Examination-related anticipatory levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and cortisol predict positive affect, examination marks and support-seeking in college students.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and cortisol release appear to have contrasting effects on stress perception during stressful tasks. This study aimed to investigate anticipatory examination stress in college students by considering DHEA, cortisol, psycho-emotional aspects and examination performance. Seventy-six students (66 females, 10 males; age range 18-25 years) provided saliva samples and completed questionnaires in two sessions 48 hours apart. During the second session, the students performed the examination. The questionnaires used were the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and the Brief-Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory. DHEA, cortisol, anxiety and negative affect showed an anticipatory rise before the examination (all ps < 0.001). This rise of DHEA and cortisol was associated with lower positive affect (p = 0.001 and p = 0.043, respectively). However, only the DHEA anticipatory levels were linked to poorer examination marks (p = 0.020). Higher levels of the DHEA/cortisol ratio in anticipation of the examination were related to lower scores on the support-seeking strategy (p = 0.022). There was no association between DHEA and cortisol levels and anxiety, negative affect, active and avoidant coping strategies, or academic record. These results suggest that how DHEA and cortisol respond in anticipation of examination stress significantly impacts students' emotional well-being during examination periods and how they cope with stress. They also suggest that levels of DHEA in anticipation of an academic stressor have detrimental effects on stress management.

Depressive symptoms and visual attention to others' eyes in healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND: Eye contact is a fundamental part of social interaction. In clinical studies, it has been observed that patients suffering from depression make less eye contact during interviews than healthy individuals, which could be a factor contributing to their social functioning impairments. Similarly, results from mood induction studies with healthy persons indicate that attention to the eyes diminishes as a function of sad mood. The present screen-based eye-tracking study examined whether depressive symptoms in healthy individuals are associated with reduced visual attention to other persons' direct gaze during free viewing. METHODS: Gaze behavior of 44 individuals with depressive symptoms and 49 individuals with no depressive symptoms was analyzed in a free viewing task. Grouping was based on the Beck Depression Inventory using the cut-off proposed by Hautzinger et al. (2006). Participants saw pairs of faces with direct gaze showing emotional or neutral expressions. One-half of the face pairs was shown without face masks, whereas the other half was presented with face masks. Participants' dwell times and first fixation durations were analyzed. RESULTS: In case of unmasked facial expressions, participants with depressive symptoms looked shorter at the eyes compared to individuals without symptoms across all expression conditions. No group difference in first fixation duration on the eyes of masked and unmasked faces was observed. Individuals with depressive symptoms dwelled longer on the mouth region of unmasked faces. For masked faces, no significant group differences in dwell time on the eyes were found. Moreover, when specifically examining dwell time on the eyes of faces with an emotional expression there were also no significant differences between groups. Overall, participants gazed significantly longer at the eyes in masked compared to unmasked faces. CONCLUSIONS: For faces without mask, our results suggest that depressiveness in healthy individuals goes along with less visual attention to other persons' eyes but not with less visual attention to others' faces. When factors come into play that generally amplify the attention directed to the eyes such as face masks or emotions then no relationship between depressiveness and visual attention to the eyes can be established.

Effects of Official Chess Competition on Salivary Cortisol and Mood Swings in Adolescent Girls: A Win-Loss Approach.

The current study examined the effects of official chess competition on salivary cortisol and mood swings in adolescent girls. Fourteen girl competitive chess players participated in the 5-day Swiss chess tournament held in nine heavy and light rounds. The tournament was performed at 9:00 a.m. (first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth rounds) and 3:00 p.m. (second, fourth, sixth, and eighth rounds). Salivary cortisol and mood was measured before the tournament, before and after the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth rounds, and following the tournament (10 samples). The resting levels of salivary cortisol had considerably greater values on the first, second, third, and fourth competition days compared to 1 week before the competition (P = 0.001). The post-competition cortisol concentration was significantly higher on the second and third days than before the competition (P = 0.001). Winners had considerably higher levels of salivary cortisol compared to losers (P = 0.001). There was a significant increase in total mode disturbance (P = 0.001), anger (P = 0.009), and tension (P = 0.045) following heavy rounds (second and third day) compared to the values before the competition. At the same time, the Scores of vigor decreased significantly (P = 0.001). The findings of the present study showed participating in the official chess competition increased salivary cortisol and caused negative alterations in mood components associated with the difficulty and outcome of the match, indicating the psychological stress. Hence, psychological interventions can be used for psychological recovery of competitive chess players after the competition.

