Social distance decreases responders’ sensitivity to fairness in the ultimatum game

Studies using the Ultimatum Game have shown that participants reject unfair offers extended by another person although this incurs a financial cost. Previous research suggests that one possible explanation for this apparently self-defeating response is that unfair offers involve strong negative responses that decrease the chances of responders accepting offers that would objectively constitute a net profit. We tested the hypothesis that one way of reducing responders’ rejections of unfair offers is through increased psychological distance, so that participants move away from the concrete feeling of being unfairly treated. Social distance was manipulated by having participants play the Ultimatum Game either for themselves, or for another person. Compared to deciding for one’s self or a close social contact, participants showed less sensitivity to fairness when deciding for a stranger, as indicated by fewer rejected unfair offers. We suggest that social distance helps people move beyond immediate fairness concerns in the Ultimatum Game

Clinical and pathological significance of ROS1 expression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Background: More knowledge about genetic and molecular features of cholangiocarcinoma is needed to develop effective therapeutic strategies. We investigated the clinical and pathological significance of ROS1 expression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: One hundred ninety-four patients with curatively resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma were included in this study. Tumor tissue specimens were collected and analyzed for ROS1 gene rearrangement using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and ROS1 protein expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results: ROS1 immunohistochemistry was positive (moderate or strong staining) in 72 tumors (37.1 %). ROS1 protein expression was significantly correlated with well differentiated tumors, papillary or mucinous histology, oncocytic/hepatoid or intestinal type tumors, and periductal infiltrating or intraductal growing tumors (vs. mass-forming cholangiocarcinoma). ROS-expressing tumors were associated with better disease-free survival (30.1 months for ROS1 expression (+) tumors vs. 9.0 months for ROS1 (-) tumors, p = 0.006). Moreover, ROS1 expression was an independent predictor of better disease-free survival in a multivariate analysis (HR 0.607, 95 % CI 0.377-0.976; p = 0.039). Although break-apart FISH was successfully performed in 102 samples, a split pattern indicative of ROS1 gene rearrangement was not found in the examined samples. Conclusion: ROS1 protein expression was associated with well-differentiated histology and better survival in our patients with resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. ROS1 gene rearrangement by break-apart FISH was not found in the examined samples

The Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: The Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndrome (SIPS) from Yale University is intended to diagnose prodromal syndrome of psychosis and to measure the severity of prodromal symptoms. Here, a Korean version of SIPS is presented, and its reliability, validity, and factor structures are examined using a representative Korean sample. METHODS: The Korean version of SIPS was administered to 40 participants over a period of 1 year. The inter-rater reliability and internal consistency of the SIPS were then evaluated. In addition, its factor structure was investigated using principal-axis factor analysis. Concurrent validity was explored using Pearson correlation coefficients with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). RESULTS: Of the 40 subjects, 12.5% developed psychotic disorders during the 1-year follow-up period. Inter-rater reliability was good (intra-class correlations=0.96), and internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha=0.83). A three-factor resolution displayed the best simple structure and accounted for 52.6% of all item variance. Factors 1 and 2 showed strong correlations with negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction, respectively, on the PANSS. Factor 3 was not correlated with any factor on the PANSS. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of SIPS is a reliable instrument for the assessment of prodromal symptoms in subjects and may be used to evaluate prodromal psychosis.ope

Liposarcoma: exploration of clinical prognostic factors for risk based stratification of therapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prognosis and optimal treatment strategies of liposarcoma have not been fully defined. The purpose of this study is to define the distinctive clinical features of liposarcomas by assessing prognostic factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between January 1995 and May 2008, 94 liposarcoma patients who underwent surgical resection with curative intent were reviewed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty patients (53.2%) presented with well differentiated, 22 (23.4%) myxoid, 15 (16.0%) dedifferentiated, 5 (5.3%) round cell, and 2 (2.1%) pleomorphic histology. With the median 14 cm sized of tumor burden, about half of the cases were located in the retroperitoneum (46.8%). Seventy two (76.6%) patients remained alive with 78.1%, and 67.5% of the 5- and 10-year overall survival (OS) rates, respectively. Low grade liposarcoma (well differentiated and myxoid) had a significantly prolonged OS and disease free survival (DFS) with adjuvant radiotherapy when compared with those without adjuvant radiotherapy (5-year OS, 100% vs 66.3%, P = 0.03; 1-year DFS, 92.9% <it>vs </it>50.0%, respectively, P = 0.04). Independent prognostic factors for OS were histologic variant (P = 0.001; HR, 5.1; 95% CI, 2.0 – 12.9), and margin status (P = 0.005; HR, 4.1; 95% CI, 1.6–10.5). We identified three different risk groups: group 1 (n = 66), no adverse factors; group 2, one or two adverse factors (n = 28). The 5-year OS rate for group 1, and 2 were 91.9%, 45.5%, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The histologic subtype, and margin status were independently associated with OS, and adjuvant radiotherapy seems to confer survival benefit in low grade tumors. Our prognostic model for primary liposarcoma demonstrated distinct three groups of patients with good prognostic discrimination.</p

