Still just a matter of taste? Sensorial appreciation of seafood is associated with more frequent and diverse consumption.

Improving health and sustainability outcomes in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, Democratic) nations necessitates a reduction in red meat consumption. Seafood is often overlooked in achieving this goal. However, simply consuming more of familiar fish species places high stress on production of these species. For this reason, diversification of seafood consumption is also critical. Here the motives for seafood consumption (frequency and diversity) are investigated across two studies by adapting the 4Ns survey to the seafood category. This 16-item survey measures four factors underpinning meat consumption: namely that it is 'Natural', 'Necessary', 'Normal' and 'Nice'. Swedish consumers' hedonic and sensory expectations of two herring concepts (traditional pickled contra novel minced and presented as a burger) are also evaluated in relation to the 4Ns. Study 1 (N = 304) revealed that the seafood 4Ns scale had a similar underlying structure to that of meat and had good test-retest reliability. Study 2 (N = 514) showed that consumers expected to like the pickled herring (associated with being 'seasoned', 'salty', 'sweet', 'firm', 'juicy', 'chewy', and 'slimy') more than the minced herring (associated with being 'mushy', 'fishy', 'grainy', 'dry' and having 'small bones'), and that 'Nice' scores affected expectations of both herring concepts. Food neophobia correlated inversely with seafood consumption frequency, expected liking, the 'Nice' subscale, and food agency. Critically, in both studies, enjoyment of seafood (higher 'Nice' scores) predicted more frequent and diverse seafood consumption, whilst agreeing that seafood is 'Necessary' for health predicted only consumption frequency, not diversity. Communicating the positive sensory attributes of seafood and developing novel product concepts in ways that disconfirm sceptical consumers' negative sensory expectations may increase acceptance of both familiar and unfamiliar seafood concepts.

Don't throw the individual perspective out while waiting for systemic change.

Although it is clear that i-frame approaches cannot stand alone, the impact of s-frame changes can plateau. Combinations of these approaches may best reflect what we know about behavior and how to support behavioral change. Interactions between i-frame and s-frame thinking are explored here using two examples: alcohol consumption and meat consumption.

Making More Sustainable Food Choices One Meal at a Time: Psychological and Practical Aspects of Meat Reduction and Substitution.

Switching out meat in favour of plant-based alternatives such as meat substitutes is an important step towards eating more sustainably. Here, the aim was to identify and explore the specific barriers experienced by Swedish consumers when replacing meat with more sustainable alternatives. All meat-eating participants in this study reported some interest in reducing their meat consumption. Aspects of home-use and central-location test methods were combined by using a digital conferencing system to host cooking sessions and focus group discussions online, which was shown to be a viable setup even in this hands-on setting. The discussions targeted participants' experience preparing meals using meat substitutes as well as their perceived motivators and barriers to reducing meat consumption. Four themes identified through thematic analysis indicated that meat-eating participants, despite their desire or intent to reduce their meat consumption, experienced barriers relating to the following: internal conflict due to holding multiple positive and negative beliefs about meat simultaneously (ambivalence), justification of eating meat (rationalisation), a desire for variety in and control over their food choices (agency), and sensitivity to the views and expectations of other people and the situational context regarding meat (social and structuralfactors). Possible strategies to support ambivalent individuals in aligning their behaviour with their beliefs instead of vice versa are discussed in the context of the meat paradox. Agency and practical skills, including increasing knowledge in preparing meals with plant-based proteins, likely play a role in bridging this intention-behaviour gap.

A Curly Q: Is Frizz a Matter of Friction?

The oft discussed and fretted over environmental influences on hair have led to a popular consensus which suggests that elevated temperature and humidity lead to frizzier, wilder hair. However, few attempts at actually quantifying these effects have been made. Although frizziness is usually perceived visually, here the influence of variations in temperature and humidity on the tactile perception and friction of curly and straight hair were investigated. It is shown that changes in humidity may disproportionately affect perceived frizziness of curly hair by touch due to concurrent changes in the tactile friction.

The finishing touches: the role of friction and roughness in haptic perception of surface coatings.

