Many studies have investigated the influence of emotion on memory processes across the human lifespan. Some results have shown older adults (OA) performing better with positive stimuli, some with negative items, whereas some found no impact of emotional valence. Here we tested, in two independent studies, how younger adults (YA) and OA would perform in a visuospatial working memory (VSWM) task with positive, negative, and neutral images. The task consisted of identifying the new location of a stimulus in a crescent set of identical stimuli presented in different locations in a touch-screen monitor. In other words, participants should memorize the locations previously occupied to identify the new location. For each trial, the number of occupied locations increased until 8 or until a mistake was made. In study 1, 56 YA and 38 OA completed the task using images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Results showed that, although YA outperformed OA, no effects of emotion were found. In study 2, 26 YA and 25 OA were tested using facial expressions as stimuli. Data from this study showed that negative faces facilitated performance and this effect did not differ between age groups. No differences were found between men and women. Taken together, our findings suggest that YA and OA’s VSWM can be influenced by the emotional valence of the information, though this effect was present only for facial stimuli. Presumably, this may have happened due to the social and biological importance of such stimuli, which are more effective in transmitting emotions than IAPS images. Critically, our results also indicate that the mixed findings in the literature about the influence of aging on the interactions between memory and emotion may be caused by the use of different stimuli and methods. This possibility should be kept in mind in future studies about memory and emotion across the lifespan. Visuospatial working memory (VSWM), one of the storage subsystems of working memory , 1994, hA common idea in the literature about how aging affects memory and emotion interactions is the Positivity Effect, which refers to how OA’s memory is biased toward positive events or stimuli . A propoRecent studies have supported the presence of a Positivity Bias in OA using different types of stimuli, including images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS)  and faciRegarding working memory specifically, recent studies have found mixed effects of emotion on OA’s performance. For example, These mixed findings, together with the lack of knowledge about how OA’s VSWM is influenced by emotions, lead to the necessity of more studies. Here we aimed to investigate how YA and OA would perform in a VSWM test with negative, positive, and neutral stimuli. Younger and older participants responded the Spatial Delayed Recognition Span Task (SDRST) , in whicStudy 1 included 56 YA recruited from the university’s undergraduate programs  and 39 healthy OA  recruited from the Geriatric Medical Center, University Hospital of Brasilia. All were right-handed volunteers with no history of neurological or psychiatric episodes and no recent use of psychotropic medication, as evaluated by a detailed anamnesis. The eligibility criteria also included no consumption of alcohol or drugs in the 24 h prior to testing. Participants were vaguely informed about the aims of the study, and signed a written informed consent in accordance with the ethical guidelines for research with human subjects (196/96 CNS/MS Resolution). The study was approved by the Human Subjects Ethics Committee of the Health Sciences Faculty of the University of Brasilia (CEP-FS160/08 and CEP-FM064/2007). All participants had normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing. OA scored at least 24 on the Mini-mental State Examination  and lessThe stimuli material used in study 1 were composed of emotional pictures selected from the IAPS  and coulThe task was a computer-based version  of the SDRST, which measures participants’ working memory . The tasFigure 1). Before the beginning of the task, every participant received written and oral instructions and completed a practice session. The practice session used geometrical shapes as stimuli and was conducted in the same fashion as the main task. The practice session was concluded when participants correctly answered two consecutive complete trials  or after 20 trials.The stimuli were presented for a period of up to 5 s   with age (YA or OA) as a between-subjects factor, and emotional valence  as a within-subjects factor. Significance was defined as a Table 1. No differences were found between men and women (p > 0.205). Accuracy in this task was not influenced by the emotional valence of the IAPS image  = 0.293, p = 0.706, F = 65.217, p < 0.001, F = 0.723, p = 0.487, Figure 2).Mean accuracy for YA and OA can be seen in The age-related difference in performance found in study 1 is in line with previous research, suggesting that healthy aging is related to deficits in various cognitive domains, including VSWM. For instance, The absence of a valence effect on memory performance was surprising and unexpected. As mentioned before, several studies support the existence of a Negativity Bias in YA and a Positivity Effect in OA. Nevertheless, the current results are in line with other investigations reporting no valence effects on memory performance, such as One possibility is that the non-significant effect of valence in the current study was caused by the fact that the IAPS images are not a straightforward way of displaying emotions, being sometimes too complex or rich in visual information . By contInclusion and exclusion criteria were the same as used in Study 1. Twenty-six YA recruited from the university’s undergraduate programs  and 25 healthy OA  recruited from the Geriatric Medical Center, University Hospital of Brasilia took part in this study. This study was approved by the Human Subjects Ethics Committee of the Health Sciences Faculty of the University of Brasilia (CEP-FS 097/11). For this study, all participants scored more than 24 on the Mini-mental State Examination  and lessFigure 1) using colored photographs (4 cm × 4 cm) of adult models displaying different facial expressions, manipulated to only show the face, with no interference from hair or other body parts. The facial data set was provided to our group by Dr. Hisao Nishijo from the University of Toyama, Japan, and has been used in previous studies from that lab (The same SDRST was conducted (that lab . Seven iTable 2. No differences were found between men and women (p > 0.107). Accuracy was influenced by the valence of the facial expression  = 6.024, p = 0.003, p = 0.002) and a marginally better performance than neutral items (p = 0.084). Neutral items did not differ from positive items (p = 0.894). YA performed better than OA  = 40.198, p < 0.001, F = 0.351, p = 0.705, Figure 3).Mean accuracy for YA and OA can be seen in In study 2, YA again performed better than OA, as expected. However, this time valence influenced memory accuracy, with negative faces eliciting a better performance than positive faces and neutral faces . This is called the Negativity Bias. It states that, due to their larger influence on the adaptive value of an individual, negative events are more efficiently remembered . NegativThe absence of the Positivity Effect in OA may have been due to the difficulty of the task. Two studies  presenteOn a different note, The present research explored the responses of YA and OA performing a VSWM task that required the processing of emotional stimuli. The main goal was to investigate age-related differences in the emotional modulation of VSWM. Study 1 used positive, negative, and neutral IAPS pictures, whereas study 2 presented participants with happy, angry, and neutral facial expressions. As expected, in both studies YA showed higher accuracy than OA. Interestingly, however, only in study 2 emotion influenced memory, with negative faces leading to a better performance. The results were not influenced by whether participants were male or female, suggesting no sex-related differences in the relationship between VSWM and emotion.A few possible explanations for the different results between the two studies can be raised, based on how faces differ from other visual stimuli. First, faces are one of the most important and straightforward ways of externalizing emotions . When diSome limitations of the current study should be addressed. Our experiments were not designed to directly test the influence of the type of stimuli on memory and emotion interaction in OA. Study 1 was designed to investigate VSWM for emotional images and study 2 was developed in consequence of the results from the first study. Also, in study 1, the stimuli presentation times differed between the two age groups due to OA being slower in their movements and less familiar with the use of the computer. In study 2 we used the same stimulus duration for both age groups. Because of this, a direct comparison between IAPS and facial stimuli in the same study should be conducted to strengthen our conclusions. The facial stimuli used in our studies showed pictures of adult models, but not of OA. This means that our older participants were responding to out-group faces, which could lead to different cognitive processing . HoweverOur findings suggest that the emotional modulation of VSWM is influenced by the type of information to be remembered. This effect seems to be present for YA and for OA. Taken together, our results contribute to the understanding of information processing in YA and OA and to the characterization of cognition across the human lifespan. This knowledge may explain the inconsistent literature findings about the interplay between memory, emotion, and aging, and lead to the development of better methodological approaches when studying these topics.FB, MT, CS, AG, and CT: designed study. FB, CS, and AG: collected data. FB, MT, CS, AG, and CT: analyzed data. FB, MT, CS, AG, RR, SC, and CT: interpreted data. FB, MT, CS, AG, RR, SC, and CT: wrote paper.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


Elaeagnus angustifolia (EA) has antioxidant properties. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of EA hydroalcoholic extract on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats using stereological methods. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is characterized by increased fracture risk. However, each approved treatment has specific side effects. Therefore, foods with plant origins have increasingly attracted attention as an alternative treatment. Studies have shown that 55 female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control, sham operated , ovariectomized (OVX), OVX + EA fruit extract (600 mg/kg BW/day), and OVX + estradiol benzoate (3 mg/kg BW) for 16 weeks. Blood samples were collected to measure calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) plasma levels. Then, specimens from tibia and fifth lumbar vertebra (L5) bones were prepared and stereological analysis was done.Ovariectomy significantly decreased the calcium level and increased the ALP level in the OVX group. In spite of improvement in calcium hemostasis in groups treated with estrogen and EA fruit extract (p<0.05), only treatment with estrogen was able to reduce ALP levels. Moreover, treatment with EA fruit extract and estrogen caused a significant increase in the number of osteoblasts in vertebra and tibia compared to the OVX group (p<0.05). Estrogen and EA fruit extract were also able to reduce the number of osteoclasts in tibia of the treated OVX rats (p<0.05).  