Causal learning by infants and young children: From computational theories to language practices.

Causal reasoning-the ability to reason about causal relations between events-is fundamental to understanding how the world works. This paper reviews two prominent theories on early causal learning and offers possibilities for theory bridging. Both theories grow out of computational modeling and have significant areas of overlap while differing in several respects. Explanation-Based Learning (EBL) focuses on young infants' learning about causal concepts of physical objects and events, whereas Bayesian models have been used to describe causal reasoning beyond infancy across various concept domains. Connecting the two models offers a more integrated approach to clarifying the developmental processes in causal reasoning from early infancy through later childhood. We further suggest that everyday language practices offer a promising space for theory bridging. We provide a review of selective work on caregiver-child conversations, in particular, on the use of scaffolding language including causal talk and pedagogical questions. Linking the research on language practices to the two cognitive theories, we point out directions for further research to integrate EBL and Bayesian models and clarify how causal learning unfolds in real life. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Learning Cognitive Biology > Cognitive Development.

Comprehensive Analysis of Differentially Expressed lncRNAs miRNAs and mRNA and Their ceRNA Network of Patients With Rare-Earth Pneumoconiosis.

Rare-earth pneumoconiosis (REP) is the main occupational disease of rare earth exposed workers and there is no specific treatment. In this study, we performed high-throughput sequencing on the plasma of nine REP to describe and analyze the expression profiles of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), micro RNA (miRNA) and mRNA and investigate their regulatory networks. Our results identified a total of 125 lncRNAs, 5 miRNAs, and 82 mRNAs were differentially expressed in the plasma of patients with REP. Furthermore, Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were used to analyze the differentially expressed non-coding RNAs (ncRNA). We found the differential expression of ncRNA are mainly related to the response of cells to stimulation, Hedgehog signaling pathway and so on. We also constructed lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks to further explore their underlying mechanism and possible relationships in REP. We found that in the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks, lncRNA acts as a sponge of miRNA to regulate the target gene. The expression results were verified by qRT-PCR and the protein interaction networks of differentially expressed genes were constructed via the STRING database. OncoLnc online platform was used to do the lung cancer survival analysis among the top five mRNA analyzed by Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. We found miR-16-2-3p may used as biomarker for REP, because it is closely related to the occurrence and prognosis of REP through inflammatory reaction and in lung squamous cell carcinoma, its expression levels were positively correlated with the overall survival rate of patients.

Comparison facilitates the use of height information by 5-month-olds in containment events.

Past research has shown a discrepancy in young infants' use of height information in occlusion and containment events-a pattern typically accounted for by event categorization and rule learning. Broadening these theories, the present experiment examined the role of comparison in young infants' reasoning about physical events. We rotated a typical setup of a top-open container 90 degrees such that the opening now faced the side. An object was held vertically aligned with the side opening, enhancing the direct comparison of height. After the object was glided behind or inside the container and became hidden, 5-month-olds detected a height change in both containment and occlusion events. Thus, enhanced support for comparison facilitated young infants' use of key information in physical events (i.e., height in containment events). The finding underscores the importance of considering the role of comparison in the research of intuitive physics in infancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Regularity detection and explanation-based learning jointly support learning about physical events in early infancy.

The present research considers statistical learning (SL) and explanation-based learning (EBL) as joint mechanisms to support the development of physical knowledge. Infants watched teaching events in which a cover was lowered over an object and released, with outcomes that violated object principles. The object became fully hidden under a cover that was much shorter, and it remained partly visible under a cover that was much taller. Next, infants watched two test events identical to the teaching events except that one of the events was modified to present a plausible outcome and thus deviated from teaching. Infants at 3.5 months readily detected the regularity in the teaching events and noticed the change in the modified test event, whereas 6.5-month-olds did not. The pattern of response was reversed (1) when 3.5-month-olds were primed to notice the violation of object principles in the teaching events, which interfered with EBL and led infants to miss the change in the modified test event; and (2) when 6.5-month-olds were provided ways to remove the violation from the teaching events, which enabled EBL and led infants to notice the change in the modified test event. Together, the results shed light on young infants' approach to learning about physical events-one that integrates SL for pattern detection and EBL for causal coherence of the rule being learned.

Neodymium Oxide Induces Cytotoxicity and Activates NF-κB and Caspase-3 in NR8383 Cells.

