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

Multiscale Coarse-Graining of the Protein Energy Landscape

A variety of coarse-grained (CG) models exists for simulation of proteins. An outstanding problem is the construction of a CG model with physically accurate conformational energetics rivaling all-atom force fields. In the present work, atomistic simulations of peptide folding and aggregation equilibria are force-matched using multiscale coarse-graining to develop and test a CG interaction potential of general utility for the simulation of proteins of arbitrary sequence. The reduced representation relies on multiple interaction sites to maintain the anisotropic packing and polarity of individual sidechains. CG energy landscapes computed from replica exchange simulations of the folding of Trpzip, Trp-cage and adenylate kinase resemble those of other reduced representations; non-native structures are observed with energies similar to those of the native state. The artifactual stabilization of misfolded states implies that non-native interactions play a deciding role in deviations from ideal funnel-like cooperative folding. The role of surface tension, backbone hydrogen bonding and the smooth pairwise CG landscape is discussed. Ab initio folding aside, the improved treatment of sidechain rotamers results in stability of the native state in constant temperature simulations of Trpzip, Trp-cage, and the open to closed conformational transition of adenylate kinase, illustrating the potential value of the CG force field for simulating protein complexes and transitions between well-defined structural states

Comparison of visual outcomes after bilateral implantation of a diffractive trifocal intraocular lens and blended implantation of an extended depth of focus intraocular lens with a diffractive bifocal intraocular lens

Andr&eacute; Lins de Medeiros,1&ndash;4 Andr&eacute; Gustavo de Ara&uacute;jo Rolim,1,2 Antonio Francisco Pimenta Motta,2,5 Bruna Vieira Ventura,3,6 C&eacute;sar Vilar,1,2,7 M&aacute;rio Augusto Pereira Dias Chaves,1&ndash;3,8 Pedro Carlos Carricondo,2,5 Wilson Takashi Hida1,2,5 1Cataract Department, Hospital Oftalmol&oacute;gico de Bras&iacute;lia, 2Cataract Department, Centro de Estudos Oftalmol&oacute;gicos Renato Ambr&oacute;sio, Bras&iacute;lia,&nbsp;3Cataract Department, Funda&ccedil;&atilde;o Altino Ventura, Recife, Brazil; 4Cataract Department, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; 5Cataract Department, Universidade de S&atilde;o Paulo, S&atilde;o Paulo, 6Cataract Department, Hospital de Olhos de Pernambuco, Recife, 7Cataract Department, Hospital de Olhos Francisco Vilar, Teresina, 8Cataract Department, ProVis&atilde;o, Jo&atilde;o Pessoa, Brazil Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the visual outcomes and subjective visual quality between bilateral implantation of a diffractive trifocal intraocular lens, Alcon Acrysof IQ&reg; PanOptix&reg; TNFT00 (group A), and blended implantation of an extended depth of focus lens, J&amp;J Tecnis Symfony&reg; ZXR00 with a diffractive bifocal intraocular lens, J&amp;J Vision Tecnis&reg; ZMB00 (group B).Methods: This prospective, nonrandomized, consecutive, comparative study included the assessment of 40 eyes in 20 patients implanted with multifocal intraocular lens. Exclusion criteria were existence of any corneal, retina, or optic nerve disease, previous eye surgery, illiteracy, previous refractive surgery, high axial myopia, expected postoperative corneal astigmatism of &gt;1.00 cylindrical diopter (D), and intraoperative or postoperative complications. Binocular visual acuity was tested in all cases. Ophthalmological evaluation included the measurement of uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), uncorrected near visual acuity (UNVA), and uncorrected intermediate visual acuity (UIVA), with the analysis of contrast sensitivity (CS), and visual defocus curve.Results: Postoperative UDVA was 0.01 and &minus;0.096 logMAR (p&lt;0.01) in groups A and B, respectively; postoperative CDVA was &minus;0.07 and &minus;0.16 logMAR (p&lt;0.01) in groups A and B, respectively; UIVA was 0.14 and 0.20 logMAR (p&lt;0.01) in groups A and B, respectively; UNVA was &minus;0.03 and 0.11 logMAR (p&lt;0.01) in groups A and B, respectively. Under photopic conditions group B had better CS at low frequencies with and without glare.Conclusion: Both groups promoted good quality of vision for long, intermediate, and short distances. Group B exhibited a better performance for very short distances and for intermediate and long distances &ge;&minus;1.50 D of vergence. Group A exhibited a better performance for UIVA at 60 cm and for UNVA at 40 cm. Keywords: trifocal, multifocal, pseudophakia, catarac