The results showed that EA extract exerted more effects, markedly, on osteoblastogenesis in the OVX rats. Thus, it could be considered as a potential agent to treat patients with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mineral density, structural deterioration of bone microarchitecture, and increased fracture risk  was associated with a reduction of hip, spine, and wrist fractures , a plant native to western Asia, is a traditional herbal medicine. EA extract is rich in phytoestrogens and flavonoids that are known as natural estrogens and are capable to induce the transcriptional activity of the human estrogen receptor expressed in cultured cells by transient transfection .Preparation of the hydroalcoholic extractEA fruits were purchased from Keshtvasanat Company, Beyza, Fars, Iran. Then, a plant voucher specimen (No. SoP UoG21001) was kept in the herbarium of Shiraz University. The pericarp was separated from the seed, dried in shadow, and grounded. After that, the pericarp powder (100 g) was added to 500 ml ethanol 70%. The obtained solution was left in the percolator at room temperature for 72 hr. Afterwards, the solvent was completely removed from the hydroalcoholic extracts by rotavapor at 40 ºC and dried in a vacuum desiccator (The efficiency of this method was 23.5%)  groups were fed for 60 days to lose bone. Subsequently, the animals in groups 1, 2, and 3 received normal saline, those in group 4 were treated with oral EA fruit extract (600 mg/kg body weight daily), and group 5 received subcutaneous injection of estradiol benzoate (3 mg/kg body weight weekly) for four months. According to the results of other studies, the best suggested dose for EA fruit extract in regard with improving inflammatory condition was 600 mg/kg BW. Therefore, we decided to use this dose  of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. In this study, 55 adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (12-14 weeks old and weighing 200±20 g) were purchased from the Laboratory Animal Center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The rats were preserved under standard housing laboratory conditions  and were fed with a standard pellet diet and water OophorectomyThe adult female rats were bilaterally ovariectomized or sham-operated under anesthesia by ketamine 10%  and xylazine 2% . After ligation of the uterine horn through a midline longitudinal incision, both ovaries were surgically removed in all the groups, except for the control group. The sham-operated control rats had their ventral incision, but manipulation of their ovaries was performed without excising them.Collection of specimens and biochemical tests Eight and sixteen weeks after treatment with EA fruit extract, blood samples were collected in chilled non-heparinized tubes to clot at room temperature by cardiocentesis. The blood samples were centrifuged at 3500 rpm at 4˚C for 20 min and the separated sera were evaluated for biochemical markers, including calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Serum creatinine and BUN levels were also quantified by calorimetric methods using kits supplied by Biosystems S.A, Spain. It should be mentioned that biochemical assessment was done 2, 4, and 6 months after the beginning of the study.All rats were anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine solution intraperitoneally and sacrificed by using thiopental (100 mg/kg) at the end of the experiment. Then, each rat’s body weight and uterus weight were determined. Afterwards, the fifth lumbar vertebral body (L5) and the right tibia were isolated, cleaned of connective tissue, fixed in 10% buffered formalin, and decalcified in formic acid for stereological studies.Estimation of total phenolic compoundsThe Total Phenol Content (TPC) of the plant extract was evaluated using the modified Folin-Ciocalteu spectrophotometric method described previously by Waterhouse (2002).Estimation of bone volumeSherle’s method was used to estimate the bones’ volume  = (1-Dsh) × V (primary)VEstimation of the volume density of the bones’ trabeculaeThe volume density of the trabeculae “Vv (trabeculae)” refers to the proportion of the unit volume of the osseous tissue that is filled by trabeculae. Briefly, volume density of the trabeculae was evaluated on 4 µm thickness sections through the point-counting method and using Delesse’s formula ” was the number of the test points falling on the trabeculae and “P (reference)” was the number of the points falling on the reference tissues (trabeculae plus cavities) of L5 and tibia bones. The following formula was used to estimate the absolute trabecular volume V (bone) = V  × VEstimation of the numerical density and absolute number of bone cellsNumerical density “NV (cells/bone)” refers to the number of cells per unit volume of the trabeculae and was evaluated using Disector method . BrieflyWhere “ΣQ” was the number of the cells counted in all the Disectors, “h” was the height of the optical Disector, “a/f” was the area of the counting frame, “ΣP” was the total number of the counted frames, “BA” or block advance was the setting of the microtome to cut the paraffin block, and “t” was the mean of the final section thickness. To estimate the total number of the bone cells, the following formula was applied:V (cells/bone) N (bone cells) =NStatistical analysisThe SPSS statistical software (v. 18) was used to carry out statistical analysis. First, normal distribution of the data was assessed. Then, the data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test. The results were presented as mean ± standard deviation, and significance level was set as p≤0.05.Body weight and uterus weightThe mean body weight was 225±32 g in all study groups at the beginning of the experiment. After 6 months, all rats were weighed again and no noticeable increase was observed in their body weight. However, the weight of the uterus significantly decreased in the OVX rats compared to those with intact ovaries (p=0.001).Biochemical parametersSerum calcium, phosphorus, and ALP levels in the experimental groups are shown in The results showed a significant increase in plasma ALP level in the OVX rats compared to the sham-operated and control groups in the first stage of the study (p=0.001). Yet, administration of estradiol resulted in a decrease in bone turnover marker during the treatment. Nevertheless, no significant difference was seen between the estrogen-treated rats and the sham-operated and control groups with respect to ALP levels. In spite of improvement in calcium hemostasis, no significant decrease in bone turnover marker (ALP) was observed in the EA fruit extract-treated group compared with the estrogen-treated group. In addition, no significant differences were found between the EA fruit extract-treated rats and control and sham groups in this regard. Furthermore, no significant change was found in serum creatinine and BUN levels in any of the experimental groups before and after the treatment.Stereological studyThe weight of the vertebrae and tibia, volume of the vertebrae and tibia, total volume of the bones’ trabeculae, and total number of the osteocytes, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts are presented in The weight of the vertebrae and tibiaAccording to However, the weight of L5 increased in the EA fruit extract- and estrogen-treated groups compared to the OVX groups, but the difference was not statistically significant.Moreover, the weight of the tibia was significantly lower in the OVX group compared to the sham and control groups (p<0.05) . BesidesThe volume of the vertebrae and tibiaOn the average, the volume of L5 and tibia decreased by 30% in the OVX group in comparison to the sham and control groups (p<0.05). However, treatment of the OVX rats with 600 mg/kg EA fruit extract and estrogen significantly increased the mean volume of L5 and tibia (p<0.05). Nonetheless, no statistically significant difference was observed among the control, sham, estrogen, and EA fruit extract-treated rats regarding the volume of the vertebrae and tibia. Total volume of the bones’ trabeculaeThe volume of the trabeculae of L5 and tibia decreased by averagely 44% in the OVX group compared to the sham and control groups (p<0.05). Nonetheless, no significant differences were observed between the OVX and EA fruit extract-treated OVX groups in this regard.Total number of osteocytes The results of our study showed a 41% decline in the total number of osteocytes in the total volume of the L5 trabeculae in the OVX group compared to the control and sham-operated groups (p<0.05). However, an increase was observed in the total number of osteocytes in the EA fruit extract- and estrogen-treated groups in comparison to the OVX group, but the difference was not statistically significant. On the other hand, no significant difference was found among the OVX + EA fruit extract-treated, estrogen-treated, sham, and control groups concerning the number of osteocytes.In the tibia, the total number of osteocytes was 57% and 51% lower in the OVX group compared to the control and sham-operated animals, respectively (both p<0.05). Nonetheless, an increase was observed in the total number of osteocytes in the EA fruit extract- and estrogen-treated groups in comparison to the OVX group, but the difference was only significant in the group receiving estrogen (p=0.002). Nevertheless, no significant difference was found among the EA fruit extract-treated, control, and sham-operated groups with respect to the number of osteocytes.Total number of osteoblastsIn the tibia, the total number of osteoblasts was 57% and 51% lower in the OVX group compared to the control and sham-operated animals, respectively. The number of osteoblasts in the L5 and tibia were also 70% and 75% lower in the OVX group compared to the control and sham groups, respectively (p<0.05 for both). However, a significant increase in the number of osteoblasts was seen in the EA fruit extract- and estrogen-treated groups compared to the OVX group (p<0.05). Yet, no significant difference was seen among the EA fruit extract-treated, control, and sham-operated groups in this regard.Total number of osteoclastsThe number of osteoclasts in the L5 was 3-fold higher in the OVX rats compared to the sham and control groups (p<0.05 for both). However, the number of osteoclasts decreased in the L5 of the EA fruit extract- and estrogen-treated groups compared to the OVX groups although the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, no significant differences was found among the control, sham-operated, and treated groups regarding the total number of osteoclasts.Furthermore, the number of osteoclasts in the tibia significantly increased by 4.5 folds in the OVX rats compared to the sham and control groups. On the other hand, the number of osteoclasts significantly decreased in the EA fruit extract- and estrogen-treated groups compared to the OVX group (p<0.05 for both). Additionally, the results showed a significant difference between the EA fruit extract-treated, but not estrogen-treated, and control and sham groups in this regard.In osteoporosis, an imbalance between bone resorption and formation is due to extension of lifespan of osteoclasts and shortening of lifespan of osteoblasts and possibly intestinal absorption of calcium is impaired  (Noorafshan et al., 2015EA-fed animals, increased bone mass in these animals was associated with increased ALP level, osteoblast number, bone mineralization, and bone volume. Recent studies have suggested that postmenopausal osteoporosis might be due not only to augmented osteoclast formation and to activity, but also to an increase in osteoblastic inhibition and a decrease in osteoblastic activity (D’Amelio et al., 2011This is the first stereological and a preliminary study to evaluate the possible use of EA in treatment of osteoporosis. However, considering the results of this study, future research should focus on isolated or mixture of active constituents to determine the mechanisms underlying the bone effects and to reveal the beneficial therapeutic and safety properties of its phytochemicals, as a complementary and alternative medicine for management of osteoporosis.The results of this study provided a basis for clinical evaluation and demonstrated the potential effects of EA extract, as a herbal drug. The findings suggested that EA extract could be an effective natural anabolic alternative for treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Yet, further research are needed to be conducted in this area.