We investigated whether Nd2O3 treatment results in cytotoxicity and other underlying effects in rat NR8383 alveolar macrophages. Cell viability assessed by the MTT assay revealed that Nd2O3 was toxic in a dose-dependent manner, but not in a time-dependent manner. An ELISA analysis indicated that exposure to Nd2O3 caused cell damage and enhanced synthesis and release of inflammatory chemokines. A Western blot analysis showed that protein expression levels of caspase-3, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and its inhibitor IκB increased significantly in response to Nd2O3 treatment. Both NF-κB and caspase-3 signaling were activated, suggesting that both pathways are involved in Nd2O3 cytotoxicity.

Young infants view physically possible support events as unexpected: New evidence for rule learning.

It has been suggested that one of the mechanisms by which infants acquire their physical knowledge is rule learning: Infants generate rules about the likely outcomes of events and revise these rules when confronted with discrepant outcomes. This approach predicts that when infants' rules are only partially correct, they will view as unexpected events that are physically possible and even ordinary but happen to contradict their faulty rules. Here we provide evidence for this prediction in young infants' responses to support events. According to prior findings, by 6.5months of age, most infants expect an object to be stable if released with half or more of its bottom surface on a support; by 8months, most infants have refined this rule and realize that an object can be stable with less support as long as the middle of the object's bottom surface is supported. In line with these findings, 7.5- but not 8.5-month-olds viewed as unexpected a possible event in which a wide box remained stable when released with only the middle third of its bottom surface resting on a narrow platform. These results provide new evidence that young infants, like older children and adults, generate and revise rules to make sense of physical events.

Infants detect changes in everyday scenes: the role of scene gist.

When watching physical events, infants bring to bear prior knowledge about objects and readily detect changes that contradict physical rules. Here we investigate the possibility that scene gist may affect infants, as it affects adults, when detecting changes in everyday scenes. In Experiment 1, 15-month-old infants missed a perceptually salient change that preserved the gist of a generic outdoor scene; the same change was readily detected if infants had insufficient time to process the display and had to rely on perceptual information for change detection. In Experiment 2, 15-month-olds detected a perceptually subtle change that preserved the scene gist but violated the rule of object continuity, suggesting that physical rules may overpower scene gist in infants' change detection. Finally, Experiments 3 and 4 provided converging evidence for the effects of scene gist, showing that 15-month-olds missed a perceptually salient change that preserved the gist and detected a perceptually subtle change that disrupted the gist. Together, these results suggest that prior knowledge, including scene knowledge and physical knowledge, affects the process by which infants maintain their representations of everyday scenes.

Mental spatial transformations in 14- and 16-month-old infants: effects of action and observational experience.

Infants' ability to mentally track the orientation of an object during a hidden rotation was investigated (N = 28 in each experiment). A toy on a turntable was fully covered and then rotated 90°. When revealed, the toy had turned with the turntable (probable event), remained at its starting orientation (improbable event in Experiment 1), or turned to the opposite side (improbable event in Experiment 2). Results demonstrated a developmental progression between 14 and 16 months of age in infants' sensitivity to spatial object relations and their ability to track the orientation of an object during hidden rotation. Experiment 3 showed that 14-month-olds' performance improved with hands-on training, highlighting the role of action experience in cognitive development.

Jasmonate- and salicylate-induced defenses in wheat affect host preference and probing behavior but not performance of the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae.

Jasmonate- and salicylate-mediated signaling pathways play significant roles in induced plant defenses, but there is no sufficient evidence for their roles in monocots against aphids. We exogenously applied methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA) on wheat seedlings and examined biochemical responses in wheat and effects on the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (Fab.). Application of MeJA significantly increased levels of wheat's polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase and proteinase inhibitor 1, 2 and 6 days after treatment. In two-choice tests, adult aphids preferred control wheat leaves to MeJA- or SA-treated leaves. Electrical penetration graph (EPG) recordings of aphid probing behavior revealed that on MeJA-treated plants, the duration of aphid's first probe was significantly shorter and number of probes was significantly higher than those on control plants. Also total duration of probing on MeJA-treated plants was significantly shorter than on control plants. Total duration of salivation period on SA-treated plants was significantly longer, while mean phloem ingestion period was significantly shorter than on control plants. However, no significant difference in total duration of phloem sap ingestion period was observed among treatments. The EPG data suggest that MeJA-dependent resistance factors might be due to feeding deterrents in mesophyll, whereas the SA-mediated resistance may be phloem-based. We did not observe any significant difference of MeJA and SA application on aphid development, daily fecundity, intrinsic growth rate and population growth. The results indicate that both MeJA- and SA-induced defenses in wheat deterred S. avenae colonization processes and feeding behavior, but had no significant effects on its performance.

