In vitro effects of rabeprazole on human pylorus tone.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Yasar NF
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4398241 | biostudies-other | 2015 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:Understanding the challenges faced by second language (L2) learners in lexical tone perception is crucial for effective language acquisition. This study investigates the impact of exaggerated acoustic properties on facilitating Mandarin tone learning for English speakers. Using synthesized tone stimuli, we systematically manipulated pitch contours through three key modifications: expanding the fundamental frequency (F0), increasing F0 (female voice), and extending the overall duration. Our objectives were to assess the influence of F0 expansion, higher F0, longer duration, and varied syllables on Mandarin tone learning and generalization. Participants engaged in a non-adaptive trial-by-trial tone identification task. Mixed-effects logistic regression modeling was used to analyze accuracy across learning phases, acoustic factors, and tones. Findings reveal improvements in accuracy from training to testing and generalization phases, indicating the effectiveness of perceptual training to tone perception for adult English speakers. Tone 1 emerged as the easiest to perceive, while Tone 3 posed the most challenge, consistent with established hierarchies of tonal acquisition difficulty. Analysis of acoustic factors highlighted tone-specific effects. Expanded F0 was beneficial for the identification of Tone 2 and Tone 3 but posed challenges for Tone 1 and Tone 4. Additionally, longer durations also exhibited varied effects across tones, aiding in the identification of Tone 3 and Tone 4 but hindering Tone 1 identification. The higher F0 was advantageous for Tone 2 but disadvantageous for Tone 3. Furthermore, the syllable ma facilitated the identification of Tone 1 and Tone 2 but not for Tone 3 and Tone 4. These findings enhance our understanding of the role of acoustic properties in L2 tone perception and have implications for the design of effective training programs for second language acquisition.
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Project description:Using a theoretical approach grounded in implicit bias and stereotyping theories, this study examines the relationship between observable physical characteristics (skin tone, height, and gender) and earnings, as measured by income. Combining separate streams of research on the influence of these three characteristics, we draw from a sample of 31,356 individual-year observations across 4,340 individuals from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY) 1997. We find that skin tone, height, and gender interact such that taller males with darker skin tone attain lower earnings; those educated beyond high school, endowed with higher cognitive ability, and at the higher income level (>75th percentile) had even lower levels of earnings relative to individuals with lighter skin tone. The findings have implications for implicit bias theories, stereotyping, and the human capital literature within the fields of management, applied psychology, and economics.
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Project description:BackgroundRedox signaling and energy metabolism are known to be involved in controlling the balance between self-renewal and proliferation/differentiation of stem cells. In this study we investigated metabolic and redox changes occurring during in vitro human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) osteoblastic (OB) differentiation and tested on them the impact of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling.MethodshDPSCs were isolated from dental pulp and subjected to alkaline phosphatase and alizarin red staining, q-RT-PCR, and western blotting analysis of differentiation markers to assess achievement of osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation. Moreover, a combination of metabolic flux analysis and confocal cyto-imaging was used to profile the metabolic phenotype and to evaluate the redox tone of hDPSCs.ResultsIn differentiating hDPSCs we observed the down-regulation of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes expression since the early phase of the process, confirmed by metabolic flux analysis, and a reduction of the basal intracellular peroxide level in its later phase. In addition, dampened glycolysis was observed, thereby indicating a lower energy-generating phenotype in differentiating hDPSCs. Treatment with the ROS scavenger Trolox, applied in the early-middle phases of the process, markedly delayed OB differentiation of hDPSCs assessed as ALP activity, Runx2 expression, mineralization capacity, expression of stemness and osteoblast marker genes (Nanog, Lin28, Dspp, Ocn) and activation of ERK1/2. In addition, the antioxidant partly prevented the inhibitory effect on cell metabolism observed following osteogenic induction.ConclusionsAltogether these results provided evidence that redox signaling, likely mediated by peroxide species, influenced the stepwise osteogenic expansion/differentiation of hDPSCs and contributed to shape its accompanying metabolic phenotype changes thus improving their efficiency in bone regeneration and repair.
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Project description:In tonal languages, which are spoken by nearly one-third of the world's population, speakers precisely control the tension of vocal folds in the larynx to modulate pitch in order to distinguish words with completely different meanings. The specific pitch trajectories for a given tonal language are called lexical tones. Here, we used high-density direct cortical recordings to determine the neural basis of lexical tone production in native Mandarin-speaking participants. We found that instead of a tone category-selective coding, local populations in the bilateral laryngeal motor cortex (LMC) encode articulatory kinematic information to generate the pitch dynamics of lexical tones. Using a computational model of tone production, we discovered two distinct patterns of population activity in LMC commanding pitch rising and lowering. Finally, we showed that direct electrocortical stimulation of different local populations in LMC evoked pitch rising and lowering during tone production, respectively. Together, these results reveal the neural basis of vocal pitch control of lexical tones in tonal languages.
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Project description:Gibberellin, a plant growth regulator, is widely used to increase the shelf life and quality of fruits and vegetables. In this study, human semen samples were exposed to different concentrations of gibberellin, which reduced spermatozoa motility in vitro. Gibberellin exposure also increased levels of reactive oxygen species and the protein levels of apoptosis markers in human sperm. Gibberellin inhibited the activity of Na+/K+-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and Ca2+-ATPase, which maintain the stability of ions inside and outside the membranes of spermatozoa. Moreover, gibberellin exposure suppressed adenosine triphosphate production and reduced the protein levels of adenosine triphosphate synthases, which may have induced the protein expression of adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and its phosphorylated form. These results suggest that gibberellin reduces human sperm motility in vitro by increasing reactive oxygen species levels and reducing ATPase activity, which may upregulate AMPK and consequently reduce the fertilization potential of spermatozoa.
| S-EPMC6555458 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe human auditory cortex automatically encodes acoustic input from the environment and differentiates regular sound patterns from deviant ones in order to identify important, irregular events. The Mismatch Negativity (MMN) response is a neuronal marker for the detection of sounds that are unexpected, based on the encoded regularities. It is also elicited by violations of more complex regularities and musical expertise has been shown to have an effect on the processing of complex regularities. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated the MMN response to salient or less salient deviants by varying the standard probability (70%, 50% and 35%) of a pattern oddball paradigm. To study the effects of musical expertise in the encoding of the patterns, we compared the responses of a group of non-musicians to those of musicians.ResultsWe observed significant MMN in all conditions, including the least salient condition (35% standards), in response to violations of the predominant tone pattern for both groups. The amplitude of MMN from the right hemisphere was influenced by the standard probability. This effect was modulated by long-term musical training: standard probability changes influenced MMN amplitude in the group of non-musicians only.ConclusionThis study indicates that pattern violations are detected automatically, even if they are of very low salience, both in non-musicians and musicians, with salience having a stronger impact on processing in the right hemisphere of non-musicians. Long-term musical training influences this encoding, in that non-musicians benefit to a greater extent from a good signal-to-noise ratio (i.e. high probability of the standard pattern), while musicians are less dependent on the salience of an acoustic environment.
| S-EPMC3639196 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Dexmedetomidine, a central α-2 agonist, is used for procedural sedation and for conscious sedation influences on heart rate and blood pressure. Authors verified whether it is possible to predict bradycardia and hypotension with the use of heart rate variability (HRV) analysis for an autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity assessment. The study included adult patients of both sexes with an ASA score of I or II scheduled for ophthalmic surgery to be performed under sedation. The loading dose of dexmedetomidine was followed by a 15 min infusion of the maintenance dose. The frequency domain heart rate variability parameters from the 5-min Holter electrocardiogram recordings before dexmedetomidine administration were used for the analysis. The statistical analysis also included pre-drug heart rate and blood pressure as well as patient age and sex. The data from 62 patients were analysed. There was no relationship between the decrease in heart rate (42% of cases) and initial HRV parameters, haemodynamic parameters or sex and age of patients. In multivariate analysis, the only risk factor for a decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP) > 15% from the pre-drug value (39% of cases) was the systolic blood pressure before dexmedetomidine administration as well as for a >15% decrease in MAP sustained at more than one consecutive time point (27% of cases). The initial condition of the ANS did not correlate with the incidence of bradycardia or hypotension; HRV analysis was not helpful in predicting the abovementioned side effects of dexmedetomidine.
| S-EPMC10052810 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In this study we examine the effects of experience and culture on choral teachers' description of choral tone across a range of genres. What does a "good" choral music performance sound like? Is there an objective standard of performance excellence, or is beauty in the eye of the beholder? In teacher preparation programs, choral directors in the United States have been taught to identify and teach particular, culturally-bounded standards of choral tone in their students. Choral directors evaluate their students' voices along two dimensions: health and appropriateness. They discern and describe whether the student's musical instrument-their voice-is producing sound in a healthy and non-damaging way. They also judge whether the style of their sound is appropriate for the music they are singing. However, teacher preparation programs do not provide common standards or lexicon for describing tone. This may increase implicit bias of individual directors, and inadvertently exacerbate ethnocentrism and harm students' self-perception. Using a computational text analysis approach, we evaluate the content of open-ended survey responses from teachers, finding that the language used to describe and rate choral performance varies by experience, and by the choral selection (e.g., whether it is a traditional Western or non-Western song). We suggest that regularizing the terminology and providing common training through professional organizations can minimize potential bias and generate more systematic, precise use of qualitative descriptors of health and appropriateness, which will benefit students and teachers.
| S-EPMC8651130 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe variability of published acupuncture protocols for patients undergoing In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) complicates the interpretation of data and hinders our understanding of acupuncture's impact. In 2012, an acupuncture treatment protocol developed by a Delphi consensus process was published to describe the parameters of best practice acupuncture for Assisted Reproductive Technology and future research. However, there has been no clinical trial utilizing this protocol to assess the effects of acupuncture. This study aims to assess the implementation of Dephi consensus acupuncture protocol and to examine the impact of acupuncture on stress and uterine and ovarian blood flow among women between ages 21-42 years seeking IVF.Methods/designThis study is a one site prospective, two-arm randomized controlled non-blind clinical trial conducted in a medical school-affiliated fertility center . Participants will be randomized 1:1 into either the acupuncture group or the standard of care (no acupuncture) group using computer generated tables. Both groups will have 3 regular clinical visits as their standard IVF care during an approximately 2 to 3 weeks window. Women who are randomized into the acupuncture group would receive three sessions based on the Delphi consensus acupuncture protocol in addition to the standard care. The first treatment will be administered between days 6 to 8 of the stimulated IVF cycle. The second session will be performed on the day of embryo transfer at least 1 h prior to the transfer. The third session will be performed within 48 h post-embryo transfer. Participants will be followed for their pregnancy test and pregnancy outcome when applicable. The outcomes stress and blood flow will be measured by a validated perceived stress scale and vasoactive molecules, respectively.DiscussionAlthough recruitment and scheduling could be challenging at times, the Delphi consensus acupuncture protocol was implemented as planned and well-accepted by the patients. Because of the time-specified sessions around patients' IVF cycle, it is highly recommended to have on-site study acupuncturist(s) to accommodate the schedule.Trial registrationClinicalTrials NCT02591186 registered on October 7, 2015.
| S-EPMC5381072 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Acitretin is an oral drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration that is commonly used to treat psoriasis. In recent years, acitretin has been identified as a candidate drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but its role in neuronal development is still unclear. In this study, the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y was used as a model to study neuronal differentiation. We found that acitretin effectively promoted the differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells into neuronal cells and upregulated the expression of the neuronal marker β-III tubulin and the mature neuronal marker NFH. Differentially expressed genes were identified by RNA sequencing and analyzed by bioinformatics approaches. The results showed that genes associated with neuron development-related pathways, such as SSPO and KCNT1, had significant changes in expression. Analysis showed that PRKCA and CAMK2B may play important roles in the process by which acitretin promotes neurodevelopment. Through whole-cell patch clamping and a microelectrode array assay, we found that acitretin-treated neurons generated electrical spikes similar to those generated by mature neurons. This study provided evidence to support an accessible and safe model of neuron-like cells and verified that acitretin can promote the differentiation of neurons and has the potential to treat brain tumors and neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases.
| S-EPMC9822877 | biostudies-literature