The effect of underwater massage during hot water immersion on acute cardiovascular and mood responses.

PURPOSE: There is emerging evidence that demonstrates the health benefits of hot water immersion including improvements to cardiovascular health and reductions in stress and anxiety. Many commercially available hot tubs offer underwater massage systems which purport to enhance many benefits of hot water immersion, however, these claims have yet to be studied. METHODS: Twenty participants (4 females) completed three, 30-min sessions of hot-water immersion (beginning at 39 °C) in a crossover randomized design: with air massage (Air Jet), water massage (Hydro Jet) or no massage (Control). Cardiovascular responses comprising; heart rate, blood pressure and superficial femoral artery blood flow and shear rate were measured. State trait anxiety, basic affect, and salivary cortisol were recorded before and after each trial. Data were analysed using a mixed effects model. RESULTS: Post immersion, heart rate increased (Δ31bpm, P < 0.001, d = 1.38), mean arterial blood pressure decreased (Δ16 mmHg, P < 0.001, d = -0.66), with no difference between conditions. Blood flow and mean shear rate increased following immersion (P < 0.001, Δ362 ml/min, d = 1.20 and Δ108 s-1, d = 1.00), but these increases were blunted in the Air Jet condition (P < 0.001,Δ171 ml/min, d = 0.43 and Δ52 s-1, d = 0.52). Anxiety and salivary cortisol were reduced (P = 0.003, d = -0.20, P = 0.014, d = -0.11), but did not vary between conditions. Enjoyment did not vary between conditions. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate positive acute responses to hot water immersion on markers of cardiovascular function, anxiety, and stress. There was no additional benefit of water-based massage, while air-based massage blunted some positive vascular responses due to lower heat conservation of the water.

Inverse association between stress induced cortisol elevations and negative emotional reactivity to stress in humans.

Greater cortisol reactivity to stress is often assumed to lead to heightened negative affective reactivity to stress. Conversely, a growing body of evidence demonstrates mood-protective effects of cortisol elevations in the context of acute stress. We administered a laboratory-based stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and measured cortisol and emotional reactivity in 68 adults (48 women) between the ages of 25 and 65. In accordance with our pre-registered hypothesis (https://osf.io/t8r3w) and prior research, negative affective reactivity was inversely related to cortisol reactivity assessed immediately after the stressor. We found that greater cortisol response to acute stress is associated with smaller increases in negative affect, consistent with mood-protective effects of cortisol elevations in response to acute stress.

The Assessment of Affective Responses within Exercise Prescription: A Narrative Review.

The assessment of affective responses (pleasure-displeasure) to exercise, is a useful tool for tailoring exercise prescription. Ideally, the proper prescription is a balance between minimizing risks, such as negative affect and dropout, and maximizing gains, such as improvements in health and fitness. Measuring affective responses to exercise facilitates the process of self-regulation. When individuals have the autonomy to select the exercise intensity, they are more likely to have a positive exercise experience and adhere to the program. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has put forth guidelines on how to incorporate affective responses within exercise prescription. The primary purpose of this review is to expand upon the techniques and recommendations provided by the ACSM on the topic of affective responses. Topics include an overview of the existing research of affective responses to exercise intensity, the impact of affective responses on motivation and exercise behaviors, and recommendations of specific techniques for measuring, monitoring, and evaluating affective responses within an exercise prescription.