Prospective randomized comparative study between venturi and peristaltic pumps in WhiteStar Signature&reg; phacoemulsification machine

Wilson Takashi Hida,1&ndash;3 Andr&eacute; Lins de Medeiros,1,2 Andr&eacute; Gustavo de Ara&uacute;jo Rolim,1,2 Antonio Francisco Pimenta Motta,2,3 Danilo Varela Kniggendorf,1,2 Rodrigo Lafet&aacute; Franco de Queiroz,1,2 M&aacute;rio Augusto Pereira Dias Chaves,1,2 Pedro Carlos Carricondo,1,2 Celso Takashi Nakano,2,4 Walton Nos&eacute;5 1Cataract Sector, Hospital Oftalmol&oacute;gico de Bras&iacute;lia, Bras&iacute;lia, Federal District, Brazil; 2Cataract Sector, Centro de Estudos Oftalmol&oacute;gicos Renato Ambr&oacute;sio, Bras&iacute;lia, Brazil; 3Cataract Sector, Universidade de S&atilde;o Paulo, S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil; 4Cataract Sector, Hospital Santa Cruz, S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil; 5Cataract Sector, Universidade Federal de S&atilde;o Paulo, S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil Purpose: To compare intraoperative parameters between venturi and peristaltic pump in WhiteStar Signature&reg; phacoemulsification machine using the bevel-down technique.Setting: Hospital Oftalmol&oacute;gico de Bras&iacute;lia, Bras&iacute;lia, Federal District, Brazil.Design: Prospective, comparative, patient-masked study.Methods: Three hundred eyes were randomly assigned to have a phacoemulsification procedure with WhiteStar Signature&reg; using either peristaltic (n=150 eyes) or venturi (n=150 eyes) pumps by a single surgeon (WTH). Elliptical ultrasound setting and prefracture (prechop or preslice) techniques were used in all cases. Cataract nucleus density was graded using lens opacities classification system III and Pentacam Nucleus Staging classification. Clinical measurements included preoperative- and postoperative- corrected visual acuity, preoperative and 2-month postoperative endothelial cell counts, and preoperative and 1-day postoperative central corneal thickness. Intraoperative measurements at the end of the case were phaco time, fluid used, total case time, and Efx energy.Results: There were no statistically significant differences between groups regarding age, cataract density, and phaco time (P&gt;0.05). Intraoperatively, we observed significantly less ultrasound energy (P=0.011), case time (P=0.0001), and balanced saline solution (P=0.001) usage in the venturi group. Clinically, both fluidic settings can provide similar clinical outcomes and visual recovery, regarding corrected distance visual acuity, endothelial cell count, and central corneal thickness.Conclusion: Our data show that to minimize fluid use, case time, and energy with the prefracture technique, the venturi pump was the most efficient system and was statistically superior to peristaltic pump. Keywords: venturi, peristaltic, phacoemulsification, cataract surgery, vacuum efficienc

Building the other, constructing ourselves: spatial dimensions of international humanitarian response

Humanitarian reconstruction after a large-scale natural disaster has become a key site of international politics; a site where global assumptions, relationships, and responsibilities are negotiated, solidified and questioned. While post-crisis response strategies and institutional practices have strong spatial and material characteristics, these are rarely considered as significant, either to the reconstruction effort, or to international politics more generally. This article identifies and examines the 'auxiliary space' created by the everyday practices of international aid workers and asks whether its effects may lead to unanticipated and potentially transformative outcomes not only for the reconstruction effort, but also for global North-South relations at large. The article concludes that post-crisis reconstruction sites may offer both cautionary and emancipatory potential for the evolution of international relations