Unconditional Perseveration of the Short-Term Mental Set in Chunk Decomposition

A mental set generally refers to the brain’s tendency to stick with the most familiar solution to a problem and stubbornly ignore alternatives. This tendency is likely driven by previous knowledge (the long-term mental set) or is a temporary by-product of procedural learning (the short-term mental set). A similar problem situation is considered the factor required for perseveration of the long-term mental set, which may not be essential for the short-term mental set. To reveal the boundary conditions for perseveration of the short-term mental set, this study adopted a Chinese character decomposition task. Participants were asked to perform a practice problem that could be solved by a familiar loose chunk decomposition (loose solution) followed by a test problem, or they were asked to repeatedly perform 5–8practice problems followed by a test problem; the former is the base-set condition, and the latter is the enhanced-set condition. In Experiment 1, the test problem situation appeared to be similar to the practice problem and could be solved using the reinforced loose solution and also an unfamiliar tight chunk decomposition (tight solution) (a 2-solution problem). In Experiment 2, the test problem situation differed from the practice problem and could only be solved using an unfamiliar tight solution (a 1-solution problem). The results showed that, when comparing the enhanced-set and base-set conditions, both the accuracy rate and the response times for solving the test problem with a tight solution were worse in Experiment 1, whereas the response times were worse in Experiment 2. We concluded that perseveration of the short-term mental set was independent of the similarity between problem situations and discuss the differences in perseveration between two types of fixation

Fat- and iron-corrected ADC to assess liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B

PURPOSE:We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in assessing liver fibrosis after correcting for the effects of hepatic steatosis or iron deposition.METHODS:Seventy-three patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) were included in this retrospective study. The aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) was calculated for classification of the fibrosis grade. Significant fibrosis and cirrhosis were diagnosed with the APRI. The proton density fat fraction (PDFF), R2*, and ADC values were measured. The impact of the PDFF and R2* on the ADC was analyzed. The PDFF- and R2*-corrected ADC values (ADCPDFF and ADCR2*) were calculated according to linear regression equations. The diagnostic performance of uncorrected ADC (ADCu), ADCPDFF and ADCR2* in predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis was assessed, and the area under the curve (AUC) values were compared.RESULTS:Among the 73 patients in this study, the mean ADC was 0.866 ± 0.084×10-3 mm2/s, the mean R2* was 60.24 (42.77, 85.37) 1/s, and the mean PDFF was 2.90% (1.60%- 4.80%). The ADC was negatively correlated with the PDFF (r= -0.298, P = .010) and R2* (r = -0.457, P < .001). Linear regression analysis showed that the PDFF and R2* were independent factors of the ADC (β= -0.315, P = .007, R2= 0.099 and β= -0.493, P < .001, R2= 0.243, respectively). Compared with the uncorrected ADC (r= -0.307, P = .022), the correlation between the ADCPDFF and fibrosis grade increased (r= -0.513, P < .001), and the correlation between the ADCR2* and fibrosis grade decreased (r=-0.168, P = .215). The AUC of the ADCPDFF was significantly larger than that of the ADCu in the diagnosis of significant fibrosis and cirrhosis, which increased from 0.68 to 0.81 (P = .003) for predicting significant fibrosis and from 0.75 to 0.84 (P = .009) for predicting cirrhosis. The AUCs for the ADCR2* in the diagnosis of significant fibrosis and cirrhosis were both lower than that for the uncorrected ADC (P = .206 and P = .109, respectively).CONCLUSION:After correcting for the effects of steatosis, the diagnostic performance of the ADC for signifi-cant fibrosis and cirrhosis increased. The ADC corrected for the effects of steatosis may be more reliable for identifying liver fibrosis

Clinical and radiological characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 before and after the Omicron outbreak: a multi-center study

