Marine bioactive peptides - an overview of generation, structure and application with a focus on food sources

The biggest obstacles in the application of marine peptides are two-fold, as in the case of non-marine plant and animal-derived bioactive peptides: elucidating correlation between the peptide structure and its effect and demonstrating its stability in vivo. The structures of marine bioactive peptides are highly variable and complex and dependent on the sources from which they are isolated. They can be cyclical, in the form of depsipeptides, and often contain secondary structures. Because of steric factors, marine-derived peptides can be resistant to proteolysis by gastrointestinal proteases, which presents an advantage over other peptide sources. Because of heterogeneity, amino acid sequences as well as preferred mechanisms of peptides showing specific bioactivities differ compared to their animal-derived counterparts. This review offers insights on the extreme diversity of bioactivities, effects, and structural features, analyzing 253 peptides, mainly from marine food sources. Similar to peptides in food of non-marine animal origin, a significant percentage (52.7%) of the examined sequences contain one or more proline residues, implying that proline might play a significant role in the stability of bioactive peptides. Additional problems with analyzing marine-derived bioactive peptides include their accessibility, extraction, and purification; this review considers the challenges and proposes possible solutions

Immunomodulatory peptides—A promising source for novel functional food production and drug discovery

Immunomodulatory peptides are a complex class of bioactive peptides that encompasses substances with different mechanisms of action. Immunomodulatory peptides could also be used in vaccines as adjuvants which would be extremely desirable, especially in response to pandemics. Thus, immunomodulatory peptides in food of plant origin could be regarded both as valuable suplements of novel functional food preparation and/or as precursors or possible active ingredients for drugs design for treatment variety of conditions arising from impaired function of immune system. Given variety of mechanisms, different tests are required to assess effects of immunomodulatory peptides. Some of those effects show good correlation with in vivo results but others, less so. Certain plant peptides, such as defensins, show both immunomodulatory and antimicrobial effect, which makes them interesting candidates for preparation of functional food and feed, as well as templates for design of synthetic peptides

Los estudios geológicos como apoyo a la restauración de bienes patrimoniales en la Provincia de Buenos Aires

Un gran número de bienes patrimoniales, representados por obras de arte, edificios y monumentos están construidos y/o revestidos por diferentes tipos de rocas de aplicación, que según su variedad y calidad definen y condicionan su durabilidad a lo largo del tiempo. Las rocas de aplicación en general son empleadas en usos estructurales mientras que un importante número de ellas son utilizadas desde tiempos pasados como rocas ornamentales por su valor decorativo. Se entiende por roca de aplicación ornamental a todo material sólido, coherente e inorgánico, de origen natural, presente en volúmenes apreciables dentro de la corteza terrestre, cuyas características texturales y cromáticas le confieren un aspecto atractivo que despierta en el ser humano el deseo de su empleo en su hábitat cotidiano (ya sea como revestimiento, mobiliario, arte funerario o adorno), con la finalidad de proporcionarle a éste las propiedades de funcionalidad, visión estética y agradable, y subjetivas imperdurabilidad y fortaleza (Nestiero, 1993). (Párrafo extraído del texto a modo de resumen)</i

A Systematic Review of Music Therapy Practice and Outcomes with Acute Adult Psychiatric In-Patients

PMCID: PMC3732280This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Effects of motifs in music therapy on the attention of children with externalizing behavior problems

Recent studies highlight the role of attention (i.e., executive attention and joint attention) in the negative association between children’s externalizing behavior problems (EBPs) and self-regulation. In music therapy improvisation, “Motifs” represent a repeated and meaningful use of freely improvised or structured music. They have been reported to be effective in drawing attention toward joint musical engagement. This study aimed to examine the effects of clinically derived motifs on the attention of a child with EBPs. Video microanalysis of four therapy sessions was employed. Interaction segments with/without motifs were then selected for analysis: (a) Executive attention measurement: a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine the effects of Motifs (Factor I) across sessions (Factor II) on the duration of interaction segments. (b) Joint attention measurement: another two-way ANOVA investigated the effects of these two factors on the duration of joint attentive responses in each segment. Results showed that (a) the segments with Motifs tended to decrease in duration throughout the sessions, while (b) these segments showed a significant increase in proportions of joint attentional responses. These findings suggest a positive effect of Motifs on enhancing efficiency of joint attention execution over time, indicating the child’s recognition of the Motifs through learning

