The Health Effects of Chocolate: A Literature Review

Chocolate has been a part of the human diet for centuries, but while it was once considered a healthy food, it is now seen as a dessert and unhealthy treat. It is known that chocolate contains polyphenols, flavonoids, and minerals that can affect body functioning. To determine the extent to which chocolate plays a role in health, a literature review was performed by searching the PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases for peer-reviewed articles published between 2004 and 2024. Of the 14 included studies, the health effects of chocolate fell into three overarching categories: neurological effects, including mental health, cardiometabolic effects, and other effects. For most outcomes, dark chocolate conveyed the strongest health benefits. This is likely because dark chocolate contains the highest level of cocoa, and, therefore, the highest levels of all the healthy chemicals and minerals within raw cocoa. Dark chocolate was found to improve vision, fatigue, brain health, depressive symptoms, cardiovascular functioning, weight loss, gastrointestinal health, and bone health. When consumed in moderation, there is evidence a controlled consumption of chocolate, especially dark chocolate, can be beneficial for a person\u27s health. Future studies about the preventative effects of chocolate on chronic disease could be a way to expand the field

Increasing School Connectedness Through Social Music Improvisation

This study is a mixed-methods action research intervention that analyzed the impact of music improvisation activities on virtual middle school students\u27 behavior and their perception of connectedness with peers, teachers, and school. The research included 37 virtual middle school music students, including sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students, divided into intervention and control groups. The study involved 11 music improvisation intervention sessions that lasted for ten minutes each. The first two sessions were informative and explanatory, while the remaining nine focused on music improvisation activities. The music improvisation sessions included playing instruments and singing using prompt cards created by Dr. James Oshinsky (2021), and the students were given specific prompts to inspire their music-making. During the intervention, the students in the intervention group shared their improvisations live with small groups of four to five students. In contrast, the control group received identical lessons without the music improvisation intervention. The study provided pre and post-test data with observational information about how music improvisation influenced students\u27 connectedness to others. Qualitative data was collected through observations and process coding. This personalized snapshot of the results using the teacher\u27s observations of attitudes, actions, and nature of communication during sessions showed a parallel increase of connectedness to school levels for intervention participants. The teacher\u27s observations of attitudes, actions, and nature of communication during sessions showed a similar increase in connectedness to school levels for intervention participants. The study found a statistically significant result (p=.035) in the school connectedness subscale, suggesting that music improvisation activities positively influenced students\u27 perceived feelings of connectedness to school. This mixed methods action research intervention study analyzed the influence of music improvisation activities on virtual students\u27 behaviors and perceptions of their connectedness to peers, teachers, and school in a virtual middle school classroom setting. Eleven 10-minute music improvisation intervention sessions allowed for the accumulation of data, with the first two sessions being informative and explanatory, describing the music improvisation intervention and practicing its aspects with participants in the intervention group. This study provided pre and post-test data with observational information regarding how the presence of music improvisation influenced 37 virtual middle school music students\u27 connectedness to others. Music improvisation activities included playing instruments and singing using prompt cards created by Dr. James Oshinsky (2021). Students were assigned a particular idea to inspire their music-making. They took turns unmuting during a Google Meet to share their improvisations live with small groups of four to five students. Participants in both intervention and control groups comprised approximately equivalent numbers of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Control participants received identical lessons, albeit the music improvisation intervention only the intervention participants received. A statistically significant result (p=.035) in the school connectedness subscale suggested that music improvisation activities positively influenced students’ perceived feelings of connectedness to school, an integral part of the basis of this research

Parental Heat Calls Affect Hypothalamic Gene Expression and DNA Methylation in Embryonic Zebra Finches: Neuroendocrine Mechanisms of Adaptive Growth Trajectories

Organisms have evolved a variety of mechanisms to compensate for rapid environmental change. A dramatic example has been described for the zebra finch (Taeniopygia castanotis), a songbird native to Australia. Zebra finch parents produce a high-pitched acoustic signal (“heat call”) during bouts of extreme hot weather common to the territory. This sound triggers a developmental change in the eggs they are incubating, so that the offspring become better adapted to heat after hatching. Here, we explore the mechanism of this adaptive developmental reprogramming, hypothesizing that epigenetic changes in the embryonic hypothalamus will follow from heat call exposure. We used Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) in the whole brain to explore DNA methylation changes, and RNA-Sequencing to explore gene expression in the hypothalamus of embryos chronically exposed to heat calls in an incubator. Our results show DNA methylation changes in the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) gene in a novel location in the second exon that was previously not linked to developmental changes due to early life conditions in other taxa. We also found evidence of neuroendocrine and cytoskeletal gene expression changes in the hypothalamus. Finally, heat call exposed embryos also showed DNA methylation changes in neuronal network genes and nuclear receptors involved in transcriptional regulation suggesting a genomic reprogramming of zebra finch embryos undergoing adaptive developmental changes upon chronic exposure to heat calls

AIB-11 The Relationship Between Playing Time and NIL Deals

“What we have now is not college football – not college football as we know it. You hear somebody use the word ‘student-athlete.’ That doesn’t exist.” (Morik, 2024). Before 2021 it was illegal for any player to accept any item or money from a coach, professor, or staff of the University. Players and college officials would be investigated if players did indeed take any money and or items such as cars, clothing, or anything of value. If found guilty of violating NCAA recruiting rules, the college or university would then be fined. This hurt the college with the recruiting process and put the college in a negative light. Laws are still being made and implemented within the college sports realm to refine the NIL process and guidelines. NIL is an acronym for Name, Image, Likeness; a policy where college-level student athletes can accept endorsement deals to earn money for their frame and popularity. This study seeks to find the relationship between an athlete’s playing time and NIL deal among the Southeastern Conference. Specifically, the more playing time an athlete has during a game the more lucrative the Name, Image, Likeness deals are. Moreover, women Name, Image, Likness deals have been more lucrative than men’s sports. A multiple regression will be used to identify if there is a relationship between athletes’ playing time and the amount of the NIL deal. Additionally, gender will be a controlling variable in which to see if there is a relationship between women’s and men’s NIL deals