Undergraduate UK nutrition education might not adequately address weight management

Objective: Weight management appears to be multidimensional and complex, and registered nutritionists might work to educate, promote and provide weight-management services to communities, groups and individuals. However, nutrition education might not adequately reflect the weight-management requirements of individuals and groups. The aim of the present study was to investigate if the Association for Nutrition’s undergraduate core competency framework for accredited Nutrition degrees sufficiently reflects the weight-management needs and experiences of individuals. Design: A qualitative investigation, conducted within critical realist ontology, was performed to understand the weight-management experiences of dieters and compare these with the Association for Nutrition’s accreditation criteria for undergraduate Nutrition degrees. Setting: Framework analysis was used to identify and explain participants’ experiences thematically and to compare these with the Association for Nutrition’s core competency criteria. Subjects: Participants (n 8) with weight-loss (n 4) and weight-maintenance experiences (n 4) were interviewed using semi-structured interviews to understand weight management at the agential level. Results: Participants described knowledge, exercise, planning, psychological constructs and behaviour-change techniques, determinants of eating and social support as features of weight management. The competency criteria provided clear guidance on all aspects discussed by the group, apart from psychological constructs and behaviour-change techniques and social support. Conclusions: Accredited Nutrition courses might not fully reflect the weight-management needs and experiences of individuals. Nutritionists might require greater knowledge of psychology and behaviour change to better understand and accommodate their clients’ weight-management needs

A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach to First-Order Logic Theorem Proving

Automated theorem provers have traditionally relied on manually tuned heuristics to guide how they perform proof search. Deep reinforcement learning has been proposed as a way to obviate the need for such heuristics, however, its deployment in automated theorem proving remains a challenge. In this paper we introduce TRAIL, a system that applies deep reinforcement learning to saturation-based theorem proving. TRAIL leverages (a) a novel neural representation of the state of a theorem prover and (b) a novel characterization of the inference selection process in terms of an attention-based action policy. We show through systematic analysis that these mechanisms allow TRAIL to significantly outperform previous reinforcement-learning-based theorem provers on two benchmark datasets for first-order logic automated theorem proving (proving around 15% more theorems)

Exploring the interactions underlying flow states: A connecting analysis of flow occurrence in European Tour golfers

Objectives: Research to date has identified a range of factors suggested to facilitate flow states in sport. However, less attention has focused on how exactly those facilitating factors influence the occurrence of flow. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the specific ways in which such facilitators influenced flow occurrence in European Tour golfers. Design: Qualitative design. Method: Ten full-time golfers from the European Tour (M age=37; SD=13.08) participated in semi-structured interviews investigating the occurrence of their flow states. Data were interpreted using an iterative process of thematic and connecting analyses. Results: Ten facilitators of flow were identified, of which commitment and the caddie have not been reported previously. Twenty four connecting links were identified in the data, through which the caddie, effective preparation, and high-quality performance appeared to be most influential for flow occurrence. Confidence and concentration also emerged as key constructs underlying the flow experience in this setting. Conclusion: A central contribution of this study is the identification of ways in which facilitating factors could influence flow occurrence in elite golf. This process adds detail to understanding of flow occurrence, and moves beyond simply identifying factors which are associated with the experience. As such, connecting analysis is proposed as an additional strategy for qualitatively investigating flow occurrence in sport. Results are discussed in relation to previous literature, and recommendations are identified for researchers, athletes, coaches and practitioners