Major phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity and antidiabetic potential of rice bean (Vigna umbellata L.) in China.

Interest in edible beans as nutraceuticals is increasing. In the present study, the individual phenolic acids, the total phenolic content (TPC), the total flavonoid content (TFC), and the antioxidant and antidiabetic potential of 13 varieties of rice beans from China were investigated. Eight phenolic compounds (catechin, epicatechin, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vitexin, isovitexin, sinapic acid, quercetin) were analyzed on an ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) mass spectrometry (MS) system. The rice bean varieties had significant differences in total phenolic compounds (ranging from 123.09 ± 10.35 to 843.75 ± 30.15 µg/g), in TPC (ranging from 3.27 ± 0.04 to 6.43 ± 0.25 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g), in TFC (ranging from 55.95 ± 11.16 to 320.39 ± 31.77 mg catechin (CE)/g), in antioxidant activity (ranging from 39.87 ± 1.37 to 46.40 ± 2.18 µM·TE/g), in α-glucosidase inhibition activity (ranging from 44.32 ± 2.12 to 68.71 ± 2.19) and in advanced glycation end products formation inhibition activity (ranging from 34.11 ± 0.59 to 75.75 ± 0.33). This study is the first report on phytochemistry and biological activities in rice beans.

The structure-activity relationship in herbicidal monosubstituted sulfonylureas.

BACKGROUND: The herbicide sulfonylurea (SU) belongs to one of the most important class of herbicides worldwide. It is well known for its ecofriendly, extreme low toxicity towards mammals and ultralow dosage application. The original inventor, G Levitt, set out structure-activity relationship (SAR) guidelines for SU structural design to attain superhigh bioactivity. A new approach to SU molecular design has been developed. RESULTS: After the analysis of scores of SU products by X-ray diffraction methodology and after greenhouse herbicidal screening of 900 novel SU structures synthesised in the authors' laboratory, it was found that several SU structures containing a monosubstituted pyrimidine moiety retain excellent herbicidal characteristics, which has led to partial revision of the Levitt guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Among the novel SU molecules, monosulfuron and monosulfuron-ester have been developed into two new herbicides that have been officially approved for field application and applied in millet and wheat fields in China. A systematic structural study of the new substrate-target complex and the relative mode of action in comparison with conventional SU has been carried out. A new mode of action has been postulated.

Synthesis and biological activity of novel 1-substituted phenyl-4-[N-[(2'-morpholinothoxy)phenyl]aminomethyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazoles.

In an attempt to search for potent antifungal agents, a series of novel 1-substituted phenyl-4-[N-[(2'-morpholinothoxy)phenyl]aminomethyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazoles 5a-m was designed and synthesized via Huisgen cycloaddition reaction between various (2-morpholinoethoxy)-N-(prop-2-ynyl)aniline and different azidobenzene. Their chemical structures were characterized by (1) H NMR and elemental analysis. A cleaner reaction with milder conditions and satisfactory yields was observed in the micorwave-assisted synthesis of 4a-c. The fungicidal activity of some target compounds were evaluated in vitro against Fusarium omysporum, Physalospora piricola, Alternaria solani, Cercospora arachidicola and Gibberella zeae at 50 µg/mL. The bioassay results indicated that some compounds exhibited moderate fungicidal activities. Furthermore, compound 5h displayed equal activity to the positive control compounds against Alternaria solani.

Design, synthesis and antifungal activities of novel pyrrole alkaloid analogs.

A series of novel analogs of pyrrole alkaloid were designed and synthesized by a facile method and their structures were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The structure of compound 2a was identified by 2D NMR including heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (HMQC), heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation (HMBC) and H-H correlation spectrometry (H-H COSY) spectra. Their antifungal activities against five fungi were evaluated, and the results indicated that some of the title compounds showed moderate fungicidal activities in vitro against Alternaria solani, Cercospora arachidicola, Fusarium omysporum, Gibberella zeae and Physalospora piricola at the dosage of 50 µg mL(-1). Compound 2a and 3a exhibited good activities against P. piricola at low dosage.

Priming 4.5-month-old infants to use height information by enhancing retrieval.

