Food culture in the home environment: family meal practices and values can support healthy eating and self-regulation in young people in four European countries.

Background: Overweight epidemics, including among children and adolescents, are fuelled by contemporary obesogenic environments. Recent research and theory highlight the importance of socio-cultural factors in mitigating adverse impacts of the abundance of food in high-income countries. The current study examines whether family meal culture shapes young people's eating behaviors and self-regulation.

Always gamble on an empty stomach: hunger is associated with advantageous decision making.

Three experimental studies examined the counterintuitive hypothesis that hunger improves strategic decision making, arguing that people in a hot state are better able to make favorable decisions involving uncertain outcomes. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that participants with more hunger or greater appetite made more advantageous choices in the Iowa Gambling Task compared to sated participants or participants with a smaller appetite. Study 3 revealed that hungry participants were better able to appreciate future big rewards in a delay discounting task; and that, in spite of their perception of increased rewarding value of both food and monetary objects, hungry participants were not more inclined to take risks to get the object of their desire.

Spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic back pain patients: 500-Hz vs. 1000-Hz burst stimulation.

Objective: Spinal cord stimulation is a commonly used, safe, and effective procedure applied for medically intractable failed back surgery syndrome, as well as other neuropathic pain syndromes. Recently, a novel stimulation paradigm called burst stimulation has been developed that is paresthesia-free and has a more pronounced suppressive effect on neuropathic pain.

Materials And Methods: Fifteen patients who were being treated with burst spinal cord stimulation for failed back surgery syndrome participated in an open-label trial to verify whether their pain suppression could be further ameliorated by changing the burst pattern.

Is preoperative pain duration important in spinal cord stimulation? A comparison between tonic and burst stimulation.

Objective: Conflicting data have been published as to whether the success rate of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is inversely proportional to the time interval from the initial onset of symptoms to implantation. Recently, a new stimulation design called burst stimulation has been developed that seems to exert its effect by modulating both the medial and lateral pain pathways and has a better effect than tonic stimulation on global pain, back pain, and limb pain.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed the effect of preoperative pain duration on the degree of pain suppression by both tonic and burst stimulation in a group of patients (n = 49) who underwent both tonic and burst SCS.

Surgical treatment of neurogenic stress urinary incontinence: A systematic review of quality assessment and surgical outcomes.

Background: There are many opinions but little firm knowledge about the optimal treatment of neurogenic stress urinary incontinence (NSUI).

Objective: To scrutinize the quality and surgical outcomes of the available treatment modalities in the published literature.

Evidence Acquisition: A systematic review of the published literature from Pub Med and Web of Science was undertaken for studies describing surgical treatment of NSUI between 1990 and 2013.

Activation in inhibitory brain regions during food choice correlates with temptation strength and self-regulatory success in weight-concerned women.

Food choices constitute a classic self-control dilemma involving the trade-off between immediate eating enjoyment and the long term goal of being slim and healthy, especially for weight-concerned women. For them, decision-making concerning high (HE) and low energy (LE) snacks differs when it comes to the need for self-control. In line, our first study aim was to investigate which brain regions are activated during food choices during HE compared to LE energy snacks in weight-concerned women.

Personality moderates the links of social identity with work motivation and job searching.

Work motivation is critical for successful school-to-work transitions, but little is known about its determinants among labor market entrants. Applying a social identity framework, we examined whether work motivation and job searching are social-contextually determined. We expected that some job seekers are more sensitive to contextual influence, depending on their personality.

It's my party and I eat if I want to. Reasons for unhealthy snacking.

Investigating the reasons that people give for unhealthy snacking behavior is important for developing effective health interventions. Little research, however, has identified reasons that apply to a large audience and most studies do not integrate multiple factors, precluding any conclusions regarding their relative importance. The present study explored reasons for unhealthy snacking among a representative community sample.

Communicating eating-related rules. Suggestions are more effective than restrictions.

Background: A common social influence technique for curbing unhealthy eating behavior is to communicate eating-related rules (e.g. 'you should not eat unhealthy food').

Outstanding questions concerning the regulation of cognitive enhancement devices.

The authors (Maslen et al., 2014) propose to regulate cognitive enhancement devices (CEDs) as medical devices. Extending medical device regulations to CEDs raises some important questions that need to be adequately addressed before it makes sense to pursue this path.

Assessing self-regulation strategies: development and validation of the tempest self-regulation questionnaire for eating (TESQ-E) in adolescents.

Background: Applying self-regulation strategies have proven important in eating behaviors, but it remains subject to investigation what strategies adolescents report to use to ensure healthy eating, and adequate measures are lacking. Therefore, we developed and validated a self-regulation questionnaire applied to eating (TESQ-E) for adolescents.

Methods: Study 1 reports a four-step approach to develop the TESQ-E questionnaire (n = 1097).

A controlled study on the cognitive effect of alpha neurofeedback training in patients with major depressive disorder.

Cognitive deficits are core symptoms of depression. This study aims to investigate whether neurofeedback (NF) training can improve working memory (WM) performance in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The NF group (n = 40) underwent eight NF sessions and was compared to a non-interventional control group (n = 20).

The value of surgical release after obstructive anti-incontinence surgery: An aid for clinical decision making.

Aims: To present satisfaction rates after surgical release of obstructive anti-incontinence surgery, to look for predictive factors for outcome and to define the optimal moment to perform the surgical release.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of 87 women at first, second, and last follow-up at a median of 2 (0.5-7), 4 (2-12), and 108 (29-156) months after surgical release.

