Structural neuroplasticity in computer programming beginners.

We examined the structural neuroplastic changes associated with the learning of computer programming in university students with no previous programming experience. They participated in a 15-week course (26 lessons) on the "Processing" computer programming language. We have conducted a longitudinal analysis of gray matter volume (GMV) in the magnetic resonance images obtained before and after learning computer programming. Significant neuroplastic changes appeared in the following 8 sites: the left frontal pole; the right frontal pole; the right medial frontal gyrus; the left cuneus; the left lateral cerebellum (posterior lobule and tuber); the medial cerebellum (uvula and tonsil); the right pallidum; and the left pallidum. The amount of change in the GMV of the right frontal pole correlated positively with the final product score. Furthermore, the amount of change in the GMV of the right medial frontal gyrus and the bilateral pallidum correlated positively with the test scores. Thus, the right frontal pole was presumably associated with the function of persistent attempts to accomplish tasks (goal achievement-related function). The right medial frontal gyrus and the bilateral pallidum were presumably related to deduction and reward functions, respectively. Therefore, multiple brain regions appear to be involved in programming learning through different functions.

Educational significance and challenges of conducting the objective structured clinical examination twice for midwifery students before and after clinical training: A longitudinal single university study during 2014-2019 in Japan.

This study aimed to clarify the educational significance and issues associated with administering the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) twice to midwifery students, i.e., before and after clinical training. In Sapporo City University in Japan, 37 assessment items of the OSCE were configured as "Overall," with 17 items as midwifery's normal delivery preparation (Part 1) and 20 items as midwifery's normal delivery assistance (Part 2). All students had attended lectures with textbooks. The first and second OSCEs were conducted before and after the clinical training, respectively. The scores of 54 students were retrospectively analyzed over 6 years (2014-2019). The results of the first and second OSCEs were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed rank-sum test, Fisher's exact test, and analysis of variance. The mean scores for "Overall" [0-37], "Part 1" [0-17], and "Part 2" [0-20] in the second OSCEs were significantly higher than those in the first OSCE (Overall: 22.7 vs 19.3, Part 1: 9.50 vs 7.71, Part 2: 13.2 vs 11.6, p<0.05, respectively). Regarding "Overall" and "Part 1," a positive correlation was observed between the first and second OSCEs, wherein the full scores of "Part 1," converted from 17 to 20 points to match the full scores of "Part 2," were significantly lower than those of Part 2 (p<0.05, respectively). There was a positive correlation between the scores of the first and second OSCEs in "Part 1" and "Part 2" (p<0.05). The scores increased between the two OSCEs, and participants could objectively grasp the knowledge and skills. The OSCEs conducted twice were useful in skilling-up the normal delivery preparation and assistance skills of midwifery students. However, developing an advanced educational method might be necessary for the midwifery students' preparation of normal delivery, because the scores in the OSCEs were lower.

Third-party punishment by preverbal infants.

Third-party punishment of antisocial others is unique to humans and seems to be universal across cultures. However, its emergence in ontogeny remains unknown. We developed a participatory cognitive paradigm using gaze-contingency techniques, in which infants can use their gaze to affect agents displayed on a monitor. In this paradigm, fixation on an agent triggers the event of a stone crushing the agent. Throughout five experiments (total N = 120), we show that eight-month-old infants punished antisocial others. Specifically, infants increased their selective looks at the aggressor after watching aggressive interactions. Additionally, three control experiments excluded alternative interpretations of their selective gaze, suggesting that punishment-related decision-making influenced looking behaviour. These findings indicate that a disposition for third-party punishment of antisocial others emerges in early infancy and emphasize the importance of third-party punishment for human cooperation. This behavioural tendency may be a human trait acquired over the course of evolution.

Synthesis and Catalytic Activities of 3-Decyl-ß-proline for Michael Reactions in Water without an Organic Solvent.

3-Decyl-ß-proline, which has a highly lipophilic substituent, was synthesized, and its catalytic activities in Michael addition using water as the solvent were investigated. The decyl substituent promoted the reaction by hydrophobic interactions to afford the Michael adduct in a high yield and with high diastereoselectivity under low catalyst loading.

The contingency symmetry bias (affirming the consequent fallacy) as a prerequisite for word learning: A comparative study of pre-linguistic human infants and chimpanzees.