Daily fluctuations in young children's persistence.

Children's behavior changes from day to day, but the factors that contribute to its variability are understudied. We developed a novel repeated measures paradigm to study children's persistence by capitalizing on a task that children complete every day: toothbrushing (N = 81; 48% female; 36-47 months; 80% white, 14% Multiracial, 10% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 1% Black; 1195 observations collected between January 2019 and March 2020). Children brushed longer on days when their parents used more praise (d = .23) and less instruction (d = -.22). Sensitivity to mood, sleep, and parent stress varied across children, suggesting that identifying the factors that shape an individual child's persistence could lead to personalized interventions.

Acute stress amplifies experienced and anticipated regret in counterfactual decision-making.

Previous research has shown that stress can affect emotion processing in a variety of settings. However, little attention has been paid to the effects of stress on emotional decision-making. The present study addressed this question by exposing healthy young participants either to a stressor (n = 30)-socially evaluated cold pressor task- or a non-stressful control task (n = 30). Subsequently, participants completed a computerized decision-making task in which they could compare the obtained factual outcome with a non-obtained counterfactual outcome. Saliva samples were taken at four time points over the course of the experiment and used to analyze cortisol levels. Results revealed that acute stress induced reliable salivary cortisol increase over the experimental task. At the outcome delivery stage, acute stress amplified negative emotions induced by the counterfactual comparison. At the choice stage, under stress, participants were more likely to make regret-averse decisions. The findings that acute stress amplifies both experienced and anticipated regret is consistent with dual process frameworks such that stress tilts decision-making toward more emotional and intuitive processing.Lay summaryStress is thought to affect emotional processing. The present study investigated the effects of acute stress on emotional decision making using a typical counterfactual decision making task. Acute stress amplified both experience and anticipation of regret, consistent with the dual process frame that stress tilts decision-making toward more emotional and intuitive processing.

The impact of maternal care and blood glucose availability on the cortisol stress response in fasted women.

Individuals with a history of low maternal care (MC) frequently present a blunted, yet sometimes also show an increased cortisol stress response. Fasted individuals with low blood glucose levels who are exposed to acute stress typically show an attenuated response pattern in this endocrine marker. Despite well-documented metabolic dysregulations after low MC, a possible interaction of both factors has not been investigated yet. Here, we examined the effects of MC and blood glucose concentration on various aspects of the stress response. Fasted women (N = 122, meanage = 22.12, sdage = 2.56) who experienced either very high, high, or low MC (based on the Parental Bonding Instrument) were randomly assigned to consume grape juice (condition sugar), or water (condition water) prior to being exposed to the Trier-Social-Stress-Test for groups. Salivary cortisol and alpha amylase, blood glucose, and mood ratings were assessed repeatedly. Using multilevel mixed models, we replicated the boosting effect of glucose on the cortisol stress response. While we found neither an effect of MC, nor an interaction between MC and blood glucose availability on the cortisol stress response, we observed an effect of MC on the amylase stress response. We discuss the results in the light of links between various stress/energy systems that possibly mediate health-related MC effects.

At what stage in the drinking process does drinking water affect attention and memory? Effects of mouth rinsing and mouth drying in adults.

Drinking water is important for health and there is an agreement that drinking water facilitates certain cognitive processes. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of drinking water on cognition is unknown. While attention performance is improved by even a very small drink, memory performance seems to require larger drinks for performance enhancement. This suggests that attention could be affected earlier in the drinking process than memory. We aimed to elucidate further the mechanism involved by investigating the stage during the drinking process influencing performance on cognitive tasks. To this end, we compared mouth rinsing and mouth drying. Mouth rinsing was expected to result in improved attention performance and would suggest that the mechanism responsible is located in the mouth and occurs early in the drinking process, before swallowing. Eighty-seven adults participated in either a treatment (mouth rinsing or mouth drying) or control (no intervention) condition. They were assessed at baseline and 20 min later after intervention on measures of visual attention, short-term memory, subjective thirst and mood. Our results showed that mouth rinsing improved visual attention, but not short-term memory, mood or subjective thirst. Mouth drying did not affect performance. Our results support the hypothesis that different mechanisms underlie the effect of drinking water on different cognitive processes. They suggest that merely sipping water, as opposed to having a large drink, can improve attention.