Two separate bodies of work have examined whether culture affects cooperation in economic games and whether cooperative or non-cooperative decisions occur more quickly. Here, we connect this work by exploring the relationship between decision time and cooperation in American versus Indian subjects. We use a series of dynamic social network experiments in which subjects play a repeated public goods game: 80 sessions for a total of 1,462 subjects  making 13,560 decisions. In the first round, where subjects do not know if connecting neighbors are cooperative, American subjects are highly cooperative and decide faster when cooperating than when defecting, whereas a majority of Indian subjects defect and Indians decide faster when defecting than when cooperating. Almost the same is true in later rounds where neighbors were previously cooperative (a cooperative environment) except decision time among Indian subjects. However, when connecting neighbors were previously not cooperative (a non-cooperative environment), a large majority of both American and Indian subjects defect, and defection is faster than cooperation among both sets of subjects. Our results imply the cultural background of subjects in their real life affects the speed of cooperation decision-making differentially in online social environments. Cooperation among non-kin is central to human societies . Among mA separate body of work has found that decision times correlate with choosing cooperation versus defection, with some studies finding that cooperation occurs more quickly –20 and oIn the present study, we bring these two lines of work together and explore how the relationship between decision time and cooperation varies based on culture. We do so by comparing the behavior of subjects from the United States and India in an online repeated cooperation game involving dynamic social networks.http://data.worldjusticeproject.org/), which considers constraints on government, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice . Furthermore, a 2015 report from Legatum Institute shows that, in terms of the level of social capital, the United States is 11th-ranked and India is 129th-ranked across 142 countries in the world [The United States and India offer an attractive comparison because subjects from these two countries can be recruited from the same online labor market  but thehe world –33.speed of cooperation differs between American and Indian subjects not just in the absence of information about their partners’ play (as in 1-shot games), but also in the presence of specifically cooperative versus non-cooperative partners.We focus on play in a repeated game, rather than a 1-shot game, because repeated play offers a richer set up behaviors to explore. As described above, recent work has shown that decision speed varies based on social environment within the game . Thus weWe used the data from Nishi et al (2015) , in whichttps://freegeoip.net/json/), we could obtain information regarding where each subject resided at the time of the experiment. Subjects came predominantly from the United States , followed by India . Others come from 29 different countries, but all sample sizes are less than 10 per country . Please note that the experimental conditions for those from the United States and those from India are exactly the same , and that subjects never knew the country of origin of their connecting neighbors in the experiments. Information on socio-demographic factors such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and country of birth was not collected.Since we recorded the Internet Protocol (IP) address of each subject , and a multilevel mixed-effects linear regression for decision time (continuous outcome)  .unknown environment, where subjects do not know if connecting neighbors are generally cooperative or not), in a cooperative environment (cooperation rate of connecting neighbors at the previous round ≥ 0.5) and in a non-cooperative environment (a rate < 0.5) at the later rounds (2nd to 10th rounds), separately. We use the same threshold for the cooperative environment (i.e. 0.5) as in prior work [First, we examined the difference in cooperation rate between subjects from the United States and those from India at the first round (ior work .10-transformed decision time (seconds) due to the skewness of the decision time distribution. The point estimates obtained were exponentiated back with the base of 10 to show the percent change in decision time for cooperation decisions as compared with defection decisions .Second, we examined decision time. As in previous studies , 26, 31,P values reported below are based on the mixed-effects regression model.In the random intercepts model that we used, we added a continuous variable of round number as a covariate for the later-round analysis, because decision time naturally becomes shorter over rounds . As a seP < 0.001) (P < 0.001) (P = 0.151)  , left. I< 0.001) , middle,= 0.151) , right. P < 0.001), and a positive relationship among those from India  (P < 0.001).Second, we report the relationship between cooperation and decision time. In the first round , there is a negative relationship between decision time and cooperation among the subjects from the United States  , left. TP < 0.001), and no relationship among those from India  (P = 0.004).When they know that connecting neighbors were cooperative in the previous round (cooperative environment), there is a negative relationship between decision time and cooperation among those from the United States  , middle.not cooperative in the previous round (non-cooperative environment), there is a positive relationship between decision time and cooperation both among those from the United States  and those from India  (P = 0.042).When they know that connecting neighbors were < 0.001) , right. In our experimental setting, we found marked differences between American and Indian subjects in cooperation, and in the relationship between cooperation and decision time. The American subjects are likely to be initially cooperative, and to keep cooperating at later rounds as long as neighbors are cooperative, but to switch to defection when neighbors defect. As per the conflictedness account of decision times, cooperation is therefore faster in the first round and in cooperative environments at later rounds, while defection is faster in non-cooperative environments.Indian subjects, conversely, are relatively unlikely to cooperate, even in the first round or in later rounds where neighbors are cooperative. Thus, again as predicted by the conflictedness account, defection is faster than cooperation for Indian subjects across all environments. The difference is not statistically significant in the cooperative environment, perhaps because the psychology of reciprocation increased the psychological pull of cooperation even for those who eventually wound up defecting.This difference in cooperation and decision time between the American and Indian subjects may have a root in the difference in quality of their social environment. As discussed in the Introduction and prior literature , 32, 40,Our results provide further evidence for the importance of cross-cultural differences in human cooperation. In particular, they support theories involving a positive relationship between typically advantageous behavior outside the economic game  and play in the game context –49. Our correlations between decision time and cooperation, rather than experiments in which decision times are experimentally manipulated. Evidence suggests that manipulations of decision time are not related to conflictedness, but instead are related to the relative reliance on intuition versus deliberation [It is important to note that our discussion of decision times has been limited to beration ; moreoveberation . Relativberation , 40, 51,S1 File(CSV)Click here for additional data file.S2 File(DO)Click here for additional data file.


