The influence of intention in conflict on the interventions and apologies of children in virtual conflict situations

To examine the influence of intention in conflict on the interventions and apologies of children in virtual conflict situations, we conducted experiments with 3- and 5-year-old girls and boys. Our findings suggest that the conflict's intention reflected the interventions, apologies and reasons. An age difference was observed. Five-year-old children gave more effective answers to resolve conflict situations, using both interventions and apologies more than the 3 year-old children. When asked about such interventions and apologies, many 5-year-old children suggested reasons that were focused on the victim's feelings and accepted responsibility for the conflict or expressed a sense of guilt. In contrast, many 3-year-olds decided their behaviors based on roles or evaluations of others. Furthermore, gender differences were observed Most of the girls selected an impartial intervention between victim and attacker; in contrast, many of the boys selected an intervention that supported only the victim. As an attacker, most girls answered apologetically. When questioned about such interventions and apologies, many girls made judgements of right and wrong themselves and accepted responsibility for the conflict or expressed a sense of guilt. In contrast, many of the boys decided their behaviors from the evaluations of others

A Fungal Metabolite Asperparaline A Strongly and Selectively Blocks Insect Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: The First Report on the Mode of Action

Asperparalines produced by Aspergillus japonicus JV-23 induce paralysis in silkworm (Bombyx mori) larvae, but the target underlying insect toxicity remains unknown. In the present study, we have investigated the actions of asperparaline A on ligand-gated ion channels expressed in cultured larval brain neurons of the silkworm using patch-clamp electrophysiology. Bath-application of asperparaline A (10 µM) had no effect on the membrane current, but when delivered for 1 min prior to co-application with 10 µM acetylcholine (ACh), it blocked completely the ACh-induced current that was sensitive to mecamylamine, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR)-selective antaogonist. In contrast, 10 µM asperparaline A was ineffective on the γ-aminobutyric acid- and L-glutamate-induced responses of the Bombyx larval neurons. The fungal alkaloid showed no-use dependency in blocking the ACh-induced response with distinct affinity for the peak and slowly-desensitizing current amplitudes of the response to 10 µM ACh in terms of IC50 values of 20.2 and 39.6 nM, respectively. Asperparaline A (100 nM) reduced the maximum neuron response to ACh with a minimal shift in EC50, suggesting that the alkaloid is non-competitive with ACh. In contrast to showing marked blocking action on the insect nAChRs, it exhibited only a weak blocking action on chicken α3β4, α4β2 and α7 nAChRs expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, suggesting a high selectivity for insect over certain vertebrate nAChRs

A Single Amino Acid Mutation in SNAP-25 Induces Anxiety-Related Behavior in Mouse

Synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25) is a presynaptic protein essential for neurotransmitter release. Previously, we demonstrate that protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylates Ser187 of SNAP-25, and enhances neurotransmitter release by recruiting secretory vesicles near to the plasma membrane. As PKC is abundant in the brain and SNAP-25 is essential for synaptic transmission, SNAP-25 phosphorylation is likely to play a crucial role in the central nervous system. We therefore generated a mutant mouse, substituting Ser187 of SNAP-25 with Ala using “knock-in” technology. The most striking effect of the mutation was observed in their behavior. The homozygous mutant mice froze readily in response to environmental change, and showed strong anxiety-related behavior in general activity and light and dark preference tests. In addition, the mutant mice sometimes exhibited spontaneously occurring convulsive seizures. Microdialysis measurements revealed that serotonin and dopamine release were markedly reduced in amygdala. These results clearly indicate that PKC-dependent SNAP-25 phosphorylation plays a critical role in the regulation of emotional behavior as well as the suppression of epileptic seizures, and the lack of enhancement of monoamine release is one of the possible mechanisms underlying these defects

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month

The effects of repeated application of ACh on the blocking action of asperparaline A.

<p>After recording the control response to ACh at 10 µM, asperparaline A was continuously bath-applied at 30 nM, during which ACh was also applied at 10 µM for 2 s every minute using the U-tube. (A) Traces of the ACh-induced current responses in the presence of 30 nM asperparaline A. (B) Normalized peak current amplitude of the ACh responses recorded during the continuous application of asperparaline A. The peak current amplitude of each response was normalized by that of the response recorded before the application of asperparaline A. Each plot represents the mean ± standard error of the mean of 4 separate experiments.</p

Acetylcholine (ACh)-induced currents (A), the effects of blockers (mecamylamine and fipronil) on the ACh- (B), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) (C)- and L-glutamate (D)-induced currents and the actions of asperparaline A on the resting-state (E) and neurotransmitter-evoked currents (F–H) in the silkworm (<i>Bombyx mori</i>) larval neurons.

<p>The holding potential was −60 mV. ACh (10 µM), L-glutamate (30 µM) and GABA (30 µM) was applied for 2 s using the U-tube, whereas mecamylamine and fipronil were bath-applied for 1 min prior to co-application with the agonists. In (E), asperparaline A was applied alone at 1 µM for 2 s using the U-tube, whereas in (F–H), it was bath-applied for 1 min prior to co-application with neurotransmitters ACh (F), GABA (G) and L-glutamate (H). Note that both peak and slowly desensitizing current amplitudes of the ACh-evoked response were blocked reversibly, selectively and almost completely by 1 µM asperparaline A (F).</p

Effects of asperparaline A on the concentration-response curve for ACh in the silkworm larval neurons.

<p>The ACh-induced responses were measured at various concentrations in the presence and absence of 100 nM asperparaline A. The concentration-response curves were obtained by fitting the data to Eq. (2) (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0018354#s2" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>). The pEC₅₀ ( = log(1/EC₅₀)) values determined in the presence and absence of asperparaline A were 4.98±0.10 (n = 4, EC₅₀ = 10.5 µM) and 4.94±0.04 (n = 7, EC₅₀ = 11.4 µM), respectively. No significant shift in EC₅₀ was observed by the application of asperparaline A.</p

Chemical structure of asperparaline A.

<p>Chemical structure of asperparaline A.</p