Cytogenetic effects of Tribulus terrestris L. on meristematic cells of Allium cepa L. and Vicia faba L.

Tribulus terrestris is a plant of the Zygophyllaceae family frequently used worldwide to treat various diseases due to the therapeutic effects of its pharmacological components. This study examines the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of T. terrestris using two plant models, Allium cepa and Vicia faba. Extracts of 0.00625, 0.0125, 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1mg/mL were tested on meristematic cells of A. cepa and V. faba roots. This assessment includes the study of root growth, structure and coloration, as well as the determination of the mitotic index (MI) and chromosomal aberrations (CAs) as accurate indicators of toxicity. Our results showed a significant decrease in the mean length of roots treated with 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1 mg/ml for A. cepa and 0.1 mg/ml for V. faba. Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity results showed a significant decrease in MI from 0.025 mg/ml in A. cepa and from 0.05 mg/ml in V. faba, and this decrease in MI is linked to the increase in concentration and treatment time with T. terrestris. Furthermore, a significant increase in CAs was observed in A. cepa and V. faba from the 0.025 mg/ml concentration. The significant reduction in MI and CAs abundance suggests the genotoxicity of T. terrestris. Therefore, T. terrestris is a medicinal plant that should be used with caution, appropriately and based on essential therapeutic needs

Potential use of Bacillus paramycoides for the production of the biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate from leftover carob fruit agro-waste

This study was designed to investigate, at a laboratory scale, the possibility of valorizing the leftover carob fruits to produce the eco-friendly biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) by using the bacterial strain Bacillus paramycoides, which has been isolated from the botanical garden of Skikda University in Algeria. The PHB production was tested under various conditions: a pH of 3-8, temperature range of 30-44 celcius, carob extracted molasses concentration of 2-8% v/v, an incubation time of 24-96 h and an agitation speed of 150-300 rpm. The effects of different nitrogen sources and carob extracted molasses treatment types were also investigated. The PHB concentration was determined quantitatively as crotonic acid by measuring the absorbance at 300 nm. Cell growth was quantified by measuring the density of the culture at 600 nm. The presence of PHB was confirmed by applying high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using an Aminex HPX-87H and implementing gas chromatography analysis. The best yield of PHB synthesis was obtained by using 6% v/v of 5 M H2SO4 treated with carob molasses as a carbon source, with peptone as a nitrogen source; incubation was conducted at 37 degrees C for 96 hat an agitation speed of 300 rpm (114.95 mg/L). The HPLC analysis confirmed the synthesis of PHB by B. paramycoides to have a chromatogram retention time of 22.5 min. Carob waste was successfully valorized to PHB

Sertraline and mirtazapine versus placebo in subgroups of depression in dementia: findings from the HTA-SADD randomized controlled trial

Objective Studies have shown that antidepressants are no better than placebo in treating depression in dementia. The authors examined antidepressant efficacy in subgroups of depression in dementia with different depressive symptom profiles. Methods This study focuses on exploratory secondary analyses on the randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled Health Technology Assessment Study of the Use of Antidepressants for Depression in Dementia (HTA-SADD) trial. The setting included old-age psychiatry services in nine centers in England. The participants included 326 patients meeting National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association probable/possible Alzheimer disease criteria, and Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) scores of 8 or more. Intervention was placebo (n = 111), sertraline (n = 107), or mirtazapine (n = 108). Latent class analyses (LCA) on baseline CSDD items clustered participants into symptom-based subgroups. Mixed-model analysis evaluated CSDD improvement at 13 and 39 weeks by randomization in each subgroup. Results LCA yielded 4 subgroups: severe (n = 34), psychological (n = 86), affective (n = 129), and somatic (n = 77). Mirtazapine, but not sertraline, outperformed placebo in the psychological subgroup at week 13 (adjusted estimate: –2.77 [standard error (SE) 1.16; 95% confidence interval: –5.09 to –0.46]), which remained, but lost statistical significance at week 39 (adjusted estimate: –2.97 [SE 1.59; 95% confidence interval: –6.15 to 0.20]). Neither sertraline nor mirtazapine outperformed placebo in the other subgroups. Conclusion Because of the exploratory nature of the analyses and the small sample sizes for subgroup analysis there is the need for caution in interpreting these data. Replication of the potential effects of mirtazapine in the subgroup of those with depression in dementia with “psychological” symptoms would be valuable. These data should not change clinical practice, but future trials should consider stratifying types of depression in dementia in secondary analyses

COVID-19 Confinement and Health Risk Behaviors in Spain

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a world pandemic due to COVID-19. In response, most affected countries have enacted measures involving compulsory confinement and restrictions on free movement, which likely influence citizens'' lifestyles. This study investigates changes in health risk behaviors (HRBs) with duration of confinement. An online cross-sectional survey served to collect data about the Spanish adult population regarding health behaviors during the first 3 weeks of confinement. A large sample of participants (N = 2, 741) (51.8% women; mean age 34.2 years [SD 13.0]) from all Spanish regions completed the survey. Binomial logistic regressions adjusted for socioeconomic characteristics (i.e., gender, age, civil status, education, and occupation), body mass index (BMI), previous HRBs, and confinement context (i.e., solitude and exposure to COVID-19) were conducted to investigate associations between the number of weeks confined and a set of six HRBs (physical activity, alcohol consumption, fresh fruit and vegetable consumption, smoking, screen exposure, and sleep hours). When adjusted, we observed significantly lower odds of experiencing a higher number of HRBs than before confinement overall in a time-dependent fashion: OR 0.63; 95% CI: 0.49–0.81 for the second and OR 0.47; 95% CI: 0.36–0.61 for the third week of confinement. These results were equally consistent in all age and gender subgroup analyses. The present study indicates that changes toward a higher number of HRBs than before confinement, as well as the prevalence of each HRB except screen exposure, decreased during the first 3 weeks of COVID-19 confinement, and thus the Spanish adult population may have adapted to the new situational context by gradually improving their health behaviors

