A dilution effect without dilution: When missing evidence, not non-diagnostic evidence, is judged inaccurately.

When asked to combine two pieces of evidence, one diagnostic and one non-diagnostic, people show a dilution effect: the addition of non-diagnostic evidence dilutes the overall strength of the evidence. This non-normative effect has been found in a variety of tasks and has been taken as evidence that people inappropriately combine information. In a series of five experiments, we found the dilution effect, but surprisingly it was not due to the inaccurate combination of diagnostic and non-diagnostic information.

Effects of oral environment on frailty: particular relevance of tongue pressure.

Purpose: Oral frailty or the loss of oral functionality can be a symptomatic precursor of overall frailty. Previous studies have suggested that decreased tongue pressure causes a decline in ingesting and swallowing function and poor nutrition. This study investigated what factor(s) contribute to tongue pressure, thereby leading to frailty.

Resolving the so-called "probabilistic paradoxes in legal reasoning" with Bayesian networks.

Examples of reasoning problems such as the twins problem and poison paradox have been proposed by legal scholars to demonstrate the limitations of probability theory in legal reasoning. Specifically, such problems are intended to show that use of probability theory results in legal paradoxes. As such, these problems have been a powerful detriment to the use of probability theory - and particularly Bayes theorem - in the law.

Efficacy and safety of hangeshashinto for treatment of GERD refractory to proton pump inhibitors : Usual dose proton pump inhibitors plus hangeshashinto versus double-dose proton pump inhibitors: randomized, multicenter open label exploratory study.

Background: Proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) leads to a clinical decline in the quality of life (QOL). Therefore, new treatment options are needed. We performed a multicenter, randomized, parallel-group exploratory trial to determine the efficacy of hangeshashinto (HST) in patients with PPI-refractory GERD.

Dynamic integration of conceptual information during learning.

The development and application of concepts is a critical component of cognition. Although concepts can be formed on the basis of simple perceptual or semantic features, conceptual representations can also capitalize on similarities across feature relationships. By representing these types of higher-order relationships, concepts can simplify the learning problem and facilitate decisions.

Multialternative decision by sampling: A model of decision making constrained by process data.

Sequential sampling of evidence, or evidence accumulation, has been implemented in a variety of models to explain a range of multialternative choice phenomena. But the existing models do not agree on what, exactly, the evidence is that is accumulated. They also do not agree on how this evidence is accumulated.

Design of a Hypersensitive pH-Sensory System Created by a Combination of Charge Neutralization and Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE).

In our bodies, a slight pH change causes remarkable activation or serious damage in the biological processes and continuously keeps biological homeostasis. Detection of such a slight pH change has been a constant demand in searching for unusual biological events. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel pH sensory system that has been achieved through a combination of charge neutralization by a slight pH change with aggregation-induced emission (AIE).

A Chiral Recognition System Orchestrated by Self-Assembly: Molecular Chirality, Self-Assembly Morphology, and Fluorescence Response.

The newly developed oligophenylenevinylene (OPV)-based fluorescent (FL) chiral chemosensor (OPV-Me) for the representative enantiomeric guest, 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (1,2-CHDA: RR- and SS-form) showed the high chiral discrimination ability, resulting in the different aggregation modes of OPV-Me self-assembly: RR-CHDA directed the fibrous supramolecular aggregate, whereas SS-CHDA directed the finite aggregate. The consequent FL intensity toward RR-CHDA was up to 30 times larger than that toward SS-CHDA. Accordingly, highly enantioselective recognition was achieved.

Oral conditions and dysphagia in Japanese, community-dwelling middle- and older- aged adults, independent in daily living.

Purpose: Prevention, early detection and effective rehabilitation of dysphagia are important issues to be considered in an aging society. Previous studies have shown conflicting findings regarding the association between dysphagia and its potential risk factors, including age, malnutrition, oral conditions, lifestyle and medical history. Herein, we assessed the prevalence and association of dysphagia with potential risk factors in 50- to 79-year-old adults dwelling in a community in Japan.

Photoresponsive Nanosheets of Polyoxometalates Formed by Controlled Self-Assembly Pathways.

Anionic Keggin polyoxometalates (POMs) and ether linkage-enriched ammonium ions spontaneously self-assemble into rectangular ultrathin nanosheets in aqueous media. The structural flexibility of the cation is essential to form oriented nanosheets; as demonstrated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements. The difference in initial conditions exerts significant influence on selecting for self-assembly pathways in the energy landscape.

Cohelical Crossover Network by Supramolecular Polymerization of a 4,6-Acetalized β-1,3-Glucan Macromer.

Natural polysaccharides represent a renewable resource whose effective utilization is of increasing importance. Chemical modification is a powerful tool to transform them into processable materials but usually sacrifices the original structures and properties of value. Here we introduce a chemical modification of Curdlan, a β-1,3-glucan, via 4,6-acetalization.

Time-course of Serum Pro-inflammatory Cytokines and Chemokines Levels Observed in Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis: A Case Report.

A 77-year-old man visited our hospital with chief complaints of difficulty in hearing, nasal discharge and fever. The patients was diagnosed with otitis media, and his fever continued at approximately 38°C despite the administration of clarithromycin. After that, dyspnea on exertion developed and chest X-ray examination indicated multiple infiltrative shadows.

Adaptive Self-Assembly Behavior Restrained by Supramolecular Crystallization and Molecular Recognition.

