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Physiological Research Jul 2024Three decades ago, the first endocannabinoid, anandamide (AEA), was identified, and its analgesic effect was recognized in humans and preclinical models. However,...
Three decades ago, the first endocannabinoid, anandamide (AEA), was identified, and its analgesic effect was recognized in humans and preclinical models. However, clinical trial failures pointed out the complexity of the AEA-induced analgesia. The first synapses in the superficial laminae of the spinal cord dorsal horn represent an important modulatory site in nociceptive transmission and subsequent pain perception. The glutamatergic synaptic transmission at these synapses is strongly modulated by two primary AEA-activated receptors, cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), both highly expressed on the presynaptic side formed by the endings of primary nociceptive neurons. Activation of these receptors can have predominantly inhibitory (CB1) and excitatory (TRPV1) effects that are further modulated under pathological conditions. In addition, dual AEA-mediated signaling and action may occur in primary sensory neurons and dorsal horn synapses. AEA application causes balanced inhibition and excitation of primary afferent synaptic input on superficial dorsal horn neurons in normal conditions, whereas peripheral inflammation promotes AEA-mediated inhibition. This review focuses mainly on the modulation of synaptic transmission at the spinal cord level and signaling in primary nociceptive neurons by AEA via CB1 and TRPV1 receptors. Furthermore, the spinal analgesic effect in preclinical studies and clinical aspects of AEA-mediated analgesia are considered.
PubMed: 38957948
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Agricultural and Food... Jul 2024This study investigated the mechanism underlying the flavor improvement observed during fermentation of a pea protein-based beverage using NCC533. A combination of...
This study investigated the mechanism underlying the flavor improvement observed during fermentation of a pea protein-based beverage using NCC533. A combination of sensomics and sensoproteomics approach revealed that the fermentation process enriched or generated well-known basic taste ingredients, such as amino acids, nucleotides, organic acids, and dipeptides, besides six new taste-active peptide sequences that enhance kokumi and umami notes. The six new umami and kokumi enhancing peptides, with human recognition thresholds ranging from 0.046 to 0.555 mM, are produced through the degradation of 's storage protein. Our findings suggest that compounds derived from fermentation enhance umami and kokumi sensations and reduce bitterness, thus improving the overall flavor perception of pea proteins. In addition, the analysis of intraspecific variations in the proteolytic activity of and the genome-peptidome correlation analysis performed in this study point at cell-wall-bound proteinases such as PrtP and PrtM as the key genes necessary to initiate the flavor improving proteolytic cascade. This study provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the flavor improvement of pea protein during fermentation and identifies potential future research directions. The results highlight the importance of combining fermentation and senso(proteo)mics techniques in developing tastier and more palatable plant-based protein products.
PubMed: 38957928
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c02317 -
Applied Psychology. Health and... Jul 2024Encouraging engagement in rewarding or pleasant activities is one of the most important treatment goals for depression. Mental imagery exercises have been shown to...
Encouraging engagement in rewarding or pleasant activities is one of the most important treatment goals for depression. Mental imagery exercises have been shown to increase the motivation for planned behaviour in the lab but it is unclear whether this is also the case in daily life. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of mental imagery exercises on motivation and behaviour in daily life. Participants with depressive symptoms (N = 59) were randomly assigned to a group receiving mental imagery (MI) exercises or a control group receiving relaxation (RE) exercises via study phones. We employed an experience sampling design with 10 assessments per day for 10 days (three days baseline, four days with two exercises per day and three days post-intervention). Data was analysed using t-tests and multilevel linear regression analyses. As predicted, MI exercises enhanced motivation and reward anticipation during the intervention phase compared to RE. However, MI did not enhance active behaviour or strengthen the temporal association from reward anticipation (t-1) to active behaviour (t). Mental imagery exercises can act as a motivational amplifier but its effects on behaviour and real-life reward processes remain to be elucidated.
