The inverse forecast effect

Social behaviour depends crucially on the way events are linked over time, and on how these linkages are perceived. From a given event, people may be able to infer what followed, or what preceded it. However these two tasks are not as similar as they may seem. Two experiments are reported in which participants had to infer subsequent events given earlier ones, or else the reverse. Performance was consistently more accurate when working ‘backwards’. We call this the ‘inverse forecast effect’. It raises issues about the strategies people use to predict and understand everyday events, and about just how the future is formed from the past

Profiling milk from grass - biochemical and sensory analysis of dairy commodities

This thesis investigates the effect of bovine feeding system (pasture vs. non-pasture) on the sensory and volatile profiles of raw milk, pasteurised milk, and dairy powders, but also investigates the impact of feeding system on lipid oxidation (LO) in whole milk powder (WMP), and in commercially available WMP, skim milk powder (SMP), and infant milk formula (IMF). The thesis also highlights the benefits of using sophisticated extraction, separation, and identification gas chromatography mass spectrometry techniques (GCMS), including olfactometry to increase our understanding of the source and evolution of aromatic compounds in dairy products, and also how these are further influenced by processing, shelf-life and storage conditions. Chapter 1 provides an updated review of the factors influencing LO in dairy powders, focusing on the combination of instrumental and sensory techniques. A HS-SPME GCMS method was validated in Chapter 2 to quantify 13 VOC associated with LO which was subsequently employed to assess WMP, SMP, and IMF under controlled storage conditions in tandem with sensory analysis in Chapter 3. The WMP and SMP samples remained stable for up to 4 months, but the IMF had concentrations of LO VOC above their odour thresholds immediately after manufacture, which continued to increase during storage, likely related to the addition of poly-unsaturated fatty acids during processing. Hexanal, heptanal and pentanal were correlated with painty, oxidised, cooked, and caramelised odours in all samples. In Chapter 4, the same13 VOC originating from LO were again used to track the VOC profile of WMP derived from GRS, CLV, and TMR feeding systems during storage. Significant variations in the concentrations of 14 fatty acids were observed due to diet. Feeding system was shown to impact both LO stability and sensory properties of WMP. WMP derived from GRS was most susceptible to LO, likely due to increased concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid that oxidise to specific aldehydes. The onset of LO issues was off-set in WMP from TMR during the early stages of storage due to the prevalence of sweet, caramel aroma’s but it rapidly detoriated around 4 months due to increases in aldehyde concentration. Significant differences were also observed in the phytochemical profile of the milk samples derived from pasture and non-pasture-based feeding systems, with white clover enhancing isoflavone content in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 demonstrated that the odour active VOC influencing sensory perception were quite different between pasture and non-pasture feeding systems, with many VOC influencing the perception of raw milk likely present from direct transfer from feed. Heretofore this was not anticipated, as it was assumed that rumen metabolism was the biggest factor influencing the VOC profile of raw milk. Approximately a third of all VOC were aroma active in raw milk derived from GRS and TMR, respectively. Many of the key dietary-derived-odour-active VOC in raw TMR milk, likely arose during the production of the TMR as most were either derived from Maillard reactions generated by thermal treatments. This study has conclusively demonstrated the impact of bovine diet on the volatile and sensory character of milk. It also clearly demonstrates significant differences in milk and dairy products produced with pasture-based feeding systems generated in Ireland, as opposed to concentrate-based feeding systems, more widely practiced globally. The outcomes of this thesis provide insights into: (1) the effect of feeding system on the oxidative stability, aromatic and sensory properties of milk and dairy powders, (2) the identification and source of aroma active VOC in milk and dairy powders, (3) methods used to profile the aroma of milk and dairy powders, and (4) future possibilities and considerations

Youth physical activity towards health (Y-PATH) meeting the needs of Irish teachers and students

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) levels in children are below recommended guidelines and are declining throughout adolescence, threatening negative consequences such as obesity, heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes to the current and future health of Irish young people. Physical Education (PE) is provided to promote PA to school-going students and to enable them to pursue healthy and active lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends school-based interventions to assist the promotion of PA among young people. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to trial, refine and extend the PE element of the Y-PATH programme in line with national curricular developments, based on the thoughts and opinions of students and specialist PE teachers in Irish post-primary schools. Methods: Following the completion of a 12-week intervention of the Y-PATH PE programme in Irish post-primary schools (N=9), cross-sectional data were collected from participating students (N=317) using questionnaires, in order to investigate students’ PA levels, physical self-worth, enjoyment and experiences of PE. Additionally, all students were afforded the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions using open-ended questions. Focus group and semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data on the thoughts and opinions of participating PE teachers (N=15) on the programme and were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Results: Following the intervention, repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests revealed that students with higher levels of PA had higher self-worth, greater enjoyment of PE and more positive experiences in PE class in comparison to those students with lower levels of PA, all of which are central components of the Y-PATH PE programme. Findings from the teacher feedback revealed four main themes. These themes explored the usability of materials and resources, Y-PATH content suitability, implementation considerations and the current PE curricular context. Conclusion: Data collected indicated the majority of students who were involved in data collection had positive experiences participating in Y-PATH PE. Teacher feedback revealed the Y-PATH programme is suitable for students across single-gender and mixed gender schools, and across schools located both in urban and rural areas. Both student and teacher feedback provided valuable insight to the research team in relation to the use of the programme in the classroom, to guide the refinement and extension of the Y-PATH PE programme

