Effect of Xiaoyutang Combined with Intraperitoneal Heat Perfusion Chemotherapy on Immune Function, Circulating mir, Prognosis, and Survival of Postoperative Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Objective. To explore the effects of Xiaoyutang combined with intraperitoneal heat perfusion chemotherapy on immune function, circulating Mir, and prognosis and survival of postoperative patients with colorectal cancer. Methods. A total of 96 patients with colorectal cancer who were treated in our hospital from May 2018 to August 2019 and followed up to August 2021 were selected as the study subjects. The patients were randomly divided into a control group and study group by a 1 : 1 random number table method, 48 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were given intraperitoneal thermal perfusion chemotherapy after surgery, and patients in the research group were treated with Xiaoyutang on this basis. The treatment cycle was 21 days, and all patients were treated for 3 consecutive cycles. The therapeutic efficacy, immune function (CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+), circulating mir (mir-29a, mir-145, and mir-92a), prognosis, and survival of the two groups were compared. Results. After 3 cycles of treatment, ORR and DCR in the study group were higher than those in the control group (60.42% vs. 37.50%) and 85.42% vs. 66.67%, respectively, with statistical significance ( P < 0.05 ). There were statistically significant differences in CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, mir-29a, mir-145, and mir-92a time points and intergroup and intergroup interactions between the two groups ( P < 0.05 ); the levels of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ in the study group were higher than those in the control group after 1, 2, and 3 cycles of treatment ( P < 0.05 ); the expressions of mir-29a, mir-145, and mir-92a were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P < 0.05 ). By the end of follow-up, 3 cases were lost to follow-up in the study group and 5 cases in the control group. The recurrence rate and mortality of the study group were lower than those of the control group at 1- and 2-year follow-up ( P > 0.05 ), and the mean survival time of patients in the study group was higher than that in the control group; the differences were statistically significant ( χ 2 = 5.151 , P = 0.023 ). Conclusion. Xiaoyutang combined with peritoneal heat perfusion chemotherapy has a good postoperative effect on patients with colorectal cancer, which can effectively improve the immune function and circulating Mir of patients with colorectal cancer, reduce tumor recurrence, and improve the prognosis of patients.

Intercommunity interactions and killings in central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) from Loango National Park, Gabon

Intercommunity competition in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) has been widely studied in eastern (P. t. schweinfurthii) and western (P. t. verus) communities. Both subspecies show hostility towards neighboring communities but differ in rates of lethal attacks and female involvement. However, relatively little is known about the territorial behavior of the two other subspecies, central (P. t. troglodytes) and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (P. t. ellioti). Here, we present the first insights into intercommunity interactions of individuals of a community of central chimpanzees living in the Loango National Park in Gabon. The presence of individuals of neighboring communities in the Rekambo home range was assessed using 27 camera traps. Information was compiled on intergroup interactions recorded before (2005–2016) and after (January 2017–June 2019) the habituation of the community. Individuals from neighboring communities entered the core area, where nine out of 16 recorded intercommunity encounters occurred. Males were the main participants in territorial patrols and intercommunity aggressions. Females were part of all six territorial patrols recorded and dependent offspring participated in five patrols. Females were involved in intercommunity aggression in five out of twelve recorded encounters in which there was visual contact between communities. While the intercommunity encounter rate was lower than that reported across most other long-term chimpanzee sites, the annual intercommunity killing rate was among the highest. These results suggest that the frequency of lethal attacks at Loango is comparable to that reported for the eastern subspecies. In contrast, female involvement in intercommunity interactions mirrors that of the western subspecies.

Contextual Factors that Heighten Interest in Coalitional Alliances with Men Possessing Formidable Facial Structures

Individuals use facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) to infer dominance and fighting ability of others. We hypothesized that broad assessments of target formidability from fWHR would form a basis for determining men’s coalitional value, with high-fWHR men being especially valuable in roles requiring physical strength. Across five studies (N=1,445), we identified the social affordance of male facial structures connoting formidability and how judgments influence coalitional decisions. In addition to replicating previous findings indicating high-fWHR men are more desirable for tasks requiring physical strength, we found that such men are aversive for tasks requiring creativity (Studies 1 and 2). High-fWHR men were additionally perceived as more effective in combat roles in the military (Study 3). Finally, in two pre-registered studies, we found that activation of competitive motivations heightens individuals’ interest in formidable allies during intergroup interactions (Study 4), but not interest in approaching them (Study 5). We interpret findings using evolutionary and social affordance theories and discuss hypothesized ancestral origins of selecting formidable allies.

Beyond the group: how food, mates, and group size influence intergroup encounters in wild bonobos

In social-living animals, interactions between groups are frequently agonistic, but they can also be tolerant and even cooperative. Intergroup tolerance and cooperation are regarded as a crucial step in the formation of highly structured multilevel societies. Behavioral ecological theory suggests that intergroup tolerance and cooperation can emerge either when the costs of hostility outweigh the benefits of exclusive resource access or when both groups gain fitness benefits through their interactions. However, the factors promoting intergroup tolerance are still unclear due to the paucity of data on intergroup interactions in tolerant species. Here, we examine how social and ecological factors affect the onset and termination of intercommunity encounters in two neighboring communities of wild bonobos, a species exhibiting flexible patterns of intergroup interactions, at Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo. We recorded the timing and location of intercommunity encounters and measured fruit abundance and distribution, groups’ social characteristics, and space-use dynamics over a 19-month period. We found that intercommunity tolerance was facilitated by a decrease in feeding competition, with high fruit abundance increasing the likelihood of communities to encounter, and high clumpiness of fruit patches increasing the probability to terminate encounters likely due to increased contest. In addition, the possibility for extra-community mating, as well as the potential benefits of more efficient foraging in less familiar areas, reduced the probability that the communities terminated encounters. By investigating the factors involved in shaping relationships across groups, this study contributes to our understanding of how animal sociality can extend beyond the group level.

