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The present study investigates whether directing five- to six-year-old children's attention to hypothetical resource recipients that included familiar and non-familiar people would affect their favoritism toward a familiar person, as reflected in how they allocated resources. In Experiment 1, we instructed participants to give one of several stickers to another person or keep all the stickers for themselves. Under the control conditions, participants more frequently gave stickers to friends than to non-friends. However, when asked about others' emotions, they distributed stickers equally among friends and non-friends. Therefore, focusing on others' thoughts reduced participants' favoritism toward friends. Experiment 2 tested whether focusing on both emotional valences would affect favoritism toward a familiar person, as reflected in children's resource distribution choices. Experiment 2 was identical to Experiment 1, except we asked participants about the other person's emotional valence. When asked about others' negative emotions, participants distributed the stickers equally between themselves and others. However, when asked about others' positive emotions, they distributed more stickers to friends than to non-friends. Neither others' emotional valence nor group status affected the perceived intensity of their emotion or the participant's emotional state. These results suggest that children's favoritism toward friends can be reduced by encouraging them to think about others' negative emotional states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research investigated age-related differences in other-regarding preferences-the preference for taking others' benefit into account during social decision-making-between young and elderly adults. Young and older Korean adults responded to multiple rounds of a mini-ultimatum game, and the extent to which each individual considered outcome and intention was quantified using economic utility models. We found that older adults, compared to young adults, were less likely to consider others' intentions, while focusing more on others' outcomes. Possible psychological factors underlying our findings, including theory of mind, prosocial values, and decision strategies, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated 6‐ and 10‐month‐old infants’ abilities to infer others’ preferences based on social interactions using looking time and choice measures. Infants were randomly assigned to either a helping/neutral or hindering/neutral condition. Those in the helping/neutral condition were first familiarized with a helping event, in which an agent helped a circle climb a hill, and a neutral event, in which another agent followed the same path as the helping agent but had no interaction with the circle. During the test phase, the circle approached either the helper or the neutral agent. In the hindering/neutral condition, the infants were familiarized with a hindering event, in which an agent hindered the circle from reaching the top of the hill, and a neutral event, in which another agent followed the same path as the hindering agent but had no interaction with the circle. During the test phase, the circle approached either the hinderer or the neutral agent. For the looking‐time measure, infants in the hindering/neutral condition looked reliably longer at the approach‐hinderer than at the approach‐neutral agent event, whereas those in the helping/neutral condition looked for equal amounts of time at both test events. These results suggest that the infants expected the circle to avoid the hinderer but did not expect it to approach the helper. In the choice task, infants chose the helper more often than the neutral agent and the neutral agent more often than the hinderer, suggesting an ability to generate their own preferences for a particular agent based on the valence of helping and hindering actions. This research demonstrates infants’ sensitivity to the moral valence of agents’ social interactions, which may serve as a foundation for advanced socio‐moral reasoning. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Research on infants’ ability in social evaluation has established that even preverbal infants can distinguish between positive and negative social interactions. Infants as young as 6 months of age can distinguish between helping and hindering actions and can generate their own preference towards helpful agents. What does this study add? The present study sheds light on infants’ ability to infer a third‐party's preference, which is a more challenging task for the infants than generating their own preference. Specifically, 6‐ and 10‐month‐old infants could infer others’ preference for the neutral agent over the hinderer. Such results demonstrate infants’ sensitivity to the moral valence of agents’ social interactions and provide an evidence of negativity bias in social evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines how infants use their emergent perspective-taking and language comprehension abilities to make sense of interactions between two human agents. In the study, one agent (Agent1) could see only one of two identical balls on an apparatus because of a screen obstructing her view while the infant and another agent (Agent2) could see both balls. 19-month-old English-learning monolingual infants seemed to expect Agent2 to grasp the ball visible to Agent1 when she said to Agent2 "Give me the ball" but not when she said "Give me a ball." 14-month-olds appeared to accept that Agent2 could grasp either ball when Agent1 said "Give me the ball." Therefore, by 19 months of age, English-learning infants seem to attend to the specific linguistic units used, e.g., the definite article, to identify the referent of others' speech. Possible reasons in connection with language acquisition processes and/or environmental factors for the two age groups' respective failures with the definite and the indefinite articles are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language provides information about our psychological states. For instance, adults can use language to convey information about their goals or preferences. The current research examined whether 14- and 12-month-old infants could interpret a change in an agent’s word as signaling a change in her goals. In two experiments, 14-month-olds (Experiment 1) and 12-month-olds (Experiment 2) were first familiarized to an event in which an agent uttered a novel word and then reached for one of two novel objects. During the test trials, the agent uttered a different novel word (different-word condition) or the same word (same-word condition) and then reached for the same object or the other object. Both 14- and 12-month-olds in the different-word condition expected the agent to change her goal and reach for the other object. In contrast, the infants in the same-word condition expected the agent to maintain her goal. In Experiment 3, 12-month-olds who heard two distinct sounds instead of the agent’s novel words expected the agent to maintain her goal regardless of the change in the nonlinguistic sounds. Together, these results indicate that by 12 months of age infants can use an agent’s verbal information to detect a change in her goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During video capsule endoscopy (VCE), several factors, such as air bubbles, food material in the small bowel, and delayed gastric and small bowel transit time, influence