Electrodeformation of White Blood Cells Enriched with Gold Nanoparticles

The elasticity of white blood cells (WBCs) provides valuable insight into the condition of the cells themselves, the presence of some diseases, as well as immune system activity. In this work, we describe a novel process of refined control of WBCs’ elasticity through a combined use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and the microelectrode array device. The capture and controlled deformation of gold nanoparticles enriched white blood cells in vitro are demonstrated and quantified. Gold nanoparticles enhance the effect of electrically induced deformation and make the DEP-related processes more controllable.

Effects of an Agro-healing Program on Promoting Mental Health of the Middle-aged

Background and objective: This study was conducted with 10 men and women in their 50s-60s to investigate the effect of agro-healing activities on the improvement of mental health.Methods: The experimental group participated in total 8 sessions of agro-healing activities, once a week for 2 hours each, at a care farm in Wanju-gun. Physiological measurements were taken with an electroencephalogram (EEG), Salivettes samples, and blood pressure before and after the activities.Results: As a result of analyzing the changes in brainwaves of the experimental group before and after agro-healing activities, relative slow alpha (RSA), relative fast alpha (RFA), and ratio of alpha to high beta (RAHB), the indices of stability and relaxation, increased after the program with statistical significance. Also, the ratio of SMR to theta (RST) of the attention index increased on the right frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and left occipital lobes, and relative low beta (RLB) increasd on the frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and occipital lobes after the program with statistical significance. The sympathetic nervous system activity, which is a stress index, decreased after the program, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system activity, which is a relaxation index, increased, showing statistical significance (p < .05). As a result of analyzing the changes in blood pressure after the program, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure decreased from prehypertension to normal blood pressure, showing statistical significance. SThese results indicate that participating in agro-healing activities at a care farm for the 50-60s helps reduce stress and improve stability and relaxation as well as attention.Conclusion: Thus, developing and applying customized agro-healing programs for participants will have a positive effect on brain activity and psychophysiological improvement by relieving tension and stress. However, there are limitations in generalizing the results of this study since most of agro-healing farms have low accessibility that leads to a low level of participants.

Organization of training based on a system-activity approach in obtaining secondary general education

The teaching and methodological manual presents theoretical and practical aspects of the implementation of the system-activity approach in obtaining secondary general education, materials for conducting classes and self-study within the module "System-activity approach as a methodological basis of the Federal State Educational Standard of General Education" under the program "Achieving meta-subject educational results of students by means of teaching academic subjects". For teachers and trainees of the advanced training system, senior teaching staff and teachers interested in the implementation of the system-activity approach in educational activities.

Effect of Standardized Yelling on Subjective Perception and Autonomic Nervous System Activity in Motion Sickness

This study investigated the effects of yelling intervention on symptoms and autonomic responses in motion sickness. Forty-two healthy participants were recruited, and they participated in Coriolis stimulation, a technique for inducing motion sickness. The experimental procedure comprised five 1-min rotating stimuli with 1-min rest after each stimulus. Then, the symptom severity was assessed using the Motion Sickness Symptom Rating (MSSR). The d2 Test of Attention scores and cardiovascular responses were recorded before and after Coriolis stimulation. The electrocardiogram results were documented to analyze heart rate variability (HRV). During Coriolis stimulus, the participants were required to yell 5–8 times in the experimental trial, and to keep quiet for each minute of rotation in the control trial. The yelling intervention significantly reduced the MSSR score (p < 0.001). Nevertheless, it did not significantly affect the d2 Test of Attention scores. Yelling while rotating did not significantly affect the heart rate nor blood pressure. However, it decreased the normalized low frequency of HRV (p = 0.036). Moreover, it improved motion sickness, but its effect on attention was not evident. Motion sickness could significantly affect cardiovascular responses and HRV. However, yelling did not affect cardiovascular response, and it reduced sympathetic nervous system activity.

Reduced prefrontal cortex and sympathetic nervous system activity correlate with fatigue after aHSCT

Long-term fatigue and cognitive dysfunction affects 35% of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) survivors, suggesting a dysfunctional prefrontal cortex. In this study, we assessed prefrontal cortex and sympathetic nervous system activity in aHSCT patients with fatigue (n = 12), non-fatigued patients (n = 12) and healthy controls (n = 27). Measurement of near-infrared spectroscopy and electrodermal activity was carried out at rest and during cognitive performance (Stroop, verbal fluency and emotion regulation tasks). Prefrontal cortex and sympathetic nervous system activity were also analyzed in response to dopamine and noradrenaline increase after a single dose of methylphenidate. Baseline cognitive performance was similar in the two patient groups. However, after methylphenidate, only non-fatigued patients improved in Stroop accuracy and had better verbal fluency task performance compared to the fatigued group. Task-related activation of prefrontal cortex in fatigued patients was lower compared to non-fatigued patients during all cognitive tests, both before and after methylphenidate administration. During the Stroop task, reaction time, prefrontal cortex activation, and sympathetic nervous system activity were all lower in fatigued patients compared to healthy controls, but similar in non-fatigued patients and healthy controls.Reduced prefrontal cortex activity and sympathetic arousal suggests novel treatment targets to improve fatigue after aHSCT.

Transformation of Borys Lyatoshynsky›s school ideas in the creative search of Leonid Grabovsky and Valentyn Silvestrov

The historical and cultural preconditions for the emergence of the group of composers “Kyiv Avant-Garde” in the context of the 1960s have been studied. The projection of the ideas of Borys Lyatoshynsky’s school in the creative search of his students Leonid Grabovsky and Valentyn Silvestrov, iconic figures of the Ukrainian musical culture of the second half of the XX century is considered. The innovative features of Lyatoshynsky’s school in the transformations of the worldviews of both artists, who marked their creative path with high professionalism and individual artistic and aesthetic achievements, are outlined. The aim of the research was the cultural component of Borys Lyatoshynsky’s school in the context of the creative achievements of Leonid Grabovsky and Valentyn Silvestrov. The musical material and scientific publications related to the works of these artists, which form a unique picture of the processes of formation of Lyatoshynsky’s school, are analyzed. The research methodology consists of structural-functional, comparative and system-activity approaches. In the process of complex culturological analysis of the school of the outstanding artist, the projection of its ideas in the musical and creative narratives of Leonid Grabovsky and Valentin Silvestrov was clarified.