Food-associated response inhibition training to reduce snacking behaviour

Inhibition is a facet of executive control that can be an area of weakness, in particular in people who overeat. However, laboratory studies suggest that interventions that target disinhibited eating can strengthen response inhibition and ultimately reduce overeating. The current study investigated whether response inhibition could be trained to help reduce food consumption. Eighty four adults who were self-reported disinhibited eaters and predominantly overweight or obese completed five response-inhibition training sessions in a two-week food training study. Participants were randomly allocated to a go/no-go task condition (control versus active) that mapped either non-food stimuli (control) or high-calorie foods (active) on to no-go signals. Participants’ weight, calorie intake, daily snacking and food evaluations were measured at baseline and post-intervention. Results indicate that participants in the active condition showed significant weight-loss post-intervention [F (1, 38) = 5.625, p < .023, ηp2 = .129] as well as a reduction in overall calorie intake [F (1, 39) = 7.951, p < .008, ηp2 = .169] compared with the control group [F (1, 38) = 0.142, p = .709]. However, there was no change over time [F (1, 79) = 2.280, p = .135] or group differences [F (1, 79) = .144, p = .706] in self-reported daily snacking frequency post–intervention. The active group showed a reduction in ratings of liking of unhealthy (no-go) foods from pre- to post-intervention [t (38) = -1.974, p = .056] compared with the control group [t (40) = 1.040, p = .305]. At one-month follow-up, both groups reported significant weight loss [F (1, 64) = 40.679, p < .001, ηp2 = .389] as well as a reduction in monthly snacking frequency [F (1, 69) = 14.018, p < .001, ηp2 = .169]. The results provide supporting evidence that training response inhibition may be an effective technique to help disinhibited eaters become more self-controlled and ultimately reduce their weight

Molecular Cooling and Emissions in Large Scale Simulations of Protostellar Jets

Der Ursprung der molekularen Infrarotemission im Zusammenhang mit protostellaren Jets der Klasse 0 und Klasse 1 (z.B. HH211 und HH46/47) ist nicht vollständig verstanden. Ein Modell, das diese Phänomene erfolgreich beschreibt ist das ”jet-driven outflow“ Modell. Dieses erklärt die Abstrahlung durch einen kollimierten Jet, der mit hoher Geschwindigkeit auf die molekulare Materie in der Umgebung trifft und diese in Schocks anregt und mit sich reit. Obgleich dieses Szenarium sehr erfolgreich die Dynamik und Morphologie des Ausflusses beschreibt, ist weiterhin unklar, ob Schocks des Typ J oder C diese Emission verursachen. Die physikalische Beschaffenheit des Gases, namentlich der Ionisierungsgrad und das Magnetfeld, sind wesentliche Parameter, die die genaue Art des Schock bestimmen. Da jedoch die direkte Umgebung von Klasse 0 Objekten aus dichtem Gas hoher Extinktionsrate innerhalb eines molekularen Kerns besteht, ist die direkte Beobachtung dieser Daten unmglich. Daher spielt die numerische Modellierung eine wichtige Rolle bei der Erforschung der beobachteten Ausflüsse. Wir haben ein Modul für den astrophysikalischen Simulationscode PLUTO entwickelt und getestet, das die molekulare Nichtgleichgewichtschemie und Khlung in einem Jet während seiner Interaktion mit dem molekularen Gas des umgebenden protostellaren Kerns simuliert. Unter Verwendung von großskaligen magnetohydrodynamischen Simulationen auf adaptivem Gitter finden wir bedeutende Infrarotemissionen von molekularem Gas das in J-Schocks angeregt wurde. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass diese Abstrahlung sowohl durch direkte Schocks (”prompt entrainment“) oder durch Abtragung und Abdampfung des Umgebungsgases verursacht werden kann. Die Eigenschaften der Emission sind stark von den absoluten und relativen Dichten der Jetmaterie und des Umgebungsgases und von dem Vorhandensein eines moderaten Magnetfeldes (in der Größenordnung 30 micro Gauss - 120 micro Gauss) um protostellaren Kern abhängig. Beim Vergleich mit Beobachtungen zeigt sich, das die berechnete Abstrahlungsintensität von der selben Größenordung wie die beobachtete ist. Wir zeigen wie die Emission verschiedener Quellen am Himmel von den hier untersuchten Parametern abhängt

A case-study in the introduction of a digital-twin in a large-scale manufacturing facility

The exponential increase in data produced in recent times has had a profound impact in all areas of society. In the field of industrial engineering, the knowledge produced by this newly obtained data is driving business forward. Automating the process of capturing data from industrial machines, analyzing it and using the knowledge gained to make better decisions for the machines is the crux of the digital twin. Digital twins uncover a wealth of knowledge about the physical asset they duplicate. Sensor technology, Internet of Things platforms, information and communication technology and smart analytics allow the digital twin to transform a physical asset into a connected smart item that is now part of a cyber physical system and that is far more valuable than when it existed in isolation. The digital twin can be adopted by the maintenance engineering industry to aid in the prediction of issues before they occur thus creating value for the business. This thesis discusses the introduction of a maintenance digital twin to a large-scale manufacturing facility. Issues that hamper such work are discovered and categorized to highlight the difficulty of the practical installation of this concept. The work here highlights the difficulties when working on digital systems in manufacturing facilities and how this isn’t discussed in journal articles and the disconnect between academia and industry on this topic. To aid in the installation, a digital twin framework is created that simplifies the digital twin development process into steps that can be completed independently. Work on implementing this framework is commenced and early successes highlight the benefit of sensoring critical assets. The payback of the initial practical work is immediate, and it presents a promising outlook for the iterative development of a maintenance digital twin using the framework. The thesis’ work highlights the benefit in reducing project scale and complexity and hence risk for digital systems in manufacturing facilities by following the framework developed. The later part of the thesis discusses machine learning and how this AI topic can be integrated into the digital twin to allow the digital asset to fulfill its potential

Training response inhibition to food is associated with weight loss and reduced energy intake (dataset)

Full dataset in SPSS and Excel to accompany the manuscript described above.Manuscript available via: https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/17858Dataset to accompany the above manuscript (abstract): The majority of adults in the UK and US are overweight or obese due to multiple factors including excess energy intake. Training people to inhibit simple motor responses (key presses) to high-energy density food pictures reduces intake in laboratory studies. We examined whether online response inhibition training reduced real-world food consumption and weight in a community sample of adults who were predominantly overweight or obese (N = 83). Participants were allocated in a randomised, double-blind design to receive four 10-minute sessions of either active or control go/no-go training in which either high-energy density snack foods (active) or non-food stimuli (control) were associated with no-go signals. Participants’ weight, energy intake (calculated from 24-hour food diaries), daily snacking frequency and subjective food evaluations were measured for one week pre- and post-intervention. Participants also provided self-reported weight and monthly snacking frequency at pre-intervention screening, and one month and six months after completing the study. Participants in the active relative to control condition showed significant weight loss, reductions in daily energy intake and a reduction in rated liking of high-energy density (no-go) foods from the pre- to post-intervention week. There were no changes in self-reported daily snacking frequency. At longer-term follow-up, the active group showed significant reductions in self-reported weight at six months, whilst both groups reported significantly less snacking at one- and six-months. Excellent rates of adherence (97%) and positive feedback about the training suggest that this intervention is acceptable and has the potential to improve public health by reducing energy intake and overweight.Wellcome Trus

Marked elevation in plasma osteoprotegerin constitutes an early and consistent feature of cerebral malaria

Adherence of infected erythrocytes to vascular endothelium causes acute endothelial cell (EC) activation during Plasmodium falciparum infection. Consequently, proteins stored in Weibel-Palade (WP) bodies within EC are secreted into the plasma. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) binds to VWF and consequently is stored within WP bodies. Given the critical role of EC activation in the pathogenesis of severe malaria, we investigated plasma OPG levels in children with P. falciparum malaria. At presentation, plasma OPG levels were significantly elevated in children with cerebral malaria (CM) compared to healthy controls (means 16.0 vs 0.8 ng/ml; p<0.01). Importantly, OPG levels were also significantly higher in children with CM who had a fatal outcome, compared to children with CM who survived. Finally, in children with CM, plasma OPG levels correlated with other established prognostic indices (including plasma lactate levels and peripheral parasite density). To further investigate the relationship between severe malaria and OPG, we utilised a murine model of experimental CM in which C57BL/6J mice were infected with P. berghei ANKA. Interestingly, plasma OPG levels were increased 4.6 fold within 24 hours following P. berghei inoculation. This early marked elevation in OPG levels was observed before any objective clinical signs were apparent, and preceded the development of peripheral blood parasitaemia. As the mice became increasingly unwell, plasma OPG levels progressively increased. Collectively, these data suggest that OPG constitutes a novel biomarker with prognostic significance in patients with severe malaria. In addition, further studies are required to determine whether OPG plays a role in modulating malaria pathogenesis

The extraordinary linear polarisation structure of the southern Centaurus A lobe revealed by ASKAP

We present observations of linear polarisation in the southern radio lobe of Centaurus A, conducted during commissioning of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. We used 16 antennas to observe a 30 square degree region in a single 12 hour pointing over a 240 MHz band centred on 913 MHz. Our observations achieve an angular resolution of $26\times33$ arcseconds (480 parsecs), a maximum recoverable angular scale of 30 arcminutes, and a full-band sensitivity of 85 \muupJy beam$^{-1}$. The resulting maps of polarisation and Faraday rotation are amongst the most detailed ever made for radio lobes, with of order 10$^5$ resolution elements covering the source. We describe several as-yet unreported observational features of the lobe, including its detailed peak Faraday depth structure, and intricate networks of depolarised filaments. These results demonstrate the exciting capabilities of ASKAP for widefield radio polarimetry.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. Accepted in "The Power of Faraday Tomography" special issue of Galaxie

Australasian emergency nurses\u27 willingness to attend work in a disaster: a survey

Abstract not availablePaul Arbon, Jamie Ranse, Lynette Cusack, Julie Considine, Ramon Z. Shaban, Richard J. Woodman, Laura Bahnisch, Mayumi Kako, Karen Hammad, Belinda Mitchel

Genetic Variation in VEGF Does Not Contribute Significantly to the Risk of Congenital Cardiovascular Malformation

Several previous studies have investigated the role of common promoter variants in the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene in causing congenital cardiovascular malformation (CVM). However, results have been discrepant between studies and no study to date has comprehensively characterised variation throughout the gene. We genotyped 771 CVM cases, of whom 595 had the outflow tract malformation Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), and carried out TDT and case-control analyses using haplotype-tagging SNPs in VEGF. We carried out a meta-analysis of previous case-control or family-based studies that had typed VEGF promoter SNPs, which included an additional 570 CVM cases. To identify rare variants potentially causative of CVM, we carried out mutation screening in all VEGF exons and splice sites in 93 TOF cases. There was no significant effect of any VEGF haplotype-tagging SNP on the risk of CVM in our analyses of 771 probands. When the results of this and all previous studies were combined, there was no significant effect of the VEGF promoter SNPs rs699947 (OR 1.05 [95% CI 0.95–1.17]); rs1570360 (OR 1.17 [95% CI 0.99–1.26]); and rs2010963 (OR 1.04 [95% CI 0.93–1.16]) on the risk of CVM in 1341 cases. Mutation screening of 93 TOF cases revealed no VEGF coding sequence variants and no changes at splice consensus sequences. Genetic variation in VEGF appears to play a small role, if any, in outflow tract CVM susceptibility