Theory of mind and attentional bias to facial emotional expressions: A preliminary study

Theory of mind ability has been associated with performance in interpersonal interactions and has been found to influence aspects such as emotion recognition, social competence, and social anxiety. Being able to attribute mental states to others requires attention to subtle communication cues such as facial emotional expressions. Decoding and interpreting emotions expressed by the face, especially those with negative valence, are essential skills to successful social interaction. The current study explored the association between theory of mind skills and attentional bias to facial emotional expressions. According to the study hypothesis, individuals with poor theory of mind skills showed preferential attention to negative faces over both non-negative faces and neutral objects. Tentative explanations for the findings are offered emphasizing the potential adaptive role of vigilance for threat as a way of allocating a limited capacity to interpret others’ mental states to obtain as much information as possible about potential danger in the social environment

Limitações na avaliação de perturbação de personalidade: Aspectos conceptuais e metodológicos

Nas últimas décadas, tem havido um aumento acentuado na produção de instrumentos destinados a avaliar perturbação de personalidade. Muitos desses instrumentos baseiam-se na taxonomia expressa no Eixo II do DSM apesar de vários autores terem chamado a atenção para diversos problemas conceptuais e metodológicos deste sistema de classificação. O objectivo do presente artigo é pois descrever e caracterizar os principais problemas psicométricos inerentes aos instrumentos de avaliação baseados no DSM tais como a existência de elevadas taxas de co-morbilidade entre as diversas perturbações de personalidade, ausência de concordância entre instrumentos, foco exclusivo nos sintomas, falta de ênfase desenvolvimental e divergência em relação à prática clínica. Parece pois necessário conduzir estudos sobre a validade dos construtos associados à noção actual de perturbação de personalidade e desenvolver instrumentos alternativos que possam obter uma aceitação mais generalizada. Deste modo, o artigo termina com uma breve exposição de algumas das contribuições oferecidas até ao momento, nomeadamente pelas teorias psicanalíticas, no sentido de tentar colmatar algumas das falhas apontadas na avaliação deste tipo de patologia.ABSTRACT: Over the last decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of instruments devised to assess personality disorder. Many of these measures have been modelled after the DSM categories expressed in the Axis II. However, several authors have expressed concerns with regards to the way personality disorders are described in this classification system. The aim of the present study is to describe and characterize the main psychometric problems which have been found among those measures such as high co-morbidity of personality disorder diagnoses, lack of agreement between instruments, excessive focus on observable symptoms, lack of developmental emphasis, and divergence from clinical practice. Conclusions are drawn with regards to the need to conduct validity studies on the personality disorder constructs and to develop alternative assessment methods. In this line, an overview of some preliminary attempts to circumvent some of the assessment problems is presented, namely research efforts stemming from psychoanalytic models.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Benefits of fermented papaya in human health

Fermented foods have been used for several years all over the world, due to their unique nutritional characteristics and because fermentation promotes conservation and food security. More over, fermented foods and beverages have a strong impact on human gut microbiota. Papaya is the fruit of the Carica papaya plant, traditionally used as a medicinal fruit, but there are also references to the use of the fermented form of this fruit. The main purpose of this review is to provide an improved understanding of fermented papaya nutritional and health applications. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Both in vitro and in vivo studies were included. According to the retrieved studies, fermented papaya has proven to be an excellent antioxidant and an excellent nutraceutical adjuvant in combined therapies against several diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, allergic reactions, anticancer activity, and anemias. Therefore, it is concluded that fermented papaya has many benefits for human health and can be used as prevention or aid in the treatment of various diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Highly efficient and reusable CNT supported iron(II) catalyst for microwave assisted alcohol oxidation

The highly efficient eco-friendly synthesis of ketones (yields over 99%) from secondary alcohols is achieved by combination of [FeCl2{eta(3)-HC(pz)(3)}] (pz = pyrazol-1-yl) supported on functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes and microwave irradiation, in a solvent-free medium. The carbon homoscorpionate iron(II) complex is the first one of this class to be used as catalyst for the oxidation of alcohols