PubMed: 38957927
DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12572 -
Journal of the Indian Society of... Apr 2024The escalating concern over Internet gaming disorder (IGD) among children underscores the urgency of comprehending its determinants and links to mental health,...
BACKGROUND
The escalating concern over Internet gaming disorder (IGD) among children underscores the urgency of comprehending its determinants and links to mental health, particularly for interventions targeting school-aged children.
AIM
This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of IGD and its association with depression, anxiety, and behavior among 8-12-year-old children attending private schools in Salem city.
SETTINGS AND DESIGN
A cross-sectional study involving 780 children aged 8-12 years from Salem district was conducted. Schools were randomly sampled, and data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data were gathered from children without genetic, systemic, or mental disorders and brain trauma. The questionnaire, adapted from Alhamoud M A et al. (2022), encompassed sections on sociodemographic characteristics, gaming behavior, and scales for assessing IGD, depression, and anxiety. Administration occurred during school hours with a 30-35 min completion time.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED
Data analysis utilized SPSS v23.0, including descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Chi-square tests for intergroup comparisons, and Pearson's correlation coefficient to determine associations.
RESULTS
The prevalence of IGD in Salem district was 1.2%, with higher rates of anxiety and depression observed among older children, particularly males.
CONCLUSIONS
A positive correlation was evident between IGD, anxiety, and depression. Urgent preventive measures have to be warranted to curb the rising trend of IGD, such as limiting screen time and promoting outdoor activities to enhance children's overall health.
Topics: Humans; Child; India; Male; Cross-Sectional Studies; Prevalence; Female; Depression; Internet Addiction Disorder; Anxiety; Surveys and Questionnaires; Schools; Video Games; Behavior, Addictive
PubMed: 38957906
DOI: 10.4103/jisppd.jisppd_27_24 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024People as individual consumers are regularly targeted in sustainability campaigns or communications with the hope of enhancing sustainable behavior at an individual...
INTRODUCTION
People as individual consumers are regularly targeted in sustainability campaigns or communications with the hope of enhancing sustainable behavior at an individual level, with subsequent sustainability transformation at a larger societal scale. However, psychological motivation is complex and campaigns need to be based on an understanding for what individual, and contextual, factors support or hinder sustainable behavioral choices.
METHODS
In a discrete choice experiment, participants made hypothetical online purchases in each of three rooms designed to evoke associations to , , and goal frames. Participants were shown a campaign message intended to prime sustainable textile consumption prior to the purchase. For each product (t-shirt or bananas) hedonic (comfort/look), gain (price), and normative (organic/ fairtrade) attributes were varied in an online choice experiment.
RESULTS
Preferences for the normative attribute of t-shirts increased in the normative room compared to the room with gain associations. No effect of the rooms with hedonic or gain priming was observed on the choice.
DISCUSSION
The study supports the hypothesis that the physical room can enhance goal frame activation and behavioral choice but concludes that such priming effect is sensitive to specificity of the prime.
PubMed: 38957886
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1354419 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024As a topic of widespread concern in the fields of mental health and public health, social anxiety has many negative impacts on the physical and mental health of...
OBJECTIVE
As a topic of widespread concern in the fields of mental health and public health, social anxiety has many negative impacts on the physical and mental health of contemporary college students. Therefore, this study aims to provide new ideas for solving the problem of social anxiety among college students by exploring the potential mediating role of social support and psychological capital in the relationship between physical activity and social anxiety.
METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 874 college students from five universities in Shandong Province. Various self-report tools such as physical activity rating scale, social support scale, positive psychological capital scale, and social anxiety scale were used to collect information needed for this study. Related data. Use this to conduct descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, and mediation effect analysis.
