Honesty mediates the relationship between serotonin and reaction to unfairness

How does one deal with unfair behaviors? This subject has long been investigated by various disciplines including philosophy, psychology, economics, and biology. However, our reactions to unfairness differ from one individual to another. Experimental economics studies using the ultimatum game (UG), in which players must decide whether to accept or reject fair or unfair offers, have also shown that there are substantial individual differences in reaction to unfairness. However, little is known about psychological as well as neurobiological mechanisms of this observation. We combined a molecular imaging technique, an economics game, and a personality inventory to elucidate the neurobiological mechanism of heterogeneous reactions to unfairness. Contrary to the common belief that aggressive personalities (impulsivity or hostility) are related to the high rejection rate of unfair offers in UG, we found that individuals with apparently peaceful personalities (straightforwardness and trust) rejected more often and were engaged in personally costly forms of retaliation. Furthermore, individuals with a low level of serotonin transporters in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) are honest and trustful, and thus cannot tolerate unfairness, being candid in expressing their frustrations. In other words, higher central serotonin transmission might allow us to behave adroitly and opportunistically, being good at playing games while pursuing self-interest. We provide unique neurobiological evidence to account for individual differences of reaction to unfairness

Validity of self-reported diagnoses of gynaecological and breast cancers in a prospective cohort study: the Japan Nurses' Health Study

Objectives To validate the self-reported diagnoses of gynaecological and breast cancers in a nationwide prospective cohort study of nursing professionals: the Japan Nurses’ Health Study (JNHS).Design and setting Retrospective analysis of the JNHS.Participants and measures Data were reviewed for 15 717 subjects. The mean age at baseline was 41.6±8.3 years (median: 41), and the mean follow-up period was 10.5±3.8 years (median: 12). Participants are regularly mailed a follow-up questionnaire once every 2 years. Respondents who self-reported a positive cancer diagnosis were sent an additional confirmation questionnaire and contacted the diagnosing facility to confirm the diagnosis based on medical records. A review panel of experts verified the disease status. Regular follow-up, confirmation questionnaires and expert review were validated for their positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV).Results New incidences were verified in 37, 47, 26 and 300 cervical, endometrial, ovarian and breast cancer cases, respectively. The estimated incidence rates were 22.0, 25.4, 13.8 and 160.4 per 100 000 person-years. These were comparable with those of national data from regional cancer registries in Japan. For regular follow-up, the corresponding PPVs for cervical, endometrial, ovarian and breast cancer were 16.9%, 54.2%, 45.1% and 81.4%, and the NPVs were 100%, 99.9%, 99.9% and 99.9%, respectively. Adding the confirmation questionnaire improved the PPVs to 31.5%, 88.9%, 76.7% and 99.9%; the NPVs were uniformly 99.9%. Expert review yielded PPVs and NPVs that were all ~100%.Conclusions Gynaecological cancer cannot be accurately assessed by self-reporting alone. Additionally, the external validity of cancer incidence in this cohort was confirmed

カキ樹の生理生態学的研究 III : 夜温が新梢生長, 開花ならびに果実肥大に及ぼす影響(農学部門)

カキの成木結果樹を供試し, それぞれ樹体の発育周期に応じて, 夜間に補温処理を行ない, 枝梢の生長, 開花ならびに果実の肥大に及ぼす影響を調査した。その結果, 新梢伸長期(自然夜温12∿13.4℃)および果実発育の第1期(自然夜温21∿22℃)に3∿4℃以内で夜間補温すれば, 新梢の生長, 開花および果実の肥大を促進し, とくにその期間中で処理を打ち切った後もその影響が維持されて収穫期にまでおよぶ。しかし, この時期に自然夜温より6∿7℃以上の高夜温になると, 一時的には展葉, 開花ならびに幼果の肥大は促されるが, 枝葉は軟弱徒長し開花後の落果が著しい。開花と萠芽時よりの積算夜温とは密接な関係を示し, 4月始めよりほぼ470℃∿500℃で開花期に至る。Some effects of night temperature on the shoot elongation, blooming and enlargement of fruit were studied by Confining fruiting limls during the night (7p.m-7a.m) in heated chambers. By the treatment at the shoot growth stage (the mean natural night temperature is 12-13.4℃ through treatment period) and the first stage of fruit growing (the mean natural night temperature is 21-22℃ throught treatmentp eriod), shoot elongation, blooming and fruit enlargement were much acceler ated, in case of 3∿4℃ above the natural night temperature, and this tendency was continued till harvest, even if the treatment discontinued merely at the first stage of fruit growing. However, when the treatment tremperature was 6∿7℃ higher than the natural night temperature, all young fruits fell down at about 10∿20 days after the treatment. The flowering is closely connected with the accumlatively night temperature before the flowering. In the treatment of 1959 and 1960,we observed that accumlatively night temperature from the beginning of April to flowering stage is 470-500

Item response theory analysis of cognitive tests in people with dementia:a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Performance on psychometric tests is key to diagnosis and monitoring treatment of dementia. Results are often reported as a total score, but there is additional information in individual items of tests which vary in their difficulty and discriminatory value. Item difficulty refers to an ability level at which the probability of responding correctly is 50%. Discrimination is an index of how well an item can differentiate between patients of varying levels of severity. Item response theory (IRT) analysis can use this information to examine and refine measures of cognitive functioning. This systematic review aimed to identify all published literature which had applied IRT to instruments assessing global cognitive function in people with dementia. METHODS: A systematic review was carried out across Medline, Embase, PsychInfo and CINHAL articles. Search terms relating to IRT and dementia were combined to find all IRT analyses of global functioning scales of dementia. RESULTS: Of 384 articles identified four studies met inclusion criteria including a total of 2,920 people with dementia from six centers in two countries. These studies used three cognitive tests (MMSE, ADAS-Cog, BIMCT) and three IRT methods (Item Characteristic Curve analysis, Samejima’s graded response model, the 2-Parameter Model). Memory items were most difficult. Naming the date in the MMSE and memory items, specifically word recall, of the ADAS-cog were most discriminatory. CONCLUSIONS: Four published studies were identified which used IRT on global cognitive tests in people with dementia. This technique increased the interpretative power of the cognitive scales, and could be used to provide clinicians with key items from a larger test battery which would have high predictive value. There is need for further studies using IRT in a wider range of tests involving people with dementia of different etiology and severity