Characteristics of self-reported favorite musical experiences

Research supports the folk wisdom that individual preferences are tied to our experiences: we like what we know and as a result, we know what we like. Yet our understanding of the elements contained in lived examples of musical experiences that facilitate enjoyment and investment in music is little described. The current study recruited Australian residents (N = 135) to complete an online survey, which asked them to describe their favorite musical experience with regard to its context and impact. The majority of favorite musical experiences involved listening to live music and performing. The descriptions provided indicated that these experiences resulted in layered emotional experiences, much more subtle than folk psychology would suggest. Further, thematic analysis results revealed that Gabrielsson’s Strong Experiences with Music Descriptive System adequately categorizes the elements of people’s favored experiences, with particular reference to general characteristics, bodily reactions, perceptual phenomena, cognitive aspects, emotional aspects, existential and transcendental aspects, and personal and social aspects. A wide variety of musical genres were involved, though pop, classical, rock, and hip-hop music featured predominately. By detailing key components which lead to favored musical experiences, the findings have implications regarding how musical engagement opportunities can be better designed to support continued musical investment, which has particular relevance for educational and community uses of music for fostering positive individual and community benefits

MASCUP! Mask Surveillance & Adherence Project @ Stockton University

Stockton University was one of over 50 Colleges and Universities across the nation to participate in a study sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control to gauge compliance with mask wearing during the Spring 2021 semester. Five undergraduate Public Health students supervised by a Public Health Faculty member, observed mask wearing behaviors of individuals on campus over an 8-week period of time. Observations ranged from 40-90 minutes at various times of day and at 15 different locations on campus. During that time there were a total of 2,548 observations, of which 2,357 people were wearing masks. Of that group, 92.5%, were wearing the mask correctly. Other variables that were observed and recorded were type of mask and how masks were worn incorrectly along with possible explanations for this mistake. Results indicate the most common type of mask was cloth, with more than half (54%), while the most common mistake was not covering the nose. Although observers were unable to determine the exact reason, the following were observed for those not wearing masks from most to least: eating / drinking, then, outdoors / not within 6 ft of anyone, and finally exercise / playing a sport. Lastly, Stockton’s results are compared to all institutions that participated in the study

PLANT EXTRACTS USED FOR THE CONTROL OF ENDO AND ECTOPARASITES OF LIVESTOCK: A REVIEW OF THE LAST 13 YEARS OF SCIENCE

A variety of endo and ectoparasites can affect livestock, causing poor animal performance and low welfare conditions. Haemonchus contortus (Trichostrongyloidae), Rhipicephalus microplus (Ixodidae), Cochliomyia sp. and Lucilia sp. (Calliphoridae) are some of the most important parasites to livestock in Brazil and in many other tropical and subtropical countries, where farmers need to be vigilant. Although a constant parasite control uses large-spectrum anthelmintics or synthetic insecticides, giving a timely potent reduction of the infections, they also represent a threat to the lifespan of these compounds due to drug-selected parasites. Thus, the development of plant-based therapies is a solid alternative for standard, agroecological, and holistic farming systems, as well as it is an important ally to combat drug resistant parasite populations. In this article, we discussed the scientific literature on plant extracts, notably hydroalcoholic extract or essential oils, used for the control of the above livestock parasites published in the last 13 years. Our objective was to pinpoint the most important issues for this promising area of research, exploring the potential and the challenges that are facing us by examining more than 150 in vitro and in vivo studies. Almost all the authors reported positive data from plants or isolates, the most important challenges that were faced during our search were the lack of a proper experimental study design, and the deficiency in the characterization of the plants used. It is our opinion that plant-based products may be a solid choice for parasite control in livestock animals achieving high welfare standards and mitigate farming input (i.e. use of chemicals and their waste into the environment)

A Deficiency in the Autophagy Gene Atg16L1 Enhances Resistance to Enteric Bacterial Infection