diagnostic yield, small bowel visualization quality, and cecal completion rate. Therefore, bowel preparation before VCE is as essential as bowel preparation before colonoscopy. To date, there have been many comparative studies, consensus, and guidelines regarding different kinds of bowel cleansing agents in bowel preparation for small bowel VCE. Presently, polyethylene glycol- (PEG-) based regimens are given primary recommendation. Sodium picosulphate-based regimens are secondarily recommended, as their cleansing efficacy is less than that of PEG-based regimens. Sodium phosphate as well as complementary simethicone and prokinetics use are considered. In this paper, we reviewed previous studies regarding bowel preparation for small bowel VCE and suggested optimal bowel preparation of VCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current experiment investigated whether 6-month-olds can predict the goal of others’ actions. Infants were familiarized to an actor repeatedly reaching for and grasping object-A as opposed to object-B. Object-B was either (1) visible to the actor; (2) hidden by an opaque screen from the actor (but not the infants); or (3) placed behind the screen by the actor herself, so that even though she could no longer see object-B, she was aware of its presence. The positions of the two objects were then reversed. During the test trial, we measured the infants’ eye fixations while the actor paused for 6 s. The infants generated predictive eye movements toward object-A only when the actor could see object-B (1) or was aware of its presence in the situation (3). Thus, 6-month-olds can predict, rather than only retrospectively respond to, the goal objects of others’ actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How sophisticated are infants at using novel verbal information when reasoning about which of two objects an agent is likely to select? The present research examined the development of infants’ ability to interpret a change from one novel word to another as signaling a possible change in which object the agent would choose next. In three experiments, 7- and 12-month-olds were familiarized to an event in which they heard a novel word ("A dax!") and then saw an agent reach for one of two distinct objects. During test, the infants heard a different novel word ("A pilk!") and then saw the agent grasp the same object or the other object. At 7 months, infants ignored the change in word and expected the agent to continue reaching for the same object. At 12 months, however, infants attended to the change in word: They realized that it signaled a possible change in the agent’s upcoming actions, though they were unable to form a specific expectation about what these new actions might be, most likely due to their limited mutual-exclusivity assumption. Control conditions supported these interpretations. Together, these results suggest that by 12 months of age, infants understand not only that words are selected for communicative purposes, but also that a change from one novel word to another may signal a change in an agent’s upcoming actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Do 18-month-olds understand that an agent’s false belief can be corrected by an appropriate, though not an inappropriate, communication? In Experiment 1, infants watched a series of events involving two agents, a ball, and two containers: a box and a cup. To start, agent1 played with the ball and then hid it in the box, while agent2 looked on. Next, in agent1’s absence, agent2 moved the ball from the box to the cup. When agent1 returned, agent2 told her “The ball is in the cup!” (informative-intervention condition) or “I like the cup!” (uninformative-intervention condition). During test, agent1 reached for either the box (box event) or the cup (cup event). In the informative-intervention condition, infants who saw the box event looked reliably longer than those who saw the cup event; in the uninformative-intervention condition, the reverse pattern was found. These results suggest that infants expected agent1’s false belief about the ball’s location to be corrected when she was told “The ball is in the cup!”, but not “I like the cup!”. In Experiment 2, agent2 simply pointed to the ball’s new location, and infants again expected agent1’s false belief to be corrected. These and control results provide additional evidence that infants in the second year of life can attribute false beliefs to agents. In addition, the results suggest that by 18 months of age infants expect agents’ false beliefs to be corrected by relevant communications involving words or gestures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reports an error in "Older adults consider others' intentions less but allocentric outcomes more than young adults during an ultimatum game" by Isu Cho, Hyun-joo Song, Hackjin Kim and Sunhae Sul (Psychology and Aging, 2020[Nov], Vol 35[7], 974-980). In the original article, there was a typographical error in the grant number awarded to Hyun-joo Song. The correct grant number is NRF-2018S1A3A2075114. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2020-68198-001). The present research investigated age-related differences in other-regarding preferences-the preference for taking others' benefit into account during social decision-making-between young and elderly adults. Young and older Korean adults responded to multiple rounds of a mini-ultimatum game, and the extent to which each individual considered outcome and intention was quantified using economic utility models. We found that older adults, compared to young adults, were less likely to consider others' intentions, while focusing more on others' outcomes. Possible psychological factors underlying our findings, including theory of mind, prosocial values, and decision strategies, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three experiments examined 2.5-year-olds’ sensitivity to discourse structure in pronoun interpretation. Children heard simple two-character stories illustrated by pictures on two video screens. In Experiments 1 and 2, one character in each story was established as more prominent than the other in several context sentences because it was mentioned first, appeared in subject position, was mentioned more often, and was pronominalized once. In Experiment 3, one character was singled out as more prominent only by being mentioned first and placed in subject position. In all three experiments, after hearing a pronoun subject in the final (test) sentence of each story, children looked longer at the character established as more prominent in the preceding sentences. These experiments show that 2.5-year-olds, like older children and adults, interpret pronouns relative to a discourse representation in which referents are ranked in prominence, and that the prominence of discourse referents is influenced by some of the same factors that guide pronoun interpretation in adulthood. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present research examined whether 9.5-month-old infants can attribute to an agent a disposition to perform a particular action on objects, and can then use this disposition to predict which of two new objects—one that can be used to perform the action and one that cannot—the agent is likely to reach for next. The infants first received familiarization trials in which they watched an agent slide either three (Experiments 1 and 3) or six (Experiment 2) different objects forward and backward on an apparatus floor. During test, the infants saw two new identical objects placed side by side: one stood inside a short frame that left little room for sliding, and the other stood inside a longer frame that left ample room for sliding. The infants who saw the agent slide six different objects attributed to her a disposition to slide objects: they expected her to select the “slidable” as opposed to the “unslidable” test object, and they looked reliably longer when she did not. In contrast, the infants who saw the agent slide only three different objects looked about equally when she selected either test object. These results add to recent evidence that infants in the first year of life can attribute dispositions to agents, and can use these dispositions to help predict agents’ actions in new contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present research investigated whether 13.5-month-old infants would attribute to an actor a disposition to perform a recurring action, and would then use this information to predict which of two new objects—one that could be used to perform the action and one that could not—the actor would grasp next. During familiarization, the infants watched an actor slide various objects forward and backward on an apparatus floor. During test, the infants saw two new identical objects placed side by side: one stood inside a short frame that left little room for sliding; the other stood inside a longer frame that left ample room for sliding. The infants who saw the actor grasp the object inside the short frame looked reliably longer than those who saw the actor grasp the object inside the long frame. This and control results from a lifting condition provide evidence that by 13.5 months, infants can attribute to an actor a disposition to perform a particular action. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Four experiments examined whether 3-year-olds' comprehension of pronouns was affected by the discourse prominence of the possible antecedents. In each experiment, children listened to short stories. The final (test) sentence of each story differed in whether it continued the grammatical subject (and first-mentioned character) established in prior sentences or shifted to a new one, and whether it had a pronoun or a lexical noun phrase subject. We assessed comprehension by measuring accuracy in an elicited imitation task (Experiment 1), and responses in a looking-preference comprehension task (Experiments 2–4). Both measures revealed a continued-subject bias in the interpretation of pronouns: Children tended to interpret a pronoun as coreferential with the subject (and first-mentioned character) in the preceding context. Thus young children's comprehension of a sentence is affected not only by knowledge of its words and syntactic structure, but also by the prominence of each referent in a representation of the discourse; referent prominence is affected by some of the same factors that affect coreference processing in adulthood. These findings suggest considerable continuity in the basic architecture of the sentence processing system throughout development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are believed to be responsible for tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Submucosal invasion, which greatly enhances metastasis risk, is a critical step in gastric cancer (GC) progression. To identify stem cell-related markers associated with submucosal invasion and lymph node (LN) metastasis in GCs, we investigated the expression of candidate CSC markers (CD133, CD44, and ALDH1A) and intestinal stem cell (ISC) markers (EPHB2, OLFM4, and LGR5) in early GCs that manifested submucosal invasion. We discovered that EPHB2 and LGR5 expression was frequently confined to the basal area of the lamina propria (basal pattern) in mucosal cancer, and the proportion of stem cell marker-positive cells substantially increased during submucosal invasion. CD44 expression showed a focal pattern, ALDH1A was predominantly expressed diffusely, and there was no expansion of CD44 or ALDH1A expression in the submucosal cancer cells. Unexpectedly, no CSC markers showed any associations with LN metastasis, and only loss of EPHB2 expression was associated with increased LN metastasis. Treatment of RSPO2, a niche factor, along with Wnt 3a, to GC cells led to increased EPHB2 and LGR5 mRNA levels. RNA in situ hybridization confirmed specific RSPO2 expression in the smooth muscle cells of the muscularis mucosa, suggesting that RSPO2 is responsible for the increased expression of ISC markers in GC cells at the basal areas. In summary, no stem cell markers were associated with increased LN metastasis in early GCs. Conversely, isolated EPHB2 expression was associated with lower LN metastasis. EPHB2 and LGR5 showed a basal distribution pattern along with enhanced expression in submucosal invading cells in early GCs, which was induced by a niche factor, RSPO2, from the muscularis mucosa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assesses the striking multiplicity of eukaryotic initiation factor eIF4E-binding protein phosphorylated isoforms identified by 2D gel shock. Redistribution of isoforms during heat shock and recovery; Resolution of the functional properties of the isoforms; Supression of eIF4E phosphorylation.

Background: The overlap between functional dyspepsia (FD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with more severe gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and lower quality of life. However, the gender differences in FD-IBS overlap remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the gender differences in patients with FD-IBS overlap.Methods: Controls and cases were prospectively enrolled from July 2019 to June 2020 at nine tertiary referral centers. The patients underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and their symptoms were evaluated using a questionnaire including GI symptom-related items and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). FD and IBS were diagnosed according to the Rome IV criteria, and the clinical characteristics of the FD-IBS overlap group were compared with those of the FD-only or IBS-only group.Results: Among 667 subjects (334 healthy controls, 168 with FD-only, 37 with IBS-only, 128 with FD-IBS overlap), the FD-IBS overlap group (19.2%) showed a higher rate of preference for dairy products, a higher rate of history of Helicobacter pylori eradication, and higher HADS scores than the non-overlap group (P < 0.05). In the FD-IBS overlap group, men complained of reflux symptom and loose/watery stools more than women (P < 0.05), whereas women showed more severe GI symptoms, especially epigastric pain/burning symptoms, and higher depression scores than men (all P < 0.05).Conclusions: FD-IBS overlap patients are associated with severe upper GI symptoms and depression compared to non-overlap patients. Moreover, women with FD-IBS overlap experience more severe GI and depression symptoms than men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether infants assume that people will help others to achieve specific goals. Seventeen‐month‐old infants watched familiarization events in which a competent agent succeeded in climbing hills while an incompetent agent failed to do so. In subsequent test events, the competent agent either helped the incompetent agent reach the top of the hill (helping event) or simply passed the incompetent agent and reached the top of the hill alone (ignoring event). The infants looked