Do emotions evoked by music modulate visuospatial working memory capacity? A physiological study

Previous studies have shown that emotions evoked through music can have transient effects on cognitive performance. Considering the importance of working memory (WM) in the processing of new information, in this study, we investigated the impact of positive and negative emotions evoked through music on visuospatial WM performance using a within-subjects design. Moreover, we concomitantly recorded the participants’ physiological responses during listening to musical stimuli. Seventy-eight participants were allocated to counterbalanced positive, negative, and neutral emotional inductions through music (EIM) followed by an adaptive visuospatial WM task. Results revealed that participants’ visuospatial WM performance was increased after positive EIM compared with negative and neutral EIMs transiently. We also observed increased skin conductance levels during positive EIM compared with baseline and a lower heart rate throughout positive EIM than the other conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that music evoking positive emotions can boost visuospatial WM performance. This is the first study to explore cognitive performance after EIM and physiological responses to musical stimuli simultaneously, which may have important practical implications since we engage in cognitively demanding activities after listening to music that could evoke happy or sad emotions.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological development - CNPq under Grant 229520/2013-8. Furthermore, this study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), School of Psychology, University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through the State Budget (UID/PSI/01662/2019)

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii soluble antigen, SAG-1 (p30), antibody and immune complex in the cerebrospinal fluid of HIV positive or negative individuals

Active infection by T. gondii was evaluated by immunoassay for soluble SAG-1 (p30), the major surface antigen from T. gondii, specific antibodies and immune complexes in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. A total of 263 samples of CSF were collected from hospitalized patients presenting neurological disorders and analyzed for antibodies to HIV. Patients were divided into two groups: HIV positive (n = 96) or HIV negative (n = 167). The results of the assays showed that 45% of all samples were positive for soluble SAG-1. Toxoplasma Ag/Ab immune complexes were detected in 19% of the CSF samples and 62% were positive for T. gondii- specific IgG. A combination of these assays in the presence of clinical findings consistent with active Toxoplasma infection may predict the presence of toxoplasmic encephalitis. Moreover, detection of soluble SAG-1 in the CSF of these individuals appears consistent with active infection

Advanced polymeric membranes as biomaterials based on marine sources envisaging the regeneration of human tissues

The self-repair capacity of human tissue is limited, motivating the arising of tissue engineering (TE) in building temporary scaffolds that envisage the regeneration of human tissues, including articular cartilage. However, despite the large number of preclinical data available, current therapies are not yet capable of fully restoring the entire healthy structure and function on this tissue when significantly damaged. For this reason, new biomaterial approaches are needed, and the present work proposes the development and characterization of innovative polymeric membranes formed by blending marine origin polymers, in a chemical free cross-linking approach, as biomaterials for tissue regeneration. The results confirmed the production of polyelectrolyte complexes molded as membranes, with structural stability resulting from natural intermolecular interactions between the marine biopolymers collagen, chitosan and fucoidan. Furthermore, the polymeric membranes presented adequate swelling ability without compromising cohesiveness (between 300 and 600%), appropriate surface properties, revealing mechanical properties similar to native articular cartilage. From the different formulations studied, the ones performing better were the ones produced with 3 % shark collagen, 3% chitosan and 10% fucoidan, as well as with 5% jellyfish collagen, 3% shark collagen, 3% chitosan and 10% fucoidan. Overall, the novel marine polymeric membranes demonstrated to have promising chemical, and physical properties for tissue engineering approaches, namely as thin biomaterial that can be applied over the damaged articular cartilage aiming its regeneration.The authors would like to acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT) for Ph.D. fellowship (D. N. Carvalho, under the scope of doctoral program TERM&SC, ref. PD/BD/143044/2018), post-doctoral fellowship (L.C. Rodrigues, ref. SFRH/BPD/93697/2013) and research project with ref. PTDC/CTM-CTM/29813/2017-(POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029813). The authors also thank Jellagen Ltd. (UK) for the provision of purified jellyfish collagen and Julio Maroto (Fundación CETMAR, Vigo, Spain) for the kind offer of the squid pens for chitosan production.This work has been partially funded by ERDF under the scope of the Atlantic Area Program through project EAPA_151/2016 (BLUEHUMAN)

How does the replacement of rice flour with flours of higher nutritional quality impact the texture and sensory profile and acceptance of gluten-free chocolate cakes?

