Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Eur J Pediatr. 2023 Dec;182(12):5455-5463. doi: 10.1007/s00431-023-05227-2.
Epub  2023 Sep 29.

Active production of music as distraction for venipuncture in children and 
adolescents: a randomized clinical trial.

Obersnel M(1), Nardin B(1), Canepari E(2), Torelli L(1), Rizzitelli P(3), 
Buchini S(3), Schreiber S(3), Barbi E(1)(3), Cozzi G(3).

Author information:
(1)Clinical Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of 
Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
(2)Clinical Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of 
Trieste, Trieste, Italy. elisa.canepari@gmail.com.
(3)Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy.

More than 50% of children report considerable pain during venipuncture or 
intravenous cannulation. Despite the tools and techniques may be employed to 
reduce pain and distress in everyday clinical practice, the care offered is 
frequently insufficient. Music's potential effect in healthcare settings has 
received increasing attention. This study aimed to verify if the active 
production of music with a Leap Motion Controller could help decreasing pain and 
distress during venipuncture in children and adolescents. We conducted an 
open-label randomized controlled clinical trial with parallel arms. Children 
aged 8 to 17 were enrolled at the blood-drawing center of the Institute for 
Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo of Trieste, Italy. We 
hypothesized that in order to demonstrate an adequate improvement in the pain 
score in the intervention group, at least 200 children, 100 in each group, were 
needed, with alpha 5% and 1-beta 80%. Differences between the groups were 
evaluated with the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-test. The subjects were randomly 
assigned either to the active production of music group or to the standard of 
care group. The primary outcome was the median self-reported procedural pain 
score between experimental and standard of care group. Secondary outcomes were: 
the median pain and distress scores according to parental judgment and 
operators' judgment between the experimental and control group. Three hundred 
subjects entered the study and were randomized, 150 in the active production of 
music group and 150 in the standard of care group. Median self-reported pain 
scores were 1 (0-2) in the active production of music group and 2 (1-2) in the 
standard of care group and this difference was statistically significant 
(p = 0.0016). Median procedural distress was 1 (0-3) in the active production of 
music group and 3 (1-6) in the standard of care group, according to parental 
judgment, and this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0000016).
CONCLUSION: This research showed that the active production of music is a 
valuable distraction technique to decrease venipuncture related pain and 
distress in children and adolescents.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study protocol was registered with ClinicalTrial.gov 
(June 28[th] 2022, NCT05441241) before the start of the subjects' enrolment.
WHAT IS KNOWN: • The benefits of music on pain and anxiety are well known and 
have been tested during different painful procedures. • The effect of active 
production of music has never been tested in children during venipuncture.
WHAT IS NEW: • In our study median self-reported pain scores and median 
procedural distress, according to parental judgment, were lower in the active 
production of music group than in the standard of care group and these 
differences were statistically significant.

© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, 
part of Springer Nature.

DOI: 10.1007/s00431-023-05227-2
PMID: 37773297 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


2. Materials (Basel). 2022 Sep 23;15(19):6600. doi: 10.3390/ma15196600.

Low-Temperature Fibre Direct Compounding of Cellulose Fibres into PA6.

Slapnik J(1), Liu Y(2), Kupfer R(2), Lucyshyn T(3), Nardin B(1), Pinter G(3).

Author information:
(1)Faculty of Polymer Technology, Ozare 19, 2380 Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia.
(2)Institut Fuer Leichtbau und Kunststofftechnik, Technische Universitaet 
Dresden, Holbeinstrasse 3, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
(3)Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Otto Gloeckel-Strasse 2, 8700 Leoben, Austria.

This study reports on the development of a novel polymer processing approach 
that combines low-temperature (LT) processing and fibre direct compounding (FDC) 
to reduce the thermal stress on thermosensitive components that occurs during 
compounding and subsequent injection moulding (IM). Composites based on 
polyamide 6 (PA6) and cellulose fibres (CeF) were prepared using an LT-FDC 
process and in parallel with a conventional approach using a twin-screw extruder 
and IM. The morphological, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the 
prepared samples were investigated using optical microscopy (OM), differential 
scanning calorimetry (DSC), colorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and 
tensile tests. Composites prepared using LT-FDC exhibited worse fibre dispersion 
but lower fibre degradation. In comparison to neat PA6, the LT-FDC composites 
had increased tensile modulus (Et) and storage modulus (E') at 120 °C by up to 
32% and 50%, respectively, while the tensile strength (σm) decreased by 20%.