Humans are extraordinarily skilled in the tactile evaluation of, and differentiation between, surfaces. The chemical and mechanical properties of these surfaces are translated into tactile signals during haptic exploration by mechanoreceptors in our skin, which are specialized to respond to different types of temporal and mechanical stimulation. Describing the effects of measurable physical characteristics on the human response to tactile exploration of surfaces is of great interest to manufacturers of household materials so that the haptic experience can be considered during design, product development and quality control. In this study, methods from psychophysics and materials science are combined to advance current understanding of which physical properties affect tactile perception of a range of furniture surfaces, i.e., foils and coatings, thus creating a tactile map of the furniture product landscape. Participants' responses in a similarity scaling task were analyzed using INDSCAL from which three haptic dimensions were identified. Results show that specific roughness parameters, tactile friction and vibrational information, as characterized by a stylus profilometer, a Forceboard, and a biomimetic synthetic finger, are important for tactile differentiation and preferences of these surface treatments. The obtained dimensions are described as distinct combinations of the surface properties characterized, rather than as 'roughness' or 'friction' independently. Preferences by touch were related to the roughness, friction and thermal properties of the surfaces. The results both complement and advance current understanding of how roughness and friction relate to tactile perception of surfaces.

Stability of High Speed 3D Printing in Liquid-Like Solids.

Fluid instabilities limit the ability of features to hold their shape in many types of 3D printing as liquid inks solidify into written structures. By 3D printing directly into a continuum of jammed granular microgels, these instabilities are circumvented by eliminating surface tension and body forces. However, this type of 3D printing process is potentially limited by inertial instabilities if performed at high speeds where turbulence may destroy features as they are written. Here, we design and test a high-speed 3D printing experimental system to identify the instabilities that arise when an injection nozzle translates at 1 m/s. We find that the viscosity of the injected material can control the Reynold's instability, and we discover an additional, unanticipated instability near the top surface of the granular microgel medium.

The NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities Site Visit Program: Observations About Institutional Oversight of Recombinant and Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecule Research.

Institutions that receive National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for research involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules are required, as a term and condition of their funding, to comply with the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (NIH Guidelines) (NIH, 2013). Under the NIH Guidelines, institutions must establish and register an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) with the NIH. The IBC is then responsible for reviewing and approving research projects subject to the NIH Guidelines. The IBC review of projects involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules is critical to ensuring that such research is conducted in a safe and responsible manner. In 2006, staff from NIH began conducting educational site visits to institutions that had an IBC registered with NIH. The purpose of these site visits is to assist IBCs with their institutional programs of oversight for recombinant or synthetic nucleic molecules. Based on our findings, the site visit program has been beneficial to institutional biosafety programs. The information gathered during the site visits has allowed NIH to tailor its educational materials to help institutions address their oversight challenges. Additionally, since NIH's visits are primarily educational in nature, we have been able to foster a positive environment in which IBC members and staff feel comfortable reaching out to NIH for advice and assistance.

Comparison of success rates using video laryngoscopy versus direct laryngoscopy by residents during a simulated pediatric emergency.

OBJECTIVE: Emergency airway situations are relatively rare events in pediatrics with most graduating residents having little exposure to intubate. Newer video technology offers the promise of reducing complications associated with intubation. This study proposes that video laryngoscopy (VL) should aid less skilled residents to intubate an infant mannequin with greater success and speed as compared with traditional direct laryngoscopy (DL). METHODS: Pediatric (PED) and emergency medicine (EM) residents were randomized in a prospective controlled study. A standard respiratory failure scenario was conducted using SimBaby with an uncomplicated airway. Residents who inadvertently performed esophageal intubation were made aware as part of the scenario and allowed to reattempt until successful. RESULTS: Sixty-nine residents voluntarily participated, 49% EM and 51% PED. Seven subjects in the DL group required multiple attempts (21%), compared with 6 subjects in the VL group (17%) (P = 0.718). Median time to intubation was 30 seconds (95% confidence interval [CI], 19-41 seconds) for DL and 39 seconds (95% CI, 36-42 seconds) for VL (P = 0.111). Comparison of programs revealed a 77% PED success rate versus 85% EM success rate (P = 0.578) and median time to intubation of 38 seconds (95% CI, 31-45 seconds) for PED compared with 32 seconds (95% CI, 23-41 seconds) for EM residents (P = 0.316). In a subanalysis, subjects successful at first attempt revealed a 13-second median difference (DL, 23 seconds [95% CI, 18-28 seconds] vs. VL, 36 seconds [95% CI, 29-43 seconds; P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In a simulated respiratory failure scenario involving residents, VL provided no additional success over DL with slightly longer time to intubation.

