concomitant hypertension and chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) are among the recommended first-line treatment options in patients with hypertension and chronic kidney disease (CKD). This meta-analysis evaluated the effect of ARB on blood pressure (BP) and renal function in patients with concomitant hypertension and CKD with or without diabetes. Literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE and BIOSIS to identify parallel-group, randomized controlled trials (≥8 weeks) reporting the effects of ARB on office systolic/diastolic BP (SBP/DBP), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), serum creatinine (SCr), creatinine clearance (CrCl) or proteinuria in adults with hypertension and CKD.

Calcineurin B1 subunit in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and its role in idiopathic membranous nephropathy.

The immune responses involved in the pathogenesis of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) have not been fully understood. Calcineurin, a key signaling enzyme in T-cell activation, may be implicated in IMN. The present study aimed to investigate the role of calcineurin B1 subunit (CnB1) in IMN and the potential mechanism.

The calcineurin regulatory subunit polymorphism and the treatment efficacy of tacrolimus for idiopathic membranous nephropathy.

Tacrolimus is considered to be one of the main therapeutic options for idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). This study aimed to investigate the association of variants in genes encoding the binding protein and the drug target (calcineurin) of tacrolimus with the efficacy in IMN patients and the potential mechanism. Sixty-seven IMN patients treated with tacrolimus were enrolled retrospectively.

Low-protein diet supplemented with ketoacids ameliorates proteinuria in 3/4 nephrectomised rats by directly inhibiting the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system.

Low-protein diet plus ketoacids (LPD+KA) has been reported to decrease proteinuria in patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD). However, the mechanisms have not been clarified. As over-activation of intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has been shown to play a key role in the progression of CKD, the current study was performed to investigate the direct effects of LPD+KA on intrarenal RAS, independently of renal haemodynamics.

The GSTA1 polymorphism and cyclophosphamide therapy outcomes in lupus nephritis patients.

Pulsed low-dose cyclophosphamide (CTX) therapy has become a very effective approach in improving the clinical outcomes of lupus nephritis (LN) patients. However, variations of CTX therapeutic outcomes in LN patients are incompletely understood. We investigated the contributions of known allelic variants to CTX therapy outcomes in 77 LN patients.

Double filtration plasmapheresis benefits myasthenia gravis patients through an immunomodulatory action.

Double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) is used to treat myasthenia gravis (MG). However, the definite mechanism is unclear. This study investigated whether DFPP improves MG through an immunomodulatory action.

Do ketoanalogues still have a role in delaying dialysis initiation in CKD predialysis patients?

Early versus later start of dialysis is still a matter of debate. Low-protein diets have been used for many decades to delay dialysis initiation. Protein-restricted diets (0.

Acid loading stimulates rat glomerular mesangial cells proliferation through Na(+)-H (+) exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1)-dependent pathway.

The role of metabolic acidosis in the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the direct effects of acid loading on the proliferation of rat glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) in vitro and the possible role of sodium-hydrogen ion exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1). Rat GMCs were treated with acidic medium as acid loading.

Protein-restricted diets plus keto/amino acids--a valid therapeutic approach for chronic kidney disease patients.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasingly common, and there is an increasing awareness that every strategy should be used to avoid complications of CKD. Restriction of dietary protein intake has been a relevant part of the management of CKD for more than 100 years, but even today, the principal goal of protein-restricted regimens is to decrease the accumulation of nitrogen waste products, hydrogen ions, phosphates, and inorganic ions while maintaining an adequate nutritional status to avoid secondary problems such as metabolic acidosis, bone disease, and insulin resistance, as well as proteinuria and deterioration of renal function. This supplement focuses on recent experimental and clinical findings related to an optimized dietary management of predialysis, dialysis, and transplanted patients as an important aspect of patient care.

Twelve weeks of pioglitazone therapy significantly attenuates dysmetabolism and reduces inflammation in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients--a randomized crossover trial.

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of oral pioglitazone (PIO) on lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, inflammation, and adipokine metabolism in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients.

Methods: In this randomized crossover trial, 36 CAPD patients with serum triglyceride levels above 1.8 mmol/L were randomly assigned to receive either oral PIO 15 mg once daily or no PIO for 12 weeks.

The ratio of CRP to prealbumin levels predict mortality in patients with hospital-acquired acute kidney injury.

Background: Animal and human studies suggest that inflammation and malnutrition are common in acute kidney injury (AKI) patients. However, only a few studies reported CRP, a marker of inflammation, albumin, prealbumin and cholesterol, markers of nutritional status were associated with the prognosis of AKI patients. No study examined whether the combination of inflammatory and nutritional markers could predict the mortality of AKI patients.

Comparison of prognostic value of two kinds of severity scoring systems for hospital mortality prediction of elderly patients with acute kidney injury.

Background And Aims: Outcome prediction is important in clinical practice. Despite significant improvements in therapeutics, the mortality associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) in elderly patients remains high. Several severity scoring systems have been used in hospital mortality prediction of patients, but little is known of their significance in elderly patients with AKI.

Efficacy of cytokine removal by plasmadiafiltration using a selective plasma separator: in vitro sepsis model.

More effective removal of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines may play an important role in the treatment of sepsis. Plasmadiafiltration (PDF) with a larger selective plasma separator was performed to study the cytokine and plasma protein permeability profiles of the membrane in an in vitro sepsis model. The in vitro sepsis model was constructed by exposure of human whole blood to bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

Effect of short-term low-protein diet supplemented with keto acids on hyperphosphatemia in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of short-term restriction of dietary protein intake (DPI) supplemented with keto acids on hyperphosphatemia in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients.

Methods: Forty MHD patients with uncontrolled hyperphosphatemia were randomized to either low DPI with keto acid-supplemented (sLP) or normal DPI (NP) group for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, the sLP group was shifted to NP for another 8 weeks.

Meta-analysis of the clinical value of Astragalus membranaceus in diabetic nephropathy.

Aim Of Study: Nowadays diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become a serious problem. Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional herb used for thousands of years in China and East Asia for kidney disease. In modern medicine, Astragalus shows significant renal protective effect in DN.