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Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has demonstrated to be successful in the reduction of relapse rates in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). Little is known if MBCT is effective for treating individuals with current MDD episode and about underlying psychophysiological mechanisms of symptoms reduction. The aim of the present study was to assess effects of MBCT on depressed individuals in terms of reduction of depressive and anxiety symptoms and to evaluate if this therapeutic improvement would be reflected on neurophysiological level by shift in frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA). We studied 20 individuals with current MDD. Participants were randomly assigned either to waiting list or 8-week MBCT. Before and after the treatment we have assessed depression, anxiety, and FAA in resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) – an indicator of approach vs. withdrawal-related response dispositions and a vulnerability factor of MDD. In line with previous findings, reduction of depressive and anxiety symptoms, but no change in mean values of FAA in MBCT group was found. These results provide a support for the beneficial effects of MBCT in current MDD treatment, however, they do not support the hypothesis on alpha asymmetry change as a neural correlate of MDD improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a novel stimuli-responsive fluorescent material platform that relies on an evocation of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) from tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based surfactants localized at one hemisphere of biphasic micro-scale Janus emulsion droplets. Dynamic alterations in the available interfacial area were evoked through surfactant-induced dynamic changes of the internal droplet morphology that can be modulated as a function of the balance of interfacial tensions of the droplet constituent phases. Thus, by analogy with a Langmuir-Blodgett trough that enables selective concentration of surfactants at a liquid-gas interface, we demonstrate here a method for controllable modulation of the available interfacial area of surfactant-functionalized liquid-liquid interfaces. We show that a morphology-dependent alteration of the interfacial area can be used to evoke an optical signal, by selectively assembling synthesized TPE-based surfactants on the respective droplet interfaces. A trigger-induced increase in the concentration of TPE-based surfactants at the liquid-liquid interfaces results in an evocation of aggregation-induced emission (AIE), inducing an up to 3.9-fold increase in the measured emission intensity of the droplets., (© 2023 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

In the Langmuir monolayer technique, a single layer of molecules is formed on a water subphase. This approach was used to mimic the antitumoricidal lipid-protein complex of oleic acid and bovine α-lactalbumin called the BAMLET complex. Our previous studies have shown that at the interface, the BAMLET complex is stabilized by the hydrophobic forces supported by the hydrogen bonds. This study provides an insight into the influence of calcium ions and the experimental conditions (temperature and subphase pH) on the stability of the complex at the interface. The Langmuir technique was expanded using a dosing pump to exchange the subphase and deliver additional substances to the system. We investigated the interactions between oleic acid monolayer and α-lactalbumin in the presence of Ca 2+ in the bulk and the effect of varied experimental conditions on the complex stability. The role of calcium ions in this system is important because (in addition to low pH and relatively high temperature) it affects the conformational changes within the protein molecule and facilitates the transition of α-lactalbumin into the molten globule state. A partially unfolded state is required to form the BAMLET complex. We found that the mixed monolayer spread at the interface is stable despite drastic changes in the process conditions and remains stable even after the subphase exchange. This study of molecular interactions explored by the Langmuir technique with peristaltic pump enabled to understand the role of Ca 2+ in BAMLET complex formation.