The role, function and identity of music therapists in the 21st century, including new research and thinking from a UK perspective

This article examines the identity of music therapy and music therapists, focussing upon the United Kingdom as a case study, but also considering international trends. Milestones in the history of music therapy in postwar United Kingdom and professional development in the 21st century are discussed, drawing upon research and clinical practice. Research outcomes across different specialities indicate that music therapy should be widely available to many populations, such as for people with dementia, autism, stroke and mental health problems and so on. These advancements mean that music therapists need to be clear about their role and identity in both doing the work and communicating about it. The article celebrates advances in research, thinking and provision and emphasis collaboration across multidisciplinary groups through an overview of different identities

Being well, being musical: Music composition as a resource and occupation for older people

Introduction: Participatory music making for older people has tended to focus on singing and performance. In a community music project undertaken by Manchester Camerata (a chamber orchestra), Blacon Community Trust and a small group of older adults, participants were given the opportunity to compose individual pieces of music interactively with professional musicians. This paper reports the findings of the research project. Method: An arts-based research method was adopted and incorporated action research and interpretive interactionism to articulate the experiences and perceptions of participants. Participants and Manchester Camerata musicians also worked together to represent the thematic findings of the research in a group composition. Findings: The findings demonstrate that individual and group music composition contributed to a sense of wellbeing through control over musical materials, opportunities for creativity and identity making, validation of life experience and social engagement with other participants and professional musicians. Conclusion; The results emphasised occupation as essential to health and wellbeing in the later stages of life. The findings also highlight the particularly innovative aspects of this research: (i) the use of music composition as a viable arts-in-health occupation for older people and (ii) the arts-based research method of group composition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Neuroplasticity and functional recovery: Training models and compensatory strategies in music therapy

New research developments in the recovery of function following neurological trauma as well as basic and applied research relevant to music perception and production, seem to point to the suggestion that specific music therapy interventions that irectly address the restoration of function as opposed to developing compensatory mechanisms, in certain circumstances, may now be a more appropriate treatment approach. We will address the issue of appropriate timing for the introduction of each strategy and discuss potential outcomes of each approach. As one might imagine, much of this research is published in the neurological journals, which music herapists may not regularly consult. It seems challenging enough just to keep abreast of new music therapy literature. Further, there is so much neurological research that the music therapy clinician often finds it difficult to know where to begin. This text provides an overview of a growing concept related to recovery known as neuroplasticity, and how specific training models in music therapy utilize this relatively recently identified phenomenon. Also, a framework will be provided to help guide the practicing clinician when attempting to build a lineage of systematic thought relevant to the use of music in neurorehabilitation, as well as discuss the frequently employed concept of behavioural compensation. Some music therapy literature that relates to these different concepts is outlined. Discussions surrounding the decision to use either of these two approaches are presented in relation to stages of recovery and the clinical presentation of the client

Parents’ perspectives on their children’s music therapy: A synthesis of qualitative literature

There is no existing qualitative synthesis of the music therapy literature on parents’ perspectives on their children’s music therapy. This study seeks to fill this gap, motivated by the first author’s experiences as a clinician/researcher. A systematic search of health databases, hand searches of key journals and searches of doctoral theses were undertaken to identify relevant studies. Thirteen studies which met inclusion criteria, including a total of 102 participants, were identified. Relevant data were extracted from these studies for comparison and analysis, with quality of studies assessed using the CASP appraisal tool. Findings were analysed following procedures of thematic synthesis. Six descriptive themes were grouped into three analytic themes: Parents perceived positive impacts of music therapy on their children; parents experienced music therapy as a nurturing environment for themselves and their children; and some parents experienced challenges to their engagement with music therapy. Most studies (12/13) explored parents’ perceptions of music therapy where they were included in sessions. The findings identify positive perceptions of family-centred models of music therapy for children and parents. Parents’ perceptions of children were altered positively through experiencing them in new ways in music therapy. Parents also perceived positive outcomes for their children. These findings identify an emphasis in the qualitative literature on parents’ perceptions on research into music therapy which includes parents in sessions. Only one study explored perceptions of a model where parents were not present during their child’s sessions. More research is needed into parents’ perceptions of music therapy where parents are not present during sessions. Further intervention studies into family-centred models of music therapy with children are also recommended