RESULTS
The results showed that physical activity was significantly positively correlated with college students' social support ( = 0.354, < 0.01) and psychological capital ( = 0.448, < 0.01), and social support was significantly positively correlated with psychological capital ( = 0.556, < 0.01), the above three are significantly negatively correlated with social anxiety ( = -0.326, -0.381, -0.432, < 0.01); the mediation effect analysis shows that physical activity has a significant direct effect on college students' social anxiety The effect value is -0.136, accounting for 43.31% of the total effect; social support and psychological capital both play a separate mediating role between physical activity and social anxiety among college students, with effect values of -0.064 and -0.073 respectively, accounting for the total effect. 20.38, 23.25%, and also played a chain intermediary role, with an effect value of -0.041, accounting for 13.05% of the total effect.
CONCLUSION
Current research shows that physical activity can not only directly reduce social anxiety among college students, but also indirectly alleviate social anxiety among college students by increasing the level of social support and psychological capital. This has important reference significance for helping college students in China and even around the world overcome social anxiety.
PubMed: 38957885
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1406452 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024The testing of visuocognitive development in preterm infants shows strong interactions between perinatal characteristics and cognition, learning and overall...
INTRODUCTION
The testing of visuocognitive development in preterm infants shows strong interactions between perinatal characteristics and cognition, learning and overall neurodevelopment evolution. The assessment of anticipatory gaze data of object-location bindings via eye-tracking can predict the neurodevelopment of preterm infants at the age of 3 years; little is known, however, about the early cognitive function and its assessment methods during the first year of life.
METHODS
The current study presents data from a novel assessment tool, a Delayed Match Retrieval (DMR) paradigm via eye-tracking was used to measure visual working memory (VWM) and attention skills. The eye-tracking task that was designed to measure infants' ability to actively localize objects and to make online predictions of object-location bindings. 63 infants participated in the study, 39 preterm infants and 24 healthy full term infants - at a corrected age of 8-9 months for premature infants and similar chronological age for full term infants. Infants were also administered the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development.
RESULTS
The analysis of the Bayley scores showed no significant difference between the two groups while the eye-tracking data showed a significant group effect on all measurements. Moreover, preterm infants' VWM performance was significantly lower than full term's. Birth weight affected the gaze time on all Areas Of Interest (AOIs), overall VWM performance and the scores at the Cognitive Bayley subscale. Furthermore, preterm infants with fetal growth restriction (FGR) showed significant performance effects in the eye-tracking measurements but not on their Bayley scores verifying the high discriminatory value of the eye gaze data.
CONCLUSION
Visual working memory and attention as measured via eye-tracking is a non-intrusive, painless, short duration procedure (approx. 4-min) was found to be a significant tool for identifying prematurity and FGR effects on the development of cognition during the first year of life. Bayley Scales alone may not pick up these deficits. Identifying tools for early neurodevelopmental assessments and cognitive function is important in order to enable earlier support and intervention in the vulnerable group of premature infants, given the associations between foundational executive functional skills and later cognitive and academic ability.
PubMed: 38957884
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1384486 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024Placeness is believed to play a significant role in enhancing the well-being and place-use of individuals, contributing profoundly to how spaces are experienced and...
Placeness is believed to play a significant role in enhancing the well-being and place-use of individuals, contributing profoundly to how spaces are experienced and interacted with. Despite its perceived importance, there is ongoing debate and insufficient clarity about how exactly placeness influences people's behavior. This study aims to bridge this gap by theorizing and investigating the pathways from placeness to people's behavioral intentions, emphasizing the roles of personal place attachment and public place image as pivotal mediators in this relationship. To explore these dynamics, we conducted a survey in Japan, examining the complex interplay between placeness and behavioral intentions, given their rich cultural heritage and modern urban pressures. We employed the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach for path analysis. The analysis suggests that placeness influences behavioral intention through personal place attachment. While placeness does affect public place image, this public image does not have an impact on behavioral intention. The results demonstrated that an individual's activities, experiences, and cognition of a place are significant factors in creating the intention to engage in word-of-mouth, recommendation, and revisiting behaviors. Policymakers, urban planners, and designers need to understand how to foster people's behavioral intentions when creating a place imbued with placeness.
PubMed: 38957880
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1394930 -
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2024This study set out to understand the association between teaching practices, teacher confidence, competence, self-efficacy, and the resulting student outcomes.