County jail as a novel site for obstetrics and gynecology resident education.

INTRODUCTION: Obstetrics and gynecology residents benefit from providing care to diverse patient populations and increasing their awareness of the social determinants of health. OBJECTIVES: To describe and evaluate an outpatient rotation for obstetrics and gynecology residents at a county jail. METHODS: A comprehensive curriculum incorporating Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies was designed for all first-year residents to rotate weekly at the local county jail during their 6-week ambulatory care block. Residents completed an anonymous online evaluation and wrote a reflective essay at the end of the rotation. Data for patient visits were tabulated. RESULTS: All 9 first-year residents completed the rotation and the evaluation. Seventy-eight percent of patient visits were for gynecologic services, predominantly family planning. Residents reported that the rotation overall was a positive experience, emphasizing the unique intersection between psychosocial issues and health care in the jail setting. Rotation objectives that satisfied the 6 ACGME competencies were met. DISCUSSION: Providing care to incarcerated women through a structured curriculum is a novel way to encourage obstetrics and gynecology residents to consider the social determinants of health and for residents to cultivate their counseling skills. The rotation also included a wide breadth and depth of clinical diagnoses and procedures. Obstetrics and gynecology residency programs should consider a curriculum in reproductive health for incarcerated women.

Picomolar nitric oxide signals from central neurons recorded using ultrasensitive detector cells.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a widespread signaling molecule with potentially multifarious actions of relevance to health and disease. A fundamental determinant of how it acts is its concentration, but there remains a lack of coherent information on the patterns of NO release from its sources, such as neurons or endothelial cells, in either normal or pathological conditions. We have used detector cells having the highest recorded NO sensitivity to monitor NO release from brain tissue quantitatively and in real time. Stimulation of NMDA receptors, which are coupled to activation of neuronal NO synthase, routinely generated NO signals from neurons in cerebellar slices. The average computed peak NO concentrations varied across the anatomical layers of the cerebellum, from 12 to 130 pm. The mean value found in the hippocampus was 200 pm. Much variation in the amplitudes recorded by individual detector cells was observed, this being attributable to their location at variable distances from the NO sources. From fits to the data, the NO concentrations at the source surfaces were 120 pm to 1.4 nm, and the underlying rates of NO generation were 36-350 nm/s, depending on area. Our measurements are 4-5 orders of magnitude lower than reported by some electrode recordings in cerebellum or hippocampus. In return, they establish coherence between the NO concentrations able to elicit physiological responses in target cells through guanylyl cyclase-linked NO receptors, the concentrations that neuronal NO synthase is predicted to generate locally, and the concentrations that neurons actually produce.

The effect of topical analgesics on ex vivo skin growth and human keratinocyte and fibroblast behavior.

The application of topical analgesics to the donor site of split thickness skin grafts has been proven to be an effective method of pain management but little is known about their effects on wound reepithelialization. This study compares the effect of four analgesics on human keratinocytes and fibroblasts and whole skin explants in vitro to determine whether epithelial cell behavior is affected by topical analgesics. The effect of diclofenac, bupivacaine, lidocaine, and ketorolac was studied at concentrations between 10 mM and 1 nM. The effect on epithelial growth was measured using an ex vivo skin explant model. In addition, cell proliferation, and cytotoxicity were measured in cultured primary human keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Epithelial growth from the explant model was most inhibited by diclofenac with a significant reduction at 100 microM (p=>0.001). Diclofenac also exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect on cell proliferation especially in keratinocytes. Ketorolac was the most cytotoxic. Bupivacaine showed cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner with only the very highest concentrations having a significant inhibitory effect. Lidocaine showed no evidence of cytotoxicity at the concentrations tested in either the in vitro cell studies or the ex vivo explant model. Topical analgesics alter keratinocyte and fibroblast behavior and such inhibition may affect wound healing.