The role of memory ability, depth and mode of recall in the impact of memory on later consumption.

It has been shown that recalling a meal eaten a few hours earlier (vs. the previous day) leads to reduced snacking ('meal-recall' effect). This study attempted to replicate this effect, by assessing participants' (N = 77, mean age = 33.30 [SD = 14.98], mean BMI = 23.77 [SD = 3.72], 74% female) biscuit consumption during a bogus taste test in two separate sessions, before which participants recalled a recent or a distant meal. It was explored whether factors that might affect the quality of a meal-memory, particularly individual differences in memory ability and depth of recall, would influence the meal-recall effect. To this end, only participants with a low or high memory ability were recruited for the study and were allocated to either an unguided-recall or guided-recall condition. In the unguided condition, participants were asked to recall what they ate, and in the guided condition they were prompted for further details regarding their meal. Participants were asked to either recall their meal out loud through an interview with the experimenter or by writing their recollection down on the computer. Contrary to the initial hypotheses, it was found that only the written group demonstrated the meal-recall effect, whereas the verbal group did not. Moreover, this was specific to the written, unguided group, in which participants ate about 9 g fewer biscuits after recalling a recent (vs. a distant) meal, F (1,15) = 6.07, p = .026, ηp2 = 0.288. The written, guided group's snacking seemed to increase by about 8 g after recalling a recent (vs. a distant) meal, F (1,20) = 7.31, p = .014, ηp2 = 0.268. The meal-recall effect was not evident in the verbal group. Memory ability did not influence the magnitude of the meal-recall effect. The results highlight the importance of contextual factors in modulating the meal-recall effect

Climate, zooplankton and pelagic fish growth in the Central Baltic Sea

Oceanographic conditions in the brackish central Baltic Sea are strongly linked to atmospheric forcing and the unusual period of persistently strong westerlies that, since the late 1980s, have resulted in an increase in average water temperatures and decreasing salinity. These changes in temperature and salinity resulted in a change in the dominance of the mesozooplankton community from Pseudocalanus sp. to Temora longicornis and Acartia spp. Similar to the copepod community, the central Baltic fish community shifted from cod ( Gadus morhua ), dominant during the 1980s, to sprat ( Sprattus sprattus ), dominant during the 1990s. Further, the commercially important pelagic fish species herring ( Clupea harengus ) and sprat exhibited reductions in growth. Using Principal Component and Correlation Analyses we investigated the temporal variability in the importance of the food supply as well as competition on condition of central Baltic pelagic fish species. Our results indicate that herring condition results from a combined effect of changes in the food environment and increased competition with sprat, while sprat condition appeared to be primarily determined by intra-specific competition

A review of epidural simulators: Where are we today?

Thirty-one central neural blockade simulators have been implemented into clinical practice over the last thirty years either commercially or for research. This review aims to provide a detailed evaluation of why we need epidural and spinal simulators in the first instance and then draws comparisons between computer-based and manikin-based simulators. This review covers thirty-one simulators in total; sixteen of which are solely epidural simulators, nine are for epidural plus spinal or lumbar puncture simulation, and six, which are solely lumbar puncture simulators. All hardware and software components of simulators are discussed, including actuators, sensors, graphics, haptics, and virtual reality based simulators. The purpose of this comparative review is to identify the direction for future epidural simulation by outlining necessary improvements to create the ideal epidural simulator. The weaknesses of existing simulators are discussed and their strengths identified so that these can be carried forward. This review aims to provide a foundation for the future creation of advanced simulators to enhance the training of epiduralists, enabling them to comprehensively practice epidural insertion in vitro before training on patients and ultimately reducing the potential risk of harm. © 2013 IPEM