A randomized comparison of a single-incision midurethral sling and a transobturator midurethral sling in women with stress urinary incontinence: results of 12-mo follow-up.

Background: Midurethral sling procedures have become the prime surgical treatment for women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Single-incision mini-slings (SIMS) potentially offer similar efficacy with reduced morbidity. This international multicenter trial compared the efficacy and morbidity of a SIMS (MiniArc) and a transobturator standard midurethral sling (SMUS) (Monarc).

Neural substrates of conversion deafness in a cochlear implant patient: a molecular imaging study using H₂¹⁵O-PET.

Objective: Conversion deafness is characterized by sudden hearing loss without any identifiable cause. In the current study, we investigated presumed conversion deafness in a cochlear implant user using H₂¹⁵O-positron emission tomography (PET) scan with speech and noise stimuli in conjunction with audiologic tests such as impedance test and auditory response telemetry. Also, by performing a follow-up PET scan after recovery and comparing prerecovery and postrecovery scans, we attempted to find possible neural substrates of conversion deafness.

Deletion of prostaglandin E2 synthesizing enzymes in brain endothelial cells attenuates inflammatory fever.

Fever is a hallmark of inflammatory and infectious diseases. The febrile response is triggered by prostaglandin E2 synthesis mediated by induced expression of the enzymes cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase 1 (mPGES-1). The cellular source for pyrogenic PGE2 remains a subject of debate; several hypotheses have been forwarded, including immune cells in the periphery and in the brain, as well as the brain endothelium.

Targeting the parahippocampal area by auditory cortex stimulation in tinnitus.

Background: The final common pathway in tinnitus generation is considered to be synchronized auditory oscillatory hyperactivity. Intracranial auditory cortex stimulation (iACS) via implanted electrodes has been developed to treat severe cases of intractable tinnitus targeting this final common pathway, in the hope of being a panacea for tinnitus. However, not everybody responds to this treatment.

Identifying the 'if' for 'if-then' plans: combining implementation intentions with cue-monitoring targeting unhealthy snacking behaviour.

Implementation intentions aimed at changing unwanted habits require the identification of personally relevant cues triggering the habitual response in order to be effective. To facilitate successful implementation intention formation, in the present study, planning was combined with cue-monitoring, a novel way to gain insight into triggers for unhealthy snacking. It was tested whether keeping a cue-monitoring diary and tailoring implementation intentions accordingly improves plan effectiveness.

The enigma of the tinnitus-free dream state in a Bayesian world.

There are pathophysiological, clinical, and treatment analogies between phantom limb pain and phantom sound (i.e., tinnitus).

The role of pre-treatment proactive coping skills in successful weight management.

Objectives: Proactive coping encompasses future-oriented self-regulatory skills that help people prepare for future difficulties before they occur, such as planning and monitoring. The aim of the present study was to examine the interplay between pre-treatment proactive coping skills and expected difficulties during weight loss in determining successful weight management.

Method: Obese and overweight Dutch adults (N=119) who enrolled in a weight management intervention reported their level of proactive coping skills and expected difficulties at the start of intervention.

Protein redesign by learning from data.

Protein redesign methods aim to improve a desired property by carefully selecting mutations in relevant regions guided by protein structure. However, often protein structural requirements underlying biological characteristics are not well understood. Here, we introduce a methodology that learns relevant mutations from a set of proteins that have the desired property and demonstrate it by successfully improving production levels of two enzymes by Aspergillus niger, a relevant host organism for industrial enzyme production.

Why are people with high self-control happier? The effect of trait self-control on happiness as mediated by regulatory focus.

Background: While self-control has often been related to positive outcomes in life such as higher academic achievements and better health, recent insights reveal that people with high trait self-control (TSC) may even experience greater life satisfaction or happiness.

Objective: The current study further scrutinizes this potential association between TSC and happiness, and examines how regulatory focus, defined as the way people frame and direct their goal pursuit strategies, plays a role in this relationship. Accordingly, the present study examines the mediating role of regulatory-focus (promotion and prevention focus) on the relationship between TSC and happiness.

Transient receptor potential channel modulators as pharmacological treatments for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS): myth or reality?

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels belong to the most intensely pursued drug targets of the last decade. These ion channels are considered promising targets for the treatment of pain, hypersensitivity disorders and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The aim of the present review is to discuss to what extent TRP channels have adhered to their promise as new pharmacological targets in the lower urinary tract (LUT) and to outline the challenges that lie ahead.

Pain characteristics in fibromyalgia: understanding the multiple dimensions of pain.

Fibromyalgia is a common disease with a high economic burden. The etiology of this disease remains unclear, as there are no specific abnormalities on clinical or technical examinations. Evidence suggests that central pain sensitization at the brain pain matrix might be involved.

Exploring genetic variation in the tomato (Solanum section Lycopersicon) clade by whole-genome sequencing.

We explored genetic variation by sequencing a selection of 84 tomato accessions and related wild species representative of the Lycopersicon, Arcanum, Eriopersicon and Neolycopersicon groups, which has yielded a huge amount of precious data on sequence diversity in the tomato clade. Three new reference genomes were reconstructed to support our comparative genome analyses. Comparative sequence alignment revealed group-, species- and accession-specific polymorphisms, explaining characteristic fruit traits and growth habits in the various cultivars.