Green tea (Camellia sinensis) aqueous extract improved human spermatozoa functions in vitro

Background: Idiopathic causes of infertility is associated with oxidative stress. Antioxidants are known to scavenge the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Green tea (Camellia sinensis) contains polyphenols that enhance its antioxidant potential. Aim: This study focused on the impact of aqueous green tea extract on normozoospermic human spermatozoa. Setting: Department of Medical Biosciences, University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa. Methods: Semen samples obtained using masturbation method following three to five days of sexual abstinence from consenting men (n = 59) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) were liquefied and analysed. Normozoospermic samples were selected according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 5th guideline. Thereafter, semen samples (7.5 × 106 /mL) were washed in human tubular fluid (HTF; 10 min at 300 ×g) and exposed to aqueous extracts of green tea (0 μg/mL, 0.4 μg/mL, 4 μg/mL, 40 μg/mL, 405 μg/mL) for 1 h with various sperm parameters analyzed. Human tubular fluid supplemented with bovine serum albumin (HTF-BSA; 10%) served as control. Results: Sperm motility, reactive oxygen species production, across some reaction and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation decreased significantly, particularly at the highest concentration (405 μg/mL; p < 0.001). A substantial increase in the percentage of viable spermatozoa and those with intact mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were observed (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Aqueous extract of green tea prolonged sperm viability and MMP while reducing sperm intracellular ROS production, capacitation and across some reaction and DNA fragmentation, and may be attributed to its antioxidant potential. However, a high concentration of the extract appears to be detrimental to the functioning of human spermatozoa

Piecing Together the American Voting Puzzle: How Votersâ Personalities and Judgments of Issue Importance Mattered in the 2016 Presidential Election

In the wake of the 2016 election, which surprised pundits and voters on both the left and the right, there has been renewed interest in understanding what predicts American votersâ choices. In this article, we investigate the roles of personality and issue importance in how people voted in the 2016 U.S. election. In this longitudinal study of 403 MTurk workers who voted in the election, we assessed the relations between personality (openness, social dominance orientation, and national identity importance) and issue importance (group rights and social justice, economic rights, and individual and national rights), and voting for Clinton or Trump. Our results indicate that both individual differences and issue importance as measured in July 2016 predicted votes in November. We also found that the links between personality and voting were mediated by issue importance. Implications for political psychology and the study of personality, campaign issues, and voting behavior are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146841/1/asap12157.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146841/2/asap12157_am.pd

Detection of antibacterial activity of essential oil components by TLC-bioautography using luminescent bacteria

The aim of the present study was the chemical characterization of some medically relevant essential oils (tea tree, clove, cinnamon bark, thyme and eucalyptus) and the investigation of antibacterial effect of the components of these oils by use of a direct bioautographic method. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was combined with biological detection in this process. The chemical composition of the oils was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Eucalyptol (84.2%) was the main component of the essential oil of eucalyptus, eugenol (83.7%) of clove oil, and trans-cinnamic aldehyde (73.2%), thymol (49.9%) and terpinen-4-ol (45.8%) of cinnamon bark, thyme and tea tree oils, respectively. Antibacterial activity of the separated components of these oils, as well as their pure main components (eucalyptol, eugenol, trans-cinnamic aldehyde and thymol) was observed against the Gram-negative luminescence tagged plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (Psmlux) and the Gram-negative, naturally luminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. On the whole, the antibacterial activity of the essential oils could be related to their main components, but the minor constituents may be involved in this process. Trans-cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol were the most active compounds in TLC-bioautography. The sensitivity of TLC-bioautographic method can be improved with using luminescent test bacteria. This method is more cost-effective and provides more reliable results in comparison with conventional microbiological methods, e.g. disc-diffusion technique

I read it on reddit: Exploring the role of online communities in the 2016 US elections news cycle

