The effects of dark chocolate on cognitive performance during cognitively demanding tasks: A randomized, single-blinded, crossover, dose-comparison study.

Dark chocolate, rich in polyphenols, increases cerebral blood flow and improves cognitive function. This study aimed to determine whether the consumption of chocolate with a high concentration of polyphenols helps to maintain cognitive performance during cognitively demanding tasks. In this randomized, single-blinded, crossover, dose-comparison study, 18 middle-aged adults consumed two types of chocolate (25 g each), one with a high concentration (635.

Cacao Polyphenol-Rich Dark Chocolate Intake Contributes to Efficient Brain Activity during Cognitive Tasks: A Randomized, Single-Blinded, Crossover, and Dose-Comparison fMRI Study.

Cacao polyphenol-enriched dark chocolate may have beneficial effects on human health, such as facilitating maintaining good performance in long-lasting cognitive tasks. This study examined the effects of dark chocolate intake on improving brain function during cognitive tasks using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In this randomized, single-blinded, crossover, and dose-comparison study, 26 healthy middle-aged participants ingested dark chocolate (25 g) either with a low concentration (LC) (211.

Effects of Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) Seed Extract on the Differentiation and Fat Accumulation of 3T3-L1 Cells under Different Glucose Conditions.

Asimina triloba (pawpaw) contains various bioactive alkaloids and acetogenins. In the present study, the effects of pawpaw seed extract (PSE) on adipocyte differentiation and fat accumulation were investigated in 3T3-L1 cells under different glucose conditions. Treatment of undifferentiated cells with 10 ng/mL PSE increased lactic acid production, suggesting enhanced anaerobic glycolysis.

Usefulness of a new DUV-LED device for the control of infection by , mycobacteria and spore-forming bacteria.

Reliable disinfection and sterilization technologies are needed to deal with the various infectious diseases spreading around the world. Furthermore, bacteria that are difficult to eliminate by ordinary disinfection are also a problem in the medical environment. We examined the germicidal effect of a newly developed deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diode (DUV-LED) prototype device (wavelength of 280 ± 5 nm; power of 0.

Antioxidant effects of continuous intake of electrolyzed hydrogen water in healthy adults.

Chronic oxidative stress induces deterioration of health and a risk for the onset of various diseases. Previous clinical studies revealed that electrolyzed hydrogen water (EHW) is effective to reduce oxidative stress during hemodialysis in patients with chronic dialysis. In the present observational study, we investigated the antioxidant effects of a daily continuous intake of EHW in healthy adults.

The Expression Level of HIV-1 Vif Is Optimized by Nucleotide Changes in the Genomic SA1D2prox Region during the Viral Adaptation Process.

HIV-1 Vif plays an essential role in viral replication by antagonizing anti-viral cellular restriction factors, a family of APOBEC3 proteins. We have previously shown that naturally-occurring single-nucleotide mutations in the SA1D2prox region, which surrounds the splicing acceptor 1 and splicing donor 2 sites of the HIV-1 genome, dramatically alter the Vif expression level, resulting in variants with low or excessive Vif expression. In this study, we investigated how these HIV-1 variants with poor replication ability adapt and evolve under the pressure of APOBEC3 proteins.

Developmental dysregulation of excitatory-to-inhibitory GABA-polarity switch may underlie schizophrenia pathology: A monozygotic-twin discordant case analysis in human iPS cell-derived neurons.

Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder, but the molecular mechanisms leading to its initiation or progression remain unclear. To elucidate the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, we used an in vitro neuronal cell culture model involving human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from a monozygotic-twin discordant schizophrenia pair. The cultured neurons differentiated from hiPSCs were composed of a mixture of glutamatergic excitatory neurons and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inhibitory neurons.

Effects of Collagen Peptide Administration on Visceral Fat Content in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

Collagen peptides (CPs) are bioactive molecules that have beneficial effects on bone metabolism and against joint disorders. In the present study, we investigated the effect of CP supplementation on visceral fat mass and plasma lipid concentrations in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Male ddY mice were fed a normal diet or HFD for 3 wk, and assigned to N or NCP groups and to F or FCP groups, respectively.

Ubiquinol-10 Intake Is Effective in Relieving Mild Fatigue in Healthy Individuals.

Our double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated effects of ubiquinol, the reduced form of coenzyme Q, on mild fatigue in healthy individuals experiencing fatigue in daily life that had continued for more than 1 and less than 6 months. The participants received 100-mg/day (Ubq100; age 44.0 ± 9.

Mental fatigue is linked with attentional bias for sad stimuli.

Previous studies have revealed that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and affective disorders (such as depression and anxiety disorders) exhibit a vigilant attentional bias toward negative emotional stimuli. However, it remains unclear whether the change in an attentional bias for negative emotional stimuli can be induced by mental fatigue in healthy individuals. To address this question, we examined healthy participants' (n = 27) performance in a visual probe task and emotional Stroop task before and after the mental-fatigue-inducing task.

PET imaging of C-labeled coenzyme Q: Comparison of biodistribution between [C]ubiquinol-10 and [C]ubiquinone-10.

Coenzyme Q (CoQ) plays a key role not only as an essential electron carrier in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, but also as an antioxidant to protect cells from oxidative stress. CoQ supplementation is expected to be effective for a variety of diseases. The predominant forms of CoQ are the ubiquinol-10 (reduced form) and ubiquinone-10 (oxidized form).

Imaging the passionate stage of romantic love by dopamine dynamics.

Using [(11)C]raclopride, a dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist, we undertook a positron emission tomography (PET) study to investigate the involvement of the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system when subjects viewed the pictures of partners to whom they were romantically attached. Ten subjects viewed pictures of their romantic partners and, as a control, of friends of the same sex for whom they had neutral feelings during the PET study. We administered [(11)C]raclopride to subjects using a timing for injecting the antagonist which had been determined in previous studies to be optimal for detecting increases in the amount of dopamine released by stimulation.