Cognitive enrichment through art: a randomized controlled trial on the effect of music or visual arts group practice on cognitive and brain development of young children.

BACKGROUND: The optimal stimulation for brain development in the early academic years remains unclear. Current research suggests that musical training has a more profound impact on children's executive functions (EF) compared to other art forms. What is crucially lacking is a large-scale, long-term genuine randomized controlled trial (RCT) in cognitive neuroscience, comparing musical instrumental training (MIP) to another art form, and a control group (CG). This study aims to fill this gap by using machine learning to develop a multivariate model that tracks the interconnected brain and EF development during the academic years, with or without music or other art training. METHODS: The study plans to enroll 150 children aged 6-8 years and randomly assign them to three groups: Orchestra in Class (OC), Visual Arts (VA), and a control group (CG). Anticipating a 30% attrition rate, each group aims to retain at least 35 participants. The research consists of three analytical stages: 1) baseline analysis correlating EF, brain data, age, gender, and socioeconomic status, 2) comparison between groups and over time of EF brain and behavioral development and their interactions, including hypothesis testing, and 3) exploratory analysis combining behavioral and brain data. The intervention includes intensive art classes once a week, and incremental home training over two years, with the CG receiving six annual cultural outings. DISCUSSION: This study examines the potential benefits of intensive group arts education, especially contrasting music with visual arts, on EF development in children. It will investigate how artistic enrichment potentially influences the presumed typical transition from a more unified to a more multifaceted EF structure around age eight, comparing these findings against a minimally enriched active control group. This research could significantly influence the incorporation of intensive art interventions in standard curricula. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The project was accepted after peer-review by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF no. 100014_214977) on March 29, 2023. The study protocol received approval from the Cantonal Commission for Ethics in Human Research of Geneva (CCER, BASEC-ID 2023-01016), which is part of Swiss ethics, on October 25, 2023. The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05912270).

Do executive functions explain older adults' health-related quality of life beyond event-based prospective memory?

Previous work has shown that event-based prospective memory (EBPM) predicted health-related quality of life (HrQoL). In the present study, we aimed to examine whether the relationship between EBPM and HrQoL extended to life satisfaction, and whether it persisted after controlling for other cognitive functions related to EBPM, namely executive functions and retrospective memory. We tested two models using structural equation modeling with latent variables in a sample of older adults. In the first model, we assessed whether EBPM predicted life satisfaction and HrQoL; in the second model, we controlled for retrospective memory and executive functions. The first model indicated that EBPM was related to HrQoL. However, in the second model, this relationship was eliminated by executive functions; life satisfaction was not related to any of the cognitive variables. Findings corroborated the link between HrQoL and EBPM, suggesting that such relationship stems from executive functions rather than retrospective memory.

Data on Transfer of Human Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 from Foods and Packaging Materials to Gloves Indicate That Fomite Transmission Is of Minor Importance.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is mainly transmitted via droplets and aerosols. To evaluate the role of transmission by fomites, SARS-CoV-2-specific data on transfer rates from surfaces to hands and from hands to face are lacking. Here, we generated quantitatively controlled transfer rates for SARS-CoV-2 from food items (lettuce, ham, and vegetarian meat alternative [VMA]) and packaging materials (cardboard and plastic) to gloves using a wet, dry, and frozen viral inoculum and from glove to glove using a wet viral inoculum. For biosafety reasons, the transfer from surfaces to hands and hands to face was simulated by using gloves. The cumulative transfer rate was calculated by using the data from the first transfer experiment, food or packaging material to glove, and combined with the transfer rate obtained from the second transfer experiment from glove to glove. The cumulative transfer rates from lettuce (4.7%) and ham (3.4%) were not significantly different (P > 0.05) but were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that from VMA ("wet" or "frozen"). The wet cumulative transfer rate from VMA (1.3%) was significantly higher than the cumulative transfer rate from frozen VMA (0.0011%). No transfer from plastic or cardboard was observed with a dry inoculum. The plastic packaging under wet conditions provided the highest cumulative transfer rate (3.0%), while the cumulative transfer from frozen cardboard was very small (0.035%). Overall, the transfer rates determined in this study suggest a minor role of foods or food packaging materials in infection transmission. IMPORTANCE The observation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in swab samples from frozen fish packages in China, confirmed only once by cell culture, led to the hypothesis that food contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles could be the source of an outbreak. Epidemiological evidence for fomites as infection source is scarce, but it is important for the food industry to evaluate this infection path with quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), using measured viral transfer rates from surfaces to hands and face. The present study provides transfer data for SARS-CoV-2 from various types of foods and packaging materials using quantitative methods that take uncertainties related to the virus recovery from the different surfaces into consideration. The transfer data from this model system provide important input parameters for QMRA models to assess the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from contaminated food items.