Fitness costs of resistance to Cry3Bb1 maize by western corn rootworm

Crops producing toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely planted to manage insect pests including western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), which is a significant pest of maize in the United States and Europe. However, the widespread use of Bt maize places intense selection pressure on pest populations to evolve resistance, and field-evolved resistance to Bt maize by western corn rootworm has been documented in the United States. In conjunction with non-Bt refuges, fitness costs of Bt resistance can delay resistance evolution. Fitness costs arise in the absence of Bt toxin when individuals with resistance alleles have lower fitness than Btsusceptible genotypes. We quantified the level of resistance and fitness costs of resistance for a strain of western corn rootworm with laboratoryselected resistance to transgenic maize (Zea mays L.) producing Bt toxin Cry3Bb1. Survival to adulthood on Cry3Bb1 maize was more than twofold higher for resistant insects vs. susceptible insects, which is similar to the magnitude of resistance first observed in the field. Fitness costs were measured in two experiments; the first used maize hybrids and the second used inbred lines. The experiment with maize hybrids compared resistant and susceptible strains while the experiment with maize inbreds compared resistant, susceptible and heterozygous genotypes. The only nonrecessive fitness cost detected (i.e. cost affecting heterozygotes) was for adult size. Recessive fitness costs (i.e. costs affecting the resistant strain) were observed for developmental rate, female survival and egg viability. However, when reared on non-Bt maize, the resistant strain also displayed higher fecundity, higher survival for males and greater adult longevity compared to the susceptible strain. These results suggest that resistance to Bt maize by western corn rootworm may not impose substantial fitness costs, and consequently, may evolve quickly and persist once present

Structure, ontogeny and evolution of the patellar tendon in emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) and other palaeognath birds

The patella (kneecap) exhibits multiple evolutionary origins in birds, mammals, and lizards, and is thought to increase the mechanical advantage of the knee extensor muscles. Despite appreciable interest in the specialized anatomy and locomotion of palaeognathous birds (ratites and relatives), the structure, ontogeny and evolution of the patella in these species remains poorly characterized. Within Palaeognathae, the patella has been reported to be either present, absent, or fused with other bones, but it is unclear how much of this variation is real, erroneous or ontogenetic. Clarification of the patella’s form in palaeognaths would provide insight into the early evolution of the patella in birds, in addition to the specialized locomotion of these species. Findings would also provide new character data of use in resolving the controversial evolutionary relationships of palaeognaths. In this study, we examined the gross and histological anatomy of the emu patellar tendon across several age groups from five weeks to 18 months. We combined these results with our observations and those of others regarding the patella in palaeognaths and their outgroups (both extant and extinct), to reconstruct the evolution of the patella in birds. We found no evidence of an ossified patella in emus, but noted its tendon to have a highly unusual morphology comprising large volumes of adipose tissue contained within a collagenous meshwork. The emu patellar tendon also included increasing amounts of a cartilage-like tissue throughout ontogeny. We speculate that the unusual morphology of the patellar tendon in emus results from assimilation of a peri-articular fat pad, and metaplastic formation of cartilage, both potentially as adaptations to increasing tendon load. We corroborate previous observations of a ‘double patella’ in ostriches, but in contrast to some assertions, we find independent (i.e., unfused) ossified patellae in kiwis and tinamous. Our reconstructions suggest a single evolutionary origin of the patella in birds and that the ancestral patella is likely to have been a composite structure comprising a small ossified portion, lost by some species (e.g., emus, moa) but expanded in others (e.g., ostriches)

Saturn's icy satellites and rings investigated by Cassini - VIMS. III. Radial compositional variability

In the last few years Cassini-VIMS, the Visible and Infared Mapping Spectrometer, returned to us a comprehensive view of the Saturn's icy satellites and rings. After having analyzed the satellites' spectral properties (Filacchione et al. (2007a)) and their distribution across the satellites' hemispheres (Filacchione et al. (2010)), we proceed in this paper to investigate the radial variability of icy satellites (principal and minor) and main rings average spectral properties. This analysis is done by using 2,264 disk-integrated observations of the satellites and a 12x700 pixels-wide rings radial mosaic acquired with a spatial resolution of about 125 km/pixel. The comparative analysis of these data allows us to retrieve the amount of both water ice and red contaminant materials distributed across Saturn's system and the typical surface regolith grain sizes. These measurements highlight very striking differences in the population here analyzed, which vary from the almost uncontaminated and water ice-rich surfaces of Enceladus and Calypso to the metal/organic-rich and red surfaces of Iapetus' leading hemisphere and Phoebe. Rings spectra appear more red than the icy satellites in the visible range but show more intense 1.5-2.0 micron band depths. The correlations among spectral slopes, band depths, visual albedo and phase permit us to cluster the saturnian population in different spectral classes which are detected not only among the principal satellites and rings but among co-orbital minor moons as well. Finally, we have applied Hapke's theory to retrieve the best spectral fits to Saturn's inner regular satellites using the same methodology applied previously for Rhea data discussed in Ciarniello et al. (2011).Comment: 44 pages, 27 figures, 7 tables. Submitted to Icaru