Effects of a Soccer Tournament on the Psychohormonal States of Collegiate Female Players.

ABSTRACT: Broodryk, A, Pienaar, C, Edwards, D, and Sparks, M. Effects of a soccer tournament on the psychohormonal states of collegiate female players. J Strength Cond Res 35(7): 1873-1884, 2021-A gap exists in the literature concerning the connection between soccer players' hormonal and psychological responses when playing a tournament, or even a match, and its outcome (victory or defeat). This study evaluates the effects of a week-long tournament on the psychohormonal states of collegiate female soccer players. Eight players' cortisol (saliva sample), mood states (Incredibly Short Profile of Mood States [ISP]), and state-anxiety (state subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) were assessed 1 hour before and 15 minutes after every game. Cortisol increased significantly after most matches, with intramatch differences observed (p < 0.05, d > 1.2). Match intensity influenced cortisol secretion, with greater secretion as intensity increased. The ISP demonstrated intramatch differences for the subscales' fatigue, depression, tension, and vigor (p < 0.05). Matches lost produced a higher total mood disturbance (TMD) index compared with matches won (p = 0.001, d = 1.4). Cortisol correlated with the TMD and various mood subscales before a winning outcome, with the ISP correlating at all times with the anxiety scores (p < 0.05). In conclusion, these results indicate that physiological and psychological variables combine to contribute to the stress response during a tournament. Focusing on high-intensity activities and minimizing fatigue are important, as both are associated with raised cortisol and negative mood states. Finally, implementing a mood questionnaire over a tournament can be beneficial, as sensitive information on players' hormonal and perceived anxiety states, which subsequently affect physical performance, can be obtained.

Psychosocial stress reactivity habituates following acute physiological stress.

Acute and chronic stress are important factors in the development of mental disorders. Reliable measurement of stress reactivity is therefore pivotal. Critically, experimental induction of stress often involves multiple "hits" and it is an open question whether individual differences in responses to an earlier stressor lead to habituation, sensitization, or simple additive effects on following events. Here, we investigated the effect of the individual cortisol response to intravenous catheter placement (IVP) on subsequent neural, psychological, endocrine, and autonomous stress reactivity. We used an established psychosocial stress paradigm to measure the acute stress response (Stress) and recovery (PostStress) in 65 participants. Higher IVP-induced cortisol responses were associated with lower pulse rate increases during stress recovery (b = -4.8 bpm, p = .0008) and lower increases in negative affect after the task (b = -4.2, p = .040). While the cortisol response to IVP was not associated with subsequent specific stress-induced neural activation patterns, the similarity of brain responses Pre- and PostStress was higher IVP-cortisol responders (t[64] = 2.35, p = .022) indicating faster recovery. In conclusion, preparatory stress induced by IVP reduced reactivity in a subsequent stress task by modulating the latency of stress recovery. Thus, an individually stronger preceding release of cortisol may attenuate a second physiological response and perceived stress suggesting that relative changes, not absolute levels are crucial for stress attribution. Our study highlights that considering the entire trajectory of stress induction during an experiment is important to develop reliable individual biomarkers.

Food cue-elicited brain potentials change throughout menstrual cycle: Modulation by eating styles, negative affect, and premenstrual complaints.