Online assessment of cognitive functioning across the adult lifespan using the eCOGTEL: a reliable alternative to laboratory testing.

As the population ages, risks for cognitive decline threaten independence and quality of life of older adults. Classically, psychological assessment tools that evaluate cognitive functioning are administered in face-to-face laboratory sessions, which are time- and resource-consuming. The present study set out to examine whether the eCOGTEL-an online adaptation of the Cognitive Telephone Screening Instrument (COGTEL; Kliegel et al. in J Psychol 141(2):147-170, 2007)-represents a reliable measure of cognitive performance in adulthood. Therefore, an age-stratified adult lifespan sample of 253 participants (aged 19-86 years) completed a face-to-face assessment in the laboratory and a self-administered online version, at their homes. A second, independent sample of 176 younger adults (aged 19-30 years) performed a test-retest assessment of the eCOGTEL. Results showed strong correlations between overall cognitive scores assessed online and in the laboratory, as well as a high test-retest reliability. Further, comparable data distributions between both assessment modes underline the feasibility of the eCOGTEL across the adult lifespan and particularly in older age. Our findings thereby indicate that the eCOGTEL can reliably measure cognitive performance across the lifespan at reduced costs, which may help detecting individuals at risk of developing age-related cognitive decline. Due to these strengths, the eCOGTEL represents a valuable contemporary approach for the resource-efficient online assessment of cognition, which may benefit a broad array of fundamental and applied research fields, such as clinical and organizational psychology. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-021-00667-x.

The Geneva Space Cruiser: a fully self-administered online tool to assess prospective memory across the adult lifespan.

The current study aimed to examine whether the Geneva Space Cruiser - a new online adaptation of the Cruiser - represents a valid, reliable and useful tool to assess prospective memory (PM) across the adult lifespan via fully self-administered online testing. Therefore, an adult lifespan sample of 252 adults (19-86 years old) performed the Geneva Space Cruiser in the laboratory and online, at home, and also performed a more traditional laboratory PM task. A second sample of 224 young adults (19-35 years old) participated in a test-retest online assessment of the Geneva Space Cruiser. Bayesian analyses showed that the Geneva Space Cruiser yielded similar results when administered in the laboratory versus online, both in terms of data distribution as well as of key outcome measures (i.e., PM performance and monitoring). Results further showed very good test-retest reliability and acceptable construct validity. Finally, the online tool was sensitive for detecting age-differences similar to those typically observed in laboratory studies. Together, our findings suggest that the Geneva Space Cruiser represents a rather valid, moderately to highly reliable, and generally useful tool to assess PM in online testing across wide ranges of the adult lifespan, with certain limitations for the oldest participants and for women.

Assessment of Antiviral Coatings for High-Touch Surfaces by Using Human Coronaviruses HCoV-229E and SARS-CoV-2.