New insights from U–Pb zircon dating of Early Ordovician magmatism on

The Central Iberian–Ossa-Morena transition zone (SW Iberian Massif) represents a segment of the northern Gondwana margin with a long geodynamic evolution, characterized by the superposition of Cadomian and Variscan events. The Early Ordovician is mainly represented by porphyritic felsic volcaniclastic rocks (the Urra Formation) that pass up into a siliciclastic sediments typical of the Central Iberian Zone (Lower Ordovician Armorican Quartzite Formation). The Urra Formation unconformably overlies the previously deformed and metamorphosed Ediacaran sediments of the Série Negra (with Ossa-Morena Zone paleogeographic affinity). New SHRIMP zircon data obtained from the Urra Formation volcaniclastic rocks indicate an Early Ordovician age (206Pb/238U ages ranging from 494.6±6.8 Ma to 488.3±5.2 Ma) for this magmatic event. The inherited zircon cores indicate the presence of multicycle protoliths with different Precambrian ages: Neoproterozoic (698–577 Ma), Paleoproterozoic (2.33 Ga) and Paleoarchean (3.2–3.3 Ga). There is a noticeable lack of Meso- to Neoarchean and Mesoproterozoic ages. The data support the hypothesis that the volcaniclastic rocks were derived by partial melting of Cadomian basement (linked to a West African Craton provenance). The Urra Formation volcaniclastic rocks have rhyolitic to dacitic compositions, are peraluminous and similar to calc-alkaline high-K series suites elsewhere. Isotopic signatures present a wide range of values (87Sr/86Sr)t=0.7085–0.7190, more restricted εNdt (−2.65 to −0.35) and δ18O=9.63–10.34‰, compatible with magmas derived from crustal rocks, including portions of the lower crust. Some samples show disturbance of the Rb–Sr system as shown by unrealistic values for (87Sr/86Sr)tb0.703, probably due to Variscan deformation and metamorphism. The volcaniclastic rocks with a significant sedimentary contribution (upper unit) are distinguished from the others by the lowest values of εNdt (−5.53 to −4.85). The geochemical data are compatible with an orogenic geodynamic environment. However, the “orogenic” signature can be considered to represent, in part, an inherited feature caused by melting of the Cadomian basement which also has calc-alkaline affinities. The Early Ordovician crustal growth and associated magmatism, represented by the Urra felsic volcaniclastic rocks and associated calc-alkaline granitoids, diorites and gabbros, can be interpreted in terms of the underplating and temporal storage of mantle-derived magmas as the potential source for the “orogenic melts” that were intruded during Early Paleozoic extension. This record of Early Ordovician magmatism has striking similarities with other correlatives from the Iberian, Bohemian and Armorican massifs that are discussed in this paper. This comparison reinforces the probable existence of a large-scale crustal melting process linked to a significant episode of extension on the northern Gondwana margin that probably resulted in the birth of the Rheic Ocean

Biodegradable chitosan films with ZnO nanoparticles synthesized using food industry by-products—production and characterization

UIDB/04077/2020 PTDC/BTM‐SAL/29335/2017 UIDB/04138/2020 UIDP/04138/2020 grant (2020.04441.BD) of C.R.This work aimed to produce bionanocomposites of chitosan incorporated with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) synthesized using food industry by-products and to characterize them. Such nanoparticles are highlighted due to their low cost, antimicrobial activity, accessibility, and sustainability synthesis. Four different levels of ZnO NPs (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% w/w of chitosan) were tested, and the bionanocomposites were characterized in terms of their hydrophobicity, mechanical, optical, and barrier properties. Overall, the incorporation of ZnO NPs changed the composites from brittle to ductile, with enhanced elongation at break and reduced Young Modulus and tensile strength. Thus, ZnO NPs acted as plasticizer, turning the films more flexible, due to the presence of organic compounds on the NPs. This also favored permeability of oxygen and of water vapor, but the good barrier properties were maintained. Optical properties did not change statistically with the ZnO NPs incorporation. Thus, the characterization presented in this paper may contribute to support a decision on the choice of the material’s final application.publishersversionpublishe