BACKGROUND: While there is evidence for increased food intake and craving during the luteal phase, underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. The present study investigated electrophysiological responses to food pictures as a function of menstrual cycle phase. In addition, the moderating effects of progesterone, eating behaviors (restraint, emotional, orthorexic), negative affect, and premenstrual complaints were explored. METHODS: Using a within-subject design, 35 free-cycling women watched and rated pictures of food (high and low caloric) and control items during the follicular, the ovulatory, and the luteal phase (counterbalanced), while EEG was recorded to examine the late positive potentials (LPP). Salivary gonadal hormones and affect were examined at each occasion. Eating behaviors and premenstrual complaints were assessed once. RESULTS: For parietal regions, average LPPs were comparable between cycle phases but slightly larger LPP amplitudes were elicited by high caloric food pictures as compared to the neutral category. Descriptively, both food categories elicited larger parietal LPPs than neutral pictures during the luteal phase. Analyses of LPPs for central-parietal regions showed no effect of picture category or cycle phase, except higher amplitudes in the right area during the luteal phase. During the luteal phase, progesterone and functional interference from premenstrual symptoms (but not age, BMI, picture ratings, affect, estradiol, or eating behaviors) significantly predicted larger parietal LPPs towards high caloric (but not low caloric) pictures. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a heightened food cue reactivity during the luteal phase, which may relate to higher ovarian hormone secretion and more functional impact of premenstrual symptoms. This research contributes to a better understanding of menstrual health and the identification of preventive strategies for premenopausal women.

Use of the birth control pill affects stress reactivity and brain structure and function.

Millions of women worldwide use oral contraceptives (i.e., birth control pill; OCs), often starting during puberty/adolescence; however, it is unknown how OC use during this critical period of development affects the brain, especially with regard to emotional working memory. Here, we examined stress reactivity, and brain structure and function in OC users using the Trier Social Stress Test and structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our results show that OC use during puberty/adolescence gives rise to a blunted stress response and alters brain activation during working memory processing. OC use, in general, is also linked to increased prefrontal brain activation during working memory processing for negatively arousing stimuli. OC use is also related to significant structural changes in brain regions implicated in memory and emotional processing. Together, these findings highlight that OC use induces changes to brain structure and function and alters stress reactivity. These findings may provide a mechanistic insight for the increased vulnerability to mood-related mental illness in women after OC use.

Associations between Health Behaviors and Factors on Markers of Healthy Psychological and Physiological Functioning: a Daily Diary Study.

BACKGROUND: Cross-sectional and experimental knowledge highlight the contribution of various health-promoting behaviors, such as physical activity, regular sleep, and healthy nutrition to mental and physical health. Beyond these well-studied lifestyle behaviors, music listening and perceived respect in social interactions are just recently proposed everyday life experiences, which may act as health-promoting factors. PURPOSE: This study tested the simultaneous contribution of several health-promoting behaviors and factors and examined listening to music and positive social interaction by means of perceived respect as new potentially preventive and health-promoting behaviors and factors using an ambulatory assessment design. METHODS: Seventy-seven young healthy adults (38 women, 23.9 ± 4.5 years) completed surveys on their psychological state (i.e., mood, stress, and fatigue) five times a day for four consecutive days. A saliva sample was collected with each data entry to explore the physiological stress markers salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and flow rate as further outcome variables. As predictors, perceived respect, self-reported physical activity, the sleep's restfulness, daily coffee, alcohol, vegetable/fruit consumption, and music listening behavior were recorded. RESULTS: Overall, restful sleep, mean daily perceived respect, and listening to music were most clearly associated with more positive psychological states, that is, better mood and lower fatigue and perceived stress. Associations with daily alcohol, coffee, and vegetable/fruit consumption appeared rather minor. While perceived respect scores were associated with lower daily cortisol output, coffee consumption was positively related to daily cortisol and alpha-amylase. Self-reported physical activity was unrelated to either outcome measure. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide important insights regarding potential resources of health (i.e., music and respect), their covariation, and which psycho-physiological mechanisms may underlie the links between health factors and well-being. Findings also have implications for the development of interventions aiming to increase resilience and foster health. Here, strategies for improving sleep quality, the use of music, and approaches that emphasize mutual respect and appreciation appear useful additions.