reliably longer at the ignoring event than at the helping event. These findings suggest that, by at least the age of 17 months, infants expect a competent agent to help an incompetent agent. Our findings provide evidence that infants in their second year of life possess some expectations of others' prosociality. Statement of contributionWhat is already known?Infants begin to reliably produce helping behaviours during their second year of life.Infants expect others to help an agent who is in need, not one who is not in need.Infants expect others to help, not ignore, another in need when linguistic information explicitly signals that the agent and the recipient belong to the same social group.What the present study adds?Infants expect someone to provide help rather than to ignore another in need under some circumstances with no linguistic information about their social group membership.Infants expect an agent to be a helper, not a bystander, even when they lack information about the agent's moral characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on early word learning reveals that verbs present a unique challenge. While English-acquiring 24-month-olds can learn novel verbs and extend them to new scenes, they perform better in rich linguistic contexts (when novel verbs appear with lexicalized noun phrases naming the event participants) than in sparser linguistic contexts (Arunachalam & Waxman 2011) However, in languages like Korean, where noun phrases are often omitted when their referents are highly accessible, rich linguistic contexts are less frequent. The current study investigates the influence of rich and sparse linguistic contexts in verb learning in Korean-acquiring 24-month-olds. In contrast to their English-acquiring counterparts, 24-month-olds acquiring Korean perform better when novel verbs appear in sparse linguistic contexts. These results, which provide the first experimental evidence on early verb learning in Korean, indicate that the optimal context for verb learning depends on many factors, including how event participants are typically referred to in the language being acquired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Prior works have found a bilingual advantage in cognitive control. • This study tested whether the bilingual advantage reflects country-of-origin effects. • Korean-English bilingual children outperformed English monolinguals on an inhibition task. • Korean monolinguals showed comparable performance to the Korean-English bilinguals. • It suggests the bilingual advantage might actually reflect country-of-origin effects. Bilingual preschoolers from East Asia outperform monolingual preschoolers from North America or Europe in executive functioning tasks, which has been interpreted as evidence of a bilingual advantage in executive functioning. This study tested whether these differences actually reflect country-of-origin effects given that East Asian preschoolers frequently outperform North American or European children in executive functioning tasks. Consistent with previous findings, Korean–English bilingual preschoolers made fewer errors in an age-appropriate executive functioning task than did English monolingual children in Canada. However, Korean–English bilingual preschoolers performed comparably to Korean monolingual preschoolers in Korea. Differences between Korean and Canadian children's executive functioning were not attributable to differences in parental cultural values or attitudes. The current findings suggest that differences between East Asian bilingual and North American monolingual preschoolers' executive functioning is related to differences in country of origin rather than language status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Reports that infants in the second year of life can attribute false beliefs to others have all used a search paradigm in which an agent with a false belief about an object’s location searches for the object. The present research asked whether 18-month-olds would still demonstrate false-belief understanding when tested with a novel non-search paradigm. An experimenter shook an object, demonstrating that it rattled, and then asked an agent, “Can you do it?” In response to this prompt, the agent selected one of two test objects. Infants realized that the agent could be led through inference (Experiment 1) or memory (Experiment 2) to hold a false belief about which of the two test objects rattled. These results suggest that 18-month-olds can attribute false beliefs about non-obvious properties to others, and can do so in a non-search paradigm. These and additional results (Experiment 3) help address several alternative interpretations of false-belief findings with infants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It has been hypothesized that naturally occurring mutations in HBV may play a role in the pathogenesis of HBV-related disease. We determined the molecular characteristics of naturally occurring HBV isolates and performed a functional analysis of full-length hepatitis B virus quasispecies from a patient with chronic hepatitis B. The 10 HBV clones isolated were identified as HBV genotype B4 and subtype adw. In most clones, amino acid substitutions and nucleotide changes occurred in a specific region of the core protein, X protein and in the core promoter. In the core protein, cI3L, cL60M, and cI97L were detected in 8 of 10 clones and cP130T was detected in all 10 clones. In the X protein, xI127M was detected in 5 clones. In the basal core promoter, the A1762T/G1764A mutation was found only in 1 clone. An 11-bp nucleotide insertion between nucleotides 1772 and 1773, was found in 2 clones. Six clones that were replication-competent exhibited variation in the level of replicating capacity in vitro even though the average genetic distance between the HBV clones was only 0.5% (range: 0.3–0.7%). Among the replication-competent 6 clones, 5 clones showed higher replication competency compared with clone B9 (reference clone used in this study) in Huh7 cells. However, 4 clones showed lower replication competency compared with clone B9 in HepG2 cells. In conclusion, the HBV virus exhibits genetic variation in the form of quasispecies with different mutation patterns, and these quasispecies may be recognized by distinct viral replication patterns even in patients with subtle genetic mutation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Research concerning the spatial dimension fit (tight versus loose) has been based on a tacit but untested assumption that the dimension fit is symmetrical, with tight- and loose-fitting relations highlighting the dimension fit with equal force. We propose a reformulation, documenting that adult speakers of English (Experiment 1) and Korean (Experiment 2) are sensitive to the dimension fit, but that their representation is asymmetric, with tight-fitting events highlighting fit with greater force than loose-fitting events. We propose that sensitivity to the dimension fit is more resilient than has previously been suggested, and that the asymmetry documented here provides a foundation upon which to pursue nuanced questions about the relationship between language and our underlying representations of space. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present research investigated whether six-month-olds who rarely produce pointing actions can detect the object-directedness and communicative function of others' pointing actions when linguistic information is provided. In Experiment 1, infants were randomly assigned to either a novel-word or emotional-vocalization condition. They were first familiarized with an event in which an actor uttered either a novel label (novel-word condition) or exclamatory expression (emotional-vocalization condition) and then pointed to one of two objects. Next, the positions of the objects were switched. During test trials, each infant watched the new-referent event where the actor pointed to the object to which the actor had not pointed before or the old-referent event where the actor pointed to the old object in its new location. Infants in the novel-word condition looked reliably longer at the new-referent event than at the old-referent event, suggesting that they encoded the object-directedness of the actor's point. In contrast, infants in the emotional-vocalization condition showed roughly equal looking times to the two events. To further examine infants' understanding of the communicative aspect of an actor's point using a different communicative context, Experiment 2 used an identical procedure to the novel-word condition in Experiment 1, except there was only one object present during the familiarization trials. When the familiarization trials did not include a contrasting object, we found that the communicative intention of the actor's point could be ambiguous. The infants showed roughly equal looking times during the two test events. The current research suggests that six-month-olds understand the object-directedness and communicative intention of others' pointing when presented with a label, but not when presented with an emotional non-speech vocalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manual reading of capsule endoscopy (CE) videos in small bowel disease diagnosis is time-intensive. Algorithms introduced to automate this process are premature for real clinical applications, and multi-diagnosis using these methods has not been sufficiently validated. Therefore, we developed a practical binary classification model, which selectively identifies clinically meaningful images including inflamed mucosa, atypical vascularity or bleeding, and tested it with unseen cases. Four hundred thousand CE images were randomly selected from 84 cases in which 240,000 images were used to train the algorithm to categorize images binarily. The remaining images were utilized for validation and internal testing. The algorithm was externally tested with 256,591 unseen images. The diagnostic accuracy of the trained model applied to the validation set was 98.067%. In contrast, the accuracy of the model when applied to a dataset provided by an independent hospital that did not participate during training was 85.470%. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.922. Our model showed excellent internal test results, and the misreadings were slightly increased when the model was tested in unseen external cases while the classified 'insignificant' images contain ambiguous substances. Once this limitation is solved, the proposed CNN-based binary classification will be a promising candidate for developing clinically-ready computer-aided reading methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Eradication rate of standard triple therapy for H. pylori has declined to unacceptable level, and alternative regimens such as concomitant and sequential therapy have been introduced. We aimed to assess the consistency of eradication rates of concomitant and sequential therapies as for the first‐line H. pylori eradication in Korea. Methods: A nationwide multicenter retrospective study was conducted including 18 medical centers from January 2008 to December 2017. We included 3,800 adults who had test to confirm H. pylori eradication within 1 year after concomitant or sequential therapy. Results: Concomitant and sequential therapy were prescribed for 2508 and 1292 patients, respectively. The overall eradication rate of concomitant therapy was significantly higher than that of sequential therapy (91.8% vs. 86.1%, p <.001). In time trend analysis, the eradication rates of concomitant therapy were 90.2%, 88.2%, 92.1%, 94.3%, 91.1%, and 93.4% for each year from 2012 to 2017 with an increasing trend (p =.0146), while those of ST showed no significant trend (p =.0873). Among 263 patients with second‐line therapy, bismuth quadruple therapy showed significantly higher eradication rate than quinolone‐based triple therapy (73.9% vs. 51.5% in ITT analysis, p =.001; 82.7% vs. 63.0% in PP analysis, p =.002). Conclusion: Concomitant therapy is the best regimen for the first‐line H. pylori eradication showing consistently higher eradication rate with an increasing trend for the last 10 years in Korea. Bismuth quadruple therapy should be considered for second‐line therapy after eradication failure using non‐bismuth quadruple therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI), which has demonstrated outstanding achievements in image recognition, can be useful for the tedious capsule endoscopy (CE) reading. We aimed to develop a practical AI-based method that can identify various types of lesions and tried to evaluate the effectiveness of the method under clinical settings. A total of 203,244 CE images were collected from multiple centers selected considering the regional distribution. The AI based on the Inception-Resnet-V2 model was trained with images that were classified into two categories according to their clinical significance. The performance of AI was evaluated with a comparative test involving two groups of reviewers with different experiences. The AI summarized 67,008 (31.89%) images with a probability of more than 0.8 for containing lesions in 210,100 frames of 20 selected CE videos. Using the AI-assisted reading model, reviewers in both the groups exhibited increased lesion detection rates compared to those achieved using the conventional reading model (experts; 34.3%–73.0%; p = 0.029, trainees; 24.7%–53.1%; p = 0.029). The improved result for trainees was comparable to that for the experts (p = 0.057). Further, the AI-assisted reading model significantly shortened the reading time for trainees (1621.0–746.8 min; p = 0.029). Thus, we have developed an AI-assisted reading model that can detect various lesions and can successfully summarize CE images according to clinical significance. The assistance rendered by AI can increase the lesion detection rates of reviewers. Especially, trainees could improve their efficiency of reading as a result of reduced reading time using the AI-assisted model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Helicobacter pylori eradication rate has decreased with increasing antibiotic resistance. We conducted a prospective, nationwide, multicenter registry study to monitor the real status of H. pylori eradication therapy and to investigate the association between eradication success and antibiotic use density in Korea. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 9318 patients undergoing H. pylori eradication therapy from 37 hospitals through "on‐line database registry" from October 2010 to July 2015. Demographic data, detection methods, treatment indications, regimens, durations, compliance, adverse events, and eradication results were collected. The use of all commercially available eradication antibiotics was analyzed through the Korean National Health Insurance data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The defined daily dose of antibiotics was used to standardize drug use comparisons. Results: Finally, 6738 patients were analyzed. The overall eradication rate of first‐line therapy was 71.8%. The eradication success rates were 71.7%, 86.9%, and 74.0% for standard triple therapy for 7 days, quadruple therapy, and concomitant therapy, respectively. The eradication success rate in naive patients was higher than that in those who previously underwent H. pylori eradication. Eradication success was significantly associated with younger age, female sex, and high compliance. Regional differences in eradication rates were observed. The yearly use density of clarithromycin increased statistically in seven regions across the country from 2010 to 2015. The yearly use density of amoxicillin in the Gyeongsang and Chungcheong areas was significantly increased (P < .01), whereas that of other macrolides was significantly lower in the Gyeonggi area than in other areas (P = .01). The overall use of eradication antibiotics has increased while the eradication rate steadily decreased for 5 years. However, there was no significant correlation between antibiotic use density and eradication. Conclusion: There was no relationship between the eradication rate and antibiotic use density in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of life (QoL) has become an important issue after early gastric cancer (EGC) treatment. We aimed to compare the QoL of EGC survivors after ESD (n = 241) or laparoscopic subtotal gastrectomy (n = 241) without recurrence and to evaluate the QoL over the 5-year period after adjusting for various confounding factors related to QoL. QoL related to the gastric cancer subscale (GCS) was significantly higher in the ESD group than surgery group (p < 0.001). After adjusting for all possible confounding factors, survivors who underwent ESD still had higher QoL related to CSG than those who underwent surgery. On the analysis of interaction effects for all QoL subscales, higher QoL related to GCS of ESD group than those of surgery group has been kept over time (p = 0.983). Therefore, we concluded that EGC survivors who undergo ESD have significantly better QoL related to GCS over a 5-year period after treatment than those who undergo surgery. This may be a useful consideration when selecting treatment modalities for patients with EGC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection causes extra-gastrointestinal as well as gastric diseases. This analytical cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the association between H. pylori infection and metabolic syndrome in a Korean population.Methods: Anthropometric and metabolic data, as well as anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies, were measured in 21,106 subjects who participated in a health checkup between January 2016 and June 2017. The classification of metabolic syndrome followed the revised National Cholesterol Education Program criteria.Results: After excluding subjects with a history of H. pylori eradication therapy, or gastric symptoms, the seropositivity of H. pylori was 43.2% in 15,195 subjects. H. pylori-positive participants had significantly higher body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) than did seronegative participants (P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounders, high TC, low HDL-C, and high LDL-C were associated with H. pylori seropositivity. Finally, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher in H. pylori-seropositive subjects than in negative ones (27.2% vs. 21.0%, P < 0.05), and H. pylori seropositivity increased the likelihood of metabolic syndrome (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.09-1.31, P < 0.001) after adjusting for sex, age, BMI, smoking, residence, household income, and education level. However, the association between H. pylori seropositivity and metabolic syndrome disappeared in those ≥ 65 years old.Conclusions: H. pylori infection plays an independent role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome in Koreans under 65 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to demonstrate the trends in seropositivity and the eradication therapy rate for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) over an 18-year period in an asymptomatic Korean population and to explore the factors associated with H. pylori seropositivity and its eradication therapy. In total, 23,770 subjects (aged 17–97 years) from a health examination center participated in this cross-sectional study from January 2016 to June 2017. Questionnaires that included questions about the participants’ H. pylori eradication therapy history were collected, and anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies were measured. Among the eligible subjects, the seroprevalence of H. pylori infection was 41.5%. The H. pylori eradication therapy rate increased continuously from 2005 (13.9%) to 2011 (19.3%) and then increased again until the first half of 2017 (23.5%) (P < 0.001). After exclusion of subjects with a history of gastric surgery, gastric cancer, H. pylori eradication therapy, or gastric symptoms, H. pylori seropositivity was 43.9% in 16,885 subjects, which was significantly lower than the seropositivities in 1998 (66.9%), 2005 (59.6%), and 2011 (54.4%). The risk factors associated with H. pylori seropositivity according to multivariable analysis were male sex (odds ratio (OR) 1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23–1.46), medium educational level (OR 1.17, 95% CI: 1.05–1.31), medium household income level (OR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03–1.19), and age of 60–69 years (OR 8.78, 95% CI: 6.41–11.85). The observed downward trend in H. pylori seroprevalence and increase in H. pylori eradication over the 18-year period will affect upper gastrointestinal disorders in South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The prevalence of upper gastrointestinal disease is expected to change following advances in socioeconomic status and improved hygiene in Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the recent trends in upper gastrointestinal diseases based on endoscopic findings and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) seroprevalence in subjects undergoing health check-up at tertiary centers in Korea. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted at nine healthcare centers between September 2016 and June 2017. The subjects were evaluated using questionnaires, upper endoscopy and H. pylori serology tests. The results were compared with previous data in our study group obtained from eight tertiary healthcare centers in 2011 (n = 4023). Results: In total, we prospectively enrolled 2504 subjects undergoing health check-up. The prevalence of reflux esophagitis (RE) was 9.7%, which showed an increasing but insignificant trend since 2011 (8.8%). The prevalence of active and healing-stage benign gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer (DU) was 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively, which confirmed a significant decrease since 2011 (4.1%; p < .001 and 2.2%; p = .005, respectively). The prevalence of gastric cancer was 0.5%, representing an increasing trend since 2011 (0.12%; p = .003). H. pylori seroprevalence was 51.3%, which significantly decreased from 2011 (59.8%; p < .001). In multivariate analysis, H. pylori seropositivity was a significant risk factor for DU (p < .001), whereas a significant protective factor against RE (p < .001). Conclusions: The significant decrease of H. pylori seroprevalence in the past