Solvent-Free Microwave Extraction of Thymus mastichina Essential Oil: Influence on Their Chemical Composition and on the Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities

This article belongs to the Special Issue Antiradical, Chemopreventive and Antimicrobial Analysis of Bioactive SubstancesSolvent-free microwave extraction (SFME) is a combination of microwave heating and dry distillation performed at atmospheric pressure without the addition of water or organic solvents that has been proposed as a green method for the extraction of essential oils from aromatic and medicinal herbs. In this work, SFME and the conventional techniques of steam distillation (SD) and hydrodistillation (HD) were compared with respect to the extraction and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Thymus mastichina essential oil. The main constituent of essential oils obtained using different methods was 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol). The results showed that the essential oils extracted by means of SFME in 30 min were quantitatively (yield) and qualitatively (aromatic profile) similar to those obtained using conventional HD over 120 min. In addition, SFME generates less waste and less solvent, consumes less energy, and provides a higher yield for a shorter extraction time, which is advantageous for the extraction of the T. mastichina essential oil compared to SD. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the T. mastichina essential oil obtained from either SFME or conventional extraction methods (SD or HD) showed a similar pattern. Large-scale experiments using this SFME procedure showed a potential industrial application.The authors acknowledge the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), and COMPETE 2020 for their financial support under theresearch project “The development of dermo-biotechnological applications using natural resourcesin the Beira and Serra da Estrela regions—DermoBio”, ref. SAICT-POL/23925/2016, presentedin the Notice for the Presentation of Applications No. 02/SAICT/2016—Scientific Research andTechnological Development Projects (IC & DT) in Co-Promotion (PDF) Solvent-Free Microwave Extraction of Thymus mastichina Essential Oil: Influence on Their Chemical Composition and on the Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Overexpression of Adenosine A2A receptors in rats: effects on depression, locomotion, and anxiety

Copyright: © 2014 Coelho, Alves, Canas, Valadas, Shmidt, Batalha, Ferreira, Ribeiro, Bader, Cunha, do Couto and Lopes. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR) are a sub-type of receptors enriched in basal ganglia, activated by the neuromodulator adenosine, which interact with dopamine D2 receptors. Although this reciprocal antagonistic interaction is well-established in motor function, the outcome in dopamine-related behaviors remains uncertain, in particular in depression and anxiety. We have demonstrated an upsurge of A2AR associated to aging and chronic stress. Furthermore, Alzheimer's disease patients present A2AR accumulation in cortical areas together with depressive signs. We now tested the impact of overexpressing A2AR in forebrain neurons on dopamine-related behavior, namely depression. Adult male rats overexpressing human A2AR under the control of CaMKII promoter [Tg(CaMKII-hA2AR)] and aged-matched wild-types (WT) of the same strain (Sprague-Dawley) were studied. The forced swimming test (FST), sucrose preference test (SPT), and the open-field test (OFT) were performed to evaluate behavioral despair, anhedonia, locomotion, and anxiety. Tg(CaMKII-hA2AR) animals spent more time floating and less time swimming in the FST and presented a decreased sucrose preference at 48 h in the SPT. They also covered higher distances in the OFT and spent more time in the central zone than the WT. The results indicate that Tg(CaMKII-hA2AR) rats exhibit depressive-like behavior, hyperlocomotion, and altered exploratory behavior. This A2AR overexpression may explain the depressive signs found in aging, chronic stress, and Alzheimer's disease.Joana E. Coelho, Vânia L. Batalha and Diana G. Ferreira were supported by a grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); Paula M. Canas and Rodrigo A. Cunha were supported by FCT (PTDC/SAU-NSC/122254/2010) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, grant 09-68-ESR- FP-010). Luísa V. Lopes is an Investigator FCT, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (PTDC-099853/2009) and Bial.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio