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Há um debate na literatura quanto à existência da vantagem bilíngue nas funções executivas e fatores linguísticos possivelmente associados a ela. Esta pesquisa exploratória teve por objetivo investigar quais fatores de experiência linguística bilíngue podem estar correlacionados com a vantagem bilíngue no controle inibitório. Descobriu-se que o controle inibitório se correlacionou positivamente com a quantidade de mixing (mistura de duas ou mais línguas ao se comunicar) que os bilíngues efetuavam. Houve também correlação negativa entre o controle inibitório e a idade de aquisição média de uma L3. Ambas as evidências estão em desacordo com as concepções acerca da relação entre fatores de experiência linguística e funções executivas vigentes na literatura, que preveria que a realização de mixing e a idade de aquisição de uma L3 estariam associados a um controle inibitório maior

Este artigo apresenta um estudo que teve como objetivo verificar o efeito de interferência interlinguística e o efeito cognato na fala de bilíngues português-espanhol. Nos testes, concebidos dentro do paradigma de interferência desenho-palavra, foram manipulados efeitos de interferência (semântica, fonológica/ortográfica e de identidade) em interação com o efeito cognato das palavras (cognatas, não cognatas e falso-cognatas). Os resultados se constituem em fortes evidências de que o status cognato das palavras desempenha papel importante no processo de lexicalização bilíngue, relacionando-se aos efeitos de interferência interlinguística. Além disso, foram observados indícios de que o princípio de interatividade pode ser funcional entre as línguas

Cannabigerol (CBG) from Cannabis sativa L. is known for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties, showing potential against intestinal inflammation. However, its lipophilic nature limits its absorption and stability. Researchers have explored cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to deliver lipophilic compounds and enhance their biological outcomes. This study investigated the capability of modified CNC with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to effectively deliver CBG. The encapsulation process's impact on cytotoxicity, biological activity, and controlled release during digestion was assessed. Results indicated that CNC-CTAB encapsulation significantly reduced CBG's cytotoxicity on intestinal cells, allowing safer administration of higher doses. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the encapsulated CBG were retained, resulting in a decrease in reactive oxygen species and cytokine levels in intestinal cells. Additionally, the system inhibited the growth of the intestinal pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. The study supports using CNC-CTAB as an efficient delivery system to enhance CBG's potential against intestinal inflammation. Incorporating this system into food matrices could lead to novel functional foods for managing intestinal inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Periodontal disease is a highly prevalent disease in the canine population and has a considerable systemic impact. Blood count indices have been investigated in many different diseases but, so far, no studies have been carried out on their value in different degrees of canine periodontal disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate and analyse five different haematological ratios in healthy clinical dogs, dogs with gingivitis, and dogs with periodontitis and, secondarily, evaluate their potential as diagnostic biomarkers. This retrospective study included 80 dogs of a specific breed and with different stages of canine periodontal disease. We found statistically significant differences between the groups in three of the haematological ratios analysed. These results suggest the systemic impact that canine periodontal disease has and reinforces the need of further research in this area. This is a retrospective study about haematological ratios in different stages of canine periodontal disease in one single breed, more specifically the Portuguese Podengo. The aim of the study was to assess the clinical significance of five haematological ratios, namely neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), mean platelet volume-to-platelet count ratio (MPV/PLT), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet-to-neutrophil ratio (PNR), easily obtained through the parameters provided by the complete blood count, in the stages of gingivitis and periodontitis, compared to clinical healthy individuals. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to identify ideal sensitivity and specificity cut-offs for cases of gingivitis or periodontitis. Our study included 80 dogs, which comprised 24 healthy dogs, 26 diagnosed with gingivitis, and 30 with periodontitis. The median NLR was significantly lower in periodontitis than in clinical healthy dogs (p = 0.040) and in dogs with gingivitis (p = 0.037). The median PLR was significantly lower in cases of gingivitis (p = 0.020) and periodontitis (p = 0.024) than in healthy dogs. MPV/PLT and MLR did not demonstrate significant differences between any of the three groups. The median PNR was significantly lower in gingivitis than in control dogs (p = 0.019). PNR had the highest accurate results, in distinguishing between healthy individuals and those with gingivitis, with an area under the curve of 0.692 (95% CI [0.539–0.845], p = 0.020). However, even this index had weak discriminatory power between the groups in the analysis. The impact of systemic inflammation generated by canine periodontal disease can thus be seen through some of these indices. However, the results obtained here demonstrate the need for complementarity with other methods to diagnose canine periodontal disease and reinforce the need for additional studies with more markers of systemic inflammatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Allergic diseases begin early in life and are often chronic, thus creating an inflammatory environment that may precede or exacerbate other pathologies. In this regard, allergy has been associated to metabolic disorders and with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, but the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Methods: We used a murine model of allergy and atherosclerosis, different diets and sensitization methods, and cell‐depleting strategies to ascertain the contribution of acute and late phase inflammation to dyslipidemia. Untargeted lipidomic analyses were applied to define the lipid fingerprint of allergic inflammation at different phases of allergic pathology. Expression of genes related to lipid metabolism was assessed in liver and adipose tissue at different times post‐allergen challenge. Also, changes in serum triglycerides (TGs) were evaluated in a group of 59 patients ≥14 days after the onset of an allergic reaction. Results: We found that allergic inflammation induces a unique lipid signature that is characterized by increased serum TGs and changes in the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism in liver and adipose tissue. Alterations in blood TGs following an allergic reaction are independent of T‐cell‐driven late phase inflammation. On the contrary, the IgG‐mediated alternative pathway of anaphylaxis is sufficient to induce a TG increase and a unique lipid profile. Lastly, we demonstrated an increase in serum TGs in 59 patients after undergoing an allergic reaction. Conclusion: Overall, this study reveals that IgG‐mediated allergic inflammation regulates lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elucidation of pathways regulating parasite cell death is believed to contribute to identification of novel therapeutic targets for protozoan diseases, and in this context, apoptosis-like cell death has been reported in different groups of protozoa, in which metacaspases seem to play a role. In the genus Plasmodium, apoptotic markers have been detected in P. falciparum and P. berghei, and no study focusing on P. vivax cell death has been reported so far. In the present study, we investigated the susceptibility of P. vivax to undergo apoptotic cell death after incubating mature trophozoites with the classical apoptosis inducer staurosporine. As assessed by flow cytometry assays, staurosporine inhibited parasite intraerythrocytic development, which was accompanied by a decrease in cell viability, evidenced by reduced plasmodial mitochondrial activity. However, typical signs of apoptosis, such as DNA fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and nuclear segregation, were not detected in the parasites induced to cell death, and no significant alteration in metacaspase gene expression (PvMCA1) was observed under cell death stimulus. Interestingly, dying parasites positively modulated cell death (eryptosis) of host erythrocytes, which was marked by externalization of phosphatidylserine and cell shrinkage. Our study shows for the time that P. vivax blood stages may not be susceptible to apoptosis-like processes, while they could trigger eryptosis of parasitized cells by undergoing cell death. Further studies are required to elucidate the cellular machinery involved in cell death of P. vivax parasites as well as in the modulation of host cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment instruments for functioning in general and quality of life in particular often involve discrete scales with three, four, or five values, or Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) with a range 0–100. VAS scales often need to be downsized and discretized using intervals or clusters. Cutoff points for these intervals/clusters need to be carefully selected and justified. Our objective was to underline the importance of providing clear interpretations of many-valuedness appearing in quality-of-life (QoL) instruments, and to present a methodology for the provision of such clearness. Doing so, we view QoL scales as originating within the World Health Organization (WHO). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]