IntroductionThe emergence of the Omicron variant has seen changes in the clinical and radiological presentations of COVID-19 in pediatric patients. We sought to compare these features between patients infected in the early phase of the pandemic and those during the Omicron outbreak.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 68 pediatric COVID-19 patients, of which 31 were infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain (original group) and 37 with the Omicron variant (Omicron group). Clinical symptoms and chest CT scans were examined to assess clinical characteristics, and the extent and severity of lung involvement.ResultsPediatric COVID-19 patients predominantly had normal or mild chest CT findings. The Omicron group demonstrated a significantly reduced CT severity score than the original group. Ground-glass opacities were the prevalent radiological findings in both sets. The Omicron group presented with fewer symptoms, had milder clinical manifestations, and recovered faster than the original group.DiscussionThe clinical and radiological characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 patients have evolved with the advent of the Omicron variant. For children displaying severe symptoms warranting CT examinations, it is crucial to weigh the implications of ionizing radiation and employ customized scanning protocols and protective measures. This research offers insights into the shifting disease spectrum, aiding in the effective diagnosis and treatment of pediatric COVID-19 patients

The Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) Genome Provides New Insights into the Evolution of an Early Lineage of Teleosts

The Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), one of the world’s most expensive cultivated ornamental fishes, is an endangered species. It represents an ancient lineage of teleosts: the Osteoglossomorpha. Here, we provide a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of a female golden-variety arowana using a combination of deep shotgun sequencing and high-resolution linkage mapping. In addition, we have also generated two draft genome assemblies for the red and green varieties. Phylogenomic analysis supports a sister group relationship between Osteoglossomorpha (bonytongues) and Elopomorpha (eels and relatives), with the two clades together forming a sister group of Clupeocephala which includes all the remaining teleosts. The arowana genome retains the full complement of eight Hox clusters unlike the African butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi), another bonytongue fish, which possess only five Hox clusters. Differential gene expression among three varieties provides insights into the genetic basis of colour variation. A potential heterogametic sex chromosome is identified in the female arowana karyotype, suggesting that the sex is determined by a ZW/ZZ sex chromosomal system. The high-quality reference genome of the golden arowana and the draft assemblies of the red and green varieties are valuable resources for understanding the biology, adaptation and behaviour of Asian arowanas

The Asian arowana (<i>Scleropages formosus</i>) genome provides new insights into the evolution of an early lineage of teleosts

The Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), one of the world’s most expensive cultivated ornamental fishes, is an endangered species. It represents an ancient lineage of teleosts: the Osteoglossomorpha. Here, we provide a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of a female golden-variety arowana using a combination of deep shotgun sequencing and high-resolution linkage mapping. In addition, we have also generated two draft genome assemblies for the red and green varieties. Phylogenomic analysis supports a sister group relationship between Osteoglossomorpha (bonytongues) and Elopomorpha (eels and relatives), with the two clades together forming a sister group of Clupeocephala which includes all the remaining teleosts. The arowana genome retains the full complement of eight Hox clusters unlike the African butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi), another bonytongue fish, which possess only five Hox clusters. Differential gene expression among three varieties provides insights into the genetic basis of colour variation. A potential heterogametic sex chromosome is identified in the female arowana karyotype, suggesting that the sex is determined by a ZW/ZZ sex chromosomal system. The high-quality reference genome of the golden arowana and the draft assemblies of the red and green varieties are valuable resources for understanding the biology, adaptation and behaviour of Asian arowanas

Conflict detection and base-rate extremity

People tend to ignore the probabilistic rules cued by the base-rate information and rely on the heuristic intuition cued by the descriptive information to make “stereotypical” responses in base-rate problems. Conflict detection studies have shown that reasoners can detect conflicts between heuristic intuition and probabilistic considerations despite ultimately stereotypical responses. However, these studies primarily used extreme base-rate tasks. A critical open question is the extent to which successful conflict detection relies on an extreme base rate. The present study explores this issue by manipulating the base-rate extremity of problems in which the descriptive information and the base-rate information conflict or not. As a result, when reasoners made stereotypical responses in the conflict version of the moderate base-rate task, they took longer to respond, had lower confidence in their responses, and were slower to evaluate their confidence than in the no-conflict version of the task. All three measures indicate that stereotypical reasoners can stably detect conflict in moderate base-rate tasks, which expands the scope of successful conflict detection. Moreover, our response confidence data found a larger detection effect size in the extreme base-rate condition than in the moderate base-rate condition. This suggests that conflict detection is more efficient as the base-rate extremity increases. Implications for the boundary conditions of conflict detection are discussed