Humans are known to possess an "affirming the consequent fallacy," which assumes that a learned contingency holds true even when the order is reversed. In contrast, non-human animals do not fall for this fallacy, as they do not have the contingency symmetry bias. Importantly, language is founded on the symmetrical relationship between symbols and referents, and the contingency symmetry bias plays a key role in word learning. A critical problem for the ontogenesis of language is whether the contingency symmetry bias has been acquired through the experience of word learning or if it is present before infants begin word learning. Using a habituation switch paradigm, 8-month-old human infants and adult chimpanzees were familiarized with two object-then-movement sequences, whereby Object A (or B) was always paired with Movement A (or B). At test, the order of the contingency was reversed. The infants showed surprise when observing the violation of the object-movement pairings in the reversed sequence (Experiment 1). In contrast, despite the chimpanzees being able to detect the violation of the pairings in the original direction (Experiment 2a), they did not discriminate the learned and novel pairings when the order of the contingency was reversed (Experiment 2b). The results suggest that the contingency symmetry bias is a uniquely human cognitive bias, one which plays a critical role for language acquisition ontogenetically. This contingency symmetry bias likely gives humans a great advantage, by enabling them to rapidly expand their knowledge without direct training and making them strikingly different from other animal species. (250 words).

Corrigendum: Touching! An Augmented Reality System for Unveiling Face Topography in Very Young Children.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00189.].

Touching! An Augmented Reality System for Unveiling Face Topography in Very Young Children.

Developmental body topography, particularly of the face, is a fundamental research topic in the current decade. However, empirical investigation of this topic for very young children faces a number of difficulties related to the task requirements and technical procedures. In this study, we developed a new task to study the spatially-sensed position of facial parts in a self-face recognition task for 2.5- and 3.5-year-old children. Using the technique of augmented reality (AR) and 3D face tracking technology, we presented participants with their projected self-image on a screen, accompanied by a digital mark located on parts of their face. We prepared a cheerful visual and auditory reward on the screen when participants showed correct localization of the mark. We then tested whether they could indicate the position of the mark on their own faces and remain motivated for task repetition. To assess the efficacy of this task, 31 2.5- and 11 3.5-year-old children participated in this study. About half of the 2.5-year-olds and 80% of the 3.5-year-olds could perform more than 30 trials. Our new task, then, was to maintain young children's motivation for task repetition using the cheerful visual and auditory reward. The analysis of localization errors suggested the uniqueness of spatial knowledge of self-face in young children. The efficacy of this new task for studying the development of body image has been confirmed.

Enantioselective α-Benzoyloxylation of Malonic Diesters by Phase-Transfer Catalysis.

A highly enantioselective α-benzoyloxylation of malonic diester has been achieved by phase-transfer catalysis. The reaction of α-monosubstituted tert-butyl methyl malonate with benzoyl peroxide in the presence of aqueous KOH and N-(9-anthracenylmethyl)cinchoninium chloride afforded the corresponding α,α-disubstituted products in generally excellent chemical yields (up to 99% yield) with high enantioselectivities (up to 96% ee). In addition, the utility of this methodology was exhibited by the synthesis of a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist.

Studies on novel HIF activators, A-503451s.I. Producing organism, fermentation, isolation and structural elucidation.

In the course of our screening for activators of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), A-503451 A and virantmycin were isolated from the cultured broth of an actinomycete strain, Streptomyces sp. SANK 60101. From the same culture, the non-active homologs A-503451 B and D were also isolated. A-503451 A and virantmycin activated HIF-dependent reporter gene expression with EC50 values of 8 and 17 ng ml-1, respectively. They are highly potent activators of HIF and thus may be therapeutically useful for erythropoiesis and neural cell protection.

Studies on novel HIF activators, A-503451sII: biological activities of A-503451A.

In the course of our screening, we discovered a novel compound, A-503451A, as a potent hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) activator. In human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells, A-503451A induced HIF-mediated luciferase reporter gene expression and stabilized HIF-1α protein. A-503451A increased the mRNA expression levels and the protein secretion of HIF-dependent genes, vascular endothelial growth factor and erythropoietin. Addition of excess ferric chloride to the culture medium suppressed the HIF-induction activity of A-503451A. A-503451A did not have iron-chelating activity in vitro, but decreased the intracellular labile iron pool concentration. These data indicate that A-503451A is a unique HIF activator.

Sound symbolism facilitates word learning in 14-month-olds.