Gluten-free bakery products usually use rice flour as substitute for wheat flour. This paper aims to evaluate whether and how the substitution of rice flour for sorghum and teff flour changes the overall acceptance, texture and sensory profile of gluten-free chocolate cakes. An experimental design composed of three factors (rice, sorghum and teff flours) was developed, and formulations were analysed by acceptance test and fibre content. Four formulations were submitted to sensory descriptive analysis. The formulations did not show significant differences in the overall acceptance although the sensory profile has changed. The texture was affected by the type of flour, being the optimised formulation the softer among the samples. From these data, it can be concluded that it is possible to replace rice flour with sorghum and teff flour in chocolate cake formulations, since the change in the sensory profile did not affect the acceptance of the products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Syzygium jambolanum treatment improves survival in lethal sepsis induced in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The leaves and the fruits from <it>Syzygium jambolanum </it>DC.(Myrtaceae), a plant known in Brazil as sweet olive or 'jambolão', have been used by native people to treat infectious diseases, diabetes, and stomachache. Since the bactericidal activity of <it>S. jambolanum </it>has been confirmed <it>in vitro</it>, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the prophylactic treatment with <it>S. jambolanum </it>on the <it>in vivo </it>polymicrobial infection induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>C57Bl/6 mice were treated by the subcutaneous route with a hydroalcoholic extract from fresh leaves of <it>S. jambolanum </it>(HCE). After 6 h, a bacterial infection was induced in the peritoneum using the lethal CLP model. The mice were killed 12 h after the CLP induction to evaluate the cellular influx and local and systemic inflammatory mediators' production. Some animals were maintained alive to evaluate the survival rate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prophylactic HCE treatment increased the mice survival, the neutrophil migration to infectious site, the spreading ability and the hydrogen peroxide release, but decreased the serum TNF and nitrite. Despite the increased migration and activation of peritoneal cells the HCE treatment did not decrease the number of CFU. The HCE treatment induced a significant decrease on the bone marrow cells number but did not alter the cell number of the spleen and lymph node.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that the treatment with <it>S. jambolanum </it>has a potent prophylactic anti-septic effect that is not associated to a direct microbicidal effect but it is associated to a recruitment of activated neutrophils to the infectious site and to a diminished systemic inflammatory response.</p

Prophylactic Treatment With Simvastatin Modulates the Immune Response and Increases Animal Survival Following Lethal Sepsis Infection

Chronic use of statins may have anti-inflammatory action, promoting immunomodulation and survival in patients with sepsis. This study aimed to analyze the effects of pretreatment with simvastatin in lethal sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Male Swiss mice received prophylactic treatment with simvastatin or pyrogen-free water orally in a single daily dose for 30 days. After this period, the CLP was performed. Naïve and Sham groups were performed as non-infected controls. Animal survival was monitored for 60 h after the CLP. Half of mice were euthanized after 12 h to analyze colony-forming units (CFUs); hematological parameters; production of IL-10, IL-12, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and MCP-1; cell counts on peritoneum, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), bone marrow, spleen, and mesenteric lymph node; immunephenotyping of T cells and antigen presenting cells and production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Simvastatin induced an increase in survival and a decrease in the CFU count on peritoneum and on BAL cells number, especially lymphocytes. There was an increase in the platelets and lymphocytes number in the Simvastatin group when compared to the CLP group. Simvastatin induced a greater activation and proliferation of CD4+ T cells, as well as an increase in IL-6 and MCP-1 production, in chemotaxis to the peritoneum and in H2O2 secretion at this site. These data suggest that simvastatin has an impact on the survival of animals, as well as immunomodulatory effects in sepsis induced by CLP in mice