The effect of aging on the dynamics of reactive and proactive cognitive control of response interference

A prime-target interference task was used to investigate the effects of cognitive aging on reactive and proactive control in which frequency confounds and feature repetitions were eliminated from the cognitive control measures. We used distributional analyses to explore the dynamics of the two control functions by distinguishing the strength of incorrect response capture and the efficiency of suppression control. For reactive control, within-trial conflict control and between-trial conflict adaption were analyzed. The statistical analysis showed that there were no reliable between-trial conflict adaption effects for both young and older adults. For within-trial conflict control, the results revealed that older adults showed larger interference effects on mean RT and mean accuracy. Distributional analyses showed that the decline mainly stemmed from inefficient suppression rather than from stronger incorrect responses. For proactive control, older adults showed comparable proactive conflict resolution than young adults on mean RT and mean accuracy. Distributional analyses showed older adults were as effective as younger adults in adjusting their responses to minimize automatic response capture and actively suppress the direct response activation based on congruency proportion information. The results suggest that older adults were less proficient at suppressing interference after conflict was detected but can anticipate and prevent inference in response to congruency proportion manipulation. The results challenge earlier views that older adults have selective deficits in proactive control but are spared in reactive control

Estrogen-sensitive activation of SGK1 induces M2 macrophages with anti-inflammatory properties and a Th2 response at the maternal–fetal interface

Abstract Background Decidual macrophages participate in immune regulation at the maternal–fetal interface. Abnormal M1/M2 polarization of decidual macrophages might predispose immune maladaptation in recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). However, the mechanism of decidual macrophage polarization is unclear. We explored the role of Estradiol (E2)-sensitive serum-glucocorticoid regulated kinase (SGK) 1 in promoting macrophage polarization and suppressing inflammation at the maternal–fetal interface. Methods We assessed serum levels of E2 and progesterone during first trimester of pregnancy in women with or without threatened miscarriages (ended in live birth, n = 448; or early miscarriages, n = 68). For detection of SGK1 in decidual macrophages, we performed immunofluorescence labeling and western blot analysis applying decidual samples from RPL (n = 93) and early normal pregnancy (n = 66). Human monocytic THP-1 cells were differentiated into macrophages and treated with Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 ligand lipopolysaccharide (LPS), E2, inhibitors or siRNA for in vitro analysis. Flow cytometry analysis were conducted to detect macrophages polarization. We also applied ovariectomized (OVX) mice with hormones exploring the mechanisms underlying the regulation of SGK1 activation by E2 in the decidual macrophages in vivo. Results SGK1 expression down regulation in the decidual macrophages of RPL was consistent with the lower concentration and slower increment of serum E2 from 4 to 12 weeks of gestation seen in these compromised pregnancies. LPS reduced SGK1 activities, but induced the pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype of THP-1 monocyte-derived macrophages and T helper (Th) 1 cytokines that favored pregnancy loss. E2 pretreatment promoted SGK1 activation in the decidual macrophages of OVX mice in vivo. E2 pretreatment amplified SGK1 activation in TLR4-stimulated THP-1 macrophages in vitro through the estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) and PI3K pathway. E2-sensitive activation of SGK1 increased M2 macrophages and Th2 immune responses, which were beneficial to successful pregnancy, by inducing ARG1 and IRF4 transcription, which are implicated in normal pregnancy. The experiments on OVX mice have shown that pharmacological inhibition of E2 promoted nuclear translocation of NF-κB in the decidual macrophages. Further more, pharmacological inhibition or knockdown of SGK1 in TLR4-stimulated THP-1 macrophages activated NF-κB by promoting its nuclear translocation, leading to increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in pregnancy loss. Conclusion Our findings highlighted the immunomodulatory roles of E2-activated SGK1 in Th2 immune responses by priming anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages at the maternal–fetal interface, resulting in a balanced immune microenvironment during pregnancy. Our results suggest new perspectives on future preventative strategies for RPL