Sound symbolism, or the nonarbitrary link between linguistic sound and meaning, has often been discussed in connection with language evolution, where the oral imitation of external events links phonetic forms with their referents (e.g., Ramachandran & Hubbard, 2001). In this research, we explore whether sound symbolism may also facilitate synchronic language learning in human infants. Sound symbolism may be a useful cue particularly at the earliest developmental stages of word learning, because it potentially provides a way of bootstrapping word meaning from perceptual information. Using an associative word learning paradigm, we demonstrated that 14-month-old infants could detect Köhler-type (1947) shape-sound symbolism, and could use this sensitivity in their effort to establish a word-referent association.

LAWS RELATED TO THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN'S HEALTH IN JAPAN.

The protection of the health of women, who share the basic role of giving birth to and raising children, is important in all societies. This protection also has a tremendous influence on the development of the next generation. The primary legislation with regard to protection of the health of women in Japan is the Maternal and Child Health Act. This Act seeks to protect pregnant women to ensure the birth of healthy children. For working women, the Labor Standards Act provides specific legislation to protect the health of those who fall pregnant. The health of girls, up to school-leaving age, is protected by the School Health & Safety Act. In addition, the protection of children in an abusive environment falls under sphere of the Child Abuse Prevention Act. For women past puberty, the Maternal Protection Act covers the option to either continue or terminate pregnancies. The Domestic Violence Prevention Act provides women with protection from spousal violence, while, for the elderly, the Long-Term Care Insurance Act ensures protection for women as they approach the end of their lives. In this way, women are afforded protection by one or more pieces of legislation in order to ensure uninterrupted health throughout their life. Few women face situations in which they become aware of these Acts. in daily life. An interest in the revision of these laws, in response to social change, can be seen to be closely connected to the reinforcement of the protection of women's health.

The image-scratch paradigm: a new paradigm for evaluating infants' motivated gaze control.

Human infants show spontaneous behaviours such as general movement, goal-directed behaviour, and self-motivated behaviour from a very early age. However, it is unclear how these behaviours are organised throughout development. A major hindrance to empirical investigation is that there is no common paradigm for all ages that can circumvent infants' underdeveloped verbal and motor abilities. Here, we propose a new paradigm, named the image-scratch task, using a gaze-contingent technique that is adaptable to various extents of motor ability. In this task, participants scratch off a black layer on a display to uncover pictures beneath it by using their gaze. We established quantitative criteria for spontaneous eye-movement based on adults' gaze-data and demonstrated that our task is useful for evaluating eye-movements motivated by outcome attractiveness in 8-month-olds. Finally, we discuss the potential of this paradigm for revealing the mechanisms and developmental transitions underlying infants' spontaneous and intentional behaviours.

Asymmetric synthesis and catalytic activity of 3-methyl-ß-proline in enantioselective anti-Mannich-type reactions.

Enantiomerically pure 3-methyl-ß-proline was synthesized using an asymmetric phase-transfer-catalyzed alkylation of a cyanopropanoate to establish the all-carbon stereogenic center. The catalytic activity of 3-methyl-ß-proline in the Mannich-type reaction between a glyoxylate imine and ketones/aldehydes was subsequently investigated. The catalyst was designed and found to be more soluble in nonpolar organic solvents relative to the unsubstituted ß-proline catalyst, and as a result allowed for added flexibility during optimization efforts. This work culminated in the development of a highly anti-diastereo- and enantioselective process employing low catalyst loading.

Catalytic asymmetric allylation of 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines and its application to the synthesis of isoquinoline alkaloids.

A catalytic asymmetric allylation of 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline was carried out with allyltrimethoxylsilane-Cu as the nucleophile in the presence of DTBM-SEGPHOS as the chiral ligand to afford corresponding chiral 1-allyltetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives in good yield and stereoselectivity. The allyl adduct thus obtained was applied to the synthesis of several isoquinoline alkaloids such as crispine A and homolaudanosine. The reaction was further used for the synthesis of the isoquinoline moiety of schulzeine A.

The history of abortion-related acts and current issues in Japan.

In Japan abortion is categorized into two types by law; one is illegal feticide and the other is legal abortion. The present criminal law forbids feticide in principle and the life of a fetus is protected. However, abortion can be practiced under the "Eugenic Protection Act" established in 1948 (currently referred to as the "Maternal Protection Act"), and is readily available in Japan. In this paper, I have traced the historical origins of abortion law and attempted to clarify the problems related to the current laws relating to artificial abortion. As a result, the existence of contradictions between attitudes toward the life of the fetus and that of the mother, women's right to self determination, and women's rights under current legislation has been clarified.