Trauma- and Stress-Induced Craving for Alcohol in Individuals Without PTSD.

AIMS: The main objective of the study was to compare the differences in craving following trauma and stress scripts in individuals with alcohol dependence (AD) who have experienced trauma but did not meet criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHODS: Twenty-eight men and women who participated in a treatment trial were included in this study before starting treatment. All had to meet criteria for AD and had experienced trauma at some point of their lives but were never diagnosed with PTSD. All participants had one laboratory session and were exposed to stress, trauma and neutral scripts randomly assigned. Main measures of craving, anxiety and mood were administered before, during and after each script. RESULTS: Stress and trauma scripts induced significantly more craving and anxiety than the neutral scripts. Interestingly, stress scripts produced stronger craving and anxiety than the trauma scripts but only with some measures. Stress and trauma scripts produced significantly more fear, anger and sadness and significantly lower ratings of joy and relaxation than the neutral script. Again, there were no differences between stress and trauma scripts for any of the emotional subscales. CONCLUSIONS: Trauma scripts did not result in stronger craving than stress scripts. These findings suggest that trauma in the absence of PTSD diagnosis does not lead to stronger craving for alcohol.

Positive Affect Moderates the Relationship Between Salivary Testosterone and a Health Behavior Composite in University Females.

BACKGROUND: Testosterone is released in both men and women and plays an important role in social functioning and motivation. Greater testosterone in women has been associated with negative physical health outcomes, while lower testosterone has been associated with psychological disorders. The following cross-sectional study examined the contribution of salivary testosterone, positive and negative affect, and demographic variables in predicting a composite health behavior score (cigarette use, hours of sleep, fruit/vegetable intake, following an exercise routine). METHOD: The sample (mean age 21.17, SD = 6.13) consisted of 87 female university students asked to complete a demographic and lifestyle behavior questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and provide a saliva sample. Participants self-identified as Latina (37.9%), European American (32.2%), Asian American (5.7%), African American (4.6%), or Mixed/other (19.5%). Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine whether positive and negative affect served as a moderator between salivary testosterone and a health behavior composite. RESULTS: Results indicated that positive affect moderated the relationship between salivary testosterone and the composite health behavior score (t = - 2.42, p = .018, Adj. R2 = .21, F (5, 81) = 5.07, p < .001) such that the healthiest behaviors were observed in participants with high positive affect and low salivary testosterone. Findings remained after adjusting for oral contraceptive use, income level, relationship status, and ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a preliminary foundation for future research examining the interplay of neuroendocrine function, psychological factors (i.e., positive affect), and behavior. Further empirical studies can focus on expanding this research in larger, representative samples.

Positive and Negative Affect and Salivary Markers of Inflammation Among Young Adults.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests that higher circulating levels of inflammatory biomarkers in blood are associated with higher negative affect (NA) and lower positive affect (PA). To our knowledge, the unique associations between NA and PA in daily life and salivary biomarkers of inflammation have not been examined. This study examined these associations in young adults. METHODS: Measures of NA and PA were created from aggregated daily measures of affect (morning and evening ratings averaged across 14 days). We investigated associations between these measures and salivary C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 in a sample of 108 young adults (60% female, mean age = 20.45 ± 1.47), a subset of whom had self-reported chronic back pain (n = 49). CRP and IL-6 were determined from saliva obtained at the end of the daily diary period. RESULTS: After covarying for age, gender, body mass index, chronic pain status, salivary flow rate, and NA, higher PA was associated with lower salivary CRP (ß = - 0.02, 95% CI (- 0.03, - 0.00) sr2 = .06, p = .01) but not IL-6; removing NA from this model did not change results. In a model with the same covariates (and PA), NA was not significantly related to CRP or IL-6. Chronic back pain status and gender did not moderate results. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that higher PA may be associated with lower salivary CRP in young adults, even after accounting for NA and demographic characteristics. Findings highlight the utility of assessing emotional states in relation to salivary markers of inflammation in future biobehavioral research.

