Chinese-translated Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2： Evidence from university students in the Mainland and Hong Kong of China

Purpose： The purpose of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese-translated Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 （C-BREQ-2） among Chinese university students from the Mainland and Hong Kong of China. Methods： University students from the Mainland （n = 191） and Hong Kong （n=194） of China participated in this study. Factorial validity, discriminant validity, nomological validity, internal reliability, and measurement invariance across sample of the C-BREQ-2 were examined. Results： Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the factorial validity of the 18-item, 5-factor structure C-BREQ-2. Examination of the 95% confidence interval of the inter-factor correlations suggested that the C-BREQ-2 assesses related but distinct constructs, which provided support for its discriminant validity. The internal consistency reliability of the C-BREQ-2 was found acceptable. Examination of the pattern of inter-factor correlations between different regulations suggested that a simplex-like pattern was displayed, which provided evidence for the nomological validity of C-BREQ-2. The results from multi-group confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the factor loadings and variances/ covariances of the C-BREQ-2 measurement model were invariant across the Chinese university students in the Mainland and Hong Kong of China. Conclusion： The current study provided further psychometric evidence for the C-BREQ-2, which makes the further application and research of self-determination theory （SDT） based motivation in relation to exercise and physical activity in the Mainland of China context possible.

Behavioral Switch of Food Preference upon Sugar Deficiency Is Regulated by GPCRs in Drosophila

Sugar and protein are the major macronutrients＇ sources, and their balanced intake is important for animal＇s health. It has been observed that animals are able to change food preference in an imbalanced nutritional condition to selectively consume nutrients that are deficient in the body （Dethier, 1976）. Early studies in both Drosophila and mouse have demonstrated that animals exhibit food rejection to imbalanced diets lacking essential amino acids （Hao et al., 2005; Bjordal et al., 2014）. Furthermore, the food preference change upon protein depri- vation has been characterized using a two choice assay in Drosophila （Ribeiro and Dickson, 2010; Vargas et al., 2010）. Different from protein food, sugar is the main energy source, and sugar deficiency severely affects animal survival （Lee et al., 2008）. However, whether animals adopt a strategy of fast food preference switch upon sugar deprivation had not been investigated, and the neural mechanisms underlying this behavior regulation remain poorly understood.

The medial preoptic area and the regulation of parental behavior

The preoptic area （POA） is located in the most anterior part of the hypothalamus and is bordered dorsally by the anterior commissure and anteroventrally by the nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca[1]. Accumulating evidence from developmental neurobiology suggests, however, that the POA may be a separate entity from hypothalamus, and may actually be part of the basal telencephalon[2,3]. Both the hypothalamus and POA are highly complex and heterogeneous areas, containing multiple nuclei, each of which has specific fundamental functions for survival. Among these, the POA contains nuclei involved in the regulation of blood osmolality and temperature （the median preoptic nucleus）, sleep （the ventrolateral preoptic and suprachiasmatic nuclei）, ovulation （gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons scattered mainly in the ventral part of the POA）, male sexual behavior （the medial preoptic nucleus）, and parental behavior （the central part of the medial POA, cMPOA）.

Autism-related protein MeCP2 regulates FGF13 expression and emotional behaviors

Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 （MeCP2） has a crucial role in transcriptional regulation and neural development （Ausi6 et al., 2014）. Loss of function mutations of MECP2 in human lead to Rett syndrome （RTT）, a severe neurodevelopmental disorders （Amir et al., 1999）, whereas individuals with the chromosomal duplications containing the MECP2 locus showed severe autism-like symptoms （Ramocki et al., 2009）.