Monsonia angustifolia in Wistar rats was evaluated. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 420 guideline was adopted in the acute toxicity testing with a single oral dose of 5000 mg/kg (b.w.). For the 28-day daily oral dosing, the extract was administered at 75, 150, and 300 mg/kg b.w.; 1% ethanol in sterile distilled water was used as control. Clinical toxicity signs were subsequently evaluated. At a single dose of 5000 mg/kg b.w. the extract elicited no treatment-related signs of toxicity in the animals during the 14 days of experimental period. In the subacute toxicity, there was no significant difference in hematological, renal, and liver function indices. However, dose-dependent significant increases were observed on the plasma concentrations of white blood cell and platelet counts of the treated animals compared to the control group. While cage observations revealed no treatment-facilitated signs of toxicity, histopathological examinations of the kidneys and liver also showed no obvious lesions and morphological changes. These results suggest that the extract may be labelled and classified as safe and practically nontoxic within the doses and period of investigation in this study.The acute and subacute toxicity profile of the aerial extract of Monsonia is dispersed over both hemispheres in Africa, America, Europe, Asia, and Australia [ Monsonia angustifolia E. Mey. ex. A. Rich, commonly known as Crane's bill, Alsbos, Angelbossie, or Teebossie, belongs to the family Geraniaceae. It is a suberect annual plant growing in sandy soils, usually on granite, often on rocky areas, and along roadsides. Teebossie is widely distributed in the southern African region, from South Africa to Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, and Mozambique. Monsonia angustifolia (MA) is provincially distributed in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga in South Africa [The genusustralia . It is wustralia . Monsonih Africa . Its redh Africa . Ethnomeh Africa . Fouche h Africa  have alsh Africa .The ethnomedicinal application of different formulations of MA to treat various diseases is increasing appreciably. Despite the profound therapeutic significance of MA, there is a paucity of information in the literatures about the safety of its standardized aqueous extract. Accordingly, since nontoxicity is one of the criteria set by the World Health Organization for the use of herbs as medicines, the present study was therefore conceptualized to investigate the effect of oral acute and 28-day repeated dose administration of standardized extract of MA on haematological and kidney and liver function parameters of Wistar rats.The assay kits for the determination of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were supplied by Randox Laboratories Ltd., United Kingdom, while those of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) were obtained from Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany. All other chemicals and reagents were of analytical grade and prepared in glass-distilled water. Monsonia angustifolia were collected near Chuenespoort, Polokwane area, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The plant was identified at the South African Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), where a voucher specimen (number 582251.0) was prepared and deposited. The identified sample was thoroughly rinsed under running water to remove foliar contaminants, air-dried to constant weight, and subsequently pulverized in a hammer mill.Fresh plant materials comprising the aerial parts ofThe aqueous extract was prepared by a method similar to making a tea infusion. One liter of deionized water was added to 86 g of the ground material and boiled for an hour. The water solution was left to cool to room temperature. The resulting infusion was filtered and subsequently freeze-dried. This yielded a brownish fluffy powder corresponding to 22.16 g of the crude extract. The crude extract obtained was thereafter standardized by dissolution in 200 mL of distilled water and then successively fractionated on a C18 reverse phase silica gel flash cartridge using 100 mL of each of water, methanol/water (1 : 1 v/v), and methanol, respectively. This yielded 200 mg of the standardized extract. The extract was only readily soluble in 1% ethanol (EtOH) and as such was reconstituted in it (1% EtOH) to give the various concentrations used in this study. ad libitum access to feed  and tap water under hygienic conditions. All treatments were in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals [Thirty-six healthy male and female Wistar rats weighing 200–250 g were utilized in this study and were obtained from the animal house of the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa. The animals were kept in clean polypropylene cages under standard animal house conditions . A 7-day acclimatization period was observed before dosing and the rats were allowed Animals . Approva50 was subsequently determined [This was performed according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 420 guideline for testing chemicals with slight modification . Twelve termined .Twenty-four Wistar strain rats were randomly divided into four groups of six animals each. Each group was made up of equal numbers of males and females. Animals in group 1 (control) were given 1 mL of 1% EtOH in distilled water. Groups 2–4 comprised animals given 1 mL of the extract at 75, 150, and 300 mg/kg b.w., respectively. All administration instances were done every 24 hours via oral gavage throughout the investigation period. The rats were weighed daily and also subjected to thorough observations for mortality, behavioral changes, and possible symptoms of humane end point during the 28-day experimental period.On the 29th day of the experiment, the rats were humanely sacrificed under halothane anesthesia and blood samples were collected into plain and EDTA-containing bottles as previously described . The colHaematological parameters, including red blood cell (RBC), haemoglobin (HGB), haematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), platelet, white blood cells (WBC), and lymphocytes, were determined using Automated Haematologic Coulter Analyzer .The serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphate (ALP), and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) as well as concentrations of total bilirubin, total protein, albumin, electrolytes , creatinine, uric acid, and urea were evaluated using Piccolo Express Automatic Chemistry Analyzer .A portion of each of the excised organs was fixed in 10% (v/v) buffered formaldehyde solution, dehydrated through ascending grades of ethanol , cleaned in xylene, and embedded in paraffin wax. Tissue sections were then prepared and stained with haematoxylin-eosin . The phot-test. Significant differences between the treatment means were considered at p < 0.05.Statistical analysis was performed using Minitab Student release version 12, Windows 95. Where necessary, data were represented as mean of six replicates ± standard error of mean and were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and complemented with Student's  Monsonia angustifolia at 5000 mg/kg b.w. dose had no clinical adverse effect of substance related toxicity and did not cause mortality of any rat during the 14-day observation period. Also, there was no morbidity or behavioral or physiological changes. Compared with the control, there was no significant (p > 0.05) change in the body weight gain of the extract-treated rats throughout the study period  effect on all other parameters evaluated including HGB and RBC, when compared with the control.The effects of 28-day administration ofp > 0.05) alterations on these parameters for all the animals when compared with the control (p > 0.05) effect on the serum level of the electrolytes  and uric acid when compared with the control  evaluated in this study revealed that the extract caused no significant , and dao et al. . Accordio et al. , substan M. angustifolia is unlikely to be toxic at the tested doses over the observation period.Since treatment-related toxicity was not evidenced during the acute toxicity evaluation, further testing was conducted to evaluate the 28-day repeated daily dose of the extract on key metabolic markers of rats. This was done with a view to providing comprehensive toxicological data on this emerging botanical. The selected doses  in this study were informed by the averages of daily consumed regimens and reported pharmacological study on the extract . General M. lucida was nonhaematotoxic to the animals. The plasma level of the WBC counts is a pointer to an organism's defensive potential against infections. The dose-dependent significantly increased WBC counts following M. angustifolia extract administration in the animals may indicate immune system boost. The increase in the white blood cells could also suggest that the effects on cells of the immune system at the tested doses were not adversely affected and further supported the nonhaematotoxic nature of the extract. This agrees with the report of Ashafa and Kazeem [ Dianthus basuticus on leukocyte status of rats. That the extract also dose-dependently increased platelet counts in the animals over the 28-day investigation period may be informative of its stimulatory effect on thrombopoietin. This is not only suggestive of the extract's capability to considerably manage thrombocytopenia in rats , but alLiver and kidney function tests are crucial in toxicological evaluation of plant extracts due to the utmost involvement of these organs in xenobiotic biotransformation . SignifiA drastic change in body weight is a critical evaluator of toxicity and may serve as a sensitive indication of the general wellbeing of animals . The mea M. angustifolia extract was not toxic to them at the tested doses. Furthermore, the no treatment-induced infiltration and inflammation as shown in the microscopic examination of the organs from extract-treated groups are also supportive of its capability to maintain and sustain histoarchitectural integrity of the organs. In light of the foregoing, it may be inferred that the extract of M. angustifolia is unlikely to be toxic (at the investigated doses) to the studied organs in this study and also supported its pharmacological significance.Besides complementing biochemical investigations, histological examination of organs following exposure to pharmacological agents is an important consideration in assessing the safety of such agents on organ injury . Hence, 50 of the standardized extract of M. angustifolia is well above 5000 mg/kg b.w. in Wistar rats. Following its 28-day repeated daily oral dose administration in the animals, it may be concluded that it does not elicit any treatment-related adverse effect at the doses investigated and thus may be classified to be relatively safe and practically nontoxic for consumption. Although work is in progress in evaluating its safety tendency on other systemic organs and tissues in animals, the data from this study have supported the safety and therapeutic importance of M. angustifolia in the traditional system of medicine.Overall, it is evident from the present study that LD


Wayfinding (WF) is the ability to move around efficiently and find the way from a starting point to a destination. It is a component of spatial navigation, a coordinate and goal-directed movement of one’s self through the environment. In the present study, the relationship between WF tasks (route tracing and shortcut finding) and individual factors were explored with the hypothesis that WF tasks would be predicted by different types of cognitive, affective, motivational variables, and personality factors. A group of 116 university students (88 F.) were conducted along a route in a virtual environment and then asked first to trace the same route again, and then to find a shortcut between the start and end points. Several instruments assessing visuospatial working memory, mental rotation ability, self-efficacy, spatial anxiety, positive attitude to exploring, and personality traits were administered. The results showed that a latent spatial ability factor  – controlled for gender – predicted route-tracing performance, while self-report measures of anxiety, efficacy, and pleasure in exploring, and some personality traits were more likely to predict shortcut-finding performance. We concluded that both personality and cognitive abilities affect WF performance, but differently, depending on the requirements of the task. Wayfinding (WF) is generally defined as the ability to move around efficiently and find the way from a starting point to a destination .It is widely acknowledged that WF is a multicomponent ability  susceptiThe direct involvement of different working memory (WM) components has been demonstrated by using dual task paradigms in experiments in which participants were asked to perform WF tasks while concurrently performing secondary tasks assumed to load different WM components . On the There is also evidence of stress and/or anxiety harming WF performance , particuAs for the positive emotions, it was found that individuals who take pleasure in exploring places tend to have a good sense of direction , and perThe study by Other factors relating to spatial task performance have been explored from a socio-cognitive perspective too. For instance, stereotype threat , and genAnother order of variables that might influence WF ability regards personality. Already In line with these assumptions the literature supports a relationship between certain personality traits and performance in spatial and WF tasks. Extroversion is one of the personality traits most often studied, and findings indicate that extroverts are more likely to have an exploratory behavior , and to More recently, The above-mentioned studies generally corroborate the idea of a connection between personality and spatial competence, but some aspects remain unexplored. First of all, we need to establish more precisely which specific mechanisms link some personality traits with performance in spatial tasks, and the role of potential mediators . Exclusion criteria were not adopted. All participants had adequate performances in the VSWM and MR tests, allowing us to exclude the presence of visuospatial disorders. This experiment was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Italian Association of Psychology (AIP) and of the Ethics Committee for Psychological Research (CERP) of University. All procedures were approved by CERP. Participants provided written consent.A total of 116 undergraduates  voluntarily took part in the study . Maximum score: 30 Big Five Personality Questionnaire , and the other is Dominance (assertiveness and self-confidence). The Agreeableness trait refers to concern and sensitivity expressed toward others and their needs, with one facet concerning Cooperativeness , and the other Politeness (kindness and civility). The Conscientiousness trait relates to self-regulation in both its proactive and its inhibitory aspects, one facet being Scrupulousness (orderliness and precision), and the other Perseverance (tenacity and persistence). The Emotional Stability trait concerns the ability to control one’s affect and emotional reactions, and one facet of this is Emotion Control (ability to handle anxiety and feelings of despondency), and the other is Impulse Control (ability to maintain control over one’s behavior). The Openness trait concerns the breadth of an individual’s cultural interests and willingness to explore and seek novelty; one facet is Openness to Culture , and the other is Openness to Experience . In a large normative population, the reliability of the five factors ranged from 0.73 to 0.90, and the reliability of the facets from 0.60 to 0.86 . MaximumCorsi Blocks Task , and the length of the path covered in meters in the shortcut-finding task, which were used as dependent variables.Participants were individually tested during a single session lasting about 90 min. They completed the following questionnaires in the following order: Anxiety, Attitude (pleasure in exploring), and Efficacy, plus two other questionnaires not considered in the present study. Then, the route learning phase started. Participants were told that their task was to memorize a path through a VE and then perform a number of spatial tasks. They were first familiarized with the use of the joystick and the virtual reality apparatus in a sample VE for 3 min before starting the experimental task. Participants watched an avatar walk for about 3 min from the starting point to the end point of the path. Immediately afterward, they were returned to the starting point and asked to use the joystick to trace the same route as they had just seen (route-tracing task). They were told that, if they took a wrong turn, the program would take them back to the previous intersection. If participant took three wrong turns at the same intersection, the experimenter told them which way to go . The program recorded how many wrong turns each participant took along the way. Then they were returned to the starting point again and asked to find the shortest way to reach the destination (shortcut-finding task). Participants were allowed to navigate the environment freely (for up to 10 min) until they reached the destination, and the route they covered was recorded. The task finished when the end point was reached, or when 10 min had passed. The dependent variables were the errors in the first task, and the length of the shortcut in the second. After the two navigation tasks, the Corsi Blocks Task and the Pathway Span Task were administered, followed by the Big Five Questionnaire, which concluded the experimental session. The order of administration of all measures (questionnaires and tasks) was the same for each participant.We conducted our analyses in four steps. First, we examined participants’ route-tracing and shortcut-finding performance to check for any broad individual differences . We thenz < 1.96).Measurements and structural analyses were done using the LISREL 8.7 statistical package . Among tWe expected to find VSWM and spatial ability crucial to learning a path and forming a spatial mental representation of the urban environment, as suggested by a number of past studies . Once thBased on the above-reviewed literature, we expected spatial ability to predict performance in both navigation tasks, while the affective/motivational and personality variables were expected to predict performance only in the shortcut-finding task. As for which specific personality traits might correlate with performance in the latter task, we took an exploratory stance because past research had identified different factors, from extraversion to psychoticism and dominance. Given that previous evidence showed that route tracing and shortcut finding could demand a different involvement of visuospatial competences , the lasAlthough the task was quite easy (54% of participants made no or only 1 error), we found that the 25% of the sample made 5 or more errors, with a maximum of 9 errors in one case. These data confirm reports in the literature of a marked variability in the performance of navigation tasks .Figure 1). Another 23 participants traced a slightly longer route, 13 covered the route they had learned previously, or one only slightly shorter (n. 11), and 18 covered much longer routes than the one they had learned, using no apparent strategy. The shortcut-finding task thus revealed individual differences that were possibly even more marked than those seen in the retracing task.This task revealed a broad range of individual differences too. A total of 50 of the 116 participants (43%) actually found one of the two shortest routes from the starting point to the destination . This measurement model, based on the three factors of interest, showed good fit indices, χ2 = 24.19, df = 24 p = 0.45, CFI = 1.00, NNFI = 1.00, SRMR = 0.05, RMSEA = 0.008. The standardized β values are shown in Figure 2. The three latent variables, i.e., spatial ability, motivation/emotion, and personality, were retained in the subsequent analyses.In the light of previous evidence to indicate that spatial abilities constitute a single factor grouping mental rotation and VSWM , and tha2 = 46.64, df = 46 p = 0.45, CFI = 1.00, NNFI = 1.00, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.01, but some relations were not significant (z = -0.68 to z = 1.44), i.e., gender and emotion/motivation; gender and personality; gender and route-tracing task, gender and shortcut-finding task; emotion/motivation and route tracing; personality and route tracing; route tracing and shortcut finding. We therefore tested a second model in which these relations were removed. The final model, shown in Figure 3, was satisfactory, χ2 = 54.88, df = 53 p = 0.40, CFI = 0.99, NNFI = 0.99, SRMR = 0.08, RMSEA = 0.02, and explained 24% of the variance for route tracing (2R = 0.24), and 14% of the variance for shortcut finding (2R = 0.14). Route-tracing performance was predicted by the spatial ability latent variable, which mediated the relationship between gender and route tracing . A different pattern emerged for shortcut finding, which was predicted by emotion/motivation and personality latent variables: high scores for self-efficacy and pleasure in exploring, and low scores for spatial anxiety were associated with a good performance. Personality predicted shortcut-finding performance too: low scores for Politeness (a facet of Agreeableness), and Impulse Control , and high scores for Dominance (a facet of Energy) were associated with a good performance.In a first model, we considered all the relationships between the three latent variables and the two navigation tasks (route tracing and shortcut finding). The model showed satisfactory fit indices, χOverall, the results of the study confirmed our expectations.The preliminary analysis on participants’ performance in the two navigation tasks (route tracing and shortcut finding) revealed wide individual differences. These preliminary results confirmed previous reports of marked individual differences in performance in spatial navigation and orientation tasks , correlated with route-tracing performance, whereas it was Politeness and Impulse Control  that correlated significantly with shortcut-finding performance.We also found interesting correlations between the predictive variables. As expected, the two VSWM tasks correlated with one another, and one of them (the Corsi Blocks Task) showed a moderate correlation with the MRT. This latter result supports the conviction that VSWM is implicated in the performance of figural spatial tasks . All theBased on the above-described correlations, we tested a model grouping the variables into three latent factors: a spatial ability factor (grouping the MRT and the VSWM tasks), an emotion/motivation factor , and a personality factor (including the facets correlating the most with the shortcut-finding task). The model showed good fit indices and enabled us to test the predictive value of the three factors vis-à-vis route-tracing and shortcut-finding performance with a structural equation model. The main outcome of this last analysis was that performance in the two navigation tasks was predicted by a distinct order of variables. Spatial ability predicted route-tracing performance, confirming the results of previous studies showing that VSWM is implicated in navigation tasks , but notSome inconsistencies emerged when we compared our results with those of previous studies on the influence of personality traits on spatial task performance. Overall, the results of the present study confirm that the type of environment, the type of task, and internal factors interact in contributing to WF performance , but theFP and CM conceived of the research and designed the experiment. CM and LR analyzed the data. FP drafted the manuscript. CM and LR provided the critical manuscript revisions.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


The results revealed higher occurrence of IUD symptoms in China. Furthermore, Chinese participants scored significantly higher on neuroticism and agreeableness, whereas German participants scored higher on extraversion and openness. Compared to German participants, Chinese showed higher expectancies to avoid negative feelings online and to be positively reinforced. Regarding Internet literacy, German participants indicated higher skills concerning the reflection and critical analysis of online content, whereas Chinese showed higher expertise in producing and interacting online. Further, simple slope analyses indicated that certain Internet literacy domains were related differentially to IUD symptoms in Germany and China. While Chinese participants with higher reflective skills indicated highest IUD symptoms, reflective skills revealed no effect in Germany. Additionally, higher self-regulative skills correlated with lower IUD symptoms in the German, but not in the Chinese sample. The results give a hint to potential cultural differences regarding IUD, especially on the predictive and protective role of Internet literacy domains.Research on Internet-use Disorder (IUD) has increased rapidly, indicating its clinical and global importance. Past studies suggested cultural diversity regarding the prevalence of an IUD, e.g., between Asian and European countries. Additionally, it was found that personality factors, Internet-related cognitions and specific competences seem to influence IUD tendencies, but research lacks in cultural comparative studies regarding these mechanisms. This study focuses on differences between Germany and China regarding the above-mentioned characteristics. German ( Since the late 90s, the phenomenon of Internet addiction or Internet-use disorder (IUD) is focused more and more in the scientific literature . Further, the number of theoretical assumptions about its classification as well as empirical studies, which give insights into the underlying mechanisms of its development, increase constantly ,2,3. PasAccording to a meta-analysis by Cheng and Li , who revAlong with research on the occurrence of an IUD, former studies already focused on specific psychological aspects which are associated