SummaryPolymorphisms in the essential autophagy gene Atg16L1 have been linked with susceptibility to Crohn’s disease, a major type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although the inability to control intestinal bacteria is thought to underlie IBD, the role of Atg16L1 during extracellular intestinal bacterial infections has not been sufficiently examined and compared to the function of other IBD susceptibility genes, such as Nod2, which encodes a cytosolic bacterial sensor. We find that Atg16L1 mutant mice are resistant to intestinal disease induced by the model bacterial pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. An Atg16L1 deficiency alters the intestinal environment to mediate an enhanced immune response that is dependent on monocytic cells, but this hyperimmune phenotype and its protective effects are lost in Atg16L1/Nod2 double-mutant mice. These results reveal an immunosuppressive function of Atg16L1 and suggest that gene variants affecting the autophagy pathway may have been evolutionarily maintained to protect against certain life-threatening infections

Condições de epilepsia relacionadas à infecção de neurocisticercose

Introdução: A neurocisticercose (NC) é uma infecção do Sistema Nervoso Central causada pelo estágio larvário do parasita Taenia solium. A forma mais frequente de aquisição dessa condição é a heteroinfecção que decorre da ingestão de água ou alimentos contaminados com ovos liberados pelos proglotes de outros indivíduos parasitados. A patologia apresenta algumas alterações psíquicas que se manifestam por meio de uma variedade de sintomas. Estudos epidemiológicos sugerem que a NC é a causa principal de epilepsia sintomática em países em desenvolvimento, tendo a convulsão como o principal sintoma associado. Objetivo: Analisar o perfil clínico da epilepsia associada à infecção de NC, bem como estabelecer a prevalência da doença como provável etiologia de epilepsia sintomática. Metodologia: Foi realizado por meio de uma pesquisa exploratório-descritiva segundo a abordagem qualitativa através de bibliografia baseada em artigos científicos e trabalhos disponibilizados em revistas eletrônicas. O material foi obtido por intermédio de buscas pelas bases de dados Scielo e Google Acadêmico, considerando as bibliografias escritas nos idiomas português e inglês, publicadas no período de 1991 a 2010. Resultados: Segundo estudo de Trevisol-Bittencourt, Silva e Figueredo (1998), em algumas regiões do Sul do País há um número significativo de pacientes internados por epilepsias com evidências tomográficas de NC, tendo uma prevalência de cerca de 24%. Além disso, Bruck et al. (1991), em pesquisa sobre a NC infantil realizada pela Universidade Federal do Paraná, mostraram que de 34 casos, 20 apresentaram como sintomas a epilepsia.  O quadro clínico depende não somente do número e localização das lesões, mas também do seu estágio e evolução, assim como da resposta imunitária do hospedeiro; no entanto, a forma mais comum de apresentação é a convulsão. Em 1998, Trevisol-Bittencourt, Silva e Figueredo constataram que “Em termos de classificação das crises epiléticas relacionadas à NC, sabe-se que elas preferencialmente apresentam-se como parciais simples ou complexas, com ou sem generalização secundária e tendem a ocorrer em salvas.” Outros sintomas como hipertensão intracraniana e déficit neurológico focal, embora raros, podem ser percebidos. Em relação à associação com outras doenças, Andrade (2010) afirma que uma grande diferença foi a prevalência de epilepsia em pacientes que apresentavam também demência em razão de NC ativa, cerca de 85%, enquanto o grupo sem demência manifestou epilepsia em 58% dos casos. Conclusão: Nesse sentido, ao considerar as pesquisas realizadas e os estudos pertinentes ao tema, verificou-se que existe uma carência de estudos que abordem as alterações neuropsiquiátricas nas doenças infecciosas parasitárias, e embora a lesão do hipocampo e as convulsões possam explicar o desenvolvimento da epilepsia, muitas questões que abordam as relações clínicas e patológicas ainda surgem e vão ao encontro de sintomas psicomotores e neuronais, os quais dependem de novas descobertas e estudos na área.Palavras-chave: Doença infecciosa e parasitária. Convulsão. Demência

3′,4′-Dihydroxyflavonol Antioxidant Attenuates Diastolic Dysfunction and Cardiac Remodeling in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic m(Ren2)27 Rats