VALUE AND IDENTIFICATION GROUNDS OF AN ATTRIBUTION OF GUILT CARRIED OUT BY YOUNG PEOPLE TO PARTICIPANTS OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

The article covers the results of the study of the value and identification grounds of attributing guilt to the participants of social interactions. 111 students of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv evaluated the degree of mutual fault of 41 pairs of interpersonal, intergroup and inter-ethnic interactions participants. The questionnaire was supplemented with the S. Schwartz's test for the diagnosis of values, the J. Rotter's test of internal and external locus of control, the tests for the diagnosis of collective narcissism and identification with all humanity. Generalization of the obtained data allowed detecting the most significant value and identification characteristics that determined a direction and content of attribution of guilt to participants of interpersonal and intergroup interactions carried out by young people. They were: collective narcissism, identification with communities, in particular with Ukrainians, the values of conformity, tradition, benevolence and security. In interpersonal sphere, the relationships with parents and a parental family are the most sensitive to the attribution of guilt. Significant family interaction lays the psychological foundations for further blame attitudes in a broader social environment at different levels of communities. In the Ukrainian politicized society, a psychologically important figure is a close political opponent. Blaming him or her helps a person to identify him or herself as an active agent of social behavior. A political context of current social life has a significant impact on an assessment of intergroup guilt. The most important factors are political and ideological attitudes in the space of Ukrainian-Russian values confrontation and attitudes to official power as the most likely culprit of existing problems. Of the three areas of social interaction assessed, the least blaming content was found in Ukrainians’ relations with the neighboring peoples.

HUMANITY IN THE ORGANIZATION: IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF CULTURAL MEDIATION

On the basis of the principle of cultural mediation in aspects of culture – environment, mediation – the model of “Humanity in interpersonal and intergroup relations in the organization”, which is a deep modernization of T. Pittinski’s allophilia model, is considered. The subscales of the A scale (sympathy, comfort, involvement, enthusiasm, closeness) were added to the subscales of the D scale (dominance, antiegalitarianism). Stable feedbacks were determined between subscales A and D: the maximum - r = -0.853 with the “Sympathy” subscale, and the minimum – r = -0.456 “Comfort”, while the subscale “Antiegalitarianism” makes a greater contribution. A real experiment was carried out according to L.S. Vygotsky, in which the situations of study during the period of self-isolation from COVID-19 in humanitarian and departmental universities are considered. It was revealed that the humanity index (HIO) in educational organizations under the influence of the pandemic has a non-linear dynamics: from a sharp drop in the index in the first month to a gradual increase in the next 3 months (to the level of everyday life). With a balanced sample (66 people in total), by age (20-22 years old), gender (90% girls), the training program “Psychology of Service”, similar quality of teachers selection, learning conditions, the HIO level in a humanitarian university is lower than in the departmental. It has been proven that the reason is the result of the interaction of a more ordered organizational environment of a departmental university with the personal characteristics of students, which reduces uncertainty, paradoxically leads to an increase of HIO. The culture of mediation was manifested in the presentation of the typicality of ideas about group and intergroup interactions, assessments of stereotyping and bias. A similar social typicality of groups was determined, with differences in the interrelationships between HIO and stereotyping and bias. A stable positive correlation of HIO with stereotyping at the level of 0.01, negative with a bias at the level of 0.05 was revealed, which speaks about the possibilities of HIO in predicting the manifestation of cognitive and motivational social-psychological phenomena in various groups of subjects.

Reducing Prejudice Through Narratives

Recent extensions to the contact hypothesis reveal that different forms of contact, such as mediated intergroup contact, can reduce intergroup anxiety and improve attitudes toward the outgroup. This study draws on existing research to further consider the role of identification with an ingroup character within a narrative depicting intergroup contact between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans. Results reveal that identification with the non-Muslim (ingroup) model facilitated liking the Muslim (outgroup) model, which reduced prejudice toward Muslims more generally. Identification with the ingroup model also increased conversational self-efficacy and reduced anxiety about future intergroup interactions – both important aspects of improving intergroup relations.

Theoretical investigation on the interaction between groups in LAP crystal and its linear optical properties

LAP crystal is an excellent nonlinear optical material and it has some unexplained specificities, which makes the interaction between groups in molecule received much attention. In this paper, the first-principles calculations are performed to investigate the intergroup interactions by the electronic structure and optical properties of LAP crystal. The energy gap of LAP crystal is 5.02 eV, indicating that the electronic transition is easier than KDP crystal. The strong electronic interaction between the carboxyl, phosphate and guanidine groups is found. In addition, since the LAP molecule has the greatest dipole in [010] direction and the electronic transitions are most likely to occur between the carboxyl group, phosphate and guanidine groups located on both ends of the molecule along [010] direction, the LAP crystal shows specific optical properties in this direction. The results reveal the correlations between the optical properties and the intergroup interactions of LAP crystal.