Reddit has developed into a significant platform for political discussion among Millennials. In this exploratory study, we examine subscription trends on three political sub-forums on Reddit during the 2016 US presidential elections: /The_Donald, /SandersForPresident, and /HillaryClinton. As a theoretical framework, we draw from work on online communities’ group identity and cohesion. Concretely, we investigate how subscription dynamics relate to positive, negative and neutral news events occurring during the election cycle. We classify news events using a sentiment analysis of event-related news headlines. We observe that users who supported Sanders displayed no consolidation of support for Clinton after she won the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Secondly, we show that negative news events affected Sanders and Clintons subscription trends negatively, while showing no effect for Donald Trump. This gives empirical credence to Trump’s controversial claim that he could “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any voters”. We offer a number of explanations for the observed phenomena: the nature of the content of the three subreddits, their cultural dynamics, and changing dynamics of partisanship. We posit that the ‘death of expertise’ expresses itself on Reddit as a switch in persuasion tactics from a policy-based to an emotions-based approach, and that group members’ agreement on policy proved a weak marker for online communities’ group identity and cohesion. We also claim that strong partisanship coupled with weak party affiliation among Millennials contributed to the low levels of Democratic support consolidation after Clinton won the nomination

Triggered optical coherence tomography for capturing rapid periodic motion

Quantitative cross-sectional imaging of vocal folds during phonation is potentially useful for diagnosis and treatments of laryngeal disorders. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful technique, but its relatively low frame rates makes it challenging to visualize rapidly vibrating tissues. Here, we demonstrate a novel method based on triggered laser scanning to capture 4-dimensional (4D) images of samples in motu at audio frequencies over 100 Hz. As proof-of-concept experiments, we applied this technique to imaging the oscillations of biopolymer gels on acoustic vibrators and aerodynamically driven vibrations of the vocal fold in an ex vivo calf larynx model. Our results suggest that triggered 4D OCT may be useful in understanding and assessing the function of vocal folds and developing novel treatments in research and clinical settings

An exploration and proposed taxonomy of leisure–befriending for adults with learning disabilities

© 2019 The Authors. British Journal of Learning Disabilities Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Taking part in leisure activities is beneficial, yet many adults with learning disabilities are unable to participate in their preferred activities because of cost, because not having anyone to go with or because they do not feel welcome. Befriending is where someone volunteers to act as a friend. Befriending may be a way for adults with learning disabilities to participate in leisure activities with someone who is not a paid carer or family. The author spent time with four people with learning disabilities and their befrienders to find out what things they do together and what they both get from it. Friends and family members were also interviewed. Participants enjoyed the time they spent together. However, they often did the same activities they would do with paid carers or family and the relationship was sometimes quite professional. Befriending could be a way for adults with learning disabilities to have new, beneficial experiences, but we need to know more about how relationships work. Abstract: Background Leisure time for adults with learning disabilities is often diversionary and spent doing passive, solitary or family-orientated activities. Befriending, as a hybrid “natural” support, may help adults with learning disabilities overcome the barriers to participation in nonsegregated leisure. Materials and methods Four case studies of pairs of “befrienders” and “befriendees” were recruited purposively. Participant observation was carried out with each case, followed by semi-structured interviews with participants and relevant stakeholders. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Befriending activities were mostly limited to enjoyable yet “casual” leisure activities that adults with learning disabilities might already participate in with family and paid service providers. Negotiating the befriender role between friend and professional was an ongoing challenge. Conclusions Outcomes of leisure–befriending relationships for adults with learning disabilities are linked to both the nature of relationships and the types of activities undertaken. There are four proposed ideal types of leisure–befriending relationship, yet repeating familiar “casual” leisure activities means adults with learning disabilities risk missing out on novel leisure and social experiences

The person-based nature of prejudice: Individual difference predictors of intergroup negativity

Person-based factors influence a range of meaningful life outcomes, including intergroup processes, and have long been implicated in explaining prejudice. In addition to demonstrating significant heritability, person-based factors are evident in expressions of generalised prejudice, a robust finding that some people (relative to others) consistently score higher in prejudice towards multiple outgroups. Our contemporary review includes personality factors, ideological orientations (e.g., authoritarianism), religiosity, anxiety, threat, disgust sensitivity, and cognitive abilities and styles. Meta-analytic syntheses demonstrate that such constructs consistently predict prejudice, often at the upper bounds of effect sizes observed in psychological research. We conclude that prejudice theories need to better integrate person- and situation-based factors, including their interaction, to capture the complexity of prejudice and inform intervention development