with an excessive and addictive use of the Internet in different nations and cultures ,13,14. HWithin the scope of cultural-comparative studies, Asian and Western samples have been compared most frequently regarding specific individual characteristics as well as economic and infrastructural background . RegardiWithin Germany, IUD displays a serious health problem. In a representative study, 1% of the German population has been identified as pathological Internet users . Higher Even if IUD is a growing topic of research in Germany, IUD has been studied more frequently in China. There, IUD has been recognized as a nationwide health problem with prevalence rates ranging from 2.4 to 6.4% ,24. WithIn the following, results on the effect of specific personality traits and Internet-related state variables on IUD symptoms are summarized. Here, we focus on investigations carried out in Germany and China, supplemented by results from Western and Asian countries.Beyond epidemiological studies, many studies focus on individual factors influencing the development and maintenance of IUDs. Here it has to be distinguished between personal predispositions ,30, whicAccording to cross-cultural studies, differences regarding the Big Five personality traits between East Asian and Western cultures exist. A meta-analysis revealed that especially East Asian countries score significant lower on the traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness, but higher on neuroticism than other countries and cultures . MoreoveNext to personal predispositions and traits, researchers focused on state variables, which are considered as situation-dependent factors, influencing and triggering human behavior . In the According to Lee et al. , person’As an additional state variable, specific skills and competences in using the Internet and its applications could also play a key role in the development and maintenance of IUDs . Today, Some empirical studies found that specific domains of an Internet literacy could be both positively and negatively related to symptoms of an IUD or ICD in Asian as well as European samples, e.g., ,51. MoreRecent German studies declared IUD as a nationwide problem, e.g., . Its symThe first aim of our study was to investigate whether previous findings regarding the relationship of personality, Internet-use expectancies, different Internet literacy domains and IUD symptoms could be replicated across different nations and cultures. We expect that (i) primarily lower extraversion and higher neuroticism should be linked to higher tendencies towards IUD, (ii) higher Internet use expectancies should be accompanied with IUD symptoms and (iii) primarily higher productive and interactive as well as lower self-regulative skills should be correlated with higher tendencies towards an IUD. Secondly, we wanted to have a closer look at potential differences and interaction effects between the above-mentioned factors among two countries which differ in their cultural background and most likely in their Internet-use behavior.M = 20.71 years (SD = 3.01) with a range from 16 to 30.Overall, 821 participants  from Germany and China took part in a multi-parted data acquisition. The mean age of the whole sample was M = 20.70, SD = 3.34, range: 16–29 years). German participants were recruited from all over Germany by advertisements in university, e-mail lists, announcements on social networking sites, as well as word-of-mouth recommendation. Most of the German participants were university students (33.5%), of which 72.3% named the Abitur (German’s secondary school leaving diploma) and 13.1% the Fachabitur  to be their highest school educational level. Additionally, 10.2% of the university students already received their bachelor’s degree and 2.2% received their master’s degree or a comparable graduation. Further, 25.2% of the German sample were pupils, 22.2% trainees, 10.3% were employees (of which 50.1% had a university degree), and 8.8% of the subsample practiced other professions. The German convenience subsample consisted of 411 participants . Chinese participants were recruited via announcements and postings in university as well as advertisements in university online forums. Overall, 202 Chinese participants took part in a data collection carried out in Beijing. Further 151 participants took part in the Chengdu Gene Brain Behavior Project (CGBBP) and have been recruited in Chengdu. An additional subsample of 57 participants took part in another data acquisition in Chengdu. The data collection was performed in these two Chinese cities due to location-dependent reasons . Within all surveys, most of the Chinese participants were undergraduate students (74.6%), followed by graduate students (23.4%) and high school graduates (2.0%). The corresponding local ethics committees approved the study.The Chinese convenience subsample consisted of 410 participants  of the used questionnaires are presented in α reliabilities of the BFI-10 are not reported because this measure is not appropriate for calculating Cronbach’s α as only two items are building each scale [Online surveys were used to gather participants’ information of the below mentioned measurements in Germany and China. The short Internet Addiction Test, the Internet-use Expectancies Scale, and the Internet Literacy Questionnaire were already available in German language and professionally translated into Chinese. Due to methodological issues, which are described later, two different personality questionnaires were used in the two countries. In the German subsample, the 10-Item Big Five Inventory (BFI-10) was used to assess the Big Five personality traits, whereas the NEO Five-Factor Inventory was used in the Chinese subsample. Both questionnaires were already available in the respective languages. In former studies, all of the used questionnaires showed good psychometric properties and validity. In this study’s sample, all questionnaires and its subscales revealed a good internal consistency with Cronbach’s ch scale . We further compared the factorial structure of the short Internet Addiction Test, the Internet-use Expectancies Scale, and Internet Literacy Questionnaire using mean structure analyses with nation as grouping variable. Here, the model fits revealed no good fit with the data indicating that the factorial structure of the scales seem to be different between the nations. Nevertheless, all items scored significantly on their respective factor/latent dimension with acceptable to good factor loadings in both nations . This issue will be further discussed in the limitations section.loss of control/time management and craving/social problems, each consisting of six items. Items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). The total sum score ranges from 12 to 60, in which a higher sum score of the s-IAT indicates higher symptoms of an IUD. To evaluate the strength of IUD symptoms, the cut-off for the total score was >30 to indicate a problematic Internet use and >37 to indicate a pathological Internet use [To measure symptoms of unspecified IUD, the short Internet Addiction Test  was usernet use . The queneuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. In both questionnaires, higher mean scores reveal a higher level of the respective characteristic.Because of methodological issues, we used two different questionnaires to measure the Big Five personality traits. These two questionnaires represent reliable and valid instruments for the measurement of the above-mentioned traits in the respective country. For the German data collection, we preferred to use the Big Five Inventory-10 , which strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).The BFI-10 consists of 10 items with two items on each trait. All of the items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The NEO-FFI comprises overall 60 statements, which have to be evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (positive reinforcement and avoidance expectancies (each having four items). The dimension positive expectancies measures positive feelings, which are accompanied by using the Internet, whereas the dimension avoidance expectancies indicated whether the Internet is used to avoid negative feelings. Every item was answered on a 6-point Likert scale with a range from 1 (completely disagree) to 6 (completely agree). Mean scores for each subscale have been calculated. Although the IUES is a relatively new developed questionnaire, it has already been used in several studies [To measure expectancies and motivating factors for using the Internet in general, the Internet-use Expectancies Scale  was use studies ,21,44 an studies . The quetechnical expertise, reflection and critical analysis, production and interaction, and self-regulation. Depending on a new calculated exploratory factor analysis, a more economical version of the ILQ was used. The shortened version includes 18 items on the four above-mentioned dimensions, compared to the original 24-item version. According to Stodt et al. [technical expertise measures “the individual’s expertise in handling computer hard- and software as well as Internet applications”  to 5 (strongly agree). Mean scores were calculated for each dimension. The Internet Literacy Questionnaire  was appt et al. , the firations”  others” .ternet”  y life” .reflection and critical analysis consists of 3 items in the Chinese version. The subscales’ internal consistency was still in a good range (Cronbach’s α = 0.723). Nevertheless, we provide readers with the complete questionnaire in English, German, and Chinese language as presented in Due to translation problems, item number 8 from the Chinese version of the ILQ had to be removed. Therefore, the subscale t-Tests were used to examine differences between both nations regarding the manifold Internet variables, whereas Pearson’s correlations were used to provide insights into correlation patterns between Internet variables in both countries. In addition, moderated regression analyses were used to consider possible interaction effects between nationality and Internet literacy within the development and maintenance of an IUD. The statistical analyses were performed by using IBM SPSS 24. MPlus version 6.12  was used to carry out the mean structure analyses. Reported effect sizes are in accordance with Cohen’s d  for t-tests and r  for Pearson correlations [Aside from the presentation of descriptive statistics, inferential statistics are provided in the following result section with respect to both the German and Chinese sample. elations . Based on the suggested cut-off scores of the s-IAT by Pawlikowski et al. , 55 partt = 0.12, p = 0.901) and gender ratios . However, since both subsamples were tried to be parallelized as good as possible regarding sample size and age, no age differences were expected. In terms of gender ratios, both samples show merely slight descriptive differences. We further tested for significant age and gender differences in tendencies towards IUD, Internet-use expectancies, Internet literacy, and personality in both samples. Here, age was significantly associated with IUD in the Chinese , but not in the German sample . Regarding gender effects, male participants in the German sample indicated higher scores in the s-IAT compared with females . No significant gender differences in the Chinese sample could be observed . While investigating the hypothesized cultural differences, we additionally controlled for the variables of age and gender. Calculated ANCOVAs revealed that the significant cultural effects on the observed variables reported below are not caused by age and gender effects. Nevertheless, some significant effects of age and gender on the measured Internet and personality variables in both countries could be observed. For an overview please see Both samples did not differ with respect to age , whereas the German sample scored higher on the dimension reflection and critical analysis . No significant differences were found regarding the dimensions technical expertise and self-regulation. With regard to personality differences, the Chinese sample reported significantly higher scores of neuroticism and agreeableness than the German sample . For extraversion and openness, German participants indicated higher scores . No significant differences were found regarding the trait conscientiousness , extraversion, and conscientiousness (both negative) indicated a significant relationship to the s-IAT with low effects. For the Chinese sample, all personality traits of the Big Five showed significant relations with the s-IAT. Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness indicated the highest effect sizes. Except for neuroticism, all scores of the Big Five were negatively related to the scores of the s-IAT. According to Fisher’s z comparisons, the correlations between neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and the s-IAT were significantly different between both countries , resulting in a significant Fisher’s z comparison.reflection and critical analysis as well as self-regulation revealed high cross-cultural differences regarding their association with IUD symptoms, we used these two domains as the predictors in the upcoming analyses. Based on the relationships found between certain Internet literacy domains and IUD symptoms as well as the different correlation effects between both samples, we calculated further moderated regression analyses to consider possible interaction effects between Internet literacy and the participants’ cultural background explaining the level of IUD symptoms. Because particularly the two domains reflection and critical analysis explained no significant amount of variance in the s-IAT total score  = 0.83, p = 0.361). Nevertheless, the country  = 149.94, p < 0.001) and the interaction term of both variables explained a significant part of variance  = 11.75, p = 0.001). The whole moderation model explained 16.8% of the s-IAT score’s variance  = 54.89, p < 0.001; see In the first analysis, the ILQ score for t = 3.73, p < 0.001). The slope for Germany was not significant . These results indicate that there was an effect of reflective skills on the level of IUD symptoms in the Chinese sample. More detailed, Chinese participants with higher reflective skills tend to indicate higher s-IAT total scores in contrast to participants with lower skills. In the German sample the domain of reflection and critical analysis revealed no significant effect on IUD symptoms. For further illustration of this interaction effect, we calculated simple slope analysis see . The sloself-regulation as the predictor. Here, the score for self-regulation  = 68.83, p < 0.001), the country  = 145.76, p < 0.001), and the interaction term of both variables explained a significant part of variance  = 27.90, p < 0.001). All variables explained 24.3% of the s-IAT score’s variance  = 87.37, p < 0.001; see Secondly, we calculated a moderated regression analysis where we added the ILQ domain t = 2.08, p = 0.038) and the German sample . However, while the effect of self-regulating skills is relatively low in the Chinese sample, in the German sample higher self-regulative skills reduce the score for IUD symptoms considerably in contrast to the Chinese sample . In this empirically based model, Brand et al.  illustraIn accordance with the addiction process described in the I-PACE model, we start to discuss our findings regarding the Big Five personality traits. The found cultural differences in the traits extraversion, openness, and neuroticism are in line with a worldwide comparative study, where East Asian countries indicated the lowest scores of extraversion and openness as well as the highest scores in neuroticism . The resThe next level of the I-PACE model comprises mediating and moderating state variables between the P-component and the decision to use a certain application. In this study, this component is represented by Internet-use expectancies and Internet literacy. Regarding Internet use expectancies, we found that Chinese participants indicated higher expectancies towards the Internet as a useful tool to reduce stress or to feel confident compared with the German sample. This is in line with Li and Kirkup , who fouEven though Internet literacy covers no inherent part in the I-PACE model, previous studies already indicated that Internet-related skills play an important role in the addiction process, e.g., ,22,51. FSecondly, the ability to self-regulate one’s own Internet use had just a low negative effect on the level of IUD symptoms among Chinese participants. On the other hand, the effect of self-regulation was much higher in the German sample, where individuals who cannot self-regulate their Internet-use behavior showed higher IUD symptoms compared to the people who have good self-regulation skills. The latter finding is in line with former research, where people with symptoms of an IUD reported problems in regulating and controlling their own Internet-use ,22. RegaIn the following, further reasons regarding the described cultural differences are discussed. The continuum of collectivism and individualism represents a frequently studied dimension of cultural variability, showing high differences such as between European and Asian countries, e.g., ,84,85. WFurthermore, China displays the world’s fastest growing Internet population  with an Although both investigated samples are not representative for its respective population, we think that this study’s results could give a contribution to prevention and intervention programs in both nations, which are mentioned in the following.The results of the current study point IUD out as a significant problem within the investigated German sample, where especially two Internet literacy domains are related to higher symptoms: higher productive/interactive as well as lower self-regulative skills. Besides, no considerable effect of technical and reflective skills on tendencies towards an IUD have been found. These correlations strengthen the findings by Stodt et al. , who staStatistics revealed high occurrence of a pathological use of the Internet as well as a high number of people who indicated a problematic use in the investigated sample, mostly consisting of university students. Taking the pathological and the problematic groups together, more than half of the Chinese sample indicated at least a problematic Internet use, pointing towards a serious health problem in these Chinese students. Previous studies from China showed that especially university freshmen suffer from higher IUD symptoms, often associated with psychopathological symptoms, such as depressive symptoms, social anxiety, or higher levels of loneliness . These fSome limitations of this study need to be addressed in the following. First, the use of two different questionnaires for measuring the Big Five personality traits, the BFI-10, which was used in the German sample, and the NEO-FFI, which was used in the Chinese sample, could be a reason for the different results regarding the personality traits and their impact on IUD symptoms in both samples. Nevertheless, the use of these two questionnaires was carefully considered during planning the study. In previous studies, the BFI-10 displayed a valid and reliable instrument with good psychometric properties in German samples. Further, its 10-item version is very efficient and advantageous for the use in online studies, where time is limited. For the best of our knowledge, there is no valid and evaluated short version of a Big Five questionnaire in Chinese language . That ireflection and critical analysis of the ILQ in the Chinese sample. We had to remove this item directly after data collection because of a problematic translation, which could lead to different possible understandings by the participants. Additionally, the removal should ensure the subscale’s content validity. Regarding the subscale’s internal consistency, Cronbach’s α was still in the acceptable range. With the removal of one item, we do not expect different results because the remaining items substantially represent the same theoretical facet. For the German sample, we additionally calculated all analyses including the subscale reflection and critical analysis again with the same three items as used in the Chinese sample. The results did not differ between the three- and four-item solutions.One further limitation is the removal of one item out of the subscale As a further limitation, the different factorial structures of the s-IAT, IUES, and ILQ in both nations, which are based on weak model fits in mean structure analyses, have to be mentioned. Even if the analyses revealed non-acceptable model fits, we had a closer look on the factor loadings within both nations. Here, every item loaded significantly on its theoretically suggested and empirically approved factor with just slightly varying effects between both nations. Therefore, we assume that the results of the current study are quite comparable. Further, former studies already demonstrated the applicability of the s-IAT and the IUES in a cross-cultural setting, e.g., . HoweverFurthermore, limitations regarding the representativeness of both investigated samples exist. First, in China and Germany data was collected from convenience samples. Whereas German participants came from all over Germany and were not recruited in a specific region, Chinese data was collected in two certain cities exclusively due to location-dependent reasons, which may have led to region-based effects. Second, the Chinese sample almost consisted of university students, whereas the German sample also contains participants who are employed. Strictly speaking, these facts reduce the level of generalizability and interpretation of the findings in terms of underlying cultural differences. Nevertheless, the German sample was predominately well educated with a high number of participants holding a university degree. Furthermore, both samples did not differ in age and gender. At this point, we want to clarify that this study did not have the intention to examine cultural differences with two nationally representative samples. Notwithstanding, although several limitations exist that have to be beared in mind, this study indicated several similarities between both nations  which are theoretically grounded and indicate global effects. On the other hand, the differences found between both nations (influence of reflective and regulative skills) have to be interpreted with caution. Here, further replications are necessary to check the meaningfulness of these results. Hence, this study’s findings provide evidence that cultural differences between Germany and China regarding symptoms of an IUD and influencing trait and state variables could exist. However, these differences need to be replicated and further investigated in upcoming research explicitly. This study suggests some directions for upcoming research. Future studies should address possible mediating and moderating effects between personality traits, Internet-related cognitions and skills, as well as IUD symptoms across different countries such as by using structural equation modelling and mean structure analyses. Based on the findings of this study, examining certain parts and interaction effects of the I-PACE model with representative samples from different countries would be helpful promoting a better understanding of cultural differences in IUD. Additionally, further empirical studies should focus on the role of one person’s knowledge and skills, which could represent additional mediating or moderating factors in the addiction process but have not been a part of previous theoretical models. Furthermore, there are just a few longitudinal studies covering IUD. The investigation of long-term effects in different countries and cultures would be helpful to shed light onto the reinforcing or protective value of Internet literacy and further Internet-related cognitive biases on the development and maintenance of an IUD and respective cultural differences. Especially, longitudinal designs would be helpful to develop specific prevention and intervention programs.The present study strengthens previous findings on the effect of personality traits as well as state variables such as Internet-use expectancies and Internet literacy domains on the development and maintenance of an IUD within two samples from different countries and cultural areas. In addition, some interesting country-specific differences regarding these variables and their relationship to symptoms of an IUD were pointed out. Next to a higher occurrence of IUD symptoms in the Chinese sample compared to the German sample, Chinese participants scored significantly higher on the Big Five personality traits of neuroticism and agreeableness, whereas German participants scored higher on the traits of extraversion and openness. However, please note that different inventories to measure the Big Five personality traits were applied in each country. Furthermore, Chinese individuals showed higher Internet-use expectancies to avoid negative feelings or to be positively reinforced. Further analyses indicated that Chinese participants with higher reflective skills regarding their Internet behavior indicated highest IUD symptoms, whereas such skills indicated no effect within the German sample. Moreover, higher skills in self-regulating one’s own Internet use were accompanied with lower IUD symptoms in the German, but not in the Chinese sample. Despite the missing representativeness of both samples and some limitations of the current study, several theoretically grounded findings have to be underlined, strengthening the global applicability of this study and providing evidence that cultural differences between Germany and China regarding IUD symptoms and influencing trait and state variables could exist. Because Internet literacy domains seem to play a significant role in the development and maintenance of an IUD, we propose to encourage skills such as reflective and self-regulating skills in current or future IUD prevention programs, which should be individually matched to each countries conditions. Upcoming research should address the replication of this study’s results to check its meaningfulness.