A novel and robust approach to evaluate the antiviral activity of coatings was developed, assessing three commercially available leave-on surface coating products for efficacy against human coronaviruses (HCoVs) HCoV-229E and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The assessment is based on three criteria that reflect real-life settings, namely, (i) immediate antiviral effect, (ii) effect after repeated cleaning of the coated surface, and (iii) antiviral activity in the presence of organic material. The results showed that only a copper compound-based coating successfully met all three criteria. A quaternary ammonium compound-based coating did not meet the second criterion, and a coating based on reactive oxygen species showed no antiviral effect. Moreover, the study demonstrated that HCoV-229E is a relevant SARS-CoV-2 surrogate for such experiments. This new approach allows benchmarking of currently available antiviral coatings and future coating developments to avoid unjustified claims. The deployment of efficient antiviral coatings can offer an additional measure to mitigate the risk of transmission of respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2 or influenza viruses from high-touch surfaces. IMPORTANCE SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, is transmitted mainly person-to-person through respiratory droplets, while the contribution of fomite transmission is less important than suspected at the beginning of the pandemic. Nevertheless, antiviral-coating solutions can offer an additional measure to mitigate the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from high-touch surfaces. The deployment of antiviral coatings is not new, but what is currently lacking is solid scientific evidence of the efficacy of commercially available self-disinfecting surfaces under real-life conditions. Therefore, we developed a novel, robust approach to evaluate the antiviral activity of such coatings, applying strict quality criteria to three commercially available products to test their efficacies against SARS-CoV-2. We also showed that HCoV-229E is a relevant surrogate for such experiments. Our approach will also bring significant benefit to the evaluation of the effects of coatings on the survival of nonenveloped viruses, which are known to be more tolerant to desiccation and disinfectants and for which high-touch surfaces play an important role.

Thermal inactivation of foot and mouth disease virus in extruded pet food.

The risk of importing foot and mouth disease, a highly contagious viral disease of livestock, severely restricts trade and investment opportunities in many developing countries where the virus is present. This study was designed to investigate the inactivation of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) by heat treatments used in extruded commercial pet food manufacture. If extrusion could be shown to reliably inactivate the virus, this could potentially facilitate trade for FMDV-endemic countries. The authors found that there was no detectable virus following: i) treatment of FMDVspiked meat slurry at 68°C for 300 s; ii) treatment of FMDV-spiked slurry and meal mix at 79°C for 10 or 30 s, or iii) treatment of homogenised bovine tongue epithelium, taken from an FMDV-infected animal, at 79°C for 10 s. This corresponds to an estimated 8 log10 reduction in titre (95% credible interval: 6 log10 -13 log10). Furthermore, the authors found that the pH of the slurry and meal mix was sufficient to inactivate FMDV in the absence of heat treatment. This demonstrates that heat treatments used in commercial pet food manufacture are able to substantially reduce the titre of FMDV in infected raw materials.

En raison du risque d'introduction de la fièvre aphteuse, une maladie virale très contagieuse affectant le bétail, les échanges internationaux et les possibilités d'investissement de nombreux pays en développement sont soumis à des restrictions majeures. La présente étude vise à déterminer si les traitements thermiques appliqués lors de la fabrication industrielle d'aliments extrudés destinés aux animaux de compagnie sont efficaces pour inactiver le virus de la fièvre aphteuse dans ces produits. Si la procédure d'extrusion avait pour propriété démontrée d'inactiver le virus de manière fiable, les pays où le virus de la fièvre aphteuse est présent à l'état endémique pourraient accéder plus facilement aux échanges internationaux. Les auteurs n'ont pas trouvé de virus détectable à l'issue des opérations suivantes : i) traitement à 68 °C pendant 300 s d'une bouillie de viandes à laquelle avait été ajoutée une quantité connue de virus de la fièvre aphteuse ; ii) traitement à 79 °C pendant 10 ou 30 s d'un mélange de bouillie et de pâté auquel avait été ajoutée une quantité connue de virus de la fièvre aphteuse ; iii) traitement à 79 °C pendant 10 s d'un échantillon homogénéisé d'épithélium lingual prélevé d'un bovin atteint de fièvre aphteuse. Ces résultats correspondent à une réduction estimée du titre de 8 log10 (intervalle de confiance à 95 % : 6 log10 ­13 log10). En outre, les auteurs ont constaté que le pH du mélange de bouillie et de pâté était de nature à inactiver le virus de la fièvre aphteuse, en l'absence de traitement thermique. Ces résultats démontrent que les traitements thermiques utilisés lors de la fabrication industrielle d'aliments pour animaux de compagnie permettent de réduire de manière importante les titres du virus de la fièvre aphteuse dans les matières premières infectées.