The control over supramolecular interactions and obtaining information beyond the molecular scale is an extended challenge. The intriguing self-assembly of a perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid diimide (PDI)-based novel bolaamphiphilic probe is experienced within an artificial environment that is restrained by using supramolecular crystallization and molecular recognition. The bolaamphiphile with a hydrophilic [18]-azacrown ether ring produced nanoaggregates due to differing solubilities in organic and aqueous media.

Instantaneous Conventions.

Humans can communicate even with few existing conventions in common (e.g., when they lack a shared language).

Eye Movements in Strategic Choice.

In risky and other multiattribute choices, the process of choosing is well described by random walk or drift diffusion models in which evidence is accumulated over time to threshold. In strategic choices, level- and cognitive hierarchy models have been offered as accounts of the choice process, in which people simulate the choice processes of their opponents or partners. We recorded the eye movements in 2 × 2 symmetric games including dominance-solvable games like prisoner's dilemma and asymmetric coordination games like stag hunt and hawk-dove.

Conformation Control of a Conjugated Polymer through Complexation with Bile Acids Generates Its Novel Spectral and Morphological Properties.

Control of higher-order polymer structures attracts a great deal of interest for many researchers when they lead to the development of materials having various advanced functions. Among them, conjugated polymers that are useful as starting materials in the design of molecular wires are particularly attractive. However, an equilibrium existing between isolated chains and bundled aggregates is inevitable and has made their physical properties very complicated.

Amplified fluorescence emission of bolaamphiphilic perylene-azacrown ether derivatives directed towards molecular recognition events.

Long-term creative approaches have been considered in the design of molecular probes to overcome the quenching effect of important dyes in an aqueous medium. Using the rational donor-acceptor based design principle, we demonstrate herein the different fluorescence states of a non-conjugated symmetrical perylene-azacrown ether system in a solution, from the molecular to the aggregated states. The ethylene-spacer is exceptionally capable of fluorescence enhancement, even in the aggregated state (organic nanoparticle, ONPs, 44 nm), overcoming the quenching effect on changing the solvent from tetrahydrofuran to water.

Emergent Molecular Recognition through Self-Assembly: Unexpected Selectivity for Hyaluronic Acid among Glycosaminoglycans.

Oligophenylenevinylene (OPV)-based fluorescent (FL) chemosensors exhibiting linear FL responses toward polyanions were designed. Their application to FL sensing of glycosaminoglycans (heparin: HEP, chondroitin 4-sulfate: ChS, and hyaluronic acid: HA) revealed that the charge density encoded as the unit structure directs the mode of OPV self-assembly: H-type aggregate for HEP with 16-times FL increase and J-type aggregate for HA with 93-times FL increase, thus unexpectedly achieving the preferential selectivity for HA in contrast to the conventional HEP selective systems. We have found that the integral magnitude of three factors consisting of binding mechanism, self-assembly, and FL response can amplify the structural information on the target input into the characteristic FL output.

Tailoring of the desired selectivity and the turn-on detection range in a self-assembly-based fluorescence sensory system.

This study demonstrates how to control the selectivity and the turn-on detection range toward the tailoring of an assembly-based fluorescence (FL) sensory system. Assembly-based FL chemosensors composed of oligophenylenevinylene with a varied number of guanidinium receptors (G2, G4 and G6) were newly developed, and their FL response to nucleotides (AMP, ADP and ATP) was investigated. Indeed, G6 exhibited FL emission self-assembly with ATP.

Zinc transporters ZnT3 and ZnT6 are downregulated in the spinal cords of patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The loss of homeostasis of essential metals is associated with various diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies have shown that the levels of zinc (Zn) are significantly higher in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Zn transporters and metallothioneins tightly control intracellular and extracellular Zn levels.

Translation of dicarboxylate structural information to fluorometric optical signals through self-assembly of guanidinium-tethered oligophenylenevinylene.

Although self-assembly has realized the spontaneous formation of nanoarchitectures, the nanoscopic expression of chemical structural information at the molecular level can alternatively be regarded as a tool to translate molecular structural information with high precision. We have found that a newly developed guanidinium-tethered oligophenylenevinylene exhibits characteristic fluorescence (FL) responses toward L- and meso-tartarate, wherein the different self-assembly modes, termed J- or H-type aggregation, are directed according to the molecular information encoded as the chemical structure. This morphological difference originates from the geometric anti versus gauche conformational difference between L- and meso-tartarate.

Crossmodal adaptation in right posterior superior temporal sulcus during face-voice emotional integration.

The integration of emotional information from the face and voice of other persons is known to be mediated by a number of "multisensory" cerebral regions, such as the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS). However, whether multimodal integration in these regions is attributable to interleaved populations of unisensory neurons responding to face or voice or rather by multimodal neurons receiving input from the two modalities is not fully clear. Here, we examine this question using functional magnetic resonance adaptation and dynamic audiovisual stimuli in which emotional information was manipulated parametrically and independently in the face and voice via morphing between angry and happy expressions.

Characterizing the time-perspective of nations with search engine query data.

Vast quantities of data on human behavior are being created by our everyday internet usage. Building upon a recent study by Preis, Moat, Stanley, and Bishop (2012), we used search engine query data to construct measures of the time-perspective of nations, and tested these measures against per-capita gross domestic product (GDP). The results indicate that nations with higher per-capita GDP are more focused on the future and less on the past, and that when these nations do focus on the past, it is more likely to be the distant past.