Viburnum opulus and V. lantana and to determine the function and microstructure of inflorescence trichomes in both taxa using light and scanning electron microscopy as well as histochemical assays. It was found that stigmas were formed by papillae, which contained lipids, polysaccharides, tannins, and pigments. Stigmatic secretion proceeded via cuticular pores. Floral nectaries formed a thick layer around the styles, and nectar was secreted through numerous nectarostomata. There were no traces of vascular bundles penetrating the nectary tissue. In turn, numerous tannin deposits were observed in the cells of the glandular parenchyma. Pedicels, hypanthia, and bracts had mainly peltate and capitate glandular trichomes as well as stellate non-glandular trichomes (in V. lantana). The trichomes were shown to contain lipids, mucilage, and tannins. Many similarities in the flower and nectaries microstructure and considerable heterogeneity were observed in the examined Viburnum species. Knowledge of the microstructural characteristics of flowers, nectaries, and trichomes may be important for the phylogenesis and taxonomy of the genus Viburnum and the family Adoxaceae. Additionally, floral and nectaries features are helpful in assessment of the relatedness between taxa and provide better understanding of the floral biology and pollination ecology.In entomogamous plants, the presence and function of floral secretory structures, whose main role is to attract pollinators, is strictly associated with the pollination ecology and hence the reproductive success of the plant. The aims of the present paper were to analyse the micromorphology and anatomy of flower nectaries and stigmas in  Viburnum L. representing the family Adoxaceae comprises approximately 160–200 species of evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous shrubs or small trees growing primarily in the temperate climate zone of the northern hemisphere and in tropical mountains, south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, with their largest diversity in Himalaya and China  whole sterile flowers in the inflorescence were converted into nectaries (tzw. substitutive nectaries)  Vogel . In turnry Erbar .Viburnum is a very difficult group due to the high possibility of hybridization  and V. opulus L. (guelder rose) shrubs originated from the Arboretum of the UMCS Botanical Garden in Lublin, SE Poland . In 2015, the full bloom was noted in early May for V. lantana and in the third decade of May for V. opulus. Freshly opened, nectar-secreting flowers of the two taxa sampled together with the pedicels and bracts were analysed under a light stereoscopic microscope Olympus SZX12 and a bright field light microscope, and after fixation, under a scanning electron (SEM) and light (bright field and fluorescence) microscopes (LM).The 2, sputter-coated with gold, and examined at an accelerating voltage of 30 kV using a TESCAN/VEGA LMU scanning electron microscope. The measurements of the styles, stigmas, and nectaries (n = 10) as well as nectarostomata (n = 20) were taken using morphology software coupled with SEM. The surface area of the nectaries was calculated according to the formula for the surface area of a truncated cone.For SEM observations, samples of flowers were fixed in 2.5 % glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer  at 4 °C for 12 h. Then, the material was washed in phosphate buffer and dehydrated in a graded acetone series. The plant material was subsequently subjected to critical point drying using liquid COTo obtain semi-thin sections, flower fragments were fixed in 2.5 % glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer at pH 7.2 for 12 h at 4 °C temperature. Then, they were carefully washed three times in phosphate buffer and dehydrated in an ethanol series and embedded in LR white resin . Semi-thin sections, in thickness from 0.7 μm, were cut with glass knives using a Reichert Ultracut S ultramicrotome. For general histology, semi-thin sections were stained with 1 % aqueous methylene blue-azure II solution (O’Brien and McCully n = 20) were taken.Hand-cut sections from fresh flowers as well as pedicels and bracts were viewed in water and after application of the histochemical assays in order to determine the structure and content of stigma and nectary cells as well as trichome cells. The following histochemical assays were employed: IKI solution Johansen  for starV. opulus flowers gathered in corymb-like inflorescences were differentiated into marginal sterile, large, white flowers equipped with a pistil having smaller or ruptured stigmas and 4 underdeveloped stamens as well as highly numerous, inconspicuous, inner creamy-white hermaphroditic flowers with an unpleasant odour and 5 stamens equipped with long filaments and bright yellow anthers . The polygonal cells of the adaxial epidermis of corolla petals were characterised by a strongly striated cuticle and the presence of stomata , lipids, and tannins, which contribute to rapid pollen germination, whereas V. opulus also exhibited the presence of anthocyanins. Furthermore, Wolters-Arts et al. , since their dried parts remain at the time of fruit ripening  or whole sterile flowers in the inflorescence were converted into nectaries (some species of Sambucus)  Vogel . Some Vicks Fahn .V. lantana, which suggests that the flowers of the former species produce bigger amounts of nectar. Many researchers believe that the weight of secreted nectar is strictly correlated with the size (thickness and secretory surface) of the nectary , peltate, and digitiform (V. opulus). Moreover, stellate non-glandular trichomes covering densely the bracts, pedicels, and peduncles in V. lantana and simple non-glandular trichomes on adaxial surface of the petals in V. opulus were found. On leaves and stems of various Viburnum species belonging to different species and clades, many investigators have observed a similar type of glandular  (Johnson Viburnum species has been reported by Wilkinson (Viburnum. In turn, the presence of non-glandular trichomes often represents ecological adaptation to environmental conditions as a mechanical barrier protecting against increased transpiration, UV-B radiation, and extreme temperatures (Agrawal and Fishbein Viburnum species are responsible for the multifarious medicinal properties of these plants, e.g. diuretic, cardiovascular stimulant, uterine sedative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antispasmodic, anti-asthmatic, and astringent activities (Altun et al. The glandular trichomes in  Johnson . The preilkinson  and Prabilkinson , b, 2011Viburnum lantana and V. opulus are characterised by many adaptations to insect pollination. They exhibit numerous homologous traits related to the micromorphology of the petals and stigmas, the distribution and anatomy of nectaries, the mode of nectar secretion, and the composition of stigmatic and trichome secretions. Both Viburnum species also differed in a number of quantitative and qualitative charactristics of the microstructure of pistils, nectaries, and glandular and non-glandular trichomes. It was found that the location and type of Viburnum nectaries were substantially unlike from the model described in other representatives of Adoxaceae. Given the common occurrence of many Viburnum species as well as the great similarity between them and hybridisation potential, the original comparative investigations of the structure of the stigmas, nectaries, and trichomes in Viburnum opulus and V. lantana provide better understanding of the phylogenesis and taxonomy of the genus Viburnum. Furthermore, the analyses of the microstructure floral nectaries carried for the first time are a valuable complement to the knowledge of the floral and pollination ecology. The secretory product of the glandular trichomes of different Viburnum should be further investigated in order to identify all bioactive substances with medicinal properties contained therein.The investigations have shown that the flowers of