The Neural Basis of Responsibility Attribution in Decision-Making

Social responsibility links personal behavior with societal expectations and plays a key role in affecting an agent’s emotional state following a decision. However, the neural basis of responsibility attribution remains unclear. In two previous event-related brain potential (ERP) studies we found that personal responsibility modulated outcome evaluation in gambling tasks. Here we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to identify particular brain regions that mediate responsibility attribution. In a context involving team cooperation, participants completed a task with their teammates and on each trial received feedback about team success and individual success sequentially. We found that brain activity differed between conditions involving team success vs. team failure. Further, different brain regions were associated with reinforcement of behavior by social praise vs. monetary reward. Specifically, right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) was associated with social pride whereas dorsal striatum and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were related to reinforcement of behaviors leading to personal gain. The present study provides evidence that the RTPJ is an important region for determining whether self-generated behaviors are deserving of praise in a social context.     

The oncolytic peptide LTX-315 triggers necrotic cell death

The oncolytic peptide LTX-315 has been designed for killing human cancer cells and turned out to stimulate anti-cancer immune responses when locally injected into tumors established in immunocompetent mice. Here, we investigated the question whether LTX-315 induces apoptosis or necrosis. Transmission electron microscopy or morphometric analysis of chromatin-stained tumor cells revealed that LTX-315 failed to induce apoptotic nuclear condensation and rather induced a necrotic phenotype. Accordingly, LTX-315 failed to stimulate the activation of caspase-3, and inhibition of caspases by means of Z-VAD-fmk was unable to reduce cell killing by LTX-315. In addition, 2 prominent inhibitors of regulated necrosis (necroptosis), namely, necrostatin-1 and cycosporin A, failed to reduce LTX-315-induced cell death. In conclusion, it appears that LTX-315 triggers unregulated necrosis, which may contribute to its pro-inflammatory and pro-immune effects.     

Potential for mating disruption of Sparganothis sulfureana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in cranberries.

The feasibility of disrupting mating of Sparganothis fruitworm with a sprayable microencapsulated formulation of (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (E11-14:Ac), the major pheromone component, was evaluated in New Jersey during 1996 and 1997 seasons. In both years, application of encapsulated E11-14:Ac, at 25-187.5 g (AI)/ha, reduced the incidence of mating of virgin females placed in treated plots relative to those placed in control plots. Pheromone trap catches were lower in pheromone treated plots, indicating that fewer male moths were able to locate the traps in treated plots. Larval density and fruit damage were significantly lower in plots treated with 62.5,125, or 187.5 g (AI)/ha of pheromone than in the untreated control. Air and foliage samples were collected to determine the air titers and foliage residuals of E11-14:Ac throughout the adult flight during 1996 and 1997. E11-14:Ac levels in air and foliage samples, declined sharply one wk after the pheromone application. However, detectable levels of E11-14:Ac were present in both air and foliage samples throughout the 3- to 4-wk period after the pheromone application. Multiple applications of pheromone at lower rates may be more effective in maintaining pheromone levels than a single dose at higher rates. These results suggest that mating disruption is a promising strategy to manage Sparganothis fruitworm in cranberries.     

Cleavage of territrems by alkaline hydrogen peroxide: Isolation and characterization of the aromatic moiety of territrems

The chemical reaction of cleavaging territrem B to give 3,4,5-trimethoxy benzoic acid by alkaline hydrogen peroxide was investigated. The method was applied for confirmation of the chemical structure of the aromatic moiety of territrem A, A’, B, and B’. The physicochemical properties of the aromatic cleavage product of territrem Aindicated the structure as 3,4-methylendioxy, 5-methoxy benzoic acid (or 4-methoxy, 6-carboxy, 1, 3-benzodioxole). The experiment also gave the evidences that territrem A and A’, on the other hand territrem B and B’ have the identical aromatic moieties on their structures.     

丽江百合鳞茎细胞内贮藏物质的细胞形态学观察

丽江百合(Lilium lijiangenese L.J.Peng,sp nov.)引种栽培三年。鳞茎体积增大,中部鳞片细胞由平均12层增加到21层。细胞体积由平均86.5×79微米增加到97.5×89.7微米。细胞内含有两种贮藏颗粒,一种体积较大,椭圆形,另一种体积略小呈圆球形。较大者含有淀粉物质,较小者含有蛋白质、脂肪、多糖和少量核糖核酸。细胞内平均淀粉粒数由4.2个增加到8个,其体积由29.1×19.5微米增加到46.8×23.4微米。蛋白质颗粒数由平均12个增加到70个,体积稍有减小,由4.68—7.8微米减少到3.9—5.85微米。     

High-performance liquid chromatography of type-III heptocarboxylic porphyrinogen isomers.

A reversed-phase h.p.l.c. system is described for the separation of the four type-III heptacarboxylic porphyrinogen isomers. The effects of buffer concentration, pH and type and proportion of organic modifier in the mobile phase on retention and resolution of isomers were studied. Optimum separation on an ODS-Hypersil column was by elution with a ternary mobile phase of acetonitrile, methanol and 1 M-ammonium acetate, pH 5.16 (7:3:90, by vol.). Isomer identification was based on a comparison of their retention times with those of authentic standards, and was further confirmed by h.p.l.c. analysis of the characteristic mixture of three pentacarboxylic porphyrins formed after partial decarboxylation of individual isomers in 0.3 M-HCl at 160 degrees C.     

Trifluoperazine Activates and Releases Latent ATP-Generating Enzymes Associated with the Synaptic Plasma Membrane

Neurone-specific enolase (NSE) and the brain form of creatine phosphokinase (CPK-BB) were previously found to be present in rat synaptosomal plasma membranes (SPM) using two-dimensional gel (2-D gel) and peptide analysis; enzymatic activities of these and of pyruvate kinase (PK), all involved in ATP generation, were shown to be "cryptic" unless the SPM were treated with Triton X-100. We now show that enzymatic activation also occurs when the SPM are treated with trifluoperazine (TFP). TFP activation occurred even when the enzymes were membrane associated, showing that solubilization was not responsible for "unmasking" the enzyme activities. When TFP treatment was performed at alkaline instead of neutral pH, NSE and CPK-BB were released as well as PK, nonneuronal enolase, and aldolase which were identified by 2-D gel and tryptic peptide analysis. Other proteins released included calmodulin, actin, and the 70-kilodalton heat-shock cognate protein. Tubulin, synapsin I, and a 35-kilodalton basic protein were largely unaffected. The latter was identified as the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase on the basis of 2-D gel and peptide analyses and subsequent partial sequencing of a rat brain cDNA coding for the same protein. TFP treatment is thus useful for activating latent enzymes as well as for distinguishing enzymes that have a different disposition on the membrane.     

Feedback optimization of fed-batch fermentation

The problem of feedback optimization of the feed rate for fed-batch fermentation processes is formulated in the framework of singular control theory and switching hypersurfaces. Using four differential balance equations that describe a general class of fedbatch processes and a general objective function to be minimized, it is shown that under certain restrictions the feedback optimization of the feed rate can be realized as a nonlinear function of the state variables, such as the concentrations of cell mass, substrate and product, and the fermentor volume. The restrictions on the initial conditions, the fermentation kinetics and the objective function, that are needed for realization of the feedback optimization, are provided. Fed-batch fermentation models of lysine and alcohol are used to construct switching curves and to illustrate the feedback optimization of the feed flow rates.