Current teachers' perceptions and students' perspectives regarding activities modalities, instructional settings during primary school physical education classes in China: a cross-sectional observational study.
INTRODUCTION
This study set out to understand the association between teaching practices, teacher confidence, competence, self-efficacy, and the resulting student outcomes.
METHODS
Data regarding teaching behaviours were collected via video recording and then evaluated using the MASTER Observation Tool. The information about demographics, self-reported teaching confidence, competence, self-efficacy, and student outcomes was collected using questionnaires. The association between teacher characteristics, and teacher and/or student outcome variables were tested using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
RESULTS
A total of ten primary schools were involved, including 597 children (age range: 10-12 years, grade 4-6) and 16 grade 4-6 PE teachers (with 16 PE classes). Most of the Physical Education (PE) lesson time was spent in training-form activities (60.2% ± 9.1), followed by instructional time (33.1% ± 8.6%), reflection (3.4% ± 2.3%), and warm-up (2.9% ± 2.0 %). It was observed that teaching behaviours and student outcomes were significantly better in urban than rural areas. Smaller class sizes (21-30 children) were found to have more positive feedback than larger ones (41-50 children). PE teachers with more than 10 years of teaching experience reported more teaching competence and self-efficacy than teachers with less than 10 years of experience. PE teachers with class sizes of 21-30 children enjoyed significantly better scores in self-efficacy than classes with 41-50 children. They also scored more highly in confidence and competence than classes with 41-50 and 51-60 pupils.
CONCLUSION
The current study confirmed that teachers dedicated a large proportion of lesson time to PE delivering training-form activities, followed by instructional time. Teaching behaviour and student outcomes were associated with location and class size, but not gender. The study contributes to our understanding of PE instruction in Chinese primary schools and offers preliminary evidence to improve future PE teaching strategies in the country.
PubMed: 38957878
DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1378317 -
Health Science Reports Jul 2024In the United States, the opioid epidemic has led many young people who use opioids to initiate injection drug use, putting them at risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV)...
HCV prevalence and phylogenetic characteristics in a cross-sectional, community study of young people who inject drugs in New York City: Opportunity for and threats to HCV elimination.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
In the United States, the opioid epidemic has led many young people who use opioids to initiate injection drug use, putting them at risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, community surveys to monitor HCV prevalence among young people who inject drugs (YPWID) are rare.
METHODS
As part of Staying Safe (Ssafe), a trial to evaluate an HCV-prevention intervention, a community-recruited sample of 439 young people who use opioids (ages 18-30) in New York City (NYC) were screened from 2018 to 2021. Screening procedures included a brief verbal questionnaire, a visual check for injection marks, onsite urine drug testing, rapid HCV antibody (Ab) testing, and dried blood spot (DBS) collection. DBS specimens were sent to a laboratory for HCV RNA testing and phylogenetic analysis to identify genetic linkages among HCV RNA-positive specimens. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations between HCV status (Ab and RNA) and demographics and drug use patterns.
RESULTS
Among the 330 participants who reported injecting drugs (past 6 months), 33% ( = 110) tested HCV Ab-positive, 58% of whom ( = 64) had HCV RNA-positive DBS specimens, indicating active infection. In multivariable analysis, visible injection marks (AOR = 3.02; < 0.001), older age (AOR = 1.38; < 0.05), and female gender (AOR = 1.69; = 0.052) were associated with HCV Ab-positive status. Visible injection marks were also associated with HCV RNA-positive status (AOR = 5.24; < 0.01). Twenty-five percent of RNA-positive specimens (14/57) were genetically linked.
CONCLUSION
The relatively low prevalence of active infection suggests the potential impact of treatment-as-prevention in reducing HCV prevalence among YPWID. Targeted community serosurveys could help identify actively infected YPWID for treatment, thereby reducing HCV incidence and future transmissions.
PubMed: 38957862
DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.2211