Acute Auditory Stimulation with Different Styles of Music Influences Cardiac Autonomic Regulation in Men

Background: No clear evidence is available in the literature regarding the acute effect of different styles of music on cardiac autonomic control. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the acute effects of classical baroque and heavy metal musical auditory stimulation on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in healthy men. Patients and Methods: In this study, HRV was analyzed regarding time (SDNN, RMSSD, NN50, and pNN50) and frequency domain (LF, HF, and LF / HF) in 12 healthy men. HRV was recorded at seated rest for 10 minutes. Subsequently, the participants were exposed to classical baroque or heavy metal music for five minutes through an earphone at seated rest. After exposure to the first song, they remained at rest for five minutes and they were again exposed to classical baroque or heavy metal music. The music sequence was random for each individual. Standard statistical methods were used for calculation of means and standard deviations. Besides, ANOVA and Friedman test were used for parametric and non-parametric distributions, respectively. Results: While listening to heavy metal music, SDNN was reduced compared to the baseline (P = 0.023). In addition, the LF index (ms2 and nu) was reduced during exposure to both heavy metal and classical baroque musical auditory stimulation compared to the control condition (P = 0.010 and P = 0.048, respectively). However, the HF index (ms2) was reduced only during auditory stimulation with music heavy metal (P = 0.01). The LF/HF ratio on the other hand decreased during auditory stimulation with classical baroque music (P = 0.019). Conclusions: Acute auditory stimulation with the selected heavy metal musical auditory stimulation decreased the sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation on the heart, while exposure to a selected classical baroque music reduced sympathetic regulation on the heart

Gênero e sustentabilidade como proposta desafiadora para urbanismo de cidades equalitárias / Gender and sustainability as a challenging proposal for urbanism in equal cities

Desigualdade de gênero e o consumo imoderado de recursos naturais são problemas de grande importância atualmente. O cenário que abrange grande parte desses problemas ainda é o urbano. O objetivo deste trabalho é associar as relações de gênero, problemas urbanísticos e sustentabilidade ambiental, de forma que as saídas a serem buscadas possam ser interseccionais nesses três campos, otimizando o tempo e recursos gastos na solução destes problemas. Para relacionar as três problemáticas acima citadas, realizou-se uma pesquisa exploratória de publicações com os seguintes termos: “urbanismo sustentável”, “urbanismo feminista”, e “ecofeminismo”, na tentativa de elucidar os motivos que estreitam as relações das mulheres com a sustentabilidade no meio urbano. As intersecções encontradas acabaram por transcorrer várias temáticas como governança, participação, meio ambiente e mobilidade, com destaque para as especificidades das mulheres no contexto urbano. As diferentes necessidades de mobilidade e aparato urbano para as mulheres, o importante nicho de consumo que elas representam, e sua crescente participação econômica, foram pontos chave destacados neste trabalho para que sejam considerados na construção de políticas públicas urbanas, em busca de cidades mais sustentáveis, equalitárias e justas. 

Septic shock in older people: a prospective cohort study

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud Septic shock is the first cause of death in Intensive Care Units. Despite experimental data showing increased inflammatory response of aged animals following infection, the current accepted hypothesis claims that aged patients are immunocompromised, when compared to young individuals.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud Here, we describe a prospective cohort study designed to analyze the immune profile of this population.\ud \ud \ud Conclusion\ud Older people are as immunocompetent as the young individual, regarding the cytokines, chemokines and growth factors response to devastating infection

Expanding the phenotypic spectrum of CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy and ataxia

Mutations in CLCN2 are a rare cause of autosomal recessive leucoencephalopathy with ataxia and specific imaging abnormalities. Very few cases have been reported to date. Here, we describe the clinical and imaging phenotype of 12 additional CLCN2 patients and expand the known phenotypic spectrum of this disorder. Informed consent was obtained for all patients. Patients underwent either whole-exome sequencing or focused/panel-based sequencing to identify variants. Twelve patients with biallelic CLCN2 variants are described. This includes three novel likely pathogenic missense variants. All patients demonstrated typical MRI changes, including hyperintensity on T2-weighted images in the posterior limbs of the internal capsules, midbrain cerebral peduncles, middle cerebellar peduncles and cerebral white matter. Clinical features included a variable combination of ataxia, headache, spasticity, seizures and other symptoms with a broad range of age of onset. This report is now the largest case series of patients with CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy and reinforces the finding that, although the imaging appearance is uniform, the phenotypic expression of this disorder is highly heterogeneous. Our findings expand the phenotypic spectrum of CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy by adding prominent seizures, severe spastic paraplegia and developmental delay