How do infants select and use information that is relevant to the task at hand? Infants treat events that involve different spatial relations as distinct, and their selection and use of object information depends on the type of event they encounter. For example, 4.5-month-olds consider information about object height in occlusion events, but infants typically fail to do so in containment events until they reach the age of 7.5 months. However, after seeing a prime involving occlusion, 4.5-month-olds became sensitive to height information in a containment event (Experiment 1). The enhancement lasted over a brief delay (Experiment 2) and persisted even longer when infants were shown an additional occlusion prime but not an object prime (Experiment 3). Together, these findings reveal remarkable flexibility in visual representations of young infants and show that their use of information can be facilitated not by strengthening object representations per se but by strengthening their tendency to retrieve available information in the representations.

Synthesis and antifungal activities of new pyrazole derivatives via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction.

A series of cycloadducts--pyrazoles via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of generated nitrilimines with N-(4-chloro-2-fluorophenyl)maleimide were described. The novel compounds synthesized were characterized by (1)H NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. The fungicidal tests showed that most of the title compounds exhibit significant fungicidal activities against Corynespora cassiicola.

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of novel aminophenazine-1-carboxylate derivatives.

A series of novel 6-aminophenazine-1-, 7-aminophenazine-1- and 8-aminophenazine-1-carboxylate derivatives were synthesized by a facile method, and their structures were characterized by (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Some unexpected byproducts V-7b-V-8d were noticed and isolated, and their structures were identified by 2D NMR spectra including heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (HMQC), heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation (Hmbc) and H-H correlation spectrometry (H-H COSY) approach. Their fungicidal activities against five fungi were evaluated, which indicated that most of the title compounds showed low fungicidal activities in vitro against Alternaria solani, Cercospora arachidicola, Fusarium omysporum, Gibberella zeae, and Physalospora piricola at a dosage of 50 microg mL(-1), while compounds IV-6a and IV-6b exhibited excellent activities against P. piricola at that dosage. Compound IV-6a could be considered as a leading structure for further design of fungicides.

Design, synthesis, and fungicidal activity of novel analogues of pyrrolnitrin.

A series of novel analogues of pyrrolnitrin containing a thiophene moiety were designed and synthesized by a facile method, and their structures were characterized by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The isomers IV-h and V-h were isolated, and their structures were identified by 2D NMR, including heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (HMQC), heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation (HMBC), and nuclear Overhauser effect spectrometry (NOESY) spectra. Their fungicidal activities against five fungi were evaluated, and the results indicated that some of the title compounds showed excellent fungicidal activities in vitro against Alternaria solani , Gibberella zeae , Physalospora piricola , Fusarium omysporum , and Cercospora arachidicola at the dosage of 50 microg mL(-1). Some compounds shown moderate activity at low dosage. Compound V-h could be considered as a leading structure for further design of agricultural fungicides.

Preserved visual representations despite change blindness in infants.

Combining theoretical hypotheses of infant cognition and adult perception, we present evidence that infants can maintain visual representations despite their failure to detect a change. Infants under 12 months typically fail to notice a change to an object's height in a covering event. The present experiments demonstrated that 11-month-old infants can nevertheless maintain a viable representation of both the pre- and post-change heights despite their 'change blindness'. These results suggest that infants, like adults, can simultaneously maintain multiple representations, even if they do not optimally use them.

Regioselective synthesis of novel 3-alkoxy (phenyl) thiophosphorylamido-2-(per-O-acetylglycosyl-1'-imino)thiazolidine-4-one derivatives from O-alkyl N4-glycosyl(thiosemicarbazido)phosphonothioates.

A series of 3-alkoxy(phenyl)thiophosphorylamido-2-(per-O-acetylglycosyl-1'-imino)thiazolidine-4-one derivatives were prepared by the reaction of 1-alkoxy(phenyl)thiophosphoryl-4-(per-O-acetylglycosyl) thiosemicarbazides with ethyl bromoacetate. (1)H/(13)C HMBC measurements corroborated by X-ray crystallographic results revealed the exclusive regioselectivity of these ring closures toward the N-2 position of the thiosemicarbazide moiety. The bioactivity data of 3a-k suggest that the thiazolidine-4-one ring is critical for the herbicidal and fungicidal activities.

Synthesis of some N, n'-diacylhydrazine derivatives with radical-scavenging and antifungal activity.

A series of N,N'-diacylhydrazines were prepared and their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR, MS and FTICR-MS. They were tested radical-scavenging activity in vitro. The preliminary bioassays of title compounds showed that two compounds had excellent radical-scavenging activity comparable with vitamin C, while the activity is highly relative to the substituents. Surprisingly, several compounds also exhibit favorable fungicidal activities. To further explore the comprehensive structure-activity relationships about the fungicidal activity, a three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis using the method of comparative molecular field analysis was performed.