Delayed intermodal contingency affects young children's recognition of their current self.

This study investigated whether 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds use their video feedback as a reflection of their current state, even when their feedback was presented with a short temporal delay. In Experiment 1, the effects of 1- and 2-s delayed feedback were examined on an analog of the mark test. In the case of live and 1-s delayed feedback, 3-year-olds passed the test; however, they failed in the case of 2-s delayed feedback. Experiment 2 examined the effect of prior experience of delayed contingency and explorative behavior. The results showed a significant effect of prior experience. These results suggest that detection of visual-proprioceptive contingency contributes to recognition of visual feedback as one's current self.

Formal total synthesis of (-)-emetine using catalytic asymmetric allylation of cyclic imines as a key step.

[reaction: see text] Catalytic asymmetric allylation of 3,4-dihydro-6,7-dimethoxyisoquinoline was carried out using allyltrimethoxysilane in the presence of Cu(I) and tol-BINAP. The allyl adduct thus obtained was transformed to a chiral synthetic intermediate for (-)-emetine in good yield. The procedure was applied to the total synthesis of ent-emetine.

Squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen in children with acute asthma.

BACKGROUND: Increased serum levels of squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen (SCCA) have been observed in patients with allergic disorders, such as atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma. T(H)2 cytokines, which are known to be involved in the pathogenesis of allergic disorders, stimulate new synthesis of SCCA in cultured human airway epithelial cells. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether SCCA levels increase during acute exacerbations of asthma in children and whether the T(H)2 cytokines, interleukin 4 (IL-4) and IL-13, are associated with SCCA levels. METHODS: Serum levels of SCCA, IL-4, and IL-13 were measured by enzyme immunoassay during the acute phase of an asthma exacerbation (on hospital admission) and in the recovery phase (after symptoms had subsided). RESULTS: In the 35 children who participated in this study, serum levels of SCCA were significantly elevated in the acute phase (mean +/- SD, 3.09 +/- 2.03 ng/mL) compared with the recovery phase (mean +/- SD, 1.47 +/- 0.64 ng/mL) of an asthma exacerbation (P < .001). In 12 children, the IL-13 levels were observed to correlate with SCCA levels during the recovery phase (r = 0.68, P = .02) but not during the acute phase of an asthma exacerbation. CONCLUSIONS: Serum SCCA levels increase during the acute phase of an asthma exacerbation. During this phase, the increased synthesis of SCCA is not associated with IL-13 but rather mediated by other undefined stimuli. IL-13 may contribute to the basal production of SCCA in asthmatic children.

Upregulation of interleukin-4 receptor by interferon-gamma: enhanced interleukin-4-induced eotaxin-3 production in airway epithelium.

Airway epithelial cells produce a number of chemokines, including eotaxins. Among the three known eotaxins, T helper (Th) type 2 cytokines have been observed to induce the expression of eotaxin-3 mRNA. This study investigated the effect of interferon (IFN)-gamma, a Th1 cytokine, on Th2 cytokine-induced eotaxin-3 production in a bronchial epithelial cell line, BEAS-2B. BEAS-2B cells produced eotaxin-3 after stimulation with the Th2 cytokines interleukin (IL)-13 and IL-4. When BEAS-2B cells were cultured with varying concentrations of IFN-gamma for 24 h, dose-dependent inhibition of Th2 cytokine-induced eotaxin-3 mRNA expression and protein production was observed. This was associated with downregulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 activation. On the other hand, 2-d pretreatment of BEAS-2B cells with IFN-gamma dose-dependently enhanced Th2 cytokine-induced eotaxin-3 mRNA expression and production. IFN-gamma also increased the mRNA expression and protein production of IL-4 receptor (R) alpha in a time- and dose-dependent manner. In addition, IL-2Rgamma, a component of the type 1 IL-4R, was also upregulated by IFN-gamma. These results indicate that IFN-gamma has opposite effects on Th2 cytokine-induced eotaxin-3 production in BEAS-2B cells, depending on the length of exposure. Because high levels of IFN-gamma are produced during viral infection, airway viral infection may affect allergic airway inflammation in vivo by modulation of eotaxin-3 production.