Food liking, food wanting, and sensory-specific satiety

Sensory-specific satiety refers to a temporary decline in pleasure derived from consuming a certain food in comparison to other unconsumed foods. It has been argued that such a reduction may not be limited to food liking but extends to food wanting as well. Animal research suggests that sensory-specific satiety reflects a reduction in both food liking and food wanting and in the present study it was investigated whether this also holds true for humans. Participants had to consume a certain amount of chocolate milk and afterwards approximately half of the participants played a game to obtain more chocolate milk, whereas the other half played a game to obtain crisps. Participants showed a decline in subjective liking of taste and smell of the chocolate milk in comparison to crisps. Furthermore, they showed less motivation (i.e. wanting) to obtain more chocolate milk. It is concluded that sensory-specific satiety in humans reflects a decrease in both food liking and food wanting

Multi-omics for studying and understanding polar life

Polar ecosystems are experiencing amongst the most rapid rates of regional warming on Earth. Here, we discuss ‘omics’ approaches to investigate polar biodiversity, including the current state of the art, future perspectives and recommendations. We propose a community road map to generate and more fully exploit multi-omics data from polar organisms. These data are needed for the comprehensive evaluation of polar biodiversity and to reveal how life evolved and adapted to permanently cold environments with extreme seasonality. We argue that concerted action is required to mitigate the impact of warming on polar ecosystems via conservation efforts, to sustainably manage these unique habitats and their ecosystem services, and for the sustainable bioprospecting of novel genes and compounds for societal gain

Mental Health screening in cystic fibrosis centres across Europe

Objectives: The Cystic Fibrosis (CF) International Mental Health Guidelines Committee published consensus statements for screening and treating depression and anxiety in individuals with CF and their caregivers. This work aimed to evaluate the dissemination and implementation of the guidelines in Europe two years following their publication. Methods: A 28-item survey was developed by the multidisciplinary ECFS Mental Health Working Group and emailed to approximately 300 CF centres across Europe. The survey evaluated (a) who should be responsible for mental health (MH) care, (b) the current awareness and agreement of the guidelines, (c) the provision of recommended MH screening and follow-up care, and (d) successes, barriers and required resources/training needs. Results: Responses were received from 187 centres (28 countries represented). There was consensus that a psychologist should be responsible for MH care, although members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) believed they should also share this responsibility. Sixty-two percent of respondents were aware of the guidelines; 82% percent fully, and 12% partially, agreed with them. Fifty percent (94 centres) had implemented screening. In the past year approximately 6000 patients and 2000 caregivers had been screened, with 80% of respondents using the recommended screening tools. Respondents reported 551 referrals for moderate/severe psychopathology and 84 urgent suicide ideation referrals. Conclusions: The challenges of different healthcare systems and language barriers are being overcome with a greater awareness of the importance of mental health among the MDT. MH screening is feasible and gaining momentum in both Western and Eastern Europe

Assessing gastro-intestinal related quality of life in cystic fibrosis: Validation of PedsQL GI in children and their parents

Background: Most patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) suffer from pancreatic insufficiency, leading to fat malabsorption, malnutrition and abdominal discomfort. Until recently, no specific tool was available for assessing gastro-intestinal related quality of life (GI QOL) in patients with CF. As the Horizon2020 project MyCyFAPP aims to improve GI QOL by using a newly designed mobile application, a sensitive and reliable outcome measure was needed. We aimed to study the applicability of the existing child-specific Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scales and Module (PedsQL GI) in children with CF. Methods: A multicenter, prospective observational study was performed in 6 European centers to validate the PedsQL GI in children with CF during 3 months. Results: In total, 248 children and their parents were included. Within-patient variability of PedsQL GI was low (24.11), and there was reasonable agreement between children and parents (ICC 0.681). Nine of 14 subscales were informative (no ceiling effect). The PedsQL GI and the median scores for 4 subscales were significantly lower in patients compared to healthy controls. Positive associations were found between PedsQL GI and age (OR = 1.044, p = 0.004) and between PedsQL GI and BMI z-score (OR = 1.127, p = 0.036). PedsQL GI correlated with most CFQ-R subscales (r 0.268 to 0.623) and with a Visual Analogue Scale (r = 0.20). Conclusions: PedsQL GI is a valid and applicable instrument to assess GI QOL in children with CF. Future research efforts should examine the responsiveness of the CF PedsQL GI to change in the context of clinical interventions and trials

Differential Patterns of Food Appreciation during Consumption of a Simple Food in Congenitally Anosmic Individuals: An Explorative Study