The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) - 2018 Summary Report

The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is a TeV-scale high-luminosity linear $e^+e^-$ collider under development at CERN. Following the CLIC conceptual design published in 2012, this report provides an overview of the CLIC project, its current status, and future developments. It presents the CLIC physics potential and reports on design, technology, and implementation aspects of the accelerator and the detector. CLIC is foreseen to be built and operated in stages, at centre-of-mass energies of 380 GeV, 1.5 TeV and 3 TeV, respectively. CLIC uses a two-beam acceleration scheme, in which 12 GHz accelerating structures are powered via a high-current drive beam. For the first stage, an alternative with X-band klystron powering is also considered. CLIC accelerator optimisation, technical developments and system tests have resulted in an increased energy efficiency (power around 170 MW) for the 380 GeV stage, together with a reduced cost estimate at the level of 6 billion CHF. The detector concept has been refined using improved software tools. Significant progress has been made on detector technology developments for the tracking and calorimetry systems. A wide range of CLIC physics studies has been conducted, both through full detector simulations and parametric studies, together providing a broad overview of the CLIC physics potential. Each of the three energy stages adds cornerstones of the full CLIC physics programme, such as Higgs width and couplings, top-quark properties, Higgs self-coupling, direct searches, and many precision electroweak measurements. The interpretation of the combined results gives crucial and accurate insight into new physics, largely complementary to LHC and HL-LHC. The construction of the first CLIC energy stage could start by 2026. First beams would be available by 2035, marking the beginning of a broad CLIC physics programme spanning 25-30 years

The Effect of Recent Meal Recall and Its Implications for Weight Loss

The present thesis investigated the meal-recall effect, wherein remembering a recent meal reduces subsequent snack intake. A review of the literature suggested that the meal-recall effect might be driven by a temporary increase in interoceptive ability, which could then help individuals to perceive lingering satiety signals more strongly and to resolve ambiguous gastrointestinal signals (Chapter 2). A laboratory-based replication of the meal-recall effect was attempted, however, due to testing restrictions, data collection was prematurely ceased (Chapter 3). Instead, the effect was replicated online, with food photographs used as a proxy for intake (Chapter 4). The effect was not elicited in Experiment 1, potentially due to methodological issues, but changes to the design in Experiment 2 resulted in the meal-recall effect being successfully replicated. There was no evidence to support the idea that improved interoception was the mechanism underlying the meal-recall effect. Imagining a recent meal as bigger than in reality was shown to be an effective method of reducing biscuit intake, but visualising details of a previous meal disrupted the manifestation of the meal-recall effect (Chapter 5). Two weight loss interventions based on the meal-recall effect were tested for usability, by asking users for feedback (questionnaires and interviews) after using the interventions for a week (Chapter 6). Finally, the feasibility of a memory-based weight loss intervention was tested over a six-week period, and a number of potential improvements were identified (Chapter 7). The difference in weight loss between the intervention (1.81kg) and the control group (1.07kg) was not significant. The results suggest that a weight loss intervention based on the meal-recall effect has the potential to be feasible and acceptable to users, however more research is required to understand why the effect occurs and why it seems easily disrupted by contextual factors.This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (Award Number ES/P000738/1)

A new and fast method to obtain in vitro cultures of Huperzia selago (Huperziaceae) sporophytes, a club moss which is a source of huperzine A

This study presents a protocol for a fast and effective in vitro axenic culture of Huperzia selago (Huperziaceae Rothm.) sporophytes, a club moss which is a source of huperzine A, an alkaloid of a considerable therapeutic potential extensively investigated for its uses as treatment for some neurodegenerative diseases. The proposed procedure allowed approximately tenfold shortening of the species developmental stages with the omission of the gametophyte stage while the sporophyte mass could be increased tenfold within a 6-month period. The cultures were established using vegetative propagules (bulbils) procured from sporophytes growing in the wild without degrading the habitats of this endangered plant species. Explants underwent surface and internal disinfection to eliminate the epiphytic and endophytic bacteria and fungi. In in vitro cultures, the optimum results were achieved using Moore (Mr) medium without growth regulators or supplemented with 0.015 mg/l IBA and 0.3 mg/l kinetin. These media ensured both viability of the propagules and their further development. The biomass growth index for H. selago sporophytes grown from propagules, determined at 3 months of culture (1 passage) on Mr medium with IBA and kinetin was 650%. At 6 months, the biomass growth index increased to 1114%. Vigorous growth of adventitious roots, especially on Mr medium with the addition of 0.25 mg/l NAA, and callus formation on shoot apices were observed. At 6 months of culture, some sporophytes obtained from the bulbils were used as the initiating material for shoot subcultures, which developed best on Mr medium with IBA and kinetin