DOI: 10.3390/ma15196600
PMCID: PMC9571161
PMID: 36233941

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.


3. Ital J Pediatr. 2022 Jan 18;48(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s13052-022-01206-9.

The ongoing impact of Covid-19 pandemic on children with medical complexity: the 
experience of an Italian pediatric palliative care network.

Grigoletto V(1), Nardin B(2), Taucar V(3), Barbi E(2)(4), De Zen L(3).

Author information:
(1)University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy. veronica.grigoletto@gmail.com.
(2)University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
(3)Pediatric Palliative Care and Pain Service, Institute for Maternal and Child 
Health Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy.
(4)Pediatric Department, Institute for Maternal and Child Health Burlo Garofolo, 
Trieste, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Italy was the first European country to experience a massive 
outbreak of Sars-coV-2 in March 2020. Severe measures were introduced to face 
the pandemic, significantly impacting all healthcare services, including 
pediatric palliative care (PPC) networks. We investigated how the Covid-19 
pandemic modified the provision of PPC services in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. 
Both the acute and long-term impacts on the families were addressed.
METHODS: We administered a retrospective three-sections online questionnaire to 
the eligible families assisted by our regional PPC network. Inclusion criteria 
were: child needing specialistic PPC, adequate knowledge of the Italian 
language, being in charge of the PPC regional network of Friuli Venezia Giulia 
from February 1, 2020. The three sections examined the same issues in different 
periods: the pre-covid period (until February 29, 2020), the lockdown period 
(March 1, 2020, to April 30, 2020), and the post-lockdown period (May 2021).
RESULTS: Twelve patients were included. During the lockdown period, 54.6% of 
children had to stop physiotherapy sessions, while, among those who continued, 
80.0% experienced a reduction in the sessions' frequency. In the post-lockdown 
period, 45.5% of children did not have physiotherapy as often as before the 
pandemic onset. Overall, the access to medical visits during the lockdown and 
after its end was significantly reduced (p = 0.01). The level of support 
perceived by the families descended from grade 3 (intermediate) in the pre-covid 
period to 2 (low) during the lockdown (p < 0.05) and returned to grade 3 in the 
post-lockdown period.
CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic and the related restrictions impacted the 
families and caused a transitory contraction of the perceived support. The most 
significant change was reduced access to medical visits and physiotherapy, which 
lasted over a year after the start of the pandemic.

© 2022. The Author(s).

DOI: 10.1186/s13052-022-01206-9
PMCID: PMC8764504
PMID: 35042551 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing 
interests.


4. J Asian Nat Prod Res. 2013;15(2):111-6. doi: 10.1080/10286020.2012.738673.

Two new sesquiterpenoids from the rhizomes of Nardostachys jatamansi.

Rekha K(1), Rao RR, Pandey R, Prasad KR, Babu KS, Vangala JR, Kalivendi SV, Rao 
JM.

Author information:
(1)Division of Natural Product Chemistry, Natural Product Laboratory, 
CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Tarnaka , Hyderabad 500 607, 
India.

Phytochemical investigation of CHCl(3):MeOH (1:1) extract from the rhizomes of 
Nardostachys jatamansi led to the isolation of two new sesquiterpenoids (5 and 
6), along with six known compounds (1-4, 7, and 8). The structures of two new 
compounds were established using IR, MS, 1D, and 2D NMR techniques. In addition, 
all the isolates were tested for their cytotoxicities against the A549 (lung 
cancer), DU-145 (prostate cancer), MCF-7 (breast cancer), and SK-N-SH 
(neuroblastoma).

DOI: 10.1080/10286020.2012.738673
PMID: 23431964 [Indexed for MEDLINE]