The potential role of creatine in vascular health

Creatine is an organic compound, consumed exogenously in the diet and synthesized endogenously via an intricate inter-organ process. Functioning in conjunction with creatine kinase, creatine has long been known for its pivotal role in cellular energy provision and energy shuttling. In addition to the abundance of evidence supporting the ergogenic benefits of creatine supplementation, recent evidence suggests a far broader application for creatine within various myopathies, neurodegenerative diseases, and other pathologies. Furthermore, creatine has been found to exhibit non-energy related properties, contributing as a possible direct and in-direct antioxidant and eliciting anti-inflammatory effects. In spite of the new clinical success of supplemental creatine, there is little scientific insight into the potential effects of creatine on cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of mortality. Taking into consideration the non-energy related actions of creatine, highlighted in this review, it can be speculated that creatine supplementation may serve as an adjuvant therapy for the management of vascular health in at-risk populations. This review, therefore, not only aims to summarize the current literature surrounding creatine and vascular health, but to also shed light onto the potential mechanisms in which creatine may be able to serve as a beneficial supplement capable of imparting vascular-protective properties and promoting vascular health

Correlating Volatile Lipid Oxidation Compounds with Consumer Sensory Data in Dairy Based Powders during Storage

peer-reviewedLipid oxidation (LO) is a recognised problem in dairy powders due to the formation of volatile odour compounds that can negatively impact sensory perception. Three commercial dairy powders, fat-filled whole milk powder (FFWMP), skim milk powder (SMP), and infant milk formula (IMF), stored under different conditions (21 °C, 37 °C, or 25 °C with 50% humidity), were evaluated by consumer acceptance studies, ranked descriptive sensory analysis, and LO volatile profiling using headspace solid phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME GCMS) over 16 weeks. Significant (p = 0.001) differences in the concentration of LO compounds and sensory perception were evident between sample types in the different storage conditions. The sensory acceptance scores for FFWMP and SMP remained stable throughout storage in all conditions, despite the increased perception of some LO products. The IMF sample was perceived negatively in each storage condition and at each time point. Overall increases in hexanal, heptanal, and pentanal correlated with “painty”, “oxidised”, “cooked”, and “caramelised” attributes in all samples. The concentration of some LO volatiles in the IMF was far in excess of those in FFWMP and SMP. High levels of LO volatiles in IMF were presumably due to the addition of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the formulation

Rural Mental Health Care During a Global Health Pandemic: Addressing and Supporting the Rapid Transition to Tele-Mental Health

The adoption of tele-mental health by mental health professionals has been slow, especially in rural areas. Prior to 2020, less than half of mental health agencies offered tele-mental health for patients. In response to the global health pandemic in March of 2020, mental health therapists across the U.S. were challenged to make the rapid shift to tele-mental health to provide patient care. Given the lack of adoption of tele-mental health previously, immediate training in tele-mental health was needed. This article describes collaborative efforts between two mental health technology transfer centers and one addiction technology transfer center in rural regions of the U.S. in response to the rapid adoption of remote technologies to provide mental health services. A learning series of real-time tele-mental health trainings and supplemental materials were offered beginning in March 2020 to support this transition. A weekly learning series covered a variety of topics relevant to telehealth including technology basics, billing, state legislation, and working with children and adolescents. Given the demand of these initial training sessions, additional trainings were requested by agencies outside the regional technology transfer centers. To date, there have been more than 13,000 views of the tele-mental health webpage which includes recorded training sessions, handouts, and supplemental tele-mental health materials. The article also provides a summary of the questions and concerns highlighted by the more than 4,500 providers who joined the learning series, noting key rural and urban clinical and structural barriers to providing virtual care

Cross-Species Differential Plasma Protein Binding of MBX-102/JNJ39659100: A Novel PPAR-γ Agonist

Drug binding to plasma proteins restricts their free and active concentrations, thereby affecting their pharmacokinetic properties. Species differences in plasma protein levels complicate the understanding of interspecies pharmacodynamic and toxicological effects. MBX-102 acid/JNJ39659100 is a novel PPAR-γ agonist in development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Studies were performed to evaluate plasma protein binding to MBX-102 acid and evaluate species differences in free drug levels. Equilibrium dialysis studies demonstrated that MBX-102 acid is highly bound (>98%) to human, rat and mouse albumin and that free MBX-102 acid levels are higher in rodent than in human plasma. Interspecies differences in free drug levels were further studied using PPAR-γ transactivation assays and a newly developed PPAR-γ corepressor displacement (biochemical) assay. PPAR-γ transactivation and corepressor displacement by MBX-102 acid was higher in rat and mouse serum than human serum. These results confirm the relevance of interspecies differences in free MBX-102 acid levels