Heart Rate and Energy Expenditure Concurrent Validity of Identical Garmin Wrist Watches During Moderately Heavy Resistance Training

Consistent with previous years, ACSM has found that wearable technology and resistance training (RT) are two of the top 5 fitness trends in 2023. Our lab recently found that wrist-worn devices, such as Garmin Instinct, are neither valid nor reliable at measuring average or maximal heart rate (HR) or estimating energy expenditure (EE) following light intensity circuit RT. We postulated that the errors may have been due to the device’s algorithms assuming higher intensity during RT. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the concurrent validity of identical Garmin Instinct wrist-watches to record valid measures of average and maximal HR as well as estimated EE following moderately heavy RT. METHODS: Twenty-one adult participants completed this study (n=10 female, n=11 male). Two Garmin Instinct wrist-watches were evaluated, along with the Polar H10 chest strap and Cosmed K5 portable metabolic unit as the criterion devices for average/maximal HR and EE, respectively. Participants completed 8 supersets of the reverse lunge and shoulder press exercises using dumbbells at a light (4 sets) and moderately heavy (4 sets) intensity with 1 superset of 6 repetitions per exercise (12 repetitions per superset) and 1 min rest between supersets. Data were analyzed for validity (Mean Absolute Percent Error [MAPE] and Lin’s Concordance Coefficient [CCC]), with predetermined thresholds of MAPE\u3c10% and CCC\u3e0.70. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA with Sidak post-hoc test was used to determine differences (p\u3c0.05). RESULTS: The identical Garmin Instinct devices were not considered valid for average HR (MAPE range: 36.5-81.6%; CCC range: 0.07-0.18), maximal HR (MAPE range: 18.6-18.8%; CCC range: 0.15-0.31), or estimated EE (MAPE range: 14.0-16.4%; CCC range: 0.08-0.32) compared to the criterion references. The devices were significantly different than each other for average HR (p=0.005), maximal HR (p\u3c0.001), and estimated EE (p\u3c0.0001). CONCLUSION: The wearable wrist-worn devices tested herein should not be utilized for accurate measurements of HR or EE during RT, and there are even differences between identical devices. People who RT while using these devices should do so with caution if wishing to utilize them for physiological measures

Rating of Perceived Exertion, Average Heart Rate, and Energy Expenditure Following Indoor and Outdoor Moderately Heavy Superset Resistance Training

Our lab recently found that light intensity circuit resistance training outdoors had a significantly lower perception of effort (RPE) compared to indoor resistance training, despite no physiological differences in heart rate and energy expenditure. However, no study has examined other intensities or set schemes in differing environmental settings. PURPOSE: To determine how indoor or outdoor environments effect rating of perceived exertion (RPE) following light and moderately heavy intensity superset resistance training in recreationally resistance trained adults. METHODS: Twenty-three adult participants completed this study (n=10 female, n=13 male; age: 26.1±8.8 yrs; height: 172.2±9.5 cm; mass: 73.4±18.7 kg; RT experience: 5.3±4.8 yrs). Participants wore devices to measure heart rate (Polar H10 chest strap) and energy expenditure (Cosmed K5 Portable Metabolic Cart). Randomly in indoor and outdoor settings, participants completed 4 supersets of the reverse lunge and shoulder press exercises using dumbbells at a light (2 sets) and moderately heavy (2 sets) intensity with 1 superset of 6 repetitions per exercise (12 repetitions per superset) and 1 min rest between supersets. The OMNI Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale for Resistance Exercise 0-10 RPE scale was used following each superset. A paired T-test was used to determine differences between environmental setting (pRESULTS: No significant differences were observed between indoor and outdoor environments for average heart rate (129.4±17.2 and 127.8±23.3 bpm, p=0.67), energy expenditure (30.6±11.5 and 28.3±9.9 kcals; p=0.06), as well as RPE during light intensity (2.9±0.9 and 2.9±0.8 arbitrary units/AU’s, p=0.70) and moderately heavy intensity (6.5±1.7 and 6.3±1.5 AU’s, p=0.27) supersets. CONCLUSION: In recreationally resistance trained adults, light intensity and moderately heavy intensity superset resistance training in indoor or outdoor settings does not alter heart rate, energy expenditure, or perceived effort