TRPV4 channels mediate the infrared laser-evoked response in sensory neurons

Infrared laser irradiation has been established as an appropriate stimulus for primary sensory neurons under conditions where sensory receptor cells are impaired or lost. Yet, development of clinical applications has been impeded by lack of information about the molecular mechanisms underlying the laser-induced neural response. Here, we directly address this question through pharmacological characterization of the biological response evoked by midinfrared irradiation of isolated retinal and vestibular ganglion cells from rodents. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings reveal that both voltage-gated calcium and sodium channels contribute to the laser-evoked neuronal voltage variations (LEVV). In addition, selective blockade of the LEVV by micromolar concentrations of ruthenium red and RN 1734 identifies thermosensitive transient receptor potential vanilloid channels as the primary effectors of the chain reaction triggered by midinfrared laser irradiation. These results have the potential to facilitate greatly the design of future prosthetic devices aimed at restoring neurosensory capacities in disabled patients

The Role of microRNA Expression in Cortical Development during Conversion to Psychosis

In a recent report of the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS), clinical high-risk individuals who converted to psychosis showed a steeper rate of cortical gray matter reduction compared with non-converters and healthy controls, and the rate of cortical thinning was correlated with levels of proinflammatory cytokines at baseline. These findings suggest a critical role for microglia, the resident macrophages in the brain, in perturbations of cortical maturation processes associated with onset of psychosis. Elucidating gene expression pathways promoting microglial action prior to disease onset would inform potential preventative intervention targets. Here we used a forward stepwise regression algorithm to build a classifier of baseline microRNA expression in peripheral leukocytes associated with annualized rate of cortical thinning in a subsample of the NAPLS cohort (N=74). Our cortical thinning classifier included nine microRNAs, p=3.63 × 10-08, R 2 =0.358, permutation-based p=0.039, the gene targets of which were enriched for intracellular signaling pathways that are important to coordinating inflammatory responses within immune cells (p<0.05, Benjamini-Hochberg corrected). The classifier was also related to proinflammatory cytokine levels in serum (p=0.038). Furthermore, miRNAs that predicted conversion status were found to do so in a manner partially mediated by rate of cortical thinning (point estimate=0.078 (95% CIs: 0.003, 0.168), p=0.03). Many of the miRNAs identified here have been previously implicated in brain development, synaptic plasticity, immune function and/or schizophrenia, showing some convergence across studies and methodologies. Altered intracellular signaling within the immune system may interact with cortical maturation in individuals at high risk for schizophrenia promoting disease onset

Deliberate Soccer Practice Modulates Attentional Functioning in Children

We thank all the players, parents, coaches, and staff members of Valencia C.F. and the students, parents, and teachers of the Villar Palasí Primary Education School (Sagunto, Spain) for their participation in this research project.The main purpose of this study was to explore the association between the regular practice of open-skill sports (i.e., soccer) and executive control, along with other attentional functions (i.e., alerting and orienting) during preadolescence. The study was conducted on 131 participants (70 non-athletes and 61 soccer players). To measure cognitive performance, participants performed the Attentional Network Test—Interactions (ANT-I) task. Compared to non-athletes, soccer players showed overall faster responses and better executive control (e.g., reduced interference from distractors). Overall, our results provide new empirical evidence supporting the positive association between regular sports practice and cognitive performance, and more specifically executive functions. However, is important to note that the relationship between regular sport practice and cognition is complex and multifactorial. Our findings can be partly explained by the “cardiovascular fitness hypothesis” and the “cognitive component skills approach,” suggesting that an externally paced sport environment with high physical fitness and perceptual–cognitive demands may be an appropriate setting to optimize the development of cognitive functioning during early adolescence.This research was supported by grants from San Vicente Mártir Catholic University of Valencia (2019-158-003 to FH and 2018- 158-004 to CM) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (PSI2017-84926-P) to JL and FH. The funding bodies had no role in the study design, the data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Comprehensive review:Computational modelling of Schizophrenia

Computational modelling has been used to address: (1) the variety of symptoms observed in schizophrenia using abstract models of behavior (e.g. Bayesian models - top-down descriptive models of psychopathology); (2) the causes of these symptoms using biologically realistic models involving abnormal neuromodulation and/or receptor imbalance (e.g. connectionist and neural networks - bottom-up realistic models of neural processes). These different levels of analysis have been used to answer different questions (i.e. understanding behavioral vs. neurobiological anomalies) about the nature of the disorder. As such, these computational studies have mostly supported diverging hypotheses of schizophrenia's pathophysiology, resulting in a literature that is not always expanding coherently. Some of these hypotheses are however ripe for revision using novel empirical evidence.Here we present a review that first synthesizes the literature of computational modelling for schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms into categories supporting the dopamine, glutamate, GABA, dysconnection and Bayesian inference hypotheses respectively. Secondly, we compare model predictions against the accumulated empirical evidence and finally we identify specific hypotheses that have been left relatively under-investigated