five years altered the incidence of upper gastrointestinal disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Capsule endoscopy (CE) has proven to be highly effective at detecting small bowel lesions, but studies regarding the diagnostic impact of CE on ileitis are rare.Aims: We evaluated the diagnostic value of small bowel CE for isolated ileitis observed during ileocolonoscopy.Methods: The CE results in 137 patients initially diagnosed with ileitis without colonic mucosal abnormalities on ileocolonoscopy at one of eight tertiary referral centers between October 2002 and June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.Results: Among the 137 patients with isolated ileitis observed on ileocolonoscopy, 117 (85.4%) revealed positive small bowel CE findings (85.4%). The rate of positive small bowel CE findings was 92.9% in cases of ileal aphthous ulcer or erosion, and 90.9% in cases of ileal ulcer. Among 117 positive CE cases, the most common final diagnosis by CE was Crohn's disease (CD) (n = 44, 32%). No findings were identified in 20 (14.6%) of 137 cases. Ileal erosion/ulcer, rather than findings such as nodularity and erythema or elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (>10 mm/h), was significant predictive factors for positive CE findings in multivariate analysis.Conclusions: Small bowel CE showed a high diagnostic yield (85.4%) in symptomatic patients with isolated ileitis on ileocolonoscopy. Erosion or ulcer of the small bowel was a common finding on CE (66.4%), and approximately one-third of patients were diagnosed with CD. In patients with isolated ileitis on ileocolonoscopy, CE should be considered to evaluate small bowel lesions when the patient shows an elevated ESR or when the ileitis manifests as ileal ulcer or erosion rather than a nodular or erythematous lesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnostic delay frequently occurs in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients because of diagnostic limitations. However, diagnostic delay and its related factors remain poorly defined. Therefore, we aimed to identify the predictors associated with diagnostic delay and to evaluate the impact of diagnostic delay on clinical course in a Korean CD patient cohort. We performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of 1,047 CD patients registered in the Crohn’s Disease Clinical Network and Cohort study in Korea. The mean interval of diagnostic delay was 16.0 ± 33.1 months. Multivariate analysis showed that older age at diagnosis (≥40 years) (p = 0.014), concomitant upper gastrointestinal (UGI) disease (p = 0.012) and penetrating disease behavior at diagnosis (p = 0.001) were positively associated with long diagnostic delay (≥18 months). During the longitudinal follow-up, long diagnostic delay was independently predictive of further development of intestinal stenosis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07–1.93; p = 0.017), internal fistulas (HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.12–2.33; p = 0.011), and perianal fistulas (HR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.06–1.80; p = 0.016). However, as for the risk of abscess formation, bowel perforation, and CD-related abdominal surgery, no significant association with diagnostic delay was observed. Older age at diagnosis, UGI involvement, and penetrating behavior are associated with long diagnostic delay in Korean CD patients. Moreover, diagnostic delay is associated with an increased risk of CD-related complications such as intestinal stenosis, internal fistulas, and perianal fistulas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated whether infants reason about others’ social preferences based on the intentions of others’ interactive actions. In Experiment 1, 12-month-old infants were familiarized with an event in which an agent either successfully helped a circle to climb up a hill (successful-helping condition) or failed to help the circle to achieve its goal (failed-helping condition). During the test, the infants saw the circle approach either the helper (approach-helper event) or the hinderer (approach-hinderer event). In the successful-helping condition, the 12-month-old infants looked for longer at the approach-hinderer event than at the approach-helper event, but in the failed-helping condition, looking times were about equal for the two test events. These results suggest that 12-month-old infants could not infer the circle’s preference when the helper’s action did not lead to its intended outcome. In Experiment 2, 16-month-olds were tested in the failed-helping condition; they looked longer at the approach-hinderer event than at the approach-helper event, which suggests that they could reason about the third party’s social preferences based on the exhibited intentions. In Experiment 3, 12-month-olds were familiarized with events in which the final outcomes of helping and hindering actions were ambiguous. The results revealed that 12-month-old infants are also sensitive to intentions when inferring other’s social preferences. The results suggest that by 12-months of age, infants expect an agent to prefer and approach another who intends to help the circle to achieve its goal, regardless of the outcome. The current research has implications for moral reasoning and social evaluation in infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim Although differences in genetic susceptibility and the clinical features of Crohn's disease ( CD) have been reported between Asian and Caucasian patients, the disease course and predictors of CD in Asians remains poorly defined. The study therefore aimed to investigate factors predictive of the clinical outcomes of patients with CD in a Korean population. Methods This retrospective multicenter cohort study included 728 Korean CD patients from 13 university hospitals. The first CD-related surgery or need for immunosuppressive or biological agents were regarded as the clinical outcomes of interest. Results A total of 126 (17.3%) CD patients underwent CD-related surgery, while 473 (65.0%) and 196 (26.9%) were prescribed thiopurine drugs and infliximab, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified current (hazard ratio [ HR] = 1.86; P = 0.018) and former smoking habits ( HR = 1.78; P = 0.049), stricturing ( HR = 2.24; P < 0.001), and penetrating disease behavior at diagnosis ( HR = 3.07; P < 0.001) as independent predictors associated with the first CD-related surgery. With respect to immunosuppressive and biological agents, younger age (< 40 years) ( HR = 2.17; P < 0.001 and HR = 2.10; P = 0.006, respectively), ileal involvement ( HR = 1.36; P = 0.035 and HR = 2.17; P = 0.006, respectively), and perianal disease ( HR = 1.42; P = 0.001 and HR = 1.38; P = 0.038, respectively) at diagnosis were significant predictors for the need of these medications. Conclusions In Korean patients with CD, stricturing, penetrating disease behavior, and smoking habits at the time of diagnosis are independent predictors for CD-related surgery. It was also identified that younger age (< 40 years), ileal involvement, and perianal disease at diagnosis are predictive of a need for immunosuppressive or biological agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancing age is a well-known risk factor for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). However, age-specific clinical differences in CDI are uncertain. A retrospective comparative analysis was performed based on age in 1367 patients with CDI in