El riesgo de importar fiebre aftosa, enfermedad vírica muy contagiosa que afecta al ganado vacuno, restringe sobremanera el comercio y las oportunidades de inversión en muchos países en desarrollo en los que el virus está presente. Los autores describen un estudio encaminado a analizar el método de inactivación del virus por calor que se emplea en la fabricación industrial de piensos extrusionados para animales de compañía. Si quedaba demostrado que la extrusión es un método fiable para inactivar el virus de la fiebre aftosa, ello podría abrir perspectivas comerciales a todos aquellos países donde dicho virus es endémico. Los autores observaron que no había presencia detectable de virus después de: i) mantener a 68°C durante 300 segundos una emulsión cárnica enriquecida con virus de la fiebre aftosa; ii) mantener a 79°C durante 10 o 30 segundos una emulsión y una mezcla de harinas enriquecidas con el virus; o iii) mantener a 79°C durante 10 segundos un homogenado de epitelio lingual bovino procedente de un animal infectado por el virus. Ello corresponde a una reducción estimada de la titulación de log10 8 (intervalo de confianza al 95%: log10 6 ­ log10 13). Además, los autores observaron que, en ausencia de tratamiento térmico, el pH de la emulsión y la mezcla de harinas bastaba para inactivar el virus de la fiebre aftosa, lo que demuestra que los tratamientos térmicos utilizados en la fabricación industrial de piensos pueden reducir sustancialmente el título de virus de la fiebre aftosa en materias primas infectadas.

Thermal Inactivation of Feline Calicivirus in Pet Food Processing.

Extrusion is the most common manufacturing process used to produce heat-treated dry dog and cat food (pet food) for domestic use and international trade. Due to reoccurring outbreaks of notifiable terrestrial animal diseases and their impact on international trade, experiments were undertaken to demonstrate the effectiveness of heat-treated extruded pet food on virus inactivation. The impact of extrusion processing in a pet food matrix on virus inactivation has not been previously reported and very few inactivation studies have examined the thermal inactivation of viruses in complex food matrices. The feline calicivirus vaccine strain FCV F-9 was used as a surrogate model RNA virus pathogen. Small-scale heat inactivation experiments using animal-derived pet food raw materials showed that a > 4 log10 reduction (log10 R) in infectivity occurred at 70 °C prior to reaching the minimum extrusion manufacturing operating temperature of 100 °C. As anticipated, small-scale pressure studies at extrusion pressure (1.6 MPa) showed no apparent effect on FCV F-9 inactivation. Additionally, FCV F-9 was shown not to survive the acidic conditions used to produce pet food palatants of animal origin that are typically used as a coating after the extrusion process.

Efficacy of food supplement to improve metabolic syndrome parameters in patients affected by moderate to severe psoriasis during anti-TNFα treatment.

AIM: Psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory immune-mediated skin disease. Recently a relationship with metabolic syndrome in terms of psoriasis severity and response to therapy was observed. METHODS: We performed an open-label randomized controlled study to evaluate the role of a nutraceutical containing Q10 coenzyme, Krill-oil, lipoic acid, resveratrol, Vitis vinifera seed oil, vitamin E and selenium in addition to etanercept therapy for patients affected by psoriasis and metabolic syndrome. Forty patients were enrolled and divided into two arms, one receiving only etanercept, one other receiving also the neutraceutical. After a period of 3 months (T1) a second evaluation of the considered parameters was performed. RESULTS: At T1 statistically significant differences were detected in HDL cholesterol and triglycerides values both comparing the two arms and in the nutraceutical arm. CONCLUSION: Our results show that the dietary addiction of the nutraceutical to the etanercept therapy in patients affected by both psoriasis and metabolic syndrome could help to restore the normal lipid profile.

STM observation of steps and terraces on tungsten (211) surface.

Thermally cleaned W(211) surface with 0.7 degrees miscut consists of (211) terraces separated by monoatomic steps. When the surface is exposed to oxygen and subsequently annealed at 1100-1900 K, the width of (211) terraces increases and multilayer steps are formed. Similar step bunching is observed during routine cleaning of the sample by annealing in oxygen and thermal flashing in ultra high vacuum. During such cleaning procedure islands of c(6 x 4) reconstruction are observed.