Ageing affects the proliferation and mineralization of rat dental pulp stem cells under inflammatory conditions.

AIM: To comparatively evaluate changes in the proliferation and mineralization abilities of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) from juvenile and adult rats in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory microenvironment to provide a theoretical basis for the age-related differences observed in DPSCs during repair of inflammatory injuries. METHODOLOGY: DPSCs were isolated from juvenile (JDPSCs) and adult rats (ADPSCs), and senescence-associated ß-galactosidase staining was used to compare senescence between JDPSCs and ADPSCs. Effects of LPS on JDPSCs and ADPSCs proliferation were investigated by cell counting kit-8 assays and flow cytometry. Alizarin red staining, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assay were used to examine the effects of LPS on mineralization-related genes and proteins in JDPSCs and ADPSCs. Immunohistochemistry was used to compare interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and osteocalcin (OCN) expression in the pulpitis model. Unpaired Student's t-tests and one-way anova were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: DPSCs were isolated from juvenile and adult rat dental pulp tissues. At low concentrations (0.1-1 µg mL-1 ), LPS significantly promoted the proliferation of JDPSCs (P < 0.01) and ADPSCs (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), with the effect being stronger in JDPSCs than in ADPSCs. In addition, mineralized nodules and the expression of mineralization-related genes (OCN, DSPP, ALP, BSP) increased significantly after stimulation with LPS (0.5 µg mL-1 ) in JDPSCs and ADPSCs (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), and JDPSCs displayed a more obvious increase than ADPSCs. Western blots revealed OCN and ALP expression levels in JDPSCs treated with LPS were significantly upregulated (P < 0.05); meanwhile, ALP expression in ADPSCs increased slightly but significantly (P < 0.05), and OCN expression was not affected. Finally, IL-1ß expression was significantly higher (P < 0.05) and OCN expression was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the inflamed dental pulp of adult rats than in juvenile rats. CONCLUSIONS: A certain degree of inflammatory stimulation promoted the proliferation and mineralization of DPSCs; however, this effect declined with age. The DPSCs of adult donors in an inflammatory microenvironment have a weaker repair ability than that of juvenile donors, who are better candidates for tissues damage repair.

Latino early adolescents' psychological and physiological responses during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

OBJECTIVES: Research has documented increased psychological distress among adults during the 2016 U.S. presidential election; however, little is known about how major political events affect adolescents. Despite not actively participating in the election process (e.g., voting), adolescents generally, and Latino youth specifically, may experience a unique stress response during elections, particularly when perceived policy changes center on issues related to their own families' stability and well-being. METHODS: We examined 42 Latino early adolescents (Mage = 12.50 years, SD = .88; 58% male; 94% immigrant background) living in Arizona and explored their psychological and physiological responses during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Adolescents self-reported their mood and behaviors for 5 consecutive days across election week (November 6-10, 2016): 2 days before the election, election day, and 2 days after the election. They also completed a saliva sampling protocol at waking and bedtime each day, to capture diurnal cortisol concentrations. RESULTS: Multilevel growth models were utilized to examine intraindividual changes in positive affect, negative affect, and diurnal cortisol patterns across election week. Only 2 of the participants reported supporting the winning candidate. Changes in adolescents' stress hormone concentrations were evident; increases in evening cortisol levels and flatter diurnal cortisol slopes emerged across election week. Negative affect, positive affect, and morning cortisol concentrations did not change. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence that macrolevel factors, such as the recent presidential election, may relate to adolescents' daily stress physiology. Further research is needed to better understand adolescents' responses to sociopolitical change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).