Korea. Most clinical features were similar in the two age groups studied, however malignancy was more common in the older group (age ≥ 65 y) ( p < 0.001), while chemotherapy and transplantation were more common in the younger group (age < 65 y) ( p < 0.001). Endoscopic examinations were more commonly performed in the older group ( p = 0.010), which had a high positive predictive value (88.3%). More patients recovered from CDI without specific antibiotic treatment in the younger group than in the older group ( p < 0.001). Although advancing age is an important risk factor for CDI, the clinical features of younger patients are similar to those of the older patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, a spirited debate has existed over whether infants' remarkable capacity to learn words is shaped primarily by universal features of human language or by specific features of the particular native language they are acquiring. A strong focus for this debate has been a well-documented difference in early word learning: Infants' success in learning verbs lags behind their success in learning nouns. In this review, we articulate both sides of the debate and summarize new cross-linguistic evidence from infants that underscores the role of universal features and begins to clarify the impact of distinctly different languages on early language and conceptual development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L -type amino acid transporter (LAT1) is a neutral amino acid transporter, forming a heterodimer complex with the CD98 heavy chain (CD98hc). In this study, we studied the expression profiles of LAT1 and CD98hc in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its precursor lesions. Transcription levels of CD98hc and LAT1 were significantly increased in CRC compared to the matched normal mucosa. CD98hc and LAT1 expression showed no significant correlations with cancer stem cell markers and intestinal stem cell markers, whereas both had positive correlations with Wnt target genes, AXIN2, and EPHB2, suggesting an association with aberrant Wnt signaling activation. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that CD98hc and LAT1 are not expressed in normal colonic mucosa and various benign lesions including hyperplastic polyps and sessile and traditional serrated adenomas. CD98hc and LAT1 expressions began to appear in tubular adenomas and further increased in carcinomas. Of interest, CD98hc expression decreased during lymph node metastasis. Survival analysis demonstrated that CD98hc and LAT1 have no significant prognostic effect in CRCs. In conclusion, CD98hc and LAT1 are not normally expressed in colonic mucosa and most benign lesions. Their expression began to appear in tubular adenomas and further increased during the adenoma-to-carcinoma transition. CD98hc expression decreased while metastasizing to regional lymph nodes. However, CD98hc and LAT1 expressions had no prognostic value in patients with CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Children as young as two use sentence structure to learn the meanings of verbs. We probed the generality of sensitivity to sentence structure by moving to a different semantic and syntactic domain, spatial prepositions. Twenty-six-month-olds used sentence structure to determine whether a new word was an object-category name (This is a corp!) or a spatial-relational term (This is acorp my box!). We argue that children rely on the intimate relationship between nouns in sentences and semantic arguments of predicate terms: Noting that a new word takes noun arguments identifies the new word as a predicate term, and directs the child''s attention to relations among its arguments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Do 18-month-olds understand that an agent's false belief can be corrected by an appropriate, though not an inappropriate, communication? In Experiment 1, infants watched a series of events involving two agents, a ball, and two containers: a box and a cup. To start, agent1 played with the ball and then hid it in the box, while agent2 looked on. Next, in agent1's absence, agent2 moved the ball from the box to the cup. When agent1 returned, agent2 told her "The ball is in the cup!" (informative-intervention condition) or "I like the cup!" (uninformative-intervention condition). During test, agent1 reached for either the box (box event) or the cup (cup event). In the informative-intervention condition, infants who saw the box event looked reliably longer than those who saw the cup event; in the uninformative-intervention condition, the reverse pattern was found. These results suggest that infants expected agent1's false belief about the ball's location to be corrected when she was told "The ball is in the cup!", but not "I like the cup!". In Experiment 2, agent2 simply pointed to the ball's new location, and infants again expected agent1's false belief to be corrected. These and control results provide additional evidence that infants in the second year of life can attribute false beliefs to agents. In addition, the results suggest that by 18 months of age infants expect agents' false beliefs to be corrected by relevant communications involving words or gestures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Parkinson''s disease (PD) may exhibit patterns of cognitive deficits, yet physicians are currently lacking operational criteria to define the clinical boundaries between PD and PD dementia (PDD). Therefore, we investigated the characteristics of the cognitive impairments in mild PDD. We recruited 30 PDD, 20 PD-MCI (PD with mild cognitive impairment without dementia) and 33 controls. All subjects were evaluated with detailed neuropsychological tests. Our results showed that visual memory, visuospatial functions, naming and calculation displayed more marked impairment than that of the other domains. Thus we suggest that adding cognitive dysfunctions of cortical type to the early cognitive deficits of PD-MCI can help predict the development of dementia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Capsule endoscopy (CE) quality control requires an objective scoring system to evaluate the preparation of the small bowel (SB). We propose a deep learning algorithm to calculate SB cleansing scores and verify the algorithm's performance. A 5-point scoring system based on clarity of mucosal visualization was used to develop the deep learning algorithm (400,000 frames; 280,000 for training and 120,000 for testing). External validation was performed using additional CE cases (n = 50), and average cleansing scores (1.0 to 5.0) calculated using the algorithm were compared to clinical grades (A to C) assigned by clinicians. Test results obtained using 120,000 frames exhibited 93% accuracy. The separate CE case exhibited substantial agreement between the deep learning algorithm scores and clinicians' assessments (Cohen's kappa: 0.672). In the external validation, the cleansing score decreased with worsening clinical grade (scores of 3.9, 3.2, and 2.5 for grades A, B, and C, respectively, p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that a cleansing score cut-off of 2.95 indicated clinically adequate preparation. This algorithm provides an objective and automated cleansing score for evaluating SB preparation for CE. The results of this study will serve as clinical evidence supporting the practical use of deep learning algorithms for evaluating SB preparation quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]