Food is evaluated for various attributes. One of the key food evaluation domains is hedonicity. As food is consumed, its hedonic valence decreases (due to prolonged sensory stimulation) and hedonic habituation results. The aim of the present study was to investigate changes in food pleasantness ratings during consumption of a simple food by individuals without olfactory experience with food as compared to normosmics. 15 congenital anosmics and 15 normosmic controls were each presented with ten 10 g banana slices. Each was visually inspected, then smelled and chewed for ten seconds and subsequently rated for hedonicity on a 21-point scale. There was a significant difference in pleasantness ratings between congenital anosmics and controls (F(1, 26) = 6.71, p = .02) with the anosmics exhibiting higher ratings than the controls, a significant main repeated-measures effect on the ratings (F(1.85, 48) = 12.15, p<.001), which showed a decreasing trend over the course of consumption, as well as a significant portion*group interaction (F(1.85, 48) = 3.54, p = .04), with the anosmic participants experiencing a less pronounced decline. The results of the present explorative study suggest that over the course of consumption of a simple food, congenitally anosmic individuals experience differential patterns of appreciation of food as compared to normosmics. In this particular case, the decrease of hedonic valence was less pronounced in congenital anosmics

Assessing gastro-intestinal related quality of life in cystic fibrosis: Validation of PedsQL GI in children and their parents

Background: Most patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) suffer from pancreatic insufficiency, leading to fat malabsorption, malnutrition and abdominal discomfort. Until recently, no specific tool was available for assessing gastro-intestinal related quality of life (GI QOL) in patients with CF. As the Horizon2020 project MyCyFAPP aims to improve GI QOL by using a newly designed mobile application, a sensitive and reliable outcome measure was needed. We aimed to study the applicability of the existing child-specific Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scales and Module (PedsQL GI) in children with CF. Methods: A multicenter, prospective observational study was performed in 6 European centers to validate the PedsQL GI in children with CF during 3 months. Results: In total, 248 children and their parents were included. Within-patient variability of PedsQL GI was low (24.11), and there was reasonable agreement between children and parents (ICC 0.681). Nine of 14 subscales were informative (no ceiling effect). The PedsQL GI and the median scores for 4 subscales were significantly lower in patients compared to healthy controls. Positive associations were found between PedsQL GI and age (OR = 1.044, p = 0.004) and between PedsQL GI and BMI z-score (OR = 1.127, p = 0.036). PedsQL GI correlated with most CFQ-R subscales (r 0.268 to 0.623) and with a Visual Analogue Scale (r = 0.20). Conclusions: PedsQL GI is a valid and applicable instrument to assess GI QOL in children with CF. Future research efforts should examine the responsiveness of the CF PedsQL GI to change in the context of clinical interventions and trials

Cryptic species in a well-known habitat: applying taxonomics to the amphipod genus Epimeria (Crustacea, Peracarida)

Taxonomy plays a central role in biological sciences. It provides a communication system for scientists as it aims to enable correct identification of the studied organisms. As a consequence, species descriptions should seek to include as much available information as possible at species level to follow an integrative concept of ‘taxonomics’. Here, we describe the cryptic species Epimeria frankei sp. nov. from the North Sea, and also redescribe its sister species, Epimeria cornigera. The morphological information obtained is substantiated by DNA barcodes and complete nuclear 18S rRNA gene sequences. In addition, we provide, for the first time, full mitochondrial genome data as part of a metazoan species description for a holotype, as well as the neotype. This study represents the first successful implementation of the recently proposed concept of taxonomics, using data from highthroughput technologies for integrative taxonomic studies, allowing the highest level of confidence for both biodiversity and ecological research

Multiomics in the central Arctic Ocean for benchmarking biodiversity change.

Multiomics approaches need to be applied in the central Arctic Ocean to benchmark biodiversity change and to identify novel species and their genes. As part of MOSAiC, EcoOmics will therefore be essential for conservation and sustainable bioprospecting in one of the least explored ecosystems on Earth

Morphological and Molecular Evolution Are Not Linked in Lamellodiscus (Plathyhelminthes, Monogenea)

Lamellodiscus Johnston & Tiegs 1922 (Monogenea, Diplectanidae) is a genus of common parasites on the gills of sparid fishes. Here we show that this genus is probably undergoing a fast molecular diversification, as reflected by the important genetic variability observed within three molecular markers (partial nuclear 18S rDNA, Internal Transcribed Spacer 1, and mitonchondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I). Using an updated phylogeny of this genus, we show that molecular and morphological evolution are weakly correlated, and that most of the morphologically defined taxonomical units are not consistent with the molecular data. We suggest that Lamellodiscus morphology is probably constrained by strong environmental (host-induced) pressure, and discuss why this result can apply to other taxa. Genetic variability within nuclear 18S and mitochondrial COI genes are compared for several monogenean genera, as this measure may reflect the level of diversification within a genus. Overall our results suggest that cryptic speciation events may occur within Lamellodiscus, and discuss the links between morphological and molecular evolution