A retrospective analysis of second-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Because treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients after failure with first-line chemotherapy remains controversial, we performed this retrospective analysis based on the data obtained from 1455 patients registered in a first-line treatment cohort with respect to receiving or not receiving subsequent chemotherapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The decision for administering second-line chemotherapy was, in most cases, at the discretion of the physician. Seven-hundred twenty-five (50%) received second-line chemotherapy after first-line failure. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on the recognized baseline parameters for survival.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At the time of initiating second-line chemotherapy, the patients' median age was 56 years (range, 22 to 86) and 139 (19%) had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 2 or more. Seven (1%) complete and 108 (15%) partial responses to second-line chemotherapy were observed for an overall response rate of 16% (95% confidence interval [CI], 13 to 19%). The median progression-free and overall survivals, calculated from the start of second-line chemotherapy, were 2.9 months (95% CI, 2.6 to 3.3) and 6.7 months (95% CI, 5.8 to 7.5), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that low baseline hemoglobin level (hazard ratio [HR], 0.74; 95% CI 0.61–0.90) and a poor performance status (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.52–0.83) were independent negative prognostic factors for overall survival.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Performance status, along with baseline hemoglobin level, could be used to identify the subgroup of patients most likely to benefit from second-line chemotherapy for AGC.</p

Discovery of a Novel hsp65 Genotype within Mycobacterium massiliense Associated with the Rough Colony Morphology

So far, genetic diversity among strains within Mycobacterium massiliense has rarely been studied. To investigate the genetic diversity among M. massiliense, we conducted phylogenetic analysis based on hsp65 (603-bp) and rpoB (711-bp) sequences from 65 M. massiliense Korean isolates. We found that hsp65 sequence analysis could clearly differentiate them into two distinct genotypes, Type I and Type II, which were isolated from 35 (53.8%) and 30 patients (46.2%), respectively. The rpoB sequence analysis revealed a total of four genotypes (R-I to R-IV) within M. massiliense strains, three of which (R-I, R-II and R-III) correlated with hsp65 Type I, and other (R-IV), which correlated with Type II. Interestingly, genotyping by the hsp65 method agreed well with colony morphology. Despite some exceptions, Type I and II correlated with smooth and rough colonies, respectively. Also, both types were completely different from one another in terms of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry profiles of whole lipid. In addition, we developed PCR-restriction analysis (PRA) based on the Hinf I digestion of 644-bp hsp65 PCR amplicons, which enables the two genotypes within M. massiliense to be easily and reliably separated. In conclusion, two distinct hsp65 genotypes exist within M. massiliense strains, which differ from one another in terms of both morphology and lipid profile. Furthermore, our data indicates that Type II is a novel M. massiliense genotype being herein presented for the first time. The disparity in clinical traits between these two hsp65 genotypes needs to be exploited in the future study

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke - the second leading cause of death worldwide - were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry(1,2). Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis(3), and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach(4), we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry(5). Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries.</p

P2-19: The Effect of item Repetition on Item-Context Association Depends on the Prior Exposure of Items

Previous studies have reported conflicting findings on whether item repetition has beneficial or detrimental effects on source memory. To reconcile such contradictions, we investigated whether the degree of pre-exposure of items can be a potential modulating factor. The experimental procedures spanned two consecutive days. On Day 1, participants were exposed to a set of unfamiliar faces. On Day 2, the same faces presented on the previous day were used again in half of the participants, whereas novel faces were used for the other half. Day 2 procedures consisted of three successive phases: item repetition, source association, and source memory test. In the item repetition phase, half of the face stimuli were repeatedly presented while participants were making male/female judgments. During the source association phase, both the repeated and the unrepeated faces appeared in one of the four locations on the screen. Finally, participants were tested on the location in which a given face was presented during the previous phase and reported the confidence of their memory. Source memory accuracy was measured as the percentage of correct non-guess trials. As results, we found a significant interaction between prior exposure and repetition. Repetition impaired source memory when the items had been pre-exposed on Day 1, while it led to greater accuracy in novel ones. These results show that pre-experimental exposure can modulate the effects of repetition on associative binding between an item and its contextual information, suggesting that pre-existing representation and novelty signal interact to form new episodic memory

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive Attentional Modulation of Learning-Related Repetition Attenuation Effects in Human Parahippocampal Cortex

Two of the most fundamental processes in biological vision are attention and learning. Attention actively selects and enhances visual information that is most relevant to behavior. Learning enables the visual system to benefit from perceptual experience. The amount of visual information to learn is infinite; however, top-down control mechanisms must somehow regulate learning to achieve an adaptive balance between plasticity and stability in neural circuitry. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can measure learning-related changes in neural activity to previously viewed perceptual stimuli. Described variably as the repetition suppression or adaptation effect, the attenuation in neural activity to repeated stimuli versus novel stimuli provides a marker for stimuli-specific perceptual processing and memory. One important issue concerns whether repetition attenuation is automatic or not, and recent work has begun to show that it is sensitive to task demands. Accordingly, the present study further examined how attention controls the attenuated response to repeated stimuli, specifically testing whether attention is important for initial encoding, for the expression of memory traces, or for both encoding and expression. To manipulate attention, we used overlapping scene and face images and asked subjects to attend to either category. fMRI revealed significant attenuation in the parahippocampal place area for only the repeated scenes that were attended both during the initial presentation and during repetition. Thus, attention actively governs when neuronal activity is attenuated to repeated perceptual input, and such attention is important during both initial encoding and subsequent expression of the learned information