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an increasingly recognized cause of chronic heart failure amongst diabetic patients. Both increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and impaired ROS scavenging have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hyperglycemia-induced left ventricular dysfunction, cardiac fibrosis, apoptosis and hypertrophy. We hypothesized that 3',4'-dihydroxyflavonol (DiOHF), a small highly lipid soluble synthetic flavonol, may prevent DCM by scavenging ROS, thus preventing ROS-induced cardiac damage.Six week old homozygous Ren-2 rats were randomized to receive either streptozotocin or citrate buffer, then further randomized to receive either DiOHF (1 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage or vehicle for six weeks. Cardiac function was assessed via echocardiography and left ventricular cardiac catheterization before the animals were sacrificed and hearts removed for histological and molecular analyses. Diabetic Ren-2 rats showed evidence of diastolic dysfunction with prolonged deceleration time, reduced E/A ratio, and increased slope of end-diastolic pressure volume relationship (EDPVR) in association with marked interstitial fibrosis and oxidative stress (all P<0.05 vs control Ren-2). Treatment with DiOHF prevented the development of diastolic dysfunction and was associated with reduced oxidative stress and interstitial fibrosis (all P<0.05 vs untreated diabetic Ren-2 rats). In contrast, few changes were seen in non-diabetic treated animals compared to untreated counterparts.Inhibition of ROS production and action by DiOHF improved diastolic function and reduced myocyte hypertrophy as well as collagen deposition. These findings suggest the potential clinical utility of antioxidative compounds such as flavonols in the prevention of diabetes-associated cardiac dysfunction

Transcriptome-wide association study of breast cancer risk by estrogen-receptor status

Previous transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) have identified breast cancer risk genes by integrating data from expression quantitative loci and genome-wide association studies (GWAS), but analyses of breast cancer subtype-specific associations have been limited. In this study, we conducted a TWAS using gene expression data from GTEx and summary statistics from the hitherto largest GWAS meta-analysis conducted for breast cancer overall, and by estrogen receptor subtypes (ER+ and ER-). We further compared associations with ER+ and ER- subtypes, using a case-only TWAS approach. We also conducted multigene conditional analyses in regions with multiple TWAS associations. Two genes, STXBP4 and HIST2H2BA, were specifically associated with ER+ but not with ER- breast cancer. We further identified 30 TWAS-significant genes associated with overall breast cancer risk, including four that were not identified in previous studies. Conditional analyses identified single independent breast-cancer gene in three of six regions harboring multiple TWAS-significant genes. Our study provides new information on breast cancer genetics and biology, particularly about genomic differences between ER+ and ER- breast cancer.Peer reviewe

The FANCM:p.Arg658* truncating variant is associated with risk of triple-negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a common disease partially caused by genetic risk factors. Germline pathogenic variants in DNA repair genes BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, ATM, and CHEK2 are associated with breast cancer risk. FANCM, which encodes for a DNA translocase, has been proposed as a breast cancer predisposition gene, with greater effects for the ER-negative and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes. We tested the three recurrent protein-truncating variants FANCM:p.Arg658*, p.Gln1701*, and p.Arg1931* for association with breast cancer risk in 67,112 cases, 53,766 controls, and 26,662 carriers of pathogenic variants of BRCA1 or BRCA2. These three variants were also studied functionally by measuring survival and chromosome fragility in FANCM -/- patient-derived immortalized fibroblasts treated with diepoxybutane or olaparib. We observed that FANCM:p.Arg658* was associated with increased risk of ER-negative disease and TNBC (OR = 2.44, P = 0.034 and OR = 3.79; P = 0.009, respectively). In a country-restricted analysis, we confirmed the associations detected for FANCM:p.Arg658* and found that also FANCM:p.Arg1931* was associated with ER-negative breast cancer risk (OR = 1.96; P = 0.006). The functional results indicated that all three variants were deleterious affecting cell survival and chromosome stability with FANCM:p.Arg658* causing more severe phenotypes. In conclusion, we confirmed that the two rare FANCM deleterious variants p.Arg658* and p.Arg1931* are risk factors for ER-negative and TNBC subtypes. Overall our data suggest that the effect of truncating variants on breast cancer risk may depend on their position in the gene. Cell sensitivity to olaparib exposure, identifies a possible therapeutic option to treat FANCM-associated tumors