Negative mood state impairs false memory priming when problem-solving

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of emotional mood states on the ability to create effective primes using the recently developed false memory priming paradigm. A negative or positive mood state was induced before Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) list presentation. A further control group experienced no mood induction. Participants were then presented with Compound Remote Associate Task (CRAT) problems, half of which had been primed by the previous DRM lists whose critical lure was the solution to the CRAT problem. The results of this study showed that induction of a negative mood state not only impaired recall of critical lures but also diminished their effectiveness as primes for solving CRAT problems. In contrast, for both positive mood and control conditions, the false memory priming advantage was evident, with a higher proportion of primed problems solved in comparison to those not primed. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of affect on semantic activation and the adaptive consequences of false memories

A Unique Tegumentary Cell Type and Unicellular Glands Associated with the Scolex of Eubothrium Crassum(Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea)

Paper by C. Arme and L. T. Threadgol

Exploring the feasibility and acceptability of a sleep wearable headband among a community sample of chronic pain individuals: An at-home observational study

Background Chronic pain conditions affect up to one third of the adult population in the United Kingdom. Sleep problems are prevalent and negatively impact quality of life. Lack of standardised tools for routine screening and assessment of sleep changes have been a barrier for sleep management. Novel sleep wearables offer an exciting and accessible way to measure sleep but have not been tested outside of the consumer-led landscape and are not commonly used in research and clinical settings. Aims The study aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptability of a sleep monitoring headband (Dreem 2) utilising EEG technology and accompanying smartphone application among a cohort of adults with chronic pain. Results Twenty-one adults (81% women) completed a one-week home sleep study using a sleep headband and accompanying app. Ninety per cent of participants met the pre-defined requirement of two-night's sleep recording. All participants recorded one night of sleep data via the sleep headband. The majority (76%) of participants were satisfied with the sleep study, and 86% of participants were willing to wear the headband longer than the 2-night minimum requirement. Finally, 76% reported the headband as ‘somewhat’ or ‘extremely’ comfortable whist awake; 57% rated the headband as comfortable during sleep. Conclusion The Dreem 2 headband appears to be a feasible and acceptable means of collecting sleep measurements among individuals with chronic pain, despite common sleep disturbances. These devices may have utility for screening, assessment and monitoring in research and practice. Further research is needed to provide guidelines and training for integration

Queer subjectivities in hospitality labor

This paper explores the experiences of queer workers in the service economy with a focus on hospitality labor. Studies of gender, sexuality and service labor approached mainstream service work as a scene of compulsory heterosexuality, while literature on the position of queer workers has tended to approach work in terms of structural inequalities that prevent queer workers from participating in the labor market, and has therefore focused on notions of diversity and inclusion as frameworks for understanding how the heteronormativity of service relationships can be overcome. This paper shifts focus to examine how queer subjectivities are enacted within the disciplinary requirements of service labor, and on the way that workers negotiate and contest their positioning at work. The paper situates the subjectivities and laboring practices of queer workers at the nexus of tensions between heteronormativity and the politics of diversity in service venues, and examines how workers negotiate and contest their positioning at work. We explore the normativities that shape permissible queer embodiment at work and show how biographical experiences specific to queer workers inform their laboring practices. The paper shows that queer workers in mainstream hospitality venues are enrolled into a specific mode of interactive service labor that capitalizes on their queer biographies, requires highly cultivated relational capacities, and repositions work as a site of political intervention

Salt polygons and porous media convection

From fairy circles to patterned ground and columnar joints, natural patterns spontaneously appear in many complex geophysical settings. Here, we investigate the origins of polygonally patterned crusts of salt playa and salt pans. These beautifully regular features, approximately a meter in diameter, are found worldwide and are fundamentally important to the transport of salt and dust in arid regions. We show that they are consistent with the surface expression of buoyancy-driven convection in the porous soil beneath a salt crust. By combining quantitative results from direct field observations, analog experiments, and numerical simulations, we further determine the conditions under which salt polygons should form, as well as how their characteristic size emerges

A novel mutation of the calcium sensing receptor gene is associated with chronic pancreatitis in a family with heterozygous SPINK1 mutations

BACKGROUND: The role of mutations in the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) gene in chronic pancreatitis is still a matter of debate. Active SPINK1 is thought to antagonize activated trypsin. Cases of SPINK1 mutations, especially N34S, have been reported in a subset of patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. However, the inheritance pattern is still unknown. Some cases with N34S heterozygosity have been reported with and without evidence for CP indicating neither an autosomal recessive nor dominant trait. Therefore SPINK1 mutations have been postulated to act as a disease modifier requiring additional mutations in a more complex genetic model. Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH) caused by heterozygous inactivating mutations in the calcium sensing receptor (CASR) gene is considered a benign disorder with elevated plasma calcium levels. Although hypercalcemia represents a risk factor for pancreatitis, increased rates of pancreatitis in patients with FHH have not been reported thus far. METHODS: We studied a family with a FHH-related hypercalcemia and chronic pancreatitis. DNA samples were analysed for mutations within the cationic trypsinogen (N29I, R122H) and SPINK1 (N34S) gene using melting curve analysis. Mutations within CASR gene were identified by DNA sequencing. RESULTS: A N34S SPINK1 mutation was found in all screened family members. However, only two family members developed chronic pancreatitis. These patients also had FHH caused by a novel, sporadic mutation in the CASR gene (518T>C) leading to an amino acid exchange (leucine->proline) in the extracellular domain of the CASR protein. CONCLUSION: Mutations in the calcium sensing receptor gene might represent a novel as yet unidentified predisposing factor which may lead to an increased susceptibility for chronic pancreatitis. Moreover, this family analysis supports the hypothesis that SPINK1 mutations act as disease modifier and suggests an even more complex genetic model in SPINK1 related chronic pancreatitis